• Published 10th Aug 2016
  • 973 Views, 31 Comments

Light Pollution - Quillamore



When her mother drops her off on the Manehattan streets to fend for herself, Diamond Tiara takes the opportunity to mend ties with Babs Seed...and to regain just a bit of the light she had always kept herself from.

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Seventh Day: Diamonds are a Filly's Best Friend

For the first time in almost a week, Diamond found herself in a different bed than the one she’d become acquainted to. In fact, even though her time with Babs’ family had been short, waking up in a hotel room had been jarring beyond belief. For a few beautiful seconds, she completely forgot everything that had occurred the night before, and as she steadily rose out of bed, she slowly realized what she had to do.

If Spoiled had been with her, she would’ve called it a ridiculous whim and sent Diamond off home. But almost minutes after Diamond left the auditorium with her father, Filthy Rich had postponed the cab ride home, allowing the two of them twelve more hours in Manehattan. From there, just about everything else was uncertain: Filthy, perhaps acting against his usual self, had called the cops over when Mosely was arrested and told them everything. Spoiled may have been from Ponyville, but they assured the two of them that they could take action against what she had done, since she’d abandoned Diamond on Manehattan territory. The filly had spent so long thinking about her mother’s motivations for doing so that she’d almost forgotten it was a crime, something that thankfully was not lost on her father.

And so, both Mosely and Spoiled were arrested just before their alliance was truly put into action. Apparently, even though the audience had been held captive in the theatre, somepony had still made enough ruckus to alert the police last night, and by the time the second act was finally about to start, they were already there. If it had been a story, Diamond would have been immensely pleased with the results: both villains disposed of in a breathless moment, an act that avenged years of crimes. And yet, in real life, Diamond knew that was not so.

That was why she launched herself into the shower and through her daily routine at a breakneck speed, all the while hoping against hope that she would return and find the condo exactly as she’d left it. As she stood in front of it, though, she already knew at least one thing was missing. Judging from the way the window was angled, Coco didn’t appear to be with her family. Instead, Applejack was talking away inside, presumably counseling the two remaining members on what to do after the previous night’s events.

Filthy Rich had already left, but not before assuring his daughter that this was something she could do on her own. Those had been easy words for him to say, she could tell, but Diamond knew that she would have to be back at the cab station by three o'clock, and that was barely enough time to heal a wounded heart even on a good day.

Nevertheless, she let out a single gulp, knocked on the door, and told herself she would try.

It took a few agonizingly long moments, but sure enough, Bambi was at the door like usual, trying her best to regain her composure even after everything.

“You again?” she asked. While her voice seemed annoyed and raw, Diamond knew it was more due to the situation than anything else. “I thought you’d left last night.”

Diamond took a deep breath in a meager attempt to ease her nerves and brought herself to speak again.

“I was supposed to, but I figured after everything Babs and I have been through...I didn’t want to leave it like this again.”

She’d barely thought about it until now, but when it came down to it, that was probably her worst fear after all. That, after all this time of rekindling, somehow or another, the minute she returned to Ponyville, it would all start again. That she and Babs would cut themselves off into another awkward situation, one that could even break their friendship for good. If there was one thing Diamond had learned since their last parting, it was that friendship was worth fighting for.

And, as she shot Bambi a strangely determined glance, she decided that was exactly what she’d do.

****

As Diamond trotted into the familiar condo, she couldn’t help but realize how unfamiliar the place had become. Unlike the boisterous events of days past, it was as quiet as a house up for sale, and while Applejack and Bambi talked in hushed whispers, even those didn’t seem to carry. With all this in mind, Diamond practically dreaded the minute she’d see the filly she left behind again.

Fortunately, she was able to find the pony in question before that feeling kicked in all the way. To her dismay, however, Babs seemed weaker than she’d ever been, laying unresponsive on the bed as if asleep. Or, Diamond thought to herself, perhaps even worse.

She’d heard ponies say that they were dead inside before, but seeing how motionless Babs was made her wonder if you could feel dead on the outside as well, without actually dying.

