A Mended Bond

Prologue

I will tell you a tale of one fateful day

In a town where residents eat oats and hay

It is a story in which many a tear will be shed

And nopony knows what lies ahead

But fear not, for this story has an ending which is happy

And it is certainly better than a bird named "Flappy"

But for now, we she start from the beginning

Because your heads are probably spinning

This is the story of Diamond Tiara

A Mended Bond

This story took place one fateful day in Ponyville with a filly by the name of Diamond Tiara. Ever since her friend Silver Spoon left her, she had been feeling rather blue. I'm all alone and nopony likes me, she thought. Now many of you are probably thinking, Surely her parents must love her and care for her. Well here's an explanation. Her father was very poor growing up so he and his wife (Diamond Tiara's mother) decided that they would make sure to have plenty of money on hand. Since they work so often, they are often very tired at the end of the day and don't have the time or energy to play with their daughter.

The young filly sat there and thought a little while longer. Maybe name-calling and bullying isn't the way to go, she considered, but how else can I get some attention? I could tell my parents, but they always seem so tired and I don't want to bother them. Soon she remembered something, My mom's a nurse, so she's used to fixing other ponies up. If I needed fixing up, she would be able to take care of me. But I don't need fixing up, and she would know if I was faking. Suddenly, the sight of Applebloom in the distance caught her attention. "I've always been curious about where she wanders off to everyday" she said to herself, "Perhaps I should follow her, maybe that'll help me with my plan." So she quietly followed Applebloom until she ended up in the Everfree Forest.

Once in the forest, Diamond Tiara hid away in some bushes so Applebloom wouldn't notice that she's being watched. As Applebloom neared Zecora's home, she noticed a note on her door that read:

I am not in need of help today

I have gone to a market far away

To find essentials for potions is why I am there

I will be back tomorrow, so do take care

After reading it, she headed on out of the forest. Once she was sure Applebloom was gone, Diamond Tiara came out of hiding and crept cautiously towards Zecora's hut.

She eventually entered the hut after making sure that she was alone. Once she did; dozens of plants, herbs, and other resources of many shapes and colors revealed their presence. "Wow!" she thought "There are so many elements here. I'm positive at least some of them will help me." After taking a look around, the young filly eventually came across a bookshelf with a plethora of books. But, the one that struck her interest the most was a book titled Toxic Works: A Book of Poisons and their Antidotes. She looked through it until she came to the page about one specific poison known as Tears of Night. This poison was once used by Equestrian Soldiers to hinder enemy forces. If ingested in small doses, it can cause unpleasant symptoms including stomach pains, loss of appetite, fevers, drowsiness, and weakness. The ingredients used to make the substance are nightshade berry juice, a strand of the creator's mane, and salt water. "This is it" she thought "This is what will get me the attention I need!" The first two items weren't hard to find but she didn't have the slightest idea of where she could possibly find some salt water. Soon she remembered the shell necklace that her mother gave her. It had come from an island far away and the shell had been found in a tidal pool, so it had to have some ocean water in it. In no time at all, everything had been combined and the poison was ready to be ingested. However, Diamond Tiara seemed to be at war with herself. "Come on, just one sip of this will make everything better." "Hold on! What if this just makes things worse?" "Well what's the worst that could happen?" "This is a poison; it could make me even sicker than it states!" Eventually she couldn't stand the conflict and gulped down the concoction. "Strange, I don't feel any different. Well, maybe if I give it time I'll start to feel something." She eventually left the Everfree Forest but there was something in that book she didn't see. A breeze turned the page over and the back side mentioned that large doses of Tears of Night can be dangerous.

Back at Ponyville Elementary, each of the students sat in their desks as they listened to the lesson Miss. Cheerlie delivered. Everything seemed normal; nothing seemed unusual. However, something was not right with Diamond Tiara. She could hardly keep her eyes open and could barely move a muscle. Suddenly, she was overcome with a strong feeling of nausea and a sharp pain racked her abdomen. Her pained moans surrounded the room and reached the ears of many of its inhabitants. "Diamond Tiara, are you alright?" Sweetie Belle worriedly asked. "Oh, Sweetie Belle, I don't feel good at all." Suddenly her head began to spin and before anyone could say "Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." she fell to the floor unconscious.

