Fade To Black
When Diamond entered Sugarcube Corner, it seemed a bit busier than last time. She made her way to one of the furthest back tables, away from everypony else, and took a seat with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. She could see both of the Cakes behind the counter, but Pinkie Pie was the one who actually made her way over to them.
She'd always seemed more than a bit crazy and unpredictable to Diamond, but Pinkie had done a good job with her cuteceañera party. It wasn't Pinkie's fault that Daddy hadn't been able to come, or that Apple Bloom had made a big scene and spoiled things for her.
She didn't really like the look Pinkie had in her eye right now, or the way she was twitching, though.
"Good morning, girls!" Pinkie said, with far too wide of a smile on her face. "What can I do for you?"
Priorities were priorities. What type of milkshake shall I have today?
Scootaloo scooted her chair forward, wings fluttering back and forth. "How 'bout some orange juice an' pancakes?"
"I'll have blueberry waffles and a glass of milk, please," Sweetie Belle said, leaning forward in her chair as she spoke.
Nopony else was having milkshakes? Well, she could do dignified and refined like none other. She'd show them all what a real lady’s breakfast looked like.
Her stomach gurgled.
Fine, what a real hungry lady’s breakfast was like, then.
"I will have a cup of hot Oolong tea. Make sure to put the tea leaves in first and steep them for three to five minutes," she instructed. "With my tea, I'll have a hot cinnamon bun, and a cranberry-orange scone." There! Both dignified and filling. Now why was Scootaloo rolling her eyes, and Sweetie Belle staring blankly forward?
Pulling a pencil from behind one ear, Pinkie Pie scribbled on a notepad. "Okie-dokie-lokie! I'll give this to the Cakes, and they'll have it to you right away! Now, if you'll excuse me, girls, I'll need to borrow Tiara for a few minutes. Though she isn't wearing a tiara. How can you be Diamond Tiara without wearing a tiara? Are you reeeally Diamond Tiara?"
What? "Of course I'm Diamond Tiara!"
"Good! Come on!" As Pinkie Pie said this, she grabbed hold of Diamond and dragged her out of the room. Before Diamond knew what was happening, Pinkie had taken her upstairs and was pulling her through a door.
The room she found herself in was painted in pink, pink, and more pink, and she was pretty sure this was Pinkie's own room. Not that there was anything wrong with pink, but she felt like she could just inhale and disappear into the background.
Diamond couldn't even imagine what living someplace as low-class as a bakery would be like, but at least it would be better than where she was staying now, she supposed. The real question, though, was how to get out of here.
She turned to the door and there was a green, slimy, icky aligator there! It looked at her placidly with bulging eyes, perhaps trying to figure out how many meals it could get out of her before it finished her off.
Of course, for all she knew, Pinkie could be thinking the same thing, with how weird she was acting. She'd just wanted something to eat, not to have to deal with some crazy pink party pony.
"What do you want?" she said crossly. "I distinctly told you I wanted breakfast, not to be dragged up to some dusty old room!"
Pinkie crossed her forelegs. "We need to talk."
"We did talk," Diamond stated. "You asked what I wanted for me breakfast, and I told you. That's talking. If you want to talk some more, you could say 'Diamond, here's your pastries and tea,' even."
"That's not what I meant, you silly!" Pinkie propped up her chin with one hoof in a rather futile attempt to look serious. "What we need to talk about is what you were talking about."
"What I was talking about?" Diamond said, feeling lost.
"You know, last time you were here?"
A sudden lump formed in Diamond's throat. "No, we don't. That was a private conversation, and you weren't a part of it."
Suddenly, without warning, Pinkie's face was within an inch of hers. "Yess! It was priiivate!!"
She moved back slightly, but was still close enough to unnerve Diamond to no end. She preferred ponies to keep a bit of distance and know their places, which wasn't right in front of her. Oblivious to this, Pinkie continued.
"When Mr. and Mrs. Cake first agreed to have me start helping out in Sugarcube Corner, they had this big ol' long list of rules they wanted me to follow. And one of them was that private conversations in Sugarcube Corner stay private. They went over that one with me a whole bunch for some reason."
Like they wanted to make sure you remembered it? Well, that was a relief, anyways. "So they made you Pinkie Promise to keep them private?" Everypony knew that Pinkie Promises were the strongest promises that could be made, after all, at least in Ponyville.
At that, Pinkie flushed a little. "Of course I Pinkie Promised!"
Good. "Then there's nothing for us to talk about."
Diamond looked back towards the door, but there was still a googly-eyed gator guarding it.
