> All That Glitters...
>  by Comet Burst
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Act 1, Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Spike... I," the stunning white unicorn stammered. Her wondrous blue eyes sparkled at the sight of what the little purple dragon was holding. In his outstretched claws sat the most magnificent diamond she had ever laid her eyes on. The sparkling gem was cut flawlessly into a pentagon, each face polished to a mirror sheen. It glimmered in the light, casting tiny beams of pure light in every direction. It almost didn't look like a rock; more like a piece of ice carefully and painstakingly carved into a priceless gem. It's size boggled her mind as well. It was well over the size of most normal diamonds, as large as Spike's head. Such a gem could give the unicorn whatever she wanted. The bits it could fetch would secure her for life, allowing her time to design dresses and fashion at her leisure.

Spike grinned sheepishly at the white unicorn mare, Rarity. The object of his affection was clearly floored by his gift, giving the young drake some courage. He was pleased she liked the gem so much, even though he knew she would. Her cutie mark was three diamonds! Steeling his will, he managed to talk.

"I'm glad you like it," he murmured, staring at his toes. For some reason, the speech he had prepared got stuck in his throat. "S-so Rarity, I was hoping that, uh, that you... and me. Well, we kinda could, uh," Spike felt his cheeks burn bright red. He had thought about this moments for a long time now, but none of it was going the way it did in his head. Forcing himself to look up, he saw Rarity's bottom lip quivering as the diamond sparkled. Her beautiful blue eyes were getting glassy, so Spike returned to looking at his feet.

"Rarity," he spoke with as much determination as he could, "Will you please be my-"

He felt a hoof press against his mouth and looked up. The most adorable pony he had ever known had her pristine hoof up against his mouth and had her eyes shut tightly.

"Spike," she moaned as if hurt, "Please, don't do this." Confused, Spike tried to say something, but Rarity cut him off. "This won't work, darling. You and I, we're just too different. Not just you're a dragon and I'm a pony, but I'm also much older than you. We just, we can't be together." Rarity refused to open her eyes as she spoke.

Upset, Spike knocked away her hoof, determined to make his case. However, before he could utter a syllable, Rarity spun around.

"Spike, please forgive me," she whimpered before running through the door. Spike watched her run and felt his chest tighten. He wanted to chase after her, but his feet refused to move. Why did he think she would say yes? His vision started to blur as he looked down at his feet. Spike had pictured this moment in his head for days, often daydreaming about how happy he'd be when she said yes. Instead of glee, Spike had never felt more sad in his life. The silence around him screamed at him what he had done wrong, but it was soon broken by a more horrible noise, that of hoofbeats.

"Oh my," came Pinkie Pie's voice, "I didn't think that would happen."

Spike wiped his eyes of the water and ran out of Sugarcube Corner, leaving his pristine diamond on the tile. Several ponies sat in an awkward silence, some playing with parts of their sweet treats. Behind the counter, Mrs Cake stood there, looking at a purple and white cupcake.





Spike looked down into his own blurry reflection as water rolled down his still burning cheeks. The reflection was all distorted from the water dripping onto it. He sat on the railing of a bridge, the same one he and Rarity almost died at. He rubbed his left cheek morosely, the discussion still in his mind. As he sat there, a set of hoofbeats slowly made their way up to him.

"Wow, look at the big, scary dragon." Came a mocking voice. "What's he doing here all by himself? Crying that he doesn't have a fillyfriend on Hearts and Hooves Day?"

Spike sniffed, but refused to answer. He didn't care what she was saying, he was too upset to answer.

"Hey!" came the voice again. "I'm talking to you!" 

Spike still didn't answer.

"Fine! Be that way, you big scaly foal! I don't even want to talk to you. You know why? Cause you're just a big baby! You know how I can tell? Because you're sitting here crying, just like a baby would. I should find whoever made you like this and be their friend, 'cause you're just a big baby!"

"Stop it already!" Spike almost shouted to the pony talking. He felt his sadness slowly turning into anger towards this pony.

"Aww, is the little baby gonna cry some more?" Came a bittersweet taunt, "Is he gonna cry some big dragon baby tears?"

Now angry, Spike turned to face his antagonist. Behind him, at the base of the bridge, stood a pink filly with a purple and white striped mane and tail. His eyes momentarily flicked up to the piece of jewelry on her head, a sparkling tiara with several diamonds inlaid into it, before returning his gaze to her light blue eyes. She was grinning menacingly and Spike scowled.

"Just who do you think you are?" He demanded.

The filly tossed her mane back and proudly puffed herself up. "I'm the great Diamond Tiara, thank you very much! The prettiest and richest filly in all of Ponyville."

"More like the most annoying." Spike retorted. Diamond Tiara immediately dropped her proud demeanor and scowled back at the baby dragon.

"Like you have any room to talk, crybaby!" she growled, "At least I'm not crying on Hearts and Hooves Day!"

"Whatever," Spike sighed, turning his angry gaze to the river, "At least I had a date."

Diamond Tiara gasped before baring her teeth at him. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She demanded.

Spike looked back at the angry filly and frowned, burrowing his brow as well. "You've got such a terrible attitude, I'm sure no colt would ask you out."

The pink filly looked ready to burst into flames, like Twilight did when she was angry, before shouting, "Like you know anything, crybaby! I could've gone on twenty dates today!"

"Yeah, but I bet you went on none." Spike glowered, knowing he was making the filly mad. "You probably couldn't even get that colt Snails to ask you out."

That did it. Diamond Tiara gave an angry shout of frustration before charging up and tackling Spike, both of them flying over the railing. She had only been this mad at Applebloom before, but Diamond was more irritated with this annoying purple dragon than she had ever been. She wanted to shout at him, but the cold water that splashed over both of them stopped any malacious intent from either of them. The river was actually deeper than she thought and Diamond kicked away from Spike, flailing her hooves around, trying desperately to swim.

Spike, on the other hand, easily swam up to the surface. He wasn't a sea dragon, but he knew how to swim instinctively. He broke the surface and gasped for air since he didn't have time to hold his breath before falling into the water. A loud splashing and a hoof to his jaw caught Spike's attention as the pink fully, Diamond Tiara, broke the surface, gasping for air and yelping as she sunk back under the water, emerging seconds later coughing up water and flailing some more. Spike easily swam to the shore, rubbing his cheek where she had hit him before turning around.

"Help me!" Diamond Tiara shouted as she flailed around, "Somepony, please! *glub*"

Spike, immediately forgetting how much he disliked the pony, jumped back into the water and swam out to a hysterical Diamond Tiara. The pony wasn't easy to get a hold on, giving Spike two more shots to his face as he swam up underneath her before scrambling to hold on to his tail. Once she had a hold of him, Spike deftly swam back to the shore and the pink filly scrambled onto the bank. Spike coughed a bit, accidentally swallowing a bit of water when Diamond dunked him while trying to hold on. Shivering, the pink filly wobbly got to her legs and instinctively reached up to her head. The familiar tiara she wore wasn't there.

"My tiara!" She wailed, pushing past Spike and scanning the water from left to right. As Spike breathed rather heavily to restore his lost oxygen, Diamond Tiara wailed loudly and sunk to the ground. Spike turned around to watch the pink filly as she cried and, as much as he didn't like her, felt a little sorry for her.

"Hold on, I'll find it." He said as he jumped back into the water. Diamond Tiara stopped crying just enough to see his purple scaly body disappear below the surface and sniffled as she waited. Without her tiara, she felt incomplete. After a few seconds had passed, a clawed hand clutching a very familiar tiara shot out of the water, followed by the head of a baby dragon. Diamond Tiara squealed happily and once Spike got ashore, tackled him into a huge hug. 

Spike and Diamond both plopped into the muddy bank, but Spike hardly noticed. His eyes were transfixed on the jewel encrusted headdress currently clutched in his hand. It had diamonds, lots of them, encased in a stunning sterling silver. Each diamond shined brilliantly in the sun, each sparkling and almost inviting him to pick them out. The baby dragon had barely noticed when the pink filly let him go, but instantly saw her hoof grab for the tiara. It was hers, of course, but Spike found his hand wasn't working. The filly gave it a little tug, but the claws of his hand didn't let go.

The little pony tried again and this time the dragon let go. A little flustered, Diamond went about putting her tiara back into her mane. With it soaked, it was quite difficult to position it in the right way. It sagged to the right, then to the left, and then slipped backwards down her hair. Diamond growled angrily as she fought with it, realizing how stupid she must look. When it finally sat still, Diamond Tiara risked turning around and saw Spike staring blankly at her with his mouth hanging open slightly. The pink filly stared back at him too, unsure of what to think. She was going to say her thanks and leave, but the little dragon was staring at her like she was Princess Celestia. It didn't take long for a small blush to work its way onto her cheeks and, knowing she was blushing, Diamond tried to hide her face in her mane by messing with it.

Spike, for his part, was still staring directly at the jeweled headpiece. The diamonds weren't flawless, but they were pretty close. The silver shined brilliantly, complimenting the sparkle of the gems perfectly and giving it a radiating aura. Spike had not noticed this when he met her, but it grabbed his attention like never before. He... wanted it. He wanted it so bad.

Before he could do anything, though, the pink filly finally worked up her courage and trotted over to the young drake and muttered something. Spike, who focus was still on the tiara, replied with an aloof, "Wha...?"

"I said," Diamond spoke up louder, putting more effort into it this time, "Thank you for rescuing me and my tiara."

Spike's attention broke from the tiara and his mind slowly processed what she had just said. Shaking his head, he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Aw, it was nothin'" he responded.

"Hey, what's your name?" Diamond asked timidly.

"Uh, Spike?" the drake answered.

"Okay, Spike. Do you, uh, do you want to, uh..." Diamond started to ask. She had no idea what to say since she only planned to go shopping with Silver Spoon later. The pink filly had no idea if the dragon even wanted to be around her. She finally noticed she was looking at the ground and straightened up, like a proper mare should.

"Do you want to..." Her mind raced for something to do when she noticed he was splattered with mud. She looked around at herself as well and saw mud caked on her pristine coat. That was when it struck her what to do as she supressed a snort of disgust.

"Come over to my house for a meal?" the pink filly continued her thought, "We have a bathtub you can get cleaned up in."

Spike looked himself over and saw the mud. He chuckled a bit and said "Nah, it's okay. I should get back to..."

"No!" Diamond cried out and stomped a hoof, "You saved me, so I should repay you."

Spike looked dumbfounded at the filly and worded, "It wasn't that big of a deal..."

"Come on, Spike," Diamond stated as she trotted past him, head held high despite the water still dripping from her mane, "My home isn't too far away."

Spike sighed to himself, but followed the pink pony. With his bust with Rarity, Spike had little else to do today other than clean up the library and Owlicious's perch, a job he particularly didn't like.
> Act 1, Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike felt horribly out of place as he strode through the extravagant mansion. It was tall and spacious, much like the hallways in the castle he was familiar with. Tall windows stretched to the vaulted ceiling, giving the feeling of being outside. The walls, when not dominated by windows, were colored a tan color and portraits of many kinds of ponies hung gracefully. Some were simple, like the dark brown colored painting of an earth pony in a straw hat and suspenders. Spike paused at the painting and had the suspicious feeling he had seen the stallion before.

"That's my great granddaddy," Diamond chirped up from behind, "Stinkin' Rich." The pink filly trotted up proudly, despite the dried mud stuck to her legs, and swept a hoof up at him.

"He was the first Rich here," she explained with a bit of excitement, "Before Ponyville was settled, he came here to open a variety shop for travelers. He was right to do so, because when he started selling the zap apple jam from the Apples, he set up the business Daddy runs today!"

Spike scratched his chin, studying the painting. Diamond's explanation jogged his memory to remembering that Twilight had read about him before coming to Ponyville. There was a picture of him in the book that Spike had seen. "Yeah, he was also rumored to have dated Granny Smith too, right?" he asked, remembering a conversation between Twilight and Applejack had when the zap apple harvest began.

Diamond Tiara cringed at that and said, "Ugh, thank Celestia he didn't go any further. Imagine me being related to Applebloom," At that, the filly shivered and stuck her tongue out, apparently disgusted. Spike tilted his head at her and felt confused.

