Apple Bloom studied the assigned chapter in her book on Equestrian history, reading it again and again. She was a good student and believed in being prepared. She studied the chapter intently, losing all track of time. When she looked up at her clock, it showed as 12:30 in the morning. She closed the book, turned off the light in her bedroom, and crawled into bed. Although she was confident in her ability to pass the next morning's test, her growing fears about going to school were caused by a different problem. One she still felt powerless to solve. Despite her apprehension, the yellow filly was tired and it didn't take her long to fall asleep once she lay down.

"Apple Bloom, would you come to the front of the class, please?"

Apple Bloom hesitated and stood up. She walked between the desks and other students and made her way to the front of the class, only to take a misstep and wind up falling on her face. She could hear the other students laughing hysterically at her. When she stood up again, she looked at the students who were pointing and laughing at her, feeling scared. Never before had ponies mocked her, and she didn't know what to do.

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked.

"On the chalkboard, please demonstrate the proper way to do long division. Divide 2,745 by 5 and show your work." The teacher replied.

Apple Bloom worked the math equation out on the chalkboard, carefully writing the numbers and showing her work as instructed. When she was done Miss Cheerilee went over the equation step by step to demonstrate for the class how Apple Bloom had arrived at the right answer.

"Thank you Apple Bloom, you may take your seat."

The yellow filly was much more careful as she walked back to her seat, making sure not to trip again. Just after she sat back down in her seat Diamond Tiara leaned over toward her.

"Nice job, blank flank."

Apple Bloom woke up from her dream abruptly. She had nightmares from time to time, but it was the first time she had had one about the first time Diamond Tiara had ever called her blank flank. Since that day the nickname had stuck with her from year to year. Apple Bloom knew that once she got her cutie mark the nickname would go away, but she was determined not to have to put up with Diamond Tiara's bullying until that day came.

She looked at her clock and saw it was about fifteen minutes before she would normally get up. So she decided to get out of bed and go for a walk in the apple orchards before breakfast. When she went outside she was greeted by Winona, who wagged her tail enthusiastically when she saw Apple Bloom. The pair walked through the orchards for ten minutes, occasionally stopping and smelling the apple trees. Apple Bloom picked up a stick and tossed it away. Winona was more than happy to retrieve it, and as they walked every so often the filly would toss it again.

When Apple Bloom finally turned around and headed back to the house, she saw her older siblings standing on the porch, looking around.

"There you are," Big Macintosh said.

"Ah was a wonderin' when you'd come back from your walk," Applejack said.

"How'd you know I went for a walk?"

"Big Macintosh saw you walk outside. He looked through the window and saw you and Winona go into the orchards. You're just in time to have some breakfast before you go to school." Applejack opened the door for her siblings.

When Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh went into the house, Applejack followed closely behind them. They all sat down at a breakfast table that had apple pancakes, waffles, toast, hash browns, apple jelly, and apple juice all laid out. Granny Smith was already waiting at the table for them.

"We know you've been feeling pretty lousy lately, Apple Bloom," Big Macintosh said. "That's why we've arranged a little surprise for you."

On cue, Babs Seed came into the room. Apple Bloom blinked twice and leapt to her feet. She ran over to her cousin and gave her a big hug.

"How in Equestria is this possible? How are you? How have you been? I've missed you!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"I've missed you too Apple Bloom," Babs Seed replied and hugged her cousin back. "I'm so excited to be back."

"How long are you going to be here for?" Apple Bloom asked as she and Babs sat down next to each other at the table.

"I'm going to be here quite awhile, actually."

"Babs’ parents are going to be out of town for awhile on a assignment from the Princess. Princess Celestia requested them because of their experience in identifying edible fruits and vegetables in the wild. They're going to be part of a scientific exploration team studying the wilds to the north," Applejack explained.

"What for?"

"Now that the Crystal Empire has reappeared everypony thought it be a good idea to research the best crops to cultivate in that region," Applejack explained. "Examining what grows there naturally is a better place to start than to just grab a bunch of seeds and see what grows and what doesn't."

"While they're gone they asked Big Macintosh and Applejack if it would be all right if I stayed here. It's too dangerous for me to go with them."

"When they approached us about it we jumped at the chance to have Babs stay with us," Applejack said. "I've already talked to Miss Cheerilee about enrolling her in your class, and she said that won't be a problem."

