//------------------------------// // Act Three // Story: A Freshly Cut Diamond- Season 4 - The Lost Episodes- One // by Matthais Unidostres //------------------------------// The Rich family's butler answered the door to find three smiling fillies looking up at him. "Oh. . .um, what can I do for you three?" "We're here to reform Diamond Tiara!" Applebloom declared proudly. The butler blinked in response. "Pardon me?" Suddenly, Filthy Rich came to the door and gently nudged him aside. "Never mind, allow me to speak with the children. Ah, now you three. Come on in." The Cutie Mark Crusaders entered Diamond Tiara's home for the third time in their lives as Filthy Rich led the way. "Diamond Tiara woke up this morning, but she never looked so sad and confused before," Filthy Rich said sadly,"I brought her breakfast in bed. Crepes, Zap Apple jam, truffle shavings and everything. She didn't even take a bite." Filthy hung his head sadly as the group stopped in front of the door to Diamond's room. "She wouldn't even talk to me. Personally, I don't blame her. I gave her the tiara." "You didn't know it was cursed, Mr. Rich," Sweetie Belle said politely. "I know, I know," the stallion said with a sad sigh, "You three are always so positive, and such good friends. I'm sure spending time with you will bring that smiling liveliness back to her." Filthy Rich smiled at the fillies and said, "Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'll check on you a little later." As Filthy Rich walked down the hall, the three fillies stared at the door. "Okay, this is it," Sweetie Belle said seriously. "Yeah, walking into the lair of our worst enemy," Scootaloo said with a role of her eyes. "Former worst enemy," Applebloom corrected. "Whatever, let's just get on with it," Scootaloo said, and she pushed open the door. The room was fairly large for a one pony bedroom. The wallpaper was pink with white pinstripe, and a large book shelf filled with books ran against one wall. On the opposite wall was a vanity with a gem encrusted mirror frame and diamond knobs on all the drawers. Next to the vanity was a bunch of glass cases filled with necklaces, hoof bracelets, and other pieces of jewelry. There was notably a an empty spot in the case in the very center, with an imprint left on the red velvet cushion. In the middle of the room, between the two windows, was an impressive four poster bed made of red mahogany wood. The light pink curtains were tied back, and Diamond Tiara lay on her side on top of the clean white and pink blanket. "Um. . .Diamond Tiara?" Applebloom asked tentatively. Diamond Tiara didn't roll over to face them, but she just muttered miserably, "Huh. What do you Blank Flanks want?" The Cutie Mark Crusaders all glared at the pink filly. Scootaloo turned to the door, "That's it. I quit. I'm gone. You all can just-." "NO! DON'T GOOOOOOOO!" Scootaloo jumped in surprise, and turned around to see Diamond Tiara wailing in tears and flailing her forelegs around. "Please, you have to help me!" Diamond wailed, her tears causing her makeup to run down her cheeks, "Daddy told me all about my tiara, and ever since I woke up, I've felt so sick and terrible, and I just couldn't take my mind off of you all! But I don't even know WHYYYYYYYYYYY!" Diamond broke down into quieter sobs as she sat on her bed pitifully. "Wow. . ." Scootaloo said. "Um, huddle," Sweetie Belle said, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered together. "I don't know about you girls, but I don't think Diamond Tiara needs reforming," Sweetie Belle said. "What do you mean?" Scootaloo said. "She means that Diamond Tiara isn't bad. She's sad," Applebloom said. "So, if we're not here to reform her, then what are we here for?" Scootaloo asks. "Ah think Ah know," Applebloom said, and she left the huddle and walked over to the sobbing filly. She placed a hoof on Diamond Tiara's shoulder, only to have it get smacked away. "Land's sake! How do you expect us ta help ya if ya keep pushing us away?" "Because that's not how it works!" Diamond Tiara shouted, "I was mean to you, so you have to be angry at me. Besides, you're loads better than me!" "Huh? What do you mean Ah'm better than you?" Applebloom asked. Diamond Tiara looked at her and said, "Your family founded Ponyville. Remember back on Family Appreciation Day when your Granny told us the story? My family would have nothing here if it weren't for you. You said it yourself." She turned away, "And I couldn't even take the hint back then. The truth is. . .you were always a better pony than I was. You have more friends than me, you have a bigger family, more ponies like you, and you're nice. I'm just, such a failure." Applebloom was shocked by what the pink filly's words, and turned to exchange glances with her other two friends. "Uhhh. . ." Sweetie Belle said awkwardly. Scootaloo breathed out impatiently, and she got closer to Diamond