Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
Curse of the Cutie
It was rather cloudy that day, as the kids of the Peaceville Schoolhouse sat down for the morning lesson.
In the classroom, several colts, fillies, and changeling nymphs were coming inside to begin their lesson. In the teacher’s office, the only two adults in the schoolhouse were having a conversation.
One of them was a magenta earth pony with a simple pink mane and tail. The other adult was a zebra, someone who wasn’t a pony but still relate to the pony species. She had a white and black-stripped coat and a mohawk.
“Miss Zecora, are you sure you’ll be okay?” the magenta mare asked with concern. “I know that you’re used to the Equestria forest, but what if your cold slows you down and a monster is chasing you?”
The zebra chuckled. “Do not worry Miss Cheerilee. I’ll survive the forest. Just wait and see!”
“Okay then,” Cheerilee smiled. “Just hurry back soon. Don’t get me wrong; I’m absolutely thrilled that you’re giving me this opportunity! It’s just, I had hoped that you would be here for my first day teaching.”
Zecora continued to pack empty jars and other items needed for her trip into the Equestria forest. “I wish I could remain here too. But my cold remedy needs fresh ingredients for the brew. Never again should Discord host a party, in surprise. Around the corner, something unpleasant always lies.”
Cheerilee shrugged. “Mayor Derpy’s party was nice. Sure, she seemed upset before but she calmed down and had a good time.”
“Perhaps she would have enjoyed the party to its fullest, if ponies around here had been more honest.”
“Maybe you’re right. I know I freaked out during my first surprise party too.”
“In any case, our most recent party would have been fun, had Discord kept his Windigo-”
Zecora stopped talking as her nose twitched. She sneezed with tremendous force into the tissue Cheerilee quickly handed her. “Thank you. Blasted spirit and its freezing breath,” Zecora muttered as she wiped her nose and shivered.
Cheerilee chuckled. “Like I said, I hope you feel better soon. Um…” she fidgeted for a bit before asking, “Any tips I can use for the class? Would it maybe help if rhymed like you?
Zecora raised an eyebrow at her. “The reason I rhyme is by conscious choice. When I’m teaching it draws the focus to my voice. But while I’ve had years to speak my rhymes faster, it can be tricky for a newcomer to master. Simply teach the way that best suits your style. You’ll find a method that sticks, if you keep at it a while.”
Zecora smiled as she packed away the last jar she needed for her trip. “Simply treat them kindly and with respect and your teaching skills, you will perfect.”
Cheerilee smiled. “Thank you very much for the tips Miss Zecora. Good luck on your trip. I promise I won’t let you down!”
Zecora opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she sneezed again. Instead she smiled and waved back to her as she set off for the Equestria forest. Cheerilee then took a few deep breaths and went into the classroom to greet the students with a smile.
“Okay class, settle down please. Now I’m afraid that Miss Zecora isn’t feeling well today, so instead of just being your assistant teacher like usual, I will be teaching this class. I hope that you will be patient with me and I promise that we’ll have a fun lesson!” She smiled as she received a few cheers and smiles, a more lively response than she was expecting.
After checking attendance, she grabbed the chart paper with her mouth and flipped in over. “Today we’ll be discussing cutie marks.”
“Ooh! Ah have something to say ‘bout cutie marks!” said a yellow earth pony with a red mane and hair bow. Diamond Tiara watched the filly bounce in her seat
“Apple Bloom, please hold all questions until I’m done,” Cheerilee said. She cleared her throat and pointed at the images on the chart. “Now, all ponies are born with cutie marks. They appear as an image on both sides of a pony’s flank. This image is prophetic in that it tells a pony what his or her special talent will be when they grow up. At first, ponies thought this was a good sign. However, we eventually learned that cutie marks mocked ponies more often than helping them. Some talents proved useful but other talents they represented meant something embarrassing or worse something dangerous.”
“Yep!” Apple Bloom piped up. “An’ what’s more, them cutie marks usually mean a pony is only good at one thing an’ only one thing.”