"You don't like Applebloom?" he asked, "She's actually really nice."

"She's a spoiled little blank flank!" Diamond bit back angrily, "Her and her stupid friends are all just jealous of me and Silver Spoon!" She started huffing heavily and began to snarl, but realized she was doing this in front of Spike. Taking a deep breath and counting to five slowly, Diamond felt herself calm down and smiled again.

"Sorry about that," she replied sweetly, "I do have a tendency to get angry. Daddy says it's because his side of the family is short tempered."

"Uh... right," Spike answered in an unsure tone. Returning his gaze to the portrait of Stinkin' Rich, he tried to imagine the smiling farm pony getting angry like that. Somehow, the calm grin and tired eyes of the portrait made it very hard to do so.

"C'mon, Spike," Diamond ordered as she started marching again, "We still have to get you cleaned up before Daddy comes home." The young drake rolled his eyes, but still followed her down the large hallway. Why he was doing this, even he couldn't figure out. Sure, Diamond was just trying to be nice, or so he though, but she really wasn't the kind he had become friends with. All of the ponies in Ponyville he knew were nice and friendly, smiling at each other and always having something nice to say. This filly, however, definitely had some very thin skin and a harsh opinion. Still, a free bath was a free bath, and Spike liked baths.

Diamond Tiara, however, mentally bucked herself in the face for that outburst. Yes, she loathed Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but a mare always controlled her emotions, especially around guests. Outbursts like that had cost her friends in the past, two to be specific. The only one she had left was Silver Spoon and that was because she defended her from a bully who broke Silver's glasses. Diamond shook off the memory of that day and continued forward, peeking behind to see if Spike had gained interest in anything else. His green eyes scanned the building, but he often stopped at suits of Royal Guard armor that stood in neat and orderly rows down the hallway. before Diamond could explain, however, a new voice echoed down the hallway.

"Diamond!" came the voice of a mare, thickly accented. Both Diamond and Spike turned to see the source and it turned out to be a mare with a tan pelt and sandy blonde mane. She wore an apron and a white hat similar to the tiara on Diamond's head. Diamond groaned a bit as she approached, but held her ground.

"Oh my goodnezz!" the mare almost shouted, "Mizz Diamond! Vhat happened to zee? You are a terrible mezz!"

Diamond rolled her eyes and replied, "Hello, Nanny Sweetums."

"I told you, dirt and grime iz terrible for your coat and mane, young mizzy! Vhy, look at yourzelf. Such a mezz," Nanny reprimanded. She continued to look over Diamond until she noticed a small blob of purple and green behind the pink filly.

"Oh, and who might zis be?"

"Oh, um, hi! I'm Spike," the young drake said with a little wave of his hand, "Diamond said I could come in to--"

"Diamond, vhy iz he here?" Nanny Sweetums cut off, eying the pink filly suspiciously.

Diamond gave a rather dramatic huff before replying. "He's here to get cleaned up and have a snack. He's my guest today."

"But I zought you et mizz Zilver Zpoon vere busy today?" Nanny queried.

"Silver is doing something else right now," Diamond snapped back, clearly annoyed.

Nanny Sweetums nodded at that and said, "Vell, if he iz your guezt, zen he is velcome. I vill drawn zome vater for you to clean up in. Mizz Diamond, I'm zure you know where it iz. Mizter Zpike, please follow me."





Spike sighed contently as he rubbed the mud from his scales. The water was perfectly warm, like Nanny Sweetums had known him her whole life. Bubbles of many colors surrounded him and clung to his scales, giving him a nice and clean feeling. In truth, Spike took less than a minute to clean himself off, but he was just enjoying this now. The baths at the Golden Oaks Library were nice, but this was better in every way.

The washroom, as Nanny called it, was rather large and spacious, easily the size of Twilight's loft and contained a variety of interesting things. The room was a pure white, almost as white as the castle in Canterlot. Near the door sat an ornate sink shaped to resemble a variety of seashells. Spike could easily name them since Twilight once had him quiz her on seashells, requiring he had to learn them all too. To the right sat a large wooden armoire stuffed with silken towels and other washroom essentials, each with exotic names Spike was sure cost a lot more than what he normally used.

The tub he was in was a magnificent porcelain with brass knobs and pipes, polished to glow brighter than the tub. The tub sat on marble floors and to the left sat a wonderful panoramic view of the Everfree forest. Spike just sighed again and settled in. He could get used to this.

A little tickle under his nose got his attention and he saw the bubbles had gotten on his face. Sitting up, they stuck to him and formed a rather long beard. Picking it up, he chuckled at it. He remembered being interrupted by Twilight once while in the middle of a bath and coming out with the bubble beard, not even realizing it was there. All of her friends were there and thought it was funny, even Rarity.

Spike stopped there and felt a twinge of sadness. Oh, that's right. Rarity rejected him. Slumping back into the tub, Spike let the beard fall away, feeling a horrible sadness creep back into his chest.

On the other side of the mansion, Diamond Tiara was having a much rougher time.

"Zis is not good!" Nanny Sweetums wailed as she vigorously scrubbed Diamond's mane, trying to get a clump of mud out. Diamond yipped at how hard she was scrubbing and tried to pull away, but Nanny refused to let go, making it hurt a lot worse. Diamond sat in her tub within her own washroom, a pink room with pictures of supermodel mares surrounding her. Diamond wiggled her hooves weakly, trying to reach the other end of the tub as Nanny pulled harder.

"How in Equieztria did you manage to do zis?" Nanny queried, finally feeling the clump of mud break, "Did zat Zpike character do zis to you? If he did, I'll-"

"No, he didn't, Nanny!" Diamond almost shouted, "I fell into the river and Spike saved me and my tiara."

Nanny gave a skeptical look at Diamond's head and replied, "Iz zat zo?"

"Yes, now will you please stop pulling my mane out?!" Diamond shrieked. Nanny Sweetums acquiesced and let go of Diamond's mane, satisfied. Sloshing around in the bubbles, Diamond raised her hooves up to her crown and massaged her scalp, hoping to ease the pain.

"Diamond, you are not... interezted in zis young dragon, are you?" Nanny queried.

"No!" Diamond shouted back, glad she wasn't facing Nanny.

"Are you zure? You've never brought a ztallion here, much lezz a drake."

"I'm just trying to be friendly!" Diamond almost wailed, not liking this conversation. "Daddy said I should try to make more friends, and that's what I'm doing."

"Of courze, my little flower. It iz admirable you would, but he iz a bit outzide ze normal realm of poniez."

"So?"

Nanny smiled at the little filly she had cared for since she could barely walk. "Juzt be careful. Friendzhips with coltz can give ze wrong mezzage if you are around him too much."

Diamond just sat there quietly, fuming to herself. She knew what it could mean, but why did Nanny bring it up? Diamond was just thanking Spike for rescuing her and her tiara, nothing more. Where did Nanny draw a line between a thank you and that? Spike wasn't even officially her friend yet, not like Silver Spoon, which reminded her of something.

"Is Silver Spoon here yet?" Diamond asked.

Nanny scratched her chin and said, "You know, I thought I heard a knock at ze door. I vill go check." Diamond waited until the door shut behind her to let out a long sigh. She loved Nanny Sweetums, but sometimes she just smothered her too much. Diamond's mother was actually very distant from her daughter, away on business almost every week. She was always in search of new products or business ventures, leaving Diamond with her father a lot. Filthy was a great father, of course, but he was always tired and never spent a lot of really meaningful time with his daughter.

Diamond sunk lower into the water and blew some bubbles with her mouth, thinking about her parents. She always wished her mother would give her a bath like this, or that her father would take a day off to just spend time with her. As she thought, images of Applebloom smiling with her sister and brother popped into her head, along with Dinky Hooves and her mother and Silver Spoon with her father. Diamond scowled angrily and slapped the water with her hooves, splashing it onto the side of the tub.

Still, she did have Silver Spoon, who was the best friend she could ask for, as well as Nanny Sweetums. Now, she possibly had a new friend in Spike. Life wasn't all that bad, except it was also Hearts and Hooves Day and she had no date again. That overtook her mind and Diamond sulked about that for a bit.
> Act 1, Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diamond's mood was slow to improve as she sat in her room, letting Nanny Sweetums fix her mane. Her room was very spacious, big enough for three ponies to share comfortably. The walls were a vibrant pink, painted to match her pelt, along with purple and white trim for her mane. A king sized four poster bed was the centerpiece of the room, it having a wonderful silk comforter colored pink as well. To the left of the bed was a whole walk in closet containing outfits and dresses of almost any kind Diamond could want. To the right of the bed was her doll and stuffed animal collection, containing a large number of plush dragons, Diamond's favorite creatures. She always loved the story of the princess being put to sleep by an evil unicorn, only able to wake up when a dragon gathered six special gems.

Still, Diamond winced slightly as Nanny gave her mane a little tug, still sore from the bath. The mare relaxed her grip on the filly's mane, apologizing for hurting her. Diamond just sat there, glum and sad as Nanny gently rubbed the sore spot on her head, making it feel slightly better.

"Iz zomzing ze matter, little flower?" Nanny asked with a bit of concern.

Diamond sighed heavily and replied, "I miss Mommy and Daddy..."

Nanny, instead of replying with words, simply stopped fidgeting with Diamond's mane and gave the filly a hug. Nanny had been with Diamond since she was a foal, just barely learning to walk. In her mind, Diamond was as much her daughter as she was her biological mothers'. The pink filly still sat glumly as her caretaker tried to comfort her, happy she was there, but still feeling the void of her real mother and father's hug.

As she hugged the filly, Nanny Sweetums reiterated the well worn, but comforting words of a caretaker to Diamond. "Zweetie," she softly whispered, "Your parentz love you. Zey love you very much. Zey alwayz zay to me zey wizh zey could be here for you, to zee you and to hug you. When zey can't, zey rely on me to be your mozher, a job I never tire from. I love you like my own daughzer, Diamond. You are ze most perfect little filly I could azk for."

Diamond turned around to face her caretaker. She looked up at Nanny Sweetums with her big icy blue eyes which threatened to shed tears at any moment. Nanny smiled gently at the young mare and began to push some rogue strands of hair out of her face, humming gently. Diamond buried her face into Nanny's chest and stayed there for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Nanny," she hicced weakly, "Why does nopony like me?"

"Vhatever do you mean, Diamond?" Nanny replied, aghast.

Diamond looked back up to her with the same sad expression and said, "Mommy and Daddy are never around and all the other fillys in school had dates today. Even Silver Spoon did and I was all by myself."

"Now lizten here, Diamond," Nanny spoke in a firmer tone, "You are too young to be zhinking about coltz at zis age. And Beziddez, zere are plently of poniez who want to be around you. Mizz Zilver Zpoon zhould be here zhortly and your new friend, Zpike, iz waiting for you."

As she finished speaking, Nanny lifted her hooves to her mane and finished fixing it. "Now, look in zat mirror behind you," she ordered. Weakly, Diamond acquiesced and saw her own reflection staring sadly back at her. As she stared, Nanny's hooves gently lowered her trademark tiara down onto her head and nestled it into her mane. A small grin crossed Diamond's face as she looked at her tiara.

"Now, iz zat ze faze of a filly nopony vants to be around?" Nanny's voice asked from behind. Instantly, Diamond's sour mood vanished and she smiled happily. Turning around the filly gave her caretaker a big hug, one that Nanny gently returned.

"I love you, Nanny," Diamond said into her caretaker's chest, her voice muffled slightly.

"And I, you" Nanny replied with the affectionate voice of a mother.

As the two hugged, a loud bell toll rang through the house. Diamond eagerly broke the hug and ran off, shouting, "Silver's here! Silver's here!" Nanny just smiled contently as she trotted out of the room, heading down to the parlor where Diamond's new little friend, Spike, waited.





Little did Diamond know that the bell was rung as Silver walked in. The gray filly was on her way over to the parlor, trotting happily along the familiar hallways of the mansion.

