Diamond Tiara
Diamond Tiara
Diamond made her way to the library, walking alone for a change. When she had announced she was going to do some research, her best friend had, of course, volunteered to go with her. Lucky for her, Diamond was such a good friend that she had let Silver off the hook. After all, nopony went to the library unless they really had to – and Diamond really had to. I will be the princess, she thought.
Miss Cheerilee had announced the school play, and she was determined to win the leading role. Not that she thought anypony else was even worthy of being considered for the part, but why take chances? It was best to be prepared. I will be the princess.
What better way to be prepared than to know the subject matter inside and out? And since this sort of thing wasn't covered in her father's business guides, her mother's romance novels, or the “Young Mare” books that she lied to Silver about and said she didn't actually read -- that meant a trip to the library. I will be the princess.
At least the library was actually open again. She knew that the sort of town she deserved to live in wouldn't have something like this closed down for weeks. Not that she was the sort of nerdy pony who cared about the library, like Twist was – the place just had its uses from time to time, that's all. And it was the principle of the thing, too – she was certain that when librarians retired in Fillydelphia or Manehattan, nopony had to wait for some dull Canterlot bureaucrat to be transferred in to get things running again.
Once she set hoof in the library, she found that the unicorn inside had at least learned enough to offer help right away, although Diamond knocked points off for the sentence ending with “my little pony”, a phrase she found absolutely exasperating. She took a breath before replying, thinking once again about how she deserved more credit for her self-restraint. “I came to find out about royalty.”
The new librarian perked right up at that. “You're in luck! I can help you with whatever you want to learn about Princess Celestia! It just so happens I know--”
“More than just her.” Diamond cut off the excitable civil servant. Clearly she had been about to say that she knew lots and lots of trivia about the princess. Bo-ring. She closed her eyes so it wasn't obvious she was rolling them. “Everypony. I want to learn about all royal ponies.”
“Oh. Well, I can still help with that, Miss...?”
“Diamond.”
“Pleased to meet you; I'm Twilight Sparkle. I can still help you, Miss Diamond. Is this for some sort of school project?”
“I'm going to become a princess.”
Filthy Rich left Barnyard Bargains for the day early, in order to do some paperwork from the comfort of home. Once he arrived, he decided to skip his home office – feeling that would defeat the purpose – for the less formal surroundings of the study. Of course, he wasn't the only member of the family who used the room, and he found something of his daughter's in front of his own piles of clutter.
The top of the paper announced, quite insistently, that there were “AUDITIONS!” A date was given, as well as a title, a cast of characters, and even suggestions for preparing for the auditions. It was a detailed document, and if it hadn't been for the name of the local school being part of the text, he might have wondered why he hadn't heard anything before about somepony bringing professional theater to Ponyville.
On the back, he found notes that were almost as detailed, notes that had clearly been written by his daughter. Filthy Rich, of course, deeply loved his daughter, Diamond. He also loved that, in her own way, she was as ambitious as he was, despite her youth. Wisdom comes with age, though, and so she hadn't yet learned how to recognize those areas she best was suited for, let alone properly steer her ambitions towards them.
If she didn't get what she wanted, she would be unhappy. He couldn't bear the thought of his daughter being unhappy. It would be a learning experience if she failed, sure, but she was still young; she had plenty of time to learn. He wanted her to achieve this particular goal, so he would give her a bit of help. Or more. “As many bits as it takes,” he muttered.
It sure seemed like this new librarian knew what she was talking about.
“Technically, the pegasi never had royalty. I mean, yes, they had factional rulers who functioned as kings and queens before they were united under the imperators – that's the original pegasus term for the title we know as “commander”, by the way – but they rarely used those titles, and those positions were never hereditary.”
Each book she grabbed in her magic or pushed aside with a hoof reminded her of something.
“This is no good; it deals with Silverskin as a legendary figure, as a culture hero. There's considerable evidence that he was, in fact, the first king of the unicorns, and that he ruled until he was betrayed by Storm Bringer, just like the stories say. Incidentally, just before I left Canterlot, I read an account of how Heinrich Trojanhorse discovered the lost city of Amalthea. How can King Silverskin be just a legend if they've found his capital?”
Diamond had as many books as she thought she needed and then some. There was just one more thing she had to learn before she left.
“Everypony talks about the bad things that happened during the Tiara Dynasty, but nopony mentions the good things done by Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby. For one thing, their efforts brought almost the entire earth pony tribe together under a single government for the first time. They also deserve some indirect credit for the Earth Pony Republic. Would it have been founded if not for ponies reacting to three generations of iron-hooved monarchs? I don't think so.”
