Like Death & Homework
Student Council Treasurer and reformed butt trumpet Diamond Tiara dabbed at the sweat trickling down her forehead. Staring at the open double doors of the Castle of Friendship’s throne room, she squirmed and fidgeted to get a decent view. A good effort, but from this angle, she could barely see two doors down the hall, much less five.
“Okay, like, so…” Diamond swallowed whatever she’d planned to say and sank back into the high-backed crystal chair.
Silver Spoon leaned away from the crystal table, fanning herself. The natural warmth of magic felt less like a hearth and more like a hotbox.
Surrounded by icons of friendship in a castle where friendship was supposed to triumph over adversity, she should have felt encouraged. Confident. Faithful that their reforged friendship could conquer any challenge from any threat.
Silver peered at the trio of balloons etched at the top of her chair, floating too high for her hoof to reach. I bet it’s easier for grownups to solve a friendship problem.
Pinkie Pie had fought bugbears, brought Luna back from the grip of Nightmare Moon, and stopped diplomatic crises with yaks in their tracks. She brought smiles to dozens of faces every day. All those tasks put together sounded better than facing down two sets of angry high society parents. Silver didn’t envy Princess Twilight’s job right now.
Silver Spoon shut the Project X binder—nobody had so much as glanced at it for the past hour—and hopped out of her chair. “Hey Diamond, you want to stretch our legs a little bit? Maybe we could get a snack or something.”
And on the way, if they just happened to pass by the library and accidentally overheard something, well that could hardly be their fault, could it? All foals needed their exercise, even well-bred ones.
Diamond slid out of Rainbow Dash’s chair—wait until they told Scootaloo!—and crept to the door. The coast felt clear, but she lowered her voice anyway. “They said to wait in here. Are you deliberately disobeying your elders, Silver Spoon? Guess my bad influence is rubbing off on you after all.” She slumped against the doorway with a dramatic hoof against her forehead. “Oh, sweet innocent Silvie, forever corrupted. Tarnished! Forever!”
“You said ‘forever’ twice.”
“It’s two forevers. That’s how corrupting I am.” Diamond stepped into the hall, listened for danger, then waved Silver out.
“Technically, we’re not disobeying anypony. They told us to wait in here, but nopony said for how long. Two hours should be enough, and besides, we’ll be right back.” After one last spot check, Silver slid out the door, hugging the wall.
Apparently, Princess Twilight Sparkle still liked the minimalist look, because the hall hadn’t changed from the empty corridors Silver saw last time. No pillars to hide behind or plants to shelter under meant a dangerous place for sneaking. Pink and purple reflections in the crystal matched Diamond’s colors, and Silver’s coat naturally blended in with daytime shadows, but neither would be enough out in the open like this. They had to be fast.
They stopped at a tall door with clouded green quartz windows. From the outside, it appeared no different than any other room, but the small stack of books outside and obvious hoof traffic in the carpet screamed “library”. If Silver squinted, she could see silhouettes moving on the other side, two standing and three sitting.
Diamond put her ear to the crack under the door and shook her head. Nothing. No voices, no hoofsteps, no chairs dragging across the floor. It sounded as if nothing existed inside at all. “Bet there’s a silence spell on it,” she whispered.
Silver Spoon nodded. No way Mrs. Rich sat through this entire conversation and never raised her voice at least once, and Mother’s voice had been trained to travel in large buildings. Forget listening under the door, they should have heard something all the way from the thrones room.
“Ladies?”
Both fillies froze.
Brass Tacks stared down at them, expressionless. He must have been walking the grounds this whole time, lying in wait for fillies to get up to mischief. Maybe he had a sixth sense of when Silver wasn’t where she ought to be. Maybe he’d placed a sensor on the door.
Silver glanced at the cards in his jacket pocket, then at Spike peering at them from the end of the hall. The dragon held a full hand of cards in his claws.
Or maybe he’d been playing Crazy Eights in the other room and kept the door open.
“Is there something the two of you need?” Tacks bobbed his head at Spike, who waved at him. “We could assist you if you like.”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other, then back to the butler. “No thanks,” they said together.
Wait. No, that didn’t work. Silver backpedaled. “I mean, we don’t need any help. We got bored and wanted to stretch our legs.”
Diamond’s head poked over Silver’s shoulder. “And I said I was hungry, so Silvie wanted to try and find the kitchen.”
“That’s right, I wanted to brew some tea for everypony. I thought it’d be nice.”
“We wanted to ask permission before we started touching Princess Twilight’s stuff, but also didn’t want to interrupt.” Diamond fluttered her lashes. “Could you ask for us, please?”
Good save. Diamond gave them a solid excuse to be at the library specifically, and one that still got that door open. It only gave them a couple of seconds to hear, but enough to gauge the mood and build a strategy besides worrying themselves into a rut.
“Oh, no need. You’ll find it past Master Spike’s quarters, down the hall and to the left. You can’t miss it.” Brass Tacks put himself between the fillies and the door with a smile. “I’ll escort you.”
Oh well, they tried. Silver followed his brisk pace down the hall. “That’s nice of you, Tacks.”
“No trouble at all, Miss Silver. I would hate for somepony to get lost on my watch.” Brass Tacks lit his horn, opening the kitchen door. A tea set and some leaf tins had already been set out for them. Let nopony say Twilight didn’t know how to host.
“Fortunate I arrived when I did.” He raised his white eyebrows. “Any longer, and you might have accidentally eavesdropped on private conversations. But I’m certain you know better than that.”
Diamond beamed with her sweetest little pageant smile. The kind that made the eight-by-ten glossies. “Oh, of course!”
Pity that any weakness for cutesy charms had gotten drilled out of Tacks in basic training. He gave her a slow, deliberate blink. “I am also certain that wise young ladies know better than to push their luck.” The kitchen door shut behind him.
“Well, that could have gone better.” Diamond played with her mane, frowning the frown of somepony who didn’t know how to feel. “I think your butler’s mad at me.” Until now, she probably never knew ponies of Tacks’ station were even allowed to get mad.
“Probably. He’s a bodyguard first and a butler second.” Silver squinted at her reflection in a saucepan, examining the pale shades of green coloring the base of her chin. The bruise stopped hurting days ago, but it still looked pretty gross. “Be glad you weren’t around when he found out what happened last Thursday.”
Silver inspected the tea set. Nothing fancy, nothing plain—an elegant purple set accented with pink in all the right places. The tea had been a cover story but a good idea, now that she thought about it. Everything improved with tea. At least a little bit.
It would be too awkward to fetch her saddlebag from the thrones room, so she’d need to work with Twilight’s stock. Silver sniffed the tea tins, swishing her tail in thought. Good stock, not much variety. Jasmine, peppermint, and traditional blacks were all perfectly fine teas, but Silver needed better than “fine” for this situation. She also couldn’t custom brew five different teas to suit each pony, even if she had the time and resources (which she didn’t).
Prioritize, Silver. Who’s our biggest obstacle? Like she even had to ask.
“Di, can you find the spice rack? I need fennel. Spoiled Rich still likes fennel, right?” Silver never got a nasty quip about it and she thought she caught Mrs. Rich smiling over a cup once. She didn’t know if that was enough to count as liking it, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. “And some anise too, while you’re at it. I want to make a blend.”
Mother loved anise, and the herbs blended beautifully in tea, especially with something sweet to even it out. Meanwhile, Mr. Rich preferred coffee anyway, and Princess Twilight always seemed excited to broaden her horizons. Father favored Trottingham breakfast tea (pitch black, no sugar, no cream) but he’d enjoy whatever Silver Spoon brewed. Anise and fennel it would be.
Diamond took down two jars and sniffed them. “Uh, are they supposed to be exactly the same?”
“What are you talking about? They smell totally different!” Silver pointed at the left label with her tail. “The fennel picture’s got longer stalks and the anise smells licoricey.”
