Tarnished Silver and Clouded Diamonds

by David Silver

6 - Arm Thyself

"Time to rise, little horses." Dark nudged the both of them with a paw. "I want to be out of this town before trouble comes to find us."

Silver woke first, rolling upright and looking around blearily before she found her glasses and put them on. "What time is it? It's so dark..."

Diamond sat up with a wide yawn. "It's far too early to be bothering us. Come back when the sun's up." She flopped back onto her blanket, only to be rudely spun around when Dark yanked the bedding off of her. "Hey!"

"Less arguing, more bathing. We won't have time for that on the road, so enjoy the last opportunity. I'll have breakfast ready when you get out." Dark stalked away with the bedding, providing no opportunity to reclaim it.

Silver found a candle and picked it up, wandering with it. "Where are your matches, Dark Streak?"

"Matches?" Dark fished out a flint set and tossed it at Silver's hooves. "Here you go."

Silver sat and peered at it before reaching to pick it up. "It's like we're already camping." Eager to give it a try, she began working the flint against the metal, eventually producing a spark, and then aiming it at the candle. The room became less dark by a small margin, but the accomplishment seemed to please Silver Spoon greatly.

Diamond clopped her forehooves together. "Excellently done, now go ahead and get the fire under the tub going." A compliment and a command rolled together without pause, Diamond sat there and made no move to help at all.

Silver Spoon shook her head. "There's no reason, like, at all to get the fire going until there's water. Come on, Diamond, we have to fetch some."

Diamond made a dismissive motion. "I'm still tired. Why don't you do it?"

Silver put her hooves at her hips and glared at Diamond with all her fury, which was mostly a display of pouting. "You want a bath, you get to get water too! We don't have our servants."

Diamond pointed at herself. "You mean I don't have my servants."

Silver nodded. "Exactly, so get some water."

Diamond went stiff, realizing her words had failed her. With an angry grunt she pushed to her hooves, and the two went off to fill buckets.

Dark Streak watched and listened to the exchange as she got her supplies ready and set breakfast to cook. She counted her meager savings, ensured her blade was rust free, and otherwise tried to be prepared for the coming journey. She had no illusions about the two fillies being a huge help. A part of her considered ditching them at the earliest convenience, but she wasn't that kind of person. She'd protect them, even if only because no one else would. "You're too nice sometimes, Dark. It'll get you killed one of these days."

By the time the tub was filled and the fire under it was going, the sun was starting to peak up over the horizon, dispelling some of the worst of the evening chill. Dark came over as they bathed. "We'll try to get some last minute shopping done. You two need better clothing, or any clothing, for that matter. Your fur won't keep the mountain chill off your bones, you don't have any supplies, and only one of you has a weapon... that they don't even know how to use."

Diamond Tiara made a bit of a face. "Fighting, me? How uncouth."

Silver put a fetlock over her snout, giggling a little. "Is it couth to be gobbled up?"

Diamond glared. "No! Fine. But it better be something regal-looking. I won't be saddled with a brutish thing."

Dark turned back to the kitchen. "You'll get what's available and we can afford, unless you're paying?"

Diamond swiveled an ear. "That depends on how much it costs. I have a few bits."

"Fantastic." Dark tended to the food, making sure it wasn't burning. "You can help cover some of the supplies then. Do either of you know how to do things in the wilderness?" A moment of silence later. "I thought not, so, basic rule, if I'm not in sight, you're already failing. We stick together, even if we're being chased by something hideous." She dumped the fried potatoes and vegetables on a clay platter, satisfied with her work. "If I say to run, you run. If I say to stop, you stop. Whatever skills you have, they don't apply outside this town, so you're going to have to trust me."

Silver Spoon climbed out of the tub and looked around for a towel. "Miss Streak? Where do you keep your towels?"

Dark grabbed one of the rags nearby and tossed it to Silver, who caught it in her mouth. She got to work drying herself dutifully. "Can you show me how to use that bow? Then I could, like, help a little?"

The griffon smiled at her words. "That's very forward-thinking of you. I like that, but we don't have time to get you up to speed. Keep that attitude though, we'll make something of you yet."

Diamond flopped out of the tub and walked into the kitchen, claiming another cloth square for herself and getting to work. "Silver Spoon, you're forgetting you're a lady. We have to be dignified, and ladies of refinement do not fight monsters."

