Chapters "So what're we gonna do to earn our cutie marks today?" Applebloom asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"We should totally take on skydiving!" Scootaloo said.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo confused.
"If ma countin' is right, we already skydived thirty-three times," Applebloom said.
"I mean we should try doing off of the cliff right there," Scootaloo said.
She pointed to a cliff the Crusaders had met up nearby.
"But I'm bored of skydiving! Can't we try something else, like earn Minecraft related cutie marks?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo and Applebloom sighed; Sweetie Belle seemed more obsessed with Minecraft lately.
"You blank flanks seriously want to earn your cutie marks from playing some lame video game?" Diamond Tara asked out of nowhere.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders moaned at the sight of the two well known bullies. Diamond Tiara chuckled. Silver Spoon, standing next to her, laughed next. Scootaloo stood up tall, her tiny wings popping up in anger.
"What's the matter, Chinckenloo? You gonna try and fly away? Have you forgotten that you can't fly?" Diamond Tiara teased.
"Yeah, you should just give up, and not even bother trying to be like Rainbow Dash," Silver Spoon added.
Scootaloo felt her cheeks burn. Her wings closed to her sides. She was not going to rub in that she was a weak flier; not right now. She stormed closer to the two wealthy bullies.
"You don't say anything like that about Rainbow Dash, got that?" she growled.
Diamond Tiara, not at all intimidated, scoffed.
"You seriously think you can scare me, dodo? Rainbow Dash shouldn't treat you like a sister, but instead a failure!" she retorted.
Scootaloo backed up, having been offended by this statement. Her ears fell.
Could this be true? Could Rainbow Dash not find me as a good sister? she pondered.
Applebloom spoke up.
"Ya'll wouldn't know a loyal sister if she came up to ya and said yer names!"
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were quite surprised by Applebloom standing up for herself and her friends like that. Silver Spoon, having not insulted enough yet, spoke up next.
"Keep your mouth closed, you apple scented hayseed!"
This time Applebloom felt offended. Sweetie Belle hugged her while Scootaloo had fire growing in her eyes. She charged up to Silver Spoon and shoved her down she could. Silver Spoon fell down onto her back, her glasses hitting the grass.
Diamond Tiara looked up at Scootaloo and grew enraged. She stuck her face right into Scootaloo's.
"How dare you treat Silver Spoon like that, you pathetic hen!" she snarled. "I'll have my daddy and her daddy speak with you, and your oh so precious Rainbow Dash, too!"
"SHUT UP!!" Scootaloo yelled. "ALL YOU TWO EVER DO IS TEASE US TO NO END!!"
"Scootaloo! Calm down!" Sweetie Belle cried feeling tears.
But Scootaloo was mad at the entire world right now as long as Diamond Tiara lived on it. She vented some more.
"WE NEVER DID ANYTHING TO YOU, YOU...YOU...MALEFACTORS !!" she screamed with fire in her eyes.
Diamond Tiara felt tears of hurt sting her eyes. She could not stand being yelled at by anypony. She stared into Scootaloo's flaming lavender colored eyes.
"DON'T YOU DARE EVER YELL AT ME!! I'LL HAVE MY DADDY PUNISH YOU GOOD!!" she shouted with her own cheeks turning red.
Silver Spoon had backed up right next to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, who wanted to go in and stop Scootaloo, but she could grow very dangerous if she got angry enough. The same applied to Diamond Tiara, so Silver Spoon just bit her lip and prayed for this fight to end soon.
"I'LL YELL AT WHENEVER THE BUCK I WANT TO!! I'LL HAVE RAINBOW DASH BUCK YOU INTO THE NEXT GALAXY!!" Scootaloo screeched.
If looks could kill, then Scootaloo's stare into Diamond Tiara's eyes would have made the rich filly burst into flames or maybe explode. Diamond Tiara decided to try one more defense.
"AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FAILING AT FLYING, AS WELL AS EARNING MY CUTIE MARK!!" she shrieked.
Silence.
Scootaloo's pupils shrunk to the size of beads, and the other fillies were starting to tremble. Tears of searing rage finally flooded Scootaloo's eyes. She absolutely snapped.
Suddenly, she gave Diamond Tiara the biggest push anypony could manage. Diamond Tiara barely had time to react in anyway as she teetered closer to the cliff's edge. Finally, everything seemed to go in slow motion as Diamond Tiara begin the long fall down the cliff, screaming her lungs out all the while.
Scootaloo gasped. Taken aghast by what she had just done, she rushed over the the cliff's edge and peered down.
THUD!!
Diamond Tiara hit the ground sending the echo throughout the entire canyon at the bottom of the cliff.