"If you need any help catching up to where the rest of the class is, let us know. Miss Cheerilee said she has no problem working with you after school to get you caught up to where the rest of the students are," Granny Smith added.

"No sweat, I’m sure it won’t take me long to catch up,” Babs replied. “But what I’m really excited about is seeing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo again."

"Once you chow down on these tasty vittles ah reckon you and Apple Bloom can go on to school and meet up with them before class starts," Applejack said.

The two fillies ate their breakfast quickly, realizing that they had to get on their way to school or they'd risk being late. Miss Cheerilee didn't like her students being tardy for class, and had a habit of giving detention to those who weren't on time. Apple Bloom was a good student, but she didn't want to spend more time in school than she had to. Normally it was Apple Bloom’s job to clear the table, but Applejack motioned to the clock and then to the door. Taking the hint, the filly grabbed her saddlebag and she and Babs trotted off toward school.

It was normal for Apple Bloom to meet up with her friends just outside of Sugarcube Corner. So when Apple Bloom and Babs Seed saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo there waiting for them, it didn't come as a surprise. The real surprise came when the other two fillies saw Babs Seed was with Apple Bloom. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran over to her and caught her in a group hug.

"I was just thinking about you!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"I got your letter yesterday and sent one in the mail back to you," Sweetie Belle said.

"It'll be some time before I get it," Babs Seed replied. "I'm staying with Apple Bloom while my folks are away. I'll be going to your school, too."

"You will? That's awesome!" Scootaloo said.

"Now the Cutie Mark Crusaders are reunited! Whoohooo!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"Come on, we'd better keep moving. We don’t want to be late for school," Sweetie Belle said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted toward the school and barely managed to put their stuff in their lockers and get to Cheerilee's class on time. Until she could get her own locker, Babs shared Apple Bloom’s locker. When the Crusaders walked into class, their teacher walked over to them.

"Good morning Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom. Good Morning Babs Seed. Welcome to my class."

In perfect unison the Cutie Mark Crusaders said, "Good Morning Miss Cheerilee!" and burst into laughter.

"Please take your seats. Babs there is an extra seat in the front row on the far right side, just in front of my desk."

"That will be fine," Babs Seed replied.

One by one all of the students came in and took their seats. Cheerilee was doing a head count as they came in, and noticed that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were missing. She waited a few minutes longer than she normally would, hoping they would arrive. Finally she couldn't wait any longer and moved to the front of the class.

"Okay my students. May I have your attention. Today we're going to do something a little out of the ordinary. We're having an assembly out on the playground. So I need all of you to file outside and meet near the swings."

"What's this assembly about?" Featherweight asked.

"The principal has something important he wants to address the entire school about," Miss Cheerilee replied.

The students all left the classroom and joined a sea of ponies leaving the school and gathering in the playground. The teachers instructed their students to sit while they stood watch over them, and the principal stood in front of the gathered students. Just before he started speaking, two ponies came out of the school and ran toward the crowd of students. Cheerilee looked at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as they approached her.

"You two are late."

"We're sorry," Diamond Tiara replied.

"I warned you both about being tardy for class," Miss Cheerilee ignored the apology. "You both have 30 minutes detention after school today."

"Is everything ok, Miss Cheerilee?" Principal Icepick asked.

"Just fine." Miss Cheerilee said.

"Good. Students, teachers, faculty members, thank you for coming. For those of you who haven't met me yet, I'm Principal Icepick. You can just call me Icepick. Now, what I have to say is very important, so please pay attention. The subject of this assembly is bullying. There have been a rash of incidents at schools all around Equestria that involve students bullying other students. There have even been a few reported here as well.

There are many reasons that a pony chooses to bully another. Yet whatever reason a bully uses to justify their actions, it is wrong. Everypony is different. We all have different names, different coats, different manes. Maybe you’re fillies, maybe you’re colts. Maybe you've found your cutie mark. Maybe you haven't. Perhaps its because your cutie mark is different than everypony else's. Whatever reason you think you have to bully somepony, you are wrong.