“Apple Bloom, please raise your hoof next time.” Cheerilee continued, “But if a pony tries out different things as they get older, they will find that they are skilled in more areas than just one and the cutie mark disappears. This means that a pony is free to choose his or her own destiny. To have a blank flank means that a pony is full of potential and could be good at all sorts of things.”
She showed off her own blank flank to the class. “When I was your age, I had a cutie mark that resembled a trio of flowers. For a long time, I thought my only talent was in gardening. However, I eventually discovered my love of teaching and helping others. I went to teacher’s college after that, asked Miss Zecora if I could teach here too, and here I am today.”
Cheerilee noticed that Apple Bloom was waving her hoof frantically. “Oh, very well. Apple Bloom, you have something to say to the class?”
“Sure do!” Apple Bloom beamed. “Speaking of cutie marks, Ah finally got rid of that no good mark o’ mine!” She got out of her seat and waved her blank flank in the air proudly.
“Ugh, please stop that.” Diamond rolled her eyes. “Like, nobody wants to see you wave your butt in the air.”
Apple Bloom glared at her. Then she smirked. “Well Ah can rightly see why you’d be complaining. Ah mean, yer own flank ain’t blank, now is it?”
Diamond winced. “You heard the teacher. It just takes time for ponies to lose their cutie marks.”
“So? Ah lost my mark yesterday, an’ my family has a history o’ taking fir-EVER…” She waved her hoof in emphasis “in losing our marks. So how come Ah lost my mark an’ you didn’t?”
She pointed at the tiara mark on the other filly’s flank. “An’ she was right ‘bout it being embarrassing. Ah mean Diamond Tiara…” she pointed at Diamond Tiara’s name plate. “A diamond tiara…” she pointed at her headgear. “An’ another diamond tiara.” She pointed at the cutie mark in question. “Now ain’t that the most redundant mark ya ever lay eyes on?”
“I’m not dumb!” Diamond protested.
“She wasn’t calling you dumb,” Scootaloo said from her seat. “She’s saying that it’s like unnecessary repetition.”
“Okay that’s enough!” Cheerilee frowned at her. “Apple Bloom that is no way to talk to another student. You will apologize to Miss Tiara and then I will see you after school.”
Apple Bloom glared at the smug Diamond but mumbled an apology. After the other classes that day, she stayed behind.
“I don’t know why you would act like that,” Cheerilee scolded her. “Zecora told me you’re usually so well behaved. What did Miss Tiara ever do to you?”
“Nothing really,” Apple Bloom admitted. “But Ah finally lost my cutie mark and she told me it weren’t nothing ta brag ‘bout even though she still had one!”
Cheerilee sighed. “Bragging in general is not a great idea, however I can understand what you’re trying to say. But that doesn’t give you a reason to bully somebody.”
“Ah ain’t a bully!” Apple Bloom protested.
“Well you were acting like one.” Cheerilee glanced at the calendar on the wall, and her frown faded a little. “But Diamond Tiara not being interested in your cutie mark removal can’t be the only reason you were upset.” She looked Apple Bloom in the eye. “Zecora told me that this time of year isn’t pleasant for you.” Apple Bloom looked down at the floor. “Zecora wouldn’t tell me what happened but…if you need to tell someone, I’m here for you.”
Apple Bloom winced. “Ah…it ain’t something Ah like to talk ‘bout…but…well, when Ah was real little, my sister left the farm. We haven’t heard anything back from her in ages. If she went and…ya know, ‘gone to a happier place’ we would’ve at least heard ‘bout that. But no, she went somewhere an’ Ah don’t know where…”
Apple Bloom wiped her eyes before they could form proper tears. Cheerilee placed her hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “And this is the anniversary of when she left?” Apple Bloom nodded.
“I understand. You have every right to be upset about that, but no right to take it out on fellow students. My advice for you is to hang in there. I’m confident your sister will come home soon. In the meantime, maybe you can try and be friends with Diamond Tiara. You’re having a party soon in honour of losing your cutie mark, right?” Apple Bloom nodded again. “Why don’t you invite Diamond Tiara to the party and see if you can be friends.”
“Ah can try Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom promised. She didn’t think anything would come of it, but she’d try.
