Friendship...or something like that

by Charlie_K

Rating: teen
Tags: Diamond Tiara, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Silver Spoon, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Random
Length: 11085

The Cutie Mark Crusaders have had enough bullying from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They decide that it's time to take desperate measures.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have grown tired of being the target of bullying by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Their sisters can't help them and Cherilee can do very little for matters beyond the school grounds. They come to the conclusion that if there's to be any hope of this pattern coming to an end they've got to take matters into their own hooves and explore previously unconsidered options even if the results might be messy.

Rated for some instances of violence.

Published 2013-04-23 19:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-25 23:56:20 UTC

Friendship...or something like that

Friendship...or something like that

"Well that didn't work out so great..."

It was another regular day for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Another day of coming up with a new grand scheme to earn their cutie marks, a massive amount of effort put into achieving said goal, another failure of having their flanks adorned with the symbol of their obsession. And another day of hanging out at the crusader clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres to nurse their wounds whether they be physical or emotional.

Just another regular day for the Cutie Mark Crusaders...

"So we've concluded that we're not getting a cutie mark in window washing, floor waxing, or shelf organizing..." Scootaloo said as she checked each of the tasks off their list of possible endeavors. They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel now if they were checking the notice board for odd jobs to get their cutie marks in.

"At least we got ten bits each fer helpin' out around Ponyville, that's gotta count fer somethin'," Apple Bloom pointed out. Granted ten bits was no cutie mark but at least it was theirs.

"I guess," Scootaloo muttered, "is there anymore business to conduct before we conclude today's meeting?"

Apple Bloom raised her hoof.

"The floor recognize Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said and stepped down from the head of the makeshift podium/card table so her friend could speak like it was an actual meeting.

Apple Bloom stepped up and pulled down the screen behind the table, showing pictures of both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon drawn in crayon with crudely exaggerated features.

"Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's bullyin' is gettin' outta hoof an' we're all gettin' tired of it. Ah propose we take a couple o' days away from crusadin' ta figure out wha' we can do about those two fillies...without gettin' in trouble fer it," Apple Bloom stated.

"But what can we do? Miss Cherilee won't do anything to them unless she catches them in the act, and she can't do anything about their off school activity," Scootaloo griped.

"Ah know! Ah tried tellin' mah sister about it but she jus' says ta deal with it ourselves," Apple Bloom replied and pouted. But then again she didn't really expect anything different, it wasn't like Applejack could defend her and her friends against everything unpleasant they encountered.

"Then I guess we'll just have to handle this ourselves. One way or another..." Scootaloo stated.

"I might actually have a solution to that. But it's really out of left field and we're gonna have to do something we normally wouldn't consider doing," Sweetie Belle spoke up.

"Like what?" Apple Bloom asked. She'd just now brought up Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as a gripe at their current meeting and couldn't figure out what Sweetie Belle could've thought up in the past minute they'd been talking.

"Like this," Sweetie Belle said as she produced a piece of paper from her saddle bag and laid it out on the table for them to see and look over. "I told Rarity about it and she suggested something we could do about it."

"No way!" Scootaloo exclaimed after glancing over the piece of paper. There was no way she was doing anything like what was being suggested.

"Have you got a better suggestion?" Sweetie Belle asked and cocked and eyebrow. The boisterous pegasus was suddenly silent. "What do you think Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom read over the plan carefully. She knew that Rarity could be...eccentric at times and have a skewed view on things, and this plan just seemed to confirm that. But then again they really weren't going to have much luck coming up with a plan themselves and if this could put an end to their problems then it had to be worth considering.

But that didn't mean she had to like it.

"When do we start?" Apple Bloom reluctantly asked.

"Tomorrow after school. Here's what we do..."

Depending on the time of day the school bell was either a source of much discontentment, resentment and in a few cases a source of outright hatred; or it could be the most wonderful sound in all of Ponyville. In this case it was the latter as it meant class was no dismissed and every good little colt and filly was free to go and enjoy themselves for the rest of the day away from the accursed learning center.

Every good little colt and filly except for three who were idling near the fence gate and talking amongst themselves in hushed whispered as others galloped or cantered past them.

"I still say this hay brained idea won't work," Scootaloo stated, earning a scowl from Sweetie Belle since everything was based on what her older sister Rarity had told her. Not like she cared though since Rarity wasn't her sister. "Can't we try something else?"

"Not unless you came up with something and didn't tell us," Sweetie Belle whispered back.

"Quiet now they're coming," Apple Bloom whispered. Now it was time to set the plan into motion and see if it would pay off. Truth be told she was really rather curious about it herself. "So wha' should we try today ta get our cutie marks?" she asked in a louder voice.

"We could always try juggling," Scootaloo suggested but instantly regretted it. Juggling was even lamer than floor waxing, who in their right mind would believe that?

"Twilight said she needed somepony to help at the library while Spike's sick. Maybe we could get our cutie marks at organization," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Are you blank flanks still at it!?"

It took a conscious effort to bite back a response and not rise to the occasion. Looking over they could see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing there and staring at them and looking annoyed in general.

"Organization cutie marks? How lame," Diamond Tiara commented.

"Totally," Silver Spoon replied.

Scootaloo was choking on her words right now as she swallowed what she so desperately wanted to say. This was so not gonna be worth it and she knew it. But the others didn't and they'd found some rather creative ways to ensure her cooperation on the matter so she unfortunately had to go along with it. With a silent sigh she decided to play the cards that were dealt. "Maybe they're right."

"Maybe," Sweetie Belle replied and nodded.

"Maybe we should take the day off from crusadin'?" Apple Bloom asked. The others nodded in agreement.

"That's even lamer than usual," Diamond Tiara commented. She moved to leave with Silver Spoon to get away from the three before they annoyed her any further.

"Hey Diamond Tiara, yer pa works late at 'is store doesn't he?" Apple Bloom asked, causing the pink filly to stop in her tracks.

"Well of course he does that's how he makes money, what's it to you anyway, blank flank?" Diamond Tiara asked and narrowed her eyes.

"Well since he's so busy why don' ya two come an' hang out wit' us fer the day? We can go over ta Sugarcube Corner fer an order of cupcakes," Apple Bloom replied.

Dealing with the three blank flanks as many times as she did had allowed her to develop a quick sense of wit and the ability to throw out a snarky response with very little effort. She had a particularly good reply planned out in about a second and was ready to hurl it out at them, but unfortunately she was just a split second too slow as what Sweetie Belle had to say forced her to close her mouth again.

