//------------------------------//
// Diamond's Nightmare 
// Story: Scarred Hearts 
// by Yukito 
//------------------------------//

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Yes, I hear you! Hold your horseshoes!" Silverspeed ushered the two fillies playing chess towards the kitchen, behind the stairs that were out of view of the parlour's windows. Not that it mattered, the windows being covered completely with dark planks of wood. "Behind the pantry, you two," she whispered. "And no matter what happens, no matter what you hear, do not come out. Understand?"

Silver Spoon nodded reluctantly. "Y-Yes," she said, her voice shaking. Her mother smiled and leaned down to hug the two of them, though Diamond Tiara did not return it as Silver Spoon did.

"OPEN THIS DOOR OR WE'LL BREAK IT DOWN!" the voice outside shouted, causing Diamond Tiara to flinch and clasp her hooves over her mouth.

Silver Spoon saw the tears welling in her friend's eyes and grabbed her hoof. "Come on," she whispered, putting on her bravest face as she led Diamond Tiara into the kitchen. Silver Spoon shifted the pantry aside, revealing a small hole in the wall that would go unnoticed with the kitchen in its usual state.

She let Diamond go in first, and then followed behind her, making sure to move the pantry back after she crawled in. Not long afterwards, she heard the door open, and the raised voice of a stallion yell, "Where is my daughter?! I know you have her here!"

Silver Spoon picked up a pair of earmuffs in the corner and put them over Diamond Tiara's head. Her friend was frozen in a state of terror, her eyes mere pinpricks as they focussed on nothing in particular, and her entire body was covered in a sweat that contradicted her shivering.

"It'll be okay," Silver Spoon reassured her, holding her friend close as they waited. That was all they could do – hide and wait it out.

"You're lying!" the stallion roared. "You will not keep me from my daughter any longer! She will receive the gift and become one of the chosen!"

"I'm telling you, she is not here! She boarded the first train out of Ponyville with my husband and my daughter, the moment that castle was raised!"

Something smashed in the parlour. Something that sounded like pottery, or perhaps glass, Silver Spoon wasn't sure. "Then where did they go?"

"As if I would tell you even if I knew! What sort of father would ever-"

The next sound Silver Spoon heard was her mother crying out, and then something heavy crashing to the floor. Silverspeed screamed for a few seconds, and then she heard something else smashing. She closed her eyes and held Diamond Tiara tighter. For a moment, she wondered if she could save her mother by revealing themselves.

"P-Please," Diamond Tiara whispered. "Please Daddy. Please don't be mad…"

Silverspeed cried out again, and Silver Spoon buried her face into Diamond's shoulder.

"Search the kitchen!" Silver's heart skipped a beat. She heard hoofsteps entering the room and she swallowed. She wanted to take a deep breath, but was afraid of making too much noise. She wanted to turn around to see if they were nearing the hole in the wall, but she was unable to move even the slightest inch.

She heard drawers being thrown about, cupboards being smashed, even the pantry being raided. But eventually, the ponies left.

Several minutes passed in complete silence. They must have been searching other rooms. She could occasionally hear stomps upstairs, but no voices or other noteworthy sounds.

Finally, she heard her mother speak again. "See? I told you so."

"Hmph. We'll find them, wherever you've hidden them. Take the mother for now. She can scrub the dungeons."

Silver Spoon gasped. Her mother was going to be taken away! She released Diamond Tiara and tried to leave, but her friend grabbed her tail. As she turned, she saw the other filly shaking her head, her eyes pleading not to go.

"STOP THIS! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" Silverspeed screamed.

"You are guilty of foalnapping and conspiracy against Her Majesty, Nightmare Moon! Take her away!"

"NO! YOU CAN'T- UNHOOF ME! HELP!"

Silver Spoon knew. She knew that if she went out there, she would be caught, too. And they would still take her mother away, and they'd punish her worse for lying.

She returned to her friend and embraced her once more. Diamond Tiara returned the hug, and the two closed their eyes as they waited for the screaming to be far enough away that they couldn't hear it.