GBOYHverse: Tarnished Diamonds Chapter 5

GBOYHVerse: Tarnished Diamonds

Chapter 5

Past Uncovered

By Godzillawolf


With their desks pushed together, three seated on one side, two on the other the five fillies sat as a group. While the rest of the classroom was a buzz of activity, the only activity the enemies turned partners seemed interested in or capable of at the moment was to glare at each other and not make a sound. It was almost like watching a very intense staring contest; as if one of them would blink their eyes they would lose the game.

Neither group knew how long they'd been sitting like this. It just that it felt like about eight months since they'd gotten into this mess.

“...”

“We have ten minutes left, my little ponies,” Cheerilee warned the class, causing several groups to begin discussing how they'd meet after class, who would bring what, and a number of other odds and ends.

“Ugh...look,” Applebloom said, the filly finally breaking the silence. “Ah don't like yah, and Ah know yah don't like meh.”

“What gave you that idea, genius?” Diamond asked, feeling a little sick but not letting up the death glare.

“But mah family ain't gonna be happy is Ah get an F, so let's just get this over with, okay?” the yellow farm filly replied.

The spoiled bully gave a sigh of annoyance. “Yeah, daddy's gonna take away my allowance if I get an F.”

“And my aunt will ground me from crusading...” Scootaloo muttered, pinning her ears.

“And Rarity will make me bathe Opal...” Sweetie Belle lamented.

“And daddy will make me run laps around our estate...” Silver finished, earning her a few confused looks. “...He's a Royal Guard.”

“He is?” Sweetie Belle questioned, the Crusaders looking like they'd been told the world is flat.

“Ugh! Let's just get this over with so we can go back to ignoring each other!” Diamond Tiara interjected. “What stupid thing should we do it on?”

“The Crystal Empire coming back, let's do that!” Scootaloo suggested, the fan-filly expression she was wearing leaving little to the imagination as to why. “We can ask Rainbow Dash and the others about it! Maybe even get to go there!”

“Yeah! Good idea! We can make a model with lots of glitter!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle in excitement.

“Yah sure like glitter, don't yah?” Applebloom questioned with a chuckle.

“I'm Rarity's little sister, what would you expect?”

While the Crusaders were all bustling with excitement over the idea, Diamond Tiara was grinding her teeth in frustration at the mental image this brought to her mind. Namely spending several days with the Crusaders talking about how awesome their sisters/sister figures were, bragging constantly and enjoying every minute of it while Diamond Tiara had to grin and bare it. She could feel her jealously eating her up already. Normally she'd be thinking of every possible way to emotionally tear them down and take full control. Except then...she'd be like her...And that thought...Still, didn't mean she couldn't do something about the predicament, right?

“Well I don't think it's a good idea,” the rich filly replied, donning her most indifferent look she could manage.

The trio rolled their eyes. “Let me guess, because it's our idea?” asked Scootaloo, crossing her forelegs.

“No, think about it; it just happened. Yeah, we've got your family I guess, but how do you expect to find any books or anything? You know that Cheerilee likes varied sources. We'd be limiting ourselves too much if we did that. Plus, how exactly are Silver and I to do our share on something only you three can get anything about? You'd have to do all the work. Of course if you'd like to let Silver and I just do the bare minimum by necessity, I can oblige,” was the pink filly's reply, managing to give off an aura of confidence in what she was saying.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked to one another with a blink. “That's...actually a good point...” Scootaloo begrudgingly admitted. “I have trouble finding the right books when they're easy to find...”

“Yeah, plus if the Crystal Empire is what it sounds like, Rarity's probably going to spend the next week making dresses...” Sweetie Belle replied, though also looking a little excited at the thought.

“And Applejack's gonna have a lot of work tah catch up on since she's been gone...” Applebloom  finished.

“See?” Diamond Tiara finished with an aura of pride. “So...”

Diamond tried to think of big important events in Equestrian history...but kept hitting a particular snag. She didn't remember many of them. At least not many of them that the Crusaders wouldn't know more about or knew somepony involved in it. “...Isn't there some huge story about Heart's and Hooves Day?”

