Leave Her Alone!
Scootaloo had finished using the bathroom and was ready to face Diamond Tiara again. She thought to herself for a moment about the day. It wasn't going too bad, if only Diamond Tiara wasn't insistent on being so deterring toward her attempted friendship. Scootaloo had seen a softer side of the other filly and was now hoping that there was a way to get through. "It's not like she is a bad pony... " She grumbled to herself while washing her hooves and drying them off. She wasn't sure why she had to do that, but rules are rules.
Just as she was about to leave the restroom area, she was wondering to herself why she was so eager to make Diamond Tiara her friend. She remembered something that Rainbow Dash had said to her.
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Flashback
Rainbow Dash was flying around with Scootaloo in tow, they were isolated from the rest of Ponyville so her friends didn't get jealous. Scootaloo was on her way to earning her cutie mark, with her ability to fly as well as she can. She just needed that special talent, and that thought made Rainbow Dash remember how she got hers.
"Hey Scoots." She got the filly's attention and began to smile a bit. "You know how I got my cutie mark right?"
Scootaloo remembered the awesome story that lead to a sappy moment between Rainbow Dash and the other mares that day. "Yeah I remember that... why? Is there something about me not getting my cutie mark that you aren't telling me?" She asked, weary and excited.
Rainbow Dash chuckled and rubbed the little filly's head. "Nah, just remembered something about your little situation with them bullies."
Scootaloo wasn't sure what her honorary sister meant and wanted to pursue the thought in her big sister's head. "What do you mean ‘my situation?’"
"Well Scoots, I don't think them girls are being mean because they feel tough. If you think about it, they are the only fillies with no friends other than each other," Rainbow Dash said sadly.
"So? They deserve each other if you ask me," Scootaloo stated with a huff.
"No, you got it all wrong. No one likes to be alone, and I know I hated being alone. I could have ended up being a bully too," she said in a soft tone while looking off, far away.
"What? You... I thought you were the one being bullied?" Scootaloo wasn't sure what her mentor and sister in spirit had been going on about.
"Well I was like Diamond Tiara too, lonely and friendless. I could have easily found the wrong person to be friends with and become a jerk... like Gilda... but luckily for me, I found another lonely filly to be best friends with," she stated with a peaceful look on her face. "You see, Fluttershy needed help, she was unable to fight back against those bullies. I was also being bullied, but I could do something about it, I could fight back and that usually scared them off. I could have easily used the fear I put in them and made it worse, you can too. I bet you could easily fight back and kick those fillies flanks, but what would that do for you?" Rainbow Dash landed on a cloud, wanting to relax as she spoke with her little 'sister.’
Scootaloo landed on the cloud next to her and snuggled close. "Well it would show them not to mess with me... I mean I’m so tough now, I could easily make the bullies and make them leave me alone," she said with a prideful smirk.
Rainbow Dash sighed before lecturing. "That's just it, if you become the bully to beat the bully, you're no better than they are. I know that not every problem in the world can be solved by words, but if you try using kindness it can go a long way. I had a special filly teach me that, and because of her, I never became a bully."
"So then what are you telling me?" Scootaloo asked eagerly, wanting to know what her big 'sister' was saying.
"Well, I am telling you is that somewhere inside that little filly is a lonely soul just waiting for a friend. Unlike those bullies from Cloudsdale who had friends and just wanted to be jerks, Diamond Tiara is desperately crying for help. I can't do anything about it myself, but you can Scoots... I am not saying to try and make friends with her randomly, but if you have a shot... take it. Who knows, you may be surprised by what you find when you try giving friendship a chance." Rainbow Dash snuggled her little sister and smiled. "After all, I gave being a sister a chance... and I am so glad I did Scoots."
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Scootaloo smiled at that memory with a goofy grin on her face. She left the restroom and headed back to the area in which they were seated, outside the restaurant they were eating at. When she went back to her spot and noticed a lack of Diamond Tiara, she got worried. She hadn't seen her on the way out the bathroom and surely the filly wouldn't have ran off on her own.
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Diamond Tiara was hoping someone would rescue her, she wasn't able to fight off a stallion. "Please just leave me alone Mr," she begged with tears streaming down her face, not wanting to give up her tiara. It was the only memento of her mother she had. "Look, my dad is rich and you can have a lot of bits if you want, but I can't give up this tiara... it's all I have." She pleaded for mercy and it wasn't responded with the answer she was looking for.
"You think I care toots?" He asked while gesturing for her to give the tiara to him. "I want that tiara so I can sell it and most likely buy myself a nice camera, then I might go bird watching or something," he said nonchalantly, as if trying to make her feel worse about the fate of the gift her late mother gave her.
"Please... don't do this... look, I won't tell anypony about this if you just let me go now.. I don't want to give up my tiara!" She cried, the tears spilling while she backed up against the alley wall. It seemed hopeless for the rich filly, all hope she had of being rescued was gone. She felt like she was doomed and that feeling made Diamond Tiara cover her eyes and assume the fetal position. Then she heard it, the sound of being rescued. She didn't expect the pony rescuing her to be the one pony she had been so cruel to.
