• Published 24th May 2015
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My Little Pony Bizarre Adventures - Part 1: Ponyville Central - LateBronyWriter



One Thousand years ago, the saints Celestia and Luna drew upon the power of the Red Stone of Aja to defeat the demon Discord. Now one thousand years later the Stone is destroyed, beginning the tale of six ponies and their quest to redeem the world.

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Chapter 14-Baltimare Tea Party- Take 2

Baltimare Tea Party-Take 2:


Outside on the playground, the two fillies Applebloom and Diamond Tiara, stare each other down like the cowponies of old in a face-off of epic proportions. The rivals had met there without a word, and both knew that one way or another their teasing and fowlish name calling had evolved into something far more. And They both knew one way or another that this would not be another exchange of insults or pointless bickering, it would be a fight to the finish.

“Well, blank flank?” The pink mare is the first to speak. “You’re the one who dragged me out of class with your immature behavior, so what do you want? I’m a busy mare so, if you don’t have anything to say, then…”

“Actually Diamond, ah’ve got a question..…” The yellow mare interrupts the pink mare with such force that Diamond flinches. The yellow filly looks the bully in the eyes, the force of her stare unnerving the pink bully. “What the heck is wrong with you, Diamond?” The farm filly snaps. “Pickin on ponies makin them feel bad, an all because you’re lonely. Yawl have to realize that…”

“Don’t you get it, blank flank? I don’t pick on ponies because I’m lonely.” Diamond smiles as she seizes the upper hoof.

“… an … What? What are yawl talkin bout, Diamond? Ain’t yawl just pickin on ponies ta get attention er somethin like that?” Applebloom scratches her head. “Ah mean why else would ya make ponies miserable if ya didn’t want attention, it makes less sense than a snowstorm in June…”

‘Poor, poor Applebloom…..’ Diamond Tiara thinks. Diamond looks at the uncouth farmer before her, half of her wanting to just put her in her place so that she won’t have to hear her butchered Equestrian anymore. But the other half…

“All right, I suppose this is as good a time as any.” Diamond Tiara smirks as she closes in on Applebloom. “You may be a mindless dolt but I’ll try to make you understand the importance of what you have done to me, by standing up to a pony that is far more superior to you.” Diamond looks at her adversary with an expression of pity. “Have you ever been to a fancy dinner party, Applebloom?”

“Wha….. A fancy dinner party? What kind of question is that!?” Applebloom takes an angry step forward. “Make some sense Diamond! Why are you such a bully?”

“HUMPH! I’m guessing by the way you’re acting that you’ve never been to a fancy dinner, so let’s just use our imaginations shall we?” Diamond brushes her mane to the side, showing off her obviously superior beauty. “If everypony at a dinner party were to sit at a fancy dinner table with silverware and napkins to their left and right. What would determine which silverware the pony picks up?”

Applebloom is completely lost at Diamond’s words, tilting her head in confusion. “HUNH? Now yer talking about silverware? Diamond, this is serious not some game, Ah asked ya a simple question an Ah want a….”

“And I’m trying to explain it to you, you nitwit!” Diamond yells. “Now answer the question. What would decide which silverware a pony picks up; the one on their left or the one on their right?”

Seeing that arguing with the filly before her is getting her nowhere, Applebloom blows out some hot air from her nose. “Fine then, if ya want to play at riddles then it depends upon whether the pony pickin up the silverware is left- or right-hoofed.”

Diamond giggles. “A simple answer from a simple pony, I expected as much. That answer may be correct from your lowly country view, but that answer is wrong.”

“What?”

Diamond smirks. “That’s right, Applebloom, the correct answer is that it is determined by the pony that takes his or namely ‘her’ silverware first. For example I am left hoofed, so if I took my silverware first then everypony else at the table would have to take the silverware from the left because that would be the only pair left to them.”

The bully responds like a well trained lawyer making her point. “If the first pony takes her silverware from the left then there is no choice but for the other ponies to also take the left silverware. They do so because they have no other option since there would only be a fork and spoon to the left of each pony.”

Applebloom continues to scratch her head. “Ah still don’t get it, what do napkins have to do with bullyin?”

Diamond groans. “Fine, Applebloom, I’ll only ask you one more question, and then we’re done. At this table, what determines who takes their silverware first?”

Applebloom thinks really hard at this as she scratches her chin. “Ah don’t know much bout fancy dinner parties but…. If it were anything like a normal dinner, the pony at the head would be the first to take the silverware?”

Diamond breathes an immense sigh of relief. “Very good, at least you got one right. Yes, the pony at the head or the master of the table will take their silverware first because..…?” Diamond asks, leading Applebloom on.

“…… Because they set the table?”

