The Album

by Peregrine Caged

Silver Spoon -- Comfort and Compulsion

Written by: Ariamaki
Rated Everyone

Something about her really loved winter, despite all the other parts protesting. Sure, it was disorderly and wet and improbably cold, especially through her thin coat. Yes, it was far too bright and when it came to waiting for Spring to come again, it felt like it went on forever (yet at the same time it was almost a bit too fast). But... It was beautiful. Cold, painful, disorderly, a little bright, far too fast, and stunningly beautiful? Well, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say it reminded Silver Spoon of somepony close to her. But that was besides the point...

It was morning. Not just any morning, nono, but the Sunday morning before the first day of Winter Break. And that meant she had a trip to go on, and for the very first time, she was going alone. Her parents weren’t just too busy (although unsurprisingly, they were also that), they had intentionally let her go on her own, leaving behind a bit of money and an uncharacteristically charming note. That was last night, and she already had everything packed and ready. Not even one of the (friendly, helpful, parental) housekeepers or maids would be going with her on the trip. She packed light, barely even needing saddlebags instead of her lighter purse.

Winter was cold, yes. And that was a problem about nine times out of ten. But the big thing, the most important thing to her? Winter was time to get a new wardrobe.

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With enough bits to slow her down as she trotted, Silver Spoon had her pick of nearly any clothing store she could want. Hay, her parents had even offered to take her up to Canterlot for a weekend so she could shop somewhere more exclusive. But despite herself, she liked Ponyville, and especially the shops. Small, comfortable, warm against the winter chill, homey and well-kept. And even here, she could have gone to a true boutique, but... Her reputation with the owner was not the best, given how often she tended to clash with a certain filly in her class. So instead, she found her way down the village’s main street, all the way to her favorite clothing store...

And her favorite eatery. It wasn’t that they were next door to one another. It’s just that ever since this businesspony named Davenport started setting up shop, a trend had spread through Ponyville of stores selling two completely unrelated things. Some of the older establishments, like Sugarcube Corner and the Carousel Boutique, remained unchanged due to their sheer quality and brand loyalty. But this place was firmly in the new school. For what felt like the hundredth time, she looked up at the beautiful sign: A lovely pair of socks, an unadorned plus sign, and a huge glass with a thick straw. Here she was...

Ponyville Fittings and Frappes

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The bell over the door jingled and jangled as she hoofed her way inside, shaking off the cold and looking around. A pony was getting a take-out order at the moment, and she decided to relax and just watch the frozen hot-chocolate cubes drop into the blender with the espresso. There was nothing quite like a good frappe in her eyes, and she was certainly getting one on the way out... If not while she tried on her clothes.

Speaking of which, that would require her to actually get to work with the whole “trying on clothes” bit, which meant she had to get through the “finding clothes to try on” process. So she began to move around the store, eyeing the racks. A real boutique was known for everything being 100% perfect fit-to-order, usually made from scratch based on the outfits on the racks. This store, however, followed the more metro style of having entire racks of pre-fitted clothes in sizes for everypony. And to be totally honest? Silver Spoon actually liked this more. Something about another pony’s hooves all over her was a bit nerve-wracking, especially on her bad days.

Here and now, she didn’t have to worry about that: She could just casually pick up a pair of lacy panties here, a nice skirt there, and then head off to a changing room to try on her new ensembles.

She strode through the aisles with a happy little hum on her lips, occasionally stopping to rearrange the contents of a shelf or straighten out the hangings on a rack. It made the rest of the general chaos of being out during the day a bit easier to handle, and she rarely got to indulge the need when her parents or caretakers were with her... They kept insisting it “wasn’t right” for somepony like her to be doing the employees’ jobs for them. And as much as Silver tried to explain, they never quite listened. So she took the chance while she had it, adding a bit more order to the world (and, coincidentally, picking out the components to a few outfits as she went).

Finally satisfied, she had made a perfect figure-eight loop of the store, passing through the dense fabric-y heart of it twice to make extra-sure she had gotten everything for her first run of the shop. And, thanks to a bit of careful planning, her circuit ended right in front of the changing rooms.

And now for the hard part...

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It took a few minutes to get calm and focused once she was inside the fitting room. Fitting rooms were the one flaw of the shop, and the one she couldn’t ever avoid... These tiny cramped disorganized spaces, with their slightly-sterile scent and the always-crooked mirrors. Silver Spoon did her best to make it a little more reasonable, to find a good way to ignore the flaws and just get on with trying her clothes out, or she’d be here all day. Not that it had ever happened like that before, repeatedly, or anything of the sort. Of course not.

