Sweetie Belle would have been perfectly happy to spend her long weekend in a theater. She would have been just as happy to ignore the fact that she would be stuck with Silver Spoon the whole time as well. When a vengeful spirit declares war on the fashion show being hosted at the theater, however, Sweetie and Silver find an unlikely alliance forming—as well as an unlikely affection.
Can the two fillies work out their differences and defeat The Phantom of the Bitmore? And how will Sweetie Belle react to the terrible secret of the Phantom?
Cover art provided with permission by MustLoveFrogs. Additional thanks to Clever Pun, Meta Four and Absolution for editing.
Chapters (8)
That was a chunky chapter. I liked it so far. Looking forward to seeing Sweetie's reaction when she discovers the pony behind the mask. And Silver shouldn't feel so bad, pretty sure even The Stare from Fluttershy wouldn't have an affect on that filly. ;P
Now to see if this turns out like a Scooby Doo episode and there really does end up being a real Phantom. xD
Fun chapter so far. A bit lacking in the challenge department though, shame the other two like AB or Scoots weren't around. I'm sure DT would have found more sport in that.
based on the picture, you should have an Anthro tag.
6026177 Not an anthro story. Image might be misleading, fair enough, but there's precious few pictures of the pair.
Good stuff.
6026205 good point :)
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Here's a few for your collection:
fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/358/e/d/silverbelle_by_luminaura-d8b4stg.png
(Source: http://fav.me/d8b4stg)
pre15.deviantart.net/da7a/th/pre/f/2015/077/f/9/silverbelle_by_mommashy-d8m856y.jpg
(Source: http://fav.me/d8m856y)
Update, yay!
seriously this is criminally underappreciated
Yay for finally reading chapter two and it being great.
This was a really sweet chapter. Glad I decided to check in to see if it updated. Very slice of life chapter on this one, and Sweetie was pretty creative there. Nice to see Silver having some genuine fun by the end of this.
hoping this isn't dead
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Not at all! The chapter gave me a bit of trouble, is all. It took me a little while to push through it, and there's still a little bit left to do, but I think the next chapter should be finished within the next week or two... no promises, though.
Still, on way or another, the story is still being worked on!
I'm going to feel sorry for Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon if this doesn't end well. I'm not too sure their fragile new friendship could survive what might happen in later chapters.
yayyy
Diamond is going to find a way to screw it all up.
Alrighty, let's get this underway...
my opinions on the first three chapters.
General nit-picking: Word choice, grammar and punctuation is generally good. Although sometimes there are missing words, broken phrases and general moments of "hold up, what's going on now?" throughout, they were sparse enough to not impact on the general experience too much so far.
Although they are distracting enough to warrant a mention anyway, because reasons.
Generally, the number one rule I seem to pick out from this story is that Silver is actually a complex character with her own thoughts and emotions. While not always making the right choices it appears that she does have a conscience and genuinely admits that she hasn't always been on the right side of the tracks. That being said, while her initial contact with Diamond at the end of the first chapter immediately put a giant red "VOID" stamp on these thoughts. But having gone through the second and third chapters, Silver is second guessing her loyalty to Diamond's wishes, so I don't know... (well, I do know, if the synopsis is anything to go by)
Which brings me to Diamond herself. Now, I'm not sure how she knew, but having Sweetie Belle turn up out of the blue (as shown by Silver being genuinely surprised at seeing her) Diamond had already set herself up, in the back rooms, prepared to scare the wits out of anypony who went back there...
Purely by coincidence considering Silver's parents don't even know that she's there...
Yes, I know that Diamond said she's sneaking away from her aunt or whoever... But if she did manage to make it to the theatre, talk to Silver then make a plan to scare any foals that happened to show up with anypony who was part of the fashion show....
mnyeh, see where I'm going with this?
It's awfully contrived..... But something has to be there "because there has to be tension from something..."
Moving back to Silver, I find her reason to hate theatre to be quite weak too. I mean, she gets stage fright... Big whoop... Why would that make simply going to a show such a big deal?
Oh, sorry, she's scared of the actual Phantom of the Opera because she was meant to be the leading female who was captured by him....
Y'know, when her story about her hate of theatre started I expected something a little more intense, like one of the older colts was, uhh... Yeah, let's not finish that train of thought...
hmmm, what else was there... The Fashion show has turned into something in the background, for the moment anyway, since the story focuses on Sweetie and Silver (until next chapter, where the threats might be acted upon by the Phantom, which might cause more freak-outs.)
I suppose I'm probably being a little harsh since the story is only 3 chapters long currently, but they are good meaty chapters at least, since this story has more exploration in the first chapter than most other stories posted on this site.
It is still quite a fun little story to read, and I'm still quite interested in seeing where it goes next. (Despite the short-story I have written here of complaints.)
You (insert gender applicable title), have found yourself a fan.
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See, what it kind of comes down to is a sort of overarching problem of mine, which is that I have trouble making it read well when a character is holding back information, or outright lying.
Basically, to answer your major complaint, Silver and Diamond did know that Sweetie Belle would be there, but Silver had to act the part in order to not tip Sweetie off to the plot, so "I didn't know you'd be there" is the safest bet. Part of Silver's history with acting is to explain why she's such a good liar around Sweetie. In the beginning at least.
