//------------------------------// // Ch 14 - Ultimatum // Story: Bitter Tears: An Anon-A-Miss Fanfic // by hattafan2593 //------------------------------// Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked slowly next to Rarity and Applejack. They had not slept well over the weekend since their visit to the hospital last Friday, and none of them felt like going to school, but they had forced themselves to. "How long will Sunset have to be in the hospital?" Sweetie asked. "I suppose it depends on whether or not the doctors believe she's healed enough to leave." Rarity answered. Her normally vibrant eyes were dull and she had bags under them. Usually she would fall into a dramatic swoon if she believed she looked less than her best, but today she simply couldn't bring herself to care. "What if people ask where she is?" Apple Bloom asked. "Tell 'em the truth. That she's in the hospital. But keep quiet about the 'why.' That ain't none a' their business." Applejack answered, sounding more surly than she intended. She also had bags under her eyes and was much more lethargic in her movements than usual. The five girls walked in silence as they entered the front doors of Canterlot High. Suddenly, Apple Bloom found herself sprawled on the ground. As Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tried to help her up, all three girls found themselves being pelted with wads of paper, which upon closer inspection, was revealed to be toilet paper. They looked up and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggling at their misfortune. "Oops. So sorry, Apple Bloom. It's just that you look so much like crap I couldn't resist the urge to wipe you up." Diamond sneered, holding up another piece of wadded toilet paper. "Why you no good-" Applejack struggled to think of a proper curse word as she stood between her sister and her bullies. "You little heathens! Stop that this instant!" Rarity cried, joining Applejack in defense. Diamond merely rolled her eyes. "Oh please. It's just paper. Compared to what they got from everyone else, this is nothing." She flipped a strand of her hair and folded her arms. "Besides, it's not like they don't deserve it. Those three nearly ruined my friendship with Silvy, and trashed a bunch of other people, too. This is what they get for spreading people's secrets." "....And just how do ya think Ah got those secrets?" Everyone was shocked by Apple Bloom suddenly speaking. Slowly, she stood up and turned around, her eyes hidden behind her bangs. "Well? Answer me. How do ya think Ah got 'em?" Diamond scoffed. "Like, it doesn't matter where you got them. What matters is that you posted them." Apple Bloom looked up, and Diamond actually had to step back from the intensity of her stare. "Those secrets didn't just fall into our laps, Diamond. They were submitted to us by other students. You of all people should know that, GurlzBestFrnd." Diamond turned a pale green and looked about. Other students had become curious and were now starting to whisper about them. Silver Spoon looked at her friend, confused. "Ah know what we did. Ah know what a reprehensible piece a' shit Ah am." Apple Bloom ignored her sister's admonishment. "Ah don't need you ta tell me that. And Ah don't think Ah'll ever forgive mahself. Not fer a long time. And Ah'm done bein' everyone's whippin' girl so y'all can feel better 'bout what y'all did." "The hell are you talking about?" Diamond scoffed, becoming increasing more unnerved as more students gathered around them. "That's right!" Sweetie Belle cried, feeling brave enough to find her voice. "I'm not taking it anymore either! We didn't hold guns to your heads! We didn't force anyone to submit those secrets! We may have started the whole thing, but you guys helped spread it around!" "You used us as a soundboard to bully other students." Scootaloo added, glaring at Diamond. "Just like you used Sunset as a scapegoat so you could get away with it. What we did was inexcusable, but at least we admit it!" Diamond's face turned scarlet with outrage, and raised her hand to strike. But before Applejack, Rarity or anyone could react, a hand shot out and grabbed Diamond's wrist. Apple Bloom glared at Diamond, and squeezed her wrist ever slightly. "Y'all wanna hate us? Go right ahead an' hate us." Apple Bloom said softly. "Ah don't rightly blame ya fer doin' so. But Ah'm done bein' yer punchin' bag." Diamond wrenched her hand free, screaming, "That's not for you to decide!" "Perhaps y'all didn't hear mah sis." Applejack spoke up, and stepped forward, towering over the rich brat. "She's done, and so are you." Diamond cringed at Applejack's cold stare and, looking around, realized no one was backing her up. With a frustrated huff, she stormed past them and marched furiously down the hall, Silver Spoon not far behind. Without another word, Apple Bloom picked up her bag and walked past the stunned and silent crowd. She turned a corner and headed towards the nurse's office. A young student with curly red hair and purple glasses watched Apple Bloom from a distance. She had heard what she and her friends had said and she was now feeling very guilty. She looked down, biting her lip. Principal Celestia looked over Nurse Redheart's notes with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you sure about this?" "Yes ma'am." the nurse nodded fervently. "It's been going on for quite some time. My only regret was not reporting it sooner." "I understand." Celestia closed the file, her scowl deepening. "Thank you, Nurse Redheart. I will see to it that this is investigated thoroughly." With a final nod, Nurse Redheart turned and left the office. Celestia slumped back in her chair pinching the bridge