What Diamond needed to learn now was how to turn off Twilight Sparkle.
Cheerilee stood in the doorway of the schoolhouse and waved goodbye to her visitor. As soon as farewell etiquette had been satisfied and he turned away to head home, her hoof hit the ground and she slumped just a little. Her eyes darted around, trying to distract herself from the guilt she felt and was trying to talk herself out of.
It's not as if I work for the government, she thought. That was followed by closed eyes and a wince as she remembered that technically, yes, she did. She was an employee of the town of Ponyville, and answered (in theory) to the mayor – who, fortunately, knew and trusted her well enough to maintain a mostly hooves-off approach to education.
But since I'm spending it on the class, it's not a bribe, right? It wasn't a huge amount, in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough that she had made a few mental calculations of ways she could benefit her students. It's not like I was planning to spend it on myself.
That improved her mood somewhat, but she was still somewhat uneasy. It didn't help that it was getting late and she was getting hungry. Letting somepony else do the work instead of cooking for herself, though... that was always helpful. And there was that one waiter at the cafe who flirted with her, which was always good for an emotional boost. Maybe, just maybe, she could spend a small fraction of the money on herself after all.
Two fillies were lying at opposite ends of a large, luxurious bed. The pink one was on her back, eyes closed, sprawling with an air of ownership. The silver-coated one was right-side up, forelegs folded primly, peering through her glasses at a notebook that had been placed in front of her moments ago.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” asked Silver Spoon.
“Quiz me,” Diamond explained.
“You've already got the part, you know.”
“It doesn't matter. I still have to sound like the part when I'm on stage.”
Silver slid her glasses down with one hoof and looked at her friend over the tops of the lenses. “It's not like you're doing something from history. This is Princess Swift Wind rescuing her prince from the Kelpie Queen. This is storybook stuff, Di.”
The other filly was stubborn. “It doesn't matter! Everypony has to know I'm royalty.”
“I think the costume will take care of that.”
“Sil-ver!” The whining tone would have injured the ears of a lesser pony.
Silver Spoon gave in. “Fine.” She skimmed over the page. “Why don't we have kings or queens anymore?”
Diamond grinned. “That's an easy one! By the time the old king died, Platinum had been pretty much ruling the unicorns as a princess for years 'cause of his illness, so she didn't feel she needed to be a queen. More importantly, he didn't die until after Equestria was founded, and she thought it didn't make sense to be more than a princess when she was sharing leadership with other ponies. And it's been a tradition ever since for nopony to have a rank higher than princess or prince.”
“Huh, I didn't know that.”
“I know, right? Just one more benefit of being my friend. Speaking of benefits...” Diamond trailed off, rolled out of bed, and approached a silky rope that was hanging through a hole near her bedroom door. As she gave it a good tug with her teeth, a bell sounded faintly downstairs. “Snacks are on the way.”
Silver clapped her hooves together. “Good! I'd hate to think I was doing this for free. Who was the greatest king of the pegasi?”
“Trick question,” Diamond declared as she leapt back up on the bed. “Maelstrom was their greatest, most powerful monarch, but he was too proud to call himself a king or anything else. He felt like his name should be enough for ponies to know who he was.”
Her friend looked down at the notebook to confirm that this was correct and gave a fractional nod when she saw it was. “So how come his kingdom isn't still around?”
“He gave up all his power to Commander Skysplitter when she beat him in a game.”
Silver's muzzle scrunched up. “Really? A game? What kind of game?”
“I don't know, some kind of strategy game. Probably Cumulus, like the pegasus colts are always playing during lunchtime.”
Silver Spoon resettled her glasses and flipped a page. “What spell is King Silverskin credited with inventing?”
Diamond smirked. “Teleportation.”
“Okay. Big, important question time. You ready?” At the other filly's nod, Silver continued. “Which colt do you have a crush on?”
“Silver!”
Pillow combat began soon after this outrage.
“...and they lived happily ever after.”
Applause was enthusiastic, and parental cheering was wild, especially among the parents of the stars. The colts and fillies all took bows and waved to the audience. Some of the fillies blew kisses. In general, everypony milked the attention for all it was worth. It eventually had to end, though, and so they went back behind the curtain to take off costumes and put away props.
Diamond was struggling with her rather elaborate Princess Swift Wind costume. The stage manager, a unicorn filly named Sun Gimmer, brushed her yellow mane out of her eyes and trotted over to help. The process was somewhat easier with two ponies, and Diamond was soon free of everything. Glimmer concentrated on folding the dress, and glanced up when she saw the star putting her prop crown back on again. Something was different.
“Nice cutie mark, Diamond,” Sun Glimmer said.
