The kitchen was a great sprawling expanse. A dizzying number of cabinets and drawers surrounded Silver Spoon as she quietly made her way into Diamond's house. Each and every time Silver had been over for dinner, the kitchen had never been so huge and daunting; like a desert of endless tile floors and spotless counters. With each step a thunderous echo booming in her ears, Silver Spoon slowly realized she was holding her breath as she crept through the house. Her ears were perked and upright, listening for the smallest of sounds that might betray Spoiled Rich's presence- but the house was terrifyingly empty. Not a soul lurched though the towering halls nor cavernous rooms. Spoiled had sent all the servants home, which meant there wouldn't be anyone to tell her not to drink or stop her.
Glancing around the kitchen, Silver Spoon could guess Mrs. Rich had been making a snack for herself. There was a knife sitting next to several slices of carrots, and the stove was gently warming a pot of delicious smelling something. Silver's tummy gave a furious roar, and the little girl froze on the spot. She stood there for almost a minute, wide eyed and trembling, just waiting for Mrs. Rich to round the corner from the hall way and start screaming wildly at her like some terrible monster out of Tartarus.
...
The house remained still, and slowly, ever so slowly, Silver exhaled the breath she caught herself holding again. Safe. She was still safe. Mrs. Rich didn't have any reason to suspect she was in her home, and if worse came to worse, she could just claim she came over to visit Diamond. Which was more or less the truth. Sort of. For a moment, Silver pondered sneaking something from the fridge. Something tiny, just to shut her tummy up and not make trouble. Curiously, the refrigerator door was already open, with a yellow stripe of light spilling out.
Silver Spoon tsked, making the short trek over to the refrigerator door to slam it shut. Humph. She was no thief. After all, she would be home and eating dinner in fifteen minutes anyway. Idly, Silver Spoon wondered how Mrs. Rich could leave the fridge door open like that. Her mother would be furious with her if she ever discovered Silver had opened the refrigerator door and just left it like that. Although, Silver supposed it might be okay if you were only gone for a...
Silver's ears perked at the sound of hoofsteps thumping down the stairs, and her tummy clenched itself into an agonizing knot. She swallowed, frozen in indescribable terror, as the heavy thumping came closer. Spoiled Rich was coming to the bottom step. She'd turn the corner, and Silver Spoon would be standing there, in the middle of her house. And that would be it. Silver Spoon would be grounded for life. Maybe two lives. Two lives and an eternity, if her parents were merciful. If she were lucky enough to get back to her parents even. Maybe. They'd never believe for a moment Diamond was in any kind of trouble, not with the wealth of the Rich family. Regardless of the numerous times the angry shouts from Diamond's house spilled over into their home. Through walls and windows, and in one ear and out the other. Ponies could trick themselves into believing a lot of things, like everything was under control, and things were 'fine' but Silver Spoon- for all her intelligence and practice, seemed incapable of mastering that art.
"Grab it!" screamed the voice in her head. "Grab it and hide!" it yelled urgently. Grab what? For a second, Silver felt the oddest disconnect. Like everything was happening at once and in slow motion. Some part of her brain had realized she was staring into the refrigerator, while another part of her brain scanned the items inside. And yet another part was drawn to the glittering key with a heart shaped diamond emblem on the end of it. A key. The key. To Diamond's Room. Get it. Grab the key. Why is it in the refrigerator? Doesn't matter. Hide! She's coming!! HIDE!!! And all at once, Silver had scooped up the key and dipped around an island in the center of the kitchen. Mrs. Rich stumbled in quietly, chuckling to herself.
"Help, help, alllll my dresses are on fire! Hehehehe...teach her to let that brat infect my daughter. Scum. All of 'em. Unicorns. Round 'em all up n' run 'em outta town. Ruining Equestira-ra, " mumbled the mare as she pulled the refrigerator door open and glanced around curiously.
"Where...where did..." The pink pony grumbled, before peering around the room. She paused, before making a bee-line for the counter and picking up the carrot she'd been chopping up.
