Chapter 1: For the Love of a Bully

“...so you think you two might yet gain your Cutie Marks at long last?”

Scootaloo puffed out her chest. “Any reason why we shouldn't? Believe me, Lickety, Rumble and me were way better than all the others with that obstacle course Apple Bloom had laid out,” she replied confidently. “Could be that our special talent really is to do with stunts after all.”

Lickety-Split gave the two younger Pegasi a doubtful half-smile. “Yeah, looking at the sort of things you do, I wouldn't be surprised,” he conceded. “Just don't overdo it, mind. I don't think Rainbow Dash or Thunderlane would be very happy if you hurt yourselves.”

“Ah, give it a rest!” retorted Scootaloo, waving him away dismissively. “We've been getting good with our flying skills lately, and I've been doing cool stuff with my scooter for years. This'll be a cinch.”

“Big deal!” The three foals rolled their eyes dramatically, but didn't even bother to look over their shoulders – they knew that voice all too well. “Even if you do get those Cutie Marks, they'll never be anywhere near as good as mine and Silver Spoon's. You're just losers, the lot of you!”

“Says the pony who fails to equal another so-called 'loser' at spinning a hoop thing round her barrel!” scoffed Rumble. “Anyway, since when does anypony else think of our Scootaloo as a complete flop at scooter stunts? Tell me that!”

“You and your stupid stunts!” snorted Diamond Tiara rudely. “Who would want to go showing off for a living?”

“Uh, hello? The Wonderbolts?”

“Anyway, you can't talk,” put in Scootaloo huffily. “You show off all the time, and nopony pays any attention to you, 'cause you're too busy making yourself look superior!”

“I'll say,” agreed Lickety-Split smugly. “I mean, who else would go taking the credit for an acrobatics show by her own butler? Call us losers if you must, but it's still the pot calling the kettle black as far as we're concerned – faker!”

Diamond Tiara shot the three of them a dirty look. “Oh, a faker, am I?!” she snarled.

“More than just a faker,” interjected Rumble. “You're a mean, manipulative cheat, you are, and before you even dare to ask...demand such a thing, no – I'm not taking any of it back!”

“Cheat indeed! Well, I ask you, who in the right mind would think that of me, and why?!”

“Plenty of ponies for plenty of reasons,” Lickety-Split pointed out calmly. “For example – who was it that tried to make Granny Smith look like a senile old hag at Family Appreciation Day? Who was it that took the whole Gabby Gums thing too far and made it into an insult column? Who was it that messed that Babs Seed filly around and turned her against her own cousin? Who was it that took advantage of a certain trio of fillies just to win favour from our resident princess?”

“Oh yeah? Well, let me tell...”

“And more importantly, who was it that tried to bully a certain film director into giving her a certain part in a certain war film about trains?”

“And yet he gives some upstart puffer nutter the lead role! Honestly, what is his problem?!”

“You're the one with a problem!” reproached Scootaloo. “Loco was perfect for the role Technicolour Tarquin had in mind – you would have just screwed it up and put the production back by a thousand years. And it's not just because he's good with trains either!”

“What, because he's a show-off?!”

“Let it go, Diamond, they're not worth it,” interrupted Silver Spoon snootily. “Anyway, there's no-one who can equal the likes of you and me.”
Diamond Tiara's face took on a smirk of agreement. “You're right, Silver Spoon. Let's just get out of here. Good luck with your trumped up stunt show, blank-flanks!” and as if to rub it in, she and Silver Spoon paused briefly to exchange their familiar and admittedly annoying hoofshake;

“Bump, bump, sugar lump rump!”

Lickety-Split just laughed. “You wanna take care with that dance of yours,” he quipped, “or other ponies might start getting 'ideas' about your relationship.”

“Yeah, no wonder you can't find yourselves a coltfriend, unlike me!” chortled Scootaloo. “Not that you need one anyway – not if you've got each other!”

Diamond Tiara went red in the face with fury and embarrassment as the other three foals burst into helpless laughter. “You...you...you incessant little...AARGH!” she screamed angrily, and stormed off. Silver Spoon duly followed; but Scootaloo and Lickety-Split's snide remarks seemed to have had a rather odd effect on her. Though she too had acquired a noticeable blush, somehow she was secretly less offended and more stunned by their insinuation regarding her and Diamond Tiara's relationship.

She listened quietly as her disgruntled friend groused bitterly about colts, blank-flanks and stunt ponies. What she hadn't told anypony, least of all Diamond Tiara, was that she had recently been seeing her in a different light, one that she was afraid to reveal to anypony for fear of what her friend's reaction might be – yet here were three ponies acting like they knew all along what was going on in her head! But surely they couldn't have found out her little secret, she thought – no, those losers were just having a game with her so that they could get their own back......weren't they?

Even when Silver Spoon returned home late that afternoon, the events of earlier that day were still playing on her mind, and even her own conscience seemed undecided as to how she should address her own emotions. How would she go about letting the truth out? Should she even bother in the first place? How would Diamond Tiara take it? Was it wrong that she was getting a crush on a bully of all ponies?

It was the very last of those questions that she found particularly difficult to answer. She knew Diamond Tiara was the sort of pony who would go out of her way to make others feel inferior, and admittedly she couldn't help feeling sorry for whoever the pink-furred filly decided to target for whatever reason, but she had been friends with her since before they had got their Cutie Marks, and that kind of friendship, she felt, was not one that she could simply break off. In fact, that was the only reason why she ever joined in on Diamond Tiara's teasing – she simply didn't want to part with her best friend.

That was what really scared her right now; if she so much as thought of letting slip of her crush, it might end up ruining their friendship for good. Okay, so there might be a slim chance that the feeling might be mutual, but Diamond Tiara's views on mares falling for other mares had left a lot to be desired in the past, and if they were anything to go by now, said chance might as well have been zero.

“Silver Spoon?” A gentle voice of concern snapped the grey filly out of her thoughts. She looked up to see her mother, Brass Burnish, standing just in front of her in the hallway. “Where have you been all afternoon? You're ten minutes late for dinner.”

Silver Spoon sighed heavily and brushed a solemn hoof against the carpet. “Sorry, Mom,” she mumbled. “I guess I just lost track of time.”
Brass Burnish raised an eyebrow. “That's not like you, Silver, dear,” she remarked anxiously. “Is anything bugging you, perchance?”

“Um...well...” Silver Spoon paused for a few seconds before looking away and murmuring in a quiet, timid voice, “How would you feel if you found out I was a fillyfooler?”

This query was met with a slightly amused look of disbelief from her mother. “Why would you get so worked up about all that?” she objected. “You're my daughter, Silver Spoon – my job is to help you with whatever issues you're going through, not to judge you for them.”

Silver Spoon stared in confusion. “So...you don't mind if I am?”

“Of course not. Yes, your father might have something to say about it, him being all judgemental and such, but that's not to say he won't hold it against you forever – certainly not if I can help it,” replied Brass Burnish kindly. “Besides, my great aunt was a fillyfooler herself, but she didn't let it get to her. Neither should you, Silver.” Another pause followed before her expression turned to one of curiosity, and she gently added, “How did you find out you might be a fillyfooler anyway?”

“You know how I've been friends with Diamond Tiara for the longest time?”

“Yes, what of it?” Secretly, Brass Burnish couldn't help worrying when she heard that name. Despite being fairly wealthy, Silver Spoon had never been that good at making friends in her youth, and only Diamond Tiara had had the heart to befriend her; but even then, this was mostly down to their broadly similar family and financial backgrounds, and in other respects, Brass Burnish saw the pink-furred filly as a bad influence on her daughter. Even Silver Spoon herself would silently acknowledge just how wrong it was to victimise others, but again, she never dared talk about it for fear of ruining their friendship.

“Well...I think I might be getting a crush on her,” explained Silver Spoon tentatively. “She and I have been talking about coltfriends a lot lately, but the thought of being with some show-off stallion just doesn't seem to appeal to me. But more than that,” she went on, “I keep dreaming about me and her going out on a date somewhere...maybe at the beach or in some really beautiful garden...she's looking into my eyes and I'm looking into hers...” Her voice trailed away as she became lost in her fantasy.

“I see,” said Brass Burnish thoughtfully. “Have you told her about this yet?”

“No,” admitted Silver Spoon, her expression turning nervous as she broke out of her reverie, “and I'm kind of scared. I mean, what if she comes over all homophobic and breaks off our friendship? I don't want that to happen.”

Brass Burnish pondered for a few seconds before answering the question simply; “I'm afraid only time will tell, Silver Spoon,” she said gravely. “If she turns out to be a fillyfooler too, then so be it; but if not, I'm sure there'll be another filly who might take an interest in you. In the meantime, the best I can recommend is that you try to keep it to yourself until you have a better idea of how she might take it. Anyway, don't let's worry too much about it; we don't want our dinner to go cold, do we?”

“Yeah, I suppose not,” and with that, Silver Spoon followed her mother to the dining room.

Chapter 2: A Messy Break-Up

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Diamond Tiara was still in a foul mood when she arrived for school the following morning. As if being insulted by Lickety-Split and a blank-flank wasn't bad enough, a rather rude teenager had pushed in front of her in the queue at Sugarcube Corner, and by the time she reached the front, Shady Daze had already bought the cream horn she had had her eye on all the while. But even more upsetting was that First Base, a keen baseball fan, had made a cheeky remark of his own about posh ponies always coming last. The pink-furred filly had tried to retaliate by mocking him for liking colts, but her mean remarks were drowned by laughter from the other customers.

Throughout the first classes of the day, Silver Spoon couldn't help feeling rather nervous as she stole the odd glance upon Diamond Tiara. From the angry scowl on her friend's face, perhaps letting the truth out about her crush wouldn't be such a good idea after all; but at the same time, a small part of her was itching to scream it from the rooftops, and she didn't know if she could hold herself back for very long. Only at recess did she finally allow herself to say anything, and even then it was little more than a simple “Everything okay, Diamond Tiara?”

The pink-furred filly snarled inwardly. “Stupid Lickety-Split! Stupid First Base!” she griped. “Thinking they can speak to me like that! I'll give those losers something to make fun of one day!”

“Yeah, well...I don't see that happening with Lickety,” mused Silver Spoon unhappily. “You know how hard it is to annoy him.”

“So what?!” growled Diamond Tiara, frustrated. “Nopony with a brain should insult a rich filly like us! It's the principal of the matter!”

“Nopony with a brain, huh? Careful what you say, Diamond – to hear you talk, anypony might think you lacked one yourself,” chuckled a certain other voice.

Diamond Tiara seethed with rage. “You take that back, Lickety-Split!” she shouted.

“Only if you take back everything you've said about Sweetie-Belle first – and then some,” replied Lickety-Split calmly, and trotted away to join his fillyfriend.

Silver Spoon sighed and rolled her eyes, pretending to sound exasperated in the hope of diffusing Diamond Tiara's wrath. “Some ponies,” she muttered wearily.

But Diamond Tiara wasn't listening – such was her annoyance with Lickety-Split that she was now determined to get her own back somehow. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Featherweight talking gloomily with Shady Daze, and decided to listen in on their conversation.

Featherweight sighed and nodded thoughtfully. “I guess you've got a point, Shady,” he murmured. “To be fair, it was more Loco's doing than mine...”

“Yeah, but so what?” insisted Shady Daze. “If it hadn't been for you, Miss Cheerilee probably wouldn't have believed him. You were there – you were living proof of what Diamond Tiara had been up to, and if you hadn't grassed on her, Apple Bloom and her pals would still be up to their necks in it! You take my advice, buddy,” he encouraged, “you just go and talk to that filly. You'd be surprised.”

This prompted a devilish smirk from Diamond Tiara. By the sound of it, Featherweight was clearly having trouble dealing with his feelings for Apple Bloom, particularly because she had been holding a torch for some other colt in their school. “Not on my watch you don't,” she gloated.

“Wait a minute, Diamond,” interrupted Silver Spoon, confused, “I thought you were planning revenge on Lickety-Split and First Base, not playing with Featherweight's head.”

“Who cares?” scoffed Diamond Tiara dismissively. “He's friends with them both, isn't he? Besides, one little dweeb is as good as another.”

But she had reckoned without Locomotion. The red-furred unicorn railway enthusiast was having an idle chat with Button “High Score” Mash nearby, mostly about video games and a new class of engine that was due to enter service.

“According to Max, my superintendent,” Locomotion explained further, “these new 484P Class engines they're introducing will be able to take 22-coach expresses over the Long Draft unaided. How about that for powerful, eh?”

“That many, huh?” remarked Button Mash, visibly impressed.

“Yeah, and that's not all – they're gonna be naming them after some of our royalty!” Locomotion's eyes lit up with delight. “Means our own resident princess gets an engine named after her at long last, and if they do well enough, ENR might be building a batch named...” but he broke off when he heard a familiar voice.

Button Mash heard the voice too, and rolled his eyes. “Aw, jeez,” he groaned, “not Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon again.”

“Ah, let it go, High Score,” said Locomotion, waving the two fillies away dismissively. “Same old stuck-up heaps of self-importance and all that. They'll get tired of it soon.”

But he was wrong. Instead of a smart comeback from their prey, all he heard was further taunting from Diamond Tiara, and in the end, he was forced to look over his shoulder and see what was going on.

“Oh, I'm so sorry you can't seem to find yourself a fillyfriend. Still, hardly surprising – who would want to make friends with somepony so skinny and weak as you, after all?”

Locomotion's eye twitched. It didn't take a genius to work whom they were teasing and why. “Oh...you did not just cross the line!” he hissed fiercely.

“Yeah, who indeed?” added Silver Spoon feebly. Deep down, she felt a horrible pang of guilt just from looking at Featherweight's downtrodden expression – clearly he was having a hard enough time dealing with seemingly unrequited feelings, just the same as she was herself, without Diamond Tiara rubbing it in still further. The only difference was that she might be worse off than if she revealed those feelings. If only there was a way around it, she wondered.

Even if Locomotion knew what she was thinking, however, he couldn't care less. There was no way he was going to let poor little Featherweight suffer like this. “Right!” he declared decisively. “Enough is enough!” and he marched sternly towards the two fillies.

“Let's face it, no way is that physique good for anything,” went on Diamond Tiara in a pitying tone. “I'm surprised you haven't broken any bones yet – with so little muscle on that frame of yours, how can any...” but her tasteless lecture was promptly brought to a sudden halt. In her smugness, she failed to notice Locomotion standing in her path – and you can guess what happened next!

The red-furred colt remained standing even as the pink-furred filly bumped into him, but glowered coldly upon her as she scrambled to her hooves and gave him a mean look.

“Do you mind?!” demanded Diamond Tiara.

“Yes, I most certainly do mind!” replied Locomotion severely. “I've just about had it with your bullying my friends like this, Diamond Tiara! If it's not about the lack of a Cutie Mark, it's something to do their age, their size, their social standing – and now I find you're making fun of one of the most sensitive ponies in our year for his physique?! Well, let me tell you, Glass Crown, you're in no position to be putting the rest of us down just because you think you're above everypony else – because you're not!”

“What are you talking about?!” snorted Diamond Tiara defensively. “I've got loads more money than you have...”

“There you go again, using mere money as an excuse!” bellowed Locomotion, drowning out Diamond Tiara's protests. “You think being rich entitles you to be a mean old prude when in fact it's making you enemies throughout Ponyville! You don't even realise just how bad a name it's making for your own folks – all because you insist on making others feel bad about themselves and angry with you at the same time! Heck, I'm surprised you haven't made it onto the Mayor's blacklist, to hear what others have been saying about your lamentable attitude!”

Diamond Tiara spluttered indignantly. Never had anypony spoken so rudely of her before! “Well...well, at least I know how to be more popular than you!” she blurted out.

But Locomotion refused to buy it. “Freely translated: 'I have trouble making friends – what are you going to do about it?!'” he retorted mockingly. “Quite frankly, Diamond Tiara, you are the one who needs to do something about it! Take me, for example; I may not be as rich as you, but at least I can afford some manners!”

This struck a raw nerve with Diamond Tiara. “I'll teach you some manners!” she screamed furiously, and threw a vicious punch towards his face – but all she succeeded in doing was bruising her hoof against the forcefield Locomotion had hastily cast around himself.

“Precisely what I should have expected from a filly who refuses to mind her own!” said Locomotion huffily. “I'd think twice before trying that again!”

Diamond Tiara leered at him with a mix of pain and anger in her expression. “You'll be sorry one of these days, Loco!” she snarled.

“Oh, I'm already sorry you turned out to be so selfish and insensitive! Face it, Diamond Tiara, with an attitude like yours, there's no way you're gonna win any favour with the rest of Ponyville – and I reckon I speak for maybe 99% of the population here! Now if you take my advice, you'll kindly buzz off and take your fillyfriend with you!” ordered Locomotion, gesturing towards Silver Spoon as he spoke.

Diamond Tiara opened her mouth to make a rude comeback, but something about what Locomotion had just said quickly wiped out whatever angry dialogue she had thought up, replacing it with a feeling of deep confusion. In the end, all she could manage was a frustrated growl before storming off with Silver Spoon in tow. Only when the two of them were back inside the schoolhouse did the pink-furred filly finally vent her frustration.

“What is it with all these other ponies?!” she blurted out angrily. “All anypony ever seems to do with me is throw insults right in my face! Why can't they show a proper pony like me a little respect?!”

“Shouldn't have expected any better of those dorks,” mumbled Silver Spoon, who wasn't really listening.

“If only I was still in charge of the Foal Free Press, I'd give that Locomotion something to think about!” Diamond Tiara ranted on. “Imagine talking to me like that – me, daughter of the richest and best business pony in Ponyville! One day, I'll find that puffer nutter in the cab of a wrecked steam train – then we'll see who's not gonna win any favour!” She paused for a few seconds, glowering contemptuously upon that bane of a red-furred colt before continuing; “And that stupid insinuation of his about me being a flaming fillyfooler! How dare he!”

But that was when Silver Spoon made what she felt was the biggest mistake in all her life, one that she wished she could go back and change in a heartbeat. Without thinking, without realising she was talking in a louder voice than she intended, she quietly murmured to herself, “It wouldn't be a bad thing if you were.”

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't quiet enough. In an instant, Diamond Tiara went as stiff as a board with shock and fury. Only then did Silver Spoon realise what she had done – not only had she offended her best friend, but she had also dropped an unintentional and wholly unwelcome hint regarding her feelings. The grey filly froze over with fear as Diamond Tiara slowly turned her head and directed an aggressive death-glare in her direction, almost as if she were ready to start a fight at the slightest provocation. “What – did – you – just – say?!” she hissed threateningly.

Silver Spoon didn't reply. If she was scared of admitting her feelings before, she was now utterly terrified, and her only response was to silently pray for a way out. At that moment, almost as if in answer to her plea, the school bell rang, and the other fillies and colts began filing into the schoolhouse. Not wishing to create a scene unnecessarily, Diamond Tiara shot Silver Spoon a warning leer that seemed to say “We're not finished yet” before making her way over to her seat.

The atmosphere between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon during the next two lessons was rather unsettling to say the least. Few of the other students paid any mind to the cold silence of the former; they were used to seeing her in a sulk after she had been taken down a peg or two, not least because such occurrences had become rather more frequent of late. Some did notice a look of anxiety on Silver Spoon's face, but they didn't think much of it either – though it might have been better if they had.