“Maybe you could invite Sweetie Belle too. I heard her sister left Peaceville about a week ago. She might be going through what you’re going through, and it would be good to help each other through it. Just a suggestion.” And with that, Cheerilee dismissed her.
Outside, Diamond was walking back home. A pale earth pony with a red mane and purple glasses bounced next to her. She had a cutie mark too; two candy canes in the shape of a heart.
“Hey Diamond!” The filly spoke with a lisp. “Want thome thweets? I’ve got thome peppermint thticks. I made them mythelf!”
Diamond sighed. “As much as I love the candy you make Twist, don’t you want to try something new? How are you going to get rid of that mark if all you ever do is make sweets?”
Twist shrugged. “I don’t mind it.”
“Well at least you’re actually good at what your mark says you are. All my mark does is say how amazing I look with a tiara and like, everybody else already knows that.”
Twist titled her head. “Can’t you juth take it off?” She pointed at the tiara.
Diamond gasped and held her hoof above her head to protect the tiara. “I couldn’t! Daddy bought it just for me!” She lowered her hoof and sighed. “But I need to do something. I don’t want the others to think I’m just a cutie cursed loser!”
“Aw, don’t thay that. You’re cool.” Twist patted her hoof reassuringly.
Diamond smiled. “Why, thank you Twist. At least I can rely on like, somebody. In fact, I’ve changed my mind. Twist, I’ll have some of your finest peppermint sticks please.”
While Twist was clapping in excitement, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo came walking down the road, talking to Sweetie Belle. “That really sucks about what happened to your sister,” Scootaloo said. “I wish Rainbow Dash could convince Gilda and her pals that Rarity didn’t do anything wrong. But I bet Apple Bloom’s party will help ya forget all about that.”
Apple Bloom approached Twist and Diamond. “Ah, hang on fir a spell, girls. No hard feelings ‘bout what happened Diamond Tiara. You and yer friend are still invited to my party this weekend.”
Another voice spoke up, “It’s going to be amazing, I’ll bet!”
Diamond glanced behind Apple Bloom and her friends to see another filly walking towards them. The filly had a dark gray coat and a light gray mane and tail. She also wore blue glasses and a string of pearls around her neck.
“Hey there, Silver Spoon!” Diamond waved to the filly.
“Whatever,” Silver Spoon said as she wrapped a hoof around Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “Hey Apple Bloom! I heard about your totally amazing party! Of course, you’ll invite me, right?” Diamond winced a little at Silver’s cold dismissal of her.
“Uh…sure Silver, you can come.” Apple Bloom gave her an uneasy smile as she slowly edged away from Silver’s hoof. “So anyway, you coming?” she asked Diamond.
Diamond considered her options. Now Diamond Tiara didn’t like Apple Bloom much, but she did like the rest of the Apple family. Which was ironic, because the Apple family’s wealth was one of the reasons she didn’t like Apple Bloom. Diamond would never admit it, but she was jealous that Apple Bloom’s family was richer than her own.
But maybe this could be her chance to bury the old grudge she had with Apple Bloom and grab herself a little more popularity. And at least Sweetie Belle would be there, she was a little friendlier.
“Well, since you asked nicely, we shall attend your party." She smiled, "By the way, Sweetie Belle, Twist and I came up with this totally awesome chant yesterday! Want to see it?” Before Sweetie could answer her, she took Sweetie’s hooves and clapped them together. “Bump, bump…” she then bumped her flank to Sweetie’s flank “sugar lump rump!”
Scootaloo burst out laughing. “What the heck was that? Ha, ha, do it again! That was hilarious! Sugar lump…pff ha, ha!”
Diamond winced and backed away from Sweetie who also awkwardly backed away. “Well…the chant is still in its early stages!”
“Yeah, where it should stay.” Scootaloo snorted.
Silver smirked at Diamond. “Yeah like, what a totally lame chant.”
“Aw, hush you two. See y’all at the party then!” Apple Bloom said as she and her friends left.
“Whath wrong with thugar?” Twist asked. But Diamond had already run off in embarrassment.
