//------------------------------// // The Last Morning // Story: The Vacation // by Hope Caster //------------------------------// Several alarms in several rooms began to go off rousing most of the foals on the 24th floor. Rumble, Pip, and Button Mashed peered out of their room to see if it was safe to enter the hallway. “Okay, I think it’s safe,” Button said, slowly stepping out of the room. Rumble and Pip reluctantly followed, their bags taken down by an overworked, underpaid bellhop. They had to be careful; one mistake could cost them their lives. After last night, Diamond Tiara replaced each of their top fears. The dark seemed less dark to Pip, Button Mash thought ceramic dolls with empty, soulless eyes were actually kinda cute now, and Rumble felt like he could stare the animatronics at a pizzeria in the face without flinching. But Diamond Tiara? She was terror incarnate. “Okay, if we can make it to the train, and if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon don’t hate us too much, we should be able to make it back to ponyville with minimal damage sustained, and if anything goes wrong, Pip will take one for the team.” Button Mash said. “Wait, why me?! You got us into this; you should be the meat shield!” Pip complained. “Pip, Button Mash wouldn’t last more than a couple of seconds against those two… or anypony for that matter,” Rumble said. “And I would?” “Well, no, but you’re the small, cute, hyper one, she’s way less likely to kill you than she would Button, or me for that matter. In terms of survival rates, yours is the highest.” “Yeah, and plus, Rumble and I have parents, we have something to lose!” Button pointed out. “I have parents to, you bleedin’ moron! Just because I can’t bring you blokes to my house, doesn’t mean I’m an orphan!” Pip shouted. “Well… you weren’t curb stumped!” “At least you got money out of your beating!” Pip argued. “I felt two pops when she kicked me!” As his friends argued about who should be the meat shield in case things went south, Rumble had a moment of genius. There was one thing they didn’t try, that could effectively resolve everything. “Guys, just stop!” Rumble shouted, gaining the attention of his friends. “Let’s face the facts, we messed up and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think we should apologize to Silver Spoon.” “But they’re bullies! If anything, we deserve a sorry!” Button argued. “Thank you for stating the obvious, Button!” Rumble laughed. “Look, if we try to avoid them, we’ll just freak ourselves out and eventually get pounded for something else we do in the future,” Rumble stated, his voice returning to it’s serious, slightly high pitched tone. “Look I know it’s risky, I know stupid and we’ll probably get the crap beat out of use again, but at least we’ll have whole heartily apologized. Besides, you two owe me a risky and stupid moment, and I have the scars to prove it. So trust me on this.” “But Rumble we want to live,” Button Mash stated. “Think about that. All of us, including you, want to live. You are saying we should commit suicide. Notice the conflict of interest.” “Button Mash, did I mention that since her dad's rich she might have a diamond sword?” “We must apologize to her this instant!” Button proclaimed. After hours of showering, Diamond Tiara had finally managed to wash the smell of losers, lamers, and weird dragon thing off herself. Silver Spoon was finishing her own shower, and since she loved to have her mane braided perfectly, Diamond knew she had at least thirty minutes before Silver Spoon was ready. She didn’t mind. In fact, Diamond Tiara was just glad she would ever have to look back on last night ever again. In fact, last night never even happened. She and Silver Spoon just shared a horrible, collective nightmare. It would never be more than that. There was a knock on her hotel room door, followed by the sound of a complete and utter loser. “Um, Silver Spoon, can we talk?” It asked. Diamond Tiara opened the door, her expression dropping several miles as a result. “Oh great, Twiddle Dumb, Twiddle Dumber, and Twiddle Mentally Challenged, what do you three want?” She respectively asked Rumble, Pip, and Button Mash. Rumble pushed Button forward and motioned for him to say something. “I wanted to tell Silver Spoon that I’m… what am I again, Rumble?” “Sorry,” Rumble sighed. “Yeah, scared out of my mind!” Button said. “So are we cool? I think we’re cool. Can I have a diamond sword now?” “Twiddle Dumber, translate,” Diamond demanded. “He meant to say he’s sorry for last night, even though you two dames harass most of the class and kinda deserved it in a way,” Pip said. Diamond’s eyes began to narrow. “Hmm, it sounded like you said you were sorry, but then you said something that sounded like ‘punch me, punch me, for the love of Celestia, just punch me!’