//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: The Royal Fillies // by blazikenking //------------------------------// The second Saturday of every February: the 14th. Hearts and Hooves day. I never paid it much mind before, aside from the candy exchanges at school the day before. Nopony ever got any from Skyla, and there is hardly anypony who doesn’t know why. Seriously, her resistance to food is like butter under a hot battle axe. The only time she shows any restraint is when bits are an issue. Mom always got excited about Hearts and Hooves day. She says it’s a day for couples to go and enjoy themselves together, and for new love to blossom. I’ve heard older students at school call it “Singles Awareness Day”. That honestly sounds kind of sad. Wait. Singles Awareness Day. The acronym is SAD. That’s just sad. Anyways, mom’s been encouraging me since the 35th to take Diamond somewhere special. Well, I, as a fourth grade alicorn filly, don’t know of any kind of special places I would take her. Seriously. I’ve only been allowed to wander the Empire on my own for a few months, and I haven’t done a thing with that privilege aside from walking home with Diamond and our semi-regular trips to Mr. Slice’s Pizzeria on the way to her home. We usually went there after days with multiple tests. I’ve aced all of mine (except for magic and flight), but Diamond often looks rather frazzled after those days are over. We like the table we first sat at, and always took the same spots. With the regularity of our visits there, I crossed Mr. Slice’s off the list of one potential place to go with Diamond. That brought my idea pool down to empty. Mom won’t let me do nothing, so what am I going to do? Today’s the 14th, and I’m standing in front of Diamond’s front door. Mom walked with me, despite me saying I didn’t want her to. She said she wanted to see where Diamond lived, and so I let her come with. I suspect something more is ahoof though. Why today of all days? At least she let me walk up to Diamond’s door by myself. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Why was I so jittery inside? In a few seconds, the door was opened by a unicorn stallion. He was white with a tint of blue, his mane and tail white with a hint of red, and his eyes were green. I couldn’t see his cutie mark, and though I was slightly curious, I didn’t care much about it. The silence that felt tense for me was broken by him when he saw me. “Oh, hello Inova. Are you looking for Diamond Heart?” “Yes” I simply replied. “Is she home?” The stallion didn’t answer because he turned around and called for Diamond. While he wasn’t looking at me, I looked back out front. Everything looked normal, except for a pink horn sticking over the fence out front. A long pink horn. One I could easily recognize, especially with a similarly colored pair of ears and a small part a three colored mane also visible. A plan was quick to form in my head as I turned back to face the doorway. I faintly heard Diamond’s voice say “One moment, dad!”, confirming what I thought. “She’ll be down in a moment, Inova” Diamond’s dad said. “Thank you” I replied. “You know, I think Princess Cadance would like to talk with you.” I spared a glance backwards and saw the horn move a bit. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if she just stood up out of nowhere? Like the other side of the fence?” And like that, mom stood up. “Oh, come on, Inova! How did you know I was there?” “Reasons” I turned back to the doorway. I just caught sight of the stallion’s tail as he went back inside, but more importantly, I saw Diamond. “Hi Diamond.” “Hello Inova” Diamond said with a smile. “Happy Hearts and Hooves day.” “You too. And I have no idea what to do now.” “Same here.” “Could I come inside?” Diamond turned to face inside. “Mom? Can Inova come inside?” A mare’s voice said “Sure thing. Cadence too.” I looked behind me and saw mom coming up the sidewalk. She had none of her regalia on today. I went inside with Diamond before she got to the door and went with her to her room. Princess Cadance walked into her daughter’s sister’s friend’s parents’ house. It was a very modest house. Diamond Heart’s father gave a small bow and led her to the oval dining room table. “Would you like anything to drink, Princess?” he asked as he led her to a spot at the table, before heading towards the kitchen. “Just some plain tea would be nice” Cadance said. “And please don’t call me Princess while I’m here. Just Cadance is fine. By the way, I don’t think I know your names.” “Oh, sorry Princes- I mean, Cadance” Diamond’s mother, a unicorn mare of glossy bright red fur said, her mane and tail a soft gold color. Her cutie mark was a gold ring inlaid with numerous red gems. “My name is Ruby Cutter. My husband is Nicked Artery. Most ponies call me Ruby and him Nick.” “It’s nice to meet both of you” Cadance said as Nick returned with three mugs of fairly plain tea in his magic, distributing one to each pony at the table. “Judging by your accents, I’d say you lived in Canterlot for