"How about the mayor?" Sweetie Belle suggested.
Apple Bloom scanned down the list of volunteers for the dunk tank. "Already on the list. Along with her assistants."
Sweetie Belle pouted. That had been the fourth suggestion in a row that they had already asked. "There's got to be somepony we can get for the last two spots." She glanced at the list of names, hoping that the names of those who had volunteered might provide an idea, but no new names sprung to mind. Seeing Rarity's name on the list did make her smile though.
"This would be so much easier using the idea spot," Scootaloo said.
The other two fillies nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, it was lunchtime on Friday and leaving the school grounds midday was frowned upon, which was adult speak for "you'll get massively grounded if you do it, even if it was to try the best plan to get a cutie mark ever." If one could not get away to get one's cutie mark, then there was no way Miss Cheerilee would excuse them to plan the event.
Apple Bloom sighed. "Maybe Scootaloo is right. Ah reckon we can wait until after school and use the spot. Ah sure can't think of anypony else."
"Of course I'm right," Scootaloo said, taking the paper from Apple Bloom and moving it to the pile for things to deal with later. "Now, what else do we need?"
Apple Bloom picked up the to do pile and rifled through it. "Let's see... make sure we have enough tables for all the baked goods, set times for all the musicians, ask Snowflake if he'll work as bouncer for the hard cider garden, see if Lemon Drop can get us some more lemonade, follow up with Rumble to make sure his brother won't try to wiggle out of showing up, and—"
"Hire a better skywriter," Diamond Tiara said.
Just what they needed, thought Sweetie Belle. Tons of little things to take care of, plus things to double and triple check, and now an extra unwanted distraction. Still, it was not unexpected. The duo had been making a point all week of talking up their own event, while making fun of the efforts of the crusaders. Not that it was all bad.
"Hi, Snails," Sweetie Belle said, blushing slightly when he smiled back.
"Seriously, like, what is she trying to do anyway? Write a novel?" Silver Spoon asked.
Sweetie Belle looked up at the sky. Writing covered it, made of thin strands of cloud, reaching far up into the sky. The furthest parts were far enough away that she could not even read them. It looked like something one might see at the start of a science fiction movie. Definitely not like normal skywriting, which tended to say little and use big letters to say it.
"Oh," said Scootaloo, her face turning red as she looked up at the muddled mess in the sky. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked her to write quite so much."
Diamond Tiara sneered. "Yeah, like, just one letter. She could handle that. Probably."
"Tiara! You promised to be nice," Snails pleaded.
"They know I'm kidding, sweetie," Diamond Tiara said, lightly brushing her cheek against Snails's. "After all, they don't need me to tell them what a mess rain-brain is making." She turned her attention back to the crusaders, ignoring Scootaloo's glare and flaring nostrils. "Actually, we just came over here to let you know we'll be coming to your event, so it'll be, like, halfway respectable now."
"Yeah, like halfway," Silver Spoon echoed.
"Yes, Snails and I will no doubt have lots of fun" —Diamond Tiara squinted her eyes a bit as she read off the paper Apple Bloom had in front of her— "square dancing." Her nose scrunched in disgust, before she plastered on a sweet smile for Snails's benefit and continued. "We'll have lots of fun doing that, right, snookums?" She gave Snails a slight nuzzle, causing his cheeks to go crimson.
"And with you all busy with your thing to pay attention to the latest happenings, it looks like there's a new couple in our class, so now Diamond Tiara isn't, like, the only one with a boyfriend," Silver Spoon said, smiling cruelly at Sweetie Belle. "Check out Featherweight and Alula."
"I almost feel sorry for those that are alone," Diamond Tiara said, meeting Sweetie Belle's eyes. "All alone."
Sure enough, Sweetie Belle could see what Diamond Tiara was talking about. The two lay on the grass underneath a tree, close to each other. Another pony with somepony special, while she had nopony. No, it was worse than that. Nopony she could handle easily. it was that the pony she fancied was with somepony else, a filly she really, really, really disliked. And now, all Sunday, she would have to watch them together.
