//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: A Silver Summer 
// by Fanboy 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 5

Once again her hooves had moved Silver Spoon instinctively right in front of the candy shop. And maybe that was really for the best. She needed somepony to talk and some sweets weren’t so bad either.
When she entered the shop another filly passed her. Her vision was still so blurry she didn’t see who it was, but she didn’t care at the moment. Rubbing her eyes to finally get a clear view again and still sobbing she made her way to the counter. Before she reached it Bon Bon was already by her side.
“Oh honey, what happened? Are you hurt?”
Before Silver Spoon was able to say anything, the mare had pulled her into a tight hug. Feeling Bon Bon’s warmth against herself and a gentle hoof stroking her mane was calming. Subconsciously, she buried her face in Bon Bon’s chest. Finally she felt at ease, yet she somehow wanted to cry even more at the same time. It was a strange feeling, but all in all pleasant and warm. She was safe now, protected from anything that could ever hurt her. The filly took a few deep breaths and slowly pulled away from Bon Bon, wiping away the last of her tears and smiling with thankfulness. The salespony smiled as well, reassuringly and encouraging.
“Come on now, tell me everything that happened.”
Still sniffing occasionally Silver Spoon replied: “I had another talk with Apple Bloom. She said somepony named Fluttershy told her she should ask me why I said all that to her. So I told her and we talked about that until her friends came along. They thought I was fighting with Apple Bloom or something like that. But even when she told them we weren’t fighting, they kept being mean to me. And when Apple Bloom invited me to go camping with them, Scootaloo said I would spoil everything.”
She had to stop there. For one thing because talking about it made her eyes burn again and she had to fight hard not to break out into tears once more. For the other thing, she noticed how much what she said sounded like she wanted to go camping. Camping with the loser trio. And she didn’t want that. Definitely. She wanted to make sure Bon Bon didn’t misunderstand her but still, she wasn’t able to talk right now. Bon Bon on the other hand was able to: “That was awful of her. No wonder you’re so upset. You really wanted to go with them, hm?”
At first she wanted to yell “No!”, but something kept her from doing so. More than just her fear of starting to cry again. She didn’t want to go and yet, she wasn’t able to say it. Some part of her mind was refusing to do it. She had to face it, somehow she did want to go camping and at the same time she didn’t. All these contradicting feelings blocked her throat. After a few futile attempts to answer Bon Bon’s question she mumbled: “I don’t know…”
“The way you look you do want to,” Bon Bon said warmly, “and I think you should. It was more than nice of Apple Bloom to offer it to you after all that happened.”
“Yeah, I don’t get that at all. Why would she do that?” 
“I guess she really wants to get all those nasty things between the both of you out of this world. And I think camping is a perfect way to get over past things and become friends.” 
Silver Spoon still wasn’t convinced. The whole idea was too irritating for her. But Bon Bon was so nice to her. She had helped her before and now she was taking care of her again. More than anypony had in a long time. Why would she encourage her to go camping if it wasn’t as enjoyable as everypony said? Silver Spoon had to ask: “Is it really that great? It sounded pretty boring to me. And uncomfortable.”
Bon Bon chuckled: “I can see where you’re coming from. But believe me, it is way more fun than it sounds like.”
Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly convincing. But maybe she should just give it a try? But then again, of what use was it to think about that option? She sighed: “It doesn’t matter if I want to anyways, Scootaloo would never let me join them.”
Bon Bon shook her head. “Don’t give up so quickly, honey. Maybe you should talk to them again, calm and friendly. Don’t forget, you already have Apple Bloom on your side.”
“But I’m not even sure if I really want to go camping...” And more importantly, Silver Spoon didn’t want to face Scootaloo at the moment.
Bon Bon’s smile grew even warmer, as impossible as it seemed to Silver Spoon. “Then tell me, why were you so upset when you came here?”
“I don’t know… It’s just that what Scootaloo said was really hurtful. She kept saying mean things that weren’t true without having any proof and wouldn’t listen to me when I told her she was wrong.”
