8 - Birds
A cold wind blew across Diamond Tiara’s fur. Even with her thick coat on, she still felt the chill from the blowing wind and shivered as she slowed her trot. “It’s not even winter yet,” Diamond said as she tried to pick up her speed again. “I’d hate to come here for Hearth’s Warming. It must be below zero then.”
“Below zero?” Babs asked with a raised eyebrow. “That’d kill ya!”
“What do you mean? Below zero would just be-” A thought crossed Diamond Tiara’s mind. “Oh, that’s right. You use Fahrenheit here, don’t you?”
Babs nodded. “It’s not that cold. You’re just exaggeratin’.”
“You can’t be serious,” Diamond said in a flat tone. “I feel like I’m gonna freeze if we stay out here any longer!”
“Ah, stop bein’ such a baby,” Babs said with a wide grin on her face. “C’mon, we’re almost there.”
“That’s what you said ten minutes ago!” Diamond whined.
“We’ve only been walkin’ for five minutes,” Babs pointed out. “An’ that was just ta shut you up. But this time I mean it. See that house there?” Babs pointed towards a house just a little further down the street that they were walking along, with a blue roof on top of it. “That’s the house we’re goin’ to.”
“Well it’s about time,” Diamond said. “They’d better have some hot chocolate there, because I really need a break from all this walking and something to warm me up. I can barely even feel my hooves at this point.”
“It’s somepony’s house,” Babs said, “Not a café.”
“Well they should at least be courteous to their guests.”
“We’re usin’ the guy’s pigeons to deliver messages free of charge. If anythin’, we should be doin’ stuff for him.”
“…”
Babs sighed as she watched Diamond pouting whilst she walked beside her. “… I’ll ask him if he could warm up some tea, alright?”
“With lots of sugar,” Diamond said. “I woke up early today and I’m pretty tired.”
Babs rolled her eyes and shook her head, but she also smiled. ‘Alright, seems like she’s doin’ better now,’ she thought to herself. “Just remember that these are the pigeons he uses to talk to his fillyfriend, so ya might have ta do a bit of beggin’ ta use ‘em again on such short notice.”
“Obviously you’ve never seen me around daddy whenever I see a new dress that I want,” Diamond said with a grin. “I can be so adorable, nopony can resist giving me whatever I ask for.”
“Sure you can,” Babs asked, the scepticism clear in her tone. “Let’s see it then. The face ya use ta get your way.”
Diamond Tiara took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated. When she opened them again, they were wide, they were sparkly, and they were focused directly on Babs’ own eyes. Diamond’s ears stood up tall and the smile on her face was angelic to the point that Babs could have sworn there was a wreath of flowers forming around her neck and a choir singing around her.
“That’s… good…” Babs said, not entirely sure why any adult would fall for it. It was certainly cuter than her ordinary appearance, but not to the point that she felt compelled to give her whatever she asked for.
“Just ‘good’?” Diamond asked, a disappointed edge in her tone. Her eyes fell to the floor, her ears drooped to the sides of her head, and her smile fell into a frown. She remained silent as she continued walking in this state, staring at the ground the entire time.
Babs felt a pit deep within her stomach as she stared at the depressed filly, and felt like she had committed some kind of great wrong against her. “I-I mean, it was great!” Babs said. “Y-Yeah, it was so… cute, I almost couldn’t believe it was the same filly!”
“…” Diamond didn’t seem to brighten up any at that.
“I mean it!” Babs shouted, stopping to put a hoof on Diamond’s shoulder and turn her so that they were facing each other. “That was the most adorable face I’d ever seen, and-” Babs stopped when she saw that Diamond Tiara was no longer frowning. She was grinning. And laughing. “Y-You…”
“HAHAHAHAHA!” Diamond couldn’t help it. The laughter just burst out of her and wouldn’t heed to her wishes for it to stop. “O-Oh my gosh! I didn’t think it would work that well! You’re so easy to fool!”
“Y-You were jus’ pretending?!”
“Pretty convincing, huh?” Diamond asked as she wiped a tear away from her eye. “So what was that about me being ‘adorable’?”
A blush spread across Babs’ face. She quickly turned around and checked both sides of the road before crossing it. “N-Nothin’! I knew you were actin’, an’ I was just humourin’ ya.”
“Yeah, sure,” Diamond said as she followed after Babs, giggling as she walked across the road. “You know, your reaction was even better than Silver Spoon’s. Your face was just too much.”
Babs harrumphed and blew her fringe out of her face. “You jus’ caught me off guard, that was all. Anyway, we’re here now.” The two fillies stopped at the front door of their target house. Babs raised a hoof and knocked. A few moments later, the door opened and a mare’s face peeked outside. “Is Birds home?”
The mare smiled and opened the door further. “Ah, it’s you again, Babs. Please come in.” The two fillies entered the house whilst the mare walked to the base of the stairs and shouted up: “Teddy sweetie, your little friend is here!”
