//------------------------------// // Schoolhouse Rumble // Story: The Crusader Crisis // by AstroStar //------------------------------// After several weeks of sitting empty during the break, the schoolhouse classroom buzzed with activity once more. School was once again back in session and the fillies and colts of Ponyville were taking their places to begin a brand new school day. The usual mix of excitement and disappointment over the start of another school term, however, was replaced with a sense of tension and uncertainty concerning three particular classmates. Rumors had been swirling about what happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders all summer long, and many of the school foals had a hard time believing the stories that were spreading around town. As time passed and as school began anew, the students came to realize that something serious was going on between the three Crusaders, and many started wondering how it would play out in school. The rift between the Crusaders had already caused a one major change in the classroom dynamic. Cheerilee had changed the seating arrangement for the entire class. She wrote everypony’s name was written on their desks on small paper nameplates so every colt and filly could see where they were sitting. As it turned out, nearly all the changes in the seating order stemmed from the fallout of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, with all three of them sitting at opposite ends of the classroom; Sweetie Belle was in the front row closest to the door, Scootaloo would be on the opposite end of the row, right by Cheerilee’s desk, and Apple Bloom would be in the back corner by the classroom windows. Apple Bloom was among the first students in school that day, mainly thanks to her family forcing her. She sat at her desk, writing down new plans for her cutie mark, and furiously scratching out those same plans minutes later. She kept her head buried in her notebook, blocking out the world around her. She didn’t want any distractions from anypony. She didn’t even notice a young colt approach her. “Apple Bloom! Haven’t seen you in a while! How are you doing?” Apple Bloom glanced up for a quick second and saw him. She groaned. She didn’t have time to talk to Pipsqueak. “Ah’m fine,” she replied back. “You know,” Pipsqueak started nervously, “I was wondering since… you seem to be lonely lately, that maybe you’d like to hang out at lunch.” “Can’t. Busy.” Apple Bloom kept her eyes on her notebook. Pip was shocked at the sudden denial. “Well… we could hang out some other time if you want.” “Maybe,” Apple Bloom replied. Her tone was such that Pipsqueak knew she didn’t mean it. He hadn’t expected Apple Bloom to be this distant. “Do you need anything at all?” he eventually asked. “Can you convince Cheerilee to send me home so Ah’m not wasting mah time here?” Pip scratched his head. “I don’t think I can.” “Then leave me alone.” Pip wanted to say something else, but he decided to respect Apple Bloom’s request. He slowly turned away to look for his assigned seat. Apple Bloom continued to rebuff any other innocent hellos from her other classmates, focusing instead on her own work. She suddenly became aware of a high pitched voice coming from the hallway which she easily recognized as belonging to her former friend, and it sounded like that stuck up unicorn had roped in Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by her side too. Hearing that voice spurned Apple Bloom to scribble harder. “I can’t wait for school today! I finally have an audience to showcase my talents!” Sweetie Belle beamed, entering the classroom. “I’m sure everypony will be glad to hear it, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond Tiara said through a forced grin. “Yeah. I can hardly wait myself,” Silver Spoon nodded nervously. She looked back to Diamond with concern. Ever since the fight began, they hadn’t seen any trace of Apple Bloom or Scootaloo around Ponyville. However, Sweetie Belle was a frequent visitor to their homes, despite the fact that she was still grounded. Sweetie Belle now considered Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to be her closest friend, which also meant the two had to accept her own feelings towards the other former Crusaders as their own, whether they liked it or not. They were stuck with this new Sweetie Belle, and the more time they spent with her, the more uneasy it made them both feel. They couldn’t even say hello to Apple Bloom, sitting alone by herself in the corner, as they entered the classroom. The three of them stopped for a moment as they spotted the