CHAPTER SEVEN
CUTIE MARKS
“Perhaps you would care to explain why you didn’t go to your grandfather’s home as I instructed, Diamond Tiara?” The plump mare raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, “Your father and I had taken the time to make the arrangements with him and yet you decided of your own accord to stay with the…” she closed her eyes and seemed to be fighting back the urge to vomit, “the Spoons.”
Di opened her mouth to speak, but her mother wasn’t finished.
“What is more,” Spoiled continued, “is that you involved poor Randolph in your little scheme and you know how his heart is. Don’t you care about anypony other than yourself Diamond Tiara? Don’t you? Honestly, I can’t even begin to imagine what my poor mother would have said about all this – she’d be spinning in her grave! What in Equestria possessed you to do such a thing?”
Di swallowed, but lifted her head. It didn’t do to look away when mother was on one of her rants, “Silver was poorly, mother. I thought it would be best to spend my time with her instead.”
“And who said you could do that?” Spoiled asked imperiously.
“I asked Grandfather and he said-”
“Well of course he would!” Spoiled snapped, “You have him wrapped around your hoof exactly the same way as you have with your father. There’s no question he would have bent over backwards to accommodate your every single arrogant little whim, is there?!” She snorted loudly, “I don’t know where I went wrong, I really don’t. I have done everything I can to try and raise you as a lady, a budding flower in the ranks of the nobility, and what do I get for my trouble? Disobedience!”
Di felt like crawling away but knew all too well how that course of action would end. Instead, she just stood there and weathered the storm of her mothers outpouring anger.
“Well?”
Di looked her mother in the eye, “Nobles care for one another, mother.”
Spoiled let out a bark of derisive laughter, “They what?!” Her eyes went wide in surprise, “Who in Equestria taught you that nonsense?” She took a sip of her tea and sat back in her chair, a look of exasperation on her face, “Nobles care for themselves, Diamond Tiara, not ‘each other’. If you cannot look after yourself, if you don’t have the strength to be at the top by your own efforts, then you have nothing, NOTHING! All that ‘kindness, love and charity’ nonsense is for the weak of mind who live like parasites off the likes of those who have made our nation the shining light in the world that it is today.”
“Silver is a noble, mother,” Di replied, “and my friend.”
“‘Friend’!” Spoiled scoffed, “Let me tell you something about ‘friends’ Diamond Tiara. Friends are nothing more that transitory illusions of the mind that are here today and gone tomorrow. They weasel their way into your affections with only one goal in mind, and that is to take what they want before leaving to parasitize off their next victim, and the sooner you learn that the better.”
“Silver Spoon isn’t a parasite!” Di gasped, “We’ve been friends for years!”
“Years that would have been better spent at Wheat Halls Grammar!” Spoiled bellowed, “Why I let your father persuade me to let you move schools to that cess pit that laughingly calls itself a ‘school’ is something I will never understand. I was foolish to listen to him, foolish! And now look what’s happened; my daughter reduced to a…a lodger with the Spoons!” She took a swig of her tea and leaned her head back, a foreleg across her muzzle, “How will I ever be able to show my face in public again after this shame! You’re going to give me a heart attack one day, Diamond Tiara, do you know that? Is that why you’re doing this to me? Do you want your mother to die?”
“No!” Di squeaked, “Of course not, mother, I-”
“Oh, get out” Spoiled breathed, “Just…just get out. I’ve had enough of you.”
“But-”
“I SAID GET OUT!”
Small hooves scrabbled shakily at the door handle as Di tried her best to comply with her mother’s command, but she was now trembling so much she couldn’t seem to get a purchase on it. Suddenly the door swung inward, violently hitting Di right in the muzzle.
“What is wrong with you? Can’t you even open a door now?” Diamond Tiara’s mother loomed over her, her lip curled in a look of pure derision, “Pick yourself up!”
Di staggered back to her hooves, reaching up to her sore muzzle and…blood? Oh…oh no! She felt dizzy and a more than a little queezy, even as her mother grabbed her roughly and stared at the trickle of crimson coming from her nose,
“Tch! It’s nothing. That sort of thing is bound to happen when you act the fool.” Spoiled turned her daughter round to face the hallway, “Go and see one of the maids, Diamond Tiara, and get yourself cleaned up. Your father will be home soon and I don’t want you looking like you’ve been fighting like some common street urchin. Go on! Move!”
Forcing her legs to comply, Di staggered to the kitchen where the staff were milling around doing whatever it is that hired help did. She didn’t bother to speak to them, and they didn’t bother with her either, instead the tide of works flowed around her as if she were no more than a rock in the path of a river. Luna’s rump, it hurt too. The deep, throbbing, pulsing pain was radiating from her nose up her muzzle and making her eyes water. She’d hurt herself before of course, but…not like this. Di pulled up a chair and climbed up to reach the wash basin. As usual, and as expected, not one pony even offered to help. A sob broke free from the little filly’s throat, trying its best to overwhelm her and send her to the floor in a whining, mewling heap of…of…Di shoved her muzzle under the tap and let the water wash away the blood as well as the tears.
“Miss Diamond?”
A damp, soggy face turned to face the old white maned butler who stood watching her with a look of genuine concern on his face, “Are you alright Miss?”
Di couldn’t say anything. Instead, she just shook her head and collapsed into the forelegs of the ancient stallion as hind legs turned to jelly and she fainted dead away.
Time passed; how much though, she didn’t know. Di awoke to a damp cloth being removed from her forehead and the sound of an argument outside her bedroom door:
“What happened, Spoiled? Diamond Tiara is the family heir, and we can’t afford to be having accidents like this all the time.” It was father; his heavy drawling voice distinctive even through the closed wooden door.
“I know!” It was her mother speaking this time, her mewling voice devoid of the barely restrained anger fuelled bitterness she was so used to hearing, “I kept trying to tell her not to mess around, but you know how children can be, Filthy – the girl simply won’t listen!”
“And she just ran into the door?” her father asked.
Spoiled’s voice drifted through, bearing a hint of irritation behind the usual whining, “She was playing about with it and acting the goat. Something was bound to happen sooner or later, especially with her messing around with that Spoon girl all the time. I keep telling you about that, darling, but you have to allow it, don’t you?”
“You know why, Spoiled,” Filthy Rich replied, “do we really have to go over this again? It’s ever so tiring you know.”
Filthy sighed, “I know dear, I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
“Mmm…of course.”
There was a pause. No doubt mother had made up with father once again, and somehow, as always happened, it would be Diamond Tiara’s fault she’d been hurt. It was always the same…always…
The door creaked open and the shape of her father walked in. “Di? Are you awake?”
Di said nothing. She was hurt, both physically with her muzzle but also…inside, in her heart. Nothing she did could ever fix this, nor make it right. Her mother, the way she would do these things… She closed her eyes and buried her muzzle into the covers. Why wouldn’t he go away? Why wouldn’t she go away? She hated them! Hated them all!
“Diamond?” The tan stallion’s hoof touched Di’s mane making her twitch, “Ah, I see. I suppose I’m not surprised you’re asleep, after all it’s been quite the day for you hasn’t it.” Filthy Rich brushed his oil black mane from his striking blue eyes, “I remember how things were for me when I was your age, and how the troubles of youth seemed so grand they would never end. I remember screaming at my father once too, about how he didn’t know anything about what it was like to be an adolescent, and how an old fart like him couldn’t possibly understand because he was such an old codger.” Filthy smiled, “You know, I expected him to be furious with me, to lose his temper and buck me as hard as he could into next week.” He looked away, his expression becoming distant, “But he never did. He just…sat there and smiled, watching me as I glowered at him and nodded to himself. Do you know what he said? He said, ‘All ponies age, Filthy, even you. Your body grows, fills out, and begins the long slow downward trek into old age.’” The stallion tapped the side of his head, “’But here, in your mind…that never changes. The pony you are now, will some day be the pony I am today, and you too will look into the eyes of your child and remember the angry adolescent you once were.’” Filthy sighed, “Don’t be angry with you mother, Di. You only have one.”
The covers moved, a muffled voice emanating from within, “She hates me.”
Filthy shook his head, “She doesn’t hate you love, she just has a lot on her mind that’s all.”
“She…she hurt me, daddy.”
Filthy hung his head as he fought against the rush of emotions surging through him, “Shhh, don’t fret now, it’ll all be right in the morning. Now come on, try to relax and let Luna take you into the world of dreams like a good girl, alright?”
