Only a few steps now and my body feels heavier than I could've imagined. My joints are stiff and unresponsive. The corners of my mouth, eyes, and face already seem to be scowling with my scorn. My vision is so small and limited since I can only see what is in front of me. And my thoughts are quiet for the first time, with not even the voice of a second soul speaking to itself like it so often did before.
For the first time in a long time, I felt it again. That overwhelming pit inside of one's stomach. That cold sensation that seemed to go against all logic, no matter how warm the outside world seemed to be. And that pang of hurt that ran out across my chest with each heartbeat.
Loneliness. It was just me now. Just me...
Rest, Mary. You've done so much for me already. You don't need to keep casting your soul out to sea for me, like you have all this time. Do not weep, my beautifully kind girl. You did not go unheard.
I know you. I know that despite all the many times you said you were doing this for my sake, a part of you seemed to ache when you thought of having to abandon your friends and family again. I know, more than anyone, that you wanted this too. To be by their side. Every time you shared laughs and connected with them, or just found comfort in their presence, I know that a part of you realized that you wanted it for yourself too. Even if you kept denying it, saying that it was for my sake.
And every time you spoke of wanting to see me redeemed, or thought how much you wanted to see me happy... Slowly, I realized what that meant. Now, it is you who I wish to see one day be happy again. My most heartfelt wish.
So sleep my dear. And recover however long you need to. You've more than earned this rest. It serves that you will not be awake to witness what I will do next, for I doubt it is what you would've wanted for me to do in your name. I know that if you were here, you would tell me to lay down my hatred. You would plead for me to quell my anger. You would wish for me to become truly magnanimous of heart. But I cannot do that. I cannot change what I am, who I am. I can't forgive those who have upended your life. Who have spat on your good name and broke your heart.
All your friends now sit in the amphitheater-like seats of Equestria's most important royal court rulings at the Senate. Their silhouettes are shadowed by the marble pillars lining the risen podium of their seats high above where your own sits in the center, disguising their connection to you. Their faces are riddled with disgust. Laden with sadness. And hurt from their inner depths. We are bound by chains to the ground, keeping us from escape.
You have been betrayed by more than those who wished to see you fall. You were betrayed by those you loved and trusted. By the ponies you cared for deeply and thought that they would never do such a thing. You hoped, believed, and wished against all hope that somehow your actions had gotten through to them. But one by one, they turned their backs on you, denying you your years of redemption.
Even before the court had gone into session, their jeers had not stopped. And it only took one accusation to snowball into another. We both know that once a pony or a person is stricken with that awful image, it's nearly impossible to get them out of it. It had taken years of effort on your part. And now, it was all crumbling down. With the court nearing session now, the ponies you cared for most turned away from you, not even wishing to witness you fall.
It wasn't the injustice in their actions that hurt you. It wasn't the fact that none of them could prove that you were truly guilty of any of the accusations against you that tore you up inside. What really hurt... was to see that they somehow believed you were at fault, and it pained them to think you had betrayed their trust yet again. You're quite kind and truly noble of heart in that way, Mary. You could've continued on if it had only amounted to just that. You're strong, after all. Stronger than the gods. Stronger than me. But even the strongest of hearts can break.
When your eyes darted across all of your friends and you saw as each one almost quite literally turned their backs on you, you frantically looked for even just one amongst them who would not. Your desperation grew with each and every single one of them. Despite all of the pain in your chest, you were still holding on to the one hope you had held onto since you had arrived to Equestria.
Even at that time, you were still trying to save me.
Then your eyes fell on the last three ponies you could still call friend. The three ponies you had unbridled hope in. The three who had allowed you this path since the very beginning, and who had been a constant reassuring presence in the last ten years. The first hint of hope you had found that seemed to point at the idea that saving me was a possibility. That your time in Equestria had not been in vain. That your efforts would give me the life you felt I deserved.
So when they too turned their backs on you... you lost all hope. Your heart shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.