farm filly. Sweetie Belle frowned. “I don’t have time to deal with the likes of her” she muttered to herself. “But if she thinks she’s gonna get in the way of my big day, she has another thing coming.” With a huff, she turned around and headed for her desk. “Come on, you two. Class is gonna start soon. I need to get ready.” “Sure thing, Sweetie Belle!” Silver Spoon grinned forcefully. Once the young unicorn was out of earshot, she turned to whisper to Diamond Tiara. “We need to say hi to Apple Bloom, too! We can’t leave her like that.” “If we talk to Apple Bloom, who knows what Sweetie Belle might do!” Diamond Tiara warned her friend. “Besides, looking at Apple Bloom, I don’t think she’s in the mood to talk to anypony right now,” she added, taking a good look at Apple Bloom’s demeanor. “I hope somepony is able to snap them out of this.” Taking one last look at Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon turned around to find their desks. One by one, the students filled into the classroom as the opening bell drew closer. Sweetie Belle went out of her way to say hello to every foal who came through the doors as if she was running for class president. This was it for Sweetie Belle. She was the center of attention. And soon, everypony would be celebrating her cutie mark. Her accomplishments. Her talents. Yes, they would be all celebrating her! And there wasn’t anypony who would get in her way. While she continued welcoming her classmates, she didn’t notice the spiteful glare from the back of the classroom from a certain blank flanked filly who hid behind her notebook. For the students themselves, seeing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom so far apart both physically and spiritually created a twinge of nervous anxiety in the usual pre-class chatter. Scootaloo immediately noticed this anxiety when she entered the classroom herself. It was the last place she wanted to be, but Rainbow Dash convinced her that skipping school was a bad idea. She slowly stepped through the door and made her way through the class, avoiding as much eye contact as possible. She didn’t want to see the looks of sympathy everypony was giving her. It was just a cold reminder that she was stuck in the middle of a situation she could have stopped if she was brave enough. Sweetie Belle noticed the Pegasus nervously making her way to her desk. She immediately frowned and began to walk past her. As she did, she stealthily stuck her hoof out underneath the unsuspecting filly. Scootaloo’s front hooves suddenly got tangled by the mysterious hoof and she fell to the ground. “Hey! Watch where you’re going, you dodo!” Sweetie Belle smirked. She turned her head and continued to greet the rest of the incoming class. “At least she didn’t call me a chicken,” Scootaloo sighed. She picked herself up from the floor and made her way to her desk. As she got settled in, she noticed Apple Bloom in her new seat several rows behind her. “Good morning!” Scootaloo waved slowly. Apple Bloom only replied with an icy glare. Scootaloo backed away quickly. “So much for that.” Scootaloo gave up reaching out to her friends and settled in for the start of the school day. “Good morning, Scootaloo,” a voice called out from right beside her. She turned to see Ruby Pinch. “Morning,” Scootaloo replied back. “I guess we’re sitting next to each other.” Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Hey, Ruby? Are you all right? I heard what happened with you and Sweetie Belle.” Ruby Pinch looked down in shame. “I don’t know. I mean, I still don’t know what I did to make Sweetie Belle hate me.” Scootaloo sighed. “Join the club.” Ruby Pinch gasped, realizing she forgot about Scootaloo's dilemma. “Oh, I’m sorry Scootaloo. If anything, I should be asking you if you’re all right.” “I still feel lousy. But at least Rainbow Dash is helping me feel better.” “If you need somepony to talk to, you can always talk to me.” “Thanks, Ruby.” Scootaloo knew that she could talk to her, or any one of her classmates about this. If anything, everypony in town is sympathetic to what she was going through. But she didn’t feel comfortable opening herself up to her, or anypony else. There were really three ponies Scootaloo felt she could confide her feelings to. And two of them had shut her out completely. As the last of the students filed in, Ms. Cheerilee entered the classroom and took her place at her desk. All the students settled quickly into their desks by the time the school bell rang. “Good morning, class!” Cheerilee smiled. Even her smile was somewhat dampened by the tensions in the classroom. “Good