//------------------------------//
// Contrast 
// Story: Gilded Sister 
// by Kind of Brony 
//------------------------------//

Ornate Garden sipped at a glass of water, eyes flicking to the clock periodically to count the minutes. Yesterday, when Stepping Star brought Pureblood home, she had told Ornate about what had happened at the little diner, and at the time, it had infuriated her. She knew about the harassment her daughter put up with at school from Buttercup, but Pure seemed able to shrug it off well enough, and Ornate had discussed it with the teacher besides.

But for that bullying to extend outside of school, and nearly ruin her daughter's first sleepover? Well, Ornate was a bit upset to hear that Star and her husband merely decided to leave without causing a fuss. Ornate was about ready to march down to that diner herself and issue a complaint, but it was already getting late by then, and so she waited. Lying awake in bed, with the angry storm beginning to settle in her mind, she was able to think more clearly on the whole situation.

She had no doubt that at least some of the green filly's animosity towards Pure was being passed down from her mother. A mare who had worked in this very home not too long ago before a careless slip of the tongue had the patriarch of the family tossing her out. Even after all this time, it still irked Ornate some to think about, that somepony would dare speak ill of her precious angel, but she knew that anger would only exacerbate the issue, just as getting Daisy fired from her new job would no doubt escalate things.

Instead, as soon as the twins were in school, she sent for a messenger to deliver a simple letter. It was a request for Daisy Care's presence at the estate at her soonest convenience. The response was quick, and the meeting set for noon.

And so Ornate Garden waited, rehearsing what she wanted to say to the other mother when she finally arrived. "Madam, there's a Daisy Care at the door to see you," one of the staff said from the entryway, snapping his employer from her thoughts.

"Oh, yes, I was expecting her, thank you," she said, getting up trotting the long way to the front of the house. The trip wasn't long enough to prepare her for the familiar face bearing an unfamiliar scowl.

"Well, are you going to invite me in?" Daisy asked, annoyance clear in her voice. "This is my only day off this week, and I'd rather not waste it standing around."

"Sorry, yes, please come in," Ornate answered, stepping aside. "The kitchen is-"

"I know where it is," Daisy cut off. "I used to work here, remember?"

"I remember..." With a sigh, Ornate followed her guest. She knew this wouldn't be easy, but keeping her temper was going to prove near impossible if the other mare continued to act so rudely towards her in her own home. She reminded herself that this was for Pure's sake, and entered the kitchen.

"If you'd like, you can sit while I make us some tea," offered Ornate, moving passed her guest to reach the stove. "Do you have any preference?"

Caught off guard, Daisy answered uncertainly, "Uh... Anything with caffeine in it will be fine, thank you."

Black tea then. Ornate busied herself, filling the kettle and setting it on the burner, before going to sit across from Daisy. An awkward silence filled the air between them, and Ornate used it to observe the earth pony mare. She looked quite different then she remembered, and not simply because of the missing maid outfit. She looked tired, green coat unkempt and strands of her black mane falling from a messy bun into her haggard eyes. Motherhood was hard, Ornate knew, but it had never been such an all-consuming endeavor as to prevent her from properly grooming herself.

"Well, this is certainly a novel experience," Daisy suddenly drawled.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Getting served tea by you, instead of the other way around," she clarified. "I never thought it'd happen, though I shouldn't be surprised, this isn't the first time you ponies threw me for a loop. I never thought I'd be fired after nearly three years of loyal service either."

Ornate flinched minutely, but maintained her composure. "Yes, well, life tends to be unpredictable at times, like what occurred yesterday with our fillies. What a coincidence that was."

"And we finally get to what this is all about. What do you want, Garden, an apology?" asked Daisy with narrowed eyes.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt, though, not from you, or to me. No, it will have to be from your daughter to mine." The kettle went off, and Ornate stood. It was quick work with her horn, moving the kettle, cups, and teabags onto a serving tray before levitating them over to the table.

"Good luck with that," Daisy commented with a tired smile lacking any humor. "Buttercup isn't the sort to apologize unless she means it no matter who tells her to do so."

Ornate set the cups out and placed the bags into them before pouring steaming hot water over them. "That's a... respectable quality, I suppose. Honesty is one of the pillars our country was founded on, after all."

Some of the tension left Daisy's frame at the small compliment, but it quickly returned with a scowl. "If you understand, then you know this little meeting is pointless. I might as well just go home and stop wasting both of our time. I could be sleeping right now."

"The apology was more a suggestion, something I hope happens someday. No, I called you here so that we could settle things between us," Ornate explained, bobbing her teabag up and down to quicken the steeping process.

Daisy narrowed her eyes. "What's there to settle? The two of us were never friends, and I'm not under your employ anymore."

"That's true," the unicorn conceded. "Though that doesn't mean I don't regret losing your services. You were Bluey's favorite nanny, after all. He missed you those first few weeks after you left."