And I...? I will never forget the moment I tried to catch each of those pieces as they rained down, down into the abyss of our mind. I will never live down that memory, as they passed through my hooves, my forelegs, my body like ethereal shards of shimmering glass.
I will forever live in fear of that image. I will see it in my deepest nightmares for many moons to come and until I expire. And all over again, I will feel that indescribable sadness at not being able to help you. I will burn with a fire of anger so intense, it will consume my thoughts until it becomes physically hard to breathe. And I will curse the heavens until the end of time.
They say magic is so often born from emotion and willpower. They say that the legendary curses and artifacts of old were created due to ponies of magic in ancient, warring times having had no choice but to breed their sorrows and hatred into them. The greatest magics in Equestria have almost all been born from those extremes. The ponies may have forgotten them in their complicity of peaceful times, but those forces of evil have not gone away nor will they ever.
And now, a new curse has been born into the world once more. My vengeance will live eternal, even if it spans generations. The hunt has begun.
True to her word, Silver Spoon personally saw to destroy everything Mary cared about. When she finally began to demand more cruelty and villainess-like behavior from Mary, it was too late. Obviously, Mary refused. And much to Silver Spoon's surprise, her Alicorn Amulet was having no effect on Mary at all.
It must have been a real shock that power comparable to the Princess Alicorns could do nothing to Tiara herself. She tried throwing everything in the book at Mary. Mind manipulation spells, telekinetic type spells to control her body forcibly, even attack magic like fireballs and lethal laser beams after she had become truly fed up with Mary. Nothing worked against her. And Mary well... she never fought back. She was wrought with guilt at having turned Silver Spoon into a villain. Every single time, in every single encounter, she tried to talk her down from that stage. But it was all futile.
Silver Spoon became increasingly more unhinged as time went on. Eventually, she stopped taking the direct approach at trying to manipulate Mary with magic. Our training had born fruit, and she alone could not overpower us. I only wish Mary could've heard my words, my warnings. If there was anyone who understood the mind of a villainess, it was me. Mary should've known to be more careful after Silver Spoon stopped directly involving herself in our lives after we had grown older. Silver Spoon had hidden from the public eye to begin work on a plan that sprawled across many years.
Carefully calculated, executed, and covered up, what Silver Spoon decided to do next was a mass-mental sabotage the likes Equestria has never seen before on such a wide scale, putting Starlight's attempts to indoctrinate an entire town to shame. It had reached so far as to permeate into neighboring countries and cities, causing all sorts of civil unrest due to the real prospect of war brewing on the horizon. Likely with the aid of the villains, she had disturbed entire Equestrian cities to the point of causing riots. There was an increasing anti-princess sentiment sweeping the nation. Her revenge had come slowly and patiently, but Silver Spoon had managed to do the impossible. Her roots extended everywhere, even onto the Princess Alicorns like the royal sisters and to Twilight herself.
Although Twilight initially resisted, much like the rest of Equestria's normal ponies, she too seemed to succumb to the voices and headache in her head that were slowly pushing her thoughts one way.
This was the dastardly part of this plan of hers. This magic was truly evil. Above the loud mouth villains who openly enjoy cruelty, this magic was the kind that stirred at the very self. It did not outright manipulate a person, no. Otherwise, it would have tipped off Twilight long ago about something being wrong with everyone's sentiments growing darker by the day. Twilight had seen that same effect happen several times before, once with her protégé and again with Starlight. But it becomes infinitely harder to recognize the changes if they are so gradual and long-lived, you begin to believe that the voice in your head speaking to you in your own tone is actually your own.
Twilight and the rest were still holding onto a semblance of their old selves. You can't change someone's true feelings, after all. But the damage had accumulated enough in their minds that they were now convinced of a false truth. Just as what the voice in their head was saying, they were now in full belief of it. Tiara had been the culprit of this large scale sabotage, and had been the reason to a lot of the incidents and unrest across Equestria as of late.
