Mutiny
The taxi carriage came to a stop in front of Sweetie Belle’s house. Silver Spoon wasn’t going to need her saddlebag to speak to Sweetie Belle so she removed it and tossed it onto her seat. She hopped out and approached the cabbie.
“Please wait here for a while, sir,” she requested politely.
“You’ve got a Platinum VIP account, Miz Spoon,” noted the cabbie. “I’m at your disposal. I’ll wait here until morning if you need me to.”
She approached the house and knocked on the door. With any luck, Sweetie Belle wouldn’t slam it in her face. A middle aged white stallion with a mustache opened the door and stepped out to greet her.
“Good evening, little lady,” he said cheerfully.
“Good evening, sir,” said Silver Spoon. “Is this Sweetie Belle’s home?”
“It is, indeed. Silver Spoon, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hondo Flanks, Sweetie Belle’s dad.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mister Flanks.”
“Likewise, I’m sure.” Hondo pointed at the gauze pad that was taped on Silver Spoon’s cheek. “Say, that’s some field dressing you’ve got there, private. How’d you get it?”
“I... hurt myself,” replied Silver Spoon, touching the pad gently with her left forehoof. “It feels like all I ever do lately is hurt myself. A-Anyway, I’m sorry to bother you at this time of night but I was wondering if I could speak with Sweetie Belle for a few minutes. It’s kind of important.”
“Sorry but she’s not here. She went to meet up with her friends at their clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres. She took off right after she finished her supper.”
Right after Hondo said the word supper, Silver Spoon detected the most delightful aroma of roasted garlic, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and herbs. Her mouth watered. The pudding she ate earlier didn’t put as much of a dent in her appetite as she would have liked, nor did the nutrient-free wad of grape gum she swallowed. Her parents forbade their servants from providing her with late night food or snacks and there were no restaurants in Ponyville that stayed open past ten o’clock.
“Oh, wow,” said Silver Spoon. “If I were Sweetie Belle, I’d still be here... having seconds and thirds of whatever that wonderful smell is.”
“That would be my wife’s homemade marinara sauce," said Hondo. "It’s spaghetti and wheatballs night... but you can smell for yourself just how my Cookie can turn something simple into something special. She even makes the wheatballs from scratch. We’ve got plenty left over. Would you like to pull up a chair and have a plate?”
ALL OF MY YES! squealed Silver Spoon’s stomach.
“That’s so kind of you to offer, Mister Flanks,” said Silver Spoon, “but I’m really pressed for time.”
Oh, my Celestia, I hate you, like, so... much right now, grumbled Silver Spoon’s stomach. You have, like, no idea.
“Okey-dokey, artichokey,” said Hondo. “Sweetie Belle left almost a half hour ago so she should be arriving at the clubhouse right around now. If your cabbie’s quick on his hooves, you might be able to catch up with her before their meeting’s up. You know where the clubhouse is, right?”
“Yes, I know exactly where it is,” replied Silver Spoon. “Thank you so much for your help, Mister Flanks.”
“Yeah, no problem. Oh, and Sweetie Belle and I had a little talk about that whole tail pulling thing. I doubt that you’ll have to worry about that ever happening again.”
Silver Spoon grinned.
“I see. Well, thank you again, Mister Flanks. I’ll be on my way now. Have a good night.”
“Thanks, you too. Hey, what’s that?”
“Hm?”
Silver Spoon turned around to look at what had caught Hondo’s attention but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She turned back around and saw a small clear plastic tub levitating in front of her containing a lone wheatball which was smothered in a generous amount of the out of this world marinara sauce her nasal passages had admired from afar.
“One for the road,” said Hondo with a grin. “I insist.”
Silver Spoon’s jaw dropped.
“This is one wheatball?” she remarked as she broke into a smile, inspecting the massive sphere of deliciousness and the chunky sauce in which it resided – which, to her delight, contained juicy mushroom slices as well as some carrot slices. “It’s, like, the size of a billiard ball!” She looked up at Hondo and smiled. “You really are too kind, Mister Flanks.” She bowed her head, took a step under the tub and raised her head carefully to take the gift into her possession.
“Aw, shucks,” said Hondo, canceling his levitation spell once Silver Spoon had the tub balanced on her head properly. “‘Kill ‘em with kindness’ was what my mom always used to say.”
“Then consider me dead and buried.” Silver Spoon walked back to the carriage. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Ask your folks if you can come over and have supper with us tomorrow night. We’re having eggplant parmigiana.”
“I’ll do that,” said Silver Spoon, knowing that she would ask no such thing of her parents. Assuming that Sweetie Belle would permit her to enter her home as a dinner guest, all Silver Spoon would have to do is inform her servants where she’d be as well as when she would be returning and the matter would be settled. “Good night.”
Hondo grinned, waved goodbye, and went back inside the house.
Silver Spoon climbed into the taxi carriage, sat on the bench and took the tub into her forehooves where she rested it in her lap. A bit of steam had collected and condensed around the rim of the tub, indicating that the food within was still pleasantly warm.
“To Sweet Apple Acres, please,” she said to the cabbie.
“Yes, ma’am,” replied the cabbie.
As the carriage began its trip, Silver Spoon took a deep sniff of the wheatball and exhaled with an elated sigh. She reached into her saddlebag and removed the plastic spoon which sat in the empty pudding cup she placed there. She scooped a chunk out of the wheatball, dipped the chunk into the sauce, placed it in her mouth, and chewed.
Two chews later, Silver Spoon knew that this wheatball was not meant to be eaten daintily. It was meant to be– neigh, it begged to be gobbled. She quickly returned the spoon to the saddlebag and plunged her muzzle into the wheatball container, devouring the tasty morsel along with every dollop of the rich and zesty marinara sauce she could find. When every last crumb was gone, she licked the tub and her muzzle clean. If a drop of the sauce had fallen on the carriage bench, she might have considered licking that up as well. As she lay back in her seat and used her tongue to draw out any oregano leaf particles stuck between her teeth, she couldn’t fathom how Sweetie Belle or anypony could ever tire of being treated to such fabulous food.
Cool sister, cool father, and her mom’s a fantastic cook? thought Silver Spoon. My mom needs a recipe to use a pepper shaker! Did Sweetie Belle win some kind of super-family lottery or something?
Without warning, a robust belch escaped from her mouth. She covered her mouth with both forehooves and blushed.
Sweet Apple Acres was just as beautiful at night as it was during daylight hours. The scores of apple trees that the carriage passed along the way greeted Silver Spoon with a rustle as the gentlest of breezes danced through their leaves. Feeling capricious, she blew a kiss at the trees. She reasoned that if they chose not to accept her token of affection, it wouldn’t be the first time she was turned down.
“Please wait here,” she instructed. “I shouldn’t be long.”
“Uhhh, this is private property, Miz Spoon,” said the cabbie. “Do you have permission to be here?”
“Not exactly... but I do have permission to issue you a one hundred percent tip if I’m pleased with your service.”
The cabbie blinked.
“Oh, my, how unfortunate,” he said as he squinted and craned his neck out. “In this dim moonlight, I seem to have lost sight of my passenger. She could be anywhere. I wouldn’t want to strand the poor filly out here after dark. Guess I’d better wait right here until she comes back.”
Silver Spoon smiled. Turning around, she squeezed through the foliage that concealed a shortcut to the clubhouse.
As she made her way through the dense brush, she recalled the time when she and Diamond Tiara took over the clubhouse with the help of Babs Seed. Babs was, in a word, fun. With her fearless big city attitude, Babs picked on the Cutie Mark Crusaders in ways that she and Diamond Tiara had never dared to explore and it was as hilarious to watch her in action as it was exciting. There was an element that Babs brought to the table that created a void when she left – her presence leveled the playing field, numerically speaking. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had three members and, for a time, so did they.
