Plushie Quest
"Can we go home now?"
"Almost, honey," Filthy Rich replied, "I just need to pick up a few more things."
Diamond groaned, looking around at the different stores littering the area. "Well, I'm already done, so can I go home?"
Her father chuckled a little. "Sorry, but there's no way I'm letting you ride a train back to Ponyville all on your own."
"Hmph. Should've brought Randolph," Diamond muttered. "Then I could just ride home with him. Why didn't we bring him, anyway? We could have been finished an hour ago."
"What, you don't like spending time with your old man?" her father asked with a crooked smirk.
"Not walking around in some stupid, boring mall."
Her father sighed, trotting away toward a storefront. He stopped, however, and turned to look back. "You coming in with me?"
Diamond turned her eyes upward to see where he was going and shook her head in response. "Yeah, no, you can go ahead and buy toasters without me." Her father watched her for a few more seconds before turning and going into the store.
Great. Just great. Now what was she supposed to do, just sit around and wait? She'd already hit every store she cared about, so what else was there do to?
She was about to head to a bench when a familiar set of colors caught her eye. She paused, tilting her head a little as she gazed at the object, then trotted over to get a closer look. She hopped up, putting her hooves against the little window and looking in at the pile of plush animals inside. There, nestled between an orange bear and a purple rabbit, was a Power Ponies plushie. It wasn't just any Power Pony, though, it was Diamond's favorite: the Masked Matter-Horn. It even had removable goggles!
Needless to say, she wanted it, and what Diamond Tiara wants, Diamond Tiara gets.
She dropped back to the floor to get a better look at the big, blue, windowed box that contained her precious prize. There were four metal walls, each containing a window, and it only had one door she could find. Sadly, the door didn't seem to really lead anywhere when she pushed it open. Closer inspection indicated that one of the windows had hinges, but it also became apparent that it was tightly locked shut. Diamond put a hoof to her chin as her gaze fell upon the little ledge sticking out from one side of the container. Stuck into the ledge was a short, black stick with a little red button on it. She reached over, tentatively poking her hoof against the stick. It wiggled, but nothing else happened.
She moved her gaze to the inside of the container again. Suspended above the various toys and dolls that littered the box was a three-pronged, claw-like thingy made of metal. The claw was hanging above a big hole that seemed to lead to the little door she'd already spotted. Diamond hummed to herself as she scanned the machine for some sort of clue. Sure enough, plastered to the front of the container was a little yellow sticker brimming with words. She leaned in to read it.
1. Insert coins to play
2. Move the stick to move the claws over a prize
3. Press red button to lower claws and get prize
It seemed simple enough, so Diamond dug a silver bit from her bags and slid it into the little coin slot located under the ledge. As soon as the coin was in, the device suddenly sprang to life. Lights flashed and danced before her eyes, and tinny, annoying music starting coming from the machine. Not letting herself be distracted, Diamond Tiara grabbed up the joystick in her hooves and started pushing on it. Unsurprisingly, the crane that suspended the claws moved in the directions that she pushed the stick. So far, so good.
After repeated nudging, Diamond pressed the little red button. The three-pronged claw lowered itself on a string, landing right next to the Masked Matter-Horn plushie. It rested there for a moment, then slowly moved back upward as the three metal prongs closed around nothing. "Dang it." Diamond pushed on the stick to adjust her aim, but the crane wasn't responding anymore. Instead, the claw moved itself back to where it had begun and opened up. After that, the music and lights went dead.
Diamond put a hoof to her chin again, contemplating how the machine worked. After another glance at the instructions, she pulled out another silver bit and slipped it in. The box came alive once again, and Diamond gripped the stick. She took her time during this second attempt, tapping the stick carefully into position before even putting her hooves close to the red button.
"Wha— hey!" Diamond shouted, punching a hoof against the glass as the claw started dropping by itself. "I didn't push the button! What gives?" She scanned the machine again, her eyes coming to rest on two little windows built into the ledge near the stick. She squinted to read the writing above them as the machine went quiet again. One simply said, "CREDITS." Diamond scratched her head a little at that one, but then just shrugged and moved on. The second window had the words "TIME LEFT" written above it.
Diamond put in another coin and watched the little windows. As the music came on, the two tiny windows lit up with red numbers. The "CREDITS" window read "01," while the "TIME LEFT" box read "15." Diamond experimentally popped another coin in, and the first box changed to read "02." The second box remained the same. Keeping an eye on the numbers, she pushed the stick around a little. The second box began counting down to fourteen, then thirteen, then twelve. When it reached zero, the claw dropped on its own and came up with nothing.
