The morning was providing every indication of a fair day ahead, but in Miss Cheerilee’s class a storm was brewing.
She was writing on the board as Nyx settled down and the happy chatter with her friends meeting up for class once more had died away. As the black filly prepared her desk diligently for the lesson ahead, something hit the back of her head. She turned around to see Diamond Tiara looking up at the ceiling, her lips pursed as if whistling, while Silver Spoon let out an annoying high-pitched giggle.
“Miss Cheerilee!” called the pink pony accusingly “Nyx turned round and cast a spell at me! See – there’s an orange on the floor!”
“But you threw that orange at me!” she retorted.
“If that’s the best you can do Nyx, then you shouldn’t try to use magic” goaded Diamond Tiara as Silver Spoon giggled louder and more annoyingly.
“I expect better behaviour in my class” said Miss Cheerilee turning to face her students “Diamond Tiara, why are you making such a fuss?”
“It’s Nyx” she whined “She tried to cast a spell on me just like she always wanted to do when she was Nightmare Moon. I was really scared, but luckily all that happened is she made an orange …”
“That’s a lie Miss Cheerilee” interjected Apple Bloom “Diamond Tiara threw an orange at Nyx – I saw it!”
“If there is any more bad behaviour from either of you two, then you’ll both be staying behind doing detention after school” said their teacher “Do I make myself clear?”
Diamond Tiara waited until Miss Cheerilee was facing the board again and delved into her school bag from where she picked up another orange and threw it at Nyx, hitting her on the back of her head once more. She got up and turned to face her attacker with wings unfurling in anger.
“Miss Cheerilee, Miss Cheerilee!” screamed the spoilt pink filly “She’s doing it again!”
The teacher turned back to the class again and saw Nyx; head down, wings unfurled; it was all too reminiscent of her reign of terror as Nightmare Moon, and she fell her heart skip a beat.
“Nyx!” she shouted “Detention!”
“But Miss Cheerilee, it wasn’t her fault, it was Diamond Tiara again!” pleaded Apple Bloom jumping to her friend’s defence.
“Very well then, Diamond Tiara, you can stay in detention too!” said their teacher meting out summary classroom justice.
Everypony in the class knew who was to blame, as if there was ever any doubt. Even Miss Cheerilee was pretty sure, but knew that discipline had to be handed out with an even hoof so had to be seen to punish both fillies.
After this, Nyx felt the happiness she usually experienced from learning during the school day evaporate as she dreaded the detention and having to explain to Twilight what had happened. Her friends were all supportive, but she found it hard to raise a smile all day and when the final bell rang, she reported to her teacher, looking very downcast indeed.
“Right you two” said Miss Cheerilee “I want you to write two pages on ‘the value of honesty’. No double spacing and regular size hoofwriting, please.”
She left the two fillies alone together and went to get some books for marking.
“So, why’s your magic so rubbish?” asked Diamond Tiara, scornfully.
Nyx felt awful, but recognised some truth in what the school bully had said, so kept her silence, smarting inwardly.
“Do you know what I’m going to be when I grow up?” asked the pink filly “Rich!”
Nyx kept quiet and tried to ignore the insults.
“My Mom and Dad are really wealthy” she continued “Not like your Mom.”
“My Mom loves me” said Nyx “Not like yours.”
“That’s funny” sneered the pink filly “Because I thought there was nothing lower than a librarian!”
Nyx slowly got up and turned to face her tormentor, anger blazing in her eyes.
“You take back what you said about my Mom” she demanded.
Diamond Tiara could tell she had achieved her goal of winding up her victim, but the look in Nyx's turquoise eyes caught her by surprise; this was not the look of a frightened filly as she had been counting on, but moreover the look of somepony preparing to do battle and her rehearsed scream for Miss Cheerilee stuck in her throat for just a moment too long.
Nyx’s aura streamed out of her horn and hit Diamond Tiara squarely in a flash of energy. When she looked, Nyx could see that where the school bully had been sat was now an orange emblazoned with an oddly familiar cutie mark.
She calmed her breathing down as she furled her wings and raised her head, her eyes growing wide with the realisation of what she had just done.
“Um, Miss Cheerilee” she said quietly “I think I may have done something naughty …”
“Thank you for coming Twilight” said Miss Cheerilee “I hope with your knowledge of magic you will be able to sort out this little problem.”
Diamond Tiara’s parents were already in the classroom, standing defensively either side of their orange.
“About time too!” announced Spoiled Rich “I wondered when you would see fit to come along and return our daughter to us! You were probably too busy with an overdue library book to bother coming any sooner!”
