//------------------------------// // Diamond's Reflection // Story: Diamond's Bloom // by -Arcana- //------------------------------// Diamond Tiara stepped out into the midday sun. After their morning spent in introspection, she and Silver were forced to say goodbye, due to the grey filly having a dentist appointment scheduled for today. Diamond wished good luck to her friend, as she knew firsthand how annoying a visit to Miss Colgate can be. Not wanting to return home just yet, Diamond decided to spend the rest of the day in town. As she made her way there, her thoughts returned to the conversation she had this morning. She had never told anyone about how she had been bullied in Canterlot; not even Daddy after she had come live with him. She'd be lying if she said it hadn't been a huge weight off her shoulders to tell Silver the truth about her past. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a bit troubled by the light it shed on her behavior. She thought back to when her bullying behavior had begun. Reaching up to her tiara, she felt the all too familiar chip in the left most pommel... -- The pink filly shuffled through the school playground, peering around at the other foals, and readjusting her new tiara nervously. Five minutes ago she had said goodbye to her father at the school gate, and he had surprised her with the ornate piece of jewelry to celebrate her first school year hear in Ponyville. She was so ecstatic to receive the gift, and happily put it on the moment she unwrapped it. Even now it still provided her some small comfort. It had been something of a blessing and a curse; her new life in Ponyville. On one hand she would be able to spend more time with a father she had barely known, but on the other it was due to her mother's negligence that she had to come here. On one hand she would get away from all the bullies in Canterlot, but on the other, there was no reason to think the students here would be any better. A strange mix of hope and fear clashed in her chest, causing her breath to quicken. "Are you ok?" The filly started at the sound of a voice so close. Looking to her left, she noticed another filly with a light grey coat and a lighter grey mane. Her eyes, though visibly worried, were hidden behind a pair of turquoise spectacles. At the pink fillies continued silence, the grey one tilted her head and waved a hoof in front of the pink filly's eyes. The motion jolted the entranced filly from her thoughts. "W-w-wuh?" The pink filly stuttered. The silver one smiled, "I asked if you were ok. You looked pretty tense." "Oh uh, yeah I'm fine. I'm just new here is all." "Yeah? Where are you from?" "...Canterlot" "Wow really? My name's Silver Spoon." "Diamond Tiara." "Nice name. So what was it like in Canterlot?" Diamond hesitated. If she told Silver Spoon how they treated her in Canterlot, how would she react? She would probably not want to be friends with her. She might even bully Diamond herself. What if everyone else in school found out? It would be just like it was for her. "C-Canterlot was alright. The ponies there were... They were always trying to be my friend all the time." "Really? You must have been pretty popular." "Of course, what would you expect from the heiress to the Rich estate?" "Wait a minute, you're Filthy Rich's daughter? That means we're neighbors! My dad, Silver Smith, does a lot of business with your dad. It's like we're destined to be friends!" "Friends?" Diamond asked, and Silver nodded. Diamond Tiara was the happiest kid on the playground that day. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she could have gained a friend this easily. When the teacher called them in for the lesson, the two fillies walked in tandem and talked together about shared interests and favorites. By the time they were dismissed for recess, they were already talking about planning hang outs and even sleep overs. If this was a dream Diamond never wanted to wake from it, or from her new (and indeed first) friend. As the two walked around the playground, absorbed in their conversation, they failed to notice the colt standing right in front of them. Diamond collided head first with the colt's own cranium, causing them both to fall back dazed. Silver rushed forward to help Diamond up, checking her for any sort of injury. Diamond didn't feel as though there was anything wrong, besides her now splitting head ache. Rubbing the side of her head with her hoof, Diamond paused noticing something missing. Looking down she saw her precious tiara laying in the dirt, a visible chunk missing from one of the spires. "Ow! Watch where you're walking dumb filly!" The colt shouted. Diamond tore her eyes away from the cracked coronet, and looked up at the angry colt. In that moment she felt such fear. How many times had it started with a situation like this. With words just like those. It would be just like those times before, back in Canterlot. But she had a friend now. If she let herself be bullied again, then Silver probably won't want to be her friend anymore. Who wants to be friends with a loser? She couldn't lose her new friend so soon. Diamond new she had to do something; she had to fight back. "WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Diamond's voice erupted, louder than it had ever been. The colt stepped back in surprise. Diamond seized the moment to press her advantage, stalking right up to her opponents face. Not breaking gaze with him, Diamond reached down and picked up her fallen tiara before thrusting it between them. "Look what you did to my tiara. My daddy paid a lot of money for this, you better hope we