//------------------------------// // Shopping For The Right Accessory // Story: Diamond Tiara Buys a Little Sister // by Georg //------------------------------// Diamond Tiara Buys a Little Sister Shopping For The Right Accessory Diamond Tiara fumed silently as she looked through the glass window into the shopping area at the Ponyville Hospital Maternity Ward. Scootaloo had been so proud when Rainbow Dash had ‘adopted’ her as an older sister, and the first thing the little brat did was to brag to all the students at school about how cool her new big sister was and how she was going to teach the runt to fly. Sweetie Belle had an older sister, Apple Bloom had an older sister and brother, and now even that flightless chicken had scored the coolest older sister ever. It just wasn’t fair! She would show them. She would show them all. The selection of little sisters available in the shopping area was rather limited, and even had some — ick! — colts scattered through it, but after some consideration and a little closer examination of the merchandise gained by slipping into the room behind the nurse, the choice was obvious. Daddy had been oblivious to the quiet hints she had dropped at dinner last night, which meant she was going to have to use a ‘Fate Accomply’ as he would put it. The practice of buying something and then calling Daddy to pay for it worked wonders for jewelry and other presents; certainly it would work just as well for a little sister. At first she had considered getting an older sister, but that would be seen as copying Scootaloo, and that would not do at all. No, the solution to her problem was quite clear. A cute little baby sister for everypony to ooh and ahh over was just the ticket, and the cute little foal in the end crib matched all her criteria. Her new little sister had a soft golden coat that complemented her own colors quite well, and a natural silvery manestyle that was a near match to the natural curl in her own mane, although still different enough to be unique. Unlike some of the other selections on display, this little foal had no wings or freaky magic horns to show up her big sister, and she had the cutest little smile that showed when she was sucking on her hoof. Something inside her felt just right about this one, and since Diamond Tiara’s special talent was in accessorizing, that made her the perfect accessory. The lack of a price tag did not deter her because only the least expensive stores actually were gauche enough to mark their merchandise, so she waited politely by her purchase for a salespony to come by. It took a while, but eventually a tired doe-eyed mare wearing a loose blouse came into the room and approached her. That pale green industrial blouse just did not go with her blue eyes and her short businesspony manecut, and clashed something fierce against her dark-magenta coat with a cutie mark of some sort of intermeshed grid. Then again, employees never did have anything to say about their uniforms or cutie marks, so Diamond ignored the fashion disaster while keeping her mind on her goal. “Excuse me. May I help you?” The mare only spared a glance for Diamond Tiara before moving to inspect the little foal as if to make sure the store’s merchandise had not been damaged. It was behavior that was intolerable in a salespony, but she let it slide and went straight to the point. “How much is she?” “Pardon?” That certainly got the salespony’s attention. She turned around and stared at Diamond Tiara, looking her up and down. “My new little sister here. I’m buying her. You tell me how much she is, and I’ll have Daddy write the check.” The salespony blinked a few times before responding. “Really? Do you think that’s how this works? Didn’t your mother tell you where little foals come from?” Diamond Tiara scoffed. “I don’t need a mommy. I have the best daddy in the world. He buys me anything I want. And I want a baby sister, this one right here. So how much?” The mare seemed to suck on her bottom lip for a minute while thinking. “Getting a baby sister is something that you don’t just decide on right off the cuff. It takes time.” “So? I thought about it all the while I was walking here, and that’s plenty of time.” “Just a moment.” The salespony walked away for a minute to discuss things in very low tones with the nurse, and after they both cast a great number of glances at Diamond Tiara and her new baby sister, she came back. “How about we talk about this while I feed her, Miss…” “Diamond Tiara.” “Very well, Diamond Tiara. My name is Rose Trellis, and I’ll be happy to talk with you this afternoon. I’ve been feeling somewhat alone here in the hospital. All of my friends and co-workers, well, my co-workers at least—” Rose paused to wrinkle up her nose in distaste “—are still in Manehattan at the company.” The crib was on large, spongy wheels, and Rose let Diamond Tiara push it down the hallway to her room. It was surprising to find out that Rose was the little filly’s mother, but Diamond Tiara figured that it only made sense to cut out the middlepony in the transaction. The nurse and Miss Trellis arranged themselves around a soft paper cushion spread out across the carpet while unwrapping the little filly, who was making plaintive bleating noises and sniffing the air like a puppy. “Hungry, isn’t she,” said the nurse with a chuckle. “Let me help get her hooked up for a few minutes. Once she gets a good mouthful, she’ll know just what to do. They always do.” “Anyway,” said Rose, shifting her weight so the nurse could have better access to whatever she was