34. Glad To Be Alive
When Olive woke up, she found herself in a snowy forest once again. Strange, she did fell asleep in Sweet Apple Acre. So then, how could she be-
“Oh.”
This was a dream, wasn’t it? Once the realisation came, the sensation of the snow on her hooves faded away. It was strange, touching cold snow without feeling it’s temperature. The wind gently pushed her mane, but Olive felt nothing.
The filly took some time to bask in the weirdness of her current situation. She then wondered what was supposed to happen in this dream now that she’s compromised it. The world just stopped moving. There was nothing but the breeze and the snow falling to the ground.
The more time passed, the more Olive began to feel unnerved. She was all alone in here. There may be no danger, but there was nopony to keep her company. Each passing second increased her anxiety.
“I-Is anypony there?” Olive asked, knowing all too well this was futile.
You can do anything you want in your dreams!
Out of her subconscious, a memory was dug up. The pink unicorn remembered her first meeting with Princess Luna. That night, she changed her dream to have some fun. Even the mighty princess of the night transformed into a small filly just like her.
I can have my friends in this dream! Olive thought, revelling in her brilliance. The snow levitated, spiralling around to transform into three fillies.
“Witch! I have come for an exorcism.”
The three fillies crumbled back into snow. Olive turned around, her eyes wide open. Not even the snow melting on them could force her to blink. In the white forest, a gigantic silhouette covered in snow stood out. Scarlet eyes stared into her like daggers.
“I’m not done just yet, not until I’ve got my retribution.”
Strong Hoof stomped through the deep snow, fast approaching. Olive ran away as fast as she could, but his giant size ensured she wouldn’t be quick enough to outrun her pursuer. In no time at all, he got above her, his shadow engulfing her.
With no magic and no chance at fleeing, Olive dropped to her flank. She began to feel horribly cold, her limbs shivering.
“Wh-Why do you hate me so much?” she cried out. “I didn’t do anything, I swear!”
Strong Hoof’s face darkened. “Is that what you would say to the 27 ponies your ‘temper tantrums’ have murdered?” he said, a slight hint of anger behind his otherwise calm voice.
Olive’s eyes turned to pinpricks, tears rising. “I’m so sorry! It wasn’t my fault, I-I never wanted to hurt anypony!”
“Actions speak louder than words, they say. It doesn’t matter what you want, all that matters are the facts and here’s one for you: you’re a monster.” The giant raised a hoof, it’s size alone was comparable, maybe even bigger, than that of the filly. The shadows under his cap blackened his eyes. “And monsters exist only to be slain.”
Olive fell on her back, her hooves blocking her face. “No! Don’t hurt me!” In between her hooves, she saw the giant hoof slamming down on her.
And she felt nothing. No pain, no broken bones, nothing happened. Surprised and confused, she lowered her legs. Her eyes widened as she gazed upon the angelic golden coat of an old friend.
“Olive, nice to see you again!” Aurora greeted, her soothing voice bringing some peace into the troubled filly.
“Au, Aurora...” Olive muttered in disbelief.
“Come on, girl, five second of love! You know you need it right now!” The pegasus exclaimed, picking Olive up in her gentler hooves. She kissed the small pony on her cheek. “There, feeling better yet?”
Olive’s heartbeat returned to a normal pace. The cold of the snow vanishing, bested by the beautiful warmth of Aurora’s coat. “Yeah, I think so.”
The mare smiled gently. “That’s great! Now tell me; how did it go with Cheerilee and Diamond Tiara?”
Olive’s joy faltered. Her chipper smile lowering to a disappointed frown. “Terribly. I failed in every way possible...” Her head lowered, unable to look Aurora in the eyes. How could she? She failed in the mission she told the mare about.
To her surprise, Aurora simply giggled. “Naturally.”
“H-Huh? Why are you laughing?”
The pegasus rubbed her mane gingerly. “Stop being so harsh on yourself, Olive. Nopony ever expected you to do everything perfectly the first time. Ponies are at their core very stubborn. It’ll take a lot, and I mean a lot of effort to change their way of thinking. You didn’t fail, you took the first step and I’m proud of you for that.”
Olive blinked; her face stuck in pure surprise. “Wha-huh? So... I’m doing good?”
“Of course you are!” Aurora exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as bright as the moon. “If you keep at it, show them how well intentioned you are then... maybe they’ll let you help. It’ll take some time, but you will succeed eventually. All you need, is patience and I know you have what it takes. I know, because I raised you. You are my pride and joy, Olive. Never forget me, okay?”