Mary trained us to the point that we could protect ourselves from Silver Spoon's plan. But she hadn't accounted for protecting every other citizen in Equestria too. Before she had the chance to realize it, she had been apprehended, jailed, and taken to Canterlot's senate court to await Princess Twilight's judgement. The villains had not shown their face in Equestria for a long time, so this trial against Tiara was the single-most important event to date since Sombra's defeat at the newly discovered Crystal Kingdom so many years ago. We were now facing the capital charges of domestic terrorism. A title that had not been uttered in present-day Equestria in a century. A very dark omen indeed.
We were taken to the court in chains, walking through a few public streets to reach the castle. The winds were unusually bitter, the sky strangely dark. Mary was slowly starting to understand what had happened too, and was piecing together all of this information. Although before she had the chance to understand that this had been a long-term manipulative curse that Silver Spoon had created, she recoiled at the horror that was walking through what would've usually have been a brightly colorful Canterlot street. Many ponies had gathered for this event. None of them happy, quite the opposite.
It's one thing to be hated on in secret, with whispers to nettle at you from afar. It's another to be openly scorned and hated so harshly. And above the large crowds way up in the dark clouds that seemed to loom over all of Canterlot, there both Mary and I could see the chilling silhouettes of the Windigos.
Watching. Waiting.
I hadn't accounted for how heavy I would be. It's strange how important "mind over matter" is, since Mary had, had no issues in managing our limbs before. At first, she had, but because she couldn't wrap her head around how strange a pony's physiology and motor functions were compared to that of a human. But now, it was me who was finding it difficult to control my own body, and I had no excuse of it since this was my own body I was retaking. Understandably, it was far different than when I was a child. It was much older, heavier, and more powerful than when I last used it. Yet, perhaps because I wasn't accustomed to putting even an ounce of effort in my incorporeal form within my own mind, I was finding it strangely difficult to summon the strength to use it properly now.
But I needed to. From here onwards, I was Equestria's most prominent villainess. And if I am to redeem us, I must show the world what that truly means. Every word I speak from now on is significant. A single one out of line could doom my reputation further, and perhaps even forever. Every action I take, doubly so. It will not be genuine, no. As everything I do from here on will be filled with ulterior motives. But I will become the picture of grace and perfection. I will become a villainess so grand, that title will change to mean something else entirely.
I will blur the lines between 'villainess', and 'saintess'. Just as Mary had always wanted. Because if I am to be anyone's villainess, I will be hers alone. And I need to make sure that means something. Something she'll be proud of.
"The Royal Court is now in session." The Proceeder voiced across the court in order to quiet the rabble. He would have begun with the rest of the introduction had it not been for a raised hoof from Twilight that quieted him. She turned to me with a look of intensity, and spoke her next words.
"Diamond Tiara, you stand accused of high treason against Equestria. How do you plead?"
"I am innocent, your highness."
A crowd of Equestrian noble ponies and dignitaries from a few of Equestria's neighbors began to voice their objections. They erupted into a frenzy of nay-saying, stomping on the wooden floorboard of their podiums. Another raised hoof from the Princess towards them slowly but surely settled them down after a while.
"Why must you make this harder than it needs to be, Tiara?" Twilight placed down her long list of accusations against me. A decade's worth of 'quiet suffering' from the nameless citizens of Ponyville, and even a few outside of that. "We gave you so many chances. We opened our homes and our hearts to you, yet, you persisted down a terrible path. I personally brought you under my wing thinking that you had changed. But I don't know if that is the truth of it anymore."
I seethe with rage from within, but I must temper and still my tongue here. I cannot devalue my worth more than it has already fallen. "I will not confess to crimes I did not commit, Princess Twilight."
"You've said that already. But there's a slew of accusations against you. Years of concrete evidence and multiple testimonies directly from the mouths of eyewitnesses and some of my most trusted friends. And even I saw your kidnapping of Flurry Heart first-hoof. There are only certain things I can't forgive, Tiara. And hurting my family is one of them."
Her deadly serious tone was showing how much the Princess had grown into her own. If it was in her youth, she would've hesitated on these words. But now, Twilight was becoming a true monarch. She had shifted from the values of friendship and harmony to that of the careful balances in politics. And I was no longer a filly. A simple scolding and a slap on the wrist could not undo the allegations against me. Others in her kingdom would not take that lying down and would begin to put her rule into question.