Expression softening, Daisy chuckled. "And I him. He was quite the hoofful, much like my own little one. It was exhausting to leave for work after dealing with a surging foal all night, only to come in to deal with another, but he was a sweet, if not wild colt. I had actually looked forward to introducing them... before being let go. I'm sure he and Buttercup would have gotten along well."

Ornate bit the inside of her cheek. "That's right, you had only foaled a couple months before me. I'd nearly forgotten, with how quickly your maternity leave ended."

"Yes, well, we can't all afford a life of leisure, and raising a foal is expensive. With my husband in between jobs at the time, there really wasn't much choice but for him to stay home with Buttercup while I worked." Ignoring the guilt that flashed across her host's face, Daisy picked up her cup between two hooves and took a sip. Smacking her lips in deliberation, she said, "Needs some sugar."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot the cream and sugar," Ornate said, getting up, eager for an escape from the uncomfortable topic. She didn't want to think about the situation she put the mare before her in by not challenging her husband's decision. She may not have been the one to fire her, but she didn't try to bring her back in either, and by not doing so, she may have put a young mother out on the street with her family.

Returning quicker than she would have liked, Ornate set the glass jar down along side a pitcher from the fridge before sitting. She watched the other mare in silence as she pulled the jar towards her and flipped the lid up, pulling a single sugar cube out and dropping it in her drink. After another sip, she nodded in satisfaction.

"Good?" Ornate asked, pouring a bit of cream into her own cup and plopping in two cubes after removing the bag. She was a bit surprised Daisy took her own tea so plain, especially such a strong blend as this.

"It's fine," she answered, sipping gingerly at the steaming beverage. A hush descended over the two, only interrupted by the occasional slurp or sigh.

"...You mentioned your husband," Ornate finally said, trying to broach a new topic. "Perhaps it's silly to say, what with the nature of our relationship back then, but I've never met him. It's as you said though, you were with us for three years, and I've seen the spouses of most every other pony working at this estate at least once for some reason or another."

Daisy shrugged. "He worked odd hours doing whatever he could to bring in bits, having to travel all over the city on hoof to find jobs. Needless to say, if he wasn't working, he was sleeping, and certainly didn't have time to visit or bring me lunch while I was working."

"He has trouble finding steady employment?" Ornate asked, only to immediately regret it when she received a vicious glare.

"It's not his fault, It's these damn Canterlot ponies. Bunch of tribalists; the so-called elites see a unicorn with a "mud pony" cutie mark and suddenly he's an outcast. Then the few earth ponies who can actually stand to live in this city won't hire him because surely a unicorn could never know as much about plants as one of them. Never mind that he's read every herbology book there is in the Canterlot library twice over or that he's worked hard and studied his whole life to help ponies-"

"Daisy, please! I didn't mean it like that, I was only curious!" Ornate interrupted, panicky eyes darting down to the cracking cup between the other mare's hooves. Any more pressure, and she'd be picking porcelain shards from her frogs.

Looking down, the green mare realized what she was doing, and her hooves shot down below the table. Taking a few calming breaths through her nose, she spoke. "Sorry, it's just... Glow Seed is a good, honest, intelligent stallion, and it upsets me that so few others can see that."

"No, it's alright, that was insensitive of me, even if it was an accident," Ornate replied, before something sparked in her mind. "You mentioned he's read up a lot on herbology?"

Daisy gave a breathy laugh, looking even more tired after her outburst. "To put it mildly, yes. It's been his passion ever since he got his mark."

"And he's a unicorn..."

Another glare, though this one lacked the same bite as before. "Yes, does that seem strange to you?"

It was Ornate's turn to laugh lightly. "Daisy, I'm a unicorn named Garden from a family of florists on my mother's side. A unicorn being interested in flora is hardly strange to me."

At this, the other mare actually blushed and looked away. "Yes, well, you're also from a notable family and married to the Princess' nephew. I doubt you've ever had to deal with biting remarks from other unicorns; they'd be too afraid to say anything. Glow doesn't have those protections, however."

That wiped Ornate's smile away. The accusation, at least that's what it felt like, might have actually been true; her family may not have been nobles, but they had carved out their place in Canterlot over generations, and had at least a grudging respect from its populace. Add onto that her father, another notable figure in Canterlot, and she could see other ponies keeping their opinions to themselves around her.

Noticing her tea cup was nearly empty, Ornate finished it and went to work preparing another, using the time to think. "... So, Glow Seed's a herbalist, hmm?" the unicorn said just as much to herself as her guest, putting her thoughts into words. "You know, my brother, Sunlight Shine, is actually a botanist working at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; being a unicorn with a talent for plant life, he's become somewhat of a pioneer in the field of chloromancy."

"Isn't every pony in your family just blessed," grumbled Daisy.

Ignoring her, Ornate continued, "Perhaps I can talk to him about giving your husband a job."