Silver Spoon’s thoughts drifted back to her present day concerns regarding Diamond Tiara and the intervention which she planned to stage for her. If it went badly, would the Cutie Mark Crusaders really be willing to take her in as a friend like Sweetie Belle said they might? Silver Spoon shook her head rapidly to rid herself of the foolish notion. She wasn’t going to need their friendship. She convinced herself that the intervention would not fail as long as she remained positive.
Sweetie Belle ascended the ramp to the clubhouse door and let herself in. She was saddened to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo holding one another and crying, with Scootaloo being the more grief stricken of the two.
“Hi, guys,” said Sweetie Belle softly. She walked over to her friends and turned the embrace into a group hug, closing her eyes as she held them. “Still upset about Miss Cheerilee getting fired, huh? I can’t say that I blame you.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo broke the hug and stared at their friend. Sweetie Belle met their stares with confusion.
“What?” she asked.
“Ya haven’t heard?” croaked Apple Bloom.
“Heard what?” asked Sweetie Belle, noticing that Apple Bloom’s bow was droopy. She sat on the floor and gasped, covering her mouth with both forehooves. She grimaced as she imagined some bad news. “Oh, no, has she already been arrested? Has she fled Ponyville?”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at one another. Their breathing was labored as the air did its best to squeeze past the lumps in both their throats. Scootaloo dragged her foreleg across her snout to wipe her runny nose.
“Sweetie Belle,” whimpered Apple Bloom as her lip quivered. A tear that hung from her jaw fell to the floor. “Miss Cheerilee’s dead.”
Sweetie Belle felt as though a knife stabbed her in the gut. Her eyes glossed over with tears and her mouth hung open in disbelief.
“D-D-Dead?,” whimpered Sweetie Belle. “How?”
“She was murdered,” whimpered Apple Bloom. “The police say she was raped an’ beaten ta death – by Filthy Rich. They caught him but... Miss Cheerilee was pronounced dead at the scene o' the crime.”
Sweetie Belle dropped to the floor and bawled loudly, mourning the loss of the mare who meant as much to her as any member of her own family.
Seated on the deck of the clubhouse with her back to the wall, Silver Spoon quickly covered her mouth and stifled a whimper that would have given her away. How could Diamond Tiara’s father be Miss Cheerilee’s murderer? She thought about how she had seen him hours earlier at the hospital and remembered how furious he growled when he ran off. She hated to admit it but the crazed look in his eye should have tipped her off that something bad was about to happen. Diamond Tiara was his pride and joy. Any father would be angry at somepony who hurt their child. One might even be driven to seek retribution from their child’s attacker... but to commit rape? Silver Spoon felt sick to her stomach. Two of the most revolting acts an equine could visit upon another equine and Miss Cheerilee had been subjected to both.
Poor Diamond Tiara must be a complete wreck by now, she thought. Oh, Miss Cheerilee. I’m so sorry.
“We thought you knew,” said Apple Bloom in a monotone voice. "Now that you know, we can begin the ceremony." She looked at Scootaloo and nodded.
Scootaloo took her cape off the coat rack,approached the podium, stood on her hind legs, and then placed the cape on top of the podium.
“We," said Scootaloo, "the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, do hereby foresake our vow to work together to earn our cutie marks.”
Stifling her grief for a moment, Sweetie Belle lifted her head to look at Scootaloo and wondered if she hadn’t misheard the pegasus. It sounded as though she was announcing the disbanding of the Cutie Mark Crusaders but that couldn’t be right.
“It is our hope that we can still take up this noble cause once again in the future,” continued Scootaloo. “But for the time being, we can make no promises. Our new calling demands that we devote ourselves to it completely until we see it through to the bitter end. From now until we achieve our new goal, we are...” Scootaloo removed and flipped her Cutie Mark Crusader cape to its gold silk side. She tied it back on, symbolizing that the journey which they would never stop had indeed stopped. “...The Order of The Omelet.”
Apple Bloom nodded vacantly. She went to the coat rack to get her own cape and she put the cape on upside down.
“The Order of The... Omelet?” remarked Sweetie Belle.
“Miss Cheerilee was like... a mother goose to all three of us,” explained Scootaloo. “Now that she’s been taken from us, I feel like a broken egg... but you can make something out of three broken eggs: an omelet. That’s what we are now. Filthy Rich killed somepony we loved...”
The highlights in Scootaloo’s bloodshot eyes began to quiver. She shut her eyes and let out a sustained cry of anguish.
“I’m gonna tell you guys something that I’ve never told anypony,” whimpered Scootaloo, forcing the words out through her grief. “Not even Rainbow Dash. I... I always kinda hoped that Miss Cheerilee would adopt me someday. I used to dream about leaving school with her and going back to her house at the end of the day. And she’d give me special help with my homework while we both made supper together. Then we’d eat and maybe play a board game or something... and then she’d tuck me into bed... and kiss me good night... and tell me that she loved me.”
Hearing Scootaloo’s tale made Apple Bloom weepy once again.
“An’ ah was sorta hopin’ that she would marry Big Macintosh so she coulda been mah sister-in-law an’ lived with me an’ mah family at Sweet Apple Acres,” confessed Apple Bloom as she sniffled and dabbed her eyes dry with a corner of her cape. “Seein’ her every day an’ havin’ her at Apple Family reunions... That woulda been a dream come true.”
“And if she had adopted me and married your brother, that would’ve made me an Apple. I could’ve had a mom and a dad and you could’ve been my aunt.”
Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hung their heads as they slowly came to terms with both of their dreams being dashed to pieces.
Sweetie Belle was as sympathetic to her friends’ pain as anypony else would be but she was still very concerned about this preposterous dissolution of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and what this Order of The Omelet business was all about.
Scootaloo sniffled and abandoned her weeping face for a frown. She lifted her head and continued her grim proclamation.
“The Order of The Omelet’s goal: to rid the world of the evil that is Diamond Tiara by any means necessary, once and for all, no matter the cost – so help us Celestia."
Scootaloo stuck her right forehoof out. Apple Bloom took her own right forehoof and bumped it against Scootaloo’s.
“By any means necessary,” echoed Apple Bloom resolutely. “Once and for all. No matter the cost. So help us Celestia.” She sniffled back some moisture after completing her oath.
After a moment of inactivity, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom glared at Sweetie Belle, waiting for her to take the Omelet pledge to show that she was just as dedicated to their new calling as they were. Sweetie Belle panicked as her eyes shifted from Apple Bloom’s to Scootaloo’s. Did the fire of their hatred really burn so furiously that they were willing to give up their identities as Crusaders to bring their enemy’s life to a bloody end?
“Okay, guys?” said Sweetie Belle. “Constructive criticism time. This has got to be, without a doubt, the single dumbest idea you’ve ever had! We’re not an Omelet! We’re Crusaders! And I don’t remember seeing murder in the Crusader mission statement!”
“Crusaders aren’t murderers,” grunted Scootaloo. “But we aren’t Crusaders anymore. Filthy Rich killed somepony we loved so now it’s our turn to kill somepony he loves.” She trotted to the coat rack, grabbed the last cape, and flung it at Sweetie Belle who flinched as she caught it via levitation. “If he was willing to kill for her, then her death should be about as painful to him as it gets. She started this... and we’re gonna finish it. Now quit fooling around and pledge yourself to The Order!”
Sweetie Belle trembled as she looked at her cape. Save for the lining, she stitched these capes together herself. She wasn’t about to disgrace what the cape stood for by wearing them inside out.
