The Tiara weighs Heavy

Diamond was in the middle of class going over her test on Equestrian history as the angry-looking Mrs. Porridge was trotting through the aisles; she looked over the students with a keen eye as she was going down the rows, making sure no filly was cheating. Diamond wasn't doing too bad as she was going over her test and actually was well versed in this subject…her mother ensured she was educated outside of her daily classes with tutors, so this test was a breeze. She was worried that she and Snowdrop were talking about finally revealing her wings to Cherry Bomb, as she wanted to start learning how to fly. The plan was to ensure that after their Crusader meeting, she'd stay behind to have that private lesson without a bunch of their ponies gawking at her and potentially spilling her secret to unwanted ears.

She then finished the last question and hoofed her test to the teacher as she eyed her, taking it and reviewing it thoroughly. "Perfect score again….were you cheating?"

"Of course not!"

She stamped her sheet with a big red A+ and said, "Hmmm, well, alright, you're free to go." She hoofed the sheet away as Diamond quickly left the classroom, avoiding eye contact with Onyx. She could feel her eyes burning in her back. Her near-perfect grades weren't going unnoticed; it was only a matter of time before Onyx would try to frame her into making the teachers think she was cheating. She should try getting some answers wrong on purpose, so other ponies wouldn't care as much. Or better yet, get ahead and accuse her of cheating while planting some fake eviden-

She shook her head, getting it out of her mind. No, that was the old her; if she were going to take down Onyx, it'd be done through some other means. Diamond then hurried off down the halls to room 3C to prepare for the next crusader meeting.

As Diamond went through the next meeting, things were going relatively smoothly as she did the usual like before, encouraging the other fillies to embrace their talents and making sure nopony was getting too loud. Then, as the others left, Cherry Bomb came over and asked, "So, uh? I guess you wanted to show me something?"

Snowdrop turned towards Diamond, eyeing her as she built up the courage she gulped and admitted, "We need you to help teach us some flying.

She turned to Snowdrop and said, "Oh, well, if that's all, I am the best flyer in the school! Come on, I'll show you a few tricks."

"Well, not for me," Snowdrop nudged Diamond over as she groaned under her breath and said, "So uh yeah, we uh need you for flying practice for…um…me."

"For you? You're a unicorn?"

Diamond gulped, removed her uniform, and then unfurled her wings and spread them out. Cherry Bomb looked in complete awe as she cried, "You're an alicorn!"

Diamond bowed her head and whispered, "Yeah…"

"Well, it's amazing! Why don't you tell everypony!"

Diamond winced and said, "Well, I'm not really confident enough to show other ponies yet, and there are other reasons I don't want other foals to know, so you have to swear to try to keep this a secret."

Cherry Bomb threw her wings out and shouted, "Come on, seriously!? You're kidding, right!?" she then slammed down next to Diamond, pointed a hoof in her face, and snapped, "Listen, the other fillies and I are all tired of Onyx and her bullying, and you're the only one who is changing things around here! And now I know you're an alicorn; you could knock her off her pedestal!"

Diamond stepped back, being rather reluctant, and said, "What, no!? I'm not trying to knock anypony off their pedestal!"

Cherry Bomb scoffed, "Well, if you want me to help you fly, then you gotta help me take down Onyx or, no deal."

Diamond Tiara groaned and muttered under her breath, "Fine." She took her hoof out and shook Cherry Bomb's hoof. "I'll help take down Onyx. They then flew off together as they started her flight training."

After a few hours of the two doing some basic maneuvers flying around the classroom, Diamond was rather clumsy initially, but she got better as time passed. Snowdrop and she were laughing as Diamond chirped, "That was awesome! Flying was so much fun!"

"Yeah, can't wait for you to do it outside? It's so much better flying in the open skies."

"I bet! Please, we gotta try it at night! I wana really want to try to fly-" Before she finished, the two fillies stopped in their tracks as Mrs. Hardwood stood over them with a sour look on her face. The pink alicorn stepped back under the harsh gaze as she said. "Diamond Tiara, where have you been?"

