//------------------------------// // 29. Scars don't make the Mare // Story: Never Alone // by JeSuisLaPorte //------------------------------// 8 days left before the storm Under the rising sun of a Friday morning, an early bird left her home to go to work in a better mood than usual. The city was coated in an orange glow from the golden ball of flames in the sky, a beautiful aesthetic that was to be savored in the moment.  Heedful Care stayed outside for a bit, simply admiring the sunrise. She still had some time left before the school would open to its students. Basking in the fresh air of the morning, she pondered over Olive’s situation and the dangers behind it. This filly’s background was one of a kind, and that made her case a special one that she’ll likely never see happen again.  A white mare in the distance trotted up to her, waving a hoof to catch her attention. It was Nurse Redheart, once again heading towards Ponyville General. “Hello there, it’s a lovely morning.”  The earth pony smiled. “One of the best I've seen in months in fact. I have a good feeling about this day.”  “So do I, things have been improving over on my side.” Care returned the smile. “I mean, with Olive that is. I’m perfectly fine, of course.”  Redheart’s ears perked up. “Hey, speaking of the filly, mind telling me how she’s doing?”  “Great. She just got into school and has earned the interest and admiration of other student with her presentation, partly because of the whole mystery behind her. Foals are drawn to mysterious ponies.” Care explained.  Redheart giggled. “And that’s why superheroes are so popular amongst them.”  “Even an atypical filly like Olive can’t escape them.” Care mused. “I believe I’m starting to understand her train of thought better the more I meet her. She definitely is different from other ponies. A bit like our mailmare Derpy.”  “That’s what I thought. She doesn’t act like a normal foal, which makes sense considering her entourage wasn’t exactly filled with role models.” Redheart mentioned to which the pegasus smiled.  “She did have a role model, well had to be more precise. After hearing Olive talk about her, I could see why she turned into a nice kid and not a sociopath like her father.”  The nurse cringed at the mention of this vile stallion. “The less said about him, the better.”  “Right, one can only hope Luna and Looking Glass will put an end to his criminal activities. I’m sick of hearing about it on the news.” The pegasus mare wished.  Nurse Redheart looked at the rising sun. “Anyhow, I better get to Ponyville General soon. My shift’s starting in barely ten minutes.”  “I see, I won’t hold you back. We’ll talk later.”  The two mares went their separate way as the orange glow on the buildings slowly turned to their normal colors.        “Are ya sure ‘bout goin’ without yer bandage?”  Applejack leaned over to examine the nasty scar on the filly. Sweet Celestia was it big. It began on her flank and ran all over to the base of her neck. It was like the poor thing was gutted by a griffin chef.   “Yes.” The filly responded. “I can’t spend my entire life with a bandage on me.”  “That... is true. Ah’m happy yer choosin’ to show it to everypony. It’s a courageous thing to do.” Applejack smiled as she handed over the filly’s saddlebag.  As they left the house, Olive had to battle her inner thoughts and fears. Leaving without the bandage on for the first time felt like it was a mistake, like she had forgotten something. Feeling the cold wind brush against her naked coat made it all seem wrong. Despite that, she pressed on and followed her foster mother to the schoolhouse, chasing away these demoralising thoughts.  Going there was scary, but Apple Bloom was by her side. That will make it somewhat bearable, but what Olive was scared the most of was the gaze of all the foals. Once they’d notice this scar, all eyes will be on her. It was bad enough the first time, but now they’d surely ask her how she got that, and the last thing she wanted to remember was the face of the gargantuan earth pony.  It didn’t help that her sister was staring at said scar in awe. Having checked herself in a mirror, Olive felt bitter about this wound. Scars stay forever, they don’t leave no matter how good your body is at healing. She may have recovered quickly from a broken leg, but she can’t erase this discolored patch of fur on her body. She knew her foster mother lied about it going away eventually.  Her father was crazy, but he was not stupid. His knowledge in medicine and the body was greater than even some experts, and he always told her scars don’t go away but they do build character.  