Collapse, Collide

by Zombificus

Holding

Auburn Wake waited perhaps a little impatiently, but nevertheless, she was waiting for her friends. Despite her anger at them earlier, she had come to miss them by the time the end of day bell rang out, and so she waited. Tucked away to one side of the torrent of students that were flooding out of the school entrance, she watched the crowds pass, scanning the mass for three particular faces.

Normally, they'd be here by now, but it wouldn't be the first time one of them got caught up in something and took a little longer to meet her. Auburn, noticing the involuntary expression of impatience, stilled her idly tapping hoof before looking at the clock: they were almost five minutes late. Almost wasn't quite there, though, so she waited. Her hoof began tapping again; this time, she didn't bother to stop it.

The flood of students was thinning now, but she could see amongst them the first members of art classes and other lessons which were more time consuming to pack away. There was Featherweight, passing by with Pipsqueak at his side, and there was Zipporwhill, but none of Auburn's friends seemed to be amongst the group. Still, those first few were hardly all of the foals who did those lessons, and Diamond, Auburn remembered, did Art. Perhaps she'd just been held up again... But hadn't she already had two hours of art lessons today? Auburn began shifting from hoof to hoof without realising she was doing it, a frown setting once more onto her face.

The slow packers filed out, until only a mere stream of foals trickled out through the doors: Aquamarine, Berry Pinch, Firelock and Archer all dawdled their way out of the building, and still nopony Auburn was waiting for appeared. Maybe Diamond had wanted to pick up her piece of art from earlier - she'd have had to have waited until everypony had packed up and then popped in to ask permission. Maybe she'd had trouble finding it. As fewer and fewer students passed her by, Auburn got the steadily increasing feeling that she was grasping at straws.

Now, Scootaloo, who Auburn knew had been in detention all day after some incident with the other Crusaders, trotted past morosely. If she was here, then how could Diamond and the others be taking so long? Sighing, she peered around the corner, seeing only Snips and Snails dawdling along its length, and sighed. Maybe, she thought with a growl, they were never going to come. Maybe they'd already left and forgotten about her... It wouldn't be the first time today.

Scowling, Auburn turned and stalked out of the front door without looking back. The door jolted violently as it reached the end of the furious arc she'd set it on and collided with the wall. Blinking in alarm, Snips and Snails slipped out of the entrance as the door made its slow swing back into position, watching with concerned expressions as Auburn stomped down the path leading for town, kicked off from the path hard enough to send plumes of dirt mushrooming up from the punished earth, and flew without humour towards the hospital.

*

Only a minute later, the three fillies for whom Auburn had been waiting stopped dead in the deserted school entrance, looking around and finding, to their dismay that their friend was nowhere to be seen. A cursory glance through the big glass windows in the front doors revealed only the retreating silhouettes of Snips and Snails, and Diamond turned to her two companions with a shake of her head.

"Oh, I knew we'd miss her," she sighed, frowning. A glance at the clock above the doors told her that they were almost ten minutes late to meet their friend, and she let out a whine of defeat.

"I bet she's gone to see Copperwing," Dinky piped up, determinedly remaining positive in the face of this unfortunate turn of events, and Diamond nodded in response.

"You're probably right, Dinky."

Twist just shuffled behind them, unsure what to say. After a moment or two, she raised her voice, having decided that this wasn't really somewhere she was needed right now.

"Hey, uh, Diamond, Dinky? I've got to go, tho, um... thee you two tomorrow?" Waiting for an answer, she shifted uncomfortably on the spot, her eyes nervous behind her thick-rimmed glasses.

Diamond turned to her, blinking. "Oh," she started, nodding in affirmative, "Of course, Twist. I'll see you tomorrow, then, if you're going now."

Twist smiled gratefully, half-turning to leave. "Okay, thee you then!"

She trotted away, turning back to her newfound friends to wave- "Bye!" -and shot them a bright grin as her hoof powered up and down in an overenthusiastic farewell, before slipping on out the door.

"See ya later!" called Dinky, as Diamond made her own brief goodbye in the form of a smile and wave in return. The door closed smoothly, separating them from their departing friend, and the two remaining fillies turned to one another. Dinky's eyes didn't miss the eager way Diamond glanced at the door and easily guessed the reason, smirking knowingly before wiping the expression off of her suddenly innocent face as her friend turned back to her.

"D'you wanna go to the hospital, then, Diamond?" asked Dinky, already beginning to move towards the door in anticipation of her answer.

