Diamond Tiara's birthday doesn't go so good, but she's glad that she was able to spend time with her family and friends. So what better birthday wish than to be able to spend more time having fun with them than ever before?
Hello, my name is Diamond Tiara, and I am here to tell you the story of my eleventh birthday wish. You see, it's rumored around the schoolyard that the eleventh birthday is very special, in that any wish you make for it before blowing out the candles on your cake is just meant to come true! So when I wish for the best year ever to have fun and spend way more time around my friends and family, I get a little more than I bargained for.
For an entire year I will have to deal with ordinary family and friend things like spending time with them, celebrating Thanks and Peace day, and all sorts of things that happen every year. But my birthday wish seems to want to be a smart flank, and is also putting my friends and family through exciting things I wasn't even thinking of... Well, I hope you at least enjoy the story of my year, cause I have an entire year worth of stories to go through!
Thanks to Bootsy Slickmane and Mager Blutooth for helping with the editing of the story. And thanks to everyone at the Diamond Cutters chat for your everlasting support. Seriously, you weirdos are the funnest people I've ever been around!
Also, Bootsy Slickmane totally made the coverart! Give him the awesomes. Even though he has plenty of it already.
"It may no longer be a daily challenge, but it's still going to be 366 days of fun for DT. I have lots of ideas for chapters, and plan 50 days ahead for the most part. I want to make sure my viewers get the best they can get, and with Bootsy's artistic help I'll soon be able to add illustrations to some of the chapters too! At this point in time, the Halloween chapter is the only one that has one, but Bootsy is not one to give up, and neither am I. I hope that if you do view my story, you enjoy it immensely, all I really want is to be able to entertain you all." ~ Theo Vellum
Day 1 October 25th Saturday: Diamond Tiara’s Birthday
The ringing of the alarm wakes me from my beautiful sleep. Ugh... I hate that alarm... Maybe I'll just ignore it...
It rings again, honestly I just want ten more Ugh! Fine, I’m getting up! Clicking the receiver, and letting out a huge yawn, I slowly get out of bed.
You may be wondering just who is this fine young filly getting out of bed this morning. Well, that’s me, Diamond Tiara! I bet you are humbled by my noble presence. ... Ok, so I’m not exactly a noble yet, but I’ve got the royal dignity of one!
“OwowowowOW!”
Please ignore me falling down the stairs like an idiot, I was just excited because I suddenly remembered what today was! It was my birthday! And here I was sleeping in like an idiot... Oh, Diamond Tiara, you always get so excited on your birthdays. You can hardly blame yourself though; birthdays are the best days in the entire universe! And by extension, my birthday oughta be celebrated the right way...
“PRESENTS! Daddy! Where’s the presents, TELL ME, DADDY!”
My father, Mr. Filthy Rich, chuckles as he pats me on the head. “Don’t worry, my little birthday girl; good things come to ponies who wait.”
“But if I get my presents early, the good things will come to me even faster! That’s basic logic!”
“Now, Diamond Tiara... Isn’t a better idea to wait for our party guests first?”
“It’s my birthday, so what I say goes!”
He looks back to his morning coffee and takes a sip. Ugh! I hate when he does that, it means he’s contemplating a compromise that I know will be “better for both of us.” It would be much better if I could open my presents now so I can decide what me and Silver will play with first ahead of time! I mean, it’s so obvious!
He looks back at me after a few moments. “Three. You may open three presents before they get here. But I-” I was already gone. Now I just need to get to those presents and... ... Oh. I walk back to the kitchen where Dad has a smirk on his face.
“I’m not telling you where the presents are until you hear my side of the agreement, my little birthday angel.” He read me like a book. “Now, if you open those three presents early, you will have to wait an extra hour after the party starts to open your other presents. Do you understand?”
“Half an hour!”
“Fifty minutes.”
“Forty Minutes.”
“Forty-five, no less than that.”
Drat... I thought I could make him go lower than that. “Alright, Daddy! Now where are the presents?”
“I had to step it up this year, so instead of hiding it in a place you would look, I hid them in the floorboards under your bed.”
Darn... He’s getting good. “Thanks, Daddy!” I sprint off to my room, nearly knocking into Randolph on the way. But then I get an idea... “Oh, Randolph, are you any good with cramped spaces?”
Despite appearances, Randolph is very good at what he does. He was able to not only get into the underside of the bed easily, he could also tell what were actual presents and what were just clothes just by shaking the box. Luckily, he was able to pick out three he thinks I’d like, he always comes through in a tight situation.
“Thank you Randolph, I’ll send word to Dad to give you a pay raise.”
“No, that is not necessary, Miss Tiara, a child like you deserves the best after all.”
Randolph then does a few flips out of my room, if I had to describe him... I’d say he’s that funny Uncle I’ve never had. He’s been with us since I was an adorable, angelic, little baby, and he’s pretty fun to be around. Ask him anything and he’ll usually have a pretty cool story to tell about it. I sometimes have to question whether he makes up some of the stories he tells though. Anyway... Back to the presents!
The first one is from my cat, Dazzle. Yes, I just said it’s from my cat. Believe me when I tell you he is no ordinary cat. He is almost as perfect as me! It’s a bit weird though... I haven’t seen him at all since I woke up. Oh well, time to open the present! I lift the top of it and...
“MRRRRROWWW!”
“EEEK! Dazzle! What are you? I mean... What... HUH?!”
As soon as I opened the present, Dazzle jumped out and gave me a very scary face. It looks like he’s not very pleased I decided to open her present early... Darn! He and Randolph must have known this would happen! I can hear Randolph giving a big laugh from down the hallway.
The second present I open is from Button Mash. I... Kind of once beat him in a video game by complete accident, he’s taken to having a friendly rivalry with me ever since. It’s another remake of Street Fighter II, what a surprise... Not really. I accidentally beat him at this game in particular, and since he got beaten he’s obsessed with us playing fighting games to prove he can beat me. To be honest... I never really cared for fighting games. But for some reason, I don’t know why, I’m really good at them. It’s probably because I am perfect at handing out backhanded compliments or something. I haven’t really offered to play any games with him for a while now. He takes everything way too seriously.
And the third present is from Randolph... Of course it is. He wouldn’t miss out on giving me awesome presents! Let’s see... ... ... ...The high pitched sound that followed could only be heard by dogs. Then the giddiest sounding filly you’ve ever heard shouted out loud to everyone on the Rich property, “I. Have got. FOUR TICKETS TO NEXT YEARS GRAND GALLOPING GALA! THANK YOU RANDOLPH! THANK YOOOOOOU!”
Needless to say, poor Dazzle’s ears hurt a lot after that escapade.
I was practicing the new Street Fighter II remake for the inevitable challenges I would receive from my friends, and Button Mash. Sounds of 16-Bit punching, kicking, and awesome theme music could be heard from upstairs.
*bing dong, ding dong, ding dong, bing dong*
Not now... Have to beat Dazzle! I’m so clo- “NO!” I look over to Dazzle, who puts the controller down and gives me a smug look. I know he’s thinking he smoked me. Well he didn’t! Just cause I won zero and he won over fifty times doesn’t mean I was smoked! I was just steamed at the worst!
“Hey DT! Are you losing against Dazzle again?”
I notice Dazzle make a slicing motion to his throat real quick. But I’m not going to yell at Silver Spoon for that, I am losing... Just not that badly!
“No! Of course not! I just lost... on purpose!”
“That’s still losing, DT. But anyway, the party guests are arriving. In fact we should be hearing from Button Mash any minute n-”
“Hi Diamond Tiara! Did you open my gift?”
I sigh inwardly. How Silver Spoon is able to stand him I will never know. He’s not really a bad pony, but... I just don’t like him. It’s not that he doesn’t have a cutie mark yet in case you were wondering. I wouldn’t really use that against him anyway. He doesn’t care about his cutie mark, and I guess I can respect that. I mean, that kind of not caring is on a level I wouldn’t understand. The only way I can really get under his skin is by beating him at his favourite games, but that got old real quick, and now he just won’t leave me alone! What’s worse, him and Silver Spoon are getting really buddy buddy! I think Silver Spoon actually has a crush on him! She says it’s just in my head, but I can see him eyeing her sometimes! He better watch out, or he’s going to have a real street brawl on his hooves! ... Yeah, I’m overprotective. So what?
“Diamond Tiara, Equestria to Diamond Tiara, are you in there?” Mashed Potatoes over there is starting to get on my nerves. I know what he’s going to say next. Something along the lines of... “Want a rematch?” I’m sure of it.
“You know, I happen to have gotten you a certain gift... I can see that you’ve beaten your cat over fifty times now.” Other way around, but I won’t dispute that claim. I’m pretty sure Dazzle is glaring at him right now. “So you’ve gotten pretty good, but I’m better!”
“Vague video game references will get you nowhere, propeller head. Just get to the point so I can shoot you down.”
Button Mash makes an indignant face at me, he seems to finally be catching the signal, instead of it going over his head every time. “Ok then, how about this? This is it! All or nothing! Tomorrow we play fifty matches in Street Fighter II Hyper Super Expanded Ultra Edition! Whoever wins the most matches in the end... Get’s a video game system and five games of the other person's!” ...Ok, he’s desperate.
“I’m sorry, Button Mash, but no means no.” I begin to walk down stairs, then he utters those words.
“What are you, chicken?”
...What did he call me? “What did you call me?”
“Chi-cken. Braw-braw-braw-brawk!”
“How dare you call me a flightless bird! My name is Diamond Tiara and-”
Silver Spoon had been looking between us with a confused look. “I don’t get it. I thought he called you a chicken, not Scootaloo.”
...We both facehoof, and with that the tension has lowered back down. I can now think about this rationally. Let’s see... I’ve got plenty of old games that I don’t play anymore. And at least two systems I have got spares of since the incident with the thief, banana peel, and the rice. I don’t really have all that much to lose from this. If Button Mash wants to do this, it might finally get him off my back...
“So what’s it going to be, Cubic Zirconium?”
...Ok, I did not expect him to know that word. Either way, that’s the last straw. “Ok, you're on. Tomorrow, High Noon, don’t be late.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Button Mash looks gleeful as he heads down ahead of us, Silver Spoon walks up to me, she’s biting her lip.
“Are you sure about this, Diamond Tiara? I have seen him play that game recently, he’s honestly gotten really good.”
I shrug, it will be no big load off my back if he wins anyway. It’s more a matter of pride than anything. For now, I need to greet the guests (and Button Mash) with my noble presence. Oh... I hope they’re ready... For the most fabulous party ever!
Later... After the party.
“Worst. Party. Ever.” I glare over at Silver Spoon for the fifth time that day.
“It’s not my fault, how was I supposed to know that when I invited Button Mash, he would invite Pinkie Pie, who invited everypony in Ponyville?”
“It’s not just that! Did you know I caught that dragon sneaking into my precious jewel box? And you know what he was doing? HE WAS EATING THEM! I mean, how is that a thing?!” Steam was practically coming out of my ears. I must have looked pretty frightening to her. But I had a right to! It wasn’t even just that! First the CMC crashed the party! Then Pinkie Pie ate the entire cake! The entire THREE FOOT cake! Then that Rainbow pony stole my spotlight by doing some cool tricks outside. No one even commented on my new birthday dress! Then apparently it turns out the one pony who could not show up was our resident princess! UGH!
“Grrrrrr. Everypony in this town is CRAZY!”
“Does that include your dear old Dad, my little birthday girl?”
I look above me to see my own Dad glaring down at me disapprovingly.
“Um, no Dad, I just thought...”
“I know, you're just as frustrated as I am at how bad this party turned out. But don’t worry, I’ve already set up reservations for you, Silver Spoon, and me for a birthday dinner. I bet you can never guess where it is...”
I wrap my mind around it. What could it be? What could it be? ... *click* ... Could it be...?
“Gustave le Grand’s Gourmet Garden?!” Both Silver and I echo these words.
“Oh my, you guessed it! It’s not like you’ve both been nagging me to take you there for months now! How did you ever guess?” I don’t care about the sarcasm, all I cared about was...
“We’re going to the Gourmet Garden! EEEEEEEEEE!”
I can’t believe we finally got time to all go there! Father hardly has time to take me anywhere! Now this is what I’m talking about! So far, the only good thing about this birthday has been getting to hang out with Silver and Dad, and the presents of course!
As it turns out, Dad called for a private carriage to bring us to the restaurant by pegasus flight. It’s been a while since we’ve done that! It’s always great to see all the little specks from above, and see the stars up close as well!
We were just about to take off, when I notice Apple Bloom doing some tricks on Scootaloo’s scooter. Hm... How can I tease slash humiliate them this time…?
“Hey, Apple Bloom! I bet you can’t fly as high as Scootaloo on it! But I honestly wonder how Scootaloo flies on it at all! Is there some kind of trick to it?” They give me an annoyed look, I can’t tell what they're whispering about in the distance, but whatever, I got my daily dose of blank flank teasing in today, it’s honestly so much fun to get them angry! As we take off though, I notice Apple Bloom speeding through some nearby ramps, she looks pretty ticked off.
“Hey! Apple Bloom! What are you doing? You shouldn’t be going that fast! You don’t have to prove yourself to her!” Ok... When Scootaloo tells you that you’re going too fast, even I know you should listen to her. Just what does Apple Bloom think she’s doing?
I felt a little shake. It seems we’re taking off now. I guess I won’t get to see how she screws up this time.
“Woooooah! I- I’m going to crash!” I look just in time to see Apple Bloom flying in my direction. Time seems to slow to a crawl, and I barely manage to just duck in time. I look back, and see Apple Bloom land safely on the ground. Why that little, I oughta... Ow... What’s with this headache? I didn’t get hit with anything... Oh, she pushed my Tiara into my head a little... That little... Ugh, too painful for insults right now. I think I’ll just let this one go.