I will not allow my students to be bullied. As of right now I'm going to overlook any past incidents that have occurred. Everypony here has a clean slate. This is as fair as I can be about this. If I find proof that bullying is going on in my school, I will find whoever is doing it. I will expel anypony caught bullying another student. You will be forced to repeat whatever grade you are in again at a different school.

I have seen many of you around, but have actually met surprisingly few of the students here. I don't know what my reputation is among you, and I really don't care what it is. Just know this. If you never believe anything else I ever tell you, know that there is no grace period. There will be no discussions about the punishment. I have all the authority I need to expel you for bullying. I don't want it to come to that, but if I find any of you are bullying another student, I'll do it without hesitation.

This is the only warning you will receive. Teachers, if any student comes to you because they're being bullied, I want to know about it immediately. Are there any questions?"

Principal Icepick waited a few moments and nopony raised their hoof. He looked at each student and teacher, and nodded.

"I think we're done here. Teachers, you may take the students back to class. Students, have a good day," Icepick said.

The large gathering of students turned and walked back inside. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were the last students to re-enter the building, followed by Cheerilee and Principal Icepick. The three fillies entered the classroom followed by their teacher, and the principal closed the door behind them. When the students had all taken their seats, Miss Cheerilee stood in front of her class and looked at them.

"Okay, class. It's time for the test on the Laws of Ponyville. Babs, I am going to give you this test, too. In your case it's to see how much of Equestrian law you know. The results of this test won't count on your record."

"Why does she get a free pass?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Because she wasn't here when I assigned the homework to the rest of you. I can hardly expect her to be prepared for a test she didn't know was coming. Since the rest of you knew about it I expect you to have prepared for it. That's why this test will count for the rest of you, but why it won't count for her."

Cheerilee walked to her desk and pulled out the test. She distributed it to each of her students and watched as they wrote down their answers. When each student was done, they brought the test to her desk and sat down. What surprised the pink earth pony was that Babs Seed was one of the first students done with the test. Cheerilee frowned when she saw her turn in the test so quickly, but smiled when she read her answers. Babs Seed got almost every question right despite not having studied for it. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara turned their tests in at the same time.

For the next few hours the students of Miss Cheerilee's class learned about math, history, science, and literature. The Cutie Mark Crusaders paid attention to their teacher and took notes about the lessons she was teaching them. When it came time for lunch, the Crusaders all got food from the cafeteria and sat at a table by themselves. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saw them sitting alone, and sat at a table near them.

"Look what we have here. It's like a club for losers," Silver Spoon said.

"Most clubs have a purpose in life, unlike those ponies," Diamond Tiara said.

"Don't you have anything new?" Babs Seed asked. "This record is so old it makes Neighl Diamond's greatest hits look contemporary."

"How long are you going to be here for? Don't you have a school of your own?" Silver Spoon asked.

Diamond Tiara took a sip out of her drink, and realized her cup was empty. She stood up and walked toward the water fountain to go get more water, and when she walked past Apple Bloom she turned and said, "It's a shame your cousin is more likely to get her cutie mark than you are."

Unfortunately Diamond Tiara wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, and she stepped out in front of Featherweight. Apple Bloom saw the collision about to occur and pushed Diamond Tiara out of the way. Featherweight stepped aside too and arely avoided dumping his food all over both of them. Caught completely by surprise, Diamond Tiara lost her footing and fell to the ground, landing hard on her side. The entire room burst into laughter at her. Everypony except Silver Spoon, who helped her back up.

"You pushed me!" Diamond Tiara shouted, looking at Apple Bloom.

"I tried to stop you from crashing into Featherweight and having food spilled all over you," Apple Bloom said.

"Can't you even say thank you?" Scootaloo asked.

"I should thank her for pushing me?" Diamond Tiara asked. "You're nuts."

"I think we should be heading back to class," Babs Seed said. "Lunch is just about over anyway."

"This isn't over. You will all pay dearly for this," Diamond Tiara said, her voice dripping with contempt.

The afternoon part of school went without incident. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon made no effort to bother the Cutie Mark Crusaders; even during recess the two ponies avoided them. After school Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were held over because of their detention while the Crusaders were free to go to Sugarcube Corner and have some cupcakes to celebrate Babs Seed’s return. While they were enjoying their time there together Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were released from detention and allowed to go home.

"Stupid Cutie Mark Crusaders," Silver Spoon said.