morning, Ms. Cheerilee!” the class echoed in unison. “It’s great to see you all again! I hope you all had a pleasant break.” “I had a wonderful break Ms. Cheerilee!” Sweetie Belle shouted suddenly. “I got my cutie mark!” Cheerilee exhaled before she replied. “Yes, I know.” “And since I got my cutie mark,” Sweetie Belle continued, “I would be honored to tell you my official cutie mark story!” Cheerilee closed her eyes and shook her head. “As much as I would love to hear that, Sweetie Belle, we have a lot of subjects to cover today. So we really need to move along.” Sweetie Belle’s expression fell into shock. “B-but… Diamond Tiara got a whole 20 minutes to talk about her cutie mark story to the class!” “I know, Sweetie Belle, but things are different this year,” Cheerilee explained. “Now that everypony is one year more advanced, there’s a lot more complicated materials we need to cover. Sorry.” Sweetie Belle frowned and settled back to her seat in a giant huff. A filly sitting beside her started to giggle. Sweetie Belle shot a mean look in her direction which immediately hushed the filly up in fear. Cheerilee sighed. She knew things would be difficult due to the crisis, but to run into this issue right out of the gates was something she had not expected. She took a good look at the grumbling Sweetie Belle. She then looked to the apathetic Apple Bloom, who seemingly wasn’t aware that class had begun. Finally, she noticed Scootaloo, whose usual spunk was gone out without her friends. Cheerilee had something to get off her chest. “Before we continue, I just need to say something.” Cheerilee returned to her desk and sat down. Her expression had turned to a serious degree that the school foals were not used to. “I know things are a lot different than when we last saw each other. It’s not just the advanced school work. You all are growing up so fast. It won’t be long until you foals will be full grownup ponies, which means very soon, you all will have new responsibilities, new commitments, new everything.” She glanced over towards Sweetie Belle. “And while it’s important to take these responsibilities seriously, it is also important to remember what was it that got you to where you are right now.” She turned her glance to Apple Bloom. “Because whether you want to admit it or not, the things that make up your past will stay with you for the rest of your life.” She turned a final glance to Scootaloo. “And a big part of being an adult and dealing with your future is learning how to deal with your past, for better or for worse.” Silence permeated the entire class as Cheerilee finished her speech. The teacher didn’t know if what she said will make a difference, particularly to the fillies who needed the most help at the moment, but at least she felt better now that she said her piece. “We’ll have plenty of time to go into this later on in the year,” Cheerilee smiled. “But for now, let’s begin today’s lesson with a little math.” ~~~~~ The first half of the school day passed without any incidents, much to everypony's relief. Between the schoolwork and the icy relations between Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, the lunchtime bell came as a welcome distraction. The school foals had all spread about the school yard playing around or enjoying their lunches. Most of the students were taking advantage of what was a beautiful day. Three particular fillies, however, were not joining in on the fun. Apple Bloom had secluded herself in a corner, still buried in her notebook, and shooing away anypony who tried to distract her. It was a miracle she took the time to take out the apple fritter her sister had made her for lunch, although she wasn’t planning on eating it just yet. She still had work to do. Scootaloo ate her lunch quietly near the playground. Unlike Apple Bloom, she did talk to her classmates for at least a little while. She even allowed Dinky to sit next to her and eat lunch. However, despite all the attention and support Scootaloo received, she still couldn’t muster even a small smile. Scootaloo just looked onto where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were and sighed. “You sure you don’t want one of my mom’s blueberry muffins?” Dinky asked. Scootaloo shook her head. “No thanks..” “You know,” Dinky spoke up, “If you need somepony to talk to, I can help.” Scootaloo groaned. I wish everypony would stop telling me that, she thought. She shook that feeling aside. Dinky was just trying to be friendly, just like everypony else, so she had to at least recognize that. “Thanks, Dinky. I’m sorry. I got a lot on my mind right now.” She tried to