“Mmhmm.”
The tan stallion leaned down and gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek, “Good night my little diamond.”
Diamond Tiara pulled the covers further over her head, disappearing into her protective cocoon of linen and wool that would make everything feel better in the morning. She rolled over and crawled into a cool spot; she couldn’t sleep when she was warm and despite her mother’s persistent warnings about her ‘smothering’ herself, she didn’t care. All she wanted right then, all she needed, was to feel safe. Di took a breath and let herself drift away…
“Silver?” Diamond Tiara called her friends name, but along the empty corridors and lifeless classrooms, of her friend there was no sign. It must have been lunch time, or break time perhaps, but either way it was unusual for the school to be so quiet unless it was the end of the school day and they were supposed to be going back to the dormitories. Come to think of it, what time was it? Di had learned to tell the time years ago but hated wearing a watch; the way the thing would bind into her fur irritated her to no end. Unfortunately the dainty pocket watch that her grandmother had left her was in her school panniers which were back in her locker. She peered into one of the rooms at the clock on the wall. That was odd, she couldn’t seem to make out the numbers – very odd indeed! Shrugging it off she kept up her walk, her small hooves clopping on the ancient wooden floor echoed with an ear muffling dullness that made her rub her ears in consternation. What was… wait, was that somepony up ahead? Yes! She had seen somepony, or at least something disappearing around the corner that lead to the stairwell. She picked up her pace and headed down the stairs and paused; didn’t the stairs used to go up here too? For some reason, although they did go up, a short way anyway, the roof came down to meet them at the juncture with a small platform that had barely enough room to stand up. What was the point of that? And why did it make her shoulders twitch so much?
She didn’t like it – not at all.
Unsettled, Di hurried down the stairs glancing behind her every so often until she reached the bottom, and yet another corridor almost identical to the first. Suddenly a familiar chill ran down her spine as she stared at the dark wood and leaded glass windows that lined the equally too familiar corridor. She knew where this lead, and she could already hear the coughs and whimpering cries even from here. Taking a breath, she ran, dodging past the hulking sixth former and into the tiled room beyond.
Celestia protect them…it was always the same…
“Di…!”
Helpless purple eyes, bloodshot beneath a soaked face, stared at her in a wild panic. Water sluiced off the silver-grey filly while she flailed helplessly beneath the cruelly pressing hooves of a grinning orange colt. Glaze looked up at Di, his chestnut eyes, the same eyes fillies usually found so dreamy, now held nothing but a cold cruelty that was made all the worse by the colt revelling in his diabolical act.
“Come to watch?” he sneered, “Or do you want to have a go?”
“Let her go!” Di yelled, “I’ll tell the professor!”
“You’re not telling anypony…” Glaze’s eyes flicked to something beside her, and Di noticed too late the heavy set sixth former move in on her and grab her around the neck. She screamed, but nothing more than a strangled cry came out with the sheer force the adolescent brute was applying to her. She stared at Silver helplessly, desperately wanting to do something, anything to help her friend, but all she was able to do was flail like a wet rag on a washing line. But what was worse, worse by far, was that…Silver knew. Despite her fear, despite her pain and humiliation, Silver Spoon looked at Di with an expression of gentle understanding, a kind of resigned gaze that said she knew she had tried, that it was alright…
But it wasn’t alright, it WASN’T!
With a triumphant laugh, Glaze shoved Silver’s face into the toilet once more and pulled the chain, shaking with mirth as the terrified filly began to drown. He was too strong; all Silver attempts to break free did nothing but merely amuse the little orange monster holding her.
“Not long now!” he howled. “And you’re next, Diamond Tiara! When I’ve finished bathing Musty here, we'll enjoy some playtime with you too. Bet you can’t wait!”
Di couldn’t reply even if she wanted to. Choking beneath the big stallion’s grip, her vision shrink as her air supply dwindled and her hearing started ringing like the school bell. But there was still enough of her left to see her friend come up for a brief gulp of air only to be plunged back under once more. She could see the look of evil glee on Glaze’s face, the wild eyed mania and the unadulterated pleasure he was deriving from what he was doing. He was enjoying this, and he would keep on doing it until…until…
Di paused. Closing her eyes she let herself go completely limp. The unexpected action clearly surprised her captor who weakened his grip for the briefest moments, allowing the pink filly to get just enough room to coil up like a spring and kick down as hard as she could with her hind legs.
It worked.
Di’s hooves connected with the stallion’s hind legs with a dull crunch and the large male hissed in pain, dropping onto his haunches as his attention was diverted from the girl to his own more immediate problems. What had she done?! His legs felt like they were on fire! Damn it all, that little bitch had…had… He looked up into the cold blue eyes searing into his soul and felt his consciousness inexplicably waver…
“Help her.”
The stallion frowned, “What? I…”
Di leaned forward; strength of purpose and will burning through her like a signal fire, consuming everything, becoming one. “I said help her!” She growled, “Do whatever it takes to stop that stallion. Whatever it takes, understand?”
“Y…yes!” The stallion blinked in surprise at his own words and suddenly bowled Di over in his scrabbling attempt to get to his hooves on the soaking wet tiles.
Nearby, Silver was losing the fight. Weakened, her lungs filling with water, she coughed and wheezed as she hung in the unrelenting grasp of the orange colt. Once more she was shoved under the surface, and again, and again. Diamond Tiara knew, she could see it in her friends eyes… this would be the last time. Silver had no more strength in her to fight, and Glaze wouldn’t stop, he wouldn’t ever stop…unless he was stopped.
Forelegs shaking with the adrenalin that coursed through them, Glaze laughed maniacally. His voice echoed around the peculiar acoustics of the bathroom, made all the more terrifying by the choking, whimpering victim beneath him and the sound of splashing water. He didn’t care, not any more. If he was going to be expelled then he would make these little sluts pay the price for his humiliation, and what was more, nopony would care either. Who the hell gave a damn about two little tarts like these two anyway? One stank like cat piss and the other one was a self opinionated little bitch who-
The impact with the tiled wall made Glaze’s ears ring. What the hell was-? The big stallion’s hoof smashed into him again, knocking him away from the Silver filly and into a sprawling heap on the wet floor. Luna’s tits, what was he doing?!
“Fell, you cock!” Glaze spat, “What the hell are you-?”
The six former span, bucking the smaller colt full in the chest and slamming him into the wall with such force Di heard something crack. Whatever it was though she didn’t care, right then all she wanted to focus on was getting her friend out of there. She reached the drenched grey mass of fur, “Silv? SILV!” She shook her friend gently at first, and then harder, “SILV!”
A barrage of coughing, sputtering and sneezing was followed by a choking noise before those familiar purple eyes slowly opened to focus on her,
“H…Hello…Di…”
Diamond Tiara wasn’t taking chances. With a strength that surprised herself, she hauled her friend to her hooves, “Let’s get out of here!”
Behind them the sounds of grunting, neighing and huffing continued, but whatever else was going on was a secondary concern to putting as much distance between themselves and the boys fighting as possible. They ran. Out the door, along the corridor, the half drowned and soaking figure of Silver, propped up by her best friend, rounded the end of the final corridor and headed for the doors to the outside. Di had thought about trying to find the professor, to try and get some adult help, but the exit…the exit was freedom. But why did the corridor seem so long? And why wasn’t she making any headway? No matter how hard she struggled, no matter how much effort she put into it, her legs felt as though they were stuck to the ground despite some disjointed alien sense of movement. Was this…was this right? It didn’t seem to be real somehow, as if-
A bellow behind them and a blood curdling scream made her blood run cold.
“Oh, no…”
Silver looked at her, still weakened from her ordeal, “Di?”
“It’s Glaze” Di whispered, “He’s coming.”
Unexpectedly, Silver Spoon unhooked her foreleg from her friend and gave herself a shake. A look of resignation, but also something else, something deeper Di had never seen before, passed over her friend’s face,
“I’m tired of running.” The silver-grey filly turned to her friend, “We make our stand here. Now.”