Diamond followed her, nodding earnestly. "Of course. Even if I knew Auburn wasn't there, I promised Copper I'd visit... Besides, she still has my tiara."

Dinky blinked, then chuckled, slowing for a moment to let Diamond fall into step beside her. "Oh, yeah! She's Princess Copperwing now, isn't she?"

Diamond snorted, a grin breaking onto her face at the reminder of the high note the last night's visit had ended on.

"Hey," began Dinky, "Imagine if she turned into an alicorn like Princess Twilight."

"That'd be cool," Diamond replied with a smile, nodding appreciatively, "Yeah, I can see that."

Dinky shot her a smirk. "And you, her knight in shining armour?"

"Yeah," replied Diamond, without really thinking. Dinky giggled at her reply and, after a few blinking moments realising what she'd said, Diamond sighed long-sufferingly, shaking her head in exasperation. "Oh, come on, not you too!"

Dinky cackled and Diamond rolled her eyes. Where were they even getting this idea from? Crazy, the lot of them, she thought, sighing confusedly. Slowly, she recalled the times she'd spent with her older friend and began to see where the lunatics she called friends were coming from.

The last time she'd been with Copperwing had been by far the longest, and she'd spent hours of it just embracing the other filly - to comfort her - after which she had gotten - quite naturally - protective of her, then closely accompanied her - to comfort her - to her mother's bedside where, after a short period out of her company, she had given the pegasus the only thing of her mother's she had - to comfort her!!! - and left with the promise of returning as soon as possible.

Alright.

Okay.

Fair enough, that was a lot of evidence in Auburn and Dinky's favour - but that didn't mean anything!

Diamond resurfaced from her thoughts to find Dinky laughing at her.

"What?" asked Diamond. "What is it now?"

Dinky paused in her raucous laughing for a moment, before stopping and striking her best lovestruck pose, which quickly crumbled as she burst into renewed guffaws.

"I-I was not doing that!" Diamond snapped, exasperation flooding into her expression. "No. No way. I did not look like that. I am not in love with anypony, I don't have a crush, and I most definitely never made that face!"

Dinky just laughed to herself, basking in the gold comedic light of Diamond's overreaction, as the earth filly turned her gaze to the steadily approaching hospital with a huff. One trotting quickly forwards with a steady blush on her face, the other skipping along in schadenfreudian bliss, the duo passed the time until their arrival in silence. They stopped at the door for a moment, but then Diamond pushed it open with a new sense of certainty and led the way confidently inside, the blush on her face mostly gone save for a persistent pink flush, the embarrassment replaced with a faraway look and a glow in her eyes. Dinky smirked knowingly and followed her inside.

*

Shivering lightly as they entered the cooler air of the hospital's air-conditioned reception, the duo made for the main reception, where a nurse Diamond recognised - Redheart? Brightheart? no, Snowheart - stood talking hurriedly in a hushed tone with the stallion behind the desk. As the fillies approached, a nod from the stallion signalled the end of the conversation ahead and Nurse Snowheart turned away to head off elsewhere in the hospital, only to spot the duo and clack across the hard tiled floor to meet them.

Diamond stopped a polite distance from the nurse, looking up at her expectantly, and the older mare smiled briefly down at her before her expression hardened again.

"If you're here to visit your friend from yesterday, she's in B Ward with her mother, the same as last night. I hope you did get in touch with your family yesterday and told them where you were, young mare; you could have really worried them otherwise."

Diamond shrank back, ears flattening. Snowheart sighed and barely resisted the impulse to facehoof, letting her expression of disappointment speak for itself without further accompaniment.

"I see," she continued. "I trust you've told them where you are today, right?"

Again, Diamond shrank under the nurse's disappointed stare, joined this time by Dinky.

"Oh, for goodness-" started Snowheart, cutting herself off before she could finish. Turning to the desk again, she gestured for the fillies to follow her. "Come with me, let's sort this out now before it gets to be an even bigger problem."

She led them to the desk and then around the side, where she snatched up one of the telephones fitted there and held the receiver out to the fillies.

"Here, you can ring home on this. Bear in mind that if a call comes in and there are no free telephones to handle it, then I'm going to have to take it back immediately - no goodbyes, I'll just cut the call and switch the line, you understand?. We're having a slow day today, thankfully, so with luck we shouldn't have to cut your call short, but you'd best make your calls sooner rather than later. I trust you know your home telephone numbers?"

Diamond nodded and stepped forwards; her father, like most of Ponyville's residents these days, had access to a telephone. In fact, there were three in the house, which could each make simultaneous calls independently of one another, allowing the serving staff to pick up when Filthy Rich was busy and inform the caller of his inability to answer, and their employer of the caller's identity and reason for ringing.

