Can Silver Spoon learn to be herself, despite opposition from all sides?
Thanks to Diamond Tiara and her father, Silver Spoon feels that she can't be herself, can't be what she was destined to be. With her future decided for her, and her actions manipulated by others, can she find the courage to look in herself and find her true voice?
"See you around, blank flanks," Diamond Tiara laughed as she trotted away. Silver Spoon wasn’t far behind her.
"Come back here and say it again," Scootaloo yelled.
Silver heard a scuffle, and turned back to see Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom holding her back. Scootaloo looked like she was ready to take both her and Diamond on at once.
"Scootaloo, you'll be in big trouble if you're caught fighting again. Miss Cheerilee already warned you once," Sweetie reminded her.
As their voices faded in the distance, Silver just looked down at her hooves as they walked. While she liked spending time with her only friend, her actions always left a bad taste in her mouth. She usually went along with it, not wanting to lose her friendship...
"Hey, four-eyes!" Diamond yelled, clapping her hooves in front of her face. "I'm trying to talk to you, and you're in dreamland somewhere!”
Diamond’s teasing was not limited to the Crusaders. Sometimes, when nopony was around, she would turn on Silver Spoon. Diamond always told her that she was toughening her up, helping her to develop a thicker skin.
“Sorry, Diamond,” Silver replied.
“You were thinking of Featherweight, weren’t you? Thinking of how you want him to lean close, whispering stuff to you that would make you swoon, coming in for that sweet kiss on-”
Diamond was the only pony alive that knew of Silver’s secret crush on Featherweight, and she used it to her full advantage. Mostly friendly teasing, though she has used the secret to blackmail Silver at times.
“Well, anyways, while you were daydreaming about your love life, I was trying to ask if you wanted to grab your swimsuit and come to my water park,” Diamond continued.
Diamond’s water park was once a public water park sitting on the edge of the Rich family property. Boasting a water slide, two large pools, a hot tub, and a kiddie pool, it was the place to go on a hot day. After Diamond went, she came back to complain to her father about the crowds and the long line at the water slide. Wanting to make her daughter happy, Filthy Rich bought out the water park and extended his property lines around it, making it her daughter’s personal playground.
“S-Sorry, Diamond,” Silver said, her mind trying to think of an excuse not to go. “I...have to get my homework done. You know how Miss Cheerilee is about that.”
“Just have a servant do it. Which reminds me, I have to give that one an earful about the C minus that was on my last essay,” Diamond replied.
“Diamond...I can’t right now. Maybe next time,” Silver said, then beat a hasty retreat before Diamond could say anything else.
When she got to the front door of her home, a grey three floor mansion, she leaned a hoof against the door and stopped to catch her breath. As she stepped inside, she thought about how she wanted to spend time with Diamond, but can't risk her finding out her secret.
---
Silver Spoon took a deep breath and relaxed, as she entered the sanctuary of her bedroom without running into her father. Her room was much like any other fillies room, with plushies, a writing desk, old unused dolls, books, and a bed with pink sheets. It was a lot larger than average though, and the connecting private bathroom made it even larger.
Pulling out a notebook, she sat down at the desk, turned to a blank page, and started to work on a picture of Featherweight, just a simple sketch. As she started on his facial features, she started to blush a bit. If only she had Diamond’s confidence...
“Miss Spoon, it’s time for dinner,” one of the butlers, an old green stallion named Good Service, told her.
“Thank you, I’ll be down in a moment,” she answered.
As the red tail disappeared from her door frame, Silver reluctantly got up, not wanting to talk with her father, knowing where the conversation would probably head.
---
She made her way down to the fancy dining room, only to find her parents sitting at either end of the long table. Silver knew that when her parents sat like that, they were in some kind of heated argument, and didn’t want to sit anywhere near each other. The table was large enough to sit ten comfortably, but it was usually the three of them.
Her parents were the owners of a company called Spoon and Smith Silverware. Her father, Silver Smith, handled the mining of silver and gold ore. Her mother, Shining Spoon, ran the part that turned the ore into silverware that was sold all over Equestria. They combined their names to come up with their daughters name, and want her to take over the whole company someday.
Silver chose a seat that was halfway in between them, not wanting either of them to think she was choosing their side, and her bowl of Zebra grass salad was placed in front of her. Hard to get, and very expensive, it was considered a delicacy among ponies. One that most could never afford.
