Adversity
Train ride. Train ride. Got my ticket. Gonna ride the train. Gonna go fast. Can’t wait for the train to get here. Arf. Bad dog.
A feeling of dread nagged at Diamond Tiara on her journey to the Canterlot train station; a dread that came from having to ride in a train car with common ponies. She had a charge account with the Equestria Rail Company and could easily request a private car all to herself but that would defeat the purpose of her new calling. She recognized her disdain for common ponies – the majority of which were nowhere near as affluent as she was – as one of the many attitudes she would need to adjust if she was going to have any chance at securing her rightful place in history as a beloved legend. Her discrimination had deep roots which would be difficult to pull. If her wealth didn’t make her any better than anypony else, what did? As with any endeavor, the first steps were going to be some of the hardest.
Although the pegasus chariot ride offered to her by Princess Celestia was a mode of transportation better suited for a filly of her status, it came by way of her secret benefactor – and Diamond Tiara decided that, with the exception of the antique tiara she wore on her head, she would accept no further boons from the princess. And considering the rebellious outburst which put an end to her involvement in Celestia’s Cutie Mark Crusader project, the royal pegasus guards charged with pulling that chariot might have received secret orders to dump her midair somewhere over the ocean. Traveling home by train was a luxury by comparison.
Diamond Tiara had finally reached the Canterlot train station. She would be glad to get back to Ponyville where there was some semblance of tribal diversity. The number of unicorns walking about was offputting. And the number of unicorn foals she spotted was zero. She reasoned that they were probably attending classes at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and she sneered at the thought of it. A unicorn-only learning institution smacked of prejudice in Diamond Tiara’s opinion. She knew that zebras were capable of utilizing magic through alchemy. What if a gifted zebra filly wanted to apply? Would they turn her away? And if the school allowed applicants of any species to join, would the school be willing to change its name to reflect the diversity of the student body?
She approached the ticket booth but stood a few paces away so the unicorn clerk could see her. With her harness, she couldn’t stand upright to reach the adult-height booth at its counter.
“I’d like a one-way ticket to Ponyville... please,” she said to the clerk.
The clerk adjusted his glasses as he looked at her.
“Hello, Miss Tiara,” he said with an unusual casualness in his tone.
“You know who I am?”
“This isn’t Ponyville, Miss Tiara. The Canterlot Voice has been covering the goings-on in Ponyville ever since Twist’s death. You can always rely on the Voice for unfiltered news, if not the most recent photos.” The clerk levitated a copy of a newspaper and Diamond Tiara saw a photo on its front page that brought her back: her Little Miss Equestria beauty pageant victory photo.
She remembered that night with extraordinary clarity. She shared the stage with her fellow contestant Zippoorwhill; the two jittery fillies mesmerized by the MC’s words. Silver Spoon, the pony who encouraged her to compete, was seated in the audience, providing as much moral support as she could. When the suspense was broken with the announcement of Zippoorwhill’s name as the first runner up, making Diamond Tiara the grand prize winner, the pegasus filly gave Diamond Tiara a big congratulatory hug. That hug put Zippoorwhill in the shot, ruining what was otherwise a perfect photo. Now that Diamond Tiara knew that she had received her cutie mark that night as a result of Princess Celestia’s magical interference, the photo, as well as that night, lost what little significance it had left.
“Why, I’ve even heard that some entrepreneur types have taken up buying The Voice in bulk and reselling them in Ponyville to turn a profit,” continued the clerk. “Trust me when I say that we all know exactly who you are.” The clerk gestured outward with his foreleg.
Diamond Tiara turned to look behind her and saw that she was the only pony in line. There were plenty of ponies here who most likely wanted to purchase a ticket but they did not stand behind her – or perhaps more accurately, they chose not to stand behind her. It hadn’t occurred to her that reporters from other towns were covering the events in Ponyville but as her father happened to be one of the wealthiest stallions in the world, it should have come as no surprise.
“So let me guess,” said Diamond Tiara. “You’re not gonna issue me a ticket. Is that it? You’re gonna strand a foal in a strange town?” She hoped that this wasn’t the clerk’s intention. If Canterlot shopkeepers were bent on giving her the cold shoulder the way that the general populace was, her backup plan to hire a stagecoach to take her back home might also be met with a refusal of service.