doing under Rose’s back legs. It looked uncomfortable, and the little foal nickered impatiently while waiting her turn. “Ouch. As I was saying, I’m not even going to consider your offer until you have a full understanding of what it really means to be an older sister. There’s a lot of responsibility involved with adoption.” “Yeah, I know all that,” scoffed Diamond Tiara while craning her neck to get a better view of the activity. “I’ve got a hamster and a dog. Well, she’s my dog, even though she sits around daddy’s chair all the time. But I suppose, if this will hurry things along.” Diamond Tiara bent down to watch the foal nuzzle until she got a good grip and began nursing. “So that’s what those are for.” “Pardon?” “Nothing. Anyway, when we take her home, we’re going to need to buy a couple bottles of that stuff too. What is it, anyway?” “Milk.” “Milk?” Diamond Tiara recoiled and could not help but run her tongue around the inside of her own mouth. “That’s where milk comes from?” Rose Trellis chuckled at her outburst and shifted positions so the little foal could get a better grip on its first lunch. “Well, for the first few feedings, it’s called colostrum. It’s very good for a newborn. My first foal didn’t get any, and since I’m in the hospital until tomorrow for observation, I thought it couldn’t hurt.” “You have another foal here?” Diamond Tiara looked around the room for a second crib and considered the possibility of a Two-for-One sale. “Oh, heavens no. I gave her up for adoption years ago. I was young and foolish, and didn’t have any time for little ones then.” Diamond Tiara scoffed, “My daddy always has time for me. He takes me shopping, and we go to shows, and the week before every Hearth’s Warming we spend together in Manehattan, walking around and looking at the lights.” “It must be nice.” Rose sighed and changed positions again, listening to the rhythmic sounds of a happy feeding foal. “I used to love walking around and looking at the lights, but Hearth’s Warming is the busiest time of the year for our company with everypony buying brushes and combs for their very special somepony. Sixteen hour days and overtime out the tail is going to start the minute I get back to Manehattan. Probably why the company New Year party was so nuts last year.” The little filly paused in her messy feeding to head-butt Rose in the gut, which made her wince as the nurse guided the hungry little filly to the second milk spigot. Once the little filly was situated, the nurse excused herself and slipped out of the room, leaving Rose and Diamond Tiara to continue their negotiations. “So is that party where you met her daddy?” The faintest of winces crossed Rose’s face, making her constant small smile fade with hints of bitter regret at the corner of her eyes. “Probably. You know what they say, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much… or get totally plastered with hundreds of other businessponies for two days during the all-company meeting.” “What?” “Nevermind.” As the foal nursed, the mare shifted positions, staring at the far wall with a bitter expression as if the wall were a mirror into all of the bad decisions of her past. “My personal life seems to be one long failure at planning. I really didn’t expect to be giving birth in Ponyville of all places, but the train conductor didn’t think I would make it back to Manehattan with how close together my contractions had become. Hay, I didn’t really expect to get pregnant either time. There hasn’t been a good stallion in my life since I was a lot younger and foolish.” She giggled as the little foal snorted a milk bubble, shaking her head in a flurry of silvery mane to get rid of the tickle on its nose before nuzzling back up into Rose’s belly and hunting for the source of her meal again. Diamond Tiara considered for a moment before asking, “So your first foal went to live with her daddy, right?” Rose shifted uncomfortably while looking out the window. “No. I never told him. I must have written fifty letters, but I tore them all up and threw them away. He was a hard-driving businesscolt with no time for a family, and I was just a young filly, recently fired from my last job and scared out of my mind. I loved him so much, but I just couldn’t…” She swallowed while the foal nursed, looking out the window in thought before finally returning to her story with a subdued sniff. “I just slipped away one night and never went back. When she was born, I gave her up for adoption before I even saw her. Changed my name, dyed my mane, and went to work selling currycombs and manebrushes.” Rose traced a gentle hoof through the little foal’s silvery mane before setting her hoof back on the ground for stability. “So, does this one have a daddy?” From the irritated twitch and momentary frown that her comment triggered, the topic seemed to be painful to Rose. Fortunately, her little sister took that moment to distract her mother with a head-butt in the belly again, and by the time the mare had the little foal settled, her face had resumed its normal distant smile. “Well, it’s difficult to have one without a daddy.” Rose shook her head at Diamond Tiara’s blank look and sighed. “No. Nopony stepped forward in the last eleven months, and whoever it is probably doesn’t even know. There was a lot of booze at the party. “Anyway, I’ve been dreading this decision for months. I really didn’t know what to do with this one, and that’s why I contacted the adoption agency here. I’ve worked my way up the company, just made Regional Manager last month, and I didn’t have much