“No, thank you,” she said, tying her cape on red side up the way she always had; the right way. “This is stupid. I’m a Crusader for life or until I get my cutie mark, whichever comes first.”
Scootaloo snorted at Sweetie Belle’s refusal.
“You can’t not be in, Sweetie Belle!” yelled Scootaloo. “You know too much!”
Sweetie Belle opened her eyes as far as they could open.
“W-What are you saying?” asked Sweetie Belle as a drop of sweat ran down her forehead. Her ear rotated as she heard Apple Bloom’s hoofsteps behind her.
“What’re you sayin’ would be the better question,” noted Apple Bloom. “Scootaloo thinks that a Crusader would tell on us.” Sweetie Belle turned her head to look at Apple Bloom. “Are ya gonna tell on us, Crusader? Hm?”
Sweetie Belle gulped. The way the word crusader rolled off of Apple Bloom’s tongue made it sound like a dirty word, as though that organization was dead to her. Sweetie Belle averted her eyes and tried her best not to be scared as it dawned on her that she had no allies in this clubhouse.
“Y-You guys don’t understand,” she said to the floor. “You’re not thinking straight. I can’t be a part of this. I’m not in... and you can’t force me to be part of this new Omelet group.” Her heart beat at the pace of a gallop, wondering if her friends would notice that she didn’t answer Apple Bloom’s question. It was a certainty that simply swearing to them that she wouldn’t tattle was not going to appease them.
Apple Bloom turned sharply and walked over to a table where there was a small picture frame with Cheerilee’s photo in it. She held it in her teeth, approached Sweetie Belle, sat in front of her, and held it in her forehooves.
“Sweetie Belle, do ya know who this is?” asked Apple Bloom, holding the frame in front of the last Crusader. The question caught Sweetie Belle off guard.
“How can you ask me that?” scoffed Sweetie Belle. “You know I know who that is.”
“Then say her name,” commanded Apple Bloom.
“Miss Cheerilee.”
“Didja hate her?”
“Of course not!” spat Sweetie Belle as she looked at Apple Bloom.
“Don’t look at me, keep lookin’ at the pitcher.” Sweetie Belle obeyed Apple Bloom’s command. “Didja love her?”
“Of course.”
“Just a little?”
“No. I loved her a whole lot.”
“Me too. Ah loved her like she was mah own kin. Look at her eyes. Whaddya see in those eyes?”
Sweetie Belle grinned weakly.
“I see kindness... happiness... and love.”
“She loved you a whole lot, too. You know that, don’tcha?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Do ya know where she is now?”
Sweetie Belle held her tongue.
“In the... morgue?” she replied.
“That’d be mah guess. Do ya know where she’ll be goin’ after they’re done with her?”
“To the funeral home?”
“Mm-hm. And after that?”
“She’ll be put in a... coffin.”
“And after that?”
“To the cemetery.”
“And after that?”
“In a... grave.”
“And after that?”
The question was as painful to answer as it was easy.
“There’s...” Sweetie Belle’s vision clouded up with tears as she pictured the beautiful lively mare in the photo decomposing in a grave. “There’s nothing after that.”
Sweetie Belle sank to the floor as her legs slid out from under her. She buried her face in her forelegs and wailed with grief. Apple Bloom stood over her and watched the prostrate Crusader.
“So,” said Apple Bloom. “Ta summarize, somepony ya loved a lot is gonna be put in a coffin and buried in the cemetery where she’ll stay in a grave forever. Nothin’... after... that. The. End. Does that make ya happy?”
“No!”
“Does that make ya sad?”
“Yes.”
“How sad?”
Sweetie Belle sniffled.
“...Very sad...” Sweetie Belle resumed her sobbing.
Apple Bloom walked briskly to a table where there was another picture frame. It contained a photo of Diamond Tiara. When Babs Seed, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon hijacked the clubhouse a while ago, this photo was one of the things they left behind as a memento. Whenever the former Cutie Mark Crusaders were bored and sitting around the clubhouse, the photo would be used as a target for spitballs as well as some unflattering and occasionally vulgar dry erase marker art. Apple Bloom returned to Sweetie Belle.
“Do ya know who this is?” asked Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle shook her head slowly as she looked up meekly at Apple Bloom’s solemn face.
“Apple Bloom...” wept Sweetie Belle as she sniffled and wiped her tears away with her right forehoof. “Please... I don’t want to do this any-”
“Do ya know... who this is?” interrupted Apple Bloom again.
“Yes!” spat Sweetie Belle, figuring that if Apple Bloom insisted on putting her through this interrogation, it would be over faster if she cooperated.
“Say her name and do not, I repeat, do not look away from this pitcher.”
Sweetie Belle fixed her eyes on the photo and swallowed.
“Diamond Tiara,” she said.
“Do ya love her?” asked Apple Bloom.
Love for Diamond Tiara? The notion was so insulting to Sweetie Belle that it angered her.
“Rut no!” she cried.
“Good answer,” said Apple Bloom. “Were you there when she made Miss Cheerilee cry?”
“Yeah.”
“Do ya remember how she laughed in Miss Cheerilee’s face?”
“Yeah.”
“Do ya remember how that made ya feel?”
“Yeah.”
“Miss Cheerilee is dead an’ gone because o’ Diamond Tiara an’ her dad. He’s probably gonna get away with killin’ her, just like Diamond Tiara got away with killin’ Twist. Does that make ya-” Sweetie Belle turned her head away from the frame and Apple Bloom quickly took the frame in her mouth and whacked it against Sweetie Belle’s snout repeatedly. “Look-at-the-pit-cherrr!”
“Stop iiiit!” whined Sweetie Belle as she closed her eyes and shoved the frame away from her face.
Scootaloo quickly ran behind Sweetie Belle and held the unicorn’s head with her forehooves, making her to face forward. Sweetie Belle struggled but Scootaloo wasn’t having it. She held the unicorn’s forelegs behind her back and used her wings to keep her head facing forward. Apple Bloom returned the frame to her forehooves and held it in front of Sweetie Belle once more.
“Keep yer eyes peeled and keep ‘em glued ta this pitcher,” ordered Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and looked at the photo. The murderer’s daughter looked back at her with a smug smile. Sweetie Belle could almost hear Diamond Tiara’s irritating voice. Was there ever a time when that voice had been used for something other than bullying or teasing? And what was that voice doing now that Miss Cheerilee was dead? Was it laughing? Singing? Celebrating?
“Does knowin’ that nopony’s gonna pay fer Miss Cheerilee’s murder make ya happy?” asked Apple Bloom loudly. The sternness in the earth pony’s voice grew with each question.
“No,” replied Sweetie Belle.
“Was that a yes?”
“No!”
Sweetie Belle gulped as she felt the fire of hatred begin to build inside her. What was the point of having laws if the courts were going to let Filthy Rich get away with killing a pony as wonderful as Miss Cheerilee? It was enfuriating and frustrating.
“Does it make ya angry?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yes!” spat Sweetie Belle.
“How angry?”
“Really angry!”
“Angry enough ta make ya wanna do somethin’ about it?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yes!” growled Sweetie Belle. Her brow lowered over the top of her eyes as a frown overcame her.
“Just angry enough ta cuss at her?” Apple Bloom rapped Sweetie Belle in the face with the frame.
“No!”
“Just angry enough ta cry in front o’ her like a little baby?” Apple Bloom struck Sweetie Belle in the face with the frame again but with a bit more force.
“NO!”
Apple Bloom slammed the picture frame into Sweetie Belle’s face and held it there.
“WHAT’RE YA ANGRY ENOUGH TA DO TA HER?!” yelled Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle had been pushed to her limits. She had done her best but she could no longer suppress her true feelings.
Or her true power.