"I've been thinking about the best way to express my appreciation for what Apple Bloom did to me at lunch today."

"What's on your mind?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Do you still have that tape recorder you showed me the other day?"

"Yeah, it's at home."

"Go get it and meet me at their clubhouse," Diamond Tiara replied, grinning mercilessly.

Silver Spoon trotted back to her home and retrieved her tape recorder while Diamond Tiara made her way to the Crusaders' clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres. It took about fifteen minutes for Silver Spoon to get there with the recorder. Since the Crusaders hadn't returned yet there was still time. Diamond Tiara ran inside the clubhouse and put the recorder in a hidden spot under one of the floorboards. She hoped the Crusaders wouldn't look there as she turned it on. When she finally came out of the clubhouse and climbed back down the ladder she looked over at Silver Spoon, who was tapping her hoof impatiently.

"Find a good spot for it?" Silver Spoon asked.

"I sure did. Now if they would be so kind as to not find it, we'll have a very good day tomorrow," Diamond Tiara said, smiling.

The two fillies disappeared into the Apple family’s orchards, heading back to town. A few minutes later the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked into the clubhouse.

"Those cupcakes were awesome. I wish our local bakery was this good," Babs Seed said.

"Those were good, but wait till you taste them when they're piping hot right out of the oven," Sweetie Belle said.

"And with extra sprinkles. Pinkie Pie taught me you can never have enough sprinkles," Scootaloo added.

"So Scootaloo have you seen Rainbow Dash lately?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Three days ago she said she was going to visit her friend Gilda."

"You mean that nasty griffin who came to town?"

"Yeah, that's her. Apparently she apologized and Rainbow Dash forgave her, but she doesn't feel comfortable coming back to Ponyville after the mess she caused. I haven't heard from Rainbow since, but I'm sure they're having fun. Dash told me before she left that Gilda was one of the best flyers she knew!"

"I think we should get this meeting underway," Sweetie Belle interrupted the orange pegasus.

"Agreed. This meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is now called to order. Is there any old business before we discuss new ways to earn our cutie marks?" Apple Bloom asked.

After waiting a few minutes with nopony speaking up, Scootaloo broke the silence.

"Since there is no old business, I think we should give zip lining another try," Scootaloo said.

"That didn't work out so well last time. It took me hours to get all the tree sap out of my mane," Sweetie Belle replied.

"I smelled like pine trees for days," Apple Bloom said.

"You gotta admit it was fun. At least until the line broke and we all fell to the ground," Scootaloo said.

"What about the cannon idea? That was fun," Apple Bloom suggested.

"Sure. Until I got shot out of it and landed head first in a bee's nest," Scootaloo said. "I'm sure the doctors in Ponyville Hospital remember. They said they never saw so many bee stings on one pony in their lives."

"That pretty much ended the idea of Cutie Mark Crusader Circus Acrobats," Sweetie Belle said.

"What about training animals? Maybe Fluttershy can let us teach some of her animal friends some tricks," Babs suggested.

"We thought that way once, too. We went into the woods and tried to become Cutie Mark Crusader Animal Handlers," Apple Bloom said.

"How'd that work out for the three of you?"

"No so good. We tried to teach a group of squirrels how to play cards. From what Fluttershy said one squirrel accused another of cheating, and next thing we knew we were in the middle of a six-way brawl between squirrels. Angel Bunny had to pull them off of us," Sweetie Belle said.

"How about we go swimming? Maybe we can get our cutie marks as swimmers," Babs suggested.

"It's worth a try," Apple Bloom replied, adjourning the meeting.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders left the clubhouse and went to a lake south of Ponyville. They spent hours there, swimming and playing around. While they were swimming, Diamond Tiara slipped out of her house and returned to the Crusaders’ clubhouse. She found the tape recorder exactly where she left it. She picked it up, made sure things were put back the way they were, and went home. After listening to what was recorded and laughing, she went to sleep. She knew she would have to be up early the next morning to catch the Cutie Mark Crusaders off guard, and so as not to get detention two days in a row for being late to class. As it got later in the evening, the Crusaders came back to town and went home for the night, blissfully unaware of what Diamond Tiara had planned.