time for anypony else before my promotion. With supervising a dozen more salesponies and two new product lines rolling out, I’m going to be even more busy than ever. So I really want her to go into a good family. I just don’t have time for a family of my own right now.” “Daddy says family is always more important than business.” Diamond Tiara lifted her chin and ran a hoof through her own mane with a flourish. “He skipped the opening of one of the stores just to hold my hoof when I got my braces, and he always shows up for our school talent show.” The foal slowed her nursing to a damp nuzzle, allowing Rose to pick her up and pat her gently on the back. “If you get a new little sister, he’s going to have twice as many fillies to pay attention to, and little foals take a lot of time. Aren’t you afraid of being pushed to one side?” “Well…” Diamond Tiara regarded the golden foal tucked over the mare’s shoulder and tried to imagine her father in the same position. “I really didn’t think of that. He is only one daddy.” “And if you’re going to be a big sister, you’re going to have to do big sister stuff, like helping bottle-feed her, and watching her when you’d normally be out playing, and changing diapers…” A deep rumbling noise seemed to fill the room and a distinctive odor followed. “Right on cue.” “Ewww.” “If you’re going to be a big sister, you’ll be changing a lot of these. Let’s see how you do on your first one.” The two of them unpacked the hospital-provided essentials for the distasteful task, spreading wipes, tissues, diapers, pads, more wipes, and pieces of tape all over the floor. In the end it took both of them to hold the gleeful little filly down and get her dirty rump properly cleaned and diapered, but when they were all done in the middle of the messy floor, the little filly was curled up and making the cutest little snoring noises. They took turns washing at the hospital sink and using the foaming soap, with Diamond Tiara remaining diligently scrubbing even after the mother left to curl up up on the floor next to her sleeping foal. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” “Yes it was. My hooves still smell like poo. Does it ever wash off?” Rose nuzzled the sleeping foal with a giggle. “I don’t know. This is the first diaper I’ve changed too. Strange…” “What?” “Oh, I was just thinking about my first little filly. I haven’t thought about her in years, but now all the questions are coming back. What is she doing now, what kind of family adopted her, what name they gave her. All the things I’ve missed.” “You miss changing diapers?” Diamond Tiara gave one last soapy scrub before pulling out the last of the paper towels. “Gross.” “No, all the other things your father did with you. Holding her hoof while she got braces. Going to her talent shows. I don’t even know what her cutie mark is, or if she has one yet.” “Well, I would hope so!” Diamond Tiara lowered her voice as the foal twitched in her sleep. “I mean anypony who’s anypony has a cutie mark.” “Really?” Rose tucked the diaper back a bit and made a show of looking at the foal’s rump. “Don’t see one here. Oh, well. You wouldn’t want a blank-flanked little sister now, would you?” “Not her! I mean big ponies like me. I’ve had my cutie mark for a whole year now.” “That long? I’m impressed.” Rose tucked the pink blanket around the foal and sighed. “I can remember back before I got my cutie mark, with all the bigger ponies picking on me for being a blank-flank. It was a terrible, terrible time for me. You didn’t have any bullies pick on you before you got your cutie mark, did you?” “N-no.” Diamond Tiara looked out the window, missing the sly smirk that briefly appeared on the older mare. “You don’t think anypony will pick on her before she gets her cutie mark, do you?” “I don’t know, it depends on who she has around to protect her.” Rose seemed to consider the matter with great concern. “I really wouldn’t want my daughter to wind up in a town where she wouldn’t be happy. This isn’t like selling a manebrush or a currycomb. I carried her for almost a year in my tummy, and I want to make sure she’s going to have a loving home with parents, or in your case a daddy and a sister who will love her very much and take care of her. If I’m not sure she’s going to get the best big sister in the world, the deal’s off.” Diamond Tiara frowned, tapping one hoof absentmindedly against the floor while regarding her sleeping baby sister. “This is a lot more complex than buying jewelry.” “You can always put jewelry in a box and ignore it. A foal takes attention around the clock. Your daddy must have been one busy stallion when you were young.” Rose paused, and then continued. “So… What happened to your mother?” “I’m not sure. Daddy doesn’t like to talk about it much.” Diamond Tiara twisted one hoof against the stubby hospital carpet, drawing temporary lines in the short fibres. “He’s been on some dates, but he always comes home depressed afterwards and reads out of his poetry books.” “Like Lord Alfred Whinnysone? ‘Tis better to have loved and lost—” “Than never to have loved at all. Yeah, mushy stuff like that.” She lowered her voice, concentrating on making patterns in the carpet. “Sometimes I feel like I’m the one who drives away any new mommies.” Rose reached out with one foreleg and scooped up the sleeping foal, then moved close to Diamond Tiara and very carefully snuggled in close. “Here. Hold your hooves like this. You want to support her neck, and not to pinch. There you go. How do you feel now?” The foal nestled in her forelegs