The pink filly’s eyes watered. Her shaky smile struggling to stay. “I-” she croaked, breathing heavily to stabilise her voice. “I’ll never forget you. I owe everything to you.” she closed her eyes and wiped the tears away. "When will you come back?"
Aurora’s cheerful smile dropped. She looked in Olive’s eyes for a moment. “You can do this on your own. Don’t let me weigh you down, okay?”
3 days left before the storm
That morning, Olive went downstairs alongside Apple Bloom, silent. Her expression was indecipherable as always, every time she wasn’t in a bad or happy mood. She sat down with her stone gaze and took a few bites from her oatmeal before she stared down Applejack.
“Somethin’s wrong, sugar cube?” Applejack put down her apple, her attention now fully onto the pink filly.
“Ma-huh, wha-?” Olive blinked, her chewing slowing down. Her big cheeks reddened slightly as the others giggled. “I can’th remember ith.”
“Okay, just be sure not to speak with yer mouth full.”
The little unicorn swallowed; her mind still stuck on her dream. She can’t remember what happened in it other than the small snippets she saved. It was about Aurora, again, but what mattered most was what they were talking about. Something about... stubbornness?
“She didn’t look like she had any bad dreams that night.” Apple Bloom said, taking a small bite from her apple.
Applejack smiled at the pink filly. “That’s great ta ‘ear! It sounds like yer doin’ a hay of lot better now!”
“Well, um, I guess I am.” Olive muttered, her eyes fixated on the wall behind Aj. Flashes of that night’s dream took her out of the conversation.
Granny Smith giggled. She was the only one in a rocking chair around the table. “See? Ah told ya we could ‘andle it!”
“Heh, ya did say tha’ a couple of moons ago.” Applejack froze. Already been that long, huh? Come to think of it, it’s been nearly a month since Ah first found ‘er!
“Mommy?” The orange mare roused herself.
“Yes, sugar cube?”
“Why are ponies so stubborn?”
The four Apples stopped eating, taken aback by this strange question. They were mostly wondering why she was asking this. Apple Bloom, however, seemed to have caught on judging by the funny look she was giving Olive.
“There can be many reasons behind a pony’s stubbornness.” Big Macintosh started.
Granny Smith took over. “Yeah, and often it’s because ponies hate ta be wrong!”
Olive’s little mouth hung open for a bit. “They hate to be wrong?” The sparkle in her eyes shined brighter. The filly leaned forward.
“Yeah, it’s a part of practically everypony. It can make some more stubborn than others but, ah... We Apples ain’t stubborn, not one bit.” Applejack continued on their behalf.
Woah, I hate to be wrong too. I guess mommy and her family must be really smart. Olive thought in awe.
Granny Smith raised an eyebrow at that last statement. “Well, some used ta be!”
“Ah still remember it like it was yesterday.”
Applejack’s ears lowered. “Please, don’t go tattlin’ on me in front of ‘er!” she whispered to the big stallion.
“Oh come on, Applejack!” Granny Smith laughed. “This filly really loves ya and all but Ah don’t think she worships ya as a perfect idol.”
Olive roused herself, eyeballing each of the adults. “Hm? I have no alter in my room.”
Applejack’s eyes opened further, dumbfounded by this statement. “An’ somehow, she knows what an alter is.”
“They used to build a lot of alters.” Olive explained.
“Let’s go back on track!” Granny Smith lifted herself from the table to get her attention back. “Ya see, Olive, some ponies believe strongly in somethin’ that can bring ‘em comfort or pleasure. When they’re told they’re wrong, it can often lead to denial. As such, no matter how strong the evidence are, they will never change their mind, though it depends on the individual. Ponies who are more open minded will be more inclined to listen, and that’s the kind of ponies you should hang out with.”
“Huh, that’s a pretty good advice.” Applejack admitted. “Ah’ll keep it in mind.”
The old mare chuckled. “Ah guess that lesson applies to everypony in this house.”
While the adults were busy talking to each other, Apple Bloom inched closer to Olive. “Diamond Tiara’s as stubborn as a mule. Ah think she might be a lost cause.”
“B-Buth...”
“Listen, ya shoul-”
Olive quickly raised a hoof to Apple Bloom’s mouth, then motioned at her chewing mouth.
“Oh, Ah suppose Ah should let ya swallow first.”
