Friendship...or something like that

by Charlie_K

A bridge to somewhere

A bridge to somewhere

"So what's our game plan for today?" Scootaloo asked as she and her friends tried to squeeze in a few more precious minutes of playtime before the school bell rang.

"In regard ta what exactly?" Apple Bloom asked, the lump she'd received from the day before still visible but nearly as prominent thanks to a long night of icing it down.

"You know what, or rather who. I'm confused with what we're supposed to do with those two now. Do we start being nicer to them? And if so then when?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did say we'd talk after school. I'm guessing she meant to emphasize the "after" part of "after school" as to when we'd see what happens," Sweetie Belle replied.

Scootaloo wanted to point out that Sweetie Belle sounded like she read way too much at times. Instead she just shrugged and let it go; today was going to be weird enough without having to fight her friends at the same time.

"Heads up," Apple Bloom announced. By now the various students were heading into the school and abandoning the playground equipment. Two particular fillies stuck out in particular in the sea of familiar faces as they hung near the back.

"Blank flanks," Diamond Tiara addressed them as they passed, however without the same edge she normally employed when talking to them.

"Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom replied. However that was as far into the exchange as they got before the school bell rang and signaled it was time for everypony to take their seats and face forward for Miss Cherilee's daily lesson. "After you."

"As it should be," Diamond Tiara replied as she and Silver Spoon walked in ahead of them.

"This is gonna be a long day," Scootaloo muttered to herself.

---

Sweetie Belle hypothesis seemed to be quite accurate in nature. All through school it was like nothing had changed. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were unfortunately on the receiving end of the same hostility by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just like it was any other day. The jab of "blank flank" wasn't spared any regardless of what happened yesterday, making it all the more annoying as they were forced to sit through class.

The school bell that finally signaled the end of another day couldn't have come too soon for everypony and like every other day they scattered, heading for home or the park or anywhere else they had/wanted to be.

All except for the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they hung back and waited by the gate.

"One cross word. One more "blank flank" and I'm gonna-" Scootaloo grumbled to herself, or at least what she thought was too herself as in her fury she was getting louder and louder.

"Settle down," Apple Bloom finally spoke up after letting Scootaloo have a few minutes to vent. "We ain't gonna get anywhere if ya keep fumin' like that," she pointed out.

"I'm not sure I even care at this point anymore," Scootaloo replied.

"They're coming," Sweetie Belle whispered, bringing their attention back to the school as the two uppity fillies exited, making their way to the gate to leave the school grounds.

"Follow."

It was the only thing Diamond Tiara said as she walked by them without even a second glance. It'd been uttered so low they would've missed it if they hadn't been paying attention; they weren't even sure they saw her lips move when she'd said it.

"But not too close," Silver Spoon replied in an equally hushed tone as she passed by and took her spot by Diamond Tiara's said.

The crusaders looked at them and back at each other. With a shrug Apple Bloom followed after a pause, with Sweetie Belle following immediately after and Scootaloo finally bringing up the rear, not liking this whole thing one stinking bit.

---

No words were spoken as the five fillies walked along. The crusaders weren't sure where they were being lead and the uppity pair weren't exactly open and sharing with the details forcing them to just bring up the rear.

Finally though the crusaders recognized that they were being lead through the park to a secluded and shaded area by the thick growth of trees away from the brighter open fields that most ponies preferred. At this point they stopped walking.

"This should be good enough. Doesn't look like anypony is around," Diamond Tiara commented and turned to face the three.

"Why'd we have to come so far out?" Scootaloo asked.

"Because if anypony saw us talking to you three in such an open manner there's no telling what kind of gossip could get around town," Silver Spoon replied.

"This is what Dad would refer to as a backroom meeting," Diamond Tiara explained simply. She looked around for some place to sit down that wasn't quite so dirty, but finding none she simply sighed and turned to face them again. "Alright you three we said we'd try and come to some sort of arrangement like this is a business transaction. Only problem is we've...never done something like this before so we don't exactly know where to start."

