Cancelled but complete stories#2: Everything's Wrong But At Least I've Got You Chapter 2 · 2:27am Mar 17th, 2016
The second chapter of that last blog story if anyone wanted a little more of that story (and I doubt anyone did).
Everything’s Wrong, But At Least I’ve Got You
Written By: Your Antagonist
And That Night, She Dreamt Of That Day
As Diamond Tiara stared out across the vast sun-kissed surface of the Everfree River she couldn't help but sigh in contentment. Her present venue had it all: A gorgeous view, a field full of lush sweet grass that was perfect for grazing, clear blue skies and gently rolling breezes, but best of all....
“~Mmmmm-nyaawn~”
…a certain sleepy silver-maned filly who evidently regarded Diamond as more of a pony-sized pillow than a friend, not that Diamond particularly minded. She couldn't help but smile as Silver Spoon unconsciously nuzzled up against her neck, all the while nonsensically mumbling, “Nnn... Diamond... not so hard...... zzz...”
“Celestia, I could only 'wonder' what you're dreaming about,” Diamond joked with roll of her eyes. With a fond smile, she nuzzled her muzzle against Silver's mane, rewarding her with a pleased moan from her dozing paramour. Finding Silver's reaction cute, she began to gently nip and kiss the snoozing filly's neck and cheek eliciting an adorable array of contented purrs and mewls from her best friend.
“Oh!” Silver Spoon jolted awake and tore her cheek away from Diamond's lips, her face now blushing a brilliant rose red. “Sorry about that, Diamond, I— kyaahn~” SIlver interrupted herself with a mighty forceful yawn, “I didn't even realize that I fell asleep. That was a little embarrassing.”
“That’s alright, Silvy,” Diamond assured, gently patting her friend’s hoof, “I'd be embarrassed too, if I said the kinds of scandalous things you said in your sleep.”
“I was talking in my sleep?” Silver Spoon rose an eyebrow uncertainly. “What did I say?”
“'Oh, Diamond neigh-chan*, not so ♥~hard~♥, you’re being too rough, you’ll break me if you do it so aggressively~♥’”
Silver Spoon snorted, rolled her eyes and muttered, “Sounds to me like somepony’s been watching too many Japoneighse cartoons...”
“Mm, maybe, but that doesn’t change what I heard. Now come on, tell me what you were dreaming about, I wanna know.”
“I don’t know why you’re so interested,” Silver Spoon paused to push her glasses up, “It was really nothing special…” Despite her stern-serious words, Silver’s slowly pinkening cheeks had already betrayed her to Diamond Tiara’s keen ability to read the body language of other ponies.
“So,” Diamond began with a minxy grin, “You’re saying is that I’m ‘nothing special’, huh?”
“What? No! Th-that's—”
“I see how it is, Silver.” Diamond turned away with a playful pout, much to the other mare’s annoyance.
“Dammit, Diamond, you’re putting words in my mouth!“
“Am I? Then why don’t you go ahead and tell me what your dream was about? Or perhaps you'd prefer it if I were to...” Diamond took Silver Spoon by the chin and turned her so their muzzles were only mere inches apart, “...hazard a guess?” She finished coolly, taking care to breathe the last word on Silver's lips, a detail that sent a visible shudder through Silver Spoon.
“Hmm, I’m just afraid you might be on to something with this little guess of yours,” Silver whispered, closing her eyes as she pressed her forehead against Diamond’s.
“Oh, really?” Diamond cooed, bedroom eyed as she ran her hoof from Silver’s chin to her cheek, “Then let’s find out…”
“Yeah…” Silver Spoon tenderly brushed her lips against Diamond’s “...let’s.”
With that, the girls leaned forward and joined themselves in a kiss befitting of lovers. Despite the mutual intrusion of one another’s mouths, the kiss was, if anything, more physical in nature than it was romantic. An intimate act of skinship between nigh inseparable childhood friends; a harmless comfort of the flesh. No feelings, no emotional connections, just a mutual understanding that on some level this was just something they did to pass the time and nothing more.
“Dammit,” Diamond cursed, as she abruptly broke away from the kiss.
Silver Spoon frowned. “Something the matter, Diamond?”
“No... no, it’s nothing, Silvy. Some grass blew into my eye is all.”
A plausible excuse but there was one small detail about it that had Silver convinced it was a load of crock: “Why aren’t you rubbing it out then?”
Diamond looked at her hooves, realized what was wrong and opened her mouth to give an excuse, but just as quickly stopped herself from following through with her confession. Needless to say, Silver Spoon was quick to pick up where the conversation had lulled.
“Diamond.” Silver Spoon gently rested her hoof on Diamond’s, before meeting the her friend’s distraught baby blue eyes with her own. “What’s wrong?”
