“...and those are the known animals that will hunt down a pony if one is in sight and what they will do to the pony. Any questions?” a purple pony asked. In front of her were a group of fillies and colts sitting at their desks, most of them either cowering in fear or nauseous from the lesson they just received from their teacher, Cheerilee.
“Why would she even tell us something like that?” Scootaloo whispered to her two friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Despite being one of the toughest ponies in her class, Cheerilee’s lesson had taken a toll on her mind.
“Miss Cheerilee! Scootaloo was wondering why you decided to teach us about things that will try to eat us!” Sweetie Belle announced energetically.
“Hey, don’t centre me out!” Scootaloo reprimanded. She knew that everypony was wondering the same thing, but didn’t want to look weak by asking her teacher directly. It would only give her two enemies something to hold over her, even though they were also visibly troubled by Cheerilee’s lesson.
“It’s all right Scootaloo. This is a very serious subject.” Cheerilee said understandingly. She paused, looking around at the classroom to make sure everypony was paying attention. “The reason why I taught this lesson is because Equestria is a dangerous place. Us ponies are among the bigger and stronger creatures, but there are still many creatures that pose a great threat to us. If we do not know how to deal with these creatures then it could mean the difference between surviving and becoming lunch.”
“So this is one of those know yer enemy things?” Apple Bloom spoke up. Just as Cheerilee was about to answer, she was interrupted by a pale magenta filly.
“Aren’t we safe in Ponyville? I mean, if we weren’t we’d be gone by now.” Diamond Tiara reasoned.
“Hey! Ah asked ma question first!” Apple Bloom was irritated. If it had been any other pony (with the exception of Diamond Tiara’s best friend Silver Spoon) she wouldn’t have been so upset, but since it was her, Apple Bloom was angry.
“Like it really matters. She’ll answer my question first then yours. Wait your turn.” Diamond Tiara told her. She knew she was making Apple Bloom mad and that filled her with sadistic excitement. She smiled as Apple Bloom began to respond, knowing that she had indeed gotten to the pale yellow filly.
“Wait MY turn!? I asked her a question first. It’s you who should be waiting your turn!” Apple Bloom yelled, unknowingly doing exactly what Diamond Tiara wanted her to do.
“Yeah, she was first, so be a good little rich filly and be quiet!” Scootaloo joined in. That bugged Diamond Tiara a little. Scootaloo was always the harshest of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, so she was a little more difficult to ignore.
“Oh, got the flightless Pegasus defending you now?” Diamond Tiara insulted. Scootaloo glared at her, resisting the urge to pound her into the ground. If you wanted to make Scootaloo upset, this was the quickest way. She’s always dreamt of flying with her hero, Rainbow Dash, but thanks to her small wings she’s been unable to do that so far. For somepony to not only mention that she couldn’t fly, but to use it as an insult was going too far.
“That’s mean Diamond Tiara.” Sweetie Belle squeaked. She had wanted to stay out of the argument, but she couldn’t take it anymore. “You know how much flying means to Scootaloo!”
“Pft, we sure do...Squeaky Belle!” Silver Spoon said, laughing at Sweetie Belle’s voice. Dealing with Diamond Tiara alone would have been bad enough for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but thanks to Silver Spoon who was just as mean-spirited as she was, their misfortune was doubled.
“It...it’s not my fault.” Sweetie Belle lowered her head. “It’s my voice, it’s how I am.” She was starting to regret standing up to Diamond Tiara.
“You guys don’t know when to stop. Are ya’ll that desperate for attention that ya resort to cheap shots?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Desperate? We aren’t desperate. You had it coming when you wouldn’t let Diamond go first.” Silver Spoon responded.
“And just why should we? Apple Bloom deserved the first answer.” Scootaloo stated, her anger increasing after each sentence her enemies spoke.
“I should always go before you. After all I did happen to get my cutie mark before you blank flanks.” Diamond Tiara explained. Those two words, ‘blank flank’, had become her and Silver Spoon’s signature insult.