Diamond fixed her uniform and said, "I was in the library studying."

"That sweat on your brow, that gleeful look you had before you saw me, says otherwise; you were goofing off, I bet."

"Well, yeah, a little…" Snowdrop muttered something under her breath. Diamond just gave a. "Yeah, sure…"

She then waved a hoof as Diamond grumbled under her breath. Snowdrop watched with concern, but the filly flashed her a smile and waved back. Mrs. Hardwood's office was as boring as the rest of the school made of that grey stone; the carpet was a drab black, and the wall was covered in old black and white photos of fillies graduating from the school with the teachers standing behind them. Diamond Tiara then trotted to the small chair across from the massive desk, and the stern mare glared as she asked, "How are you adjusting?"

"Well, it's been hard, but I'm improving at making friends."

"Well, that's good to hear, but I brought you here as something quite concerning came to my attention."

Diamond groaned, fearing she had learned about her being an alicorn. The mare then slammed down a dozen answer keys on the desk. "These were found in your dorm room; care to explain?"

Diamond gritted her teeth, remembering how Onyx looked at her. She knew she was up to something! And her hunch was right that she would frame her for cheating. All the filly could do was try to defend herself, "I…I can't. I swear I don't cheat."

"Right, if that's the case, then you're saying that Snowdrop stole these?"

"No, She didn't! Snowdrop isn't the culprit either."

Mrs Hardwood eyed her. "If that's the case, where would they come from?"

Diamond paused, wanting to say it was Onyx, but she had no proof as she grumbled, "I…I don't know.."

Mrs Hardwood gave a long-winded sigh, "I'm sorry, Diamond, but you are most likely the one who stole them. Your grades are nearly perfect, and it's not uncommon for foals to have extraordinarily good grades. But we have had cheaters in the past, and we are take cheating seriously here."

She rose to her hooves and continued to glare at her as she said, "As per the rules, you will receive a full ten demerits for this, and a letter will be sent to your mother. Expulsion will also be on the table."

Diamond winced, and the mare growled, "Also, you will be monitored during your off hours until we get to the bottom of this."

Tears started to flood in her eyes. If she were being monitored by the staff, she wouldn't be able to hold her Cutie Mark Crusader meetings anymore. No, she had to prove Onyx did this soon!

"Wait, before you do anything, I have to say, in my defense, I don't know how those answer keys ended up in my room. But Snowdrop's grades haven't improved since I came, correct?"

Mrs Hardwood eyed her, then asked, "Yes, that's correct?"

"So if I were to have stolen those answer keys, why wouldn't I have shared them with my friend? Also, you saw my grades before, and I have never cheated on any test in my entire life. My old teacher, Mrs. Cheerilee, could attest to that."

"That is true…" she then eyed her. "Fine, we won't send a letter or receive demerits, but we will need to monitor what you do in your free time for a while until we can conclude you didn't cheat, understand?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hardwood.'"

Diamond was then escorted to her room. As she slammed the door, she tore off her coat as Snowdrop was on her bed, looking worried. She instantly flew over to her and asked, "What happened?"

The alicorn filly turned towards her friend and grumbled, "Onyx happened; she's trying to get rid of me by framing me as a cheater."

Snowdrop opened her mouth, and then a little smile came on her face as she asked, "Isn't that a good thing? You'll get expelled, but you will go home to your other friends? I know you hate it here."

Diamond took a moment to think, seeing that letting herself get expelled would be easy, and then said, "Yeah, I do, but I don't want to be seen as a cheater back home either."

"But how will you expose her? Most likely, Onyx got one of her goons to sneak the cheat sheets in here while we were out."

"Yeah, most likely, and even if we confront her, she would even have that goon take the fall…I don't want another pony going down for her actions."

Snowdrop reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I get that she could be blackmailing that poor pony or bullying her to do it. I think you need to reveal you're an alicorn?"

Diamond threw out her wings, shook her head, and exclaimed, "No, no way!"

