Cubic Zirconia

by arcum42

Finding Her Place

Standing in the cold night air, Diamond Tiara shivered.

Daddy wasn't coming back for her. She'd fully expected him to come out after a few minutes and take it back, tell her it had been a bad joke, or a test or something. But the minutes had turned to hours while she just stood there, feeling totally numb after what had just happened.

But it was cold now, and getting dark. Daddy hadn't changed his mind. Maybe he would tomorrow, but she needed to find someplace to find the night. She couldn't stay here.

There was one place that she could try going. She didn't have many friends. Well, thinking about it, she only had one friend. She'd never needed more. But Silver Spoon didn't live that far away, and she had stayed overnight there before.

Of course, those sleepovers had been planned in advance, but hopefully that wouldn't be a problem. They could have a slumber party, and take her mind off of what had just happened. She really didn't want to think about it right now.

She wouldn't be able to stay over there too long, but maybe daddy would have changed his mind by the morning. And if nothing else, maybe she'd have a better idea of what to do after a good nights rest.

She walked down the winding path that led to Silvy's home. It didn't take long to get there. The Silvers and the Riches had been friends for ages, and had settled down in the same area when the town was founded.

Going to the front door of the manor, she rapped the large silver knocker several times sharply. After a moment passed, the door opened a crack, and the butler looked out. He'd never been particularly friendly to her, not like Grey was, but he was reliable, at least.

"Greensborough?" she asked politely. "Is Silvy in? I really need to see her right now."

"Miss Tiara," he said, disdain clear in his voice. "After events earlier today, it has been decided that you are a bad influence on Silver Spoon, and as such, you are no longer on the admittance list for this manor. Good day."

He closed the door in her face, nearly nicking the end of her muzzle in the process.

Why that! She'd never liked Greensborough! Forbidding her access! That no good- she needed to see Silver Spoon right now! Diamond Tiara started hammering violently on the knocker, and the face of the now-annoyed butler appeared again.

"That can't be right! Do you know who I am? Let me in now!" she demanded. No one ever denied her!

"I do indeed know who you are, Miss Tiara. You are a young lady who has been explicitly forbidden access to this manor by my masters. Now, good day."

He slammed the door shut and refused to open it again, no matter how much she banged on it.

Well, let's try a more direct route. I'll circle around to her window. Silvy'll let me in, at least.

She walked around the manor until she could see Silver Spoons room, and tapped on the outside of her window. "Silvy!"

The window opened a crack. "Diamond? What are you doing out there?"

"That dumb butler of yours wouldn't let me in! I need your help. Daddy's really mad at me, and I need somewhere to stay the night."

"My parents are really mad, too," she said, sounding gloomy. "My mother was passing by when Apple Bloom was being taken to the hospital, and heard all about you having pushed her. They won't even let me talk to you, at least for the next week or two."

"Oh." Her ears drooped. "Maybe you could sneak me in for the night? Nopony'd have to know."

"They're being really strict about this, Diamond," she said regretfully. "If I'm caught anywhere near you, not only am I grounded and my allowance forfeit, they'll cut off my access to the family workshop. And you know how much that means to me."

And she did. Most ponies didn't realise that Silver Spoon was actually becoming a fairly skilled smith, taking after one of the family trades. Few things actually made her happier than when she was working on a new creation. And she'd always been pretty close to her parents anyways.

"I know," she said reluctantly. "But where can I go, then? I have to find someplace for the night, at least, 'till this blows over."

Silver Spoon appeared lost in thought for a minute. "Well, you know, I bet you could stay in those blank flanks' lame clubhouse. It's not like anypony would be there at night."

You know, that could work. For tonight, anyways.

"Good idea. At least I wouldn't have to be outside, anyways. Thanks."

"Sure." Silver Spoon started to close the window.

"Um, Silvy, we're still good, aren't we?" she asked at the last moment, worried about losing her, too.

"I don't know, Diamond. I just don't know." She secured the window.

Diamond Tiara shook her head. What was happening? She couldn't even rely on Silver Spoon?