Apple Bloom gasped as an eerie indigo mist rose from behind the picture frame. She dropped the frame and backed away. The source of this mist was Sweetie Belle’s eyes which were illuminated by a glowing bright green energy.
Scootaloo saw the mist, immediately released Sweetie Belle, and hurried over to Apple Bloom’s side.
An aura of ebony energy surrounded Sweetie Belle’s horn. She levitated the frame containing Diamond Tiara’s photo and fired a dark blast from her horn which turned the picture frame into a smoking black blob of charred plastic.
Silver Spoon couldn’t tell what was going on inside but she knew it couldn’t be good.
“I’M ANGRY ENOUGH TO KILL HER!!” screamed Sweetie Belle. Her voice was peppered with high pitched squeaks of raw emotion.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo held each other as they stared at Sweetie Belle.
Silver Spoon closed her eyes and grimaced. Her chest expanded and contracted rapidly out of spine tingling fear and she fought the urge to run and scream for help.
“IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR?!” yelled Sweetie Belle as tears of rage spilled down her face. “THAT I’M ANGRY ENOUGH TO KILL HER?! FINE!! I AM!! I HATE THAT RUTTING BITCH MORE THAN ANYTHING!! I WANT HER DEAD!!" She pointed to her eyes with her right forehoof. "I WANTED TO KILL HER THE SECOND SHE MADE MISS CHEERILEE CRY BUT I’VE BEEN FIGHTING IT ALL DAY BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT RAGE DOES TO MEEE!!”
Sweetie Belle quickly removed her cape and tied it back on – gold silk side up.
“I pledge to rid the world of that rutting piece of manure named Diamond Tiara by any rutting means necessary,” she declared. “Once and for rutting all, no matter the rutting cost, so rutting help me Celestia! There! I’m part of The Omelet!” Her brow returned to a relaxed state and she smiled. “Ohhhhhh, now I get why you called it The Order of The Omelet, Scootaloo. The lining of our capes is golden yellow like an omelet! That’s pretty clever.”
“S-S-Sweetie B-Belle,” stuttered Scootaloo. “Y-Your horn... and your eyes... W-What happened to you?”
“Duh! Dark magic happened to me,” said Sweetie Belle. “I’m not like you two. Hatred and fear can change a unicorn from the inside out. I found out that I have an aptitude for dark magic... and your little recruiting exercise just made it resurface.”
“S-So this isn’t the first time that... th-this has happened ta you?” asked Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle nodded.
“No,” she said. “Not long after...” Sweetie Belle paused. Her facial features contorted. Her eyes began to close and her mouth opened. “...AAAAH-CHOO!!” She wiped her nose on her left forehoof and saw that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were startled by the sneeze and had curled up into a pair of tiny trembling balls of gold silk. “Guys, I know my eyes look scary but you have nothing to fear from me. I’m not gonna hurt you. I know my friends from my enemies.”
“Whew... Good ta know,” said Apple Bloom as she and Scootaloo sat up and relaxed. “You were sayin’?”
“Not long after I started training with Princess Twilight, I got stung by a bee. It hurt really bad and it made me so angry that I blasted the bee’s nest with a bolt of dark magic energy. I killed them all in one shot. I think I may have accidentally corrupted my aura somehow... but I don’t know for sure exactly what I did to do it. Dark magic doesn’t come to just any angry unicorn. I know hatred can cause it and, well, Diamond Tiara’s given me more than enough reason to hate her when she was insulting Miss Cheerilee.”
Sweetie Belle lay on her belly and held her head up by resting her jaw on her forehooves and her elbows on the floor.
“Using regular magic involves so many complicated mental exercises,” she said. “You guys have no idea how hard it is to do even the simplest of spells... but the dark stuff doesn’t involve even a fraction of that. It’s mostly just hate, point, and shoot as far as I can tell. I thought about talking to Princess Twilight and getting her to help me get rid of it but I’m too embarrassed to let her know how far I’ve strayed from her teachings. Apple Bloom? Do you remember when I begged you not to beat up Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Deep down, I wanted to beat the manure out of her just as much as you did but I was steering you away from that path because I was afraid that I’d get caught up in that same anger and that it would make my dark magic resurface. I was trying to keep it a secret.”
“Ah’m sorry,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah didn’t know.”
“Uh, yeah, I know you didn’t know... becauuuse I was keeping it a secret.”
“Oh yeah,” said Apple Bloom, conking herself on the head with her right forehoof.
“Well, it’s too late to do anything about it now but use it to our advantage. Like it or not, you woke a sleeping giant.” Sweetie Belle rubbed her forehooves together in a sinister fashion. “And this giant wants to crush herself a rich girl. I believe I can destroy Diamond Tiara with one shot the same way I destroyed that nest of bees and that picture frame. You two won’t even have to do anything. You can just stand back and watch.”
Apple Bloom shook her head.
“Nah,” she said. “You can finish her off but ah want a piece o’ that biyutch while she’s still kickin’.”
“I want to get my licks in, too,” said Scootaloo. “But with no classes in school, how are we gonna get to her? She’s not gonna open the gates to her mansion and invite us inside. I know we said ‘no matter the cost’ but if we can kill her and not get caught, I’d prefer that.”
“Don’t worry, Scootaloo,” reassured Sweetie Belle. “I have the perfect plan. Tomorrow morning, we’ll throw a rock through her bedroom window. Tied to that rock will-”
“Which one is her bedroom window?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Ground floor, west side, second window from the left,” replied Sweetie Belle.
“Wait, how did you know that?” asked Scootaloo.
“I passed by her bedroom when I went to use the bathroom back when we were invited to that pool party of hers.”
“But how did you know it was her bedroom?”
“Unless one of her servants has the word ‘Princess’ set in gold letters on their door, I’m pretty sure it’s Diamond Tiara’s bedroom. Now would you let me finish telling you my idea?” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded. “Tied to that rock will be an anonymous note saying that we have proof that Filthy Rich is innocent but that we want fifteen thousand bits worth of gems in exchange for it... and that nopony else can know about the note or the deal’s off. I’ll bet that she wants her dad to be freed so badly that she’ll believe it and follow our instructions to the letter. We’ll arrange for her to come alone to a meeting place in some secluded area... say, a few yards into the Everfree Forest or something. Once she shows up, we jump her, convince her to stop breathing, bury the body, grab the gems, and we’ll split the loot three ways. Five grand in gems each.”
“Wow,” said Apple Bloom with a grin. “Stickin’ it ta the scorpion and gettin’ a few clams at the same time? Ah approve.”
Scootaloo lifted her foreleg.
“Yes?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“You want us to rob the dead?” asked Scootaloo.
“Oh, what, so you’re okay with murder but not theft? She doesn’t deserve any consideration! And valuables are valuables. But if it bothers you that much, Apple Bloom and I can split the loot two ways. That’s... seventy five hundred each.”
“Uh, no, that’s okay. I could use those gems to buy some new tools and stuff.”
“And once she’s worm food, we can take care of Silver Spoon and the murderer himself, Filthy Rich.”
Every hair on Silver Spoon’s hide stood on its end. She was on Sweetie Belle’s hit list.
“Okay, hold up," said Scootaloo. "You can take on an adult?”
“Yeah, I think so,” said Sweetie Belle.
“How are we gonna get ta him?" asked Apple Bloom. "He’s in police custody.”
“Hmm," said Sweetie Belle. "That will be quite the trick, won’t it? Maybe he’ll make bail? I dunno. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Why do ya wanna kill Silver Spoon? She’s just a lackey.”
“Do you really need a reason? She’s a rotten bully who’s every bit as bad as Diamond Tiara. And have you already forgotten that she helped kill Twist?”
“Ah guess that is true.”
