The next day, after school ended, Thomas walked with the Crusaders while he rode on Sweetie Belle’s back. “Hey, do you three wanna go to the park and play? We can also talk about the talent show there,” Thomas said. “Great idea, Thomas!” Apple Bloom said. “Well, let’s get going!” Scootaloo said, as she got on her scooter, then Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Thomas got on their wagon, then they put on their helmets. When they were ready, Scootaloo kicked her hind leg backwards and then they rode off to the Ponyville Park.
When they got there, they got off the wagon and went to sit down by a tree and then decided to talk about their ideas for the talent show. “So, girls. What ideas have you three decided on for your parts for the talent show in the next two weeks?” Thomas asked. “I’m gonna do a lasso stunt trick, but I’m gonna ask Applejack to help me practice,” Apple Bloom said. “Well, I think I’m gonna sing! I’ve been thinking about it and I feel like singing is my passion,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’m gonna do some cool stunts with my scooter, and maybe I can prove Rainbow Dash that I’ve got some swift skills!” Scootaloo said. “Any maybe we’ll get our cutie marks for our talents!”
Thomas suddenly felt left down. “What’s the matter, Thomas?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I... I don’t have any talent in me. Maybe I shouldn’t join the talent show and probably just watch,” Thomas said. Sweetie Belle then scooted closer to him and placed her hoof on his back, “Hey, don’t be like that, cutie. You probably need time to think.”
“We may not have our cutie marks, but they help you discover your special talent inside your heart and it defines what makes you special,” Scootaloo said. “And every time we try to get our cutie marks at things, we still don’t get them. But we sometimes let time take its own pace,” Apple Bloom said. Thomas smiled warmly and then gave the fillies a group hug, “Thanks, girls. I still don’t know, though. Do you really think I might have a chance to find my special talent?” The fillies nodded with warm soft smiles, then Scootaloo took out a bouncing playground ball for them to play catch with. The fillies and Thomas passed it to each other by using their heads, flanks and hooves, while Thomas used his hands.
When they were about to leave the park, they saw Silver Spoon sitting on a bench. They went over to her for a talk. “Silver Spoon? You alright?” Apple Bloom asked. “Hey, you guys. How’re you doing?” Silver Spoon asked with a friendly smile. “We’re doing fine, but we’re asking you how you are,” Sweetie Belle said. “Nothing much. I’m fine,” Silver Spoon said. “Why do you ask?”
“Nothing, we were just checking on ya,” Apple Bloom said. “Oh, okay,” Silver Spoon said. “Hey, Silver Spoon. Do you know what happened with Diamond Tiara recently? She’s not acting like herself,” Thomas asked. Silver Spoon put her hoof on her chin, and then thought for a minute, “I really don’t know what happened or why she’s acting this way. Ever since you sticked around, she’s been ignoring her usual bullying part and is just going home with either anger or sadness.”
“That’s not the Diamond Tiara we know,” Sweetie Belle said. Thomas then thought of something, “Silver Spoon, do you know where she lives?” Silver Spoon nodded, “Yeah, why?”
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Thomas said. “WHAT?!” the fillies exclaimed. “Why do you wanna go talk to her?!” Sweetie Belle asked. “I wanna know what’s up with her. Silver Spoon, please show me where her house is,” Thomas said. “Are ya sure it’s a good idea? She may not wanna talk to ya,” Apple Bloom asked. “I just wanna make sure she’s okay, and probably explain about my past. I just need to know why she’s so mean to everyone here,” Thomas said. “Then we’re coming with you,” Sweetie Belle said. Thomas nodded, “Okay, but since she may not trust you three, I’m going to go talk to her myself. I don’t want your feelings to get hurt.” The fillies nodded, and then Silver Spoon told them to follow her as she led the way to Diamond Tiara’s house while Thomas rode on Sweetie Belle’s back.
While they were walking, Thomas decided to tell Silver Spoon about her past, and it caused her to have tears in her eyes, “Gosh. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.” Thomas nodded with a warm smile, “It’s okay, Silver Spoon. I pretty much got over it thanks to being here.” Silver Spoon nodded, then continued to lead the way.
