Day Three - Revelations, and New Bonds
Diamond Tiara’s eye twitched as she tried to take make sense of the scene that unfolded before her. It was early in the morning, long before when most foals usually get up. She made sure her alarm would wake her up at this time so that Silver Spoons could brush her hair, before anypony else noticed her bed mane.
So why, she wondered to herself, was Sweetie Belle already awake at such an hour? And why, was she running a brush through Silver Spoon’s mane, humming some happy tune and wearing a big, goofy smile on her face as she did so?
Silver Spoon, for her part, looked like she was in pain, but at the same time was clearly trying to hide it. Of course, if Sweetie Belle had been paying any attention, she would have noticed that Silver Spoon was, in fact, cringing with every stroke of the brush, and that there were a few tears starting to form in her eyes.
Diamond Tiara examined Sweetie Belle’s brushing technique, and it hardly took a professional manedresser to see that the filly’s brushing was way too rough. She practically slammed the brush into Silver Spoon mane, and combed it through so hard so, every now and then, a few strands of hair were actually coming out.
So why was Silver Spoon silently taking such obviously brutal punishment? ‘And why so early in the morning?!’
“Hey,” Diamond Tiara called out, obviously taking the two fillies by surprise as they jumped and spun around quickly at the sound of her voice. “What are you two doing?”
Sweetie Belle calmed herself down, and picked up the brush that she had just dropped. “Um, well,” she started, shifting her glance between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon nervously, “I kinda woke up early this morning, for some reason, and since Silver Spoon was already awake, I thought we could… Brush each others’ manes?”
Diamond Tiara turned her gaze to Silver Spoon, who confirmed Sweetie Belle’s story with a nod. “I woke up early, too. I was going to wake you, but Sweetie Belle was already up, so…”
Diamond Tiara groaned, and walked over to where the two were sitting. “Well, whatever. Silver, if you’re done, perhaps you could tend to my mane?”
“But, I’m not finished yet,” Sweetie Belle said, feeling a little downcast.
“It’s fine,” Silver Spoon said. “You’ve done plenty. Really, it looks… Great.”
Sweetie Belle’s spirits lifted a bit from the compliment. She watched as Diamond Tiara searched her bag for her mane brush. “Hey, maybe I could brush your mane,” she suggested, to which the two rich fillies immediately flinched.
“N-No way!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “Silver’s the only filly I trust with my mane! I certainly wouldn’t leave it to a blank flank like you!”
Sweetie Belle turned her attention to the floor, looking rather annoyed by Diamond Tiara’s response. “You don’t have to be like that. I was just offering to help…” she mumbled.
“Yeah? Well, don’t,” Diamond Tiara said, handing her mane brush to Silver Spoon and turning around so that her friend could begin. “And if you tell anypony about my mane, I’ll…”
“Your mane?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What about it?”
“… Never mind,” Diamond Tiara grumbled.
Silver Spoon sighed, and mouthed an apology to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle harrumphed, and marched back over to her sleeping bag, lying down and trying to earn some more rest before they would have to get up.
On the other side of the tent, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were silently complaining to each other that their ‘Plan A’ had failed.
“Why did she have to get up so early?” Scootaloo asked, glaring at Diamond Tiara in the corners of her eyes.
“Well, it’s still only mornin’. We’ve still got more chances,” Apple Bloom said. “Next time, we’ll have tah try an’ keep DT occupied.”
“So Cutie Mark Crusader Matchmakers is still a-go?”
“Well, duh.” The two bumped their forehooves together, and continued pretending to be asleep.
After yesterday’s incident in the bathing area, Cheerilee was a little wary about letting group five bathe together again, and considered letting the crusaders bathe separately from the rich fillies. Unfortunately, time constraints wouldn’t allow it, and she had to take her chances with letting the five bathe as a group.
She made sure to tell Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle, the two who seemed to actually be making an effort to keep things peaceful, to tell her immediately if the others began fighting. They reluctantly agreed.
“Just so you know,” Scootaloo said as she began to get into the tub, “I really can’t control my wings that well, so if they splash you, it isn’t intentional.”
Diamond Tiara shot her an annoyed look as she got into the tub from the other end. “Maybe we should just tie them down.”
Scootaloo glared at her, but didn’t have time to respond before Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon entered the tub in-between them. “How about if we just sit in the middle?” Sweetie Belle said. “That way, you won’t get splashed by Scootaloo’s wi-AH!” Sweetie Belle was cut off by a sudden splash of water hitting her in the face.
“S-Sorry,” Scootaloo said, looking embarrassed as her wing continued flapping softly.
“See? It’s annoying, isn’t it?” Diamond Tiara asked, doing her best to stay as far away from the Pegasus as possible.
“I-It isn’t so bad,” Sweetie Belle said, before receiving another splash from Scootaloo. “… I-It’s kind of like a bath and a shower mixed together, right?”
Silver Spoon giggled at Sweetie Belle, who was now staring cautiously at Scootaloo’s wings. Apple Bloom, sitting on the other side of Scootaloo, was receiving the same splash treatment as Sweetie Belle.
“Well, ah certainly don’t mind,” Apple Bloom said. “Me an’ Applejack used tah splash each other all the time when we took baths together, so it’s nothin’ new tah me.”
“So childish,” Diamond Tiara said.
“Diamond-” Silver Spoon started, but was cut off by Diamond Tiara.
“I know, I know. No fighting until we get back to Ponyville.”
Diamond Tiara huffed, and turned her back to the rest of the group, resting her head on the side of the tub. Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon started to discuss what they were looking forward to today, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo put their plan into motion, dispensing with idle chit-chat so that they could wash themselves off quickly.
“Welp, we’re done,” Apple Bloom said, jumping out of the bathtub and stretching her hooves. Scootaloo followed her, and the two began to dry themselves off.
“Already?” Sweetie Belle asked. “That was fast.”
Scootaloo wrapped her towel around her neck and prepared to leave. “Yeah, well, don’t worry about finishing quickly for our sakes,” she said. “You two just take your time.”
“You mean three,” Diamond Tiara said, turning around to give Scootaloo a strange look. “You should at least be able to count that high.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exchanged grins, and approached Diamond Tiara. “Well, it looks like you’re done already, too,” Apple Bloom said, examining Diamond Tiara, and getting a little too close for the pink filly’s liking.
“What are you talking about?” Diamond Tiara asked, pushing the farm filly away, but then finding her left foreleg being pulled by Scootaloo. “What are you doing? I’m not even close to being finished yet!”
“‘Course ya are!” Apple Bloom said, joining Scootaloo in trying to pull Diamond Tiara out of the tub.
“What is wrong with you two?!”
Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle watched with equally confused looks on their faces, both concerned about a possible fight erupting between the three fillies, but also amused at the little tug-of-war game they had going on. Silver Spoon suggested they move back when she noticed the veins popping on Diamond Tiara’s forehead, and Sweetie Belle followed her advice.
“ARGH!” Diamond Tiara pulled back as hard as she could, lifting the two fillies up and pulling them into the tub, splashing most of the water in it everywhere. “I’ll be done when I say so!”
“Girls!” Cheerilee shouted from outside. “Is there a problem in there?”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo quickly scrambled out of the tub, and began drying themselves off again. “N-No! No trouble at all, Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom said, hoping that their teacher wouldn’t come in.
“… Well, okay. Just try to keep it down, alright?”
The five fillies were shocked that their teacher let it go, just like that. She hadn’t come in to see for herself what was wrong? And more so than that, she actually believed them, without any more questions?
“We will,” Sweetie Belle answered as she applied some shampoo to Silver Spoon’s mane.
“Hey! What’re you-”
“Stop squirming!” Silver Spoon immediately stopped flailing about as soon as a little shampoo got into her eyes, but still questioned what the Unicorn filly was doing. Instead of giving an answer, Sweetie Belle just continued rubbing the shampoo into Silver Spoon’s mane.
‘Well, at least she’s not as rough as she was with her brushing,’ Silver Spoon thought to herself. A shiver passed through her body, and she turned to see Diamond Tiara glaring at the two of them. She gave a simple shrug, to show she had no idea what was going on either, and sighed when Diamond Tiara turned her back to her.
The first activity that day was cooking. On the way to the cooking class, Diamond Tiara pulled Apple Bloom and Scootaloo aside to talk to them about their strange behaviour. Or as she considered it, ‘stranger than usual’ behaviour.
“What in Equestria is wrong with you two today?” she asked them once they were far enough away from Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle. You two were acting like complete morons in there. You usually just act like idiots. So what’s the deal?”
Scootaloo frowned at Diamond Tiara’s thinly veiled attempts at insulting them, but managed not to get dragged into a fight with the pink filly.
“We were trying tah get them alone together,” Apple Bloom explained, pointing to the other two fillies in their group. “Y’know, like we discussed yesterday?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Obviously we couldn’t just tell you in front of them, or else it would have been pointless.”
“And you thought that was important enough to interrupt my bathing? Or to cut your own short? I don’t think you even used shampoo,” Diamond Tiara added with a disgusted look on her face.
“It’s not that big a deal,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Big deal if ah miss one day of bathing.”
“It is a big deal!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “You’re a filly for pony’s sake! Don’t you have any pride in your appearance?”
“Y’know we’re just gonna get dirty again from today’s activities, don’t you?” Scootaloo pointed out, rendering Diamond Tiara mute. “Anyway, we’ve got a plan for the next activity. Try not to mess it up this time, okay?”
Diamond Tiara scoffed. “Well maybe if I knew what it was…” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, and whispered into Diamond Tiara’s ear. “… That’s your big plan?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with it?” Apple Bloom asked, feeling slightly insulted. She spent thirty minutes it up, and she thought it was pretty good!
“Well, this is only to give them a nudge, before we start our actual plan,” Scootaloo said, before letting out a quick laugh. “And even if it doesn’t, it should be good for a laugh, at least.”
Apple Bloom, also laughing alongside her friend, gave Scootaloo a quick nudge. Diamond Tiara wondered what they meant, but decided not to question it. If it was these two, she felt she’d be better off not knowing.
“Okay class!” Derpy shouted enthusiastically as soon as the three groups doing the cooking class that morning had assembled. “Today, we’re going to be baking… MUFFINS!”
A small pair of hooves clapping and a low cheer were heard amongst the gathered students, all coming from one small grey Unicorn filly, whilst the rest of the students remained quiet.
“Making muffins is easy! Just follow the instructions, and you’ll do fine.” She shot a reassuring smile towards the students. “But, if you do experience any trouble, don’t hesitate to ask. It is my special talent after all,” she said with an air of pride as she puffed out her chest.
“Aren’t those bubbles on her flank?” Silver Spoon whispered to Diamond Tiara, who nodded in response. “I thought so.”
“On your marks, get set… GO!”
Everypony began baking their own muffins, using the ingredients provided, and assisting each other whenever necessary. Things went smoothly for approximately a full minute, before a scream from Sweetie Belle directed everypony’s attention to a fire coming out of one of the ovens.
“Everypony stay calm!” Derpy shouted as she donned a fire brigade hat, and hovered over to the fire with a fire extinguisher. She managed to put it out quickly enough, and assured everypony that there was no reason to panic.
“I’m so sorry!” Sweetie Belle said as soon as things had calmed down.
“It’s fine,” Derpy said. “It happens to everypony. Don’t worry about it.”
“No it doesn’t!” Diamond Tiara whispered to Silver Spoon. “We’re not even using the ovens yet! How did she set one on fire?!”