“You rotten, arrogant, jerk!” Scootaloo yelled. “One day we’ll get our cutie marks, but you’ll always be a-” Scootaloo stopped after she heard crunching. The five ponies looked towards the front of the class. There Miss Cheerilee was standing there, eating popcorn.
“Don’t mind me, continue.” Cheerilee said calmly. She continued eating with a smile on her face while the whole class stared at her in silence. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked confusingly at their rivals. They were just as confused. Cheerilee was interested in watching them argue? “Got all that fighting out of your system? Good.” She put away her popcorn and then continued. “You girls have been fighting far too much and lately it’s been getting simply horrible.”
“See what you've done? You’re making poor Miss Cheerilee sad.” Silver Spoon accused.
“It’s not just them Silver Spoon. You and Diamond Tiara are just as much to blame.” Cheerilee quickly pointed out. If she hadn’t gotten that sentence in, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have retorted and they’d be back in a heated argument.
"Ah don't want to fight with them, but they always make fun of us and call us 'blank flanks'." Apple Bloom explained.
"I know." Cheerilee sighed. She put a hoof to her face and begun to brainstorm ideas she could use to cease to fighting.
"Um, Miss Cheerilee." Snips called out after a few minutes. She did not answer.
"Is she dead?" Snails asked the class. He was answered by several facehoofs. "Is that a yes?"
"I wish I could have come up with something better, but this will have to do." Cheerilee suddenly announced, catching some students by surprise. "Your homework for the week is to study one of the pony-eating creatures I mentioned early. You must find out where they live, their estimated population, what other things they eat, what to do if you ever encounter them and whatever else is on the assignment paper which I will shortly hand out." She took a breath, preparing herself to the backlash she was about to receive then continued. "I was originally going to let ALL of you choose your partners, but after what happened today I'm deciding to make two specific groups. The rest of you may choose to work in groups up to three members. Come see me if you have nopony to work with."
“So...who’s in the two groups you’re making?” Diamond Tiara questioned fearfully. She had almost always worked with Silver Spoon on assignments, so she did not want to work with anypony else, especially not a Cutie Mark Crusader member, which she feared would happen.
“The first group consists of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo...” Cheerilee begun. Apple Bloom hoped that she would be in that group as well, but unfortunately...
“What!?” Silver Spoon screamed. This couldn’t be happening to her, could it? “Why do I have to work with THEM?”
“We’re not happy about this either!” Scootaloo replied. Even though Sweetie Belle was in her group, the presence of Silver Spoon for practically an entire week was sure to drive her bonkers.
“ANYways,” Cheerilee interrupted. “The second group will be composed of Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara.”
“Ah ain’t surprised. Ah figured I‘d be paired with her after Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were paired Silver Spoon.” Apple Bloom reasoned with her fancy mathematics.
“This can‘t be happening! Miss Cheerilee, do you hate us?” Diamond Tiara sobbed.
“Of course not!” Cheerilee answered. “I want you to learn how to get along, but you‘ll never learn how to unless you actually spend some quality time with each other.”
“But-”
“Diamond, I‘m not changing my mind.” Cheerilee stated. “Class is almost over, so everypony else form a group and I will come around handing out the assignment page.”
“This sucks.” Diamond Tiara complained to her friend. “This is going to be the worst week of my life.”
“Tell me about it.” Silver Spoon agreed. As they continued complaining and feeling sorry for themselves, Cheerilee came over to them.
“Your groups are waiting for you.” Cheerilee told them. Reluctantly they joined their respective groups. In a few minutes the bell rang. “Time to go everypony. I‘ll see you all on Monday. Don‘t procrastinate on your assignments!”
“...so where do ya want to work?” Apple Bloom asked. Her assignment partner Diamond Tiara was walking beside her, occasionally stomping her hooves in anger.