"We want to reiterate that this isn't a meeting of friends. We don't necessarily like you three, you've just given us reason to believe that you're interesting enough to tolerate more," Silver Spoon explained.

"That said we're willing to discuss this matter at length and...make some concessions if possible," Diamond Tiara added, finding it hard to actually say the words to these three blank flanked fillies.

"Let's hear what you have to offer first. Then we'll get down to the brass tacks," Sweetie Belle spoke up.

Rarity had made it clear to her that when one is entering into some sort of business arrangement, dealing or other form of contract it was always wise to see what the other party had on the table before agreeing to anything. That way if the terms weren't acceptable they could be negotiated until either a mutual agreement was struck, or if necessary call off the arrangement all together. Sometimes she was really glad her sister was so business oriented.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other, again surprised by the way things were happening. Each of the crusaders seemed to be business savy to some degree; at least that's how it appeared to them.

"We sorta walked into this situation cold. What is it you three want out of this business deal?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Uh..." Apple Bloom paused, "hol' that thought. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, can ah see you two a minute?"

Now it was the uppity filly's turn to watch as the crusaders walked off and huddled to discuss the matter. They stayed in that position talking amongst themselves for who knew how long before breaking and coming back to continue talking.

"A'right first off we'd like some more courtesy and consideration from ya. We don' wanna be called "blank flanks" no more an' we wanna be addressed by either our names or as the Cutie Mark Crusaders since that's who we are," Apple Bloom began.

"Secondly if you're gonna insult us then at least get some new material. I've personally heard every variation of "lame" you can come up with and it's getting lame. You two sound like a couple of broken records," Scootaloo added.

"And third we'd at least like to have the possibility of having a civil discussion with you two at times. And we don't want to be lied to either; just because we don't have our cutie marks yet doesn't mean that we're idiots," Sweetie Belle finished.

Diamond Tiara herself was surprised by their list of demands. They were in a position to make any request for consideration and that was what they went with? As far as she was concerned their list was as lame as they were. She thought nothing of pointing out such a fact but some words of wisdom her father once shared with her seemed to echo in her mind with a surprising relevancy. "If the ponies you're doing business with wind up setting the bar low themselves then all good and fine. Even if you don't negotiate further you're still making a huge profit, and if you leave them feeling they've achieved something they'll be likely to come back and do business again," he'd said. It seemed very odd to hear at the time. But now as she was standing there and listening to them it seemed his keen business sense was as sound as ever.

"Alright," Diamond Tiara finally replied and nodded. "We can agree to those terms, can't we Silver Spoon?"

"They sound reasonable I suppose. Provided of course that the terms of the agreement don't apply during school hours when other ponies are present. We do have a certain image to maintain," Silver Spoon pointed out.

"No way-" Scootaloo started to object but was quickly interrupted by her fellow crusaders.

"We can work wit' that," Apple Bloom replied and gave Scootaloo a glare that practically had "keep your trap shut" etched into it. "Does that work for you Sweetie Belle?" she asked.

"Not quite. If it's alright with everypony I think we should draw up some sort of contract or something if this is going to be a business deal. That way we all know what we're getting into," Sweetie Belle replied before reaching into her saddle bag to withdraw pen and paper.

---

April 27th, 002 ANM*

The group Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shall be henceforth referred to in this contract as the Party of the First Part.

The group Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shall be henceforth referred to in this contract as the Party of the Second Part.

Except during the hours in which school is in session and at specified social and public gatherings the following terms and conditions of this agreement shall apply and be in effect:

The Party of the First Part and the Party of the Second Part agree to treat each other with an acceptable and reasonable degree of civility in address and interaction.

Any sharing of goods whether monetary or abstract in nature shall be in a manner determined beforehoof to be fair and balanced but shall not include matters of homework or chores.