"Our treat."

She blinked. She had no response for that. They could've thrown a glob of mud in her face and she would've been less stunned than this.

"Uh..." she paused in trying to think of what to say next, "Spoon could I see you for a minute?" she asked.

The two fillies stepped away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders before huddling to discuss the matter, not paying attention to the fact that they were being watched.

"Something's fishy here. First those blank flanks are acting strange even for them and now this?" Diamond Tiara whispered.

"I know but what could they be up to?" Silver Spoon asked. She knew that this wasn't another cutie mark scheme, at least those had some sort of structure to them. This however she couldn't put her hoof on.

"I don't know. Asking us to join them for cupcakes like we're friends or something?" she asked and shook her head. "What should we do?"

"Well...it is free sweets," Silver Spoon pointed out, "and for once they've piqued my curiosity. Maybe we should go along and play it by ear. We can always ditch them after they pay for the cupcakes."

Diamond Tiara nodded in agreement and stepped out of the huddle of two before they approached the three fillies again. "Can we get the kind with the sprinkles and fudge icing?" she asked, deciding to test the waters cautiously.

"Sure," Sweetie Belle replied. "Come on let's go. Who knows we might even get there as Pinkie takes them out of the oven so they're nice and fresh."

Neither Silver Spoon nor Diamond Tiara knew what was up as they followed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But they were certainly going to find out, if for no other reason than to simply figure out what kind of game the three blank flanks were up to.

"Howdy girls!" Pinkie Pie greeted excitedly as she saw the five little fillies stepped into the bakery. "What can I get for you on this happy beautiful day?"

"Howdy Pinkie," Apple Bloom replied after recovering from the initial shock of the greeting; Pinkie was always high energy like that and sometimes it took a while to get fully acclimated. Once that was done she looked around and saw an empty table. "We'd like about ten cupcakes with...what was it, fudge icing and sprinkles?" she asked as she turned back to Diamond Tiara for confirmation.

"Colored not chocolate sprinkles," Diamond Tiara pointed out.

"I'll take white icing on mine," Scootaloo corrected.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie stated after jotting down their orders, none of them knowing where the pad and pencil had come from, before bounding off to the kitchen to get cracking on the confections.

"Is she...always like that?" Diamond Tiara asked after a beat, unsure of what exactly that was. Any business she did at Sugarcube Corner was usually handled through the calmer and more restrained Mrs. Cake.

"Eh you get used to it," Scootaloo shrugged and took her seat at the vacant table. The others soon followed and took their seats around the table.

At first there was no talking between the five, none of them really having anything to say to each other. This was the first time any of them could really remember spending time together outside of school.

Finally Sweetie Belle couldn't take the quiet staring anymore and felt the need to say something to break the tension. "So...hey Diamond Tiara? How'd you get your cutie mark?" she asked, figuring it was as good a place as any to start.

"Well you're looking right at it," Diamond Tiara replied and gestured to the top of her head.

"Ya got yer cutie mark fer wearin' jewelry?" Apple Bloom asked curiously. That was her special talent and she was making fun of them?

"No you---" Diamond Tiara nearly exploded in response but managed to get ahold of herself. She cleared her throat before speaking again in a calmer tone of voice, "apple farmer. I didn't get my cutie mark by wearing this tiara, I got it by making this tiara."

"Wow!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in surprise.

"Seriously?" Scootaloo asked.

Diamond Tiara nodded. "Daddy got me a jewelry making kit for my birthday so I could make something that I really liked. And when he found out I was good at it he got me some real gems from a business partner who owed him a favor and I made this baby all by myself," she said and gestured to it again.

"That's...actually cool," Scootaloo replied and looked at the tiara atop the filly's head again. "So your special talent is making tiaras?"

"Not just tiaras but jewelry in general. It requires a fine eye for detail and I've got just that. Daddy says when I grow up I could become a professional jeweler and create some of the best treasures found in Equestria," she explained with a smug look of satisfaction.

"Wow," the Cutie Mark Crusaders replied in unison at the revelation.

"Musta been real lucky ta find yer special talent like that an' all," Apple Bloom commented.

"Luck had nothing to do with it, it's skill. I didn't just fall into it like you three are trying to do. I read up on how jewelers set stones and how they hold them together. I practiced at it and got good with time and experience," she elaborated.

They were pretty sure that was a shot she just took at them. But at the moment they were more or less willing to let it slide this time.

Silver Spoon nodded in agreement. "That's how I discovered my special talent as well. With a lot of practice and hard work I learned that I've got the skills to be a pretty competent silver smith. One day I can be highly skilled at it just like my father and uncle are."

That was more or less the end of the conversation as at that time Pinkie Pie came bouncing back into the front of the bakery with a tray of cupcakes resting on her back. Diamond Tiara couldn't help but wonder how she could bounce about so randomly without disturbing either the tray or the cupcakes as she hopped around the table before finally arching her back upward and tossing the whole tray up into the air where it came back down on the table, tray side down with each of the cupcakes perfectly undisturbed.

"Thanks Pinkie," Sweetie Belle told her.

"No problemo, call me if you need anything. Well not anything we don't offer picnic tables or anything like that, but anything related to sweet treats is good to go," Pinkie told her. She quickly reached over and snagged what they soon learned was an eleventh cupcake mixed in with the rest and gobbled it up before bouncing away back to the counter.

"What..." Silver Spoon asked.

"How..." Diamond Tiara added.

"Pinkie Pie," the Cutie Mark Crusaders replied in unison. They each reached out and snagged the desired cupcake before Sweetie Belle pushed the tray closer to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon could do the same. After that it was time to enjoy the sweetness that Sugarcuber Corner was known for so well.

That was at least one thing they could all agree on without bickering.

"Hey Diamond Tiara? Since ya got yer cutie mark an' know what yer special talent is, ya got any advice on how we should go about finding what ours is?" Apple Bloom asked as she peeled the wrapper back.

"Besides the obvious "stop being lame" suggestion?" Scootaloo asked inbetween bites of her cupcake.

Diamond Tiara thought on the matter as she regarded the three. She was ready to dismiss them out of hoof now that she and Silver Spoon had their cupcakes and thus no obligation to remain behind. But then again they had asked her for advice, and she liked being the one others looked to for answers. She mulled the answer over as she finished her bite before answering with more manner than the other two.

