//------------------------------//
// The Tenth Bell Rings- Let's Go Out and Paint The Town Silver! 
// Story: The Serenade of Silver Belles 
// by Your Antagonist 
//------------------------------//


Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any media used in this chapter, paraphrased or otherwise.



The Serenade of Silver Belles



By: Your Antagonist



Edited By: Starwind Dood, Aziraphael, TheWattsMan, Brony2893, Cpl. Hooves and (The Great and Powerful) Plyxe



Chapter 10-Let’s Go Out and Paint the Town Silver!


A rampant cloud of gravel, dust, and laughter blasted through Ponyville’s market square, spraying sediment into the wares of various merchants while indiscriminately vexing the crowd of Sunday morning shoppers as it surged past. Nopony could say for sure just where the obnoxious cloud originated from or where it was headed. Yet, just as quickly as it had come, the odd occurrence had vanished, leaving in its wake irate gravel-covered shoppers and merchants sobbing over their ruined wares. The giggling mass showed no signs of slowing or stopping as it rocketed along the cobblestone roads of central Ponyville, but if an onlooker were to listen closely, they would swear that they could hear the blood-curdling shrieks of an incredibly motion-sick filly.
 
“Sweetie Belle!” Silver Spoon managed to shout over the torrent of wind that she’d been subjected to for the past three or so miles as she’d essentially become Sweetie Belle’s kite. “Where in Equestria… are you taking me!?”
 
“Hang on, Silver—huff—We’re almost there!” the unicorn choked out between strides.
 
“Where are we even going!?”
 
“Don’t —pant— worry about it —huff— you’ll —pant— you’ll see soon enough!”
 
“Ugh! You’ve been saying that all day!” Silver Spoon pointed out, though it seemed as if her cries fell on deaf ears. To be completely honest, Silver Spoon didn’t mind Sweetie Belle’s constant whisking her off to Celestia-knows-where, she had learned to enjoy it even, but the constant scenery assaulting her eyes was starting to make her feel sick, and a little terra-firma beneath her hooves would have just been the world to her at this moment. Little did she know that she was about to get her wish in the worst possible way. 

With no word or warning, Sweetie Belle ceased her manic sprint almost instantaneously, and gently returned Silver Spoon to the ground as though she were no heavier than a mere stuffed animal. The earth pony would have been thoroughly impressed by Sweetie Belle’s oddly raw strength and precision if it weren’t for the fact that her sight and balance had yet to catch up with her.
 
“Here we are!” Sweetie Belle beamed at her incredibly dizzy date, who teetered twice and collapsed due to her disoriented state.
 
A matter of seconds passed before Silver Spoon managed to struggle to a stand. Shaking her head and adjusting her glasses, the gray filly followed the unicorn’s fixed gaze to one of Ponyville’s most distinguishable establishments, but there was something off about the situation to the astute filly. “Sugarcube Corner? Aren’t they closed on Sunday?” Silver Spoon asked. Her question was met with a pointed giggle. “What’s so funny?”

“Hehe, that’s just what they want you to think.” Sweetie Belle winked.

“What do you me— wait, let me guess: ‘I’ll find out?’” she concluded flatly.

“Now you’re getting it!” the young filly beamed.

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and began her short trot to the bakery’s front door, only to find herself halted by a shout from the unicorn. “Wait, wait, wait!” Sweetie Belle seized Silver Spoon’s tail in her teeth and dragged the earth pony back in front of herself.

“Is something wrong, Sweetie?” Silver Spoon inquired as she tilted her head in concern.

 “It’s just that you’re going to need this before you go in.” The unicorn reached into the blouse of her dress and produced a simple black strip of cloth along with an elegant golden cocktail mask, the latter of which Silver Spoon guessed was intended for Sweetie Belle. Upon closer inspection of the black cloth, Silver Spoon could see that two inconsistently-sized holes had been hastily cut out of the fabric, resulting in a crude, bandit-like mask.

“A mask? This seems like a little much just to get some sweets, doesn’t it?” Silver Spoon cocked a curious eyebrow as Sweetie Belle ignored her question and donned the golden mask.

In the blink of an eye, Sweetie Belle swept behind Silver Spoon, lifting up her glasses to tie the earth pony’s mask as she did. “There, now nopony will know who we are!”