When one party agrees to treat the other the monetary expense shall not be more than any individual member is reasonably capable of affording on their own unless it is agreed to prior that two or more participants willingly share the costs associated.

The above agreement may be amended and modified as necessary under consensus of a unanimous member vote.

Escape Clause: If at any time it is determined the terms and conditions above are unworkable the partnership may be dissolved upon reaching a unanimous member vote.

Diamond Tiara

Silver Spoon

Sweetie Bell

Scootaloo

Apple Bloom

The document before them was simply in nature and structure and yet deceiving to the eye. One wouldn't believe that the five of them had spent the better part of an hour writing out those few words. There had been rough drafts and discussions on what the contract should say, how it should be structured and what the limitations should be with everypony contributing something. Sweetie Bell had more or less dictated the final piece, Silver Spoon applying the proper spelling technique and making suggestions for a better flow, and Diamond Tiara had taken everything down as she had the neatest penmanship.

It was simple but straightforward in nature and laid out the terms of the agreement in an unambiguous nature and was centered around a basic concept; fair play and politeness. They all signed it once they agreed on the final product having what made the best sense.

"How can somepony so smart still not have their cutie mark?" Silver Spoon asked as she looked directly at Sweetie Belle.

"I don't always get to spend time with my sister or my friends so I do a lot of reading. If I can't have my cutie mark I might as well try and get smarter in the mean time," Sweetie Belle replied.

"So now that we've got this contract what exactly do we do with it?" Diamond Tiara asked as she looked over the document again. "Who gets to keep it?"

"If it's a'right with ya ah'd like ta suggest we have Twilight hold onta it in case we ever need it fer anything. The library's prob'ly more accessible than any o' our homes," Apple Bloom suggested. "Plus we all know we can trust her. No offense er anythin' like that."

"That's probably what Dad would do in a situation like this, trust a neutral third party," Diamond Tiara replied and shrugged before rolling the contract up. "Now that we've got that out of the way and finalized this is a business deal what do we do now?"

"Well right now I've got a question that's been bugging me since yesterday and you two are the only ones who can likely answer it. What the hay is the deal with Frankford? You said he's a colt. He sounds like a colt. He's built like a colt. But his face is so...mareish! What the hay is up with that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. He's been like that for as long as Silver Spoon and I have known and been forced to associate him," Diamond Tiara replied, shuddering at the thoughts that it brought up. "How some colt only a year older than us can be so annoying is beyond me."

"Hold up!" Apple Bloom spoke up, beating Scootaloo to the point. "He's only a year older than y'all? He's as big as Applejack!"

"He's big for his age, that's all I can say," Diamond Tiara said and shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about him though...partner..."

"Fair enough, partner," Apple Bloom replied and shrugged back.

Silence. Nothing but lots of silence and the background noise of the park filling up with other ponies. Nopony really threatened to come over to where they were so there was no real need to scatter. Not that the crusaders would scatter anyway but the other two might for their own reasons. Now that they had an actual contract the near constant chatter that went into making it had ceased.

"This ain't gonna get us nowhere fast," Apple Bloom sighed and turned back to face the uppity fillies. "Ya mind lendin' yer business partners some experienced advice?"

"Like...what exactly?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Like how long should ya keep workin' at one thing ta try an' earn yer cutie mark? When do ya know when ta say enough an' move onta somethin' else?" Apple Bloom asked.

Silver Spoon scratched her chin as she thought over the question. It was certainly fair to ask something like that.

"If you're really serious about getting your cutie marks in something worthwhile you're looking at months of effort, especially if you're trying to force it just so you can say you've got it. And then you run the risk of having a special talent that has no demand anywhere and it's useless to you," she explained. "Probably not what you wanted to hear but you did ask."

"This is gonna take forever," Scootaloo groaned.

"Trying to be somewhere on schedule, ostrich?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Come again? What's that ostrich crack supposed to mean?" Scootaloo asked as she stood up to face them.

"Fast but no flight. You said come up with some new material didn't you?" Diamond Tiara replied.