The pink filly fought the urge to gag. Lovey-dovey stuff rarely appealed to any foal, but it was also the one holiday she knew for sure the Crusaders didn't have some big 'my sisters did something super impressive' on that day. Unless their sisters had somehow managed to travel back in time and be involved in that story, but what were the odds of that?

“Uh...about that...” muttered Applebloom, blushing.

Diamond Tiara gave an annoyed sigh. “What?”

“We kind of got banned from all the books in the library involving Hearts and Hooves Day after...well...we kind of love poisoned Big Mac and Cheerilee...” Sweetie Belle pointed out, looking like she was trying to hide behind her mane.

Diamond Tiara's response was to snap another pencil by biting it to stifle her tongue, eyes twitching like mad.

“Uh...Diamond Tiara, are yah okay?” Applebloom asked, the three Crusaders just staring at her in confusion.

“I'm fine...”

“Really? Cause you look like Rarity when she's trying not to tell me I made her mad...” Sweetie Belle said, cocking her head.

“And that's the third pencil you've bit in half today,” Scootaloo remarked, pointing to the two other snapped pencils on the floor next to the filly's chair.

Diamond took in a deep breath...then held her breath for a second so she couldn't let it out in a scream of frustration followed by insults she knew would make her feel ill. “I'm fine! Next suggestion!”

“What about Princess Luna coming back?” Scootaloo suggested. “Rainbow Dash and her friends were there too.”

'In other words, another story about your awesome sisters,' Diamond thought. “I think we both know who's got that one covered...” the pink filly replied, pointing a hoof over to Pipsqueak's group, the pinto colt already holding up a surprisingly well done drawing of Princess Luna.

“She's got a point...” Sweetie Belle replied, looking back to Pip. “He's like Princess Luna's biggest fan...”

“Biggest fan? Pipsqueak knows her!” Scootaloo replied, looking a tiny bit jealous.

Diamond's eyes went wide. “What?!”

“Yeah, at the Nightmare Night thing?” Applebloom asked. “Yah didn't see that?”

The spoiled filly smirked. “Well I was busy trick or treating in Canterlot with daddy,” she said proudly.

“How's that any different than trick or treating here?” Scootaloo asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Oh, it's not too different, just they give out fancy, gourmet candies,” Diamond Tiara said in her 'I've got something you don't' tone.

“Because they can afford it there,” Silver Spoon continued, imitating her partner in crime's tone.

Diamond felt a small bit of gratification at the looks of jealousy this earned...

“We still got to meet a Princess,” Scootaloo reminded.

And that gratified grin was replaced with a frustrated glare. “Fine, whatever! Point is that's not working, let's figure out something else, okay?!”

“What about the royal wedding?” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Princess Cadence married Shining Armor and we got to be flower fillies, it'd be great!”

“Uh, we also got invaded by scary, love eating bug ponies,” Scootaloo pointed out, giving a shudder at the memory.

“Yeah but we get attacked by stuff all the time, how many weddings have we been to?!”

“And the Changelings aren't all scary. What about the one that's friends with Miss Matilda?” Applebloom asked, remembering the shy Changeling that occasionally stopped by the town and had to show his passport each time. “He seems nice...”

Diamond Tiara resisted the urge to slam her head as hard as she could into the desk in front of her. Instead she settled for some angry scowling. “Except I wasn't here! That's the same problem as with the Crystal Empire one!”

Scootaloo gave an annoyed sigh. “Fine then, what about Discord?”

Almost instantly the orange pegasus found varying looks of horror and anger staring back at her, causing her ears to pin back. “Oh yeah...that was really really awful...forget I said anything.”

“Good idea...”

Everypony including Scootaloo herself looked around at one another in surprise at the group jinx.

“What about Trixie, Rarity, and their beating that mean Checker Monarch?” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Rarity said it was all over the news and stuff.”

Diamond Tiara suddenly tensed up and broke out in a cold sweat. “N-No. L-Let's not...”

Scootaloo blinked, giving a confused look. Diamond's statement hadn't had her usual venom. If anything it sounded...pleading. “Why not?”