don't make you pay for it." Diamond said, trying to sound as threatening as possible. Judging from the colt's face, she was doing a good job. "Well? Do you have anything to say to me?" "S-s-sorry." The colt stammered before running off. "Wow," Silver said once the colt was gone,"you really tore into him." Diamond Tiara placed her crown atop her head before replying. "Yea well, that's how you deal with ponies back in Canterlot..." -- The memory played again and again in Diamond's mind. Was she right to act the way she did? Did she go too far? He was the one who pushed her after all. Maybe she could have been nicer, but he did need to apologize. Regardless of how she handled that moment, the fact remained that since then she only got worse and worse. At first it was just to defend herself, but soon she began chewing people out just for being in her way. And soon after that, for no reason at all. In her fear of becoming a victim of bullying, she became a bully herself.That was why it was so important for her to change. She didn't want to be a bully forever, and now that she knew Silver would still stick with her she felt better about trying. Diamond made her way towards the town park, enjoying the cool breeze that blew off the lake at the center. Looking around, she saw that a lot of her classmates were out in the park today. No doubt trying to get in as much fun as they could, before the end of summer and the return of the academic doldrums. Diamond bought herself a cup of lemonade from a street vender(on her fathers tab, of course)and went to look for a place to rest. Settling on a patch of grass under a nice shady tree, Diamond sat and continued to contemplate ways to turn her reputation around. Lost in thought as she was, Diamond had no time to react to the ball sailing directly towards her until it was too late. Her drink was launched from her hoof by the ball's impact, spraying liquid across her face. Luckily she had managed to close her eyes before they could be assaulted by the stinging citrus. Reopening them, she took in the wide eyed filly standing before her, looking for all intents and purposes like she was about to flee any second. Diamond recognized her as Tootsie Flute, a filly from her class as well as a usual victim of her biting remarks. "D-Diamond Tiara, I am sooo sorry," Tootsie finally said. Diamond's first instinct was to yell, to make the filly really sorry for ruining her day; however, something caused her to hesitate. Perhaps it was because she had been thinking so much about it, but when she looked at Tootsie Flute's face... Was this the first time she had looked someone she bullied in the face? She had such fearful eyes, and the pony reflected in them looked so angry. She looked almost like... Primrose Star It was the first time she had thought of that name in years. That name had caused her so much grief back in Canterlot. That's who she was now, to Tootsie Flute. Returning to the moment at hand, Diamond finally responded to the timid filly. "It's ok Tootsie, I know it was an accident. Here's your ball back." Diamond rolled the ball towards the thunderstruck filly. "and Tootsie? ...I just wanted to say, y'know, I'm sorry. For everything I've done." Like two waves crashing into each other, the second shock to Tootsie's system seemed to cancel out the first, and suddenly she was aware of her surroundings again. Grabbing her ball, Tootsie uttered a quick thanks before making to leave, still looking a little perplexed by what happened. Diamond had hoped for a better reaction than that, but she supposed it was to be expected. It was only her first step after all, and it would take time for ponies to change the way they saw her. At the very least, she knew Silver Spoon would be happy to hear how well it went. Diamond got up and went to the nearest drinking fountain to wash as much of the lemonade off her as she could. "Hey Diamond Tiara." Diamond turned towards the voice, already recognizing it as that of Apple Bloom. Twice now the filly had surprised her with her sudden appearance. "Ah just want to say Ah saw what happened with you an' Tootsie. It was really good how ya handled that." Diamond swallowed a lump she hadn't realized was in her throat. "Yeah, thanks I guess. I'm kinda trying to turn over a new leaf, or whatever." There was a pregnant pause as Apple Bloom seemed to be considering the validity of that statement. Diamond wondered if perhaps she thought this was some kind of trick. Looking back on her track record, Diamond decided she wouldn't fault Apple Bloom if she were to think that. "Well," Apple Bloom finally spoke, "Ah think that's a great idea. Ah hope it works out for ya." And once again, Apple Bloom left Diamond speachless through sheer optimism. "Uh, thanks I guess." "By the way, where's Silver Spoon? Ya'll are usually attached at the hips." Diamond couldn't help but giggle. "Oh she's at the dentist, so I'm on my own today." "Well, how'd ya like to come hang out with me and my friends at Sugarcube Corner?" "Oh ummm, I guess? But I should probably go home and get the rest of this lemonade out." "Oh yeah sure, we'll be there for a while; so ya should be able to have a bath an' still get there in time to meet us." "Alright I'll see you there then." Diamond waved goodbye to Apple Bloom, and began trotting in the direction of her house. A few minutes later, reality finally set in. She had just agreed to spend time with the ponies who, just yesterday, she had considered her sworn enemies. And a part of her was actually excited about it. The thought cased Diamond to stop in her tracks. "What the hay just happened!?"