Ugh. Again my brain and sleep decide to part company and I'm up stupid early in the morning. Too aware for bed but too blurry for any activity of importance. Might as well get an early start on things and not make a bunch of noise and wake dad. He must have a lot on his mind as-is.
Out on the streets it's all crickets and morning mist. I'd be pretty if I wasn't too blurry to take it all in. I should try to mentally organize the dumb stuff I gotta do today. Regular Thursday deliveries. Check the schedule. Anything Helvetica needs me to pick up before the wedding? Do I have time to stop by the jeweler and not flirt with my not coltfriend?
Loading dock of Barnyard Bargains. Nearly sprain a fetlock on a wooden palate in the dark. Dark inside too, must be the first pony on the job. Means I have to figure out the coffeemaker and I'm in a poor state to operate any machinery but my wheels. Luna's tears I should see if Miss Flutters has a tea or something herbal that helps with sleep or at least calm my brain down a little bit.
What was that? Feel my ears prick up and a trill run down my withers. Is somepony else here? I strain to hear above the dull gurgle of the percolator.
"Hullo?"
Coming from the back rooms past the tall cluttered rows of the stock shelves. Might as well make my way over. What if it's a robbery? Momentarily I get excited at the thought of earning my cops and robbers cutie mark before I remember I already have one.
"Somepony here?"
I hear a retching noise like somepony being sick.
"Snails, if you broke in here and got into the cooking sherry again by Celestia I'm Turing you in this time!"
I see a light on and push the door open without thinking which room it is. Turns out it's Diamond Tiara's new Assistant Manager's Office. And there she is on the floor looking like her head is sticking out of a puddle of pink and white taffeta and tulle. Paperwork is strewn all over her desk. She's got her waste paper bucket between her back legs connected by a ropey line of saliva to her chin. She's looking at me in shock while taking in long panting breaths.
"Oh, Diamond. Hey! Uhh you don't look so hot, wanna go back home?"
"Leave me alone Scootaloo."
"Nah, you look sick. Want for me to get your butler or something? Silver will be here in... hour or so maybe."
"I'm fine go away."
"It'd be no trouble I jus-"
Her lips curl back and she squints at me. Mascara has run down her cheeks. She looks like a hot mess. Jerks her head up so fast her tiara goes all askew, periwinkle and white curls of mane escape from her finely coiffed do.
"Listen you little orange pion I don't want you here! Turn your stupid tail around and leave! Me! Alone!!"
Sisters sake! I know I'm the help but that's uncalled for I was just trying to show some compassion. Who does she think she is, coming back mid-term from her fancy Manehattan business school throwing her weight around. Speaking of weight I got nothing against fillies with a slightly thinker milkshake but if she's throwing up maybe she has some sort of eating disorder, trying to hide it in those dresses like it'll fool anypony. Why would she try to hide her weight unless there was more to the story. And if she's sick it's not like it's my fault... Or maybe... OH! Could she be-?
"Are you deaf as well as crippled!? I Don't Want You Here Scootaloo!"
"Hey, hey don't get upset D. T. It's not good for the-"
" NOT GOOD FOR THE FOAL!? That what you want to say? This must be a childhood dream for you. Go! Go and gossip to your two little friends! If Silver hasn't spilled the news to that horned marshmallow trollop of hers. Can't expect any loyalty from anypony these days. Go tell them! Tell everyone the Rich kid left to become a scion of the business community and came home in disgrace, dropped out, unwed, and knocked up! More to the point, Just GO!"
Then she just puts her nose in the basket and balls her eyes out. I'm too shocked to take any enjoyment out of this. Then so many emotions and thoughts tumble through my brain I can't choose one. How dare she assume I'd rub her nose in it. I'm no bully. That's her turf. Sure, maybe at one point in time I'd love it to see her fall from grace but to actually see it! Diamond Tiara bent over in this sad little vomit-smelling office with her spirits crushed. Who'd wish that on anypony. Even her. I don't know what to do. I kind of want to get out of there like she said but.
"Eveypony else has left me. Why won't you?" Her voice is quiet and wavering like I've never heard before. Feels like I've got storm clouds between my ears. I don't know what to do but then like a lightning bolt hits me I do.
"Nah."
"What!?" More a sob than a word really but if it was one it would be 'what'.
"Said 'nah'. Can't just leave ya. You need a friend right now like it or not and you know what?" I gesture around the little room. "Your dad's not here. Silver Spoon isn't here. Your butler isn't here."
I sit down at her level and reaching out with one hoof gently lift her chin up. I need her to look me in the eye for this dammit.
"You know what Diamond? I can never, NEVER be your friend. I can't forget all you did and said to me. Sickening horrible stuff and don't you dare excuse yourself because of your age. You knew what you were doing. Given a choice I don't want to help you now or ever. But I got one thing setting me apart from all other ponies in Equestria. I'm HERE! And not leaving. I'm getting you a clean shop rag and some spring water. Then my damn coffee. What you need to do is calm your tits. You got that Diamond?"
Could have been less sarcastic in tone but old habits you know. Let's hope she doesn't release that good olde Rich family arrogance on me. Looks like it got through 'cause she can only just blink mutely.
Couple minutes later I'm back with my coffee. Diamond swishes water around her mouth which she daintily spits into the bin. Then she goes about straightening the files on her desk like nothing happened. There's something about her that betrays her though. Makes her look more vulnerable. Takes a bit but I realize she wiped off all her makeup. Haven't seen her like that since way before she got her mark. I slump down in the other office chair and sip my bad coffee.
"Well then."
"Well what?" Falsetto voice on the what. She's gathering together last scraps of dignity.
"Let's talk about it."
"Must we, Scootaloo?"
