Tiara in the Rough

by Locomotion

Chapter 4: Making Amends

All in all, Locomotion's day had been fairly pleasant apart from having to deal with Diamond Tiara's insults towards Featherweight, not to mention her lashing out at Silver Spoon. After school was finished, he had gone home for a bite to eat before heading out to Ponyville MPD, where he spent the rest of the afternoon helping to prepare some of the depot's engines for their evening trains. The last job of his brief shift (with all his schoolwork, the longest he could normally manage was four hours a day) was helping his uncle Steamer put “City of Cloudsdale” away for the night after working the Bridleway Limited, and once that was done, the two ponies decided to treat themselves to a meal out.

Their venue that evening was the Fontana di Cristallo, a Bitalian restaurant not too far from Sugarcube Corner. Though Locomotion was an absolute slave to Chineighse and Elephandian food, he was nevertheless fond of a good pasta dish every so often, and enjoyed the atmosphere that the Fontana had to offer – indeed, it was the sort of smart, almost posh environ that made it Silver Spoon's favourite out of all the eateries in Ponyville. Even so, the last thing Locomotion expected when he and Steamer entered the restaurant, given what had transpired earlier, was the grey filly sitting near the window with both her parents.

“Weird,” he murmured to himself. “I didn't think she'd have the strength for a night out after all that.”

“What's that, Loco?” asked his uncle, confused.

Locomotion paused. He didn't want to intrude on Silver Spoon unnecessarily, but the earlier scuffle between her and Diamond Tiara was still bugging him, and part of him wanted so badly to go and ask what she had done to provoke her. After a minute or so, he came to a firm decision – whatever had transpired between those two had obviously left Silver Spoon's feelings very badly hurt, and if she was to get over it, he needed answers.

“Hope you'll excuse me, Uncle Steamer, there's something I need to take care of,” he said, and trotted over to Silver Spoon's table.

The grey filly was in the middle of reading through the menu, so she didn't notice Locomotion approaching until he politely cleared his throat. When at last she did, she wasn't sure whether to feel pleased or disheartened, but tried not to look too uneasy. “Oh, hi, Loco,” she greeted in an absent-minded tone.

“Hey, Silver Spoon,” replied Locomotion. “Evening, Sovereign, Brass Burnish.”

“Good evening, Loco,” said Brass Burnish cheerfully. “Everything going well down at the train sheds?”

“You mean the motive power depot,” chuckled Locomotion. “And yeah, it's all good – engines have been in good repair, trains are running to time, yard pilot's been kept busy and...stuff.”

“That's good to hear.”

Locomotion smiled and nodded. How ironic, he thought, that he was on good terms with Sovereign and Brass Burnish even though he and their daughter had never truly seen eye to eye. But the mirth he felt was swiftly brushed aside as he remembered the real reason he had come to talk to them. “Yeah, anyway,” he went on, “Silver Spoon......uh...you feeling any better after what happened at lunchtime?”

Silver Spoon was secretly a little taken aback. This was the first time Locomotion had ever shown her any genuine concern. “Uh...who wants to know?” was all she could bring herself to say.

“Well...I don't mean to start getting all intrusive or whatever, but that was the first time I'd ever seen Diamond Tiara treat you the way she did,” explained Locomotion gravely. “I can see you might be...like, really upset at losing a friend, but what I can't understand is why would she would lash out at you of all ponies?”

Silver Spoon hung her head gloomily. “You'll only laugh if I tell you,” she muttered.

“I won't if it's serious,” insisted Locomotion. “In fact, if it makes you feel any better, I'll Pinkie Promise not to even smirk.”

“You...huh?” The grey filly gave him an odd look. “Loco, why are you being so...sensitive of my feelings? It's not as if I've done anything to deserve it.”

“Why else?” the young railway enthusiast retorted. “You're having a hard time dealing with...whatever it was that had set Diamond Tiara on an edge – okay, you might not have been one of my favourite ponies in the past,” he added hastily, “but as I see it, any target of Diamond Tiara's is a friend of mine, and there's no way I'm making an exception this time round.”