“No, Miss Tiara,” stated the clerk, smiling as though the thought had occurred to him. “Equestria Rail Company pays me to sell tickets. If the customer’s willing to pay their fare and they’re not drunk, I can’t refuse them service.” He opened a small box containing some cards with charge account information. “You’re not drunk, are you?”
Diamond Tiara chuckled politely, if not sincerely.
“I’m underage,” she said, taking this exercise as practice for dealing with other ponies who would seek to work her last nerve.
“Just checking,” said the clerk. “Account number?”
“Zero one, zero seven, two zero one one.”
After verifying the validity of Diamond Tiara’s charge account, the clerk tapped a few keys on his ticket printer and a single ticket popped out of a slot. He pressed the ticket down with his right forehoof and slid it forward, separating it from the roll of tickets within.
“There you are,” he said. “One foal fare one-way ticket to Ponyville... and your receipt.” He levitated the ticket and receipt out in front of Diamond Tiara where she could take them. “Track Two. Nine minutes.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Diamond Tiara, tucking the slips of paper inside the neckline of her dress. “Have a nice day.” She turned around and walked to the tracks, pleased with how easily she was able to remain polite despite being provoked.
“I’d give you a one-way ticket to Tartarus,” said the clerk, “but I figure you and your father already have a pair. Next, please.” A line of ponies formed quickly in front of the ticket booth. There was no disagreement among those ponies regarding their placement in the line. It was as though they had dispersed prior to Diamond Tiara’s arrival and were simply reclaiming their former places now that she was leaving.
Diamond Tiara stopped walking and puffed her cheeks out. She took offense to the clerk’s unprofessional comment and wanted to give him a stern talking to but she was outnumbered here and would have come off sounding like a silly gosling honking at a pack of ursa majors. The former bully had just been bullied – but that was okay. She deflated her cheeks and continued to walk to Track Two. She told herself that this would not be the last time she would be given grief and that she’d simply have to get used to it. Suffering further jabs over her past misdeeds would only strengthen her resolve to make amends for them. And she would sooner get mowed down by a train herself than prove Princess Celestia was right about her inability to reform.
Anger was her enemy. And while it was helpful to know her enemies, she wished that she was just as certain about who her allies were.
“Diamond Tiara? Ees dat jou?”
Diamond Tiara turned around and saw the pony that she was expecting to find after hearing the voice that called out to her. It was Zippoorwhill, coincidentally enough. The pegasus filly was hovering about three feet off the ground, which made sense since she was a compulsive hoverer during the Little Miss Equestria beauty pageant and had to be told several times to land. She looked the same, apart from the new cutie mark. Diamond Tiara did receive an invitation to Zippoorwhill’s cute-ceanera which was held in Ponyville last year but since she saw no value in attending an event where she would not be the center of attention, she declined it. This recollection helped her identify another enemy: self-centeredness.
“Oh!” said Diamond Tiara awkwardly. “Zippoorwhill. Hi.”
“Eet ees jou!” chirped Zippoorwhill. “Hola, mí hermanita! Hau are jou?”
“Okay, I guess. How are you?”
“Good. Jou are lookeeng good, ah? Jour mane ees so beeuteeful... and so ees dat outfeet... and so ees dat new tiara! Ay, que linda te ves, niña!”
Diamond Tiara grinned and primped her mane. Knowing that she was beautiful wasn’t quite as gratifying as somepony else acknowledging it.
There’s another enemy I need to defeat, she thought. Vanity. Manure, how many of these character flaws do I have?
“Thanks. Sorry I couldn’t make your cute-ceanera.”
“Aw, dat’s okay.”
“Oh, and congratulations on getting your cutie mark.”
“Thank jou. I theenk jou would hahb liked my cute-ceanera. De Poneetones pairformed dere. Eet was so cool! I lahb leeseneeng to good seengeeng. Jou are so lahky to leeb een Poneebeele. Jou probably hear de Poneetones all de time.”
