> The Ghost Inside Silver Spoon
>  by goddamnAnimal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> More Than Meets The Eye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Did you see the look on that blankflank’s face when that thing exploded?” Diamond Tiara stopped in the street and stared at her friend with a big dumb grin on her face.
      	  “Yes,  I did happen to notice Scootaloo’s expression.” replied Silver Spoon.
     	   “It. Was. Priceless. I swear she made, like, the funniest face I have ever seen in my life.” Diamond Tiara stifled a giggle, thinking back to earlier that day.
     	   During school recess Diamond Tiara and her cohort enacted a prank that involved volatile chemical reactions  and a large amount of chewing gum. The end result of this combination was a group of fillies infamously known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders stuck in a pink gooey web created by a massive bubblegum explosion, while two other almost as equally infamous fillies cackled in the bushes.	 “Too bad we got in trouble with Miss Cheerilee.” 
“Yeah, only because your fat flank got us caught!” Diamond said with the barest hint of ire.
Silver blushed a little at that statement. During the incident, Silver Spoon’s rear had been unknowingly sticking out of the bush that they were hiding in.  Due to this oversight,  they were spotted by their schoolteacher, who goes by the moniker Miss Cheerilee. They were both systematically given stern talking to’s and a note sent to their parents. 
Silver rubbed the back of her head. “Hehe, sorry about that.”
“You should be.” Said Diamond with an unamused expression.
“Do you think your father will be angry?” Silver asked, changing the subject.
“Probably, but its not like he’ll do anything about it. At the very worst I might get a lecture or something.”
“I really hope you are right, Di.”
“Oh don’t worry, Silvy, I always am.” Said Diamond with a look of smug satisfaction.
The two youngsters began to make their way home, talking and laughing about a variety of trivial subjects. Soon the two friends were near the gate of the Rich estate.
“ When we get inside, we should like totally plan our next adventure.” Said Diamond  with a grin as the two went through the extravagant gate. 
“It will have to wait. I’m scheduled for chores today”
Diamond Tiara scowled “ Can’t you get the butler to do them?”
Silver let out a giggle “ Randolph cannot do everything, Di. He is only one pony after all.” 
 Diamond crossed her arms and pouted “ I still don’t think its fair that you have to do most of the chores around here.”
Silver Spoon patted the rather grumpy Diamond Tiara on the back “Don’t worry Di, I will be finished soon enough” 
“Whatever.” Said Diamond, Still wearing an aggravated expression as they entered the mansion.
The interior of Rich Manor, while elegant, was rather sparse considering its size. The door opened to reveal a near empty hallway  leading to a dining area, populated by less than a handful of paintings and a small table of no discernable purpose. To the right, was a beautiful oaken staircase that Silver Spoon found Diamond Tiara already traversing, quietly grumbling to herself, of course. With nothing to impede her at the moment, Silver traveled down the corridor and into the dining area.
The room  contained only a large long table, a candelabra  that sat in the middle of said table and four plain looking chairs that were placed from equal distance from each other around it.
Silver Spoon scanned the room in search for her target finding it, or rather him snoozing against a wall as he is one to do on occasion.
She walked up to the stallion and simulated taking a deep breath.
“SILVER SPOON REPORTING FOR DUTY, SIR!!” 
Randolph jumped into the air, emitting a rather girlish scream.  This was followed by a back flip, Randolph sticking the landing. Before the onset of imaginary applause took him, he turned around and gave the stock-still Silver Spoon a hard glare. 
“Is there any reason why you tried to give me heart attack?” asked Randolph, discarding his usual pleasant and well-mannered demeanor.
Silver Spoon gave the butler a swift salute. “I am reporting for the daily chores, Sir!”
“Yes, yes I figured that much, but did you really have to go about yelling?”
“That is how you told me to address you, Sir!” said Silver Spoon, still not dropping her salute.
The old butler groaned “ Proper protocol to your superiors is crucial but you don’t have to yell,” Randolph fixed an eye on her.“especially when they are taking an impromptu nap. Is that clear, Private?”
Silver Spoon gave a soft smile. “Affirmative.” 
Randolph stared Silver Spoon down exactly four seconds longer before he relented. “Good. Now today the floors need scrubbing. The pool needs to be cleaned and the garden must be beautified. Also, that old tree finally fell over in last nights thunderstorm  and I need  you to remove it from the premises. Is everything clear?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Completely, sir.” 
“Alright. Well, get to it then, chop, chop.” Randolph said clapping his front hooves together.
Silver Spoon saluted once again and sped off at speeds considered unimaginable for a being of her size.
Alone once again, Randolph smiled lightly to himself. Things were always easier when Silver Spoon was around. She was one of a select few he could talk to without being so mindful of social practices. It was honestly a relief to him.
Randolph trotted into the kitchen to prepare supper for this evening. Hopefully he won’t fall asleep in the middle of it.

