Act 3
Diamond stood outside a stone gray building, panting as she tried to catch her breath. She had ran across town in order to get to it, and her tiara looked like it had a thin layer of sweat surrounding the parts that touched her mane. She approached the door and opened it, seeing that the interior was very sparse. There was a desk in the center of the room with a stallion looking through some paperwork. He looked up at her and simply said, “Nope.”
Diamond blinked as she stepped inside and closed the door. “What? You didn’t even hear what I wanted you to do!”
“I don’t care,” the stallion said as he walked out from behind the desk and leaned against it. “I know who you are. Your name is all across town, Diamond Tiara, assistant to the bullying Princess Twilight.” He pointed to the door.
“Do you even know who my dad is? He hires you guys all the time!” Diamond Tiara huffed as she stamped her hooves. “Are you going to throw away your relationship with my dad just because of something you heard from another pony?”
“Another town? Yes, I’m willing to take that risk.” The stallion pointed at the door again. “Out.”
Diamond Tiara gritted her teeth and sniffed, tears obscuring her vision as she walked out of the room and back onto the street. Numerous ponies passed her, paying no attention to her since that’s exactly what she wanted. She had no power as Princess Twilight's assistant anymore.
“What do I do?” Diamond Tiara looked down the street, in the direction of the Summit and the picketing workers. “I can’t get help, and I can’t finish the Summit myself.” Diamond sighed as she continued down the street, mind filled with the day’s events.
“Why are these ponies not used to having a boss?” Diamond Tiara asked herself as she stepped out of the way of an oncoming pony, almost tripping over herself as she did so. She adjusted the tiara on her head, deciding on shelving her thoughts on the tiara for a different time. “My butler could do everything these workers were told to do and more, but I don’t have the time to go and get him.” Diamond walked past the picket line and back into the empty Summit room. She kicked a piece of discarded crystal across the room, tears starting to slide down her cheeks. “Why won’t anyone listen to me!” Diamond yelled.
“I think I know why,” an angry voice replied.
Diamond looked towards the entrance, where Princess Twilight and Gustave le Grand were standing. One was still cowering in fear over Diamond Tiara’s ability to destroy his career, while Twilight looked beside herself.
“Princess Twilight!” Diamond said as she ran towards her, stopping as Twilight cut her off.
“What is all this?” she asked, pointing around the room since nothing seemed right. Everything was either destroyed, misplaced, or made incorrectly. Diamond could see that Twilight didn’t think Diamond got anything finished correctly. “I fall asleep for a few hours and this is what I come back to?”
“I can explain!” Diamond replied as she sat on her rump, pointing a forehoof at Gustave. “All the workers are like him! They do everything wrong, and they don’t understand how important this Summit is to you. They wanted to use wooden tables and hay that wasn’t free range!”
“I don’t even know what free range hay is,” Twilight replied as she sighed in frustration. She pointed outside. “They are working together to achieve a common goal, Diamond Tiara. They were working together in order to make this Summit happen, but you were the one that stopped it. Now they are working together to stop the Summit, and it looks like it’s working. That’s all because of you.”
Diamond looked away as she sniffed and wiped a tear. “I just wanted to make sure that everything was right!” she replied as she stamped a hoof. “It’s not my fault that this griffin can’t cook! Or those workers don’t know how to take orders.”
“Don’t lie to me, Diamond Tiara.” Twilight levitated the scroll out of Diamond Tiara’s saddlebag. She tried to reach for it, but Twilight kept it away from her reach. She rolled the scroll back up, considering Diamond haphazardly shoved it in her backpack when she was done threatening the jewelry store owner. “You wanted to boss all the ponies around because you knew I wouldn’t have any of it. You took my scroll and you overblew how much you were my assistant. Is this how you want to remember your birthday? Seeing the other ponies squirm under your ill-gotten power?”
Diamond Tiara cowered as she felt smaller and smaller compared to Princess Twilight, whose voice remained the same. This combination of quiet fury and disappointment stabbed Diamond in the chest as it reminded her of her father. The father that didn’t even have the time to come to her birthday today.
Just like back during her cute-cenera, when her father was not in attendance, and had to come to her in the middle of the night with a present and a hug. Just like now, back then she watched Apple Bloom squirm at her lack of a cutie mark, and the bullying that Diamond threw on her. It was one rogue instance where the cute-cenera didn’t go her way, but this was approaching two. Perhaps bullying wasn’t the best way to enjoy her birthday.
