Lying on a cushion in the clubhouse, Diamond Tiara slept a restless, disturbed sleep for the rest of the day and well into the next morning. Periodically she awoke, and then, as the events of the previous few days registered with her, she drifted back off to sleep. If she actually had to get up, she would have to deal with things, and right now, she just couldn't.
Eventually, after the fifth time a rooster had crowed, she woke up, and the sunlight hitting her eyes was too bright for her to just go back to sleep again.
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around. A blanket was wrapped around her that she didn't recall putting on the evening before, but then, she had been in a pretty bad state at the time.
In any case it was morning, and it must be time for school. Memories of how she had left school yesterday came to her mind.
No. No school. She wasn't going back. She was never going back. They couldn't make her.
Diamond pulled the blanket over her head. Maybe without the sun in her eyes, she'd be able to go back to sleep again. Then she heard hoofsteps coming in her direction.
"Morning!" a voice said cheerily.
She resolutely stayed curled up under the blanket. Maybe if she ignored Scootaloo, she'd go away.
"Good morning, Diamond! Time to get up!"
"Mrrggmmmph!" she replied.
Suddenly, the blanket was pulled from over her eyes. She blinked as the bright sun shone in her eyes. The first thing she saw was Scootaloo standing there looking satisfied, blanket in her muzzle. Then the blanket was dropped unceremoniously on the floor.
"I was willing to let you sleep in earlier, but if you don't get cleaned up and ready for school now, we'll both be late."
What are you, my mother? she thought irritably, then winced. Her own mother's death still hurt, even a few years after the fact. She covered it up with a scowl. "I'm not going."
Scootaloo frowned as well. "What do you mean, you aren't going? It's a school day!"
"I can't go back after what happened." She buried her head in her forelegs. "I just can't."
Scootaloo sighed. "If I spend time arguing with you, I will be late. Fine. We'll take about this later. Just make sure you forge a note for when you return to class on Monday."
She grabbed her saddlebags and marched out of the clubhouse. Diamond snatched the blanket off the floor, curled up, pulled it over her head, and went back to sleep.
Eventually she had to get up, though. Her stomach was grumbling too much, and her bladder was about ready to burst. She lay there for a few minutes anyway, then forced herself up and darted out the ramp, ignoring her hoof's protests.
There weren't any bathrooms anywhere close enough for her to get to, unfortunately, which, in her mind, was a major strike against the clubhouse as a place to live. After using a bush, much to her embarrassment, her stomach's complaints came to the forefront.
Diamond had never been this hungry before. She was used to just calling for Greywithers anytime she wanted a snack, and if she missed a meal, she'd have just gotten something from Grey afterwards. Now she'd gone a full day with only a hayshake, a muffin, pieces of another, and some peppermint sticks. Upset as she was, she was still going to have to find something to eat soon.
Well, she was surrounded by apple trees, wasn't she?
She looked around, and, fortunately, none of the Apples were there. She really should have looked before coming down. That was going to get her in trouble if she wasn't careful, though it didn't really seem like they came by this area often.
So, there were apples all around her. How was she supposed to get them down?
Actually, Diamond had seen the Apple family getting apples down. They just kicked the trunks, and a whole bunch of them fell. It seemed almost pathetically easy. Big Macintosh, Applejack, and even Apple Bloom did it. Though, she thought guiltily, Apple Bloom wouldn't be doing that again for a good while.
Her eyes darted around, despite having already checked for other ponies, because she really didn't want to get caught doing this. She backed up slowly to a tree, and kicked out with one of her hind legs, as hard as she could. Then she fell down as pain shot through her leg.
She lay there for a few minutes, clutching it and whimpering, eyes watering.
Dumb, Diamond Tiara, dumb. Kicking the tree with the same hoof you bruised earlier was a really really dumb idea.
When her eyes stopped watering and the pain subsided, she realised that not a single apple had fallen. This was clearly far more complicated than she'd thought.
At this point, she'd better just go into town and buy something with some of her precious allowance. She didn't want to. Some part of her was still huddled under the blanket in the clubhouse. But she was too hungry. She would have to ask Scootaloo how she got apples later.