It was during lunch break that the storm finally broke. Silver Spoon had tried to sneak round the back of the schoolhouse in a bid to escape Diamond Tiara's wrath, but didn't get very far before she heard the irate filly's voice immediately behind her.

“Okay, Silver Spoon,” demanded Diamond Tiara sharply, “what was all that about?!”

Silver Spoon didn't dare to look at her. “Uh...I don't follow,” she stammered meekly.

“You know fine well what I'm talking about!” snapped Diamond Tiara. “After Loco came and ruined our fun with that feather brain, you said you wanted me to be a fillyfooler!”

“Uh...I can explain...”

“Are you trying to tell me you have a problem with who I am?! That I'm not allowed to choose whether I prefer mares or stallions?! And give me one good reason why I'd ever wanna turn lesbian!”

The sound of Silver Spoon's heart breaking was almost audible. Her mother was right, she thought – Diamond Tiara wasn't ready for such a relationship, and going by what she had just heard, she probably never would be. “Diamond, please...” she began, trying to calm the pink-furred filly by resting a hoof on her shoulder.

But this only added fuel to Diamond Tiara's fire. Without warning, she lost control of herself and punched Silver Spoon hard in the cheek, knocking off her glasses as she did so. “KEEP YOUR HOOVES OFF ME, YOU DISGUSTING CREEP!” she screamed out loud.

“DIAMOND TIARA!! CUT THAT OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”

Startled, the pink filly spun around just in time to notice an unusually angry Cheerilee marching firmly towards her and Silver Spoon, while a flabbergasted Locomotion stood near the doorway and stared upon them in utter disbelief. Diamond Tiara glared back at him accusingly; but deep down, her wrath was overshadowed by a feeling of dread and confusion which spoilt her stoic façade with ease, and she mentally prepared herself for the inevitable.

“Inside at once!” ordered Cheerilee, pointing back towards the schoolhouse. With little more response than a blunt nod, Diamond Tiara did as she was told, while the cerise-coated mare followed closely. “And Locomotion...”

“Uh...yes, Miss Cheerilee?” stuttered Locomotion, caught completely off guard.

“Take Silver Spoon to see the nurse.”

Needless to say, Locomotion was still confused by the whole affair, and for a while, he could do little more than stand where he was and continue to stare upon Silver Spoon, who was now curled up into a ball and crying her heart and soul out. This was a whole new low for Diamond Tiara – not only had she attempted to smash the self-esteem of one of his friends, but she had also lashed out at the only one she had ever had thus far! How could she have been so...heartless?!

The more he thought about it, the more he began to feel sorry for the grey-furred filly. Up till now, all he had seen in her was a half-baked replica of Diamond Tiara in a different shell, a mere yes-pony who simply tagged along regardless of the pink-furred filly's behaviour – yet now, right before his very eyes, she had been reduced to a wailing, shuddering, tear-stained and visibly heartbroken shadow of the Silver Spoon he used to know. Even after all that she had said and done to his friends, and in spite of her former association with the bane of his and his friends' lives, it nevertheless pained his heart to see her suffering so badly after such a messy break-up.

At last, he could no longer hold it against her. “Oh well,” he murmured to nopony in particular, “needs must, I suppose,” and he trotted over to the sobbing, trembling heap who used to call herself Diamond Tiara's best friend. “Come on, Silver Spoon, let's get you cleaned up.”

Still brimming with tears, Silver Spoon gingerly lifted her head from her front legs and gazed plaintively upon the red-furred railway enthusiast. For the first time since he and his family had come to Ponyville, there was a look of genuine sympathy in his eyes as he gingerly and wordlessly helped her back to her hooves. Touched by his somewhat unexpected forgiveness, she gave him a small, grateful smile in reply, which was met by a more modest look that seemed to say, “Don't mention it”. Then, one cautious, measured step after the other, with Locomotion allowing Silver Spoon to lean against him for physical and emotional support, the two of them made their way over to the nurse's office.

Chapter 3: Expulsion

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“...seems awfully quiet around here right now,” mused Lickety-Split.

Pipsqueak gave him a wry half-smile. “Careful,” he cautioned. “The moment anypony says things are quiet, Diamond Tiara usually comes and winds us up.”

“Well, that's just it, Pip,” replied Lickety-Split, noticeably perplexed. “I haven't heard a peep out of either of them since this morning.”

“Ain't ya?” The mottled Earth colt raised an eyebrow. “That's weird.”

“So what?” muttered Button Mash, who was too focussed on his Joyboy to take any notice. “If it means I can save the Humgonians before lunch break is over, I don't even care.”

“Meh...I suppose so,” agreed Pipsqueak thoughtfully. “Ah well, I guess I'd better go see how what Dinky's up to. See ya later, guys.”

“So long, Pip,” said Lickety-Split, and turned his attention back to his lunch. Barely a few seconds went by before a bewildered Shady Daze came ambling up to their bench. “What's up, Shady?”

“Would you get a load of that?!” remarked Shady Daze in a tone that sounded both shocked and amused at the same time. “I don't think I've ever seen Miss Cheerilee look so honked off!”

Lickety-Split cocked his head in confusion. “Get a load of what?” he asked. “I don't get what you're on about.”

“I heard shouting from inside the schoolhouse while I was having lunch,” explained Shady Daze. “When I looked inside, I could see Miss Cheerilee talking to Diamond Tiara about something – couldn't make out a word of what she was saying, but whatever it was, it must have been real bad. You wouldn't believe how angry she looked!”

“Let me guess – something to do with her and Silver Spoon taking the mickey out of Featherweight?”

“Not quite.” Locomotion approached the group with a grave look on his face. “I mean, yeah, I'd already spoken to her about it, but I'd say it's more to do with Diamond Tiara punching Silver Spoon in the face.”

Shady Daze and Lickety-Split shot him a thunderstruck double-take, and even Button Mash was so startled by what Locomotion had just said that he completely forgot about the game he was playing.

“She did what?!” exclaimed Lickety-Split, stunned.

“Diamond Tiara punching Silver Spoon in the face?!” repeated Shady Daze. “Have you gone loco, Loco?!”

“Depends on how you interpret my name, I guess,” replied Locomotion in deadpan. “But no, I'm serious.”

“But...those two are like best friends!” objected Button Mash. “Why would Diamond Tiara hurt Silver Spoon like that?!”

Locomotion paused, turning his gaze back towards the schoolhouse. “I don't know, but one thing's for sure – Silver Spoon's gonna have a hard time getting over it,” he said unhappily. “She's physically okay apart from a nasty bruise on the cheek, but she couldn't seem to stop crying even after I'd brought her to see the nurse, so she's been sent home to recuperate.”

“What about Diamond Tiara?”

“Ah, who cares?!” scoffed Shady Daze. “So long as she gets what she deserves, then I don't give a toss about what happens to her! Imagine talking to Featherweight like that! Why, if I was in his horseshoes, I'd...”

“Well, now you come to mention it,” interrupted Locomotion, “I did catch a glimpse of her storming away from the schoolhouse as I was leaving the nurse's office. My guess is she's either gotten into a huff and legged it – or,” he finished, his eyebrows straightening, “she's been expelled.”

“Wouldn't surprise me either way,” quipped Lickety-Split. “She's had it coming her way for years. Even I've tried getting her to change her ways once or twice, but all she ever did was laugh it off.”

“Serves her right if you ask me,” muttered Locomotion darkly.

As it turned out, Locomotion was quite right about Diamond Tiara. When lunch break was over and it was time for the next lesson, the first thing everypony else noticed was that neither she nor Silver Spoon were anywhere to be seen. Furthermore, when Cheerilee called the register, the whole class was taken aback when she made no mention of either filly's name.

“Now, class,” began Cheerilee, standing up and making her way to the blackboard, “for today's history lesson, we will be picking up where we left off with the Great Griffin War.”

At last, Lickety-Split could no longer contain himself. He raised a hoof in the hope of gaining Cheerilee's attention.

“Yes, Lickety-Split?”

“I hope you don't mind my asking, Miss Cheerilee,” ventured Lickety-Split innocently, “but where have Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon gone?”

Cheerilee sighed wearily. Clearly she had been hoping to avoid the subject. “Well, I suppose it's only fair that you should all know,” she said gravely. “Just after lunch break had started, Locomotion had been telling me that both of them had been putting Featherweight down for his stature, and when I came outside to speak with them, I caught Diamond Tiara picking a fight with Silver Spoon – why, I don't yet know, but I regret to inform you all that Diamond Tiara will no longer be attending this school.”

This came as both a surprise and a relief to the whole class. They had never known Diamond Tiara to be so vicious with Silver Spoon, but at least they wouldn't have to put up with her anymore.

Locomotion suppressed a smirk. “Good riddance,” he muttered under his breath.

“And Silver Spoon?”

“She was in a bit of a state, so I've let her off the hook and sent her home,” Cheerilee clarified. “I'm hoping she'll be in better spirits by Monday, but we'll just have to wait and see.”

Lickety-Split smiled wryly. “I understand, Miss Cheerilee.”

“Anyway, getting back to the lesson – today, we will be studying the roles that railways played during the Great Griffin War. Now, can anypony tell me the first task they fulfilled after the declaration of war with Griffonia?”

Almost at once, Locomotion forgot all about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and enthusiastically raised a hoof.

“Yes, Locomotion?”

“The evacuation of all fillies and colts from heavily populated areas such as Canterlot, Baltimare and Manehattan, otherwise known as Operation Playschool,” explained Locomotion knowingly. “The Equestrian government also sanctioned the construction of several armoured trains to patrol the border between this country and Griffonia so as to suppress the threat of invasion.”

“Exactly,” affirmed Cheerilee, and proceeded to elaborate on the brief summary that Locomotion had given her; “When war was declared, the railways put on more than a thousand special trains for the movement of foals, mothers and teachers...”

Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara was receiving a lecture of her own – and unlike Locomotion, she wasn't enjoying it one bit. To say she had been sore at Cheerilee for suspending her would have been putting it rather mildly; throughout the journey back to the mansion in which she lived, all she could think of was how badly she wanted revenge not just on her teacher, but on that train-mad snitch who had dared to grass on her about Featherweight. If she had her way, she would have had her father sue the school, and Locomotion would have been made to suffer.

But as was often the case with Diamond Tiara, she didn't get her way. Cheerilee had already telegraphed Filthy Rich about her unruly behaviour, and naturally he wasn't the least bit pleased with his daughter. When she returned home, the first thing he did was to accost her into the study, where he spoke severely to her about her actions.

“I don't reckon I need to emphasise how disappointed I am in you, Diamond Tiara,” he scolded. “Your behaviour over the last few months had been atrocious, even by your own standards, and on top of all that, I hear you've assaulted your own friend in front of the whole school! I don't know what angers me more – that you refuse to improve your behaviour, or how horribly you treated Featherweight and Silver Spoon today.”

“It was Silver Spoon who started it!” protested Diamond Tiara. “She said she wanted...”

“I don't care what Silver Spoon had done or said to upset you!” snapped Filthy Rich. “You had no right to start getting physically violent with anypony, and you know it. You've already given yourself and my Barnyard Bargains firm a bad name with your attitude, and I'm not letting you make it any worse by picking fights. That's why I'm sending you away to a boarding school in Manehattan – hopefully that ought to teach you a bit of courtesy.”

Diamond Tiara looked horrified. “What?! But Dad...”

“No buts!” ordered Filthy Rich firmly. “You've crossed the line once too often, young lady, and there's no way I'm going to bail you out of this one! You're off to Manehattan, and that's final!” He turned on his fetlock and sternly walked out of the study.

Diamond Tiara was left staring at the doorway in disbelief. Surely this couldn't be happening to her, she tried to convince herself – no way would her father send her away just because some stupid fillies and colts had gotten on the wrong side of her. As far as she was concerned, the ones who should really be paying for all this were that goody-goody Locomotion and that grey fillyfooler who no longer qualified as her friend, and yet here she was being told that she was being sent to some boarding school far away from home. It wasn't as if she deserved any of this in the first place!

“Stupid ponies! Stupid Ponyville!” she groused bitterly. “I never wanted to live here anyway!” and she stomped huffily away, still griping over her “wrongs”. So perhaps she had been disgraced by some worthless lowlifes, she thought, but so what if she was being sent packing? What did Ponyville have that Manehattan didn't?

Brass Burnish stepped back from the display cabinet, allowing herself a few moments to admire the hard work she had put into her latest creation – a smart new silver gravy boat in the shape of a Bitalian gondola. As a well-known tableware purveyor to the aristocracy, she took great pride in her metalworking skills, and over the years had built up a small collection of bespoke silverware, from plates and goblets to knifes and forks. Many of them had simply been made for her own pleasure, since she viewed her work as much a hobby as a profession, but her collection also included a number of prototypes intended for batch production.

“Not a bad day's work if I do say so myself,” she thought aloud; but her reverie was promptly broken by a knock at the front door. Confused, she went to see who it was.

It came as even more of a surprise when she noticed Parcel Post, one of the local mailponies, standing outside with an envelope in his hoof. “Telegram for you, Mrs Burnish,” he announced. “From the school.”

“Oh...uh, thanks,” replied Brass Burnish, still looking bewildered as she accepted the envelope. Why would the school be telegraphing her, she wondered? Was there some special field trip coming up? Had Silver Spoon put another hoof out of line? Was she...sick? With a look of grave apprehension, she ripped open the envelope and began to read – but what she found inside came as such a shock that she almost shrieked with anguish:

Brass Burnish

Silver Spoon injured during lunch. Diamond Tiara hit her. Have sent her home to recover.

Cheerilee

Understandably alarmed by the bombshell with which she had been presented, the goldenrod mare dropped the telegram and galloped out into the street, nearly knocking Parcel Post off his hooves as she barged past him. To think that her own daughter had been willingly hurt by a filly who had been friends with her for so long! She had already seen it coming for some time, but it did little to suppress the pain she felt from her daughter being betrayed in such a cruel manner. She could only imagine how the poor soul must be feeling right now.

Eventually, Brass Burnish found Silver Spoon plodding sadly down a sidestreet not too far from the town centre. The grey filly's cheek was badly bruised with signs of mild swelling, and there were several scratches on her glasses. All told, she looked a right mess.

“Silver Spoon!” gasped Brass Burnish in dismay. “What happened to you?”

Silver Spoon stared miserably at her hooves. “She knows my secret.”

“Who does?”

“Diamond Tiara,” replied Silver Spoon, trying to hold back her tears. “I accidentally let slip of my crush during recess, and at lunch, she...she just...” but she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence before her floodgates finally burst open, and her mother instinctively wrapped her hooves around the sobbing filly as she cried into her shoulder. They remained that way for what felt like an age, and neither pony said a word until at last Silver Spoon resurfaced for air. “I can't believe I've lost my only real friend. Why did I have to throw open my big mouth?” she faltered.

“There, there, my little pony,” soothed Brass Burnish, wiping the tears away from her daughter's eyes. “It's not the end of the world. Diamond Tiara may not like you anymore, but there are plenty of other fillies and colts out there who might.”

“Not after the way we've treated them,” lamented Silver Spoon pessimistically. “All anypony talks about these days is what a royal pain we are – and they'd be right too.”

Brass Burnish smiled softly. “It's not too late to make amends with them, you know,” she answered. “The thing about Diamond Tiara is that...well, she's shallow. The only reason she ever wanted anything to do with you is because you come from a rich family just like her, and she probably didn't care what you were on the inside.”

Silver Spoon didn't say anything, but nodded morosely in reply. What a fool she was to have overlooked that in the past, she thought bitterly.

“Now, real friends,” went on Brass Burnish wisely, “like each other not for what they are – not their appearance, not their mannerisms, not even their Cutie Marks – but for their true colours. You too can become a really good friend to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, for example, but in order for that to happen, it's important to just be yourself. Do you see where I'm coming from?”

There was a brief pause before Silver Spoon nodded again. “Yes, Mom...I think I do,” she conceded. “I guess you're right – there's no way I'm going to get over this until I've at least apologised to the blank...uh, Crusaders.”

Gladdened that her daughter was starting to see the error of her ways, Brass Burnish gave her a warm smile and patted her shoulder. “That's my girl,” she encouraged. “Now, what say we go out to dinner at your favourite restaurant tonight?”

“Can we?” Silver Spoon's eyes lit up for the first time since her earlier scrape. “Oh, yes please, Mom!”

Brass Burnish chuckled. “I thought that might cheer you up. Come on then, my filly – let's get you home for a nice hot bath.”

Chapter 4: Making Amends

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All in all, Locomotion's day had been fairly pleasant apart from having to deal with Diamond Tiara's insults towards Featherweight, not to mention her lashing out at Silver Spoon. After school was finished, he had gone home for a bite to eat before heading out to Ponyville MPD, where he spent the rest of the afternoon helping to prepare some of the depot's engines for their evening trains. The last job of his brief shift (with all his schoolwork, the longest he could normally manage was four hours a day) was helping his uncle Steamer put “City of Cloudsdale” away for the night after working the Bridleway Limited, and once that was done, the two ponies decided to treat themselves to a meal out.

Their venue that evening was the Fontana di Cristallo, a Bitalian restaurant not too far from Sugarcube Corner. Though Locomotion was an absolute slave to Chineighse and Elephandian food, he was nevertheless fond of a good pasta dish every so often, and enjoyed the atmosphere that the Fontana had to offer – indeed, it was the sort of smart, almost posh environ that made it Silver Spoon's favourite out of all the eateries in Ponyville. Even so, the last thing Locomotion expected when he and Steamer entered the restaurant, given what had transpired earlier, was the grey filly sitting near the window with both her parents.

“Weird,” he murmured to himself. “I didn't think she'd have the strength for a night out after all that.”

“What's that, Loco?” asked his uncle, confused.

Locomotion paused. He didn't want to intrude on Silver Spoon unnecessarily, but the earlier scuffle between her and Diamond Tiara was still bugging him, and part of him wanted so badly to go and ask what she had done to provoke her. After a minute or so, he came to a firm decision – whatever had transpired between those two had obviously left Silver Spoon's feelings very badly hurt, and if she was to get over it, he needed answers.

“Hope you'll excuse me, Uncle Steamer, there's something I need to take care of,” he said, and trotted over to Silver Spoon's table.

The grey filly was in the middle of reading through the menu, so she didn't notice Locomotion approaching until he politely cleared his throat. When at last she did, she wasn't sure whether to feel pleased or disheartened, but tried not to look too uneasy. “Oh, hi, Loco,” she greeted in an absent-minded tone.

“Hey, Silver Spoon,” replied Locomotion. “Evening, Sovereign, Brass Burnish.”

“Good evening, Loco,” said Brass Burnish cheerfully. “Everything going well down at the train sheds?”

“You mean the motive power depot,” chuckled Locomotion. “And yeah, it's all good – engines have been in good repair, trains are running to time, yard pilot's been kept busy and...stuff.”

“That's good to hear.”

Locomotion smiled and nodded. How ironic, he thought, that he was on good terms with Sovereign and Brass Burnish even though he and their daughter had never truly seen eye to eye. But the mirth he felt was swiftly brushed aside as he remembered the real reason he had come to talk to them. “Yeah, anyway,” he went on, “Silver Spoon......uh...you feeling any better after what happened at lunchtime?”

Silver Spoon was secretly a little taken aback. This was the first time Locomotion had ever shown her any genuine concern. “Uh...who wants to know?” was all she could bring herself to say.