“Do you seriously have to ask that question?” Diamond Tiara responded. She looked at Apple Bloom as if she had just said that the sun did not exist. “My place, clearly. I wouldn‘t want to have to spend so much time in a filthy place like Sweet Apple Acres.” Apple Bloom had to use every bit of willpower to not lose it and wondered how she would be able to last a week working with Diamond Tiara.
“All right, but we should stop by the library first to pick up a book on a creature.” Apple Bloom suggested.
“Fine.” Diamond Tiara said, uninterested. The both of them headed to Twilight’s library in silence. Neither of them said anything else to each other on the way. At the library they met with Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“Good evening girls!” Twilight greeted. “How may I help you?”
“We‘re looking for a book on a pony-eating creature.” Apple Bloom explained.
“I know for a fact that we‘ve got quite a few books on a variety of creatures that consume ponies.” Twilight assured. “What‘s the name of the creature?”
“Oh, Diamond we didn‘t decide on a creature.” Apple Bloom realized. She turned to Diamond Tiara only to be met with an irritated look.
“Don‘t just call me ‘Diamond’!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “You‘re not my friend.”
“...sorry, ah guess.” Apple Bloom said. She didn’t understand why Diamond Tiara would get so upset over just using her first name.
“Whatever.” Diamond Tiara responded. “Let‘s just do something easy like a Timberwolf. They‘re pretty common, so I‘m sure there must be a lot about them. That‘s less work for me and less time I‘ll have to spend with you!”
“All right, we‘ll choose that.” Apple Bloom told Twilight.
“Okay!” Twilight exclaimed happily. She led the two fillies to a bookshelf and pointed towards a specific shelf. “Books on Timberwolves are right over here.”
“Why are all of these so thick!?” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. She had expected a lot of information on the creatures, but she thought there would at least be some short books.
“I know!” Twilight gleamed. “Isn‘t it wonderful?” Diamond Tiara didn’t answer her.
“Well, how about this one?” Apple Bloom suggested, pointing out a book with a fancy cover of a Timberwolf.
“Good choice.” Twilight complimented. “This book contains pretty much everything to know about Timberwolves. I personally find it to be the most detailed one, but the others are good too.”
“Okay, we got the book. Can we go now and finish this stupid project?” Diamond Tiara whined. Her patience was running thin.
“The book is due back in two weeks.” Twilight told them. “Let me just mark it and...there! You‘re all good. Enjoy the book and good luck on your assignment!”
“Thanks Twilight!” Apple Bloom said, taking the book from the princess. “You‘re seeing Applejack later today right? Can you let her know I‘ll be at Diamond Tiara‘s?”
“Sure thing.” Twilight replied.
“It‘s taking forever!” Diamond Tiara complained. Apple Bloom and her had been hard at work on the assignment, well mostly Apple Bloom. Even though Diamond Tiara was in the comfort of her own home, she was still annoyed.
“We‘d be making more progress if somepony would help and stop whining in my ears!” Apple Bloom accused. Despite how hard she was working she was not getting a lot done.
“I DID help.” Diamond Tiara claimed. “This book is just too big. There‘s no way we‘re going to finish reading it.”
“You read one page and wrote down two sentences!” Apple Bloom stated. She had read about thirty pages and written forty sentences. It would have to be organized in the good copy of their assignment, but it was still much more than Diamond Tiara managed to get done in the same amount of time.
“And your point is?” Diamond Tiara responded. “That‘s still helping.”
“That‘s it! I‘m taking a break.” Apple Bloom announced. “I‘m exhausted.” She jumped on top of Diamond Tiara’s bed and shut her eyes.
“Get off my BED!” Diamond Tiara screamed. Apple Bloom ignored her and continued to relax.
“Just give me five minutes. I‘m tired.” Apple Bloom reasoned. Unfortunately, Diamond Tiara was about as reasonable as a dragon asked to share its gems.
“I‘ll give you til the count of ten to get your ugly, dirty, blank flank off my bed or I will push you off!” Diamond Tiara threatened. “One, two, three, four, FIVE...”
