//------------------------------// // Time in a bottle // Story: Silver's Decision- The story of a bystander // by Sparkler774 //------------------------------// The next day, Silver Spoon was back in class, studying hard for the exams that were due to come in a few short weeks. After her breakdown the day before, she noticed that the crusaders had stopped giving her dirty looks during class, but still cautiously avoided her and Diamond. Silver had decided to stay in at recess today, still uncomfortable with seeing Diamond and the 'tenacious twosome', as she had come to calling them. Looking outside the window, she was glad to see that they weren't targeting the crusaders. For now. she thought, silently groaning. Because exams were coming so quickly, Silver wasn't surprised to see that she wasn't the only student who decided to study during recess. Around her she recognized Twist, Lickety Split, Featherweight, and Boysenberry, all focused on reviewing their notes or completing the day's homework. Realizing that she should be doing the same, Silver Spoon opened her folder and sifted through her tidy-looking class notes, searching for something that she hadn't already reviewed a hundred times. Finally she came across some History papers that she didn't remember reassessing, and began her search for something that might be useful in the exams. After about fifteen minutes of dedicated research, Silver gave up. I don't think I can cram any more in my brain! she thought, getting up and heading over to the classroom bookshelf. After browsing for a bit, Silver selected a worn copy of The Invisible Mare, opening it up and beginning to read as she walked back to her desk. Wham! Silver Spoon slammed into another student. She had been so preoccupied by her reading that she wasn't looking where she was going. A filly with a blackberry braid and cream colored coat was on the ground next to her, rubbing her head. "I am so sorry," said Silver Spoon, standing up and extending a hoof to the filly on the floor, whom she recognized as Boysenberry. Boysenberry smiled gratefully, but her expression changed to one of shock when she saw who's hoof it was. "Oh! Um, no problem!" she said, getting up without the help of Silver. "No harm done. Uh, bye!" Silver's heart sank when Boysenberry ran back to her desk without looking back. Silver stared, confused, at her for a moment before walking back to her desk. Was she... afraid? Is that what ponies think of me? thought Silver sadly as she sat down at her desk. That I'll hurt them like Diamond does? That's what you get for sticking to her like glue for the past five years. she thought, her conscience speaking to her. Immediately she felt guilty. Diamond hasn't been mean the whole time! she thought, arguing with herself. And even when she acted like a bully, she had always restricted it to just teasing! Teasing isn't that big of a deal, right? Right? *** "Nice mane, Alula! What, are you so poor that you have to substitute a weed whacker for scissors?" It was the Monday after that fateful sleepover; the one where Diamond's mother had left home for good. In the three days since she had departed, nopony had heard anything from her. Diamond had cried the rest of the night, relying on Silver Spoon for comfort and reassurance. Silver had consoled her all night as Diamond recounted every fight her parents had been having these past months. Silver noticed that the first time Diamond's parents had begun fighting, ten or eleven months ago, was around the same time when she started being rude to their classmates and bossing Silver around. But this was the first time Diamond had ever outright targeted someone. The whole rest of the day, Silver only saw Diamond smile when she was making fun of Alula. Inside, Silver Spoon felt like she was going to be sick with how mean Diamond Tiara was acting. Worse, Silver witnessed Diamond threatening Alula by telling her that Filthy Rich would fire Alula's dad from Barnyard Bargains if she told the teacher. So for the remainder of third grade, Alula was both publicly and and privately humiliated, put down, or otherwise tormented in any way the tiara-bearing filly could think of. That year it was all Diamond. Silver Spoon mostly sat on the sidelines and watched, unsure of what to do. Almost every day, Alula was in tears, desperately pleading with Diamond to leave her alone. That summer, however, Alula went off to sleepaway camp and Diamond went to Canterlot to visit her mom. She seemed to give up bullying and go back to her old self, and Silver had never been happier. That is, until grade four. It was that year that Diamond targeted Twist, one of the best students in class. Twist wasn't exactly pretty, with her horn-rimmed glasses and larger than normal muzzle. Recently, she had gotten braces, which had given her a lisp. This only gave Diamond more fuel for her taunts. That year, Twist was her prime target. But like the year before, Diamond didn't steal Twist's lunch, push her down, or do anything but tease. But also like last year, Diamond's words seemed to hurt just as much as a punch in the face, if not worse. But this year, Diamond expected Silver Spoon to join in. "It's no fun doing it by myself!" she'd say. So Silver followed Diamond's lead, going along with any plan her friend might have for their classmates. That April, though, Cheerilee brought up the subject of family into the class's studies, and asked each student to bring in a family member to talk about their genealogy and present relations for Social Studies. Silver Spoon had her mother come, and Apple Bloom got her older sister, Applejack, to come in and talk about how the Apple family was spread all over Equestria, and how strong their family bonds