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Role Reversal

by Shadowmane PX-41

Chapter 6: Conflictions With Others

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Diamond Tiara and Applebloom were always the first to be called when questions were asked once they made it back into class. Even though everyone was watching them, they had to keep up the act, no matter what, or else Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon might punish them for breaking character.

"Applebloom, who was the first ruler of the Crystal Empire?" Cheerilee asked as the class listened closely. They were wondering whether Applebloom would choke and keep her old accent or be able to hold it all together.

Applebloom took a deep breath and cleared her throat as she addressed Cheerilee and all the kids with the most composure as possible. She looked at Silver, who looked at her with a confident smile.

"The answer, is Queen Quartz." Applebloom said, but she didn't stop there. "She ruled over the Crystal Empire for 20 years before her hideous acts of slavery and cruelty to outsiders sparked an uprising from within the town. Her demise was at the hooves of a brave fighter called Zandatsu, who could move at heightened speeds due to his mastery of time magic."

"Amazing work, Applebloom. Extra credit for your extended answer and further knowledge." Cheerilee was a bit shocked at first, as if she knew Applebloom couldn't have known that much, but she managed to keep her composure.

"Even I'm surprised." Silver Spoon said once Applebloom sat back down at her desk. "How did you know all that?"

"Well, despite my former hick style and temporary upper-crust lifestyle, I am a very wise student here at the Ponyville Schoolhouse." Applebloom explained, polishing her necklace and swishing her hoof mid-sentence in a posh manner.

"Alright, Applebloom. No need to show off, though." Silver reminded her. "I'll let you off with a warning for now, but showing off is only for uncivilized children who don't deserve the upper-crust style."

"Very well then." Applebloom said, agreeing to these new rules that Silver imparted to her.

"Now then, Diamond Tiara." Cheerilee called her up and immediately saw signs of worry on Diamond's face. She really didn't want to do this, but she was looking at a dead end here. There was going to be no way out of this.

"I want you to explain to the class, which region of Equestria the Crystal Empire is located."

"Ah'd be happy to tell ya'll. The northern area." Diamond said, scorning herself mentally for doing so. "Ya can tell it's northern, because it's freezin' up there!" She shivered for effect.

She was laughed at for that last part, the voices ringing in her ears as she made her way back to her seat. She thought that everyone didn't like her new lifestyle. However, the laughter died out when Sweetie Belle motioned them to stop, in an attempt to save her client's dignity.

"I gotta say, I like this new Diamond Tiara." Scootaloo said as she and Silver had a quick talk. "She's kinder, more considerate, and she doesn't care for herself anymore."

"Just remember this is only a temporary change in her attitude, and there's no guarantee whether or not she'll stay the same or return to her roots when the week's over." Silver reminded Scootaloo of that fact.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Scootaloo said, in a deadpan tone as she and Silver listened to the next part of their history lesson.


Once they had broken up for lunch, Applebloom and Diamond Tiara regrouped with Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon. They opened their saddlebags and pulled out a bag lunch each.

"So, Applebloom, how's that fancy-schamncy week with Silver workin' fer ya?" Diamond asked as she sat down next to Applebloom at the nearby table.

"Well, I did engage in a few acts of merriment with Silver Spoon last night." Applebloom said with as much class as possible. "I would explain for you, but they're Silver Family secrets."

"Ah understand." Diamond said as she pulled out a hay sandwich and began to eat it. "Ya'll don't want it gettin' out and ah can respect that."

"Well, so far there's been no drawbacks from this little case of role reversal." Sweetie Belle said as she pulled her face up from the salad she'd been eating.

"No drawbacks, you say?" A snobbish voice said in a loud voice that caught the attention of all of the students. The pony in question was a unicorn colt with a grey coat and a tuxedo. His hair was quite well-trimmed and had gold streaks between the strips of silver. His Cutie Mark was a high grade above a bunch of low grades. "Ha, I say 'ha!' to that!"

"Oh no..." Diamond facehoofed, she knew who that was, but the others didn't. Even Silver was a little flabbergasted at this new pony. "Why did ya have ta show yer face here today, Cut Above?"

"Cut Above?" Sweetie Belle asked, wondering who this new pony was.

"He was one a' my old friends before ah had ta subject mahself to a country life." Diamond Tiara explained before he could arrive at the table. "We dated fer a while because we liked and hated the same things. He's also pretty smart fer a pony his age, gettin' straight A's and all."

"Well, well, well. The famous Diamond Tiara." Cut Above said in a malicious tone. "By the looks of things, these Cutie Mark Cowards have finally knocked you off your pedestal." He said, adding a mean laugh at the end of it.

"Hey! Don't you dare speak to my client like that, you meanie!" Sweetie Belle said, standing up to Cut Above with no fear or regrets. "She's under this influence for 6 more days, you can have her back once we're done with her."

"Shove it, Blank-Flank." He said, his tone turning from calm to spiteful. "Ms. Tiara is my business, not yours. Why don't you just run off home to your little dollies or whatever toys you peasants like to play with?"

"I told you, Applebloom. He's just an ignorant child who doesn't deserve his rich lifestyle." Silver said as she made a cocky smile.