“Well...I don't mean to start getting all intrusive or whatever, but that was the first time I'd ever seen Diamond Tiara treat you the way she did,” explained Locomotion gravely. “I can see you might be...like, really upset at losing a friend, but what I can't understand is why would she would lash out at you of all ponies?”

Silver Spoon hung her head gloomily. “You'll only laugh if I tell you,” she muttered.

“I won't if it's serious,” insisted Locomotion. “In fact, if it makes you feel any better, I'll Pinkie Promise not to even smirk.”

“You...huh?” The grey filly gave him an odd look. “Loco, why are you being so...sensitive of my feelings? It's not as if I've done anything to deserve it.”

“Why else?” the young railway enthusiast retorted. “You're having a hard time dealing with...whatever it was that had set Diamond Tiara on an edge – okay, you might not have been one of my favourite ponies in the past,” he added hastily, “but as I see it, any target of Diamond Tiara's is a friend of mine, and there's no way I'm making an exception this time round.”

“You...you really mean it?”

Locomotion nodded firmly. “After seeing how badly she treated you, it'd be stupid not to at least lend a listening ear.”

“Well...okay.” Silver Spoon took a deep breath and began to tell Locomotion the whole story. She told him all about the rumours that had been spreading about her and Diamond Tiara, that she secretly harboured a crush on her just as had been speculated, and how she had let slip of her feelings after they had been berated for tormenting Featherweight.

Needless to say, Locomotion was flabbergasted to know just how close his supposed “exaggeration” had come to the truth, but he couldn't help feeling a little guilty as well. Could it really be that Silver Spoon's feelings were one-sided, he asked himself? Or had Diamond Tiara simply been angered by his harsh words from earlier and ended up talking out of turn without realising it? He wasn't sure, but knowing that selfish prude as he did, it seemed to him that the former was more likely.

“Well that was...unexpected,” he remarked once she had finished.

A small tear welled up in Silver Spoon's eye. “Me being dumped by her was the worst thing I've ever been through,” she sobbed. “That filly meant so much to me, and now I find she doesn't like me back – all because I've let her know I'm a fillyfooler and that I...”

“Silver Spoon, please don't use that word!” interrupted Locomotion, visibly disturbed. “That's the most homophobic term anypony can use for mares like you, and you know I don't approve of that sort of thing.”

“Oh...sorry, Loco,” murmured Silver Spoon meekly. “It's just...I never realised how much it might rub some ponies up the wrong way. I guess it must be because Mom uses it all the time.”

Brass Burnish smiled ruefully as an exasperated sigh escaped the red-furred unicorn's lips. “It's true alright. I know it's a terrible thing to call anypony, and especially my own daughter, but it's become a bit of a habit in mine and Sovereign's case,” she admitted. “That said, we do still try not to use that word in public.”

Locomotion shrugged. “Well, that's alright then...I guess.”

“But yeah, I really wish I could go back and change everything,” finished Silver Spoon sadly. “I'd even change the way Diamond Tiara looks at you guys if I could.”

“What, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Locomotion could hardly believe his ears.

“Yeah...even them,” sniffed Silver Spoon remorsefully. “I never wanted to hurt them – I just didn't feel I had a choice. Either I became a bully or I lost a friend, and I didn't want to lose the only friend I'd ever had.”

Locomotion chuckled wryly and rested a hoof on hers. “Well, that's hardly what I'd call a sensible choice, but it's good to see that you're willing to put all that right,” he said softly. “In fact, I'll gladly give you a shoulder to cry on should you need it – maybe even help you make amends with all my friends if you want.”

Silver Spoon was deeply touched by Locomotion's kind words, and raised a hoof to her heart as she directed him a tearful smile. “Thanks, Loco,” she whispered. “I guess I really needed that.”

“That was really sweet of you to offer,” chimed in Brass Burnish.

“Ah, that's alright,” smiled Locomotion modestly. “Anyway, I'd better leave you to your dinner and get back to mine. See you later, Silver Spoon.”

“So long, Loco,” replied Silver Spoon. “And thanks for helping me earlier.”

“No problem. Hope you enjoy your evening.”

Silver Spoon did indeed enjoy her evening, even if not enough to forget all her troubles. After dinner, she and her parents went to see a play based on the life story of Nightingale, a Pegasus princess who, many centuries ago, had forged Equestria's alliance with Saddle Arabia by falling in love with a camel dignitary from that nation. The grey filly had studied that play once before, but she was still intrigued by how well two completely different creatures had managed to make their relationship work, even if it was forbidden in those days. And to think – if Diamond Tiara had been here, she would have readily agreed with the antagonists!

But her contentment couldn't last. It held itself together long enough for her to reach home and get to bed without worrying her parents, but after that it quickly wore off, and within half an hour, she was awake again and sobbing softly into her plush pillows. Perhaps it was lucky for her, then, that the following day was a Saturday, so there would be no school to stress her out even further.

Added to that, Locomotion had remained true to his word and elected to look in on Silver Spoon before going to Ponyville MPD. He knew she had probably had a rough night in spite of being treated to dinner at the Fontana di Cristallo, but it still came as a surprise when she emerged from the house looking rather scruffy. Her mane was in the same old braids she usually sported, but it didn't look all that well brushed, and she still wore the same pair of badly scratched glasses as the previous day.

“Uh...morning, Silver Spoon,” stammered Locomotion, taken aback by her dishevelled appearance. “Feeling better?”

“Well...yes and no,” admitted Silver Spoon uneasily. “I'm kinda glad you actually want to help me and all, but I'm....I still can't seem to get over Diamond Tiara.”

Locomotion was hard-pressed to avoid rolling his eyes dramatically. Surely even Silver Spoon couldn't still be obsessing over that brat after what she had done to her? “Come on, Silver Spoon, you can do better than her,” he soothed. “I mean, if she decides to change her ways like you are now, then fair enough; but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Best thing anypony can do under the circumstances is move on.”

“Maybe,” sighed Silver Spoon, “but I'm still a little...nervous, if I'm honest.”

“Nervous?” Locomotion cocked his head. “What about?”

“You know how I said I wanted to make amends with the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“Yeah?”

“Well...I'm kinda scared they might not want to know,” explained Silver Spoon unhappily. “It's all very well me waltzing in and begging for mercy, but what if they don't forgive me? What's to stop them from kicking me out of the clubhouse the moment I set hoof in there?”

Locomotion couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. “Blimey!” he quipped. “This coming from one of the three fillies who hijacked it back when Babs first visited Ponyville? I'm surprised with you.”

Silver Spoon glared at him. “I thought you were supposed to be helping me, not rubbing it in!” she protested.

“Ah...er, sorry about that, Silver,” grinned Locomotion ruefully. “But seriously, you're getting a bit too worked up too soon. Okay, so you may not exactly be welcome in there, especially after the last time you paid the place a visit,” he went on, “but if I know Dinky, Sweetie-Belle and Tootsie Flute, they'll at least be happy to give you the benefit of the doubt once you've told them about yesterday.”

“And the others?”

“Well...we'll just have to wait and see,” replied Locomotion. “Just as long as you act naturally – in other words, the way you truly are instead of what other ponies expect you to be – you'll at least have a small chance of winning back their respect.”

“If I ever had it to begin with,” murmured Silver Spoon anxiously.

“Well...I could always accompany you up to Sweet Apple Acres if you want. I'm supposed to be firing on the No. 904 Mixed Freight at eleven, but I'm sure I can make it there and back to Ponyville MPD in the time.” Locomotion checked the old Pennsylhaynia Railroad issue pocket-watch he had recently acquired at the Rainbow Falls Traders' Exchange. “Hmm...twenty past nine...yep, plenty of time. So how about it, Silver Spoon?”

“Um...” Silver Spoon pondered for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I could do with the company.”

“Right, well we'd better get our skates on then,” advised Locomotion as they began to make their way across town to the orchard, “or I might find myself messing up the timetable.”

“What, on a freight train?” asked Silver Spoon dubiously.

Locomotion nodded sagely. “It's not just the passenger runs that have to run to a timetable, you know. No matter what kind of train you run, if that one runs late or has to be cancelled or added in at the last minute, then it can disrupt all the others, and it usually takes several minutes – hours, even – before they can all get back to schedule. That's why they book specific intervals into the timetable known as 'paths', so that they've plenty of windows available in which to slot extra workings...”

Silver Spoon couldn't help but smile faintly as she listened to the red-furred unicorn's enthusiastic talk on railway operations. Never before had she given him a chance to impart his encyclopaedic knowledge of trains and railways upon her – but now that she had, the grey-furred filly found herself marvelling at the proverbial library through which she was being guided. Perhaps there was something to be said for “puffer-nutters” after all.

Chapter 5: Forging New Friendships

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Before long, the two ponies arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and began picking their way through the vast groves towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. Even now, Silver Spoon found the prospect of trying to make amends with the Crusaders more than a little daunting, and discreetly slackened her pace as she followed the red unicorn across the orchard.

“Come on, Silver Spoon,” coaxed Locomotion, a minor tone of impatience slipping into his voice as he slowed to let her catch up. “It's not that much further to the clubhouse.”

“I don't know about this, Loco,” murmured Silver Spoon, reluctantly picking up a little speed. “Supposing they still see me as a bully even after I own up?”

Locomotion snorted dismissively. Admittedly, even he was growing a little apprehensive himself, but he wasn't going to let a little thing like that stop Silver Spoon from making amends with the Crusaders. “No way is that going to happen, not so long as I'm around,” he asserted. “So what if you're one of their least favourite ponies right now? They're sure to change their tune once they see how hurt and sorry you are – and even if they don't, I'll still stick up for you.”

“What, and risk losing some of your own friends?”

“Let 'em forsake me!” retorted Locomotion. “If they don't like that I'm standing up for the likes of you, then that's their tough luck.” Just as he had finished his sentence, he looked up into the trees again and promptly came to a stop. “Uh-huh – right on target.”

Silver Spoon followed his gaze, and could only cringe with dread when she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse looming ahead. Now, it seemed, was her time to face the music...or was it, she wondered? Judging by the voices coming from inside the clubhouse, it sounded as if they were holding a lengthy conference about...something; but it plainly wasn't about Cutie Marks, and neither was it to do with Diamond Tiara. Curiosity got the better of her, and she quietly came in closer so as to hear them more clearly.

“That sure was a great story, Tootsie Flute.” Silver Spoon clearly recognised that voice as Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, it's good that those two managed to work it all out.” Rumble, by the sound of it.

“The point is, Apple Bloom,” explained Tootsie Flute, “if Mom and Mother could work around their differences and enjoy a happy marriage, there's every chance that you and Featherweight will be able to do the same with your relationship. Yes, certain issues have a habit of getting in the way at the best of times, but it's how you feel about him that counts.”

At the mention of Featherweight's name, Silver Spoon felt a sudden pang of guilt at having rubbed the off-white Pegasus colt the wrong way, followed by an ominous heartache as she recalled what had happened immediately afterwards. Her eyes began to flood with tears, and she choked back a small sob. Seeing the state she was in, Locomotion rested a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and gave her a small, sympathetic smile.

“Ah guess yo' right, Tootsie. Perhaps it was wrong o' me ta ignore Featherweight a' this time. But Ah'm gonna go make it up to 'im. If Chip Mint wants Cotton Cloudy as 'is fillyfriend, then let 'im, say Ah!”

Locomotion quickly realised that Silver Spoon's chance of apologising to all the Crusaders at once was rapidly slipping through. “Go on, Silver Spoon,” he urged.

But the grey-furred filly didn't move a muscle. “I...I can't,” she wept.

“You said you wanted to make it up to them.”

“Well...yeah, kinda, but...”

“Then go make it up to them,” and before Silver Spoon could protest any further, Locomotion hurriedly levitated her over to the gangplank leading into the clubhouse just as Apple Bloom was making her way out. The grey filly took one look at the yellow-furred blank-flank, and plaintively looked back to Locomotion for help; but the red-furred unicorn simply motioned for her to carry on. With a heavy sigh and her head hanging low, she quietly accepted her fate and began making her way up the gangplank.

“Yeah, and if I didn't know any better,” said another voice from within the clubhouse, which she instantly recognised as Pipsqueak, “I'd say it's already about to tell us something even worse.”

Silver Spoon didn't know who or what he meant by “it”, but plainly the “something even worse” must have been her. Almost at once, all fell silent as the Crusaders stopped what they were doing, and she could feel more than a dozen eyes gazing down upon her. “Silver Spoon?!” they all exclaimed at once.

Apple Bloom, who had stopped halfway down the gangplank, shot the grey filly a dirty look. “What are y'all doin' ere?!” she demanded, barring her way. “Shouldn't ya be out with Diamond Tiara tryin' ta find new ponies to insult?!”

Silver Spoon didn't reply. She just stared down at the gangplank, trying to fight back her tears.

“You've got some nerve, coming back here after Babs' first visit!” added Scootaloo coldly. “What are you up to now, trying to run us out and reclaim this place as an anti-blank-flank shrine?! Well, guess what,” she ranted on, not even bothering to wait for an answer, “there's more of us Crusaders than there are of you snobs, so you might as well throw in the white flag and buzz off while you still can!”

“Yeah, go back to Loser Town where you belong!” put in Tornado Bolt fiercely.

Locomotion slapped a hoof to his face. So much for that gentle nudge! “Now just a minute, you three!” he snapped as he marched up to the gangplank. “That was totally uncalled for!”

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Tornado Bolt stared in confusion. Surely they hadn't heard him right...had they?

“I know you guys have had no end of trouble with Silver Spoon in the past, but she's not here to besiege the clubhouse or anything like that,” went on Locomotion sternly. “She actually has something really sensitive that she needs to tell you Crusaders.”

At that moment, Sweetie-Belle and Dinky emerged from the clubhouse looking most dismayed. “What's wrong, Silver Spoon?” asked Dinky anxiously. “You look like you've found a bit and lost a fortune.”

“I'll say,” agreed Tootsie Flute. “Did something bad happen?”

“Wouldn't surprise me,” huffed Tornado Bolt. “The way she treats us, she deserves it.”

Locomotion glared at her. “You're no better, to hear you talk. Now shut up and let Silver Spoon speak!”

“So yeah, what happened?” ventured Sweetie-Belle as all eleven of them made their way back into the clubhouse.

Silver Spoon told them all about what had happened between her and Diamond Tiara the previous day, how she had been harbouring a crush on the pink-furred filly for so long, and how Locomotion had helped her find her hooves again once he had learned the whole story himself. The Crusaders were understandably baffled to hear that Diamond Tiara had actually had the nerve to hit her own friend on purpose, even though the reason behind it came as no surprise.

“So...let me get this straight – you befriended Diamond Tiara simply because you suck at trying to make friends properly?!” asked Pipsqueak, raising a dubious eyebrow.

“That's right,” affirmed Silver Spoon sadly.

“Seems a bit shallow, doesn't it?” muttered Scootaloo.

“Yeah, how could she call herself your friend if her only reason behind it was because you were both so rich?” added Noi.

Silver Spoon heaved a deep sigh. “It's my own fault,” she lamented. “I let her manipulate me into a heartless bully simply because she was the only friend I ever managed to make – aside from Babs, perhaps, but even that didn't last for very long. In fact, that's the whole reason I came here in the first place...”

“What is?” asked Sweetie-Belle, Dinky and Tootsie Flute in unison.

“...I wanted to apologise,” clarified Silver Spoon, shedding a few tears of shame. “You Crusaders have had it way harder than you deserved, and I'm truly, truly sorry.”

There was a long silence as the Cutie Mark Crusaders exchanged thoughtful glances. Rumble and Pipsqueak were still unsure what to make of the turn of events, and it was clear to see that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Tornado Bolt's attitudes towards Silver Spoon still left a lot to be desired.

At last, Sweetie-Belle spoke up. “It's okay, Silver Spoon,” she soothed. “Okay, so you might have been a thorn in our sides for Celestia knows how long, but as long as you're willing to mend your ways, then I for one am prepared to forgive you.”

“That makes two of us,” put in Tootsie Flute kindly. “Everypony deserves a second chance, I always say.”

“And me,” agreed Dinky.

“Yeah, if anypony's at fault here, it's Diamond Tiara,” Locomotion spoke up. “She took advantage of you, she corrupted your personality, she trampled on your heart when you let slip that you intended it for her – she's the one who should be paying for all this, not you.”

Silver Spoon paused and wiped her eyes as she took in their meaningful words. Just minutes ago, she had been expecting every single one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to laugh at her misfortune if they hadn't already decided to chew her out for all she had done to rile them – and yet at least three of them had been good enough to overlook her misdeeds and offer her the hoof of friendship. It was almost too good to be true. “So...even after all the horrible things I said and did...”

Tootsie Flute nodded. “There's nothing worse in life than not having any friends at all, even if they happen to be the, er...the 'wrong sort'. I don't know about these three,” she quipped, indicating towards Scootaloo, Tornado Bolt and Apple Bloom, “but me and Dinky and Sweetie-Belle will gladly start out fresh with you.”

The grey filly smiled warmly. “Thank you, girls,” she whispered. “I'd been hoping for that – I really had.”

“You're very welcome,” replied Sweetie-Belle, and drew Silver Spoon into a friendly hug.

Locomotion looked on with a small smile of his own. “Well, guys,” he asked the other Crusaders innocently, “still think of Silver Spoon as a heartless bully, do you?”

“Uh...no, now you come to mention it, I don't,” commented Pipsqueak. “Matter of fact, I never realised she was such a...lonely filly.”

“Me neither,” added Noi. “I always thought she was just winding us up for kicks like Diamond Tiara.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but that was still a stupid decision she had ta go an' make,” she griped.

“True,” put in Rumble wisely, “but personally, I think Tootsie Flute's right. She's apologised to us, so it's only fair we give her a second chance. It's what Mom would have wanted if she'd heard about all this.”

“Yeah, perhaps,” agreed Scootaloo grudgingly. “But if she messes this one up, then that's it – I'm not having anything else to do with her as long as I live.”

“That's fine by me, Scoot,” chuckled Locomotion. He then turned his attention to Silver Spoon; “There, you see, Silver,” he encouraged, “that wasn't so difficult now, was it?”

“Well...it was, kinda,” admitted Silver Spoon. “But whatever – I'm still glad I had you to help me see it through. Thank you, Loco. You're a true friend.”

Locomotion blushed modestly. “Yeah, well...what can I say?” he replied. “What's the use in calling yourself somepony else's friend if you don't help them in their hour of need?”

“And as your new ones, how about we all treat you to some quality time at Sugarcube Corner?” offered Sweetie-Belle.

Silver Spoon grinned broadly. “Yeah, I'd like that. Loco, you coming?”

“Sorry, Silver, no can-do,” confessed Locomotion gravely. “Like I said, I'm due on shed in...” He paused, levitating his watch up to his eye level. “Quarter after ten?! Oh, bonker, I've gotta go! See you round, Silver Spoon, everypony!” and he darted out of the clubhouse like a rabbit on a sugar rush.

Silver Spoon looked a little disappointed. “Oh...okay then,” she murmured.

“Never mind, Silver Spoon,” chuckled Tootsie Flute. “There'll be plenty of other opportunities for you to hang out with him. Besides, he does have his responsibilities after all.”

“Yeah, it's not like we're not used to him running off like that sometimes. So – we off to Sugarcube Corner then?” prompted Dinky cheerfully.