The pink unicorn gave her sister a pleading look.   “Oh! Am Ah botherin’ ya?” She asked nervously.  “Stop looking at it, it’s making me uncomfortable.” Olive croaked, fighting back the urge to tear up.   “S-Sorry. Ah didn’t want to make ya feel bad ‘bout it.”  Olive touched her scar, shuddering at its origins. “Do you think it’s ugly? Will they think it’s ugly too?”  “N-No, at least, A-A-Ah don’t think so...” Apple Bloom quickly stammered.   Her older sister chuckled. “Scars don’t make the mare, it’s the lessons behind them that do. Ah say yer scar is anythin’ but shallow, and that alone makes it prettier than most.”  Apple Bloom nodded. “It looks, uh... cool. Yeah, cool! It looks like ya fought a bear to get it.”  Applejack giggled. “As if there’s any bears around ‘ere mean enough to fight a pony. Harry’s the only bear Ah’ve seen so far and he’s a livin’ teddy bear.”  “But that’s just because of Fluttershy and ‘er animal speakin’ skills.” Apple Bloom pointed out.  “Ah guess so. Heh, just means we’re mighty lucky to have a pony like Flutters in Ponyville.” Applejack said, her eyes now gazing upon the blue sky. “Pegasi don’t face too much trouble in Cloudsdale from what Ah’ve heard. Livin’ above the clouds sounds really cool, but Ah’m fine with Sweet Apple Acre as is.”  “I’d like to be up there...” Olive muttered quietly.  “Now, let’s not wish for the impossible. Ah know there are spells that unicorns can cast to fly and walk on clouds, but they are only temporary.” Applejack sternly said. “Life just ain’t fair sometimes, but that doesn’t mean we should run away from our fears. Yesterday, you made me real proud when ya spoke of your fears and that’s what Ah want ya to do. Yer a brave filly, and Ah know ya can do it.” Aj stopped to pat her on the head. “Everything’s gonna be fine, trust me.”  Olive smiled weakly. “Hm-hm.”  “Now that’s the spirit, sugar cube.” The orange mare turned around to face the schoolhouse. “Well, Ah’ll be seein’ ya this afternoon. Five seconds of love? Olive hugged thet mare's legs. "Hm hm. Five seconds." Once the hug was done, Applejack trotted away. "Have a good day, girls!”  “Bye, sis!”  “Bye, mommy...”    The two fillies met up with their friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle who were waiting impatiently for them.   “Hey, look who showed up last, again.” The purple haired pegasus greeted.  Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to greet them but quickly changed course when she noticed something interesting. “You’re not wearing your bandage!” The little unicorn gasped. “Is that your scar?”  Olive blushed and hid her scar with her tail. “Y-Yes...”  “Aw, come on. Don’t be shy, let us see it!” Scootaloo insisted.  The pink unicorn’s eyes darted from her friends to her scar a couple of times before she slowly pulled it away.  Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared in awe at the sheer size of it. Pity quickly overcame them as their expressions turned to solemn horror.   “Ooh... I’m, really sorry for what you’ve been through. I, uh, really am.” Scootaloo said.  “Well, it’s... it’s not that bad! I mean, it makes you look cool, especially if you put on a cool stallion act.” Sweetie Belle said, trying to cheer her up.  It worked, sort of. Olive began to feel agitated. “I-I hope they won’t mock me for it.”  “What? Mock you for it? No they won’t!” Scootaloo brushed off.  “They bullied us for les-”  Apple Bloom smacked Sweetie Belle. “Ah’m sure they’ll love it, sis.”  Speaking of them, the other foals trotted over to the group, each murmuring something to each other.  Olive jerked back, covering her scar out of sheer instinct before backing away.  “Hey, she doesn’t have her bandage on!” Snails cried out.  “That means we can see what’s underneath” Snips pointed out, thought everypony figured it out already.  Dinky Hooves tried to push her way out of the crowd to reach her new friend but was met with strong resistance in the form of an angry pink hoof, courtesy of the schoolyard’s queen, Diamond Tiara.  “No bandage, huh?” she spewed. “Well, let’s see what all the hype is about.”  Silver Spoon followed closely behind. “And like all hype, the end result is going to disappoint everypony.”  Diamond Tiara stomped her way to Olive, wincing at the mere sight of her. “Come on, we don’t have all day. Show it.”  Nervous, the filly looked to her friends for help. They all put their tail to their body and lowered it, encouraging her to do the same. Hesitant, Olive did as they suggested, keeping her fearful eyes on the earth pony.  