“If you say so.” Diamond helped pour water for the tea, but her job only took a few minutes. She watched Silver measure portions while the kitchen lapsed into silence.
Diamond Tiara pressed her cheek against the counter, tracing the natural geometric patterns in the stone. “Hey, so… are you mad at me, too?”
Silver Spoon looked up.
“For telling, I mean.” Di kept her eyes on the counter.
“Oh.”
Silver nudged her new glasses higher on her muzzle. The eye doctor had called the broken glasses a blessing in disguise since Silver’s prescription needed an update anyhow. Mother and Father’s view of the matter was less optimistic.
“I guess I’m a little mad.” Silver winked. “I mean, I’m supposed to be the one who cracks under pressure and rats ponies out. You’re stepping all over my territory. Rude.”
Diamond smiled at Silver’s joke, but her ears still drooped.
Silver moved to Diamond’s side of the counter. “It’s okay, Di. Really. I’m not happy they found out, but I think my parents and Tacks figured it out on their own. It’s not your fault.” She rubbed the bruise under her chin. “Well, knocking me into a fence is your fault, but you know what I mean. If anything, your confession kept me out of trouble.”
The longer a lie stretched, the worse the snapback. Silver shuddered to think of the reaction if the truth came out weeks or months after the fact.
“I guess. No matter what happens today, at least we’re good at school and nopony kicked us out of student council.” Diamond lifted her head to glance out the window. “Speaking of which, we’ve got company.”
President Pipsqueak sat on the castle lawn playing jacks with Scootaloo. It didn’t look like Pip was winning.
Diamond tapped the glass while Silver waved at them.
Neither party could hear the other through the glass, but Pip’s frantic pointing at his invisible watch got the message across. They should have been at the schoolyard an hour ago.
“Dunno why he’s pulling that face. How were we supposed to know they’d take this long?” Diamond reached over the sink, opening the window a crack. “Hi, guys.”
Scootaloo buzzed above eye level, hovering over the sill as she surveyed Twilight’s kitchen. Streaks of yellow and red splattered her mane and hooves like she got in a fight with a condiments bar. “They don’t look like they’re in trouble to me, Pip.” She frowned at Silver while Pipsqueak struggled to pull himself up to the windowsill. “What gives? You said you couldn’t come on time ‘cause you had an emergency, but it looks more like you’re having a tea party while we spend all day getting sweaty and covered in paint.”
Lashing her tail, Silver Spoon lowered her head over her tea ball. New alliances, friendships, and efforts to be more open-minded demanded that she ought to give Scootaloo the benefit of the doubt. Friends of friends should be friends, but why did Scootaloo need to make it so darn hard all the time?
“It is an emergency. We’re doing damage control. We need—I need…” Silver scrunched her muzzle. “Ugh, what do you know about tea anyway, Scootaloo? I don’t have to justify myself to you. You wouldn’t even get it.”
Scootaloo pulled from the window. “Yeesh, sorry I asked.”
Had that come out too mean? Whatever, Silver didn’t care.
…Yes, she did.
“Listen, we’ve got a lot going on right now, okay?” Silver watched the kettle, though she’d only put it on the stove a few seconds ago. “We’re doing all we can.”
“Which isn’t much,” added Diamond.
Silver shook her head. “You got us a last-second appointment with a princess; I’d say you’ve done a lot.”
Whatever verbal bloodshed lay beyond the library door couldn’t compare to the carnage of meeting at Diamond or Silver’s house. They needed neutral territory to broker peace, and public places risked third parties overhearing. Diamond had gotten them the best possible option.
“I don’t know why you’ve got your tail in a knot, anyway.” Silver opened the window wider so she could point at Scootaloo properly. “Project X is practically finished and you got to paint it the color you wanted.” Granted, Diamond had talked her down from garish firecart red to a smoother carnelian, but still. Scootaloo wanted red and got red.
“We’re lucky I didn’t draw Peachy Pie’s ticket. I really didn’t want to paint it paisley.” Diamond Tiara frowned in thought. She squinted at Pip, then Silver Spoon, who blinked innocently at her. “That was luck, wasn’t it?”
Pip’s eyes bugged out and darted away. “Uh. Of-of course! Heh, why wouldn’t it be? Heh.” If this was his idea of a white lie, the colt didn’t have a bright future in politics. “Right, Silver Spoon?”
“Absolutely! Total luck of the draw.” What could she say? Tickets got stuck to the bottom of bowls all the time; the world was an imperfect place. “Besides, Sunny Daze got runner-up and picked yellow for the accent color, so everypony went home happy. Good idea by the way, Di.”
“Don’t change the subject, you sneak.” Diamond smiled. “But thanks. We did pretty good on the playground, didn’t we? And we even got to see the end of it, even after Cheerilee found out about the fight.”
Pipsqueak’s hooves finally got a good grip on the sill. He pulled himself halfway in the window, knocking a bunch of sponges in the sink on the way. “Dunno what you were on about, anyway. It’s kinda hard to kick out the treasurer when she donated money for the whole thing.”
“Besides, Cheerilee’s nice, she knows you guys made a mistake,” said Scootaloo. “I bet your folks’ll understand, too.”
“Right. That’s why it’s only taken them two hours to talk it out.” Diamond went back to sulking on the counter, though she still smiled at Silver. “Seriously, I’m glad we get to wrap up one last project.” She leaned against Silver Spoon, nuzzling her ear. “I really missed you, Silvie. I’m glad we got to be friends again, at least for a little while.”
Silver took Diamond’s tail in hers and swung it. “Diamond, come on. It’s not like they’re going to execute us, you drama queen.”
“Speak for yourself. You didn’t hit anypony in the face, first of all, and second of all, have you met Mother? If I wasn’t the best at telling ponies to do stuff, I’d probably be under a funeral tree by now.” She fluffed her mane proudly. “But I am, of course.”
Pipsqueak shuddered. “No kidding. I think that mare eats rusty nails for breakfast.”
“With a side of salted dragon tails. Spike better watch his back.” Scootaloo wormed her way further into the window, sniffing at the air. “Hey, what smells like licorice? Are you making licorice tea?” The tea ball rolled away with a poke of her hoof. “Can I have some when you’re done?”
Without looking away from the stove, Silver shook her head. “You smell anise, not licorice, and no, we’ll need all of it.” She lifted the kettle and signaled Diamond to turn off the stove.
Scootaloo’s wings sagged at that, but she likely wouldn’t enjoy anise anyway. Juniper, maybe. Or raspberry. Cousin Silver Lining said nettles were good for feathers; she might try that one day.
“If there’s any left over you can have some, but don’t count on it.” Silver Spoon checked the clock. “It’s teatime soon, and you can’t let teatime happen without tea. It’s illegal.”
The short Trottinghammer nodded. “She’s right, you know.” He flicked his little brown tail thoughtfully. “At least, ponies back home sure act like it.”
Slowly, the tea ball dipped into the boiling water. Another full ball sat on the sidelines in case something happened to this tea and she had to make more.
“This isn’t a full tea party.” Silver mumbled it more to herself than to anypony in particular. “No cucumber sandwiches or cakes… barely a decent spread for seven ponies, but it’ll do. Most important part’s here. Imagine skipping teatime in a royal castle in front of a princess—”
“I’m not sure Mother even believes Twilight’s really a princess,” pointed out a rather unhelpful Diamond Tiara. “She says Twilight’s too new to have real credentials. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”
“So? The rest of Equestria calls her a princess no matter what Spoiled thinks. She doesn’t have to believe Twilight’s a princess, but she’ll sure believe in nopony inviting her to the Gala because she decided to be rude in Twilight’s own castle. And during teatime.”
Scootaloo blinked. “’Kay.” She clicked her tongue at Silver’s perfectly circular arrangement of teacups. “I guess you know what you’re doing, but I still dunno what a bunch of hot leaf juice is supposed to do.” When she saw Silver’s face, she held up both hooves and almost fell off the sill. “Hey, no offense.”