“That filly should be more careful. More importantly, are you two hurt? Do we need to go h-”
“NO!” We are not letting this chance pass by.
“Well, if you two are sure, we could always go tomorrow, but I suppose if you want.”
Dad, you are way too overprotective at times. We take off, and as I look out onto the setting sun I think to myself. “Please, oh please let the rest of this birthday go smoothly.” I can only hope...
By the time we arrive at the restaurant, Princess Luna’s night had already started. Once a month, me and Silver usually go stargazing. It’s not just for fun, mind you. It’s also for extra credit in Cheerilee’s class. Princess Luna usually rearranges the stars once a month, and we take it upon ourselves to try and spot any new constellations together. Cheerilee thinks it’s a great idea for extra credit, and it also gives us an excuse to spend more time together.
The restaurant itself is mostly in a garden, but there are some inside sections in case it starts to rain or something equally stupid. There are several tables for the customers in the garden, as well as one big table for the more important or special guests. That’s where we’ll be sitting.
The birthday dinner, to my utter surprise, goes splendidly! There’s a private band at the restaurant playing classical music, there’s also a free buffet for birthday goers so we were able to eat as much as we wanted from the buffet, and it would be a crime not to mention the wonderful decor! So many exotic plants from the Griffon Kingdom, and exquisite statues of the restaurant's owner as well. The craftsmanship on those must have taken ages! Unfortunately, they didn’t have that many cherry cakes with pink frosting. We were almost full by when the cake we ordered came to the table. We ordered a simple cake because we were getting really full. It’s too bad this restaurant doesn’t allow pets. Dazzle sure would have enjoyed it here. I will make sure to order some take out for him before we leave.
And at last... The moment of truth. The birthday wish! Eleven years is a very special year around the schoolyard. It’s the transition year between a kid and a tween. As such, there is a very big importance to the birthday wish for this year. You have to make it count! I could wish for any old thing to happen, but I’ve really got to think on this. Think... What has been the best thing about this day so far? What would you like to be able to do from now on? I think really hard on my wish, and then I blow out the candles. What did I wish for? Well...
I wished that I could have lots of fun with my friends and family every day from now on, and my entire family would be brought together again and again for all kinds of fun things. This will be my best year ever, and I will make it so that we can all spend it together!
And that’s how the most exciting and fun year of my life started... Now let me tell you about the next three sixty four. This promises to be a most exciting year!
Day 1 END
Day 2 October 26th Sunday: Birthday Presents Aftermath
You know what every birthday filly does on the day after their birthday? They totally spend all morning playing with their birthday presents! I never gave you details about what exactly they were. For the most part the presents were pretty unremarkable. Of course you already know about Randolph’s Grand Galloping Gala tickets. I had to ask Dazzle quite a few times before he actually gave me his present. As it turns out... It was some kind of book. When I opened it up however, I saw photos. Photos of all the fun things me and Dazzle have done over the years. C’mon, Diamond Tiara, you're a big filly. You won’t cry over something so stupidly sweet... Oh, too late...
As happy tears formed in my eyes that morning, Dazzle looked at me with concern. He was not concerned for long though. I wrapped my hooves around him and gave him a great big kitty hug! But as it turns out, that wasn’t the only thing he got me. He had also gotten me a big camera of my own, so that way I can make some pictures to put in there myself sometime. Oh man, the only thing that could ruin this now is...
“Oh Diamond Tiara! Are you up there? It’s time for the challenge!”
Mashed Potatoes, of course. Might as well get this over with. I’m not even out of my room, when Button Mash comes galloping up the stairs. He gets right up in my face with exclamations about how this will be the final showdown and other stupid stuff. It isn’t long before the game is booted up and we’re ready to start the bet.
Wow, he really has been practicing. The first match is pretty tough, and I barely manage to beat him. He says it’s just luck, but we both know that I’m pretty skilled at this. Unfortunately, so is he, judging by the beatdown I get in the second match. No big deal, though; I’m just a little rusty. We’re about halfway through round three when Silver starts commentating like some sportscaster. Wait... When did she even get here? No time to figure it out, too busy fighting.
“And Miss Diamond Tiara is given the beatdown once again! It seems Mr. Button Mash has truly been practicing for a moment to take my be- I mean, his fiercest rival!” You know, maybe I wouldn’t be getting beat down so bad if you didn’t make my ego drop each time you say it.
“Oh! And that’s another victory for Button Mash, king of the controller. Can Diamond pick up the slack and make a comeback? Can she finally lay this rivalry to rest? Probably not, but she still might win the bet and walk away with the prizes.”
That’s right, I need to step up my game if I’m ever going to end this rivalry with my pride intact! Ok, no more Miss nice Tiara! I’m going to crush him under my hoof!
“Alright, everypony, it’s time for round number four. Let’s see if Diamond can—whoa! KO’d right out of the gate! Oooh, that’s gonna leave a mark, for sure. Way to turn the tide, Diamond. But can she keep it up?”
I can see Button Mash getting a little nervous, but it only lasts for a moment before the next match starts. We continue through our matches, and we generally stay neck and neck. I’m starting to become a little tense myself, and it’s only getting worse as our bet drags on. Sometimes, one of us will pull ahead, but then the other take up the slack and we’re right back where we were. After I don’t know how many hours, our fiftieth match finally comes to a close. I won, of course.
Button throws the controller down and says something in some nerd language. I just smile and bump hooves with Silver, but then Button points at the screen.
“Wait, look!”
I look, and my jaw drops. The scoreboard says we’re tied at twenty-five wins each. How did that even happen? What are the odds?
“We’re still tied,” he mutters at the floor. “I can still win!” He picks the controller up again. “C’mon, Button, you’re still in this.”
What a weirdo. Who talks to themselves in the third person? Not Diamond Tiara. “Ugh, give it a rest already,” I tell him. “You said fifty and we did fifty. It’s done.”
“That was the bet, yeah,” Silver chimed in. “But… We still don’t have a winner.”
“Time for a tie-breaker. C’mon, Diamond, or are you still a—”
I shove my hoof in his mouth and pick up my controller. “Fine, if it’ll shut you up, let’s finish this.”
Silver starts up again. “And so begins round fifty-one. The match to end all matches. The match that will decide, once and for all, who is the ultimate gamer. Our competitors are ready, the stage is set. Ready, fight!”
I can feel a little sweat running down my face, but my hooves are too busy with the controller to wipe it away. I glance at Button. His eyes are glued to the screen, his mouth is open, and his tongue is hanging out. Gross, but he’s focused. I turn back to the TV, and the final match begins.
I grit my teeth, eyes squinching shut as my hooves pound the buttons. Kicks and punches fly back and forth across the screen, accompanied by fireballs and lightning every once in the while. We trade combos back and forth until we’re both almost out of health, then we each jump back to avoid getting hit. We pause, waiting, watching the other character to see what they’re going to do.
“It’s down to the wire,” Silver says. “One more good hit from either side, and it’s all over. Who will win? Who will take home today’s ultimate prize? Who will triumph—”
And suddenly, it was all over. We both jumped through the air at the same time, swinging our hooves at one another. One of us swung just a little too late, though, and fell to the Manehattan pavement in defeat.
“Nooooo!!!” Button screamed, his controller flying from his hooves and landing somewhere on the other side of the room. He collapses on my carpet, covering his stupid face in his hooves. Silver is just staring at him, her mouth hanging open. I stand up, wipe the sweat away from my head, and put the controller down. I smirk at the sobbing colt on my floor, victorious.
Mashed Potatoes is still weeping, so I go and get some cookies for me and Silver. I called for Randolph, but he was busy helping my dad. Button has finally gotten up by the time I get back from the kitchen.
“You… you win,” he finally admits. No duh, right? “W-which games d-do you want?”
“Pfft, I don’t care about your stupid games. I have all the same ones you do, anyway.” He made sure of that. “We have all the same systems, too, so you can keep those.”
“But… but it was a bet.”
I roll my eyes and eat a cookie. I’m trying to let him off easy and he just won’t let it go. I don’t even care about the stupid games. Whatever. “Fine. We’ll just say you owe me one.”
Mashed Potato Brains seems to be thinking about it. I can almost hear the rusty gears in his head. “Yeah, okay. Deal.”
“Good. Now go away.”
Button heads for the door, but he stops after a second. “Hey, do you think we could have a rema—” He starts running, though, after I start throwing cookies at him.
“Hey, I was gonna eat those!”
“There’s more in the kitchen, Silver.”
“Oh, okay. I’mma go get some.”
Silver trots off and returns with more cookies, though she gets the gross oatmeal ones. How can ponies stand to eat those? Especially the ones with raisins. Raisins are the worst. They’re like these shriveled-up little thingies. Who would wanna eat something so wrinkly? Only nerds like Button… and Silver, but she’s okay. She can eat raisins if she wants.
Where was I? Oh, right. With most of the day spent on Button’s little bet, there wasn’t much time to play with the rest of my presents before bedtime. What else did I get for my birthday? Well, to be honest... It's not really that important. Although... There was this one dress that's going to be useful for an upcoming holiday...
Day 2 END
Day 3 October 27th Monday: Silver Spoon’s Invitation at the Playground
I arrived at school extra early, as usual. I wanted to get in some time to get this assignment done. I completely forgot I had been assigned this over the weekend, and ended up waking up super early to finish it in time. So not fair. I mean, it’s my birthday weekend. I should get a free pass or something.
But... It’s a pretty fun assignment to do. My job is to draw one pony in my class (not including myself) in a Nightmare Night costume of my choice. After drawing it, you have to place it in the box on Cheerilee’s class. At the end of class today, one random picture will be drawn and Cheerilee will make a costume of that kind for the pony in the costume.
I almost didn’t know what to draw, but then I thought to a certain comment from Silver the other day. So I decided to draw Scootaloo in a chicken costume. I SO hope this gets chosen.
Soon the other students start to arrive, the first to arrive are the students who generally have good habits and get here early. In addition to myself, this includes Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Pipsqueak, and Featherweight. Then there are those that get here on time or a little late. This includes Scootaloo, (I quickly hide the sketch I finished in the box before she sees) Archer, and Truffle Shuffle. Then there are those that make us wait for longer than we need to. They either get lost all the time or finish their homework later than usual. I was almost in the last category this morning, and that scares me. Twist, Button Mash and Rumble arrive late, but not late enough to get into trouble. Snips and Snails however, arrived so late that we all payed witness to a lecture about tardiness and being on time.
Generally, the school day went ok. I wouldn’t say anything Earth-shattering happened. I’m sure I would have felt Truffle Shuffle falling down. When we were let out for recess, Silver and I went directly for the swing set. We decided to make some small talk while we took turns pushing each other on the swings.
“So, Silver Spoon? What do you plan on dressing up as for Nightmare Night?”
“I’m sorry to say... It’s a secret!” Silver Spoon is giggling, it’s usually not good when she’s giggling.
“Oh come on... You can tell me.”
“Alright, alright. I’m making my own superhero costume! I bet you’ll never guess what I’m going to call myself?”
Something related to spoons most likely. But I’ll humor her for now. “No, what is it?”
“It’s called... The Silver Spooner! It just came to me in a dream!”
“Oh wow! I never would have guessed!” I totally guessed it.
“Anyway, Diamond Tiara, my parent’s are hosting an almost Nightmare Night party tomorrow, and lots of ponies are going to come and were all going to watch scary movies all night long! I’m sure you want to come!” I’d have to ask Daddy, but I’m sure he’d let me go to the party.
“Sure thing, Silver Spoon. This is going to be so much fun!”
We had plenty of fun the rest of the school day, especially once Cheerilee announced who the winner of the costume was.
“The pony who is going to have a costume is... Featherweight! In a Spider Colt costume!”
Oh well, not everything can go as you’d want it too. Silver and I head back home once the final bell rings. We are filled with excitement of what’s to come!
...Yes, that’s it for today. Sad to say not much exciting happened that day, but from now up until Nightmare Night, the stories I tell will be very exciting, I assure you!
Day 4 October 28th Tuesday: Almost Nightmare Night Party
I ring the doorbell to Silver Spoon’s house, hoping that I’m not too late. It took some arguing with Daddy in order to convince him. I had to tell him up and down for hours that I wouldn't get myself into trouble. He finally conceded, but on one condition: I have to take Dazzle with me so he can keep an eye on me. Why the cat you may ask? Well... He’s a very responsible cat. Not to mention my Daddy trusts him to keep me out of trouble, more than he trusts me to stay out of trouble.
I ring the doorbell again, and once again no one answers. I can hear some loud music coming from inside. Silver’s mom always had this strange obsession with loud electronic music. She apparently hired some DJ to play this music. Ugh! The music must be way too loud to hear the doorbell! If I had arrived sooner maybe I could be hanging out with Silver Spoon right n- Silver Spoon! Of course! She’s probably in the movie room setting up the scary movie marathon right about now!
“Dazzle, I have a favor to ask of you. Can you go find Silver in the movie room and alert her to my presence? The movie room is on the west side. You can get in through one of the windows.”
Dazzle looks at me with his paws covering his ears. I have a feeling I know why.
“Don’t worry, Dazzle. The movie room is soundproof for a reason. Silver’s parents love their strange music, so the movie room is kind of a getaway for Silver and the others.”
Dazzle looks pleased, I could tell the music was getting to him. He tends to prefer classical music anyway. He can even play a pretty good cello, though he’s not the best. Dazzle goes off to the west side of the house, but not before signaling me to not move anywhere. Now I have to wait for him to find Silver Spoon.
Silver Spoon... You know, from looking at the two of us you wouldn't exactly expect her parents to be into this kind of music. I know I was surprised when I first met them. First there’s her Dad, Bill Neigh, who often teaches a class in a college in Canterlot. From what I hear of him, he often teaches in a very entertaining way that gets students interested in his classes. Then there’s her mom, Silver Speed. She’s a pegasus who runs a cloudbusting company in Ponyville, and she’s beholden to quite a number of bits because of it. I’d say she was already interested in this type of music before she even started living here, but Bill Neigh probably picked it up from her.
