The Stronger Tiara

by computerneek

Chapter 4

“I hate my life,” she mutters, running down the blackened passage in the faint glow of her tiara. She’d been spotted- and followed. The strange stallion chasing her is wearing a cloak; she has no idea who he is. She’s pretty sure he doesn’t know who she is either; she’s still wearing her cloak, with her mask. The light from her tiara is only barely making it out in front of her, sneaking out from its position in her saddlebags.

It’s Sunday night, three days after her first voluntary visit. She hadn’t expected to run into him.

He’s catching up, slowly. The strange strength she’d gained after her nap in that odd box has been fading- and it’s down to the point she can no longer outrun an adult. She will admit, she has enjoyed not having to be as careful about exactly how hard she closes doors or stomps her hoof.

She’s pretty sure that tile in the fillies’ room at the school is still cracked, from when she’d put her hoof down while talking to herself in the mirror.

Now, most of that strange strength is gone, and she feels almost weak. Had it stuck around, she might have learned to be more gentle, but she most certainly would have been able to fight back against him. She’d only been able to escape earlier because he’d been surprised by her counterattack.

She flips herself in mid-air, landing on the opposing slope with all four legs at once, and taking off down it. If she remembers correctly, the gap between the dirt pile at the bottom and the passage she’d ended up in should be too small for him to get in through.

At least, with any speed. She should be able to find that alternate exit route while he’s busy digging his way in, and escape back to her home. She won’t be going out again for a long time, if she can manage it.

She performs the next turn; he’s only a couple seconds behind her. If she remembers correctly, this is the last one. She runs as hard as she can.

Yes, it is the last one; there is the pile of dirt and rock. She spots the opening to the side- and darts through it the moment she hits the dirt. He misses her by mere inches- and she doesn’t stop. She runs down the horizontal passage.

“Get back here!” he demands.

She ignores him, running towards the uphill slope she used last time- the one the room with the odd boxes in them is on.

“I’ll tell your father!” he threatens.

She almost snorts. An excellent way for him to ruin himself, not her. If he tells her mother, though… Regardless, she’s pretty sure he doesn’t know who she is.

“Come on, you little varmint!”

She ignores him, turning to run up that passage. She can hear him digging at the debris from the avalanche.

She runs. She hears him break through it when she gets to the top- so she changes her plan.

She jumps up to make the passage. Yes, she can still jump high enough to do that; it’s difficult, though. She continues running, burning up what little of her natural earth pony stamina she’s been able to maintain behind her parents’ backs.

She makes it to the room with the wire before he becomes visible, but he’s still following all along. She doesn’t know how.

Once in the room, she hides from the door and deactivates her tiara, plunging herself into total darkness.

Then, heart thundering against her chest, she waits.

She wishes the door would close. He’s going to round the corner- and see the only open door for several passages- any minute now.

She waits.

She can hear him approaching the corner. Five seconds. Three seconds. The door closes.

She looks up at the faint noise. The door closed, but the edges of the door aren’t very straight, so light and sound will still pass through it. She listens to him reaching and climbing the corner- after which he seems to stop, to look almost directly upwards… through solid metal, at her.

No, not at her- she fumbles briefly, pulling out her tiara. His gaze seems to shift as she moves it, so she drops it on the floor and climbs the other floor-wall of the room; the middle of the room she’s in is occupied by some gigantic… thing, and if she climbs this wall, she can potentially get on top of it, and out the other door out of this room, to a parallel passage to the one he’s in.

His gaze does not follow her. He starts moving slowly up the passage he’s in.

She jumps onto the gigantic thing, hooking a hoof quickly onto one of the many… she assumes they’re wires, connecting to it. She climbs up it, positions herself carefully to jump to the door- which slides open for her.

It’s not until after she jumps out the door, lands smoothly on the downwards slope, and turns around to walk across the closed door that she realizes she’s still in total darkness.

Almost immediately, light floods the passage from one of the vertical walls- the one that’s supposed to be the ceiling. She blinks in the brightness, and looks down at the door she’s standing on. On the other side of that room, he has just found the door in, and is now employing is horn in forcing it open.

She can’t see it… but she can. She doesn’t understand it.

She looks up, stepping carefully off of the closed door, and progresses up the passage. She knows the way out, even though she’s never been in this passage.

