//------------------------------// // Relationships Change // Story: The Three Sisters: Like Fudge // by Wanderer D //------------------------------// The Three Sisters: Like Fudge By Wanderer D Chapter 18: Relationships Change "Ugh! I feel like it took me five months and twenty days just to finish those stupid dishes!" The only reason Diamond Tiara didn't slam the doors of the restaurant behind her was because she knew, just knew they would make her fix them, or even make her build brand new ones with her own hooves. "This is so, totally unfair." She looked around, blinking at the fading light. Already some of the decorations were lighting up, but she couldn't see the pony she was looking for. "Where's Silver Spoon?" She didn't receive a reply, however and after waiting for another fifteen seconds, she huffed and started marching back home. "Ungrateful, clueless, faithless little minion!" she grumbled, pushing Featherweight—who was just passing by—out of the way. "She should have been there! Waiting for me and ready to grovel and beg forgiveness!" Diamond Tiara shook her head in disbelief. "I can't even believe she would do this to me! Silver Spoon doesn't have the guts to do that! Even if she said she was abandoning me, we both know she's nothing but my minion." She smirked. "She must be confused and fearful now. Maybe she ran home, crying because she had dared snap at me." Pausing her stroll, she looked over her shoulder at the street that would take her to Silver Spoon's house. Her mouth formed a sneer. "And she should be crying. Who does she think she is to talk to Diamond Tiara like she did?!" She started walking again, this time in the direction of Silver Spoon's home. "I can just imagine the wreck she is now." Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "Holding onto her costume, looking in the mirror and knowing she is guilty of betraying me!" A surprisingly guttural growl emanated from Diamond Tiara. "Nopony betrays Diamond Tiara. Nopony! I will make her crawl for a week before I even tell her anything other than simple orders." Unconsciously Diamond Tiara tilted her head back, turning her nose up as she imagined her minion groveling at her hooves. "But of course I will not forgive her that easily. Oh no. That will just get me talking to her a bit more. No, if she wants our friendship back, she will have to help me realize my revenge against the crusaders." She chuckled, her smile curling up on one side of her face. The smile faded and turned into a grimace of hatred seventeen steps later. "And not only the crusaders! I shall have my revenge on every single customer of that idiotic omnivore restaurant! And the waitress! No gryphon treats Diamond Tiara like a servant!" she spat the last word like an insult. She continued walking, ignoring everypony as her anger boiled, the thought of Silver Spoon with a studded diamond collar around her neck and a glittering silver chain that she, Diamond Tiara, would use to control her eventually making her smile. "Yesss," she hissed. "And then, when Silver Spoon is faithful again, I shall rule Ponyville with her at my hooves, ready to do my bidding! She will bring my tea and brush my mane and laugh at my genius jokes." She started giggling, then chuckling, then had to stop as full-blown megalomaniac laughter burst out of her, making more than one pony on the street stop and stare before quickly shuffling away. Eventually, the laughter subsided to a chuckle, and she continued on her way, until she stood at the entrance to Silver Spoon's frontyard. "And now," she sneered. "To listen to her beg." She approached the door, ready to ring the bell, when a strange sound stopped her. Diamond Tiara blinked, and shook her head, glancing behind her to make sure there were not Nightmare Night candy-beggars on the street. But it was too early, and most ponies would be downtown anyway. Shrugging, she lifted her hoof to ring the bell again, when the strange sound stopped her again. "Is that... coming from inside Silver Spoon's home?" Diamond Tiara wondered. She walked around the house until she reached a window, and glancing around once more, to make sure nopony was watching her, she peeked inside. Silver Spoon was sprawled on the floor, laughing, while that pegasus friend of the crusaders posed in an utterly ridiculous Sapphire Shores costume. The other pony became irrelevant when several things washed over Diamond Tiara like a bucket of freezing cold water. Silver Spoon was laughing. She wasn't crying. She wasn't miserable and repentant. She wasn't even thinking about Diamond Tiara. “Sir!” the guard barked, saluting. “We have moved two tons worth of ale, sixteen long tables infused with fire-protection spells along with enough chairs made of iron to the dungeons as well as secured the assistance of a few citizens from Ammassalik who have offered to prepare an omnivore meal with a more carnivore tendency for our winged guests.” Shining Armor nodded, looking over the list. “About the games that they played with slaves…” he trailed off. The guard shifted uncomfortably. “The Crystal Ponies have refused to talk much about them other than mentioning that they were… intense. Oddly enough, a few Crystal Ponies have offered to be slaves again for the night.” “They have, have they?” Shining Armor pondered before shaking his head. “Of course not! There are no slaves in the Crystal Empire anymore! The Balrogs will have to make do without them.” The guard shrugged and put down a thick scroll on Shining Armor’s desk. “In case you change your mind, your highness, that’s the list of volunteers.” Shining Armor’s eyebrow twitched. “That’s a pretty big list.” “It is,” the guard agreed. “I’m sorry to say, sir, that I am uncomfortable with how the Crystal Ponies have been so excited about this