Apple Bloom was more apprehensive than usual to go to school the following day, fearing what fallout she might have triggered with her impermissible yet still satisfying misdeed.

When she arrived, Scootaloo smiled and greeted her like usual. Rumble must not have told her about what happened in the darkroom. The colt however sat uncharacteristically quiet and stiff as a board all through their morning classes. Though he avoided eye contact with Apple Bloom, she could still feel Rumble's eyes on her whenever she wasn't looking.

She mildly wished she hadn't kissed him but at the same time she also wished she had a picture of it to help her relive the moment. Should she try to apologize, wondered Apple Bloom. Maybe she should just take lewd photos of herself and hide them in his saddle bag. Maybe both. Things were clearly weird now between them and it was only a matter of time before it began to fester on her friendship with Scootaloo and then probably Sweetie Belle too.

Miss Cheerilee pointed at her chalk diagram of a cross section of an eye as she tried to wrap up science class. "The interesting thing is that everything your eye sees is actually upside-down. When your brain gets an image from your eyes, it has to flip it right side up so it makes sense."

Apple Bloom raised her hoof.

"Yes, Apple Bloom," called Cheerilee, excited to see the filly with a question and in science class no less.

She squinted in a strained expression, trying to remember what she wanted to ask. She couldn't, so she just asked the first thing to come to her mind. "Uh, what's inside an eye?"

Cheerilee tapped the center of the diagram. "You mean inside the big part?" she smiled.

"Uh-huh," Apple Bloom nodded back.

Cheerilee looked down at her book but was unable to come up with the technical answer. "Well, the name escapes me but it's a clear jelly-like fluid that's just meant to keep your eye round."

Apple Bloom heard the word 'jelly' and immediately formed a follow-up question. "What does it taste like?"

"What?" laughed Diamond Tiara, shaking her head. Then much quieter so the teacher wouldn't hear, "Freak."

The whole class seemed to shift in their seats to gawk at Apple Bloom for the question.

Cheerilee's face fell. "I'm… not sure and I hope no one actually knows." Her eyes flicked up to the clock. "It is recess time though so let's go outside everypony."

The students broke from their desks and clamored for the door to claim their turf on the playground. Apple Bloom got up with them but Cheerilee called out to her as discreetly as she could manage.

"Um, Apple Bloom? May I talk to you for a moment?"

Apple Bloom turned back around to see a downcast Miss Cheerilee waiting behind her desk. The filly approached with a sigh and immediately began thinking of the face and the sounds her teacher had made in the barn with her brother on top of her.

Cheerilee watched the last student trot out the door before her eyes landed back on Apple Bloom. "I'm sure you already know I've spoken with your family about your grades. I don't know if you've noticed this but your performance has actually gotten worse since we all promised to make a concerted effort to bring your grades up. Are you alright? Did something bad happen, I mean other than the usual?"

"No," replied Apple Bloom without much thought.

Cheerilee creased her forehead in worry. "Are you sure? I'm just having a really hard time understanding this clear and sudden change. You used to-" she paused, not wanting to embellish but also not wanting to be brutally honest. "Do just fine in school," she finished measuredly. "But in the past few weeks, you've been in a downward spiral. It keeps accelerating and I'm afraid we haven't even found the bottom yet. You're doing your work now, mostly, but the work you're doing is… bad, especially in-class"

"Nothing's happening," snapped Apple Bloom, irritably.

"Okay," shrugged her teacher, not wanting her to tune out of the conversation. "You have an A in photography and that's great. That's the best grade you've ever had in anything. I'm so happy that you found something that resonates with you and motivates you. And you know what? It proves that you already have what it takes to succeed inside and all by yourself too. We just need to find a way to harness that for the areas that you're struggling in and I think the best way to do that is to get you tested and get you a tutor." She smiled cautiously.

Apple Bloom's brain spasmed with aggravation. This sounded like more scholastics which was the opposite of what she wanted. "Ah don't wanna tutor," she shrieked. "Why can't Ah just do photography?"