“I‘m not moving.” Apple Bloom announced.
“Six, seven, eight, nine...this is your last chance!” Diamond Tiara warned her. “No? Then fine, TEN!” She did exactly what she said she was going to do, quickly pushing Apple Bloom off her bed so she’d land on her back.
“Ow!” Apple Bloom shrieked. “You‘re evil!”
“Well, I did warn you.” Diamond Tiara said, triumphantly. “Now let‘s forget about this book. It‘s taking way too long.”
“You got a better idea?” Apple Bloom questioned, slowly getting up.
“As I matter of fact, I do.” Diamond Tiara grinned. “Why don‘t we just observe a Timberwolf in its natural habitat? We‘ll learn most of what we need to know a lot faster.”
“Are you crazy? No way!” Apple Bloom objected. “The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place. Ah know, I‘ve been there with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. We got ourselves into a lot of trouble.”
“We‘re not going to go IN the forest. My daddy has some high powered binoculars that we‘re going to use to observe them from a distance.” Diamond Tiara explained. “I can‘t believe I actually had to say that. You really are quite dumb sometimes.”
“Ya weren‘t being specific enough!” Apple Bloom countered. She sighed and she decided to let it go. “All right, the plan‘s okay, so I‘ll go along with it.”
“I know, I‘m a genius aren‘t I?” Diamond Tiara boasted. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Well? Don‘t just stand there, let‘s go get the binoculars and get going!”
“I‘m going, I‘m going!” Apple Bloom responded. Her and Diamond Tiara found Filthy Rich sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.
“Daddy!” Diamond Tiara shouted with glee.
“Diamond, Apple Bloom! How‘s your project coming along?” Filthy Rich asked. You would think that someone like Diamond Tiara would have parents similar to her, but Filthy Rich was a very respectable pony.
“We‘ve got some done, but we‘re going to try something different. Can we borrow your binoculars?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Sure thing, I‘ll get them for you.” Filthy Rich complied. He left to get it and quickly returned. “Here you girls go. May I ask what your assignment is about?”
“Miss Cheerilee wants us to write a-” Apple Bloom began, but was cut off.
“About an animal, so we‘re going to use the binoculars to observe it.” Diamond Tiara finished.
“Sounds like a great idea! Experience in real life is the best way to gain knowledge.” Filthy Rich stated. He certainly knew what he was talking about. Although books are indeed helpful, he would not have been able to make a fortune by simply reading them. “You girls have fun, but don‘t stay out too late.”
“Thanks daddy!” Diamond Tiara said.
“I think this is close enough.” Apple Bloom told her project partner. They were both getting pretty close to the Everfree Forest.
“No, we need to get closer.” Diamond Tiara insisted. “Don‘t be such a baby, we‘re not even in the Everfree Forest.”
“Okay...” Apple Bloom hesitantly agreed. They walked a little further then stopped a good hundred hooves away.
“There, this should be good enough.” Diamond Tiara stated.
“Phew, thought you were gonna make us get too close.” Apple Bloom said, relieved that they had stopped. Diamond Tiara grabbed the binoculars and looked through them, trying to spot Timberwolves.
“Found three different groups!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “Write this down. They always seem to travel in a pack.”
“They‘re wolves...of course they travel in a pack.” Apple Bloom pointed out. Diamond Tiara shot her an annoyed look.
“They also seem to be idiots.” Diamond Tiara noted. “Two of them ended up hitting themselves on some trees, destroying themselves. Wait what!?”
“Huh? What is it?” Apple Bloom asked.
“They regenerated!” Diamond Tiara gasped. “They can do that?”
“Creatures in the Everfree Forest are strange. I‘m not that surprised.” Apple Bloom told her.
“Now it looks like lunch time...” Diamond Tiara grimaced. “Ugh, so gross! They‘re eating mice. Ew!” She had to shake her head to get the sight out of her mind. “I‘m going to ignore that group for now. Let‘s see what the others are up to.”
