After the school bell rang and she saw her friends off, Scootaloo headed straight for the playground. Tossing her saddlebags under a tree, she rode her scooter to the nearby seesaws. Lowering a hoof to the hard dirt, she came to a stop in front of one particular seesaw.
For the most part, the school day had been boring and uneventful as ever. However, one thing happened, even though most fillies and colts didn’t even really notice—though Scootaloo took great notice. The handle broke off one end of the seesaw. Sure, they said it would be fixed by tomorrow, but for today it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, what was a seesaw but an epic ramp that moved?
With the handle out of the way, she might have been able to use it. Scootaloo just needed to clear the intact handle and fix the board so it wouldn’t tip halfway through her stunt. The first part was easy; she could hop her scooter over something that low any day of the week. But how do you stop a seesaw from tipping?
Scootaloo spent every minute since recess thinking about it. Now that school was out, she still didn’t have any great ideas outside of trying to talk Rainbow Dash into holding the other end up with her awesome flying abilities.
She walked to the middle bar, placing a hoof on the board. Giving it a bit more weight than she expected, and it tipped, the broken end rising in the air. It shouldn’t have been this hard to figure out how to prop up one side so it wouldn’t fall when her weight hit it. Glancing around, her eyes stopped on a rain barrel next to the schoolhouse. Her wings buzzed enough to just get her hooves off the ground. That just might work!
With a grin, Scootaloo trotted across the playground. Just as she reached the side of the schoolhouse, a glint of light caught her eye. Letting her curiosity win out, she stepped away from the barrel to investigate. There, on a tuft of grass, she saw it. Her eyes widened. It was a golden band encrusted with diamonds.
She plucked the ring with her teeth. It weighed on her mouth more than she thought it would. It must’ve been worth a fortune—or at least enough to buy her a brand new scooter and then some.
Heading back over to her saddlebags, she couldn’t help but to imagine all the things she could get with a sack full of bits. A treat-filled trip to Sugarcube Corner with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would be a great start.
Scootaloo stopped dead a few steps away from her bag. Of course! There were tons of stuff they wanted to crusade for, but didn’t have the bits to try. Now, with her lucky find, they could do all sorts of extravagant things and get really cool cutie marks.
Prancing over to her bags, she put the ring down on them. Scootaloo marveled at the heavy band. Not only was it huge, but massive diamonds affixed to the ring all the way around. Who would throw something like this away?
Nopony, Scootaloo realized. Which meant that somepony must’ve lost it. That meant somepony must have been looking for it. What if it was somepony’s wedding ring? Or a treasured heirloom? The guilt of depriving somepony of something so precious crushed her fantasies.
So what should she do with it? A glance over at the schoolhouse reminded her that she was the last pony here. Even Miss Cheerilee left already. Maybe Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom would know what to do? Sighing, Scootaloo turned back to her saddlebags and carefully stowed the ring inside. She patted it for good measure, feeling the solid lump safely in the pouch.
Scootaloo sighed as she tried to put it out of her mind. It could wait. The seesaw, however, would be fixed by tomorrow. She had to get it stable to use as a ramp before the repairpony came by to fix it.
She almost made it back to the rain barrel, but stopped short as her worst nightmare appeared. Diamond Tiara. The pink filly walked from behind the schoolhouse with her gaze down, her head rocking side-to-side in a sweeping motion.
Great. Forcibly turning her gaze away from Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo hastily made her way to the rain barrel. But now she had a new problem. Would Diamond Tiara try to get her in trouble for misusing school equipment? Honestly, she didn’t think there was a rule against it, but Diamond would jump at any opportunity to make her life miserable.
Instead of doing anything to draw attention to herself, Scootaloo did her best to hide behind the barrel. Maybe Diamond Tiara didn’t notice her. Maybe she would just go away.
Diamond raised her head, briefly making eye contact with Scootaloo before she could escape Diamond Tiara’s attention. “Hey, Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo stepped out, her ears pressed back. Glaring at Diamond Tiara, she spat, “What do you want?”
Instead of leveling another insult, Diamond Tiara hesitated. Her eyes shifted back and forth before fixing on Scootaloo. “I…” She sighed. “Have you seen a ring?” She asked, kicking the ground. “I was wearing it today, but the ribbon slipped off. I think I lost it on the playground.”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but to look over at her saddlebags. She smiled, and not just at Diamond Tiara’s misfortune. This was a filly who not only made her life miserable, she was rich. Really rich. Hay, she could probably afford to buy a hundred rings just like it. No, a thousand. The guilt of keeping the ring vanished. She could keep it and sell it without remorse. This was awesome!
“Hmph, why should I help you?” Scootaloo pointed a hoof at Diamond. “All you’ve ever done is make fun of me and my friends.”
Diamond Tiara huffed. “Fine! Just… if you see it, let me know, okay?” Without waiting for any sort of response, she turned and went back to scanning the ground.
