Silver Spoon understood a little bit about what it was that put others off about her fillyfriend, Diamond Tiara. Even though they were no longer tween fillies but more properly pre-teen fillies, yet still laboring under the reputations of their earlier lives. Not that they were WHOLLY undeserved, but the statute of limitations surely should have run out already.
She looked at her fillyfriend, who was doing a bit of karaoke. She was singing with great passion and energy, and was even on key most of the time. “Be my bad girl, be my gal! Be my weekend lover but don't be my pal! You can be my bad girl but understand that I don't need you in my life again.” Cascade. Out of style, but the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Diamond dropped a wink to Silver after the declaration of temporary affection and went back to the singing.
Silver fell back into one of the cushy chairs that were in their private party room. It surprised nopony that discovered it that Diamond Tiara had a room specifically for parties. It was the envy of party ponies, especially Pinkie Pie-Sparkle. It was a single-use room with well-provided outlets that could handle high-use electronics, a built-in extremely powerful speaker system that could pump out ludicrous amounts of bass, and easy to move furnishings that allowed for an endless array of party layouts. And what made it most infuriating, only two guests were ever permitted in there. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
Silver leaned her head back, letting the thumping beat of the music and Diamond's competent singing swirl and meld into a pleasant background to her personal thoughts. There was so much to consider, so many thoughts, and much of it being the crushing weight of what others said. The whispers and jeers of their nearest peers, those either just less wealthy than them, or just more wealthy. And all of comparable levels of popularity. That made the thoughts pressing.
Diamond had always been derided for many reasons. Snobbishness, sniping, power positioning, even bullying. But she had reasons! She had... some reasons. She wasn't BAD. But she had some... issues with other ponies. All other ponies were held at leg's length, kept away from the core of who she was, to protect herself. She had reasons...
“Now Diamond, come along, then.” Filthy Rich looked down to his tiny daughter, who was shyly hiding behind his forelegs. The little filly was wearing a tiara, as her name implied, but nothing else, save strange devices on her hooves, which added an extra bit of volume to her clops.
“But daaaaddy!” The little pink filly sniffled and clopped dejectedly along. “This is, like, SOOO embarrassing.” She looked down at the blocky medical devices locked onto her hooves, which were correcting the odd curvature of the lower edges of her hooves.
“Be that as it may, Diamond, you still have to go to pre-pre-school. It's an important step to ensure proper education and good marks towards a good school. And a little networking never hurts. Try to make some friends, the parents should prove very useful.” Filthy smiled a bit as the gleaming white building came into view.
The structure looked very classical, designed in a pseudo-Hipposian-or-Equusian style that brought to mind a solid version of the architecture of Cloudsdale. Occupying the place of a frieze that would be on such a structure was a set of ornate brass letters. The displayed signage declared, “Canterlot Mountain School of Early Foal Development.”
Inside the place was lushly carpeted, with soft pastel colors all about to give the place a warm feel. The main room of the facility was a large open area with soft mats, and plenty of toys, all the most popular ones it seemed. There were a few foals in evidence, mostly by themselves.
The headmistress approached the newly-arrived ponies. She was an older mare, a white unicorn that had managed to maintain her golden mane and tail. She had a severe, uptight demeanor, and looked extremely unfriendly, despite her attempt at smiling in a welcoming manner. “Welcome, mister Rich. I am Dagny Francon, headmistress of this most prestigious pre-educational institution. Let me say that it is a great pleasure to see you here, and it will be my pleasure to mold your daughter, that she may succeed.”
While Filthy was being given Dagny's song and dance, Diamond slowly clopped away from her father, to look at the other foals. They were all from wealthy families, or so she had been told. She should have had plenty in common with them. But she didn't think that at all on looking at them. They looked... too perfect. Unnaturally perfect. Perfectly white teeth, perfectly curried coats and brushed manes, slim bodies, quick eyes. Those by themselves looked engaged with educational objects such as blocks; those together were whispering to one another, casting suspicious or vicious eyes on the rest, including the interloping Diamond.
There was only one outlier. A lone filly, not playing with any toys. She looked... lost. And scared. She was imperfect. Stylish glasses rested on her face, and her body was a trifle thick. Just normal foal pudge, but it set her apart from the slim foals. Diamond slowly trotted over, thankful the soft floor of the area muffled her steps. She looked at the other filly and licked her dry lips. “I'm Diamond Tiara.”