Diamon Tiara leaned to her, squinting to get a better look. Once she was able to view the scar, she cocked her head back in disgust. “Yuck!”  Olive’s face turned red in shame, and she quickly covered it with her tail, falling to the ground to show only the good side of her body.  “Hey! Yer just overexaggeratin’!” Apple Bloom called out angrily. “It ain’t that bad!”  The pink earth pony stuck her tongue out in disgust. “It’s not about if it looks good or not, a scar’s a scar, and they’re disgusting. Who here wants to see an ugly wound for the rest of the school year, hm?”  “Not me!” Silver Spoon added as she raised a hoof up. “Refined ponies don’t get a single scratch on their body. Not one as bad as hers.”  “Well said, Spoon. You three wouldn’t catch me with a single scratch on my body because unlike you, I take care of my precious body.” Diamond Tiara belittled, striking an elegant pose to sway the class to her side.  “It wasn’t her fault she got this nasty scar, and plus; what do you know about her?!” Scootaloo shouted, flapping her small wings to lift her off the ground. “You don’t know what she’s been through!” She added, leaning really close to the bully.  “Well, do you?” Diamond Tiara asked, pushing the orange filly away.  “Yes, Ap-”  “Then tell us, we’re all dying to know her story.”   The foals’ eyes lit up, their curious smiles widening.  “No way, none of this is your business, Diamond Tiara!” Sweetie Belle refused. “You’ll only know if Olive wants to tell you.”  The pink bully stared the white unicorn down for a few seconds before giving her the cold shoulder. “Fine, have it your way, blank flanks.” She turned to her silver friend. “We’ll have to dig it up ourselves.”  The grey earth pony followed her friend far away from the rest of the foals. “How are we supposed to know if they won’t tell us?”  Diamond Tiara groaned. “Gossip, duh! My mom always learns a pony’s secret. We just have to tell her about the new blank flank.”  “Brillant! We’re not gonna let some nopony take all the fame away from us, aren’t we?”  Tiara smirked. “Never. This will be the price of insulting my family.”    Back to the crowd, Snips and Snails jumped forth to see the filly’s scar. “Let me see, let me see!”  “No, let ME see it!”  They both pushed each other to be the first to witness this “disgusting” scar.   “Hey, hey hey! No figthin’ ‘ere! Yer gonna scare my sister.” Apple Bloom warned, blocking their route to Olive.  “We’re not fighting!”  “We’re not figh- hey I said it first!”  Scootaloo groaned. “Ugh, I’m not going to last to the end of this year with these two around...”  Her unicorn friend, on the other hoof, found it amusing. “It feels like we’re bodyguarding a celebrity!” she said, gazing at Apple Bloom keeping the two colts at bay with her strong hooves.  “One at a time, please! Ah don’t want anypony to scare ‘er!”  Quiet mumbles got Scootaloo to look back on her pink friend only to see she wasn’t doing so well. The poor filly was a nervous wreck at the moment, which was to be expected when twenty or so foals are climbing over each other to closely examining a part of your body. Olive wasn’t thrilled about this in the slightest.  “Uh, hey Olive... you alright?” she asked gingerly.  “N-No... Everypony’s looking at me.” She croaked, pointing at the large crowd gathered before her.  “I know this is bad, but after it’s done, it’s done. You’re not going to live through that awful moment ever again. Plus, we’re also receiving some of the attention.”  Snips and Snails managed to bypass Apple Bloom and were now in front of Olive hopping in place. “Come on, show us, show us!”  “What’s it look like?” Snips asked, tilting his head to the side. “How did you even get it?”  Olive shrieked, instinctively hiding her scar with her tail again.  “Aw, but I wanna to see it.” Snails complained.  “So do I.”  Sweetie Belle interjected, placing herself between the two colts and her friend. “You’ll see it, but only when she wants to. We can’t force her to show it if she’s not comfortable just yet.”   “That’s okay, we can wait!” Snails affirmed.  “Yeah, we so can!”  “... Can we see it now?”  Olive whimpered, reluctantly pulling her tail back. The two colts widened their eyes and leaned forth, their mouths in the shape of an o. Finally, the scar was in full view. The pink filly felt their gaze like cold breezes freezing her body. She shuddered, looking away out of embarrassment. “H-Here...”  “Oh wow... It’s so cool!”  Olive cocked her head back. “Huh?!”  “How did you get it? Did you like, fight an ursa major?” Snips asked in awe.  