She span the selector on the telephone's rotary face, turning it and releasing it in quick succession with a practiced hoof, entering her father's number so rapidly that within a short few seconds the telephone was ringing, its receiver pressed snugly against her ear. The dully whining dial tones washed out into her ear, repeating for a few moments before a click cut them off and a moment later, her father's voice, professional and guarded, spilled out of the speaker.

"This is Filthy Rich, who is calling?"

"Dad, it's me, Diamond," she replied, hearing a hum of surprise from the other end. When he spoke again, her father's voice was warm but tinged with concern.

"Diamond, is everything alright? Where are you calling from?"

"I'm at the hospital, Dad. I was going to visit Copperwing and her mother with Dinky, but I forgot to drop by and tell you where I was going. I'll see you later, okay? I won't be late for dinner, I promise."

"Oh, alright, Di. Thanks for letting me know, sweetie, you know how this old stallion likes to worry. Stay safe out there, and I'll see you later."

"Bye, Daddy!"

"Goodbye, Diamond."

Smiling, Diamond hung up, turning to Dinky and stepping aside to let her friend get their turn. To her surprise, however, Dinky shook her head.

"What's wrong, Dinky?" Diamond asked, concern making its way into her expression.

The unicorn seemed to lose all the joy inside her, her head drooping along with her ears as her mane appeared to go lank and slack, devoid of its usual lively colour and volume, and she shrank into herself as if ashamed.

"I-I... We don't have a telephone; Mum doesn't- she can't afford one. I can't call home."

Diamond stepped forwards and lifted Dinky's chin to look her in the eye. "Dinky, there's nothing to be ashamed of about not having a telephone. You're hardly the only one in Ponyville who doesn't, and besides, I can just call Dad and ask him to send a message to your mum. You see, there's no problem at all, so turn that frown upside down."

Dinky brightened, giggling a little at Diamond's closing statement, and shot her a playful frown, one eyebrow raised in mock-admonishment.

"'Turn that frown upside down'? Really, Diamond? That's the best you could come up with?"

Diamond shrugged. "It made you laugh, didn't it?"

"I suppose you've got me there," conceded Dinky. "...Do you really think your dad will be alright playing messenger for me, though?"

"Of course he'll be okay with it. Your mum is his friend, he's not going to mind making sure she doesn't have to worry about you. Besides, he won't say no to his little gem."

"Wait," said Dinky, fighting back a snort of laughter, "wait just one moment. He calls you 'his little gem'? Oh, sweet Celestia, that's adorable!" A mischievous grin crept onto her face as she continued. "...You know what, I should tell Copperwing; every good couple have pet names for each other, after all."

Diamond shot her friend a killing glare which only served to make her laugh harder and tried to ignore the cackling laughter as she dialled her dad's number again. As before, after the dial tones had their seconds of fame, he greeted her in what she liked to think of as his 'business voice'.

"Hello? This is Filthy Rich, who is-"

"Dad, it's me again," cut in Diamond, "we can't call Dinky's mum, so could you make sure she knows that Dinky's here with me, please?"

A second's silence passed by without answer and Diamond began to wonder if she should maybe have drawn that 'please' out a little longer and play the 'verbal puppy dog eyes' card. Just as she was about to follow her question up with another cuter plea, her father's chuckle rumbled across the phone line, his tone warm enough that she could guess his answer.

"Of course, my little gem. I needed a walk anyway and helping my friend out is as good an excuse as any to get out of the house for a while. I'll drop by and tell her where Dinky is, maybe catch up a little, then head back home in time to set things up for when Cheerilee gets here."

Diamond couldn't help but notice how the enthusiasm in his tone seemed to rise towards the end of his reply, and made note of it with a smile. It was good that her father was making friends as good as the ones she had.

"Okay, Dad, I'll leave you to it. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Putting the phone down for the second time, Diamond turned to her friend with a satisfied smile.

"There, done!" Diamond then nodded to the nurse, waiting patiently beside them. "Thanks, Nurse Snowheart!"

Snowheart smiled again, as brief yet warm as her last, and nodded to the fillies. "No problem, young mare. Thank you for remembering my name. Anyway, you pair had better get going if you want to see your friend. She's due to be discharged later, if all goes well."

Diamond and Dinky gave their farewells and thanks to the mare and trotted off into the hospital, their original quest to find out their friend's current location from the reception finally at an end.