Even if it was for the good of the Kingdom and in the face of this long-term indoctrination, Twilight was still hesitating on her judgment. A good heart struggles the most in life, it seems.
"I understand your frustration, Princess. Your hope was that I could admit to my faults so that you could lessen my sentence with the pretense that I am still worthy of being reformed, at least to appeal to public perception..."
"Then why won't yo-"
"However, in the same way you must do what you have to, to protect the Kingdom and her citizens, so to must I do what I need to in order to protect what is important to me." Her expression dropped from one full of hope to one of stormy disapproval. The crowd behind them could sense the tension in the court beginning to rise. "I'm sorry, but I WILL not admit to it."
"Then I'm sorry too, Tiara.... The laws of Equestria are straightforward in this regard. You are to serve a long sentence in Tartarus considering the severity of many of these allegations. Among the long list of petty crimes and instances of cruelty are the capital offenses. They include and are not limited to: Aiding Equestria's enemies and threatening her safety. Research and involvement in dark forbidden magics and rituals. Large scale sabotage of vital Equestrian infrastructure in multiple cities. Conspiracy to imbalance our neutral and allied neighbors into war. Conspiracy to usurp power from the throne by inciting a coup. And... conspiracy to kidnap a member of the crown." Twilight sighed a deeply sorry sigh. "Or so it would've been, Tiara. But there is still a voice of protest in your defense from many ponies. Including..."
"TIA!!!" Shining Armor could hold her no longer and the young filly burst into the court room, darting into my mane to hug me. The crowd began to whisper aggressively to themselves.
Ah, if only Mary was here to see this now. Her efforts had not been in vain, it seems. There was still one pony out there who seemed to still care for her. Flurry Heart has taken even me by surprise, to be honest. Since Mary had studied a lot alongside Princess Twilight these many years, it was only natural that she would've grown closer to Flurry whenever she'd visit. The older she grew, the more Mary found herself foal-sitting for Princess Cadence during their visits, and the two became almost inseparable at a point.
What had surprised me about Flurry was that she didn't seem to be effected in the same way as the others did. Even children were susceptible to the Alicorn Amulet's magic, yet, Flurry hadn't. It was possible that Flurry had escaped the effects of the amulet due to the same way Mary and I had, but it didn't seem that way to me. She had yet to grow into her powers, and stood to reason she was still vulnerable.
And yet... here she was, crying into my chest and hugging me for dear life.
"Get away from her this instant, Flurry!" Twilight demanded. While Twilight had finally grown into a commanding presence, unfortunately for her, there were still those she could not impression against. Her niece being among the few.
"No! Stop being mean to Tia!" She yelled right back with equal gusto.
"I'm not- This isn't-" Twilight sighed with exasperation and turned to look at me expectantly as if wanting me to straighten her out, an ounce of familiarity in her eyes.
"Well, well! Flurry can certainly talk back when she wants to, can't she? She'll make for a fine Princess someday." I did as Mary had always done and brushed her mane with one gentle hoof. Even when dealing with small children like this, she had taught me a lot. And Flurry had obviously meant a lot to Mary, so it irked me to see her so inconsolable. "It'll be okay, Flurry. I'll be okay." I whispered into her ear softly.
Still buried into my chest, that small filly shook her head vehemently. "That's not true! They plan to send you away! They can't do that!"
Princess Twilight let out a huff of defeat and sunk into her throne, putting a hoof to her temple. "Well, there you have it. That's the final verdict ultimately." The crowd within the court began to yell out their disdain at this decision, causing chaos within the court.