The pink unicorn was taken aback by their reaction. They didn’t think it was ugly. Instead, they found it cool, even believed she was tough. All she did to earn it was surviving a massive beating by the largest pony in all Equestria...   Thinking about it, the story behind that scar does sound a little admirable.   “Almost.” Apple Bloom corrected. “She fought against the evilest unicorn ever to get it! She’s a survivor!”  Olive blushed at the flurry of compliments from her sister.    In the back, Diamond Tiara growled. “These two idiots are influencing the others! Now they’ll all believe it’s cool when their story is most likely baloney! ‘Fought the evilest unicorn?’ Ha! As if this pushover even dared to confront a kitty. I’ll figure out the truth and expose them for the liars they are.”  Silver Spoon snickered. “Can’t wait to see everypony’s reaction when we’ll make a fool out of them! This is gonna be hilarious!”    One by one, the whole class went to see the filly’s scar, each finding it admirable and cool. In just one day, she’d earned the reputation of hoof fighting a giant unicorn, which was somewhat true but still outlandish enough to piss off the two richest fillies in the school. This situation reached its climax when Cheerilee and Heedful Care arrived at the playground to see what was going on.  The two mares rushed in, expecting another case of bullying occurring on their school ground but thankfully, the situation was tamer than they expected. Everypony was intrigued by her scar, dying to know every detail of it.  “Good morning, class!” Cheerilee greeted, followed closely by the counselor. “It’s wonderful to see you all get along with our new student, so today I thought it would be fun to do some physical education outside!”  The class stomped their hooves happily, screaming in excitement. Olive finally stood up, wondering what kind of class this would be. Understandably, she was nervous. Every day was a new experience and change was something she rarely ever had to confront when she stayed with her father. Sure, they traveled a lot, but things stayed the same nonetheless.   “For today’s class, we will be playing some hoofball!”  The class cheered. That sport was something that Olive did know of just by reading some of the magazines her father’s friends brought home. Sometimes they’d talk about sports and the best athletes in Equestria, other times, they featured mares in strange poses that the filly couldn’t wrap her head around, so she skipped those.  Getting to try one of these sports was both exciting, and stressful. No matter what, she had to give it her all or risk being ridiculed for being bad.  “Now, I know most of you already know the rules, but just to be sure, I’ll explain them briefly.”   Miss Cheerilee went on to explain the rules of hoofball, much to Olive’s relief as she didn’t know how to play. As the name implied, it’s a sport that involves a ball, and your hooves though she figured that out by herself. The other relieving rule was the no-magic and no wings rule, to place everypony on equal grounds. Now the thing that really bugged her was teamplay. She never had the chance to work in a team of any kind before, so that was something else to add on to the growing list of new experiences. Nopony really did anything with her, except for...  Olive didn’t even want to think about it, not now at least. The more she dwells on her memories, the worse she feels. There was no use in hurting herself now when they were so many ponies around, especially not after she’d gotten their respect.   The teams were formed and much to the pink filly’s relief, she was placed alongside her three friends. Even Dinky Hooves was in her team. Talk about luck!  “Now children, you have 5 minutes to consult your team before the game starts.” Cheerilee announced. She trotted over to Heedful Care’s side and chatted with her.   Olive wanted to eavesdrop in on their conversation, but Apple Bloom pulled her towards the rest of the team. “Okay, let’s start by namin’ a leader for our team!”  The foals exchanged uncertain glances. There were not many assertive ponies in this team, and that quality is very much required for any good leader.   “I can be the leader!” Dinky Hooves joyfully affirmed.  Sweetie Belle looked to Apple Bloom with an expression that screamed “Certainly not her!”.   “Nopony else wants to come forward?” The yellow filly asked, scouring the entire team with her eyes. “Really? Nopony wants to be team leader?”  Scootaloo sighed. “Fine, I’ll be the leader. I know a thing or two about sports.”  “Virtue of being Rainbow Dash’s biggest fan.” Sweetie Belle mused.  “And leader of her fan club.” The orange filly pointed out. She looked at how the other team was doing and unsurprisingly, Diamond Tiara was elected as their leader. “Heh, if you follow my lead, we totally got this in the bag!”  “Got what in the bag?” Olive asked.  “Uh, it’s... an expression.” Scootaloo answered in confusion. “It means we’re gonna win for sure.”  “Ah.”  Miss Cheerilee blew her whistle to get everypony’s attention. The pegasus brought the hoofball to the middle of the field, inviting the foals to get in position.  “Now that your five minutes are over, we can start the game! Now remember, it’s just a friendly game. No need to get overly aggressive about this. We don’t want another pony to go to the infirmary.”  Olive was placed on the defensive alongside Sweetie Belle a position that her friends deemed “safest” for her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were on the offensive. Dinky Hooves would also join them, though her clumsiness could prove to be a detriment. As for the goaler? They couldn’t think of anypony better than Truffle and that’s not because he’s proven himself to be a great goaler. He's just... a little chubby and apparently that was good enough for them. The bigger you are, the more ground you cover on the goal...  Olive swung slowly in place, a movement she unconsciously made when she was nervous. Sweetie Belle quickly caught on to this habit.  “Are you feeling alright?”  The sweat on the filly’s face gave off a clear answer.   “Hey, don’t be so nervous. We’re two on defense, you just take the left side and I’ll take the right. Oh, and of course, I’ll help you if you’re in trouble.”  Olive looked over at how her team was doing. The ball was still in the middle of the field. Both sides struggled to gain the advantage over the other. “S-So what do I do if the ball comes to my side?”  “You just buck it to the other side or pass it to your teammates. It’s really simple.”  “O-Okay, kick it as hard as I can.”  The two teams were equally matched. Both struggled to land a single goal. Any attempt at approaching the enemy goal was thwarted by those on defense. Olive was actually doing kind a good job despite her shyness. Her bucks were deceptively strong for a unicorn filly, earning the admiration of her classmates. For a while, she was enjoying this moment, especially the praises her friends gave her. She lived for such praises.  A minor slip-up gave Tiara’s team the advantage. The ball was now rolling in Olive’s direction. The quick and nimble Diamond Tiara quickly rushed to it, and she was fast approaching. Despite her rich and snob background, the filly was a deceptively good runner.  The key was to intercept her, predict her next movement. The unicorn’s father was an expert in this line of thinking, so surely, she must have inherited some of his knowledge. Now that she had gotten used to playing, her confidence was restored, and she felt a little daring. There was a lot of dead space on her right, a lot of space for her opponent to manoeuvre around.  Olive trotted to her right; her eyes locked on the ball.  “Get ‘em, sis!” Apple Bloom encouraged.  Tiara got close to her, and in that moment, her eyes glazed to her left, a clear indicator of her next move. Olive quickly intercepted her by directly blocking her path, forcing the earth pony to slow down. However, she was far too close to stop her advance and the pink filly realised they will collide.  Sweetie Belle galloped over to her, but it was too late. “Look out!”  The pink earth pony smashed into her, and both were sent face first to the ground in a painful stunt. The two rolled around after the initial crash until they came to a halt. Concerned, Cheerilee blew her whistle to momentarily stop the game as she rushed over to the injured foal’s side.  “Girls, are you alright?”  Heedful Care followed close by, picking up Diamond Tiara. Her namesake broke during the collision, scattering its pieces all over the field. The pink earth pony raised her head and touched her injured muzzle, only to realise she was bleeding. She shrieked as the sharp pain of the small piece of her tiara lodged in her head made itself known.  “Sweet Celestia!” The counselor cried out. “We should take her to the infirmary, now!”  Cheerilee helped Olive up, noticing that her muzzle was bleeding. “R-Right. You two follow Miss Care to the infirmary.”  The pink unicorn held back her tears as she grasped her broken muzzle with one hoof. The kind pegasus escorted the two crying fillies back to the schoolhouse, leaving the other foals in shock.  