Chapter 1
“...and those are the known animals that will hunt down a pony if one is in sight and what they will do to the pony. Any questions?” a purple pony asked. In front of her were a group of fillies and colts sitting at their desks, most of them either cowering in fear or nauseous from the lesson they just received from their teacher, Cheerilee.
“Why would she even tell us something like that?” Scootaloo whispered to her two friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Despite being one of the toughest ponies in her class, Cheerilee’s lesson had taken a toll on her mind.
“Miss Cheerilee! Scootaloo was wondering why you decided to teach us about things that will try to eat us!” Sweetie Belle announced energetically.
“Hey, don’t centre me out!” Scootaloo reprimanded. She knew that everypony was wondering the same thing, but didn’t want to look weak by asking her teacher directly. It would only give her two enemies something to hold over her, even though they were also visibly troubled by Cheerilee’s lesson.
“It’s all right Scootaloo. This is a very serious subject.” Cheerilee said understandingly. She paused, looking around at the classroom to make sure everypony was paying attention. “The reason why I taught this lesson is because Equestria is a dangerous place. Us ponies are among the bigger and stronger creatures, but there are still many creatures that pose a great threat to us. If we do not know how to deal with these creatures then it could mean the difference between surviving and becoming lunch.”
“So this is one of those know yer enemy things?” Apple Bloom spoke up. Just as Cheerilee was about to answer, she was interrupted by a pale magenta filly.
“Aren’t we safe in Ponyville? I mean, if we weren’t we’d be gone by now.” Diamond Tiara reasoned.
“Hey! Ah asked ma question first!” Apple Bloom was irritated. If it had been any other pony (with the exception of Diamond Tiara’s best friend Silver Spoon) she wouldn’t have been so upset, but since it was her, Apple Bloom was angry.
“Like it really matters. She’ll answer my question first then yours. Wait your turn.” Diamond Tiara told her. She knew she was making Apple Bloom mad and that filled her with sadistic excitement. She smiled as Apple Bloom began to respond, knowing that she had indeed gotten to the pale yellow filly.
“Wait MY turn!? I asked her a question first. It’s you who should be waiting your turn!” Apple Bloom yelled, unknowingly doing exactly what Diamond Tiara wanted her to do.
“Yeah, she was first, so be a good little rich filly and be quiet!” Scootaloo joined in. That bugged Diamond Tiara a little. Scootaloo was always the harshest of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, so she was a little more difficult to ignore.
“Oh, got the flightless Pegasus defending you now?” Diamond Tiara insulted. Scootaloo glared at her, resisting the urge to pound her into the ground. If you wanted to make Scootaloo upset, this was the quickest way. She’s always dreamt of flying with her hero, Rainbow Dash, but thanks to her small wings she’s been unable to do that so far. For somepony to not only mention that she couldn’t fly, but to use it as an insult was going too far.
“That’s mean Diamond Tiara.” Sweetie Belle squeaked. She had wanted to stay out of the argument, but she couldn’t take it anymore. “You know how much flying means to Scootaloo!”
“Pft, we sure do...Squeaky Belle!” Silver Spoon said, laughing at Sweetie Belle’s voice. Dealing with Diamond Tiara alone would have been bad enough for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but thanks to Silver Spoon who was just as mean-spirited as she was, their misfortune was doubled.
“It...it’s not my fault.” Sweetie Belle lowered her head. “It’s my voice, it’s how I am.” She was starting to regret standing up to Diamond Tiara.
“You guys don’t know when to stop. Are ya’ll that desperate for attention that ya resort to cheap shots?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Desperate? We aren’t desperate. You had it coming when you wouldn’t let Diamond go first.” Silver Spoon responded.
“And just why should we? Apple Bloom deserved the first answer.” Scootaloo stated, her anger increasing after each sentence her enemies spoke.
“I should always go before you. After all I did happen to get my cutie mark before you blank flanks.” Diamond Tiara explained. Those two words, ‘blank flank’, had become her and Silver Spoon’s signature insult.