"Just because it's private doesn't mean it doesn't need to be talked about." Pinkie looked around shiftily. "And sometimes there are things that are worth risking a cupcake to the eye."
Pinkie might tell on her anyways? That was no fair! She sighed. "So talk."
"Weelll," Pinkie started, "you, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle came in Sugarcube Corner and nopony seemed very happy. That wasn't surprising, 'cause of what happened with Apple Bloom, which was toootally your fault. Not that you should be obsessively blaming yourself, going over what happened in your head and letting it eat away at your insides as you ask yourself Why? Why? Why?-"
"Pinkie!" Diamond interrupted, a bit more upset than she'd have liked to admit.
"Anyway," Pinkie said, as if she hadn't just gone into a mini-rant, "All of you being unhappy wasn't a surprise, but the fact that you were all sitting together was. That could have been good, but then-" Pinkie lowered her voice, "-I heard you say that Filthy Rich had disowned you and thrown you out of the house. And that's no fun at all."
Diamond's heart plummeted to the bottom of her stomach, as she discovered that some part of her, at least, had still hoped Pinkie hadn't heard all of that. "And?"
"We obviously can't have that. Everypony knows little fillies shouldn't be living on their own. It's bad enough-" She bit back on whatever she'd been about to say. "Well, it's not right."
Diamond drew herself up proudly. "I'm not a little filly."
Pinkie Pie drew herself up to her full height as well. "Littler than me."
Diamond shrugged. "Whatever."
"So you need someplace to live, but I can't figure out how to fix this without telling somepony about it. Maybe I could get you and Filthy Rich in the same room and try to convince him this is a really bad idea and tell him that he needs to take you back…" She trailed off as Diamond looked at her.
Diamond Tiara shook her head slowly. "Daddy was really upset, and I don't think that'd help. Greywithers should be talking to him about it anyways, and if Greywithers can't persuade him, I don't think anypony could."
Then Diamond realized that she'd just admitted that Pinkie Pie had heard things correctly, and wished she could take it back. It was too late now, though.
Still, there had to be some way to get her not to say anything. Daddy had talked about knowing ponies’ weaknesses. What could she do to get Pinkie not to talk about her situation?
Pinkie liked parties and making other ponies happy. Was there some way she could convince her that it'd make ponies unhappy or stop her from partying?
Pinkie Pie continued chattering on. "Now, if he won't take you back in, I could hold a 'Filthy Rich is a big ol' meanie and Diamond needs a new home' party! I'd invite everypony in town there, and I'm sure somepony would want to take you in."
Everypony in town, looking at her, pitying her, knowing what had happened? She'd be so embarrassed and ashamed. There was no way she could deal with that.
"And if nopony took you in at that party, I could always take you over to Fluttershy. She does have an adopt-a-pet service she runs."
Adopt-a-pet? Right.
"Pinkie, if you plan on t-telling the whole town, I'll scream," Diamond declared, voice breaking for a moment. "Everypony saw you drag me up to your room. I-I'll scream and say you tried to touch me, and everypony will think you're a- a fillyphile, and nopony will ever go to your parties again!"
She wasn't quite sure that was the right word, but the expression on Pinkie’s face made her think she'd gotten the idea through.
"That'd be mean," Pinkie sniffed, sinking back a bit, and some of the enthusiasm going out of her. "Don't you want somewhere to sleep and to have somepony taking care of you?"
"Not if it means the whole town knowing what happened!" Diamond said. "I may not have much, but everypony still thinks I'm somepony, at least. I don't want everypony knowing I don't have anything. And I have found someplace to sleep."
"Sleeping in a bush or something doesn't count," Pinkie groused.
"I am not sleeping in a bush. I'm staying over at Scootaloo's, if you must know," Diamond said, deciding Pinkie wouldn't be happy unless she knew that much, at least. A thought occurred to her. "Have you talked to Scootaloo like this?"
"She's at least as stubborn as you, and at least she has her friends looking out for her." Pinkie frowned. "Even if you've got someplace to sleep, there's still a matter of food, and you really do need somepony to take care of you."
"I can get food. I was trying to, when you brought me here. You can give me food, too, if you want. I don't need somepony to take care of me." She paused to think about it for a moment. "Though lately, it seems like Scootaloo's sort of doing that too."
"Scootaloo can't be your guardian, silly!" Pinkie said. "She isn't old enough. Though she's old enough to have a pet."
Diamond considered a scathing response. Then she reconsidered, and thought about what response would get her away from the crazy pink party pony the fastest.