The pink unicorn finished her bite, “There’s still a chance Diamond Tiara will listen to me if I try hard enough. I don’t think anypony in your class is beyond help. I mean, I used to think I was beyond help...”
“I-It’s not that Ah think she’s beyond help, it’s just... Ah don’t like Diamond at all and helping ‘er just irks me.” Apple Bloom sighed, resting her face in her hooves.
Olive nodded, a sad look slowly taking the place of her stone gaze. “That’s okay, you don’t have to help me if you don’t like it. I can do this by myself.”
The sadness in the unicorn’s voice poked at Apple Bloom’s heart like thorns. Letting out a muffled groan, she lifted her head and looked at Olive in the eyes, a comforting glint in her gaze. “But Ah also know Ah can’t let ya do it alone. No matter what, Ah have to help ya. Ah’m yer big sister after all.”
Olive gave her a thankful smile. “You’re the best sister ever.” She sprouted her hooves like wings and brought Apple Bloom closer for a hug. “Five seconds of love for the best sister ever!”
During their trek to school, Olive admired the landscape of Sweet Apple Acre. She gazed at the lovely hills, the apple trees and the Everfree Forest. However, something peculiar caught her attention. On one of the hills overlooking the farm, there were wooden structures planted firmly on the ground in the shape of a cross. Under these structures were flowers and apples, lots of apples.
The pink filly stopped trotting. “Mommy, what is that over there?” she pointed at the wooden objects on the hills.
Applejack and Apple Bloom halted their march. The orange mare stared at the two objects and opened her mouth but paused for a bit. “That, uh... that’s what ya’d call grave markers.”
Olive blinked; her pretty eyes focused entirely on those markers. “What’s a grave marker?”
“It’s somethin’ to remember ta...” Aj paused, feeling something being caught in her throat. She had no idea if now truly was the best time to bring down the mood yet again. She sighed and continued, “to remember ta dead by. It’s where we buried our parents.” After an awkward pause, she began to trot again. “Come on fillies, we don’t wanna be late.” Applejack stopped looking, gesturing at the two to follow her. Apple Bloom was quick to move.
Olive, however, lingered on the graves for a bit until something hurt her heart, and she couldn’t handle the sight anymore. N-No, you’re still with me, aren’t you?
“Good morning ponies! Today we’ll be listening to all your presentations about your family.”
Another stressful day had come for Olive, whose hooves trembled on her desk. Another presentation in front of the class and somehow, despite having already done that, she was still mortified at the idea of being the center of attention again.
She felt another touch on her shoulder, one that made her flinch.
“Um, I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” Sweetie Belle asked softly.
Olive felt her cheeks grow warm. “N-No, I was just, uh, s-stressed about my presentation.” She shuffled the paper in her hooves, glueing her eyes to it. She had already memorised everything on it, but her anxiety kept pushing her to re-practice mentally. What if she forgets something in the spotlight? That’d be terrible!
“Me too!” Sweetie Belle nickered. “I was just... m-more concerned about you, that’s all.”
“Did you practice?”
Sweetie Belle looked at her notes. “Yeah, I did. I’m sure it’ll be fine and I'm just being nervous for nothing, he he.”
“I’m sure your presentation will be great!” Olive softly exclaimed. “You must have a good family. Well, you must have because you’re a good pony.”
The white unicorn giggled. “Aw, you’re a great pony!”
“Do you think it’s a good idea?”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “What’s a good idea?”
“To talk about my father and his friends. I mean, do you think it’ll help Diamond Tiara understand me more? If I-I tell everypony about them, maybe she’ll be willing to give me a second chance.” Olive explained softly, her melodious voice enchanting Sweetie.
“I think it’s a great idea!” She responded abruptly, not even giving it some thought. W-Wait, maybe I should-
“Now then,” Cheerilee announced. “We’ll start with... Apple Bloom!”
The yellow earth pony gulped before taking the center stage. Olive immediately reached for her pencil with her mouth, ready to take any notes with how her peers would perform their presentation. Anything that could help like how body language works would do.
“Now remember everypony, I want you all to listen to your friends’ presentation, so I don’t want to see anypony drawing or writing, okay?”
Olive dropped her pencil with a quiet whimper. “Sweetie, Scootaloo, help!” she whispered to her friends.
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
Olive leaned closer to the two. “How do I do a presentation like a normal foal? When and how should I move my hooves when I talk? Am I talking normally?”
