Chapter 7-Baltimare Tea Party

Baltimare Tea Party:

“Gravitational Upheaval…..Overdrive!!”

The Floor of the Golden oaks library shudders as Applejack and Twilight test out the extent of their combined power causing all the books in the library to flutter off their shelves and into the air. Even Twilight’s friends (Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash) are not immune as they float into the air waving their hooves around in a vain attempt to gain traction Rarity herself looks incredibly distressed as her mane’s normal curl begins to unravel with the lack of gravity “Um… Twilight darling…” Rarity conjures her stand into the shape of a brush and is frantically trying to put her mane back in shape. “I know that you are excited and all that to be trying out your little Gravity trick but if it isn’t too much trouble could you LET US DOWN FROM HERE!?”

However in their intense concentration the pair seems to be unable to hear the pleas of the ivory unicorn.

“Hello there!” Rarity shouts “earth to Applejack!”

Suddenly the two mare’s focus snaps back to the world of the living as they apologize simultaneously. “Sorry there…”

“…..Rarity. Ah guess that Ah was….”

“…..Just so caught up…..”

“….In what ah was doing…..”

“….That I completely forgot….”

“…..That ah had guests.”

Both of the mares close their eyes as their two combined stands separate back into their two individual halves, ending the gravitational effect and sending all the mares falling to the floor. Fluttershy and Rainbow being pegisi flutter gently to the floor with the gentle beat of their wings and while it looks like Rarity and Pinkie would be in for a rough landing Pinkie pulls out a red velvet couch at the last instant placing it below them. Rarity and Pinkie land safely on the couch as Rarity wipes the sweat off her brow “Whew…. And you said that a fainting couch had no practical purpose Pinkie!”

Pinkie shrugs “what can I say? I guess that you proved me wrong!”

“Okay everypony!” Twilight says “now that we…. Oh hold on a second….” Igniting her horn all the books in the library glow with a faint magenta light as they fly back to their shelves. “Whew that was a mess. It’s a good thing that I enchanted all the books for automatic re-shelving! Anyways with that little display we’ve successfully tested the extent of my Stand’s ability to boost your respective stand powers through a mind link, as well as test some of the base abilities of your newfound stands.”

With a flash Twilight teleports out a clip board and a pair of professional glasses as she gazes at the fruits of a day’s successful experiment.  “To start off we tested Fluttershy’s ability which I have successfully dubbed ‘thousand yard stare’!”

Fluttershy shyly raises her hoof “um actually Twilight…. I kind of thought since it was my stand that I might be able to name it……. I mean….. I actually thought up a few good names…..”

Twilight however being in full researcher mode seems to ignore the butter yellow Pegasus “Now the stand itself seems to have powerful will suppressing abilities that allow the user to eliminate a living being’s will power, making them incredibly susceptible to suggestions. However it does not seem to be able to affect beings if the user can’t make eye contact with them and though the user can affect ponies at a considerable distance the user has to be within ear shot to give commands and do anything more than prevent a pony from moving…...”

“Um… Twilight I actually had a name…. for my stand that is…..”

“However when I combine my Stand with Fluttershy’s Thousand yard stare…”

“Um…. The name I had…. I thought was really good……”

“By touching her eyes with my stand……” Twilight continues.

“Um the name is……”

“I can boost the power of Thousand Yard Stare…...”

Suddenly the Yellow Pegasus shouts with a force that silences the lavender mare completely. “THE STARE!”

Twilight recoils from the sudden explosion of noise from the quiet Pegasus “um…. What?

Fluttershy clears her throat “Um I had actually thought of a name for my stand already…….”

Comprehension suddenly dawns on Twilight’s muzzle as she rolls her eyes “Fluttershy We just finished this discussion via mind link, Now I respect your ideas Fluttershy, but that’s just not a very good name and…..”

Fluttershy suddenly stares down the lavender mare with her newfound power “Oh I’m so sorry miss I get to name everything because I’m in charge!” Fluttershy snaps with such assertiveness that Twilight finds it hard to believe she is the same mare. “I just let you name our group that ridiculous name, even though I’m more than one hundred percent sure that I’ve seen it somewhere before. So please since you’re soooo good at naming things please give my poor little stand a name since I obviously lack the imagination to make up my own names! Go on! I DARE you!”

Twilight stutters at the yellow mare’s sudden defiance “but…. But……” Finally she relents “Fine, you can keep the name…”

Fluttershy nods “that’s better. Continue.”

Twilight clears her throat “as I was saying…. By boosting Fluttershy’s stand, The Stare, with my own Fluttershy can command any pony within ear shot without having to make direct eye contact with them. All she has to do is look at them and they are under her complete control.”

“Whoa Whoa. Back up…..” Rainbow extends her hooves “seriously? The Stare? That’s not cool Fluttershy, I mean Twilight’s suggestion wasn’t much better…..”

“HEY!”

“…But Come on? The Stare? What kind of name is…..” Fluttershy uses the stare on Dash, her eyes suddenly expand to the size of dinner plates as her pupils contract to pin pricks, her entire vision consumed by the power of Fluttershy’s stare.

“I’m sorry Dashie? Did you have a problem with my name?” The yellow mare asks menacingly “WELL?!”

Dash Flies directly behind Twilight to avoid the enormous pressure of Fluttershy’s stare “NOPE! No problems here! In fact I think it’s a great name Flutters! So original!”

Suddenly the vengeful demon disappears, transforming into the face of a smiling beauty “Good! I’m glad that you all like it, I thought really hard to come up with it…. And….. I just don’t know what I would have done it you didn’t like it.

“Anyways!” Twilight says “Moving on! Next we did a recap of Pinkie’s power, the ability to store an almost infinite number of objects by turning them into felt and sticking them to her stand.” Twilight picks up her clipboard flipping through the pages “she can’t store living things in her stand……”

“Except for gummy!” The pink mare points out

“…..Except for Gummy.” Twilight repeats “and it seems to be covered in these eye like things that Pinkie refuses to elaborate on…..” Twilight gives the pink mare a dirty look.

Pinkie giggles hysterically at Twilight’s glare “that’s because it’s a surprise! I mean a surprise wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you what it was would it? I mean you could try to forget what the surprise was if you tried really hard but you’d probably fail. I mean this one time someone spoiled the ending for Indiana Colt and the Malted Falcon to me before I even read it so I hit myself in the head really hard to try to forget! But It didn’t work so I decided to read the book backwards since I already knew the ending that way the rest of the book would be a surprise!” the mare bounces up to Twilight poking her barrel with a hoof “and believe me Sister you don’t what me to have to hit you in the head to make you forget the surprise that I’m going to surprise you with cause then I would have to hit you really really……”

“OKAY!” Twilight shouts “I get it! It’s a surprise! Your stand’s name is Surprise! It’s a joke!” Twilight groans heavily “After trying to hold a serious conversation with you for more than five minutes I honestly don’t care anymore.” Dismissing her blatant failure with Pinkie Pie Twilight picks up her clipboard fully prepared to move on. “Besides with how Pinkie and my minds seem to be polar opposites, mind linking with her seems almost completely impossible at this point. Even attempting a mind link causes horrific backlash”

 “Really?” Pinkie cocks her head “I just thought that we couldn’t do your whole fusion thing because your mind was all serious librarian stuff and mine was all super happy crazy fun stuff! I didn’t know it was because our minds were at the North Pole! Wow you learn something new every day!”

Twilight stares at pinkie and continues on, not willing to touch that conversation with a ten foot pole. Mentally the mare makes a note to never use logic OR expressions around the pink mare ever again. “Alright next we tested Dash’s power….”

Dash lands next to the lavender mare and hoof pumps “all right! It’s about time!”

“….Dash’s power….” Twilight flips through her notes on the clipboard looking for the exact page “Dash’s power…..  Ah ha here it is Valkyrie!” Twilight points to the page with the notes she was looking for “Valkyrie…. Its power allows Dash to create a powerful vibrational shockwave with physical contact that are capable of incredible destructive feats.”

“Uh Twilight….” Dash taps on her shoulder “Less nerd please?”

“Oh Right! Basically Dash’s power charges her hooves or any part of her body with a latent energy that is instantly converted into kinetic energy the moment it contacts a physical object.” Twilight flips a page on her notepad. “The power of this explosion seems intrinsically linked to velocity as well. In other words the faster Dash attacks the more powerful the explosion. Your stand is most assuredly the most powerful stand offensive wise that I’ve seen so far. It could even blow over eight thousand gallons of water out of a lake in one attack!”

Dash leaps up in the air flaunting her obvious superiority “Aw Yeah. Who’s the mare? It’s me! Rainbow Dash! Best Stand user ever!”

Applejack sighs and tilts her hat over her eyes at Dash’s trademark arrogance and single mindedness “Give me a Break……. Dash get off yer high horse, yawl might have a smidgen more power than another pony, but that’s no excuse fer thinking yer better.”

“Applejack is right Rainbow.” Twilight flips another page “your stand may be impressively offensively but it has two main weaknesses, well three really.”

“What!” the rainbow mare lands on her rump with a thud “THREE?!”

“Yes Dash.” Twilight states “Three. First your stand is limited to your own reach; you can’t manifest your stand in physical form like Applejack’s or Pinkie’s meaning your stand has a much smaller range.” Applejack holds her head high in the air as Twilight continues “second like I said your stand derives its power from your velocity so if you’re not moving you can’t use it. It’s why you got trapped by Pinkie’s streamer attack you weren’t able to build up enough velocity to tear through the streamers.”

“Hey! That’s not a weakness!” the mare complains “Besides I was able to break out of that straitjacket in ten seconds flat!”

