"Soo... what do you want to do today?" Dia asked me with a delighted voice and a spring in her step. We finished class beforehand, which left us with the rest of the afternoon to hang out.
With that, I shrugged. "Dunno. Kinda wanted to hang at Rarity's place again, but Sweetie Belle had to go with Scootaloo to do... whatever it is that they do together." I said, my mind wandering towards other places to hang out. "Wanna hang out at the library? We can read that book- wait no, I forgot to bring it from home." I frowned, kicking the dirt with my forehoof. "Dang."
"You mean the" Dia leaned in to whisper in my ear, "secret book we found?"
I smiled at her before nodding and continuing our walk. "Yup. We'd have to go back to my place though."
"Cool!" Dia exclaimed bright-eyed, "Have you read it yet? What is it about? Does it have any cool stories?!" All gone were the pretenses of secrecy and now the pink filly was practically shouting questions in the air.
"Shhhh!" I silenced her with a hoof. Although I mentally noted how unsanitary that was and removed it just as quickly. Dia didn't seem to mind the action, however, but remained silent with obvious anticipation.
"It's... not really a storybook. More like an encyclopedia. Ahem, a book about a list of things. More specifically the book we found was a journal on all the monsters and artifacts in Equestria." I elaborated, specifying definitions before Dia had the chance to ask me.
"Ohhh... what's an artifact?" Dia asked anyways. I slumped. Maybe I should just read a dictionary to her or something. Before I opened my mouth to explain again, Dia just smiled. "I'm kidding! I know what an artifact is. You don't go two chapters into reading Curse of the Castle without knowing that."
I smirked at that. "Yeah okay, you got me. Well, it does have some interesting stories. Just not maybe as long as you're used to it. Probably only short ones, but each one of them is very real. It's not like the fantasy adventure books we read." I explained with a trot to my step.
As we reached the bridge towards Sugarcube Corner, my ears picked up a foreboding sound.
Spring! Spring! Spring!
My eyes furrowed and my ears strained as I tried to recall what that sound was. I glanced towards the square's water fountain to see a pink figure with a puffy pink mane bouncing across town towards us. My mind instantly went to a collective 'oh shit' moment as I panicked. "Quick! Dia hold my saddlebags for me." I told my friend before dropping the item next to her.
Diamond Tiara, slow on the pickup, gave me a startled and confused expression. "Huh?"
"It's Pinkie! I have to hide. I can't let her see me." I darted my eyes around for a place to hide. To my dismay, there are no bushes or tall grass near the creek. Shit shit shit! "Dia, you never saw me!" I said before jumping up on the edge of the bridge. Looking down, I see a thankfully shallow stream of water going through. I'm probably going to regret this, but I would regret confronting Pinkie even more. I jumped.
With a splash, I dove under the water with surprising ease. I floundered a bit, trying to remember my swimming lessons from my other life. It wasn't exactly helpful as I've come soon to realize. Ponies are flexible, extremely so, but no amount of flexibility can adapt to trying skills meant for a bipedal body. I struggled to swim momentarily before I remembers how dogs swam. Paddling my hooves in front of me in a forward motion while kicking my legs, I managed to get the hang of it quickly.
As soon as I could consistently have my nose above the water, I slowly waded under the bridge. I latched my hooves on the side where the bridge meets land. The bedrock reaches a level where I can stand on four legs and rise against the flow of the stream.
Spring! Spring! Spring!
Shit! I really hope she didn't see me. I closed my eyes and held my breath.
"Heya Diamond Tiara! I haven't seen you since back before summer." A cheerful voice said.
"Oh hey Pinkie! Yeah me and daddy went traveling together." Dia chirped.
"Oh, that's nice. Hey, you're carrying saddlebags now! Does that mean you're going to school?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah! We just started a couple of days ago." Dia answered.
"We? Is that why you're carrying two saddlebags?" Pinkie asked curiously.
Oh shit. Dia no!
"Uh. Y-Yeah I'm just carrying this for a friend." Dia said nervously.
Dia! You traitor!
"Ooh! Can I meet this friend of yours? I bet you're making a ton of friends by now!" Pinkie said happily.
"Oh yeah, I'm making a ton of friends. Let's see, I've made friends with Rumble, Tender Taps, Aquamarine, Boysenberry, First Base, Heidi Hay, Lemon Daze, and Peach Fuzz, and all of those were just from two days ago!" Dia recounted her past events with glee.
I calmed a slight bit after noting that she didn't include me in that list.
"Anyways, today I met with Lemon Daze's siblings during recess! Shady Daze and Sunny Daze were pretty fun to talk to. Shady seemed pretty shy though, but Sunny was super excited to meet me! She talked to me, but I was distracted by her mane. It was really pretty! Like it was glowing! I talked to her about how she got her mane like that, and she told me about the shampoo she used and-"
Oh wow, she's just talking. She's really talking.
