Diamond Tiara sighed and shook her head as she looked down at the note that her daughter had been sent home from school with. In hindsight it didn't really surprise her all that much, considering how often she hung out with Silver Spoon's daughter, but she thought that she had stamped this out. She thought that she had taught her better.
Diamond Tiara put the note back down on the kitchen counter and walked into the sitting room where her daughter was sitting on her specially made chair. Her head was low and her ears flat, and she didn't look up when she heard her mother come into the room. Diamond Tiara walked over to her daughter and sat down on the chair opposite her.
"I read the note. Do you want to tell me what happened?" Her daughter barely moved except to slowly shake her head. Diamond Tiara grimaced and nodded. "I thought not. Do you understand why Ms. Chalkboard sent that note home to me?"
"Yes, Mommy." Her daughter's voice came out as a whisper, barely audible to her mother.
"Good." Diamond Tiara took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. She ran a hoof through her mane and stared down at her daughter. "I'm going to tell you a story. It's from when I was a filly your age. It's going to hurt the both of us, but I need you to understand."
"Okay, Mommy," her daughter whispered.
Diamond Tiara nodded and made herself comfortable.
* * * *
I hated school back when I was going all those years ago. It was so boring and I thought that my classmates were all just total losers. A few of them didn’t even have their cutie marks! To me that meant I saw them as babies. There were even these three, "Cutie Mark Crusader Losers," as I called them, that kept trying but never really could figure out what their talents were. I would tease them and say that it was like they didn't even care about getting them. If they really did then they'd have them by then, I would say. If it weren't for Silver Spoon I'd have gone crazy in that school. She was the only one who actually wanted to hang out with me.
I hopped out of the carriage that our butler William pulled and began walking towards the schoolhouse. I heard William tell me to have a good day, or something like that, but I didn't really care enough to listen. I gave him a sort of grunt as a response. There was no need to bother with more than that, I thought.
I scanned the courtyard looking for Silver Spoon, hoping that maybe we could play on the swings together, or something. It was the only good thing to do in that playground. I hoped nopony else was on them. If there was on normal days I would usually kick them off and they'd go running and crying to Ms. Cheerilee and she'd give me the same lecture about being nice to ponies that she'd given me since I came to the school.
Well, I looked all over the schoolyard and groaned when I saw that Silver Spoon wasn't there. I sighed and facehooved. She was always there before me! My butler was slower than hers. To make an already bad day worse, those Crusaders were all playing on the swings. I remember feeling that they made me want to puke. They ran to Ms. Cheerilee the most. It was like she favored them! Back then I really thought that she liked them more than she liked me.
And speak of Cerberus and she will appear. Ms. Cheerilee walked out of the schoolhouse to greet the rest of my classmates just like she did every single day. Dinky waved back to her, Berry Pinch smiled and hugged one of her legs, and she talked for a few moments with Snips and Snails about something or other. I didn't feel like I needed to care. It wasn't important to me. I turned around and looked in the direction of town. Silver Spoon still wasn't around. She should have been there long before Ms. Cheerilee came out to greet us.
"Diamond Tiara?"
I turned around to the source of the voice and I saw that Ms. Cheerilee was standing behind me. I guess it was my turn to get her daily greeting. I forced a smile onto my face. "Hello, Ms. Cheerilee. How are you today?"
"I'm doing well, Diamond Tiara, thank you for asking."
Something was wrong. She wasn't smiling like she normally was. Even though I thought that I knew she didn't like me, she still always smiled at me unless she was getting me in trouble for saying stuff she thought was mean to the rest of the foals I had to go to school with. Then, though... then she wasn't smiling. Her face was blank and her eyes didn't hold any of the joy that they normally did.
"Diamond Tiara, can I talk to you?" She said after a few moments. "We have a few things to discuss, and I'd rather do it in private." Ms. Cheerilee looked around the schoolyard and nodded after a few moments. "I'm actually glad that Silver Spoon isn't here right now. I'd rather speak with you alone."
I quietly groaned and rolled my eyes. Another lecture about being nice to my classmates, no doubt. I knew it was just going to be the same stuff as normal. "You need to respect your classmates, some ponies don't develop as early as others or have as much money, some ponies just yadda, yadda, yadda." I'd nod and promise to do better.
That time seemed a little different, though. Normally she was giving me her usual stern teacher look, but not that day. I thought that it might be something different, then. She didn't look angry with me, she just looked kind of sad.
I had never seen her like that before. I hate to admit it, and to this day I deny it, but... it kinda scared me a little bit. I wondered if I had made her this upset and, for whatever reason, I didn't really like the idea. Ms. Cheerilee was a nice pony. She always tried not to talk down to us. We weren't lesser ponies just because we were younger and she was our teacher.
I... I kinda liked her for that.