As for Silver Spoon herself... We almost didn't become friends. When she had gone to her old school, apparently a lot of ponies had tried to use her to get closer to her parents. Therefore, they were using her to get closer to their money. When her parents weren't going to be swayed, she became the outcast of the school. It eventually got so bad that they had to move from Canterlot to over here in Ponyville. Silver Spoon and I met when we were six years old, back when neither of us had our cutie marks.
I made the first move and offered to show her around town with my Dad. She seemed apprehensive, but I wanted to be friends with another rich kid. Not because of her money, but because I wanted someone else to talk about rich kid things with. When I first met her parents they weren't what I was expecting at all. They seemed... So normal, and so close. I may be pretty close to my dad, but he’s not always around to talk to. The strangest thing about them to me at the time, is how they were always together at every possible moment for them. I guess I do envy Silver Spoon in that regard. I’ve never even met my mother. ... I’d rather not talk about that for now though.
“Hey! DT! Sorry about that. The movie room is soundproof after all. I thought you weren't coming.” Heh, she always underestimates my ability to get my father to allow things. “Anyway, come on in! Let’s hurry to the movie room, this music is really loud!”
We sneak along the other party goers, Silver giving me friendly advice along the way. “Avoid the punch table. Trust me.” We finally make it to the movie room, where the other guests who don’t like the music that much are. It looks like... Ugh...
“Hi Diamond Tiara! Want a rema-”
“Not right now, Button Mash. Shouldn't you be listening to all that electronic music out there!”
He looks incredulous. “And miss out on the scary movie marathon?! As if I would miss all the scares! Especially on an early Nightmare Night party!”
I look over to the clock, it’s almost Midnight. “How long are we going to be watching them again?”
“All night long!” The entire room echoed.
“... This is going to be a long night.”
I can’t help but feel, something’s missing.
“Hey... Where’s Dazzle?! Do you know where he is, Silver?”
“I don’t know, he was here when I left. What about you, Button Mash?”
“Oh, I could tell he was thirsty, so I told him to go get some punch.”
“... You did WHAT?!”
Dazzle was found drinking out of the punch bowl, and was taken back to the movie room by force.
“... A really long night.”
Day 4 END
Day 5 October 29th Wednesday: Nightmares after Midnight
After giving Button Mash the scolding of his life, we ended up letting Dazzle, who had passed out, stay asleep in a basket with a little trash can nearby. Dad was not going to be happy with me...
“Well, we might as well decide on the first movie now, and I’ve got the perfect one!” He presents us with a DVD case that reads “The Curse of the Midnight Sun.” He smiles gleefully.
Silver Spoon is the first to question whether this movie is any good or not, but he insists we watch it. It’s apparently about the day the sun goes black, and a pack of teenagers are stuck in the Everfree Forest when it happens. Supposedly all sorts of scary stuff starts happening because of it. I look at the door to the main hall. Whatever it is it’s probably better than spending my time partying to that electronic music with all the other guests.
“Fine, Mashed Potatoes, it couldn’t possibly be that scary, but I’ll watch it anyway.”
After all, how bad could it be?
Bad. Bad and scary. Scary and cheesy, but still scary.
It all begins with a story that had been passed down for hundreds of years. About “The Curse of the Midnight Sun.” I thought the title drop was a bit cheesy, but it goes on to explain that every 112 years the sun goes black at high noon. When it does so, all sorts of monsters in the everfree forest come out to play and drag innocent villagers back to the forest! The black sun lasts all the way to Midnight, and it’s said when midnight comes, any creature in the everfree forest is killed, and new ones take their place. This includes the ponies dragged into the forest too... Not that I’m creeped out or anything!
“Oh come on, you can totally tell that’s a fake monster!” My best friend continues to rant off about how this movie looks so fake and stuff like that. Honestly, is she scared of anything?!
“Eh heh heh... Yeah, I mean, you can totally see the wires! Heh...” Mashed Potatoes is trying to act cool, but he’s shaking like a leaf! At least I’m not the only one scared... But why is it him?! Didn’t he pick out this movie? Is he trying to impress someone...
That... That trickster! He’s trying to get close to Silver Spoon again! I just know it! I mean, he’s not putting his hoof around her or anything like that but I just know this is some ploy to get closer to her! Well, if that’s the case, I want no part in it!
“Hey Diamond? Where are you going? You’re not scared of the movie, are you? It’s just a bunch of creeps in costumes using fake blood and out of nowhere screamers too-”
Suddenly, we hear an otherworldly groan coming from somewhere in the room.
“What is that? I... I... I don’t want to be eaten by a monster!” Button screams and runs out of the room and presumably out of the house. I kind of share his sentiments, but I’m more concerned with where that groaning is coming from!
“Silver... Where is that sound coming from?!”
“It’s obviously just some prank by Button or something! No way something like that could be real! No way! Nuh uh!”
We hear the groan again, and it’s closer this time! Silver pulls me close and gives me some DVDs. “Throw this at it once it gets close, we can’t afford to let it eat the guests!”
“What if it’s already eaten the guests?! This room is soundproof, remember?!”
A monster-like shadow on the wall is getting closer as we speak. It moves in zig zags, as if it’s foreseeing our attack! This is it... We can’t let it eat us!
“ATTACK!”
“I can’t believe you and Silver attacked poor Dazzle! Not to mention let him get drunk! He was supposed to take care of you, but you were also supposed to take care of him!”
I stand in front of my father with my head lowered to the ground... I know he’s upset with me, and why shouldn’t he be? I completely messed up this party... This is the second one this week! This is just bad luck at this rate...
“Up to your room! Now! I’ll think about your punishment later!”
I trudge up to my room, thinking about how this day couldn’t get any worse. Dazzle lay in the basket in my room. He looks up and glares at me, trying to go back to sleep after a few seconds. Sleep sounds good right now, I’ll try to get some myself.
Stupid party, why did it have to have that stupid punch...
Stupid Button, why did he have to pick out such a scary movie...
Stupid Dazzle, why’d he have to get thirsty...
Stupid me, why’d I have to get so scared...
Shouldn't’ be thinking, need to be sleeping. But everything... is... so stupid... Zzzzzzzzzz.
The sound of a crash startles me awake. I look around my room, to find no one, not even Dazzle, there. It must have come from downstairs... I... I should go check.
Is it just me, or do the stairs seem longer? It must be my eyes. I walk into the kitchen and see something horrifying.
“Dad! DAD!” My Daddy is being dragged off by a giant black monster! I have to save him! “Get back here! No one lays a hoof on my Dad!” I chase after it outside, I chase and chase, I don’t know how long, but before I know it...
“The Everfree Forest?! Oh... I hope Luna’s Moon will shine...the...way?” I can’t be seeing that, no way can that be real! But... That isn’t the moon... That’s the sun! And it’s dark! A deep, dark, red! I... I... AHHHHHHHHH!
Suddenly I’m back in my room, and my Dad is right there in front of me. I can’t hear what he’s saying to me, I just hug him and hug him until I can’t hug him anymore... That dream... It felt so real... My hooves actually feel sore from all the running I did... But how could a dream feel so real?!
“I’m sorry, Dad! I’m sorry for ruining that party! I’m sorry for nearly hurting Dazzle! I... I thought he was a monster! And I just can’t stop thinking about the monsters in that movie! Please don’t be mad at me! And please don’t let the sun turn dark!” I just hug my Dad, continuously apologizing with tears running down my face. When I finally stop hugging him, he looks at me with pitiful eyes.
“Dear, you were just frightened. Dazzle let me know once he got over the hangover. I let you sleep in today, and called you in sick to Cheerilee. You shouldn’t have watched such a scary movie, especially at your age... I’m going to have to have a talk to Button’s mother about staying out of the R-rated movie cabinet.”
“Sniff... Ok, Daddy...”
“Now go on, get some sleep. You don’t need to worry about anything. I’ll always be there for you.”
I don’t know why, but with those words... I felt a lot better. And although I would still have nightmares occasionally, they usually weren't nearly as bad as that one.
Thanks Daddy, I hope we never ever, ever grow apart.
Day 6 October 30th Thursday: The Morning Before Nightmare Night
Once Dad explained how last night’s party came to be ruined to Silver’s parents, and how Silver just thought she was protecting me, she was let off easy by them. I’m so relieved, both of us are still going to have a chance at a great Nightmare Night tomorrow!
Today however, we are in Cheerilee’s class. She always has some sort of special event the day before Nightmare Night. I wonder what she’ll be dressed up as today?
“Hahahahahahaha! Prepare to face the monster that roams during The Curse of the Midnight Sun! Muhahahahahahahaha!”
Of course. Of all the monsters she could pick, it had to be that one. I brace myself for what it could look like... And it didn’t look all that bad, to be honest. It looks almost exactly like the monster in the film, but I guess since there isn’t such a scary atmosphere it isn’t nearly as scary. I let out a sigh of relief.
I look over at my classmates, who are all complimenting our teacher on her costume. Except Silver Spoon. She's just sitting at her desk, blushing from embarrassment. She won’t admit it, but when she thought the monster was real, she was really scared.
That reminds me... Where’s Button Mash? I’m usually not concerned about him but I haven’t seen him since last night... I guess it couldn’t hurt to ask the teacher.
“Hey, Ms. Cheerilee? I can’t help but feel that someone is missing... I think it’s the video game kid.”
“Hey, DT’s right!” Silver Spoon only just now took notice? She must really be out of it.
“Well, I don’t know girls... I only just got here myself, and I didn’t have a chance to have roll call yet.” Ms. Cheerilee rubs her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe I should call their residence. See if anything is going on.”
“Actually, Miss Cheerilee, yah might not want to do that yet. There is some sort of commotion going on. I think Button Mash has locked himself in his room and won’t come out... Something about a scary movie and Nightmare Night?” Oh dear, I hope Apple Bloom doesn’t find out the whole story, the last thing I need is her having a reason to laugh at me!
Sweetie Belle is staring at her hooves. I almost forgot that she has an obvious crush on Button Mash. “So... I guess we won’t be inviting him to the-” Scootaloo shoves a hoof in her mouth.
“Scootaloo! We do not put our hooves in other ponies' mouths! Now, what were you trying to say dear?”
“Um... Nothing? Eh heh heh.” The three of them give angelic smiles up to Miss Cheerilee, who raises her eyebrow in response. Everyone here knows it, they are up to something. I bet it’s going to happen tomorrow! Tomorrow's Nightmare Night! If Princess Luna hadn’t shown up last year, they probably would have started something stupid, like a prank war, or something.
“Well, I’m sure we will all find out eventually anyway. Now, onto the assignment! Today’s assignment is... Nothing! Since it’s the day before Nightmare Night, I’ve got lots of party games in the back that you can all enjoy! I expect you all to be on your best behaviour as you play. Or I may just have you write an assignment on why it’s bad to be a nuisance during play time, and explain why it’s bad using Equestrian Philosophy.”
With that oh so teacher-like threat explained to us we were handed out various party games. Apple Bloom and Truffle Shuffle were bobbing for apples, Sweetie Belle and Twist are discussing what kind of Halloween candy they’ll be getting this year, and Scootaloo and Featherweight are playing on the dartboard Miss Cheerilee set up. The rest are playing some board game from our teacher’s childhood no one’s ever heard of called Chutes and Ladders. Although it looks like a fun game I feel more like talking with Silver Spoon at the moment.
“So... Silver Spoon, see any giant black monsters recently?”
She glares at me.
“Don’t worry Silver, I’m not going to make fun of you for being scared. I was too, after all.”
“Gee, thanks, that makes me feel a lot better...” She promptly plants her face on her desk.
Wow... She feels worse about what happened two nights ago than I thought. The Silver I know doesn’t let other ponies see her scared, unless it’s something that truly frightens her. She’s usually such a strong pony, but she doesn’t seem to be that composed today. I... I should try to console her.
“Hey, um... Silver... I know you don’t want to talk about that night...”
“Gee, what gave you that idea?”
“But, I have to tell you this, I thought you trying to protect me was really cool and all, I’m glad you didn’t hit Dazzle, but it’s nice to know you’ve got my back. Even in a potentially dangerous situation. You are like... Like a superhero! It could be just like your costume.”
“R-Really? You think so?! I might actually be a superhero one day?! Thanks for the confidence boost, DT!”
Somehow... I think the idea of her being a superhero might have actually cheered her up more than what I was going for...
“So, what are you going to be for Nightmare Night, DT?”
Well, truth be told, I have a really awesome costume lined up. It was a gift from one of the party goers. It’s also a superhero costume, one of the Power Ponies. Radiance, to be more specific. She is easily my favourite of the bunch. Of course, it’s going to be a total surprise.
“Sorry Silver, I’m afraid you are going to have to wait till tomorrow. But I promise you, our costumes are SO going to match.”
Silver Spoon looks pretty cheerful now, now to nail the final stake of cheer!
“Hey Silver, I bet you could beat Scootaloo at darts, you always were pretty good at that game!”
“Only if you join in as well, let’s both beat the blank flank at darts! She needs to focus on what costume she’s going to wear anyway, especially if she wants to wear a Dodo Costume! The tails on those are hard to pull off.”
“Wait, she’s actually going to wear that?”
“Yeah, Sweetie Belle apparently suggested it, I don’t know why she agreed though... Maybe she doesn’t know what a dodo is?”
Oh... This is going to be such a good Nightmare Night!
I’m awoken yet again by the high pitched sound of my alarm clock. However, this time I quickly shut it off and jump out of bed. I see Dazzle stretching his legs, having been woken by the alarm himself.
“Hey Dazzle, you know what today is?” Dazzle looks at me with dreary eyes. “It’s Nightmare Night, silly, and you know what we get every year for Nightmare Night?”
His eyes light up instantly. We both know what this means.