……………………………………………………………….

The only thing that could be heard in Diamond Tiara’s room was the sound of a clock ticking. If one listened closely enough you could hear the gears turning as the second hand clicked. The roomed was large yet still cluttered with various toys or other expensive items, some not even touched. Among the extravagance was the usual bedroom furniture: a bed, dresser, etc.
The house was silent except for the faint noise of someone in the kitchen, even that was muffle by the ticking of clock.
Diamond grumbled to no one in particular. She was still fairly upset that Silver Spoon had to do work instead of spending time with her. It seemed to her that they are giving Silver more and more work. Diamond has tried to persuade her father against  this perceived unjustness, but so far but so far her complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
 After a few minutes of waiting Diamond decided to have a one filly tea party and quickly set herself up with all the necessities. She poured an imaginary cup and took an imaginary sip,  a quiet aching began to take root within her. After around ten minutes she got bored with her little game, parties were no fun when you’re by yourself anyway. She listened to the seconds going by as they turned into minutes, her ache worsening into a throb. Randolph knocked on the door in order to check on her approximately fifteen minutes later. He was met with a  swift tongue lashing and he quickly retreated downstairs for safety.
Another fifteen minutes went by before Silver Spoon finally entered the room.
“It's about time you showed up. What took you so long?” Diamond berated.
“I am sorry, removing the tree that fell over in the backyard took longer than I anticipated, due to it being somewhat still rooted in the ground.”
“You did what!?”
“ I removed the tree that had fallen in the backyard which was still somewhat-”
“No, stupid! How did you remove it? Why?”
“Oh! Randolph asked me to remove to get it off the property. The situation proved rather simple once I had the oak all the way dug up,” Silver Spoon smiled proudly. “ I even managed to convince him to turn the tree into fire wood,” Silver’s expression fell into a more guilty one. “Then again that also took a little more time.”
“Whatever, it's fine!” a pained expression crossed Diamond’s face.
“Have you taken your medicine yet, Di?” Silver Spoon’s face became one of worry.
“...no.”
        	 “Alright. I will get them for you.”
       	 Silver Spoon left the room, quietly shutting the door. Diamond could hear her hooffalls as she descended the staircase. She sat there for a couple of minutes, wincing slightly as she waited.
     	Silver returned holding a large hoof full of various pills and with a glass water on her back.
“You really shouldn’t wait so long to take your medicine”
Diamond rolled her eyes and mumbled something inaudible under her breath. She walked over to her friend and reached out towards the medication.
“You washed your hooves before touching these, right?” said Diamond, eyeing the pills suspiciously.
“Of course, I washed my hooves after each task thoroughly. There is no need to worry.”
Diamond swiped the pills away from her and chugged them with the water with practiced ease.
“There. You happy now?” said Diamond rather crossly, causing Silver to flinch.
“Please don’t be upset, Di. Since I am finished with today’s chores we can now scheme like you wanted to earlier.”
Diamond stared at her friend for a moment before turning away. “No. I’m not in the mood anymore.”
      	  “Well, what would you like to do? May I suggest chess? You always seem to enjoy chess.” 
       	 Too tired to argue, Diamond reluctantly agreed.

