Part 7: Awakening
The first thing Diamond Tiara noticed as she began to stir from her unscheduled nap was the chill. Used to living in a fully-insulated mansion with triple glazing windows as she was, she couldn't help but wonder what was letting the draft in.
Fidgeting a little as if to try and keep warm, she attempted to turn over onto her back, but something was holding her in place, preventing her from facing the direction she wanted to be in. It was clamped around her midriff, and no matter how much she struggled, she remained firmly locked in place.
Slowly emerging from her half-awake status, the next sensation she felt was the strange material covering her, up to her neck. If she was still safely tucked up at home, this sheet over her frame had to be the coarsest, most roughest bedding she'd ever slept underneath. Silk and velvet were what she'd grown accustomed to, this, whatever the Tartarus it was, was making her skin itch.
Instinctively reaching over to scratch her belly, and still with her eyes closed, she accidentally made contact with something. It was pushed up right next to her like a soft toy, but felt more solid.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, the pink filly decided to open her eyelids, just a crack. Her vision was a little blurred at first, but after around thirty seconds had cleared, just enough for her to make out...
Nothing.
It was pitch black, you see.
Why hasn't Randolph left my night light on, or at least lit a few candles? Tiara huffed, still caught up in that strange world that exists between waking and dreaming. She also made plans to speak to whoever did the laundry, Clearly somepony had made a dreadful mistake by giving her some kind of towel to sleep underneath.
'And what's this pressing down on my ...'
She stopped suddenly, as she subjected the object keeping her penned in to a closer examination. First, by nudging it, and then, by touch.
There was no mistake. The shape. The texture. The bone structure.
It was a hoof. This would mean...
Somepony... Was in bed with her.
Diamond's consciousness sprung onto high alert. She jerked upright, causing whoever was sharing her personal space to murmur as she moved to push the strange leg away. The pink filly would have screamed, but she was too terrified to even make a sound. What was going on?!
Her questions were answered by the second presence in the room sitting up beside her, rubbing her eyes and asking in an unmistakable country accent. "Are you alright, Diamond Tiara?".
That's when it all started coming back to the newly fostered child.
The punishment from her mother. The argument between her parents. The late night visit from four of the Elements Of Harmony. Being told her home was no longer her own. The heart-to-heart with her father before she left. The long, exhausting journey to the farm. And then...
She couldn't recall anything else. The next memory was waking up here, in this freezing cold room, under a cheap synthetic sheet, with one of the fillies she used to pick on the most.
It was indeed Apple Bloom in the flesh.
And now, the farm filly was waving a hoof right in front of Diamond's eyeline.
"Equestria to Tiara. Come in please!!" The youngest Apple did a passable impersonation of a spacemare... (Probably one of the many things they'd attempted during her club's long quest to uncover their 'special marks'.)
The pink filly's attention gradually returned to the present, as she squinted at the movement in front of her through the darkness, before batting it away. "W-what's going on?! H-how did I get here?!" she stammered.
Apple Bloom giggled a little, not put out one bit about having her leg slapped. "My sister carried you, silly! When you arrived on our doorstep you were dead to the world, and the only way to get you to our room was to give you a little lift."
She then proceeded to give Diamond a visual demonstration of how this great feat was achieved, though in the pitch black surrounding them, it was a little difficult to see.
Ignoring her new friend's theatrics, Tiara continued her questions. "But why are we together..."
"Oh, that..." The pink filly couldn't see Bloom's expression, but she felt she could detect an embarrassed smile along with the reply. "Well, you arrived at such short notice, we didn't have time to put out anything for you to sleep on. So, me and Applejack figured just for tonight, you could share my bed. I don't mind, it makes the room a bit cosier..."
Diamond was a little perturbed at this stage. Waking up in a completely unfamiliar environment was one thing, but in such insalubrious conditions, and in such close quarters to another filly, having never shared a room with anypony in her short, privileged life, was almost enough to make her freak out.
So, rather than dwell on it, she decided to ask something else. "How long was I out for..." she murmured.
"Well, a good few hours at least I'd say..." Replied Bloom, as if peering out at something through the window. "Judging from the sky, it'll start turning light soon, and then, it'll be time for school."
Her eyes having slowly adjusted to the darkness, Tiara was able to spot the farm filly turn to her.
It was now Apple Bloom's turn to ask a question. "Anyway, how are you? You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to..."
The pink filly couldn't help but grin ruefully a little at this innocent query. Applejack had obviously instructed her sibling to approach the subject of their house guest's family problems with kid gloves, and for that she was grateful.
"I'm still coming to terms with everything." Tiara answered truthfully. " Moving out. Coming here. It's going to take a lot of getting used to. I don't know... If I can..." Uh oh. The tears were returning.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm here..." That was Apple Bloom, shuffling closer to her newest pal and giving her another sympathetic hug. "Don't say anything about it, if it upsets you. Just know that I've got your back, along with my family and all the friends you've made. Remember, whatever it is you're going through, you're never alone."
