//------------------------------// // Twists and Turns // Story: Silver Marriage // by cdcdrr //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Twists and Turns The schoolhouse on the edge of Ponyville stood as it always had for as long as Tiara could remember it. It was only inside that her sense of familiarity was challenged. She didn't remember the classroom being this small. She reasoned that of course, as a filly, the world seemed larger, but she had grown since then. There were minor changes. The stools and desks had been replaced. Some of the old posters and decoration had been replaced and others retained. Some new teaching materials had been introduced to the school. At the desk at the head of the class sat Miss Cheerilee, older now than when Tiara had been in her class. She reacted to the two mares who had entered her school with her familiar welcoming smile. "Well hello Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara. It appears you are the first to arrive. Am I correct when I say I heard you two got married? Congratulations!" Her smile appeared genuine. Tiara had been somewhat concerned Miss Cheerilee would have felt the school's bullies were meant for each other, and act just a bit sarcastic. But as she should have known, she wasn't the kind of pony to be cynical. "You heard right. And you should. We only like made a big announcement for the ceremony." Silver Spoon bragged. "I'm sure you'll get to know if any other pony from your class found Mr or Mrs Right. But I'm suspecting you'll be one of the few. You are both just in your twenties after all." She switched to a more serious tone. "Just between us, Diamond Tiara, I couldn't help but read an article in the Ponyville Express a year ago criticizing the editor of the Foal Free Press. You do understand that it's bad taste to single out competing media that way?" "Hey now, I'm the editor, not writer. I only approve what comes to my desk." Tiara held up her hooves defensively. "I think that is the problem here. Some ponies need more supervision." Cheerilee winked, letting Diamond Tiara know she was in on the joke. "Yes, some ponies could use more supervision." She shot back with a wink of her own. "In all seriousness, I was surprised to see you resort to gossip again when the last attempt fared so poorly. But it seems to be working out better for you this time." "Well, I have learned a lot about nuance and subtlety in the intervening years. And I do believe it was me who saved the Ponyville Express from decline by making the switchover." Diamond Tiara brushed her hoof against her chest, displaying an arrogant pout. "This town can accommodate only so many readers, we're not making money as in Canterlot or Manehattan. So I give the ponies what they want, and I remembered they wanted juicy gossip. I convinced the mayor we needed to open up the ads to Canterlot businesses. She was reluctant to see competition from outside of Ponyville move in and take the ads of local business just because they had more money, but I convinced that was exactly what we needed for the Ponyville Express." "Yes, I did notice how the Express dropped Carousel Boutique and Sugarcube Corner in favour of the Canterlot Theatre or the Deux Maregots. I suspect the local advertising budgets are not competitive." Cheerilee rolled her eyes, which went unnoticed by Tiara. "Indeed. The Ponyville Express was Mayor Mare's parade horse, but it's a drain on the budget. Personally, I wish she would go through with privatizing us. Having a local newspaper is fine and everything, but it's wastefully inefficient and costs us in tax bits." Diamond Tiara rambled on about the inner workings of the paper. "Oh hi Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon. I see I'm not the first." A familiar voice said, causing the three mares to turn around and pay attention. A cream furred mare with ginger red mane, accompanied by a light green unicorn had just entered. Tiara was slightly relieved to see another pony she could get along with had chosen to attend, so she had an easier time avoiding the ones that didn't. "Welcome Peppermint Twist. I see your mother accepted the invitation to come along. Hello Lyra, how's my ex-student's other parent?" Cheerilee welcomed her new arrivals. "You know Bon Bon, all work and no play. I've had to take our filly to school back then and some things never change." Lyra Heartstrings smiled infectiously. Despite once having all the features of an unpopular dork, Tiara had let Twist get off easy at the time they were in school. The freckled, bespectacled, brace-faced ginger just seemed like low-hanging fruit compared to the fillies all of Ponyville would groan at when they tried another of their antics, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Besides, Twist's mother owned the candy shop, so there was good incentive to suck up to her. "So what have you been up to? Any future plans?" Tiara decided to chat up her old classmate. It wasn't like there were many others she could do that with yet. "Oh, I mostly help mom out in the shop. Sometimes I have to do all the baking and selling all by my self. Mom gets overworked rather easily. It doesn't leave me any time to get out an socialize." Twist admitted with some regret. "That's a shame. Maturity has done you good, Twist. Why, I would almost forget myself if Spoony wasn't around to keep me in line." Diamond Tiara complimented. Twist gave a shy laugh. "I'm not into mares, Diamond Tiara. My parents are." "Which makes me wonder, if it's not a personal question, how is it that I remember when Lyra moved into Ponyville after you and us already met in school?" Silver Spoon noted. "That is rather personal indeed, Silver." Twist shuffled a leg and stared down. Lyra gave her a nudge. "Come on, it's alright. We both know Bon Bon doesn't hold a grudge over what happened, you can tell 'em." "Okay, well, you know Lyra's my stepmother." She looked back at said unicorn, but found her engaged in a conversation with Cheerilee. "Before that, mother was married to a stallion. His name was Pony Joe, he owns a shop in Canterlot." "I've been there on trips with daddy, he makes some good glaze sprinkle donuts." Tiara interrupted, before letting Twist continue. "Well, it didn't last. Dad apparently became exasperated with mom's fuzziness and she thought he was a bit of a slob. They thought that their talents for baking treats, cream colour body and desire to set up a business in town meant they had a lot in common. They rushed into things, and when mom began to realize she didn't feel that way for stallions, that was the end of that. She got the business in the settlement, and won the parentage suit when they found out she was pregnant with me at the time. I do wonder sometimes how I may have affected their separation. Like if it was just the hormones that made mom irritable, or if I could have brought them back together if they had found out sooner, or if them staying married for my sake would have made them bitter and unhappy." Twist stopped when the was caught off guard by a hug from Diamond Tiara. "Hey, I understand. I grew up alone with daddy as well, remember? You shouldn't blame yourself, it's somepony else's fault if they abandon you." Tiara shared what Filthy Rich had told her one day when she talked with him about mom. "Thanks, you're probably right. It's not a big deal since I got Lyra now. Sure, Bon Bon tried to raise me herself for some years, but when Lyra moved here they just hit it off, you know? She was great with kids, and mom struggled to keep up with business and family, so she was alright with her watching over me. Lyra's always been more fun loving and light-hearted so she balances mom's seriousness. I'm happy she saw that as well and I got to keep her as my mom." Diamond Tiara found herself interrupted by Silver Spoon, who poked her shoulder with a hoof before pointing at the door. "It seems the Cutie Mark Crusader club just came in."