“Any other objections? No? Good. Then it’s settled. Tomorrow night, The Order of The Omelet is gonna bury a diamond. I can hardly wait.”
“And I can hardly keep my eyes open,” yawned Scootaloo.
“Me neither, y’all,” croaked Apple Bloom wearily. “Ah’m calling it a night. See ya back here tomorrow mornin’.”
Silver Spoon eyes darted about frantically as she heard hoofsteps coming closer. If Apple Bloom or the others stepped outside and found her eavesdropping on their conversation, Sweetie Belle might just kill her on sight. She needed to make a break for it but the ramp was the only means of getting back down safely and hooves walking on wood made a noise. With only seconds to act, she removed her glasses, held them in her mouth, and vaulted over the railing, praying to Celestia that her landing would be a safe one and a silent one.
Her stomach turned as the ground rushed up to meet her hooves and she braced herself for the impact.
She was in luck. The landing was virtually painless and it wasn’t noisy at all. She quickly returned her glasses to her face and ran off in the direction of the taxi.
“Wait, where are you guys going?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stopped at the door and turned around.
“To bed, o’ course,” answered Apple Bloom.
“Ditto,” said Scootaloo.
“Awww, come on, don’t leave me here,” pleaded Sweetie Belle.
“Whaddya mean ‘leave ya here’?” asked Apple Bloom. “Why ain’tcha goin’ home, too?”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes before pointing at them.
“Uh, hel-lo-oh?” she remarked sarcastically. “I can’t go home looking like King Sombra’s love foal.”
“Ya mean ya don’t know how ta shut off yer... eye... smoke?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Where would I have learned how to shut off dark magic? I was lucky that it went away on its own the last time. But I’m a billion times angrier at Diamond Tiara than I was at that dumb bee so who knows how much longer my eyes will look like this? My mom and dad would flip out if they saw me all darked out. So I’m staying put at the clubhouse. But I don’t wanna stay out here all by myself. Couldn’t at least one of you keep me company? Please?” Sweetie Belle pouted, hoping to gain some sympathy.
Scootaloo snickered with laughter.
“Heyyy,” grumbled Sweetie Belle. “Don’t laugh at me. You’re being mean.”
“Sorry,” said Scootaloo. “It’s just that sad puppy dog eyes don’t have the same effect when they’re smoldering with dark magic.”
“Scoots, you can go,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah’ll camp out with Sombra Belle tonight.”
“My crystal slaaaavessss...” hissed Sweetie Belle.
“Cut that out,” said Apple Bloom.
“Okay,” said Sweetie Belle, hanging her head.
“Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo. “I’ll stop by your house on the way home and tell your mom or dad that you’re spending the night at Apple Bloom’s. That way they won’t worry when you miss your curfew.”
“Thanks, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo hoofbumped her friends and left the clubhouse. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fetched their sleeping bags from the supply closet.
“Ah’m plum tuckered,” said Apple Bloom as she unrolled her sleeping bag.
“Me too," said Sweetie Belle. "Or since we’re The Order of The Omelet now, maybe I should say that I’m... ‘eggs-austed’.”
Apple Bloom eye twitched at the pun.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “Do you want me ta stay or not?”
“I do want you to stay,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Then lay off the egg puns.” Apple Bloom clasped her forehooves over her mouth upon realizing that she had fired off an egg pun of her own. “That one was completely unintentional.”
“Yeah, right!”
“It was. Honest.”
“Okay, I believe you. But was mine really all that bad?”
“It was pretty bad... but... ‘omelet’ it slide this time.”
Sweetie Belle groaned and giggled. She turned off the lamp, crawled into her sleeping bag, and closed her eyes. Ten seconds later, they reopened.
“Apple Bloom?” she asked.
“Yeah?” replied Apple Bloom.
“Would it be weird to ask if we could share the same sleeping bag? It makes me think of being in a body bag... and with Miss Cheerilee gone, well... I don’t want to be alone inside it.”
Apple Bloom needed no further explanation. She crawled into Sweetie Belle’s sleeping bag and lay down behind her. Sweetie Belle grinned.
“Thanks,” she said softly, closing her eyes. As she reflected on the day’s events, she thought about how much was riding on how the next twenty four hours would turn out. She had more than a few concerns but she had her Order to back her up. Once Diamond Tiara’s blood was on her hooves, there would be no washing it off. There would only be the option to add a fresh coat of somepony else’s.
Apple Bloom sniffed and made a face.
“Did you eat garlic?” she asked.
Rather than answer the question, Sweetie Belle snored and pretended to be asleep.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and turned inside the sleeping bag so that her back was now to Sweetie Belle.
Applejack was walking to the archway of Sweet Apple Acres to investigate the source of a light that she spotted from the house. She found a taxi carriage parked there with its firefly lanterns on. The operator of the taxi was sitting reading a newspaper.
“Can ah help ya with somethin’, pardner?” asked Applejack.
“I don’t know,” replied the cabbie. “Can you?”
Applejack groaned and wondered if the cabbie was a distant relative of Twilight’s.
“May ah help ya with somethin’?”
“No, thank you, ma’am.”
“Then wouldja mind explainin’ ta me whatcher doin’ out here?”
“Not at all. I’m waiting for my client.”
“Yer client? An’ who might this client o’ yours be?”
“Sorry but that’s privileged information.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, this here’s mah family’s property an’ if yer client’s somepony ah don’t know an’ they’re roamin’ about freely, that’s tresspassin’... which is illegal.”
The cabbie heard small hooffalls and grinned.
“Well, it looks like I won’t be staying much longer because here she comes right now.”
Silver Spoon ran toward the taxi and jumped inside.
“Silver Spoon?” queried Applejack. “So you’re the one who’s got this taxi carriage parked outside mah farm. Mind tellin’ me whatcher doin’ traipsin’ around on Apple family property in the middle o’ the night?”
“Miss Applejack, please come with me!”
“Come with you? Where?”
“Anywhere! I’ll explain when we’re out of harm’s way! Come on! Get in!”
Applejack saw how worked up the filly was and decided to step into the carriage.
“Well, all right,” said “but this better not be some kind of prank.”
“Trust me, I’m through playing pranks. Cabbie, get us out of here!”
The taxi rattled and shook as the cabbie ran down the bumpy dirt road.
“Miss Applejack, something terrible is about to happen. Your sister and her friends are planning on murdering Diamond Tiara... and they’re gonna use dark magic to do it.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously?” she asked.
“I’m dead serious! Sweetie Belle can fire dark magic energy blasts.”
“Sweetie Belle can fire energy blasts?”
“Mm-hm. I didn’t see her do it because I was eavesdropping but that’s what she said she could do.”
“Elysium help us all. Well, ah’ve tangled with dark magic before... but ah think ah know somepony a little better qualified than me ta deal with this.” Applejack turned her head to face forward. “Hey, Mister? Take us ta the castle.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the cabbie.
“The castle?” asked Silver Spoon.
“That’s right,” confirmed Applejack. “Yer gonna talk ta Princess Twilight about what you overheard.”
Silver Spoon smiled. She was going to have an audience with the princess once again. With somepony as powerful as Princess Twilight Sparkle helping her out, the Order’s killing spree was sure to be put to an end before it even started. And the mystery of The Unspoken Wish might even be solved.
“Oh, hey,” said Applejack, “while we’re here, maybe you could help me with somethin’. You haven’t seen Pinkie Pie around town lately, have you? She’s gone missin’ an’ we’re all worried about her.”
“Sorry,” said Silver Spoon. “I saw her yesterday but I haven’t seen her since.”
Applejack nodded.
“Thanks anyway,” she said. Applejack sniffed. She leaned in toward Silver Spoon, placed her nose up against the filly’s nose and sniffed again. Silver Spoon backed away from the farm mare and put some space between herself and Applejack.