"Why, yes, Pinkie, that's exactly it. I'm Scootaloo's new pet, but you can't tell anypony because it's a secret. I'm sure she'll take good care of me, and she's getting me something to eat right now, because I'm really hungry. So why don't you make me a Pinkie Promise that you won't talk about any of this, and let me get back to her, because I'm sure she's getting worried, okay?"
Wow. That had actually worked? Well, she wasn't going to question it.
"Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, I'm back. Did my breakfast ever show up?"
Mrs. Cake walked over as Diamond said that, and dropped off a cup of tea and a teapot, still hot to the touch, as well as her two pastries.
"They said they'd keep it warm for you," Sweetie Belle said belatedly.
"What was that all about, anyways?" Scootaloo asked.
Diamond flushed slightly. "Pinkie wanted to… have a talk with me, that's all."
A look of comprehension came over Scootaloo's face. "Oh. One of those talks."
Diamond nodded. "She's kind of crazy, isn't she?"
"Crazy like a fox!" Pinkie half-sang, walking by the table and dropping a paper bag by Scootaloo's place. "Well, maybe not a fox. A marmot?"
She winked at them and walked off.
"Do I even want to know?" Scootaloo asked.
"Um, do we really want to open that here?" Sweetie Belle said, glancing furtively at the bag.
Worried about what Pinkie might have come up with, Diamond changed the subject. "So, what are we doing after breakfast?"
She wasn't really sure it was they, but it sounded better than asking what the two of them were going to do.
Sweetie Belle looked over at Scootaloo, then over at Diamond. "Changing into all those outfits and things kinda took a while. I think Apple Bloom will be back pretty soon."
"Yeah," Scootaloo said slowly. "Originally we were gonna go see Apple Bloom, check out her new wheelchair, take her up to the clubhouse, and try an' figure out what type of crusading we could do. 'Course, that was before all that stuff happened…"
"Did you even want to come along?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I don't think you're really Apple Bloom's favorite pony at the moment. You could always hang out at the library or park or something for a few hours, or even go check and see if my sister’s got your stuff yet, I guess."
That was kind of tempting, though the library itself didn't appeal much to her. What could she do there to occupy herself? All it had was a bunch of dusty old books!
But that wasn't really an option. Face it, Diamond, you're staying in their clubhouse. You're going to see all three of them regularly, and you have to be on reasonable terms with them. All of them.
"No," she said reluctantly. "I've got to tell Apple Bloom that I'm sorry, and if I put it off, it'll be that much worse."
"So are you sorry for her?" Sweetie Belle asked, resting her elbows on the table. "Or are you sorry for yourself?"
Diamond was taken aback. "Can't I be both?"
Sweetie Belle frowned. "It's just, if you aren't sorry, then telling her you are isn't much good, either."
"Look," Diamond said defensively. "I don't really like Apple Bloom, okay? My cuteceañera was supposed to be my big day. Then Daddy couldn't make it, and when I went to the party, everything turned into a whole big thing about her and everypony ignored me!"
"You know you were acting pretty rotten to Apple Bloom at the party, don't you?" Scootaloo crossed her forelegs.
"I know, I know. I probably was. But nopony but Silvy'd even talk to me at the party after that. I left the party early and nopony even noticed. I was really mad and wanted to make her pay for it. And since you two were part of it, that ended up going for you, too."
"Sooo… you aren't sorry, then," Sweetie Belle said.
"I am! I was mad at her, but I didn't want her to be stuck in a wheelchair! It's just-" Diamond sighed. "I am sorry, and want to try and make it up. But I'm more sorry about what happened to me since I like me, all right?"
Sweetie Belle shook her head. "I guess."
"Good, 'cause I'm hungry." Diamond shoved the cinnamon bun unceremoniously in her mouth, quite forgetting her normal manners, and washed it down with some tea.
Polishing off another one of her pancakes, Scootaloo shrugged. "I figured you'd just tag along with us when we visited, say your piece, and we'll go from there. Long as you aren't planning on telling her how much you don't like her, that is."
"I have no idea what I'm even gonna tell her. I'll just be winging it," Diamond said after scarfing down the bun. Scootaloo glanced backwards, then immediately looked back at Diamond and Sweetie Belle.
"We're going to hafta tell Apple Bloom what happened to you too, you know," Sweetie Belle said. "The clubhouse is our clubhouse. We're all up there a lot."
Maybe she really should have found somewhere more private. A bush someplace was sounding better and better.
"Not in her home!" Diamond stamped one hoof on the table. "I don't want everypony else there knowing. They'd all laugh at me. They certainly wouldn't want me in the clubhouse, and that's on their property. They could just tell me I wasn't allowed here. They probably would."
