To Love and be Loved in Return
Another dawn’s light spread across Ponyville, bathing the small country town in a graciously appreciated Spring’s warmth after a long and grueling Winter. High upon a hilltop overlooking the rest of the town, protected by Victorian wrought iron fences sat the manor of one of the most affluent and influential families in Southern Equestria, let alone the small rural town. With a half-acre of yard, a home theatre, and a forty-foot pool, they wanted for nothing material.
And nowhere was this more imminently obvious than in the second-floor bedroom. Its walls were covered in lace-themed wallpaper in various warm shades of pink. The finest of imported Saddle Arabian silk rugs protected hooves from the cold that would often gather on the hardwood flooring. A massive walk-in closet in one corner housed thousands of bits worth of the most trending clothes in the Canterlot fashion scene, most of which had been custom-tailored for their young owner. Another corner housed a bookshelf filled to bursting with first editions of all the literary classics that her teacher so often praised and forced her class to read. Interspersed between, however, were texts on finance, business and economics, the spines of which on many were beginning to wear thin and crack from frequent use.
But by far, the most opulent feature of the bedroom –second to which was an antique Prench vanity, an heirloom from her mother– was the gargantuan four-post bed in the center. Thick comforters in various shades of pink ranging from pastel to nearly red combined with a plethora of throw pillows made it nearly impossible to see the young mare sleeping within. A coincidence of circumstances very much intentionally designed in an effort to prevent the sun’s annoying rays slipping through the window and disturbing her rest.
However, as it was every morning, her efforts were in vain. A sharp rap on the door made her ears perk up before a wheezing yet authoritative voice called out from the other side.
“Young mistress, it is time to awaken. Breakfast shall be ready shortly.”
“Yes, Threadbare,” the mare called out, her voice hoarse even to her own ears. A product of a very short night’s sleep she would have figured, had she been interested in thinking so deeply so early.
Instead, she merely groaned and dragged herself reluctantly out of her bed’s warm embrace. She paused to stretch out a kink in her back before trudging to her closet and picking out an ensemble for the day. Her mind worked on autopilot as she picked a cute purple top with a Florentine collar and lightly-puffed short sleeves and matched it with a tight thigh-length buttercream skirt. It was a perfect compromise between dressing as she wanted and how her father expected. A compromise she’d made so many times that she barely even had to think about it anymore and could simply let instinct take over.
It gave her mind more time to wake up, anyway; a fact she was most grateful for. Diamond Tiara was not a morning pony. And especially not a Monday morning pony.
After gathering her things, she prepared to head for the bathroom to shower, remembering only at the last moment to straighten her nightgown to ensure she was decent. The last thing she needed was for her tail to have come out of its hole and be holding the hem up as she walked the halls of her house, showing her bottom off to the world. Or rather her father or Threadbare, their butler. She’d never hear the end of that.
One shower and no embarrassing incidents later, she was in her room again and sitting before her vanity. Everything within it had its own place and over the years she had taken great strides to keep it clean and well-maintained, just as she’d been taught. She removed a pearl-handled brush from one drawer and a couple of cases of makeup from another, laying them side by side. The two things could not have been more different. The plastic cases were brand new, containing designer brands of lipstick, eye shadow, blush, mascara; anything and everything she could ever need to pamper herself with. The brush on the other hand was old and worn, with its pearl handle not shining as brightly as she could remember it did years past and the blue paint chipping in places, revealing the wood base. A few bristles were falling out as well, but despite that she could never bring herself to throw it out. It, like the vanity itself, had been a gift from her mother.
She took it in hand, running it through her lavender mane until it hung in perfect, silken waves across the right side of her face before pinning it by her ear with a jade maneclip. She smiled as she looked at it in the mirror. It had been a birthday gift from her best friend, and no matter how many times she'd worn it, it always left warm tingles coursing through her navel.
After applying ‘just enough makeup to enhance but not enough to look like a clown’ as her mother would say, she grabbed her backpack from beside her bed and left for breakfast, hoping she wouldn’t be too late. Of course, the table had already been set by the time she arrived in the dining room. Her usual spot already had a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs and toast laid out for her along with a glass of orange juice. She bit back a sigh that Threadbare had apparently forgotten that she had asked for coffee with breakfast from now on. She couldn't hold it against him, though. He had never been great with change.
