Cheerilee was well-known amongst her students for giving stern, but fair lectures about the importance of paying attention in class. About not being distracted by that one student doodling in their book, or by that squirrel outside climbing a tree. About how focusing on your schoolwork was very important, and focus in general will become a key asset in the future, no matter what your job will be.
But right now, Cheerilee was finding it very hard to focus on the lesson she was trying to give to her students. Something was off that day… It wasn’t that Scootaloo was absent. It wasn’t that Snips and Snails had come dressed up as ‘evil magicians’, with paper mache ‘evil amulets’, black capes, and red eye shadow. It was the two fillies at the front of the class, who were sitting quietly, doing their work in complete silence…
“And so, uh, if you substitute this value here…” Cheerilee glanced behind her again. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara. At this point in the day, they should have already caused at least a mild disturbance. A spit ball fired… a note with a cruel joke on it… maybe even a full-out hoof fight! But today, nothing. She was happy that the two were getting along, but somehow, it just didn’t seem right.
The class noticed Cheerilee’s odd behaviour, and were silently discussing it amongst themselves. Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom also noticed. “Why’s she keep lookin’ at us like that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“… You think she’s freaked out that we’re getting along?” Diamond Tiara suggested.
“Nah. That… can’t be…” To test the theory out, and as an excuse to justify her next action, Apple Bloom reached out and grabbed Diamond Tiara’s hoof. Cheerilee winced, and quickly turned back to the board. “… Ah think ye’re right.”
Diamond Tiara quickly yanked her hoof away. She was glad Scootaloo wasn’t here to see that just now. “Wow. I almost feel sorry for her.”
“Yeah… We should do somethin’.”
“We should?”
“She’s our teacher. We should do what we can ta cheer ‘er up.”
Diamond Tiara thought about it for a second, and then nodded. “Fine,” she said with a sigh. She took in a deep breath, and then… “Blank flank!”
“Cut it out, Diamond Tiara!”
Cheerilee quickly turned around and pointed a hoof at the two ‘bickering’ fillies. “Apple Bloom! Diamond Tiara! What have I told you two about fighting?!”
The two fillies looked down at their desks. “We’re sorry, Miss Cheerilee,” they both mumbled in unison.
Cheerilee smiled, and then turned back to the board. Things were feeling right with the world once more, and she was now able to concentrate on the lesson properly. ‘… Such sweet girls.’
Apple Bloom leaned over to whisper to Diamond Tiara. “Hey, ye’re gonna drop by the hospital ta visit Scootaloo after school, right?”
“Yeah,” Diamond Tiara whispered back. “She said it’s nothing serious, but it must be if she’s taking the day off from school.”
“Well… tell her me and Sweetie Belle wish her dad gets well soon.”
“You aren’t coming?”
Apple Bloom shook her head, giving Diamond Tiara a sly grin. “Nah. Ah wouldn’t wanna be a third wheel for you two.”
Diamond Tiara blushed, and turned her head to the side. “I-It’s not like we’re going on a date or anything. We’re going to a hospital.”
“Apple Bloom! Diamond Tiara!” Cheerilee shouted, startling the two fillies. “Pay attention to the lesson!”
“… Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”
After school was out, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked home together, as was the norm for those two fillies. However, after they had split off, their houses being in different directions, Diamond Tiara took a different route than she usually did. Today, she wasn’t going straight home; she was making a stop at Ponyville’s hospital, first.
When she got there, she found Scootaloo sitting in the lobby, looking down at the ground. She looked like a complete mess. Her mane was all over the place, as if she had just jabbed a metal knife into a wall socket, and she had bags under her eyes, suggesting she hadn’t got much sleep last night.
Diamond Tiara approached her, but she didn’t even seem to notice. “Hey,” Diamond Tiara called out, making Scootaloo jump and turn to her.
“Oh, hi. Is school out already?”
“Yeah… What happened to you? You look horrible.”
Scootaloo frowned and turned her head away. “Nice to see you, too. I’m fine, I just… I’m worried about dad.”
