The Mare In the Mirror
Diamond Tiara ran. She wasn't sure how all this had started. She just fled down the street as though all the forces of Hell were after her. Or at least, a vengeful white unicorn filly with a scowl on her face.
"You hurt my friends!"
This was no good. The street dead-ended ahead. The only way she could get back was past Sweetie Belle, and Sweetie Belle wasn't alone.
"I warned you!" Sweetie Belle continued, advancing towards Diamond. "Now it's your turn to pay!"
From another direction, Scootaloo came at her with a bloody muzzle and a fierce look in her eyes, her feathers all in disarray. Standing right between them was Apple Bloom, looking larger than life, anger written across her face.
"What did I do?" Diamond panicked, looking one direction and then another for some way out of this. "I didn't mean-"
A blast of sickly green light coming from Sweetie Belle's horn hit her. A strange feeling washed over her, and her legs stiffened and locked in place. She tried to force herself to run, but Diamond's legs wouldn't obey her.
Everything around her seemed to be growing larger and larger. Looking like a giant, Apple Bloom walked over and scooped her off the ground. Holding Diamond up to her face, she started to laugh.
"Now you will pay for everything you've done!" Apple Bloom declared. "Now I am the true princess here, and you are nothing!"
With that, Apple Bloom placed Diamond squarely on top of her head. What did Sweetie Belle do? What's happened to me?
A green mist in front of her suddenly solidified into an ornate full-length mirror. Reflected in it, she saw Apple Bloom, posing with her mane tossed back. Sitting on her mane was a tiara. It wasn’t just any tiara. It was her tiara. Only her tiara didn’t normally have a pair of wide eyes in the center staring back at her.
She blinked, and they blinked back. Her eyes widened, and she would have screamed, if she still had a mouth to do it with. She'd always loved her tiara, but that didn't mean she wanted to be her tiara.
"You always were nothin' but decorative, y'know," Apple Bloom said, looking at her in the mirror. "Now you can be decorative without bein' such a big, stinkin' bully."
Apple Bloom admired herself for a few moments in the mirror, adjusting her mane, until a stallion stepped in front of it, looking straight at Diamond. It was her father, and he didn't seem amused.
"Diamond Tiara, you're pathetic," he said, scowling. "You're a good-for-nothing brat, and you always have been. Didn't you wonder why I wasn't at your cute-ceañera? Or your last birthday party?"
Diamond tried to say something in reply, but couldn't move. He was just busy! He didn't have time to go, that's all.
"I didn't have time for someone as worthless as you," he continued. "I've never loved you. All you were ever good for was being my heir. And now you aren't even good for that."
Filthy Rich yanked her off of Apple Bloom's head.
"All you are now is nothing but a gaudy piece of junk."
Getting a firm grip on her diamond-studded base, he threw her right at the hard cobblestone road below. She let out a high-pitched scream and prepared for impact…
*
*
*
And tumbled off her cushion to the wooden floor of the clubhouse.
Diamond Tiara blinked, and the world came into focus. A quick check proved that she had the usual assortment of limbs, and did not appear to be an inanimate object, which was a bit of a relief. She experimentally moved one leg, and then another, and other than feeling a little prickly, they seemed fine.
Dim light filtered through the window, but it was still pretty dark. Loud snoring came from the other side of the room. Funny, given that she’d screamed, but maybe she’d just dreamt that. She walked over.
Scootaloo looked like she was okay, at least, and not all messed up like in her dream. Not that she'd really been worried. While she didn't really think Sweetie Belle could turn her into a tiara, there was that threat she'd made the other day.
The area did smell all garlicky, which was no surprise, given that teriyaki bowl from last night. Scootaloo’s mane was rumpled up and sticking in all directions, and her feathers were ruffled enough that Diamond could see that bare patch she’d taken such care to cover up earlier.
What was that about, anyway? Had she hurt herself falling off her scooter or something?
Maybe she had made too much noise after all, because Scootaloo's snores stopped with a snort, and she opened one eye, then sprang to life and jumped off her cushion.
"Huh? What? Must've fallen asleep here accident-" Scootaloo said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Oh. Diamond."
"Do you always start the day by claiming you don't know what you're doing here?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"It's not like I'm used to somepony else being here when I wake up, especially you," Scootaloo said, blinking repeatedly and yawning. "What were you doing standing right next to me when I woke up, anyways?"
Well, she could hardly tell Scootaloo she'd had a nightmare. She'd better change the subject.
"What exactly is with all those big bald spots?" Diamond asked bluntly. "I noticed them the other day when you were messing with your wings."
"Messing with my wings?" Scootaloo repeated, a blank expression on her face. "You mean when I was preening?"
Now it was Diamond's turn, as she hadn't a clue what Scootaloo meant. "Preening? This have something to do with that molten thing Sweetie Belle was talking about?"
Scootaloo sighed. "You don't know a thing about pegasi, do you?"
Typical. Scootaloo wasn't up a minute, and was already insulting her. How much was there to know?
"Sure I know about pegasuses! Er, they have wings, they come from Cloudsdale, and they can fly." She looked at Scootaloo's wings again. "Usually."
