It gnawed at them like a rat. Some hungry insatiable, insurmountable craving that couldn’t be denied or ignored. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom peered through shared binoculars at Diamond Tiara. Rich filly. Teenaged Royalty and personal tormentor to their trio. Apple Bloom and her friends had taken to trying to avoid Diamond and Silver Spoon after school when they suspected the two weren't happy.
Diamond was never happy.
It was Scootaloo's idea. Something that spawned from conversation from her and Rainbow Dash, and it was Scootaloo that convinced them to create the device. And now, sitting casually on the rooftop of the barn with a home made catapult and several balloons filled with food coloring and Sweetie Belle peering through a telescope, Apple bloom caressed with lever with a single, twitching hoof. The angel on her shoulder had been squaring off with the devil for nearly five minutes, while Apple Bloom perked her ears to both parties.
They were all hesitant to get started...It wasn’t fair of course. That much was to be agreed upon. For a anyone to be bullied- to be picked on and damaged physically and mentally, to be assaulted day in and day out with no sense of salvation in sight. Who could stand up to that sort of pressure? But where would vengeance leave them? Would it fill the sink hole in their hearts, craving absolution from the torment they still suffered? Would pulling the lever end the nightmares, and the lengthy suffering they had to endure, just because Diamond felt like picking on them one day? They turned the other cheek- they never fought back and never stooped to ‘their level’.
And so what? Where did that leave them? What did some assigned, pretend sense of moral superiority leave them? Stoop down to Diamond's level? As if being ‘better’ than her would somehow save the young fillies from a vicious name calling and rumors? As if being ‘no better than Diamond’ would help the CMC sleep at night with bruised egos and broken self esteem. At least Diamond would have known that the CMC wouldn’t go down without a fight if they had decided to retaliate. If things escalated, they escalated but would it have been better than several months of constant torment?
Ignore the bully, the adults say. She’ll find somebody else to pick on. But that doesn’t solve anything. If anything that was a worse solution. “Let it become somepony elses problem’ at best, and at worst, Diamond would make sure she wasn’t ignored. Bullies were exceptionally good at getting reactions out of people. That’s why they were bullies.
They should have pitied Diamond. Whatever her home life must have been like, abusive father, neglectful mother must have been a world of hell to return to at the end of the school day. School; the one place Diamond could be in charge. The only place Diamond could rule over somepony smaller and weaker than she. The only place where she was queen and everyone else was victim to her whims.
But Applebloom and the CMC weren't privy to her home life. Applebloom wasn’t privy to anything but the verbal beatings Diamond arranged for them. How long were they supposed to turn the other cheek? How many times were they supposed to tell Cheerilee and let Diamond get scolded, or let Diamond have detention or let Diamond write lines on the chalk board? How long was were they supposed to let the gnawing sensation of revenge grow?
What was revenge? What was going to be enough? What could ever be enough? Was it necessary? Would it fix the problem? Would it solve the year of suffering the girls would have to endure due to Diamond's wrath? Was there ANY solution to that, or had Diamond inflicted some lifelong trauma scar that no amount of time would heal?
Stuck with nightmares for the rest of their life, just because some girl decided to pick on them. Was revenge really so wrong? Yes, say the parents…but then that’s all justice is, isn’t it? Revenge, through ‘proper’ channels. Revenge through the system. Revenge through the eyes of outsiders so it doesn’t get too ‘out of hand.’ Ponies who have no stakes what so ever in the situation issuing justice for them. And how does one measure how much justice is enough justice?
The idea of course, was to turn one’s cheek and wait for life to even things out. For Diamond’s well deserved justice to strike her when she was most vulnerable. But the problem is how would Applebloom, Scootaloo, or Sweetie Belle know it even struck? Or when? If they weren't there to witness it, was it even worth it? Would Diamond even know it was because she was an a horrible pony for a significant portion of her life?
No. Life wasn’t so satisfying as to let the girls have their vengeance. There was no guarantee that Diamond would suffer the punishment she’d deserved- that CMC begged for- unless it came from their own hooves. Unless it was delivered personally. For all they knew, Diamond could turn her life around and become a princess and ruler of a kingdom. She could end world hunger, and create world peace. But she still might not have a single ounce of regret for causing pain and turmoil to another pony for entire years of their lives. She needed to be punished for what she had done- because there was no guarantee that she’d be punished in the future. It was that simple.
Wasn’t it?
The little filly flicked her hoof across the catapult’s lever and took a shuddering breath. It wasn’t fair. It all wasn’t fair. Rainbow Dash was right. This was the right answer. This was fair. But...
Life wasn’t meant to be fair. Existence is a roller coaster. Would this action cause the surrounding and involved parties good? Would it equal happiness? If so, who’s happiness would it ensure? Would it equal sadness? Diamond's lovely coat would be covered in dye and Apple Bloom was sure she’d end with a hollow hole left in her tummy. Sadness definitely. Happiness? Doubtful. So what was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to solve the moral dilemma handed to her by an a filly with nothing better to do than pick on weaker individuals?
The CMC had built a catapult for the sole purpose of causing misery to another student. But just because they could, did it mean that they should? Did Diamond deserve it? Definitely. But who were they to judge? If they were right, did it leave it up to them to pull the trig-
“Oh for Petes sakes, what is taking so long?” Rainbow Dash growled. She'd been waiting eagerly for the action to start, before Apple Bloom and the other girls decided to stare into space for ten minutes. She reached forward, grabbing the lever from Applebloom's hooves and fired immediately- resulting in a town rattling shriek of surprise, and a hilarious bright pink and purple filly racing around in circles.
“There! Problem solved! It's just food coloring. It'll wash off! Geez, you guys and your moral, philosophical conundrums!! You're like Twilight!" The pegasus snarled, and started to reload the catapult, leaving Apple Bloom and the rest of the CMC staring at each other.
"Well. That was easy. “ Squeaked the Sweetie Belle.
Author's Note
I was up and feeling weird so I started writing. This is off the top of my head, so excuse the spelling errors. Like usual, I'll catch 'em and edit 'em as I sees em. Bullies. There's no answer. There just isn't. There is nothing you can do, and it all just sucks.
One day some ignorant kid said that you just take some self defense classes and you'll be fine. These people don't understand how escalation words. Fighting back doesn't make the bully think "Oh, gosh, I'll go pick on someone else." In most cases fighting back just means the bully thinks "Oh, gosh, I'll just grab my dad's knife and next time, I'll teach him a lesson.' But lets say they DO decide to pick on someone else? Then you've just passed along the problem, you didn't solve anything. It's a "Better you than me" mentality, and that's just sickening.
One day some ignorant kid said to me "words don't hurt. "
Bullies come in all shapes and sizes and all types of people. When your dad tells you "I don't love you." or "You were a mistake"
Trust me. It hurts. A lot. It will mess up your day.
"Just tell an adult" Says the school. Yeah that's awesome. Doesn't help when it's happening off school grounds, or heck, WHILE it's happening.
There isn't a solution, aside from complete social reform and fixing problems at home. But a majority of those problems don't get reported.
So in the end. It's just a virus with no cure. All we have is hope.
And I hope you never, ever have to deal with them.