Diamond Tiara sat down next to Scootaloo, and opened up her saddlebag to begin digging through it. “I thought he was fine. He just needed some rest, right?”
Scootaloo said nothing as Diamond Tiara pulled out a brush from her bag – her ‘emergency brush’, if Scootaloo remembered correctly – and brought it up to Scootaloo’s mane. She didn’t do anything to stop her… In fact, she kind of liked it. Diamond Tiara’s brushing was a lot less painful than the Pegasus’ own.
“… Would you like to talk about it?”
Scootaloo sighed, and buried her face into her forehooves. She sat in silence for a few seconds, before lowering her hooves and nodding her head. “… Okay, so it’s like this…”
Scootaloo sat by her father as he lay in his hospital bed, waiting as the doctor stood on the other side of the bed and did some doctory things that only made her more worried, simply because she had no idea whether it was a good or bad sign. Once the doctor was finished writing stuff onto his papers, and collecting some blood from his patient, he left the room, giving the two some privacy.
“Hey, kid,” Teddy said as he struggled to push himself up into a sitting position. Scootaloo tried to stop him, but he already managed to sit up before she could lean forward. “How’s school going?”
“… Okay,” she said, though it was a lie. Her grades weren’t exactly bad, but they definitely hadn’t been getting any better. And with everything going on between her, Diamond Tiara, and Apple Bloom… and now this… “Dad… is it true, that you’re an ‘alcoholic’?”
Teddy’s smile turned into a frown, and her hung his head in shame. “… I guess you would’ve figured out eventually…”
“Blossomforth told me. She said what were drinking was damaging your liver, and that you need an operation.” A tear rolled down Scootaloo’s cheek, and she raised a hoof to wipe it away. “Why, dad?”
“… I’m sorry, Scootaloo. I never meant to… I-I…” Teddy wracked his brain trying to find the right words, but it was no good. Seeing his daughter crying in front of him… She never cried, no matter how hard things were for her. She was strong, and tough, just like her mother… “I guess… I should tell you the truth…”
“About mum?” Scootaloo asked. Her father looked up at her in surprise. “I asked the doctor if mum was gonna visit… and he told me that she couldn’t. And that I should ask you about it.”
“… Scootaloo… your mother, Sweetheart, she didn’t walk out on us. In fact, she loved us, especially you, more than anything.” Teddy gulped, and turned his head away to say the next part. “She died.”
Scootaloo sniffed, and her tears started to fall faster, but she remained silent. She could sense that there was more that he was going to say. “I… I didn’t mean to keep it a secret from you for so long. I-I didn’t know how to tell you. You were so young, and so innocent, and… and I was a coward. I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t want to see you cry. And, I also couldn’t accept it myself. That’s why I started drinking, to ease the pain.
“I intended to tell you when you were older, but I could never bring myself to do so, and the lie just grew bigger and bigger, until I didn’t even know what to do anymore. My drinking grew, too. I tried to escape the reality of it. I tried to forget, and ease the pain… but by doing that, I missed a big part of your life, didn’t I? And now, I may miss the rest…”
Scootaloo saw her father shaking in his bed, and holding his forehooves over his face to hide his sobbing. “I’m sorry, Scootaloo. I’m so, so sorry…”
Teddy gasped as he felt something wrapping around him, and lifted his head to find Scootaloo holding onto him around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. “It’ll be fine,” she said, choking back a sob as she tried to be brave. “It’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine.”
“So… it’s more serious than what you told everypony else, then?” Diamond Tiara asked, running the brush through Scootaloo’s mane one final time to finish tidying it up.
“He’s in there now,” Scootaloo said, looking down the corridor. “W-What am I going to do? What if he doesn’t make it? And, even if he does, Blossomforth said I might not be able to live with him anymore?”
Diamond Tiara put her brush away, and leaned over to pull the anxious filly beside her into a hug. Scootaloo returned it immediately, and rested her head on Diamond Tiara’s shoulder as she took steady, calming breaths.