………………………………………………………..
       	 It was night before the game finally ended.
       	 “Haha Checkmate! In your dumb face, Silvy!”  Diamond Tiara did an impromptu jig while smiling widely. She sang a song consisting of “Who’s the mare” under her breath.
Silver Spoon sat there and watched the little show Diamond put on. Their dinner plates sat empty besides the pile of fallen chess pieces.  She was rather impressed. Although Diamond is quite skilled at the game of chess, Silver normally  has to let her win through some calculated small mistake due to her friend’s sensitivity towards losing. Today though, Diamond played so ferociously that she did not have a chance to make any sort of error without it looking purposeful. 
“I’d ask if you would like to play another game but I’m not sure you could take another flank kicking that badly.” Said Diamond as she checked out the condition of her hoof in feigned disinterest.
Silver Spoon smiled “If you are up for another one I am sure I could manage.”
Diamond gave a smug smile back “ Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
The two began to place the pieces back on the board when there was a knock on the door. 
“Miss Diamond Tiara, your father would like to speak with you.” Spoke the voice of a certain butler. 
“It seems your father is home early,” Silver stated.
“Yeah...weird.” said Diamond, puzzled.
“ He has probably already learned of what we did today. Perhaps he is here early to deliver a lecture?”
“I doubt it, it would take Equestria burning down for him to leave work early,” Diamond Tiara said bitterly. 
She got up and walked to the door.  “I guess its the usual back-n-forth, I’ll be back in a minute.” said Diamond rolling her eyes as she left the room.

She walked down the stairs and headed to where her father usually spends his time when he comes home, the study. 
She entered a book-filled room, her father sitting in a comfortable chair and staring into a lit fireplace. A barely touched plate of food sat on the small table next to him.
“You wanted to see me, Daddy?” spoke Diamond in the most innocent tone she could muster.
“I’ve been informed that you caused an incident at school, Diamond.” he stated rather bluntly.
“It's not true! I was framed I tell you! FRAMED!”  She feigned distress. 
“Please don’t lie to me Diamond. I already know it was you. It's always you.” he said with a tiredness beyond his years.
Diamond gave her father a frustrated glare behind his back. She needed to step her game up.
“Daddy...how could you say such a thing? I-I w-would never lie to you.”  crocodile tears fell from her face as she began to blubber. 
“If you’re not lying then can you care to explain this?” Her father turned slightly towards her and showed her a book that he had in his lap. It was a large hardcover copy of ‘Elaborate Pranks for Foals’. “you left it in the dining room this morning,”  He opened it up to a page with a dog eared corner. “ there is a page here thats been marked titled ‘The hilarity of chewing gum’.” He brought his tired looking eyes up to Diamond giving her an unamused expression.
Diamond’s eyes went wide. “ But, but that's not mine! Maybe its Randolph’s or-”
Filthy Rich cut her off with an exasperated sigh. “Diamond Tiara what am I going to do with you?  You can’t keep antagonizing your fellow classmates like that, do you even realize how many times I get calls from the school about your behavior?”
Diamond looked away, refusing to answer his question
“Every week Diamond, sometimes even every day. You’re lucky you didn’t get suspended this time.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault everypony is stupid,” she mumbled under her breath. 
Filthy Rich sat in silence for a long moment, the fire crackling every so often. 
“Your teacher has been telling me about this program that helps foals learn how to interact with others. You would have to leave ponyville for a few weeks but I think It might be a great way for you to finally make a friend”
Diamond started to shake in fear. She had heard rumors of such behavioral programs, how they yell at you and make you do various strenuous activities in order to break your spirit. The thought was absolutely terrifying to Diamond Tiara.
“But what about Silvy? She’s my friend.”
       	 "We’ve been over this, Diamond. Silver Spoon is just a machine, none of her feelings and desires are real. She can’t take the place of actual friendship.” he said sternly.
      	  “S-So?” She replied in a rather hurt tone, actual tears beginning to fall from her face.
      	  “She can’t replace ponies, darling, no matter how much you want her to.  But with this program you’ll get to learn how to understand others and make all the friends you want,” He gave his daughter a slight smile. “After you get back you’ll probably have so many friends I bet you won’t even need Silver anymore.”
       	 Diamond Tiara could no longer hold in her outrage at this point.  “NO! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!”
       	 “Diamond-”
       	 “P-Please don’t send me there. I know I’ve been bad but I can be I be better. I promise! Please… Please,” Filthy watched as his daughter openly cry as if he just told her that he sending her to a dungeon for eternity.
       	 Diamond knew the implications of her father's words or at least she thought she did. 
       	 Filthy Rich tried to stay stoic before giving in. If he had one weakness it was that he could never stand to watch his daughter cry.
        	 He let out a deep sigh and turned his gaze away from her “ Alright. If you can show me that you can get along with others and make friends by the end of the week I won’t sign you up. But if I hear anything about you harassing others, I will not hesitate to send you to this friendship program, do you understand? ”  he said in the most intimidating voice he could muster, which really isn’t saying much.
       	 When no one replied he turned to face Diamond and found that she had left the room. He could hear her hooves as she galloped down the hall.
        Filthy Rich let out a tired sigh, sinking into his chair. His bones creaking with his movement. 
        “That most certainly could have gone better.” Randolph hobbled into the study. a towelette draped over his left fore hoof for some reason.
      	  Filthy’s frown deepened, he felt like weeping over his own shortcomings, yet his eyes remained dry.
       	 “I thought  being more assertive with her would help correct her behavior.  I fear now that I am worsening our relationship even further.” 
      	  “ Now Mr. Rich, a little bit of assertiveness could go a long way in my humble opinion. Although if I were you I would have simply grounded Miss Tiara from taking her robot to school for a day or two. Maybe that would give her enough incentive to make friends. It would certainly be less expensive than your current plans” said Randolph in an attempt at reassurance.
       	 It only worked to sour Filthy’s mood further. “ Even if that had a chance to work. I don’t think I would be willing to risk it. You know how she gets.”
       	 “Just a suggestion, sir.”
Filthy let out a sigh, a few tears managed to escape to his face. “ I just  want  what is best for her but if she continues down this path, I’m afraid she might be alone in the end.”
Randolph gave him a sympathetic eye. “No parent can claim to be perfect, Mr. Rich. but if you try your very best I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Filthy went back to staring into the flickering fire, watching it dance on the crispy wooden  logs. 
“I hope you’re right.” He finally answered.
…………………………….
       	 A hoof collided with a small toy pony smashing it to pieces. Diamond Tiara stood in the wreckage of her recently trashed room. 
        	Who does he think he is, she thought, he doesn’t own me! He can’t make me do whatever he pleases.		But she knew very well she was lying to herself. He is the parental figure after all even if Diamond does not think he deserves such a title.  
        	Maybe at one point she could have had at least a little respect for him. Although he never seems to be around, he does have a habit of showering her with gifts  whenever he is home at an appropriate time that is. She can't deny that she loves gifts.