“Silver?” Di whispered. This didn’t seem like her friend at all! What was she doing, and why was she taking a window pole from the cleaners cupboard?! And then she looked up and saw with abject horror the bloodied and bedraggled image of wrath and hatred charging towards them. Glaze’s eyes were full of unabated fury, foam flying from his muzzle as he ran full tilt towards the object of his hate. How had he managed to escape that enormous sixth former?! If he could beat him, then this was it! Nothing could stop that demonic creature and… Di’s eyes swivelled of their own accord to her friend. She watched her rear on her hind legs, saw the window pole lifted, turned, and fly from her grasp like a javelin. She nearly vomited at the sound of the metal tipped wooden pole as it connected with the colt’s skull.
Glaze dropped like a sack of rocks to the floor and slid to a halt. What the hell was that?! He gave himself a shake, and slowly, painfully, dragged himself back to hooves, “You…you little bitch!” he hissed past the pain, “I’m going to-” A dull impact sent him painfully to the floor once more, his legs quivering helplessly. What had she done to him? In shock he looked up to see a whirlwind of grey fury coming at him, raining blows with frightening precision, if not so much strength. After all…she was just a girl…
Silver Spoon, her purple eyes glaring into his, lifted Glaze’s muzzle and rammed a bar of soap into his mouth. As he began to choke, as he felt the burning in his throat and the filly’s forelegs holding his mouth shut, he would never forget the words she whispered into his ear,
“Say hello to the reaper for me…”
“SILVER!” Di shrieked, “Stop it! You’re killing him!”
Silver ignored her, maintaining her vice like grip on the colt.
“Silv, please! Don’t do this, don’t be like him!” Di paused, reaching down, remembering the way she’d spoken to the sixth former in the bathroom. She took a breath, “Silver Spoon. Let the colt go. He won’t be bothering us again.” Her friend snorted, seeming to come back to her senses and turned slowly to her friend. A light shone in her eyes, a glint like all the colours of the rainbow. Was it just Di’s imagination? Was it… Oh….Oh Celestia!
“Your cutie mark!” Di shouted, “You…you’ve got your cutie mark!”
Silver frowned, seemingly confused and perhaps even dazed at what she was hearing before she followed her friend’s gaze to look at her flank. Her heart leaped into her throat, “Oh…OH! DI! I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!” Silver suddenly began jumping about in delight and then froze; her eyes, as if it were even possible right at that moment, went even wide still, “Look! You’ve got yours too!”
With a gasp, Di span around in a circle, her eyes trying to see, to catch a glimpse. Could it be true? Had she really…Oh Celestia! Luna’s big furry ears, she did! SHE DID! “Silver, I’VE GOT MINE TOO!”
The two friends jumped about the corridor in near hysterics, the bloodied and frothing colt lying just a few feet away all but forgotten.
“It’s so cool!” Di squeaked, “It’s a spoon, like your name, like Golden Spoon, only silver, like Silver Spoon. I can’t believe it! That is SO awesome!”
Silver, just as excited as her friend, still couldn’t come to grips with what was happening, but it was true wasn’t it? It really was true! “And yours too!” she shouted, “It’s exactly like your name: a diamond tiara, and it’s so beautiful! Look at that detail! Your parents and going to want to show you to the whole world! Oh…Oh, my! You don’t think they’re going to tell the princesses do you?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Di laughed, “I’m so excited I nearly wet myself!”
“DI!!” Silver laughed in a scandalized voice, “Don’t you dare!”
“But what are we going to do now?” Di said animatedly, “And, you know, what about…him?” She glanced down at the broken colt and felt…nothing.
Silver lifted her head and stared at the mangled mess on the floor, “Him? He’s nothing, a…blank flank.” She giggled, “Hey, ready?”
Di bobbed her head, a knowing grin crossing her face, “Oh, yeah!”
“Bump, bump, sugar lump, RUMP!”
The girls burst out laughing and walked together towards the exit and the bright light of freedom – the freedom of a future that was theirs to explore and theirs make their own.
*********************
Diamond Tiara stretched out in the stray shaft of sunlight streaming through her window and yawned. It was so warm! This morning she really did, as father had suggested, feel so much better than she had yesterday. Just to be sure she gingerly lifted a hoof to her muzzle and pressed,
“Ow!”
Di closed her eyes and sighed; it still hurt after all. So much for ‘everything’ being better then! Still, it was a big improvement from last night and the dream, as frightening as it had been, at least had a happy ending. It was strange how she always seemed to have the same one whenever she was upset, as if her mind was trying to punish her more than she had been in the waking world. But perhaps, just maybe, it was Princess Luna’s influence that made sure she remembered how her cutie mark had appeared and the dream had ended on a happier note. Di slowly pulled herself free of the soft comforting grasp of the bedding and dropped lightly onto the floor, still trying to savour the last fleeting moments of the bed’s protective warmth. Reluctantly she shuffled over to her en-suite bathroom and groggily turned on the shower. As the water began to warm up, she looked at herself in the mirror and let out a groan of dismay. What looked back at her wasn’t a pretty sight at all, and would need far more than a good grooming to deal with. Di sighed, “Bloodshot eyes, matted sticky mane, blood stains – wonderful!” Muttering to herself she climbed into the shower and lifted her face to the delicious heat of the droplets as they went to work washing the evidence of the previous days ‘incident’ down the drain. Thankfully at least her mane and tail weren’t as bad as she’d thought, and apart from where she’d been crying her fur cleaned up quite well indeed. A shame about the dark patches around her muzzle and under her left eye, but they’d heal up soon. It was a pity she didn’t have any make-up to try and hide it, nor could she ‘borrow’ any from her mother’s room. Spoiled was the wrong shade of pink in any case, and even the mere thought of asking her for some, let alone going in and ‘borrowing’ it made Di’s blood run cold. Her mother hadn’t always been like this of course, or at least, she didn’t think so. She could vaguely remember a time when the older mare hadn’t been obsessed with how she was perceived in ‘high society’ as she called it, and had treated Di more as a friend and confidant than a daughter. Sadly, it hadn’t lasted. As Spoiled’s husband’s wealth grew and his business empire spread far and wide across Equestria, the dark pink mare had slowly begun to change. It had been little things at first: like irritability, slamming doors, and suddenly not wanting to speak to ponies. Later, it became full blown tantrums, random sackings of staff who ‘looked at her in a disrespectful manner’ and, as Di had found out to her cost, a propensity towards lashing out at her daughter. With his increase in work and the demands of running a sprawling business concern, father’s ever increasing absences only made matters at home worsen day by day.
Di started to rinse the shampoo from her mane. If only her troubles and her mother’s sadness would disappear down the drain as easily as the fading bubbles from her sweet smelling toiletries. She hated to see her mother like this, but what could she do? To even broach the subject incurred the mare’s wrath and it was abundantly clear she did not want to talk about it no matter how hard Di tried. Of course, once she’d even tried to speak to her using ‘the voice’ as Silv called it, but all it had managed to do was make her mother’s eyes glaze for a moment before she lashed out and cracked Di right across the side of the head. These days she’d unconsciously developed a habit of keeping out of slapping range of her mother and that had only infuriated the mare all the more, particularly when they were out in public. One day, they had been at the Cake’s shop in Ponyville buying treats for yet another of the regular social gatherings of high-society ponies. Something however, whatever it was, had gone wrong and Di had been right in the firing line. In a rage her mother had spun round and Di had flinched back, crashing into a display cabinet which sent some of the confectionery contents onto the floor in a sticky, sweet cascade of broken and damaged goods that ‘somepony’ had to pay for. For Di, that had been her later that afternoon. As always, father hadn’t been there to act as a calming influence on the situation, but mother’s storm blew itself out – as it always did...eventually.
The magically operated hair dryer came on with a quiet hum, sending warm air into the little filly’s fur and mane as she brushed and groomed herself ready for another day. She didn’t like to think about things ‘at home’ very often, after all, there was precious little she could do to make changes here. Father could be fun to be around when he was at home of course, and he was more than happy to buy her anything she wanted too! But…sometimes…sometimes all she wanted was…him. Di sighed; it never changed, did it? He’d come home like a whirlwind throwing money and instructions around, buy some nice things for the family and then ‘poof!’ he was gone again. Sometimes she wondered whether he was a secret unicorn, but if he did have magic, then he wouldn’t need to have a carriage to travel around in would he? No, all it would take would be a flash of magic and he could pop back home whenever he wanted! Di smiled sadly and began fixing her mane into its usual loose wave over her right shoulder and sprayed a little of her favourite mane oil onto it: Llamalian Nights, the scent of the exotic. It did smell exotic too. The enticing hint of cinnamon and nutmeg was wonderful and even Silver had taken to wearing it, until her father caught her that was. Lord Spoon did not approve of his daughter growing up apparently! Miserable old goat. Now that she thought about it, what was it with adults? Did they always become miseries when the grew up? Goddesses in heaven, she hoped it wouldn’t happen to her!
