//------------------------------// // Revelations // Story: A Jewel of a Problem // by Rainbow Sparkle //------------------------------// -*-Silver Spoon-*- Silver Spoon stole a glance at the clock and frowned before setting her head on the table, idly poking her melting beverage.  She waited quietly, now glaring at the two soggy milkshakes sitting on the table. “Hey ther’ Silver!” Silver spun backwards.  She immediately recognized the voice of her classmate, and former tormentee. “Oh... it’s you.” “Well of course it’s me, who else did ya think it was?” Apple Bloom replied, her tone becoming defensive out of reflex. Silver Spoon rolled her eyes a bit, then asked “So what is it you want?” Apple Bloom was about to speak, but somepony bumped her hard.  She flailed her hooves before landing loudly on the floorboards.  Silver Spoon calmly looked at the new arrival, a young filly named... “Glimmer Mane at your service,” she swished her ruby mane and attempted to pose dramatically.  “You must be Silver Spoon.  I’ve heard that you’re one of the popular fillies here in Ponyville, and since I just moved here, I figured it’d be smart to get acquainted.” Silver Spoon slowly reached for a milkshake, her eyes briefly flicking over to Apple Bloom who was beginning to get up.  “What about her?” Glimmer Mane frowned. “What about who? You mean the Blank Flank? Pfft, she doesn’t matter.”   Silver tilted her head, causing her glasses to glint from the sunlight.  “You just knocked down a heiress of the affluent Apple and Orange family.”  Apple Bloom’s eyes widened in shock, and she nearly fell back onto the floor.   For her part, Glimmer Mane had the decency to look taken aback as she stumbled backwards.  “Wh-uh what?”   Silver Spoon glared.  “They have a monopoly on half the produce in Equestria.”  She snorted, lowering for a moment to help Apple Bloom. “Now scram, before you do anything else you might regret.”   Glimmer Mane tried to gather her thoughts.  Apple Bloom tried to get a word in, but she bumped the table as she stood up, knocking a milkshake off the table and into Glimmer’s face. Several eavesdropping fillies laughed loudly, causing Glimmer Mane to run out to the street sobbing. “...Did ah do that?” whispered Apple Bloom.  She was about to run out and apologize, but was interrupted with a thunderous applause from a batch of filly’s she’d seen from school. “Nice one, AB!” “Woah.  You’re so cool!” Silver Spoon grinned, loudly exclaiming, “Well duh.  That’s why Apple Bloom’s MY friend.  She’s obviously an important pony!”   Apple Bloom waved awkwardly, before crawling onto a nearby seat.  “Uhm.  About what’cha said.” Silver rolled her eyes.  “It’s true.”  She prodded Apple Bloom.  “You’re like the only rich pony pretending to be...” She shuddered.  “Poor.”  She nudged over her spare cherry milkshake to Apple Bloom.  “Take it.” “But we are-” “Well duh.” She groaned.  “Even my Mom tried that on me.”  She stopped, and looked at Apple Bloom with wide eyes.  She huddled closer, and whispered.  “Oh Celestia. You never knew?  And all this time, we thought you were trying to one-up us.”  She pounded the table loudly, causing a pink pony to suddenly appear.  Pinkie Pie was balancing several dishes on her head, whilst walking atop a rainbow-striped inflatable beach ball.   “Hiya-!!!  Did you want anything else?” “10 more milkshakes.”  Apple Bloom was about to protest, but was quickly shushed by Silver’s hoof.  “And charge it on Daddy’s tab, please.” “Okie dokie lokie!!!” chirped Pinkie Pie, quickly vanishing behind the counter. “Wh-Wha-?” “Hey everypony!” Silver Spoon looked to the crowd.  “Free milkshakes for everyone!!!  Thanks to my new friend, Apple Bloom!!” Cheers filled Sugar Cube Corner, followed with plenty of compliments.  Silver Spoon looked at her new gobsmacked friend.  “Oh, anyways.”  She hesitated for a moment.  “You didn’t finish.  What was it you wanted?”   Apple Bloom looked taken aback, before answering.  “Well... ah didn’t want anythin.”  She continued, “Ah just thought you looked a lil’ lonely, an’ what kinda friend would ah be if I didn’t try ta cheer ya up?”  Silver Spoon recoiled, as if slapped.   “Ah mean, ain’t that what friends do?” Silver Spoon took one last look at the clock, before deciding.  