Diamond scoffed, turning away from the stupid machine. She could see her father still shopping across the hall, browsing through a selection of toasters. She groaned, turning back to the machine. That Masked Matter-Horn plushie was still there, staring blankly at her from the pile of toys. The second box had reset to fifteen, but the first box now read "01" again, so she must still have a chance left before she'd have to put in another coin. Might as well give it a shot, right?
Two minutes and seven coins later, Diamond was growling as the claw missed its mark yet again. Another coin was fed into the frustrating device, and Diamond was halfway to the plushie when her ears were assaulted by somepony who sounded like their total body mass consisted of at least 34% nose.
"I don't think you can get that one."
Diamond gritted her teeth, ignoring the voice behind her as she slapped down the red button and dropped the claw. To Diamond's increasing annoyance, the claw just gave an ineffectual tug on the stuffed toy and came up empty again.
Her blue eyes swiveled as the source of the voice stepped up next to her. The brown colt stepped around the machine, looking in through the side as he said, "Why don't you go after that green lizard? He's definitely gettable."
Diamond rolled her eyes and inserted another coin. "Because I want that one," she replied as she guided the crane to the Masked Matter-Horn plushie.
"That goober is wedged in pretty deep," the colt commented, adjusting the propeller beanie resting on his head. "I don't think you can get it out." He watched for a few more seconds as the claw started to drop. "You should really check your angles, too. It's hard to judge distance and everything when you only look through the front— hey! You got one!"
Diamond's muzzle scrunched up in rage as the claw reset itself. Victory music blared from the machine as an orange bear fell into the prize chute. She glared at the claw, muscles tensing and nostrils flaring as her left eyelid started to twitch. She huffed once, then popped in another silver bit.
"Aren't you gonna get your prize?"
Diamond didn't even turn around, going right for the stick again. "No."
"But—"
"I don't want the bear," Diamond growled through her clenched teeth.
"It's still better than nothing, though, right?"
Diamond reached through the little prize door and pulled out the stuffed bear. "You think this is a good prize?"
The brown colt nodded.
"You like it?" she asked mockingly.
The colt nodded again.
"Then you can have it!" Diamond raised the bear high and smacked it down on his head. The colt covered his muzzle and beanie as Diamond unleashed a plush hailstorm upon his wailing form. He turned and ran, screaming as she chased and pummeled him with the stuffed bear. She skidded to a stop, slinging the toy down the hall for one final strike. The orange plushie hit him square in the back of the head, sending him tumbling end-over-end and right into a potted plant. Diamond Tiara trotted back to the claw machine with a satisfied smile.
She reached the detestable device just in time to meet with her father as he walked out of the toaster store. She paid him no mind, tossing another bit into the coin slot and hopping up to grasp the joystick in her hooves.
"Alright, honey, I'm all finished up." Her father stood for a moment, watching as Diamond failed to attain her prize. "Honey?"
"In a minute, dad," Diamond said dismissively, feeding in another coin and directing the claw to the object of her desire. She smiled and put her hooves to the glass as the claw wrapped around the plushie's head and started to pull it up from the sea of toys. When the claw reached the top, however, the stuffed pony tumbled out and fell back to the pile. "Ah, come on!" Diamond seethed for a second before feeding the mechanical beast another bit.
"If you really want one of those, we could just buy one."
"I want that one," she grumbled.
"Diamond, honey, it's only a toy."
"Do you want me to make a scene?" Diamond waited a few seconds, but her father didn't reply. "Then let me concentrate." She turned back to the infernal machine, taking a long, deep breath to steady herself. There was the Masked Matter-Horn doll, staring back at Diamond with her removable goggles and brushable mane. It was so close, and yet so far. Diamond had wanted to go straight home only a few minutes ago, but she couldn't do that now. She had come too far to walk away. Diamond put her hooves on the stick.
She pushed and nudged sideways, moving the crane until it hovered right above the toy's head. She pushed forward, hopping around the box to line up the claw from the side of the machine. Her father raised an eyebrow as she leaned over to poke at the stick a few more times. Finally satisfied, she shifted back to the front just in time for the countdown to end and the claw to fall.
She watched the three-pronged contraption descend, breath held and eyes unblinking, but her ears fell flat as the claw hit the doll's head and tilted sideways, falling down among the rainbow of assorted stuffed animals. She was about to scream in frustration when the Mask Matter-Horn began to shift as the claw ascended. Seemingly by magic, the toy was floating just below the claw as it reached the top and started moving toward the chute. Diamond squinted, and a wide smile spread across her face as she noticed that one of the claw's talons had managed to hook itself through the little string that held on the toy's cardboard tag.