"That's all you know? There are lots of pegasus cities besides Cloudsdale, and that barely covers things."
Scootaloo sat down on her cushion. "Look, when you have wings, you hafta take care of your feathers, an' that's called preening. If you don't do it, they stick out any which way, get all itchy, and you can't fly as well. And you can't zoom around on a scooter as well, either."
"And preening's just shuffling around your feathers?" Diamond was actually starting to get a bit curious.
"Not really. You hafta remove damaged ones, move the others around to the right places, and make sure they get some oil on them, spread out just right. It's kinda tricky, especially if you're trying to teach yourself from books an' watchin' other ponies."
"Wait, oil them? I didn't see you using any oil."
At this, Scootaloo grinned for the first time this morning. "Don't need any. There's this thingy in the back of a pegasus's throat that can create oil. Everything tasted kinda oily while I was figuring it out, but now I can oil my feathers just fine, an' even spit oil if I wanna. Though if I do, I might not have enough for preening."
Diamond Tiara wrinkled her nose. "That's gross!"
"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do."
Diamond didn't even want to think about the whole oil thing. "So those bald spots were all broken feathers? They’re huge. And what was that thing Sweetie Belle'd been talking about?"
"Molting? Pegasus feathers gradually fall out and grow back. It's not all at once. It seems like different feathers molt at different times. I'm still waiting for those to grow back in, and it's been a while, so they should start soon. I hope."
"If you pull out broken feathers, how did you have that many break? And it looked like you'd been cut there or something."
This earned her a frown. "Bad things don't just happen to you, alright?"
"Bad things?"
"It's not like I'm living on my own 'cause I thought it'd be a fun idea. Can we drop it? We need to get ready to go meet Sweetie Belle."
"Wait, weren't we heading over to see Apple Bloom?" She still was worried about how that'd go, even more so after that dream.
Scootaloo looked at her in a way that was all too familiar by now. "Apple Bloom's not gonna be back 'til around lunchtime. We'll meet Sweetie Belle over at the Carousel Boutique and get some breakfast first."
Oh. She imagined that made some sense. But...
"I thought Sweetie Belle was at her parents?"
"Yeah, but she wanted to go stop by her sister’s place first for some reason. Beats me."
Whatever. Insights into the life and times of Sweetie Belle weren't high on her list of priorities, which now suddenly included food, shelter, and a place to sleep. The only reason she wanted to know more about Scootaloo was because she had to live with her now.
It wasn't like Scootaloo was a friend of hers, after all. Maybe... maybe she was an acquaintance. That was what you called other ponies that weren't quite your friends but you were getting to know, wasn't it? Not a friend, though. She wasn't ready to replace Silvy yet.
She brushed part of her mane out of her eyes and frowned. She couldn't really get cleaned up properly this morning. She really shouldn't have given that mirror and comb back to Sweetie Belle. Diamond moved around until she could mostly see her reflection in the window and tried to straighten out her mane as best as she was able, while Scootaloo appeared to be giving a full on demonstration of preening technique. Her feathers were sort of glistening after she moved her mouth over them, weren't they? That was so icky.
Taking her eyes away from the spectacle Scootaloo was making of herself, Diamond rummaged through that wad of clothing she'd so carelessly thrown into the clubhouse a few nights ago, only to discover masses of wrinkles on everything.
This, of course, should have been expected, but normally anything she carelessly tossed aside, she'd find neatly folded and pressed later. She really missed Greywithers right now. Even if she had an iron, she'd hardly know how to get them out. It was better to wear nothing at all, unfortunately.
She pulled her saddlebags on, and once Scootaloo had finished doing unmentionable things to her feathers, the two of them set off.
The Carousel Boutique had always been the high point of Ponyville fashion, and you could tell before even walking in the door. Of course, Diamond rarely actually got clothes from there herself.
What was the point of being fashionable if you were going to be wearing the same things everypony else in Ponyville who was with it wore, after all? She got things sent from Manehattan or Canterlot or Prance, custom designed for her. She couldn't just wear a sweater. It had to be a Polomare original. The name was practically as important as the clothes themselves.
Well, she couldn't be that picky any more. Custom dresses from Rarity's would have to do, if she could even afford those. Maybe she could pay somepony to iron the ones she had? But that'd seem strange, too, and she couldn't be too conspicuous.
She'd get by, of course. Barely anypony wore clothes in Ponyville, anyway, except special occasions, and she could probably find ways around that. It was difficult, though. She was supposed to be the center of attention anywhere she went, not hiding away someplace.
Lost in thought, Diamond automatically followed Scootaloo as she went into the boutique, not paying attention to anything around her. She heard Rarity get about as far as saying "Good morning, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle will be-" before something big and furry landed straight on top of Diamond’s head.
"Mwowwrr!"
All she could see was a pair of white furry arms dangling in front of her, claws out and ready for attack. She reacted with all the poise and confidence she felt could be expected of her in a situation like this.
"Aaaaugggh! Get it off me! Get it off me!"
Diamond Tiara ran back and forth and shaking her head, trying to get the white furry monster that seemed to be clinging on to her head for dear life off. Claws raked past her eyes as she continued to panic.