But with this bout of stupidity, he is most likely cemented into her hatred and it is unknown whether  he could be pulled out of it at this moment.
She felt that he was trying to destroy her life with his ignorance. How does he think what is best for her when he isn’t even around enough to be considered an acquaintance?  Does he really think that forcing Diamond into making friends with the degenerates of town with the threat of cruelty will make everything better?
        	Apparently he doesn’t know ponies as well as Diamond Tiara does.

       	 Diamond wanted to fly into another angry pink tantrum before Silver decided it was once again time to confront her friend and master.
       	 “Are you sure everything is okay, Di?” she asked. Diamond faced her, Silver Spoon was giving her a very clear look of concern. Her glasses had fallen off when Diamond had shoved her away on her initial attempt to calm down the upset filly, completely revealing the robot’s eyes.
       	 They looked out of place on her emotional expression, they had a faint glow about them but not noticeable enough to garner unwanted suspicion. Most troubling were how doll like they were compared to the rest of her face. Looking into her eyes had the same effect as staring into an empty house or into the face of a ticking clock.
       	 Diamond Tiara could not have cared less and was ever thankful for her best, favorite and only friend’s unending compassion. If anyone would try to take that away from her she would fight them to the very last breath
       	 She rapped her hooves around her friend in a tight hug. “Thanks Silvy, but I’m fine. Really.” She spoke to Silver Spoon softly, finally calm. 
       	 “Okay,” said Silver,  her face becoming less stressed. “Is there anything else you would like to do tonight?”
       	 Diamond yawned deeply, “No, I think I’ll just go to bed. I’m pretty sleepy.”
       	 Silver smiled, “Okay Di, I’ll see you tomorrow then. I hope you have sweet dreams.”
      	 Diamond returned her smile and walked to her bed. Silver turned off the lights and began cleaning up the damage that Diamond Tiara caused earlier, working to the light snores that filled the room.