“B-Because that wasn't quite a historical event, doesn't c-count...”

Silver looked at her friend, any smugness disappearing. “...I'm with Diamond Tiara. Doesn't really count.”

The Crusaders looked at each other with unsettled faces, then back to the two bullies. “...Fine...But we still need something...”

Diamond Tiara managed to steady herself...and proceeded to wrack her brain for something to suggest. She looked to Silver Spoon, who didn't seem to even be trying to think of something. No surprise, she'd hardly spoke the entire decision making process. Diamond was on her own trying to think of something that she wouldn't spend the entire time hearing them brag about and that didn't involve...HER. Something that wouldn't leave her fighting back a billion insults she knew she couldn't say without becoming like...HER. Something, anything! Something she was at least on equal footing to the bla-Applebloom and her friends!

Something clicked in her brain and galloped to her mouth before she could think.

“Let's just do it on the founding of Ponyville and be done with it!”

The entire group promptly stared at Diamond with as much disbelief as she had that it'd come out of her own mouth, which she had the urge to insert her hoof into.

“Uh...Diamond, did yah just say we should do the founding of Ponyville or do Ah still have water in mah ears from bein' Cutie Mark Crusader Synchronized Swimmers yesterday?” Applebloom asked, tilting her head and giving the side of it a few taps.

The spoiled filly's eyes batted back and fourth between the four shell shocked ponies looking at her. She had spoke without thinking, even beautiful, smart young mares like her could make mistakes from time to time. The question was which was worse? To admit her idea was stupid and give her ego a bruising or to grin and bare it working on something she didn't exactly have a pleasant history with?

“Simple. Your family was part of it; my family was part of it. It's probably the one thing that a low-” the spoiled filly's prepared insult about their difference in social class died rather quickly in her throat when her stomach seized up. “That we actually have in common. So why shouldn't we?”

“Because last time it came up you blew up on Granny Smith in class...” Scootaloo pointed out.

“And had to wear a bunny suit and jump over watering cans...” Sweetie Belle continued.

Diamond Tiara was glad she had pink fur to hide the rather vibrant blush stirring beneath it. “Well this situation is already unbearable, so it's not like it can possibly make this any worse, can it?”

The rich foal found herself instinctively knocking on the desk for some reason.

The CMC promptly got into a huddle.

“Well she's got a point...” Scootaloo admitted.

“...Yeah...Ah just think Diamond's acting a bit weird...” Applebloom admitted, giving a concerned look. “She hasn't insulted us once the whole time...”

“Probably because Cheerilee's watching...” the orange filly replied. “Probably doesn't want to end up in the bunny suit again.”

Diamond Tiara looked to Silver. “Do you have a problem with this?”

The silver filly merely shook her head, shooting down any hopes of a way out of this. “Not if you don't, Diamond.”

Diamond couldn't help feeling like Silver looked a bit happier than expected. Then again, her cohort had applauded Granny Smith. The pink filly had never questioned it, considering she was much too busy being punished, a very alien experience for the foal. Perhaps she merely misinterpreted Diamond's feelings on that tidbit of her family's history being presented and expected the lead bully was pleased with it? Yes, that was probably it. Why else would her best friend applaud the enemy's grandmother?

The Crusaders finally turned back to their reluctant teammates. “Alright, sounds good tah us,” Applebloom announced, her two friends nodding. “We can go see Granny Smith aft-”

“Oh no you don't!” Diamond Tiara interjected, the rich filly then putting a hoof on her chest proudly. “The class already heard that part of the story! I think it's only fair we start with my family's side of it! It's only fair, right?”

Silver Spoon naturally nodded. “She's right you know. It is only fair.”

The yellow farm filly gave a glare back. “...Do yah even know yer family's half of it?”

Diamond froze, blinking. She knew her family was wealthy, she knew her Great Grandpa Stinking Rich had created the family business and sold Zap Apple Jam to start with, and that'd lead to Ponyville's founding...

“Well...no...But you're not the only one with a grandparent who was there!”

Applebloom gave a sincerely baffled blink. “Wait, yer granny is still around?”