Suddenly, there was a blue glow at the edge of her vision. The weight on her head suddenly vanished as a pudgy white cat floated into view and was levitated over to Rarity.
"Oh, Opal-wopal, are you lonely? Did you want some attention?" Rarity cooed at the cat, as it gazed at Diamond, frowning with narrowed yellowish-green eyes. "That was very naughty of you. Why don't you apologize for scaring-" Rarity looked in her direction for a moment. "Miss Tiara half to death?"
The cat responded by hissing and swiping a paw in Diamond’s direction as she was lowered to the ground. She skulked off to a pillow in the corner, where she made a big show of walking in a circle on it several times before curling up, one eye open a crack, staring malevolently at Diamond Tiara.
"Don't mind her," Rarity said, "she's just a little out of sorts and feeling a bit moody right now."
"Is she ever not feeling moody?" Sweetie Belle said, entering the room. "Now where is it?"
Sweetie Belle looked back and forth around the room intently, before lighting on the top shelf of a bookcase, where several spools of ribbon were. "Aha! Found it."
She looked hesitantly at the shelf, then at a stool nearby. "This looks familiar... Um, Rarity, can you get that ribbon down for me? The pink one?"
"Not now, Sweetie Belle, we have guests."
"They're my guests, though. Remember what happened last time I tried to get something from that shelf?"
Rarity gave a dramatic sigh as the ribbon glowed blue and floated down to Sweetie Belle's waiting hooves. "Oh, very well."
Then she turned to Scootaloo, who'd been watching the goings on with obvious amusement, and Diamond Tiara, who was still standing there panting.
"Now Scootaloo, I'm sure you and Sweetie Belle had something planned. Don't let me stop you," she said, dismissing her with a wave.
Rarity then focused in on Diamond Tiara, and her condition finally registered. "Oh dear, this won't do at all. Opal has made a total mess of your mane."
She paused for a moment, looking at her closer. "Wait! Your tiara! Did Opal knock it off? Is it missing? We simply must find it!"
Rarity started frantically searching around the boutique, looking on shelves and under tables, and even turning Opal's basket upside-down.
"Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, help me find Miss Tiara's tiara, will you?"
Losing her tiara was a great excuse, but what would she do when Rarity couldn't find it? And Diamond was sure Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle would eventually say something anyways, rather than pretending to search. She cleared her throat.
"Don't worry, I wasn't wearing my tiara. Tiaras are totally last week. I decided it was time for a new look." She tossed her mane back, or tried to. Given that it was still sticking in all directions, it didn't have quite the effect she wanted, but it still got Rarity's attention, causing her to put down the potted plant she'd lifted up and come back over. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sighed.
Rarity's eyes lit up as she approached. "Of course. Say no more! That explains everything. I didn't want to say something, as I'd assumed it was some sort of family heirloom or something, but the style on your tiara was quite out of fashion. Something more simple and elegant was called for, having style and taste, yet not flaunting your wealth."
She walked around Diamond, examining her from all angles as Diamond stood there uncomfortably.
Her tiara had been out of style? It helped that Rarity thought that, but it also kind of hurt. She'd always thought it was beautiful, elegant, and glamorous, just like her. Gaudy and in bad taste weren't traits she'd ever associated with her tiara. Taking down measurements, Rarity didn't seem to notice her mood.
"Your mane style is geared towards having something hold it down, so that will have to change." Rarity herded her in front of a full length mirror, all too similar to the one in her dream. "Now let me see. How about this?"
Swaths of fabric, brushes, and haircare products descended on her, and a fury of activity engulfed Diamond. When she looked back at the mirror, she was wearing a traditional bluish-black kimono with a red rose design on it, a red sash, and her mane was in a bun with a pair of ivory sticks holding it in place.
Rarity clicked her tongue as she examined Diamond. "No, no, too formal."
Before Diamond could say anything, a swirl of activity wrapped around her again. This time, when she looked up, she was in an almost transparent white summer dress with a floppy white hat on and flip-flops.
Aside from the flip flops, it might not have been bad, but Rarity was already shaking her head.
"Too casual."
Suddenly, Diamond found herself in a frilly black shirt with long baggy sleeves. A black pair of pseudo-leather pants covered her back legs, with a hole for her tail. Somehow a black collar covered in spikes found its way around not only her neck, but all four fetlocks. At least there wasn't a leash. She did have the cutest little pair of clip-on silver skull earrings on, though.
"Way too urban."
On an impulse, she flicked the earrings off her ears towards her saddlebags as Rarity began removing her clothing once again. Before long, she was dressed in a blue and white sailor suit with a red tie. This time, her mane had been separated into pigtails, each held in place by some sort of large white ball.
Maybe Rarity likes playing dressup with ponies, and the whole dressmaking thing was just a scheme to get them to go along with it? Hearing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo snickering in the corner didn't help matters.
"Too cutesy."
There was a blue magic glow all around her again, as she was changed into yet another outfit. Was being around too much magic bad for you?
This time, she was in a royal blue dress with silver accents. Her mane seemed to be pulled back in a ponytail, though not braided like Silvy's was. There was even some sort of silver hairclip holding it in place.
