Chapter D3: Break the Diamond
Silver Spoon hummed a simple tune as she watched the landscape fly by. She’d always enjoyed train rides. There was just something amazing about moving so quickly without any physical effort. She could just sit back, relax, and soak in the sights. But as happy as she was, she was keeping a close eye on her friend as well.
Diamond Tiara looked… better. Still far from alright, but much less depressed than she had been on the train ride out of town. Her stay at the mine had clearly done her some good. There was a faint spark of hope in her eyes now. Eyes that were currently focused on the ugly lump of a diamond in her hooves.
“So… what exactly are you planning to do with that?” asked Silver Spoon.
Diamond glanced at her friend in surprise before looking back at the flawed gemstone.
“Well, I know there’s a jeweler in Ponyville. I figured I’d give it to her and see if she can cut it. Because of the flaws it probably won’t be very big when it’s finished, but at least something pretty will come out of it,” answered Diamond.
“Oh. You’re talking about Sparkler, right? I think she’s more about enchanting gems than cutting them, but I guess if nothing else she’ll be able to point us towards somepony who can cut it if she can’t,” said Silver Spoon.
“Yeah. I guess,” said Diamond with a resigned tone.
“Oh, don’t be so down, Diamond. Is something wrong? Are you worried about what’s going to happen when we reach Ponyville?” asked Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara was silent for a moment, lost in thought. Then she let out a sigh, and looked at her friend with a rather concerned look.
“I guess if I’m being honest, yeah. I am worried. There are two things I need to do when we get home, and I know they’re going to be horrible,” said Diamond Tiara.
“Two things? Are you talking about your parents?” asked Silver Spoon.
“One of them,” answered Diamond Tiara.
Silver Spoon waited for a moment, but it was apparent Diamond didn’t feel like elaborating. Silver Spoon let out a sigh and turned back to the passing landscape. She didn’t know what Diamond was talking about, but she hoped it was the sort of horrible that helped clean the wound rather than just tear it open again.
As the two ponies stepped off the train, they found nopony waiting to greet them. This was the plan. Silver and her parents had agreed to meet up at her house instead, to avoid making a scene at the train station.
“Come on, Diamond. Let’s get to my house and unpack before whatever you’re worried about happens,” said Silver.
“I doubt we’ll get that far,” replied Diamond.
Silver Spoon looked at Diamond in confusion, but the pink filly just trotted forward with her luggage in tow. Silver still had no idea what she was talking about, but decided it would be best to just follow her and be ready to jump to her defence if needed.
As the two fillies made their way through town, Silver quickly noticed that most of the townsponies seemed to be taking notice of them. And judging from their expressions, they still had Diamond’s breakdown on their minds. Diamond Tiara must have noticed as well, as she gave another sigh.
“Guess everypony still looks down on me,” mumbled Diamond Tiara.
“Um… I don’t think they do, Diamond. I’m pretty sure they just want to make sure you’re going to be OK. You know, like they’re worried that you might be going back to your house or something. Once it’s clear you’re staying with me, everypony will relax a little,” reassured Silver Spoon.
“They all saw me. They know about… it. And now they all hate me and think I’m a horrible little…” started Diamond.
“That’s not true, Diamond!” cried Silver.
They two of them stopped walking and looked at each other.
“What in Equestria makes you think they suddenly hate you now? Just because she was disappointed by your breakdown doesn’t mean anypony else is. Ponies are looking at you because they care about you,” said Silver Spoon.
“Nopony cared about me before,” grumbled Diamond Tiara.
“Because they didn’t know. If they did, you’d have gotten away from your mom a lot sooner,” countered Silver.
Diamond turned away, mumbling something under her breath. Silver tried not wince. That might have been the wrong thing for her to say.
“Look, you know I care, and that I wouldn’t lie to your face. I’m telling you, no pony is looking down on you. You’re just assuming the worst because you feel so awful right now. There’s only one pony in town who hates you, and there’s a restraining order keeping her away from you,” said Silver Spoon.
“You can’t know that, Silver…” mumbled Diamond.
“No. We are not going down that line of thought. If you’re going to say I can’t know that they don’t, then I’m going to say you can’t know that they do. Thinking things like that is pointless and it’s only going to make you feel worse,” said Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara looked down at the ground, her head full of dark thoughts. Silver Spoon quickly walked forward and put a comforting hoof on her friend’s side.
“Yes, you’re still in a bad place right now. I’m not going to lie and say that everything is going to be perfectly fine. But things are going to get better. You can’t just stand there and make yourself more miserable because you feel you deserve it. You don’t. And I’m willing to bet that nopony else in this town, aside from that one horrible pony, feels you deserve it either,” said Silver Spoon.
“I think the crowd behind you says otherwise,” deadpanned Diamond.