Silver Spoon looked over at Sweetie Belle’s ingredients, and noted that she hadn’t even opened them up yet. “… Hey, Sweetie Belle?” she called out, getting the Unicorn’s attention. “Maybe you shouldn’t jump ahead? The instructions are kind of there to be followed…”
Sweetie Belle blushed, and cast an annoyed look down at her instructions. “I wanted to do the fun stuff first, and save the boring parts for later…”
“It doesn’t quite work that way. You can’t just skip steps because they’re not as fun. You’ll never find your special talent that way.”
“Are you saying I’m gonna be a blank flank forever?!”
“Well, I didn’t say that, but if you continue approaching things that way…”
“Girls,” Apple Bloom cut in, earning a sharp glare from the two arguing fillies. “We don’t have much time. Don’t you want to get these muffins baked before we run out of time?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, her face covered in flour, and two eggs balanced on top of her nose. She pulled her head back quickly, and allowed the two eggs to fall onto the side of the bowel. They cracked open, and the shells fell outside, whilst the yolks fell inside. “You don’t finish ‘em in time, you gotta wait ‘til lunch before you can eat anything.”
“Whoa!” Sweetie Belle said as she admired Scootaloo’s egg-balancing abilities. “That’s so cool! I wonder if…” Sweetie Belle pointed her nose up, and tried to balance an egg on it. It didn’t take long, about five seconds at most, before she lost her balance, and the egg fell down to the floor. “Awww…”
“Pfft! Don’t feel so down! It takes years of practise to do something like that.”
“On the other hoof, it’s a completely useless skill,” Diamond Tiara said as she cracked an egg against the side of her bowel. “So you don’t really accomplish anything from being able to do it.”
“You’re just sayin’ that ‘cause you can’t do it!” Scootaloo challenged, now balancing three eggs on her nose.
“I don’t want to do it. I have more class than that!”
“If that’s what class is, then I don’t want it! Sounds boring.”
“You know-”
“AAH!”
Everypony turned to Sweetie Belle again, who, at some point, had acquired an automatic whisk, and had set the power too high. She was now covered in the muffin mixture, and the two rich fillies quickly backed away, to avoid getting splashed themselves.
“Turn it off!” Silver Spoon shouted.
“S-Sorry!” Sweetie Belle apologised, fumbling with the appliance in her hooves before finally managing to turn it off. Derpy Hooves came over and took the whisk Sweetie Belle. “Sorry…”
“It’s okay!” she said, liking some of the mixture from the whisk. “For now, why don’t we stick to manual mixing?”
“Okay…”
Silver Spoon couldn’t help but wonder where she got the automatic whisk from, considering none had been laid out for them to use. She shrugged it off, and got back to her own mixture, keeping a close eye on the chaotic filly to make sure she didn’t make any more messes.
Silver Spoon opened her oven to check on how her muffins were doing. There was pleasant smell coming from within, but she felt that they weren’t quite finished just yet. She decided to close the oven door and wait for an extra five minutes. Surely just five more minutes couldn’t hurt, right?
“Um, excuse me.” Silver Spoon turned to Diamond Tiara, and saw a yellow Pegasus filly with a purple mane approaching. Her Cutie Mark was a single white feather. Silver Spoon recognised her as Alula, a pony in their class who once gave Diamond Tiara a card on Hearts and Hooves Day. “I, um, was wondering… If you would like a m-muffin?” she asked shyly, blushing as her eyes shifted all around the room.
Diamond Tiara, who was also blushing but trying to remain composed, looked at the tray of muffins extended to her, and then at the nervous Pegasus filly, who was doing her best to look anywhere but at Diamond Tiara.
“Um… Thanks,” Diamond Tiara said, taking one of the muffins in her hoof, and then dropping it almost immediately. “YOWCH!” she shouted, shaking her hoof and blowing on it.
“Ah, sorry!” Alula immediately apologised. “I only just took them out of the oven, so they haven’t had time to cool yet!”
“In that case, you should have warned me!” Diamond Tiara scolded, her eyes watering as she ran her hoof under a nearby cold water tap. “Or better yet, give them some time to cool off before handing them out!”
Alula’s eyes began to tear up, and she placed the tray on Diamond Tiara’s bench. “I-I’m sorry,” she said, before turning around and running away. Diamond Tiara reached forward and opened her mouth to speak, but the Pegasus filly was already gone.
“That was a lil’ mean, Diamond,” Apple Bloom said, glaring at Diamond Tiara. “It was only an accident.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed. “She was trying to be nice, y’know?”
Diamond Tiara harrumphed, and got back to her own muffins. “I never asked her to be nice, did I?”
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and sighed. “That’s what she says,” Silver Spoon whispered to Sweetie Belle, “But later, she’s going to be beating herself up over it.”
Sweetie Belle giggled, despite feeling sorry for poor Alula. “I just hope Alula will be okay.”
“It’s not the first time Diamond has yelled at her,” Silver Spoon replied. “Last Hearts and Hooves Day, Alula gave Diamond a card. Diamond wasn’t expecting it, and didn’t know how to respond to it… So she resorted to her default.”
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “Her ‘default’?”
Silver Spoon sighed, and placed a forehoof to her head. “If she doesn’t know how to handle a problem, she simply makes it go away… Aggressively.”
Sweetie Belle glanced over at Diamond Tiara, who was receiving a stern lecture from Derpy (though it seemed Derpy was more mad about the dropped muffin, than Diamond Tiara yelling at Alula), and then back at Silver Spoon. “But, she still tried to get close to her, even after that first incident, right?”
Silver Spoon smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Who knows? Maybe one day, she’ll break through Diamond Tiara’s tough exterior, just like I did.” Silver Spoon frowned for a second, shifting her gaze over to Diamond Tiara.
Sweetie Belle playfully nudged Silver Spoon’s side. “Hey, is it me, or did that sound like jealousy?”
Silver Spoon turned to Sweetie Belle and was about to protest, but couldn’t say anything to the smirking filly. After all, she was right. Despite all those years that Silver Spoon had wanted Diamond Tiara to get along with other ponies, at the same time, Silver Spoon’s relationship with Diamond Tiara had grown into something special.
They were BFFs. They did everything together, kept no secrets, always had each other’s backs, and had agreed to be each other’s bride’s maids when the time came that they would get married.
Now, she felt like her position was being threatened. If another pony could actually break through Diamond Tiara’s tough outer shell, and become friends with her, where would that leave Silver Spoon? Would she and Diamond Tiara still be BFFs? Would Diamond Tiara start spending less time with her, for the sake of another pony?
All of this was starting to make Silver Spoon feel depressed, before she realised how ridiculous it was. Even after finding out that her friend was hanging out with Sweetie Belle, one of the ‘enemies’, Diamond Tiara still accepted her, and assured her that she would always be her friend, no matter what. Surely this new filly, Alula, wouldn’t cause any threats to their friendship, right? ‘Right,’ Silver Spoon assured herself.
Silver Spoon looked up at the clock, and gasped when saw that ten minutes had passed since she had last checked on her muffins. She opened her oven up, and frowned at the sight of blackened muffins before her. They still smelled somewhat pleasant, but there were far too burnt to be eaten now.
Silver Spoon heard giggling from the opposite side of the bench, and looked up to see Apple Bloom and Scootaloo giggling to each other. She assumed that they were giggling because of her little cooking mishap, and shot them a harsh glare.
“Hey, Silver Spoon?” Sweetie Belle asked, breaking Silver Spoon’s glare and turning the grey filly’s attention towards her. “I’ve finished my muffins, and was wondering if you’d like the first one?” Sweetie Belle blushed, and shuffled her hooves on the floor. “A-As a thanks, for helping me so much yesterday.”
Silver Spoon also blushed, and realised now that this is what the two were giggling about. “I-I don’t mind,” she said. “But, what about your friends? They helped, too. Shouldn’t they get first picks?”
“We’re friends too, y’know,” Sweetie Belle said, narrowing her eyes at Silver Spoon, who simply nodded in response. “And, they actually said… Well, more like insisted, that you go first.”
Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. “Why?” she asked, but simply received a shrug from Sweetie Belle. “Well, whatever. It’s their loss.”
Sweetie Belle smiled, and held out a tray of… Something, towards Silver Spoon. “Careful, they’re hot,” she warned, earning a sharp glare from Diamond Tiara, before the pink filly stared at the tray as if she had never seen muffins before.
Though what was one Sweetie Belle’s tray could hardly be called muffins… ‘W-What am I looking at?’ Silver Spoon thought to herself. ‘Is that even food? They’re not shaped like muffins at all… They’re not just burned, it looks more like charcoal mixed with more charcoal-Did it just bubble?!’
“Well?” Sweetie Belle asked innocently, tilting her head to the side.
Silver Spoon looked up at Sweetie Belle’s face, and saw the look of concern planted on it. She heard more giggling to her side, and grit her teeth together as she stared at the ‘muffins’. ‘Oh, I am so going get them back for this…’ Swallowing hard, Silver Spoon reached for the smallest pile of burnt, bubbly, whatever it was that she could find. It didn’t crumble in her hooves like she was expecting… Instead, it felt more runny. ‘Is this a non-Newtonian fluid?’
She brought the thing to her mouth, and hesitated slightly. She looked over at Sweetie Belle, who looked nervous, and then shoved the whole thing into her mouth.
‘Oh sweet, merciful Celestia. Please end me now.’
Silver Spoon chewed the runny, gooey substance in her mouth slowly, doing everything in her power not to gag on the stuff, and tears started to well from her eyes. She swallowed as quickly as she could, and then began panting for air, shivering at the horrible aftertaste left on her tongue.
“Well?” Sweetie Belle asked. Silver Spoon looked up to see her smiling. Smiling, after feeding her that! Silver Spoon considered the possibility that Sweetie Belle was actually a secret agent, who specialised in poison cooking, and used her charm to ensnare her victims and make them spill their guts, before killing them.
“I-It was good,” Silver Spoon said. It wasn’t what she wanted to say, but Sweetie Belle was obviously proud of the spawn of Tartarus that she had created, and Silver Spoons couldn’t bring herself to scold her the way Diamond Tiara had scolded Alula earlier. She didn’t want to see Sweetie Belle crying. For some reason, the thought of such a thing made her feel sick (or maybe that was just whatever she had just eaten).
“It was?” Sweetie Belle, her smile growing wider. “I’m so glad! Would you like another one?”
Silver Spoon immediately took a step back when Sweetie Belle pushed the tray forward again, and quickly shook her head. “N-No!” she shouted, causing Sweetie Belle to frown. “Uh, no… I couldn’t. Not until your other friends have some, too.” She turned to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, sending a demonic grin their way. ‘If I’m going down, I’m taking you two with me.’
“Oh, we can’t,” Apple Bloom said, sending a grin back at Silver Spoon. “We’re actually allergic to muffins.”
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “Oh, please,” she said.
“Oh, no!” Sweetie Belle said, surprising Silver Spoon. Was she actually buying this? “I’m so sorry! I almost got you two killed!”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo waved their hooves. “Nah, it’s fine,” Scootaloo said. “We’re just sorry we can’t enjoy your tasty cooking.” She sent a wink towards Silver Spoon, who was starting back in complete disbelief.
“I can’t believe it!” Sweetie Belle said, stomping the floor in anger. “Why is it that everything I try and bake for you, you’re allergic to?”
Silver Spoon slammed a forehoof to her face. ‘She can’t be for real,’ Silver Spoon said to herself.
“How about you, Diamond Tiara?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking over at the pink filly behind Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara jumped immediately upon hearing her name being mention, and turned to face the tray of ‘muffins’ being offered to her. She looked over at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo grinning at her, and grumbled. “… I-I’d love to,” she said, keeping their ‘non-hostility truce’ in mind. “But, uh… I was thinking I should… Go and find Alula!” She opened up her oven, and pulled out her own tray of muffins, which didn’t look quite ready yet. “She looked really sad. I thought I should and apologise to her… Maybe share my muffins with her.”