Diamond facehoofs. “It’s because they’re respected! It’s because they have status! The one who takes the silverware must be respected by everyone there,” Diamond shouts in exasperation. “For example, if Celestia herself sat at the table and she took her silverware from the left, no matter who you were you would have no choice but to take the silverware after Celestia wouldn’t you? That is because she is respected, that’s why ponies follow her!”

Applebloom looks at Diamond as she begins to piece her argument together. “So what yer sayin is the one that is the most respected decides what to do?”

Diamond grins evilly. “Now you begin to understand! I knew it was so simple that even a blank flank like you could get it.” THe bully states proudly. “In society, nay, in the world at large it is the ones with status and prestige, the ponies of the upper class that decide everything with their slightest whims. I mean, if a rich pony can decide which silverware another pony eats with, they can easily decide another pony’s minimum wage, the jobs they take and the lives that they live.”

“Ponies get cutie marks for a reason. For example, my cutie mark,” Diamond reveals her flank, her cutie mark the standard of perfection, “is that of a crown, which demonstrates my right to power and prestige that surpasses all the lower classes that I rule over.”

Diamond takes a step forward, her eyes filled with rage. “In other words, it is the ponies that possess high class and the respect of other ponies, those born marked to rule over others, who decide a pony’s fate. That is true power and those under this power’s influence can only be allies.”

Applebloom scoffs at this. “What? That’s the most pompous and ridiculous thing Ah’ve ever heard!” Applebloom yells. “Ponies can be anything they want! That’s what a cutie mark means!”

Diamond laughs. “Only a low class pony would resist such a universal truth. Face it, Applebloom, you were born on the bottom ladder of society. You were born at the bottom of society because you belong there, and by embarrassing me and resisting that fact you’ve spread chaos in my perfectly orderly world.”

Diamond Tiara states. “Face it, Applebloom, you were born to farmers and you’ll die a farmer. While I, a rich business pony, will climb to the top of society while you wallow in mud the rest of your life.”

Applebloom’s eyes ignite with an intensity that rivals her sister, burning with righteous indignation at her words. “So let me get this straight. Yawl think that just because yawl got money and a fancy cutie mark that yer better than any pony?” Applebloom snorts like a bull. “And that gives ya the right to push other ponies down, cause they’re not as good as you?!”

Diamond smiles and nods. “I’m glad you understand, Applebloom. Now you know what will happen if you go against your designated place in society, don’t you? You’ll…”

“Yeah, Ah know what will happen…” Applebloom spits off to her side. “You’ll get a black eye!” Before Diamond can even react, the yellow mare leaps forward tackling the pink filly to the ground.

Diamond, unused to such physical combat, flails about as Applebloom pins her in the dirt. Applebloom smiles evilly as her tormenter lies beneath her. “So yawl like tormenting me, hunh?” Applebloom raises her hoof to strike. “Well it looks like the horseshoe is on the other foot, now ain’t it, so let’s see how you like…..” The yellow filly lowers her hoof to Diamond’s head. “A Noogie!”

Diamond shrieks in pain. “NO! My perfectly-styled mane! Ruined!” The pink filly flails about as Applebloom harshly presses her hoof into Diamond’s hair. However, in her flailing Diamond is able to get her back hooves free. “I said… let GO!”

With the force of an earth pony’s buck Diamond Tiara launches a powerful blow directly to the yellow filly’s middle, causing Applebloom to clutch her stomach. “Ha! Take that Apple….” The pink filly’s eyes widen. “….Bloom?”

The blow that Diamond thought that she delivered directly at Applebloom seems to have stopped in its tracks, her hooves absorbed into some kind of silvery plant that is growing out of Applebloom’s coat. No sooner does Diamond realize this than the plant rapidly expands with the force of a gunshot, sending the pink filly sprawling backwards in the dirt. Staring at her opponent with a look of surprise and shock Diamond pulls herself to her hooves, using the bars of the swing set next to her as support “What the…? how….?”

Applebloom smiles as her rival pulls herself from the dirt. “Yawl like that? That’s the power of mah Stand!” Applebloom takes a leisurely step forward. “Ya see, it’s like mah sis Applejack said ‘Ah am rubber and yer are glue’ When somepony throws somethin at you, yawl just got to throw it back.”

Applebloom takes another step. “That’s how this rivalry o ours has gone fer a long time: ya throw somethin at me an Ah throw it back.” Applebloom strikes a stylish pose as she manifests her beautiful plant Stand out her back, its branches beginning to blossom like an apple tree in June, “An with mah Stand, Ah can send any attack ya launch at me right back at you. It’s over, Diamond.”