As for why she's so afraid of Theater... well, who knows. She was a frightened, prideful little girl when it all happened, and the things kids do when they're that young don't all make sense. Maybe it was an irrational fear, maybe she fabricated the phobia to salvage her pride in her own mind. Maybe it just didn't resonate as much as I'd hoped as an author, heh. That sort of thing is always a matter of taste and opinion in how much it clicks, I suppose.
Nevertheless! I'm glad you liked it overall, and I definitely appreciate the comment and critique!
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With point 1 there was no way they could know because Sweetie herself didn't know she was going until her parents headed off for the weekend (and that Applejack/Scoots's parents were busy)
Unless I mis-read part of it, in which case you can ignore this
Yeah, I know my complaint about Silver's fear being blown out of proportion doesn't really hold up... because they're kids... So I shouldn't really make such a big deal out of it... But, yeah... I kinda expected more out of it... bleh...
Then again, because it was such a small thing, it fits so well with the story that it's a quibble that has no merit... so... yeah, I would ignore that for the most part...
Yay, new chapter!
was just thinking about this one tonight.
cant wait to read
God this chapter was so cute. I love how you pace the story. Don't make excuses for Silver's past. And really give Silver an honest and believable reason for why she can be so mean when she wants to. It's real nice to see this much friend-shipping in a Silver Spoon fic.
But most of all I love how we get to see more of the smaller things that are JUST Silver Spoon. Boggle moment with Silver teetering side to side was such a cute image. Scrunchy face Silver Spoon is so cute.
Sweetie was just too god huggable in this, far more then usual, and yeah. Just loving the romantic undertones building up, particularly in chapter 4.
"Wouldn't it be nice if all five of us were just friends?"
Sigh, yeah Sweetie... it is a nice thought. Anything's possible I suppose.
Anyhow, sleep deprived as per usual. Just found this had indeed not been forgotten and just *really* been getting buried in story notifications feed. Only just caught the update a couple hours ago. Enjoyed being delightfully treated to find two chapters waiting for me. Hehe, loved the confrontation with the 'phantom'.
The mom suspects things. The mom is happy with said things. That's a cool mom. <3
Yeah, well, smooth chapters. Wish I was less drowsy to really type something. But yeah, loved chapter 3 so much. It's good when we get to see Silver do Silver things. Sad to see Diamond get a bit tired of waiting on Silver to share what she'd like to do and just fall into a routine of just always leading the pack figuring Silver just prefers her to lead the way most the times. But good to see their friendship goes deeper then what the CMC see when they're being teased.
Sweet dreams, ponies. Sweet dreams.
P.S. This fic is like my Enchanted Library, but for Silver Belle. It's just one of those fics you HAVE to follow. Well paced, smart writing and fun dialogue. Character exploration. This is like THE Silver Spoon type of fics you just don't get the pleasure to read much of. You're doing a great job, Author. Keep the boat sailing steady as ye can!
i just love this story. I can't get enough of it.
This story is tremendously underrated. Such a cute chapter too.
Excellent as usual
D:
Don't leave us hanging too long.
Is this Post-CotLM or I miss something ? It's a little strange to see them hate each other guts considering this episode.
Nah, you are just too good as an actor. On Nightmare night, she must be the spooks master of Ponyville.
And your world of fantasy has just been shattered Di. Not a pleasent feeling when you finally found out that you are the bad guy.
Great chapter by the way, with drama, tension and a really heartwarming ending. Silver spooning Nova is just too cute.
i love you for making a new chapter
Alright, liking it so far... I can kinda see where it is going, but it's not a bad thing. And further chapters may still surprise me.
My only gripe would be the size of the chapter. I'm not too fond on such behemoths that take an hour to read, I'd rather have 2-3k, up to 6k maybe. It's just my personal preference, though.
But with how few SilverBelle fics there are out there, I can deal with such minor annoyances. It is still vastly underappreciated ship IMHO.
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I'll admit, CotLM kinda threw me through a loop on the story, especially since I was in the middle of that chapter when it aired. It might not be a fully satisfactory answer, but the basic rundown of it is: Changing is hard, even when you really want to. In the two years between the episode and this story, Diamond Tiara backslid into her nasty old self, because it was the behavior she was used to. She got a bit better, but was ultimately still a bully. The details aren't wholly important to the story, but oblique references to it A) give the story a more grounded-in-the-show feeling and B) better establish a solid relationship between the two groups outside the context of ''just'' Silver and Sweetie.
Rarity is so awesome in this chapter
It's been a while since this story started and I have to admit that I don't remember if the characters are supposed to be full pony or anthro. Hopefully Silver gets another chance. Chase her down Silver!
Content with this ending. Best ship 2016 definatly. Can we expect a follow up story of pure fluff and mishaps? or perhaps some relationship struggles? Or are you going to build a new romance between some newly minted friends. *cough* diamond x applebloom *cough*
Awww, no epilogue?
Well, it's an ending. Definitely not a bad one. Sweetie's explanation was nice, that added a bit of spice to an otherwise somewhat bland chapter. Same for the last part of the conversation between Silver and Diamond. All in all, I enjoyed it enough, and it wraps up a story I've enjoyed quite a bit without any problems. Thanks for the ride, it has been fun.
Nice story. Very cute stuff.
I LOVE this story!!
6653966 I agree (with below) but personally I prefer long chapters, kinda gives to me the feeling that the story is complete.
At least the fashion show went perfectly so that was a bonus.
silver is a goon for herself i thought it was diamond tiara
Oh you fucking bitches.
This fic is amazing and sadly underrated
Great story