Before she could voice her approval, Rarity was nodding. "Perfect. Of course, I'll need to make some adjustments."
She whisked the dress off of Diamond, leaving her mane as it was.
"Come back later today, and I'll make the final adjustments. Shall I put this on the Rich family tab?"
Oh, right, money.
"I'm afraid I don't-" she said, and then her brain caught up with her, and she smiled a wicked smile for a moment. "Actually, yes, bill it to daddy's account. Maybe you could add a matching blouse and sweater, a brush and comb, a handheld mirror, and whatever you used to keep my mane in place, too?"
Rarity's smile didn't flicker. "Very well. I can have the hair accessories ready for you in a moment."
She levitated several items and wrapped them together in a bundle, which tucked itself in her saddlebag. Sometimes it seemed like unicorns just liked to show off their magic. Rarity could have easily done all that by hoof.
A moment later, Rarity had Sweetie Belle tugging at her foreleg, though. She must have just been waiting for her to finish with Diamond.
"Rarity? Me and Scootaloo were going to go down to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast. Can I have some money to buy breakfast?"
"Well-"
"Please? I'll even take her." Sweetie Belle pointed at Diamond.
"I don't know-"
"Of course, I could just make them all breakfast here." She gestured at the kitchen. For some reason, Rarity's eyes widened, and she levitated a small bag of coins to Sweetie Belle.
"Fine."
Sweetie Belle looked through the bag. "You know, I'm probably going to be taking the crusaders out to lunch today, too. Apple Bloom's finally going to be back."
"Haven't your parents given you your allowance?" Rarity burst out.
Sweetie Belle looked down. "You know how they are."
Rarity sighed and levitated over more bits. "I shall go over and remind them myself. Once I'm done with my work, that is."
"Thanks, Rarity!"
Sweetie Belle hugged her, then sped out the door, pulling Scootaloo and Diamond with her. Rarity shook her head and started straightening back up the boutique again.
In a few minutes, Sweetie Belle slowed down and let the two of them go.
"Sorry, but if we'd stayed longer, my sister might have come up with more dresses for us to wear."
"For me to wear, you mean?" Diamond said.
"For any of us to wear! What was that deal with putting the dresses on your father’s tab, though? Won't he notice?"
"That's the least he owes me! Besides, aside from Barnyard Bargains, Grey handles the finances." Diamond frowned for a moment. "Still, I probably shouldn't do that too often."
"What if you just bought a house and put it on his tab?" Scootaloo said, wings buzzing. After a moment, they slowed. "Nah, they wouldn't sell it without at least checking with him."
"I might get away with a hotel room. He'd notice after a few days, though. Or the hotel ponies'd start asking questions."
Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah. Still, there ought to be something we could do with it."
"Isn't that kinda stealing, though?" Sweetie Belle said.
Diamond's thoughts went to the two earrings she'd grabbed earlier.
"He kinda should be paying for all Diamond's stuff anyways, so not really," Scootaloo said. "An' it was Rarity's idea."
"So, are we actually going to Sugarcube Corner, or was that just to get away from Rarity?" Diamond asked, wanting to get the subject away from stealing. "Why were you there, anyways?"
"Apple Bloom's going to be back today," Sweetie Belle replied, "and I remembered that her ribbon tore when she got hurt, so I thought I'd replace it."
"Doesn't she have more than the one ribbon?" Diamond Tiara asked, surprised.
"Well, I always see her wearing it, so I figured it was the same one. Kinda like Applejack's hat, you know?"
"We're at Sugarcube Corner," Scootaloo pointed out. "Why don't we continue this over some breakfast?"
Diamond had to agree with her on that front. It'd already been a pretty weird morning. She wanted a nice, sensible breakfast before she even thought about talking to Apple Bloom.
"Yeah, let's do that," she said, and they entered Sugarcube Corner.
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4141680
Oh, and have an update. :P
--arcum42
4141724 img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121126124207/mlp/images/8/80/Silver_Spoon_and_Diamond_Tiara_smiling_S3E4.png
Aww, yeah. That's what I'm talking 'bout!
EDIT:
You hurt us you know. You hurt us deeply.
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140224215651/mlp/images/6/6e/Diamond_Tiara_and_Silver_Spoon_dejected_S4E15.png
Going to read now. But I'll be pouting the whole time. Just so you know.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/6/30/360480__safe_animated_scootaloo_sweetie+belle_apple+bloom_hub+logo_cutie+mark+crusaders_gif_one+bad+apple_movie.gif
I can't even. Describe. These feels.
Unfortunately... I couldn't pout for very long. Scoots was too adorable and the reaction from Diamond to the way she preens was cute. I hope we get at least some side story or bonus chapter someday that tells her story from this. Or something.
Great chapter. Once again, it was okay not to jump into the fryer with Apple Bloom. Still, if they go on a journey to save Equestria next chapter, be sure to show Apple Bloom feeling extremely bored and alone at the farm wondering why nopony has visited her since she got out! :D
4141830
The awful thing is that if you think about it, we saw her cute-ceañera, and we didn't see him there. And while how everyone acted and what they said doesn't necessarily reflect reality, it does reflect Diamond's subconscious. Some part of her does think that, and probably has for a while.