"Ah, Miss Silver Spoon. How nice it is to see you again," came a voice from another room. Silver turned to see a white pony stallion dressed in a suit smiling warmly at her.

"Hi, Nit Pick!" Silver replied enthusiastically, waving to him. Nit Pick was Filthy's personal butler and often made sure the house was in good working order while he was away.

"Diamond should be joining you shortly," he replied in his official tone, "The parlor is, of course, open to you."

"Thank you!" Silver said sweetly in reply and trotted off to the room. She knew where it was because it was where she and Diamond hung out the most. Diamond's room was usually off limits due to that side of the mansion being cleaned when they would hang out, but the parlor was always open and prepped for them, complete with clothes from Diamond's closet to try on, her jewelry and make-up and sometimes her stuffed animals to play with.

Today was different, though, as Silver noticed a small purple dragon sitting in one of the big squishy armchairs in the room.

"Who are you?" Silver spoke up, catching the small dragon's attention. He was busy admiring the room, a large and open space with several armchairs, one of which he was sitting in, and some more portraits. Little things were littered about the room, some being tables, others being vases or a sapling palm tree. Spike was rather amazed by the house in general, but his attention was now drawn to the new pony in the room.

She was about the same size as Diamond, but was a bland shade of gray. Her mane was a lighter color and shimmered, giving it a silvery appearance, like her mane was made of silk. A large set of blue rimmed glasses sat on her snout, almost hiding her purple eyes.

"Oh, hi there," Spike said, getting down from the chair, "I'm Spike, Diamond Tiara's guest today," Spike wasn't sure if she was part of the staff in the house, but he wasn't going to attempt to find out.

"Wait a minute," Silver replied, narrowing her eyes at the young drake, "Haven't I seen you before?"

Spike really didn't know how to answer that. "Uh, well, I work at the Golden Oaks Library with Twilight Sparkle, if that's what you're asking," he stated with an unsure grin.

"No, I-- WAIT A MINUTE!" she shouted loudly, "I've seen you with those annoying blank flanks, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle!"

Spike flinched slightly at her shouting, but managed to say, "Uh, yeah. They're my friends."

Silver regarded the dragon curiously and queried, "If you're friends with them, why are you Diamond's guest? She absolutely can't stand them."

Before Spike could answer, the door to the parlor opened again, this time revealing a very familiar pink filly. "Silver!" she shouted as she ran to her best friend.

Silver eagerly greeted Diamond and did their traditional secret hoofshake. "Bump, bump, sugar-lump, rump!" they both said in unison, leaving Spike feeling awkwardly out of place. As the two fillys giggled, Diamond lead the way over to him.

"Silver, this is Spike!" she stated happily, "He's my new friend! Spike, this is Silver Spoon, my best friend"

Silver's glee faded rather quickly as she nudged Diamond. "You do know he's friends with the blank flank dorks, right?" she whispered.

"Oh, I already knew that!" Diamond responded. unfazed, "He saved me today, so he's here to hang out with us!"

After some more awkward conversation, the three settled into the room. Diamond and Silver began to play dress-up with Spike being their judge, which was something he was used to doing at the Carousel Boutique. It stung him to remember helping Rarity pick out outfits, but the two fillys almost dulled that sensation by making him laugh at their outfits. Diamond and Silver were taken aback by that at first, but got revenge on Spike by having him model some clothing next. They nearly died laughing at him in the silly outfit they picked out. Spike was embarrassed, but he knew it was justified for him laughing at them.

After about an hour, Nanny Sweetums brought in some snacks for the young ones. Diamond and Silver happily munched on some cakes while Spike stared uncomprehendingly at the jewel he was given. It looked like a garnet, a usually spicy gemstone, but the weight was off.

"Try it!" Nanny insisted, "I'm zure you vill looove it!"

Spike tentatively bit into the stone, but found it had a soft inside and was juicy. Instead of being spicy, the gemstone was actually very sweet and had a cherry flavor to it.

"It'z a cryztal fruit from ze Cryztal Empire," Nanny stated proudly, "Zey were zought to be exztinct for yearz, but vhen ze Cryztal Empire returned, zey did too! Zey are uzed for making delicious drinkz moztly becauze poniez cannot eat zem raw, but I knew you could."

"It's so good!" Spike exclaimed as he took a large bite. The sound of rocks breaking echoed in the room and both Diamond and Silver gasped.

"Oh no!" Diamond shouted, "You didn't break your teeth, did you?!"

Spike happily chewed on the fruit and mumbled through a full mouth, "Noph. Drgon teeph r ment to brek rcks."

"Wha?" Silver replied, flabbergasted.

Spike swallowed the delicious fruit down and repeated, "Nope. Dragon teeth are meant to break rocks. Our favorite snack is usually rubies or sapphires, but we eat all sorts of jewels."

"You... eat jewels?" Diamond asked with her mouth hanging open.

"Uh huh!" Spike replied with a confident nod of his head, "They're so sweet and delicious, they're like candy to dragons!"

Spike wound up laughing at the awestruck expressions of Diamond and Silver for several minutes. After their snack, the three wound up having fun swapping stories. Spike was particularly the one the two fillys wanted to hear from since he had been in on several adventures. They listened as he recounted his tales of meeting other dragons, saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra, meeting Princess Luna and so on. Spike wound up talking for most of the three hours they spent in the room until Nanny Sweetums poked her head back in.

"Diamond, zweetie, I take it your friendz vill be ztaying for dinner?" she asked.

Diamond's attention to Spike's story of the Royal Wedding broke at that question. "Oh, yes, they will!" she called back before asking them. Silver clapped her hooves together happily and smiled while Spike tilted his head.

"Wow, is it really that late?" he asked, "I should get going before Twilight gets worried."

"No, please stay!" both Diamond and Silver wailed to him. Spike grimaced a bit as both Diamond and Silver gave him their sad faces, bottom lips quivering and all.

"Well... I guess I could. Twilight's probably still reading her reviews on the Elements," Spike mumbled, feeling his confidence shatter under the looks of the two fillys.

"Yay!" they both shouted and hugged Spike. As an instant reaction, Spike began to blush at the two fillys hugging him and slowly pried himself from their grip.

'Today might not have gone as planned,' Spike thought, 'But I haven't had this much fun in a while.'
> Act 1, Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike licked his claws as he walked along, still savoring the meal he just consumed. Knowing he was a dragon, several crystal fruits were cut, fire grilled and glazed with a delicious sticky sauce. Spike was used to just eating small gems for dinner, but these ponies really treated him. Diamond and Silver Spoon giggled uncontrollably as they watched him eat, mostly because once he realized what it was, bits of the crystal fruit flew everywhere and the glaze got onto his face. Nanny Sweetums smiled at Spike, but in the same way Applejack smiled when she lied. Still, Spike absolutely loved the meal and said his thank yous to the chef and Nanny.

Night had fallen over Ponyville and the lights from the buildings lit the streets as he walked home. As Spike walked, he thought about the day and how it went. He woke up hoping to win over Rarity, got rejected, was taunted, saved a drowning pony, got a free bath and a meal and made two new friends. All in all, today was a pretty good day for Spike. Still licking his claws, Spike saw the familiar sight of the Golden Oaks Library, a rather large oak tree with a balcony sticking out of the canopy. All the lights were on, which meant Twilight was still home. Spike grinned to himself, wanting to tell his adoptive older sister about his day.

As soon as Spike entered, though, a mass of lavender crashed into him and began to squeeze him. "Spike!" Twilight nearly shouted, "Oh my Celestia, I was so worried about you! I heard what happened at Sugarcube Corner and I went to find you, but nopony had seen you! I thought you ran away!"

Spike tried desperately to get some air into his lungs to respond, but Twilight seemed to squeeze him harder and made an odd sound, something like a sniffle. "Spike, I'm so sorry I let you do that. I though Rarity might say no, but I didn't think it would happen like it did. Rarity's been at home crying all day and I was so worried about you and... *sniff*"

Spike, finally able to get a breath down, choked out, "Twili *huh*, you squeez meh."

Slowly, the lavender unicorn let him go and wiped her eyes, still sad. Spike, who gasped for air, finally got enough to speak. "Don't worry, Twilight," he said through breaths, "I'm not going to run away."

"Then, *hic* what happened to you?" Twilight asked.

"I, uh, met a new friend," Spike replied, "Her name's Diamond Tiara."

Twilight's ears perked up and her sniffling stopped, leaving her with a concerned face. "Spike," she began, "This isn't another Rarity thing, is it?"

"No, she's--"

"Because I know you're sad about Rarity rejecting you and all, but you can't just jump on the next mare you meet."

"Twilight, she's not even--"

"And that's a classic sign of depression. Spike, where did you go after Sugarcube Corner?"

"The bridge, but I--"

"Oh my Celestia! Did you try to jump off it?!"

"No, but I did fall off it with--"

Twilight gave a very shrill scream as she hugged Spike once again, this time applying her uncanny strength to his head instead of his chest. Spike thought his eyes were going to bulge out as Twilight spoke, "It's okay, Spike. You're with me now. There's nothing wrong with being sad, just jumping off bridges won't solve it. You're safe with me, Spike."

"Twilight," Spike groaned, "I'm not that upset about Rarity anymore."

Twilight was about to say something, but an unusual odor caught her snout. She sniffed a few times and looked down at Spike curiously. As she let go of his head, she noticed he was sticky with part of her pelt peeling off a portion of his face.

"Spike!" she shouted in apparent disgust, "What is all over you?!"

Spike rolled his eyes and said, "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I met a new friend today!"

"Yes, you mentioned that, but--"

"She's a filly named Diamond Tiara, not a mare. She tackled me on the bridge, which is how I fell over it. She couldn't swim, but I saved her and she invited me over to her house and I took a wonderful bubble bath. After that, I stuck around and hung out with her and her friend, Silver Spoon, and I ate the most wonderful crystal fruit!" Spike managed to ramble off in one breath.

Twilight eyed him curiously, still trying to understand what Spike had just said. "So... You made a new friend?" she asked cautiously.

"Yep!" Spike replied with a confident nod.

"Oh, well, uh, that's great!" Twilight said, trying to sound happy. Her ears perked up and a smile crossed her lips as her assistant began speaking, thankful he was alright.





Back at the mansion, Diamond Tiara sat alone in her room, fidgeting with a plush dragon. As she did, her thoughts drifted over to Spike and how nice he was. Granted, the way they met wasn't exactly the best way, but she was glad they did meet. Spike was such a nice dragon, even though Diamond had been harsh on him to begin with, and was strong and heroic. Diamond felt a small blush come to her cheeks as she thought about the look Spike had given her on the bank of the river. He looked like he had just seen another princess.

A couple knocks at her door broke her revelry and she turned to it. The door swung open to reveal a light brown earth pony wearing a red necktie and had the same icy blue eyes Diamond had. He looked tired, but he wore a very familiar smile.

"Daddy!" Diamond squealed happily as she bolted over to him. The pink filly leaped up at him and wrapped his neck into a huge hug, causing the stallion to give a small grunt, but he returned the hug.

As he hugged his daughter, Filthy spoke up. "So, Nit Pick and Nanny tell me you made a new friend today. A dragon."

"Yup!" Diamond replied with a big grin, "He's a really nice one too! He played with me and Silver Spoon the entire day and even--"

"That's nice, dear," Filthy responded with a yawn. Diamond immediately let go and looked down at the floor with a guilty expression.

"Sorry, Daddy," she mumbled, "I know you're tired. Goodnight."

Filthy's eyes widened at that. Yes, he was tired, but he didn't want to leave his only daughter yet. "What?" he asked blankly.

"I know you want to go to sleep, so I'm not going to stop you," Diamond replied as if she was apologizing.

"Now what makes you think I don't have time for my precious little filly?" Filthy asked.

Diamond flinched at that, making Filthy feel as though he had just lectured her. Giving a small sigh, Filthy put on a smile and picked up his little girl, carrying her over to her bed. He gently set her on the bed and nuzzled her snout. "Diamond, no matter how tired I am, I always have time for you," he cooed in his deep voice.

"But, I don't want you and mommy to be too tired and get sick," Diamond squeaked.

