"Why did you do that?"
The interruption caused Twilight to lose track of which stars' names she had already recalled. She contemplated picking up from a star she knew for sure she had already covered but decided not to. The partial cloud cover meant this really wasn't a good night for astronomy related activities anyway.
She turned her thoughts to the question. She doubted Diamond Tiara meant the star gazing, otherwise the question would probably have been in a different tense. No, it most likely had something to do with the art exhibit they were returning from. It had been a nice enough event, the type of thing she would have enjoyed quite a bit under ordinary circumstances. But things weren't normal right now.
Like everypony else, she was still adjusting to her new rank. The bowing, the use of the title, these events in honor, it all felt strange coming from ponies who had just a week prior treated her just like anypony else. And all these events… here she was only three days in and already she wished she could just spend a day or two in her lab or curled up with a good book or seven. She couldn't, of course. Not with how much it seemed to mean to everypony else. She couldn't let them down.
"What exactly?" Twilight asked.
"What you told the artist, the one eared one. He asked if you liked his work, and you complimented him on his choice of colors."
Twilight nodded. She recalled the event now. The painting had been a night scene, with a sky filled with spiral patterns. "The Friesian from Neighderland."
"Yeah, that one. I could tell you didn't really like the painting."
"Well, I did like the colors he used. And he really looked like he could use a kind word."
"But he isn't any good. I doubt he's even sold a single painting. Like, ever. And now he'll probably keep wasting his time trying."
Twilight could see how the filly's words made sense from a certain mindset, but it was not a mindset she would want to have. "What would you do if your friend, the one you had lunch with yesterday — Silver Spoon was it? — if she had painted that?"
"I'd tell her it looked like cat vomit."
Twilight stopped and looked closely at Diamond Tiara. "You'd tell her that?"
"It's the truth, isn't it? I mean, I could see lying if it wasn't a friend and you had something to gain. But Sil is my friend. She'd want the truth. And not just part of it. She'd want the whole thing."
"I guess I see it differently. He was just looking for a kind word, not a harsh criticism. It didn't cost me anything, and it made his day." Twilight resumed walking. They were almost at the library door when she spoke again. "And I really did like his use of colors."
Twilight looked up from her book to see Diamond stifling a yawn.
"Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" she said.
Diamond's head shot up and she shook her head. "I'm… I'm not really tired. Not sleepy at all." The words were followed by another barely stifled yawn.
Twilight smiled and tilted her head slightly. "Now who's lying? Don't you want to go home?"
The filly looked down at the floor, a slight blush of embarrassment coloring her features. "I… I had nightmares last night…"
"And you're afraid you'll have them again."
Diamond Tiara nodded.
"Well, do you want to talk about them? It might help." She got up and slowly turned in a circle, scanning the book shelves. "I'm sure I've got a book on the meaning of dreams. Under the new system it should be… there!" She pointed with her hoof and started to pull the book toward her with her magic.
"No!" Diamond cried out, startling Twilight and causing the book to go flying up into the air. "It's just that… I really don't want to talk about it." She looked away toward the window, before turning back to Twilight. "Look, I handle my own problems, okay? That's what strong ponies do. They don't go running to others when they need help." Picking up steam, she continued, "And besides, you're still up. What if you need help with something?"
Twilight examined the filly in front of her. No, she decided, there was definitely something going in in that little head. She cast a longing look at her book, sighed softly, and closed it. "Truth be told, I could use a break from reading," Twilight said She walked over to a cupboard and pulled open a drawer. She floated two decks of cards. "There's a card game I used to play with my brother. I could teach it to you, if you'd like."
Diamond's face lit up. "Do you play for bits?" she asked.
"I suppose you could, but we didn't. Well, we did play for who had to do what chores one week, but then our mother found out. Shining took all the blame, said it was his idea and wouldn't let me say otherwise, even though it really was mine. He knew I really wanted to go to the new science exhibit." Twilight laughed at the memory. She missed her brother at times. "So, anyway, no. We didn't gamble. Not after that."
"Oh," Diamond said. "So we could we play for bits?"
"Yes, I suppose we could." The filly's face lit up. "But we're not going to."
The ponies seated themselves at the table. Rapidly, Twilight explained the rules the game. Diamond listened intently, asking several questions about where the rules were not quite clear to her, as well as making several suggestions where she felt the rules could be improved. At last, when Diamond seemed satisfied with the rules, Twilight dealt each of them thirteen cards and the game began.
A couple of turns in, Twilight judged the time about right. Gently, she probed. "So about those nightmares," Twilight said.
"Don't want to talk about it," Diamond replied, frowning at her cards, before picking on and tossing it on the discard pile.
Twilight completed her turn, then pointed out to Diamond Tiara on hers that a run had to be from the suite. As Diamond grudgingly picked the cards up from the table, Twilight tried a second time. Again, Diamond rebuffed the question, though not as adamantly as before. Play continued, with Diamond becoming increasingly frustrated with her bad luck. Twilight herself held back, not playing as well as she could have, to ease the filly's frustration.
Again and again, Twilight brought up the nightmare subject, and slowly Diamond began to talk. A little at first, hesitantly, but then more under Twilight's careful questioning. Slowly, the nature of the dreams came out. Twilight praised herself as she drew a queen from the top of the stack. She could play it but decided to hold back, not wanting to put that many points on the table lest the further setback stop the filly from talking. Instead, she discarded a king and signaled to Diamond that it was her turn.
Diamond Tiara picked up the top card off the stack and smirked. Sliding it in amongst her cards, she rapidly rearranged them, then dropped them down onto the table in groups of three or four. "And I'm out," she said as she tossed her last remaining card on top of the discard pile, all signs of trouble wiped away completely.
Twilight sat stunned at the sudden reversal, letting her own cards fall to the table. Diamond looked them over, curious as to how many points Twilight had lost. "Ooh, queen of spades. That's, like, minus one hundred points, right? And you could have played it too. Not very smart."
Twilight frowned, a realization dawning upon her. "You played me," she said, waving her hoof at Diamond accusingly. "Distracted me, got me to hold back a bit, just to make it more likely you could win."
Diamond Tiara shrugged. "I'd already told you I didn't want to talk about it, so not my fault if you believed otherwise. Like I'd really be afraid of my friends turning on me. And besides," the filly said, giving a smug little smile, "you knew the game, so I needed every advantage I could get. I always play to win."
"I'll have to remember that." Twilight scooped the cards up with her magic, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she began rapidly shuffling them. "And now, as my friend Rarity is wont to say: 'It is on.' The horseshoes are off. No more Misses Nice Princess."
The expression of her competition's face was one of eager anticipation. Here was a foe who relished the challenge. "Bring it."