a while.” “We did, Cadance” Nick said. “However, we chose to move here when we had our little Diamond Heart.” “Why, if I may ask?” Cadance asked as she sipped her plain tea. “Between us, we had enough bits to be part of some upper class events” Ruby said. “The nobles who casually spent bits on those kinds of things took a liking to us and we became faux nobility, as we called it. When I got pregnant, I chose not to know anything about the foal growing in me. When I broke the news to them, they all expressed hope for it to be a unicorn, like all of us were. They seemed repulsed at the notion of an earth or pegasus foal, but especially earth. “Finally, the day came when Diamond was born. As you know, she’s an earth pony. When I held her for the first time, I realized that not only would Nick and I be shunned by many nobles, but our little filly would also face social difficulty.” Nick interjected. “I’m not sure if it was the medicine they had her on, the hormones, or if she really was 100% rational, but the next day, she said ‘Let’s move to the Crystal Empire’. She told me why she wanted to move, for the sake of our little Diamond. I found myself in full agreement. One month later, we had everything packed up, and at the end of the next month, we had moved in here. We raised her with love, found out about Pristine Pearl, enrolled her, and here we are.” “So you chose your foal over status and prestige” Cadance summarized. “I chose to downgrade from the castle to a normal house because living in the castle, while nice, was becoming a bit much. In fact, you moving here for your foal makes me feel a bit selfish for moving out of the castle.” “Don’t worry, Cadance. That was years ago before you had Inova and Skyla. Say, how are they doing? What was it like raising alicorn foals?” “Fairly easy, at least compared to what I’ve heard about raising other kinds of foals. Neither of them had any random magic surges, flew away, or showed super strength. We think that’s because they have more passive outlets for magic.” Any further conversation was postponed as Inova and Diamond Heart came down the stairs. “Mom, can I have some bits for Diamond and I to get some ice cream?” Inova asked Cadance. “Of course” Cadance said as she summoned a small bag of bits and floated it over to Inova, putting it around her neck. “Have a good time, you two.” “Okay” Inova said as she and Diamond left the house to go have ice cream together on Hearts and Hooves day. After a moment of silence, Cadance broke it. “You know, food has always been a big part of my life ever since Inova and Skyla came into the world.” “Food is an important part of any life, Ms. Cadance” Nick said. “It is, after all, how we sustain ourselves.” “Yes, but I think it’s more prominent for me than most others. Mostly because of Skyla. She eats up everything that the rest of us don’t. We never have leftovers because of that, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I can hardly remember what leftovers are anymore.” Ruby answered the unspoken question she had perceived. “Leftovers are great because you can stretch a meal out and save a few bits. You can also share them with friends. Just be sure you remember they’re there, lest they go bad.” “Oh, that’s what leftovers are. The only way I see leftovers happening is if Inova defends some kind of food she really loves, and I doubt that’s happening any time soon.” “I remember Diamond’s first encounter with solid food. She just made a mess with it.” “Do foals normally do that at that age?” “Yes” Nick answered. “Did yours not?” “Skyla just ate everything put in front of her and Inova seemed to know what to do from the start. Skyla also cleaned up any messes that were made. That hasn’t changed a bit to this day.” Nicked Artery, Ruby Cutter, and Cadance continued talking and were becoming good friends. For at about an hour, they talked about their experiences with their foals. Stories were shared, laughs were had, and sympathy was given. Just as their discussions were winding down, Inova and Diamond Heart came back. “Hello, girls” Cadance greeted. “How was your day together?” “It was good” Inova said. “We had ice cream and went for a walk together.” “We had a Hearts and Hooves banana split” Diamond added. “Inova’s side had honey flavor and my side was vanilla flavored. It was good.” “It does sound good” Nicked said. “Well, it was nice meeting you two” Cadance said to Diamond’s parents, signifying the end of the meeting. “We should have a family dinner together somewhere. Have you tried Emerald Thursday’s?” “Yes, we have” Ruby said. “I’ve been trying for years to find something bad on their menu, and I’ve yet to succeed. When should we get together?” “I’ll have to look over our schedules. I’ll send you a letter with some possible dates and times.” “That sounds good, Cadance” Nicked said as the princess stood up. “We’ll be looking forward to it.” “As will we. Have a good day.” Cadance politely made her way out, waiting only for Inova to finish her hug with Diamond. The day had been a good day.