Averting her gaze, Diamond opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally finding the resolve to speak truthfully. “Look, Silver Spoon, I… I can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“This. Whatever this is.”
“Enjoying a picnic on the riverside with your best friend? That seems like an odd lifestyle choice to cut, but hey, who am I to ju—”
“You know what I’m talking about, Silver Spoon.” Diamond jerked her hoof out from under Silver Spoon’s and indignantly proceeded to hiss, “I’m talking about us.”
A small silence fell between the two as Diamond silently seethed. With a heavy sigh, Silver Spoon proceeded to break the silence. “I know.”
“Then you probably already know what I’m about to say? Celestia knows how many times we’ve had this exact conversation.”
“Diamond...” Silver Spoon pushed up her glasses and brushed her mane behind her ears readying herself to recite her half of what had practically become a scripted conversation between the two over the years. “I know how you feel about me and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way, but—”
“But ‘what’?” Diamond swiftly cut in to Silver’s surprise. This certainly wasn’t in the script. “What reason could you possibly give me that justifies us having to creep around like this? Why can’t we just call this what it is?”
“That’s… that’s because…”
“Why is that we can fuck but we can’t make love? Why is it that I can hold you but I can’t have you? Why can’t we kiss and actually mean it? Why do we have to pretend that this ‘friends-with-benefits’ garbage is enough for us? Well? Go on, Silver Spoon, tell me! Tell me why—”
“Because we have responsibilities, Diamond!” The outburst from Silver Spoon while expected, completely caught Diamond off guard as evidenced by the startled look on her face. The two simply stared at one another a moment longer before Silver Spoon sharply turned away. “Because we have fucking responsibilities...“ With a huff, the pewter mare stood up and walked over to the river’s edge, her eyes distant as she surveyed the gently flowing current. A moment later she loudly and quite intentionally cleared her throat as though to beckon Diamond over.
With an irritated snort, Diamond Tiara followed Silver Spoon to the riverbank. Plopping down on the damp grass next to her friend, she dipped a hoof into the cool waters and began absentmindedly stirring circles in the stream as she waited for Silver to pick up where she’d left off.
“Diamond...” Silver began.
“Yeah?” the magenta mare continued to stir the river while she listened.
“Look, I totally understand how you feel about this whole ‘us’ situation—”
“Oh, do you?” Diamond scoffed with an irritated swat of the water.
“—and I get how frustrating this must be for you, I really do. But like I’ve already said a hundred times before: we have responsibilities. Obligations. A heritage to uphold. We’re not like normal ponies who can just live anyway they want, our bloodlines won’t allow—”
“You mean your bloodline,” Diamond corrected.
“What does it matter!? The point is both of our lives were written out for us before we were even born! Who we’re to marry, what career paths we’ll pursue, hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already planned out how many children we’ll bare and what position we’ll conceive them in!”
“You think I give a damn what my father wants me to do with my life or who he wants me to marry? You think I care that he went behind my back and arranged a marriage with some aristocratic asshole just so he could marry into money? Screw that, I don’t care!”
“Well, that’s great for you, Diamond, but unfortunately, I have to care!” Silver Spoon roared indignantly. “Your family doesn’t hail from nobility, so I don’t imagine that you understand the pressure I’ve had to cope with since I could walk and talk! Everything my parents have done in raising me has been for the sake of preparing me to take over as heir to Silver family name! Between all those years my parents spent forcing me to learn how to work in a silver forge, parading me around all kinds of weird social events while they looked for a promising enough suitor, the excessive etiquette courses and the mind-numbing piano lessons. The only thing that kept me sane was the fact that they allowed me to attend a public school. And the only good thing that came out of that…” Silver Spoon’s gaunt expression softened as the confession found its way to her tongue, “...was getting to be with you.”
Glancing out the corner of her eye, Diamond could see that Silver’s harsh scowl from earlier had melted away, leaving a small fond smile in its place.
“Diamond, you don’t know how grateful I am for our friendship. We’ve been together since we were four and we’ve spent practically every waking minute since then joined at the hip! We’ve shared so much with each other: our deepest secrets, our first kisses...” Silver Spoon practically began to glow as she uttered the words, “...our first time.” Clutching her chest, she continued her passionate speech. “There’s nopony else in all of Equestria that I would rather give my heart to if I could, but—”
“You can’t,” Diamond sighed, “I get it already, just spare me the mushy stuff, please. I’m begging you.”
“Heh, sorry about that.”
“Agh, damn it, Silver Spoon,” Diamond moaned, rubbing at her temples. “Saying cheesy crap like that only makes it harder for me to tell you this...”