“Ooh! Did someone say sugar?” Twist turned around to see Snips and Snails walking up to her.
“Oh, I did! Did you two want to try thome peppermint thticks?”
“Ooh yeah!” Snails said with a big grin. “You always make the best sweets!” He leaned a little closer to her and whispered, “Just between you and me, I always add a bit of maple syrup to my dessert. You should try it, eh?”
Twist smiled. “Maple thyrup? I’ve never tried that with my thweets. Leth go try it out!”
“Woo! Sugar rush!” Snips cheered. “We’re gonna be sick for weeks!”
And so Snips and Snails followed Twist back to her family’s candy store to make peppermint sticks and then gorge themselves on said sweets.
Meanwhile, Diamond had retreated to Sunset Shimmer’s farm and told her what happened. “It’s like, totally unfair! And even if Apple Bloom is actually trying to be nice, I can’t show my face to that party if I’m still cutie cursed! They’ll totally think I’m a loser!”
Sunset rolled her eyes as she gathered crystals. “Why are you telling me all this?
"Because we're friends! Friends help each other!"
"Can’t your dad help you?”
Diamond frowned. “Dad is busy getting our pool thawed out after Discord’s Windigo froze it!”
Sunset chuckled. “Boy, that was some party.”
“Um, let’s get back to my problem, please!” Diamond whined. “Besides, it’s not like daddy’s money can help me become a blank flank.”
Sunset sighed, “Just be patient. Everyone loses his or her cutie mark eventually. I remember when I lost my fireball cutie mark. When I was younger, I was a little too great with my magic. I can’t tell you how many times I burned something down when I didn’t get my way, or even by accident. But I had some friends help me to control my anger and my magic. And that mark vanished like that.”
Diamond rolled her eyes. “Great story, but it doesn’t help my problem. I want my cutie mark gone right now!” But Sunset was no longer paying attention to her and was focused on collecting crystals once more.
“Fine!” Diamond Tiara declared. “If I want something done right, I’ll do it myself! I’ll do whatever job will earn me a blank flank!”
Sunset looked back at her and smirked. “Really? No matter how dirty you might get your hooves, you’ll do whatever job it takes?” Diamond shuddered at the thought of getting covered in mud, or something equally disgusting. But raised her head high. “Okay then. If you want to get rid of the diamonds are your flank, maybe you should try something with crystals instead. Help me with this pile, would ya?”
Sunset grinned as the rich kid helped with farm work. She just got a loyal minion and it didn’t cost a thing! Maybe it was selfish of her to think like that but really, what’s the worst thing that Diamond Tiara could do?
“I said I was sorry!”
“What were you thinking?!”
“How was I supposed to know what that crystal did?”
“I told you not touch it!”
“Come on, it’s not that bad, is it?”
“Do you know how long it’s gonna take to get rid of all that tree sap?”
“But-”
“No buts!” Sunset sighed. “I’m sorry Diamond, but I don’t think you’re cut out for crystal farming. Honestly, I should have done this sooner.” She reached into one of the baskets and pushed a few crystals away with her magic until she brought a clear crystal.
“There you go,” she said as she handed the crystal over to Sunset. “It’s a popular item for colts and fillies in your position. Just rub that crystal on your cutie mark and it will temporarily fade away.”
“Really?” Diamond asked with a big smile as she grabbed the crystal.
“Temporarily,” Sunset warned her. “It will come back in a few hours, so I suggest you wait until before the party starts. In the meantime, why not try a few other things so that you won’t need it?”
“You got it! Thanks Sunset!” Diamond said as she ran off, tossing a bit of money back to her to pay for the crystal.
“Psst!”
“She’s gone Silver. You can come out now.”
Sunset watched as Silver Spoon crawled out from under an overturned basket. “Why didn’t you tell me my cousin was going to be here?”
Sunset’s magic extended to another part of Clear Crystal Caverns, searching for another cutie-mark-removing crystal. “Maybe because I wasn’t expecting her to. Just be glad she was too busy making a mess out of my farm to notice you when you came by. So after hearing her story, do you mind telling me why you don’t want to hang out with your cousin?”