Her course of action decided, Diamond got herself up, hoof still hurting a bit, and limped down the road towards town. The dirt road turned to cobblestones, and soon she was coming up on the town square.
The first stall she saw made her wince and back away a little. It was the stand for Sweet Apple Acres, and Applejack was manning it. On seeing her, Applejack looked at Diamond with such a glare that she found herself quickly trotting to the other side of the square, regardless of how her hoof felt.
She'd have to deal with Applejack eventually, of course, but that could be later. She wasn't in any state for a confrontation at the moment. She'd just buy something from one of the other vendors.
On the side of the square she was at now, there was a two-pony stall that seemed to be selling teriyaki bowls with mixed vegetables and rice nearby. That was a little plebeian, but it was food, and wasn't going to use up all her bits. She trotted over and looked over the menu. Well, this would do, anyways.
Standing in front of the stall, she looked up. There was only one pony behind the stall at the moment, a cream colored young stallion with a red mane who was busily counting bits behind the counter. He didn't seem to have noticed her.
She could take care of that. Diamond Tiara loudly cleared her throat, and stood there expectantly. The lanky stallion's head jerked up, and the bits spilled out of the box he was counting from, causing him to curse and start gathering them up.
After he had gathered his bits up, he straightened up and gave her a hard look. Well, she had his attention, at least.
"I'll have a rice and vegetable teriyaki bowl with raspberry ice tea," she ordered, in a no-nonsense tone of voice. The tea was a little overboard, but she was pretty thirsty, too. Now, be a good food merchant and get me my lunch. I'm starving!
She wasn't particularly prepared for the look of scorn that crossed his face, or the response he gave.
"You!" he said loudly. "You've made me lose my place! Do you know how long I spent counting that out?"
"Well, I-" she started, before being cut off.
He gave her a closer look. "Oh, it's you. I almost didn't recognise you without your muzzle in the air like some Canterlot wannabe princess. Where's your high and mighty father? Or that tagalong of yours?"
"That's not fair-" She'd never been treated like this when getting something to eat before. Shouldn't he have been serving customers?
"And what would somepony like you know about fair, going around starting fights and breaking other ponies legs?"
What? Did everypony know about that?
A few hoofsteps sounded to the side of the stall, but Diamond Tiara paid them no mind.
"I-I'm not- I didn't-"
"Sure you didn't." He snorted. "We don't need your kind of business. Get out of here! Get your no good, stuck-up muzzle away from this stall!"
Sure, she couldn't go to school, but she couldn't even buy anything to eat? Was the whole universe out to get her? She wanted to be tough and put him in his place, but she just couldn't deal with this today. Tears started streaming down her face despite herself.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Scram!" He stomped one hoof for emphasis. At the same time, she heard hoofsteps ring out coming towards the stall.
Diamond bolted away from the market. Behind her, she heard some arguing, and a strident female voice giving a lecture, but she didn't turn around, even when she heard somepony calling her back. She ran out of the town square as fast as her legs would take her.
She couldn't cope. She was past that. She wanted her daddy. She wanted her mommy or daddy so bad right now. And they weren't there for her. Daddy wouldn't help her, and mommy was gone. With the tears in her eyes, she couldn't even tell where she was going, but it didn't matter. Everywhere was bad for her now.
The funny thing was she'd thought she'd cried herself out yesterday. It didn't seem like she should have any tears left, but evidently she did. She kept going until her hoof started complaining again. Nopony seemed to be following her, so she slowed, then stopped.
Getting slightly better control of herself, Diamond blew her nose, blinked away her tears as best she could, and tried to figure out where she'd ended up. As she looked around, she realised that maybe her thoughts had influenced where she'd gone after all.
This section of Ponyville was fairly deserted, especially this time of day. She would have known where she was from the trees, flowers and the black iron gate in front of her, even if a sign saying "Ponyville Cemetery" wasn't right there.
