//------------------------------// // Sweet and Sour // Story: Silver's Decision- The story of a bystander // by Sparkler774 //------------------------------// "...so what we'll do is we'll target them one by one, until we've knocked them all down like bowling pins. Got it, Silver Spoon?" Silver Spoon sat in Diamond Tiara's bedroom before school, absentmindedly listening to her friend's plan to get back at the crusaders. She wondered what had happened to the old Diamond Tiara, the Diamond that she would laugh and share secrets with, the Diamond who wouldn't care about losing some silly flag-waving contest. "Huh? Oh yeah, sure, that's sounds good." said Silver, looking away. She wasn't really listening, but she didn't want Diamond to get angry and go to school without her. "Alright then, let's start with the weakest one- Sweetie Belle." said Diamond smirking. "And I know exactly how to get to her. We'll try to get her alone, then start with the insults. Then we'll go on to physical contact, and end with a little surprise of mine. That crybaby will be so torn up, she'll probably try to go and die in a ditch!" Silver cringed at her friend's hurtful words. She remembered when Diamond would never have dreamed of going through with something like this. "Let’s go shopping, Silver Spoon!" even now, Diamond Tiara’s once kind and lighthearted voice echoed in Silver’s ears. "Like, hurry up you silly filly!" the sarcastic tone playful and full of fun. But those words seemed foreign now, even to the point of being painful. Silver Spoon continued to listen to Diamond's cruel plans for the CMC, she tried to remember how Diamond had started to go wrong. *** Eight-year-old Diamond Tiara buried her face in her hooves as she sat on her bed, Silver Spoon beside her. They were supposed to be having a sleepover, but that had been ruined when Diamond's parents started fighting again, shouting at the top of their lungs at each other downstairs. "How can you say that?! I practically raised the kid!" screamed Diamond's mother. "Said the woman who makes out with that one stallion every Friday night!" Filthy Rich shouted. "You don't deserve to be a mother!" "That's a dirty lie!!! Comet is just a friend from work, and you know it!" "If you define 'friend' as somepony who you sleep with every other weekend, then he must be a very good friend!!!" "You're just jealous that I actually have a social life instead of being caught up in that 'virginity' nonsense!" Rich went deadly silent. "So it's true, then. You are cheating on me." "Fine, so I've kissed the man and spent the night with him a few times. That does not count as cheating!" "Think of the example you're setting for Diamond!" "Compared to you, I'm a saint!" "Don't start making jokes, Spoiled." "Wha-(sputter)- That's it, Rich! I don't need to take this! I'm going to Canterlot, where I actually have half a chance of getting somewhere in life instead of playing the 'little wife' figure you want me to be!" "Fine, then! Leave! See if I care! And while we're at it, why not make it official? We're through, Spoiled! You can stop calling yourself Mrs. Filthy Rich from now on!" "Good! Now maybe I'll actually have some freedom!" "Freedom to sleep with any stallion that walks by, no doubt!" "Oooh!!!That's it, Rich!!! I'm leaving, and Diamond is coming with me!" "You try it and I'll have you arrested for kidnapping, and don't you dare think I'm bluffing!" "You can't do that! She happens to be my daughter too, you know! I can't get arrested for taking Diamond from a place where she'll never be happy! Suri was never happy here, and you know full well that you're the reason she moved to Manehatten!" "Suri left to start a business! And Diamond already is happy!" "Says you! I'm going to walk up those stairs right now and take her with me!" "Oh, why don't you just grow up, Ms. Dazzle?!" "Miss Dazzle? Since when have you ever called me by my maiden name???" "Since now, when I've stopped putting up with your lunacy! I can't stand being around you anymore! Now, get out of my house before I arrest you for trespassing!!!" Diamond burst into another flood of tears. Silver Spoon had known that Diamond's parents fought a lot, but she had never dreamed it was this bad. "Fine by me! Don't bother dropping by if you ever come to Canterlot!" "Leave, Spoiled!" Silver heard the door slam. Diamond's mother was gone, and her best friend had been reduced to tears. "D-diamond? A-are you okay?" asked Silver Spoon tentatively. Diamond turned to Silver, wet tears streaming from her red and puffy eyes. "J-just b-b-be there... please, Silver Spoon... j-just be there..." Diamond collapsed into Silver's arms, sobbing all over the metallic filly's hide. *** Silver Spoon shook her head, snapping out of her memoir. She stared at Diamond, who was sitting and giggling over her master plan to get back at the crusaders. Silver felt sick. How could somepony, who knew how bad it felt to feel helpless, relish the sight of making others feel the same? "Hey Silver! Are you asleep, or just stupid? Come on, we have to get to school and start on the plan! Get a move on!" Diamond trotted briskly away, as if expecting Silver Spoon to follow after her. Silver did, the sick feeling in her stomach only growing worse with every step.