"Say that again, madam. See what happens." He said, shooting an evil gaze at Silver.

"I'm not even going to acknowledge your idiocy with a response, Cut Above." Silver said, turning away from the young unicorn to resume her lunch.

"Ooh... You're a brave one, aren't ya? I like that." He said as he quickly lifted Silver Spoon up in a magical aura and threw her against the wall, causing laughter to ensue from the kids who were watching. "Too bad I have to dress you up in bruises now."

"What the heck, Cut?!" Silver said, turning her head around furiously as she picked up her glasses. "This is not the way a gentleman is supposed to be acting!"

He merely scoffed. "Oh please, you only got your name AND Cutie Mark because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, Silver." He said the next few words whilst he took her up in his magic, threw her again and smashed her face against the table a few times. "I had to work for this honorary emblem of pride, you merely got lucky and were handed it at birth, like a peasant who became an entrepreneur!"

"I'm just gonna run and get the principal!" Scootaloo said as she couldn't bear this any longer. "Make sure you keep up your acts, girls."

"You meddlesome filth should be wiped from this planet!" Cut said as he slapped Silver back and forth with a hand made of his magic. "You are a sin that this planet has to burden! The only way you can be repented is if you do everyone a favour and take your own life, you idiotic, cowardly, lucky, ant!"

"Cut, ya have ta stop this!" Diamond said, standing up for her former friend. She knew she was going to get some backlash from this, but she wasn't bothered by that in the slightest. "If ah'd known you were that brutish, ah would have left yer face buried in mud!"

"D-Diamond, what are you saying?" Cut said as he finally stopped to address his former girlfriend with a solemn look on his face. "Is this a break-up, after all the time we spent together?"

"More like 'ah'm never ever talkin' to ya ever again, and ah'm tellin' yer parents that yer nothin' more than a big bully who don't deserve the rich life he's been leadin' fer 10 years' if that's what ya call a break-up." Diamond said, her words clear and true, she now hated Cut Above with a burning passion. "Ya better fess up to yer punishment like a stallion now, or else things will only get worse fer ya."

"Hmm, what a shame. And here I thought we could have been Very Special Someponies." Cut Above said, his voice turning calm as a simple stream of water. "Take a note, Cutie Mark Crybabies. You think you have your work cut out for you when Ms. Tiara rains on your parade? Hah! Diamond's gonna get a taste of her own medicine once I'm through with her."

"Try us!" Sweetie Belle said as she felt a bruise from a few days when Diamond had given her a 'wrestling demonstration'. "I'm sure you can't possibly be worse than the infamous Diamond Tiara. No offense."

"None taken." Diamond said, calming down so that this could be dealt with words rather than violence.

"Try me..." He said, sneering evilly.

"Calling us Blank-Flanks on a regular basis." Applebloom said clearly.

"But you ARE Blank-Flanks. You don't even know what you're supposed to do in this world." Cut Above retorted.

"Getting a Cutie Mark and then having Diamond call it a fake!" Sweetie said.

"I secretly take a child's most treasured bits and swindle them by giving them fake bits." He said back.

"Being blackmailed into making ourselves public enemy #1 by revealing embarrassing stories about everypony!" Applebloom said.

"I've single-handedly bullied and beat up dozens of children at other places until they do my bidding." Cut said, his words arrogant as always.

"Having my cousin turned into a bully for fear she might have been bullied as well!" Applebloom said, hoping that would bring Cut to his knees.

"I've spread tons of dismay and confusion among other families by simply talking to them, yet mother and father consider me an angel." He said, still as arrogant and smug as ever.

"Having the chance to carry the flag at the Equestria Games and almost losing it when Diamond pointed out Scootaloo's flying inability!" Sweetie Belle said, hoping that would get Cut Above on the run.

"I've changed the fates of entire sporting leagues by simply altering the scores during the breaks between games." He sniggered, brushing his coat in a stuck-up fashion.

"Turning the whole school on us by denying their chance to see a famous celebrity!" Applebloom said, hoping that would finally end this little debate.

"I've manipulated principals, teachers, substitute teachers, the lot. It's really quite easy when you think about it." He smiled, knowing that the CMC were out of firepower now.

Before the CMC could even respond to him, they stopped, knowing that Diamond Tiara hadn't really bothered them after the 'Twilight Time' incident.

"Out of firepower, are we? What a shame." He smile, relishing in his victory. "Oh, and for the finishing move, I've made fillies and colts play jump-rope with barbed wire!"

"What kind of pony is this kid?!" Applebloom raised her hooves as she turned to Sweetie Belle. "Now I'm actually GLAD that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bully us. I do NOT want to get on this colt's bad side."

"A wise choice indeed, Blank-Flank." He said, as he pinched Applebloom's cheeks and walked off. "You know, I could give you everything you could ever want, so long as you stay like this once the little wager is up."

"What do you mean by everything?" Silver asked, as she finally got to her feet, wincing in pain as the bruises and bumps that Cut did her were finally coming into play.

"I could give you bits, love, adoration by others, wonderful treasures of presents." He said, finding something that he believed would get Applebloom to break her friendship with the CMC. "Even... Your Cutie Mark."

