Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked together down the streets of Ponyville one morning, on their way to school, where they would have to suffer through five, boring classes, one of which included a test on the locations of Equestrian cities.
At least, on the way there, they could pass the time by talking about something that actually mattered. Like that new bracelet that Silver Spoon got from her aunt the other day. Or that new video game coming out next week. Or colts. Colts are always relevant.
It was when the two were passing by Roseluck’s flower shop, that a certain memory passed through Diamond Tiara’s mind, which the filly was forced to giggle at. Silver Spoon looked at her with intrigue.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “Oh, nothing… I was just remembering the time we took Babs to that flower shop over there, and she had an allergic reaction to some of the flowers she sniffed.”
Silver Spoon giggled after remembering said event. “Yeah. Though, it wasn’t pretty funny at the time.”
“It was pretty scary,” Diamond Tiara admitted. “You were so worried about her, and Roseluck had to help us get her to a doctor, since we had no idea what to do!”
“Thank goodness it was nothing serious,” Silver Spoon said, followed by a sigh. The two fillies had stopped walking by now, and were both silently reminiscing about the times they spent with their former friend, Babs Seed. “… We did have some good times, didn’t we?”
Diamond Tiara nodded. “For being related to that Apple Bloom, she was pretty cool.” The pink filly looked over at the park to her right, and pointed a hoof at a nearby bench. “Remember when we were running through the park, and Babs tripped and sprained her ankle?”
“And we let her rest on that bench, while we fetched some ice-creams for the three of us.” Silver Spoon nodded. “Yeah, I remember.” Both fillies giggled. “Well, we did tell her that there was no need to rush.”
“Yeah. It takes, what, a day, to see all of Ponyville? But she insisted on seeing it all in an hour.”
“Silly filly, that one. Though she had some good ideas, every now and then.”
“Like how to mess with the blank flanks?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“That too, but like, whenever we were arguing over what to do next, she was always the one to help us reach a compromise.”
Diamond Tiara thought about it, and then recalled several times that that had happened. “Yeah… Sure beat the old method we used to settle things with.”
Silver Spoon noticed the Ponyville clock tower in the distance. “Hey, we should probably get going.”
Diamond Tiara also noticed the clock, and agreed. The two fillies continued walking for just a few more steps, before they came across a water fountain on the side of the street. “Hey, remember when we stopped to take a drink from here one day?”
“And then Babs put her hoof on the tap, spraying water all over us?” Silver Spoon shuddered. “How could I forget? But we totally got even with her.”
Diamond Tiara grinned at the memory. “Yeah, I’d say so. Took her forever to realise we’d drawn on her face. She walked around Ponyville looking like a clown for hours!”
Silver Spoon broke into laughter, soon followed by her friend. “And when she found out, she chased us all over the place, screaming about how she’d get her revenge!”
“Most exercise I’d ever gotten!” Diamond Tiara said, holding her stomach as it began to hurt from laughing so much. “Man, that was, like, the best week ever!”
“You’re telling me! A shame it had to… end…” Silver Spoons laughing stopped, and her face fell. ‘Darn it! I shouldn’t have mentioned that! The end is when… when…’
Diamond Tiara also took to frowning, rather than smiling. “It ended… when she betrayed us.” Silver Spoon refused to say anything. She didn’t want to make things any worse. “… We had the best time ever. We had so much fun, and she told us that she enjoyed herself. She called us her best friends forever!”
“I know,” Silver Spoon said, leaning over and wrapping a foreleg around her friend. “I know, Diamond… I was shocked, too. Avoiding us was one thing, and I can understand her standing up for her cousin and her friends, but… to totally turn on us like that, when we only wanted to see her off…”
“Yeah, well, who needs her?!” Diamond Tiara shouted, her eyes glaring at the ground in anger. “We had fun before we met her! We can totally have fun now that she’s gone, too!”
“Totally,” Silver Spoon agreed, and took a step back to initiate their secret hoofshake. Diamond Tiara got the message, and joined in.
“Bump, bump, sugar-lump rump!”
Even though that was usually enough to make the two forget whatever stupid thing had got them down, today, it seemed to prove ineffective. The two fillies simply stared at each other for a few moments, neither one having the courage to say what was one both of their minds. Finally, Diamond Tiara couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“I miss her,” she said, in a weak voice. “Babs… I miss her so much…”
“… I miss her too,” Silver Spoon said, pulling her friend into a hug when she sensed tears starting to form in Diamond Tiara’s eyes. “I… I can’t forgive her for what she did, but… I just want things to be the way they were before.”
“Totally,” Diamond Tiara said, choking back a few sobs as more memories flooded her mind. “Like when we competed in that charity relay together.”
“Or when we went to the arcade, and she won like, a bazillion tickets?”
“Or when we went to Miss Pie’s party to welcome Babs to Ponyville.”
“Or when she came round to my place, and we had a tea party.” Silver Spoon giggled. “Took a while, but I think we finally hammered proper tables manners into her brain.”
“Even though she still slurped her tea whenever she drank.”
“You know, come to think of it, I think she did that on purpose. ‘Cause she knew it bothered us.”
Diamond Tiara giggled after a moment. “Yeah, probably.”
After sharing their hug for just a little bit longer, Silver Spoon looked back up at the Ponyville clock tower. “We should really get going. Before the bell rings.”
Silver Spoon pulled away from the hug, and offered her hoof to her friend. But Diamond Tiara didn’t take it. She instead looked back the way they had come from. “… Hey… wanna come round mine for a bit?”
Silver Spoon tilted her head in confusion. “You mean, after school?”
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “No. Now.”
“What?” Silver Spoon gasped. “You mean… playing hooky?” she added in a whisper, to make sure that nopony could hear her. Diamond Tiara nodded. “B-But, I’ve never done that before! And neither have you! Our parents would kill us if they found out!”
“It’s only one measly day,” Diamond Tiara said. “And, I just don’t really feel like going to school right now… I just wanna go home and read some comics, or play some video games, or something…” The pink filly looked at her friend with big, pleading eyes. “Please? I don’t want to be alone.”
Silver Spoon gulped, both from the eyes staring at her, pleading her to do something that she could never have the courage to do alone, and from the sad voice that accompanied the request. Eventually, Silver Spoon sighed, and offered her hoof once more. “Alright, Diamond. But just today.”
Diamond Tiara nodded. “Just today,” she said, accepting her friend’s hoof. The two turned around, and began to walk back the way that they had come from, ignoring the sounds of the school’s bell ringing behind them.