“She did what?!” screamed Pear Butter into her cell phone. Her legs wobbled, and suddenly found it difficult to stand up. She faltered, stumbling downward on a pile of freshly-tuned hay.
“I-I see. I’ll talk to her once she gets home.” She paused as the person on the other end continued talking over her. “Yes, tomorrow morning? I understand. Thank you for calling me, Principal Celestia.”
Pear Butter sighed and hung up. She rubbed the side of her face, tossing the phone onto a nearby bale. It bounced off the straw and clattered out of sight, but Pear didn’t care. All she could think about was her daughter and the trouble she’d gotten into at school.
“Apple Bloom, what on earth were you thinking?” Pear Butter said to herself.
“Buttercup?”
Pear Butter jolted her head up as she heard a familiar voice call on her. It was a voice she’d known for years now. Bright Mac had just arrived at the barn, carrying two full barrels of apples on his shoulders.
“You ok, Buttercup?” Bright Mac asked. “Ah heard ya hollerin’ and came by as quick as Ah could.” He placed the two barrels down and sat next to his wife. “Something the matter?”
“Oh, sweetie, I—” Pear Butter hesitated to answer her husband’s question. Instead, she looked down, sighed and rubbed her forehead again. “I just got a call from Principal Celestia. It’s Apple Bloom. She…. she got into a fight at school today.
“What?!” yelled Bright Mac. “W-why? What happened?
Pear Butter frowned. “Apparently, she got into some argument with one of her classmates, Diamond Tiara. The Principal said it was during one of her afternoon classes. Something bad happened and it escalated into a fight. No one was hurt, but the fight caused some property damage.”
“Diamond Tiara, huh? That name sounds familiar,” said Bright Mac, rubbing his chin. “Isn’t that the daughter of Fancy Pants and Spoiled Rich?”
“That’s correct,” replied Pear Butter.
Bright Mac scratched his head. “Fine mess our little girl has gotten herself into. Did Principal Celestia tell ya anything else?”
“She said I have to go to school tomorrow morning with Apple Bloom and attend a meeting with Diamond Tiara and her mother.” Pear Butter sighed, slumping deeper into the hay pile. “I am not looking forward to that. I’ve known Spoiled Right since we attended Canterlot High. We never saw eye to eye. What’s worse is that she’s a member of the school board committee. No doubt she might have something up her sleeve.”
“Wow, like mother like daughter Ah suppose,” joked Bright Mac, only to earn a glare from his wife. “Oops. Sorry.”
The two then heard a car horn beep loudly.
“That came from the front of our house. Guess that must be Big Mac.” Bright Mac stood up and offered his wife a hand. “Come on, Buttercup. Let’s go see our children. Maybe then y’ can talk to Apple Bloom and find out what happened.”
Pear Butter sighed, but nonetheless took her husband’s hand and followed him toward the front of their house. On their driveway stood, Big Mac and Applejack, who had just gotten out of the truck.
“Thank you for picking your sisters up from school, Big Mac,” said Pear Butter. “I would’ve picked them up myself, but I had to stay at the farm late to gather more produce for the delivery truck tomorrow.”
“Eeyup,” replied Big Mac.
Pear Butter then turned to Applejack. “Hello, sweetheart. How was your day?”
“Well, mah day was doin’ jus’ fine. That is until Apple Bloom got into that fight,” replied Applejack, looking away.
Pear Butter frowned at her daughter’s response. “Don’t you give me that attitude, young lady. Now where is your sister? I need to have a talk with her right now.”
“She’s—” Applejack paused and looked around the yard. “What in the…. where did she go?”
The entire family scanned the yard, shouting out Apple Bloom’s name. It wasn’t until Big Mac noticed a small ribbon popping out of the back seat of his truck.
“Uh, Ah found Apple Bloom,” said Big Mac.
“She’s doin’ what now!” Applejack walked toward the truck and opened the door. “Apple Bloom, get out of the truck right now! Ya got some explainin’ to do fer Ma!”
Pear Butter frowned again. Why is she so mad at Apple Bloom? Is it because she caused so much trouble today? Ignoring Applejack’s attitude, she approached the truck and gently called out for her youngest daughter.
“Apple Bloom, sweetheart, please come out. I promise I won’t yell at you. I just want to know what happened at school today.
Apple Bloom gave no response. The young girl sat still inside the truck, refusing to move a single inch from her spot.
“Oh, fer cryin’ out loud, sugarcube. Get out of the truck so Ma can talk to ya!” yelled Applejack.
“Applejack, don’t yell at your sister!” cried Pear Butter, glaring at her eldest daughter. “Please come out, dear. I just want to talk.”
Again, there was not a single response from the young girl. Pear Butter was about to move toward the truck, but the pink ribbon from inside suddenly moved. The young girl stepped outside, walked past her older sister, and faced her mother. She didn’t look at her directly. Her face was turned down, avoiding any eye contact.
“Apple Bloom, please look at me,” said Pear, calmly. “Why did you get into a fight with your classmate today?”
Despite her calm tone, Pear Butter could not get a response from her daughter. Apple Bloom twiddled with her fingers and continued to avoid any eye contact with her mother.