change the subject. “So… how did your break go?” “It was great!” Dinky beamed. “I spent a lot of time with my mom. She’s helping Lyra with a new project and they’re getting really excited about it!” Scootaloo listened quietly as Dinky went on about her break, and the new project that her mom was involved in. Scootaloo did her best to listen, but her heart just wasn’t into it. In another part of the playground, Sweetie Belle was still stewing over the events of that morning. “I can’t believe Ms. Cheerilee didn’t let me show off my cutie mark,” the unicorn frowned. “I don’t see why that’s a big deal. Everypony knows the story by now, anyway,” Silver Spoon pointed out. “But I had this big thing planned for the first day back to school!” Sweetie Belle pouted. Diamond Tiara shrugged. “Oh well, there’s always next time.” Sweetie Belle sat quietly for a few moments when an idea formed in her head. “You’re right! There is always next time. And THIS is next time!” “Wait, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond Tiara replied. “What are you even talking abou… aaaaand she’s gone now, isn’t she?” “Yes, she is,” Silver Spoon confirmed, watching Sweetie Belle suddenly rush to the school steps. “Geez! She’s getting as bad as the other me!” Diamond Tiara remarked, alluding to her ‘Friendship is Magic’ character. “At this rate, I don’t even think Bully Tiara would be enough to stop Sweetie Belle,” Silver Spoon sighed. They watched Sweetie Belle run up to the school steps. She turned around and addressed her classmates. “Listen up everypony!” Sweetie Belle shouted, grabbing everypony’s attention. “In honor of me getting my cutie mark, I have decided to treat you all with a song. I hope you enjoy it!” The school foals looked at each other, not sure whether or not to acknowledge Sweetie Belle’s call for attention. Nevertheless, many of them decided to humor her. Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and began. I've paid my dues, Time after time, I was a blank flank, For no reason or rhyme. But that's all over, Because now you see, I now know what kind of pony I'm supposed to beeeee! Apple Bloom gritted her teeth. Not only was she being distracted from her work, but SHE was doing it. Enough was enough. With one swift motion, Apple Bloom grabbed her apple fritter and launched it at Sweetie Belle. The fritter struck the unicorn on the back of her head, interrupting the young unicorn's big song. “ALL RIGHT! WHO DID THAT?!?” Sweetie Belle shouted angrily. Everypony quickly shuffled out of the way, revealing Apple Bloom with a sly smile on her face. Sweetie Belle stormed up to the farm pony. “You think that’s so funny, Apple Blank?” she shouted. “Why, yes! Ah think it’s hilarious!” Apple Bloom smirked. Sweetie Belle got into Apple Bloom’s face. “You’re gonna pay for that!” “Try me,” Apple Bloom glared. After a few tense seconds facing off against each other, Sweetie Belle backed away a bit, suddenly smirking at her foe. “On second thought, maybe I won’t do anything. I see it all in your cutie mark.” Apple Bloom suddenly gasped and checked her flank, but there was no cutie mark there. Sweetie Belle burst out in laughter at the fake out. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up,” Apple Bloom hissed. Sweetie Belle wiped a tear from her eye as her laughter died down. “But don’t you see? That’s the perfect cutie mark for you.” “There’s nothing there.” “Exactly.” Sweetie Belle smiled viciously. “And that’s exactly who you are Apple Bloom. That’s all you’ll ever be. Absolutely NOTHING!” Sweetie Belle didn't have any time to react to the yellow hoof that flew straight to her face, knocking her to the ground. Apple Bloom didn't allow Sweetie Belle to get up as she started launching several punches right into the unicorn’s face in rage. The next thing anypony knew, the entire school yard descended into chaos as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle traded punches. Sudden shrieking and yelling came from the entire class who watched the entire scene devolve in front of their eyes. Several classmates quickly rushed to separate the two fighting fillies, some of the foals ran inside to tell Cheerilee about the fight, while others simply looked on with a mix of disbelief, sadness, confusion, horror, and a bit of twisted humor. Quietly, a couple of the students exchanged bits over a bet that was made earlier that day. Scootaloo’s mind raced trying to think of something, ANYTHING to do to stop all of this, but she was unable to come up with anything. She simply looked on dumbfounded like the rest of the class. It seemed like forever, but