“Surely you can have at least one muffin before ya go?” Apple Bloom asked with a snicker.
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “I, uh, really shouldn’t. I ate too many sweets last night, and… O-Ooh, my stomach feels really bad.”
Silver Spoon couldn’t believe this. She mouthed “traitor” to her friend, to which her Diamond Tiara mouthed back “every filly for herself”.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Diamond Tiara,” Sweetie Belle said. “I hope you feel better soon.”
Diamond Tiara laughed nervously, and then taking her tray of muffins and rushing outside, after asking Derpy where Alula was so that she could apologise.
“Well then,” Sweetie Belle started, “I guess it’s just you and me eating these, Silver.”
Silver Spoon nodded, blushing at Sweetie Belle’s use of only her first name. Sweetie Belle walked over to a sink to wash her hooves, and Scootaloo leaned over to whisper into Silver Spoon’s ear: “Hey, if she eats those, she’s gonna realise how bad her cooking is… And that you weren’t honest with her.”
Silver Spoon’s eyes widened in shock, and Scootaloo pulled back just in time before Sweetie Belle returned. Sweetie Belle licked her lips as she looked over her own tray of muffins, and Silver Spoon started shaking as she looked over at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who had somehow acquired bags of popcorn, and were watching the scene with great amusement.
‘Forget simply getting them back. I am going to haunt them from beyond the grave for this!’
Sweetie Belle seemed to have settled on a muffin, and reached out for it. However, before she could grab it, Silver Spoon quickly grabbed the entire tray, and tilted it so that each of the muffins fell into her mouth.
A tear rolled down Silver Spoon’s face, and for a moment, the grey filly could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a white-coated, red-maned Alicorn smiling down at her, extending a hoof and telling her that her soul was now at rest.
Silver Spoon chewed what was in her mouth, her entire body shuddering whenever her tongue came into contact with the horrible substance, and she swallowed the entire thing in one go.
The three crusaders stared at her in shock, their mouths all agape. Finally, Scootaloo broke the silence. “Heh, you must’ve been pretty hungry, huh?”
Apple Bloom walked around the bench, and patter Sweetie Belle on the back. “Good work there, Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom said. “Ma sis always says the way to a colt’s heart is through his stomach!”
Sweetie Belle looked at her confusedly. “Silver’s not a colt,” she pointed out.
“Same principal,” Apple Bloom countered. “Just keep bakin’ her these here delicious treats, an’ soon, she’ll be all over you!”
Sweetie Belle blushed fiercely, and turned her head away. “I told you, it isn’t like that!” She tapped her forehooves together, and smiled as she looked over at Silver Spoon out of the corner of her eye. ‘But… I’m glad she liked my cooking so much…’
Silver Spoon was struggling to keep her balance. She reached for the bench with a forehoof, and had to force herself to stay standing. She let out a few groans, and felt her breakfast starting to force its way up her throat. She felt something press against her head, and looked up to see Scootaloo offering her a bottle of water.
“Nice work there, SS,” she said. Silver Spoon took the bottle with no objections, but grumbled something about Scootaloo’s nickname for her. “Protecting Sweetie Belle’s feelings like that, at your own expense? I never took you for a ‘knight in shining armour’ filly.”
Silver Spoon scoffed down the entire water bottle as quickly as she could, and let out a relieved sigh as the unpleasant taste in her mouth disappeared.
“When we get back to Ponyville, you’d better be on your guard,” she warned, to which Scootaloo simply nodded and looked un-amused. Seeing this, Silver Spoon leaned closer, and shot the most menacing look the Pegasus had ever seen her way. “I mean it. Watch. Your. BACK.”
Scootaloo actually looked nervous this time, and gulped as she nodded once again, this time being a little more sincere.
“Okay class!” Derpy shouted excitedly, holding a mountain of muffins in her hooves as she hovered in the centre of the room. “Time to move on to your next activity now!”
The next activity for the entire class was the same as the first activity from yesterday; the class was split into groups of Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns.
Scootaloo was excited to have this chance to develop her flying, especially after she remembered how she (somewhat) managed to fly for a little bit yesterday, but when she and the rest of her group met up again, the look on her face and the tone of her voice suggested that she hadn’t had much luck.
Sweetie Belle was a little more excited when she returned, happily declaring that her accomplishment from yesterday wasn’t just a fluke, and that she was now able to focus her magic on command. She still couldn’t cast any spells, just gather the energy into her horn. But to the little filly who previously had been unable to do even that, it was considered the greatest achievement of her life.
The three Earth Ponies of group five returned in a similar state to Scootaloo; dusty coats, scratches on their bodies, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon seemed to be out of breath. Apple Bloom was grinning from ear-to-ear, and didn’t waste this opportunity to taunt the two rich fillies for being so unathletic.
“You two really don’t work out much, do you?” she asked, giggling when the two seemed to have trouble even forming a simple answer.
Sweetie Belle gave a bottle of water to Silver Spoon, who immediately started to gulp down the refreshing beverage. When she was done, all that remained in the bottle were a few droplets dripping down the sides. Sweetie Belle frowned, since she was planning to have a drink herself, but brightened up when Silver Spoon thanked her.
“We don’t need to work out,” Diamond Tiara said. “We’re business ponies, not athletes. Isn’t that right, Silver Spoon?”
Silver Spoon hesitated for a moment, turning her attention to her Cutie Mark, before turning back to the other fillies in her group. “Uh… Yeah, that’s right.”
“Girls, lunch is in ten minutes!” Cheerilee shouted from outside.
“Okay, Miss Cheerilee!” Apple Bloom called back, before turning to Scootaloo. “Scootaloo, didn’t you wanna show me that thing before lunch?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Oh yeah, that’s right!” Sweetie Belle looked at the two confused. “Sorry, Sweetie Belle, but we’re gonna go on ahead…”
Scootaloo exited the tent, followed by Apple Bloom. The three remaining fillies exchanged confused faces, and shrugged to each other.
“What are those two up to now?” Diamond Tiara asked Sweetie Belle.
“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle answered, “But knowing them, it probably won’t end well.”
On the way to the cafeteria, at some point, Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle began their own conversation, completely forgetting about Diamond Tiara. Needless to say, this annoyed the pink Earth Pony filly, but that wasn’t the main cause of her anger right now.
No, what annoyed her right now, was how she was suddenly pulled away from the path by some unknown force, blindfolded, and then dragged away. When the blindfold was removed, she found that it was actually Apple Bloom and Scootaloo that had foalnapped her, apparently so that she wouldn’t ‘get in their way’.
“What do you two think you’re doing?!” Diamond Tiara shouted as soon as Apple Bloom removed her hooves from Diamond Tiara’s mouth. “And why are you two wearing those strange outfits?!”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, dressed in black one-piece outfits, told Diamond Tiara to be quiet, whilst looking around to make sure they hadn’t been spotted. Diamond Tiara demanded an explanation, and for Scootaloo, who was still holding her, to release her at once.
“Just calm down already!” Apple Bloom said. “Listen, ah’m sorry if we scared ya-”
“HA! You, scare me?” Diamond Tiara scoffed, her body still shaking a little bit. “Don’t flatter yourselves. I just don’t want those muddy hooves of yours messing up my coat is all.”
“Whatever,” Scootaloo said, not quite believing her.
“Now what do you want?” Diamond Tiara asked, a little more calmly this time. “If this is about those two again-” A pleasant scent caught Diamond Tiara’s attention, and she looked to her left to see what it was. “… Oh, you can’t be serious.”
Apple Bloom smiled proudly at her and Scootaloo’s plan. “Eeyup, we sure are!”
“How would this even work? What about Miss Cheerilee?”
Scootaloo grinned and released Diamond Tiara. “That’s where you come in. We need you to distract Miss Cheerilee for us.”
Diamond Tiara groaned and began to walk away. “I don’t think so. I am far too hungry to take part in this childish game of yours.”
“Ah figured you’d say that,” Apple Bloom said, causing Diamond Tiara to stop and cautiously turn back to face her. “So how ‘bout we make a deal? You help us, an’ ah’ll make sure that next zap apple harvest, you’ll get eighty percent off of all zap apple-related products!”
Diamond Tiara considered the deal for a moment. Eighty percent off was a generous discount indeed, and even though her family was rich, she, like any other foal in Ponyville, only had a certain allowance to spend every week. And, with the blood of a successful business pony running through her veins, she just couldn’t resist taking advantage of such a money-saving offer.
Sighing as she gave in, she turned around and walked back to the two fillies. “Ugh, fine. I’ll do it.”
“Great!” Apple Bloom shout as she and Scootaloo spat onto their hooves, and then extended them towards Diamond Tiara. “Let’s shake on it!”
Diamond Tiara stared at the two in complete disgust, completely taken aback by their actions. “W-What is wrong with you two?! That’s just… Uncouth!”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “What’s uncouth mean?”
“It means she thinks we have bad manners,” Apple Bloom explained.
“Ooooh,” Scootaloo said, before turning back to Diamond Tiara. “What’s wrong with a friendly hoofshake?”
Diamond Tiara wasn’t sure if they were joking, or if they were honestly just raised not knowing any better. She thought about explaining to them how utterly gross (not to mention unhygienic) touching another pony’s saliva was, but wondered if they would even get it if she tried.
“Ugh, never mind!” she shouted as she began to walk away. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, unsure of what exactly her problem was, just shrugged to each other, and ducked down behind some nearby bushes, ready for what would surely be a great show.
After they arrived at the cafeteria, Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle looked around for the two remaining members of their group. No matter how far they looked, though, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo didn’t seem to be present.
“That’s strange,” Sweetie Belle said. “Where are they? Those two are never late to a meal.”
Silver Spoon looked behind her to ask Diamond Tiara if she could see them, but then realised that her friend was missing. “Hey, Sweetie Belle? Did you see where Diamond went off to?”
“Diamond Tiara’s missing?” Sweetie Belle asked, turning around to confirm that the pink filly was, indeed, absent. “Huh… That’s strange.” A possibility struck Sweetie Belle, and she let out a depressed sigh. “I hope they aren’t fighting again.”
“Uh, Sweetie Belle?” a voice called out behind the Unicorn filly. She and Silver Spoon turned to the source of the voice to find that it was Snails, a rather… Interesting Unicorn, was the way that Silver Spoon thought best to describe him. He was slower than most ponies, and his grades were below average in most subjects, but his Biology grades were the best in the class, and his magic was among the most developed out of all the Unicorns their age range. “Apple Bloom asked me to give this to you.”
He handed her a yellow piece of paper decorated with apples in the bottom right corner, and then walked away over to his friend, Snips. Sweetie Belle thanked him as he walked away, and then looked over the paper.
Sweetie Belle,
You and Silver Spoon meet us at the location on the map at twelve hundred hours! Do not be late, or you will be court-martialled later! This is a mission of the upmost importance! Failure is not an option!
Apple Bloom
P.s. Burn this note after you read it.
Sweetie Belle looked below the message at the rather crudely drawn map. She couldn’t quite figure it out at first, so she asked Silver Spoon to help her out. Together, they managed to deduce that the huge rectangle in the centre was the cafeteria, and that what appeared to be a bunch of ‘T’s were in fact trees, possibly the woods behind the cafeteria.
An ‘X’ was within those woods, in what appeared to be a clearing.
“Your friends have an… Odd way of arranging meetings,” Silver Spoon said.
