Diamond Tiara stood upon a hill in the Ponyville graveyard. She shivered in the chill night air as the belltower start to chime the hour. With the sound of the second bell, the snow around her swirled up into the air, as if lifted by a mighty gust of wind. A howling that sounded like what would come from the throat of the worst beast in Tartarus assaulted her ears.
Looking in the direction of the sound, eyes wide, Diamond Tiara stood frozen as an immense serpentine column of black smoke slithered up the hill. Its horned head was locked upon her, never wavering, even as it shifted from side to side. She wanted desperately to turn and run, but there was something about the serpent's green glowing eyes that held her in place, that made her too heavy with dread to be able to move.
As it drew closer, she could make out more of the face and she could swear that it bore an evil grin and that, had it forelegs, it would have been rubbing them in eager anticipation. Upon reaching the top, it circled Diamond Tiara once, and then again, more slowly. Inspection completed, smoke still coiled around the filly, it swayed before Diamond Tiara.
Never in all of her life had Diamond Tiara been so scared. She had thought she had known as much fear as was possible when Silver Spoon had come out of the painting and again when she had faced down Nightmare Moon, but she knew now that this was not so. Both of those events at once might have added up to the terror she felt now; her heart thumped inside her chest so hard she feared it might explode. It took a few minutes before she realized that nothing was happening, that the unicorn serpent smoke thing was just swaying there, waiting.
"Are... are you the third spirit?" she finally dared to ask.
The head bobbed and hissed, "Yes."
"You won't hurt me?" Diamond Tiara asked. From the spirit, there was no answer, no promise of safety. It just swayed, savoring her fear.
It took another minute before Diamond Tiara could gather her courage enough to speak again. "I don't think you will, not physically anyway. I know you're here to help me, to show me things I need to see. I've seen the past. I've seen the present. I want to change. Show me then, spirit, what I must see."
Another nod and a wicked grin, and the serpent began once again to circle around Diamond Tiara. Slow at first, but each loop faster than the one before. Soon, it was a blur and Tiara could feel her mane and tail rise into the air. She screamed as the wind swept her up and she was spun around the vortex. The screams did not stop until she found herself stumbling dizzily upon the same hilltop.
It was daytime, though the sun was hidden behind thick clouds. Rain poured down and there was no snow on the ground, neither here on the hilltop or down below. She had visited the past, she had seen the present. This then must be the future, she reckoned. She looked at the spirit and gestured for it to lead on.
And lead on it did. The spirit rushed down the hill at a rapid pace, forcing Diamond Tiara to run to keep pace. Whereas before it had been more of a serpentine column of smoke, this time the spirit was a billowing cloud, a broad front sweeping across the landscape. Around her, what little wildlife was active on this rainy night went silent, as if they could sense this unwelcome visitor, invisible to normal sense though it was, such was its aura of dread.
The cloud slowed and began to collapse, ultimately leaving an armored grey unicorn stallion, with black mane and tail, standing beside Diamond Tiara. "No friends," the spirit rasped. He raised a forehoof and pointed ahead, where a preacher rushed through his duties to a crowd of one, a solitary bored pony holding a shovel.
"Is this what I am to see? A pony so disliked that nopony showed up for her funeral? One for whom the weather team did not even leave a patch of sky cloud free? If I continue on my path, that my fate could be like this poor soul?"
From the spirit, there was no answer. He stood still, watching Diamond Tiara, devouring her every gesture, her every facial expression with his eyes.
"Gah!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed, tired of the spirit's lack of communication. "I'll tell you what I believe. No pony could be so alone. Somepony must regret her passing. Show me that pony, spirit."
In response, the unicorn's body fell away into the shadowy cloud, attached to his head. The snakelike being began to circle around Diamond Tiara, making her stomach clench in dread.
"Surely there must be a better way to travel?" Diamond Tiara pleaded.
The spirit nodded affirmatively, but he did not cease his encirclement. And then he laughed. The malice in the laugh resonated through Diamond Tiara, seemingly without end, from all sides as the spirit continued to circle. She wished she could find a place to hide from it, to curl into the smallest ball possible within that hidden place, but she was stuck within the cyclone. Again, she screamed in fright as she was lifted off her feet and spun around with reckless abandon.
The turbulent ride ended when Diamond Tiara was flung against a wall with a bone jarring thump. Rubbing her shoulder, she glared at the spirit, unicorn once again, for a couple of seconds, before taking in her surroundings. She recognized the room from previous visits here with her father. It was the Apple's kitchen. Things were not quite as they had been though. Whereas before everything had been neat and tidy, now it was unkempt. Some unwashed pots, dishes, and cutlery sat next to the sink, the countertop was grimy, and a box of moldy apples sat on the floor.
