Chapters "Ahh~ Another beautiful day in Equestria. Celestia is shining her photogenic rays of light down upon this earthly canvas called Ponyville. The winds blowing ever so softly among the forest trees, carrying with them the refreshing essence of life. The river's tepid melody of light splashes against its bank, practically singing in tandem with the fascinating melody of birds chirping as they soared through the lightly clouded skies. Everything is in perfect harmony.
and
it
FREAKING
SUCKS!" Discords shouted from the top of his lungs, the sound reverberating inside his relatively small office space. He leaned back in his chair, his elongated body stretching out like a bendy straw.
"Ough, I know!" he giddily said, snapping his fingers and flipping the inside of his office upside-down. He smiled briefly before sulking in his chair once again, rolling out of it and onto what used to be his ceiling. "Oh, what's the point?" he said. "This gag stopped being fun at #42. It got funny again at #69, but now it's more stale than a biscuit from your local fast food joint." He silently commented, looking off into the ceiling as if someone was staring back at him. He snapped his fingers, poofing a coo-coo clock in front of him.
{11:11 am.}
"Ugh~" He whined aloud, pulling at his horn and antler, his unprofound chaos magic allowing him to twist and turn them any way he wished. "I'd rather be a stone statue again than deal with another second of this boredom," he said, rolling around his ceiling. He stared at the coo-coo clock again, watching as the little hand slowly spun around the circle. Each ticking noise, bit by bit, began to drive its way inside Discord's head like a nail into wood.
Tick-Tock
Tick-Tock
Tick-Tock
Tick-Tock
Tick-Tock
{11:12 am}
"COULD YOU MOVE FASTER ALREADY?!" he yelled as his eyes bulged and turned red, choking the coo-coo bird. He knew fully well that he could just snap his fingers, speed up the day, and be done with it, but he had promised Fluttershy not to use that kind of magic again after accidentally killing all of the plants in her garden. 'To make them grow faster," he reasoned. "Should've promised her not to use that kind of magic "around" her instead of in general...," he said to the coo-coo bird. He snapped his fingers once more, returning everything to normal. He looked out the window at the peaceful view of Ponyville, feeling annoyed by the serene surroundings.
"Maybe Twilight wouldn't mind just a little bit of chocolate rain...I know Pinkie wouldn't. Why, I'd be doing nothing wrong; I'd merely be doing a nice thing for a friend!" He told himself, with an all-too-happy grin on his face. His thumb and middle fingers pressed together ever so tightly; he was ready to cure his boredom. However, he was interrupted by the sound of knocking coming from his door. He quickly jumped back in his chair, rearranged his desk to make it seem like he was working, grabbed a book from his desk drawer, and pretended to read. "Enter," he softly said to his uninvited guest. The door opened, and Starlight walked over to him, dressed in her usual professor attire.
"Starlight!..." What do you want? Discord rang with a seemingly pleased voice before grunting heavily, clearly irked by her presence. "Here to institute yet 'another' useless mandatory check-up on whether I'm doing any 'real' work?" he said, with an exasperated tone. "No, fortunately for you, I'm not here for that. Otherwise, you would have already failed," she replied, catching a hint of annoyance in her voice. He let out a dry laugh before continuing, "Well, I have everything under control, so if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you could leave me alone. And be sure to let the door hit you on the way out," he said, turning the page of his book.
"Really now?" she said, examining his desk. "A cup full of pens, but the cup is made out of cake. A stack of papers with nothing on them but badly drawn pictures of yourself and Fluttershy. A folder titled "Dad jokes" and another one titled "Yo Mamma." And to top it off, that book you read is upside down, and you're reading it from finish to start—seriously," she said, all too unimpressed.
"Ugh, just get to the reason why you are here already." His annoyance is even more visible to her now. Suddenly, Starlight let out a loud whistle, and two mares walked into the room. The first one he recognized. Applejack's little sister, Applebloom. She looked embarrassed, almost shameful. He only recognized the other one, Diamond Tiara, thanks to Twilight. She had forced him to familiarize himself with the faces of the students if he wanted to get his job. She, on the other hand, looked like she fell face-first into a doorknob. He winced at her appearance.
"Forgive my french but, que s'est-il passé
"Wish I knew. Spike happened upon them and managed to intervene before their "disagreement" could escalate and involve anyone else," she said, giving the two girls a look of disappointment and making them sulk in their shame. "I've already asked him to send informant letters to both Applejack and Mrs. Rich, inviting them to come and have a talk with you today. I would love to do this myself, but I have to inform Twilight about this incident." She said, turning back to Discord, who was smiling even harder than Pinkie. "You better take this seriously," she said as if she was scolding a child.
"Yes, yes, yes. Now run along," he said, pushing her out of the room. Starlight shoved against him, her hooves scraping against the floors. She managed to stop herself at the doorway and push him off her for a moment.
"I'm serious, Discord. Up until now, your "job" consisted of three things: consulting students about their grades, giving them advice on alleviating stress, and helping plan field trips. This is the first time the school has ever had a physical confrontation!" she said. Discord paused before rubbing his chin from the surprising realization.
"You're right! Can't fix that with a song, huh? He chuckled. Starlight's eye twitched, her magic enveloping the handle.
"Just...handle...it!" she spouted at him, slamming the door behind her and making the mares tense up.
"Oh, trust me," he paused, turning only his head around to face the two young mares. "I Will!!!"
Less than half an hour into Discord's "disciplinary teaching," Applejack and Spoiled Rich busted into his office, already glaring at each other for some reason before demanding where their family was. However, both of their minds went blank after seeing the duo in their current state. Applebloom is forced to hold a push-up with books staked on her back and head. At the same time, Diamond Tiara was tasked with writing "Friendship is magic" over and over again, backward, on an exceedingly long chalkboard that would erase all her progress if she didn't cover it in under 5 minutes, all while Discord laughed hysterically.
The room became filled with an awkward silence. On the left side of the room, Spoiled Rich sat next to her daughter, trying to hide the massive bruise on her eye with makeup, the occasional wince escaping her mouth. On the right side, the Apple family sat in silence. Applejack tucked her hat down to cover her eyes, unable to even look at her sister. Applebloom could practically feel her disappointment. That pain alone hurt 10x more than Discord's cruel and unusual punishment.
(Sigh~)
The sudden sound of exalted breath made both parties look up at the Chaos lord, who was picking in his ears. "I was really hoping you two were going to show up later. I was just about to have them eat the brown parts of these bananas... as part of disciplinary actions, of course," he waved.
"You mean torture!" Spoiled exclaimed, her tone laced with offense as she jumped up from her seat.
"How can a creature like you even work here?" she said.
"To rephrase, why are you working here, Discord?" Applejack corrected her, annoying Spoiled Rich.
"Hahaha, why does anyone do anything, my dear Apple? Sheer...Absolute...BOREDOM!" He said, getting close to their faces. Suddenly, he pulled out an old-school microphone and snapped his fingers, creating spotlights on himself. "I'd lacked inspiration for quite a while. My work became mundane, lacking focus, Aimless! I've come to crave a new form of entertainment! Hahaha! And what better place to start than here? The trotting sounds of youthful rebellion. Flapping wings carried by the winds of anxiety. Both of these things and more are ever-present in these bustling halls. A school might as well be a primordial source of chaos to dip my paintbrush in," He finished, everything returning to normal as he snapped his fingers again.
"Oh, for the Love of Celestia, will you please shut up?" Spoiled screamed, her frustration evident in her tone. She paused for a moment, glaring at the letter that Spike had sent her. "And to think the Princess' "pet" sent this ridiculous letter while I was at work. I'm a very busy mare, so can we hurry this along already," she said, crumpling it up in front of her. Applejack stood up from her chair, unable to hold her tongue after hearing her friend being insulted. She slammed her version of the letter onto the table, startling all parties.
"Now y'all listen up, Spoiled Rotten. Ah ain't gonna have no insults bein' slung at mah friends like that," she drawled firmly. Applebloom stared at her sister, the look in her eyes practically screaming the color red. Spoiled, however, was unfazed by her show of bravado.
"Was that a threat? I can sue you for that, you know," she said, examining her nails and giving them a quick blow. Diamond Tiara sank in her chair, butterflies in her stomach as she watched the two, when suddenly...
"Excuse me," Discord interrupted, "but can I see those letters?" he asked. To their surprise, Discord was being serious. They blinked, baffled at the chaos lord, who casually polished a pair of glasses before popping them onto his face. It was the first time that he'd actually taken this matter professionally. They did as he asked of them. He uncrinkled Spoiled's letter and held it next to Applejacks. It read as follows...
Dear (AppleJack) (Spoiled Rich),
I apologize for the sudden intrusion of this letter. The message I have for you requires your urgent attention. I humbly regret to inform you that [Applebloom/Diamond Tiara] is currently serving detention with Mr. Discord as a result of disciplinary action for fighting on school grounds, this being the first fight to happen in the school's history. As you know, The School of Friendship was established as a symbol for Equestria. Its goal is to create and strengthen relationships between both its students and teachers, regardless of their background, race, or prior history. Until now, we have been successful in fulfilling this promise by fostering positivity and inclusivity among students. However, we have to acknowledge our lack of competence in this particular matter for not being able to prevent the situation from escalating into a physical altercation. Therefore, I also wish to take responsibility for our failure as teachers/staff to handle this situation.
I kindly request/invite you to the school this evening to have a friendly sit-down with the opposing student and their caretaker so that we can address this incident adequately and work towards building a new friendship. If you are unable to attend today, we can schedule a different time and date outside of school hours.
Sincerely,
Spike
"Well, now. I must say, this is quite a surprise," Discord said, pushing up his glasses. Applejack and Spoiled Rich precariously looked at him, wondering if they'd missed something in Spikes's letter.
"What? What is it?" Spoiled asked.
"Huh, I don't know if it's because of the amount of time we hang out together or how goofy we are around each other, but I never knew how good Spike's wording was, not to mention penmanship! I wonder if I can convince him to collaborate with me on my fan fiction-" he said, caressing his beard hair. At that moment, Spoiled Rich's patience hit rock bottom.
"Nopony cares about your fan fiction! I demand to know why my daughter has a black eye!" she bellowed, her face seething with anger. Discord merely looked at her, unfazed, as he took out a napkin and whipped his face from all the spittle she sprayed on him.
"I don't understand why you're asking me. You already know what happened. Your daughter provoked a sleeping beast," he said, gesturing towards the Apples, looking at him with a mix of annoyance and disbelief. "No offense," he added.
"Taken," Applejack replied, finally turning her attention to her sister, who bundled up in her chair. She was trembling, and her eyes were lightly swollen from dried tears. At first, Applejack attributed her condition to Discord's strange punishment, but she knew her sister well enough to realize that hard work wouldn't make her cry like this.
"Applebloom," she whispered, comforting her sister, "What happened, sugar plum?"
"She-..." Applebloom tried, but her voice crackled as she tried to speak. "She went too far," she managed, peeking at Discord's interest. Before he could talk, however, Spoiled beat him to it.
"The only one who's gone too far here is you, you violent-prone brat," she yelled, pointing at the young mare. Applejack stood up in retaliation before halting at the rise of Discord's hand and reluctantly sitting back down.
"While I'm all good for some banter, Could you refrain from insulting someone else's child? And while you're at it, can you explain why you believe that this is entirely her fault, Ms. Rich? The young mare clearly stated that Diamond crossed a certain line." he concluded, bringing his hands together with an all-too-snarky-looking face to counter the meaning of his words.
"That's "Mrs." Rich to you, And the answer is simple. My daughter is the one who is clearly injured. I don't even see a scratch on that girl's face. I DEMAND THAT SHE BE EXPELLED AND A RESTRAINING ORDER BE PLACED ON HER AND HER ENTIRE FAMILY!" Spoiled, Rich screamed in anger, a bulging vein popping out of her forehead.
"That's right, Mama. Look what she and her friends did to me," Diamond Tiara dramatically cried out, pointing out her badly make-up-covered eye. Suddenly, Applebloom slammed her hooves into the table. Diamond Tiara cringed in fear, no longer believing she was safe cause her mother was nearby. "Don't you dare go badmouth 'em!" she said, leaning into the table. "I did it to ya, not them. So don't you dare go lyin' on their names," she scolded Diamond, her mother grinnin' as the young mare slowly sat back in her seat. Applejack stared at her sister; although disappointed that Applebloom basically confirmed that she did throw the first punch, she was proud of her for calling out Diamond Tiara's lie about her friend's involvement.