“Only because you were lividly angry, which allowed you to move enough of your body to generate a velocity strong enough to break out of the cotton threaded bindings.” Twilight continues unfazed “And finally at the issue of most concern your stand might be…. Overly destructive….”

Dash dismisses twilight with a wave of her hoof “Pfftt! Twilight I know that you are jealous that your stand isn’t as awesome as mine. Ya know since your stand is so weak that it can’t even swat a fly….”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I was able to swat a fly with my stand earlier this week!”

Rainbow Dash gives her friend her best ‘are you kidding me’ stare that she has used on Applejack for years “did it get back up?” Dash asks.

Twilight fumes “What? I mean what kind of….. I mean…..”

Rainbow Dash arches her eyebrow.

The defeated purple mare hangs her head low “…..yes….”

“…As I was saying…..” the rainbow mare resumes “there’s no such thing as too destructive! I mean my Sonic Rainbooms never hurt me! And our fusion is hooves down the most radical!’ Twilight waves her hoof over to a large gaping hole in the library proper “I mean look at what it did to the library! Is that cool or what!?”

Twilight internally cringes at the hole rueing of the fact that she’s have to repair it later today “yes…. Impressive.” Twilight scribbles away on her board “Never the less be careful Dash. A stand user needs to control their power not the other way around. Meaning if you accidently blow me to pieces with your stand I’m going to haunt you for the rest of my un-life.”

Rainbow Looks her friend in the eye “Twilight, I know you’re concerned but I’ve got this. I’m all through going commando and going out of control. Trust me I’ve learned my lesson.”

Twilight grins back at the rainbow mare lands on the ground again “good Dash, as long as you’re careful. That’s all I ask.” Twilight flips to her next page in her notebook. “And now we just finished analyzing Applejack’s power: the ability to strengthen or nullify gravitational forces on objects. It seems that her power works by strengthening an object’s gravitational attachment so an object cannot move or weakening it to a point that it loses its hold on the earth and falls over immediately. And with our boost in power it allows her to use that power over a radius no less than twenty meters. Overall it’s a very strong and resilient stand with a flexible power.”

Applejack having the manners not to interrupt a mare when she is talking only tips her hat in thanks for her words when Twilight is done “much obliged Twilight.”

However one mare has an objection to this “Hold It!” Dash yells “Twilight what’s’ the big idea? You couldn’t stop talking about my stand’s weaknesses! What about Applejack’s? I bet it’s something really lame.”

Applejack suddenly turns to face her rival nearly getting in her face “now Dash… just cause yer stand is as wild as a bull at a rodeo doesn’t mean ya should be poking into….”

“oh right Applejack’s weaknesses” The lavender mare says without removing her eyes from the clipboard “Well Applejack’s stand is enormously strong but in exchange it’s needs a lot of time to bring that power to bear, in other words the faster Applejack attacks the weaker her blows become. That’s why her power is so important, not only does it allow her stand to withstand more powerful blows by making her stationary but it prevents her opponents from moving so she can wind up for a powerful attack.” Applejack cringes as Dash snickers “And second her power only works if a pony is standing on a physical object, so it would have no effect on a Pegasus or any object that wasn’t tied to the ground.” As if forgetting something Twilight flips a page “oh and the stand is only about as fast as Applejack is which though impressive is only about half as fast as my stand and a third as fast as Pinkie’s…….”

“HA!” Dash laughs in her rival’s face “see against my stand you wouldn’t have stood a chance! You can’t hit an object in midair so I would win hooves….”

“…..however when combined with my stand, Applejack’s ability to control gravity compensates for her stand’s lack of range by allowing it to control gravity at a distance as well as boosting her speed.”

“….down.” Dash finishes

Flipping through the notebook twilight comes to a blank page “All right all that is left is Rarity, her power seems to be the most flexible of all of us. Her stand has no real form but seems to be able to take almost any form that the user imagines. In addition the user seems to take no damage when the stand is attacked unlike normal stands allowing the user to defend with it, constantly reforming the stand whenever it’s damaged.”

Rarity nods affirmatively at Twilight’s compliments “Thank you darling though what I can do is nothing special and I still have difficulties with, how do you say….. Manifesting and controlling my stand, and it can’t take a pony like shape like yours can…..”

Twilight places her hoof assuredly on Rarity “that’s because your stand is an object stand type, you’re just selling yourself short Rarity. your stand might not be able to take pony shape, but it is virtually indestructible and has no real weaknesses. In my opinion it’s an amazing power.”

Rarity nods her head “I guess you are right Twilight, I got so caught up in….” The ivory mare stops “… Come again Twilight? What did you mean by ‘object stand type’?”

Twilight grins excitedly teleporting out a set of notecards “I’m glad you brought that up Rarity! Because I was prepared especially for that! You see there are three types of stand forms, there are ‘creature’, ‘object’, and ‘body’ stand types which basically depend upon how the stand choruses to manifest itself.”

Closing her eyes Twilight manifests her stand striking a simple pose with it “Creature type stands or pony shaped stands as you call them take the form of a creature that itself is capable of movement. It can extend a distance from its user’s body and perform physical actions on the owner’s behalf like attacking or picking up an object.”

Teleporting next to Fluttershy twilight wraps her arm around the Yellow Pegasus who meeps in surprise “Now Fluttershy here has a body type stand. The stand doesn’t manifest apart from the user’s body. Instead the stand grants the user a powerful magical power that usually involves augmenting the user’s body like Dash’s does or granting special powers like Fluttershy’s does.”

Twilight points her hoof towards Rarity “you’re stand type is an Object stand type. Object stands take the form of an object and have unique powers and notably their users suffer no damage if their object stands are damaged. Although they usually have limited or non-existent movement powers, and often require special conditions or actions from the user to manifest their power properly. Your stand for example can’t move itself meaning you have to move it with your telekinesis if it’s not attached to the ground.”

Pealing her eyes from the clipboard Twilight takes a long look outside. “Technically Lyra’s thousand hoof crutch is an object type stand as well because even though it possesses a limited degree of movement it has to spring from a physical object and Lyra herself suffers no damage if it is destroyed.”

Rarity manifests her stand watching it intently as it forms and moves in the air “well it is quite impressive, though I never knew that there were so many types and forms of stand to begin with.”

Twilight puts her hoof over Rarity “and that’s the fun part, your stand is already a flexible object type stand that can take any shape the user imagines. When we combine our powers using my FRIENDS stand I bet its flexibility and control will improve dramatically. I mean its basic mental physics, with two minds working together at once I’m sure that we….”

“NO!” Rarity recoils as if visibly struck ripping herself free from Twilight’s grasp. Panting heavily Rarity looks around her to see the entire group staring at her as a response to her strange behavior. Realizing her situation the ivory fashionista works quickly to calm herself “I mean….. I understand where you’re coming from Twilight Darling but I just don’t feel ready to as you say ‘kick it up a notch.’ It’s like you said my stand requires a great deal of control so…….. I feel that I should learn better control of it.”

Twilight looks at her friend with a look of conger in her eyes “But Rarity…. Everypony else has…”

“Now Twilight.” Rarity firmly states “you said to Fluttershy that you wouldn’t force her to do anything that she was uncomfortable with and I feel that applies to all of us as well. And the fact remains that I am simply not comfortable with boosting my power when I can’t fully control it. Besides….. We wouldn’t want an accident now would we?”

Twilight looks at Rarity, seeing as she curls her stand around her subconsciously trying to protect herself from Twilight’s judgmental eyes. In Twilight’s opinion Rarity already had great control over her own stand, control that she wished ponies Dash possessed. Yet her reaction to her offer to mind link…. It was true she had a problem earlier when she tried to boost both Fluttershy’s and Dash’s powers simultaneously, but that had just given her a major headache and confirmed that she could only boost one stand at a time. So why was she so concerned? Then again Rarity had two good points, she had only had her stand for a short time and she was uncomfortable with the idea of a mind link…….. So as a good friend she should respect Rarity’s decision regardless of the subtext behind it. Twilight sighs “you’re right Rarity… I wouldn’t want to force you to do anything. If you feel uncomfortable with it then I’ll respect that.”

Rarity nods her head in thanks “thank you Twilight I knew that you would understand.”

“Twilight turns to address the rest of the group “all right everypony take five! We’ll work on controlling our stands individually for an hour before going out on patrol for more of the red stones.” All the mares break off into groups and begin to talk amongst themselves, save one “Not you Applejack, we need to talk…”

All the mares look at the orange farm mare that looks as though she has no idea what is going on.

“OOOOOOOOO!” Dash snickers “looks like some pony’s in trouble with the teacher! What happened Applejack? Forget to do your homework?”

Applejack groans “honestly Dash yawl can be worse than a fowl sometimes.” Quickly and without a trace of nervousness the orange mare trots up to Twilight with a curious look in her eyes “alright Twi we’re out of earshot now. Now what’s up? Is there a problem?”

Twilight shakes her head “not really Applejack. It’s not a really big problem if that’s what you’re asking I’m just worried.”

“Worried?” Applejack blinks “worried bout what?”

Twilight puts her hoof on Applejack’s chest “I’m worried about you being worried Applejack. I didn’t mean to pry while we were….. linked…... I know that you don’t like that but your worries about Applebloom were so strong I almost lost control of the fusion.”

Now Applejack looks nervous. Now that her cover is blown her cracked façade slowly bleeds through with worry. Worry not for herself but for her little sister. “Oh. I kind of fergot ya had that whole mind thing going there Twi. Sorry, I know that I can be difficult ta keep it together when a pony’s…... not stable an everything. Not ta say that Pinkie’s not stable er anything….. no offense Pinkie?”

The pink pony pops up from under Applejack’s hat this time surprising the mare much less “none taken.” The hat falls back on Applejack’s head causing the pink mare to disappear.