Applebloom walks up to Diamond and grabs her with her hoof, propping her up against the bar with no small amount of force. “Now, Diamond, Ah know that ya think that ya have the right ta make fun of any pony ya want, but this has ta stop now before yawl go too far.”

Diamond looks off to the side as if trying to avoid Applebloom’s gaze. “… Stand…. I see…. So that’s the power that causes you to manifest some kind of spirit…. And that’s what that bush on your back is……”

Applebloom shakes her head. “Yes! Ah mean no! From what Twilight told me it’s some kind o mane-if-istation of who you are or something… but that’s not important now, Diamond. Anyways, like Ah said, yawl need ta stop all this bullin or else….”

“Or else what?” Diamond snaps, “You’ll beat me up? You’ll bully me too? You think that you’re some kind of saint or something, Applebloom?” The yellow filly, shocked by Diamond’s harsh words, loosens her grips ever so slightly. “Face it, Applebloom, you just want to push me in the dirt so that you can stand over me just like I was doing to you! The only difference between us is that I’m doing it for the betterment of society!”

Applebloom flinches. “That’s….. That’s a lie!”

“No it isn’t, Applebloom, it’s a fact,” Diamond states with a level of certainty that shakes even Applebloom’s foundation. “Ponies are born into poverty and ponies are born into riches, and the rich and influential ponies rule over the lower classes. That’s what creates an orderly society.”

Diamond breaks out a wicked grin, her every word seeping with arrogance and haughtiness. “But don’t worry, Applebloom, if you promise to submit to me and my wishes then I’ll go easy on you. After all, for a blank flank you seem to have all this important knowledge about the strange things that are going on in Ponyville. You even knew what to call this power that I have gained recently…. Stand was it? You could be very useful to me….”

Suddenly, before she can even respond, Applebloom finds herself hoisted into the air as if by some invisible force. The yellow filly flails about as she looks above her to see a puppeteer figure draped in lace and diamonds. The figure’s arms end in what looks to her like a kind of puppet tool and each point ends in a string that is attached to her arms and legs. The yellow filly, trapped in Diamond’s web, struggles for freedom while Diamond laughs beneath her. “You like that, blank flank? That’s my power; it allows me to attach strings from a ceiling or other object above my head to control any object that I wish, causing them to dance to my will like puppets.”

Diamond brushes her hair to the side, fixing her crumpled mane and driving off the dust on her coat. “It’s truly a power fitting an upper class pony like me. The power to control the plebeians born below us is a power that is destined to come into the hands of an upper class pony such as myself.”

Applebloom continues to struggle. “Ya…. Ya were the one responsible…. Fer everything! The test…. The spit wads…. The board…..”

“Uh Duh!” Diamond deadpans. “Did you miss the entire ‘put the lower class ponies in their places’ speech I just gave? Well, no matter, once there is a solid object above my head my Stand is invincible! It’s why I lured you over to the swings.”

Diamond looks over to the schoolhouse as an idea crosses through her head. “But I think that now it’s time for a little change of scenery…”

As Applebloom continues to flail, Diamond’s Stand pulls tight on the strings, swinging the yellow filly back and forth under the swing set, causing Applebloom to gain a bit more altitude with every swing. With explosive power the Stand suddenly releases the yellow filly, sending her barreling through the air straight towards the open schoolhouse door. With a thud the yellow filly lands in the empty hallway of the school, thankful that her Stand was there to absorb the impact of her heavy fall.

Her head still spinning from sailing through the air like a kite on a windy day, Applebloom rises slowly to her hooves just in time for a dark shadow to fall over her. The brave blank-flanked filly turns around to face her rival Diamond Tiara, the pink mare’s very presence blocking out the sun as the bully advances with malevolence. Applebloom looks to the left and the right for a way to escape, but is distressed to find that she is in the locker room of the school where foals store their things for the day. She is far from earshot of the class and the only way out is through the bully blocking her escape.

“What’s wrong, blank flank?” Diamond mocks. “Still dizzy from your little flight? You know that you can try and hit back if you want…”

“Shut up, Diamond!” Applebloom yells.

“… could it be?” Diamond smiles with glee. “Oh I think I know what it is.” The bully giggles. “See, I was confused why you didn’t try to attack me with your ‘Stand’, but then I realized my Stand can move because it’s a pony shape. Yours is a plant.”

Diamond points at Applebloom and with the most mocking voice that she can muster laughs at her. “It’s not that you aren’t attacking, it’s that you can’t! Your Stand can’t move an inch! Not that I expected much from a blank flank’s Stand, it’s only more a sign of how useless you are…”

Now Applebloom is no longer able to control her temper as she surges forward. “Ah said Shut UP!” Applebloom leaps forward only to fall flat on her face a hoof’s length from Diamond. Looking behind her the yellow mare sees her back leg snagged in another of Diamond’s wires, the Stand itself hanging from the ceiling. Applebloom tries to yank the string off of her with her free hooves, but she quickly finds her limbs bound by the strings as she is hoisted - completely powerless - into the air.