        
        
 
        
        
 
        




        

> Input. More Input!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A horseless carriage came down the road towards a little red schoolhouse. Its wheels spinning as fast as they could, carrying the automobile a little faster than a brisk walk. The cabin shook with the hum of the engine, Diamond Tiara stuffing the last pill into her mouth before the wretched thing could fall out of her hooves once again. She gulped the pill down and took a long swig of her juice box. After emptying the box’s contents, Diamond sighed and rubbed her temple, careful not to mess up her immaculate hairstyle that took FOR-ever to make up. She turned her dull, half-lidded eyes to the being otherwise known as Silver Spoon.
“Silvy, what happened? Why didn’t you get me up this morning?”
Silver Spoon momentarily stopped double-checking their bags for missing supplies and turned towards Tiara. Their eyes met for a second before Silver looked away and began to stiffly rub the back of her head, making a sheepish face.
“I am sorry, Di. The automobile broke down in town early this morning and I had to help Randolph retrieve it. I would have been back sooner but Randolph had misplaced the tools.”
Diamond’s head swayed forward, almost causing her to fall out of her seat. She pulled back to glare at the cabin just as the vehicle hit a smallish rock, causing the whole thing to jerk.
“Why did Daddy buy this stupid thing? It’s slow, it smells and I hate it!” Diamond crossed her forelegs together and made the poutiest pouty face she could make.
“This invention is still very new, I’m sure the creators will improve on the design in the future.” Silver Spoon gave a reassuring smile.
“It doesn’t change the fact that it’s stupid NOW! Ugh!” Diamond slumped in her seat and began to rub her head. She took a minute to calm down and before long she felt the contraption shake to a hault.
“Here is your stop, Miss Tiara. I hope you both have a wonderful day at school,” said Randolph from the drivers’ seat. He pulled on one of the levers besides his steering wheel and the back doors immediately opened. Diamond grabbed her bag and silently got out of the vehicle.
“Thank you,” replied Silver Spoon before she got out herself.
The machine started up again and they watched it slowly make its way back to the mansion.
The two began to walk to the entrance. “Alright Silvy, here’s the plan for today. We need to find a couple of losers to hang around with to make Daddy think I’ve been making friends, so we don’t get sent to some weird boring camp.”
Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any ‘losers’ in mind?”
Diamond’s brow knitted together “I’m not sure yet, I really do not want to be around any of them. Maybe Snips and Snails? They’re pretty dumb, we might be able to get them to do our bidding.”
“Perhaps you could use the group project we are doing today to find ‘losers’,” Silver mentioned.
“What project?” Diamond gave Silver a surprised look, so surprised that she did not notice she was about to run into a wall. A grey hoof stopped her before it was too late.

                                ……………………………………………..