Silver Spoon held up a hoof. "I read in magazines that Oprah Whinnie practices archery! If a rich mare like her can do it, I can do it too."

Diamond rolled her eyes and tossed the rag aside before reclaiming her namesake tiara. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I'll get a real lady's weapon, if we must be armed at all."

Breakfast was eagerly devoured by everyone before they stepped outside into the morning air. Silver Spoon adjusted her bow and quiver nervously as she looked about. Dark turned back to her house and frowned. "I have plenty of good memories here, but that's all they're going to be." She drew out the flint set from before and set to work until a bit of the wood in the house could be coaxed to light despite the dampness and the cold.

Silver tilted her head. "Like, what are you doing?"

Dark encouraged the flame until she was certain it would grow on its own, already starting to climb and spread. "No turning back. We either make our fortune somewhere else, or die with dignity."

Diamond Tiara frowned a little. "That's a little dramatic. Let's go shopping."

"On this, we agree." Dark left her burning house. "How many coins do you have? You said bits? Is that gold? I don't dare to hope for platinum."

Diamond shook her head. "Right the first time, gold. I have five coins." She saw no reason to reveal her full inventory. "Is that enough?"

"For some choices. It isn't much." She raised a brow at Diamond. "You can't spend money if you're dead, little pony."

Diamond huffed softly. "Let's see what's even there to choose from."

Dark led the way without further prying. The town smith was a solidly-built griffon of the classic type, with a lion lower half and an eagle for the top. He paused in his pounding of what appeared to be a large iron nail. "Ah, Dark Streak! Your sword need some repair work done? Kettle have a new hole?"

Dark snorted. "I should wish it was that simple. I'm stuck chicksitting for these two brightly-colored ones, and one of them doesn't even have the decency to be armed."

He rubbed at the bottom of his beak. "Let me see... I gather you mean this one." His eyes fixed on Diamond Tiara, making her shudder involuntarily at the gaze of a true predator resting on her. "Does she know how to use a blade?"

Dark shrugged as she stood up on hind-legs easily. "She knows how to use her mouth, that's her specialty."

The blacksmith laughed at the jab. "Would that weapons could be powered that way. Come here, little filly. Let me have a look at you."

Diamond advanced cautiously, eyes darting to the hot forge, the heavy anvil, and the massive hammer that the smith apparently wielded with practiced ease. "I'm not a little filly."

"Oh? Well, wouldn't be the first mistake I ever made. I suppose you're a big filly then." He put a talon on her and began inspecting her with the other, measuring her body's length, her snout's width, and depth. All the poking and prodding made Diamond agitated, and she glared at him. "Oh ho! If looks could kill, I'd already be shaking talons with Koidon! Keep your pants on, if you had any to start. You're a bit smaller than the usual customer."

Diamond turned up her nose. "I want something refined and elegant, fit for a proper lady."

He smiled and thumped his chest. "You leave that to Bright Hammer. A fancy weapon for a fancy little lady. Now let's see." He set his hammer down and moved to inspect his collection hung up on the walls. "Something that requires more grace and less brute strength, and looks nice in that pink snout of yours... And is simple to use."

Diamond frowned. "I'm not simple. Don't treat me like an incompetent."

Bright shrugged. "You'll die like one if I give you something that you can't handle." He plucked a choice off the wall and held it out to her. "Here, a kunai. Its elegant in its simplicity, and it has its utility as well."

Diamond peered at the curious looking thing. "It's so small... It's like a strangely-shaped dagger."

Bright plucked a dagger off the wall and offered it. "Do you prefer a dagger? A classic weapon, and great at wedging between plates of armor or thick hide. Easy to conceal and light to carry. It's no brute's weapon."

Diamond looked between the two before her eyes wandered towards a longsword and she pointed. "What about that? It's big and nice-looking."

Bright frowned at it. "A longsword is a powerful weapon, fit for any true warrior, which you are not." He put the two dagger-like weapons aside and picked up the longsword, holding it out to Diamond handle-first. "Go ahead. Prove to me you're worthy of it."

Feeling all the more determined to prove herself, Diamond grabbed the sword in her hooves as she reared up onto her hind legs. Bright looked perplexed. "How are--"

Dark held up a talon to delay the question. "They just do. Accept it."

