The sounds of silverware clinked as I worked around the kitchen cabinet. It's been a while since I've actually messed around with cooking utensils. All the chefs at home usually just prepare everything for me and stated that the kitchen was off-limits, so being able to finally make something for myself is a refreshing experience. So far I've gathered what seems to be coffee grounds, which saves the effort of me actually grinding them. However, no matter where I looked, I couldn't find any coffee maker. "No coffee maker? Shit." I only ever used those automatic coffee dispensers that used pre-packaged cup filters for my folks at home. I would just pop one in and let the machine do its work as it dispensed that brownish liquid into a cup. That said, I always hated coffee.
The grogginess still lingered as I continued looking around for some kind of pot or kettle. Making coffee shouldn't be any different than making tea, right? Just need to boil the grounds in hot water and filter it out afterward. I decided to look around in some of the upper cabinets while standing on the countertop. Bingo. I pulled out a pot with my hoof, flexing it over the handle as I then pulled it back. However, it slipped out of my grasp. "Shit!" I rushed in and reflexively caught it with my mouth, my head dropping down with the weight as I barely stopped it from hitting the counter. I sighed. Alright, now for the water and stove.
The sink was a little hard to navigate with my small frame, but I managed to get the water in the pot before placing it on a stovetop. I looked around for the familiar lighter, which to my surprise there wasn't any. Hmm, maybe the stove had a lighter built into it? I turned one of the knobs and saw that it flickered into life. The familiar heat brushed against my muzzle as it started burning underneath the pot of water. However what perplexed me was that I didn't hear the normal electrical current when pressing down on the knob, a flickering sound that would light the gas. Turning the knob off again, then turning it on, the process repeated itself. No electrical flickering, nor any sound of hissing gas emanating from the stovetop. Huh, weird. Guess Equestrian technology is a little different than I imagined it.
As I let the water boil, my mind went back to the dream I had, back in that same kitchen I blew up and what happened afterward. It was obvious what happened, although I simply just couldn't comprehend it. Too many possibilities existed in my mind. I never had nightmares like those when I was a human. I couldn't recall having any nightmares at all, which is strange since most people remember distinctly from the dreams they awoke abruptly from. This, however, was far from forgettable. I don't have any solid evidence that it was Nightmare Moon's doing. What interest would somepony like that have in a small rich filly like me? I paused in deep thought. Perhaps she knew I was a former human? I shook my head. No, even if she did know, it wouldn't warrant her watching over me and giving me night terrors. It's unlikely she was only giving me night terrors. The stories mentioned her giving nightmares to foals across Equestria, so I couldn't be the only exception. But that eye, the one that appeared on that moon, I could still see it in the back of my mind. Its gaze staring right through me as if it was trying to imprint itself into my memories. I couldn't shake the image away.
The sounds of boiling water and steam snapped me out of my stupor. I clicked my tongue as I proceeded to insert the coffee grounds into the pot. I didn't know what amount would be good for this volume, so I guessed and hoped for the best. After a few minutes, I turned off the stove and allowed the coffee pot to settle. I carefully brought out a coffee mug and placed it on the counter. My teeth gripped the rubber handle as I slowly and carefully-
"Is that coffee I smell?"
Startled, I jumped and misplaced a hoof on the edge of the counter. I reactively tried to replace my footing as I balanced the hot coffee pot, but my hoof was met with nothing as I tripped. I felt myself falling over, the pot spilling out above me as I felt my body suddenly feeling weightless. A shimmer surrounded my vision as I felt a force push me away from where I was, everything becoming a rushed blur. The hairs on my coat raised as I felt my body reach to a sudden halt and the sounds of slashing steam and the sound of metal ricochet off the floor. Discombobulated, I shook my head to see a very fear-stricken Rarity right above me.
"Oh my Celestia, are you alright!?"
My eyes refocused as I could see myself laying on the floor, my gaze turning to the other end of the kitchen. The pot was spilled with coffee all over the floor, and I was just under it a second ago.
"I-I, I'm fine thanks." I slowly pulled myself off the floor, dusting my coat off.
"Just what in Equestria were you doing Silver Spoon? You could have gotten hurt!" Rarity was facing me in extreme concern as she placed her hooves on my cheeks, turning my head at different angles presumably to make sure I was okay.
"I'm fine, Miss Rarity. I was just trying to make some coffee for myself. I'm sorry..." I apologized.
