Diamond Tiara was tired. She wasn’t sleepy, she was just... worn out. The guard had her by the nose, and she was just tired of fighting against him, fighting against everything. Her cheeks hurt. Maybe Daddy was right. She did deserve that... name. She could hardly remember it, back when he found her at the orphanage and saved her. She didn’t even know what the name meant at first, just that other foals would use it to tease her, and they never, ever stopped. Daddy was her only family. Diamond Tiara didn’t have a mother, because no mother would name her foal... that. Daddy was right. Daddy was wrong. Diamond didn’t know what to think. She just followed along where her nose was getting pulled. Ponies around her looked with surprise and concern at the muzzled filly being led among them. Diamond could feel them all staring at her, so terribly it made her skin crawl. This wasn’t how she wanted to be the center of attention. Daddy was right, but Diamond didn’t want him to be right. She wanted to be successful, and rich, and... and not bridled behind a guard like some dangerous criminal. Maybe Diamond Tiara wasn’t so talented, after all. They led her to the guard station, where there was a genuine jail cell. There were a few ponies in there. One looked drunk, and one was nursing a bruise on her cheek, and one was just sitting there looking hopeless. The bars slid closed in front of Diamond as she stared through them at the dispassionate soldier of the peace, her eyes full of hurt that she couldn’t bear to hide. He walked away, and Diamond was alone with these... ponies. And they left the bridle on. Diamond hated bridles. They stuck a thing in your mouth that hurt when you tried to pull away, and you couldn’t even say anything with it stuck between your teeth. It was so annoying how the tight straps rubbed her fur, and she couldn’t really adjust it more than just pushing it around. Even if she had the key, Diamond like any other pony was completely incapable of reaching it behind her neck. The strap dragged on the ground when she paced around in the cell, and when she accidentally stepped on it, it brought a wave of fresh pain to her face. Something was wrong with how the bridle was on her; it wasn’t supposed to hurt that bad. Diamond didn’t really have any reason to talk anymore. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do anymore. She was just a total, stupid loser, who never should have even had a chance at beauty and luxury. She was in so much trouble, with her daddy, and with the foal in her, and she didn’t know anypony she could trick or threaten into helping her. Outside of a gang of thieves that Diamond was far away from, she’d used everypony she ever met, and now she’d run out of ponies to use. Diamond wouldn’t even use Edge, Mo and Larceny if she ever saw them again. Why should she use anypony anymore? What had it ever got her, besides danger and pain? Daddy knew how to use a pony, Diamond was just too stupid to figure it out herself. She always did everything wrong, and there was nopony she could blame for that besides herself. None of the other ponies in the holding cell were really talkative at first. Two mares, and a stallion with a white collar and bowtie. None of them had bridles on, and none of them were fillies. Diamond was probably as alone and hopeless as anypony here, so there was nothing they could do for her. So she just stood there away from the other ponies, eyeing them warily, even as two warily eyed her back, while the remaining one remained flopped on her back only vaguely conscious. Some of the ponies talked eventually. The pink mare started moaning out something slurred and incomprehensible. The bruised burgundy mare swore in the silence, pointedly looking any direction other than Diamond Tiara and saying, “For Celestia’s sake. You get in one little fight, and they send you straight to the drunk tank.” “Hey! You don’t sssay that I’m not drunk I’m jus’ a lil’ drunk hehe,” the pink mare said, still sprawled out on her back in the middle of the jail, staring at the burgundy one with unfocused eyes. Some time passed, before the roan stallion said to himself in a frustrated tone, “Why am I in here? I shouldn’t be in here!” “Chill out mare,” the burgundy mare said grumpily, “What’s your problem? You don’t even know why ya got arrested?” “Illegal drugs. Can you believe that?” he said in exasperation. “Me. Illegal drugs.” “Iiii like...” the pink mare said, “Legal drugs, hehe...” “That no good roommate of mine, I knew he was up to no good,” the stallion grumbled, staring at the ground. “And of course he disappears right when the cops show up.” “That’s harsh, mare,” the burgundy one said, sympathetically. “More of that puzzle juice? That stuff’s all over these days.” That made the stallion blush, and to distract attention from himself he turned to Diamond and said, “So what are you... oh, right.” Diamond glared at him, and silence returned. The ponies made small talk like that until the night grew long, introducing each other and being all pleasant, while Diamond had to just sit there