"Apparently the shampoo she used was like, really expensive and her mom was really mad at her. But like, I told her it was so worth it! Lemon Daze agreed with me too-"
Okay how did I miss this during recess? Did this all happen while I was using the restroom or something? I felt the urge to try to peer next to the bridge to see Pinkie's reaction to Dia's word vomit but decided not to as it was too risky.
"But then, Shady Daze spoke up and also agreed! He didn't talk for the whole conversation so I was pretty surprised when he did. Sunny was obviously happy about it, but said that she couldn't use her mom's shampoo again. So I thought, 'what if I bought it for her as a gift?' Then I asked her what kind of shampoo it was-"
Oh god. She just keeps going.
"Of course, Sunny thought I was asking to buy it for myself. Which I am, don't get me wrong, but she doesn't know I'm also getting one for her. Her muzzle when I hoof a bottle of that stuff to her is gonna be so funny!" Dia giggled as she finished her story.
I held back from sighing in relief.
To her credit, Pinkie giggled as well. "Oh I bet! It's pretty generous of you to buy a bottle for her. I bet her mom's also gonna be pretty surprised when Sunny Daze shows up with one. Oh! Oh! Do you want to know what I did over the summer?"
Oh. Oh no.
"Oh, sure! I bet I missed a bunch of parties when I was away." Dia chirped happily.
Dia noooooooo!
"Oh don't worry about it. I was out traveling too! Right around the time when you left, I went on the train to my family's rock farm to meet my parents and sisters. Summer is the time when it gets too dangerous to mine due to airflow temperatures and the volcano being a little bit more active this time of year. So, the family all get together and decide to do something for the summer!"
Wait what? Volcano?
"Oh that's really cool! What did you all decide to do together?" Dia asked with glee.
"Oh, we all decided to go visit our two cousins on the very top of the Rocky Mountains. The Howling Winds are a lot calmer during the summer so it isn't as nearly cold up there for frostbite to settle in. We also haven't heard from them for a couple of months and my parents really wanted to check up on them." Pinkie continued with her explanation.
Frostbite?!
"Oh, were they okay?" Dia asked.
"Oh yeah, cousin Mince Meat Pie and Chicken Pot Pie were fine. They were just super busy trying to get the new steel rails in the mountain mines all set up while keeping their livestock kept safe from the mountain wolves."
Wait wait wait, Mince Meat Pie?! Chicken Pot Pie?! What the fuck? Mountain wolves? What kind of family lives up there?! And who names their kid Mince Meat of all things?!
"Oh, well that's good. That they're all fine. What are your cousins like? How did they manage to fight off the mountain wolves?" Dia questioned curiously.
"Oh, that's not a problem for them. Mince Meat is a real fighter. Nothing fazes her. I even saw her taking a bite out of a piece of iron once. Mountain wolves got nothing on her. She and my older sister get along pretty well. Chicken Pot is the actual leader of the duo. She manages the livestock pretty well and she knows an amazing pie recipe. Chicken Pot Pie puts these delicious white chunks in hers along with veggies and cream. It's sooo gooooood~ Oh I have to remember to bring you one next time. She still won't share the recipe with our family, but sooner or later I'll get her to spill the beans!" Pinkie chirped.
I'm sorry. What? What the hell? Pinkie's cousins sound goddamn terrifying. What the fuck? Did they eat meat? Did Chicken Pot feed her family chicken? Why do they have livestock?! No wait, Applejack owns a farm. Can ponies eat meat? Can I eat meat?
"Man, that sounds so good." I could imagine Dia drooling from the tone of her voice.
"Man? What's that?" Pinkie asked confused.
"Oh, it's an expression. My friend taught me that." Dia answered casually.
"Oh, okay! Funny expression. Man. Man man, man. Weird word. Anyways I gotta bring these cupcakes to Applejack's farm! Talk to you later~!" Pinkie Pie said cheerily.
Spring! Spring! Spring!
As I heard the sounds of her steps fading I released a breath I didn't know I had. "Urghhh." I tiredly growled before dragging myself to the side of the bank and pulling myself out of the water. As the wind blew against my wet fur coat I clenched my teeth and shivered.
"You okay?" Dia stood beside me with concern.
"I-I-I'm fine. Just c-c-chilly." I stuttered.
"Yeah, you should shake all that water off," Dia commented, before taking a couple of steps back.
"Shake?" Raised a brow.
"Yeah, just shake your body and get it all off." The pink filly confirmed.
I furrowed my brows but didn't decide to question it further. Standing, I instinctively shook my body by turning the barrel of my body left and right. The water on my coat soon sprayed off my body, leaving me feeling still somewhat moist. I craned my neck to glance at my coat, confirming that I'm significantly less soggy than before. I was still very cold, but I was no longer dripping at least. "That helped." I almost stuttered to mutter, feeling the breeze against me.