“So,” Silver Smith asked, “What did the teacher have you learning today?”
“Well, there was a continuation on the lesson about fractions. And also, there was the lesson on Gryphon customs, and how they differ from the ones in Equestria,” Silver answered the silver earth pony.
“Hmph, useless things that one of your workers would probably need to care about. Nothing important about the business world,” he answered. “If you weren’t friends with Rich’s kid, I would pull you out of that school and put you in a private school. One that can teach you about running a business.”
“Silver Smith, she may need to know this stuff someday,” the tan Unicorn mare sitting across from him answered.
“When you’re the owner of a company, you can delegate this stuff off to someone else,” Silver Smith answered, his black tail twitching in annoyance. “You need a clear head to make important business decisions. Decisions that our daughter will be making.”
Shining Spoon just let her head fall into her hoof, her silver hair pooling around her face. She levitated her glasses off her head and wiped them off with a napkin, before slipping them on and replying, “I know about owning a business. And there are things that need to get done, things I prefer to do myself. That way, I can be sure they get done right. She needs to know the basics if our daughter will ever run our company successfully.”
Silver knew from experience that this could explode into a full on argument soon, one that she did not want to be a part of. So she quietly excused herself from the table and went to her room, leaving her dinner mostly untouched.
--
She stepped into her bathroom and turned on a shower for herself. As she went in and stood under the water, the cascading liquid hit her flank. As the water went down her side, the spoon that was known as her cutie mark started to smear. In time, the paint washed off completely.
“Miss Spoon, are you ready yet?” one of the butlers asked, knocking on her bedroom door. “Miss Tiara is due to be here any minute.”
“I’ll be out soon, Good Service,” Silver answered.
She picked up the paintbrush she was using, the paint on it the same silver as her coat. She ran it across her flank, trying not to shiver. With that final stroke, she put the finishing touches on the silver spoon she painted on herself every morning. She looked it over in the full length mirror, shaking her flank a few times, and determined it to be complete.
“Hey, slowpoke, not that I care, but we’re going to be late,” Diamond Tiara yelled up the stairs. “I have something special to give the blank flanks this morning.”
“Sorry, Diamond,” Silver answered, as she left her room and went down the stairs. “What are you planning?”
“I’ll tell you on the way,” Diamond replied.
---
“So, they pass under this tree on their way to school,” Diamond explained later, as they sat on a branch overlooking a path. “When they pass under us, I dump this bucket of eggs on them.”
Silver looked at the small collection of eggs sitting in the bucket. They were fresh, but the eggs would still make a large mess on their manes and coats once they hit. With the time it was, there was no way any of them could get back home to clean up and get to class on time.
“You know they’ll get in trouble, either from being messy or from being late,” Silver replied.
“And that’s the beauty of the plan. Even if they say it was my fault, Miss Cheerilee can’t prove anything. So they get detention, and I get off scot free,” Diamond replied.
“I don’t think-” Silver began.
“Shhh, they’re coming,” Diamond whispered.
Sure enough, the three of them was walking up the path right towards them, talking with each other as they walked. As Diamond prepared to dump the eggs, Silver looked around for a solution to the problem the Crusaders were about to have. As she looked, she heard what they were saying below.
“Rainbow showed me some of the books she owns,” Scootaloo said to the others. “Daring Do is so cool, getting out of danger by the hair on her mane and exploring ancient temples. So I was thinking we could do something like that, and get adventuring cutie marks.”
“But there’s no temples anywhere near Ponyville,” Sweetie replied.
“But I heard of a castle, one that Celestia used to rule from before moving things to Canterlot. It’s supposed to be deep in the Everfree forest.” Scootaloo answered.
“The Everfree forest? But if mah sister catch-” Apple Bloom started to say, before she was cut off mid-sentence by a waterfall of eggs smashing against their heads. “What the buck-”
“Oooh, it seems one of the blank flanks down there has a dirty mouth,” Diamond remarked. “And reaching our young and defenseless ears too,”
“But wait, their flanks may not be so blank,” Silver chimed in.
Despite their distrust of the two fillies, the Crusaders looked towards their flanks. But, as always, they were a solid orange, yellow, and white. The only difference is that they were also covered in egg.
“Oh, wait, that’s just yolk. Silly me,” Silver continued.
“Looks like they yolk’s on you,” Diamond chimed in, and they two of them giggled at their own bad jokes. As they climbed down and continued on their way, she added, “You three really laid an egg this time, blank flanks. Especially the chicken there."