“It’s not the tea by itself.” Silver struggled to unclench her jaw. Hot leaf juice, indeed! “Some iced tea by the tire swing’s one thing, but teatime means something, Scootaloo. It means when you sit down with somepony, you treat them with respect, even if you don’t like the pony on the other end of the table.”
Not to disparage the tea itself, of course. The right cup with the right pony could defuse a disaster into a minor inconvenience. Tea reined the panic of Nightmare Moon, got Pinkie Pie to use her inside voice, and healed two years of bad history with Sweetie Belle.
Silver Spoon breathed in rising steam from the anise-fennel and let her shoulders go slack. “Anyway, that’s why I’m doing this instead of painting the jungle gym.”
“Oh, huh. So that’s what the spoon’s for. Neat!” Scootaloo buzzed to the other side of the window to see Silver’s flank better. “I always figured it was just about prissy tea parties. Didn’t know it helped you negotiate stuff, too.”
“My talent is tea parties. It’s what I do.”
“Yeah, I know, but like….” Scootaloo squirmed to find the right words. “It’s like, tea parties help you do other stuff, like get ponies to get along and stuff.”
“Or how you have everypony on the same page at student council meetings,” said Diamond Tiara.
True. A party pony brought smiles and harmony. A tea party pony brought civility. Silver Spoon had never forgotten that fact, but it helped to be reminded now and then. She also hadn’t forgotten what happened the last time she brewed tea for fighting adults. “That doesn’t mean it’ll work with our parents, though,” she said.
Pipsqueak shook his head. “I dunno what your mums are on about in the first place. I get into scrapes with the lads all the time, and they’re way worse than yours. ‘Ere Silver, lemme see your chin.”
Silver Spoon practically had to shove her face through the window for him to see. The tip of Pip’s nose tickled the bottom of her chin. “It was a lot worse last week.”
“Yeah, and it wasn’t that bad back then, either.” He drew an invisible circle around his left eye, the one with white fur. “Featherweight gave me a shiner tons nastier than that. Lasted a whole two weeks, almost!” Pip brushed his mane back coolly. “Mind, I gave ‘im as good as I got. Bopped ‘im back in the front teeth, I did.”
Silver Spoon put both hooves to her own mouth and gasped. “You kicked Featherweight in the FACE?” So that’s where that gap in his perfect little smile came from!
Diamond Tiara gave Silver a flat look and rolled her eyes.
“That’s not what Featherweight says.” Scootaloo grinned. “I heard Featherweight sneezed and tripped into your hoof. And Button Mash says you both had your eyes closed the whole time.”
Pip lifted his chin. “That’s the censored version we told you delicate fillies. Didn’t want to frighten anypony or anything.” He bobbed his head at Silver, who still reeled from the shock of somepony wrecking Featherweight’s sweet little face.
Diamond rolled her eyes even harder. “Silver, it’s not even that big a deal. Colts get hit in the face from falling out of bed, and anyway, it wasn’t even a real fight. The Dink told me they slapped around like a fish at the bottom of a boat, and Dink actually was there.” She turned to the wall, clearly fighting back a laugh. “And then Pip’s sister had to come get him ‘cause he started crying.”
Pip blinked. “Well. You get hit in the eye, your eye naturally starts tearing up. It’s plain science.” He coughed into his hoof and eased himself back onto the ground. “Anyhow, I’ve got presidential matters to get to. You guys are still coming to the christening tomorrow, right? It’s not like your mums can stop you from coming to school.”
Monday marked the beginning of harvest vacation, and thus not a school day. Father could lock her in the highest room of the highest tower all week if he wanted. Pip and Scootaloo had been doing their best to cheer her up, however, so Silver kept that note to herself. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Diamond Tiara watched the kitchen door and didn’t say anything at all beyond a vague murmur of worry.
The curtains twisted and rumpled under Scootaloo’s stomach as she fought her way further through the window. She bumped Diamond’s shoulder and chuckled—a bubblier sound than Silver would have expected from such a raspy voice. “Come on, you stood up to your mom once, you can do it again. You two are the biggest pains in the butt in all of Ponyville. In a good way, I mean. Sort of. I think?”
Somehow, Silver Spoon suspected Scootaloo wouldn’t earn her cutie mark in pep talks anytime soon.
“Oh, you guys know what I mean. Rainbow Dash says it’s not over ‘til it’s over, and it’s still not over.” Scootaloo poked at the apple-patterned curtains twisted around her barrel. “Also, why are Apple Bloom’s curtains in Twilight’s kitchen?”
Diamond’s gaze settled on her cutie mark and stayed there. “One last round to charm the judges.” Teeth shone in her smile. “You’ve got a point there, Scootaloser.”
The pegasus closed her wings tight between her withers. “Uh, we’re not exactly that close of friends yet, Diamond Tiara.”
“Sorry. Thanks, Scootaloo.”
“No problem.” Feathers splattered in the sink as she wriggled her way backwards through the window. “I better catch up to Pip and finish painting the bridges. Break a leg, you guys!” Scootaloo pushed off the windowsill in a fast drop to the ground.
Silver Spoon waved until Scootaloo crossed into Ponyville’s main streets and vanished. Once again, the two of them were alone with the kitchen and whatever the future held in store. Silver smoothed out the curtains. Indeed, the pattern matched the Apple family’s décor. A housewarming gift from Applejack, maybe?
Now that Silver thought about it, the cozy feel of this whole kitchen kind of reminded her of Miss Applejack. She must have gone through a lot of trouble putting the room together, even though interior design couldn’t be in Applejack’s wheelhouse.
It must be nice to have five best friends. You’ve got extra in case you lose one.
“Hey, Diamond?” Silver Spoon’s voice fell small and unimpressive in the room. No echo at all. “What do we do if this doesn’t work? If… they say we can’t be friends any—”
“They won’t,” Diamond said.
“But—”
Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes. “They won’t. I didn’t get this tiara on my head or this tiara on my flank for rolling over like somepony’s pathetic little prize poodle.”
The tea smelled ready. Silver poured herself a small sample without any additives. It turned out good. Better than good. Now it had to keep until showtime. “I don’t know, Di. I heard my parents talking before. They used words like ‘toxic’ and ‘enabling’.”
“What’s ‘enabling’ mean?” Diamond clicked her tongue. “It doesn’t sound that bad. Like, it means to help somepony do stuff, right? Helping’s a good thing.”
“That’s what I thought, so I looked it up in the dictionary to check. It means to make something possible, so… yeah, helping somepony do stuff. I don’t think it sounds bad either, but they sure said it like a bad thing.” Silver sat on the tile floor with her tail wrapped close. “I don’t want to stop being friends, Di. We just started again, and besides, everypony else has a best friend. All the bestie spots are taken. Not that I even want a new one.”
Silver stood back up, glowering at the pots and pans that hung from the kitchen ceiling. They shook when she kicked the table beneath them. “It’s not fair! We shouldn’t get in trouble for making up with each other. It’s stupid!”
“Am I speaking Horsuguese over here?” Diamond Tiara gripped Silver Spoon’s shoulders hard and spun her around so that they stared nose to nose. “It’s. Not. Gonna happen. I don’t care what Mother says, or Dad says, or your parents and grandparents put together. I don’t even care what my first mom says about it! You’re my best friend, Silver Spoon. That’s it. The end.”
When Silver smiled, Diamond did too. “That’s the spirit. We’ll sneak out the window and meet at the night if we have to.” Di clapped her hooves. “Ooh, we can do it in secret during the new moon, just like Star Catcher and Skywishes!”
“You know, Skywishes and Star Catcher died at the end of that opera.” And also in real life.
“Nopony likes a neigh-sayer, Silvie.”
