//------------------------------//
// The Bully 
// Story: The Unequal 
// by Invinsible 
//------------------------------//

Starlight Glimmer tapped her hoof on the right arm of Princess Twilight’s throne as she waited for her guests.  She smiled as the doors opened and two ponies walked in.  “Spoiled Rich.  Diamond Tiara.  Thank you for coming to this meeting on such short notice.”

“It was no trouble at all Miss Glimmer.  We exist to serve equality,” Spoiled Rich said with a smile and a bow.  She glanced over at her daughter and frowned.  “Diamond Tiara.”

“Huh?  Oh.  Y-yes mother.”  Diamond forced a smile on her face and bowed too.  “We exist to serve equality.”

“Of course.  You’ll find that no family is more equal than ours,” Spoiled said as she held her head up high.  “Whatever request you ask of us, name it and it shall be yours.”

Starlight resisted the urge to smack herself in the face.  “Miss Rich, we’ve talked about this.  Nopony is more equal than anyone else.”

“Of course we are, Miss Glimmer.  For while the Rich family recognizes the efforts you’ve made to establishing a perfect society of equality, ponies of lesser social standings may not appreciate what you’ve done for us,” Spoiled said disdainfully.  “Take that beastly blank flank for example.”

Starlight nodded.  “Well I’m happy that we’re getting straight to the point.  The reason I’ve called you two here is that very pony.  The unnamed filly will be enrolled into the Ponyville School tomorrow and I wish to speak to Diamond Tiara about it.”

“Ah, I understand now,” Spoiled said with a smug nod.  “You wish for my daughter to instruct the delusional filly about how a civilized and equalized pony must act in our community.  You’ve made an excellent choice Miss Glimmer.  My daughter has always been good at getting other ponies to do what she wants.”

Starlight frowned.  “But your family has embraced equality.  You shouldn’t have any special talents.”

“Oh, it’s not just talent Miss Glimmer.  It’s about reputation.  It’s about a pony’s social standing,” Spoiled explained.

Starlight was beginning to think that Miss Rich wasn’t the best pony to be asking about this.  The equalization process had changed Spoiled Rich in more ways than one.  “But you don’t have a reputation or social standing.  That’s the point of equality.”

“And the fact remains that the unnamed child is not equal.  We know our place in society while she does not.”

Starlight sighed.  “That’s not how equality works.  Listen Miss Rich, perhaps you could leave the room for just a few minutes?  I wanted to speak to Diamond Tiara about something in private.”

“Say no more, Miss Glimmer,” Spoiled said as she left the room and closed the doors behind her.

Starlight turned to Diamond and smiled at her.  “It’s a pleasure to see you again Diamond Tiara.  We really should get together more often.”

“S-sure,” Diamond said somewhat nervously.  “What did you want to talk about?”

Starlight sighed heavily and placed a hoof on Diamond’s shoulder.  “Diamond Tiara.  I have called you to ask a…very difficult request of you.  It is not one I take lightly.  I honestly feel disgusted with myself for asking this of you.  If there was another choice I would gladly take it…but the filly has left me with very few options.”

Diamond nervously backed away from Starlight’s hoof.  “What…what are you talking about?”

“I’ve spoken with Miss Cheerilee and many other fillies and colts who go to your school.  They say that before I brought equality and harmony to this village, you were a bit of a bully.”

Diamond cringed.  “Well, I-I wouldn’t say that…I mean, ‘bully’ is such an ugly word…”

“Oh, Diamond…I understand.  This may surprise but I too know the heartache a life with special talents can cause.  I know how haunted you must feel for your past actions.  But the past is behind us now!  That’s the beauty of a world where everypony is equal.  No one has to live in fear of being teased,” Starlight said as she patted Diamond’s head.

Starlight’s face darkened.  “But all of that is thrown into disarray because of that filly.  In a world where everypony is equal she is the wild card that threatens us all.  It’s time she learned how much heartache she’s causing, not just to others but to herself as well.  If she can’t comply with equality’s reasonable demands then she can’t reap its rewards either.”  She smiled down at Diamond.  “That’s why, tomorrow when you’re both at school, I would like you to…persuade her to rethink her life choices.”