"See. What did I say? Violent!" she said, her posh accent laced heavily with disrespect.
"But truthful, unlike her," Applejack mutters, defending her little sister and furthering Spoiled's displeasure.
"Oh, And what makes you such a good judge of character?" Spoiled angrily questioned.
Discord smirked, "Well, she IS the element of honesty. It's literally her nature," earning another glare from Spoiled. Her face contorted in anger, and she snapped, "Don't you dare take her side, you annoying overgrown creature! You're just trying to stir up trouble!" Discord raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden outburst but didn't back down. "I'm not taking sides, just pointing out the facts. Don't you think her friends would also be here if that were the case?" Spoiled fumed, her teeth trembling with rage as she stood up from her chair and snatched her daughter's arm.
"This has been nothing but a waste of my time. Come on, Tiara, we're leaving," She ordered. Her daughter let out a sigh of relief. Just before she and her mother could exit, however, Discord snapped his fingers, teleporting them back to their seats.
"You come here under the terms of having a friendly talk, but instead make rude comments, act brazenly sassy, and then talk for only your benefit alone...That, ma'am, is my job! Now, you are going to sit down as we talk this out," he vicariously said. Spoiled clenched her teeth before taking a deep breath and sitting back down. "Let's just get this over with," she said.
"Excellent," he said, clapping in delight. "Now then," he gave a glance to both Diamond Tiara and Applebloom. "Care to tell us what happened?" he asked. Both of them stayed quiet, their nerves snatching their will to speak. Discord sighed, wondering to himself if this was what the rest of his day was going to be like. Applejack pulled her sister closer to her. "All I'm askin' fer is the truth," Applebloom then closed her eyes, hearin' her heartbeat in her ears as she recalled everything.
"Alright," she said. Diamond tiara flinched; her uneasiness would have been noticeable to anyone who looked at her at the moment. However, all eyes were focused on Applebloom, and Discord let out a small "Finally" as he was thankful that the silence was over.
"The girls and I were making plans for after school when she walked over to us...
"We should go to an arcade!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "No way, let's go to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie's making a nine-layered chocolate cake today... Nine layers, can you believe it?" replied Sweetie with excitement. The two of them started to argue back and forth, getting louder and attracting more eyes with each passing moment. Applebloom, sensing the tension, intervened. "How 'bout we flip a coin to decide?" she drawled with a smile. They looked at each other, then at Applebloom, and finally nodded in agreement. As she tossed the bit into the air, they each called aside. Scootaloo shouted Heads, as Sweetie called Tails. But before the coin could hit the ground, Diamond Tiara snatched it out of the air. Standing beside her was her only close companion, Silver Spoon.
"How bout neither," She said, glaring at the trio. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes while Scootaloo groaned at their sudden arrival.
"What the big idea, Tiara?" Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo jumped in. "Yeah, what's your problem?" Silver Spoon smirked, stepping beside Diamond Tiara.
"You three! You're the problem. Diamond was supposed to be the Student Council President again this year, but Pipsqueak won. And we know you had something to do with it. Care to explain yourselves?" she demanded, bringing more attention to them. Applebloom crossed her arms, standing her ground. "We helped PipSqueak with his campaign because he promised to help us get an official club room for the CMC here. What's wrong with that?" she replied.
"You were supposed to help me!" Diamond Tiara said.
"Says who?" they all said in unison.
"Me! I make the rules! I've always made the rules. Ugh, wait until my mother hears about this," she said, fixing to storm off. Before she and Silver Spoon could leave, Applebloom stood in front of her. She tried to step around her, but each time, she stopped her. She grunted in annoyance before saying, "Move it." As she said it, both Sweetie and Scootaloo circled the duo.
"Ah ain't movin' 'til ya give me back mah bit," Applebloom said.
Diamond Tiara looked down at the coin, staring briefly at it for a moment before gripping it tightly in anger, "You were supposed to help me. What else am I paying you for?" Tiara angrily said to them. They all looked at each other, confused for a moment by her arbitrary remark. "You don't pay us. And we're not some lackeys you can bully around." Scootaloo snapped back, Sweetiebelle leaning on her side, nodding in agreement. "We don't have to listen to you. And frankly, you not being president is a good thing. At least with Pipsqueak, he offered us something in return.
Diamond Tiara shouted, "You mean bribery!" holding up Applebloom's bit in the air, catching the eyes of the beings around them. The trio quickly realized she was trying to stage one of her "innocent good girl" performances, just like back at their old school, and frame them in the process. "This is what you get for not helping me," Diamond Tiara thought to herself. "I didn't know you three were taking bribes unless...those are your real colors," she said, hoping to provoke a reaction from the gathering crowd. "Where did the days of a fair election go? I remember a time when you all helped me at the old school-
"You mean how back when we were scared of you?" Scootaloo said, stunning some of the crowd. "Yeah, that's right! I said it! We were scared!" She shouted, engaging the crowd around her. "Well, news flash, Tiara, we ain't fillies no more," she said. "We were scared of you 'cause we wanted to be your friend; we wanted your approval." Sweetie added. "In doin' so, we were hurtin' the people around us. But we realized we don't need that kind of sour apples in our baskets," Applebloom said as more of their classmates, and even some upperclassmen, began to notice them, waiting for who would speak next. They were answered as Applebloom stepped closer to Diamond Tiara.
"My big sister Applejack and big brother Mac raised me better than to let myself be stepped all over. And that ah don't need to run an hide behind mah parents for every single problem ah face." The crowd inhaled her comment like air, OOOing and laughing at her witty remark. Hearing their voices cackle at her made Diamond Tiara feel small as if shrinking in size. She was sweating profusely, her breath jagged, and her eyes panicked from all the attention. "Now, my bit, please," Applebloom demanded.
Silver Spoon looked at her. She was blushing head to toe from the crowd's light teases. "Let's go. They aren't worth your time anyway," she whispered loud enough so only Applebloom could hear them. She tried to pull her away, But Tiara shrugged her off. "No," she shouted, "Take that back," she demanded, getting in her face. Applebloom's friends tried to get closer, but one wave of her hoove signaled them to wait.
"Can't handle the truth?" Applebloom argued. Diamond Tiara's frustration hit its peak with Applebloom's remark. She raced around her mind, trying to think of something to say back. If they were back at their old school, she could threaten them with suspension via her mother. But that won't work here. She has no power over them here. As she grits her teeth in anger, a thought... a phrase of sorts comes to mind. She let out a chuckle, rearing her head back as she fixed her hair.
"Truth! Oh, I can handle the truth. But, can you? she remarked. Applebloom raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious about what she had to say. Maybe she'd mock her accent this time. Or insult the way she dresses herself. Or-
"Cause last time I checked, at least I have parents to run to-."
(Crowd Gasp)
Back in Discord's office, everyone shared a moment of silence as Applebloom suddenly stopped her storytelling. Her chest tightened, and her throat began to clog from snot. Applejack clung tightly to her sister's side, who was struggling to remain composed herself. Diamond Tiara tried staring off into the table, but her eyes kept wandering toward the picture in front of her. She felt an unfamiliar emotion stirring within her—guilt. Her mouth opened for words of apology, but she bit her tongue as she tried to speak. Applejack's eyes happen to glance her way, believing she was mocking her sister, only adding to both her heartache and her anger.
"Why don't we all take a five-minute recess?" Discord asked awkwardly.
"You'll have to excuse us for a moment," Applejack said through gritted teeth, her anger barely contained. Discord couldn't help but swallow at nothing, gently waving his hand at the door. Just before they could reach it, however, Spoiled muttered to herself, "Bright Mac?" Everyone saved Discord could only hear the sound of her sucking at her teeth afterward. Discord's eyes widened as she slowly turned his head to the Apple family.
He flew in front of an approaching Applejack who was coming towards him at a fast pace. "Now, Now, AJ. Can I call you AJ? Please, let's be rational here. As much as 'I' would love a chaotic brawl to ensue, I would lose my job in the process...and of course, I would rather 'you' not do something you might regret—" Discord was silenced when she suddenly grabbed him by his beard hair, forcibly pulling his head down. Her eyes shot with unpassionate red veins, darting for the middle. Her right pupil jittered lightly at its center while she grinded her teeth. Her face no longer shows her usually calm and vibrant country demeanor, looking as if she could rip a tree from its roots and throw it across her farm like a football.
"The only thing I regret is sitting here with that mollycoddled pony!" she said, pointing over at Spoiled. Diamond looked over to her mother, expecting her to burst aloud with her exasperated flair like she usually does when something upsets her. This time was different, however, as if she was looking into the eyes of a predator threatened by a rival to their territory. Chills shook down her spine, watching her mother slowly push herself up from her chair and stride up to Applejack. Closing their distance, she spoke, "Who are you calling mollycoddled?" she said, standing behind a floating Discord. Applejack pushed him away, sending him across the room and knocking down the clock hanging above his door. The younger mares covered their mouths as they saw him slide to the ground, rubbing his head in annoyance and disbelief.
"Did she just throw me...ME?" he thought while slowly opening his eyes to see the two mares standing face to face.
"How dare you call me a Mollycoddled pony. You have no right to speak. You're just a fussy farm pony with a bit too big of a mouth. She finished, her face just a few inches apart from Applejacks.
"Ah'm the fussy pony here, ain't Ah? 'Cause ever since this little "friendly sit-down" started—heck, even before that—you've been nothin' but rude, agitatin', and actin' abrasively snobby. Ah work every day so that mah family and the folks around me can be happy," she said, her head colliding with Spoiled's. Now engaged in a shovin' contest, both ponies were slingin' insults back and forth, pushin' each other back with their heads. If anyone were to pass by the room, they'd be welcomed to every insult each pony said, each more creative than the last.
"I am a pristine pony. My life and my work are invaluable to my community. You wouldn't last a day in my kind of shoes—not that you would. Your family is far too seeded in your dirty, unkempt, farm pony ways to escape the depraved hole you dug for yourself."
"If we're talking about livelihoods, then you should know that growing up on a farm taught me the difference between tellin' a good egg from a rotten one. And the hard-boiled type, like your family's, Always stinks the most!"
"Then it's a good thing that I NEVER JOINED YOUR MUD-FLANK OF A FAMILY!!!!!
...
..W-Wha-
...
The room fell silent for a second time at the mention of the Apple family. Spoiled backed away from their pushing contest, covering her mouth with her hooves. She looked over to her daughter, morbidly confused by her mother's abrupt statement. The feeling of tears building up in her eyes flooded her vision with watery memories of the past. Before her tears could claim hold of her, she furiously wiped them away, darting to the door. She pulled at the handle, constantly being denied her dismissal.
"Damn it, Why won't you just let me leave?!" She screamed at Discord, now fully recovered.
"I'm fixing too," he said. With another snap of his fingers, the room was restored to its original state, with everyone seated away from each other. "Diamond Tiara," he said, getting her attention, "Do you want to share your side of the story, or did Applebloom cover everything? I'd hate to be accused of being biased," he said, smiling innocently at Spoiled, who shrugged him off.
She froze for a moment, remembering that terrible feeling of guilt she felt earlier, followed by how her mother reacted to Applejack. She thought it best to remain quiet and ride out the coming storm so everything could return to normal. Once Discord saw the headshake, however, he clapped his hands, summoning papers on each side, but only regular pens for Applebloom and Diamond Tiara. He then took his left hand, grabbed his antler, and snapped off two pieces of it, surprising everyone a little. He then stuck them in his mouth, humming for a moment before popping them back out, the pointed tips now lined with ink. He smiled once again, handing them to Applejack and Spoiled Rich.
"Can't we also have normal pens?" Spoiled asked.
"No. You fought in my office; you get the drooly pens," he said, snapping his fingers. Everyone looked around, expecting something to happen, but saw nothing. "I was being sassy," he said, taking a glance at the papers and grinning in his mind.
"Now, after hearing the story and, ugh, 'Ahem,' witnessing what just transpired, I've made my decision on what to do next. Applebloom, since you were the one to go throw the first hoove, You'll be serving two weeks' worth of after-school detention." Applebloom lowered her head, remembering how she caved into her anger. "Also," he paused, making her look back up, "During this time, you are not allowed to help in any way or form in regards to your new-found club-"
"Now hold on just a sec, Discord. That's her talent. You can't just-
"She can still be part of her club—just not with the one at the school for now. And from the way I see it, this is a very reasonable punishment. Considering the fact that you two," pointing at AJ And Spoiled, "literally began to but-heads in my office, you should be grateful that I'm not the extremely petty type and decide to increase them," he said, forcing them to stay quiet. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Now, Diamond Tiara, you initiated the fight over them not helping you run for president and furthered it by making an obscene and uncalled-for comment. So, you will also be doing two weeks' worth of after-school detention. And since your main issue was about how they didn't help you, your secondary punishment will be to help them at the CMC club at the school. Doesn't that sound fun?