“That’s not what I’m worried About Applejack.” Twilight says “I mean if we can’t fuse properly that would be bad, but I’m more concerned about you and how you are doing. Not the status of your stand power.”

Applejack shifts her weight back and forth between her hooves prancing nervously in place “Ah know Twi. It’s just….. Oh Twilight. Ah know I’m probably just bein silly, but I know I’d feel a heap better if ah could just check on Applebloom one last time….”

“Applejack…..”

“Ah’m worried about her! Ah can’t help it! She just got of the hospital! What if..… Mmmmph!!”

Applejack’s runaway train of thought is stopped by Twilight placing her hoof on her mouth “Applejack it’s okay to be worried But Applebloom’s out of danger! Her life is safe and she’s out of harm’s way. And from here on out she’s never going to get involved in the dangerous world of stands.”

“Besides Applejack….” Twilight places her hoof on her friend’s shoulder “Applebloom is at school, watched over by an attentive responsible adult! I mean what could possibly happen at school? Paper cuts? Not turning in an assignment? Pop Quiz? Face it Applejack, Applebloom is safe and out of trouble.”

Applejack looks at her friend then back out the window as if she could see her sister from miles away. Suddenly her smiles as she looks back at her friend. “Ya know what Twi? Yer right! Ah just got so plumb tuckered out woryin about her that ah didn’t realize how funny it was. Ah mean school? Not even Applebloom could get into any trouble there. She’s as safe as a prairie dog in a four foot deep hole on a hot summer’s day!”

“Southernisms, Applejack.” The unamused unicorn reminds her.

“Heh sorry Twi….” Applejack tips her hat “ah just meant ya were right, ta not worry bout bloom. Ah mean school of all places! What could possibly go wrong?”

…………………

Everything that could have gone wrong for Applebloom that day had gone wrong. Since she had attended school, her spirit high after defeating her hated enemy Diamond Tiara, she had thought that her life was looking up again. Now she was just counting the clock for the minutes to end so she could go to lunch and eat her meal in peace.

At first it had been nothing, spit wads launched at the back of her head from random locations. At first she had suspected Diamond Tiara; however the sticky bolts had seemed to come from every direction and angle as if the entire class was in on Applebloom’s torment. Eventually she had just tried to ignore it and that worked for a while until they started to throw heavier objects, like erasers and textbooks. Eventually the bombardment had worn her down and she snapped behind her demanding that any pony that had the guts to mock her do it to her face. Diamond whistled innocently as the rest of the class looked dumbstruck at the yellow filly, as if she had lost her mind. Cheerilee had reacted much harsher than the rest of the class did; demanding to know what she thought was so important she had to yell over her.

Applebloom blushed of course and apologized to the class for her disruption, as Diamond grinned behind her. Their teacher Cheerilee had then used Applebloom’s disruption to her advantage giving them a pop quiz. All the class groaned as the teacher handed her test out to the class telling them it was just a simple recap quiz of thing they should already know. And upon receiving the test Applebloom was surprised to find out that she did already know the answers to all the questions, life was looking up for her again. Cheerilee gave them ten minutes and Applebloom buckled down, confident that she could ace this test easy. However something strange happened yet again, every time she tried to mark her answer her pencil as if possessed a mind of its own, would move randomly across the page. Applebloom tried to control it however using too much force made her look crazy and using too little just created little more than scribbles on the page. By the time that Cherilee called time, the only thing that Applebloom had managed to legibly write was her own name. When asked by the teacher why she had saw fit to fill her quiz with scribbles Diamond had launched into a witty remark about her intelligence that the entire class had laughed at and though Cheerilee had managed to calm the class down the damage had been done. Applebloom could only look behind her with a dirty look at her face as Diamond had grinned in triumph, now Applebloom knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Diamond had done something to sabotage her.

Cherilee the well-meaning teacher had tried to help Applebloom by allowing her to do an easy problem on the board. However the moment that Applebloom tried to get out of her desk she had her front hoof tugged out falling flat on her face. This earned her another smart remark from Diamond earning more ridicule for the yellow filly. Finally Applebloom had managed to get up to the board despite tripping again and began to solve the math problem Cheerilee had set out for her. Applebloom knew the answer yet once again when she grabbed the chalk to write the answer her hoof had been sharply pulled to the side creating a ‘four’ on the board in place of the correct answer ‘one’. Applebloom was forced to look in horror as Cherilee confirmed that the answer was wrong earning more taunting from the class. This, for the third time that day earned a sharp remark from Diamond to which the entire class, save Sweetie and Scootaloo joined in on. Finally the yellow mare had had enough of her ridicule, and though her sister was known for her patience and self-control, her younger sister had yet to master such virtues. In no small words and using a word or two that fillies her age were not meant to hear, Applebloom displayed the brazen honesty of her sister by telling Diamond EXACTLY what she thought of her.

Now she was sitting in her desk nineteen minutes late for her fifty minute lunch break watching as all the other fillies played outside without her. Applebloom looked at the clock again willing time to move faster, if just to let her out of her prison of a desk. Finally by act of god or just good luck, the clock hit 12:45 and Cheerilee said the yellow filly was free to go. However as Applebloom was about to leave the teacher made it very clear that further disruptions would not be tolerated causing the filly to gulp in fear and hastily rush out into the fresh air outside. Now outside and free from the watchful eye of Cheerilee, Applebloom sighs in her despair thinking upon the fact that she can’t afford to make another mistake as well as ruing the day she thought would be her best day ever. However as the yellow mare lowers her head in defeat she finds that despite her embarrassment in class that she is not entirely forsaken..….

“HEY APPLEBLOOM!” the yellow filly raises her head from the dirt recognizing the voice of Scootaloo “Come over here we saved you a seat!” Scootaloo shouts over the din of the playground from a nearby wooden picnic table.

Smiling broadly that she has not yet been abandoned the yellow filly trots up to the table where her two friends are sitting and takes a seat. “Thanks Guys! Ah thought that little thing in the classroom had ruined mah chance at popularity. Good ta know that ya decided to stick by me!”

“Of course Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle squeaked “it’s one for all and all for one! Just because you messed up with problem on the board…. And you failed your quiz…. And you made a fool of yourself in class it don’t meant that we’re any less your friends!”

Applebloom throws her arms up in exasperation “I didn’t mess up! it wasn’t me!”

Sweetie tilts her head “um…… how is that possible? I mean unless you were replaced by a changeling in the middle of class then….”

“No, no Sweetie” Applebloom shakes her head “Ah mean that ah was up there on the board and sitting down fer the test and ah knew the answer but mah pencil and mah arm moved like they was possessed!”

Scootaloo shivers at the implications “you mean…” she gulps heavily “that the schoolhouse is…. HAUNTED?!”

Applebloom groans “no Scootaloo ah don’t think that the school house is haunted.”

Sweetie nods her head “yeah Scootaloo. Ghosts don’t exist! There’s no reason to be scared!”

“I’m not scared of ghosts!” Scootaloo yells “I mean…..I wasn’t scared at all…. Great story Applebloom!”

Applebloom rolls her eyes at her orange friend’s efforts to conceal her fright “whatever… let’s just get to eatin our lunches…” Applebloom opens her lunch box with gusto. “Ah don’t know about yawl but ah’ve been looking forward to this ….” The yellow mare’s eyes widen “…oh no…”

Scootaloo takes a bite of her sandwich “what’s up Applebloom? Did your sister pack you a pear?”

Applebloom tears through her lunch pack “MY APPLE FRITTER! It’s gone! Applejack packed that especially for me and it’s gone now! Applejack makes the best apple fritters in Ponyville and its gone!” Applebloom wines “Ah was looking forward to that all day….”

“Aw… I’m sorry to hear that Applebloom…” Sweetie’s ears lower but then perk up again a second later “you can have some of my cookies that I made!” Sweetie opens up her lunch bag and offers a strange object to Applebloom with her outstretched hoof. And speaking of a ‘stretch’, to call the object sweetie has just handed her friend a cookie would be an insult to baked goods everywhere.

The thing that Sweetie currently is offering to her friend is colored bright white with green splotches covering its flakey form as if the entire pastry were covered in mold before baking it to a blackened crisp. The smell of the cookie itself is strong enough to kill rats and if smell is any indication of taste, the taste alone would be able to kill an adult pony in seconds.

The filly shies away from the cookies as if from death itself “Ummm… no thanks Sweetie, the rest o mah lunch is fine. Thanks fer offerin though.”

Sweetie shrugs “suit yourself!” As Sweetie pops the ‘pastry’ into her mouth every pony at the table can’t help but stare at the pony as if she had grown another head “What?” Sweetie asks “is it something that I said?”

 “NO! It’s nothing! Right Applebloom?”

“…yeah…. Nothing…..”Applebloom looks to the other side of the playground to the privately reserved table of her nemesis “….I bet you right now Diamond Tiara is laughing her little crown off at mah situation. And I don’t know how but somehow ah know that she’s the one to blame for all this…..”

………..

“Nice Apple Fritter Diamond! It looks really good!” Silver comments to her indifferently eating friend “That looks like a Sweet Apple Acres fritter. Where did you get it? Did your butler get it for you?”

Diamond snaps out of her mental focus and looks at her friend with a surprised look before answering in her normal indifferent behavior “oh? This? I just happened to get it from Applebloom. Think of it as a donation.”

Silver scratches her head “but Applebloom hates you. She’d never give you one of her sister’s Apple fritters, unless……” Silver’s eyes grow wide “Diamond?! You didn’t…. you didn’t steal if from her? Did you?!”

Diamond looks at her friend with a look of contempt “and? What if I did? She’s just a nameless blank flank, who cares?”