"I don't think they'd laugh..." Sweetie Belle said softly.
"They would. They'd laugh and make jokes and poke fun and make my life miserable. It's bad enough that we have to tell Apple Bloom. She's gonna love this."
"But not at her house?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You can tell her at the clubhouse. You were taking her there anyways." Diamond ate her scone and slurped up the rest of her tea. "Aren't the two of you done yet? Let's get this over with."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at their empty plates and glasses. Sweetie Belle raised one hoof. "Pinkie, we're ready to go. How much do I owe you?"
"That's okay, I'll get it today!" Pinkie hopped over, grabbed the dishes, and dropped a book on the table. "When I first got Gummy, I read all about how to properly train him in this book. Let me know when you're done with it. Whapping them on the nose with a newspaper when they're bad usually works!"
Pinkie thought Scootaloo should hit her with a newspaper? Then again, that'd have hurt less than what had happened.
Scootaloo looked at Pinkie with a bewildered look, but tucked the book in her bag anyway. "Er, okay, thanks, Pinkie. Let's go."
They all got up, and proceeded out of the bakery as quickly as possible.
"What was that all about?" Scootaloo asked as they walked off. "Pet training?"
"Um..." Sweetie Belle looked at an empty paper bag, and held up a gem-studded collar and leash with one hoof. Diamond flushed. "Maybe we... shouldn't even try to find out what she's thinking this time?"
Scootaloo nodded, grabbed the leash and collar, and shoved them with the book in her bag, much to Diamond's relief. She really hoped Pinkie would forget about the whole pet thing. Maybe that hadn't been such a good idea after all.
She did actually have a few ideas for how to make things up with Apple Bloom, based on things she'd talked about with Scootaloo and Applejack previously, but she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about them at risk of sounding stupid. Besides, she could probably only do what she was thinking of due to having basically no life or friends at this point, which wasn't something she liked to advertise.
She wasn't even sure what there was to keep going for, really. The situation at school was still where she wasn't sure she could even come back, she was staying in the clubhouse, scrounging for food, and her only real friend wasn't on speaking terms with her.
She wasn't even sure what else she could do. Right now, she had a goal, at least. She needed to make things better with Apple Bloom. Maybe it'd all go away after that, and Daddy'd take her back in. Maybe it'd get better. If it didn't…
Well, if it didn't, what else could she do? Maybe she could go work for the criminal underground. Wearing a fedora and designer pinstriped suit, she'd go from business to business, demanding 'protection' money. And if they didn't pay up… Rat-tat-tat-ta-tat!
Scootaloo gave Diamond a look. "What are you doing?"
To her embarrassment, she realised she'd been making machine gun noises out loud and grimacing. "Nothing. Just… nothing."
Scootaloo arched one eyebrow. Ignoring her, Diamond took a look around. "Aren't we there yet?"
"Getting close. We should be there in a few minutes."
As Scootaloo said this, a dog ran up to greet the trio. Completely ignoring Diamond Tiara, it ran in a meandering path around Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. As it reached Sweetie Belle, she began scratching it behind the ears, and it stopped in front of her.
Diamond frowned as the mutt leapt up at Sweetie Belle and licked her on the face, undoubtedly getting all sorts of dog germs and ick all over her. She'd hardly let the beast slobber all over her like that!
Sweetie Belle being Sweetie Belle, she didn't seem to mind, and soon the dog was lying on it's back blissfully as she rubbed its belly.
"So, are we going to get going, or play with a dog?" Diamond said, a little annoyed.
Sweetie Belle stopped rubbing, stroked the dog's nose a few times, and patted her on the head. "Winona's just being friendly. Something you might try occasionally."
"What, and slobber all over ponies’ faces?"
"You know what I mean," Sweetie Belle said. Seeing she was no longer the center of attention, Winona darted off.
"We're almost there. Of course, before we go find Apple Bloom, we should prob'ly check in with somepony, like-" Scootaloo trailed off, looking beyond Diamond. "Oh. Hi, Big Mac."
Diamond turned to look, and sure enough, there was a big red stallion approaching, Winona by his side.
Uh-oh. Wasn't this Apple Bloom's brother? The one that was supposed to be really mad at her?
He looked the three of them over, and stopped, his eyes fixed on Diamond Tiara.
"You've got some nerve!" He snorted, and stamped the ground with one hoof. "What the hay are you doin' here?"
Why was everypony immediately getting on her case? "What's it to you?"