“This is great.” Apple Bloom indicated. “We‘re progressing so much faster than we were before. I got to hand it to you Diamond Tiara, this really is a great idea!” She looked towards Diamond Tiara, giving her an approving look that quickly turned to horror.
“Of course it is!” Diamond Tiara claimed. “It‘s my idea, how could it not be good?”
“D-Diamond.” Apple Bloom stuttered.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Diamond Tiara sighed. “Don‘t call me by just my first name!”
“Diamond Tiara. A Timberwolf.” Apple Bloom whispered.
“What was that?” Diamond Tiara asked. “How can I hear you when you‘re being so quiet?”
“A Timberwolf.” Apple Bloom repeated, slightly louder.
“Well yeah. We‘re observing Timberwolves here, so of course they‘ll be Timberwolves.” Diamond Tiara told her, thinking she was acting even dumber than usual.
“That‘s not what I mean. Behind you.” Apple Bloom clarified. Suddenly it dawned on Diamond Tiara what she might be talking about.
“W-What are you talking about? We‘re at least a hundred hooves away from the forest. There couldn‘t be a Timberwolf behind me. Stop joking around!” Diamond Tiara scolded. She was really hoping that Apple Bloom was pranking her, but there was a part of her that had a feeling she wasn’t.
“I‘m not joking!” Apple Bloom responded. “It‘s really there, about fifty hooves away. Oh my goodness! Diamond Tiara it‘s coming closer! Run!” Diamond Tiara slowly turned herself around and saw that Apple Bloom was indeed telling the truth. Behind her was a strange looking Timberwolf. Where did it come from? She and Apple Bloom were looking at the forest all the time, so how could they have missed the Timberwolf coming out?
“What are you doing!?” Apple Bloom yelled. She had been running for a few seconds, but stopped when she noticed that Diamond Tiara was not following her. In fact, Diamond Tiara had not moved at all. She was completely petrified with fear.
The next few moments seemed as if they happened in slow motion to Diamond Tiara. The Timberwolf lunged itself at her. She closed her eyes awaiting the impact. Suddenly she found herself on the ground hit hard by the creature then she screamed in pain. She opened her eyes to see that the Timberwolf was not staring at her. It took her a moment to process what had just happened. She learned that she was not the one who screamed and it was not the Timberwolf that hit her. It was Apple Bloom, pushing her out of the way. The Timberwolf had its teeth sunk into Apple Bloom’s top-right leg. She was trying to fight back, but her strength was fading. All of her hits were damaging it, enough that it couldn't bite down hard enough, but not enough to destroy it.
“Hurry..run!” Apple Bloom cried. Diamond Tiara hesitated. If she stuck around much longer the Timberwolf might try to get her too, but if she left to get help it might arrive too late. “What are you...ugh...waiting for...go!”
Here Apple Bloom was, moments away from possibly dying and yet she’s still concerned about Diamond Tiara. That was something Diamond Tiara couldn’t ignore. She took her binoculars and threw it against the beast as hard as she could. The impact damaged a big part of the Timberwolf causing it to yelp and let go of Apple Bloom. It was now or never. Diamond Tiara charged at the wolf and struck it with all her might, breaking it to pieces. She rushed over to Apple Bloom to see how bad the bite was.
“Diamond...thank you.” Apple Bloom whispered. “Oh...I mean...Diamond...Tiara.”
“Can you walk?” Diamond Tiara asked ignoring the mistake Apple Bloom made.
“Yeah, ah think so. It hurts, but luckily the wound isn't too deep.” Apple Bloom replied. “We gotta get moving or it'll regenerate like the others.”
“Okay.” Diamond whispered. She felt awful. She would never want somepony hurt, even a Cutie Mark Crusader and yet she had done that all thanks to her stupid idea.
Author's Note
I wrote this quite some time ago, shortly after season 3 ended. I've edited it a little, but for the most part it's the same. Takes place before the season 4 finale.
