Class Tensions
Cheerilee sighed. "Scootaloo, what are you talking about?"
Scootaloo squirmed awkwardly under Cheerilee's gaze. "I just wanted to know about the time when Princess Celestia dropped the sun on the Diamond Dog army and then made the survivors build Canterlot's mountain from all the lava it made."
Cheerilee raised a hoof to her forehead, rubbed the deep ache in the middle of it and then visibly forced herself to resume smiling. "That never happened Scootaloo. Where did you hear such a silly story?"
Scootaloo's eyes flickered back and forth. "Uhm, I read it! In a book!"
"Are you sure it was a book?" Diamond Tiara interrupted snidely. "Are you sure it wasn't nothing?"
The classroom erupted into laughter at that. Scootaloo shrank into her desk, cheeks flushed. Cheerilee rapped her hoof on her desk and gave the loudest offender (Silver Spoon) a paralyzing glare the likes of which only Fluttershy and public school teachers could manage. The filly stiffened. The other hecklers got the message and clammed up. Diamond Tiara smirked and leaned back into her desk.
"Scootaloo," Cheerilee said gently, "Did you read this in one of those comic books Spike brought back from Canterlot?"
"No, I heard it from—Oww!"
Long experience let Cheerilee reflexively trace the spitball's trajectory back to its source. "Apple Bloom!" she snapped, switching from Patient Teacher mode to Authoritative Disciplinarian mood.
Apple Bloom assumed an angelic expression. "Yes Miss Cheerilee?"
"Why did you throw a spitball at Scootaloo?"
"Oh, I, uhm..." Apple Bloom stammered for a moment before blurting, "Ah'm angry cus she keeps flirting with Mah brother!"
"What?!" Scootaloo shouted.
"She says Miss Trixie ain't good enough for him and that he's meant to be with Rainbow Dash!" Apple Bloom continued. Cheerilee cocked an eyebrow.
"You just said Scootaloo was flirting with your brother," she pointed out.
Apple Bloom groped for a reply. "Ah mean, she's dressing up like Rainbow Dash to make him think about her more so he'll be interested in her!"
"I only did that with Fluttershy!" Scootaloo shouted. She realized what she'd said a moment later and blushed furiously. Cheerilee cut in before either of the fillies could say anything more.
"Girls," she said as the vein above her right eye became ever so slightly visible, "I don't know what you're talking about but I think it's something we should save until after class."
"But!" Scootaloo began. Cheerilee turned the Stare onto her and the pegasus filly froze. She turned to Apple Bloom and found that she had gone obediently silent. That triggered an alarm bell in Cheerilee's mischief detector but she didn't have time to pursue her suspicions. She turned her attention back to the rest of the class.
"Now, who wants to give their presentation next?"
Dead silence. Cheerilee mentally kicked herself for the rookie mistake. Her forced smile turned shark-like as she pointed to the head trouble maker.
"Diamond Tiara, you seem very eager to speak today. Why don't you come to the front to tell us what you came up with for today?"
Diamond Tiara froze even more than Silver Spoon. Cheerilee could hear her nervous gulp from all the way across the room. Cheerilee's smile turned genuine as she remembered why she loved this job so much.
†
"Ah just don't get it," Apple Bloom said as they left the schoolyard. "Ah told it exactly the same way Trixie did, and she said she learned it at Celestia's unicorn school."
"I thought she said she learned it from the giant badgers who live under Canterlot?" Scootaloo asked, confused.
"She met the badgers while she was at Celestia's school," Apple Bloom explained. "She rescued their prince's son from a buncha evil wheel monsters, so he guided her back through their secret tunnels to their secret stronghold called Salamandstron and taught her how to control light with crystals and powders to show his gratitude. That's why she was late with her research paper and got a bad grade."
"Oh, huh."
"She also said that he asked for her hoof in marriage but she had to turn him down because she couldn't deprive Equestria of her amazing magical talent."
"That was nice of her," Sweetie Belle said uncertainly.
"Apple Bloom, are you sure she's not just making things up?" Scootaloo asked.
"Of course not!" Apple Bloom said indignantly. "Trixie's been all kinds of places!"
"Yeah Scootaloo, didn't Rainbow Dash tell you Trixie was queen of the Diamond Dogs for awhile?" Sweetie Belle chimed in.
Scootaloo frowned. "I guess that's true," she muttered.
"And didn't she and Applejack and Rarity and all them just become pirates for a week awhile back?" Apple Bloom pressed.
"Fine, fine!" Scootaloo said in exasperation.
"Where is Applejack anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Rarity said she was supposed to meet with her and Pinkie Pie to plan refreshments for next month's Ponyville Fair but she never showed."
"Dunno," Apple Bloom said. "She wasn't at breakfast this morning."
"You don't think the history police got her, do you?" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"The what?" said Scootaloo, confused.
"The super secret police that monitor all of Equestria to suppress any hint of the truth," Apple Bloom explained sagely.
"They're the ones that got Trixie expelled from Celestia's school by framing her for that explosion," Sweetie Belle added.
"Oh right," said Scootaloo.
"And ever since then they've followed Trixie from town to town," Apple Bloom said solemnly. "Sabotaging her magic shows and turning common ponies against her to make sure nopony believes her."
