Sunday
Saturday was a wonderful day. After eating daisy sandwiches for lunch, the Crusaders decided to take her and Silver Spoon with them and spent the afternoon helping them find their cutie marks. Their attempts were futile, of course, but Diamond and Silver had fun regardless.
She was still quite surprised the trio took her in as quickly as they did. Even after the incident with Discord, they were quick to befriend her. At first she thought they did it out of pity, feeling that Discord went too far, but yesterday, she realized they genuinely wanted to be her friend and all it took was the physical embodiment of chaos to push them together.
She feared the reaction she would get from the foals at school. She had tormented many of them, said nasty things about them personally, about their families, about trivial things like some being blank-flanks or their interest in things she found weird. Despite the kind words the Crusaders told her, she still felt they sugarcoated her situation.
She also feared the reaction she would get from the adults. During dinner, she asked her father how she would go about things up with the town and he told her that the two would have a meeting with the mayor to set up a public speech. The thought terrified her. She was going to be speaking in front of the entire town. She knew many of the ponies would hold a grudge on her and her father, but that was something she had to face if she wanted to earn their trust and she began to prepare herself for the potential backlash she was about to receive.
At the end of the day, to say she was beat would have been an understatement. So much went on and she did her best to keep up with it all. She had climbed into her bed and passed out on top of the blankets. She had a deep, dreamless sleep. The kind of sleep most ponies would kill for.
She woke up to the pleasant sound of birds singing and found herself tucked underneath the blankets. She vaguely remembered being gently shuffled underneath, but couldn't remember who had done it. It wasn't worth trying to figure out for her waking mind and she slipped out of bed and tidied up the sheets before she walked to her mirror.
She sighed as she picked up her hairbrush and began combing her mane. She looked up and saw a shelf on the wall just above the mirror that she asked her father to do. On it sat her tiara. She grumbled at it but remembered that it would serve as a reminder; a reminder that she needed to ignore the petty differences between her and the other ponies. Yesterday she promised herself that she would never wear it again, and she intended to keep that promise.
“Diamond! Breakfast is almost ready!”
This morning's breakfast consisted of two fluffy blueberry pancakes with butter and maple syrup; scrambled eggs; two pieces of toast with strawberry jam and orange juice. It was quite a breakfast, but she managed to eat it all up, much to her parents' surprise. Her reflection horrified her and she wanted to put some weight back on.
After breakfast, she decided to take a bath. Her parents insisted they help her, but her insistence of taking care of herself convinced them to let her. With the tub filled, she closed the valves and slipped into the warm water. The water was soothing and she allowed her muscles to loosen and her mind to wander.
She found herself thinking about Randolph, the family butler. She vaguely remembered seeing him poke his head in her room every once in a while to check on her, but he had been strangely absent the past week. There was a knock on the door, it opened and her mother looked inside. “Hey, Diamond.”
Her mind snapped back to reality and looked at her mother. “Mom... where's Randy?”
She entered the bathroom, turned and closed the door. She hung her head for a moment and turned back to her daughter, her eyes were glassy with the tears that were forming in them. She walked to the side of the tub, sat down and stroked her daughter's mane. “Diamond... he... he's gone.”
Diamond's eyes widened and her mouth started trembling. “Y-you didn't... fire him, did you?”
Her mother gasped. “No, Diamond. Randolph... he... passed on.” She turned her head and started sniffling. “Seeing you miserable broke his heart.”
Diamond started crying. She loved him like a grandfather. She loved watching him perform his acrobatics. Aside from her parents, he was the only other pony she respected. Thinking about the way she treated him on the day she found out about the Crusaders' time with Twilight made the emotions flood. “I... I killed him.”
Her mother pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head. “No, sweetie... you didn't kill him. It was his time.”
She shook her head. “N... no, mom. Had I kept going, he'd still be here.”
Her mother sobbed and pressed her face into her daughter's mane. “Don't think that, sweetie.”
Diamond sniffled as she started to regain her composure. “I... I want to see him... I want to... I want to say goodbye.”
Her mother rested her chin on Diamond's head and slowly nodded. “Okay. We'll take you to see him before we head to town hall. It's on the way.”
Diamond nodded and hiccuped a few times. “O-okay. Thank you, mom.”
Her mother picked up a pump bottle of shampoo, set it on the sink next to the tub, then picked up a bottle of conditioner, set it next to the shampoo, pumped some shampoo onto her hoof and lathered it into Diamond's mane. “What else is wrong, sweetie?”
Diamond hiccuped. “I'm worried about the other kids at school... and the adults.”