The scraping of a chair across the floor pulled Diamond Tiara's attention to the living room table as Applejack stumbled toward a cupboard, bottle in mouth. Her hat lay on the table. Like the kitchen, it was considerably worse condition than Diamond Tiara was used to seeing it. In that, it mirrored its owner. Applejack's tail and mane were matted and knotted, while her eyes were bloodshot. Diamond Tiara watched as Applejack stumbled back to the table with a fresh bottle of alcohol.
"The deceased must really have been a good friend of Applejack's, for her to be so torn up, unable to even bring herself to go to the funeral. Was it Twilight Sparkle? Her brother? Or... Apple Bloom?" Diamond Tiara asked. "But surely if it was one of them, more people would have shown up. Her cooky old granny then?"
The spirit just threw back his head and laughed.
The door opened as Applejack busied herself opening the bottle. Big Macintosh entered as she spit the cork out and poured herself a glass, only to shove the glass away and drink directly from the bottle. At the sight, Big Macintosh shook his head and made a half-hearted attempt to grab the bottle. Applejack would have none of it and roughly shoved his foreleg away.
"Sis, you've got to stop this drinking," Big Mac pleaded. "Apple Bloom is worried sick about you and it is affecting her school work. And me, I need you. I can't run this farm by my lonesome." Seeing his words fall on deaf ears, he tried again. "Where is my sister who was so strong when our parents... who wouldn't let me quit?"
"Leave me alone," she slurred and took another swig from the bottle. "You take care of it. Your turn to be the strong one."
Diamond Tiara had never seen Big Macintosh angry before. The stallion was usually calm, stoic, and careful with his great strength. Not this time though. The table cracked as he slammed his forehooves down upon it. "Damnit. You need to quit obsessing over this. It was a year ago. There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. Everyone knows that. Let it--"
The bottle went spinning past his head, shattering upon contact with the wall, as Applejack slammed her own forehooves onto the table. If an angry Big Mac was a sight, it was one that paled in comparison to an angry, drunken Applejack. That sight would have sent the orniest dragon fleeing the area, nay, the country, for his life, without so much as a thought for his horde.
"Nothing?" she roared. "How do you know that? Were you there? Were you me?" With each question, she slammed her hoof into his chest. "Don't you get it? Do you want the truth? 'Cause here it is: Ah could have saved her, Mac! Ah could have. But Ah hesitated, for just a second. Had it been one of my friends, Ah'd saved them for sure. Had it been a complete stranger, Ah'd a done saved them."
Applejack sighed and sat back down, picking up the glass she had poured earlier and downing it in a single gulp. She continued, softly, "But it weren't no stranger.. It was her. And so it took me just a split second to decide if'n Ah wanted to save her. Too late. Ah let her die, Mac. It was my fault."
Big Mac moved over to his sister, his anger gone. She threw her hooves around him, resting her neck on his shoulders, and sobbed, all the while repeating "My fault, my fault."
Aghast at seeing the unflappable Applejack reduce to this, Diamond Tiara turned to the spirit. "Spirit, let us depart this place. This is not what I asked for. You warp my words. This is not what I meant by regret. I meant somepony who missed her, someone who cared. Surely there is somepony who misses her?"
"Oh yes," the unicorn hissed, his body already dissolving into smoke and beginning to circle. Diamond Tiara swore to herself that she would not scream this time, but when the moment came and her feet left the earth, her screams joined the screeching of the wind and the mocking laughter of the spirit.
Diamond Tiara shook off the dizziness and attempted to get to her feet, only to slam her head against a wooden surface. Grumbling, she clambered out from under a desk. She found she could see, but not too well. The lamp sitting on the desk was small and on its lowest setting. The desk itself was the type of thing she expected to find in the offices of her father's stores, cheap business furniture. A quick glance around the rest of the room confirmed her suspicion that this was an office in the back of a store, though it was missing the office chair that usually went with such a room. The landscape outside the office's sole exterior window though wasn't Ponyville, but rather the skyline of Canterlot, lights shining against the night's dark.
"What is it I am to see here, spirit? I see no pony," Diamond Tiara said.
Her companion placed his hoof upon a paper that lay upon the center of the desk. Taking this to mean she was to read it, Diamond Tiara moved closer, so that she could make out the letters in pale light. The writing was sloppy, somehow betraying a world weariness on behalf of its author, and a few words were scribbled out. Squinting, she began to read.