Nopony really liked to visit the cemetery, and she really was no exception. She hadn't been there in quite a while. But she nudged the gate open anyways, and walked inside, closing it behind her.
Wandering down a grassy path, she weaved between trees and gravestones, her hooves automatically going down a route that was etched in her memory. Soon enough, she was there, standing on a well maintained patch of grass in front of a gravestone. The headstone read "Primrose - Beloved wife and mother".
She lay down in front of the gravestone. She wanted her mommy, but this was about as close as she could get. This was as close as she'd ever get again. At least she could talk to mommy, even if she couldn't answer back.
She lay there shaking for a moment, fumbling for what to say.
"Mommy?" she said hesitantly in a weak voice. "I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while. I miss you, and I really need you right now."
There was no reply but the wind whipping through the trees, not that she'd expected one.
"I've really m-messed everything up. I k-kinda broke another fillies legs. I didn't mean to! But now everypony hates me and nopony wants me and daddy doesn't love me anymore and I just d-don't know what to d-do or where to g-go."
She sobbed uncontrollably for a few minutes before getting her composure back enough to continue.
"I-I know I'm not wearing my t-tiara," she managed. "You always thought I looked l-like a p-princess with it on. Daddy b-broke it. I d-don't even have the pieces."
She sniffed, and blew her nose on the grass.
"Everypony t-thinks I'm a b-bad pony. Am I? Maybe they're r-right. M-Maybe Equestra doesn't even need a stuck up p-pink pony that hurts e-everypony around her."
There was nothing but silence.
"Oh, what's the use? I'm just lying here talking to some d-dumb stone," Diamond sat up. "I wish you were here. I l-love you so much…"
She set her head down in her forelegs and just sat there sobbing for some time. She didn't know how long and didn't really care. She only snapped out of it when she felt something furry rubbing against her side.
Diamond Tiara wiped her tears away, and looked behind her. Rubbing against her was a tiny white kitten. It was the cutest thing she'd seen in quite a while. She managed a bit of a smile.
"Hello there, kitty. Are you sure you want to hang out with a bad pony like me?"
In response, the kitten walked up, looked at Diamond Tiara and started walking back and forth next to her, rubbing her head against one of Diamond's forelegs in universal cat for 'pet me now'.
She started stroking the kittens fur obligingly. The kitten purred and arched up against her, rubbing against her side. Her tail flicked back and forth.
She just kept on petting the kitten, feeling its soft fur against her forelegs. After a while, the kitten rolled over, and demanded her attention on its soft underbelly. Of course, this turned out to be more of an invitation to play, as the kitten started tussling with her, grabbing her hoof with its paws and doing a fierce mock attack on her with her claws and fangs.
After a few minutes, the kitten settled down, and let her rub its belly, especially once she started scratching behind its ears as well. Her emotions gradually calmed down as she devoted all her attention to pampering the kitten next to her.
As she returned to a more normal state of mind, she looked at the kitten.
"Now what exactly are you doing wandering around in a cemetery, anyways?" The kitten looked back with unblinking blue eyes. "I'm sure somepony has to be missing you."
She'd be glad to just keep the kitten, of course, but she couldn't even feed herself. Besides, the kitty was wearing a collar. She must already belong to somepony.
Diamond Tiara scratched her under the collar. The kitten purred even louder, enjoying the scratching, and a tag worked its way from the underside.
She flipped the tag over. "Snowpuff. If found, please return to Vanilla on 34 Black Currant Rd., Ponyville 4723". She didn't think that address was too far away, actually. She supposed that wasn't surprising if 'Snowpuff' got here on foot. Maybe she could at least make sure the kitty got home safely, even if she couldn't.
Of course, Snowpuff wasn't that great of a name for a kitten, to her mind. Maybe 'Pearl', or 'Iris', or 'Ivory' would be better. Or Claws, she thought, as they dug into her hoof once again.
"Okay, kitty, come on," She stood up. "Let's get you home to your family."
When Snowpuff didn't want to move from the spot she was in, Diamond just scooped her up, and put the kitty on her back. There, she curled up and seemed to go to sleep faster than Diamond would have thought possible, not even waking up when Diamond started walking.