Silver rolled her eyes. “You know my mom doesn’t like her. Besides, Diamond is still cutie cursed!”
Sunset frowned at her. “So are you,” she said, pointing at the silver spoon cutie mark on the filly.
“Shush! I don’t want Apple Bloom finding out about that!”
“Stop being such a drama queen, we’re the only ones here. Here’s your silly crystal,” she said, levitating the crystal over to Silver. Silver greedily grabbed the crystal and rubbed it against her flank, causing the cutie mark to vanish. The filly paid for the crystal and left without another word.
Diamond was in a much better mood now. If she wasn’t cutie cursed she could actually show her face at the party! And the best part was that she could probably share this with Twist, and they could both go to the party without worrying about Apple Bloom mocking them!
She ran to Twist’s home and knocked on the door. Twist’s front door was one of those weird half doors, and the top half opened when Twist answered it. “Oh hey Diamond. Whath up?”
Diamond gave her a regal smile. “Twist, you are so lucky to have such a great friend like me. I picked up this crystal from Miss Sunset, and now we don’t have to worry about being cutie cursed anymore!”
“Heh. Well…” Twist smiled sheepishly as she opened the bottom part of the door too. Diamond gasped as she saw that the candy cane heart that Twist used to have was gone!
“Cool, right? Thee, I invited Thnipth and Thnailth to my houth and I actually loth my mark when I added maple and chocolate thyrup to theth cookieth we were making! Pretty thweet, huh?”
Diamond sighed and placed the crystal on the ground. “Yeah…good for you Twist.”
“Hey,” Twist said as she tilted Diamond’s head up to look at her. “Juth because I lost my mark…well, we can thill go to the party together, right?”
“But Ah want it now!” Diamond turned her head away from Twist to see Apple Bloom and her big brother walking down the street.
Big Macintosh sighed, “Nope means nope Apple Bloom! Ah'll buy it for you later!”
“But Ah want it NOW!”
“Alright! If it means that much to ya, Ah'll buy that ribbon for you.”
Apple Bloom smiled. “Thanks Big Macintosh!” She saw Twist and Diamond and waved to them. “Hey Twist! Diamond! You’re still coming to the party, right?”
Diamond grabbed the crystal and quickly rubbed it against her cutie mark. She was happy to see it vanish within seconds. She turned back to face Apple Bloom and said, “Of course we will.”
“Oh. ‘Kay then! Looking forward to seeing y’all there!”
Diamond sat on the ground, poking the earth with her hoof. She had planned to use it right before the party began but now she had already used the crystal and who knew how long it would be before her blasted cutie mark reappeared. What if it showed up right in the middle of the party?
These thoughts of hers were put on hold though, as something else captured her attention. The entire day had been unusually cloudy and hot, but suddenly she felt very cold. Almost freezing, to be honest. The cold air was coming out in short puffs…and landing on her neck. Something with really cold breath was literally breathing down her neck.
Diamond slowly turned her head around to see a small Windigo blowing its icy breath in her face and staring at her with those blank soulless white eyes. She would have screamed in horror if she were not frozen in shock.
Discord came strolling towards her, humming a little tune, with Gilda and Rainbow Dash not far behind. “Hello there, Miss Tiara!” he said, waving cheerfully at her. “Thanks for finding my friend!” He grabbed the Windigo away from her scolded it. “Now Wendy, I thought I told you: give other people their personal space. Sure, breathing icy death down their necks is fun, but you don’t want that prank to become boring, now do you?” The Windigo whinnied in response.
“Wendy? I thought you named him Frosty,” Rainbow asked him.
“I’m sorry, did your dad only give you one name? Miss Rainbow Dash? No?” He frowned at Rainbow.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Fine. It’s your pet, so whatever.”
Gilda spotted Diamond and smiled. “Hey there. You’re Diamond Tiara, right? Sunset’s been telling me that you had some problems with a cutie mark?”
Diamond’s eyes darted back and forth between the three of them. She forced her mouth into a smile and said, “Problem? What problem? I’m not some cutie cursed loser!”
