The group was gathered in the Rich family's mansion. Diamond Tiara was tucked into bed, and Filthy Rich was treated to the long and detailed explanation of what had occurred.
The concerned pressed a hoof to his forehead, filled with great distress. "This. . .is all just too much. . .my own daughter under some curse," he sighed as looked at the two Princesses standing in his living room, "I did occasionally notice her bad attitude from time to time. I tried disciplining her, and for a while I thought I was making progress. But. . .I suppose that would never stop her from bullying others when I'm not looking."
"Don't blame yourself Mr. Rich," Twilight said, "You did everything you could. You had no way of knowing about the tiara's dark magic."
Throughout the explanation, Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had sat on the couch, remaining silent. Silver Spoon turned away from everypony, choosing to stare at the carpeting. Scootaloo looked ready to burst, and she soon gave up trying to hold it in and said, "I just can't believe it! Diamond Tiara was so mean because of her tiara the whole time?"
Twilight nodded, "I know it sounds hard to believe, but you saw the dark magic that was released when we destroyed it. And you were there when the Alicorn Amulet corrupted Trixie."
Scootaloo still looked conflicted. "But, then who is the real Diamond Tiara?"
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked towards Filthy Rich. He held a sad facial expression, and he shook his head. "To me, she was always my little Princess. But it's clear that I've been very wrong about that."
"Hey, how about you?" Sweetie Belle asked Silver Spoon,"You gotta know what she was like before."
Silver Spoon closed her eyes, feeling them being to moisten. She got up and said, "Can I please go home now?"
Twilight noticed how horrible Silver Spoon looked. After exchanging glances with Filthy Rich, she said, "Sure, if you want to."
Silver Spoon nodded silently, and she walked out of the room.
"What's her problem?" Scootaloo remarked. Twilight shot a harsh glare at Scootaloo, silencing her quickly.
"Mr. Rich," Princess Celestia said, taking care to speak kindly and reassuringly, "May I ask when and where you acquired the tiara?"
The father looked up at the Solar Princess, and slowly got up and began to pace around the room. "I bought it for her birthday, a little over a year ago, a few weeks before she got her Cutie Mark. I bought it to show how she'd always be my precious little Princess, and also to help her realize her talent."
"Realize her talent?" Applebloom asked curiously.
Filthy Rich nodded, "Leadership. Control. Taking charge. Ruling. Certainly you remember how she controlled the Foal Free Press with an iron hoof. I made sure to ground her after the whole Gabby Gums incident. Heh. But I guess grounding has no effect on dark curses."
"But where could you have purchased such a dangerous item?" Twilight asked.
"I purchased it from a traveling trader," Filthy replied, "He said he was an archaeologist. He was a light brown earth pony, black hair, golden skull for a Cutie Mark. He called himself Dr. Caballeron."
"Did you say Caballeron?!" Twilight gasped in shock, her wings snapping open in shock.
"Yes. . ." Filthy Rich replied slowly.
Memories of the evil stallion attacking Daring Do with his henchman as he scooped up the large golden ring flashed before Twilight's eyes. "That stallion's a dangerous criminal and a thief!" Twilight exclaimed, "He steals ancient treasures and artifacts, and sells them for his own selfish gain. He probably even knew about the curse, even as he took your money."
Filthy Rich ground his teeth, "That monster. If I ever run into him again, I'll make him pay for what my daughter went through."
Celestia nodded gravely, "I assure you, he will be brought to justice. I'll see to it that Dr. Caballeron is a wanted stallion all across Equestria."
"Thank you, your majesty," Filthy Rich said as he bowed.
As the Princesses and the CMC all exited the mansion, the young fillies' minds were all abuzz.
"That was totally awesome the way you blasted that tiara to bits!" Scootaloo said excitedly.
Applebloom couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh yeah, and did you see the look on Diamond Tiara's face? It was priceless!"
"And best of all, this means Diamond Tiara won't bully us anymore!" Sweetie exclaimed.
"ALRIGHT!" the three fillies cheered as they jumped up and gave each other a triple high-hoof.
"Let's all get some milkshakes to celebrate!" Scootaloo said.
The three fillies then ran off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, all while calling back behind them, "THANK YOU, PRINCESSES!"
Twilight and Celestia watched as the three fillies ran off. Celestia turned towards Twilight, and noticed that the younger alicorn was rubbing her chin with a hoof, and had an unsure look on her face.
"What troubles you, Twilight?" she asked.
