//------------------------------// // Sticks and Stones // Story: On Your (Cutie) Mark... // by Scantrel //------------------------------// The next day was a school day, which meant the Crusaders would have to put their exploration of their new-found talents on hold until after class. The three fillies had met up to walk to the schoolhouse together, they wanted their fellow students to see their new cutie marks at the same time. As they made their way down the road to the schoolhouse, Scootaloo tried not to grump at the pace of her compatriots; now that she could fly, walking or even riding her scooter to school seemed almost intolerably slow. Scootaloo felt she was practically hovering, slowly flying backwards while laying out. "Can't you all go any faster?" she implored. "Aw, is the poor ol' pegasus stuck waitin' on the unicorn an' earth pony?" Apple Bloom said with a smirk. "Just 'cause ya can fly now don't mean that we have to bust our flanks ta keep up." "Speaking of flanks, I can't wait to see what everypony says!" Sweetie Belle said eagerly. "I'm looking forward to what some ponies don't say" Scootaloo countered. "Finally, no more 'blank flank" taunts." "Eeyup, I s'pose things'll be a lot more quiet now." Apple Bloom agreed. The three fillies turned the last bend on the road leading to the schoolhouse and saw a couple of their classmates out by the playground. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom suddenly sprinted forward, causing Scootaloo to exclaim, "Hey! Wait for me!" as she righted herself mid-air and flew to catch up to her fellow Crusaders. Featherweight was the first to take notice of the three new arrivals. "Good morning!" he called out. He then spied Scootaloo hovering above her two best friends, a wide grin on her face. "Wow! You can fly Scootaloo? That's super!" "Sure can, check this out!" Scootaloo replied, turning a little loop as Featherweight watched with awe. Featherweight flitted up to join Scootaloo, taking out his camera to snap a picture. While the two pegasi talked about flight camp, Twist cantered up to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. "Hi guys!" she said. "I didn't see you around much the last couple of days, how go the crusades?" Apple Bloom beamed proudly and shifted to turn her flank towards her friend. "Jus' fine, thank ya! An' look here what happened for all of us!" Twist looked closer, adjusting her glasses and then blinked. "You all got your cutie marks! That's great!" She reached into her saddlebag and took out a couple of hoofmade peppermint sticks. "Here, take these to celebrate!" Twist said, handing one to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. "Ooh, ooh, celebrate? What are we celebrating?" asked Snips, walking up to join the others. "I hope it's something fun." Snails added as he trotted up beside Snips. "The Crusaders finally earned their cutie marks!" Twist said as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle smiled proudly. Scootaloo and Featherweight flew back over and landed to join the rest of their friends. "What's even more amazing they all have the same mark as some of Ponyville's VIPs!" Twist added. "Ahhh...what's a VIP?" Snails asked, a puzzled look on his face. "Very Important Pony!" Twist giggled. A little cough sounded behind the group of colts and fillies. "Well, well...if it isn't the three fake flanks." a voice said sarcastically. Everypony turned around and saw that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had walked onto the playground. "Maybe you need to get your eyes checked and get glasses like Silver Spoon." Scootaloo snapped back. "If you hadn't noticed, we don't have blank flanks anymore." "And maybe you need to get your ears checked!" Silver Spoon retorted. "We said 'Fake Flank', not 'Blank Flank'." Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all looked at each other uncertainly, trying to understand what Silver Spoon meant. "Wait, fake flank? What do you mean by that?