*

Diamond led the way through the hospital corridors at a determined pace. Beside her, Dinky's shorter legs whirred in a scampering attempt to keep up with the earth pony's powerful stride, the unicorn panting from the effort. Surefooted, Diamond, rather than slow down for the corners, leaned to turn her body round them, while Dinky skidded widely round and skittered after her. The focused on retracing the path to where Copperwing and her mother were being kept, hoping to herself that Auburn would be there.

Dinky's hopes were somewhat humbler: she just wanted Diamond to slow down a little. When this unspoken prayer went unanswered, she wrote it off as karma, taking solace in the fact that her ordeal would soon be over. If she hadn't been so preoccupied with keeping pace with Diamond, Dinky would have found her friend's eagerness to get back to her hospitalised friend funny. As things were, her legs were really starting to ache and that was most certainly not funny - surely it couldn't be much further?

Rounding one final corner, Diamond slowed at last, smiling briefly as she finally caught sight of the ponies she'd come to visit. There, in the closest occupied bed, was Copperwing; freed from her oxygen mask and serenely asleep, the dance of light across her subtly shining coat and the gleam of Diamond's tiara upon her head gave her an air of regal elegance. Diamond found the once-joking comparison of Copperwing to a princess more fitting by the second... she really was beautiful.

The next bed, in which Burnished Gilding lay, had been moved so that it effectively formed a double-sized bed with her daughter's own, and as Diamond watched, she took advantage of this closeness to move an idle strand of dirty blonde mane off of Copperwing's face. The mare smiled, the loving joy in her eyes not diminishing even when her attempt at rolling back onto her own bed sent a stab of pain through her, courtesy of her still-healing wounds. Diamond was glad her friend had such loving parents and, though the thought sent a pang through her heart, wondered if her own mother would have been the same. Memories of her dad fondly telling her stories about her mother caught her smile as it fell: he had loved her dearly, so she must have been just as good as Gild... right? Diamond supposed she would never really know.

Looking for something to distract her, Diamond's eyes found Auburn's cold gaze and the sad remains of her smile fell from her face. The pegasus filly sat rigidly in a chair on the other side of her mother's bed to her sleeping sister, staring at Diamond as if she were looking at a stranger. Ushering Dinky over to Gilding and the sleeping Copperwing, Diamond made her own, slow way over to her other friend, pausing in her approach to give a wave and apologetic smile, which Auburn didn't return.

"Hello, Auburn," Diamond started, earning no response besides Auburn pointedly looking off to the side, rather than straight at her.

"Auburn, I'm sorry." This, at least, got a flick of the ears from the unresponsive pegasus. "Please, Auburn, I'm sorry, just look at me, would you?"

She got her wish, but the icy glare that came with it made its fulfillment a bitter one.

"What's the problem, Diamond?" Auburn asked, her voice mock-saccharine and her face innocent. "Don't you like being ignored?"

"Auburn." Diamond whined. "Come on, just listen to me, please. I messed up, I know, and I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're sorry, are you? What could little miss Perfect Friend have possibly done to be sorry for?"

"Auburn, don't do this. I know you're mad, and you have every right to be, but you're being so... so..."

"So... what, Diamond? So childish? So petty? Is that it, Diamond? You think I'm being petty, huh? Yes, yes I am - and why shouldn't I be?"

"Because this isn't you. You're not petty or childish, you're the one of us who uses her head. You're the mature one, the one who always thinks first and speaks later, not... not whatever this is. I'm sorry I ignored you earlier, and I'm sorry we missed you at the end of the day, but I've been trying to apologise since I got here and you have not been making it easy. Now, if you'll actually listen to me, let's go somewhere a little more private and talk about this like normal ponies."

Auburn sucked in a deep breath of air, held it for a furious couple of seconds, and released it again, seeming to deflate a little in the process.

"Fine," she spat without humour, "let's talk." Leaving Diamond no time to respond, she slipped from her chair onto the floor and marched off towards the hallway. Looking between her retreating friend and Gilding's bewildered face, Diamond sighed, shook her head and followed after her, sparing Copperwing one longing glance before pulling her gaze away and chasing after the pegasus's sister.

*

Auburn waited for Diamond just outside the ward, in the corridor outside. The odd pony went by every few seconds, but in a hospital, expecting better than that would be folly: given the circumstances, it was private enough for the job. Diamond waited a moment after arriving, in case her friend wanted to say something, but Auburn just stared silently, unimpressed.