“My grandfather is, yes,” Diamond Tiara replied with a high and mighty smirk. “He's only a bit younger than your grandmother, so he's bound to know a thing or two.”

“Does he live with yah?”

“No, he lives in his own estate near White Tail Woods, I can have my servants take us to visit,” the spoiled foal replied, now riding a high of self gratification. Sure it felt a tiny bit empty compared to insults, but it was an improvement over feeling sick to her stomach and terrified of becoming like a certain sociopathic unicorn.

Applebloom looked to her friends. “If he's one of the Riches, Granny Smith probably knows 'em, so shouldn't be a problem for meh.”

“Rarity shouldn't have a problem with it...” was Sweetie Belle's response.

“I'll have to ask my aunt, but it should be okay...unless he has a pet giant squid or something...” Scootaloo finished.

Diamond Tiara blinked. “Giant squid?”

“Yeah we ran into one trying to be Cutie Mark Crusader Scuba-Divers and got chased by one living in a lake, and apparently my aunt's got some really weird fear of them...” the orange filly explained, looking just as confused by that as the rest of the group. “I don't think I want to know.”

The pink filly's eye began twitching. “I...see...well there aren't any giant squid on my grandpa's estate...he has a pool though. A really big one.”

“Then I should be fine...”

“Good, I'll have daddy send him a letter...”

“How's it gonna beat us there?” Applebloom questioned. She'd never been to White Tail Woods before.

“Daddy pays for express delivery, that's how. It's a perk of being rich.”

“I thought you just got express delivery by giving Miss Derpy a free muffin...” Sweetie Belle said, putting a hoof to her chin.

Diamond Tiara once again felt that odd urge to slam her head into the desk. This time she obeyed it.

---

Diamond Tiara gave a sigh of annoyance, sitting in the seat of her family's personal carriage, as they had been for some time. On most occasions she'd be all too happy to relish getting to flaunt that her family was wealthy enough to afford a personal carriage, with its luxurious seats, imported carpets, and the diamond door knobs she'd managed to convince her daddy to buy just because they went with her tiara.

But most of the time said flaunting did not involve being in an enclosed space for extended periods of time with THEM while trying not to become HER.

“Why are we taking a pony drawn carriage anyway?” Scootaloo asked, stealing a peak out the window at the landscapes passing by.

The spoiled filly rolled her eyes. “Because it's faster than walking, and is a symbol of class and sophistication.”

“Yeah, duh!” Silver Spoon chimed in, smirking to her cohort.

“But if ponies are pulling it, how can it be faster?” Sweetie Belle questioned, peaking over Diamond to the window that could be used to speak with the stallions pulling the carriage if the passengers desired it.

“I don't know, I'm not a carriage pony.” The pink filly gave a prideful look. “And besides, you should feel privileged that I'm letting you ride in mine. You're the only ponies in our entire class who have ever gotten to ride in it other than Silver Spoon.”

“Yeah, you should be thanking us,” Silver Spoon followed up, giving a smirk.

“Thanks fer givin' us a lift Ah guess...” Applebloom said begrudgingly. “But it's kinda boring.”

Diamond Tiara gave an incensed look while Silver's jaw just dropped a little. “Boring?! You're in MY carriage, how can that possibly be boring?”

“Well there's nothin' tah do,” the farm filly replied. Scootaloo seemed especially anxious.

“I kinda like it though...it's pretty...” Sweetie Belle admitted, looking at the diamonds. “I think Rarity would like it...”

“Well at least one of you has good taste, bl-” Diamond stopped herself as her stomach seized up again. Honestly she was lucky she hadn't had to tell her attendants to stop, given the practically rapid fire parade of things she could be insulting and picking apart but couldn't dare say. Perhaps having her father get first class train tickets would have been a better idea after all. At least she'd been able to convincingly lie to Shiny Star that the ginger ale was a precaution just in case any of their 'guests' turned out to be prone to getting carriage sick. She'd drunk half a bottle.

“Just hold it together, Diamond. Remember why you're doing this...” she whispered to herself. She turned to the glass, briefly seeing the image of a certain blue unicorn superimposed over her own and giving a shudder.

