Working Towards The Future

by Dasponi

Chapter 71; Not Again

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash made their way down the stairs, still laughing at what had transpired just a moment ago. The look they saw on Star Shine’s face as they entered the living room changed that. He looked extremely disappointed about something. His eyes were slightly narrowed and he was frowning. Scootaloo had never really seen him frown and was worried she was in trouble over something. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t think of anything that would cause him to be disappointed unless they had taken way too long.

“Sorry we took so long, Scoots had something she had to get off her chest.” Rainbow Dash said, gently tapping the top of Scootaloo’s head. Scootaloo didn’t respond, she was too caught up in Star Shine’s eyes. She swore she saw the corner of his mouth twitch and reveal a few of his teeth, almost like he was growling. “So, uh, where’s breakfast?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around. She couldn’t even smell anything. If he hadn’t even made breakfast then he should be shouting them down for it. He certainly didn’t seem to have anything to be angry about.

“Breakfast isn’t ready yet. I was starting it and then a delightful mailmare came by with the paper. I think you need to see it.” Star Shine replied flatly, his voice level. “It’s on the table.” he added, nodding in the direction of the table. Star Shine made his way to the kitchen, leaving the two girls alone again. He might as well get around to making breakfast and he didn’t want Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to see him angry.

“The paper?” Scootaloo asked nervously. He didn’t specify if it was the Foal Free Press but that’s where her mind went. If Gabby Gums had written about her again then she felt quite sure that she wouldn’t want to read it. Rainbow Dash was just as confused. They walked over to the table and and looked at the paper. They saw that it was not, in fact, The Foal Free Press, but The Ponyville Times. It wasn’t stupid gossip, so what else could have caught Star Shine’s attention? There wasn’t anything coming up that Rainbow Dash could think of. She’d been a little out of touch since Scootaloo came into her life but she didn’t think she was that out of touch. It didn’t take long to find where they would need to read. There was a picture of Diamond Tiara, complete with a bandaged up face, and a headline that stood out above the others.

Incident At Ponyville Schoolhouse
By Feather Quill
Ponyville is usually a calm and friendly place. Things are quite peaceful except for the occasional incident, but even those are soon resolved thanks to the timely intervention of one or more of the Elements of Harmony we have living here. One could argue that perhaps having them living here in the first place attracts incidents that require them, but that is an argument for another time and place.

For a brief period of time yesterday Harmony was something that was certainly to not be found in the Ponyville Schoolhouse. During the school’s lunch break one little student found herself the victim of a vicious attack at the hooves of another. The victim, Diamond Tiara (pictured above) alleges that she was asked to follow another student, called Scootaloo, so that the pair could have a private conversation. Diamond Tiara goes on to allege that after exchanging some pleasantries Scootaloo pounced on her and struck her in the face.

I spoke with Miss Tiara personally about this and this is what she had to say; “It was so scary. One second she’s bragging about how she’s going out to Canterlot and the next she’s hitting me in the face and my nose is bleeding. I don’t even know what I did to deserve it.”

Other students who witnessed the event back up Miss Tiara’s version of events. While none of them were close enough to hear exactly what was said, they universally agree that the pair were talking, then Scootaloo lowered herself to the ground and pounced on Miss Tiara before attacking her violently. Shortly after the attack the school teacher for their class, Miss Cheerilee, came and broke things up before things could get worse.

“I just wish I could have been there sooner to stop this from happening.” Miss Cheerilee commented when asked about the matter. She refused to comment further, simply describing the entire incident as a “shame”.

