The Filly with the Purest Heart

It was only three weeks before Nightmare Night, and the leaves of all of the trees around Sweet Apple Acres had already began to change colors. The date was Tuesday, and Applebloom had just woken up. She hopped out of her bed and looked around her room briefly.

“Sheesh, another mornin’ of school, I am already looking forward to the weekend.” said the distraught filly as she wondered into the upstairs bathroom of the Apple Family House to wash her face.

Applejack was in the kitchen downstairs preparing breakfast for herself and Applebloom. She had heard her little sister’s hoofsteps upstairs and knew that she was awake by this time.

“That girl always wakes up about as graceful as a pig sliding on Blueberry syrup.” laughed Applejack with a wide grin. She had thought what she said was rather humorous, even by her standards.

Applebloom had finally finished her business in the upstairs bathroom, and had begun to descend the stairs towards the feint smell of apple fritter waffles, her mouth watering all the while.

“Oh boy, mah big sis’ must have done finished breakfast, no need to keep the food a-waitin’!” thought the filly to herself as she started to run towards the kitchen. Applejack noticed her enter the kitchen and take a seat at the table in the center of the room.

“Howdy sis, I have finished your breakfast, be sure to eat up, and don’t forget your saddlebag, don’t want to leave it here like yesterday.” said Applejack warmly as she placed the plate of apple fritter waffles in from of her little sister.

“Thanks Applejack, I won’t forget mah saddlebag this time.” said Applebloom as she began to eat her meal.

“Just be glad that BigMac had brought it to you during recess, he found it in front of your bedroom door yesterday morning.” said Applejack.

“I had already thanked him, it must have fallen off of mah self while I was leaving for school yesterday.” said the filly as she finished up the waffles.

“That sure was good sis, I got to head out to school now, I will see you when I get back!” said Applebloom as she left the table and gave her sister a little rub on her muzzle.

“Be careful sugarcube, and have a good day!” said the orange farm pony happily as she waved her sister goodbye.

“Hopefully they will meet up with me before I arrive at school, the morning walks are always more entertainin’ with them around.” thought Applebloom to herself as she exited the entrance of the farm.

She then proceeded to walk up the road to the left of the farm entrance, and before too long, made it to the outskirts of Ponyville where she knew the rest of the way like the back of her hoof.

“Just a little further, and we can get this day started, this plane old day.” sighed the filly to herself as she began to walk through the main square of town.

As she continued to trot through the main square, she passed Sugarcube Corner and her eyes noticed the selection of baked goods displayed in cases that sat in front of the windows. She could not see anypony she recognized around her immediate vicinity, but she knew that Pinkie Pie was already in the kitchen of the bakery, and making a wonderful batch of goods for the day. A little while longer, and before Applebloom knew it, she could see the schoolhouse and the playground in the front yard right ahead.

“Almost there, at least this time I did not forget mah darn saddlebag.” thought Applebloom to herself as she continued to trot at a comfortable pace towards the school.

“I don’t see Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle yet, they must already be in class, I guess.” said the filly to herself quietly as she approached the open gate that led into the playground.

She saw several of her classmates running and playing around her, as it was still ten minutes before class was to officialy start. Still, no sight of her two friends as she decided to head into the school building to see if they were already at their desks. Before she could even enter through the door, she heard somepony approach her from behind. She turned around, and upon seeing who it was, she let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes.

“If it isn’t the resident blank flank here again this morning.” said Diamond Tiara towards her favorite pony to tease. She made sure to use a mocking tone when she exclaimed this.

“Don’t you ever get tired of sayin’ the same thing each mornin’ Diamond?” asked Applebloom as her ears fell to the sides of her face.

“Oh come on, it never gets old, and your reaction is hilarious every time.” said Diamond Tiara, chuckling to herself.

Applebloom rolled her eyes again, but immediately noticed that her usual compatriot was not at her side this morning.

“Where is Silver Spoon, she is always by your side in the mornin’, is she already in class?” asked Applebloom, with curiosity.

“Oh, that is a good question blanky, she has not showed up yet, maybe she is just running a bit late.” said Diamond Tiara, still chuckling at the names she was calling the filly in front of her.

“Blanky, that’s a new one, look, class is about to start, I gotta go!” said Applebloom with haste as she trotted quickly towards the classroom door.

