//------------------------------// // Part 20 and a half: Interlude: A Meeting // Story: A Mother's 'Love' // by deadpansnarker //------------------------------// Tiara studied the lesson plan for the morning on her desk. Her actual education at this moment in time took second precedence to her personal issues, but there was no harm in seeing what lay ahead for the day. Cheerilee, as Applejack had suggested earlier on, had been kind enough to leave everything the pink filly would need on or around her area of work, so all she'd have to do was pay attention, finish her designated tasks and everything should work out fine. Easier said then done though, when you're surrounding by whispering, staring faces. Diamond tried to block them out. She hid behind the paper she was reading. She pushed parts of her ribbon in her ears. She even went to the extent of humming the Crusader's awful song from that talent show, where they won 'Best Comedy Act', to drown out the sound. No such luck. She could hear the murmurs everywhere, feel the weight of the looks burrowing into her. Oh, none of the comments or expressions were particularly malicious, the majority of them just seemed to revolve around why the school's biggest diva had come to school looking like a scaremare. In her weakened moral state though, they really began have an effect on the unnerved Diamond, and she slowly found herself sinking into her seat, desperate to escape the unwanted attention... All of a sudden, they stopped. Tiara didn't notice it for a minute, due to her sunken location. But, as the air turned quiet and almost by instinct, she detected less focus on her, she pulled herself up to be greeted with the stare. No, it wasn't a drenched Fluttershy. who was at this very moment chasing Angel with a carrot in one hoof and a half-filled bath in the other (That's a story for another time ). Instead, it was Scootaloo, who was seated to the left of Diamond, giving her classmates the evil eye, daring any of them to make any further remark about her new friend, or give her any unsolicited gawks. As far as muted threats go, it was a pretty good one. More importantly, it seemed to do the trick. Everypony seemed to take their mind off the adopted filly simultaneously, in order to concentrate on today's fascinating topic of 'The History Of The Crystal Empire'. Her job done, Scootaloo gave Tiara a confident 'hoofs up', to which Diamond responded with a grateful smile. Turning to her worksheet, she wondered why on Equestria she didn't make friends with the Crusaders earlier, and why she ever felt they were in anyway unworthy of her... Oh, that was right. Her mom. Well, no time like the present for making up for lost time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One hour. That's how long Diamond's respite lasted, as she immersed herself in the wicked deeds of King Sombra, the accomplishments of a little dragon who became a big hero and why Princess Cadance was starting to look a bit chubby of late. The last point wasn't part of the test, it was merely something Tiara had observed with her usual hyper-critical perfectionist mentality, and she'd added it on as an addendum in an attempt to get some extra credit. She was sure it would work. The lesson had overall been a good distraction from the turmoil of everything else, and thanks to a certain orange pegasus's timely intervention, she'd had no further trouble whatsoever from the other students. She was even starting to give something back to the Crusaders for all they'd done for her. Her private tuition had ensued it was a subject she was reasonably well-versed in, and as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scoots began to look stumped at various intervals, the pink filly was able to lean over and candidly help them with their work. This earned Diamond a lot of plaudits, which cheered her up no end. Doing things for others, without any physical reward at the end... Who'd have known it could be so satisfying? It was an ideal Tiara was just beginning to incorporate into her life, and yet already she liked it. I might do more of it, she thought. The only parasprite in the ointment was Silver Spoon's continued exasperated glances over at how well she was getting on with their former enemies. The grey filly didn't seem jealous, but there was definitely a look of confusion about her constant gazes. Guiltily, Diamond realised that perhaps she should have come down to see her friend sooner that day to clear the air, instead of sticking her through the emotional wringer like now. After all, her best friend had been there for her from the beginning of her mother problems, so to not keep her in the picture about the latest developments was quite discourteous. Oh well, at least I get to make up for it at recess, she reassured herself. Speaking of which, there went the bell. All the little ponies began to pack their things away, as Miss Cheerilee put down her How To Get Your Stallion paperback to usher them outside. Tiara breathed a sigh of relief, as she made her way to the door. Finally, she could clear this entire mess up with Silv. She'd apologise. Spoon would sympathise. They'd hug. Everything would be fine. Then, they could play with their new friends, the Cutie Mark... "Crusaders gather!!" All at once, the pink filly heard Apple Bloom's voice boom above her thoughts, and at almost the same moment she felt herself being grabbed from behind and shoved next to a white unicorn. "Hi!" Sweetie offered up a greeting to the perturbed Diamond. The aggressor who pushed her was none other than Scootaloo, who quickly placed herself adjacent to Tiara, hemming her in between two Crusaders in the same manner as when they'd arrived at school. Taken by surprise at the sheer audacity of this maneuver, Diamond was about to give the orange pegasus a mouthful, but was stopped by the junior daredevil before she had the chance. "Don't you remember?" Scootaloo reminded her, in a not unfriendly tone. "You're a Crusader for the day, and we do everything together! Apple Bloom has just called a general meeting, and it's mandatory for us all to attend. Mandatory. So, let's hear what she has to say, Then we can be on our way!" "Couldn't we just have it in the schoolyard?" Tiara huffed, clearly a little irritated. "Don't be silly, Diamond! It's far too noisy out there..." Sweetie informed the pink filly. "And it ain't much quieter in here!" Bloom narrowed her eyes at the delay to proceedings. "Now, if you three have quite finished, we can begin. Really, this is just a quick gathering to see how each one of us is getting on with our new cutie marks. Has anypony got anything to tell us?" "Mine is great... Looking as cool as ever!" Scootaloo enthusiastically buzzed her wings. "After so long waiting for