//------------------------------//
// Diamond Tiara 
// Story: Time-Out 
// by Trick Question 
//------------------------------//

As Scootaloo passes by Sugarcube corner, he considers raiding it for sweets. I don't need to eat anymore, but it's a nice diversion. No, wait... I'd rather not see her standing there today. He knows from previous raids that Pinkie Pie is inside facing the doorway, wielding the most pitiful expression imaginable. Nopony else is around, so it doesn't make any sense she'd be staring forlornly at the closed door like it's a lost puppy with three legs.

"Obvious setup. More proof it's all fake, as if I needed any," he mumbles into his cheeks. He continues walking through town, shaking his head and mane against the soft, fluffy air as he approaches the orphanage. Diamond Tiara stands outside with a shipment of toys.

"Sheesh. The orphanage just had to be directly between the castle and Fluttershy's. I think it was always like that, though, so maybe I can't blame her for this one," he says, ignoring the echoes ringing in his ears. Looking down, he grabs a loose brick and pulls it with all his might until it pops free. Then he chucks it straight at Diamond Tiara's head. The brick hovers there in midair, right where he released it.

I'd feel bad about that, but it'll return to where it came from the next time I wake up. Never fails for floating objects unless they were in the air to begin with. I remember the time I didn't set the gem cutter all the way down and had to go nick it from the Boutique again. Accidentally found something else instead... yikes. He shudders and keeps walking.

"I'm sure the only reason you're here is to make the rest of us feel like crap by comparison," he mumbles as he passes her by.





Day 99 (T-1)

"Sorry I'm late," said Diamond Tiara, sitting down at the table outside the cafe. "Charity event ran long. I appreciate you coming on short notice, though."

"Sure, whatever," said Scootaloo, spinning his hoof as he lounged most unponylike in a chair. "I'm not in a talkative mood today. What do you want?"

Diamond's face grew serious. "I heard about the letter. I know for a fact it was you."

Scootaloo pounded the table with a hoof, then rocked his chair backwards. "Dammit! Okay, let me guess. She assumed some nasty letter was from me, and now she's blabbing about it all over town."

She shook her head. "No, I heard it from Applejack. She thought I might be able to talk some sense into you, now that you won't even listen to Dash, and AJ doesn't want Sweetie to know. Nopony knows except the Apples. Bloom has no interest in telling anypony. She just wants to get on with her life," she explained. "Listen, Scootaloo... you're really going all-in on the bullying this time, huh? The previous letter was just horrible, but now you send her one pretending to be a different pony? Catfishing is a new low."

Scootaloo nearly fell out of his chair before managing to land the legs back on the patio with a stony thump. "I am not a bully, Tiara!"

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Game knows game, dear. You go to great lengths to harass your targets. You hate them. You want them to suffer. It's the same playbook I used to swear by. Daddy had to put me in time-outs practically every week, even though he hated to punish me... and a time-out isn't enough to stop a bully. It took rock bottom, and your help, to finally reach me. I want to repay you for that, and I understand the addiction you're dealing with! Every time you twist the knife, there's this tiny thrill inside that gets you right here," she said, thumping her chest. "Research reveals bullying triggers the same reward centers in the brain as drug addiction."

"My 'targets' are speciests and foal molesters who have no place in our community!" he growled, lifting a hoof. "That is the only reason. Do you think I want things like this to happen? I just want the awful people to go away!"

"Apple Bloom is neither of those things, and with the notable exception of Shoeshine, I doubt anypony else you've attacked is either," she said. "It's getting ridiculous. The whole town has been concerned for weeks."

"Really? You helped me scare off Snips and Mr. Waddle. Remember the relief you had when Snips finally left?"

Diamond Tiara covered her face with a hoof. "Yes. I do, and I regret it."

Scootaloo frowned. "He was a creep, DT. You know that."

Diamond nodded. "I won't argue you that. But he never crossed the line. We never had proof."

"There's no amount of proof that will satisfy you stupid apologists! He was a danger to foals. He would hit on teenagers constantly—"

"He would hit on young adults because he was clueless and autistic. Maybe he was dangerous, maybe he wasn't. But you can't crucify somepony for crimes they haven't committed yet," said Diamond Tiara. "Stars, I should have distanced myself from this nonsense long ago."

"He. Was. A. Garbage. Pony," replied Scootaloo, carefully enunciating every word. "I don't want ponies like him in this community, and neither should you!"

"We assumed the worst in him. We didn't tolerate him because he was different, and icky, and because he might have been bad," she said. A waiter approached her and she shooed him away. "I judged him without really getting to know him. As for Mr. Waddle, he's old-fashioned and a little speciest, yes. I don't like his opinions. He doesn't understand what zebras and donkeys have to deal with, and he even thinks he's the victim. But he never disrespected or mocked them. We should call him on his horseshit, but we should have tolerated him."

"I can't believe you're doing this too. Tiara, if you're willing to tolerate child rapists and people who think genocide is funny, then fuck you, you don't belong here either," said Scootaloo, evoking an icy stare from his conversation partner. "Have you heard of the Paradox of Tolerance? No, wait, there's no way you could have. Well, the paradox is that tolerating intolerant and evil people leads to intolerance. You can't let their ideas take root. You cannot give them the means to spread their sick opinions and ideologies."

"I agree ponies who espouse intolerance should be aggressively debated and shunned, but I have heard that idea before—Karl Pinto, I think? It's funny you bring it up. Most people who quote Pinto misinterpret what he meant," she said, with a slight smile. "He never said we should be intolerant of speech or opinions. In fact, he defended the public speech of Tribists, who advocated genocide! He only said we shouldn't allow them to come to power, because allowing intolerant philosophies in government leads to that intolerance imposed on citizens. What you're advocating for is the suppression of intolerant speech, which he opposed."

"Well, fuck him then! I don't care what your stupid pony version of Popper thought," said Scootaloo, standing up and kicking the chair behind him as Diamond Tiara jerked in her seat in surprise. "Being a philosopher doesn't make him right! Opinions and ideas lead to actions, Tiara. You can't let a cancer grow in a community, because bad ponies will use it to turn other ponies bad."

"Okay, calm down! It's fine to feel that way. This is an important conversation to have," said Diamond, standing up to face her friend. "I just don't think it's right to run somepony out of Ponyville for having opinions, even if I think they're awful. If they're directly targeting other creatures with hate speech, or literally trying to convince ponies to do horrible things like commit actual rape, that's different! But morality isn't as simple as you're pretending, and neither are ponies like Apple Bloom."

Scootaloo gritted her teeth. "It always starts with 'jokes' and 'bad opinions'. God. You act like everything is nuanced. The truth is incredibly simple: you either stand on the side of the racists, pedophiles, and perverts, or you stand with people who care about the welfare of foals and minorities and treat them with respect and decency. There are two sides. Fucking choose one already."

Diamond Tiara hung her head low. "Some of the ponies you hate are marginalized too, and no, I'm not talking about Tribists and rapists," she said. "It's frustrating how you can be so right, yet so wrong, all at the same time. Seeing things in black and white like this, it leads to suffering for anypony outside the norm. This is the same thing they did to gay and trans ponies. I can't help you anymore, Scootaloo. I can't support your crusade. Goodbye."

The young mare briskly walked away as Scootaloo sat down without his chair on the hard cobblestone patio, shaking with rage.