Twilight fixed her with a stare “I’m sure that whatever happened here, your precious daughter had more than earned it.”
“Ladies, ladies!” interjected Filthy Rich with a nervous chuckle “I’m sure Miss Sparkle here can sort this problem out in no time at all, isn’t that right?” His last comment was less of a question and more of a demand, but Twilight didn’t rise to the bait.
Nyx cowered as her mother’s gaze fell upon her.
“Nyx” she asked gently “What happened?”
“She’d been really mean all day. She threw oranges at me and then we both got a detention. Then she wound me up again, and well, a spell sort of happened.”
“That filly of yours ought to be locked up, she's obviously lying!” demanded Spoiled Rich “She’s Nightmare Moon! She’s not fit to be in a class with civilised ponies!”
“OK, don’t worry Nyx, I’ll sort this out in a jiffy” said her Mom ignoring the outburst “What did she say to you to get you so mad anyway?”
Nyx couldn’t bring herself to look Twilight in the eye, let alone answer her.
“If you could all move away from your … um … orange, then I’ll have a go reversing the transfiguration spell” said Twilight.
“It had better work, young lady, or we’ll sue you through every court in Equestria!” chipped in Spoiled Rich.
“If you're not all completely quiet, I cannot guarantee the outcome” said Twilight staring straight at the older mare “So unless you want to see her turned permanently into something more useful, like a toilet plunger, I suggest you hold your tongue.”
“Well! How rude!” she added with an excess of theatrical hubris.
“Come on now, give the lady space to work” said her husband, eager to see his daughter back safely.
“Hardly think she qualifies on that score …” muttered the old mare as she turned away.
Twilight braced her forelegs and closed her eyes, a magenta stream of magical energy flowing from her horn towards the orange where it made contact with a bright flash. Immediately in its place stood the pink filly, looking a little disorientated.
“You were lucky that spell worked …” began Spoiled Rich, but her gaze caught something that stopped her completing her sentence.
“What happened?” she demanded “What have you done?”
All eyes started scanning over the apprehensive looking filly until one by one they saw what her mother had seen.
“Um, Miss Sparkle” said Filthy Rich “My daughter used to have a cutie mark and now it seems to have gone.”
“Yes” said Twilight “Somehow it got transferred to the orange – that’s a pretty advanced spell. It won't come back immediately, but in the time it would take for an orange to rot, the cutie mark will start to reappear, but until then she’ll be a blank flank.”
“What?” screeched Diamond Tiara, the filly who more than any other had taunted her classmates for being blank flanks “How long will that take?”
“Oh, conservatively I should say a few months” said Twilight in the most matter of fact voice she could muster while suppressing a smile. Even Miss Cheerilee found the irony of the situation amusing and watched as Filthy Rich bundled out his wife and daughter before the venomous pair could say anything else to bring bad luck on them.
“Thanks for calling me, Cheerilee” said Twilight.
“Thanks for coming to sort out the problem so quickly” replied the teacher “I don’t suppose she will suffer any lingering damage, will she?”
“No, but I’m not unaware of a certain sense of poetic justice in the situation.”
“Forgive me, but would I be correct in assuming that you could have restored her cutie mark if you had wanted?”
“Magic works in mysterious ways, Cheerilee” was all Twilight said as she left to escort her daughter away from the scene of the crime.
As mother and daughter walked away together from the school, Twilight confided “Now she's lost her cutie mark, I think we won’t be hearing quite so much from her for a while.”
Nyx cheered up and looked longingly at the playground. “Mom” she enquired “Can I? Please?”
“Oh alright” said Twilight, “But I’ve got to go to Canterlot this afternoon and there’s not much time …”
“Awwww, not more Princess Business? Can’t we stay together just a little longer, pleeeeease!”
“Would you like to come along” pondered Twilight “I will be with the other Princesses, but we can play on the train and maybe stay over if that’s alright?”
“Will all the other Princesses be there?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes” replied Twilight “Even my old foalsitter Princess Cadence will be there. I can’t promise how much time she’ll be able to spare, but I’m sure we’ll be able to catch up over tea and a slice of cake.
“Cake?” said Nyx, her ears pricking up.
“Yes; it's not a very well kept secret that Celestia has something of a weakness for cake. She likes her tea as well, so you can be assured that she will always put on a good spread.”
“Will Princess Luna have time to go flying with me too?”
“Probably best not after all that cake” said Twilight with a smile forming on her face.