Of course, that had been the situation all week. Whenever she saw him of late, it seemed he was with her. And when he was not, well, she did not know where he was. She had kept an eye on all his usual haunts while going around town on event business, sometimes even taking a more roundabout route just to check, but a lot of the time he was just missing. She was not sure which was worse: seeing him with Diamond Tiara or not seeing him at all. Right now was not one of those times though. With Diamond Tiara was definitely worse, thanks to Diamond Tiara drawing attention to it, using the fact to needle Sweetie Belle every chance she had.
Sweetie looked down to hide her pain, only to find her eyes looking at the blank spots on the volunteer list for the dunk tank. An idea occurred, so simple, yet so brilliant. The type of thing Rarity would call elegant. A way to show Diamond Tiara that she was not the only one who could use Snails's presence for her own ends.
She looked up, not at Diamond Tiara, but at Snails, with her biggest smile. "We need a few more volunteers for the dunk tanks. Can we put you and Diamond Tiara down? For the library, of course."
"Sure!" Snails said. "Dunk tanks are sweet. Always wanted to try that."
Diamond Tiara was silent, and everyone turned to look at her. Sweetie Belle gave her most innocent smile, adding a couple of blinks for good measure, and asked, "You as well? Or you letting your boyfriend go at it alone?"
Diamond Tiara tried to put on a civil face, but Sweetie Belle could sense the fuming underneath it. The silence stretched and Sweetie Belle kept smiling, until at last Diamond Tiara broke. "Fine, whatever," she said. With a huff, she spun around. "Come on. Let's leave them to their planning. We got better things to do."
Sweetie Belle smiled as Diamond Tiara stormed off, Snails in tow. Silver Spoon started to follow as well, but Apple Bloom stopped her with a hoof. "Y'all best not be planning to mess with our event."
Silver Spoon laughed. "We have no plans... for you. You'll no doubt do just fine ruining it on your own, just like everything else you touch." And with that, she took off to catch up with Diamond Tiara.
Scootaloo watched them go, then turned to hoof bump Sweetie Belle. "That was awesome, Sweetie."
"It's about time you stood up for yourself," Apple Bloom said.
"I just got so mad with Diamond Tiara constantly parading Snails in front of me," Sweetie Belle said. With a satisfied smile, she wrote down the names on the list. "And we can check dunk tank volunteers off the list of things to do. What's next?"
"Um," Apple Bloom said while she scanned the list. "Let's see... We still need tables, eggs, the banner... Nothing we can take care of here at school though." She put the list down, then looked at Sweetie Belle. "They've got something planned. Ah just know it. Just the way Silver Spoon smiled..."
Scootaloo nodded. "Not their usual something either. Something nasty."
Sweetie Belle tried to recall Silver Spoon's expression, but without success. Instead, all she remembered was Alula resting her head on Featherweight. How she wished she had that, she thought. With a light sigh, she turned her head and watched Snails walking away alongside Diamond Tiara, grinning happily at something Diamond Tiara said.
"You gotta tell him," Scootaloo said. "Get right out there and say what you feel. That's what Dash would do." She shook her head in disbelief. "Can't believe I'm encouraging mushy stuff."
Sweetie Belle looked at her friends. "I just might tell him." Yes, the next time she found some time alone with him, she decided. Her eyes drifted back to Snails. Sunday, maybe, if Diamond Tiara ever left him alone at the event.
"Yeah, Sunday might be good," Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle blinked. She had not realized she had spoken that last part aloud. Well, Sunday would not be bad, if the opportunity presented itself. But right now, there was something else that needed doing...
"Let's get some balls and practice throwing," Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Wow, Pinkie," Twilight Sparkle said. "I haven't seen so many ponies at Sweet Apple Acres since cider season. It looks like practically the entire town is here."
Truth be told, she herself would not have been here if Spike had not insisted she go. She had planned to reshelve all the books in the library under a new system she was sure would be point two percent more efficient than the current one. Spike had told her that she needed to go out, that the benefit was for her so she should be there, and that he and Snips, who he had volunteered for the task, were more than capable of handling the reshelving themselves. He had even brought out the big catapults, enlisting Pinkie Pie in the cause.