Scootaloo’s ear flicked, listening for the inevitable “blank flank” insult, but it never came. Scratching her head, she let it go. Anytime she got away with meeting that dreaded filly that didn’t end with her seething with rage or feeling lower than a worm was a rare treat indeed. Almost as rare as scoring an awesome ring worth a load of bits.
This day was just getting better and better. With a newfound spring in her step, she moved back to the barrel. Now all she had to do was push this over to the seesaw and prop it under the board, do some awesome stunts, then go and sell the ring.
Pressing her head against the barrel, she pushed. It didn’t budge. She stood, pressing her forelegs against the barrel. Still nothing. Finally, she climbed up on the barrel to find that it was completely full of water.
Okay, a minor setback. Sure, it was too heavy with all that water in it, but all she had to do was dump it out and then everything would work out. She just needed a plan to tip it over.
Looking over at the nearby wall, an idea struck her. Working her way around the barrel, she positioned herself so that her front hooves rested on the lip of the barrel and her hind hooves pressed up against the schoolhouse wall. Pressing with both her forehooves and haunches, she managed to get the barrel to tip, if only just. She gave it her all, but it just wasn’t enough.
As her strength gave out, the barrel tipped back, nearly crushing her into the wall. In her frenzy to get her balance and avoid snapping a leg, she somehow managed to find herself above the barrel. Gravity did the rest.
Splash!
The cold water surprised Scootaloo, nearly causing her to inhale. Desperately splashing to the surface, she coughed and sputtered. Her blind splashing managed to find the barrel’s rim, and she hooked her forelegs over the lip. Scootaloo gave her head a good shake. Her chest heaved as she began to calm down.
“What the hay are you doing?”
Silently cursing her luck, Scootaloo looked up to see Diamond Tiara disdainfully staring back at her. Her face was a shade darker than usual. What did she have to be mad about?
Scootaloo put on what she hoped looked like a confident grin as she leaned on the barrel’s rim. “What’s it look like? I’m, uh… swimming?”
Diamond Tiara's eyes rolled. A bit of grumbling reached Scootaloo’s ears, but Diamond didn’t really say anything else. She just went back to scanning the ground. Must’ve still been looking for that ring.
Still, it gave Scootaloo a good opportunity to tumble ungracefully from the barrel without being seen or made fun of. After meeting the grass with only a minor slip, it hit her. Diamond Tiara didn’t make fun of her. It was a perfect opportunity and everything.
“Why-why don’t you do something useful and help me find my ring?” Diamond asked, never looking up. “Maybe you’ll get your cutie mark, or something.”
Scootaloo paused at that. Could she get a cutie mark for that? She shook her head. That was impossible. A glance at her flank showed it to be perfectly blank, and she already found the ring. More importantly, why wasn’t Diamond Tiara being mean? Was this some kind of trick? A test?
Oh, no! Scootaloo’s heart skipped a beat as she looked over at her saddlebags. What if Diamond Tiara watched her the whole time? It could be some kind of elaborate prank. She certainly wouldn’t put it past Diamond Tiara. Anything to make her life more miserable.
Swallowing, Scootaloo looked back over at Diamond Tiara. She was about to reply, but stopped as she actually noticed Diamond Tiara. She had gone from idly scanning the ground to desperately combing the grass. Diamond’s face was hard to see with her head down, but Scootaloo could’ve sworn her cheeks were wet.
Was she crying?
“What’s with you?” Scootaloo pointed a hoof. “It’s just a dumb ring. Can’t you buy, like, a thousand of them?”
Diamond looked up, eyes wet and face red. “J-just help me or go away!”
Scootaloo recoiled. There was no faking that face. “I-I, uh, sure.” Mentally kicking herself, she looked down, pretending to search. “Um… it’s a diamond ring, right?”
Diamond Tiara sniffled before replying, “Yeah.”
Although Scootaloo felt as though she should say something, nothing really came to mind other than “I already found it, like, ten minutes ago,” but that probably wouldn’t go over too well with Diamond. Thanks to her stupid big mouth, now she was stuck pretending to look.
What was the big deal, anyway? Diamond Tiara wouldn’t be upset over some ring, even if it was worth a fortune. But here she was, crying and frantically searching. A lead ball formed in the pit of Scootaloo’s stomach.
It meant that much to her.
That had to be it. Nothing else could possibly explain why Diamond would act this way. But why would she care so much about a ring? The idea tossed in her mind, but no answer fell out.
With a sigh, Scootaloo spoke up, “So what’s so important about this ring, anyway? Can’t you just buy a new one? Or, you know, a hundred?”
“No, it has to be that one!” Diamond retorted.
“Why?”
“Because it was mom’s!” Diamond was quiet a moment before continuing, “L-look, it’s just really important to me, okay? I wasn’t even supposed to take it out of the house.”
Scootaloo barely heard the second part. Because it was mom’s! echoed in her mind. Did something happen to Diamond Tiara’s mother? Everypony knew about Filthy Rich, but when was the last time anypony said anything about his wife? Eyes drawing back to her saddlebag, Scootaloo realized she really did find something worth more than its material value.
But it was still Diamond Tiara’s.
