//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine Part 2: Filly Steps // Story: Twilight's Diamond Daughter // by deadpansnarker //------------------------------// Wow, this is nice; since when did my bed have so much… space? And be this fluffy…soft… Diamond Tiara’s first reaction to waking up the next morning at her new address was one of utter contentment, for it felt as if she was snuggling against the clouds themselves (although, she’d never harboured dreams of being a pegasus. All that flying around everywhere seemed like far too much hard work… life as a regal unicorn with the power to do everything by will alone. Now you were talking). Did Daddy buy me a new bed? No, that can’t be the case… he’s trying to save money due to the cutbacks at Barnyard Bargains. Then what on Equestria could have happened? It’s almost like I’ve woken up somewhere els… “Oh, right.” As consciousness finally began returning to Diamond’s blissfully cocooned mind, so the stark truth of her situation hit her like a ton of bricks. She internally cursed herself for briefly forgetting her former home so easily when presented with the merest trifle of more luxury than even she was used to, before beginning her usual set routine of stretching and yawning as far as her hooves and mouth would allow. Funny, I don’t remember trotting upstairs last night. Princess Twilight must’ve taken the liberty of carrying me up here whilst I was napping, either by magic or physically I don’t know. She’s got a bit of cheek to treat me like her filly after only the first day I moved in, but for some reason… I’m not mad. Mummy never did anything like that for me before, least of all tuck me in. It actually makes me feel kinda… happy. Not that I’d ever say that to her face, mind you. She might start getting ideas I want to stay here forever. Smiling at such a ridiculous notion that surely would never come to pass, Diamond was just about to hop out of bed to see about washing her face, when something stopped her from jumping off the high mattress onto the much-further-away-than-it-seemed floor (clearly, this bed had been custom made with Twilight’s elongated height in mind). I feel… different. As if, something is missing. Still slightly dazed by the rigours of the day before and her brain cobwebbed having just woken up, Diamond couldn’t quite figure out what’d changed to make her feel so uneasy all of a sudden, and went to scratch her head in complete bafflement… …And immediately wished she hadn’t. “Princess Twilight! Spike! Servants! Guards! A-Anypony!!” These six words could be heard booming around the castle like a siren, as an incredibly agitated filly had no sooner discovered her irreplaceable missing tiara than dashed out the bedroom as if threatened with a tooth extraction by a particularly sadistic dentist. Spike, still feeling pretty jaded himself from the events of the day before, was given yet another reminder of how different life was going to be from now on. A stampeding pink filly almost bowled him over for the second time in twenty-four hours as he poked his head out of his room to see what all the fuss was about (This time around, he had the presence of thought to take to the sky just before direct impact was made. Handy things to have sometimes, wings). The other staff stationed variously around the castle weren’t quite so lucky. On pure adrenaline alone, Diamond must’ve knocked over at least a quarter of the ponies who’d risen early to take their morning shifts. Scattered sounds of ‘ouch’, ‘ow’ and ‘ah! my leg!!’ were commonplace as the panicking youngster dashed by, seemingly unconcerned or unaware of the chaos left in her wake. This one-filly trail of devastation couldn’t last forever of course, and it was as Diamond began to tire that she finally felt a trademark purple glow around her which gently lifted her up to be snout-to-snout with the current royal landlord of the building… …And predictably, the alicorn in question was not best pleased. As if the bloodshot eyes, disapproving stare and the mile-long frown weren’t enough of a hint. “I’ve just had the most uncomfortable night I can remember in years, to give you a bit of safety and security on your first evening here in my bed… and this is how you repay me?!” Twilight Sparkle threw her half-torn sleeping bag on the floor, as if to emphasise her point. “Not only was this thing impossible to get into, it was even harder to get out of! That’s why it took me so long to stop your reckless rampage around the corridors of my home. Do you have any idea how many of my loyal retainers you’ve incapacitated this morning alone? Why Diamond, why? I thought yesterday at the Castle Of Friendship we were making some real progress, but it’s been downhill ever since…” “Shut up! I don’t care about any of that!! Where’s my tiara?!” Even for her, Diamond’s sudden outburst was deafening, as well as fuelled by a very real sense of anxious urgency. “It was on my head last night when I was listening to you give me that stupid lecture at the table, and now it’s gone. I want to know who took it! I’ll knock down everypony in here if that’s what it takes to find it, including you. Now put me down, so I can find the miserable thief who did this, and…” Cries of disbelief rang out from around the feuding pair, as the assorted servants and guards who were even now picking themselves up reacted in abject shock at their princess being spoken to in such a disgraceful manner. Much tutting and shaking of heads soon followed, and if the new arrival wasn’t unpopular enough already, she’d certainly cemented her position as the most disliked filly since Cozy Glow had flown onto the scene. The only disapproving voice around that wasn’t castigating Diamond was, oddly enough, the main victim of her verbal lashing. Twilight had been listening very carefully to every word that’d come from her charge’s