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It gnawed at them like a rat. Some hungry insatiable, insurmountable craving that couldn’t be denied or ignored. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom peered through shared binoculars at Diamond Tiara. Rich filly. Teenaged Royalty and personal tormentor to their trio. Apple Bloom and her friends had taken to trying to avoid Diamond and Silver Spoon after school when they suspected the two weren't happy.
Diamond was never happy.
It was Scootaloo's idea. Something that spawned from conversation from her and Rainbow Dash, and it was Scootaloo that convinced them to create the device. And now, sitting casually on the rooftop of the barn with a home made catapult and several balloons filled with food coloring and Sweetie Belle peering through a telescope, Apple bloom caressed with lever with a single, twitching hoof. The angel on her shoulder had been squaring off with the devil for nearly five minutes, while Apple Bloom perked her ears to both parties.
They were all hesitant to get started...It wasn’t fair of course. That much was to be agreed upon. For a anyone to be bullied- to be picked on and damaged physically and mentally, to be assaulted day in and day out with no sense of salvation in sight. Who could stand up to that sort of pressure? But where would vengeance leave them? Would it fill the sink hole in their hearts, craving absolution from the torment they still suffered? Would pulling the lever end the nightmares, and the lengthy suffering they had to endure, just because Diamond felt like picking on them one day? They turned the other cheek- they never fought back and never stooped to ‘their level’.
And so what? Where did that leave them? What did some assigned, pretend sense of moral superiority leave them? Stoop down to Diamond's level? As if being ‘better’ than her would somehow save the young fillies from a vicious name calling and rumors? As if being ‘no better than Diamond’ would help the CMC sleep at night with bruised egos and broken self esteem. At least Diamond would have known that the CMC wouldn’t go down without a fight if they had decided to retaliate. If things escalated, they escalated but would it have been better than several months of constant torment?
Ignore the bully, the adults say. She’ll find somebody else to pick on. But that doesn’t solve anything. If anything that was a worse solution. “Let it become somepony elses problem’ at best, and at worst, Diamond would make sure she wasn’t ignored. Bullies were exceptionally good at getting reactions out of people. That’s why they were bullies.
They should have pitied Diamond. Whatever her home life must have been like, abusive father, neglectful mother must have been a world of hell to return to at the end of the school day. School; the one place Diamond could be in charge. The only place Diamond could rule over somepony smaller and weaker than she. The only place where she was queen and everyone else was victim to her whims.
But Applebloom and the CMC weren't privy to her home life. Applebloom wasn’t privy to anything but the verbal beatings Diamond arranged for them. How long were they supposed to turn the other cheek? How many times were they supposed to tell Cheerilee and let Diamond get scolded, or let Diamond have detention or let Diamond write lines on the chalk board? How long was were they supposed to let the gnawing sensation of revenge grow?
What was revenge? What was going to be enough? What could ever be enough? Was it necessary? Would it fix the problem? Would it solve the year of suffering the girls would have to endure due to Diamond's wrath? Was there ANY solution to that, or had Diamond inflicted some lifelong trauma scar that no amount of time would heal?
Stuck with nightmares for the rest of their life, just because some girl decided to pick on them. Was revenge really so wrong? Yes, say the parents…but then that’s all justice is, isn’t it? Revenge, through ‘proper’ channels. Revenge through the system. Revenge through the eyes of outsiders so it doesn’t get too ‘out of hand.’ Ponies who have no stakes what so ever in the situation issuing justice for them. And how does one measure how much justice is enough justice?
The idea of course, was to turn one’s cheek and wait for life to even things out. For Diamond’s well deserved justice to strike her when she was most vulnerable. But the problem is how would Applebloom, Scootaloo, or Sweetie Belle know it even struck? Or when? If they weren't there to witness it, was it even worth it? Would Diamond even know it was because she was an a horrible pony for a significant portion of her life?