This was the same filly that haunted her nightmares and made every day horrible. This amounted to an act of revenge, and Diamond Tiara would never be the wiser. All she had to do was keep the ring, and Diamond Tiara would suffer. And Tiara only had herself to blame, too. Revenge? No, this was justice!
Grinning, she looked back over at the little, distraught waif. There she was, uselessly scanning the area next to the swings looking for something she’d never find—not that she’d be able to see it anyway with all those tears in her eyes.
It was what Diamond Tiara deserved for treating Scootaloo and her friends so terribly all this time. So why then, couldn’t Scootaloo keep smiling? Instead, a lump formed in her throat as she cast another glance over at her saddlebags.
Diamond Tiara must have really cared about that ring. And why wouldn’t Silver Spoon help her find it? That filly was practically Diamond’s shadow.
“Why don’t you just have Silver Spoon help you find your dumb ring?” Scootaloo asked.
Tiara stomped a hoof. “She thought it was stupid! She just wanted to go buy a new one! She doesn’t… understand.” Drawing a hoof across her wet eyes, she turned to face Scootaloo. “What do you care, anyway? Just… help me find the ring or leave me alone.”
Scootaloo didn’t care… or did she? Sure this was the worst filly ever, as far as Scootaloo was concerned. But still, she didn’t get even a little satisfaction in seeing her so upset. Worse, she actually sympathized with her, unlike Silver Spoon. Scootaloo knew full-well the comfort that a memento could bring.
With a groan, Scootaloo turned to her bag. “Fine, I’ll find your stupid ring, I promise,” she said, already planning on pretending to find it by her saddlebags.
Diamond looked up at Scootaloo, a smile banishing the remnants of her tears. “Really?” Tiara’s smile quickly fell away as she snapped her head away from Scootaloo. “Well, I guess even your help would be better than nothing.”
Scootaloo paused on her way to her bag. Did Tiara seriously just insult her? And right after she just promised to help, too. She had half a mind to just pluck the ring out of her saddlebags and throw it at Diamond Tiara. Though, that would probably lead to accusations that she stole it, and that was a whole can of worms Scootaloo did not want to open.
No. Her only real option was to “find” the ring. Making sure that Diamond was too busy scanning the ground to notice, Scootaloo quickly plucked the weighty ring and tucked it under a wing. With the ring safely out of view, Scootaloo made certain to put distance between her and her saddlebags.
Figuring the best place to find the ring would be the spot where she actually found it, Scootaloo headed towards the water barrel. “You know, you should be grateful that I would even offer to help you after all the grief you and Silver Spoon have given me and my friends.”
“Hey, you’d better not back out,” Tiara warned. “Don’t forget: you promised.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah.” For a moment Scootaloo wondered if the crying Diamond was better than the sardonic one. Well, at least this one was “normal.” Again making sure that Diamond wouldn’t see, she snapped her wings up and the ring fell to the ground.
She was about to make her false discovery when a thought hit her. Maybe she could still get something out of this. “So, what’ll you give me if I do find your ring?” she asked, eyeing the ring as it lay in the grass.
“Hmph! I never took you for a liar,” Tiara replied.
At least Diamond seemed to be in better spirits, even if that did turn her back into a monster. Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow as she looked back over at Diamond Tiara. “What do you mean, liar?”
Tiara already turned her attention back to the ground. “You already agreed to help. If you wanted compensation, you should have asked for it up front.”
Scootaloo scratched her head. How did that make her a liar, exactly? Forget it! With a frustrated grunt, Scootaloo scooped up the ring and held it out. “Here! Is this what you’re looking for?”
Diamond Tiara’s head snapped up. Her eyes gleamed. “Oh my gosh! Mom’s ring!” The next thing Scootaloo knew, Tiara was right there next to her, snatching the ring away. She held the ring close to her face, and her smile grew wider. “This is really it!”
A pair of pink legs wrapped around Scootaloo’s neck, forcing her face against Tiara’s. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, I could kiss you!” True to her word, their cheeks parted long enough for Diamond to press her lips to Scootaloo’s cheek.
Scootaloo pushed Diamond away. “Geez! You don’t have to get so mushy,” she said, wiping her cheek.
A red band formed over Diamond Tiara’s cheeks as she blinked a couple of times. Quickly, she spun around, putting her nose in the air. “Wh-what I meant to say, was that you did okay… for a blank flank.” Without ever turning around, Diamond pranced off and disappeared behind the schoolhouse.
Frowning, Scootaloo sighed. Helping Diamond Tiara didn’t really give her that warm, fuzzy feeling you’re supposed to get for helping ponies. The fact that she got insulted for helping probably didn’t help. Well, at least she knew that Diamond really did care about that ring and that she did the right thing. There was some solace in that, if only a bit.
She gave her cheek another good, rough rub as she turned her focus back to the whole reason she came here in the first place: the seesaw. Sure enough, as if her luck hadn’t already been bad enough, the repairpony was already there, working to fix the handle.
Scootaloo thrust a hoof in his direction. “Oh, come on!”