"If you're really serious about this then try working on one thing instead of trying everything you can think of. Success is done through learning and experience rather than dumb luck. Nopony got their cutie mark the first time they tried something, especially if they weren't doing it right," she explained and took another bite of her cupcake.

It wasn't exactly what they wanted to hear, but it had been more than they expected to get. Granted there had been a good deal of hostility and even a touch of cruelty in the filly's words, but it had been more informative than they expected to get from her. Maybe there was something to her words.

Off to the side Silver Spoon remained silent, nibbling at her cupcake rather than eating away at it like the rest of them were.

"What's up Silver Spoon? You seem kinda pensive," Scootaloo pointed out.

Silver Spoon looked up from her cupcake. She was a little surprised that the pegasus filly not only knew a word such as "pensive" but apparently knew what it meant and hot to use it correctly in a sentence. Maybe she had been paying attention in Cherilee's class afterall. "Just thinking," she replied and shrugged before setting her partially eaten cupcake down on the table before addressing them properly. "The whole point of this...club...of yours is to earn your cutie marks, correct?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied, the other two nodding in agreement.

"So what happens once you do that? What're you going to do when you get your cutie marks and have to stop being the cutie mark crusaders?" she asked.

"Well wha' kind o' question is that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"A legitimate one. What do you plan on doing once you fulfill your mission? Will you still be friends after that?"

Diamond Tiara watched silently at the exchange between the others. It was amusing to see the three blank flanks not having an answer; obviously they hadn't thought out their little social club all that well if they hadn't thought of what to do after it was over. She couldn't help but add to it.

"And what're you going to do if you don't all get your cutie marks at the same time? I've never heard of two or more ponies getting the exact same cutie mark, especially not at the exact same time. Isn't that going to make things difficult between you three if Apple Bloom gets her cutie mark first and doesn't need to go crusading anymore?"

Now it was there turn to be speechless as they were presented with questions about their future. They never planned on getting ambushed in such a way. And like it or not they were finding it necessary to consider things they hadn't thought to consider before. Would they be friends after they got their cutie marks? Would they be friends if they didn't all get their cutie marks at the same time? They'd like to at least think the answer was a yes.

"We dunno," Apple Bloom hesitantly admitted.

It was so hard not to smirk at their lack of a comeback, but Diamond Tiara managed. They didn't have any answers and now they had something else to wonder about besides what their special talent was. This was so entertaining right now. They'd gotten free cupcakes, they got to brag about their special talents, tell the crusaders that they were doing everything wrong and now leave them with more questions than answers. And best of all they now had no obligation to hang around anymore with the blank flanks and could leave at any time.

Or at least that was the plan until she glanced out the window and froze. "Oh no!" she exclaimed and ducked back down, grabbing onto Silver Spoon and pulling her down with her.

"What?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Frankford," Diamond Tiara said in a hushed tone.

"Frankford?" Sweetie Belle asked only to be shushed in response, "who's that?"

"The son of one of daddy's business partners. He's so annoying and I hate him," Diamond Tiara whined.

"Well why don't ya just tell him to buzz off?" Scootaloo asked.

"I can't do that, if I make him upset he'll go tell his daddy what I did and he won't do business with my daddy because of that spoiled brat," Diamond Tiara explained. "I'd rather sit through class on a Saturday than spend five minutes talking to him."

Now it was there turn to be surprised. There was a pony even more annoying than these two? They were torn between fear and wanting to see it for themselves.

"If he comes in here please, please don't do anything to make him look in this direction," Silver Spoon pleaded.

They froze at the sound of the bell over the front door ringing. They barely moved to glance before turning back around and tried to duck down as low in their seats as they could to try and hide themselves without doing the undignified thing of hiding under the table.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were surprised when they saw just who Frankford was. He was a charcoal black stallion with messy gray mane and tail, a flame cutie mark adorning his flank. The surprising part was his size, easily standing as tall as their sisters...and sort of looking like them too. There was something a bit...mareish about his appearance.

"He's annoying just to look at," Scootaloo whispered and squinted, trying to figure out if Frankford really was a stallion or a mare but unable to tell for sure either way. As he...she...IT stood at the counter and talked away with Pinkie Pie she reached a startling conclusion that almost made her sick on the spot; she was actually agreeing with Diamond Tiara on something.

Apple Bloom actually gave consideration to drawing Frankford over to see if Diamond Tiara was exaggerating about him being annoying. But she abandoned that idea when she saw the pleading and desperate looks they were giving her.

Unfortunately it seemed Frankford managed to spot them even without any outside help as an excited yell of "DT!" was heard as he cantered over to their table. "Well little DT what a surprise to see you here! And you too Spoonz! And you've even got friends too, nice goin' girl! So who's your posse?"

"Hey Frankford," Diamond Tiara muttered, highly annoyed at the turn of events. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scoota...Scoota..." she paused, what was the chicken's real name?

"Scootaloo," the pegasus filly elaborated, "excuse me for just a minute I'm gonna go get us some more cupcakes," she said as she got up from the table and walked over to the counter, leaving the five of them alone.

"So DT what's ya been up to lately? Haven't see you in a long while," Frankford commented. However he didn't stop there as he just kept talking. "You know my dad has business up in Las Pegasus this weekend, you should come along it'd be lots of fun. I could show you all the good sights and stuff the city has to offer." He paused as if giving her a chance to respond but again he interrupted to add more. "I know you wouldn't want to do anything that could possibly hurt your father's business, am I right?"

"...Right..." Diamond Tiara muttered and nodded her head weakly.

"There that's the spirit," Frankford said and patted her mane.

"That's not very nice," Sweetie Bell commented.

Frankford frowned. "Well nopony asked you. Besides you really shouldn't be interrupting two friends who're catching up on their old fun times, it's very rude."

"We're bein' rude? Yer the one threatenin' her pa's business if she doesn't do what ya say," Apple Bloom piped up.

Frankford moved from frowning to glaring as he looked at Apple Bloom. "You really should mind your own business if you know what's good for your friends."

"Diamond Tiara's our classmate," Sweetie Belle corrected.

"Doesn't matter to me any," Frankford shrugged.

Apple Bloom started to rise from her chair. She could see what Diamond Tiara was talking about and that her reaction was justified. She'd only been around this colt a few minutes and she was willing to say she hated him too. However she didn't get the chance to take any action -appropriate or otherwise- as Scootaloo came back carrying a plate with a cupcake on one of her front hooves.

