Diamond Tiara stared at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in confusion. She still wasn't totally sure what was going on between the two of them, with all the fuss about her sleeping with Scootaloo and all that hugging they were doing. She'd always thought hugging was a little undignified. She couldn't think of the last time she'd been hugged, before last night, that was.
Sweetie Belle seemed equally confused, looking back and forth between the two of them before finally speaking.
"Um, what were you doing in the clubhouse?" Not giving Diamond Tiara a chance to reply, Sweetie Belle turned back to Scootaloo. "Scoots, what's going on?"
Scootaloo looked at Diamond Tiara sheepishly. "Given I messed up my first try, maybe you should tell her?"
"But you said you should tell Sweetie Belle," Diamond replied.
"One of you should tell me," Sweetie Belle huffed. She pointed at Diamond Tiara. "You are the one who went from what you did yesterday to being in our clubhouse this morning. Why don't you explain what's going on? Starting with your breaking Apple Bloom's legs."
Here goes nothing. Diamond Tiara took a deep breath.
"Well, I didn't exactly mean to break her legs. There was a mud puddle nearby, and I totally thought you'd all end up in it. That would have been funny."
Scootaloo glared at her when she said that for some reason. But it would have been. They thought it was funny when me and Silver Spoon were the ones in the mud, didn't they?
"But then Apple Bloom ended up in the hospital, and that was even funnier, right?"
"No, that wasn't funny at all! I totally wouldn't have done it if I'd known what was going to happen." Which was quite true. If she'd had any idea it'd lead to Daddy kicking her out and her having nowhere to live, she certainly wouldn't have done it. "I'm sorry."
There. She'd said it.
"Uh huh." Sweetie Belle crossed her forelegs and frowned. "And the clubhouse?"
"Well, Daddy was really angry at me afterwards," she said, a lump forming in her throat as she went back over what had happened once again.
"So he made you come down to the clubhouse to apologise?" Sweetie Belle guessed. "I'm, um, kinda pretty upset with you still. I'm not ready to accept an apology yet."
Sweetie Belle wasn't going to accept her apology? Was that allowed?
"No, he was really really angry. Smashing my tiara to pieces and kicking me out of the house angry." She shuddered, and blinked. She wasn't going to start crying again. Not now.
Sweetie Belle blinked. "Your tiara isn't still upstairs?"
Scootaloo spoke up. "No, she didn't have it on her last night."
"Oh," Sweetie Belle said softly, and was quiet for a few minutes before picking back up where she left off.
"Ok, so if you needed someplace to stay last night, I can see how you ended up here, I guess. But I'm still not sure why Scoots let you stay." She turned to Scootaloo quizzically. "Weren't you talking about dunking her in boiling oil yesterday?"
She'd been talking about what?
"I wasn't talking about dunking Diamond Tiara in boiling oil yesterday," Scootaloo replied.
Oh. Good.
"I thought-" Sweetie Belle said, confused.
"No, that was Apple Bloom. I wanted to draw and quarter her!" she said enthusiastically.
Not helping, Scootaloo, not helping.
"Oh, that's right!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Wait, you were talking about killing me?" Diamond Tiara screeched.
"Well, yeah," Scootaloo said. "It's boring sitting around a hospital bed, and we needed something to do."
Hmm. If Scootaloo got bandaged up yesterday, and was sitting around with Apple Bloom, wouldn't they have tried to notify her parents?
"If you were in the hospital yesterday, did they, like, try to get in touch with your family or anything?"
"They did ask me about it a couple of times," Scootaloo admitted. "Good thing they got distracted, and I wasn't badly hurt."
"You told her about your family?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"No, but if you're sleeping in a treehouse, some things are sorta obvious, you know?"
Scootaloo flicked one ear, idly dislodging a fly that had been bothering her.
"Right. So what happened last night?"
"I wanted a fight last night. I tried to get in one," Scootaloo said. "But I'm not going to hit somepony when they're down. She needed my help."
