//------------------------------// // No time to argue // Story: Silver's Decision- The story of a bystander // by Sparkler774 //------------------------------// "-Cause like, Twist raises her hoof every day and always has the right answer! What a nerd, right?" "As always, DT!" "Totally nerdy." Silver Spoon struggled with the weight of four pony's books on her back like she had been doing for over a week. After seeing how chummy Aquamarine and Coronet were getting with Diamond, the rest of the class had picked up that they were the new 'cool kids', and thus received the privileges that came along with the title. However, they unfortunately also saw that Diamond seemed to be snubbing Silver, which (of course) gave them permission to treat her like she was below them, which she was to Diamond and the girls. Aqua and Coronet had adjusted well, too. At first, they seemed a little uncomfortable when Diamond teased their classmates, but had become steadily numb to it, even joining in from time to time. Silver Spoon was a nobody now. She suspected that the only reason Diamond even kept her around anymore was because Silver got them good grades and carried their books. She knew that Diamond Tiara had hosted a few sleepovers and 'forgotten' to invite her. She knew that every other student in class was gossiping about her. What she didn't know was why. All of this- being replaced, getting treated like a maid, becoming little more than a lackey to the threesome- nothing like this had ever happened to her, and she had never expected it to. It's not fair, she thought, trotting to keep up with the girls. What did I do to deserve this? I've always been a good friend to Diamond. I haven't broken the law. I always try to be respectful to my parents and Miss Cheerilee. So where did I go wrong? "-so like, the HUGE history quiz is tomorrow, Di! Do you and Cory wanna come over to my place for a study slumber party?" Diamond laughed and rolled her eyes. "Study?? Why would we do a thing like that? We have Silver Spoon, remember?" Silver cringed. Is that all I am to them? Some braniac loser who carries their books? Aqua giggled nervously. "Oh, yeah! Old habits die hard, you know?" Diamond smirked. "I guess. But that doesn't mean we can't have a slumber party anyway!" Aqua and Coronet both brightened. "OMC, that would be like, so cool of you, DT!" said Coronet, flipping her gelled mane back. "So who's house will it be at? Please not mine, my little brother is like, so annoying!" "It'll be at my house, of course! I have the best food, the best room, a personal assistant who's practically my slave... Come tonight at seven thirty sharp, 'kay girls?" "You bet!" "I'll be there!" After a few more minutes of planning the sleepover (which Silver tuned out), they finally came to guest list. "So will it just be us three, Di?" asked Aqua eagerly. "Or will there be... others." She pointed distastefully at Silver Spoon. Silver's face blushed bright pink. I don't believe this. They act like I'm too stupid to know what they're talking about! "Well, seeing as Silvy's been such a good help lately..." Silver perked up. Could it be... "...I suppose we can invite her." YES!!!! Silver couldn't believe it. For the first time in two weeks, Diamond was finally treating her as an equal again, or at least closer to one. "But under some conditions." Silver's happiness deflated. What conditions? "First off, bring your homework and study guide with you. Tomorrow's test isn't an open book one, so we do have to 'look over' a couple of things, if you know what I mean." said Diamond, winking at Aqua and Coronet, who giggled. "And ask your mom to make those brownies I like and bring them over. These two just have to try them." "Is that all?" asked Silver Spoon in a rather exasperated tone. Diamond raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Excuse me?" "Oh! U-um, I-I'm s-s-sorry, Diamond, I-I was just wondering i-if you wanted me t-to do anything else f-for the p-party." Silver stammered, tripping over her words. Diamond stared at Silver Spoon haughtily, then smirked. "That's better, Silver dear. Oh! And by the way..." Here it comes... "Come about fifteen minutes early tonight. I need you to, *ahem*, help me set up." Silver's grin stretched so far across her face that she thought she would snap at any second. "Oh, thank you Diamond! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Silver's smile faltered a bit when she saw Aqua and Coronet snickering at her expense, but she was no less happy. Before she knew it, Silver was at her modest, but respectable one-story house she lived in with her parents. "I'm ho-ome!" she shouted as she burst through the door. "Mother, where are you??? I need to ask you a favor!" "I'm in the kitchen, Silver Spoon! What do you need?" called Silver's mom. "Can I use the oven? I want to cook something!" "Now?" asked Silver Spoon's mom, poking her head from the kitchen's door. "Silver, honey, I'm making dinner!" "Please, Mother?" pleaded Silver Spoon. "Diamond invited me to a sleepover at her house tonight and she wanted me to bake some brownies for it!" Silver's mother rolled her eyes. "Oh alright, Silver darling. But promise to clean up any messes you make in the kitchen, okay?" "Okay, mother!" called Silver as she sped to the kitchen. Tying an apron around herself and grabbing the cookbook, she smiled. Time to get our friendship back on track. she thought, gathering the bowls. This has to be a sign, right? Diamond wouldn't have invited me if she didn't like me! Soon enough, however, those paranoid thoughts drifted away as Silver began to relax. Cooking was her special talent, after all. She decided to add some chocolate chips in with the brownies, just the way Diamond liked them. Everything is going to be perfect. *** Everything was not going perfectly. Silver had arrived exactly fifteen minutes early like Diamond had asked her to, with a plate of brownies on her back and