"So it's settled. We tell Twilight the moment we get a chance! She'll know what to do!" Apple bloom announced, slamming her hoof on the table in the middle of them with a resounding THUMP. An emergency Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting had been called on the subject of Diamond Tiara's mother. Oh, sure they had their suspicions, but the three were astonished to hear how bad things had gotten. Diamond Tiara and Silver took a walk after dinner at Silver Spoon's place. Whether or not it was subconscious behavior on Diamond's part is up to debate, but the duo found themselves meandering awfully close to CMC territory. Somewhere that felt safe and familiar. Well, maybe not familiar, since she'd only ever stopped by once. (Not counting the incident with Babs) Briefly, before racing off into another musical number. Mother didn't know about the club house, and Diamond could trust the crusaders, couldn't she?
She peered out the window, as the first few drops of a gentle rain started to stain the window panes. Behind her, the others talked in endless circles about what to do about her and her mother. She gave a quiet sigh, ear twitching faintly as she stared across the country side. It was a nice little club house. Cute. Quaint. No...Cozy. That was the word for it. All the secret meetings and adventures they must have shared here. She wondered what that would be like; Having friends waiting for you to wake up on Saturday morning so could you get stared on having fun. Why did this feel so out of reach? She was rich, wasn't she? Why couldn't money buy her a life like this?
"Diamond?" Apple Bloom asked quietly. Diamond didn't turn to look at her, but mumbled a soft 'mmmh' in response. Apple Bloom offered a tender smile in return.
"We know yer mom's hurtin' you Diamond. Ain't none of it is your fault. We've agreed to go and talk to Princess Twilight! She'll know what to do!" Apple Bloom beamed confidently. Diamond didn't turn to look at her. She stared out at the dreary gray skies and sighed. Again.
"Yeah! Twilight is real good at solving problems! She won't let it happen again!" Scootaloo chimed in.
"Princess Twilight can fix anything!" Sweetie Belle cooed.
"And then what?" She asked. Apple Bloom tilted her head. Then what? What did that mean? After they tell Twilight and the problem would be solved. Go tell an adult. Idly, Apple Bloom wondered why Diamond Tiara would ever keep something like this a secret.
"What do ya'll-" Apple Bloom started to ask, before Diamond cut her off. Still staring out the window and into the distance.
"Then what happens?" She asked dryly. " Do you think she'll use a mind control spell to make her love me? Do you think she'll tell princess Celestia and have her sent to the moon? Do you think I haven't tried? You can't tell anypony." Diamond sighed. Scootaloo frowned.
"Uh, no. Not cool. You can't just pretend it isn't happening! We've got to tell somepony! I won't let her keep hurting my friends! We'll even tell the guards if we have to!" Scootaloo barked fiercely, regardless of Silver Spoons frantic, but silent protests against the subject topic. Diamond's eyes narrowed to slits and she gave a angry hiss.
"WHO do I tell, Scootaloo? Miss Cheerilee? Mother's on the school board. Her jobs on the line. Father is always out on business trips. Making money. Ponies with money don't HAVE these kinds of problems. No one will believe you, but lets say they do. Lets say we tell the guards? Have me testify against her? Do you know how many lawyers mother can afford? But, fine, lets say, the judge believes us. Then what? Have them round mother up, and cart her off to the dungeons? How would you feel sending your mother to a dark, grimy hole in the ground?! Or, better yet, they'll just take me away to live in an orphanage, with some ruling about parents unfit or something like that. Who am I supposed to go to with this, Scootaloo? " Diamond snarled quietly. She turned towards Scootaloo and marched up to her until they were nose to nose, suddenly livid and trembling.
"I...I..Its easy, y-you just...." Scootaloo stammered, struggling to find a phrase that would explain what she was trying to say but Diamond Tiara cut her off. The prissy pony was far from finished with her.
"Tell me you'd do it. Tell me that 'no mother' at all is better than a 'mean mother'. Tell me you'd let go of hope and throw up your hooves and watch her get sent to a dungeon. Tell me you would sentence your mother to a cold and dark place and turn your back on her. Tell me you'd destroy your own family. Tell me you would carry that weight for the rest of your life. Tell me that you wouldn't lose your father, if he found out you sent his wife to a cell. Tell me how easy that is. Tell. Me." Diamond hissed. Scootaloo's ears flattened against her skull and she tried to find something to say, but suddenly Diamond's reluctance about the situation made all to much sense. She swallowed quietly and shook her head, giving a sigh of relief when Silver Spoon gently rested her hooves on Diamond's shoulders and pulled her away from Scootaloo.