“I’m sure…” Silver Spoon mumbled, as she fussed with her blue glasses, an obvious ping of sarcasm apparent in her tone.

“Oh… right… well…” Sweetie Belle scratched her chin as she searched for an rebuttal to Silver Spoon’s observation. “Maybe nopony will notice your glasses? It’s pretty dark in there.”

“Why would Sugarcube Corner be dark?” Silver Spoon tilted her head in thought.

“You’ll see…” Sweetie Belle giggled, to which Silver Spoon rolled her eyes; she should have expected that response. She made a mental note to confine all further questions to her internal monologue. Trotting up to the door, Sweetie Belle raised her hoof and rained a series of rhythmic knocks upon the vibrant pink, stable-style doors.

A second passed before a small window on the door slid open, revealing the silhouette of what Silver Spoon—based on the delicate curvature of the pony’s blue eyes— determined to be a mare. Silver Spoon felt apprehensive as the eyes narrowed, scrutinizing and scanning the masquerading fillies, before finally speaking. “You wear a mask, young one, so you shall not be spurned, but in order to enter, for what does the crow yearn?”

The odd challenge caught Silver Spoon off guard, casting her into a stunned silence as she pondered the seemingly impossible riddle. No context clues and no hints, just one line. What could the answer possibly have been?

“Corn syrup!” chirped Sweetie Belle.

“Ahh, I see you know our code, so please, take refuge in our humble abode.” As the small window slid shut, the actual door itself creaked open just wide enough for the fillies to squeeze through.

“Corn syrup? What kind of password is ‘corn syrup?’ That doesn’t even make sense!” 

“Come on, Silver Spoon!” Sweetie Belle wasted no time in seizing the dumbfounded earth pony’s hoof. “All the answers you could want are just through that door,” she insisted, tugging Silver Spoon forward before releasing the filly’s hoof and disappearing through the door. 

With a sigh and a shrug, Silver Spoon followed Sweetie Belle’s suit —or dress as it were— squeezing through the bakery door with only minor issue. The doormare could have stood to open the door an inch or two more to accompany Silver Spoon’s less than athletic build, but the filly’s gripes were lost in curiosity as she took in the ambient darkness that was foreign in the naturally well-lit sugarcube corner. The first thing to strike her about this new face of the bakery was the smell, or rather, the lack thereof. On any other day, the air of the bakery would have been filled with the tongue-teasingly sweet aroma of freshly prepared sweets and spices, but today that was nothing more than a lingering afterthought as the pervasive scent of burning incense dominated the atmosphere. 

The door gently closed behind Silver Spoon as she took another step forward into her strange surroundings, taking with it the limited amount of light she’d been afforded by the midday sun. However, where illumination had abandoned her eyes, the sweet kiss of a hoof flowing elegantly across the strings of a guitar captured her ear, guiding her attention to a dimly-lit dais on the far side of the room.

 Gazing upon the stage, Silver Spoon found the source of the melodic strumming in the form of a mint-green unicorn, face obscured by only a fedora with the brim pulled down low, but the simple hat was enough to give the musician an enigmatic ambience. To the guitarist’s left, an obscenely muscled white pegasus wearing sunglasses sat behind a comically undersized drum-kit, steadily keeping the beat for his partner. Between the two stood a terribly nervous earth pony with a spotlight centered directly on her, causing the sequin-studded mask she wore to shimmer and glint under the illumination. It actually threatened to slip off of her face from the light coat of sweat forming on her as well as the uncontrollable shaking of her legs. Whether it was out of fear or excitement, Silver Spoon couldn’t tell, but one thing was certain: she thanked Celestia that the poorly-costumed mare was the center of attention and not her. All those ponies looking at her, silently judging her every movement and oration… Silver Spoon shuddered at the mere thought of having all eyes in the room squarely focused on her.

Just when the timid mare onstage had finally worked up the courage to stammer through the first line of her song, Sweetie Belle nonchalantly grabbed Silver Spoon by the hoof, instantly disconnecting the filly’s attention from the performer, and began leading her through the darkened room. “C’mon, Silvy, you can’t have fun just standing in front of the door. Follow me!”

