As she sat and waited in the nurse's office, Diamond Tiara held on tight to the faint hope that her daddy would know what to do. Daddy was the one who could always set things right, no matter how dire or hopeless the situation might have seemed. A teacher was one thing, but fathers were meant to tackle problems like these. Daddy, she hoped, would take care of everything in a jiffy when he arrived.
Her hopes were quickly dashed when she saw Filthy Rich burst through the door of the nurse's office with a resounding bang, his suit disheveled and his brow covered with sweat. The stallion that Diamond Tiara saw in front of her was one she scarcely recognized. The Filthy Rich she knew was dignified and confident, maintaining a perfect air of superiority and class that Diamond was constantly trying to emulate. But the Filthy Rich she just saw now was a discombobulated wreck, panicked and fearful. Her heart sank as she struggled to grasp the bizarre, almost surreal spectacle before her.
Filthy Righ gasped with horror upon seeing his daughter's quivering, sniveling form seated on the table; her eyes swollen and red, her fur covered with streaks of dirt, her mane an absolute mess. He hurried over and gave her a massive hug, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"What's the matter, Diamond?" he asked. "Tell Daddy what happened."
"S... Silver Spoon," Diamond uttered with a sniffle.
"Silver Spoon?!" cried Mr. Rich. "You told me that she was your best friend in the whole world!"
"Not anymore," Diamond sobbed.
Mr. Rich released his daughter and marched up to Cheerilee, with fury welling up in his soul. "I want you to call Silver Spoon's parents immediately," he seethed. "Nobody hurts my baby girl and gets away with i-"
"Mr. Rich," Cheerilee said as gently as she could. "There is no Silver Spoon."
Diamond Tiara cringed as Cheerilee's words cut through her.
"What do you mean, there is no Silver Spoon?!" demanded Mr. Rich.
Cheerilee shrunk away from Mr. Rich, intimidated by his fervor. "I-I mean that Silver Spoon isn't real," said Cheerilee, trembling. "She's...she's just somepony who Diamond made up."
There it is again. Diamond gritted her teeth, determined not to let the floodgates open again. It was bad enough that she let Miss Cheerilee see her cry once, but she wasn't about to do it again; especially not with her father here. Diamond began to tune out the sound of her father bickering with Miss Cheerilee as feelings of abject shame overtook her. She broke down and cried in front of the whole school. And not just a little, but a lot.
"Aw, don't feel bad," said a chilling squeal of a voice beside her. "Babies cry all the time."
Diamond Tiara gasped and looked to her right, only to see Silver Spoon casually sitting on the counter next to her, letting her hooves swing to and fro. She looked over and gave Diamond a malicious smirk, sending a chill down Diamond's spine.
"I-I'm not a baby," Diamond sniffled.
"Of course you're not," Silver Spoon sneered. "I mean, all you did was lie on the ground and throw a tantrum in the middle of the playground."
"I-it wasn't a tantrum," sniffled Diamond. "I was hurt."
"It sure looked like a tantrum to me," said Silver Spoon.
"Shut up!" Diamond cried. "Just- just go away and leave me alone."
Silver Spoon smiled smugly. "Who's gonna make me?" she asked.
"My daddy," Diamond seethed. "He'll take care of you real good. Just you wait."
"Oh, I'm sure," Silver Spoon said, breaking her gaze away from Diamond's. "You know, that's real grown up of you, isn't it? Waiting 'til daddy gets here so he can make everything better. Maybe when you get home he'll change your diaper and give you your bottle!"
Diamond Tiara snapped and gave Silver Spoon a hard punch across the face.
"OW!" she grunted, rubbing her cheek. "What's the matter with you?! Didn't your daddy ever tell you not to hit?"
At this point, Diamond could feel her eyes start to moisten again. Try as she might, she couldn't hold them back this time. In a fit of rage, Diamond shoved Silver Spoon down onto the counter and started throttling her with her hooves. "I'M NOT A BABY!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I DON'T DRINK FROM BOTTLES AND I DON'T WEAR-"
"Diamond, please!" exclaimed Filthy Rich. Before her rampage could continue, her father and her teacher each grabbed her by the forelegs and snatched her off the counter.
"Diamond, sweetheart," cried Mr. Rich, "what in the world has gotten into you?!"
Diamond Tiara meant to say something, but just as she was about to direct her father's attention towards the counter, she noticed that Silver Spoon had vanished without a trace.
"I- she- the- but I- but she-" she babbled, flabbergasted at what had just transpired. All the while, she felt fresh tears drip down from her eyes and a feeling of abject shame washed over her.
Filthy Rich gave her a tight, firm hug and caressed her back with his hoof. "S-shhh. It's- it's okay. D-daddy'll get this all sorted out, I promise." Unfortunately, his promise did nothing to calm Diamond's anxiety, especially as Diamond felt him tremble and heard the wavering in his voice.
"Be strong, Diamond," said Cheerilee. She reached a hoof out towards her pupil, only to have Filthy Rich angrily swat it away.
"This is all your fault!" he snapped. "I don't know what you've done to her, but believe you me, we will be discussing this thoroughly during next week's parent-teacher conference. Until then, I'm going to give my little princess the help she needs."
Filthy Rich hoisted Diamond up over his shoulder and carried her out of the room. As he walked out the door, he craned his head around and gave Cheerilee the most contemptuous glare he could muster.
While her eyes were still moist from her recent crying fit, Diamond managed to crack a small, faint smile as she buried her face into Filthy Rich's shoulder. For all the pain and humiliation she had endured today, Diamond felt something oddly comforting about relinquishing control and letting her father take her home. With his body warming hers, with his hoof wrapped firmly around her waist and her face nuzzled up against his shoulder, she had the chance to truly feel safe; to feel as if nopony could hurt her anymore.
That is, until she heard an all-too-familiar voice echoing in her head:
Aw, now the baby needs her daddy to carry her!