Ms. Cheerilee opened up the door to the schoolhouse for me, and I walked inside. She pointed towards her office without a word and we went into it.
I had a sneaking suspicion of how all of it would play out. She'd sit behind her desk and I'd sit on the chair opposite it, then she'd say all of those clichéd things and blah, blah, blah. I began to think that this was just another stupid bullying talk.
That didn't explain why she looked like she was about to cry, though.
When we were inside her office, Ms. Cheerilee closed the door behind us and pointed to my usual spot. I inwardly scoffed, but decided that it wasn't worth it to fight her on this. I hopped up to the chair and got ready for the lecture. I remember thinking that it was so unfair. I mean, I hadn't even said anything to anypony that day! Not one word out of my mouth to any of my classmates and she was already giving me another talk? I thought it was incredibly stupid.
I waited for her to go sit behind her desk, but... that time she didn't. That time she didn't even look at me. She didn't say anything for a while. She just kept looking like she was really hurt. She quietly sighed and leaned her forehead against one of the walls with her eyes closed. It was a full minute before she spoke, but when she did, her voice was as sad as her eyes.
"Diamond Tiara... can you please tell me something?" She opened one eye and looked in my direction. "Can you please tell me how to help you understand that your constant torment of your classmates is wrong? Can you please give me a better alternative than the one that I've been presented with?"
My stomach clenched up and I flattened my ears. Yeah, I was the reason she was unhappy, and I didn't like that. I mean, sure, I'd made ponies sad before, I guess, but... I dunno, I guess it was worse with her because she actually respected me a little bit. Plus this wasn't normal unhappy, like, I made some pony cry but in five minutes they'll get over it. This was almost like she had just heard that somepony had died.
I knew she wanted an answer, so I had to talk to her. Right then, though, I wanted nothing more than to leave. I hoped that maybe Silver Spoon was already there. I didn't want to answer her. I didn't like how different this conversation was.
I guess she figured out that I wasn't going to answer, because she opened both eyes and stopped leaning against the wall. She shook her head grimly at me and took a deep breath. "Because I'm at the end of my rope, Diamond Tiara. Since the moment I began teaching, I have made it my goal to make sure that my school is a safe, positive environment for all of my students. Forgive me for being blunt, Diamond Tiara, but you make it the opposite of that."
I flinched back like she had hit me. Well, nopony had ever actually hit me before, but I imagined that's what it would feel like. What's worse is that she wasn't yelling at me. She wasn't telling me that I was the spawn of Nightmare Moon or whatever. She was just quietly disappointed, and it hurt.
"Uh..." I blinked once and tried to look at her, but I couldn't. I ended up looking at the floor instead. "I'm just teasing. It's not like I'm actually hurting them. They're just words."
"Diamond Tiara..." I heard Ms. Cheerilee groan. "There are times when I wish that I could break student confidentiality to let you know just what your words are doing to your classmates. One of your classmates said that she wished that you were hitting her because it would hurt less than what you're actually doing to them."
In hindsight I still can't believe it, but I actually whimpered when she said that. Just like before it felt like she hit me, but emotionally, I guess. I didn't like it. I wanted to get out of there. Right then I didn't even want to go back to school, even if Silver Spoon was there. I wanted to go home.
"Diamond Tiara..." Ms. Cheerilee walked over to my chair and sat down in front of it. As in I was looking down at her now. "I'm imploring you to stop this behavior. I'm not asking you as a teacher to a student, I'm asking you as a pony to a pony. Your behavior is not only hurting your classmates, it's hurting yourself too."
I just wanted her to be mad. I wanted her to yell like with the fights I had with my daddy sometimes. We'd yell at each other and then he'd apologize for yelling and take me out to Sugarcube Corner to say he was sorry. I could handle yelling. Nopony had ever been disappointed in me like this before.
"I... I'm sorry, Ms. Cheerilee," I mumbled. "I didn't mean to hurt them a lot."
"But you did," Ms. Cheerilee said simply. "You did and, if I may say so, I've heard this kind of apology from you many times before, Diamond Tiara. How do I know that this time it's reached you, hmm? How do I know that this time you're actually sincere about your feelings? What guarantee to I have that this time you understand what I'm saying to you?"
"I promise I'll do better," I whimpered. "I didn't mean to really hurt their feelings. It was just teasing, I promise."
"Well, your 'just teasing' is harmful, Diamond Tiara, and there will be consequences if you do not change your ways. Severe consequences." Ms. Cheerilee sighed again and ran a hoof through her mane. Now she looked like she was in pain from what she was about to say, but she knew that she needed to say it.
I didn't want to hear it.
"Diamond Tiara, I've spoken with the school board about your behavior to my other students. They've..." Ms. Cheerilee's lower jaw quivered, and I thought that I even saw the corners of her eyes get wet. "They've recommended expulsion, Diamond Tiara. They felt that the multiple suspensions we've given you clearly weren't getting the point across."