The next morning at school went by pretty smoothly. Babs Seed was starting to get more adjusted to being in a new class and was participating a little more, much to Cheerilee's delight. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had just learned they scored perfectly on yesterday’s test, while Scootaloo was happy to have passed with a C+. But best of all none of the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been bothered by Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. When class let out for morning recess, the trio of fillies did what they always did and walked along the edge of the fence around the playground.

When they made their way around the perimeter of the playground, they saw their classmates gathered around the swing set. They walked over to it and saw they were surrounding Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara was holding a tape recorder, and the four Crusaders looked nervously at each other.

"I don't like where this is going," Scootaloo said.

"Just because she has a tape recorder doesn't mean it has anything to do with us," Babs said.

As if on cue, Diamond Tiara pressed play on the tape recorder and the conversation the Cutie Mark Crusaders had had in the privacy of their clubhouse played for their entire class. Every idea they suggested and every response they had to ideas they tossed around were now known to their classmates. That caused those classmates to point, laugh, and snicker at the Crusaders. The four fillies looked absolutely infuriated at having their conversation played for the rest of the school. They stood stoically and looked at Diamond Tiara, unsure what response to give to this development.

Scootaloo stood alongside her friends, trying to keep her rapidly swelling emotions under control. When she felt a tear form in the corner of her eye, she took a step toward Diamond Tiara. Her friends knew her well enough to know what would happen if she were allowed to reach her, so they hopped on top of her and knocked her down. Once Scootaloo was on the ground, they pinned her down.

"Let me go!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Not like this. We know what you're about to do," Sweetie Belle said.

"We're not going to let you get kicked out of school," Apple Bloom added.

"I don't care about that!" Scootaloo replied, her emotions finally getting the better of her. The single tear that was in her eye dripped to the ground, and she began to cry hard.

"There's another way," Babs whispered in Scootaloo's ear.

"Don't let her win," Sweetie Belle said.

Despite struggling against her friends, eventually she calmed down. Once she stopped struggling, her friends helped her back onto her hooves. The Crusaders turned and walked through the crowd, who were still laughing at them, and headed back inside the school. As Scootaloo passed Diamond Tiara, the filly said to her, "You're lucky your friends stopped you.”

"You're lucky we didn't let her go," Apple Bloom replied.

There were still several minutes left in the recess, and the Crusaders sat in the back of the classroom.

"You said there was another way," Scootaloo said. "What exactly did you mean?"

"After I transferred schools to get away from bullies, I made friends. The problem was they, like you, were being bullied. They taught me the value of standing together. Together we can stand up to bullies in ways that none of us can do alone," Babs said.

"We've tried standing up to Diamond Tiara. You see how that's going," Apple Bloom said.

"Some ponies can be talked to. Bargained with. Reasoned with. And there are those ponies who can't. When those efforts fail, you have to explain things to them in a way they will understand," Babs Seed replied.

"What do you have in mind?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"After school today we'll have our Crusaders meeting. I'll explain then," Babs said.

"I move we change where we hold our meetings to a more secure location," Scootaloo said.

"Seconded," Apple Bloom replied.

"I agree," Babs Seed said.

"Motion is unanimous. But if not in the clubhouse, where?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I've got a place in mind. It's still at Sweet Apple Acres, but its much more isolated," Apple Bloom said. "We'll meet at the clubhouse, but we'll move once we all get there."

"I seriously doubt Diamond Tiara will try and record us again," Babs said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I say we don't give her the chance to do it again," Apple Bloom said.

The Crusaders took their seats and kept largely quiet the rest of the day. Miss Cheerilee noticed the change in behavior after their first recess. She noticed their facial expressions and the absolute lack of participation from any of them in class. When school let out for the day, she stopped them and waited till everypony else had left the room.

When the last student had left the room, she closed the door and turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"I wanted to ask you all something. What exactly happened during first recess?"

"Nothing," Apple Bloom replied.

"I'm not blind. I noticed after you all came back from recess you changed. You were less responsive in class. None of you smiled once the rest of the day. Even now that school is out you're still not smiling. If something happened I want to know."

"Nothing happened. We walked around outside for a little while, then we came back inside and sat in here until recess was over. We talked amongst ourselves," Sweetie Belle said, choosing her words carefully.