Diamond Tiara walked over to an obvious practice dummy and looked it over, then her new weapon. "I don't see what the big deal is. It's not that heavy..." She pulled up the blade and brought it down, slicing into the straw.

Bright shook his head. "Your stance is atrocious and your aim's worse. You have some muscles in those noodles you call arms, happy to report, but you're no warrior." He held out a talon. "You'll be better off with a weapon better suited to a novice, and not getting yourself killed."

Reluctantly, Diamond surrendered the blade. "I don't like the idea of having to get that close to something that wants to eat me. That sounds like a stupid idea."

Bright set the blade where it began and plucked a spear off the wall beside it. "Then try this on for size. It's simple, but a practiced user of a spear is no joke on any battlefield. Side benefits include it being cheap, and you can throw them in a pinch."

Diamond accepted the spear and returned to the practice dummy, giving it a few jabs. "It doesn't have the same... heft." She didn't speak it out loud, but she actually enjoyed the pure mass of the longsword. It gave her a sense of power. "It'll do, for now. How much?"

Bright gestured at Dark. "Since she's stuck with you, I'll do her a favor and only charge nine silver. That's less than the standard." He looked to Dark for payment, but she pointed him right along at Diamond.

Diamond fished out a coin. "Throw in a belt it can tie onto and you have a deal."

Bright burst into laughter. "You're in for a long trip, Dark Streak. As for you, little silver-tongued princess, you have a deal."

Author's Note:

Everyone's armed, yay! We're ready for adventure now? Or are there more typos to explore.

Comments

[albedoequals1]

You're too nice sometimes, Dark. It'll get you killed one of these days.

Maybe, but it will probably get you resurrected too; it's a good way to make sure you're missed.

Your fur won't keep the mountain chill off your bones, Ya don't have any supplies, and only one of you has a weapon... that they don't even know how to use.

She hasn't had an accent up to this point, so I assume that's a typo.

We stick together, even if we're being chase by something hideous..

"chased" and "hideous."

We have to be dignified, and ladies of refinement do not fight monsters.

extra space

and one of them doesn't even have the decency to be arms.

armed

DT is pretty inconsistent in her picture of the model mare. She's worried about refinement, but then she likes the longsword.

[albedoequals1]

With regard to Dark Streak burning down her own house...I'm not buying it. She's pretty sharp and doesn't seem like the type to let her emotions put her in a tight spot. There are several alternatives that make more sense. First, and most obviously, she could have sold it. Even if she sold it at a fraction of its value to make sure it sold quickly, that would give her more money for provisions. Second, if she was trying to fake her own death, she shouldn't have talked to the blacksmith afterwards. Aside from that, if the fire spreads to other buildings, people could die, property will be ruined, and she'll have the law after her in earnest.

[harts fire]

can we believe our eyes but id diamond making a friend??

[David Silver]

6174754 A child, being inconsistent on what 'cool' is? Say it ain't so! She liked the feel of the longsword, but that doesn't mean it was the most elegant at all, or refined. She just liked the feel. Not that she's a good enough fighter to understand any of it, or use it properly.

[albedoequals1]

6174859 The spear is a good idea: keep your enemies at a distance. Maybe she can upgrade to a lance in a saddle rack when she gets in better shape.

[howard035]

6174859 Historically, a sword of any kind was the weapon of the upper classes, knights and nobles had swords, because they could afford the metal, ordinary soldiers and fighters had spears or maces, more wood and less metal. I'm sure DT would have taken a gem-encrusted rapier first and foremost if that was an option.

[FanOfMostEverything]

The reality hasn't quite sunk in for Diamond yet. She's thinking more in terms of accessories than armaments. Perhaps she'll get it the first time she needs to defend herself... assuming she keeps her nerve. That remains to seen.

Also, two misforged sentences in need of a few corrective hammer blows:

Your fur won't keep the mountain chill off your bones, Ya don't have any supplies,

Improper capitalization.

You leave that the Bright Hammer.

To.

[David Silver]

6175549 Nothing a little tender time in the smith can't fix!

[Alzrius]

But it better be something regal looking.

Something "regal-looking."

The town smith was a solidly build griffon of the classic type, with a lion lower half and an eagle for the top.

