There's Always Another Door

Sweetiebelle grabbed her bag from her locker and threw it over her back. The bag had a textbook in one pouch and a notebook in the other. Math homework. Sweetiebelle hated math homework just as much as any other pony. Miss Cheerilee made math that night's homework, even though it wasn't scheduled. Sweetiebelle walked slowly towards the front door, "waiting" for Applebloom and Scootaloo. Applebloom and Scootaloo and grabbed their bags and walked slower than Tank without his propeller, glad the school day was over, but down because of the math homework. With the three fillies all standing side by side at the door, they started off back to home. The afternoon was a little cooler than it had been that morning, with no breeze and no cloud in sight. The sun cast it's rays of warmth over Ponyville, which felt nice for all living in Ponyville.

"So, Sweetiebelle? How did that thing stay clean after all those hooves touching it?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, but I'm happy nothing happened to it while everypony was touching it." Sweetiebelle said with a smile on her face.

"I'll say it again," Applebloom chimed in, "If ya bringin' it in, it's gunna get dirtier than Winona rolling around in mud."

"Well, that's IF I let everypony touch it everyday. Or, if I let them borrow this bag." Sweetiebelle reassured the others.

As Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Scootaloo walked home, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stood by the flagpole, glaring at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The diamonds that were sewn on had reflected some light into Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's eyes, blinding them for an instant. The feeling of jealousy stormed into Diamond Tiara, causing her to feel a tad bit sad inside. She wanted a bag just like it. But she didn't have one. She looked down at the ground with sad eyes.

"Hey, Diamond Tiara? You okay?" Silver Spoon asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Diamond Tiara fibbed. "Now, how should we send Sweetiebelle's "message"?" Diamond Tiara raised her eyebrows when she said message.

"We could always make fun of her. You know, blank flank?" Silver Spoon suggested.

"No. We need something different than name calling."

"What about making her look like a fool in class, trip her up at times, mean notes, AND still call her names?"

This seemed like a better plan than anything Diamond Tiara could have brewed up. Diamond Tiara thought about that plan. It would work, if everything when the way her and Silver Spoon wanted it to go. A majority of Diamond Tiara told her to go ahead with the plan. But, part of her didn't want to. Diamond Tiara never liked Sweetiebelle or the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders at all. Diamond Tiara fought about how to answer. Yes or no? Yes or no? YES OR NO? Finally, Diamond Tiara looked at Silver Spoon with an evil smirk.

"Let's do it!" Diamond Tiara said evilly.

"Alright. Should we call it 'Plan A'?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Suuuuure. Why not? You came up with the idea, so you can name it."

"Sweet. Well, I gotta get going. My dad will kill me if I'm not home soon." Silver Spoon started to walk away from where her and Diamond Tiara were standing.

"Alright! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Diamond Tiara started in the opposite direction to her house. Being away from Silver Spoon and every other pony, allowed her to have more thinking time to herself. The afternoon was quiet and warm. Three birds were nesting in a tree, chirping their songs. The ground felt smooth under Diamond Tiara;s hooves, causing them to slide a little bit with every other step.

"Now, how can I be better than Sweetiebelle?" Diamond Tiara mumbled to herself. "Passing mean notes won't do a thing. I need something new. I could trip her more than I usually do, but I gotta make it look like an accident. I could do some more name-calling. And maybe I coul-"

"Watch where you're going." A white-coated pony told her, with an annoyed look.

"Sorry."

Diamond Tiara continued on to her house, still thinking about how to crush Sweetiebelle's spirit.

Sweetiebelle arrived at her house, after Applebloom and Scootaloo left her for their houses. She opened the front door and immediately smelled spices. Rarity was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Sweetiebelle closed the door, letting it slam shut, which startled her because of the force behind the push of the door. Sweetiebelle heard Rarity place something down on the counter and start walking towards the room which Sweetiebelle was standing in.

"Oh, Sweetiebelle! You're home! How was school?" Rarity asked Sweetiebelle in an upbeat tone.