"Girls, girls, now isn't the time to be fighting, we've got a guest, let's make him feel welcome," she stated, "it was Frankford wasn't it? Do you like cupcakes?" she asked and presented the baked good. However it was no ordinary cupcake but rather what Pinkie called a "magnum cupcake" as it was easily three times larger than a standard was, making it nearly a small cake in and of itself. This one in particular wad loaded with gooey fudge icing and was mouth watering even at a distance.

"Well I've never turned down free sweets. Lemme have it!" Frankford stated as he licked his lips.

"You got it," Scootaloo replied.

It was a loud wet splat as the cupcake was smashed against Frankford's face, smearing the cake and icing everywhere and throwing him into surprised confusion as his vision was cut off, leaving him disoriented.

"Let's get outta here!" Scootaloo exclaimed and lead the pack of five fillies out the door while they had the opportunity.

The getaway had been short in duration but they'd covered a great deal of distance in that time. Right now they were hiding behind a building while the more unathletic members of the group were busy catching their breath, caught off guard by having to make a mad dash out of the bakery like that.

"Well that takes care of him," Scootaloo commented and feeling rather proud of herself for what happened.

"Do you have any idea what you've done now?" Diamond Tiara asked her as she scowled.

"Shh," Apple Bloom insisted but nopony heard her.

"Yeah I got us outta there and away from that annoying colt. When you said he was annoying I thought you were exaggerating. But then he turns out to be more annoying than y--- than my older brother," Scootaloo said as she defended her actions.

"You foal! That annoying colt could ruin my father's business because of what you did to him. I've wanted to do that since I first met him but I've had to restrain myself because of more important issues. Nice going you blank flanks!" Diamond Tiara yelled.

"Shh!"

"Hey I was just trying to do something nice," Scootaloo protested.

"Nice and barbaric," Silver Spoon commented.

"would y'all jus' shut up! Frankford's gonna hear ya if ya keep carryin' on like that!" Apple Bloom finally spoke up.

"Frankford did hear you carrying on like that!"

All five of them looked ahead of them at the new voice, too caught up in their own squabbling to notice the tall colt standing before them, cake bits and frosting still clinging to his face as he looked at them angrily.

"You little foals! Never have I been treated like that! When my father hears about what you did to me he's going to demand retribution, and I know just the pony he's going to take it out on," he said as he eyed Diamond Tiara.

"Hey you can't do that, we don't even like Diamond Tiara!" Scootaloo protested and raised up on her hind legs to look more intimidating and more easily look him in the eyes, using her wings to help keep her balance.

Frankford huffed and easily shoved her aside out of his way.

"Hey that wasn't nice!" Apple Bloom yelled as she stepped up. Frankford simply thunked her on the forehead with his hoof hard enough to elicit a yelp of pain and make her drop to the ground as she cradled what would likely be a serious goose egg of a bump. Just touching it made her whimper.

Diamond Tiara was torn as she watched what was unfolding before her. She had absolutely no love for those three blank flanks and didn't care much for whatever might happen to them. She'd never made any secret of that fact either to them or to anypony else. And yet here they were standing up for her to this big bully that'd caused her so much grief for so long. And here they were getting physically picked on by the same big bully that'd been responsible for some of her own suffering.

This was where she was torn. She had no love for them and they were just blank flanks anyway. But they were her blank flanks and nopony got to pick on them except for her and Silver Spoon. She growled as she made the conscious decision to enter a new and unexplored territory and actually do something about what was going on; she would actually do something to help them. If she was going to be in trouble over this she might as well do something to actually deserve it.

However before she could actually do anything Sweetie Belle growled and moved behind Frankford to bite down hard on his tail in response and making it his turn to yelp in pain.

"You're nothing but a big bully!" Scootaloo shouted as she stood back up, very angry at the way things were progressing.

"And as the Cutie Mark Crusaders we're gonna have ta teach ya a lesson," Apple Bloom added, the pain in her head subsiding just enough for her to scowl as she stood back up.

"And it won't be one you soon forget!" Sweetie Belle finished. However as she was still biting down on his tail it sounded far more garbled.

"And what do you three half runts plan on doing to me exactly? No matter what you do I'm still going to tell my father what happened and he's still going to be very unhappy with Filthy Rich. Who knows he might just close the store down as a result," Frankford told them. "Of course I might be persuaded to let this whole incident go, provided Diamond Tiara is willing to cooperate..."

"Why you little burro!"

The sudden booming voice made everypony jump. Despite the anger in the tone Diamond Tiara immediately recognized it as belonging to her father. Looking up she just now realized that they'd somehow found their way to Barnyard Bargains.

Filthy Rich made his way outside the store, his body stiff with fury as he fumed and stared down the now very nervous Frankford, not even noticing that his tail was free from Sweetie Belle's teeth.

"How dare you treat my daughter like that? You threaten my business to try and gain cooperation when somepony doesn't want to do something you want them to?" he demanded as he stomped closer, Frankford shrinking a little more with each step taken. "I've done some dealings that weren't the most honest in nature, but never have I ever resorted to coercion to get what I wanted! Every business dealing I've done was with a mutual respect between each party involved."

"B-b-but Mr. Rich," Frankford tried to protest.

"But nothing! I'm ashamed to know the kind of ponies I've been doing business with. You tell your father Kingsford that as of right now I'm no longer stocking his products. And if I ever catch you within a hundred hooves of my daughter again I'm personally going to pin your ears back. You get me!?" he snapped, causing Frankford to fall over in surprise.

"Y-y-yes sir!" Frankford squeaked in terror.

"Good. Now get the hay out of my sight," Rich stated and stomped his hoof between Frankford's hind legs and nearly caught his tail.

"Hold it!" Sweetie Belle protested loudly. She reached around into her saddlebag and rummaged about before withdrawing one of the uneaten cupcakes that had been left on the tray at Sugarcube Corner when everything went down. Wordlessly she passed it to Diamond Tiara. "Might as well give him a proper sendoff."

Diamond Tiara looked at Sweetie Belle in a confused manner and then back down at the cupcake as she tried to figure out what she was saying. But then it dawned on her and she knew what the unicorn filly was saying. She looked up to her father, who also looked a bit confused but didn't give her any sign to not do anything. She turned to face Frankford and took on a mean spirited smirk as she approached.

Without a word Diamond Tiara smashed the cupcake in Frankford's face and rubbed it into his fur as he sputtered at the second pastry blitz of the day.

"Now go on and get!" Rich barked at him, sending the colt slinking off with his tail between his legs.

