Seeing the future can be a very frightening thing.
Note: As the Fan Fic this page is about is still in progress, this trope page is currently under construction. Anypony who has read this fic should feel free to add any tropes we seem to have missed.
"Good job, you really are a lot like I was when I was a kid. Keep up the good work. Some day you might be just like me."
Tarnished Diamonds is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Fan Fic written by Godzillawolf and the sequel to Getting Back on Your Hooves. It can be read on deviantart
and FIMfiction.
Checker Monarch told Diamond Tiara that she was just like her when she was a foal. The spoiled filly was so excited by the prospect...until Checker's true nature was revealed. But that isn't the only thing that Diamond saw revealed that day: she saw her potential future. And she doesn't like what she saw.
Can Diamond Tiara change her future? Or are Checker Monarch's crimes destined to be repeated again?
This My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Fan Fic contains examples of the following tropes:
- Bad Boss: Diamond Tiara, while not downright abusive on her family's employees, she's quite rude to them and never shows any appreciation on their efforts to keep her well attended; they're so used to this mistreatment that they are visibly surprised and happy when the Cutie Mark Crusaders are nice to them.
- Blind Without 'Em: Silver Spoon. It's shown when she wakes up in chapter 2 that everything is a blur when she isn't wearing hers.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Cheerilee seems to have gotten used to Twilight's episodes, while Trixie is unnerved by the fact that Cheerilee said "one of" when referring to her episode in chapter 3.
- Call-Forward: The Crusaders note that a Diamond Tiara's great aunt Impossibly Rich looks an awful lot like Fluttershy.
- The Dreaded: Played for laughs with the Cloud Gremlins, when they realize that Rainbow isn't on vacation, they head for the hills.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The reason becoming a second Checker Monarch frightens Diamond so badly: she cares for her own family and Silver Spoon, and is afraid of becoming someone like Checker who tortures their own family.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: While Diamond Tiara wants to change, and avoid becoming a second Checker Monarch, she doesn't yet understand why bullying the CMC is so bad yet. She also is having trouble understanding her own guilt.
- When trying to find partners for a project so they won't have to work with the CMC, Diamond can't seem to get why her classmates are so upset about her blackmailing them when they tried to quit being Gabby Gums.
- Family Theme Naming: The Rich's family members are named after dirt-related stuff. Even Diamond Tiara, whose birth name is Tarnished Rich.
- Flat Character: Diamond notes a few times in-universe how much she and Silver Spoon have been devoting their time and energy to bullying the CMC whenever they're together. Heck, she has trouble remembering what they used to do together before they started.
- Freak Out: Diamond freaks a bit when she briefly mistakes Trixie for Checker. Twilight throwing the library into the air is also mentioned.
- Future Me Scares Me: The cause of Diamond Tiara's Heel Realization: Checker told her she was just like her as a child, and now Diamond is terrified of becoming another Checker. Shown by Diamond Tiara's nightmare of her adult self at the very beginning of the fic.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Checker Monarch. While she was defeated at the end of the original fic and is currently locked up in an insane asylum, her actions are directly responsible for the events of the story.
- Heel Realization: Played with. Diamond Tiara has had a partial one, now aware that she has the potential to become like Checker Monarch and wanting to change, but not quite comprehending why bullying the CMC made her like Checker.
- Hero Antagonist: Since Diamond Tiara is the main character, the Crusaders are in this role to a degree, though the 'trouble' they cause her is largely accidental.
- Hollywood Genetics: Silver Spoon is an Earth Pony, but her father is a unicorn and her mother a Pegasus. Essentially an inversion of the Cake twins.
- Legacy Character: Diamond Tiara's aunt and great aunt are both named Spoiled Rich.
- Lighter and Softer: Golden Tiara compared to her Pony POV Series self (who she was based off of). According to
Word of God, while she did go insane in this universe, she never tried to kill Diamond and was cured at some point before the original fic. - Look Behind You: Diamond Tiara does this to the Crusaders in the first episode by yelling "Look! Cloud Gremlins". Not only does it work, the Gremlins are actually there.
- Meaningful Name: The reason the Rich ponies usually have dirt-themed names is because the family, originally, was quite poor, and, before funding Ponyville along with the Apples, they tried to establish themselves and make fortune with investments on cheap real state, usually in dirty, isolated areas. The 'dirt' names are how the Riches pay tribute to their own family history.
- Meaningful Rename: It's revealed that some ponies change their names to fit with their cutie marks, like Diamond Tiara, her birth name being Tarnished Rich, and Silver Spoon, who changed it from Silver Mirror. Diamond's great aunt, Impossibly Rich, has the birth name Musty Rich.