Silver Spoon seemed to notice her annoyance, but didn't say anything. She just looked plain confused.

The spoiled pink filly leaned over. “We've got to put up with these bl-los-three until we're done with the project. And as much as I sincerely hate to admit it, the more we insult them the harder that's going to be. So let's just cool it until then, okay?” she whispered. “It's not like we have to be nice to them or anything.”

The gray filly blinked in confusion, but nodded obediently. “Alright, Diamond...”

Diamond Tiara cocked her head in a bit of confusion. Silver Spoon's face...well, wasn't blank. It was more like one time this actress had to fill in for another at a play she'd attended and was trying to get into the new character. Not that she blamed Silver Spoon, being anything but a bully to the trio felt so odd, of course she was having the same trouble as the spoiled pink foal.

“Ugh...fine, the doorknobs are pretty...I guess...but why did it have to be so small?” Scootaloo questioned, fidgeting a bit.

“Because it's a private carriage, duh!” the spoiled pink pony replied, giving another roll of her eyes. At this rate she was wondering when they'd roll out of her head if she kept rolling them like this.

“Well sorry most of us don't have those...” Scootaloo muttered, giving an annoyed look.

“Yes, you should be.”

Scootaloo took her turn to roll her eyes. “Can we play I Spy or something? Otherwise we're just going to sit here glaring at each other the entire time...and my eyes still hurt from doing that in class.”

Diamond raised an eyebrow. “I Spy?”

“Yeah, you know, look out the window and say 'I spy with my little eye, something...' and then the other ponies try to figure out what it was?” Sweetie Belle asked, giving a blink. “You've never heard of I Spy?”

“Of course we have, remember Diamond?” Silver Spoon asked. “Before your momma...you know.”

Diamond Tiara blinked, thinking back. “Oh...yeah...when we were in Manehatten. It's just been a really long time's all...You three bla-three can play if you want.”

At that, the trio turned to the window and looked out.

“Alright, I spy with my little eye...something...green!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Grass?” Applebloom guessed.

“Nope!”

Diamond noted Silver looked slightly disappointed. Had she wanted to play with those three? No way. Silver Spoon didn't even know why picking on the trio was off limits. Then why would the other bully look disappointed?

“Leaves?” guessed Scootaloo, pointing to a tree they were passing.

“Got it!” Sweetie Belle replied. “Alright, your turn.”

“Alright...I spy with my little eye, something yellow.”

Diamond gave an annoyed growl at the sight of her archenemies having fun in her carriage. It was hard enough to watch either of those situations separately, but together it was near unbearable. She prepared to say something.

“Good job, you really are a lot like I was when I was a kid. Keep up the good work. Some day you might be just like me."

The spoiled filly gave a frightened shudder. She needed a distraction, now.

She looked to the other window, seeing the landscape passing by, then back to the Crusaders playing their game.

“Daisies?” asked Applebloom.

“Dang it, you got it,” Scootaloo replied. “Your turn.”

“Come on, Silver Spoon, let's play,” Diamond Tiara told her cohort. “I mean obviously not with them, but there's more than one window, isn't there?”

Silver Spoon cocked her head, but then nodded with a smile. “Sure! You go first Diamond!”

The pink filly was taken back by the smile. It was the same one her friend had had back when they were on the seesaw and at the sleepover. She shook off her surprise and looked out the opposing window, eyes searching the environment, a few houses with animals, trees, and such passing by as they did so. “I spy with my little eye...something white.”

Silver Spoon put a hoof to her chin. “Hmm...the clouds?”

“Nope, try again.”

The gray filly looked over their surroundings carefully. “Hmm...that house?” she asked, pointing to a white house nestled in the country.

“Nope, try again,” Diamond Tiara replied, giving a confident smirk.

The silver filly pointed her hoof at a white dog with a fancy looking collar running around in one of the yards. “Hmm, that dog?”

“You got it,” the pink filly replied, oddly feeling less incensed than she expected to. Then again, Silver Spoon knew her, why couldn't she guess what Diamond Tiara was thinking? “Your turn.”