“Oh, this is nothing,” Sweetie Belle responded. “They’re always trying new ways for us to communicate without others knowing what we’re saying. One time, they tried using smoke signals. Thankfully Applejack was able to put the fire out before it killed more than two trees.”
“So I guess they want us to go to where this X is?” Sweetie Belle shrugged, but agreed that that was the most likely scenario. “Do you think Diamond’s already there?”
“Who knows? But I guess we’ll find out if we go.” Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes and tapped a hoof against her chin as she scanned a particular part of the letter again. “What does ‘twelve hundred hours’ mean?”
“It’s military time,” Silver Spoon explained. “If you remove the colon from digital time, it becomes one whole number. ‘Twelve hundred’ is ‘one thousand two hundred’, and if you put the colon back in, you get…” Silver Spoon left her sentence hanging, to see if Sweetie Belle understood what she was saying and could finish it.
“Oooh, I see! So that would be twelve o’clock, right?” Silver Spoon smiled and nodded. “That’s just stupid. What’s wrong with just saying ‘twelve o’clock’?”
Silver Spoon opened her mouth to speak, but found that she actually didn’t have an answer for that. “… I don’t know. I guess military conflicts are so rare in Equestria, that they decided to pass the time by making up new ways to tell the time?”
Sweetie Belle giggled, causing Silver Spoon to join her. “Wow, they must have a lot of free time on their hooves,” she said. “But I totally understand. Sometimes, in class, I work on making my new secret language.”
“Really?” Silver Spoon asked, amused. “So that’s what you’re doing all the time. And I thought you were just slower at writing than everypony else. Mind if you teach me some time?”
Sweetie Belle looked away and shuffled her hooves on the floor. “Well, it’s not quite complete yet, but I guess you can have a look when we get back to Ponyville…” Sweetie Belle looked up at the clock, and saw that it was 11:55. “We’d better get to this meeting spot. I’d hate to be court-martialled… I mean, I don’t know what that is, but I’m sure I wouldn’t like it.”
“But what about Miss Cheerilee?” Silver Spoon asked, but then realised that Cheerilee wasn’t actually present in the cafeteria. “Huh… I guess she has a lot of work to do, or something.”
“So, we going?” Sweetie Belle asked. Silver Spoon nodded, and the two left the cafeteria together. As soon as they did, the fillies and colts that they didn’t realise were watching them quickly gathered around one table.
“See? I told you something funny was going on!”
“Since when did those two become friends?”
“Ten bits says they’re more than friends!”
“I’ll take that bet!”
“I say it’s just a trick! Silver Spoon’s just setting her up!”
“Or maybe it’s Sweetie Belle setting Silver Spoon up.”
“No way! AB or Scootaloo, maybe, but not Sweetie Belle!”
“You think DT got into a fight with Silver Spoon?”
“Five bits says she did!”
“Well fifteen says that Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle are seeing each other in secret!”
“A forbidden romance? How lovely!”
Diamond Tiara, watching from outside, rolled her eyes as the fillies and colts inside started to make various betting pools on what was going on. “Seriously, don’t they have anything better to do?”
“Diamond Tiara?” Cheerilee asked as she approached the cafeteria, causing said filly to jump at look at her with a wide smile on her face. “Is something wrong? Why are you not inside have your lunch?”
“Oh, well, you see…” Diamond Tiara gulped, and walked up to Cheerilee, causing the teacher to stop in her path. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about…”
“Oh? Well, what is it? You know I’m always available if you need somepony to talk to,” Cheerilee said with a reassuring smile.
“Um, well…” Diamond Tiara motioned for Cheerilee to lower her head, so that she could whisper into her ear. The teacher complied, a little worried about whatever it was that Diamond Tiara was talking about. “It’s a little personal… Can we talk in private?”
“Does it have to be right now?” Cheerilee asked, raising her head and looking down at the filly with a look of concern. “Wouldn’t you rather eat first?”
Diamond Tiara bit her lower lip, and summoned her many years of acting experience (mostly from playing innocent whenever she pulled a prank on somepony) to put on the best frightened look that she could. “It needs to be now,” she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I don’t know if I can keep it to myself any longer, and I really need somepony to talk to.”
Cheerilee, seeing her student starting to cry, quickly knelt down and placed a comforting hoof on Diamond Tiara’s shoulder. “O-Okay then! We can talk now, if it’s so important to you! Come on, let’s go back to my tent.”
Diamond Tiara sniffed, and nodded as she wiped the tear from her face. As she followed Cheerilee, she let out a quiet groan and looked back at the cafeteria, her stomach rumbling from the earlier exercise and the thought of the lunch she had yet to eat. ‘I swear, I’d better get that discount, Apple Bloom…’
After following the directions on the so-called ‘map’, Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle eventually reached what they assumed to be the clearing where they were to meet the rest of their group. It wasn’t very far into the woods. In fact, they could still see the cafeteria building through the gaps in the trees.
When they got there, they found a blanket lying on the ground, with a basket placed in the centre, and two plates on either side. But no Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, or Diamond Tiara. On top of the basket was an envelope, with the writing ‘READ ME’ on it.
After ripping it open, Silver Spoon pulled out the letter inside and began to read it.
Dear Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon,
Sorry, but something important came up, so we’re gonna be a bit late. Why don’t you two go ahead and start without us? Me and Apple Bloom made this awesome lunch for you two! We hope you enjoy it. Together. In this secluded area. Away from prying eyes. Together.
Sinseerly,
Scootaloo
As Silver Spoon read the letter, the first thought that popped into her mind, was that ‘me and Apple Bloom’ should be ‘Apple Bloom and I’. The next thought was about the scruffy hoofwriting, and the numerous spelling mistakes that had been messily scribbled out.
Finally, her thoughts turned the most pressing, and most obvious issue here: this was quite clearly a setup.
“Do they think we’re dense or something?” Silver Spoon asked as she placed the letter down on the blanket.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Silver Spoon looked at her to see if she was being sarcastic, or if she was genuinely confused. “Y-You can’t be serious,” she said, before pointing to the picnic laid out for them. “Can’t you tell that they set this whole thing up for us? To get us here alone together?”
Sweetie Belle titled her head to the side. “Why would they do that?”
“Because they think we’re-” Silver Spoon stopped and blushed as she stammered to complete her sentence. “They think we’re in lo… Lo…” She cleared her throat, and turned around so that she wasn’t facing Sweetie Belle. Somehow, seeing that filly’s face made it even harder to say what she was trying to say. “They think we’re in l-love with each other, that’s why!”
Sweetie Belle’s own face turned as red as Silver Spoon’s, and she let out an “ooh” as she shuffled her hooves on the floor nervously. The two were left in a uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, before a nearby groan snapped them both out of it. They turned to each other, as if each one suspected that the noise came from the other.
A low grumble came from Sweetie Belle’s stomach, which triggered a similar noise from Silver Spoon’s. The two responded by laughing nervously, and then turned to the picnic that had been set out for them.
“W-Well, they did go through the trouble of setting all this up for us,” Sweetie Belle reasoned. “It would be a shame to just waste it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Silver Spoon agreed, walking around and sitting down on one side of the blanket. “Plus, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about.”
“There is?” Sweetie Belle asked as she opened the basket. Before Silver Spoon could continue, Sweetie Belle let out an excited gasp, and pointed her horn towards the basket. “Oh, Silver! Check it out! I wanted to show you how I can focus my magic now!”
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, and groaned as she strained her mind, willing her magical energy into the tip of her horn. A few green sparks emitted from the tip, soon followed by a flash of green light, and then another. Soon, the green light became more permanent, and her horn was glowing a steady green colour.
“Wow! Impressive!” Silver Spoon said. She had seen magic before, so the display wasn’t exactly what she’d call ‘impressive’, but she knew how much it meant to Sweetie Belle, and how much work she must have put into it.
Sweetie Belle heard the praise coming from Silver Spoon, and smiled. Coming from anypony else, she would have simply been happy, and probably ended up bouncing around the room singing “yes” over and over again. But coming from Silver Spoon, for reasons the filly wasn’t entirely sure of, meant so much more. It made her chest feel tight, and put her mind at ease. It even removed much of the strain caused by focusing her magic.
“Wait, I thought you said you couldn’t cast any spells,” Silver Spoon said in a confused tone.
“Huh?” Sweetie Belle asked, opening her eyes to see what Silver Spoon was talking about. It was only for a moment, before Sweetie Belle’s concentration was broken by what she had seen. Before her very eyes, for just a few short seconds, there was one of the sandwiches from the picnic basket, floating in the air within a wobbly green aura.
The surprise caused Sweetie Belle to lose her focus, and drop the sandwich down, though thankfully, Silver Spoon managed to catch it in her hooves before it hit the ground.
“… Did… Did I do that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Unless there’s another Unicorn around here…” Silver Spoon looked around as if to check for the presence of another pony. “… Then yes. Yes you did.”
Sweetie Belle continued staring ahead with a blank look on her face, still trying to process in her mind that she had just performed her first ever spell… And then, she smiled. A big, wide smile, and she reached forward and pulled Silver Spoon into a big, sudden hug.
“W-What are you-”
“I did it!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, right into Silver Spoon’s ear, causing the other filly to wince and become disorientated for a bit. “I performed magic! My first ever spell! I can’t believe it, this is soooo great! Just wait ‘til I tell Rarity! And Apple Bloom and Scootaloo!”
Silver Spoon, after managing to worm her way out of Sweetie Belle’s grasp and fixing her glasses that had been dislodged on her face, tried to calm down the excited filly. It took a few attempts, and she eventually had to resort to raising her voice to calm her down, something she regretted the moment she saw the frown on Sweetie Belle’s face.
“Oh, s-sorry,” Sweetie Belle said. “I just got a little excited…”
“A little?” Silver Spoon scoffed, reaching up and tidying her mane. “If this is how you are when you discover magic, I don’t think I want to be around when you finally get your Cutie Mark.”
Sweetie Belle giggled sheepishly. “I-It’s just, this is a really big deal for me, y’know?”
Silver Spoon sighed, and smiled at the other filly. “Yes, I know… And I’m happy for you, Sweetie Belle. Really.”
Sweetie Belle returned the smile, and reached over to hug Silver Spoon, more gently this time. “Thanks.”
Silver Spoon swallowed, and returned the hug given to her by Sweetie Belle. She felt her heart rate increasing quickly, and she was sure her entire face was as red as a tomato by this point. She kept trying to think of logical solutions as to why she was feeling this way, and acting so strange around Sweetie Belle, but despite her best attempts, there was only one conclusion that she could ever reach.
‘No, that’s got to be wrong,’ she told herself, but when Sweetie Belle’s hold on her tightened, and she felt her own temperature rising, and her heart felt like it was trying to jump out of her chest and make a quick getaway, she actually considered for a moment that maybe, just maybe, Diamond Tiara was actually right about her.
She struggled for a moment to get the words out, and she did, she noticed that her breathing had increased since earlier. ‘Another sign… It can’t be true, can it? That’s just-’ Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught the scent of the other filly’s shampoo, and she shuddered as she took in the pleasant scent. ‘… Oh Celestia, I think it’s true…’
“… Sweetie Belle?” Silver Spoon finally managed to say, although her voice was a little shaky. Sweetie Belle simply acknowledged that she had heard Silver Spoon with a nod.
“There you are!”
The two fillies jumped and quickly pulled away from each other, and turned to the direction of the voice to find Cheerilee walking towards them, an angry look on her face. “I told you not to wander away from the class! It’s for safety reasons!”
Behind Cheerilee, a guilty looking Diamond Tiara emerged from the bushes, grinning sheepishly at the two fillies that were sat together on the picnic basket.