The three fillies bowed their heads and contemplated that in silence.
"Wait," said Scootaloo. "I thought she said Twilight got her expelled because she was jealous of her amazing show-stopping ability? That doesn't sound like something Twilight would do!"
"The history police were the ones who did the dirty work, but they were tipped off by Celestia's personal student," Apple Bloom explained. "And it weren't Twilight, it was Celestia's last student, Sunset Shimmer."
"What?" said Scootaloo, skeptically. "Since when did Princess Celestia have another student?"
"Trixie says she mysteriously vanished from the public eye and that Princess Celestia has never mentioned her in public ever since," said Apple Bloom.
"That doesn't make sense!" said Scootaloo. "We'd have heard about it if Princess Celestia had another student who vanished!"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked uncertain at that. Scootaloo did have a point.
"Ya think we should ask somepony else about this?" Apple Bloom said uncertainly.
"Who?" squeaked Sweetie Belle.
"We could ask Twilight," said Scootaloo.
"But then she might mention it to the other princesses!" Apple Bloom objected.
"Then who?!" said Scootaloo. Her wings buzzed with annoyance.
"... Zecora?" Apple Bloom suggested after a moment's thought.
"Yeah!" squeaked Sweetie Belle. "She's not even a pony, so she isn't committed to the lie!"
"So it's settled?" said Scootaloo. Apple Bloom nodded. "Sweetie Belle?"
They turned to see Sweetie Belle was staring back towards the schoolhouse with sour expression on her face. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sighed and turned towards the two ponies their friend was looking at.
"Hello Blank Flanks," Diamond Tiara said with a sneer. Scootaloo scowled at her and Silver Spoon.
"What do you want?" said Scootaloo.
"Oh I just wanted to ask how the new gazebo was coming along," Diamond Tiara said. Her voice dripped with insincerity.
"How do ya know about that?" Apple Bloom said suspiciously.
"Oh, Big Macintosh came to Daddy's store to buy a bunch of building supplies for it. Looks like you're not the most useless pony on the farm anymore."
"Hey!" Apple Bloom said. "Trixie ain't useless!"
"Oh?" sneered Diamond Tiara. "Name one thing she's good for."
"She's great at..." Apple Bloom paused and looked back at her friends.
"Her fireworks are pretty cool? suggested Scootaloo.
"I really like her mane!" squeaked Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah!" said Apple Bloom. "And she's really fun to listen to and be around, and that's more than anypony has ever said about you!"
Diamond Tiara flinched at that. She tossed her mane back dismissively and said, "Come on Silver Spoon. We've got better things to do than argue about some ugly old nag that'll never be better than a Princess Twilight wannabe."
†
"Ah just can't stand it!" Apple Bloom ranted as Big Macintosh put the next board into place. "Every day it's the same thing, and she just keeps getting worse and worse!"
Big Macintosh continued going about his work. He guided the nails floating around him into position before hammering them in one by one with a single blow apiece from his huge hooves.
"She talks bad about me, she talks bad about mah friends, she talks bad about mah family and now she's started on Miss Trixie!" Apple Bloom continued.
Big Macintosh remained silent. Trixie chimed in from behind by the wood pile where she was supposedly helping by passing building material to Big Macintosh with her levitation and not ogling his rock hard flank.
"Apple Bloom, Trixie has vast experience ignoring the ignorant opinions of unappreciative ponies. In time it becomes a barely audible buzz."
"But she said you're an ugly nag and a Princess Twilight wannabe!" Apple Bloom protested.
"She what?!" Trixie shouted, clearly outraged. As she did the piece of wood she was levitating jerked and smacked Big Macintosh squarely across the back of the head. He turned and gave her an unamused look.
"Hehe, oops," Trixie said nervously. "Trixie was simply overcome with outrage at the way sweet little Apple Bloom is being treated."
Big Macintosh continued to look at her. Trixie flushed and said, "Trixie will go find things to do elsewhere."
"Eyup."
"Apple Bloom, come keep Trixie company."
With that Trixie left with Apple Bloom in tow. Trixie seemed to be thinking intently. She barely even bothered to put any sway into her hindquarters as she walked. When they were a good ways off Trixie rounded on Apple Bloom.
"Tell Trixie more about this Diamond Tiara."
"She's a big ole bully who's always makin' fun of me and mah friends fer not havin' our cutie marks, and her father's the richest pony in town." Apple Bloom paused for a moment. "Except maybe Princess Twilight now, Ah guess."
An oily smile covered Trixie's face at that last part. "Trixie thinks she knows a way to get Diamond Tiara to leave you alone, or at least give her some comeuppance."
Apple Bloom shifted uncomfortably. "Ah don't know. Applejack says revenge never helped nopony. Hey, Applejack!"
Trixie turned around to see Applejack walking across the farm towards them. She looked drowned, battered, covered in mud and had enough twigs sticking out of her mane to do a passable imitation of a tree. She stopped several feet away and looked at them.
"Where's Big Mac?" she demanded tersely.
Trixie and Apple Bloom pointed silently back the way they came. Applejack tossed her mane back and started walking again.
"Sis, what happened?" Apple Bloom asked. She sounded worried.
"Yer brother and I need to have a talk about that marefriend of his."