Well, she'd go and spend the night at the rickety old treehouse. It seemed appropriate enough, anyways. Though she doubted it'd be that comfortable, sleeping on a hard wooden floor. She'd have to do something about that.

It was time for her to backtrack. She didn't have any of her things. Daddy really should have at least let her grab everything she owned.

Though, he really shouldn't have kicked her out. Or at least, if he was going to kick her out, he could have sent her to live with somepony else. She really didn't want to think about it, though. It just made her upset. Upset and angry.

Of course, she wasn't about to try coming through the front door. Grey would be really nice about it, but he wouldn't let her in. But after Silvy's bedroom, she had an idea. Approaching Rich manor, she circled around towards the back, and right toward the outside wall of her room.

Fortunately, it had a really large window that she could pull herself up into. After trying a few times and failing, she eventually forced the window open and fell inside, gaining a minor collection of scrapes and bruises along the way.

She breathed a sigh of relief once she was inside. Home sweet home. She wondered if anypony would notice if she just crawled into bed and snuggled up under the covers and pretended it had all been a bad dream. Maybe she'd wake up and everything'd be ok.

Then the door opened, and Mister Greywithers stood in the doorway. Seeing her there, he raised one eyebrow.

Well, there goes that idea. She turned to him.

"You don't see me here, Grey! You see nothing, understand?" she hissed in desperation. Couldn't she get a break?

"Indeed. I can avoid seeing anypony in this room for around five or ten minutes, no longer. You did make a fair amount of noise on entering, and I will be required to investigate eventually, though."

"Thank you, Grey. At least that'll give me time to get my things."

"It's the least I can do for you," he said. "Though one more thought occurs to me."

He pulled a small pouch out of his uniform, poured a few coins into it, and tossed it to her. "It is, in fact, time for your weekly allowance, and while I suppose being disowned would stop it, I never received instructions to that effect. Spend it wisely."

Oh, that would help. She didn't like the idea of being on her own, but being on her own with no money was even worse.

"Thank you," she said again, sincerely. "Um, if I'm still not welcome here next week, do you think I can get my allowance then, too?"

"That will all depend on whether Mister Rich thinks about it, and instructs me otherwise," he told her. "Gather your things quickly. I'll try to make sure nopony comes by for a few minutes. Good luck, Miss Tiara."

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Her allowance. Shiny, precious bits. Thank goodness. Diamond Tiara wished now that she'd actually tried to save her allowance from previous weeks. She'd have to be stingy with it this time, and not let it vanish like it usually did. She had no idea when she'd get more, though she'd check next week anyways.

For now, it'd make all the difference. But she'd better get going.

She pulled all her sheets, blankets, and comforter off her bed, and lay them in the middle of the floor. She tossed her pillows in the middle. Pulling the dresses out of her closet, she piled them on as well. Then she threw in her diary, her teddy bear, and a box with a few pieces of jewelry.

The last made her think of her tiara again, and a tear ran down her face. She'd always had that tiara. It was her name. It was her cutie mark. It was her. And it was shattered. Of all the things daddy could have done, that was the worst. She'd rather he'd hit her.

Well, no time to stop and think about it. She thought she'd heard hoofsteps. Probably just Grey, but she'd better get out of there. She tossed on her saddlebags, not bothering to check the contents. Then she wrapped the blankets around everything, tied a big knot in it, and grabbed it in her muzzle. Oof. Heavy.

Diamond Tiara tossed her bundle out the window, then jumped out after it, landing in the shrubbery. Picking it up in her muzzle by the knot, she heaved it over her shoulder, and began laboriously trudging over to Sweet Apple Acres. Eventually the treehouse was in sight.

She had no idea what she was going to do tomorrow. She'd sleep on it. Maybe she'd even go to school if she woke up on time, since she had no alarm or anything. She hauled everything on up the ramp to the clubhouse, then tossed it just inside the entrance.

She was walking in after it when a voice called out from further inside.

"Hey!" somepony said angrily. "What are you doing in here?"

Author's Note:

Well, here we go with the next chapter. Hope people like the direction I'm taking things, since, honestly, there are a lot of ways I could have gone with this. In fact, I rather hope I start seeing other similar fanfics, because there's a lot of places this premise could go.