Thankfully, she had a spicy apple frappe to help her through the process-- just because it was an iced drink in winter didn’t mean it couldn’t make her feel warm. A thoughtful sip here and there distracted her and eventually, she was ready. Another snatch of some nonsense humming passed her lips as she got to work... Or not. No, no no no no... She looked at the lovely little winter dress she had picked out, snug and cottony and perfect, and then looked again at the fastenings. There was... absolutely no way she could put it on by herself.

For a second, she felt the thin veneer of calm and control start to snap a little, but she pushed those thoughts away... And the dress as well. No sense in causing a problem she didn’t have to. It was easier to just forget about the beautiful curves and the soft colors and how nicely it would have set off her eyes...

This time, her resolve crumbled before her need for order and structure, and she sighed with defeat before calling out across the divider to ask somepony for assistance.

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It hadn’t been easy, but she had managed to keep everything in check until after she left the store. Her saddlebag was far lighter in bits (she had given a generous tip to the mare who helped her with the more complex pieces, to make up for her nervousness and even outright anger) but replaced with more than enough clothes to make up for it. She closed her eyes on the walk home, once more singing to herself. Nothing special, nothing specific. Just letting her voice carry a bit, relaxing her and drowning out the clamor of the outside.

And tonight she’d be able to sit down and have a wonderful dinner, even if it was alone. She was smiling when she got to the house, but she stopped cold in her tracks when the door opened.

“Welcome back honey! We just got in ourselves... Come on, let’s get inside and you can show your mother and I what you got over dinner!”

Silver Spoon sniffed a bit, most definitely did not cry a little, and bounced into the house, happily shutting the door behind her as she settled back into the comfortable part of her life.

Comments

[Geoduck]

Ooh, this is interesting. There's quite a bit under the surface that's only being hinted at. I like that.

[Chengar Qordath]

I quite like it. Silver Spoon getting some depth beyond being Diamond Tiara's lackey is always nice.

[ScootaLewis]

I like Silver Spoon. She's trying to be independent without alienating her family. She's doing the little things that others don't. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance she'd give back money if she was given more than she was owed.

[shutaro]

"Fittings and Frappes". And people wonder why I shy away from most things fashion. That's just crazy.

[Psykosis]

Silver Spoon is a criminally underused character. This was a nice little story, and I would really like to see more of her.

[pononymous]

Just came from the blog post and I'm very glad I did. This was excellently written in order to give just enough of a hint to pass along the background details without resorting to the amateurish "She liked making things neat and tidy, almost like she had OCD, and she didn't want to have others help her with clothes, but this dress was really pretty. She was also kind of generous, even though you wouldn't expect that of her because of her friend. Etc. etc." I greatly dislike it when authors feel the need to tell you what's happening/what characters are feeling instead of showing what's happening.

That is why this is a masterpiece. Though I prefer Silverbelle shipping...Probably because of The Serenade of Silver Belles. And Diamond Tiara's attitude.

[Trinary]

I like Silver Spoon so I really enjoyed this. I like the idea that without Diamond Tiara she's more managable and even likes the shops around Ponyville instead of being a super snob. I thought her nervousness about being touched and fitted was an interesting character development. Although...I must watch too much Law & Order: SVU because I kinda got a bad vibe from that. That's usually a bad sign of abuse or something.

[Ariamaki]

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Glad that I produced something solid for you all! :D
1556144
Quills and Sofas. I rest my case. :V
1556382
Ding ding ding, we have a winner as far as noticing Spoony's particular issues. Silverbelle is interesting stuff, but I love the unrequited Spoon-Tiara crush.
1557043
See Pononymous' comment in re: the abuse. It's more of a personal issue, as opposed to her family.

[kiwiman40]

1556382

media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7onfd7sfz1r4j812.gif
Pretty much EVERTHING this guy just said. Even the Serenade part, that fic is only getting better.

[Comma-Kazie]

Oh, I really like this. Her compulsions are there, but so subtle that you'll miss them the first time around.

[Archlyn]

Nice read. Still don't like her, but even that is intended as a compliment because you did such a good job capturing her personality and making the details believable.

[Diamond Sparkle]

I like the Silver Spoon in this story too.

[Miki]

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Unless you have similar compulsions. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Twilight_Sparkle_lolface.png

[Evil Paladin]

I like it when Silver Spoon gets some character exploration.
Poor Silver Spoon shows some hints of being a decent person but its often overshadowed by her association with Diamond Tiara.