//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: A Diamond Comes Between Friendship? // by Yukito //------------------------------// The Cutie Mark Crusaders had an air of harmony around them that afternoon. Which was usually a bad thing. These three fillies not acting mischievous was like… well, Discord not acting mischievous. All three of them were sat outside the schoolhouse, eating lunch together, as was their usual routine. Sweetie Belle was trying her hardest to lift a sandwich with her magic, but only a few sparks emerged from her horn. Scootaloo was checking her points card, whilst savouring the small salad that she had. And Apple Bloom was humming whilst peeling the skin off of the apple given to her by her big sister. And all three of them were in high spirits. “Sweet!” Scootaloo exclaimed, picking up a lead from her salad and bringing it to her mouth. “Five more points and I get a discount!” Sweetie Belle stopped her attempts at using magic, her head hurting, and her stomach rumbling from having not been fed yet. “Wow, I didn’t realise things were so bad for you,” she said with a frown on her face, feeling bad for her friend. “You know, I’m sure my mum wouldn’t mind making two lunches a day.” Scootaloo waved her hoof dismissively. “Nah, it’s fine. It’s just ‘cause dad’s hopping between jobs at the moments, but it’ll pick up! ‘Sides, I’m doing fine. You don’t have to do that for me.” “But, I mean, look…” Sweetie Belle pointed at the small plastic tub on the table, which contained an even smaller salad. About enough to constitute a quick snack, but definitely not a lunch. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?” “Relax, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo said, her face never once losing its smile. “I’m telling ya, you’re just worrying too much! Take a page from Apple Bloom’s book.” She looked over at said filly, who was smiling and humming to herself as she peeled her apple, apparently oblivious to the conversation going on beside her. “See? Not a care in the world!” Sweetie Belle looked over at Apple Bloom curiously, and extended her hoof to poke her friend in the side. Apple Bloom jumped, and turned to face Sweetie Belle. “What’s up?” she asked. Sweetie Belle pulled her hoof back. “What’s got you in such a good mood? Did you like the last lesson that much?” Apple Bloom brought her freshly-peeled apple to her mouth, and took a bite. “It’s not that. It’s just… somethin’ good happened today, that’s all.” “Same here,” Scootaloo said, when she was suddenly struck with realisation. “Oh, that reminds me! I’m free again tomorrow.” Apple Bloom gave her a confused look. “Uh, y’know… You invited us to see a movie with you?” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, and she bit her lower lip as she swallowed the piece of apple in her mouth. ‘Darn it, why did her schedule have ta free up all of a sudden?! What do ah say to her? The truth? But, that’s…’ “What’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom looked between her two friends, who were now staring at her, both waiting for an answer. Finally, she sigh, and decided to just tell the honest truth. “Well, y’see, Scootaloo, ah kinda… already found somepony else ta go with.” Scootaloo scratched her neck, and lowered her gaze to the table. “Oh…” ‘Awkward’ was one word to describe the air around these three fillies now. However, Scootaloo’s smile returned as she looked back up at her friend. “Well, can’t be helped, I guess.” Now, it was Scootaloo that all eyes fell upon. Neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle were expecting her to let it go that easily. Scootaloo was known for getting jealous easily, and being pretty possessive, even of her friends. “Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom asked, “You feelin’ alright?” “Of course!” Scootaloo responded. “I’m feeling great! Never better!” The Pegasus lifted another bit of her salad up to her mouth, and tossed it in happily. Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “And what’s got you in such a good mood today? It’s the start of the school week, shouldn’t you be groaning and complaining right about now?” Scootaloo would have given her friend a disapproving scowl, except that she knew she was correct. Instead, she simply shrugged it off, and picked up the tiny apple slice in her salad. “Well, actually…” The other two fillies leaned in, sensing a big story from their friend. “You guys remember what we walk about last week… About Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom froze up. She suddenly didn’t like where this was heading, but she remained silent nonetheless. Sweetie Belle simply nodded. “Well, I asked myself: ‘What would Rainbow Dash do?’