My eyes widened and I let out a loud gasp. I squealed and reached a pleading hoof out to Ms. Cheerilee. "No please don't kick me out of school, Ms. Cheerilee! Don't do that! It wouldn't be fair!"
"Fair?" Ms. Cheerilee wiped her eyes and stared straight at me. Her eyes held a little bit of a glare in them that made me scared. "Diamond Tiara, you are not the only student at my school, nor are you the queen of it. Your classmates are not your lessers, they are your peers. I have had students admit to skipping classes because they are afraid of you and what you say to them."
"But... I..."
"Diamond Tiara, I have given you chance after chance after chance after chance after chance to improve your behavior. I've suspended you, I've taken away recess, I've given you detention, I've taken away fun science projects..." Ms. Cheerilee scoffed and put a hoof to her temple. "I don't know what else to do with you, Diamond Tiara. You are not the only one of my students whose health and happiness and safety matters to me. All of those things matter for all of them, and you strive to take away the feeling that they can be happy and safe at my school." Cheerilee clicked her tongue and slowly shook her head. "You say that your expulsion wouldn't be fair? To whom would it not be fair, Diamond Tiara?"
I wanted to answer, I really did. I wanted to answer with some really good argument that she would think about and agree with me. Then she'd call the whole thing off and apologize to me.
But I couldn't. I couldn't argue with her. I didn't know how badly I had made those other ponies feel. I hurt almost as bad as how badly I was making Ms. Cheerilee feel.
After a few more moments of silence, Ms. Cheerilee gently cleared her throat and I looked back down at her. "Diamond Tiara, I convinced the school board to give you one last chance. If you abuse my trust once more then I'm afraid that you will not be welcome at my school any longer." Ms. Cheerilee flattened her ears and gently placed a hoof on my foreleg. When she spoke next, it came out a whisper. "Please. Please understand this time. Don't just do it for me or for your classmates. Do it for yourself. I know that you can be a better pony that this, Diamond Tiara. You have the potential to be a wonderful mare. I've seen the way you handle group projects. Sometimes you do really well and lead your group partners exceptionally. You can be that pony all the time, Diamond Tiara."
"Okay," I whispered. "I'll try."
Ms. Cheerilee looked at me for a few seconds, almost like she was observing me or trying to figure me out. "Really?" She put her hoof on the leg of my chair. "Really?"
"Yes, Ms. Cheerilee!" I insisted.
"Very well." Ms. Cheerilee stood up and moved her hoof to my shoulder. "If you truly want to try, I trust you. You can go to recess now. Class will be starting in ten minutes."
* * * *
Class... uh, what did we learn that day? I don't even remember, and I think later that evening I didn't even remember what Ms. Cheerilee talked about. I noticed how happy she looked, just like she always did. When we came inside, she greeted everypony with a smile and a friendly wave.
Even me.
I wasn't sure how much of it was fake. I didn't know if she was still upset because of me, but she was hiding it for the rest of them. Did she do that a lot? I still don't know.
Silver Spoon still hadn't shown up, even once class got started. I started to think that she was sick, or something. She would have told me if she was going on a vacation. I hated it when she wasn't there. It was just me against everypony else when she wasn't around to talk to.
Eventually recess time came. Ms. Cheerilee closed her notebook and turned back to all of us. "Alright, class, it's time for recess. I'll see all of you in twenty minutes, okay? After recess we're going to learn about the origins of Hearts and Hooves Day, so be prepared to have some more fun when you come in!"
The rest of the class closed their notebooks and ran out to the schoolyard as fast as they could. I heard the Crusaders talking about playing foursquare with Dinky. It didn't really interest me. I was the last one out of the schoolhouse. By then everypony was already playing. Snips and Snails had already gotten to the swings, and the foursquare game was in full swing. It looked like I had nothing to do at all!
Until I saw her.
I smiled for the first time that day when a carriage pulled up and Silver Spoon hopped out of it. I eagerly ran over to her, and she began walking over to me when she saw me coming. I reached her and threw a foreleg over her shoulders for a hug.
"Ug, you would not believe how, like, awful today has been without you!" I rolled my eyes. "So boring."
Silver Spoon giggled and we began walking further into the schoolyard. "Sorry, DT. My mom scheduled a dentist appointment and I wasn't done until just now. Did I miss anything good?"
I scoffed and rolled my eyes again. "No. It's just boring old school with the same boring old ponies, just like usual."
"Too lame," Silver Spoon agreed. "I can't wait until we can get to trade school where we won't be around so many losers."
"Totally!"
Silver Spoon and I high-hooved each other to start off our trademark hoofshake. "Bump, bump, sugar lump, rump!" We giggled with each other and Silver Spoon started going into what the dentist was like. She said that she had a cavity that she needed to have filled, so her mother scheduled another appointment for her the next week.
