Author's Note: Hiya, fellow writers. Feel free to offer feedback as to how this turned out (constructive criticism is much appreciated!)
On this late spring day, the Equestrian sun was beating down with a vengeance on little Ponyville, wilting the grass and turning the dirt path into dust. Applejack wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead as she trotted down the path, kicking up little puffs of dust with her hooves. She shook her head. She was going to have to give Rainbow Dash a talking to if this weather kept up for much longer.
Cheerilee's schoolhouse came into view as she trotted down the hill. She picked up the pace when the school bells tolled out to signal the end of the school day, and little fillies and colts spilled out into the schoolyard, appearing to her as colored specks off in the distance. She was running a little late, but she figured Apple Bloom wouldn't mind too much if she had some more time to talk to her friends.
The schoolyard was bustling with kids, talking and playing games while waiting for their parents to pick them up. Applejack searched for Apple Bloom and her two friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, knowing she was likely to find them all together in one group. Sure enough, she spotted Rarity's little sister next to the schoolhouse. Expecting to find the other two fillies with her, Applejack made her way over to the schoolhouse. When she got closer, however, she noticed something odd: Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were together, but there was no sign of Apple Bloom anywhere. Neither of the fillies was talking to each other. Their faces were downcast.
That was when Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo noticed Applejack out in the crowd. Their grimaces at seeing her told the apple farmer that something was very wrong.
Scootaloo gestured toward the schoolhouse with a cock of her head, and looked back down to the ground, avoiding eye contact with Applejack. Just then, Miss Cheerilee came out of the schoolhouse. Her face was serious, far from her usual cheery self, when she made her way over to Applejack. She greeted the apple farmer.
"Hello there, Applejack." She smiled, but her eyes remained stoic. She decided it would be best to cut right to the chase. "I'm afraid I have some bad news concerning Apple Bloom… follow me, please."
Applejack wanted to ask questions, but she didn't say a word as she followed Cheerilee into the schoolhouse. All of her questions were answered when she saw her little sister sitting in one of the desks, a blue and black ring around one of her eyes. Sitting two desks away from her was none other than Diamond Tiara, who was sporting a black eye and fat lip of her own, along with a scowl as Applejack walked in. Apple Bloom smiled sheepishly at her big sister, but turned her face away in shame as Applejack gave her a glare that could have scared the worm out of an apple.
Cheerilee went behind her desk, sitting herself down and folding her hooves together.
"Well, as you can see, Apple Bloom got into a bit of a fight today with Diamond Tiara." She frowned, looking first at Applejack, and then over at the two fillies. They had not once looked at one another since she had placed them at the front of the room. "I assume you'll give Apple Bloom a talking to when you get home?"
Applejack nodded, uttering only one word: "Eeyup."
Apple Bloom tried to hide her face in her hooves as she heard Applejack's one-word answer. When her big sister didn't say much, she knew it was bad news for her. In the process of hiding her face, however, she did not see Applejack's icy glare at Diamond Tiara.
Cheerilee sighed. "Thank you, Applejack. I trust you and your family to do the right thing. I'm very sorry to say, though, that Apple Bloom will have to be suspended for the rest of the week. Rest assured, the same will happen for Diamond Tiara."
Apple Bloom winced, glancing up at Applejack. Thankfully, her big sister was no longer looking at her, but at Miss Cheerilee. Applejack nodded once more.
"Understood, Miss Cheerilee. Thank you for your time." She tipped her hat to the schoolteacher and called to her little sister, who was still burying her bruised face in her hooves.
"Come on, Apple Bloom. We'd best be gettin' home."
Apple Bloom got up with reluctance, head hung low. She glanced over at Diamond Tiara one last time, making eye contact with her mortal enemy long enough to exchange one final scowl before following her sister out into the hot spring day.
Apple Bloom followed her sister at a distance, dragging her hooves through the dust of the schoolyard. Her black eye attracted the gaze of every filly and colt around her. She looked over at her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who were also watching her. Her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to smile and comfort her from afar, but Apple Bloom couldn't bring herself to smile back.
No sooner than they had left the schoolyard that Applejack encountered Diamond Tiara's father, Filthy Rich, coming to pick up his daughter. Mr. Rich noticed her younger sister following Applejack a couple of meters back, wearing a black eye, and made the connection almost immediately.