Her mother let out a contemplating hum as she continued lathering the shampoo. “I wouldn't worry much about the adults, sweetie.” She rinsed her hoof, pumped some conditioner and began lathering it into Diamond's man. “You're still a child and they know that.”
She looked up to her mother. “Do you really think so?” Her mother slowly nodded as she kneaded the shampoo and conditioner. Her ministrations may have physically relaxed Diamond, but she was still worried about what today was going to bring. “Thank you, mom... for everything.”
Diamond had finished bathing and was dried off. She and her parents left the house and took an isolated path to the Ponyville cemetery. The trip would be silent and memories of the old butler filled her mind.
She recalled a day she twisted a hoof on her way home from Silver Spoon's. Silver ran to her house and came back with Randolph who carried her the rest of the way. Her parents were away on a business trip at the time and she was thankful he was around. He tended to her on an hourly basis. Part of her thought it was annoying, but she never spoke up. Looking back now, she was glad she didn't.
The three entered the cemetery and made their way to Randolph's grave. She plopped down in front of the gravestone and began sniffling. “I'm so sorry, Randolph.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. “Even in my isolation, I was only thinking of myself.”
Filthy comfortingly stroked her mane. “As have I, Diamond. I was so absorbed in providing for you and your mother that I haven't been much of a father to you.” He gently lifted her head up and looked her in the eyes. “That changed when you locked yourself up.”
Diamond's mother sat beside her and held her. “Do you want to know want to know what his last words were?” She felt Diamond press her face into her side and slowly nodded. “He said he loved you and he would have done anything to keep you happy.”
Diamond started crying again in a mixture of joy and pain. She knew that he would do anything and has everything he could and it often worked for her. She walked up to the gravestone and hugged it. “I'll miss you, Randy.” She walked backward toward her parents and heaved a mighty sigh. “Let's go to town hall...”
Filthy looked curiously at his daughter. “Are you sure? We haven't been here long.”
Diamond nodded. “Y-yeah... I'd like to come back later, though.”
The three approached the town square and one by one, pairs of eyes shifted their direction. Diamond began to feel nauseous from the attention she was receiving. There were gasps and quiet murmurs. “Is that Diamond Tiara?” One pony asked. “That poor filly, she looks miserable.”
That comment alone sparked some hope in her, but it was just one pony. They continued toward town hall. The mayor was standing outside, watching two pegasi hang a banner on the building. She gave an approving nod to them. “That's good! Just a little more to my right!” The pegasi maneuvered as such and let the banner settle. “Perfect!” The pegasi hoof-bumped and flew off.
Behind her, Filthy cleared his throat to gain her attention. The mayor turned and smiled at the family. “Ah! Good morning!” She looked to a terrified Diamond Tiara. “Diamond Tiara!” The filly flinched. “I'm happy to see that you're out of the house. Come, let's head to my office.”
The three followed the mayor into the building and into her office. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”
They sat down and Diamond's parents nudged her. Diamond looked up to the smiling mayor. “I... I want to apologize to everypony.”
The mayor looked confused. “For what, dear?”
Diamond looked down to the floor and sniffled. “I've been terrible to everypony.”
The mayor chuckled. “Diamond Tiara, do you honestly think you're the only one in your situation who has acted out in such a manner?” Diamond's ears perked as she gave the mayor a curious look. “I remember growing up, your father acted similarly. He changed as soon as his father brought him into the family business.”
Diamond looked up to her father and he nodded. She then looked back to the mayor. “Does that mean I should get a job?”
The mayor shook her head. “No, I brought that up as merely an example. There have been other foals who acted the same way, and many of those foals never grew out of that mindset. You're still young, dear, you should enjoy your foalhood as much as you can. If you would like a job to prepare you to be a responsible citizen, I'm willing to give you a clerical job. It'll be monotonous and somewhat frustrating, but it's an entry level position and shouldn't be taxing for you.”
Filthy cleared his throat. “At first I was wondering if you could call the ponies over, but it looks like there's a crowd forming already.”
The mayor nodded in agreement. “Yes. No doubt Diamond's presence has piqued their interest.”
Diamond's mother pecked her on the top of the head and looked to her husband. “Come on, honey, let's give our daughter some time to think about what she wants to say.”
Her parents opened the door and she caught a quick glimpse of Silver Spoon before the door swung shut. The door opened again and Silver galloped up to her. “Silver Spoon!” She hopped off the chair and hugged her friend, letting out a sad laugh.
Silver nuzzled her friend affectionately. “I heard you came this way.”
The mayor smiled. “Let's head into the lobby.”