“It’ll be fine,” Diamond Tiara said. “Your dad will pull through, I’m sure. And when he does, I’ll make sure they don’t take him away from you.”
“Y-You can do that?”
“Of course. My daddy is the richest, most powerful pony in Ponyville. All I have to do is ask him, and he’d do anything for me. He said so himself.”
“… Heh, thanks,” Scootaloo said, sniffing back a few tears. She remained in Diamond Tiara’s comforting embrace a while longer, until a set of approaching hoofsteps suddenly stopped beside the two fillies.
“Miss Scootaloo?” Scootaloo looked up to find Nurse Redheart standing before her. “The operation was a success.”
Time froze for Scootaloo, and her jaw hung open as she simply gaped at Nurse Redheart, fresh tears running down her eyes from the news that her father was okay. Diamond Tiara held Scootaloo’s hoof, and shot her a smile.
“C-Can we see him?” Scootaloo asked, but her heart sank when the nurse shook her head. “Why not?”
“He’s still resting. But you’ll be able to see him soon, so why not rest yourself whilst you wait? You look like you haven’t slept well lately.”
Scootaloo nodded her head, and then let out a loud yawn. With the relief of her father being well suddenly washing over her, the realisation of just how tired she really was hit the filly suddenly. “Yeah… I guess I could do with getting some shuteye.”
Scootaloo leaned over, and rested her head on Diamond Tiara’s lap. The pink filly blushed, and flustered as she nudged the orange filly. “H-Hey! What are you doing?”
“Gettin’ some sleep,” Scootaloo answered, yawning once more as she closed her eyes, and shifted about to make herself more comfortable.
“G-Get off!” Diamond Tiara ordered. She looked up to the nurse for help, but the older mare simply giggled, and turned away, so Diamond Tiara turned her attention back down to Scootaloo. “I said get off! I’m not your pillow, you know?”
“Ssh,” Scootaloo said. “Trying ta sleep.”
Diamond Tiara huffed, but couldn’t bring herself to push Scootaloo off by force. Sighing in defeat, she simply sat back in her chair, and idly moved her hoof over to Scootaloo’s, connecting the two as the other filly started to snore. ‘My legs hurt… Stupid dodo-brain…’
An hour later, Nurse Redheart woke up the two fillies sleeping in the waiting room to let them know that Scootaloo’s father was awake, and that they could now visit him. Scootaloo wasted no time in getting to his hospital room, and Diamond Tiara had to run faster than she ever did in Gym class just to keep up with her. By the time she reached the room, she was completely out of breath, and the world seemed to be spinning around her.
Scootaloo didn’t notice, as she was too busy hugging her father tightly, calling him an idiot over and over again for making her worry. Teddy seemed to take notice of Diamond Tiara walking in, and directed his attention to her. “Are you Diamond Tiara, by any chance?” he asked.
It was then that Scootaloo remembered her being there with her, and quickly jumped away from her dad. Wiping her tears away, Scootaloo leaned against the side of the hospital bed and tried to play it cool, hoping that Diamond Tiara hadn’t noticed her little display just now.
Diamond Tiara did notice, though, and was already giggling to herself at Scootaloo’s pathetic attempt to look cool. However, something else crossed her mind, and she stopped and turned her attention to Teddy. “How did you know who I was?”
“Scootaloo told me about you,” he answered, making Scootaloo’s face turn red. “Though I can’t really tell what kind of filly you are from her descriptions of you. Once, you were the mean, bratty, spoiled, uptight little rich kid, and you were fat, too.” Diamond Tiara cast a glare on Scootaloo, who quickly turned her head and began whistling innocently. “But recently, you’ve been strong-willed, loyal, determined, and cute.” Scootaloo blushed harder. Diamond Tiara wasn’t sure whether to wear her insulted face, or her cocky face.
“Um… h-has she told you anything else?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“About you two dating? Yeah.” Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened, and Teddy let out a weak laugh, before choking a little bit. “My throat is pretty dry… and you look pretty worn out. Scootaloo, do you think you could bring us some water?”