Diamond Tiara's ears pinned to the side of her head, thinking about her collapse last night. That had been so totally embarrassing. It would have been bad enough for anypony to see it, but for Scootaloo to see it-
And the way Scootaloo had reacted had been unexpected. It wasn't how she would have acted. But Scootaloo wouldn't hit somepony where they were down, and helped them when they needed help. Diamond Tiara wasn't able to say the same, and somehow she felt a little smaller for it.
Then she realised that both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were looking at her. Had she missed something?
"Sorry, could you repeat that?" she said, hoping one of them had asked a question.
"So, were you going to go to Sugarcube Corner with us for breakfast?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Oh, right. She supposed she'd better, even if she wasn't sure her meager supply of bits was up to it.
"Sure, let me just get my things."
She ran up the ramp, grabbed hold of her saddlebags, and went back down. After the ransacking of her room last night, she wasn't sure of the contents, but her allowance would be there, at least.
She rejoined the others, and started rummaging through her bags.
"Looking for a comb or a hairbrush?" Sweetie Belle asked.
When she said this, Diamond Tiara came to a horrid realization. She started searching for either frantically. Her bedmane must be horrible.
"Oh Celestia, my beautiful mane..." she moaned, as she searched. An awful suspicion dawned on her. Her set of combs and brushes was still sitting on top of her dresser by the mirror, weren't they?
Panicstruck at the thought of going to school with her mane sticking in all directions, she went up to Scootaloo and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Quick, I need to borrow your comb!" Diamond Tiara said, face to face with Scootaloo now. "It's an emergency!"
"You think I have a comb?" she replied, taken aback.
"Um," Sweetie Belle said hesitantly. "Diamond?"
"Oh, I'll be the laughingstock of the school!" Diamond Tiara groaned, continuing to paw through her bag.
Abruptly, a hairbrush and mirror passed right under her muzzle. Looking up, she realized Sweetie Belle was holding them out to her. She gratefully took both.
Checking out her reflection, she found she was right on the money about her appearance. She started detangling her mane and brushing it out. Her normal look wouldn't work, since she didn't have- there wasn't anything to hold it down. She just swept her mane back and let it fall loosely behind her for now.
It was different, but different might be good, and it wasn't like she had anything to tie it back with. She didn't even have a brush and mirror, since these weren't hers. She gave them back to Sweetie Belle after giving her mane one last stroke. She'd probably have to buy her own. No way were her bits going to last, at this rate.
"Thanks," she said sheepishly, now that she was no longer panicked. "At least I'll be, like, presentable today."
Sweetie Belle tilted her head one direction and peered at her. She put both forelegs in front of her, and looked between them, then dropped them to her sides, evidently satisfied with what she saw.
"That'll do," she said. "Um, I think this look might suit you better, actually."
Really? Sweetie Belle might be, well, Sweetie Belle, but she was Rarity's sister. This might not be all bad.
"So, Scoots, got everything ready for breakfast?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Oh, right, just a minute," she replied, and vanished up into the clubhouse.
Diamond Tiara turned to watch her, and was suddenly aware of the tip of a horn resting against her throat. She froze.
"You know, Scootaloo is my very best friend and for a long time was my only friend," Sweetie Belle said quietly. "And she's helping you now. Don't hurt her, alright?"
Diamond Tiara gulped, and would have nodded if she could have done so without injury.
"Right."
Sweetie Belle moved her horn away quickly enough that Diamond Tiara almost wondered if she'd imagined the whole thing. "Good."
Diamond Tiara just stood there in sheer shock for a minute afterwards. It was like having been threatened by a bunny rabbit. But one with very sharp teeth.
Scootaloo came cheerily down from the clubhouse, totally oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place. "Ready to go?"
"Ready!"
They started chattering along about their plans for the day far more cheerfully than Diamond Tiara ever thought the early morning would warrant. Well, they could be cheerful. Everything'd be alright for them. Except for Apple Bloom being missing, it was a normal day.
Well, maybe it would be for her, too. She would have a typical boring school day. She'd hang out with Silver Spoon, and when school was over, Daddy would pick her up. They'd go home, and everything would be the same as it ever was. She sighed, and was lost in blissful fantasy for a few minutes, then snapped out of it.
Things would never be the same. Silver Spoon couldn't hang out with her today. Her lovely tiara was broken. And even if Daddy picked her up, it wouldn't be the same. She wasn't sure she'd ever really trust him again, or that she'd feel secure about having someplace to live again.