And this chapter contains one paragraph that I'm very proud of writing. I'll be disappointed if no one mentions it.

I'm going to try to get another chapter of Just Winging It out soon, btw, for anyone following that...

Comments

[Richforce]

Great, Diamond just had to wake up Scootaloo. Now she's going to have to live with Twilight. And I think I now what paragraph you were talking about and I think that before she gets herself out of this she has to figure out what her cutie mark REALLY means.

[L4]

;-;

[Periphery]

Here comes Scootaloo to show Diamond Tiara the ropes of being homeless? First lesson--getting beaten up for trespassing on someone else's turf. Second lesson--getting stuff chucked at you and shouted at to get the hell out of there. No wait, she already had her first lesson, getting the cold shoulder everywhere you go, because no one wants to deal with you.

This is definitely going to be interesting. Most redemption fics seem to be about someone being unexpectedly nice to a jerk character (although that's probably still going to happen to some degree here), so it'll be a different take to see one that takes the path of putting the character through tons of crap and seeing how they stand when it's all done. Assuming this is a redemption story, of course.

And I couldn't help but notice that one line toward the end of the first chapter, when Diamond Tiara is pleading with the butler guy. No, Diamond, you've know him your whole life, not the other way around. A subtle little example of how little she thinks of anyone else's perspectives about anything.

There's an odd thing about the timing of this fic, though. I just recently read the first two chapters of Why Am I Crying? which is pretty much the reverse of this story. In that one, Diamond Tiara is killed by a runaway cart, and the CMC are dealing with the rather confusing set of emotions that result. Even had me vaguely thinking of her as being dead outside the realm of that one story for a few days. Couldn't help but think of the similarities and differences anyway, even though that doesn't really have much to do with this one.

And you know, there's a strange sort of mixed feelings about following multiple fics by the same person. On the one hand, it's additional interesting story to read, but on the other, there's a mild feeling that progress on one means less on the other. Well, I'll just think of it as double the chances of getting an update, I suppose.

[arcum42]

2540027

While it'd be interesting to try to maintain that that might not be Scootaloo... well, there've been too many homeless!Scootaloo stories. Who else would it be?

And you could say that. Though I don't really see Scootaloo as going around beating other ponies up. Trouble is, unlike Diamond Tiara, she is a nice pony under it all. Of course, right now, she's a sleepy, angry pony on her home turf. And Diamond Tiara is a little filly out way past her bedtime who has just had a very rough day...

The next chapter's on the third rewrite, and will probably go through at least one or two more before I post it, btw, because it's a tricky one to get right. The beginning, middle, and end are great. Getting the bits in between right, though...

Yes, there will be some ponies being unexpectedly nice in here. I have to balance out the nastiness somehow. And Diamond Tiara's not going to be the same pony at the end if all goes as planned, so I suppose this would be a redemption fic in that respect.

Part of the fun of this is actually going to be trying to turn the way she thinks around. Trying to think like her can be a bit disturbing at times, actually. Yes, Diamond, it isn't fair that you are being blamed for something you did. Sure.

Good catch with the butler. I like his character, actually. He knows Diamond is a selfish brat, and he has a bit of a soft spot for her regardless. But he's utterly loyal, he's old, can't really go looking for another job, and lives on the estate. And he wouldn't want another job, anyways. Being a butler is his special talent.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Why Am I Crying? had influenced me, since I love that story. Of course, Clean Slate and My Worst Enemy are direct influences, too.

[hawthornbunny]

This is really good! I'm loving this Diamond Tiara. She seems so innocent somehow that I want everything to be okay for her in spite of what she's done!

[arcum42]

2553791

Oh, I feel for Diamond Tiara too, at least this version of her. Of course, I'm the one putting her through all this, but that's a writers lot.

Thing is, it isn't that she's necessarily a bad filly at the core. Self-centered, acting out, spoiled, yes, but most of that is a product of her upbringing. Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing that can happen when you leave most of your daughters care to your staff. It is one of these cases where you sort of want to hug and throttle her at the same time.

Oddly enough, the character I'm having the most trouble writing for chapter 3 is Scootaloo. Which is strange for someone whose other fanfic has her as the main character. Maybe it's because it's a weird situation, and she isn't the viewpoint character this time. I'm up to the fourth draft, and may end up with 5 or 6.

[arcum42]

2528712

Think you've got it. And she'll certainly need to give some thought to her cutie mark. She's in the right place for that right now, though. :

And yes, I had to put a sleepy, pissed off Scootaloo in the clubhouse. I shouldn't laugh when putting my characters through these things. I really shouldn't.

[arcum42]

2532081

Glad you liked it!

[Wise Cracker]

Oh, this just keeps getting better and better. The butler is an excellent example of a rule-bound guardian with a good heart: not breaking the rules but not above finding loopholes when needed. The residence problem will need to addressed, too, I hope.

Also, I'm not sure if Apple Bloom really will suffer permanent damage from this. We know Rainbow Dash didn't get any slower after she broke her wing, we know the world has magic (including one zebra who can induce the growth of teeth), so... I'd accept that she'll have some lingering pain for a long time or the rest of her life, but a full-on handicap? This would stretch my suspension of disbelief if no cures are addressed (main reason I used Eagle's Grasp and not asthma in my own work, for instance).

[Alex Warlorn]

Oh Diamond Tiara, don't you realize the gravy train has ended? And with your only talent being wearing jewelry, you're screwed. Completely. You have no salvation. No escape. The only thing left is the world to harvest as much satisfaction as it can from you by making you suffer for your sins, and when it's done, when it is bored and wishes to move on, Trixie's days on the rock farm will look like PARADISE. You should just end it. Your father will NEVER change his mind. Silver Spoon's family will NEVER let you near their daughter again. You have no friends. No family. No useful talents. You're done. The only choice you have left is to deny the world the pleasure of seeing you suffer and END IT. Why continue when you know all that waits for you is suffering?

[IncinerateChicken]

I'm just going to stop you right there and say that this premise is unbelievable to the point of actual, physical pain. Parents don't disown their children. Like, ever. It's fine otherwise, but I just can't get immersed in the story because of this ridiculous setup.

It would be so much more believable if she ran away. Just sayin'.

[Thingamajig]

4494332 Yes parents do disown their children if they push them too far, I've even had classmates in high school who were kicked out of their family after repeatedly getting in trouble with the law.

[Sith Lord Seed]

4494332 You sir live a sheltered life because I have seen kids being disowned for anything from being gay to being spoiled brats that are just unbearable.

[sky_petal_blank_flank]

4496106 I've had plenty of friends come and sleep on my couch after being kicked out of their homes. I don't know anyone that's been disowned but I wouldn't go as far as to say it doesn't happen.

[heirofaniu]

4622577 Happened to me, I lived in my car for 4 months before I finally managed to get a lease in some 1 bedroom shit hole in the east side, AKA, "Duh muhfuggin hood nyuccuh."

[MajesticPoniesEverywhere]

LOL DT is screwed.

[DarkChiyo]

Hmm. I hope DT will get a break. I'm honest I was about to drop it because of the overreaction of her father. Somehow the story still interests me and I want to know what happens to DT next.

I also trust the judgement of the Diamond Cutters. So lets see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

[arcum42]

5420400

The first chapter is one of the most difficult to get past. This version's better than the original, though.

I don't like stories that just heap abuse on Diamond with absolutely no sympathy for her. That's one of the reasons writing this has been interesting.

--arcum42

[Flare N Jaeger]

[ConsciousHaze196]

What was happening? She couldn't even rely on Silver Spoon?

Someone cursed her hard.

[ThatClosetBrony]

Which paragraph was that?

[arcum42]

7458430

It's been a while, but if I remember, it was this one:

The last made her think of her tiara again, and a tear ran down her face. She'd always had that tiara. It was her name. It was her cutie mark. It was her. And it was shattered. Of all the things daddy could have done, that was the worst. She'd rather he'd hit her.

--arcum42

[luna080]

She should have just gone to the Winchester and waited for all of this to blowover