Crunch. Snap.
A stick was snapped into oblivion. Dropped into a pile of its fallen brothers and sisters, all who of which had suffered the same fate by the hooves of a bitter soul. A wretched soul, dripping with scorn, spite and pure rotten green jealousy. A green like an apple after falling from its branch and left out on the field till its shade had molded. Like a green like moss hanging in the Everfree forest like spiderwebs. A green like...Granny Smith. Ugh...
Diamond Tiara picked up another Goddess forsaken twig in her tiny evil hooves, lightly quivering with a silent rage she held behind a stone expression and kept locked behind grinding teeth. Her eyes unlike daggers, but full-length claymores forged in the deepest, hottest depths of Tartarus and by a large sweaty, greasy locks and dirtied smocked blacksmith from times of old.
As the stick whimpered goodbyes to its twig children, slowly but surely bending as its center split and snapped audibly, Diamond focus her piercing gaze towards her objects of anguish and hate. She knew hate was a strong word, its meaning often used to describe one's feelings towards things such as bad weather. Bad mane days, maybe celery and broccoli.
But she felt hate. Pure, unadulterated hate. Its flames tickled her gums and scorched her throat, formed a pit in her stomach and darkened her already black heart at such a young age. No one surprised? Well.
Beside her, and a bit disturbed by her friend's recent darkening of characteristics, Silver Spoon sat quietly. Her lips, once shared a smirk of Diamond Tiara, now a solemn frown. Her front hooves crossed and her eyes meeting the left lightly twitching cheek of her BFF. She knew behind that cheek were grinding teeth, grinding behind a deep sickened grimace ruining her pretty, flawless face. Her light magenta complexion, her pearl blue eyes, the wrinkle appearing above her muzzle when she ever smiled or laughed. That grimace was ruining that pretty face.
And she knew who was to blame for this...this injustice.
Across the yard from the two fillies, over the grassy fields of the school play yard sat two foals. Tails intertwined, playing together, nuzzling and laughing whilst surrounded by their friends...Silver Spoon soon felt a sudden heat in her chest, her jaw locking and feeling the anger felt by her friend.
"Stupid..."
Silver Spoon snapped out of her inner raging thoughts and turned her attention the other filly beside her, who's attention was focus across the yard. "Stupid...flightless...classless, brainless, filthy, clucking no good blank flank!" She tossed the remains of the stick father of three to the ground, standing to her hooves. "I can't believe she actually stole my Rummy from me!"
Silver Spoon reached out to her huffing and puffing friend, only to flinch back when the plastic crowned self-entitled filly stomped her way froward.
"Just who does she think she is? Better than me? Does she think she's better than me?!" She hissed through clenched teeth in a near eardrum piercing tone. "Does she think she's even waddling on the same plateau as ponies such as myself? No! You know where she stands?! She stands-kneels in the dirt with the rest of her mark-less flock of losers, at the hooves of ponies like me! And she has the nerve, the freaking tail-feathers to kiss my sweet Rumble with her freak beak-"
"Diamond!" Silver plead, walking before her marching, fuming friend. "Calm down! There isn't any reason to just walk over and cause a scene!"
Diamond's nostril's flared, halting her march. "Silver. Move."
Silver held her ground, keeping a still expression with her eyes full of concern with her friend's well being. Not that she didn't take, Goddesses forbid, Scootaloo or any of the other foals in a bout. However, she wasn't all on board with finding out for the sake of her friend wreaking physical vengeance upon the pegasus.
"I'm not moving, Diamond." She said in a calm tone, adding pressure to her grasp on the tiara wearing filly and pushing her back into a seat position.
Diamond held her glare, but slowed her breathing and siting before her calm friend. "I can't believe it, Silver."
Silver Spoon nodded, sitting besides Diamond. "I know, I know."
Diamond's glare softened, but still held a light glare. "I...why..?" She leaned forward, holding her hooves to her face.
Feeling her BFF's resolve crumbling, Silver wrapped her hooves around Diamond as the filly let lose several quiet sobs. "Shh...it's alright."
Through her sniffles, Diamond's glare returned. "I'll get her back...I swear it, Rumble. You'll be mine..."