As Applebloom flails about, Diamond takes a moment to bask in her victory over her eternal rival. Finally, after all these years, she has defeated Applebloom. “What’s the matter?” Diamond mocks, “Is your blank flank Stand unable to do anything against my Baltimare Tea party?” Applebloom yells in anger as Diamond nods. “Good. That is the way it should be. Lower-class ponies like you should be cleaning my boots. And now with an entire ceiling above me and not just a swing bar I can use my power to its utmost potential.”

Lifting both her hooves in the air like a composer before her orchestria, Diamond swirls them around in the air causing several strands to wrap around Applebloom’s mane and legs. Then with a sharp yank of her hooves Diamond causes her Stand, BTA to tug Applebloom’s mane with enough force to cause the yellow filly to yelp in pain. Smiling, Diamond swings her arm again, this time tugging hard on her left arm. Applebloom yelps again as she flails about to escape. “Don’t bother, blank flank,” Diamond says, “maybe if your Stand could move you might be able to break free. But your Stand can only absorb a physical blow, not a grapple like this!”

Diamond pulls on Applebloom’s mane again, this time the filly managing to stifle a scream. “Or more than two attacks at once, like this!” Diamond pulls both her arms apart as she stretches Applebloom’s body like a pony on a rack. Diamond abruptly stops her assault, allowing her opponent to hang limp in the air panting heavily and trying to suppress her rising discomfort at her situation. Applebloom catches her breath, recovering from the light torture as Diamond looks on. Diamond stares at Applebloom with a mixture of pity and compassion as Applebloom stops squirming. “Enough of this, Applebloom. If you had any brains at all you’d realize it’s over. I’ve won!”

Applebloom stares back at her adversary, breathing heavily. “… No ya….. Ain't won….. Yet….”

Diamond Tiara sighs. “Your insistence on not giving up might be cute if it wasn’t for the fact that it was annoying as buck. Wake up, you dunce! You’re helpless before my power; you can’t move and you can’t attack. Just give in and submit, Applebloom. It’s your destiny to be a lowly farmer just like it’s mine to get rich off your labor! No matter what you do that will never change. So submit to my will already!”

In that very moment part of Applebloom did want to give in, to just bow down to Diamond’s trivial demands and let her have her way. After all, she thought, how could a blank flank, who didn’t even know what to do with her life, fight against fate? Applejack was right; she was just in the way, a burden to others. If her Stand couldn't do anything to stop one little bully how could she fight against her destiny of hard work on a farm. She should just give in, endure Diamond’s taunts in silence and go back to Scootaloo and Sweetie….

Suddenly, fire ignites in Applebloom’s eyes once more. How could she have forgotten her friends?! If she let Diamond win she wouldn't be the only one to suffer! If she let Diamond prevail here her friends would be targets for Diamond’s cruel jokes. Her sister may be right… She was in her sister’s way. But the only pony standing in the way of her own destiny wasn’t a cutie mark, or her heritage as a farmer, it wasn’t even Diamond Tiara or Applejack. The only thing standing in the way of her life, was herself, her self-doubt; her fears and her indecision were the only things encumbering the farm filly, all of them waiting to be thrown off like excess baggage.

Applebloom yanks on the strings binding her with such force and suddenness that Diamond flinches, her Stand struggling to hold Applebloom in her bonds. “Ah’ll never give up ta you, Diamond. An yer wrong, Ah can change. An most important, Ah can protect mah friends. So do yer worst, cause Ah’ll never let ya have yer way with me or mah friends…. Not as long as Ah gots the strength to fight back.” Applebloom subconsciously manifests her Stand over her back, the plant beginning to flower and grow, the silvery buds blossoming into bright red flowers before Diamond Tiara’s eyes.

Diamond is initially shocked by Applebloom’s resistance, however after a few seconds she sighs disappointedly. “Why are blank flanks so thick headed? All right, Applebloom, have it your way! I didn’t want to go this far…. But if your only goal is to make trouble for me and my rule then you’ve forced my hoof!” In a sudden jerking movement Diamond’s Stand swings the yellow filly on her line, sending her careening towards the floor. “I’ll just have to knock you out in one blow before you can defend with your Stand!”