Sweetiebelle could smell the scents of what Rarity used in the kitchen. Spices of sorts, vegetables, fruits, and something else made of hay that Sweetiebelle couldn't identify. Rarity's mane was a little frizzy, probably from her long day of work.

"It was fantastic!" Sweetiebelle exclaimed. "Everypony loved the new book bag you made for me! Even Miss Cheerilee liked it! I love you so MUCH, Rarity!" Sweetiebelle gave her older sister the biggest hug she could give.

"Well, that's just wonderful, Sweetiebelle!" Rarity squeaked out. She felt like Sweetiebelle was choking her. "Dinner is almost ready. Just a few more minutes and we'll eat. Do you have homework?" Rarity questioned, only because she noticed the bag looked bulged.

"Yeah. It's math homework." Sweetiebelle answered with a depressed voice.

"Oh, math isn't that hard." Rarity sympathetically told Sweetiebelle, having her sentence end with the DING of the timer in the kitchen. "I'll help you after we eat. Okay?"

"Alright." Sweetiebelle smiled at her sister and followed her into the kitchen to eat. "Hey, Rarity? Can I ask you something?" Sweetiebelle asked in a low tone.

"Sure Sweetiebelle. What is it?" Rarity's voice had a hint of concern in it.

"Is it bad if other ponies are jealous of you for a bag like this?" Sweetiebelle asked while looking at the bag.

"Well it is bad to be jealous, but no, I wouldn't say it's bad. Why would you think it's bad?"

"I overheard Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saying that bag is terrible." Sweetiebelle looked down at the floor with a frown and sadness in her eyes.

Rarity put her hoof under Sweetiebelle's chin and gently pushed it up.

"They don't know what they're talking about. They just wished they had a sister as nice as me." Rarity replied in a quiet, comforting tone.

"Thanks, Rarity." Sweetiebelle cracked a smile.

"You're welcome, Sweetie. We should probably eat." Rarity suggested.

Rarity and Sweetiebelle finished their dinner, cleaned up, and finished the math homework. When Rarity helped Sweetiebelle out with her math homework, it seemed a whole lot easier. It was like Rarity created the problems, having the answer sheet right next to her. After Sweetiebelle put the notebook in one pocket and the textbook in the other, she proceeded to room to end the night and to start the next day. Rarity followed behind her. When two reached to door, Rarity opened it for Sweetiebelle, who thanked her with a smile. Sweetiebelle slowly waltzed over to her bed, obviously tired after the day's excitement. Rarity pulled Sweetiebelle's covers down the covers and Sweetiebelle jumped into bed. Rarity pulled the sheets back, right up to Sweetiebelle's chin.

"Good night, Sweetiebelle." Rarity whispered to her sister, kissing her on the forehead.

"Night, Rarity." Sweetiebelle yawned and turned onto her side.

As Rarity walked out of the room, she turned back to Sweetiebelle. Rarity couldn't help but smile. Sweetiebelle looked so cute when she slept, her soft breathing was as relaxing as the spa. Rarity whispered two words to Sweetiebelle,

"Sweet dreams."

And closed the door.

Sweetiebelle woke the morning by Rarity's hoof gently shaking her. Sweeiebelle's eyes opened to see to wall directly in front of her. She rolled over and her eyes met with Rarity's, who sparkled even though it was early in the morning. Rarity stopped shaking Sweetiebelle when their eyes met.

"Come on, Sweetiebelle. You got another school day to start." Rarity told her little sister.

"Alright. I'm coming." Sweetiebelle replied, half-asleep, half-yawning.