There was a knock on the door.
“Miss Diamond? Cook says breakfast will be ready in five minutes, Miss.”
“Okay!” Di shouted and headed for the door. For just a moment she glanced at the picture of the wall of her family: mother, father, herself…happier days. Di closed her eyes and nodded to herself; they would be again…some day.
Today’s breakfast was, for once, a much less stressful affair than usual. Apparently mother and father were having breakfast in bed, so Di was on her own in the large dining room. Eggs, toast, a crumpet with jam and butter was all quickly washed down with a fresh orange and a big mug of hot sweet tea. She loved tea! The princess swore by it, and by association, so did all the nobility. Some said it cleansed the soul, others that it was good for digestion, but to Di it just tasted nice and went perfectly with hot crumpets and strawberry jam – delicious! But, as with all good things, duty and responsibility inevitably encroached and gained the upper hoof. Today, that duty was school. It wasn’t too bad of course, Silv would be there and she seemed a lot better than she had done lately too. The last time she’d collapsed her frightened her so much she hadn’t know what to do, and Silver had never really said much about these ‘falling episodes’ other than they were simply ‘faints’. Celestia’s bum, she hoped she never got them! It was bad enough having mother freaking out over nothing without passing out all over the place too. Guiltily, Di wondered if there were some way to pass it to Spoiled; a well timed faint could certainly save a lot of trouble when her mother got into one of ‘those’ moods. She shrugged; the chance would be a fine thing!
A familiar wrinkled face appeared from the servants door and raised a bushy white eyebrow, “Are you feeling better this morning, Miss Diamond?”
Di nodded around a mouthful of toast, “Mmhmm!” She swallowed, “Thanks for helping me yesterday, Randolph.”
The old butler gave her a wink, “Think nothing of it, Miss. I’m just pleased you’re unharmed.”
Di shrugged, “I suppose so.” She stared at the broken top of the egg and the half eaten contents. There was a certain poignancy about it that struck a chord in her heart; it was a simple soft boiled broken egg, the contents half consumed and the rest just waiting to be devoured. It had once been whole, a life waiting to happen, and then without warning it had been snuffed out, smashed open and devoured without any consideration for the life it could have been. Di closed her eyes and took a deep breath; suddenly she didn’t feel hungry anymore.
“Miss?” Randolph gave her a curious look, “Have you finished already?”
Di nodded slowly, her stomach churning uncomfortably, “Yes, Randolph, thanks.” Carefully, she got down from the chair and gratefully took a mouthful of water from the glass that had almost magically appeared before her. She smiled, “Thanks.”
Randolph gave her a wink and put the glass back on the table. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and always knew just what to do. Their home wouldn’t be the same without him, and they all knew it – especially mother. It was one of her ‘tricks’ to use Diamond Tiara’s fondness for the gentle old stallion against her whenever the mood took her. Well, not always of course, but… Di sighed; why was she thinking like this today? First thing in the morning and she was feeling like a wet weekend! It was probably because of that stupid dream she’d had last night and everything else that had been happening lately. She supposed she should have known mother would be mad after she’d stayed at Silver’s house following her accident, but even so, there was no need to hit her in the face with the door, and it still hurt now. Predictably though, Randolph hadn’t said anything. He’d just collected her, cared for her, and now they were on their way to the school. The old stallion had, as always, loaded her school things into the carriage ahead of time in anticipation of her departure, helped her up, shut the door, strapped himself in, and off they went. For a moment Di wondered if she should be paying more attention to things; everything felt so…automatic, so much so that she couldn’t even remember leaving the house and was virtually at the school before she even realised it. What had happened to the time in between? Oh, Celestia…today was off to a really bad start.
“Here we are, Miss Diamond.” Randolph helped the little pink filly down the folding carriage step and passed her her school panniers, “Packed lunch, books, juice, and a little something from sugarcube corner.”
“Mmhmm…” Di nodded weakly, “Thanks.”
“You’re most welcome, Miss.” Randolph bowed, “I’ll be back to pick you up at the usual time. Have a good day, Miss Diamond.”
Di turned and walked groggily up the wooden steps and into the familiar long wide halls of the school. For a moment, for just the briefest flash of time, she saw it in her mind’s eye: the dark wood, the leaded glass windows, and throughout it all that all pervading smell of ageless...emptiness. Di blinked and gave herself a shake; her memories of Wheat Halls Grammar were something she wished she could simply wash away from her mind like soap from her hooves, but hopefully time would make the more vivid of the images fade. She looked up; before her the classroom door stood open, and inside the one student she was glad to see, “Silver!” Good goddesses, the sense of relief washing through her was almost tangible, “Oh, Silver…”
Silver Spoon beamed at her friend and jumped down from the desk to greet her, “Hey Di, have…Di?” Her eyes went wide, “What happened to you?! You look awful.”
“Thanks, it must be catching.” Di sighed and gave her friend a half smile before climbing wearily into her chair.
“No, really Di, you don’t look well at all.” Silver leaned her forehooves on her friend’s desk, looking at her in concern, “Have you been...” Her words died in her throat as Di’s eyes narrowed, communicating silently what they both already knew. “Oh.”
“Are you alright, Diamond Tiara?” a voice behind the pink filly asked, “If you’re not well, you should go to the nurses office.”
“Or not have come into school most likely” another voice said in a heavy country drawl.
Di’s anger flared in an instant and she span round in her chair, her mane whipping round as her fur bristled, “And who the hell asked for your opinion, blank flanks?” she barked, “Keep your nose to yourself and mind your own business!” She glanced at Silver who looked a little unsure, but quickly rallied to her friends aid,
“Yeah! Blank flanks!”
Applebloom clucked her tongue, “Y’all can’t even take a kind word, now can yer?”
Sweetie Belle chimed in next, “Diamond Tiara, please, if you’re poorly you shouldn’t be in class.”
“Yeah,” said another voice, “you could infect everypony.”
Di froze, her eyes swivelling at the words of the orange pegasus staring at her with its mean little eyes. She’d seen orange ponies before, and she knew…she KNEW what lay within their black souls. “Shut up.”
Scootaloo blinked “Huh?”
“I said shut up, you mean mouthed little bi-” Di’s words died in her mouth as the door clicked closed and the classroom fell quiet.
“Good morning everypony!” Cheerilee called out.
All the fillies and colts replied in unison “Good morning, Miss Cheerilee.”
Di slowly turned back to her desk, shooting the orange filly one last glare. That little freak! That damnable flightless dodo of a pony! How dare she, how dare she even think of speaking to her after what she’d done!
Cheerilee’s voice rang across the classroom, “Diamond Tiara? Are you alright?”
Without thinking Di slammed her forehooves onto the desk sending her pencil flying, “YES!” she shrieked, “Why does everypony keep asking me if I am?!” Silence fell in the classroom like a lead weight, and the words she’d heard Cheerilee say to her in the staff room came back with crystal clarity into the forefront of Di’s mind: ‘recommending your expulsion’ - the very same words that Professor Quill had said to a certain cruel orange monster at a time in her life she wished could forget. She squeezed her eyes shut and awaited the inevitable tirade.
It never came.
Cheerilee’s voice was as calm as the surface of a millpond, but every word rang out as clear as a bird’s call on a still winters morning, “Perhaps it’s because they care about you, Diamond. Maybe, you have more friends than you realise.”
“I…!” Di opened her mouth to speak but only a strangled sound escaped her lips. What a crock of horse dung! That…that….stupid old mare! She didn’t…she didn’t understand that… She opened her eyes to the light pressure on her foreleg. Silver’s hoof rested there, silently offering support, her eyes full of kindness and understanding. Di smiled and nodded slowly, sniffing back the tears and tried to calm the shaking in her body. Only Silver knew her, only Silver truly, truly understood what they had been through together. Nopony else could ever possibly even begin to comprehend what it meant to have a friendship like theirs. Relieved, Di gave the silver-grey filly a grin and Silver’s worried expression mellowed; it would be alright, it would just take time, that was all. Around them the sound of pencils and the other familiar background sounds of students at work resumed its oddly comforting tone. Nopony seemed particularly concerned about her outburst, and even if they were, she was still in the right anyway – she knew that for a fact! Nodding to herself, Diamond Tiara picked up her pencil and turned her attention to the day’s lesson.