There. She said it. And she already knew what Bon Bon was going to say next: “That was very mean of her, yes. But you have to admit, that sounds strangely familiar, hm?”
“Yes…” Silver Spoon whispered and then moved on a bit louder: “When she refused to let me join them, just assuming I would spoil their fun, it was too much. It wasn’t about not letting me join their camping, it was about her just accusing me of things I didn’t do. Or wouldn’t do. Without any proof. She just rejected me like that. And that hurt.”
“Oh Honey, I know what you’re saying. She was wrong, like you were. But just like you she can change. I’m sure she’ll come around and apologize for what she said. As I said, just try talking to them again. Just keep in mind that you do have Apple Bloom on your side. Stay calm and don’t let yourself get pulled into useless arguments.”
For a moment, Silver Spoon considered Bon Bon’s words. What did she have to lose? At worst, things would stay as they were now. At best, she would make some friends. And even if not, by now she shared Apple Bloom’s opinion. It would indeed be nice if they just wouldn’t get into fights any more. She concluded that Bon Bon was right. Finally being able to smile again she said: “Okay, I will. Thanks, Bon Bon.”
Now, with her head cleared and newfound joy, another thing sprung into her mind. There was something she just needed to know: “Is it true that Apple Bloom tried to sell you apples by stuffing them into your bags?”
Even though she seemed to be a bit surprised at the sudden change of topic, Bon Bon grinned: “Yes, it’s true. Who told you?”
“Apple Bloom. Somehow this came up. She seemed pretty embarrassed about all that.”
“Well she’d better be. But on the other hoof, Applejack gave me a load of apples as an apology. Those were the candy apples I had on sale a few month ago. Do you remember?”
“Of course I do. I never had so many candy apples in my life before.” Silver Spoon glistened as she dwelled in memories. Candy Apples were her favorite sweets aside from Braeburns. And her stock had lasted for days back then.
“I guess in some way you’ll have to thank Apple Bloom for that,” Bon Bon giggled.
“That gives me an idea,” Silver Spoon said, “do you have some candy apples here? I’ll take four!”
“Sure,” Bon Bon nodded and went back behind her counter. She wrapped up the candy apples and handed them over to Silver Spoon. The filly paid, thanked Bon Bon once more and stormed out the door.
The candy apples stuffed into her school bag, Silver Spoon ran across the streets of Ponyville, startling a few other ponies and barely avoiding crashing into a hay wagon that suddenly turned around a corner. The angry yelling of the wagon’s owner behind her, she dashed straight towards the Ever Free Forest. It was the only thing she knew about where that Fluttershy lived. Fortunately the bordering parts of the Ever Free Forest and Ponyville weren’t that wide, so she had a pretty good chance to find Fluttershy’s home on her own.
A few minutes later she trotted along the edge of her hometown, careful not to get to close to that dark woodland she has been warned of so often. Sure, it was still a few hundred yards from the last homes belonging to Ponyville. But after everything ponies said about that dreaded piece of landscape, she didn’t want to get one step closer to it than necessary.
All the houses here seemed so ordinary. But hadn’t Apple Bloom said something about “all those animals” Fluttershy lives with? None of the buildings looked as if they were designed to house any more than a cat or dog or maybe some unwanted rats. Wondering if she shouldn’t ask somepony for directions she saw one house that was unlike any other around here. Actually, it wasn’t really around here in the first place rather than a house over there. It stood a short distance outside of Ponyville, separated by a creek running by. Vast green meadows and a few trees with birdhouses hung in them surrounded it. And there were animals. Lots and lots of animals. As Silver Spoon walked closer towards the house she saw them.
In the trees, there were birds singing and squirrels roaming for food. The meadows were filled with bunnies nibbling away at some clover, bees were buzzing around the flowers, joined by fluttering butterflies. Here and there Silver Spoon could see weasels or ferrets – she wasn’t able to distinguish between them – rustling through the grass, chasing each other playfully. And even the creek, small as it was, brimmed with live. Happily quacking ducks were paddling around across it and every now and then, a fish hopped out of the creek, spraying small drops of water across the air glittering like tiny diamonds, before they disappeared back into the creek within a second.