Silver stuck out her tongue. “That’s what they always call somepony who’s right. Besides, if they catch us sneaking out, they’ll put bars on the window.”
“That’s why you don’t get caught, duh.” Diamond plucked a petal from a vase of daisies and ate it. “And if that happens, I’ll borrow a blowtorch from Pinkie Pie.”
“What if Mother and Father decide to move again?” Silver thought of Wondermint back in the old penthouse, and hoped she’d been doing alright. I lose more best friends that way.
“Easy, I’ll follow you. No—no, no, even better!” Diamond Tiara got that dangerous shine in her eye. “We’ll escape before they get the chance!” The apple curtains brushed away with dramatic flair as Diamond threw the window open all the way. “I’ll hire a cab driver, pay him to keep his mouth shut, and blowtorch the windows, bust you out like Nightmare Night Part Two, and then we’re off!”
“Off to where?”
“Wherever we want!” She wrapped a foreleg around Silver, pulling her close. “Think of it: Manehattan! Fillydelphia! The Haymare Islands! Detrot!”
“I like it,” said Silver, “but we’ll be fugitives. Guards will be after us. I guess we could change our names and get some disguises.” Fake mustaches would be a must. “Might be better to go someplace farther away, like Trottingham or Mexicolt—oh! Prance!” Silver bounced on her haunches. “I always wanted to go to Prance.”
“But I don’t know how to speak Prench.” Diamond shrugged. “You can teach me on the way. We don’t even need to worry about money, ‘cause I’ve got tons of bits from all the pageants I’ve won.”
“How much?” A decent flat had to go for more than sixty bits. On the lam or not, a filly of Silver’s stature couldn’t live in some shabby hole in the wall.
“I dunno, like… fifty thousand or something?” Diamond laughed at Silver’s stunned expression. “I’ve been winning longer than I can remember, and Mom always said those bits belong to me. Dad says it’s for college, but who needs college when you’re already perfect?”
“I don’t think Smart Cookie U lets in fugitives, anyway.”
“Exactly. We’ll live in Prance, and eat cookies for breakfast, ice cream for dinner, and have tea in-between.” Diamond pulled another daisy from the vase and plucked two petals. She ate the first, then put the second on Silver’s nose. “We’ll live like the princesses we are and be best friends forever and it’ll be great.” She leaned on the counter with a smile of satisfaction. “Yep.”
“It would still cost a lot and we’d run out of bits eventually. Good tea leaves and petals and stuff could get hard to afford.” Silver Spoon thought about her collection of magnificent tea sets. Fugitives had to travel light, so she’d have to take only one. Maybe the jade set Diamond gave her. “That’s okay, though. If I have to, I’ll even…” She drew a breath for courage. “I’ll even use teabags!”
Diamond Tiara gasped.
“That’s right! Not even the gourmet ones, regular old dust in a wrapper with that ugly string attached. I’d do it—I would!”
They hugged. The idea was crazy. Impossible. Dangerous. But even if it didn’t work, it would still be worth a shot.
"We already do everything else they tell us." Diamond stared out the window as if already mapping out their escape route. “We eat our alfalfa and go to bed on time—usually. They should at least let us pick our friends for ourselves; it’s not like we can pick and choose family.” She swiped her tail. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Right. We’re best friends and if they don’t like it, they can get postcards from Prance.” Silver Spoon wasn’t educated in the ways of rituals like Great Uncle Silver Chalice, or even The Dink, but she still knew a pact this important needed to be sealed.
Silver pulled out of the hug and held out both hooves. “Bump.”
“Bump!” Diamond gave her double-hooves up high.
“Bump!” Down low.
“Sugar lump rump!” Elbow-elbow, flank to flank.
A pact of friendship in the Castle of Friendship about to meet with the Princess of Friendship. They couldn’t ask for a better seal than that. For safety, they linked tails and shook on it.
Diamond nodded firm. “Best friends until the stars fall down.”
The clock struck the hour. Teatime. Silver arranged the tea set on a wheeled cart, performing quality checks on the saucers, sugar, honey, and the napkins folded into birds. “All set. Let’s move.”
Outside, the hall showed no sign of Brass Tacks, but he or Spike had to lurk around here somewhere. Silver Spoon quietly decided to keep any escape plans under wraps for now.
“I don’t know about all that ‘til the stars fall down’ stuff, Di.” She gestured to the walls of the crystal tree palace not even a year old yet. “The way things go in this town, that could happen, like, next Tuesday.”
“True.” Diamond Tiara grabbed the handle, kicked the carpet, and rode the cart down the hall. “Friends like death and taxes? Nah, we don’t pay taxes yet.”
Silver thought about it. “Death and homework?” Moving towns, financial disaster, social embarrassment, illness, and four national emergencies couldn’t stop homework. If Silver died on the spot, Cheerilee would still find some way to assign a history report.
“That works.”
The cart slowed to a stop outside the library door. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged nods and knocked.
Air under the door popped and sucked like a fresh jar of preserves opening for the first time. The silence spell broke. Nopony on the other side of the door sounded happy, but no yelling or shouting, so… good sign?
The door opened. Diamond stared dead ahead, pressing herself close to Silver Spoon.
Silver smiled her best game face. “Death and homework,” she whispered.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, avatar of friendship and second chances, their trump card and main defense, smiled at them—tired but genuine. She seemed as happy to see them as they were. Finding some smiling faces must have been a relief. “Hello, girls. We didn’t expect you this early.”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bowed. “Good afternoon, princess,” they chirped in unison.
Bent low to the ground, Silver opened one eye to size up the room. Their parents sat on opposite sides of a coffee table, each pair to their own couch. Mr. Rich appeared tired, sad, and frustrated. Mrs. Rich sported the same glacial disdain she had every day. Mother wore her mask of social warfare; a neutral face that meant anything from extra desserts to certain doom.
Father caught Silver Spoon’s sneaky gaze and smiled at her. It sent chills down her coat. He smiled the smile of dentist visits and booster shots. The sort that said I know what’s best for you. Even if it hurts. She couldn’t help but recall that Great Uncle Chalice had wanted the best for Silver Shill, too.
Normally, Princess Twilight would insist nopony needed to bow to her. From the look of her droopy feathers, she felt too tired to bother. Her magic took over the tea cart and wheeled it to the table. “This smells amazing. Silver Spoon, did you make this?”
Silver poured the first cup and offered it. “Yes, princess. Diamond Tiara helped me in the kitchen.” She nodded to Diamond, who blinked and sat up. “I tried something new with anise and fennel since we didn’t have time to brew something special for everypony by themselves. I hope that’s alright?”
The alicorn’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, I’ve never had fennel before.” Her droopy feathers perked, smoothing out as she breathed in the steam rising from the cup.
Spoiled Rich angled her head down, pinning both fillies with an acidic stare. “Hm. Didn’t we ask the two of you to wait in the throne room?” Unspoken criticism saturated the question. Why don’t you do as you’re told? You don’t behave when you’re together. Her lips pressed together. “Most ponies would leap at the chance to be in a castle, much less sit on a throne. Twilight’s been very hospitable, opening the room to you.”
Diamond shuffled her hooves in the carpet tassels, debating whether to respond or not. “I know, Mother—” She dared a quick glance to Silver. “Uh, we know. That’s why we wanted to show our appreciation.”
“That’s right. It’s rude to stay in somepony’s house and not to give something back to the hostess.” Tea poured into the second cup. Silver dropped in one sugar cube, swirling it in without ever dropping her gaze or her present smile. “And teatime is at two, ma’am. It’s still one lump, right?”
Mrs. Rich’s tail flicked irritably against the cushions, but she eyed the teacup with interest. “It is, yes.”
Silver Spoon’s smile widened. “Wonderful!” She measured out the honey for her own mother’s cup and remembered to leave the condiments in Father’s reach; he preferred to stir his own tea.