Tiara's bedside. "You know what, Diamond Tiara? When you forced us to torment everyone in Ponyville with that Gabby Gums Gossip column, and then made fun of me and made me feel worthless because I couldn't fly, I decided that you were a complete monster that didn't deserve my time. I could hardly believe that anypony could possibly be as awful as you." Diamond closed her eyes and shuddered. "But you know what else?" Scootaloo said with a small gentle smile, "It turns out I was right. You weren't that awful. None of the stuff you did was you, so it'd be wrong for me to get mad at you." Diamond Tiara sniffed and sat up in bed, staring at Scootaloo in amazement. Then Applebloom got closer and said, "Ya see, Diamond. You're not worse than Ah am, and Ah'm not better than you are or anything like that. None of it was your fault-." "Then why do I feel so awful!" Diamond moaned, holding her stomach and bending over slightly, "It hurts so much. It's like my stomach is in a big knot, and I feel horrible about myself." "Um, yeah, I think that's called 'guilt'," Sweetie Belle remarked. Diamond frowned and looked down at her stomach, "Why does it have to hurt so much?" "Maybe to make sure you don't do whatever bad thing you did again," Sweetie Belle suggested. Diamond Tiara blinked, realization coming across her face, "I can't remember the last time I felt guilty about anything. I think, my tiara kept me from feeling it, but now it's all hitting me at once!" She turned tearfully to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and said, "I'm, . . I'm so sorry. . ." Applebloom smiled and turned to her friends. "Well?" she asked. Sweetie Belle nodded, and she turned to Scootaloo, who was in deep thought. After a minute of thinking, she grinned and shrugged. "Sure." The fillies turned to Diamond Tiara, "We forgive you." Her eyes widened, and she pressed a hoof to her stomach. "It. . .doesn't hurt anymore. . ." The three fillies high hoofed each other in celebration. "Alright then!" Applebloom said, "Friends we are!" "Friends?" Diamond Tiara said in surprise, "With somepony like me?" The Crusaders all groaned. "You're not the mean Diamond Tiara anymore," Sweetie Belle said, "You apologized, you're not gonna be like that again. In fact, I kinda know how it feels." "Really?" the rich pony asked the unicorn. "Yeah. One time I got so mad at my sister that I sabotaged one of her dresses," Sweetie Belle explained, "But then with a little help, I realized that what I did was wrong, and I fixed it before it was too late. Then I apologized, and everything turned out just fine." "Ya see," Applebloom said encouragingly, "If you're not a bully anymore, then Ah don't see why we can't be friends. And the Apples may have founded Ponyville, but your dad must be really smart to make a huge business." Applebloom held out a hoof to Diamond Tiara, "So Ah'd say both our families are cool. So how about we put all that stuff behind us and have some fun, Cutie Mark Crusader style!" Diamond Tiara blinked at Applebloom's friendly smile, and then looked at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's friendly gazes. Gaining a smile of her own, she reached out and took Applebloom's hoof. On Sweet Apple Acres, sheep ran through the pasture, baaing and bleating as they stampeded throughout the pasture. On one side of the mass of sheep, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Winona ran alongside them. On the opposite side, Scootaloo rode fast on her scooter, pulling a wagon with Diamond Tiara in it. Diamond Tiara took out a map of Sweet Apple Acres and nodded. "Okay, girls!" she shouted loud over to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, "We have to guide these sheep a little more to the right, and then curve them around. Start turning at that tree over there!" "Got it!" Applebloom shouted, and it was only in a few seconds that they arrived at the point. "Come by, Winona!" Winona barked and she and the two fillies turned. Winona barked and barked, guiding the sheep to one side. Sweetie Belle used brief flashes of magic to herd the sheep into a right turn." "Speed down, Scootaloo! Then turn!" Diamond called out. "You don't have to shout, I'm right here!" Scootaloo complained as she pulled back and turned the handlebars of her scooter. The four fillies and dog sent the herd of sheep to the right, and led the sheep into the waiting open gates of the sheep pen. "You girls take care of the gate!" Diamond called out to the unicorn and earth pony. After the last sheep ran into the gate, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle slid to a halt by each side of the gate, jumped onto each half, and swung it closed and locked it. Scootaloo raised her hooves and cheered, "Woohoo! Alright! We did- AHHHHHH!" Scootaloo wasn't paying attention, so she drove her scooter right into a rock, sending both her and Diamond Tiara flying through the air and into a huge mud puddle with a huge splash. Scootaloo shook some of the gunk out of her mane, "Oops. Heh-heh. Sorry!" she said. Diamond Tiara gasped and shouted, "EWWW! GROSS! This is awful!" She rubbed the mud out of her hair and sighed, "But still. . .that was just so. . .exciting and fun!" A smile spread across her face in-spite of the mud, "I've never done anything like that before!" Scootaloo clapped Diamond Tiara on the back, "Well that's how a Cutie Mark Crusade is! The best ones are fun and end in getting dirty!