“Is something wrong?” asked Silver Spoon as she adjusted her glasses.
“Not to be rude or nothin’, sugar cube, but did you eat garlic today?” asked Applejack.
Silver Spoon winced. The wheatball she gobbled earlier was loaded with yummy roasted garlic cloves.
“Yeah,” she admitted with a sigh as she slumped in her seat. She quickly sat up straight and clasped her forehooves across her mouth. “Oh my gosh! My breath is gonna reek of garlic when I talk to Princess Twilight! How embarrassing!”
“Tell ya what,” said Applejack. “Ah’ll let ya use some o’ mah mouthwash in mah quarters back at the castle before yer meetin’ with the princess.”
Silver Spoon grinned.
“You’re such a nice pony, Miss Applejack,” she said. “Apple Bloom sure is lucky to have a big sister like you.”
“Thanks... but ya know who’s even luckier that Apple Bloom has a big sister like me?”
“Who?”
“Diamond Tiara.”
Silver Spoon nodded slowly.
“Neighmen to that,” she said.
Silver Spoon sat on the edge of her bed with a towel across her shoulders. She had just finished taking a shower and she was braiding her mane. It was morning and while she had a good night’s sleep, the worry she now felt was undoing any of the benefits that her slumber had granted her.
There was a knock at her window. Silver Spoon jumped at the sound. She turned her head and saw Diamond Tiara standing there, peering through the window and looking bedraggled. She looked as though she hadn't slept all night. Silver Spoon grinned halfheartedly at Diamond Tiara. Her friend might not have looked her best but she was alive and unharmed. Applejack and Princess Twilight reassured her that the matter of the Order of The Omelet would be resolved today - just like the intervention. Silver Spoon wrapped her scrunchie around her braid and opened the window.
“Where the Tartarus did you run off to last night, Silver Spoon?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Have you heard that my dad was the one who killed Miss Cheerilee?”
“Yes," replied Silver Spoon, "and I’m really sorry about running off the way I did but I needed to leave right away.”
“What was so important that you couldn’t even say goodbye to me first or even tell me that you were leaving?”
Silver Spoon sighed.
“We need to talk," she said. "Let's go out into the yard." She hopped through the window and walked on the grass. Diamond shuffled along as quickly as she could. Her harness tires weren't meant for this kind of terrain.
They stopped in front of a cypress tree. Silver turned to look at Diamond Tiara and sat down.
"I've got a lot to say, Di," said Silver Spoon. "And I’d like to hug you during this talk, if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, no problem," said Diamond Tiara. "I could sure use one.”
“A lot of what I’m about to say is gonna sound sappy but just deal with it for me. All right?”
“All right.”
“And please don’t interrupt me after I’ve started. Just wait until I’ve finished talking before you say anything. I want to get this all out while it’s still fresh in my head.”
Silver Spoon held Diamond Tiara in her forelegs and brought her close.
She smells wonderful, thought Silver Spoon. She always does.
“I love you, Diamond Tiara,” said Silver Spoon. “I know that you only think of me as a friend and that you can never return my deeper feelings but I’ve learned to accept that. My love for you is about more than what we could have had as fillyfriends. It’s a pure love that’s bigger, deeper, and stronger than anything I’ve ever felt for anypony. When I’m with you, it feels like I’m right where I’m supposed to be. When we’re apart, it’s like I’m only half a pony. So long as I could be with you when you smiled that smile of yours that makes my heart sing, that was all I needed. The more of myself I devoted to you, the more of myself I lost. And the more we messed with ponies, the less it bothered me. Simply put, I loved you more than I loved myself. That isn’t healthy. I loved you too much to look into my heart and think about how I really felt about what we were doing. I think about all the things we’ve done to the ponies we called losers and I’m ashamed because I didn’t care what we did as long as it made you happy. But Twist and Miss Cheerilee’s deaths changed all of that.”
Silver Spoon cleared her throat.
“Their deaths forced me to take a long hard look at myself. I don’t like what I see but I do have one thing going for me. I have a conscience. See, I pitied Twist when you were going to drop the bag on her because I knew firsthoof how bad it felt... when you wanted a very special somepony but then found out that they didn’t feel the same way. I wanted to spare her the pain that I live with every day. My conscience told me not to let you climb on my back but I helped you do it anyway. I had one chance to put my hoof down and say no to you and I took that chance but, damn it, Di, you used my feelings... my heartfelt confession of love for you... to get me to do what you wanted! And it really hurt! You can’t return my feelings? Fine. I can live with that. I didn’t like my chances when I told you how I felt about you... but to exploit that love for your own benefit? That was awful! I know this is making you feel uncomfortable but I can’t keep this inside of me any more than I could keep myself from making that confession to you on Hearts and Hooves Day. I had to try. The only thing that hurts worse than never knowing if you could love me in return... was knowing... that the answer... is no."
She sniffled strongly so as not to get her nasal drip on Diamond Tiara's shoulder.
“You gave me no for an answer," she continued. "I can and did respect that. But you wouldn’t take no for an answer. If you had, you wouldn’t have been able to hit Twist with that bag, she wouldn’t have walked into the path of that train and none of this would have happened! I mean, manure, Diamond Tiara! We saw what nopony should ever have to see! A filly was killed right in front of our eyes and I can’t get the sight and sounds out of my head! I kept thinking that I’d have nightmares about it but I don’t need to because Twist’s accident keeps playing over and over in my head while I’m awake! And the sound of that last cry of hers? I helped to make that happen! It’s like what Miss Cheerilee said: Twist’s last breath was spent on tears that we caused. She wasn’t with her loved ones at the end. She was covered in garbage and feeling unloved! And if that didn’t leave me feeling awful enough, there are two foalless parents walking around Ponyville right now who can never forget or forgive what we’ve done and I can never look them in the eye again! And Miss Cheerilee wasn’t that old so maybe her parents are still around. Their child is gone now, too.”
The more Silver Spoon unloaded, the better she felt.
“Life is precious, Diamond Tiara. All life is precious. Twist is dead because we were a couple of elitist snobs with nothing else better to do than mess with somepony who never bothered anyone! And, yeah, I know I used to do it too but the difference is that I realize now that it was wrong. Twist will never graduate, never have a career, never have a first kiss, never get married and never grow old. We’ve put an end to all of that. I’m horrified over my part in her death... but you were inspired by it? You’re proud to say that the blood on your hooves has helped you map out your career goal? And you’re thinking about killing Princess Celestia? That is not the Diamond Tiara I know. And when you revealed Miss Cheerilee’s condition in class? Oh, Di, that was, like, soooo messed up. I’ve done a lot of messed up stuff along with you – I know I’m no angel – but what you did to her was off the charts messed up. And when you sang to celebrate her murder... you broke me. I couldn’t deal with you. If I hadn’t left right then and there, I would have chewed you out on the spot. I was embarrassed to know you. Two ponies are dead and your dad is facing murder charges because of events that we set into motion. And please don’t tell me that we weren’t responsible. I know what we really did. We did enough. And I’ve had enough.”
Silver Spoon shifted her jaw. This was going to be the second toughest part of her intervention; the part where she would address the need to change.