The town smith was a "solidly-built" griffon.

He looked to Dark for payment, but she pointed him right along at Diamond."

Delete that terminal quotation mark.

"Throw in a belt it can tie into and you have a deal."

A belt you can tie it "onto."

As for you, little silver-tongued temptress, you have a deal."

There's no error here per se, but...should that really be "temptress" and not "princess"? The former means that she acts in a sexually-appealing manner, and I really don't think that's what he means.

[David Silver]

6178879 A few more strikes of the hammer to bang away the typos.

[Alzrius]

6178913 Diamond and Silver get another taste of having to rough it, before going to get Diamond outfitted with a weapon. Overall, this was a "gearing-up" chapter, in more than one sense.

One of the highlights of this chapter was seeing Silver Spoon stand up to Diamond Tiara's bossing her around. It's interesting to see exactly when Silver submits to Diamond's authority and when she refuses to do so. So far it seems like she's willing to play second fiddle to her friend when Diamond is trying to actually accomplish something; in that case she'll be, as she put it, Diamond's wingmare. On the other hand, if Diamond is issuing commands purely because she wants Silver Spoon to wait on her and do the things she'd rather not do herself, then Silver Spoon tends to balk. To put it another way, Silver Spoon is a follower, but not a servant.

Insofar as Dark Streak goes, I was a tad amazed that she had enough sentimentality to take care of the pair "because no one else would," though that's still a rather detached way of looking at the situation. It's also a rather odd comparison to make, since most of the other griffons seem to be at least as generous - if not more - than Dark has been. After all, the sheriff was going to hire them (until he went off the deep end), and the innkeeper was willing to let them stay in the common room and even give them beer. So I don't exactly think that the fillies were in danger of being abandoned if Miss "I don't care that my husband was butchered" hadn't stepped up.

Still, I have to admit (even if somewhat begrudgingly) that she did step up, and did so before anyone else, so that's something. Let's hope that she can at least maintain that attitude through what's probably going to be a mountain of complaining about the hardships and discomforts of braving the snowy wilderness. Rather oddly, I suspect that Dark Streak's standoffishness may be the best thing for Diamond and Silver, at least from a practical standpoint. The less they're coddled, the more they'll be forced to grow as quickly as they can if they want to survive, let alone thrive, in this world.

I also found it rather appropriate that Dark set her house on fire. For all her cold practicality, Dark seems to view the world as a place not full of choices to be made, but rather to understand the single and unalterable path the gods have set before her. Having determined that her path is no longer tied to this town, she has no remaining attachments to it, and so doesn't hesitate to make an all-encompassing, clean break from it. Her memories notwithstanding, that's her way of cutting ties and letting the past be the past.

The last sequence, with Diamond trying out weapons, was rather amusing. While I wouldn't go so far to say that it was paradoxical of Diamond to want to be both refined and to have a weapon that showcased power, it was funny trying to watch her reconcile the two. I say that they're not paradoxical because both are different ways of expressing importance - refinement and power, that is - and she desperately wants to be important, due to her daddy issues. That she found a workable compromise in wielding a spear seemed most appropriate; after all, few are the children who even realize what their own issues are.

[David Silver]

6179060 This chapter also went long, boooo! But it was fun to write, and it worked out and our fillies are ready for adventure! Surely nothing can go wrong...

[Spiritus Arcane]

A short spear...appropriate weapon for a little prick like Diamond Tiara.

[Housecarl of Clan Drops]

"She knows how to use her mouth, that's her specialty."

The blacksmith laughed at the jab. "Would that weapons could be powered that way. Come here, little filly. Let me have a look at you."

Ah, he must've not have heard of those swashbuckling fighters back in D&D 3.5, they added all kinds of charisma to damage and such.

[Chrome Masquerade]

"I want something refined and elegant, fit for a proper lady."

He smiled and thumped his chest. "You leave that to Bright Hammer. A fancy weapon for a fancy little lady. Now let's see." He set his hammer down and moved to inspect his collection hung up on the walls. "Something that requires more grace and less brute strength, and looks nice in that pink snout of yours... And is simple to use."

A rapier, perhaps?

"Here, a kunai. Its elegant in its simplicity, and it has its utility as well."

Oh. Well, that works too, i guess?