Sweetiebelle pushed to sheets off of herself and sat up. She rotated herself to the right and looked at the small mirror that was on her night stand. Her mane was a mess. It looked like a mini tornado touched down on her head, putting bits of her mane in every direction. Sweetiebelle dropped down from her bed, and when she landed on the floor, her hooves make a soft CLOP sound. Sweetiebelle sluggishly walked through her open door and down the hall to the kitchen. As Sweetiebelle entered the kitchen, the smell of hay and apples gave her a shot of energy, but only for about 5 seconds. Rarity was too busy at the sink to notice Sweetiebelle walk in. Rarity only noticed Sweetiebelle when she heard one of the chairs at the table get pushed back and heard a soft yawn. Sweetiebelle was holding head up by one hoof to keep it from slamming into the table.

"What would you like for breakfast, Sweetiebelle?" Rarity asked, walking over to her.

"I don't know. What do we have?" Sweetiebelle asked while yawning.

"Well, we have some apples, bread, and some stuff from last night." Rarity answered to her half-awake sister.

"Um, I'll just have an apple."

"You sure? Just an apple? I don't want you to be hungry all day."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay." Rarity replied. She took an apple from refrigerator and placed it down in front of Sweetiebelle. Rarity gave Sweetiebelle a "waiter's smile" and walked back to to the sink.

Sweetiebelle looked at the apple that was placed in front of her. The outer red skin of the apple glistened in the morning sun that came through the window. Sweetiebelle could barely see her own reflection in the apple, showing her mane all messed up. Her eyes were drooping from the early morning slumber disturbance. Sweetiebelle lifted the apple and brought it to her mouth, taking a good sized bite out of it. The juices burst out from the apple and over Sweetiebelle's tongue. Chewing slowly, Sweetiebelle enjoyed the flavor which the apple brought to her tongue. Definitely from Sweet Apple Acres. Sweetiebelle continued to takes bite out of the apples, until all that remained was a thin apple core. Sweetiebelle hopped off the chair and took the apple core over the garbage can. She walked back down the hall to the bathroom. Sweetiebelle hopped up on a little stool that was made for her by one of Rarity's friends. It was given to Sweetiebelle because she couldn't reach the sink, due to her size. Sweetiebelle looked at the mirror, which stared back at her with her face. She could see how her mane was all over the place. Bits of hair sticking up, hair knotted, but her mane retained a slight curl in it. Sweetiebelle opened a drawer to the right of her, She pulled out her brush. A light purple brush with a handle with a curl at the end. The curl reminded Sweetiebelle of her own mane with it's light purple curls. Sweetiebelle brought the brush up to her mane, chose a spot to start, and pulled towards the front of her. Every knot in the way of the brush come undone very easily, only a few needed some strength to undone. When Sweetiebelle went back for a another pass with her brush, she ran into a knot that couldn't be undone. No amount of strength could undo it.

"RARITY! I NEED YOU!" Sweetiebelle shouted from the bathroom.

"I'M COMING!" Rarity yelled back, trotting to the bathroom. "Yes, Sweetiebelle? What is it?"

"Can you help me with this one knot?" Sweetiebelle asked.

"Sure. But, this might hurt." Rarity warned.

Rarity grabbed hold of the brush and and looked to see if there was an easier way to undo the knot. Seeing no other option, Rarity tugged at the knot with such force that a very small bit of Sweetiebelle's mane came off.

"There you go." Rarity said, triumphantly.

"Thanks. I'm gunna get going." Sweetiebelle said, jumping down from the stool. "I'll see you after school." Sweetiebelle called from the kitchen.

"Wait!" Rarity shouted. "Do you want me to walk you to school today?" Rarity asked.

"Sure. Let's get going!"

Rarity and Sweetiebelle left out the front door and headed in the direction of the school. The morning was warmer than Sweetiebelle had expected. The sun was hidden behind a cloud, which caused a chill to sweep the land. The sky was a light blue, the grass was a bright green, the birds were chirping away. As Sweetiebelle and Rarity passed Sweet Apple Acres, the two noticed Applebloom walking down the path that lead from the barn. Applebloom looked up and immediately ran towards Rarity and Sweetiebelle. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes sparkled, which Sweetiebelle thought was from the bag's diamonds. Applebloom soon joined her friends and they continued on for the school.