"Mr. Rich? What about what Frankford said about ruining your business? Can he really get his father to do that?" Silver Spoon asked after the colt had left the area. The others seemed happy with the turn of events but she wasn't entirely.

"Oh don't pay that colt any mind, he doesn't know what he's talking about. It's true I do business with his father but it wouldn't be any terrible loss if that stopped. Charcoal just doesn't sell big around these parts," he reassured her before turning his attention to his daughter. "I'm sorry you had to go through that sweetheart. If I'd known Frankford was that type of pony I never would've insisted that you be friendly with him. What he was doing was inexcusable and he should be ashamed of himself for even trying to force you into something. Had I not heard everything I would've found it hard to believe somepony so young could be such a huge pain in the hindquarters."

"This wasn't even the first time. It's been going on since the beginning," Diamond Tiara stated, earning a scowl from her father, and that oh-so subtle way of moving his lips when he grumbled about undesirable business partners. He then turned his attention to the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were nursing what injuries they'd been unfortunate enough to receive in their misguided effort of trying to stand up to Frankford. He was definitely going to have a word with Kingsford later about his son, even she could tell that.

"Sweetheart why don't you bring your friends inside. I'd like to do something to make this up to everypony," he instructed.

"But they're not..." Diamond Tiara began out of reflex. But she stopped as she turned to look at them again, then back at Silver Spoon and finally up at her father again. "...I mean, sure Dad."

Could this day really get any weirder if it tried?

"Do ya two wanna come over fer supper?"

Apparently yes, the day could get weirder if it tried. And it was!

What had started out for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as a plan to score some free cupcakes off the blank flanks had somehow manged to snowball out of control. The cupcakes had lead to the confrontation and eventual banishment of Frankford after a conflict in front of Barnyard Bargains. The conflict had lead to the three blank flanks each getting not only a thank you from Filthy Rich but also a gift card for 30 bits -one gift card for each of them- and a small bag of mixed sweets from the loose candy bin.

Out of curiosity -and lacking anything more pressing to distract themselves with, like a hooficure or something along those lines- the two had continued to hang around with the crusaders, occasionally snagging a gumdrop when offered, all the while trying to see where things were going and figure out what was ultimately up.

And now they were being extended the invitation of dinner by the farmpony filly. That was too much and the silent curiosity had to end.

"Alright you three what's up?" Diamond Tiara finally asked as she stopped in her tracks and faced them.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused by the question.

"You three blank flanks have been acting strange all day; strange even for you," Silver Spoon pointed out.

Scootaloo frowned but managed to resist saying anything as she was busy chewing on a gumdrop at the time. Fortunately the calmer heads present were able to respond.

"Well we got ta thinkin' an' we realized we don't know much of anything 'bout each other an' we jus' wanted ta change that," Apple Bloom explained.

"Plus there's nothing wrong with being nice," Sweetie Belle added.

"Nice? After what we've put you three through?" Silver Spoon asked, finding the concept difficult to believe. "How? Why?"

"It sure wasn't easy, believe me on that," Scootaloo stated now that she didn't have anything stuck in her mouth.

"Scootaloo-" Apple Bloom objected but was quickly silenced at the pegasus filly started again.

"No you two had your turn to talk now it's my turn," Scootaloo stated and turned her attention to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "You wanna know what's up? We're sick and tired of the both of you being so annoying just because we don't have our cutie marks yet. It never ends with you two, it's always "blank flanks" this or "blank flanks" that, or "the cutie mark lamers" or something like that. So Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle came up with this crazy idea that if we were nice to you two you might start being nice back in return but I don't see that happening. Now we're outta our bits and you're still being annoying bullies. So why don't we just call this whole thing a wash and go back to what we were doing previously," she said and then turned to face her fellow crusaders. "C'mon let's go. Let's see about thinking up something we can do tomorrow to earn our cutie marks..."

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom didn't say anything in response. They looked back at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon before turning and following after Scootaloo as she lead the way. All that hard work down the drain thanks to their fellow crusader.

"Hold it right there you three!" Diamond Tiara ordered loudly.

"Ugh. What now?" Scootaloo moaned and turned to scowl in their direction, ready to verbally tear into them if necessary.

"So this whole thing today, with the cupcakes and asking us about our cutie marks, has just been one big scam to try and get us to be nice to you?" Silver Spoon asked them.

There was a weak nod from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in admission of their plan while Scootaloo just stood her ground and continued scowling in wait for the inevitable verbal assault to begin. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other quizzically before turning back forward to face the crusaders.

"Well we can at least respect that," Diamond Tiara stated.

Silver Spoon nodded. "I really didn't think they had it in them to do something like that."

"Huh?" the three crusaders asked in confused unison, trying to figure out just what was going on here. The two fillies were actually complementing them on something they did, and not sarcastically?

"Ah'm confused now," Apple Bloom stated.

"You're not the only one," Sweetie Belle replied.

"You two're saying we did something right for a change?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well I wouldn't go that far but I will admit you three at least had a coherent plan for how to go about doing it this time. You may actually be starting to think like businessponies rather than goofballs," Diamond Tiara replied.

"You three might actually have some potential," Silver Spoon added.

"Really?" Apple Bloom asked hopefully. "Does that mean we can be friends?"

"Oh hay no! You three are still the lamest there are in school. But I think you might've managed to come down a few notches on the lame-o-meter. You might even be worth hanging around to see how things go from here," Diamond Tiara replied.

"Gee thanks," Scootaloo replied sarcastically and rolled her eyes. Even when they were complimenting them they were still nasty and snide about it. The only reason she wasn't leaving right now was because Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle seemed intent to stay for whatever reason. "So what happens now?"

"Beats me," Apple Bloom replied and turned her attention back to the other two. "So where do we go from here now that we're not quite as lame?" she asked.

"That's a good question. Silver Spoon?" Diamond Tiara replied as she turned to the gray furred filly as if she expected her to have the answer.

"Hay I don't know. I didn't even see this one coming," Silver Spoon replied. Diamond Tiara sighed and turned back to face the crusaders.

"It's gonna take too long to sort this mess out today. Tomorrow after school let's see about meeting somewhere and working out some sort of arrangement," Diamond Tiara suggested.

"Bu' what about comin' over fer supper?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Not tonight. After today Dad's probably gonna want me at home for dinner," Diamond Tiara replied. "Maybe some other time. For now though I need to get going. See you three another time."