Rarity sighs but nods in understanding. "Well as long as you're safe. If I haven't gotten used to saving Sweetie Belle from various accidents such as these, I wouldn't be sure if I had saved you in time."
Biting my lip, the realization that I could have been seriously scorched dawned on me. "I-I uh, thanks, for saving me." I scratched the back of my head.
"It's not a problem, although I must ask, why were you trying to make coffee by yourself?"
"I didn't want to wake you up or interrupt your beauty sleep, and I also didn't get a lot of sleep last night." I laughed nervously.
"You three fillies having too much fun?" Rarity chuckled, almost expectantly.
"Uhh, not exactly." I averted my gaze.
"Huh, well perhaps we can talk about it after I clean up that mess." She said as she walked past me.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that too." I apologized again.
"And again, it's not a problem dear. And by the looks of it, I think you might have gotten lucky." She said as she lifted some rags with her magic, wiping the mess away before placing the pot in the sink.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I turned my head quizzically.
"You used far too many coffee grounds dear," Rarity laughed, "even if you did make it, I doubt you would have been able to drink it. How about I brew some more for the both of us?"
"That'd be great, thanks." I said as I stepped up onto a chair next to the dinner table. A couple of minutes passed as I rested my head on the counter, my mind still a little jarred from almost facing first-degree burns. Rarity hummed as she poured two cups with her magic, before placing them down on the table in their respective places. "Thanks." I say before I blew into the mug and proceeded to take a sip from it. "Blegh! It's as bitter as I remembered it."
Rarity chuckled as she added some milk and sugar into her drink. "So you tasted coffee before, and yet you still decide to drink it black?"
"I thought maybe it would have tasted different..." I say defensively, thinking back to all the times various green foods were pleasant on my tongue.
"Hah, well I'm afraid that no magic or technique can make black coffee any less bitter. Would you like some cream and sugar with that?" She offered by levitating a cream carton and a couple of sugar cubes.
"Yes please, thank you." I pushed my mug out.
"Hmmhmhmm~" The older mare hummed as she prepared my drink. Her gaze still rested on me as she was pleasantly surprised to see me forcing down the slightly more tolerable liquid. "You know, I hardly know any filly that would drink coffee. Usually they would at least try tea first and then spit it out afterwards."
"Yeah, well I kinda need it." I say as I washed the liquid down my throat, trying to drown out the lingering taste of blood and vile puke from my memories.
"Because you couldn't sleep?" She asked, before sipping from her mug.
"Because I had a nightmare." I answered, placing my mug down.
"Oh dear, that sounds... unpleasant. Are you alright?" The older mare voiced concern.
"I'm fine, just... shaken up that's all." I proceed to take another sip.
"I see... Well it's hardly strange to see foals having nightmares at this age."
My ears perked up at that. "It's not?"
Her expression was sympathetic. "Oh Spoon, everypony has nightmares occasionally. I can't say that I remember much of them now that I'm a grown mare, but even I had them as a young filly."
"You did?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I did. I'd have nightmares at least... perhaps once a moon? It seemed that every filly and colt had them." Rarity gave me a soft and reassuring look. "Even Sweetie Belle has them. Sometimes she would shriek in the middle of the night, only for me to find her laying on the floor with the bed covers on her..."
"So... everypony has nightmares?" I inquired.
"Oh don't worry Silver Spoon, you'll grow out of it eventually. Why, my last nightmare happened mere months ago."
"M-Months?!" I exclaimed.
"Of course! Soon your nightmares will become less frequent as you grow, I promise you. Nightmares are completely normal for a filly your age." Rarity smiled, but her words did nothing to reassure me.
"You... and you don't remember your nightmares?" I ask, bewildered.
"I... can't quite say." I could see her expression growing a bit warier as the conversation moved onwards, but she did put a hoof on her chin as she was attempting to recall. "The latest memory I can recall would be when my fabrics all floated away from my boutique, and on the day before the beauty pageant! Oh how dreadful."
"That's it?!" I exclaimed, standing up from my seat with my forelegs on the table. My coffee was already emptied halfway and my mind kicked back into full gear, my body fully energized.
"Of course! Why my entire fashion line was on the line. If I didn't have all my dresses prepared before the judges showed up, my career would have been in ruins!" She waved a foreleg over her head dramatically. "Why even Sweetie Belle said that my night terror woke the living daylights out of her." She chuckled lightly. "Luckily it was all just a dream." The older mare then sipped from her coffee.