The ending was originally supposed to be Apple Bloom getting sent to a hospital because the Timberwolf had injured her to the point where she needed amputation (ignore real life logic, broken leg != death), but I didn't know where I was going with that, so I changed it. The next chapter will be probably be a little bit different since my writing has likely changed (hopefully it hasn't gotten worse).
"Sweet Celestia, what happened to yer leg!?" Applejack shouted. Her fur glistened with sweat. She had been working on the farm when she noticed Apple Bloom from a distance limping.
Apple Bloom had walked all the way home to Sweet Apple Acres. Surprisingly Diamond Tiara had actually helped her. "Ah got bitten by a Timberwolf."
Applejack nearly fainted when she heard that. Her little sister had again nearly been killed by another creature? Memories of the time Apple Bloom tried to make a pie delivery ran through her mind. She had nearly lost her sister that day, though she was also partly to blame for being far too overprotective, leading Apple Bloom to attempt the delivery to prove she was capable.
"Apple Bloom, ah thought you learned from what happened with the chimera!"
Apple Bloom hung her head in shame. Applejack sighed, taking a look at the filly next to her. Diamond Tiara. Why is she with Apple Bloom? Those two have never been able to get along.
"W-what?" Diamond said. "Why are you staring at me like that?" She was starting to feel very uncomfortable. It was her idea that had gotten Apple Bloom hurt, but she figured that since she helped break the Timberwolf that she shouldn't have to face any consequences.
Applejack thought about questioning her, but decided against it. Her sister's leg needed attending to first. "It's not important right now. Come on Apple Bloom, let's get that leg looked at."
The three ponies entered the Apple household, Applejack carrying Apple Bloom on her back. Granny Smith was sitting there on her rocker taking a nap and Big Macintosh was doing some ploughing.
"Wait right here a minute. I'll go get the medical kit." Applejack told her.
With Applejack gone, the two fillies found themselves in an uncomfortable silence. Although this would be the perfect opportunity for Diamond Tiara to attack Apple Bloom with a flurry of insults, she held back since Apple Bloom had saved her from getting bitten.
"So..." Apple Bloom wasn't quite sure what to say.
Diamond Tiara looked at her leg with concern and then to her face. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Huh?"
"It was my idea, so why didn't you blame me?"
Apple Bloom gave a small smile. "Now what good would that have done? Ah agreed to it, so it's just as much my fault as it is yours."
"T-That's right!" Diamond grinned. "You should have stopped me, but you didn't."
Apple Bloom's frowned, regretting trying to relieve Diamond's guilt. Before she could respond, Applejack returned.
"This is gonna sting a little." Applejack warned. Apple Bloom nodded as she awaited the painful torture to come. Applejack sprayed her front left leg with a disinfectant. Apple Bloom closed her eyes as she held back a shout.
Diamond Tiara giggled at the sight. Apple Bloom looked ridiculous banging her front right hoof repeatedly on the floor. When Apple Bloom heard the giggle she glared at Diamond.
"There, that should do it." Applejack said. "Yer gonna need to take it easy for a while." She turned towards Diamond Tiara. "Now ah wanna know what your involvement in this was."
Diamond sighed. It looked like she would have to admit what happened. "We were paired up to do a school assignment by Miss Cheerilee. The assignment is about studying creatures that eat ponies and we decided to do Timberwolves. I wanted to get this over with so I suggested we look at them directly."
"And you agreed to that!?" Applejack asked her sister. She received a reluctant nod as confirmation. "Ah wouldn't even do something like that unless I had to."
"We thought we were far enough away." Apple Bloom spoke up. "We were about a hundred hooves away using binoculars when one just suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
Applejack tried to calm herself after seeing how defensive her sister was getting. After going through what she did, the last thing she needed was to be yelled at. "Timberwolves are sneaky creatures with very good hearing. Sometimes it's hard to notice them approaching."