I love bouncing Scoots and Diamond off of each other. Put the two of them in a room, have Scoots act crude and Diamond act prissy, and things write themselves. It's a lot of fun. Oh, and Elric told me Scoots ability to spit oil felt like it should be some sort of superpower.
I'm mostly planning on working in what I can of Scootaloo's backstory directly in the fanfic gradually. Though if I revisit the universe after the fic ends, a Scootaloo side story might be fun.
Glad you liked the chapter. And think of it this way. Apple Bloom isn't even at Sweet Apple Acres yet. It's breakfast time, and she won't be back until around noon. So there's still time. It's just that Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres are probably going to be long enough that it would have doubled the length of the chapter...
--arcum42
it was an accident but she still did somethng very bad, she needed punishment. But being disowned is just too much/harsh. ESPECIALLY the fact the reason why he disowns her make it worse. It sounded like he didn't care wether or not Applebloom got hurt, he only cares cause it HURTS his business.
DT may be a snot bully but her dad here is just a big jerk
PS: hope to see you update this regularly soon, i wanna know what happens .. but i kinda got something in mind what would happen
4141857
I KNOW! And that's what makes the FEELS all JUMBLED and... and...
If only more people opened up their minds to allowd more of that mentality to flow through them. Those two are pretty fun to read about too.
Elric knows whats up! I totally see Scoot's as a potential Uchiha spitting up fireballs and stuff.
Geez, I wonder if its flammable? Neat way to start a fire during those cold winter nights!
I would be down for some Cubic Zirconia: 'Tattered Wings" or something prequel that's like a sequel. If somehow you don't end up able to tell her full story in this. But I still hope this story is far far from over! I like it too much for it to end just after doing a few things with AB! xD
(Not that I would ever imagine this would ever end there!)
God, it's bad when you get to a point you're like so used to people who do 2-4k chapters speed up time, skip ahead, and you end up getting ansty expecting it to happen with other stories that tease with smaller chapters actually using up most of the day in their fic rather then skipping to the 'good' parts.
I'm pretty glad to read a story that really is trying to use up the time to build the characters. Though I would of liked a longer scene in the chapter with Mr. Breezie's store. Believe me, if all your chapters magically doubled in size, I'd be happily swimming through all the text doing backstrokes and the dead mare float. But I get it, consistency and not wanting to overshoot. /sadface
Still, I know I always seem to want more. But good stories always excite me. Loved the intro btw. Seriously awesome. First line of DT being chased had me exclaim "Diamond, WHAT DID YOU DO NOW?" loved it.
I gotta say, it's good to see people really put in the extra effort to pace themselves with Diamond Tiara stories. It's so nice to read ones that don't skim over too much of the building process of making such an immersive story characterizations that's not stripping her or others of their personalities away at the drop of a hat, or events that occur which make her feel like somepony else. Now all I need this week is my fix of Diamond Tiara Goes to Boot Camp and I'll be a happy camper!
Course, there is still Discord's Most Faithful Student, which for some reason despite being on my favs never shows on my feed... I still owe that story a lot of praise in comment form for being so entertaining.
Anywho, I'm rambling. I swear this pink filly and you authors who bother to make such fun interpretations and put her through all these crazy things have ruined me for other fics. She's too awesome. And like you said, put her with somepony else like Scoots and stuff just writes itself.
GAWD. I wish we had group notifications back...
OH, hey, if you or someone can go check out this new story with Diamond Tiara as a Guardian to Everfree, it would be awesome. Totally nominating that for Twilight Library material. Needs so much more love than its getting. I'm still not fully sure how and who is able, but it has some great world building and DT is still DT. Few, but not problematic, bits one can nitpick over, but highly recommended if you love mythology and monsters.
Great stuff. Even has a sort of inversed Attack on Titan style bit you can catch in the second chapter. He's a new writer too, I'm pretty impressed to say the least!
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/177313/secrets-of-the-everfree
4141989 I know, right? It's such torture to think she probably had to raise herself or that the butler himself is practically her father than her actual father. Makes it all the more cleat why somepony like her is always practically tied to the hips with Silver Spoon. It's just horrible, and I wouldn't wish this stuff on anyone.
I'm still pondering all the different ways Apple Bloom would react to seeing Diamond. And with her two best friends no less!
But aside from all that, we haven't even touched upon the School thing yet. I only wish we had more frequent updates. There is so much to get to and only so many words released at a time. It's torture.
Let's see what happens next I guess.
Wait till they see that closet at the Apple's house...
Too long? Madness! This is too short!
4141989
Believe me, that's exactly how it was supposed to sound. And being disowned was never intended to be a fair punishment.
4142231
She did used to have her mother there, but yeah, this is one of these times where her bullying is really more of a signal that things aren't right at home...
And, well, addressing the school situation has to happen after Apple Bloom.
4142588
Sweetie Belle getting the ribbon was already in here when the whole closet thing happened, and I decided to just twist it around a little rather than removing it.
4142887
Eh, a lot happened here. The dream sequence, the discussion with scootaloo about preening, and rarity and whole dressup scene. I'd imagine Sugarcube Corner, the Apple Bloom scene, and all the transition will end up a similar length...