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle ran over to the pair. "You girls okay?" Applebloom asked. "I need a top notch spa treatment, but I'm fine," Diamond Tiara said with a shrug. "That was great! We did it perfectly!" Sweetie Belle nearly squealed, "We couldn't have done it without you!" Diamond Tiara grinned, "Well, that's my special talent!" Scootaloo gasped, and she shook the mud off of her flank, "Speaking of special talents!" The Crusaders took a look at their flanks, and they all groaned in disappointment. "Aw man, Ah was sure we'd get Sheep Herding Cutie Marks. . ." Applebloom said sadly. "Oh, don't worry. You'll get your Marks eventually. I'm positive!" Diamond Tiara said. "Whoa. . ." Scootaloo said in shock, "I can't believe Diamond Tiara said that!" "WHAT IN LAND'S SAKES IS GOING ON HERE!?" The four fillies turned in terror as they saw a furious looking Applejack marching over to them. "Who's bright idea was it to let all those sheep out!?" the orange farm pony shouted. She glared at the four fillies, but her gaze stopped at Diamond Tiara. "Oh. . .Ah see," she said in a dead serious tone as her eyes bore into Diamond Tiara's forehead like heat vision. Diamond Tiara backed away in fear. "Wait! Listen, Applejack-" Applebloom began. "It's okay, Applebloom," Applejack interrupted with a kind smile, "You and your friends aren't in trouble." Applejack then turned her furious gaze back to Diamond Tiara, "But this brat sure is." "But Applejack-!" "You got a lot of nerve, coming here and causing trouble for decent folk! Was turning Applebloom's cousin against her not enough for you? Now you have to go around stirring up our sheep!?" "But Applejack-!" "Ah've just about had it with you and your bullying and your gossip columns and your sick plots!" Applejack almost snarled as she shoved her face inches from Diamond Tiara, causing her to recoil and shudder in fear. "Ah don't know why your Pa can't knock any sense to you, but mark mah words, Ah'm gonna make sure Filthy Rich knows what a miserable-" "APPLEJACK!!!" "What is it, Applebloom?" Applejack sighed in annoyance. "It was mah idea," Applebloom confessed dutifully. Applejack quickly turned to look at her little sister. "Pardon?" Applebloom nodded, "It was mah idea to let the sheep out. We were trying to get sheep herding Cutie Marks. And we did get all the sheep back in the pen!" Applebloom added with a hopeful, innocnet smile, which was quickly imitated by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Applejack stood in stunned silence, her eyes blinking a few times. "Well. . .Ah. . .but what's she doing here?" she said as she gestured to Diamond Tiara with a hoof. "She was helping us herd the sheep," Applebloom said, and then smiled and said with absolute certainty, "She's our friend." Applejack was so shocked that she couldn't move. She just stood there, staring at her little sister, and her two friends who were nodding enthusiastically in support of the filly who had bullied them for so long. "Well. . .Ah. . ." Applejack began, her words getting caught in her throat. She swallowed, and then turned to Diamond Tiara, who appeared to be caught in some kind of fog. "Ah'm so sorry about that," Applejack apologized, taking off her hat, "Ah shouldn't have assumed the worst like that. Ah gotta admit that Ah never expected y'all to bury the hatchet so soon. Doesn't excuse mah actions though. Ah apologize." Diamond Tiara blinked and nodded slowly. "Yeah. . .don't worry about it. It's fine." Applejack nodded, and put her hat back on. She turned to Applebloom and said, "You do know that you are so grounded for this." Applebloom nodded gravely. Applejack nodded back in return, "From now on, try to think of things to do that don't put our farm, other ponies' property, or yourselves in danger. And that goes for all of you, ya hear?" "Yes Applejack," the fillies chorused. "Good. Well, have fun, and stay outta trouble." Applejack then turned to walk back to the farm house. Diamond Tiara slowly turned towards Applebloom, her eyes filled with disbelief. "You could've gotten away with it. I could've taken the blame, and no one would've believed me. But now you're grounded-." "That's fine, Diamond Tiara," Applebloom said resolutely, "First of all, I couldn't ever let somepony else take the blame for something Ah did. And besides that, you're our friend now Diamond. And friends don't treat each other like that. They always look out for each other, and you're no exception to that." Diamond Tiara stood still for about 6 seconds, and then grabbed Applebloom in the tightest of hugs. "Group hug!