Diamond’s eyes widened.  “You want me to bully her into accepting equality.”

Starlight smiled gently.  “Like you said, ‘bully’ is such an ugly word.  I don’t like this anymore than you do but we have to think about Ponyville’s future.  A filly like that…she doesn’t fit in with our community.”

“I…I don’t know, Miss Glimmer.  You’ve asked me to give up my cutie mark, my tiara…” Diamond paused and touched the top of her head, sighing wistfully.  “But this…I don’t know if I can do this.”

Starlight frowned.  “Is that so?  Spoiled Rich!” she called out.

Spoiled opened the door and walked back into the throne room.  “Yes, Miss Glimmer?”

“I have asked your daughter to make a small sacrifice for the greater good of equality.  My request may be horrible but I think you would find it quite necessary and easy for Diamond Tiara to accomplish.  However, it appears that she does not care for equality the same way you and I do.”

Spoiled glared at the cringing Diamond.  “Don’t worry Miss Glimmer.  I shall be having a very long conversation with my daughter about respecting our community.  Come, Diamond Tiara!”

Starlight smirked as Spoiled dragged her daughter out of the castle.  She was confident that Spoiled Rich could convince Diamond how necessary this task was and that once the filly was subjected to the horrors of being bullied, she would change her mind.

Seeing that it was getting close to her bedtime, Starlight made her way up to her bedroom.  Along the way, she spotted the filly strolling through the hallway, humming a happy tune.

Starlight frowned at the filly.  “There you are!  Where have you been?  Princess Twilight told me that you left the castle over two hours ago!”

The filly grinned at Starlight.  “Oh, I was just talking a walk through the forest.  Appreciating nature, picking some colourful flowers, and just having a good time.”

Starlight glanced out the window.  “At this hour?  It’s getting close to midnight!  What were you thinking, talking a walk through the woods this late at night?!”

The filly smirked at her.  “Oh, don’t worry about me, little star.  I take very enthusiastic walks.”  With that said, the filly walked away, giggling to herself.  Starlight scratched her head in confusion…even as a small chill ran down her spine. 





Starlight Glimmer sighed to herself as she got up out of bed.  Today was the big day.  She hurried out of her bedroom and down to the kitchen.  “Good morning Twilight.  Have you made breakfast for us yet?” she asked out of habit.

The filly twirled around to face her, wearing a chef’s hat and a big grin.  “You know, I find it quite peculiar that a princess is the one making breakfast in this house.  You’d think she’d have better things to do.  Well today it turns out that she does!”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed at the sight of her.  “Where’s Princess Twilight?”

The filly took a plate of purple pancakes off the kitchen counter and showed them to Starlight.  “I got her into these delightful pancakes.  Want one?”

Starlight’s eyes widened in horror.  “You did what?!”

“I’m fine!” Starlight turned around to see Twilight Sparkle, wearing another chef’s hat and hurriedly flying into the room.  “I’m okay!  I’m not a pancake.  She was just telling a really mean joke.” The princess glared at the filly.  “That wasn’t very funny.”

“The joke might not have been funny but her face was!” the filly laughed.  “Bah, ha, ha!  Did you see it?!  Ooh, I wish I had my camera with me; it was priceless, my dear!” The filly chuckled a few more times before she sighed.  “I’ll simply have to rely on my memory to conjure the image up when I’m feeling a little blue.  Speaking of oddly coloured things, who wants breakfast?  Twilight sweetheart, I think you’ve earned yourself a second pile.”

Twilight smiled as the filly gave her a plate of pancakes.  “You’ve got to try these Starlight.  These are some of the best pancakes I’ve had in a long time.”  She took a bite out of one and hummed happily.  “The flavour is remarkable.  Where did you say you got these blueberries again?”

The filly giggled and shrugged.  “Well, they were definitely berries and they were certainly blue.  So hey, points for optimism, dearie.”

Starlight frowned with slight suspicion, but eventually decided that the matter wasn’t worth pursuing.  Really, how much damage could a filly do with something as simple as breakfast?  Either way, it looked like the filly wasn’t in the mood to talk as she had elected to do something different with her mouth.  Without any warning, the filly began to devour her breakfast the same way a piranha would.

