Diamonds Are Forever

by deadpansnarker

Chapter two: A Twist In the tale.

Darn it, I hope they’ve waited for me… Apple Bloom was like a filly possessed as she rushed from the now empty Ponyville Schoolhouse so fast her legs almost couldn’t keep up with her. Stupid chalkboard, why does it take so long to clean? Ah, there they are. I knew the girls wouldn’t leave me behind… well, I hoped not anyway.

“Ah, so the prisoner escapes…” A smirking Scootaloo greeted an exhausted Apple Bloom with an affirmative nod. “Sweetie Belle, she’s here! You can stop using my scooter wagon as your own personal bed now.”

*Yawn* “Sorry Scoots, I couldn’t help but almost nod off. You’ve made it so comfortable with the new padded seats and stuff, and Apple Bloom seemed to be in there forever. What did Miss Cheerilee make you do in there? Extra Spelling? Super-Hard Math? Writing a thousand lines on the big board ‘I Must Not Take Dirty Big Chomps Out Of My Teacher’s Apples'…”

“No, even worse. She made me wipe the stupid thing from top to bottom ‘til it were sparklin’ clean, and you know how long that can take when you need a stepladder for half the job. Plus, I couldn’t even tell her my side of the story ‘bout me being innocent, cos she was too engrossed in some slushy romance novel…’

All the fillies gave a disgusted eewwww, especially Scootaloo as such corny literature was practically anathema to her personality. “How can such a smart mare have such awful taste? It just goes to show; you can’t judge a book by its cover(!)”

If Sweetie Belle had caught Scootaloo’s (completely intentional) pun there, she must’ve tried strenuously to ignore it. “Wait a second. When was the last time you picked up a book, apart from to increase the size of the ramp when you’re doing those crazy scooter stunts? You even threw out that Fire Safety leaflet we were all given last month, because it was and I quote: ‘too boring’...”

Scootaloo predictably took umbrage to this outrageous accusation, but before she could respond in her usual agreeable manner Apple Bloom promptly shovelled herself between the two warring parties.

“Listen girls, you can iron out your differences later. Right now, we’ve got more important things to worry about; namely, what’s goin’ on with Diamond Tiara to make her act all totally different from before the weekend.”

“Huh, you’re worried about her? After what she put us through today? Sometimes Apple Bloom I swear, you’re too nice for your own good.” Scootaloo certainly didn’t share her friend’s concerns, and indicated her scooter’s poor condition as a reason. “It took me all the time you were in detention under lock and key to pump up my tyres again… and the back one still doesn’t feel right. You know what I think? Once a bully, always a bully. I’ll give her some credit for helping us get our Cutie Marks, but that’s it! As far as I’m concerned, she’s a lost cause!”

“Yeah, exactly! I never thought my lips would say these words, but Scootaloo is absolutely right!” Things seemed to have been truly patched up between Sweetie Belle and her pegasus friend, now they had a mutual subject on whom they could both rant. “Those song sheets in my desk took me all week to finish! It was gonna be the first song I wrote and composed all by myself; I didn’t even have any help from Rarity this time… and Diamond just comes along and ruins them! She can stay bad forever for all I care, and I think every other pony in class that she picked on and harassed today will totally agree with us!”

“I see what you’re both sayin’, and about an hour ago I would’ve been on your side one-thousand percent.” Apple Bloom nodded in recognition at her fellow Crusader’s dour faces, whilst trying to explain herself as best she could. “But, here’s the deal. I don’t think Diamond Tiara is that good an actress, to fake everythin’ about her life she told us that day, to cry in the middle of the town square the way she did and then to give her Mum both barrels in front of the entire school. Plus, didn’t you see her Cutie Mark light up after assistin' us build the new jungle gym she helped pay for? I think that meant she finally found her destiny, and I’ve never seen her lookin’ so happy. Why would she wanna mess all that up after only three days by returnin’ to her old self? I don’t know about you two, but somethin’ don’t add up here. D’ya see what I mean?”

