Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Silver Spoon had experienced unexpected emotions before. Life was full of pleasant surprises, as well as unpleasant ones. But this was a new sensation for her. She had never not felt an expected emotion.
This should have been her moment of triumph. Apple Bloom was finally beaten. Usually she would have stated some boastful claim or somepony would have jumped in for her aide. She even might have given a witty answer out of nowhere, overrunning Silver Spoons words. But not this time. There was nothing left for her to do except crying in her newfound awareness that Silver Spoon was superior to her.
Yet still the little grey filly had no sensation of relief, glory or gratification. She just felt nothing. She tried to laugh, forcing herself to be happy. But not even a smile would form on her face.
For a while she stood there alone, a few feet in front of the school house still staring into the direction where Apple Bloom had run off to. She took no notice of all the other ponies passing by. Then a realization popped into her mind.
<Doesn’t the Apple Farm lie the opposite way?>
She shook her head. That thought was more than strange. Wherever Apple Bloom was running to now was not of her concern. As long as she was not around her, Silver Spoon was satisfied with Apple Bloom’s whereabouts. And anyway, why should she waste her time thinking about some blank-flank now that she was free for today to do whatever pleased her?
She walked back the way she came to school this morning. The park was even more crowded, as impossible as this had seemed a few hours ago. It was almost like not only all of Ponyville’s residents had decided to spend the day there but that they had brought visitors from other towns as well.
Silver Spoon sighed once again. She could go and play now that the lessons for today were over. But something else dawned on her. This was the first of many days she would have to spend without Diamond Tiara. It already felt like the longest time ever since they had started school. Since then, they had almost spent every spare minute together. Even when one of them was sick the other would come over to stay at her friend’s side for some time. And being the head of the school newspaper hadn’t stopped her best friend from seeing Silver Spoon each day.
Of course there had been times when they hadn’t been able to be together. They never saw each other when they were on vacation with their parents or visited some relatives over the weekend. But their families had been on vacation at the same time the last two years. And those weekends were only two days they were separated. But now three whole weeks of utter loneliness and boredom lay ahead of her. The same three weeks of summer classes.
Right now she would have given anything to have her friend with her to play, talk and just forget what happened this day so far. She wished she would see or hear her somewhere in another group of fillies that were playing around the park. At the same time she knew that was pointless. Even if Diamond Tiara wouldn’t be away with her parents there was no way those other fillies would have let her play with them. They never let them, neither Diamond Tiara nor Silver Spoon, join their games. Not like she wanted to. Cheerilee had tried to force their school mates to integrate them from time to time but that had never led to anything. Certainly they wouldn’t let Silver Spoon join them right now, she knew that. Thus the filly walked on, not even trying to talk to anypony else. There was just no point to it.
“Hey, you!” she heard somepony shout behind her. At first Silver Spoon didn’t realize that somepony meant her. The voice sounded familiar though. Then she heard: “Silver Spoon, I’m talking to you!”
She held in and turned around. In front of her stood a scowling orange pegasus filly with a purple mane, accompanied by a white unicorn filly with a curly mane, also patterned in shades of violet. The latter looked rather worried than angry.
“What did you do to Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo yelled at Silver Spoon.
“I didn’t do anything,” she answered calmly. “We just talked.”
“Talked? Since when do you just talk?” the pegasus filly demanded to know. Scootaloo took a step closer at Silver Spoon, staring deep into her eyes. She involuntarily took a step back.
Sweetie Belle laid a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder and said: “Then what did you say to her?”
“Why should I tell you? Go ask her yourself,” sneered Silver Spoon. “Why aren’t you following your oh so good friend anyway? Sounds to me like she needs you.”
“Well, I wanted to, but Scoot-” Sweetie Belle started but Scootaloo interrupted her.
“We were too far away, she was gone before we could have reached her. But we saw you and knew you had something to do with it.”
The grey filly couldn’t help but sigh once more. “Okay, it’s really simple. She asked me something she obviously didn’t want to hear the answer to. Not my fault she runs off crying like a foal about it. Doesn’t matter, doesn’t care. Now leave me alone, I have better things to do than anything that would involve the two of you.”