Filthy raised his head and kept smiling at his little pink angel, who was looking quite unhappy. "I have time, Diamond. Now, why don't you tell me about this new friend?"

For the next forty minutes, Diamond rattled off things about Spike. She told her father about the adventures he had been on, how he could eat crystal fruits raw and how cool it was that he was a dragon. Filthy, of course, smiled the whole time and asked some questions, particularly about how they met, but listened as his daughter spoke.

"Well, he sounds like a nice colt, er, uh, drake," Filthy corrected himself, "I would like to meet him one day."

"Yeah, me and Silver are going to try and get him to come over tomorrow!" Diamond responded with a small hop on her bed.

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Filthy said, looking around the room.

"Oh, Silver went home already. Her mother came around looking for her."

"Ah, I see..."

"So, are you going to tuck me in?"

"Of course. What father wouldn't?"

After she snuggled into her bed with her plush dragon, Filthy gave his daughter a kiss goodnight and shut off the lights.

"Daddy?" Diamond asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"I love you!"

Filthy smiled as he stood in the doorway and looked back at his little filly. "I love you too," he replied and shut the door.

It took Filthy a few minutes to walk to his own room, but his butler, Nit Pick, managed to find him.

"Ah, good evening, sir," the white pony greeted him, "It's good to see you."

"Same to you, Nit," Filthy responded, "I take it all went well today?"

"Very much so," Nit replied and began walking with Filthy, "The house was thoroughly cleaned, the shipment of crystal fruits arrived two hours late and the mail was delivered to the wrong address again, but it was nothing important."

"Very good," Filthy said, trotting along.

"There was one minor issue today, sir. You see, Diamond's caretaker, Ms. Nanny, is getting too close again."

"Oh?"

"Ms. Nanny, in the past, has tried to usurp your wife's position as Diamond's primary caretaker, often referring to Diamond as her daughter. This could have some serious impact on Diamond's relationship with her mother, leading to instability in the future."

"I see..."

Nit gave a small sideways glance to Filthy and continued. "Forgive me, Filthy, but I would recommend either replacing Nanny or talking to her."

"Is that so?" Filthy replied, seemingly uninterested.

"Do you like it that Ms. Nanny holds a greater position in Diamond's mind than your own wife?"

Filthy sighed heavily and said, "It's all because of Nanny that Diamond's remotely normal."

"Really? How so, sir?"

"I haven't seen my wife in almost four months, Nit. For Diamond, it's been even longer. I'm rather glad Nanny is being a pony Diamond can rely on."

"Uh..."

"I had a bit of a revelation today, Nit," Filthy began as the two ponies entered into his study. It was a large room, made to look like an office, but decorated more leisurely to help ease the mood. "You see, I've been working for days at my business to assure myself that Diamond would be happy in the future. However, one of my business partners just had a huge breakdown today about her daughter. Apparently, her daughter, who is the same age as Diamond, asked who she was when she returned home."

"Oh dear. That must have been bad."

"Exactly," Filthy accentuated, "My own wife has hardly been around for Diamond. I make time for her, but she doesn't even write to her own child. I'm not saying I'm a shining example of a parent, but I at least come home and tuck her in every day. Still, that doesn't mean much. Diamond is alone from the time she gets up until it's time for her to sleep. I thought about that all day today, and I realized I'm an atrocious parent to her."

"Filthy," Nit Pick interrupted, "You mustn't be so harsh on yourself. While it is true your wife is away a long time, you make the most out of your time with her. She loves you for that."

Filthy sighed heavily and planted his rump into a very squishy, yet comfy, chair. "But you see the problem, Nit? Diamond doesn't need her father as much as she needs her mother. I'm there enough to make her happy, but I've seen her around Nanny. She adores her more than even me. It makes me sad to think I've wasted my potential with her, but I smile at her when she's carefree and happy. I know she's happy with Nanny and I would be a terrible parent to separate them."

Nit Pick just sighed at that and brought over a small glass of amber liquid. Filthy was right with his assumptions on Diamond's relationship with Nanny, but he seemed to severely underestimate his own. Nit had seen her reactions to Filthy's arrivals and the smiles she had when she was around him. If anyone could make Diamond happy, it was her father. Still, it was not his place to lecture his master. Nit gave him the glass and Filthy slowly downed it, savoring the flavor.

"I will honor whatever decision you make, Filthy," Nit spoke in a reassuring tone, "I'm worried about Diamond as much as you are. She's a bright young filly and I don't want to see her become anything less."

Filthy sighed again and replied, "Thank Celestia I have you around, Nit."
> Act 1, Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Filthy stood in the doorway as he watched his daughter sleep. His heart seemed to ache as his little princess gave a small sigh and nuzzled her plush dragon. She looked serene and surreal, like he was watching her from outside a glass wall. It warmed his chest to see his daughter so happy, but it also hurt to know he wouldn't see her until the evening later that day. The light brown stallion smiled at his little princess and slowly closed the door, making sure not to make any noise. As the door shut, Filthy sighed heavily to himself.

"Sir, I can rearrange your appointments today, if you wish." a voice spoke softly to him. Filthy looked behind himself to see Nit Pick standing at attention, holding a teacup in his hoof. Filthy said nothing as he took the teacup and sipped it slowly, Nit eyeing his every move. The tea was strong and full of caffeine, Filthy's best friend, but the dark cloud in his mind refused to go away. He thought about what he had heard at work, where the mare's own daughter asked who she was, and about his talk yesterday with Nit about his relationship with Diamond.

"What do I have scheduled for today?" Filthy asked dejectedly.

"With a word, it can be nothing," his loyal butler replied.

Filthy gave a small laugh at that, closing his eyes and feeling slightly better. Still, he didn't even know what was planned for him today. 

"Who must I see today, Nit?" he plied in a happier tone.

Without missing a beat, a list appeared behind the butler's back and he brought it around. The white pony cleared his throat and began.

"At nine o'clock, you have a meeting with the Flim Flam Brothers who say they have an invention you would be interested in. After that, your presence will be required at the corporate office for a board meeting about a new store location in Appleloosa. Once you are finished there, you will not be required anywhere until three o'clock, which you have been asked to join Hoity Toity's and decide on the most recent clothing line he wants you to sell."

Filthy grimaced as he heard the list and sipped his tea. There was no guarantee the board meeting would end before three o'clock, especially if he was to inspect a new gadget that these Flim Flam brothers wanted him to buy. He supposed that was why the board meeting didn't have an official start time, because he would have to inspect the device for flaws and test it before giving an answer.

Yet again, another day of running a company.





Diamond sat in class, bored out of her mind. It had only been an hour since she had arrived under the careful supervision of Nanny, but now she wished she was at home. It wasn't that Ms. Cheerilee was a bad teacher, but Diamond's thoughts were elsewhere, particularly on a young purple dragon. The replay of yesterday ran through her mind, from the incident that was their first meeting where she tackled him off a bridge, to the look of happiness on his face as he chomped down of a crystal fruit.

She sighed happily as she remembered the whole day. So many pleasant memories flitted through her subconscious that she failed to notice Ms. Cheerilee passing out a test on the subject they were going over.

"Diamond?" her voice faintly spoke over Diamond's revery.

It took the pink filly a few seconds to realize there was a cranberry mare with a bubblegum pink mane staring at her.

"Uh, wha?" Diamond asked in a dazed tone. Instead of getting an answer, the sound of other fillys and colts laughter filled the room behind her. The laughter cut her to her core, making her realize what a fool she must have looked like.

"Wha's the matter, Diamond?" came a particularly irritating voice from her right, "Ya can't even hear now?" Diamond felt her cheeks redden as the laughter grew around her. As a snarl crossed the pink filly's face, Ms. Cheerilee turned to the source of the voice.

"Applebloom!" she said in an exasperated tone as the voice started laughing too.

Without warning, Diamond turned her snarl to the pony to her right. The yellow filly was laughing at Diamond, her fluffy red mane and ribbon bouncing around. Her laughter sounded louder than all the others, mocking the pink filly with every breath.

"Be quiet, you stupid blank flank!" Diamond growled.

"Diamond!" Ms. Cheerilee gasped.

"You can't tell me wha' ta do, deaf pony!" AppleBloom responded, forgoing her laughter for an snarl as well.

"Applebloom!" Ms. Cheerilee repeated.

Diamond's snarl morphed into a smirk as she saw the annoying yellow pony get angry. "Yeah, I know only your parents can." she sneered.

At that, the whole classroom gasped and fell silent, giving Diamond her much needed moment of silence to let it sink in. Her statement had the desired effect as she watched Applebloom's face soften in shock before hardening again.

"Diamond!" Ms. Cheerilee gasped, completely blown away by what the pink filly had said.

"Well, at least mah family wants ta be around me!" Applebloom almost shouted in response, the hurt evident in her voice.

Now it was Diamond's turn to let words cut her. It felt like a bucket of icy water washed over her as she registered those words.

"Apple-!" Ms. Cheeilee tried to say before Diamond cut her off.

"At least I see my father every day!" Diamond shouted.

Applebloom gasped at that and Diamond grinned darkly. She could see how much that hurt her and pressed more salt into the wound.

"And even though they're away, my parents come home to see me more than yours."

"Hey!" came a new voice. A white unicorn filly poked her head around the desks to see Diamond and Applebloom. She had a striped purple and pink mane, accented by emerald green eyes. Diamond knew that pony, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom's annoying friend.

"That was uncalled for!" she shouted, trying to stop her from attacking AppleBloom more. The yellow filly already had tears forming on the sides of her blazing orange eyes, but unknown to Sweetie Belle, Diamond grinned more.

"Aw, you have to get another pony to fight for you?" she mocked in her sarcastic sweet tone, "That's funny, because I don't need anypony to-"

"Enough!" Ms. Cheerilee shouted.

The room fell into a deadly silence as all eyes turned from the bickering fillies to the cranberry mare. Her face was fixed into a scowl as she glared at Diamond Tiara.

"Diamond, go sit in the corner," she said with a deadly serious tone, "Now."

"But Ms. Cheerilee!" Diamond protested, "Applebloom-"

"Now, Diamond!" Ms. Cheerilee shouted.

"But-"

"I said now!"

"Ms. Cheerilee!" came another voice, one Diamond recognized to be Silver Spoon, "Applebloom did start it!"

"Silver!" Ms. Cheerilee nearly yelled in response, "Stay out of this or you can join her!"

After that, Silver didn't protest anymore and Diamond sat there, staring at the mare. She didn't know what to feel as she tried to comprehend how she had gotten in trouble and not the annoying blank flank who was sniffling now. Ms. Cheerilee was right there, and yet it was Diamond who got in trouble.

She ALWAYS got in trouble.

Diamond's shocked expression quickly turned into a scowl as she pushed back from her desk angrily. Setting herself onto her hooves, she stomped past Ms. Cheerilee and muttered, "She's not in trouble 'cause you like her brother."

Ms. Cheerilee gasped at that and spun to face her. Her expression was unreadable, but clearly angry. Her face was scrunched up like she had smelled something nasty, but before she could say anything, Diamond planted her rump on the stool in the corner and pouted. Deciding she would talk to her later about that, Ms. Cheerilee let the subject drop and returned to passing out the tests.





Diamond sat alone in the classroom with her hooves crossed and a pout still on her face. Ms. Cheerilee was busy wiping off the blackboard behind her desk, forcing the pink filly to wait on her. All the other students had gone home, including Applebloom. Diamond grit her teeth as she watched the cranberry mare finish wiping away the chalk and set down the eraser before turning to her.

The two remained silent for a few seconds, eyes locked the whole time, before Ms. Cheerilee spoke up.

"Diamond, do you know why you are here?"

The pink filly rolled her eyes and looked away, annoyed by the stupid question.

"I'm not here because I like this place," she remarked.

Cheerilee pressed a hoof to her forehead and stifled a tongue lashing she was about to give.

"Diamond, what you did today was unacceptable," Cheerilee said while removing the hoof, "You had no reason to say any of those things to Applebloom or me."

"Yeah, but she could say whatever she wants," Diamond bit back.

"No, she can't," Cheerilee asserted, "Applebloom has no immunity from misbehaving, just like you don't."

