The dawn brought with it the promise of another day of unexpected chaos to the sleeping filly that was softly snoring as raindrops taped at her windowsill; still not ceasing their torment upon the cracked soils of Ponyville. The soil’s crevices weren’t the only bitterness that winter brought along with its wrath.
“Oh, Sweetie Belle! Wake up!” A yawn and a couple of blinks later, a sleepy filly rose from her messy bed. Last night’s events not making it to her buffering brain in time for her to recall that she made a memo to never speak to her sister again.
“Yeah, Yeah…Give me a minute!” She shouted back as she stretched her limbs that seemed to still be caught in a deep slumber.
Buck.
Another day and another trial in the unforgiving classrooms of Ponyville. Combing her tangled mane into its usual somewhat curly shape, she made her way to the kitchen; chocolate milk and pancakes awaited her across from Rarity. She was already late for school and only had a couple of minutes to digest the maple-syrup drenched pastries before she had to bolt out the door.
Slamming the barrier between Rarity and the outside world, without even uttering a simple “goodbye”, the young filly trotted at a quickened pace through the muddy Ponyville streets that just started to gather work ponies and merchants; displaying delicacies both local and foreign from all over Equestria.
It was common for Sweetie Belle to but a milkshake without Rarity’s consent before heading to class but she knew that her delinquency would end up costing her more than the most luxurious ice creams that Equestria had to offer. No, today she would act as if it was any other school day and she would put on her mask as she always did. Hopefully Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would lay off of her and her friends today but she knew that it was highly unlikely.
~
Sweetie Belle trotted through the classroom door and she could have sworn that the bell had rung a second after her arrival. Cheerilee, the classroom’s sole teacher, shot her a look of disapproval as she sat down in her desk beside her friends. Apple Bloom gave her a smile that wasn’t hinting to any knowledge of last night’s events; it was probably better if she didn’t know. Scootaloo taped her on the shoulder and signaled for a sheet of paper. Handing it over, Sweetie Belle saw Cheerilee from the corner of her eye trot up to her.
“I swear I was only passing a paper! It’s not a note or anything like that” Sweetie Belle stood defendant, the entire class watching her to see what kind of fun would happen next but she offered them none.
Cheerilee grasped the paper in her forehoof and examined it for a split second before placing it back on Scootaloo’s desk.
“No more disruptions, we have a lot of work to do and very little time to cover it.”
Cheerilee paused as she trotted back to the front of her classroom so she could divert the attention of her student back to the lesson.
“Now, who here is familiar with the study of philosophy?”
~
The bell rang, declaring the lunch period. Colts played hoofball outside while fillies gossiped about the latest trends amongst themselves. Well every filly but the cutie mark crusaders. These three foals were up to no good, well at least that’s what they were told by the principal on several different occasions. Crusading was more than just a game to Sweetie Belle, it was a lifestyle, and it was part of her identity. And like the rest of her friends, she spent most lunch periods plotting and executing various schemes to try to earn a cutie mark of her own. But not today. Today she found a corner in the courtyard and sat down as she listened for the sounds of a playground fading in the distance.
“Hey Sweetie Belle!” Two fillies shouted in unison as they skipped towards her.
“Where’s your cape?” Apple Bloom questioned her with a bit of concern. It was odd for a crusader to leave their crimson banner at home.
“I…I forgot it.” Sweetie Belle got up and stretched, her flank stained from the drying earth on the ground.
“Oh look…No, that’s not a cutie mark…” Scootaloo chuckled, flapping her wings as she hovered for only a split second before landing on the pavement; they were too small to support her weight.
“I wish.” Sweetie Belle returned a faked smile.
“Since its wet, maybe we can be cutie mark crusader agriculterers!” Scootaloo hoped in the air once again, this time not spreading her wings.
“I’m not even sure that’s a word, Scootaloo…” Apple Bloom laughed lightly at her friend’s failed enthusiasm.
Before they could continue, the bell rang and foals slowly started to push each other in the hallways to get to class. Perhaps they could catch up after school, Sweetie Belle thought as she gathered her materials from her locker, careful not to bump into anypony as she headed back to class.
~
“Not so fast!”
“You didn’t think we would let you get away that easily, did you?”
Two fillies from the bourgeoisie society in Ponyville trotted up to the crusaders with wealth and confidence to accompany them. They were the ponies that every foal wanted to be but never wanted to become.
No…Why can’t they leave us alone just for one day?
~
Rarity took a sip from her cooled coffee. She couldn’t stand warm beverages, they just didn’t seem right to her. Slurping it down in small gulps, the respectable mare didn’t hold up to her proper table manners behind closed doors, careless as to what the rest of the world thought. She thought back at last night’s events and wondered how her sister was doing at school.