Following the same path as before, she left the cemetery, and started trying to figure out how to get to the kitten's home. Soon she was walking between houses, looking at addresses, and it wasn't that long before she spotted a little filly wandering around looking back and forth, clearly upset.
The girl's face lit up as she saw Diamond with Snowpuff curled up on her back. She ran up to her.
"You found my kitty!"
Suddenly Diamond found herself embraced in a surprisingly big hug for such a little filly. The kitten, feeling a jolt, cracked open one eye, assessed the situation, and closed it again.
Diamond found that she had very little prior experience that would cover having a young filly clinging to her. "She's yours, then? Are you Vanilla?"
The filly nodded, letting go, finally. With her off-white coat and dark brown mane, it was pretty easy to tell where her name came from.
"I was just going outside, and Snowpuff ran out before I could stop her!"
Several snide responses did run through Diamond's mind, but she stopped herself. Everypony already thinks I'm awful. Why prove it?
"She came up to me, and started rubbing up against me. I think she just wanted to be petted."
"Oh, well, I can do that!"
Vanilla grabbed the kitten by the front legs, and started rubbing her belly. The cat looked at Diamond Tiara with a resigned 'the things I have to put up with' look.
"I don't think she likes being held like that," Diamond Tiara said, having to restrain herself even further. "Maybe you should put her down, and pet her on the ground?"
The filly dropped Snowpuff to the ground. The kitten circled around Diamond once, rubbed against her, and then went over to Vanilla, who started stroking her.
"Thanks for finding my kitty!" the filly called out, and the two of them walked off together as Diamond Tiara looked on, a bit enviously.
If only life were that simple. Well, maybe Scootaloo was back from school by now.
As Diamond Tiara started to back to the clubhouse, her stomach rumbled yet again, reminding her how hungry she was. She sighed, and started munching on the grass on the side of the road as she walked.
And so Diamond's transformation into a better pony begins...
3430027
She's certainly taken a step or two in the right direction. It bothers me when characters get redeemed without sufficient reason, and suddenly are a much better pony. Here, she's got all the reason in the world to change, and has had lots of good examples thrown in her path. Even so, it won't be easy for her.
Though the next chapter, at least, should go better for her.
SWEET! An update! :D
Finally get to see what happens @_@
Only takes one first step to turn yourself around, Diamond.
Small white kittens with blue eyes is a pretty popular thing in Diamond stories it seems. Shame she didn't get to keep it, but thankfully she was more realistic then self-serving and knew she couldn't possibly care for the kitten.
If you care:
Nothing else worth mentioning imo. Pretty solid really.
Far as what I thought about the chapter, it was a nice potential setup/foreshadowing chapter. That chef dude at the fast food stall was a total ass. You should probably recast him as one (donkey). Rather cute chapter if all too short, like Diamond this has me thirsting for more.
That said, you still have my interests in the story piqued. Good job, could of used a better hook to end it on though, but overall it served well for opening up some surprises if you choose to use that mare or somehow use Vanilla later on again. You have me guessing so I call this chapter a success.
3430146
Just make sure you don't trip.
3430228
Well, I think most people have the kitten from the "Find a Pet" song in mind, really. and I pretty much figure the fact that she was still really hungry would clue her in that she couldn't care for it.
Oh, and thanks. I've taken care of the typo.
Also, one thing worth keeping in mind about that stall was that it was a two pony stall, with only one pony in it. ^_^
The pony behind the stall was certainly acting like a jerk. He may have had a reason to have a grudge against her, though.
As far as the ending, well, I did have my reasons...
Glad you liked it, anyways. I'm halfway into the next chapter at this point, in fact, because I started writing it while I was revising this one...
3430146>>3430250
Well, it'll take a lot of steps to actually get there, but turning around is certainly a start...
3430299
The real question is,
Is she going the right direction?
Life is full of twists and turns,
If you choose wisely,
You may make it to a better path,
However be carefull which roads you take,
Or you will end up back where you started.
oh, err, in the authors notes? that was rather bad choice of words considering what got her into this situation.....
