The Offer (Dealing with the Devil)
Apple Bloom was depressed. The whole Anon-A-Miss scheme had blown up in her face. Not only had she ended up losing the trust and respect of her older sister, she no longer had her friends to endure with her.
It was agreed that they were a terrible influence on each other, so they had to be separated.
That was an even worse punishment than the detentions they would have to serve. They would sit in the same room, but kept apart, and not allowed to speak to one another.
Apple Bloom’s laptop and phone were both taken from her. She really couldn’t argue when her family decided it was for the best. After all, she had used them to try and ruin Sunset’s life.
Part of her wanted to blame Diamond Tiara for that story she published in the newspaper, but really it was Apple Bloom’s fault that this happened. She started Anon-A-Miss and gotten both Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo involved.
The students gave them a bit of a hard time, teasing them for starting Anon-A-Miss in the first place. Calling them ‘backstabbers’ and ‘traitors’ to their own sisters. If they could do something like that to family, then how could they deserve trust from anyone else?
Apple Bloom would have to shoulder all the blame.
Oddly enough, neither Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon gave them a hard time about Anon-A-Miss. She had exposed them, so why not twist the knife further? Diamond Tiara wouldn’t hesitate to kick her and her friends when they were down. But it seemed that she just didn’t care anymore.
Apple Bloom opened her locker. That was when a folded piece of paper fell out and landed at her feet. Curious, Apple Bloom picked it up and read it.
Apple Bloom was not the only one who got the note, as she would soon learn.
It was lunch time and the students were seated at the cafeteria. One table was being used for an important matter.
Sitting on one side were Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack. Next to each of them were Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom.
Turns out, Scootaloo was Rainbow Dash’s foster sister and Rainbow Dash was responsible for her at school.
On the other side sat Diamond Tiara and Sunset Shimmer.
“OK, what’s this about?” Applejack asked, still hesitant to meet Sunset’s eyes. She was still ashamed for suspecting her friend. Sunset had forgiven her and the others, but she wasn’t one to forget easily. Just like them, she held a bit of a grudge.
“And why are you with Diamond Tiara?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well, for the past few weeks, Sunset Shimmer has been mentoring me,” said Diamond Tiara. All eyes went to Sunset Shimmer who shrugged.
“You girls had your own little sisters. I thought I should have mine too,” Sunset admitted.
“And Sunset has taught me a few things, like how to wield power properly. I mean, after all, I’m editor of the school paper. That gives me the power to spread information,” Diamond Tiara smirked.
“Yeah, you did,” Scootaloo muttered.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Diamond Tiara inquired.
“You’re the reason we got busted,” Scootaloo accused.
“I’m sorry, but did you really think you could’ve gotten away with what you did?” Diamond Tiara asked. “It was a clever scheme, of course, but you three weren’t really subtle.”
Scootaloo went silent.
“Also, you can’t blame Diamond for wanting to reveal the truth. She’s a reporter,” said Sunset Shimmer. “At least she looked at all the facts instead of jumping to conclusions.” Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack hung their heads.
“Look, we’re sorry,” Rainbow Dash asked. “How much do we have to apologize?”
“Until you guys learn to use your heads. If you keep thinking the worst of each other, I don’t know if your friendship is going to survive much longer,” Sunset Shimmer said. “And I am sorry for breaking you up the first time. This time, though, you were the ones who decided I couldn’t be trusted.”
“Excuse me, but could we get to the point of this meeting?” Rarity asked.
“We’ve discussed with Principal Celestial and Vice-Principal Luna and they decided to lift the detention on your sisters,” said Sunset Shimmer.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were surprised at this.
“But on one condition,” Diamond Tiara added with a smirk. “All three of you are going to work for me in the school newspaper.”
Now looks of shock appeared on the three young girls.
“What!?”
“Work with you!?”
“No way!”
“Think about it before you all reject my generous offer. This way you won’t have to sit through detention and you might be able to spend more time together,” Diamond Tiara said, reminding them of their forced separation. “Do you really want to throw a chance like that away?”
The three young girls shared looks of hesitation. It had been weeks since they saw each other outside of school and being grounded wasn’t fun. Not being able to talk on the phone or chat online was really getting to them.
And Diamond Tiara was offering them something.
But wouldn’t it be like making a deal with the Devil?
“Why are you offering them this?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, these girls were able to find out secrets and post them on Anon-A-Miss. It’s a skill every reporter should have and exploit. I mean, even I want a juicy story but I’m way too busy. So, I just need other people to do it for me,” Diamond Tiara explained.
“Wait, so you want Anon-A-Miss to work for you?” Applejack asked, confused and surprised.
“In a matter of speaking, yes. They have a talent and I hate to see it go to waste. However, what I want is real news and not embarrassing stories and posts. All that is just...juvenile,” Diamond Tiara answered.
“And I’ll be there to make sure they stay in line,” Sunset Shimmer added.
“Sunset?” Applejack asked.
“Sunset’s my mentor. She’ll advise me on how to handle things better while I look after your little sisters. I get new minions, I mean, members and they get to spend more time together doing something productive. It’s win-win,” said Diamond. “So, what do you say?”
What to say indeed?
In the end, they negotiated with the parents who decided that keeping the girls away from each other may not be the best for them emotionally. The grounding still stayed. Also, every day, after school, the Crusaders would be at the School Newspaper Office to help Diamond Tiara with the school newspaper.
And she enjoyed bossing them around each day.
Author's Note
Well, this is basically a continuation of my "Exposing Anon-A-Miss" story. It was fun to write Diamond Tiara as the "heroic antagonist" and I think that there's more to her than just a bully. Yeah, she likes to give the CMC a hard time, but there are expectations put on her so she needs stress relief. Sunset Shimmer, however, provides advice and mentoring to show her that constant bullying without a reward is pointless, and DT agrees. So, DT decides to 'reward' the CMC for their skill and makes them her new minions. Also, they can't renege on the deal since it'll mean back to detention and forced separation.