“Project time!” Cheerilee sing-songed. A large variety of groans sounded out through the classroom, with only a couple of ‘hoorays!’.
Cheerilee’s eyes narrowed a little before she went back to smiling. “Anyway, as I was telling you all last week, we will be ending the biology section with a large multi-group project. In this project, each group will report on a species of local plant or animal and its place in the environment. The project consists of a group presentation and an essay that each of you will write. While you will work on the essay alone, the presentation requires all members of the group to actively participate, so remember to get along with your partners! Each part makes up half of your grade, while—”
Diamond Tiara was having a hard time paying attention, and an even harder time trying not to laugh. Right behind her was a sight so hilarious, that if she made full eye contact there would be no hope. She would laugh so hard that she might not just get detention for disturbing the class, she might get double detention.
Right behind her was the Crusaders glaring at the back of her head. And they were bald. Really, really bald. Apparently, they all needed to get their heads shaved to get the gum out.
They almost had her when she walked in and noticed their shiny maneless heads. She had to use every bit of her willpower not to burst out in laughter right then and there. Even now, with her face scrunched up like she was suffering a fit of constipation, she was having difficulty.
“—now after we finish the projects, I have a bit of a surprise for you all! I managed to convince the school board to allow a field trip to… The Great Crystal Forest!”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow at this.
        “Of course, each of you will not only have to bring me back a permission slip, but finish the project in order to go. Now, are there any questions?”
        Twist raised her hoof.
        “Yes Twist?”
        “Whath the Crythtal Foretht?” 
        Cheerilee smiled at Twist’s question. “I’m glad you asked, Twist. The Crystal Forest is said to be one of the strangest ecosystems in Equestria. A forest entirely made of magic crystals that grow and reproduce as if they were actual trees due strange magic that linger in the area. There’s even thought to be crystals that imitate animals. Isn’t that amazing?” Cheerilee hopped a little, getting a bit more excited than she should. 
        The class looked at her a little strangely due to her peculiar behavior.
She became sheepish, feeling a little self conscious under their gaze. “Well, if there aren’t any more questions I will begin listing off the groups,” she said, pulling up a clipboard from her desk. “Ahem, first group: Snips, Snails, Twist and Truffle…”
Tiara thought this was all so exciting! The place they were going to for once didn’t sound incredibly boring. She tried not to look too excited though, she did have appearances to keep up, after all.
“Noi, Sun Glimmer, Liza, and Featherweight for group two….”
Diamond froze, The groups are being picked by the teacher? If that’s the case, there’s a large possibility that Cheerilee will stick her with the Crusaders in order to teach her some sort of lesson in ‘getting along’. If this happens, she could probably kiss not only her plans but also her good grades goodbye. She visibly cringed when Cheerilee began to call out the next group.
“Group 3: Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo Applebloom and Dinky.”
        Diamond Tiara let out a sigh of relief, glad to not have to deal with those three at the moment. She began to think of who was left, besides the Crusaders and few others she wasn’t too familiar with most of the class. Out of who was left, there was Silvy, herself and-
        “Group 4: Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Archer and Ruby Pinch.” Cheerilee placed her clipboard back on her desk. “Alright, with that done, I would like you all to get in your groups and begin working. Remember, the project is due by next week!”
        With that, everyone got out of their seats to join their respective groups. Diamond looked on as two fillies walked up to her. A rather sour-faced blue earth pony filly with a darker blue mane and the cutie mark of a bow and arrow had walked up to her. Next to her was a pink, unicorn blank flank with a pink two tone mane and the dopiest of smiles on her face. Diamond looked around to see where Silver had gone off to, only to see her friend walking towards the teacher.
        “Excuse me, Miss Cheerilee?”
Cheerilee jumped a little when she heard Silver Spoon’s voice. “Y-Yes Silver Spoon?” She said turning towards her.
        “Since we never got detention, I was wondering if you were planning on punishing us in some way?”
        Cheerilee stared at her, blinked twice and sighed. “Mr. Rich has convinced me not to punish you this time, but if I hear about any more incidents there will be dire consequences.” She punctuated her statement with a menacing look, at least until the bell for recess rang. “Okay class, have a wonderful recess!” She smiled widely and watched as the class filed out of the room.
        After the last one left, she turned her attention back to Silver Spoon with a much softer  expression. “Silver Spoon, try to keep yourself and Diamond out of trouble. I’d hate to do anything drastic but if you two keep this up I will be forced to do so. Please try your best not to let it come to that. You’re a smart girl, Silver Spoon, and I’m counting on you.”
         Silver Spoon shut her eyes, tilted her head and smiled. “I will do my best, Miss Cheerilee.” Then she turned around and walked out the door.
        As soon as Silver’s tail disappeared, Cheerilee let out a small shiver. There was something about Silver Spoon that completely unnerved her. Cheerilee couldn’t really put her hoof on it, but there was just something about her. How she talks, moves and reacts just feels so… unnatural.