“We sure are,” affirmed Silver Spoon, cheering up a bit.

“Ah won't if ya don't mind,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah've still got mah own priorities ta fill.”

“As in...Featherweight?”

The yellow-furred farm filly blushed with embarrassment. “Eeyup – you got me,” she muttered meekly.

Silver Spoon giggled inwardly at Apple Bloom's uncharacteristic shyness. To think that she had been chasing after Chip Mint for so long when her heart was practically singing out for the scrawny young Foal Free Press editor! “You really do care for him, don't you?” she asked softly.

“Oh yeah? Wanna make somethin' of it?!” demanded Apple Bloom in a sullen tone.

“Maybe Diamond Tiara would, but I wouldn't. I know we teased you about it an awful lot, but...well, you may not believe this, Apple Bloom, but I was actually being dead serious in my own way,” replied Silver Spoon. “He really does feel for you, and he doesn't even care that you're a...that you still don't have a Cutie Mark – yet,” she went on, choosing her words carefully. “Every time I look into his eyes, I can see that all he cares for is who you are inside – something me and Diamond were too short-sighted to have done ourselves all these years.”

Apple Bloom was stunned. She had never expected Silver Spoon to be so positive and profound towards her, but even more incredible was that there was nothing in her expression to suggest she might be messing her around – no hidden smirk, no sarcasm, no self-important tones – just a plain, sincere smile of encouragement. In spite of all her past experiences with the grey filly, it was becoming increasingly clear not just to her, but to everypony in the clubhouse, that the old Silver Spoon was rapidly dying out. At long last, she managed a small smile of her own. “Thanks, Silver,” she whispered. “Ah sure hope yo' right.”

“Well, of course I'm right!” laughed Silver Spoon heartily. “Now go win your stallion, Bloom!”

“You betcha Ah will!” and Apple Bloom cantered determinedly out of the clubhouse to find Featherweight. The rest of the Crusaders looked on, mouths agape at what had just transpired, while Silver Spoon just smiled and silently willed the yellow filly on.

The rest of the day went swimmingly for Silver Spoon. She found herself surprisingly mesmerised as the Crusaders chattered enthusiastically about their past adventures, and was equally surprised to find that Scootaloo and Rumble had gained their Cutie Marks at long last. Perhaps that stunt routine they had been talking about two days ago hadn't been so frivolous after all.

But there was just one small concern that rather perturbed her; “So...what happens now your Cutie Marks have appeared?” she asked anxiously.

“What do you mean?!” chortled Rumble. “The aim of this group is to help others find their special talents, not just to find our own. Blank-flanks or not, we're still Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“Yeah, Silver Spoon, why leave just because we've realised our destiny?” added Scootaloo. “That's the sort of thing Diamond Tiara would do!”

Silver Spoon could only agree; but deep down, she still couldn't help wondering what might have been if she had had the sense to try and change the pink-furred filly's ways.

Having finished at Sugarcube Corner, Silver Spoon and the Crusaders went to try their hooves at an animation workshop which was being held at the theatre, and spent a happy afternoon creating a stop-motion film about a donkey making friends with a changeling. This gave the grey filly ample opportunity to learn a little more about her new friends; Tootsie Flute, for example, was very adept at making origami flowers, and at one point confided to Silver Spoon that she hoped to become a florist one day, while Tornado Bolt had an impressive knack for modelling in plasticine, a skill that she had learned from Locomotion.

“Pity he doesn't do so much with plasticine nowadays,” she quipped. “He's, like, really good at it.”

Pipsqueak only laughed as he and Dinky began positioning the models ready for filming. “He still builds model trains from time to time, Bolt; why would he need to worry about plasticine?”

“He does still use it for faces,” observed Dinky, “but it's not really good for building working OO-scale trains. With him, it's better to use brass, plastic, tinplate or white-metal – but believe you me, the things he makes out of that stuff are amazing.”

Silver Spoon was most impressed. “And there I thought Mom was the only one with metalworking skills,” she murmured. “I probably ought to go have a look at his trains someday.”

Chapter 6: Off to Liberty Hall

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It was late in the evening when the Crusaders decided to call it a day and head home. No new Cutie Marks had appeared, but they had more than enjoyed making their film, and Silver Spoon was even happier that they had begun to see her for whom she truly was. Even Scootaloo no longer held a grudge against her.

Diamond Tiara, meanwhile, was in such a state of anger with Cheerilee, Locomotion, Silver Spoon and her own father that she never once left her room. She just sat and sulked all day, quietly griping about the supposed injustice she had been dealt, and how she would have loved to get back at them. Even at dinner, when Filthy Rich announced that he had enrolled her in the Liberty Hall Preparatory School over in Manehattan's East End, she refused to accept defeat – soon enough, she kept trying to persuade herself, those idiot foals and that biased teacher of hers would be made to pay up, she herself would be back in her father's good books, and then they could all get back to normal.

But they didn't get back to normal. When Locomotion returned the following day, the first thing he saw as he passed through the station was Filthy Rich and a disgruntled Diamond Tiara standing on the platform, waiting for the next eastbound train.

“Interesting,” he thought aloud. “Where could she off to?”

“Search me,” muttered his driver, bringing the goods train to a halt under the signal gantry. “Wouldn't surprise me if she's off to boarding school or summat. Maybe go and ask her old man once you've signed off?”

“Yeah, maybe,” mused Locomotion. He watched as the Second City Express, a train which ran from Canterlot to Manehattan, pulled up alongside the other platform. In that instant, his attention was distracted away from the pink-furred filly and her father by the engine pulling the train – it looked very similar in appearance to the City Class engines he usually saw on the express turns, but was longer and had an extra pair of driving wheels. The engine's red-backed brass name and number plates gave its identity away as No. 484P1, “Princess Celestia”, and its smart emerald-green paint sparkled in the sunlight. How wonderful it would be to ride behind such a huge and glamorous engine, he thought – that Diamond Tiara sure was lucky.

But the red-furred railway enthusiast promptly shook the erroneous thought from his head. Diamond Tiara was supposed to be an adversary, not a role model – why should he be envying her?! And more to the point, why was she even here? His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of whistling as the engine clanked ponderously out of the station, across the main line and into the goods yard with its heavy train crawling slowly along behind it. Quietly assuring himself that he would get his answer soon, he shrugged it off and got down to uncouple.

An hour later, and Locomotion had come to the end of his shift. With the locomotive safely stowed away in the sheds, the red-furred teenager signed himself off, left his hat and overalls in his locker, and went round to the other side of the yard to watch the goods train being shunted. He reached the footbridge across the main line just in time to see the Second City Express pulling out of the station.

“I wish that was me riding behind 'Celestia',” he murmured as he watched the train recede into the distance and disappear round the curve.

But his envious reverie was cut short as he stepped down onto the other side of the tracks and saw Filthy Rich plodding wearily away from the station building. He had a look of dismay and regret in his eyes, almost as if he had been double-crossed by his loyalest business-partner.

“Something up, Mr Rich?” asked Locomotion curiously.

“Hmm?” Filthy Rich looked up. “Oh...morning, Locomotion. How's your promotion to goods train firepony been treating you?”

“Pretty well, thanks. Hope you'll excuse my mentioning it, but things don't seem to be treating you very well at the moment,” replied the railway enthusiast, concerned.

Filthy Rich sighed unhappily. “Well, if what you saw in the schoolyard is anything to go by, no, it hasn't,” he admitted. “I really was hoping that Diamond Tiara would get her act together one day and stop mistreating you all; but I can see from what she did to Silver Spoon that she hasn't. I've rather reached the end of my tether with her – everything I've done to try and change her attitude seems to have little effect on her, and to top it all, she gets expelled and I have to send her to the Liberty Hall School in order for her to keep up with her education.”

“Yeah, pity, that,” sympathised Locomotion solemnly. To say he wasn't still annoyed with Diamond Tiara would be untrue; but ironically, he actually held a great respect for her father, and so he thought better of speaking his mind. “I'm really sorry about all this.”

“It's alright, Loco,” replied Filthy Rich, giving him a small smile and a friendly pat on the shoulder. “You did the right thing by owning up to her misdeeds. I couldn't possibly fault you for that.”

“Nah, I suppose not,” agreed Locomotion with a chuckle. “I spoke to Silver Spoon, by the way, and managed to help her make amends with the Crusaders. She should be okay by now...in theory, at least.”

“Oh, well that's something,” remarked Filthy Rich thankfully. His expression then turned solemn again, and another sigh followed, somewhat more drawn out. “I know this is a terrible thing to say, but she's been nothing short of troublesome right from the moment she got her Cutie Mark. It's times like this that I really wish I could have been a better father...”

“Hey, don't beat yourself up about it, Mr Rich,” interrupted Locomotion. “I'd say you've done a great job thus far – okay, she's probably stuck in my bad books forever, but at least you try. My parents have seen ponies who've become absolute doormats to their own foals. They give in to their every demand, make no real effort to raise them properly, and some even encourage unacceptable behaviour...” Including Diamond Tiara's mother, he thought darkly to himself. “...whereas you've been doing your level best to keep her in line. That takes a lot of gut.”

The brown business-pony smiled appreciatively. “Yeah, I guess it does. Still, it's just a shame it was all in vain.”

“Yeah, well...such is life. Anyway, I'm gonna go watch them shunt trucks for a bit, and then it's off to bed with me.”

“What, at ten in the morning?”

“Yeah, I've been out all night on that freight,” explained Locomotion, fighting off a yawn, “and I'm in serious need of sleep.”

“Okay then, Loco, I'll see you later,” chuckled Filthy Rich. “Thanks for talking to me, by the way.”

“Anytime, sir,” replied Locomotion, and trotted round to his favourite vantage point above the yard. Secretly, he couldn't help but let chortle at the irony of what he had just seen – after all Diamond Tiara had said and done to his friends, her father's punishment was none other than to send her off to where she would almost certainly fit in! Heck, as far as he was concerned, she had every reason to be smug about it...

Diamond Tiara was anything but smug when at last she arrived at Manehattan's Pennsylhaynia Station, where her father's cousin, a miserly money-lender, was waiting to meet her off the train and escort her to Liberty Hall. Other than a muttered greeting to the pink-furred filly, he barely spoke a word as they made their way through the crowded streets of the Big Apple, and didn't even bother to help carry her luggage. In fact, he barely seemed to notice her at all.

The city itself was quite different to what Diamond Tiara had expected. She had been to Canterlot once or twice before, but even the Equestrian capital could compare with the hustle and bustle of cosmopolitan Manehattan. Several times, she found herself bumping into strangers and nearly getting swept away in a crowd – and what really stung was that that lousy excuse for a relative of hers didn't seem to care whenever that. He just frowned disapprovingly and carried on, and the flustered filly had a job trying to keep up with him.

Dusk was already falling by the time they reached the vast, grandiose buildings that made up the Liberty Hall campus. His lamentable task having been completed, the relative had Diamond Tiara sign in at the reception desk before heading home and leaving her to her own devices. By now, Diamond Tiara was in a very sour temper. As if packing her off to a boarding school for no good reason was bad enough, she had had to spend the whole of the rest of the day contending with some grouchy second-cousin whom she barely even knew, and on top of that, he didn't even have the common decency to show her any respect! How was this fair?! Why should she be treated like some inferior peasant?! And how was it that nopony at the school could even be bothered to show her around?!

With an exasperated sigh, the pink-furred filly began to pick her way down the seemingly endless corridors, trying to seek out the dormitories. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't even seem to find a subtle hint as to where they might be. What she did find was an elderly-looking grey Earth stallion clad in a white shirt and a brown jacket, with a blue tie around his neck, a red question mark on each flank, and barely any mane or tail. By the looks of him, and the fact that he was busily mopping up the floor and picking up any rubbish, he had to be the school janitor – not exactly Diamond Tiara's first choice of pony to ask for directions, but better than nothing.

“Hey, mister,” she called out to him.

“Pardlo?” The janitor looked up, puzzled – but then his expression became somewhat more genial. “Ah, freshly meatload! Deep joy! Deep joy!” he exclaimed, holding out his hoof to shake with the newcomer.

But Diamond Tiara was so taken aback by the stallion's confusing choice of words that she barely even noticed. “Uh...yeah, whatever,” she muttered uncertainly. “Look, could you possibly tell me the way to the dormitories?”

“Ah, seeky direct-it, do we?” rambled the janitor. “Okay, so, triddlyhow along the hormone until out-y buildit, cross the pattyhold in deep shadyho of the statty Pegasoli, and upon the lefty rotatingmost, you'll see another build-it of simile to a Manehattery flabberblop. Through the dorm you go, huffy stairloders for thru level, and on the right for the fillyponage dormitrobers.”

If Diamond Tiara was puzzled earlier, she was now completely lost. She couldn't seem to make head or tail of what this seemingly crazy pony had just said. “Uh...triddle along the...what in the hay are you talking about?” she spluttered.

“That's the whereabode of the dormitrobers – D, O, R, M, dorm, dormitrobers, if you follow my meal. I'll show you the wold,” and the janitor motioned for the pink filly to follow him. Still confused, Diamond Tiara reluctantly trotted after him – down the corridor, out of the building, across a patio with a statue of a Pegasus standing proud in the centre, and into another building immediately to their left which looked like a block of flats. Once inside, the grey stallion led her up three flights of stairs before pointing her towards a door marked “FILLIES' DORMITORY, YEAR NINE.” “There you are, my dear childer. Now you go settery dowder; you'll want plenty sleevers for the classrobers in the early mordy. Cheerihocus.”

“Uh...yeah, sure.” Diamond Tiara watched as the janitor briskly trotted back down the stairs. She had seen plenty of weirdos in her life, but this had to be the craziest pony she had ever met in all her life. What she couldn't know was that this gibbering bottlewasher would soon be the least of her problems...

At first, Diamond Tiara expected the other students to share her attitude and be a bit more sympathetic towards her than her father and second-cousin, and that the teachers would easily accommodate her upper-class background and connections. But from the moment she walked into the dormitory for the first time, she gradually began to realise that this wasn't the case. None of the other fillies said anything as she entered the common room, but simply gazed warily upon her, and even when she tried to strike up conversation, they would just snort and turn their backs.

The following morning was chaotic to say the least. Diamond Tiara had a daunting time trying to find the cafeteria, and by the time she did, there was barely any time for breakfast. To make matters worse, the classroom where she would be attending her first lesson of the day was right on the other side of the campus, so she had to run for all her worth in order to get there on time – but sadly, it wasn't fast enough. When at last she reached the classroom, she found that the teacher had only just finished taking the register.

The teacher looked daggers at Diamond Tiara. “What time do you call this then?” she asked severely.

“Wasn't my fault,” panted Diamond Tiara indignantly. “If somepony had given me a map, this wouldn't have happened.”

“Excuses, excuses,” scoffed the teacher. “Next thing we know, a filly like you will be needing one to find your seat. Now go and sit down so we can begin the lesson.”

Diamond Tiara was appalled. How could anypony expect her to know her way around a place she had never been to before? And how dare that teacher speak to her in such a manner?! She was even more offended when the teacher didn't even bother to introduce her to the rest of the class; but it didn't seem to make much difference anyway, for the other students appeared to have already worked that out for themselves.

“Would you get a load of that?” one whispered as the pink-furred filly took her seat. “We've got some half-wit newbie in our midst!”

“Yeah, and not from around here either,” snickered another. “Sounds more sort of 'country' to me.”

“Guess that'd explain why she's taken five-million years to find this room,” mused the first. “Never trust a peasant girl in a place like Manehattan, that's what I say.”

“Peasant?!” burst out Diamond Tiara in shock and fury. “How dare you! Let me...”

“You there at the back, what's your name?!” The sound of the teacher's voice quickly cut her rant short.

“Diamond Tiara.”

The teacher didn't reply immediately, but muttered under her breath as she wrote something down. “Stay behind after the lesson, Diamond Tiara,” she ordered. “I'll be having words with you about this.”

“What?! But miss, those other ponies...”

“None of your lip!” snapped the teacher. “I won't have students picking arguments in the middle of a lecture! Now be quiet and listen!”

Diamond Tiara seethed with sullen rage. First the gibberish janitor, then students making fun of her, and now she was being reprimanded for trying to put them in their place! With a bitter scowl on her face, she sat and listened to the lecture, glaring back at the pitying looks of the other students and wondering how to pay them out.

“...so – are there any questions?”

Some of the other students enthusiastically raised their hooves, but the pink-furred filly simply gritted her teeth and glowered at her desk. “Yeah, I've got one,” she muttered under her breath. “What did I do to deserve all this?”

Things were no better at lunchtime. Once again, Diamond Tiara ended up getting lost on her way to the cafeteria, and when at last she did reach it, the two colts who had been talking behind her back earlier were loitering nearby with another colt and three fillies.

“Well, well, well, if it ain't the peasant filly again,” taunted the deep brown Earth colt, whose Cutie Mark resembled a currency that Diamond Tiara couldn't quite place. “What's the matter, babes – can't even find your way to some rotten cottage in the middle of a field?”

Diamond Tiara growled angrily as the six ponies burst into fits of laughter. “You dare call me a peasant?!” she snarled. “I'll have you know I'm from one of the richest families in Equestria!”

“Oh, are you? Well, if you're so rich, then how come all you're wearing is a silly imitation crown? I've got every accessory a filly could ever want,” boasted the mauve-coated unicorn filly, proudly showing off her sapphire earrings, her pearl necklace with a ruby pendant, her expensive-looking dress, and her beautifully painted hooves.

“Yeah, take that, Little Miss Pauper!” mocked the heliotrope unicorn colt by her side. “Richest in Equestria? More like richest in Peasantville!”

“That's Ponyville to you, and my name is Diamond Tiara!”

“Oh, Ponyville, is it?” laughed the brown one. “Well, that'd explain why you were so lame compared to us real city ponies. I must say, I feel so sorry for you, Diamond Tiara,” he went on, his voice heavy with irony as he spoke the pink filly's name in a condescending tone. “Here we've lived in Manehattan all our lives, and you don't even know what city life is like?” He slyly arched an eyebrow. “Maybe you should just go back to the country life where you belong.”

“Yeah, you tell her, Nick Shilling!” chimed in the carmine Pegasus filly.

Diamond Tiara's angry comeback was drowned out as the six ponies fell about laughing once again, and she stormed off with a frustrated growl. Why was it that nopony seemed to have any respect for her? Why couldn't those ponies accept her for who she was? Was this...how other ponies felt when she spoke to them in such a cruel and unfeeling manner?

Author's Notes:

For those of you who have no prior knowledge of Unwinese and are having trouble understanding, here are some rough translations:

“Pardlo?” The janitor looked up, puzzled – but then his expression became somewhat more genial. “Ah, freshly meatload! Deep joy! Deep joy!” he exclaimed, holding out his hoof to shake with the newcomer.

In plain English: "Pardon? Ah, fresh meat! Pleasure to meet you!"

“Ah, seeky direct-it, do we?” rambled the janitor. “Okay, so, triddlyhow along the hormone until out-y buildit, cross the pattyhold in deep shadyho of the statty Pegasoli, and upon the lefty rotatingmost, you'll see another buildit of simile to a Manehattery flabberblop. Through the dorm you go, huffy stairloders for thru level, and on the right for the fillyponage dormitrobers.”