"I... see..." I averted my gaze to my coffee mug. Nightmares are normal? T-That can't be right... Although I have started to have them a couple of months ago, nopony told me about them. The family library didn't even have any mention of it, and it was a pretty wide library. I stared deeper into the light-brown liquid as I pondered. And if I were to compare my nightmares to Rarity's, hers were quite tame in comparison. Based on what she has told me, all adolescent ponies were experiencing these nightmares. Urgh... I can't draw any conclusions yet, I've gotta do more research into this.
"Silver Spoon?" I heard a voice from behind my seat. I immediately turned around to see Sweetie Belle at the bottom of the stairwell across the hallway and with the worst bed-hair. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she walked over to the kitchen. "You're up already?"
Rarity smiled and left her seat. "Oh Sweetie, you've woken up just in time. I was about to go up there myself. Is Diamond Tiara also awake?"
"No, she's still in her mattress." The small unicorn stretched her legs.
"Well did you brush your teeth yet?"
"Yeah, of course I did sis. You don't have to foal me all the time." Sweetie Belle complained.
"I'm just asking." The older mare replied in just. "Now I don't have any spare toothbrushes for either of you Silver Spoon, so you're going to have to live with slightly bad breath."
"I'll just go and rinse my mouth with water and paste. Or some mouthwash if you have some." I shrugged.
"Ew, mouthwash is so gross..." Sweetie Belle cringed.
Rarity chuckled at this. "Well, you could always borrow some of mine Silver Spoon. Sweetie Belle doesn't like using it after brushing."
"Brushing should be good enough." Sweetie Belle complained again.
"It doesn't hurt to be a little more hygienic Sweetie. Nothing wrong with having teeth as shiny as mine!" The older unicorn smiled, revealing her white teeth. "Now come along now, lets get all your manes properly brushed up. Your mane is a tangled mess!"
Rarity combed all our manes to an acceptable level. She was about to use all kinds of beauty products until Sweetie Belle promptly stopped her, saying that we had to get ready for school early. For one, I was glad that I had to skip morning grooming. The maids always bathed and brushed me to perfection before every morning and sometimes I would have to wait forever before they deemed my appearance acceptable enough to walk outside my room. Diamond Tiara didn't seem to hold that same sentiment, however, as she was awfully disappointed she didn't get the chance to have make-up applied to her. Afterward, the three of us headed towards the kitchen as Rarity prepared breakfast.
And apparently cereal does exist!
"Wow Sil... You really like cereal." Sweetie Belle commented.
I was too busy shoving as much of the sugary manufactured and artificially flavored goodness into my digestive tract. I swallowed before responding. "I haven't had cereal in so looong!" My emotions were filled with joy. For all this time I had to eat fancy breakfasts that included oatmeal, cinnamon, and fruits. It felt amazing to simply eat something artificial again. The sugar was much tastier than I remembered from back home.
"Is it really that good?" Dia poked the bowl of delicious goodness hesitatingly with her spoon.
"Try it!" I demanded while pointing a spoon threateningly. Then I proceeded to gouge down on my meal to which even Rarity cringed in mild displeasure. Diamond Tiara started poking the bowl some more, still extremely skeptical about the meal.
"You should eat it before it gets soggy." Sweetie Belle advised, eating from her bowl normally.
Diamond Tiara took another glance at the bowl before gulping. Taking her spoon in her hoof, she carefully took a spoonful of it before consuming it. Her eyes lit up upon tasting it, "W-What? What is this?!", she exclaimed before eating in the bowl at a rapid pace that rivaled mine.
Of course, I finished first, drinking the rest of the milk and sugar from the bowl before placing it down incomplete content. Milk covered my lips as I sighed in pleasure. "So good...."
Sweetie Belle just stared strangely at both of us. "Do neither of you have cereal at home?" the small unicorn questioned while tilting her head.
"Nope, never had it before. Why didn't daddy tell me about this? This is great!" The pink filly shook her head as she continued eating her breakfast.
"Neither do I!" I answered in turn, smiling in bliss as the sugary goodness settled in my belly. Rarity feigned a smile and politely wiped my lips with a napkin. "I should come here more often, your sister's cooking is great!" I said. Rarity scrunched her nose and was about to correct me before I gave her a smug expression in turn.