Pinkie looked the line up and down. "Uh-huh. Scootaloo asked me to tell all my friends, and I did just that. I told... Every. Single. One." With each of the last three words, her head dropped lower, as if she were tired, and her gait changed from her usual stotting to a slow stumbling walk. "I think that's the first time I almost regretted having so many friends. I didn't even think that was possible, and I guess it wasn't, since I didn't, but I came close, you know? I could barely talk afterwards. Everyone was all super-excited, eager to do something for you for all the times you've helped the town." She moved closer to Twilight and whispered conspiratorially into her ear, "And I think everyone might also be excited to have the second big party of the year, because well, second big party of the year. How could you not be excited about that?"
"Hey, Miss Sparkle!" a voice called out. Twilight looked over in its direction, only to be rewarded by the bright series of flashes of a camera as Featherweight took her picture. "For the school paper. Even though I'm the editor now, I like to stay in practice," he said, patting his camera.
His companion, the light yellow pegasus filly Alula, nudged him. "Come on, let's get inside. Why be out here when you could be taking pictures of me trying out all the cool stuff?" She gestured at the tents, booths, and tables set up ahead of them at the farm.
"Got to go," the young colt offered apologetically. "I'll probably send a reporter around for an interview later this week though, if that's alright?" Without waiting for an answer, he set off after Alula.
"Sure, that sounds fine," Twilight Sparkle replied, to his back. She looked around, at all the ponies already here, as well as those still coming. "I still can't believe how many ponies showed up."
"Yup, lots of ponies, Miss Sparkle," Snails said. Twilight looked over to see him standing alongside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
"If you think this is impressive, Miss Sparkle, just wait until next week," Silver Spoon said.
"Everypony who is anypony is going to be at our event," added Diamond Tiara.
"It'll be, like, the best event ever," Silver Spoon said with a smile.
"We told you we could do it," Snails said, smiling proudly.
"Yes, yes you did, Snails. I never doubted it, not even for a second," Twilight Sparkle said, lightly tussling the colt's mane, then watching as the foals walked off, before shifting her attention to the throng of ponies. "I still can't believe it, Pinkie. All these ponies here to help me. I'm nothing special. Just a normal unicorn. But with so many ponies here, you'd think I was a princess."
"Hmmm," Pinkie said, whipping out a magnifying glass and carefully inspecting Twilight Sparkle's back.
"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Twilight asked.
"Just checking for wings. Can't be a real princess without wings, right?" Pinkie exclaimed. "Hold still for a little bit longer." She completed her examination. "Nope, none there. One hundred percent wing free, Pinkie Pie guaranteed. So I guess all these ponies are here because you are special, even if you aren't a princess. Well, that or they just really wanted to party, and who wouldn't want to do that?
"Besides, if you were a princess, then you'd have guards and schedules, not the type of schedules you have now, but ones other ponies write for you, and they wouldn't let you see me and our other friends except on special occasions and that would make me sad, and sad is not glad, even if they do rhyme, and I'd much rather be glad. So I'm glad all the ponies just want to party because you're special just the way you are."
Twilight Sparkle laughed and hugged Pinkie. "If I ever do somehow become a princess, Pinkie, the first thing I'll decree is that all of my friends will be free to see me whenever they want. And I'll still live in Ponyville, even if that means I have to build my very own palace here, stone by stone."
"You Pinkie-promise?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight nodded. "Pinkie-promise."
Pinkie Pie thought about that for a second, then gave a single nod of her head. "And if I become a princess, I'll do the same thing, right after I throw the biggest coronation party ever. Also, I can probably get you a good deal on rock for that palace," Pinkie said, and then she set about explaining the merits of different types of rocks and tiles depending on the function of a room. Twilight laughed, but joined in, always up for learning something new, not to mention a chance to apply her own bits of obscure knowledge.
Diamond Tiara sighed. She was looking at the two dunk tanks. Time was ticking inevitably down to when it would be her turn to sit in one of them. Her turn to sit and wait while other ponies threw things to drop her into water. Her. She was not looking forward to it. It was not how things were supposed to be. She should be the one throwing the ball, laughing as a poor hapless victim was dumped into the water, not the screeching victim.