“Free candy!” I shout out, holding Dazzle’s paws as we do a happy dance.
“Hey kids.” Randolph struts into the room, hiding something behind him. I can tell because he’s doing that weird sideways walk he always does when he’s hiding his more private stuff when we catch him. I still wonder what that stuff is. “Guess what I’ve got for you?”
“Is it candy? Please let it be candy!” Dazzle and I both give pleading gestures.
“I’ve got something better! I’ve made you two great Halloween costumes! Here, check them out!”
... Oh no. He’s going to make me wear them, isn’t he? Those... Those things... When is he going to learn he is horrible at making those costumes? I mean, I’ve never even heard of the characters from those old timey cartoons until he shows us them! Who is this Pophoof the Sailorcolt? And did he just make me a colt’s costume? Ugh... I know he’s well-intentioned, but...
“Is something wrong, kids?” Uh oh, he noticed. We can’t exactly refuse. At his age, he feels like if he can’t do certain things as well as he used to then he’ll push himself even farther to make himself able. I don’t want to see him hurt himself doing some insane stunt...
“I- I’m sorry Uncle Randolph, I already have a costume...” I see his eyes droop down. Oh... Sorry Dazzle! I’m going to owe you one! “But Dazzle doesn’t, he can still wear yours!”
“She can? You are such a good kitty! Thanks so much for giving my costume a chance!” Randolph envelopes Dazzle in a great big hug. I giggle at the mistake in gender but stop when Dazzle gives me a death glare. This is to be a fun Nightmare Night, to be sure.
We spent most of the rest of the day trying to find our Father’s hidden candy stash, to no avail. We will just have to make due on the candy we get tonight. Speaking of which... Silver Spoon has a plan to get us as much candy as possible.
“Alright, here’s the plan.” Silver Spoon lays out a map of ponyville before Dazzle and I. “I have marked out all the houses in Ponyville which give out the best and worst candy, along with the most and least candy. I have mapped out a course that will take us through what I like to call Chocodile Boutique, Twinkie Lane, and Caramel Candy Land. As long as nothing goes wrong, we should all have a great feast of candy.” And my blood sugar will reach the comical levels of Dazzle’s. Excellent...
“So, I suppose it’s time we put on our costumes? I can’t wait to see what your costume is, DT. And you too Dazzle!” I can hear growling next to me. Sorry Dazzle...
First up is Dazzle’s costume. Now why Randolph chose to give Dazzle a costume of a cartoon MOUSE of all things is beyond me. I have to say though... He looks so adorable in that tattered costume. I’m glad looks can’t kill though.
Silver Spoon gets her costume on next. I have to say, it certainly is spoony. It comes with a giant model spoon and everything. She really worked hard on it. Finally, I showed her my costume. Radiance of the Power Ponies! I explained to her how we can totally play off each other. Like we are on some epic quest to collect candy to power a counter machine to a supervillain’s candy destruction laser. Squealing in delight, Silver grabs the map and runs downstairs, ready for a night of wanton candy collection. This is going to be so good...
“Ok... We’re almost to Chocodile Boutique! I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that delicious chocolate treat!” Silver Spoon smacks her lips, fantasies of a world filled with chocodiles most likely filling her mind. I can’t wait for the twinkies myself... Hey, who’s that walking up to me? Is that Featherweight? He’s wearing a tuxedo, nice costume.
“Um... Miss Diamond Tiara?”
“Yes, Featherweight? I thought you’d be taking pictures around town for the school paper, which I am no longer in by the way.” I say adding a bit of bitterness in my tone at the end. Being bitter is hard work after all.
“Um... I kinda sorta heard that you had a crush on a certain someone... Would you mind telling me who that is, maybe?” He looks at me eagerly, what is he going on abo- oh no.
“You... Think I have a crush on you? I’m sorry but...”
“Aw I knew it! Sweetie Belle tricked me! There goes my dreams!” Featherweight gallops away and my face contorts into rage. Darn it, Sweetie Belle! I don’t have time for awkwardness right now, I need to get my free candy! I just hope she isn’t at Carousel Boutique.
“DT, are you alright? If you are having any love troubles I’ll-”
“Silver, for your own good just drop it. Or I may be forced to do something drastic.” Silver and Dazzle both step back quite a few paces. “Well c’mon you two! We need to get back on our candy route!”
I might look like I’m being pushy, but I have a feeling we need to finish this route quickly. Before we get roped up in whatever the CMC is plotting...
“Thanks for the chocodiles, Miss Rarity!”
“No thanks are needed, little dears! Have a great Nightmare Night! Oh... And... Dazzle, you look just... Er... Fabulous! Just Fabulous!”
The half hearted attempt at cheering Dazzle up did not go well. He was once again reminded of his costume and was giving me the evil eye. But I didn’t care, it was time for Twinkie Lane! Oh the delicious, fattening, sugary goodness! Nothing can ruin this! Not-
“Attack!”
I find myself being pelted with water balloons, and I do the first thing that comes to mind. Run away from whoever is throwing them! Once the attack stops, we realise we’ve been literally flushed out of Twinkie Lane. I poke my head around the corner and what do I see?
I see the CMC and a few others preparing more water balloons in the distance. We all run until they are out of their reach. It isn’t until I stop to catch my breath that I realise my costume is totally ruined! Why... Why are they doing this? There’s gotta be some reason!
“Diamond Tiara! Silver Spoon! I’m so glad I caught up to you!” Oh no... It’s... Button Mash, I thought he was still locked up in his house.
“What are you doing here, Mashed Potatoes? Can’t you see us wallowing in our own self-pity?”
“It’s terrible! It’s tragic! It’s the worst thing ever!” I hope it’s not a monster. “It’s Twinkie Lane! The CMC have completely taken control of it and are going to get all the Twinkies for themselves! And their cohorts but mostly themselves!” Wait a second...
“How do you know our nickname for it? Only Dazzle, Silver and...” I glare at Silver Spoon. She isn’t the most tight-lipped of ponies, that’s to be sure.
“Wha- What are you looking at me for? It’s not like I lost the plans one day and they suddenly reappeared in my saddlebags later. Heh heh heh...” Wait, did Button Mash steal them?
“No! It’s not what you think! Scootaloo went through your stuff the other day and found your secret route. They know how much you love Twinkies, Diamond Tiara. So they ended up taking this part of the route for themselves, they even tried to recruit me! But I was holed up in my room at the time, so...”
“Why did you come out anyway? Weren’t you scared?”
“Mom said she killed the monster deader than dead, my Mom is so cool! But... She had to give me proof, and then she told me she’s the one survivor at the end of the movie that killed the monster! Awesome!”
Dazzle and I exchange an understanding look. He’s so annoying. But he might be useful for a change.
“Ok, listen you guys, I have a plan!” We whisper away into the night. This is going to become a war for the twinkie legacy.
“Button Mash has news from the enemy! He comes with a peace offering from them!” I hope this works...
“No way. Diamond Tiara giving us a peace offering? As if!” I can hear Scootaloo’s voice reeking with suspicion. This... may have been a bad idea.
“But he brings us three whole bags of candy! They must have had a great haul!”
“Bring the candy over here, we will inspect it personally!” I can hear Scootaloo’s voice coming closer. This is it, time to give them a surprise!
As soon as the bags were opened we soaked them with our water blasters. A quick trip back to my house was just the thing we needed to give them a surprise soaking. The quick attack scatters them, and now it’s just a matter of driving them off the lane and taking the candy that was so rightfully ours!
Unfortunately, not everything went so smoothly. They soon start a counterattack. We have the jumbo blasters though, and they only have so many water balloons. We won’t be running out of water anytime soon. Even if Button Mash decided to keep out of the actual fight.
Soon they will be forced to retreat. The CMC would not get their treat. We will have pulled off quite a feat. Soon this war will be ours to beat!
... Or at least it would, until Silver Spoon and Dazzle’s water blasters ran out. Sweetie Belle is the only one left nearby now, and I’m almost out myself. I lean in for a shot, making sure to get water on her lovely princess costume. It has somehow avoided the soaking so far. But curse it all, I miss! Oh boy, now she’s going to get reinforc- Huh? Was that a water balloon? Who? What? Where?
I look around frantically, and I see Featherweight off in the distance, holding quite a few of the water balloons and charging straight for Sweetie Belle. Needless to say, Sweetie Belle runs away screaming.
“Woohoo! We did it! Your plan worked like a charm, DT!”
We all breathe a sigh of relief. With all this candy they left behind, we have enough for three straight days of eating! Four, tops! Dazzle reaches his paw to one of the Twinkies. I smack it away before he can open it though.
“Now, now, Dazzle don’t you want to wait till we get home to eat? Besides, we still have to show off our costumes to everyone in Caramel Candy Land.”
Dazzle responds with a spray in the face. I guess he wasn’t out after all.
Needless to say, this was a very exciting Nightmare Night.
“I bet I can stuff more Twinkies in my mouth than you at one time, Dazzle.”
That was the sentence that began the ultimate candy competition. It began with one Twinkie. One delicious and delectable Twinkie that was going to be a pain not to bite down on. But I persevered. Soon we were at a total of twenty-four Twinkies each. It was impressive how many of those treats would fit in ones mouth, but I needed to focus on not biting down. With how much I love Twinkies it was incredibly hard.
“Hi, Diamond... Tiara...” Silver had just walked in with a face of utter bewilderment. She quickly regains her composure though. “So, how’s your day going so far?” A grunt escapes from my mouth. She’s doing this on purpose isn’t she? “Wow, we sure did get a lot of Twinkies... All those delicious, delectable, sweet creamy treats that no one can help but take a big, huge, bite out of when you taste them...” Silver has got a very devilish face on her now. Oh no... Don’t let her get to you... Don’t let her-
...
I let her get to me. Dazzle crunches down and chews soon after me, taking victory for himself. I glare at Silver Spoon, who just lets out a giggle.
“I know you’ve got a lot of candy, but you don’t have to gorge yourself. You know it’ll still be here tomorrow.”
“That’s what I’d expect to hear from Miss Perfect Teeth. You always seem to be able to keep your teeth perfect even after Nightmare Night!”
“Maybe if you brushed after every meal like I did...”
“Dazzle and I have better things to do.”
“I can tell. I mean, it’s so obvious.”
“You’re just jealous because we’re so much better at eating candy.” I bring a Twinkie to my mouth, and bite into it delicately.
“Oh! You think you can eat more candy than me? I can assure you that I could eat more candy than you if I wanted to!” She’s taken the bait, now it’s time to reel it in.
“Then why don’t you put your money where your mouth is? Unless you’re sugar-free?”
That was it, I’ve got her. What followed was a sweet, sweet candy eating competition. Round 1 consisted of who could crunch down on the most caramel soft candies the fastest. Dazzle decided to be the judge. After many candies were crunched down upon, it was determined that I had crunched down on 65, while Silver had a measly 32. Did you expect anything less from the queen of candy?
Next was the round of Chocodiles. Like the round with Twinkies we had to stuff as many into our mouth as we could at one time. It was close for a while. We were neck and neck. But Silver Spoon won this round in the end.
It was finally time for the final round! We each have to pick up candies from the junk candy pile at random, and no matter what, we have to eat them. Whether it be black licorice, sugar-free, or something even worse... We have to eat it in turns.
I know that you might think that there is no such thing as a junk candy, but believe me when I tell you that there are some real stinkers out there. Like this Warhead for example. I picked it out first, and I have to endure 10 minutes of sourness before I can even chew it down without breaking my teeth. The awful taste... The sourness of sours! Ugh... It takes a while but I muscle through it. What a bad first pick.
It only gets worse for both of us from there though. We both end up picking several strings of deadly, horrible, disgusting black licorice. Some of them have been in that junk pile for years, and are getting stale. It’s so stale that I actually have to spend time chewing before I can swallow it down, and Silver looks like she’s retching after she finishes hers. She makes all the sounds and movement that she’s going to vomit, Dazzle and I back away, preparing for projectile vomiting. Luckily it never comes. Or perhaps unluckily? If she vomited I would have won, and I would have an excuse never to get into the junk pile again.
I thought I was safe for a turn when I got some bubblegum. But the gum was banana flavored. I almost spit it out. Banana flavored candy is the worst. It tastes like yellow glue! Not that I’ve ever tasted glue, but that’s the first thing that comes to mind! I have never tasted good banana candy, and what’s worse it usually disguises itself as lemon flavored! You are supposed to know what to expect with lemon candy, but noooooooo. There is no good candy in this pile, I should know this already.
Of course, that’s not to say there isn’t ok food in the pile. Somepony last year gave out cheese and crackers, and Silver managed to get a package. Somehow they aren’t stale, and I see her chew on the crackers happily. She got such a lucky break, and she’s smirking at me. Ugh, note to self, re-assess what goes in the junk pile.
However, I would have to wait until next Nightmare Night to do that. Neither of us wanted to give up, and we refused to throw up even with the worst candy. As the pile thinned out, we knew there was something just waiting to be picked, something we really wanted to avoid. Then that thing was all that was left, and it was my turn. My turn to eat an entire tube of toothpaste. Darn you, well intentioned dentist. Darn you all to heck.
“I... I... I can’t do it, I’m not going to eat a tube of toothpaste.” Silver Spoon looks shocked, I can’t blame her though. I’ve never admitted defeat to anyone. “Silver Spoon, you are the new queen of candy.” Her shock turns to utter joy, and she dances around the room. She does this for only a few seconds, however, before all this candy eating catches up with her. Collapsing backwards, she holds her tummy and begins to make snoring noises.
“Hey kids! How’s your Nightmare Night candy eating... Going...” Randolph doesn’t take long to faint at the mess we’ve made. I forgot... He’s going to have to clean all this up... Ugh... Too tired to care now, need sleep...
The ultimate candy competition had no true winners, only losers. It didn’t help that our father decided to make us all take surprise check ups the next day... I am so not looking forward to that.