Cheerilee finally emerged from the school building, running as fast as she could upon hearing the commotion from her classroom. “Everypony FREEZE!” Cheerilee shouted angrily. The rare harsh tone from the teacher caused the courtyard to fall silent. “What in Equestria is going on out here?” All at once, everypony told Cheerilee what happened from their own perspective, resulting in a chorus of yelling and shouting. Cheerilee couldn’t make out any specifics over the voices, but she did take note that the words ‘Apple Bloom’ and ‘Sweetie Belle’ were coming from every direction, and taking a look at the disheveled heap the two offending ponies were in, not to mention the fresh bruises that didn’t exist on them that morning, Cheerilee was able to connect the dots rather quickly. “Ok, that’s enough,” Cheerilee said, quieting the crowd. “There’s nothing else to see here. Please return to your lunches, everypony,” she told the class. She lowered her gaze at the center of attention and frowned. “Except you two! Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? I need you to come with me.” She led the two back inside the school house. Any explanations, protests or blaming that either of them gave fell on deaf’s ear. Slowly, the rest of the class returned to their lunchtime activities with a more subdued tone after what just happened. Diamond Tiara couldn’t return to her lunch. She was too worried about the third Crusader in this mess. If seeing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fight like that shook up the entire class, then who knows what Scootaloo was going through. She quickly noticed Scootaloo sitting near the playground, still too stunned to react to what just happened. “Scootaloo!” Diamond Tiara shouted out, running towards her. “Are you all right?” Scootaloo remained silent. “Please, Scootaloo! Say something!” “Say something…” Scootaloo mumbled. She suddenly blinked as the words materialized into a single thought. “I have to say something. I have to talk to them!” She started to run towards the school house. “Scootaloo! Wait!” Diamond Tiara called out, but it was no use. She could only watch on as Scootaloo went back inside. She didn’t understand what Scootaloo had in mind, but whatever it was, she prayed that it would bring an end to the crisis. Inside, Scootaloo ran down the short hallway just in time to see Cheerilee step out of her office. The teacher looked more worn out than she ever remembered. Still, Scootaloo approached her. “Ms. Cheerilee?” she called out. “Scootaloo? Is there something wrong?” Scootaloo shifted around nervously. “I was wondering…. Do you think I can talk to them? I mean just me and nopony else?” Cheerilee sighed and opened the door. “Well, their sisters are on their way here right now, but you can go right ahead. Maybe you can talk some sense into them.” Scootaloo took a deep breath and entered the office. Inside, she saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sitting in opposite corners facing the wall. She cleared her throat. “Hello, girls?” The two turned around and noticed her. They frowned. “What do YOU want?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We need to talk. I mean, all three of us,” Scootaloo replied. Apple Bloom crossed her arms. “Hmph. Ah ain’t got nothing to say.” “Yeah, how about you two blank flanks talk and leave me out of this.” Sweetie Belle huffed. “She’s NOT mah friend!” Apple Bloom shouted. Sweetie Belle was taken by surprise by that statement. “Oh! You two had a falling out? Finally come to your senses, huh Scootaloo?” Scootaloo shook her head. “Apple Bloom is still my friend, Sweetie Belle. And so are you!” Sweetie Belle frowned and scoffed before turning her back on the two. Scootaloo got closer to the two. “You guys have to cut this out. You’re acting like total jerks!” “Oh, I’M the jerk?” Sweetie Belle asked in disbelief. “You’re just jealous like Little Miss Cry Baby over there! Why would I want to associate myself with a bunch of whiny, stubborn blank flanks anyway?” Apple Bloom turned her head in anger. “Whiny?!? Jealous?!? Why should Ah be jealous of an overrated, self-centered, D-grade, wannabe diva?” Sweetie Belle eyes glazed over in fire. “D-grade?!? Why you little…” “STOP IT!!!” The two turned their attention to Scootaloo, who was now starting to fight tears. "This can’t go on anymore!” Scootaloo yelled out. “Are you two just gonna keep fighting for the rest of your lives? Don’t you realize how miserable you’re making everypony around you? What about our class? What about our families? What about ME?!?” She huffed for a few moments as she