The head of the table was already taken by a brown-coated stallion dressed in a pressed white shirt with a pin-striped grey vest over it. Filthy Rich’s black mane was slicked back with just a hair too much gel, but Tartarus would freeze over before he ever let her help style him. He sat hidden behind a newspaper as she took her spot to his right, dropping her backpack by her chair.
“Morning, Daddy,” she said.
After only a slight hesitation, he folded the paper and put it aside before smiling warmly at her. “Good morning, Diamond. How’d you sleep?”
“Well,” she said, suppressing a flinch. She wasn’t about to tell him she’d only gotten four hours of sleep. “Anything interesting in the paper?”
“It seems like there’s been a spot of trouble between the griffins and the zebras again,” he said, cutting off a large portion of the omelet on his plate. He paused to consider while he chewed. “Zebras apparently took some griffin tourists into custody and are refusing to extradite them. We may need to keep an eye on the situation.”
“But isn’t there always something going on between those two? They’ll squawk and squabble for a while and then things will go back to normal. Why do we need to worry about it? It’s not like this time they’re going to war.”
He frowned at her. “War is hardly the real concern. You’re right, they’ll never come to blows. They rely on trade with one another too much for that. The zebras provide too much non-unicorn spellwork and the griffins export half the gold the stripes need for their jewelry. They need each other too much.”
It was Diamond’s turn to scowl at her father. “’The stripes’? Really, Daddy? That’s a horrible thing to say.”
“What?” he asked, taken aback. After her meaning dawned on him, he shook his head. “Oh, yes, of course. You know I don’t mean anything by it, dear. That’s just—“
“What they called them back in your day. I know, Daddy,” Diamond said, cutting him off. She’d heard it a million times before. Like their butler, her father had trouble with change.
“The point is,” he pressed on past her interruption, “their fighting has more going on than just whether or not it could escalate to war. It could also affect trade relations. Do you remember how the Saddle Arabians ship their goods to Equestria?”
Diamond moaned at the idea of a quiz first thing in the morning. Thinking back to all the things her father had ever told her about the Saddle Arabians, she hesitantly gave her answer, unsure it was correct. “They ship them by boat…?”
Filthy Rich nodded. “Yes. And why might that be relevant to the griffins and zebras?”
She wracked her brain but couldn’t come up with anything and gave a defeated shrug.
Her father sighed in obvious disappointment and took a long swig of his coffee. Diamond felt like an idiot as her father broke out what she called his ‘lecture voice.’
“Because the Saddle Arabians can only reach Equestria by sailing through Zebrican waters. And every time the Zebras come into conflict with the griffins, they restrict traffic through their country and waters by everyone, griffin or no. If this little scuffle doesn’t get resolved quickly, it could severely diminish our silk imports from Saddle Arabia, if not cut it off entirely. It won’t affect us much on the whole, but it could greatly drive up the cost of silk. Costs, I might emphasize, that we will have to pass on to our customers to avoid taking a loss. Understand, dear?”
She felt remarkably stupid by the time he was done. Not that it was an uncommon feeling when they talked business. “Yes, Daddy. I’m sorry I didn’t think of that.”
He smiled and gently grabbed her hand. “Don’t be, dear. We all have to start somewhere. I’ve had years to learn things like that; you’ll pick it up eventually. But do try to be a little more aware of the world, won’t you? You’ll never be able to run a business as big as Barnyard Bargains with your head buried in the sand.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she said, slumping in her seat as much as her perfect posture would allow.
It was like that every morning. They’d just try to have a normal breakfast and she’d still find some way to disappoint him. She shouldn’t have been surprised she’d managed to do it again.
Instead of saying anything, however, she settled for eating her breakfast in silence. At least, as much as she could until her father finished eating and spoke again.
“So, I didn’t get the chance to talk to you last night. How did things go?” he asked.
She sat up a little straighter, smiling proudly to herself. Her father had gone home from their supermarket early the day prior, and so she had done her first shift as Assistant Manager of Barnyard Bargains all on her own. No eyes constantly looking over her shoulder, nopony telling her what to do and how to do it. Just herself.
“It went very well, Daddy! A cashier and a shelf stocker both called in sick, so we were a little short staffed, but I handled it. I pulled Heavyweight from the back to cover the stocking and I handled the register when we got busy to prevent the lines from getting too long. Other than that, we had a minor spill in Aisle Four –somepony dropped a jar of pickles– but we got it cleaned up in no time. Over all, it was a pretty smooth night.”
She beamed in pride at him, but her expression faltered when he didn’t seem to share her excitement.