"Silence!" Twilight slammed her hoof down, creating a large boom that quieted the room forcibly. A simple commandeering trick she had learned from her protégé's mother which worked to great effect. "We are Equestrians! To our neighbors and allies, understand that goodness is what we value, and this what we are willing to do to uphold those standards. There is not enough evidence that ties Tiara to some of these events, which questions the validity of some of these accusations. In accordance to our laws and our morals, I do not wish to imprison Tiara if I can help it, as I feel my fellow ponies will agree. Imprisonment has never helped matters in the past, nor will they help to rehabilitate her either. In respects to the voice of protest in Tiara's favor, not only from my own niece but from many ponies in Ponyville and several across Equestria, the royal Princesses, my advising nobles, friends, and I have come to the conclusion that Tiara's sentence will be altered. From here hence forth, she is to be exiled from Equestria and placed under strict supervision at a monastery in the Frozen North lands. Where she will devote herself to becoming a better pony if she truly wishes to repent and return to our lands."
The Court was silent at this decision, save for Flurry who was yelling and kicking up a storm against Shining Armor trying to upturn it before being led away entirely. The mood had darkened considerably in the court room. The clouds outside that could be seen were becoming darker. Then, two voices rang out in the court.
"That's not enough!" Voiced a pair of ponies in unison.
Everyone turned to look at the two that had said it, as they made a show of disembarking the podium and walking up to Princess Twilight's throne to appeal directly to her about this decision.
I turned away to look at the ground. I didn't need to see them to know who it was, nor did I feel the need to grace them with even an ounce of my care. If they wanted me gone, so be it.
"Mr and Mrs Rich. What do you wish to address to the court that has not already been said?" Princess Twilight entertained them. Her gaze was ignoring them, and focusing on me from what I could feel.
"Our reputation has been destroyed by this little cretin! We, more than any pony else, tried to correct Diamond Tiara. And yet, for all our efforts, our businesses were tarnished thanks to her." Filthy Rich sneered. This was a lie. It was a rare occurrence if I'd get even an acknowledgement, let alone a stern warning about my actions from my parents.
"This punishment you propose is too lenient. Our shareholders need something more concrete so that they can feel safe knowing she will not be a liability in the future. Princess Twilight, you must take action!" Spoiled Rich demanded. At least now they were finally saying out loud where their priorities lay.
"But Mrs. Rich, she's your daughter..." Twilight tried to meekly argue, not understanding how a mother could be this way.
"Have you ever tried being a mother to a monster?!" Spoiled rebuked her.
Twilight dropped her head, seemingly shaken up by this statement. "Yes. They're not monsters..." She voiced so quietly that only those on the court floor could catch.
Domestic issues were usually handled at a separate, more private hearing. But there would hardly come a time where they could do this after I was truly well and banished. It was now or never. The Court had no choice but to be witness to this truly ugly scene. The Princess herself was deadly quiet. When I finally lifted my head to see her, her gaze had not broken from looking at me. There was a horrible mix of emotions on her face. It almost looked like Silver Spoon's spell was breaking.
But I can't have her break it just yet. This is not a part of my plan for vengeance. I'm sorry Twilight. I need you to play your role for a while longer.
"If I may, your Highness?"
Princess Twilight shook her head, taken out of that near-break. "You may, Tiara."
"I cannot understate how sorry I am that these accusations against me have hurt my family in this way." My parents sneered at these words. "This is not an admittance of guilt. But for them, I am willing to do anything to help them regain their lives. There is a simple solution that will help my parents once and for all. So that I will never again be a burden to them."
"What are you saying, Tiara?" The Princess sounded unsure of where I was headed with this, and worried. Well, I doubt any pony there could have foreseen my plan either. But it was something I needed to do, above all else. To honor a soul.
"I should be disowned."
The Court exploded with complicated conversation. This had been unheard of for so long in Equestria. Things this deep in nature had only ever happened to other races like the dragons, and even then, very very uncommonly. Disownment was a really serious issue, and this had truly lit up the court in a way none of them could have dared to foresee.
"Hmm, yes, that does sound like a great idea. Then we can completely separate ourselves from having anything to do with Diamond Tiara and bring peace of mind to our investors." Spoiled Rich mused to herself.
"Mrs. Rich, do you even know what you're saying?!" Twilight had almost kicked into hysterics and stopped herself in time, composing her regality. "I understand the sentiment, Tiara. You want to protect what they have. But there has to be another way."