“Kid, it’s okay. I never said you were,” Gilda said. She gave Rainbow a look and tilted her head towards Diamond. “Now griffons like me never have to worry about cutie marks, but apparently they’re a big deal to ponies. So I brought Rainbow here to help you. Any friend of Sunset’s is a friend of mine.”
“Hey squirt!” Rainbow flew closer to Diamond. “Well, looks like you don’t need my help if you’re already a blank flank.”
“Heh, of course.” Diamond fidgeted a little before asking, “Um, but let’s say I still had a cutie mark. I’m not saying that I do! But what if, you know…how would I get rid of it?”
Rainbow shrugged. “I guess you just gotta try new things. But it has to be a new thing that you actually like doing. I mean, if you have some kind of athletic cutie mark and you hate math, it’s not like you’ll lose it by reading a text book. Of course, I never really tried losing my cutie mark, it just happened.”
“What?” Diamond’s eyes widened. “But why wouldn’t you want to get rid of that mark?”
“Well, not to brag or anything,” Rainbow chuckled. “But my mark was awesome! A sweet rainbow-coloured lightning bolt! I never had any lame marks like a heart, or jewelry, or anything like that.”
“Heh, of course.” Diamond absentmindedly touched her tiara.
“Anyway, don’t worry about it kid. Your mark is gone, so why worry about what ifs?” She turned around to face Discord. “Okay, we found your pet. But seriously, all that cold air he brings with him is starting to upset people.”
Discord sighed, “Oh very well. I suppose the town needs a little space before they get used to Frosty.” He snapped his fingers and a small meteorite from space smashed into the ground not far from them. He smiled and snapped his fingers again, creating a light bulb over his head.
“Ooh, here’s an idea! I’ll take him on a fishing trip! Just me and him, and a whole lake filled with future frozen fish sticks!” He grabbed the light bulb and took a bite out of it. “Yes, that sounds delightful. Would anyone care to join us?”
“Maybe some other time buddy,” Gilda said. “Me and Dash are still practicing. The Best Young Flyer competition isn’t too far away, you know!”
“Well, I won’t keep you waiting,” Discord smiled and waved as Gilda and Rainbow took off into the sky. He turned to Diamond and said, “And you shouldn’t keep Apple Bloom waiting either!”
Diamond’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Apple Bloom’s party should be starting soon, should it not? Don’t worry, I’ll get you there on time.” Before she could stop him, Discord snapped his fingers and Diamond disappeared in a flash.
She opened her eyes to see that she was inside the main barn of Sweet Apple Acres. Tons of ponies and other creatures were already there for Apple Bloom’s party, blocking the exit and her chances of escape.
“Diamond Tiara! You made it!”
Diamond turned around and gulped as she saw Apple Bloom walk towards her. Apple Bloom was wearing a sparkly red dress that seemed to represent her unusual nature as both a rich kid and a farm filly. She was even wearing a fancy new hair bow studded with diamonds and sparkly red gems.
She noticed Silver Spoon walking up to her too. She wore a yellow and purple dress, as well as a sneaky smirk. “Wow, Diamond Tiara! You lost your cutie mark today? That must have happened pretty fast. So what, super special thing did you do to lose it?” She sneered at Diamond.
Diamond let out a forced giggle and said, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to embarrass Apple Bloom at her own party with my amazing cutie mark removal story! I’m just here to offer my congratulations to AB. And of course, she’s invited to my own party. Which I shall be hosting next week…a month tops.”
“Hey, get her off back Silver,” Apple Bloom frowned at Silver before smiling at Diamond. “Anyway, hope ya enjoy the party!”
Diamond sighed in relief as Apple Bloom and Silver went off to mingle. Fortunately, the crystal’s magic hadn’t worn off yet. But...best to be safe rather than sorry.
As she made her way to the exit, she noticed several colts and fillies from her class, including Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Twist, Snips, and Snails. There were a few adults in the barn too. There was Big Macintosh...and a mare she really did NOT want to see.
She had almost reached the exit when the mare's voice stopped her.