“Who called in sick? And why didn’t you try to call somepony in to take their shift?” he asked.
“Dewdrop and Featherweight. And I didn’t call anypony because there wasn’t anypony to call. Candy Cane specifically asked for yesterday off and Spring Step can’t work Sundays. I tried Alula, but she didn’t answer her phone. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just handled things by myself as best as I could.”
He considered that for a moment, stroking his salt-and-pepper mustache and beard while he thought. “That’s the third time this year Featherweight’s called in sick. I’ll have to have a talk with him when he’s back. Well, I suppose you did everything I would expect of you. Good job, dear. Nothing else exciting happened, I hope?”
That accomplished feeling she’d had only moments ago faded away to a sour gurgling in her stomach. Even when she did something right, all she got was a ‘good job, dear’ in the same tone of voice he used to talk about the weather. He didn’t even look at her as he said it. Like it didn’t even matter.
She supposed it didn’t. Who got praised just because things didn’t go disastrously wrong on their watch?
“No, nothing else, Daddy,” she mumbled. Suddenly losing her appetite, she pushed her plate away.
“Were you able to get that paperwork to Sweet Apple Acres like I asked you, then?” her father asked behind his coffee mug.
“I… no, Daddy. I didn’t have the time to run over there,” she said in barely more than a whisper.
“What?” Filthy Rich asked, sitting his mug down on the table with a sharp clack. “Diamond, I told you how important it was that the Apples receive that paperwork! It contains our contract renewal. We can’t continue to sell their products unless they sign it! If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: the Apples are one of our most—“
“Our most important suppliers; yes, Daddy, I know!” Diamond snapped. “I didn’t forget. I just didn’t have half an hour to run all the way outside of town and back. I planned to take it over first thing after school, okay? I even have it in my backpack already so I don’t forget.”
Filthy Rich frowned but eventually nodded his head. He looked at her, a stern wrinkle in his brow. “Alright. But don’t forget! It’ll cost us more than just their business if we lose them. They’re also a pillar of the community. Having their products on our shelves shows the town we care about local business and promotes trust between us and our customers. Not to mention it’s a family tradition!”
She zoned out as he launched into a spiel about the long history between the Rich and Apple families. She’d heard it all a million times before and it was just as annoying every time. She appreciated that their families had worked together over so many generations and had no intention of breaking that tradition, but it was still grating every time he preached about it. Especially since he always ended with…
“…and that’s why I dearly wish you and little Apple Bloom could get along better. Her parents were good friends of mine and I wished you could be the same with her.”
As if she’d ever be friends with that filly. They’d utterly hated each other growing up. It had all started when Apple Bloom had caused a scene at Diamond’s Cute-ceañera, a special party to celebrate the fact that she had found her cutie mark. On a special day meant just for her, Apple Bloom had to instead make herself the center of attention. Ever since, they’d taken every opportunity they could to snipe at one another or just make the other’s life miserable.
Of course, as she’d gotten older Diamond had realized that she was also at least partially at fault for how much they’d fought. Even going back to her Cute-ceañera, Diamond had only invited her in an effort to rub in the fact she'd gotten her cutie mark first.
It hadn’t helped that she and Apple Bloom spent far more time around each other than either liked. The hazards of having their family business working so closely together meant that they had to work together often as well. Be it meeting to discuss contracts or simply delivering paperwork, they saw each other quite frequently.
To that end, they had decided to settle things and put the nastiness behind them a couple years back, but too many hard feelings remained. They could work with each other, but Diamond couldn’t see them ever being friends. But that didn’t stop her father from holding out hope and she couldn’t bring herself to disappoint him.
“I’ll try, Daddy.”
He smiled, patting her hand before letting go and sitting back in his seat. “That’s my girl!” He rummaged in his breast pocket and withdrew a golden pocket watch. Checking the time, he said, “Now, you’d best be off if you’re going to make it to school in time. Do be a dear and give my regards to Silver Spoon and Miss Cheerilee, won’t you?”
“Of course, Daddy,” she said, thankful for the opportunity to leave. She grabbed up her backpack as her father disappeared behind his newspaper once more, though she disturbed him one last time to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Goodbye. Have a nice day.”
“You too, dear,” he said as she was already halfway out the door.