“OH, COME ON!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted in unison as they emerged from the bushes, directing their glares towards Diamond Tiara.
“Why did ya tell her?” Apple Bloom whispered to Diamond Tiara.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Diamond Tiara answered, “I ran out of things to say to her, and she got suspicious when I kept trying to delay her.”
“Couldn’t ya have come up with something to keep her away? It can’t be that hard.”
“I’d like to have seen you try.”
“GIRLS!” Cheerilee shouted from the front of the room. “You are in detention! And you will not be leaving until you finish writing ‘I will follow the teacher’s instructions at all times’ one hundred times!”
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom said in unison, before getting back to their lines.
After the five fillies were done with their lines, they spent the remainder of their hour receiving a lecture from Cheerilee about why it is important to follow the rules at all times, and why not following the rules can be dangerous.
Once the hour was over, the five were released and allowed to go back to their activities. The first one they went to was swimming, where they competed with another group in a series of races, and a few games of water volleyball.
During their time in the pool, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo considered having Sweetie Belle almost drown so that Silver Spoon could perform CPR on her. Diamond Tiara wasn’t sure if they were serious or not, but she did know that they were complete idiots, and didn’t want to take the chance.
“What makes you think Silver Spoon even knows CPR?” she said to them, and thankfully, that seemed to be enough to get them to abandon that idea.
“Well then,” Apple Bloom said, “Why don’t you almost drown, so we can perform CPR?”
“Yeah! We might get out Cutie Marks in being lifeguards!” Scootaloo added.
Diamond Tiara stared at them with a blank face, and simply said: “No.”
The two crusaders moaned, and got back to their game of water volleyball. “Ye’re no help at all,” Apple Bloom muttered. Diamond Tiara responded as any mature filly would: she scoffed and splashed water at the farm filly, and then swam over to Silver Spoon for protection.
The rest of the activities that day followed much the same routine; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would, wherever possible, try and get Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle into an awkward situation together, and Diamond Tiara would simply watch from the sidelines. Though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she did find some amusement in watching the two fillies nervously trying to squirm their way out of the situations they’d find themselves in.
Their activities ended at 17:00, and the class was given free time for the next hour. Afterwards, they would have dinner, and then move on the camp’s final activity: an all-class paintball tournament, which each group pitted against each other.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo suddenly had to excuse themselves, no surprise to the other three fillies, who were well aware of what the two had been doing all day, but surprising to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle also said that she had somewhere that she wanted to be.
This left Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by themselves, so the two decided to go for a walk through the woods.
“Hey, you didn’t hear a wolf, did you?” Diamond Tiara asked nervously, looking around, but all she could see were trees, bushes, more trees, and the occasional piece of paper with a strange drawing of a tall, faceless pony and strange writing. “What’s with all these papers, anyway?”
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes, and nudged Diamond Tiara’s side. “Don’t worry. We’re in the fenced-in area, so there wouldn’t be any wolves around here.”
Diamond Tiara nodded, though she was still uncertain. “I guess…” The two continued walking in silence, waiting for one of them to start up the next topic of conversation. “Hey, have Apple Bloom and Scootaloo been bothering you with their lame tricks today?” she asked. “‘Cause if they have, you should totally say something.”
Silver Spoon shook her head. “No… Well, they’ve been getting a little annoying, but…” She stopped and turned her attention to Diamond Tiara, who also stopped next to her. “Wait… Did you just say ‘Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’?” Diamond Tiara was confused, but nodded nonetheless. “… Not ‘blank flanks’?”
Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened, and her cheeks turned red. “W-What are you getting at?”
Silver Spoon giggled and leaned closer to Diamond Tiara. “Sounds like somepony’s been making some new friends this camping trip.”
Diamond Tiara’s blush intensified, but she remained on the offensive. “Oh, like you’re one to talk! You and that bla-” She stopped when she saw a disapproving frown appear on Silver Spoon’s face. “See?! That’s what I mean!”
Silver Spoon backed up and cleared her throat. “I don’t know what you mean…” she lied.
“You have that blank-Sweetie Belle, have been getting more than just a little close, don’t you think?”
Silver Spoon shuffled her hooves on the ground nervously, and looked around cautiously, just to make sure that nopony was around. “… I… Okay, yes, I’ve been getting close to Sweetie Belle,” she said, surprising Diamond Tiara. “What? You said no more secrets, right? Then I’ll tell you! I like Sweetie Belle. A lot!” Silver Spoon’s face was now a full on blush, and she had to close her eyes to avoid running away out of embarrassment. “I can’t quite explain it, but I really, really, really, really like her, okay?!”
Silver Spoon panted heavily when she was finished, leaving a bewildered Diamond Tiara in front of her, wondering just what in Equestria had happened. Silver Spoon had admitted her feelings towards Sweetie Belle… That couldn’t have been easy, and it showed on Silver Spoon’s face that she must have put a lot of effort into forcing those words out.
Diamond Tiara took a moment to consider what this meant. Silver Spoon, her best, and only friend, had such strong feeling towards somepony else. And this somepony else was one of the same ponies that, just days ago, the two of them considered enemies, and would do their very best to harass at every opportunity.
Diamond Tiara meant it when she said that she was okay with Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle being friends, but at that time, she thought that’s all they would be. Just friends. Simple friends, who would hang out occasionally when everypony else they knew was busy.
Even when she noticed that Silver Spoon did feel more towards Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara never truly grasped how strong those feelings would be… Now, she was feeling uneasy. She felt threatened. Right now, Sweetie Belle was on equal hoofing with Diamond Tiara in regards to how important the two were to Silver Spoon. She may even be on a higher level!
“There, I said it!” Silver Spoon said. “I shared my true feelings with you, just like you wanted.”
Diamond Tiara gulped, and looked around, just as Silver Spoon had done earlier. “Y-Yeah… Um, if we’re being honest…”
Diamond Tiara stopped speaking all of a sudden, and Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. “What? If you have something on your mind, tell me. Just like we promised, remember?”
Diamond Tiara hesitated, and then nodded. “… Who’s more important to you?” she asked, and seeing that she had confused Silver Spoon, decided to clarify. “Who’s more important to you? Sweetie Belle, or me?”
Silver Spoon looked positively shocked at the question posed to her, and stared at Diamond Tiara with her mouth agape. ‘D-Did she just…’ “How could you ask something like that?”
Diamond Tiara flinched, and turned her head away, trying to hold back the tears forming in your eyes. “J-Just tell me… I can take it. If Sweetie Belle is going to replace me, then-”
“Of course she wouldn’t replace you!” Silver Spoon shouted, surprising Diamond Tiara and bringing a hopeful look to her friend’s face. “But, if you ask me to choose between the two of you… I-I just can’t. The way I feel towards the two of you is so different, but there’s no doubt I love you as strongly as I love Sweetie Belle.”
Diamond Tiara sniffed, and let a few tears fall. “You do?”
Silver Spoon nodded. “The way I feel towards Sweetie Belle is… It’s strange, and confusing, but there’s no doubt that I love her, and want to spend more time with her… And the way I feel towards you, though it’s not ‘love’ in the same sense, you’re my best friend in the whole world. And you always will be.”
Silver Spoon reached forward and embraced the now-crying filly, who returned the hug happily. “I want you to be happy, and I want to be there for you, whenever you need somepony to give you strength.”
“What’s with that?” Diamond Tiara said with a slight chuckle. “You been watching those cheesy shows you mother likes or something?”
“I’m just sharing how I feel,” Silver Spoon said. “Some idiot told me it would be a good idea… But I think she may have been right.”
Diamond Tiara didn’t say anything for a few minutes. She and Silver Spoon just held each other, not even caring if anypony happened to walk by, and then finally parted when they had both calmed down.
“I’m sorry,” Diamond Tiara said. “You just spent so much time with Sweetie Belle today, I guess I got a little jealous…”
“No, I’m sorry,” Silver Spoon said. “I was just so excited about my new friendship with Sweetie Belle, but I shouldn’t have forgotten about you like that.”
“Well, I’m more sorry.”
“No, I am,” Silver Spoon argued.
“Are not.”
“Are too.”
“Are not!”
“Are too!”
The two glared at each other for a few seconds, before both simultaneously bursting out into laughter, dropping down to the floor and clutching their stomachs. It took a few minutes for the two to finally stop, and when they did, they decided to head on back, since their free time was almost up.
On the way back, Silver Spoon decided it was time to get Diamond Tiara back for her teasing yesterday. “Hey, Diamond,” she said, getting Diamond Tiara’s attention. “You never told me how things went between you and Alula earlier.”
“What do you mean?” Diamond Tiara asked. “Oh, you mean that. I was just trying to get away from bla-UGH! Sweetie Belle’s cooking.” She rubbed a forehoof in-between her eyes. “Sorry, it’s hard to get used to calling her by her name.”
Silver Spoon giggled. “It’s okay. Just make sure you don’t call her that when she’s around. Anyway, so you mean you didn’t go and apologise to her?”
Diamond Tiara shrugged. “Why should I? I’m not her friend or anything.”
Silver Spoon sighed and turned her head away. ‘Oh well. There are still plenty of ponies out there…’
“It’s like you said,” Diamond Tiara said. “I’m just no good at making friends…”
Silver Spoon shook her head, and placed a hoof around Diamond Tiara’s shoulders. “It’s fine. You’ll get the hang of it… In fact, I think you’ve actually been getting better these past few years.”
“You really think so?” Diamond Tiara asked, a hopeful look on her face. Silver Spoon nodded, and Diamond Tiara smiled.
“HEY! YOU GUYS!”
The two fillies looked in front of them to see Apple Bloom running towards them. Silver Spoon quickly retracted her hoof.
“There ya are! Ah’ve been lookin’ everywhere,” Apple bloom said once she had reached them. She turned her attention to Silver Spoon. “Miss Cheerilee’s lookin’ for ya! She’s over by the lake. She said tah get there as soon as possible.”
“She did?” Silver Spoon asked disbelievingly. “Why?”
Apple Bloom shifted her eyes left and right, her face scrunched up. “Er, dunno.”
Silver Spoon sighed and facehooved. After a few seconds of mulling it over, she decided to play along. “Fine. I’ll go there now. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Mah pleasure!” Apple Bloom said as Silver Spoon walked away. As soon as Silver Spoon was out of sight, Apple Bloom turned to Diamond Tiara with a grin on her face. “Wanna go watch?”
Scootaloo watched as Silver Spoon arrived at the lake and began looking around. She had told Sweetie Belle that Cheerilee wanted to meet her at the lake to talk to her, but the Unicorn filly was taking her time getting there, and Scootaloo was beginning to worry that her and Apple Bloom’s plan had been foiled.
She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara. “She not here yet?” Apple Bloom asked quietly. Scootaloo shook her head. “What’s takin’ her?”
“Who knows?” Scootaloo responded. “Maybe somepony messed things up again.”
Diamond Tiara caught the accusation sent her way, and narrowed her eyes at Scootaloo. “I told you, I didn’t have a choice last time. And besides, I was with her whilst you were with Sweetie Belle,” she said, motioning her head towards Apple Bloom, who confirmed Diamond Tiara’s alibi with a nod.
“Girls?” The three fillies jumped and turned around to see Cheerilee looking at them. “What are you still doing here? Come on, it’s time to head back.” Cheerilee looked up and past the three fillies. “Is that Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle? I’d better go and get them, too.”
Apple Bloom turned around to find that Sweetie Belle had indeed arrived, and then ran in front on Cheerilee, stopping her in her path. “Please, wait,” she said.
