Exchange of Spoons

Chapter 1

First Impression

Silver Spoon awoke as somepony’s hoof gently prodded her side, while a gentle voice whispered, “Lady Spoon…” Curling back under the covers, Silver Spoon did her best to ignore the uncomfortable sensation. The hoof prodded her again, and the voice spoke again, slightly firmer this time, “Lady Spoon. Please, it is time to get up.”

Silver Spoon rose to a sitting position. She stretched her legs and yawned before opening her sleepy eyes. She rubbed her eyes and blinked, trying her best to make out the shape since her glasses weren’t yet resting on her muzzle. Suddenly, she felt a wet towel rubbing against her face.

And here I thought we were one year above petty services, Silver thought, waiting patiently for the cleaning to end. After the towel was levitated away, she chided, “Very funny, Soft Rose. What’s next, are you going to feed me or something?

“If that is what you wish, Lady Spoon,” the unicorn responded before levitating over a snack.

The filly pushed the tasty treat aside gently and rolled her eyes, her hooves fumbling for the glasses she had placed on her nightstand the night before. “I was joking. What’s up with ponies wanting to feed me lately. I’m not that lazy.”

“Whatever you say, Lady Spoon,” the maid said, lifting the blue frames towards her mistress.

“No need to be so formal,” Silver said as she looked at her servant with a smile. With her glasses secured, she could finally meet her friend’s eyes. However, Soft Rose did not match her smile, her eyes instead betraying her confusion. “I suppose you have a point.” Silver continued, “I can be lazy way too often. Maybe I can help with the dishes after dinner.” Rising to all fours, she stood on her bed and looked around before whispering, “Just don’t tell my parents. They still believe that we’re above physical labor.” She chuckled.

Raising her forehoof, the maid carefully pressed it against the filly’s forehead, who blinked in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Just checking your temperature, Young Lady.” Soft Rose responded, levitating a glass of sparkling orange juice over. “Are you feeling alright?”

Silver tilted her head to the side in confusion. “I’m feeling fine…” She looked at herself and facehooved. “Oh, right, bandages, I better get them off.”

“Of course. In times like this having a horn would be really useful,” Silver said, attempting to unroll a bandage from her belly with her teeth. As Soft Rose helped remove the numerous bandages, placing the used ones on the bed in a pile, Silver grinned and said, “Thank you.”

A smirk crossed Soft Rose’s face for just a moment, before it returned to its new stoicism. “It was my pleasure.”

Pointing at the large tray on the silver cart, Silver Spoon asked, “Why did you bring me so much food? There is no way my stomach has enough room for it all.” She chuckled and massaged her belly. “Is this a secret message? Are you trying to say that I am gaining too much weight.”

“What? I wouldn’t dare,” Rose said with foreleg raised defensively, the shock evident in her voice.

“Relax, no need to be so tense around me,” Silver said before grabbing the salad bowl and diving in.

Silver raised her head and blinked as leaves of salad fell from her cheeks. She gulped and said, “Oh, sorry, I got carried away,” before grabbing a fork between her forehooves. I guess the Crusaders have been rubbing off on me. Not that it’s a bad thing, but a bit of adventuring is no excuse for a lack of manners. After taking a few more bites, she pointed at the food next to the salad and said, “I’m sure you must be hungry too. I know I can’t finish all this by myself.” Looking up at her maid, she smiled. “Would you like to eat with me?”

“What? I m-mean, I’m honored with the offer…” Rose said in haste as she looked around nervously. “However, I still have much to do. This room won’t clean itself.”

Silver Spoon looked around and raised an eyebrow. “This room is shining, and the carpet has nearly no dust in it. If you don’t want to eat with me, just say so.” The maid rubbed her foreleg. “I get the impression that you are a bit nervous today, Rose, has something happened?”

“N-nothing… it is just that... you rarely speak to me, Lady Spoon, outside of telling me what to do. I’m afraid you have me at a bit of a disadvantage.”

“Rarely? But we talk almost everyday when I’m home or my parents aren’t around,” Silver Spoon pointed out before taking a bite of a strawberry.