Silver Spoon was silent but her nod indicated that it was time for her to leave as well. They turned to leave but were stopped as they were addressed again.

"Hey!" Apple Bloom called out before walking over and sticking out her right foreleg. "Pleasure doin' business wit' ya."

They looked at each other before shrugging in response, figuring a shake was the least the could do. Diamond Tiara shook first and then Silver Spoon.

"Just don't do anything lame to ruin everything," Diamond Tiara replied. With that they turned and left.

"...That went better than I thought it would," Scootaloo replied after a long silence as the two uppity fillies left their sight.

"Rarity knows what she's talking about, even if it doesn't always seem that way at first," Sweetie Belle stated.

"Would ya thank 'er for me when ya see 'er again?" Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle nodded.

"That was a lot more generous than I was expecting," Silver Spoon commented as they walked along.

"Yeah well...they did get Frankford out of the picture and all. I guess we can show them a little niceness for the time being," Diamond Tiara replied and shrugged. "It's been a weird day all around. Chalk it up to being blitzed by those three."

"So what're we gonna do when tomorrow comes?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Before school business as usual. After school...let's just wait and see what else they do to surprise us and go from there," she suggested. Silver Spoon shrugged, not seeing any reason to suggest otherwise.

There was a lot that was uncertain about what would be happening tomorrow and likely in the coming days. But one thing was for certain; tomorrow was going to be interesting.

A bridge to somewhere

A bridge to somewhere

"So what's our game plan for today?" Scootaloo asked as she and her friends tried to squeeze in a few more precious minutes of playtime before the school bell rang.

"In regard ta what exactly?" Apple Bloom asked, the lump she'd received from the day before still visible but nearly as prominent thanks to a long night of icing it down.

"You know what, or rather who. I'm confused with what we're supposed to do with those two now. Do we start being nicer to them? And if so then when?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did say we'd talk after school. I'm guessing she meant to emphasize the "after" part of "after school" as to when we'd see what happens," Sweetie Belle replied.

Scootaloo wanted to point out that Sweetie Belle sounded like she read way too much at times. Instead she just shrugged and let it go; today was going to be weird enough without having to fight her friends at the same time.

"Heads up," Apple Bloom announced. By now the various students were heading into the school and abandoning the playground equipment. Two particular fillies stuck out in particular in the sea of familiar faces as they hung near the back.

"Blank flanks," Diamond Tiara addressed them as they passed, however without the same edge she normally employed when talking to them.

"Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom replied. However that was as far into the exchange as they got before the school bell rang and signaled it was time for everypony to take their seats and face forward for Miss Cherilee's daily lesson. "After you."

"As it should be," Diamond Tiara replied as she and Silver Spoon walked in ahead of them.

"This is gonna be a long day," Scootaloo muttered to herself.

Sweetie Belle hypothesis seemed to be quite accurate in nature. All through school it was like nothing had changed. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were unfortunately on the receiving end of the same hostility by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just like it was any other day. The jab of "blank flank" wasn't spared any regardless of what happened yesterday, making it all the more annoying as they were forced to sit through class.

The school bell that finally signaled the end of another day couldn't have come too soon for everypony and like every other day they scattered, heading for home or the park or anywhere else they had/wanted to be.

All except for the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they hung back and waited by the gate.

"One cross word. One more "blank flank" and I'm gonna-" Scootaloo grumbled to herself, or at least what she thought was too herself as in her fury she was getting louder and louder.

"Settle down," Apple Bloom finally spoke up after letting Scootaloo have a few minutes to vent. "We ain't gonna get anywhere if ya keep fumin' like that," she pointed out.

"I'm not sure I even care at this point anymore," Scootaloo replied.

"They're coming," Sweetie Belle whispered, bringing their attention back to the school as the two uppity fillies exited, making their way to the gate to leave the school grounds.

"Follow."

It was the only thing Diamond Tiara said as she walked by them without even a second glance. It'd been uttered so low they would've missed it if they hadn't been paying attention; they weren't even sure they saw her lips move when she'd said it.

"But not too close," Silver Spoon replied in an equally hushed tone as she passed by and took her spot by Diamond Tiara's said.

The crusaders looked at them and back at each other. With a shrug Apple Bloom followed after a pause, with Sweetie Belle following immediately after and Scootaloo finally bringing up the rear, not liking this whole thing one stinking bit.

No words were spoken as the five fillies walked along. The crusaders weren't sure where they were being lead and the uppity pair weren't exactly open and sharing with the details forcing them to just bring up the rear.

Finally though the crusaders recognized that they were being lead through the park to a secluded and shaded area by the thick growth of trees away from the brighter open fields that most ponies preferred. At this point they stopped walking.

"This should be good enough. Doesn't look like anypony is around," Diamond Tiara commented and turned to face the three.

"Why'd we have to come so far out?" Scootaloo asked.

"Because if anypony saw us talking to you three in such an open manner there's no telling what kind of gossip could get around town," Silver Spoon replied.

"This is what Dad would refer to as a backroom meeting," Diamond Tiara explained simply. She looked around for some place to sit down that wasn't quite so dirty, but finding none she simply sighed and turned to face them again. "Alright you three we said we'd try and come to some sort of arrangement like this is a business transaction. Only problem is we've...never done something like this before so we don't exactly know where to start."

"We want to reiterate that this isn't a meeting of friends. We don't necessarily like you three, you've just given us reason to believe that you're interesting enough to tolerate more," Silver Spoon explained.

"That said we're willing to discuss this matter at length and...make some concessions if possible," Diamond Tiara added, finding it hard to actually say the words to these three blank flanked fillies.

"Let's hear what you have to offer first. Then we'll get down to the brass tacks," Sweetie Belle spoke up.

Rarity had made it clear to her that when one is entering into some sort of business arrangement, dealing or other form of contract it was always wise to see what the other party had on the table before agreeing to anything. That way if the terms weren't acceptable they could be negotiated until either a mutual agreement was struck, or if necessary call off the arrangement all together. Sometimes she was really glad her sister was so business oriented.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other, again surprised by the way things were happening. Each of the crusaders seemed to be business savy to some degree; at least that's how it appeared to them.

"We sorta walked into this situation cold. What is it you three want out of this business deal?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Uh..." Apple Bloom paused, "hol' that thought. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, can ah see you two a minute?"

Now it was the uppity filly's turn to watch as the crusaders walked off and huddled to discuss the matter. They stayed in that position talking amongst themselves for who knew how long before breaking and coming back to continue talking.

