//------------------------------// // Chapter One - What are friends for? // Story: Whispered Words // by Ponyzilla //------------------------------// Whispered Words - Chapter One At lunch, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were laughing their flanks off like no tomorrow. Sweetie Belle had just told them what happened the day before with Silver Spoon. She turned her head away from her friends, her face blushing furiously in embarrassment. "And, and she thought... YOU... were plannin' ta use... HER?" Apple Bloom said in between her laughter, gasping for air. Sweetie Belle nodded silently. "That's too funny!" said Scootaloo, slapping her hoof on their lunch table. Sweetie Belle simply sighed to herself and stared at the ground as her friends were trying to catch their breaths, but to no avail. Finally, after a few minutes, Scootaloo managed to wipe her tears from laughing too much away. "Sorry Sweetie Belle. Guess your 'being friends with the enemy' plan just wasn't meant to be," she said as she patted Sweetie Belle on the back. The white mare didn't say a word. "Aw, Sweetie Belle, don't feel bad," Apple Bloon tried to comfort her friend. "She's not worth it if she's tryna accuse ya for doing somethin' ya weren't even plannin' ta do." "I can't believe she would think I'd do something like that, though" Sweetie Belle mumbled. She started drawing on the ground with one hoof. "Yeah, I know. I mean, come on! You're Sweetie Belle. You'd NEVER be able to pull off something as cool--" Scootaloo was cut off by a nudge from Apple Bloom. "I-I mean, you'd never do something like that!" Scootaloo corrected herself. "Yeah! It's okay, Sweetie Belle. We're still here for ya!" "Well yeah, for now. There's still a possibility that one of us may have a change of heart like Sweetie Belle did and--" Apple Bloom shot Scootaloo a death glare. "Never mind," Scootaloo squeaked, cowering in fear. "Thanks girls," Sweetie Belle said as a soft smile crept upon her face. Apple Bloom grinned and pulled the three crusaders into a tight hug. "That's the spirit!" After class, the three Crusaders decided to stick around on school grounds and discuss their plans. Even after the three discovered their cutie marks, their adventures and "crusading" haven't stopped, though they now do those extreme activities with a different objective: to have fun. The three mares were sitting on a picnic table in the school's courtyard. They were admiring the pink and yellow butterflies fluttering right before their eyes. Nonetheless, they didn't allow themselves to be distracted by the scenery. They got straight down to business. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo began discussing plans for the weekend, pranks they could pull, and doing activities that reflect their special talents. However, in truth, there was something else stuck in Sweetie Belle's mind. She couldn't help but think about the events that had happened the day before with Silver Spoon. Although her friends had managed to cheer her up temporarily, she still wasn't quite ready to give up. "Equestria to Sweetie Belleeee," said Apple Bloom, who was violently waving her hooves in front of the white mare's face. Sweetie Belle shook her head around, redirecting her attention to her friends. "I... was listening!" she lied. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exchanged glances. "Oh yeah? Then what were we planning to do this weekend?" Scootaloo quizzed Sweetie Belle. "Uh... orphan... hunting?" Sweetie Belle replied intelligently, though in reality, she had picked the first two words that popped into her mind. Her two best friends groaned in annoyance. "You can't be serious. You're still stuck on the idea of befriending Silver Spoon, aren't you?" Scootaloo guessed, rolling her eyes. Sweetie Belle smiled nervously at her friend and shrugged. Apple Bloom face hoofed herself. "Ah don't get it. She treated ya, and frankly, STILL treats ya terribly, and yer still not givin' up on her?" Apple Bloom asked. "Well, I guess the fact that she rejected my request kinda makes me wanna... try again. I can't just give up!" Sweetie Belle argued back, determined to defend herself. "And why not?" Scootaloo questioned, arching an eyebrow. "I dunno, I guess... Silver Spoon just seems so... real when she's not with Diamond Tiara." "And yer tryna break her shell or somethin'?" "Well, I guess..." "You know, if she has some sort of wall built up, it usually means she doesn't want anypony breaking it, right?" "Yeah, but at least Diamond Tiara got through to her!" "She's cruel especially when she's with Diamond Tiara! If ya think she's so nice at heart, then I don't think she's showin' the