(Snap!)
That sudden noise was the sound of Diamond Tiara's literal diamond tiara snapping and falling off her head. Her bruised eye twitched at the thought of being in the same room with Applebloom friends every day for the next two weeks. The same ponies who hate her almost as much, if not more than Applebloom herself after today.
"You're making my daughter do what...community service?" Spoiled remarked, picking up her daughter's broken tiara.
"No, I'm making her do CMC service. But if you like, I can inform the school janitor that he'll be getting a new assistant for the next two weeks, and while we are at it, I can tell the lunch ladies-
"Stop! STOP! Please!!! You had me at janitor," She pleaded.
"Good. Now, if everyone could please sign and stamp these papers, we can be on our way and enjoy the rest of our day," he said, elevated with his verdict. He snapped his fingers again, summoning a cup of tea and saucer. Spoiled was the first to sign her paper, relieved to be done with this meeting, and finally go home. Applejack, although a little skeptical, sighed soon after being caught by Discord staring at her. Once everything was completed, he clapped his hands and magicked the door open for them. They all got up and walked to the door. However, just as they were about to leave, Spoiled Rich stopped in the middle of the doorway, blocking the Apple family from leaving. "Oh, what now?" Applejack sassed as she stomped her hoof into the floor.
Spoiled, Rich turned around, took a deep breath, and bowed before them, lowering her head as far as she could. Her daughter was dumbfounded; she had witnessed much from her mother during life, but never before had she seen her bow to someone else. Applebloom was just as surprised as she was; this shocking display of compassion, however, actually made her feel rather uncomfortable. She took a step back before Applejack held out her hoof.
"I'd like to apologize for my daughter and my actions today. Our words to you were rude and vulgar in nature. And I can promise that Mr.Discord's punishment for my daughter won't be the only punishment she receives. And, if you'll allow me, I'd like to invite you and your family over for dinner to-."
"Hard pass!" Applejack grabbed Applebloom and speeded out past her, slamming the door behind her with enough force to make the clock fall again.
"Mom?" Diamond Tiara reached out to her mother slowly, pulling back as she stood back up. She looked over to Discord, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened.
"I believe I owe you an apology as well," she said, fixing to lower her head again. As she did so, her face came into contact with a pillow. Her makeup and lipstick lightly smeared it, causing Discord to laugh. Seeing her mother's makeup ruined by his terrible prank, Diamond Tiara ducked her head in anticipation of her mother's yelling—only it didn't sound like yelling. Spoiled, Riched blinked for a moment, looking down at the pillow cover in her apparel. She smirked, then snickered, before finally joining in on Discord's laugh track. "Do I really wear that much makeup? My goodness," she said, wiping a tear of joy from her face before glancing up at the smirking chaos lord.
"Well then, let's go home, Tiara," she said, nudging her lightly. She had a great big smile on her face, but her makeup was still smeared. She pointed it out, to which she replied, "I can fix it when we get home; now come on." As the door closed behind them, Discord grabbed the pen he had made from his broken antler pieces, reattaching them with ease. He looked over the signatures with glee, imagining the chaos they would bring.
"You know, ponies should really learn to read before they sign something,"
Author's Note
Hello everyone, this story is my very first free commission. Thank you to Randompersononline134 for the blueprint, and I hope you enjoy it. The next part is coming out soon, so see you then.
The signs are beginning to show~
Living within a high society has the 'benefit" of affecting a being mind. Depending on how one is raised, it can mean all the difference when it comes to how a pony views the world. Diamond Tiara, being the young and impressionable mare she is, has always looked to her parents as role models. Her father is a wealthy business pony whose pride and lack of emotions he carries within his wallet. And her mother, a business mare in the education field, a mare who she's always figured she would turn out to be. A mare with connections in virtually every area possible, someone who hangs her emotions out on display as if be a warning to others. Like a female lion with a male lion's mane. Diamond Tiata knew that she'd get whatever she wanted as long as they played by their rules, and this morning was no exception...at least, that's what she thought.
"Tiara, wake up. It's time for breakfast," Mrs.Rich said, banging on her daughter's door. Diamond Tiara turned in her bed, trying to block out the noise from the door. "Tiara, wake up. You need to eat before school." With a groan, she lazily grabbed another pillow, sandwiching her head in the middle.
"Nifty, go away. I'm not going to school." She said, her voice somewhat muffled by the pillow.
"Tiara! Get your flank out of bed...Now!" Diamond Tiara's heart froze for a moment as she realized that it wasn't her maid she was talking to but her mother. Meanwhile, behind her bedroom door, Spoiled Rich was tapping her hoof against the floor. With each passing second, her temper grew high while her patience diminished. Finally, with a click of her door, Diamond Tiara walked out of her room.
"What's this about not going to school? she demanded.
"Where's Nifty?
"Young lady, answer the question." Tiara could see her displeasure, her gaze looking down on her. She avoided eye contact, not saying a word. "Oh, I didn't realize we were playing the quiet game. And so early in the morning, too. Alright, I can play," she said. Those were the last words her mother said before walking downstairs to their dining hall. She tried to talk, but her mother "shushed" her each time she attempted. She stopped trying after three and continued all the way there in silence. Passing by a few family pictures, she noticed something about them all. Her mother was always on the right side of each photograph. Growing up, she learned that those you trust the most, you keep on your right side. That was one of the few reasons she always had Silver Spoon walk beside her on her right. But there was one picture frame missing from the others, a tanning line visible that it used to hang up in the hall before disappearing. Passing the remaining picture frames, she suddenly felt a chill rush down her spine. She looked over her shoulder, shifting her head back and forth to the portraits. She could have sworn the eyes were following her. Feeling too uncomfortable, she speeded back to her mother's side.
Now, at the dining room table, she looked around for any signs of her father. Her mother noticed, making sure that she saw her looking at her before looking back to the oven. It dinged done, opening the door fully and grabbing her oven mitts. She pulled out a tray of tiny apple souffles, carefully removing them and giving a decent helping to her daughter. Diamond Tiara's mouth was left agape; she'd never seen her mother bake before. As far as she knew, her mother hated cooking, only doing so for special occasions. She looked on in surprise as she casually hummed a tune.
"You made-
"Shh-."
"..."
"What's wrong? You don't want to play the quiet game anymore?" she said. Tiara nodded no, rapidly shaking her head. "Then the next few words that come out of your mouth better be why you don't want to go to school and an apology for not answering," she said, pouring her a glass of juice.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," she said, grabbing her cup.
"AND-"
"And I don't wanna go 'cause-" She paused for a moment. "Cause I don't want ponies seeing my bad eye." She lied, unwilling to admit it was because of Applebloom friends. She sipped at her juice while her mother ate her food.
"Oh, well, in that case, you can stay home."
"Really!"
"No." she plainly said, taking another bite of her souffle, secretly praising herself for her handy work. "Just like she taught me. Still got it," she thought.
"But why?" Tiara voiced, hitting the table as she did so. Mrs.Rich stopped eating and swallowed what she had already in her mouth.
"Because I said so. You are going to school, young lady and that's final," she said, hitting her hoof on the table. Diamond Tiars couldn't help but flinch, lowering her head in front of her. She'd never seen her mother so...motherly, as weird as that sounded. She frooze for a second before reaching for her cup, seeing the reflection of her black eye. This act triggered flashbacks of yesterday, of how small she felt when Applebloom and her friends stood up to her, and everyone around them surrounded her along with how her idea backfired on her, making her look worse.
"Sweetie, I'm sorry for that just now," Mrs.Rich said, catching her daughter's attention again. "I'll try to contact Princess Twilight and see if she can do something to help you. But I want you to understand I'm not mad at you. I'm just disappointed. I mean, Really Tiara. You could have said anything else but chose to say something as barbaric as mentioning..." she stopped, looking down at her souffle. She picked off a piece of the thinly cut apple, gazing at it fondly before sighing heavily. "Just keep that in mind."
"I said I'm sorry," Tiara said. Her mother glared at her before she guzzled down half of her drink.
"Sorry doesn't mean problem solved. Sorry is just the start." She said, wiping her eyes from any potential tears. "Now, finish your breakfast. I'll be taking you to school today," she said,
"What?" she said, blushing in embarrassment.
"I gave Ms.Nifty the next two weeks off," she nonchalantly said. "I made a promise to Ms.Applejack that I'd be sure that you received a punishment on my side as well. And this is it. So, until your two weeks of detention are over, you are going to be doing all the housework."
"But that's so unfair,"
"No, it's chores. You've just never had to do them cause Ms.Nifty always did. Now that she isn't here, the tasks fall to you," she finished, placing her finished plate into the dishwasher. "If every other pony can do it, so can you."
Sweet Apple Acres. A foundational pillar of Ponyville. It was here that Applebloom was raised to be intelligent, strong, and honest by her family. She admired them more than anything in the world. Her grandmother, Granny Smith, was always willing to talk to her in her times of need. Trying her best to understand her, even when she had trouble with it. She could still recall the time when she told Granny she might be bisexual, along with the look of confusion she had on her face. After collecting her barring, Granny bluntly said to her that she didn't care as long as the pony she found made her happy. Her brother, Big Mac, is a stallion of few words and often lets his actions express most of his feelings. He'd usually reply with an "eeyup" or a "Nope" when feasible. However, she has noticed he's been more vocal since dating Sugar Bell. He'd go to any length for them, even going as far as to cross-dress to aid his sister. And finally, her big sister Applejack, who she'd turn to the most. She aspired to be just like her when she was younger, always being able to stand firm in adversary while wearing a smile. But, after yesterday's...incident, she noticed something was a bit off with her big sister.
After returning home, Applebloom was sent to her room per Aj's orders, expecting the rest of her family to join inside and lecture her on her actions, along with receiving a stack of chores and no TV as additional punishment. But nopony showed up. She waited for half an hour before nervously leaving her room to look for her sister. When she found her, she said she'd tell them tomorrow and to go tell her friends what to expect for the next two weeks. Confused but grateful, she went about her day until it was time for sleep. She woke up the following morning, the calls of the rooster annoying her from her slumber. She rolled off her bed, her hair all frizzy and poofed up. She trotted downstairs, picking up the sweet smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen.
"Mornin," she told everyone, expecting a response back. When she finally opened her eyes. However, she was met with the gazes of two very displeased ponies and one all too happy. Both Big Mac and Granny Smith had their forearms crossed while Applejack cheerfully flipped pancakes. She gulped, feeling a weight lodged in her stomach.
"Eh-heh," She nervously chuckled, taking a seat next to her brother and Granny.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. Y'all are just in time. I was 'just" tellin' Granny and Big Mac how you stood up for yourself and ya friends yesterday. Y'all should have seen her, Granny. A black eye as big as my flank, I tell ya," Applejack said, sliding Applebloom's finished pancakes onto her plate. She is embarrassed and blushed, never having experienced praise like this before. Big Mac gave her a look of question, adding to her embarrassment, quietly on the opposite side of where AJ usually sits, patiently eating his oats.
"I can only imagine," Granny Smith said. Hearing that her granddaughter had started a fight was not how she imagined her morning going. Applebloom sank in her chair as her grandmother folded away the letter Spike had sent Applejack. "Remind me again, did I ever teach you it was ok to put ya' hooves on another pony?" She asked, her elderly voice becoming imposing.
"No," She said in a cracked voice. Granny Smith sighed.
"You're grounded. One week, and no TV," she said. Applebloom nodded silently, much to Applejack's annoyance.
"What? Granny, did ya not hear what I just told ya? This girl was harassing Applebloom...again. And now that she's finally stood up for herself, you're punishing her for it?" She inquired. Applebloom looked on at her sister, somewhat surprised that she was trying to defend her actions. Nobody hates violence more than she does, but ever since yesterday, she's...changed.
"I heard you loud and clear, Aj. But the fact of the matter is-
"The Fact is that that little pony finally got what was coming to her!"
"But that is not how I raised y'all!" She said, lightly stomping her hoof on the ground. "I raised y'all to be strong second and kind-hearted first." She finished, now looking at Applebloom. "Standing one's ground is never a bad thing, but putting ya hooves on somepony is crossing the line. Your punishment stands, and that's that." she finished.