doing nothing. In sleep, the drunken mare’s snores shook the cell until somepony pushed her over on her side. Diamond slept too then, because why not? She didn’t have anything better to do. It was sooooooooo boring in here. There wasn’t even anything to read. Worse still, Diamond hadn’t eaten anything today. She was hungry again. So she slept, because it was impossible to keep your eyes open in total darkness with no other pony awake to keep her company, but she didn’t sleep very well. She wasn’t the only one who felt that way, thankfully. A loud “Hey!” woke Diamond up the next morning. “Hey guard! Could we get some breakfast here?” the burgundy mare was shouting in the wan morning light. She clattered her hoof on the bars of the cage, shouting again, “Hey!” until a deep voice from the other room could be heard, saying, “Hold your horses, mare! Do you think you’re running this place?” “This pink mare here needs water!” the burgundy one hollered back. “She’s got a headache the size of a dragon!” That’s as far as she got before the pink one tackled her, covering her mouth with a hoof and a crazed look in her bloodshot eyes, saying, “Beeee sileeeeent.” Not crazy enough to actually strangle somepony, but close to it. The guard had got a hint already, and came to their cell shortly, flanked by another guard with a genuine spear, who watched them warily as the first carried on his back a tray with a bucket full of oats, and one full of water. Just... dry oats. He made to leave then, and Diamond angrily shouted, “Mmmm!” pointing at her nose. The guard looked at her and winced, then trotted back, saying, “You bite me, and this is going right back on.” The good news is he unclipped the bridle, and pulled it off of Diamond Tiara. The bad news is, the blood had crusted on overnight. “Owww-hwhw!” Diamond yelled as the scabs that formed at the corner of her mouth tore open again, and from there she was just sobbing. She completely lost it, just fell into a haze of pain and frustration like she had been teetering over a yawning chasm she now plunged into. The pink mare broke her out of it, shouting in her face, “FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING THE GUARD IS GONE!” and then jerked back, saying, “Are... are you bleeding?” Diamond tried to hold back her wailing, drawing in short breaths and trying to comprehend what the pony was talking about. Why did it matter if she was bleeding? “Here, bite on this,” the stallion said, getting in there shoving some sort of cloth into her mouth. Diamond did, and it didn’t help the pain, but she wasn’t sure what he was doing, pressing it against her cheeks. “That should take care of any bleeding,” he said in relief. “And any screaming...” the burgundy mare grumbled quietly on the side. Diamond wasn’t actually hurt that bad. Mostly it was just leaving the stupid bridle in that got her. When she rotated what turned out to be the stallion’s tie, her crimson blood didn’t keep blotting it, any cuts in her cheeks closing up quickly. Still, she looked at the formerly elegant tie mournfully, having completely ruined it. Just one more thing she ruined forever. Diamond practically dove into the bucket of oatmeal once she got her turn at it, but she’d barely gotten a mouthful before she ended up spitting it out in disgust saying, “Ptth! What the hay?! They’re feeding us bad oatmeal?” “Tastes fine to me,” the stalilon said, around munching his oats. “Well, maybe you have bad tastes,” Diamond told him disgustedly. “I know what oatmeal tastes like, and that is just weird tasting. It’s like sour paper.” “You gonna clean that up?” the pink mare asked irritably, pointing at Diamond’s spilled oatmeal. “With what?” Diamond retorted in frustration, “It’s like, impossible to clean anything if they don’t even give us a broom or a cloth.” “Whatever,” the mare said, rolling her eyes and digging into the oats. At least Diamond Tiara managed to drink something, even though the thought of sticking her nose in water other ponies had just drank from made her lip curl in disgust. Thirst was a powerful motivator, and Diamond needed water like, now. “You can’t fight it when they bridle you,” the burgundy mare said, after Diamond was wetting the tie and pressing it to her sore cheek, “You’ll just get cut up that way. Trust me, I know. They had to muzzle me once.” She smirked adding, “the other mare was lucky they did.” “Oh lunacy, Razzy, nopony wants to hear more about your fights,” the pink mare groaned, rubbing with hooftips at her temples. “Hey, I had a good reason!” the burgundy mare, “Razzy” presumably said. “She was sleeping with my stallion without even telling me!” “Nasty,” the pink one said with a sympathetic grimace. Diamond didn’t remember what she said her name was. “She didn’t have anything, did she?” “Dunno,” Razzy said with a careless mane toss. “Dumped that ass before he could give me anything.” Diamond wanted to know what they were talking about, and the stallion in the cell most certainly did not want to hear what they were talking about, but neither got to ask because Razzy turned to