Diamond scoffed at that and replied, "Then why am I the only one here?"

Cheerilee ground her teeth together and said, "That's exactly why. You will not stop arguing."

"Because I'm right!" Diamond nearly shouted back to her teacher, "She went home without a note or a warning! I'm still here and getting lectured!"

"Be quiet, Diamond!" Cheerilee spoke over her. Both the pink filly and the cranberry mare scowled at each other before the teacher spoke.

"Just so you know, Applebloom did go home with a note she needs signed and returned. Don't jump to conclusions on matters beyond your level. I am the teacher and I will not tolerate this kind of behavior here."

"But you'll tolerate those blank flanks making you like her brother so---"

"QUIET!" Cheerilee shouted, face bright red, "I will not allow you to talk about that! Applebloom's brother and I have no relationship and you need to stop bringing that up or I will suspend you!"

Diamond smartly kept her mouth shut and looked away from the teacher, utterly frustrated. She knew better than what the mare was saying. Featherweight had gotten pictures of them together when she was head of the school newspaper, so the mare was trying to cover her tracks.

Cheerilee, for her part, breathed heavily and forced herself to calm down before continuing. Diamond was undeniably the most stubborn filly she had ever taught. The little pink pony knew how to push her buttons and make her lose her cool, a rare feat for any other pony.

"Diamond," Cheerilee began again when she felt somewhat calmer, "Is there something wrong at home you need to talk about?"

Diamond cringed at the question, but forced herself to remain silent. Like she was going to talk about her personal life to a mare who hated her.

Cheerilee slowly trotted over to Diamond's desk and looked down at the angry little pony, knowing something was bothering her.

"Diamond, you can talk to me. I want to be your friend."

"Then why did you punish me and not Applebloom?" Diamond snapped back.

"This isn't about you being punished," Cheerilee deflected, "I want to help you, Diamond. Is something wrong at home? It'll make you feel much better if you talk about it than if you hold it in."

"And why should I tell you anything? You're just a teacher whose stuck with me."

Cheerilee pursed her lips at that comment and decided not to press further. The cranberry mare turned around and walked over to the desk, where she retrieved a piece of paper.

"This is a letter you have to bring home," Cheerilee stated emotionlessly as she put it on the filly's desk, "Get it signed by a parent and bring it back tomorrow or I will contact them directly."

Diamond angrily shoved the letter into her saddlebags and continued to pout. "Can I go now?" she asked impatiently.

Cheerilee nodded and the pink filly stomped over to the door. Just before leaving, Cheerilee tried one last time to reason with her.

"Diamond, whatever is making you upset doesn't have to. I am here to talk if you need to."

Cheerilee grimaced as the door slammed shut with almost unreal force.





Filthy sighed as he read the letter from Diamond's teacher. The note was just what he needed to top off an unpleasant day at his job, making him feel even worse when he came home. He knew Diamond had a temperament issue, but he thought she had gotten it under control. The note apparently proved him wrong.

"How was she today, Nanny?" he asked in a hollow voice.

"Zhe waz quite upzet, Mazter Filthy," the sand colored mare spoke, "Zhe went into her room and refuzed to come out."

Filthy closed his eyes and breathed slowly. He knew she was already asleep as it was past her bedtime, so he couldn't speak with her directly unless he made her miserable as well. In the midst of his personal parenting crisis, he couldn't bear to do that.

"Did you talk to her about this?"

Nanny nodded and spoke quickly. "Yez, zir. Zhe zarted crying after twenty minutez and kept on for an hour and a half."

"And do you know the reason why?" Filthy asked, still eyeing the note.

"Zhe zayz another ztudent didn't get in trouble even though zhe ztarted the whole ordeal."

"Was this, by any chance, a filly named Applebloom?"

"Yez, zir."

Filthy closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. He didn't understand why his daughter hated that filly so much. As the tan stallion thought, he noticed what he thought was a pattern.

"Nanny, does Diamond get along with the maids here?" he inquired.

Nanny blinked a couple of times, stunned by the question, but fumbled with her answer. "Zhe, uh, iz not to my knowledge."

Filthy frowned and said, "Thank you, Nanny. You may go. Please send in Nit."

The sandy mare nodded her head and left quickly, replaced by a stunning white unicorn in a suit.

"You are in need of my presence, Filthy?" Nit Pick asked.

"Yes. Nit, does Diamond have an issue with other mares here?" Filthy asked a little too forcefully.

Nit Pick merely straightened up a bit more and replied, "She has gotten more aggressive with the maids here in recent months."

Filthy scowled to himself as he realized what was wrong. Diamond wasn't just angry in general, she had a much deeper problem.

"Do you have a hypothesis why, Nit?" Filthy asked, already knowing the answer.

Nit didn't hesitate to reply. "She has a problem with mares in a leadership role around her."

"Not just mares," Filthy said, turning away to look out a window at the streetlights of Ponyville, "But fillys as well."

Nit nodded. He was all too well aware of Diamond's loathing of other fillys, particularly those with mothers who were active in their lives. That was why she and Silver Spoon got along so well.

"She needs a mother," he stated plainly.





Inside a dark hotel room far away from Ponyville, a stunning ruby earth pony mare brushed her mane of white in the lit bathroom. She was a mess with her mane all disheveled and her fur in uneven patches, something she absolutely loathed. She always had to look her best at any time, including now.

"Hey sweetie," came the smooth voice of a stallion from the door, "Why don't you come back to bed for a little more fun?"

The mare smirked seductively and said, "That's all you want me for, isn't it?"

"Hey, you brought me back here," the stallion answered, causing the mare to laugh. She threw him a sultry look with her stunning light blue irises and battered her eyelashes.

"Okay, but only for a little bit," she spoke, "I have a business meeting early tomorrow."

"Don't you mean today, honeypot?"

The mare tilted her head slightly and laughed again. "Yeah, you're right. It is today."

An hour later, the mare lay silently in the bed, exhausted but feeling satisfied. The stallion snored loudly next to her, keeping her from falling asleep. Instead, the mare stared at her nightstand, tracing the lines of a picture she had etched into her mind. In it, a small pink filly with a purple and white streaked mane and tail smiled happily as she showed off her cutie mark.

"Who's that?" the stallion asked, startling the mare.

"Oh, it's my daughter," she replied nonchalantly as she put the photograph face down.

"Mmm, you never told me you went around the block before, Ms. Silky Rich."

"Don't worry about that," the mare said as she kissed the stallion, "That was the worst mistake I ever made."
> Act 2, Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Present Day...

Spike shuffled along the cobblestone street, dragging his feet with each step. Adorned on his arms were many brightly colored bags with various names scrawled across their facades. Names like 'Marigold's Perfume Boudoir' and 'Green Star Outfitters' stood out among the many bags. As Spike walked with his shoulders sagging, he noticed ponies were starting to stare at him. Maybe it was the fact that a dragon was walking around Canterlot was what surprised them, but Spike doubted it. They were more likely surprised by what he was doing.

"Spiiiiike!" came a familiar call. The purple drake lifted his head to see a familiar face up ahead, one of a bright pink pony with icy blue eyes and a purple and white streaked mane.

"Spike!" Diamond Tiara almost yelled, "Stop slowing us down!"

The drake groaned as he started to walk a little faster, trying to keep up with his annoying friend. Why he agreed to go shopping in Canterlot with her was a mystery he was still trying to solve.

'Eh,' he thought to himself, 'It's not like Twilight had anything better to do.'

Ever since Twilight's coronation as the newest princess, she had almost secluded herself in the castle library, reading every book they had. As her number one assistant, Spike had to endure endless hours of fetching and putting away writings, from ancient tomes to modern biographies on Celestia, which were often incomplete.

After the coronation and subsequent move to Canterlot, Spike had found it slightly depressing that not many of his friends from Ponyville had written him. Then again, he really didn't have any outside of Twilight's circle. Diamond Tiara, however, had sent him letters almost weekly.

It was a strange situation, Spike and Diamond's relationship. It had been a while since they had first met, back when Spike was a baby dragon and Diamond Tiara was just a filly. At first, their friendship was a weird mix of things, ranging from strange looks from the Cakes when Spike treated Diamond to a snack, to a friendship party Pinkie Pie had personally overseen. Ironically, they both happened the same day.

However, Spike noticed his friendship with Diamond was doing something odd to him. While he was still upset about Rarity, who had gone into an almost reclusive state for weeks after that fateful Hearts and Hooves Day, Diamond seemed to erase the dullness that had flooded his life since then. She got him to laugh when nopony else did, made him smile with her constant gifts and even had come out to Canterlot every now and then to visit him. Spike had also noticed he had begun to change physically, similar to how Diamond Tiara was. Both of them had gotten taller, Spike being the tallest when he stood on his hind legs. The crests on his head and tail had grown as well, from a cute round frill to a much more menacing series of spikes while Diamond's mane and tail had gotten even longer and, if possible, more poofy. All in all, the two were outgrowing their "cute" stages and into adults.

Twilight had taken a special interest in Spike's growing patterns. At first, she was afraid it was due to him being greedy again, ordering Diamond to stop giving him gifts. After much protest, Twilight relented on the ban but did not give up on her suspicion. It was only when she had noticed Spike had grown without a gift from Diamond Tiara in a while did she fully remove any suspicion of Spike's greed. Her newest theory was that his growth was directly linked to those of ponies he was close to. He had only grown from a real baby into an adolescent around Twilight and was now becoming more mature while Diamond was growing up.





At the train station, ponies were everywhere. Many were boarding and disembarking trains as they pulled up at a nearly breakneck pace. Few were doing anything else, like handling luggage or sitting. Diamond Tiara and Spike, however, were standing at the entrance to the station. Diamond eyeing every pony carefully and Spike yawning, still holding all the bags Diamond had managed to fill.

It was only when Diamond squealed happily and tore off to the station did Spike notice she was still there. A rather large commotion broke out as Diamond ran up to and greeted her BFF, Silver Spoon. Spike lazily trudged over, but put on a smile as Silver noticed he was there. Silver had changed just as much as Diamond had over the past few years. She was as tall, if not taller, than Diamond now. Her mane still looked like a bushel of silver silk, but she sported a new braid that sat on top of her hair. She still wore those obnoxiously large blue rimmed glasses, but they fit her face much better now that she was bigger.

As Spike walked up, Diamond and Silver shouted, "Bump, bump, sugar lump, rump!", gathering attention from several stallions around them.

Spike glared at a couple stallions who decided to start trotting over to his friends, causing them to slink away with a scared look on their faces. When Spike reached them, he found himself almost being choked to death by Silver, who was overjoyed to see him.

"Spike! I've missed you!" she squeed as she tightened her grip around his neck.

Spike tried to respond, but only managed a slight gurgling noise. As if on cue, a pink hoof wrapped around Silver's waist and yanked her away, allowing Spike to breathe. Diamond smiled wryly as Silver landed next to her, looking as if she was about to grit her teeth.

"So, Silver," Diamond spoke as she started to trot away, "What's going on back home?"

Silver trotted a little faster to catch up to Diamond, but once she did, she responded, "Oh, you know. This and that."

"How are those Cutie Mark dorks doing?"

Silver raised an eyebrow at her friend, but replied, "They're annoying, as usual. That hick Applebloom is fixing stuff at the farm, Sweetie Dolt is singing at the restaurant and Scootaloser is flying everywhere now."

Diamond rolled her eyes at the news and stuck out her tongue. Of course, she really didn't care what those dorky little ponies were up to, but she liked being informed.

"What about Rumble?" Diamond asked with a sly grin creeping up the corners of her mouth.

"What about him?" Silver retorted.

"I heard you were getting a little cozy with him lately."

Silver rolled her eyes before responding.

"He asked me to a party on Nightmare Night. Nothing went on."

"Uh huh, sure," Diamond said in her best sarcasm, "Like nopony saw you two by the punch bowl, all over each other."

"Did Dinky tell you that?" Silver asked, sounding a little irritated.

"Well, she wrote about it in her newsletter," Diamond answered with a chuckle.

