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Original Description:

Among the Students in Nova’s Riot, Diamond Tiara and Cozy Glow are dueling manipulators, one holding onto her cutsie past while the other embraces her “adult” future.

Diamond Tiara and Nova Sortis will eventually become a political power couple, but for now Diamond has been learning what real friendship is all about. She has come to realize just how shallow most of her relationships have been up until now, leading her to become surprisingly clingly with both Silver Spoon and Nova, the only real friends she’s ever had. She was always good at understanding what those around her had to offer and is learning how to recognize what they need as well, bringing together those with a problem and those capable of the solution, all while earning favors along the way. She connects best with Rarity and her lessons, realizing she rather likes giving things to others, and she has plenty to share.

I headcanon that DT’s cutie mark can shift slightly to look more like whatever “tiara” she happens to be wearing, giving her a bit more flexibility in head piece; it’s still recognizably “her” cutie mark, and subtle enough to be unnoticed by most, but the change is definitely there. I was running out of steam by the time I got to Silver Spoon’s hair so I didn’t re-outline it but I kind of like the effect anyways.

Speaking of Silver Spoon, she doesn’t have much of a canon personality aside from following Diamond Tiara’s lead; this gives me plenty of room to give her whatever kind of personality I want. She’s the “straight man” to DT’s drama queen, grounding Diamond and playing an essential part of making her schemes become a reality. Silver has a lot more book smarts than Diamond, who has people smarts to spare; Diamond would be lost without Silver, but Silver herself would be directionless without Diamond, making them highly co-dependant. Diamond has been getting better at taking Silver’s needs into account, but this wasn’t always true and Silver has not forgotten this.

Cozy has been aged up to be only slightly younger than my New 6, and is an interesting reflection of how Diamond Tiara might have turned out without intervention. Cozy’s hair was way too complicated so I simplified it and changed it slightly to fit her new age. I’m redoing the entire plot of season 8, making it a lead-up to the “real” adventure of season 9, so Cozy’s role as antagonist has been greatly reduced as well. In my story, her parents are fully aware that Cozy is a (potentially psychopathic) manipulator and sent her to Twilight’s School as a last ditch effort to reform her. It wasn’t her choice to go.

I can see Diamond reaching out to Cozy, like Nova did for her; I can’t decide how this should ultimately turn out.