“I blame you for this, Diamond Tiara.” Silver Spoon groans in pain as we wait for the doctor to show up. “My teeth feel like they’ve been brushed with a spiky ball and chain, and driven over by a chariot, while the chariot is carrying the weight of Celestia’s Sun, and it’s exploding.”
“Oh yeah? Well my teeth feel like drilled through with a jackhammer, by a serial tooth killer, who drills them down to little pieces, while I can still feel all the little pieces. In three hundred times gravity!”
“Oh yeah? My teeth feels like I got challenged to an ultimate candy eating competition that ended with the ultimate junk candy showdown. Which I won! Ha!”
“My teeth feel like I had three bowls of broken glass and rusty wood screws for breakfast, and then a boulder for lunch.”
“Wel-”
“Without a fork.”
She remains silent after that. I smile in self satisfaction, only to grimace when I remember smiling hurts. Everything hurts my face. Both of us continue groaning in pain as Dad walks back from the receptionist table.
“Would you two please stop complaining? It’s your own faults for having that stupid candy competition in the first place. You don’t see Dazzle complaining, do you?”
“Mr. Rich, with all due respect, Dazzle is just a cat that somehow runs on sugar. I don’t think even that much would hurt him.” I’ll ignore Silver’s comment about him being just a cat. I’m in too much pain to insult her parrot. She’s lucky Dazzle is sleeping right now. I can’t be held responsible for what he might do if he heard. But then again, Dazzle has been known to pretend to sleep through important conversations in our house. She better watch her back.
The receptionist calls our attention. “Anyway, the doctor is ready for you all. Yes, that includes you too Dazzle. The vet has given up trying to understand you, so you’re ready for an actual doctor now.”
That woke him up, if he was even sleeping in the first place. I see him look to me uncertainly, I give him a quick pat on the head. It’ll be ok, the worst case scenario is braces... Oh, Mother of Celestia, it might not be ok.
The doctor was apparently curious about Dazzle from what the vet told him, so he got an x-Ray done on him. He scratches his white mane and looks at it carefully. Apparently he has the normal skeletal structure of a cat, sharp teeth, a couple cavities and a heart as black as his coat. Though he was probably joking on that last one. He seemed pretty satisfied at that point that he’s a normal cat. Which he isn’t, but Dazzle can be good at pretending when he wants to be.
Then he decided to take his blood sugar. Dazzle had to be strapped down so he wouldn’t scratch or do anything horrible when getting the needle. When the doctor sees the results, he spits out his coffee. His gray coat seems a bit ruffled, I'm sure he wasn't expecting that.
“Eighty percent blood sugar?! I’m sure there must be something wrong here, there’s no way he should be sitting in one place, let alone alive if that’s the case!”
“Well, how else is he going to stay so sickly sweet?” Dazzle and I pour on our most innocent smiles, Silver just gags.
“Are you kidding me? He needs to be studied, analyzed, and most of all, dissected to find out what makes him tick!” Did he just say 'dissected'?
“You wanna dissect my kitty?!”
“For science.”
“Um... Wow, look at the time. I guess we will have to come back to our appointment... NEVER! Silver! Get Daddy! I’ll hold him off!”
The crazed doctor leaps towards Silver. I quickly grab the bowl of sugar free gumballs and roll them on the floor in front of him. What comes next is the doctor slipping all over the place and landing on a table of equipment. A scalpel lands near me, and I take it. The madpony is still dazed, so I quickly cut Dazzle loose from the restraints.
“Diamond Tiara! Dazzle! What’s all the commotion?” Dad is running towards us at full gallop. Before he can reach the door, it slams in his face. The madpony locks the door and steps towards us slowly.
“You know, I used to be a great scientist... I used to be respected... But then the board got mad. They said my experiments were inpony. But your cat could get me respected again. Give him to me!”
I give Dazzle a look that I can only assume was filled with worry. Dazzle gives me a confident look though. I think I know what to do.
“If you want him you can have him!” I then throw Dazzle right at the madpony. He of course has his claws outstretched. Dazzle lands right on his head and starts scratching away at him.
“Owowowowow! Get off me you little... Ack!”
The next series of events happened in slow motion. I heard a big slam, Dazzle jumped off the doctors head in fright, and the door to the room suddenly slammed into him. All of this happened in a matter of seconds. The next thing I knew, the madpony was being arrested on charges of attacking a little filly, not to mention impersonating a doctor. I was still confused as to what was going on, but it looks like I just somehow caught a dangerous criminal. To think that I was so close to one and didn’t even realise it. It’s really scary. Needless to say, our checkups were delayed for a future day.
Of course, none of that shocked me as much as how much strength Dad showed when he bucked the door down on top of the doctor. He can be scary when he’s mad.
“Not only that, but it’s so fun to see those grapple moves, and don’t even get me started on their special moves! My personal favourite is The Beast’s finisher! It just looks so devastating.”
Since yesterday’s incident my Dad has been trying to find something we can both spend time doing together. He’s decided on wrestling. Why would he decide on something as stupidly violent as that? I don’t know, but it seems really important to him that we find something we can do together. I don’t really blame him. That incident with the madpony really scared all of us. Though I think he’s taking it a bit too far.
“That sounds pretty... Uh, cool. Yeah! It sounds cool Dad!” It sounds stupid, but I’m not going to let him know I’m thinking that.
A meow surprises us from around our hooves. Dazzle is looking up at me with a claw raised to his chin. Crud, I’m so bad at lying in when it comes to him. He can always tell. With that suspicious glare, and that claw tapping his chin thoughtfully.
“Ah, there you are Dazzle. Would you like to join us later this evening? I was just about to finish convincing our little princess here to spend some quality time watching ponies beat each other up, to give a summary.”
Dazzle simply raises his eyebrow to both of us and walks away. Yeah, I would’ve too in his position. Dad doesn’t pay him any mind and continues to have a one sided discussion with me. I absentmindedly answer his questions with a few acknowledgements here, and a few yups there.
“Wow! Sure thing, Dad!”
“So you will watch it with me? Great! I’ll go set it up!” Crud, I think I messed up. This isn’t going to end well, is it?
“Randolph! Have you got the snacks ready yet?”
“I’ve just got to finish the dip, then we’ll be all prepared!”
“Well, hurry up. We’re about to start the recording!”
What’s it matter anyway? I’m still on that diet of all veggies until my teeth are fixed. I won’t be able to partake in any of the delicious snacks at all. Honestly, what’s the point in seeing two grown stallions beat the snot out of each other? It sounds completely immature. Do older ponies really like seeing that kind of thing? I might understand Randolph, but Dad? Dad is way too refined for that sort of thing.
“Randolph, are you done yet?”
“Hold your horses, I’m here.”
I would normally be delighted at the sight of all these snacks, but right now they only remind me of how much my teeth ache. They feel like what one of these wrestlers probably feel like after being beaten down. Speaking of which, it’s starting.
As it opens I am greeted to a pair of announcers, one who is cringeworthingly optimistic, and the other who is so pessimistic that I really can’t stand him either. It doesn’t take long to get to the first match, mostly because I zoned out during the announcers commentary. The first wrestler to come out is an incredibly energetic, thin earth pony known as Frog Splash. He’s jumping around all over the place grabbing hooves in the audience. I might also add that the amount of ponies in the audience to watch two ponies beat the crud out of each other really makes me question equinity right now.
The next to come out is a rather overweight pegasus called Mushroom Stomp. He stomps, hence his title, down to the arena and flies right in. I notice that Dad referred to Mushroom Stomp as “A dirty traitor that just switched heel.” Whatever that means.
They must have something against each other, because they started going at it before the bell even rang. Frog Splash made the first attack, but he was just slammed onto the floor at a single swipe. He gets up again just to kiss the floor. How... How barbaric. How could my Dad possibly like this? Is it a guy thing? Would Dazzle enjoy this? ... No, Dazzle would not enjoy this. He’s too much of a refined little kitty.
Looking over at Dad, he hasn’t seemed to notice my discomfort with this. His eyes are glued to the television. I can tell he’s muttering something under his breath. Randolph is enjoying the snacks that make my teeth hurt just thinking about them. You know what, I think I’ll just make my exit while they are so entranced with-
“Princess, where are you going?”
“Um, to the restroom, Dad! Be right back!”
Crudpudge, I know I can’t stay in there most of the night. So what do I do? I’ll just think it over while I’m in there. It’s not like I actually have to go.
I splash my face with water for what must be the tenth time. Ok, you’ve resolved yourself to tell him. You’re going to tell him you don’t want to watch this, no matter how much it disappoints him. You are going to let him know it just doesn’t interest you, and he should try and find some other way for us to be able to do something together.
I step out of the bathroom, and find Dazzle there waiting for me. He’s giving me a disapproving look.
“Hi, Dazzle... You could tell I didn’t want to do this in the first place, couldn’t you?”
He’s still looking at me with disapproval.
“I know... Randolph went to all the trouble of fixing all those snacks for us. Even though he forgot I can’t have too many unhealthy snacks at the moment. I also know that Dad really wants us to enjoy something together... But what’s the point if I’m pretending to enjoy it?”
He taps his chin with his claw thoughtfully, eyebrow raised. Then he just shrugs.
“I guess you wouldn’t know, you’ve never had any problems expressing your dislike for something. I don’t normally have that problem either, but this is my Dad were talking about! I don’t want to disappoint him!”
I look down, just imagining how disappointed he would be, this is the first time in a long time we’ve done any real family bonding. My birthday was just an exception. What if when I disappoint him, it deters him from doing anything with me? What if we never do anything together again? What if-
A paw on my shoulder brings me back to reality. I didn’t realise I had been crying. Dazzle gives me a reassuring smile and pats me on the back with his paw.
“Thanks, Dazzle... I guess you're right. I should tell him no matter what I think may happen. It’s going to come out eventually either way.”
Dazzle gives a self important smirk. He’s not shy to letting me know when I’m overreacting. I smile back at him.
“Thanks Dazzle, you always know just what to say.”
Still, that talk didn’t prepare me completely. I stood in the doorway to the TV room for a little while to get ready to break the news to Dad. Dragon Whip just beat Snapmare, so now’s as good a time as any while he’s in a good mood.
“Dad... Can we talk?”
“Oh, you want to talk about the match? I saw you standing in the doorway watching.”
So much for being subtle...
“Daddy... I... I don’t want to disappoint you. But I... I don’t think this whole wrestling thing is for me, Dad.”
His face stumbles a bit, but he soon regains his composure. “Oh... I see. May I ask why, though?”
“Well, I guess the idea of ponies beating each other up just doesn’t really appeal to me. I guess I can see where you got the idea I’d like it though. With how crazy good I am at fighting games.” Is it just me, or did Dad’s face get a little more wrinkled in the past few seconds? “So... I hope you aren’t disappointed, Dad.”
“Disappointed? I’m not disappointed in you. I’m just... sad that I couldn’t find something to do together that we could easily do at home. I... I guess we don’t really have that many similar interests. But I do want to find something we can do together. I realise now since yesterdays incident that I haven’t been doing nearly enough with you.”
“Dad, I’m just glad you're trying. I’m sure we can find something to do together. Just... Not this, please.”
Dad and I exchange a hug. I feel a lot better now, but I also feel really sleepy judging by the yawn I just let out.
“May I go to bed, Daddy?”
“You may. Oh, and Princess?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for being honest with me.”
“You're welcome, Daddy.”
I head to bed, feeling a lot better than I felt earlier today.
Day 10 END
Day 11 November 4th Tuesday: The Running of the Leaves
“And this, class, is the starting line for the running of the leaves. This location, like most of the track, has been chosen from a geological standpoint as the best starting location in order to get the most leaves off the trees in a traditional way, rather than just with magic. Ponyville is a very old fashioned place in that way.”
Oh, please. Both you and I know that they turned the annual Running of the Leaves into a race just to increase the very low participation rates over the last decade. Even Celestia herself knows. After all, she’s the one who suggested to make it into a race. I heard that since some roughhousing last year, Princess Twilight will be here to see that no more cheating takes place.
Princess Twilight, I may have ended up pushing her the wrong way during the whole Twilight Time incident. I heard she can be very forgiving though, so maybe there will be a chance to explore her castle one day.
“Now remember class, some pegasi will be taking us all in chariots to a nearby hill when the race starts. We will be having a picnic there as the race unfolds, and I want you all to be on your best behavior. Remember the three rules of field trips. Recite it with me.”
Rule one, always stay in a group. Groupies are besties.
Rule two, don’t bother the other adults. Adultsies are busies.
Rule three, if someone suspicious is talking to a filly or colt, tell a teacher immediately. Worries are for good reasies.
Yes, those are the actual group rules instilled by the school board a few years ago. Miss Cheerilee and the class couldn’t keep a straight face when we first had to recite them. But we’ve gotten rather used to them by now. We also have a rule from Miss Cheerilee that we have to recite them at least once on every single trip, usually early on. It may seem annoying, but they have grown on us over the years.
Soon we are all on the chariots. I can see a familiar pink pony waving at the audience from an air balloon up above. She must be giving the commentary again this year. I still kind of hold a grudge against her for the birthday party incident, but she still made my cuteceñera exactly the way I wanted it to be, minus the incident with those blank flanks, but I’ve learned that when the CMC get together to do something, no one sees it coming until it’s too late. Not even Pinkie Pie.
“Get set... Get ready... Go, Speed Racers, Go!”
We take off as soon as the race starts. I can see the dust trail being left behind by the racers. They’re really starting off fast this year. Although I think I read in a book somewhere that pacing yourself is the key to winning races, or at least getting a high place. It could be the book was a piece of crud, judging by how many racers are starting off really fast.
Either way, I’m mostly here for the picnic. I’m not really interested in the results of the race.
“Now class, I want you all to share the food I brought. There is enough for all of you, as well as only one dessert for each of us. They are courtesy of the Cakes, so be sure to send them your regards after the race.”