Applebloom hits the floor with a flash of light as the plant-like Stand all over her body erupts in a blossoming explosion of red flowers. The silvery spring-like plants thicken and grow at high speed, spreading over Applebloom’s back as they reform into four solid branches. Two pony-shaped arms form from a large brass coil, springing out of the bramble’s sides, the arms clad in shining pewter gauntlets covered in pressure gauges. Two back legs display changes, with the same brass springs and silver leg guards that mark the Stand’s battle ready appearance. The central bramble dissolves as a torso emerges, formed from a multitude of springs and with a pressure gauge over its heart. And finally an armored head emerges, completely formed from the bramble, it’s red flowery mane complementing its silver mask and brass muzzle. Its transformation completed, the final Stand stands perfectly formed, no bigger than the filly from which it has sprung. With a stunning display of power and speed the Stand smashes into the ground with its hoof, stopping Applebloom’s fall as it’s spring-like arm coils from the impact.

“What the…..?” Diamond barely has time to react as Applebloom’s new Stand plucks the string holding its user with no more thought than flicking a fly. The vibration travels up the string and into Diamond’s Stand, causing the string to explode and sending the Stand recoiling from the impact, its strings flying off Applebloom’s arms and legs as the filly lands safely on the ground.

Applebloom’s Stand turns to its master, emotionless but not cold, standing majestically as Diamond Tiara picks herself off of the floor, her muzzle bleeding from the feedback from her Stand. “What… What was that…? Were you just hiding your power?” Diamond wipes the dribble of blood from her muzzle as she scowls at the filly in front of her. “Were you hiding this potential from me…. Applebloom?!”

“Potential…..” the yellow filly says as she watches her Stand in awe. “Potential! That’s it! Mah Stand had potential, ta grow! It’s like a tree! It grows stronger an bigger tha more Ah get beaten down!” Holding up her hooves the filly savors the new movement of her Stand. “It's like Twi said, Stands mane-if-est to grant desires. Ah needed it to grow, Ah needed to get stronger an Ah did!”

“That’s…” Diamond hacks, “that’s impossible! A Stand getting stronger…. Just by thinking about it!? No way! And even if such a power existed there’s no way a blank-flanked loser like you would possess it.”

Applebloom shakes her head in pity. “Ya just don’t get it, Diamond….. Yer right, Ah may be a blank flank now but that doesn’t mean mah place in this world is fixed ta one path! That’s what bein a blank flank means…” Applebloom takes a resolute step forward as Diamond takes a step back. “Ah can be great at anything, mah possibilities for growth are endless. And that means that no matter how much you try and beat me down, Ah know that Ah can get better, that Ah can improve, and that’s something that not even you with all your money can take away.”

For a second it looks like, somehow, Applebloom’s words made it through to the pink bully. Her eyes seem to soften as she looks upon the yellow mare in front of her in a new light, as if seeing something that she had never seen before. However just as quickly as it appeared the look vanishes, her face contorting into a visage of rage and embarrassment. “SO WHAT!?” Diamond’s Stand appears above her, releasing her strings all around the hall.

With a dramatic wave of her hooves the lockers around them fly open, releasing a storm of books and heavy objects to the floor. Diamond smiles as her Stand picks up these books with its multitude of strings, and flings them with all the force that she can muster at Applebloom and her new Stand. “SO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE HUNH?! YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME? Well let me tell you something, Applebloom! It doesn’t matter how much you think that you can improve; as long as I have a ceiling over my head my Stand, Baltimare Tea Party, is invincible!”

Applebloom gestures with her Stand causing it to rapidly block the books, paperweights, and assorted items that Diamond is flinging at her. In the midst of this assault Applebloom smiles. “Then it’s a real good thing that Ah’ve got a new power now, ain’t it, Diamond?”

Diamond visibly flinches at this, the books and heavy objects hanging in midair as she momentarily ceases her assault. “A new power?” Suddenly she shakes her fear off. “You’re bluffing! It’s got to be a lie!” Diamond resumes her attack, throwing more and more objects at the yellow mare and her Stand in an attempt to hit her.

Applebloom only grins as she looks at her Stand, which is blocking against every blow. “Yeah Ah thought it was silly too…. But ya saw what happened when mah Stand touched the line, all the force of hittin tha floor traveled through it.” Applebloom taps the gauges on her Stand which seem to grow with every hit the Stand blocks. “See, all the energy of yer attacks are stored within mah Stand waitin to be released, like a battery. An every attack you have thrown so far has only been making it stronger….”

Diamond’s eyes widen as she sees the gauges on Applebloom’s Stand grow higher and higher, the stored energy of all Diamond’s attacks fueling the Stand’s power and speed. “Mah ability has far surpassed a simple Sprout….. It’s not some useless plant anymore!” Applebloom shouts, “now it can take yer bad vibes an send em back at ya, so Ah think Ah’ll call it Vibrations!”