She turned and studied Apple Bloom, then slammed her hoof on the table as she declared “Apple Bloom, we’re going shopping.” “Huh? What are you-gah!” Apple Bloom tried to say, but Silver Spoon was already dragging Apple Bloom down towards the business district. “Come on Apple Bloom, it’ll be fun.” When that didn’t work, Silver stopped and glanced at her, adding “You said you wanted to cheer me up right?” Apple Bloom nodded, and Silver Spoon flashed a smile as she said “Well, shopping cheers me up. So lets get going. There’s a new boutique that I’ve been waiting to check out.” Silver Spoon sprinted down the bustling street, as Apple Bloom chased from behind.  Both failed to notice a certain pink filly and purple unicorn... -*-Diamond Tiara/Cain-*- “Oh my, are you alright?” The words floated over me, but my mind was blank as I stared helplessly at the familiar purple pony. Twilight Sparkle, I crashed into Twilight- “Are you okay little filly?” I heard her that time, and realized I needed to say something. Anything at all.  I opened my mouth but nothing came. A tiny squeee was all that came out. I awkwardly looked away, then at the ground around me.  My blood went cold as I noticed the-   “AHH!!” I rushed underneath Twilight’s legs and toward the dirty books.  My crash had sent all the lovely manuscripts, scrolls and tomes near the mud.  I thanked my little heart that no mud had assaulted the precious texts.  I hurriedly and gently grabbed a book, amazed I could read the title. Then purple magic pulled me to the sky.  It felt tingly.  Twilight Sparkle was now eyeing me, but I couldn’t look at her face without stammering or blushing.  The book was wobbling between my grip. She then plopped me to the ground. She hummed lightly, and then peered at me.  “You’re late.” “WHAT!!!!”  My eyes started getting watery.  ‘Stupid mood swings.’ I mentally scolded myself as I tried to control my emotions.  I failed.  Instead, my pink fuzzy body began to shiver uncontrollably.  “...I’m sorry.” “I’m not mad.” Twilight nervously looked over several passerby ponies.  “Really, I’m not mad, so please Diamond Tiara, don’t cry.” She stepped close, watching as I hugged a giant textbook titled Exceptional Equestrian Exponentials.   I took a deep breath, and wiped my face.  “I-I’m okay...I don’t know what came over me...” Twilight looked at me with a raised eyebrow, her expression telling me she wasn’t quite sure about that. But after a moment, she said “Phew...that’s good to hear...I think.” She frowned after a moment, her gaze drifting towards my head as she said “Oh, you seem to be missing something. Guess it must have fallen off when you crashed into me.” It took me a second to realize she was talking about Diamond Tiara’s...tiara, and I sighed as I said “No, I didn’t lose it. It’s a bit of a long story though...” Twilight smiled. “Well, why don’t you tell me about it on the way to the library?” ~*~ “... So Silver Spoon is wearing it for the weekend as an apology,”  I shook my head as I added  “I really wasn’t being a good friend.” “Oh, well that’s great news Diamond Tiara.”  Twilight walked beside me, carrying the rest of her cargo.  “In fact, I think you’ve learned a very important lesson about Friendship. I think it would make an excellent report to the Princess.” “I wouldn’t exactly say I learned it…” I whispered quietly to myself, my mind taking a moment to process the second half. When it did, my eyes went as wide as dinner plates as I exclaimed “Wait, you want me to write a friendship report!?” “Sure, why not?” Twilight replied, giving me an odd look as she said “Apple Bloom and her friends have sent a few, and there’s nothing saying you can’t send one. Unless you’d rather not, I suppose I could just write it up instead…” I vehemently shook my head. “No no, that’s fine, I can write the report. I was just surprised you wanted…well…me to write one.”  I could feel the panic bursting inside me.  “I mean, you’re letting me write to the princess of Equestria, and with what I had the paper say about her-” “-and me,” completed Twilight. I nodded dumbly.  “Eyyup.  And youu-yo-you...”  My brain skid to a stop.  My four legs begun to wobble as I stumbled to spout an apology.  Warm, magenta magic again wrapped around me and lifted me upwards. Twilight narrowed her eyes.  “No more apologizing,” she gritted out, then heaved a long sigh, before plopping me down.  “...Please?” I sighed to myself, and nodded. “Alright, I promise not to apologize to you anymore.” “Good, now lets get going, you’re already late as it is. If we keep dawdling, I’ll have to revise my whole schedule.” Twilight said as she resumed walking down the street. I shook my head, taking a moment to take a deep breath and try to clear my mind. All this feeling sorry stuff was getting to be annoying, and I was starting to wonder if there was some unseen force messing with my mind. ~Oh that’s rather clever of you isn’t it? Trying to pin the blame on innocent ole’ me? It’s not my fault you’re such a prissy pink filly.