Diamond could barely believe her ears. Here was a filly, who she'd bullied mercilessly for years, probably even more so than the other Crusaders combined. And yet, she was willing to extend the hoof of friendship in such a big way? It was... It was...
"I-I don't deserve y-your help. T-the w-way I've been..." the pink filly stammered through her tears, but it looked like Bloom's timely intervention had prevented the trickle from becoming a monsoon at least.
" Stuff and nonsense!" The youngest Apple pulled away for a minute to gently stare into Tiara's damp eyes. "We're friends now, that's all you need to know. I forgave you for all that stuff the minute you stood up for me, Sweetie Belle and Scoots in front of..."
Bloom stopped suddenly, and frowned. She was approaching a difficult topic that she'd been expressly told by Applejack not to bring up, but how she wanted to! Just seeing the way Spoiled had treated her only daughter had really shone a light on why Diamond had acted the way she did, and had made the farm filly even more thankful that she came from such a loving family background.
Even without her parents, Bloom had never wanted for love or advice, two commodities that apparently were in short supply at the Rich household. Realising that, with just a simple twist of fate, she could have been born into Tiara's overbearing horseshoes, made the farm filly a lot more empathetic to her roommate's plight, and she resolved to make the new arrival's stay at Sweet Acres as comfortable as possible.
Diamond picked up on Bloom's sudden pause, and sighed. "It's okay. I know what a terror she can be. Otherwise, I wouldn't be living here in the first place..." She went to rub her tears away, but something flopped into her eyes. "Oh no..."
"What is it now?" Apple Bloom asked, inquisitively.
"It's my mane. Usually, before I go to bed, I spend at least an hour shampooing it, washing it and drying it so it's ready to impress everypony in the morning. But, thanks to my change in routine, It's going to look a mess, and..." Diamond suddenly stopped with rising panic, as she remembered something else.
" Oh no!! My tiara!! I left it at home!! It's still locked up in the cupboard!! It's too late to go back for it!! I need it!! How will everypony know I'm me if I'm not wearing it?!! What'll I do?! What'll I ..." The pink filly was slowly but surely turning red through hyperventilation.
"Now, now. Pull yourself together." Bloom took a hold of her gasping roommate and shook her moderately in an attempt to calm her down. "I thinkeverypony, for better or for worse, 'knows who you are' by now, and if they don't, I'm sure your cutie mark will fill them in. You don't have to be wearing that thing for them to figure that out. As for your mane difficulties, I believe I do have a solution..."
Diamond ceased her minor panic attack, and stared at Apple Bloom with slight incredulity. "You do?"
"Sure. Just wait right there, and close your eyes. I want it to be a surprise..." The farm filly lit a lantern on her side of the bed, before getting up and trotting to a nearby cupboard. Wondering what was in there, Tiara felt herself craning her neck to see what the glow of the lamp cast.
"I said no peeking!!" Bloom insisted in a not unfriendly way, as she rummaged in the back of her closet.
"Okay, okay..." Diamond rolled her eyes. She couldn't see what the farm filly could do that she couldn't. After all, she had been doing the same careful hair routine for years to keep her mane perfect and straight. How could her new friend hope to emulate that?
If only she had been slightly less dazed when she packed to leave home, she may have had the presence of mind to take items like her hair products she might actually use, as opposed to random junk that just so happened to be the first things that came to hoof. Even now, she had no recollection of what she, or rather, Applejack had carted over to Sweet Acres. She hoped at least some of it was usable.
Bloom returned, and insisted on Diamond turning around, and not moving an inch while the farm filly worked on her mane. Tiara felt her hair get primped this way and that, and protested vigorously, but despite all the struggling, managed to remain seated during the process.
Just a few days ago, she probably would've rather been thrown in another muddy puddle repeatedly than allow anypony else to even touch her delicately coiffured locks, but right now she had slightly more pressing concerns than looking good (although, it still meant a lot to her).
Besides, she was at a loss to solve the problem for herself, and desperate times call for...
"Finished!!" That was Bloom's call to attention, as Tiara was roused from her deliberations, with the farm filly standing proudly in front of her. "And a fine job of it I did, too, even if I do say so myself!"
Diamond had no idea what her friend had done to her mane, as she was led over to the mirror, but at least the hair was out of her eyes now. It did feel rather odd, though...
And the reason for that became apparent as soon as the pink filly saw her reflection, with the lantern being dangled by Bloom above her so she could see the extent of her new roommate's handiwork.
For, perched on her head was a large red ribbon, exactly the same as the one Apple Bloom wore.
It was like looking at a different pony.
Tiara's jaw dropped. She continued to stare at the strange filly in front of her.