“You rotten, arrogant, jerk!” Scootaloo yelled. “One day we’ll get our cutie marks, but you’ll always be a-” Scootaloo stopped after she heard crunching. The five ponies looked towards the front of the class. There Miss Cheerilee was standing there, eating popcorn.
“Don’t mind me, continue.” Cheerilee said calmly. She continued eating with a smile on her face while the whole class stared at her in silence. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked confusingly at their rivals. They were just as confused. Cheerilee was interested in watching them argue? “Got all that fighting out of your system? Good.” She put away her popcorn and then continued. “You girls have been fighting far too much and lately it’s been getting simply horrible.”
“See what you've done? You’re making poor Miss Cheerilee sad.” Silver Spoon accused.
“It’s not just them Silver Spoon. You and Diamond Tiara are just as much to blame.” Cheerilee quickly pointed out. If she hadn’t gotten that sentence in, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have retorted and they’d be back in a heated argument.
"Ah don't want to fight with them, but they always make fun of us and call us 'blank flanks'." Apple Bloom explained.
"I know." Cheerilee sighed. She put a hoof to her face and begun to brainstorm ideas she could use to cease to fighting.
"Um, Miss Cheerilee." Snips called out after a few minutes. She did not answer.
"Is she dead?" Snails asked the class. He was answered by several facehoofs. "Is that a yes?"
"I wish I could have come up with something better, but this will have to do." Cheerilee suddenly announced, catching some students by surprise. "Your homework for the week is to study one of the pony-eating creatures I mentioned early. You must find out where they live, their estimated population, what other things they eat, what to do if you ever encounter them and whatever else is on the assignment paper which I will shortly hand out." She took a breath, preparing herself to the backlash she was about to receive then continued. "I was originally going to let ALL of you choose your partners, but after what happened today I'm deciding to make two specific groups. The rest of you may choose to work in groups up to three members. Come see me if you have nopony to work with."
“So...who’s in the two groups you’re making?” Diamond Tiara questioned fearfully. She had almost always worked with Silver Spoon on assignments, so she did not want to work with anypony else, especially not a Cutie Mark Crusader member, which she feared would happen.
“The first group consists of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo...” Cheerilee begun. Apple Bloom hoped that she would be in that group as well, but unfortunately...
“What!?” Silver Spoon screamed. This couldn’t be happening to her, could it? “Why do I have to work with THEM?”
“We’re not happy about this either!” Scootaloo replied. Even though Sweetie Belle was in her group, the presence of Silver Spoon for practically an entire week was sure to drive her bonkers.
“ANYways,” Cheerilee interrupted. “The second group will be composed of Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara.”
“Ah ain’t surprised. Ah figured I‘d be paired with her after Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were paired Silver Spoon.” Apple Bloom reasoned with her fancy mathematics.
“This can‘t be happening! Miss Cheerilee, do you hate us?” Diamond Tiara sobbed.
“Of course not!” Cheerilee answered. “I want you to learn how to get along, but you‘ll never learn how to unless you actually spend some quality time with each other.”
“But-”
“Diamond, I‘m not changing my mind.” Cheerilee stated. “Class is almost over, so everypony else form a group and I will come around handing out the assignment page.”
“This sucks.” Diamond Tiara complained to her friend. “This is going to be the worst week of my life.”
“Tell me about it.” Silver Spoon agreed. As they continued complaining and feeling sorry for themselves, Cheerilee came over to them.
“Your groups are waiting for you.” Cheerilee told them. Reluctantly they joined their respective groups. In a few minutes the bell rang. “Time to go everypony. I‘ll see you all on Monday. Don‘t procrastinate on your assignments!”
“...so where do ya want to work?” Apple Bloom asked. Her assignment partner Diamond Tiara was walking beside her, occasionally stomping her hooves in anger.