Silver Spoon rose an eyebrow. “Makes it harder to tell me ‘what’?”
“Silver Spoon, I get where you’re coming from with all that ‘responsibility-to-the-family’ junk, but I just can’t live my life according to my father’s plan. I don’t want to be some pretty little porcelain puppet for him to pull about as he pleases, I want to go places. I want to see what else life has to offer, not just be some stay-at-home trophy wife for some crusty, old noble jerkoff. I refuse to just surrender myself to the wills of my pathetic excuse for a father, and that’s why—”
“You’re leaving.” Silver Spoon finished in Diamond’s place.
“...yeah.” Diamond replied distantly.
“Just like that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘just-like-that’. I’ve had a really long time to think about this whole arranged marriage situation, and that’s what I came up. Can’t be with you and I can’t blindly bow down just to please a couple of greedy old men, so once we’ve said our goodbyes here, I’ll be off on my lonesome, heading into the world to do... something. Dunno what yet, but whatever it is, it'll be 'my' decision and that's all that matters.”
“Diamond, this is… this is crazy! You can’t just up and leave on whim!”
“I can’t? That’s funny, because I’m pretty sure that’s what I plan on doing.”
“But what about our friends? Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom? Scootaloo? It took years for us to bury the hatchet with them after all the crap we put them through and it took even longer to earn their trust and friendship. Did you ever stop to think about how betrayed they’ll feel once they find out that you’ve skipped town without saying goodbye?”
“They forgave me once, I’m sure they’d find it in themselves to do it again if they knew why.”
“But what about your father?”
Diamond snorted a chuckle at the mention of her father. “What about him?”
“Did you think about how this would affect him? You know that ever since your mother left him, you’ve been the only thing he’s ever cared about besides his work. I know that you don’t like his plans, but... Can you really just take that away from him?”
Diamond’s schadenfreudic smirk faltered at the mention of her mother, but she wasn’t deterred. “Maybe he should’ve thought about that before he tried to peddle me off,” she said coldly.
Silver Spoon was rapidly running out of reasons to keep her friend from fleeing, but she still had a trump card up her sleeve that was sure to put a crack Diamond’s porcelain mask of apathy, “Well… well what about me?”
Diamond winced at that one. She had to admit, Silver Spoon knew where to dig when she wanted to unearth some remorse, but the metallic mare would soon find that what she thought to be paydirt was actually the rock-solid foundation of Diamond’s will. “Like I said, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. I figured that with all those scholarship offers you’ve been getting, you’d be far and away at some big name school while I’m off finding myself in the world.” The last bit, Diamond delivered with a complimentary side of theatrical sarcasm, but her audience of one was hardly amused.
“Ridiculous… this whole thing, you, everything is just ridiculous! I mean you say you’re just going to up and leave once we’re done here, but I don’t see any luggage besides your saddlebags. Have you even thought about where you’ll go?”
With a shrug, Diamond confessed, “Wherever my hooves and a three hundred bits will take me. It’s a wide world out there, you know,” her slightly more eloquent way of saying, “I have no fucking idea.”
Silver Spoon took a moment to let the absurd sincerity of Diamond’s words sink in. She hadn’t even so much as batted an eye as she explained herself. If Silver Spoon had thought she was joking before, she could see that the usually unserious and unfocused Diamond Tiara was all business now. Had it been anything else, college or a step towards a career, Silver might’ve commended this sudden strength of resolve, however right now she didn't know what to feel about it.
Respect was certainly a word she would've used considering how empowering this situation was for Diamond. Then again, fear also seemed like an appropriate candidate for this situation as well. Regardless of the way she felt, Silver knew there was nothing else that she could say or do to convince the stubborn mare to change her mind, so she did the next best thing: she accepted it. “Heh, you’re unbelievable you know that?”
Smirking, Diamond shrugged.
“I mean running away I can understand, but with only three hundred bits? You don’t have any more money than that?”
Diamond scoffed at the derision in Silver’s tone. “That isn’t in an account, obviously. You said it yourself, I’m all my father’s got left besides his work. So when daddy eventually comes looking for me I don’t exactly want to leave a breadtrail of bank statements for him to follow, y’know?”
Silver Spoon shook her head and fought the urge to chuckle. “Celestia help me… you had enough foresight to think that far ahead, but you didn’t bother to take out more money than a three hundred?”
Diamond's lips pursed into a pout. “Well, I thought that would be enough to take a train and keep a roof over my head until I find a placed to settle down.”
“If by ‘roof over your head’ you mean ‘empty refrigerator box’, then yes, I totally agree, three hundred is definitely more than enough,” Silver Spoon teased.
“Tch, what do you know anyway?”
