Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony; Friendship Is Magic
Title: A Rough Patch
Summary: Diamond Tiara is healing. She's gotten over being sent away from home to live with her Uncle. She's getting quick on her hooves all over again after 'the mining incident' (well, mostly. Limbs were still limbs, even if one was made of plastic and metal, right?) and she's learning to humble herself. But she's needed in Ponyville for an arranged marriage, she has to figure out how to dodge her friend, and, to top it all off, the town's resident chicken is in her therapy class. A rough patch indeed.
Warnings: Prosthetic limb? Memories of a cave in?
Author's Note: First DT story!
Basically, Diamond Tiara, an apprentice at the Ponyville forge and daughter of the Filthy Rich, is sent away to her uncle after news of her not-so-sporting attitude (which had, ironically enough, improved over the years) and her bad grades (mostly due to disinterest. Diamond is a smart mare, once she gets her head into it) to be taught better business manners. A month or two into the visit, Diamond was caught up in a mine collapse with a group of miners, and her leg had been crushed under the rubble. They're later dug out safely, but Diamond's leg is un-reparable.
...
The lowest point in Diamond's life had to have been when she, a fully capable teenage mare, had to learn how to walk all over again, and falling over and over and over again while doing so. That feeling of helplessness, the defeat that had welled up in her chest... she'll never forget it.
"It's perfectly normal, miss." The nurse had assured her. "Everypony falls at first. But you'll be on your hooves in no time, I promise. There's no need to cry."
No, scratch that. The lowest point in her life had been listening to the miners that had been trapped with her talk about their families and friends and how the bits they would receive when it was all said and done would help them through the rough patch. They were trying to use up the air, she'd realized later; they didn't want to prolong their suffering, and the suffering of their loved ones.
The tears that had run down her muzzle, when she realized she was nowhere near as brave as the ponies around her, and while she may had so much more than them, she really didn't have anything, were tears she would never forget.
Or maybe the lowest she'd ever felt was when she slowly regained consciousness after the immediate cave-in, only to realize that her right hind leg had been painfully crushed under the rubble.
No matter what the case may be, it all added up to the same thing; a sucky few months indeed.
But that was okay, because she was better than this. She knew it, deep in her heart. They could take down a limb, but they couldn't take her down.
No matter how egotistical is sounded.
Perhaps... a little background was in order.
A whopping six months ago, Diamond Tiara had been ripped (quite unwillingly, she might add) from everything she knew and loved and was sent to a mining town not much bigger than Ponyville in hops that she'd 'learn some proper business ethics' from her Uncle Soot, the owner of a large gem mining business (and a large factor in the diamond dog-pony peace treaty). Ripped away from not only her only source of companionship (Silver Spoon), but also her precious apprenticeship at the local forge, she'd been going stir-crazy from the moment her hooves touched the dusty ground.
But then came the mining incident, and from then on... well, Diamond was more preoccupied with keeping herself together over making things out of metal, anyway.
Her prosthetic was a simple hunk of plastic and metal (metal on the inside, milky white plastic on the outside) that was held to her side by magic infused in the joint. Her father had wanted to spring for the model made of gold and diamonds, but she couldn't imagine lugging something that heavy around, and exchanged image for function. She'd briefly pondered painting the joint pink like the rest of her body, but had ultimately decided against it. Diamond was no artist.
Uncle Soot was a well-built stallion with messy grey fur and a mane as dark as the coal he mined. His cutie mark, a pile of coals with the vague shine of a gem hiding somewhere amongst them, was a stark contrast to her fathers mark, not to mention her own. He was, in his own right, the dirty black sheep of the family.
"We're not that different, Mondy." He told her once. "We both work with the earth."
No, she worked with red-hot metal and wood. He was the one who happily went under the surface of the planet to shift through dirt and stone to find the hidden treasures beneath. Difference. Her line of work was showy and fancy compared to his. His work was the kind of work that ponies stood back and gawked at.
It took a certain kind of pony to be a miner, and Diamond was no such pony.
"You were supposed to be back in Ponyville two months ago, you know."
Of course she knew. She had a calendar, and she could read. She'd have to be stupid not to notice.
Sitting was kind of awkward, anymore. The joint could shift and move, true, but bending just wasn't in the job description. She could just let it hang out in front of her, but then it had the habit of pushing against the knee across from her. Her best bet was laying on her stomach, resting on her left hip so the leg could stretch out more comfortably.
It was her favorite way of relaxing before the mining incident anyway, so that wasn't really all that big a deal.
But that was beside the point. "Yeah, well, this place has grown on me."
"Mondy."
"What?"
Uncle Soot sighed and nudged her shoulder. "Mondy, as much as I love your company- and don't get me wrong, I really do-, your father's getting worried."
"Well, he shouldn't be. I'm learning my lesson and getting my grades up. What more could he ask for?"
"Diamond."
"What?"
"Nopony's going to think less of you, you know. If anything, they'll think better of you."
Diamond deflated in an instant. Her ears folded back, eyes flashing. "Yes they will. They'll say it was karma or something- and, in its own way, I guess it was, but I still don't wanna hear it- and make fun of me."
"Then they aren't worth your time. Rich misses you, little T."
"No he doesn't. He just wants things to go as planned."
"Yes, yes he does. But he also wants you to be happy." He put his hoof on her shoulder. "Mondy, hiding isn't going to make things any easier."
Diamond sighed and turned her head away. "You just want to get rid of me, don't you?"
"What? Mondy, I never said-"
"Fine. I'll go home. I wouldn't want to have to deal with me right now either." She struggled to her hooves, wincing at the semi-familiar sound of plastic clacking on the floor. "If you need me, I'll be packing." She hesitated a moment. "And I'm sorry about overstaying my welcome. I won't do it again, I promise."
Author's Note: So... what do you think?
I imagine that Diamond's cutie mark not only symbolizes her love of wealth and the good life, but a burning desire to create said riches out of metal. As a filly she was embarrassed by her interest in craftsmanship, deeming it 'beneath her.' It took a lot of guts (and maybe a bit of friendly blackmail on Silver Spoon's part) for her to apply for an apprenticeship at the forge, but she found herself naturally talented and in love with her job.
It helped to temper her, a bit. Having something meaningful to do. The mining incident also helps a lot, but it also hurts her a lot. Now she's worried that the family legacy is 'above her.'
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