Question 38- you are a professional, you shouldn't attempt to clean or adjust the inner optics of your microscope.
A. Providing
B. As long as
C. But for
D. Unless
It was Tuesday afternoon, and Silver Spoon was sitting at her desk in silence, working through the grammar exam with ease. Around her, other students were struggling with the problems, every once in a while groaning or asking Cheerilee how much time they had left.
Silver looked ahead and saw that she only had two more problems left. She finished them up without much effort, then brought her test up to Cheerilee's desk. Behind her, she could hear her classmates muttering bitterly. Silver looked up at the clock and was rather shocked to see that they had a little over a half an hour left. She was the first one done.
Avoiding the envious stares of the other students, she made her way back to her desk and pulled out the book she had brought. Time seemed to slip away almost instantly before Cheerilee called out, "Pencils down, everypony! For those who haven't, please pass forward your test papers. Make sure you have your full name and the date written at the top." A wave of groans flared up.
"But I'm not finished yet!"
"It's not fair. These tests are stupid!"
"I thought it was easy!"
"Freak."
"That's enough!" said Cheerilee. "Now, because you all have been so well behaved today and yesterday, I was thinking about extending your recess time by fifteen minutes today. But if all of you insist on complaining like you are, I might not be able to do that."
The tests were on Cheerilee's desk in less than four seconds.
"Alright then. Class dismissed!" she said.
Silver trudged out of the schoolhouse and over to the shady tree area were Diamond and her entourage had already seated themselves, gossiping as usual. This time she came prepared; Silver pulled out her book, not even bothering to try and insert herself in the conversation. She overheard bits and pieces of the exchange; Diamond was commenting on some filly's hair accessory, Coronet thought that they should have a celebration sleepover now that the grammar exam was over with, and Aqua was passing around her new bubble-gum lip gloss. Oh Celestia, save me... thought Silver Spoon.
After about fifteen minutes of this mundane chatter, Silver noticed Diamond standing up and walking over to the slides. Diamond climbed up to the third rung on the slide's ladder, making sure to face the majority of the playground. Curious, Silver Spoon put down her book and stared over at Diamond.
"Attention everypony! May I have your attention, please?" called out Diamond perkily, waving her hoof. The fillies and colts around her looked up from their various activities, and after a while a small crowd began to gather. Silver noticed that the crusaders, Twist, and any other foal Diamond had recently targeted were looking for places to hide.
Diamond, seeing the majority of the student body before her, smiled. "Thank you. Okay, first off, who's excited for the end of the school year?" A cheer rose up from her audience, and Diamond continued.
"Me too! So to celebrate us finishing fifth grade, I'm throwing a huge pool party at my house on Friday!" Another cheer, louder this time, exploded from the mass of ponies.
"Better yet, I've decided to invite everyone in class, so that those uh, less socially adept individuals will get a chance to attend a fun party at least once in their lives." Diamond smirked, her eyes drifting over to where Twist and Little Red were hiding behind a tree. The rest of the students didn't seem to notice this, and instead continued to shout their approval.
"You rock, Diamond!"
"You're sooo cool!"
"I can't wait to go!"
"Thanks so much!"
"We love you!"
Diamond was drinking it all in, obviously enjoying the attention. Silver Spoon, however, was suspicious. Diamond's usual idea of a fun party was inviting only the coolest of ponies, and making everyone else jealous when they weren't included. This just isn't like her at all! thought Silver. She has to be planning something... but what?
Her focus shifted back over to Diamond, who had resumed talking once most of the applause had died down. "I hope to see every one of you at my mansion after school this Friday. Food will be served, and it starts at 3:30. I'll be very disappointed if anypony can't make it. Can't wait to see you there!" Diamond stepped off the slide, making her way through the crowd and high-hoofing everyone nearest her. Once she had made it back to to the tree, Aqua and Coronet immediately started congratulating Diamond on her decision.
"O-M-C, Tiara! It's like, so awesome of you to be throwing a pool party! It's gonna be like, super fun!" said Aqua, licking her gloss-covered lips.
"Totally." said Coronet. "I was just looking in Vanity Mare the other day, and saw this hawt looking new thing they were highlighting the other day. They call it a bathing suit, and it's basically so you can swim in style or something. They're totes cute, we should go buy some. It would be one more thing that separates the cool ponies from the losers."
"That sounds absolutely sensational, Cory! We are so going on a shopping spree before Friday." said Diamond, staring intently into her small, platinum-colored hoof mirror.
"Hey DT, so like, why'd you want to invite everyone? Part of the fun would've been to tease the Loser-Mark Crusaders about them not coming, you know?" said Aqua. "Like, what gives?"
Diamond smiled, the edges of her lips curling evilly. "Oh, you'll see Aqua. I promise, Friday is going to be very amusing."
***
"So which one makes me look better- the sparkly blue suit or the ruffly lavender suit?"
Silver Spoon was spending her Wednesday afternoon at the Ponyville shopping center, struggling under the weight of over half a dozen shopping bags filled with hats, sunglasses, bathing suits and other summer apparel. Aqua and Coronet both had their share of bags, but Diamond's picks held the majority of the purchases.
"Oh, definitely the blue one, Di." said Coronet, trying on a pair of pink-tinted sunglasses. "It goes great with your eyes."