"Oh, Lay off her, Granny," AJ muttered. Everyone's eyes widened a little; no one made a sound 'except Applejack, who carried on without worry. Granny looked over to Big Mac, who quickly focused on the small bowl of oats he made for himself. She then turned to Applebloom, sweatin' beads and starin' at the ceilin'.
"What was that, young missy?" she said, her authoritative side slowly comin' out. Both Big Mac and Applebloom slowly sank into their seats. Though she may be old, everyone in the Apple family knows better than to agitate Granny Smith. She'd be what many call "a high binder" when pushed a tad too hard. Big Mac glanced to his side, meetin' Applebloom's gaze. He gave her a nod, to which she did the same.
"Uh," Apple said, breaking the awkward silence. All eyes on her, she cleared her throat. "I'm gonna be late for school if I stay any longer," she finished, snappin' over to Big Mac.
"I'll take you. Grab your saddlebag, and-" They stopped moving, catching a glimpse of their granny side-eye. She knew what they were tryin' to do, commandin' them to sit back down. She then turned back to AJ, who was still eating without a care in the world.
"I asked you a question, young missy." Applejack ignored her for a second time, grabbing her cup and slowly sipping away its contents. She looked through the empty glass as if it were a telescope at Granny Smith, finally showing her attention.
"I said, 'Lay off her! Ya over-the-hill idgit ," Applejack said, raising her voice at her. Somewhere in her mind, however, Applejack could feel something about what she was saying. Neh, the thinking was wrong as well. But in her angst and displeasure, that feeling was snuffed as fast as it was discovered. Meanwhile, Granny Smith was in her own world, her eyes widened in disbelief. Applejack had never sassed her before. Let alone have the gull to act as if she wasn't even there.
"Young lad, do Not raise your voice at me!" Granny said, slamming her elderly hoof on the table. Applejack snorted, shocking everyone again. Big Mac and Applebloom locked gazes again as if sharing the same thought. "Did she just...backtalk granny?"
"Please, Granny. When have I ever been a 'lady'? And you, stay out of 'my little sister's' business. Sure, she may have thrown the first hit, but it was that arrogant little brat, Diamond Tiara, who caused all of this. She even tried to lie and say she and her friends jumped her yesterday," she shouted, bringing back memories for both her and Applebloom. Granny Smith wondered where this attitude was coming from before firmly placing her hooves on the table. "Watch your language, Applejack. I raised you better than to call other ponies names." She demanded, "I said what was said, and that's final."
"Granny, that little varmint didn't just lie 'bout bein' attacked," AJ paused for a moment before continuing. "She brought up 'bout Ma and Pa!" Applejack reasoned, her voice filled with urgency. Big Mac gasped, turning to Applebloom, who was covering her ears, having anticipated what she was about to say. Granny Smith's eyes widened in shock as she strained to take in the unexpected revelation. Despite her initial disbelief, she couldn't dismiss Applejack's reasoning. She shot Applejack a look of displeasure for not havin' mentioned that during her retellin' of the story.
"Now, why didn't you mention that little detail earlier? That's just plain messy. Like you were asking for trouble." She said. Applejack couldn't help but rub her shoulder in profoundment.
"C'mon, Granny. You know why. It's ma and pa we're talking about." She said, looking directly into her eyes. "I thought I could sidestep over that part since, you know?" Granny tilted her head down, old memories of the past popping up before giving her head a slight shake.
"Yeah, I know. Like I know that they'd disapprove of this," she raised her hoof to her, waving it in a circular motion, "This newly sprung attitude of yours." she finished. Applejack sank for a moment, tossing"What in tarnation has gotten into this girl?" She thought to herself. She quickly turned her attention back to Applebloom, who was being comforted by her brother. "Did she say something?" Getting no response, Big Mac gave her a nudge, and she opened her eyes. When Granny asked again, Applebloom nodded. Granny's expression softened as she pursed her lips, closing her eyes for a second, trying to think of what to say.
"Sugar pie, the best road to take is often the high one, regardless of how fast the other lanes are," She said. Although, I suppose you should at least have your TV back," she said. Applebloom sighed in relief, thankful she was being lenient on her. Applejack, however, was not happy in the slightest, wondering if her Granny's age finally knocked a screw loose in her head.
"What?" Applejack hollered. "Granny, she ain't done nothin' wrong," she said. Fed up with her granddaughter's new-fangled attitude, Granny hollered, "Shut yer mouth, child!" "I don't care what the reasonin' is or who started it; there ain't no justification for hittin' another pony," she said with a stern look. Unable to hold her anger any longer, Applejack stood up from her seat.
"There is when it's defending the family!" She said, her hooves on the table. "Matter of Fact, that's all I ever do. I've risked my hide more times than there are feathers on a peacock. I've spent blood, sweat, and tears for this family. For Ponyville! And not once have I ever asked for anything in return. Well, not anymore." She stomped her way to the front door, Swinging it wide open as the morning sunlight hit her face. She flipped her signature hat behind her head, letting the wind flow and catch the few loose strands of her golden hair.
"And where do you think you're going?
"Out! I feel like if I stay here any longer, the smell of mud is gonna permanently stank my flank." She said, slamming the door on her way out. A moment of silence passed as a tense awkwardness plowed through the room. Big Mac cleared his throat, telling Granny he'd talk to her. Granny stopped him before he could reach the door, however, saying he should help Applebloom get ready for school. Applebloom was focused on her sister's choice of words the entire time she was getting ready. She swore she'd heard somepony say them before, but every time they came close to thinking of their face, the roosters would caw and mess up her outspoken train of thought. She eventually gave up on the idea and walked outside with her big brother, where they passed an angry Applejack forcefully bucking against an already empty apple tree. They ducked their heads and sped up their pace until they were no longer in the potential sight of her.
"HAHAHA~!" said a cackling voice high up in the clouds. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned a cup of chi and a comically large back of sugar. He wiped away a tear from his eye before draining the entire bag into the tiny cup, stirring it with a snapped piece of his antler. "Oh, Discord, you naughty, chaotic, handsome Draconequus you. This was your best idea since signing that contract to throw that "deathmatch" against that one-eye nacho chip with a top hat." he told the sock puppet version of himself he was holding. "Ah~ how the fanbase came to my aid. Most poetic and lore-accurate defenses ever uttered. But this-" he gestured to the sights before him. "This is a real art, real disarray... Real...Organized Chaos.
"I concur." said the sock puppet. "But, don't you think switching their personalities is a bad idea..." Discord paused before busting out in laughter again, clutching at his stomach.
"Oh, that's a good one," he told himself before making the puppet, and everything else he planted vanished into nothing. "Ah~. But, in all seriousness, and what little of it I have, I best be on my way. I finally have something else to do besides reading manga and quoting lines from comic books while working. Actually Work. Is this what it's like to be excited to do your job? Oh...this will be a treat!" And with a snap of his fingers, he appeared just outside the school, watching as all the students either walked or flew through the door. He rubbed his hands in delight, already stirring up a storm of "disciplinary punishments" to dispense to his "troubled youths."
Discord laid back in his chair; his feet prompt up as he gazed fondly into a small rectangular-shaped object in his hand. He ran his finger on it constantly, not paying attention to the two mares he had been, "disciplining" for the past two days.
The first day, he went easy on them, (mostly cause he did not want to hear Starlight nagging his ears off). He made them write apology letters to each other...then made them read them aloud in front of the school the next morning. On the 2nd day, he followed the same pattern. Yet again because of Starlight. But, this time he managed to add more flavor than 2nd had embarrassment. It was what he 'personally" believed to be, the most courteous of his punishments.
Atop each of their desks, he had a box wrapped in caution tape and bubble wrap. After ~~making~~ encouraging them to pop each bubble first, they opened them up. Inside of Diamond Tiara's was a dictionary. Her task was to pick words from it that complemented Applebloom. Inside of Appleblooms was a blank canvas and paint. Her job was to draw Diamond Tiara as best as she could. And to add to it, he said that whoever does better, gets to leave detention early tomorrow. They got so focused on it, that they bum-rushed their work in the first ten minutes. In the end, they both did horribly, and Discord displayed their work in the hallway for ponies to see. He mostly did this because Starlight insisted on "reviewing his work", so he had a little fun with it and told them that whoever can do one about how bossy Starlight is, gets to leave early. After multiple attempts, he released them and kept all their secondary assignments for himself as his 'well-earned reward for work".
Which brings us to today. He finally managed to get off of Starlight's radar thanks to Twilight. And, now that she's finally gone...the real ~~punishment~~ disciplining can begin.
"Uhm, Mr.Discord?" Applebloom said, breaking the weird silence in the room. Diamond Tiara looked up from her desk at her. At the same time, Discord finally acknowledged the two mares before him. "What is it, Applebloom?" he asked, turning right back to his little rectangular-shaped object.
"C-can I use the bathroom?" She asked.
"No," He said bluntly before smirking at his hand. "Just kidding," he quickly replied, snapping his fingers to summon a hall pass for her. He waved it in front of her like a toy mouse in front of a cat. She got up to grab it when he suddenly yanked it back towards him. "Ah-ah-ah- You can have this if you can look me in the eye," He smushed his face, merging his eyes into a giant one, "And 'honestly," tell me you have to use the bathroom and simply because you don't wanna leave this room," he said, inching his face a tad closer. Already knowing she'd lost the battle, Applebloom tilted her head down and turned back to her seat, where she remained silent. Seeing where she'd failed, Diamond Tiara smirked at her failure, earning her a close-up image of Discords Eye on her face. This startled her to the point where she fell out of her chair in panic as Discord gripped himself in laughter.
10 more minutes later~
"UUUGGGHHH-" Diamond Tiara groaned, upsetting discord from his object. "Young lady, could you not? You're being very distracting," he said, only to turn back to his object and snicker to himself.
"How much time do we have left in here?" she whined.
"Thirty-five minutes and 14 seconds...13...12..." Diamond Tiara responded with another groan of annoyance. "Why did she make me come to school today?" She muttered as she planted her face into her desk. Applebloom's ears perked, and she glanced up from her own. She wanted to say something but didn't know how to phrase it. When Diamond Tiara finally noticed her, Applebloom shifted her head in the other direction, pretending not to have been staring. She sucked her teeth when suddenly, something bright caught her eye. She looked back at the funny-looking object Discord was holding. The top part of it was shining. That's when the light coming from it suddenly flashed, making her squint her eyes from the daze. Discord smirked as she rubbed her eyes. He glanced at Applebloom who was staring outside the window. He snapped his fingers, creating drapes and closing them shut. Applebloom was surprised at first, before letting out a groan of her own.
"Oh, come on Mr.Discord. Really?" she said. Discord paid her no mind, scrolling his finger across the screen.
"Don't waste your breath," Diamond Tiara said. "He's probably run out of ideas to embarrass us, (mostly me), and now he's bored senseless," she remarked.
"Quite the contrary, my dear little rich foal," he said, waving the object in his hand. "I'm having quite an enjoyable time relishing in this silence. There is no greater punishment for bad-mannered and ill-tempered adolescent ponies than simply...doing nothing, wouldn't you agree? It makes one's mind go places and wander. I was inspired by my extreme boredom just before you two arrived in my office that fateful day. So, thank you both for
"Oh shut up already. I prefer the silence any day over your annoying, scratchy-" Diamond Tiara stopped. Or rather her voice did. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She tried to scream but to no avail once again. Then she looked up, Discord had made a "mute" speaker appear above her head. "Ah-ah-Ah. It's rude to interrupt somepony when they're talking," he said. He looked over to Applebloom who was raising her hoof. He called upon her name as he slowly turned back Diamond Tiara's voice.
"So, our punishment is ta be bored while you play with that flashing yellow and pink...brick thingy?" she asked.
"Duh! And it's not a brick, I'll have you know," he replied.
"I'd rather not," Diamond Tiara said. Her voice sounded more like herself again. Annoyed by her rudeness, he said, "Oh, you mean this?" pretending to be surprised. She slapped her forehead, groaning yet again. "What even is that, number three or four on the heavy sigh/groan of annoyance counter?" She blushed with embarrassment as he mocked her evident predictability. She cleared her throat in an attempt to calm herself. "Anyway, I call it...The PANDEMONIUM HAVOCER OF NEUTRAL ENTERTAINMENT ...or Phone for short." He said. Applebloom and Diamond Tiara shared a look of confusion as he waved it in front of them. "I did plan on saving ear-wrenching lectures next week. They would have paired well with the macaroni and superglue glitter towers, but what the heck? Allow me to explain," he said, rivetingly pulling out a whiteboard listing what makes up his phone and a blueprint of how it was made.