"Uh huh," Cheerilee replied, sounding unconvinced. "You all were so happy and so full of life this morning when you came to school. It showed right up until I dismissed you for recess. When you came back you looked very different, and I'm supposed to believe that whatever happened during recess had nothing to do with it. Right?"

"Nothing happened," Babs Seed said.

"If you've got anything you need to tell me, or want to tell me, this is the time. If the problem is what I suspect it to be, you'd be right to tell me what happened."

"Seriously, nothing happened. All we did was talk," Scootaloo said.

"As you wish," Cheerilee said, opening the classroom door. "Have a good night my students, and I will see you tomorrow."

The four fillies walked out of the classroom toward their lockers. After retrieving their saddlebags and schoolbooks, they left the schoolhouse and walked toward Sweet Apple Acres. Usually they talked along the way and joked around with each other, but today they walked in almost complete silence. When they got to the clubhouse, Apple Bloom led them into the apple orchards, far away from the clubhouse, the barn, the house and everything else. Once Apple Bloom was certain they were alone, she took off her saddlebag and kicked it into a tree.

"I'm so sick and tired of this. Every day we have to take abuse from her," Apple Bloom said.

"Not even the adults will deal with her. The principal and Miss Cheerilee tell us it will pass, and to just be patient," Sweetie Belle said.

"There was a time and place for talking. After today, I think we can all agree that time has passed," Babs Seed said.

"When you said that some ponies need to have things explained to them in a way they will understand, what did you mean?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I think I know what Babs means," Sweetie Belle said. "And I have an idea on how we can drive the point home."

"Really? What do you have in mind?" Babs Seed asked.

"First we'll need some tools. We'll need rope, a hacksaw, some plastic bags, some markers, and flashlights," Sweetie Belle said.

"What are we gonna do with all that stuff?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle laid out her thoughts on how best to deal with Silver Spoon.

"That seems a little extreme. I'd hate it if somepony did that to me," Apple Bloom said.

"Agreed, it is extreme. But desperate times call for desperate measures," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Time to put it to a vote. All those in favor of Sweetie Belle’s plan raise their hooves," Scootaloo said.

All four ponies raised their hooves.

"It's unanimous," Babs Seed said. "Motion carries."

"Think we can do this tonight?" Apple Bloom asked.

"There's a Sapphire Shores concert tonight. I know she's going because she rubbed it in my face that she has tickets and I don't," Sweetie Belle said.

"Babs, if you and Sweetie Belle can take care of that, we'll get everything else ready and meet up with you," Apple Bloom said.

"We won't be long," Babs Seed said.

The next morning, Apple Bloom woke up early and made breakfast for her family, much to Applejack’s surprise and delight. While her younger sister’s cooking wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t bad, either. She helped herself to a second portion of pancakes before Granny Smith or Big Macintosh woke up.

With the rest of the Apple family distracted eating, the two cousins trotted off to school, and met up with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders at their usual spot. While they were walking to school they saw a light green pony with a pink mane run past. She was wearing a black cap with a police shield on it, and she was pulling a wagon with the words "Ponyville Police Dept." on the sides. They looked and saw the police pony stop in front of Silver Spoon’s home. Silver Spoon was sitting on the sidewalk in front of her home, with her parents at her side.

"Uh oh," Apple Bloom said.

"Shh, don't talk about it," Sweetie Belle said.

"Don't even think about it," Scootaloo said.

"Keep walking. Everything is fine," Babs Seed said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders kept right on walking to school, trying to keep their pace even. Silver Spoon didn't even notice them as they walked right past her, and when they got to school they looked behind them and saw the silver filly racing for the school. Ponies were still in the halls near their lockers when Silver Spoon reached hers. She opened her locker and saw all the heads of her stuffed animals come pouring out of it.

Silver Spoon loved stuffed animals and she had quite the collection going. Hundreds of stuffed animal heads came pouring out of her locker, and Silver Spoon screamed at the top of her lungs as they landed on top of her. She looked at them and saw somepony had drawn her cutie mark on each one. To not raise suspicion, the Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered around her along with the rest of the ponies in the hall and looked horrified.

"Who would do such a thing?" Featherweight asked.

"Why would anyone do something like that?" Twist asked.

"That's horrible. That's what that is," Snails said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked on at Silver Spoon, who was crying so hard she was shaking as Cheerilee came out of the classroom to see what the commotion was all about.