The unicorn rubbed the back of her neck and looked to the door. “I still have more work to do… in the hallway.” She slightly bowed her head. “Please, excuse me.”

Silver Spoon watched as the maid went outside, and murmured to herself, “Well… somepony’s not be herself today.” She shrugged, and after eating one more strawberry, she approached the mirror and examined her features. The bruises and cuts were now but barely visible marks among her grey fur.

It seems spending time with the Crusaders has toughened me up, not to mention the increased regeneration earth ponies posses thanks to our inner magic… I miss Twilight Time. She thought as she brushed her mane. After a brief struggle from using her hooves, she fastened it together into her usual mane style, and finally placed her favorite pearl necklace around her neck. Maybe if we didn’t keep our learning from the princess a secret, my mom wouldn’t be against my friendship with the crusaders, but a promise is a promise.

With a quick action of her foreleg, she opened the shelf next to the sink and blinked in confusion. “Hey!” She exclaimed, he eyes scouring the empty cabinet. “They’re gone!” She took a closer look, examining the shelf, but with no results. Where are my extra glasses? And where is the armored and enhanced model for extreme crusading?

Her morning routine was interrupted by a near inaudible creak, her eyes catching the figure of her mother in the mirror.. She turned towards her mother, whose eyes were filled with worry.

“Your maid just told me that you were not yourself today,” she said while approaching, her hooves cushioned by the silk-weave carpet. “And that you offered to clean the dishes today.”

More like Rose was not herself today. Traitor, Silver thought, frowning. After she fixed her mane, she said, “I am perfectly fine, besides, cleaning dishes isn’t a crime, is it?”

Her mother pointed at her head. “Did you just braid your mane without a maid’s help?”

Okay, now this is getting weird, the filly thought, sitting patiently as her mother examined her fur.

The taller mare lowered herself to her daughter’s level and stroked her. “If you are sure…” After rubbing her daughter’s mane one last time, she continued, “Anyway, school is starting soon. We will worry about it once you are back.”

“School? May I go?” Silver asked in confusion, still remembering her yesterday discussion.

“I feel great,” Silver said before nuzzling her mother on the muzzle and fixing her glasses. “I will be late for dinner today, love you.” With renewed energy, she grabbed her saddlebag and ran towards the opened door.

I feel like I forgot something… Silver Spoon thought as she ran through the hallway and down the stairs, quickly reaching the ground floor as she stopped in front of a large door. Waving enthusiastically, she said, “Morning, Fresh Tea,” pushing the door open before the butler could.

“Good Morning, Gatekeeper,” she said, staring at the servant with a cheerful smile.

“Morning, Lady Spoon,” he said with a half-bow before opening the gate. His face firm and serious, as if a smile had not graced it in years.

Silver Spoon stared at the servant, who refused to keep eye contact with her. Seems somepony is in a poor mood today. Not wasting anymore time, she galloped towards the school. I'll ask what's wrong once I get back. I can't be late.

“A tea party with Fluttershy, what a wonderful way to start the morning.” Chuckling, he clapped his mismatched hands greedily. “I do have quite a lot of entertainment to look forward to this week. And what better way to start?” Discord cheered, donning a t-shirt that read, ‘I heart Fluttertea’ while levitating above a tree. Looking down at a grey filly, he grinned madly, anticipating the chaos that was to come. Meanwhile, the young Spoon continued to walk peacefully towards the schoolhouse.

His attention shifted towards a small pink filly, who waved her forehoof at her silver partner in crime. Much to Tiara’s surprise, Silver Spoon galloped past and left her in the dust. Oh, this is going to be fun. Discord snickered, before his amusement was interrupted by a strange sound from his watch, which was very similar to a deflating chew toy. All three hands on his watch were all pointing towards a golden alicorn, who bore a striking likeness to Celestia, if she was five inches tall, and dripping wet.