As he listed off the "ingeniousness" of his creation, Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, wishing for the room to return to silence.
"Why does the world hate me?" she thought. She hated every aspect of this. First, her mother "gets rid of" their help, then forces her to attend school. Sure, Princess Twilight had cast a spell to conceal the bruise on her eye on the first day, but that was only after having to show up wearing an eye patch to hide it while walking through the school gates. Then, everyone in the school was focused on her. It was no secret that Diamond Tiara loved attention, but this was different. Each day, she could feel how unfeeling their gazes were, as weird as that sounds. But the worst of it was always the same. Whenever Applebloom showed up to school. Everypony in sight always rushes to her side like starving fans wanting autographs on their faces. "Why does she get the attention? I'm the one who got hurt. I'm the victim here! And now I have to deal with...THIS!" She looked back up at Discord, who was talking about something called "texting".
Applebloom's mind was also elsewhere. She kept drifting back to these past few days. Big sisters become more hostile, her granny more invasive and now whenever she arrived at school with her friends, they were hounded by their classmates. Everyone feels the need to shower her with praise and ask to hang out with her. When she finally asked why, many answered. "Are you kidding? You bucked Diamond Tiara... in the face!" Another one said, "It's about time somepony knocked her down a peg." Another added, "She's been asking for it. I wish I was the one who did it." This chain of rusted compliments would have continued if not for the sound of the bell. Applebloom felt sick to her stomach all day because of them. The thought of her name brought her back to reality, thinking her name was called on. He looked glanced around her, noticing Tiara glaring at her. She refocused on Discord's lecture, trying to come up with a question to make it seem like she was paying attention.
"And with a push of this button, I can send a message to anyone," Discord said. "That covers everything about it. Any questions?" He asked them. Diamond Tiara kept quiet. Applebloom, however, raised her hoof. Delighted, Discord called on her.
"I don't understand. It's not magic?" she asked.
"Nope." He said, transforming his head to mimic her brother, Big Mac. "It's science. The nerdy kind of magic." He finished, laying back in his chair.
(Bell Sounds off)
"Finally!" Diamond Tiara cried out, jumping from her seat and racing to the door. "See ya!" she said, happily closing the door behind her. "I can't wait to go home. I'm gonna relax on my bed, reading magazines and doing my hair-" Diamond Tiara's train of thought was stopped as she trotted face-first into a ladder. As it fell, it snagged down a band of streamers and tipped over three buckets of paint. One of the buckets slowly rolled onward, being stopped by the very angry duo of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
"Nice going Dumbling Tiara! You just wasted all of our paint." Scootaloo shouted. "How did you even get in here? We locked the door before we left." Added Sweetie Belle. Diamond Tiara then realized who was at fault here. She grunted loudly, shouting Discord's name.
"And that makes five on the groan/annoyance counter," he said, just loud enough for Applebloom to hear. She looked at him confused, wondering what he was on about. He walked over, patting her on the head and thanking her for a fun detention. She welcomed him back, confused but thankful that she could leave and go home now. As she walked to the school gates, she noticed somepony standing next to them.
"Is that-," she wondered before they came into full view. It was Silver Spoon. She was standing there waiting with her bag hanging on her side. Applebloom thought she kinda looked like a puppy waiting all by her lonesome. She tried to wave to her, but when Silverspoon saw her she flicked her hair as hard as she could. A firm sign she wasn't wanted. Applebloom let out a small sigh as she walked past her, her head down to avoid any trouble. But, after she did so, Silver Spoon called out to her. "Great, you try to be the bigger pony." she thought to herself. When she saw her face, however, Silver Spoon looked distressed.
"Is she doing okay?" she asked. Applebloom felt a little creeped out by how sincere her words were but told her she was doing alright from what she could see. When she said as much, Silver Spoon's face let out a sigh of relief before turning back to face the school. Although she was happy nothing happened between the two of them passing each other, Applebloom wanted to see if she could push her luck further. Maybe find some common ground to build upon. And just maybe, she'd take that kindness to Diamond Tiara and they could become friends, or at the very least be on good terms.
"Hey, Silv-
"Applebloom!" somebody hollered. She turned around and saw her big sister Applejack comin' towards her, which was mighty surprising. Usually, her brother would be the one to walk her home since her detention started. "Sorry if I'm late. I was at the farmer's market and lost track of time," Applejack said. Silver Spoon snickered, finding her excuse humorous, but Applejack picked up on this. Normally, she'd let it go in one ear and out the other, but this time was different. "Did ya' hear something Sis?" Applebloom shook her head. "Really, 'cause it sounds like somepony is doing stand-up comedy. And you know how I LOVE a good joke." Silver Spoon gulped, and stayed quiet, pretendin' not to hear her. "Come on now, what's so funny? Or where ye laughing at something your little 'high society' boss friend said? I'd just love ta hear it for Myself." Applejack mocked, gettin' closer to Silver Spoon. She could practically feel her anxiety ribbing around her body as she heard her hooves stompin' closer to her. A singular bead of sweat traversed down her face.
"Sis. Stop!" Applebloom lightly shouted, getting her sister's attention.
"What is it sugar plum?" she asked, turning around like nothing happened. Silver Spoon looked back at her, her face scared, almost pleading for help as silently as she could.
"Ughm, I-I don't see anything on you. Could we go together...like right now perhaps?" she asked, a little bit of her nerves caught in her throat. Not that Applejack seemed to notice.
"You mean- back to the farmers market?" she asked. Applebloom nodded hastily, already pushing her sister in the direction. She looked back at Silverspoon, an agitated yet thankful expression on her face. She took what she could get and gave her a wink as Silver Spoon turned back around, now walking back into the school.
The two sisters arrived back at the farmer's market. Applejack was enjoying walking about with her sister in tow. It wasn't often that the pair got to go out together like they used to. What with Appleblooms new school and how much Applejack works. It was nice being able to relive this kinda experience with her.
"I missed doing this with you Applebloom," She said.
"I missed this Sis."
"No really. It's as if these last few days have been weighing down on me. But, spending this time with you right now. I feel like myself again." Hearing her sister's last few words struck a cord in Appleblooms head. She wondered what she meant by herself. "I feel like nothing could through me off right now," Applejack finished when she suddenly bumped into somepony.
"How bout you watch it," They said. She looked up, seeing it was one of the flimflam brothers.
"What the-, The Flimflam Brothers. What is tarnation are you all doing back in ponyville? "She angry spat out.
"My, My, if some little pony isn't a little vocal today. Careful now, you have children present," Flim said, pointing to Applebloom, embarrassing her a little bit.
"H-hey, I'm not a little filly anymore," she said.
"Ahh~ How cute. Her voice still cracks when she's flustered." Flam said.
"You're jaw is gonna crack if you don't back away from my sister." She said. The brothers glanced at each other smirking before Flam did as he was told.
"Settle down now cowgirl. We don't want any trouble." Flam said.
"We're just here to make a few bits by selling off some goods," Flim said, waving his hooves toward the fruit sitting atop the stand. "Here, have one on us for being such good, gentle colts," he said, tossing her an apple. She caught it with ease, looking at it with suspicion.
"What's y'all's angle here?" Applebloom asked.
"You make it sound like were-
"Bad apples," Applejack said.
"Well, that's just being rude."
"No, this is!" she shouted. The other patrons and stall owners looked her way. Most, if not all, of the ponies there knew Applejack. So, imagine their surprise when she suddenly dropped the apple to the ground and smashed it with her hooves. Applebloom was the most shocked, not because of the apple, but because of her face. It looked almost identical to Spoiled Rich's face back when they were in Discord's office. It was cold and stale, yet it created an atmosphere that could make beads of sweat roll down somepony's face.
"(Gasp) How dare-" Flim stopped as Applejack Spat what little apple she had in her mouth at his hooves. She then turned around, and one all too familiar movement, she bucked at their stall. Destroying the fruits and vegetables they had on it, along with the stall itself. The onlookers, her sister included, had either looked of disbelief, or fright or had their hooves covering their mouths.
"Why?" The brothers said in unison.
"Why in tarnation did you two backwater 'ALE'-BAMA bucking Idjits honestly think you could pull a fast one on all of us again with one of y'all stupid schemes?" she berated them, as they held onto each other. "Y'all covered these apples with food coloring and were fixin' to sell them off. And if you can desecrate an apple, I do not doubt that you did so to the rest of the stuff on this stand," she said. The crowd began to talk amongst themselves as they heard what she had to say. Nearly all of them took Applejack's side, remembering how the brothers scammed them in the past. The brothers looked at each other before standing up.
"Flim said to Flam, "Let's go. This town was always stupid anyways." As they walked away, Applejack looked down at the broken stall. She picked up a few apples, brushed them off with a smile, and threw them into her basket. No one in the crowd seemed to have noticed, all too busy talking about what just happened. But Applebloom did notice, and she didn't like it one bit.
Back with Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon was walking home with her as she vented how terrible her luck had been.
"They fired your maid?" she asked.
"No, my mother just "let her go" and now I have to do all the chores around the house." She replied.
"Wow. Well, don't worry, Tiara. You just have a few more days of their boring club stuff. And don't worry about your homework either," Silver Spoon said, grabbing a notebook out of her bag. Tiara put her hoof against the hardcover.
"I can handle my homework. If you do it all, I won't benefit. How else am I gonna be an entrepreneur like my mom." she reasoned.
"Easy. You got me," She said, getting a giggle out of Tiara. Her joy quickly subsided as her house came into view. She looked over to Silver Spoon, bearing an even gloomier expression than she.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked. Silver Spoon's frown turned into a small grin. She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before trotting off. She smiled as she walked into her house, her mother in the kitchen again. This isn't too abnormal for her to see nowadays. Every time she saw her mother in the kitchen, she kinda looked like a different person. She looked the same physically, but she felt more approachable, and happier too.
"Ah, Welcome home Sweetie. How was school?" Mrs.Rich asked, closing her oven door.
"Huh. Oh-uh...it was ok, I guess. Detention was boring thou," she said. "Huh, that's weird. She's never asked me that before?" she thought, setting her stuff down on the arm of a nearby chair.
"Really? Well, not too surprising. They mostly made people write essays and read books for bad apples in my day." Mrs.Rich said.
"No. I mean...literally boring. Discord-
"Ah-ah-Ah- Manners young lady," she said, correcting her daughter.
"Right. Ahem, Mr. Discord made us do nothing today. We just sat there with our thoughts for the first forty minutes. The rest of it was him ranting on about something called a "phone" It was awful." She finished.
"Sounds awful. Well, it's over now and you're home. Now you get to eat some delicious apple pie I made," she said, turning around with a freshly baked pie in her hooves. She tossed her oven mitts to the side and grabbed the carver, cutting out a piece for her daughter. As she made a piece for herself, she looked up at her daughter, who was eyeing the silverware.
"How's Silver Spoon doing?" She asked. Tiara froze, feeling like a weight was just thrown at her stomach.
"Uhm, I-I don't know. I haven't spoken to her since I got detention." She lied through her teeth, avoiding her mother's gaze.
"Well, that's a shame. Um, sweetie, if you want to, and I'm not saying that you aren't allowed to, but if you want to go and spend the night at a friend's house this weekend, I suppose I could speak to your father about it," she said, gently poking at her piece of pie. The sound of silverware hitting the floor, however, made her refocus on her now dumbfounded daughter.
"You mean I can go to Tiara's house this weekend?" Spoiled Rich merely smiled at her daughter nodding.
"Yes. Yes, you may."
The school week has finally ended and the first half of Appleblooms and Diamond Tiara's shared punishment is complete. Something both ponies were more than delighted about. They even hugged for a brief moment in celebration before Diamond Tiara pushed herself away in embarrassment. As they left his office, Diamond Tiara was automatically teleported to the C.M.C. club. She was unfazed by it, rather, she immediately got to work on whatever she could find for her required time. Knowing that she could run straight to Silverspoon's house afterward gave her all the motivation she needed.
Applebloom decided to stay back at school for a while. Surprisingly, Granny gave her the green light to hang out with her friends, even though her sister had already reassured her that it was fine with a playful "I won't tell if you won't." Applebloom kept her promise and never repeated what she said, but the interaction only made her desire Granny's permission even more. She was hoping to make some plans for the weekend with her friends, especially since she was still not allowed to help at the school. As she made her way to the club room, she unexpectedly encountered Silver Spoon, who was walking out from the other side of the hallway. Both ponies froze when they reached the clubroom door, creating a moment of anticipation and uncertainty.