“Uh, my- I think...” Sweetie Belle’s brain shut down, unable to answer all these questions at once.
“Hm...” Scootaloo scratched her chin, eyes on the ceiling. “Well, when you talk, you look kinda like a robot, ‘cause you barely move when you talk.”
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie glowered.
Olive’s pupils shrank. “H-How do I not move like a robot then?”
Scootaloo slumped on her seat. “I dunno. It just sort of depends on the pony, I guess. One more thing that makes you different from the rest, n-not that it’s a bad thing. It makes you more special in my eyes, and...” She looked around the class, making sure nopony would hear the next word “sweeter.”
“I hope you’re right...”
Apple Bloom gestured at the fillies to give her some moral support. Her eyes just screamed “Ah need some help over ‘ere!” As she trotted in front of the class, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo applauded. Olive watched them briefly before copying their exact method of clapping.
“Alright, ponies. Apple Bloom will be commencing her presentation soon.” Cheerilee joyfully turned to the yellow filly with a smile. “You can start when you’re ready.”
Nervous, Apple Bloom started her presentation. She talked about how her family first came to Ponyville many moons ago, how they built it with the help of Princess Celestia and lastly, how spread out the Apples were in all Equestria. For every big city in the country, there was at least one Apple there. As Olive soon came to learn, the Apples were one of the oldest and most prominent family in pony history.
Apple Bloom’s presentation ended, and everypony applauded. Olive was pleasantly surprised to see that despite being a blank flank, Apple Bloom was well respected by her classmates. Perhaps this blank flank stigma came only from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the only foals that have bullied her for her lack of cutie mark.
During the down time, Olive scribbled down some important notes about her sister’s presentation and her theories regarding the two rich fillies.
More foals went in front, and Olive listened carefully to each of their presentations, surprised by how much they had to say about their families. They spoke of their parents, their cousins, their grandparents and more. It made her realise that outside of her father, she knew nopony in her family. Where were her grandparents? Her cousins? She had absolutely no idea, and never thought to ask her father about them, not that it would have done something, he never spoke of family.
This realisation made her shiver in anxiety. They all had big families while she only had one pony really. Olive felt her stomach-turning upside down, a burning sensation rippling across her body.
“Hey, Olive, are you alright?” Sweetie Belle asked, concerned by the filly’s nervous and shaky movement.
“Oh... they all have so many ponies in their family, but I know nopony other than my father! What do I do?” Olive cracked, burying her face in her hooves.
“Uh, just do your presentation as planned?” Sweetie proposed, placing a solidary hoof on her shoulder.
Scootaloo chimed in. “Yeah, you’ve obviously had a different story from the other ponies in here, kinda like me. I’m sure they’re all expecting something unique from you, so don’t pressure yourself by comparing your life to ours.”
Olive roused herself. “Huh? I-I guess you’re right. I should stop comparing myself to other ponies...”
“Yeah, that’s what I used to do until I realised just how much it made me feel bad about myself. When I stopped placing some sort of expectation on me, I felt so much better!” Scootaloo smiled, one that felt much sweeter than the smirks of her usual tough filly façade.
“Next up, Scootaloo!” Cheerilee announced.
“Well, I guess it’s my turn now.” Scootaloo said as she left her seat. “Oh, and I’ll maybe talk a bit about you. Is that okay?”
Olive’s cheeks turned red. “Uh, I m-mean... sure?”
“It’s on then!”
Scootaloo talked about her upbringing, her time with her parents and... their inevitable departure. Every foal felt a strong sympathy towards the pegasus’ story. They could never imagine how much it would hurt to be abandoned by the ponies you’ve always seen as your idols, your guiding moonlight but Olive did, and for her, the pain was atrocious. She perfectly understood how Scootaloo felt about the whole thing, more so than the others when the filly began to tear up during her tough presentation. The only solace the orange filly could find, was that out of the two of them, she got off easy.
“... I struggled to come to terms with it. I, uh, really did. But thanks to one pony here, I finally found some sense of closure to it all.” Scootaloo’s eyes moved to Olive, sitting in the front row. “She was the first pony that could ever relate to me, and thanks to her I...” She paused, feeling her eyes welling. “I finally decided to choose my family. So, thank you.”
When she was done wiping the tears away, Olive applauded. She was the first to applaud Scootaloo, moved to tears herself.