her homework and study guide in her saddlebags. The butler, Randolph, showed Silver to Diamond's bedroom, where the pink filly was waiting for her. Diamond's room was huge, painted a pristine white and trimmed with silver and platinum accents. Her queen sized canopy bed was tulip pink, the curtains a transparent white with swirling pink and platinum designs. The carpet was a perfect, untarnished white and soft as a cloud. On the walls were various posters of popular colt bands, many of them autographed. Pushed up against the walls was a lavender writing desk and shiny, ice blue swivel chair, a small lavender and blue sofa, and three whole bookcases full of several year's worth of assorted celebrity, makeup, and fashion magazines. Across from Diamond's bed was a white door with a soft blue painted on around light pink and white floral designs, reading 'Washroom' in white lettering. Silver Spoon's whole bedroom could fit into Diamond's walk-in closet. Even though she had come over many times over the years, Silver couldn't help but be dumbfounded whenever she came to Diamond's house. "Oh good, there you are." said Diamond huffily. "You'd better get started right away, the girls are coming any minute now." "Started on what?" asked Silver. "Fixing this place up, duh! I need you to put those brownies on that table over there, next to the Perrier. Then get out the two cots from my closet and put them on either side of my bed, the blue one on the left and the lavender one on the right. And make it snappy, this place has to be spic-and-span by the time they arrive!" "Anything else?" asked Silver Spoon in a rather aggravated tone. Diamond raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me???" "O-oh, I-I mean i-is there a-a-anything else y-you want me t-to do, Diamond?" asked Silver, tripping over her words. Diamond sneered. "There is one more thing, thanks for reminding me. Be a doll and push my desk into that corner, mmkay?" Silver sighed. "Yes, Diamond." "Good, now get to work! I won't have you make a fool out of me in front of my new friends." snapped Diamond, going to relax on her sofa. Silver sighed, setting the plate of brownies down on the table and heading over to the closet for the cots. She noticed Diamond had settled down reading a fashion magazine and wasn't seeming to care about how Silver Spoon was to do the job. Silver lugged the blue cot over to the left side of Diamond's canopy bed, making sure to set it exactly three inches away from the bed, as she knew Diamond was very nit picky about these things. Going back to the closet, she did the same with the lavender cot. Checking the clock, Silver saw that she only had about two more minutes before Coronet and Aqua were due to arrive. She pushed the lavender writing desk into a corner and pushed the silver swivel chair in. No sooner had she done this than a faint ringing of the doorbell was heard from downstairs. Diamond perked up, setting down her magazine and running to meet the girls. Silver frowned as she heard them exchange greetings and give hugs, much in the same way that she and Diamond used to. The trio burst through the door, laughing and chatting together. Aqua looked up from the conversation for a bit, then squealed when she saw the brownies. "Oooh! Chocolate chip brownies, my favorite!" Aqua bit into one. "Sooo good... Cory, you have got to try these!" "Don't mind if I do." said Coronet, picking up a brownie and munching off a piece. "Mmm... you're right, Aqua, these are amazing, mmm... Di, who made these?" "My mom." said Silver quickly, before Diamond could answer. Diamond glared at her for the interruption, then turned her attention over to Aqua and Coronet, who had both taken another brownie and and getting started on the Perrier, gushing about how good it all was. Diamond giggled. "Hey, slow down you two! I've ordered a pizza, so don't fill up on brownies and Perrier, okay? Oh, and guess what? I just got the new issue of Applewood Insider yesterday, and you guys will wanna see it!" Both of the fillies squealed happily and ran over to Diamond's magazine bookcases, the food temporarily forgotten. Silver was about to join them when Diamond looked up and smirked nastily. "Silvy dear, why don't you go get started on the study half of our study party? Aqua, Cory, can you go get your homework from your saddlebags and give it to Silver?" The two nodded and retrieved their assignments to give to Silver. They set them down on the desk, then trotted back to Diamond, giggling girlishly all the way. Silver Spoon felt like somepony had punched her in the gut. Why did Diamond keep excluding her? She could stand being made to do a few menial jobs, but not being totally ostracized from the group! "But Diamond, can't I-" Silver was cut off by a sinister glare from Diamond that was telling her to do as she was told right now. "Sorry, Silv." giggled Aqua. "But cool ponies don't do homework. They get nerds to do homework for them." Diamond and Aqua burst out laughing, and Silver Spoon's face turned bright red. This is ludicrous! she thought furiously. Unbelievable! Now they're insulting me to my face and behind my back??? What the heck! "Now be a good little nerd, Silver Spoon, and go do the homework." snickered Coronet. "Oh! And make sure to simulate our hoof writing exactly. We wouldn't want to be accused of cheating, hmm?" Aqua shooed Silver away with her hoof, and the threesome went back to drooling over Applewood Insider. Silver Spoon sat down at the desk. Now she understood why Diamond wanted her to scoot it into a corner- so that she would be as isolated as possible. Wiping away a tear, she contemplated refusing to do the work at all. The she thought of how angry Diamond would be with her and that it might destroy any chances of them becoming close friends again. That thought alone gave her the motivation to pick up a pencil and get started. Silver sighed. This was going to be a long night.