“Whoa.  And I thought I was a messy eater,” Twilight muttered.  Starlight had to agree with her as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.  The filly ate more like a wild animal than a civilized pony.

“Oh yeah…oh yeah…mm, so good,” the filly growled happily as she held a pancake over her head and drank up the syrup that drizzled down, savouring every drop.

“That’s revolting.”  Starlight groaned as the filly simply giggled some more.  “I don’t have time for this.  And neither do you!  I’ve enrolled you in the Ponyville School and today’s your first day.”

The filly’s eyes and smiled widened.  “First day at a new school?  Why didn’t you say so?!  I’ll be right back.  Starlight darling, if you need to entertain yourself for a second just ask Twilight to take off her hat!” the filly said as she ran to another room of the castle.

Starlight blinked in confusion before she turned to face Princess Twilight.  “What is she talking about?  And why are you still wearing that thing?  Remove it.”  Twilight blushed a little before she sheepishly removed her chef’s hat.  Starlight gasped as she saw how Twilight’s mane was styled.  “What did you do to your hair?”

Twilight smiled as she pushed a few of the spikes back.  “Actually, the filly wanted to try hairstyling to see if she could get a cutie mark out of it.  So um…you could remove it of course.  She said she modeled my mane after Spitfire’s old style.  I’d have to ask Rainbow Dash how accurate it is, but…do you like it?”

“No.” Starlight said with a growl.  Using her magic, she tried to arrange Twilight’s mane back into one of her socially acceptable styles.

“Now hold on Starlight,” Twilight said as she covered her hair with a hoof.  “I…I don’t want to put my mane into a bun again.”

“Twilight, we’ve talked about this.  Every mare, stallion, filly, and colt in Equestria needs to select one of the socially acceptable styles.  Now, if you would prefer braids instead-”

“Oh Starry, let her wear her hair however she wants,” the filly said as she happily strolled back into the kitchen, a book bag on her back.  “Although, I rather preferred the classic Hime cut myself.  Ooh, I should probably take this off before I go.”  The filly turned around and smirked at Starlight as she removed her chef’s hat.

“What do you think my dear?” the filly asked as she showed off her pigtails.  “Always nice to shake things up a bit.  You would know!  You had pigtails yourself when you were a filly, didn’t you?”

Starlight’s jaw dropped.  “How…”  The filly simply giggled, and calmly strolled out the castle and toward the school.  Starlight spun around to face Twilight.  “Did I ever tell you I used to wear pigtails?”

“Um…not that I can remember.  Now that I think about it, you’ve never talked about your childhood,” Twilight said.  She paused as she noticed the fearful expression on Starlight’s face.  “Um…are you okay?”

Rather than replying, Starlight raced outside the castle to catch up with the filly.





Starlight burst into the schoolhouse, gasping for breath.

Double Diamond looked up from the teacher’s desk.  “Starlight Glimmer!  There you are.  We were starting to get worried.”

“Yes.  What kept you, little star?”  Starlight’s jaw dropped as she spotted the filly, cheerfully waving to her from one of the desks.

“You?  But how…what…how did you get here before me?!” Starlight growled.

The filly smiled innocently.  “Diet and exercise?”

“Stop.  Just stop talking,” Starlight sighed.  “I apologize for my tardiness, Double Diamond.  If the class is ready we can start the day with our national anthem.”

“Actually Starlight, that’s what we were planning to do, but um…” Double Diamond hesitated, looking nervously at the filly.

“Ooh!  Let her sing it again!” Scootaloo chuckled.  “It’s really funny.”

“Funny?  It’s amazing!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Aw, thank you!  If I actually had the ability to blush, I’d be doing it right now!” the filly said.  “Well, since you all asked so nicely…”

The filly sat up from her desk and climbed on top of it.  She cleared her throat and began to sing.  “Ereh lla er’ew taht wonk ot dnuora kool ot evah reven ew reehc htiw dellif syawla er’ew nwot ruo ni dnarg os si efil!”

Starlight’s jaw dropped.  “…What?”