The claw was almost to the prize chute when the jostling of the crane dislodged the string, releasing the plushie. Diamond gasped as the doll bounced against the edge of the opening, hit the glass, and finally fell into the chute.
Her father's ears flattened against his head as he was assaulted by both the victory music of the claw machine and by Diamond Tiara's joyous squealing as she retrieved her prize and held it to her chest. He couldn't help but smile as she embraced the plush pony. "Ready to go, honey?"
"Yes, daddy." Diamond was positively beaming as she put the plushie on her back, nestling it between her saddlebags before the two trotted off for the train station. "Let's go home."
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YEAH! What Diamond Tiara wants, Diamond Tiara gets!
Also...I hate claw machines
! They are evil, EVIL I SAY!!!
And no lessons were learned!
Yay, plushies!
"Why does this machine have Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom plushies? Where is the Diamond Tiara plushy?"
4188680
They are the devil's ultimate creation.
4188968
Woo hoo!
4189783
Diamond Tiara is far too adorable and special to be mass produced, obviously.
4188703
It's a scam
Cute and fluffy.
4191904
The story or the plushies?
4193286 Can't it be both?
Aww, that was so adorable. Di let him it.
Let him have that teddy bear, I mean.
Stupid claw machines. Hate those things. I never get any of the stuff I want from them.
Hey, I once walked home from the post office on my own. And road a bus from the mall to my home too (with a bit of help from the bus driver), at 4 and 9 respectively.
Thinking back on it, I always did seem to find ways to make my mom worry herself to death. I never did like being treated like I COULDN'T do something I saw as simple and routine. God, I was terribly determined to show my mom I could take care of myself so she wouldn't have to worry so much, only to cause her to grow grey hairs so early in life.
Di could TOTALLY take a train on her own. Totally...
God. Di's Dad would have a stroke. lol
4196707
Hmm.... Di takes the train home alone. That could make for a good story.
If this had had a romance tag, I would have totally read it.
LOL! THis story would never happen in real life.
4453895
I've certainly never beaten one of those mechanical beasties. This story is what happens when I binge-watch videos about claw machines on the internet.
4454319 ...
WAT
4454329
I also watched a few about coin pushers, and a couple here and there about other assorted arcade games. It's strangely entertaining, watching videos of a grown man play a claw machine.
I remember that I played a lot with those machines when I was a kid. If I recall correctly, the owner can set how often the claw catches the toy. Once I found a machine which was catching the toy every second time...
4521476
Lucky you. Yeah, they call that the "payout rate." Could be anywhere from one to one hundred grabs before it actually grips tight enough to catch a prize.
4190208 I disagree. Diamond may have been a brat about it but her win wasn't easy and she stuck with it. She didn't beat the machine (as far as to damage anyway) and she didn't demand her daddy buy her one. I think she learned perseverance and practice pays off in the end. Filthy is the coward and negligent parent that threatened to negate the lesson by buying her one from the store.
I imagine the spineless stallion is well adapt at shielding his daughter from life's lessons.
Her treatment of Button Mash was as inappropriate
as it was hilarious
(and ridiculous for the amount of damage a teddy bear did) but through it all, win or loose, she didnt LET Filthy give her the easy way out.
5728476
Perseverance indeed. She just wouldn't give up until she'd won.
And that would be why Diamond is bratty in the first place, I'd wager.
Is this Diamond Tiara the pre-CMC cutie mark or the post one?
6638666
Considering it was published early last year, I'm pretty sure this would be a pre-CMC marks Diamond.
i must have missed this the first two times I read this.
this makes no sense whatsoever and brings up a huge issue why a Unicorn could not just as easily levitate the desired toy over the chute.
7097320
Well, it was mentioned in the next line that the claw had hooked onto the string holding on the toy's tag and carried it by that, which I've actually seen a claw machine do. As for the second part... uh, yeah, I actually hadn't thought about that. Probably an anti-magic field inside the chamber or a magic detector hooked up to an alarm (like the tilt sensor in pinball machines). Maybe even just an honor system. I'm sure they figured out something to make them work. Also, this gives me an idea for a foal magic training aid that's a claw machine game without the claw, helping little ponies practice levitating stuff.
7097413 OH RIGHT the string oh you had me going like is Sweetie Belle helping her cheat or something? LOL
brilliant as always.
You write Diamond so well.
Hey there! I enjoyed your story so I decided to narrate it, hope you don't mind.
8582116
Hey, that was a pretty nice reading, dude. I did enjoy it. Thanks.
8582860
You’re very welcome!