//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Alula and Diamond Tiara's Adventures in Romance // by Yukito //------------------------------// Today has just been so boring. Thanks to those stupid blank flanks, I’ve been grounded for the rest of the week. How was I supposed to know Sweetie Belle was so afraid of spiders it made her magic burst out of control? It’s her fault for being such a baby in the first place! And it’s not like I’m the one who made her a Unicorn. Ever since I got back from the stupid field trip this morning, I’ve been stuck in my room with nothing to do. I decided to take try to sleep the day away, but despite having nothing to do and being so bored, I can’t seem to just fall asleep. Instead, I’m just lying here with my eyes closed, thinking of ways to get back those blank flanks for trapping me here like this. I’ll have to make sure to have Featherweight watch them for their weaknesses when I go to school tomorrow. Ugh, great. Now the dog’s slobbering all over me… Wait, we don’t have a dog. “Ruff!” And that certainly doesn’t sound like a dog. “Who’s there?!” I shout as I quickly roll onto my front, pushing myself to my hooves. Standing before me is Big Macintosh, the blank flank’s older brother, and the most boring pony to hold a conversation with, ever. “W-What are you doing in my room?! Daddy!” Big Macintosh rears back, and pounces towards me. I somehow manage to move out of the way in time. Wait… his coat seems a little off. Darker, and- Ah! Forget that, he’s still trying to attack me! And why is he hanging his tongue out like that? That’s just uncouth, even for him! “DADDY!” I scream as I run out of my room, making sure to slam the door behind me. I hear a loud ‘oof!’ on the other side, and quickly run down the hallway. “DADDY!” BAM! Owww… W-Who’s that?! Who did I just run into? … Apple Bloom?! W-What is she doing in my house?! And… why is she wearing a phrench maid outfit? “Oh! Apologies, Mistress! I heard you screaming, and came running as quickly as possible.” … What. Is. Going. ON?! Standing before me is somepony who looks like Apple Bloom, minus the darker coat and hair colours, but the outfit she’s wearing, the ladylike tone of her voice, and the speaking normally?! Nuh-uh! This can’t be her! “Is everything okay, Mistress? Is there anything I can do to-” “Who are you?!” She gives me a confused look. I’m the confused one here! “I’m Apple Bloom. Your personal servant? Here to serve and please you in whatever way you desire?” … Okay, actually, I like the sound of that. A lot. But… I’m not stupid. This is clearly a trick. “Okay then, I’ll play along. Blank flank, kiss my hoof.” I reach my forehoof forward, and wait for the natural gag response to come. “Yes, Mistress.” She… actually does it. She kneels down, grabs my hoof, and plants a gentle kiss on it. A light one, lasting no more than a single second. She then pulls back and stands back up. “Is that all, Mistress? I would like to prepare lunch for you now.” “… Uh-” A bang on my bedroom door reminds me of what I was doing before I ran into the blank flank. “Ah! That’s right! Where’s my daddy?!” “If it is Mr. Rich you are looking for, I believe I saw him in the pool about five minutes earlier.” “The pool? Tha-” … D-Did I almost say ‘thanks’ to her? Blech! Get it together, Diamond Tiara. “Uh, new order: distract that uncouth brother of yours! Do whatever it takes to keep him away from me!” She nods and gives a curt bow. “Yes, Mistress. How long should I-” “Forever!” I shout as I run past her. I think she said something just now, but I don’t care. I just want to find daddy and find out what the hay is going on! I run outside and head towards the pool. “Daddy! Big Macintosh is in our house and he assaulted me! And that blank flank is trying to infiltrate by pretending… she’s our… maid…” Last I remember, our pool was filled with water. Not money. And yet, for sure, the entire pool seems to have been emptied out and filled in with bank notes. From the looks of it, enough money to buy an entire city! “Hey Diamond!” I look up at the top of the diving board to see daddy looking down at me, waving a hoof. “Check it out! I’m literally swimming money!” He jumps off and dives into the money pool. He rises to the surface just moments afterwards, and starts to backstroke through all of the money. “D-Daddy? What are you doing? Why are you swimming in our money?” No response. He’s ignoring me? His own daughter? “DADDY!” “Oh, he’s just having a little fun!” a voice behind me says. I turn around, but there’s no one there. “There’s really no need to get so worked up! I’m just making my new home feel more… homely.” I turn around again, and come face-to-face with a… a… “W-What are you?” I ask. I’m not scared. Really I’m not. I may not have a clue as to what is standing before me right now, although it does look familiar, somehow, but I’m most certainly not scared. “Hm, how strange. I would have thought I’d made headlines by now,” he says as he… removes his own head… Okay, now I’m scared. “My name is Discord. Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, and your new King!” “O-Our n-n-new King?” I take a few steps back, slowly. “W-W-What about the P-P-Princesses?” “Oh, don’t worry. They’re not harmed. They’re just utterly powerless to stop me.” He puts his head back on and then teleports behind me. I shriek and turn around quickly, not wanting this… thing, to be out of my sight. “Isn’t that great?! Now we can enjoy chaos, eternal!” He produces cotton candy from nowhere, and a stick grows out from it. I think he’s offering it to me, but I just shake my head. Why would I eat something offered to me by this… this… “Oh well, suit yourself,” he says as he eats the stick, and then throws the cotton candy into the air. It floats there, like cloud. And then starts pouring out droplets of… chocolate milk? “W-What do you w-w-want? If it’s m-money you’re after, my d-d-daddy has l-lots of it. Right, daddy?” … Daddy is still swimming, even at a time like this?! “I told you,” the thing says to me, “I’m just here to add a few homely touches to my new world! Come now, Diamond Tiara! You should join the fun!” He reaches his claw forward towards me. There’s only on course of action I can think of! “AAAAAHHHHH!” I have to get out of here! I have to find somepony who can help! Miss Cheerilee? She always says that she’ll be there for us if we’re in trouble, and daddy’s… not being the most help right now. “Oh, they’re so cute when they try to run!” … Wait, I’m not actually moving. In fact, I’m not even on the ground anymore! I’m floating in the air! “This is your new home, Diamond Tiara! You might as well get into the spirit of things!” I feel something touch my head. Something sharp. His claw, maybe? “Embrace the chaos.” … E-Everything’s… going… black… … Daddy… Silver… Spoon… Alu… la… … I have no idea when it happened, or how it happened, but all of a sudden, Ponyville went crazy! And I don’t mean just the ponies in it. The buildings are floating, and upside-down, there are delicious cotton candy clouds in the sky pouring chocolate milk rain, which I didn’t have a problem with until I ate too much of it, and the ground has been replaced with a bunch of blue and light-blue squares! The ponies in town are all out of their minds, too! Miss Cheerilee is going around bullying everypony by pushing them over and calling them names, Miss Raindrops was marrying a loaf of bread when I last saw her, and Miss Derpy was delivering mail on time, without crashing into anything! I was going to go home to make sure mum was alright, but my house isn’t where it used to be! So now I’m just running around blindly, trying to find mum, and Diamond, and Silver Spoon. Hopefully, they’re all safe and sound. “Something wrong, my dear?” WAH! W-What the? “Wh-Wh-Who are you?” “Oh, honestly. What is it with you fillies today? Does news not travel as fast as it did one thousand years ago or something?” The thing floating in front of me sighs, and then leans down towards me. “Well, whatever! My name is Discord, and I couldn’t help but notice how sad you looked just now, and thought I’d come down to cheer you up!” Some chocolate milk appears in his claw, and a glass forms around it, from top to bottom. He hands me the chocolate milk. “Uh… thanks?” So, he’s just trying to help me? Huh, guess he’s not a bad guy after all, then. Must be a friend of Pinkie Pie’s. “Um, I’m looking for my friends, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The entire town’s gone crazy, and I’m really worried about them, and I-” “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about them,” he says as he pulls out a golf club from… somewhere, and examines it. He makes the shaft shorter, so that it only fits in one of his hands. “You mean they’re okay?” “What I mean is that worrying over others will just dampen your day. Why waste time brooding over your so-called ‘friends’? It will simply prevent you from having any fun at all.” Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are my friends, and what you just said is all wrong. I can’t have fun without knowing that they’re safe and alright. It’s only natural I’d worry about them in this situation, and I know they’re worried for me, too!” “Oh, I don’t know about that.” Discord puts his claw around me and takes the chocolate milk he had just given me. He holds up his paw and a puppet that looks like Diamond Tiara appears on it. “Why, if I were in your horseshoes, I would totally just forget about Alula and save myself!” the puppet says in a gravelly, feminine voice whilst Discord drinks the chocolate milk. I’m… not sure what’s going on here. “Uh…” “Why, how awful!” Discord says in a shocked tone, though it’s obviously fake. “Well, I guess the ‘magic of friendship’ only goes so far.” I shake my head. “That’s not true. I’m sure Di is just as worried for me as I am for her. And Silver Spoon, too.” Discord places his claw on my head. “Oh, wake up and smell the daises, Alula! If you wanna make it in this world, you’ve got to embrace the chaos, and not waste time worrying about others.” “… Sorry, but that just doesn’t make sense to me.” I bat his claw away and start to move past him. “If you’re not going to help me, then I’ll just search on my own.” “… What’s this?” I hear him ask behind me. “First Fluttershy, now you? Huh, I must be losing my touch… Well, it seems we have company, so I guess I’ll just have to get back to you. But don’t say that I didn’t warn you, Alula!” I continue to run through the streets as fast as I can. She has to be here somewhere, and I’m going to find her! “Diamond! Where are you?! Diamooooond!” “What is it, Alula?” … I-Is that really her? Diamond Tiara, sitting in the middle of the road, her tiara on the ground, and frowning as she stares at me with empty eyes. Her coat and her hair are all much darker shades than what they usually are, too. “Di, are you okay?” I ask as I approach her. She lowers her head and sighs. “Who cares? Just leave me alone.” “… Diamond?” I fall down to my haunches to look her in the eyes. “What’s wrong? What happened? You don’t sound like your usual self.” “…” “Di, please, tell me what happened. You’re starting to scare me.” “Who cares? I sure don’t.” She lifts a hoof and shoves me back a bit, though there wasn’t much spirit put into it. “I don’t care about you, or Filthy Rich, or Silver Spoon, or anypony. We’re all going to die anyway, so what’s the point of hanging out, having fun, or making money?” She sighs again and slumps further down to the ground. “What’s the point of any of it?” … W-What is happening? Diamond Tiara, the tough, cheerful, confident, and determined filly, who lives her life making sure that everypony knows her name and how great and talented she is, is now talking about how nothing she does in life matters? She’s talking about how her friends don’t mean a thing to her, and talking about her dad as if she doesn’t care about him? “Diamond… don’t you remember all the fun we’ve had together? You, Silver Spoon, and I, hanging out at our houses together, going to the cinema, having picnics in the parks… How can you say that none of that means anything to you? That I don’t mean anything to you?” She shoots me an angry glare. “Just go away. You’re annoying.” She then looks back down at the ground, and I take a moment to let that comment pass by. She’s not herself. She’s just like everypony else in this town, and I’ve got to do something to save her. “Diamond…” No, I can’t cry… I can’t, because I have to be strong right now. I have to find a way to save her. I have to… “Diamond, I’m going to save you. So please… please, just give me some time…” I hold up her chin with my hoof. She doesn’t put up any form of resistance. I move my face closer to hers. “I love you, Diamond Tiara, and I will save you. Please remember that.” I close my eyes and bring my lips closer to hers. … What’s this warm feeling running through my body? What’s this blinding light surrounding me? What is… What is Apple Bloom doing, brushing my mane in the middle of the street? Wait, was I… Was I really just sitting here, complaining about how terrible life is, and how everything I have is all meaningless? Why would I ever do such a thing?! My life is great! I’ve got the best friend in the whole world, I have my daddy, who gives me anything I ask for, and I have so much talent and natural charisma that ponies want to be just like me! Alula… Huh? Why did Alula just pop into my head? “Di? Are you… Are you back to normal?” I turn around to find Alula standing behind me, her eyes wide and… tears, running down her face? “Alula? What… Why are you crying?” “DIAMOND!” she screams and she jumps forward and tackles me to the ground. “Don’t scare me like that! I thought I had lost you! I thought I was never going to see or hear the real you ever again!” What is she doing?! If she doesn’t ease up, she won’t hear from me ever again! “ALULA! GET OFF!” I kick her off of me, and she lets out a quiet laugh. “Thank