Scootaloo joined her friend in blocking Cheerilee’s path. “Just… Give us some time!” she pleaded. “It’s very important! Just ten more minutes, please!”
Cheerilee looked at them with a questioning glance. “What do you mean? What exactly is so important?”
“We… We can’t say, but trust us, it’s super important!” Apple Bloom said.
Cheerilee studied the three faces before her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were looking at her with big, pleading eyes, and Diamond Tiara, although she was trying to act uninterested, also had a look that told Cheerilee she wanted her to give the other two fillies some time alone.
Sighing, Cheerilee decided to give them their extra time. “Fine. You have ten minutes… After that, you’re coming back to the campsite with me.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo thanked Cheerilee, and got back hiding behind some nearby bushes whilst they watched Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara joined them, though visibly less enthusiastic. Cheerilee decided to give them their extra time, under the condition that she stay and watch them, to make sure they weren’t getting into any more trouble. She didn’t understand what was going on, but the five seemed to be getting along. And if that were the case, then giving them a little extra time seemed like a cheap price to pay.
Silver Spoon looked around the lake nervously, waiting for somepony to show up. Even though Apple Bloom told her that it was Cheerilee she would be meeting, she was fairly certain that wasn’t the case. She was sure this was another setup… But she didn’t mind. In fact, this was helpful to her. After all, she had something that she really needed to talk to Sweetie Belle about. Two things, actually. And this was a good chance to talk to her all alone, away from prying ears.
Silver Spoon swallowed when she heard approaching hoofsteps, and slowly turned her gaze upon their owner. Sweetie Belle was now standing her, looking ragged and out of breath, as if she had just run a marathon. The two fillies stared at each other in silence for a bit, and then began to speak.
“Uh-” they both said in unison, before stopping to let the other go first. When it seemed like neither would, they tried again. “I-”
They couldn’t help but begin to laugh, and then continue laughing for a full minute. When their laughter died down, Silver Spoon removed her glasses to wipe the tears from her face, and Sweetie Belle took this chance to speak first.
“They got us again, huh?” she said, though she didn’t sound disappointed. “Well, I kinda figured it was another trick… I may not be the quickest when it comes to noticing things, but even I wouldn’t fall for their tricks so many times in one day, without noticing that something was up.”
Silver Spoon gave her glasses a quick polish with her hoofkerchief, put them back on, and nodded. “I kind of figured they were setting us up like this… But it’s fine. There was something I wanted to talk to you about, anyway.”
“Oh yeah, you mentioned that earlier,” Sweetie Belle said. “But first…” Sweetie Belle reached for her saddlebag, opened it up, and pulled something out. A small piece of cloth, which she seemed to be using to wrap something up. “I have something for you. As a thanks for the broach you gave me before.”
Silver Spoon looked at the piece of cloth in the other filly’s hooves. “That’s very thoughtful of you, but there was no need to do that.”
“But I wanted to,” Sweetie Belle said. “Because we’re friends. And when a friend does something nice for you, you show them your appreciation.”
Silver Spoon smiled, and reached forward to take the present from Sweetie Belle. “Well, if it means that much to you…”
As Silver Spoon began to unravel the cloth, Sweetie Belle began explaining her gift to her. “It’s just a little something I started in the arts and crafts activity yesterday. I spent my free time today finishing it up… It may not be so good though,” she added, worry starting to take a hold of her as she watched Silver Spoon looking down at her present.
In Silver Spoon’s hoof was a small barrette in the shape of a blue flower, the same shade of blue as the beads around her neck, made by many small beads woven together. It was clear that Sweetie Belle wasn’t an expert at arts and crafts just from looking at the thing; some of the beads were the completely wrong shade, some looked like they were about to fall off at any moment, and it was clear that she got help from a teacher at first, but then went solo for the rest, as the quality clearly declined in certain areas compared to others.
Even so, Silver Spoon accepted the kind gesture sent her way, and loved the gift that Sweetie Belle had given her. “Thank you,” she said as she admired the barrette. She was silent for a bit, before she looked back up at Sweetie Belle. “Hey… About that broach I gave you…”
“Yes?” Sweetie Belle pressed when Silver Spoon suddenly trailed off.
“… Did you really think it was so good?”
“Of course!” Sweetie Belle said, smiling widely. “It was beautiful! It kinda makes me jealous, since I can’t make things as well as you…”
“Is that so?” Silver Spoon looked down at the ground with a frown, and Sweetie Belle asked her what was wrong. “I… I’m considering taking up silversmithing.”
“You are?” Sweetie Belle asked, receiving a nod from Silver Spoon. “That’s great! I mean, it is your special talent, after all. I’m sure you’d do really well!”
“But,” Silver Spoon added, “But what about father? What am I supposed to tell him?” Silver Spoon started shaking on the spot, and Sweetie Belle moved closer to make sure she was okay. “Father’s expecting me to carry on the family business after him… I don’t want to disappoint him. I want to be able to help him however I can. What should I do? If I become a silversmith, something I can actually do, and something I enjoy doing… I’d be letting father down for sure.”
Silver Spoon let out a few sobs, and Sweetie Belle leaned forward and nuzzled her to calm her down. “… I… I don’t really know,” Sweetie Belle said. “I can’t really say for sure, since I don’t know your family that well… But, does your father love you?”
Silver Spoon nodded almost immediately. “He does… He’s always telling me how proud he is of me… And whenever I’m sad, or ill, he always takes the time to help me feel better.”
“Then there should be no problem,” Sweetie Belle reasoned. “I’m sure if you just talk to your father, he’ll understand. Most likely, he just wants you to be happy, no matter what it is you do.”
“But…” Silver Spoon sniffed, and looked up into Sweetie Belle’s eyes. “But, his workload’s getting bigger and bigger, and father’s been so overworked lately. If I don’t help him… What if he can’t handle it all on his own?”
“I’m sure,” Sweetie Belle started, “That your father, more than anything, just wants to see you smile. If you give him that, that’ll probably be all the help he needs.” Sweetie Belle focused her magic into her horn, letting out a series of grunts and groans as she did so, and the barrette became surrounded by a wobbly green aura. It levitated into the air, and made its way to Silver Spoon’s mane. “I’m sure… Your father would…”
Sweetie Belle felt a surge of pain pass through her mind, and suddenly fell down to the ground, her magic focus breaking and the barrette falling down with her. Silver Spoon quickly moved to catch Sweetie Belle, and the Unicorn filly ended up with her head on Silver Spoon’s lap, staring up blankly at the grey filly above her.
Silver Spoon let out a sigh of relief that Sweetie Belle is okay, before giving the filly a stern look. “You dummy. Don’t push yourself. You’ve only just learned how to focus your magic, right?”
Sweetie Belle giggled sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said, giving Silver Spoon her best puppy dog face.
Silver Spoon blushed, and had to turn away to avert her gaze from Sweetie Belle’s eyes. “J-Just be more careful in the future. Okay?”
Sweetie Belle nodded, and pushed herself up, so that she was sitting on the ground next to Silver Spoon. She found her barrette on the floor, and picked it up with her hooves. After dusting it off real quick, she reached forward and applied it to Silver Spoon’s mane, the other filly sitting perfectly still whilst Sweetie Belle messed with her hair.
“Anyway,” Sweetie Belle said, “I’m sure you father would rather see you happy, and doing your own thing, than see you depressed for the sake of helping him.” Sweetie Belle pulled back and examined her work. The barrette was now on the left side of Silver Spoon’s mane. A little lopsided, but still on. “It really suits you.”
“It does?” Silver Spoon asked, blushing as she turned to the lake beside her to look at her reflection. “… I suppose it kind of does,” she said.
“‘Kind of does’?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that it’s obvious you’ve never applied a mane accessory before,” Silver Spoon answered, smirking at the Unicorn filly. “Seriously, a dodo could have applied this better than you.”
Sweetie Belle pouted and turned away. “Well so-rry!” she said in mock anger. She turned back when she heard laughter behind her, and when she saw Silver’s Spoon laughing face, she couldn’t help but smile. She waited for the other filly’s laughter to die down before speaking up again. “That’s good,” Sweetie Belle said, bringing a look of confusion to Silver Spoon’s face. “I like seeing you happy.”
Silver Spoon smiled, and walked towards Sweetie Belle. “… There’s… One other thing, that I needed to talk to you about.”
Sweetie Belle swallowed nervously as Silver Spoon approached her, and felt her cheeks becoming hot. “T-There is?” she asked, not backing away despite how close Silver Spoon was getting.
“… I’m… Not really sure where to begin,” Silver Spoon said, her face becoming redder the closer she got to Sweetie Belle. “I’ve never felt this way before about anypony…” She took in a deep breath, and fixed her gaze on Sweetie Belle’s eyes. “I… Really enjoy spending time with you, Sweetie Belle. Even if you can be a little dense-”
“Hey!” Sweetie Belle shouted.
“… Even so,” Silver Spoon continued, giggling at Sweetie Belle’s cute reaction, “Despite your clumsiness, you density, your total lack of co-ordination, and all your other flaws… I still really like being with you. And I want to continue being with you even more. I want to know more about you, and I want you to know me.”
Sweetie Belle returned Silver Spoon’s smile, and took a moment to think of how to begin her response. “I… I kinda feel the same way, too… Despite all the times you picked on me and my friends in the past, these past few days with you have been really fun. And, whenever I’m near you, or even think of you, I feel… Strange.”
“Like your chest gets tighter, or you feel like your heart is going to burst if it doesn’t slow down?” Silver Spoon asked, receiving a nod from Sweetie Belle.
“Like my entire body heats up, and my legs feel all shaky… And, I feel really disappointed when one of us has to go, and then I’m wondering when we’ll next get to see each other again, even if I know it’ll be soon…”
Silver Spoon reached forward with her forelegs and placed them on Sweetie Belle’s shoulders. “And, when we get back to Ponyville, I want to hang out with you more. I want to get to know everything about you, and spend so much time with you, talking, playing, laughing… And…”
Silver Spoon trailed off as Sweetie Belle put her own forehooves on either side of the rich filly’s face, and pulled her forward. She noticed Sweetie Belle closing her eyes, and could only close her own as she let the other filly guide her forward, her heart pounding against her ribcage so hard she could practically hear it.
She felt her lips touch something soft, and immediately, the world around her was forgotten. She melted into the kiss, and wished that time would come to a halt, so that she could savour this moment for as long as she wanted.
“YES!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exclaimed in unison, high hoofing each other. “Cutie Mark Crusader Matchmakers, success!” The two crusaders quickly looked over their shoulders and at their flanks, but when they saw that there was nothing there, they both let out disappointed moans.
“That’s what all this was about?” Diamond Tiara asked. “You went through all of this trouble, just for your Cutie Marks?”
“Of course not!” Apple Bloom said. “Like we said, we wanted tah help those two by givin’ ‘em a lil’ nudge.”
“It’s just, if we found our Cutie Marks too, that would have been totally awesome!” Scootaloo added.
Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, and then looked at Cheerilee, who was gaping at the scene before her. She was certain her teacher was in a state of shock, and would need some help snapping out of it. ‘She realises we’ve gone well over ten minutes, right?’
“I’m heading back,” Diamond Tiara said. “You know, to where the rest of the class is waiting?”
Cheerilee heard Diamond Tiara’s word, and shook off the shock of seeing two of her students kissing before her eyes. ‘I know I wanted them to get along, but I didn’t quite mean get along that well,’ she thought to herself. “Yes, quite right,” she said. “We should all head back now. That includes those two.”
Apple Bloom gasped and shook her head quickly. “Miss Cheerilee, don’t ya know a thing ‘bout romance?!”