The yard in front of the Ponyville schoolhouse was abuzz with other young ponies as Diamond arrived. Several of the colts were playing an early game of hoofball, working up a sweat and showing off their athletic ability to a watching group of fillies nearby. The way the other fillies fawned over the colts made her shake her head in disgust. She would only go so far as to say that one colt, a pegasus named Rumble, was in any way attractive as he owned the field, head and shoulders above the others in terms of skill as well as looks, but the thought of sitting next to him all day while he reeked of sweat was an immediate turn-off.
Instead, she made her way to a small picnic table set to the side of the yard at which a single silver-coated filly sat with her nose buried in some text and with a notebook open before her. The aptly-named Silver Spoon was her best friend in the world and had been ever since they first started school together all those years ago. They’d done everything together ever since, and Diamond couldn’t imagine life without her.
Silver wore a fashionable sky-blue camisole over a short-sleeved white t-shirt and a pleated blue skirt. Both were a good shade of blue to match the thin-framed glasses she wore, as well as the pearl necklace around her neck. While her current outfit was cute, Diamond couldn’t deny she had often wondered about her friend’s fashion sense. Silver had the natural beauty to look truly stunning in nicer clothes, yet she always chose more practical and, dare Diamond say, bland ensembles instead. She had even gone so far as to buy her friend custom-tailored dresses for her birthdays in the past, but Silver insisted on wearing them only on special occasions.
“Morning, Silvie,” Diamond said as she sat down opposite her friend. Silver jumped at the noise, before breathing out a sigh of relief and brushing a strand of mane out of her face.
“Good morning, Dee,” she said. She carefully dog-eared the page she had been reading and closed the book. “Just brushing up for Friday’s Algebra test. I can’t stand these quadratic equations! I mean, I think I get them, but working through them just takes forever, doesn’t it?”
Diamond couldn’t even begin to recognize the term, let alone guess at what they were. Math had never been her strong suit; that had been Silver’s forte. But to save herself a lecture, she decided to play along.
“Yeah, they’re… pretty much the worst,” she said noncommittally. “Speaking of, you know you’re my very best friend in the whole wide world, right?”
She put on her brightest smile and batted her eyelashes at her friend. Under the table, her ankle brushed against Silver’s leg, making her jump and pull her legs back. Having her touch rejected sent a cold flash of pain through Diamond’s stomach, but she managed to not let it show. The last thing she wanted was to make Silver feel guilty. She did that often enough as it was without meaning to.
“You want to copy my answers for the Algebra homework, don’t you?” Silver asked; a dopey grin on her face.
“Please?” Diamond begged, throwing on an exaggerated pout that soon had Silver sighing as she tore a page from her notebook and passed it over. Oh yeah, Diamond thought, she’s totally wrapped around my finger. She set about copying Silver’s meticulously written answers into her own notebook, barely paying attention to what any of them actually said in her haste.
“You know, Dee, I don’t mind you copying my homework but what are you going to do for the test? If you don’t learn the material yourself, you won’t pass and Miss Cheerilee will know something is up. You’re going to get in a lot of trouble if she finds out.”
“Yes, I know, mother,” Diamond groused. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Silver’s shoulders shaking in silent giggles. She paused in her writing to glower at her friend, but that only set her off even worse. Huffing in displeasure, Diamond jotted down the last few answers before passing the paper back.
“But seriously, Dee, your math grades haven’t been very good lately. I know it’s never been your favorite subject, but… Are you having trouble understanding the material?” Silver asked, placing her hand atop Diamond’s on the table. It lingered there for just a moment before she pulled it back with a start, looking around conspicuously.
“Nopony saw, Silvie,” Diamond said. Silver flinched and opened her mouth to say something, but no words made it out. After a moment, she seemed to give up and Diamond continued. “Anyway… it’s not that I don’t get it, I just don’t have time to study. Daddy’s been having me work almost every night for the last month. I barely get the time to call you most nights, let alone get any stupid homework done.”
“But he is giving you some time off, isn’t he?” Silver Spoon asked, frowning.
“Tonight’s the first night I’ve had off since…” Diamond had to pause to think. “…well, since last Monday. For somepony who’s always going on about how important my studies are, he doesn’t seem to think I need time to actually study!”
“Well, have you tried talking to him?”
“Yeah right! He listens to me about as well as your dad does to you,” Diamond scoffed. Realizing what she’d said a moment too late, she glanced up to see Silver pointedly looking away, her shoulders slumped. “Oh, Silvie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I shouldn’t have said that. You okay?”