“W-Well...” Cheerilee started, trying to shake off the strong emotions. “We’re all so proud of you to talk openly about your struggles. Really, it takes a lot of courage for a pony to express her pain.” She gave Scootaloo a consoling smile. “You can return to your seat now.”
Passing by Olive, the pegasus smiled gratefully. The pink unicorn’s confidence rose to new heights. After hearing Scootaloo’s presentation, she felt more comfortable talking about her own father, and the problems that came with him.
“Next, we’ll have Olive talk about her family!”
W-Wait, I change my mind. I’m not ready!
“You got it.”
Olive saw her winged friend encouraging her to go on stage, and in that moment, she knew she couldn’t back down. Reluctant, she nervously trotted next to the teacher’s desk, where everypony had their eyes on her. The pressure, it was awful. In that moment, it felt like every single movement she made down to the simple blinking of her eyes had to be deliberate and carefully executed, else she’ll suffer eternal ridicule at their hooves for the next years of her life.
Looking at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t make it any better. Their hateful and mocking glare threatened to pull her apart at any mistake or weakness they could spot. In the spotlight, she had to be perfect, or else it was the end of her.
It felt wrong, how could she be having such a hard time now? She already talked to the whole class last week, so why was this time so... different? Her mind couldn’t find any answer, so she froze in fear.
“You can start when you’re ready.” Cheerilee said in her usual nice voice.
But to Olive, it only made the feeling worse. Now, they were all expecting her to speak. All expecting her to deliver something unique, different. Scootaloo was expecting her to do great. Expectations, expectations, expectations.
“I, uh, I-I...”
Her body was burning so much, it felt like she had turned into a furnace. The foals began to look confused, some leaning forth, others, especially Diamond Tiara, stabbed her soul with her spiteful eyes.
Olive teared up, unable to take the pressure. It was so bad that Heedful Care had to get off her seat and rush to the rescue. The mare told Cheerilee she was going to take Olive out of the class for a moment.
The cerise mare agreed and chose to let another pony go upfront while the two left.
Outside, Olive wiped her tears away. “I-I failed. Now everypony will think I’m a chicken.”
Heedful Care sat next to her, with a gentle smile. “I don’t think they’ll see you that way. I know it can be daunting to speak in front of so many ponies, but I assure you, nopony thinks you’re a chicken. They all understand how stressful it is, they’re not blaming you for being a little scared.”
Olive’s body vibrated, unable to remain perfectly still. This was radically different from her usual motionless stances, different enough to press the counselor into acting quickly.
“Next time you go, I’ll stay by your side. That way, we’ll both be the center of attention. Does that sound good to you?”
Olive’s legs kept on shaking, albeit a little slower. “Why? Why do I find this harder than last time? Unlike my other presentation, I have my papers and everything. I know what to say but it’s too hard for me to go in front! Why is this happening now?!”
Care pondered upon what she had heard in class. “Hm, I think I know why.”
Olive raised her head, surprised. “Really? You do?”
“I think what’s scaring right now, is not the presentation itself, but it’s the expectations you have set upon yourself.”
“The... e-expectations?”
Care nodded. “Yes, you have created expectations for your presentations. When Scootaloo encouraged you, you believed your presentation had to be really good to impress her. For the other foals, you wanted to do something unique, different by talking about your old family rather than the Apples as they would expect you to do. In short, you’re pressuring yourself by believing you have all these expectations to meet, but that’s just not the case. It doesn’t matter if you do everything perfectly or if you mess up something. All that matters, is that you stay true to who you are, let your soul seep into your presentation. That is what your friends want to see. They want to see you, Olive.”
Olive shuffled through her notes, still anxious, but a bit more at ease. “I... I think I can do this.”
“Do you think, or do you know?” Heedful Care smiled gently, patting the filly on the head. “I’m sure you know.”
“Um, hello I, uh, didn’t really tell you all everything during my last presentation.”
Back on center stage, Olive was panicking internally. She already fumbled her opening, something she was never good at to begin with, but now she was about to say it. She was about to tell them all about who her father was. Doubts started to creep in. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all but then... wouldn’t it not be a good idea to essentially do the same thing as her sister?
No matter how she looked at it, Olive was screwed. Torn between two choices, she had no other option but to trust herself and go on.
“A-As some of you may know, I live at Sweet Apple Acre with mo-Applejack.” Whowee! She dodged a bullet with that one. She may be ignorant to social interactions, but she knew how bad it’ll make her look if she says “mommy” to everypony, especially Diamond Tiara. And her goal was to make the earth pony like her.