Scootaloo’s look darkened even more, but Sweetie Belle pulled her away. “Let’s go Scootaloo. We need to find Apple Bloom.”
That was the last Silver Spoon heard of them when she turned around again. Meeting the blank flanks was always a pain. At least without Diamond Tiara by her side. This time it was even harder for her, knowing that the last sentence she had said was a lie. There wasn’t anything better for her to do. She just walked around aimlessly.
<Maybe I should just go home.>
Home. That word awoke a thought somewhere deep inside her mind. Or rather, it reemerged from her short term memory. Apple Bloom hadn’t been running home after their little conversation. Silver Spoon would have expected her to dash up right up to her perfect sister, tell her what happened and somehow end up getting a reward for it. Maybe she had been so shocked back then she just ran and didn’t think of where she was going. But then again, why should Apple Bloom be shocked at all? It’s not like what had been said was a secret or anything like that. She just told her the truth. And Apple Bloom had asked her to say it. If it was hurtful to her, it was in no way Silver Spoon’s fault. Anyways, her friends would take care of that now. As soon as they found her, they would hear what happened and they would comfort her.
She stopped dead in her tracks. Why was she having all those strange thoughts today? Was being in school during the summer vacation already affecting her head?
<I don’t care where Apple Bloom is, why she cried and if somepony takes care of her now,> she told herself repeatedly.
She wished for Diamond Tiara to be there with her now more than ever. Her friend always finds an explanation for such things. Being together with her, having her advice made life so much easier. But there was no helping it, she had to fight her way through these weeks on her own. And she wouldn’t let herself succumb to her fate within the first day.
When she had come to this conclusion, she finally took notice of her surroundings again. Silver Spoon had no idea how, but she had made it through the crowded park without crashing into anypony, already left it and was now standing right in front of her favorite shop in all of Ponyville. Her subconscious must have guided her to some place where she would find a bit of happiness on this day at last. With a tinging of the doorbell, she entered the store.
Its sweet scent filled Silver Spoon’s nostrills in an instant. The candy presented here in wooden shelves and glass bowls didn’t just give each and every corner its own unique odor, it also gave the whole place a very colorful appearance. The wooden floor creaked quietly as she stepped past chocolates, lolly pops, peppermints, marshmallows, licorice and – of course – bonbons. More than half of the candies offered here were bonbons in different shapes, colors and – most important – tastes. Silver Spoon’s eyes wandered along the seemingly endless heaps of bonbons. It looked like the stock had been refilled not long ago.
<Perfect.>
That had to mean her favorites were available, too. The Braeburns or rather Braeburn’s Apple Flavored Bonbons by its full name were made of apples from somewhere far away. The shopkeeper had told Silver Spoon once where they came from, but she had forgotten the name of that town. If it wasn’t in the apple’s name she would have forgotten who harvested them as well. She didn’t really care from where or whom the ingredients were delivered. Essential to her was that they arrived at all and she would get her bag of delicious bonbons. The problem was, almost all other fillies in this town liked those rare candies just as much as she did.
She checked every bowl twice to make sure she hadn’t overlooked them. But with each one she inspected her heart sank a bit lower. She found bonbons made of every berry she knew and even some she didn’t know. Bonbons made of oranges, lemons and mandarins. Some made of herbs or things she didn’t know or couldn’t even pronounce. And of course bonbons made of apples. Lots of different apples. But there were no Braeburn’s. Naturally.
<On a day like this nothing good happens to you.>
She was almost about to scream in frustration when she heard the shopkeeper’s voice.
“Are you looking for these?”
Silver Spoon looked over to the counter. The shopkeeper was a light cream furred mare whose mane was mostly marine blue but had a broad strand of pink in it. Her light blue eyes completed the smile she gave Silver Spoon. And in her right front hoof she held a brown paper bag. Silver Spoon’s heart jumped back up past its usual place. “You really saved some Braeburn’s for me?” she exclaimed as she dashed over to the counter.
The mare chuckled: “Of course I did. I know how much you love them and you’re one of my best customers.”