“Huh? What about the nurse?” Scootaloo asked.
“She’s been at my beck-and-call all week. I feel kinda guilty constantly bothering her like this…”
“It’s what they get paid for, though,” Scootaloo pointed out with a laugh. “Well, whatever. I’ll be back before you can say ‘Wonderbolt’!”
Scootaloo dashed out of the hospital room with just as much speed as when she raced towards it. Diamond Tiara was amazed at just how much energy the filly had, despite her lack of sleep. “Too bad she can’t fly, or she might actually become a Wonderbolt someday.”
“It’s common for Pegasus offspring of two Earth Ponies to have difficulties flying… At least, that’s what the doctor told us when she was born.” Diamond Tiara turned to face Teddy, who was pointing a hoof to the stool beside his bed. “Sit down. I wanna talk to you about something.”
Diamond Tiara gulped, and nervously approached the stool. Could this have something to do about her relationship with his daughter? Maybe he wasn’t happy with his daughter dating her former bully?
“I want to thank you, for getting along so well with my daughter.” Diamond Tiara felt a little calmer now, and nodded. “Are her other friends not here? Those ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’?”
“One of them’s grounded,” Diamond Tiara explained, “And the other is a complete imbecile.”
Teddy titled his head in confusion. “Wait, what?”
Diamond Tiara blushed as she remembered Apple Bloom teasing her during class. It didn’t help that Silver Spoon did the same thing after school. “Never mind. So, you’re not… angry, or anything?”
“I assume you’re referring to all the name-calling and such that Scootaloo’s told me about?” Diamond Tiara nodded. “Don’t worry about it. Scootaloo’s a tough filly. You never really did any damage to her. Besides… I used to give my fillyfriend a hard time, too. ‘Cause I was secretly shy and stuff…”
“I-I’m not shy!” Diamond Tiara shouted, her red face not backing her claim up. “And besides, I started with all that before I liked her!”
Teddy chuckled, and slowly moved a hoof forward to pat Diamond Tiara on the head. “Wow. You’re just like I was, back when I was a colt. Only, completely loaded. Anyway, do you think you could ask Scootaloo’s other friends to drop by sometime? I want to thank them, too. It’s thanks to them, that Scootaloo didn’t become messed up, from not having a father figure in her life.”
Diamond Tiara batted his hoof away, and narrowed her eyes as she stared into his. “You know, Scootaloo looks up to you.”
“She does?”
“Yeah. On Family Appreciation Day, she’s always upset that you’re too ill to come in. She’s always talking about how she has the best father in the world, because, despite your illness, you still try to find the time to talk with her. And, she’s always pushing herself to help you out, and make things easier for you…”
“… I… No, I’m not worthy of being looked up to like that. I… I ran away from the truth, because I was scared, and I lost my daughter because of it. Even if I start to change now, there’s no way I’d be allowed to keep her.”
“So you’re just going to give up, just like that? ‘Cause I don’t think Scootaloo will!”
Teddy shook his head. “No. I’ve already told myself that I’ll stop drinking. And I’m going to find myself a proper job just as soon as I get out of here. But… Scootaloo deserves a better father than me…”
“No!” Both ponies turned the open doorway, to find Scootaloo running back inside the room, carrying a tray with three cups of water on her back. “I don’t want another dad! I don’t want a ‘better father figure’! I want the dad that’s always been with me, for as long as I can remember!”
“Scootaloo, I-”
“I won’t let them take you away! If they want to keep us apart, I’ll… I’ll…”
“We’ll do something about it,” Diamond Tiara said, jumping off of her seat and approaching Scootaloo, giving her a quick, gentle nuzzle to calm her down. “My daddy knows how all this legal stuff works. I’m sure he can think of something.”
Scootaloo smiled and nodded, and then set her gaze back on her dad. “So there you have it! We still got a lot of father-daughter stuff to catch up on, so you can’t leave me yet!”