Scootaloo frowned and grumbled but sat back down without saying a word. She had certainly told them but she'd never expected something new so soon.

"Hey Diamond Tiara? How did last night go with your dad? Is he alright?" Sweetie Belle asked after another uncomfortable stretch of silence passed.

"As alright as you could expect I guess," Diamond Tiara replied and shrugged. "Charcoal really wasn't a big seller, that's for certain. Dad says ponies around here don't grill enough to need it most of the time. He thinks the monetary impact will be minimal if he doesn't find somepony to make up the loss of inventory with. But still business partners are business partners no matter how their family may be. There are just certain things you don't go around doing," she explained.

Another stretch of silence. This was getting far too annoying. Something had to be done...even if it was drastic in nature.

"So what're you three...crusaders...planning to try next to get your cutie marks?" Silver Spoon finally asked. As far as she was concerned hearing whatever deranged idea they had in mind had to beat just sitting/standing around and looking at each other.

Scootaloo couldn't help but look in surprise at hearing the question asked. They were actually asking them about their crusading? And with curiosity too? This was getting WAY too weird for her. It was seriously tempting to shoot back with hostility and sarcasm just as they'd given out so many times before. But if she did that she knew she'd wind up ruining everything they were trying to achieve. If she opened her mouth she knew she was going to wind up saying the wrong thing so once again she had to bite her tongue and keep quiet.

"Well we were thinkin' about that earlier," Apple Bloom paused as she turned her focus to Diamond Tiara, "ya said ya got an eye fer details an' whatnot. If we showed ya some of our plans do ya think ya could tell us where things might go wrong?" she asked.

Diamond Tiara blinked in surprise at being addressed. They were actually asking her for help because she knew how to do something? She didn't know whether to be happy for their recognition or be annoyed that they assumed she'd help them succeed in their mission.

"My talent is in relation to jewelry and fine stones, not engineering," she replied sharply, "but I guess I could take a look sometime and see if anything sticks out."

"Hey listen everypony," Scootaloo finally spoke up, "I've gotta pick up some stff from the market for dinner tonight so I need to get going. I'll drop off the contract with Twilight on the way, okay?"

"Works for me," Silver Spoon replied and shrugged before taking the contract from Diamond Tiara's grasp and going over to stick the rolled up piece of paper in the pegasus filly's saddlebag.

It was as good an excuse as any to get away from the gathering of fillies. She couldn't keep a civil tongue in her head -or her lunch in her stomach for that matter- if she had to keep sitting there and listening to them trying to be friendly and courteous to one another. She loved her friends, but the idea of trying to be civil to those two bullies was way too much for her. She needed a level head right now and Twilight was definitely that.

But first maybe she'd stop and visit Apple Bloom's friend, Twist, and see if she had any peppermint snacks that would settle that queasy feeling in her stomach.

---

Silver Spoon watched as her friend walked along with a certain spring in her step, merrily humming something to herself as she went. To see Diamond Tiara this upbeat was a little strange to her. Even after a hooficure and manewash she wasn't quite like this.

The meeting with the crusaders had been difficult with all the forced civility they'd been forced to endure and she was thankful that the day was done and they were free to go home and get away from them. And she couldn't believe it but she was actually looking forward to school so she could let loose with some of the bottled up remarks she'd been forced to hold onto.

"My tongue hurts from biting back so many calls of "blank flanks", how can you be in such a good mood?" Silver Spoon asked as she found herself growing annoyed by her friend's unusual upbeat nature.

"Did you see what happened back there Silver Spoon?" Diamond Tiara asked, not even giving her friend a chance to respond before continuing. "Those three blank flanks have finally recognized and acknowledged our superiority to them when they chose to ask us to help them out. They've conceded defeat in the matter meaning we just won a major battle and everything after this point should be easy going."