... Stupid hurting teeth. I had almost forgotten about them. This isn’t going to go away anytime soon, is it? Well, at least the potato salad looks teeth-friendly.I grab a bunch of that, in addition to some sliced tomatoes. Silver Spoon takes some potato salad as well, and by some I mean a lot. She loves herself some potato salad.
“Now Silver Spoon, leave some for the rest why don’t you?”
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee...”
We watch the race go on below. It looks like Princess Twilight is flying above the racers as they go along, she’s gotten pretty good at flying surprisingly enough. I sometimes saw her practicing with Rainbow Dash after she got her wings, she hit dirt a lot. It’s rather un-princess like, but even I know if I suddenly grew wings and a horn I would have trouble controlling them. Not that I haven’t thought about it...
Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she currently has the lead. I know this because Scootaloo is going on and on about it. I can also tell when Applejack passes her, cause then Apple Bloom starts doing the loud cheers. Ugh.
“So class, which of you can tell me the original reason The Running of the Leaves were started?”
Oh great, a pop quiz. Let’s see, it was around the time Equestria had been founded... So...
“Was it because the Earth Ponies wanted to be able to affect how at least one of the seasons changed all on their own? I mean, until that time it was the Unicorns who had been doing most of the season changing.”
Cheerilee gives me an approving nod. “Yes class, Diamond Tiara is right. Well, she’s sort of right. There were a lot more reasons than that, but those were the basic reasons.”
Cheerilee continued to ask us questions about The Running of the Leaves and it’s history. I only had basic knowledge of the event, so I wasn’t able to answer many more. Unsurprisingly, Apple Bloom was able to answer most of them. Rainbow Dash would be proud of how fast she was able to get the answers out while at the same time keeping her attention on the race. Why are ponies so obsessed with pointless things like this anyway? I just don’t understand it.
“Ok, everypony, it looks like they are almost to the finish line. It’s time to get into the chariots and head over there!”
I’m glad that’s over with. I never really cared for traditional stuff anyway.
“Yaaaaaahoooooo! Way to go big sis!”
Applejack won. You can probably tell by Apple Bloom’s obnoxiously loud cheering. You can also tell by...
“Aw, darn it! There goes 15 bits!”
“What? You bet on me, kid? Sorry for disappointing you.”
Yeah, I don’t think I need to explain who that was. But for those of you still in the dark, Scootaloo bet on Rainbow Dash winning the race. Most likely it was with Apple Bloom.
You know, now that I think about it. It was Scootaloo who was spreading around rumors of that special birthday wish. Nothing particularly great has happened since that wish. So I’m starting to think it was all a bust. Nothing excitingly awesome is going to happen. That mad doctor thing was more negatively exciting than anything.
Oh well, it was just a wish. I guess I wasn’t really expecting it to come true. It’s not like anything exciting is going to happen. Though I guess I did get to spend some more time with family than usual. But...
I guess I still haven’t seen my Mom yet...
Day 11 END
Day 12 November 5th Wednesday: The Ghost in the Basement
“I’m gonna get you, Diamond Tiara! Come out, come out wherever you are!”
Fat chance, this hiding place is perfect... No one would ever think to look here!
“Oh gee... I wonder if that’s Miss Diamond Tiara’s tail sticking out from behind the dresser?”
Oh, crud pudge. Ok, I just have to make it back to home base, then I’ll- Oh no... I’m stuck. Just great. Well, there goes my win.
“Here, DT, let me help you out from there.”
Silver Spoon and I had been playing hide and chase in the house. Basically, you have to hide somewhere in the house and wait for the perfect opportunity to steal the opponents flag at home base. The catch is I had to hide super far away from home base. By super far away I mean the opposite side of the house. I thought I chose an awesome hiding spot, but... I got stuck. Silver ended up having to help me out. Which means...
“Oh, by the way. Tag. You lose.” Silver can’t help but giggle, and neither can I. Our giggling attracts the attention of Randolph.
“Now, girls, isn’t it time you went to bed already?”
Daddy had important business to attend to in Canterlot tonight, so Randolph is the one that ended up taking care of us. He’s being pretty strict with us tonight though... I wonder why? Maybe Dad told him to keep a closer eye on us after the whole mad doctor incident. That would explain it.
“Fine, Uncle Randolph. We’ll get ready for bed.” Ha! As if! Silver and I already know were going to stay up as long as we can. We will just have to be a bit more quiet from this point on.
“Goodnight children. Have pleasant dreams. Don’t let the bedbugs bite, and most importantly-”
“GOODNIGHT!”
“...Goodnight!”
We stay quiet. We want to make sure he’s gone before we start off the big event. The night of scary stories! I won’t be scared though. They are just stories, nothing to be scared about.
Confident that Randolph isn’t outside the door, we make a little indoor tent out of the sheets and a few of Silver’s model spoons. Entering the makeshift tent, Silver and I prepare some pillows to lay on, and I bring the flashlight with me for special effects... That’s when I hear a meow. It sounds like Dazzle was woken from his slumber.
“Dazzle... Pssst. Get in here, we are starting the scary stories.”
Dazzle drags in a small pillow from his bed. He paces around in a circle to soften the pillow up then lays down in what looks like a comfy position. He looks dreary-eyed.. It wouldn’t surprise me if he fell asleep mid story.Still, he’s so cute laying in that position. Maybe we’ll stay by him like this and go to sleep as well once we finish our stories.
“I have a pretty good story to tell you two. I know because Uncle Randolph told it to me.” I shine the flashlight in front of my face. “It’s called The Chained Dog’s Cries. I bet you will be shaking by the time this story is done.”
“...Uh huh.” Silver rolls her eyes as she leans back into a comfortable position. I'm tempted to remind her of the Nightmare Night party incident, but that might be going a bit far.
Oh well, she can be sarcastic all she wants. But this story is going to scare her, if it’s the last thing I do.
“You see, this story is not only scary but also true. A truly scary story. It is about back when this mansion belonged to another family. This family, known as the Standard Family, was considered in all respects to be a very normal family, for rich family standards.”
“Pssshhh, this story isn’t scary. Dazzle could do better in his sleep. Right, Dazzle?”
Dazzle nodded and did some pretend snores.
“Wow, your snoring is SO scary, Dazzle.”
“Achem. Can you just wait a bit? It’ll get scary soon, I promise.”
Silver raises her eyebrow. She waves her hoof as if to say ‘go on’.
“They were supposedly considered the standard all families should live up to and achieve to be. But one day, something happened in this family. A pony by the name of Gold Standard found an ancient treasure when he was constructing a basement in the mansion. The mansion itself was very old when they got it and hadn’t been lived in for a long time, so nobody knew that there was a small room of treasure buried beneath it.”
“This kind of sounds like a happy story, DT. Tell me it gets scary soon.”
“Oh... It does. The family had become even more rich than they were before. But they soon became greedy, something about the treasure was so evil, so greed inducing, that they completely forgot their old values... Fighting started to form between them, and everyone was on edge. Gold Standard, the one who discovered the treasure, was completely enamored by it. He kept all of his treasure in the basement, and even bought a guard dog. He was completely cruel to the dog though, he abused it and would starve it, saying it would toughen it up. Well, if it toughened him up, it sure made it so he despised his owner...”
Silver had sat up. She didn’t even realise it herself, but she was very interested in where the story was going. Dazzle looks angry at this point in the story. Probably thinking how bad it is that he can’t help get the dog’s revenge on Gold Standard. Heh... He’ll know soon enough.
“One day though, Gold Standard disappeared. He had just up and vanished. The rest of the family seized this opportunity to go to the basement and steal the treasure... But when they entered... They encountered the lifeless skull of Gold Standard, being chewed on by the very guarddog he had mistreated. They ran away from the dog, and finally broken out of the trance, they abandoned the house and told no one to go there ever again. That was a hundred and fifty-three years ago....”
“Wow... That’s actually really scary...”
“Heh... I’m not done yet. This is a ghost story after all...”
Silver and Dazzle tense up. They seem to get what I’m driving at.
“You see, deep into the night, you can still hear the chains of the dog as he patrols the treasure below. To make sure no one ever takes the treasure and becomes as cruel as his master, what this dog doesn’t realise is... He’s already become as cruel as his old master. And won’t hesitate to kill any filly who enters the basement.”
Silver has started shaking. Time to reel in the story to it’s climax.
“You know... At first I didn’t believe this story, but then I heard chains. And not just in the basement. Sometimes at night, I hear chains coming from the kitchen, and suddenly there is some food missing from the fridge the next morning, and some paw prints leading from the basement... One day though, my fears were brought to light. I had gone to get a midnight snack, but there was already something getting one, something that looks just like...”
I turn off the flashlight, and grab the mask I hid beneath the pillow and put it on. The next moment I turn the flashlight on.
“THIS!” Dazzle jumps back and extends his claws, Silver doesn’t scream, she just stares blue in the face. She attempts to regain her composure, but it’s a lost cause. I totally got her!
“Admit it Silver, I got you and you know it!”
“I... I wasn’t scared! I so wasn’t scared, I didn’t even scream!”
“Ha! You didn’t have to. The look on your face said it all!”
"I was just surprised that you put on such an ugly mask. I mean, it so doesn’t suit you.”
“I suppose that could be the case, after all... Such a sweet little filly like me... Turning into such a monster. I mean the very thought of it is-”
We hear the sound of rattling metal from downstairs. It seems to be coming from the kitchen. But... That can’t be right. I know that story’s made up. Randolph couldn’t really have been telling me a true story? Could he? No... It’s probably just Randolph getting something to eat. But why would he be making that kind of sound?
“Diamond, you did make that story up, right? Did you really see a ghost dog eating from the fridge?”
“No, of course not! I made that part of the story up! There’s no way that dog exists, I’m sure Randolph was just trying to scare me last Nightmare Night...”
The rattling sounds come once again. I guess it couldn’t hurt to check, could it? So...
“Dazzle, will you be a dear and check what Randolph is doing? Pretty please?” I give him the saddest kitty cat face I can muster. I get a growl in return. I continue making the sad face however, and eventually it gets through. Dazzle leaves the tent and I can hear the kitty door opening and closing.
“Diamond Tiara, he didn’t seem happy. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Silver... If anyone could handle a ghost dog, it’s my little Dazzle.”
“... Good point.”
It doesn’t take long for me to get worried though. Dazzle should have been back by now. Randolph’s room is on the way to the kitchen, and the kitchen isn’t that far away to begin with. Dazzle knows his way to the kitchen very well, he couldn’t possibly get lost. He’s got cat vision, for crying out loud.
“Should we go see what’s up? He should have been back by now.” Silver has concern plastered clearly on her face.
“Well, I think he might just have gotten something to eat from Randolph, but...”
“MRRRRRROW!!”
“Was that Dazzle just now?”
What a stupid question, of course that was Dazzle! There is no other kitty in the house! But more importantly...
“DT, what are you doing?”
“I’m getting ready to save my kitty!”
I equip myself with a slingshot and a bunch of hard candies, some black licorice left over, and strap Silver’s giant model spoon she gave me on my back. Before Silver can object I dash out the door. I hear her hoofsteps follow behind me. I have to make it to the kitchen. I race down the stairs without turning the lights on. Because of that I nearly end up falling down them completely, but I don’t care. Right now all I care about is seeing if Dazzle is alright!
“Diamond, will you slow down? Nothing’s happened to... Dazzle...”
Both of us stare at the kitchen. It is in a state of disarray from what we can see under Luna’s moon. Food is on the floor everywhere, and I can see tiny paw prints leading from the basement... Could... Could there really be- Could there really be a ghost dog down there?!
“Silver, hold the flashlight. I’m going in.”
“No, Diamond, I’ll go downstairs with you, I need to be able to protect you, not just give you light.”
“This isn’t debatable, Silver. That monster has got my Dazzle, and I’m not going to let it take him without a fight. You stay out of this!”
“No, Diamond, I really think I should-”
“Shhhhhhh... Did you hear that?”
We take another listen, it’s the sound of things being thrown around in the basement.
“Dazzle! I’m coming to save you!” I follow the paw prints to the basement door. I open it without hesitation and run downstairs. I hear Silver following behind me.
“Silver, I told you to-”
“GRRRRROWWWWWWWWWL!”
I scream in terror at the sudden sound behind me. All my bravado sinks away and I just scream my head off and try to hide myself with anything. I can feel Silver’s hooves grab the model spoon from my back and the sound of smacking ensues, and interestingly enough, sounds from a pony in pain.
“Silver, stop! Stop! It’s me, Randolph!”
What? It was... Randolph?
“R-Randolph, what are you doing down here, and in such a scary costume?”
At this point I look up and see Randolph in a torn monster dog costume.
“Listen Randolph, I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to pull, but if you hurt Dazzle in any way I’m going to-”
“Mrow.”
“DAZZLE! Oh, my little angel is safe!”
I envelope Dazzle in a big hug. He seems none too pleased.
“But... What exactly are you two doing down here?”
As it turned out, Randolph had only pretended to go to his room and had listened to us tell ghost stories when he got an idea for how to punish us for staying up so late. The original plan was for him to slowly advance from the kitchen to our room using some chains to scare us along the way. But when Dazzle showed up, his plan changed. He decided to enlist Dazzle’s help in scaring us and boy were we scared. Well, mostly. But he wasn't expecting us to bring a blunt weapon, and he certainly wasn't expecting Silver to use it against him. I guess we all learned a lesson today. Except Dazzle. Dazzle just laughed at the situation. I’ll have to get back at him somehow... But not today. It’s time for us to fall asleep.
My eyes flickered open and shut once the alarm woke me up. It was a long night last night... Too long. Maybe we should take a break from these long night events for a while. I look over to Silver, lying on her stomach beside my bed with her glasses still on and her hair a total mess. I hear a groan escape her lips. She probably agrees with me.