The class was still with shock for a few seconds as they stared at the filly's unconscious body lying on the floor, limp as a wet noodle. "Oh dear! This isn't good." Cheerlie stated worriedly. "Sweetie Belle, I need you to go get help quickly!" she said turning towards the young unicorn. "But how?" asked Sweetie Belle, "The hospital's too far away to walk." "Use that teleportation spell that Twilight's been teaching you. I know that it's hard but it's the only way. Now please, hurry!" So Sweetie Belle swiftly galloped outside (she needed a change of scenery so that she wouldn't get distracted by all of the commotion). Then she closed her eyes, thought up her destination, and cast her spell. Back at the classroom, everypony anxiously awaited the medics' arrival. But, not all of them were quite as anxious as Cheerlie. "Well, she certainly got what she deserved." one student commented rather harshly. "Take it back!" Silver Spoon demanded. "Make me!" sassed the classmate "Oh, I'm not going to. But I simply can't imagine how you could manage to live pleasantly knowing that you just insulted a former friend of mine! So take that back and don't ever let me hear that ever again!" "Yeah sure, Princess, whatever brightens your sun." "Stop it!" Scootaloo ordered. "C'mon, Silver Spoon, some ponies just aren't worth dealin' with." Applebloom said.

Well, Sweetie Belle eventually did make it to Ponyville General Hospital. But she had one problem; she had no idea where the medics were. Since she had already used up all of her magic on the teleportation spell and she didn't see any familiar faces, she figured that all she could do was wander around until she found them. As she searched, she came across a rather strange sight. What or rather who, she saw were many different ponies who appeared to have rather strange ailments. Some of them had spots, some had oddly-colored tongues, but they all looked rather sick. Sweetie Belle could tell that they were not from Ponyville because none of their symptoms were identical to any diseases commonly contracted by citizens in Ponyville. That was weird, she thought. "Wait! I still have to find the medics" she reminded herself. So she searched around for a while until she finally found them. "Oh hello there little filly, how can we help you?" asked the male medic. "Quick, emergency… school… Diamond Tiara… really sick!" Sweetie Belle panted. "Whoa whoa there, calm down and tell us what happened please" said the female medic. So Sweetie Belle told them what happened. "Well it's a good thing you told us, your friend might be really sick" the male medic said. "Come on, let's head out! You can ride with us in the air ambulance" said the female medic. See, when we humans think of an air ambulance we think of a helicopter but the air ambulance in the story is different. It's a chariot very similar to the kind that Twilight rode in when she first came to Ponyville, but a little different. This one was painted white with a red cross on it and is often pulled by common pegasi rather than royal guards.

After about two minutes of flying, the medics finally arrived at the school and the medics immediately rushed in. The female medic examined Diamond Tiara while the male medic interrogated Cheerlie and the students about what happened. "I don't know what could have happened" she said. "I was teaching the class when all of a sudden there was a loud thud and I saw Diamond Tiara lying on the floor." "Did she have any enemies?" he asked her. "Well she wasn't the nicest student in my class so she probably wasn't the most well-liked" "Why didn't you do anything about her behavior or even talk to her about it?" "I never really thought much of it. I just figured that she was just another misguided student who could be helped with a little kindness and teaching." After a few minutes, the female medic reported "The vitals don't look good. We'd better get her to the hospital, stat!" So they took her out of the school on a stretcher and loaded her into the air ambulance. As it flew off, tears filled Silver Spoons eyes. She knew something about her ex-friend that nopony else did and she deeply regretted leaving her because of it.

At Ponyville General Hospital, Nurse Sweetheart was making her daily rounds. Then suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of the stretcher being rolled across the floor. At first, she thought that it would be much different than usual. But, once the stretcher came into view, she immediately recognized the patient as her own daughter. "Diamond Tiara! Oh dear Luna, my baby! We'd better get her into a bed right away." She anxiously stated. After Diamond Tiara was placed in the bed, the doctor came in and examined her. After he did, he reported "There's some odd residue near her mouth and I am unsure of what it is. But, I am certain that this is a clear case of poisoning." Everyone gasped in disbelief. "You're saying that somepony poisoned my dear daughter?! Who would do such a thing?" Nurse Sweetheart questioned. "We need to get her to the Intensive Care Unit stat!" the doctor ordered. Once the medical staff moved her, they immediately began treating her shortness of breath and administering IV meds in an attempt to bring her out of her coma. "If you'll excuse me, I'd better write a letter to my husband to have him come down here and I think I should pick up some of my daughter's belongings while I'm at it. She wouldn't want to be spending the night without them" "I understand, Nurse Sweetheart" "Thank you, Doctor."