“You...you really mean it?”

Locomotion nodded firmly. “After seeing how badly she treated you, it'd be stupid not to at least lend a listening ear.”

“Well...okay.” Silver Spoon took a deep breath and began to tell Locomotion the whole story. She told him all about the rumours that had been spreading about her and Diamond Tiara, that she secretly harboured a crush on her just as had been speculated, and how she had let slip of her feelings after they had been berated for tormenting Featherweight.

Needless to say, Locomotion was flabbergasted to know just how close his supposed “exaggeration” had come to the truth, but he couldn't help feeling a little guilty as well. Could it really be that Silver Spoon's feelings were one-sided, he asked himself? Or had Diamond Tiara simply been angered by his harsh words from earlier and ended up talking out of turn without realising it? He wasn't sure, but knowing that selfish prude as he did, it seemed to him that the former was more likely.

“Well that was...unexpected,” he remarked once she had finished.

A small tear welled up in Silver Spoon's eye. “Me being dumped by her was the worst thing I've ever been through,” she sobbed. “That filly meant so much to me, and now I find she doesn't like me back – all because I've let her know I'm a fillyfooler and that I...”

“Silver Spoon, please don't use that word!” interrupted Locomotion, visibly disturbed. “That's the most homophobic term anypony can use for mares like you, and you know I don't approve of that sort of thing.”

“Oh...sorry, Loco,” murmured Silver Spoon meekly. “It's just...I never realised how much it might rub some ponies up the wrong way. I guess it must be because Mom uses it all the time.”

Brass Burnish smiled ruefully as an exasperated sigh escaped the red-furred unicorn's lips. “It's true alright. I know it's a terrible thing to call anypony, and especially my own daughter, but it's become a bit of a habit in mine and Sovereign's case,” she admitted. “That said, we do still try not to use that word in public.”

Locomotion shrugged. “Well, that's alright then...I guess.”

“But yeah, I really wish I could go back and change everything,” finished Silver Spoon sadly. “I'd even change the way Diamond Tiara looks at you guys if I could.”

“What, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Locomotion could hardly believe his ears.

“Yeah...even them,” sniffed Silver Spoon remorsefully. “I never wanted to hurt them – I just didn't feel I had a choice. Either I became a bully or I lost a friend, and I didn't want to lose the only friend I'd ever had.”

Locomotion chuckled wryly and rested a hoof on hers. “Well, that's hardly what I'd call a sensible choice, but it's good to see that you're willing to put all that right,” he said softly. “In fact, I'll gladly give you a shoulder to cry on should you need it – maybe even help you make amends with all my friends if you want.”

Silver Spoon was deeply touched by Locomotion's kind words, and raised a hoof to her heart as she directed him a tearful smile. “Thanks, Loco,” she whispered. “I guess I really needed that.”

“That was really sweet of you to offer,” chimed in Brass Burnish.

“Ah, that's alright,” smiled Locomotion modestly. “Anyway, I'd better leave you to your dinner and get back to mine. See you later, Silver Spoon.”

“So long, Loco,” replied Silver Spoon. “And thanks for helping me earlier.”

“No problem. Hope you enjoy your evening.”

---

Silver Spoon did indeed enjoy her evening, even if not enough to forget all her troubles. After dinner, she and her parents went to see a play based on the life story of Nightingale, a Pegasus princess who, many centuries ago, had forged Equestria's alliance with Saddle Arabia by falling in love with a camel dignitary from that nation. The grey filly had studied that play once before, but she was still intrigued by how well two completely different creatures had managed to make their relationship work, even if it was forbidden in those days. And to think – if Diamond Tiara had been here, she would have readily agreed with the antagonists!

But her contentment couldn't last. It held itself together long enough for her to reach home and get to bed without worrying her parents, but after that it quickly wore off, and within half an hour, she was awake again and sobbing softly into her plush pillows. Perhaps it was lucky for her, then, that the following day was a Saturday, so there would be no school to stress her out even further.