smelled like powder and lotion, and just the least bit like poo, but it was a nice sensation that made her chest tighten in a way she had never felt before. The older mare kept one leg behind her for back support, and when the little foal’s blue eyes opened briefly to look up at her, Diamond Tiara could have sworn the tiny smile at the edge of her mouth was meant just for her, a sign that she recognized her big sister and wanted to stay with her forever. “I feel… I don’t know how to describe it. It’s all warm and tingly, like — Eww!” She held the foal away from her and regarded the large warm blotch that had soaked through the diaper and dampened her soft pink coat. It took less time to change the damp diaper than previously, and once all the wiping and powdering and fastening was over, Rose convinced her to return to the same position, secure in the knowledge that the flood was stemmed for a short while. This time when Diamond Tiara nestled between the foal and the older mare, a number of warm giggles fought desperately for release from the both of them. It was a nice feeling, but Diamond Tiara felt it fade when the nurse poked her nose in the room and announced the end of visiting hours. The older mare lifted the sleeping foal up and tucked her into the crib while Diamond Tiara watched, waiting until she was done before asking her question. “So, when can we pick her up tomorrow, and how much does Daddy need to write the check out for?” The older mare held the edge of the baby blanket in her teeth, gently tucking it around Diamond Tiara’s new baby sister a second time as if the first was only a test. She seemed to take an inordinate amount of time getting the foal situated, and Diamond Tiara’s heart beat faster at the prospect that she might even be able to take her little sister home tonight, and have Daddy bring the check by the hospital in the morning. “No,” said Rose Trellis, tucking a tiny strand of silver mane back under the foal’s blanket. “I can’t. I don’t want to make the same mistake again. This daughter I’m going to raise myself, even if she keeps me from trotting up the corporate ladder as quickly as I wanted. If your father can take time out of his schedule for his little filly, then I can too.” The older mare turned from her foal, seeming as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. “Does this mean you’re going back on our deal?” “No, we never had a deal. It means I’m backing out of our negotiations.” Rose sat down with a thump next to Diamond Tiara and ran a hoof through her mane. “You did too good a job. You convinced me that if your daddy can have a career and still love you as much as he does, then I should be willing to do just as much for my own offspring. However… Your father sounds like a nice stallion, and there’s lots of mares in the world. Maybe someday he’ll bring one home and you’ll have a mother and some younger siblings.” “I don’t want any other siblings. I want this one. It’s unfair!” she wailed, crossing her forelegs and slumping up against Rose’s side with a damp sniffle. “Why can’t I get what I want?” Rose reached around the crying filly with one hoof and offered her a tissue for her tears. “Honey, we don’t always get what we want. I wanted a stable stallion and a family, and I got an expensive condo in Manehattan with a leaky window and a view of the river. You’ve got a great father who loves you very much, and who will be there for you as you grow up into a mare who won’t make the same foolish mistakes I did.” “But I want a sister now! She’s perfect for me! Those three blank-flanked nitwits are going to brag about their big sisters forever and I don’t have anypony to…” Diamond Tiara trailed off as she became aware of a frowning upside-down face looking at her from above. “Diamond Tiara, are you wanting a little sister for your benefit or for hers?” “Mine, of course. She’s going to be my little sister, after all.” Diamond Tiara snuffled once and wiped a tissue over her face, even if she didn’t need it. She almost jumped at the touch of a gentle hoofbrush down her mane as Rose brushed back a few tangled hairs while shaking her head slowly. “Diamond, try to think about this the other way around. If you were very young, and not the big pony you are now, and your father had to give you to another family to raise, would you be a little bit afraid that your new big sister wouldn’t care about you?” “Daddy would never give me up like that! He loves me.” She sniffed some more as Rose continued to run the brush through her mane in a manner so much more gentle than even the maid. The long, slow strokes felt reassuring against her neck, with the slow beating of Rose’s heart from where she had her head laid against the older mare’s chest. “He always loves me.” The strokes against her neck grew slower and slightly damper. “Sometimes you love something so much, you have to let it go so that it can grow on its own. My first little filly has a life somewhere much better than I ever could have given her. If I could turn back time, I would…” The slow strokes of the manebrush stopped. “I don’t know.” They sat there for a while, sharing a box of tissues until the nurse returned a second time to escort Diamond Tiara off the maternity floor. She made sure her face was clean and all of the poo smell was washed off her hooves before leaving the hospital and heading for home. She may not have gotten her baby sister today, but Miss Trellis said she was not going to be released from the hospital until tomorrow, which gave her one more day to negotiate her purchase.