~ “Oh go stuff a sock in it...” I muttered to myself as I trotted after Twilight, not wanting her to think I was trying to sneak off. The trip to the library was short, but it went by in silence, Twilight keeping to her own thoughts and leaving me with my own jumbled up head.As much as I hated the idea, it seemed I wasn’t completely alone in my...Diamond Tiara’s head, and that didn’t bode well for my hopes in quickly finding a way to get home. I must have been deeply lost in thought, because the next thing I know -SMACK- right into something hard. With a yelp, I immediately jumped back and my jaw dropped as I came face-to-face with Twilight’s tree library. I had ran right into the door! Twilight was shaking her head as she turned to me, her horn glowing as she opened the door for the both of us. “You’ll be taking care of some of Spike’s chores. He’s come down with a bad case of Dragon Flu and hasn’t been feeling well because of it.” “Oh…” I mumbled, not exactly liking the sound of that. Spike seemed to have an overwhelming amount of mundane chores on his little shoulders just from what I’d seen from the show. Who knew how much work he actually did? ~Such a lazy, spoiled ponyyyyyy princesssss~ taunted the voice in my head.  I bit back a retort, as Twilight continued to walk me to the nearby room. “Don’t worry Diamond Tiara, Owlicious and I have already taken care of the difficult stuff, you’ll just have to do Spike’s easy stuff.”  Twilight said as she walked in ahead of me. I followed her in, a sullen expression on my face despite the prospect of having an easy time of it. “Spike, I’m back!” Twilight called out as she set her bags on a nearby desk. He gave a muffled reply, before barking out a couple raspy coughs. Twilight quickly headed upstairs with a small bottle of what looked vaguely like swamp water, leaving me alone in the main hall of the library. I took this opportunity to look around and explore. The library looked much larger on the inside than it did from the outside, in fact it looked bigger than it had in the episodes. There were far more bookshelves lining the walls, and numerous tables and desks were placed strategically about for visitors to use. In the center of the room, where a round table usually sat with the wooden bust of a horse head, was instead a C shaped counter with a small push door. The head bust was set on one side, as was a small notebook with quill and ink. Piles of books sat all along its surface in neat stacks. It was almost surreal, actually being inside this place. Out of curiosity, I walked up to a bookshelf and brushed my hoof along the row of books. As I did so, my ears stiffened, and I let out a quiet whimper as my hoof continued its journey before stopping on a ruby-red, oldened Equestrian Almanac.  I snatched it off the shelf greedily and glimpsed at its contents.  Here I was... in Equestria, living out one my my deepest desires... And I felt empty. In the one place out of the universe I wanted to visit more than anything, and yet I was here, not as myself, but as one of the most hated fillies in the entire fandom. Stuck playing the part of Diamond Tiara, with no idea when or even if I would ever get home and see my family. Oh Celestia,  I couldn’t breathe.  I couldn’t fucking breathe!!   “I need to go home,” I whispered to nopony.  My pupils dilated, as I thrashed loudly onto the tabletop.  “I need to go home now!!  GET ME OUT OF HERE!” A lavender blur appeared behind me, but I kicked my hind legs hard and launched myself forward as I darted towards the door.  But a sudden force yanked me hard to the floor. “LET GO OF ME!” I cried. “~... shut up, Cain.” whispered the voice, its pitch beginning to rise.   “You need to... relax...” “Diamond Tiara!!  Please, calm down,” shouted the blur, my mind in too much chaos to process who it was that was talking to me. “I AM NOT DIAMOND TIARA!” I screamed. I couldn’t stop the tears pouring down my cheeks. “AND YOU’RE NOT REAL! Please, go away.” I curled up into a ball, and began softly murmuring to myself over and over again.   “Ple-please go away. I- I just want to go home.”   -*- Twilight Sparkle -*-   Twilight had just started putting away the groceries she had bought earlier when she heard a loud shout coming from the main library.   “I need to go home now!