“Oh thank you so much Miss… Miss…”
“Bon Bon. Didn’t I tell you before? It’s not that hard to keep,” Bon Bon laughed, pointing at her cutie mark that excellently matched her name. “And drop the ‘Miss’. I don’t like it.”
Silver Spoon nodded: “Bon Bon, right. So, thank you very much Bon Bon. You really saved my day here.”
“Saved your day? It’s only short past noon, how can your day be so bad already that it needs saving?”
“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” Silver Spoon sighed and added in thought: <And I don’t want to talk about it,>.
Unfortunately for her, Bon Bon wasn’t able to read minds, so she replied: “Honey, if I didn’t want to know I wouldn’t have asked. Maybe there is some way I can help you. And even if not, sharing your troubles makes it always easier to bear them. So come on, what’s the problem?”
Silver Spoon sighed once more. She wasn’t sure if she had ever sighed that much within one day in her live before. Maybe Bon Bon was right. What did she have to lose? And that mare had always been nice to her. Silver Spoon took a deep breath and said: “First of all, I have to take summer lessons during the summer vacation and today was the first day. It’s so boring. I have to sit in school while all the other fillies can play. And it means my parents went to our summer house without me this year.”
“Wait a second, your parents left you alone at home just so they could go on a vacation?” Bon Bon looked shocked, much to Silver Spoons confusion.
She replied: “I’m not home alone. The butlers and maids are there to take care of me. And I’m not angry that I’m not with my parents but that I’m not at our beach house. Instead I have to go to school.” She emphasized the last sentence.
“I see…” Bon Bon said but she looked like she didn’t.
Nonetheless Silver Spoon continued: “And not only that. In the last lesson, that annoying Apple Bloom was there, too. And as soon as she arrived she started bothering me. She really thought I was there because I wanted to.”
She paused for a moment to give Bon Bon a few seconds to laugh at such a nonsensical thing. But the mare only gave her a quizzical look. “What’s wrong with thinking that?”
“What’s wrong?” the filly exclaimed. “It’s just ridiculous. Why would I want to go there? I’m only doing this because my parents make me.”
Bon Bon gave her an intense look, like she was about to give Silver Spoon a lecture about something. But then she smiled instead and said: “Tell me, who is this Apple Bloom you mentioned? Somehow I feel like I know that name.”
“A classmate of mine. Some farmpony from the Apple Farm.”
“Apple Farm? As in the Apple family’s Apple Farm? You don’t mean that red maned filly that talks a lot? Applejack’s little sister?”
“Yes, that’s her. She makes sure to let everypony know that she is Applejack’s sister at least once a day. How do you know her?”
“I met her once when she helped her sister selling apples. Or at least, tried to. Yes, she’s a strange filly, but if Applejack has any influence on her at all, she can’t be all that bad.”
Silver Spoon shook her head. “You don’t know her like I do. Today, when school was finally over, she had to bother me with some stupid talk about how I would have to change myself so we could be friends. As if I wanted that. Then she asked me what my problems with her were, so I told her. And she ran off crying.”
Bon Bon’s eyes widened. Her voice sounded horrified. “She was crying? What in all of Equestria did you say to her?”
“Just the truth. That she’s a teacher’s pet, annoying, a liar and she always manages to get praised for getting in trouble or doing stupid things,” Silver Spoon listed in an instant. “Oh, and that she and her friend’s act really stupid all the time.”
Bon Bon’s eyes grew even wider. Her voice was almost trembling when she said: “But honey, those are horrible things to say. No wonder you made her cry. I would have never expected such a nice little filly like you to be so mean.”
Silver Spoon shrugged. “If she didn’t want to hear it, she shouldn’t have asked. And as I thought I’d escaped the bad things for today, her friends show up and act like I was at fault about Apple Bloom.”
“Honey, have you ever considered that you were?” The question was accompanied by a strange smile, something Silver Spoon couldn’t exactly interpret. In some way, it was sad, yet hopeful and understanding. She wanted to give a reply but Bon Bon cut her off: “Yes, I know you only told her what you honestly think about her. And I don’t want to say that being honest is bad thing. But being honest doesn’t mean to be blunt and insensitive.”