As the two of them walked off, Diamond got lost in her own bragging and giggling. While she stayed in her own little world, Silver ran back as soon as she was sure Diamond would be out of earshot. When she got back, she found that the Crusaders were trying to get the egg off their bodies as best they could.
“What do you want, Silver Spoon? Haven’t you done enough for one day?” Scootaloo spat, as she tried to get some of the stuff off her feathers.
The words stung a bit, but Silver just stayed where she was, as all three Crusaders noticed her presence and glared in her direction.
“There’s a lake some yards that way,” she informed them, pointing a hoof to her left. “It’s your best chance to get clean and get to class on time. You better hurry.”
She ran off to catch up before Diamond noticed she was gone, as the three egg-covered fillies just looked at each other in confusion.
---
Tick tock. Tick tock.
Diamond just rubbed her hooves together in anticipation, as she watched the seconds tick by from her desk. Any moment now, Miss Cheerilee would walk in, and the blank flanks would be marked as tardy.
Silver Spoon sat on her left, and it looked like she was writing or drawing something. Diamond was about to lean over to see what it was, when she heard hoofsteps approaching the school door.
Everyone else must have heard them too, as they all turned and saw Cheerilee walk in. Diamond resisted the urge to cheer, but a smile was evident on her face. But it soon dropped, as she saw the three Crusaders come in right behind her. And they weren’t covered in egg.
Diamond noticed that some egg residue still remained in their manes, tails, and Scootaloo’s wings, making them sticky. But, somehow, they got clean enough to get to class in the nick of time.
As the Crusaders took their seats, Cheerilee went over to her desk. As she passed by Diamond, she stopped to slap a detention slip on her desk. As Cheerilee moved to her seat and took attendance, Diamond looked over at the three of them in surprise, while they just smiled back with near identical smiles.
---
“How? How did they do it? My plan was perfect,” Diamond wondered at recess, as she paced back and forth in front of Silver. She just sat and listened, as Diamond continued ranting.
“Somehow, they avoided getting into trouble. And they were even able to pin it on me-” she continued, before Silver stepped in.
“You were the one that dumped the eggs on them,” she interrupted.
“Not the point...” Diamond continued, before stopping and turning to Silver, something fitting into place in her mind. “But why didn’t you get detention like I did? For some reason, the blank flanks didn’t tell her you were there.
“Diamond...” Silver said, starting to get nervous. She stood up and backed up a couple of steps
“But why would they protect you? The only reason would be...you helped them!” Diamond finished, getting right into Silver’s face, their snouts almost touching. “You did help them find a way to get clean, didn’t you?”
As Diamond looked directly into Silver’s eyes, she looked angrier than Silver has ever saw her. Even though Silver could easily run, Diamond’s dominating presence made Silver feel like a trapped rat.
“Diamond...I...” was all Silver could get out.
Smack!
The strike caught Silver off guard. Unable to brace herself, she fell to the ground, looking up at Diamond in shock. They had their arguments and disagreements, but this was the first time Diamond ever struck her. She rubbed her left cheek, as Diamond just turned and walked away.
Silver laid there for a few minutes, crying and looking at the dirt below her. Then she noticed the white hoof held out to help her up. Grabbing the hoof, Silver accepted the help from Sweetie to get back on her hooves. The white unicorn filly in front of her looked concerned.
“I saw what happened,” she said.
“Just a bit of a disagreement, Sweetie. Nothing to worry about,” Silver answered, trying to sound normal, as she walked past her.
Her reply didn’t seem to reassure Sweetie. If anything, she looked even more concerned, as she turned to grab Silver’s shoulder and turn her a bit towards her.
“That didn’t look like a simple disagreement,” Sweetie told her. “I disagree with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, but I don’t buck them in the face and walk away.”
“Really, Sweetie, it’s okay,” Silver said.
Sweetie didn’t look ready to give up, but before she could talk again, Cheerilee started calling them inside. She looked towards the doors, then back at Silver.
"Meet me at the clubhouse after school. We can talk more then," Sweetie told her, and went inside before Silver could object.
---
During the lesson, while Cheerilee’s back was turned, Silver noticed a folded piece of paper landing on her desk. After glancing at Cheerilee to make sure she wasn’t looking, Silver unfolded the paper and read what it said.
Silver Spoon, I’ll be expecting you to be outside the school when I finish my detention.