Maybe it'd be a boring, non-eventful school day, at least. She wasn't really sure she had to go to school after what had happened, but it was the normal thing for somepony to do, and she needed normal right now.
Besides, Scootaloo went to school, and nopony was forcing her. There must be some reason to go.
Looking up, she noticed that they weren't that far from Sugarcube Corner. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were still chattering away. She paused, pulled out the bag all her bits were in, and started counting.
Noticing her falling behind, the other two stopped and walked over to her.
"What do you have that out for?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I was just trying to figure out how much I can afford for breakfast," she said, frowning.
Numbers had never been her strong suit, and she wasn't sure of the prices at Sugarcube Corner.
"Oh, well, I was going to pay for all three of us," Sweetie Belle said, then glanced in Diamond Tiara's direction.
"Unless you were planning on a really big breakfast or something, that is."
She was giving her threats of bodily harm and breakfast? Or was that threats of breakfast?
"You don't like me, but you're buying me breakfast?"
"Well, I may not like you, and I haven't forgiven you yet," Sweetie Belle said, looking her in the eye, "but like Scoots said, you need help right now."
Diamond Tiara flushed. She really hated having to rely on others charity. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Daddy was supposed to take care of all that for her. He was supposed to take care of everything for her, not-
She cut off her train of thought. She was just going to get herself angry or upset, and she didn't need that right now.
"I don't-" she started to say, then it was Scootaloo's turn to grab her by the shoulders.
"Excuse us," Scootaloo told Sweetie Belle, and dragged Diamond aside with her.
"That bag's all the bits you have on you, right?" she asked.
Diamond Tiara nodded.
"Let me see it for a minute?" Scootaloo asked, extending a hoof.
Diamond Tiara gave her the bag, then immediately felt very dumb for doing so. What if she didn't give them back?
However, Scootaloo just poked around the bag for a moment, counting under her breath, then returned it.
"Well, you can last for a little bit on that, but you'll still really need to stretch it as far as it can go. Let Sweetie Belle buy you breakfast today."
"But I don't really want to be-"
"In her debt? I tried that. Not accepting anything unless I could pay them back somehow, running around doing a bunch of errands to earn money-"
"And?"
"I ended up starving and not getting any sleep 'till some friends knocked some sense into me. There are lots of friendly ponies around town that want to give you things. You accept them, they're happy, and you're happy. Don't try to drive yourself crazy doing everything yourself."
Diamond Tiara had to wonder, thinking like that, how Scootaloo hadn't ended up living with somepony else, but didn't feel it'd be a good idea to bring it up. What she was saying did make sense, even if she didn't like it.
"I guess I see what you mean."
Then something else struck her.
"Wait, why were you starving? Didn't you say we could just eat grass earlier?"
Scootaloo laughed. "Yeah, you can, but you have to eat a lot of it, and I was trying to do too many other things to get enough. Food or sleep isn't a great choice to have to make."
"Right, I suppose not."
"Anyways, make sure to keep that bag on you. Giving it to anypony else, even for a moment, is usually a bad idea."
She flushed even more, thinking about how stupid that had been. Though at least now she knew she could trust Scoots, er, Scootaloo with it.
"So let's get back to Sweetie Belle, and you can thank her for getting you breakfast."
The two of them walked back to where Sweetie Belle was waiting. Sweetie Belle looked up at them.
"Thanks," Diamond Tiara said reluctantly. "Breakfast would be great."
"Great!" she said. "Now let's get over there while we still have time!"
In a matter of a few minutes, they were at Sugarcube corner. Pinkie Pie came over as they sat down at a table together.
"Good morning, Scootaloo! Morning, Sweetie Belle!" Pinkie Pie's smile slipped a bit as she noticed her. "Diamond Tiara."
The three of them took a seat at one of the tables there, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle on one side, and Diamond Tiara on the other. Pinkie Pie turned to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's side of the table, ignoring that Diamond was there.
"What can I get you girls today?" she asked.
Well, she'd wanted to wait to see what they got first, anyways, she supposed.