The older mare rolled her eyes but smiled a little at my joke. "Alright, I'll take your word for that. But before you go, I should prepare you all a lunch as well!" She got up from her chair before looking around in her fridge.
"Oh, you don't have to do that..." I said in response. Rarity and Dia raised her eyebrow after my comment. "I mean, you already made us dinner and breakfast. It's far too much if you made us lunch as well..." I started to explain.
"Well it's really no problem at all Silver Spoon. Your father had already informed me that he'll compensate for whatever meals I will provide. And what would you eat if I haven't prepared a lunch?" Rarity smiled, before packing some apples and other foods into a paper bag.
"I-I, I guess..." I muttered, before getting a nudge from Diamond Tiara.
"Come on Sil, just accept the lunch and lets go!" The pink filly lightly smiled at me.
"Fiiiine." I rolled my eyes, "but we're totally going to come back here."
"Indubitably!" Sweetie Belle chirped. Dia and I give her a questionable look while raising an eyebrow. "W-What? I can use fancy words too!" The small unicorn said a little flustered. It drew a small snicker from me, causing her to blush even harder. "H-Hey!"
"N-No no, it's great." I barely held in a laugh. "It was just unexpected, that's all."
"I don't even know what that means, but you sound so smart!" Dia exclaimed full-heartedly before she tilted her head. "What does it mean?"
Sweetie Belle puffed up lightly in embarrassment but was about to answer before being immediately interrupted by her older sister. "Now now girls, you all should be getting ready for school. Do you have everything packed yet?"
"No." We all unanimously said.
"Then do so, I'm almost done making you all your lunch." Rarity chided.
"Okay."
"Kay."
"Sure."
We all left upstairs and gathered our belongings, including my Uno cards. At this point, I really felt the effects of that coffee's caffeine spreading throughout me, so I was wide awake. Using the mouthwash and water to clear my breath from the bitter liquid in the bathroom, Dia whispered next to me while Sweetie Belle was away. "Hey so, I heard everything from last night."
"PFFFTTT!" I immediately ejected the mouthwash into the sink, leaving behind a nasty taste of chlorine and mint. Wiping my mouth with a rag, I hissed "What!?"
"Did, you really mean what you said?" Dia gave a concerned look.
"W-Wait wait wait, how did you hear everything? You were asleep!" I exclaimed silently.
"I was sleeping in pretend." Dia waved her hoof almost as if it was obvious, "Last rule of sleepovers: There's always juicy gossip at night. Why did you think I wanted to sleep early?"
My mouth hanging agape, "You conniving little fox." I say almost impressed, enabling Dia to smirk at this. I curtly stopped her with a hoof and a serious gaze. "You should warn me next time. Or better yet, just don't do that again."
"Huh? But why not?" The pink filly said a little miffed.
"It's not exactly the kind of stuff you should be eavesdropping on." I deadpanned. "And that could have gone horribly! What if I messed up!" I flailed my forelegs while standing before toppling over. "I could have ruined everything if you didn't get involved."
"Why would I? You said so yourself that you can make friends if you wanted to, and it looks to me that you did." She gave me an innocent smile while I still was on the carpet below.
I gave her a tired expression before inevitably sighing. "Fine. Just warn me next time."
"Okay!" Dia chirped, before lending a hoof to pull me off the ground. "So... about what you said, did we really bully fillies for our cutiemarks?"
"Why? You believe in what I say now?"
"Well it doesn't look like you're lying..." Dia said, still showing mild concern. "That won't happen though right? We won't, make enemies..."
"Not if we can help it." I shrugged "Still, Scootaloo seems like she'll be tough to be friends with."
"Right, her... hey do we have to be friends with her?" Dia said with a slight annoyance in her voice.
"What?" I say a little surprised.
"I mean, can't we just ignore her, like you said? As long as we don't bully her it should be fine right?"
"I don't think it will be easy as that..." I say. "...Wait... Is it that easy?" I try to recall with a hoof on my chin. Back then Applebloom only joined Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo over their shared status of not having cutiemarks, with the main conflict being Diamond Tiara and I causing her to be insecure. It's not really a stretch to say that we bullied them into becoming friends... "No no, things are different now. We're friends with Sweetie Belle. We can't just ignore Scootaloo."
"Right..." Dia said before silently groaning. "You know, I'm starting to know what Sweetie Belle meant when she said that friendships are complicated."