“But I never told you about my other family. Well, not really that it’s a family. I only knew my father, so I'll be talking about him today, um.” The pink unicorn nervously shuffled around her notes, occasionally glancing over the pegasus standing beside her.
“My father is Jolly Melody.”
Heedful Care’s eyes widened. She’s heard of that stallion before. He was...
“He lived in Manehattan as a singer and musician. He was really good.”
“I know! I love listening to his music on the radio!” Dinky Hooves screamed excitedly.
“Woah, that’s so cool!” A colt exclaimed.
Cheerilee saw the distress on Care’s face and began to feel uneased. She didn’t know much about Olive, just that she had a terrible father and now, she just realised she’s heard of him before. So many ponies did. Sweet Celestia... They always played his tunes on the radio. Not many got to know the stallion personally, but she knew his heart wasn't entirely good.
“Yeah, I know. I always admired his talent in music and, uh, wished I could be as good as him, but I wasn’t. I... looked up to him. I saw him as my idol, as my role model. But he never was a good pony.”
The whole class was stunned, except for the crusaders. Did they hear that right? Jolly Melody, the great singer from Manehattan... wasn’t a good pony?
“No, he was the worst!” Olive shouted, stomping her hooves. “He never played with me, never comforted me, never loved me! I was just a burden he didn’t want to carry!” She further raised her voice, her eyes welling. “He didn’t care about anypony at all except for Princess Luna! He didn’t care about his friends either! I’ve seen so many of them died, he was never sad when they died. He always mocked them and let the others bury them... N-No, I-I can’t do this. This was a mistake!”
Heedful Care gingerly touched her shoulder. “It’s okay, you can continue.”
Olive panted, continuing her presentation as she raised her voice. “He openly insulted me when I couldn’t do something right. Lied to my face so I wouldn’t leave or say anything against him. H-He hurt me, d-did something that made me scared to use magic, I... When my only friend tried to...” She looked at Heedful Care, her eyes filled with horror and pain.
“Y-You can stop now if you want.”
“I... I’m just glad I left him.” Olive concluded, lowering her voice. “I’m just glad I’m still here. I’m just...
Glad I’m not dead.”
Everypony sat there, stunned. Many of the foals stared at the pink filly, horrified.
“D-dead?” Dinky muttered.
Sweetie Belle blanched, getting even whiter than her coat. She stared dead eyed into Apple Bloom’s orange eyes. “S-S-So the rumors were true? She was really... m-mangled outside the Everfree?”
Everypony else were thinking the same thing. They’ve heard the rumors of a near-dead pony found on the outskirts of Ponyville, but none truly wanted to believe such a thing could happen, not when this place was known to be a wonderful and happy town.
Even Diamond Tiara was stunned, now unsure of what to think. She’s never heard a story this horrible before, much less from a foal that seemed younger than her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t have much to say. I just... wanted to get it off my chest.” Olive whined, sniffling. “I’m just so grateful for everypony in Ponyville. They’ve all shown me what it’s like to be happy. I feel like I owe everything to them. That’s all.” Without saying another word, she trotted back to her seat and buried her face in her hooves. Sweetie then came to give her a mane to cry into.
It took some time for the class to recover after this presentation. Even after the next foals in line went in front, the awkward feeling that Olive had created remained. And it lasted for the rest of the day.
“That was a terrible idea.”
Out in the playground, Olive slumped on a picnic table, refusing to raise her head anymore. Her voice sounded defeated, ashamed enough to worry the three little crusaders.
Apple Bloom was the first to act upon her sisterly instinct. “Ah don’t think it was, really. Applejack always told me it’s important to get some things off yer chest. Ah’m sure that did ya a lot of good!”
Scootaloo went in next, speaking softly. “She’s right. I feel a lot better now that I’ve said it out loud to everypony.”
“Wasn’t it also to make Diamond Tiara hate you less?” Sweetie Belle asked. “B-But what they said is more important...”
“It’s true.” Olive blurted out. “It was just for a stupid reason. I didn’t think about it like you, Scootaloo. I was only thinking about Diamond Tiara when I chose to do my presentation. It was stupid. I’m stupid. Really stupid because I didn’t listen to myself.”
Scootaloo chuckled, leaning closer to embrace the young filly. “Don’t be so hard on yourself! You’re making a nasty habit out of it. Everypony makes mistake, we’re no different. All that matters is that you learn something from them. Plus, I’m sure you still believe in what you said to me, even if you forgot about it for a moment.”