"And how do you figure that?" Silver Spoon asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you have any idea how many things we can get those three to do under the guise of helping them earn their cutie marks? How much fun we could have just with messing them up? We could even get them to be our personal errand colts and then we could dispense with Snips and Snails entirely! Just because we don't insult them to their faces doesn't mean that we're not going to have our fun at their expense," Diamond Tiara explained.

Silver Spoon was silent as she listened to Diamond Tiara explain the situation. She was ashamed to admit that she hadn't considered such sneaky methodology herself.

"Nice thinking," she replied and grinned. This could turn out to be a lot more fun than she thought. "And they walked right into it too. What a bunch of foals."

---

I've got a bad feeling about today," Sweetie Belle commented as she and Apple Bloom walked towards the Golden Oaks Library to search for Scootaloo.

"Wha' do ya mean Sweetie Belle? Ah think things went well today. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were actually bein' decent ta us," Apple Bloom replied.

"They were just abiding by the contract we drew up to signify this is a business deal. Anypony whose actions are in compliance with something they signed isn't acting that way of their own volition. They're just acting the part they've been assigned," Sweetie Belle explained.

"Wha' are ya, a dictionary?" Apple Bloom asked in a rhetorical manner. "Ah know those two well enough ta know they're actin', ah ain' dumb. Ah'd honestly be surprised if they didn' do somethin' sneaky."

"So you're just going to go along with it, knowing full well that they might be deceptive and sneaky?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Ta an extent. Ah'm not gonna go an' jump in Ghastly Gorge just 'cause they might say ta. But the door's open fer change, an' if we can tolerate 'em an' keep showin' 'em kindness an' whatnot we might jus' get 'em ta be nicer fer real," Apple Bloom explained.

"I hope you're right about this," Sweetie Belle replied.

"So do ah," Apple Bloom admitted, "but come success er failure we got somethin' those two don' got. We got our friends at school, we got our family an' big sisters, an' 'sides that we got each other. We're all there fer each other when we need it. They don' got none o' that really, all they really got is themselves an' their money."

"...That sounds kinda cruel really," Sweetie Belle stated.

"Now that ya mention it, yeah it does. Maybe ah shouldn't o' said it like that," Apple Bloom replied and looked down at the ground. She didn't want to be cruel even if it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Do you think they'll realize that someday?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We knew goin' in that an immediate change wasn't gonna happen. If those two reform it's likely gonna be a slow process. We jus' gotta be patient an' try ta lead 'em," Apple Bloom stated. Sweetie Belle just nodded in response.

Author's Note:

* Second year after the defeat of Nightmare Moon

Comments

[FlameingToast]

Well just when I thought Diamond Tiara might not be a total bitch, she had to convince me again.

As for the chapter, it was great

[Moak]

Good chapter. Ive never really liked Diamond Tiara as a character just cause I was always bullied when I was in school.
My way of dealing with bullies is more along the lines of beat the shit out of them then deal with the consequences.

[MagerBlutooth]

The exact specifics of the relationship between the CMC and the unnamed Diamond Tiara + Silver Spoon alliance is one of the show's greatest mysteries. Is it strictly hostile for the most part? Are there extenuating circumstances? Is there an off season? Is it mutual? Is it even significant? We do not know of any definite answer to any of these questions, so all we can do is make educated guesses until they are finally and inevitably revealed.

Your story presents the theory that the CMC don't really care for the DT+SS presence but aren't actually afraid of them. Meanwhile DT+SS view the CMC as trivial nobodies, only paying them mind when they do something notable. It's a believable setup, and it works for the story you are trying to tell. The CMC do not want the hassle anymore, so they try to befriend them. It doesn't go exactly as they plan, but ultimately it seems more good comes than bad. It really is about what you'd expect from an actual episode.

I actually think it's funny that the majority of people tend to give Diamond and Silver the jewelry-making/silversmithing talents. It makes sense since that's probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of tiaras and spoons as talents. I've always just thought those talents were ill-suited to them. Both seem a bit too laborious for either of them to voluntarily perform them on a regular basis. Still, good work picking something that makes sense..