4142221
The funny thing about that dream sequence is I originally wrote it late at night when I was almost asleep and just trying to stay up long enough to get it down. I knew I wasn't writing it well, but I was trying to get the general outline down.
Then I mostly rewrote it afterwards, but I think that helped it feel more like a dream.
Oil usually is flammable, so that's quite possible. This is one of these things I think Scoots ended up knowing how to do because she didn't have anyone there to teach her how to preen properly.
And believe me, I'm not planning on ending this aany time soon. Not only haven't I properly introduced Apple Blloom, there's still a major character that has to be introduced! They've been mentioned once so far, and not by name. Which is good, given how many times I've gone back and forth on names for them.
If I start doing time jumps, it probably means things are going well for Diamond. And you know how often that happens. Actually, I will have to do some eventually, mainly to get into the next section of story at that point.
I agree about the characterizations. I do really find myself wanting to read more homeless!Diamond Tiara fanfiics, or at least ones that take her wway out of her comfort zone.
I did stick that fanfic in my read later list. We'll see how it goes.
--arcum42
Oh, well, okay....Pegasi can spit oil....that's.....nice?
This chapter was pretty cool. And Filthy Rich probably will get mad, but won't confront her, mostl likely.
I just hope something awesome happens to Diamond, like winning the lottery or something, so she can rub it in her dad's face since he can't take any of the money from her
4143141
...Okay, NOW you HAVE to do a scene where RD and Scoots discover how to spit flames.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Flamethrower Specialists, YAY!"
Spike be so jelly.
4143367
It seemed appropriate, and not just because the chapter had a lot of mirrors in it. The song lyrics tend to fit in with the story as well.
Pegasi in general can generate oil in their mouth (in this particular universe). Most don't just spit it, though. That is Scoots.
If Filthy Rich is being a responsible businessman, checking over his finances carefully, and looking for expenses that he didn't approve, he could very well notice. If he's as good a businessman as a father...
Diamond doesn't seem to have very good luck with awesome things happening to her...
4144534
Sounds like something Scoots could do at the next talent show.
--arcum42
4147676
Well, I haven't planned anything that would prevent her from being in the next chapter, but there's one sequence that I'm not totally sure of yet, so anything could happen. At least she got a cameo in the dream sequence...
--arcum42
Still a wonderful chapter nonetheless and I hope DT doesn't get carried away about using 'tabs'. Because it an only go downhill from there. But if it gets rejected ALL of the Mane 6 might learn about her disownment.
I wonder if anyone has ever tried to collect and sell pegasus oil. Maybe if ponies burn it, it would create some unusual effect, like magic smoke, or flame in a color relevant to the pony it came from. Rainbow's oil might make prismatic fire. Or maybe rubbing it on objects makes them float in the air, or at least enchants them so they don't fall through clouds, which would usually really only be useful to pegasi themselves, of course.
Rarity really does seem to enjoy dressing ponies up. I wonder how many outfits she has that she never even expects to sell, and just likes cramming ponies into whenever she has the chance. And imagine what she'd be like as a mother. Her foal would have a different outfit every single day for the first ten years of its life.
So, what would Filthy do if he does notice Diamond charging things in his name? He probably doesn't really want to go around publicly declaring that he disowned his daughter, so telling ponies not to sell her things on his credit would be tricky, and he can't really refuse to pay. Is he gonna send the butler out to confiscate the stuff she bought?
When Bloom sees Diamond walk into the room with the other CMC, she's probably gonna say, "Aww, that's sweet of you girls to catch Diamond and bring her here for some payback, but you do realize I was only joking about boiling her in oil, right?"
Also, I always find it amusing reading things like that ribbon bit, referencing events that haven't happened yet in the story's timeline. It always seems like it must be awkward writing a long-running story that often gets unavoidably less consistent with canon events that crop up later. Oh, and Opal pouncing on Diamond was funny. I guess not all cats like her.
4155774
My personal take would be that pegasus oil is rather difficult to come by, simply because they don't generate much extra oil beyond what is necessary to preen, and it's also somewhat embarrassing to them. That's also why most of them don't know how to spit oil.
Scootaloo, on the other hand, has no shame. A lot of this is because she's ignorant on the subject. She doesn't really know much about being a pegasus and has had to figure out a lot of it on her own. She's read books, but they generally omitted things that any pegasus would normally learn from their family at an early age.
Sure, she's knowledgeable compared to Diamond, but it's all based on her own experience and books.
Of course, this means Scootaloo could probably get a fair amount selling her own oil and using, say, canola oil or something. They'd probably want parental approval, though.
It being involved in making something the size and weight of a pony capable of flight would be interesting, though.
Oh, and be very glad I put the gland in the back of her throat. There were a lot more awkward places I could have put it...
And yes, Diamond's thought about Rarity playing dressup was something I've thought before myself as well. I'm poor Sweetie Belle's been subject to a lot of that as Rarity's younger sister. She probably puts up with it to a certain extent just for the attention, too.