“Hey, don’t run away, are ya scared?” said Diamond Tiara in her usual sarcastic tone as she watched Applebloom run down the hallway towards the classroom.

“Hmm, there is no reason to get too upset with her, those silly names she manages to come up with when she tries to insult me, they are actually kinda cute, hehe.” laughed the filly to herself as she approached the classroom door.

The door was always open at this time of day, once the teacher was sure that every foal had arrived for the morning, she would close the door and begin the lesson for the morning. As Applebloom arrived inside the classroom, she saw Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sitting at their usual spots, whispering to each other and giggling every so often. This brought a smile to Applebloom as she approached them.

“There ya two are, I am glad to see ya, I had another runnin’ in with Diamond again.” said the filly as she sat at the desk behind her two friends.

“Aww, hi Applebloom, I am sorry we were not outside to greet you, but Scootaloo had a secret to tell me, and she wanted to do it in the classroom, where not many ponies could hear us.” said Sweetie Belle with a smile towards her friend.

“That’s okay Sweetie Belle, but what kind of secret could Scootaloo have for you?” asked Applebloom as she turned her attention to her purple-maned pegasus friend.

“Well, it would not be much of a secret if I told you.” giggled Scootaloo to herself as she turned around to look at Applebloom.

“Hey, you mean you are not goin’ to tell me, why not?” asked Applebloom with a frown forming on her muzzle.

“Oh don’t get sad Applebloom, I will tell you after class, I never liked letting all of my friends know my secret at the same time, it is better to build suspension, besides I would have told you first if, you know, you were here.” said Scootaloo as she smiled at both of her friends.

“Okay, I guess, but make sure ya tell me right after class.” said Applebloom towards Scootaloo.

“I will do one even better, I will tell you at recess.” said Scootaloo with a sneaky grin.

“Hey, that sounds even better!” said Applebloom happily.

“Ms. Cheerilee is here, let’s talk about this later, we don’t want to get in trouble for talking in class now.” said Sweetie Belle to her friends.

The clock above the chalk board had indeed shown that it was now time for class to begin, as their teacher had entered the room, and closed the door right behind her.

“Alright class, I assume everypony who was going to show up today already has, so let’s turn our attention to the front of the room okay?” asked the teacher with a gentle tone to her voice. All of the foals in the room did as she said, and Cheerilee trotted to her desk as she glanced over which of her students were present today.

“I see Silver Spoon is not here today, have you heard from her Diamond Tiara?” asked Cheerilee with curiosity.

“Umm, no, come to think of it, I have not heard from her today, I guess something came up that she did not tell me about.” said Diamond Tiara to her teacher.

“I see, well, everypony else is here today, so let’s go ahead and go over the lesson from yesterday in a bit more detail now.” said the chipper teacher as she started to draw some math problems on the chalkboard.

“Oh boy, wherever you are right now Spoony, I wish I was there with you.” thought Silver Spoon with disdain over having to be at school without her best friend.

Within a few hours, the bell rang, alerting everypony that it was now time for recess.

“Okay everypony, be careful on the playground and try not to wonder out okay?” asked Cheerilee as she opened the classroom door and allowed her students to trot towards the playground. All of the ponies journeyed calmly towards the front door of the school house, with Applebloom and her friends in the back.

“Alright Scootaloo, as soon as we get outside, ya got to tell me that secret, you did say that once recess began, you would.” said Applebloom as she walked beside the young pegasus.

“Yeah, I know, let’s go sit beside the water fountain, I will tell you there.” said Scootaloo as the three fillies raced towards the water fountain in the middle of the playground.

“Alright, you are going to be so happy once you hear this Applebloom!” said Sweetie Belle with a joyful tone as the three foals sat right around the beautiful cobblestone water fountain.

“I sure am excited, now, spit it out already girl!” said Applebloom with anticipation.

“Okay, well, uhh....” began Scootaloo, before finally finding the words she was trying to articulate towards her curious friend.

“I have came up with a new way that we can try and get our cutie marks, see.” said Scootaloo with joy building up around her whole being.

“That just sound like every other plan ya have, Scoots, how is that a secret?” asked Applebloom with a slight hint of disappointment to her voice.

“No, wait, she has not got to the best part.” said Sweetie Belle as Scootaloo continued her explanation.

“You see, I had borrowed a few Daring Do novels from Dash, and having read some, I saw how fun it was whenever the main character had to find a secret artifact.” said Scootaloo.