Celestia… Thank Celestia that you’re back to normal…” … That’s right… “That’s right! That… That monster thing, he did something to me! And the next thing I remember, I was like a totally different pony! I think… I think he showed me what happens when you die… How nothing you’ve done in life matters, because when you die, there’s nothing after that… I-I couldn’t stand it. I thought: ‘Why bother trying so hard, if you don’t get to keep it all in the end?’, and then I-” Alula tackles me again, only this time, it’s more of a gentle hug than an assault on my windpipes. “But, that’s exactly why it does matter. We have to treasure the time we spend together, and live each day to its fullest. I don’t care what the future holds; I just love spending each and every day with you. And Silver Spoon, too…” … “Yeah… I know that,” I say as I push her away from me. “That stupid jerk, he made me forget who I am! I’m Diamond Tiara! I don’t just live for my sake, but for everypony else’s too! After all, everypony deserves the gift of my presence in their lives!” Alula picks something up and offers it to me. It’s my tiara… “Here. You dropped this.” “…” Thanks… I take the tiara, and put it on my head. Ah, I feel much better now! “Wait, what about Silver Spoon? Is she okay?” “I don’t know,” Alula answers. “But we should go look for her. She might need our help, too.” I nod in agreement. “Let’s go then. Every second is vital!” The two of us start running down the streets. Around me are ponies doing all sorts of crazy and random things. Minuette, the dentist, is giving out free candy by just throwing it all over the place, Miss Fluttershy is dumping water on random ponies, and Snips and Snails are… studying, from the looks of it. But there’s still no sign of Silver Spoon yet. And I doubt anypony will be of much help if we asked them. Silver Spoon, please be okay… “Oh, come on!” A flash of light causes us to stop, and I quickly back up as I see Discord standing in front of me! “First that filly is immune to my powers, and then she reverses them?! This is just getting ridiculous, and that’s coming from me!” “G-Get away from me, you monster!” I scream as I point a hoof at him. “Don’t you dare try whatever you did before on me again!” “Wait, you mean he’s the one that made you like that?” Alula asks, to which I nod. “… You mean, he’s not a good guy?” … Alula, really… What part of his appearance makes you think he’s a good guy?! “Look, I don’t know how you managed to reverse my spell, but I’ll be honest, I’m in such a good mood right now that I’ll let it slide.” A large lollipop forms in his claw. “Well, now that the Elements of Harmony are useless against me, I can take all the time I need to let you two see the beauty of my chaos.” … Silver Spoon… I have to get to Silver Spoon, fast, but this guy is in our way! “Move it, you big freak!” I shout, taking a few steps forward. “I said, move it!” He laughs and wipes a tear from his eye. “Oh, how cute. What, you think you can do something, when even the Princesses themselves cannot?” I stop just in front of him, and rise up onto my hind legs. “My daddy paid good money for my self-defence classes! Get out of here, or else!” He simply continues laughing. Well, I warned him. Daddy said that there was one spot of a stallion I must never hit, unless they try to do something weird to me. He might not be a stallion, but he definitely did something weird to me, so… Here goes nothing. My eyes widen as I watch Diamond bravely standing up to the monster before us. My mouth hangs open as I hear her threaten him to move aside. I just don’t know how to react, when she swings a hind leg forward, bringing it between the monster’s legs and hitting him with such force that his eyes literally pop out of their sockets, before he screams and falls onto the floor, writhing in pain. “AAAHHH! SON OF A BASILISK! HOLY MOTHER OF ME! WHY DO I EVEN HAVE THIS WEAKNESS?!” “Come on!” Diamond shouts, breaking me out of my stupor. “We’ve got to go find Silver Spoon! Let’s move it!” “Uh, right!” I chase after her, leaving the monster-thingy behind us, shouting words that would make my mum ground me for months if she heard me saying them. “Uh… That was… rather impressive…” “Daddy says that colts will try to ‘make moves’ on me in the future, because of how cute I am, and that I should be able to defend myself!” “‘Make moves’? What, like asking you out? You need to kick them for that?” She shrugs. I guess she doesn’t understand it either, but I know that Diamond always trusts her dad’s word, no matter what. “Wait, I think I see…” Diamond picks up her speed, as do I. “YES! It’s her! It’s Silver Spoon!” I look ahead of