The filly smirked at her and said, “Eman naht erom yb sevlesruo etarapes ton od ew esuaceb emas eht s’kram eituc ruo nwot ruo ni elims a si efil!”

Starlight stared at the filly, completely flabbergasted.  Around them, the colts and fillies in the room were looking at the filly with a mixture of confusion and amusement.  A few ponies were even holding their hooves over their mouths to suppress their laughter.  Starlight turned to Double and asked, “…What is she saying?”

Double shrugged nervously.  “It took us a few times to figure it out but we’re pretty sure that she’s singing our national anthem…just backwards.”

“How?!  No, don't answer that.  Why haven't you stopped her?!”

Double shrugged again.  “It’s actually an improvement compared to what she was doing before.”

Starlight stormed over to the filly’s desk and growled right in her face.  “Stop that.”

The filly smiled.  “Having a hard time following along?  Well I’ll try to slow things down a bit for you.”  She cleared her throat again and sang, “Town our in, team a as work we. Nightmare a have can’t you, dream never you if!”

“Quiet!” Starlight growled.  “I’m not going to ask a second time.  You are going to sing our town’s song, properly, and nobody is leaving this room until you sing with us.”  She smirked to herself, knowing that the kids would hate the filly for keeping them in school longer than they had to.

The filly titled her head and smiled thoughtfully at her.  “You know, now that you’re here I’ve been meaning to ask you a few things.  Where’s Miss Cheerilee?”

“Double Diamond is your teacher today.  Miss Cheerilee is taking some time off, because she is no longer forced by her cutie mark to teach children.  She is free to live her own life, unburdened by her special talent,” Starlight answered.

“Except that she was never burdened by it before.  Ask any kid here and they’ll tell you that Cheerilee loved her job,” the filly pointed out.  “Really, the biggest difference not having a cutie mark in her life has made is that she kinda sucks at doing the thing she loves most.”

“That is no way to speak about your teacher.  And stop changing the subject!  Like it or not, our national anthem is a part of every school day-”

“Another interesting point!  Why do you care about school?  You say you want everyone to be their best by never being their best.  To cease improving their talents and themselves so that everyone is exactly the same.  And school is supposed to be about becoming smarter.  So really, you’re making these colts and fillies better than adults.  Not that I’m complaining of course.  But if you want equality, doesn’t that mean you want everyone to have the exact same number of IQ points?”

The class stared at the filly for a few seconds.  “Hey wait a minute…she’s right.  Why do we still need to go to school?” one colt asked.

“Yeah!  I’m just as smart as my dad is!  Why do I need to be smarter?” a unicorn filly asked.

As the class became louder and louder, Starlight smacked herself in the head and made her way towards the exit.  “Double Diamond, just…forget the anthem.  Start teaching.  If you need me, I’ll be in the staff lounge, trying to forget this morning ever happened.”





Starlight sat next to Double at a table, watching the little kids during recess.  In the very first minute, the filly made a beeline towards the former Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Starlight wasn’t close enough to hear their conversation but somehow the filly had managed to capture the Crusaders’ interest very fast.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Starlight sat up from the table and quietly made her way closer to the four fillies.  She ducked behind a tree that was close enough so that she could hear them but far enough that they probably wouldn’t notice her.

“So you three were learning magic from Twilight Sparkle?  That must have been a hoot and a half!  I bet her lessons are way more fun than anything you could learn here.”

Sweetie smiled a little.  “Well, Twilight Time was pretty fun while it lasted.  How did you say you heard about it again?”

“I asked questions.  I received answers,” the filly said with a smirk.  “How else does one learn things?”

“Oh.  Well, don’t get any ideas,” Scootaloo said.  “Twilight Time got canceled.  I know you probably wanted to hang out with a super famous princess and all-”

The filly waved a hoof.  “Meh.  I can see Twilight anytime.  I want to hear more about you guys!”

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened.  “Huh?  You’d…you’d rather hang out with us than with a princess?”

“Which princess?” the filly asked innocently.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.  “Princess Twilight.”

“Twilight’s a princess?” the filly asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Apple Bloom stared at the filly.  “But…you just said…”

“Hey, is it true that Princess Twilight was teaching you about potion making?” the filly asked, staring at her with a huge grin.