“Well, well, well,” her aunt Silver Tiara smirked at her. “Diamond Tiara. What a pleasant surprise. I take it you and my daughter have been behaving yourselves at Miss Apple Bloom’s party?”
Diamond gulped, “Uh, yes Aunt Silver. I mean Aunt Silver Tiara!”
“Silver Spoon, told me that you lost your cutie mark. Is that so?” Silver Tiara leaned in closer to inspect Diamond’s flank. Diamond gave her a quick nod. “Are you sure? Because it looks as if you have something on your flank.”
Diamond looked back at her flank to see that her cutie mark was slowly fading back into existence. Her mind started to panic and create plans on how to escape and avoid ruining her reputation, each plan sounding worse than the last.
“Excuse me, Miss Silver Tiara,” Apple Bloom said as she hurried to Diamond’s side. “Do you mind if Ah borrow Diamond fir a spell? Thanks.”
She grabbed Diamond’s hoof and quickly led her outside the barn. The two fillies didn’t stop running until they had gotten to a safe distance away from the barn, right at the border between Sweet Apple Acres and the Equestria forest.
Apple Bloom took a few deep breaths and said, “Yer welcome.”
Diamond looked at her and cautiously asked, “For what?”
“For getting you outta there before yer mark came back.” Apple Bloom pointed at her flank where her diamond tiara had completely reappeared.
“Oh no!” Diamond cried.
“Now hold on there!” Apple Bloom got right in front of her face and said, “Look, Ah'm not mad at you fir lying about losing your mark.”
“What? You’re not?” Diamond asked her in shock.
Before Apple Bloom could answer her, they heard Silver Spoon’s voice calling to them. “Hey AB! Why did you and Diamond run off? I thought mom was-”
She stopped as she caught sight of them. She sneered triumphantly as she saw Diamond’s diamond tiara cutie mark.
“Wow! That is an amazing blank flank you have, Diamond,” Silver said sarcastically. “Nice try, cutie cursed loser!” She giggled as Diamond’s ears folded down in shame.
“Alright that’s enough!” Apple Bloom glared at Silver Spoon. “Why do ya gotta pick on Diamond like that?”
“Because she lied about losing her cutie mark, duh!” Silver rolled her eyes. “And why are you standing up for her? You were making fun of her before I was.”
“Ah know!” Apple Bloom ear’s folded down in shame. "Ah know." Her ears went back up as she glared at Silver defiantly. “But what Ah did was wrong. Ah was mad at Diamond for…something…but it was still wrong. Ah don’t wanna be a bully anymore!”
"Besides," she smirked at Silver. "Ya didn't really believe you could keep your own cutie mark secret from me, could ya?"
"What?" Silver's eyes widened in fear. "But-"
"Trust me, Ah know when someone is lying to me. But it doesn't bother me as much." She looked at both Diamond and Silver. “Now Ah honestly never ever thought Ah would ever say anything like this…but what does it matter if a pony has a cutie mark or not?”
She took Diamond’s hoof and Silver’s hoof and brought them together. “You two are family. That right there should be more important than what ya got on yer flank or how much money ya got in yer vault. It ain’t right to be fighting with yer kin like that.”
Diamond and Silver gave each other a look. Diamond sighed and hugged her cousin. After a moment, Silver returned the hug.
Apple Bloom smiled. “Ah'm glad we could work past this. Come on, Ah still have some cake left if you two want some.”
They began to follow Apple Bloom back to the barn, not wanting to disappoint the richest filly in Peaceville. The two cousins threw glares at each other, but that was all they were willing to risk.
Diamond coughed and looked up at the sky. “So uh…the weather has been warming up. What’s up with that?”
Silver rolled her eyes. Talking about the weather was the weakest kind of small talk. Although, the day had gotten warmer than before. Black clouds hovered in the air above them. Silver idly wondered how the pegasus ponies and other flying creatures could stand this, and why they hadn’t cleared it up.
Apple Bloom suddenly stopped and looked at the sky. “Now what in tarnation is that?” The other two fillies stared at the sky to try and make out what it was that Apple Bloom had seen.
A huge dark shape flew over them. In a flash, Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom, and Silver Spoon were all gone without a trace.