There were a thousand ways that Silver Spoon could have answered that question. She could have mentioned how much more well traveled she was than Diamond, or gone on about how much she needed to know about accounting and budgeting as the future heiress to a silver-refining empire. “What I know is that it's going to take more than that if you're going to find a new place to start all over in, and knowing your spending habits, what you have right now is barely enough to feed yourself for… a week, a week and a half tops. Of course, that would be before leasing an apartment, because there isn’t a house in Equestria that would sell for that cheap, and of course the costs for electricity, gas, water, and if you can’t find a job immediately then you’ll have to--”
“All right, all right, I get it, sheesh. I’ll head back to the bank and just empty the damn thing on my way out of town.”
“Nah, don’t bother.” Silver Spoon gave a dismissive wave of her hoof.
“What? But you just said—”
“I know what I said, Diamond, but you’re in a bit of a rush aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah…”
“So in that case we’ll just have make a big withdrawal in the closest city out of Ponyville. Take out enough bits from the get-go so that we can let the paper trail you’re so worried about go cold and then make a new account in the next city after that, you’ll be a ghost.”
Seeing the logic of Silver Spoon’s suggestion, Diamond nodded. Then she frowned. Some part of that last exchange didn’t taste right. “Hold on a second, what do you mean we’ll have to make a withdrawal?” She asked skeptically. For her curiosity, she was met with a flat look from Silver Spoon that all but screamed, “Really?”.
“What do you think I mean?” SiIver Spoon asked,
As the question passed through her ears, Diamond could feel her jaw start to go slack, and for a moment, her capacity for language comprehension failed her. She just couldn’t process it. But when it finally clicked, the appallment hit like a bat to chest. “Silver Spoon you can’t! What about your family? And all that talk about your responsibility—”
“Diamond,” Silver knelt down and placed her hoof over Diamond’s. “You are my responsibility. I can’t stop you from leaving, but I can’t let you just jump out of my life forever. And while I wish that you wouldn’t put me in a position where I have to weigh my obligation to my family over the wellbeing of the one pony who means the world to me, you’ll win out every time because you’re too important to me.”
Diamond opened her mouth to pose a counter argument of some sort, but shut it just as quickly realizing nothing she could say would sway Silver Spoon’s houndlike loyalty. “Fine, do whatever you want, but once we step off, there’s no turning back, you know that, right?”
Silver Spoon scoffed. “Of course I know that. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly packed to hit the bricks. I want to grab a few things before we make the jump.”
“I guess there’s no helping it then. I’ll just wait for you here, so just hurry up, would you? I’m anxious to get out on the road already.”
“Why don’t you come with me? Maybe pick up some stuff for the road and the like?”
Diamond shook her head. “Nah, I’m all right, I’ve got everything I need in my saddlebags. Besides, I’m afraid that might lose my nerve if I go back into town now.”
“Fine... but you better not sneak off while I’m grabbing my stuff,” Silver Spoon growled.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Diamond chuckled.
“I’m serious. If I come back and you’re gone, I don’t care how far or how long I have to search, I will hunt you down and literally drag you back by the tail, kicking and screaming, in front of your father.”
“Geez, all right, already, I get it. You have my word, my ass will stay right here until you comeback; just don’t chicken out and keep me waiting.”
“Hmph. I’ll see you in an hour then,” Silver said as she stood up and turned towards Ponyville.
“Yeah, sounds good.” Diamond smiled as she watched her friend gallop off towards Ponyville for what would perhaps be the last time for a long while. With a sigh, she turned back to the Everfree River and watched the tranquil stream of water lazily drift by. Scarcely a moment passed before two little leaves came floating down the brook.
Both were traveling alone, but as they came nearer, their edges connected and joined them in a strong bond. The natural flow of the river couldn’t break them apart no matter how it tried. At least, until a small rock appeared before them, splitting them as easily as they came together. But as if they had will of their own, they stayed close the sides of the stone impediment and found each other once again when they cleared the obstacle, clinging to their partner as tightly as ever.
Diamond looked on the scene and found a small measure of comfort. If two little leaves could stay together so strongly, then she and Silver would be unstoppable… Right?
End Chapter 1.5
*Neigh-chan- Yeah I went there. I went there, bought a T-shirt and have been wearing it for weeks (it totally reeks now).
It's a pity you didn't post these as a proper fic, It's quite good.
I guess purpose is the main roadblock to a story like this? Will it be tragic, constant tribulations testing their relationship? Or more lighthearted, sexy adventures in a far off city? Or even a coming of age one, both learning great lessons in a hard world? Will they be constantly on the lamb from their families and responsibilities?
Not to put words in your mouth.
3813059 No, you're actually spot on with that assessment. I didn't know where this was gonna go so I gave up on it.