//------------------------------// // Reality's Grip // Story: Silver's Decision- The story of a bystander // by Sparkler774 //------------------------------// "Good Morning, everypony!" called Miss Cheerilee, walking into her classroom on a sunshiney Thursday morning in mid May. "Good morning, Miss Cheerilee." said the class in bored unison before going back to their previous activities. "I have some very special news for all of you today!" The class stopped talking amongst themselves to listen. It had been a long time since their teacher had announced anything. "Because of the increase of students in our class and others this year," said Cheerilee, nodding towards Little Red, Boysenberry, First Base, and others. "Princess Twilight is building and dedicating a brand new upper school for next year! New teachers will be hired, extracurricular classes are going to be present, and the building will be two floors high!" The class erupted in excited murmurs. This is so cool! thought Silver Spoon. A brand new school run by Princess Twilight herself! Now I can't wait for next year! "There's also one more thing, class!" chirped Cheerilee, upbeat as ever. "As most of you know, Equestrian schooling only goes up to grade six, which by then you have been expected to have earned your cutie mark and find a trade. However, Princess Twilight has passed a new law stating that, because a good education is so important to a pony's life, the required number of school years has been raised from six to eight. So ponies who are in sixth grade now will move on to seventh, then after year eight you graduate. Doesn't that sound absolutely thrilling?" The class was silent. Several students had their mouths open in shock. "So let me get this straight," blurted out Scootaloo. "Princess Twilight is forcing us to have an extra two years of school, and you think that it's a good idea????" "Yeah, that's stupid!" "I hate this new law!" "Me too!" "Well, I think that it'th-" "Nopony cares what you think, Twist!" The class broke out in mutinous shouts, opinions, and insults, many of them directed at the lack of Princess Twilight's brain cells. "Down with school!" "Princess Twilight SUCKS!" "DE-THRONE! DE-THRONE! DE-THRONE!" "TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The shouting stopped, and the class stared up at grim-looking Cheerilee who held a whistle in her mouth. "Class..." she said slowly and dangerously. "That... is... enough. I will not allow my students to act like wild animals during school hours. Now take your seats." The students obeyed, sitting down with as little noise as possible. Cheerilee glared at everyone, then attempted to put on a smile again. "Now, let's start with Math today. If you would all open to page 234..." *** "Apple Bloom, I just love your bow! Did you save it from the Timberwolves when your parents died?" It was recess. Diamond Tiara had told her entourage about the crusader plan at the study party, and the two seemed to be following through without any remorse. A small flock of students had gathered around Diamond and the crusaders, watching and laughing. Silver stood slightly behind Diamond, Aqua and Coronet, giggling at the right moments but never joining in. "Leave her alone, Diamond!" yelled Scootaloo furiously, stepping in front of a stunned Apple Bloom. "Why should I? This is fun!" laughed Diamond, Aqua and Coronet snickering behind her. "But I guess it makes sense coming from you, Scootaloo." "And why is that?" growled Scootaloo. "Oh, no reason. I just thought you were the type to protect your lover. You do have a crush on Apple Bloom, am I right?" Scootaloo looked like she had been slapped. "I... I... shut up! You don't know anything! A-apple Bloom is just my friend, that's all!" "A very good friend, I'd say." snickered Aqua to Coronet, the two breaking out in giggles. "Go away, Diamond!" shouted Sweetie Belle. "Or I'll... I'll..." "You'll what?" mocked Diamond. "Tell the teacher on me? Go cry to your big sis? Oh, I'm so scared." Behind her, Aqua and Coronet pretended to be afraid, making Sweetie Belle blush in embarrassment. "I don't even know why you three are still here." said Coronet, stepping next to Diamond. "I mean it's not like anypony really likes you or anything." "Yeah, no offense, but you guys are geeks." giggled Aqua, standing on the other side of Diamond. "You aren't good at anything, everypony hates you, and I doubt even a mother could love those faces." The crowd laughed again, and the crusaders looked panicky. Diamond smiled cruelly, then walked up to the crusaders. "Watch everypony, as I show these poor, miserable little freaks why they will never fit in here." "Exhibit A," said Diamond to the crowd, pointing at Scootaloo. "See the flightless filly-fooler who has fallen in love with her best friend, who surely returns her affections. Notice her unfortunate state of having no parents who love her, only a single mother who uses the excuse of poverty to stay away from her disgusting daughter." Scootaloo started to tell Diamond to shut up, but she was quickly shushed by the tiara-bearing filly, who now moved on to Sweetie Belle. "Exhibit B," said Diamond, grinning evilly as the students around her laughed. "Observe the ugliest and fattest filly this side of Equestria. In looks, she is in stark contrast to her sister the well-known fashion designer, who obviously is ashamed of being related to this hideous creature." Sweetie's lip quivered dangerously, and she looked like she was going to burst into tears any minute. When Diamond stepped in front of Apple Bloom, a sly and malicious smile crept onto her face, and Bloom stumbled back in fear of what was to come. "And Exhibit C," said Diamond, turning to the mocking crowd around her with a dramatic expression. "Behold the devastated orphan before you, the only remnant of her dead parents tied in her mane. This pathetic work-horse earns her keep by doing menial labor on her family's farm, possibly the only place in Equestria that will ever accept her. But wait! What if she gets her cutie mark, if at all, and it's not an apple? Most likely her family will kick her to the curb, disowning their nonconformist offspring." "So you see," continued Diamond, presenting the three stunned and crying fillies to their classmates. "These poor, pitiful fillies deserve your utmost sympathies, the reason being that they will never fit into pony society. Because really, who'd want to be friends with a couple of eternal losers?" Apple Bloom's face drained of all color and she crumpled to the ground, looking like she had seen a ghost. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes, and started to shake uncontrollably. The bell rang, and the crowd of students scurried back into the classroom. However, the crusaders and Diamond's crew lingered behind. "Well, blank-flanks? Do you think you've been punished enough, or should we continue?" smirked Diamond, leaning in close to the distressed faces of the crusaders. "S-stop it..." mumbled Apple Bloom, barely audible. "What was that, Apple Bloom?" asked Diamond, leaning her ear in close. "Did you say you still haven't had enough? Well then, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then. And the day after that. And the day after that." Aqua and Coronet laughed heartlessly, but this time Silver didn't join in. What was Diamond doing?? Didn't she think that she had tortured the crusaders enough? "Don't worry, dork-saders," said Coronet. "We'll make sure that you get punished enough. Hopefully by the end of the year we'll be through." "Or not." giggled Aqua. The three trotted back to class, laughing nastily all the way. Silver Spoon held back however, looking at the crusaders with pity. They were helping each other up, saying to themselves and each other that what Diamond had said wasn't true. Eventually they noticed that Silver Spoon was staring at them. "W-what're you looking at?!" snarled Scootaloo, getting up close in Silver's face. "I-If you're feeling sorry for us, then knock it off! We don't need anybody's pity!" Silver stepped back. "I-I just wanted to say I-I'm sorry..." she whispered, staring at the ground. "Sorry? SORRY??? Well, sorry ain't enough, you no good bully!" This made Silver angry. "If you haven't noticed, I didn't do anything to you back there! It was only those three!" she shouted, furious at the crusaders for blaming her. "But you didn't stop them either." said Sweetie Belle softly, wiping away tears. Silver's blood ran cold at this. They had no idea how much she wanted the girls to stop... But they also had no idea how hard it was to disagree with them. "Y-you don't know a-anything..." Silver stammered, her voice rising little by little. "Y-you don't know what i-it's like, practically being her servant, doing whatever she wants, taking the heat every time she screws up!" Silver Spoon's whole body was trembling now. It felt so good to let all this out. "I hate doing it, and you would hate it too if you were in my place! You just don't understand! You will never understand!!!" Silver Silver was full on screaming now and was shaking so badly that she was about to fall over. Finally she couldn't stand it, and broke down sobbing right in front of the crusaders. The second bell rang, but Silver didn't care. She could hear the crusaders walking back to the classroom together. After a few more minutes, Silver Spoon eventually pulled herself together. Looking inside the windows, she saw Cheerilee was taking post-lunch roll call. She was about to go back to class like she was supposed to, but felt sick at the thought having to face Diamond. I won't go back. she thought, panicked. I won't! So Silver Spoon turned around and ran. *** Silver burst through her front door, speeding into her room. She ignored her mother's questions of why she was home so early, and locked the door behind her. Breathing heavily, she flopped onto her bed, head spinning. Soon enough however, she calmed down and came to her senses, looking around her room. Silver's room was small, the walls painted a calming sky blue. A white antique wooden vanity sat across from her bed, a pretty glass vase with a single white lily sitting on the side. Her bed was a antique wooden white one, with a tall, carved headboard outlined with silver paint, along with soft blue and light purple sheets spread smoothly over her mattress. To the left of her bed was a wall length window seat that matched the color of her walls, gauzy light grey curtains pulled to the sides. Simple, whitewashed wooden bookcases sided the bed, filled mostly with cookbooks and classics. A light silver and white dressing screen was to the right of her vanity. The light brown hardwood flooring shone dustless, with an oval shaped lavender rug between the bed and the vanity. A plain, white writing desk was shoved in a corner, piled neatly with binders and folders and A+ papers. Her closet was small, holding only a few nice dresses, some shoes, and a winter coat, with a poster of a famous chef hidden behind the rack of clothes. Silver loved her room. The comfortable, classic vibe it gave fitted her personality perfectly, and the soft colors always made her feel relaxed. Knock-knock "Silver Spoon, come out here and explain to me why you came home three hours early, slammed the door when you ran in, and locked yourself in your room?" called Silver's mother firmly from outside the door. "I want answers, young mare!" Silver wracked her brain for a good excuse. Speaking through the door, she said, "Um... Miss Cheerilee, uh, let out school early because... um... a gas leak! Yeah, there was a minor gas leak, so she let us out. Thanks for asking!" Silver was about to run back to her bed, but she wasn't that lucky. "Now, wait just a minute," said her Mother. "First off, open that door right now, young mare." Reluctantly, Silver complied. Her mother entered Silver's room and sat on her daughter's bed. "Okay, the funny stuff is over. Let's hear the real story this time." she said, looking Silver Spoon straight in the eye. Silver gave a deep breath and turned away. "Everything is fine, Mother." she said. "I... I just wasn't feeling well after lunch. I didn't want to go back to class, so I came here instead." Silver's mother eyed her suspiciously, and the grey filly turned away, as not to meet her mother's eyes. Finally, Silver's mother sighed. "Well, I can't think of any other reason you'd leave school early, so I guess you're off the hook for now." she said, getting up off the bed. Silver gave a tiny breath of relief that she wasn't in trouble. "But that doesn't mean you can just mope around in your room all day. If you're going to be at home instead of school, you are going to help me out around the house, okay?" Silver Spoon sighed. "Oh- kay, Mother. What do want me to do?" Her mother smiled. "How about you make dinner? I'm in the mood for pasta primavera and chocolate cake." Silver grinned. "Sure thing, mother! I'll get started right away!"