"Yeah, well friendships don't usually have somepony that can dream the future." I casually remarked before approaching the bathroom door and swinging it inwards.
Suddenly a light-grey unicorn toppled over onto the bathroom carpet, dazed before fixating her eyes on me. "Uh... Rarity said that our lunches were ready!" She smiled meekly.
I stared with a deadpanned look while Dia was wide-eyed, clearly not expecting to be listening in on. "I'm not dealing with this." I stepped over the eavesdropping Sweetie Belle before proceeding downstairs.
"And finally your lunch." Rarity said as she levitated Sweetie Belle's lunch into her saddlebag.
"Thanks Rarity!" Sweetie Belle chirped before walking towards the exit.
"Thanks for the meals." I say in turn, feeling the newly added weight in my saddlebag.
"Yeah thanks, although I can't say I liked dinner." Dia said blatantly, earning a quick nudge from me.
"Now, it's alright. Perhaps I'll cook up something better next time." Rarity smiled, "And perhaps with some more groceries." She took a wary glance at her fridge.
"Well thanks for everything. Let's go Sil!" Dia bounced towards the living room.
I took a small guilty glance at Rarity while walking behind Dia, before being interrupted by walking into something fuzzy. "Dia?"
"Shhh!" A hoof was pressed against my mouth. The pink filly was peering over the corner towards the exit.
"What are you eavesdropping now?" I whispered before leaning past Diamond Tiara.
There I see two figures standing in the doorway, one Sweetie Belle and the other an orange filly with a cerise mane. "What I'm trying to say is that, I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to say." Scootaloo dug at the welcome mat below her with a forehoof. "Your opinion does matter Sweetie Belle. I'm just... too dumb to realize it. Do you still want to be friends with me?" She said with remorseful eyes.
Sweetie Belle stood there contemplating for a moment before saying, "Okay," earning a joyous expression from the orange filly. Before Scootaloo could speak, Sweetie Belle paused with a hoof. "But, if my opinions do matter then you're going to have to listen to me."
"Uh, okay?" Scootaloo tilted her head. "Like, what?"
"Like when I say I don't want to go watch you go scoot." Sweetie Belle deadpanned.
"W-What?! You don't want to watch me scoot?" The orange pegasus says a bit dejected.
"Of course I do, but not like, all the time!" The small unicorn exclaimed while rolling her eyes. "Sometimes I want to do other things. Maybe you can teach me how to scoot. Or maybe we could play some games together."
"You mean those dolls of yours?" Scootaloo says, a little unenthusiastic by the idea.
"No, it doesn't have to be dolls." Sweetie Belle deadpanned. "We could go look for pets! Or meet other ponies! Or go to the park. Maybe even try to find our cutiemarks!"
Scootaloo's eyes widened at the last example. "That... last bit actually sounds like a lot of fun. Wait, did I see somepony else there?" Her gaze turned towards the corner we resided.
The both of us were quickly pulled back by two white forelegs. "Wa-"
"Shhh!" I looked up to realize that Rarity was right above us before she leaned across the corner to address Scootaloo.
"Uh, Rarity?" Scootaloo echoed across the room.
"Oh no worries it's just me darling. I'm just cleaning up the kitchen. There's been a spill and it's quite difficult to clean off. Shhht! Shhht!" She turned the corner and mimicked the sound of a cleaning bottle. "Both of you run along to school now~" She smiled. Then she motioned her hooves towards the open windowsill in the kitchen. Diamond Tiara and I nodded before we snuck our way out of Rarity's Boutique, with the older mare winking at the both of us from the window as we looked back.
"Well that was neat!" Dia ecstatically exclaimed. "I felt like an actual ninja! Sneaking around corners, listening in on conversations, and sneaking out the window! We should do it again."
"I think I had enough playing ninja for today." I said reluctantly, "That was way too close for comfort Dia. Things would have gone way too messy if Scootaloo found out about us being in Rarity's house."
"Yeah I know..." Dia's ears dropped downwards, "but it was so cool!"
I shook my head. "Yeah well, we can always play ninja later. For now lets just get back to school before those two notices us."
"Okay!" The pink filly chirped.
Welcome back, this is adorable. Now the ultimate challenge, Spoiled Rich
Silver spoon 3rd grade ninja. Nice
There's no problem you can't solve with enuff coffee.
Also, a ninja with an implausibly huge spoon. How enchanting.