"No. I don't believe there is. I want to help my family here and now. The longer we wait, the more damage my name will do to my parent's lives. I cannot risk that. For their sake, I will take on this burden."
"Then..." The Princesses hesitated to bring up her hoof to signal the adjudication, looking pleadingly at Filthy and Spoiled Rich. But seeing them both nod, along with me sincerely asking for it, she had no other choice. The decision was made.
"As part of my disownment, Princess Twilight, I now appeal to you to change my name. We both know that names carry with them power in this world. So long as I hold onto the name 'Diamond Tiara', my parents will continue to be haunted by my existence. Therefor, I formally request this change by your power."
The Princess bit her lip, now being powerless to deny me anything of the sort. In Equestria, names are sacred. To want to change your name is the same as wanting to change one's cutie mark. It was a massively important decision, the likes of which rarely anyone ever did. Twilight had seen a share of ponies who had done so, and had seen their troubled history. But ultimately, she knew she could not deny me this.
"Then what do you propose, Tiara?" Twilight said at last.
I didn't have to give it another thought. I had long since wanted this, even before I came to this stage on this day. If there was ever a name that could tie me to someone... to a family I truly wanted to be a part of... well, that was obvious.
"Thank you, Princess. My name shall be... Evergold Tiara."
My parents laughed at my decision. "Evergold? Call it whatever you want, but gold is a lot less valuable than diamonds." Or was it? In Mary's world, diamonds were a dime a dozen. Artificially inflated by greedy, avaricious corporations. Gold on the other hand, was a lot more expensive by the gram. Its uses had far wider reaching applications, and it was the raw currency of many nations. So then, what is value? Of course, as both you and I know, I did not name myself Evergold simply for the sake of taking on gold's worth.
I named myself Evergold to take on the worth something far, far more valuable. Something that you cannot price. Something I'm willing to bet all of my heart and my life on.
And my Cutie Mark seemed to think the same too. That Court session, for all its importance, had turned out to be a real doozy of an experience for all the onlookers. It had drama, it had tension, it had surprises a-plenty! Because what happened next, well, it REALLY took everyone by surprise.
My Cutie Mark changed. Transformed. Grew. The very moment I changed my name, I began to glow in a bright white light, the likes of which can be seen on any blank flank obtaining their new marks. If you've never felt it before, that effect can leave you quite disoriented. But I could not show an ounce of weakness. I powered through that light. And I came out of it standing as regal and graceful as I could, my head held high.
I didn't need to see my Cutie Mark to know what it had transformed into. If a Cutie Mark is a representation of your destiny and calling in life, then mine had obviously transformed due to my shift in values and heart. That was made apparent the moment I changed my name. It had become a golden tiara, with roses to adorn where a bramble heart now rested below it. In terms of what it meant... well, I could hazard a guess.
It was truly a magnificent sight, and I couldn't help the smile that arose within me as I looked upon it. Mary was now a part of me, truly. Even the Equestrian gods had recognized that. Now, it was a matter of making the rest of Equestria do so too.
The villains' plans had failed. Their years of backstabbing, careful planning, and trickery for naught. Maybe I was being looked upon as a villainess by the citizens for now. But I will never be a true one. Mary's heart broke in a moment of weakness since she believed she failed in her ultimate task of saving me, despite all her efforts. But here today she proved that she truly had changed the future, despite all my doubts. Not everyone agreed that I was a villainess. There was at least one little filly who didn't believe that.
But even if that hadn't been the case, the horrible villainess Diamond Tiara would never have been born to begin with. She will never roam this world again. If what Mary said was true and I only needed one soul to save me from that fate, then I had long since obtained it.
My journey is long from over. I must gather more power. The kind that none can go against. For that, I need to work on my strength further. I must collect artifacts of unparalleled, godly strength. Armor that will protect me even from the most divine cataclysms. And a sword that can cut through the heavens themselves.
I will make those who have wronged me and mine rue the day they set free this Curse of Vengeance upon the world.