@Scrounge  
True, in a way she had to be “broken” to better herself. (In both the show, and fanfic.)

@Beau Skunky  
Fair enough, I guess. Still, the symbolism of the broken tiara would certainly fit if it were related to the episode.

@Scrounge  
Not really, a lot of fans made cute sad Tiara fanart, and fics prior. A lot of fans wanted to see a more sympathetic side to her. (I did too.) And boy did they deliver. (That lovely sad song she sung alone was enough for many fans to forgive her for “Flight to the Finish.”)
 
Also, this was based on a fic, “Cubic Zirconia.”
 
@Beau Skunky  
I called it! (Well, somewhat.) :P

This was drawn before Crusaders of the Lost Mark Aired. Someone is psychic.

@Crystal Neighybánya  
Yeah, granted the whole point to Tiara & Spoon’s conflicts with the CMC are to help li’l girls learn to deal with bitches without resorting to becoming one themselves, and such. I guess there’s only so much you can do with that.
 
Would be interesting if when the the CMC to get their cutie-marks (which is rumored to happen soon) the 2 would start being a li’l nicer to them, yet still somewhat snooty/passive-aggressive, or try to peer-pressure them to join them, and such. Could make an interesting ep’. Kinda like “Twilight Time” where they’re friendlier to them, but still somewhat antagonists.
 
Another idea would be the CMC would have to help them out with something reluctantly, which could also lead to both sides being somewhat on friendlier terms.

@Beau Skunky  
I honestly hope they do it by this season. The “rich pones vs blank flanks” conflict got old back in Season 2 - I doubt they can keep it up for much longer without it getting even more repetitive than it already is.

@Crystal Neighybánya  
Even if she is a “follower” that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s another “Babs Seed” or something like some fans assume.
 
I don’t know, I don’t mind them taking their time, but I would like to see another side to Tiara & Spoon besides “lol blank-flanks!” We got to see a somewhat nicer side to them when they were being somewhat nicer in “Twilight Time.” (Granted they were brown-nosing, but at times they seemed to genuinely enjoy the CMC’s company, like when they were trying to make them “popular,” and invited them to their private pool party. At one point, Tiara even puts her hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder.)
 
Spoon did applaud Granny Smith, and Tiara praised Pinkie for her party. (In song to.) So there have been a few subtle moments that show they have some positive aspects.

@arcum42  
@Beau Skunky  
I think it’s due to the fact that in an interview with EQD, Lauren said she always viewed Silver Spoon as a follower, rather than Diamond Tiara’s equal. This mentality’s been on the decline since Flight to the Finish Demon Tiara and Silver Goon Kick a Cripple, anyway. It was plausible in the earlier seasons, but it’s less plausible now.
 
Despite being a dyed-in-the-wool Silver Spooner, I am not opposed to Tiara and Spoon remaining friends or seeing Tiara portrayed in a positive light: far from it. I think both Tiara and Spoon should’ve been developed as characters and the Crusaders’ given their marks back in Season 3. It’s a real tragedy that the writers are only now beginning to do what they should’ve done two seasons ago.
 
@arcum42  

 
If only the writers knew how to do that with Tiara, Spoon and the Crusaders!

@arcum42  
Yeah, Spoon was just as bad as Tiara, I felt. (Especially in “Flight to the Finish.”)
 
I liked that scene BTW.

@Beau Skunky
 
Making Silver Spoon the nicer of the two based solely on the clapping scene tends to ignore that at least early on, Silver Spoon was initiating things as much as Diamond was, rather then just following her lead, too.
 
A second scene from Cubic Zirconia got drawn as well, after this one, and I just uploaded it:  
>>983488
 
I tend to go with no one really being absolutely evil or good, despite how the first chapter might seem…

@Crystal Neighybánya  
It’s a shame really, as I’d like to see a different side to Tiara in the show someday. (After all, some shows like Rugrats occasionally made the “bully” character likeable, and showed different sides to them.)
 
Same with Spoon, but I hope they don’t pull that “Spoon only acts bad, because she’s friends with Tiara, and is actually quite nice” cliche’ that many fans pull.  
It just kinda makes Spoon another “watered down antagonist,” or pulls that “the villain’s sidekick isn’t actually bad” cliche’, and it would also just make her another “Babs Seed,” I feel.  
As I said I dislike the idea/bias the fans have that only Spoon is “redeemable/likeable” (despite being no less mean then Tiara) and feel Tiara is not, and “unrepentantly evil,” and such.
 
I guess I just feel Tiara needs wuv too, even if she is a li’l biotch.

@Beau Skunky  
She’s kinda’ like Trixie: an unbearable and oft insensitive egotist with an appetite for glory and a foil for the main protagonist (Twilight Sparkle/Apple Bloom), but not really a bad pony per say. Although canon Tiara is certainly badly written and about as one-dimensional of a character as you can get on FiM - she barely even qualifies as a character.

@arcum42  
I sometimes like how the “unappealing” aspects of her personality occasionally slip out, while she’s gotten a bit friendlier at the same time.
 
Yeah, I think the newer version of the first chapter is a bit better then the old one.

@Beau Skunky  
Ah yes, I enjoyed that bit of dialogue. The bit before it was pretty relevant to the latest chapter, too. Some of the dialogue before that is something I’ll have to look back at in a chapter or two when Diamond gets back to school, too.
 
Making her casually wrong has always been something I like anyways.
 
You should always act whatever way would get you the desired result, even if this was totally opposite to how you felt. She had paid attention to Daddy, whatever he might think. It was just that the numbers would all dance around and call her names, and it all slipped away under pressure anyways. But not this time, she hoped.
 
One thing that bears remembering is that the start of the story was written in 2013, too, so I’ve gotten better as an author while writing it. That’s one reason for the revision of the first chapter…

@arcum42  
I liked that one comical bit in one of the later chapters. (SPOILER ALERT!)
 
Tiara : “It’s not like what type of pony you are matters.”
 
Applebloom : “Really? I might have been wrong about you.”
 
Tiara : “That should be obvious. What matters is how much money they have, their connections, and what they can do for you.”
 
Applebloom : “Oh. Never mind, I might not have been.“
 
I don’t know why, but I loved that part, and I like moments like that in the story.
 
@Crystal Neighybánya  
You might like it, the beginning is a bit harsh on Tiara, but it gets better as you read. (Plus, she does kinda need to be nocked down a few pegs to build her back up again.) This story will actually make you want to hug her.

Don’t worry. Cadance will avenge you.

@Beau Skunky  
Thanks. Writing her is kind of a balancing act, because I have to try and keep her sympathetic, but still in character, and with really bad ideas about how the world should work…

@Beau Skunky  
It’s been on my “to read” list for quite some time. After reading your testimonial, I think I’m gonna’ bite the bullet and get to it.

@arcum42  
I must say as somebody who doesn’t read fics often, it’s probably the fic I’ve been following most on FimFiction. Love the story, and I like how you make Tiara a li’l more likeable, without making her too OOC, or to “redeemed” too swiftly/easily like some “redemption” fics.

Well, the bitch deserves it.

@PonyPon
 
Yeah, the fact that her cutie mark is her tiara speaks to how important it is to her. Of course, having written the story this is fanart for, my opinion’s fairly predictable…

Like she lost a sister.