Diamond then and said, “Hey, now that you’re loose, what’s your name? We all introduced ourselves except for ya.” Diamond looked at her and thought long and hard. It wasn’t an easy answer, anymore. The mare actually started to get nervous before Diamond finally said, “Diamond... Tiara.” “Seriously, you’re Diamond Tiara?” Razzy said in surprise, and when Diamond nodded the mare gave her an angry glare shouting, “You beat up my sister!” Diamond was suddenly aware of how much larger and stockier this powerful earth pony was to her. “D-did I say Diamond Tiara I meant um... Straw... um...” “Great, a bully,” Razzy said disgustedly, “No wonder there’s such a young filly here. Who’d you beat up this time?” “I’m not... I didn’t beat up anypony!” Diamond pleaded, “They just grabbed me, because—because I don’t know!” “Okay, okay, don’t start crying again, sheesh!” the mare said, backing off thankfully. Diamond sniffled, but managed to comply. “Look, I didn’t mean to beat up uh, whoever your sister is,” Diamond said tentatively. “She started it!” she protested, then winced, and then her ears drooped as she said tiredly, “I mean, if I knew which pony it was, she would have... started it, or like... something.” The blow she awaited never came, and instead the mare uttered in agitation, “How many ponies do you beat up on a regular basis?” “I dunno,” Diamond said resentfully, “Enough? Anypony who was asking for it? Some ponies just need to be put in their place, or else.” Again, no blow, but the mare sounded more quietly dangerous when she said, “Or else, what?” Diamond started to answer, but had to give up, and look at the mare blankly. Or else what, indeed? “Or else they’ll... do the same thing to me,” Diamond decided on finally. “I’m just protecting my status. Or at least, when I had one...” “So, you’re saying my sister’s a bully, too?” the burgundy mare said, seemingly confused by just how deep a hole Diamond was willing to dig for herself. Well, Diamond couldn’t dig any deeper. She’d already hit bedrock. So she didn’t even care anymore and said, “You can’t fool me,” to that tough looking mare. “I know the secret,” Diamond Tiara said venemously. “Everypony is a bully, just some try to trick you into thinking they’re nice. I don’t get in trouble when I pretend to be nice, so why wouldn’t your sister? She’s just lying to you, like everypony else who pretends to be a good pony. Just like you’re lying to me. So either leave me alone and stop lying, or go ahead and buck me like I know you want to. I just can’t deal with this right now.” “Buck you?” the mare said in horror, “Mare, I can’t buck you. You’re pregnant! You think I want to buck you?” Diamond stared at the mare blankly, but then a smile crept on her face, as she said, “Oh, so because you don’t want to hurt the foal, that means I can say whatever I want, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” The mare paled and took back a step as Diamond said, “I don’t know your sister, and I don’t even care about her. I was just using her, like I use everypony, in order to win. I’m glad she got beat up, and a-and...” Diamond wavered “If I knew who she was I mean, I bet I’d be glad, because I’m better than you, and I always win and my daddy—” Diamond couldn’t keep eye contact saying, “My daddy l-loves me.” Rather than get upset or shout back, or anything, the mare stood warily aside exclaiming, “Celestia’s tits, what kind of bucked up filly are you?” “I’m not bucked up!” Diamond shouted back to her angrily, “Because you won’t buck me like you’re supposed to! You think I can’t take it? C’mon, right here across my chin. That won’t hurt the foal.” “I–I’m not g-going to buck you, filly!” the burgundy mare shot back, now retreating from her entirely, whereupon Diamond just like, lost it. “I told you to buck me!” she announced hotly, chasing after the mare. “And you are going to do what I say! Buck me now!” “I’m not going to buck you, you lunatic!” the mare said, unable to outmanouver Diamond in the all too small holding pen. “BUCK ME RIGHT NOW OR I’LL BUCK MYSELF!” Diamond shrieked, trying to buck the mare herself now. In the meantime, the other two ponies in the cell had ceased their shocked silence, and the stallion was at the door, screaming through the bars in a high pitched voice, “Crazy mare! Crazy mare in the jail cell!” Diamond wasn’t crazy though. She just wasn’t getting what she wanted! She snorted and circled with the much larger mare. Would it kill her to even just like, tap Diamond on the face? Diamond’s hooves lashed out, but connected with air against the much more experienced fighter. The guard got the cell open by that point and physically tackled Diamond Tiara from behind. She was so mad and frustrated and angry she didn’t even pay attention to him until he was on her and leaving her struggling frantically, trying to hurt whoever made her life like this, whoever it was who ruined everything for her. Some time later, Diamond was sitting in the corner, glowering at the other three ponies. Wrapped around her snout was a bridle restraint, and its short lead was