This one has already been explained in the text, but to clarify for my lovely readers: "Ah, looking for directions, are we? Okay, so go along the hallway until you're outside, across the patio where the Pegasus statue stands, left turn, and you'll see a building like a block of flats. Then you go through the door, up the stairs for three levels, and the fillies' dormitories are on your right."

“That's the whereabode of the dormitrobers – D, O, R, M, dorm, dormitrobers, if you follow my meal. I'll show you the wold,” and the janitor motioned for the pink filly to follow him.

Translates as: "That's where the dormitories are - D, O, R, M, dormitories, if you follow my meaning. I'll take you there."

And finally 4:

“There you are, my dear childer. Now you go settery dowder; you'll want plenty sleevers for the classrobers in the early mordy. Cheerihocus.”

...which means: "There you are, my child. Now you go settle down; you'll want plenty of sleep for the morning classes. Cheerio."

Also, regarding Nick Shilling - the first part of his name is derived from "nicker", a British slang term for the pound sterling, and his Cutie Mark is literally a £ sign.

Chapter 7: Absence Makes The Heart Grow...Lonesome?

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The months passed. Back in Ponyville, life had improved enormously for Locomotion and the Cutie Mark Crusaders without Diamond Tiara antagonising them round the clock. Within a few weeks of her departure, more Cutie Marks began to appear among the group – only three days afterwards, Tornado Bolt gained a lightning-bolt-shaped tornado on each flank, signifying that she shared Rumble's talent for weather control; and Pipsqueak arrived at Sugarcube Corner a week later bearing a Cutie Mark consisting of a helm and compass.

The biggest surprise of all came in the first week of the following month, when Silver Spoon generously offered Tootsie Flute her assistance in arranging flowers at the Town Hall for a wedding. When they had finished, the two of them were amazed and delighted to find a single flower standing proud on each of the aqua-coated filly's flanks. At her cute-ceañera two days later, Tootsie Flute made a hearty speech expressing her gratitude towards the grey Earth pony for helping her find her true calling in life, and even Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had to agree that Silver Spoon had come a long way from the lackey she used to be. Not only was she being more sympathetic towards blank-flanks – she was actively helping them find their special talents.

But the feelings of heartbreak and regret still lingered in the grey filly's heart, and not even the presence of her new friends could sweep that aside. Five months later, she was hanging out in the schoolyard with Apple Bloom, Sweetie-Belle and Scootaloo, nibbling mournfully at her apple turnover while the three Crusaders chattered eagerly amongst themselves.

Sweetie-Belle looked up from her daisy sandwich, noticing the gloomy expression on their former enemy's face. “You alright, Silver Spoon?” she asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” mumbled Silver Spoon unhappily. “Just lost in my own world is all.”

“It's not Diamond Tiara again, is it?”

Silver Spoon groaned inwardly. Was she really that easy to read? “Um...to be honest, Scootaloo, yes it is,” she confessed glumly.

“Silver, you've gotta try and move on,” insisted Scootaloo gently. “If Diamond Tiara doesn't want to be your friend anymore, she doesn't want to be your friend anymore, and there's nothing we can do about it.”

The grey filly sighed and removed her glasses to wipe away a small tear. “I know,” she replied. “It's just so hard when your best friend turns around and forsakes you without warning. Surely you and Apple Bloom must have felt something similar after getting into that row over dating.”

Apple Bloom nodded thoughtfully. Angry though she may have been at Scootaloo for being so difficult, she couldn't deny that the Cutie Mark Crusaders felt rather lifeless and empty without her, and it had taken a huge weight off her chest when the orange-furred Pegasus heartily agreed to rejoin their ranks.

“True,” observed Scootaloo brightly, “but on the plus side, at least it brought me and Rumble together.”

“So?” retorted Apple Bloom.

“So there might be somepony out there who is to Silver Spoon what Rumble is to me.”

“Scoot, that somepony is already long gone,” objected Silver Spoon. “Diamond Tiara is the only one I ever had feelings for.”

Scootaloo lost patience. “Look, this is getting to be ridiculous!” she growled. “You're not gonna see her again, and even if you do, she probably won't even recognise you, let alone want to start out fresh!”

“Now, hang on, Scoot,” interrupted Apple Bloom firmly, “that's not necessarily true. Ah may not be a fan o' Diamond Tiara right now, but ya never know – five months away from 'er family an' home might've given 'er time ta properly think things through.” She paused impressively. Deep down, she didn't believe what she was saying any more than the others did, but she didn't have the heart to tell Silver Spoon. “Ah know this sounds crazy, but it might be that she's started ta see the error of her ways.”

“Fat chance!” huffed Scootaloo. “Once a bully, always a bully!”

Sweetie-Belle gasped in shock. “How could you?!” she burst out. “Here Silver Spoon is changing her ways, and you say she's still a bully?!”

“What?! No, I didn't mean that!” spluttered Scootaloo, trying to backpedal a little. “I meant Diamond Tiara, not her...”

“Scoot, Silver Spoon was a bully once, and she's already changed fo' the better!” interrupted Apple Bloom severely. “If such a thing is true of her, then why shouldn't there be a chance of that happenin' with Diamond Tiara?!”

“Because she's been nothing but mean to us even before she got her Cutie Mark!” blustered Scootaloo defensively. “At least with Silver Spoon we could tell she didn't actually mean it!”

“I know I've got every reason to hate her myself,” cut in Silver Spoon promptly, “but I still miss her. She was my whole world, and I'd give anything to try and reconcile with her.”

“You what?!” Scootaloo looked as if she could hardly believe her ears.

Apple Bloom was more supportive; “Well, if ya want, we can go an' pay 'er a visit at some point,” she suggested. “Maybe then y'all could try an' salvage yo' friendship.”

“And even if you can't,” offered Sweetie-Belle, “we'll be happy to give you a shoulder to cry on.”

The faintest hint of a hopeful smile registered on Silver Spoon's face. “You will?”

“You betcha!” said Apple Bloom. “Tell ya what – we've got half-term comin' up in a few days, so maybe we could go then. Have a sort'a Cutie Mark Crusader Convention an' help y'all out at the same time. What do ya think?”

“I think you're nuts!” interjected Scootaloo. “All of us venture up to Manehattan just so we can be tormented by that prissy prude again?! And why should Diamond Tiara want to listen to reason?!”

Apple Bloom smirked devilishly. “By way of our secret weapon...”

“...you wanna go over to Manehattan to see whom?!” Locomotion was even more stunned than Scootaloo when he heard of Apple Bloom's plan.

“That's what Ah said,” affirmed the yellow-furred filly. “Me an' Sweetie-Belle an' Silver Spoon 'ad been hopin' she might start ta change her tune a bit, so we thought we'd go an' visit 'er at...what was the name o' the school again?”

“Liberty Hall, so Mr Rich says,” replied Sweetie-Belle.

“Yeah, that.”

The red-furred railway enthusiast looked at them as if they had made complete fools of themselves. “Have you been taking too much soda or something?! This is Diamond Tiara we're talking about here; she'd never show remorse towards blank-flanks, even if some of you aren't!” he protested.

“We can do worse than give her the benefit of the doubt,” said Sweetie-Belle earnestly, “and besides, we won't be going alone. All the other Crusaders and some of our other friends will be joining us.”

“Exactly,” put in Apple Bloom slyly, “an' that includes you, Loco.”

“Me?!”

“Yeah, you!” said Scootaloo firmly. “We do need a mediator, and you're the only one other than her dad who can keep that girl in her place.”

Locomotion continued to stare in shock and confusion upon Silver Spoon and the Crusaders for what seemed like ages – but eventually his eyes narrowed and his mouth closed, replacing his horrified expression with a more deadpan one. “You crazy blighters,” he said in a sullen, condescending tone. “What makes you think I'm gonna have any part in this? You think I'm gonna go easy on her just because she's been absent for the best part of the last two terms?”

“Please, Loco,” pleaded Silver Spoon. “This is really important to me. This is...laugh if you must, but this is for love. Someday, you'll feel how I feel.”

“Oh, ha-ha,” muttered Locomotion dryly. “Look, I don't care what this is for – I'm not having anything to do with Diamond Tiara, and that's the end of it!”

But that was when Apple Bloom played her trump card; “Oh, so you wanna miss out on the National Railway Museum, do ya?”

“I can go see round that museum whenever I want,” retorted Locomotion huffily. “I don't need to go on some Cutie Mark Crusader field trip for that.”

“Not even if a certain new engine named after our resident princess is on display there?”

Locomotion shot Apple Bloom a startled double-take. “What?! As in...No. 484P3, 'Princess Twilight Sparkle?!”

“Yup! Ya don't wanna miss that, do ya?”

The red-furred teenager tried to think of a reason not to – there might be plenty of other opportunities to see the engine, or one of her sister engines might visit the museum one day or something – but he couldn't fight his inner urge to go and see the magnificent new machine up close, and at last he gave in. “Oh, alright then!” he said grudgingly. “I'll come along and mediate if that's what you want!”

“Thought you'd see it mah way,” replied a satisfied Apple Bloom.

Silver Spoon, meanwhile, flung her arms around Locomotion and hugged him tightly. “Oh, thank you, Loco! Thank you so much! You've no idea what that means to me – really you don't!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” grunted Locomotion. “But I'd like to make it quite clear that I'm coming along under protest!”

Sweetie-Belle giggled. “Good enough.”

Incredibly, Locomotion couldn't have been more wrong about Diamond Tiara. As time went by, she found herself feeling less and less comfortable with her new school; everywhere she went, the other students would find a new way to offend her. Those who should have been in her league continued to brush her off as a country-loving peasant, and those who weren't made all sorts of rude remarks behind her back. Some of them would talk about how little she seemed to matter to her own family, while others would put her down for being posh – and there were even a few who victimised her for deriding blank-flanks. Even the teachers seemed biased against her, for every time the pink-furred filly tried to defend herself or throw any insults back in the other students' faces, all she ever got was a stern reprimand.

But on that very same day, she ended up giving the rest of the school a new excuse to make fun of her. The chemistry teacher had been taken ill, and since there were no other staff available, the nonsense-talking janitor had agreed to take his place. Diamond Tiara was most dismayed, and even more so when she discovered that the other students didn't seem to be so much as batting an eyelid as he briefed them on the experiment they were to perform.

“...but this is always the difficold. Plenty potassifold add-it, but not too much, or you could resoldy in great explodymost, and deep, deep folly. Also, remembrit, none of the uncovery hoobers when dealy the chemicolders, or you could get a great suffery from the stingery-burny. Any questions?”

“Yeah, I've got one,” muttered Diamond Tiara, completely unnerved. “What in the hay was that guy talking about?!”

What she didn't know was that Nick Shilling had overheard her from his own desk, and was whispering smugly to his friends about what she had just said. The janitor didn't seem to notice, but instead proceeded to pass out some beakers and other laboratory equipment in readiness for the experiment.

The lesson went smoothly in spite of a few students not adding the right quantities, and even Diamond Tiara managed to avoid getting her fur singed. It was only when the bell rang that things started to go wrong, for no sooner had she left the lab than she noticed Nick and the others barring her way in a seemingly casual manner.

“So,” remarked Nick, “seems the peasant girl has the stupidity to go with it, huh? Couldn't understand what our janitor was saying, could you, Diamond Tiara? What a pity!”

Diamond Tiara scowled at him. “I'd like to see you do better, you snob!”

Nick and his cronies began circling the pink filly like vultures. “That guy's easy to read when you know how,” he taunted. “Still, I wouldn't expect you country folk to understand, even if your own language is so stupid.”

“Yeah, redneck talk has no place in this school – or in this whole city,” agreed the overdressed mauve-coated filly.

“I keep telling you, I'm not a redneck!!” screamed Diamond Tiara furiously. “Now shut up and leave me alone, or I'll set my Dad on you!”

But this only gave Nick an opportunity to add fuel to the fire. “Your Daddy wouldn't do anything to us. He doesn't care about you – why else would he send you to somewhere you don't belong?”

“And what about that grey schlepper you called your friend?” added the carmine Pegasus. “After you slapped her in the face, there's no way she'll want anything to do with you either.”

The pink-furred filly felt tears of rage and sorrow building up in her eyes. All she wanted was to get right in their faces and really yell at them for being such petty, unfeeling twerps, but deep down, she had a sinking feeling they could be right – in all the time she had been here, she hadn't even received a letter from home. Could it really be that her actions had turned Silver Spoon and her own father against her forever? Had she really destroyed her chances of ever finding friendship ever again? And why did she feel a burning sensation in her chest whenever she even thought of that filly?

That was when the damning realisation struck home – those ponies were behaving exactly as she herself had behaved towards so many others back in Ponyville. All her life, she had thought of herself as the very image of perfection, worthy even of the Princesses' respect; but all she saw in herself now was a mean, rotten, selfish, demanding, uncaring wannabe dictator who had made other ponies' lives a misery just for the fun of it. Her father, Silver Spoon, Locomotion, the Cutie Mark Crusaders – they all had every reason to hate her, and she had nopony to blame other than herself. For what felt like the first time ever, she felt sick in the stomach with guilt, and wished she could go back and change everything.

“I don't suppose any of them would mind, in that case, if this were to go missing?” Before Diamond Tiara could reply, she noticed her namesake being floated right in front of her, courtesy of the mauve unicorn who smirked evilly at her.

Diamond Tiara tried to make a grab for it, her anger returning with a vengeance. “Give that back!” she ordered threateningly.

“You want your precious tiara? Go get it, peasant filly!” and the mauve-coated filly flung it down the corridor at such a high speed that it was smashed to shards against the doors.

“MY TIARA!!” The pink-furred Earth pony was suddenly overcome with horror as she began to run after her ruined jewel – but all she succeeded in doing was landing hard on her face as Nick deliberately tripped her up.

“Maybe that'll teach you to act like something you clearly aren't,” he mocked, leering triumphantly upon his badly shaken victim. “Come on, guys – we've got better things than listen to some imitation duchess,” and he led the rest of his gang out of the corridor and onto the campus grounds.

Diamond Tiara choked back a small sob as she sat against the wall, practically swamped by self-pity. Was there any point in carrying on? And why did she have to be so stuck-up, so heartless, so...stupid as to land herself in a well of her own making? Why couldn't she have tried to be a better pony?

“Um...you okay, Diamond?” asked a shy voice. Diamond Tiara reluctantly turned her attention away from the floor, and noticed an off-white earth pony with blond mane and tail and no Cutie Mark standing just in front of him with an anxious look on his face.

At this point, the pink-furred filly completely lost control of herself. “GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU STUPID BLANK-FLANK!!” she burst out, causing the colt to flinch slightly.

“Hey! You shutty cakey, Diamold Tiarsky, and folly for your offendit above my sunnybode, you understab?!”

Diamond Tiara nearly jumped out of her skin, and she was even further shocked when she noticed the janitor directing her a pointed glance. “Uh...y-y-yes, sir?” she faltered.

“Thankload – now no more of the insulteymost, or else.” The janitor turned on his fetlock and sternly walked away.

Author's Notes:

Unwinese translations are as follows:

“...but this is always the difficold. Plenty potassifold add-it, but not too much, or you could resoldy in great explodymost, and deep, deep folly. Also, remembrit, none of the uncovery hoobers when dealy the chemicolders, or you could get a great suffery from the stingery-burny. Any questions?”

"...but this is always the difficult bit. Add plenty of potassium, but not too much, or it could lead to a big explosion and severe injuries. Also, remember not to use bare hooves when dealing with the chemicals, or you may suffer from acid burns. Any questions?

“Hey! You shutty cakey, Diamold Tiarsky, and folly for your offendit above my sunnybode, you understab?!”

"Hey! You be quiet, Diamond Tiara, and stop offending my son, you understand?!"

“Thankload – now no more of the insulteymost, or else.”

"Thank you - now no more insults, or else."

Chapter 8: The Manehattan Crusaders

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Back in Ponyville, Apple Bloom wasted no time organising a mass get-together with the Crusaders' Manehattan branch. Her cousin Babs Seed was surprised at first, especially when she heard about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but jovially agreed to the plan as long as Button Mash, her long-distance coltfriend, was allowed to come too. Arrangements took time, and were even further complicated when Sweetie-Belle insisted on taking Lickety-Split with her; but the following Saturday saw every last one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the express to Manehattan, along with Locomotion, Silver Spoon, Button Mash and Lickety-Split.

As far as the Crusaders were concerned, Locomotion had every reason to be delighted that day – not only were they riding the Bridleway Limited, a once-in-a-lifetime experience in itself, but the engine at the head of the train was yet another member of the 484P Class he had been talking about; and on top of all that, he had the sight of “Princess Twilight Sparkle” at the National Railway Museum to look forward to. But still he wouldn't stop grumbling.

“Go see Diamond Tiara, they say! She might have changed for the better, they say! Ha! Fat chance of that ever happening!” he groused the following morning, as the train rumbled along the home straight towards Pennsylhaynia Station.

“Oh, give it a rest, Loco!” chided Lickety-Split. “It's been a good five months since we last saw Diamond Tiara, and for all we know, she's probably been way out of her comfort zone among that lot. I reckon there's every chance Sweetie-Belle could be right.”

“You would, considering the bond you share,” said Locomotion cynically. “I seriously don't understand, though, why they had to insist on dragging me along with them. I'm lucky Max Pressure was good enough to find me a substitute in such a short timescale!”

Sweetie-Belle smirked cheekily. “You don't seriously regret coming all this way to see your favourite engine, do you?”

“And what about the one pulling our train?” put in Dinky innocently. “Surely you'd be happy to have a Princess Class upfront?”

Locomotion rolled his eyes dramatically. “Well, yeah, I'm pleased we've got No. 484P7 'Princess Cadance', but I really don't appreciate being dragged along against my will, even if it is for you guys.”

“We wouldn't have asked you to come if we didn't think you could keep Diamond Tiara under control,” observed Tootsie Flute sagely. “You've always believed in us and our cause, so it's only natural that we should believe in you.”

“Tootsie, there's believing in me, and there's practically forcing things upon me because you feel like it, and Diamond Tiara is one of them. I don't care what you think I'm capable of or what chances you think we might have of changing her ways – as far as I'm concerned...” Locomotion narrowed his eyes and adopted a sloppy, gloomy, pessimistic Bitalian accent for the final part of his speech; “...it will be a great disaster!”

Lickety-Split just laughed. “It's no good using Wonderbolts quotes to try and scare us into turning back, Loco – we're gonna see it through even if we have to brainwash that filly, and you're not going anywhere near that museum until we're done.”

At that moment, they heard the attendant calling out the name of their station. Apple Bloom and Button Mash eagerly leaped to their hooves and darted back to their compartments to gather their luggage; but Locomotion simply grunted as he set about gathering his saddlebags. He was beginning to wonder if perhaps he should have stayed in Ponyville and missed out on seeing the new engine in the museum.

As the train halted smoothly next to the platform, the party noticed a certain brown-furred Earth pony with two-tone pink mane and tail cheerfully awaiting them with four other ponies. Almost at once, Apple Bloom burst forth out of the coach and flung her arms around the filly. “Hey, Babs!” she chirped heartily. “Boy, howdy, it's been a long time since we last saw ya.”

“Yeah – too long,” agreed the thick Bronx drawl of her cousin. “Only two months gone by, true, but it might as well 'ave been two centuries!”

“Hi, gorgeous.” Button Mash trotted up to the two cousins, his saddlebags bursting with what Apple Bloom guessed must be his favourite video games. “You miss me?”