 Silver Spoon cocked an eyebrow at her newly acquired alias. “Did you just call me ‘Silvy?’” 
 
“Yup! We’ve gotta keep your identity secret after all,” Sweetie Belle reasoned.
 
Silver Spoon grimaced at the nickname as she was guided along. The filly’s eyes had begun to grow accustomed to her poorly-lit surroundings, and because of this, she found that she could make out the faint outlines of fellow masquerading patrons huddled around small tables illuminated by single candle each, the concealed eyes of their masks collectively affixed to the mare on stage. Silver Spoon noted that while the usual smorgasbord of sweets was absent, the tables were all but empty, playing host to decidedly less extravagant menu of coffees, teas, and assumably day-old cakes and cookies. Still, it was a quaint setting given even more charm by the audience bobbing their heads in time to the performing mare’s ironically chosen and terribly off-pitch rendition of Glorious Maneor’s: I Will Survive.
 
“Hey, Silvy: there’s a couple of open seats over there.” Sweetie Belle lead her date to a small table with only two inhabitants with very easily discernible silhouettes who reminded Silver Spoon of a certain married couple in propriety of the bakery. Just as Silver Spoon hopped into a vacant seat, a riveting round of applause swept through the room, signifying that the incredibly flustered mare’s short-lived period of social torment had finally come to a close as she slunk off stage.
 
“Wasn’t that a nice performance, honeybu— I mean Madame Eclair?” spoke the thinner of the two masked ponies.
 
“Oh, yes, I’m just glad Juneb— er, Ms. March Hare finally made it through a song without suffering from a panic attack,” replied his robust female counterpart. The performing pony had only taken two steps off the stage before she began to hyperventilate, and curled up into a quivering ball. “Well, at least she finished this time,” ‘Madame Eclair’ sighed. It was at this moment that the disguised couple became wary of their new table guests, and shifted their gazes to reflect as much. “Why hello there, deari— esteemed guests.”
 
“Aren’t you Mr. and Mrs. Ca—mph!” Silver Spoon began to ask uncertainly before Sweetie Belle quickly interrupted by covering the earth pony's mouth with a hoof.
 
“Secret identities, remember?” Sweetie Belle whispered to Silver Spoon who merely rolled her eyes in response. “Madame Eclair, King Creep! It’s so nice to see you again,” she said, hoping to deflect the couple’s attention from Silver Spoon’s keen observation.
 
“That’s Crêpe,” the stallion corrected, “and likewise, Miss Belle-bug. Might I say that that dress is very becoming of you.”
 
“You may,” Sweetie Belle giggled, waving off the stallion’s flattery.
 
King Crêpe turned his curiosity to Silver Spoon who had said nary a word since . “I’m guessing that it’s your first time here, Ms…?”
 
“Silvy Fox,” Sweetie Belle answered for the filly.
 
“Silvy, what?” Silver Spoon gasped too little, too late. The damage had already been done.
 
“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Fox,” Madame Eclair greeted, giggling as she extended a hoof in camaraderie, to which Silver Spoon sheepishly accepted.
 
“So… did you two go up yet?”
 
“It’s just me this time. The ‘madame’ has been a little under the weather this week, so I decided I’d go up…” The stallion paused to rest his hooves on those of his better half, “for the both of us.” As King Crêpe concluded his explanation, Silver Spoon could have sworn that what she could see of Madame Eclair’s face had taken on the coloring of a ripe tomato.
 
“Aww, isn’t that sweet, Silvy?” Sweetie Belle gushed.
 
Before Silver Spoon could answer, an explosion of confetti and pink smoke from the vacant stage commanded the attention of everypony in the audience. The pastel-colored mist drew back like a curtain, unveiling the blindingly brilliant smile of the event’s pink-coated, jester-masked hostess. With a confident, uncaring prance, the mare navigated to the microphone and upon her arrival, tapped it thrice to ensure the sound was working. “Heya folks, how’s everypony doing this afternoon?” 