"This is Apple family land, and y'all are on it. That makes it my business. And you hurt my little sister! You aren't welcome here!"
Right, he could kick her out. She probably shouldn't be trying to push his buttons. "That's why I'm here."
"Come again?"
"I'm here because of Apple Bloom," Diamond said, smoothing her mane back trying to look a little more presentable. "Look, I already talked to Applejack about this, alright? I just need to talk to her for a few minutes, that's all."
"I highly doubt she wants to talk to you."
"Maybe not, but I need to talk to her about what happened. I'm not planning on hurting her."
He stood there, looking for all the world like he was just restraining himself from demonstrating proper apple-bucking technique on her face. She waited nervously.
'Um, Big Mac? You know us? Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo waved a hoof between them. "We'll be there, and you know we won't let anything happen to Apple Bloom."
Finally, he spoke. "AJ already knows 'bout this?"
"She knows I was going to stop by to talk to Apple Bloom."
"Fine. But if anything happens to her…" He stomped the ground again.
"Nothing will happen," Diamond said, with more confidence then she felt.
"It better not." The large red stallion turned and headed off in the direction they'd been headed. By unspoken consensus, they followed.
Walking into the house, Big Macintosh looked back at them. "She's in the guest bedroom."
"The guest bedroom?" Diamond echoed, but he'd already disappeared down a hallway.
Scootaloo looked over at her. "Well, yeah, it's not like she could stay in her bedroom. The one upstairs?"
"Oh."
Turning a corner, they came to a door with a hoof-knitted square of fabric hung crookedly on the door. It had a picture of an apple, and the words "Apple Bloom" right below.
Diamond stood in front of it and stared.
She should enter, but her hooves didn't quite want to obey her. Sweat clung to her neck and she trembled slightly. This was it. Apple Bloom was behind there, and was certain to be angry with her. Was it too late to go back?
After a minute of her standing there, Sweetie Belle squeezed by her, opened the door, and walked in. As Scootaloo nudged her from behind, she forced herself to follow at a distance.
The room was pretty dark for the middle of the day. Light was coming in from the hallway, and trickled in from the edges of the closed curtains on the window. Sitting next to it was an beaten-up old wheelchair, a manual one that looked to Diamond's eyes like it might have dated back to Granny Smith's day.
Lying in the wheelchair was Apple Bloom, both hind legs in casts and slightly raised in the air. Her tail lay limply behind the wheelchair, and her red-rimmed eyes were closed. She really didn't look all that great, and just looking at her was a bit depressing. This was Diamond's fault, and no matter how she tried to shrug it off, that kept going back through her mind.
Sweetie Belle had no such problem. She proceeded right up to Apple Bloom while Diamond was still standing there looking.
"Hi, Apple Bloom! I brought you a new ribbon!" Sweetie Belle held the red ribbon up high, and started tying it in her hair as Apple Bloom's eyes opened.
One loop of the ribbon found its way around her ear, and she quickly took it from Sweetie Belle and started tying it properly as best she could.
"Um, thanks, Sweetie Belle. You've got Scootaloo and..." she leaned forwards for a moment, "...somepony else with you?"
"How can you stand having it so dark in here?" Hooves freed of the ribbon, Sweetie Belle pulled the curtains open, flooding the room with sunlight. Diamond quickly closed her own eyes. All that light hurt!
When she opened them up, Apple Bloom was looking right at her, eyes narrowed.
"You!" She looked from Diamond to Scootaloo, and then glared at Sweetie Belle. "What is Diamond Tiara doing in my bedroom? She's not supposed to be here! She's not supposed to be on the farm! She's not supposed to be in my life! Out! Now!"
Sweetie Belle backed away from the window, eyes wide, looking between Apple Bloom and Diamond. Diamond's jaw locked in place as she walked forward rigidly. Having finally managed the courage to go forward, she wasn't about to back down now.
"I told you to go away!" Apple Bloom made a shooing gesture ineffectually in Diamond's direction, finally stopping when Diamond was next to her. "Come to see what you've done? I guess I can't make you go, so just go ahead an' take a look, then!"
She pointed down at her casts, covered in signatures.
"Both my hind legs broken. I saw my bones sticking out! You shouldn't be able to see that! An' I need these legs to get around on, an' I really need them strong for apple buckin'! Without strong hind legs I can't buck apples, an' I can't buck at harvest time, an' I can't even buck ya outta my room like I oughta! I can't even move!" By the end, her voice had practically reached a wail.
How is she even able to say all that in one breath? Diamond's eyes picked out a badly drawn picture of Rainbow Dash on the cast, and she had to fight not to go into a very inappropriate fit of laughter. As it was, her mouth quirked, something that didn't pass unnoticed.
