Diamond Tiara's freedom is soon coming to an end. Within the next two weeks, during the summer sun celebration, she will be married to a stallion who doesn't even love her. The worst thing is that no one seems to care, everypony in this town knows about the situation, everypony chooses not to help her.
Diamond believes that this is karma for being such a rotten filly when she was younger. So she does not blame ponies for ignoring the fact that she's being forced to marry a stranger, and even if they did try to help it wouldn't make a difference. Her parents have enough money to make anypony turn a blind eye.
Running away was her only option, but every attempt so far has failed. If she does manage to escape and successfully run away, she'll use the money she took from her father and buy a cottage in the middle of nowhere and live out the rest of her days in peace.
But for now, she just needs to get through today. "Diamond!" Called Soiled Rich from downstairs. The old mare hasn't aged well, though her good looks weren't there to begin with. Her wrinkles make her look like the hag she always acted, even her marionette lines around her mouth show how miserable she is Yet despite this she hides most of her wrinkles behind several layers of make-up. "Diamond, you up yet?! You remember that today is the day you're going to meet your future husband right?" How could she forget? She says it as if her parents haven't been planning her wedding for years.
The young mare sighed. After getting her mane tidied she came downstairs where she was greeted by her mother and father. While Diamond's mother aged like milk, her father Filthy Rich has aged like fine wine. The only evidence that proves he has been getting older is that his hair is greyer, small wrinkles on his face and the fact he keeps complaining that his back aches every day.
"There she is, our pretty little girl." Filthy says proudly to his daughter. Diamond didn't respond, she just avoided eye contact. "Come now, this is a big day for you. You're gonna meet your fiancé for the first time."
"Great, I'm gonna meet the stallion that will make my life even more miserable than it already is." Diamond spoke.
"Young lady that is not how you should speak about your future husband, I don't understand why you dislike him." Spoiled Rich says with her usual snobbish tone.
"Well, first of all, I'm not even remotely attracted to stallions, second of all I don't dislike him I hate him."
"You're still going on about this lesbian thing? Ugh, I hoped you moved past that phase by now." Spoiled Rich doesn't even try to hide her bigotry. Her daughter meanwhile felt disgusted hearing her mother say such awful things to her.
"Let's not talk about this sensitive topic in our house dearie." Filthy Rich wants to avoid an argument between the two mares.
"Tsk, fine." Diamond also didn't want to argue. She's tired of talking about her sexuality to her parents who don't want to understand her.
Spoiled Rich sighed. "Listen, we're only doing what's best for you. So please don't try and run away again. We don't want rumours flying around about you being a runaway bride during the wedding ceremony."
Diamond didn't waste her breath arguing with her mother even though she wanted to. "Well of you go, he's waiting in our garden with your maid."
"Well, I best protect her then. Honestly, Silver Spoon would never survive without me."
When she made her way outside she saw a unicorn sitting down and sipping some tea, as soon as Diamond appeared his smile grew. He placed the tea down gently and he spoke. "Diamond Tiara, I'm pleased to finally meet you." The first thing that she noticed about this particular pony was that he wore a pristine grey mask with six blue lenses like an insect covering the upper parts of his face. His white fur complements his long and lustrous mane, which is an almost perfect shade of blonde. "Please take a seat."
The young mare maintains her composure and sits down and Silver Spoon pours her some tea. "Are you okay?" Diamond asked with a hushed whisper to her oldest friend.
"I'm quite alright, he's just so polite. And very calm." Says Silver Spoon. Her best friend became her maid so that she could start earning money to go to college one day, however, she has a recent hobby addiction that's both expensive and she finds embarrassing to talk about. Diamond offered her a job and she accepted. Simple as that.
"Sugar?" The masked stallion asked politely.
"I prefer my tea strong, not sweet." Diamond rejected the stallion's offer.
"Hm, how quaint." His smile does not falter. Diamond takes a small sip of her tea. In truth she likes her tea very sweet, she usually has two spoonfuls of sugar in her tea, she just doesn't want to be seen as complacent in this forced marriage.
"I suppose you're the stallion I am forced to marry?"
"No." The stallion says. "Forgive me Ms. Tiara, but my son couldn't quite make it today. So I am here in his stead." He apologises for his son's foolishness with no hint of anger in his voice, just disappointment.
"Then may I at least know the name of who I am to marry?"
"That would be Prince Onyx. I am Prince Blueblood. However, since we will be seeing each other more often now, you may address me as just Blueblood."