“Oh look, it’s Celly’s bath time.” Splitting his head in two, Discord judged his options. Biting his lip, he came to a conclusion. “I suppose someone needs to ensure that Celestia takes a bath in water of proper temperature after all.” With a snap of his fingers, he vanished, appearing in the royal bathroom. Not wasting a moment, he then quickly disguised himself as a mirror. Upon seeing a certain sun princess entering a rather large bathtub, he smirked. As the sink turned into his hand, he snapped his faucet-fingers, heating the water to degrees no mortal being could withstand.

However, Celetia seemed not to notice, levitating over the soap and beginning to wash her mane. Frustrated, he snapped his fingers again, heating the water further as bellows of steam continued to emerge from the boiling water. “A few drops of sweat, but still no reaction,” Discord murmured. So you don’t mind a little heat, then how about this. Snapping his fingers again, the steaming water turned into hot-boiling lava, melting the faucet as it oozed into the large tub. Yelping, Celestia leapt out of the pool. Snapping her head around, she instantly looked towards the sink.

“Oh, come now, Celly. I was sure you would enjoy a little prank in your long, boring life,” Discord’s voice echoed as he emerged from the sink’s mirror.

“Why is it always the sink…” Celestia muttered, shaking her head in disgust. “Do you not have anything better to do with your time?”

“Why Tia, my darling.” Discord pouted. “I am appalled that you would think going out of my way to spice up your life is a waste of time!” Crossing his arms, Discord turned his head, not meeting Celestia’s gaze.

Sighing, Celestia turned to look at her tub filled with molten rock. “True.” Closing her wings, Celestia took a slow, calming breath. “However, lava in a bathtub is much too dangerous for a prank.” She pointed at the boiling substance, though not noticing any signs of melting walls. “At least you were kind enough to use magic to keep the room from being destroyed.” Regretfully, she couldn’t say the same about her scorched fur.

“Too dangerous for a normal pony, but you’re a millennia old alicorn. Surely a grown mare like you can take it,” Discord responded. “Or are you chicken?”

The princess did not have to think long before a smirk appeared on her face. Her horn then lit as she cast a protective spell over herself. “I suppose you have a point, after all, it has been a long time since I’ve taken a hot bath.” She turned towards the bathtub and approached it, carefully sinking her foreleg into the lava. As planned, instead of it burning her fur or feathers, it was nothing more than a bit of heat, certainly nothing to write home about.

She carefully entered the lava and began to bathe, rolling around as she let the molten rock cleanse her, before rolling onto her back and resting her head against the lip of the pool. “I’m expecting this room to return to normal once I am done, unless you want to take a bath in a similar manner.”

Discord grinned. “But wouldn’t it be a fun surprise for the janitor?” Chuckling, he rubbed his hands together. “Imagine him strolling in, bucket in hand, all prepared to clean whatever mess you’ve left for him, only to find lava!”

Glaring at him, Celestia firmly shook her head. “No Discord. You know as well as I do that if Damp Rag got that close, he’d die of shock before heatstroke.”

Discord crossed his arms, teleporting away as his voice echoed through the bathroom. “Oh, you’re just no fun anymore.”

Sighing, Celestia began toweling off, losing five towels to the molten rock that slicked her fur. “I suppose no one ever did teach him to clean up after himself.” As she grabbed a bucket to remove the remaining lava, there was one last snap, as the molten rock transformed into a polar ice cap, complete with penguins, polar bears, and a sea turkey.

Slowing down, Silver Spoon caught her breath as she approached the school. Thanks to her encounter with Diamond Tiara, who did not seem to have caught up, she was a few minutes early to class. Smiling at her fortune, she trotted into class and placed her homework on Ms. Cheerilee’s desk, before turning to move towards her desk.

“Did you have an accident yesterday?” She asked, approaching the filly as she examined the barely visible marks hidden beneath her grey fur.

Silver Spoon shook her forehoof dismissively. “I did, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for us.”

The teacher lowered her head and looked Silver Spoon in the eyes with concern. “Not out of the ordinary for the crusaders, maybe, but certainly for you it is.”

Silver Spoon looked to the side and tapped her forehooves against each other. “I suppose getting covered by tree sap is practically a norm while getting scratched by plant thorns is rare.”