Diamond thought about Silver Spoon, and how much the filly hesitated whenever Diamond urged her to continue with a prank or practical joke. Was Silver Spoon sick of it as well, and was merely waiting to tell Diamond out of the blue much like the workers outside? Would Diamond have Silver Spoon one day, and nothing but her possessions the next? Silver Spoon was already out of town, unable to join her for her birthday, but she promised that the two would hang out once she came back. But what if she didn’t come back?
For once, Diamond didn’t have anything to say. She merely cried and looked down at the floor, sniffing and wiping her muzzle. Now she knew how it felt to squirm.
“I’m sorry,” Diamond mumbled.
“Are you?” Twilight asked. “I don’t believe you. And I’m sure if you told the workers that, they wouldn’t either.”
Diamond took off her new tiara and allowed Princess Twilight to levitate it over to her. She gasped. “Diamond did you—”
“I didn’t steal it. You have a tab over at the Luxury Gold jewelry store. I’ll take it back if you don’t want to.” Diamond wiped the rest of her tears, avoiding Twilight’s gaze.
Twilight smiled. “That’s a start. But perhaps there’s some other ponies that you should apologize to? Not just me?”
The front doors opened to reveal all of the Summit workers, listening in on Diamond and Twilight’s conversation. Diamond looked to the sculptor and stood up, smiling as she walked over to him and held out a hoof. “I’m sorry for the way that I acted. I guess I’m not used to doing things myself… or helping out… or taking no for an answer. I have a lot to work on, okay?” Diamond said, growing slightly more annoyed at all of her flaws.
The sculptor chuckled, but he didn’t grasp her hoof yet. Diamond frowned and shook her hoof up and down. He still didn’t grab it. “What do you want?” Diamond asked.
“I think a good place to start would be for you to help us clean this mess up.” The sculptor held out his hoof. “Once we’re all done, then we’ll forgive you.”
Diamond gulped as she looked towards all the decorations and debris. She was going to have to get her massaged and soft hooves dirty with all of the dirt, dust, and grime? Diamond looked to Twilight, who nodded with a smile. Sighing, Diamond shook the sculptor’s hoof. “Deal.”
~~~
Diamond Tiara burst through the doors to her mansion, nearly collapsing at the doorstep as she crawled inside and laid on top of the marble floor. Her tiara fell off of her head and rested on the ground, while the doors closed behind her.
“Welcome home, Diamond Tiara,” her butler replied as he walked over to her side and grabbed her tiara, putting it upon a crimson pillow. He didn’t dare say a thing about the tiara’s filth dirtying the pillow, and Diamond Tiara was too tired to remember.
“Thank you, Golden Touch,” Diamond said as she turned her head to face him.
The butler gasped at hearing his name for the first time, and he adjusted his bowtie. “Um… are you feeling alright, Miss?” Golden Touch said as he placed her pillow upon an end table. “Can I take your temperature to make sure you aren’t sick?”
“I’m fine, Golden Touch. I would like some help getting to bed, though.”
The butler nodded and picked her up, placing her on his back while he grabbed her tiara and ascended the spiral staircase towards Diamond’s many bedrooms. Diamond opened one eye, looking out the window at the pitch black sky. Diamond had stayed for the Summit and took the first train home with Princess Twilight, but she insisted that she could walk home by herself. Considering she collapsed at her doorstep, she made it. The whole Summit was a blur, nothing that she was interested in. She was more proud about the room and how much more beautiful it looked when she was done cleaning it with the workers.
“Which room would you like to sleep in tonight, Miss?” Golden Touch asked.
“Any of them is fine,” Diamond replied. “Say, Golden Touch. Have you ever slept in one of these bedrooms?”
“I… you banned me from doing that ever since I woke you up a few years ago.” Golden Touch entered one of the bedrooms and placed Diamond Tiara down.
Diamond Tiara smiled and yawned. “I’m going to go take a shower. Can you make me a sandwich? I’m not very hungry. After that, you can take the weekend off. I know how much you want to spend time with your daughter.”
Golden Touch’s eyes filled with tears as he bit his lip, trying to hold back emotions as Diamond pulled off her saddlebag and smiled at the warm feeling that flushed through her stomach. “Th… thank you, Miss.”