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!” “What in Equestria-?” Twilight asked aloud as she heard the sound of something thumping against the wall in the next room. She dropped what she had been holding and rushed into the library to see Diamond Tiara madly thrashing her hooves against one of the shelves.   Twilight had been prepared for the possibility of a tantrum from the spoiled ‘princess’ filly, but she was not prepared for this. This seemed to be far more than just a simple tantrum, in fact if the filly’s movements were to be any sign, it was almost as if she was terrified.   ‘If she keeps that up, she’ll hurt herself,’ Twilight thought as she rushed over to grab Diamond Tiara, but the filly suddenly stopped and made a mad dash for the door. Thinking quickly, Twilight’s horn lit up as she grabbed the distraught filly with her magic.   “LET GO OF ME!!” Diamond shouted as she struggled to escape, but Twilight wasn’t letting up as she stepped closer, trying to get her attention as she tried to calm her down. But her words didn’t seem to do any good as Diamond turned to look at her, tears streaming down her face as she screamed ““I AM NOT DIAMOND TIARA! AND YOU’RE NOT REAL! Please, just, just go away!”   Twilight moved closer, despite hearing the words. Her eyes locked with those of Diamond Tiara’s, and she saw somepony who felt confused, afraid, and helpless.  “Ple-please go away. I just want to go home,” Diamond Tiara softly whispered, her head tilted forward, masking her face with her disheveled mane as she curled up into a ball.   “Twilight? What’s going on?” Twilight turned away from Diamond Tiara, just to see Spike coming down the steps.  He was holding his yellow blanket in one claw and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the other.   “Spike, march right back up those stairs pronto.  The Dragon Flu is a serious ailment, and must be treated as such.”  She grimaced, noting Spike wasn’t paying attention.  “Pleeaasee rest? Everything is under control.”   Sensing Twilight’s discomfort, Owilicious flew from his perch and nudged the baby dragon back up.  Immaculately, she swiftly returned her attention to the immobile filly, still curled to a ball.   “Umm…Diamond Tiara?”  Twilight grimaced, as the young filly flinched at the sound of her name.  “Listen…I…I don’t know what’s wrong, but I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.” After a moment with no response, she reached down and soothingly nuzzled Diamond Tiara. Just as she moved to pull away, she felt a brush of magic wash over her, and in an instant, the library burst with color, causing her to scream from the sudden blinding pain.  It vanished just as soon as it came, but in its place... “Bravo!  Bravo!!” chimed a disturbingly familiar tenor.  “To think, that goody-four-shoes Twilight could shatter a young child’s mind.” A loud snap echoed around her as the voice added “In half.”   “No...” breathed Twilight, recognizing the owner’s voice immediately. She opened her eyes and stared aghast as Discord stood towering over her.  “You...” The draconequus rolled his eyes, “Yadda yadda yadda.”  He vanished, before slipping behind Twilight.  “Discord’s back,” he whispered.  “Missed me?” Twilight bolted forward, scrambling to get away, but paused as she noticed her surroundings.  “Where did you take me?!” Twilight ordered, hoping she sounded brave enough.  She noticed everything was an inky black, reminiscent of a thick fog in the dead of night.  She gasped as she noticed that Diamond Tiara was nowhere in sight.  “What did you do to Diamond Tiara!?” The tall, lord of chaos grinned.  “Oh dear, oh my...” he purred.  “It wouldn’t be any fun if I just told you now would it..”  He snapped his fingers, causing a pink filly to reappear.  “Let’s play a game!”  Discord tossed the tussle of pink at Twilight, casting a spell just as Twilight managed to catch her. Instantly, Twilight was slammed into the floor, as the fog vanished in a powerful gust of wind.  Pillars of rock appeared all around her, many going higher than the skyscrapers she’d seen in Manehatten. Gingerly, Twilight got to her hooves, noticing that she was standing on a rather small pillar, and that to either side of her was nothing but a long drop into a dense plum colored fog.  