"That's right, go ahead an’ laugh!" Apple Bloom babbled. "Laugh at the crippled blank flank an' her friends! Now maybe she'll fit in, now that her legs match their wings an'-"
Diamond heard a fierce snort from the other side of the other side of the room, and on this side, Sweetie Belle started walking back over.
"Girls!" Sweetie Belle said, sounding fairly annoyed. "Stop it!"
Diamond looked over at Scootaloo. Her face was flushed, her ears pinned back, and her wings pinned back and trembling. Then she looked back at Apple Bloom, almost not wanting to do this any more.
"Look! I didn't come here for any of that!" she snapped. "I came here to apologize." As much as I might not be feeling like it right now.
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. "What was that? Come closer. I can't hear ya."
"I said," Diamond leaned over the side of Apple Bloom's wheelchair, "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry-"
Diamond was not expecting Apple Bloom to reach out and wrap her forelegs around her neck, pulling her partway onto the chair while squeezing.
"You're sorry, all right! You're a big, mean, sorry spoiled brat whose daddy always gives you everything you want! I bet that's even why you're here. Apologize to the cripple an' you're off scot-free with your daddy, right?"
Fighting the chokehold, Diamond thrashed around. Apple Bloom was surprisingly strong for someone in a wheelchair.
"Do you know how much my legs hurt? Do you know how it feels not to be able to move around on my own?" Tears were streaking down Apple Bloom's cheeks. "Why can't you go away? Why can't you just die?"
Diamond was starting to feel rather dizzy.
"Okay-" she managed.
Then she felt hooves at her back, pulling her backwards. Her back hit the floor, and she felt her head hit the ground hard a few seconds later. For one blurry moment, she saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing over her, then her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and everything went black.
Stats
Page generated in 0.044 seconds
Total duration
735 users online
742,250 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
So everypony knows filthy rich disowned his daughter?
Um, surely I'm not alone in thinking Apple Bloom's reaction was totally justified, right?
"Oh my Celestia! She killed Diamond!"
"You bastard!"
How many chapters is this story gonna be?
4493648 Not yet...
And this, children, is why inbreeding is taboo. At least a deliberate attempt at murder should more than balance the scales of a prank gone wrong.
And yeesh, DT is being raked over the coals. It was a stupid childhood prank that ended poorly. Shit happens; I've experienced it both giving and receiving.
And I look forward to all this coming out. 'Disowning' a child generally means removing from your will and cutting off certain rights such as visitation or notification of injury or death, and is reserved for children who've reached the age of majority. Almost everywhere, you're responsible for the kid until the age of majority or the child is given up as a ward of the state/for adoption. So just kicking her out like that is 32 flavors of illegal. DT now has enough blackmail material to ensure Rich is crucified both in the court of public opinion and in actual court. She could even keep her pride by spinning the story right.
I know the cops here can and will force you take back a child you kick out, if they're under the age of majority. And make you swallow a list of charges such as abuse, negligence, endangerment and so on. And given Celestia's supposedly benign rule, I expect the law works similarly in Equestria.
I found Apple Bloom’s reaction, while uncivilized, to be expected and, all things considered, even rational.
4493702
4493772
I'd consider her reaction understandable, anyways. I've been planning to write that last scene for a long time, and I believe it's always ended with Diamond unconscious...
4493713
4493717
I don't have an exact count, but we've got a fair ways to go.
--arcum42
4493753
I think I've covered this before, but believe me, what Filthy did is just as bad in Equestria.
Which is one reason the whole town doesn't know about it. He hasn't been making it public.
--arcum42
4493889
Then I doubly look forward to it being made public.
4493793
4493816
4493805
a) Yes, disowning is way out of proportion, is not what a good father does, and will probably scar Diamond for life mentally. And what he actually did is illegal.
b) Yes, Filthy Rich is acting out of character. This can either mean he's written OOC, or that the author has something going on behind the scenes.
Of course, as the author, I can't comment on the latter.
--arcum42
4493887
Umm.. Dude? The character in question is a child who, in this story, did something really stupid. I think you may be going slightly overboard. Just a little.
4493898
One thing I am going to confirm in a few chapters anyways; he has legally disinherited her and designated a new heir by this point, though it's likely still being processed...
4493909
Well, that is about how Diamond is starting to feel.
--arcum42
4493907
Is he a Changeling?
4493960
I'd say that's probably not something I should confirm or deny right now, but I'll drop a few more hints in the same chapter I was referring to.