Silver puffs up “I care!”

“About that blank flank? I thought you loved picking on her?” Diamond barks. “What about our friendship? Do you want to be friends with Applebloom now?” Diamond glowers at silver “are you TRYING to betray me?!”

“What? No! Diamond why would you….” Silver is obviously hurt from Diamond’s accusations, however mastering her emotions quickly and logically, she quickly calms herself down as she attacks the problem with poise and self-restraint. “Look Diamond, picking on Applebloom cause she beat you up and defending yourself from the accusations of other ponies is one thing. You’re my friend and of course I’ll always defend you. That and teasing ponies is really fun.” Silver giggles as Diamond stares on. “But I’m more concerned about you Diamond. You were sick for a few days with a really bad fever and now you seem even meaner than ever.” Silver looks across the playground extending her hoof to accentuate all the happy playful fowl. “You teased Applebloom before, but now you seem to be deliberately insulting any pony just because you can. I mean you always have a quick wit Diamond, but this is taking it too far. It’s….. It’s not like you Diamond…”

Suddenly Diamond seems break free of her paranoia thanks to the earnest words of her friend. True ever since she got her power she has been a little meaner to everypony…. But that’s because she’s better than them right?! Diamond sighs “you’re right Silver, this is very unlike me…. I guess that I just let my emotions get to me. I mean stealing from a blank flank like this…” Diamond finishes the fritter jumping off of the table with a quick leap. “…It’s like so low class. When have I ever needed to stoop to petty thievery?”

Silver breathes an immense sigh of relief as she jumps down from the table to join her friend “I’m glad Diamond. You know that I’ll always stick by you and all. I was just worried about you.”

Diamond smiles “of course you wouldn’t be a good friend if you didn’t!” Diamond giver her friend a side hug “and things will go back to normal, just as soon as I put that blank flank in her place.”

“That’s good Diamond, cause I was getting… Wait? What!?”

Diamond takes an affirmative step towards the table Applebloom is sitting at as if declaring war “She embarrassed me Silver. She ruined my reputation in front of the entire school. But most unforgivably she attempted to throw me off the top rung of the social ladder. And treason like that cannot be so easily forgiven.”

“But Diamond…”

Diamond turns sharply towards Silver. “Once I put that trouble maker in her place everything will go back to normal. I’ll be at the top again and everypony will love and respect me.” Diamond twists her head to glare at her adversary from across the playground “I promise Silver, once I’ve put that blank flank in her place, everything will be as it was again.”

Silver breathes deeply and looks at worry at Diamond Tiara as she realizes her words will no longer reach her friend where she is right now. In her heart Silver hopes that it will really be the end and that once Applebloom learns not to mess with Diamond, her friend will return to normal. However something that has emerged from her friend’s psyche, a cruel streak that seems to delight in spreading misery worries her far more than she cares to admit. It is as though an insidious shadow of power has taken residence in Diamond’s soul, stifling the light she once saw and nurtured. And in her mind Silver fears that Diamond Tiara will never stop, not as long as she has the will to crush those that would defy her……

…………….

The bell rung and class had continued like normal. However this time it became impossible for Applebloom to ignore her phantom bully. Spitwads became more numerous, her coat became pelted with various objects from every direction and she had even fallen out of her seat a couple of times. From that point on it became impossible for Applebloom to deny that Diamond Tiara was behind her misfortunes as she would snicker and laugh at every one of Applebloom’s misfortunes. Diamond would react with surprising speed every time Applebloom stumbled and fell, responding with a quick joke every time Applebloom was embarrassed.

And worse yet it had been only thirty minutes since lunch.

Applebloom still had more than two hours more to endure till school was out, and she was dead certain she would be unable to make it another two hours without either attacking Diamond Tiara or going crazy. Another spit wad hits her mane with enough force to send the filly jumping into the air in shock. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately Cheerilee was too absorbed in her lecture to witness Applebloom’s plight, lecturing with her back to the class as she drew shapes and diagrams on the board.

With things only getting worse for her Applebloom’s mind is forced into high gear as she struggles to think up any way to get away or get back at her tormenter. ‘If only ah could lure Diamond some place and confront her, then ah bet that ah could get her ta stop.’ Applebloom ponders looking at her teacher as she draws another pie chart ‘but Cherilee would never let me leave unless it was a medical emergency or somtin. Aw! If only ah was still sick then ah….’ Applebloom suddenly shoots up in her desk ‘THAT'S IT! GET SICK!’

The yellow filly raises her hoof trying to look as sick as possible “Uggggggg miss Cherilee…..”

The teacher turns around to address her student, a look of concern on her face “yes Applebloom? Is something the matter?”

Using all the skill that she possesses the yellow filly attempts to do the one thing her sister could never succeed at doing, lie. “Uggggggghhhhhh! My stomach…. It hurts….. Can I…urp…… can I go to the nurse’s office?”

Fortunately for her, Applebloom was much better at lying than her sister. Unfortunately she was trying to lie to a middle school teacher. Despite the yellow filly’s best attempts at acting, Cherilee hadn’t gone through half a decade of college learning and accumulated years of classroom experience to be done in by a little filly’s excuse. “Honestly Applebloom? A stomach ache? Now I know that you haven’t been having the best of days today….”

“Uuuugggghhhhhh” the filly groans louder

“….But you simply can’t make up a story like that in the middle of class and expect to get away with It.” the teacher looks at her with a look of compassion on her face “What would Applejack say if she caught you lying like this?”

Applebloom groans again “ugggghhhhh…. It was…urp… Sweetie’s….. Urp…. It was her cookies……urrrrhhhhh…. Shouldn’t have…. Tried….”

Catching onto Applebloom’s plan Scootaloo quickly plays along “oh no! You Tried Sweetie Belle’s cookies Applebloom! No wonder you are so sick! You should really go to the nurse’s office before your stomach explodes!”

“Enough!” Cherilee shouts firmly but fairly “now I know that you get out of class early Applebloom but this is ridiculous!”

“Try one Miss Cheerilee!” Scootaloo insists “then you’ll see that Applebloom is telling the truth.”

Cherilee rolls her eyes “oh very well, if this will put a rest to this ridiculous moaning and fibbing than I suppose that I can give it a try. Sweetie if you don’t mind….”

Throwing open her bag Sweetie pulls out a spare cookie with the speed of an assassin drawing a lethal weapon “Of course Miss Cherilee! As it so happens I have plenty of spares since nopony wanted any.”

Without opening an eyelid the teacher picks up the cookie with an outstretched hoof as she places the cookie near her mouth “now let’s go on and end this…” Cherilee takes a bite, her eyes growing wider than a dinner plate as her mouth is assaulted by a taste so powerful that it freezes her mind in place. The teacher chews once….. Twice….. Then she spits the putrid pastry all over the floor “GOOD SWEET CELESTIA!! WHAT IS THAT TATRATUS FORSAKEN TASTE!?!?” Cherilee spits out as much of the poison on the floor as she possibly can, as she wretches from the taste.

“Oh that’s easy Miss Cheerilee!” Sweetie responds oblivious to her mentor’s suffering “you see ponies always add things like mustard and ketchup and mayonnaise to make things taste better right? So I thought if I cooked my cookies with some of them they would taste better! So how was it? Be brutally honest, should I have included more mustard or pepper?”

The teacher turns to Applebloom her face turning whiter by the second “How many of these…. These…..” the teacher holds up one of the half chewed pastries up for the class to see “THINGS, did you eat Applebloom?”

“Um…. I don’t know Miss Cherilee? Two?”

“GOOD EMPRESS! WHY WOULD YOU EAT MORE THAN ONE?!?!”

Applebloom fidgets in her chair “well… I didn’t want to seem rude to Sweetie Belle….” Applebloom points to the gently weeping white filly.

Sweetie Belle sniffles “My… my cooking isn’t that bad….. Is it?”

Realizing the extent of her hysteric behavior Cherilee takes a deep breath in and out before placing her hoof on the white filly shoulder “Sweetie, I don’t mean to sound rude, but your cooking is Death itself. And there’s nothing wrong with that, some ponies are just better at things than others. And I assure you Sweetie you will find a talent that will make ponies very happy and get your cutie mark. But I can assure you that cooking will never be that talent.”

Cherilee turns to face the yellow filly tossing her a small yellow piece of wood. “as for you Applebloom you are a far braver pony than I am, here is the hall pass, nurse Long Sleeves is not in today however you are free to spend as much time resting in the nurse’s office as you feel you need. If you are still feeling ill after school I will take you to the hospital myself but until then I have to continue to teach class.”

Cherilee looks with a terrified expression at the pastry on her desk before promptly throwing it in the trash. “I understand after consuming….. THAT…. You might need more attention but I simply cannot leave these students unsupervised for any reason so I’ll have to ask you to wait for a while until the lesson is done.”

Grabbing the hall pass in her mouth the filly thanks the goddess for giving her friend super horrible cooking powers and bolts out the door before anything else can happen to jeopardize her plan. Running out into the hall the filly finally breathes a sigh of relief “Whew…. All right that went pretty well ifin Ah do say so mahself. I’ll have ta thank Scootaloo and Sweetie later. But fer now step one is complete…..”

The yellow filly walks over to the door outside throwing it open and letting in a subtle breeze “…..now it’s time fer step two.”

……………..

Diamond taps her hoof impatiently on her desk listening to another boring lesson of another boring day of school. Surprisingly Cheerilee was still at it, talking about something about integers or something that Diamond didn’t care about.