I hit the alarm and find my way out of bed. Geez, the window's really bright today. It’s no use, I’m going to have to shut the curtains if I want my eyes to adjust. Once the curtains are shut, I turn the light knob on my bedside window to low and let my eyes adjust to that first. I brush my hair as my eyes adjust to the light. Silver strolls up next to me and does the same.
“No more late night excursions for at least a month, ok?”
“Other than the stargazes and you have a deal. Though I can’t promise something else won’t happen.”
“That’s the very definition of our deal, promising it.”
“Then I can’t keep it, never know what will happen.”
We soon finish our morning rituals and we each get our saddlebags. We double check to see if we put our homework in them, Silver almost had a panic attack when she thought her assignment was missing, but it was just in the other pouch. I don’t blame her though, it was a special report on the history of cooking utensils from olden days to now. That was certainly a subject she knew well.
We make our way down the stairs once our eyes are fully adjusted. Dazzle’s still sleeping upstairs, but he’ll make his way downstairs soon enough. We trot towards the kitchen, turn on the light, and prepare ourselves breakfast.
Usually Randolph is up very early fixing me, my Daddy, and Dazzle’s breakfast. It is kind of odd though. Even when he pulls an all nighter he’s usually ready to fix us breakfast in the morning...
“Silver, where do you think Randolph is?”
“Probably resting after I beat him over the head with my giant spoon. It may have been a prank but no one messes with us on my watch.”
“No, seriously, Silver, I think we should go check on him. You did hit him pretty ha-”
We hear the front door open in the other room. We can hear Randolphs voice coming from there.
“Hey kids, I just finished clearing the driveway, why aren’t you out here playing in the snow?”
We both freeze. Did... Did he just say what I thought he said?
“Silver, go get us some scarfs. And tell Dazzle the first snowfall has come.”
“Roger that!” Silver gives a small salute and rushes upstairs.
The first batch of snow came early this year. There must have been a change in plans with the weather pegasi. Not that it isn’t welcome...
Silver Spoon runs down stairs, Dazzle clumsily in tow. She hands each of us scarves of varying patterns. The scarves go very well together, as do all of our wardrobes.
“Ok, Dazzle, we have about 20 minutes before we’ve gotta head out for school. We will play plenty once we get back. But don’t follow me to school again. Cheerilee is still a bit mad at you for the incident with the beach ball, the sandbags, and the makeshift hot air balloon.”
Dazzle nods in agreement, when Cheerilee gets mad, and that is a rare sight, it’s not pretty.
“One more thing, Dazzle, after last night... I’d watch your back. You never know when payback will bite you in the rear...”
Dazzle makes a gulping sound, and nods again, this time much more slowly.
“On that note," Silver says, drawing our attention, "it’s time to snow have fun!”
The pun singed a bit, but it was soon healed by the cool snow we went to play in. There wasn’t much we could do in 20 minutes though. So we decided to build snowponies. Well, I attempted to, anyway. The snow I gathered wasn’t that great for making snowponies, and it looks like Dazzle is having trouble finding a good batch too.
Silver on the other hand...
“Hey Diamond, what do you think?”
I turn around to see what Silver is making and...
“EEEEEEK! Silver!”
Silver had been making a snow timberwolf and it’s gaping mouth looked as if it could nearly eat me alive. If it wasn’t a snow sculpture, that is.
“You like? I’m trying something new this winter. The latest snowpony trends show that scarier sculptures are in this year.”
“A-Are they now? Why... I never would’ve guessed.” The latest trends scare me sometimes... Fillies these days. “Anyway, what do you think of my sculpture, Silver?”
“You mean... That... Um... What is that?”
“Why, it’s Dazzle, silly!”
Upon hearing his name, Dazzle walks up to the snow sculpture. After looking at it for a few seconds, he begins to retch.
“Dazzle! It’s... It’s not that bad is it?”
Silver looks at me with a look I hate being given, pity. “Um, I hate to tell you this, but you should stick to regular snow ponies.”
“You... You guys are mean! It’s a unique art style! There’s nothing wrong with it! Art is in the eye of the beholder! You guys just don’t... don’t...” I like to think of myself as a very creative pony, and I don’t take criticism well on my works of art. So of course I cried! Any filly would! It’s not that strange... There’s nothing wrong with it! I mean, I learned it was ok to cry after that time Silver and I got in a fight... But that was a while ago, and a story for another day.
“DT... I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings... I’m sure that if you entered it into an abstract art competition...”
“It wasn’t meant to be a-abstract!”
“Urgh... Dazzle, I’m not good when she’s like this, you take care of this.”
I’m so busy crying that I don’t even notice Dazzle walk up to me and wipe the tears out of my eye. He brushes his paw along the snow and gives me an apologetic look.
“It’s no use, Dazzle. I saw you gagging.”
Dazzle gives me a sheepish smile, then appears to think for a bit. I see him drawing a small picture in the snow, it starts as a bunch of nonsense scribbles but eventually forms into a great drawing.
“I... I think I understand. You mean every artist, big or small, starts somewhere, right?”
Dazzle gives a nod of approval. I’ve been with him so long I can understand him easily.
“Alright. I’ll do it! I’ll become a great snow sculptor, and I will impress the other kids at school with my skills at it! Then I’ll be able to-”
“Kids, shouldn’t you be getting to school?”
We all look at the clock on the outside wall of the house.
“Oh no, oh no, OH NO! We’re going to be late! Silver, hurry! Dazzle, bye!”
I wave back at Dazzle and soon he is out of sight. I am not going to be late today! Not now, and not ever!
Day 14 November 7th Friday: The First Winter Stargaze
“Alright, everypony. I’ll check on you all in a bit. Be sure to take plenty of notes!”
Miss Cheerilee trots back into the nice, warm lodge. Gee, I wonder if all this cold snow in the middle of the night is too much for her? At least she made sure to bring lots of warm clothes for us. Not that it helps much. It’s cold out tonight, even for winter. It’s so cold that Dad was worried about us catching the flu, so he made me pack some emergency cold and flu relief medicine. He’s probably worrying too much though.
“Oh, DT! I think I see something! It looks like Luna’s made some stars in the shape of a cannon... But what kind? I’ll get out the history reference books.”
Silver Spoon is really into this stargazing assignment. It seems the cold won’t be getting to her anytime soon. The other ponies don’t seem to be having many problems either. They seem to be keeping their distance from us on this field trip. Maybe they are afraid we’ll pelt them with water balloons like on Nightmare Night? That was a one-time revenge scheme, and... Oh darn. It’s freezing... I think I’m gonna...
“Achoo! Achoo!” Great, I think I might actually need that medicine Dad packed. Silver Spoon looks at me with concern.
“Come on, Diamond Tiara, you can’t already be getting like this, we need to stay here for another half hour, at the least.” I ignore her as I take some medicine for my runny nose. I like snow as much as the next pony, but it’s so cold out tonight I can barely stand it.
“DT, c’mon, do you want to do this or not? You know as well as I do that historic stargazing really does a lot for getting a good reputation with art ponies. How else are you going to get a discount on that art piece you want to buy for your Dad?”
“H-h-how can you s-stand this c-c-cold? It’s so stupidly cold... Stupid cold!” I kick at the snow beneath my hooves, only for a sudden wind to blow it all into my face. “Ack! Even the snow is against me t-tonight!”
I feel something warm wrap around my neck. I look over to Silver Spoon, who is taking off some of her extra warm clothes. “Go ahead and take it, DT. You wouldn’t believe how cold it gets in Canterlot, it’s up in the mountains after all. So I’m pretty much used to the cold.”
“Thanks, Silver, but won’t you catch a cold if you don’t wear enough warm clothes?”
“Not really, those who lived in Canterlot build up a resistance to it eventually. Now let’s get our extra credit done already. Now, I think this cannon is one of the ones used in the Griffon-Pony War about 400 years ago, and a very early one at that.” She gives a quick smile up to the stars. “Princess Luna must be giving one of her history lectures through the stars again. I could imagine she must enjoy learning about all that happened... Oh! There’s the next constellation!”
Just as Silver Spoon said, the stars are rearranging to create another shape. It appears to be... A pony and griffon staring each other down.
“Who are those two, Silver Spoon?” Silver stares hard at the constellation. She always tries very hard when it comes to history.
“If I’m not mistaken... It must be... Hm... Ah! Got it!” A flash of brilliance appears on her face. “Those are the two leaders of the armies in the late years of the war, back when they were mere soldiers!”
I look close at the constellation. If her conclusion is true...then she’s really gotten better at this. I can’t really tell that’s who they are, but then again most of the pictures we see of them are in their later years, when they commanded the two armies.
It goes on like this for a while, Silver Spoon occasionally asks for help in identifying a constellation. I look through the history books for references and other notes to make in our reports. We all around have a good time. But once twenty five minutes have passed, I have a question I needed to ask her.
“How did you get so good at this anyway, Silver Spoon? Stargazing isn’t really your special talent.”
She looks at me with a bit of shock on her face, but quickly starts thinking. “I guess... Hm... I suppose it all started whenever my family used to go on stargazing trips every month when I was little. I was never really perfect at it, but it’s something I’ve always been interested in.” She gives me an awkward smile. “Maybe even more than my actual talent.”
I suppose I never really thought about it like that, the fact you could pursue things other than your talent. I mean, I’ve always been interested in royal history and crown making, but I never really thought about pursuing other stuff when I’m older. Of course, I would be good at anything I try, and those I’m not immediately good at... I never really thought about practicing them. But if Silver Spoon got that good, maybe I should try that again.
“Ah! Here’s the last one! The one that represents the truce the two countries made. It’s so amazing that if these two didn’t meet each other on the battlefield the truce might not have been made...” I write down the last notes we made; this should make for a good report.
“Students! It’s over! Don’t forget to turn in your reports next week!” Cheerilee shows up now that the half hour has passed conveniently enough. “I hope you all got plenty to think about from this stargaze!”
In a way... I suppose we did. I look over to Silver Spoon. She looks back at me and smiles.
“We are definitely doing this again, DT.”
DAY 14 END
Day 15 November 8th Saturday: Power Ponies November Issue
I walk down the path, keeping my jacket tucked close, pulling my hat down, trying not to be noticed. Why, why did I ever get addicted to this in the first place? It was easier to manage when I was younger, but it just gets harder to keep secret the older I get. It’s the thing that keeps me up in the middle of the night. It’s what prevents me from focusing, prevents me from making rational decisions when it comes to it.
That thing, is comic books. Scary things, really. They suck you in and bring you on adventure of great proportions. Well, not literally. But when you’ve been addicted to them as long as I have... Well... You’ve just gotta have every issue you can find. They should have them in stock today. The November Power Ponies Issue. The Power Ponies are my absolute favorite comic book series. But no one can know! I absolutely must not let anyone find out, which is why I’m currently dressed up as a colt. Wearing this baseball cap over my eyes, wearing boots to disguise my hooves, no way will I let anyone find out...
So it’s just my luck I bump into the last pony I want to see that day.
“Hey, watch where you're going! I nearly dropped my... Hey... Do I know you?”
Of course I would bump into her, gotta make an excuse.
“No! Erm... I don’t know any orange ponies with purple manes. You must be thinking of someone else. See ya! Bye!” I run from the suspicious Scootaloo, hoping she didn’t get a look at my face. If she found out about my obsession she would surely blab it to everyone at school, or even the whole town. My reputation would be ruined! Utterly ruined!
Still, it’s strange really... It’s because of her that I got into comics in the first place. It was about a year ago from now. I had seen Scootaloo reading something out of the corner of my eye. Considering she wasn’t the reading type of pony, I had to see what caught her interest. When I found out it was a comic book, I of course made fun of her for still having to read picture books. That was when she dared me that dare, to go to the local comic book shop to see if I could find anything that sparked my interest, and to take one home and read it. When I found that issue of Power Ponies, I was surprised to find myself interested and... I loved it.
I was surprised too! But it was really enjoyable. Unfortunately comic books were number one on the list of things that would get you made fun of at school if you’re a filly. So I kept it secret, and... In order to do that, I had to make it seem like I hated comic books to the core now. I’ve been able to hide it from nearly everyone, everyone except for Dazzle. Dazzle had to find out. Mainly because he’s always nearby at home. I made him keep it a secret, and now he even helps hiding it when someone gets close to discovering it.
And here, at this comic shop I am now standing in front of, is the issue of the Power Ponies of which I seek. The beginning of “The Crisis on Two Equestrias.” There’s been a lot of buildup to this, and I have the highest of hopes for it. There is supposedly supposed to be an appearance from a super powered alternate evil Humdrum in this one. Maybe Humdrum will get to save the day for once? He rarely ever does though, so I doubt it. Maybe Radiance will show off her fantabulous powers once again. Oh! Maybe the leader of the resistance in the other Equestria will reveal their true identity! What if... Oh! There’s the comic right there, on that rack in the front! I immediately run into the store and grab it as fast as I can. This is it! Nothing can ruin thi-
“OW!”
I fly back from the impact of knocking into the pony behind me. I barely manage to keep my hat on. If I wasn’t in such a hurry to make the purchase and get out of here, I’d probably give this guy a stern talking to.
“I’m sorry, Mister, I was just getting a Power Ponies issue and... I got a little excited. It’s just the Power Ponies are SO COOL!” Ugh, that squeaky voice could only belong to one pony, Button Mash. I most certainly can’t let him see my face.
“Um, yes, they are cool aren’t they?” I give the best faux macho accent I can manage. “They are so cool I just want to buy this comic and get home to read it right now!”
Button grabs his own comic from the stand and brings it to the counter too. Annoyingly, he keeps talking to me. “Oh yeah, I can completely understand. I just can’t wait to see what happens next! I’ve been a fan of this comic for years now!” I ring the bell on the cashier’s counter. “Ever since I was young I’ve... Hey... I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, are you new in town?” I ring the bell even faster now! Where is that cashier? “Excuse me, Mister? What’s your name?”