"H-hey" Applebloom awkwardly said. Silverspoon merely replied with a small head nod. "So- Uh, lovely weather, huh." Silverspoon just nodded again, staring at the door. Applebloom nervously chuckled rubbing the side of her head. Silverspoon glanced at her for a moment. "Is she trying to...talk with me?" she questioned. Normally, she would laugh or mock her incompetence for even trying to conversate with her. But after recent events, she chose a different reply.
"Thank you...for before, I mean." Applebloom's ears perked hearing her speak. While she had a surprised look, Silverspoon remained as composed as before. "Oh, don't be so surprised Applebloom. And please stop staring. It's rude." she finished, finally pushing open the door. Applebloom stayed behind her for a second, still taken from her words. But, with a hopeful smile, she walked inside to greet her friends...or at least she tried to.
"Ah-ah-Ah~
SilverSpoon and Applebloom looked at the translucent figure standing in the middle of the doorway. It was Discord waving his finger, taunting Applebloom.
"What in tarnation is this s'posed to be?" Applebloom said.
"It's a "Discord Notification," said Diamond Tiara, walking up to the two of them. A stack of fliers advertising their Club in her bag. Silverspoon smiled seeing her "best friend" approaching her. "Annoying isn't it?"
"You can say that again," she said, remembering how frustrating it was for her the first time she arrived here.
"I have, In length." Diamond Tiara replied. "This thing appeared on my first day inside this place. I tried to leave to go powder my nose but it stopped me. It only let me go after half an hour passed. I probably thought I was trying to bail and go home...which I was but I did have to powder my nose. " she said.
"And now it's stopping cause it thinks I'm trying to go inside and help?" Applebloom said.
"Mr. Discord made this thing. I don't know if it can think." Diamond Tiara said, getting a chuckle from Silverspoon.
"Did you tell Ms.Starlight?" Applebloom asked.
"Obviously. I'm not stupid," She said, expecting Silverspoon to chime in with her. A moment passed and she said nothing still. Diamond Tiara nudged a little bit to the same response.
"I never said you were," Applebloom declared, feeling somewhat bothered by her comment. She noticed Silverspoon averting her head, albeit slightly. Diamond Tiara huffed, grabbed a flier from her bag, and waved it in front of the Discord model. The model vanished, and as soon as it did, Diamond Tiara walked outside the room, with Silverspoon following behind her as usual. Applebloom stared at them as they marched off, rolling her eyes. For a moment, she thought that they were going to have an actual conversation. Then another thought entered her head. She looked on both sides before attempting to walk inside the club room again.
"Dang it."
"Applebloom," said a pair of voices. She turned her head, seeing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with bags of fliers on their side. All three of them rushed to the middle of the hallway, saying each other's names as they got closer. They entered in a group hug, tightly hugging each other. Although it's only been a week, for the trio it felt far too long. No pony said a thing, merely enjoying the presence and warmth that they brought each other in the moment.
Meanwhile, at Carousel Boutique, Rarity was enjoying a well-deserved break with Spike after completing an order made by Fleur de Lis. As Spike excused himself to use the restroom, the sound of knocking at the door interrupted their peaceful atmosphere. Curious, Rarity peered through the spy window and recognized Applejack's signature straw hat.
"AJ, what a pleasant surprise." She hugged her before delivering two French kisses to the sides of her face. "Please, do come in," she said, walking back to her living room. She offered her a cup of tea out of courtesy, to which she accepted.
"Many thanks, mon ami " Rarity nearly choked on her tea upon hearing her.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What was what?"
"You-you just said something that I would say. That's rather unlike you. Don't get me wrong, it's welcome but rather-"
"Unorthdoxed, Peculiar, Or maybe even idiosyncratic compared to my usual farm-girl nature and happy-go-lucky country essence..." Rarity was left stunned as she heard her friend speak in a manner that seemed far too "fancy" in her own words compared to her usual country-girl nature. The last time she had spoken like this was back with Trenderhoof, and it was both satisfying and strange to hear her do so again. Applejack calmly continued to sip her tea and even commented on its freshness, surprising Rarity even further. Trying to process these unexpected moments, Rarity hummed her lips as she searched for the right words to respond.
"Did Pinkie Pie put you up to this? Is this some sort of prank or something" she asked, all too suspicious. Applejack nodded.
"I merely wanted to improve myself for the ponies to better understand me. The whole "accent" thing wasn't doing me any favors anyhow." Hearing those words come out of her mouth started to set of flags on her head.
"And, I take it your visit here was to show me this new-iugh...essence of yourself," she asked.
"No actually. I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping with me.
"What?"
"Uhm, Discord?"
"Yes!"
"Why are you always checking your...uhm...what do you call that again? A phone?" She said, motioning to his phone.
"Ah, I'm sorry, my dear. I got a little distracted," he said, casually tossing his phone out of her window and clasping his hands in his lap. Fluttershy laughed briefly before replying, "You're all right. I was just curious." She placed her hoof on top of both of his hands, making him smile. She turned to her right, grabbed a teacup for him to pour a drink into, and asked, "So, how has your week been?"
"Oh, it's been marvelous. Applebloom and Diamond Tiara have been a delight since they were escorted to my office for fighting. It almost makes me wish I extended their detention to three weeks instead of two." he exclaimed before drinking his tea like a puppy, taking small laps at it.
"I'm sorry, what?" She said in confusion.
"I know right? Like, I had every right to do so after Applejack tossed me into a wall. And that was before she and "Mrs. Rich" as she was so happy to remind me, got into a head-shoving match about their families."
"I'm sorry, What!?!"
"Sure, your daughter said something awful about her parents and your sister made her look like she ran face-first into a doorknob... twice over for that matter. But why take it out on me?" he said, motioning his hands to his chest. He scoffed as he picked up his teacup again, this time turning his tongue into a sippy straw to drink it from.
"..."
"Why do I feel like you're the one not paying attention now." He said. Fluttershy took a moment to respond to him, taking a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
"Discord, can you be honest with me?" She opened her eyes, they sparkled in his viewing. Those eyes of kindness and goodwill.
"Of course my dear," he said.
"You didn't do anything to them...did you?" she asked.
"Uhhhhh- Oh my, would you look at the time, I best be on my-
"Discord!" Fluttershy yelled.
"Joking. I was joking," he said with a playful bounce onto the couch. She leaned back slightly from the impact, moving closer to him. "All I did was have them sign some papers explaining what would happen over the next two weeks. I even made them sign with my horns," he explained.
"Made them," she questioned.
"Well, they did fight in my office." he defended.
"Just out of curiosity, can I read one of those papers," she asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Parent-teacher confidentiality and all that schmuck," he reasoned. Fluttershy pouted, frustrated that she couldn't at least give it a one-over for her friend's sake in her mind. "Oh come now. Smile, my dear. You're never fully dressed without one." he said, fixing a strand of her loose hair. Unable to resist, her smile broke through her face as Discord let out a small laugh. "Trust me, my dear. You don't have to worry about the children at all. "
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz
Suddenly, Discord's horns began to vibrate. He snapped his fingers, his phone flying back through the repaired window, shattering it again and back into his hand. His eyes popped out of his head like something from a comic when he looked down at it.
"Sorry, my dear. But it looks like I have to get going. Actually, this time. Or else I'm going to miss it. Ta-Ta~" he finished, vanishing into thin air. Fluttershy looked back at her once again broken window, a nervous field of butterflies forming in her stomach from his words. She wanted to think about them, but the broken glass needed to come first.
"Could've fixed my window at least!"
"Princess Twilight, I can't thank you enough for scheduling time out of your busy day to talk to me," Spoiled Rich said. Both she and Twilight were sitting inside her castle, the crystal walls sparking with the help of the sun's rays.
"It's no problem, Mrs. Rich. Though, it's Spike you should be thanking. He's the one who manages my schedule for me nowadays," she said.
"Yes. Is he here by any chance? I was under the impression that he lived here alongside you," she inquired, hoping to see the drake.
"Yeah, sorry about that. He couldn't make it, he was busy helping out Rarity, a friend of mine with one of her business orders. He won't be back for a few hours," she said. Using her magic, Twilight hovered over some tea and refreshments at their shared table, to which Mrs.Rich politely refused. "I'm sorry, is the tea not to your liking?"
"No, No. Far from it. It's just a matter that I shouldn't take too long to discuss with you, Your Majesty. Besides, I'm not deserving of your kindness." she said. Twilight accepted her refusal, but still left the teacup in front of her. "Your majesty, I-
"You can just pretend it's not there but it's simply me being kind. And pls, call me Twilight." She said, taking a sip of her tea. She made a mental note to thank Rarity for the lessons in properness and regal senses, and Fluttershy for all the tea.
"Oh, of course Your Maj- uhm, Ms. Twilight."
"Just Twilight is ok. So, what did you wanna talk about?" she asked, already having a feeling what she wanted to talk about. "Alright, Twilight. You ran through the numbers. If she plans on saying anything about shortening or upfront ending Diamond Tiara's detention you send her home." she told herself. Mrs.Rich paused for a moment as Twilight smiled at her, seemingly unknowing of her words and actions during her meeting last week at the School. She inhaled deeply before closing her eyes and bowing her head at the table.
"I wanted to apologize," she finally said, her head remaining still as she spoke. Twilight gazed at her, visibly perplexed. This unexpected turn of events had not been accounted for in any of the scenarios Twilight had meticulously considered. Despite thoroughly researching her, she found that her current behavior did not align with her past actions. As Twilight mulled further, she realized that they had never spoken to each other before. Despite residing in Ponyville for an extensive period, their interactions had been few.
"Apologize?" she asked.
"Yes...Last week, I received a letter from your assistant and d-during what should have been a friendly sit-down and chat, I-I..." Mrs. Rich suddenly stopped. Her eyes became more watered by the second.
"Please, Mrs. Rich, take your time. Whatever it is you want to apologize for, it's okay. You shouldn't force it out," Twilight said, her voice filled with empathy and understanding. As she reached out to comfort her friend, she could see the turmoil in Mrs. Rich's eyes. It wasn't just the fear of admitting wrongdoing; it was the genuine sense of remorse emanating from her. Mrs. Rich's struggle to contain her emotions was evident as she desperately fought back tears, her internal conflict laid bare for Twilight to witness.
"No, I need to say it." she defended, quickly wiping away her frustration. She took one more breath before breaking her silence. "I'm sorry because I called your assistant...your pet. It was in a moment of frustration fueled by my anger against the Apple family. Specifically against Applejack's sister, Applebloom for hitting my daughter. For that, I'm deeply sorry." she finally said. Twilight already knew about the incident involving Applebloom and Diamond Tiara via Starlight. But everything that happened during the meeting itself was entirely kept under wraps. When she sent Spike to get the report from Discord, he returned with a letter written with words cut out from newspapers and magazines saying "Mission Accomplished." After reading this, Twilight asked Starlight if she could keep a closer eye on Discord for the sake of the two mares.
"I assume that's why you wanted to know if Spike was here," Twilight said calmly. Mrs. Rich slowly looked up, nodding as she wiped away the few tears she had left. She was surprised to see the princess behaving so calmly. "In that case, all's forgiven," Twilight said, finishing her tea. Mrs. Rich was completely confused at this point. Despite telling the truth, she didn't seem angered or annoyed by her presence in the slightest. Rather, she looked at her the same way as when she had walked in.
"I don't understand." She asked Twilight. "I just clearly admitted to insulting your assistant, yet, you're not angry," Twilight raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm not angry persay. Moreover, I'm a little confused," Twilight said, only adding to Mrs. Rich's confusion.
"I've been making it a habit lately to...correct my past faults with the ponies around me."
"Is there a reason for your change?"
"I-I don't know. It suddenly just hit me after that meeting. I don't know if you're aware of this but my daughter said something rather...unsavory about the Apple family on that day. And when we went to take our leave, I thought to myself, "Is this the kind of example I want to set for her." Ever since then, I've been trying to fix my habits and rebrand myself in both my daughters and my community's eyes. She finished. Twilight's thought immediately turned to Discord, impressed by how effective his meeting with her was to make her want to change so drastically.
"Well, that's great. The world could always use more ponies who seek betterment."