of her nose. Luna picked up the file and scanned through it. "Good lord. Even Sunset Shimmer wasn't treated this badly after the Fall Formal.....Tia?" "This....has gone on long enough." Celestia muttered through clenched teeth. She sat up and reached for the intercom speaker. "What are you going to do?" Luna asked nervously. She had only seen her sister this angry once before. "What I should have done to begin with." Celestia replied. Leaning forward, she pressed the intercom button. "Attention, students of Canterlot High...." The intercom speakers crackled to life as Principal Celestia's voice boomed throughout the school. "It has come to my attention that certain students have resorted to bullying and physical assault, as a result of the Anon-A-Miss incident last semester. I cannot begin to tell you all how disgusted I am by this. I had hoped - I had prayed - that you all would learn from this experience, that two wrongs don't make a right. I have always believed in the best of my students, and I trusted that you would be better than this. Sadly, you have all proven, once again, that that trust was misplaced. "The culprits behind Anon-A-Miss have already been given punishment for their actions, and they were not the only ones at fault. Several of the secrets posted were submitted by other students. We have their e-mail addresses and we are still trying to find them. In hindsight, I can see the fault in not telling you all of this, but that does not excuse this despicable behavior. "I am hereby issuing an ultimatum. Unless the students who submitted secrets come forward by the end of the school day, the use of all school computers and all after school and extracurricular activities will be suspended indefinitely. Those that do not come forward, I will find you, and you will be expelled. Think I'm joking? Go ahead. Call my bluff. "Actions have consequences. If nothing else, I hope you will at least learn that. That is all." A silence followed the announcement. Then came the whispering. "Do you think she's serious?" "She can't be! No prom? No Friendship Games next year?" "I don't know. Celestia isn't one to play around." While this was going on, a certain red-headed student paused in thought, then stood up from her seat and asked, "Exthcusth me, may I pleasth usth the resthroom?" "So, Miss Twist......you admit to being the user of the email address, Twizzler409?" "Yesth, ma'am." Twist replied, her head bowed. "And you understand that there will be consequences for what you submitted to the Anon-A-Miss profile, correct?" "Yesth, ma'am." Celestia sighed in disappointment. "Very well. Starting today you will have six weeks of detention, and you will be banned from the school computers unless given permission by a teacher." A pause. "I just have one question: why?" Twist looked up and faced her principal. "Diamond Tiara and Sthilver Sthpoon are alwaysth teasthing me. I justh wanted to get back at them. Justh oncthe." She lowered her eyes. "But all I did wasth become a bully. And I let Apple Bloom take all the blame. And that'sth not fair." She raised her eyes. "Apple Bloom and her friendsth took resthponsthibility for what they did. I need to take resthponsthibility for what I did." "I'm glad to hear you say that." Celestia acknowledged. "Though to be fair, you aren't the only one. Is there anything else?" "Yesth.." Twist reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "There'sth sthomething you need to sthee." "Suspended?! You can't be serious?!" "On the contrary, Miss Gilda, I am quite serious." Celestia said sternly. "Attacking a student on school grounds is a very serious offense." "This is bullshit! Where's your proof?" "I suggest you watch your language, young lady, lest you want to try for four weeks instead of two. And as for your other comment, you'll find that I have proof." Celestia placed a photo on the desk. It showed a furious Gilda punching a young girl with red hair and a pink hair ribbon in the eye. Gilda's eye twitched. "Next time, you should inform your friends not to record their transgressions, much less send them to other students." Celestia gave a sarcastic grin. "If it's any consolation, they'll be sharing your punishment." Gilda clenched her teeth in anger. "I don't believe this. That little brat nearly destroyed this school! Why are you defending her?!" Celestia sighed, and then said, firmly. "Gilda. I understand how angry and hurt you and the other students are by Anon-A-Miss' actions. But rules are rules. Regardless of what she did, it does not change the fact that you assaulted a defenseless young girl. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have been punished for their actions. And you must be punished for yours." Before lunchtime, 27 students came forward, including a very reluctant Diamond Tiara, and confessed to submitting secrets to the Anon-A-Miss profile page. They all received detention and were banned from the school computers. In the end, only one person wound up being expelled, although Celestia had retracted her threat to suspend extracurriculars, since a majority of the students responsible had confessed. As the final bell rang, Celestia began gathering papers, when there was a knock on her office door. "Yes, who is it?" Celestia asked. She looked up and she gasped in surprise. "You!" Applejack and Apple Bloom were walking towards the house when Applejack heard her phone go off. She looked and saw that the person calling was one she hadn't expected to call her. "Sunset...." She pressed to answer and asked reluctantly, "....Hello?" "......I think we need to talk." Applejack looked surprised, and then, not so surprised. Sighing, she replied, "....Yeah. Ah think we do."