mouth, and with each passing moment her anger had subsided bit by bit. When it came to responding to the pink filly’s steady stream of accusations, Twilight’s voice was much more measured than before, although she still held Diamond up to head level as if to communicate herself more efficiently. “L-Listen, Diamond. I fear I’m the one at fault here. I’m the one who took away your tiara last night without permission, and that was very wrong of me. I did it because I thought you might turn over in your sleep, and hurt yourself on one of the sharp edges. Please forgive me, I was only trying to help.” “I-Is that so?” Upon learning the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of her most prized possession, Diamond’s irascible mood relaxed slightly, although she remained in a strop. “Well, it’s never happened before, but thanks for thinking of my safety I suppose. Why didn’t you leave it by my bedside, though? If you just wanted for me to not hurt myself, you didn’t need to take it away.” “Aha! That was part of the surprise!” Despite everything that’d happened so far that day (it wasn’t even six thirty am yet) Twilight was apparently still determined to win Diamond’s approval at something, and simultaneously lowered Diamond to the ground whilst levitating a familiar barbed piece of head jewellery into her open hooves. “There you go! I thought I’d give it a thorough polish using the stuff that gets my crown looking all nice and shiny for big occasions. It does an even better job on your tiara, if you don’t mind me saying so. Go on, have a peek and see if you agree!” “Huh. I very much doubt it's as good as the exclusive varnish I use at home, and... golly.” A noticeably mollified Diamond turned the very sparkly and extremely glittery tiara around in her hooves, marvelling how stylish it looked from every conceivable angle. “I-I’ve never seen it look as good as this before! I-It’s like brand new! How did you get it so…” “The secret is a polish Applejack recommended. She bought it from a travelling merchant she met on her way back from Appleloosa once, who told her it’ll make her farming equipment ‘gleam like nothing had ever gleamed before, not even the midday sun’. After some bad experiences with other smooth-talking salesponies like Flim and Flam, she was sceptical at first… until she tested it herself and found it was the real deal. It helps to have friends from all backgrounds sometimes, don’t you agree?” “I-I guess so.” Diamond was still almost hypnotised by her pristine headwear, far too busy examining it in great detail to put it back on her head where it was usually ever-present. “If it’s not too much to ask, could I possibly buy some of that stuff off you please? I didn’t bring much money with me here, but once you take me back to Rich Mansion I could…” “Have ten tins of it, no charge. Think of it as an apology gift from me to you for taking your tiara without asking first earlier, and as a promise I’ll never do anything like that again.” Twilight dared to lean over to ruffle the pink filly’s mane affectionately, and for once Diamond didn’t hastily back away. “And if you need more, Applejack’s the one to ask. You’ll see her later, along with the rest of my closest friends. We’re having dinner together, and I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce you…” “Wait, ‘introduce’ me?” Diamond looked up with surprise, having at last completed looking over her newly-augmented tiara. “You do realise I know all your friends already, don’t you? Pinkie Pie organised my cute-cenera, I go in Rarity’s shop all the time with Mummy, Rainbow Dash… er… okay. With one, maybe two exceptions.” “I don’t mean as if you’d be meeting them for the first time, silly. I meant ‘introduce’ you as my temporary ward here at Canterlot Castle! We’ll have lots of delicious food to look forward to as well, so I hope you bring your appetite.” Twilight was most amused then to hear an embarrassed Diamond’s belly rumble as if in response to the merest mention of anything edible. “Speaking of ‘food’, let’s see what kind of a spread the chefs have put on for breakfast. The ones that have survived your little run around the castle, that is. In fact, in return for helping your tiara look its best this morning, do you think you could do me a small favour, Diamond?” “What’s that, Princess Twilight?” “Please apologise to everypony here you’ve upset since arriving in Canterlot. After all, if you’re going to be living here for a while, and they’re going to be looking after you, it’ll help if you start things out the right hoof, don’t you think?” “O-Okay Princess Twilight, I see what you mean. I’ll try.” “Good girl. There may be hope for you yet…” “What was that last thing you said?” “N-Nothing, Diamond. Let’s just make our way to the dining area again, shall we?” At this juncture, Spike had finally plucked up the courage to leave his room after deciding he needed a break from the ongoing mayhem downstairs. He was all ready to be confronted with yet more stubborn immaturity from Diamond, more relentless anguish from Twilight, and one step closer to the pink filly being returned to whence she came in Ponyville. And not a moment too soon, he’d speculated earlier, whilst hiding out behind his door and hearing the ponies around the castle being knocked down like skittles, then maybe something approaching sanity can start returning to this place. What he got instead was a seemingly amicable pairing of Twilight and Diamond walking hoof-in-hoof surrounded by cryptically whispering servants as they made their way slowly towards the dining room together, without any semblance of animosity between them. After staring in amazement for a good few seconds and thinking something along the lines of how does she do it, Spike wasted no more time in darting after them. After all, those tasty Gem Flakes were hardly going to eat themselves.