Is it possible that I over reacted?
Taking another sip of her fine coffee, she tried to imagine what was going through Sweetie Belle’s mind. Was she sad? Was she angry? Did she have reason to be? Flipping through the pages of her favorite fashion magazine, she got an idea. Why not take her sister to a mall in Manehattan this weekend? Although it was only Wednesday, the young mare looked forward to spending quality time with her only sibling.
~
“Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, please leave us alone…We didn’t do anything to you. We stayed out of your way all day.” Apple Bloom started to back up and found herself pinned against the bark of a tree.
“Well that just wouldn’t be any fun. Say have you fillies tried to be cutie mark crusader cowards yet?” Diamond Tiara broke out into a hysterical laughter that could annoy even the most patient ponies in Equestria.
“Fillies? More like colts if you ask me!” Silver Spoon joined her friend in front of Apple Bloom who was planted into the ground as firmly as the tree behind her.
“Buck off you two!” Scootaloo trotted up to the fillies hesitantly.
“Oh this is wonderful, don’t you think?” The tiara placed a forehoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder softly. “Tell me, chicken feathers, what exactly do you plan on doing about it?”
“Tell your mom, maybe then you’ll listen!”
“At least I have a mother!” With no Manehattan youth at their side, the cutie mark crusaders were once again powerless. It was no longer four against two, the fillies had to be a bit more creative this time around if they stood a chance.
“Please Tiara, can’t you find somepony else to pick on?” Sweetie Belle shrunk back, regretting her involvement as the words spilled out of her mouth before she had been able to process them thoroughly.
“We could, but the only other foals without cutie marks are half your age and that wouldn’t be fair, would it? Silver Spoon kicked the damp soil into the snow white filly’s face.
“Since when are you two being fair?”
“That’s enough chicken feathers, shut up or I’ll pluck each and every one of those pathetic orange things off of your back! Is that clear?!” Tiara felt rage growing within her as the three fillies began to turn the tide against them. Knowing no other way to regain her power, she decided to quit while she was ahead. “Anyways, Silver Spoon and I have better things to do with our lives and you three clearly aren’t worth our time. See ya later losers!”
The intense laughter emitted from the two arrogant fillies slowly died out in the distance as adrenaline started to wear off of Scootaloo.
“Why do they do this to us? It’s so, It’s so…”
“Unfair. I know.” Apple Bloom finished Sweetie Belle’s sentence as they trotted in unison towards the local ice cream shop, bits in saddle bag, ready to be exchanged for temporary relief after a long day.
~
Sweetie Belle headed up the stairs towards her room without uttering a greeting to her sister that awaited her in the living room. She was no longer mad at Rarity but she couldn’t bring herself to be seen in her current state. Shutting the door to her room, the foal did her homework without applying any effort since it wouldn’t matter of she answered the questions wrong; Cheerilee simply didn’t have the time and patience to check if everypony did an “exceptional job”. They just went through the questions rapidly in class since the answers provided would make studying a piece of cake. She was only in 7th grade after all, they couldn’t expect too much from a 12 year old filly that was only awake half of the time in class.
Hoofsteps could be heard delicately trotting up the padded staircase as Rarity made her way to her sister’s bedroom. A forehoof knocked lightly on the shut door of the filly’s sanctuary.
“Sweetie Belle, supper is ready for you on the table.”
“I’ll be there in a minute!”
~
“So how was your day?”
“It was okay, I guess. We learnt about philosophy…fun…” Sweetie Belle took a bite of her pasta, shining a look of approval towards her sister; all of yesterday’s drama forgotten for the time being.
“I made it for you; it’s your favorite, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Although Sweetie Belle could care less about most of her sister’s talents, cooking was one that she envied. At least Rarity couldn’t burn orange juice. Sweetie Belle finished her plate without going for seconds, the chocolate milkshake from earlier that evening not settling well.
How would you like to visit a mall in Manehattan this weekend, perhaps you’ll see Babs?”
“Sure.” Sweetie Belle highly doubted that she would encounter her bobtailed friend but agreed to go anyways to avoid further conflict.
“Okay, if you show me some good grades, perhaps I’ll get you something nice while were there.” Rarity smiled, thankful for her sister’s partial responses which were far better than nothing.
Supper time was over and the two sisters had long since parted ways, wishing each other a good night; although Sweetie Belle hardly doubted that she would get much sleep after today’s incident.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are growing meaner…I don’t like where this might be going…
Pushing aside her thoughts as best as she could, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but feel that maybe the two high class fillies weren’t the only things that bothered her through these sleepless nights; maybe there was something else beneath the surface.