3430298 hehe, I was being overly descriptive to drive that episode into focus. But I always thought those two would be awesome together since that Daring Doo cameo in Reading Rainbow.
I recall, still I'd explain why I just don't like many of the adults in this fic but I have a massive migraine and if I talk anymore pony right now I'll never get to the store!
See you later, will save the next chapter for tomorrow though just to have something to look forward to.
3430590
I have a feeling you just accidentally left a comment for someone else's fic on mine. Hope that migraine goes away...
--arcum42
You ran the chapter by Luminary twice? I still found a bunch of errors. :/
3432310
I mainly ran it by him for help with two specific scenes, though he did look the whole thing over. I was actually more interested in help with the dialogue and a few other things.
In any case, I'm willing to look at any errors that are pointed out to me.
Why so mean to a little Filly like Dimond?
Was Diamond finding the kitten a step twords redemtion?
Or is it just a front and more pain is coming?
Can't wait? Till then
Well, that was a great chapter ^^
I thought it was very satisfying, half the time I thought it would end, but it kept going; I liked that. I also loved how there were different locations, they fit nicely and kept the story fresh. In other chapters it sometimes felt like parts dragged on for too long in a certain location, you made them work though.
The cemetery scene can speak for itself, poor Diamond Tiara. Quick we nee something to cheer up the readers! Can't go wrong with kittens that was almost too much d'aw. For a second I thought she was going to keep the cat, cuz y'know pets help control stress, but she didn't which is kind of refreshing since the "finds animal and keeps it" plot is sometimes hard to resist. When the owner saw DT with her cat I thought she was going to be mad and accuse her of stealing Snowpuff, but once again you surprised me. It was smart to make the owner a younger filly (at least that was my impression of Vanilla). I'm glad your making Diamond take little steps in improving her attitude; learning to hold back a snarky or snide remark is hard when you're used to just saying them.
What I really like about this story is how not everyone in the story is just a flat out jerk, you're doing a Merriwether W. type story right. Instead of putting a character in a situation and making everyone a strait-up jerk you make them act a little mean but keep them in character. Pinkie didn't kick DT out, she served her but she was still cold to her. Why do I feel the need to bring this up, well I think that it was Applejack who came to Diamond Tiara's aid and yelled at the store owner. I don't care if others thought it was obvious it was Applejack, I think it was brilliant if it was her. Despite the horrible thing Diamond did to her sister Applejack sees the unjustness of the store owner and tells him off. Beautiful characterization! You're doing a wonderful job with this story, almost everything is done so well. I look forward to the next update.
(I don't hate Merriwether btw, she's one of my favorite writers, I can recognize her faults and still like her.)
The concept of grass eating has returned, nice little brick joke there.
I love that glare from Applejack. Even if it was just a brief little moment, it's amusing to imagine just how much meaning and emotion would be packed into that look.
I can't quite figure out if the teriyaki stallion was someone we should recognize from his coloring, though, or who the female who scolded him therefore might have been. Perhaps something to find out later, I suppose, if it was significant enough. Maybe it was even AJ herself, but I'm not sure about that. Hard to say how many ponies around town have enough information to be forgiving toward her, at the moment. Maybe it was Twist's mother? I don't know.
The scene with the cat had me imagining how sometimes homeless people will manage to have their faithful pet that they bring everywhere with them. Diamond can steal Scootaloo's wagon, and get a pet of her own to go walking around town with, then the transformation will be complete. More likely, of course, she'll continue her gradual trend toward just generally becoming a better pony. It's already interesting seeing her to the point now of hoping Scootaloo might be back from school now.
3434275
Glad you like it! It's nice to have a long positive comment about it after that one about it being full of errors (but without any mention of what type of errors or where they were, so I could fix them, of course...).
As far as the locations goes, one of the tricky things on this story is that it tends to be so focused on what's going on in Diamond's head that it's easy for it not to move around much. I did like having Diamond get out and about for once. There was a point where this chapter would have been just her moping around the clubhouse, but I scrapped that long before I actually started on the chapter.