Sweetie Belle spoke up. "I'd like a vanilla hayshake and an apple turnover."
"A chocolate hayshake, and a cinnamon roll sounds good!" Scootaloo cut in.
As Pinkie looked about ready to leave, she hurried with her order, following their lead on what to get.
"A strawberry hayshake, and a blueberry muffin, please," she asked, hoping she'd take it.
"Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie glanced at Diamond Tiara briefly, then vanished to get their orders.
Looking away, she realised that both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were staring at her.
"What!?" she said grumpily. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No." Scootaloo looked away hastily, followed by Sweetie Belle. "It's just... When we come here with Apple Bloom, she usually gets a strawberry hayshake."
"So I like the same flavor hayshakes as Apple Bloom," she grumbled. "Big deal."
"It just feels weird," Sweetie Belle said.
"What seemed weird to me was the way Pinkie seemed to be totally trying to ignore me," Diamond Tiara said. "I wouldn't think that'd be good business."
"Well, she is good friends with Applejack and Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said. "Chances are that she already knows that Apple Bloom is in the hospital and that you were involved."
Pinkie Pie came back out and gave Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo their orders, and then begrudgingly put Diamond's order on the table, far enough away that she had to pull it over to where she was sitting.
"Yeah, I guess so." She sucked on the straw in her hayshake, depressed. At least it tasted like it should.
Conversation was pretty stilted, and was mostly between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, leaving Diamond Tiara feeling like a third wheel. It didn't help that most of the comments that came to her mind were nasty, so she ended up not saying them.
It wasn't like she could talk to them like she did Silver Spoon, either. She had known Silver Spoon for years, and she was the closest friend Diamond Tiara had. Well, the only friend she had, actually. It hurt knowing Silvy was going to be avoiding her, but she understood why. Silvy's parents were everything to her. Just like hers had been.
She blinked angrily. She was not about to start crying in public. She tried to pay more attention to what Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were talking about, which was good, as Sweetie Belle's next question was addressed to her.
"So, about your staying at the clubhouse. Was that just for last night, or-"
"Sorry, Sweetie Belle, this wasn't a 'I don't want to see you again tonight' type thing," Diamond Tiara told her.
"Are you sure? Because I've, um," she looked down, "kinda had that happen before."
"Daddy smashed my tiara in front of me and said he was disowning me!" Diamond Tiara said angrily. "Then he told me I wasn't allowed back. I don't think that's changing. "
"He actually disowned you?"
Diamond Tiara thought she heard a gasp from elsewhere in the building, but didn't pay it much attention as she continued.
"Yeah. I'll try to find someplace other than your clubhouse if I can, but I doubt Daddy's just going to, like, pick me up from school and pretend nothing's happened."
But how I wish he would!
"Don't worry about it," Scootaloo said. "There's nowhere else that even compares to the clubhouse in Ponyville if you need someplace to sleep and have nowhere to go. You can stay there as long as you need to."
Why were these blank flanks being so nice to her when she'd done nothing but make their lives harder?
After they all finished their breakfasts, Diamond Tiara noticed a bill on the table. When had that gotten there? There was a paper bag by it, too, which she didn't remember any of them ordering. Wait, should they have been talking about all this in public?
"Um, do you think Pinkie heard what we were talking about earlier?" she asked, trying to make it sound like an innocent question and not a pending disaster.
"Oh, probably," Scootaloo said. "She hears most of what happens in here. She considers anything she overhears private, though, so she won't tell anypony. I'm pretty sure she knows where I'm living."
"Why is that?"
"Well, she's done things like given me extra things I didn't order, and not billing me for things. In fact-" She opened the bag, then, after taking a peek inside, slid it over. "Yep, blueberry muffin. I'd say that's yours. Lunch."
She'd forgotten about lunch, hadn't she? Diamond Tiara tucked it in a saddlebag, remembering Scootaloo's words from earlier.
"We'd better get going," Sweetie Belle said. She counted out some bits, lay them on the table, and the three of them continued on the way to school.
Well, at least I can forget about everything for a while and just concentrate on school, she thought, as they arrived. I hope Miss Cheerilee isn't still mad.
She slowly entered the schoolhouse, getting ready for a long day.