//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: For the Love of a Bully // Story: Tiara in the Rough // by Locomotion //------------------------------// “...so you think you two might yet gain your Cutie Marks at long last?” Scootaloo puffed out her chest. “Any reason why we shouldn't? Believe me, Lickety, Rumble and me were way better than all the others with that obstacle course Apple Bloom had laid out,” she replied confidently. “Could be that our special talent really is to do with stunts after all.” Lickety-Split gave the two younger Pegasi a doubtful half-smile. “Yeah, looking at the sort of things you do, I wouldn't be surprised,” he conceded. “Just don't overdo it, mind. I don't think Rainbow Dash or Thunderlane would be very happy if you hurt yourselves.” “Ah, give it a rest!” retorted Scootaloo, waving him away dismissively. “We've been getting good with our flying skills lately, and I've been doing cool stuff with my scooter for years. This'll be a cinch.” “Big deal!” The three foals rolled their eyes dramatically, but didn't even bother to look over their shoulders – they knew that voice all too well. “Even if you do get those Cutie Marks, they'll never be anywhere near as good as mine and Silver Spoon's. You're just losers, the lot of you!” “Says the pony who fails to equal another so-called 'loser' at spinning a hoop thing round her barrel!” scoffed Rumble. “Anyway, since when does anypony else think of our Scootaloo as a complete flop at scooter stunts? Tell me that!” “You and your stupid stunts!” snorted Diamond Tiara rudely. “Who would want to go showing off for a living?” “Uh, hello? The Wonderbolts?” “Anyway, you can't talk,” put in Scootaloo huffily. “You show off all the time, and nopony pays any attention to you, 'cause you're too busy making yourself look superior!” “I'll say,” agreed Lickety-Split smugly. “I mean, who else would go taking the credit for an acrobatics show by her own butler? Call us losers if you must, but it's still the pot calling the kettle black as far as we're concerned – faker!” Diamond Tiara shot the three of them a dirty look. “Oh, a faker, am I?!” she snarled. “More than just a faker,” interjected Rumble. “You're a mean, manipulative cheat, you are, and before you even dare to ask...demand such a thing, no – I'm not taking any of it back!” “Cheat indeed! Well, I ask you, who in the right mind would think that of me, and why?!” “Plenty of ponies for plenty of reasons,” Lickety-Split pointed out calmly. “For example – who was it that tried to make Granny Smith look like a senile old hag at Family Appreciation Day? Who was it that took the whole Gabby Gums thing too far and made it into an insult column? Who was it that messed that Babs Seed filly around and turned her against her own cousin? Who was it that took advantage of a certain trio of fillies just to win favour from our resident princess?” “Oh yeah? Well, let me tell...” “And more importantly, who was it that tried to bully a certain film director into giving her a certain part in a certain war film about trains?” “And yet he gives some upstart puffer nutter the lead role! Honestly, what is his problem?!” “You're the one with a problem!” reproached Scootaloo. “Loco was perfect for the role Technicolour Tarquin had in mind – you would have just screwed it up and put the production back by a thousand years. And it's not just because he's good with trains either!” “What, because he's a show-off?!” “Let it go, Diamond, they're not worth it,” interrupted Silver Spoon snootily. “Anyway, there's no-one who can equal the likes of you and me.” Diamond Tiara's face took on a smirk of agreement. “You're right, Silver Spoon. Let's just get out of here. Good luck with your trumped up stunt show, blank-flanks!” and as if to rub it in, she and Silver Spoon paused briefly to exchange their familiar and admittedly annoying hoofshake; “Bump, bump, sugar lump rump!” Lickety-Split just laughed. “You wanna take care with that dance of yours,” he quipped, “or other ponies might start getting 'ideas' about your relationship.” “Yeah, no wonder you can't find yourselves a coltfriend, unlike me!” chortled Scootaloo. “Not that you need one anyway – not if you've got each other!” Diamond Tiara went red in the face with fury and embarrassment as the other three foals burst into helpless laughter. “You...you...you incessant little...AARGH!” she screamed angrily, and stormed off. Silver Spoon duly followed; but Scootaloo and Lickety-Split's snide remarks seemed to have had a rather odd effect on her. Though she too had acquired a noticeable blush, somehow she was secretly less offended and more stunned by their insinuation regarding her and Diamond Tiara's relationship. She listened quietly as her disgruntled friend groused bitterly about colts, blank-flanks and stunt ponies. What she hadn't told anypony, least of all Diamond Tiara, was that she had recently been seeing her in a different light, one that she was afraid to reveal to anypony for fear of what her friend's reaction might be – yet here were three ponies acting like they knew all along what was going on in her head! But surely they couldn't have found