Silver Spoon shook her head and hesitantly turned back. “I’m the one who should be asking you that. I know you aren’t happy with…“ –her voice fell quiet and she glanced about for eavesdroppers once again– “…us. And I know it’s my fault but…”
Diamond cut her off by placing her hand on her shoulder. “Silvie, you know that’s not how it is. It’s not your fault; you just… need time. I understand,” she finished lamely. She cursed inwardly, knowing that she may have been able to sound more convincing if there weren’t some small part of her that agreed. She shoved that feeling down. Silver needed her.
“Look, Silvie. We’ll work things out, okay? So don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”
A crimson blush blossomed across Silver’s cheeks as she nervously fiddled with her glasses. It was something she’d always done when she was embarrassed and Diamond found it adorable to no end.
“I-I’ll try. Thank you for being so understanding, Dee. I know how frustrating this is for you.”
“It’s fine, Silvie. Like I said, don’t worry about it,” Diamond said with what little conviction she could muster.
The two young mares fell into an uneasy silence, neither sure what to say to the other until mercifully the bell rang to signal the start of classes. They both hastily repacked their bags and joined the rest of the crowd filing inside Ponyville’s one-room schoolhouse.
As Diamond settled into her desk behind and to the left of Silver’s, she dreaded the day ahead. Even as Miss Cheerilee greeted the class, she could feel her eyelids trying to droop.
It was going to be a long day.
The final bell of the day could not have come a moment too soon for Diamond. Twice she had fallen asleep during Miss Cheerilee’s lectures, and only once had she gotten away with it. Detention after school on Friday was going to make her late to work. She sighed, already hearing her father’s scolding voice in her ears. It didn’t help that she’d gotten a mouthful from Silver over their lunch break, too.
Speaking of whom, Silver fell into place beside her as they left the schoolhouse. She seemed to have already recovered from her fierce tirade and was all smiles once again.
“Hey Dee, you said you didn’t have to work tonight, right?”
“No, thank Celestia. Why? Are you free, too?”
“I am!” Silver cheered. Her entire body was bouncing up and down with excitement. “My parents went on some business trip to Appleloosa; something about scouting out a potential new mine out there, I think. But that means no smithy lessons tonight! I was hoping we could hang out …” she leaned in close, letting her voice drop to a whisper. “Just the two of us.”
She took on a conspiratorial grin that Diamond couldn’t help but return. “Hmm… no parents? That’d leave us the whole house to ourselves.”
“And they’ll be gone all week, so you can spend the night.” Silver's smile widened. “So, would you like to come over?”
“Hmm. A whole night completely alone with you, huh? And what exactly do you expect us to do with all that unsupervised free time?” Diamond asked, sidling closer to her friend’s side, allowing their arms to faintly brush against each other. Silver gasped at the touch.
“Y-you know what I want,” she whispered breathlessly.
“Yeah, but I so want to hear you say it.”
Silver placed her hand on Diamond’s shoulder and gently pushed her away. “Dee, you know I can’t. Not out here! What if somepony hears?”
To anypony else, Silver might have sounded merely flustered, but not to Diamond. She could pick up on the faintest trace of fear underlying her tone and demeanor and reluctantly backed off. With more than a little regret, Diamond took a step back until she was a less suspicious distance from her friend. She missed the days they didn’t have to worry about how they acted around each other. Whatever happened to those times?
“You’re right. Sorry, Silvie,” she mumbled. Forcing cheer back into her expression, she said, “Anyway, yes. I’d love to come over. It’s been way too long since we’ve gotten to hang out!” A sudden thought struck her, causing her to groan and slap a hand to her forehead. “Ugh, I totally forgot. I have to run some paperwork to Sweet Apple Acres. I promised Daddy I wouldn’t forget. Can I meet you at your place?”
Silver instead pointed over her shoulder. “Why don’t you just give it to Apple Bloom? She’ll be going there eventually, right?”
Behind her, three fillies that used to fill Diamond with anger were filing out of the schoolhouse, laughing about something or other. Sweetie Belle, a fabulously-dressed white unicorn, led the way, her curly lilac-and-pink mane bouncing about her shoulders. An orange pegasus filly that looked more like a colt followed next, wearing the most garish blue basketball jersey Diamond had ever seen. Last was the yellow-coated Apple Bloom, wearing her worn hand-me-down overalls with a thick plaid shirt underneath. She still wore the pink ribbon she’d had since she was little, but instead of in a bow behind her head, it was tied around the end of her long-red mane, pulling it into a lazy ponytail.