“It would be rude to interrupt them,” Diamond Tiara said, trying to sound as neutral as possible. “But on the other hoof, it would also be pretty funny.”
Cheerilee sighed and rubbed her temple with a forehoof. “Girls, we’re already running late as it is. You three head on back, and I’ll handle those two.”
“But-” Apple Bloom began, but was cut off by Cheerilee.
“No buts! Now go, or else you won’t be taking part in the camp’s final event!” An empty threat, since she didn’t have the heart to deprive them of joining the rest of the class in the final event, but she knew it would be enough for these three.
“Right-o!” Scootaloo said, saluting to Cheerilee. “Heading on back at once, ma’am!” She and Apple Bloom took off back towards the camp at quick speeds, whilst Diamond Tiara walked back a little more calmly, but not before directing one final glance towards Silver Spoon.
After a rather awkward encounter with Cheerilee at the lake, Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon also made their way back to the campsite, their faces completely red and their voices silenced from embarrassment. This didn’t stop the two from holding hooves as they walked, though that was for the most part Sweetie’s Belle’s doing, and Silver Spoon’s inability to pull her hoof away.
When they got back, their worst fears were confirmed when they saw the looks on their friends’ faces; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were giving the two sly grins, and giggling to themselves as the two approached them, and Diamond Tiara, though she looked bored to any normal observer, to Silver Spoon, it was clear that she was trying to act innocent.
“You guys were watching, weren’t you?” Sweetie Belle asked timidly, and with a hint of annoyance in her tone.
“Watchin’ what?” Apple Bloom asked innocently, unable to clear the big grin plastered on her face.
“Yeah, what are ya talking about?” Scootaloo asked, just barely holding back her laughter when she saw her friend’s face turning even redder.
“Okay class!” Cheerilee announced, gathering the attention of everypony present, much to Sweetie Belle’s delight. “We will have forty-five minutes to eat, and then we shall make our way over to the paintball field! For those of you who do not wish to take part can have free time, and there is an observation area if you simply want to watch your friends taking part!”
Normally, she would have made preparations for anypony who hadn’t received permission from their parents, but this year, much to Cheerilee’s surprise, every single student was able to hand in a signed consent form. The parents of Ponyville must have really trusted her… And that kind of put the teacher on edge a bit.
During dinner, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo did more teasing, and asking about what happened at the lake, than any actual eating. They started off subtly, pretending that they had no idea about what had happened between Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle, but eventually started to become more obvious about their teasing.
“We’d better not catch you two makin’ out in our clubhouse,” Scootaloo said, giving Sweetie Belle a quick nudge.
“Stop it already,” Sweetie Belle said, hiding her face in her hooves.
“Aw, come on now,” Apple Bloom said, patting Sweetie Belle’s back. “Ain’t nothin’ tah be embarrassed ‘bout! Ye’re just two fillies in loooove.”
“You know,” Silver Spoon said. She was also blushing, but she wasn’t going to let these two get the better of her. “You do realise that Sweetie Belle is beating you both at romance, right?”
Scootaloo didn’t seem to mind too much, but Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as she realised that Silver Spoon was right. “Ah… Ah hadn’t thought about that,” she said.
Silver Spoon put a hoof to her chin. “Hmmm… Maybe that’s why you’re teasing us right now. Maybe you’re just jealous of her, and are worried that you’ll never find special someponies of your own.”
“Pfft! Yeah, right!” Scootaloo said. “Like we would care about stupid, icky stuff like that!”
“Y-Yeah…” Apple Blooms agreed, though she sounded more uncertain than Scootaloo did.
Sweetie Belle gave Silver Spoon a quick smile, and got back to her dinner. Scootaloo continued to come up with jokes on her own, but without Apple Bloom backing her up, they weren’t as successful as earlier. That is, until Diamond Tiara joined in, occasionally misinterpreting Silver Spoon’s words purposefully to add fuel to Scootaloo’s jokes.
Silver Spoon glared at Diamond Tiara, who simply shot a wicked smile back.
After the five had finished their meals, they and the rest of the class followed Cheerilee and Derpy Hooves to where the paintball tournament would be taking place.
“Scootaloo! How’s it lookin’ out there?!” Apple Bloom shouted over to the orange Pegasus that had been sent ahead to scout out the area.
“You know,” Diamond Tiara said, “There’s not much point in her being stealthy if you call out to her whilst she’s working.”
“Hey! I heard a voice!”
“Over there!”
The four fillies hiding behind a large rock suddenly flinched, and Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom, both at either end of the cover, cautiously stuck their heads out to take a look, only to pull them back suddenly when the enemy began to open fire.
“Great! Now we’re pinned down here!” Silver Spoon said.
“Sorry,” Apple Bloom responded. “Ah hope Scootaloo’s okay…”
Just as she said that, a loud, familiar scream could be heard coming towards them, and was soon accompanied by an orange blur shooting past and taking cover behind a nearby tree. “Guys! It’s bad! Groups six and eight are out there, duking it out!”
“Shouldn’t we take this chance to run past them?” Apple Bloom asked, but Scootaloo shook her head.
“We’d be running right into the middle of a battlefield. We’d make it okay…” She pointed a hoof at the three less athletic members of their group, “But they wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Apple Bloom considered that, and nodded. “Then, what? We just sit here and wait for the two groups tah kill each other?”
“Sounds good to me,” Sweetie Belle said nervously, accidentally pointing her gun at Apple Bloom as she shifted in her spot.
“SWEETIE BELLE! Watch where you’re pointing that thing!” Apple Bloom shouted as she quickly pushed the barrel of Sweetie Belle’s gun away from her with a hind leg.
“Sorry!” Sweetie Belle apologised, moving her gun so that it was facing somewhere else.
“Not at me either!” Diamond Tiara shouted, prompting Sweetie Belle to move her gun away again.
“Sorry!”
Silver Spoon sighed, and couldn’t help but giggle at Sweetie Belle’s klutzy ways. She looked around the corner again, very cautiously, and caught sight of two fillies walking away with downcast expressions on their faces. They must have been shot, and were now leaving the arena.
She couldn’t see any other foals around, and risked sticking her head out further. “It looks like can get through this way,” she said to the others, looking towards a nearby burned down shed that they could use for cover. “Then we can get around and attack them from behind.”
“Ya sure?” Apple Bloom asked, crawling over to Silver Spoon. “It could be a trap.”
“Hey! What about me?!” Scootaloo shouted. “I’m stuck behind this tree! I can’t move without getting shot!”
Diamond Tiara moved to the side of the large rock, and motioned with her hoof for the three behind her to go. “I’ll stay with Scootaloo. You three go on ahead.”
Silver Spoon nodded, and wished her friend luck. Apple Bloom volunteered to take the lead, and moved out first, moving from cover to cover one at a time. She managed to reach the shed without any shots being fired at her, and signalled for Silver Spoon to go next.
“Okay Sweetie Belle,” Silver Spoon said, “I’m going to go first, and you follow me right after. Just run as fast as you can to the next cover, okay?”
Sweetie Belle nodded, and Silver Spoon quickly ran towards a nearby tree that would act as her first new cover. She looked out cautiously, and then ran over to two barrels. Sweetie Belle moved to the now-vacant tree, and waited for Silver Spoon’s next movement.
The two continued this for the next two obstacles with no problems, but when Sweetie Belle attempted to make her next move, a shot rang out and hit the ground in front of her, forcing her to fall back behind the tree that she had just been hiding behind, narrowly dodging two more shots.
“Sweetie Belle!” Silver Spoon shouted. She tried to run towards her new fillyfriend, but found herself pinned down by the same shooters.
“Stay where ya are!” Apple Bloom shouted to both Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon. She poked her head out above the charred sheet of metal that was providing her cover, and saw two colts, one a short grey Pegasus, the other a tall yellow Unicorn, scanning the area, with their guns at the ready. “Ah gotcha…” she said quietly as she aimed her gun in their general direction. Her aim was a little shaky, and she didn’t have much confidence in her marksmanship.
‘C’mon Apple Bloom. You can do this, and ya could even get a Cutie Mark for it, too!’
Licking her lips as she steadied her aim, she fired two shots. One hit the Unicorn’s helmet, startling him and causing him to fall backwards, and the other would have missed the Pegasus, had his wings not suddenly stretched out from surprise at his teammate being suddenly hit.
The Pegasus’ wing was clipped by the paintball round, and he let out a loud yelp of pain as he dropped his gun and checked his wing.
“Gotcha!” Apple Bloom shouted triumphantly. She watched the two colts sulk, and slowly made their way out of the arena. She turned back to Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon, who were awestruck by the farm filly’s skills. “Okay! It’s safe for ya tah cross now!”
Silver Spoon nodded, and quickly made her way over to the burned down shed. She looked over at Sweetie Belle, who quickly crossed over to a nearby rock. Just one more run to reach her friends… Sweetie Belle took in a breath, and bravely charged forwards. As she did, Apple Bloom was busy checking her flank, only to be disappointed when she saw nothing there.
Silver Spoon saw something sparkle in the distance, and turned to some far away bushes to see something metal sticking out of them. Her eyes widened, and she turned her attention to Sweetie Belle, who was completely unaware of the impending danger.
“No, wait!” Silver Spoon shouted, but it was too late; Sweetie Belle was already halfway across, and all her warning did was stop the Unicorn filly, making her an easy target for the enemy. Silver Spoon quickly dashed out from her cover, and over to Sweetie Belle. “Watch out!”
The sound of a gunshot rang through the air, and Sweetie Belle watched in bewilderment as Silver Spoon jumped towards her, and pushed her out of the way. She fell down to her haunches with a loud thud!, and looked on in horror as Silver Spoon suddenly dropped to the floor, a red mark trickling down her side.
“S…” Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened, and she quickly ran towards the grey filly. “SILVER SPOOOOON!” She turned Silver Spoon onto her back, and stared down at her with wide, teary eyes. “No, hang in there! You’re gonna be okay!”
Silver Spoon shook her head, smiling bravely as she took deep, heavy breaths. “It’s too late for me,” she said, slowly bringing a hoof to Sweetie Belle’s face and wiping away the filly’s tears. “You have to go on… You can’t let my loss drag you down.”
Sweetie Belle grasped Silver Spoon’s hoof tightly with her own. “I’m so sorry… It’s all because of me…”
“No, Sweetie Belle,” Silver Spoon assured her. “I should have checked the area more carefully… Please, don’t blame yourself. Just… Make sure you win… And remember me, for who I was…”
Silver Spoon closed her eyes, and stopped her breathing. Sweetie Belle released the filly’s hoof, and nodded her head slowly. “… Don’t worry, Silver Spoon.” Sweetie Belle grasped her gun tightly, her eyes burning with fiery resolve as she stood over her downed fillyfriend.
“You two done yet?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at the two as if they were a couple of grade-A goofballs. “Silver Spoon, ye’re supposed tah clear outta the way when ya get hit.”
Silver Spoon pushed herself up onto her hooves, and dusted herself off. She saw the red stain on her side, and grimaced. ‘That had better come out later,’ she thought to herself as she began to leave the arena.
Sweetie Belle managed to run over to where Apple Bloom was without being shot, and the two began to devise a new plan together.
“Right, so here’s what ah was thinkin’,” Apple Bloom said. “You sneak ‘round an’ take out the enemy, an’ ah’ll distract ‘em. Since ah’m faster an’ all, ah’ll stand a better chance.”
“So… I’ll be on my own?” Sweetie Belle asked with worry.
“Don’t worry so much,” Apple Bloom said with a comforting smile. “Just remember what we taught ya before we started.”