“Do you seriously have to ask that question?” Diamond Tiara responded. She looked at Apple Bloom as if she had just said that the sun did not exist. “My place, clearly. I wouldn‘t want to have to spend so much time in a filthy place like Sweet Apple Acres.” Apple Bloom had to use every bit of willpower to not lose it and wondered how she would be able to last a week working with Diamond Tiara.
“All right, but we should stop by the library first to pick up a book on a creature.” Apple Bloom suggested.
“Fine.” Diamond Tiara said, uninterested. The both of them headed to Twilight’s library in silence. Neither of them said anything else to each other on the way. At the library they met with Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“Good evening girls!” Twilight greeted. “How may I help you?”
“We‘re looking for a book on a pony-eating creature.” Apple Bloom explained.
“I know for a fact that we‘ve got quite a few books on a variety of creatures that consume ponies.” Twilight assured. “What‘s the name of the creature?”
“Oh, Diamond we didn‘t decide on a creature.” Apple Bloom realized. She turned to Diamond Tiara only to be met with an irritated look.
“Don‘t just call me ‘Diamond’!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “You‘re not my friend.”
“...sorry, ah guess.” Apple Bloom said. She didn’t understand why Diamond Tiara would get so upset over just using her first name.
“Whatever.” Diamond Tiara responded. “Let‘s just do something easy like a Timberwolf. They‘re pretty common, so I‘m sure there must be a lot about them. That‘s less work for me and less time I‘ll have to spend with you!”
“All right, we‘ll choose that.” Apple Bloom told Twilight.
“Okay!” Twilight exclaimed happily. She led the two fillies to a bookshelf and pointed towards a specific shelf. “Books on Timberwolves are right over here.”
“Why are all of these so thick!?” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. She had expected a lot of information on the creatures, but she thought there would at least be some short books.
“I know!” Twilight gleamed. “Isn‘t it wonderful?” Diamond Tiara didn’t answer her.
“Well, how about this one?” Apple Bloom suggested, pointing out a book with a fancy cover of a Timberwolf.
“Good choice.” Twilight complimented. “This book contains pretty much everything to know about Timberwolves. I personally find it to be the most detailed one, but the others are good too.”
“Okay, we got the book. Can we go now and finish this stupid project?” Diamond Tiara whined. Her patience was running thin.
“The book is due back in two weeks.” Twilight told them. “Let me just mark it and...there! You‘re all good. Enjoy the book and good luck on your assignment!”
“Thanks Twilight!” Apple Bloom said, taking the book from the princess. “You‘re seeing Applejack later today right? Can you let her know I‘ll be at Diamond Tiara‘s?”
“Sure thing.” Twilight replied.
“It‘s taking forever!” Diamond Tiara complained. Apple Bloom and her had been hard at work on the assignment, well mostly Apple Bloom. Even though Diamond Tiara was in the comfort of her own home, she was still annoyed.
“We‘d be making more progress if somepony would help and stop whining in my ears!” Apple Bloom accused. Despite how hard she was working she was not getting a lot done.
“I DID help.” Diamond Tiara claimed. “This book is just too big. There‘s no way we‘re going to finish reading it.”
“You read one page and wrote down two sentences!” Apple Bloom stated. She had read about thirty pages and written forty sentences. It would have to be organized in the good copy of their assignment, but it was still much more than Diamond Tiara managed to get done in the same amount of time.
“And your point is?” Diamond Tiara responded. “That‘s still helping.”
“That‘s it! I‘m taking a break.” Apple Bloom announced. “I‘m exhausted.” She jumped on top of Diamond Tiara’s bed and shut her eyes.
“Get off my BED!” Diamond Tiara screamed. Apple Bloom ignored her and continued to relax.
“Just give me five minutes. I‘m tired.” Apple Bloom reasoned. Unfortunately, Diamond Tiara was about as reasonable as a dragon asked to share its gems.