The house itself reminded Silver Spoon of a tree at first. But when she took a closer look she saw that it was rather modeled to appear like a tree. First and foremost the roof and most of the walls were covered with leaves. Additionally, it looked like the house hadn’t been built by design but had grown on its own, out of the ground into its current shape. All the wood used to build this house completed the image. Right next to the house was a chicken coop which seemed almost out of place. With all these free and happy animals running or flying around it seemed almost cruel to lock up some chickens right where they were able to see what they would never get.
When Silver Spoon got closer to the cottage she could hear voices coming from its other side. Voices she would recognize anytime. They belonged to the three fillies she was looking for. Slowly, almost sneaking, she moved closer to them. When she peeked around the corner, they came into view. All of them sat in front of a tent around a camp fire, even though it was still a sunny summer afternoon. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had their backs turned towards Silver Spoon, but Apple Bloom was facing into her direction. Each of them held sticks with marshmallows stuck to them into the fire. Silver Spoon thought about just walking up to them, but then she heard Apple Bloom say her name:
“About Silver Spoon…”
She froze dead in her tracks. Not knowing exactly why she did it, she pressed against the wall next to her.
“What about her?” asked Sweetie Belle in response.
“Ah’ think we should give her a chance.”
“A chance for what?” Scootaloo wanted to know. Her tone stated clearly that she didn’t want to give the named filly any chance at all, no matter what for.
“Campin’ with us,” was Apple Bloom’s answer.
Scootaloo groaned in annoyance. “Why are you coming up with this again all of a sudden? Why bring it up at all? Have you already forgotten what she did to you only two days ago?”
“And she said she didn’t want to,” Sweetie Belle added.
Apple Bloom shook her head. “No, Ah’ haven’t forgotten what happened. And that’s exactly why Ah’ want her to join us here.”
For a moment there was silence. Then Scootaloo could be heard: “Were you planning on getting your revenge right here? Did you want to put bugs into her sleeping bag or something like that?”
“What? No!” exclaimed a shocked Apple Bloom, “Ah’ told ya already, Ah’ want to get whatever problems she has with us solved. But when Ah’ talked to her again this day, Ah’ somehow got the feelin’ she isn’t that bad at heart. It’s more like she never stops to think about what she’s sayin’. And maybe she needs some other friends than Diamond Tiara.”
Another groan escaped Scootaloo. “Fine, as soon as I’m off tomorrow, you can walk right up to her house and ask her to be your friend. See what happens and don’t come crying to me when I’m back. But I don’t want her to be my friend.”
“Ah’ don’t even know where her house is.”
“Me neither,” added Sweetie Belle.
“And I don’t even want to know,” grumbled Scootaloo. “But that’s not my point!”
“I don’t know, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully, “maybe we should-“
“Oh, not you too, Sweetie Belle.” As far as Silver Spoon could see it from her position, Scootaloo had put her hoof against her forehead. Her voice sounded anguished. “Has Fluttershy put something in your breakfast this morning? I don’t think she’ll ever change. Don’t you see? She’s not even here and she’s still annoying me to death and got us into an argument.”
Silver Spoon backed a few steps away from the corner. Why did they have to start talking about her at this time? There was no way she could walk over to them now.
“Hello there.”
The voice came from behind her. It was weak and gentle, almost a whisper, but to Silver Spoon it felt like somepony had yelled directly into her ears. She turned around, her heart pounding. There stood a yellow female pegasus with a long pink mane. Her whole face was giving Silver Spoon a soft and warm smile, but all she could return was shock and fear.
“Oh, I’m sorry if I scared you, Silver Spoon. I didn’t mean to,” she said apologetically. “Do you want to talk to Apple Bloom?”
“Well, no, I-“ Silver Spoon stammered. Then she paused for a second. “Hey, why do you know my name?”
The mare giggled: “Apple Bloom told me about you. Grey coat, silver mane and a cutie mark fitting your name.”