“Muuuuum!” a voice called down from the top of the stairs. “I told you, my name’s ‘Birds’!”
“Of course, sweetie!” the mare shouted back. She turned back to Babs and Diamond Tiara. “You two go on up. I’ll bring you some snacks.”
“You don’t have-” Babs started, but was cut off by Diamond Tiara.
“Could you bring us some hot chocolate too?” Diamond felt a foreleg nudge her side, and turned to see Babs frowning at her. “… Please?”
“If it’s not a bother,” Babs quickly added.
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” the mare said. “Thank you for being such good friends with my son. I was beginning to worry his only fascination was with birds…”
Diamond raised an eyebrow. “What kind of pony is this colt, anyway?”
“… You’ll see,” Babs said as she started her ascent up the stairs. “He’s a nice guy, but a lil… out there. Come on.”
Hesitantly, Diamond Tiara stepped a hoof forward and followed Babs up the stairs.
Diamond Tiara wasn’t quite sure what to say, or even think. Of all of the mental images that had crossed her mind whilst wondering what this friend of Babs’ would look like, this was certainly not one of them. It certainly did explain why her preferred the name ‘Birds’, though.
“You gonna stare all day or you gonna come in?” Babs asked from her seat inside of Birds’ room, with seven different types of birds all perched on her at once. “Don’t worry. They’re tamed, so they won’t hurt ya.”
“Well, the ones that aren’t in their cages won’t, at least,” Birds added as he poured some birdfeed into a number of cages in the back of him bird-infested room. “I also clean them regularly and take them to the vet for regular checkups, so no health risks.”
“See? Totally fine,” Babs said as she held out some birdfeed on her hoof to a number of birds, all of which happily accepted the treat.
“What… I… I don’t even know where to start with this,” Diamond finally said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with a forehoof.
“I know it might seem a lil’ weird,” Birds said.
“A ‘little’?” Diamond asked with an incredulous look on her face.
“But birds are my passion,” Birds continued. “I love looking after and studying birds of all kinds, and I find it easier to talk to birds than I do ponies.”
“Maybe that’s ‘cause you’re a cuckoo?” Diamond said with a grin.
“Diamond-” Babs started, but was interrupted by Birds.
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Birds laughed, before turning around to reveal his flank, upon which was a Cutie Mark of a silhouetted bird flying through the air. “But hey, we don’t choose our special talents, and I’m certainly not gonna waste mine by lamenting over it. I enjoy what I do, and that’s all that matters.”
Diamond was quiet after that, until she took one step further into the room and was assaulted by a colourful bird that decided to sit on her head. “AH! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!”
“Marlene,” Birds called, holding out his hoof. The bird took flight off of Diamond Tiara’s head and flapped over to Birds’ hoof. “Sorry ‘bout that. She likes pink surfaces, you see.”
“This is great!” Diamond shouted as she attempted to tidy her mane with her hooves. She looked around for a mirror, but could only find the small ones inside of various bird cages. She decided to simply hope she had straightened her mane out enough and sat down with a grumble. “How do you even sleep in a room like this?”
“Oh, I don’t,” Birds said, pointing a hoof up towards the ceiling. “This was my bedroom originally, but ever since I started collecting and studying my precious birds, I started to sleep in the attic.”
“… Your friend is weird,” Diamond whispered to Babs. “Like, Pinkie-level weird.”
“I don’t know what this ‘Pinkie’ is,” Babs whispered back, “But it sounds weird alright.”
“So, like, do you like Pegasi too, or something?” Diamond asked, keeping her eye on all of the birds around her to make sure that none of them tried anything funny with her mane again.
“… Pegasi?” Birds asked in a solemn tone, turning to the two fillies with a bitter look on his face. “Pegasi killed my pa…” Diamond’s eyes widened, her face started to drip with sweat, and she swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. “… Just kiddin’!” Birds cheered as he finished feeding the last of his birds and placed the birdfeed down. “Nah. To me, a Pegasus is just a pony with wings. Last I checked, that doesn’t make ‘em a bird.”
Diamond Tiara couldn’t take her eyes off of the colt as she stared at him with an equal mix of surprise, wonder, and bemusement. “… I… You… That…”
“Right, well, before you break Diamond even more,” Babs said, “… Wait, where’s Apple Bloom?”
“Apple Bloom?” Birds asked. “Oh, the filly who came here yesterday? She dropped by not long before you two did. Oh!” Birds ran across the room and towards a desk that was covered with birds. They all moved out of the way for him and he picked up a letter that was sitting on the desk. “That’s right! My carrier pigeon came back while she was here.”
“It did?” Babs asked. “So what happened? Did she leave? Tell me she didn’t leave!”
“W-Well…” The look on Birds’ face told it all.
“She left!” Babs shouted in complete disbelief. “I told her not to leave! Why would she leave on her own when I specifically told her not to-”
“Babs,” Birds said, stopping the filly’s rant as he held the letter and a small object up in his hooves. “There was something attached to the letter.”