“E-errrr… maybe?” Sweetie Belle had indeed seen Diamond Tiara’s flank symbol flash that very same day, which combined with Apple Bloom’s thorough explanation did give her momentary pause for thought.

“Hmph. I still say you’re being too optimistic, as per usual. The simplest reason behind her terrible behaviour today is: she’s just bad to the bone. And that’s the one I'm sticking with.” Unlike her unicorn companion, Scootaloo hadn’t seen Diamond’s hindquarters light up back then, so was significantly less inclined to believe there could be more to the story than the wealthy filly just jumping off the deep end again.

(Especially regarding some of the nastier things Diamond Tiara had said about her in particular in the past, relating to her inability to fly. Even now, months later, those mean comments still cut deep… and this current fraught situation just brought them all bubbling up to the surface again).

“I ain’t gonna force you to think there’s more to this than meets the eye Scoots, I just wish that there was some way I could prove…” Apple Bloom looked around in desperation, as if hoping the solution would present itself to her; and against all odds, she spotted somepony trying to creep away in the background that could hold the key to her suspicions. “Twist!! Come on girls, we have to speak to her!”

“Erm, why? I thought we might go back to my place to try on some of my sister’s latest designs instead…” Sweetie Belle was confident her solo idea was the best amongst what the others might’ve had planned for that late afternoon.

“Yeah, why do you want to waste time on that snitch, Apple Bloom? In case you’ve forgotten already, she’s the one that landed you in detention in the first place! But in any case, we’re definitely not doing that last thing you said there, Sweetie!!” Scootaloo also questioned the validity of the farm filly’s scheme, whilst making it absolutely clear she was no clothes-horse. Not now, or ever.

“True, but did you ever think of why she got me in trouble in the first place? There must be some purpose behind it, I don’t think she’d help Diamond to do somethin’ so rotten willingly.” Apple Bloom was more sure than ever that discussing this matter with Twist was essential in uncovering what was happening, especially when she witnessed the red-maned candymaker’s instant reaction to being spotted. “...Hey! What’s she gallopin’ away for?!”

“Hmm… this suddenly got more interesting.” Sweetie Belle mused, after seeing Twist run as if her very life depended on it. “I’ve not even seen her go that fast when the school bell rings.”

“Yeah, something is definitely up there…” Even a pony who wasn’t the best at reading social cues like Scootaloo could tell this wasn’t normal for the perpetually meek and mild filly. “Guess we could go check it out, seeing as we have nothing better to do…”

“That’s the spirit! Alright, let’s go talk to her then.” Apple Bloom wasted no more time in bounding after the sprinting Twist, ably followed by her two closest friends either side.

If the Crusaders were expecting a long chase though (along the same lines as their seemingly endless pursuit through Ponyville of Diamond Tiara from their clubhouse a few days earlier), they were about to be proven wrong. For one thing, no matter how desperate she was to get away, Twist was never the most athletic of ponies, so the determined trio were bound to catch up with her sooner or later…

…The former as it happened, because another trait Twist was notorious for was not looking where she was going.

BANG! That was the sound of an oak tree directly making contact with the red-maned filly’s muzzle, just as she turned back to see how far behind her relentless pursuers were. This had the unpleasant effect of laying her out for the count, as well as cracking both lenses in her oversized glasses as they slid off onto the grass.

“Twist! Are you okay?!” Their reasons for wanting to catch up with her forgotten for now, the CMC rushed to her aid to speak in unison, propping her up whilst trying to stem the steady flow of blood which had suddenly began emitting from her nose.

“D-Don’t wanna lossse our factory… M-My parentsss… T-They’ll n-never forgive me…”

The slightly slurred words came out thick and fast, but only for a moment until Twist fully lapsed into unconsciousness.

The Crusaders glanced at each other with panicky expressions.

Some of the mystery may have begun to unravel, but the price to obtain that information had been steep indeed to the health of their candymaker friend.