"A'right first off we'd like some more courtesy and consideration from ya. We don' wanna be called "blank flanks" no more an' we wanna be addressed by either our names or as the Cutie Mark Crusaders since that's who we are," Apple Bloom began.

"Secondly if you're gonna insult us then at least get some new material. I've personally heard every variation of "lame" you can come up with and it's getting lame. You two sound like a couple of broken records," Scootaloo added.

"And third we'd at least like to have the possibility of having a civil discussion with you two at times. And we don't want to be lied to either; just because we don't have our cutie marks yet doesn't mean that we're idiots," Sweetie Belle finished.

Diamond Tiara herself was surprised by their list of demands. They were in a position to make any request for consideration and that was what they went with? As far as she was concerned their list was as lame as they were. She thought nothing of pointing out such a fact but some words of wisdom her father once shared with her seemed to echo in her mind with a surprising relevancy. "If the ponies you're doing business with wind up setting the bar low themselves then all good and fine. Even if you don't negotiate further you're still making a huge profit, and if you leave them feeling they've achieved something they'll be likely to come back and do business again," he'd said. It seemed very odd to hear at the time. But now as she was standing there and listening to them it seemed his keen business sense was as sound as ever.

"Alright," Diamond Tiara finally replied and nodded. "We can agree to those terms, can't we Silver Spoon?"

"They sound reasonable I suppose. Provided of course that the terms of the agreement don't apply during school hours when other ponies are present. We do have a certain image to maintain," Silver Spoon pointed out.

"No way-" Scootaloo started to object but was quickly interrupted by her fellow crusaders.

"We can work wit' that," Apple Bloom replied and gave Scootaloo a glare that practically had "keep your trap shut" etched into it. "Does that work for you Sweetie Belle?" she asked.

"Not quite. If it's alright with everypony I think we should draw up some sort of contract or something if this is going to be a business deal. That way we all know what we're getting into," Sweetie Belle replied before reaching into her saddle bag to withdraw pen and paper.

April 27th, 002 ANM*

The group Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shall be henceforth referred to in this contract as the Party of the First Part.

The group Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shall be henceforth referred to in this contract as the Party of the Second Part.

Except during the hours in which school is in session and at specified social and public gatherings the following terms and conditions of this agreement shall apply and be in effect:

The Party of the First Part and the Party of the Second Part agree to treat each other with an acceptable and reasonable degree of civility in address and interaction.

Any sharing of goods whether monetary or abstract in nature shall be in a manner determined beforehoof to be fair and balanced but shall not include matters of homework or chores.

When one party agrees to treat the other the monetary expense shall not be more than any individual member is reasonably capable of affording on their own unless it is agreed to prior that two or more participants willingly share the costs associated.

The above agreement may be amended and modified as necessary under consensus of a unanimous member vote.

Escape Clause: If at any time it is determined the terms and conditions above are unworkable the partnership may be dissolved upon reaching a unanimous member vote.

Diamond Tiara

Silver Spoon

Sweetie Bell

Scootaloo

Apple Bloom

The document before them was simply in nature and structure and yet deceiving to the eye. One wouldn't believe that the five of them had spent the better part of an hour writing out those few words. There had been rough drafts and discussions on what the contract should say, how it should be structured and what the limitations should be with everypony contributing something. Sweetie Bell had more or less dictated the final piece, Silver Spoon applying the proper spelling technique and making suggestions for a better flow, and Diamond Tiara had taken everything down as she had the neatest penmanship.

It was simple but straightforward in nature and laid out the terms of the agreement in an unambiguous nature and was centered around a basic concept; fair play and politeness. They all signed it once they agreed on the final product having what made the best sense.

"How can somepony so smart still not have their cutie mark?" Silver Spoon asked as she looked directly at Sweetie Belle.

"I don't always get to spend time with my sister or my friends so I do a lot of reading. If I can't have my cutie mark I might as well try and get smarter in the mean time," Sweetie Belle replied.

"So now that we've got this contract what exactly do we do with it?" Diamond Tiara asked as she looked over the document again. "Who gets to keep it?"

"If it's a'right with ya ah'd like ta suggest we have Twilight hold onta it in case we ever need it fer anything. The library's prob'ly more accessible than any o' our homes," Apple Bloom suggested. "Plus we all know we can trust her. No offense er anythin' like that."

"That's probably what Dad would do in a situation like this, trust a neutral third party," Diamond Tiara replied and shrugged before rolling the contract up. "Now that we've got that out of the way and finalized this is a business deal what do we do now?"

"Well right now I've got a question that's been bugging me since yesterday and you two are the only ones who can likely answer it. What the hay is the deal with Frankford? You said he's a colt. He sounds like a colt. He's built like a colt. But his face is so...mareish! What the hay is up with that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. He's been like that for as long as Silver Spoon and I have known and been forced to associate him," Diamond Tiara replied, shuddering at the thoughts that it brought up. "How some colt only a year older than us can be so annoying is beyond me."

"Hold up!" Apple Bloom spoke up, beating Scootaloo to the point. "He's only a year older than y'all? He's as big as Applejack!"

"He's big for his age, that's all I can say," Diamond Tiara said and shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about him though...partner..."

"Fair enough, partner," Apple Bloom replied and shrugged back.

Silence. Nothing but lots of silence and the background noise of the park filling up with other ponies. Nopony really threatened to come over to where they were so there was no real need to scatter. Not that the crusaders would scatter anyway but the other two might for their own reasons. Now that they had an actual contract the near constant chatter that went into making it had ceased.

"This ain't gonna get us nowhere fast," Apple Bloom sighed and turned back to face the uppity fillies. "Ya mind lendin' yer business partners some experienced advice?"

"Like...what exactly?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Like how long should ya keep workin' at one thing ta try an' earn yer cutie mark? When do ya know when ta say enough an' move onta somethin' else?" Apple Bloom asked.

Silver Spoon scratched her chin as she thought over the question. It was certainly fair to ask something like that.

"If you're really serious about getting your cutie marks in something worthwhile you're looking at months of effort, especially if you're trying to force it just so you can say you've got it. And then you run the risk of having a special talent that has no demand anywhere and it's useless to you," she explained. "Probably not what you wanted to hear but you did ask."

"This is gonna take forever," Scootaloo groaned.

"Trying to be somewhere on schedule, ostrich?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Come again? What's that ostrich crack supposed to mean?" Scootaloo asked as she stood up to face them.