She looked around, casting her gaze about for any sign of Discord, but she couldn’t see him. “You won’t get away with this Discord!” She shouted out to the skies above them. She wasn’t expecting an answer, so she was a bit caught off guard when she got one. “Oh, I don’t know, perhaps I will and perhaps I won’t. It really all depends on how you do.” He said from behind her, causing Twilight to yelp as she hopped into the air. “Do what? I don’t even know where here is!” She exclaimed, his laughter at her reaction only working to make her more angry at the spirit. “This isn’t funny Discord!” “Guahaha, oh of course it is, you really should see your face!” Discord cackled, pulling out a mirror and placing it in front of Twilight. Needless to say, his antics were beginning to grate on her nerves, and she knew getting any angrier would only amuse him more.   And so, taking a deep breath and giving him a level gaze, she asked “You’ve had your fun Discord, so would you mind explaining just what in Equestria is going on?”   Discord let out a few more snickers, but finally relented when he saw her focused gaze still locked onto him. “Oh very well, I suppose it won’t hurt to let you in on some of my scheme.” He reappeared next to her and spread his arms out wide as he began.   “You see dear Twilight, as real as this may seem, you haven’t actually left your precious home, oh no. Right now, you’re inside the mind of the very filly your holding.”   “What?!” she exclaimed, her expression shifting to show just how incredulous she found that to be, but she had to remind herself just who she was dealing with. Rubbing a hoof into her forehead, she asked “But if that’s true, then why is Diamond Tiara right next to me?”   Discord snickered at her, his smile growing wider as he whispered “You might want to check again my dear.”   Twilight did so, fully expecting to see the pink body of Diamond Tiara. But instead, she gasped as she caught sight of something completely different.   Lying on its side next to her was a strange, bipedal creature with a dark blonde mane atop its head and a flatish muzzle. What she initially thought to be a dark blue coat turned out to be thin, coloured fabric that wrapped over its peach skin. Its legs were hidden with a much coarser, thick material. His feet were covered by what she guessed to be shoes...though she grimaced when she realized they were made out of leather. “W-Who, w-what, is that thing?” Twilight asked, turning back to look at Discord but finding him nowhere to be seen. A feeling of panic began to rise in her as she up and down and everywhere for a sign of the trickster. “You like tests don’t you Miss Sparkle?” His voice rang out, and Twilight yelped as she watched Discord pull himself out from the ground below her. “Of course you do, you can’t even go a week without thinking about one. Well, I have a test for you my little pony, one I’m sure you’ll find fascinating.”  Ominous thunder roared overhead, but Twilight just rolled her eyes at the spectacle. “I’m not interested in playing any of your games Discord! Whatever test you have in mind, you can count me out.” Twilight declared, turning away from the mischievous spirit. “S-Someone, please, help me...” came an unfamiliar voice.  Twilight spun around, seeing the creature trying to push itself up, only to fall back to the ground. “Oh, well, since you said please,” Discord chuckled, and with a wicked twinkle in his eyes he sucked in a breath before releasing it in the direction of the creature. Another burst of wind tore through, sweeping around Twilight, flipping the peach-creature over the edge.  This seemed to wake him from whatever stupor he had been in, and he grasped for the edge... but missed. It looked at her briefly, its blue eyes locking with her own, just before gravity finally decided to act and pull him down below.   “NO!!” Twilight’s horn illuminated lavender, releasing a beam of magic.  She felt unnaturally fatigued, but continued levitating the creature.  Discord gave her a round of applause, before clicking his fingers with a chuckle. A flash of light drew her eye, and Twilight’s eyes bulged as she saw Diamond Tiara appear in the air over the foggy depths below. She clenched her jaw, simultaneously firing another pink beam as her horn began to glow brighter. She barely managed to catch the slumbering form of Diamond Tiara, her head splitting in pain at the effort of holding them both up. “Why? Why are you doing this?!” gritted Twilight, her legs buckling slightly as she strained to levitate the two targets.  When Discord didn’t answer, preferring to file his eagle talons, Twilight shouted, “Answer my question, Discord!” Discord peered at his talons, blew on them, and then ate the file he had been using before giving Twilight a coy smile. “Celestia often brags about you, you know.  