“And who are you?” the filly wanted to know.
The happy expression on her face quickly faded away. Now she didn’t just sound apologetically, she also looked that way: “Oh, of course, I’m sorry. My name is Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you.” With those words she was back to a gentle smile again. “If you are not here to see Apple Bloom, would you like to come inside and have some tea?”
At first, she wanted to decline. Staying here any longer than necessary would only increase the risk of getting found out by Apple Bloom and her friends. But that warm, welcoming smile made it more than hard for her to refuse after all. So after a brief moment of consideration, she accepted the offer.
The interior was as warm and inviting as the whole cottage. A tranquil peace emanated from the living room into which Silver Spoon was led. She sat down on a more than comfortable sofa. She was strangely reminded of her grandmother’s room in the retirement home. That wasn’t as big as this house, of course, but it gave her a pleasant feeling of being sheltered. Through the open door she could see Fluttershy make the promised tea in her kitchen, humming a sweet little melody. And she was still smiling as if serving tea to a filly she just met sneaking around her house was her greatest joy.
She watched her for a moment, thinking about what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell had said about their – and now Silver Spoon’s – host earlier. This Fluttershy emanated such an aura of peace, tranquility and gentleness. It was hard, no, impossible to imagine her in any kind of fight, let alone with a dragon.
Silver Spoon’s thoughts were rudely interrupted as a shiver ran down her spine. Somepony was watching her. She looked around but couldn’t find any other pony. There was just a bunny. It was sitting across the room at the bottom of the stairs that led to the upper floor. At least, that creature looked like a bunny. But the way it stared daggers at Silver Spoon was more like that of a well-trained watchdog.
The little thing hopped over to the couch, not breaking eye contact for a second. Then it jumped onto the couch and sat right next to Silver Spoon. She was curious and afraid at the same time of what would happen next. The bunny on the other hand showed no sign of intention to do anything but glare at Silver Spoon. The more she looked into those large black eyes the dizzier she felt. But something kept her from looking away. In the end, it was Fluttershy who saved her when she finally brought in the tea.
“I see you have already met Angel,” said Fluttershy gesturing at the bunny. Then she added towards it: “Angel, this is Silver Spoon, my guest. So be nice to her.”
When she had served the tea and sat down in a chair on the other side of the table Fluttershy turned back to the still uneasy filly: “Now tell me Silver Spoon, why are you here?”
“Why I’m here? That’s what I would like to ask you. Why did you offer me tea?” Silver Spoon replied, making sure she kept that ‘Angel’ in her view.
“Because I offer tea to all of my guests.” From any other pony she knew Silver Spoon would have taken this answer as a mocking joke. But this one she barely knew said it with such friendly sincerity, she didn’t doubt for a second the pegasus mare meant what she had said.
But still it didn’t answer her question, thus she asked: “That’s not what I meant. Why did you invite me in? If you heard about me from Apple Bloom, I’m pretty sure you didn’t get the best picture of me.”
“Yes, what I heard about you was not very nice,” she said, still keeping her kind smile.
Silver Spoon was convinced she had heard a slight shift of tone in Fluttershy’s voice. But not the kind she had expected. She didn’t try to scold her or sounded disappointed in any way. What she had heard was some kind of sincerity that somehow reminded her once more of her grandmother. It was the kind of tone she struck when she explained to Silver Spoon something really important. Mostly when the filly had done something bad, like braking a vase or drawing on the wall of the living room.
And the tone was still there when Fluttershy went on: “But that was all the more reason for me to talk to you. I’ve never seen Apple Bloom as upset as two days ago. Now I don’t want to talk about what you said to her. All I want to know from you is: did you really want to hurt her like that?”
Fluttershy still kept smiling gently through everything she said. There was still no hint of accusation, much less anger in her tone. Silver Spoon started to feel uneasy. This pegasus was so unnaturally friendly, it began to weird her out. And that irritating bunny right next to her was of no help, as his gaze seemed to scream ‘Answer the question!’ at her.