"Good morning, Applebloom," Rarity said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you, Rarity" Applebloom replied back respectively.

"I'm just great. Thank you." Such respect. Applejack taught her well.

"Sweetiebelle. I love your bag! Can I have it?" Applebloom asked, even though she had already seen it.

"Sorry, Applebloom. Maybe Rarity can make you one." Sweetiebelle looked up to Rarity during the last sentence.

"I don't know. I would have to see if I can." Rarity looked back at Sweetiebelle. "With all the business at the Carousel Boutique, I don't think I'll have the time."

"That's fine." Applebloom answered back.

The school finally appeared in the distance. Sweetiebelle, Applebloom, and Rarity could see all the fillies and colts waiting outside, talking, playing, or just sitting. The school towered over all the students, with it's bright red paint reflecting the sun's light. Scootaloo was already there, just sitting by the door. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom started to move a little faster, and Rarity had to walk faster as well to stay with the fillies. The three reached the path that led to the school house and stopped. Rarity looked at Sweetiebelle and Appelbloom with a smile.

"You two run along. Have a wonderful day at school." Rarity told them.

"We will. Bye, Rarity!" Sweetiebelle replied as Rarity walked away from the school.

Applebloom and Sweetiebelle started up the short path to the school house. A group of fillies were running around, three colts were chatting away, Scootaloo was sitting by the door, and...

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

Sweetiebelle just stood there, but Applebloom continued on, leaving her friend by the beginning of the path. Diamond Tiara must've noticed Sweetiebelle because she stopped talking to Silver Spoon and glared. Silver Spoon noticed and looked in the direction of which Diamond Tiara was looking. She too, glared at Sweetiebelle. Applebloom had walked past Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and sat down next to Scootaloo. They started to talk about last night's homework and other unrelated topics. Scootaloo saw that Sweetiebelle wasn't with Applebloom and looked towards the entrance, to find Sweetiebelle standing there, with a terrified look on her face.

"HEY, SWEETIEBELLE! COME HERE!" Scootaloo shouted while motioning with her hoof for Sweetiebelle to come.

Sweetiebelle started up the path again, with her head down. But, she noticed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon moved closer to the path's edge. They were standing side by side, with smirks on their faces. Sweetiebelle walked a little quicker to avoid being around Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to long. As Sweetiebelle passed the two, Diamond Tiara stuck a hoof out, causing Sweetiebelle to trip and fall on the ground with a THUD. Sweetiebelle felt her bag crushing her, so she got up quickly because it felt like she was about to break a rib.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Sweetiebelle angrily shouted at Diamond Tiara.

"Oh, sorry, blank flank. Maybe next time you should watch where you're walking." Daimond Tiara answered sarcastically.

Silver Spoon snickered at Diamond Tiara's sarcasm, which she absolutely loved. They walked away, laughing to themselves. Sweetiebelle brushed the dirt off of her mane and the bag. Sweetiebelle carefully inspected the bag to make sure no diamonds had fallen off or the bag wasn't teared. With no missing diamonds or tears, Sweetiebelle continued back up the path to where her friends were sitting. Applebloom and Scootaloo had looks of concern on their faces.

"You okay?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Should we tell Miss Cheerilee?" Applebloom suggested.

"No. It's just their usual shenanigans. Leave them be." Sweetiebelle told Applebloom. "We should just get class."

Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Scootaloo proceeded to enter the school house. Something inside Sweetiebelle told her that this was different from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had done before. It was like this was something that was part of a plan. Why would they be doing this? It couldn't be the fact that Sweetiebelle was a "blank flank" they already made fun of her for that. Maybe it was the bag? No. That was ridiculous. The others were jealous, but not like "I'm-gunna-trip-you-and-be-mean-to-you-because-you-have-a-better-bag-than-me" kind of jealousy. Sweetiebelle didn't know what it was, so she decided that she didn't have a clue and would go on with her day. Sweetiebelle went over to the lockers and put her bag in and went to sit down. As she started to the back, she realized that she would have to go past Diamond Tiara and she couldn't turn around because it would seem very strange. As Sweetiebelle walked past Diamond Tiara, she prayed she wouldn't be tripped. Too late. As Sweetiebelle was mid-prayer, she tripped over Diamond Tiara's outstretched hoof. Sweetiebelle slammed into the floor, causing the class to laugh hysterically. Miss Cheerilee stopped writing on the chalkboard to see what all the noise was about.