Such a loudmouth really, you’d think she’d have better things to do than tell a lawn ornament about her ‘precious pupil’. Anyways, yesterday’s yesterday, after Celestia’s usual garden visit, I decided to try and escape.” He stretched, gagging as he added “Even if I failed, it had to be better than listening to her yatter on.” “Anyway, this pink little filly was nearby, so I sent a bit of me into her mind. And,  inadvertently, I created this thing.”  He lazily pointed to the peach-creature, laughing at Twilight’s gobsmacked expression.  “So why don’t you help her out?” Twilight’s mouth hung open as she tried to take this in, which wasn’t easy to do with her concentration being spent keeping the creature and Diamond Tiara up. Discord rolled his eyes and leaned in to whisper to her, saying, “Three minds in one body, Ms. Sparkle.  The stress will kill the innocent filly, eventually. Since old, senile Celestia believes in you so much, I think the you should be the one to decide. Which one?” “What do you mean by that?” She uttered, her voice sounding pained  as the strain of holding the two seemed to increase. Discord sighed, his face beginning to express boredom. “Oh come now, anypony with half a brain would get it.” He floated right up to Twilight, and in a brief flicker, he now held two miniature dolls.  He moved ‘em up and down as he said,  “Pick.  Let go.  Then, let the fall end it.” He punctuated the last by dropping one of the dolls, which faded into nothingness before it hit the ground. “Nobody... will... fall, Discord!!” Twilight snarled loudly, and tried her best to ignore the burning hot sensation traveling down her horn. She poured all of her focus, all of her strength into the beams keeping the two afloat. Then, with pained shout and a bright flash, she launched them safely back to the ledge. For a moment, Discord simply stood silently as Twilight panted heavily, her body feeling like it had just ran a marathon. Then, she heard a soft chuckle, which quickly turned into guwaffs as Discord held his sides, his laughter filling the air around them. Eventually, his uncontrollable laughter began to lower, and an amused grin was plastered on his face.  “Now who's the crazy one, hmm?  Like a doctor protecting a virus.  How odd of you miss Twilight.”    Twilight stood firm. “I stand by my decision Discord. I may not know that creature, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you use it as a pawn in your horrible games.” The creature seemed to perk up at this, his chest still heaving from the sheer terror of floating over a bottomless pit. It started to open its mouth, but Discord interrupted him. “You win,” shrugged Discord. He turned and faced out towards the vast void around them. “I can spare you seven days Twilight.  Seven days to fix my mistake.”  The draconequus flexed his wings, looking like he was preparing to leap off and take flight. Twilight’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t... no... It was too easy, this was Discord after all.  Surely there had to be- Then it came to her.  “Three minds.  You said three.  There was another choice all this time, wasn’t there?”  She looked at the long back of the draconequus, her eye’s shining as she understood, her voice softening as she murmured, “They never were in danger. It was all just a test.”   Discord turned his head around to gaze at her, his eyes dancing in amusement. “You figured it out. I suppose there is a light bulb in there after all.” Twilight scowled in response, bringing him to a smile.  “Death is ironically unfunny, Ms Sparkle.  Even I have standards.” This time, he flapped his wings and leapt off the edge, letting the nothingness erase him from existence. With that, the world around her whirled away, and Twilight vanished into the void. ~*~ Twilight snapped awake,mind awhirl with thought and images as it tried to sort itself out. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and looked around, surprised to find that  the library was dark as night, with the only light being the soft glow of the moon as it poured into the main room. Shaking her head, she muttered, “Oh...my head...that has got to be the weirdest dream I’ve ever had...”   She felt something prodding her side, and she looked down, and smiled at the sight of the familiar pink filly slowly waking up, her eyes blinking rapidly as she shook her head.  