Apple Bloom couldn’t bear to just watch, she had to stay by her sister’s side. She ran to them, to which Cheerilee allowed with a simple nod.  “Sis! A-Are you alright? How’s your muzzle doin’?” She asked frantically.  Olive returned a quiet whimper. Her teary eyes desperately searching for some comfort in this painful situation. Pain didn’t scare her too much, but the thought of receiving another scar or permanent damage frightened her to her core.  “Everythin’ gonna turn out fine.” Apple Bloom reassured. “It ain’t too bad, A-Ah'm sure of it.”  The situation was much worse for Diamond Tiara. The poor filly was crying. Tears, wails and all. Apple Bloom never saw her in this much distress and for the first time ever; she felt bad for her bully.  Inside the infirmary, Heedful Care got to work on the worst case first, leaving Olive to sadly wait a bit longer before she can check her bleeding muzzle.  Apple Bloom stayed by her sister’s side, trying to calm her down. The pink unicorn was hyperventilating. The mixture of pain, blood and fear got to her mind. Her horn began to lit up ominously, almost activating on its own.   The farm filly couldn’t bear to see her sister in distress any longer. She hugged her sister, letting the pink filly rest her head.  Olive’s remaining hoof desperately latched on to her, clinging as hard as she could.  “Shhh, it’s okay. Ah’m ‘ere and as long as Ah’m with ya, yer gonna be okay.”  Olive’s whines quieted down. She closed her eyes and listened to her sister’s voice bring some serenity to her frightened soul. The warm temperature of her body eased the pain, making her feel like things will turn out fine in the end. Even the wails of Diamond Tiara no longer got to her. Apple Bloom made her feel safe, and that’s all that really mattered.      Once the pegasus was done handling the fillies’s injuries, she let them wait inside the infirmary a bit longer while she returned to Cheerilee’s side. Olive gazed at the plaster placed on her muzzle. Another injury to add to the list. Thankfully, Care reassured her that this one wouldn’t stay forever like her scar. It was just a small crack in her muzzle. Something that’ll heal in a few days, though with her, it might be even less.  Through it all, she was thankful that Apple Bloom gave up on the game to stay by her side. This level of loyalty was something she rarely felt before. The only pony who cared that much for her was...  Olive immediately thought of something else. Something to distract her from going too far down memory lane. She stared at Diamond Tiara; her eyes riddled with guilt.  The rich filly’s blue eyes had a reddish tint. The fur below said eyes were still wet. A long bandage on her head was stained with blood. Tiara glared at her for what felt like an eternity. Ever since Heedful Care left them, she glared. Unbridled fury was behind these eyes. It was almost enough to make Olive cry in guilt.  Even Apple Bloom was uncomfortable with the whole situation. She didn’t know whether to say something, or just wait until the mares came back. She decided to look through the window to see what the teachers were doing in the meantime.  From what she could see, Care was speaking to a worried Cheerilee, most likely reassuring her that the foal’s injuries were dealt with. However, the pegasus must have said something that shocked Cheerilee for their teacher jerked back, eyes wide. She shook her head and responded, to which Heedful Care offered a solemn head shake before taking off with her wings. Cheerilee then took a deep breath as she went back to watching the foals, albeit with a nervous expression.  While she was away, Diamond Tiara finally spoke up. “You...” She stomped in direction of the one pony she deems responsible for this accident. “It’s all your fault! Because of you, my tiara broke, and I’ve been humiliated in front of the whole school.” She was seeing red.  Apple Bloom quickly saw fit to put an end to this conflict before it got messy. “It ain’t ‘er fault! And it sure ain’t yours either. It was just an accident.”  Diamond Tiara’s cheeks turned red. “Doesn’t change the fact that everypony saw me cry because of her! If she wasn’t in the way like an idiot, my team would have won, and I wouldn’t be stuck here with a painful headache!”  “Hey, it’s not like she got away any better!” Apple Bloom responded. “And Ah think she feels bad ‘bout it too.”  Olive marched up to Diamond Tiara, her head lowered. “I-I’m really sorry. I was just having fun...” she said, her voice sounding nasally thanks to the large plaster on her muzzle.  