********************
Up on the wall the clock sliced away the seconds, moving onto the minutes and finally the hours until at last, at long, long last, the school bell blessedly rang to announce the end of yet another boring day of incessant learning. Di’s head felt as if it were about to explode with all the information the teachers had been relentlessly cramming in there. Sometimes she’d even found herself wondering whether there was actually a limit to what her equine mind could absorb before it reached some sort of critical mass and the excess knowledge began pouring out of her ears. Come to think of it, where did all this information go anyway? How did it stay in there, and what happened to all the old unused stuff? She could remember quite a lot of course, but certain things were just...missing. She shrugged, putting the last of her stationary into her panniers and settled them onto her back. “Coming, Silv?”
Silver Spoon blinked at her and opened her mouth for a moment before shaking her head, “Uh…no, not tonight Di. I’ve got to erm, work back in the library.”
Di rolled her eyes, “Booorrrrinnnggg!”
Her friend shrugged, “What about you? Are you going straight home tonight?”
Di nodded, “Yeah, Randolph’s picking me up soon. Mother’s still a bit upset about me staying with you while you were poorly.”
“Oh…” Silver’s ears drooped, “Is that…?” She looked at Di’s muzzle and raised an eyebrow. She didn’t need to say any more.
“I’m okay” Di said with a smile, “I’ll just see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah.” Silver looked away, her gaze unusually distant. This wasn’t like her!
Di lifted a hoof, “Silv, are you alright? You don’t seem yourself today.”
The silver-grey filly looked back and beamed, “Of course, why wouldn’t I be, silly! I just have to do some research in the school library. You never know, they may even have one of Golden’s diaries, right?”
“Uh…yeah, sure” Di scrunched up her face, but finished with a shrug, “Well, good luck then. See you tomorrow, Silv.”
Silver Spoon watched her friend walk to the door and lifted a hoof, “See you tomorrow, Di.”
The pink filly trotted out to the front door of the school while the other children dashed past her to their waiting family members or, in the case of the older ones, simply walked on home by themselves or with friends. Di looked up at the sky; it was clear and blue as always, with the sun bright and warming. Yet despite the nice day and good weather, It didn’t look like Randolph was here yet – he probably wouldn’t be long though. Sometimes mother would have him running errands for her and he’d be late collecting Di from school. She hated it when that happened. One time, some colts had been on detention and had walked past her smirking and making what they obviously thought were ‘clever’ comments to her. Oh, she’d given as good as she’d gotten naturally, but inside, deep down…it still hurt. She could remember at the time wondering if her mother genuinely had forgotten her and that maybe, just maybe, Randolph really wouldn’t be coming to collect her. But of course, eventually, the old blue coated fellow with his bushy white hair had trundled up with the family carriage to the school to take her home. Back then the teachers had brought her back inside as it was starting to get dark and chilly, but all she’d done was stare out of the window, willing him, praying to the goddesses that at any moment he’d arrive. And he had. Since then, whenever Randolph was delayed, Di had taken to hiding around the corner of the school in the bushes. The last thing she needed was some smart mouthed delinquent passing comments about her being the…what was it they’d called her again? The ‘Forgotten child’ wasn’t it? She sighed; to her mother, perhaps she was…
The last of them had gone now, leaving only the pink filly with the tiara in her mane sitting hopefully on the on the step, staring up the road. Birds flew overhead, their singing loud and clear now that the shouting and laughing voices of the children were gone. It was starting to get cold too, the air feeling a little chillier than usual. Oh wonderful! She’d just remembered the notice on the school board about a scheduled rain shower later this afternoon. Fantastic! That was all she needed! Di groaned and checked in her panniers. Typical – she’d forgotten her rain coat too. Still, Randolph would be here soon and although the carriage wasn’t the warmest thing in the world, at least it had a roof that could be erected to guard against inclement weather. Movement at the edge of her vision caused her to glance up. Far above she could see the weather ponies at work, bringing in the clouds already. Soon the downpour would start and she’d be right in the firing line of it all. Where in Equestria was Randolph?! Di’s ears twitched; behind her she heard one of the teachers saying something about the front door being open and she quickly slipped into the bushes to her usual hiding spot. The last thing she wanted was having to face Miss Cheerilee after everything else that had been going on recently. That self righteous mare was probably laughing at her behind her back anyway – like her equally self righteous ‘cutie mark crusaders’. What a joke! No wonder blank flanks like them were so mollycoddled all the time, and the way they would strut about as if they owned the place pretending to help others when all they were really doing was sticking their self righteous muzzles into other ponies’ business made her sick. As if that wasn’t bad enough, their babyish behaviour had the teachers fawning over them and Cheerilee was one of the worst culprits. To her, and to half of blasted ponyville too it seemed, those three merchants of chaos could simple do nothing wrong. But Di wasn’t fooled; whenever there was trouble, destruction, or some other form of catastrophic event in the town that could have doubtless been avoided, it was a safe bet that the ‘CMC’ as they like to be known were behind it. Di sneered to herself under her breath; those damnable fillies were like a natural disaster in the shape of ponies! All they needed was one more in their merry band and they could be the four ponies of the apocalypse – the crusaders of the apocalypse. She grinned; she’d have to remember that one!
“-to say something, Cheer, we can’t keep ignoring it.”
Di looked up at the sill above her; she was right underneath the staffroom window and the teachers voices were drifting out. Curious, she swivelled her ears to focus on them. They were muffled, but if she strained her hearing just so…
“Everypony knows about it and the students can see it too. They may not say anything but I’ve seen the way they look at her.” It was a male, but who Di couldn’t make out.
“Children get bumps and bruises everyday, Flask, it could have been anything.”
Diamond Tiara frowned in thought; Flask…that must by Mister Flask, the geography teacher.
“Oh, come on! You know as well as I do what that vicious bitch is capable of, and I heard the way she spoke to Cheer the other day – in fact the whole bloody school heard it!” The one Di recognised as Flask sounded furious. The thump of a cup being slammed down made her flinch as he continued, “Goddesses damn it all, Cheerilee, will you say something!”
“What precisely do you want me to say, Flask?” Cheerilee’s distinctive voice was instantly recognisable, “If I go to the school board, what do you think will happen? You know Spoiled Rich is a member of the board and in case you had forgotten one very important point – her husband owns this school. Do you honestly think they’ll listen to us?” There was a pause, “Of course not. You know as I do what would happen to our careers then, and I for one can’t afford to be made homeless because I made a fuss over a filly having a bruised muzzle.”
“It’s more than that, Cheer,” It was another stallion this time, one she couldn’t quite make out. “That girl is being beaten at home and before long she’ll become an abuser just like her mother. We’ve seen it before – and look at her behaviour now!”
There was a loud sigh from Cheerilee, “We don’t know that for certain! You’re jumping to conclusions based on your own negative opinion of her mother. She may be a horrible person, but it doesn’t mean she’s abusing her daughter.”
“So what, you think she’s falling down stairs or bumping into doors?” Flask asked sarcastically.
“Don’t be flippant, Flask, it doesn’t suit you.” Cheerilee sounded tired, “Look, what do any of you seriously think we can do about this? If what you suspect is true – what then? Do we go to the watch?”
“The watch?!” The second male snorted, “They’re a waste of space. I don’t know what’s happened to them recently, but they’re hopeless.” He paused, “What about the princess? Celestia may be able to intervene if we petition her directly.”
“Why yes, of course she would,” Flask replied sarcastically, “I can see it now – ‘Your majesty, a filly has a bruise on her muzzle, can you come and throw her mother into gaol for us, please’?” He snorted, “We’d be laughed out of court!”
“Not to mention the fact that Celestia happens to be one of the nobility, and Filthy Rich is one of her lot.” The second male’s voice sounded resigned, “I honestly don’t know what we can do for the best.”
“There’s nothing we can do, Three Foot” Cheerilee replied, “Nothing that won’t end up causing a scandal anyway.” The mare sighed, “At least at her last school she was there term time and spent less time at home with that monstrous mare.”