Silver Spoon was hysterical.
"SCOOTALOO, YOU KILLED DIAMOND TIARA!! YOU FREAKING KILLED HER!!" she yelled at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo felt like a monster. She deeply regretted what she had done: killing Diamond Tiara; Silver Spoon was right.
"I-I didn't m-mean t-to," she stuttered, regret taking place of her previous anger.
"DIDN'T MEAN TO?!! IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!!" Silver Spoon shouted.
"I s-said I-I didn't mean to!" Scootaloo said not able to raise her voice much anymore.
"Where is Diamond Tiara, anyway?" Applebloom asked in a frenzy. "The cliff goes so far down it's hard to see what's at the bottom!"
"We must go find her! She could still be alive!" Sweetie Belle said.
Hope suddenly filled the fillies' hearts. They raced all around trying to find a slope to the bottom of the cliff.
For a couple of hours, the Cutie Mark Crusaders along with Silver Spoon searched for a way to get to the bottom of the cliff Diamond Tiara had been pushed down just hours prior.
Rainbow Dash was sleeping peacefully on a cumulus cloud dreaming of cider. Suddenly, Scootaloo rushed underneath the cloud in a panic.
"Rainbow Dash!" she alerted. "Come quick!"
Rainbow Dash was all ears. She quickly flew down to the ground in front of a very distraught Scootaloo.
"What is it, kid? Do tell me!" she said.
Scootaloo breathed in real deep.
"AbullycameuptomyfriendsandIandstartedteasingusmakingmereallyangrysothenIwentoutofcontroland " she quickly said.
"Whoa, Scoots, please slow down," Rainbow Dash interrupted.
Scootaloo did not want to waste anymore time.
"A bully started giving me, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle a hard time, and my anger went out out of control, and I..." she trailed off.
"What happened?!" Rainbow Dash asked in alarm.
"Th-then I-I..." Scootaloo stammered, "p-pushed the b-bully off of a cl-cliff."
Rainbow Dash let that sink in. She did not want to believe that Scootaloo would do this; she could not believe it.
"Which cliff?" Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo.
Scootaloo sniffled.
"F-follow me!" she said.
Rainbow Dash did as she was told until Scootaloo led her to the cliff she had pushed Diamond Tiara off of before. She pointed downward.
"I think Diamond Tiara fell down there!" Scootaloo said finding her voice.
"Diamond Tiara" was an all too familiar name to Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo had told her multiple times about her bullying, but every time she told her father, Filthy Rich, he would not actually punish her.
Finally, Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo to get on her back,. then she flew to the bottom of the cliff. Her and Scootaloo searched everywhere calling Diamond Tiara's name sometimes.
After a while of searching, Diamond Tiara lay nearby. Having bounced off of many rocks, she finally rested quite far from the cliff's edge.
"Diamond Tiara!" Scootaloo cried.
She jumped off of Rainbow Dash's back and flew the best she could over to Diamond Tiara. However, she took just one look at Diamond Tiara and instantly regretted it.
Diamond Tiara was covered head to hoof in bruises and scrapes. Many broken bones jutted up from her torn, bloodied flesh. Her tiara lay shattered into pieces nearby. Her eyes were now gray and stared blindly up ahead of her. Blood leaked out of her mouth and from her wounds.
Scootaloo gagged and felt like throwing up. This was all her fault; all hers. Tears once again stung her eyes. She may have disliked Diamond Tiara before, but never had she wanted to kill her. She hung her head and sat down in pity. Rainbow Dash realized that Scootaloo figured out the truth: that Diamond Tiara was indeed dead.
"Crap, Scootaloo, what are we gonna tell Filthy Rich?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Scootaloo managed a look of forlorn pain towards Rainbow Dash. She was personally embarrassed to cry in front of her idol, but she knew that she understood.
"Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash said, "why did you do this?"
"Because...because I...I " Scootaloo started.
"You don't have a good answer, do you?!" Rainbow Dash said with her voice rising.
Scootaloo was hurt by the sudden harsh tone in her idol's voice.
"I...just got...mad ," Scootaloo answered quietly.
Rainbow Dash scowled furiously.
"That's your d*** answer?! That you got MAD ?!!" she snapped.
Scootaloo backed up, almost stepping on Diamond Tiara.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, KID!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ACTUALLY KILLED SOMEPONY!! IMAGINE WHAT EVERYPONY WILL THINK ABOUT YOU!!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"R-Rainbow Dash, p-please don't y-yell at me," Scootaloo sobbed.
Rainbow Dash was indignant.