“I-I'm Silver Spoon.” The fear seemed to melt. She actually smiled. Silver slowly rose and approached Diamond.
“Look at that, tubby is doing her yearly exercise.” The voice was sharp, but quiet. It surely would never reach the adults, but the foals could hear well enough. It came from a knot of whispering foals. More specifically, it came from a golden unicorn filly with a flowing green mane. “And the new filly is actually talking to her. But I' not surprised. She's broken too.”
“Wh-what do you mean?” Diamond turned a wide-eyed look to the other filly, not seeing that Silver shrank away fearfully.
“Look at those things on your hooves. Imperfection. I learned that is wrong. Very wrong.” The filly looked haughtily upon Diamond, sniffing in a superior fashion.
“N-no... I'm not imperfect. They're... they're... fashionable! Yea, the latest thing from, um, Percheron! You're just jealous.” Diamond threw her snout up in the air and huffed softly.
“Yea right... okay, I believe you... but you're still talking to HER.” The unicorn pointed an accusing hoof at Silver.
“N-no I wasn't... I was... I was... um... making fun of her! Yea, I was.”
The unicorn narrowed her eyes. “Show me.”
Diamond's breath quickened, as she slowly turned to the quivering, huddled Silver. Her mouth was suddenly dry as a bone. Eyes settled on the quivering form before her. “A-and you're... heavy. You're a... a... sugar... lump... rump.”
“Sugar lump rump?” The whole little clique laughed while the leader shook her head. “Fine. You might be cool.”
“Looks like you're making friends here, sweetie. Excellent!” Filthy trotted up to his daughter and gingerly ruffled her mane.
“Yea, I am... I am...” She slowly walked away with her father. Before she left, she turned to Silver, who had begun to cry, and slowly mouthed the words, 'I'm sorry.'
They were not at the school for very long. Dagny tried to make them absorb certain ideas that came out of a large book she kept with her, but after that first day, there wasn't much on either of their minds except Diamond trying to imply she wasn't what she seemed. Much, much later Dagny had been taken away by Canterlot guards with no explanation and the facility closed. But that was long after they were there. And long after their move to a private school for wealthy foals just up the mountain of Canterlot.
Diamond had been schooled in the ways of cliques and popularity. She knew the ins and outs of it all, and used the knowledge to great effect at the lower levels. She had had her hoof straighteners removed and looked fairly nice, just right for a Codfish Aristocrat, as her father was called; a neuveau riche type that had no ties to landed gentry, no official commissions and had gained money through either some physical labor or through dealings with merchants.
Silver was still... not heavy but she was fuller figured than most others. She had also learned about cliques and popularity. But from the other side. The follower side. To cling like a remora to somepony that had a better status and could provide cover and let her be invisible. From day one, that pony had been Diamond Tiara.
She had not become instantly popular, and Diamond had not brought her immediately into the fold. But she HAD deflected comments and criticism onto other foals when they threatened to land on Silver's head, and had been assured, privately, that Diamond had never meant to hurt her. The initial insult became a kind of code. It was ludicrous, and saying it made it clear that it was not to be taken as a serious slur.
Eventually, imperceptibly, she had become part of a popular group. And outside of the school, she had become a friend to Diamond. Her father encouraged it, when he realized that Silver was the daughter of the Lode family of Ponyville and near environs, a wealthy mining family who had a wealth that was as recent as his own, and just slightly less. It was a good match, as the two clans could support one another in business matters, linked by their daughters' friendship.
The private school was where things took off. It was a chance for a whole situation. Diamond was eager to be the queen bee of the place, to finally have her control, which had been denied before. She did her best. But as it included several age groups, the older foals always took charge. Diamond never gave in completely, however, she wormed her way in or made them move along with caustic comments and cutting remarks. At her side, Silver backed her, all the way. She had no talent for character assassination, but could easily supply sneers and cheers, making Diamond all the more impressive.
“You're not so tough, are you? Ha! I thought so.” Diamond smiled her smug little smile as a group of older foals clopped away from her, having failed to get her ire up, receiving only scorn and mockery for their troubles.
“That was, like, so amazing, Diamond. You always know how to get those older kids to slink away.” Silver politely clapped her hooves together and smiled to her friend.