Diamond sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was have to talk to any of those three. Her nerves were already frayed. The way she felt, even one little snide comment could push her over the edge and set off a shouting match. Especially when that Scootaloo was involved. And her father was upset with her enough as it was. Any little slip up would eventually get back to him and it would just mean one more longwinded lecture about how she kept screwing up that she’d have to sit through.
But the prospect of walking all the way outside of town to deliver a bunch of papers when she could just hand it to Apple Bloom sucked, too. Especially when Silver’s empty house awaited them.
In the end, Diamond’s practical side won out.
“I told Daddy that I’d take it over, but… I guess as long as it gets there, that’s all that matters. Alright, just a second, Silvie.”
She caught Sweetie Belle’s eye as she approached and was offered a smile and a wave. That drew the attention of the other two, who weren’t so enthusiastic to see her. Apple Bloom gave her a solemn nod while Scootaloo scowled, but neither said anything.
“Good afternoon, Diamond!” Sweetie Belle said, chipper as ever. Maybe it was that they shared an interest in fashion or perhaps she was just the nicest of the three, but Diamond found Sweetie Belle to be the least bothersome to be around.
“Afternoon, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond said. She slid her backpack off and pulled out the papers her father had given her. “I just had some paperwork for Applejack from Barnyard Bargains. Would you mind giving it to her when you go home?” She offered the packet to Apple Bloom, but Scootaloo wedged herself between them.
“Why can’t you take it yourself?” she asked.
Diamond bristled at her hostile tone. “Because she has to go home eventually and it would save me a half-hour walk across town. If I’d realized it would be such an inconvenience, I wouldn’t have asked!”
“Scootaloo, please…” Sweetie Belle whimpered, tugging on the hem of Scootaloo’s jersey.
“What?” she barked, her wings flaring out behind her. “It’s not my fault she’s being lazy!”
“Lazy?!” Diamond shouted. “You dare to call me lazy?! You wouldn’t know hard work if it bit you on the tail!”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Apple Bloom cut in, putting her hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder and gently guiding her back. Scootaloo looked like she was about to argue, but the look on her friend’s face must have convinced her otherwise. With a scoff, she turned away and sulked.
“It’s the supply contracts, right?” Apple Bloom asked, to which Diamond nodded. “Alright, I’ll take ‘em to AJ for you. She’s been waiting for them anyway.”
Still fuming, Diamond tried to quell the shaking in her hands as she passed over the packet. Zipping her backpack up, she threw it over her shoulders again. “Thanks, Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “By the way, I nearly forgot AJ wanted me to ask you something. We all still on for that lunch next Saturday?”
Diamond cringed internally. She’d completely forgotten about the business lunch her father had wanted her to attend with him and all three Apple siblings. With the family solidarity the Apple Clan was known for and her past with Apple Bloom, her siblings no doubt wouldn’t make for the most pleasant company. But she had to hold up appearances like her father was always telling her.
“Of course. We’re looking forward to it,” she said.
“Good. Well… We should probably go. See ya later, Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom said.
The frustration burning in her stomach fizzled out to leave a cold emptiness as she watched the three fillies walk away. Even Sweetie Belle’s tentative little wave did little to lift her spirits. Silver’s hand gracing her shoulder, however, did. If just a little.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Diamond said.
“I think it could have gone far worse, really,” Silver said, laughing awkwardly. “Scootaloo’s never going to stop being like that. At least Sweetie Belle’s nice… and Apple Bloom’s okay. You got the paperwork delivered like you promised, and an argument didn’t break out! What more can your dad ask for?”
Diamond tried to give a small smile. Though she appreciated Silver’s words, it did little to make her feel better. “I’m sure he could ask for a lot more. Whatever… Let’s just head over to your place, okay?”
“Sure thing!”
Together, they made their way back towards the more upscale neighborhoods of Ponyville, in which both Diamond and Silver lived. Silver’s home was designed with much of the same Victorian architecture that Diamond’s was, if perhaps a bit smaller and with fewer luxuries. Everything inside that could be made from silver was, from the chandeliers overhead to the doorknobs; understandably since Silver’s father Rivet was a world-renowned silversmith. He had bragged long and loud to Diamond about how he had hand-made every piece of silver in their house, but Diamond wasn’t too sure whether or not she believed him. The sheer amount must have taken hundreds of hours by her figuring.