Diamond took the initiative of offering the third cup to her own father. “We wanted to use our time efficiently,” she said, “but everything for the playground is almost done, and Miss Cheerilee didn’t give us homework over the weekend. There’s no point sitting around doing nothing, right? Time is money.”
“Don’t look now, Twilight, but we’re being buttered up.” Not unkindly, Mr. Rich smirked at his daughter. “You’re still grounded with an allowance cut, you know.”
“Dad, if you think Silver Spoon made tea just to get on your good side, you don’t know Silvie at all. I mean, if we were on a flaming airship and it crashed in the mountains at teatime, she’d still be searching for a kettle.”
Mother laughed at that. “I bet she’d use the fires to boil the water.” The anise blend had been an excellent call. She drank deep and smiled down at Silver Spoon. “The tea’s wonderful, dearest heart.”
So far, so good. Mr. Rich laughed along with Mother, Father smiled, and Mrs. Rich didn’t glare daggers anymore. The mood of the room wouldn’t stay this light, but easing the tension let everything stabilize.
Satisfied, Silver poured her and Diamond’s own cups, and settled on a cushion at the end of the coffee table. Everypony settled into small talk and light jokes, though every few minutes Silver felt Mrs. Rich side-eye her for a second or two before returning to the conversation.
Eventually, they ran out of weather to complain about and recent events to criticize, and the conversation steered toward the real reason they’d gathered here.
Twilight Sparkle’s wings perked at her sides, watching the gathered ponies with renewed confidence. She gave Silver a wry glance. “You know, Silver Spoon, when I told you friendship is worth fighting for, I didn’t think you’d take it so literally.” She pointed at Diamond and Silver’s tails, twined together behind them. “But from the look of it, it did seem to work. Eventually.”
The princess settled in a cozy reading chair, spaced perfectly between a reading lamp and an end table. It oddly suited her better for a throne than the actual crystal throne down the hall. She patted the small stacks of papers in the center of the end table: their friendship reports.
According to Apple Bloom, Princess Twilight—still a wingless librarian back then—used to write letters to Princess Celestia about what she learned about friendship that week. Diamond Tiara thought it might be a good idea to do the same, but writing to the Princess of Friendship this time. Even better, both letters had been sent before anypony approached her with the idea of their folks meeting to work things out. Before Diamond guilted herself into confessing, even. If Twilight hadn’t been on their side from the start, the letters sealed it.
Diamond Tiara blinked at the stack of typed papers that dwarfed the stapled five pages next to it. “Sheesh Silvie, did you write a book?”
“I wanted to be thorough!” Silver whispered. “Twilight likes reading, so I figured…”
“What’d you even say?” Diamond paled, lowering her voice. “You didn’t tell her everything we did, did you?”
Silver rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I blabbed every awful thing we ever did to anypony and made us look like monsters. Di, come on. It’s me.” She adjusted her glasses and sniffed. “I told her what we learned and a little what we did to get there, but I didn’t sell ourselves out.” Granddad had a fancy legal word for that. Self… inclination? Self-immolation?
Louder, Diamond asked, “Did you get to read our letters? We worked real hard on them.”
The atmosphere shifted. All four parents exchanged glances, none of them warm or encouraging.
“We did,” said Father.
“Extensively,” added Mrs. Rich.
Silver’s ears sank slowly into her mane. She glanced away from Mrs. Rich’s hawkish stare and thought of her ecosystem project from last year. Hawks eat snakes, don’t they?
She should have anticipated this. Celestia on the mount, no wonder they stayed in here for two hours. Silver dug her hooves in the carpet, trying not to grimace. She wrote those letters for Twilight specifically, with more honesty and candor for somepony without the power to ground them.
Worse, nopony had actually asked for Twilight to keep them private. Without that, if their parents asked to see them, she’d have to oblige. Or maybe because Diamond proposed both the letters and the meetings, Twilight thought they’d written them for the meeting.
I should have cross-referenced the letters. This is what I get for being honest and not safe. I should have asked for them to stay confidential. I should have been safer than this.
Diamond tapped in. “Oh, good! Then you know that we’ve learned a lot about friendship the past couple years. Especially ours.” She jostled Silver’s withers for a silent morale boost. “It took work to break it down, but even more to build it back up. We’re better ponies for it, and we’re going to keep it that way.” Good to know one of them had something prepared for this.
“I’m glad to hear that, Diamond Tiara.” Indeed, Twilight seemed quite pleased. Good.
Silver watched her parents from the corner of her eye. They can’t say our friendship’s bad if Twilight believes in it, right? It’s like arguing with Luna about when to have a full moon. Her eyes sagged to the coffee table. Then again, the moon doesn’t live in its mom’s house or headbutt other moons in the face.
Father hadn’t smiled at Diamond Tiara once, not even in politeness. Silver Spoon couldn’t say it surprised her. Father called in at least three doctors when she got the sniffles; he’d jumped out of his horseshoes seeing that bruise.
“Mr. Laurel? Mrs. Perfect?” Diamond Tiara approached Mother and Father with her head at a respectful height. “I’ve got something to say.”
“Yes?” He watched Diamond the way one watched a stray dog sniffing in the yard.
The Riches, in turn, watched Father with thin frowns and twitching tails. Mr. Rich, in particular, braced to literally leap in if he needed to.
Diamond Tiara ignored all of it. “I understand if you’re angry at me. If somepony hit a member of my family, I’d be angry, too. And I also know it doesn’t fix anything I did, but I still want to apologize again for what happened last week. Especially headbutting Silver Spoon and knocking her into the fence.”
“Wait—you also knocked her into the fence?” Father whipped around at Silver Spoon. “She knocked you into a fence?”
“Father, please.” Silver cringed against the table, trying to fight the blush creeping into her cheeks. Why did he have to do this every time? “I’m fine now. It didn’t even hurt that much when it happened.”
“Brightness, that hardly matters! It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Mrs. Rich tsked and whispered something into Mr. Rich’s ear. Mr. Rich laid a hoof on his wife’s fetlock and shook his head.
“You’re right, Mr. Silver Laurel, it shouldn’t have. It was wrong of me, and won’t happen again. Ever.” She nodded at Silver Spoon. “I promise.” She offered a hoof for peace.
Mother looked at Father, the outstretched little hoof, then back at Father. She rose from the couch, with a slight frown aimed behind her.
Father cleared his throat and adjusted his monocle.
“Good to know, Miss Diamond Tiara. We’ll hold you to that promise.” She shot a quick glance at Silver Spoon. “Both of you.” Mother smiled and shook Diamond’s hoof. “We accept your apology, honey.” Her smile stiffened a little. “Don’t we, Laurel?”
Father nodded. He shook Diamond’s hoof as well, albeit with less enthusiasm.
“Thanks!” Diamond beamed. “Uh—I mean, thank you, sir.”
Twilight clapped her hooves with a sigh. “There, you see? Like I said, clear communication is the first step to conflict resolution, and the fifth step on the road to healing. I think we’ve done pretty well so far.” At least seven feathers wilted onto the carpet and she had dark rings under her eyes. Silver couldn’t tell if the princess was trying to convince the parents or herself.
Mr. Filthy Rich rubbed the bridge of his muzzle with a long groan. “I still can’t believe it even happened. Diamond, honey, you know better than this. We taught you better than this.”
Father snapped his tail and muttered something under his breath.
If Mr. Rich noticed, he didn’t show it. “You don’t lay hoof on another pony. Now, I don’t care how upset you get, and I don’t care what they said or didn’t say first.”
It may have been Silver Spoon’s imagination, but it seemed his gaze wandered to his wife at that second part.
“And I don’t care who started it, neither. Diamond, you do not lay hoof on another pony—or any other creature—unless you’ve got no other choice.” He straightened against the couch. “From the sound of it, you had plenty of choices still left.”