tied to the nearby bars of the holding pen. The other three ponies were sitting in the opposite corner, staring at her. Like she had a problem. Oh please, like they could talk! ...they were literally the only ponies here who could talk. After a very awkward and very long silence, the guard returned, looking very displeased. Diamond felt a flutter of fear as she tried to glare at him bravely. What had she done wrong this time? He untied her leash without a word, and pulled her out of the cell, shutting it behind him on the others, who all inhaled a sigh of relief. Then, the guard took her through the hallway, into an office, where Diamond found herself facing a new guard she hadn’t seen before, and... a very familiar mare. A mare with a white alabaster coat, and an elegantly groomed bluish purple mane. Oh no. The mare took one look at her and shouted, “Is that a bridle? Diamond, what have they done to you! What is the meaning of this?!” “It’s standard procedure, madam,” the old guard said in a weary voice. “When ponies are making a racket, and picking fights with the other criminals.” “They are not criminals they are ponies who stand accused of a crime,” Diamond’s erstwhile savior said, in a very offended tone. “I would thank you not to refer to them as such.” The guard’s only answer was a tired, “I’m just going to get back to my post now.” He hoofed off the leash to the new guard, and retreated out of the room. “And you’re absolutely sure this is the filly you seek?” the new stallion said in a snippy voice, glaring down at Diamond with quite a considerable amount of disapproval. Diamond looked from him to Rarity in confusion, as the elegant mare said, “Yes, that’s her. I’m quite sure of it.” Why was Rarity even bothering to look for her? Everypony stood so stiff and still, you could have heard a pin drop from the lack of clopping hooves. “Well, the paperwork seems to be in order,” the new guard stated in a clinical tone. “It seems this was all just a simple misunderstanding.” He passed the leash to Rarity, who took it with a grimace of disgust saying to her, “I’m sorry you and your daughter had to go through with this.” Diamond stared at Rarity. “Well don’t just stand there,” Rarity told the guard peevishly, “Remove this tacky bridle from my daughter at once!” He moved to reach behind Diamond, but hesitated. He asked her, “Are you absolutely sure that—” “Yes, I am one hundred percent sure,” Rarity told him. Shaking his head, the guard unlocked Diamond’s bridle, and it slipped off of her muzzle and out of her mouth. It didn’t hurt as much this time, since the cuts were crusted over and not sticking to it. It was a huge relief in fact. But Diamond didn’t feel like she could relax. She stared at Rarity warily, turning sideways to her and saying, “Why should I go with you?” “Young lady, you are in a lot of trouble!” Rarity responded angrily, “Do you have any idea what I went through when I found that you were in prison? You are going to come with me right this instant, or I am going to put that bridle back on your muzzle and drag you home, myself!” “What is going on?” Diamond moaned, but Rarity interrupted saying, “Ep! No more out of you until we have you home and I decide on your punishment!” With that, Rarity lifted Diamond bodily into the air and unceremoniously trotted out of the police office with Diamond in tow. Diamond was just too confused to speak at this point, but she recovered quickly, and said more demandingly, “What is going on? Why do you even care?!” “I saw that little exchange with you and your father,” Rarity said, stopping shortly. “Would you rather I explain here on a crowded street full of ponies, or in relative privacy?” “Privacy,” Diamond grumbled through her teeth, blushing hotly. “Well then,” Rarity said setting Diamond to the ground in relief, “Come along!” When Diamond still hesitated, Rarity said, “I may have whipped a little something up involving spinach fried in peanut butter, if you are interes—” Diamond Tiara was right on her heels. At Rarity’s boutique, Diamond couldn’t believe how good something as weird as that tasted. It was salty too, which was amazing. She would have turned her nose up at the dark green glop any other way, but it just tasted really... satisfying. And maybe it was good for her to eat, because between that and the ginger tea, Diamond didn’t feel like throwing up at all. It might have been her intense hunger, or her pregnancy, or the frustratingly small portions Rarity doled out to her, but Diamond felt... good. Ish. “I don’t know the history between you and your father, but what Filthy has done is inexcusable,” Rarity said in frustration. “Just because of some outdated, barbaric laws that disregard the sanctity of a foal, in any womb. I understand if he is upset about you, and might express his grief through rage, but I simply don’t think it’s too early to give up just yet! He and I are good business partners, and I’ll be sure to speak with him about—” “He’ll increase your rent,” Diamond said flatly. “What?” Rarity asked tilting her head at the sudden shift in