There they were, a crowd of ponies had gathered around town hall. Diamond swallowed hard seeing the number of mares, stallions, fillies and colts. She saw her parents at the front of the crowd, talking with the others. At her side was the mayor and Silver Spoon who did their best to calm the filly. “Come, Miss Tiara, you have a speech to make.”
Silver nuzzled her friend comfortingly. “It's going to be alright, DT.”
Diamond nodded, trying to force back the flood of emotions that were running through her. Silver Spoon helped her to the door and the mayor opened it. The fillies followed closely behind her as they approached the podium. She looked to the side and, to her surprise, Twilight was present. She looked to the back rows and she saw it; she saw the hard glares ponies were shooting her; she felt the anger they were radiating. She wanted to go home, but she knew she couldn't.
The mayor cleared her throat. “Mares and stallions; fillies and colts, thank you all for coming this afternoon. I am aware that the filly who will be speaking has been problematic for many of you. Despite what she has done, I don't expect you to like her, but I do expect you to be on your best behavior.” She looked toward Twilight, nodded and moved away from the podium.
Twilight levitated a stool in front of the podium and lifted Diamond onto it. “Go ahead, Diamond.”
Diamond cleared her throat and examined the ponies before her. Seeing the mixed expressions, from anger to pity, made her throat tighten. “I... I'm sorry, everypony. I know I've been rude and inconsiderate, among other things... many of you thought of me as a spoiled, self-centered snob of a foal... and you would be right. That day with Discord... it opened my eyes to what was really important.” She glanced toward her parents, then to the Crusaders, then back to the crowd. “Friends... family... enjoying life to its fullest. For two weeks I've been afraid... afraid to face the consequences of what I put you all through...” she glanced the back rows and the hardened glares began to soften. “I will not ask for forgiveness and I will not ask for pity. I'm ready to start treating ponies better than I have in the past.” She raised a hoof and pointed to the Crusaders. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, three ponies I never imagined would count me as a friend have. I tormented them constantly, about their blank flanks; Scootaloo's wings; Sweetie Belle's difficulty using magic and their efforts in finding cutie marks.”
She looked around the podium for a cup of water. There wasn't one and Twilight caught on, levitating a small cup to her. She took a sip, set the cup on the podium and looked back to Twilight. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath and looked back to the crowd. “I've been a bully for too long and I want to do better by everypony.”
Among the crowd, she saw Berry Punch, a mare she constantly slandered as being an uncontrollable alcoholic; she also saw Derpy Hooves, a mare she identified as a walking, flying disaster after the incident at the town hall where she tried to help decorate but ended up destroying more than half of the building. One thing she admired about both mares was that both of them were always cheerful. She saw Miss Cheerilee giving her a proud smile. She knew her behavior was tough on the teacher and she remembered ignoring the lectures she gave.
Diamond found her voice hitching as she pressed herself to continue. “I've been doing a lot of thinking these past two weeks. I've come to realize that I'm envious and... maybe a little jealous.” She received a confused look from the crowd. “I'm envious of the hard work you all put into everything you do... from work to being with your families. I've been too used to have things given to me with little to no effort. I'm jealous of the foals' relationships with their parents. My father is usually away on business and my mother would be off doing her own thing. I rarely saw either of them, so my company would be either...” she took a deep breath to hold back her emotions, “our butler Randolph or my friend Silver Spoon.” She looked to her parents who looked flabbergasted and sighed. “I'm sorry. I acted out because I wanted your attention.”
She looked among the crowd. Her speech had an impact on them she didn't expect. In the back, where the most spiteful ponies were, were now on the verge of tears. She saw a lot of sentimental nods among other ponies, from both foals and adults. “My isolation has hurt many ponies and even in that, I was being selfish. Randolph took it the hardest and it... it killed him. I was too absorbed in my own self-pity that I neglected those I cared for. I'm sorry everypony...”
An hour had passed since the speech ended. Diamond found herself being forgiven by nearly everypony who was present. She, her parents and Silver Spoon visited the floral shop and picked up a dozen tulips. Diamond insisted she carried them as they returned to the cemetery.
Silver Spoon stayed back as Diamond walked up to the gravestone and laid the flowers against it. When she returned to her side, she stroked her friend's mane. “I'm sorry about Randolph...”
Diamond nodded. “So am I.” She wiped her face with a hoof and sniffled. “I'll never forget you, Randy.”
Her mother smiled upon her daughter. “I'm happy for you, Diamond. Are you ready to go back to school tomorrow?”
She smiled excitedly up to her mother and nodded. “I am, now.”