With a single solid hit, the Applebloom’s Vibrations strikes the support beam of the entire locker room, causing the beam to shake like a leaf. The vibrations travel through the wooden beam straight to the ceiling, causing it to crack around the body of Diamond’s Baltimare Tea Party. “Yawl said that as long as ya had a ceiling over yer head that ya were invincible? Ain’t that right, Diamond? Well what happens when that glass ceiling of yers comes crashin down on yer head!?”

Diamond can only stare up in horror as the wooden ceiling directly above her, the same part where her Stand is hanging, breaks and shatters into a hundred tiny pieces, causing a large segment of the ceiling to fall directly on top of her. Diamond tries to flee but finds herself tripping over one of the many books and school supplies that she has scattered over the floor, falling flat on her back. Raising her hooves in a vain attempt to defend herself, Diamond closes her eyes and braces for the end as the large chunk of timber and plaster threatens to crush her flat.

The air around Diamond explodes with sound and pressure as the wood splinters around her, the pink bully shivering like a leaf as she prepares for her death. A second passes in complete silence as Diamond’s body fails to record any sensations of pain. Opening her eyes apprehensively, Diamond looks up to see a familiar yellow body above her, the filly Applebloom’s arms and legs spread far apart over Diamond’s body. Above her, the entire weight of the ceiling rests on Applebloom’s back as the yellow filly struggles under its weight. Acting like a living bunker, Applebloom pants from the heavy weight, shielding Diamond from the ceiling’s collapse.

Diamond blinks, her mind struggling to decipher the riddle of what she is seeing. ‘It can’t be real, it simply can’t,’ she thinks. ‘Applebloom? A lowly farmer. Saved my life….’

The pink filly shakes her head. “What…?” Diamond’s shaky words fumble in her mouth. “Just what is your deal, blank flank?! First you try to kill me with that attack of yours, then you try to save my life? What is your game?!” Diamond sneers. “Oh I get it. You just saved my life for my money, is that it?! Well you can forget it, like a mare of my status would ever…..”

Diamond feels a powerful hoof slap her across the face. “Will ya shut up about money and status and all that nonsense!? It’s makin me sick!” Applebloom shouts. “Ah didn’t try an kill ya! Ah didn’t even want to fight ya except ta stop yer bullyin mah friends! Ah don’t care bout money or any of that hogwash that ya were spoutin…”

“Then…..” The bully fails to understand. “Then why? Why, after I…..”

“Cause!” Applebloom shouts. “Ya may be a bad apple, Diamond Tiara, but that doesn’t mean that yawl will be like that forever......” Applebloom looks Diamond Tiara in the eyes, straight into her soul, as she inches towards the pink filly. “Ponies can change, Diamond, even a bully like ya can be a good pony if ya try. An even if yawl were ta be mean ta me the rest of mah life Ah wouldn’t want ya to up and die……”

Diamond blushes as Applebloom’s muzzle approaches her own; the two of them that have brushed so close to death now find themselves so close to each other in heart and body.

“Applebloom…”

“Diamond Tiara…”

“Applebloom….. What the hay do you think you are doing?! GET OFF OF ME!” Diamond shouts.

“Urrrh! Ah can’t help it, Diamond, this ceiling is heavy. It’s pushing me down towards you.”

“It had better just be the ceiling that’s moving your muzzle closer to me!”

“What the hay are you….” Applebloom finally realizes what Diamond meant as she notices her position directly over Diamond. “Oh bleh! Gross! what kind of filly do ya think ah am?”

“Never mind that, just push it off so we can both leave!”

“What do ya think Ah’m doing? Push-ups?!” Applebloom complains.

“I thought you were trying to take advantage of a beautiful and helpless damsel in distress.”

“Well ah ain’t, cause you ain’t no beautiful damsel.”

“Why you… when I get out of here….”

Suddenly another familiar voice enters the two fillies range of hearing. “Applebloom! Diamond! Is that you? I heard a loud noise, are both of you all right?”

Diamond breathes in relief. “Oh thank Celestia! It’s Cherilee. It’s about time….”

“Mrs. Cherilee, it’s Applebloom an Diamond! We’re trapped here.”

“Don’t worry girls, I’ll save you, urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” The mulberry mare struggles as she tries to remove the ceiling off of the two fillies.

“Hurry, Mrs. Cheerilee, mah legs can’t hold out much longer.” Applebloom cries.

“Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…… I’m so sorry, Applebloom!” Cheerilee shouts as she wipes the sweat from her brow. “I can’t lift it off of you. You will just have to wait until I can find the jack.”

“An how long should that take, Mrs. Cheerilee? Mah legs are gettin tired…..”