In the waiting room, Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were all sitting next to each-other not saying a word. Silver Spoon turned away from the others and a few small tears gleamed in her eyes before they finally dropped. "Silver Spoon, if you don't mind me asking, if Diamond Tiara treated you so badly why are you so upset about all of this?" asked Scootaloo. "Let's just say that Diamond Tiara isn't really who she seems and that she just wanted some attention." "What do you mean by that?" asked Sweetie Belle. "She didn't want to bother anypony with her problem, including her parents. So I promised I wouldn't tell a soul." Just then, Filthy Rich (Diamond Tiara's father), came in. "Hello, girls" he said "Hello, Mr. Rich" said the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "I'm glad to see that you've all come to see Diamond Tiara. It's really nice to know she has some friends who care so much. I'm sure you all want to see her, so I'll come get you after I pay a visit to her.

Meanwhile, Nurse Sweetheart was gathering up her daughter's belongings. When she went to get her daughter's favorite blanket, she noticed her diary sitting out. This could tell me if someone was threatening my daughter, she thought. But she wouldn't like it if I read her diary. Well, I guess I don't have a choice if I know what's good for her. So she picked up the diary and opened it. She eventually came to one page that really caught her attention. This is what was on it:

Dear Diary

I've been feeling really sad lately because my life has just been one big mess. Since my parents always seem so tired and I don't want to bother them, Silver Spoon was the only one I could talk to and now she's left me. True, I have my butler and so many other ponies but they're always so busy taking care of other things to listen to me. All I want is some attention, but I don't know how else to get some. I've tried everything but nothing seems to work. My life is hopeless right now .

After she read it, she finally realized what was really going on.

Back at the hospital, Filthy Rich was visiting his daughter in the ICU. The sight of his only daughter in the hospital, in a coma, with a breathing tube in her nose, broke his heart. Then, his wife entered the room. "Darling, I need to show you something" she said and she showed him the diary entry that she came across. "I-I never knew she felt this way" said Mr. Rich "Me neither. We need to make some changes, big changes" said Nurse Sweetheart. Suddenly, the doctor entered with a melancholy expression. "Nurse, I've just received the results for the lab. It turns out your daughter is suffering the effects of a poison called Tears of Night." "Good! Now we can administer the antidote" Nurse Sweetheart said determinedly. "No, you don't understand. There's no known antidote for this poison." Tears immediately flooded the mother's soft eyes and ran down her face as her husband held her close. "Any time that we could have spent bonding with her we chose to waste feeling tired. We're terrible parents! , she cried. "If only there was another way to help our daughter" said Mr. Rich with a hopeful sadness.

All of a sudden there was a dazzling display of the most powerful magic. It shined so brightly that it blinded everyone for a few seconds. And just as quickly as it appeared, it faded away. Suddenly Diamond Tiara's condition seemed to improve. Her fever went down, her breathing returned to normal, and she slowly opened her eyes. "Mom? Dad?" she questioned. "Diamond Tiara!" her parents exclaimed and they gently hugged their daughter. "We're so glad you're alright!" "I didn't know that this would turn out so badly. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble." Diamond Tiara apologized. "All that matters to us now is that you're alright. Things are going to change. We don't know how exactly, but they'll be good" said Nurse Sweetheart.

The doctor eventually declared Diamond Tiara's condition stable enough to allow her to be taken out of intensive care. The CMC went to visit Diamond Tiara after she had been moved to her room. "I know you all probably hate me, but I just want to say I'm sorry for the way I treated you all" Diamond Tiara said. "We don't hate you, Diamond Tiara" said Sweetie Belle "And we accept yer apology" said Apple bloom "right, Scootaloo?" "Oh…alright" Scootaloo admitted. "I'm glad that you're not mad at me after all the mean stuff I did, but why?" "Because we understand now" Apple Bloom said "All you wanted was some attention and you didn't know how else to get some" Sweetie Belle explained. "Thanks for understanding, and Silver Spoon." "Yes?" "Thanks for keeping my secret. I know you probably don't want to be my friend again right away, but will you at least give me a second chance?" "Of course." "We could be yer friends too, if we give it some time." "Come on!" Scootaloo said annoyed "Give it time, Scootaloo, give it time" said Sweetie Belle.

So, it turns out everything turned out fine yet again. Diamond Tiara survived and has vowed never to be cruel again. Both the CMC and Diamond Tiara's parents have learned some very important lessons. But I'm not going to tell you what they are. After all, show don't tell. I hope you enjoyed the story and that it didn't make you too sad.