Silver led them into the foyer, in which there were two doors leading to a kitchen and sitting room respectively as well as a staircase up to the second floor. They both dumped their bags by the stairs before Silver began to lead the way to the kitchen door. Sensing an opportunity, Diamond crept up behind her.
“Are you hungry?” Silver asked, unaware to Diamond’s plan. “I could fix some dinner or a snack or something.”
Just as they reached the door, Diamond sprung, grabbing Silver’s shoulders and spinning her around. Silver yelped as Diamond lunged at her, pressing their bodies together as their lips locked. After only a moment of shock, Silver returned the kiss just as passionately, wrapping her arms around Diamond and digging her fingers into her friend’s back. Likewise, Diamond’s hand found the back of Silver’s head and held her close. When they finally pulled away, both were panting and flushed and the braid in Silver’s mane was beginning to come undone.
“I’ve been waiting for that all day,” Silver whispered. Diamond barely heard her.
“You sure your parents are gone?” she asked.
“They left this morning,” Silver said, nodding.
Diamond gave her another kiss as she slid her fingers under the hem of Silver’s camisole. Another as she began to lift it up, agonizingly slowly. Another after it slid over her head. Silver was quivering as Diamond’s fingers grasped under the waistband of her skirt. One last long kiss had her whimpering.
“Let’s just go up to your room, please? I need this, Silvie.”
“Celestia, I do, too!”
Diamond collapsed onto Silver’s bed, spent and satisfied as she gasped for breath, much as Silver was doing beside her. She pulled her friend’s naked and sweating body against her own, nuzzling into her long mane, its braid long undone and now flowing freely across the sheets. They basked in the afterglow for how long Diamond couldn’t be certain, but it didn’t matter, either. For one brief moment, it was just the two of them. No father breathing down her neck, no schoolwork to fall behind on and no one around to see them together. They were completely and utterly free.
Silver’s head came to rest on her chest while their legs entwined under the plush covers. Somewhere after entering the bedroom, she’d lost her glasses and her gorgeous violet eyes were on clear display. “I’m so glad you came over,” she whispered, her breath tickling the fur on Diamond’s collarbone.
“Me, too,” she whispered back. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Things have sucked so much lately. I miss how we used to see each other every night. Talking on the phone just isn’t quite the same, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. I miss it, too.” Silver suddenly lifted her head and Diamond opened her eyes to see her smiling. “Why don’t you roll over? Come on; on your stomach! I wanna do something.”
Intrigued by Silver’s excitement, Diamond offered no resistance and did as she was told. The covers were ripped back, leaving her back open to the cold air but before she could protest, a weight settled onto her lower back, just above her tail. Fingers traced up her spine to the back of her neck, where they began kneading the muscles that Diamond hadn’t even realized were stiff and sore. The feeling was instant, sending heavenly relief flooding through her body.
“Where did you… learn this…?” she moaned.
“I might have asked for some tips last time I went to the spa with Mom,” she said amidst giggles. Then she hmm-ed in thought. “You’re really tense, Dee. When’s the last time you got a massage?”
Diamond huffed. “Like I’ve had the time.”
Silver’s hand froze for just a second. “I know he’s been working you a lot lately. Do you want to talk about it?”
“What’s there to talk about? I go to school and work and nothing in between. End of story.”
“Come on, Dee. Let me help. Talk to me, please?” Silver begged.
Before Diamond could even ponder a response, Silver’s thumbs dug into the base of her neck. Bliss spread throughout her back until her entire body went limp. She paused to just let the pleasure roll over her. As her body relaxed, so too did the reluctance in her mind. She knew Silver was just trying to help, and shutting her out wasn’t fair.
“It’s not that I hate working for him… It can actually be pretty fun sometimes. I like learning about how to run a business. Overseeing all the employees, learning what to look for in possible investments and suppliers, meeting new people and making new business relationships. It’s all pretty cool!
“But… It just feels like everything I do isn’t good enough. He expects me to remember all these tiny details like how the griffins and zebras fighting could affect the price of silk here in Equestria!”
“The price of… wait, what?” Silver spluttered. To Diamond’s disappointment, her shock made her stop her massage.
“Uh… Zebrica locks down its borders when they get into any sort of conflict with another nation. It drives up the costs on any goods that move through their lands. Saddle Arabia can only get silk to Equestria through Zebrica’s waters, so… yeah.”
“Wow,” Silver exclaimed before falling silent. For a few moments, she sat in silence until she suddenly resumed her massage, pressing her palms into Diamond’s shoulder blades. “Well, why do we have to get silk from Saddle Arabia?”