As far as what Filthy could do, he doesn't really have to reveal what he did. All he has to do is spread word around that Diamond's not allowed to charge things to his tab any more because she's been abusing it or because she's grounded, really. It's actually a fairly reasonable punishment for a parent to give, and would have been a lot better one for him to have used, actually.
Well, that would assume she was joking, wouldn't it?
Actually, the ribbon's a good example, because I already had the bit with Sweetie Belle picking up the ribbon planned when that episode aired. I just decided "Well, if I didn't know Apple Bloom has lots of ribbons, I doubt Sweetie Belle would either, at least at this point.".
I doubt I'm even going to try to explain the fact that Diamond has a different butler then in canon. Greywithers is a much better butler, anyways.
Believe me, there are some cats that don't like anyone, and, Fluttershy aside, I see Opal as one of them. Also, she probably sees Sweetie Belle and Diamond as something like big mice, hers to torment. Scootaloo, obviously, would be a bird. I have to assume that the only reason she didn't pounce on Scoots is that she's tried it in the past and learned not to. Or maybe she was trying for Scoots and got Diamond instead. ^_^
--arcum42
Can I put this in my group, Villainous Redemption?
4157277
Sure, feel free...
--arcum42
4157354 Many thanks
for the love of faust update alreaaaady~
ehehehe. sorry its just been so long hope nothing serious happened ..and wish you luck with whatever that's keeping you busy 
again sorry o3o
4173198
That happened offscreen.
4186073
9-10 days is a long time?
--arcum42
4186084 maybe abit, sorry again if i sound rushing. I'll wait for it. Well i can't blame you. Some people took way longer than 2-3 weeks
4186096
I've got a fulltime job, and don't tend to get much writing done during the week, and I don't always find time during the weekend. And I've got another fanfic that hasn't been updated in a lot longer, so getting a chapter out of that's my next priority. Though I doubt I'll wait too long before starting this next chapter. I have a pretty good idea of how most of it will go.
Take a look at the time between chapters to get an idea of how long updating typically takes, though. Of course, it has been longer then usual the last few months, but I've had a lot going on.
--arcum42.
4186115 yeah.. i see. well sorry again man.. good luck seriously with that
Sweetie's cooking. The ultimate threat.
Anyway, I've got to admit, this chapter really made me itch to know what the heck Scoots' story is. Also wondering if her wing damage is what makes it so she can't fly.
'Tis a nice reminder that the story isn't just about DT. Hopefully we'll be able to get to learn a bit more about Scoots too.
This is going to sound weird, but I actually kind of liked the detail about how pegasi preen, and the oil-spitting and stuff. I'm a sucker for that sort of lore exposition. The differences between the tribes being detailed always gets me paying attention.
As for DT, that little bit of revenge with putting it on Filthy's account is sooooo sweet. Even if Filthy decided to make a fuss over it, how could he actually take it back without revealing is crime?
4239256
Well, pet birds are usually prevented from flying by clipping their wings, or cutting thie primary feathers. The amount of damaged and regrowing feathers she has could easily be enough to prevent flight.
Believe me, I've been keeping in mind how to dribble out infomaton about Scooaloo. The main prohibiting factor is Scootaloo not wanting to talk about it, and now Diamond's getting a bit closer to her.
Of course, another factor is that Scoots is not really that knowledgable about things specific to pegasi in general. She's had to read up on it and experiment, essentially, since she has no family to show her.
I like the world building on differences between tribes too, really. The oil spitting was fun to throw in.
As for Filthy, the best he could probably do is claim that he didn't give her permission to charge his account, and that she's grounded and shouldn't be alowed to use it in the future. If he notices, that is. ^_^
--arcum42
4173198
4247003
Given that she was sitting in a hospital bed discussing ways to kill Diamond Tiara with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, including dunking her in boiling oil, that does, in fact, seem likely.
--arcum42
4273390
When would it have been mentioned? I don't really see Scoots having told Diamond about it any time between when it happened and then.
And Diamond doesn't want help at the expense of what's left of her pride. She'd at least like everyone to still think she's on the top of the ladder, and the richest, most important filly in school. She really does not want pity...
--arcum42
welp its almost a month now. lol still busy man? hope you take care of it soon and stuff. Seriously DT.. good luck..
Give in to the Dark Side, Diamond Tiara! It is your destin- Oh wait. Earth pony. Nobody cares about you.
I do hope AJ learns that Rich's solution was disowning his daughter. Given how much she values family, I think his solution might actually make things worse for him.
4307149
Thinking about it, I think I've had more earth ponies on screen then unicorns and pegasai combined. Odd how that goes...
I'm sure relations between AJ and Mr. Rich would get much worse if she knew what happened.
--arcum42
This story is 100% Diamond Cutters Approved!
oi58.tinypic.com/bgvbkg.jpg
Needs more glitter. But, yeah. I think I'd commit a banable offense by not awarding this story a badge of honor!
4339043
Thanks! Wish I could say I was done with the next chapter, but at least I'm 3k into it...
--arcum42
Hmm. OK, after reading through, the thing which is striking me the most is not so much the premise in the initial chapter - suspension of disbelief can cover a what-if starting point, even a somewhat unexpected one - but that Diamond, a fairly young pony, seems to be treating the total destruction of her lifestyle, fortune, future, and family connections as a minor inconvenience (or series thereof).
