The home of Diamond Tiara was an enormous and opulent one.

Tall, spike tipped iron gates barred the entrance to a long, winding path upward to the expansive mansion, and William was actually a little captivated by the masonry. It was clear that Diamond Tiara and her family had rather expensive tastes.

“My, my,” William whistled lowly. “This estate must cost a small fortune in order to maintain.”

Diamond Tiara snorted, pushing her way through the oiled iron gate and letting it swing open. “More like large fortune,” she bragged, William’s odd behavior already forgotten. Just as the gate began to close, William snagged it by the bars and held it open, giving the filly his best winning smile.

“Why, I’m rather surprised at you, Miss Tiara. You aren’t even going to show your new friend the estate?”

“Why would I?” she asked huffily, shifting the small saddlebag on her back for comfort. Before she could say more and resisting the urge to grind his teeth, William pressed on.

“Because I’m simply so impressed by the grounds alone,” he pretended to be interested in the sprawling and topiary laden garden before the mansion. “Why, you must want everyone to think that you’re positively swimming in money.”

“Think?” Diamond Tiara scoffed.

“Hmm,” William suddenly became very attentive to the tips of his fingernails. “I suppose everything behind the garden is an absolute hovel.”

The filly scowled at him, and pawed at the ground in front of her momentarily in agitation.

“I’ll have you know that my house is worth a lot of bits!” she insisted.

“Of course it is, Miss Tiara, of course it is,” the disbelief evident in his voice. “I’ll bet Silver Spoon’s, or even Miss Dash’s house is considered far superior to this one.”

William had to fight back any facial expressions as Diamond Tiara let out a little high pitched whistle of frustration through her teeth and glowered at him.

“I doubt it,” Diamond Tiara bragged, refusing to let her sense of pride get bruised. “Follow me, ugly. I’ll show you what a real mansion looks like.”

She didn’t hear the low, angry mumble of “My name is William.”

She held her nose high into the air as she strutted up the winding, twisting cobblestone path to the mansion, and William let the iron gate latch quietly behind him.

It was held in place by a single bar.

Did these ponies simply have no sense of security? Could it possibly be so simple…?

And as plans and ideas began to take root in William’s mind, had Diamond Tiara taken the time to survey him, it might have been possible for her to spot the wickedly twisted grin worming its way onto his pale face.

Closer to the mansion, William spotted a shadowy figure moving behind a pair of cobalt curtains close to the front door. Which was unfortunate for him, as it played almost directly opposite into what he was planning; however, he could adjust. Diamond Tiara trotted silently up to the front door, rearranging her saddlebag on her back a little to more evenly bang on the double doors. Each one had an ornately crafted brass handle, which glinted pleasantly in the sunlight.

“Missus Po~ts!” Tiara wailed. “Get the door for me!”

When she received no answer, Diamond Tiara breathed angrily through her nose. Before she could speak, William intervened yet again.

“Excuse me, Miss Tiara,” William tapped her on the shoulder, all expression leaving his face as he held out his other hand. “Why don’t I carry your bags for you the rest of the way,” he offered, leaning against the ornate door and pushing it open with a little difficulty. It was surprisingly heavy, which he noted for later.

She blinked at him, and said “Oh. Yeah, fine, whatever,” Tiara slid her saddlebag off, allowing him to carefully place it on one shoulder as he held the door for her. “She’s probably out in the side garden again.”

William also silently noted that the spoiled filly didn’t even bother to thank him, but it wasn’t of much importance. The important things were already in progress.

Then Diamond Tiara trotted in haughtily and left him with the door, unconsciously flicking him in the nose with the tip of her tail as she did so.

The quietly boiling rage that had been slowly broiling in him with every minute that he spent with the brat nearly tipped over, and he strained to remain silent as he clenched his jaw tightly.

As he allowed the heavy door to swing shut while he stepped into the thankfully cool shade of Diamond Tiara’s home, he heard the voice he was expecting.

“Hello, Diamond,” the familiar stallion poked his head around the corner, thin black mane pulled back over his head as he gave her a small smile. “How was school, hone-oh, yay.”

The tan earth pony’s deadpan reaction as he gave a flat stare at William was all he needed to see to tell that the pony was unamused, but Filthy Rich actually cocked an eyebrow when he saw William carrying his daughter’s schoolbag.

“Diamond,” Filthy sighed with a frown. “I’ve already told you, I’m not going to spank the colt –”

“Uh, actually, Daddy,” Diamond Tiara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Ug- I mean, William here is… is my new… my-my new ‘friend’.” She spat the last word out with barely hidden contempt.