The crowned filly looked back at her flank. “It's Diamond Tiara now, actually.”
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Naming herself a highly influential leader... Makes Sense!
Nice chapter!
Also, Cheerilee is a corrupt government official.
4017559
I thought so! And in discussions I've had with Arcum42, we've agreed it makes sense that ponies would sometimes change their names after getting their cutie marks.
4017977
Thank you! And she feels really bad about it, if that helps.
4018861
4019363 Hey, she's a teacher, at least 35 in human years, and she's corrupt. That's at least an 8.5 on the hot scale.
4019363
That's my headcannon too!
4019636
She's definitely hot, no question about that, but taking a bribe to give a kid the lead in the school play is pretty low-level corruption, really...
4019694 Once a dirty bribe-taking teacher, always hot.
iambrony.dget.cc/mlp/gif/10690__safe_princess-celestia_animated_molestia_dance_grin_headbob_headbang.gif
Oh, better than you have tried, my dear.
In any case, I actually kind of feel sorry for Diamond Tiara. Her special talent is something that has been rendered culturally obsolete. Also, claiming the name of a tyrannical dynasty doesn't exactly portend anything pleasant...
Regardless, an enjoyable chapter. Especially the little touch to remind us that no matter how explicitly evil Diamond and Silver may act, they're still friends, and they're not all bad. About ninety-nine percent, really. Looking forward to more.
4020943
Depends on how you interpret her talent. What if it's for impersonating royalty?
As for the name change, it fit her new cutie mark. Plus, I feel like she heard "powerful earth pony royalty" and brushed the rest aside.
Glad you liked it.
This story has officially been deemed an Opal by The Gem Hunters.
A cute, fun little read with an interesting idea. Well-written too.
4093678 4093961
Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Finally got caught up with this. I look forward to more
Ah, all caught up now. Good one here nice handling of a character many don't care for. Not so sure of Filthy's bribe to ensure Di got the lead ... what little was seen in the show would seem to indicate a more honest ethic on his part. But, tis a small quibble, he couldn't bribe Di's cuteimark in to existence after all.
Also of note, the background you developed for the various pony royalty, pre-unification, was nicely done, an applause worthy effort for certain.
We shall see what comes next in this fine series of shorts.
4435223
The bribe was less from an ethical/unethical point of view and more out of a father's deep love for his daughter and a desire to give her what she very obviously wanted. If you like, you can think of it as a throwaway joke (because there's also some of that going on), like Fluttershy still having fangs at the end of the vampire bat episode.
As for the pony royalty, I had all sorts of ideas bouncing around in my head, and I'm glad I was able to get them in a form that actually made sense. As always, thanks for the kind words and continued support of the work!
4436646 Totally understand that
. It's a genuine condition of the heart overruling the head, though I think the term 'unsolicited financial support' more fits in Filthy's mind. But his desire to support Di does come off as genuine.
As to the support, freely given, and this compilation is most worthy of it.
will give this a read... but I just gotta say, the face on that filly on the cover art. That 'look' can steal your soul...
5005018
Equestrian fillies are weaponized cuteness.
5005024 Cuteness is OVER 9,000!... eeh what ever, its cute, who cares
... F
ck it... Am'a gonna die of cuteness now, see ya later.
5005031
So glad you enjoyed it!
5023857
5024107 no prob...
Great Story! Expect a review on Story Standards in the near future.
5120669
Amalthea? *rubs eyes* Did I just spot a Last Unicorn reference or has my mind finally turned to mush? It probably has.
5321617
And I'm fairly certain you're the first person to actually mention it, too.
You did indeed!
5321635 It's kind of an obscure reference Elric, I can't even remember when the last time was that I saw that movie.
5321643
-- Joel Hodgson, talking about the use of obscure references and jokes in Mystery Science Theater 3000
5321659 That's a really good point Elric.
Nice to read a good little story about Diamond Tiara.
This reminds me. I do hope every author out there is taking advantage of this chance to help increase the available tags. And the most lacking is the School Fillies and Background ponies. You should try and see if you can sort of team up with Arcum and others to bring more awareness to many of the background colts and fillies as well as the mares and stallions they write but didn't have tags or would like to write for if only there were tags for the ponies.
Do hope everyone is taking advantage of that tag request system.
Yes. Just. Yes. Upvote from me. This is a cool concept c:
February's Featured tale for Rated 'E' for Everyone
11818154
That's very flattering, thank you!
And for anyone reading this because it has been featured, I always meant to do a chapter for Silver Spoon, but never came up with a backstory I liked concerning her cutie mark. That's why it's still marked "Incomplete" to this day. (Sorry.)