The mare’s question was greeted with the thunderous pounding of hooves and cheering ponies, which only served to help the jesteress’ grin grow even larger. “Now that’s what Señorita Rosa likes to hear! But before we move on to our next singer, how about another round of applause for Ms. March-Hare, for finally completing a song without passing out or breaking down from stage fright!” Again, the hostess was met with an enthused round of applause. “Alrighty then, our next vocalist normally sings as part of a duet, but with his great talent as a solo performer, he should be able to ‘du et’ on his own! Who’s with me?” The mare smiled at the crowd, expecting to rejoice in the throes of roaring laughter, but was met with only with blank stares and a particularly parched pony clearing his throat. “Geez, tough crowd… anyway, without further adieu, please help me welcome King Creepy to the stage!”

“That’s King Crêpe!” the stallion barked, but his gripes were drowned out as a third and final torrent of applause washed through the room. With a sigh slowly giving way to a confident smirk, the stallion knelt before his female half. Gently taking her hooves with his own, he planted a kiss on her cheek. “Wish me luck, m’lady.”

Madame Eclair did little more than giggle skittishly like a schoolgirl as her stallion in shining armor pulled away, his course set to the center of the dais. Still, the stallion’s display of affection reminded Silver Spoon of a certain line of questioning she had intended to subject her own companion to. With the only other guest at the table’s attention adamantly glued to her lover as he prepared to take the stage and the breath of the audience, the earth pony figured she had nothing to lose. Taking a deep breath, Silver Spoon nervously tugged at her counterpart’s dress in the manner that a foal might tug on his mother’s tail. “Hey, Swee—” 

“Ahem,” Sweetie Belle coughed, gesturing to her mask.

“Uh, I mean, Miss Belle-bug, can I… ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?” Sweetie Belle grinned.

“Well, you remember Friday, right?” Silver Spoon hadn’t realized it, but somewhere along the lines she started tapping her hooves together skittishly. 

“Of course! How could I forget? We almost died!” Sweetie Belle practically cackled, earning the pair a strange glance from the other table occupant.

“Heh, heh, yeah… well, that’s not exactly what I was getting at…”

“Anything in particular that you wanted to talk about?’

“W-well, umm…” With each stammer, Silver Spoon’s face reddened and her hooves began tapping at a faster pace. “It’s about when you—”

“Oh my gosh!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, tapping herself on the forehead with a hoof as she often did whenever she’d arrived at the obvious solution to a particularly hard test question.

“Huh?” Silver Spoon asked.

 “I almost forgot!” 

Silver Spoon tilted her head in confusion. “You forgot something?”

“Hold that thought, Silvy, I’ll be right back, I promise!” 

Before Silver Spoon could get in another word, Sweetie Belle had leapt from her seat, bolting behind the stage the moment her hooves touched the bakery floor. With a dejected sigh, Silver Spoon laid her head on the table and turned her attention to King Crêpe, who was being joined onstage by a gray mare in a black veil, carrying in her mouth a small case of the same color. The mare trotted to an open stool next to the guitarist, whom she bumped hooves with before gracefully seating herself. The veiled mare rested the case on her lap, popping the clasps on either side of it as she did, and a moment later, the mare discarded the case. Having extracted the violin and bow from within, she began to warm up by gliding the bow across the strings, coercing a few notes from the waking instrument. 

With a curt nod to the guitarist and drummer signifying that she was ready, the violinist took the lead, marrying her bow to the strings. The guitarist and drummer, having found a suitable place to join in, went to work, the drummer focused on keeping the beat steady while his counterpart’s light strumming paved the way for the melody. With the musicians occupied keeping the rhythm, a spotlight shone down upon the performer who was oddly confident in comparison to his predecessor. Where she had been trembling like a bowl of gelatin, King Crêpe rocked and swayed in time, eagerly awaiting his cue. When it arrived, the stallion opened his maw and let loose with his nasally squawk of a singing voice.

“♪Everyday the sun comes up around her, she can make the birds sing in harmony, 
Every drop of rain is glad it found her, Celestia must’ve blessed her just for me,
When she smiles so warm and tender, A sight for sore eyes to see~~ ♪”

Silver Spoon winced as the performer’s voice cracked on the final note. Band aside, this was among the most painful performances the filly had borne witness to in her short life, and it had only just started. Yet, out of the corner of her Silver Spoon’s eye, she could see Madame Eclair holding her hooves over her heart, absolute adoration and enticement painted across the mare’s features, as the stallion lovingly butchered a classic just for his lady. 