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she dove right in. Scootaloo had a quick debate within herself as she watched her friends hug, and then sighed, and dove in as well. Often, it's easy to be mad at and even hate ponies who act mean, but sometimes, their meanness isn't their fault. It doesn't even have to be something crazy or supernatural. The truth is, you just never know what you're neighbors' going through, or what their life is like. They may keep their reasons for the way they are secret. They may not even understand it themselves. But maybe one day, the truth will become clear, and you'll regret not being more forgiving to them when you see that the way they acted wasn't really their fault, and inside, they can be good ponies who are truly nice, and even fun! So you shouldn't give up on others so easily, because sometimes only a few personal problems are all that stands between you and new best friend! -Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo The Cutie Mark Crusaders finished their entry in the Friendship Journal as Diamond Tiara, Twilight, and Spike looked on. "Heh! I knew everything would turn out alright!" Spike said smugly. Princess Twilight just shook her head, and then turned to Diamond Tiara, "You know, you were right before. Just because I'm a Princess doesn't mean I can just go around taking things." "Oh, but you helped me so much by taking that tiara away!" the filly said quickly. "Yes, but I could've been a bit more civil about it," Twilight admitted, "So, I went out and acquired something to compensate. I think you'll like it." Twilight used her magic to levitate a hot pink box with a silver ribbon from behind her and place it in front of Diamond Tiara. The filly smiled and eagerly opened it like it was Hearth's Warming Eve. She gasped as her eyes fell upon the contents. She reached in carefully, and took out a replacement tiara, a very good replica of her old one to match her Cutie Mark. Diamond squealed with delight as she placed the piece of jewelry onto her and began hopping up and down, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU PRINCESS TWILIGHT!" Twilight chuckled, "Heh-heh. No trouble at all." Applebloom walked to Diamond Tiara's side and said, "Well, it looks like everything turned out perfectly!" At this statement, Diamond Tiara suddenly frowned. She closed her eyes in thought for a moment, and her eyes snapped open when realization hit her. "Silver Spoon!" she cried out. Silver Spoon lay flat on her stomach on her bed, her glasses on the nightstand next to her. She sniffed and wiped her tears from her eyes. Knock-knock-knock! "Go away!" Silver Spoon shouted. "Silver? It's me, Diamond. I've got the Cutie Mark Crusaders with me. Please, let us in. We wanna talk to you." Silver Spoon sighed, "Okay, I'm coming." She put her glasses on and walked over to the door. She unlocked it, and opened the door. As soon as the door swung open, Diamond Tiara rushed in and hugged the grey filly close. "I'm so sorry, Silver! I can't believe we didn't think to invite you on my first Crusade!" Diamond Tiara cried out in anguish and guilt. "We're all sorry, we really are," Sweetie Belle said, nodding repeatedly. "We were all so caught up in becoming friends with Diamond Tiara that we didn't think straight," Scootaloo said. "We want to be friends with you too, Silver Spoon. Now that we're friends with Diamond, we should be your friends too!" Applebloom said. "Friends with me?" Silver Spoon said in shock, "But I thought all four of you would hate me! I wasn't wearing any evil jewelry, but I still bullied you." Diamond Tiara let go of Silver Spoon and said seriously to her, "But I was the one who came up with all the schemes. Sure, you always went along with it, but that was because we had been friends for so long, and I was so mean, you didn't want me to turn on you, right?" Silver Spoon nodded, "Yes. . .I often felt kinda bad about all the bullying, but I always told myself that you were the one who did the most of it, and I didn't want to loose your friendship, so even though I felt that what we we're doing was wrong, I did it anyway." Silver Spoon looked over at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "I'm so sorry. I'll never bully you or anyone ever again. I promise." "Aww, all's forgiven, Silver Spoon," Applebloom said. "Same here," Sweetie Belle said. "It's all good, we're all cool," Scootaloo said. Tears of joy filled Silver Spoon's eyes, and all five fillies put their hooves on top of each other. And then, they all raised their hooves and shouted: "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FRIENDSHIP BUILDERS! YAY!!! THE END