.” “Rainbow Dash is in love with Diamond Tiara, too?” Sweetie Belle asked, and then received a strange look from Scootaloo. “… Oh, I see! Never mind, continue!” she said, now blushing after realising her misunderstanding. Scootaloo shrugged off the interruption, and continued. “Anyway, I realised that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t just run or hide from the problem. She’d tackle it directly!” “So you tackled Diamond Tiara? That doesn’t sound very nice, Scootaloo.” Scootaloo gave her another strange look, and Sweetie Belle once again realised her misunderstanding. “Uh, I’ll just… let you finish…” “… Right, anyway. I decided to see if what I was feeling for her was… y’know…” “Love?” Apple Bloom asked, almost hesitantly. Scootaloo blushed, and nodded. “So… was it?” The orange filly nodded again. “… S-So that’s why you’re in a good mood?” “… Well, there’s more to it… It turns out Diamond Tiara…” Scootaloo looked around cautiously, and then leaned in to whisper the rest to her friends. “She likes me too.” Sweetie Belle gasped, and backed away from her friends. “No way!” she shouted, her voice cracking and her horn sparking as she did so. “Are you serious?! You, and Diamond Tiara-” Scootaloo quickly placed a hoof to Sweetie Belle’s mouth. “Quiet!” she whispered. “D’you want the whole school to find out?!” Sweetie Belle tried to calm herself, but she still felt too excited, and could only lower her voice so much. “But, that’s just crazy! So, does this mean you two are… you know, dating, now?” Scootaloo grinned. “Actually, we’re going to the amusement park this Wednesday.” Sweetie Belle let out a short squeal of excitement, but was then startled by Apple Bloom slamming her hooves onto the table beside her. Both she and Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom, who looked like she was sitting a test she had not studied for at all. That is to say, confused, and worried. “W-What are y’all sayin’?” Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo. “That can’t be right. She can’t be goin’ out with ya!” Scootaloo remembered that Apple Bloom had a crush on Diamond Tiara, too, and felt pretty guilty for springing this on her all of a sudden. But, she knew there was no avoiding it, and she felt that it would be best to tell her sooner rather than later. “Apple Bloom, I’m sorry, but-” “No! She… Diamond’s… How can she be goin’ to the amusement park with you, if she’s goin’ the movies with me tomorrow?!” “What?!” Scootaloo asked, shocked and not fully believing her. “Y-You asked Diamond to the movies, without telling me?!” “You asked her to the amusement park, without checkin’ with me!” “Well, she… she already said that she likes me, so I…” “That can’t be true!” “Why not?!” “‘Cause she-” Apple Bloom stopped herself, slamming her hooves over her mouth before she revealed that the two had already kissed. “She what?” Scootaloo asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend. ‘Ah can’t tell her that we kissed! Not just once, but five times!’ Suddenly, a thought crossed Apple Bloom’s head. ‘Diamond said she liked Scootaloo, but… she never said she liked me…’ “What? What did she do?” Scootaloo asked, growing impatient. “Did she say that she liked you too?!” Sweetie Belle shrank in her seat, and tried to ask the two to calm down, but she was cut off by Apple Bloom, who suddenly rose to her hooves and confronted the orange Pegasus filly. “No, she didn’t, but she didn’t have to! Ah know what she’s really feelin’!” Even though she said that, she wasn’t very confident in herself at all. “Oh yeah? Sounds to me like you’re just jumping to conclusions, ‘cause you’re desperate!” Apple Bloom growled, and took a step closer to Scootaloo. “Then why did she agree ta go see a movie with me, huh?” “I don’t know. I’ll ask her on our date!” Scootaloo put emphasis on the word ‘date’ as she also advanced, butting heads with Apple Bloom. “No need! Ah’ll ask her mahself on our date!” She pushed her head forward a bit, pushing Scootaloo back. “What’s with you?! I thought you hated her!” Scootaloo returned the push, now engaging Apple Bloom in a full on physical confrontation. “An’ ah thought you found datin’ and kissin’ and stuff totally gross!” Scootaloo’s face turned red, but she didn’t soften up. “T-That was ages ago!” “It was two weeks ago!” “Well, maybe I’m actually open to new stuff, unlike you, Miss I Won’t Eat Any Fruit That Isn’t Apples!” Apple Bloom gasped, and dug her hoof into the ground as she pushed even harder. “So… does that mean you’ve kissed her then?!” Scootaloo flinched, and was pushed back a little bit. She managed to recover quickly, though. “O-Of course not! We haven’t even gone out on our first date yet!” Apple Bloom grinned. Now, she felt, she had the upper hoof. “Well, ah have.” Time seemed to freeze for Scootaloo, and the next thing she knew, she was flying backwards from the force of Apple Bloom’s shoving, and the