Diamond Tiara held a hoof to her mouth. “’Oh, you were just having fun’ Look where that brought us. Maybe you should sit the next games out before you break somepony’s leg.”  The rose filly’s eyes widened, her head jerking back in shock. “B-But, I...”  “Cut it out!” Apple Bloom shouted. “I know yer still angry ‘bout the accident, but takin’ out yer anger on ‘er won’t solve anythin’!”  “It so will!” Diamond turned her attention back to her new nemesis. “Next time, low-class blank flank, know your place and don’t even try to get in my way!”  “O-Okay...” Olive answered, lowering her head in submission.  Apple Bloom rushed to her sister’s side to lift her head up. “Wha- Don’t let ‘er walk all over ya!”   “And what’s wrong with that, exactly? WE... are not on the same echelon. My family’s rich. Hers, and also YOUR, family depends on mine to make money. Face the facts, I’m more important than you lower-class fillies.”  A fuse in Apple Bloom’s mind snapped. “Now that’s enough, Diamond Tiara! Ah’m sick of it. Sick of hearin’ ya talk behind mah sister’s back, sick of hearin’ ya yap on about yer family and yer money, sick of always havin’ to console mah sister over yer bullying! She’s mah little sister, and Ah’m done lettin’ ya mock ‘er. Leave us alone, or Ah’ll stop being so nice.” She shouted, burying her face into Diamond’s own.  Diamond Tiara took a step back, intimidated by this outburst. “Wha... And what are you going to do if I don’t? Throw down and beat up an injured filly? H-Ha! ‘Yer’ gonna get expelled.” She confidently responded, though the sweat on her face said otherwise.  Apple Bloom gritted her teeth, starting to see red but she was quickly snapped out of her rage by Olive, who pulled on her with a scared look in her eyes. “Of course not. Ah’m more mature than ya give me credit for. Come on, sis; let’s get out of ‘ere.”  The two fillies exited the infirmary, leaving Diamond Tiara alone to sulk.      The moment Cheerilee dreaded came. Diamond Tiara’s mother arrived, with a ravenous hatred for the poor teacher but today, she at least had the leisure of having Heedful Care to bear the wrath of the spoiled pony.  Spoiled Rich, wife of Filthy Rich the richest pony in all Ponyville, was known for being a rather disagreeable mare. She held a high opinion on the lower class, or really anypony below her family in wealth and power. Most ponies prefered to avoid her, Cheerilee and Care included. Problem was, they had no choice but to listen to her. It’s the school’s rules to notify any parents if their foals get hurt badly.  This discussion wasn’t going to be smooth sailing.  “You got any cider?” Care sighed.  “Can’t have any on the job...” Cheerilee grunted. “I think I’ll just take something for my headache once this is over.”  “Save some for me.”  Spoiled Rich knocked on the door. Heedful Care went to open it, but being a few seconds too late, the rich mare knocked again, but louder. “We’re coming.” Care announced.  The door almost slammed open the moment Care twisted the knob. Spoiled Rich entered, her head might high, and her eyes closed. Everything about her screamed “angry snobbish pony coming to ruin your day”.   Once she was done stomping her way to the cerise mare, she cleared her throat and opened her eyes. “Where’s Diamond Tiara? I demand to know what happened!”  Cheerilee’s hooves trembled. “W-Well, I’m sure as Care explained; there has been an accident.”  “An accident?!” Spoiled Rich fumed. “That’s what you call this? I’ll have you know that my Tiara told me everything before coming here. She said it was this new student’s fault!”  “N-Not at all! I assure you, this whole incident was just an unfortunate accident.” The teacher explained.  “An unfortunate accident? I can hardly believe that. This ‘accident’ also happened to slander the Rich’s family name!” Spoiled pressed her hooves against the desk, leaning over Cheerilee. “SHE made my daughter cry in front of the entire class. That is humiliating and it is hurting the reputation we like to uphold.”  Cheerilee cringed. The emphasis on their reputation really irked her. “Rest assured; Diamond Tiara is doing well. Her injury wasn’t serious.”  “Ah, that’s good.” Spoiled answered, sounding disinterested. “but it doesn’t change what happened. This new filly humiliated the Rich family name. Do I need to remind you who’s keeping the schoolhouse up?”  Cheerilee’s legs tensed up. She looked to the pegasus in the room for help.  “We know, and we’re thankful for it.” Care affirmed. “But-”  “Then you should know that I won’t tolerate this kind of attack! A low-class pony attacked and humiliated a high-class pony. That is unforgivable. We Rich won’t let anypony with a lower social standing mock us.” Spoiled interrupted.  “Miss Rich, I assure you Olive didn’t have any ill intentions. This was all an accident.” Cheerilee repeated, though she could tell it was all going over her head.  Spoiled Rich stood motionless for a moment, then she glared at the cerise mare. She had a name now, but... something else needed to be addressed. “Oh, by the way, Cheerilee, I’ve noticed Diamond Tiara’s grading have been... faltering in recent times.”  Heedful Care raised an eyebrow, looking to Cheerilee for answers. The teacher looked mortified, already knowing where this was going. “I-I know. She may not be putting enough effort in her studies-”  “I’m not buying that. Diamond Tiara is a Rich, and a Rich is above the other echelons. I can only see two explanations possible.” Spoiled continued. "Either the tests are rigged to be harder than they should be or... you’re intentionally sabotaging her.”  Cheerilee struggled to breathe. Her trembling head turned to Care. “Y-You should go now. I’ll handle the situation on my own.”  “A-Are you sure-”  “Check up on the fillies. Make sure there aren’t any complications.”  Heedful Care remained in place for a bit, her eyes moving from Spoiled Rich to Cheerilee. The rich mare tapped her hooves impatiently, ushering her to exit right now. Care reluctantly left, looking behind as she left the classroom. She couldn’t help but feel she was making a mistake.  “Now that we’re alone.” Spoiled growled. “I thought we had a talk earlier this month. Before all the talk about this filly, do you remember?”  “I d-do...”  Spoiled trotted around the room. “It was something about your salary, and who pays to keep the school up. Remember, it’s an act of generosity on MY part, to pay the school’s fee, to offer a place for my Diamond to grow and learn how to act as a member of the upper class. If school doesn’t work out for her, I’ll cut all my funds and homeschool her instead. Need I say more?”  “Th-That won’t be necessary. I’ll make sure she passes.” Cheerilee said, her eyes looking down at her desk.  “I don’t want her to simply pass your class. I want her to be amongst the best, amongst the elite of this...” Spoiled looked around the class, cringing at the simple nature of its design. “Common class.” She stared Cheerilee dead in the eye. The cerise mare didn’t dare to meet her gaze. “Do I need to remind you again who’s the one pony in charge?”  “N-No, I already know.” I know all too well.  “Good.” Spoiled trotted to the door. “By next week, I expect to see some improvements in Diamond Tiara’s grades. If not, expect another visit...”  The mare left, and Cheerilee finally gave the last of her strength up. Her face flopped to the desk, and she sobbed.    As Spoiled Rich left the class, she was immediately stopped by a pink filly sitting next to the door. A unicorn with a pearly white mane, olive eyes and freckles on her face. The worst, however, was the giant scar on her body and the broken muzzle that looked back at her with insolence. The old mare cringed; this was the pony Diamond described. And now, the pony that smeared the reputation of the Rich, her reputation. Heedful Care and Apple Bloom were standing beside her, but they might as well be invisible to her; it wouldn’t have made a difference.  Spoiled Rich looked for her daughter, frowning once she found her.  “Mom! You finally talked to her, didn’t you-”  “Let’s go home. We need to talk about a few things, Diamond Tiara.” Spoiled harshly cut off.  Diamond Tiara gulped, holding her head as it throbbed in pain. Spoiled walked away, forcing her to do the same. As the earth filly followed her mother, she looked back one last time at Olive and Apple Bloom, trying to give them a harsh glare, but she gave them something else entirely.  Olive, who hasn’t moved an inch, watched on. The strange look on the bully’s face raised some concerns, it was a look that felt a little too familiar to her.   “Heh, looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Apple Bloom grunted. Her sister didn’t even react to her comment, nor did she appear to have heard it.  “Apple Bloom! That’s not nice to talk behind other pony’s back!” Care reprimanded. “Would you like it if ponies did the same to you?”  “N-No, Ah’m sorry, Miss Care.”  Olive kept on thinking about this look in Diamond’s eyes. It took some time, but she finally understood what it was. It was something she knew all too much about.  Fear.