Added to that, Locomotion had remained true to his word and elected to look in on Silver Spoon before going to Ponyville MPD. He knew she had probably had a rough night in spite of being treated to dinner at the Fontana di Cristallo, but it still came as a surprise when she emerged from the house looking rather scruffy. Her mane was in the same old braids she usually sported, but it didn't look all that well brushed, and she still wore the same pair of badly scratched glasses as the previous day.

“Uh...morning, Silver Spoon,” stammered Locomotion, taken aback by her dishevelled appearance. “Feeling better?”

“Well...yes and no,” admitted Silver Spoon uneasily. “I'm kinda glad you actually want to help me and all, but I'm....I still can't seem to get over Diamond Tiara.”

Locomotion was hard-pressed to avoid rolling his eyes dramatically. Surely even Silver Spoon couldn't still be obsessing over that brat after what she had done to her? “Come on, Silver Spoon, you can do better than her,” he soothed. “I mean, if she decides to change her ways like you are now, then fair enough; but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Best thing anypony can do under the circumstances is move on.”

“Maybe,” sighed Silver Spoon, “but I'm still a little...nervous, if I'm honest.”

“Nervous?” Locomotion cocked his head. “What about?”

“You know how I said I wanted to make amends with the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“Yeah?”

“Well...I'm kinda scared they might not want to know,” explained Silver Spoon unhappily. “It's all very well me waltzing in and begging for mercy, but what if they don't forgive me? What's to stop them from kicking me out of the clubhouse the moment I set hoof in there?”

Locomotion couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. “Blimey!” he quipped. “This coming from one of the three fillies who hijacked it back when Babs first visited Ponyville? I'm surprised with you.”

Silver Spoon glared at him. “I thought you were supposed to be helping me, not rubbing it in!” she protested.

“Ah...er, sorry about that, Silver,” grinned Locomotion ruefully. “But seriously, you're getting a bit too worked up too soon. Okay, so you may not exactly be welcome in there, especially after the last time you paid the place a visit,” he went on, “but if I know Dinky, Sweetie-Belle and Tootsie Flute, they'll at least be happy to give you the benefit of the doubt once you've told them about yesterday.”

“And the others?”

“Well...we'll just have to wait and see,” replied Locomotion. “Just as long as you act naturally – in other words, the way you truly are instead of what other ponies expect you to be – you'll at least have a small chance of winning back their respect.”

“If I ever had it to begin with,” murmured Silver Spoon anxiously.

“Well...I could always accompany you up to Sweet Apple Acres if you want. I'm supposed to be firing on the No. 904 Mixed Freight at eleven, but I'm sure I can make it there and back to Ponyville MPD in the time.” Locomotion checked the old Pennsylhaynia Railroad issue pocket-watch he had recently acquired at the Rainbow Falls Traders' Exchange. “Hmm...twenty past nine...yep, plenty of time. So how about it, Silver Spoon?”

“Um...” Silver Spoon pondered for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I could do with the company.”

“Right, well we'd better get our skates on then,” advised Locomotion as they began to make their way across town to the orchard, “or I might find myself messing up the timetable.”

“What, on a freight train?” asked Silver Spoon dubiously.

Locomotion nodded sagely. “It's not just the passenger runs that have to run to a timetable, you know. No matter what kind of train you run, if that one runs late or has to be cancelled or added in at the last minute, then it can disrupt all the others, and it usually takes several minutes – hours, even – before they can all get back to schedule. That's why they book specific intervals into the timetable known as 'paths', so that they've plenty of windows available in which to slot extra workings...”

Silver Spoon couldn't help but smile faintly as she listened to the red-furred unicorn's enthusiastic talk on railway operations. Never before had she given him a chance to impart his encyclopaedic knowledge of trains and railways upon her – but now that she had, the grey-furred filly found herself marvelling at the proverbial library through which she was being guided. Perhaps there was something to be said for “puffer-nutters” after all.