"Class? What's so fu- Oh my! Sweetiebelle! Are you okay?" Miss Cheerilee rushed over to where Sweetiebelle lay. "What happened?"

"I'm fine." Sweetiebelle said, choking back tears. "I just fell."

"Let me check your leg." Miss Cheerilee requested motherly.

Sweetiebelle moved her body so Miss Cheerilee could inspect her injury. The knee of Sweetiebelle's front left leg was scraped up a bit. Sweetiebelle had slight bruising on her cheek. Miss Cheerilee rushed back to her desk to grab the medical supplies from under the desk. Coming back with the medical supplies, Miss Cheerilee pulled out some bandages, some ice, and a bottle of antibiotic solution. Miss Cheerilee took the antibiotic solution and rubbed some on Sweetiebelle's cut. Sweetiebelle winced at stinging feeling where the cut was. Miss Cheerilee gave Sweetiebelle a reassuring smile and applied the bandage, which dulled the stinging. Miss Cheerilee then pulled out a small bag of ice and gave it to Sweetiebelle.

"Just hold the ice over the bruise and it should be better. Okay?" Miss Cheerilee sweetly told Sweetiebelle, kind of like how Rarity talked when Sweetiebelle had got hurt when trying to find her cutie mark with Applebloom and Scootaloo.

Sweetiebelle limped to the back to her desk and sat down, still holding the ice bag. Sweetiebelle noticed Diamond Tiara waving to her. Sweetiebelle looked up to see Diamond Tiara smirking at her, while she was holding a note. Diamond Tiara tossed the note back, which landed right in front of Sweetiebelle. Sweetiebelle looked at the note.

1 Down

2 to go

What did this mean? 1 down? 2 to go? What was Diamond Tiara doing? Sweetiebelle tossed to note in the trash that was behind her.

"Sweetiebelle, if you need more ice, just tell me." Miss Cheerilee said from the front of the classroom.

"Alright, Miss Cheerilee." Sweetiebelle replied.

The rest of the day went on as usual. Learning, doing classwork, eating lunch, getting homework, getting the bags from the lockers, and leaving for the day. The only other time Diamond Tiara bothered Sweetiebelle was when the class was eating lunch. Diamond Tiara had taken Sweetiebelle's drink and poured it all over that ground. Other than that, the day was fine. Sweetiebelle was about to start walking home, when a voice from down the road called out to her.

"Sweetiebelle!"

It sounded like Rarity. Sweetiebelle turned around to see that her assumption was correct Rarity was trotting over to her. Rarity seemed a little worried, even though she was fine this morning.

"Hello, Sweetiebelle. How was school?" Rarity asked.

"It was okay." Sweetiebelle answered in a blue tone.

"Why is that?" Rarity questioned. That's when she spotted Sweetiebelle's injured knee. "Oh my gosh! What happened?"

"I was tripped by Diamond Tiara in class today." Sweetiebelle sadly replied.

"Now, why would she do that? Does her father know? Did Miss Cheerilee see this? What did you do?" Rarity was throwing questions at Sweetiebelle faster than she could answer them.

"I don't know why. She already left. Can we get going?" Sweetiebelle begged.

"Sure, I suppose." Rarity answered.

Sweetiebelle and Rarity started back to their house. Side-by-side. Sweetiebelle was still dawning on the note she had received from Diamond Tiara. What was her deal? Was this a three step plan? Sweetiebelle didn't care. She just wanted to be home, safe from the school, and more importunately, away from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.