“Well yea, of course. I was, like, born to do it, you know? I feel so good... I wanna celebrate but I don't know how. Like, what could we do?”
“The older older kids hoof-bump.” Silver offered.
“Guh. That is, like, SOOO plain. BOOOOO-RIIIIING. Come ON, Silver. We need something way better than just a bump.”
Silver tapped her chin lightly, tongue sticking slightly from her mouth. “Bump... bump...”
“Sugar. Lump. Rump.” Diamond sprang to her hooves and immediately began to knock parts of her forelegs against Silver. "That's it! We just need to work on the moves...”
“D-diamond! Diamond! What are you doing?” Silver backed away a little bit, rubbing her forelimbs where the impacts had been a bit rough.
“Why should we just bump our hooves together? That's so plain. We should have some kind of fancy bumps and clops. It's a way to show we're special. That we're winners with style.”
“Oh... yea! Let's do that. Just... not so hard this time.” Silver smiled sheepishly and came closer once more, lifting her right foreleg. “We can start like this.”
“Hmmm, nah, both of them.” Diamond held out both of her forelegs, standing on her hind legs a little awkwardly. “We can tap them high. Then low.”
Silver copied the motion and went in as instructed, hooves clopping against Diamond's, first at around chest level, then lower, both leaning forwards, heads coming very close together. They held that position for a bit, leaving Silver blushing a bit. “Um... Now what?”
Diamond did her best to keep her face looking normal, but a tremendous smile wanted to burst out. “We say 'Bump Bump' as we do it. And then... then we... we tap our... knees! But our right knees.” Diamond fell to all fours but lifted up her right foreleg, bending it and pushing the knee out. “And say 'sugarlump'.”
“'Sugarlump'? Well, okay...” Silver tapped her knee two beats against Diamond's. “Is that all?”
“One more thing.” Diamond suddenly turned and stuck her hind end out towards Silver, just missing hitting her. “We finish with a nice, loud 'Rump.' Nothing is more 'In your loser face' than that. It shows we won and know it. Come on Silver, bump rumps with me.”
“Alright...” Though uncertain, and brimming with nervousness, Silver turned around and quickly thrust out her rear, impacting Diamond's solidly. She was still thicker than her friend, and shifted the filly on her hooves just slightly. “That was... great! I think this works.”
Diamond grinned and turned back around. "I told you. Now, we do it for real.”
The two fillies faced one another, getting up on their hind legs, and clopping their way through their new victory dance. “Bump! Bump! Sugarlump Rump!”
The private schooling ended after that point. Both the Rich family and the Lode family decided that, in order to properly temper their daughters, they ought to be educated in public schools. They could learn all about the ordinary folk they would someday work for them. They needed empathy. But they had been among the stuck-up elite for a while, and the lessons had been harsh, teaching them all about how to protect themselves from sniping and back-stabbing. To insult before being insulted.
They had grown all the closer, Diamond as the leader, and Silver as her support. She needed the glasses-wearing filly as much as Silver needed her. And while she never said it, it was almost like she did not need to say it. It came through in every thing she did and said. Especially on that day. The day Silver finally knew with whom she would spend the rest of her life.
It had been an ordinary day of half-focused-on learning, and casual gossip, as a pre-emptive strike against gossip that would not be forthcoming. But they couldn't understand that. They were operating in a space far outside what they had learned.
“I can't believe that we have to sit through all this stuff. Like, we TOTALLY learned all this at our old school. Why do we, like, need to repeat it all?” Diamond rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking towards Silver.
“I guess these foals aren't as smart as we are. We're, like, so far ahead of them. That's so cool.” Silver smiled smugly, then stopped in her tracks, suddenly turning to dig in her saddlebags. “Awww, I left some of my stuff back there. I need to go get it.”
“Alright. Don't take too long. We have appointments at the spa.”
“I'll be fast...” Silver turned on her heels and dashed back to the schoolyard, finding it mostly empty, save for some of the larger, more oafish students, the sort that probably were behind the lag in education. Private schools could flush such problems. Public schools had to minimize their impact.
“Hey nerd! What are you doing back here? You don't belong here.” A particularly imposing slab of filly muscle loomed over Silver, looking for all the world like a rugby player, or at least an understudy for one.
“I just came back for some things I forgot. M-miss Cheerilee can probably get it for me and I'll leave.” Silver staggered back slightly. Without Diamond she was helpless. Nothing but the pudgy filly all by herself.