conversation. “You’re not his partner. That’s how he uses ponies like you,” Diamond said, “He’ll make you get rid of me if he wants. He’ll make something happen that increases your rent, and when you can’t stay in business, he lets you work for him instead. I don’t know a lot about daddy’s work, but that one is really obvious.” Rarity shook her head slightly, saying, “Filthy is not an evil pony. He is a perfect gentlecolt, and to even suggest that he would do that is beyond reprehensible. I understand he did you wrong, but you have to understand that sometimes ponies get angry, and do things that they would later regret.” “Well maybe I shouldn’t have told you then,” Diamond grouched, “Because I’m really angry right now, and I regret everything!” “Well, good!” Rarity said unhappily. “I wasn’t going to talk with you about that, anyway!” “Well then what were you going to talk about?” Diamond uttered in exasperation. “I’m trying to explain myself to you!” Rarity countered equally exasperatedly. “...oh.” Rarity paced slightly as she spoke, wandering over to look out the window of her boutique as she told her, “Now, while disputing the law regarding Estrosian runaways might be possible, that is if you indeed were foalnapped, and the search for you was not genuine, I’m afraid it won’t do any good.” Rarity sighed, turning away from the window. Her hoofsteps were as graceful as her face was troubled. “Filthy is not a pony who does things halfway, it seems,” she said in a displeased manner. “It turns out, when you were adopted, a lot of paperwork was ...overlooked. He hasn’t signed any legal document accepting responsibility for you as your guardian. This oversight would have proven disastrous, had you not ...been absent following a young pregnancy, but it did end up working out suspiciously convenient in his favor. “Now I’m not saying he’s a bad pony,” Rarity vacillated insistently, “Just that... I have to wonder why when contacting Foal Services, it turns out you are still only a ward of the state, and all this time Filthy has been listed as... em... your foalsitter, as it were.” “Wh—really?” Diamond gaped. “He adopted me, though! He told them that he accepted responsibility and... I think he did? It was a long time ago, I don’t remember!” “Well, there’s nothing in writing, and nopony coming forward to attest to his verbal agreement,” Rarity countered, “When I saw your father... when I saw Filthy reject you in that fashion, I asked a friend of mine to look into it, and she found the terms of your adoption by Filthy Rich left woefully unfinished. But what I saw in that was an opportunity. You see, I merely finished them!” Rarity had a happy smile on her face, and Diamond just didn’t know what that meant. “So, you made sure daddy has to take me back?” she asked uncertainly. Rarity’s smile faltered and she said, “Ehm... no. I filled out the paperwork. I obviously cannot sign things in another pony’s name.” Diamond still didn’t understand, so she stared, while Rarity said, “That’s why I was calling you daughter all this time. Because I know it sounds silly, but technically I just adopted you!” Well now Diamond didn’t want to understand. “Why are you doing this?” she said in anguish. “I want my daddy, not you! You’re not my mommy. Nopony gets to be my mommy!” “It was the only way!” Rarity shouted at the incensed filly. “It... was the only way,” Rarity said more carefully. “You don’t want to go to the camps, do you?” “What camps?” Diamond asked, both confused and enraged at this point. “I don’t care about camps. I just want daddy to l-l—to take me back!” “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the reformation camps,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. At Diamond’s silence, she blinked. “You have heard of the reformation camps, haven’t you dear?” Rarity asked uneasily. “I think so?” Diamond said tilting her head. “They’re where... ponies learn to be nice, when they can’t be normal ponies, I guess?” “Mistake, you were arrested for vagrancy!” Rarity said in a troubled tone. “Vagrants are not normal ponies!” “I wasn’t a—that was only temporary!” Diamond protested. “I can be a normal pony. As soon as daddy—” “And when he didn’t take you back?” Rarity countered hotly. “What then? Were you going to find another permanent residence in a discarded cereal box perhaps? Please Mistake, I had to adopt you in order to save you from... “Mistake, are you alright?” “Why are you calling me that?!” Diamond asked, suddenly backing away from Rarity in horror. “Well, it is your real name, is it not?” Rarity said with a nervous titter. “I dare say it’s a lovely—” “That’s not my name!” Diamond shouted frantically, her breath coming quickly, and her treacherous eyes welling up with tears, “Stop saying it!” “I realize it’s not the most flattering name out there,” Rarity said, “But it’s certainly better than Diamond Tiara, is it not?” “It—how is it better than Diamond Tiara?!” Diamond demanded shrilly, feeling trapped in this boutique with its closed doors and windows and lack of hiding places. Rarity’s smile grew