Olive raised her head, looking at Scootaloo with her sad, yet beautiful olive eyes.
“Stop saying you’re stupid. We don’t like when you’re bringing yourself down.”
“Yeah, it hurts me when ya say tha’.” Apple Bloom said, holding a hoof to her heart. “Nopony thinks yer stupid except ya. Ah don’t know what yer father or anypony else said ‘bout ya, but they’re wrong. These ponies just wanted to bring ya down, but not us. We all see ya fer who ya truly are.” She brought her sister closer for a hug. “That’s what friends are fer.”
The little pink pony cracked, tears streaming down her face. She held on tight to her sister, smiling weakly.
Sweetie Belle inched closer to the two. “Are we making this a group hug?”
Olive reached out for the two fillies; her tearful eyes closed.
“He he, I won’t ever get tired of that.” Scootaloo chuckled, sharing the warmth of her friends. It felt great for her just as it did for the pink unicorn. Hugs really are therapeutic.
Some time passed, and class was expected to resume. Only, it didn’t seem to. Miss Cheerilee didn’t go outside to get everypony back in. It surely felt like more than 15 minutes passed, they should be in class right now.
Most of the foals didn’t really seem to care for they were too absorbed in their games to pay any attention to the time except for the four crusaders. Their recess was a very emotional one, and every passing minute was felt. So, they were the first to notice that something funny was up.
Scootaloo stood up, one eyebrow raised, and scouted the playground. “Uh, it’s been like 20 minutes. Shouldn’t we be back in class already?”
Apple Bloom soon left the table. “Mighty strange indeed. Cheerilee’s never tardy.”
“So? Do we just play with the others, or do we check out what’s going on?” Sweetie Belle asked, still cuddled up with Olive.
“How about both?” Scootaloo said with a smirk. Her three friends blinked, not really knowing how such a thing was possible.
“Uh, by that I mean, we sneak around and investigate. See why Cheerilee’s not calling us in.”
“Ooh! A secret super soldier type game? Ah’m in!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.
“Sneaking” around the playground, the crusaders hid underneath a window that led to their classroom. The closer they approached, the better they heard the voices on the other side. It sounded like Cheerilee and...
“Spoiled Rich? What’s she doing in here?” Sweetie Belle whispered, worried.
Olive raised her head, curious to see what’s on the other side of the window. She slowly got on her hind legs and peeked, only to be rapidly pulled down by Scootaloo. As it turned out, poking your head through an open window isn’t a great idea when you’re trying to be stealthy.
Spoiled Rich’s voice became louder, and now they could understand her words. “... again with that, lost filly? Diamond just told me about her ‘presentation’ and I’m not going to have any of it! Tell me, how many problems are going to come from her? If you can’t keep her from traumatising entire generations then I’ll do it myself!”
Apple Bloom blanched. “W-Wait what? What’s she implying, huh?”
Olive blinked. “We have another lost filly in Ponyville? I’d like to meet her but I also don’t want to be traumatised...”
Scootaloo groaned. “You can’t meet yourself, Olive. She’s talking about you! That filthy mare has a bone to pick with you.”
“M-Me?!”
Sweetie Belle hushed the unicorn, almost catching the attention of the mares inside.
“That won’t be necessary, Miss Rich. I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on her... behavior.” The teacher’s heart didn’t seem to be into it. Olive might struggle to understand how others think sometimes, but when it comes down to pain or fear, she can empathise. Something about Cheerilee was off indeed.
“We have to help Miss Cheerilee!”
Now help did sound good, but the problem was how they were going to go about helping their teacher with this precarious affair. From what Olive knew, Spoiled Rich held some sort of power over Cheerilee. In the world of her father, that’d be money... maybe that applied to this situation as well? What was this kind of action called again?
“Coercion?”
Apple Bloom stared at her sister with incomprehension written all over her. “What was that?”
“I think Spoiled Rich is coercing Cheerilee into doing bad things to me, or good things to Diamond Tiara.”
“Well... let’s keep on listening. Maybe they’ll comfirm it.” Scootaloo proposed.
“I believe that covers it. Oh, and what about Diamond Tiara?”
“Uh... o-oh! You mean about her grades?”
“Of course, what else could I be talking about? She’s the daughter of the elite, if her grades don’t reflect her status, there’ll be big trouble coming your way.”