"Fast but no flight. You said come up with some new material didn't you?" Diamond Tiara replied.

Scootaloo frowned and grumbled but sat back down without saying a word. She had certainly told them but she'd never expected something new so soon.

"Hey Diamond Tiara? How did last night go with your dad? Is he alright?" Sweetie Belle asked after another uncomfortable stretch of silence passed.

"As alright as you could expect I guess," Diamond Tiara replied and shrugged. "Charcoal really wasn't a big seller, that's for certain. Dad says ponies around here don't grill enough to need it most of the time. He thinks the monetary impact will be minimal if he doesn't find somepony to make up the loss of inventory with. But still business partners are business partners no matter how their family may be. There are just certain things you don't go around doing," she explained.

Another stretch of silence. This was getting far too annoying. Something had to be done...even if it was drastic in nature.

"So what're you three...crusaders...planning to try next to get your cutie marks?" Silver Spoon finally asked. As far as she was concerned hearing whatever deranged idea they had in mind had to beat just sitting/standing around and looking at each other.

Scootaloo couldn't help but look in surprise at hearing the question asked. They were actually asking them about their crusading? And with curiosity too? This was getting WAY too weird for her. It was seriously tempting to shoot back with hostility and sarcasm just as they'd given out so many times before. But if she did that she knew she'd wind up ruining everything they were trying to achieve. If she opened her mouth she knew she was going to wind up saying the wrong thing so once again she had to bite her tongue and keep quiet.

"Well we were thinkin' about that earlier," Apple Bloom paused as she turned her focus to Diamond Tiara, "ya said ya got an eye fer details an' whatnot. If we showed ya some of our plans do ya think ya could tell us where things might go wrong?" she asked.

Diamond Tiara blinked in surprise at being addressed. They were actually asking her for help because she knew how to do something? She didn't know whether to be happy for their recognition or be annoyed that they assumed she'd help them succeed in their mission.

"My talent is in relation to jewelry and fine stones, not engineering," she replied sharply, "but I guess I could take a look sometime and see if anything sticks out."

"Hey listen everypony," Scootaloo finally spoke up, "I've gotta pick up some stff from the market for dinner tonight so I need to get going. I'll drop off the contract with Twilight on the way, okay?"

"Works for me," Silver Spoon replied and shrugged before taking the contract from Diamond Tiara's grasp and going over to stick the rolled up piece of paper in the pegasus filly's saddlebag.

It was as good an excuse as any to get away from the gathering of fillies. She couldn't keep a civil tongue in her head -or her lunch in her stomach for that matter- if she had to keep sitting there and listening to them trying to be friendly and courteous to one another. She loved her friends, but the idea of trying to be civil to those two bullies was way too much for her. She needed a level head right now and Twilight was definitely that.

But first maybe she'd stop and visit Apple Bloom's friend, Twist, and see if she had any peppermint snacks that would settle that queasy feeling in her stomach.

Silver Spoon watched as her friend walked along with a certain spring in her step, merrily humming something to herself as she went. To see Diamond Tiara this upbeat was a little strange to her. Even after a hooficure and manewash she wasn't quite like this.

The meeting with the crusaders had been difficult with all the forced civility they'd been forced to endure and she was thankful that the day was done and they were free to go home and get away from them. And she couldn't believe it but she was actually looking forward to school so she could let loose with some of the bottled up remarks she'd been forced to hold onto.

"My tongue hurts from biting back so many calls of "blank flanks", how can you be in such a good mood?" Silver Spoon asked as she found herself growing annoyed by her friend's unusual upbeat nature.

"Did you see what happened back there Silver Spoon?" Diamond Tiara asked, not even giving her friend a chance to respond before continuing. "Those three blank flanks have finally recognized and acknowledged our superiority to them when they chose to ask us to help them out. They've conceded defeat in the matter meaning we just won a major battle and everything after this point should be easy going."

"And how do you figure that?" Silver Spoon asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you have any idea how many things we can get those three to do under the guise of helping them earn their cutie marks? How much fun we could have just with messing them up? We could even get them to be our personal errand colts and then we could dispense with Snips and Snails entirely! Just because we don't insult them to their faces doesn't mean that we're not going to have our fun at their expense," Diamond Tiara explained.

Silver Spoon was silent as she listened to Diamond Tiara explain the situation. She was ashamed to admit that she hadn't considered such sneaky methodology herself.

"Nice thinking," she replied and grinned. This could turn out to be a lot more fun than she thought. "And they walked right into it too. What a bunch of foals."

I've got a bad feeling about today," Sweetie Belle commented as she and Apple Bloom walked towards the Golden Oaks Library to search for Scootaloo.

"Wha' do ya mean Sweetie Belle? Ah think things went well today. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were actually bein' decent ta us," Apple Bloom replied.

"They were just abiding by the contract we drew up to signify this is a business deal. Anypony whose actions are in compliance with something they signed isn't acting that way of their own volition. They're just acting the part they've been assigned," Sweetie Belle explained.

"Wha' are ya, a dictionary?" Apple Bloom asked in a rhetorical manner. "Ah know those two well enough ta know they're actin', ah ain' dumb. Ah'd honestly be surprised if they didn' do somethin' sneaky."

"So you're just going to go along with it, knowing full well that they might be deceptive and sneaky?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Ta an extent. Ah'm not gonna go an' jump in Ghastly Gorge just 'cause they might say ta. But the door's open fer change, an' if we can tolerate 'em an' keep showin' 'em kindness an' whatnot we might jus' get 'em ta be nicer fer real," Apple Bloom explained.

"I hope you're right about this," Sweetie Belle replied.

"So do ah," Apple Bloom admitted, "but come success er failure we got somethin' those two don' got. We got our friends at school, we got our family an' big sisters, an' 'sides that we got each other. We're all there fer each other when we need it. They don' got none o' that really, all they really got is themselves an' their money."

"...That sounds kinda cruel really," Sweetie Belle stated.

"Now that ya mention it, yeah it does. Maybe ah shouldn't o' said it like that," Apple Bloom replied and looked down at the ground. She didn't want to be cruel even if it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Do you think they'll realize that someday?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We knew goin' in that an immediate change wasn't gonna happen. If those two reform it's likely gonna be a slow process. We jus' gotta be patient an' try ta lead 'em," Apple Bloom stated. Sweetie Belle just nodded in response.

Author's Note

* Second year after the defeat of Nightmare Moon