How could she possibly be expected to pay attention to a boring lesson when the object of her attention, or rather the object of her ire, had been able to evade her wrath thanks to a lame excuse from her blank flanked friends. I mean a stomach ache from Sweetie’s cooking?  How lame could an excuse be get? Then again there was that one time she had gone to get a dress from Rarity and Sweetie had tried to prepare her tea…… Diamond shook her head trying to purge her mind of that memory. She needed a whole new toilet after that day……

No she needed something else to occupy her time, anything to distract her from that horrific memory.

However there was nothing. Her plan today was to crush the will of Applebloom, but she had coincidently fled her presence, meaning she had to wait until tomorrow to make a fool of her. Normally if class got too boring she would pass notes with Silver or try and talk with her if the teacher wasn’t looking; after all she was in the desk right next to them. However ever since lunch Silver had seemed really downcast, like she didn’t want to talk to her at all.

Diamond simmered inwardly ‘why can’t sliver understand, it’s all Applebloom! She’s trying to make a fool of me! She’s the one at fault here!’ Diamond groaned inwardly as she decided to do something truly desperate and pay attention to Cheerilee's lesson. Diamond looked ahead to the front of the room looking for anything there that could distract her from her boredom, the back of Sweetie’s rat’s nest of a mane, Cheerilee's crazy bar graphs representing numbers or something Applebloom making a face at her from the window, Alula and her cute….. Diamond does an immediate double take to see none other than her rival making a ridiculous face at her from the window. Diamond stares as Applebloom stretches her smile in the creepiest way possible.

“MISS CHEERILEE!” Diamond yells pointing out the window

Cherilee sighs muttering under her breath how many more interruptions will happen today “yes Diamond?”

“Applebloom’s making faces at me!”

Cherilee rolls her eyes “Diamond I know that you and Applebloom don’t get along but she’s in the nurse’s office right now.” A haunted look crosses Cheerilee's face “…any pony would be in need of medical attention after that.…”

“No Miss Cherilee! She’s outside, look out….” Diamond looks out the window just where Applebloom was a second before to see that the yellow menace has disappeared.

Cherilee looks out the window where Diamond was pointing not a second ago “Diamond that’s just your imagination. Now I have had enough of interruptions today and I would like to finish this lesson on prime integers if you would please. That means no more interrupting the class.”

“But miss Cherilee!”

“Do you understand Diamond Tiara?”

Cheerilee's stare silences any further protests from the pink filly as she slumps back into her seat crossing her hooves in a pout as the ignorant teacher begins her lesson again. However just as Cherilee turns her back Applebloom appears in the window again this time with an even more insulting face. Diamond is about to call out to Cherilee again, but stops realizing that the same results would only repeat. Cherilee would look, Applebloom would disappear and Diamond would get in trouble. And worse of all her power couldn’t work on Applebloom from this range, not with her outside!

As Applebloom makes another mocking face that no one else in the class can see, Diamond stares forward at the board realizing that now the horseshoe is on the other foot, and she has to endure Applebloom’s bullying. Diamond calms herself with a deep breath steeling herself for the rest of the day ‘don’t worry Diamond you can do this, it’s just one day… tomorrow she won’t be able to use the same excuse and you can get her then. Yeah just wait it out and then you can….’

Diamond makes the mistake of looking out the window to see a sight that she wishes that she could forget. Apparently Applebloom had grown tired of making faces and had just opted to wave her but in Diamond’s face through the window. Diamond burned in anger and embarrassment as she tried to look away from the offensive, disgusting sight but found herself completely unable to. Despite how much she tried Diamond could not tear her vision away from Applebloom as she waved her blank flank at her from the window, mocking her in a way that was visible to nopony else but her. Diamond blushed furiously in anger as she hoped to no avail that the blank flanked loser would switch back to her normal insulting ugly face. However despite her concerns the Yellow filly continued at it, waving her curvy flank as if to mock Diamond’s integrity. Diamond gulps heavily as it looks like she is stuck staring at the offensive posterior of her worst enemy, Applebloom. Yes Diamond Tiara was stuck staring at Applebloom’s cutie petite…..

Diamond’s hoof snaps in the air “Miss Cheerilee I have to go… Bad.”

The teacher sighs deeply at the tenth interruption that day. “All right Diamond you can go, but TRY and make it fast…”

Diamond jumps from her chair and walks with calm malevolence towards the door, “oh don’t worry Miss Cherilee, It’ll be over quickly.” As she shuts the door behind her she swears under her breath “one way or another, it all ends today..….”

………………

Outside on the playground the two fillies stare each other down like the cow ponies of old in a face off of epic proportions. The two rivals had met there without a word both staring the other down as they both knew that one way or another that their little teasing had evolved into something far more. They both knew one way or another that this would be a fight to the finish.

 “Well Blank flank?” the pink mare is the first to speak “You’re the one who dragged me out of class with your immature behavior, so what do you want? I’m a busy mare so if you don’t have anything to say then……”

“I’ve got a question..…” The yellow mare interrupts the pink mare with such force that Diamond Flinches. The yellow filly looks the bully in the eyes the force of her stare unnerving the pink bully. “What is wrong with you Diamond? Pinkin on ponies makin them feel bad, an all because you’re lonely. Yawl have to realize that…”

“Don’t you get it blank flank? I don’t pick on ponies because I’m lonely.” Diamond Smiles as she seizes the upper hoof.

“… an …. What? What are yawl talkin bout Diamond? Aint yawl just pickin on ponies ta get attention er somthin like that?” Applebloom scratches her head “ah mean why else would ya make ponies miserable if ya didn’t want attention, it makes less sense than a snowstorm in June…”

‘Poor poor Applebloom…..’ Diamond Tiara thinks. Diamond looks at the uncouth farmer before her, half of her wanting to just put her in her place so that she won’t have to hear her butchered Equestrian anymore. But the other half…….

“All right I suppose this is as good a time as any.” Diamond Tiara smirks as she closes in on Applebloom. “You may be a mindless dolt but I’ll try to make you understand the importance of what you have done to me, by standing up to a pony that is far more superior to you.” Diamond looks at her adversary with a look of pity “have you ever been to a fancy dinner party Applebloom?”

“Wha….. A fancy dinner party? What kind of question is that!?” Applebloom takes an angry step forward “Make some sense Diamond! Why are you such a bully?”

“HUMPH! I’m guessing by the way you’re acting that you’ve never been to a fancy dinner so let’s just use our imaginations shall we?” Diamond brushes her mane to the side showing off her obviously superior beauty. “If everypony at a dinner party were to sit at a fancy dinner table with silverware and napkins to their left and right. What would determine which silverware the pony picks up?”

Applebloom is completely lost at Diamond’s words tilting her head in confusion “HUNH? Now yer talking about silverware? Diamond this is serious not some game ah asked ya a simple question an a want a….”

“And I’m trying to explain it to you, you nitwit!” Diamond Yells “Now answer the question. What would decide which silverware a pony picks up the one on their left or the one on their right?”

Seeing that arguing with the filly before her is getting her nowhere Applebloom blows out some hot air from her nose “fine then it, if ya want to play at riddles then it depends upon whether the pony pickin up the silverware is left or right hoofed.”

Diamond giggles “a simple answer from a simple pony, I expected as much. That answer may be correct from your lowly country view, but that answer is wrong.”

“What?”

Diamond smirks “that’s right Applebloom, the correct answer is, that it is determined by the pony that takes his or namely ‘her’ silverware first. For example I am left hoofed so if I took my silverware first then everypony else at the table would have to take the silverware from the left because that would be the only pair left to them.

If the first pony takes her silverware from the left then there is no choice but for the other ponies to also take the left silverware. They do so because they have no other option since there would only be a fork and spoon to the left of each pony.”

Applebloom continues to scratch her head “ah still don’t get it, what do napkins have to do with bullyin?”

Diamond groans “fine Applebloom I’ll only ask you one more question, and then we’re done. At this table what determines who takes their silverware first?”

Applebloom thinks really hard at this as she scratches her chin “ah don’t know much bout fancy dinner parties but…… If it were anything like a normal dinner, the pony at the head would be the first to take the silverware?”

Diamond breathes an immense sigh of relief “very good at least you got one right. Yes the pony at the head or the master of the table will take the silverware first because..…” Diamond asks leading Applebloom on.

“……because they set the table?”

Diamond face hoofs “it’s because they’re respected! It’s because they have status! The one who takes the silverware must be respected by everyone there.” Diamond shouts in exasperation. “For example if Celestia herself sat at the table and she took her silverware from the left, no matter who you were you would have no choice but to take the silverware after Celestia wouldn’t you? That is because she is respected, that’s why ponies follow her!”

Applebloom looks at Diamond as she begins to piece her argument together “so what yer sayin is the one that is the most respected decides what to do?”

Diamond grins evilly “Now you begin to understand! I knew it was so simple that even a blank flank like you could get it. In society, nay in the world it is the ones with status and prestige, the ponies of the upper class that decide everything with their slightest whims. I mean if a rich pony can decide which silverware another pony eats with, they can easily decide another pony’s minimum wage, the jobs they take and the lives that they live”

“Ponies get cutie marks for a reason. For example my cutie mark.” Diamond reveals her flank her cutie mark the standard of perfection. “Is that of a crown which demonstrates my right to power and prestige that surpasses all the lower classes that I rule over.”

Diamond takes a step forward her eyes filled with rage “in other words it is the ponies that possess high class and the respect of other ponies, those born marked to rule over others, who decide a pony’s fate. That is true power and those under this power’s influence can only be allies.”

Applebloom scoffs at this “what? That’s the most pompous and ridiculous thing ah’ve ever heard!” Applebloom yells “Ponies can be anything they want! That’s what a cutie mark means!”