She stuck out her tongue. Did a pirouette. Touched the glass. Yep, definitely her.
Suddenly she felt a pair of hooves on her back, and saw another image in the mirror that now resembled hers to a worrying degree, apart from the yellow fur and red mane, of course.
"So, whaddya think?" The new face enquired, grinning. "In my opinion, it suits you a lot more than that stuffy old tiara."
"It's different..." Was all Diamond could muster, still dealing with the myriad of thoughts running through her head.
"Tell you what, we'll ask everypony at school tomorrow their opinions. It'll be just like the presidential election all over again, you know, without the blackmail and the bribery. If more colts and fillies prefer this new look of yours, I say you should keep it for at least a week. Are we agreed?" Bloom rubbed the back of Tiara's neck, half jokingly.
Unsure how to respond to that, Diamond began to fiddle with her adornment. It was very securely tied in, obviously put in place by somepony who'd had plenty of practice.
"Just look at us. We could be sisters." Bloom compiled her visage next to the pink filly's. "I suppose we sorta are now, for as long as you're here. Oh well, I'm going back to bed. Keep that ribbon in overnight, I promise you won't have to brush your mane or nothing. Good ni- I mean, good morning, Diamond Tiara."
Leaving the lantern by the side of the mirror, Bloom gave her new roommate a little wink, before wandering back to the comfort of the bed. "You know what, I think I'm going to kind of like having you here." Was the last thing she said, before she dozed off again into a gentle slumber...
Studying her radically changed appearance, Diamond dwelt on all that she and her new friend had conversed about.
It had been illuminating, to say the least.
But out of all the many words that had been exchanged, two things stood out, both in Bloom's final sentences to her.
First, the thought of her not brushing her mane for the day ahead. Completely unheard of!! That was going to take some getting used to...
The second was when she'd said they looked just like...
Sisters. Sisters...
The term rolled off the tongue easily enough, but somehow Tiara couldn't say it.
Yet, just thinking about the word bought all sorts of new emotions bubbling to the surface, that she wasn't quite ready to deal with yet.
Sisters...
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Congratulations. There was so much "D'awwwww" in this story that I now have the Diabeetus, as if the amount of mountain dew I chug each day wasn't leading me down that path already
liked and tracked.
6683062
Agreed. I would ALSO cut back on the RANDOM ALL CAPS you're having characters SPEAK in. It's really annoying.
6683170 Actually, that's called shouting. And I don't use it that often, so I can't see it being that much of a problem.
As for the rest of the constructive criticism above, very interesting. I shall consider it carefully, and then decide if I want to make any changes. Thanks for reading & taking the time to comment! :)
6683185
I'm aware it's shouting when character's do it (not a fan of that way of representing shouting), but that actually wasn't my main complaint. Didn't realize I'd only framed it in that regard.
What I probably also should have said is that you do it in your narration as well. You do it frequently for emphasis, and you do it a ridiculous degree. Every couple of paragraphs, sometimes several paragraphs in a row, you'll have a couple of words in all caps. Maybe that doesn't sound like a lot to you, but it comes across to me as if you're randomly shouting words at me while trying to tell me a story. You don't need to emphasize random words like EVER or REALLY or DID, especially not by doing it in all-caps. It's a very off-putting stylistic choice in an otherwise good story. And sorry if I'm coming across as overly negative rather than trying to offer constructive criticism, I do like your story.
6683237 It's something I've done for a while, but better or for worse. I understand that standards are higher here than fanfiction.net, so I guess I've gotten away with it until now. It'll be a hard habit to break, and I may not want to. But thank you for drawing it to my attention, and I will certainly monitor the tendency more closely from now on to try and avoid overuse.
And don't worry about coming off harsh... I'm always up for reading and responding to comments, whether they be complimentary or not. You're certainly not going to see this section turn into a 'comments graveyard' that's for sure. Glad to like my story so far regardless, and please... Don't hesitate to say whatever pops in your head. I'm a big person, I can take it... *cracks knuckles*.
awww...nice to see Apple Bloom is taking this well...
Awwww, that was cute! Heeheehee, nice job, nice job!
Sisters... cute job!
Can we have artwork of DT wearing AB's bow? Speakin' 'o which, does AB have a bow dispenser?
6737865 let's see here *puts on glasses* in season 4 episode 17 - Somepony to watch over me.
Apple Bloom has plenty of bows in her closet that Scootaloo uses to disguise themselves as the earth filly sleeping.
I hope this help a bit.
This is a fun read, just found it a few days ago. That said I noticed minor error
I think you meant to say "Brought all sort of new emotions"
6757158 Nope, the phrase is "Bought all sorts of new emotions"
No, you really didn't.
6845430 ...Or words to that effect. Natch.
Loving this fic almost as much as my favorite episode of the show, which says a lot about how good the story is.