Silver Spoon turned around and was surprised to see a crowd of fillies and colts, mostly consisting of their classmates. Most of them didn’t look angry, but quite a few of them looked less than happy.
“Knew this was going to happen. I have a lot of burnt bridges to answer for,” mumbled Diamond Tiara.
Silver Spoon opened her mouth to say something, anything, to try to keep things civil, but Diamond just turned towards the crowd and began speaking.
“Alright, let’s get this over with. Whatever you ponies want to say to me, just say it. I’m not going to break down again just because you want to let me know you still hate me. I already know you do,” said Diamond Tiara.
This, to Silver’s relief, did not cause ponies to start yelling at Diamond or call her names. Instead, it seemed to cause confusion and worry to spread through the crowd.
“Uh… what?” asked Ruby Pinch.
“Who said we’re here to tell you we hate you?” asked Scootaloo.
There was an awkward moment of silence as nopony was sure what to say in this situation. Finally, Dinky Hooves stepped forward with a determined look on her face.
“Look, whatever you think this is about, you’re probably wrong. We’re just here to let you know that everpony’s come to an agreement about all the bullying you’ve done,” said Dinky.
“And that is?” asked Silver, feeling a little nervous.
“If you promise to never bully anyone ever again, we’ll forgive and forget everything you two have done to us,” answered Dinky.
Silver Spoon blinked in surprise, but then smiled. That was a surprising happy thing to hear.
“Yeah, that’d be nice. How about it, Diamond? Does that sound fair to you?” asked Silver.
Diamond Tiara also blinked in surprise. Then blinked again, her mouth moving up and down but no words coming out. It wasn’t long before the tears began to flow.
“Why… why are you… I don’t... deserve…” she managed to choke out.
“Yeah, that’s the funny thing about forgiving someone. It’s up to the one forgiving, not the one being forgiven, to decide if they deserve it or not. And all of us think you deserve it,” said Dinky.
“Yeah. It’s not entirely your fault. Your mom’s kind of a…” started Snips.
“Snips!” chided Sweetie Belle.
“What? I was gonna say jerk,” said Snips with a guilty look that suggested he had not been about to say that.
Nevertheless, DIamond Tiara started to sob hysterically. Silver Spoon quickly rushed forward and pulled Diamond into a hug.
“Give her a moment, but I think that’s a yes,” said Silver Spoon.
“She can take her time. We’re all willing to wait,” said Dinky with a gentle smile.
After Diamond calmed down and parting words were said, the two fillies continued on their way. Silver Spoon decided to wait a few minutes for Diamond to finish collecting herself before speaking up.
“Well, I think that turned out alright. You see what I mean? Nopony hates you. Even the ones who have a good reason not to like you just want to put it all behind them. You’re going to be just fine, Diamond,” reassured Silver Spoon with a smile.
Diamond Tiara didn’t respond. Her expression was hard to read, but at least she didn’t seem quite as disheartened as she had earlier. Silver counted that as a win.
As the fillies neared Silver Spoon’s home, they noticed that there was somepony waiting for them on the road leading up to the house. A very important pony who no doubt had something to tell them.
“Looks like your dad’s here,” noted Silver Spoon.
“Yeah. That’s the other big thing I was worried about. We’re long overdue for a talk. A private talk,” said Diamond Tiara with a sigh.
Silver Spoon held back a wince. She realized what Diamond was asking of her.
“Oh… so that’s what you meant by one of your parents. Um, I know this is probably going to be personal between the two of you but I’m not sure if you should…” started Silver Spoon.
“Silver, please,” said Diamond Tiara with a pleading look.
Silver looked at her best friend, glanced towards the stallion in question who had an equally uncertain look on his face, and let out a sigh of her own.
“Alright, but I’m still watching from a distance in case you need a hug,” announced Silver Spoon.
Silver Spoon stopped and watched as Diamond Tiara made her way forward to her father. The two of them made eye contact, but it took some time before either of them were able to speak.
“So… is this part where you say that if I want it, you’ll never be a part of my life again?” asked Diamond.
“I admit I’d thought of saying it, but that’d be the easy, cowardly thing to say and we both know it,” said Mr. Rich.
Diamond Tiara looked at her father in surprise. Was anything going to happen as she expected today?
“But… but…” she managed to stutter.
Mr. Rich looked like he was about to reach out and hug his daughter, but stopped and continued speaking instead.
“I… don’t think I can properly apologize. Though I never raised a hoof against you, I am still partially to blame for this whole affair. Inaction can be just as harmful as poor action and… I’ve definitely hurt you. Because I was too scared of acting like my own father to even try, I ended up being just as bad a parent. Pathetic, isn’t it?” said Mr. Rich with a shake of his head.