Diamond laughs “only a low class pony would resist such a universal truth. Face it Applebloom you were born on the bottom ladder of society. You were born at the bottom of society because you belong there and by embarrassing me and resisting that fact, you’ve spread chaos in my perfectly orderly world. Face it Applebloom you were born to farmers and you’ll die a farmer. While I, a rich business pony will climb to the top of society while you wallow in mud the rest of your life.”

Applebloom’s eyes ignite with an intensity that rivals her sister, her eyes burning with righteous indignation at her words “so let me get this straight. Yawl think that just because yawl got money and a fancy cutie mark that yer better than any pony?” Applebloom snorts in like a bull “And that gives ya the right to push other ponies down, cause they’re not as good as you?!”

Diamond smiles and nods “I’m glad ya understand Applebloom. Now you know what will happen if you go against your designated place in society don’t you? You’ll…”

“Yeah, ah’ll know what will happen…” Applebloom spits off to her side “you’ll get a black eye!” Before the pink mare can even react the yellow mare leaps forward tackling the pink filly to the ground.

Diamond unused to such physical combat flails about at Applebloom pins her adversary in the dirt. Applebloom smiles evilly as her tormenter lies beneath her “so yawl like tormenting me hunh?” Applebloom raises her hoof to strike “well it looks like the horseshoe is on the other foot now aint it, so let’s see how you like…..” The yellow filly lowers her hoof to Diamond’s head “A Noogie!”

Diamond shrieks like a tottered mare “NO! My perfectly styled mane! Ruined!” the pink filly flails about as Applebloom harshly presses her hoof into Diamond’s hair. However in her flailing Diamond is able to get her back hooves free. “I said… let GO!”

With the force of an earth pony’s buck Diamond Tiara launches a powerful blow directly to the Yellow filly’s stomach causing Applebloom to clutch her stomach. “Ha. Take that Apple…..” The pink filly’s eyes widen “….Bloom?” The blow that she thought that she delivered directly at Applebloom seems to have stopped in its tracks her hooves absorbed into some kind of silvery plant that is growing out of Applebloom’s coat. No sooner than Diamond realizes this than the plant rapidly expands with the force of a gunshot sending the Pink filly sprawling backwards in the dirt. Looking over at her opponent with a look of surprise and shock Diamond pulls herself to her hooves using the bars of the swing set next to her as support “what the… how….”

Applebloom smiles as she rival pulls herself from the dirt “yawl like that? That’s the power of mah stand!” Applebloom takes a leisurely step forward “ya see, it’s like mah sis Applebloom said ‘ah am rubber and yer are glue’ When somepony throws somtin at you, yawl just got to throw it back.”

Applebloom takes a solid step forward “That’s how this rivalry o ours has gone fer a long time, ya throw somtin at me an ah throw it back.” Applebloom strikes a stylish pose as she manifests her beautiful plant stand out her back, its branches beginning to blossom like an apple tree in June “an with mah stand, ah can send back any attack ya launch at me right back at you, it’s over Diamond.”

Applebloom walks up to Diamond and grabs her with her hoof propping her up against the bar with no small amount of force. “Now Diamond, Ah know that ya think that ya have the right ta make fun of any pony ya want, but this has ta stop now before yawl go too far.”

Diamond looks off to the side as if trying to avoid Applebloom’s gaze “….Stand…. I see…. So that’s the power that causes you to manifest some kind of spirit….And that’s what that bush on your back is……”

Applebloom shakes her head “Yes! Ah mean no! From what Twilight told me it’s some kind o mane-if-istation of who you are or something…… but that’s not important now Diamond. Anyways, like ah said yawl need ta stop all this bullin or else….”

“Or else what?” Diamond snaps “you’ll beat me up? You’ll bully me too? You think that you’re some kind of saint or something Applebloom?” The yellow filly shocked by Diamond’s harsh words loosens her grips ever so slightly “Face it Applebloom you just want to push me in the dirt so that you can stand over me just like I was doing to you! The only difference between us is that I’m doing it for the betterment of society!”

Applebloom flinches “that’s….. That’s a Lie!”

“No it isn’t Applebloom it’s a fact.” Diamond states with a level of certainty that shakes even Applebloom’s foundation. “Ponies are born into poverty and ponies are born into riches and the rich and influential ponies rule over the lower classes. That’s what creates an orderly society.”

Diamond breaks out a wicked grin her every word seeping with arrogance and haughtiness. “But don’t worry Applebloom if you promise to submit to me and my wishes then I’ll go easy on you. After all for a blank flank you seem to have all this important knowledge about the strange things that are going on in Ponyville. You even knew what to call this power that I have gained recently….. Stand was it? You could be very useful to me…..”

Suddenly before she can even respond, Applebloom finds herself hoisted into the air as if by some invisible force. The yellow filly flails about as she looks above her to see a puppeteer figure draped in lace and diamonds. The figure’s arms end in what looks to her like a kind of puppet tool and each point ends in a string that is attached to her arms and legs. The yellow filly trapped in Diamond’s web struggles for freedom while Diamond laughs beneath her “You like that Blank Flank? That’s my power; it allows me to attach strings from a ceiling or other object above my head to control any object that I wish like a puppeteer on stage.”

Diamond brushes her hair to the side fixing her crumpled mane and driving off the dust on her coat. “it’s truly a power fitting an upper class pony like me. The power to control the plebeians born below us is a power that is destined to come into the hands of an upper class pony such as myself.”

Applebloom continues to struggle “Ya…. Ya were the one responsible…. Fer everything! The test…. The spit wads…. The board…..”

“Uh Duh!” Diamond deadpans “did you miss the entire ‘put the lower class ponies in their places’ speech I just gave? Well no matter once there is a solid object above my head my stand is invincible! It’s why I lured you to the swings.”

Diamond looks over to the schoolhouse as an idea crosses through her head. “But I think that now it’s time for a little change of scenery…”

As Applebloom continues to flail Diamond’s stand pulls tight on the strings, swinging the yellow filly back and forth under the swing set as Applebloom gains a bit more altitude with every swing. Suddenly with explosive power the stand releases the yellow filly sending her rolling through the air straight towards the open schoolhouse door. With a thud the yellow filly lands in the empty hallway of the school thankful that her stand was there to absorb the impact of her fall.

Her head still spinning from sailing through the air like a kite on a windy day, Applebloom rises slowly to her hooves just in time for a dark shadow to fall over her. The brave blank flanked filly turns around to face her rival Diamond Tiara, the pink mare’s very presence blocking out the sun as the bully advances with malevolence. Applebloom looks to the left and the right for any way out, but is distressed to find that she is in the locker room of the school where fowls store their things for the day. She is far from earshot of the class and has and the only way out is through the bully blocking her escape.

“What’s wrong Blank flank?” Diamond mocks “still dizzy from your little flight? You know that you can try and hit back if you want..….”

“Shut up Diamond!” Applebloom yells

“..…could it be?” Diamond smiles with glee “oh I think I know what it is. See I was confused why you didn’t try to attack me with your ‘stand’ but then I realized my stand can move because it’s a pony shape. Yours is a plant.” Diamond points accusatoryilly at Applebloom and with the most mocking voice that she can muster Diamond laughs at her “it’s not that you aren’t attacking it’s that you can’t! Your stand can’t move an inch! Not that I expected much from a Blank flank’s stand, it’s only more a sign of how useless you are..…”

Now Applebloom is no longer able to control her temper as she surges forward “ah said Shut UP!” Applebloom leaps forward only to fall flat on her face a hoofs’ length from Diamond. Looking behind her the yellow mare sees her back leg snagged in another of Diamond’s wires the stand itself hanging from the ceiling. Applebloom tries to yank the string off of her with her free hooves but she quickly finds her limbs bound by the strings as she is hoisted completely powerless into the air.

As Applebloom flails about Diamond takes a moment to back in her victory over her eternal rival. Finally after all these years she has defeated Applebloom. “What’s the matter?” Diamond mocks “Is your blank flank stand unable to do anything against my Baltimare Tea party?” Applebloom yells in anger as Diamond nods “Good that is the way it should be. Lower class ponies like you should be cleaning my boots. And now with an entire ceiling above me and not just a swing bar I can use my power to its utmost potential.”

Lifting both her hooves in the air like a composer before her orchestria Diamond swirls them around in the air causing several strands to wrap around Applebloom’s mane and legs. Then with a sharp yank of her hooves Diamond causes her stand, BTA to tug Applebloom’s mane with enough force to cause the yellow filly to yelp in pain. Smiling Diamond swings her arm again this time tugging hard on her left arm. Applebloom yelps again as she flails about to escape. “Don’t bother Blank Flank…” Diamond says “maybe if you'd stand could move you might be able to break free. But your stand can only absorb a physical blow, not a grapple like this!”

Diamond pulls on Applebloom’s mane again this time the filly manages to stifle a scream. “Or than more than two attacks at once like this!” Diamond pulls both her arms apart as she stretches her body like a pony on a rack. Suddenly Diamond stops her assault allowing the filly to hang limp in the air panting heavily as she tries to suppress her rising discomfort. Applebloom catches her breath recovering from the light torture as Diamond stares on. Diamond looks at Applebloom with a mixture of pity, and compassion as Applebloom stops squirming “enough of this Applebloom. If you had any brains at all you’d realize it’s over. I’ve won!”

Applebloom stares back at her adversary breathing heavily “……no ya….. Ain't won….. Yet….”

Diamond Tiara sighs “Your insistence on not giving up might be cute if it wasn’t for the fact that it was annoying as buck. Wake up you dunce! You’re helpless before my power you can’t move and you can’t attack. Just give in and submit Applebloom. It’s your destiny to be a lowly farmer just like it’s mine to get rich off your labor! No matter what you do that will never change. So just give in!”