Apple Bloom looked down. "I'm sorry."
Applejack wrapped a leg around her, comforting her. "It's okay sugarcube."
Diamond Tiara stared at them curiously. There was something unusual about their relationship that she couldn't quite put her hoof on.
"Well Diamond and I need to get started on the assignment now." Apple Bloom told Applejack, getting out of the embrace. Applejack raised an eyebrow at her. "We'll use books this time."
Applejack smiled. "Good. If you need me, you know where to find me." Applejack walked out the door into the orchard for some apple bucking.
"Ah hope you don't mind working here." Apple Bloom said hesitantly. "It'd hurt a lot to walk all the way to yer house right now."
Diamond Tiara sighed. "Whatever. Let's at least get some work done. I don't want coming over here to be a complete waste."
Apple Bloom led her to her room. Diamond Tiara looked around, taking it all in. She was surprised that she wasn't disgusted with the room. It was simple yes, but it had a nice feeling to it.
As nice as it was, to Diamond Tiara, it paled in comparison to her own room. Her room was much, much larger. It had a huge and expensive pink king-sized bed, a wardrobe made from the finest wood in Equestria and a closet that could be a room itself.
"Not bad." Diamond stated. "A little small, but I thought for sure your room would be covered in mud, the floor would be falling apart, the walls would have fungus growing on them, the ceiling would be damaged from rain, the-"
"Okay, I get it." Apple Bloom interrupted. She wasn't quite sure if what Diamond had said was a compliment or an insult, but it sounded more like an insult to her.
For the next half an hour the two of them worked silently on the project. Apple Bloom looked at Diamond Tiara. Wow, she's actually doing work. I'm impressed.
"You and your sister are strange." Diamond said looking at her.
Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes. "What do ya mean by that?"
Diamond sighed. "I'm not insulting you blank flank." Apple Bloom gave her a look. "Well, I wasn't until then. What I mean is that she's your sister, but she also acts like she's your mother."
"Oh." Apple Bloom thought about it. "Ah guess that's sorta true. My parents died when ah was really young, so Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith have all had a hoof in raising me. Ah don't think of Applejack as my mom or Big Mac as my dad, but ah guess they've kind of been at times."
Diamond Tiara took the information in. There was one question she had, but she was hesitant due to its nature. "How did... How did your parents die?"
Apple Bloom frowned. She had seen the question coming. "You know what? Ah don't actually know. Ah used to ask a lot when I was younger, but ah stopped when everybody would refuse to answer."
"Heh, maybe your parents aren't actually dead. Maybe your mom is actually Applejack and your dad is actually Big Mac."
Apple Bloom looked horrified at the thought. "Ewwww! Diamond, you have a sick mind! Never in a million years would that even be a possibility!"
Diamond only laughed in amusement at the other filly's reaction. "You should have seen your face. Priceless."
"Ha, ha." Apple Bloom said dryly. "Now if yer done messing around, let's get back to work."
The two continued to work, now somewhat communicating their findings with each other.
"Wow, we got a lot done." Apple Bloom exclaimed. She wasn't expecting to get such a good start on the assignment. "Yer actually pretty smart Diamond."
Diamond Tiara scoffed. "Of course I'm smart... Wait a minute. I just realized you've been calling me 'Diamond' all this time!"
Apple Bloom put a hoof to her face. She's still on that?
Diamond sighed. "Fine, you can call me that when we're working on the assignment, but in public it's 'Diamond Tiara', you got that?"
"Yeah, ah got it." Apple Bloom grumbled.
"Good. It's getting late, so I'm going home now. I've stayed on this dirty farm for far too long."
Apple Bloom bit her tongue to prevent herself from lashing out. The two of them walked down the stairs to the main entrance.
"Bye." Diamond said awkwardly.
"See you tomorrow." Apple Bloom waved to her as she left. "Phew, glad that's over with."
A sudden uncomfortable feeling struck her. She ascended the stairs again and went straight for Applejack's room.