stiff, as she said, “Er, well... it’s a very um, grown up concept, a diamond tiara you see is um... suffice to say it would be an unfortunate name for any mare coming of age.” “My name is Diamond Tiara!” Diamond screamed loud enough she hoped to break the windows. It didn’t. “You don’t get to call me that. Nopony gets to call me that! Daddy said I could be Diamond Tiara now, and he said he could take it away from me, but he can’t! I won’t let him! I’ll hate you forever, if you call me that ever again!” “Mist—my dear filly,” Rarity exclaimed in shock, now backed against the wall herself from Diamond’s sudden, powerful outburst. “What is the matter with that name?” “It’s not my name!” Diamond repeated, stomping hard enough to crack the floor she hoped. It didn’t. “It’s not me!” she shouted, ignoring the tears running down her face. “Daddy said I would never have to be called that again! He said I wouldn’t have to go back! I’m better than that! I’m Diamond Tiara, and I can have anything, and she can have nothing, and everypony hates her, and I’m not her! I’m not her!!” The boutique echoed with the sound of her voice, and soon there was nothing more than a tense silence, only broken by Diamond’s sniffles. “I’m not a mistake,” she whimpered miserably, “I’m not.” “And I’m not a rarity,” Rarity answered smoothly. “Now really, that can’t be all that’s bothering you. What is the issue here?” “The issue here,” Diamond said in extreme disapproval, “Is that’s not my name. End of story.” After a long, unhappy pause, Rarity said, “Very well, Diamond Tiara,” sounding like she’d really rather not be saying that name. “For better or for worse, for the time being I am now your legal guardian, and—” “Why?!” Diamond shouted, snapping her head around to glare at Rarity angrily. She was surprised at how much of a quaver was still in her voice. “Why are you helping me?” she shouted, unable to get further back once her rump hit the wall as she stared in tormented confusion at the mare. “You adopted me, just like that?! Why did you save me? I ran away! I used you!” “Diamond please, you’re getting too worked up again!” Rarity said in a confused frustration, not sure whether to approach or avoid the trembling filly. “What do you want?!” Diamond demanded, “I have nothing.” She gulped, finding it hard to continue, but this just didn’t make sense! “I have nothing, anymore,” Diamond said to that insufferable mare, “I can’t give you anything I—I don’t have any money, my daddy has all my money and h-he doesn’t...” “Dear...” Rarity said with difficulty, extending a comforting hoof, but Diamond jerked away from it, shouting, “No! No you’re trying to trick me! You want me to be your friend! I–I don’t have anything, b-but I have me, and you’re just trying to take it! You can’t have it!” “Diamond please, calm down!” Rarity said kneeling beside Diamond Tiara, who didn’t really feel like she could walk right now. “This can’t be healthy for your foal. What have I done that’s so bad as to reduce you to tears?” “I’m not—” Diamond managed to choke out, but she knew it was a lie. She wiped furiously at her eyes, but more tears replaced them. Why was she crying? Diamond just sat there sobbing like an idiot and she didn’t even know why she was crying. This mare was unreal. She didn’t even leave Diamond Tiara alone, when she was like this. You had to be a real idiot to even bother with a pony who couldn’t stop crying, and this Rarity mare was sitting right next to her. Diamond wanted to scream, to kick her, to show this mare what an idiot she was for even giving Diamond Tiara the time of day. But thinking about that just hurt so bad, and really all Diamond Tiara wanted now was a hug. Just as long as nopony touched her. Diamond Tiara’s life... settled down then, as much as it would ever settle. She couldn’t believe Rarity lived the same place she worked. It was like she was both a homeowner, and the homeowner’s servant, at the same time. Diamond wasn’t sure whether to respect or pity her for it. But one pony who was worthy of pity was Diamond Tiara herself, because she wasn’t the mistress of the house, so that means she was nothing more than a filthy servant pony. It was like she was back at the convent, except with better food and fewer other fillies to go after her. Diamond Tiara had to make her own bed, and Rarity even made her do the laundry. Diamond tried to weasel out of work by pretending that she had to be careful about the foal, but even she had to admit that as aggrivatingly tedious and tiring it was scrubbing the outfits customers brought in for cleaning, the work wasn’t exactly putting a lot of pressure on her belly. This whole foal thing was completely insane though. Diamond almost wished she were back at the convent eating those stupid, cheap, tasteless oats, because it didn’t seem to matter whether Rarity had good food or not. Diamond just couldn’t keep it down. What she found delicious one day, tasted like sand the next day. And her whole body was just sore, not just her belly, but even just moving around was becoming a chore. She had these headaches