“♪Ain’t no woman like the mare I got, no pony could love me bet-ter~~!
To make her happy doesn’t take a lot, don’t ask for things, no gems and rings
Sewn together, like a hoof in socks, just like pages in a letter,
Ain’t no woman like the mare I got~~♪”

To Silver Spoon’s surprise, despite his lack of skill— not that she could do much better herself— the collective ear of the audience didn’t seem to take offense to the vocal massacre happening on stage. Ponies started snatching up candles from their tables, waving the flames in a show of approval for their brother in song. Their misplaced praise honestly baffled Silver Spoon, but then again, she was just an observer in the midst of a foreign culture. Out of the corner of her eye, Silver Spoon caught glimpse of a yellow and white blur slowly creeping towards her.
 
“Sorry about that, Silvy,” Sweetie Belle said softly, so as not to detract from Crêpe’s performance.

“What was that about?” Silver Spoon asked.

“You’ll see.” The unicorn smirked deviously. “You’ll see.”

The tone in the unicorn’s voice left Silver Spoon wondering if she should have been worried or excited to find out.

“So, what do you think? He’s pretty good right?” 

“Good?” Silver Spoon echoed. “Are we listening to the same singer?” she joked.

“Silvy! What a thing to say!” Sweetie Belle gasped at the earth pony’s blunt honesty. Half-appalled, half-giggling, the unicorn reached out and playfully shoved her date. “I mean, sure he’s not the best solo singer, but that’s not what it’s about here,” Sweetie Belle explained in a hushed tone so that their enamoured tablemate wouldn’t overhear them.

“Oh, really?” Silver Spoon teased through her grin. “Then what is it about?”

With a smirk Sweetie Belle playfully sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well, if you must know, it’s called karaoke, and it’s all about free expression through song.”

“So, by free expression you mean the performance as a whole, right? Because you can’t be talking about vocal talent… what?”

Sweetie Belle’s smirk only deepened, as she laughingly shook her head, returning her gaze to the stage.

“♪… cause there ain’t no woman like the one I love! Ooohh~~♪” King Crêpe, finished strong, or rather, strong compared to a butterfly struggling to fly against a terrible monsoon. Where he had finished there was still a melody left to conclude, but the band wasn’t about to complain. The resulting jam session of the musicians went unnoticed, as it was drowned out by a wave of applause for the proud performer who took a bow before descending from the stage and into the waiting forelegs of his lover. 

Silver Spoon smiled at the couple, and then grimaced as they pulled each other into a solid, passionate liplock that, in her opinion, lasted two seconds longer than what could be considered decent in polite company. An adoring “Awww,” from a likewise spectating Sweetie Belle reminded Silver Spoon that she still had a burning question to get off her chest, and this break between performances seemed like the perfect time to do it. 

“So, Belle-bug…” Silver Spoon mumbled.

“Yes, Silvy?” Sweetie Belle smiled patiently.

“About what I was asking earlier…” Silver Spoon started, scratching her nose as she intentionally averted eye contact for the sake of preserving her nerve.

“About Friday, right?”

“Yeah…”

“What did you want to know?” 

Biting her lip, Silver Spoon looked Sweetie Belle in her curiously honest emerald eyes. Was she intentionally doing this? Pretending that she didn’t know exactly what Silver Spoon wanted to ask her? There was no way Sweetie Belle couldn’t have known what all this awkwardness was about. No, this had to be intentional, it just had to be. But even if it wasn’t, and the unicorn’s oblivious approach to the situation was genuine, that still didn’t make this matter any easier to pursue, and the butterflies that had suddenly taken refuge in her gut weren’t helping either. 

“It’s about—” Silver Spoon stopped herself to swallow back a lump that had been borne of timidity. “It’s about what happened after you took me back to my house,” she managed to blurt out. The earth pony felt a small pang of relief wash through her as she finally managed to tear down the rift between them, but getting the issue in the open was only half the battle.

“What about after I took you back home?” Sweetie Belle’s visible features betrayed nothing short of innocence and bliss. With a poker face like that, the unicorn could probably rob a dragon clean and convince him that he had parted with his hoard willingly. 