The question struck Diamond as odd. How could Silver not know that? “Because Saddle Arabia is the world’s leading producer of silk. Not to mention the highest quality. Equestria produces barely a quarter of the silk we use annually.”
“Really? I never knew any of that,” Silver said, actually sounding impressed. “That’s really impressive! Did your dad teach you that stuff?”
Diamond squirmed until Silver got the hint and let her turn over. She took Silver’s hands in hers, rubbing them as Silver’s fingernails teased her navel.
“Is it really impressive? Dad makes it sound like stuff I should just know already.”
Silver looked down at the mattress and shrugged. “It sounds neat to me. I never knew that about Zebrica, or Saddle Arabia. I certainly never thought about how their political affairs might affect our economy. I kind of want to talk to my dad about that stuff now. He’s run a business for years; I’m sure he knows things like that, too.” She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Of course, that would mean talking to him…”
“Is he still giving you a hard time?”
Silver shrugged again but refused to meet Diamond’s eye. “He’s still trying to introduce me to his business friends’ colts; inviting them over for dinner and asking me if I like them and stuff. I don’t know how much longer I can pretend that I don’t understand what he wants. I mean, I don’t think he suspects anything about us, but…”
“But what?” Diamond asked, trying to get Silver to look at her. When she did, her eyes were red and starting to mist over.
“I’m scared, Dee! I’m scared he’s going to find out!” She broke at the end, her face screwing up as she let out a heartbroken sob.
Diamond sat up in a flash, pulling Silver into a tight hug. She rubbed her back consolingly while Silver cried into her neck. “If he finds out, he may never let me see you again! He’ll hate me!”
“He won’t. He won’t hate you,” Diamond whispered. “Come on, it’ll be okay, Silvie.”
“It won’t! He still won’t even look at Lyra and Bonbon when they come into the shop. And he isn't even friends with them, let alone family! He’ll never accept me being with another mare. He’ll make me leave you! I can’t… I can’t leave you!”
“And you won’t have to!” Diamond said. She pulled away, cupping Silver’s cheeks in her hands. She lifted her head so that they were looking each other in the eye. “I don’t care what happens. I don’t care who finds out or who approves. Every damn pony in the world could hate what we have and I wouldn’t care! And you know why? Because I love you. I love you, Silvie! I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I’m not going to let anypony –family or not– stop us!”
Silver clasped Diamond’s hand and kissed her thumb. “I love you, too, Dee.”
Diamond closed her eyes and placed her forehead against Silver’s. “Just you wait, Silvie. One day, we’ll have the money to buy our own house. And then, nopony can tell us what to do or how to live our lives. We can be together. We can walk down the street hand in hand; we can hold each other… We can kiss and not care who might see. We could go on an actual date! So just wait a little longer, Silvie. Don’t give up on me. Please!”
“I’ll try,” Silver sniffed. “I just wish I was as strong as you, Dee.”
Diamond slid one of her hands around to the back of Silver’s head, kissing her cheek. “You are strong, Silvie. More than you give yourself credit for.” She sighed. “We’ll get through this together, okay? One day at a time, we’ll get through this.”
“You’re right,” Silver said, managing to smile as she wiped her eyes. “One day at a time. Thanks, Dee.”
“For what?”
“For being with me, even though it’s hard. When I’m with you… I really do feel like I can do anything. That everything will work out in the end. So thank you.” She gave a small smile, but the sparkling in her violet eyes sent butterflies fluttering in Diamond’s stomach.
“In that case, thank you, too,” she mumbled, too embarrassed to speak it louder. But Silver didn’t seem to care as she happily threw her arms around her shoulders. The feeling of their fur brushing together did little to help, but Diamond found herself grinning like a fool regardless. But rather than worry, she surrendered to the feeling of having the one she loved most in her arms.
By the time they pulled apart, Silver’s eyes had dried. As the emotions of the moment calmed, she must have realized she was still naked and demurely pulled the sheets across her chest. After everything they’d just done, Diamond was amazed she had any shame at all, but that was Silver being Silver.
And Diamond prayed she’d never change.
“Why don’t we get dressed and do something? Maybe make some dinner? I’m pretty hungry after all that energy we burned,” Diamond said, shooting a wink that caused Silver to blush.
“I’m surprised you don’t want Round Two,” Silver said, giggling to herself.
Diamond shrugged. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t really care what we do.”