"My... Cutie Mark?" Applebloom looked shocked, she'd been looking for her mark before she'd even started the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Cut Above was giving her the chance to earn one, for real!

"I'll give you until Saturday, when the bet ends to think about it." He said as he turned away from Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Silver and Diamond and walked outside, for his recess. "Good day, fillies, gentlecolts and Blank-Flanks."

"Jeez, what a jerk." Scootaloo said as she rejoined the group just as Cut Above left them. "Hope I never have to go to one of his birthday parties. Right, Applebloom?" She noticed that she wasn't talking back to her. "Uhh... Applebloom?"

"This is finally mah chance..." Applebloom thought to herself. "If ah accept Cut Above's offer, ah can finally get mah Cutie Mark, and understand mah goal in this world... But at the same time, ah'd lose Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, mah only friends her at school..."

"Why isn't she answering me?" Scootaloo asked Silver, who put on her broken glasses to get a mildly clear look at Applebloom.

"She's thinking." Silver explained to the orange pegasus. "Cut Above's offer got her in a deep thought."

"But if ah choose not to accept his offer, ah'd still be a Blank-Flank. Applebloom's thoughts turned worrying as she thought of the downsides. "Ah'd still need ta find mah place in this world, and ah'd still be bullied by Diamond or Silver. Or even worse, bullied by Cut Above as well! Ah mean, sure ah can keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders if ah do, but for a few terms of constant torment? Ah can't decide!!!"

"Applebloom! Wake up!!!" Silver shook her, breaking her train of thought. Applebloom shook her head once Silver brought her back to reality, and then stopped a second after. "You were thinking for an awful long time."

"Sorry about my deepened venture into thought, Silver." Applebloom said once she turned around to finish her lunch. "His offer is both tempting and a very bad idea at the same time."

"Offer? What offer?" Scootaloo asked.

"He said I could get my Cutie Mark, if I just gave up-"

"Don't... Even... Think about him, Applebloom." Scootaloo's expression turned very serious very fast. "He's merely a bully who's trying to break up the Cutie Mark Crusaders. You shouldn't be bribed by his words. That's usually how bullies work towards groups of friends!"

"Even I have to admit, She does have a point." Silver said, backing up Scootaloo's words. "Accepting Cut's offer is a very, VERY bad idea, Applebloom. He's trying to do the unthinkable, break the group up and leave you cold, lonely and friendless!"

"Ah'm not sure whether it's workin' or not, but ah can see it in yer face, Applebloom. Yer worried that both sides are gonna have a bad outcome on top of a good outcome." Diamond Tiara said, trying to boost her former rival's morale.

"I'm so confused." Applebloom said, as she held up both hooves like an almighty scale. "I-I... I don't even know where to go from here!" The girls was in tears now. This wasn't an act, Applebloom was really sad about this.

"There, there. Don't get so riled up about this, sugarcube." Diamond Tiara said as she proceeded to hug the crying earth pony, receiving a hug in return. "We all get worried about makin' tough decisions sometimes, and sometimes both choices might seem equally good..."

"...But some choices might not be what you bargained for." Silver said, hugging the two of them, and helping deliver the message to Applebloom.

"In the end, the true choice lies in what is more important to you..." Scootaloo said, adding to this group hug.

"...Friends, or your desires." Sweetie Belle said as the five of them were sharing in one big group hug together as friends. It had definitely gotten through to Applebloom's ears and she stopped crying.

"Thank you." Applebloom said as the hug broke up after a few seconds. "Thank you all for opening my eyes to the truth."

"You're welcome." Sweetie Belle said, as they all returned to eating their food before lunch was over. Diamond Tiara had taught Applebloom a friendship lesson, and it felt good for the both of them.

The rest of the lunch went by pretty smoothly, with the five of them eating and talking about the good things in life, rather than what had happened with Cut Above. In between morsels of food, Applebloom and Diamond Tiara looked at each other, knowing it in each others' eyes. They liked being friends now and it was only day 2 of the 7 day bet...

Author's Notes:

Hey, everyone. I finally decided to get this story dusted off after what seems like forever. Sorry for the wait, I had to do a LOT of things both on and off FIMFiction.

There was also an issue with my last computer breaking and me having to get a new Windows 8 to replace it, but either way, things should be good and well now.

I've also been spending most of my time on a separate fic called Dazzle Dazzle, Little Stars updated and given lots of support. You should check it out as well when you have the time. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

But anyways, I'll see you soon. It's good to be back on FIMFiction, and I really have to get to bed befo-

Celestia: Haven't I warned you enough, Shadowmane?! Your bedtime was 30 minutes ago!

Me: No, Mama. Dun spank me wid da mean paddwe!

Celestia: Hopefully this will change your tune for the better, young stallion! (Spanks me with wooden paddle)

Me: (Starts crying)

Celestia: Now let me get you into bed for the night. Oh, and as of now, I'll be putting a lock on that door so you can't get out when its' past your bedtime.

Me: Otay, Mama... (Gets carried back to crib with the other foals)

Next Chapter: Character Broken/Discussions Estimated time remaining: 26 Minutes
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