As she expected, the lights turn themselves off behind her, and on in front of her. She’s halfway back to the entrance when he finally penetrates that door and jumps through it, moving quickly to her abandoned tiara… and staring at it.

He’s still staring at it when she jumps her way out. Her waning strength has left her unable to jump directly out, like she did last time; instead, she picks a ledge to jump to, lands on it, and leaps from there to the slope, where she drives the points of her hooves into the soft earth to climb her way up, back to the surface of the grass. She takes one glance back down at the hole; even this far away, she knows he’s still in there, just leaving that room as he starts retracing his steps and mumbling something about runaways.

She shudders, and heads home for the night. Living on her own most certainly isn’t an option with ponies like him running around.

She’s already slipped back into her home, and back up to her bedroom, before he starts scrambling his way back out of the hole. She spends almost ten minutes snickering into her pillow as he repeatedly triggers further avalanches in his efforts to get back out, until he finally evens the slope far enough for him to avoid sliding back down in.

Then he goes out of sight.

She blinks. That door he’d forced open closes.

She has no clue what is going on.

She falls asleep quickly.

---

She awakens even faster.

She’s never been a morning pony. The morning rush her mother likes foisting upon her has always been torturous. Especially since she’s not allowed to act tired.

She’s feeling like a morning pony today. She doesn’t know why.

She rolls out of bed, stretches her tired muscles- they never get enough rest- and reaches over to disable her alarm clock. At least her mother had allowed her to acquire one. Even if she’d had to lie to the shopkeeper, claim it was for ‘a friend’ that couldn’t seem to get up in the morning.

She freezes, hoof floating over the device. It’s not ringing.

She blinks. Did she really beat the thing up?

The alarm clock goes off very suddenly, and she silences it instantly. Yes, she did. Not literally, of course. She walks gently to her dresser, where she pulls out her manebrush.

Five minutes later, she steps out of her bedroom to go downstairs for breakfast. It’s a short walk, and one she usually does with her tiara on. Unfortunately, she only has one.

She pauses only momentarily outside the dining room. By the sound if it, both her parents are inside, setting out breakfast. She pushes the door open, and walks in.

Her mother’s gaze instantly zeroes in on the top of her head. “Where’s your tiara?” she demands.

She looks up to meet her mother’s gaze. She’d expected this situation- and she knows exactly how to respond. “I don’t know,” she replies. “I couldn’t find it.”

Her father looks up at that. “Did someone take it?”

“I don’t know,” she replies. “It wasn’t where I put it last night.”

He scowls. “Alright.” He glances at her mother. “Breakfast first, then we’ll look for it together.”

She nods her agreement.

Half an hour later, she follows her parents out of her room. They hadn’t been able to find it either.

“I’m going to send you to school without it,” her father states. “If anypony asks, tell them it’s been sent in for regular maintenance. I’ll check with the Guard on my way to work today, see if they’ve seen anything.” He sighs, dismissing her to get ready for school- which consists of flat nothing, she has no homework due for today- as he turns the corner with her mom. As he goes, she hears him say something to her mom. “I told you we should have gotten a backup,” he seems to be saying.

She elects to ignore that conversation, instead moving to the front door and starting her journey to the schoolhouse.

---

Silverspoon meets her at the normal corner- and starts talking immediately.

“Hey Diamond! Uh, where’s your tiara…?”

She shakes her head. “It’s been, ah, sent in for regular maintenance. How about your spoon?”

She blinks, taken aback. “My… spoon?”

“Yes,” she nods, grinning. “I’m a Diamond Tiara without a Diamond Tiara, and you’re a Silverspoon…”

Silverspoon catches on, nodding. “A silverspoon without a silver spoon. I think I left it in the medicine closet.” Then she lets out a chuckle. “Good one. So, um, what’s the plan for today?”

“Eat, sleep, repeat,” she states.

Another snort. “I was thinking a little more, uh, general than that.”

She snorts. “Life goes on. We get Friday’s test back today- perhaps we could spend some time going over them?”

Chuckle. “If going over my mistakes and using mine as an answer key for yours counts,” she states.

She smiles. “Of course it counts. I’m hoping I got at least a three this time.”

Sigh. “Out of ten. Have you tried asking him?”