- Mirror Scare: As shown in the cover art, Diamond has one of these in the first chapter of seeing Checker Monarch's reflection replace her own due to a combination of her fear of becoming Checker and apparent sleep deprivation due to nightmares.
- Morality Pet: Her family and Silver Spoon for Diamond Tiara. Not only does she genuinely care for them, fear that she'll hurt them is why she's so afraid of becoming another Checker Monarch.
- Mythology Gag: The Cloud Gremlins from Rainbow's My Little Pony Micro Series comic show up briefly in the second chapter.
- No Kill like Overkill: Diamond beats up an NPC in a video game quite badly (according to Silver Spoon, he was defeated for about a minute before she stopped), the narration even mentioning that it's overkill.
- Non-Idle Rich: Silver Spoon's family is rich, but her father is a Royal Guard.
- Noodle Incident: We don't actually get to see much of what the CMC and Trixie did together in chapter 3.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: When the Crusaders show up to class covered in tree sap, this is Cheerilee's reaction.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Confident, Smug Snake Diamond Tiara opens the fic absolutely terrified and breaking down crying due to night terrors resulting from Checker Monarch's statement she's like herself as a foal.
- The CMC later lampshade this when DT and Silver Spoon don't jump at the chance to leave the other stuck working with them.
- Ojou: Silver Spoon is shown to be one in scenes involving her family.
- Pet the Dog: Diamond Tiara leaves Button Mash be despite being upset with him because she sympathizes with his When You Coming Home, Dad? situation.
- Plagued by Nightmares: Diamond Tiara is implied to have had them since Checker Monarch's defeat, including the one that starts the fic, due to being terrified of becoming a second Checker. She's showing signs of sleep deprivation at the beginning of the story.
- Rags to Riches: Grandpa Dusty reveals that his family used to be quite poor, traveling all over Equestria and trying to invest on cheap real state without much success until Princess Celestia herself suggested them to establish in the same area as the Apples, that had just started making their famed Zap-Apple Jam, which obviously worked quite well for everypony involved. Fittingly enough with this trope, that's the point when the family changed it's surname to 'Rich'.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Twilight's letter to Trixie after saving the Empire and getting Trixie a performing gig there has this at the end (note that Trixie didn't read that part at first and was doing exactly that):Twilight: And Trixie, please don't begin bragging until the girls are fed and at school, otherwise they will probably be late for school. And remember, pack light, we'll be coming back tonight.
Trixie: ...She knows Trixie well... - Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: The Cloud Gremlins flee like their butts are on fire when they realize Rainbow's in town.
- Sequel: According to Word of God, this fic starts chronologically next in line after the original story.
- Interquel: Set between the original fic and Perfect Companions and Magic Duel.
- Simultaneous Arcs: Chapter three takes place at the same time the Mane Six and Spike are off saving the Crystal Empire.
- Stepford Smiler: Unconfirmed at this time, but Silver Spoon's attitude at the beginning of chapter two does seem a little forced (though the chapter title being "The Masks We Wear" supports the idea). Chapter three adds further weight to the idea.
- Tempting Fate: Diamond repeatedly assumes quitting bullying the Crusaders will be simple. It's not. At all.
- Scootaloo gets one when she states it's unlikely that the Crusaders will have to partner with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara...Guess how that turns out.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Diamond Tiara, with Silver tagging along, gives one to Twist, Truffle, and Shady Daze for not being her partner. While it was a Kick the Dog moment and needlessly cruel on her part, Word of God has pointed out only Truffle, who she insulted for being fat didn't need to hear what was said.
- Theme Twin Naming: Diamond's grandfather Dusty's twin sister (now named Impossibly Rich) is named Musty.
- Villainous BSoD: Diamond Tiara begins the fic in the middle of one. However, she doesn't seem to understand her feelings of guilt just yet.
- Villain Has a Point: While Diamond Tiara's Breaking Lecture to Twist was harsh and cruel, she actually did have a point that Twist had no problem attending Diamond Tiara's parties despite Diamond having bullied her and her supposed best friend Apple Bloom the day before she got her Cutie Mark. According to Word of God this was intentional.
- Villainous Friendship: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, just like in canon.
- Villain Protagonist: Unlike Trixie, who was not openly antagonistic, Diamond Tiara's antagonism towards the CMC remains intact, she's just trying to suppress it without realizing why it's wrong.
- Wham Line: Parodied: when Diamond Tiara proclaims she'll no longer bully the CMC, it cuts to Pinkie Pie as her Pinkie Sense goes off.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Diamond Tiara has some issues with this. Apparently due both to her father's work and her mother's previous condition. Button Mash has similar issues with his father, and Diamond Tiara actually shows him a little sympathy when she becomes aware of it.
- Written-In Absence: Trixie is watching the CMC while Twilight and co. save the Crystal Empire.
