Silver Spoon: Friends (Number One)
"I.... I just can't believe it! Why, Diamond Tiara?"
"I told you, I can't change it. Daddy says we're moving to Manehattan to help monitor his stock broker. There's nothing I can do, Silver Spoon! I've cried, I've begged, I've pouted... all the things that usually work have failed!"
"Have you tried saying you'll run away?"
"Are you kidding? That one never worked any time I used it!"
"But... there's gotta be something we can do to stop it!"
"I've tried, Silver Spoon. I've tried."
And those were the last words I ever heard of my best friend. It's been.... a long time. I don't know just how long. But it really seems like a long time without her around. Diamond Tiara was my only friend. She's been my only friend since we were the smallest of fillies.
And now she's gone.... she moved away.
It's been at least a month. And....I just feel kinda empty without her.
"Ugh...." I sighed to myself after I got home from school once again. I plopped down onto my bed and, as had become my daily custom, began crying into my pillow. She still hadn't sent me a response to the letter I sent her. I poured my heart and soul into that letter, and she still hadn't sent me one back.
Granted, the mail system from Manehattan to Ponyville wasn't exactly the most reliable. Last time, due to some blonde-maned pony who nopony really knows much about, my daddy's ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala had arrived....one month after the Gala. The Equestrian Express told him it had gotten "lost in shipping" but thanks to a tip-off from a friend, we got the truth. Daddy sure knows all the high-ranking ponies....
Just like Diamond Tiara's dad.
My tears fell freely from my eyes, and I wept for a good hour or two. Time did not flow as I did, or at least it didn't feel like it. My heart was pounding weakly in my chest, hurt and in despair.
She was my only friend....
"Silver Spoon!" mother called.
"What?" I replied, trying to mask the sadness in my voice.
"Some of your little friends are here and want to talk to you!"
Some of my friends... that's a laugh.
I walked downstairs, hoping to see the only pony I had ever felt close to. She was like a sister to me.
And there they were. The Cutie Mark Crybabies.... probably here to laugh in my face.
I wiped the tears from my eyes as I walked closer and closer to them, mother walking back into the living room to tend to her reading.
"What do you want?" I asked, tears welling up in my eyes again.
"Well, Silver Spoon, ya know, we got ta thinkin'..." Apple Bloom began.
"Yeah, we got to thinking...." Sweetie Belle continued.
"that....well, you know, with Diamond Tiara being gone..." Scootaloo added, further sliding the knife of pain into my wound.
"Maybe you needed, well..." said Sweetie Belle.
"A hug?" Apple Bloom finished.
"A....what?" I asked, surprised.
"Well," Scootaloo began, "we know that Diamond Tiara was kind of your only friend. And even though you two got on our nerves a lot..."
"We know the pain of losing a friend. Remember when Button Mash moved away?" Apple Bloom continued.
"We thought you could use somepony to help cheer you up." Sweetie finished.
Th-they're trying to cheer me up?
Could I....could we...Diamond Tiara and I....
Could we have been wrong about them the whole time?
The three fillies before me stood up and outstretched their hooves.
And despite all my conflicting emotions, I couldn't help myself when I stood up and embraced each of them.
The pain was slowly melting away.
"C'mon, Silver Spoon!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"What're you waiting for?" Sweetie Belle asked as they ran with the ball in front of their hooves.
"Don't let them score, Silver!" Scootaloo shouted.
I blinked, and a small tear fell down my cheeks as I rejoined the game.
Diamond and I had been wrong.
I pulled my cape over my back and straightened my Honorary Crusader necklace around my neck.
"Coming, girls!" I shouted as I ran towards Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, trying to get the ball over to Scootaloo and I's goal.
I ran towards the goal, the end in sight, ball in front of my hooves. The wind blew through my mane faster than a raging tornado.
And for the first time in a long time, I thought of Diamond Tiara and smiled. How could we have been so wrong? This experience has been something truly special to me.... sure, its sad to lose a friend, but I didn't really lose her. I gained three new friends. And everypony in school has been treating me so much nicer.
When I cried now, they were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.
Princess Twilight is right.... Friendship is something special.
Ahem....
Dear Princess Twilight,
Over the last month I was given the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson about friendship. Life can be hard sometimes, and everypony has their time in the dark. Losing a friend can feel like the most painful experience in the world. But when you have other friends, true friends, to help you feel better, the pain is much easier to bear. I may have lost one friend, but I gained three new ones. I still miss Diamond Tiara, but I'll never forget our friendship.
Your loyal subject,
Silver Spoon