Babs smiled warmly and pecked him on the cheek. “You bet your horseshoes I did, Button,” she said. “I can never get enough of you when you're here in Manehattan.”

Button Mash blushed. “Yeah, me neither. I tell you what, I can't wait to go back to yours and start playing World of Warriors,” he went on. “You wouldn't believe how lonely it gets playing solo.”

“Ah, trust me, Button, I know how it feels. So – how's tricks with youze then, Apple Bloom?”

“Oh, they're brilliant!” beamed Apple Bloom. “Seems our efforts are startin' ta pay off with the whole Crusaders thing – Scoot, Rumble, Pip, Tootsie an' Tornado 'ave got theirs since we last met. But enough about the head branch,” she went on. “How's it goin' your end?”

“Swimmingly, cuz!” replied Babs. “My branch only just got a new recruit yesterday, name of Annette Key. Wanna come say hello, Annette?”

The filly in question, a shy dark green Earth pony with a black and orange mane and tail, stepped forward. “Hi,” she said softly. “You must be...Apple Bloom?”

“Ah sure am,” the yellow farm filly answered.

“Um...honoured to meet you.”

“She's a big fan of trains too, just like Loco,” explained Babs. “Only thing with her is she dunno what to do with...where is he, anyway? I thought ya said he'd be comin'.”

Apple Bloom groaned and shook her head. “He'll be along in a minute, Babs – he's just bein' difficult, darn 'im!”

“Oh, sure, pin it on the railway enthusiast, why not?” Babs and Apple Bloom turned back towards the carriage and saw Locomotion plodding out onto the platform at a sedate pace.

Babs raised an eyebrow. “Is he alright? He seems a bit peeved, by my account,” she whispered to Apple Bloom.

“Ah, don't worry about it, Babs,” chortled Apple Bloom. “Ah'm sure he's glad ta be here in Manehattan la'k the rest of us, aren't ya, Loco?”

Locomotion's bored, disgruntled expression didn't change in the slightest. “Ecstatic,” he muttered in a very dry, very sarcastic tone.

“Never mind him, Babs,” said Scootaloo. “He's just upset because we happened to mention the words 'Diamond Tiara' to him. Just wait till he gets to the museum – he'll be happy he came along then!”

“Museum?” Annette's eyes lit up. “You mean the National Railway Museum?!”

“Yeah, didn't they have a new engine paying that place a visit last time we checked?” asked one of the other Manehattan Crusaders.

“I think so,” affirmed Babs. “Looked a lot bigger than most of the stuff they've got there, and I think it was named after...”

“Twilight Sparkle?” interjected Button Mash. “Yeah, Loco was talking about it only last week. But anyways, you wanna lead us back to your place, Babs?”

“Can't we stop by the museum on the way?” pleaded Annette, almost desperately.

“Sorry, Ann – home first, Liberty Hall next, museum after,” said Babs. “Come on then, everypony, let's get goin'.”

Annette was noticeably disappointed, but at least she seemed to take solace in the fact that there was another railway enthusiast in their midst. Locomotion, however, was so upset about not being allowed to visit the museum until after they had spoken to Diamond Tiara that he didn't seem to notice the younger filly. He just lagged behind the rest of the group, mumbling to himself about bribes, bullies and Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The penthouse in which Babs and her family lived was on Farrier Hill, in Manehattan's Hooflyn region, an hour's walk away from the station. As the fillies and colts made their way through town, Apple Bloom told her all about Silver Spoon's messy break-up with Diamond Tiara. The chubby brown filly was by no means as shocked as the rest of the Crusaders had been, for she had seen fellow students becoming physically violent on a daily basis; but she still felt sorry for the grey-furred filly.

“I know how you feel, Silver,” she mused. “I felt just as bad as you for takin' the mick outta my cousin and her friends – maybe even worse – an' all because I wanted to avoid bein' picked on too. Never realised you were like that, though. Guess it just goes to show, though – wherever there's bullying, there's a backstory behind it.”

Silver Spoon nodded in reply. “Yeah, I did kinda wonder why you defected to our side so quickly,” she observed. “Still, I seem to be doing a good job of making up for it, even if I do say so myself. So, about the Manehattan branch...?”

Babs chuckled heartily, and introduced Silver Spoon to the other members of the group. The first two foals to join the Manehattan branch were Perry Winkle, a playful blond Pegasus colt whose coat colour matched his name, and Groovy Tango, a music-loving electric-blue unicorn filly with a jungle-green mane and tail. The two of them had been close friends since foalhood (though Silver Spoon suspected that they too were probably more than friends by now), and saw Babs as a role model for helping and encouraging them to find their Cutie Marks, even after she had gained her own.

Then there was Snowflake, a white unicorn filly with a light blue mane and tail, and the eldest of the group next to Babs. She loved exploring new places, but tended to ramble on if she was really passionate about something, and was seemingly none too keen on spiders. Annette was the youngest, and as the latest recruit to the cause, none of the others knew too much about her; but she seemed friendly enough in spite of her shyness, and while she didn't share Locomotion's encyclopaedic knowledge of trains and railways, she was just as keen as him.

“Have any of you ever been to Liberty Hall?” ventured Silver Spoon.

Snowflake frowned. “I had once,” she admitted gravely, “but I didn't enjoy it very much. When I heard that Babs' sister Sunflower Seed had recommended that place, I thought it might be my kind of school – but I soon found myself being tormented by the other fillies and colts, and the teachers didn't seem to care very much either.”

Silver Spoon was startled. “Didn't they?”

“No, unfortunately. My parents were infuriated by what I was going through, and sent me to Long Island Elementary School instead after the principal refused to accept their complaints.”

“I nearly went through the same thing myself,” confided Babs. “They were okay back when my sis was attending that place, and my folks were thinking of transferring me there after the bullying problems came to a head. But then they got a new principal named Abacus Cinch, and everything just started to go downhill from there – the real nice teachers got kicked out, more snobbish ones came in, and anypony what wasn't a proper posh Manehattanite, they just looked down their noses at 'em! Lucky for Sunflower that she soon graduated and started goin' to college,” she finished unhappily.

“So you've been there before?” asked Sweetie-Belle.

“Many times, yeah,” replied Babs, “so I know that place inside and out. Jeepers, I could probably make it from one side of the campus to the other in my sleep if those snobs didn't get in my way!” She paused, noticing that Locomotion had fallen behind and was now stuck at the red light of a pelican crossing. “C'mon, Loco – the sun ain't gonna keep shining all day, ya know! Pick up the pace, will ya?”

“What do you think I've been ruddy doing, Babs?!” shouted a flustered Locomotion as the light turned green. “It's not as if I enjoy being caught up in crowds, you know!” He darted across the road, swerving left and right to avoid being knocked over by oncoming ponies. “Honestly, I don't know how you Manehattan Crusaders can keep up with the rat race.”

Perry laughed cheekily. “Surely you can – from what Babs has told us, you've been here often enough!” he quipped.

“How is every once in a while just to visit the NRM 'often enough'?!” spluttered Locomotion indignantly. “It's not even a complete round trip of Manehattan, let me tell you!”

“Never mind, Loco,” soothed Snowflake. “It's all water under the bridge. Besides, at least you've got your own young student to keep you occupied.” She gave Annette a gentle nudge, as if prompting her to speak up.

“Um...yeah...so Loco...”

“Yes, Annette?” said Locomotion, trying not to sound so cross as he humoured the little green filly.

“...what's your favourite engine?” asked Annette inquisitively.

“Oh, that's an easy one,” replied Locomotion, proudly puffing out his chest. “As far as mainline engines are concerned, my top choice would be the City Class of the former Pennsylhaynia Railroad. Magnificent engines, they are – heck, my own uncle drives one of them so he'd know. But my all-time favourite would probably have to be the Claud Hoofington class of 4-4-0. Again, former Pennsylhaynia Railroad engines, but more sort of vintage in appearance – inside cylinders and valve gear, large driving wheels, deep splashers, smaller tenders – mind you, they did have a number of advanced features that would later be adopted by more recent locomotives – steam reversing gear, exhaust steam injectors, oil firing in the case of the first forty-one engines...well, at first anyway...”

Scootaloo smirked broadly. “Now there's the Loco we know best!” she murmured as Locomotion became engrossed in yet another of his interminable monologues.

Having reached their destination, the Crusaders and their friends spent the best part of the afternoon hanging out at Babs' penthouse. Her parents didn't often get visitors, but they enjoyed playing host to the hastily-arranged “convention” nonetheless, and were even good enough to put in a huge pizza order for their dinner. Silver Spoon felt a little awkward for freeloading on their hospitality, but Babs assured her that she had nothing to feel ashamed of, and so the grey filly soon made herself more at home.

Locomotion and Annette, meanwhile, were getting on famously. The green filly had been rather quiet at first, but as the red-furred teenager imparted his knowledge further and further, she gradually opened up to him, and by the time they reached Babs' house, the two of them were chatting away like old friends.

As the fillies and colts sat around the television enjoying their pizza, Babs began to fill them in on their plan for the following day.

“Right, now tomorrow, we're gonna have to get up pretty early,” she announced. “Liberty Hall is located right the other side of Manehattan from us, so it won't be no picnic. I'll be comin' to pick youze up at about nine in the morn, so I want you all ready by then. I probably don't need to remind youze how easy it is to get lost out there, so once we're on the move, we're to stay together at all times. You with me?”

“Aye!” chorused the Crusaders.

“And when we get to Liberty Hall?” asked Silver Spoon.

“Well, most of 'em should be elsewhere seein' as it's half-term break, but there's bound to be some still kickin' around.” Babs' eyebrows straightened as she stared out of the window. “Best to keep your wits about ya, just in case,” she advised grimly. “You never know what dirty tricks they might get up to.”

Groovy Tango frowned. “Probably just as well our head branch brought Loco along, then,” she remarked. “If he's capable of taking this Diamond Tiara nuisance off her high horse like Apple Bloom says he is, you and he might be our trump card when it comes to those snobs!”

“I sure as hay hope so,” agreed Perry. “I don't much like the idea of becoming posh bully bait.”

Locomotion overheard them, but didn't even bother to reply. He was growing tired of the Crusaders' flippancy, and remained steadfast in his belief that their “errand of mercy” was going to end in tears no matter what they did.

“Darn it, you guys,” he muttered, “you're just asking for trouble...”

Chapter 9: Diamonds to Ashes

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Babs' warning turned out to be correct. Even though many of the students had returned home or gone elsewhere for the week, there were a fair number still on the campus, including Nick Shilling and his gang who were still bent on giving Diamond Tiara a hard life. The following morning saw all six of them sinking to a new low, as the pink-furred filly herself was about to discover as she cautiously peeked into the common room.

“...seems a bit extreme, doesn't it?” asked the heliotrope one doubtfully. “Not that I've got anything against it, but...”

“Ah, give it up, Gold Digger,” scoffed Nick. “Some ponies I can understand, but that Diamond Tiara phoney needs to learn a lesson or two about us proper Manehattanites. Rednecks like her don't belong in a place like this – they should stop littering our streets and buzz off back to the dumpster.”

“Too right!” agreed the mauve one.

“So – any other stupid questions you might have for me?”

Diamond Tiara receded into the shadows. “Yeah, I've got one,” she thought to herself. “Why did I have to wind myself up in this fix?”

“I thought so,” she heard Nick saying smugly. “Right, so as soon as we've had breakfast, we're to go round the school, drop the so-called 'hints', and then we go and find that little twerp and let her have it. If we can't talk her into repenting, then we can easily thump it into her.”

The pink filly's blood ran cold. First the mockery, then the destruction of her tiara...and now they were going to start beating her up?! She didn't really want to stay at this place, but she couldn't leave either – if she did, there was every chance she might get lost in the city, and then she would really be up to her neck in trouble. But were Nick Shilling and his cronies going to go easy on her just because they were lumbered with her no matter what they did? The simple answer was – no!

Nervously, she peered through the doorway again. None of the six ponies had noticed her, but were just making their way out of the common room for the cafeteria – that left her only an hour at the longest before the storm started to roll in over her head. But what exactly were they going to do? And how could she possibly escape them? Overtaken by fear, she burst forth from her hiding place, charged through the doors and galloped across the campus grounds to the nearest building she could find, hoping to goodness that none of those bullies had seen her.

Once inside, she darted up the stairs and streaked down the corridor at a tremendous rate, ignoring the startled janitor as she raced past him. About halfway along, she tried the classroom doors, desperately praying that one of them would be open – but by incredible luck, the first one she came to was already open, so without a second thought, she ran inside, slammed the door shut and dived under one of the desk, trembling and sobbing in despair. To think that the same time five months ago, all she had felt was anger and disdain towards everypony in Ponyville, including her own father, for something that was her own fault – now all she felt was homesickness, terror and a crushing sense of guilt for having behaved no better than Lord Tirek and King Sombra put together. She longed more than ever to be back in the warmth and safety of her parents' mansion, for her father and the rest of Ponyville to allow her a second chance, for the Crusaders to overlook her insensitive comments and forgive her...

But what hurt even more was the memory of how she had treated Silver Spoon – her only follower, her only supporter...her only friend. The grey filly had provided her with everything she didn't think the Crusaders could, and she had tossed her aside and crushed her heart to tiny pieces just because she had admitted to being a fillyfooler! If Diamond Tiara wasn't in such a horrible state right now, she would have beaten herself to a pulp for that and saved the other students a lot of effort. But why did she feel so enraged with herself? Why was Silver Spoon sticking in her mind? Why did the word “fillyfooler” feel so...wrong?

“It wouldn't be a bad thing if you were.”

“Yeah, no wonder you can't find yourselves a coltfriend, unlike me! Not that you need one anyway – not if you've got each other!”

Diamond Tiara felt worse than ever as those fateful words echoed in her head – embarrassed though she was to admit it, she really did feel something greater than friendship towards Silver Spoon. The pony of her affections had been right under her nose the whole time, and she had simply stomped on her heart just for granting the wholehearted wish she didn't even know she had made. How could she ever forgive herself for that?!

“Oh, Silver Spoon,” she wept, “I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.”

Babs looked grimly up at the towering structures that made up the boarding school campus. “This is it, everypony – Liberty Hall Prep School,” she announced.

“Yup! An' from 'ere,” added Apple Bloom, “our next challenge – try ta find a certain Diamond Tiara somewhere within those buildings.”

“Yeah, but what I wanna know is where do we start?” asked Rumble. “It looks to be a pretty big place to me – she could be anywhere.”

Locomotion shook his head in mock dismay. “Like I said earlier – it will be a great disaster,” he snarked.

“We'll start at the dormitories,” said Babs decisively, blanking out the red-furred teen completely. “Most likely she'll be hangin' out there – but if not, we'll go round the campus with a fine-toothed comb...”

“...which won't be difficult for you, considering how big you are on manestyling!” joked Perry.

The brown filly scoffed, but humoured her Pegasus friend with a light smirk. “I'm gonna take that as a compliment,” she retorted cheekily. Then, in a more serious tone, she added, “But no matter what happens, I don't want anypony getting lost, so I don't want anypony wandering off without me or Snowflake for an escort. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly,” murmured Noi nervously.

“Behind you all the way, Babs,” chimed in Groovy Tango.

“Okay then, Crusaders...and Loco...and Lickety...and Button...and Silver Spoon – let's move in!” Like generals leading their troops into battle, Babs and Apple Bloom boldly led the group through the school gates and onto the campus. Locomotion and Silver Spoon lagged behind, still in doubt about the outcome.

But when at last they reached the dormitory building, the sixteen ponies were disappointed to find the common room completely empty. There was no sign of Diamond Tiara, and not even another student to tell them where she was.

“Well, that's annoying,” muttered Tornado Bolt. “Must be somewhere else on the campus.”

“You'd think!” huffed Scootaloo, exasperated.

“Oh well – we tried, we failed, we might as well pack up and go home.” Locomotion turned to leave, but Snowflake barred his way.

“We're not giving up just yet,” she insisted. “Diamond Tiara's somewhere in this school, and we're going to find her, if only for Silver Spoon's sake.” She looked up to her leader; “Well, Babs? Plan B?”

“Plan B!” affirmed Babs. “C'mon, ponies, let's go look in the dormitory. She might be there.”

But Diamond Tiara wasn't in the dormitory – nor was she in the library, the gym, the laboratory, the workshops or even the cafeteria. No matter where they looked, there was neither hair nor hoofprint of the pink-furred filly.

By now, Locomotion was starting to lose patience. “Look, just give over and wasting your time already, guys,” he grunted. “We're never gonna find Diamond Tiara, and even if we do, who's to say she'll be willing to talk to us?”

“Stop being so pessimistic, Loco!” ordered Pipsqueak huffily. “We didn't come this far just to throw in the towel, and neither should you!”

“Besides, what if Diamond Tiara's in some sort of trouble?” put in Silver Spoon, visibly scared.

Locomotion was about to make a snide reply, but grudgingly buttoned his lip when he noticed the fear in Silver Spoon's eyes.

“Um...excuse me, Babs,” ventured Annette tentatively, “but can't we just ask a member of staff if they've seen her?”

“Fat chance,” replied Babs doubtfully. “Them teachers can't be bothered with showing newbies round – everypony for herself, that's their code round here.”

“But surely there must be somepony who cares enough to help?” protested Dinky.

“You tell me. As long as Principal Cinch...”

“HOLY FIRE AND SMOKE!! Is that who I think it is?!” The Crusaders stopped in their tracks, and noticed a starstruck glimmer in Locomotion's eyes as he gazed down an adjoining hallway. Before they knew it, he had broken away from the group and was trotting towards...whatever it was that had just caught his eye.

“Oy! Loco!” shouted Babs. “What did I say about stickin' together?!”

But Locomotion wasn't listening. He stopped next to a grey Earth stallion who was in the middle of cleaning graffiti off the wall, and began talking to him in a strange gibberish that none of them could understand. “Uh...beg pardlo, but might I have the trect in the assubrey for Stanley Unwinny?”

Perry stared in confusion at Groovy Tango. “What the hay is he on about?”

“Dunno,” admitted the blue unicorn. “Sounds kinda crazy to me.”

Imagine their surprise when the stallion not only seemed to understand what Locomotion was saying, but responded in the exact same tongue; “Indeedyho. Another disciplode of the Unwinese, I understold?”

“You bet! Deep joy to acquaint-it with you, Mr Unwinny, sir, and much huzzah on the Unwinese.”

Snowflake was stunned. “What...I...he...how in the world...”

“Don't ask me,” muttered Babs, gazing in disbelief. “My sister was at the school for six whole grades, and she could never understand what that janitor was saying – neither could I, come to that.”

“Well, no wonder he does!” exclaimed Rumble, suddenly realising who this was. “That's not just a janitor – that's Stanley Unwinny, the comedian!”

Babs raised an eyebrow. “You know this guy?” she asked curiously.

“Know him?!” chuckled Rumble. “Loco talks about this guy all the time! He's a great fan of Mr Unwinny's nonsense talk – Unwinese, I think he calls it – and even uses it on us sometimes when we're misbehaving or he wants to make us laugh. High Score would know all about that, wouldn't you, Score?”

Button Mash cringed. It always freaked him out whenever Locomotion spoke to him in Unwinese.