Neither Scootaloo nor anypony who could speak on her behalf could be reached for a comment. We tried reaching out to her, her parents, and when all else failed Rainbow Dash, who, as far as we can understand, has been taking care of her recently. We also reached out to Rainbow Dash’s friends to see if any of them knew anything. All but Miss Twilight Sparkle, proprietor of the Ponyville Golden Oaks Library, had no idea the incident even occurred. When asked about it, Miss Sparkle claims that she was visited late in the afternoon by Miss Diamond Tiara who explained what had happened, and wished to go visit Scootaloo and Miss Rainbow Dash. Miss Twilight Sparkle admired her nobility and performed a Cloud Walking Spell on her and teleported her to Miss Rainbow Dash’s house in the clouds. It appears that Scootaloo was indeed going to Canterlot that evening as a treat set up by Miss Rainbow Dash; a treat Diamond Tiara feared cancelled. When she arrived at the house she found it empty and waited to be retrieved by one of her personal guards. When asked why she simply wouldn’t allow one such guard to fly her up there, she expressed concern that it would give the wrong impression if she arrived in such a manner. Her guard was well informed of her location and goal and was able to collect her in minutes.

As per the rules of the school, Scootaloo will be suspended for a full week. If she is going to be violent to somepony who would go on to display remarkable levels of maturity and nobility, perhaps the school is better without her there.

“WHAT?!” Scootaloo screeched when she finished reading. She scanned the page again to make sure that she had read everything accurately and that she had really read what she did. Everything was exactly the same.

“How did a stupid little schoolyard fight get into the paper in the first place?” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud.

“Never mind that! This thing is so wrong! Nopony even tried to ask me about what happened.” Scootaloo said, a mixture of anger and nerves. “She was in this house!” she added, running around frantically and checking all the drawers to see if anything was missing. She checked each and every one and saw that nothing was gone. Nothing she knew about at least. She was under the impression that Rainbow Dash would have learned from what happened last time and finally gotten rid of the note. If she had to keep it somewhere, it would be in her room. She was panicking too much to think about it much anyway. Or ask Rainbow Dash if that was the case. After she checked the last drawer she lowered herself to the ground and gave a sigh of relief. “Okay, it seems like nothing’s missing.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief herself. She wasn’t thinking about the note much either and didn’t think Diamond Tiara would have even taken anything. It would have been way too obvious who it was if something was missing. “Wonder what she even came here for then…” Scootaloo added, thinking of just why Diamond Tiara would actually go through all that trouble and even use one of Rainbow Dash’s best friends. It was obvious she would have been found out.

“Oh no…” Rainbow Dash said, breaking Scootaloo’s train of thought as she realised something. Scootaloo looked at her worried, wondering what else could possibly be wrong. “This isn’t the Foal Free Press...this is the Ponyville Times. Almost every pony in town reads this! Everypony is going to only know, and believe, Diamond Tiara’s version of what happened.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo panicked more. She walked across to Rainbow Dash and huddled up to her, seeking comfort.

“You...you think Star Shine believes this?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly very scared that the reason he had been so angry is that he felt Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had lied to him about what had happened. She was fidgeting nervously.

“Of course I don’t believe that.” Star Shine said from behind Scootaloo, making her jump in the air. Neither she nor Rainbow Dash had heard him enter the room again. She flapped her wings on instinct and stayed in the air for a split second before dropping onto the ground. It was too short a time for her or Rainbow Dash to notice it but Star Shine did. He had good eyes and was trained to notice little things like that. He smiled at Scootaloo as she bounced slightly on the cloud layer when she landed.

“So you’re not mad at me?” Scootaloo asked nervously. Star Shine shook his head and smiled brighter.

“Of course not you silly little filly.” Star Shine reassured her, patting her on the head.

“So what were you all grumpy about?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking her place next to Scootaloo. She had noticed Star Shine seemed angry but she didn’t realise that Scootaloo would blame herself for it so quickly. After what they had discussed Rainbow Dash was more keen than ever to show Scootaloo that she would always be by, and on, her side.

“It just made me angry to see it there in the first place. It’s hardly worth being in a proper paper. Kids get into fights at school all the time.” Star Shine said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah I was wondering that too.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Not to mention she broke into the house, using one of your friends too.” Star Shine added, sighing.

“Yeah but nothing is missing.” Scootaloo said, smiling up at him.