Snowdrop came over, placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder, and looked her right in the eyes as she said, "Diamond, you don't have a choice! Many fillies here love and respect you, but they know you're hiding something, so many can't trust you. You need to show them what you are and not be scared about it. Then that'll expose Onyx and end her tyranny once and for all."

Diamond wanted to, but there was still that part of her that feared her mother as she whispered, "I'm not sure if that will work…"

Snowdrop flew over, hugged her, and said, "It will. You just need to believe in yourself, but it's your decision. Just promise you'll sleep on it, okay?"

Diamond nodded as she slowly sank under the covers, throwing the blanket over her head and curling in a ball.

When she woke up the next morning, she didn't say much, being rather tired, with her wings aching from all the flying she did yesterday. Diamond threw on her coat and then followed her classmates to the dining hall, where she ate her boring breakfast. Then she saw Onyx tormenting a poor little earth pony filly, taking her by the mane and shoving oatmeal into her mouth. Something came over Diamond. It was like she was standing in front of her class and shouting, "Listen up! I've had enough of this!"

Everypony turned as she tore off her coat and revealed her wings, flashing them over her head, and everypony in the room gasped as she glared at Onyx, who laughed, "Oh wow, nice illusion spell!? Trying to make yourself look like an alicorn so original?"

Diamond's eyes narrowed as she flew over and slammed the table, sending a bowl of oatmeal into her face, and shouted, "Was that an illusion!?"

The other filly cried as she got up, wiping the gray goop from her face, and snapped, "Who do you think you are!?"

Mrs Porridge looked flabbergasted as she came over. "Diamond Tiara, si…sit down this instant!"

Diamond sat down with every foal, just watching in complete awe, some whispering as Onyx sat there, seething in rage. "Who cares if she's an alicorn? She's a cheater! I saw her with those answer keys! It's why she's so good on her tests!"

This caused quite a stir, and Diamond winced at the lie with no way to prove she was lying. But before she could defend herself. The earth pony filly that Onyx was tormenting slowly stood up with tears in her eyes. She wiped the oatmeal and tears with a hoof and stammered, "That's not true. It... it was me who stole the answer ke…keys O…Onyx said sh... she would tell ponies my secret if I didn't put them in Diamond's room."

This made everyone in the cafeteria look back at Onyx, who scoffed, "What, no!? I…I didn't! She's obviously lying, but I would never."

"ONYX! THATS ENOUGH!"

With an angry look, Mrs. Heardwood headed over and snapped. "COME WITH ME NOW!"

The filly grumbled as she headed off with Mrs. Hardwood, and Diamond came over to the crying earth pony and everypony watched in awe as she wrapped her wings and hugged her. “Wh…why I…I framed you…"

"Yeah, because Onyx was blackmailing you." She looked around the cafeteria and added, "And I bet most of you would have done the same in her hooves."

Many looked downward, and then she sat with the filly and asked, "What's your name?"

The little earth pony filly had a dark brown frilly mane and freckles as she pushed her glasses over her big blue eyes and then said, "Belle."

"Belle, what a lovely name. Mine's Diamond Tiara, how about we eat together ."

She then sat with her and continued to talk to her about classes. She learned that Belle was a good reader and that she wanted to get her cutie mark in the reading as Diamond encouraged her to join the Cutie Mark Cursaader meeting that evening. As they finished breakfast, they all got up to go to class, with foals still gawking at her and whispering, unable to stop. Diamond felt her face turn red as she tried to ignore them, but the little yellow earth pony came over and said, "Thank you, Princess Diamond."

"Wait, I'm not a princess!" Diamond cried, squeaking at what she had just said as Belle Skipped off. Then Snowdrop flew over and teased, "You better get used to it, princess."

"Oh, don't even start," the filly scoffed as she nudged her friend back, and they went off to class. Diamond Tiara, though, had her head down, still feeling unsure of what she did; it was out of pure instinct to defend Belle. She didn't even have time to think of the consequences. Surely, now her mother will know what she did, and worse, with her being an alicorn, the teachers will probably see her as a distraction and remove her. Diamond wanted to go back home; she really did, but turning to see all of these fillies giving that look of admiration and hope, she felt like she was making a difference here.