Silver Spoon followed Diamond Tiara's gaze and nodded knowingly. "Just another thing those crusaders will answer for someday. And speaking of karmic justice, guess who is all alone?"
Diamond Tiara looked around, then spotted who Silver Spoon was referring to. "Time for phase two?"
"Like, totally. This is so going to rule. Come find me as soon as you're done with, well, you know..." Silver Spoon gestured toward the dunk tanks. "Lose the dweeb though, but I guess that goes without saying. And speaking of..."
Diamond Tiara looked over to see Snails coming her way. She waved, as if he had been gone a long time, and not just to use the bathroom. Were the Apples civilized enough to even have proper bathrooms? Probably not. To use an outhouse then. The thought made her shudder. Barely a step above just going outdoors. Just gross. One would think that with how often they rebuilt their barn, they would think to bring it up to modern standards. But then, one would also expect them to build it so that they did not have to rebuild it every other month.
Tiara reminded herself to think happy thoughts, only to have that possibility ruined by the sight of the dunk tanks. Still, at least some good things would happen today. Some justice a long time coming. Turning to her friend, she gave her a quick hug and said, "Go get him, Sil."
With Silver Spoon walking off, Diamond Tiara turned her attention back to the dunk tanks. "I'm really not looking forward to this," she said, as Snails moved up beside her.
"Why not? It'll be awesome!" Snails said. He pretended to toss up and buck a ball. "Woosh, clank, sploosh!" With the 'sploosh', he raised his forelegs into the air and his face lit up like a foal's at the sight of cake, cake with ice cream and a side of more ice cream. Diamond Tiara could not help but laugh.
"That's easy for you to say," she said, punching him gently in the shoulder, "but I hate being laughed at. I'm a winner. Not like these... these..." She gestured at the ponies all around them, only to stop when she saw the look on Snails's face.
He looked at her quite seriously, yet also quite hurt. "You think I'm a loser, don't you?"
Diamond Tiara almost said yes. If she told what she knew to be the truth, it would end this charade and she would be free. She could storm off and not have to be humiliated in the dunk tank. But something stopped her, and she was not sure what. She racked her brain trying to figure it out and came up with only one reasonable, rational explanation. Her breaking up with Snails would overshadow Silver Spoon's plan, and Silver Spoon needed the plan to go off without a hitch. That must be it. She had to carry on for Silver Spoon's sake.
She put on her best hurt look of her own, as if his accusation had hurt her feelings. "Look, you're totally the winningest pony I know. You, like, have to be. How else could you have a girlfriend like me?" She gazed into his eyes, raised her eyebrows and gave him a slight off-center smile. "Hmm?"
As she expected, it worked perfectly. The hurt expression disappeared, replaced by his goofy smile, when then morphed into a mischievous grin. "Prove it," he said playfully.
"Huh?"
"Prove it. Have fun like me."
"How does getting... That doesn't make sense." She held up a hoof to silence Snails as he tried to explain. "No, nevermind. It doesn't matter." She held his head in both forehooves. "I will, for you. I'll have so much fun that even the ponies at your tank will throw their balls at me. You just wait and see."
"Ooh, Game on!" Snails said, bouncing happily toward the dunk tanks. Was she good or was she good? With a sigh, Diamond Tiara walked after him. For Silver Spoon, she thought.
At the tanks, the barker directed her to the one on the left. Rarity, the previous occupant, happily slid off the seat and greeted her. "Diamond Tiara darling, I don't suppose you know where Sweetie Belle is? I need to go murder her. Four times, she dunked me. Where'd she learn to throw so well? And just look at my mane, it's ruined! I just had it styled on Friday and now... Ruined! The jury will let me off, you think?"
Diamond Tiara looked at Rarity's mane. It was a soaked, hanging down, a far cry from Rarity's usual immaculately styled mane. It actually did not look bad. Quite fetching, just in a different way from how Rarity normally did. But Diamond Tiara was not feeling charitable at the moment. Quite the opposite. She nodded and said, "Oh, most definitely. About the only way it could look worse is if it were green."