Mrs. Rich—who’d held her tongue with both hooves so far—finally cut in. “Yet, you chose to scuffle about in the dirt like a pair of West Fillydelphia degenerates in a back alley. As if you had no home training whatsoever! I don’t know where you picked that up, but I know it’s not from us.”
“Yes, Mother,” Diamond sighed.
“You’d think we lived in a Griffonstone tavern, the way you acted.” Spoiled turned up her pointed muzzle. “I’ll bet you get it from that bartender’s ruffian child.”
Diamond’s hackles rose at that barb against Berry Pinch, but she had the sense to pick her battles. One friend at a time. “It was unladylike conduct, Mother. I’ll do better next time.”
Somberly, she placed both hooves on Silver’s withers. “I’m sorry, Silvie. Our strength is not for hurting.” An old adage every earth pony knew from the cradle onward.
“I forgive you, Di. I’m sorry, too.” They’d done this song and dance already, but this audience needed an encore performance. “I should’ve tried to talk it out before it got that bad. Besides, it’s not like I didn’t hit you back.”
Diamond pulled her in a side hug. “Ha! More like you tried to.”
Father rose from his seat, clearing his throat. “Speaking of which…” He nodded to Mother.
Mother reached behind the sofa and pulled out a wooden box. “We’ve gotten you something, Silver Spoon.”
The box clicked open to reveal a white outfit and odd little mask. The jawless thing looked something like a knight’s champron, but wicker mesh instead of metal. Both had Silver Spoon’s cutie mark monogrammed on them.
Diamond Tiara pricked her ears.
Mrs. Rich rolled her eyes with more exaggeration than necessary.
Silver herself withheld a groan. She should have seen it coming.
“Because it seems you cannot settle affairs with dialogue alone,” Father said, “the time has come for you to learn how to fence. It ought to do something about that excess energy, too.”
“Oooh.” Diamond leaned over the box, taking in the shiny silver piping in the fencing suit and unique open-muzzle design in the mask. She sat up and turned to her father.
Spoiled Rich frowned. “No, Diamond.”
Diamond lashed her tail, grumbling. “Didn’t even say anything yet.”
“Strange choice of sports, Silver Laurel,” Spoiled continued, “after all that talk about how delicate and fragile and innocent little Silver Spoon is. I thought we came here to reprimand fighting, not encourage it.”
Twilight Sparkle dove in before anypony had the chance to get offended. “Actually Mrs. Rich, the sport of fencing isn’t the same as fighting at all. With the mask and suit, you can’t get hurt with the little foils, and it’s really more about hoofwork and strategy.” She grinned at the equipment, armed with an entire lecture about the historical value of the sport. “My brother called it real-life-pointy-chess.”
Father nodded. “It’s also highly regulated. Somepony’s always around to monitor safety—accidents do happen—and a skilled instructor assures everything done is done correctly.”
Silver swished her tail thoughtfully. Maybe she could renegotiate her terms. “Is this a condition or an order?”
Father poured himself more tea. “All things have rules, Brightness, including the rules of engagement. We must be disciplined in those rules. Am I right?” Which didn’t answer the question at all.
“Yes, sir.”
It would have happened eventually; the fight only gave a solid excuse. Silver Spoon settled her twitching tail in an effort to appear grateful. If she’d been presented with fencing equipment in front of everypony it had to mean Mother and Father were willing to let her friendship continue. She could be glad of that at least.
Besides, it’s an honor to learn the family tradition. Be happy. Thus, the youngest Silver smiled.
“Thank you for the chance to learn, Father. I’m sure it’ll be good exercise.”
Tennis would be better exercise. Nopony pokes me in the face in tennis.
Mother smiled. “We’re pleased you see it that way. Remember, an ideal duel is one you never have to fight, but if the time comes…” She didn’t acknowledge the judgmental stare from the other couch, but the tip of her orange tail began to flicker. “Well. Self-defense is always useful.”
“Like if changelings attacked Canterlot again, you could fight your way out!” Diamond still hadn’t stopped staring enviously at Silver’s mask. “Or if the Everfree goes crazy and lets out all the timberwolves and stuff. Dad, if I’m careful could—”
“No,” both Riches said again.
Despite all the hoofshakes and apologies, tensions still ran too high for Silver Spoon’s taste. Nopony here had told them whether they could stay friends, and from the looks of things, nopony planned to.
Perhaps, after the work done today, they’d already accomplished what they set out to do. Silver saw more smiles now than she did when they first entered, and the mood had settled from a boil to a mild burble.
But perhaps not.
Silver dialed her voice to a whisper and took a long drag of tea to hide her muzzle movements. “What do you think, Di? Are we in the clear?”
“No.” Diamond didn’t even need to think about it.
Silver nodded. The hardest rule of the schoolyard applied well beyond its fence: never talk bad about family. That goes double for a foal’s parents, so it must go quadruple for somepony’s foal. Even if everypony shook hooves and left smiling today, those barbs stayed under the skin. A “yes” today could flip into a “no” next week.
Family roots drove too deep for royal decrees to budge. Worst case scenario, if either the Riches or Silvers put their hoof down, even a princess couldn’t do anything about it.
Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara watched their trump card file through what appeared to be a friendship problem portfolio. The gears turned in her head; she’d likely come to the same conclusion Silver had: the princess had done all she could do.
“Right now we’ve got a three or four out of five. That’s a pass, not a win; I don’t go home with silver trophies.” She glanced at Silver Spoon with an awkward smile. “Uh, so to speak.”
“We need a power move.”
Diamond nodded.
Silver Spoon watched Mrs. Rich watching them. “But I don’t think we should push our luck either,” she whispered behind her cup. “Maybe it could still be okay?”
“Sure. Send me a letter from wherever you move next and tell me how that worked out.”
Silver Spoon averted her eyes to the sugar bowl, but could still feel Mrs. Rich glaring at her. Somehow, the mare did it without even narrowing her eyes. Pony’s sake, I never even did anything to you.
Silver sat up. “I assume you’ve got a plan?”
Diamond Tiara grinned. “Of course.”
“…it’s not jumping out the window and running, is it?”
“Not anymore!”
Silver Spoon stamped her hoof.
“Relax, it’s Plan D anyway.” Diamond swept her tongue along the edge of her teeth, scouting her line of attack. She rose to face the adults.
Silver rose slower. “Wait. What exactly are we doing?”
“What we do best. Shut up and give me a hug.” Diamond wrapped both forelegs around Silver’s neck, whispering in her ear. “Follow my lead, go with your gut, and play for keeps.”
That didn’t explain much of anything. Silver frowned, uncertain.
“Go with your gut,” Di said again. “I trust you.”
Silver swallowed her protest and nodded. “Okay. I trust you too, Diam—are you crying?”
“Setting the mood. Cover me, I’m going in.” Diamond adjusted her tiara, drooped her ears, and stepped forward.
Close behind her, Silver Spoon let her own ears drop and widened her eyes. Puppy-dog faces and sad ears wouldn’t and couldn’t change minds, but the classics still got hooves in doors.
Twilight Sparkle noticed movement beside her chair. When she saw the expressions on the fillies’ faces, her own ears drooped a few centimeters. “Oh, hello girls. Do you need something? Are you okay?”
Di shyly dragged her hoof across the carpet. “M’kay, so we were wondering… You got to read our friendship letters? And liked them?” The puppy eyes dialed up to eleven, complete with the sheen of real tears. “So you know we learned our lesson. Right?”
Mother and Father suddenly felt the need to avert their eyes. Mr. Rich’s face fell, and Mrs. Rich visibly braced.
Princess Twilight never stood a chance.
“Oh, I…” Twilight’s guilty glance ricocheted between Diamond’s parents and the friendship reports. Her wingspan heaved like bellows, and when she met Diamond’s eyes again, she met them steadfast. “Yes, Diamond Tiara. I believe that you—both of you—have gained an invaluable lesson from all this. You’ve done bad things, but you’re not bad ponies, and I know you’re doing the best you can to correct the mistakes you’ve made. That’s all anypony can ask of you.”