No. Life wasn’t so satisfying as to let the girls have their vengeance. There was no guarantee that Diamond would suffer the punishment she’d deserved- that CMC begged for- unless it came from their own hooves. Unless it was delivered personally. For all they knew, Diamond could turn her life around and become a princess and ruler of a kingdom. She could end world hunger, and create world peace. But she still might not have a single ounce of regret for causing pain and turmoil to another pony for entire years of their lives. She needed to be punished for what she had done- because there was no guarantee that she’d be punished in the future. It was that simple.
Wasn’t it?
The little filly flicked her hoof across the catapult’s lever and took a shuddering breath. It wasn’t fair. It all wasn’t fair. Rainbow Dash was right. This was the right answer. This was fair. But...
Life wasn’t meant to be fair. Existence is a roller coaster. Would this action cause the surrounding and involved parties good? Would it equal happiness? If so, who’s happiness would it ensure? Would it equal sadness? Diamond's lovely coat would be covered in dye and Apple Bloom was sure she’d end with a hollow hole left in her tummy. Sadness definitely. Happiness? Doubtful. So what was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to solve the moral dilemma handed to her by an a filly with nothing better to do than pick on weaker individuals?
The CMC had built a catapult for the sole purpose of causing misery to another student. But just because they could, did it mean that they should? Did Diamond deserve it? Definitely. But who were they to judge? If they were right, did it leave it up to them to pull the trig-
“Oh for Petes sakes, what is taking so long?” Rainbow Dash growled. She'd been waiting eagerly for the action to start, before Apple Bloom and the other girls decided to stare into space for ten minutes. She reached forward, grabbing the lever from Applebloom's hooves and fired immediately- resulting in a town rattling shriek of surprise, and a hilarious bright pink and purple filly racing around in circles.
“There! Problem solved! It's just food coloring. It'll wash off! Geez, you guys and your moral, philosophical conundrums!! You're like Twilight!" The pegasus snarled, and started to reload the catapult, leaving Apple Bloom and the rest of the CMC staring at each other.
"Well. That was easy. “ Squeaked the Sweetie Belle.
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Ah, the mysteries of life. Does one repress their actions to prevent harm to another? Through the many chances of looking through the glass ball, where does one stop? What is the true pinnacle?
For bullies, I have no friggin' clue.
The perfect resolution to a story like that.
Two things I noticed while reading:
weren't*
pegasus* unless pegasi can refer to a single individual, in which case I would like to be corrected on this.
Conflict is, as always, part of human nature. And bullying is just one expression of it. Disturbingly, it can still happen when you're an adult if you're unlucky, but at that point you generally have more options and more control of your own life so you can deal with it to some degree at least. When you're a kid? Well, adults have so much to do, they can't deal with everything, and "isn't this part of growing up anyway?"
I still remember when I was ten and told a teacher that another kid had attacked me. Her response? "I don't like tattlers."
(And taking self-defense classes? Why exactly am I supposed to spend money and time to solve a problem that I didn't cause to begin with? That means just accepting that it's the victim's fault. And victim blaming is a sign of sociopathy.)
As with so many other problems, there are no easy and perfect solutions. Unless you want to be like Rainbow Dash here, who just out and out stole their precious revenge by pulling the lever herself. Really missing the point, Dashie.
Paint? That stuff can get in the eyes and mouth. Cause blindness or poison you. I can understand something like food dye water balloons, but paint? Oh, that's going to cause a world of problems for those involved.
Bullies are a hard thing to deal with. The entire mentality of ignoring it or end up being bullied, never sat right with me. Teachers would often times punish the victims harsher than the bullies for whatever reason and there'd be nothing you could do about it. It's almost as if unless you throw a desk at a teacher and scream call them out on their injustice, no one will take you seriously enough.
*shrug*
From my experience, fighting back often makes the assailant feel embarrassed or upset. If they are part of a group, you can expect to see more hostilities after that day. Sometimes even lead to getting jumped by a whole group of people walking home. Bullies, rather people with something to prove especially if they are part of a group of friends or gang, will not stop until they humiliate you and take you down. Even if they have to get others to help them do it.
And that's just the physical types of bullies, often times if a girl doesn't like how you dress or how your hair is done, anything really. They'll say and do whatever they can to get under your skin and spread lies with their friends until everyone believes them by default due to so many vouching for its validity.
