Author's Notes:

Sorry for the rather short chapter, but I felt it was a good ending spot.

Giving the length here, SweetieMash will continue to be what I work on (in addition to my rigorous schedule with The Wheel and the Butterfly). Guessing the wait for the next chapter will be shorter.

Thanks for reading!

Sweetie Belle focused her complete attention on the group of foals in front of her. She felt the ground as her hooves touched the worn dirt path and bounced off it again and again. She could hear the blood rushing past her ears and a loud, high pitched scream. Even these few details began to fade from her awareness as she closed the distance between her and the fillies in front of her.

“Blank flank! Blank Flank! Blank…”

“… aaaaaaaeeeeeeee…”

Silver Spoon’s ears perked up at the sound of a screech that was quickly getting louder in volume.

Seemingly oblivious, Diamond Tiara continued her taunting of the crying, young colt. “Blank flank! Blank Flank!”

“…aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Silver Spoon turned as the screaming got closer. Her vision was soon filled by a bright green glow from the angry, white unicorn that was rapidly approaching. Silver Spoon’s light purple eyes widened behind her glasses as she realized Sweetie Belle was on a collision course for her and her friend.

She began to frantically nudge the pink earth pony next to her.

“Blank-OW! What?!” Diamond Tiara asked. She quickly ascertained what her friend was drawing her attention to and managed to utter a quick, “Oh…” before Sweetie Belle slammed into Silver Spoon who, in turn, fell into Diamond Tiara.

Silver Spoon’s vision blurred partially from the impact, and partially because here glasses went flying off her face.

Diamond Tiara’s saw stars briefly as the world turned sideways.

Slowly, the two fillies regained their senses as a green glow began to completely envelop the area around them and a high pitched, ominous buzzing sound filled their ears.

Silver Spoon looked up and gulped. Blurred or not, she could see well enough to tell she was staring into a face that was currently regarding her and her friend with absolute contempt. “Uh… Diamond Tiara?” she called out meekly, “somehow I don’t think that colt is a charity case anymore…”

Diamond Tiara swallowed as she glanced over her friend and looked into Sweetie Belle’s rage filled eyes, “Ye…yeah…” she stammered out. The two fillies on the ground pulled their forelegs up to their chest and looked fearfully up at the white unicorn.

Sweetie Belle said nothing, making a small mental note that the screaming had stopped and that it was likely coming from her in the first place. Memories of her and her friends being bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon surfaced, fueling the feelings of anger that was already bubbling and boiling insider her. The light from her horn surged in intensity as the buzzing continued to increase in volume and tone.

The two closed their eyes as the buzz emanating from Sweetie Belle’s horn crescendoed into a fevered pitch.

“SWEETIE BELLE!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes shot open wide as Cheerilee called out to the young filly. As angry as she was, the sounds of an authority figure calling out in an alarmed, chastising tone was enough to get her to stop dead in her tracks. Her angry expression quickly evaporated and she turned to face Cheerilee with a panicked, guilty look.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“What is going on, here?!” Cheerilee demanded.

Still lying on their backs on the ground, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged wicked grins as they realized the sudden shift in power. Diamond Tiara put on her best hurt and scared expression. “Ma… Ms. Cheerilee, we were just…”

“BULLIES… YELL… BLANK FLANK… SWEETIE BELLE… SAVE ME…!” Button cried as he flailed his forehooves about in front of him.

Cheerilee turned and stared at the brown colt as she attempted to decipher the string of words he had uttered.

“Bu…but Ms. Cheerilee…” Diamond Tiara said as she attempted to gain her teachers attention.

“SCREAM… MAGIC… GREEN…. GLOWING…”

“Button Mash! Slow down!” Cheerilee asked of the young brown colt as she held up her forehoves.

Silver Spoon rose to her hooves and squinted out into her grassy surroundings, she picked out a light blue blur in the sea of green and trotted over. She reached down with her hooves and placed her glasses onto her face. She turned to the magenta pony as Cheerilee continued her attempt to calm Button Mash down. Silver Spoon put on her best, sad puppy dog look, trotted over to Cheerilee, and…

“These two were bullyin’ Button Mash!” Apple Bloom cried as she and Scootaloo ran up to the group of ponies.

“Was not!” Diamond Tiara cried defensively.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, “Do you hear that? The lying machine just turned on.”

“Apple Bloom? Scootaloo? What…” Cheerilee began.

The strategy of playing the victim forgotten, Silver Spoon mustered her wits about her and quickly formulated a retort, “We were not!”

“Were too!” Apple Bloom replied.

“If you two wore pants they’d totally be on fire right now!” Scootaloo chimed in.

“We weren’t bullying him!” Diamond Tiara insisted.

“You hear that, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo said. “Apparently there’s a new definition for bullying that somehow doesn’t include teasing someone until they start crying.”

Apple Bloom snickered.

“What?! Crying…” Cheerilee exclaimed, “Button is this…”

“… FRIENDS… DANGER…”

Cheerilee sighed and raised a forehoof to her face.

“We weren’t bullying him!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon said in unison in a somewhat desperate tone.

“Were too!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shot back.

“… HOSPITAL… MEDICAL WASTE…”

“Were not!”

“Were too!”

Cheerilee eye’s darted back and forth between the two pair of arguing fillies and Button Mash. Her face began to scrunch up in frustration as she attempted to ascertain exactly what had transpired.

Sweetie Belle merely stood in place, her face a deep shade of red as her looked over the quarreling foals, confused school teacher, and babbling colt.

“… QUARANTINE… INFECTION…”

“Were not!”

“Were too!”

“… ZOMBIES… APOCALYPSE!” Button Screamed has he places his forehoofs to either side of his head.

“ENOUGH!” Cheerilee shouted.

The foals all went quiet.

“Alright, all of you to the schoolhouse. I’ll sort this out there,” Cheerilee said as she pointed out with a forehoof towards the red building.

Diamond Tiara tried to protest, “But, Sweetie Belle…”

“GO!” Cheerilee commanded sternly.

The foals all sighed out a chorus of, “Yes, ma’am,” as they hung their heads walked towards the schoolhouse, the magenta mare right behind them.

Sweetie Belle kept her eyes pointed at the ground as felt a deep pit open in her stomach. Defending Button Mash, or not, there’s no way Cheerilee is going to let me off for attacking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. She’ll probably tell my parents… or Rarity… Sweetie Belle felt water well up behind her eyes as she attempted to choke back sobs.

“Hey…”

Sweetie Belle felt somepony gently nuzzle the side of her face as she trudged onward.

She looked up into the smiling face of Button Mash. His warm, amber eyes locked onto her glassy emerald ones.

“Thanks for being my hero,” Button Mash said.

Sweetie Belle smiled meekly and nodded as her cheeks flushed a luminescent shade of vermilion.

Worth it!