Sweetie Belle thought back, and looked over her gun. “Um… Oh!” She pulled it up as if she were aiming at a specific target, and placed her hoof at the trigger. “Like this, right?”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Just be careful. You have limited ammo, and these things can be quite-”
BANG!
“YOWCH!” Apple Bloom shrieked as a shot hit her right hind leg. “SWEETIE BELLE! AH SAID BE CAREFUL!”
Sweetie Belle dropped her gun in panic, and quickly started apologising to Apple Bloom.
BANG!
“OWWW!” Sweetie Belle felt a sharp pain through her back, and turned around to see Twist standing behind them, a dark grin on her face.
“Got ya. That was for my teammates!”
Scootaloo quickly pointed her gun up, and fired a few shots forward. Diamond Tiara turned to where Scootaloo was aiming, and saw Twist run around the burned down shed, taking cover from the Pegasus filly.
“Darn it!” Scootaloo shouted when she saw the other two crusaders walking away, Sweetie Belle looking upset, and Apple Bloom looking annoyed. “Well, guess it’s just us two, now.”
Diamond Tiara sighed, and put a hoof to her forehead. “Can’t they do anything right? They even dragged Silver down with them.”
Scootaloo glared at Diamond Tiara, and was about to respond, but the sudden appearance of Twist prompted her to quickly take cover behind the other side of the tree. “Now what?! We’re surrounded!”
Diamond Tiara looked around the side of the rock, and found that they were indeed pinned down from both sides. She looked around, but could find no way out. “… There’s nothing we can do,” she said grimly.
Scootaloo looked at her, and the two, as if reading each other’s minds, nodded to each other. “On three?” Scootaloo asked.
“Might as well do something,” Diamond Tiara said.
“Right! We’ll go out in a blaze of glory!” Scootaloo took a breath, and began counting down. “One… Two… THREE!”
“Ah still can’t believe you actually survived that!” Apple Bloom exclaimed with astonishment as she studied the cards in her hoof. “And you won, to boot!”
The five fillies, along with the rest of the class, were now on the train ride home. Whilst most of the class (Cheerilee and Derpy Hooves included) were exhausted from the day’s events, group five proved to have unnatural reserves on energy, and were now playing a game of Texas hold ‘em, a game that Apple Bloom had learned from Big Macintosh and Caramel last Hearth’s Warming Eve.
The other foals that were still up-and-about at this time couldn’t help but noticed the five fillies sitting together, talking, playing, and not trying to kill each other. Gossip speared quickly throughout the train, and soon the entire class had gathered in the car where group five were playing, watching from a distance and talking to each other about what was going on.
“Um… Guys?” Sweetie Belle said when she felt the multiple pairs of eyes on her and her friends. “Are we… Being watched?”
“Just ignore them,” Diamond Tiara said, flipping the final card on the table. She groaned and tossed her own cards aside. “Nothing.”
Scootaloo grinned and revealed her cards. “A pair of eights!”
“Two pair,” Apple Bloom said, sticking her tongue out at Scootaloo.
“Um… I got nothing,” Sweetie Belle said, revealing her cards.
“Wait,” Silver Spoon said, moving one of Sweetie Belle’s Kings up to the pile. “Five hearts. That’s a flush.”
Sweetie Belle blinked as she looked over the cards. “Oh… Is that good?”
Silver Spoon nodded, and revealed her own cards, showing a pair of Queens. “Best hoof on the table.”
Sweetie Belle’s face lit up with excitement, and she let out a small cheer and she hugged Silver Spoon, causing the grey filly to blush and attempt to pry her off. As expected, the mumbling around them increased after that little display.
Sweetie Belle released Silver Spoon and apologised. “Sorry. I just got excited, since it was the first hoof that I actually won.”
“Well try to keep your mind on the game,” Diamond Tiara said, gathering up the cards and shuffling them. Sweetie Belle scooped the pile of sweets towards her, since they didn’t have anything else to use as betting material, and Diamond Tiara to deal out the next set of cards.
After a few more games, and a few foals actually daring to get close enough to the group’s table, Diamond Tiara finally snapped, and ordered everypony to stop watching them, practically biting their heads off and scaring a majority of the class away.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were both stunned into silence by the sudden act, which didn’t go unnoticed by Diamond Tiara, as she saw them gaping at her. “What?” she said harshly, glaring at the two fillies.
“Well…” Scootaloo started. “That was just… Kind cool,” she said, surprising Diamond Tiara. “The way you helped Sweetie Belle like that? I didn’t know you were such a softie at heart.”
“What are you-” Diamond Tiara was interrupted by a sudden hug from Sweetie Belle, confusing her even more. “W-What are you doing?!”
“Thanks,” Sweetie Belle said, letting her go and moving back to her seat next to Silver Spoon. “I was getting really nervous… I don’t like it when so many ponies look at me like that…”
Silver Spoon smiling approvingly to Diamond Tiara, who honestly had no clue what was going on. Still, she seemed to have done something right, so she just rolled with it. “W-Well… It was…” She stopped and gave the Unicorn filly a strange look. “Wait… What about the talent show? Ponies were looking at you then.”
“But that was onstage,” Sweetie Belle argued. “This was just me trying to have fun with my friends… It’s kind of hard to be yourself with so many ponies looking at you, y’know?”
‘No, I don’t,’ Diamond Tiara thought to herself, but decided to just go ahead and deal the next set of cards. Once the fifth card had been laid out on the table, she revealed her own hoof with a smug grin on her face. “Straight!” she declared, her face beaming with pride.
“Darn it!” Scootaloo said as she revealed that she had nothing. Apple Bloom revealed a pair of twos, and then waited for Sweetie Belle to make her reveal. “… Sweetie Belle?”
The three fillies looked over at Sweetie Belle, who was now leaning on Silver Spoon’s shoulder, snoring away quietly. Silver Spoon, still fully awake, looked incredibly uncomfortable, and indeed she was. She had no idea what to do now. She didn’t want to risk moving, in case she woke Sweetie Belle up, but at the same time, her legs were growing tired, and she needed to move them to wake them up.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo giggled at the site, and both got up. “Well, it is pretty late,” Apple Bloom noted, looking outside the window to see that it was already night-time.
“Yeah, I think I’m gonna go hit the hay,” Scootaloo said, walking out of the train car, followed by Apple Bloom.
Silver Spoon looked up at Diamond Tiara with pleading eyes, silently asking her friend to help her out. Diamond Tiara stared back for a bit, and grinned at her friend’s dilemma. This was simply too good an opportunity to pass up.
“Well, I’d better be going, too,” she said, gathering up her cards and putting them back in their pack. Silver Spoon stared at her in disbelief, and watched as Diamond Tiara squeezed past the two fillies so that she could leave the car. “Good night, Silver. Hope you sleep comfortably.”
With that, Diamond Tiara left the train car, leaving Silver Spoon all alone with a sleeping Sweetie Belle leaning on her shoulder. Silver Spoon tried to move Sweetie Belle gently, but when it sounded like she might wake up, she stopped immediately, and let out a light whimper.
Thankfully, she was able to move her legs into a more comfortable position, but she was still pinned down by the adorable little filly beside her… That was now drooling on her. ‘Great,’ she thought to herself as she gently rotated Sweetie Belle’s head, and placed a hoof underneath Sweetie Belle’s chin to close her mouth up.
With a resigned sigh, Silver Spoon decided to just leave it be, and leaned her own head on Sweetie Belle’s, taking care to avoid the horn.
When Cheerilee entered the train car about thirty minutes later, she found the two fillies sleeping together, with Sweetie Belle being held in Silver Spoon’s hooves, both of them with peaceful looks on their faces.
“… Well, they’re certainly getting along now,” Cheerilee said to herself as she gently picked up Sweetie Belle, using her experience as a foalsitter to make sure she didn’t wake either filly up. She placed the small Unicorn on her back, and then did the same for Silver Spoon.
She took them to their cabin, where she found Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Diamond Tiara sleeping on the floor, a board game in progress sitting in front of each of them. She sighed and got to work on putting each filly into a bed, making sure each was tucked in before leaving.
“Good night, my little ponies,” she said as she left their cabin. She sighed a happy sigh as she leaned against the closed door, and began to make her way back to her own cabin. “Now, if only they could stay like this…”
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
1,013 users online
1,867,773 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
New chapter, just in time for the world to end! :D
In the event that the world doesn't end, there will be an epligoue after this chapter for you all to look forward to, and then that'll be it! Hope you've all enjoyed this story, and thank you to everypony that's stuck through it :3
Yay! Successful match made!
yay another awesome chapter, so happy to see Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon together. now if only diamond and scootaloo ended up together. that would be awesome, especially considering how well they worked together on the paintball game, that and all the fights they have just scream romantic tension.
So cute
Glad I read it before the world ends!
Sweet Celestia's tits I love this fanfic. It's so damn cute! And I'm absolutely loving these ultra-long chapters. I wish more people did that.
cdn.derpiboo.ru/media/BAhbBlsHOgZmSSJMMjAxMi8xMi8xOC8yM18yOF8xM183MTVfMTg2OTA3X19VTk9QVF9fc2FmZV9yYXJpdHlfcmVhY3Rpb25faW1hZ2VfY2xvYWsGOgZFVA/186907__safe_rarity_image-macro_reaction-image_star-wars_cloak_palpatine.jpg
There were quite a few spelling issues but nothing serious or distracting.
I thought I should point this out though...
It was pretty early in the chapter. I make that same mistake all the time
EDIT: How does only have 31 likes? It deserves way more than that!
I alternated between laughing my flank off and going d'aww at Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle. Bravo, bravo!
1834678
Celestia has tits?
I love this story. I agree, it should have way more likes. Good stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lrnmbiN4xjE#t=137s
4 Hooves up to you sir! Beautiful story, enjoyed it till the last. Have fun on your future writings!
I am moved. That is all.
MmmMM that was good.
Scoots and Bloom gotta learn to ship with power.
So many encounters gone astray.
Fun times
Cheerlee shock waa her inner shipper daww n
this is my favorite story i have read yet on this website i wish there were more stories this good
Okay, yeah, no. The romance is cute, the plotting is fine, and your dialogue isn't bad, but holy shit, the way you've written Sweetie Belle, she's as dumb as a bag of bricks.
While everyone is confident and competent, Sweetie Belle is a classic damsel in distress: a helpless, clumsy, clueless little baby who constantly needs rescuing and can't do anything competently on her own.
Though this is clearly because every time she screws something up, everyone would rather be a white knight who rides in to hold her hand and protect her feelings, instead of tell her she's doing it wrong.
No, Silver. Don't tell her that her shitty cooking is good, or that her mane styling is sufficient. Tell her that it "needs work". Be honest—hell, even Diamond says "no secrets". If you truly love her, you'd want her to improve herself, and you'd do everything to guide her on that path. Don't just stand there enabling her stupidity, HELP HER GROW. The real world won't coddle her the same way all her friends do.
Why Silver sees anything in her is anyone's guess--so far her only redeeming quality is that she'd rather avoid a fight than start one.
Oh, but you're supposed to "accept someone along with all their flaws", I guess.
That's not how friendship works. You don't surround yourself with a bunch of yes men and create an echo chamber within which you can just be constantly reassured of your perfection. You surround yourself with people who CHALLENGE you. Who want you to be better than you are. Who empower you with the knowledge you need to grow, and the understanding of how and why.
Christ, I haven't even gotten a fifth of the way through this chapter yet.
Just like thousands upon thousands of Doctor Who fans did when this happened
If this was here the whole time, then I'm impressed at how the author predicted this fact.