Diamond wasn’t really sure what to say about that. She just waited patiently for him to continue.
“So, instead of offering a half-hearted excuse to distance myself even further, continuing the same mistake I’ve made for years, I’m going to make a different sort of offer: If you want me to remain a part of your life, however small or large a role that may be, I will do my best to… no, I will be there for you,” declared Mr. Rich.
Diamond Tiara didn’t cry this time. Whether this was because she was happy with this turn of events, because she was too exhausted to cry anymore today, or because she just felt that the stallion wasn’t worth the effort, Diamond herself couldn’t tell.
“I’ll… think about it. And I mean really think about it, not just blow it off and forget the offer. I just… really need some time to decide,” admitted Diamond Tiara, giving the ground a small kick.
“I understand. Really, I do,” said Filthy Rich with a sad yet empathetic look as he turned and started making his way towards town.
Diamond Tiara let out yet another sigh, her mind full of conflicting thoughts as her friend ran up to her.
“So… did it go well?” asked Silver.
“I… don’t know. I think it went better than I expected it to, but…” Diamond Tiara paused.
The two of them silently watched as Mr. Rich continued on his way.
“I… feel like I should say something to him, but I don’t know what it is. I don’t even know how I feel about what he offered, or if I should even consider it an offer. I mean, it kind of sounds like he’s treating our relationship like a business contract! How the buck am I supposed to feel about that?!” asked Diamond Tiara.
“I think he’s just trying to treat this as something he can understand. I’m not saying that’s a good thing. Personally, I think that’s a terrible way to feel about it. But at least it shows he really does want to make this work. And it’s OK if you don’t have an answer yet, Diamond. Take your time. There’s no hurry to figure everything out right away,” reassured Silver Spoon.
“I guess…” mumbled Diamond Tiara.
And so, head still full of conflicting thoughts and emotions, Diamond Tiara turned and entered her new home for the foreseeable future. But despite her uncertainty, even she had to admit that the future seemed just a bit brighter than it had earlier that morning.
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Woah! Heavy! I think you handled it well!
----
Typo:
yet another sign > yet another sigh
And now I wanna hug her
is it weird that by the end of the chapter that I'm smiling a bit like as if a gentle light shining in the darkness glowing in a non-blinding way?
Diamond’s life is getting better. Not instantly, and it won’t be quick at any point, but she has to admit it’s getting better, a little better, all the time.
I love this! Everything about this! 100/10 best!
This, was unexpectedly heavy, but, well written. Kudos.
10754273 I'm thinking "Kill Bill" with the pan flute theme song.
How many chapters long will this story be?
Nice job man. The way your handling Diamond's issues is engaging as ever. Seriously good job on it. I for one think more story's need to realize that this kind of trauma isn't something that you can just DETERMINATION or FRIENDSHIP away, it takes time.
And also obligatory...
IT LIVES
I think this is being done well. As for that impure diamond of hers, I could see it being done in two ways. The first is what DT already pointed out, and that if it can be cut, it would be small but beautiful. The second way is it could be made into a larger diamond, but the flaws would be apparent, but still beautiful in its own right. I like the second one because it would better represent DT. Yes, she was able to become that beautiful diamond again, but that crack or flaw (or whatever would make the diamond imperfect) will still be there and evident. Just like DT, I think she can get better after this. But she will still have that scar that will always be there. But that scar can become overshadowed by her life becoming better.
10753340
I think everyone who read this chapter now wants to hug Diamond Tiara now. But the interesting thing about this chapter is that it also makes me think that it's best not to hug her, but to let her come to you. She's in such a fragile state at the moment that even a comforting hug may make things worse if she's not in the right mindset.
10753743
It can't get no worse. (I'm a Beatles fan too.👍)
There's something about purple unicorns and friendship speeches. Brings a tear to your eye.
Excellent work with the subject matter. Now the healing process can truly begin.
And their hooves are stretched out still...
10754783
Not sure, to be honest. This has always been more of a "I have more things to write about after finishing the main story, so might as well keep going" sort of affair. So... until I run out of ideas or lose interest entirely, I guess.
Those Diamond Tiara chapters are always wholesome if a little sad, but it's a nice contrast and intermediate for this comedic fic.
Also strangely, while last chapter I was notified, this chapter I wasn't.
I don't really remember what the subject matter was, but I was smiling by the end of the chapter so I say you doing a fine job.
Glad to see that Diamond's life is slowly getting better.
No way. No way! You are telling me that great and hilarious story is continuing! Oh what a joy. This sure make my day. Thank you so much Banjo64. That story had always been a favorite of mine.
10839013
Found the Schlock Mercenary fan!
10839481
Never read it, and next time reply in the chapter the comment was made, otherwise I'd never had noticed it.
Defense