Silver pretty much expected Diamond to say this, and until her talk with Sweetie, she was going to. But even though she disagreed with what Sweetie wanted to tell her, Silver felt she probably needed to hear it. After glancing up to make sure Cheerilee wasn’t looking, she wrote a note of her own.
But Sweetie invited me to go over to their clubhouse.
She folded up the paper and had the student next to her send the note on it’s way to Diamond. After it reached it’s destination, Diamond read it, looked a bit angry, and started writing out another note, before sending it back to Silver.
So you’re going to choose a blank flank filly over your best friend? If you’re not there, I’ll tell everypony about how you feel towards Featherweight. And don’t bother to tell me what you’ll do if I tell ponies, because I know you’re too much of a wimp to do any of them. You’ll be there waiting for me, right?
That letter kind of stung, but Silver knew it was on the mark. With one last glance at Cheerilee, she wrote one last note, with just one word.
“What? You’re not going to come?” Sweetie asked. “We didn't tell Miss Cheerilee you were there, as thanks for helping us. Now you’re tossing that away by waiting for Diamond? After the way she treated you?”
It was after school had let out. Sweetie was expecting Silver to go with her to the clubhouse while Diamond served her detention, but Silver insisted on staying instead, to wait for Diamond to be released.
“I guess so,” Silver answered, sitting down under a nearby tree. “I am thankful and all, but Diamond’s still my friend. And she’s expecting me to be here when she comes out.”
Sweetie looked like she wanted to say more, but she saw her friends beckoning towards her. She turned back to say, “I still want to see you alone sometime.”
As Sweetie ran off to join with the rest of the Crusaders, Silver just watched them run off to whatever plan they were going to try next. She could tell that they would stay good friends with each other, long after they finally found their cutie marks. She wished that she had friends that would stick with her like that...
“But you do, you have Diamond Tiara,” a part of her mind reminded her.
“But is she really a friend? What if my family suddenly lost all their money, or what if she found the secret of my real cutie mark? Would she still hang out with me?” another part replied.
She was able to admit to herself that she wasn't sure. Giving a yawn, she felt the heat of the mid-afternoon sun, a gentle breeze, and chirping birds lull her to sleep.
--- She awoke with a start, realizing she wasn't at the place she felt asleep. She looked around, seeing she was on a cloud. She could see the buildings of Ponyville far below her, and some more clouds dotting the air space where her cloud stood.
“This is impossible. I’m not a pegasus, I shouldn't be able to stand up here,” Silver thought. “Scootaloo would be jealous that I stood on a cloud before she could get to them.”
Looking around for anything besides clouds, she noticed a paintbrush on a nearby cloud. As she made her way to it, she noticed that she can jump effortlessly from one cloud to the next, almost like she had wings. Once there, she realized she didn't have a place to use the brush.
Acting on a hunch, she found that she was able to manipulate part of the cloud to make a makeshift canvas. After finishing, she noticed that the paintbrush already had paint on it, and the color changed to whatever she needed. With everything in place, she started on her newest picture.
Before she could finish, though, she heard heavy footsteps coming from behind her. Dropping the paintbrush, she turned around to see an impossibly large Diamond Tiara staring down at her. Silver took a few steps backwards, unable to tear her eyes off the huge, yet familiar, face of her friend. The giant Diamond looked down at the partially completed picture, of the three Crusaders. They were all surrounding what looked to be a blank spot in the middle.
As Diamond took a couple of steps forward, Silver grabbed the paintbrush in her mouth and jumped from cloud to cloud trying to get away, as the giant Diamond destroyed the cloud with the picture and went after her. As Silver continued to jump, she tripped on one of the clouds, the paintbrush falling out of her mouth. She quickly picked it up again, noticing that the paintbrush left a small yellow line on the cloud.
As she continued, she looked back to see that Diamond didn't destroy it like the other clouds she went through, but instead had to go around it. Thinking quickly, she painted another line on the cloud she was on, this line a purple color. The third cloud had the paint changing to orange.
She continued, with the paint lines alternating between yellow, purple, and orange, and the clouds with lines forcing Giga-Diamond to go around them. That slowed her down, but not enough, as Silver suddenly found Tiara’s mouth above her, and coming down...
---
“OW!” Silver yelped, as a sudden pain at the base of her tail woke her up. She turned to see Diamond spit her tail out.