"Leave her alone!" Scootaloo shouted. After hearing the faint noises coming from the alley, she had decided to investigate and see what was going on. She found Diamond Tiara being harassed by the sleazy stallion and she wasn't even able to think when instinct kicked in. She had her wings flared in a display of anger, her body was tense and shaking with raw emotion exuding from it.
The stallion, startled by the loud demand and unknown intruder to his private affairs, turned around and noticed it was just a filly with her wings flared out. "Oh look, your little friend is here to rescue you... how cute," he spat out in anger. "It doesn't matter how tough you think you are toots, I am getting her crown, and if you don't back off, I will take whatever is in your saddle bag as well," he warned.
"You think you are tough? I eat stallions like you for breakfast," she said, mimicking Rainbow Dash, and began shadow boxing, she wasn't intimidating him in the slightest, but was trying to distract him more than actually scare him off. "Now leave her alone or you deal with me, got it?" She threatened in a serious tone.
Diamond Tiara took this opportunity to run by the distracted stallion and run off, leaving Scootaloo on her own. She had no way of helping Scootaloo fight off a stallion and she didn't get rescued for nothing. She stopped once she ran out the alley and looked back. "Come on bla.. Scootaloo let's go," she pleaded.
"Run off, don't worry, I'll be right behind you," she commanded, she had no intention of letting this stallion follow them and potentially hurt Diamond. She just had to stall for her to get a head start. "Looks like it's just you and me,” she said with her wings flared up again, trying to intimidate the stallion.
"You are so dead!" The stallion, who lost a possible fortune by not grabbing the tiara from the intended victim, roared out in anger. He charged at Scootaloo with great speed and was ready to attack the little filly.
"As if loser," Scootaloo teased before soaring into the sky and laughing "too easy." She was going to brag about this to her 'sister' later. She decided to use her flying prowess to find Diamond Tiara so they could be together and meet up with the others.
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Diamond Tiara had not ran too far off from the eatery they were having lunch at. She was afraid that something happened to Scootaloo. She had time to reflect on things while waiting to be found. "Why did she come for me? She could have just ran off and left me... she didn't have to risk herself to help me... stupid blank flank.... what if she is... I didn't ask to be rescued." She started grumbling to herself inaudibly.
The thought of losing her tiara to some jerk made her realize that she wasn't being as appreciative as she should be. Still, it was hard for the diamond around her heart to break. The moment she got rescued the crack appeared on the diamond around her heart, allowing her to feel again. It was an amazing reaction to care for the heroic filly's well being, but it also frightened her. She wasn't sure if she could ever truly be friends with the filly she tormented, she had no clue how she could ever make up for the bullying.
When she thought about just ignoring the whole thing and trying to go back to being her old self and forget about the whole kindness thing, she saw Scootaloo in the sky and called out to her. "Scootaloo!" She chirped out, almost sounding as excited as Sweetie Belle. She had to tone herself down and she unsuccessfully tried hiding her face that had been flushed in embarrassment.
Scootaloo landed next Diamond Tiara and tackled her into a hug. "I am so glad you are okay... I was worried about you, silly filly," she said with a mixture of joy and anger. "Why didn't you wait for me while I was gone?" She asked, now more angry than worried.
"Because... I didn't like being alone..." she said with tears pouring down her eyes from being scolded. She didn't like it when somepony was yelling at her, especially when it was because of her own stupidity. "I was... tricked... because I was lonely and I ..." She didn't even have to finish.
Scootaloo held the crying filly firmly to her chest. "I won't let you be lonely anymore... I promise." She vowed with the intensity of thousand suns. "I promise Diamond... I won't let you ever feel lonely again... from this moment on... you are my friend," she said before letting go of the hug.
Diamond Tiara had no words, she couldn't say anything in reply to even begin to honor what the sentiment meant to her. The one thing crippling her emotional growth was the sadness of being alone. She felt that way even with Silver Spoon around at times. She did something that shocked both fillies and made their friendship blossom. She kissed Scootaloo right on the cheek and nuzzled her. "Thank you... for being my friend."
Scootaloo had a goofy grin on her face and a blush growing on her cheeks. She now had two stories to tell Rainbow Dash that day; how she saved a pony's life and how she earned a new friend. "You don't have to thank me for being your friend, just be my friend in return," she said softly before wrapping a wing around her and guiding her to wherever life lead them.
She decided a nice stroll in the park might not be such a bad idea after all. She gently lead her new friend to the park, all the while keeping her wing wrapped around her protectively. She had decided that this day... was slowly becoming awesome, and was just hoping it would stay this way.
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Meanwhile, Cheerilee was still running around the town looking for the fillies. She had almost given up and gotten the help of local authorities, but she had remembered there was one part of the city she hadn't checked. She rushed off to the park in hopes of finding the fillies she had lost. She wouldn't know how to deal with the embarrassment of losing students on a trip.
She also didn't want to get the authorities involved unless they were absolutely missing, she remembered in her youth when she accidentally rushed into assuming the worst and made a fool of herself. She was ready to do so again if her search had failed because the fillies lives are more important than her image.