Shoving that thought to the side, she opened the door and let the tiniest amount of light shine into the dark room. Even still, Babs didn’t notice a thing. In fact, it took her a few moments just to notice Diamond’s presence.

“Everything all right in here?” Diamond asked, practically kicking herself for saying it. Perhaps even worse, Babs didn’t even have a sly remark to counter it at first.

If she’s not in the mood to tease me, it’s probably worse than I thought. I may need to get out the big guns.

“You did hear about last night, didn’t you?” Babs finally croaked.

“I was there.”

“Then that probably answers your question.”

Just when Diamond thought her friend was about to acknowledge her for good, Babs plopped back over onto the other side and stared into a surprisingly undecorated wall. In all the times Diamond had been in this room, she’d never noticed the sparse decor, but now she figured that was just another casualty of Mosely’s havoc. So much time spent on staying one step ahead of him, and so little on the things that really mattered. So little that this place was still barely a home.

With a deep breath, Diamond attempted to gather herself yet again and push the other filly back into conversation.

“Sorry. I’m...not really used to this whole ‘consoling ponies’ thing. It’s not exactly something ponies like me learn in charm school.”

Babs still didn’t face her, but a strangely unfamiliar sound entered the room all the same. It was something so nonsensical that Diamond almost thought she was hearing things at first.

Babs had chuckled after hearing what she’d said. The last thing she should be doing in a situation like this, but still something that came out anyway. Almost as if her friend had made it flow out.

“You really went to one of those?”

If it had been any other time, Diamond would have hated herself for that “charm school” comment, but at this point, she supposed it could help Babs if nothing else. After all, Pinkie Pie did tell everypony laughter was the best cure for things like this. It may not have worked on Diamond yet, but maybe she could at least make it work on somepony else.

“No. But my point still stands. I heard what happened last night and I decided...I couldn’t leave Manehattan without checking on you. If nothing else, I know what it’s like to have somepony you love abandon you, and I don’t want you to have to go through it alone.”

Even after she placed all her heart into that speech, she still wasn’t sure if Babs would buy it. Yet, by some miracle, the other filly finally turned to face her, revealing eyes far redder than her usual green. If she’d gotten any sleep that night, the truth had already haunted her into the daytime, and Diamond shuddered at all the mornings she’d have to suffer through like this.

“Just so you know,” Babs said with a sigh, “I already got a lot of this discussion from Applejack. I practically begged her to let me stay in the Apple family after that whole Flim Flam deal. Still can’t believe I’m related to them, but somehow, that’s the least surprising thing outta all this. At least it explains my mane.”

Diamond was tempted to laugh at the joke, but she knew all too well what it was hiding. From what little a pony as young as her knew of psychology, she could tell that detachment was a stage of grief, another side of the same coin. From everything she was seeing, Babs was practically willing herself to act normal, the way they once had together.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me,” replied Diamond. “I know you’re not telling me the whole truth, and even though I’m not good at this, I do want to help you.”

“Sure. But you’ve gotta answer somethin’ first. If this whole secret surprised everypony as much as it did, why aren’t you like that? Come to think of it, where were you that one night? What’s even goin’ on?”

And just like that, Diamond saw the one face she’d never wanted to see again. That same pained, distrustful face she’d watched the first time she’d met the filly, just after the two had parted in the worst of ways. Even though she knew betrayal had shocked Babs to her core, seeing that look focused on her again hurt all the same.

“I was with Coco. You probably don’t want to hear this, but she told me everything. About her deal with Mosely and about you.”

In her desperation, Diamond voiced the only words her mother had ever banned her from saying, the ones that conveyed the greatest weakness of all.

“I’m sorry.”

Never once had she imagined Babs confronting her over this, let alone her knowing to begin with. But here she was, telling her friend that there had always been secrets and that nothing had ever been honest between the two of them. For all the times Diamond swore she’d tell her and struggled to hold everything in, she knew deep down that this was the only way Babs would ever find out. She would have kept it through death itself if she needed to, and it’d only taken one other pony to blow it.