“Uh…yeah?” Apple Bloom replied hesitantly.

The filly’s grin widened.  “How delightful.  And where did you first pick up those skills?”

“Zecora,” Apple Bloom answered.

“Ooh!  Zecora?  That charming herbalist Fluttershy told me about?  I’d love to meet her!”

“She uh, doesn’t live near here anymore.  When Starlight went to visit her in the Everfree forest, she was long gone,” Apple Bloom said, sighing a little.

“Well that’s unfortunate.”  The filly smiled, taping her chin a little before she innocently asked, “How abrupt was her departure?  Did she have time to pack all her belongings?  You know, her books, her trinkets, her potions, boxes containing magical amulets, and other knick-knacks?”

Scootaloo shrugged.  “We don’t really know.  Starlight doesn’t want anypony going to the Everfree forest anymore.”

“Interesting,” the filly said with a grin.

Starlight frowned.  She didn’t know what the filly was hoping to learn from this discussion but she was going to put an end to it anyway.  She glanced over at Diamond Tiara and waved her hoof, signalling the Rich pony to make her move.

Diamond nodded and waved Silver Spoon over before they walked towards the fillies.  “Well, well, well.  If it isn’t the last blank flank!”

The former Crusaders buried their faces in their hooves.  “Oh Celestia, not again…” Scootaloo growled.

The filly turned to face Diamond and smirked.  “Oh this?  This is going to be adorable, I can already tell.”

“Diamond, what are you doing?!” Apple Bloom cried.  “Starlight’s not gonna be happy if she finds out you’re picking on her!”

“Her?  Isn’t that sad, Silver Spoon?  She doesn’t even have a name!”

The filly calmly shrugged.  “Not my fault if nobody has guessed what my name is yet.  Of course, I am open to nicknames if I find them suitable.”

“Ooh!  You like nicknames huh?  How about blank flank!” Diamond said with a sneer.

The filly just smirked at her.  “Really?  That’s really your best shot?  Years of tormenting little kids and that’s all you got?” The filly shook her head and walked away from them.  “Call me when you’ve got your act together.”

“Hey!  Where do you think you’re going?!” Diamond shouted.

“The girl you are trying to reach is in search of more entertaining and intelligent conversation.  Please leave your message in your mouth where it belongs,” the filly said, giggling a little.

“Don’t you walk away from us!”  Diamond and Silver ran in front of the filly and blocked her path.  “We’re not done with you, you pale freak!  Have you even heard of the sun?”

“Why, thank you!” the filly said with a smile.  “My complexion is rather pale, isn’t it?  Of course, your coat isn’t too bad to look at either.  You’re such a cute shade of pink, you know that?”

Diamond frowned and blushed a little, feeling very confused about the compliment.  “W-well, of course!  Me and Silver are the most fabulous ponies in all of Ponyville.  Unlike you, you little blank-”

“But you still have those equal signs, don’t ya?  So really, you can only be as fabulous as every other pony, can’t you?”

“I…well, uh…” Diamond hesitated.  She glanced at her friend for support but it appeared that Silver was struggling to think of something.  The filly didn't seem bothered by anything they were saying.

“What’s the matter?” Scootaloo said.  “All out of insults?”

“Yeah!  You can’t push us around anymore!  Starlight’s gonna be super mad at you when she finds out what you’re doing!” Sweetie said.

The filly smiled at the two nervous bullies.  “An excellent point, Sweetie dearest.  What brought this on exactly?  Just so we’re not all confused, could you pretty paranoia please tell us why you would want to pick on me for no reason?”

As the filly asked her question, Silver Spoon stiffened a little before she smirked.  “Starlight Glimmer asked Diamond to bully you so that you would realize how horrible life as a blank flank is and she dragged me along into her stupid scheme.”

Diamond’s eyes widened.  “Silver Spoon!  Why are you telling her that?!”

“Wait a minute…” The filly slowly grinned.  “Starlight asked you…to bully me?  Heh.  He, he, he.  Aha, ha, ha.  Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” the filly laughed.  “I haven’t even begun to play and she’s already folding!  Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

Diamond scowled.  “Would you stop laughing for once in your life?!”