She lowered her eyes, now looking at her cup of tea, just to be able to talk: “I… I… I don’t know… Maybe I did. No, I’m pretty sure I did. But then again, I didn’t want to let it get to that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t want her to break down like that,” she spoke to her teacup. “I never imagined her to run off crying. I didn’t even think she was able to cry.”
“But if you didn’t want to hurt her, why would you say those things at all?” Still, there was no accusation. This was a question of genuine interest.
“Because… Well, because… I don’t know...” Silver Spoon hemmed and hawed around.
“Do you really not know or do you just don’t want to talk about it?”
Silver Spoon didn’t answer immediately. This reminded her more and more of a lot of talks her grandmother had with her. If the topic hadn’t been so serious she had almost smiled at that thought. But since it was serious she just said:
“Both.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Hm, okay. If you don’t want to talk about it to me, that’s fine.”
“It is?” Silver Spooned lifted her head and stared right into Fluttershy’s eyes again. She had to make sure this wasn’t a joke.
“Yes, it is. But you should think about the reasons why you said those things, because Apple Bloom will want to talk to you about all this. And she has the right to know, so you should tell her.”
Silver Spoon refrained herself from telling Fluttershy that Apple Bloom had already tried that. It would only unnecessarily draw out this conversation and as loveable as Fluttershy seemed to her she wanted to get out of there. This situation as whole was just too unsettling. But there was still something Fluttershy had said poking at the back of Silver Spoon’s mind. She had to give it a try.
“Can I ask you something?”
Fluttershy smiled even wider. Her answer was cheerful as if she had waited for that question: “Of course.”
“What did you mean by ‘a cutie mark matching her name’?”
Fluttershy gave her puzzled look. “That your cutie mark looks like a silver spoon, just like Apple Bloom had described it.”
Silver Spoon involuntarily looked at her cutie mark.
“That’s no spoon.”
“It’s… not?” Fluttershy now sounded as confused as she looked. Then, looking at Silver Spoon’s cutie mark, her eyes widened in realization. When she spoke again, she covered her mouth with her front hoof, almost as if to cover up what she had noticed.
“Oh my. I’m sorry. Now that you say it… But that’s…”
Silver Spoon was taken aback by the yellow pegasus’s reaction. She seemed to be almost on the verge of tears. Panicking, Silver Spoon looked around the room. There was nothing or nopony to help her. Just that little bunny, giving her a quick and angry ‘That’s your fault’ look before it hopped over to Fluttershy.
“It’s okay,” Silver Spoon said hesitantly, “I’m not offended or anything. There’s no need to-“
But Fluttershy just waved a hoof.
“No, it’s just that I imagined how you could have discovered such a talent. But it’s silly of me, I know. And I guess, somepony needs to be good at that, too.” She smiled again, clearly fighting to hold back her tears. Turning to her pet which was holding her hoof she said: “It’s alright Angel, I’m fine.”
Silver Spoon sighed: “Okay, I should go now. Thank you for the tea.”
“Oh, there’s no need to thank me. But do you really have to go? I’d really like to hear the story of your cutie mark.”
Silver Spoon gulped. After Fluttershy’s reaction just to realizing what that cutie mark was, she wasn’t so sure if she should tell her that story right now. And she still wanted to get out of the reach of those three other fillies sitting outside.
“I’m really sorry, but maybe I’ll come by again and tell you.”
“That would be nice,” Fluttershy nodded. She hesitated for a moment, then added: “Is there anything you want me to tell Apple Bloom for you?”
“No,” answered Silver Spoon, “not tell, but give.”
The question had reminded her of something. She stood up and took the candy apples out of her saddle bag.
“Could you give these to them? And please, don’t tell them they’re from me.”
“I will,” Fluttershy nodded.
Waving her hoof and with a last glance at that bunny still glaring at her Silver Spoon left the house. Outside, she tried to listen for a moment if she could still hear those fillies that she came for in the first place talking. But at the front door she was too far away to understand them. So she walked back through the peaceful scenery of a animal-filled meadow which looked rather surreal to her all of a sudden.