were. This made Diamond angry for some reason. She didn't confide in her friend on why, but Silver Spoon figured it out after school. "It's not fair!" complained Diamond, sitting on Silver Spoon's bed, a bag of hay chips sitting on the floor. "What's not fair, Di?" replied Silver curiously. "That... that... Apple Bloom." she seethed, gritting her teeth. "What about her?" "Her presentation today with Applejack!" she shouted. "Why does she insist on ruining everything????" Silver Spoon was very confused. "Di, what the heck are you talking about?" "You saw my Dad's thing yesterday, didn't you?" said Diamond, turning to Silver. "And you remember that he was the only parent who stayed for less than five minutes." "Big deal, it's not like anypony cares." said Silver, reaching for the chips. "I care! I care a lot." said Diamond. "How come she gets all the breaks??? On the last quiz, I overheard her telling Twist that she forgot to study, and then, like, a minute later, Miss Cheerilee says that the test has been postponed due to her losing the quiz papers!" "That is a little weird..." agreed Silver Spoon. "Too weird, if you ask me." snarled Diamond. "Just like her. It's like she has some built in good-luck charm or something!" Suddenly, Diamond smiled. But not the kind, happy smiles Silver and her often exchanged, but one that Silver Spoon had never seen on Diamond before. It was strange, and Silver didn't like it. "Hey Spoony," said Diamond, turning to her friend with a malicious expression on her face. "I think I just found our next victim." *** Brrrrriiiinngg... Silver Spoon snapped out her trance. The bell had rung and students were trudging gloomily back to their seats. Silver watched as Boysenberry got up to greet a colt with a two-tone slate blue mane and light blue body, and no cutie mark. I wish she hadn't run away from me... thought Silver Spoon, staring down at her desk. Maybe... maybe we could have been friends. "Alright everypony, settle down!" called out Miss Cheerilee. "We have a lot to cover this afternoon, so let's get started on Science. Pull out your notebooks, students!" Silver did as she was told, taking out her Science notebook and jotting down the date. The lesson took her mind of thoughts of the past, and instead made her think about the difference between ponies and other creatures. But her attention kept turning to her encounter with Boysenberry. It had really made her think when the filly had acted so frightened of her.I don't want ponies to afraid of me! she thought. I want them to like me and actually want to be friends! Fat chance of that, she thought gloomily. With Diamond around, nopony is ever going to want to be friends with me. Then Silver had a thought. If I can't make friends with Diamond around, I'll just do it without her around! "Silver Spoon? Are you paying attention?" said Cheerilee, diverting from the lesson for a moment. Silver blushed. She hadn't realized that she had been looking away this whole time. Behind her, Diamond and the tenacious twosome snickered. "Yes, Miss Cheerilee!" she said brightly. "Good, now let's continue. As most of you know, there is an important difference between a griffon and a hippogriff..." Silver Spoon stared up front, pretending to listen. I'll make sure everything goes perfectly! she thought, smiling to herself. It has to! *** "...and, like, I was thinking 'Nerd Alert!' Cause, you know, that one filly, Little Red, looks like she got her fashion sense from Twist, you get what I'm saying, Di?" said Coronet, walking on Diamond's left side that afternoon. The bell had just rung a few minutes ago, and the students were home free. "Um, Diamond?" squeaked Silver Spoon, walking behind the girls, as usual. "Totally, Cory! And she has that weird nasally voice, too." replied Diamond, ignoring Silver completely . Silver tried again. "Diamond? Can I ask you something?" "Did you see her cutie mark? I mean, what kind of an egghead's special talent is an abacus?" said Aqua, rolling her eyes. "Diamond?" "I know, she's so gross. Plus, she's super fat. Lay off the chocolate, Little Red!" giggled Diamond. "Diamond???" Diamond huffed and turned around to face Silver. "What is it, Silver Spoon? Can't you see I'm talking with my girls here?" Aqua and Coronet sneered at Silver with disgust, and Silver shrank back. "I-I just needed to tell y-you that m-my mom wanted me to go, um, pick up something for her at the market, and I-I need to go a different way today, um, if that's okay with you..." Silver stared at her hoofs, not daring to look her friend in the eye. "Fine. Go. I honestly don't care, Silv." said Diamond, turning back to her friends. Silver smiled broadly. "Thanks, Di! You have no idea how much this really means!" Silver ran back to the school house, hoping that Boysenberry was still there so she could talk to her. Silver Spoon burst through the classroom doors, looking around. Boysenberry was nowhere to be seen. "Miss Cheerilee?" asked Silver Spoon to her teacher. "Um... did Boysenberry leave yet? I want to talk to her." Cheerilee looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. "You just missed her. But if you hurry, you might be able to get to her before she reaches her house." "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee. You're a lifesaver!" said Silver, then ran out of the schoolhouse without a minute to waste. She glanced over the playground, searching for a filly with a berry-colored braid. Finally she saw her, walking away with the same blue-maned colt as before. Silver Spoon ran over to her as fast as she could. "Boysenberry, wait up!" she called waving her front hoof at her. Boysenberry turned, horrified to see the Silver filly waving at her. Silver heard the blue-maned