Filthy Rich blinked, looking back and forth between the silent human and his fitful daughter. He had a look crossed somewhere between mildly pleased and curiously surprised on his face.

“… You have friends now?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“… Are you sure?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Diamond Tiara said in exasperation.

“The one who had you lip-locked on his first day of school?”

Tiara flushed brightly, and stamped her hoof against the ground.

“Yes, Daddy!” she struggled to find the right words, evidently displeased.

Filthy shrugged eventually, nodded to them both.

“I suppose I knew it would happen eventually,” he said vaguely, extending a hoof to William. “You must be the ‘hooligan’,” he chortled quietly.

“A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mister Filthy,” William shook his hoof with his free hand.

The stallion’s eyes promptly narrowed, and William uncomfortably fiddled with Diamond Tiara’s saddlebag on his shoulder. After a moment, her father merely let out a tired sigh.

“Please,” he asked, returning to his amicable behavior and smiling good naturedly. “If anything, call me Rich.”

“As per your request, Mister Rich.” William bowed his head respectfully, earning a nod of approval from her father. Filthy patted the frustrated Diamond Tiara on the head, trotting off.

“Right-o, then. Play nice with your new coltfriend, Tiara.”

“He is not my coltfriend!” Diamond Tiara screeched, earning a titter from the leaving stallion.

“Of course he’s not, honey, of course not.”

As he left, William could have sworn that he heard something along the lines of ‘just like her mother’ echoing down the hall.

Diamond Tiara let out another angry huff, blowing a lock of mane from her face.

“Well,” William grinned. “He seems like a rather easy going fellow.”

Perfect.

“You’re late.”

William jumped a little as he closed the door behind him, Rainbow Dash giving him an odd look.

Her multicolored mane was a little disheveled, and her glare cut through the air from her seat at the wooden table. William wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, and cleared his throat.

“Yes, Mi-Mother,” he nodded quietly. “I merely took the liberty of walking Miss Tiara home.”

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment before nodding.

“Right,” she mouthed quietly. “The afterschool thing.” Oddly, she still sat silently contemplating for a long while. Eventually, however, she pulled William in close and gave him a hug and kiss, instructing him to put his things away.

They had a mostly quiet dinner, as even though Rainbow Dash was speaking to him almost constantly, he found it difficult to really focus with his mind on… other matters. It felt like the evening passed by swiftly, although he didn’t notice this either. It was like a fire had begun to burn behind his eyes as he contemplated, consuming his time.

William let the pouring droplets from the showerhead fall over him, the steam rising up around him as he lost himself in thought. The steam collected on the dark curtains surrounding the claw foot tub, dripping slowly downward to join their brethren in the dim light. William let out a quiet breath, closing his eyes and letting the nearly scalding water pour over his head.

His thoughts gradually turned back to Diamond Tiara, her eternally foul attitude. The memory of the way she tended to treat Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle wound upwards; he couldn’t tell if she hated them more than anyone else, or if she walked all over everyone in a similar manner.

Regardless, it was unforgivable, and it held his complete attention as he plotted.

As a result, he didn’t necessarily notice at first when the dim light flickered slightly.

He let out a gasp of surprise and terror when the last thing he would have expected scared him enough to nearly make him slip to the floor. He felt stupid for it, but his first assumption was that Diamond Tiara had somehow read his intentions and had snuck up on him.

Rainbow Dash caught him by the waist in one hoof, saving him from falling as hot water hit him in the eyes. He spluttered as he struggled to regain balance, the pegasus hushing him as she slid into the shower behind him.

“Shh,” Dash quieted him as she helped him stand evenly, keeping her hoof firmly on his waist. “Shh, shh shh shh shh. I didn’t mean to scare ya.”

William froze as Rainbow Dash slipped one wing over one of his shoulders, the hot water constantly raining down on them. Silently, Dash began shampooing his hair, the flat of her hoof running smoothly over his scalp. She hummed a quiet tune and tenderly ensured that he was washed, the accumulation of the day filtering away with the heat down the drain.

“… Mother?”

“Hush.”

Rainbow Dash hugged him again, and he silently assured himself that the warmth rising in his face was completely due to the hot shower. William fidgeted nervously for a few minutes, but Dash didn’t let go; eventually, he simply closed his eyes as hers were and stood still, listening to her almost noiseless contented sighs through the patter of falling water. She quietly rested her chin on his opposite shoulder, holding onto him gently until the water began to run cold.