~★~★~
Scootaloo could recall a typical conversation between herself and Sweetie Belle. Sweetie would always gush over all the lame romance book thingies her sister would check out from the library Twilight ran, and how she would sometimes sneak one away to ready herself. She would tell her all about all the lovely dovey gushy mushy junk, like when a stallion would lift a mare up at the edge of a boat, or when he would hold up a radio to the mare's window at night. Or even when a stallion near sacrifices his life for the mare's safety.
Ya know, junk that could make a filly like Scootaloo completely nauseous and woozy.
Scootaloo couldn't figure just why the unicorn filly was into the stuff, as she spaced out during class and stared out the window. Her hoof moving a pencil across the worksheet laid out before her on the desk. The students around her had long sense faded out in noise and blurs as she stepped out of reality, nothing but contrast colors outlined in the softest gray, leaving a small smile teasing at her lips.
Miss Cheerliee's voice started to become more clearer as the mare approached the daydreaming filly's desk, tapping it and bringing her out of her cloudy dreamland.
Without skipping a beat, Cheerliee continued on with her lesson while the other foals snickered at Scootaloo's awaking. Grumbling, Scootaloo turned away from them and down to her worksheet. A flame ignited in her cheeks as her pencil halted in its place, the lead worn down from the multiple outlined heart around a poor drawn doodle of herself and her new coltfriend.
I must have done this while out of it!...Ugh, stupid brain...stupid Rumble, get out of my head! Scootaloo glared at the non present colt in question, a playful smile coming to her lips. Whatever, I have to get rid of this though. I can't have Cheerliee seeing it!
She turned back to the rest of the class, searching for the trash bin. Her heart sinking when she spotted it sitting three desks away, and right next to the teacher's desk. Silver Spoon, Snips and Twist occupying the desks.
Crap! She thought, slapping a hoof to her forehead. Of course this wouldn't be easy, why would it? Why would the universe actually rotate in the filly's favor? Would wouldn't the Goddesses turn their backs on her?
Scootaloo sighed, the heart tattooed worksheet crumbling in her hooves as she focused her sights on the trashcan.
She leaned forward and whispered at the candy cane cutie marked filly. "Spssss! Twist!"
Twist's head shot up and turned back to Scootaloo. "Thcoota-"
"Shh!" Cheerliee hushed from across the room, then went back into her lecture.
Scootaloo held a hoof to her lips, then mouthed the word 'whisper'.
"Whath's up?" Twist whispered, looking back occasionally to make sure Cheerliee's back was turned.
Scootaloo held out the crumbled worksheet. "I need to get rid of this, but I can't get up and have Cheerliee catching me!"
Twist titled her head. "Whath's wrong with it?"
Scootaloo raised her head up, scanning the classroom for prying eyes and Cheerliee, who luckily was busy explaining something to a student a fair distance away. She lowered her head back down to whisper to Twist. "I accidentally doodled Rumble and drew a heart around it!...A bunch of times."
Twist smirked. "Athidently?"
Scootaloo glared. "Can it, Twitht. Can you place throw this away discreetly?"
Twist nodded, taking the crumpled up sheet from Scootaloo. "No problem, Thcoot!" She turned back to face the front of the class, reaching over and tapping Snips on his shoulder. "Hey, Thnipth!" She whispered.
Snips turned around in his desk. "What?"
"Thee is you can make a shot to the trash with thith!" Twist handed the paper ball to the colt, who promptly shrugged and turned to take aim.
He took his aim, looking over his shoulder as Cheerliee remained totally oblivious. Twist and Scootaloo eyed the trashcan with anticipation, Snips pushing forward his hoof and launching the paper ball over Silver Spoon's head and...
...landed next to the trashcan.
Cheerliee's eyes snapped opened as she turned at the sound of a bang, seeing the class turned towards the window and Scootaloo face first on her desk, along with Twist glaring at Snips who held up his hooves in defense.
After a few moments, Cheerliee just shook her head and turned back to helping the other students. Twist shook her head at Snips, who in turn rolled his eyes. "How." Was all she said.
"Don't look at me!" Snips whispered, waving his hooves. "I'm just a colt, I'm not perfect!"
"Of courth, becauth that would be the greateth overthatment in the entire world. "Twist sighed, turning back in her desk to face Scootaloo. "Are you okay?"
Scootaloo was rubbing her forehead with a hoof, her eyes shut in irritation. "I've surprisingly had worse, but I have bigger things to worry about."