“Heh, well, yeah, I guess I’ve heard them perform a couple of times already. Are you traveling or are you waiting for somepony?”
“Trabeleeng. To Los Pegasus. Dat’s where my papi and I leeb.”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. If Zippoorwhill knew about Twist’s accident or Cheerilee’s murder, she didn’t let on that she did. Diamond Tiara decided to test the waters regarding that subject.
“And how is your father these days?” she asked.
“Good, good. Hau ees jours?”
Yes, thought Diamond Tiara. She doesn’t know about his trial.
“He’s doing fine, thanks for asking.”
“I deedn’t know jou beeseeted Canterlot. We should hang out together sahmtime.”
Diamond Tiara was taken aback by this suggestion. Could it be that Zippoorwhill didn’t even know about what she did to Twist?
“You’d... want to hang out with me?” she asked.
“Are jou keedeeng? I would lob to hang out weeth jou.”
This is too good to be true, thought Diamond Tiara. If I have a clean slate with her, there’s no harm in keeping her in the dark.
“Jou, Seelber Espoon and me,” said Zippoorwhill. “De tree ob us would hahb so mahch fahn.”
Diamond Tiara flinched.
“That... might be a little hard to arrange,” she said.
“Why?” asked Zippoorwhill.
The train pulled into Track Two. When it came to a stop, the platform was treated to a noisy burst of steam.
“Let’s board. I’ll tell you when we take our seats.”
Diamond Tiara selected a seat and climbed into it. She lay her lower body on its side and waited for Zippoorwhill to acknowledge the harness wheels sticking out of the hemline of her dress.
“Oh, my goodness,” said Zippoorwhill as she sat next to Diamond Tiara. “Wat happained to jour legs?”
Right on cue, thought Diamond Tiara.
“Oh, right,” she said. “This. It’s nothing serious. I just got into a little accident and I need to keep my lower body immobilized in order to heal properly. In a few more weeks, I’ll be able to take this thing off and walk normally.”
Zippoorwhill nodded.
“So jou were sayeeng?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said Diamond Tiara. “So... I sort of screwed things up with Silver Spoon. She and I had a fight... except I did most of the attacking. I hurt her feelings and pretty much destroyed our friendship... but now I see that it was all a big, stupid mistake. And I said some even stupider things to my dad. I actually made him cry. When I get back to Ponyville, I’m gonna have to apologize to both of them but... I’m so afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“Terrified is more like it. I don’t know how to face them after the horrible way I treated them. Silver Spoon’s the only pony I ever called a friend. If she doesn’t forgive me – well, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. And my dad means everything to me. I don’t know what I was thinking by mouthing off at him. Rrrgh... I’m such an idiot. I just get so angry so fast and I lose all control. It’s like I’m looking through the eyes of a stranger who doesn’t care what she does as long as she comes out a winner.” Tears began to well up in her eyes and her voice wavered. “Oh, what’s the point in talking about it? I’ve only used my smarts to destroy what I hate. I don’t know the first thing about repairing what I love. My dad’s gonna disown me and Silver Spoon won’t take me back; I just know it. Why would anypony forgive a mean, sheltered, stupid little brat like me?”
“Diamond Tiara?”
“What?”
Zippoorwhill grinned and reached out to Diamond Tiara with her right forehoof.
“Geev me jour hoof,” she requested politely.
Diamond Tiara looked at the pegasus’s outstretched hoof and then looked at her face. Her gentle reassuring grin was oddly inviting. Diamond Tiara barely knew the filly at all and yet here she was – offering her support. Diamond Tiara grinned at Zippoorwhill. This small but meaningful act of kindness reminded her that she was leaving her wicked ways behind. She sniffled, wiped her nose with her right foreleg, and placed her left forehoof in Zippoorwhill’s forehoof.
Zippoorwhill grinned – and proceeded to whack Diamond Tiara in the face with her own hoof repeatedly. She got in three hits before Diamond Tiara was able to yank her foreleg free of her grasp.
When the tweeting birds stopped flying around Diamond Tiara’s head, she stared at Zippoorwhill in disbelief.
