Inside Cheerilee’s schoolhouse, most of the students were waiting for school to start. A few of them were still outside, however, enjoying their last few minutes of freedom. Sweetie Belle was at her desk, trying to help a confused Scootaloo and indifferent Babs with their math homework. Apple Bloom had already finished her homework, having been left little choice by her sister, and had chosen to stay outside until class started.

Across the room was Dinky, who tried to open up her juice box with magic. The cardboard tore in half, and the juice splattered out onto the floor.

“Sorry, I just don’t know what went wrong!” Dinky said, then giggled. “I guess my magic isn’t that good yet.”

“It’s no problem, Dinky,” Cheerilee said. She glanced at the apple juice soaking into her clean wood floor. If she didn’t clean it up soon, there’d be a large stain in the wood. She took pride in how well-maintained her small school house was. “I’ll go grab some rags and cleaner.”

“I’ll help! I bet I can use magic to get the cleaner down for you!”

Cheerilee pictured a bottle of the disinfectant bursting open as the young unicorn tried to get it down from the shelf, splattering in her eyes. “Thanks, Dinky, but you should practice your levitation on. . .” She glanced around and spotted a stress ball on her desk. “This. In fact, you can keep it until you’ve mastered levitation.”

“Wow, thanks Ms. Cheerilee! Mom was right. You’re the nicest pony in Ponyville!”

Cheerilee chuckled and left the classroom. She was sure that such an honor rested with Fluttershy alone, but wasn’t about to turn down a compliment. She opened the janitor’s closet and turned on the light, realizing it might have been a good idea to have Dinky help. The bottle of disinfectant she needed was on the top shelf, next to a small open window that ventilated the room.

Cheerilee got the small step-stool out and climbed up to reach the bottle of wood cleaner. She hadn’t believed Filly Mays when the salespony told her that apple oil cleaned wood three times better than citrus oils. At some point, she’d have to share this revelation with Applejack.

“I can’t believe they let uncultured swine like you attend school with us civilized ponies,” Diamond stated.

Cheerilee’s ears perked up and she glanced out the window. Since it was six feet off the ground, she couldn’t see the fillies, but if history had taught her anything, it was that the CMC and Diamond Tiara were at it again.

“Perhaps we should leave her alone today, Diamond,” Silver said.

She was about to climb down, and head outside to break things up. However, the fact Diamond sounded like she was about to back down had piqued her curiosity. Might the filly finally have grown up a little?

“You’re right, Silver. I don’t want her to choke me to death like she does to her animals,” Diamond started. “First Winona, then Lucky, and then Angel! Why, I think the apple family just loves strangling innocent animals,” she said.

Cheerilee had heard enough, already dropping the bottle and leaping off the step stool. The filly rivalry had been bad lately, and Diamond had just crossed the line. Please don’t do anything stupid, Apple Bloom. I’ll have to expel you both if you give her another black eye.

“That’s not true!” Apple Bloom shouted, standing a few inches from Diamond’s muzzle.

“For a pony that claims not to be violent, you’re being awfully aggressive! Does Fluttershy know you kill her little animals for fun?”

“Diamond Tiara!” Cheerilee said loudly. It wasn’t yelling, but the stern tone of voice made all three fillies lower their ears and slouch down. Their teacher wasn’t one to get angry often, but when she did, no filly dared disobey. “Silver Spoon! How dare you say something so cruel to Apple Bloom!”

“But—”

“No buts, Diamond! Fluttershy is devastated that Angel ran away. For you to accuse Apple Bloom of being a cold blooded killer—Why I don’t even know where to start! Applejack had to euthanize their dog, not Apple Bloom!”

“What do you care? They’re just stupid animals anyway,” Diamond said.

“Have you ever had a pet? You’ve been picking on the Crusaders for months and I’m tired of it. Each time something bad happens to one of them, you have to rub it in and make them feel insignificant so that you feel better about yourself. Well, you know what? You’re not welcome in my school anymore. Diamond and Silver, go home and tell your parents you’ve been expelled,” Cheerilee ordered.

“You can’t do this! My dad will evict you from the school and your house!” Diamond accused.

“Try me.”

Cheerilee stood there for a moment, waiting impatiently for the two fillies to leave. “Ugh, whatever. Come on, Silver, I always wanted to go to private school anyway,” Diamond said.