her, and indeed, Silver Spoon is standing on a hilltop, not too far from us. She’s sitting on a large pile of gems, reading a book, and using Scootaloo as a hoofrest, whilst Sweetie Belle massages her back. The most noticeable thing though, is that her colours are a darker shade than normal. Which means… “We’re too late,” Diamond says as we stop just short of Silver Spoon, who seems to take notice of us and looks at us with a bored look on her face. “Oh, you two. What are you doing here?” “Silver Spoon… are you okay?” Diamond asks. “Of course I am,” Silver Spoon responds, though not in a friendly manner. “In fact, I’m better than ever. Now that I’m no longer being hindered by you two, I’m able to focus solely on what matters: money. Those with it, rule. And those without it…” She kicks Scootaloo, who groans for a moment, but doesn’t do anything. In fact, she looks afraid… “Those without it, submit. Tell me: which are you?” “… S-Silver, what are you… I mean, it’s true that wealth is what separates us from them, but it’s not all there is out there.” Silver Spoon scoffs. “See? That’s what I’m talking about. You two are always holding me back, but not anymore. I’m not interested in your ‘friendships’, because they hold absolutely no value whatsoever.” Silver Spoon… what has that monster done to you? You’ve always been one to seek out riches and gain the upper hoof on ponies, but you never sold your soul in order to do it. You would sooner give up your riches forever, than see Diamond Tiara come under any form of harm. “Alula…” I turn to Diamond, who’s looking at me with a look I’ve never seen in her before: pleading. “Please… Please, save Silver Spoon!” W-What?! How does she expect me to- “Just, do whatever you did on me to Silver Spoon! Please, I’m begging you!” “Diamond… d-don’t you remember what I did to you?” She shakes her head. “My memory’s a little fuzzy, and I’m trying not to remember my time when I was like… that…” Ah, that makes sense. Still, for me to do the same thing to Silver Spoon that I did to Diamond… “I… I don’t know if I can…” “Please,” she says again, in that pleading tone. And… her eyes are starting to water. “Please, Alula. Do whatever it takes, just save Silver Spoon!” “… Okay…” She really means a lot to Diamond, huh? Well, of course. They’ve been friends since way back when. And, she’s my friend, too. I don’t like seeing her like this anymore than Diamond does. But, even so, the idea of kissing Silver Spoon with Diamond watching is a little… “Uh, could you, maybe stand watch while I do it? In case that monster shows up again, y’know?” She nods, and turns around in silence, watching out for any signs of that monster appearing to attack us again. “… Right, then I guess I’ll give this a shot…” I move closer to Silver Spoon, who gives me a cautious look. “What do you want? If you’re after my gems, I’ll-” “Silver Spoon, listen. What I’m about to do means nothing, and I’m only doing it for Di’s sake. So… just try to remember that, okay? Or better yet, just don’t remember this at all.” I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and grab the sides of Silver Spoon’s head with my hooves. Suddenly, I hear a loud explosion all around us, which startles me and causes me to jump back. “W-What was that?!” “What happened?!” I hear Diamond shout as she runs up to me. “Silver Spoon! You’re back!” She is? Oh, she is! Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, too! And the area around us. “H-How-” Before I can continue to question it, Diamond tackles me with a hug. “You did it! You actually did it! Oh, thank you, Alula!” … I… don’t know what just happened, but I’ll certainly accept credit for it, if this is what it gets me. “Yeah, well… it was nothing, really,” I say as I move my hoof to return Diamond’s affectionate embrace, only to find that she’s no longer there. She’s now standing next to Silver Spoon, looking her over and asking her if she is alright. “Uh, guys?” Silver Spoon asks. “What… happened today?” Both Diamond and I look at each other, and then back at Silver Spoon. “I don’t know,” Diamond says. “But does it matter? We’re all back to normal again!” I smile, and nod in agreement. “Yeah, that’s right! Everything’s back to normal…” I rear up for a second, ready myself, and then, charge forward, tackling both Diamond and Silver Spoon and forcing them into a group hug. “You’re both alright, that’s all that matters!” “WAH?! ALULA! GET OFF OF ME! YOU’RE… YOU’RE SO HEAVY!” Silver Spoon shouts as she shakes about. “Now you know how it feels!” Diamond says as she tries to push me away. Yep. Everything is back to normal. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.