"YOU'RE TELLING ME NOT TO YELL AT YOU WHEN YOU KILLED SOMEPONY?!! YOU DESERVE ALL THE YELLING IN EQUESTRIA!! I BET EVERYPONY WILL THINK THAT YOU'RE A MONSTER!!" Rainbow Dash screamed with her face turning neon red.
Scootaloo never imagined Rainbow Dash yelling at her out of all ponies. She began to grow angry herself, because she felt like Rainbow Dash was not being fair. She stood up straight and spread out her legs.
"DON'T YELL AT ME, RAINBOW DASH!! I'VE LOOKED UP TO YOU FOR SO LONG!!" she shouted.
Rainbow Dash now had fire in her own eyes. Scootaloo was really going too far at this point.
"WELL GUESS WHAT, KID?!! I DON'T WANT ANYPONY WHO MURDERS OTHER PONIES TO LOOK UP TO ME!! THAT WOULD MAKE ME LOOK BAD!!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"WHY WOULD THAT MAKE YOU LOOK BAD?!!" Scootaloo demanded.
Rainbow Dash backed away from Scootaloo, realizing the filly was tougher than she looked.
"Because I don't want anypony thinking I approve of ponies who do murder," she explained.
Scootaloo began to calm down.
"But you don't of course. Do you?" she asked.
"Of course not, Scoots. I'm still very disappointed in you, though," Rainbow Dash answered.
This hit Scootaloo like a cinder block being thrown against her. Never has Rainbow Dash said that she was disappointed in her. Tears were now visibly streaming down her face.
"I-I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo apologized.
"Don't tell me sorry about this, tell Filthy rich," Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo looked up and nodded. She got back onto Rainbow Dash's back. Rainbow Dash picked up the lifeless figure of Diamond Tiara. She flew away with Scootaloo to spread the terrible news.
Word spread about the death of Diamond Tiara. Filthy Rich still did not know, though. Rainbow Dash, with Scootaloo still on her back, flew to Filthy Rich's house. She landed at his front door and knocked.
"Now, Scootaloo, you should tell Filthy Rich what happened," Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo. "After all, this was your doing."
"Don't remind me," Scootaloo said sadly.
The front door opened finally. Filthy Rich stood there looking at Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked politely.
"Yes, Filthy, there is bad news that Scootaloo must explain to you," Rainbow Dash answered.
"Oh? What trouble did Diamond Tiara get herself into this time?" Filthy Rich asked Scootaloo.
Scootaloo was unbearably nervous. She could only picture in her head Filthy Rich's reaction to finding out that Diamond Tiara, his daughter, had died. She looked Filthy Rich into his eyes.
"Well, today, Diamond Tiara along with Silver spoon were coming up to tease my best friends and I," Scootaloo started.
"Your best friends? Applebloom and Sweetie Belle is their names?" Filthy Rich asked.
"Yes. Anyway, I got really mad at the two of them for giving us a hard time. I started yelling at Diamond Tiara, and she started yelling at me. I even pushed Silver Spoon, making her angrier," Scootaloo continued.
Filthy Rich raised an eyebrow.
"What happened after that? Where is Diamond Tiara, anyway?" he questioned.
This being asked mad Scootaloo's heart sink.
"Well, I got so mad at Diamond Tiara that I...well...I..." she trailed off.
"What?! Tell me what happened to her!" Filthy Rich said getting worried.
"So I pushed Diamond Tiara and she fell off of a cliff! She's dead now and I am so sorry!" Scootaloo admitted with tears flooding her eyes.
Filthy Rich slowly digested that unthinkable truth. He looked at Rainbow Dash.
"Please tell me that isn't true," he said.
"I'm afraid it is true, Filthy. I'm sorry, but Diamond Tiara is gone now," Rainbow Dash said solemnly.
She hung her head down while filthy Rich stood and gaped. Now Diamond Tiara, his most cherished thing in his entire life, was dead forever. His eyes filled with tears, and he turned his head away.
"Okay, y-you two can g-go now," he said quietly.
"Alright, Filthy. Scootaloo, thank you for making this easy on not just me and Filthy Rich, but yourself as well," Rainbow Dash said.
Filthy Rich was now audibly sobbing. Scootaloo felt like crying herself; she had done this to Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich. She had also disappointed Rainbow Dash. She hung her head and let tears drip onto Filthy Rich's front porch.
I'm a monster. A complete monster, Scootaloo thought.
Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Scootaloo. Scootaloo looked up to her idol and noticed her tearing up as well.
"Again, Filthy Rich, I'm sorry about your loss," Rainbow Dash apologized.
Filthy Rich, completely distraught, opened his now reddened, teary eyes.
"I-I at least would like a funeral," he said. "A funeral for my Diamond."