Frankford is our story's turning point. After a bit of "enemy of my enemy", we get a nice, dramatic save by Filthy Rich resulting in Frankford's banishment. I wasn't aware Filthy Rich had that sort of power, but I suppose that's money for you. It's a shame Frankford didn't have anything to offer the story other than being rude and getting cupcakes shoved in his face, but I suppose he served his role and didn't overstay his welcome.

The resolution to the story was where I started questioning a few things. The contract was an interesting idea. I just felt it was a bit cold. The formality involved in the creation of the contract made me more willing to believe I was reading about robotic clones of the CMC, DT, and SS rather than the originals. Also, I'm having difficulty understanding why DT+SS were so concerned about being seen speaking openly to the CMC if they were fine with doing it the day before. And in the same vein, why would they worry about keeping their image up at school and special social events if the contract was in full effect in the general public? Wouldn't that be where the larger part of their image would be seen? Then, there's this quote:

...but come success er failure we got somethin' those two don' got. We got our friends, we got our family an' big sisters, an' we got each other. They don' got none o' that, all they got is themselves."

Is Apple Bloom saying that DT+SS don't have families? They both mentioned their family members the day before, and Apple Bloom saw Filthy Rich herself, so that can't be it. I suppose she could be saying that their families aren't there for them like hers are, but that would be a horribly insensitive thing to say. It's the equivalent to saying "we have more people that love us than them." This was essentially Apple Bloom's victory quote from the CMC point of view, and it really came across as confusing and mean-spirited.

This story was an interesting take on the DT+SS/CMC rivalry/friendship/contract-obligated coalition. It might be a bit overly formal at times, and Frankford could have been fleshed out a bit more, but everyone else is in character, and there weren't many technical errors aside from a few word usage problems here and there. I'd call this story a banana popsicle with a red center. It's a bit cold, but it's got some good flavor and its own special color scheme.

Make the most!

[Charlie_K]

>>MagerBlutooth

Wow! That's a very in depth review of my work and I thank you for taking the time to put it all down in writing.

One thing I dislike about MLP:FIM is how fast paced everything seems to go at times. In a lot of episodes there's not a gradual evolution from one standard to another with regard to story lines. That's something I try and do in my own works, slow things down and let them gradually build and shift in a more believable approach. Somethings kindness causes an instant change, sometimes it's just the first step. That's why the sequel is titled "The Long Road" because there's going to be a lot of stuff happening before the end ever occurs.

Things might be cold now but that doesn't mean it'll be that way forever. That doesn't even mean that's how things really are. There are always sequel hooks and hints that get dropped for the observant to pick up on.

As to Apple Bloom's words that's a very good catch. In hindsight that sounds a lot meaner than I'd intended and I plan on changing it to something more appropriate for her.

[ServingSpoon]

A little disappoint at how DT and SS are viewing this arrangement. But there is hope for them yet.

I doubt the CMC will be dumb enough to be their slaves just on the off chance of getting a cutiemark. Besides who wants a mark for completing their most likely degrading tasks?

[Charlie_K]

3490505

The Long Road was intended to be a sequel, showing how things have progressed since the arrangement, and better flesh out the story of Frankford and what his relation is to everything.

Unfortunately A Hollow in Equestria became a runaway success, the likes of which I never anticipated. Sadly this has resulted in everything else being put on hold.

[ServingSpoon]

3490612
Oh bummer. Snce it's a sequel and not a chapter I wont get any indication of an update. I hope I catch it.

[ServingSpoon]

3490612
Oh and I really loved the insights Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara provided in how wrong the CMC are going about getting their marks.

They may have been brutally honest but it was the truth and the CMC needed to hear it.

Some of the things they brought up I have considered and some were new for the pondering. But every word was right on!

Just like taking an interest in Diamond's tiara I bet Silver Spoon would respond favorably to being asked to see some of her silver smith projects.