The cemetery scene was very difficult to write, actually. I kept getting a lump in my throat and my eyes tearing up, and then having to stop working on it for a bit because I was at work, and I couldn't afford that.
Also, as far as the kitten, keep in mind that there's a bit of a trope that if you spend a good deal of time talking to someone who is dead at their gravestone, you'll be answered in some way. And Diamond's mother definitely would have comforted her after everything she's been through. I did very much enjoy writing the kitten, though. ^_^
Vanilla is indeed a fair amount younger than Diamond. Her color scheme is meant to be fur the color of vanilla ice cream or a vanilla flower, and a mane the color of a vanilla bean, incidentally. After everything I did to Diamond in this chapter, she needed a hug, so I made sure she got one.
And you're right, I don't like characters to be flat out jerks, or if they are, I like to at least know why. Normally if someone is acting mean, there is a reason for it. Not necessarily a good reason, but a reason. I know what the motivations of the stallion behind the stall, the kids at school that cornered Diamond, and even Filthy Rich are.
I'm starting to believe everyone thinks it was Applejack yelling at the stallion at this point. It's tempting sometimes to change where things are going based on where everyone tells me they think it's going. I'm good at not doing that unless I didn't already have something in mind, though.
I couldn't resist revisiting the grass, but there was another reason I put it there, too. Diamond just did something that she stated earlier was uncouth and undignified. Every bit of character development helps.
The funny thing is there's still something I mentioned in the first chapter that I'm waiting to pull back out. In fact, I'm planning on mentioning it again just so it isn't too out of the blue...
3435171
Yeah, AJ is not happy with Diamond at the moment. Possibly less than at the beginning of the chapter, though. Can you imagine what mixed emotions you must have seeing someone you are really upset at getting chewed out, but for something they totally don't deserve? Of course, they were at opposite sides of the square at the time.
The teriyaki stallion was an OC, but he did have the same coloration as someone in the last chapter. Of course, I actually specifically described that stand as a two-pony stand with only one pony in it...
The main thing with Diamond and a pet is that you have to have a certain level of personal responsibility to take care of one. If she had a pet, she'd normally be relying on Gray to feed and bathe it for her, and she doesn't have that luxury any more.
Also, if the wagon crashed into Apple Bloom with enough force to break her legs, it's probably totalled as well. It is an interesting mental image having Diamond wandering around town with a pet behind her, but I doubt it'll happen.
The funny thing is that some of what I'm writing for the next chapter almost has me picturing Diamond as Scootaloo's pet. I almost wish this was enough of a crack fic to go that route. Diamond did make a fair amount of progress in this chapter, in any case...
Welp, it's official: ponies can be jerks just as much as humans can. The show writers would be proud
3437104
I absolutely could not resist the pun in the title on that chapter, though I'd already decided on Twist for other reasons. Not the least being that I like Twist, and I'd already been looking at Silver Spoon and Twist being friends.
I also enjoyed in the scene where Diamond is being surrounded, having several of them being all upset about Apple Bloom while Rumble was coming in with "You yelled at Twist!". I'm rather more sympathetic to Rumble in that scene, really.
I also remember fondly Diamond thinking "Why wasn't Miss Cheerilee ever there when she was needed?". There was a nice amount of irony in there.
3437128
Funny you should mention that. One of the other comments I got on this chapter was comparing me to Merriwether Williams for exactly that reason.
I'm fairly satisfied with the chapter. I got some good character development in for Diamond, and the next chapter can be lighter.
I like "Primrose" as a name for Diamond's mother, too, for some reason.
3432310
I'm a giant failure.
Keep in mind, I'm a pre-reader, not a proofer or an editor. I keep an eye out for errors, and it's possible I caught a few, but I wasn't going line-by-line searching for them. T'was more look-and-feel I was after. There are many brands of help available 'round these parts. And not all of them are the same.