To whomever:
Some will say that I have taken the coward's way out. I would not disagree.
In my life, I have had four loves. It took the loss of three of them to show me the fourth did not matter. And so I have nothing left to love, nothing left to live for.
The first, I still remember the first day I saw her, hair blowing in the wind. I knew then and there that she was the mare for me. We were so happy, life was so full of potential and then she was taken from me by tragic happenstance.
Before she died though, she had given me a most precious gift. I should have smothered that gift in all the love I could give, but to look upon her reminded me of my loss. And so I focused on my work, telling myself that I was doing it all to create a legacy for my child. But the truth was that I was coward.
It was through work that I met the last love of my life. But where I hid from my foal behind my work, I hid from this last love behind my foal. Again, the coward. I hid from life, thinking that would keep me safe.
And then that day, I lost both, in
The sentence stopped there, as if the author could not bear to describe that day. Or perhaps he tried to find the words, but ultimately come up empty. One last line was written near the bottom of the page.
They say nopony should outlive their foal. I agree.
There was no signature.
Diamond Tiara turned to the spirit, who was eying her intently. "Tell me, spirit, where is the poor soul who wrote this note?" she asked.
Green waves emanated from the spirit's eyes and his horn glowed. Through the window in the door, she could make out the storeroom, thanks to a sickly green glow. Diamond Tiara scooted back against the wall at the sight of the outline of a pony, gently swinging.
The glow faded and the spirit cackled. Anger surged through Diamond Tiara. This spirit did mock her, did play with her, and it would not be tolerated. She rushed at him and swung, but he easily avoided her blow and shoved her to the ground, pinning her. And all the while, the spirit cackled, enjoying her misery.
Diamond Tiara struggled to get free, but could make no headway against the spirit who held her. At last, she gave up the struggle. "Again you have twisted what I asked for for your own wicked amusement. But I refuse to believe that nopony was touched in a good way by the pony at the burial. Everypony makes someone happy. Show me someone she made happy."
From the glee in the spirit's eyes, Diamond Tiara knew that this too would not turn out how she hoped. She called out for the spirit to stop, that she had changed her mind, but it was too late. The spirit was in motion and had no desire to stop. Diamond Tiara cried out as once again she was picked up within the cyclone, this time passing out.
She regained consciousness to find herself laying upon a bullseye painted on a wooden floor. She knew this place, she realized, as she sat up. And indeed, she did, for it had briefly been the treehouse of the Sugar Lump Gang, before it had reverted to its previous ownership of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And those three fillies were here, looking as happy as they had been at the party.
Diamond Tiara turned smugly to the spirit, hope restored. "Hah," she said. "This is what I'm talking about. Nothing gets these three down for long." She paused for a bit. "That always used to infuriate me so much, but now, how I wish I could join them, to always look forward to what the next day might bring. For all their lack of common sense and folly, there is not a regretful bone within them. So what did she do? Did she help them on their never ending crusade? Or maybe she helped Scootaloo's parent with their problem?"
Seeing the spirit smirk, Diamond Tiara knew she was on the right track. "That's it, isn't it? Did she give Scootaloo's parents a job? Or did she offer Scootaloo a place to stay?"
"Yes," the spirit answered, the smirk growing to a smile.
"Which is it?" Diamond Tiara answered, only to grow frustrated as the spirit quietly chuckled. Pouting, she settled in to listen. The spirit had brought her here to see someone made happy. No doubt the answer of how would be forthcoming. She turned her attention to the three fillies.
"You excited, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.
Scootaloo nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah. The new house is so awesome. You should see my room, it is big. Bigger than big. Ginormous."
"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yup. You guys will have to come over and see it. My parents say I can repaint it any color I like. It is going to be so awesome."
"Cutie Mark Crusader Sleepover and Painting Party!" Apple Bloom said.
"My brothers each get their own room as well. And with my mom and dad's new job as the house's caretakers, they'll be able to buy me that new scooter I've been wanting."
"Your big brother must be loving that," Apple Bloom said. "After sharing one bedroom with the twins for so long."
"Yeah, he's super excited, almost as excited as me," Scootaloo said. "Oh, and you should see the stairs. It has an awesome railing that is so much fun to slide down."
"Stairs," the spirit chuckled, amused by the word for some reason that Diamond Tiara could not fathom. "Stairs," he said again, clearly relishing the word, before breaking into insane laughter.
"Quiet!" Diamond Tiara yelled at the spirit. "I want to hear what other nice things the mare did for Scootaloo's family. Clearly she did some good in her life."