“Hmm, are you suggesting what ah thank you are?” asked Applebloom with more interest in her tone.

“She sure is, we are going to be Cutie Mark Secret Treasure Hunters!” said Sweetie Belle with laughter as she hoof-bumped Scootaloo.

“Huh, that does sound pretty darn interestin’, maybe we can come up with an idea of what it is we are looking for.” said Applebloom as she looked towards her two friends.

“I have not thought of that yet, I was more thinking that we just look around, ummm, say, Fluttershy’s cottage, yeah, I bet we can find some kind of treasure there.” said Scootaloo trying her best to come up with an idea.

“Isn’t that awfully close to the Everfree?” asked Applebloom with a tint of nervousness about her.

“Well, yeah, but if we let Fluttershy know that we are there, she can watch us, or maybe even help us find some treasure, that way, it will make it easier to get our treasure hunting cutie marks!” said Scootaloo to her two friends.

“That sounds like a stupid idea, humph.” said Diamond Tiara as she snooped in the conversation, revealing herself from behind the other side of the water fountain.

“Hey, nobody asked you, if ya think it sounds stupid, then mind your own business.” said Scootaloo with a tone of annoyance.

“Aw, no need to be so hostile Scootaloo, I was just being honest, I mean, how many times have you three blank flanks tried to do something overly-spectacular, only to come up empty in the end?” asked Diamond with a pragmatic tone.

“Alright girls, lets try to be cordial here.” said Sweetie Belle as she looked over to Applebloom with a look of concern.

“Oh, trust me, I am not jealous of your little crusader activities, honestly, I pity you three, wasting time doing useless things instead of trying to figure out your actual talent.” said Diamond with a stuck-up poise about her.

“That’s it, if you don’t like the way we do things, then just get out of here, the only reason you are bothering us right now is because Silver Spoon is not here to keep you company.” said Scootaloo, who by this point, was beginning to get even more frustrated.

“Yeah, I wish she was here to keep me company, better than three idiots like yourselves!” shouted Diamond Tiara as she got right up into Scootaloo’s face.

“Okay, that does it, I’ve all the presence of mind to kick your flank silly right here!” yelled Scootaloo right into the face of the prissy pony.

“Yeah, I would like to see you try it.” proclaimed Diamond Tiara as she was not showing any signs of fear.

“Girls, please, Ms. Cheerilee will hear us, and then we will all get into trouble.” said Sweetie Belle with a look of worry.

“Don’t worry about me Sweetie Belle, the only pony who needs to be worried is Diamond.” said Scootaloo with a hint of laughter.

“Trust me Scootaloo, you do not want this, a blank flank like yourself has no right in putting a hoof on an elite like me!” said Diamond Tiara with a fierce tone towards the pegasus.

“Alright, that is enough, both of you stop this instance, ya hear!” yelled Applebloom as she used each of her forehooves to separate Diamond and Scootaloo from each other. She continued on.

“If you get into trouble Scootaloo, then you may not get to come with us for the treasure hunt.” said Applebloom to her friend.

With these words in her mind, Scootaloo started to calm down, but she still turned her head away from Diamond Tiara.

“Hehehe, of course the little winged blank flank needs one of her blank flank friends to help her.” said Diamond with a tone of resentment as she started to trot the other way.

“Umm, hey Diamond, I know that Silver Spoon is not here, but if you want, you can ask her if she would like to join you in helpin’ us find some secret treasure.” said Applebloom out of the blue.

“What?” asked Scootaloo as she looked at Sweetie Belle with a look of confusion.

“Do you got something you want to say to me too, Blanky?” asked Diamond as she trotted back over towards Applebloom and stuck her face right into the face of the Red-Bow haired filly.

“Hey, don’t let Diamond Tiara do that to you Applebloom, show her who is boss!” said Scootaloo as she looked towards her friend with concern.

“If Silver Spoon is up to it, then would you two like to come along with us, looking for treasure can be real fun, and I am tired of all of this fighting anyway.” said Applebloom with a calm poise to her voice that made her two friends stare at her in schock. Diamond Tiara moved herself away from Applebloom, and could only stare with a look of confusion herself towards her enemy.

“Applebloom, what the hey are you thinking, if you are trying to pull a prank on Diamond, then good job.” said Scootaloo as she stood beside Applebloom.