"That bad?" Rarity asked, her white coat somehow managing to turn paler, her eyes wide open in alarm. "Quick, give me a towel. I've got to get home, fix this as much as possible!" The towel flew up, wrapping itself around Rarity's head. "Clear the way! Fashion emergency coming through!" Rarity called out. As Rarity ran off, Diamond Tiara could hear her muttering about the four times, plus something about getting her parents to withhold bits from Sweetie's allowance to pay for any treatments it would take to fix Rarity's mane.
Nothing helped a bad mood like spreading it around, Diamond Tiara had long ago learned, and it was still true. She was feeling better already. Carefully, Diamond Tiara placed her tiara in an out-of-the-way place on the ground. Her necklace she removed with equal care and placed within the tiara. From the other tank, she heard the sound of the seat dropping and a delighted yell from Snails, followed by water splashing. Her own fate shortly, and it dampened her mood. She sighed, then put on her best smile. She would survive this, like she survived anything else.
With a heave, she positioned herself onto her seat, suspended above the water. Just have fun, huh? She could do that. Or she could at least pretend. Get knocked into the water, then come up laughing. Repeat until the time was up. She took a few deep breaths. Now all she had to do was raise her hoof to the barker to let him know she was ready and—
She let out a yelp as her seat dropped out from under her and she plummeted into the water. She saw red as she launched herself upwards, ready to tear into the pony responsible, as well as the barker for letting someone throw a ball before she was ready, except there was nopony there. She looked around in confusion.
"Sorry," utter a grey wall-eyed pegasus, cheeks red in embarrassment, standing in front of Snails's tank. "I was trying to hit this one. Honest, I swear."
Snails burst out laughing at Diamond Tiara, and she turned her glare his way. "You said that would happen," he called out, pointing at her, "and it did!"
That confused her for a second, before she realized she had indeed said that. She found herself laughing at the absurdity of it. Still, it should have been Snails getting dunked, not her. But she could fix that.
She smiled at the embarrassed pegasus and said, "Well, go on, get him," and tossed her a wink. When the pegasus looked away to concentrate on her throw, she gestured to the unicorn barker, tapping her forehead and mouthing, "Dunk him." The barker caught her meaning, and as the pegasus threw, her eyes clenched shut, his horn lit up briefly and Snails's laughter cut off as he splashed into the water.
"I did it?" the pegasus asked, opening her eyes at the sound. "I did it!"
"You certainly did," Diamond said, splashing water at Snails as he surfaced. "That'll teach you to laugh at me," she giggled.
The display had drawn more ponies to the dunk tanks, eager to join in the fun. And not just ponies, even that cranky donkey, his wife in tow, wanted in on the action. Maybe for this, there did not have to be winners and losers. If everyone had a good time, maybe everyone won. Not how most of life worked, of course. But right here, right now, it seemed it did.
She could live with that, she decided, as she lifted herself back onto her seat.
Sweetie Belle sat, busy adding up the numbers they had from the event so far. As far as she could tell, they were on track to make over one thousand bits.
"Did you see her just now? Ah just dunked her, and she laughed. She acted just like she enjoyed it." Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle.
"Took half the fun out of it," Scootaloo said. "But that did still mean half the fun was in it. I got her good!"
"Do you suppose it might be real?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You know there's no way the Diamond Tiara we know and really, really dislike would laugh at that. Scowl, swear, scream, or shout, sure. But laugh? Nu-uh. She was faking. It's the only thing that makes sense."
"She probably really hated it," Scootaloo added. "You missed your chance, Sweetie Belle, and after you practiced so hard."
"Someone had to start adding the figures," Sweetie Belle said, though she knew that was not the case. It could all be done later. The truth was she had not wanted to see Diamond Tiara and Snails together. And yet she had picked this spot, the spot that offered the best visibility of the event. "Besides, I spent my bits on Rarity. I'd better avoid her for a bit." Sweetie Belle giggled.
Apple Bloom thought it over, then nodded. "Probably a good idea."