same treatment even to Diamond Tiara. Face it, Sweetie Belle, I doubt anypony's broken down her wall yet." "I don't get why you're specifically going for Silver Spoon. If you want to befriend a bully that badly, why don't you go become friends with somepony else?" Scootaloo suggested. "Well, I'm friends with you, aren't I?" Sweetie Belle joked, stifling a laughter. Apple Bloom giggled with her. Scootaloo crossed her hooves and shot a menacing glare at Sweetie Belle. "So... if yer that into her, why don't we change our plans for today into helpin' ya break through her shell?" Apple Bloom offered. Sweetie Belle jumped up in excitement. A grin spread across her face. "Really? Thank you, girls!" Sweetie Belle hugged Apple Bloom. The cowpony looked over at Scootaloo, and gestured for her to lean in closer. "She didn't even deny that she was into Silver Spoon," Apple Bloom whispered into Scootaloo's ear. The latter pony beamed at her friend, though the moment Apple Bloom turned away from her, Scootaloo's expression suddenly dropped. "That must've been HORRIFYING!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed with a sense of disgust in her voice after listening to Silver Spoon's weekend. The grey mare nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and she seemed so desperate, though I have to admit, she has nice taste. She was willing to turn to us and leave behind her little Crusader friends," Silver Spoon replied. The two mares were sitting on a picnic table, waiting for their parents to pick them up. "I can't believe the nerve of that unicorn! Wanting to use you as a ladder to get the latest scoop..." Diamond Tiara said spitefully through her gritted teeth. She turned to Silver Spoon. "If those privacy invading crusaders get to you again, come to me immediately, and I'll have daddy take care of them!" Silver Spoon smiled at her best friend and nodded. The truth was, Silver Spoon was rather unsure whether or not Sweetie Belle had an ulterior motive or not. However, there was still a part of her that believed the white mare wanted to use her for her money, or maybe she wanted to terrorize her back after being bullied. Either way, Silver Spoon had to admit, she didn't particularly dislike Sweetie Belle. "Listen!" Diamond Tiara said, poking Silver Spoon to get her attention. "Do you hear that?" Silver Spoon tried to focus her hearing, and sure enough, she could hear three mares arguing in the background. It didn't take the two wealthy ponies very long to realize that the voices belonged to none other than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Why are they still here? I thought they didn't appreciate places with relaxing atmospheres. I mean, they do spend their time playing in mud, after all." Silver Spoon stared at Diamond Tiara. Her rude remark didn't quite make sense, but then again, the pink pony was still recovering from an illness, so she let it slide. The two bullies continued to eavesdrop. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. "She just seems so... real when Diamond Tiara isn't around." Diamond Tiara scoffed. "And what's that supposed to mean?" she muttered to herself. She shot Silver Spoon a quick glance, and then turned back to the direction of the voices. "She's cruel especially when she's with Diamond Tiara! If ya think she's so nice at heart, then I don't think she's showin' the same treatment even to Diamond Tiara. Face it, Sweetie Belle, I doubt anypony's broken down her wall yet." Showing... what treatment? Silver Spoon's always been nice to me... hasn't she? Diamond Tiara thought to herself. "Wait a minute, if those loser crusaders believe Silver Spoon is nice at heart, doesn't that mean... She gasped. "Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara started. The grey mare looked over at her best friend. "So, I heard you were nice to those lo~osers." Silver Spoon's heart skipped a beat. The last thing she wanted was for Diamond Tiara to find out about that little secret. "W-well... I had no choice!" Silver Spoon lied. Her friend offered her a look of suspicion. "Oh? So tell me what really happened, then," Diamond Tiara demanded. Silver Spoon gulped, frantically searching for excuses in her brain. "I-I knocked the unicorn over in P.E., and a teacher was nearby so I apologized to her and took her down to the nurse's office," she explained. Diamond Tiara continued staring at her before sighing and releasing the tension in her shoulders. "Well good, that's understandable. For a moment there, I thought you were actually warming up to them." "No, of course not!" Silver Spoon defended herself. The pink pony pulled her best friend in for a hug. "Good, but you better watch your back. If they're still talking about you, they're still after you." Silver Spoon nodded, and let go of her friend. "Now let's go, I think our daddies are here," Diamond Tiara said. The two mares walked away from the courtyard. The next day, Diamond Tiara was nowhere to be found. She was marked sick once again, which was expected, considering she hadn't even recovered from her first cold. Silver Spoon sighed to herself. Without Diamond Tiara... she knew what was coming next. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the same History and Math class as Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, much to their chagrin. Coincidentally, Silver Spoon sat right behind Sweetie Belle in both classes while Apple Bloom sat to the right of Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo sat to the left of Silver Spoon. Not only that, but Sweetie Belle was also in Silver Spoon's Foods and Nutritions class. Apple Bloom elbowed Sweetie Belle, signalling to her that Silver Spoon was now alone for the entire day. Sweetie Belle grinned. She turned around in her seat. "Hey, Silver Spoon!" Sweetie Belle quietly exclaimed as the teacher proceeded to lecture the class in the background. Silver Spoon groaned, rubbing her head as if she had a headache. "I thought I said--" "Yeah yeah, nopony cares what you thought you said, just at least talk to the poor filly!" Scootaloo butted in, taking Sweetie Belle's side. Silver Spoon glared at the pegasus. "Fine then, what do you want?" she asked Sweetie Belle, reluctantly giving the white mare a chance. "Why are you assuming that I want something?" Sweetie Belle asked. Silver Spoon was taken aback by this comment. "If you don't have anything important to say, then I'd prefer it if you left me alone." "No can do," Apple Bloom interrupted. "This mare's been dyin' ta talk ta ya ever since... well, just last week. Don't just leave her hangin' like this." Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. She waited, expecting Sweetie Belle to say something, but when she didn't, the grey mare spoke up. "Well?" Silver Spoon demanded. "I-I just wanted to ask if you wanted to eat lunch with us," Sweetie Belle offered. Her two crusaders gaped at her. "WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?!" Apple Bloom screamed in her head, trying her very best to send the message telepathically to Scootaloo. Somehow, the orange pegasus managed to figure out what the farm pony wanted to scream out loud to the class. "THAT WAS NOT PART OF OUR PLAN. WE CAN'T LET SILVER SPOON JOIN US FOR LUNCH!" Scootaloo shouted in own her brain. "PLEASE SAY NO, PLEASE SAY NO, PLEASE SAY NO!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo silently begged Silver Spoon. The grey mare stared at the two crusaders, who were now on their knees, away from their seats, pleading her for something. Silver Spoon offered the two a puzzled look. Sweetie Belle on the other hand, was pouting like a foal, ready to cry. At first, the wealthy pony wanted to decline, but as soon as her eyes met Sweetie Belle's, she found herself feeling indecisive. Just then, a tear streamed down Sweetie Belle's cheek, and that sealed the deal. "F-fine," Silver Spoon agreed, "just... just don't cry any more, okay?" Sweetie Belle instantly lit up, dropping her 'crying' act from seconds ago. The two crusaders fell to the ground in defeat, but immediately got back in their seats before the teacher noticed. During Math class, Sweetie Belle could feel Scootaloo and Apple Bloom just glaring at her. She gulped, and flashed them a nervous, 'I'm sorry I didn't go by the plan, I just didn't want to waste this opportunity when Diamond Tiara's gone', look, but for some reason, Sweetie Belle had a feeling that her friends didn't quite understand why she made such a weird face at them. Just then, Sweetie Belle accidentally dropped her eraser. As she went to go pick it up, the mare beside her, who happened to be wearing high heeled shoes, accidentally stepped on Sweetie Belle's hoof. Sweetie Belle tried not to let out a shriek of pain by biting her lower lip, but she could feel a tear slipping out of her right eye. She proceeded to pick her eraser up and returned to her original position as if nothing had happened. Silver Spoon just stared at the white mare from behind, wondering why she didn't say anything when she was clearly in pain. At lunch, the Cutie Mark Crusaders led Silver Spoon to their usual eating spot: a picnic table in the courtyard. Silver Spoon thought back to the conversation with her best friend from the day before, but quickly shook it off. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom took a seat on one side while Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle sat on the other. Sweetie Belle found everypony glaring at her. "W-what? Is there something on my face?" Sweetie Belle asked, frantically wiping around her mouth. "You haven't eaten anything yet, dumbo. There's nothing on your face," Scootaloo responded while rolling her eyes. "Oh, right..." Sweetie Belle began to slump, but she shook her head around and snapped out of it. "So, what does everypony want to talk about?" "Stuff that ponies like Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon shouldn't be hearin'," Apple Bloom said, clearly directing the statement at the grey mare. The rich mare groaned. "Then why'd you invite me here anyway?" she asked, irritated. "We didn't," Scootaloo pointed out. "SHE did." Again, everypony glared at Sweetie Belle, who just simply blushed and flashed them yet another nervous smile. "I'm sorry, I just wanted us to be friends..." Sweetie Belle pouted. "I already said I don't want to be friends!" Silver Spoon argued. "Oh yeah? Is our Sweetie Belle not good enough or something?" Scootaloo fought back. "Well, ah'll let ya know that she's a heck of a lot better than yer Diamond Tiara!" Apple Bloom joined in. "Don't talk about Diamond like that! You don't even know her!" "Oh yeah? Watch us!" "Ah REALLY don't like it when ah see you two go out of yer ways to come and make fun of us! And ya think Sweetie's got the nerve to do that back to y'all? She's not like you two! None of us are!" "Yes you are!" Sweetie Belle butted in. Much to everypony's surprise, she was on Silver Spoon's side. "Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, I don't want you guys fighting for my sake! I can fight my own battles. Heck, I don't even want to fight at all! If you think Diamond's so bad for doing everything she can to make fun of us, then what makes you two any better?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo reflected for a moment. Just as the orange pegasus was about to open her mouth to speak up, Sweetie Belle started again. "I just want us to be friends. Nothing more, nothing less." "Well, you're going to have to try harder, because I'm not interested," said Silver Spoon. Sweetie Belle had a dejected look on her face, but nonetheless, accepted it. "Yeah, I guess I should've seen that coming," the white mare replied as she kicked the ground in defeat. "But before I go," Silver Spoon started. Sweetie Belle looked up, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Why did you let that mare go when she stepped on your hoof? Not to mention she was wearing high heels too, so that must've hurt." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stared at their best friend in surprise. Sweetie Belle just chuckled nervously. "It wasn't her fault, and she didn't even know it happened, so it's all good!" she explained. "All good? If she stepped on your hoof any harder, it would be broken right now!" Silver Spoon exclaimed, not even noticing she was showing concern to Sweetie Belle once again. "But it didn't break, so that's all that matters," Sweetie Belle replied. Silver Spoon was not convinced. "Let me see your hoof," she commanded. That's when the two crusaders finally realized that Sweetie Belle had been holding her hoof the entire time. They were too busy focusing on Silver Spoon to even notice their best friend was hurt. Sweetie Belle hesitated for a moment, but reluctantly obeyed Silver Spoon's order. She released her hoof and revealed a bruised hoof that even looked like it was bleeding at one point. "Come on girls, it's not that bad," Sweetie Belle said casually. "Oh yeah? Does this hurt?" Scootaloo challenged. She poked at the purple dot on Sweetie Belle's hoof, and she cringed in pain. "N-not at all!" she lied through her teeth. Everypony raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe a little," she admitted. "Let's take you to the nurse's office so they can give you some ice for that," Silver Spoon instructed. "It's not even that bad. I don't think we need to-- OWWW!" Sweetie Belle was cut off by Scootaloo, who poked her bruise harder this time just to get her to shut up and listen to Silver Spoon. Sweetie Belle passed it off as 'Scootaloo's way of caring for other ponies.' Without another word being spoken, Silver Spoon guided Sweetie Belle to the nurse's office. "I think this was a job well done," Scootaloo gloated. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "We're not done yet," the farm pony replied. "What do you mean?" "Whaddya mean by, 'what do you mean'? We're Sweetie Belle's friends! It's our job ta snoop on her an' see how she's doin'." "So does that mean..." "Yes! Now come on!"