“So anyway,” they heard Locomotion saying, “my friends and I are deep traveload all the way from Ponyville – you understab for Ponyville of that – to pay visitymost to a pinky fillypone with purpy maneload who wears a diamold tiarsky. You follow my meal?”

“Ah, ponifold by the name of Diamold Tiarsky! Yes, I catch your dribble.”

“So yeah, if possibold, could you give a direct-it on the whereabodes of this fillypone, per chance-it?”

Dinky looked knowingly towards Babs. “I couldn't be too sure, but I think he's asking where Diamond Tiara is,” she whispered.

“O...kay, this ought to be interesting.” Babs anxiously watched and listened, wondering if maybe this was where everything would go wrong.

“Ah, yes – upon the mentionit, I do recorm seeing her earlier. She was in Classrobe G-thrifty-fool, that's back into the main corridrove, lefty turmoil and p'topfa stairloders, then proceed along the hormone for abode fido dorms until, upon right rotatey, you reach the doorstab of the classrobe in questyho. If desiro, I can accompanymost.”

“Yeah, could do with it.”

“Um...what did he say?” whispered Annette, confused.

“Dunno,” said Snowflake gravely, as Stanley and the red-furred railway enthusiast turned and headed back towards them, “but as long as Loco understands, I think we'll be alright.”

“Okay, ponies,” announced Locomotion, “I've spoken to Mr Unwinny, and apparently Diamond's in Classroom G53. He's gonna show us where it is.” He looked back to Stanley; “But I should addit, Mr Unwinny, that the Unwinese is the incomprehensibole to these other ponifolders, so best avoidymost when in communicold with them, see?”

Stanley nodded in agreement and turned to the rest of the group, assuming a more readable Equestrian dialect. “Yes, you'll have to excuse me, my little ponies,” he apologised earnestly. “I do a lot of work for television, radio and stage performances, and it's mostly to do with my Unwinese, so it's become my primary language – if you follow my meal.”

The other ponies chuckled heartily, and even Button Mash managed a small smile.

“Nah, that's okay, Mr Unwinny,” laughed Babs. “I gotta hand it to you, that's one wacky language you've thought up there.”

“Yes, it's basically just ordinary Equestrian, but kind of minced in a way that sounds comical,” explained Stanley. “I first started thinking it up when, as a lad, I got home and noticed that my mother had had a fall – or 'falolloped', as she put it – and it just went from there. Then one day a friend came by and said very much the same as you did. 'That's a funny language you've thought up,' he said. 'You should do that for a living.'

“'I wouldn't want to offend the Equestrian language,' I said; but he insisted that the way I did it would make others laugh, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. So I gave it a shot, and it became such a success that I started performing Unwinese roles on a regular basis.”

“I've seen him and his Unwinese in a number of adverts and movies,” put in Locomotion knowingly. “He even played a few roles in some of Technicolour Tarquin's films – and let me tell you guys, he works wonders with that comical tongue of his!”

Silver Spoon was most impressed. “You'll have to instruct us on that someday.”

Button Mash groaned and slapped a hoof to his face. “Ugh! Please don't go there, Silver!” he pleaded. “Once that lunatic gets started on the Unwinese, you'll never get him to stop!”

“Says the pony who speaks in Humgonian half the time,” teased Locomotion, and the other ponies burst into laughter once again. Button Mash just snorted and rolled his eyes.

Author's Notes:

This chapter probably contains the biggest concentration of Unwinese dialogue, so plenty of translations here.

“Uh...beg pardlo, but might I have the trect in the assubrey for Stanley Unwinny?”

"Begging your pardon, but would I be correct in assuming your name is Stanley Unwinny?"

2 and 3 should be fairly easy, because there's very little in the way of nonsense talk there.

“So anyway,” they heard Locomotion saying, “my friends and I are deep traveload all the way from Ponyville – you understab for Ponyville of that – to pay visitymost to a pinky fillypone with purpy maneload who wears a diamold tiarsky. You follow my meal?”
“Ah, ponifold by the name of Diamold Tiarsky! Yes, I catch your dribble.”
“So yeah, if possibold, could you give a direct-it on the whereabodes of this fillypone, per chance-it?”

"So anyway, we've travelled from far away in Ponyville - you understand we're from Ponyville - to pay a visit to a pink filly with a purple mane and tail. You see what I mean?"
"Ah, pony by the name of Diamond Tiara! Yes, I catch your drift."
"So yeah, if possible, could you tell us the whereabouts of this filly, per chance?

“Ah, yes – upon the mentionit, I do recorm seeing her earlier. She was in Classrobe G-thrifty-fool, that's back into the main corridrove, lefty turmoil and p'topfa stairloders, then proceed along the hormone for abode fido dorms until, upon right rotatey, you reach the doorstab of the classrobe in questyho. If desiro, I can accompanymost.”

"Ah, yes - now you come to mention it, I do recall seeing her earlier. She was in Classroom G53, that's into the main corridor, left turn and up the stairs, then proceed along the hallway until, five doors down on your right, you'll find the classroom in question. If you want, I can accompany you there."

“But I should addit, Mr Unwinny, that the Unwinese is the incomprehensibole to these other ponifolders, so best avoidymost when in communicold with them, see?”

"I should point out, Mr Unwinny, that these other ponies don't understand Unwinese, so best avoid using it to communicate with them, see?"

Chapter 10: The Reconciliation

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It wasn't long before Stanley, Locomotion and the Crusaders reached the classroom in question. The red-furred unicorn was sorry to have to part with the Earth pony comedian so soon, but tried to remain positive all the same.

“Deep joy and thankload for the guidey-hoover, Mr Unwinny,” he said. “I have much hopefold that we'll meet again, but farewellimost until that day comes abode.”

“Cheerihocus, my childers, and good luck with Diamold Tiarsky,” replied Stanley as he turned and trotted back down the corridor.

Sweetie-Belle peered doubtfully into the room. “Are you sure this is the right place?” she asked. “I can't see Diamond Tiara anywhere.”

“This was where she was meant to be alright,” affirmed Locomotion. “He expressly told us 'lefty turmoil and p'topfa stairloders, then proceed along the hormone for abode fido dorms until, upon right rotatey, you reach the doorstab of Classrobe G-thrifty-fool' which, in Unwinese, means 'left turn, up the stairs, along the hallway, fifth door on your right – Classroom G53'. That's this very classroom right in front of us.”

“Either that or your Unwinese dictionary is seriously out of date,” muttered Scootaloo.

Locomotion snorted. “I don't need a dictionary! I can easily tell what he's saying, thank you so very much!”

“Um...guys?”

“Not just now, High Score. Now look, Scoot, I know Mr Unwinny's hard to read for some ponies, but that doesn't mean I've misinterpreted him, does it now? I mean, it could be that she's moved to a different room, or he might have been mistaken as to which way she went.”

“Yeah, well, you're gonna have to keep guessing for the time being,” interrupted Babs. “Button says he needs the bathroom, so I'm just gonna go show him where it is. Be right back.”

Lickety-Split sighed heavily as both Earth ponies headed back the way they came. “I don't know. Why couldn't he have gone when we were outside the cafeteria? That would have been a bit more convenient.”

“Can't be helped,” said Tootsie Flute. “When you've got to go, you've got to go. Anyway, seeing as we're outside the classroom, why don't we just go in and look around?”

“Ah...” Locomotion grinned awkwardly. “Wondered who would be the first to spot that one.” He tried the handle, wondering if it was locked; but he immediately got his answer when the door swung open with ease. Close to their target (they hoped), Silver Spoon, Lickety-Split and the remaining Crusaders filed into the classroom – but just as Locomotion was about to follow...

“Hey, buster,” said a voice, “come over here a minute.”

Locomotion looked over his shoulder to see a deep brown Earth pony colt standing nearby, trying to direct a controlling stare towards him. But the red-furred railway enthusiast refused to be cowed by his demeanour; “Not just now, guv'nor,” he replied bluntly, “I've got places I need to be.”

“Yeah, and I've got a pony I need to go talk to. You seen a pink pony with a crown thingy for a Cutie Mark?”

“Look, if you're so keen on finding this friend of yours, then why don't you go ask somepony else?” Locomotion wasn't normally so dismissive, even to strangers, but he had a nasty feeling about this one. Without a second thought, he marched into the classroom and began looking around, shutting the door behind him. “Any sign of her?”

“See for yourself,” quipped Groovy Tango, cocking her head towards one of the desks near the front.

Locomotion looked underneath the desk, and was so flabbergasted by what he saw that he began to think he might have gone crazy. It was Diamond Tiara alright, but not the one he was familiar with – far from the snobbish, rude, mean, inconsiderate, self-important filly he knew and loathed so bitterly, this Diamond Tiara was clearly nothing more than a scruffy, sobbing, shivering, timid, helpless, defenceless and thoroughly remorseful shadow of her old self. Her trademark tiara was missing from her head, her formerly well-brushed mane looked like it had been pulled and ruffled several times, and her eyes were so sore and swollen that it looked like she had been crying for hours.

Most of the Crusaders were equally shocked when they saw the state Diamond Tiara was in. The Ponyville members had never seen her in such a tizzy before, and to see their expressions, it was as if they too thought they must be losing their minds. The Manehattan Crusaders, however, didn't know what to think – Babs hardly ever spoke of her, and so they weren't sure whether to feel relieved or startled.

Silver Spoon cautiously approached, undeniably horrified that somepony had managed to strike such fear, such sorrow, such regret, such......sorrow into her one-time friend. “D...Diamond?”

The pink-furred filly looked up, her eyes brimming once again. “Silver Spoon?” she asked in a weak, trepid sort of voice. “Is...is that you?”

At last, Locomotion could no longer hold himself back. In the blink of an eye, he all but leaped across the room and grabbed her by the shoulders. “WHO ARE YOU?!? AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH DIAMOND TIARA?!?!” he screamed in a panicked tone.

Had the pink filly been able, she would have curled into a ball; but Locomotion's grip on her withers prevented her from doing so. “But...I am Diamond Tiara!” she whimpered.

“NO YOU'RE NOT!!” hollered Locomotion hysterically. “THIS IS NOT HOW THE REAL DIAMOND TIARA BEHAVES!!!”

“LOCO, STOP IT!!” burst out Tootsie Flute sharply, yanking the red-furred colt away from the traumatised filly and forcefully turning him round to look at her. “Look, I know the last thing you were expecting was to see her all tearful and everything, but yelling in her face isn't going to get us anywhere! Can't you see the poor filly's scared to death?!”

“What?! Diamond Tiara, scared to...how is that even flipping possible?!” blustered Locomotion, still noticeably freaked out.

“I don't know – but I'm hoping we're going to find out. Now for ponies' sake, calm down and stop shouting!”

Locomotion did as he was told; but so stunned were the other ponies that the room fell awkwardly silent as a result. It was Diamond Tiara herself who spoke first; “What are you guys doing here?”

“We could ask you the same thing, Diamond,” commented Dinky. “Why are you hiding away under a desk in some random classroom? Shouldn't you be out and about?”

“Yeah, Diamond, why aren't you out picking on other ponies like you should be?” added Tornado Bolt, rather unkindly.

Silver Spoon shot an angry look at the purple-maned Pegasus; but before she could reply, she was interrupted by a distraught sob as Diamond Tiara began to cry again. “I'm sorry, everypony!” she wailed out loud. “I'm really, really sorry! You were right all along! You and so many other ponies back home could have been friends with me, and all I've ever done is mess them about because I think I'm better! But I'm not – I'm nothing but a worthless bully! None of you deserve me as a so-called friend!” and she buried her face in her hooves, too distressed to carry on.

This filled the other fillies and colts with a deep sorrow like they had never previously felt towards her, and Silver Spoon in particular was so dismayed by Diamond Tiara's diminished self-esteem that it made her heart bleed. Choking back a sob of her own, she wordlessly leaned forward and rested both her front hooves on the pink filly's shoulders, mentally bracing herself for another sucker-punch should she not want her personal space invaded.

But this time, Diamond Tiara didn't react anywhere near as violently as the last time they had spoken. The moment she felt Silver Spoon's gentle hooves against her withers, she turned and flung her arms around her barrel, her body convulsing as she buried her face in the grey filly's chest and cried her eyes out. The rest of the group looked on sympathetically, and even Locomotion couldn't help shedding a small tear as he watched the heart-wrenching scene play out in front of him.

After what felt like ages, the sobbing ebbed away into tiny sniffles, and Diamond Tiara slowly pulled back for air, gazing remorsefully into Silver Spoon's eyes. “Silver Spoon...I don't get it,” she faltered. “Why are you here? After how I treated you when...when I found out...”

Silver Spoon smiled emotionally, running a hoof along the pink filly's back in an attempt to soothe her. “I could never get over you, Diamond,” she whispered. “You had meant so much to me since we first met, and I didn't want our friendship to end. I don't even care that you punched me in the face – I know it might feel a bit awkward, but all I ever want is for us to get back together again.”

“Why?” objected Diamond Tiara pathetically. “I've been nothing but cruel all my life. I don't deserve any friends.”

“Not even after showing us remorse?” Silver Spoon's smile faded slightly, but still showed deep concern for the filly of her affections.

Diamond Tiara morosely shook her head in response. “None of what I said and did to you or the Cutie Mark Crusaders was justified. You all have every right to hate me...maybe even beat me up on the spot.” She stared down at the floor, her eyes beginning to water again.

This wasn't what Silver Spoon wanted to hear. Assuming a commanding demeanour for once, she forcefully lifted the upset filly's face to meet her gaze. “Diamond Tiara, I'm not letting you put yourself down like this!” she said sternly. “I may not exactly have been 'popular' with Loco and the Crusaders, but after I made an effort to apologise and attone for everything I'd done to them in the past, they forgave me and became my new friends. They were willing to give me a chance to show I could be nice to them, and it'll probably be the same with you – you've just got to show them care and respect. That's what real friendship is all about.” She turned to the other fillies and colts, including Babs and Button Mash who had just returned from the latter's toilet break; “Right, guys?”

A series of nods greeted this, and Apple Bloom stepped up to her former nemesis. “Ah got somethin' to tell ya, Diamond – y'all 'ave been nothin' short of a conceited pain in the neck, paricularly with me an' Sweetie-Belle an' Scoot, an' it's a wonder this din' happen sooner! Ah probably needn't tell ya how much we loathe an' despise y'all; Ah, for one, would be mo' than happy ta beat y'all to a jelly fo' all the hurtful things you've done an' said – an' ya know what...”

Diamond Tiara hung her head with guilt, silently accepting her fate.

“...that ain't gonna happen.”

This took Diamond Tiara quite aback, to say the least. Had Apple Bloom really just let her off the hook?

“We all know what you've been goin' through,” put in Babs. “Snowflake 'n' my sis have seen first-hoof what the students in this place are like, so you have my sympathy.”

“Mine too,” agreed Snowflake.

“I know it's probably a bit early for us to forgive you,” added Sweetie-Belle kindly, “but we'll be happy to give you a chance to redeem yourself.”

“You might have been a right thorn in our sides, particularly after getting your Cutie Mark,” finished Locomotion grudgingly, “but I suppose every rose has its thorn.”

Diamond Tiara was deeply touched by their meaningful words. They may not have fully accepted this change in her personality, but as she gazed at each and every one of the Crusaders and their friends, she could detect the faintest hint of compassion in their expressions. With a half-stifled sob, she smiled warmly at them. “Thank you, everypony,” she stammered. “I...I don't know how you could find it in your hearts to allow me this chance, but thank you.”

“That's alright,” replied Silver Spoon with a small smile of her own. “Now what say we get you out of this place? We can take you to see the Statue of Liberty, if you like.”

“What about Bridleway?” squeaked Sweetie-Belle excitedly. “There might be some really cool musical up there!”

“No, no, no,” retorted Perry, “the Hooflyn Bridge is where we want to go. You get a great view of Manehattan from there.”

“Darn right!” agreed Groovy Tango.

Scootaloo snorted dismissively. “Don't count on it! The Empire State Building gives a far better view than that great chunk of...”

“Now hold on just a minute, everypony,” interrupted Locomotion, “what in the hay are we arguing about here? You promised me a visit to the National Railway Museum first – surely that's where we should be going right now. And don't you start getting any cheeky ideas, Apple Bloom,” he added sternly, shooting a deadpan glance towards the yellow farm filly. “You expressly told me that I'd be able to go there and see 'Princess Twilight Sparkle' if I agreed to come as a moderator.”

Apple Bloom chuckled. “Ah never said Ah didn't.”

“Princess Twilight's here?!” Diamond Tiara perked up. “What's she doing in a railway museum? Doesn't she have royal duties to be dealing with?”

“No, silly!” laughed Lickety-Split. “Loco's talking about a new class of engine that recently came into service. That's why he tagged along – one of them is on display here in Manehattan, and he's anxious to go see her.”

“You don't mind, do you?” asked Dinky tentatively. “We know you're not very much into trains, but we did promise.”

Diamond Tiara smiled ruefully. “No, I'm okay with that,” she conceded. “Anything's better than being stuck in a classroom and hiding away from all those other students.”

“Good, then let's...” but Babs never finished. Just as she turned to open the door, they were startled by loud shouts from the other side. Looking into the hallway, the brown filly was shocked and baffled to see a mob of militant ponies gathered outside. “What in the hay's goin' on?!”

Diamond Tiara stood up and gazed out of the window, only to recoil in alarm. “Oh no!” she cried. “It's them!”

“Them?”

“Nick Shilling and his gang! They've come to get me!”

Snowflake's eyes widened. “The same Nick Shilling who bullied me back when I was studying here?!”

“I wouldn't know,” whimpered Diamond Tiara, “but I don't want to find out either.”

“But...I don't understand!” protested Locomotion, confused. “How did they know where you were?!”

That was when Button Mash realised something so grim that he began to cringe with dread. “Gulp,” he muttered nervously. “Severe gulp!”

“What's wrong, High Score?” asked Scootaloo, perplexed.

“You know when I went to take that bathroom break?” The other fillies and colts nodded. Button Mash took a deep breath and let it all out in one go; “When I got went inside, there was this brown pony with a weird symbol on his flanks who asked me if I knew a pink filly with a tiara for a Cutie Mark 'cause he wanted go talk to her about something, and I said I did, so he asked me where I could find her, and I said she was probably here in Classroom G53, and then he just chuckled and walked off, and...THAT'S THE SAME COLT!!”

“YOU DID WHAT?!” shrieked Silver Spoon in horror.

“I CONFESS! I'M GUILTY!!”

Slowly, almost intimidatingly, Locomotion turned around and directed a penetrating death-glare towards Button Mash, who froze over in terror as he prepared for the worst. But instead of the furious thumping he was expecting, the irate unicorn uttered three sullen, angry words laced with venom; “You stupid colt!”

“Nice going, High Score!” snapped Rumble. “Now what are we gonna do?!”

Groovy Tango began to panic. “I'm getting out of here! Where's the fire escape?!”

“There isn't one,” replied Snowflake tersely. “We're gonna have to try and bluff our way out.”

“Yes, but how?!” wailed Annette.

The seventeen ponies dithered, trying their hardest to formulate a hasty plan. Then Locomotion suddenly remembered; “Babs, you know what you said about the really posh ones? How they thought of us country ponies as idiotic rednecks?”

“Uh...yeah?” affirmed Babs. “Where are you going with this?”

“I think I might be able to play them at their own game,” answered Locomotion. “It's crazy, but it might yet work.”