"Probably? Most definitely a good idea." Scootaloo said. "As Fluttershy might say, 'You mess with the mane, you feel the pain!'" All three fillies laughed. The shy mare would not actually hurt anypony, of course, but sometimes, when she was trying to work her nerve up, she had a tendency to say a little rhyme just like that.
As the laughter died down, Sweetie Belle got serious. "I meant Diamond Tiara and Snails though." At her friend's confused look, she repeated her original question. "Could it be real?"
"No," both of her friends said emphatically.
"Not a chance," Scootaloo added for good measure. "And she'll hurt him in the end. There's no way a pony like her could be interested in—balloon animals."
"I agree. Balloon animals," Apple Bloom said.
It was Sweetie Belle's turn to be confused. "Balloon animals, what's that got to—"
"Hi, Snails!" Apple Bloom said.
"Heya, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle." Snails planted his feet and gave a good shake, sending water flying in every direction. Sweetie Belle ducked behind the table, just having enough time to see Scootaloo grab the nearest available thing and hide behind it. As soon as the water stopped, she popped back up, to reveal a soaked Apple Bloom glared at Scootaloo.
"Um... sorry?" offered Scootaloo taking a napkin from Sweetie Belle's table and dabbing Apple Bloom, with little effect.
Snails looked at the dripping Apple Bloom and barely suppressed a laugh. "Sorry. Guess I was still a little wet."
Apple Bloom looked at him and the trail of water that led back to the dump tanks. "Just a little?" It occurred to her that there was only a single trail of water. Snails was alone, without a single headpiece-wearing, insult spewing, pink menace along. This was the chance she had been waiting for all day.
"Where's Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"She had to go talk to Silver Spoon about some important pony stuff," Snails replied.
"And she sent you off?" Apple Bloom asked. "You're not important?"
"I don't mind. Sometimes she just needs girl time, she says," Snails said. "Besides, I wanted to say hi to Sweetie. Haven't had much chance to hang with you since the lessons." He looked over at the pile of papers Sweetie was sorting. "Whatcha doing?"
"I was just adding up some numbers, actually, if you want to come over here and see?" Sweetie Belle said. She reached over and stopped Apple Bloom, stopping her from moving around the table. "You should go dry off, Apple Bloom. Don't want to get all the paper wet. And then go check the thing. You know, at the place. With Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle hinted.
"Huh?" said Apple Bloom, her head tilted.
"Oh, yeah. The thing," Scootaloo said, catching on. "And we gotta go to... um... there, right, Apple Bloom?"
"What are you talking about? Ah don't got no—" A sharp nudge from Scootaloo got Apple Bloom's attention, and Scootaloo gestured towards Snails and Sweetie Belle with her head. "Oh, that thing. How could Ah forget that? Got important pony stuff too, yup. That's us, off to do important stuff," Apple Bloom said, doing a better job at lying than her sister usually did, but not by much. "Come on, Scootaloo. Let's go! To the place."
Diamond Tiara gave herself another good toweling, for all the good it did. She should have thought to bring her own towel. Instead, she had been forced to use the towels provided. Towels that were still damp from being used earlier. Towels that were probably Apple towels. She shuddered with revulsion. Who knew what sort of infectious diseases the towel might have gotten from being used around the farm, something from some cow, sheep, or apple tree?
She held the towel as far away from herself as she could and dropped it. The first thing she was going to do when she got home was take a shower, immediately followed by a long bath. And then she was going to dry herself off with her own towels. Her glorious, super-absorbent towels imported from some place that did not matter enough for her to remember the name but they did make the best towels. Just the thought of it made her feel cleaner and dryer.
She carefully placed her tiara back on her head, knowing from lots of practice how to align it perfectly. Next, she picked up her necklace. It had gotten wet, and so she gently wiped the water off the silver, before slipping it around her neck. Properly adorned, she stepped out and looked for Silver Spoon.
Her tiara flew from her head and she spun around as a streak of pale yellow raced past her, sobbing. With a scowl, she glared at the rapidly disappearing filly, before she scooping up her precious tiara and placing it back in its rightful place. Then she looked in the direction the streak had come from. Sure enough, there was Silver Spoon, standing next to Featherweight.