When they got to the house, it was a big red house with a blue tiled roof, and had white windows on each wall. Thomas got off Sweetie Belle’s back and went up to knock on the front door, then it opened up and showed a brown earth pony stallion come up. He had a black combed mane and tail, a white and blue collar, a red tie, blue eyes, and his flank had a cutie mark of three money bags. “Can I help you?” he asked. “Sir, my name is Thomas, and if you don’t recall. I’m the adopted human son of a pegasus named Fluttershy,” Thomas said. “And he’s Princess Twilight’s nephew,” Silver Spoon said. “Are you Diamond Tiara’s dad?” Thomas asked. “Correct, but you can call me Filthy Rich,” he said.
“Is your daughter home?” Silver Spoon asked. “We’re kinda worried about her,” Sweetie Belle said. “I know we’ve had some rivalry stuff with each other in the past, but we don’t know what’s bothering her,” Apple Bloom said. “Yes, she is home, but I’m afraid she’s been keeping herself locked and shut in her room for several days, or at least a month, but she comes out for dinner. She won’t talk to me or her mother, Spoiled Rich about what’s bothering her. I’m really worried about her.”
“If it’s okay with you, Mr. Rich, is it okay if I talk to her?” Thomas said. “I can try to get some reason into her.”
“I suppose you could try, but she’s lost her temper a little, so I don’t know if she’ll let you in. So be mindful,” Filthy Rich said. “If you all want, you’re welcome to come in and wait.” Filthy Rich then let them inside as they sat down, then Thomas saw a pinkish white bedroom door with a fancy golden doorknob on it. “Good luck, buddy,” Sweetie Belle said, then Thomas nodded back and stopped towards her bedroom door.
When he gulped nervously and then took a deep breath, Thomas then gently knocked on the door 5 times. “GO AWAY! CAN’T YOU SEE THE SIGN?!” Diamond Tiara’s voice yelled behind her door. Thomas then made a serious face and knocked again 3 times, “Diamond Tiara? It’s Thomas.” Diamond Tiara then heard his voice, “Can I please come in? I just wanna talk to you,” Thomas said, as it stayed quiet for a little bit.
Diamond Tiara then spoke again, “Alright, it’s open.” Thomas then opened the door and entered her bedroom. The upper walls were light pink and the lower walls were dark pink, and a white border was placed on the wall. “Close the door. I don’t wanna cause attention,” she said, as he then saw Diamond Tiara laying on her bed on her back with her head on her pillow, causing her to stare at the ceiling with tears in her eyes, and both her forelegs laying on her stuffed belly that was next to a small box full of red velvet cupcakes and two trays full of broccoli and carrots. After he closed the door all the way, he went over to her, and Diamond Tiara looked at him, “Why are you here? What do you want?”
“I just wanna talk to you. We’re really worried about you, and you haven’t been yourself,” Thomas said. “Oh, really? Does this look like I’m okay to you?!” Diamond Tiara asked. “Why would you want to talk to me?! It’s your fault I’m suffering like this!”
“Because it’s what a friend would do,” Thomas said. “I know you don’t like me, but can you please tell me?” Diamond Tiara suddenly then felt surprisingly confused that he actually felt like he cared about her, “Tell you what?”
“Why you’re so mean to everyone, including me and my friends, and what happened to you? I just wanna make sure you’re okay,” Thomas said. Diamond Tiara looked at him for a little bit more, then she thought for a moment if she could trust him, then she sat up on her haunches patted on a spot next to her with her with her hoof, “Come on. Get comfy. I’ll tell you everything.” Thomas nodded and then climbed onto her bed and sat next to her.
“Okay, so you really wanna know why I’ve been so cruel to all of you?” Diamond Tiara asked. Thomas nodded in a reply, then she started, “It’s because my family’s so rich. But that’s not really the reason why. You see, my mother tells me to be demanding towards others and show some dignity to ponies who aren’t rich, and it somehow caused me to be a bully. When I realized what I was doing and after you showed up, when Silver Spoon stopped being my friend, I felt like an outsider because when everypony suddenly stopped paying attention to me and my hurtful teasing, and my comments on blank flanked ponies because they didn’t have cutie marks or when you appeared, I felt all alone. So I’ve been avoiding everypony and stayed in my room and stared into the abyss.”