Still, from chapter one, a few bits to keep in the back of your mind.
--arcum42
4493702 if it was anypony else I would totally be horrified at this!
so nope.
Was Apple Bloom's reaction out of line, yeap.
Is it understandable, eeyup
This times a hundred. While Diamond's party was spoiled part of it was due to her's and Silver Spoon's mocking of AB(who didn't even want to be at said party to begin with). The "scene" that followed was Scoots and Sweetie Belle standing up to the Terrible Twosome and Twilight calling them out on their teasing.
4494039
Yeah, I always knew Apple Bloom's reaction was going to be similar to this, and I've known for a long time that she was going to try to throttle Diamond, which has made responding to comments about the meeting of the two interesting.
Having a very flawed but sympathetic viewpoint character makes for interesting writing. And there was no way Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were going to be that sympathetic to that one. Still, it gives you an idea of what's going on in her head, which often is fairly off from reality...
--arcum42
Maybe it's just me, but I'd still like to see this story generate some fan art...
4494082
You just want to see Scootaloo leading Diamond around while she's wearing that gem-studded collar, and maybe those silver skull earrings, don't you?
--arcum42
4494094
I decline to answer that question on the grounds that the answer may incriminate me. 
4494122
Or possibly the bath scene, or the rarity dressup scene?
--arcum42
4494127
GET OUT OF MY HEAD! 
4494147
I'm always amused when I think of the bath scene, actually. The interaction between Scootaloo and Diamond there is so fun...
--arcum42
Given how incredibly petty children are about inconsequential and stupid things, seeing Apple Bloom react with such hostility is actually quite believable.
Oh, don't give me that look.
4494254
Given that she doesn't know anything that's happened in this fanfics since the first scene of chapter one, I had trouble seeing any other reaction. From her perspective, her life may as well be over. Of course, that's more true of Diamond, but she doesn't know that. Yet, anyways.
--arcum42
4494302 I hear ya.
4494316
Well, pegasi are always gone with the wind, so they can relate...
--arcum42
4494332
If that were the case, we wouldn't even have a word for it in our language.
4494332
Ever?
Also, we are only seeing things from Diamond Tiara's perspective, and she is naive, and believes anything her father tells her. She doesn't know anything about how being disowned and disinherited works. She has no idea, for example, that her father could be charged with abandonment right now, among other things.
And there are things going on in the background with Filthy Rich right now. We just don't see them because we haven't been back to Rich manor.
If what happened to Diamond came out, rest assured, Filthy Rich would be sitting in a jail cell right now. assuming, of course, no one got to him first. The Apple family would be all over him about it if they knew, even.
--arcum42
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually feel sorry for Diamond Tiara.
4494445
Hmm, yeah. That's one way I can tell I've made progress. That line was written a little more than a year ago. In the current chapter, she was, again paralysed with fear in front of a door. Only this time, it was with a considerably better description...
--arcum42
4494409
That's part of what's been interesting in this story. We have a character that is heavily flawed, but sympathetic. Many of her issues are clearly due to the way she was raised. she's terribly naive, and she's been plunged in way out of her depth.
She's being forced to change and mature fast. she is already a somewhat better pony than in chapter one, entirely against her will.
I personally was having trouble not tearing up when writing a few of the sequences, though, and given that my own mother has passed away since writing it, I'm sure I'll have even more trouble with the graveyard scene if I have to revisit it.
--arcum42
4494409
Well, I still don't.
I sure hope some adult walks in and finds Diamond Tiara passed out like that. Like wow yeah I think AB was justified, considering the fact that she's just a kid and all who's done nothing but sit in that bed for days and spew in her hate for DT. Also 'cuz she's an Earth pony who works on a farm. You can't buck apples without legs to buck them with. Buuut...she still should be reprimanded for doing what she did as well.
I don't think Pinkie's dumb to the point where she'd actually think that DT is Scootaloo's pet. I bet she has something whipped up.
4494644
Don't worry, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle pulled her away from Apple Bloom. You can be assured they'll find some help, at least. And I rather think Apple Bloom's going to figure out she went too far. It's one thing to sit in bed fantasize about hurting and/or killing Diamond, but when Diamond's actually lying there unconscious because of your actions, it's something else again.
Not to mention once she works out exactly what she said in the heat of the moment, and why Scootaloo's giving her the cold shoulder.
And Pinkie is crazy like a marmaset.
But you can also think of it as that she knows Scootaloo's pretty street-savvy and can take care of herself, she knows Scootaloo is taking care of Diamond, if not as a pet, and that there must be some sort of bond between them if she's willing to joke about that. She may figure the situation can stand as is for a while, until something changes.