“Ah…Wheat Halls Grammar,” Flask observed with more than a hint of derision, “the school of choice for the over-privileged to deposit their pretentious offspring and leave their upbringing to others to sort out.” He huffed, “Maybe she’d be better off back there then. At least that vicious manticore of a mother of hers wouldn’t be beating the stuffing out of her at every given opportunity.”
The second teacher, Three Foot the mathematics tutor chimed in, “Perhaps….perhaps that’s the answer then. If we intervene directly we risk not only losing our careers but maybe even the whole school, yet if we arrange for her to transfer back to Wheat Halls, possibly by persuading her parents that it’s the best choice for her, then that could be the best solution for everypony.”
“Everypony…” Cheerilee sounded deflated, “So that’s the answer then, is it? Push the problem away. We don’t want to be bothered with it, so we send it away somewhere else. Out of sight and out of mind.”
“Well if you can come up with something better, then I’m all ears” Flask reasoned, “We can’t leave things as they are Cheerilee, and that’s that.”
Cheerilee sighed, “What about you, Three Foot?”
“I’m sorry, Cheer, I have to agree with Flask. It’s better for Diamond in the long run.” The stallion paused, “I think you know that too.”
“Do I?” Cheerilee asked, “I’m not so sure. Look, I’ll have a look at her old school file tonight and see if we can’t come up with something more...palatable.” She paused, “Will somepony shut that window please? It’s freezing in here.”
Di ducked as the window was thumped closed above her. She barely heard it. Lost in her own mind, her own world, the rain began to fall all around the little pink filly who could only stare into the distance, up the long empty road.
“They…they want to…to get rid of me.”
The reality, the awful, horrible reality washed upon her reasoning as unstoppable, as inexorable as the tide lapping upon the shore. Di’s world was the sandcastle, the simple structure that represented all she’d held to be true and real in this world. A world that had now shown itself for what it truly was. She had no say, she had no control, she just…she had nothing, she was nothing. Nopony cared about her: not her mother, not her teachers…nopony. She was a nuisance, a problem that needed to be gotten rid of as soon as possible to protect their jobs and their precious, horrible little cesspit of a school! Di squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her muzzle to the rain; why? Why did everything always end up like this? She didn’t want to go back to Wheat Halls! That miserable, horrible place with it’s musty professors, nasty little bullies and being forced to spend weeks away from home in their dismal dormitories. But…no, there was one pony, one who would understand, one whom she could turn to when she needed somepony to talk to when nopony else would listen. Nodding to herself, Di rose to her hooves and dashed around the corner of the main building and along the gravel path to the library building.
It was still open.
“Wha…?!” the unicorn librarian looked up from her pile of books and adjusted her glasses, “Goodness me, girl, watch where you’re going will you?” The navy blue mare blew her grey mane out of her eyes, “Diamond Tiara? What are you still doing here?”
Di was all but hopping from hoof to hoof, “Miss Book Mark, is Silv still here? Silver Spoon?” She peered past her hopefully, but of the silver coated filly with the blue spectacles and pearl necklace, there was no sign at all.
“Silver Spoon?” Miss Book Mark put her pile of books down and tapped her chin thoughtfully, “She hasn’t been in the library today, dear.”
Di blinked, “But she said she was coming in here to do some research!”
“Not today she hasn’t.” The blue mare picked up her books in the glow of her magic and began placing them back in their correct place on the shelves, “Perhaps you misunderstood what she told you.”
“No…” Di sat back on her haunches, “Are you sure? You’re sure she hasn’t been in? She may have and you just didn’t see her.”
The librarian clucked her tongue, “I can assure you, dear, that if a student came into the library today I would have noticed, particularly if they had stayed back to ‘do some research’ as you claim. There’s precious few of you who bother with books as it is – far too interested in running about and acting the goat if you ask me.”
“But…she said…” Di gave herself a shake, “You’re absolutely sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” Miss Mark snapped, “Feathers and Fetlocks! I may be old but I’m not going senile yet, girl! Now, stop pestering me and go home!”
“But-!
“I said, go home!”
In the blink of an eye, Di suddenly found herself sitting outside on the library steps, the door thumping shut mere inches from her muzzle as the metal bolt slammed home with a heavy ‘thunk’. As though to emphasise her point all the more, the librarian yanked down the blind, huffing noisily as she stomped back to finish her work and leaving Di outside in the now steady downpour. Di sat in a daze; what was going on? Why would Silver tell her she was going to do some research and then not bother going? That wasn’t like her? She sighed; it was just one of those things. After all, Silver had probably just decided to go home after all. Still, it did seem a bit weird how she hadn’t seen her friend go past her if she was going home. She’d seen the rest leave...well, other than those who left by the other entrance of course, but why would Silv go out that way? A bitter flash of memory burst like fireworks in her head: it was Silver, lying on the floor with a grinning orange colt standing over her, his blood chilling laughter echoing around her. Di’s mane twitched horribly; had something happened? Was Silver alright? Oh no, wait…what if she’d fainted again? What if she was just lying there in the mud and rain and nopony knew where she was?! Di felt a shiver run down her neck and let out a loud neigh, snorting the rain water from her nostrils. This was no time for self pity – this was a time for her friend. Rearing, Di charged off into the rain and wind.
Water splashed up around her as she ran while the incessant rain stung her eyes and snuck into her ears making her pause every so often to shake herself off. “Silver! Silv, where are you?” Di ran on, through the school, past the gym and the tennis courts, but Silver was simply nowhere to be found. “Silver!”
“Diamond Tiara?” A voice, muffled by the rain called out behind her, “Diamond Tiara is that you?”
In a flurry, Di turned, brushed the water from her eyes and tried to focus through the deluge towards the newcomer.
“I thought I heard you shouting out here.” A maroon coated stallion wearing a rain cape and hat stared at her in amazement, “What in Equestria are you doing running around in the rain, girl? Come back inside before you catch your death!”
“I can’t!” Diamond Tiara replied, blowing the rainwater from her nose, “I have to find Silver Spoon, she could be hurt somewhere. I can’t just leave her!”
The teacher looked at her as if she were stupid, “Silver Spoon?” He thought for a moment and then clucked his tongue, “Ah, you don’t have to worry about her, she went home ages ago with some friends.”
“What?” Di advanced on him making the teacher take a step back suddenly, “Who? What friends?”
“Why…three fillies from your class” the teacher explained, “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and the other one – the yellow girl with the red hair.” He gave himself a shake, “Look, come inside, there’s a taxi here waiting for you. Honestly, Diamond Tiara, the staff have been pulling their hair out looking for you. And where were you? Running around in the rain of all things!” The stallion turned to walk away, obviously expecting the pink filly to follow him. A moment later he glanced back over his shoulder, “What are you doing, girl? Come on!”
“No.”
“What? We don’t have time to play games, girl. Do you want to catch pneumonia or something?” The teacher frowned at her, “Get yourself inside and-” he lifted his hoof in alarm, “Hey! Get back here!” But it was too late.
********************
“So, Silv, why do you hang around with Diamond Tiara so much?”
In reply Silver looked over at Sweetie Belle and gave her a half smile, unsure of how to answer.
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom continued, “you seem like a nice pony, why would y’all wanna be around some nasty piece o’work like her anyways?”
Silver looked down at her hooves and quietly sighed. She’d half expected Scootaloo to chip in too, but the orange pegasus filly had been clearly reluctant to talk to her and would quickly turn her head away whenever Silver so much as even glanced in her direction. She knew why of course; knowing the way gossip spread in Ponyville, it was unlikely you’d find anypony who hadn’t heard of Scootaloo bucking another filly in the face. Silver took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her heart was still troubled by the way she’d slipped out of the rear entrance to the school after lying to her friend, but she’d make it up to her somehow. Still, what she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. She took a breath, “We’ve been friends since our last school.”
The three fillies sat and watched her, no doubt waiting for her to continue, but slowly it dawned on them that their new friend wasn’t going to elaborate any further on the subject.
Sweetie Belle was the first to break the awkward silence, “So, er, how did you get your cutie mark Silver? It’s really nice!”
“Oh!” Silver looked up at her and gave herself a shake, “It…it is? Thanks.” Silver gave the white coated girl an embarrassed smile.
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed, “How’d y’all get it anyways?”
Silver paled and licked her lips a little nervously, “I…I can’t really remember.”
“What?!” Scootaloo suddenly said. Her shouted exclamation made the others start, especially Silver who flinched back and felt her body beginning to react on its own: her hooves moving, sliding into the right defensive positions to... “How can you forget how you got your own cutie mark?” the orange pegasus finished.