The filly’s laughter faded away into small giggles.  “Can’t do that, sprinkles.  Doctor’s orders!  Well, more like doctor’s suggestions…”

“What do you mean doctor’s orders?” Sweetie asked.

“Well, while Starlight hasn’t found any medical records on me, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been diagnosed before.”

Starlight’s eyes widened as she listened.  A doctor had successfully examined the filly?

As if she could hear her thoughts, the filly continued speaking.  “Oh sure, I’ve been examined by several doctors.  I have to keep seeking a second opinion.  Some doctors will examine my body, trying to piece together the origins of my condition and how far the symptoms are progressing.  Other doctors might focus more on mind and, well they were at a loss for words or adequate explanations too.  And then of course there is the matter of how contagious I am.”  She traced her hoof across Diamond’s face.  “Is it safe to touch me?  Is it safe to even be around me?  The only thing they can agree on…”

The filly grinned at Diamond and Silver.  “Is that I am a very, very sick girl.”

“Y-you don’t look s-sick to me,” Diamond said, taking a step back.

“What other explanation could there be?  They say laughter is the best medicine, and really, what could be funnier than pain?”

“Huh?” the other fillies asked.

The filly stared at Diamond and Silver, bringing her grinning face closer to them.  “Did I forget to mention?  Every moment of my life is agony.  Pain courses like a poison through my blood.  I feel as if I’m on fire.  Like I’m drowning in lava.  That’s why I’m always smiling and giggling.  The only way I can deal with my pain is by laughing at it.  Not like it’s much of a challenge at this point.  After all…isn’t pain hilarious?”

“You…you’re lying…” Diamond mumbled nervously.

“Why would I lie about something like that?  In fact…you two are bullies, aren’t you?  Hit me.”

Diamond took a step back.  “W-what?”

The filly smirked at them.  “Hit me.  Kick me.  Bite me, if you’re feeling adventurous.  I won’t feel it.  At this point, the pain has come full circle…I don’t feel anything.”

“I’m not going to hit you!” Diamond cried.

The filly sneered at her.  “You really are adorable.  Like a cute little puppy.  All bark and no bite.  But don’t you worry.  I know how to take care of puppies.  Just ask Winona.”

“Winona?” Apple Bloom asked fearfully.  “What’s wrong with her?  W-Winona’s fine…right?”

The filly stared and smiled at the other fillies for a full minute.  She then sighed happily and said, “Well, this was fun.  Looks like recess is almost over.  It was such a delight to meet you, Silver, Diamond.  We really must do this again sometime.”

She left the horrified fillies behind, humming to herself.  As the bell rang and the kids made their way back inside, Starlight did her best to ignore the cold feeling in her gut.





“So Winona’s fine?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yes, sugarcube.  She’s fine.  Why are you so worried?” Applejack asked.

“N-no reason.”

School had ended, and the children were being picked up by their families.  All except for the filly, who was happily chatting with anyone who passed by her.

“Diamond Tiara!”  Starlight turned her attention away from the filly to focus on Spoiled Rich and her daughter.  “What happened?  That is not the face of a successful pony.”

“That’s because…I failed you mother,” Diamond sighed.  “I couldn’t get the filly to accept our philosophy.  But it’s not my fault!  There’s something seriously wrong with her!”

“Diamond Tiara, I will not tolerate excuses!” Noticing that she was watching them, the two Rich ponies turned to Starlight and bowed.  “Please forgive our family for my daughter’s failure.”

“It’s really not her fault, Miss Rich.  I heard what the fillies said and I agree with Diamond.”

“You heard us?!  Why didn’t you do anything?!” Diamond cried.

“Diamond Tiara!” Spoiled growled and pulled on her daughter’s ear.  “That is not how we treat our social superiors!  Apologize at once!”

“Ow!  Mother, that hurts!” Diamond cried.

Starlight’s magic gently pulled the two ponies apart.  “Ponies, please!  There’s no need for you to fight!”