Wooooh! So glad to see you back. Your story was like a ninja, popping out when you least expect it but it's a warm welcome and return
Kids this days, always sneaking around
From this day, Silver cemented her friendship, and potentially will seek a new one in Scootaloo.
It's odd for NM to pay that much attention to Sil, and especially by giving her such horrible nightmares.
Me pregunto de dónde habrá sacado una cuchara tan grande 😀
'Why use a spoon when a knife is sharp?'
'We use a Spoon Because it is dull, It Hurts More'
Great stuff my dude.
It is weird that Nightmares are just a thing that ponies just have to experience every few months, and that is such an occurrence they chalk it up to it being 'just how it is'ism.
yaaaaaaay its back!!! :D
this was great! looking forward to see what happens next
Absolutely fantastic. Really awesome to see you back man!
Also, making Coffee without a Coffee-Maker? Frustrating experience. Tried to do it once post Hurricane Florence here on the East Coast purely by memory, like what Sil' does, and I ruined several cups worth of good Coffee doing it. It ended being the balancing of Coffee-Grounds to Water added that really screwed me up.
I really can't blame anyone for messing up Coffee, no matter how good, in such a situation.
Hey. What do you prefer; Cold-Brew or Regular?
There's another possibility, NIghtmare saw the dream of the pilot episodes and is pissed on her inevitable defeat. Thats going to be a problem as she knows who the future bearers might be and take steps to eliminate them on her return
10939967
I prefer decaff.
Love the story thanks
10939967
did it
made an energy drink instead of coffee
10939967
Coffee without maker, easy. Just put a spoon or two in a big mug put hot water in it and wait for the grounds to settle on the bottom. Drink slowly to not stire it up again.
And to quote the great Gaijin Goombah: "True ninja wear blue."
Hehe, they should work harder to not spy on their friends, lest they believe they're enemies...
Perhaps it's a good thing she failed to complete her coffee mission, that would have been quite a punch in the mouth.
Now to recruit Scootaloo...
10940062
Now we're wondering at the mystical tree-climbing earth pony spy... 😇
Are kids in Equestria really allowed to drink coffee? But what about that thing where it stunts your growth? Have I been lied to? This is Nanako all over again!
10940279
Rarity just kinda presumed that Silver Spoon would immediately spit out her coffee and never drink it again, like all foals tend to do. She's surprised she didn't, but sympathizes with her and her nightmares.
Can't wait to see how the nightmare will factor into the story, Also ninja Spoon is awesome.
10940352
Well in my opinion it's either the coffee or the Nightmare Moon causing childhood nightmares. And unless that coffee is so strong you feel it's effects before drinking it...
10940395
She did drink it tho. And it's her first time too.
That pic is fantastic.
Would have thought she knew there was a dramatic difference between nightmares and night terrors. Even assuming magic is the cause of both I’d think it would still be on remarkably different levels.
10940876
All I know is that night terrors are nightmares that cause you to wake up screaming in the middle of the night.
I also am not a fan of coffee. I hate the bitterness 'cause my tongue is more sensitive to that flavour. My family occasionally try to see what coffee is palpable for me. Last one I tried was actually okay 'cause it tasted like dark chocolate.
10940932
Basically night terrors are dreams that trigger the body to act without waking up. People who suffer it often flail violently, sleepwalk, scream, etc. They often can’t be woken during the episode which lasts about ten minutes. Afterwards they will resume sleeping normally. In many cases they won’t remember any part of it when they wake up. On a more scientific side, night terrors happen durning non REM sleep hours, while nightmares happen prevalently in the REM portion.
10941079
Interesting.
Actual content thanks :D
I look forward to the inevitable reverse chapter, where Sweetie Belle (perhaps with Scootaloo?) spend the night at Silver or Diamond's house. You're doing a good job of depicting rich ponies as actually being ponies, rather than as evil caricatures because of class angst. It's rare for authors on this site to be able to do that.
10941079
Don't discount the idea that there may be real life creatures who attack people while they sleep. In my case, my nightmares persisted well into adulthood until I started treating them as the result of external entities trying to feed on me. Entities not to be ignored or dismissed as fantasy, but legitimate threats to be fought. That change in perspective was what led to those nightmares being stopped.