Sweetie Belle nodded at her friends question, “You have to admit, it does seem strange.”
Silver took a breath and sank to her haunches again, “Please, I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Wasn’t it…y’know, a good thing?” Apple Bloom blinked in surprise, looking to her friends for help, “I don’t unnerstand, I thought that it were every fillies dream to get one an-”
“-Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle cut in, “Silver Spoon doesn’t want to talk about it.” She raised an eyebrow in warning, “Don’t’ start pestering her about it, it’s making her uncomfortable.”
“Huh!” Apple Bloom huffed and crossed her forelegs, “Ah aint pesterin’ nopony nohow. Apples don’t do pesterin’!”
The yellow pony’s antics brought a guilty smile to Silver’s face. Normally she felt confident around these three, albeit that was probably because Di was there too, and…well, she did have a tendency to say things that could be considered mean and… Oh sweet Celestia, this wasn’t a good idea was it? She’d lied to Di, she was stuck in a treehouse with three fillies she teased with her friend and now she felt like she was somehow obligated to answer questions from this inquisitive trio. Sure, she’d admit they weren’t being rude to her, or even pushy really, but she wasn’t used to talking about things like this and…she didn’t like it at all! Silver sighed and closed her eyes; she’d make her excuses and leave. There was a taxi rank in Ponyville and she could take one home. She cleared her throat, “Girls, I-”
A rumble of thunder from outside took the words from Silver’s mouth and sent her back to her haunches with a thump.
“Get the curtains shut, girls.” Apple Bloom barked her orders out and immediately set about rushing to secure the room.
To Silver’s surprise, the other two immediately set to work like some well oiled machine, and in no time at all the ‘CMC’ had their treehouse, or rather ‘clubhouse’ as they called it, dry, cosy and snug.
“Well, that’s that then!” Scootaloo hung the lantern up on its hook, suspending it from the ceiling while Apple Bloom closed the lid on the last of the magical heaters.
“Hoo! I love being in here when it’s like this” Sweetie Belle announced, “It’s like being inside our very own secret base and we’re all safe inside.”
Silver glanced towards the window; the occasional lightning flash in the distance was still visible despite the closed curtains. “Doesn’t this scare you at all?” she asked in surprise, “We’re in a tree, you know!” She shook her head in amazement, “If this gets hit by lightning we could be in real trouble.”
Apple Bloom bark out a laughed, “Now don’t y’all go worryin’ yerself there Silver. This here clubhouse is covered by gen-yoo-ine magic straight from Miss Sparkle herself.”
“Twilight Sparkle?” Silver asked in surprise, still trying to get to grips with the filly’s accent, “You mean the element of harmony who lives in the Ponyville library?”
Apple Bloom nodded, “Yup.”
Scootaloo stared at Silver in surprise, “Haven’t you met her?”
“Not formally” Silver said, feeling a little embarrassed, “But I have seen her around the town and she was at the palace some time ago when I went there with my parents.”
“You’ve been to the palace in Canterlot?!” Scootaloo exclaimed, her large eyes going even wider. The filly’s earlier reticence had vanished, replaced by her more typical forwardness, “You’ve GOT to tell us about it! Did you meet Princess Celestia? What about Luna?”
“Princess Luna, you mean.” Sweetie Belle corrected.
“Huh!” Apple Bloom sniffed, “One step away from Nightmare Moon if yer ask me!”
“Hey! That’s not fair, Apple Bloom” Sweetie snorted, “She was Nightmare Moon, sure, but she’s better now.”
Scootaloo nickered, “What, it’s like getting a cold?” She reared on her hind legs and sneezed comically, “Hi everybody, ACHOO! Oh, no! I’m Nightmare Moon!” She narrowed her eyes and flared her stubby wings as the thunder rumbled outside, reciting the old nursery rhyme they all knew so well:
The darkness comes to take your soul, to suck the warmth from hearth and coal. On wings of night, with teeth like knives, you’d better run, or she’ll take your lives!
Before you I stand as black as death, heartless eyes and fiery breath. I eat young ponies and drink filly blood, I’ll stomp your bones into the mud!
So before you dream, be sure to pray, for Celestia to chase the dark away. For in the darkness, fear resides, waiting for a child’s cries.
Beware small filly, brave colt and foal, the Nightmare comes to STEAL YOUR SOUL!
“Wargh!!!” Scootaloo leaned forward, towering over the others, her roar blocked out by the crash of thunder overhead. The clubhouse shook violently, the magical light dropping to the floor with a frightening crash that plunged the room into total darkness. Suddenly, the door flew open, accompanying another boom of thunder. Silhouetted in the brilliant flash of bright light, a dark shape, a shape of…
“NIGHTMARE MOON!”
The fillies screamed and squashed themselves into the corner, leaving Silver standing there facing the dripping, sodden creature in the doorway. “Di?”
The pony shaped being walked into the clubhouse, her bloodshot blue eyes burning like fire, her saturated purple and white mane hanging flat down her neck. The ever present tiara was gone, her smart embroidered panniers now darkened from the soaking rain.
“You…you liar…” Diamond Tiara stood shaking with cold, the water dripping from her coat quickly forming a puddle around her hooves, “You lied to me.”
“Di, I…” Silver swallowed, “The girls wanted to see me about something, Di, that was all and I knew how you’d react so I-”
Diamond Tiara didn’t move. Her eyes, full of anger, full of fear and betrayal, stared at her friend, “I thought something had happened to you. I thought you might be hurt. I’ve been looking for you for hours, Silver…hours!” Di turned a withering stare on the three huddled fillies, “And here I find you…with THEM!” Her voice dropped to a menacing growl, “The ones who hurt you, the ones who have done nothing but cause misery for us.” She closed her eyes and slowly turned to the door, “You betrayed me, Silver Spoon. I never thought….after everything we’ve been through together, I never thought you would do something like this to me.”
“Di, please!” Silver raised a hoof.
“SHUT UP!” Di’s eyes flashed with contempt as another flash of lightning lit the room with its intense white light, “Don’t…don’t you ever, EVER speak to me again! You…you TRAITOR!”
Silver balked, lifting her hoof in alarm, “DI!”
Thunder and lighting shook the clubhouse as the rain lashed through the open door. Silver Spoon stared out into the darkness, taking one last look at the three fillies who were cowering in the corner, and took a breath to steady her nerves. This was her fault, a problem of her own making – she’d hurt her friend and now she would have to make things right again. Dear Celestia give her strength. As she prepared to leave something touched her shoulder and she looked round into the eyes of Scootaloo.
“Silver? Take these, and…I’m sorry.” The orange pegasus hung her head, “I never meant to hurt you.”
Silver nodded, “I know.” She closed the flap on her panniers, took a deep breath, and gave her new friend a cheeky wink before diving into the rain.
‘Diving’ was almost too apt a word to use. The rain was so heavy, the sky so completely dark and crackling with lightning, Silver felt she was more swimming than running. Gritting her teeth she broke into a full gallop, following the dwindling outline of the filly in the distance. Keeping track of her was hard enough as it was in the gloomy light, but now it was being compounded by the fact that her spectacles were fogging up as well as being wet. Silver Spoon felt a tree branch clip the side of her muzzle and snag her mane painfully, but she didn’t slow. She had to mend this, she had to make this right; losing a friend after so many years was something she simply couldn’t, wouldn’t accept – never! Silver ran on, but Di was a surprisingly fast pony for her size and didn’t have the distinct disadvantage of having her vision fogging up all the time! Silver dodged the park bench, stumbling on a stone in the process. Damn it all! Her stupid glasses were useless in this! Angrily she slammed to a halt, took them off and shoved them roughly into her saturated pannier before setting off once more. Silver could see reasonably well without her spectacles, but distance definition was difficult for her and she’d taken to wearing them more and more of late. In any case, she’d always liked the look of them and one of the girls at school had said they made her look intelligent apparently. She’d liked that. Of course, some of the colts had said she looked like an old maid, but what did they know? Sure, she had a silver-grey coat like her father and a pale grey two-tone mane and tail, but they complimented her colouring perfectly. Silver liked her colouring; it looked noble, refined and…smart – yes, smart, that was the word. She could picture herself as a fully grown mare in the gold and silver armour of her ancestor, standing in the driving rain and wind with the banner of the goddess snapping in the storm of battle. She would watch her soldiers as they formed their long lines, she would fight beside them and bring honour to the name of her family, to her homeland…she would be the warrior of the goddess.