Cheerilee stood up. “Oh dear, I hope it was nothing serious.” She narrowed her eyes. “You should go visit the doctor immediately and stay home. You are a very diligent student, so nothing will happen if you skip classes for today.”

Silver Spoon shook her head, saying, “Thanks for worrying about me, but I feel perfectly fine.” After watching her teacher walk back to her desk, she herself sat down as her other classmates started to enter the room. That’s odd. I was sure that after all this time, Miss Cheerilee would be used to seeing me like that.

She looked at the fillies and colts filling the room, watching as they began taking seats in front of the wooden desks. “Hm…” Silver Spoon rubbed her chin and thought, Something feels different. She examined her own desk, before checking the ones on both sides. Now that’s rather odd. All these desks have several small marks on them, and I can see a crack from the time when Scootaloo hit the book with her own head.

She closed her eyes and rubbed the top of her head. Think, think. When Diamond Tiara framed us for damaging our desks, my parents personally bought the new ones. More common models for my friends and a bigger, more comfortable one for me. Diamond Tiara got herself an even better one right after. She took a closer look at the top desk near the window. There’s no way Tiara would agree to have a normal desk back, so why did she– Silver’s train of thought was cut off as a small pink filly entered the schoolhouse. Speak of the devil, and she doth appear. She glared at the pink earth pony, who sat in front of her desk and looked back.

“Hey Silver Spoon, why were you in such a hurry?” Tiara asked. “I mean, I know you like the school and all, but still.”

Silver didn’t bother to say a word as she stared back suspiciously, leaving Diamond Tiara with a confused look and and an uncomfortable silence. As everypony took their respective seats, Silver’s attention focused on the teacher.

The commotion and murmurs lasted for several more seconds, but it was quickly replaced by silence.

Diamond Tiara glanced at her friend before looking ahead. Something felt wrong. She may not find learning at school as boring as I do, but she never ran towards it. Pondering this, Tiara frowned and rested her head on her foreleg.

The farm filly nodded and began to approach the front of the room, waving to her friends as she left. With an encouraging gesture of the teacher’s foreleg, she placed the wooden box with seeds and apple samples under the blackboard before facing the class, awkwardly.

“Good Luck!” Silver Spoon and Scootaloo said in unison. Quickly, the Crusaders shot the rich filly a suspicious glance.

Using the moment when the desk between her and Silver Spoon was empty, Diamond Tiara looked at her friend and whispered, “So, what happened? You can tell me.” Upon not receiving any response, she said a bit louder, “You’re really worrying me, Silver Spoon.”

As Tiara expected, the cheering wasn’t loud, since not many foals looked forwards to any sort of boring presentation, though the fact that Silver Spoon was clapping enthusiastically was difficult to ignore. First cheering for Granny Smith, and now for Apple Bloom. You’re such an egghead sometimes, Silver. She crossed her forelegs and frowned. “I really don’t get you, Silver Spoon. What can you possibly find interesting in the presentation of a blank flank anyways? Apple this, apple that. I bet you that’s the only thing that runs through her brain.”

Scootaloo opened her mouth, but was unable to speak as Silver Spoon beat her to the punch, “Says who? Blank flank this, blank flank that. It’s all you can talk about.”

Tiara looked at her friend in shock, who stared back at her with a bored expression.

“This has been going on for years. It’s really getting old,” Silver pointed out.

Scootaloo chuckled and said, “See. You’re so repetitive that even your sidekick got bored of it.”

“Enough, class,” Cheerilee interrupted, her annoyed expression attracting everypony’s attention. “I’ll have no bickering in my classroom.” Turning to Apple Bloom, She smiled. “You may start your presentation now.”

“Y-yes, Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom said before clearing her throat, a nervous smile present on her face.

Diamond Tiara once again supported her head on her foreleg as she tuned out the farm filly, her attention was clearly elsewhere. Did Silver Spoon just complain about... me?! I never expected her of all ponies to do that… On the other hoof, maybe she’s right. Calling those crusaders blank flanks stopped being original a year ago.