calmed herself down. She continued in a more controlled, even tone. “Look, I know things have gotten crazy, but we can work this out. Maybe we won’t be the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore, but we can still be friends, right?” Apple Bloom replied in a stern tone. “Not anymore. Not after what she’s done. Ah can be friends with… that,” she said glaring at Sweetie Belle. “But Apple Bloom…” Scootaloo tried to protest. The earth filly turned her back to her. “It’s over, Scootaloo. It’s time to move on.” “Well in that case, I hope you have a rotten life, Apple Blank!” Sweetie Belle huffed. “Buck you, ya fat marshmallow!” Apple Bloom yelled. “Did you just call me FAT?!?” This time it was Sweetie Belle who launched at Apple Bloom in rage and tackled her to the ground. Scootaloo watched on helplessly as the two exchanged another round of punches. The fight continued for a few moments before Applejack and Rarity arrived at the office. They were accompanied by Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash, who had come out of concern for Scootaloo. The two big sisters quickly saw the fight in progress and separated the two brawling fillies, who stopped thrashing once they were out of hoof’s reach of each other. Apple Bloom noticed the newcomers in the room. She knew what was going on, so she groaned. “Whatever. Ah’m outta here.” Apple Bloom led herself out of the room. Before Applejack could run out to chase her, she turned to Cheerilee, her voice sounding heavily defeated. “Lemme guess. Apple Bloom’s suspended indefinitely, right?” Cheerilee nodded sadly. “Yes. So is Sweetie Belle.” “She started it!” Sweetie Belle protested. “Sweetie Belle, just don’t!” Rarity said, her voice heavy with exasperation. “Don’t say anything. Let’s just go home.” Rarity led her younger sister out of the school, while Applejack ran out to catch up with Apple Bloom. Rainbow Dash was left alone with Scootaloo and Cheerilee. “Is Scootaloo in trouble too?” Rainbow Dash asked. Cheerilee shook her head. “No, she isn’t. But I’ll understand if she doesn’t want to return to class just yet.” “Thanks, Cheerilee. I’ll try to take it from here,” Rainbow Dash told her. Cheerilee nodded and went back to her classroom. Rainbow Dash gulped and approached Scootaloo carefully. “Are you ok, kiddo?” “It’s never gonna end,” Scootaloo said in silent realization. “This is hopeless, Dash! It’s only getting worse!” “What happened?” “I tried to talk to them. I told them that their fighting was making everypony miserable. But they didn't listen. Apple Bloom even said that it was over. That I should move on.” Scootaloo fought back a fresh set of tears as the words sunk in. Rainbow Dash could barely look on. She couldn’t take Scootaloo this sad anymore. Something needed to change. “You know,” Rainbow Dash found herself saying, “Moving on might not be a bad idea.” Scootaloo turned her head in disbelief. “What?!?” “Maybe what you need is a fresh start. You know, get away from all this.” “A fresh start? What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash hesitated before continuing. “I know some ponies in Cloudsdale. I can make a few calls and you can move in later this month.” “Cloudsdale?!? You’re gonna send me away?!?” “I didn’t mean it like that,” Rainbow Dash defended herself. “I just thought that a fresh start would be the best way to make you happy again.” Scootaloo couldn’t believe what Rainbow Dash had just said. “Happy? I can’t be happy with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle acting like this! How can I be happy? Even if I run away, I can’t run away from them. I’d never do that! Why do YOU think I should?” Rainbow Dash stammered. “I-I just thought that…” “…that I should just give up?” Scootaloo cried. “That it would be better if I pretend that I never met Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle in the first place?” Rainbow Dash tried to reach out to Scootaloo, but the orange Pegasus turned away, hiding her tears from her. “I thought you believed in me, Rainbow Dash. I thought you said you can help me fix this. I thought you knew how much Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle mean to me! And you think that I should just FORGET them?!?” “Scootaloo, wait!” Scootaloo couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out of the classroom, crying loudly. Rainbow Dash was left alone, bewildered as to why Scootaloo reacted the way she did. It didn’t take long to realize what Scootaloo thought she was saying. She slumped down on the floor and buried her head in her hooves. “Rainbow Dash, you idiot!” she scolded herself.