“Apple Bloom, answer—” Applejack’s words were interrupted when her father stepped in front of her.
“Let your mother deal with this, alright?” Bright Mac said, firmly.
“Please, sugarcube, talk to me,” said Pear Butter. She reached out for her daughter, managing to place her hand on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “Tell me what—huh?”
Immediately, Pear Butter noticed something odd as she touched her daughter. She didn’t see it at first, but now that she touched her daughter, everything became clear. Apple Bloom was scared. Her entire body was shaking.
“Sugarcube, please calm down,” said Pear Butter. She inched closer to Apple Bloom, hoping that it would at least relieve her a little bit. “There’s no need to be scared. You’re surrounded by family. Please, tell me what happened today.”
Apple Bloom trembled, clenching her fist as she tried to speak up. Her stuttering made it difficult at first, but Pear Butter managed to hear her out “I-it’s—”
“Yes sweetie, what is it?” asked Pear who was a bit more hopeful now that her daughter spoke up.
“I-it’s all her fault,” cried Apple Bloom, softly.
“Excuse me?”
“Ah said it’s all her fault!” cried Apple Bloom again in a louder tone. “She was the one who started it!”
“What do you mean, sweetie?” asked Pear Butter.
“Diamond, s-she—” Apple Bloom hesitated, but finally looked up at her mother. Their eyes met. Pear Butter’s widened as she saw tears streaming down her daughter’s cheeks. “A-ah don’t know why, but Diamond was teasing me for a while now. It’s been, Ah don’t know, a couple of weeks now.”
Apple Bloom whimpered, struggling to continue her story as more tears streamed down from her cheeks.
“Diamond spilled some of them chemicals on me during science class when the teacher wasn’t looking,” explained Apple Bloom. “It didn’t hurt, but it ruined one of mah favorite shirts.”
Apple Bloom sniffed. “T-that was the last straw. Ah had enough of her bullyin’, so I tackled her. Ah remember hitting her first, then she fought back. The teacher stopped the fight, but he put the blame all on me! Said Ah started it! Ah tried ta explain everything, but the teacher and Principal Celestia won’t listen to me!”
“It’s alright, sugarcube. Everything’s going to be ok,” soothed Pear Butter as she wiped the tears away from her daughter. “You were just frustrated. You didn’t mean to hit her.”
“But ma, Ah wanted to hit her!” cried Apple Bloom. “She n’ Silver Spoon have been buggin’ me fer days now! It was the only way she would stop!”
“No, Apple Bloom!” countered Pear Butter, giving her daughter a stern look. “Violence is not the answer. You should have found a better alternative. She may have picked on you, but you started the fight, dear!”
“But—”
“Apple Bloom, I know you're upset, but what you did doesn’t justify anything!” lectured Pear Butter. “As punishment for your actions, you’re going to be working in the fields with me and your Pa for the entire weekend.”
“What?!” More tears fell on Apple Bloom’s cheeks as she found it difficult to believe that her mother would punish her after what happened. She screamed in frustration and stepped back, cuddling to herself as she avoided her mother’s warm embrace.
“Apple Bloom!” Pear Butter tried to reach out to her daughter again, but Apple Bloom pushed her hands aside.
“A-ah don’t get it, Ma? Why aren’t you supporting me?!” cried Apple Bloom.
“Sweetheart.” Before Pear Butter could say anything else, Apple Bloom took her belongings and dashed toward the house, slamming the front door shut. Applejack, frustrated with her sister’s behavior, tried to go after her. However, she was held back by her father.
“What the heck are ya doin’, pa?” Applejack whined. “Let me go!”
“Leave yer sister alone, Applejack,” said Bright Mac. “No need to make things worse.”
“But she was disrespectful to ma!” rebuked Applejack, trying to escape her father’s grip.
Pear Butter, however, had enough of Applejack’s attitude. She walked up to her and pinched her hard on the ear.
“Ow!” Applejack flinched and recoiled back in pain. “Ma, what was that for?”
“Don’t you dare bark back at me, Applejack! You have no right to speak to me after yelling at your sister like that!” lectured Pear Butter, giving her daughter a stern look. “Just what’s wrong with you, young lady? Why are you being so hard on Apple Bloom?”
Applejack bit her lip. “Look, I’m sorry, Ma. I just…. I just got really upset, ok. Her fight with Diamond Tiara caused a big ruckus at school and I wasn’t exactly in the best mood, today. I went too far, sorry.”
Pear Butter rubbed her forehead and sighed. “You’re forgiven, Applejack. But as punishment for taking things too far with your sister, you’re going to be punished alongside with her. Nothing but apple picking for the entire weekend, understand?”
“Yes, Ma,” replied Applejack, tilting her head in shame.
“As for Apple Bloom, no one should be bothering her for the entire evening. Give her some personal space and allow her to reflect on her actions.” She turned to her husband. “Bright Mac, once I’m done making dinner, please go to her room and give her some food. I don’t think she’ll be wanting to talk to me for a while. So, if you get the chance to speak with her, that’s fine. But don’t expect too much from her, ok?
“Alright then,” replied Bright Mac, scratching his head. He watched as his wife began to head inside their home, saying nothing. He sighed and wondered if everything will be alright between his wife and his daughters.