"Yeah we must. You'll feel better and I'll know I didn't leave you hanging. I swear whatever said stays here."
"This is stupid; I feel stupid. I don't want to talk about it."
"Diamond, having a lover screw you over doesn't make you stupid. It means you were vulnerable and someone betrayed that trust. Doing it twice makes you stupid. And talking about your pain doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong enough to face it." I was hope I was correctly paraphrasing Sweetie Belle's many pep talks to me. She'd be so much better right now but would probably coddle the hell out of Diamond for the sake of her feelings.
"Completely confidential?"
"Hey, it's me." She gave me a look so I Pinkie Pie-Swear on it. I rub my eyelid and get things started. "So, you gonna keep it?"
She sighs and pretends to look bored. "I suppose. Daddy is keen on the idea. And that I do so in full view of the public apparently. I don't know why I am trying to hide it." She smoothed down the front of her brocaded dress.
"What about the father. Is he stepping up and being a stallion?"
"He will once our lawyers are done with him for sure." There's a bit of her old self glimmering through!
"Was it just like a rash spur of the moment fling or did he really work you over? Charm offensive." There were other possibilities of course but I wouldn't wish that on her my worst enemy.
"The latter. Big city bigwig. Fancy party invitations. Lavish gifts. Promises of taking me under his wing. Business connections. That sort of thing." I wonder if he actually had wings. I've known a pegasus or two with horrible taste in mates. "I guess it's a little game he plays with us small-town fillies to ease the ennui."
"What about you, then?"
"What about me?"
"You're a mother now. You gonna step up? This is just my opinion not as an employee or anything but I'd hate to see you dump a foal on your servants for them to raise. That's something a kids remembers later on."
"I'm really trying not to look that far ahead to be honest."
"I advise you think about it... Listen, I love my mom to death and she had all the best intentions, read all the right books, ate healthy, she really wanted to be a mom right? But when I actually arrived she sort of freaked out. Waited until I was weaned and started leaving for weeks at a time. Just wasn't up for the reality."
Diamond Tiara feigns disinterest but I press on. "Luckily I had my dad there for me. Better for your kid to have at least one parent present. And look at me now. I turned out relatively okay."
"Easy for you to say, Scootaloo. I had plans, hopes, dreams. I'll have to put off my education. My reputation is destroyed in certain circles. I wanted to get out of this town." Ha, inwardly I can't help but smirk at that pout but this is genuine pain she's in.
"Some things you'll have to put off. Sure. But you'll have your family and friends nearby. Maybe you can take distance classes and all the hands-0n business training you want at the biggest retailer in Ponyville!"
"I've ruined everything."
"Shit that pity party down. You're still young! Twilight was just a bit older than us when she put off her education indefinitely to become librarian in a Podunk town. Couple years later she was a freakin' princess! You're having a foal sooner and with different circumstances than you expected but you're still the most affluent families in town with tons of opportunities, right?"
"I guess that is true."
"And your father. He pulled you closer to him. To take care of you. Maybe he wishes things went differently but he's hardly disowned you. Hell he created a position here to give you something to focus on and learn from."
An actual tear escapes before she can dab it away. "Perhaps."
"All I'm sayin' is your foal is coming, like it or not, and probably better for everyone if you love it and do right."
"I will take that under advisement, thank you. I feel much better."
"Alright. Good. I'll empty your trash on my way out."
"Oh, and Scootaloo... Be careful on the road today. It's foggy and slick. I wouldn't want you crashing and damaging our customer's merchandise."
I chuckle and head out of her little office. Same old Diamond Tiara. "You got it."
"How about some seconds, dear?"
"I dunno Mrs. Cake I'm pretty stuffed!"
"Some desert then?"
Pound sighs. "Mom! Scootaloo needs to keep her metabolism high. Qualification matches are coming up!"
I chuckle at his earnestness. "Gee squirt, are you my junior manager now or something?"
His face brightens up immediately. "Could I be? I've got lots of great ideas! Hold on, I'll be right back!"
The little colt gallops up the stairs, to his room I guess. I'm a bit startled, then I see Pumpkin's expression. "What's with the smirk, kid?"
"Never underestimate the enthusiasm of a colt too young to have discovered fillies yet. You're in for it. Mom, can I please be excused?"
"Of course, dear. Put your plates in the sink please."
Pound comes back with a big drawing tablet with a long winding looped line scribbled in brown marker. "Okay. Most ponies assume the straightaways is where you can really put on some speed; but I was thinking with the Mockingbird being super maneuverable you can snatch some seconds up on the turns and the slaloms! The other racers will have those bulky high-performance bikes which you can weave past no problem!"
"Pound this is the racetrack in Appaloosa. How did you make this?"
"Pictures from the trade magazines. You don't read those?" He slides and issue out form between the notebook's leaves. Ah there she is, of course. Cover girl Blithe Skim. Beautiful, delicate features, a unicorn, a success story; basically everything I'm not. She loves to get her picture taken and the press loves taking it. I pick up the issue and sigh.
"She's the one to beat."
"Who, Blithe? No problem. She's been on the top of the heap for so long it's a matter of time before a new racer knocks her down and you can do it Scootaloo!"
"I dunno."
Pinkie Pie leans in to collect my plates, silverware, and glasses. "Don't worry, Scootaloo. I'm sure you'll do well. Hard to tell though it's a bit early for the dénouement and I doubt winning the Appaloosa motocross really expresses all the themes so far."
I blink at her. "The de-new-what?"
"The dénouement, silly. You know, the third act climax. It's a Prench word, from Prance!" She bounces off with the flatware balanced precariously on her back.
Pound pats my shoulder. "Don't worry, Scootaloo. Just smile and nod. You get used to it after a while."