“But she deserved to-“ the filly started, but got interrupted again.
“Nopony deserves to be treated that way. Look honey, it’s not always about what you want to tell somepony, but how you tell it. See, you can tell somepony that she is a stuck-up, egocentrically little brat or you could tell her that she needs to learn how to take other ponies’ perspectives and to respect that they see things differently.”
Silver Spoon thought about Bon Bon’s words carefully. She wasn’t convinced that this could actually work. “Do you really think Apple Bloom would change if I told her that?”
Bon Bon blinked a few times. Her expression looked rather perplexed to Silver Spoon, but the little filly had no idea why.
“Well, honey, it was just an example,” she said. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell her exactly my words. But you should learn how to give advice on improving instead of just blurting out insults. Maybe then you’ll even have a chance to find out she isn’t as bad as you think and the two of you become real good friends.”
Sometimes, just like at that moment, Silver Spoon asked herself if becoming so deluded and ignorant was part of growing up. All adults she knew, even the real nice ones like Bon Bon or Cheerilee never seemed to understand that there was just no way she could ever be friends with some poor pony.
“I don’t think so. Except for Diamond Tiara, none of my classmates like me. Apple Bloom is just the worst of them. I don’t think I’ll ever have any other friends.”
As she spoke Silver Spoon felt her heart starting to burn. Why? She couldn’t figure that out. This had been an accepted truth to her for a long time now. But for reasons that eluded her, speaking about it was rather painful.
“Don’t say that, honey,” Bon Bon said with a wide and heartwarming smile. “I told you before, you’re a very nice little filly. And if that Apple Bloom really is the worst, your classmates can’t be that bad.”
Silver Spoon just gave her a confused look as an answer.
“Didn’t you say Apple Bloom came to you and wanted to be your friend? Maybe you just misunderstood what she meant about you having to change. Just talk to her and find out what she really meant. And remember, honey, don’t just bluntly speak what’s on your mind. Think about if it could be hurtful to her and find a way to say it nicely.”
Silver Spoon remained silent. As convinced as she had been that she didn’t need any other friends, Bon Bon had hit something with her words. It felt like her soul was tugging on her conscious mind, trying to get attention. As if it wanted to remind her of something. When she tried to figure out of what, an indescribable ache started to spread through her. In some way it felt similar to a stomach ache but it wasn’t really a kind of physical pain. Trying to shake off that feeling she shook her head and concentrated on the mare in front of her again.
“Hm, okay, I’ll think about it. But for now, I just want some of these caramels from the middle board.”
Silver Spoon pointed at the shelf behind Bon Bon. The salespony turned around and filled the desired candy into another paper bag while saying: “Don’t just think about it, honey. Do it.” And with a warm smile she handed the bag over to a waiting hoof.
Silver Spoon nodded, handed Bon Bon the bits and turned to leave. But then another thought popped into her head and went straight on to her mouth: “Why do you keep calling me honey?”
With that question, she looked back at Bon Bon who chuckled in response. “Because I think you’re just as sweet. Why, what are your parents calling you?”
Once again, Bon Bon had her confused.
“Silver Spoon, of course. It’s my name.”
And with that, she finally left the candy store.
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
1,068 users online
1,903,134 hits today, 2,004,447 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.®
Oh my, it seems Bonbon already ships them.
1965941
Damn, I hate it when my characters start doing things behind my back...
Okay, thanks, I have no idea how I missed that one ^^.
I really think that this story deserves more attention. It actually makes me care about Silver Spoon and gives her more character. Not to mention that this is pretty well written aside from some minor mistakes.
Good job!
Pow! Right in the heartstrings.
5597967 Silver Spoon (in this story) strikes me as a pony who is currently dead inside. Like she has had so little actual nurturing that her soul is just rotting like bad fruit.
Well, there's an Apple Honey and a Honey Rays... but then again, Silver doesn't seem to be the sort of pony at this point to bother knowing that.