“Yeah I didn’t think she’d take something. Who would be so stupid they take something when they’re the only one who could have done it?” Rainbow Dash added. Star Shine smiled at them both. Scootaloo took another look at the story and noticed something.

“Feather Quill…” she mused quietly, taking note of who wrote the story in the first place.

“You know that name?” Star Shine asked her, breaking her concentration and train of thought.

“I think so.” Scootaloo replied, going back to her thinking. She was sure she had heard that name before. Whenever she tried to think about it all she could think about was Featherweight, and that’s when it came to her. “I knew it! I have met Feather Quill!” Scootaloo declared as she remembered. “I saw him at Family Appreciation Day! He’s Featherweight's dad!” Scootaloo said. She was excited that she had remembered where the name came from but was soon deflated as what happened made it’s way back into her head. “Great, first she pays off the kid and then the dad.” Scootaloo said dejectedly, rolling her eyes.

“Who’s done what now?” Rainbow Dash asked, slightly confused as to what Scootaloo meant.

“Diamond Tiara!” Scootaloo said, gesturing towards the paper as if it was the most obvious thing. “First she gets Featherweight to print something and then she goes and gets his dad too!” she explained.

“Now now, we don’t know that’s what happened.” Star Shine said, offering the voice of reason. “What’s more important is that your side of the story isn’t being told. Do you know where this Featherweight lives? Maybe we can go talk to him and his dad so he can tell your side.” Star Shine suggested, lowering himself to Scootaloo’s level. It didn’t sound like too bad an idea to Rainbow Dash. It would be nice to finally be able to tell their side of the story and stop the lies from getting published. Scootaloo nodded excitedly. She too liked the idea.

“Yeah I know where he lives.” Scootaloo replied. “You want to go now?” she asked. Star Shine nodded.

“If you two are ready to go I don’t see the reason in delaying.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash was about to agree when her stomach rumbled. She laughed sheepishly and shied away.

“I suppose breakfast is kinda important.” Star Shine offered nervously. “It’s in the kitchen if you want it.” he added, gesturing towards the kitchen. Rainbow Dash went to the kitchen, followed shortly thereafter by Scootaloo, who was followed by Star Shine. He hoped to get to the bottom of all this and hoped that Feather Quill would be able to provide some answers, or, at the very least, allow Scootaloo to let everypony know her side of the story.

Author's Note:

I actually do have the answers to all the questions raised in this chapter, most notably "What the hay was Diamond Tiara thinking by asking Twilight?" and to be honest...it's evil. It's damnably evil. I'd say I'm surprised it came out of my brain but there was a time I was fairly malicious. She has her reasons, and they're actually pretty good. It's also fun that most of this planning is taking place in the back of my head. There was another version of this chapter where Diamond Tiara paying Rainbow Dash a visit wasn't in the article, but then having it in there actually works out better for everything I have going on in mah brain, and everything DT has going on in hers.

I think you're going to like it. And hate DT.

So...so much.

Comments

[Crystal Shard]

Oh i want to see where this is going. (sits back and waits for the rest of the chess board to be played)

[Dasponi]

3255968
If this were a game of chess I'd have flipped over the pieces by now Diamond Tiara is being very strategic though which is fun because I actually suck at forming strategies Hence why I'd have given up (or probably lost) by now if this were chess.

[CoolB]

Huzzah! New chapter!

Looking forward to seeing what Diamond Tiara's planned end game is... and more importantly it blowing up in her face (either literally or figuratively, I'm not picky) and her getting major comeuppance.

[Frankie2]

For Diamond Tiara's many faults, she is very smart. I am interested to see how and when the note will come into play. As well as Diamond's plan coming together...and eventually blowing up in her face.

[Manes]

Please just punished Diamond Tira she needs it

[Shimmering Honor]

another great chapter...I cant wait to see what you do to DT, and what about the note...what will she do with that...so many questions...so many possibilities.