“I‘ll give you til the count of ten to get your ugly, dirty, blank flank off my bed or I will push you off!” Diamond Tiara threatened. “One, two, three, four, FIVE...”
“I‘m not moving.” Apple Bloom announced.
“Six, seven, eight, nine...this is your last chance!” Diamond Tiara warned her. “No? Then fine, TEN!” She did exactly what she said she was going to do, quickly pushing Apple Bloom off her bed so she’d land on her back.
“Ow!” Apple Bloom shrieked. “You‘re evil!”
“Well, I did warn you.” Diamond Tiara said, triumphantly. “Now let‘s forget about this book. It‘s taking way too long.”
“You got a better idea?” Apple Bloom questioned, slowly getting up.
“As I matter of fact, I do.” Diamond Tiara grinned. “Why don‘t we just observe a Timberwolf in its natural habitat? We‘ll learn most of what we need to know a lot faster.”
“Are you crazy? No way!” Apple Bloom objected. “The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place. Ah know, I‘ve been there with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. We got ourselves into a lot of trouble.”
“We‘re not going to go IN the forest. My daddy has some high powered binoculars that we‘re going to use to observe them from a distance.” Diamond Tiara explained. “I can‘t believe I actually had to say that. You really are quite dumb sometimes.”
“Ya weren‘t being specific enough!” Apple Bloom countered. She sighed and she decided to let it go. “All right, the plan‘s okay, so I‘ll go along with it.”
“I know, I‘m a genius aren‘t I?” Diamond Tiara boasted. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Well? Don‘t just stand there, let‘s go get the binoculars and get going!”
“I‘m going, I‘m going!” Apple Bloom responded. Her and Diamond Tiara found Filthy Rich sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.
“Daddy!” Diamond Tiara shouted with glee.
“Diamond, Apple Bloom! How‘s your project coming along?” Filthy Rich asked. You would think that someone like Diamond Tiara would have parents similar to her, but Filthy Rich was a very respectable pony.
“We‘ve got some done, but we‘re going to try something different. Can we borrow your binoculars?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Sure thing, I‘ll get them for you.” Filthy Rich complied. He left to get it and quickly returned. “Here you girls go. May I ask what your assignment is about?”
“Miss Cheerilee wants us to write a-” Apple Bloom began, but was cut off.
“About an animal, so we‘re going to use the binoculars to observe it.” Diamond Tiara finished.
“Sounds like a great idea! Experience in real life is the best way to gain knowledge.” Filthy Rich stated. He certainly knew what he was talking about. Although books are indeed helpful, he would not have been able to make a fortune by simply reading them. “You girls have fun, but don‘t stay out too late.”
“Thanks daddy!” Diamond Tiara said.
“I think this is close enough.” Apple Bloom told her project partner. They were both getting pretty close to the Everfree Forest.
“No, we need to get closer.” Diamond Tiara insisted. “Don‘t be such a baby, we‘re not even in the Everfree Forest.”
“Okay...” Apple Bloom hesitantly agreed. They walked a little further then stopped a good hundred hooves away.
“There, this should be good enough.” Diamond Tiara stated.
“Phew, thought you were gonna make us get too close.” Apple Bloom said, relieved that they had stopped. Diamond Tiara grabbed the binoculars and looked through them, trying to spot Timberwolves.
“Found three different groups!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “Write this down. They always seem to travel in a pack.”
“They‘re wolves...of course they travel in a pack.” Apple Bloom pointed out. Diamond Tiara shot her an annoyed look.
“They also seem to be idiots.” Diamond Tiara noted. “Two of them ended up hitting themselves on some trees, destroying themselves. Wait what!?”
“Huh? What is it?” Apple Bloom asked.
“They regenerated!” Diamond Tiara gasped. “They can do that?”
“Creatures in the Everfree Forest are strange. I‘m not that surprised.” Apple Bloom told her.