"I'll talk to the mayor. I'm sure we can make arrangements. Scootaloo will go, too," Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo felt indignant; first, she had killed Diamond Tiara because of her being a jerk, and now she had to attend a funeral for her. She knew there was no point in arguing about it, though. She hung her head down again and let the tears fall. Filthy Rich had more tears, though.
"Filthy Rich, you go inside for now, because I can see you're not available. I'll talk to my friends and Mayor Mare. We'll see what happens after that," Rainbow Dash said calmly.
"Oh no, i-it's fine, Ms. Rainbow Dash," Filthy Rich assured.
"But, Filthy, you look devastated. Can we at least go together?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"S-sure," Filthy Rich sighed.
"Alright then. Now, Scootaloo, you should tag along, too," Rainbow Dash said satisfied.
"Fine," Scootaloo said under her breath.
After that, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and a grief stricken Filthy Rich went to Mayor Mare's office. Rainbow Dash once again made Scootaloo explain what had happened, and Mayor Mare agreed to hold a funeral the following day.
Later, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle assured Scootaloo that they would show up to Diamond Tiara's funeral, too. Silver Spoon said no words to any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders; she instead stayed at home wishing that this was just a horrible nightmare.
For the rest of the day, Scootaloo looked down the cliff Diamond Tiara had fallen down because of her.
Why? Just why? Scootaloo asked herself. I'm a monster, a horrible monster.
Sure enough, Diamond Tiara's funeral was held the next day. The funeral's location was nearby a beautiful forest: the forest that Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich had enjoyed taking walks in for years. This special forest housed the brightest green leaves on trees and the most cheerful animals. Surprisingly, Fluttershy had only been their twice.
At the funeral, Filthy Rich was just beginning to give a speech.
"When Diamond Tiara was first born, I knew she was perfect just by looking at her for the first time. My wife sadly died soon after her birth, though, so I swore to take care of Diamond Tiara in the most special way possible. She barely knew her mother, so I insisted on being the best dad ever," he announced.
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo listened to Filthy Rich's speech sadly. Rainbow Dash's best friends had also attended this funeral. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both stood next to Scootaloo having shown up, too. Sweetie Belle was sniffling a lot, and Applebloom tried to comfort her like a good friend would.
"I'll admit, Diamond Tiara had always been picky, but she was most of the time sweet as could be to me," Filthy Rich continued. "She wanted things her way, and I guess I was careless enough to give her everything she had wanted."
This was very true; Filthy Rich had spoiled Diamond Tiara to the point of her thinking that she was better than everypony else.
"I think I've said all that I need to say," Filthy Rich concluded.
He then went down to the crowd of ponies that were kind enough to show up for this sad occasion. Rainbow Dash looked down to Scootaloo but found her missing.
"Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash called.
Rainbow Dash then saw Scootaloo about to give a speech. She smiled and listened.
"Diamond Tiara and her best friend, Silver Spoon, had always bullied me, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo started pointing to the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. "But their teasing got the best of me and I...pushed Diamond Tiara off a cliff's edge, leading to this. I'm so sorry, everypony."
Many ponies began chattering at once in the crowd. Some scowled at Scootaloo for her wrong doing, but others appeared sympathetic from the fact that Scootaloo apologized and looked so guilty.
"Again, I'm very sorry. I never wanted to do this. Not one little bit. All of you may call me a monster all you want, because that's what I truly am," Scootaloo said.
Rainbow Dash felt somepony's wing wrap around her. She turned to see Fluttershy with tears in her aqua colored eyes.
"S-so Scootaloo did th-this? B-but I thought she w-was an angel," Fluttershy sniffled.
"Well, Fluttershy, nopony can be an angel all the time," Rainbow Dash replied.
Then Rainbow Dash herself felt tears fill her dark magenta colored eyes. Her ears fell flat. Scootaloo was still giving a speech about her mistake. When she was done, she came up next to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash wrapped a periwinkle wing around the small pegasus' body. Scootaloo looked up at her idol. She knew that she was still disappointed in her.
I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, cutie Mark Crusaders, Filthy Rich, everypony else. Can you ever forgive me? Scootaloo thought bitterly.
Though Scootaloo felt worse: she could not forgive herself no matter what, and she would never ever forgive herself. Never ever. But at the same time, she knew that she did not mean what she did, and that the same thing could happen to different ponies.
Scootaloo smiled. No matter what Diamond Tiara did in the past, this was no way to stop her. Scootaloo knew that. Her flank shown a bright white light. A pair of angel wings and a halo adorned it, signaling Diamond Tiara safe up above, she caused it to happen, and she was sorry.
Friendship truly is magic.