out her little secret, she thought – no, those losers were just having a game with her so that they could get their own back......weren't they? Even when Silver Spoon returned home late that afternoon, the events of earlier that day were still playing on her mind, and even her own conscience seemed undecided as to how she should address her own emotions. How would she go about letting the truth out? Should she even bother in the first place? How would Diamond Tiara take it? Was it wrong that she was getting a crush on a bully of all ponies? It was the very last of those questions that she found particularly difficult to answer. She knew Diamond Tiara was the sort of pony who would go out of her way to make others feel inferior, and admittedly she couldn't help feeling sorry for whoever the pink-furred filly decided to target for whatever reason, but she had been friends with her since before they had got their Cutie Marks, and that kind of friendship, she felt, was not one that she could simply break off. In fact, that was the only reason why she ever joined in on Diamond Tiara's teasing – she simply didn't want to part with her best friend. That was what really scared her right now; if she so much as thought of letting slip of her crush, it might end up ruining their friendship for good. Okay, so there might be a slim chance that the feeling might be mutual, but Diamond Tiara's views on mares falling for other mares had left a lot to be desired in the past, and if they were anything to go by now, said chance might as well have been zero. “Silver Spoon?” A gentle voice of concern snapped the grey filly out of her thoughts. She looked up to see her mother, Brass Burnish, standing just in front of her in the hallway. “Where have you been all afternoon? You're ten minutes late for dinner.” Silver Spoon sighed heavily and brushed a solemn hoof against the carpet. “Sorry, Mom,” she mumbled. “I guess I just lost track of time.” Brass Burnish raised an eyebrow. “That's not like you, Silver, dear,” she remarked anxiously. “Is anything bugging you, perchance?” “Um...well...” Silver Spoon paused for a few seconds before looking away and murmuring in a quiet, timid voice, “How would you feel if you found out I was a fillyfooler?” This query was met with a slightly amused look of disbelief from her mother. “Why would you get so worked up about all that?” she objected. “You're my daughter, Silver Spoon – my job is to help you with whatever issues you're going through, not to judge you for them.” Silver Spoon stared in confusion. “So...you don't mind if I am?” “Of course not. Yes, your father might have something to say about it, him being all judgemental and such, but that's not to say he won't hold it against you forever – certainly not if I can help it,” replied Brass Burnish kindly. “Besides, my great aunt was a fillyfooler herself, but she didn't let it get to her. Neither should you, Silver.” Another pause followed before her expression turned to one of curiosity, and she gently added, “How did you find out you might be a fillyfooler anyway?” “You know how I've been friends with Diamond Tiara for the longest time?” “Yes, what of it?” Secretly, Brass Burnish couldn't help worrying when she heard that name. Despite being fairly wealthy, Silver Spoon had never been that good at making friends in her youth, and only Diamond Tiara had had the heart to befriend her; but even then, this was mostly down to their broadly similar family and financial backgrounds, and in other respects, Brass Burnish saw the pink-furred filly as a bad influence on her daughter. Even Silver Spoon herself would silently acknowledge just how wrong it was to victimise others, but again, she never dared talk about it for fear of ruining their friendship. “Well...I think I might be getting a crush on her,” explained Silver Spoon tentatively. “She and I have been talking about coltfriends a lot lately, but the thought of being with some show-off stallion just doesn't seem to appeal to me. But more than that,” she went on, “I keep dreaming about me and her going out on a date somewhere...maybe at the beach or in some really beautiful garden...she's looking into my eyes and I'm looking into hers...” Her voice trailed away as she became lost in her fantasy. “I see,” said Brass Burnish thoughtfully. “Have you told her about this yet?” “No,” admitted Silver Spoon, her expression turning nervous as she broke out of her reverie, “and I'm kind of scared. I mean, what if she comes over all homophobic and breaks off our friendship? I don't want that to happen.” Brass Burnish pondered for a few seconds before answering the question simply; “I'm afraid only time will tell, Silver Spoon,” she said gravely. “If she turns out to be a fillyfooler too, then so be it; but if not, I'm sure there'll be another filly who might take an interest in you. In the meantime, the best I can recommend is that you try to keep it to yourself until you have a better idea of how she might take it. Anyway, don't let's worry too much about it; we don't want our dinner to go cold, do we?” “Yeah, I suppose not,” and with that, Silver Spoon followed her mother to the dining room.