So there we were, just talking with each other. It was going good. I mean, we were just hanging out with each other and not talking to anypony else. I guess that fate, or whatever you wanted to call it, didn't want that day to go any better for me. Before I knew what was happening, I felt a sharp pain course through my body, and I fell to the ground with a cry of agony. It took me a moment to regain my senses after the pain faded away, but when it did, I opened my eyes and saw Berry Pinch lying on the ground next to me, a discarded hoofball a few hooves away from her.
She had run into me.
I thought that the stupid blank flank had done it on purpose, like she meant to hurt me. I wasn't going to stand for that. I shot to my hooves and gave her my best glare. "Watch where you're going, twerp!"
Berry Pinch flinched back and covered her head with her forelegs. "I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to! I was just trying to catch the hoofball."
I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well you should have watched where you were going!"
"I saw her, DT, I saw her running straight at you," Silver Spoon cackled. "She was stumbling around like that drunk mommy of hers. You a drunk too, Berry?"
"My mommy isn't a drunk!" Berry Pinch whimpered, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Sh-she's just sick a-and that's her medicine!"
Silver Spoon began cackling loudly and before I knew it, I was joining right along with her. That stupid blank flank poor foal of a drunk had run into me and hurt me! She had actually caused me pain and she needed to pay!
"Is that what your drunk mommy told you?" I said mockingly. "Did your drunk mommy tell you that it's her 'medicine?'"
"You believed that?" Silver Spoon giggled. "Wow, you're dumber than I thought, and that's really saying something!"
"My mommy isn't a drunk!" Berry Pinch held out a hoof as if it was going to stop us. "Leave me alone! Stop saying bad stuff about my mommy!"
"She probably drinks so much so that she doesn't have to think about what a waste of a space she has for a foal." Silver Spoon hopped over Berry Pinch so that she was flanked by the two of us. "You're a clumsy, poor, blank flank waste of space who's gonna be a drunk just like your mommy!"
"Yeah!" I said, a wide smile on my face. You should just..."
And then there she was.
Ms. Cheerilee was standing over the three of us, staring blankly at the scene before her. My laughter and my smile died, and the events of that morning flooded back to me.
And I couldn't believe what had just happened.
Ms. Cheerilee looked up at me for a split second before kneeling down next to a sobbing Berry Pinch. She whispered something that I couldn't hear in her ear, and Berry Pinch nodded. Ms. Cheerilee nudged Berry up and began escorting her into the schoolhouse. I became acutely aware that everypony was watching me.
Right before Ms. Cheerilee went back into the schoolhouse, she turned her head back to me. Her face had that same sad look on them that they had this morning, but now it was worse somehow. I can't be sure, but I think a tear did come out that time. She stared at me for a solid minute in complete silence before saying one word to me that as long as I will live I will never forget.
"Really?"
My breath caught in my throat and I collapsed onto my haunches. Ms. Cheerilee went inside with Berry Pinch, leaving the entire schoolyard staring straight at me. Hot tears began dripping down my face, and I managed to look up at all of my classmates. Silver Spoon's look was one of utter bewilderment. I hadn't told her what had happened that morning yet.
"I..." I blinked once and wiped away the tears that were pouring from my eyes. "I'm sorry! Sh-she just knocked me down and it hurt and... and I got angry!"
It was Apple Bloom who scoffed and hardened her expression into a glare. "And that excuses it? That excuses the mean things you said about her ma?"
"I didn't..." I shakily pushed myself to my hooves and flattened my ears. I retreated away from the piercing glares of my classmates, none of whom had any sympathy for me. "I'm sorry!"
I didn't know what else to do, so I ran. I ran straight for the edge of the school property and didn't stop once I got past the fence. I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay there while they all stared at me. I didn't want to think about Ms. Cheerilee being sad because of me anymore. I didn't want to think about how much I had hurt Berry. I ran so fast that my tiara came off of my head and bounced off of my back before hitting the ground and rolling away to who knew where. I didn't even care.
* * * *
Diamond Tiara looked down at her daughter who was staring at the floor, her ears flat. She quietly sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Do you understand why I'd tell you that story?"
Her daughter subtly nodded, but still didn't make eye contact with her mother. "Yes, Mommy."
"Good." Diamond Tiara stood up and gently ruffled her foals mane affectionately. "You're not a bad pony. You just made a serious mistake. Do you want to make it again?"
"No, Mommy," her daughter whispered back.
"Very well." Diamond Tiara sat down next to her daughter's chair and looked up at her. "If you truly want to try, I trust you. You're a better filly than I was then, and I know you will grow up to be a wonderful mare." Diamond Tiara scooped her daughter up and wrapped her in a tight hug and gently nuzzled her mane. "I trust you."