“Glad you’re back in the waking world,” Diamond said. “Now, come on, I’m done with detention, and I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to.”
Silver got up and started after Diamond. As Diamond started to complain about what happened in her detention, Silver barely listened, her mind still on the dream she had. Her concentration was only broken by something small and wet hitting her on the end of her snout, then on her back. As she looked up, she saw that the scheduled rainstorm was just starting up.
“Oh, no,” Silver thought, knowing what the water can do to her cutie mark.
“Come on, we better get out of this rain,” Diamond said, dashing off. Silver was right behind her.
As Silver ran, she cursed her bad luck, as she was expecting to be inside before it started. As she felt drops running down her body, and obscuring the vision through her glasses, she silently prayed to whoever could hear that her cutie mark wouldn't be washed off.
---
The two fillies burst through the front door of Sugarcube Corner and took a moment to shake the rain off their bodies. By then, the rain had become a shower, one that everyone inside the building was interested in staying out of.
As Silver went over to a table to grab a napkin and wipe the water off her glasses, Diamond went up to the counter and ordered two chocolate chip muffins for them. As Pinkie went into the back to get what they ordered, Silver sat down in the seat next to her.
“So...what next?” Silver piped up.
“Huh?” Diamond asked.
Silver pointed a hoof at the door and said, “I don’t think either of us want to go back out in that. But we can’t really stay here until it stops, my parents and your father are probably expecting us home soon. Plus, I don’t know how waterproof our saddlebags are.”
In response, Diamond opened up her saddlebags and checked the contents. Though the outside looked to be soaked, everything inside seemed to stay dry.
“Seems like everything’s okay. So I guess we’ll just eat our muffins, and walk home despite the rain. And if we catch a cold, we just have a few days away from school,” Diamond answered.
Their warm muffins were brought out to them, and they talked to each other between bites. Then Diamond got up to stretch her legs a bit, and noticed something that made her pause.
“Silver, what’s with your cutie mark?” she asked, as she stepped forward for a closer look.
Silver turned to take a look herself. As she expected, most of the paint washed off. Parts of the silver spoon everyone knew were still there, but parts of her real cutie mark could also be seen.
Silver and Diamond just sat still for a brief moment, looking at the mix of real and fake cutie marks. Then Silver silently picked up a napkin and used it to wipe the remainder of the paint off, revealing her true cutie mark underneath.
Pointing upwards at an angle was a paintbrush, topped with silver paint. There was also a pencil, pointing at a downward angle along with it. They crossed at the middle, forming the shape of an X. Diamond Tiara looked at it, then up at Silver’s face, her expression clearly demanding an explanation.
“The spoon that you know about has been painted on, and always has been,” Silver explained. “My actual cutie mark has to do with painting and sketching, and I've only had it for about a year.”
Diamond just looked back down at the cutie mark for a minute, and Silver could virtually see the gears turning in her head, as she tried to process this information. Finally, she looked back up at her and simply said, “So you lied to me.”
“Wait. When did I...” Silver began
“Since kindergarten. When you came in with your “new cutie mark”, you said that it was because you knew you were going to take over your parent’s silverware company. You had years to tell me the truth, and you chose to hide it,” Diamond explained, then something else occurred to her. “Come to think about it, that was a similar explanation to my own mark, that I was going to take over my father’s company. My tiara represents a passion for leadership.”
“I just wanted to be noticed. While I was there, nobody would give me the time of day. You were an early marker with a couple of others, and you three were the most popular. So I figured that if I got one, I would be just as popular. After I came to school with the spoon, and used your story as a template for my own, you were the first to extend your hoof in friendship,” Silver explained.
“So you’re a leech as well. You used my story and my friendship to help yourself,” Diamond answered.
“Diamond, that’s not true. I went with what you did, took your blackmail, and helped you with your plans against the Crusaders, just so you could stay my friend,” Silver said. “I didn't want to lose my friendship with you, so I usually stayed quiet about it.”
“But was it for us...or for yourself?” Diamond asked.
Without waiting for an answer, Diamond took a final bite of her muffin and dropped enough bits to pay for her own muffin, before heading for the door.
“Diamond, where...” Silver started.
“The best way to handle a leech is to pull it off your coat and get rid of it. And that’s exactly what I’m doing,” she answered.
“NO! Diamond, don’t leave!” Silver yelled out, jumping down from her stool and grabbing Diamond’s rear hoof. “I need you.”