Silver groaned angrily and put her head down a little lower. Diamond went from chuckling to laughing at that. Just as Diamond did so, Silver came back with her own retort.

"What about Spike, huh?" Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.

Diamond immediately clammed up and stared straight forward , refusing to reply.

"Oh, come on. Like I don't know you have a huge crush on him," Silver teased, getting a chuckle in.

Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes at her friend before answering.

"That's not the same as you and Rumble," she hissed, "Spike and I are going to happen."

Silver chuckled again and replied, "You've been saying that since you first met him, Diamond."

Diamond sunk her head in the same way Silver had earlier, wearing a half angry, half sad look. It wasn't until Spike caught up did she perk back up.

As Spike and Silver trotted on, they got into a conversation and failed to notice the pink pony stop and gaze into a store window as they passed her. Diamond's icy blue eyes were focused on a piece of jewelry gleaming in the sunlight. It was a gorgeous tiara that sparkled with so many diamonds, Diamond wasn't sure how they all even fit in the headpiece. The sterling silver that housed the diamonds was practically flawless without so much as a pore of impurity defacing the wonderful crown. Diamond could only picture herself wearing the tiara, walking into her home to gasps and awed praise of her new headpiece, her friends with wide eyes gawking at the amazing pony Diamond was and Spike staring dumbstruck at her like he did the first day they met.

Diamond blinked when she got to that point, realizing she was starting to blush. She spun to say something to Spike, but didn't see her friend anywhere. Scanning the street, Diamond searched for any sign of the purple and green drake until she saw him four buildings down, still walking and lost in conversation with Silver. With a frustrated groan, Diamond took off at a gallop to catch up with him.

"So, uh, where are we going?" Spike asked the two ponies bluntly when Diamond had caught up.

Both Diamond and Silver looked at each other before turning back to him with sly grins gracing their faces.





"Is there anything on this menu not swimming in gravy?" Diamond asked incredulously.

Spike looked up from his own menu and stared at a rather cross looking Diamond Tiara as Silver Spoon chuckled.

"I mean, look at this! Potatoes and gravy, celery and gravy, marigold salad with gravy dressing! What kind of place is this?!" the pink pony yelled a little too loud, drawing some questioning looks from ponies at other tables.

Silver broke out into mild laughter as Spike rolled his eyes. He had known Diamond for years and still could not believe how fussy she was. She had almost talked his ear off about this fancy restaurant in Canterlot's upscale district called Jus that every famous resident of the city had to visit. However, her lack of foreign language knowledge shone through with her complaining. Spike was required to learn several new languages to aid Twilight in her princess duties, and knew Jus meant Gravy.

"Diamond, you do know that--" Spike began before being cut off.

"Why can't they serve normal food here?! I didn't come here to eat gravy with everything!" Diamond almost shouted to him.

"Diamond..." Spike tried to say as Silver buried her face into the table and began snorting with laughter.

"Who in their right mind would come here?! What kind of pony has to eat this much of the stuff?!"

As Diamond complained to Spike, he put his chin in his claw and stared blankly at her, offering weak agreements. He had learned long ago to tune out her complaining. While her words fell on his deaf ears, Spike's emerald eyes slowly drifted up Diamond's head to her tiara, still resting atop her mane. It still sparkled as much as it had when Spike had first seen it, causing a familiar feeling to enter his mind. His instinctual dragon greed craved that tiara, but as much as he wanted it, he kept it at bay.

After several unpleasant minutes of Diamond complaining to Spike and then the waiter, the trio ate in silence. Silver Spoon munched slowly on some smashed potatoes and gravy while Diamond glumly ate a couple roasted carrots without the gravy. Spike, however, had a dirt brown spinel he was sloshing in a small bowl of gravy, much to Diamond's disgust. To Spike, the spinel tasted like nothing, just a vessel to hold the gravy.

"How can you two eat that stuff?" Diamond asked, a little disgusted by the noises her friends were making.
> Act 2, Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The light blue pony sighed as she brushed a couple rogue strands of white hair out of her eyes as she trotted to the front door of her store. The mare's name was Pear Cut and she loved diamonds. On her flank rested three pear-shaped diamonds, representing her calling in life, selling diamond jewelry. Still, she sighed again as she passed the rows of glittering jewels, wondering why business was so slow. The Grand Galloping Gala was in a few days, meaning ponies were usually flocking to stores like hers to pretty themselves for the grand event. The thoughts weighed on her mind as she stood at the front door, ready to lock up.

The lock had barely clicked into place as a pink hoof pushed on the door handle. Pear followed the hoof up curiously to see a set of icy blue eyes staring at her from underneath a mane of white and purple.

"Excuse me," Pear began, "But we are---"

"Wait!" the pony spoke, "I want to buy something!"

Pear scrunched up her nose at that and said, "Sorry, but I said we're--"

"I want that tiara!" the mare almost yelled over her, pointing her other hoof to the display window. Pear swept her eyes towards it to see the magnificent tiara gleaming in the light.

"That one?" Pear asked curiously before turning back to her, "Sweetie, that's a thousand bit tiara. I doubt you could--"

The golden gleam of a huge sum of bits made Pear stop talking. She had seen large amounts of bits before, but this was almost made her rub her eyes in disbelief. The pouch they were carried in betrayed the sheer amount the pony carried with her.

"I have the bits, so let me buy it. Please?" the pink pony asked sweetly.

"How? I mean, what the? What is this?" Pear stammered, unable to look away from the bag.

"It's a magical bit bag. Protects from theft, stores enormous amounts and is light as a feather. Made by unicorns," the pony listed, her icy eyes starting to glitter.

Pear finally looked away and smiled awkwardly to the pony. This mare could easily afford the tiara in the window, but she was just about to lock up. Glancing quickly behind herself, she saw there was still two minutes until the appointed time of closing.

"Do come right in, miss ---?" Pear said with a rather large grin on her face, sweeping a hoof back.

"Diamond. Diamond Tiara," the mare stated as she trotted in.

"Oh, what a pretty name!" Pear complimented.





The next day was a mess for the castle. This was to be the first Grand Galloping Gala to feature four princesses, an event everypony wanted to attend. While the Royal Guard dealt with the crowd outside, anxious to see Princess Celestia for a ticket, Spike fulfilled his duties as Twilight's assistant. Unluckily for him, it meant enduring a ruthless set of dress fittings from Rarity, which he wouldn't have minded so much if his relationship with Rarity wasn't as sour as a lime, followed by a couple of hours putting up streamers and party decorations with Pinkie and then baking with Applejack, all while still ferrying books for Twilight.

Utterly exhausted, Spike hadn't realized that neither Diamond or Silver Spoon had shown up all day. With him distracted, it was easy for Diamond to sneak by him with her new tiara, gracefully wrapped up in a velvet lined box made of dark red wood. She had wanted to say hi to Spike, but once she thought he was free, the young drake was snatched away to help on yet another project. Diamond didn't like it, but she forgot all about that when she saw Silver Spoon.

Both ponies were guests at Celestia's Castle since they were good friends of Spike. Diamond's room was closer to the bottom floor since her and Spike were nearly inseparable, mostly due to Diamond's persistence, while Silver Spoon was given a loft on top of a spire. Diamond felt a twinge of jealousy when she arrived at her room, but eagerly squealed and ran inside when Silver answered, wearing a new set of shimmering blue glasses.

"Oh my Celestia! Those are so cool!" Diamond shouted as she examined Silver's face, which beamed with pride.

"Yup, I got them for the Gala! Can you believe we got invited?!" Silver nearly shrieked, barely containing her excitement.

"I know!" Diamond responded, "We finally get to go to the biggest party of the year!"

Both ponies wrapped each other into a big hug and yelled happily as they jumped up and down.

"We're going to the Gala! We're going to the Gala!" they sang in unison before separating.

"So, what are you going to wear?" Silver asked excitedly.

Diamond grinned slyly and lifted the red wood box she had carried in. Silver's purple eyes widened as she saw it.

"Oooo. What's that?" she asked in a hushed voice.

With her best friend's attention solely on her, Diamond reached out another hoof and opened the box's lid gently, nearly blinding Silver. Silver face went from one of awe to one of reverence as she saw what the box contained. A wonderfully made tiara gleamed in the light, sparkling like it was made of stars. The finely polished silver that held the many diamonds reflected with a mirror sheen, allowing Silver to see her own face in the facets.

As impressive as the silver was, the gray mare's eyes sparkled as the diamonds caught her gaze. Each one was flawlessly cut and polished, reflecting at least twenty percent more light than they had taken in. The other impressive feature of the gemstones was the sheer number of them. It looked as if thousands of them resided in the silver, making it appear that the tiara was made solely of diamonds.

"Woah..." was all Silver could mutter in response.

The lid then slowly shut, hiding the luminous object away from Silver's gaze. Her eyes flicked up to Diamond, who wore a smug smile on her face.

"Think Spike will like that?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Will he like it?!" Silver repeated back incredulously, "Diamond, he may ask you to marry him when he sees that!"

Diamond giggled, the thought tickling her mind. Her favorite memory of Spike was the look he gave her that day on the river bank, so the thought of him staring at her like that again made her feel warm and fuzzy.

"Of course I would say no, Silver," Diamond replied, a small blush on her cheeks, "He would have to go through Daddy first."

Silver giggled at that, covering her mouth with a hoof.

"Oh, like you would say no, Diamond," she chuckled out.

Blushing slightly more, Diamond changed the subject by telling her friend the dresses they ordered had arrived today, causing Silver to almost jump in the air in excitement. The next few hours was spent admiring the dresses after they had been retrieved from Diamond's room, trying them on, practicing make-up application, trying on the dresses, going over who they would meet, admiring the tiara some more, trying on the dresses with the tiara, practicing putting up their manes, admiring the tiara again and so on.





At the train station on the other side of Canterlot, three young mares trotted from the train cabin onto the platform. One was bright yellow with a red mane complimented by a red ribbon and fiery orange eyes. Next to her stood an off-white unicorn with bright green eyes and a very long and curly purple and pink mane and tail, along with an orange pegasus with a purple mane. Together, the three mares grinned widely as they trotted over to a Royal Guard pegasus, who saluted them.

"Misses Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?" he asked crisply.

"That be us!" the yellow one, Applebloom, said in a happy, country tone.

"If you would follow me, your carriage is waiting," the guard spoke before turning around and trotting away.

The mares followed, excitedly chattering between themselves.

"We're going to be at the Grand Galloping Gala!" Scootaloo hissed to them.

"I know! Isn't this so exciting?!" Sweetie Belle asked back in a hushed tone, betraying no enthusiasm.

"Yeah, this's gonna be great!" Applebloom responded in a slightly louder voice.

"I can't believe your sister got us tickets, Sweetie!" Scootaloo said in the same tone as Applebloom.

"Well, we did help her with the business for a while, so she said we earned it," Sweetie stated proudly, smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Ah know! Still, this's excitin'!" Applebloom squealed as the trio exited the building. 

Outside, a gleaming golden carriage sat on the cobblestone street with the Royal Guard waiting for them. The three mares' eyes widened to the point of being borderline impossible when the guard spoke.

"Ladies," he said, sweeping a hoof to the carriage.

That day, the nameless Royal Guard learned a valuable lesson: Never stand in front of three overly-excited mares. As the carriage took off, the three ponies squealed and chatted among themselves some more.

"Oh my Celestia, we get a carriage too?!" Sweetie asked, looking around in disbelief.

"Well duh!" Scootaloo answered, "The tickets say we're honored guests of Princess Celestia herself!"

Applebloom's smile faltered as she regarded Scootaloo with an unimpressed look.

"Ya do know they all say that, right?" she asked glumly.

Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at her before answering, "Yeah, sure. Ruin all the fun, Applebloom."

Sighing to herself, Applebloom turned around and gazed out at the crowds of ponies in the street. So many differently colored ponies flooded stores all around the street, it was hard to believe that they all lived here. Shops posted sales in honor of the Grand Galloping Gala, offering some moderate price reductions. Applebloom, now a full time fix-it pony, found herself staring at a hardware store, offering a new set of steel tools at half price.