world around her was spinning around. She felt a sharp pain on her lower back followed by the back of her head. Once the world was finished spinning around her, she brought herself to her hooves, and rubbed the back of her head as she set her gaze on Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom seemed to be avoiding eye contact with the Pegasus. “W-What did you say?” Scootaloo asked after a long period of silence. Apple Bloom didn’t answer her. “You kissed her?” Apple Bloom detected hostility in her tone at that last question, and gulped as she dared to turn her attention back to her friend. “A-Ah-” “What the hay, Apple Bloom?! You kissed her, when you knew I had feelings for her?!” “Ah didn’t mean to! It just kinda… happened…” “Oh, well that makes it better!” Scootaloo said, sarcasm heavy in her voice. “Scootaloo, ah-” “No, forget it! I thought you were my friend, Apple Bloom, but I guess I was wrong about that!” “How could ya say somethin’ like that?!” Apple Bloom asked, trying not to let her anger slip out into her voice. “Of course we’re friends! Ah’m sorry ‘bout what happened, but ah swear, ah didn’t mean ta hurt ya or nothin’!” Scootaloo huffed, and turned her gaze to where her salad was still sitting. She walked over to it and picked it up, along with her saddlebags. “You know what? You go have fun on your little date tomorrow.” She turned her back to Apple Bloom, and added, in a spiteful tone: “It’ll be your last one, ‘cause I’m gonna make sure she forgets all about you when we have our date.” Apple Bloom gritted her teeth together as the orange filly began to walk off. “Oh yeah? Well you’d just better hope she’d still wanna go out with ya after tomorrow!” With that, the yellow filly packed up her own lunch, and wandered off into the opposite direction to Scootaloo, grumbling angrily beneath her breath. Once all was quiet, Sweetie Belle emerged from behind the small wooden table, wiping a few tears from her face, and looked down both paths her friends had taken, shocked and confused. “W… What just happened?” The rest of that day, and the following day, classes were very uncomfortable for the children of Ponyville Elementary School. There were clear signs of hostility in the air, and from the moment Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had first returned to class after that fateful lunch break, everypony could already see that something had happened between them. During class, Apple Bloom could feel Scootaloo’s hard glare on the back of her head, and would continuously turn around to tell her silently to stop whenever Cheerilee wasn’t looking. Scootaloo would insist she had no idea what Apple Bloom was talking about, and would tell the yellow filly to mind her own business. The tension only grew from there, and their silent rows throughout the class eventually escalated, to throwing bits of paper at each other, to Scootaloo kicking the back of Apple Bloom’s chair, and Apple Bloom shaking Scootaloo’s desk whenever she tried to write, and finally, to insultive comments being passed back and forth on a sheet of paper. It was clear to everypony that the two were having a fight, though nopony was sure what it was about. They speculated it had something to do with Cutie Marks, but whenever they asked Sweetie Belle if that was the case, the poor, distraught filly would simply shake her head, and look down at her desk with a sad look in her eyes. Diamond Tiara in particular felt very uncomfortable, watching the two friends going at it like that, considering she had made plans with the both of them. But, she didn’t want to get involved. After all, which one was she going to support, if either at all? Not to mention, she had an image to keep at the school. She couldn’t be seen trying to resolve an internal conflict between the Cutie Mark Crusaders. All she could do, was wait until her date with Apple Bloom, and hope that she could get some information then. Tuesday eventually came, and the foals were even more eager to get out of that class than usual. Nopony knew when exactly, but there was no doubt in any of their minds that something was going to happen to finally make the two ‘friends’ snap at each other. And given how the two fillies were known for being strong, rowdy, and reckless, nopony wanted to be around them when that happened. Diamond Tiara told Apple Bloom that she’d meet her outside of the cinema, since she didn’t want to be caught walking through Ponyville with her, though she omitted the reason why when arranging the meeting place. The pink filly was among the first to leave, which attracted some attention from the other foals in the class. Many thought for sure that she would be taking full advantage of this new-found hostility between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The last three ponies in the classroom, besides the teacher, were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom was packing her books into her bag neatly, whilst Scootaloo was simply doing it slowly. She had told herself she wouldn’t follow Apple Bloom on this date, but she just couldn’t help herself. She wanted to keep a close eye on them, to make sure nothing serious happened between them. What Apple Bloom told Scootaloo the previous day echoed through the Pegasus’ mind. ‘Those two kissed? I don’t believe it, not for a second! Why would somepony kiss somepony, and then tell another pony that she likes her? Apple Bloom just made it up to try to trip me up, I’m sure of ti!’ Meanwhile, Apple Bloom’s mind wasn’t any calmer. ‘Ah can’t believe Diamond would say that to Scootaloo, after she kissed me like that! It was hard enough workin’ up the courage ta tell her how ah feel, and then she just…’ Apple Bloom cleared her mind, and took a deep breath. She decided that there would be time for this later. For now, she had to focus on the coming date. Sweetie Belle watched as the two exchanged one final glare, before Apple Bloom left the classroom in silence. She didn’t even respond to Cheerilee’s farewell. Scootaloo waited a few seconds, before finishing her packing, and attempting to follow the yellow filly. Sweetie Belle, however, quickly placed herself in front of Scootaloo to stop her. “Hey, Scootaloo! Um… W-Wanna hang out?” Scootaloo gave her a confused look. “Aren’t you grounded?” Sweetie Belle thought for a second. “I-I mean, walk me home! You, uh, wanna walk home with me?” Scootaloo shook her head. “Sorry, got plans.” She tried to walk around Sweetie Belle, but the white filly got in the way again. “What gives? I’m in a hurry!” “Uh, well, you see…” Sweetie Belle suddenly pointed a hoof behind Scootaloo, and screamed: “AH! A bee! Get it, Scootaloo!” Cheerilee turned to her students with a curious look on her face. She felt that something was off lately in her lessons, but she had been so busy lately that she hadn’t had time to pinpoint what it was. Scootaloo looked over her shoulder, and then back at Sweetie Belle. “That’s a drawing,” she said flatly. “That’s your drawing.” Sweetie Belle giggled nervously, and lowered her hoof. “O-Oh yeah. Lifelike, isn’t it? Eheheh…” Scootaloo sighed, and tried to go around Sweetie Belle yet again. “C’mon, lemme through!” she shouted as Sweetie Belle quickly got in her way again. “I gotta go already!” Sweetie Belle moved as Scootaloo did, doing her best to stop the Pegasus from advancing. “No, Scootaloo! I can’t let you do that! It’s wrong!” “What d’you mean?! You know I like her, too!” Cheerilee’s eyes widened at that, and she quickly turned around, and tried to tune out the argument behind her. This was clearly a personal matter. “That’s why you shouldn’t do this! If she catches you, how do you think Diamond Tiara will feel?” Cheerilee’s ear twitched at that. The two were talking about Diamond Tiara? More importantly, Scootaloo said that she liked Diamond Tiara. Not just that, but that she liked her too. And Sweetie Belle… She was going to such lengths to stop Scootaloo from going after her… To stop Scootaloo from confessing, maybe? But why? She should be supportive of her friend. She couldn’t imagine somepony as sweet as Sweetie Belle intentionally trying to sabotage another pony’s pursuit of romance. Unless… ‘Oh my gosh!’ Cheerilee thought to herself, looking at the two fillies out of the corner of her eye. ‘Sweetie Belle likes Diamond Tiara, too, and she’s trying to get in Scootaloo’s way! Oh, the poor dears. They must be so confused right now…’ Scootaloo sighed, and looked down at the floor in defeat. “Yeah, I guess you’re right… You uh… You still wanna walk home together?” Sweetie Belle smiled, and nodded. “Sure. Let me just finish packing first.” “Cool. I’ll wait for you outside then…” “And Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo began to leave the classroom. “Um… I’m still your friend, okay? And, I’d be happy to help you out anytime you ask me to, but-” “I get it,” Scootaloo said, cutting off her friend. “Thanks, Sweetie Belle. I’ll try not to ask anything too unreasonable of you.” Scootaloo left the classroom, leaving Sweetie Belle to her packing. As she did, however, a hoof landed on the filly’s shoulder, and Sweetie Belle turned around to find Cheerilee looking down at her. “Miss Cheerilee?” Cheerilee smiled at her pupil, and lowered herself down to Sweetie Belle’s eyelevel. “That was very kind of you, Sweetie Belle,” the teacher praised, feeling such pride in her student for doing what she knew had to be though. “I know that the two of you must be having a hard time right now, and it must all be very confusing for you.” Sweetie Belle regarded her teacher with a look of awe. Had Cheerilee managed to figure out that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were fighting, and that it was over Diamond Tiara? ‘That’s a teacher for you,’ she thought to herself. “I’ll say,” she said, in response to Cheerilee’s last comment. “I just want to make sure you know, that if you ever need somepony to talk to, you can always rely on me. I’ll always be willing to listen, and whatever you tell me will remain confidential between the two of us. Okay?” Sweetie Belle nodded. “The same goes for your friends, too.” ‘Apple Bloom must be having a hard time deciding which of her friends she should support. She always did like to pick sides, and doesn’t like to remain neutral.’ Sweetie Belle thought about what her teacher had just said for a second. “Thanks, Miss Cheerilee. I’ll be sure to tell them that.” Sweetie Belle finished packing her bag, and then prepared to leave. Cheerilee couldn’t believe that her students were already at the age that they were showing interest in other ponies, and the thought almost brought a tear to her eye. “Good luck, my little pony.” Sweetie Belle thanked her teacher, and then left the classroom to catch up with Scootaloo. It was whilst she was running up to her friend that Cheerilee’s last words actually registered in her mind. “‘Good luck’? With what?” Diamond Tiara paced back and forth outside the entrance to the Ponyville cinema, hers nerves running high, and her mind racing as she debated whether this was a good idea or not. The more she thought about, the more she couldn’t believe that she was honestly going on a date with Apple Bloom. The pony who, not too long ago, she would always get into fights with at school. The pony who she always chose as the target for her attacks, both inside and outside of school hours. It just made no sense. But then, that got her thinking… Why did she always target Apple Bloom like that? Why did she always have to give Apple Bloom such a hard time, just for being one of the last ponies in her class to get a Cutie Mark? In fact, even before getting a Cutie Mark herself, Diamond Tiara always went out of her way to find something that she could hold over Apple Bloom’s head. Diamond Tiara stopped her pacing, and tried to think back on how the two fillies first met. “Daddy, where are we?” Diamond Tiara, aged five years old, asked as she sat on her father’s back, her father walking down a dirt pathway, cutting through a large field of apple trees. “It’s dirty here, and it smells bad. I wanna be home. Good Grace and Lady Starlet are supposed to be getting’ married today.” Filthy Rich laughed as stopped to look over his shoulder. His daughter was of course talking about her dolls up in her room. He admitted some regret to cutting her playtime short today. Diamond Tiara looked so cute when she was playing make-believe, and he made sure not to miss a single moment with his video camera. Unfortunately, today would have to be an exception. “I’m sorry, Diamond Tiara, but this simply be avoided. Anyway, you won’t be alone. The Apples have a filly your age, you know?” “‘Apples’?” Diamond Tiara only knew apples to be those red (or sometimes green) things that she ate as a snack occasionally. She looked around at all of the apple trees nervously. “They’re ponies, too? But, we eat them.” Filthy Rich laughed again, and continued to walk down the dirt path. “Not those apples, Diamond. The Apples are a family of ponies that work on this apple orchard.” “What’s an or… or…” “An orchard, is a place where ponies grow trees like these ones. And, the apple orchard outside of Ponyville is where we get all of our apples, and apple-based food and drinks. It’s also one of the town’s main source of income.” “I thought you was the main source of income for the town.” “Yes, well-” Filthy Rich stopped as he realised they had already reached the farmhouse. Waiting outside, was an elderly green mare, a red stallion who was just a little shorter than Filthy Rich, and an orange teenage mare. Filthy Rich motioned for Diamond Tiara to jump down off of her back, which she did. “Thanks fer comin’ on such short notice,” Granny Smith said, walking forward towards her friend. Diamond Tiara backed away, and hid herself behind her father’s leg.” “As soon as I got your letter, I just had to come and make sure everything was okay.” He looked over at the orange mare. “Thank you for agreeing to sit for my daughter.” “Aw, shucks. Don’t mention it, Mr. Rich.” The mare reached for a bouquet of flowers behind her back, and handed it to the stallion. “Can y’all deliver for me?” Filthy Rich nodded, and took the flowers. “Of course.” “Applejack?” Everypony turned their attention to the little yellow filly now approaching them, carrying a pink ribbon in her mouth. “It came undone. Can ya tie it up again, please?” Applejack smiled, and walked over to her little