“Estop beating jourself up, okay?” barked Zippoorwhill crossly. “Jou deed sahmting estupid? Tell dem jou deed sahmting estupid! Jou’re sorry? Tell dem jou’re sorry!” She cleared her throat.
“It’s not that simple,” said Diamond Tiara, rubbing the spot where Zippoorwhill clocked her.
“Jes, eet ees. Jou are the wahn who escrewed up. Jou should be de wahn to clean up jour own meestakes. Wass so hard about dat? And fear?” Zippoorwhill shook her head slowly. “No, mí hermanita. Jou don’t know what real fear ees – baht I can show jou.”
Diamond Tiara cringed.
“You’re not gonna hit me again, are you?” she asked.
“I deedn’t heet jou, seelly,” said Zippoorwhill. “Jou heet jourself, remember?”
Zippoorwhill carefully removed her own tiara and offered it to Diamond Tiara.
“Could jou hold thees for me, pliss?” Diamond Tiara nodded. She took it in her forehooves and carefully rested it in her lap.
Zippoorwhill placed her forehooves against the left and right sides of her own head. She lifted her forelegs – and removed her mane.
Diamond Tiara’s jaw dropped. Zippoorwhill was completely bald and had been wearing a wig the whole time. The pegasus sighed and turned her head to look at Diamond Tiara. Her smile disappeared.
“Fear... real fear... ees naht knoweeng eef jou are goeeng to leeb to see tomorrow,” said Zippoorwhill as she placed her wig in her lap. “I was dijagnosed weeth etroat cancer wain I was tree jears ol. De treatment dat de doctors gave me? Ay, caray, dat was bery hard. Celestia mio, I was so escared. I was tired all de time... and I was so seeck that I was sure I was goeeng to die.”
Zippoorwhill’s face suddenly lit up with cheer once again.
“Baht guess wat?” she asked. “I surbibed! My hair wain away and de surgery left my boice soundeeng like I am a Breesee...” Diamond Tiara covered her mouth with her left forehoof as she sputtered with inappropriate laughter at Zippoorwhill’s spot-on observation. “...baht de cancer deeden’t cahm bahk and I surbibed. Now ebery day ees a geeft!” She returned her wig to her head, smiled slyly and gently poked Diamond Tiara in the chest. “Olways open jour geefts wain dey are geeben to jou, Diamond Tiara. Jou neber know wass eenside.” She closed her eyes and gave Diamond Tiara a big smile. “Now... are jou estill afraid ob seeing jour papa and Seelber Espoon?”
Diamond Tiara grinned. She idolized her father and had even admired Princess Celestia for a while but this was the first time she had put a foal on a pedestal. The disgustingly optimistic filly was a fighter with a never-say-die attitude that allowed her to overcome adversity and she didn’t seem to let her losses bring her down.
Even Diamond Tiara had to respect that.
“No,” she replied. “I don’t know what real fear is... but thank you for teaching me what real courage is.”
“Jou’re welcohm,” said Zippoorwhill. Her face contorted in mock anger as she held out her forehoof. “Now geeb me back my fairst rahnner-ahp tiara, jou ethiebeeng beetch.”
Diamond Tiara reared her head back and laughed out loud at Zippoorwhill’s absurd sense of humor.
Train’s coming. Train’s coming. So happy. Happy day. Sunny day. Happy, sunny day to ride a train. Arf. Bad dog.
Diamond Tiara and Zippoorwhill had their faces glued to the window as their train slowed to come to its inevitable stop at Ponyville Station. Diamond Tiara looked off in the distance and saw the bridge where the discontinued tracks still lay; the place where Twist lost her life to her cruel prank. This was her first time seeing the bridge since the accident and she felt a twinge of guilt over keeping this secret from Zippoorwhill.
“There’s a fifteen minute layover until the train leaves for Los Pegasus,” said Diamond Tiara. “Can I treat you to an ice cream cone at the snack bar?”
“Jes, dat would be lobely,” replied Zippoorwhill. “I’ll hahb a vanilla weeth extra rainbow espreenkles, pliss.”