The water fell over his head, trickling down his ears and over his skin. Dash whispered into his ear, her scratchy murmur almost hidden by the sound of the shower.

“You remind me so much of your father.”

Journal of William Zachariah Klaskovsky

Day 18 –

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Upon my reconnaissance mission to the estate of Filthy Rich, I discovered a great many things. For example, it would appear that even some of the richest of ponies in this town think themselves either impervious to the wiles of burglars, or these fools are even more trusting than I thought. I was rather surprised to discover that the most sophisticated means of security that Diamond Tiara’s household possesses are single-latch shutters on the windows.

No measures of defense, no methods of alarm.

This is going to be pathetically easy.

However, I must be wary; I shall pull this off without a single hitch, and if I am to do so, I must be completely prepared. It would not do to be caught by surprise or undermined at the last moment, depriving me of finally teaching that unruly, unpleasant child a lesson.

Speaking of being caught by surprise…

I do not believe that Miss Dash is completely ‘normal’.

I am not quite sure why she believes that I remind her of Discord; if anything, the two of us are (from what I can assume, I have not seen him since he first departed) nearly polar opposites. This only raises a slew of other questions, but I am preoccupied.

She joined me once again in the shower last night, and I wearily admit that her insistence upon sleeping in the same bed is doing nothing for my sleep. I find that I simply cannot rest properly, and I am not entirely certain why. She appears to have peculiar habits in states of unconsciousness, ranging anywhere from sleepwalking to moaning things into my ear when I am trying to sleep.

To be frank, rather vulgar statements that I did not assume these equines even contemplated.

It makes me… uncomfortable.

I digress.

I am certain that she will cease her nonsensical behavior eventually. Or at the very least, I do hope she is going to. It has occurred to me a time or two to confront her on these behaviors, but…

I do not know why I do not simply oppose her.

Perhaps it is in part because she treats me with constant attention and adoration; or, what I assume is close enough to adoration. Regardless, she clearly loves me as her own, and I admit nothing, but I may be just a tiny bit fearful that should I reject her, I shall be denied the attention she supports me with. Or worse, ousted completely. I do not know if anyone else in this village would take me in.

But I spent long enough without any parent. Reassuming the previous position would not kill me.

I have become reliant in my time here. Soft. The more I dwell on the ramifications of forming emotional ties with Mother Miss Dash, the more blatantly it occurs to me that I have indeed slowly become submissive to their whims.

Submission is for the weak.

Then again, Miss Pie has assured me on numerous occasions that should I ever need anything, no matter the request, that she would fulfill it to the best of her ability. However, I doubt that this is a promise of goodwill and more a common courtesy than anything else. Perhaps Diamond Tiara could take a few lessons from her.

Lately, I find that my nearly every thought is spent and devoured by this filly. I cannot stop thinking about that spoiled brat. I believe that I may be developing a potentially unhealthy obsession, but at this point, I no longer care. She acts as a very testament to what a child should not be – and I shall be the first to admit that Diamond Tiara repulses me in every facet imaginable, and I sincerely doubt that a single semester of summer school is going to straighten that vehement little shrew out properly.

Her every word, everything that passes those painted little lips makes me froth with rage. Oh, how I despise that despicable miniature demon and her constant antipathy toward those that obviously do not deserve it. It makes my blood boil, even thinking about her obnoxious, high pitched voice!

She wants to spout arrogant nonsense, does she?

She believes that she is better than everyone else, does she?

She want to threaten my friends, does she?

I think that I have a better solution to this little ‘problem’.

Oh, yes.

I am going to utterly dominate that insufferable little bitch.

“William!” Rainbow Dash knocked on his door, “Are you dressed yet?”

She cracked the door open just in time to see him snapping his little black journal shut and stuffing it with his other books, and he nodded quietly.

“Yes, Mis-Mother,” he corrected himself.

He was nearly at the front door before Rainbow Dash stopped him, her hoof silently extending to the wall in front of him and blocking the way. She bit her lower lip, and ruffled her wings before speaking.

“… You know, baby, you don’t have to go to school today if-if you don’t want to…” she began softly.

Ever so slowly, William skimmed his hand over the wall and grasped Rainbow Dash’s hoof. He took it gently in his own hands, but looked at her sternly.

“I would never pass up the opportunity for education, Mother,” he stated firmly. “Besides, if I do not spend an adequate number of hours with Diamond Tiara, then we shall both have summer school. I need to go before I am late.”

