bad news to my editors

So it turns out that I can't publish my chapter we have been working on all day, sorry about rushing all of you guys. the reasons, if I do that, I can't publish my Silver Life story. However, to make up for it, I'm just going to put the rest of the story on this blog instead. It's not how I intended it, but at least I could do something for autism awareness month. So, for those of you who didn't edit it, read the story up, tell me what you think of it, and I'll have the next Silver Spoons chapter up sometime next week :).

“All set?” Silver Spoon’s mother, Silver Platter, rang the doorbell to condo.

“Yes, Mother.” Silver Spoon adjusted her dress’s frills. “I’m actually quite excited to see my aunt and cousin again.”

“I’m sure you are.” She put on a wide smile. “That is very nice of you and I’m sure you will both be the best of friends.”

“I’m sure of it too.” Silver Spoon grinned, thinking about how strong a friendship Apple Bloom had with her cousin, Babs. She was sure that they would get along just as well. She remembered when he was just a foal.

It was before she had gotten her single silvers spoon cutie mark, and even before she met Diamond Tiara. Her aunt had been in town for the holidays, and both her mother and aunt wanted to head out on the town. However, most of the servants were either on leave, or busy getting the Silver manor ready for the holiday to foalsit.

After a while, her aunt handed her cousin to her and said to keep an eye on him until proper help could arrive. When that hadn’t happened, she ended up watching him for the rest of the night. She could have easily handed him off to anypony, but she didn’t want to. It felt right to have responsibility, to take care of something, and to take pride in. When her mother and aunt returned the next morning, cousin asleep in her arm, they praised her. They told her what a good filly she was, how proud they were of her, and many other wonderful things.

It was the first, and few times, in her foalhood that she was ever praised by her parents. To think, it was all thanks to him. She wondered what Decimal would think of that story, him being her first responsibility, when she told him. Yeah, she was told ahead of time that he had some sort of mental handicap, but she was sure that wouldn’t be a problem, right?

The door opened to reveal her aunt Silver Lining. “Ah, sister, Silver Spoon, so good of you to make it.” She stepped out of the way and held her hoof out to her home. “Come in, the first course is about to be served.”

They made their way into the condo. Nothing much stood out from their own, except for the photos on the wall and other various household objects place in various, and proper places through.

The dining room had already been set up to serve only four ponies tonight, and the salad course had already been set on the table.

“Where’s Decimal?” Silver Spoon looked around.

“He’s not-” Silver Lining glanced towards one of the plates. “Hold on a minute.” She walked off without any change in her attitude.

Silver Spoon thought nothing of it, until she looked upon the salad. She had seen many fancy salads before, and had expected her aunt to go full out for their first meal in the city. Which was why she scratched her head at how plain the meal was.

There was lettuce and… just lettuce. When her mother wasn’t watching, she shifted through her meal to confirm it. Sure enough, there were no other ingredients; no croutons, salad dressing, noting but plain lettuce leaves.

“Come on now.” Her attention was drawn away from her plain dinner by her aunt’s voice. “Don’t you want to meet your aunt and cousin?” Her answer was met with a loud moan that sounded more animal than pony, followed by a young colt mentioning a movie.

“Yes, I’ll get you all the Star, what are they, oh, all the toys you want!” A hint of desperation range in her voice. “Later, but for tonight, let’s go meet your family, and behavior, you understand?” Silver Spoon glanced at her mother, who weakly smiled back, then looked down at her salad.

“Sorry about that,” her aunt walked into the hallway with a young dressed up colt in tow, her cousin, Decimal. He was a light yellow, nearly brown, earth pony with a silver mane, and a look of un-interest plastered on his face. He didn’t look anything at all in the way she would have thought somepony who was… special-she forced herself not to think, retarded- would be. He seemed a little thin for his age, but that was all that stood out about him. If she were to judge just on appearance, she would have considered him perfectly normal.

His mother, with a flick of her tail, pushed him towards her. “Decimal, you remember your cousin, Silver Spoon? Say hello.” The colt remained silent with his head down.

Silver Lining gave him another wipe of her tail. “Decimal.”

“Hello.” He could have said, ‘Fuck you,’ for all she knew from how he said it. He kept his head down, voice above a whisper, and it caused her aunt to frown.

Silver Spoon acted fast and pretended that she heard him. “Hello, cousin, it’s so nice to see you again.” She extended her hoof

Decimal remained silent, Silver Lining glared. “Your cousin complemented you. What do you say?”

“Okay,” he said, never meeting Silver Spoon’s eyes.

“Alright.” Silver Lining ushered her son to his seat. “We’ve meet, introduced, so let’s eat!” She spoke in a rushed tone.

Silver Spoon didn’t argue. She poked a leaf, and tried to make the best of her plain meal. She would have liked some dressing, or at least some carrots, but chose to keep her mouth shut about it as the parents went into some conversation about the divorce. She tuned it out to focus on her cousin.

“So, Decimal,” she grinned, “how have you been?” He continued to stare blankly at his at his salad. “I mean, I know you wouldn’t remember me, but I once foalsat for you when you were a baby. When was that, five, six years ago?”

He went from awkward silence to nibbling on a piece of lettuce.