“Now it looks like lunch time...” Diamond Tiara grimaced. “Ugh, so gross! They‘re eating mice. Ew!” She had to shake her head to get the sight out of her mind. “I‘m going to ignore that group for now. Let‘s see what the others are up to.”
“This is great.” Apple Bloom indicated. “We‘re progressing so much faster than we were before. I got to hand it to you Diamond Tiara, this really is a great idea!” She looked towards Diamond Tiara, giving her an approving look that quickly turned to horror.
“Of course it is!” Diamond Tiara claimed. “It‘s my idea, how could it not be good?”
“D-Diamond.” Apple Bloom stuttered.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Diamond Tiara sighed. “Don‘t call me by just my first name!”
“Diamond Tiara. A Timberwolf.” Apple Bloom whispered.
“What was that?” Diamond Tiara asked. “How can I hear you when you‘re being so quiet?”
“A Timberwolf.” Apple Bloom repeated, slightly louder.
“Well yeah. We‘re observing Timberwolves here, so of course they‘ll be Timberwolves.” Diamond Tiara told her, thinking she was acting even dumber than usual.
“That‘s not what I mean. Behind you.” Apple Bloom clarified. Suddenly it dawned on Diamond Tiara what she might be talking about.
“W-What are you talking about? We‘re at least a hundred hooves away from the forest. There couldn‘t be a Timberwolf behind me. Stop joking around!” Diamond Tiara scolded. She was really hoping that Apple Bloom was pranking her, but there was a part of her that had a feeling she wasn’t.
“I‘m not joking!” Apple Bloom responded. “It‘s really there, about fifty hooves away. Oh my goodness! Diamond Tiara it‘s coming closer! Run!” Diamond Tiara slowly turned herself around and saw that Apple Bloom was indeed telling the truth. Behind her was a strange looking Timberwolf. Where did it come from? She and Apple Bloom were looking at the forest all the time, so how could they have missed the Timberwolf coming out?
“What are you doing!?” Apple Bloom yelled. She had been running for a few seconds, but stopped when she noticed that Diamond Tiara was not following her. In fact, Diamond Tiara had not moved at all. She was completely petrified with fear.
The next few moments seemed as if they happened in slow motion to Diamond Tiara. The Timberwolf lunged itself at her. She closed her eyes awaiting the impact. Suddenly she found herself on the ground hit hard by the creature then she screamed in pain. She opened her eyes to see that the Timberwolf was not staring at her. It took her a moment to process what had just happened. She learned that she was not the one who screamed and it was not the Timberwolf that hit her. It was Apple Bloom, pushing her out of the way. The Timberwolf had its teeth sunk into Apple Bloom’s top-right leg. She was trying to fight back, but her strength was fading. All of her hits were damaging it, enough that it couldn't bite down hard enough, but not enough to destroy it.
“Hurry..run!” Apple Bloom cried. Diamond Tiara hesitated. If she stuck around much longer the Timberwolf might try to get her too, but if she left to get help it might arrive too late. “What are you...ugh...waiting for...go!”
Here Apple Bloom was, moments away from possibly dying and yet she’s still concerned about Diamond Tiara. That was something Diamond Tiara couldn’t ignore. She took her binoculars and threw it against the beast as hard as she could. The impact damaged a big part of the Timberwolf causing it to yelp and let go of Apple Bloom. It was now or never. Diamond Tiara charged at the wolf and struck it with all her might, breaking it to pieces. She rushed over to Apple Bloom to see how bad the bite was.
“Diamond...thank you.” Apple Bloom whispered. “Oh...I mean...Diamond...Tiara.”
“Can you walk?” Diamond Tiara asked ignoring the mistake Apple Bloom made.
“Yeah, ah think so. It hurts, but luckily the wound isn't too deep.” Apple Bloom replied. “We gotta get moving or it'll regenerate like the others.”
“Okay.” Diamond whispered. She felt awful. She would never want somepony hurt, even a Cutie Mark Crusader and yet she had done that all thanks to her stupid idea.