Diamond Tiara kept her eyes on the passing scenery as the carriage continued onward and Silver Spoon's eyes scanned their surroundings. “I spy with my little eye...something...pink.”

“Me?” Diamond Tiara guessed instantly.

“No...” Silver Spoon replied, giving a rather confused look.

“What?”

“Oh...just, not used to saying no to you asking me something...”

Diamond Tiara wasn't certain why, but that sentence made her have cold chills. To distract herself, her eyes went back to scanning their surroundings.

Her eyes fell on a row of trees with vibrant pink leaves. She didn't know the name, but they were quite the pretty sight. “Those trees?”

Silver Spoon gave a nod. “You got it! Good job Diamond!”

Diamond Tiara gave smile. “Of course it was. And remember those trees. I think I'll ask daddy if we can get some, they'd look great on our estate.”

“Okay, Diamond.”

“I spy with my little eye,” said Sweetie Belle, apparently now her turn. “Something gray.”

“Derpy?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yep!”

Diamond Tiara blinked in confusion. “Wait, what?”

The filly trotted across the carriage and looked out, seeing a certain wall-eyed Pegasus flying back the way they came, a mail bag at her side. She looked to them and waved, the Crusaders waving back.

“Huh, guess you did get express delivery...” Sweetie Belle remarked.

---

“Whoa...” was the collective response of the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they stared up at the very sizable estate the carriage was approaching. It wasn't as big as Canterlot Castle's grounds, but it certainly a bigger chunk of real-estate than anypony in Ponyville owned, and it even had a fairly respectable sized lake on the grounds, in addition to the big pool next to the mansion.

The mansion in the center of it was suitably massive; Applebloom was fairly certain her house and the barn next to it would fit inside it. The décor was 'old styled' as Rarity would say, with marble pillars and brick siding, countless windows covering the entire place.

“Your grandpa lives here?!” Applebloom asked, eyes wide.

Diamond Tiara chuckled. “Yes, he does. He ran Rich's Barnyard Bargains before daddy and built it to be his 'retirement home' for the family. Like a Rich would settle for the same retirement homes as normal ponies. Note that after he built this, daddy and I are still  rich.”

“He stays here alone? Ain't that dangerous?” Applebloom asked, remembering how often Granny Smith ended up throwing her hip out.

“Of course not, he's got his servants,” the spoiled filly replied, as if that should be as obvious a fact as ponies needing air. “And someday this place will be all mine. Cool huh?”

The trio just nodded as the carriage pulled up to the mansion and disembarked. The chauffeurs kept their heads high, though did give Diamond an indignant look as the spoiled rotten filly simply continued on without a word in their direction, merely basking in the glory of being the center of attention while Shiny Star got off of the roof top seat were she'd spent the journey sitting in.

Sweetie Belle looked over to the carriage pulling stallions. “Thanks for the ride!”

The two stallions blinked as if being thanked by the filly they'd transported was an utterly alien concept to them. They then gave a small, appreciative smile. “You're welcome...”

Applebloom looked back to the carriage. “...Yer pa and ma didn't want tah come along?”

Diamond Tiara stopped in her tracks, Applebloom having to stop to avoid running into her hindquarters. “They wanted to...but Daddy was busy with work and momma...isn't cleared to travel yet.”

“Cleared tah travel? What does-”

“Momma was sick, she's better now, but her doctors think it's best she stay home and rest for awhile, okay?!” Diamond snapped, looking back at Applebloom with a look that made the farm filly's blood run cold.

“...Alright...” Applebloom replied simply. Scootaloo gave an almost...jealous look while Sweetie's was strangely sympathetic.

“Good...” Diamond replied, Silver putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Let's just get this over with...”

As they reached the door, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon simply sat there, waiting, much to the Crusader's confusion.

“We gonna knock or what?” Scootaloo asked, raising and eyebrow.

Diamond Tiara looked to Shiny Star. The maid gave an annoyed sigh and knocked on the door.

The spoiled filly then blinked at the looks this netted her from the Crusaders. “What?”

“Really?” Applebloom questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“She's my maid, it's what my daddy pays her for,” Diamond Tiara retorted with a smug smile. “Jealous?”