Twilight sighed, "I don't know. . .it's just. . .well. . .for a whole year, that tiara has kept Diamond from truly understanding the magic of friendship. She was compelled into being cruel for so long. She and the Cutie Mark Crusaders have been fighting for so long. . .but maybe. . ." Twilight became determined, "If Diamond Tiara is ever going to recover from this ordeal, then she's going to need to tear down some fences and build three new bridges."
Celestia smiled, "That's the Twilight Sparkle I know so well."
The next day, the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the Library for the highlight of their week: Twilight Time.
"Hey, Twilight! You think I could try building a helicopter, like Pinkie Pie's?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.
"Ah wanna make a potion to grow apple trees faster!" Applebloom said.
"Do you think you can show me how to do a Gem Finding Spell like Rarity?" Sweetie Belle said, jumping with excitement as her horn sparkled green.
"Calm down, little fillies," Twilight said with a light chuckled, "Today's lesson is going to be a little different."
"Like what?" the three fillies said excitedly.
"It's going to be a lesson in the Magic of Friendship!" Twilight said gleefully, "Today, you're going to. . .become Diamond Tiara's friend!"
The expressions on the Cutie Mark Crusaders faces resembled the faces they made when Cheerilee told them she didn't have a special somepony.
Suddenly, Spike leaned in and said, "Awkward!"
Twilight kept up a smile as she looked at the fillies for a while. But then, Scootaloo started laughing.
"Aha-ha-ha! That's a good one Twilight. I almost fell for it for a second. That was an awesome prank, I just-," Scootaloo's voice trailed off when she saw the deadpan expression on Twilight's face. "Wait. . ." Scootaloo said with wide eyes, "What, you're serious!? NO! No way!"
Twilight sighed, "Girls, I know Diamond Tiara has treated you atrociously in the past-"
"You don't know the half of it!" Scootaloo shouted, staring at her wings, "I'll never forgive her for what she said to me about my wings."
"Wait a minute, Scootaloo," Applebloom said, standing closer to the orange pegasus, "Don't you remember what we learned yesterday. That tiara she was wearing made her do it."
"Applebloom's right," Sweetie Belle said, standing on Scootaloo's opposite side, "We can't hate someone for something they didn't do or didn't have any control over."
Scootaloo looked at her friends, hung her head, and sighed. "Well, yeah, when you put it that way. But why do we have to be friends with her? Isn't she already friends with Silver Spoon?"
"Maybe," Twilight said, "But from what I know, it seems Silver Spoon's friendship with Diamond Tiara isn't exactly the best."
"What do you mean, Twilight?" Applebloom asked.
"Well, it seems as if Silver Spoon is the kind of pony who will do anything to keep a friend, even bad ones. She the kind of friend who just goes along with whatever her friends is doing. She never questioned Diamond Tiara's actions when she bullied you, and often just went along with it," Twilight explained.
"She's not all bad!" Applebloom interjected, "She was the first pony to clap for Granny Smith on Family Appreciation Day, even though Diamond Tiara kept on trying to embarrass me."
"That's all well in good, but Silver Spoon is still lacking in one important part of friendship: edification."
"Edif-what-now?" Scootaloo asked.
"The instruction or improvement of a person morally or intellectually," Spike said clearly.
"What are you, a dictionary?" Scootaloo asked.
"Uh, no. I'm reading from one," Spike said as he held up the dictionary in his claws.
"Can you use smaller words?" Scootaloo asked.
"What it means," Twilight interrupted, "Is that good friends point out each others flaws in a nice way. Like when Rainbow Dash was too arrogant, or when Applejack was too stubborn, or when Rarity forgot how to be a good sister. We helped them overcome their flaws and be better ponies. And after wearing that awful tiara for so long, Diamond Tiara is probably filled with feelings of regret and guilt, and is probably completely confused on how to act or even feel. You three have been the best of friends for a while now, and you all know what the right thing to do is. And I'm sure if the ponies she's bullied come to her to be friends, she'll be traveling up the road to recovery at full speed."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other, all of them thinking hard about this.
"You know," Applebloom said, "this is kinda like when Fluttershy reformed Discord."
"Yeah, that's kind cool!" Scootaloo.
"Maybe we can get out Cutie Marks in this!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed excitedly.
"Umm, no, this isn't really-" Twilight began.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS REFORMERS! YAY!!!"
All three fillies ran out the door and slammed it behind them.
"-like that. . ." Twilight said, her voice trailing off.
"Uggh! This won't end well," Spike remarked.