Sweetie Belle, ignoring the ramblings of Scootaloo, watched with huge, shining eyes at the many dress stores around the city. Wonderful dresses of all colors and designs proudly stood in the store windows, each telling of the level of detail the tailors had put into them. Most of them were being sold rather quickly, since ponies removed them from the ponyquinns and replaced them with yet another fine dress. Sweetie imagined herself in one of them after another, singing on stage for hundreds of adoring ponies.

Without realizing her friends were ignoring her, Scootaloo kept on talking about how cool it was to go to the Gala. She would get to hang out with Rainbow Dash, now an auxiliary member of the Wonderbolts, along with Spitfire, Soarin' and all the others. In her mind, Scootaloo thought they would instantly accept her as one of them, allowing her into the circle of Wonderbolts and eventually asking her to join.





Back at the castle, Spike wearily walked between the corridors, carrying a large stack of books on the Gala. Twilight was under the impression she desperately needed to read up on the formal event she and her friends had ruined years earlier. As he trudged, his mind was elsewhere. He wondered what kind of gems they would have there and how he was going to resist eating those that the ponies would surely wear. The best of the best gems would be strung around necks, done up into manes and added to clothing, each more tempting than the last.

His stomach gave a small gurgle as he entered the library. Eating pony food was alright for his needs, but gems were what his kind craved. While he had eaten some at the restaurant with Diamond and Silver, his appetite had grown with him, meaning he was still craving them. Setting the books down, Spike closed his eyes and concentrated for a minute on some hunger suppression techniques he had learned over the years. Twilight had theorized that his consumption of gems had nearly everything to do with his growth patterns, so he was allowed to have only a set amount every week, lest he became a huge and hungry dragon.

Still, his stomach craved the gems. Spike gulped and opened his eyes, realizing that his techniques were losing their effect. He was hungry for gemstones and, if Spike knew one thing, suppressing instincts never ended well.  Still, he picked up another stack of books and walked out, allowing his work to block out his craving. He hoped it would go away for a little while and, pretty soon, his stomach troubled him no longer.
> Act 2, Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diamond Tiara grinned widely as she stared at herself in the mirror, the new tiara sparkling on the crown of her head. It was securely nestled into her voluminous mane, rising above the rolling locks of purple and white like the Crystal Palace in the frozen North. She was dressed impeccably, wrapped in an evening dress of beautiful royal purple silk impregnated with diamonds of every size and shape. The slim and sleek fit of the dress accentuated her curves gently enough to not be raunchy, but tightly enough to be sure to catch a few glimpses.

She batted her eyes, throwing the most seductive smile she could at the mirror to gauge how well the ensemble worked. Her eyelids were the same color as her eyes, a brilliant shade of sky blue, while a liberal amount of mascara had been applied to her long eyelashes, forcing them to be long and thick. The edges of her eyes sparkled with diamonds that ran down to her cheekbone. Her smirk seemed to shimmer in the light, the barely noticeable lip gloss reflecting off of them.

Even though she had been planning this night for years, Diamond was still blown away by how well her outfit came together. Everything was simply perfect in every way, down to the most minute thread. All the elite of Equestria would turn to notice her and be stunned by her elegance, but she didn't really concern about their attention. Spike would be there and, if Diamond knew anything about her favorite scaly friend, he loved gems, meaning he shouldn't take his eyes off of her. A warm spot grew on her cheeks, hidden well by the blush she had already applied.

"Wow, Diamond. You look absolutely amazing." Silver Spoon said in a stunned voice. Breaking her attention away from the mirror, Diamond turned to see her friend standing behind her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. A warm smile crossed her muzzle as she lifted a hoof to touch the side of her head.

"You really think so?" She asked a bit timidly. While she was certainly confident about her appearance, it was still something else when her best friend was blown away by her looks. 

Silver nodded furiously, her shimmering mane whipping about behind her in a long and intricate braid. She was dressed in a similar fashion to Diamond, exuding elegance and beauty through the simplest means. Her trademark sky blue horn rimmed glasses were replaced by a specially made cat eye set, colored the same royal purple as Diamond's dress, but the scalloped edges had swirls of sliver throughout them. The dress she wore could possibly be considered liquid metal as the bright silver material shimmered smoothly without transition points of any kind.

Diamond smiled warmly to her before responding. "Thanks, Silver. You look really nice as well."

"I still can't believe it, though. We are finally going to the Grand Galloping Gala!" Silver squealed and jumped excitedly from hoof to hoof.

"I know! All the most famous ponies will be there!" Diamond shrieked as a wide toothy grin spread actoss her muzzle, the calm demeanor she was sporting lost in an instant.

"We will meet Spitfire, that dreamboat Soarin', and the new Wonderbolts!"Silver rattled off.

"Don't forget Photo Finish and Hoity Toity!" Diamond chimed in.

"And then there's Trenderhoof and —" Silver spoke before taking a deep breath.

"THE PRINCESSES!" They shouted in unison before giggling and squealing like little fillies again. After a few moments of gleeful bliss, Diamond forced herself to calm down. While she was excited beyond belief, this was a party to impress the nobles and celebrities, not act like a fanfilly. She put her smile away and donned a much more serious face that had quite the sobering effect, causing Silver to calm down as well. Her nose rose into the air and she closed her eyes, playing the role of an elitist.

With a practiced flick of her hoof, Diamond waved in the general direction of the door. "Shall we proceed, Ms. Silver?"

Silver picked up on the cue instantly. She responded by following suit and donning the same expressions Diamond did, her nose in the air. "I believe we should, Ms. Diamond."

Together, the two best friends strode gracefully to the door and onward towards the Gala that awaited their presence.





Down at the Gala, the low rumble of conversations seemed to drown out the slow but wonderful music that the band played. Canterlot Castle was dressed just as impeccably as the guests, sporting only the best it could offer. Long, beautiful magenta curtains embraced the crystal clear windows, leading down to the spotless black and white checkered floor. The marble white walls seemed to shine in an almost unreal way while the gold accents reflected the scenes with their mirror polish.

All around the castle, ponies of every caliber strode and spoke to one another, many famous faces mixed in among some not as easily recognized. Trenderhoof, the pony of fashion he was, seemed to search out styles he particularly enjoyed and made some notes after speaking to the bearer of such fashion for his next article while some ponies like the Wonderbolts seemed to cloister themselves together, waiting for others to approach them by enjoying small talk among themselves.

The true focus of attention, though, was Princess Twilight Sparkle, who donned a nervous smile. She was outfitted in the most spectacular dress made from the essence of glamour. It was a simple dress of two colors, the pink and purple stripes of her mane, layered over each other with the pink being the top layer and the deep purple being the accent color. It started from an elegant collar, the two-toned fabric outlined by a gold edging that housed a flawless amethyst cut to resemble her cutie mark. The rest of the dress followed her back down to tea-length skirt that hid her tail, the hem wrapped in gold as well, forming small fluer-de-lis's that sparkled due to a small sapphire housed within them. Her front legs remained completely uncovered, as did her chest and sides to allow her wings room to move. To compensate, Twilight donned a set of golden slippers that wrapped up her front legs like a ballerina's. Her mane was styled in a way that would make Princess Cadence jealous; the bangs hanging down naturally while the length of her mane was wrapped into a tight but slightly messy looking bun, the two being separated by her elegant crown.

Trailing along behind her was Spike, who had decided not to dress up and be fancy tonight. Instead, his stomach growled loudly as his green eyes looked about the crowd, each and every jewel glimmering with an unusual intensity. Most of them were small, just barely big enough to be noticeable, but some of them were large enough to be considered a meal for him. His mouth went dry as he forced himself to look away, but every time he did, more of them caught his eye.





It didn't take long for anypony to notice Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon at the Gala. Shimmering from head to hoof, the two of them strode elegantly up the steps to the castle's entrance, almost parting the crowd. Awed stares and some jealous looks surrounded them, making Diamond want to put on more of a show. She strode slowly up the steps, commanding the general populace through her and Silver's sheer presence. Once the two reached the entrance, Diamond was sure that tonight was going to be the best night ever.

"What they hay are those two doin' here?!" Came a twangy voice Diamond Tiara would recognize anywhere. Spinning around, she easily found the source of the voice standing amid the crowd, glaring at her with blazing orange eyes. Eyes going wide with fear, Diamond spun around and tried to push out the thought that her dear rival, the hick known as Apple Bloom, was here.

"Oh great, now the whole party is ruined." The musical voice of Sweetie Belle rang out, adding to Diamond's horror. If the two of them were here, then that meant—

"You've got to be kidding me! We finally get to come to the Gala and THEY show up to ruin everything!" Scootaloo shouted.

Yup, all three of the Cutie Mark Dorks were here. This night instantly went from utterly amazing to horrific in about ten seconds flat. Steeling herself, Diamond put on her best tormenting smile and spun to face Apple Bloom, grinning wider when she saw all three of them standing there in the least elegant dresses she had ever seen. Apple Bloom wore what was obviously a hand-me-down from her Granny Smith, covered in horrendous lime green polka dots and white frills everywhere. Scootaloo looked no better, wearing what looked like a flightsuit more than a dress. Sweetie Belle was the only one who looked even remotely close to elegant, but she had evidently designed the dress herself and had thought it a good idea to pair opals with a brown dress.

"Oh, look at this, Silver." Diamond spoke in her almost sarcastic way. "The Gala does give to charity."

A snort escaped from Silver, who covered her mouth to hide the laughter brewing behind it. The trio glared back, wanting nothing more than to make them leave.

"Just remember, Diamond," Scootaloo growled, "We didn't have to suck up to the Princess to be invited."

Diamond hid her growing ire well behind the smile.

"Oh, that's right. I'm sure being a member of the Wonderbolts got you in, Scootaloser. Does cleaning the bathrooms at the Wonderbolt Academy qualify you as a one of them nowadays?" Diamond snickered as Scootaloo's face went bright red, but she kept going before anypony could stop her. "And Sweetie, how nice to see you've taken the rejects of your sister's designs. It really does her line justice when siblings take the fall for them."

Sweetie looked down at her dress, a confused expression gracing her features when Diamond turned to Apple Bloom, ready to put the troublemaker of the group down for the night.

"Apple Bloom, it's been too long." She began.

"Can it, Tiara." Apple Bloom growled.

"But why? You are obviously the only one qualified to be here. I mean, fixing up a barn is such an accomplishment, it should be mentioned next to Princess Twilight saving the Crystal Empire with your sister." Silver chimed in, sidling up to Diamond Tiara with the same smug smile.

"Don't ya'll dare talk about mah family." Apple Bloom spat, anger lacing her voice.

"Or what?" Diamond interjected. "Is your aunt Cheerilee going to put me in detention again because you can't stick up for yourself?"

She and Silver Spoon broke down into a fit of giggles as they sauntered off, leaving the trio fuming silently behind them. Together, they entered into the Gala, shimmering like small stars. Almost all the attention turned to them, fluffing their already overflowing egos. Almost every stallion in the room leaned over to eye them, many sporting interested grins. Diamond paused for a few seconds and allowed her beauty to sink in before she began to walk through the crowd. The duo didn't make it far before the first stallions tried to impress them.

"Can I interest you in a drink?" Came the smooth voice of the stallion. He was a faded pastel blue color with a wavy white mane, dressed in a thick red overcoat. He offered a small glass of bubbling liquid to her, as if this was a practiced move. Diamond glanced at the flute of sparkling gold champagne, eyeing it with concealed derision. She didn't like drinking what all the other less spectacular ponies had. No, she always got the best, and this certainly wasn't it.

"You know," she began in her almost pleading tone, "I think you might be holding out on us. I really would love a taste of what Princess Celestia is drinking."

The stallion's eyes went wide and he withdrew the flute, determination written on his face.

"At once, ma'am." He spoke swiftly with a small nod.

Diamond grinned before flicking her head towards Silver Spoon. "Don't forget one for my friend as well."

The stallion practically ran off, leaving the duo to giggle at each other while they moved through the rest of the crowd. There were so many famous ponies to talk to around them, but Diamond was determined to see one special guest before she mingled with the best of pony society. Luckily for her, he was easy to identify due to his height and green frill.