“How are you gonna do that?”

Locomotion smirked boldly as he marched towards the door. “By doing what I do best,” he stated grimly.

Chapter 11: Bye-Bye, Boarding School

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Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Lickety-Split, Button Mash and the Crusaders watched anxiously as the red-furred teenager walked out into the corridor and stopped in front of Nick Shilling. The brown colt leered at him, but Locomotion bravely stood his ground.

“Alright, you,” demanded Nick, “where is she?!”

“If you're looking for that pink-furred wimp, you won't find her here,” said Locomotion calmly. “She's already sneaking past you as we speak – by the time you break into here, she'll be well on her way out of this concentration camp!”

Diamond Tiara was confused – but all became clear as Rumble and Tornado Bolt, quickly taking Locomotion's hint, grabbed her by the arms and flew her out of the classroom, while Perry and Scootaloo followed with Silver Spoon. By telling them something he knew they wouldn't believe, the teenaged railway enthusiast was buying her more than enough time to slip through their net and make good her escape.

Nick sneered dismissively. “What a load of horse-apples! That little shrimp doesn't even have the strength to lift a hoof, let alone out-run us! And what gives some twerp like you the right to talk such trash about our school?!”

“School, you call it?” reproached Locomotion smugly. “It's nothing but a borstal if all you creeps can be bothered to do is beat the stuffing out of whoever you don't like. Now, if it were Ponyville, you wouldn't find the students acting like wannabe gangsters there.”

“And what would some Trottingham upstart know about a dump like Ponyville?”

“Oh, an upstart, am I?” smirked Locomotion. “Well then, as the ringleader of these miscreants, would you be obliged to tell me how old you are?”

“Why should you wanna know, limey?” snorted Nick.

“Just answer the question, pal!” As if to make himself clear, Locomotion leaned in towards the brown colt's face, his broad smirk refusing to fade.

“About eleven and a half.”

“AHA!” announced Locomotion triumphantly. “Thirteen last April! And there are a few other things you should know about me too,” he went on, drawing back from Nick, but never once allowing him to get a word in edgeways. “Firstly, if you thought that only the city ponies were the clever ones, you're hardly typical yourselves. Secondly, I may have been born in Trottingham, but I actually grew up in Ponyville just like your so-called 'punch-bag', so I know what I'm talking about. Finally, it's not 'limey', it's Loco.”

“I can see it would be,” taunted Gold Digger. “What makes you think you can match us if you're from some rednecks' colony, Loco?”

“Oh...a number of things.”

Nick saw a chance to claw back some ground, and leered at the red-furred colt as if he was about to make a fool of himself. “Prove it!”

“Gladly!” accepted Locomotion brashly. “Can anypony tell me how much tractive effort a 'Claud Hoofington' 4-4-0 generates?”

There was a very awkward pause.

“Anypony? No? Alright then – 17,095 pounds force! Next question – which railway companies were jointly responsible for the running of the transcontinental Friendship Express up until Nationalisation in 1989?” Again, Locomotion was met with stunned silence. “The Union Pegacific, the Coltorado Midland, the Canterlot and Southern and the Pennsylhaynia Railroad. Not doing so well so far, are we?” he replied cheekily. “Perhaps you'd understand if I asked the question in a different language?”

“What, country slang?”

“Nothing of the sort,” replied Locomotion. “So – what classy in the express passery locomotibold has the operail on the Pennsy Railwold, Canterloders, Trottinghold, Ponyville, through Fort Mainload and Fillydelphicold all the way to Manehattymost?”

Nick was so shocked that his jaw nearly dropped out of its sockets. “What......how in the hay does he know the Unwinese language?”

“Oh, perfect fundamole, my dear childers,” rambled Locomotion. “I've seen the languey televisualhold, radifole hear-it and read-y between the lino – oh, folly, folly, folly. And regardit questyho on the express passery enjifold, City Classyfold of that. Follow my meal?”

“Hang on, hang on – where do you get all this gobbledegook about trains from?” spluttered Gold Digger.

“You mean you don't know? I'm surprised at you guys!” mocked Locomotion. “I would have thought you city ponies would have known the answers, seeing as you're so clever! Just goes to show, though – until you've been hanging out with the staff of a motive power depot as long as I have, you'll never know as much as I do about trains.”

Nick shook his head wearily. “I don't know who would want to, but whatever,” he muttered, grudgingly accepting defeat. “Clear off if you must, Loco, and take your freaky redneck friends with you – see if I care.”

“I most certainly will – but don't expect me to recommend this school to any of my friends.” With that, Locomotion ambled briskly past the baffled mob with Button Mash, Lickety-Split and the remaining Crusaders following closely.

Lickety-Split laughed triumphantly. “Nicely handled, Loco,” he praised as they began to make their way down the corridor. “I've said it before, and I'll say it again – you've got one hay of a knack with bullies.”

“Don't I know it!” smirked Locomotion.

But their smugness was quickly cut short. Barely had they gone a few yards when they heard an agitated shout from the classroom where they had been just moments ago.

“What?! There's no sign of her! They've tricked us!”

Babs went pale. “Oh, darn! They've rumbled us!”

“What now?” asked Tootsie Flute.

Apple Bloom looked back towards the classroom – and then at the end of the corridor. “There's only one thing for it as far as Ah can see,” she said grimly.

“I quite agree, Bloom,” put in Locomotion. Neither he nor the rest of them had any trouble working out what she was planning to do...

“RUN!!!” they all shouted at once, and galloped down the corridor just as Nick and his goons charged out of the classroom and gave chase after them.

The group split up as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Babs leading Apple Bloom, Button Mash, Sweetie-Belle, Lickety-Split and Locomotion down the other corridor, while Snowflake led Noi, Annette, Dinky, Pipsqueak, Tootsie Flute and Groovy Tango outside and around the perimeter of the campus. But Nick and his gang had anticipated this, and were already beginning to scatter in a bid to head the escapees off and reel them in, so the Crusaders were forced to dodge randomly around the campus in a bid to throw them off their trail.

This went on for over an hour, and for a while, it looked as if they had lost them. But just as they had reunited with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in the cafeteria and were about to make a dash for the front entrance, Nick Shilling and some of his followers finally caught up to them.

“Alright, Loco,” he snarled, “the game's up. You let us have Diamond Tiara, and we'll willingly let you go.”

“No deal, you idiotic two-bit bully!” snapped Locomotion defiantly. “There's no way any of us are gonna let you torment our friend to the point of suicide!”

“That's right!” bellowed Apple Bloom. “You want Diamond Tiara, y'all are gonna have ta get through us first!”

“Yeah, you creep, pack up and go home!” added Scootaloo fiercely. “Nopony hurts Diamond Tiara in front of us!”

Nick's eyebrow twitched, and for a split second, Diamond Tiara could have sworn that she had seen a vein beginning to bulge under his mane. “You mind your lip, you brat,” he threatened, “or you're gonna need to sort out insurance policy!”

“You already need to sort something out, buddy – your manners!”

“Too right!” added Rumble, infuriated by how this thuggish colt was treating his fillyfriend. “Call yourself posh?! You're an utter fraud, that's what you are, acting like you're so much better than us – heck, the way you behave, you might as well be out on the street and living off the garbage! It's what you deserve for what you did to Snowflake and Sunflower and our Diamond Tiara!”

Nick flew into a rage. “RIGHT! THAT'S IT!!” he screamed out loud, and lunged at the Crusaders – only to ram head-first into another of Locomotion's protective forcefields and rebound straight into the other students, knocking them over like a set of bowling pins. He rubbed the side of his head, and was infuriated to feel blood seeping from a small cut.

“What's all this?!” demanded a haughty voice. Locomotion, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Button Mash, Lickety-Split, the Crusaders and the students turned around to see a tall, pale cyan unicorn approaching them from behind. Her mane and tail were a mix of different shades of purple, and she wore a black mortarboard, a deep fuchsia pince-nez, and an expensive-looking dark blue suit jacket which partially obscured the abacus on each flank. Judging by her appearance, the Crusaders guessed that this had to be Principal Cinch in person.

“It was that Diamond Tiara filly, miss!” burst out Nick before anypony could say anything. “She's been calling us all sorts of rude names!”

“I might have known it!” Principal Cinch marched up to Diamond Tiara and glared daggers at her. “I don't know how you Ponyville folks are expected to behave, but I do not approve of all this tomfoolery in my school!” she scolded.

“Here we go again!” grunted Locomotion derisively. “Blaming somepony just because of their origins and not properly investigating into the matter! See here, 'your ladyship', if you're the headmistress of this school, I think you ought to know that it's not as perfect as you might think it is.”

Principal Cinch spun round upon him indignantly. “I beg your pardon?! Let me tell you, you impertinent...”

“No – let me tell you, you snobbish bigot, that by focussing your favour towards the poshest Manehattanite students, you've gone and added huge mounds to a formerly level playing field!” interrupted Locomotion sharply. “Diamond Tiara here could have had every opportunity at this place, and both you and your students have disgraced yourselves by not making her feel welcome here – much like you did to Snowflake and Sunflower Seed! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that they'd been trying to make her feel bad about herself just so she would leave!” he added, glowering pointedly at Nick Shilling.

“What are you talking about?!” blustered Nick defensively. “I wasn't the one who told the others what she had been...”

“I've heard it all before,” snorted Locomotion. “Gallivant round the school, make up all sorts of names to make her look bad, and then tell everypony you heard it from her – very clever, Shilling, but it doesn't work on me.”

Nick was shocked. How could some stupid redneck have caught onto his plan so easily? “You...y-y-you mean you...don't...?”

“Certainly not, Nick!” asserted Locomotion. “No Ponyville resident would be as mean as that! Anyway, aren't you forgetting something?” He paused impressively. “A certain princess who presides over the Friendship Council resides there, need I remind you?”

“What, Princess Twilight Sparkle?!” exclaimed one of the other students in horror.

At last, Diamond Tiara saw a chance to strike back. “Yeah, that's the one – and you thought I was just a useless redneck!” she sneered as she walked up to the brown colt, Principal Cinch hot on her heels. “Just you wait till my friends get home – you won't be so big then, and neither will the rest of your gang!”

“Nor will you, Cinch!” added Silver Spoon sharply. “As soon as we get home, you'll be hearing from the Board of Education about this!”

Nick snarled angrily. “Laugh all you want, Diamond!” he shot back. “I don't care how rich your parents are – they'll never believe your stupid story about this place!”

“Nor will the Board believe you lot once Twilight gets to hear about this,” retorted Tootsie Flute firmly.

“You wouldn't dare...”

“Oh yeah?! And who's gonna stop us?” argued Locomotion. “Do your worst, Nick Shilling, but the truth will out sooner or later.”

“No!” snapped Principal Cinch. “I will not have anypony ruining the reputation of Liberty Hall Preparatory School! Diamond Tiara, you're on detention for the rest of the half-term!”

“Too late, Principal Cinch!” Diamond Tiara angrily turned her back on the irate unicorn. “If this is the way you treat ponies who aren't from Manehattan, then I'm through – and I don't care if I get into trouble with my Dad! As for you thugs,” she finished, “good luck on finding another school!” and she spat contemptuously on the floor in a very unladylike fashion. “Come on, you lot, let's get out of here. Maybe cool our heads off in the railway museum or something?”

Locomotion smiled approvingly. “Now that's the first sensible thing anypony's suggested for over an hour,” he agreed – and so, the seventeen fillies and colts left an infuriated Principal Cinch, a defeated Nick Shilling and more than half a hundred horrified students to brood over the fate of Liberty Hall as they made their way out of the school and across town to Locomotion's favourite part of the City of Manehattan...

Author's Notes:

From Unwinese to English:

“So – what classy in the express passery locomotibold has the operail on the Pennsy Railwold, Canterloders, Trottinghold, Ponyville, through Fort Mainload and Fillydelphicold all the way to Manehattymost?”

"So - which class of express passenger locomotive operates on the Pennsylhaynia Railroad from Canterlot, via Trottingham, Ponyville, Fort Maine and Fillydelphia all the way to Manehattan?"

“Oh, perfect fundamole, my dear childers,” rambled Locomotion. “I've seen the languey televisualhold, radifole hear-it and read-y between the lino – oh, folly, folly, folly. And regardit questyho on the express passery enjifold, City Classyfold of that. Follow my meal?”

"Perfectly simple, my dear children. I've seen it on television, heard it on the radio and read it in books - oh deary me. And in answer to the question about express engines, it's the City Class. See what I mean?

Epilogue

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After the excitement of the less-than-reputable Liberty Hall, Locomotion, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Lickety-Split, Button Mash and the Crusaders couldn't be gladder to be spending the rest of the day in the more relaxed atmosphere of the National Railway Museum. Annette enjoyed wandering around with Locomotion and learning about the various exhibits, and even Diamond Tiara had to agree that this place was one of the more interesting ones she had ever visited.

The star of the show, of course, was none other than the five-month-old “Princess Twilight Sparkle,” which took pride of place on the turntable in the main exhibition hall. Locomotion eagerly photographed the engine from various angles, and even managed to get a look inside the cab, something he hoped he would one day be doing in normal, everyday service. Well worth being dragged along against his will for this, he decided.

As time went by, Diamond Tiara gradually managed to rekindle her friendship with Silver Spoon and form new ones with the Crusaders. She was rather shy about it at first, but eventually warmed to them and began chattering away with Apple Bloom, Sweetie-Belle, Scootaloo, Rumble, Dinky, Tootsie Flute, Babs, Noi, Pipsqueak and Tornado Bolt as if there had never been any conflict between them at all. By the time evening drew in and the museum closed for the night, she felt greatly humbled to have made so many friends in such a short timespan, and after all of them had suffered so badly from her cruel, smarmy attitude.

“I don't know how to thank you guys,” she murmured as they hung out in Central Park. “One more day of being tormented by...well, by the whole of Liberty Hall, and I might have gone crazy...or worse.”

Silver Spoon shuddered. She didn't even want to think about what the pink-furred filly was implying. “Don't even go there, Diamond, please,” she pleaded. “It was bad enough being rejected, but if...if that had happened to you, I don't think I'd have been able to live with myself.”

“Well, it's good that you've learned your lesson,” mused Snowflake.

“Yeah, we may not have wanted to see you hurt, but we wouldn't want you going back to the way you used to be,” agreed Scootaloo. “Nopony likes a bully, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” conceded Diamond Tiara gravely. “Nick Shilling and his gang made me realise that, and I'm really sorry.”

“Diamond, ya don't need ta keep apologisin' to us,” insisted Apple Bloom. “La'k Ah said earlier, we're prepared ta let bygones be bygones.”

“Yeah, Diamond, just be thankful you don't have to contend with all those no-good Liberty Hall students anymore,” quipped Locomotion. Then a broad smirk spread across his face; “But I should warn you, if any further offendit should come from you, then I'll have no alteratory but to baffle you with deep folly of the wordage incomprehensibole as a studeyho of the Unwinese brandit gobblyhoolihoodee.”

The pink filly grinned nervously in reply. Then her face fell as she turned back to her old friend; “Silver Spoon,” she ventured, “I'm sorry I overreacted when you came out of the closet with me.”

“What are you apologising for?” objected Silver Spoon, suddenly overcome with a strange feeling of regret. “I'm the one who should be sorry for freaking you out.”

“No, Silver, you shouldn't,” replied Diamond Tiara unhappily. “I should be saying sorry, particularly after punching you in the face.”

“Well, maybe,” said Silver Spoon doubtfully, “but I'm still sorry I caused you to lose control of yourself like that. If I hadn't, none of this would have happened.”

“Look, I'm the one who's sorry here,” argued Diamond Tiara. “I was the one who led you on, I was the one who took advantage of your feelings, I was the one who...”

“No, Diamond Tiara,” insisted Silver Spoon. “I should have tried to make you realise the error of your ways sooner than this – I'm sorry to have to break it to you, but I'm sorry, and that's the end of it.”

“Oh, you're sorry, are you?!” burst out Diamond Tiara in mock anger. “Well, I'm sorry you're sorry, because I'm going to make you so sorry you'll be sorry you ever were sorry...”

“WILL YOU GROW UP ALREADY?!?!” thundered Locomotion, exasperated.

“Sorry,” murmured the two fillies meekly.

“Seriously, though,” went on Diamond Tiara, “I think I'm beginning to feel the same way about you, Silver Spoon. I just wish I'd realised it sooner, because then I wouldn't have got myself into this muddle.”

Silver Spoon's heart skipped a beat. Even though her friendship with Diamond Tiara was making a healthy recovery, she had never expected her true feelings to be reciprocated. “You...really mean it?”

Diamond Tiara nodded, suppressing an awkward chuckle. “Kind of weird, isn't it – how I'd always imagined myself being married to some really rich stallion, and yet the only pony I can see myself with is a filly?”

“Not that strange,” smiled Silver Spoon softly. “So you really care for me that much, huh?”

“Yeah...” Diamond Tiara paused, gazing up at the night sky. “But Silver Spoon...”

“Yes, Diamond?”

“...can we please take it slowly? I'm still getting used to the idea of being a f...” Diamond Tiara broke off as Locomotion shot her a sidelong glance as if to say “Don't even think about it,” and quickly rethought her speech. “...um, of liking fillies,” she finished.

Silver Spoon smiled warmly and nuzzled against the side of her neck. “I'll take it whatever pace you want, Diamond Tiara – it's a promise.”

“Thanks, Silver Spoon – you're the best.” Diamond Tiara sighed happily and wrapped an arm around her friend turned sweetheart, enjoying the gentle breeze and the soft glow of the full moon. Things were definitely looking up for her right now, she thought contentedly – not only did she have Silver Spoon back in her life, but she also had the full support of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and at least three of their supporters. All she needed now was to be accepted back into Ponyville, and her life would be back to what it should have been.

And that was precisely what happened the following week. Filthy Rich wasn't pleased to see her back home so soon, but true to their word, Locomotion and the Crusaders put in a good word for her, and after hearing how deplorably she had been treated, he was so appalled with the students and faculty at Liberty Hall that he never once hesitated to sue the school. When Twilight caught wind of Diamond Tiara's mistreatment, she too ordered a full investigation to be carried out, which resulted in Principal Cinch being suspended and the school itself receiving a hefty fine for its sloppy record on student discipline. By then, Diamond Tiara had been accepted back into Ponyville School after Locomotion and some of the Crusaders had formed a deputation to apologise to Cheerilee on her behalf, and things were slowly returning to normal.

Diamond Tiara and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are now firm friends. She still pokes fun at them from time to time, but in much better humour than previously, and the Crusaders simply take it in their stride. Even when the old Diamond Tiara manages to shine through, it always turns out to be more of a blessing than a curse, and indeed there was one time, a few years later, when it led to Sweetie-Belle coming out of her shell and embracing a certain talent of hers – but that's another story.

As for Silver Spoon, she couldn't be any happier with how her life is going either. She was often to be seen helping some of them with whatever activities they think might gain them their Cutie Marks long after the fiasco at Liberty Hall School – even if only on an unofficial basis – and as a result of this, she is now considered an honorary member of the group. Her relationship with Diamond Tiara has since gone from strength to strength, and her friendship with the Crusaders opened up a rather more charitable side to her nature. Just three months after she and Diamond Tiara became an item, she was even good enough to buy her a brand new tiara to replace her old one even though it set her back nearly six-hundred bits!

That shows you, doesn't it?