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Are you saying these aren't real cutie marks?" "That's right," Diamond Tiara sneered. "You three are such losers you couldn't even earn cutie marks for your own talents, you ended up just stealing someone else's." "They're not fake!" Apple Bloom growled. "These here are jus' as real as yours." Diamond Tiara just scoffed in contempt. "Whatever! You couldn't get your own marks, Cutie Mark Copycats. I bet the other three losers you stole them from are ashamed." "THAT'S IT!!" roared Scootaloo. She could take Diamond Tiara's jabs at her, but nopony called Rainbow Dash a loser. Scootaloo lifted off and shot towards Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, flying in a tight circle around the two antagonists. As she built up speed an orange vortex formed, dragging the two earth fillies off their hooves and swirling them around uncontrollably. Scootaloo steered the mini-tornado to the edge of the playground, breaking off as she veered near one of the larger trees by the edge. The vortex slammed into the trunk of the tree and dissipated, leaving Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in a dazed heap. "What's the matter?" Sweetie Belle asked, a little edge to her voice as well. "Feeling dizzy? Maybe this will help." Sweetie Belle levitated a bucket of water from the schoolyard well over the two prone fillies. With a little smirk, she upended the bucket, dousing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Apple Bloom didn't bother with a snide remark, she simply walked up to the tree and whipped around to buck it with all her strength. A cascade of leaves showered down onto the fillies below, making them look practically feathered as they struggled to clear their heads and climb onto their hooves. "GIRLS! THAT'S ENOUGH!" a stern voice sounded from behind them. Cheerilee had arrived and her expression was one of controlled anger. "That is not how we treat our fellow students." Turning to address the others that had crowded around to watch the fracas, Cheerilee said, "I want you all to go back inside, my little ponies. Somepony help Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon up please." Cheerilee then glared at Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom. "Not you three, you stay here." The other young ponies started to head back to the schoolhouse. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn't say anything as they walked past, though Sweetie Belle thought she saw Diamond Tiara fight back a tear. "You all have really gone too far," Cheerilee said once the others had left. "I will not abide with fighting in my schoolyard. You three will have to stay after school today for detention and I'll be contacting your families for a conference. Scootaloo, I'll make special arrangements for you." "It's not fair!" Scootaloo burst out. "They always start it, but we're the ones that get in trouble. Why don't you ever make them stay after school?" "Because you three should know better than to respond with violence." Cheerilee admonished. "Now go on inside, you will make an apology in front of the entire class before the lesson begins." The three fillies sighed and started to walk slowly towards the schoolhouse with their heads held low, the mood of the day having been thoroughly ruined. The sky was finally clear over Ponyville, which meant that Rainbow Dash could end her shift on weather duty. Today's shift felt like it had lasted forever, Rainbow thought. Normally she could finish her tasks in short order, then have the rest of the morning free for whatever she wanted. Stretching her wings, which were uncharacteristically sore, Rainbow Dash decided that today's activity of choice would be a nap out at Sweet Apple Acres. It was one of Rainbow Dash's guilty pleasures, she enjoyed curling up on the branch of a large apple tree and dozing in the mid-morning sun. It was even sweeter if Applejack happened to be working nearby, the repetitive thunking sound of her bucking apples from the trees reminded Rainbow Dash of a gentle heartbeat, the slow steady rhythm guaranteed to lull her to sleep. Today was going to be no different. It was easy enough to spy Applejack from the air as she worked out near the west orchard. Rainbow Dash circled above, spotting a likely candidate for her napping spot, then swooped down to land on the thickest branch. Applejack smiled to herself, she had seen Dash coming but hadn't called out to her. The routine of her best friend napping up in the trees while she worked was as familiar and welcome to Applejack as the naps were to Rainbow Dash. It was just the right kind of visit to keep her company while she worked. Close enough, but so much to detract her from her chores. Rainbow Dash peeked open one eye, certain she had settled into the tree without Applejack noticing, because she was just that good. Satisfied her resting spot didn't lay in the path of trees to be bucked, Rainbow Dash curled up and closed her eyes. *Thunk* The slow, rhythmic sound of the thump of hooves against the tree trunks was like a drumbeat, calling Rainbow Dash to the land of dreams. *Thunk* So peaceful, so tranquil, Rainbow Dash thought as she started to slip