Consider a deer being stalked by a wolf. If the deer believes "it's not real, just ignore it," that deer is going to get eaten. It's when the deer looks the wolf directly in the eye and says "I know you're there. I will fight you." that the wolf chooses to find easier prey.
Predators favor attacking the old, the young, the weak, the unwary...and that includes those who are in denial.
Don't be easy prey. Don't teach your children to be easy prey.
10941237
I can't wait to see how I depict Spoiled (Bit)Rich and make some sense of her "evil caricature because of class angst", since she is literally the personification of that.
10941248
Never indicated an extraneous source couldn’t be involved. Just has to be one who can mess with brain chemistry.
10941263
Do you want the easy way out?
Reveal that it was an arranged marriage. She was in love with somepony else, but her parents convinced her to accept a marriage to Filthy Rich, because the merger of his and her parent's businesses created the unstoppable juggernaut that it is today.
She stayed in touch with her childhood sweetheart, who then waited until she became pregnant to reveal that he had always loved her and had already bought a ring to propose to her when she announced her engagement. But he's very happy for her, and he eventually found some other girl to settle down with, but he'll always remember her as his first and truest love and wonder what might have been.
This not only makes her a sympathetic character, who's throwing around the weight of her money because it's all she has left, it also explains her poor relationship with her daughter. She was the one who cast in stone that Spoiled could never be with the one she truly loved.
It also casts Filthy as being in a loveless marriage through no fault of his own, trying in good faith to be a good husband, but never able to be enough for her...and not knowing why.
10941399
Alright, I'm starting to suspect that you're reading my mind since that's pretty much what I had in mind at the start. Guess my ideas are pretty cliche after all.
10941401
When you attend an opera, odds are good you already know how the story goes, but the performance is no less great for it.
Shall I erase the stuff in the spoiler tag so your other readers don't get spoiled?
10941405
Nah it's fine. I also like the possibility of a bait and switch. I might come up with something completely different. Who knows?
This is really all nicely written so far. A pleasant fun read. Looking forward to more :) The inlusion of pictures was really nice, expecially with that Nightmare segment. Really helped for my imagination to run wild. I love that type of things.. Really made me speculate whats going on.
Diamond Tiara is really great friend. Awesome to see. Silver Spoon is interesting aswell looking forward to learning more about our main character and the dynamics between all characters are well thought out and kind of adorable to me.
The Pegasi needing dust baths and feather oiling is very neat. That deeper world building on invidual races is something really cool and felt very natural. Looking forward what you have planned for Unicorns and Earthponies aswell
10941607
Thank you!
The amount of potential this has is astounding! Looking forward to how it turns out.
¡POTENTIAL IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!
I have been awaiting the return of this. I am not disappointed.
that scene with the cereal was great! soooo-... uh, why they do not eat cereal at their house, it is because it's too-... mundane?
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They're in the realm of high class society where they're only served 5 star breakfasts, lunch, and dinner every day. The only exception would be school lunches, in which prep time for a 5 star lunch to-go would take far too long unless prepared in advance.
For that matter, some mouthwashes are geared to be used just after brushing.
For example...
I found a picture of Suri Polomare as a ninja once, but i can't seem to locate it anymore.
I wonder how Izzy would rate their sneakiness.
I'm really liking how this is portraying a really show-accurate Equestria so far, with everything being more lighthearted in general. Too many of these reincarnation/SI stories keep changing the setting to make it more dark and bleak and "realistic" to the point where it doesn't even seem like the Equestria the show had us fall in love with. The nightmares in particular drove this home with the way Rarity genuinely seemed to consider the dress dream (basically dreaming of an inconvenience) an awful nightmare, while Sil is dreaming about The Thing.
It honestly seems like the moon watching Sil was NMM (I'm guessing she's the one behind the nightmares for the ponies or something like that) being genuinely shocked by seeing a pony having such an extreme and traumatic dream since that's simply not the sort of dream you see in this setting.
The infamous silver ninja sneaks away again!
I like the fan art this fic has.
Ok I REALLY have to ask now, its been years and this "scratch behind my neck/back" thing right after an embarassing/awkward situation has been a default to ALLOT of story protagonists when the action itself is weird and unatural... idk I have never in my whole life seen anyone do that: grating teeth, sucking in with bared teeth or "apologetic look" are the only things I have seen people do as an involuntary reaction after an accident or weird situation. Personaly I think its an incoherent motion but could someone plz explain how you guys see that motion making sens? Do you see it in people often?