The farm filly rolled her eyes, but was prevented from doing anything more when the door opened to reveal an Earth Pony stallion in a black suit and bowtie. He had white fur, a small gray mustache, and a balding white mane, his Cutie Mark concealed by his suit. “Hello, Miss Rich, young madams. Mr. Rich is has been expecting you.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon merely trotted in. “Thanks sir,” Applebloom said before following.

The butler looked to Shiny Star. “Same bundle of joy as always I see?”

The maid sighed. “Yes, Alfred. But Mrs. Tiara is better now.”

“Yes, I heard. That is wonderful to hear.”

---

The five foals stepped up to a large door leading into a living room. Partially to Diamond's annoyance, the CMC seemed quite determined to stick close to her. Understandable, considering that she knew her way around from the previous times she'd been here and they didn't and the mansion's massive size made the potential of getting lost rather high. On one hoof, the spoiled pink filly enjoyed being in her element and in charge...on the other, being so close to her archenemies while trying desperately not to snap and insult them was a very sizable task.

“Grandpa Dusty, it's me Diamond!” Diamond Tiara called.

“Wait, yer grandpa's named Dusty?” Applebloom asked, cocking her head.

“Yes, so what?,” was Diamond's retort.

“Well...kinda expected...” the farm filly started awkwardly.

The door opened to reveal an elderly stallion with a grandfatherly smile. His fur was a slightly darker brown than his son Filthy Rich's, his mane gray with age. His Cutie Mark was a simple dollar sign, and the only clothing he wore was the glasses on his face. “Hello, Tarnished Rich, good to see you again.”

Diamond Tiara's smugness instantly dissolved into a look of pure humiliation.

“Tarnished Rich?” Applebloom asked, she and the other Crusaders all getting a look of confusion while Silver Spoon merely gave look of upset.

“Grandpa! I told you, I'm Diamond Tiara now!” Diamond Tiara argued as her ears pinned back.

“Not to me, young lady,” Dusty snapped, giving a stern glare. “Especially since you have a habit of forgetting why you have that name in the first place...but glad to see you again all the same.” The elderly stallion then looked to the other foals. “Hello, Silver Spoon. And my, little Applebloom you've gotten big. Come on in, bring your friends.”

As Dusty Rich retreated into the living room, Diamond was busy trying to find some way to hide behind her mane, and failing due to it's short length.

“Tarnished Rich?” Scootaloo questioned again.

“It's my birth name, alright?!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “It's some stupid tradition where everypony in my family has to have a name to 'remind us of our roots' or something like that. You know? Like Stinking, Dusty, Filthy?”

The foal admitted she didn't have the worst luck of her family. That would be her Aunt Spoiled Rich, who by marriage ended up with the unfortunate name Spoiled Rotten.

“I changed it when I got my Cutie Mark,” the humiliated filly continued, her pink fur no longer able to conceal her incredibly bright blush. “It's one of the perks of not being a blank flank!”

Diamond Tiara gave a look of smug superiority and relish in the words she just spoke...until she nearly doubled over from her stomach deciding to remind her of why she wasn't saying those two words anymore and felt cold.

Shuddering, the filly composed herself. “...Anyway, Grandpa Dusty just doesn't want to admit that I earned the right to change my name.”

Sweetie Belle cocked her head. “Wait, I don't remember ever hearing you go by that name...”

Diamond snarled, just wanting this miserable moment over with. She knew the trio of fillies was laughing at her on the inside. “If you were named Tarnished Rich, would YOU flaunt it? I just went by my last name until I got my Cutie Mark, just like daddy does...”

“...I changed mine too,” Silver Spoon spoke up. “My birth name is Silver Mirror. We just like our new names better. Maybe once you blank flanks earn your marks you can choose better ones too.”

The gray filly looked to her friend, expecting that to see a smug, confident grin to match her own, only for her discomfort to seem to worsen.

“...Yeah...come on, let's get this over with...” Diamond Tiara finished, walking into the living room with a miserable expression and ears flat against her head.

This was supposed to be her element and not five minutes in her grandpa humiliates her. A bad start meant it couldn't get any worse, right?