"Look," Diamond began, "I just want to say, nothing that happened today - not ignoring you, not missing you, not starting an argument here - none of that was supposed to happen. The stuff you were teasing me about... well, it's not just been you, and I got a bit caught up in figuring out where the hay you're all getting the idea from. I think I get where you're coming from now - not that you're right, 'cause you aren't - but I needed a while to figure it out. I... uh, I get lost in my head, like you do, but I'm sorry it ended up making me ignore you. I did notice you were gone, but it was too late to do anything about it, and besides, Dinky didn't seem too concerned so I figured you had someplace to be."

Auburn remained silent, but didn't seem to be glaring so much, so Diamond continued.

"We were late getting to you today because we bumped into Cheerilee and had a chat, that's all. We were already running a bit late, and we sort of lost track of time, so we missed you. We didn't stand you up on purpose, I promise. I know that us not turning up, after I ignored you earlier, must have felt like some kind of betrayal or something, but we really didn't mean to do that to you, and it won't happen again."

"Yeah, betrayal's right. After all the yelling you did at me yesterday, after you more or less cut me off in favour of Copperwing, how do you expect me to react when you spend all day either ignoring me or avoiding me completely? You're supposed to be my friend, and then you go and treat me as if I'm invisible because thinking about Phobia Filly and chatting with that stupid teacher is more important to you than acknowledging my existence! Do you really think I'll just believe your shitty little excuses when it's clear you just don't want me around? Pull the other one, Diamond! Admit it, you care more about my stupid big sister and that annoying brace-face, Twit, than you do about me!"

Diamond, struck silent in bewildered astonishment, couldn't put words together to respond to Auburn's tirade, leaving the corridor silent save for the pegasus's angry pants as she tried to get her breath back.

"I don't... I-I don't believe this, Auburn," Diamond began weakly. "How in the world could you think that? After everything we've done together, you're just going to pretend that I don't care so you don't have to admit you bucked up with Copperwing? I don't believe this."

Auburn made a sort of shocked, choking noise in outrage, but Diamond cut her off without letting her speak.

"I was furious at you yesterday because you bucked up, not because I never liked you, or because I liked Copperwing better. You hurt her time and again for years, when she needed your help most; you treated a serious mental condition like it was a joke because you didn't know what caused it; and you treated her like crap when she didn't know how badly your mum was hurt, so much so that you sent her into a panic attack which could have killed her. Of course I was bucking mad at you, Auburn... Look, I'm sorry I ignored you today, and I'm sorry that I made you feel like we'd abandoned you, but what I did yesterday was exactly what you deserved and you know it. You don't get to live in your little fantasy that everyone dislikes you and it's all unfair, because just isn't true."

Guilt flashed across Auburn's eyes, and the angry spluttering she'd started when Diamond had begun her own rant died down. Her mouth moved silently around unspoken words, trying to find ones which fit what she was thinking, but she never got the chance to say them: Diamond wasn't done yet.

"What you do get to do is face up to the truth. I was - and still am - mad at you for treating Copperwing the way you did: fact. I forgave you yesterday, and still forgive you now: also a fact. I messed up today, and you got hurt: that, too, is a fact. None of what hurt you today was ever supposed to happen: also a fact. I am going to seriously lose my temper if I catch you calling Copper 'Phobia Filly' again: another fact. And finally, I still want to be your friend, just as much as when we first met: fact, fact, honest-to-Celestia bucking fact. Of course, all of these facts mean nothing if you won't believe them, so Auburn - am I right or wrong about all of this?"

Moments passed, in which the fillies stared eye to eye, before Auburn crumpled in shame and bowed her head.

"You're... you're right, Diamond. I shouldn't have used what happened yesterday as evidence that you didn't like me, it was just... it was easier, you know? Harder to blame yourself than someone else, and what you said the other day hurt - I guess I deserved it, but it felt like you were just turning your back on me. I thought I'd lost you, and then today you made me feel like I really had."

"I know, and I'm sorry. We've both made one Tartarus of a mess out of all this, but I'd like to think the arguing part's behind us now, wouldn't you? So, if you'll forgive me for messing up today, I'll forgive you for messing up with Copper, and we can both move on with our lives. Deal?"

Auburn grinned coltishly, spat a wad of spit into her hoof and held it out to shake. "Deal."

Returning the grin, Diamond spat on her own hoof and shook. Releasing one another, the two fillies stood a little awkwardly, neither one quite ready to head back inside, but neither quite knowing what to say, either. Eventually, Auburn spoke up, looking sheepish but with a determined edge to her eyes.