She trotted off, followed by her friend. Once they were out of range to hear, Cheerilee turned to Apple Bloom. “I’m sorry about that, those two have been on the borderline of expulsion for a while. Are you okay?”

Apple Bloom wiped a foreleg across her eyes and sniffled. “Yeah, but I don’t want you to get evicted. They’re right, I’m just a stupid blank flank that ki—”

Cheerilee stopped her from speaking with her hoof. “Apple Bloom, don’t you ever think you’re anything less than a wonderful, sweet filly. Now, class is starting and I think you’ll have a much happier day now that those two spoiled fillies are gone, don’t you?”

She smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.” Apple Bloom gave her teacher a quick hug. “Thanks.”

The school day had passed quickly for everypony without the two rich-kids there to point out each of the CMC’s flaws. There was one pony for whom the day hadn’t passed so quickly.

Babs had heard at lunch what transpired between Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara. She knew the truth behind the jabs, and how deeply it must have hurt her cousin. Angel and Lucky really were dead at Apple Bloom’s hooves, and yet it made her happy. They were only animals, nothing like the ponies Babs had gotten rid of to improve her life.

This lead her to one conclusion: Diamond and Silver would be back for revenge. She had learned their fathers, Sterling Silver and Filthy Rich, were the two richest ponies in town. Filthy owned the largest grocery store and about half the leases in town. If he wanted to, he could evict most ponies in town from their homes, whereas Sterling had strong political connections with several noble families. Neither stallion was one to be trifled with.

From the sounds of it, either family could afford to send their daughters to a nice school in Canterlot. However, that wasn’t how nobility worked. Babs had seen enough of them in Manehatten to know how this worked. Filthy and Sterling would be angry at Diamond and Silver, true, but far more upset that their ‘little angels’ had been expelled. It was a stain on their family name.

By the time class got out, Babs already had the perfect plan to turn the tables when they came for their revenge on Apple Bloom.

“Hey, Bloom,” Babs said.

“Yeah, what’s up?” she asked.

“I got something I need to talk to you about.” She looked around, making it obvious she didn’t want to be overheard. “You know the shortcut to the farm that runs through the corner of the Everfree? Meet me there in twenty minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll go tell Sweetie and—”

“No, we need to talk and they don’t need to know.” Babs waited for her meaning to sink in.

Realizing it was likely about her recent extracurricular activities with small woodland animals, her eyes went wide. “Oh! That, well uh yeah, I’ll be there, alone.”

“Go ahead, I’ll tell the others to meet us at the farm.” Babs didn’t wait for a response, turning and walking over to Sweetie and Scootaloo.

“Hey, Babs! You excited for that creative writing assignment?” Sweetie asked.

“Uh, not really. What are you two doing tonight?”

“I’ve got free time, I was gonna meet Apple Bloom at the clubhouse and go crusading,” Scootaloo said.

“Me too.” Sweetie levitated her saddlebags onto her back, wincing slightly as her horn was still a bit sore from the accident at the hospital.

“Oh, well you see, Apple Bloom and I sorta got behind on our chores and we can’t hang out tonight,” Babs said.

“Aww.” Scootaloo stretched her wings out and gave them a couple flaps, lifting herself into the air. “Well, guess I’ll have to go practice my stunts to impress Dash when she comes back!”

“Scootaloo! No flying in the classroom,” Cheerilee said.

“Oops, sorry!” She landed and smiled at her teacher.

Babs looked at the clock. “Well, gotta run!” She had a special present to give Apple Bloom, and didn’t want to be late.

After Babs had left, Sweetie turned to her friend. “Hey, Scoots, Apple Bloom said earlier she had finished all her chores yesterday.”

“Huh? But Babs says they didn’t.”

“Well they can’t both be right.”

Scootaloo bit her lip and thought about it for a moment. “Hmm, well Diamond did really get under her skin today. I want to go see Apple Bloom and make sure she’s okay, and if she has chores we’ll just walk back to town.”

“Sounds good. Come on, I know a shortcut!”

The first settlers in Ponyville were the Apple family. They had built a small path through the forest to a small stream for their livestock. Years later when the town proper sprang up, it was on the other side of this patch of Everfree, near the river.

As such, this patch of forest stood in-between the farm and the center of town. Apple Bloom knew the shortcut was relatively safe, as the predators lived deeper in the forest. She also knew the road that looped around the southern edge of the forest continued up to Fluttershy’s cottage. As far as forests where magic ran wild, this slice of the deep woods was about as safe as could be.

It still didn’t dispel the stigma surrounding the forest, though. Black tree bark, unnatural weather, and thorny bushes were everywhere. The trail was well-beaten, having had some stones scattered haphazardly by the first settlers, when they created the shortcut. It was perhaps a couple hundred yards, saving ten minutes from walking around the forest.

Applejack had told her not to use it, considering it an unnecessary risk. Now that she was out here alone, looking for Babs, she was beginning to think her sister was correct. It was quiet, and Babs was nowhere in sight.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and Apple Bloom turned around. Diamond and Silver were walking down the trail towards her. Could Babs have set me up?

“Well, if it isn’t the blank flank who got us expelled,” Diamond said. “Do you know what my father did to me when he found out?”

“Pfft, like I care,” Apple Bloom replied. “You’re rotten to the core, and I ain’t got time for you.”

“He took my allowance, and said he’s gonna send me to live with my aunt in Canterlot! I liked it in this town, I was special. In Canterlot all the nobles will look down on me, as if I were a street urchin like you or Scootaloo!” Diamond spat.

“I’ve had about enough of this, insult me if you want but leave my friends out of this.” Apple Bloom twisted her neck, causing the joints to pop. “Well then, I doubt this was a social visit.”

Silver smiled, looking around to make sure the coast is clear. “You’ve screwed things up for us again. We’re going to teach you some manners the only way you’ll understand.”

The old Apple Bloom would have run, or begged them to stop. However, the new Apple Bloom was sick and tired of these two spoiled brats. If some black eyes would get them to leave her alone, then she’d gladly buck the smiles off their faces.

“Good. I’ve wanted to kick your flanks since we met.” She smirked, displaying as much bravado as she could.

“Silver, hold her down while I kick her,” Diamond said. The two split up and started to circle her.

“I’m proud of you two. I thought you were all talk and spoiled rich fillies, but you should have brought back up.” Apple Bloom dove forward at Silver, knocking her back onto the ground. They rolled over through the dirt before she could get a good grip, and Silver was able to get back up.

Diamond had run forward and kicked Apple Bloom in the side as she stood up. She put her weight on her front legs and kicked out behind her, connecting with Diamond and knocking her backwards.

Silver took the opportunity to land a blow to Apple Bloom’s neck, causing her to yelp in pain. Before she could turn on Silver, she felt Diamond tackle her side and knock her back to the ground.

As Apple Bloom tried to catch her breath, she heard a sickening crack. It sounded like branches snapping, only a bit more muffled and wet. Looking to her side, she saw Babs standing over Silver’s body.

The filly lay limp on the ground, blood pouring from her mouth, nose, and ears. Her neck had a lump in it, and it was clear she wouldn’t be getting back up on her own. Diamond screamed in anger and slammed her hoof down on Apple Bloom’s eye.

Before she could react to the sharp pain in her face, she felt Diamond get knocked off of her. There were several thuds as Babs hit her in the chest, thoroughly knocking the wind out of her.

Diamond curled up in a ball whimpering. She was gasping for air and couldn’t stand as her stunned diaphragm tried to recover.

“You okay, Bloom?” Babs asked.

“Yeah, how’d you know they’d follow me?” she inquired.

“Lucky guess, figured if they did I could give you an early birthday present.”

Apple Bloom stood up and looked around. “I’m uh—I don’t understand. Looks like we beat them, they won’t bother us anymore. Besides, Silver looks pretty bad.”

“Oh, Bloom, you’re still thinking like one of the good little fillies that rich ponies like these walk all over. You’re not a doormat; you’re an Apple. The only way to shut these two up for good is to kill them.”

Diamond shrieked, not having enough air to scream properly. She sounded like she was choking as she sobbed and cried, trying to say something.

“Babs! They’re ponies, not animals. I can’t do to them what I did to Angel or Lucky!” She looked at Silver who still seemed out cold, then walked over towards Diamond. “Come on, let me take a look.”

She began to mutter. “S-sorry—didn’t know w-was joking! D-don’t kill m-me.”

“Come on, Bloom. Look at Silver, she’s already dead. We either kill Diamond Tiara, or we go to juvenile hall for assault and battery. And that’s if her rich parents don’t sue your family and take everything they’re worth.”

“N-no, w-won’t—I’ll forget t-this ever happened!” Diamond mumbled.

“What, like how you forgot about Lucky? Or forgot about how Scootaloo can’t fly? You’ve always treated me like crap, Diamond. I think. . . Babs is right.”

Diamond glanced between the two of us, her pupils dilating wide as their words sunk in.

“I got rid of the others, we’ll kill her and bury them. You’ll feel good, I promise,” Babs said.

Apple Bloom felt the familiar conflicting emotions—the same she felt each time she killed an animal: anxiety, excitement, guilt, and joy. In that moment she stopped thinking of Diamond as a pony, and started thinking of her as a sick animal. A vile, foul-mouthed, spoiled filly who needed to be put down. No—she didn’t deserve to be put down like Lucky. She had to suffer for being such an insufferable asshole.

“Help!” Diamond screamed, having regained her breath. She quickly inhaled, ready to scream again, when Apple Bloom’s hoof slammed down on her mouth.

There was a cracking sound as her jaw snapped in half. Several teeth fell out, and her next scream was muffled by gurgling blood.

“Shut up!” Apple Bloom felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her heart was beating quickly and she felt overjoyed at the power she now held. “So this is how you felt? Picking on us all the time? I think I understand now!”

She reared up on her hind legs and then slammed both hooves down into her ribs, causing several to snap. Diamond squealed in pain and started to cry harder. She began muttering, attempting to speak.

“What’s that?” Apple Bloom leaned in close to hear her words.

“S-s—sorry,” Diamond only managed the one word before coughing in agony.

“Don’t be. You asked me how it felt when I killed Lucky and Angel?” Apple Bloom lifted her head to make sure Diamond was making eye contact. “It. Felt. Incredible.”

She rolled Diamond onto her back and sat down on her chest. After placing both hooves on Diamond’s neck, Apple Bloom began to push down slowly.

Diamond struggled, but each attempt to free herself caused her jaw and ribs to experience searing hot pain. Her hooves flailed weakly against Apple Bloom’s forelegs. With her attacker sitting on her broken chest, Diamond couldn’t have breathed even if her neck wasn’t being squeezed shut.

Apple Bloom was grinning ear to ear, wondering why she hadn’t done this sooner. Diamond’s mouth flailed uselessly as she began to choke on hew own blood. Her face was turning red and her eyes slowly started to bulge out, sending a stream of tears down her cheeks.

Diamond could feel her lungs burning and her heart racing. There was a crushing pain as she felt her heart suddenly slow down, then stop completely. She opened her mouth as if to tell Apple Bloom that she was killing her, but was quickly losing sensation in her body. The world started getting darker as she lost her vision, and then her consciousness.

Babs stood by and watched the gleeful expression on Apple Bloom’s face as Diamond died. She had felt no joy like this killing her mother, or watching her father die. Yet the amount of joy it was clearly giving Apple Bloom proved that this was the perfect gift to give her favorite cousin.

Once her eyes had gone wide and glossy, Apple Bloom removed her hooves from her neck. The filly didn’t look threatening now. In fact, she looked more pathetic than anypony she had ever seen. Diamond was now laying in a puddle of her own urine, blood soaked into the fur on her face, and staring straight up into the forest canopy.

“You look happy,” Babs said. “I guess a pony is a lot more fun than some dumb squirrel.”

“Yeah. . .” Apple Bloom felt the adrenaline wearing off and was slowly realizing what she had done. “How? Do we explain this?” She began to panic, not sure what to do with the bodies.

“Don’t worry, I’m the pony with a plan. I’ll take care of this. We just need to di—”

A scream cut through the air, interrupting Babs. The two turned and saw Scootaloo and Sweetie, petrified in fear. The pegasus’ wings had even frozen open, her mouth trembling as she searched for the words to express her horror. Sweetie’s wide eyes and rapid breathing betrayed how mortified she was.

“Fuck,” Babs muttered.

Sweetie was first to recover. “Apple Bloom! What happened?”

“I—it—self-defense!” Apple Bloom stuttered.

“We killed them. They had it coming.” Babs walked towards them slowly, never breaking eye contact. “And if you breathe one. Single. Word. I’ll kill you. And if I don’t get to you in time, Apple Bloom and I will tell them you helped.”

“Apple Bloom wouldn’t do that to us, you’re crazy!” Scootaloo shouted.

“B-but—I don’t want to go to j-jail or lose the f-farm. . . AJ will be so disappointed,” Apple Bloom said, still staring at her bloody hooves.

“What are you trying to say?” Sweetie asked. She began to walk over to comfort her, before Babs stepped in her way.

“Sweetie, Babs is right. If you tell anypony, I’ll tell them you helped,” Apple Bloom replied.

“I thought you were our friend!” she replied.

“I am, and I don’t want any of us to go to jail! That’s why. . . we can never talk of this. If one of us goes down, we all go down.”

“Apple Bloom, listen to yourself!” Sweetie pleaded. “I hated them too but this is too far. What’s next, you going to tell me to lure Rarity out here? Where does it end? You just killed two ponies!”

Babs tore a large piece of bark off a nearby tree and tossed it at Sweetie Belle. “Help us dig their grave, or so help me I’ll snap that horn clean off that head of yours.”

“I won’t let you!” Scootaloo said. She got off her scooter and stepped in front of Babs.

“What are you gonna do? Run to Rainbow Dash for help? ‘Please, Dash, I helped murder two fillies! protect me!’” Babs stepped forward and punched her in the chest. “No! Scootaloo, she’ll never talk to you again if she finds out about this. Dash will abandon you. Rose will put you back up for adoption, but nopony will adopt a murderer.”

Scootaloo slumped to the ground as the words sunk in. “Y-you’re right. . .” She began to tremble, petrified by the thought that not only would she be thrown in prison, but that both Dash and her mother would abandon her.

It was perfectly quiet as Babs and Sweetie started digging off to the side of the trail. They had to go closer to the treeline to get away from the mossy, broken cobblestone still scattered around the trail.

Apple Bloom joined them shortly after, recovered from what she had done but still not sure what to say to her friends. Luckily the ground wasn’t too hard for them to make quick progress on the graves.

Off to their side sat Scootaloo, staring deep into the forest as tears ran down her face. She wasn’t sure if she was more scared that her friends were now murderers, or the mere thought of being abandoned again.

“We’re still friends, right, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I don’t know. . .” Sweetie sighed, using her magic to scoop out another large mound of dirt. “I mean, even if it was self-defense you killed them. . .I guess I can see your point, however. If anypony finds out about this, it’ll get bad for all of us and our families.”

“So you won’t tell?” Apple Bloom climbed out of the grave, which seemed plenty deep now for two fillies.

“Yeah, and I guess we can still hang out or ponies will get suspicious. I just. . . I need some time,” Sweetie said.

“Well, you can take it after we’re done here,” Babs stated bluntly. “Don’t get me wrong, the CMC needs to stick together. You’re the only friends I have; the only ones I want.”

Sweetie just nodded, not wanting to talk to the pony she held responsible for this whole mess. Just the fact Babs could say it so coldly and detached had sent a chill down her spine. It was as if Babs truly hadn’t noticed what had just happened, or perhaps she just didn’t care.

Babs dragged Diamond over by a leg and watched her body twitch as it was pulled across the bumpy ground. The blood got smeared around the trail, though luckily she had stopped bleeding. Diamond fell into the grave, landed on her stomach with a dull thud, and her legs splayed open like a discarded rag doll.

Silver was next to be dragged over to the hole. Blood was still flowing out of her nose and large bruises were forming behind her ears. When Silver fell into the grave, she landed on her back. Babs went to the trail and started to kick dirt over the patches of blood on the ground.

The ponies began to fill the hole back up with dirt. Apple Bloom seemed to be getting past her shock, giggling softly to herself as she remembered the rush brought on by the act committed mere minutes ago.

“Apple Bloom, look!” Sweetie pointed down at Silver, whose chest was rising and falling.