The spirit laughed again, not the crazy laughter of just before, but a harsh, mocking sound, though thankfully short in duration. For the first time, he said more than a word or two. "Oh yes. Just listen."
"Who would have thought that she could do something so nice," Apple Bloom said.
"Yup, and all she had to do was die. I kind of feel bad for saying this, but I sort of wish she'd died years ago."
"Well," Apple Bloom said, looking sort of ashamed for what she was about to say, "we've all thought that plenty." There was a moment of shocked silence, before all three fillies laughed.
"It is sort of sad though," Sweetie Belle said once the laughter died down.
"What is?" Scootaloo asked.
"I heard that nopony even showed up for her funeral. At least that's what my sister said. She heard it from Paint Pallet who heard it from the gravedigger firsthoof," Sweetie Belle said, unconsciously imitating how her sister gossiped.
"Enough, spirit! Yet again you have twisted everything" Diamond Tiara said, causing the spirit to cackle. When he subsided, she continued, "Take me back to the graveyard. If no pony else will mourn this poor unfortunate, I will. Nopony deserves to be so alone."
"It will be... my pleasure," the spirit replied.
Diamond Tiara clenched her eyes shut, waiting with dread for the moment when the wind began to pick up. When it did not come, she opened her eyes to find a pillar of smoke before her. She followed the pillar up to find the head swaying above her, snake-like. The moment her eyes made contact, the head shot down, mouth opening impossibly wide. Diamond Tiara screamed in terror as the spirit's mouth grabbed her, tossed her into the air, and gulped her down in a single bite.
Diamond Tiara rolled down what felt like a pipe, only to land on soggy grass. Looking around, she could see that she was back within site of the grave, with the spirit beside her. The service seemed to be over, for the minister was rushing off, determined to get out from under the rain.
"Thanks, I guess," she offered the spirit for sparing her the cyclone, though this method of travel wasn't much better.
"Pleasure," the spirit said, apparently back to rationing every word.
Diamond Tiara got to her feet and walked over to the grave, her hooves sinking into the mushy earth, even though she left no tracks. Likewise, she found herself drenched, even as the rain fell unimpeded upon the ground below her. Behind her, the spirit billowed, still a cloud of shadowy smoke other than his head, rather than assuming his corporeal form.
Closer and closer to the grave she got, until at last she could read the writing through the rain.
Diamond Tiara
Diamond Tiara struggled to breath, but felt as if she had been punched in the gut.
"No, not me. Tell me that this is not so. That this is some mistake," Diamond Tiara pleaded, turning to face the spirit. The spirit shook his head. "But this is the future. It hasn't happened yet. I'll change. I'll make sure this does not come to pass. That is what all this was far, right?"
The spirit changed, becoming larger, the green glow of its eyes flaming out to the side. As it advanced upon her, Diamond Tiara took an involuntary step backwards, then another. From behind her, she could hear a strange scraping sound. Realization dawned that she was backing toward her grave, and she tried to dodge to the side, only to find her way blocked by a tendril of shadowy smoke. She lashed out with a foreleg and screamed in pain as green crystals sprouted from the leg wherever it had made contact with the smoke. Eyes wide with fear, she attempted to duck to the sides, only to find that whichever way she attempted to escape was quickly blocked by a tendril of smoky doom. Step by step, she was forced backwards.
"Please," she pleaded, as the sound grew louder.
"Chains..." the spirit said, as the scraping, rustling sound grew more intense.
"Chains?" Diamond Tiara asked, her puzzlement momentarily breaking past the fear and pain. She cast a glance over her shoulder and screamed.
Chains hovered in the air behind her, reaching up out of the grave. Each link of the chains was made of diamond and each ended in a diamond shackle. As if they had been waiting for her to see them, they reached toward Diamond Tiara. With renewed desperation, she tried to dodge from side to side, to escape, but each time found her path blocked by the vile smoke. Renewed laughter mocked her every attempt.
A large bell tolled, so loud that her bones felt the vibration, and Diamond Tiara felt a tug on one of her legs as one of the shackles shut. In rapid succession, the bell tolled again and again. And with each toll, another shackle was in place, around her legs and around her neck. She screamed as she was jerked off her feet, the chains dragging her toward her waiting grave.
"Please. I'll make friends. I'll be good," she pleaded, but the spirit just continued his laughter, as the chains unrelentingly pulled her backwards.
"Dad? Daddy, save me! Daddy! Daddyyyy!" she screamed as she was pulled over the edge and plummeted down into the blackness.