“This is not a prank Scootaloo, I am just sick of this fightin’ and stuff, I do not hate Diamond Tiara or her friend, even if they hate us, it is not right to hate anypony.” said Applebloom, with a carefree smile.

“I’m not going to even ask right now, we can worry about this later, recess is almost over anyway, and I was wanting us to go to Fluttershy’s cottage after school anyway.” said Scootaloo as she started to trot briskly towards the school building.

“Umm, yeah, the offer from Applebloom is still open Diamond, if you and Silver Spoon want to come with us, you can, and if you don’t, well.... Umm.... Then you don’t have to I guess.” said Sweetie Belle with a look of sadness as she stared towards the ground.

“Sweetie Belle, you are approving of what I said?” asked Applebloom as she looked towards her pure white coated friend.

“I agree with you, even if Scootaloo doesn’t, all of this fighting is pointless, I don’t even hate Diamond or Silver Spoon.” said Sweetie Belle as she turned towards the tiara-clad pony with a warm smile, the same as Applebloom’s.

“I... Don’t, what, no...!” mumbled Diamond Tiara to herself as she was unsure how to respond to this. She managed to utter another semblance of words towards the two ponies, who despite being her frequent victims, have decided to extend a kind gesture towards her.

“No, just.. Don’t speak to me anymore right now, please just leave me alone.” said Diamond Tiara as she shed a tear from her right eye and walked back towards the class room.

“Huh, she seems to be deep in thought, let’s leave her alone and go back to class and join Scootaloo.” said Sweetie Belle as she and Applebloom ran back towards the classroom just as recess ended.

The rest of the school day went on as normal, and as the school bell started to ring, Ms. Cheerilee started to let her students out of the door to exit the building.

“Have a great day everypony, I will see you all tomorrow, be careful and kind to each other, and remember to do your homework!” said the teacher with a joyful expression on her face as she watched all of her students exit the room. She noticed that Diamond Tiara was slow to get up out of her desk and leave, and when she had began to exit the room, a look of confusion was all upon her face.

“Diamond Tiara, are you alright sweetie, is there something bothering you?” asked the concerned teacher as she looked at Diamond Tiara right in the eyes.

“No... Nothing.. Is.. Wrong.” said Diamond Tiara with a slow and silent tone about herself.

“Okay, if you say so, see you tomorrow right?” asked Cheerilee with a more positive vibe around her now.

“Um, yeah, see you tomorrow Ms. Cheerilee.” said Diamond Tiara, who despite what she experienced earlier, was still trying to fake a positive response to the teacher.

Cheerilee waved her student goodbye as Diamond Tiara walked outside of the school house and out into the playground exit, where the road to Ponyville was. She saw the three fillies that she enjoyed torturing so much just a few feet in front of her. They seemed to be all heading to their respective homes. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waved at Applebloom as each of the two fillies ran off in the directions of their homes, with Applebloom staying on the same road that she knew lead to her family’s farm.

Once she saw that Applebloom was alone, Diamond Tiara made a slow advancement towards the unsuspecting filly and managed to match her pace, now trotting along side her.

“Oh, Diamond Tiara, what are you doing here, your house is off in that direction.” said Applebloom with a confused, yet warm tone to her voice.

“Tell me what is really going on here, you no good blank flank, what kind of trick is this, I am not going to fall for one from a stupid pony like you!” said Diamond Tiara as she looked at Applebloom with hate in her eyes.

Applebloom could only stare at Diamond Tiara with a shocked expression on her face, but did finally manage to say something to the infuriated pony.

“I am not mad at you Diamond, nor am I trying to prank you, I just want to get to know you, and your friend Silver Spoon.” said the little yellow filly with a soft and pleasant look to her face,

“I, just don’t understand you, I... I... Don’t understand you.” said Diamond Tiara as she slowly started to back away from Applebloom, before slowly trotting towards the direction of Silver Spoon’s house.

“That’s okay Diamond, maybe one day we can understand each other.” said the little yellow filly as she ran back towards her family’s farm with a peaceful smile and comforting eyes on her face.

Diamond Tiara had arrived in the vicinity of her friend Silver Spoon’s house.

“Applebloom, why did you say those thing to me, why then, why now, oh my, what have I done?” asked Diamond Tiara to herself as she began to feel some guilt in her heart.

She approached the door to her friend’s house, with a single tear falling from her eye, and began to knock on the door.