"Well howdy there Apple Bloom. Diamond Tiara gone?" Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom nodded and gulped. "Ah have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"You and Big Mac aren't my parents right?
A look of complete disgust appeared on Applejack's face answering her question. "Now where... *urf* would you get an idea like that?"
She looked away shyly. She couldn't believe that she had actually taken what Diamond Tiara had said seriously. Am I insane? Of course they're not my parents. "It was Diamond's idea. It's just that you never tell me what happened to my parents."
Applejack's face softened as she looked at the little filly. "Ah didn't want to tell you because of how stupid Big Mac and I were. It was all such a horrible mistake."
Apple Bloom did not like the phrasing of that one bit. Applejack and Big Mac made a 'mistake'. "Um... just so we're clear, you AREN'T my parents right?"
"No Apple Bloom." Applejack said firmly. "Our dad died shortly before you were born in an apple bucking accident. A tree fell and hit him right on the head."
Apple Bloom's heart fell. Even though she didn't know him, it was still painful to hear.
"Our mom died when you were born." Applejack continued. "Big Mac and I were so upset that we... blamed you. We wished that you hadn't been born."
That was even more painful to hear. Apple Bloom would have never thought that at a certain point in her life that her siblings actually hated her. "How long... did ya'll hate me?"
"Big Mac got over it pretty quick. The next day he realized that it wasn't your fault at all and he was ashamed that he even had those thoughts. As for me..." Applejack sobbed. "Ah wanted you gone for the entire week." At this she began to sob uncontrollably.
"A week?"
"A whole week! I'm such a horrible sister." Applejack continued to cry.
Apple Bloom was not amused. "Sheesh, ah thought you were gonna say two years or something. A week isn't so bad."
"It's plenty bad!" Applejack shouted. She pulled her sister into an embrace and continued crying.
Apple Bloom facehoofed in annoyance. "It's going to be one 'those' nights isn't it?"
"How was your observation?" Filthy Rich asked the minute Diamond Tiara returned home.
"It went... well." She lied. Her dad would ground her for a year if he knew the trouble she had gotten herself and Apple Bloom in.
Filthy Rich raised an eyebrow. "Really? Didn't, I don't know, go near the Everfree Forest and almost get eaten by a Timberwolf?"
Diamond gulped. He knew what happened. "How did you find out?"
"Big Macintosh came over and told me everything." Filthy Rich stated.
Applejack must have told him what happened...
"I'm very disappointed in you. You nearly got your friend killed!"
"She's NOT my friend!" Diamond argued. Like I would ever be friends with a blank flank! Well, not again.
Thoughts of Babs Seed entered her mind. She had considered Babs a friend and was completely surprised when she and Silver Spoon were betrayed. Both of them felt hurt that she would turn on them like that.
"Not your friend!?" Filthy said, interrupting her thoughts. "She risked her life for you and you're not even appreciative? I thought I raised you better than that. You're grounded."
That word, she had heard it so few times in her life. The last time was a few years ago when she was running around the house and ended up breaking a very expensive vase... which set off a chain reaction destroying everything in their living room.
Oh how she hated that word.
"B-But what about our assignment?" Diamond pleaded.
Filthy Rich did not give in. "You may go to Sweet Apple Acres to work with Apple Bloom only. Everywhere else, except school, is forbidden for one month."
Diamond Tiara's eyes widened. She'd never been grounded that long before. How would she survive without hanging out with Silver Spoon after school?
"But-"
"I'll tell you what." Filthy Rich started. "If you can get along with Apple Bloom and I'll know because I'll ask her myself, then I'll shorten your grounding."
Get along with Apple Bloom!? That's impossible. I can barely stand to be in the same room as that blank flank. I'm doomed.
Author's Note
Wow, it's been quite a long time. I'm not gonna lie, the negative reception for the first chapter disappointed me. I'm not so sure if I'm going to end up continuing, but I wanted to get this chapter out.