Silver Spoon had to hand it to her dubious counterpart; she was forcing the earth pony to put everything on the table in the open with honeyed glances and a sugar-sweet tone. Regardless, Silver Spoon was going to get her answers even if she had to go all in playing the unicorn’s little game. Silver Spoon set her trembling hooves flat on the table, and sat up, exhaling heavily to rid her body of any residual nervous energy. “When you…” Silver Spoon could feel her face growing hot as the words forced their way to the tip of her tongue. “When you kissed me that evening,” she stated in a hushed whisper so as not to attract the attention of the older couple just out of earshot. “What drove you to do that?” 

It was done. Silver Spoon had effectively put the ball in Sweetie Belle’s court and all that was left is to see if she would play it or pass. After the ordeal she had just put herself through, Silver Spoon had expected Sweetie Belle to give a similar performance, but the unicorn maintained her composure, her patient smile not faltering even an inch. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to give her much anticipated reply to the question that had plagued Silver Spoon these past few days, but as if on cue, an explosion from the stage stole the moment, and with it the long-awaited answer. 

“Wowzers, everypony! Wasn’t that performance just awesome? Let’s have one another round of applause for King Creeper!” 

“For the last time, it’s Crêpe!” he cried, only to once again have his correction drowned out by a rumble of hoofstomps and whistles that began to fade once the hostess continued. 

“Hey, hey, don’t stop the momentum now! This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, after all, it wouldn’t be a karaoke party without our headliner! Keep those hooves a’pounding for our next and youngest regular performer! You know her, you love her, and you’ve watched her blossom into quite the little songbird since the beginning! Give it up for Ponyville’s own: Little Miss Belle-Bug!”

“Wait, but I— that’s not fair!” Silver Spoon stammered as Sweetie Belle winked at her before racing to take her place on the stage where she was met with a jubilant fanfare and much chanting of her stage name. It was as though she had been presented with a grand oasis in the middle of some terribly dry desert only to have some twisted deity yank it away at the last moment. Fate was truly a cruel mistress.

 As she watched that enigma of a filly dart about from band member to band member, Silver Spoon couldn’t help dwelling on what Sweetie Belle was about to say before the emcee interrupted. Would it have been a confession? Silver Spoon pondered the idea for a moment and then banished it just as quickly as it popped in her head. That couldn’t have been it. The two had become friends less than two days ago, and beyond that there was still a two year history of bullying that she doubted Sweetie Belle would just forget about. 

Silver Spoon leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling, further overthinking her situation. Perhaps Sweetie Belle was simply going to explain that the kiss was an expression of gratitude for saving her life, and nothing more? That made the most sense after all. Besides, she doubted the likelihood that Sweetie Belle harbored the same feelings towards fillies as herself. As the thought crossed her mind, a faint but terrible ache crept into her core, taking root and swelling. This ominous, hollow aching. She’d only felt it on a few rare occasions in her life, but it was no stranger to her and she was no stranger to it. Silver Spoon clutched at her heart, as she recalled the last time she’d felt it: last Hearts and Hooves day. Silver Spoon gripped even harder as she vividly recalled every detail of that wretched confession.

“Oh, come on, Silvy!” Whined the unforgettably entitled voice of Diamond Tiara. “First you drag me out here, and then you make me wait for fifteen whole minutes without even a teensy little hint? Can’t you just tell me who it is?”

“You’ll see soon enough, Diamond.” Silver Spoon cautiously poked her head around the corner of the old school building to make sure that her soon to be very special somepony hadn’t shown up yet. “Just be patient.”

“Ugh, fine…” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, lying down on her side. “But they had better hurry up or I’m going to give them a piece of my mind for wasting my valuable time!”

Silver Spoon smirked at her eternally impatient friend, knowing that she meant well although it would have been impossible for anypony else to realize it. 

“H-hello, is anypony out here?” an uncertain voice called from around the corner.

Silver Spoon’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of her unwitting admiree’s voice. “They’re here,” she gushed to Diamond Tiara.

“Who’s here? Why won’t you tell me anything!?” 

Rather than giving a direct response, Silver Spoon giggled before saying, “Wish me luck.” In the blink of an eye she darted, blushing, around the corner to intercept her confused admiree. Silver Spoon galloped around the corner, her eagerness spurring her on as the lilac colored coat of her crush came into view.