“Wow. That’s... that’s awful,” Thomas said. “Yep,” Diamond Tiara said. “You may not know this, but I’ve been there too, but where I came from was different,” Thomas said. “Oh? And what would that be?” Diamond Tiara asked. Thomas sighed, and then looked into her eyes and spoke, “While I was growing up, I lived in a small building called St Josephine’s Orphanage for Children, and many kids there were getting picked for adoption, but the problem is... they never pick me. I was the loneliest in the place, and every time I try to make some friends, they just ignore me or just walk away without saying a word. One night, I made a wish for a new home and a loving family that could take care of me, then Auntie Luna came and took me to my Momma’s cottage, and later on, I was adopted by her.”
“Oh my... I... I... I absolutely had no idea you felt that way,” Diamond Tiara said. She suddenly looked down and had a tear fall from her eyes. “Diamond Tiara?” Thomas asked, until suddenly, she wrapped her forelegs around him tightly and cried on his shoulder, “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry for everything! For hurting your feelings, for making fun of you for being human, for yelling at you, and everything else that tormented you! I’m so, so sorry!”
Thomas suddenly hugged her back, “It’s okay, Diamond. It’s okay.” Diamond Tiara felt him hugging her. “No, it’s not! I made you run away! I broke your heart on the first day! I don’t deserve to be forgiven!” Diamond Tiara said. “Well, I forgive you,” Thomas said. “Y-You do?” Diamond Tiara asked sniffling. Thomas nodded, “Maybe if you apologize to everypony, they can give you a second chance, and they’ll be your friends. But I’m gonna help you with that.”
Diamond Tiara smiled warmly and hugged him, “Thank you. You do have a big heart. If it’s okay, does this mean we can be friends and put everything behind us?” Thomas nodded and gave her another hug, “Yep. We can be friends, and don’t worry. I’ll make sure all the fillies and colts at school will accept your apology, after I get the Crusaders and Silver Spoon to convince them.” Diamond Tiara then thought of something, “I think I have an idea about that, but I’m gonna need some help.”
When the students gathered around the school’s playground, they were all confused. “Why are we all here?” a filly asked. “Everyone, listen. I talked with Diamond Tiara and she has something to say for all of you. I promise this is different because I’ve found out why she’s been rude to us,” Thomas said. Several of the students gasped and whispered murmurs. “He’s telling the truth!” Sweetie Belle said. “He told us the whole thing,” Apple Bloom said. “Now we’re gonna see and hear what she has to say,” Scootaloo said.
“Diamond Tiara, can you come on out please?” Thomas asked, then she came out with a sad look on her face, then she gulped nervously then stood next to Thomas, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “Everypony, I know what you’re all thinking,” she said sadly. “This probably isn’t gonna be enough for what I’ve done, but I just wanna say that I’m really sorry for everything I’ve done. I’m sorry for the way I treated all of you, made fun of you for not having your cutie marks, the way I looked down at all of you, and for thinking I was better or popular than any of you. But thanks to Thomas, he’s decided to ask all of you to give me a second chance to forgive me. And I promise I will treat you all fairly. But if you don’t want to, I won’t bother.”
Then after she looked down in sadness, some students started to whisper to each other about how she felt, until Diamond Tiara felt a hoof press on her shoulder. “We forgive ya, Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom said. “Really? You do?” Diamond Tiara asked. “Yeah. Well of course you may have been snotty and bratty all the time, but if you really want a second chance, all you have to do was say something your heart tells you,” Sweetie Belle said. Diamond Tiara smiled back at the Crusaders, until she heard a voice.
“DIAMOND TIARA!!” Diamond Tiara turned around and saw her mother, Spoiled Rich standing there. She was an earth pony mare with pale grayish pink fur, a curly mane and tail with two shades of moderate magenta and dark heliotrope purple, strong opal eyes with lavender eyeshadow, she wore a teal shirt with gold trimming, a gold chain necklace, and her flank had a cutie mark of a gold diamond ring.
Spoiled Rich was disappointed in her daughter, “What are you doing with them? My daughter apologizing to confused, insignificant lowlifes? Socializing with their kind is not how you move up to Equestria! And you know better about interacting with... ugh... humans. Come, Diamond Tiara!” Diamond Tiara saw Thomas’s heart break, then made a stern look at her mother. “No, mother!” she exclaimed. Spoiled Rich turned around and looked at her daughter, “Excuse me?!”