Boarded the train. All aboard. I’m aboard. Train’s going to move soon. Train ride. Train ride. Moving train. Lots of fun. Love sticking my head out of the window of the train as it moves. Don't want to wait until the train starts moving. I'm going to stick my head out the window right now. Pretend that I'm moving. Choo chooooo. Arf. Bad dog.
Wait.
I know who that is. That’s Diamond Tiara. I recognize her from her picture in the paper. Paper said she got a filly killed and didn’t get punished for it. That’s not fair. Stupid little filly. If it had been me, I would’ve been punished. Father wouldn’t let me get away with anything. Father hated me. He loved his dog but hated me. I hated being his little filly so I became his little dog instead. Arf. Bad dog. I was sure that Father would love me as a dog but he just hated me more. I didn’t understand. Didn’t want to be a pony anymore. Stayed a dog. Got punished by being sent to a hospital. Grrrrrr. Bad dog. Doctors gave me drugs. Doctors thought they put the dog to sleep but they don’t know that it’s still there. Living in my head. Hiding. When I skip my meds, I hear it. I hear it bark and I say “bad dog” and it goes back to sleep. Who needs meds when I can keep the dog in check like that? Stupid doctors. Dog stays quiet. Stays put until I need it.
Hope the train moves soon. Don’t want to look at that stupid little filly anymore.
Arf. Bad dog.
Diamond Tiara and Zippoorwhill finished their ice cream cones with several minutes to spare before the train's departure.
“Delicioso,” said Zippoorwhill, wiping her muzzle with a napkin. “Thank jou for de treet, mí hermanita.”
“No prob,” said Diamond Tiara. “Hey, Zip?”
“Jes?”
“Remember when I won the LME pageant and you hugged me?”
“Jes, ob course I do.”
“Well... I was so stunned at the time that I didn’t hug you back. That wasn’t very gracious of me. I don’t know how to change the past but I know that I can affect the present. If it’s not too late, I’d like to give you that overdue return hug right now.”
Zippoorwhill smiled and nodded. She placed her right foreleg around the back of Diamond Tiara’s neck. Diamond Tiara reached out with her right foreleg and squeezed Zippoorwhill.
Diamond Tiara smiled. The hug was better than the ice cream she had enjoyed – and she certainly needed it more.
“I’m gonna miss you, mí hermanita,” she said, releasing the filly. “You gave me courage when I didn’t have any... and I’ll never forget that. We’ll have to get together in Canterlot some time. I’m sure Silver Spoon and I would love to spend the day with you there.”
“I’m lookeeng forwarh to eet,” said Zippoorwhill.
“Thanks to you, today was one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given.”
“Deed jou open dat geeft?”
“Yep.”
“And what deed jou find eenside?”
“A new friend.” Zippoorwhill smiled widely at Diamond Tiara’s discovery. “I’ve got to get going... but you have a safe trip back home, Zip... and say hi to your dad for me.”
“Thanks, I weel. Jou do de same.”
Diamond Tiara waved goodbye as the pegasus filly boarded the train. She turned around and headed home. She wasn’t sure how successful she’d be at winning her father and Silver Spoon back but she was certainly going to give it her all because whether they accepted her apologies or not, she knew that she was going to live to see tomorrow.
And that meant that there was nothing to fear.
What’s this?
No.
Diamond Tiara is getting on my train.
DIAMOND TIARA IS GETTING ON MY TRAIN
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
MY TRAIN MY TRAIN MY TRAIN
DON’T WANT YOU ON MY TRAIN
TRAIN’S MOVING
YOU KILLED SOMEPONY BUT DIDN’T GET PUNISHED AND ALL I DID WAS BECOME A DOG AND I GOT CALLED CRAZY FOR IT
YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU AND MINE HATES ME
MY TRAIN IS ALL I HAVE
NOT FAIR
NOT FAIR NOT FAIR NOT FAIR
DON’T WANT YOU ON MY TRAIN
GET OFF MY TRAIN
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
ARF
ARF ARF ARF
ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF
The seats in Zippoorwhill’s previous train car had filled up during her absence so she had to move to a different car in order to find an empty seat. She started to whistle a happy tune as she looked out the window at the scenery as it whisked by. She would have loved to sing out loud the way her father did at his concerts but singing put too much strain on her surgically repaired larynx, even after all these years.