“Oh! Um, uh, h-hello, Silver Spoon,” Dinky began, nervously backpedaling at the sudden appearance of one of the school’s two big bullies. “I-I was just getting ready to leave and—” 

“Wait,” Silver Spoon instructed, and whether it was out of confusion or fear, the unicorn obeyed. “Dinky, I’ve got something I want to tell you.” 

“You… you do?” Dinky chanced an uncertain glance at the earth pony.

“Yeah, but just give me a second.” Silver Spoon took a deep breath and looked the bewildered unicorn in the eyes. “I was the one who sent you that note,” she started. 

Dinky’s eyes grew wider than a dinner plate as she processed those very words. “You’re the one who sent that? But… but why?”

“The truth is, that for a while, I’ve been thinking about how to tell you that you’re all I think about every day and every night. All I think about is you, and I’d like to get to know you better as a friend, and maybe even…” Silver Spoon’s cheeks flushed a criminal shade of crimson as the final piece of her confession slipped from her tongue. “…as my very special somepony?”

Dinky’s jaw dropped at those very unmistakable words. Had Silver Spoon, the second most blackhearted filly in the school, actually said that, or had her mother put something funny in her lunch muffin that morning? Either way, she was having some difficulty understanding what had just happened. “Silver Spoon…”

“Yes?” Silver Spoon could feel her heart begin to flutter with hopes and anticipations of having her affections returned. All it would have taken was few words of acceptance, but as this was a mere recollection, she already knew what was going to happen next.

“This is some kind of joke right? You and Diamond Tiara planned this all in advance just to get my hopes up before you smacked them down right?”

“No, I’m absolutely serious!” Silver Spoon insisted. “I really like you, Dinky, honestly I do. So, please, won’t you accept my feelings?” Silver Spoon took a step forward, reaching out a hoof towards Dinky’s in a show of good faith.

Reacting as if the words had been a solid kick to the chest, Dinky jerked her hoof away, as she unsteadily and instinctively backed away from Silver Spoon. “This is just…” Dinky shook her head in his disbelief. “This is just too weird!” 

Silver Spoon felt the vessel of her happiness sink at those very words, but held herself together long enough to hear the unicorn’s reason for rejecting her feelings. Yet, all the composure in the world couldn’t stop the breaking of her fragile heart. A moment of painfully awkward silence passed between the two before Silver Spoon finally managed to weakly utter the only phrase that could sum up her feelings to the whole situation. “But… why?” 

“W-well, I-I mean, we’re both girls, and… it’s just—” 

“It’s just what?” Silver Spoon pushed, unaware that tears had begun welling up in her eyes.

Dinky had never seen this vulnerable, desperate side of Silver Spoon before, and it truly frightened her even more so than her usual snobby demeanor. “Look, I just can’t accept you, okay? Not even as a friend. All of my friends would shun me if I were to start being friends with you, because you’re friends with Diamond Tiara.” The words struck the heartbroken filly like an arrow, and with that, her strong front began to crumble like a wall of sand. “I swear that I won’t tell anypony else about this, but I’m sorry, Silver Spoon, I just can’t accept your feelings.” 

The unicorn afforded herself one last look at the sobbing earth pony before trotting away, unaware of a third party watching from a distance. A third party who carried a little black book, specifically designed to make anypony’s life a living hell if they crossed her or anything that she held dear. A third party intent on making her pay for what she’d done to Silver Spoon.

As the memory faded, Silver Spoon found herself on the verge of tears. She had felt the pains of rejection once before, and this painful swelling in her heart may as well have been foreshadowing that she was in for a repeat performance. Before she could shed a single tear, the feeble lights in the bakery dimmed and once again the room had been overtaken by an anticipatory silence. From the darkness, the delicate resonance of mindfully plucked guitar strings filled the air with a soothingly lackadaisy cadence. A moment later, the guitar was complemented by a rising, high-pitched ambience that could only have been birthed from the strings of a violin. 

The melody grew and took on a calming steadiness while the violin parted, leaving in its place a faint spotlight that radiated and grew with the majesty of the early morning sun, gradually defining the silhouette of the afternoon’s smallest performer. Yet as the young vocalist began to sing, it quickly became apparent that what she lacked in size, she more than made up for with the aural ambrosia flowing from her light airy voice.