Twilight got ready to say something, but something seemed...different about Diamond Tiara, who had turned and was gazing at her with a peculiar look in her eyes. “You chose me,” Diamond whispered, and hurriedly wiped away the tears that were beginning to form. “I mean, you chose both of us... but you didn’t let me go. You  don’t even know who I am, but you cared enough about me to risk trying to save us both.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and she grew a little pale as it all rushed back to her. All of it... the strange void-place, Discord’s test, the creature and Diamond Tiara. “So that was real...it wasn’t just some weird dream, Discord did all of that...” Twilight murmured, looking at Diamond Tiara as she nodded her head in confirmation.  An odd look seemed to cross over her face though, and suddenly Diamond let out a shout of rage and slammed her hooves into the ground. What followed was a string of obscenities and horrible suggestions of what Discord could do to himself that would make a Royal Guard’s jaw drop. At one point Twilight actually clapped her hooves over her ears, fearing that if she heard anymore her mind would be ruined beyond all repair. The fact that all of this was coming from the small form of Diamond Tiara really drove home the point - that what she had just witnessed and done had been very real. When the swearing seemed to have finished, Twilight uncovered her ears and looked at the now out of breath filly, the fury that had been burning in her eyes now dying and becoming nothing more than embers. “Feel better?” Twilight asked, and after a moment, Diamond Tiara nodded her head tiredly. “Yea... Oh, oh!  Sorry about the... uh that.  I just can’t believe how stupid I was, to not even realize Discord’s been hanging in my mind.”  She snarled.  “So damn cliche!”  She said, though Twilight had no idea why it was cliched. “And the thought of what he could have done...  I just- I’m just so.”  Diamond pounded her head on the floor.  “I’m not thinking straight Twilight.  Forget I said anything at all.” Twilight frowned, a thought occurring to her. “Something tells me that there’s more to this than Discord told m-” “What did he say!?” interrupted the filly, her eyes beginning to rekindle the anger Twilight had just witnessed. Twilight thought back on what Discord had said, and stated, “Well, that he made you. That you were a mistake of his escape attempt.” “THAT LIAR!! I’m not some imagined, ill-conceived, made-up anomaly!”  Her pitch rose, eyes flashing in rage as she made gestures with her hooves. “I have a family, a job... I have a damn life back on Earth, granted not much of one but its still my life!” Twilight frowned, not sure how to respond to that. This entire situation was way over her head, and was starting to really make her head hurt. “So, Diamond-” “It’s Cain,” she interrupted.  “My name’s Cain. It’s a dream come true to get to meet you in person...even if I’m stuck in Diamond Tiara’s body.” “What a nice name. Well Cain, its, uh, nice to meet you-Wait,” she paused, mind registering Cain’s full statement. “What was that last bit about?” “Oh yeah, ahahaha....”Cain chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head as she said “Riiight, forgot about that...well ya see-” However, instead of an explanation, Cain let out a big yawn, swaying in place as her eyes grew heavy. “Huh...for some reason, I feel very tired no-” She didn’t even finish her sentence, suddenly flopping down to the floor and curling up. Another yawn escaped her lips before she seemed to slip into slumber. Twilight frowned, for a moment thinking that perhaps this ‘Cain’ was trying to slip out of explaining what he had said...not to mention a great deal more, now that she thought about it. But then a yawn escaped her own lips, and she too realized that she felt exhausted. “I guess answers can wait until morning...” She murmured softly, slowly picking up the sleeping filly with her magic and setting her on her back. “Lets get you home. Filthy Rich is probably wondering why you haven’t come home yet anyways.” Once she was sure Cain wouldn’t fall off, she trotted out the door and made her way down the street that would lead to the Rich’s manor. -*- As the door closed, a light filled the room the pair had just left as a small scaly form emerged from the 2nd floor. “Ugh, would you girls keep it down, I’m trying to-Twi? Hello?” Spike glanced around, seeing an empty library, and no sign of Twilight or Diamond Tiara. “Huh, guess I must have been hearing things.” Shrugging his shoulders, he turned around and went back to bed. -*-