"Where is my daughter?" he blurted out, confronting Applejack. She stopped in her tracks, and pointed to the schoolhouse with her hoof.
"She's inside. Miss Cheerilee'll want to have a word with you when you get there."
Mr. Rich knew right away what that meant. He headed for the schoolhouse, dreading what he was going to find there. Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder to see Miss Cheerilee meet Mr. Rich out in the yard and lead him inside.
"Scoot your boot, Apple Bloom," her big sister called back. Apple Bloom hadn't even realized how far behind she was. She scurried up the hill until she was only a short distance behind, and maintained her distance the whole way back.
They walked in silence, Applejack never looking back, and Apple Bloom never looking up. The only sound made was the soft crunch of dust beneath their hooves until the farm came into view. That was when Applejack stopped suddenly, sitting down on her haunches in the middle of the path. Apple Bloom stopped as well, keeping her distance, eyeing her sister warily.
"Apple Bloom, come over here," said Applejack, with a stern, but neutral tone, still facing the other direction. Apple Bloom gulped, nervous beyond belief as she dragged her hooves, walking until she was side by side with her sister.
"Look at me."
Apple Bloom, despite her fear, looked up at Applejack, meeting her stern gaze. Her sister was not messing around.
"Now, Apple Bloom, this is what Ah want you to do." Her eyes never wandered, fixing her younger sister with a gaze of stone. "Ah want you to tell me exactly what happened today at school between you and Diamond Tiara. Ah want you to tell me everything, and to tell me the truth. Unn'erstood?"
Apple Bloom nodded, her eyes watering. She did what she was told and began to relay the day's events with a quavering voice, fighting back sobs as she did.
"Okay, okay. Ah will." She wiped her eyes, and sniffled, pulling herself together so she could tell Applejack what happened. "Sweetie Belle went to school wearin' one of her sister's new hats. Diamond Tiara got jealous and started pickin' on Sweetie Belle durin' recess, an' she told her the hat looked ugly. Then she knocked the hat off of Sweetie Belle's head and got it all dirty. Sweetie Belle started cryin', and Ah saw the whole thing, and Ah told Diamond Tiara that she was a big jerk and a bully, and then…"
She paused, hesitating to tell her sister the climax of the story.
"Then… what?"
Apple Bloom swallowed hard. "…and then Ah pushed Diamond Tiara, an' she came back an' popped me one in the eye, and Ah popped her one, and then... and then Miss Cheerilee saw us and broke it up."
Applejack drank in all of the information her little sister had relayed to her, deep in thought. She wanted to believe everything Apple Bloom had said, but for some reason, something didn't feel right. There was piece to this puzzle that didn't quite fit…
"So, she hit you first, Apple Bloom?" she asked, her tone betraying her doubts. Her little sister nodded in affirmation.
"An' there's nothin' else you want to tell me?"
She shook her head, still looking away from her sister. Applejack, however, was not so convinced.
"Apple Bloom, look at me. Square in the eye. Right now."
The yellow filly clenched her eyes shut for a brief moment, fighting back tears, and then did what her sister said. Applejack's eyes burned into hers.
"Ah want you to tell me, eye to eye, that you have told me everything, and that you have told me the truth. Say it, right now. Ah…" she started Apple Bloom off.
"Ah…" Apple Bloom began, "Ah have told you… Ah've told you… Ah've…"
She broke. Looking away with shame, she blurted out, "Ah haven't told you everything."
As the Element of Honesty, Applejack often did not have trouble telling the truth from a lie. But this time, just this once, she wished her suspicions had been wrong.
"What haven't you told me, Apple Bloom?" she asked, still stern, but trying not to betray the sadness in her voice.
The tears were beginning to flow freely down the yellow filly's cheeks. Apple Bloom told her the rest of the story between sobs.
"After *hic* Diamond Tiara made Sweetie Belle *hic* cry, *hic* Ah told Diamond Tiara she was a big jerk and a bully and then..." She had to take a deep breath to stop herself from sobbing. "Ah dared her to fight me, an' Ah called her a big chicken, and then Ah pushed her, and then…"
The little filly broke down completely, her shoulders wracked with sobs and her tears watering the dry soil below her. Applejack was no longer glaring at her sister. She was taking it all in; Apple Bloom had egged on the fight. Even though Diamond Tiara hit her first, Apple Bloom had still technically started everything. And the poor filly knew it, too.