Diamond Tiara nodded before walking to stand next to me. "So, want to explain why you want to avoid Pinkie Pie?"
I groaned exasperatingly before answering with a hoof on the bridge of my temple. "It's not something I want to deal with."
"Why not?" Dia tilted her head.
I contemplated my words. "My dad doesn't celebrate things that are... inevitable. Meaning things that will happen no matter what. Like birthdays..." I answered her, my voice trailing off at the end.
"Your dad doesn't celebrate birthdays?" Dia said with a remorseful expression. "But, my daddy celebrates everything. From when I first walked, when I first talked, when I read my first word..." Dia listed off before going quiet.
My eyes stared at the ground as my face turned into that of a grimace. "Yeah, well father doesn't think those things are accomplishments worthy enough of celebrating. He only makes parties when it has something to do with his work, like when a big project is done." I snarled with surprising vice. "Yeah like having a kid grow up and survive a year isn't an accomplishment enough, much less six," I said sarcastically before sitting down on my flank.
Dia stayed quiet throughout my explanation turned venting and remained that way; no doubt unable to say anything at that moment. As seconds passed my fury slowly abated and all that was left was a feeling of coldness and sorrow. I sighed. "If Pinkie ever found out I never had a birthday before, she'll try to make a giant party to make up for all the ones I didn't have. Father would be absolutely livid if that happened. And you already know what I'm like with other ponies. I can't- I don't want to deal with that." I bit back a breath.
Then I felt two warm legs wrap around my shoulders. My eyes widened as Diamond Tiara was pressed against me in a close hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." She whimpered in my ear. I felt warm droplets fall on my chest and my eyes shifted to see that they were tears.
"Dia," I said in concern, but I had no voice to continue on.
"It's not fair," Dia said frustratedly, "it's not fair to you. You deserve a birthday Silvy. You deserve a lot more birthdays than I ever had." She hugged tighter.
I couldn't help but release a strained chuckle. "Silvy?"
"Shaddup. We're having a moment here." Dia whined into my shoulder.
I just slowly nodded and we waited there for a while. At some point it started to lean back on her, embracing the warmth she was giving me. Again we waited, the coldness around me slowly fading as my fur coat dried in the sun and open air.
Diamond Tiara then released her hug, staring at me with stark determination in her eyes. "I'm going to tell my daddy to make you a party."
At that declaration, my eyes rose to look at her with bewilderment. "Dia did you not hear-"
Dia then shushed me by pressing her hoof on my lips. I immediately grimaced as the taste of water and grass stained where she pressed it. Satisfied that I wouldn't say anything further, she let go of my mouth; leaving me to wipe my lips across my foreleg. "I'll make it a private party. A small party. A party that your dad will never know about. We can make up your missing birthdays that way, so whenever you do meet Pinkie you can say that you did have a birthday party before."
I paused at that, before thinking. It wasn't a bad idea. "But-"
"And we can invite my friends! Or just us and Sweetie Belle if you want to. Whatever is comfortable for you." Dia elaborated.
"But your dad-" I tried to protest.
"My dad makes parties like these all the time," Dia waved nonchalantly, "I'm sure he won't mind throwing some for you. He already throws way too many parties for me anyways."
I pursed my lips, my eyes barely reaching to meet her gaze. "You'd really do that for me?"
Dia's eyes widened as if she was offended. "Of course, I would!" She smiled brightly before hugging me tightly again, chirping happily in my ear. "What are friends for?"
Dumbfounded, I just sat there. A smile slowly crept on my lips, and I hugged my friend back. "Thanks, Dia, you're the best."
"I know I am!" The pink filly loudly declared before leaving my shoulder.
I chuckled at that, causing her to burst into a fit of adorable laughter. Hearing that caused me to chuckle even harder. Soon, we both acted exactly like a pair of giggling schoolfillies.
"You're a mess," Dia said in between her fits of laughter.
"Yeah yeah, says the filly who's been crying all over my fur." I shot back between my own laughter.
"Hey, those tears were expensive! You'd better be grateful!" Dia giggled back.
I laughed again as we traded words, tears from both emotions and laughter collecting in my eyes. I wiped them away with my foreleg before we slowly calmed down.
"Hey, wanna hang out at my house then?" Dia asked.
"Hmm?" I tilted my head in question.
"You don't want to let your dad know you fell in the river right? You can take a bath at my place and I can tell my daddy to set those parties up for you." Dia explained further with excitement.
"Oh," I glanced at my disheveled fur, "yeah I guess that's alright. Sure." I accepted.
"Yay! Sleep-o-ver! Sleep-o-ver!" Dia chanted as she trotted towards her place.
I shook my head with a wry smile before following her.