them... How could they not be cool?" Sweetie Belle seemed happy enough. "And no more nightmares for me about having a non-apple related mark, though it was nice for us to see Princess Luna together!" Apple Bloom smiled at the memory, and the other Crusaders concurred. This announcement broke Diamond out of her malaise. What?! How was it possible for them all to have a shared dream... No, it was impossible. They must all be surely making it up... Mind you, her father had been telling her about a mysterious dream he'd experienced himself the other day. Most of the other Ponyville residents were there, and Filthy was some kind of superhero. The 'Money Surfer' was how he'd been known, or something... "AARGH, who cares about any of that stuff, anyway?! It was just a bedtime story!!" Tiara hadn't noticed she was shouting out loud, which led to a few concerned faces from her new friends. "Di, are you alright?" Bloom was the first to trot forward, gently tapping her new roommate on the head to bring her out of her stupor. "W-what?! Yes, I'm fine!" Diamond was finally brought back to reality." Can we just wrap this up? I really need to go outside..." She tried to squeeze her way out of her fuzzy prison. No chance of that. "Oh, but of course!! We've nearly finished. It's just your turn to answer the question..." Bloom stated, indefatigably. "A-and, what would be the point in that?" Tiara couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this pointless query. "I said I wouldn't mention it again, but, I did get my Cutie Mark long before any of you, so it's not exactly 'new', is it? No offense." "None taken." Bloom grinned at Diamond. Even though she was essentially reformed, Tiara still had that sass about her. And the farm filly wouldn't change it for the world. As long as it didn't get nasty, of course. "So, what is it exactly you want to know?" Diamond was beginning to get very impatient, but to her credit, she was doing her utmost to hide it. "Well, you know, now that you realise what your mark stands for, how do you feel about it, what do you intend to do with it, have you noticed any changes..." Bloom reeled off a list of inquiries. "To be honest, I've had other things on my mind, as you can well imagine." Tiara stated matter of factly. " As far as changes are concerned, none at all, apart from when I noticed it temporarily glowing the same day you got your marks, while I was helping set up the play..." "What?!" Apple Bloom's ears fair perked up upon hearing this 'earth-shattering' news, while the already-in-extreme-close-proximity Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle huddled in so close, Diamond swore she felt her ribs crack. "Ow!!" Yelled the pink filly. "Girls, you're hurting me!!" "Tell us more!!" Scootaloo insisted. "You're not sick, are you?" A nervous Sweetie Belle asked. "Hmm... Never heard of anything like this before..." Apple Bloom pondered it over. Despite her best efforts, the frustration of being crushed to death and nopony listening to her began to cause the red mist to descend on Diamond Tiara for the second time that day... But, no. She was not going down that road again. So, using every tiny bit of self-control and restraint she possessed, she politely but firmly told them off. "Listen to me for a minute. Sweetie Belle, it is not a contagious disease. Scootaloo, I'll tell you the rest of the story later. And both of you, stop flattening me!! Apple Bloom, please appreciate the fact that while this has been fun, I really have to head outdoors now. I have to see somepony before recess is over. So, could we please wrap this meeting up?!" She said all this with as much decorum as she could muster, under the trying circumstances. Three pairs of eyes blinked at her for a few seconds, before two of them eased their pressure, and the other said in a country accent "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?! We could have finished this thing ages ago. Of course we'll respect your wishes, Di..." Tiara facehoofed for about the trillionth time since yesterday. No wonder she was getting a major migraine, as well as an aching leg. She did relish having new friends, but they couldn't half be infuriating. "There's just one more item left on the agenda today, in that case..." Bloom continued. "And that's to welcome our new member, compadre, sister-in-arms, Diamond Tiara! Even if it is only for twenty-four hours. Everypony, put your hooves together!!" While Scootaloo and Sweetie hooted and hollered next to a disassociative Tiara, Bloom approached the pink filly to softly whisper in her ear: "You know, it doesn't have to all be over today, Di. If you're really having a good time , I'm sure the others would agree to extend your membership past the cut-off point. Now that Babs has left, there is an opening. Just think about it, you could be an asset to the organisation!" With that delectable invitation left on the table, Bloom gave her new roommate a friendly wink, before backing off, leaving an aghast Diamond to mutter out of earshot, "Don't count on it..." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally. The time was right. The mood was set. No more annoying interruptions. No more unforeseen delays. Time to get out of that darn classroom, into the schoolyard and over to my best friend. Have a conversation with her. Set things straight. Laugh at how ridiculous the Crusaders are. Perhaps, have a game of tag... What's that, Scootaloo? You need to scoot to the loo? Ha ha. Nice play on words there. What? You mean, you're not joking? Well, sucks for you, but I'm fine. Have a nice time on the toilet. I'll be sure to mention your absence from the schoolyard to every other pony... Hang on. Where did this green light come from, and why aren't my hooves working? Oh no, not again!! Sweetie Belle... Put me down!! I am NOT going in the bathroom with the rest of you, just because one of you weirdos needs to go! Why are the three of you laughing at me? What do you mean, where did I get the stupid idea that we all went into the booth together?! That the rest of us were just going to wait outside, until the other filly has finished doing their business? Well, I just thought, seeing as you said we were going to do everything together... Forget it. It's not important. Just hurry up, Scoots. And wash your hooves. If I'm going to be super-glued to you for the rest of the day, the least you can do is have decent hygiene... What?! Now you need to go Sweetie Belle... And even you Apple Bloom?! I thought you were the sensible one. This situation is intolerable. Unbelievable. Excruciating. And, you know the worst part? After all this toilet talk... Now I need to go!! *KNOCK KNOCK*Hey Scootaloo!! Hurry up in there, would ya? Silver Spoon... Please wait for mmmmmeeeeeee... :(