//------------------------------//
// Shining Like Diamonds 
// Story: Under the Silver Stars 
// by Bootsy Slickmane 
//------------------------------//

	The empty plate was pushed away by a pair of gray hooves, and the filly turned to hop down from her seat. The older mare at the table cleared her throat significantly, causing the filly to hesitate. "Silver, dear," the mother said slowly.

Silver Spoon turned and sat up straight in her chair again. "May I be excused, please?" The mare nodded and Silver popped off her chair like a spring-loaded snake in a can. She galloped away from the dining table and straight to the staircase, passing by the paintings and decorative pottery in the hallway. She went up the stairs two at a time, her eyes bright, and burst through her bedroom door.

It took her but a few seconds to pluck up her saddlebag and slip it on. Into one pocket, she quickly stuffed a wooden tripod. Into the other, she slowly slid a brass tube. She was down the stairs, through the hall, and out the front door a minute later, calling a quick "goodbye" to her mother as she went.

Down the road, around a corner, over a bridge, and up a hill. She didn't slow down until she reached the highest point on the massive mound of grass-covered dirt. Moonlight shone down on the filly, and she paused as she caught her breath, staring at the pale orb in the sky before pulling the tripod from her bag. She popped out the three legs and put it down on the grass. Then she slowly lowered the brass tube into its mount and went about anchoring it into place, batting a hoof at the wide screws to turn them.

Silver made the last few turns of the screws with her mouth, then aimed the telescope around a bit. She loosened one screw, swung the tube upward, and took a seat behind it. Her eye went to the rear of the scope as a hoof pushed her glasses up out of the way, another hoof tilting the tube down a little.

Silver Spoon brought her eye away as she heard a rustling somewhere, the little smile on her face growing wider. Her smile shrank again as she took a look around at the empty hill. There wasn't anypony else in sight, save for a stallion walking along a street back in Ponyville. Silver's sigh was barely audible as she turned back to the sky.

She went on like this for about twenty minutes, her smile becoming smaller with each glance around the vacant hill. Her left foreleg found its way up to her mane, twirling the silvery braid around a hoof as her eyes turned to stare at the tripod's rubber feet. Her gaze remained there until the gentle sound of grass crunching down broke the peaceful quietude on the hilltop. Silver Spoon turned toward the source, and her smile returned in full force.

Diamond Tiara was trudging up the hill, the corners of her mouth turned down. When her line of sight met Silver's, however, her pace quickened and her frown turned around. Her best friend waved a hoof in the air as Diamond approached.

"My dad made me read that stupid book about the history of White Tail Woods before I came here, that's why it took me so long," said Diamond as she settled in near the telescope.

"You still hadn't read it yet? Cheerilee told us to read that on Monday. It's Saturday."

"Hmph. I suppose you got through it by Tuesday, huh?" was Diamond's reply. Silver spoon slouched down with a little smile, exposing her white teeth. Diamond shook her head, commenting, "You're such a nerd, Silver Spoon."

Silver shrugged a little, her eyes turning back to the sky. "How is your dad, anyway?" she asked.

Diamond shrugged slightly. "He's fine, I guess. He hasn't complained about work much lately, so that's good. How's your mom?"

"I think she's doing better. She hasn't mentioned daddy in sixteen days, but sometimes she still stares at our old photos when she thinks I'm not looking."

"You still gonna go see him in Manehattan next month?" Diamond asked.

Silver Spoon nodded, her hoof reaching back up to play with her mane. Diamond's eyes slid to look at the blades of grass her forehoof was batting at, and Silver let her gaze linger on the stars as the two fell into silence.

A few minutes passed before Silver Spoon blurted out, "You know, stars are, like, really hot?" Diamond looked up from the grass for a moment as Silver continued,  "I mean, you can't feel it like you can the sun, but that's because they're really, really far away."