Silver’s neigh bellowed out across the darkened fields, “DIAMOND TIARA!”
Silence.
Silver reared on her hind legs and looked around. It was almost complete darkness out here now, and she was in unfamiliar territory too. The Apple family’s orchard was absolutely immense, with gentle rolling hills stretching as far as the eye could see swathed in acre upon acre of apple trees. She narrowed her eyes, staring as intently as she could, taking in every detail: the ground, the trees, the swing, the muddied hoofprints leading to the barn… Silver hung her head and smiled to herself; Di might be emotional, even stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid. Picking up her hooves, Silver trotted up to the door of the barn and pushed it open. Inside it was pitch black, with only the occasional flash of lightning to illuminate the interior and the shivering form hiding under an old blanket. Silver sighed, sinking to her haunches beside her friend, “I’ve hurt you” she said quietly, “I’m sorry Di. You’re my best friend, and I lied to you. I should have trusted you more.”
Diamond Tiara pulled the blanket in more around her, “I don’t want to speak you!” she choked, “If you like them so much, why don't you go back to their precious blank flank play house and leave me alone! Go away!”
“Di, I can have other friends you know, so can you, it doesn’t change anything between us” Silver reason softly.
“But it does!” Di said desperately, “You’re my friend, Silv, mine! I…I don’t have anypony else! If…if I lose you, I’ll really be on my own! I don’t…I don’t have…”
Silver gently placed her hoof on her friend’s foreleg, “Di, you are my friend, you’re like a sister to me. We’ve grown up together and we even got our cutie marks together. That’s something nopony could ever change.”
There was a sudden movement from beneath the blanket and Silver sat back on her haunches as a straw plastered creature emerged from its depths. Di’s eyes were bloodshot, her mane plastered to her fur along with more mud, straw and twigs than Silver thought was even possible.
“You lied to me!” Di snarled. Her eyes flashed angrily in the darkness of the barn, “You say you’re my friend, my sister, but you’re like them! Your words mean nothing, Silver Spoon, NOTHING!” The pink, now mostly muddy brown filly bristled with a mixture of anger and despair, “You could have told me the truth but you didn’t, instead you lied to me through your back teeth and snuck off with the scum that nearly killed you! Is that what you think of me, Silver? Is it? You think I’m less than them? Less than scum?”
Silver gave herself a shake and huffed loudly, “They are good ponies at heart, Di, they are not ‘scum’. You’re starting to sound like your mother.”
“You…you WHAT?!” Diamond shrieked, “How DARE YOU! Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that?”
“Your friend” Silver said levelly.
“Like hell you are!” Di coughed loudly, smacking her friend’s hoof away as she tried to help, “Don’t touch me, you…you LIAR!”
Silver stood tall, facing her friend, “Yes, Diamond Tiara, I am a liar. I AM A LIAR! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? Will that satisfy you? I lied to you so I could go and find out what the girls wanted to show me. Do you want to know why I lied to you?” She took a deep breath, “IT’S BECAUSE YOU ACT LIKE THIS!”
Diamond Tiara froze, her lip curling up in a sneer, “Like my mother?”
“YES!” Silver stomped her hoof, “I know what she’s like, Di, I’ve seen the bruises and I’ve seen how you try to cover them up. She’d been hitting you again, hasn’t she?”
“NO!” Di shrieked.
“YES!” Silver advanced on her, “I know she has, Di, and you know what? You didn’t tell me, did you? You didn’t tell your best friend that you’d been hurt. How do you think that makes me feel, eh?” Silver suddenly grabbed Di in a hug, “We’re friends, Di, we’re sisters, we should be sharing everything together.” She felt the sting of tears welling up in her eyes, “Don’t hide from me, Di…please.”
“Don’t…don’t say thing like…you’re making me…” Di stuttered and finally, helplessly, gave in to the emotions flooding her, “Oh, Silv…I don’t want to become like her…I don’t!”
“Shhh…you won’t.” Silver held her friend and the two sat together, quietly sharing a moment of peace as the rain hammered down outside.
Silver felt a huge wave of relief run through her, tingling her nose and ears right down to her tail. She had her friend back, and everything was right again with the world. Slowly, she carefully moved away and leaned her forehead on Di’s, “I’m sorry.”
“Mmmhmm…” Di smiled, “Me too.” She paused, “Hey, you said they wanted to show you something?”
“Oh!” Silver nodded and took off her panniers. They were soaking wet and in all the excitement she’d forgotten to take them off. Soggily, they plopped on the floor. “Hang on, I saw a lantern on the way in.”
Sure enough, a magic powered lantern hung beside the door, and a quick tap of her hoof on the gemstone had it casting out its white light almost immediately. Truthfully, Silver was a little surprised the Apple family used lanterns like this. Being such a traditional family, in some respects rather like her own, she’d half expected oil lamps like she had at home. Yet despite tradition, here sat a quite modern looking lantern, bringing light to the darkness. Silver frowned; perhaps the new really could co-exist with the old – being in the modern age didn’t mean you had to throw the past away completely. She shrugged; she was probably reading too much into it anyway. The lantern, in some respects like the Apple family themselves, was a practical thing, and certainly less of a fire hazard in a barn than one of the older oil lamps. Carefully, she brought it over to her friend and sat it down.
Di looked terrible.
“Here…” Silver moved some of the dry straw around and manoeuvred Di into it before bringing over another blanket from the supply chest she’d found near the lantern. It was rough, a little smelly, and certainly not one intended for keeping ponies warm, but would do the job in a pinch. Silver snuggled in next to her friend and pulled over her panniers. “I guess I was a bit late with the rain capes.”
Di looked at her curiously, “Rain capes?”
Two red waterproof rain capes appeared from the depths of Silver’s panniers, “Scootaloo gave me them – one each.”
“Huh! If that dodo gave you something it’s probably cursed” Di muttered.
“Oh, hush” Silver said clucking her tongue.
“Is that what you wanted to show me?” Di asked.
Silver dug right down into her pack and took out a small box, one which had been made specifically to protect the precious item within. Di’s eyes went wide when she saw it, “What’s that? Jewellery?”
Silver chuckled, “Far from it.” She held the box between them, their eyes focussed on it as she slowly opened it. “Here…”
Di frowned, “Oh.”
“Oh, what?”
“It’s a book” Di observed, “How…interesting.”
“Oh, hush!” Silver clucked her tongue but couldn’t help a chuckle, “All that glitters is not gold.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Diamond Tiara asked, “It’s not glittering and it’s not gold. It’s just an old book.”
Silver huffed, “Alright, so it probably wasn’t the right phrase, but it’s about gold...Golden Spoon.”
“Oh goody” Di groaned, “Mouldy old stories from a long dead mare. How excruciatingly exciting.”
“It is” Silver said raising an eyebrow, “She was an amazing mare.”
“I’m sure she was, Silv.” Di paused and lifted her forehooves in apology, “Okay, I’m sorry! It’s just, y’know, not my sort of thing that’s all.” She shrugged and gave her friend an apologetic smile. “But…wait a minute, what were those three blank flanks doing with one of your ancestor’s diaries?”
Silver nodded, her friend’s interest peaked, “Apple Bloom said it’s been in her family for generations. I think that’s like several hundred years, or maybe even more! Golden lived about a thousand years ago, so…maybe they really have had it a thousand years.”
“Why would the Apple family want an old diary from your ancestor?” Di asked, leaning closer to look at the small red bound book, “Sounds fishy to me.” She sniffed, “It smells a bit fishy too!”
“The smell of history…” Silver breathed.
Di huffed, “Smells like old farts, more like.”
Silver chuckled, “Want to read it together?”
Di shook her head, “Nah, I’m too tired and my eyes are really sore. I don’t think all the rain did me any good.” She nodded to her friend, “You read it, Silv, I could do with a good snooze.” Di yawned, “I’m ready for the knackers yard.”
“DI!” Silver squeaked, scandalised at the phrase, “That’s a terrible thing to say!”
Di stuck her tongue out playfully and grinned, “Just get on with it!”
Silver gave her friend a playful shove and snuggled into her as she turned to the first page. “Day two in the mountains.” she read, “There’s been no let up in the rain and Lacy isn’t looking good either…”