“I’m tired of fooling myself into thinking that our wealth makes us special. And I’m tired of using our special status to justify how we treat other ponies. There’s nothing special or cool about death. I have a laundry list of fears about you, Diamond Tiara, but the biggest one of all is losing you. I’m afraid that if you stay on the path you’re on, somepony’s gonna get tired of your manure and kill you. How much worse are you going to behave if you can do everything that you’ve done so far and be pleased with yourself? How many more ponies have to suffer or die at your hooves before you decide that their misery isn’t what makes you happy? When will your heartlessness end? I know that there’s good in your heart. I’ve seen it firsthoof. I know that there’s a Diamond Tiara in there just dying to love and be loved by everypony in town but you keep her locked up inside a crypt of bitterness and hatred. I want to save you. I want to lift you out of that darkness you live in and dance with you in the sunlight. But, Celestia help me, I don’t know if there’s anything left of you that wants to be saved. You need to reform, Diamond Tiara. I’ve already changed. I’ve got a long way to go but I’ve at least started my journey. And in the short time that I’ve turned myself around, I’ve met a few ponies who’ve shown me kindness and it felt way better than acting like I was better than them or making fun of them. I found out that I like treating ponies like equals and I’m ashamed of myself for not trying it sooner. And yet, I don’t want to make my journey if it means leaving you behind. I’d like you to come along with me and live a changed life... a better life.”
It was time for the toughest part: the ultimatum.
“I love you, Diamond Tiara. I always have and I always will. I want to be by your side... but the road we’re walking down has a fork in it. If you can’t or won’t mend your ways, then... as much as it hurts me to say it, it looks like we’ll eventually be going down two separate paths. And if I don’t mean enough to you to consider changing... then I... I don’t think that you and I can... be... friends anymore.”
Those words stuck in Silver Spoon's craw.
“Okay, I’m finished,” she said. She released Diamond Tiara and looked at her. The pink earth pony's eyes were closed and she had shed some tears during the talk. She was grinning and Silver Spoon reasoned that that was a good sign.
“Silver Spoon,” said Diamond Tiara. “You have been a really good friend to me. I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I know how you feel about being together. I can honestly say that being with you always felt right. That’s why I asked you to be my PR pony. Whatever goals I’m going to achieve when I get older, I knew in my heart that they would only be possible with you by my side. You taught me what friendship was.”
Diamond Tiara smiled softly and gently placed her forehooves on either side of Silver Spoon’s cheeks. Silver Spoon smiled at the warmth of Diamond Tiara’s hooves. Unless it was teasing, having Diamond Tiara touch her in any way was always a delight.
“So imagine my surprise...” continued Diamond Tiara. Silver Spoon felt Diamond Tiara apply pressure to her face and that pressure slowly built to where her lips puckered involuntarily. “...when, after everything that we’ve been through... one little rough patch is all it takes for you to throw our friendship away and abandon me?!”
The pressure being applied to Silver Spoon’s face had now reached a painful level. It wasn’t reopening her wound – the stitches sat higher on her cheekbone – but she feared that it might still happen anyway. She whimpered and used her forelegs to break Diamond Tiara’s hold on her face. Diamond Tiara quickly set her own forehooves back on the ground.
“I can’t believe that you would try to butter me up with all of that ‘I love you’ manure at the beginning of your little speech when what it comes down to is either I change who I am or you’ll stop being my friend! Insulting my intelligence much?”
“It’s not manure, I do lov-”
“Shut the rut up!! If you’re abandoning me, you can at least respect me enough to be honest about it! Unlike you, I don’t believe in sugarcoating! Now, I’m gonna make this short and sweet so pay attention because I don’t like having to repeat myself to ponies who quit on me! Are you listening? Then here we go. You are either with me... or you are against me! Okay? Those have always been your choices – and you can’t love me and be against me at the same time! Twist attacked me and she paid the price for it! Miss Cheerilee attacked and humiliated me... and she didn’t even get a fraction of what she had coming to her!”
Diamond Tiara sobbed.
“Rut, Silver Spoon, you sure picked a fine rutting time to show your true colors! They say that my dad’s either gonna be sent to prison for life, executed, or banished from Equestria! No matter how you slice it, I’m basically gonna lose him forever! It’s just a question of how and when! When that sank in, I was like ‘oh, gee, now the only pony I have left in this world who loves me is Silver Spoon’. Well, congratulations, you backstabbing bitch! You made the pony who was always right wrong! I never would have asked my dad to kill Miss Cheerilee for me but I’ll tell you one thing: at least he acted out of love for me which is more than I can say for you!”
“I’VE DONE NOTHING BUT LOVE YOU!” countered Silver Spoon, outraged that Diamond Tiara would ever question the authenticity of her devotion.
“YOU DO NOT LOVE ME! YOU’RE JUST INFATUATED WITH ME! There’s a difference. I knew it all along but I chose to turn a blind eye to it because I actually liked being around you. Boy, what an error in judgment that turned out to be. Now I know that my dad’s the only one who ever really loved me. It should be you sitting in that jail cell instead of him! You let me climb on your back, Silver Spoon! You can say any rotten thing about me that you want but it all goes back to that one fact and nothing’s gonna change it. You could have run away from me or yelled out to Twist that it was a trap but you made the decision to stay. Your choice started this whole mess! Twist’s death is on your head! Miss Cheerilee’s death? Your head! MY DAD’S FATE?! YOUR RUTTING STUPID HEAD!! MY LIFE IS RUINED NOW AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!! And you have the nerve – THE NNNNERVE! – to say that you’re living a better life than I am? That you’re walking down a brighter path than I am?
Diamond Tiara spat in Silver Spoon’s face. The majority of the saliva landed on her glasses. Silver Spoon squealed and quickly took them off.
“RUT YOU!" screamed Diamond Tiara. "You want to be like Apple Dunce and her not-special blank flank loser friends? Go right ahead! See if I care! You don’t think that we can be friends anymore? That’s fine with me, too! I don’t need fair weather friends, least of all a four-eyed, perverted, spineless dyke like you!”
Had Diamond Tiara run her through with a sword, dropped a piano on top of her, and then set her on fire, it wouldn’t have hurt Silver Spoon half as much as the words that came out of her beloved’s mouth.
“Oh, and you wanted to know where the heartlessness ended, didn’t you?” continued Diamond Tiara. “Well, look no further... because it ends right now, just like this. My heartlessness won’t be your concern anymore... BECAUSE I’M NEVER SPEAKING TO YOU AGAIN!!”
Sobbing, Diamond Tiara turned tail and ran away as quickly as her harness allowed her to run.
“Diamond Tiara!” cried Silver Spoon. “Wait! DIAMOND TIARAAA!!!”
Silver Spoon sank to the ground and irrigated the soil below her face with tears as the filly she loved trampled all over her heart and left her to her despair.
Diamond Tiara trotted off angrily. Whenever she had been alone in the past, she pined for the company of Silver Spoon... but now, Silver Spoon was the pony she was deserting. Having conflicting emotions was a state of mind that was foreign to a pony who was always right. Her dominant emotion was anger and she needed to express it or it would consume her.
A galloping guitar riff started off her background music. Her cue arrived and she started to sing.
What have I done – to deserve a friend like you?
Did I swipe your ice cream float? Or did I scratch your best horseshoe?
It must be pretty bad for you to say that we are through
Oh, well, who needs a friend who is as terrr-riii-bllle
As you?
Was it my breath? Did I forget to take a bath?
Did I break somepony’s mirror? Or did a black cat cross my path?
Would somepony please tell me? ‘Cause I haven’t got a clue
What error rates a friend who is as horrr-riii-bllle
As you?
For her 9th birthday, Filthy Rich had given his daughter an incredibly expensive gift: he had employed the death metal band Dethklop to be on standby eight hours a day for the first week of each month. They had their own stage that was erected on the estate grounds. The band heard her arrival and, upon hearing the tune, followed her lead by playing the background music for her. Diamond Tiara hopped up the stage steps. When she reached the top, she was dressed up as the lead singer – complete with a t-shirt, moon makeup and a long straight jet black mane. She quickly snatched the microphone from Neighthan the lead singer, pushed him off the stage, and screamed the bridge’s lyrics in the signature gravelly Dethklop death metal vocal style.