After all these years, everything her mother had told her about keeping things from ponies was true. Two ponies couldn’t know the same secret without revealing it.

“I didn’t want to hurt you again.”


In any other situation, Diamond had a feeling Babs would lash out at her for this alone and break off their friendship for good. However, with everything that’d come last night, Babs’ anger only barely broke through the tears. Her green eyes pierced into Diamond’s for the slightest of moments before she flopped onto the bed yet again, as if somepony had cast a sleeping spell on her.

“I’m sure you probably meant the best,” she muttered, “but it would’ve been better hearing it from you.”

“A lot of things could have been better,” acknowledged Diamond, “if we’d known what was going to happen back there. But I didn’t, and I thought…”

The tears were slowly starting to take over Diamond’s mind as well, and by the time she started sobbing, Babs hesitantly began to look her way again. Diamond wasn’t sure how the filly could have any trust left after everything, but somehow or another, Babs did. And, like Filthy, she wanted to believe the one she loved could be better than she was.

Diamond, on the other hoof, wasn’t so sure about that. But it lifted her heart through the tears all the same.

“I thought you’d never need to know. When I found out about everything that had happened to you, I couldn’t figure out any way to make it up to you. I thought maybe, eventually, you’d forget about it and never want to know who did it. I wanted to protect you, so you’d never have to think about anything like that again, but I guess I’m just not made to protect anypony.”

A tiny, sheepish smile appeared on her face, almost as if admitting that simple fact brought all of Equestria off her haunches. And, just like that, she apologized again and moved towards the door, assuming everything would be like it was before. The one pony she’d wanted to come back to would be out of her life forever. If it had been a story, it would’ve put her straight back where she had started and plunged her into an endless quest for redemption. The worst kind of poetic justice, and therefore the saddest kind of tale.

Thankfully, as Diamond had seen several times before, her life wasn’t that sort of predictable story. Just as she was about to close the door, she could clearly hear somepony calling after her on the other side.

“I understand,” Babs finally said. “And for the record, I’m sorry, too.”

Her hair was a mess and her eyes were as red as they’d been all day, but somehow or another, she’d found her way out of bed. More importantly, her hoof was blocking the door, making sure Diamond couldn’t leave the situation so easily.

“Sorry for ever doubting you, even back in Ponyville. And for not being strong enough to get through this alone.”

Somehow or another, Diamond had never imagined the healing process would be this instinctual. She’d always imagined that a shriveled-up heart like hers couldn’t be of any use in times like this. But somehow, she still found herself taking the other filly into her arms and letting her cry through her issues like she’d done it a thousand times.

“You never had to,” Diamond replied. “I’ll still be there to protect you, anyway.”

And, in those fragile moments, Babs let out every last fear she still had, ones that she wasn’t even willing to tell Coco. And every time, Diamond listened in and tried to break through every one. By the time Filthy was supposed to return, Babs had already healed quite a bit already, and that was the worst part of all.

Diamond couldn’t be there to heal her all the way, even if she lived in Manehattan. But for now at least, this was a start. They would make their first steps towards removing the toxic ponies in their life in the exact same places, and as long as that was true, they could always walk together.

As Diamond made her way out of the condo, she knew that this would be her last time seeing it as it was. But for once, that thought didn’t seem so bad. The next time she went there, she would see something completely new. After all, Manehattan was a town full of opportunities, both large and small, and she had a feeling Coco and her family would be no different the next time she saw them.

Diamond once more kept a copy of Babs’ address by her side on the cab, but this time, it would be for something far greater. The two foals had agreed to send each other as many letters as they could until they could finally leave their demons in the dust.

It wasn’t a happy ending by any definition of the word, but until they met again, it would be enough. Because once that happened, they could create one together.

Author's Note:

So, here we have the last full-length part of the series. The much shorter epilogue should be coming in a day or so.

These two fillies still have a lot to resolve on their own, but I hope you enjoyed getting to see them together again as much as I did. :twilightsmile: