I spent most of the day in Dad's shed, thinking to myself. I know what I want to do, I just don't know how I'm going to do it. In the end I figured I would have to start some digging, learn what I can about Diamond and her family. Dad's computer had some information, but nothing that I could really use immediately. I doubt sales figures will really help me bring Diamond down a peg.

Towards the end of the day Sweetie Bell came over. Apparently there's some drama happening at her place so she's staying here tonight. When Dad told her where I was and what I was doing, she left to get the others. I was a little disgruntled that he very blatantly told her everything, but there's no going back now. The last few minutes I've more been waiting for them to show up than anything else. I don't know what I'm going to say when they get here, but I'll deal with that when it happens.

"Easy, is there an easy way out of this?" I ask aloud, laying my head on the computer counter. This is more out of boredom than anything else.

"A psychiatric evaluation would be required for any treatments to be prescribed," Easy responds from the computer system in the wall.

"You said it," I mutter, rolling my head to the other side. "Who are Diamond Tiaras affiliates?"

"Diamond Tiara, resident of Ponyville, has most notably been seen associating with Silver Spoon; daughter to Ingot and Fine China. New associates include those of the Ponyville High School cheer leading team, several business officials with dealings to Barnyard Bargains, and Ponyville civilian Rumble." That peaks my interest, getting me to look towards the screens.

"Tell me more about Rumble."

"Ponyville youth and younger brother to Thunderlane, his marks in school show an aptitude for athletic programs and Home Etiquette. No outstanding misdemeanors on record. Subject shows passive traits towards public officials. Ranks highly for recruitment potential." Recruitment potential? What does that even mean? Before I could ask I hear a knock at the door and head up to answer it.

"Hey," I mutter when I open the door. I lock up when I see everypony standing before me. I originally thought it was going to be me and the girls, but I guess they all wanted to bring their coltfriends along as well. And Twist. And Rumble. It's going to be a long night.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into everypony along the way and... well, one thing led to another and we're all here to help you take Diamond down!" Sweetie tells me, all of them giving me a determined nod. I look from face to face before I look up to Rumble. He gives me an apologetic look before nodding to me. I smile up to him, somehow feeling better.

"Come on in, and don't touch anything. I'm not responsible for anypony losing body parts," I tell them before heading back inside.

I bring them down to the open area by the computer and summon some cushions from the house. Button and Sweetie take the cot that's on the side while everypony else get comfortable. I take my seat back at the computer and starts closing all of the files I was reading. I doubt any of them can read Latin, but it's still sensitive information. Once done I spin back around to face the others. They're all looking up at me, waiting for me to say something. Seeing so many eyes on me makes me break into a nervous sweat. Why are there so many ponies here right now!?

The girls I get. Rumble, that makes sense. Button and Pipsqueak, there's at least a reason for them to be here. Twist is the most confusing of them all. I've always been friendly with her, and I do enjoy her company! But... I don't know, we never really hang out and we don't interact outside of school really. I'm sure she has her reasons for being here, and if she wants to help I'm fine with that too. I just find it odd.

"So... where do we start?" Rumble asks, breaking the silence.

"How 'bout we shave 'er? Ah'm sure that'll send a message!" Apple Bloom says, getting a few chuckles.

"I thought the idea was to take her down completely, not just short term revenge," Pip mentions. "If we're going to do that than we should really look into what gives Diamond her power and prestige and chip away at that."

"Money, a tight ass, loose morals, and an army of skanks." Scootaloo lists, getting some nods. "We're not going to make her poor, and I doubt there's anything we can do to make her suddenly get fat, so what does that leave us with?"

"Loose morals?" I ask, not understanding how that's a bonus for her. I get a few odd looks from the others and decide that the back of my bangs are immensely more interesting.

"Well... if we're not going to lower her, then let's try the opposite then." Pip mentions.

"You want to make her more popular?" Sweetie asks, tilting her head.

"Is that even possible?" Twists asks.

"No, hear me out. I've been thinking about this for some time now. There's nothing we can do to bring her down. Not without doing something illegal-"

"And why isn't that allowed?" Scootaloo asks, but is ignored.

"So if we can't take anything away from her, then why not make what she has meaningless? What if we moved the spot light to somepony else?" Everypony stays quiet for a moment, thinking to themselves.

It's not a bad idea, but not without its flaws. Who do we put in her place then? And would we even do that? I know I couldn't do that, I can't handle the ponies I know staring at me. I don't even want to imagine the entire school look directly at me! This doesn't seem like an entirely viable plan to me. Besides, if we pick one pony for us to work on making more popular, than she only needs to discredit one pony. If we're going to do this, then we should do this as a group. But how would that even work? How can we make a mass populace envy a small group more than their old ideals?

Wait... that sounds familiar. What am I thinking of? I turn around and stare up at the computer as I try to figure out what I'm thinking about. I pretty much described something, but what am I talking about?

"Oh my..." I mutter when it hits me, gaining everypony's attention. "We need to be Spartans."

"Um... what?" Rumble asks nervously. I scoot a bit closer and start to type away, looking for a specific file. It shouldn't be classified, then again, nothing should be classified.

Soon enough I find the files I want and start to read through them. Sure enough, the idea I had is pretty much there. What I want to is pretty much how Spartans convince tribes and villages to join their cause. It's almost step by step ever!

First off, show of force. Make your presence known to the locals. Don't give them too much information though. You want them to start talking and making their own assumptions. The Spartans would do this normally by defeating some nearby monster or saving captives.

Next they start prodding all of the local power players. Public officials, ponies who have sway with others, military leaders, the sort. They try to make it look as if they're looking for a faction to back. And if the previous item was done properly, then it will show them that there's a new player in the political field. This also divides the locals, making them easier to assimilate.

From there it's just playing the political field. Pit two powerful factions against each other and come in to save the day. Sometimes you don't even have to do anything to get them to fight. The threat of losing their previous power is enough to get some to act on their own. It calls on a lot of waiting and seeing too, but that makes sense.

With Pips idea in mind, I think we can do this. We work together and take the top spot at school. Push her to the side. It's nearing the end of high school, so all we have to do is keep it up for the year. Or at least until we push Diamond aside. From there I can do what I want freely. But this is where we need to start. Otherwise she'll just use the public to do her bidding.

"Everything alright Shadow?" Sweetie asks, getting me to look back to them.

"I have an idea, but it'll take all of us working together all school year long to make it work," I tell them, the idea still running rampant in my head. They all share a look before looking back to me, their looks of determination coming back anew.

"What's the plan?" Rumble asks.

I groan when my alarm starts to buzz. I try to hit the snooze button, but I'm too groggy to do it properly and end up knocking it off of my dresser. We were up till three in the morning working out plans and ideas to take down Diamond. It was a pain, but I think we have a really good picture of what we're going to do and what we're getting into. It's less of a plan and more of a collection of ideas that we'll try as opportunity presents itself, but we're all in this. Or, so we all claimed last night.

With the buzzing annoying me to no end I force myself up and get ready for the day. I feel... numb. Yesterday I was simultaneously ready to rip Diamonds head off and banish myself to Mooseden. Now that I have a plan of revenge and a group of ponies willing to help me, I don't feel much of anything. I can't explain it. Shouldn't I still feel mad about everything? Or at the very least nervous? I should feel something right now, but I don't. Maybe I will later when I actually get into the mess. Or maybe the fact that I have so many ponies willing to help is putting me at ease.

I'm amazed I didn't have to ask them to help. They came more out of obligation than anything else. For some of them I get it. I'd do the same for my friends, why wouldn't they? And if Pip and Button really care for Sweetie and Scoots then it makes sense that they would too. Rumble is equally understandable. Twist was the random one in the end. She really wants to take Diamond down. I guess she's had enough of being picked on. I was a little worried when she made any suggestions. They all tended to be more on the... violent side. She really wants to take her down.

After getting ready for the day I grab my bags and make my way straight for school. We all agreed to meet up at our usual spot in the morning. Probably not the best idea, seeing as we stayed up till three, if not later. But, if we're going to destroy her little empire at school, no time like the present.

"How's she doing?" I ask Pip when I make it to the tree just outside of school. The two of them are laying underneath the tree, Scootaloo using Pip as a pillow to sleep on.

"She'll live. Though at the rate she's drooling she might become dehydrated." I chuckle at that, taking a seat beside him. "What about you?"

"Meh," I shrug, staring out at the ponies making their way to school. "I think I've spent all of my energy yesterday being angry and depressed. Now... now I just want to get started. Is that normal?"

"Nothing in Ponyville is normal." I hum in response to that. No sense in arguing with that. "Did you find it weird that Twist was there last night?"

"Right!? I mean, the more the merrier, but it was a little out of left field." That makes me glad. So I'm not the only one who noticed that, thank you!

"Yeah. I mean, there are a lot ponies that would like to take her down a peg. But I didn't really think she would be that willing to help us. I don't know why, but it gives me bad vibes."

"You don't think she's spying on us, do you?" I ask, having had the same thought occur more than once myself.

"Mmm.... no. I don't see what she would gain from that. But there's something she wants out of all of this, something she's not telling us. We better keep an eye on her, just to make sure." I nod to him, dropping the subject as Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom approach us. I wasn't the only one to question why she wanted to help, that's comforting.

"Is she going ta make it?" Apple Bloom asks, getting a chuckle from Sweetie.

"She'll live, probably. Are you girls ready for this? Because after today there's no going back," I tell them, gulping inwardly myself. I don't think I'm really ready for this. But it's something I've convinced myself to do, so there's no turning back for me.

"Ah'm with ya! Through thick n' thin!" Apple Bloom cheers, taking a step forward.

"Yeah! Besides, this was probably going to happen to me with my singing career anyway. Better to do it early with my friends," Sweetie mentions, stepping up beside Bloom.

"Huh!?" Scootaloo gasps, jumping to her hooves in a panic. We all laugh at her confusion as she steps up, still hazy from lack of sleep. "We doin this or what? I didn't cut out six hours of sleep for nothing." We all smirk at that and turn towards school. This is it, no going back now.

"Let's go conquer high school."

We march our way into school and head straight for school square. There aren't that many ponies here right now, but the few that are have their sights set on us. All of the others came earlier to start spreading a rumor we made together. Apparently we're out for blood with Diamond. Not entirely untrue, but with it being whispered to a few key ponies we'll inform the entire school by the end of the day.

The school square is an open space in the center of the school. It's where the popular kids tend to hand out, meaning it's Diamonds domain. So we're going there to confront her. This is our show of force. We're going to show the entire school that we're not going to take any of her crap anymore. We're going to show her that we're done being pushed around. And we're going to show her who's responsible for her downfall. We can't falter here. No matter what, our message needs to be clear. I need to be clear. She crossed the wrong pony this time.

When we make it there we stop just shy of her group of friends. I don't see her yet, meaning she's not at school yet. If she doesn't show up today that won't be too be of an issue. It means we can get a head start on spreading rumors about her. Well... are they rumors if they are true? Either way, we're going to spread the word that she fucked the photo teacher so she could print that story. No proof, just words. The school will take care of the rest.

One of her friends, a unicorn mare I don't know the name of, decides to approach us, having a few of the others follow after her.

"Can I help you? 'Cause you're in the wrong area," she tells us, throwing a smirk back to her friends.

"We're here for Diamond," I tell her, leaving it at that.

"Well she's not here, so go away-"

"This is a matter between wolves, little lamb. Go back to your corral before you get hurt," Apple Bloom tells her, stepping towards her intimidatingly. She goes to cast a spell, but I catch her before she could get it off. It becomes a short fight over control of her horn via magic. This is something Dad taught me to do early on. When fighting a unicorn magic is key. If they don't have magic, they are much more likely to submit. I see the panic in her eyes as I exert my power over her, making her take a step back.

"Like I said, we're here for Diamond. Why don't you be a good little lamb and go back with the others," I tell her calmly, getting a quick nod from her. I release her and she scurries back to her group, telling them what happened quietly.

With my little show of force a small crowd has formed around the area. Intrigued ponies stare on from the safety on the walkways and classroom windows. None of the teachers have been alerted yet, so we're in the clear for the time being.

I don't know how long we waited. It couldn't have been long, since the bell never rung. But it felt like an eternity. Every pair of eyes, every pony leaning in to whisper something, every new face coming to see what's going on plays out before me in extreme detail. I do my best to push it all out and stay focused, but I can't help it! There are too many eyes on me right now. Especially coming from the ponies we just called sheep! They keep shooting us the stink eye, whispering things to one another. I don't care what they have to say, but seeing them talk about me is still driving me crazy! All of my old inhibitions are telling me to run home and hide under my blankets! But I have to do this. I have to stand for my family. There's no turning back, no retreat, no giving in. I'm in this till the bitter end.

I stir in the crowd catches my attention. I look out as a group of ponies scurry to make way for somepony. My fears tell me to run from the probable teacher coming to tell us off. But those fears double when I see that it's Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara heading right for us. I look to the others for a boost of confidence before marching towards her. This is it! I'm going to walk right up to her, tell her what's on my mind, and leave it at that. I can't let her have any say in this.

"Diamond-"

GLOMP

I let out a high pitched squeak when she rushes forward and squeezes me in a tight hug. The world is lost to me as I stand there, being embraced by Diamond. I have no sense of time, of those around me, I can't even feel myself as she stands there hugging me! What does she think she's doing!?

"You poor, poor thing! When I saw the article I just had to know if you were okay! If you ever need anything you just ask me and I'll be there to help you, okay?" What!? NO! No, this isn't how it's supposed to happen! What's going on!?

"Uh... no, I-"

"Like, I can't even imagine the torture you've had to endure!" Silver continues in her mock concern. "You're so brave for coming to school. Like, how could you manage to stand in front of all these ponies? Like, so brave!"

"You take it easy today and let me know if anypony is bothering you, okay?" she asks sweetly. I can only stare on dumbly as she tussles my mane and starts to walk off. Does she really think this is funny? Does she really think nothing bad is going to come of this? Does she have no shame? Just as she’s about to step into the crowd I finally force the words out of my mouth. I don't even know what I'm saying, but I speak.

"I'm going to fuck Rumble stupid." The crowd goes silent. I go silent! What did I even say!? That's not even close to what I originally was going to talk about! Where did all of the talk about justice and corruption of ponies go? Where did that come from!? That being said, it definitely got her attention. She stops and turns back to me, scoffing at my remark.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asks, trying her best to not sound offended.

"You heard me. I am going to fuck Rumble until he's a big stupid heap of a stallion. Is there a problem with that?" I give a little tilt of the head when I plainly ask her that. She looks around, seemingly looking for confirmation on what I said, before approaching me. She stands tall and does her best to make me feel as little as possible. It works, on some parts. I really wish I wasn't so short some times.

"No, you're not. You're going back to class and keeping quiet like you usually do. Like you should," she tells me, narrowing her eyes as she glares right through me. I swallow the lump in my throat as I fight all of my instincts telling me to run and hide. I don't know where all of this is coming from, but it's working. I just need a finisher. Something that will send her over the edge. Hm...

"So, he's used you a lot, what does he like? Or did you just take it and-"

SMACK

The crowd gasps and goes silent as Diamond sets her hoof back down. I have to stretch my jaw to get the numbness out before looking back up at her. She's beyond mad at this point. This is a level of anger I've never seen in a pony before. I must have really hit a chord with her. Time to show everypony that I'm not backing down from her.

"Is that part of it? Did he leave you because you don't hit hard enough? I'll keep that in mind." A few spectators chuckle at that, but she silences them with a quick glare.

"You don't want to take me on-" she tries to warn me, but I cut her off.

"No, you don't want to take me on. But we're past that point now," I tell her slowly, feeling my rage start to build up. "You should have left my family out of this. But there's no going back now. I won't stop until you're begging me for mercy. And at that point, and only at that point, I am going to kick your ass." She scoffs at that, shoving her face against mine. I push back on her, digging my hooves into the ground.

"Why wait? Come on, little filly, hit me. Or are you too much of a pansy to make a move?" I growl a little from that. I want to hit her. I want to smack that smirk right off of her smug face and make her pay. But I know it will be much sweeter when she's begging me to stop. So I wait, for now. It'll come soon enough, I just have to be patient.

"What's going on here?" A teacher calls out over the crowd. Ponies start to disburse from all over, obscuring the two of us. We stay still until our friends start to pull us apart. But we never break eye contact. We stare on, waiting for the other to do or say the right thing.

My friends bring me down a corridor and stop by a random section of lockers, breathing a collective sigh of relief. Sweetie brings a hanker chief out and starts to dab at my lips. Apparently I'm bleeding, though I never noticed the light trickle. I just close my eyes and try to calm my racing heart.

"Holy shit that was intense!" Scootaloo gasps out, taking a seat beside me. "But it was awesome!"

"Easily half the school saw that! They'll be talking about that for the rest of the summer!" Pip adds.

"Ah'm just glad ya didn't hit her. Made ya look like the bigger pony," Apple Bloom tells me, patting my shoulder. "Are ya alright?"

"I'm... fine, I think. It all felt so quick and... I'm still wrapping my head around the whole thing." I really don't feel like all of that just happened. I was there, I witnessed everything that occurred, but it doesn't feel real to me. I don't know how I said what I said or managed to stand in front of that many ponies for that long, but I did.

"I'll say! You just told the whole school that you're going to fuck Rumble! Where did that come from?" Scootaloo asks, getting a smack on the arm from Pip. I did tell the whole school that I'm going to fuck Rumble, didn't I? I'm sure I'll have an episode about that later, right now I... Right now I don't really feel much of anything. Other than the numbness around my mouth.

"I think we'll deal with that later. Let's get to class and meet back up for lunch. And in the next round, let's try to stick to the script... but Shadow?" I look over to him, seeing the confident smile he has on. "You won that round."

I give a tired yawn as I make my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I stick my hoof out and wait... but nothing happens. Strange, normally there would be orange juice in my hoof by this point. What's going on? I open my eyes and take a look around. Mom isn't here. Strange, where would she be? She has work in the afternoons normally. Where is she?

I go upstairs and poke my head into her room. Seeing nopony in there, I step inside and take a better look. I could have sworn I heard ponies talking earlier, where are they? I start to leave when somepony flushes the toilet. Oh, she was going to the bathroom, duh. That was oddly paranoid of me!

GLOMP

"Tempestive! How is my favorite nephew in the whole wide world!" I give a shrilled squeak when Auntie Tia scoops me up in a big hug, squeezing me with all her might.

"Auntie... Tia... you're... crushing... me..." I gasp out, trying to escape.

"Oh hush, you can handle a bit more," she says mockingly as she squeezes a little tighter. I try my best to pry myself out of her iron hold, but it's all for naught. Goodbye life, I barely knew you... "And I'm done. You can drop the act now," she tells me as she sets me down. I lay still on the floor for a moment as I let death overcome me. She squeezed me too hard, and now I'm dead. "Fine, more breakfast for me then."

"Fine, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?" I ask her as I stand back up, still happy that she's here. I just don't like it when ponies hug me tightly.

"Funny story, a guard blew a hole in my room at the castle, so I'll be staying here for a short time! I was out with your father earlier, but now I'm free spend some quality time with you! Well... quality time at work, that is. Would you like to go to Canterlot today?"

"... yes. Yes, I would." Is that even a question? I'll take nearly any excuse to leave the house! "Do I have to wear the vest though?" She smiles at that, making me beam with joy.

"No vests while I'm around, okay?" This is awesome! I get to spend the day at Canterlot, with no vest, with Auntie Celly! Today is going to be awesome!

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