Teddy stared at the two fillies in complete bewilderment, before sighing and letting out a soft chuckle. “Honestly, how’d I get so lucky to have a daughter like you… and a future daughter-in-law like you?”
Both fillies’ faces flushed red in an instant, and they both stepped away from each other as quickly as they could. “I-Idiot!” Scootaloo shouted. “W-We’ve only just started going out!”
“Yeah! There’s no way we’re thinking about m-marriage yet!”
Teddy broke out into laughter at their responses. It had been a long time since he had laughed so much, and he found himself unable to stop. Though, it came at a price, since his body was still aching all over from his earlier operation. Still, it was worth it. He was laughing, and his daughter was happy… so it was all worth it.
“Maybe,” he started, “Maybe everything will be alright, after all.”
One week later, a very special day came around. It was a day that only happened once every year, and, in a certain mansion in Ponyville, was the most important day of the year. Even more important than Winter Wrap Up, or the Summer Sun Celebration, or even Hearth’s Warming Eve.
Yes. Today, was Diamond Tiara’s birthday. And, as was tradition on her birthdays, her father had taken the day off from work so that he could spend the entire day with his little Princess. And, just like every year that this day comes around, the Rich family went out to eat someplace fancy that evening. A restaurant up in Canterlot, that had recently been recommended personally by Fancypants himself.
Only this year, there were two more accompanying the Rich family. Scootaloo, and her father, Teddy, who was now feeling a lot better than he was last week, although he still had to walk on a crutch for the time being.
When they arrived, Scootaloo and Teddy were in awe at the fancy, high-class appearance and atmosphere of the restaurant. Even if it was a family restaurant, it seemed that the ponies of Canterlot were still a whole lot different than the ponies in Ponyville. The vibe the two were feeling from all the posh-looking ponies, and the expensive-looking furniture all around them, almost made the two feel a bit uneasy.
‘And I thought Diamond was all fancy and upper-class…’ Scootaloo thought to herself as she looked around the outside of restaurant. Something caught her eye, and she nudged Diamond Tiara to get her attention. “Hey, check it out!”
Diamond Tiara looked to where Scootaloo was pointing a hoof, and looked uninterested when she set her eyes on a small play area sitting outside of the restaurant. There were a few swings, a slide, some monkey bars, and a jungle gym, and it was currently completely empty. “Yeah? What about it?”
“Let’s go check it out!”
“We’re a little old for that, don’t you think?”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Don’t pretend you’re not interested,” she said as she grabbed Diamond Tiara’s hoof, and began running towards the play area, dragging Diamond Tiara with her.
“H-Hey, wait!” Diamond Tiara shouted in protest. She looked over to her parents for help. “Daddyyyyyy!”
Filthy Rich simply smiled, and waved over to the two fillies. “Have fun you two! I’ll come and fetch you when our meals are ready!”
“Alright!” Scootaloo shouted back.
Diamond Tiara couldn’t believe that he father had abandoned her so mercilessly… but, there was nothing she could do about it now. Scootaloo was an athlete, and Diamond Tiara wasn’t. That gave Scootaloo the advantage here.
Scootaloo pushed the gateway to the play area open, and released Diamond Tiara’s hoof as she began to climb the ladder up to the top of the slide. “C’mon!” she called down, noticing that Diamond Tiara wasn’t following her up. “You’re not scared of heights, are ya?”
“O-Of course not!” Diamond Tiara shouted, even though that wasn’t true at all. She was actually terrified of heights, ever since she was a very young filly, and had hijacked one of those platforms used by window cleaners in Manehatten.
“Well, c’mon up, then!”
Diamond Tiara scrunched her face up, and glared at the base of the ladder. Reluctantly, she placed one hoof on, and then another. She started to climb the ladder, looking up the entire time. ‘Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.’
Once she reached the top, Diamond Tiara tried not to look over the edge. However, the platform itself wasn’t very big, so it was easy for her eyes to wander just a little too far to the right, and glance over the edge of the not-so-high rail behind her. ‘T-That has to be at least a one thousand foot drop!’