It was probably a good thing the other mare hadn't been drinking anything at that moment, or else the coughing fit that followed would have been far more messy. "W-what? A job? At Celestia's school?"

"Maybe," Ornate said. "He has been talking about how he wished to have another unicorn with a botanical cutie mark. The earth ponies he works with are useful, but he wants a unicorn to help him progress the spell work side of things. Maybe your husband can be the assistant he's looking for, and if not, well, I'm sure he can still find a place for him."

"Yes! I mean," she coughed into her hoof again, this time trying to regain her composure instead of clearing her airways. "Yes, I'm sure Glow would be thrilled by the prospect. A steady job in his field..."

The last bit was said almost wistfully, and Ornate couldn't help the small smile that pulled at her lips. This certainly wasn't where she expected today's visit to end up, but she was happy nonetheless to help these ponies. It helped ease some of the guilt she felt by knowing the situation she had let them fall into.

"I'll talk to my brother later. I'm sure he'll want to meet Glow Seed right away, so be expecting a messenger in a couple days." Daisy nodded in agreement, and lifted her teacup for another drink, her hooves noticeably shaking.

The silence began to stretch again, though this time it was less oppressive. "... I envied you back then. You, and ponies like you."

"What?" Ornate asked, tilting her head.

"I envied you," Daisy repeated, eyes downcast. "I still do, in fact. Growing up, we never had much, my parents only just scraping by, and I used to see ponies like you, ponies with everything they could ever want. Beautiful dresses, perfectly styled manes, I wanted to be like that too, so I copied them, the way they talked, their walks, all in foalish hope that it would suddenly change things, that if I pretended hard enough, I could be an elite as well.

"It never worked of course, I was just a no-name earth pony destined to follow in my parents' hoofsteps. To either be a servant, or a street sweeper. The only thing I had pride in was the adoration of my younger siblings; knowing that I took care of them, that mother and father trusted me to watch them while they toiled the day away. I was good at it, too. It's my special talent, after all, caring for others... serving them. It's what I grew up to do.

"Isn't that just perfect? Not only did I have to see it on the streets then, I could go into work every day and see what I'd never have. Cleaning the big homes, and serving the fancy meals I dreamed of as a filly. It faded some as I grew out of my teenage years, and after meeting Glow, I almost didn't care at all. Love provides it's own riches, and Buttercup is my treasure.

"I remember seeing her and thinking how beautiful she was. How perfect. My perfect little filly. I'm ashamed to admit, but I put her in competition against your daughter. Horrible, I know, but I couldn't help but feel that, for once, I had something definitively better than you. She had taken her first steps before Pureblood, a small victory. Buttercup was rambunctious and full of energy where your daughter was quiet. And the magic, of course...

"How pathetic, tearing down a foal just to feel better about myself. Perhaps I deserved to be fired, though I didn't see it that way at the time. I hated you and your husband. How many times did Glow have to tell me to calm down? To not rant and rave in front of our foal like a lunatic? Too many by far. Every day I came home from a failed job hunt. No pony would hire me as a maid once they found out I had been fired from the Blueblood household. No noble wanted another's castoff in their home. Even after I finally found employment, I'd still seethe whenever I returned from a stressful shift at the diner.

"And when I saw you that first day at the kindergarten, of course, just as I last saw you, happy, content, completely unaware of how my life had changed for the worse. I was angry then, I told Buttercup to stay away from your foals, that they were spoiled, stuck up snobs..."

Ornate watched on, stunned as Daisy spoke, face blank save for the tears running down her cheeks. "... I don't deserve your kindness, but I can't turn it down either. As awful as I am, Glow Seed deserves this. Buttercup deserves this." She took a deep breath and looked up to meet Ornate's eyes. "So thank you, and... I'm sorry. Sorry for being so ugly to you. For being so wrong."

"Daisy..." Ornate's words failed her. "I..."

"You don't have to say anything," Daisy interrupted. "I'm sure it would be too kind if you did. I've been a horrible guest while you've remained a civil host. I suppose it shows which of us is the true noble, and which is still playing make-believe. I'm such a foal." She finished the statement with a jaded sigh.

"You're not a foal," Ornate argued, getting a wry smile.

"I'm afraid we'll have to disagree on that, Mrs. Garden," the earth mare said as she rose from her seat. "Now, I'm sure I've taken up more than enough of your time for the day, and made a big enough spectacle of myself, so I think it'd be for the best if I leave now."

"Wait-!"

"I'll talk to Buttercup about her behavior, though I can't promise anything. She really is a strong-willed filly. And I'll tell my husband about Sunshine." She reached the entrance before halting. "... I pick Buttercup up from the kindergarten every Monday and Friday, if you need to talk to me again, we can meet up then."

With a final goodbye, Daisy showed herself out, leaving Ornate alone in her kitchen with nothing but her thoughts and a half-full kettle of lukewarm water.