“♪Lo~~ving you, is easy ‘cause you’re beautiful, and loving you is all I want to do~~”

The first verse rang true with the audience who showed their silent enthusiasm by swaying to the melody of the guitar. Silver Spoon quickly found her self-induced grievances and doubts fading away with each strum, those thoughts of melancholy and remorse turning to anticipation of Sweetie Belle’s next melodic gracing.

“♪Lo~~ving you is more than just a dream come true! And everything that I do… is out of loving you♪

Silver Spoon would have never guessed that Sweetie Belle had such a wonderful talent locked away within herself. She was in awe before the unicorn’s raw ability, and like everyone in the room was anxiously awaiting the next verse. 

“♪La-la-la-la-la, 
la-la-la-la-la, 
la-la-la-la-la, 
la-la-la-laaa-laaaa! 
Do-do- de-doo,
Ahhhh~~~♪”

On that last note, the dim spotlight brightened, igniting the space around its inhabitant substantially. In response to the sudden change, the sequins around her mask began to reflect the light, thus giving off the effect that she was glowing. Yet, Silver Spoon could sense something beneath the perceived illusion cast by the mask. Something that became more apparent with the next verse.

“♪No one else can make me feel~ the colors that you bring~♪”

It was in this moment that Silver Spoon noticed just what she found peculiar about the vocalist’s performance.

“♪Stay with me…” 

Sweetie Belle’s eyes, glistening like sun-kissed emeralds.

“♪We’ll grow old…” 

Her notes growing more intense as she focused straight ahead on something, or rather somepony.

“♪And we can live each day in the springtime!”

Those unmoving eyes, that contented, affectionate tone, it was as though the unicorn was singing directly to that one pony instead of an entire audience.

“♪Because lo~ving you, has made my life so beau-ti-ful~♪”

Because she was singing to one pony.

“♪Every day of my life, is filled with loving you♪”

Bearing her emotions in front of an entire crowd, just so this one pony could understand the depth of her emotion.

“♪Lo~ving you, I see your soul come shining through! And every time that we…” Sweetie Belle paused and gave a small theatrical shudder before continuing. “…ooooh~~ I’m more in love with you…”

As Sweetie Belle continued to grace the stage, the tears that had been welling up in Silver Spoon’s eyes were finally liberated.

“♪La-la-la-la-la,”

 Not out of grief, but rather an admiration brought about by the sheer beauty of the performance.
“♪la-la-la-la-la♪”

Not from the sting of bitter memories, but the rekindling of a small spark of hope.

“♪la-la-la-la-la
la-la-la-laaa-laaaa! 
Do-do-de-doo,
Ahhhh~~~♪”

“Lo~~ving you, la-la-la-la-la, laa-laa-laaa~~… do-do-do-dee-doo~~ dee-doo~ be-doo~~ bee-doo~~” Sweetie Belle finished, bowing her head before the crowd as her finals words drifted to a close, taking the luminance of the spotlight as they went.

Thunder and cries for an encore erupted throughout the building almost instantly, parading the proud unicorn to her table, as she had just shut down the house. Sweetie Belle, while flattered by the applause, paid it no mind. Taking her seat, she “Did that answer your question, Silvy?” Sweetie Belle whispered with a small smirk.

Silver Spoon’s jaw worked uselessly as she tried to process the odd combination of joy, relief and confusion washing over her.

Sweetie Belle, amused by the earth pony’s reaction, said nothing and instead reached under the table to find Silver Spoon’s trembling hoof, which she took in her own with only a giggle. The two sat in contented silence, hoof-in-hoof, saying nary a word as they watched the rest of the evening's performers take to the stage, all of them unable to hold a candle to Sweetie Belle and each worse than the last. They said nothing to each other during the breaks between singers, and the didn’t even part hooves to indulge in the pastries that lay seemingly forgotten before them. Even though there were a thousand questions dancing at the tip of Silver Spoon’s tongue, and a wealth of answers to be found on Sweetie Belle’s, they continued to just sit, pretending that their attention was on the stage. At this moment they had no need for words, there would be time for such things later in the evening. For now, the silence said everything, and that suited the pair just fine.

Chapter 10 End