visit. Especially going to the extent of offering to be ‘slaves’ for the day.” “You and me both, soldier,” Shining Armor acknowledged. “But even if they are offering to pretend, I cannot in good conscience allow them to play the role, especially after what they suffered under Sombra. Having them do this… it’s not right.” The guard shifted. “Even if they want to?” “Even if they want to.” Shining Armor nodded with an uncomfortable grimace. “If they want to help that’s fine, but we put a stop to that when we defeated Sombra. As far as I’m concerned, there will be no more slaves in this Empire and the history of why that’s the case shall be remembered by everypony.” “Understood, sir!” "Sir!" A pegasus guard barged in. "The Princess has asked me to inform you that the deer delegation has been spotted a few hours away from the Crystal Empire!" "What?!" Shining twirled around, staring with a clearly distressed look in his eyes. "That's a day early! What are they doing here?!" "I'm not sure, my lord!" the soldier replied hurriedly. "But Princess Cadance wants you to join her to meet them..." He cleared his throat, "And she very specifically said that if they caught any whiff of the Balrog's visit, you would be sleeping in the sofa for the foreseeable future." "But- that sofa's made of crystal," Shining muttered in horror. He looked at the troops assisting him. "Stallions, I must join the Princess. Make absolutely sure that all the food for the Balrogs and all the additional entertainment is transported without the deer noticing it!" "Mistress, Prince Armor is on his way," Quartz Quill said. "Is there anything else you might need before he gets here, my precious one?" Cadance's eyebrow shot up. "I'm sorry?" "Yes?" Cadance shook her head. "What did you just call me?" "Exalted one." "That did not sound like 'exalted' to me." Quartz Quill leaned forward, a look of concern crossing her eyes. "Would you like me to rub your head, Mistress? Perhaps that pounding headache from earlier has returned?" Cadance raised a hoof. "No. It's fine. I'm done with the earlier problem. We now must figure out what to do with the deer and the balrogs. They're both arriving basically at the same time." "Oh!" Quartz Quill smiled. "The balrogs are coming after all? That's perfect! Can I add my name to the slave list?" "The what list?!" The door to Cadance's and Shining Armor's chambers opened, and Shining stepped in. "You called dear?" Quartz Quill giggled as she trotted out. "I'll go right now and add my name!" She closed the door behind her, leaving a bewildered pair behind. "What was that about?" Shining Armor asked, blinking. "I have no idea." Lord Bloodborn Aleguzzler's fanged smile grew as his Lieutenant, Blackjaw Gutchaser, flew back to his group, black wings of smoke trailing behind him. "Report!" "My lord!" Blackjaw growled, landing heavily onto his knee, fist pressing on the ground and head lowered. "I spied a group of Deer, lead by none other than Cúthalion Autumleaves approaching the Crystal Empire. They should be there within an hour or two." Bloodborn's smile did not falter. "Is that so?" He laughed, looking over his shoulder at the thirty-odd Balrogs he had brought with him. "Did you hear that, boys? There's Deer at the Empire tonight!" Several cheers and laughs rose from the group as Bloodborn grinned at his Lieutenant. "We'll have to calculate this carefully. We don't want to arrive before them after all." Blackjaw glanced at his king. "But won't the new Emperor and Empress frown at such a display?" "Ha!" Bloodborn shook his head, clawed hand heavily patting his Lieutenant's shoulder. "This new Emperor Shining Armor extended the invitation to us as well as the Deer. It's a sign, Blackjaw. This Emperor understands." Bloodborn uncoiled his flaming whip from around his shoulders and chest, snapping it into the the crisp, night air. "Get ready, boys! We are having fun tonight!" o.0.o "Tonight we dine on ponies!" The Pack of the North howled into the night as their Alpha paced on the top of a jagged boulder, several times their size. "These Crystal Ponies disappear for one thousand years! And when they return, they magically stop us from hunting the grounds, and yet allow prey to cross their borders unopposed! They expect this land to belong to them! IT BELONGS TO US!" Howls and growls and barks followed his declaration and he rose his head to howl, drowning the voices of the others in his own, powerful presence. "We will break their will! We will terrorize them! We have legends from our forefathers! We know the Crystal Ponies are nothing but cowards! They do not posses our claws and fangs, our thick coats and stamina and rage!" With amazing dexterity, he jumped down from the boulder, bouncing twice before landing in front of his pack. "Follow me!" The room was dark, but she didn't care. "Eheeheheeee." She shuffled, bumping on the side of her bed, before falling face-first on the box she was looking for, but Diamond Tiara had better things to worry about than a bruise. She turned on her flashlight and started rummaging through the box. "Laughing." She giggled and snorted. "She was laughing while I was doing dishes!" Her giggles turned into chuckles and her eyes twitched. "She won't be laughing for long, oh no she won't. Will she, my precious?" "Um... can I go now?" Featherweight asked, faintly struggling to loosen up the rope that tied him to Diamond Tiara's bedpost. "I really don't like where this is going." "Oh, hush now, Silver Spoon!" Diamond Tiara giggled. "We need to destroy that fake you, after all!" "I'm not Silver Spoon..." Featherweight whimpered. "Don't worry, Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara giggled, pulling out a pearl necklace. "We'll get you all ready, and then exact our revenge!" Featherweight whimpered again.