“But the filly is not following the laws of our perfect society!  And my daughter has failed in the very simple mission you gave her!” Spoiled argued.  As Diamond defended herself from her mom, Starlight glanced back at the listening children, wishing that they didn’t have to see this ridiculous argument.

“…You do not hurt your kids.”

Starlight blinked and turned to face the source of the voice.  What she saw made her take several steps back.  The filly had stopped smiling.  Her cute little face was twisted into the most hideous snarl Starlight had ever seen.  She looked furious.  Murderous.

“You do not.  Hurt.  Your kids!” the filly growled.  She spun around and stomped towards the playground.  Anybody who was blocking her path took one look at her face and immediately backed out of her way.

“Um, Starlight?  What’s she doing?” Double asked as he edged closer to her.

“I-I don’t know Double Diamond.  I’ve never seen anypony so angry before.”

Double blinked.  “What do you think she’s doing with that bat?”

Starlight turned back to face her.  The filly was walking on her back legs again.  Her left front hoof was twitching uncontrollably while her right front hoof was clutching a wooden baseball bat, dragging the fat end across the ground.  The bat bounced off rocks and dirt as the filly stormed towards Spoiled Rich.  The filly slowly lifted her bat off the ground and held onto it with her two front hooves, bringing it over her head.  She had almost reached the older mare when another filly made her pause.

“Um…are you okay?” Twist asked nervously.  The filly’s furious scowl faded as she glanced at the glasses wearing filly.  A few days ago, Twist accidentally broke her glasses and had to fix them up using tape.  The filly dropped her bat as she stared at Twist and smiled.  

“Heh.  He, he, he.  Aha, ha, ha.  Neh, he, he, ha, ha, ha!  Mwa, ha, ha, ha!” the filly laughed.  “Ooh…now there’s a fun idea.”

The filly grinned at Twist before she went back down on her four hooves.  She strolled up to Starlight and said, “Starlight dearie, earlier today I made a few plans with our mutual friend Princess Twilight.  Could you please ask if she can reschedule?  I just remembered that Double Diamond gave us an art project.”

Starlight frowned.  “An art project?  He never mentioned that to me.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s nothing you’ve seen before.  Haven’t seen, I mean.  I think he was asking us to make a popsicle stick statue of an equal sign or something.  Do you think you can point me to the locations of a few supplies?  You know, just some basic paper, crayons, scissors, tape, and so on?”

“Why don’t you ask one of your classmates?” Starlight suggested.

“What a delightful idea, dearie!  I could ask Apple Bloom and…ooh, we could have a slumber party!  Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”  And without another word, the filly skipped happily towards the former Crusaders.

As the colts and fillies went home, Starlight was left feeling very confused and a little nervous.  She honestly didn’t know how to react to such an eventful day.  But the silver lining was that she didn’t have to worry about the filly that night.  The Apple family was honest, dependable, and above all loyal to equality.  She was sure they could keep the wild filly under control.  Feeling a little more relaxed, Starlight went back to Princess Twilight’s castle, looking forward to dinner and an early bedtime. 





Starlight woke up very early in the morning as the door to her bedroom was flung open.  “Starlight, Starlight!  It’s an emergency!”

Starlight blinked the sleep out of her eyes.  “Twilight?  Double?  What’s going on?  The sun’s not even up yet.”

“Somepony’s been attacked!” Twilight cried.

The fully awakened Starlight leapt out of bed.  “What happened?!  Who’s been attacked?!”

“Spoiled Rich.  Come on!” Double cried as he ran out of the room, the two mares following after him.

Eventually they reached the Rich household.  A few ponies from the hospital were there too, causing Starlight’s heart to skip a beat.  They hurried up the stairs and into Filthy and Spoiled Rich’s bedroom.  Diamond Tiara was staring at her mom, stunned into silence.  Filthy Rich was doing his best to console his sobbing wife.  As for the mare who had been attacked...the sight of her made Starlight freeze in horror.

Spoiled Rich looked like she had been mauled by a swarm of angry parasprites.  Her mane, tail, and fur coat had all been completely shaved off.  Her skin was red and irritated.  She looked naked, cold, terrified, and in a lot of pain.  What scared Starlight the most was that a blood red word had been written across Spoiled’s head.

BULLY