away. "AAAUGHH!" The sudden shrill cry of pain took Rainbow Dash by complete surprise and her head shot up, searching for the source. Looking around quickly, Rainbow Dash spied Applejack laying on the ground beside a tree, reaching back with her forehooves to grab at one of her hind legs. In an instant, Rainbow Dash was airborne, flying in a flash to Applejack's side. "AJ? What's wrong? Are you OK?" Rainbow Dash asked with deep concern. Applejack gritted her teeth, clearly in intense pain, fighting to hold back tears. "I...I think I pulled somethin' mighty fierce." she gasped. "Consarn it!" Rainbow Dash bent down and peered closely at Applejack's leg. There wasn't any visible sign of injury, but her friend's expression and tone told her just how much pain Applejack was enduring. "I need to get help, AJ. I don't want to try to move you just by myself. Where's Big Mac?" "Now hold on Rainbow Dash, ain't no need to get him involved. I jus' musta bucked funny, I'm sure it will work itself out." Applejack said, grimacing. She started to stand and Rainbow quickly scooted beside Applejack to help support her weight. The moment Applejack tried to stand up properly, her face contorted with agony and she collapsed into Rainbow Dash's forelegs. "Oh my gosh, this is bad." Rainbow Dash fretted. "Just lay here, I'll go get help and be back before you know it." A curt nod with a grunt of pain from Applejack was the reply. Rainbow Dash shot into the air and flew quickly back towards the main part of the orchard. She had to find help and find it fast. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat in silence and stared at their desks, too dejected to do anything but wait. Their big day was a disaster and now the three fillies waited in detention while Miss Cheerilee held a conference with their families. Minutes seemed to stretch into eternity as the girls waited for the inevitable lecturing each of them were sure to get. At last, the door opened and Cheerilee walked into the classroom with Rarity, Big Mac and Twilight following close behind. "I trust the three of you have had time to reflect on what you did and why it was wrong." Cheerilee said in a somber voice. "I've spoken to your family members about your behavior and they assure me it won't happen again." The three fillies sunk lower in their seats. "I've also assured your families that I'll be speaking to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon tomorrow so they are aware that I will not tolerate bullying at this school either." Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked up, their sorrow tinged with a ray of hope. "You're free to go home now. Scootaloo, would you please stay for just a moment?" "Talk to you soon," Sweetie Belle whispered to Scootaloo as she and Apple Bloom gathered up their things and walked over to their siblings. Once the four of them had left, Cheerilee turned her attention back to Scootaloo. "Since I am not able to reach your parents, I've asked Twilight to speak with you and she has agreed. Will you talk with her about what happened today?" Scootaloo nodded and put on her saddlebag, making sure not to obstruct her wings. She then walked over to Twilight and the two of them left the schoolhouse. "I was hoping Rainbow Dash was coming." Scootaloo said, sounding disappointed. "I'm sure she would have, Scootaloo, but she's at the hospital right now with Applejack." Twilight said as calmly as she could. "The hospital?!?!" Scootaloo exclaimed, jumping up into the air and hovering. "What happened? Is Rainbow Dash OK? Can we go see her?" "She's fine, it was Applejack who got hurt and fortunately, it's only minor. Of course we can, I figured you would want to go the moment you found out. Big Mac and Apple Bloom are already on their way there." Twilight paused and then turned to face the concerned filly. "I know that Rainbow Dash will want to talk about today as well, but this is very unlike you Scootaloo. What made you do such a thing?" Scootaloo sighed and landed beside Twilight. "I don't know. I guess we were all so excited to show off our cutie marks and those two jerks had to ruin it. When Diamond Tiara called Rainbow Dash a loser, I just couldn't think straight I was so mad." Twilight nodded in understanding, then said. "I know it's hard, Scootaloo, but you have to rise above that. Fighting never solves any problems, the best course is to just walk away. 'Sticks and stones', as the saying goes." Softening her tone, Twilight said, "Come on. Let's go see Applejack and Rainbow Dash." The two ponies started walking again, heading towards Ponyville Hospital.