.” “No!” Pip said without a moment’s hesitation. “I meant to say we’d do anythin’ to make it up to you!” Diamond was about to make a smart retort, but then paused. “Anything?” Diamond Tiara said, arching an eyebrow. Anything sounded good, no matter who was offering it. She could make them her slaves if she wanted. However, their actions didn’t hurt her, they went for her best friend, her only friend. Sure, she could force them to carry her and Silver Spoon’s bags, get the three of them to give them hooficures, or have them do their homework for a month, but what would they learn? Nopony actually saw what she did to them last night, so an example still needed to be made. An eye for an eye as it were. “You know, why don’t you three wait here, while I think of a few things?” She said, smirking. The three colts waited ten minutes before Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came out of their room. The fillies smirked as they dragged the colts into the room. Thirty minutes passed and the colts left the room, reluctant to serve their sentence. Button Mash, Pipsqueak, and Rumble walked down stairwell with scowls on their faces. “You had to say anything, didn’t you?” Rumble said, glaring at Pip. “I thought we’d have to carry the dames’ bags, I didn’t think they’d make us do this! Besides, does it matter much? We’re alive and both them dames forgave us. Who cares if we look horrible?” Pip defended. “Come on, you guys, it’s not that bad. Just think of it as a think of it as a quest. The second we get home, we level up!” Button said, trying to put a positive spin on it. “Button, here’s a side quest for you. Shut up,” Rumbled sighed. “Come on, I bet if we hurry, we can avoid everypony and make it to the train station with what little dignity we have left.” Rumble said, opening the stairway door leading to the lobby. The three stepped into the lobby and only to be caught in a large flash. “Looking good boys!” Silver Spoon called, laughing at them with Diamond Tiara. About fifteen other students were with them, all of them laughing as hard as possible. The request that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had was simple, they wanted to put make-up on the three of the colts. Unfortunately, the make-up was not subtle. All three of them wore the brightest Red lipstick, had bursting blue shadow on, complete with fake eyelashes, and had the pinkest shade of blush anypony could imagine. Button and Rumble were complete with a black beauty mark on their left cheek. “Et tu, Shady Daze?” Rumble asked when another camera flash dazed him. “Don’t worry, I’ll probably shred the pictures,” Shady Daze said. He would not shred the pictures. Scootaloo’s official Rainbow Dash Alarm Clock was loud and obnoxious, just like the mare herself, because Applejack and Rarity were cooler. At least that was what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle told themselves. The three fillies moaned as they dragged themselves out of bed. Last night had to be a dream, or rather a collective nightmare. They were nice to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The mere thought of it chilled their souls. Well, it chilled the souls of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, Sweetie’s mind focused on another part of the night. Specifically, her time spent with Spike. “So, about last night, are you and Spike a thing now?” Scootaloo asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Just shut up,” Sweetie Belle groaned as she picked up her porcupine. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo proceeded to collect what little things they still had left on the floor and placed their belongings in their bags. The three fillies slowly and miserably dragged their things onto an elevator and descended to the lobby. Passing a large group of laughing foals, the three friends headed straight for the train station. They arrived at 7:15, before any other pony in their class, including Cheerilee. As the scheduled departure time drew near, more and more foals poured onto the train station, with a flushed Cheerilee being the last to arrive. Unfortunately, her coffee with the guard she met last night ran a little longer than planned, though fact she was smiling was a good sign. Cheerilee hurried the rest of foals onto the train after a quick head count. An attendant took Sweetie’s bags and placed them in a random compartment, before attending to the other foals in need of help. She took a seat across from Apple Bloom and next to Scootaloo. The three of them sat across the row from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Nothing was said between the two groups; they simply turned their heads towards the window and intently looked towards the scenery. At eight o’clock, a final call was made and the train began to pull out of the station. Sweetie Belle sat on the train in a trance with one question still lingering in her mind. What was going to happen now? She had kissed Spike, and she knew he wasn’t going to think that it was nothing. What she had done could make things awkward when he came to Rarity’s shop. She knew for certain that she was going to be on the receiving end of many jokes and various forms of teasing. At least she could be glad that with the end of the field trip, school was officially out for the summer. Summer. She always loved summer; she loved it even more now that she had a pet. He was unofficially her pet of course, as her parents still needed to okay him. With Spines around she would at least she have somepony to talk to if Apple Bloom and Scootaloo couldn’t hangout. Sweetie Belle continued looking out the window, deep in thought until she was snapped her back to reality was the sound of a whistle blowing. Sweetie Belle looked outside and saw that the train was coming to a stop at Ponyville. Most of the foals’ guardians were there, waiting to pick up their children. The train stopped with a small jerk and the doors opened. Most of the foals collected their things, and rushed off the train, but Sweetie Belle waited until her friends were with her. When they were together, and Scootaloo scared off Shady Daze, the three took their first steps off the train, ready to return to their normal lives and start the glorious event that was Summer Break.