Applejack wrapped her hoof around Apple Bloom and pulled her close, pressing the crying filly into her chest and hugging her tight. Her little sister returned the hug, wrapping her forelegs around Applejack's middle, salty tears flowing down her face.
For several minutes they stayed like this. Applejack waited until her sister's sobs had died down before she said anything.
"Ah want to tell you a couple things, Apple Bloom. First, Ah think it's great that you stood up for your friend, and told that brat Diamond Tiara to take a hike. Believe me, Ah can't stand her just as much as you can't."
She smiled slightly as Apple Bloom looked up at her with her black eye, tears staining her face. "Really?"
Applejack grinned. "Eeyup."
Apple Bloom laughed through her tears. Unfortunately, the light moment couldn't last forever, and Applejack was forced to become serious again. She continued.
"But even if she is the most horrible filly in all of Equestria, the second ya'll go and pickin' fights with others, you're in the wrong. Fact is, she may have hit ya'll first, but ya'll still started the fight."
Apple Bloom listened intently, and nodded her head with understanding, resting the side of her face on Applejack's chest. "Ah know. Ah shouldn've done it, but Ah just got so… so angry…" She sniffled.
Applejack let go of her sister and scooted back a bit, keeping her hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder. The filly sat back on her haunches, her head low but her eyes still on her sister. "An' it's alright to be angry, Sugarcube," she said the endearing term for the first time that day, causing a smile to form on Apple Bloom's face for a brief second before disappearing again, "but it's what you do with your anger that matters most. Do you understand what Ah'm sayin', Apple Bloom?"
Her little sister nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, Applejack, I unnerstand."
Applejack pulled her in for a quick hug. "Good. I'm glad ta hear it." She released Apple Bloom, but still kept her hoof on her sister's shoulder. "An' Ah appreciate you comin' out an' bein' honest with me, sis. Ah know it was hard, but believe me, it'll make you a better mare later on in life."
Apple Bloom nodded silently, still listening intently to her sister's words.
Applejack paused, taking in a deep breath and steeling herself for what she was about to tell her sister. Apple Bloom looked up at her, momentarily confused, until she said, "Ah know ya'll know what you did wrong, an' Ah believe you're sorry. But Apple Bloom, there are still consequences for things that we do."
Upon hearing these words, Apple Bloom knew what was coming. Her head hung lower than ever before, and her ears fell back on her head. Even the red bow on her head drooped. She waited for what Applejack was going to say next.
"Apple Bloom…" her voice warbled slightly, "Ah'm gonna need you ta get a switch."
The filly choked back another sob, and her eyes watered afresh, but she nodded in understanding. "Okay…"
"Okay. Ah'll be waiting at the barn, sis." She sent Apple Bloom off, and the little filly headed obediently to the orchard.
When the two sisters had parted ways, Applejack went into the barn and waited for her little sister, taking deep breaths and mentally preparing herself for what she was going to do. There had only been two other instances in her life where she had punished Apple Bloom in this way; one, when she had almost been killed in a lightning storm even after being told by her brother not to go outside, and the other, when she had nearly burned down the barn while playing with fireworks. Those were hard times for both of them, but after each painful ordeal, their sisterly bond only grew stronger as a result.
Applejack reminded herself of this fact, and vowed to go through with it. Her sister had good intentions, and in a way, she was happy that Diamond Tiara had gotten what was coming to her, but she also knew her sister had stepped out of line. Applejack was in no way against self-defense, even if it led to a suspension from the well-intentioned Miss Cheerilee, but this situation was different. If Apple Bloom hadn't let her anger get the best of her, none of this would have happened.
Several minutes later, the barn door creaked open. Applejack waited, staring at the sliver of open space between the barn doors. Her sister walked slowly in, carrying a thin branch in her mouth, stripped of all the twigs and leaves. She hesitated when she saw Applejack waiting inside, the front half of her body inside the barn, and the other half out.