"Already pulled 'em out...See?! Those blank flanks have me in a tizzy! MMMmmmmmmaybe ided jus be easier to move. Maybe to Can'erlot. I should tell Filthy I want to live in Can'erlot. At least it wouldn't be here. AND MAYBE IF WE MOVED, I'D LEAVE MY SPOILED BRAT BEHIND BY ACCIDENT AND LET HER LEARN HOW LUCKY SHE IS TO LIVE UNDER MY ROOF! WOULDN'T THAT BE A TRAGEDY!" barked the pony at the ceiling with an angry snort. That'd show her. That'd teach her a thing or two about respect. She could just stay locked in that room for the next day or so. That'd show Diamond how it was done! Put her in her place. She'd learn respect then! Where were those carrots?
Spoiled Rich staggered over to the fridge and pried it open, peering in quietly. Where'd they go? She leaned back, peering into the fridge, frowning in confusion. She closed her eyes. Phantom carrots. She needed a drink to clear her head and calm her nerves. She'd find the stupid carrots easier with a stiff drink. She put the carrot down on the counter and turned towards the parlor. Or maybe she'd just have radishes tonight. That sounded good, too.
With the larger mare stumbling into the next room, one of the tiny cabinets on the island opened up. There was plenty of room inside for pots or pans or even a small filly frozen in horror. Silver Spoon spilled out of the cabinet, landing on her belly with a quiet whump. She went dead still, and perked her ears. If mrs. Rich were to wander in now...
...
Never had Silver Spoon felt so relieved and so terrified at the same time, then when she heard the familiar sound of ice tapping the bottom of a glass from one room over. She crept as fast as her little legs would carry her towards the stairs- making sure to skip the 6th and 11th step on the way up. Sleep overs and late night snack raids had revealed those were the 'squeaky' steps and ones to be avoided when planning to stay up far past one's bed time. End of the hall, take a right. Third staircase, end of the hall, third door on the left. That was Diamond's room, and with any luck, where Silver would find Diamond.
* * * * * * * * *
It was a good twenty minutes since Diamond had heard or seen Silver Spoon across the street. She'd disappeared shortly after mother had returned to scream at her some more. Come to think of it, Diamond hadn't heard from mother, either. Like both of them vanished at the same time. Had mother passed out? Could she relax a little bit? Slowly, Diamond pressed her head against the carpet of her floor, and tried to scan for sounds coming from undernea- "AND MAYBE IF WE MOVED, I'D LEAVE MY SPOILED BRAT BEHIND BY ACCIDENT AND LET HER LEARN HOW LUCKY SHE IS TO LIVE UNDER MY ROOF! WOULDN'T THAT BE A TRAGEDY!"
Oh.
Why? Why though? What did mother have to gain from taunting her like this? Was it to remind her how lucky she was to receive a lecture instead of a beating? Was it because she had really truly blundered, and what Diamond did was far more serious than she thought? Was it because- Hoofsteps! NO!! Had mother found the key?! Was that what the screaming was?! A warning?! They approached her door, and the lock jiggled with a distinguished sound of metal clicking against metal. Cha-clink. Diamond drew herself as far into the corner as she could. Maybe the closet! The closet, yes! She could hide in there!! And then what? Hope she doesn't check? Leave herself trapped? No, no no, make a break for it when she opens the door. Yeah. Find somewhere else in the house to hide. Maybe she could make it to the front door. Maybe she could get outside, maybe, somewhere public for a little while. Yeah, yeah that might work. That could work!
The door slowly crept open, and Diamond's eyes widened. Now! Nownownownow! RUN NOW! But she was a statue. Stuck to the spot and forced to await another harsh lesson. Diamond had already vowed never to talk back again, what more could she want?! What was she supposed to do?!
"Diamond?" A voice whispered faintly. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Diamond dared to glance up towards the door. For a brief second, she couldn't understand what she was seeing. Silver Spoon slipped into the room quietly, closing the door behind her. Silence echoed through the room for what seemed like minutes until slowly Silver Spoon held out her arms and bit her lower lip and Diamond wrapped her arms around her in turn. There was nothing left to fight about. Any and all arguments they had ever had with one another faded into a forgotten memory, and hurt hearts healed instantly.
"Besties?" Silver Spoon whispered. Diamond simply nodded her head, and tried not to cry.
But the tears came anyway.