WAS IT BECAUSE TWIST GOT HIT BYYYYYYY THAT TRAAAAAIN?
‘CAUSE THAT WAS KARMA, CAN’T YOU SEEEEEEEEEEE?!
YOU MUST BE CRAZY IF WHAT MAAADE YOUUU SNAAAP
WAS THE DEAAATH OF CHEEEE-RILL-LEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
As the lead guitarist played a wicked solo, Diamond swung her ebony locks in a clockwise motion. Her tiara went flying off stage and she ran for the steps. She retrieved it from the lawn and returned to the stage in her everyday appearance. Once the solo ended, she continued her song in her normal singing voice.
I don’t care what I might have done to earn your scorn
I regret we ever met, I curse the day that you were born
Dasvidaniya, adios, sayonara, toodleloo
Good riddance to a friend
As terrrr-ri-bllllllllle
The lead guitar echoed the notes she sang an octave higher than she hit them.
As horrr-ri-bllllllllle
The lead guitar did the same for these new notes.
As kerrrrrr-ayyyyy-zeeeeee
As meeeeeeeeean toooooooo meeeeeeeee
As youuuuuuuuuuuuuu
The last guitar note sustained. After the penultimate drum beat, the drummer stood on the stool with his hind legs, jumped off of it, and struck both cymbals simultaneously on the way down as the guitars reiterated the note to coincide with the hit. The song had come to its conclusion.
Diamond Tiara panted. She primped her mane, and adjusted her tiara. Sighing happily and grinning with pride, she walked toward the steps to leave the stage.
“I feel better now,” she admitted. “Nice work, you guys. That was so metal.”
“Freebirrrd!” cried out a voice from the mansion’s balcony on the second floor.
“Get back to work, Randolph!” yelled Diamond Tiara, pointing angrily at her butler.
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wow, can we just have Diamond cunt get whacked now? seriously, no on is going to feel anything other than positive emotions over her death. it'd be even better if the CMC manage to pull it off before they can be stopped, and manage to make it look like an accident. 'cause, i really like their idea for dealing with her.
Freebird!
I look forward to the Omelettes' meeting with Twilight. It should be fun all around, if Twilight keeps from giving into the puppy eyes.
And is it just me or is Silver Spoon the only one with positive character growth? DT, AB and Scoots all turned in sociopaths. AB and Scoots psychologically tortured Sweetie into joining their Murder Cult. Cheerilee and Rich both went crazy.
I hope Silvy has the sense to get the hell out of town, or at least hire some security. And I also hope it comes out in court that Cherilee arranged her own death, from clocking the Mayor right on to tying herself up. The angst will be delicious.
At the beginning I thought that DT shouldn't actually get killed. But by the end that opinion changed. I don't think it's possible to be as fucked up as her.
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The ex CMC are certainly trying. All four of them should go through some extreme therapy.
Oh look, update.
Futility's still hitting like a ton of bricks; it's quite a strange concept; to feel your soul crawl into your stomach. I thought i'd gotten used to it since reading this fanfic, but the Cutie Mark Cultsaders and the the massive failure of the Diamondvention(as they will forever be named) proved me so very wrong. You've got me in the unique position of both loving and feeling sorry for everyone in this fanfic. Yes, even Diamond Tiara. Despite the multitude of things she's done, she doesn't actually deserved to be murdered... And I can't believe i'm saying that.
On the plus note, you're the only writer i'm actually willing to wait for updates on. It helps that you happen to update approximately within the the time it takes me to heal from reading the last chapter. I don't think I could take this all at once.
That is all.
...Remember when I said this?
Well never-fucking-mind, she's still the worse-than-satan cunt as ever. And now that Silver Spoon's plan ended predictably exploding in her face like a Michael Bay movie, the Order Of The Omelets are gonna put her higher on their hit list.
Now the gates of Tartarus have fully opened at last, now the main event begins.
5339975 Yeah, that should. Thigh DR should go through new than the CMC. The CMC are doing it our I'd emotions that bake sense and DT isn't even making sense. It's like she's just trying to be as big if a bitch as possible.
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Dear angelbunny, please tell you're going to make Diamond Tiara into a serial killer?
My raging boner demands it! 
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Dear Tepid Phantom's raging boner,
No.
5339975
They get something. It's not therapeutic but... you'll see.
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I do remember when you said this. I thought to myself, "Should I tell him?"
The answer was no. And just like Tepid Phantom's raging boner, I hope you don't hold it against me,
5348681 Nah, I'm actually glad you didn't told me. So thanks.
5348677
Is it an enema?
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Let's just say that an enema might be preferable and leave it at that.
Who'd think? Sweetie is the reasonable one...
She should get an atheist cutie mark...
Apple Bloom, you dumb, inbred mule, what have you done? She'll now become a supervillain and massacre the whole Equestria...
I imagined Claire Corlett yelling that in Sweetie's voice. The effect was quite amusing. I'm afraid it was unintentional.
Cool. Sweetie Belle is a motherfucking Darth Vader waiting to put on a dark armour, kill all the Jedi, and blow up Alderaan, and they say Diamond Tiara is evil...
At the same time Randolph Princess, Rich family's butler was sleeping calmly, not knowing that soon his life will change dramatically...
Okay, I call bullshit on them trying to avenge Cheerilee. They're just greedy little psychopats.
Really Scoots? Your ideas make me think you sniff glue, you've just basically planned murder, not to mention that your best friend will try to take over the world the day she first gets PMS, and THAT's what bothers you?
I kinda feel for her. Every single pony she loves turns out to be a psycho...
Finally someone reasonable...
Think about Sweetie Belle – she has to walk around with her dark magic on display. That's, I guess, far more embarassing...
Priorities, Silver! First tell her that the CMC went crazy, then you can love her all night long...
Funny thing is, both Diamond and Apple Bloom have a lot in common. For starters, they're both nutjobs.
Had Diamond Tiara run her through with a sword, dropped a piano on top of her, and then set her on fire, it wouldn’t have hurt Silver Spoon
Meh. I think Silver's kinda overreacting... Diamond is apparently beyond redemption (though she doesn't deserve to die), so why bother?
5355328
The evidence-in-exchange-for-money plan to lure DT out of her home needed to have a price tag on it in order for her to take it seriously. And why bury jewels in the Everfree Forest when there's swag to be had?
Mrs.Cake: Okay, you three. Here's your cake and ice cream. So what are we all celebrating?
Scootaloo: Uh... Nothing. You take gems, right?
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And then it turns out someone recognised those gems as belonging to Diamond Tiara. I guess they'd be quite popular in prison...
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Also, Sweetie Belle might have said that there was "nothing after that" because she didn't want to admit that Cheerilee would be in Tartarus for the ass beating and murder attempt on Diamond Tiara.
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Thanks for being one of the few who feel this way about DT. I'm guessing you'll be part of the #applebloomwaswrong movement by the end of the story. I believe the majority of my readers will hop on the #applebloomwasright movement but don't let that get you down. Stand up and be proud of your beliefs, ShadowGentleman.
I'm honestly trying to pump out as much of this story as quickly as I can. The big chapter (in scope if not in word count) is just TWO chapters away and I'm dying to get it out there. I predict it will have a record number of comments, primarily because it will feature a long awaited confrontation between two characters that readers have said should meet.
Not to toot my own horn but it's going to be pretty interesting.
well.. I have nopony to root for accept Silver Spoon.. I just hope she doesn't hang herself because of Diamond spooooooky "death note" power
Twist, seems you were the very spirit of Ponyvile's innocence.
You are dearly missed.