There was only one thing for them to say, or rather scream now.

“Help!!”

***********************

“How are you doing, darling? I do hope you’re looking after my body during my absence. It’ll just take a few more days until things are set right again. Until then, I suggest you relax. Look in the corner of the closet, next to your toilet bucket… I quite generously put some of your favourite colouring books and crayons there. Why don’t you amuse yourself with them, while Mummy takes care of business?”

“I don’t want to ‘colour’, I want to get out of here!! And I don’t just mean this stupid cupboard! I hate walking around in your ugly old grown-up body, with all the wrinkles, this screechy voice and this massive big nose! And if I ever see that dumb showmare again, I’ll… I’ll…”

“Trixie will be long gone by the time you get out of there, Diamond, I hear she’s going on tour for at least three months around the unexplored territories to the south, something about ‘her genius not being appreciated around here’. Good riddance, with any luck, she’ll never return; and this secret will remain just between the two of us forever. Nothing will stop the successful implementation of my brilliant plan, nothing!”

“I-In that case I’ll just tell Daddy instead, he’ll believe me!”

“Will he, though? You see, along with Trixie I’ve hired the services of an extremely respectable foal psychologist, who’s willing to swear blind that you’re a troubled filly with an overactive imagination who needs serious therapy… and when it comes down to it, who do you think Filthy is going to believe? You? Or a trained professional who’s whole job it is to write entire essays about how children your age behave? I know who I’d put my bits on. And I have plenty of those, as you well know.”

“W-Well my friends will help me then… Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle… dear Silver Spoon…”

“None of them will want to have anything to do with you, by the time I’m finished with them. Especially that last one, after what I said to her before class. Today was just a warm-up; when you return there next week, you’ll be the most despised student that school’s ever seen. Even more than before you decided to go against my express word, and tried to befriend those worthless malefactors. Ugh, I can barely even process the thought! Why must you disappoint your mother so, sweetheart?”

“Disappoint?! Coming from somepony who treated me like an accessory instead of a daughter for all these years, and has now switched her body with mine in an attempt to ruin my future just when it seemed to be getting better? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? D-Did you ever love me, Mother? Or was I always just a project to carry on your legacy after you…”

“I-I don’t have time to deal with this right now. I have lots to do downstairs, after I gave all the staff the week off so they didn’t interfere with our fun together. I’ll slide your dinner through the serving hatch later, and you better eat it this time. It’s nice to lose a bit of weight darling, just don’t overdo it. After all, without nutrition, how do you expect me to look forty years younger?”

“Come back here, Mother!! Y-You won’t get away with this…”

“I already am, My Diamond, I already am. Remember: Actions have consequences. Look on the positive side, at least you’re learning that lesson much sooner than I did.”

Author's Note:

Here's my second chapter to this. I would've written it sooner, but I had a few other fics to catch up on. So anyway, here it is.

This may not get the views some of my other stories do, so I think of it more of a 'labour of love' instead of something written to grab attention. Beside, it's good for once to have a definite beginning, middle and end to a fic mapped out in advance.

See you all soon for the next gripping instalment!

Comments

[Bronycommander]

nicely done!

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Wonder what sort of leverage "Diamond" has over Twist?

[Cheerilee28]

BANG! That was the sound of an oak tree directly making contact with the red-maned filly’s muzzle, just as she turned back to see how far behind her relentless pursuers were. This had the unpleasant effect of laying her out for the count, as well as cracking both lenses in her oversized glasses as they slid off onto the grass.

Ouch! Snitches DO get stitches after all.

[deadpansnarker]

11750020
Glad you approve.

11750257
Well, you may just find out soon enough! (Incidentally, do you use 'these' punctuation marks to emphasise a word, or "these"? I always thought "" was just used for speech...)

11750735
I'm not qualified to answer that question. Maybe give Nurse Redheart a call?

[Bronycommander]

11750869
youre welcome