Diamond Tiara sighed, rolling her eyes. "Silver Spoon, do you realize how boring stargazing is? It's, like, just the same thing over and over again. It's like looking at the same painting every weekend."

Silver Spoon's eyes were fixed on her friend. "You know, you don't have to come stargazing with me every weekend if it's so boring."

Diamond just shrugged at that, continuing to play with the grass at her hooves, her eyes downcast.

Silver Spoon's hoof slipped away from her mane, a small smile forming on her lips as she turned her head skyward and resumed her topic. "In fact, those stars are so far away that it takes years for their light to reach us. Some of these stars might actually not exist anymore, and we might not know it until they disappear one day."

"You're such a nerd, Silver Spoon." Diamond batted at the grass a little more, but slowly lifted her head again. "Wait, how can it take so long for the light to reach us? Isn't light just kinda there or not there?"

Silver Spoon's smile hadn't faltered, and she explained, "Light moves really, really, really fast. Like, so fast you can't even see it move from a candle to the walls when you light it. It looks like it moves instantly because the distances down here are so small. But it's not instant, it's just so fast that it seems like it."

"So... the stars up there are just that far away? It really takes years just to get here?"

Silver Spoon nodded.

"Wow. That's... kinda cool." Diamond stared up at the stars for a few seconds before adding, "In a totally nerdy way, I mean." Silver chuckled quietly at that, and the two fell quiet again as they took in the constellations and passed the telescope back and forth between them.

As Diamond looked through the scope at the moon, Silver Spoon slid her glasses off and took a deep breath. Her mane went back to being twirled around her hoof as she slowly asked, "Diamond, have you ever, you know, liked somepony?"

Diamond didn't move from the telescope, though she hesitated before answering with a question of her own. "What do you mean?"

Silver's other forehoof came up to help the first play with her braided mane, her violet eyes directed at the tripod's feet again. It was a few more seconds before she clarified, "Like, you know.... Have you ever had a crush on anypony?"

Diamond finally pulled back from the scope, her eyes moving to the grass as well. "Uh, maybe." She narrowed her eyes suddenly, her tone growing harsher. "Why? Have you?"

"Yeah, I do right now," Silver said with a tiny smile, her eyes briefly going to her best friend before returning to stare at the tripod.

Diamond's tone softened again. "Does your crush know how you feel?"

Silver Spoon shook her head, but said, "I don't know if she does. It probably isn't hard to guess, though."

Diamond pulled her prized tiara from her head, turning it in her hooves as if looking for something on it. "Is- is it anypony I know?"

Silver Spoon nodded, her silvery mane slipping around her hooves as she tugged at it.

"And do you already know her? Like, are you friends?"

Silver nodded again.

"Do you spend much time with her?"

Silver sighed quietly, replying, "Yeah. We hang out a lot, especially on the weekends."

Diamond found a dirty spot on her tiara that may not have actually been there, and rubbed a hoof at it.

Silver shook her head, still looking at the little rubber feet. "I don't know how she feels about me, though." She finally turned her head back to look at her best friend, who was still trying to rub out the spot on her tiara. After ten seconds of silence, Silver's gaze fell back to the tripod as she bit her lower lip, the redness in her cheeks barely visible in the moonlight.

Slowly, Diamond stopped playing with her tiara and turned her blue eyes to the sky. "Well," she began slowly, "you're, like, really nice and stuff. And you're a good friend, you know? So, like, if you told her, she'd probably say she liked you back."

Silver's hooves left her mane alone at last, turning back to look at Diamond. "You really think so?"

Diamond nodded, a little smile growing on her face. "Yeah, I know she would." She put her tiara back on, settling it into her mane. The reddish tint in her cheeks was barely visible by the light of the moon and stars.

The two fillies sat back on the grass, both gazing up at the sky. Silver brought a hoof up, pointing out Ursa Minor, and Diamond giggled softly. She shook her head, grinning as she said, "You're such a nerd, Silver Spoon."