“I think you need to pay a toll. Right?” The heavy filly looked to her fellow bully-sized foals, getting eager nods. “Rich filly like you should have some bits.”
“B-b-but... this is a schoolyard. I shouldn't have to pay. Please just let me through...”
“Oh... not going to pay? Come on, be smart. You're smart, aren't you, nerd?” The filly stamped forward, bumping rudely into Silver. Though the impact was relatively light, comparatively speaking, it knocked Silver right to the ground, and actually made her tumble a short way.
“Hey! Don't do that...” Silver fumbled for her glasses, having lost them during the tumble.
“Then give me my bits.”
“No...”
“Fine.” A huge hoof came down onto those glasses, smashing the frames and plastic with a loud crunch. “Ready to pay yet, nerd?”
“Please stop this.” Silver sobbed softly, more lost than ever before. The world had transformed into a plane of blurry blobs, nothing distinct, just a wavering collection of shapes.
“HEY! You can't do that!” The voice was distinctive. There was no mistaking Diamond when she yelled. Her fury could cut through anything.
“Who's gonna stop me, rich filly? You? You should pay the toll too. Be smarter than your nerd friend.”
“As if! Rich family members don't pay stupid things like this. And we don't just give up because somepony like you threatened.” There was some motion, the pink blob confronting the huge cream-colored blob. “Apologize to her. Right now.”
The big bully's laughter was grating and cruel, and was followed by a powerful snort. “No way. I'm gonna get my bits, or you and your friend are gonna wish you had paid.”
“No!” The pink blob was a blur, wheeling around, moving her limbs, the scene suddenly filled with a resounding thud, a meaty sound of hooves striking a wall of meat.
“Bad move!” There was a scuffle, a great tumult that involved many moving shapes and the pounding of hooves, together with more impacts.
“What is going on here?!” There was a bigger blob suddenly, magenta in color. Miss Cheerilee. “Diamond Tiara! Have you been fighting?”
“This big bully knocked down Silver and broke her glasses! I couldn't let her...”
“That's enough young filly. I don't care the reason. There is no fighting on school grounds. Just for that, you're getting detention.”
“But..!”
“No 'buts'! You march yourself into the classroom right now, young filly. And that goes for you too, all of you. Come on. Inside.” All the shapes moved towards the school-shaped blur, save Cheerilee. “Do you need any help to get home? Is there anypony I can call?”
“N-no. I... I want to stay. My parents will come here eventually. Please let me stay with Diamond. She was only trying to help.”
“There's a right way and a wrong way. She should have come to get me. You always get help from a grown pony.”
“She... she just wanted to help me.” Silver slowly stood and began to carefully pick her way to the school. She had risked harm. She cared so much.
Inside, Silver went straight to the figure sitting far away from a knot of others, heading for that distinctive pink shade. As she got close enough Diamond spoke. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay? Like, did she hurt you?”
“I'm f-fine. I just can't see anything.” Silver took a seat at one of the desks and lightly rubbed a hoof over it. “Thank you. For what you did. That was really, like, brave of you.”
A hoof fell gingerly onto her shoulder, a comforting rub following. “Hey... you're my sugarlump rump. I'll always stand up for you. Always.”
The present returned to Silver when she realized Diamond was calling to her. It was the instrumental middle portion of the song, a chance to actually speak. “Join me for the last chorus. I TOTALLY need you here.”
“Alright! Sounds like fun.” Silver was up and over immediately, eagerly watching the screen.
The instrumental faded into a second verse, then the final chorus. While Silver sang from the screen, Diamond did not. “Be my bad girl, be my gal! Be my weekend lover and be my pal! You can be my bad girl but understand that I need you back in my life again. Be my bad girl, be my gal, be my weekend lover and be my pal! You can be my bad girl, but more than that you can be my sugarlump rump. Be my sugarlump rump.” Diamond smiled cheekily, and grabbed Silver up in a tremendous embrace.
Silver would let everypony think what they wanted. They could all go to Tartarus for all she cared. Because she knew very well that Diamond was not what they thought. It was in the term. Whenever she said 'sugarlump rump' all Silver could hear was, 'I love you.'
A/N: For full disclosure, the song is a modification of “Bad Boy” by Cascada. Have fun listening to it.