“And this is the position Ah take before buckin’ a tree,” Apple Bloom said as she stood on her forelegs, her hind legs curled close to her belly. “It’s important to hit the correct spot so apples will fall directly in the baskets.” She sat and pointed at her hind legs. “Best to hit the tree with our hooves, or else yer leg will hurt, and ya may even need a doctor.”

Wrapping up her presentation, Apple Bloom took a deep breath and asked, “A-any questions?” Upon noticing one raised hoof, she said hesitantly, “Y-yeah, Silver Spoon?”

“Do you think the vibrations from the impact are responsible for the apples to fall down, or is it just a reaction between a tree and your innate earth pony magic?”

Apple Bloom tapped her chin. “Umm… I think it’s vibrations. Pegasi and unicorns can get apples to fall from the trees if they kick hard enough.”

“Is that true that unlike other races, if an earth pony kicks the tree, they share their inner pony magic with it?”

Silver Spoon cleared her throat and asked slowly, “When you... or your family... kick a tree to get apples, does it make them grow back faster?”

“What about Zap Apples? Are they filled with powerful magic? Do Timber Wolves feed on those because they are made of magic themselves?”

“Ah suppose they do. It would explain why they appear so numerous when zap apple season is up,” Apple Bloom responded. Ah knew Silver Spoon was interested in Granny Smith’s story, but this is ridiculous.

Silver Spoon once again raised her foreleg. “When you mentioned about relocating some of the trees and seeds to Appleloosa, does this mean that they are adapted to hot environments? Appleloosa is located in a desert after all.”

Apple Bloom tapped her forehooves together nervously. “Ah… dunno.” She bit her lip upon seeing the forehoof raised once again. No more questions, please… Wait a moment, did Ah just got tired of discussing apple related topics? she thought, her expression turning into pure shock.

“If each type of apple trees are located in specific part of the farm, wouldn’t it make them vulnerable to infestations? How do you deal with them?”

“Well… besides askin’ Fluttershy for help… we harvest the apples before the bugs hit the farm,” Apple Bloom responded as she now stared at Silver Spoon with a pleading stare. Mercy…

“Thank you Silver Spoon, but I believe we ran out of time,” Cheerilee said, causing Apple Bloom to sigh in relief and Silver Spoon’s ears to drop in disappointment.

As she walked back to her seat, Apple Bloom noticed that the grey bully kept ginning at her, the very sight sending shivers down her spine. The moment she sat, Silver’s voice reached her ears, “Not bad, Apple Bloom, but why didn’t you use my suggestions in the notes I gave you?”

Diamond Tiara chuckled. “Your family runs an apple farm, and you could barely answer Silver Spoon’s questions. Big apple expert you are.”

“Hey, Ah know lots of stuff about apples,” she responded, her pride on the line. She looked at the grey filly with a hint of hostility, “Ya won this round, but next time Ah’ll answer all yer questions.”

“Of course you will… not” Diamond Tiara said before chuckling. “Silver Spoon beat you in your own game, and she will do it again.”

“No, she won’t,” Scootaloo said as she poked the grey filly in the shoulder. “You think you’re smart? Huh? Well, you may be an egghead, but you sure are a lazy one. Any filly can beat you in sports with a foreleg tied behind one’s back.”

“That’s not very nice thing to say,” Silver Spoon responded with a sad voice. “Can’t you see that Diamond Tiara is trying to turn us against each other?”

Diamond Tiara frowned. “Why should we care about dirtying our hooves with something as insignificant as sports.”

“Shhh…” Silver Spoon silenced Diamond Tiara while shooting her a hostile glare.

Apple Bloom looked at each bully in shock. Do mah eyes deceive me? Did Silver Spoon just tell Diamond Tiara to be quiet? She rubbed her eyes and massaged her head before finally supporting it atop both of her forehooves. First the presentation and now this… This is too much for mah poor head.

Exchange of Spoons (Revised)

by CommanderX5

Chapter 1 - First Impression