And she also knows that Diamond needs to be wapped on the nose a few times with a newspaper.
--arcum42
4494644
4494704
Hmmm.
How much is that collar worth, I wonder... Because perhaps she smuggled it to them so they can sell it. Get some cash that way.
4494855
Entirely possible. Has Diamond visited anyone recently that likes gems and could get use out of a collar and leash?
--arcum42
Just throwing this out there, but if the ending of this story involves Diamond Tiara going back to Filthy Rich, I will scream.
What he did was absolutely unforgivable. He should go to jail for neglect. While I won't go so far as to say Diamond Tiara is better off living on the streets (because she isn't) her going back into that situation is hardly a better outcome.
I really like this story, though. Update soon!
4495105
Well, I obviously don't want to ruin the ending. I'm not going to promise that Diamond will never be in Rich Manor again, or be in the same room as Filthy Rich again. I will say that he has permanently damaged his relationship with his daughter. Having them make up and live together again would be a horrible ending.
What she really needs is someplace to live and a guardian to take her in. And not Scootaloo. As successful as she might have been to this point, Scootaloo really needs someone too...
Since I updated several hours ago, updating soon's not that likely, unless I get a bunch of free time...
--arcum42
Hmm, the fallout from this is gonna be quite interesting. I think that when Apple Bloom calms down and remembers exactly how this played out, she's gonna realize that she went too far. She tried to strangle Diamond Tiara with possible intent to kill, and insulted one of her best friends in a way that preys on her fears.
I think that Diamond and Scootaloo will probably leave, and Sweetie Bell will need to handle it. I imagine she'll be furious, and yell at her. And when it's all over, AB might very well have no friends left.
It would be interesting to see a heart-to-heart with Big Mac of AJ about this, and I think that AB will be horrified when someone lets her know that what she did is attempted second degree murder, arguably.
In any case, post the next chapter soon! I don't think I can wait for a couple of weeks.
4493702 Its justified until she went too far. Even in that manner, she's pretty strong. If she killed a pony, there is no justifying her actions. Legs heal.
4495204
Not always. Apple Bloom said she could see the bones protruding. That's a compound fracture. Oftentimes those do not recover as strong as they previously were.
4495205 Even so-you would still be able to use them. Even if they aren't as strong.
You can't reverse death. If DT was bad for doing this, well-Apple Bloom murdering some pony AND insulting a pony she calls a friend with her greatest fear that doesn't exactly look good for her. Especially when she came to apologize. .
4495163
Well, it'll pretty much have to be a few weeks, since Apple Bloom complicated things for me. Characters sometimes do things that make your plots more complicated, though the throttling attempt was planned...
Apple Bloom should realise she went too far, and given that Diamond's unconscious and needs some basic first aid, she'll have a little time to calm down.
It will be interesting to see how the things Apple Bloom said in the heat of the moment play out. The three of them are good friends, and they know how upset she was, but it's still hard to overlook.
Apple Bloom has not only argued with Scootaloo in canon, but also did call her a dodo, so this won't exactly be the first time...
--arcum42
4495231
True, she did call her a dodo, but the context was different. In that case, it was lighthearted bickering between friends. In this case, it was said with what I'd almost call malicious intent, or at least said to deliberately hurt.
And while I don't like to wait, I suppose quality over quantity is worth it.
4495205
You know, funny thing is I could have sworn I'd mentioned somewhere in the story that her hind legs might not recover to full strength, but I don't see it. Maybe it was lost between drafts somewhere.
4495222
Yeah, what Apple Bloom did is understandable, but she certainly didn't do herself any favors. Though that could be useful for Diamond, if she thinks about it.
--arcum42
4495240
Quite true. I'm not sure if the fact that she's said things like that in banter before will make it better or worse...
--arcum42
4495258
I'm not sure.
On one hand, the fact that she's heard it before could soften the blow.
However, on the other hand, the fact that AB's said it before could be grounds for Scootaloo to think that's how AB really thinks of her, for Scootaloo to see it as though the gloves are off, so to speak- that perhaps AB is Scootaloo's friend out of pity, and I don't think Scootaloo could stand having friends out of pity. In this case, this chapter would be a devastating emotional blow to Scootaloo, one that her supposedly best friend dealt. That would take a long time to forgive, if ever.
Personally, I think the second outcome is far more likely. Plus, it would provide some interesting plot points.
4495265 I would love to see the second outcome because it sounds more interesting. While broken bones heal-the broken mind and heart can't