"Did you losers lose something?"
Scootaloo and Twist snapped their eyes to the front of the class, where Silver Spoon sat with a furrowed brow and un-crumpling the paper ball in her hooves.
Scootaloo's face turned bright red as she gritted her teeth and met eyes with the snotty filly. "Silver Spoon!" She hissed. "If you don't throw that thing away, I swear to Luna I will-"
"Yeah yeah, blah blah." Silver Spoon mocked, rolling her eyes to the pegasus filly's minor threats. "What? Didn't want Miss Cheerliee seeing first hoof how dumb you-Ooooh!" Silver ginned, eyeing the lead heart surrounding the small doodled Rumble. She turned back to Scootaloo, grinning ear to ear. "You didn't want her to see this?"
"Don't you dare!" Scootaloo hissed in anger, though behind her eyes there was a pleading voice.
"Oh Miss Cheeeerliee-Hey!" Silver Spoon had raised her hoof holding the crumpled sheet, only for Snips to snatch it up in his magic and in his own grasp.
"Twist, take it!" Snips held it to the filly, who took it in her muzzle. Silver Spoon hopped out of her seat and over the unicorn colt in an attempt to grab the sheet, only to be tackled to the ground by a raging Scootaloo.
"What in Equestria?!" Cheerliee starred wide eyed at the ruckus before her as the rest of the class cheered on the chaos. Scootaloo wrestled with Silver Spoon, but was kicked head over hooves behind the silver filly and landed on her back. Silver Spoon rose to her hooves and ran to grab the sheet from Twist, but Scootaloo recovered and leap frogged over her and snatched the sheet from Twist's mouth.
"Aha!" Scootaloo cheered, receiving an applause from the class. Though her moment of triumph ended seconds later, as Miss Cheerliee approached her with narrowing eyes.
"Scootaloo was passing notes!" Silver Spoon huffed, rising up from the floor with her glasses upside down hanging from one ear.
"Scootaloo..." Cheerliee spoke in a low voice. "Would like to read to the class just what was so important, you had to tackle Silver Spoon not once but twice during class?"
Scootaloo laughed nervously, eyeing all the students and the towering Cheerliee before her. "It's uh, heh, not really written! It's, well more of a picture-"
"Well!" Cheerliee exclaimed, scaring the students. "Why don't you show us?"
"Yeah, blank flank." Sliver Spoon taunted. "Show us all!"
Like standing before a firing squad, Scootaloo's young heart pounded in her chest as she eyes the sheet in her hooves. The thick coat of crayon smeared all over the page and stained her hooves, a corner torn off from the four pony mosh pit. Sweat beaded her forehead as she licked her lips.
She had to think of something! The only ponies who actually knew about her and Rumble were her friends, two of them silently praying for her as Cheerliee tapped her hoof impatiently, and Silver Spoon grinning and silently wishing she had popcorn.
A faint flicker of a light bulb went off in her brain, a smile formed on her lips for a split seconded. It was stupid, but aware of the increasing tension between herself and the group and authority she was facing...she had no choice.
She looked down at the sheet and licked her lips.
You owe me big time, Rummy...
~★~★~
"So...You ate it?" Rumble asked, sitting besides Scootaloo in the nurse's office.
She groaned, holding her stomach and leaning against her coltfriend. "Couldn't...afford...embarrassing!"
Rumble laughed, extending a wing behind the filly. "So, I assume we'll be keeping this between us?"
Scootaloo sighed, easing into the ache in her tummy and looking up at Rumble. "No...I'm sorry, it's just..."
Rumble smiled, leaning down to nuzzle his filly. Scootaloo blushed, closing her eyes and leaning into the comfort of her coltfriend.
"Don't be, I get it. " He whispered.
Scootaloo shook her head, leaning in to nuzzle his chest. "I'm new to all this, I just don't want a million ponies pestering us."
Rumble rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Well, they'll have me to deal with." He said with a confident grin.
Scootaloo giggled. She pulled away from the colt for a second, pecking him on the side of the muzzle before nuzzling into his neck, leaving Rumble to sit with a goofy smile and a rosy shade washing over his face.
Around the corner, the school nurse smiled and returned to searching for a bottle of stomach medicine.
"Ah, young love."