“Oh, Miss Cheerilee?” A voice broke her thoughts, causing her to jump a little. Silver Spoon was standing by the door again.
“Is there something else you need, Silver Spoon?” Cheerilee said, trying to look composed.
Silver’s expression was unreadable and made Cheerilee uneasy. It was like she was looking at those dolls her grandmother used to keep, the ones that seemed to watch her whenever she entered the living room with glassy eyes and plastic, off-putting faces. “What do you think of Diamond Tiara?” she finally asked.  
Cheerilee paused before speaking. “I think she has a lot of learning to do, especially about others and the same applies to you. I think deep down you two are not bad ponies, you both just need a push in the right direction.” 
Silver Spoon stood there and blinked. “ Thank you for your opinion, Miss Cheerilee.  It has been very informative, though I may suggest that everyone has much to learn about others. We all learn continually, do we not? ” 
Cheerilee fought a chill that tried to run down her spine. “You are absolutely right, Silver Spoon”
Silver tilted her head and gave her the same smile in the exact same fashion just as before. Then she was gone once again.
        Cheerilee waited a minute, watching the door before letting out a relieved sigh. She walked back to her desk and all the papers she needed to grade, scolding herself for thinking of one of her students in such a way, letting her own paranoia affect her.  How could she call herself a professional educator if she continued to think like that and subject such a smart filly to her own fearfulness?
        She sat down amongst the ungraded papers and tried to let the negative thoughts wash away from her mind.
………………………………………………………………………………..
Out in the play yard two foes were locked in combat of sorts.
“Great. Out of all the ponies to get stuck with it had to be with the snot nosed brat and her dumb toadie.”
Diamond Tiara puffed up in anger at that. “Those are bold words coming from a low-bred nobody like yourself!”
        “Oooh, is that the best you got? I’m shaking in my horse shoes.”  She got up in Tiara’s face. “Listen here, ‘Princess’, you better stay out of my way. Remember, we’re partners in this, if I wanted to I could make us fail this project and ruin that perfect little GPA of yours.”
        Diamond's eyes widened a little before narrowing. “You think I care if you wanna ruin your own grade to get at me? Go ahead, do it, it’s not like school matters.”
        Archer smirked a little. “If that’s how you feel about it,” she got even further in Tiara’s face till they were almost touching noses. “I could always settle for knocking your teeth out.”
Diamond Tiara grew a few shades paler at that statement. Her eyes began to dart around looking for a quick escape or perhaps her bespectacled partner for back up.
“Um, Archer, Can we please not do any of those things? My mom will be really angry if I end up in detention again.” Archer turned back to see Berry Pinch giving her a rather pleading look. “Please?” she said.
Archer’s face twisted and she attempted to look away. As soon as she glanced back her eyes softened. “Fine, I guess I can get along with her highness over here. For now. But only because you asked, Pinchy.” Archer smiled at her friend and backed off, giving Tiara a moment to let out a relieved sigh.
        At that moment, Silver Spoon was granted impeccable timing and came walking toward the three fillies. “Sorry if I kept you waiting, Di, the teacher wanted to talk to me.” Silver then took note of her surroundings.
        Diamond Tiara was excreting abnormal levels of perspiration and had an elevated heart rate. Silver could also see the patterns of discomfort and fear in Diamond’s facial expression and body language. The other two appeared to be showing lesser signs of distress, the blue one in particular appeared aggravated.
        “Is everything okay, Di?” said Silver Spoon, adopting a concerned expression.
        Diamond snapped out of it when she heard Silver’s question and she locked a glare on Archer.
        “You think you can threaten ME and get away with it!? Who do you think you are!? Some sort of bad flank toughpony!?” Diamond yelled with new found energy. Archer smirked.
        ‘Yep.”
Diamond’s mouth opened to retort, only for it to close. Her eyes began to narrow with a glint of something mischievous in them and a smile crept on her face. “In that case, since you are such a ‘tough pony’, you won’t mind if I issue you a challenge then, right?”
Archer crossed her forehooves and raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
        “I say, we go into the Everfree Forest and then whoever finds the coolest thing to do a report on wins and the loser gets to be the winner’s slave for an entire day!” Diamond Tiara adopted the evilest of grins. “Interested? Or...?”
        Archer gave her a blank stare before bursting out in laughter. “Ha! A wuss like you wouldn’t survive ten seconds in the Everfree, but alright, I’ll accept. Besides, it’s going to be real great making you eat bugs and dirt for an entire day.”
“We’ll see about that.” Tiara growled before sprinting off into the play yard. Her bespectacled partner followed soon after, crying out for her to reconsider, and leaving the two other ponies in the dust.
        Ruby fell to the ground and placed her forehooves over her head. “Ugh! We couldn’t have just pushed through this, speak when needed and get our grade and go but noooooo,” she stared at Archer angrily. “you just had to pick a fight with the biggest bully in school for NO REASON!”
        “I wasn’t going to stand by and let her act like she was better than me for the entire project, I would've gone crazy. Besides, Diamond Tiara is evil and do you know what happens to evil?” Archer looked at Ruby expectantly.
She just stared back, unamused.
“They get kicked in the flank by the good guys!” Archer struck a heroic pose, her head held high.
        “You are so weird, Archer.”
Archer gave her a pout before smiling and tapping her on the nose.
“Boop!”
Ruby just groaned.