She looked at the far end of her seat and saw a discarded copy of The Canterlot Voice lying there. She did a double take. What caught her eye was that her pageant photo with Diamond Tiara was on the front page. Naturally, she was curious about why an event from several years ago was in a recent newspaper. She picked up the paper and started to read the story associated with her photo.
Her ears drooped as she discovered what her new friend Diamond Tiara and her father Filthy Rich had really been up to recently. She gulped, staring out into space as she set the newspaper down in her lap. Why would her new friend hide the truth from her?
The train went under a tunnel, temporarily enveloping the train in total darkness.
When the tunnel was cleared and sunlight had returned to illuminate the train, Zippoorwhill looked at the far end of her seat and saw that a passenger was now sitting beside her; an earth pony mare. The mare had a sky blue coat, a messy gray mane, and a screw cutie mark.
“Oh!” said Zippoorwhill to the stranger, startled by the mare’s sudden appearance. “Hola, senorita.” She folded up the newspaper and offered it to the mare. “Was thees jour newspaper?”
The mare slowly turned her head to face her. When her head was fully turned, the mare snarled and growled at her like a mad dog.
Zippoorwhill felt fear.
Real fear.
“Good... dog,” said the mare – right before lunging at the filly and sinking her teeth into her throat.
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And I thought the killing was over.
Well, that's a whole new kettle of fish...
Huh, looks like DT is serious about this redemption business. And then there's Screw Loose, how much you wanna bet that she either kills Filthy or Silver Spoon?
Oh no!
That was too short! Why did it had to end?! 
Five quatloos says DT is blamed.
5698157
I'm still waiting for one of the CMC to bite the dust.
5698226
I like to think that DT's on the right track for the same reasons she was on the wrong track. The next chapter will show more of this sincerity.
5698806
If by "it" you mean the chapter, this only means that you'll be waiting less time for the next one to come out. If by "it" you meant the appearance of Zippoorwhill in the chapter, hmm, let me think about it.
I guess poor Zip needed to die so that Diamond Tiara could feel a little more of what Silver Spoon has been feeling since the end of the first chapter. If DT hadn't asked her to leave the train for that ice cream cone, Zip would never have been spotted and then mauled by Screwloose... and poor Pegasus Dad (I know that's not his name but it's too funny) wouldn't be left waiting at the train station for a daughter that will never come home.
The reason Zip appeared in the first place was because DT was alone and needed some fuel in her tank to face her dad and Silver Spoon. The meeting with Princess Celestia and the badgering by the ticket booth clerk left her feeling kind of helpless. No allies. And as somepony who had already lost to DT, Zip was non-threatening. The cancer reveal was to show DT that, in life, there are some wonderful things to be found beneath the surface provided you're willing to look for them.
5698157
It is for Twist, Cheerilee, and Zippoorwhill. Muahahahahaaaaaaaaa.
In all seriousness, I try to have a reason behind each death that takes place in The Diamond Exchange.
5698226
Silver Spoon can't die, she is the Deus Ex Machina of this fic and will surely save the day with the unspoken wish.
5701265
I know, it's just she survived cancer only to absurdely die with no good reason. That is plain horrible.
seems like no matter where diamond goes, tragedy follows in her wake.
please don't have zippy die! please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please!
Bad. Badly chosen word there, Zipporwhill.
5701246 I'm not sure if you noticed it, but "it" was the latter. I'm sorry if this comes out rude, but you just wasted word count.
5704522
I'm not sure I follow what you think it is that I am wasting. Would you please explain your comment?
I'm looking at Diamond Tiara's situation, and all I can think is "this cannot last." I guess next chapter will tell us if its a permanent change, though i'm throwing my coins in the "not" pile.
Also... you just brutally murdered The Littlest Cancer Patient. Poor Zipporwhill; I guess that's the downside of being written in a "free" world, though.
RIP, you one page wonder.
5716332
I haven't murdered anypony. Screwloose did it.
5701631
If you only knew.
AND just like that I am back to my love/hateing you again. Do you have to destroy EVERYTHING we love!?
Dafaq?