Silver Spoon’s head jerked up. She’d guessed what the answer might be, but… not like this.
Twilight said it the same way she’d list the height of a mountain or the average speed of a falcon. Not a guess or a feeling, but a fact among other facts: The Canterhorn is fourteen thousand feet high. A falcon dives at two hundred miles per hour. Silver Spoon is not a bad pony.
Silver blinked. “How do you know?”
“The same way I learn everything.” Twilight’s magic flipped through the letters. “I did the research.”
“Oh.” Maybe being honest had been worth something after all.
Diamond cleared her throat. “So, does that mean we can keep being friends? Please?”
Twilight’s pause went too long for comfort. “Diamond, if it was completely up to me—”
“But it’s not. Which means you can’t really help us…” One angry tear slid through Diamond’s coat, strategically placed, but not fake. Not fake at all. She turned to glare at both sets of parents. “Because your answer’s still no, isn’t it?”
Rationale and vindication rippled from couch to couch, tripping and skipping over each other.
“Come now, Diamond Tiara.” Mother’s voice cut to the front of the pack. She also was the only pony there to stare both fillies in the eye. “Be reasonable; nopony here’s said anything of the sort.”
Diamond stepped in front of Silver Spoon protectively. “Not yet, but you’re building to it. Letting us down nice and easy.”
Nopony met Diamond Tiara’s eye now.
If that hadn’t been the plan, it had at least been an option. It wouldn’t have been a clean snap, but a slow dissolve over days, then weeks, then months. Something painless and subtle.
Diamond stamped the carpet. “And even after you guys talked for two hours and read our friendship letters and everything. Why? Why even bother doing that if you were just gonna turn around and say no anyways?!”
Now, that sounded familiar. Silver recalled the student council sweating before the looming shadow of the school board.
“Why did you let us try when you knew we couldn’t do it?”
Mrs. Rich’s mouth drew tight in a harsh whisper. “Diamond Tiara. Do not make a scene.” Her narrowed eyes darted to Princess Twilight and back.
Silver Spoon blinked slowly. Her tail curled into a thoughtful arc.
This should not have taken two hours. Even in a stubborn mood, Father couldn’t stand to get locked in negotiations for more than twenty minutes. Mother and Mr. Filthy Rich had concerns, but seemed willing to let the friendship continue from the start. Somepony had stretched it out.
That meant this meeting couldn’t stretch anymore. A power move had indeed been the right call.
“W-well why shouldn’t I, Mother?” Diamond wiped her eyes with her fetlock. The waterworks came in full now. “The answer’s not gonna change no matter what we do or say. It’s not fair—I won’t let it happen!”
Silver Spoon wrapped both forelegs around her friend. “Oh, Di. C’mere.”
Diamond’s strategically placed crying became genuine crying.
“Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay, you’ll see.” Silver offered a cup of tea and another hug. “But Mrs. Rich is right.”
“Listen, I understand this is a really hard time for you both—” Twilight Sparkle blinked. “Wait.” She stared at them and blinked again. “Wait, what?!”
Go with your gut.
“Mrs. Spoiled Rich is absolutely right,” Silver Spoon said again. “We’re proper young ladies, and ladies do not start tantrums or cause a fuss. Like Twilight says, we’ve done our best to correct our mistakes, but mistakes still have consequences.” Silver closed her eyes with a deep sigh. “Ladies accept their consequences with dignity.”
Diamond sniffled into her teacup and nodded.
“Princess Twilight, we’re really sorry we put you through all this drama and trouble. It’s been a hard time for us, but thank you for understanding. I know you tried your best, too.” Silver Spoon shook the alicorn’s hoof.
Twilight considered Silver Spoon’s expression. “It’s no trouble at all, Silver Spoon.” After a moment, she nodded.
Silver gave Diamond one last hug for courage and approached the couch. The new lenses of her glasses gleamed on the tip of her nose. As manners dictated, she bowed her head to her opponent. She’d become a fencer ten minutes ago, but Silver had been a duelist for years.
“We will accept whatever decision you think is best. Even if we don’t like it, and even if we don’t understand.” Silver Spoon smiled sadly at her parents. “I don’t understand why Shill can’t come to Hearth’s Warming anymore, but I know it’s because Uncle Chalice did what was best. Like how I know you’ll do what’s best for me.”
The corners of Father’s mouth dipped into a frown. He wiped his monocle, staring down at his cufflinks.
A cheap move? Perhaps. An unnecessary move? Possible; Mother was already sold and Father seemed more than willing to let bygones be bygones. But they needed a spotless sweep, and if it worked, it worked.
Silver blinked at the Riches with the same smile. “And the same way Diamond’s mother and father are only looking out for her.” She took Diamond’s hoof. “Our parents wouldn’t hurt us unless they had no other choice.”
Diamond Tiara buried her face in Silver’s withers. A light smile twitched through the soft gray fur. “I guess not.”
Father knelt to foal height. “No. We absolutely wouldn’t.” He smiled at the both of them. “We’ve already accepted your apology, Diamond Tiara, and we’ll gladly accept your friendship as well.”
Diamond’s head popped up from Silver's shoulder, beaming and still sniffly. “Really?!”
Mother laughed and offered Diamond a handkerchief. “Really. So long as your parents are alright with it, of course.”
“Oh, it’s completely fine with me.” Mr. Rich leaned back in the couch and turned to his wife. “What do you think?”
Mrs. Rich flicked her tail in hesitation. Perfect.
“Why did you let us try when you knew we couldn’t do it?” Plausible deniability. The appearance of fairness. Spoiled Rich was a first-class jerk, but she was no idiot. No society pony in Equestria would dare attack the littlest Silver in broad daylight. Maybe Spoiled could slide by with a back-hooved compliment in the school board, but now she sat among ponies wise to sly digs and shankings under the table. She couldn’t touch her with a feather. Not without looking like a monster.
The rational excuses had been addressed and put aside. Diamond herself nipped a quiet friendship dissolution in the bud. The mood of the room clearly favored friendship four-to-one, and both fillies had been nothing but reasonable.
There could be no way to leave this room and save face other than a “yes”.
That still didn’t mean Silver couldn’t help it along. She straightened Diamond’s tiara for her, curling the white bangs out of the way. “No matter what happens, Di, we’ll be fine. We can always get new best friends—like, I’ve still got Truffle Shuffle and Twist in the student council.” Silver Spoon blinked innocently at Mrs. Rich. “Meanwhile, you’ve got the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” And all that entails.
Nopony could argue a filly should have no friends at all, but only a fool could disparage Apple Bloom with Applejack’s best friend in the room and the Apples’ old business partner sitting beside her.
Spoiled Rich tossed up her hooves. “Oh, for goodness—nopony here ever said you couldn’t be friends. We wanted to be certain the two of you understood the seriousness of the situation, but you don’t need to be so dramatic about it.”
“Us?” Diamond Tiara dabbed the corner of her eye with the handkerchief. “Dramatic?”
Mother erupted into coughs that sounded suspiciously like choked laughter.
Mrs. Rich dismissed them with a flick of her tail. “Well, of course you can be friends. Never said you couldn’t. Hmph. Children.” She looked like she wanted to drop-kick Silver off a balcony, but in the end, it didn’t matter what she wanted. Spoiled was still a high society pony, after all, and society had rules. A lady had appearances to keep.
Spoiled Rich clicked her tongue and leaned down to extend a hoof.
Silver Spoon, after a moment to assure it wouldn’t strike her, smiled and took it.
“I accept your friendship, Miss Silver Spoon.” The hoofshake had a death grip. She smiled back and added in a whisper, “But hurt my daughter again and I’ll ruin you.”
