Seeing Diamond Tiara and not hearing some derivative of “blank-flank” was not something any of the Crusaders could get used to. Even after a month since their crusade had ended and she had claimed a change of heart, they still flinched whenever they saw her.

Diamond Tiara wanted to change, or so she said, and the Crusaders had taken it upon themselves to help her along. Progress was slow, to say the least. While she could usually hold her tongue, insults still slipped out from time to time. The other day Scootaloo had bumped into her, and was met with an angry “Watch where you’re going, blank-flank!”. Old habits died hard.

Still, although it was going at a snail’s pace, she was improving. She apologized for her outburst for the first time, and had taken it upon herself to buy the daily treats at Sugarcube Corner. Not that it was much of a problem for her, mind you. Diamond’s allowance was larger than some ponies’ paychecks, and like most of the ultra-rich, she had no real concept of money. If she wanted something, it was hers.

They had noticed that the best way to help her along was to show Diamond their own way of life. They took her to favorite hangouts, showed her their favorite games, even had a mock-Crusader meeting for her (although obviously that business had long since concluded). Today, Sweetie was taking Diamond and Silver down to the small pond on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. It had no real name, so the Crusaders’ were happy to dub it every time they came down here, and it had an impressive pedigree.

“So here we are, Swan Lake!” Sweetie announced, holding her arms up to point at the muddy pond. Silver Spoon raised an eye brow at that.

“I thought it was called The Dark Sea?”

“No no, that’s just what Scoots calls it. It’s really Swan Lake.”

“But Apple Bloom said it was called The Shark Swamps?”

“She can call it whatever she wants. It’s Swan Lake, and that’s final. No wait, make that Shining Swan lake. There we go!”

With a glance at Diamond, the two shrugged and headed to the crude wooden pier jutting out into whatever the glorified puddle was called. They pulled their clothes off over their bathing suits, Silver and Diamond neatly folding theirs while Sweetie was content to leave hers strewn over the pier. She took a running leap into the pond, the water exploding as her cannonball plunged into it. She popped her head up and swam back to the pier, sheer joy on her face.

The two socialites-in-training looked over the edge, clear disgust on their faces as their peered into the murky depths. Sweetie pulled herself up on the edge and looked up, confused.

“What’s up?”

Silver looked visibly nervous. “Aren’t there…fish in there?”

“Fish? Yeah, I think so. Why?”

Silver shuddered and backed away, clutching the post as she did so.

“And isn’t there, like, seaweed and stuff?”

“Well yeah, but you have to go kinda deep to get it. It’s not too slimy”

At that, Diamond’s eyes widened, and she too backed away, sticking her tongue out with an “Blegh!” at the mention of the plants. “You go SWIMMING in this gunk?”

Clearly this was going to take some more work.

Trade with for this lovely piece of Rarijack goodness: elephanteddie.deviantart.com/a… You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make her go swimming unless it’s heavily bleached.

I love the idea of Diamond Tiara being this really big, chubby kid. It suits her well, gives her a very commanding presence. Also what the hell is going on with her swimsuit’s shoulders.