It might be postulated that, as the daughter of wealth, she had been trained from an early age to keep a cool, logical head and simply Deal With whatever life threw at her, but her ignorance of consequences and inability to read other ponies seems to argue against this. Apart from a few crying jags, though, she seems to be reacting to the rug being pulled out from under her life as if she were more a world-weary thirty-something than a coddled, pampered child tossed out on the street. Is she simply in delayed shock? She seems to be very lucid about her situation not being temporary, though...
It looks like the story's being set up so that DT is going to be filling in for Apple Bloom on the farm, getting a first-hand experience of Real Work (tm) while AB heals (presumably in exchange for board and lodging).
4239256 He could presumably take it back by denying the transaction - assuming he catches it in time, though. Rarity would be out the money and may request the items back from DT - although it would make more logical sense for her to request them back from Filthy first, given that she assumes Diamond is still part of his family. In which case, Filthy may well simply tell her that Diamond has been disowned - there's nothing so far which really seems to indicate that he wants to hide the fact.
Of course, then we get into the whole 'Her own father did WHAT?' story space, and a choice would have to be made about whether this version of Ponyville would rally around Diamond (and shun Filthy), or say 'Gosh, so sad' while going about their business and leaving a known orphan on the streets. That doesn't appear to be the focus of this fic, though, so it can probably be assumed that Diamond's true status remains hidden from the other adults in town.
There's an interesting note made earlier in the comments, too, about how the Apple family would react to a major customer tossing their child out into the street. If DT goes to work filling in for Apple Bloom (a direction the story seems to be headed in), she's still going to have to sleep in the clubhouse in order to not raise their suspicions. Either way, the story's going to need a resolution to the Fallen Princess arc - DT presumably can't keep sleeping in the treehouse and working the Apple farm forever.
4352931
The fact that nobody knows what's happened with one of the most prominent families in town is rather telling.
I honestly can't imagine Filthy ever revealing it. Not in a very family-oriented earth pony town (if Arcum's headcanon is anything like mine vis a vis family being especially important to them), for exactly the reasons you postulate. The town would probably turn against Filthy, and the Apple Family (despite what happened to AB) probably would too. And that would ruin Filthy quite effectively, I would imagine.
I'm sure Arcum will weigh in on it. But I really can't see his Ponyville shunning DT for being cast out. There's been too many examples of most ponies being generally great, upstanding folks. He clearly subscribes to the town being a genuinely nice place.
Like you, however, I don't think DT will be able to keep her shameful little secret forever.
4352887
I don't know that I'd agree that she's treating it as a minor inconvenience. Let's see our timeline:
Day 1: Diamond is kicked out, breaks down in clubhouse after a fight, and sleeps there.
Day 2: She's angry when she wakes up, tries to go to school and pretend nothing happened, blows up at Twist there, gets ganged up on, runs back to the clubhouse and curls up in a ball.
Day 3: She spends most of the day sleeping and crying, tries to get food when she gets hungry enough, gets yelled at, breaks down again, then Scoots takes her in hoof, and she spends the rest of the day doing everything Scoots says. The tiara nightmare.
Day 4: Operation - Apologise to Apple Bloom commences.
Some part of her is still running on the idea that if she apologises to all of the cmc, everything'll be okay. She hasn't really had a single day yet where she's coped well for the whole day, though.
4352931
Rarity loves gossip, and she clearly hasn't heard about Diamond's situation. Otherwise, she wouldn't have charged, and likely would have taken Diamond in herself. Which would have been very interesting to read, but isn't what I'm writing.
I think we can take it for granted that he hasn't been telling everyone, though. Especially since Applejack didn't know, and she had talked to Filthy since it happened, from what she'd said.
Diamond could get away with it for a while, since Scootaloo has, but you are quite correct that the arc eventually needs a resolution. As does Scootaloo's.
Otherwise, I'll go with everything 4352953 said.
Please please PLEASE tell me you're going to update soon. I just finished the chapter and the suspense is already killing me!
4371840
Thanks. And yeah, loved the kitten, and it was hurting writing the scene before it. In fact, I recall stopping working on the graveyard scene and continuing later because I was at work and couldn't afford to be tearing up just then...
4379256
I've had some time to recover. My mom died within a few hours of "Pinkie Apple Pie" airing, in fact. You can imagine having that happen when "Apples To the Core" is still fresh in my mind...
The fan scene was fun.
4379361
Well, I'm around 3.5k into it, but I still have an important scene to write, revisions to make, and such. Of course, once I release that, suspense may still be killing you, given where I plan on ending the chapter...
--arcum42
UH oh Diamond's a thief... and I don't mean from her Daddy
Uh-oh...
Diamond, what are you doing with those earrings? Rarity isn't gonna be happy about this, you know...
She has no mouth, and she must scream.
It is only at the top of the world that one can see how far they have to fall...
It'd be great if this comes back to bite Diamond in the ass right when things are starting to look up for her. Oh, I can taste the misery already...
*our parents
*ussr anthem starts playing*