“Right, of course!” Rainbow Dash dropped her hoof and laughed a little too loudly, jerking him into a quick hug. “Of course, I-I’m just being silly. Silly again. Hurry up and don’t be late for school!” she pushed him quickly out the front door, snapping it shut behind him.

A little perturbed, he shifted his schoolbag from one shoulder to the other as he stared at the house.

It could have been just him, but… was there something wrong with her eyes?

He shook his head silently, thoughts heavy enough to make his head rattle.

William walked at an uneven pace toward the schoolhouse, thinking. And of course, he wound up batting back more thoughts of Diamond Tiara and her brilliantly blue eyes than he expected.

The brat would learn.

He remained quiet throughout most of the day, keeping his gaze away from anyone else.

Scootaloo pried almost nonstop throughout lunch as they sat beneath the shade of an old oak tree, curious as to his behavior.

“You feeling okay today?” the pegasus poked her nose over the tip of his mathematics book, earning a mildly irritated stare from him before he returned to reading.

“Quite,” William assured her. “I have merely been distracted lately, if you must know.”

“It’s Diamond Tiara,” Sweetie Belle said without looking up from her slices of apples and celery.

William’s eye twitched almost instantly, and he struggled to keep from showing emotion.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” His insistence was strong in his voice.

Apple Bloom pointed with a slanted frown.

“No, it’s Diamond Tiara,” she jabbed toward the oncoming filly, who was for once devoid of Silver Spoon.

“Great,” Scootaloo scowled, preparing herself. “Here comes trouble. Again.” she braced herself for the onslaught of whatever torment the filly brought them for the day, but to her immense surprise, she merely passed silently by the pegasus with her nose held into the air and honed in on William.

“You,” Diamond Tiara closed his book in his face. “Come with me.”

William sat very, very still for a moment, looking at the green cover of his math book.

“… You closed my book.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Diamond Tiara tossed her head swiftly, agitated. “Get up already.”

“You closed my book,” his voice went icy and cold, and he still didn’t look up at her.

“Why don’t you go bother somepony else for once, Tiara?” Apple Bloom furrowed her brows, her small bow sliding along her head as she did so.

“None of your business, that’s why,” the filly snapped. “Hurry up, ugly. You’re coming with me.”

“You closed my b-MY NAME IS WILLIAM!”

Scootaloo actually blinked, backing away a step. She didn’t think that she’d ever actually heard William raise his voice, and from the looks on the other fillies’s faces, they hadn’t either.

The boy was practically radiating cold anger, gripping his small book so tightly that his knuckles began turning white.

“Ugh, fine, William,” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, oblivious. “Leave these dorks and come with me. It’s just for a minute, and if you don’t do it – just hurry up, would you?”

She trotted off back hurriedly toward the schoolhouse, rounding the sharp red corner as William stood, not bothering to collect his things.

“You’re not seriously going after her, are you?” Scootaloo asked with an odd look on her face.

He was already gone.

She wanted him to hurry, did she?

Rage sweltered and frothed with such intensity that he felt like his skin were crawling, but this only quickened his pace.

She closed his book.

William turned around the side of the building with tightly clenched fists and mind narrowed onto rather contemptuous thoughts, with a fire in his belly and fully ready to put Diamond Tiara in her place.

“Hurry up, William!” Diamond Tiara scolded him again, and he was about to retort when he saw precisely why she was hastening him.

Tiara stood worriedly over Silver Spoon, who lay moaning on the ground in front of her.

William quickly found that all of his closely held anger was swiftly fading, and Diamond Tiara pranced back and forth on her front hooves in panic.

“This is why you called me? To…?” he left it hanging, a little confused.

“Yes, already!” Diamond Tiara shrieked through her teeth. She took a deep breath, and shook her friend again. “Come on, Silver – get up already!”

Silver Spoon only continued to groan in pain and clutch her stomach, shaking slightly.

William dropped to his knees beside the grey filly in concern, thinking quickly.

“Are you injured?” he asked. “I need answers, Silver – I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong!”

He whipped his head toward the anxious Diamond Tiara, who stared back and forth between him and her friend.

“Sick,” Silver Spoon managed to breath, tears streaming down her face. “Sick…!”

“What?” Tiara asked, his stare only growing harder.

“What was she like before she fell ill?” William asked swiftly, rolling the crying filly onto her back and checking her pulse. It was erratic, to say the least, and was weak and rapid. She continually clamped her jaws as she whimpered, and her shaking only grew.

“I-I, well-”

“Now, Tiara!” William barked.