“Okay,” Silver Spoon stabbed a piece of lettuce. “Is there anything you want to chat about?” She reached a hoof over towards him.

She retracted a hoof when her aunt coughed. “Hey, Silver Spoon, um, why don’t you tell us how your schooling going?”

“Oh, it’s going well,” Silver Spoon nodded. All the while, she kept an eye on her cousin. He had moved on towards his drink, a cup of grape juice. Silver Spoon noticed she had the same drink. She took a sip, and almost spat it out. It wasn’t awful, quite the contrary, it tasted bland

“Sorry,” she tried to hide up her gag reflex by placing a hoof over her mouth.

“Oh,” Silver Lining chuckled, “I must have given you some of my sons grape juice by mistake.” She waved to a servant.

“Oh, no,” Silver Spoon waved it off. More prepared for it, she took another sip of her juice. “It’s perfectly fine.”

Her response seemed to bring ease to her aunt. “Well, let me offer you another drink anyways.”

“Auntie, it’s fine.” She held her cup away from the advancing servant.

“Her aunt gave her a toothy smile. “It’s no problem dear.”

“No really, I’ll drink it.”

Her mother narrowed her eyes on her. “Silver Spoon.”

“Mom, I’m…” without realizing it, her drink flew out of her hooves and spilled all over her cousin shirt.

Before she could apologize, the colt jumped up from his seat, and ripped his shirt off.

“Decimal!” Her aunt jumped up from her seat.

“I’m so sorry,” Silver Spoon shot up, napkin in hand, ready to help. “Here let me just-“

“No!” Her aunt shouted just as Silver Spoon pressed her napkin to his coat.

The moment she did, something stirred inside of her cousin as he freaked out, swatted her in the face, and began to kick her.

“Decimal, what did I tell you about hitting other ponies?”

Unharmed from his attack, Silver Spoon tried to say something, but was too stunted by her cousin’s actions.He began to howl in an unnatural way, more like a specter and less like a foal. He covered his hooves around his ears, and began to curl up into a ball.

His mother, on the other hoof, was taking it even worse. “No, no, no!” She threw herself down, trying to pull him up as tears rolled down her eyes. “Those damn therapist, why don’t they fucking do something? Ah!” She screamed as Decimal pushed her off.

If it wasn’t for the horror of the situation, Silver Spoon would have been damned impressed for her cousin’s strengths. As it was, she just sat on the floor, mesmerized by what was going on.

“Madam, it’s alright,” a butler raced past Silver Spoon.

When he tried to help her up, Silver Lining batted him away. “Um, yes,” she said in calm voice, although her twitching face said otherwise. “Um, see to it that my son,” he began to run around the table screaming his head off, “is put to bed.” She glanced at her sister and niece. “Oh well,” she waved a hoof in the air as mascara ran down her face, “I guess Jr. here isn’t in the mood tonight.” She caught him as he came around, and used all her strength to keep him still until another set of hooves came around to keep him down.

“No, no!” He cried out as he banged his head. “Let me go, I hate you!”

“Haha, how silly?” She struggled to keep her lips up.

“Auntie,” Silver Spoon advanced. “Is there anything-”

“That will be all for tonight,” she placed her head onto her son’s, only to have him bite at her.

Silver Platter advanced forward. “Sister-“

“JUST LEAVE!” Her voice rocked the house, even Decimal stopped whining for a moment.

Silver Spoon and Platter continued to stare at them, dumbfounded by the evening’s turn of events.

“Aunt Lining,” Silver Spoon broke the silence shortly after Decimal began to pick up the moaning. “If- if there is anything I can do to help, you can always call on me, if you want.”

Her aunt turned her head away. “It will be fine, James will show you out, now.” She and the butler picked Decimal up, and carried the struggling foal away, “goodnight.”

Even though she was being shown out, Silver Spoon was far away from calling it a night. For one thing it wasn’t even 7:30, for another, her mind was too wrapped up around her cousin. What had happened since she last saw him? Was it something somepony said? Something somepony did? What was it?

As the exited the condo, her mother seemed to read her mind. “I wish I had a clear answer for you, Darling. This whole damn thing, has been having quite the emotional effect on your aunt.”

“But… but he,” she struggled to say. “How can anypony act that way?”

Her mother wrapped a hoof around her. “I don’t know, Darling, I really don’t know. But,” her mother removed her hoof from her back, “there is nothing we can do about it. Your aunt has tried everything in her power.” She turned her back on Silver spoon. “Just don’t worry about it, okay?”

“But-,”

Her mother put her hoof down. “Silver Spoon, I don’t want you to try anything because I don’t want to set you, or my sister, up for disappointment.” She sighed. “She has dozens of therapist and specialist on hoof. She’ll find a way to break through to him, I promise.”

Silver Spoon’s ears fell flat. “Alright, mother.”

“Right then,” her mother brushed her hair, “let’s go home then.”

Silver Spoon nodded, even though she wasn’t satisfied. As they walked, the moans began to die, the night air bristled against her skin, and silver Spoon felt a new spark light within her. She didn’t know how, but she was going to find a way to help her cousin. Her mother hadn’t forced her to say please, and she was going to take full advantage of it. How she would do that was a good question, but that was didn’t matter at the moment. She would do it, one way or another.

For now, she had an important letter to write when she got home.