“Diamond Tiara is fine, Golden Touch,” Diamond replied as she looked towards the bedroom door, where a bath awaited her. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through, both today and before.” Diamond smirked as she walked out of her bedroom and into the bathroom. Golden Touch followed, but lingered at the bathroom door. “I might be sick, but I feel a little bit better. I have Princess Twilight to thank for that.”
Golden Touch smiled fondly. “I know you hear this enough from your dad, but you sure are growing up. Mom would be proud of you.”
Diamond nodded as she started the bath water. One lingering thought was brought to her lips. “Is Dad home?”
Golden Touch paused and shook his head. “Not yet. He came back while you were gone and told me that he was going to be running a little late. He will kiss you good night when he comes home. He promised that.”
“I trust he will,” Diamond replied as she arranged all the soaps that she planned to use on the edge of the tub. She turned to Golden Touch and smiled. “You can leave the sandwich on a tray outside the door. Then you can go home. Or stay the night in one of the rooms. Whichever works for you.”
“I think I’ll go home. My wife misses me.” Golden Touch moved to leave, but he stopped. “What do you want on your sandwich?”
“Surprise me,” Diamond replied as she sank into the bath water, relaxing and closing her eyes.
“Got it!” Golden Touch replied as he zipped out of the doorway. Diamond noticed a little extra spring in his step as he ran, hoofsteps slowly sinking away.
Diamond Tiara smiled as she relaxed in the tub, thinking about the day’s activities. In one day, she had managed to alienate the entirety of Canterlot and almost put Equestria’s diplomatic relations on the brink of disaster, all because she acted herself at the wrong place. Or perhaps that was the wrong way to look at it. The way she acted was wrong, it wasn’t the place that mattered.
“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” Diamond said as she crossed her hind legs and began to wash the dirt and grime off her mane. “I just have one more thing to do.”
~~~
“Dear Princess Twilight,
I know you wanted me to write to you the moment that I got home with the lessons that I learned today, but I fell asleep and couldn’t finish it until now. I learned a lot from being your assistant yesterday, mostly the fact that I don’t want to get on your bad side, since I felt worse than I’ve ever been. I know you want some actual lessons from me, so I’ll admit that I’ve been in a world where I’ve been given everything I wanted. Now I realize that perhaps there’s some room for others to have more as well. I might not need 40 bedrooms in my mansion, but it is nice. I’ve already begun to rent out one, and it feels good to help another. I know that I shouldn’t make fun of others, and I’ll work on that. One thing at a time.
I don’t really have much else to say. You and I both saw what happened, and I’d rather not bring it up again. I feel that I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll speak to the Cutie Mark Crusaders at school tomorrow, if you insist. I’m not going to be a part of their club, but perhaps I’ve gone a little too far with my bullying, sometimes. If anything happens, I’m blaming you.
Best Regards,
Diamond Dazzle Tiara”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Arcanum -Phantasy · 8.6k words · 15 9 · 659 views
Stats
Page generated in 0.135 seconds
Total duration
920 users online
536,097 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Sometimes it takes a royal smackdown to set someone on the right path. Once Diamond Tiara was exposed to the consequences of her actions, everything followed suit. It still feels a bit abrupt, but on the other hand, the letter makes it clear that Diamond hasn't done a complete one-eighty. Quite enjoyable.
One thing confuses me, though:
Diamond's mother, or Golden's?
6219752
The idea was Diamond's mother.
Well that was an interesting story. It was well within the character of Diamond Tiara for the most part. I personally am skeptical that she would learn her lesson so easily. It also gave a nice bit of background to her, giving her a small bit of sympathy while in no way excusing what she did.
Also, one issue in the last chapter:
So, Diamond Tiara has no power as her own assistant anymore?
It is a good fic, best of luck with the contest!
I might have to make a bookshelf for "Fics that have made me giggle like an idiot on a commuter train". You did a great job of essentially giving Diamond her own episode. :)
6226652
Thank you!
Yeah, this definitely feels rushed and you oversold the reformation, but boy was it fun. :)
6219809
I assumed this implied the butler was her brother, which makes her turn-around all the more heartwrenching.
6230578
Did I not fix that? Yeah that was supposed to be the case.
Cool! I don't think I oversold the reformation with the letter, but that works. Thanks for your opinion!
I've reviewed this story (and the other contest entrants, minus mine) here. Good luck tomorrow!
6272528
YOU'RE RIGHT.
You can has review!
I love good endings.