“Man, not very high, is it?” Scootaloo asked, shocking Diamond Tiara.
“Y-Yeah,” she answered nervously, her voice shaking a little bit. “T-Totally…”
“Well, let’s go!” Scootaloo moved aside, offering the slide to Diamond Tiara. “‘Ladies first’, right?” she teased. Diamond Tiara used that line many times against Scootaloo. To get the first bite of ice-cream, to make Scootaloo hold the door open for her, to be the first one to get a free sample at Bonbon’s candy store…
“Um… R-Right…” Diamond Tiara approached the top of the slide, and sat down on it. She looked down the slide, and could almost feel her small lunch from earlier working its way up her throat. She really didn’t want to be up here anymore, but there was no way she could just say that, and look completely lame in front of Scootaloo.
Suddenly, a pair of orange hooves wrapped themselves around the pink filly’s chest, and she turned around to see Scootaloo sitting right behind her, a grin plastered on her face. “Don’t worry. I gotcha.”
Before Diamond Tiara could say anything, Scootaloo pushed forward, and both fillies began to fall down the slide at high-speed. Diamond Tiara screamed the whole way down, though her screams of terror were covered by Scootaloo’s excited cheering.
When they finally hit the bottom, Scootaloo jumped to her hooves and ran in front of Diamond Tiara. “That was awesome, don’tcha think?”
Diamond Tiara gritted her teeth together as she glared at Scootaloo. “No! I don’t!” she shouted, rising to her hooves to confront the rash Pegasus filly. “What were you thinking, doing something like that?!”
“Oh, come on,” Scootaloo said, still smiling as she stepped closer to Diamond Tiara. “You know I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to ya.” Scootaloo leaned forward, and connected her lips with Diamond Tiara’s. The surprised filly’s eyes widened, and she froze up as she tried to process what was happening.
Scootaloo pulled back, and giggled at Diamond Tiara’s stupefied expression. “W-Wha…”
“Happy birthday, Diamond,” Scootaloo said. “I… couldn’t buy you anything. So, I wanna make sure we have lots of fun today, instead…” Scootaloo kicked the ground nervously, and looked off to the side to hide her blushing face.
Diamond Tiara felt her anger slipping away, and she was about to say something, before a voice behind Scootaloo cut her off. “Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo!” It was Filthy Rich’s voice. “Come on! Our meals are ready!”
“Already?” Scootaloo asked, sounding disappointed. “Oh well… C’mon, let’s go! I’ll race ya there!”
Diamond Tiara harrumphed as she walked past Scootaloo. “No thanks. You’ll obviously win.”
“I’ll give ya a handicap, duh!” Scootaloo said, almost in a cocky tone. “Onetwothreego!”
Diamond Tiara jumped to the side, and watched as Scootaloo sped past her. “I’m not going to take part in such a childish game!” she shouted as she chased after Scootaloo, putting everything she had into trying to catch up and push past the athletic filly. “Darn it! Slow down already!”
“Last one there does the winner’s homework for a week!” Scootaloo called back.
“What?!” Diamond Tiara shouted back. “No faaaaaair!”
When the two made it inside the restaurant, Diamond Tiara was utterly exhausted, and Scootaloo was holding back her laughter, watching as Filthy Rich had to carry his tired daughter to their table on his back. The two fillies sat next to each other at the table, and the waitress came by soon after with everypony’s meals.
Diamond Tiara chugged her glass of soda in one go, breathing a sigh of relief when she was done. She could hear Scootaloo still trying to hold back her laughter, and shot the Pegasus filly a glare to shut her up. It didn’t work.
‘Honestly. Dragging me around like that, making me ride that gargantuous death-trap, making me run a marathon, and then laughing at me! This was absolutely, without a doubt…’ Diamond Tiara placed her glass down, and set her hardened glare onto her meal. She lifted up her cutlery, and began to eat, sparing on last glance at Scootaloo as she did so. ‘… The best birthday ever.’