Scootaloo snickered. “For an evil mare, she sure is not discreet! Well that’s great! Now we have our confirmation that something is wrong.”
“Hm? Is somepony there?”
A chill went up the spines of each of the crusaders. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, withdraw!” Apple Bloom whispered. They got out just in the nick of time. Now, they knew what Spoiled Rich was up to and why Cheerilee was acting strangely. The only thing bothering them now was Heedful Care. She surely must know what was going on, or perhaps she was intentionally left out of these discussions by Spoiled Rich. Something was terribly wrong in this situation.
“Hey, where have you been, blank flanks?” Sadly, that thought had to wait because Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came to town, again. This time, they won’t let these rich fillies trot all over them.
Sweetie Belle answered. “Playing around the playground where nopony would bother us.” A lie, Diamond Tiara sure was not a gullible pony. That answer only served to irk her some more, as if she wasn’t moody enough as is.
“And why were you in a hurry to come back here, to my territory?”
Silver Spoon blinked. “Wasn’t it ours?”
“Your territory? Oh, so now you’re policing the school?” Scootaloo mocked. “Well, who’s enforcing the rules?”
“We overheard your mother talking with Miss Cheerilee.” Olive answered honestly, much to the dismay of her friends.
Diamond Tiara scoffed. “Hmph, of course she did. I told her all about your...” She paused, her snob expression waning for a bit. “Presentation. She’s going to make sure you can’t disturb ponies with your sob stories.”
“I know that.” Olive nodded. “But did you know that she’s also trying to raise your grades?”
Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. “Raise your grades? Why is she doing that now? My mother never raised my grades for me.”
A mixture of emotion passed over Diamond Tiara; confusion, worry and anger. “Wh-What? I know my grades haven’t been the best but that’s just ridiculous. I can handle myself without her help, because I am and have always been the best of this puny class.”
“Didn’t you also struggle often with your grades?” Silver Spoon mentioned.
“Sh-Shut up!” Diamond barked, her voice raising unexpectedly. “It’s not what you think, okay?”
Olive pondered about this for a moment. The more thought she poured into the implications behind Spoiled Rich’s cheating and Silver’s phrase, the clearer the picture became. “Did your mother always tamper with your grades?
“N-No!” Diamond hastily screamed. “What do you know about my grades, huh? Y-You’re just a newbie who’s trying to act all smart by prying into other pony’s lives.” The filly’s voice cracked, slowly losing its harshness. “You’re acting as if you have the moral high ground. Well let me tell you this; you’re not as good as you pretend to be.” Her eyes began to water as she stormed off with Silver Spoon.
“Uh, w-wait!” Olive screamed, but they didn’t want to hear it. The two earth ponies were long gone in a matter of seconds just as Cheerilee finally came to end recess.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders saw Spoiled Rich leaving the school, glaring at all the foals playing in the playground. Even her own daughter wasn’t spared, in fact, it she got an even worse glare. One that seemed to pass as a threat more than anything. The poor filly looked distraught, uncertain of what to do anymore, a worry shared by her silver friend.
With that, Olive finally had the confirmation that Diamond Tiara needed help. Whatever happened in her personal life couldn’t be good, and that’s something that she can help with. The good thing with suffering, is that you can recognise when somepony’s in need. All it takes to help, is understanding.
Olive wasn’t going to give up so easily. Not when she can rescue the diamond in the rough.
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More good
good grief i hate that spoiled bitch so much
the storm may hold the key to unity
Lets hope olive can handle this storm!
Anyways good chapter
They've heard the rumors of a near-dead
Olive wasn’t going to give up so easily.
I almost feel bad about that comment I left some chapters ago now that I know your intention is for Olive to help Diamond. Hope she succeed.
11749389
Same, but with this kind of character, the fun is all in the moment where their hubris is humbled
11749400
Thanks, mate! I see you often comment on chapters where Anarchy appears in. Well oh boy do I have a surprise for ya! Next chapter will be quite the journey down the dark caverns of Canterlot!
11749556
I actually really liked that comment, it was cool and wholesome. Olive is certainly going to have a tough time helping Diamond. The best way to start is by finding some common ground, and surprisingly, they do.
11749940
You got it!
Oh boy thats gonna be bad
When he is finally defeated?
LET ME HAVE HIM
I WANT TO SEE HIM BLEED!
Oh and Applejack’s stubbornness to accept the truth about that thestral foal Fluttershy adopted.