“Oh it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to find.”

“Ten minutes?!” Both fillies cry out at the same time.

“Or maybe twenty, goodness knows where I left it. Just hold on girls, I’ll go find it.”

As the teacher dashes off, Diamond crosses her forelegs and begins to pout. “Well this is just perfect; stuck in this awkward position for who knows how long and your Stand can’t even help us out.”

“… Uh, Diamond”

“What is it, blank flank?”

“Well, yer Stand can pull up objects as long as it has a ceiling over it, right?”

Diamond Tiara sighs. “Um, weren’t you listening to the whole ‘my Stand works like a marionette’ speech I gave back there? Yes I can do that, blank flank. That’s my power.”

“Well can’t yawl just pick up the ceiling with yer Stand?”

“Well I could if there wasn’t a big hole where the ceiling used to be right above us!” Diamond’s eyes begin to roll. “Seriously, use your brain for once, blank flank.”

“Yeah but wouldn’t yawl be able to use your strings ta pick up the ceiling fragments from the ceiling round us? You know like you could swing your strings over from the not damaged parts of the ceiling above us till ya could attach them to this rubble on top of us, and then ya could just lift it off!”

“……”

“Uh Diamond, you okay?”

“…… I am seriously going to kill you, Applebloom.”

“Hunh? OW! Diamond, that hurt! Just what did I do wrong?”

………………………

With a quick use of her power Diamond herself and Applebloom so that when Cheerilee returned with the jack twenty five minutes later they had managed to convince her that they were able to slip out from underneath the rubble without her help. Fortunately, Cheerilee had blamed the collapsing ceiling on faulty repairs and canceled school for the day due to construction problems, which caused no small amount of excitement among the student body. As the rest of the students left the school and Cheerilee ran to town to procure construction ponies, five fillies that were previously mortal enemies decided to convene on the school grounds in the first cease-fire in their long histories.

“……. Well that was a totally lame day,” Diamond remarks, “first I get embarrassed by a lousy blank flank, and then I have to end up being saved by the same blank flank. Seriously, does trouble follow you around everywhere? Cause it sounds to me like you are a walking disaster zone.”

Silver prods her friend, reminding her why she is truly here. “Diamond, you said that you were going to apologize to them, even if they are lousy blank flanks.”

“Fine.” Diamond clears her throat, obviously unused to giving an honest apology. “Thank you, Applebloom, for saving my life even though I was the one bulling you in the first place. It took real guts to stand up for yourself and even more to forgive me so quickly.” Giving her signature sly smirk, Diamond looks at the yellow filly with a new sense of admiration. “I guess you are not half the loser I thought you were.”

Applebloom seems genuinely grateful at this statement, not expecting an apology and a compliment from such a bitter filly. “Gee, Diamond, than..…”

“Don’t you dare get the wrong idea, blank flank!” Diamond shouts as she points to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “That goes double for the two of you. This isn’t over between us. You are all still blank flank losers and are all still going to get called out for being blank flank losers. I’m not going to stop being myself simply because of one small act of kindness!”

Silver nudges Diamond causing her to snap at her friend. “What? Is there something in my teeth?”

Silver gestures over to Applebloom, who is staring her down with a mature and threatening gaze, like the kind given by a scolding mother. Sure enough, even Diamond Tiara isn’t immune to this, and she takes a single step back.

“But……?” the yellow filly encourages.

Seeing that there is no way out, Diamond takes a deep breath to prepare for her first concession. “But I’ll try and lay off the more overt bullying in the future, that is unless you really deserve it.”

“And…..?” Applebloom continues.

“…. and I promise not to use my Stand to torment you again.”

“Aaaaaannnnnnnnddddd?” Scootaloo asks hopingly.

The glare Diamond gives could melt iron, causing Scootaloo to hide behind Applebloom. “Don’t push your luck, Scootalooser…..”

Applebloom gives the bully one last stare before giving an affirmative nod. “…… Well, I suppose that is the best that we’ll get for now. You okay with that girls?”

Sweetie belle nods, and Scootaloo tries to look as indifferent as possible as she comes out from behind Applebloom’s back. “I’m cool with that, as long as she keeps her teasing to a minimum I guess we can put up with her.”

Silver nudges Diamond. “Well, do you think that you could get along with them, Diamond?” Silver winks “I mean they are blank flanks……”

Catching her friend’s drift, Diamond plays along. “Oh I don’t know Silver….. I think that I could get along with them better……”

“IF THEY HAD A CUTIE MARK!” both of them shout at the same time, giggling at both their perfect timing and perfectly executed burn of their opposition. The two friends, satisfied that things are again right with each other, perform their signature greeting, “Bump! Bump! Sugar Lump RUMP!” The two fillies put their flanks together, displaying their cutie marks and laughing together at the Cutie Mark Crusader’s embarrassed faces.