"As you wish." Diamond tries her best to remain well-mannered in front of her future father-in-law. "Your name sounds familiar, were you one of Rarity's ex-boyfriends?"
"Rarity huh." Blueblood recognises that name. "How could I forget the mare who humiliated me? And in front of my Aunt no less."
A smile forms on Diamond Tiara. "I remember you know, you're the Stallion who made a fool of himself during the Grand Galloping Gala. And if I remember correctly, you were very rude to Rarity and treated her like she was nothing. Why should I marry your son if he might treat me the same way?"
His smile disappears. "You may leave us maid." Blueblood says with a hint of venom in his voice. "Now." Shaken by the prince's sudden change in demeanour, Silver Spoon bowed and entered back into the house. He then continued his conversation with Diamond Tiara. "You'd be a fool to think I'm the same pony from back then. That brat I used to be is dead, he died when I put on the mask."
"To hide your shame?"
"To hide my injury."
"Huh?"
"I lost half my face during the changeling attack from ten years ago. Did you know they used to have acid for blood before they reformed? I sure didn't. It was the most painful experience I was forced to endure, I almost died if it wasn't for Twilight Sparkle. And when I found out the extent of my scar and the fact it rendered me half-blind. I decided from then on, I will never show any form of weakness or cowardice ever again." After Blueblood's backstory, Diamond is left speechless, but she isn't sorry. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent." The masked prince's smile returns.
"I-It is quite alright Prince Blueblood. But why should I have to marry your son? Why am I forced into this arraignment?" The mare finally asks a big question.
Prince Blueblood rubbed his chin as if he were pondering an answer to the question he already knew. "I shall be honest with you. This has nothing to do with money or power. It's about vengeance." And he doesn't elaborate any further.
"Vengeance?" Diamond seethed. "What does that have to do with me!? My freedom is on the line and you just bat it off like I mean nothing?! You do realise I'm not into stallions right?! So I'm useless to your plans!"
"Far from it. And so what that you're into mares. It changes nothing, you and my son can just share a mistress once you get married."
"Y-You're disgusting."
"And your a spoiled young mare who's learning that karma is a bitch. Yes, I am disgusting. But so is every noble in the Canterlot elite. I'm not special, and neither are you."
"Tsk, just keep me out of this scheme of yours! I will not let my name be sullied by a stallion such as you! You nobles can kill each other off for all I care!"
"My, My. Big words coming from the spoiled brat. Maybe I need a different way to make you comply hmm..." Blueblood begins to think, but it doesn't long for him to come up with an idea. "Perhaps if I kill all the ponies you ever cared about in this town."
Diamond's eyes widen her heart races ever so slightly. "I don't have friends. Y-You're bluffing."
"Really?" Blueblood then began to list Diamond Tiara's friends. "Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Rumble, Twist, Pipsqueak...And Applebloom. Does that sound like a bluff to you?" Blueblood smirked, he had her trapped in a corner now.
"How did you...How did you know their names?"
Blueblood did not answer, instead, he continued his threats. "Let us not forget your mother and father either, yes I know you hate them. But not enough to kill them. I could have them gone within the hour and their blood will be on your hooves. Unless you stop trying to be a runaway bride and comply with my orders."
"I...Y-Y-You won't get away with this."
"My dear. I already have. I'll see you in two weeks." And with that. Prince Blueblood left the premises.
After the meeting with Prince Blueblood, Diamond Tiara decided to go for a stroll around town. But to avoid her running away again her parents appointed Silver Spoon to watch over their daughter. "Such a horrid, insolent stallion! Threaten me does he?! I hope he rots in Tartarus for all I care!" Diamond Tiara muttered to herself.
"Something troubling you?" Silver Spoon politely asked.
"It's that Prince Blueblood!" Diamond says. "He said some terrible things to me in there."
"Oh but he seemed rather nice, but then again you know ponies better than I do."
"Oh, and you know what he said to me?" Diamond was about to tell her best friend that he threatened to take the lives of the ponies she cared about, but she couldn't. If that stallion knows about her friends then he must have eyes and ears everywhere. So she says to Silver Spoon. "He...He said that me and his son could share a mistress if we didn't love each other."
"...I-I'm sorry what?"
"It's true! He said that without a care in the world. Honestly, if I see his face, again I might just...just-"
"Knock his lights out?"
"Exactly," Diamond grunted in annoyance. "Things would be better if I just ran away from home then my life would be so much better than it is now." She sighed and changed her demeanour to a much less angry mood. She just wants a change of pace for now, so Diamond decided to change the subject. "After all that trouble, I'm gonna need to do something fun for once. Come, we'll do some shopping while we're out."