Diamond weaved through the crowd, eliciting a few whistles and comments from the many ponies around her, but she paid them no attention. Her thoughts were focused on the one goal she had been building up to for years, a secret desire that only Silver Spoon knew about. Spike had given her a look that Hearts and Hooves Day that Diamond had pined for since then, and now that she was as elegant as she could be, it was her chance to get him to look at her the same way again.

Eventually, Diamond stopped just short of where Spike was, her nerves starting to get the better of her. Darker thoughts began to pester her, throwing doubt on this moment. What would she do if Spike didn't give her the same look as he did that day? She had set up everything so well, covering herself in diamonds and dressing like a princess, but Spike was a whole other deal. A soft hoof prodded her from behind and she turned to see Silver smiling sincerely at her.

"Go on," she whispered, "He's all alone right now."

Diamond took a deep breath and threw a small hug to her best friend before turning to Spike. Steeling herself, she trotted up behind him and forced herself to speak.

"Spikey, I'm here." She said in her smoothest tone.

The drake turned around, a confused expression on his face before it was washed away with awe. The emerald eyes Diamond liked turned the size of dinner plates and his jaw hung open, staring as if she was better than Princess Celestia. Relief and excitement coursed through Diamond as she felt her blush begin to show through her make-up.

"What do you think, Spike?" She asked.

He gave no answer other than a gurgle from his stomach.

"Spike?"
> Act 2, Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Spike?" Diamond Tiara asked, a bit of concern edging her voice.

She stood in front of the young drake, shifting nervously from hoof to hoof. He hadn't stopped staring at her for almost two minutes, drawing confused looks from the small crowds that passed by. Diamond glanced behind to see Silver Spoon standing there calmly, waving her hoof gently with a big smile on her face. She returned the smile and turned back to Spike.

"What's wrong?" Diamond asked coyly, trying to regain her confidence. "Am I so beautiful you have no words left?" She threw her head back, her voluminous mane flowing like waves of silk, before offering a small, smug smile to him. She hoped that this might snap him out of his trance, but her mane managed to flip a little too high and covered her tiara. Her hoof immediately flew up and she let out a mortified squeal as she frantically dug through her hair.

As if woken from a trance, Spike blinked and looked over Diamond. She was busy trying to pull her mane off her tiara, but she looked way different than he remembered. Instead of her almost cotton candy pink coat, a gorgeous purple dress fit smoothly around her and twinkled slightly with what looked like hundreds of diamonds. He felt his stomach churn and reached out a claw, but moved towards her mane instead.

"Oh, Spike!" she yelped, jumping at his touch.

"You okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Diamond blushed, but looked away. "I was talking to you..."

"Sorry," he muttered, threading her smooth mane around the glittering headpiece. "There you go."

Diamond looked back at him, a small blush on her face. "Thank you."

Spike smiled. "You're welcome. So, where did you, ah, get that tiara?"

Her eyes shrunk for a second before she posed again, smiling at him. "Why? Do you like it?"

He chuckled. "Of course I do."

Elation filled Diamond's chest and she beamed. "It was a special order from Prance," she said, glee edging her voice. "Daddy had to talk to the manufacturer about getting it shipped here, but he--"

"Spike?" another voice asked.

Diamond's heart skipped a beat as the familiar pink and purple curls of Sweetie Belle emerged from the crowd. She had her eyes locked on him and Spike turned and smiled. "Hey, Sweetie! Nice to see you here!"

"Yeah, nice to see--" Sweetie began, but paused when she saw Diamond's sharp gaze. She returned with her own piercing stare and Spike glanced between them.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Diamond smiled. "Oh, everything is fine, Spike," she cooed as she pressed herself next to him, wrapping a hoof around his arm. She kept her eyes locked on Sweetie, watching as her face twitched. "Say, why don't we go someplace else? Like, a little more alone?"

Spike looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "What are you..."

He trailed off as the sparkling diamonds on her tiara caught his attention again, eliciting another pang from his belly. They were perfectly cut and clear as glass, just the way he liked them when he ate. He ground his teeth together and his mind went blank again. Hunger dominated his thoughts, squelching out the conversation outside.

"What do you mean by that?" Sweetie asked, her voice laced with acid.

"Oh, you know, someplace where ponies like us aren't going to be bothered," Diamond replied, smirking.

Sweetie's hoof shook, but she stayed in place. "Don't you think you could try being nice for once?"

"But I am nice, Sweetie," Diamond said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Right, Spike?"

Silence filled the space between the three of them as Diamond held onto Spike's arm. She kept her smug smile for a few seconds before looking up at him. "Spike?"

His gaze was fixed right on her, awestruck and motionless. Part of her wanted to squeal with giddiness. This was it, the same look he had given her years ago, but she didn't allow herself to make a noise. Despite finally seeing him look at her like that again, something felt off. "Spike?"

Sweetie leaned in, looking at his blank expression with curiosity. "Does he do that normally?" she asked.

Diamond threw an acidic glare at Sweetie and puffed up her cheeks. "Be quiet, dork."

Spike's eyes followed the prismatic gems with extreme precision. A growl came from his stomach and both mares turned to him again.

"Oh! He's hungry!" Diamond said, smiling from ear to ear. She turned to see if there was a waiter somewhere nearby when something incredibly heavy dropped onto her back. A yelp of surprise escaped her and she fell to the tile below, crashing her chin against the floor. As she landed, she felt something sharp drag along her side and she screamed, rolling over to see a familiar purple claw digging into the side of her dress.

"Spike!" she screamed. "What are you--?"

Another scream escaped her as his claw closed on the fabric, scratching her before he pulled back and ripped off a huge chunk of her dress. The glittering ball was stuffed into his mouth and a sickening crunch rang out in the room, followed by the shrieks of the ponies around them, including Sweetie Belle. Diamond kicked frantically and swiped around at the tile, trying to pull herself away from Spike when his claws raked across her dress again, tearing another clawful of fabric.

"Spike, stop!" she shrieked, kicking uselessly underneath him.

His claw dove for her again and Diamond threw her hooves up as it came for her face. Instead of hitting her legs, though, she felt his claws slip through her mane and close on her tiara. With a tug, he tried to pull it off her, but the crown was wrapped in her mane. She screamed again as he tugged harder, grabbing her leg as leverage. Her mane strained with each tug, stinging her head more and more until Spike pulled as hard as he could. She screamed louder than ever as he kept pulling until her head snapped back and into the tile.

She squeezed her eyes together as tears flooded them. Her head spun and stung, but she forced herself to open her eyes again and saw Spike through her blurry vision. A triumphant grin graced his face as he looked over the tiara with a chunk of her mane in his hand before opening his mouth, still glittering with saliva and the remains of her dress.

"Spike, what are you--?" Diamond murmured before her eyes went wide. "Spike, NO!"

A sickening crunch filled her ears as he bit down on the tiara, breaking the diamonds cleanly.

"SPIKE!" she screamed as she reached up for the tiara. Her hoof wrapped around his arm, but he shoved her away and bit down again, breaking the silver like it was plastic. "STOP, SPIKE!"

"What is going on-- SPIKE!" a third voice roared.

He kept biting at the tiara when a magenta aura washed over his scaled and he was yanked back violently. He let out a surprised snarl as he fell backwards, but a purple pony jumped in front of her, spreading her wings wide. She wore a magnificent dress of maroon, but Diamond stared in horror at her while tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What is wrong with you?" she thundered, watching as he was lifted into the air. She spun and looked down at Diamond, terror twinkling in her purple eyes. "Diamond?" Princess Twilight asked.

Diamond stared back at her with a shell shocked face. Her dress was nearly torn to ribbons around her and part of her mane was missing. There was also something dark trickling down the side of her head. 

"Diamond, are you okay?" Twilight asked, fear edging her voice.

Before either pony could talk, a laugh rang out across the silent room. Both ponies turned to see Sweetie Belle standing right where she was moments earlier, this time with a huge smile stretched across her face. Her laughing rang out again and again, filling Diamond's ears. "He ate her tiara!" she screeched gleefully.

Twilight turned back to Diamond, but a loud wail overrode Sweetie's laughter before she could say anything.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Diamond shouted at Sweetie, tears running in a steady stream down her cheeks. Hastily, she pushed herself up and nearly tripped on her shredded dress as she tried to run away. Stunned faces of all kinds stared at her while she pushed herself through the crowd, staggering at the pain in her head.

She had to get away. The sheer embarrassment of being attacked was mortifying, but nothing compared to Sweetie's echoing laughter and words still ringing in her ears. Spike's savage grin filled her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force that image out. A sickening dread filled her thoughts. Did all he want was her tiara? Was that all he ever wanted? Years of being friends just so he could eat it? She couldn't answer any of those questions now, though. All she knew was she had to get away from here, and fast.

"SPIKE!" Twilight roared again, turning back to her assistant.

Spike struggled with his magical bonds, still trying to stuff the remaining bit of the tiara into his maw when a hoof struck him across the face. Snapping out of his hunger-fueled trance, he blinked and closed his mouth before gagging on something that clearly wasn't food. He spit and some piece of purple fabric hit the ground with a wet smack.

"Explain yourself!" Twilight shouted, drawing his attention.

He turned to her, a blank expression on his face. "What?" he asked.

Twilight stomped up to him, her eyes burning with an anger he'd never seen this up close. "Why did you attack her?" she demanded.

"A-Attack?" he asked, afraid to look away.

Twilight snorted, her face livid. "Why did you attack Diamond for her tiara?"

"W-What?" Spike replied meekly. "I-I wouldn't..."

Horror washed over him as he spun and looked at his claw. The crushed remains of a once magnificent silver and diamond tiara was tightly clenched between his claws and he shrieked.

"Diamond!" he shouted, spinning his head around. "Diamond!"

"You're coming with me," Twilight said, her tone finite. "Now."

With a burst of light, both Twilight and Spike disappeared with his voice still echoing in the hall, calling out for his friend. Sweetie, who had managed to stop laughing, turned to look at the murmuring onlookers when an angry set of purple scalloped glasses pushed their way into her face. Sweetie barely had time to react before a gray blur struck her across the face. She spun back to see Silver Spoon staring down at her with contempt.

"I hope you're proud of yourself," she hissed before darting off into the crowd after her friend.

Outside the gala hall, Diamond stumbled as the remains of her dress somehow found their way underneath her hooves. She slipped on the polished marble floors, smacking her chin into the ground again when a chorus of laughter rang out behind her. Picking herself up, she glanced back to see the smiling faces of the two ponies she wished to be as far away from as she could.

"Woo wee, what happened to ya?" Applebloom shouted, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "Finally pick a fight with the wrong pony?"

"Looks more like she dressed like what she is," Scootaloo chimed in, snickering. "A poor and ugly poser."

"'Bout time, too," Applebloom replied, hoofbumping her friend. "This is the best day ever!"

"Shut up!" Diamond shouted back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Snorting, she spun away from them and ran to the staircase leading down to the main entrance. As she took her first step down, though, her hoof landed on a sliver of her tattered dress. It slid easily against the polished step and she slipped forward, watching as the next few steps rushed up to meet her. She managed to close her eyes, but a splitting pain erupted across her face as she collided with the steps. Her body flew over top of her head and pain wracked her mind as she tumbled down the cold stairs. Time seemed to blur as stair after stair hit some part of her body, sometimes on her flank or ribs and the her head, before it suddenly stopped.

Her body hurt and her head spun as she lay still, suddenly tired beyond what she thought was possible. She couldn't force herself to move even if she wanted to, but tears still rolled down her cheeks. The echoing laughter of the Cutie Mark Dorks still rang in her ears, pairing with the terrifying image of Spike biting into her tiara burned into her head. Somewhere, she could hear Silver Spoon calling for her, but she didn't care. 

Spike didn't like her, he only wanted her tiara.

Unable to hold back any longer, she began to sob as ponies crowded around and over her, trying to talk to her. It wasn't until the familiar purple glasses of her only best friend were hovering over her did she hear them.

"Diamond!" Silver Spoon shouted, tears forming on the edges of her eyes. "Diamond, are you hurt?"

Words couldn't express how much pain she was in.