sister. “‘Course ah can. By the way, Granny Smith an’ Big Mac are gonna be out today.” Apple Bloom turned around, and allowed Applejack to work the ribbon into her mane. “Are mom and dad comin’ back?” Everypony fell silent for a moment, and looked to each other, hoping that somepony would take the initiative to tell her the truth. That her parents had been in an accident, and were resting in the hospital. Apple Bloom was a sensitive filly, so they needed o be careful with their wording. “Who’s that?” Diamond Tiara asked, poking her father’s hind leg to get his attention. Filthy Rich turned to his daughter and smiled. “She’s the filly I was telling you about. Her name’s Apple Bloom.” Applejack finished applying Apple Bloom’s ribbon, and the yellow filly turned around to set her eyes on the pink filly, still shying behind her father. With a smile, Apple Bloom trotted over to the new filly, who responded by hiding further behind her father. “Hi there!” Apple Bloom shouted, startling the other filly. “Ah’m Apple Bloom! What’s yer name?” Diamond Tiara poked her head from behind her father’s leg, and examined the yellow filly cautiously. “D-Diamond Tiara… A p-pleasure to make your ac… ac…” Diamond Tiara felt like breaking into tears. She had learned from her father that greeting new ponies correctly was important, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember how to pronounce the next word. “Nice ta meet ya!” Apple Bloom reached forward, and grabbed the other filly’s foreleg. “Ah don’t know any ponies mah own age! Wanna be friends?” Diamond Tiara seemed to cheer up from that, and looked over to her father for advice. He simply nodded, and the filly turned back to Apple Bloom. “Yeah.” “Great! C’mon, let’s go play some hide ‘n’ seek in the orchard!” Applejack put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “Sorry Apple Bloom, but ah’m afraid we’re gonna have ta stay inside today.” Apple Bloom frowned, but then smiled again when a new idea entered her mind. “Ah know, ah’ll give you a tour of the farmhouse!” “That sounds fun,” Diamond Tiara said. Apple Bloom pulled her new friend towards the farmhouse with her, a little too quickly for Diamond Tiara’s legs to keep up with. “W-Wait! Slow down!” Apple Bloom saw her new friend having some difficulty keeping up, and slowed her pace for her. “Sorry ‘bout that… Ah thought y’all knew how ta run as quick as me, bein’ an Earth Pony an’ all.” When Diamond Tiara finally caught up to Apple Bloom, the farm filly settled with simply walking to the farmhouse. “This’s gonna be so cool! A friend mah own age.” Diamond Tiara caught her breath, and nodded in agreement. “Y-Yeah… Cool.” Diamond Tiara put a hoof to her chin. “Huh… Is that… really how it went?” She couldn’t believe that the two had started on good terms with each other, or that she would have forgotten such a thing… Though, it was a long time ago. However, the question that she asked herself earlier still eluded her… Just when exactly did Diamond Tiara start to give Apple Bloom such a hard time, and for what reason? And more importantly, did Apple Bloom remember any of this? “Hey there.” Diamond Tiara was snapped out of her thoughts by Apple Bloom’s voice. The young, innocent voice, with that thick southern accent… It hadn’t changed a bit from back then. “What’s wrong?” Diamond Tiara realised that the two of them had just been standing there, and that she had been staring at Apple Bloom for a while. “Uh, nothing… What are we seeing, anyway?” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Some movie called ‘Amnesia’, but ah don’ really know what it’s about. Applejack said she got the tickets from Rainbow Dash, who said it was some kinda action movie.” Diamond Tiara looked around nervously. Most of the ponies walking around were older ponies, so she didn’t have to worry about running into anypony she knew from school, it seemed. Still, not wanting to take the risk, Diamond Tiara decided to dispense with any idle chitchat, and just walk straight into the cinema, with Apple Bloom following her. “Well, it had better not be a waste of my valuable time,” Diamond Tiara said as she approached the correct door for the screening. Apple Bloom grinned as she picked up her pace and caught up to her. “Sorry if ah inconvenienced ya with this, Yer Highness,” she said in a sarcastic tone, earning a frown of disapproval from the other filly. “If the movie’s bad, ah’ll treat ya ta some ice-cream over at Sugarcube Corner.” Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s… certainly generous.” She gave the filly a suspicious glare. “What’re you up to, blank flank?” Apple Bloom smiled innocently. “Who, me? Nothin’ at all! Just tryin’ ta make sure you have a great day!” Apple Bloom leaned closer to Diamond Tiara, and whispered: “Y’know, after what ah did before, it only seems right…” Diamond Tiara wondered for a second what Apple Bloom could be talking about, before remembering the kiss in her room. Or kisses, rather. “Oh… Right…” Did Apple Bloom simply mean that she felt guilty about the kiss, and this was her way of making up for it? Or was it just poorly worded? Diamond Tiara wanted to know, but there was no way she could bring herself to ask. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom was waiting in silence. Waiting, hoping, that Diamond Tiara would insist it was fine. That Diamond Tiara would tell her she didn’t mind the kiss that they shared. That Diamond Tiara would tell her… the same thing that she told Scootaloo. ‘I love you’. Three simple words, that’s all that Apple Bloom wanted to hear. But they never came. Diamond Tiara just walked into the screening room, and silently walked with Apple Bloom to two empty seats. ‘Maybe… she doesn’t like me, after all,’ Apple Bloom thought to herself, frowning as she sat down next to Diamond Tiara. The film was about to start, so there was no time for snacks. Not that she had much money on her anyway. Diamond Tiara, maybe, but Apple Bloom figured that cinema food wouldn’t be good enough for the rich filly’s ‘refined tastes’. So instead, she just pulled out a few snacks that she had brought from home, and offered some to her date. To her surprise, and delight, Diamond Tiara accepted them. ‘… Maybe things’ll go well, after all.’ This was most definitely not an action movie. Whatever Rainbow Dash had intended when giving those tickets to Applejack, it was definitely a prank of some sort. And in this case, it had worked very well. Apple Bloom wanted to turn her eyes away from the screen, where the hero of the story was slowly opening a door, and looking around the room on the other side. But her attention was fixated on the movie. She had to know what would happen next. She had to know how it would end, even if she already knew that it would end badly. Suddenly, the entire room broke out into a series of screams and squeals, and some laughter from the horror-enthusiasts sitting at the front. Apple Bloom was among the screamers, and her screaming was only intensified more as she felt something grabbing her hoof. She turned around to see Diamond Tiara’s hoof holding her own, very firmly. Something must have happened onscreen whilst Apple Bloom’s focus was diverted, because Diamond Tiara suddenly let out another terrified scream, and held on tighter to Apple Bloom’s hoof. Despite obviously being scared to death, Diamond Tiara didn’t budge from her seat. Instead, she closed her eyes, and flattened her ears against her face. It clearly didn’t help, as the pink filly began to bite down on her lip when screaming could be heard coming from the movie. Apple Bloom had to wonder why Diamond Tiara was simply sitting there, enduring this movie that she obviously didn’t like, when she could have gotten up and walked out at any time. Was it to save face? No… Diamond Tiara didn’t care what the Crusaders thought about her, and it’s not like a bunch of strangers would really pay much attention to a filly walking out of the room before the movie finishes. Diamond Tiara’s hold on Apple Bloom’s hoof tightened again, and Apple Bloom almost asked her to soften up a bit, before she noticed the tear rolling down Diamond Tiara’s cheek. Well, it may have been sweat. It was hard to tell in the dark. But to Apple Bloom, it was clear proof that Diamond Tiara couldn’t stand this anymore. And if Diamond Tiara wasn’t going to get up and leave on her own, then… “Hey,” Apple Bloom whispered. Diamond Tiara risked opening her eyes, and turned slowly to face her. “Let’s go. Ah’ve had enough of this movie.” Usually, this would be the point where Diamond Tiara would make some kind of remark about Apple Bloom’s cowardice. But, after the twenty minutes of hell that she had just been subjected to, all that Diamond Tiara could do at that point was nod, and get up alongside her date. “Here ya go.” Apple Bloom placed the strawberry milkshake in front of Diamond Tiara, and then took her own seat opposite the pink filly. She drank from her own vanilla milkshake, and boy did it taste good. “So ah guess things didn’t go so well, huh?” Apple Bloom sighed. ‘Great job messin’ up yer own first date there, Apple Bloom.’ “No. They didn’t.” Diamond Tiara drank from her milkshake, and let out a relieved sigh. “Well, at least you got my order right.” Apple Bloom frowned, and shifted her gaze down at the table. “This was… supposed ta be mah way of apologising for kissin’ ya like that.” Her voice lowered itself as she spoke, to avoid anypony nearby from overhearing her. “Ah’m sorry. Ah really had no right ta.” Diamond Tiara, her face now red, played with the straw in her milkshake for a bit as she thought about what to say. “Well… It’s not like I hated it, right?” “What d’ya mean?” “I mean… I kissed you too, remember?” “… Mm…” Apple Bloom took another, longer drink of her milkshake. “Anyway, ah’m sorry.” The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while, neither one sure of what to say to the other. Diamond Tiara wanted to tell Apple Bloom that there was no need to apologise, and about how she felt towards her. But… She also felt the same towards Scootaloo. And she had already made such a mess of things, she didn’t want to make it any worse. When it looked like Apple Bloom was about to leave, Diamond Tiara wanted to say something to make her stay. Something like… a joke, maybe? ‘Yeah, I’ll just tell a little joke. Ease the tension a bit.’ “Well, looks like you didn’t get your Cutie Mark in being a good date, huh?” Whilst Diamond Tiara giggled, Apple Bloom was visibly less amused. Still, at least she stayed, so job well done, right? “Oh yeah? An’ who was it that had ta make a move ta get you outta there? Ah could have easily stayed, y’know?” Diamond Tiara’s face fell. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t, would you?” she asked in a teasing tone. “Not to your friend.” Apple Bloom looked at her confusedly. “Friend? Since when were we friends?” Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened. So that meant… “Uh… You know… Back when we first met…” “When we first met, we got into a big row,” Apple Bloom stated. “Don’t ya remember? Miss Cheerilee had ta split us up, an’ we’ve been at it ever since!” Diamond Tiara thought about it… and then she remembered! She remembered the scenario exactly as Apple Bloom had described it. It was their first day of school, months after they first met at Sweet Apple Acres… “That’s it!” Diamond Tiara shouted, and then quickly slammed her hooves to her mouth as all eyes fell on her. The ponies around the two turned back to whatever they were doing, and Diamond Tiara calmed down when she was no longer being watched. ‘That’s right, now I remember why I started giving Apple Bloom a hard time! It’s because she betrayed me! I was so nervous, so I tried to talk to her, but she kept pretending that she didn’t know who I was!’ Although, now that she thought about it, Apple Bloom didn’t cross her as the type of filly who would do something like that… For the longest time, she had convinced herself that Apple Bloom was being purposefully mean to her, so she fought back in-kind. Eventually, she forgot the reason why, and just started to pick on Apple Bloom out of habit. But now that she remembered her original reason… “What’s up?” Apple Bloom asked, giving Diamond Tiara a strange look. “… Nothing,” Diamond Tiara said, picking up her milkshake and finishing it off. “Make sure you pick a better movie next time, okay?” Apple Bloom’s ears perked up, and she stared disbelievingly at the other filly. “‘Next time’?” “Well, duh. You ruined today’s date, but being the generous pony that I am, I’m willing to give you another chance, should you so accept.” Apple Bloom’s face practically beamed, and she would have jumped out of her seat right there and then, jumping for joy, if Pinkie Pie wasn’t already doing the same thing behind her. “W-Well then, how about…” Apple Bloom recalled what Scootaloo had told her. “… You free tomorrow?” she asked. It was a long shot, but- “Uh, no…” Apple Bloom sighed. ‘… W-What did ah just do? Did ah realy try ta sabotage Scootaloo’s date with her tomorrow? What would Applejack think if she knew ah- … W-What would Applejack think if she knew ah was attracted to a filly?’ That thought countered any confidence brought about by Diamond Tiara’s ‘request’ for a second date. “In fact, this week’s a little…” Diamond Tiara wanted to give herself the rest of the week to think about things, after both dates were over with. She didn’t want to make things more complicated than they already were. “I’ll let you know when I’m available, so keep your own schedule free at all times, okay?” “Ah have mah own life too, y’know?” “Doubt it.” Diamond Tiara jumped out of her seat, and began walking towards the door. She stopped after a few steps, and turned to look over at Apple Bloom. “… See you…” “Bye…” As Diamond Tiara left the store, two realisations hit Apple Bloom. The first, was that Diamond Tiara wanted to see her again. She hadn’t given a definite time or date, and she didn’t say the words that Apple Bloom had wanted to hear, but it was definitely a good sign, right? ‘She’s givin’ me another chance. Ah can’t mess this one up. Ah won’t mess this one up!’ The second realisation that hit Apple Bloom, was that she had been left with the bill. Sighing, Apple Bloom reached into her saddlebag, and pulled out her small bag of bits. ‘At this rate, ah’m gonna blow all mah allowance on her… This had better be worth it.’