All three blank flanks burn in embarrassment at Diamond’s jest, Scootaloo sighing heavily, “Gee thanks, Diamond, man you save her life and she’s still a jerk, can you believe it?”

Suddenly Diamond fishes around in her saddle bag. “Oh I have one last thing for you here, Applebloom….”

Applebloom rolls her eyes. “Let me guess…. Its somethin that’s goin to make a fool of me? Gasp how did Ah ever know?!”

Diamond extends her hoof, placing an object in Applebloom’s hooves. “Oh just take it! You cry baby!” Applebloom turns her hoof over revealing a strange piece of black stone.

Applebloom gasps. “This… this is one of those Strange Stones Twi’s searchin for!”

Diamond shrugs. “I don’t know what it is, but when I touched it I got sick for a while then I got this power. And since I don’t like to leave myself in another pony’s debt, you can have it as payment for saving my life.”

“But….” Sweetie interjects, “but this stone can give you magic powers! And it’s really important! Don’t you need it?”

“Need it? Ha!” Diamond scoffs. “I don’t need some crazy magic stone! I’m rich!” And with that the pink filly begins to walk away. “Now let’s go, Silver, this blank flank party is cramping my style.”

Silver turns to leave, but just before she does she turns to Applebloom, offering her a word of quick thanks. “Thank you, Applebloom. You may be a blank flank but you really helped Diamond out! Thank you for giving me my friend back.”

Applebloom simply nods. “It’s all right, just try to keep in mind that she’s supposed ta be nicer from now on an we’ll be cool.”

Silver turns to leave. “I don’t know about that….. I mean, this is Diamond Tiara we’re talking about!” Silver quickly runs to catch up with her friend, as Applebloom and the others look at the strange piece of stone in her hooves.

Scootaloo pipes up impatiently. “Well, that settles our bully problem. But now what do we do?”

Applebloom puts her hooves around her friends, pulling them together. “Ah’ll tell you what we’re goin to do, we’re goin to find all of these Strange stones ourselves, an we’re goin to do it TOGETHER! That way, when we show up mah sister, Rarity, an Rainbow Dash, we’ll prove that they should never have underestimated us! What do ya say?”

Sweetie puts her hoof around both Applebloom and Scootaloo. “Make a fool of my sister!? I’m game! That’ll teach her to try and bar me from the kitchen!”

Scootaloo joins in completing the Cutie Mark Crusader’s triangle. “I’m in too! The opportunity to show Rainbow Dash what I can do…. It’ll be awesome!”

Applebloom looks around at her friends, a fire burning in her heart as she thinks of the goal ahead of her. “Good, then it’s settled! Now our first act as the Cutie Mark Crusaders is.…”

“APPLEBLOOM!” a thunderous voice erupts over the horizon, and all the fillies turn to see Applebloom’s sister running towards them at full tilt, her nose snorting like a bull. Stopping on a nearby hill, Applejack narrows her gaze on her sister. “Applebloom! Ah just ran into Cherilee in town an she just told me exactly the foul language that ya used in class today! Stay Right There! Ah’m comin down now!”

Applebloom gulps heavily as she remembers the last time Applejack punished her for language, so much cake… “Crusaders, our first mission together is ta get as far away from mah sister as possible, are ya with me?!”

“We’re already in the wagon!” Sweetie Belle shouts. Applebloom turns her head to see Sweetie Belle attaching the end of a wagon to Scootaloo’s scooter, the orange pegasus revving her wings as they prepare for a hasty retreat.

Applebloom takes one look at her advancing sister and one look at the wagon, and jumps in as if Discord himself were on their tails. “FLOOR IT!” she yells, causing the trio to take off just as Applejack is about to reach them.

“APPLEBLOOM!” the orange farm mare yells, “yer not makin this easier on yerself! NOW GET BACK HERE!” However Applejack is too late, even if Applebloom had tried to hear her sister’s threats she was already out of earshot.

Sighing heavily, Applejack straightens her hat on her head. “Looks like mah sister’s made some good friends… that’s great!” Applejack sprints after her sister. “But that’s not goin ta save her from all that cake!”

Author's Note:

Chapter END: Status:
Party Status: Applebloom’s Sprout (Stage 1) Evolved into Vibrations (Stage 2)
Enemies: Diamond Tiara (Defeated & Reformed [kind of])
Stand: Baltimare Tea Party
Allies: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon made peace with The Cutie Mark Crusaders
Items gained: Medium Strange Stone Fragment
MOVE TO NEXT STAGE!→

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