“I thought she was dead,” Babs said. She hurried over to take a look. Diamond had been covered and Silver’s lower half was below the dirt now. Her chest was definitely moving. “Well, we can fix that easy enough.”

“No! Maybe I can save her,” Sweetie said. “We don’t have to kill her!”

She jumped into the now-shallow hole and began to examine Silver’s head. There was blood coming from the ears, nose, and mouth. Sweetie recognized an impact that hard likely gave her brain damage. She also noticed the lump in Silver’s neck, and touched it softly.

Silver moaned in pain, and slowly opened her eyes. “Wh—where am I? Why can’t I feel my legs?”

“You’ll be fine, you got in a. . . fight,” Sweetie said.

There were a pair of saddlebags over near Scootaloo, and it gave Babs an idea. She walked over, ignoring the conversation behind her. “Helmet, now.” Babs reached into Sweetie’s bag and pulled out a small sewing kit. It had Rarity’s cutie mark and was given to Sweetie as a gift.

There was a clank as Scootaloo dropped the helmet on the ground. “Take it.”

“Thanks.” She walked back over towards the grave.

“Why is it so cold? Sweetie, where is Diamond? Daddy said she was a bad influence. . .” Silver continued to mumble, occasionally forming a coherent sentence.

“There’s nothing we can do for her,” Babs stated. She tossed the small sewing kit into the grave. Babs then looked down at Silver and smiled. “Sorry, Silver, but it’s time to die.”

Silver looked around, paralyzed both literally and in fear. “I—what?—Help!”

Her scream startled everypony except Babs, who slammed the helmet down over her muzzle. She then started kicking more dirt into the grave.

“Stop—”

“Shut up! I said we’re in this together, and now if they find the bodies they find your stuff and they’ll know it was you and Scootaloo!” Babs threatened.

Sweetie glared daggers at her. “Fine!”

Apple Bloom and Babs finished filling the grave up with dirt. They could still hear Silver sobbing as they covered the helmet with dirt. It would provide her just enough oxygen to die in fear and agony. The thought made Apple Bloom’s grin a little wider.

After they had patted everything down, Apple Bloom turned to Babs. “What next?”

“Well, the four of us go Crusading at the clubhouse. When anypony asks, we went straight there from school without taking a shortcut,” Babs stated. “Understood?”

“Yes,” Apple Bloom answered.

“Ahuh,” Sweetie muttered. “Whatever you say.”

“Scootaloo?” Babs walked over to her. “What are you gonna tell your precious mommy?”

“I uh. . .” She wiped her face with a foreleg. “I was Crusading with you gals at the farm.”

“Good. Scootaloo, sorry if I scared you. You’re a friend and I want you to know that the CMC will never abandon you. You’ll always be my friend.”

“Really?” For the first time she took her gaze off the forest to look at Babs.

“Yes.” She smiled, proud of how easily she’d fooled Scootaloo. “Your friendship means the world to me—to all of us. You have to keep this secret so you can have us, Dash, and your mother. If anyone found out. . . you’d lose us all.”

“Come on, we better get going before it gets late enough for Applejack to notice we didn’t come straight home,” Apple Bloom said.

Babs nodded and helped Scootaloo up, and headed towards the farm. As they walked away, Sweetie came up to Apple Bloom. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay with this?” Sweetie asked.

“Yeah, I mean at first I wasn’t sure. It was true, you know. They thought they were just pushing my buttons, but I really did have to put down Lucky. Then, I took my anger out on a squirrel one day, then another, and another. . . Then, Angel. It makes the pain go away, Sweetie.”

“You killed Angel? I heard Fluttershy’s been looking all over town, and even sent Dash into the forest looking for him!”

“He saw me killing squirrels and he can talk to Fluttershy. I had to. You’re one of my best friends, please don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you, but I don’t approve of this either. If you—” Sweetie hesitated, fearing the answer. It was a question she had to ask. “You said you had no choice, then you said you enjoyed it. Why do you look guilty now?”

Apple Bloom sighed, glancing at the ground. “That’s just it, Sweetie. I feel guilty because I enjoyed it so much.”

Author's Notes:

Director's Cut: For a look into the selection of personality disorders based on the show canon, the and psychology of their personality disorders, check my blog.