"Leeeeets try this from another angle. No pony wants to get your mom in trouble, Diamond. I wouldn't be able to give up Rarity for anything. We'll help you figure out something that won't lead to that, okay?" Sweetie Belle squeaked nervously, noticing Silver Spoon silently nodding her head in agreement. Silver Spoon tilted her head, a smallish smile twisting at her lips. She could see it now; Sweetie Belle was the mediator. Always had the right thing to say, at the right time. Gets it from her sister, Silver supposed. She could see how Sweetie Belle would keep the calm between a stubborn girl like Apple Bloom, and a hot head like Scootaloo. It would have been nice to have Sweetie around for a few of her arguments with Diamond Tiara. She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sight of Apple Bloom leaping up onto the smallish table in front of them with a tremendous boom.
"Well, all this started because she thinks we're lowlifes right? Well, how about we show her we're better than that!" She exclaimed. Sweetie Belle's face lit up and her eyes grew wide. Now that was a good idea!
"Hey, yeah! We can get on her good side! That'll at least get her off your back about us! Then we can try and work on other stuff!" Sweetie Belle added with her bright gleaming smile. Diamond gave another forlorn sigh and turned to face them.
"How would you do that? Mother hates Blank Flanks, and just because you got your cutie mark doesn't mean she'll stop hating you. Trust me, she'll find, a reason. You can't just change a pony." Diamond Tiara sighed. Apple Bloom shook her head, and flashed Diamond a smile.
"Yeah? Well right up until today I'd have sworn ya'll hated us." Apple Bloom reminded with a cheeky grin. Diamond had to admit she had a point.
"Yeah, if you can change, then there's hope for anypony!" Scootaloo added happily. Silver Spoon groaned. She could already see the beginnings of several quarrels between Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara. She grinned when she glanced over, and saw Sweetie Belle making the same face.
"Well...I....It's worth a shot." Diamond stammered. It really wasn't a bad idea at all, now that she thought about it. It might even work, if mother found out Sweetie Belle was related to Rarity. She could use that angle to get Sweetie on mother's good side. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom would be much harder. Maybe she would work an angle about being Applejack's sister, who's the grand daughter of Dad's business partners. Scootaloo...well...Scootaloo was kind of like a mascot for their club! Yeah, sort of like a pet! Mother would buy that! That's what the poor and down trodden are for, according to her. "Amusement."
"And if that doesn't work, we'll keep tryin' till we find somethin' that does!" Scootaloo exclaimed, giving an adorable buzz of her wings. In spite of herself, Diamond Tiara felt a grin coming on. A little spark of hope. That's all that it was, but it was hope none the less, and she needed some after the day she'd been through.
"Well...lets just get this over with." She groaned. She knew better than to hope. She knew better than to think the Cutiemark Crusaders could actually help her. But it was worth the shot. It was worth it to have friends. Friends like them. So she hid that little spark and kept it safe in the back of her mind, and started towards the door, with her new friends behind her.
**********
"So here's what we do! We tell her all about Sweetie Belle and how she's Rarity's sister. Rarity is a top end designer with a store in Ponyville, Canterlot and Manehatten. "Diamond explained as the tiny fillies meandered lazily towards Diamond Tiara's house.
"But Rarity doesn't have a store in Manehatten!" Sweetie Belle protested. Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and gave the snowy filly a nudge.
"It's just so that her mom thinks she's hot stuff, and by proxy you." Silver Spoon explained, paused, and blushed furiously- but Sweetie didn't seem to notice. No, she, like Diamond Tiara and the rest of the Crusaders, were staring at the thick, black clouds in the sky. No, not clouds, that was smoke, billowing up from somewhere down the street. It almost looked like it was coming from...
"MOTHER!!!" Diamond shrieked, dashing down the street, screaming the entire time. Flames were greedily lapping half of the property now, wildly jumping from spot to spot, as Diamond stared, transfixed and horrified. This was her fault. Mother wouldn't have been drinking so much if she hadn't talked back to her! Mother wouldn't have been in such a poor mood if she'd just kept her mouth shut! IT WAS ALL HER FAULT!! Bouncing back and forth on her hooves, Diamond dashed forward, madly scrambling for the front door to her home where she disappeared behind a curtain of flame.