She shakes her head. “No. He won’t let Mrs. Cheerilee do anything but give me perfect score.” She glances up at her friend. “At least he doesn’t mind our, uh, ‘comparing notes’. That’s always a plus.”

Nod. “Yes, yes it is. Um, anything planned for the Crusaders, or no?”

She scowls. “Um… I don’t know. You?”

Shake. “Me neither- but I’m feeling the need, you know?”

She tilts her head. “Uh, no, I don’t know.”

This earns her a scandalized look and a frown. “I… I’ll explain later. Um… anyways… for now, I am feeling the need.”

“Is… Is this something you can talk about?”

A gentle shake, with her eyes closed. “No.”

She moves closer. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

Her friend smiles, and mirrors her motion. “I’ve got yours too.”

“Just don’t say that too loud.”

Nod. “You neither.”

Raised eyebrow. “I’m being serious.”

“Me too.”

She blinks a couple times. “... Oh. I think I understand.”

Her friend raises an eyebrow at her. “Oh?”

“All this time, I thought you were just following my example.”

Nod. “That’s how it started, but…” Sigh. “I mean, it’s so effective.”

“Even though it’s wrong.”

Nod. “Even though Mrs. Cheerilee should be harping on us for it, but can’t because our parents, uh, ‘care’ about us.”

“Well hey, at least they let her give you an honest grade.”

Nod. “That is true.”

---

Filthy Rich walks into the bank. He’d checked with the Guard; they hadn’t seen anything, but will reportedly ‘keep there eyes open’. Something about his morning must have shown on his face, because one of the lesser bankers approaches him as he steps through the employee-only door.

“Mr. Rich, Sir,” the banker pronounces. “There’s been a… situation.”

Oh. Not related to his morning, though- rather, a crime against the bank. He raises his eyebrow. “How much?”

“Nothing, Sir- they were caught. However…” She glances towards the teller’s counters.

He mirrors the glance; there’s a couple customers. “Right. My office, then.”

The walk is a very short one. As a matter of fact, despite how it had come out as a command, it seems his lesser banker had both expected and even wanted the instruction to come, so she’s more than willing. Once they get into his office and close the door, he turns to her as he continues to move behind his desk. “What happened?”

She gives a quick nod. “This morning, a unicorn stallion came in with what he claimed to be Diamond’s tiara, given freely to authorize a million-bit transaction.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

She sighs. “The teller told him a manager was required for that kind of transaction and sent for me. When I arrived, I didn’t believe him either- but I accepted the crown anyways. It appeared genuine, but I noticed a tracing spell in one of the lesser gemstones, so I told him I had to take it back to our appraiser to verify its authenticity, and removed it to the backroom- where I placed it on the table, instructed nopony to touch it, and sent for the Guards.

“They agreed. The Guards, that is; they prevented him from fleeing when they arrived and, when I gave them the crown, the Lieutenant that accepted it reportedly spotted a compulsion spell as well. He’s been arrested and the crown confiscated. The lieutenant said they would return it as soon as they had gathered all possible evidence from it and stripped it of any undesirable influences.”

“You just let him take it?”

She nods. “He said it would be dangerous at best to let her wear it in its current state.”

He blinks. “Alright. Whenever it comes back, I’m going to want it in a Unicorn Lock Box as soon as possible.”

She nods again. “Yes sir.”

He nods. “Dismissed, thank you.”

She bows herself out, closing the door behind him.

He lets out a sigh, and starts his work as the general manager and owner of the entire bank. He’s going to want to identify the case and, if the Guards don’t do it first, see to it that whoever placed those spells gets punished for hurting his Diamond.

At least, for trying to hurt his diamond. He’ll have to ask the Guards when they think the spells were emplaced, find out if she wore the tiara after they were. Find out if there is any lasting effect from those spells.

He lets out a sigh. He really wishes she’d open up to him a little more, like everypony else’s fillies. He has difficulty thinking she’s perfectly happy with everything he and his wife are doing- especially with how guarded she seems.

He wishes he knew what was bothering her.

Author's Note:

Depending on how events go tomorrow, this may well be the last chapter I post for a while; most likely, I'll be too busy with a new job and a new home. But that shouldn't last long, I haven't got much to move out of my parents' home.

Comments

[LostArchivist]

Holy Sheep! Good to hear that you've found a (hopefully) better job. May the move go well.