3435289
Diamond would make an awful pet. You'd have to apply the rolled-up-newspaper to muzzle far too often. Still, she's definitely Scoot's project. And hell, she seems to be doing a damn good job of it too. Personally, I think the most hopeful sign of DT's redemption isn't the kitten. It's easy to love cute, affectionate things. I think the best sign is that she's actually looking forward to seeing Scootaloo.
(Also, thanks for the mention arcum! It's always nice to see. Feel muchly appreciated )
3437736 Well that's a bit more understandable since you're not an editor.
3435289
Actually, that color scheme sounds an awful lot like a particular filly both of us are fond of...
Do I detect a touch of Chuck Jones?
i.imgur.com/2S6HSjZ.jpg
3439841
Well, she was in the last chapter, wasn't she?
And that's quite possible ...
--arcum42
I'm looking forward to the long and arduous process of transforming Diamond into a pony of note. However, I hope she's never invited back by her father. I think that bridge has been thoroughly burned; she should have to find her own way from now on.
3441662
She'd never be able to trust him again, even if he did take her back in. She is, however, rather young and sheltered to have to find her way on her own. Fortunately, she's got Scootaloo there to show her the ropes...
It's worth pointing out that from my perspective, I don't consider his shattering her tiara and kicking her out to be the only things he's done wrong. An awful lot of her problems are due to the way she was raised, and that comes right back to her father again.
3441820
No doubt. Children are products of their environment. Diamond wouldn't be the way she was if not for her family spoiling her rotten.
And now that you mention it, Scootaloo was awfully quick to render aid to the poor homeless filly. I get that she's nice and probably feels like they now have something in common, but Diamond did torture her and her friends mercilessly for years, and now crippled one of her friends. I feel like Scoots and Sweetie accepted her a bit too quickly.
3441906
Well, as far as Scootaloo goes, if Diamond hadn't had a complete breakdown in the middle of their fight, she might not have taken her in. But it was pretty obvious she needed help badly, and no matter what their history, Scoots wasn't about to throw her out.
Keep in mind all she's really done for Diamond so far is let her stay there, made sure she got to school one out of two days, and probably thrown a blanket on her. She's upset at Diamond, but it's no fun to kick someone when they are down.
Sweetie Belle is actually a bit nicer than Scootaloo, and a little more forgiving and generous. She is, after all, Rarity's sister. Bear in mind she also threatened Diamond, though.
Ironically, for having such an important role, we haven't seen Apple Bloom's reaction yet, since she's still in the hospital. That ought to be fun to write...
3442026
Well, if Apple Bloom has any of her sister's temper, she should not only hate Diamond, but would probably be upset at her friends for helping her. She'd get over it eventually, though.
3442033
Well, if Apple Bloom gets too upset at her friends, they should be able to outrun her easily enough...
Though, seriously, that chapter's likely to be one of these ones that takes several rewrites before I get it where I want. The one with Scootaloo and Diamond arguing was actually my fourth rewrite. The first one sticks out in my mind for having Scootaloo tell Diamond her whole backstory at the drop of a hat. Sorry, Diamond, Scoots doesn't like you, and doesn't like to talk about it anyways...
belpheles.com/memes/90000_S4Hga2MWNjzTEFz.jpg
Clearly at this point the only way DT is gonna atone is to smash her own legs in public.
3446209
Reminds me of something I was working on for a few chapters down the line. ^_^
To be fair, if she was really thinking, she'd have tried going to Sugarcube Corner...
3460642
Yeah, I had fun with that scene. It's a pity that the comedy and sad tags are incompatible, according to the FAQ, Comedy tends to creep into my stories. Of course, part of it here is that with the way this story goes, I need to lighten up the mood every so often..
Of course, my next unpublished chapter so far is pretty much "Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara Take a Bath". (And is up to 3k, if you can believe it.)
--arcum42
Well, at least she found someone that likes her. Even if it's a cat, it's better than nothing.
Also, accidents happen, even when the original intent wasn't very good in the first place, so all of the adults calling her out are justified, but the ones who are deliberately ripping her apart come off as cruel. ESPECIALLY the food mare. Refusing to sell her clothing or supplies I could understand, but not letting her eat is just unnecessary cruelty to a character who's probably feeling as guilty about the situation as the victim is pained.