"How true. I just hate that it took me seeing my daughter with a black eye to realize this," she said, staring down into the teacup. And for a moment, she thought she saw something that tea. As she scrunched her eyes with her hooves, Twilight confused this for her wiping away more tears. Which in turn, made her recognize something. She was scared, not of her but of someone else. Twilight began to draw out the road map in her head, connecting the veils and pining the pictures of truth to the wall.
"This meeting wasn't just about getting a chance to apologize, was it?" Mrs.Rich shook her head no. Twilight hummed to herself, thinking deeply. "If you don't mind me asking, did you apologize to anyone else?"
"Of course. The first ponies I wanted to make amends with were the apples, but-
"But-" Twilight insisted, more intrigued than ever.
"Applejack didn't seem to take kindly to me when I tried. Not that I could blame her." She said.
"Wow! That's quite the shocker. That doesn't sound like her. Then again she hasn't been acting herself lately." Twilight muttered that last part to herself, thinking back to three days ago when Applejack stormed into the castle's library and took many a book before leaving without an explanation. While Twilight was reorganizing the history catalog
"What was that" Mrs.Rich asked.
"Nothing, ignore that last part. But, it sounds like you are focusing on making amends with everypony else instead of the ponies you need to speak with first," she reasoned. Mrs. Rich merely shook her head again.
"I'm afraid that's impossible. They're.......no longer reachable," she said in a depressed tone. Twilight was quick to catch on and was ready to stop the conversation altogether when she suddenly spoke again. "There's only one pony who I can have that chance with, but I doubt her reaction will be any different than her granddaughters," she said aloud unknowingly to herself. Once Twilight heard this, all the pieces began to connect. She stood up and walked over to her side, placing one of her wings around her.
"You won't know how the pony will react until you confront them," she said. Mrs. Rich looked up at Twilight, who was appearing even more regal than even Celestia at that moment. "Let me put it another way. Referring back to Spike, I've known him since I was a young unicorn. We've both heard hurtful comments being aimed at us. Him for being a dragon and me for being shy and nerdy. But after coming to Ponyville and making friends, we realized that they're just words. I realized they can only hurt you if you let them. So if you've come to apologize for those comments you made, I wonder why you're saying sorry to me." With those words, Twilight left Mrs. Rich to ponder.
Mrs. Rich thanked her for the advice and left Twilight hoping that her words had made an impact. Little did they know, someone else had been quietly listening in on their conversation. Suddenly, an eyeball popped out of the teacup that was meant for Mrs.Rich. Another one appeared, along with a pair of mismatched horns. They submerged back into the tea, only for the cup to explode, tea flying everywhere and the cup shards lying on the ground. It was Discord. He grabbed his elongated neck and ringed it like a wet towel, the tea dripping out of it onto the floor.
"Well, that was both wholesome and boring all in one. But, seeing Twilight using her brain so fast was quite the show. 7/10, jolly good show." he said, holding his phone and ending the recording. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared, leaving the mess he left behind. When Twilight walked back into the room, seeing the broken cup and soaking wet floor, she called out for Spike.
"Oh yeah. He's at Rarity's. Wonder how he's doing."
Author's Note
The next chapter will be dropping tomorrow night or early morning. Stay tuned!
The C.M.C's first club is located in Sweet Apple Acres—the birthplace of their friendship and fellow sisterhood to one another. Over a week has passed since Applebloom's fight against Diamond Tiara and all of them could speak together again like this. After their reunion in front of their school club, Sweetie and Scootaloo tried their best to involve Applebloom in the club, even going as far as to try and bribe the "Discord Notification" with money and cake from the cafeteria bakery. But, then that plan went south, Applebloom told them that she'd be waiting for them at their original club with snacks and drinks ready. With that in mind, Sweetie and Scootaloo made haste to finish their work spreading their fliers around the school's courtyard. Once the afterschool bell rang, they looked at each other in satisfaction. That was, until they heard somepony snickering not too far from them.
"Well well, Looks like the "Cascaders" couldn't finish hanging up their fliers," It was Diamond Tiara, and right alongside her was Silver Spoon who was also holding a bag with a few of their fliers.
"Cut the crap Tiara. It's "Crusaders' and you know it," Scootaloo said.
"And what's she doing here?" Sweetie asked, glaring at Silver Spoon, who sidestepped behind Tiara. "Last time we checked, Mr.Discord said that it was "your" responsibility to help us for the trouble you caused."
"But we shouldn't be surprised too much. I mean, with how often Ms.Silverware over there is glued to your flank, maybe Mr.Discord thought you two were one-and-the-same," Scootaloo said.
"What? Jealous that "I" can have my friend here and you can't." She smirked. Scootaloo was quick to step up to her, wanting to give her the same treatment Applebloom did over a week ago. But, before she could take a step further, Sweetie's hoof was already in her face.
"Doesn't matter anymore. After school's over now. And unlike you two, we have better things to do this weekend than gossip about 'what celebrity is seeing who", 'buying overpriced junk," and talking crab about other people's families." She said, stretching out her arm for the rest of the fliers hanging from Silver Spoon's side. Diamond Tiara bit her lip in that last part. It seems like no matter where she goes, she is always reminded of that day. As Scootaloo and Sweetie walked away with the fliers in tow, Silver Spoon felt herself unable to stay quiet behind Tiara any longer.
"Hey!" she called out to them, surprising Diamond Tiara a little. "What she said is in the past. She already paying for it by helping your-your silly little club. If you'd just help her with her campaign from the beginning like you always have, then-
"Silly little Club? Silly Little Club!" Scootaloo shouted back, overpowering her voice in an instant with her displeasure-laced tone. "You have no right to talk about our club like that. You don't even realize just how much our club means to use!" she said. Silver backed away a bit, closer to Tiara again, who gave her a reassuring glance.
"I apologized already. I read it out in front of the entire school. Or was that not good enough for the country bumpkin." She said, only infuriating Scootaloo further.
"That "apology" of yours sounded like it was written by a newborn with how much drivel you spitted out," she replied, stomping her hooves. "And our club isn't something silly. It's our talent made for others' talents." She said. Hearing her words jogged Diamond Tiara's memories of something Appleblooms sister said back at the sit-down. She was quick to dismiss the thought however, the only thing on her mind was what to say back to Scootaloo...and make it hurt. A very odd and unpleasant feeling of de ja' vu flooding her head.
"All I'm hearing is you can't help yourself so you help others to feel better. Like you should have done for me," Diamond Tiara said, stepping in front of Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon took a second glance at her, she could see she was visibly shaky. She tried to think of a way out of this, but Scootaloo acted first.
"Oh, I'll help you feel better alright!" she said, trying to lunge at her. Had it not been for Sweetie Belle, she would have succeded. Diamond Tiara froze in that moment before, deciding to do the same, which made Silver only mirror what Sweetie was already. Both parties only stopped as their bodies were engulfed in a thick mass of cyan magic. They felt their bodies turn to face the same direction, where they were met with the look of one very angry Vice-principal.
Back at Sweetie Apple Acres, Over an hour had passed since Applebloom left her friends at the School to set up everything at their original clubhouse. When the girls finally arrived, they collapsed atop the bean bags inside, sighing deeply.
"What's wrong girls? Y'all were square when I left ya," she said, tossing them each a couple of bottles of her family's made apple cider. Sweetie Belle took the time to tell her how they almost got into it with Diamond Tiara back at the school, while Scootaloo chugged away at her cider.
"Starlight showed up at the last minute and held us up in the air until we "cooled off". We were lucky she let us off with a warning." They said.
"Ugh, ah cain't believe this," Applebloom said, pacin' back and forth. The clackin' sounds of her hooves hittin' the floorboards resounded slightly in their clubhouse. "After everything Mr. Discord has been puttin' us through, I thought that at least some part of her had changed," she said.
"Some ponies just don't wanna change. I would be surprised if she turns evil like all the other villains Rainbow Dash has butt kicked into Tartarus." Scootaloo said, clinging her near-empty bottle with Sweetie's.
"Don't forget my sister Rarity. She's sending them packing faster than her dresses," Sweetie replied, chuckling with her.
"Or ma big Sister Apple-" The room bowed in silence as Applebloom suddenly halted her words. Sweetie and Scootaloo looked over at her, then back to each other before setting their bottles down.
"Are 'you" ok Applebloom?" Scootaloo asked.
"What?" she said, throwin' up her arms in a jokey manner. "I'm fine. I'm... I'm n-not... f-ine." Her sentence trailed off, drowned by her tears and the slight hiccups and snorts from her throat as she tried to fight off her urge to cry. Seeing her in distress, they rushed over and hugged her tightly. "Girls, there's somethin' I gotta tell y'all!"
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were relaxing in Silver's room, reading magazines from The Daily Saddle. Both of their manes were tied up in hair rollers as they listened to Octavia's latest releases. However, they felt uneasy and awkward as they tried to do anything together, especially after spending so much time apart. Even before a certain incident involving a farm pony, Diamond Tiara's parents had disapproved of her spending time with Silver Spoon after she hit puberty. "It's a bad look," they said.
Silver Spoon excused herself to the little mares' room just to get a proper chase to breathe. She ran some water on her face, trying to "wake up" a part of herself. When she got back, however, Diamond Tiara was already backing her stuff.
"What are you doing."
"Leaving. What does it look like?"
"I can see that, but why? I thought we-"
"Not anymore.
"But why? I didn't walk around the courtyard handing out flyers for their club so you could leave within the first twenty minutes of us being here," she said, sounding better than she did against Scootaloo. It's been months since we've gotten to be together. I can't even hold your hoof in public without you looking..." Diamond Tiara stopped her, taking out the hair rollers.
"I-I just can't today, Alright. This is just too much right now...I'm sorry Silvy ," she said, planting a small kiss on her cheek. Silver Spoon was stunned, she'd never heard her apologize before. She was so shocked in fact, that she didn't even realize that Diamond Tiara had already left for her house ten minutes after. Snapping out of her daze, she rushed over to her house, knocking vigorously on the door. When she answered it, however, her father, Filthy Rich was the one standing between the doorway.
"Can I help you?" he said, his voice thick and heavy like oil.
"Uh, T-Tiara left her hair roller at my h-house." She said, taking out the roller from her purse. Filthy Rich grabbed it, before suddenly dropping it to the ground and stepping on it.
"My daughter wouldn't use something so cheap. Go and find someone else to bother. You're no longer welcome at this house...remember!"
"Well, that was quite an eventful shopping trip...to say the least," Rarity said with exhaustion as she gingerly pushed open the door to the Carousel Boutique. She returned from an unexpected shopping outing at Applejack's request, carrying four adorned bags draped across her. At first, she welcomed the chance to reinvite the potential lady inside of her friend, but that all changed quickly after she had to break up a fight between her and one of the store clerks. She'd never been so embarrassed before and that was just at their first stop.
"Come now, it wasn't all that bad," Applejack replied, walking gracefully through the door, her mane done up into a tight bun with a silver ribbon holding it together. She wore a black and yellow sunflower dress. Than paired with her satisfied grin, clearly pleased with today's "success".
"You threatened that poor stallion you'd call Twilight and have him teleported to the moon-over scented candles, AJ," Rarity said, pulling out one of the candles in question. "This is an orange-scented candle to boot. I thought you hated oranges. You always complained about the pulpy taste and the disripening smell." She said, hitting it on the table. She wanted to continue, but the sounds of ruffling bags and a muffled wince of pain caught her attention.
"Spikey," Rarity said, seeing the drake in question entering her Boutique and hitting the side of her door. Spike was labored under the weight of Applejack's many boxes and bulking bags in his hands, with Rarity's six dangling from his tail. Although not entirely unaccustomed to such a feat of strength, Applejack's unexpected presence and surprising impulse shopping purchases had added an extra layer of depth to the task. His efforts were evident as he nearly stumbled and dropped everything in one of the stores. That only drew a sharp denunciation from Applejack. Throughout the trip, he made an effort to keep his distance from her, unable to shake some floating thoughts he had from his head.
"Here, Spikey, let me help you," Rarity said, using her magic to lift the six bags on his tail. With a small sigh of relief, he thanked her as his cheeks blushed lightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Applejack's face, her fake gagging as she pointed her hoof into her mouth. He bit his lip in mild self-frustration. Seeing this sent a signal off in Rarity's mind. She quickly turned around and saw Applejack holding one of her orange-scented candles. "Spikey, could you get some tea ready for us? I'm going to go place my things away. I'll be back shortly," she gave off a wink to him, hinting something. He nodded, setting down all of Applejack's stuff next to her.
