//------------------------------// // A Pony Walking // Story: Diamond Tiara and the Hand of Phoe // by Mudpony //------------------------------// Diamond Tiara stared down at her half finished shake. Try as she might, she just could not shake the feeling that she was supposed to be somewhere else. She racked her brain, trying to remember what it was she was, but came up with nothing, again. With a determined mental shove, she dismissed the feeling yet again. Hopefully this time it would stay gone for good and not return like the previous two times. She took another sip of her milkshake, savoring the vanilla flavor. Sure, most other ponies preferred something like strawberry, chocolate, or, and the thought of it alone was almost enough to make her shudder with revulsion, apples, but they just did not appreciate the value of a high quality vanilla. Probably because their view had been tainted by the stuff passed off to the masses, and so they had never gotten a chance to appreciate the good stuff. The flavor helped to soothe her and she felt her disappoint of the failure of her plan fading away. Hopefully by the time it was finished, it would be nothing more than a forgotten memory. It had been a long shot anyway, she admitted to herself. The idea that some trinket dug out of the ground by some Daring Do wannabe would turn her into a princess was a bit far fetched. It definitely had not been one of her better ideas. Someday, she and Silver Spoon would look back upon this... and agree to never talk of it again. And just like that, the nagging feeling that she was supposed to be somewhere was back, stronger than ever. "Are we supposed to be somewhere, Sil?" she asked. Silver Spoon looked up from her chocolate shake and pondered the question. At last, she spoke. "No, I don't think so. Tomorrow we've got that tea party with Alula, but I'm pretty sure that's, like, the only thing we've got planned." Diamond Tiara nodded. "That's what I thought. And yet I can't shake the feeling that I'm supposed to be somewhere right now." "Maybe something with your dad?" Silver Spoon suggested. "No. He's out of town 'til Wednesday." Diamond Tiara sighed, looking around the diner, hoping that something would jog her memory. Nothing did though, although the clock seemed to be telling her it was imperative that she go now. She could almost hear the words "time to go" resonating within her head, over and over. She tried her best to ignore the feeling, to ignore the non-existent words, but it just wouldn't stop. It was almost enough to make her scream. At last, Diamond Tiara shoved her glass away and slid off her seat. "I've got to go." Silver Spoon nodded, contently sucking on her straw. Diamond Tiara headed toward the door. Behind her, she heard Sil move to follow her, could hear her calling out for Diamond to stop. She wanted to, but she couldn't. She had to go... somewhere. She slipped out the door and heard the voice of the stallion who ran the diner call out. No doubt wanted to make sure they paid for their drinks. The very idea that they would resort to dine and dashing made her roll her eyes. She stopped, about to go back in and pay. She had promised it would be her treat after all. But she had somewhere to be. Sil would just have to cover it. She'd make sure to pay her friend back later. Sil would understand. Well, actually she wouldn't, since Diamond Tiara did not understand it either. She just knew she had someplace to be. Sil would forgive her though. She turned to her left and took a tentative step toward home, but stopped herself. It felt wrong to go that way. She spun around and headed the other direction, speeding up to a trot. Before long, she had left the town, and she felt her anxiety easing. As a quick test, she slowed to a walk, pleased to find out that she felt no need to move faster. "Maybe I just needed to get out of town," she said. She smiled at the thought. "Well, I'm out. So I'm going to stop now." Mind made up, she did just that, sitting down on her haunches. "Yep, just going to sit here. No place I need to be." Except the feeling was strengthening again. Her foot twitched, wanting to move forward, and she glared at it until it stopped moving. "This is so not cool." She gasped. "Oh great, now I'm talking to myself like some kooky old lady!" Her foot started to twitch again, and she gave it another disapproving look. It did not, however, settle down. "Okay, fine, stupid foot. You win. We'll go on. But when I get to the bottom of this, somepony is going to pay!" She got to her feet and walked onward, at a leisurely pace. She had to go somewhere, fine, but she was not going to give whatever was driving her the idea that she was its eager servant. She would go at her own pace. A nice relaxed pace, not at all like the trot she was doing right now. She muttered several words she had heard her father say when an employee had screwed up a major order and slowed herself back down. She had to figure out what was going on. Obviously, it was not something she had done. It couldn't be the Hand of Phoe. She hadn't wished for a long walk after all, and since she wasn't a princess, the thing was probably nothing more than a trinket from a sideshow. No, something else had to be the cause. Someone was doing this to her. Probably out of jealousy. She tried to build a list of the ponies in town who might be jealous of her, but gave up. Everypony but her father and Silver Spoon was just too many. She needed a clue, some sort of sign. She stopped, her jaw dropping open, as she looked at the arch ahead of her, a large wooden board with an apple shape cut out of it dangling from its highest point. "Of course Apple Bloom is behind this." Diamond thought it over and nodded. It made perfect sense. Apple Boom was always trying some crazy scheme to get her cutie mark, and it inevitably went wrong. No doubt she'd been messing with something mystical again, probably stolen from that zebra lady, just like that time she'd darn near infected the entire town with that deadly disease. She put on her most determined face and strode onto the farm and headed toward the living quarters. Without so much as a knock, she barged inside, tossing her head from side to side as she looked for the filly. Not find her, she turned toward the startled Applejack. "Where is she?" Diamond Tiara demanded. "You can't hide her!" Just for the briefest of moments, Applejack's eyes shifted toward the door on the far side of the room. Diamond Tiara smiled, taking a determined step toward the room Applejack had glanced at. "Wait!" Applejack called out, pulling Diamond's attention away from the door and the filly behind it. "Y'all can't go in there, because, um, Granny is tired and taking her nap in there and you don't wanna be wakin' her up, right?" Diamond Tiara examined the fake grin on Applejack's face and the way the farm pony's eyes were shifting. Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "Like, seriously? You're going to go with that?" She gestured with her head toward the rocking chair and the sleeping Granny Smith sitting on it. Applejack sighed. "Ah really gotta learn to stick to the truth." She took a deep breath, then tried again. "Look, she just be wantin' some time to herself. It's been a mite bit busy in town, what with all the hubbub, and she's plum tuckered out. Can't y'all just leave her alone for a bit?" Diamond Tiara paused, just long enough to give Applejack the slightest bit of hope, before crushing it. "No," she said, shoving the door open and pointing an accusing hoof at the pony within. "I know you did this, Apple Bloom! Fess up! You're not going— " Diamond blinked twice, looked at her hoof in confusion, then back at the pony. "Hey! You're not Apple Bloom!"