[Crystal Shard]

3251543

Sadly i know that charity book you're talking about, ran across it on Amazon one time, might be able to still find it there, worst part, they made a sequal to it.

[Dasponi]

3256047
People just won't be happy until she's dead

3256069
At least you're not waiting for something to literally blow up in her face. Ahh, there are some people who aren't psychotic out there after all. Unfortunately Diamond Tiara is not one of them. I'm going to have to make a side story where it's just Scootaloo being awesome with how bad I'm going to end up feeling with everything I do to her

3256088
She'll be punished eventually. It just probably won't live up to the hype and bloodlust

3256133
Actually doing this chapter really helped make the other stuff I have planned possible. It's fun to think all this stuff is happening in the back of my mind while I'm going about my day to day activities. I planned not a single second of this chapter.

3256200
I heard they were going to make a sequel but I didn't know if they did or not. I had a preview of it on my kindle but it's gone now. I don't suppose you remember the name do you? I'm not actually going to buy it or anything, hence why I only ever had a preview of it, which is a shame because it WAS for charity.

[Frankie2]

3256294
Diamond Tiara is a jerk and a bully, but I don't wish death on her. I just hope after all this her and her father get the help they so desperately need, even if it has to be force feed by Celestia herself. After all, courts order families to go through counseling all the time.

As for Scootaloo;s awesomeness, that will happen when she finally started flying.

[TwixiePony]

Oh man, DT..... Just, urgh it's so frustrating when only one story is told and is made to make the actual victims look bad. Another good chapter as always.

[i_am_the_jam]

Please kill Diamond Tiara. PLEASE.

[Matt11]

i dont thank DT deserves death maybe put in prison for some time

[CoolB]

3256294
I don't want her dead... too quick and easy. ;) I'm imaging more like a Daffy Duck cartoon... smoldering head, mane blown straight back type blown up in her face. Oooh... or maybe Fluttershy's appearance in the story can be her giving DT The Stare(tm).

Also... how come there is no The Stare(tm) icon on fimfiction?

[Dasponi]

3256310
Scootaloo will definitely have a moment of triumph I'm glad someone sees it like you do and that the ending won't be a complete let down for everypony when Diamond Tiara does not, in fact (SPOILER ALERT) die.

3256406
Control the media and you can control the world Of course I control the world through fear.

3256444
I have a friend who has said she might kill DT off for me.

3256579
That would do. Or banished. Or then banished and put in a dungeon in the place she's banished to. I wonder if Griffins eat ponies...

3256598
Where there is no stare(tm) emote is interesting. I also demand a Luna one. MY WILL BE DONE. Comical explosions can be something that can make their way in, but possibly only in some kinda redemption. Hmm..

[rainbowscoot677]

3256824 mabey when DT's dad finds out the truth he will disown her and she will be ridiculed and she will finally know all the pain scootaloo went through. huh?

[Dasponi]

3256999
As long as it ends with her being alive then it's possible

[rainbowscoot677]

3257032 meh im sure scootaloos a lot stronger in the mind than DT, though I wonder how "daddy's darling little angel" (blech) would cope without her Daddy's money, but yeah she can live, for now!

[Crystal Shard]

3256294
Sorry it was a while ago, you might be able to find a torrent for it.

[Cold Spike]

I say its Black Mail. How the paper got printed.

[Dasponi]

3257102
Hey, gotta save something for the sequel to the sequel

3258807
I'm not sure about that one. Can't think of anything she might have on them

[rainbowscoot677]

3261246 why of course!
and you don't need some (legitimate) dirt for a blackmail, she could make something up and her daddy would believe her...

[Rainbooms]

WE REQUIRE MORE EXPLOSIVES AND FIRE.

[Dasponi]

3261996
Probably, but there's more on that in the chapter I'm about to post

3262706
I'm not sure I can accommodate that one

[Solarnight]

As I mentiined earlier, I don't typycaly get too sad (at least not to the point where its visible) for things that happen in books.

I do however get extremwly mad/frustrated.

I hate diamond tiara so much right now.