that just... made her head want to explode, and she was an emotional wreck. There were times when she found herself sitting on her side, cooing happily at the cute little foal inside her as she stroked her belly, and then a second later she was completely disgusted with it and with herself for being so stupid. She didn’t blame her daddy for what he did; he was just taking advantage of her stupidity. And then Diamond was crying because she wanted a mom so bad, and she never did that anymore. But now that she was gonna have to be the mom, it was just so unfair that she never got to have one. But then she was angry again, at Rarity for thinking she deserves to be a mommy, even though she took so long to adopt her. Too little, too late, missy! It was maddening how slowly the foal grew, too. Diamond just wanted it to be over with, but what had been a little bump in her abdomen was now a slightly less little bump on her abdomen. It was strange, because her belly was getting really taut, for lack of a better word, but the foal inside her was going to keep growing so how was Diamond’s belly going to get any tighter than it already was? It didn’t hurt, but... it was worrying. Diamond couldn’t believe it when Rarity told her it would take until next year. And Rarity couldn’t believe Diamond didn’t know this already. Diamond and Sweetie Belle were not getting along. Sweetie Belle seemed to think that Diamond Tiara didn’t deserve what Rarity was doing for her, and that she was just pretending to be weak and helpless to make other ponies sorry for her. “You don’t deserve what Rarity is doing for you!” Sweetie said angrily. “You’re just pretending to be weak, and helpless, and it’s just making her feel sorry for you!” “And you’re being mean to me for no reason!” Diamond retorted hotly. “You think I’m taking your sister away, well like, I’m not. I don’t want her!” The boutique towered behind them. Diamond met Sweetie Belle out front, as the unicorn had trotted up to it, to visit with her dear sister no doubt. Diamond hadn’t been outside the boutique much, since that incident with her daddy. Her leg was better, and Rarity assured her that there was no way the guard would go after her at all, but Diamond just wasn’t really comfortable with going out there, where they all were, just waiting for an excuse to jump her. So she was surprised by the chilly air that blew across her face as she did. Summer was definitely over. All the leaves were starting to turn, and Diamond just wanted to hide inside forever from now on and miss all of it. But, she would have missed a chance to play with Sweetie Belle otherwise, where Rarity couldn’t hear them, so she went outside. Actually with how loud they were being, they were probably well within Rarity’s earshot, but Diamond didn’t care anymore, because Sweetie Belle made her mad. “Yes you do!” Sweetie insisted. “You just want to trick her into thinking you’re a nice pony, and then you’re just going to bully her! Just like you bullied me!” “I never bullied you!” Diamond retorted. “What are you stupid? Did that horn like, break your brain or something?” “Unicorn horns do not hurt your brain!” Sweetie complained stridently. “Well,” Diamond said with a smug grin, “I guess you’re just like, naturally stupid then.” Sweetie fretted, trying to answer, but Diamond was quick to add after that in a seethingly sweet tone of voice, “You know, you’re right Sweetie Belle. I’m going to wait until she’s asleep, then find where she keeps all her money and I’m gonna steal it all. Then I’m going to tear all her pretty little dresses to shreds. Then I’m going to set the boutique on fire! And I won’t even tell her, until it’s all burned down, and she’s sorry she ever did anything nice for me.” “You’re evil!” Sweetie said in horror. “I’m kidding!” Diamond Tiara shouted back. “Can’t you take a joke?!” “It’s not funny!” Sweetie wailed, “You said you were gonna burn Rarity to death!” “No I didn’t!” Diamond argued hotly, “I only said I was gonna burn her boutique down! And I was kidding! How stupid are you?” “I’m not stupid!!” Sweetie shrieked at the top of her lungs, and then just scrunched her eyes shut and ran past Diamond, into the boutique. As the candy colored unicorn fled, to go tattle to Rarity no doubt, Diamond felt an unexpected warmth rise in her chest watching after Sweetie Belle. A smile fought for purchase on Diamond Tiara’s face. It was so easy to mess with that filly, it was just impossible to resist the temptation. Sweetie Belle was just so adorable that way. Well, it probably wouldn’t be safe for Diamond to go in the boutique for a while, so she decided to take a walk around. To prove to herself that it wasn’t that she was scared of being outside here. It was that the other ponies didn’t deserve her presence. Diamond was already tired, and her belly was really sore because duh, and she didn’t really want to take a walk, but she didn’t want Rarity to have the satisfaction of yelling at her and being mean to her. Not just yet. So she walked... and as she did, it looked like the other ponies remembered