colt whisper "I knew this would happen!". She didn't know what that meant, but at the moment, she didn't care. "There you are!" said Silver amiably when she caught up to the two. "I've been looking all over for you, Boysenberry!" "Y-you have?" said Boysenberry, looking worried. "I-is this about what happened today at the bookshelves? I said I was sorry!" Silver was confused. "The bookshelves? Why would it matter what happened-" The blue-maned colt stepped forward. "W-we'll do anything you want, just leave me and Boysen alone!" he interrupted, his voice shaking slightly. "What? What are you talking about? I don't want anything from you, I just-" "Don't lie! I know that you're mad at me that I bumped into you today, and now you want me to do something to make it up to you!" said Boysenberry. "What do you want? Test answers? Cheat sheets? I don't care, but name it and just get off my back!" "You don't understand, I don't want any of those!" said Silver Spoon. "I just came over here to see if maybe we could be friends, that's all." Boysenberry stared at Silver incredulously, then scowled. "This is a joke, right? Any minute now, Diamond Tiara's going to jump out from somewhere and say that I just got punk'd, isn't she?" "No!" Silver cried. "Please, I just want to be your friend! Why don't you believe me?" Boysenberry squinted her eyes until they became slits. "Why do you think? Because you and your prissy friends are all fakes, that's why. Nopony wants to be your friend, and they only want to be Diamond's friend because that way they'll get the royal treatment and have less of a chance of becoming her next target!" Silver Spoon's lavender eyes filled with tears. "I... I... stop! Just stop!" Boysenberry snarled. "Why should I? If Diamond really isn't here to punish me for this, then I don't see any reason for her number one brown-noser to get a taste of reality for a change!" Boysen probably would have continued except that the colt beside whispered to her, "Don't you think you've said enough by now?" Her expression changed, losing the scowl and shifting to one of stubborn pride. "Whatever." she said, turning to face her friend. "If you really don't want any recompense for what happened today, then, well, just leave us alone!" Boysenberry stormed off, the blue-maned colt following close behind. Silver could hear the two talking as they walked away. "Wasn't that a little... I dunno... harsh?" said the colt. "I don't care anymore." said Boysenberry. "It felt good telling off the Queen of Mean's favorite groupie. C'mon Sketch, let's get a move on! I can't sell all those berries by myself, you know!" "Fine, fine..." The two ran off down the road, leaving Silver in the dust. Silver Spoon stood stock-still for a while, slightly in shock. It didn't work... she thought, feeling dejected. Even when Diamond isn't around, she is! It's like I can't escape her! Silver plodded back to her house despondently, staring at her hooves and ignoring everyone around her. When she passed Sugarcube Corner, she peeked inside the window and saw Diamond and her crew gossiping over milkshakes. Silver sighed. At least I'm not paying for them this time... she thought. Silver Spoon wandered aimlessly around town for some time, thinking. Without meaning to, she had been going in circles and had come back the schoolhouse. Silver walked over to the swing set and sat down. Looking up at the sky, she noticed that a few pegasai were gathering together some rain clouds over Ponyville, and drops began to fall. Shoot, I forgot that a thunderstorm was scheduled for today, she thought, but didn't make any effort to move off the swings. The rain began to come down more heavily, and pretty soon Silver was drenched, but she didn't care. Why should I care? she thought, her damp mane falling into her face. Nopony likes me. Why would it matter if never go home? Tears spilled down Silver's cheeks, camouflaging with the rain. Silver looked down at her pearl necklace. It had been a birthday present from Diamond Tiara a few years ago, and Silver treasured it over anything else she had ever owned. The rain that dropped onto it only made it gleam brighter, and Silver cry harder. When she gave this to me, she said that we'd be best friends forever... thought Silver. I guess she never thought about what would happen if she ever got bored with her BFF. The storm was in full swing now with a few thunderclaps now and then, and Silver's glasses had fogged up so much that she could barely see two feet in front of her. She heard the door to the schoolhouse slam. "Silver Spoon! What are you doing out here?" Silver looked and made out a mulberry earth pony running towards her; It was Cheerilee. "M-miss Cheerilee?" said Silver looking up and squinting through her misty frames. "It's me, Silver Spoon. Why in Celestia's name are you sitting on the swings in the middle of a lightning storm? Didn't you remember that we had one scheduled for today?" Silver shook her head. "N-no, I-I forgot." "Then why didn't you run home as soon as the rain began to fall?" Silver couldn't answer this; she didn't know herself. A strangled sob escaped her throat, and and before she knew it, she was wailing like a foal. Cheerilee stood next Silver Spoon for a moment before speaking. "Silver Spoon... would you like to talk to me in my office for a bit? Don't worry, you're not in trouble." said Cheerilee, helping Silver off the swing set. "I promise, we can get everything sorted out in there. Let's just get out of this rain." Silver sniffled and wiped the rain and tears off her face. "O-okay..." she said. Cheerilee smiled warmly at her student. "C'mon." And so the teacher and student walked away from the playground, two dark gray figures in the downpour.