“I don’t know!” Diamond Tiara wailed in despair. “I don’t know! We were having lunch, and she just got sick!”

“What was she eating?” William shot back, checking Silver Spoon’s pupils to find them dilated and flickering nervously.

“Lunch!” Tiara said immediately. “I mean, Silver found some carrots, I think, but there was only one, and she ate most of it before I could get any.”

“Carrots?” William asked curiously, and closely inspected the sides of the grey filly’s mouth.

Diamond Tiara pointed to the remaining bit of wild carrot, which had been tossed away; likely by Diamond Tiara when she found out that her friend hadn’t planned on sharing.

William snagged it between his fingers, inspecting it quickly; he soon found that a strong and unpleasant odor came from it, and the white flowery tips of the plant made it look incredibly similar to –

“Poison!” William yelped, dropping the root.

“What?!” Diamond Tiara spluttered as Silver Spoon’s convulsions grew worse.

“Idiot!” William shouted. “It’s not a carrot, it’s wild hemlock!”

“What?!”

“Water!” William fought to remain calm, and snapped his fingers toward the upset Diamond Tiara. “Get me lots of water and Miss Cheerilee – she needs medical attention, now!”

William’s heartbeat was so loud that he could hear it in his ears, and he held down the rising fear as Silver Spoon’s eyes rolled back into her head and she began to foam at the mouth.

“Shit!” he swore under his breath, Diamond Tiara thankfully already on her way back with a thermos in her mouth.

A couple of other fillies and colts followed her, including Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom.

“Here!” William shouted, extending a hand for her to throw him the thermos. She did so immediately, and breathlessly informed him that she’d sent another student off for Miss Cheerilee, but her words only bounced off his ears. William’s fumbling fingers wound their way over the cap of the thermos, which he dropped beside himself as he placed his lips over Silver Spoon’s and began to administer CPR.

He pushed against her lungs carefully in what he desperately hoped were the correct areas, having failed to have studied any books on equine anatomy; however, he assumed that their own respiratory system was close enough to human’s for it to work. Thankfully, she chokingly began to breathe again, and William swiftly tilted her upwards into a sitting position as he thrust the thermos in her face.

“Drink!” he commanded, smelling the apple juice. “Now!”

Silver Spoon was shaking to the point where she either wouldn’t or couldn’t look straight ahead or hold the thermos, so he carefully poured it into her throat. The filly struggled against him for a moment as he heard the shouts of an approaching Cheerilee as more students milled around to watch, arriving just in time to see Silver Spoon choke it all down. She quickly began convulsing again, her breathing stopping up once more.

“What’s going on?” Cheerilee asked loudly, pushing past students and straining to get forward. “Who’s hurt?”

Without answering, William pried open Silver Spoon’s mouth and jammed his finger toward the back of her throat, deliberately aiming to instigate her gag reflex.

Within moments, Silver Spoon was vomiting violently against the ground, several ‘ews’ eliciting from the students.

“She’s been poisoned,” William explained to the frantic teacher. “She’s-!”

Miss Cheerilee grabbed the filly up in her arm, carrying her as quickly as she could.

“Class dismissed!”

William sat beside the quiet (for once) Diamond Tiara in the hospital chair in the waiting room, staring at his hands. The whitewashed walls gleamed in the light, giving the whole place an excessively sanitary look.

All he wanted was to finish reading the damned book.

Miss Cheerilee had already gone back to contact their parents, as she had done for Silver Spoon’s. The filly was expected to recover, but they still weren’t allowed in to see her. Her parents remained with her in the hospital’s room, and they said nothing to each other as they waited.

Diamond Tiara tugged fretfully at the tips of her mane, looking to be nearly on the verge of tears.

William, on the other hand, was rather torn inside.

“Why me?” he asked finally, looking up at her. She tilted her head slightly, and cleared her throat.

“I dunno,” she shrugged, and wiped her eyes with the crook of her elbow. “Just – I-I just didn’t think of anypony else to run to.”

William pondered this for what felt like forever, the silence reigning over the nearly empty waiting room. Diamond Tiara sniffed occasionally, clearly unhappy.

She stared into her lap as she tried not to cry, tears welling up regardless as she chewed her bottom lip in dismay.

Quietly, and ever so slowly, William sidled in next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

If anything, this only made her cry harder.

Journal of William Zachariah Klaskovsky

Day 18 – (Continued)

I got to see Diamond Tiara absolutely miserable today.

I don’t believe that I ever wish to see it again.

That is all.