"I dunno, I kinda like the purple one better. I think it's real pretty with your mane." said Aqua.
"You two aren't any help." said Diamond, putting on a mock-pouty face. Unexpectedly, she turned to Silver Spoon, who was sitting up against the wall with the shopping bags around her.
"I need a tie-breaker, Silv, so be honest- which bathing suit do I look cuter in, the lavender one or the blue?" Diamond Tiara, shooting a dazzling smile to the gray filly.
Silver froze. Was this another test? If she answered wrong, how would Diamond react? No matter. The wrong answer would be better than none at all, she figured.
"U-um, I like the b-blue one b-best." said Silver, struggling to keep from stuttering. She looked away, afraid of her friend's response.
After a little while, Silver looked up. She saw the lavender suit tossed onto a chair, and the blue suit's strap peeking out of the bag.
Silver Spoon was surprised. Diamond hadn't taken her fashion advice since... since... well, since Aqua and Coronet had come into the picture.
"C'mon girls, we still have to pick out the snacks for the party! To my house!" said Diamond. Aqua and Coronet both gave a little squeal, then scurried off after Diamond. Silver ran after them, but a little absentmindedly. She wouldn't have been surprised if Diamond decided to throw away the blue swimsuit, saying it was garbage or implying that Silver had no fashion sense. With this sudden change in attitude, Silver Spoon could't help but feel suspicious.
Come on, Silver. she thought, climbing into the wagon headed for Diamond's house. She liked your choice! There's no need to be thinking up conspiracy theories or anything!
But her thoughts kept drifting to her and Diamond's conversation from Friday.
"I'll give you one last chance. Recognize it when it comes..."
Silver shuddered. Staring out the window in a vain attempt to distract herself, she saw a few of her other classmates walking together on the sidewalks. Many of them were in friendly pairs or groups, laughing and joking. Others, like Pipsqueak and Dinky, were holding hoofs or even nuzzling each other's cheek. The one thing they all had in common, she noticed, was that no one pony looked sad, or alone, or left out. They were all happy.
Which is something I'll be getting back soon. thought Silver. Soon there'll be no more getting told what to do, no more homework on sleepovers, and best of all, no more Aqua and Cory. Things will be just as they were, just me and Diamond, best friends forever.
***
"I'm home!"
Silver slammed the front door shut behind her. A wide grin was plastered across her face. Silver Spoon's mother walked out from the kitchen, wiping her hoofs on her apron.
"Hi, sweetie. Why the big smile?" she asked.
"I just had the best day ever!" said Silver, wiping her hoofs on the mat. "I was helping Diamond get ready for her big party on Friday, and this time she actually listened to me over Aqua and Coronet! Isn't it great?"
"That's wonderful, honey!" Silver's mother replied. "So tonight I'm making cheesy scalloped potatoes and steamed broccoli for dinner.You think that you could make a dessert to match?"
Silver nodded, her mood growing happier every second. Pulling on an apron, she bustled around the kitchen, gathering bowls and ingredients. She flipped open a cookbook to a recipe for her favorite dessert, Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake, and got to work. As she began to cream together the butter and sugar, her mind began to wander.
In retrospect, it shouldn't surprise me too much, she thought. Diamond was bound to come around sooner or later. We have been best friends since the first grade. I guess that she's just been blowing off steam or something all these weeks.
A LOT of steam.
Silver shook her head, trying to rid herself of doubtful thoughts. It doesn't matter, anyway. Soon, it'll be back to normal. Me and Di will have our usual fun this summer, going shopping, getting milkshakes, and when she goes to the city to visit her mom, I'll spend the time in the library, just like always. And after summer, we'll be going to secondary school, and of course Diamond'll rule the school, with me by her side. I might even get a real coltfriend this year! She gave a little squeal on the inside at this. We'll be voted Best Friends in the yearbook, and we'll definitely stay friends long after we graduate. She pictured her and Diamond having double dates with their coltfriends (who would of course also be best friends), becoming roommates when they both moved out, being the mare of honor at each other's wedding. As she slipped the cake pan into the oven, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of her and Diamond staying best friends for the rest of their lives. She set the timer for 40 minutes, then went to her room to read her Invisible Mare book.
She settled down on her bed, and opened up her book.
I am an invisible mare. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Doe; nor am I one of your Applewood-movie ectoplasms. I am a mare of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids - and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.
I wonder what Diamond is planning for Friday...
Silver Spoon mentally kicked herself. Stop it! It doesn't matter what she's planning! Quit being so paranoid! She reverted her attention back to her book.
Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me.
Silver continued reading her book, but her thoughts refused to stay on the page. For every sentence she read, she had to pause and inwardly punish herself for her subconscious curiosity on DIamond's plans for her party.
What will she do? Will she do something bad to the not-so-cool kids? To me? Maybe she's just going to bring in something big, like a bounce house or something... yes, that would make sense...
She was relieved when the timer for the cake beeped. Throwing her book down face-first on her bed, she ran out of her room and into the kitchen. She tugged on some oven mitts and pulled the cake pan out of the oven. The sweet, spicy fragrance of the pear cake filled up her senses and briefly made her forget her misgivings on Diamond's party plans.
Oh well, she thought, setting down the cake on the kitchen counter. It's probably best not to think about it too much. I'll see what she got in store on Friday, anyway. It's not that big a deal.
Then why do I feel scared?