Think Diamond Tiara, what was the name you thought of in advance? Think, think, think! “Um...” My eyes glance over at the comics. “Um... Comic... Edian? Comic-Edian! Yeah! Totally that!” Comic-Edian? What were you thinking, Diamond? It’s Comically Comedic! How did you mess that up so bad! I mean you’ve had to use it a lot! Ugh, it’s all Button’s fault! You don’t ask someone you barely know their name all of a sudden!
“Comic-Edian? WOW! That’s so cool! Have you found a special talent yet? Maybe it has to do with comics! Or jokes! Or jokes about comics!” Leave it to Button to be so literal about names, talents and what they represent. But... As long as he’s suggesting…
“Yeah! That’s exactly it!” The cashier finally arrives and accepts my money. “Anyway, let’s see each other never again now. Bye!”
“Hey, wait up! I was wondering if you would like to hang- Hey! I said wait!” At this point I broke into a sprint and rushed back as fast as possible. I look behind me to see if he’s still there, and sure enough he’s on my tail. Why did it have to be Button? Why did it have to be the colt who doesn’t give you a break until you’re his friend? I round a few corners, make a few zig-zags, and duck behind a welcome sign. I wait for a sign of Button to appear. I get none, however, and prepare to get ready to go home. I take the jacket and hat off and put it in my saddlebag, along with the comic and untie my hair.
No one is nearby when I inconspicuously walk out from behind the sign. That was a close one, I’m going to have to be wary of Button whenever I go there now, maybe find a new disguise.
The sun is starting to set when I see my home in the distance, I apparently ran a lot farther than I thought I did. It was hard to find my way home at first, but I did it. I did it all without running into-
“Hi Diamond Tiara!” Button Mash’s voice startles me so bad I start hyperventilating for a bit. When that’s over, I give Button a stern glare.
“Listen, as much as I would love to talk with you right now, I am in a particularly bad mood right now and wish to go home and take a rest.” I begin to trot to the house, when I feel the weight of my saddlebags taken off my back. “HEY!”
“Let me carry these for you, Mom always says to offer to carry a ladies things for them, it’s what a Gentlecolt would do.”
“No, give those back right now! They have important things in them!”
“Oooooh, like what? Maybe it’s like why Mom says to stay out of her closet...”
“Seriously! Let go! NOW!”
“Well now that you’re so defensive, let’s see what’s in her-”
“NO!” I tackle Button to the ground and try to rip the saddlebags from his hooves. I’ve gotta… get inside… with these... I suddenly hear the sound of cloth ripping, and the contents of the saddlebag falls out onto the ground. The jacket, the cap, the boots, and of course, the November Power Ponies Issue.
Button just stares at the comic, then to me, then to the comic, then to me. As if something clicks in his head, he gives me a very creepy smile and said.
“You like comic books, don’t you, Comic-Edian?”
“My life is over. My life is officially over.”
“Ah, don’t worry DT, it’s not so bad. After all, I won’t tell... On one condition.”
Ugh... It’s probably going to be something ridiculous, like play video games with me forever, or jump off the Manehattan tower on a bungee cord with him, or-
“My funds for comics... have rapidly dwindled as of late. So... I was wondering... If maybe you might be willing to bribe me by buying all the future comics I need.”
Oh, something money related. For most this would be a problem, but for me...
“Sure thing, how much do you need for this month?”
“50 Bits.”
“Here, take it. But don’t tell anybody, got it?”
“Your wish is my command.” Finishing with a bow, he goes off with his prize. This is why I don’t give the other foals money, it goes to their heads. At least I know what the value of it is.
I giggle like a lovesick schoolgirl at the latest adventures of the Power Ponies, this issue was filled with so much cool stuff that I just can’t help be so happy! Even if I was found out by Button Mash, it seems he will not be telling anyone anytime soon. At least, I hope he doesn’t.
“Will Humdrum be able to stand against his evil parallel self? Will Radiance spring herself free from the trap? Will the resistance leader reveal their true identity to save them? Find out next time on the second part of ‘Crisis on Two Equestrias!’”
As I finish reading the final page of the comic with Dazzle nearby, I notice that he has fallen asleep on the bed. He always did get tired near the end of these stories. Giving him a gentle pet, I reach over to the bedside lamp and put out the light.
“Goodnight, Dazzle.”
DAY 15 END
Day 16 November 9th Sunday: Rumors of the Magic Comic Shop
“Hold on folks, Diamond Tiara is trying something. Oh! Is that the beginning of an attempt at the triple-mid-air-spin-split-landing-thingamabob?"
It sure is, Silver Spoon. It’s a very difficult move to master. Let’s see if I can do it! A one, and a two, and a-
“Aaaaagh!”
“DT? Are you alright DT?” Silver Spoon skated onto the ice as soon as she saw me hit it face first.
“Yeah, I’m alright... Thankfully.” Silver Spoon helps me over to the edge of the now frozen pool. I don’t see why she’s so concerned though. It only stings a little bit.
“How about I attempt some moves for you while you rest for a bit. Alright, DT?”
Dazzle suddenly comes running up with a first aid kit. “I’m fine, Dazzle. Really, I am. You can calm down. I will sit down if it will please you two however.” Suddenly a screeching hello sounds from the distance. I surely don’t need to say it at this point, but it’s...
“Hello, Button Mash.” Silver Spoon leaves me in the care of Dazzle and unlocks the gate for him. “If you’re here to try to get Diamond to play against you again, she’s most likely not in the mood right now.”
“Nah, just saw you two ice skating and thought it might be fun to watch. I think I’ll go sit over by DT.” He trots very fast over here, nearly slipping and falling a few times. What is up with him today? He sits down next to me as Dazzle curls up beside him to give him the stink eye. I don't think he's over the punch incident just yet.
I pick up my kitty and pull him away from our guest. “It’s okay, Dazzle, if anyone is going to hurt him today it may as well be me.” Mashed Potatoes gives me an indignant look. He better have a good reason for bothering us today.
An awkward silence ensues as we watch Silver Spoon pull off some spinning jumps. Normally I would clap my hooves, but with Button Mash there it just continues to be awkward. It gets so awkward that Dazzle goes off to get some snacks. That’s when Button strikes.
“Have you ever heard of the Magic Comic Shop?” My only response is to look at him with intrigue, as if to say go on. “Ok, so... There’s been rumors of a magic comic shop somewhere within this area of Equestria. Apparently this is where various comic authors make magic versions of some of their greatest comics where you can be transported into a world where... Well... You can literally be your favourite heroes.” I can’t believe my ears, that sounds... so...
“Stupid, there’s no such thing, as awesome as it would be.” In truth, I think it sounds awesome. But the idea of such a thing existing sounds stupid in itself.
“Ok then, Comic-edian... If you don’t come with me to search for these rumors... How can you call yourself a true comic lover? Oh, right, you're not.”
He’s challenging me, isn’t he? He’s so challenging me. “Fine, Mashed Potatoes... I’ll play this little rumor game. But as soon as we figure out this is all fake, you get a good thumping on the noggin! Got it?” I hold up my hooves threateningly, he seems to understand but doesn’t show any fear. Is he really that confident?
“Deal, I’ll see you in two hours. Be sure to be in your “disguise” at our local comic shop then.”
I’m about to retort with how my disguise is better than anything he could come up with, but then Dazzle returns with delicious snacks. So I eat some. That retort will have to wait for later.
About an hour later, Silver left the mansion and headed for home. Sometimes I wonder if I should just tell her about my like for comics. She doesn’t seem like she’d reject me for it. But most fillies aren’t as nice to me as Silver. Well, genuinely nice. Now in my room, I notice Dazzle pigging out on an ice cream cone.
“Dazzle, remember what happened the last time you had to go to a doctor to get your check up, and you had to get your blood sugar checked?” He looks from the ice cream cone to me, then back to the ice cream cone. He continues licking away at it. “You don’t even care do you? I guess that’s reassuring in a sense. You don’t judge me for liking comics, in fact, you enjoy them. I guess you wouldn’t really care that it’s considered uncool by most.”
I ponder to myself exactly what I should do, should I tell Silver and risk her not liking me anymore? Or should I let her know? Ugh... Why does life have to be so complicated? I can feel Dazzle tugging at my leg, he’s hugging the comic from last night. He really likes them doesn’t he? Maybe I should be more like him... Enjoying it without hesitation. Still, it’s not that simple in real life. Ponies will judge you for the littlest things. I know, because I can also be guilty of that at times.
Still... I know what I’m gonna have to do now.
When I got to the comic shop, Button was clearly in a great amount of shock. As he should be. After all, I wasn’t wearing my disguise.
“Is... Is that going to be alright DT? You know yesterday I only really needed money for that one comic, I wasn’t really going to make you pay every month for the rest of your life.” He looks at me sheepishly.
“Yeah, I know. I also know that this has been kept a secret long enough. Diamond Tiara isn’t scared of being known to like comics. Diamond Tiara isn’t scared of the public opinion. Diamond Tiara isn’t scared of-”
“Button Mash thinks Diamond Tiara is doing the third person thing she does when she’s scared.”
Ugh, is it that obvious? The amused look on Button Mash says yes, yes it is. “Well, here goes... well... everything.” I step into the comic shop, and to my surprise, everyone is too wrapped up in the comics to notice me. I walk up to the counter and ring the bell. Only a few pairs of eyes look in my direction, and if they had any dislike for me they didn’t show it.
“Ah, Miss... Hm... I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before. What is your name, by chance?”
I’m sure the look on my face must have changed from fear to terror at the mention of names, as he’s looking at me very strangely. Button nudges me slightly, and for a moment he almost seems to be giving me a reassuring smile before he nudges me again.
“Erm, my name is... D-Diamond. Diamond Tiara.” That apparently got their attention. Of course they’d recognise my name. Who in Ponyville wouldn’t? They group around us, in a makeshift circle, and give me piercing looks. Then one of the younger colts speaks up.
“Throws awesome birthday parties AND likes comics? There is so much I didn’t know about you, Miss Tiara!”
“Wow, maybe if you put in a good word for us, those Canterlot fillies will lighten up on us!”
“What’s your favourite comic, Diamond? Mine’s the Power Ponies comics!”
They didn’t seem to be mad at me for all the times I made fun of their comics, but why would that be? If I was in their position, I... Hm... I’m not sure what I’d do actually.
Button Mash however, seems pretty satisfied with himself. “You see, DT, much of the comic community started out kind of like you. Many of the ponies here had kept their like for comics secret as well. A lot of them can see where you're coming from, and I’m sure at least a couple saw your like for comics before you even revealed it to them.” Was it really that apparent? Now that I think about it though, Snips and Snails did try to approach me a couple of times with comics, I didn’t think they’d be smart enough to tell when I was lying about my like for them though...
“Now everyone, quiet down please.” Shushing the crowd, Button Mash explains that I’m here to investigate the rumors of the Magic Comic Shop, that instantly got their attention. It seems everyone had a story to tell about the place, but no one knew exactly where it was. The closest we got to finding its location is that it’s somewhere in the vast city of Canterlot. No one could give an exact location however, and Canterlot is large. Larger than you’d expect. With all these different theories on where in Canterlot it could be, there’s no way we’d be able to find it without an exact location by someone who has been there.
Eventually the conversation leads into our favourite comics, and what they think is going to happen next. I’ve never felt so overwhelmed at any point in my life. But I feel kind of happy too, it feels like getting all these feelings and opinions off my chest has really helped me. However...
“As fun as it is watching you young comic lovers gush about your favorite comics, it’s getting awfully late. You younglings should be getting home soon.”
“Oh... I see... Darn...” I’ll admit, I had a lot of fun here today. I still wish I could get an exact location on this place. It certainly seems to have a lot of mystery surrounding it.
“Don’t worry DT, I’m sure we’ll be able to find it soon enough! Besides, you made plenty of new friends today, right?”
When did he learn to read me so well? Usually only Silver Spoon, Dazzle, Randolph, and my Father can do that. I guess that means we have become friends to an extent.
“Alright, let’s head home.”
On the way home, I notice how nice the stars are shining in the sky tonight. It’s almost like they are proud of me for confronting my fear, even though I know that can’t be the case. It also reminds me that Silver Spoon was going to do some solo stargazing near here tonight. Maybe this would be the perfect time to tell her about my love for comics, before the news spreads to the rest of the school.
I reach the top of the hill where she usually goes stargazing, Button Mash had already headed home at a split in the path. So I go up to greet her alone.
“Hi Silver Spoon, you wanna-”
“EEEEK! Uh, I mean... Hi Diamond! What are you doing here?”
She turns to face me, but looks to be hiding something behind her hooves. I have a suspicion, but... Nah.
“Hey, Silver Spoon, I’ve got something to tell you.” I sit down next to her, take a deep breath, and blurt out my love for comic books. She stares at me, and starts laughing. I can’t believe it, is she laughing at me? I thought we were better friends than that, I thought-
“I like comic’s too, DT!”
Oh... She does? “Oh... You do? That’s great! Maybe, and this is a big maybe. Maybe you know something about this rumor of this Magic Comic Shop. I talked to everyone and no one seems to-”
“I know where it is.”
“Know... where... it is.” Things remain silent between us for a few seconds. Then I enrap her in a hug. “Oh... I was so silly to keep this a secret from you, and everyone else too!”
“I guess I was too, I didn’t think you’d like it though.”
“I guess we were both wrong. I bet Button will love to know you know where it is.”
“Wait... You told Button BEFORE me?”
“Um... He kind of found out on his own.” I smile at her sheepishly.
“Who else knows?”
“By tomorrow, everyone.”
“You are much braver than me. I’m going to tell everyone tomorrow too now.”
For another half an hour, we watch the stars. It was a nice day. I hope to have more like it. Maybe that birthday wish really is working?