And schoolkids trying to break her legs intentionally?
It was an accident when she did it and she pretty obviously hates doing it in the first place, disowning or not, isn't the explicit desire to cause disability to another illegal in, oh, I don't know, EVERYWHERE!?
You're treading on thin ice, this is supposed to be emotional and sympathetic, not a Diamond Tiara torture porn.
3460838
Don't forget the cat's owner. She was pretty happy with Diamond. No matter what Diamond may think, it shouldn't be too difficult to mend fences with Twist. And Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle may not like her, but they seem willing to help her out.
Also, keep in mind that she talked to one food vendor. He's not necessarily representative of everyone's attitude. The fact that she heard arguing as she left, and someone calling her back would tend to indicate that someone, at least, disagrees with him.
I'm sure the schoolkids just meant to scare her initially. The trouble is that when several people come together, it can turn ugly. And very few people know that she's been disowned, or even had anything happen to her as a result of what happened.
The next chapter is going to be a lighter one, and things are going to be getting better for her. She doesn't really have everyone out to get her, no matter what she thinks. And things will be revisited with the food vendor and what happened at school. Keep in mind I'm not showing the things going on in the background that Diamond isn't aware of.
I'm not saying she won't have bad moments, but where things in general have been going further and further down, they'll start going up. This is not tagged as a tragedy.
3460985
Alright.
Can't blame me for being worried, if things are going south fast and there's no tragedy tag, it usually means the writer is relishing a bit too much in the suffering.
I look forward to the next chapter.
3462050
Actually, I was tearing up a bit when writing the graveyard scene. I'd not really relishing her suffering, but she'd in a pretty bad frame of mind right now, and I want it to be realistic that she'd be at a point where she feels she needs to make some changes.
She was also trying to do everything on her own in this chapter, and now it should be pretty obvious that she needs help.
Of course, I may very well have something bad happen to her in the next few chapters, but the trend will be upwards. (And not in the next chapter, anyways. Bear in mind Apple Bloom will be out of the hospital soon.)
--arcum42
3469656
Oh, yes. Filthy is out of line, and, in fact, what he's done is against the law, or would be here, anyways.
Living with the Apples would obviously be rather problematic in this case. And I'm not planning romance. Though I've had hints slip in to stories that I didn't intend before.
I think disowned, homeless Diamond tiara is original to me, though I could have missed one. I'd certainly like to read others. I could think of several interesting ways this could have gone that I didn't take...
This.
I didn't cry over a fanfiction ever, mot even My Little Dashie.
But...
I made an exception to this.
I cried quite horribly, sobbing.
Sir, you deserve a medal for this.
That's funny, I used a kitten in the same scenario in one of the stories I was writing...... and.............
AW DA FEELZ!!!!!!!!!!! THEY KILLIN MEEEE !!!!!!!
Legit tears I can't process thisssssss
SHE JUST WANTS HER MOMMY
5353725
Believe me, I still appreciate the feedback. This particular chapter, I recall I had to stop writing at least once or twice because I was in public, and couldn't really afford to let it get to me at the time, so I definitely know how you feel...
--arcum42
I'm glad I continued to read this story. Love all these chapters. I hope things are going to get better for DT soon.
5420668
Ouch, yes, this was one of the darkest points so far. I can't even read the graveyard scene any more. I try to make sure I have enough lighter scenes to balance the darker ones, though.
Glad you're enjoying things.
--arcum42
A kitten?
D'aww...
eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014106/rs_500x220-141106114741-tumblr_nelsh9bmDI1rrtza4o7_500.gif
I just noticed that I recognize around half the chapter names as song titles. Are they all songs, or just some of them?
Also, kittens make everything better ^.^
7461124
The first three weren't. Everything past that is a song title or a variation of one, though. Usually they have some connection to the chapter in question as well, of course.
And honestly, I had to end this chapter on a positive note, after everything that happened...
--arcum42