“There was?” Babs asked. “What?”
“… I’m no expert, but it looks like one of those transmitters they use in the movies.”
“A transmitter?” Diamond asked. “What’s that?”
“In the movies,” Babs started, “They send out a signal so that you can follow somepony without being seen…” Babs gasped as the implications hit her. “For example, ya could follow a bird back to its nest without it catchin’ ya!”
“Right,” Birds said with a nod. “She ran out of the house as soon as I told her that. Said she had to find the two of ya.”
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!” Babs demanded as she grabbed a hold of the colt’s shoulders.
“I-I thought she met up with you already! You mean she didn’t?”
“No, she didn’t!” Babs shouted. “Which means she out there on her own!”
“What’s the big deal?” Diamond asked behind Babs. “I’ve been through enough fights with her to know she can fight back if somepony weird approaches her.”
“Maybe in Ponyville!” Babs told Diamond. “But this is Manehatten! If ya don’t keep your wits about ya then you’re dead!”
“… Well, guess we’ve lost her then, if she needs wits,” Diamond said with a shrug.
“Now’s not the time for jokes! Ya have ta help me find her!”
“Why should I?” Diamond asked. “You know I don’t like her. You know that we totally hate each other’s guts, and you know that we always fight together.”
Babs gritted her teeth together and turned towards the door. “Fine then, be that way! I’ll find her on my own!” Babs said as she ran towards the door.
“What?! But you just said it’s dangerous out there when you’re alone!” Diamond called after her.
“I know this place! I’ll be fine!” Babs shouted back. “You jus’ stay here if that’s what ya want, but don’t count on us bein’ friends anymore!”
Diamond gasped and was about to call back when she saw the door slam shut. She simply stared at the closed door as she heard the sounds of stampeding down the stairs, followed by a door slamming shut beneath her. “… W-We were friends?” Diamond asked finally as she placed her outstretched hoof back down on the floor.
“… H-Hey, don’t take it too badly,” Birds said. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”
Diamond Tiara wasn’t paying attention though, as she instead focussed on the sinking feeling in her chest as she continued staring at the closed door standing before her. Her breathing became heavy, and she felt confused as unknown feelings started racing through her mind.
‘Darn it! This is just like the time she turned on us back in Ponyville!’ Diamond Tiara gulped as she took a step forward. ‘I’m not your friend anymore? … I-I’m Diamond Dazzle Tiara! I choose when we’re not friends anymore!’
“You got that?!” Diamond shouted as she raced towards the door, slamming it open and charging down the stairs outside. She opened the house’s front door and ran outside, ignoring the shouts and pleas to stay from Birds behind him.
“I’m only doing this because you want me to! It’s not for her sake! You got that?!” Diamond Tiara shouted as she raced down the street, taking the first right she came to but stopping as she saw no familiar landmarks.
“… T-This isn’t right,” Diamond told herself as she panted on the spot. She turned back and took the next right she saw down the street instead, only to find herself in an alleyway of some kind. “Darn it! Wait, I’m supposed to turn at that fountain.”
As Diamond Tiara turned around once more, the sight of a grey blur filled her vision, and moments later she found herself pinned to the wall behind her as a large grey hoof forced itself over her mouth. Try as she might, she could not break free of its hold, and her screams would only come out as mere muffled cries.
“This is the one,” a stallion’s voice said. “The ten thousand bit kid, no doubt about it.”
“That’s Rich’s kid,” another stallion’s voice called out. “I reckon we can get a lil’ more, if we negotiate.”
“What’ll we do?”
“Don’t hurt her yet. Use the chloroform.”
“You got it.”
As the hoof removed itself from her mouth, Diamond Tiara tried to scream for help, but before she could act a blue hoof stretched out and covered her mouth again, this time with some sort of white cloth.
“Sleep,” the second voice called out. “When she’s out, tie her up like you did the other one.”
“You got it.”
Diamond’s vision became blurry as she saw a silhouette moving closer towards her. As she fell to the floor, she could just about make out the shape of a tall stallion towering over her, his laughter echoing through her ears as her eyes fluttered shut.
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I don't really find the detective character funny. Bird was great though.
3214941
Bird needs his own story. His own series. Probably his own television show. But I digress.
On topic, Yukito, how are you putting this out so quickly?
Things aren't looking good for DT, hopefully Babs will find her soon.
Oh, and love the TFS reference.
Congratulations Filthy Rich, you have successfully turned a runaway into an abduction. Bravissimo.
3215071
NaPoWriMo
He has to. He has one month to slap out fifty thousand words to complete the challenge.
Not to be confused with National POETRY Writing Month, which is a differen't NaPoWriMo... Really they probably should have thought about the acronym some more.
Now come on, Babs. It won't kill you, just make you horribly miserable.
And I thot b4 was dark
Pinkie is a PONY. she´s Applebloom´s FRIEND. I´m sure Babs has heard about her before