In that very moment part of Applebloom did want to give in, to just bow down to Diamond’s trivial demands and let her have her way. After all she thought, how could a blank flank, who didn’t even know what to do with her life, fight against fate? Applejack was right; she was just in the way, a burden to others. If her stand couldn't do anything to stop one little bully how could she fight against her destiny of hard work on a farm. She should just give in, endure Diamond’s taunts in silence and go back to Scootaloo and Sweetie….

Suddenly a fire ignites in the yellow filly’s eyes again. How could she have forgotten her friends!?! If she let Diamond win she wouldn't be the only one to suffer! If she let Diamond prevail here her friends would be targets for Diamond’s cruel jokes. Her sister may be right….. She was in her sister’s way. But the only pony standing in the way of her own destiny wasn’t a cutie Mark, or her heritage as a farmer, it wasn’t even Diamond Tiara or Applejack. The only thing standing in the way of her life, was herself, her self-doubt, her fears and her indecision were the only things encumbering her, all of them waiting to be thrown off like excess baggage.

Applebloom yanks on the strings binding her with such force and suddenness that Diamond flinches as her stand struggles to hold Applebloom in her bonds. “Ah’ll never give up ta you Diamond. An yer wrong, ah can improve ah can change. An most important ah can protect mah friends. So do yer worst cause ah’ll never let ya have yer way with me or mah friends….Not as long as ah gots the strength to fight back.” Applebloom‘s stand appears over her back subconsciously as the plant begins to flower and grow, the silvery buds blossoming into bright red flowers.

Diamond is originally shocked by Applebloom’s resistance however after a few seconds she sighs disappointedly “why are blank flanks so thick headed? All right Applebloom have it your way! I didn’t want to go this far…. But if your only goal is to make trouble for me and my rule then you’ve forced my hoof!” In a sudden jerking movement Diamond’s stand swings the yellow filly on her line sending her careening towards the floor “I’ll just have to knock you out in one blow before you can defend with your stand!”

Applebloom hits the floor in a flash of light as the plant like stand all over her body erupts in a blossoming explosion of red flowers. The silvery spring-like plants grow and thicken as if growing in fast motion, forming all over Applebloom’s back as they reform into four solid branches. Two pony shaped arms formed from a large brass spring, spring out of the bramble’s sides the arms covered in shining pewter gauntlets covered in pressure gauges. Two legs accompany similarly changes with the same brass springs and silver leg guards that mark the stand’s battle ready appearance. The central bramble dissolves as a torso emerges formed from a multitude of springs and a pressure gauge over its heart. And finally an armored head emerges completely formed from the bramble it’s red flowery mane complementing its silver mask and brass muzzle. Its transformation completely the final stand stands perfectly formed, no bigger than the filly from which it has sprung. With a stunning display of power and speed the stand smashes into the ground with its hoof stopping Applebloom’s fall as it’s spring like arm coils from the impact.

 “What the…..” Diamond barely has time to react as Applebloom’s stand plucks the string holding Applebloom with no more thought than flicking a fly. As the vibration travels up to the string and to Diamond’s stand the vibrating string explodes causing the stand to recoil from the impact its strings flying off Applebloom’s arms and legs as the filly lands safely on the ground. Applebloom’s stand turns to its master emotionless but not cold, it stands majestically as Diamond Tiara picks herself off of the floor her muzzle bleeding from the feedback from her stand. “What…… What was that……. Were you, just hiding your power.” Diamond wipes the dribble of blood from her muzzle as she scowls at the filly in front of her “were you hiding this potential from me…. Applebloom?!?”

“Potential…..” The yellow filly says as she watches her stand in awe “Potential! That’s it! Mah stand had potential, ta grow! It’s like a tree! It grows stronger an bigger tha more ah get beaten down!” Holding up her hooves the filly savors the new movement of her stand. “It's’ like Twi said, stands mane-if-est to grant desires.  Ah needed it to grow, ah needed to get stronger an ah did!”

“That’s…” Diamond hacks “that’s impossible! A stand getting stronger…. Just by thinking about it!? No way! And even if such a power existed there’s no way a blank flanked loser like you would possess it.”

Applebloom shakes her head in pity “ya just don’t get it Diamond….. yer right ah may be a blank flank now but that doesn’t mean mah place in this world is fixed ta one path! That’s what bein a blank flank means…” Applebloom takes a resolute step forward as Diamond takes a step back. “Ah can be great at anything, mah possibilities for growth are endless. And that means that no matter how much you try and beat me down, ah know that ah can get better, that ah can improve, and that’s something that not even you with all your money can take away.”

For a second it looks like somehow Applebloom’s words made it through to the pink bully. Her eyes seems to soften as she looks upon the yellow mare in front of her in a new light, as if seeing something that she had never seen before. However just as quickly as it appeared the look disappears, as her face conforms into a visage of rage and embarrassment “SO WHAT!?” Diamond’s stand appears above her releasing her strings all around the hall.

With a drastic wave of her hooves the lockers around them fly open releasing a storm of books and heavy objects to the floor. Diamond smiles as her stand picks up these books with its multitude of strings and flings them with all the force that she can muster at Applebloom and her new stand. “SO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE HUNH?! YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME? Well let me tell you something Applebloom! It doesn’t matter how much you think that you can improve as long as I have a ceiling over my head my stand Baltimare Tea Party is invincible!”

Applebloom gestures with her stand causing it to rapidly block the books paperweights and assorted items that Diamond is flinging at her. In the midst of this assault Applebloom smiles “then it’s a real good thing that ah’ve got a new power now aint it Diamond?”

Diamond visibly flinches at this the books and heavy objects hanging in midair as she momentarily ceases her assault “a new power?” suddenly she shakes her fear off “you’re bluffing! It’s got to be a lie!” Diamond resumes her attack throwing more and more objects at the yellow mare and her stand in an attempt to hit her.

Applebloom only grins as she looks at her stand which is blocking against every blow “yeah ah thought it was silly too…. But ya saw what happened when mah stand touched the line, all the force of hittin tha floor traveled through it.” Applebloom taps the gauges on her stand that seem to grow with every hit the stand blocks. “See all the energy of yer attacks are stored within mah stand waitin to be released, like a battery. An every attack you have thrown so far has only been making it stronger….”

Diamond’s eyes widen as she sees the gauges on Applebloom’s stand grow higher and higher, the stored energy of all of Diamond’s attacks fueling the stand’s power and speed. “Mah ability has far surpassed a simple Sprout….. It’s not some useless plant anymore!” Applebloom shouts “now it can take yer bad vibes an send em back at ya, so ah think ah’ll call it Vibrations!”

With a single solid hit the stand Vibrations strikes the support beam of the entire locker room causing the beam to shake like a leaf. The vibrations travel through the wooden beam, straight to the ceiling causing it to crack around the body of Diamond’s Baltimare Tea Party. “Yawl said that as long as ya had a ceiling over yer head that ya were invincible? Aint that right Diamond? Well what happens when that glass ceiling of yers comes crashin down on yer head!”

Diamond can only stare up in horror as the wooden ceiling directly above her, the same part where her stand is hanging, breaks and shatters into a hundred tiny pieces causing a large segment of the ceiling to fall directly on top of her. Diamond tries to flee but finds herself tripping over one of the many books than school supplies that she has scattered over the floor falling flat on her back. Raising her hooves in a vain act of defiance Diamond closes her eyes and braces for the end as the large chunk of timber and plaster threatens to crush her flat.

The air around Diamond explodes with sound and pressure as the wood splinters around her, the pink bully flinching like a leaf as she prepares for her death. A second passes in complete silence as Diamond’s body fails to record any sensations of pain. Opening her eyes apprehensively Diamond looks up to see a familiar yellow body above her, the filly Applebloom’s arms and legs spread far apart over Diamond’s body. Above her the entire weight of the ceiling rests on her back as the yellow filly struggles under its weight. Acting like a living bunker Applebloom pants from the heavy weight, shielding Diamond from the ceiling’s collapse.

Diamond blinks her mind struggling to decipher the riddle of what she is seeing. ‘It can’ be real, it simply can’t’ she thinks ‘Applebloom? A lowly farmer. Saved my life….’

The pink filly shakes her head “what…” Diamond’s shaky words fumble in her mouth “just what is your deal Blank Flank!? First you try to kill me with that attack of yours then you try to save my life? What is your game?!” Diamond sneers “Oh I get it. You just saved my life for my money, is that it?! Well you can forget it, like a mare of my status would ever…..”

Diamond feels a powerful hoof slap her across the face “will ya shut up about money and status and all that nonsense!? It’s makin me sick!” Applebloom shouts “ah didn’t try an kill ya! Ah didn’t even want to fight ya except ta stop yer bullyin mah friends! Ah don’t care bout money or any of that hogwash that ya were spoutin…”

“Then…..” the bully fails to understand “then why? Why after I…..”

“Cause!” Applebloom shouts “Ya may be a bad apple Diamond Tiara, but that doesn’t mean that yawl will be like that forever......” Applebloom looks at Diamond tiara in the eyes straight into her soul as she inches towards the pink filly “ponies can change Diamond, even a bully like ya can be a good pony if ya try. An even if yawl were ta be mean ta me the rest of mah life ah wouldn’t want ya to up and die……”

Diamond blushes as Applebloom’s muzzle approaches her own; the two of them that have brushed so close to death now find themselves so close to each other in heart and body.

“Applebloom…”

“Diamond Tiara…”

“Applebloom….. What the hay do you think you are doing?! GET OFF OF ME!” Diamond shouts

“urrrh! Ah can’t help it Diamond this ceiling is heavy. It’s pushing me down towards you.”

“It had better just be the ceiling that’s moving your muzzle closer to me!”

“What the hay are you….” Applebloom finally realizes what Diamond meant as she notices her position directly over Diamond. “Oh bleh! Gross! what kind of filly do ya think ah am?”