Fair enough. “Thank you, Mrs. Rich. I’m sorry for the dramatics; I guess we’ve still got a lot to learn about manners.”
Silver Spoon settled at the table to pour herself a fresh cup of tea, with a mental note to let Mrs. Rich have the extra tea ball of the bonus blend she’d left in the kitchen. She patted the cushion next to her.
Diamond flicked her tail out of the way and sat to toast. “To us?”
Silver Spoon grinned. “To us.”
Under the table, they bumped hooves.
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I get the feeling that Twilight had to leave the room every fifteen minutes or so to widen the wall indent in the hall with her head.
I'm also sure that neither Spike or Brass Tacks were the least bit surprised outside of which way bits passed under the table each time.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are scary capable when they combine their talents like this. Spoiled never knew what hit her.
Stories like this, and like a good cup of tea are a wonderful way to end the year. Thanks for the update!
What a lovely end to the year.
Twilight has nothing on these fillies
so good
and leave it to twilight to meet weaponized cuteness with logic. so adorable on both parts
It's a true treat to see Diamond and Silver in full social-fu mode, playing for keeps. Awesome!
Also, your tea descriptions always make me brew a cup while reading this story. Teatime is an important business, indeed!
Dear god, Diamond and Silver didn't break out the big guns at the end there, they unloaded a full set of field artillery! Talk about taking a collection of all the things we've learned through out the progression of the story and unleashing it all at once!
I think the thing I love the most about this story is how well you can trace back the conflict between Diamond and Silver. Little things like Silver not being straight with Diamond about how she felt about Babs, or Diamond not listening to Silver's advice to back of the CMC, to shatter points like Tirek forcing all of Tiara's parents into the same space, or losing the Flag after already giving up the Baltimare pageant. Combined with this, there's also Silver's growing doubt about Diamond's position and her own in relation to it, and the climax feels like the natural and logical end to where all of these events have been building up to. Beautifully done.
Looking back on the comments I've posted on your various stories I've read over the last 12-18 hours, I feel like I should reassure you that I'm not starting a cult in your name.
...
Yet.
Well, that's certainly a sentence to come in on. I want to see that as her identifier on a news show. "Diamond Tiara, Reformed Butt Trumpet." A shame it's too long for a Magic card.
Of course. Where else should any party pony sit but the Throne of Laughter? Tiara sitting in the Throne of Loyalty is either symbolic of how far she's come or irony on a cosmic level. Possibly both.
It really is good to see these two work together on trying to con an adult again.
Adults just don't understand childhood social dynamics. After all, the fillies' fight isn't too much different from what their parents are doing right now; they just threw literal punches.
I don't know about that, Tiara. Don't forget one of Ponyville's key positive features.
Ah, party pony logic.
The existence of Smart Cookie University pleases me beyond words. I may need to
stealborrowsteal that idea.This is perfect on every conceivable level.
Ouch.
i.imgur.com/D6l8fu1.gif
Exquisite work here. Working together, these two make for a terrifying combination, now as always. Thank goodness they're on the side of... relative good. I can only imagine what they'll do in their adult years. For now, though, Project X's proverbial ribbon needs cutting.
Loved it. The first part of the chapter was a reminder that these two are actually still fillies, something we need from time to time. The second part was pure awesome social dueling from a pair of masters.
I wasn't sure if Silver would bring up Shill or not, she definitely left everything on the field. I do wonder if that could have implications down the line. Twilight has to know who Silver Shill is, since he's in the Journal as Applejack's lesson, and Twilight poured over that thing in detail right before she fought Tirek. If the Princess of Friendship found out what the Silver family had done to one of their own for tribalist reasons, she could probably make them very uncomfortable socially. (Oh man, that Journal gets published in Season 7 and all of Equestria will read about Silver Shill being a traveling con-pony. I can't wait for Chalice's reaction.)
And of course, Twilight won't forget what Spoiled said about Berry Punch and Berry Pinch.
I loved how the fillies boxed Spoiled Rich in at the end. Glad Silver always makes the tea when she visits the Rich household though, if Spoiled was making tea for Silver she might forget the rules about Hemlock.
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That's a really good point. When Spoiled said
I am 100% sure Silver and Diamond both had flashbacks to the bunker with Goldie and the Riches. I bet deep down Filthy did too.
Someday, someday I hope they cover the "it's okay if you aren't friends with your friends' friends lesson."
How?
As we can see, she's acting in a manner entirely devoid of drama.
and that silver spoon is how you play chess, putting the otehr player in an impossible situation, spoiled had no choice, either she could let silver and daimond remain friends, or say no and completley ruin herself in high society when the story egts out. well played, well played.
Wow, Diamond and Silver completely murdered any argument that could've been made against them by their parents. Little manipulative masterminds, the both of them. Thank goodness they use their powers for good and not evil!
Excellent chapter!
The beginning of this chapter was really nice as well. It had a calm feeling to it, but with an undertone of worry lingering all over it. Loved it.
Fics like this make me wonder why... why oh why can I only upvote this once...? <_<
I say, isn't it interesting what a chap can find out while perusing a volume of Surtees in the furze while giving Prout the slip, what?
I don't have much to say, I just felt the need to comment something because I freaking love this story. Diamond should have just kept her mouth shut about the fight, but then we wouldn't have gotten this chapter so it was worth it. The friendship is powerful, thank goodness the two are good guys now because their combined power is dangerous. p.s. I love tea and I like licorice, but anise tea is just awful.
A well played game of politics. I would never have done so well
Well, you didn't think it was so good that Discord helped Tirek.
Ironically, Pinch didn't knock her teeth out, when Dinky would have if it'd been her.
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I just noticed their seating positions, though I thought Silver would be sitting there because it's her mentor's chair. Diamond's choice of seat may or may not have anything to do with Loyalty; only PP knows if he had that in mind. It could be anything from "sitting there would make Scootaloo jealous"
"and it probably doesn't mean quite the same thing to Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle to sit where their actual sisters sit" down to "Rainbow Dash's chair is right next to Pinkie Pie's."
I like how you handled Twilight here. You managed to show why she's the Princess of Friendship without sacrificing a bit of her adorkability.
You did this by balancing her perceptive genius, her black-belt research skills and her warm heart against her youth, idealism and a certain emotional inexperience.
That also produces a very affecting bit of emotional tension. I can see that dealing with the Riches and the Silvers in this particular matter troubles her in a very personal way, though she tries not to show it. She knows, intellectually, that adults can disagree and fight and in general behave badly, even childishly. But she comes from a
stableemotionally healthy and supportive family and deep down a part of her is going mommies and daddies shouldn't act like this. Mommies and daddies should act like grownups. Not like kids themselves.Apropos of which...
...The dangerous and difficult years through which we are all living...
Wait, what? I thought 1955 was the Good Old Days!
Flutteryay for the Star Catcher and Skywishes callback.
8644302 Well, actually what you do is you table-flip the board and then beat the other player over the head with it until they get too much brain damage to think straight.
Then you tell everyone you won!
It's always worked for me!
ONE FEAR
If there's one thing kids are great at, it's learning how to manipulate adults, and this chapter shows that very well.
This was a pretty good chapter, seeing the meeting of the Silvers and Riches. I would have wanted to see some scenes when they immediately found out what happened, I feel like Silver and Diamond dealing with the immediate consequences of their families finding out and then the meeting could have been a nice lead up to the final scene. I was honestly expecting for them to not be allowed to be friends again, but, the two fillies manipulated the adults in this scene quite well. Rather than doing something forceful or defiant, they manipulated them with sympathy. Twilight seemed quite passive, simply allowing for it to happen, but she was probably wore out from having to deal with the family members for the past two hours or so. It is also good to see Diamond and Silver are on their way to normalizing things with the CMC again and Pip is just so cute with how he was in the window sill. The completed playground will be interesting to see, Project X is finished.