This surprised Silver Spoon, those two haven't been shopping since they were fillies. "Wait you mean it?" Silver Spoon asked. "Does that I'll visit my favourite store?"
"Yes of course." Diamond nodded. "But I still don't understand how you got into rock music in the first place?"
"I-It's complicated. Maybe I'll tell you before the um...you know."
"Don't remind me." Diamond sighed. "Let's get going then." The two started their small shopping trip. They browsed several different stalls and stores before the two came across the record store named 'Vinyl Record.' The store is owned by a retired DJ who used to be very popular, arguably she's still popular even to this day.
When entering the store Silver Spoon was in her element. This is still surprising to Diamond Tiara considering the fact that she never showed interest in rock music when she was a filly. But Ponies change, and Diamond knows this for a fact. Yet Silver Spoon is taking her time browsing the store. A very long time. She's just in her little world of music.
But this could be Diamond's chance to escape, this is a great opportunity that she can't pass. This may be her last chance. So while Silver Spoon was distracted by records and CDs Diamond carefully slipped away from her maid without making a sound. 'Sorry Silver Spoon.' As soon as her friend was out of sight, Diamond Tiara ran.
She ran and ran, swerving out of the way of other ponies in town and doing her best to avoid detection by the guards. Her father practically paid them to keep an eye out for her in case she tried to run away, luckily they're bad at their jobs so it won't be difficult to sneak past them. However, if she gets caught the guards will take her back to her parents. When Diamond is sure she's safe to sneak past the guards, she quickly trots away into alleyways and into crowds to avoid detection.
Eventually, though she manages to get to the top of the at the border of the Everfree Forest. This is the furthest she managed to get to leaving this town behind. She's almost free, all she has to do is run. "Hey!" Someone called to her. Diamond's heart stops for a moment. She turned around and saw Silver Spoon who looked out of breath.
"How? How did you manage to follow me?" Diamond Asked.
After catching her breath Silver Spoon says. "I Know you too well, I knew you might pull something like this so when you weren't by my side I knew you'd either make your way to the train station or near the border of Ponyville."
Diamond takes a step back. "I'm not getting married Silver Spoon. I can't let my mother and father dictate my life choices."
"I know how you feel, but I can't let you throw everything away. I'd still be by your side after you get married, I-I'll still be there for you."
"That's not the point!" Diamond Tiara yells at her best friend. "If I let ponies tell me what to do all the time! If I let ponies control my actions, give me away to some stallion I still haven't met yet then my life is worthless!"
Silver Spoon felt saddened that Diamond would say that. "...Y-You're not worthless to me...never to me." She takes a few steps forward, Diamond takes a few steps back. Then all of a sudden Diamond Tiara tripped on a rock and fell backwards into the Everfree Forest. Silver Spoon tried to rush in to catch her but by then she was rolling deep into the forest. Diamond kept falling until she hit her head on the base of a tree, knocking the young mare out cold.
Later when she woke up, she felt dizzy, her head hurt and she saw a giant white machine staring down at her. Diamond got up and quickly backed herself away from the machine in fear until she realised it wasn't reacting to her movements. It isn't awake so there's no way it can harm her in any way. Diamond inspects it for a moment. This white bipedal machine is not of this world.
Then she heard someone talking. Diamond eavesdrops on the conversation, and that's when she hears a familiar voice. "Are you sure she's okay?" It was Applebloom's voice.
"She's okay, she's just knocked out cold. I put a bandage over her head and made sure there weren't any open wounds. Just a bump on her head, she's okay." A stranger spoke to Applebloom.
Applebloom sighs in relief. "Thank goodness. If you hadn't been there Suletta. Diamond might've been eaten by a manticore, or worse a Timber wolf."
"You worry too much Applebloom. Anyway, I think she's good enough to get back into your town safely, I don't like the idea of keeping her here any longer."
Hearing this Diamond Tiara came out of hiding and said. "I'm not going back to Ponyville even if it kills...me... what?" Seeing Suletta for the first time, she doesn't know what to make of her she doesn't know what the heck she even is. Bipedal, red hair, dark skin and blue eyes. Suletta is completely alien. "Wha...what are you?!" She screams in terror.
"Diamond relax, t-this is Suletta Mercury. She is a human. also, she's my new friend." Applebloom explains calmly to not scare Diamond Tiara any further.
"...Wh-what?!"