Cheerilee pushed past her outburst with with an even tone. "Because not everything in life is photography. You need to know other things too or you're going to have a really hard time being a grownup. Everypony has to go to school. Everypony has things they're good and not so good at but we all have to get through it."

"Why is everyone tryin' ta stop me from takin' pictures?" cried the filly, flailing her forelegs in the air. "You're all against me; this isn't fair!"

"Apple Bloom," she pleaded. "We're not. We all want to help you succeed. We all want you to be able to stay in photography but you need to do better in your classes."

Apple Bloom bowed her head till it thudded facedown on the desk and then she let out an exasperated sigh.

Cheerilee frowned in sadness. "Let's go outside and destress, We'll talk about it with your brother and sister later."

Without a word, Apple Bloom turned around and stormed away, leaving her teacher in disbelief at her behavior. She'd never seen her so agitated before.

Outside, Apple Bloom traipsed slowly toward the playground where her classmates screamed and giggled. Her attention was not on them. Instead she watched every blade of springy green grass as it scrolled beneath her while she stewed over the nightmarish prospect of being saddled with a tutor and a battery of tests. Eventually the lush blades became patchier as she came across exposed earth and suddenly, something remarkable appeared.

Apple Bloom stared straight down at the neat little cone of granulated dirt and the endless procession of ants marching in and out. It had the same fixating allure as the decomposing squirrel and she didn't have her camera with her today. It was agonizing. How was she supposed to fully experience this anthill without a camera? As she pondered and stared, a compulsion slowly swelled in her brain like a balloon until she simply had no choice but to act.

Slowly she bowed her head, focusing on the little black dot at the center. She stuck her tongue out and dragged it across the anthill as if she were licking frozen yogurt, smearing it across the ground and drawing a scoop into her mouth with her lips. The little grains melted into mud with her warm saliva. The ants themselves added bursts of intense bitterness. She didn't really enjoy the taste or the texture but she kept eating it anyway until the hill was gone and the little exit to the nest was flush with the ground and surrounded by confused, meandering ants.

"Oh, gross," scoffed a haughty voice.

Apple Bloom looked up to see Diamond Tiara glaring at her contemptuously and Silver Spoon who had her hooves over her mouth like she was about to vomit.

"Did you just eat an anthill?" she asked with a derisive smirk.

"Yeah," answer Apple Bloom dryly.

Diamond laughed, taken aback by her blunt admission. "Guess you need to add 'unbelievably disgusting' to your blank flank CV."

Diamond turned around to face the foals on the playground and shouted to get their attention "Hey, everypony!"

That was as far as her announcement got as Apple Bloom pounced on her back, taking her flat to the ground. She leaned back atop Diamond and began throwing hooves into the back of her head, knocking off her tiara and smashing her tidy little face into the dirt.

"Hey, stop," cried Silver Spoon in alarm. Afraid to engage her directly, she clamped her teeth onto Apple Bloom's tail and pulled desperately but her vengeful resolve had seemingly made her immoveable as she continued to wail on Diamond's skull.

The whole playground had stopped to stare in slack jawed shock at the violent fracas, quiet enough to hear the dull thuds of her hooves making impact. Even so, she could not hear the shouts from her teacher for her to cease and the only discernible thought in her mind was mild wonder at why she hadn't just done this sooner. Suddenly Apple Bloom felt a much more powerful force yank her cleanly off of Diamond as Miss Cheerilee arrived on the scene.

The teacher frantically set her to the side and went back to help Diamond. "Diamond, are you alright?" She reached down to tenderly help the filly up.

Diamond staggered to her hooves sobbing uncontrollably and spitting soil from her mouth. Her mane was tousled. Her face was smeared with dirt and blood which oozed from her nose. After seeing the visceral mess that was Diamond Tiara, Cheerilee turned to Apple Bloom with a seldom seen scowl.

"Go back in the schoolhouse, Apple Bloom," she ordered.

Apple Bloom cocked her head in protest. "But she was-"

"Right now, Apple Bloom!"

Next Chapter: Double Exposure Estimated time remaining: 19 Minutes