“You’ve spent your whole life acting like a high horse who’s so popular than anypony else and raised me to follow in your hoofprints, and it caused me to hurt others’s feelings! At first I thought this was fine, but then I finally realized I wanted something you don’t have: friends!” The Crusaders, Thomas and other foals gasped at what they heard her say. Spoiled Rich was concerned about her daughter’s attitude, then struck back, “That’s enough, Diamond Tiara! Step away from those blank flanks and that filthy ape!”
“You have no right to talk to him like that!” Sweetie Belle said. “Yeah! You mess with one of us, you mess with all of the Crusaders!” Scootaloo said. Diamond Tiara saw Thomas crying, then went to him to comfort him, then spoke up again, “These three are the Cutie Mark Crusaders and that boy over there is Thomas, and they are my friends. You need to stop calling them such mean and hurtful names, and breaking Thomas’s spirit! I was mean to them because of your guidance that lead me to hurtful comments on their feelings, but I wanna get to know them now! And that boy right by that filly ran away because of me, when I told him that he never belonged here, but since I realized that his big heart showed us kindness and forgiveness, Thomas knew more about being a pony than I ever did! Those three over there are working harder to get their cutie marks, and they’ve shown Thomas the true meaning of friendship! And I think they will get them exactly when they discover their true talent, which I truly guarantee will be amazing!”
“You can’t be serious! Are you choosing to be friends with them than be popular in Equestria?!” Spoiled Rich asked angrily. “Are you making her choose?” Thomas asked with sadness in his face. “See what you’ve done, mother? You’ve made me hurt him when I used to be just like you,” Diamond Tiara said. “I choose not to hurt anypony’s feelings anymore because I will never be as cruel and manipulative as you. Of course my talent was to get everypony to do what I want, but I realized I took it the wrong way. I choose to tell them what I want by showing compassion and kindness towards them. Now, would you give these to father?” She showed her mother a scroll.
“Uh... Of course, dear,” Spoiled Rich said, then she saw Silver Spoon comforting Thomas. “Young man? Keep up the good work.” She then left the park to deliver the letter, then Diamond Tiara saw Thomas crying, then she walked over to him and gave him a hug. “If you’re wondering what I gave my mother, I just wanted to ask my father a favor to donate 2,000 bits for new playground equipment at our school, and some other equipment for the talent show this year!”
The students cheered for her kindness, and then she saw Silver Spoon walking over and giving her a hug. “I’m sorry about before. I just didn’t want you to hurt him anymore,” Silver Spoon said. “It’s okay, Silver Spoon. I forgive you,” Diamond Tiara said. “And Thomas? Thanks... for everything.” Thomas nodded and motioned his hand towards her, “Friends?”
Diamond Tiara nodded, then shook his hand with her hoof, “Friends.” She then gave him one more hug, then Thomas saw Sweetie Belle appear. “Sweetie Belle, girls, I think I know what I want to do for the talent show,” Thomas said. “What is it?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I’m going to sing a song while playing the piano, but it’s about my past depression and my happiness here in Equestria,” Thomas said, then he looked back at Diamond Tiara. “Diamond? If you want, you and Silver Spoon can hang out with us anytime you want.”
“I think we’ll just do that,” Diamond Tiara said, then they all joined in for a group hug, then she saw Thomas looking sad from her mother’s harsh tone, then went up to him. “Thomas? Is something wrong?”
“Um... can I talk to you in private?” Thomas asked. “Sure,” Diamond Tiara said, then they went to the back of the school, Diamond Tiara suddenly got confused. “Okay, now what’s the problem?”
“Diamond Tiara... I know you never got to know me because of your mother’s bad behavior, but I thought of you more than a friend,” Thomas said, with a soft blush. “Really? Wait... you don’t mean...,” Diamond Tiara said. “You have a crush on me, don’t you?”
Thomas nodded, then Diamond Tiara suddenly blushed over his kindness, “Aww... that’s... that’s very sweet of you.” Thomas kept blushing until Diamond Tiara went over to the boy and gave him a hug, “Thank you, by the way. You know... for being there for me.” She suddenly gave Thomas a soft kiss on the cheek. “You know, you really do have a big heart, and maybe I’ll like that about you. How about if I walk you home?” Thomas nodded and then got on Diamond Tiara’s back and then she walked him home.
“Aww...” The Crusaders said in unison. “I guess that filly needed a little love,” Sweetie Belle said. “Yep. He finally changed her heart,” Apple Bloom said.