"Diamond, today I felt like I was invisible. To you, to Dinky, to everypony. It was like all of a sudden, nothing I did mattered anymore. I felt so alone, Diamond, and I don't ever want to feel like that again. I know I just shook to say I forgave you for all that, but it still hurt... it hurt a lot. I don't deal well with being abandoned, either genuinely or when I just think I am."

"I'm sorry you had to feel like that, Auburn. Friends are supposed to take away the loneliness, not make it worse... it won't happen again, I promise. So... shall we get back to the brave guard, the princess and the court jester?"

Auburn snorted in amusement, her smile returning, and nodded. The pair returned in renewed camaraderie, shooting reassuring smiles at Copperwing and Burnished Gilding and rejoining Dinky at the bedside. Auburn sat back down beside her mother, joining Dinky in conversation with the older mare, whilst Diamond made her way to Copperwing's side, a comforting smile on her face as she returned to her friend.

*

It was a while before Copperwing woke up, but Diamond didn't mind waiting for her: the smile which spread across her friend's face when she opened her eyes to see Diamond there would have been worth waiting all day for, as far as she was concerned. Smiling herself, she leaned over her friend and greeted her with quiet affection.

"Hey there, Copper," she began, leaning in with softly concerned eyes to meet Copperwing's own mismatched irises. "How was your night? I hope you were able to sleep alright, even being where you are."

Copperwing smiled back broadly, her mouth now free of yesterday's oxygen mask, and reached a foreleg out to lay a hoof on top of Diamond's where it gripped the side of the bed. Her eyes, though less pained than they had been, still whispered of hurt, worry and confusion, and there was a vulnerable quality to her demeanour which made Diamond's heart fill with sympathy and her protective instincts flare up.

"I-I don't know what I would have done without mum here," the pegasus said, more clearly than yesterday but still raspy and weak in volume. "I got some sleep, thanks to her... Having your tiara helped, too. It wasn't as good as having you here, but I-I could pretend..."

Diamond reached out with her other hoof to stroke Copper's mane comfortingly, smiling to herself as she saw her friend release some of the tension she'd been holding in. "Well, I'm here now, Copper. I'll stay as long as you like... or as long as Dad will let me, I suppose. I really worried him last night, but I wouldn't have left you before then for the world. Now, just relax and focus on me, okay? While I'm here, you're not in the hospital, you're safe, with me, wherever you want to be. I'm here for you, I will always be here for you."

"Thanks, Dee-Tee... I-I... Th-that means a lot to me." The older pegasus's eyes sparkled with unshed tears, but her mouth was curved into a grateful smile and her grip on Diamond's hoof tightened, drawing comfort from the physical contact.

Diamond let action express her response and drew her friend into a comforting hug, smiling when the older filly laid her head on her shoulder and unfurled her big, softly shimmering wings to drape them over Diamond's back. Dinky and Auburn exchanged knowing glances and smirked at Diamond, who glared back but didn't loosen her grip on Copperwing.

Eventually, the embrace was broken and the duo sat together, Copperwing in her bed and Diamond on the chair beside it, chatting away the minutes. Diamond watched the lingering anxiety fade from her friend's eyes as she slowly forgot where she was, lost in the happier places their conversation took her.

Later, when they ran out of things to talk about, Diamond made to release her friend and give her a little space, thinking that she'd like that after so much time in close contact. To her surprise, however, Copperwing only tightened the embrace, looking into Diamond's eyes with a pleading expression which thrust a dagger through the earth filly's heart.

"P-please," croaked Copperwing, "please don't let me go. I don't want to be alone again, not here. Just... just hold me, okay?"

Diamond smiled gently down at her, and obliged, pulling her best friend into a close embrace and shifting her neck so that Copperwing's head could rest upon her shoulder. "Your wish is my command, Princess," she said, and though she had meant it as a joke, she found herself meaning it more than she'd expected to.

Copperwing chuckled at Diamond's reply, before settling her head down on the other filly's shoulder. Diamond smiled; it was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. The two friends sat wrapped in their tight embrace as time sprinted by, just holding one another in trust and contentedness. While they had each other, nothing else mattered.

*****

Author's Note:

Well, this took quite a bit longer than I expected or wanted it to, but here it is at last. As always, leave a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Comments

[Limescale]

D'awww it's nice to see Diamond playing the mature part to resolve tension and see she doesn't make the same mistake with her new friends. Lovely chapter!

[Zombificus]

6785238
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you caught the 'not making the same mistakes' thing, too - I'd been hoping someone would spot that.