And then we have the ones no one really speaks about. Family. An abusive brother or sister who for whatever reason might just hate you. A mother or father who wish you were never born or constantly lets their disgruntled nature about how so much harder you make life and how much more fun they once had in their youth. Giving you a toy or some game in hopes they'd not have to deal with you more than they have to. Trying to come up with ways to dump you at another family member's house or friend whom be willing to watch you long enough for them to spend most of the money that they should be spending on new clothes or school supply on you on clubs or weed or who knows what.
The parents that beat you for things out of your control or just because they feel like it.
And that's not even touching upon the countless bullies who graduate to become your employers, cops, senators, and overall people you'd never want to see in a position of power over anything in your life. And these bullies are there. And even openly committing crimes in public view and growing more callous about it. Because they have a power that we allow them to continue doing since they've beaten into us that what we live in today is how we have to live it, because they say so. But mostly, and quite broadly, it's because as a people we resign ourselves to the system they've forced us to accept as 'That's life'. A mentality that's turned many of us into slaves of our own apathy and 'turn the other cheek' mentality.
Thankfully, though it still has its own share of problems, ponies in Equestria are far from being the monsters many of our people have become and more still are being encouraged to become by those we allow to rule over us. Because we remain locked in our own herd mind of 'We can't change it'. And 'it's not my problem'.
Far as Diamond Tiara goes, she's had to suffer humiliation at her own party, punished and forced into wearing the very thing she thought most silly and play good with other foals her age at the farm to teach her humility, had her title of Chief removed and dunked in ink, dunked in mud for wanting to see off a friend at a station (lesson well learned I bet, huh, writers?), shown up at the tryouts by ponies she used to think were just misfits who had no real talent (chew on that one for awhile DT).
And, though not directed at her alone, Diamond and the foals were taught that even though the CMC did take everypony and Twilight for granted, that neither did Diamond and ALL the foals calling the CMC out for making themselves popular and taking in favors for free, came to actually learn anything either. And that last one actually had DT and SS thinking themselves actual friends of the CMC by this point, too. Betrayal can make ponies angry and nasty.
So, though DT and Silver tease the CMC, they've still yet to do more than a few words and snickers before heading off. Though Silver was pretty nasty in Flight to the Finish, and DT trying to trick Scoots into thinking she had to learn to fly to win in the contest was pretty low... But over the course I can see they thankfully not the kind that hate the CMC. Least that's what I've gotten from the show. And far from being physical bullies.
Sadly, in the real world, there isn't one good answer towards bullies. Bullies don't just magically become well-meaning adults upon hitting a number or swearing an oath into a field that grants them 'power' over another living being. Not when we have fathers or mothers giving them positive reinforcement for beating up someone or reinforcing racist and biased views into our children which only spread among other people's children.
It's a disgusting cycle. One that stems from a very unfair and broken system of people not being given an even playing field to succeed in life short of small miracles and many sacrifices.
5181620
^ THIS GUY DESERVES A FREAKING MEDAL
5181620 Well then... How would you deal with a bully? (please don't get mad)
Why is this in the Diamond Cutters group? Well then... How would you deal with a bully? (please don't get mad)
5305713 I don't recall adding this story to have the groups it's listed under. Thank our lovely viewers like you. <3
5305710 Well, certainly not assaulting them with PAINT which would only end up with them wanting to get serious revenge. Food dye or something like itching powder. Paint will only get you in trouble and if caught would cause a world of trouble.
And it would have been cuter if SB had done it. SB has that adorable creepy dark side to her like that. <3
EDIT: Not that it's paint anymore, but originally it was paint. Just to avoid confusion. It's much more show safe for awhile now.
make sit sucks that for me good writer YOUR TOO LATE for the last 16 years of my life
5597689
Erm...Sorry darling?
5597841 ehh don't worry I dealt with it and i'm more or less immune to it
Any sense of satisfaction from punishment is a secondary (and not necessarily desirable) effect. The primary intent is to deter bad behavior.
If this works then it works. If it doesn't, then it was a worthy experiment. And Dash was probably right that they were entirely too navel-gaze-y about it given the intensity of the action.