her after all, or at least they remembered how poor she was. Now ponies just gave her worried, frightened stares, or pulled their foals close while passing by her. Diamond Tiara didn’t look like a bum, but she knew that they knew. She was just one white unicorn away from laying on the street corner with a broken top hat turned upside down for tossing loose bits in. Diamond was a failure, and that meant she wasn’t trustworthy, and that meant they were supposed to walk the other way when they saw her. It still hurt when she saw S-s-silver Spoon, and she did that, just turned with her daddy and walked away. But Diamond didn’t want to talk to her anyway. She just... wanted to think. Diamond ended up at a local park, on a pleasant green that was starting to go dry as dormancy set in. She lay down on her side, surprised by how winded she was from just a little walk. She looked at her belly thoughtfully, and it occurred to Diamond that having a foal might not be easy. She was probably just... tired from growing it. That was the weirdest concept ever, like Diamond had a muscle in her that when it squeezed it didn’t move her leg, or lift her head, but grew a foal. But there she was, staring at the slight swelling, and feeling like Tartarus warmed over. And it was gonna keep happening for 5 more months at least! Diamond didn’t wonder how things got this bad, because she knew full well how things got this bad. Daddy had used her, just like he used everypony. Diamond hadn’t even realized he was setting her up all this time, but it was so obvious in hindsight. He just pretended she was valuable to him, and tricked her into thinking that by distracting her with all those amazing stallions. And now he just... got tired of her? Diamond wasn’t sure what her daddy got out of this, but he sure didn’t have to deal with this foal problem. Maybe that was the only reason, and after she had given birth to this foal, he’d take her back. Maybe pigs would fly... She never thought Daddy was a not nice pony. Sure he did things that ponies would think were not nice, but he was just doing it to win, not because he really felt that way. He could switch from total, burning hatred, to friendly comradery in the blink of an eye, and that meant he didn’t really hate them, or like them. He was just being a pony. It occurred to Diamond that Daddy didn’t hate her. He just used her, and pretended to hate her so that she would stay away from him. If she could convince him she was valuable again, he might take her back in loving arms. Diamond’s expression hardened, and she decided that she’d rather destroy him, and ruin everything he loved. Her old life was... a lot of fun, and she really missed being with stallions, but she wasn’t feeling well enough to enjoy that sort of thing anyway, and she didn’t think she could go back, knowing that he was just one heartbeat away from... from rejecting her as his daughter, and ignoring her warning about Changelings. Maybe he—maybe he even foalnapped her too, and it wasn’t Changelings at all. So how could she want anything from him other than his utter and total ruin? But how could she possibly do that to him? She was just a little filly. A filly who failed and wasn’t rich at all. If there was a way to stop Filthy, it just wasn’t coming to Diamond. A guard— Diamond froze. Her hackles went up as she saw a guard pony who was staring right at her. When he saw she saw him, he smirked. He smirked. He started crossing the park in her direction. Diamond couldn’t stumble to her hooves fast enough. She—you weren’t supposed to run from guards, but she wasn’t running, she was just walking hastily, and she didn’t even see the guard. His gaze felt like ice as she ran away. He didn’t follow her, for some reason, but she didn’t stop until she was all the way across town and back inside the relative safety of Rarity’s boutique, pushing the door closed with a sigh. “Diamond Tiara!” came Rarity’s accusing voice from behind her. Relative safety. Rarity didn’t actually... punish Diamond Tiara. What was she gonna do, ground her? Diamond was already practically housebound! She didn’t even know what ponies did to punish foals really, because Daddy actually liked her acting up, as long as she obeyed his commands. She was supposed to be mean to like—well it wasn’t being mean. It was just reminding ponies of their proper place. Everypony had their place, Daddy said, and he said that Diamond’s place was on top. But Rarity wouldn’t like, let Diamond leave, or even go sit down until she apologized to Sweetie Belle! Diamond managed to weasel out of it by complaining that she needed a drink of water, and saying Rarity wanted her to starve to death, so she had to um... not punish Diamond just for getting a drink, and going and hiding in the other room. But it was really close there for a minute. Diamond had had enough of humiliating herself just to show ponies that she was lower than them, and doing that to Sweetie Belle of all ponies would have been just embarassing. Winners don’t apologize, Daddy said. Winners don’t apologize. Daddy said....