Her friend was laughing gleefully. The plan had worked perfectly, from the looks of it. After one last feel to make sure her tiara was in its proper place, Diamond Tiara headed over to her friend. Featherweight looked to be on the verge of crying. Snails would want to help him, make him feel better. He would not approve of what they were doing. But he was not here, was he? Besides, this was nothing more than Featherweight deserved, Diamond Tiara assured herself.
"Was... was that really necessary?" Featherweight asked, as Diamond Tiara joined her friend and they began to circle the colt, forcing him to constantly turn to look at them.
"That? For sure," Silver Spoon said. "That was karma."
"Oh. I thought it was the two of you blackmailing me into asking Alula out, and then when I do, coming up to me in the middle of our date and telling me to break up with her," Featherweight said, sarcasm dripping off every word.
"Exactly. Karma," Diamond Tiara said. "You took my job at the paper. Even though those articles were as much your doing as mine. More so, even." She felt the nagging feeling that Snails would not approve rise again, but she ruthlessly crushed it. Featherweight deserved this. Those articles were not her fault. They were the fault of the crusaders and Featherweight. All she had wanted to do was make the paper successful. It should have been Featherweight covered in ink, not her.
"And Alula shouldn't have stolen my date. Now she knows what it feels like," Silver Spoon said.
Diamond Tiara nodded. Alula did deserve it, she told herself, driving the nagging feeling further down. Alula was supposed to be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's friend, and she had stolen Silver Spoon's date. That was unacceptable. She had to be taught a lesson. And then, in a couple of weeks, they could forgive her, and they would all be friends again. Better friends than ever. They would probably even laugh about all this at some point.
"I really liked her, you know," Featherweight said, "and now she'll never want to talk to me again."
"Well, you should have thought about that before you took Tiara's job," Silver Spoon said. "Besides, you wouldn't even have asked her out if not for us, so really, you got off easy. You both just got what you deserved. Karma."
"Two parasprites, one stone," Diamond Tiara said with a laugh. "And just in case you think you can get back at us for this, forget it. If you do, next time we won't be nearly as nice."
Silver Spoon stopped her circling. "Incoming blank flanks," she warned. "Remember, you're my special somepony now. Make this look good if you don't want those pictures you took of Miss Cheerilee to turn up. Unless you'd rather we give them to her?"
Featherweight glared at her for a second, before slightly lowering his head with a sigh, defeated. He wiped away a tear. Silver Spoon smiled and moved closer to him, her head close to his, as if she was listening to something he was whispering to her. She laughed loudly, a laugh that was obviously fake to Diamond Tiara, then turned to acknowledge the two newcomers. "Oh hi, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Featherweight was just telling us about how you reporters nearly managed to get lost at sea while interviewing Sea Swirl. All the good stuff that didn't make the article."
They had actually gotten that information out of him earlier in the week, when they had first told him to ask Alula out, but the blank flanks would not know that. Diamond Tiara smiled and joined in. "I guess that brings a new meaning to the phrase 'drowning in paperwork', huh, Sil?"
"You're just jealous you didn't get to ride in a submarine," Apple Bloom said.
"Whatever. If Sil and I ever go on a submarine, we'll be smart enough to pick one that doesn't wind up underwater," Diamond Tiara retorted.
"Submarines are supposed to go underwater, you dodo," Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, well... whatever," Diamond Tiara sputtered. "You know what we meant."
"Speaking of rides, Featherweight was just going to take me on a hay wagon ride." Silver Spoon asked, brushing up against him, before turning back to the crusaders. "It's been swell talking to you both. That's a water joke, by the way, though you'll probably need a dictionary to understand."
Apple Bloom looked shocked at Featherweight. "But... I thought you and Alula..."
"He traded up," Silver Spoon answered, with a swish of her tail. "Come on, Feather, let's go." She turned and walked off. Featherweight followed after, hesitantly at first, then breaking into a quick run to catch up.
"I'm confused," Apple Bloom said.
"Nothing new there," Diamond Tiara replied. "Now... Why are you here?"
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other.
"Well, um..." Scootaloo said and stopped.