While in the kitchen, Spike was brewing tea while making a platter of sandwiches. Applejack's piercing gaze, however, was fixed on the back of his head. He could practically feel her drill a hole through him. Distracted by her unwavering attention, he accidentally scalded himself with the hot water. To his embarrassment, Applejack found humor in his misfortune, letting out a hearty laugh, making sure he heard every bit of it. Growing irritated, he couldn't hold back his tongue any longer and broke the silence with a curt, "Do you need something?"
"You should be more careful," she said, completely ignoring his question. "Don't want you 'bullying" yourself over making snacks," she said, walking back into the living room. Her words buzzed in his mind like a bad jingle. He clenched his teeth before taking a deep breath and releasing his hand. Once Rarity came back down, they all sat down together.
"I have to say, Applejack, this is still a little weird getting used to. Here you are. Sitting here so casually, drinking tea on my sofa, with zero accent in your voice. Why the sudden change in your vocabulary?" she asked, finishing her cup of tea.
"Have you been hanging around Twilight?" Spike asked. "She told me you stopped by her library and-
"Well, if you must know, "Rarity," I simply grew tired of ponies being unable to properly understand me. Especially as of recently, regarding a certain somepony's mother," she said, eyeballing Spike. Rarity awkwardly sipped at her empty cup, her gaze shifting between the two of them.
"E-hem, So...How has Applebloom been doing? I heard about her little kerfuffle during school last week.
"Really Now? I didn't know that!" She said, once again eyeballing Spike.
"Uh-um, Sweetie Belle told me," Rarity quickly replied, trying to lighten the mood. "She's really worried about how Applebloom is coping. I feel for her. I can only imagine what it's like having Discord as your afterschool detentionaire!" A nervous chuckle escaped her as the room fell silent for what seemed like an eternity. The mood shifted when one of Applejack's many bags fell off the sofa, knocking a candle onto the floor.
"Hehe, well. That's nice to hear. I wish you could have seen the face on that mollycoddled brat Tiara, haha!" Applejack said, a tiny bit of her accent returning in her laughter. Not that Rarity nor Spike noticed; more focused on what she was saying versus how.
"Applejack!" Rarity blurted. "I've heard enough from Sweetie Belle to get an understanding of Tiara, but that's not nice to say."
"Yeah, that's not like you," Spike said. Applejack glanced her eyes up.
"Of course, "you'd" agree with her." She muttered.
"What was that"
"I said, 'Of course, she really matted her fur,' Applejack replied. 'Besides, I'm only telling the truth. That is my nature, of course,' she said, almost sounding like she was bragging in a sense. 'I'm pretty sure Applebloom would've given her a matching set if "Spikey here" hadn't shown up when he did. Ain't that right... partner?" She finished, her words turning in his stomach. He stood up and walked towards the stairs, all the while biting his lip with his hands clenched tightly again.
"What's wrong, Spikey?" Rarity asked.
"Nothing, n-nothing," he said, waving his hands.
(Cough, liar , Cough)
Rarity turned around with a discernible scowl and narrowed eyes; her gaze shifted to Applejack, who sat with her eyes closed, sipping her tea. She redirected her attention to Spike. "Are you planning on leaving soon? I was hoping we could continue our talks for tomorrow," she inquired. Spike nodded in agreement, prompting a smile of delight to grace Rarity. "Well, that's good to hear," she remarked. "Thanks, but I'll just go get a head start on some new outfits for us. I'll be in the designing room if you need me." he finished. Applejack sucked at her teeth, making a loud "tch" as she stared into her tea. As Rarity turned back to her, Spike walked away, staring at his burned hand.
"Now, what was that?" She said, refocusing all of her attention back on her "guest".
"Nothing." She said.
"Oh, really? And is your *cough* throat OK, too? Or was that also just nothing?" she questioned. She ignored her, sipping her tea.
"Isn't this your business?" She asked, evading yet another question she was asked.
"W-what?"
"You made this business, didn't you? And he said "for us". He didn't create this," she said.
"Applejack, he's helping me with my outfits. You know he often comes here and-
"A little too often if you ask me," she said, not even trying to hide it behind a cough or a smile. Rarity felt something deep within her stomach. An unfiltered part of herself was vexing and full of displeasure. She was angry.
"What's gotten into you? First, you show up at my door asking me to go shopping with you, speaking like a city pony. Then, you suddenly harass a retail worker over a mispriced set of candles. And that's before you yelled at Spike in front of all those ponies," Rarity said, fuming from head to toe.
"He nearly dropped all my things!" Applejack yelled back, believing she was being disrespected.
"Uhm, Hello? Have you seen the amount of things you've bought,"
"He's a man, a little weight shouldn't kill him," She said. Rarity groaned, walking back and forth in place. "What are you getting upset for? If anything, I'm the one who should be upset. I asked 'you" to go out with me; if he was gonna tag along, he could at least do his damn job right," The imaginary thread inside of Rarity's mind snapped, her patience fully drained, and her tolerance level's depleted.
"That is it! Applejack, take your stuff and GET OUT!" She shouted, her voice echoing throughout the Boutique.
"What? You can't be serious?"
"What's going on!" Spike said, having raced down from the designing room and hearing Rarity scream.
"Oh goodie, the "Pet" crawls back to its master," Applejack said, holding up her hoof to her mouth in disgust upon seeing him. Spike felt a mixture of anger and sadness as he gazed at Applejack's disgusted expression. It brought back memories of the cruel looks he received as a young dragon in Canterlot. He had thought those days behind him, but to see them displayed by Applejack, the most honest pony he knew, shattered his heart. His hand was over his chest, a tear streaming down his cheek; he was deeply wounded. "Aww, did I hurt your little dragon feelings," she teased, deepening his heartache.
"Out of my house, NOW!" Rarity said, her horn glowing as she unlocked the door and levitated her boxes and bags outside. Applejack bit her lip, aggravated beyond words. Then, her frustration turned into a grin, once again eyeing Spike.
"Out of all our friends, I thought you would have understood me...this me...the real me the most. But instead, you choose to take sides with someone who is so BLINDLY IN LOVE WITH YOU-
"APPLEJACK!" Rarity's piercing scream echoed in her Boutique. She glanced back in panic at Spike, who was mortified by her actions. His heart sank as he realized the dreadful secret that had been made. All the years of unspoken love, unwavering loyalty, and silent dedication to Rarity had been shattered in an instant. Spike stood there, feeling as though he had been struck by lightning, unable to move or speak. He had watched in horror as Applejack, a pony whom he thought he could call a friend, had exposed his feelings shamelessly. Tears streamed down his eyes, a silent testament to the pain and heartache he was feeling.
"Oh, you didn't know. Guess you're just as blind as he-" Applejack's words were finally cut off as Rarity engulfed her with her magic and quite literally flung her out of her Boutique. She landed atop her many bags and boxes, softening her blow. As she stood up from her impromptu padding, Rarity was standing in the middle of her doorway.
"I'm sorry, AJ, but you leave me with no choice. You're hereby banned from the Carousel Boutique," she said, closing the door behind her. Applejack rushed to the door, just barely stopping her from closing it. Rarity fought back, starting a pushing match between them. Even with her using her magic, Applejack's strength was proving to be too much. Then suddenly, Spike rushed in, tackling the door with all his strength and forcing it closed. Applejack was knocked back to the ground by the sudden force. As she stood back up, the sound of the door locking triggered something within Applejack, something she had forgotten.
"Wait, come on, Rares. I-I didn't really mean any of it. Look, how about this. I'll share some of my things with you...Rarity? Spike? Please y'all, say somethin', Anythin'!" Applejack pleaded persistently, knocking and crying to be let back inside. Rarity and Spike looked at each other for a brief moment, his tears hastily wiped from his face. He suddenly sprinted back upstairs to the design room. Rarity quickly chases after him, leaving Applejack unknowingly calling out to nopony or Dragon. When Applejack finally left, the same candle that fell from the bag earlier stood upright. The candle suddenly lit itself aflame; the sweet smell it produced became visible and gained color. The fumes took shape, sprouting mix-matched horns and wings before the rest of the body came into full view.
"How dare Rarity say "I can only imagine what it's like having Discord as your afterschool detentionaire!"
"Spike, Please open the door." Rarity said, knocking gently, dropping his nickname. She only ever did that when she was serious about something.
"You can come in. The door's unlocked," he said, his tone flat and void of emotion. Rarity opened the door, the light switched off, and Spike sitting against the wall.
"Oh hehe, Silly me," she said, taking a seat next to him. The room was quiet for a moment before Rarity spoke again, "Spike, I- I don't know how else to put this, but please don't hate Applejack. She's clearly not in the right mind and when the time comes-
"She'll need her friends. Yeah, I know. Have fun with that," he said, hiding his face with his arms. Rarity placed her hoof on his shoulder, making him glance back at her. She was crying, her tears even more steadfast than his were.
"Wow, wait. Why are you crying?" he asked, turning to face her properly. Rarity wiped her eyes as best as she could, her makeup slightly smuggling across her face.
"Because I'm upset." She said, stomping her hoof on her floor. "I let her into my home and-" She found herself unable to finish her sentence, staring up at the ceiling to stop her tears from coming up again. Another moment of silence passed them, as they were now sitting closer to each other, taking small breaths to calm themselves.
"Any idea what caused her to act like that?" Rarity said, patting her eyes with a nearby tissue she grabbed.
"Me," Spike said.
"Spike-"
"I'm serious," he said, looking her dead in the eyes, stunning her. "You already heard from her that the fight between her sister and Tiara would've ended a whole lot worse if I didn't intervene. But that's not the half of it." He said, thinking back to the day of the fight. "The truth is-..."
"Is what?" Rarity asked, scared a little seeing him struggle to answer.
"The truth is, I was watching from afar when it happened. I was there watching as Applebloom, Scootaloo, and your sister stood up for themselves and didn't let them boss them around. I remember how Diamond Tiara forced them to dig up secrets on ponies around Ponyville and how it affected everyone, especially them. After hearing the speech, I felt myself moved by their confidence. By the time I was approaching to send the crowd away, I had heard what Diamond Tiara had said." he had finished. Rarity was surprised, genuinely surprised by Spike's actions. She wanted to say something, but she felt like what he needed to say was more important, and much more emotionally needed.
"I think that's why she hates me. Cause I was too slow to stop her sister and I don't blame her," he said.
"Spike, I don't think you did anything bad, per se." Rarity said, much to his interest. "You made a judgment call and trusted them to handle things on their own responsibly. We're all responsible for our own actions, not anyone else's. I don't think anypony could've anticipated that Tiara was gonna say something like what she did. And the moment things went south, You acted so nopony else could get hurt or involved. You did great, at least...I think you did," she said, a small tint of red on her face. Spike would have missed it had it not been for the sunlight panning into the room.
"Thanks, but I don't that she sees it that way. That fight was the school's first. Maybe she thinks I brought shame to her family by not stopping her fast enough," he said.
"If so, then she'd better be ready for the amount she just added on. And if so, then I'm quite shameful as well for throwing her out like I did." She finished, finally getting a smile from him,"
"Yeah, like "orange scented candles," Spike said, motioning back to how she was holding it earlier.
"I know, right!" Rarity said, doing the same. The two shared a laugh for the first time since earlier. Once their laughter subsided, they found themselves touching. Rarity's hoof being held by Spike's hand. He pulled it away, Applejack's words bouncing back into his head.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Sorry for what"
"For you...finding out like you did." He said, playing with his fingers. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle, unknowingly adding to his embarrassment, until she saw his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear. Did you not know?" she said, wiping a tear of joy.
"Know what?" he asked when he suddenly felt Rarity's lips pressing dangerously close to his own. He froze, his eyes locked on her joyous smile. She sat back up, walked towards her door, and said, "Come now, Spikey. I think there are still some tea and sandwiches left downstairs... unless, of course, you'd rather sit here in this barely luminescent room?" She left the door open and swished her tail at him to follow her. In an instant, he jumped up from his spot and ran over to the door. "What? I still don't know," he said as his broad smile returned to his face once again. As the door closed behind him, the tissue Rarity had used prior began uncrinkling itself. Discord emerged, damp from tears and covered in makeup.
"OH, Thank Celestia. She didn't have to blow her nose," he said, snapping his fingers to clean himself. "Well, good for Spike. At least I won't have to make this whole thing a dream...I hope. Fluttershy would end me if I...Oh crapbaskets. I didn't fix her window!"