“Never mind that just push it off so we can both leave”

“What do ya think ah’m doing? Push-ups?!” Applebloom complains.

“I thought you were trying to take advantage of a beautiful and helpless damsel in distress.”

“Well ah aint cause you aint no beautiful damsel.”

“Why you… when I get out of here….”

Suddenly another familiar voice enters the two fillies range of hearing “Applebloom! Diamond! Is that you? I heard a loud noise, are both of you all right?”

Diamond breathes in relief “Oh thank Celestia! It’s Cherilee. It’s about time….”

“Mrs. Cherilee it’s Applebloom an Diamond! We’re trapped here.”

“Don’t worry girls I’ll save you, urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” The mulberry mare struggles as she tries to remove the ceiling off of the two fillies.

“Hurry Mrs. Cheerilee mah legs can’t hold out much longer.” Applebloom cries.

“Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…………I’m so sorry Applebloom!” Cheerilee shouts as she wipes the sweat from her brow. “I can’t lift it off of you. You will just have to wait until I can find the jack.”

“An how long should that take Mrs. Cheerilee? Mah arms are getting tired…..”

“Oh it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to find.”

“Ten Minutes?!?” Both fillies cry out at the same time.

 “Or maybe twenty, goodness knows where I left it. Just hold on girls I’ll go find it.”

As the teacher dashes off Diamond crosses her forelegs and begins to pout “Well this is just perfect stuck in this awkward position for who knows how long and your stand can’t even help us out.”

“……..Uh Diamond”

“What is it blank flank?”

“Well yer stand can pull up objects as long as it has a ceiling over it right?”

Diamond Tiara sighs “um weren’t you listening to the whole ‘my stand works like a marionette’ speech I gave back there, yes I can do that blank flank. That’s my power.”

“Well can’t yawl just pick up the ceiling with yer stand?”

“Well I could if there wasn’t a big hole where the ceiling used to be right above us!” Diamond’s eyes begin to roll “Seriously use your brain for once Blank Flank.”

“Yeah but wouldn’t yawl be able to use your strings ta pick up the ceiling fragments from the ceiling round us? You know like you could swing your strings over from the not damaged parts of the ceiling above us till ya could attach them to this rubble on top of us, and then ya could just lift it off!”

“…………”

“Uh Diamond you okay?”

“…….I am seriously going to kill you Applebloom.”

“Hunh? OW! Diamond that hurt! Just what did I do wrong?”

………………………

With a quick use of her power Diamond frees the two of them. When Cheerilee had returned with the jack twenty five minutes later they had managed to convince her that they were able to slip out from underneath the rubble. Fortunately Cherilee blamed the collapsing ceiling on faulty repairs and had to cancel school for the day due to construction problems, which caused a great deal of excitement among the student body. As the rest of the students leave the school and Cheerilee runs to town to procure construction ponies, five fillies that were previously mortal enemies convene on the school grounds in the first cease fire in their long histories.

“…….well that was a totally lame day.” Diamond remarks “first I get embarrassed by a lousy blank flank, and then I have to end up being saved by the same blank flank. Seriously does trouble follow you around everywhere cause it sounds to me like you are a walking Disaster zone.”

Silver prods her friend reminding her why she is truly here. “Diamond, you said that you were going to apologize to them, even if they are lousy blank flanks.”

“Fine.” Diamond clears her throat obviously unused to giving an honest apology “Thank you Applebloom for saving my life, even though I was the one bulling you in the first place. It took real guts to stand up for yourself and even more to forgive me so quickly.” Giving her signature sly smirk Diamond looks at the yellow filly with a new look of admiration “I guess you are not half the loser I thought you were.”

Applebloom seems genuinely grateful at this statement not expecting an apology and a compliment from such a bitter filly. “Gee Diamond than..…”

“Don’t you dare get the wrong idea, Blank flank!” Diamond shouts as she points to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle “that that goes double for the two of you. This isn’t over between us. You are all still blank flank losers and are all still going to get called out for being blank flank losers. I’m not going to stop being myself simply because of one small act of kindness!”

Silver nudges Diamond causing Diamond to snap at her “what? Is there something in my teeth?”

Silver gestures over to Applebloom who is staring her down with a mature and threatening gaze, like the kind given by a scolding mother. Sure enough even Diamond Tiara is immune to this as she takes a single step back.

“But……?” the yellow filly encourages.

Seeing that there is no way out Diamond takes a deep breath to prepare for her first concession “But I’ll try and lay off the more overt bullying in the future, that is unless you really deserve it.”

“And…..?” Applebloom continues

“….and I promise not to use my stand to torment you again.”

“Aaaaaannnnnnnnddddd?” Scootaloo asks hopingly.

The glare Diamond gives could melt iron causing Scootaloo to hide behind Applebloom “Don’t push your luck, Scootalooser…..”

Applebloom gives the bully one last stare before giving an affirmative nod “…… Well I suppose that is the best that we’ll get for now. You okay with that girls?”

Sweetie belle nods and Scootaloo tries to look as indifferent as possible as she comes out from behind Applebloom’s back “I’m cool with that, as long as she keeps her teasing to a minimum I guess we can put up with her.”

Silver nudges Diamond “well do you think that you could get along with them Diamond?” Silver winks “I mean they are Blank flanks……”

Catching her friend’s drift Diamond plays along “Oh I don’t know Silver…..I think that I could get along with them better……”

“IF THEY HAD A CUTIE MARK!” both of them shout at the same time giggling at both their perfect timing and perfectly executed burn of their opposition. The two friends satisfied that things are again right with each other, perform their signature greeting “Bump! Bump! Sugar Lump RUMP!” the two fillies put their flanks together displaying their cutie marks and laughing together at the Cutie Mark Crusader’s embarrassed faces.

All three blank flanks burn in embarrassment at Diamond’s jest as Scootaloo sighs heavily “gee thanks Diamond, man you save her life and she’s still a jerk, can you believe it?”

Suddenly Diamond Fishes around in her saddle bag “oh I have one last thing for you here Applebloom….”

Applebloom rolls her eyes “Let me guess…. Its somtin that’s goin to make a fool of me? Gasp how did I ever know?!”

Diamond Extends her hoof placing an object in Applebloom’s hooves “Oh just take it! You cry baby!” Applebloom turns her hoof over revealing a strange piece of black stone.

Applebloom gasps “this… this is one of those Strange stones Twi’s searchin for.”

Diamond shrugs “I don’t know what it is but when I touched it I got sick for a while then I got this power. And since I don’t like to leave myself in another pony’s debt you can have it as payment for saving my life.”

“But….” Sweetie interjects “But this stone can give you magic powers! And it’s really important! Don’t you need it?”

“Need it Ha!” Diamond scoffs “I don’t need some crazy magic stone! I’m Rich!” And with that the pink filly begins to walk away “Now let’s go Silver this Blank flank party is cramping my style.”

Silver turns to leave, but just before she does she turns to Applebloom offering her a word of quick thanks “Thank you Applebloom. You may be a blank flank but you really helped Diamond out! Thank you for giving me my friend back.”

Applebloom simply nods “it’s all right, just try to keep in mind that she’s supposed ta be nicer from now on an we’ll be cool.”

Silver turns to leave “I don’t know about that….. I mean this is Diamond Tiara we’re talking about!” Silver quickly runs to catch up with her friend as Applebloom and the others look at the strange piece of stone in her hooves.

Scootaloo pipes up impatiently “Well, that settles our bully problem. But now what do we do?”

Applebloom put her hooves around her friends pulling them together “Ah’ll tell you what we’re goin to do we’re goin to find all of these Strange stones ourselves, an we’re goin to do it TOGETHER! That way when we show up mah sister, Rarity an Rainbow Dash we’ll prove that they should never have underestimated us! What do ya say?”

Sweetie puts her hoof around both Applebloom and Scootaloo “Make a fool of my sister!? I’m game! That’ll teach her to try and bar me from the kitchen!”

Scootaloo joins in completing the Cutie Mark Crusader’s triangle “I’m in too! The opportunity to show Rainbow Dash what I can do……. It’ll be awesome!”

Applebloom looks around at her friends a fire burning in her heart a she thinks of the goal ahead of her “Good then it’s settled! Now our first act as the cutie Mark Crusaders is……..”

“APPLEBLOOM!” a thunderous voice erupts over the horizon as all the fillies turn to see Applebloom’s sister running towards them at full tilt, her nose snorting like a bull. Stopping on a nearby hill Applejack narrows her gaze on her sister “Applebloom! Ah just ran into Cherilee in Town an she just told me exactly the foul language that ya used in class today! Stay Right There! Ah’m commin down now!”

Applebloom gulps heavily as she remembers the last time Applejack punished her for language, so much cake……. “Crusaders our first mission together is ta get as far away from mah sister as possible, are ya with me?!”

“We’re already in the wagon!” Sweetie Belle shouts. Applebloom turns her head to see Sweetie Belle attaching the end of a wagon to Scootaloo’s scooter, the orange Pegasus revving her wings as they prepare for a hasty retreat.

Applebloom  takes one look at her advancing sister and one look at the wagon and jumps in as if Discord himself were on their tails “FLOOR IT!” She yells, causing the trio to take off just As Applejack is about to reach them.

“APPLEBLOOM!” The orange farm mare yells “yer not makin this easier on yerself NOW GET BACK HERE!” However Applejack is too late, even if Applebloom had tried to hear her sister’s threats she was already out of earshot. Sighing heavily Applejack straightens her hat on her head “Looks like mah sister’s made some good friends…… that’s great!” Applejack sprints after her sister “But that’s not goin ta save her from all that cake!”