"We, uh, wanted to thank you for volunteering for the dunk tank. It was nice of you to volunteer," Apple Bloom said. "So, um, thanks." Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom put on a cheery smile and nodded their heads vigorously.
"And, um... to ask how things were going for your thing. If you needed any help?" Scootaloo asked.
"You girls, like, totally wouldn't come over here just for that," Diamond Tiara said. "What are you up to?"
She looked at the pair suspiciously, trying to discern their thoughts. She tried to look around them to the left, but the pair moved left. A try to the right led to the pair moving right. She tilted her head slightly, while they beamed wide, obviously guilty smiles at her. A quick head bob to the left had the pair moving left, but rather than continuing in that direction, Diamond Tiara reared up to look over the pair.
By the entrance, she could see Snails and Sweetie Belle. With a triumphant smile, she dropped back to all fours. "You know, you'd figure that you girls would learn. You may be able to fool others with your cute and innocent looks, but not me. I totally see through your lies every time."
With that, she brushed past them, using her tail to swat Apple Bloom as she passed. Not that she was worried about losing Snails. Especially not to Sweetie Belle. And even if that did happen, well, she had had plenty of fun with the crusaders already. It was not like she cared. But there was no reason to end the game just yet. There was more fun to be had, and so she quickened her step.
"Well, we see through yours too," Scootaloo called out after her. Diamond Tiara snorted at the lateness and lameness of the retort.
"Yeah!" added Apple Bloom, adding her own deep thoughts to the comment. Diamond Tiara just rolled her eyes.
Snails looked at the chest full of bits. "You're amazing!" Snails exclaimed.
Sweetie Belle felt her cheeks warm at his compliment. "You really think I'm amazing?"
"Oh yeah. Just look at all this..." Snails swept a foreleg around, at all the tents, tables, and booths, plus all the ponies milling around. "And the dunk tank. Sweet! You three are amazing." The realization that he'd been talking about all three of them, not just her, hit hard. She quickly looked away.
"Something wrong?" Snails asked.
"Nothing. Nothing is wrong." She sighed. No, this was her chance. She was going to tell him. No backing off. She gathered her courage, lifting her head back up, and rested a hoof on his cheek. "There's just something I've been wanting to say."
Snails waited patiently, while she gathered her thoughts. Behind him, she could see Diamond Tiara break past her friends. There was still time though before she could work her way through the crowd to here. There was time enough. All she had to do was just say it.
Sweetie Belle gazed into Snails's eyes, feeling the weight of the moment upon her. Right here, right now, her life could go one of two ways, based upon what she did. She opened her mouth and spoke. "I think we'll make over one thousand bits today. Maybe as much as eleven-hundred"
And just like that, the moment was past. She had made her choice. Apple Bloom had called Scootaloo a chicken once, but Scootaloo was not a chicken, Sweetie Belle knew. Scootaloo would have said what she felt. Not like her.
"Wow!" Snails said, impressed, and completely oblivious to what could have, what almost had, happened. "That's, like, um... well, lots! Miss Sparkle will be so happy."
"Yeah. Happy," Sweetie Belle said, watching Diamond Tiara for a second, before turning away.
"What's going on here?" Diamond Tiara asked.
Snails practically bounced into the air as he turned around. "Di! Did you hear? Sweetie Belle says they've probably made over one thousand bits today," Snails said. "Isn't that awesome?"
"Hmm. We'll make even more next weekend, just wait and see." Diamond Tiara looked at Sweetie Belle suspiciously. "Is that all you were talking about?"
"Yes, just that," Sweetie Belle said, nodding her head. "Square dancing is about to begin. I believe you wanted to try that."
"Sweet!" Snails exclaimed. "How do squares dance though?"
Diamond Tiara gave Sweetie Belle another suspicious look, before turning her attention back to Snails. "I'm not sure actually. I only know real dancing, but I'm sure we can figure it out. After all, Apples can do it."
Sweetie Belle cursed herself silently, as she watched Snails walk off beside Diamond Tiara. If only she had been braver. She had almost told him. Next time. Next time, for sure. As long as she did not chicken out again. With a sob, she shut the chest full of bits and curled up underneath the table.