"Come in, Apple Bloom," said Applejack, "and close the door behind you."
Her sister did what she was told, and stood over at the other end of the barn, her legs shaking. Applejack felt pity for her sister, but her mind was already made up. There was no going back now.
"Come on, sis. Bring it here." She motioned to Apple Bloom with her hoof to bring her the switch. The quivering yellow filly obeyed and came over to her big sister, dropping the switch at her hooves. She looked up with puppy dog eyes at Applejack, but there was nothing that could change her mind. She hung her head, resigned to her fate.
Applejack picked up the switch in her mouth, and gently pulled Apple Bloom close with one hoof, sliding her over the dirt floor of the barn until her middle was pressed against her chest, head facing away from her sister and her flank in range of the switch. Applejack adjusted the switch in her mouth until it was long enough, and then rested it on Apple Bloom's flank. Her sister winced.
"Awre you wready?" she asked, her speech impaired by the switch in her mouth. Apple Bloom shut her eyes tight, and hid her face between her front hooves on the dirt.
"Ah'm ready." She braced herself for the first strike. Her sister raised the switch.
Applejack closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and whipped the branch down.
"Ah!" Apple Bloom yelped as the switch thwacked down on her rear, leaving a long red stripe behind. Applejack didn't hold back, and whipped her rump again, causing her little sister to cry out in pain, tears trickling out from the corners of her eyes. Applejack kept a steady rhythm going with the switch, mentally blocking out the cries and sobs of the filly at her feet.
"Ow! Ah! Ooow!" cried Apple Bloom as the switch made its mark over and over again. The fire in her rump was growing by the second, but she did not struggle, remaining as still as she could muster and trying her best to tough it out.
Applejack noticed the deep redness appearing on her sister's once-yellow posterior, and decided that it would be wise to wrap it up. She delivered a few more strikes with the switch, making them just a bit harder than the rest, and spat the implement out onto the ground.
Apple Bloom was reduced to a sobbing, broken mass, her hind legs twitching and shaking from the pain. It took her a second to realize that the punishment was over, but she still could not stop crying.
That was when her sister did something unexpected. Applejack let go of Apple Bloom and picked her up with both hooves. Before the filly even knew what was going on, Applejack pulled her into a loving embrace, wrapping both arms around her little sister and letting her cry on her shoulder. Unbeknownst to Apple Bloom, her tears were not the only ones flowing down her cheeks.
"Shhh, shh, it's alright, Sugarcube. Just let it all out." Applejack rubbed her sister's back up and down, her orange coat wet with Apple Bloom's tears and a few of her own.
"Ah'm s-sorry, Ah-Ah'm so sorry, Applejack," she stammered between gasps of air. "Ah'm sorry…"
Applejack squeezed her even tighter. "Shh, it's okay, sis. Ah already forgave you. It's all done."
The two sisters stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, clinging onto one another. Apple Bloom's cries eventually died down, and her breathing went back to normal. The barn became silent and still.
Applejack looked over at her sister. Her black eye was even puffier than before from her crying, and discolored lines ran from her eyes and down her cheeks from where her tears had trickled down her face. Just the sight of her sister in pain tugged at her heartstrings, but she knew she had done the right thing.
"Ah'm proud of you, Apple Bloom." She nuzzled her sister tenderly. The filly on her chest returned the gesture, a faint smile present on her lips.
It had been over a half hour before Applejack finally set Apple Bloom down, careful not to touch her flank in the process. The filly sat down on the dirt for a brief moment, but shot back up onto her hooves with a sharp breath from the sting. Applejack smiled sadly.
"Yeah, it's gonna be sore for a while yet. Ah'll get you a cushion for your chair when we eat dinner. Sound good?" she asked, trying to cheer the poor filly up. Apple Bloom smiled.
"Yeah… it sure does smart, though…" She looked back at her reddened rump, wincing. Applejack nodded sagely.
"Eeyup." She pushed open the barn door. "I'm gonna go start fixin' us up some dinner, and you can go get yourself cleaned up when we get back to the house. Are y'all hungry?"
"Mmhmm. Ah'm starving!" she exclaimed happily, following Applejack out of the barn, no longer lagging behind, but right at her big sister's side.