Her yelling got the attention of everyone in Sugarcube Corner, as they all looked up to see the two of them. Even a young brown colt with a rainbow propeller beanie looked up from his Game Colt to see what was going on.
Diamond stopped and looked back long enough to say, “Just like a leech. A leech can’t live without a host. And I’m finished with being that host.”
“Please,” Silver said, as Diamond shook her off and walked out the door, into the rain. As her head dropped, she just whispered, “Don’t leave me...”
As Silver sat there on the floor, crying, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Pinkie kneeling down near her, her hair looking like a deflated balloon. Silver just wrapped her hooves around her, and Pinkie just held her back, allowing her to continue her sobbing.
--- Eventually, Silver was able to make her way home. Blowing past all the servants and her parents, she went up to her room and flopped into bed. She told her parents she wasn't really feeling well. She stayed there for the next couple of days, not really doing anything but stare into space, barely noticing the passage from day to night and back again.
Her mother talked to her, trying to get some kind of explanation. But all she got were vague answers or silence. The servants also walked in with her meals. But they ended up taking them back, with the food only having a few bites taken out of it.
But usually, she was left alone with her thoughts. Unable to think about anything else but what she lost, questions swirled around in her head. About her life, her former best friend, and what she did with her life to that point.
“Am I a leech, like Diamond said? Did I really lie to her all this time? Should I have been more vocal about how I didn't like being a bully?” she thought. “I...I don’t want to be alone.”
Eventually, her body forced her to sleep. But when she did, the nightmares came to make it anything but peaceful.
--- “Unless it is my sister, or an emergency, I am not to be disturbed,” Luna told the two members of the night guard in front of her. “I trust your judgement. Make sure it is not misplaced.”
They saluted and took their places on either side of the door, as Luna stepped into her private sanctuary. It was sparsely furnished, with a bed that had a star design on the blankets. A rug in the center of the room had the same pattern, and a fireplace stood at one wall. There were even glow in the dark stars attached to the walls and ceiling.
“I should get someone to take those down. I’m not a filly anymore,” Luna thought.
Lighting some incense, she breathed in deeply, as she let the aroma calm her body. Lying down on her stomach on top of the rug, she let herself relax, as she closed her eyes and entered the dream realm.
--- In the formless void of the dream realm, with only black nothingness surrounding Luna, many screens came up, each one showing what a filly or colt was dreaming. In one dream, she saw an orange pegasus filly flying alongside one of the Element Bearers. In another, a white unicorn filly was designing some beautiful dresses with ease. There was a third that had a patchwork colt commanding a pirate ship. She was about to pass by, but something made her pause and look closer.
“Is that...me? As his first mate?” Luna thought.
Making her way past the good dreams, she noticed one that at first, seemed to have only darkness. But as she gazed closer, she saw a beam of light shining down on a silver Earth filly, who had her head down. Though she couldn’t hear any sound, she could guess what was going on.
Luna hated these kind of nightmares. The filly was full of self-doubt and self-hatred, and everything she has done or think she did to bring her to this point is played back to her through the voices of ponies she knows. It’s not a pleasant dream to enter, but these are the ones that need her help the most.
With only a slight hesitation, Luna touched the screen with a hoof, and stepped her way inside.
After a brief period of disorientation that always comes with entering a dream, Luna suddenly got hit from a barrage of voices that came from all sides. Each one was a different voice, and they all said different things.
“You’re a liar, Silver Spoon.” “Nothing but a bully.” “It’s your fault Tiara walked away.”
Looking around, Luna could see the young silver filly that sat in the beam of light, her body wracked with sobs, as the voices gave her no quarter. Trying to ignore them as best as she could, Luna made her way over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. The filly jumped and turned around to see her standing there.
“P-Princess?” Silver stammered out, taking a few hoofsteps away from her and giving a bow.
“There is no need for formalities, since we are all equal in the realm of dreams. Now, do you really think these things about yourself?” Luna asked.
“I...I deserve it,” Silver answered, tears still falling down her face. “I am a bully. I did lie to my best friend, and it’s my fault she wants nothing to do with me.”
Luna stepped closer and wrapped a hoof around the young filly’s shoulders, as Silver just cried in her body. As she did, Luna focused her magic, and created a dome of light blue around the pair. As it came down on the ground neither could see, the voices seemed to stop. Silver’s ear twitched, as she noticed the sudden silence, and looked around at the dome surrounding the two before looking back up at Luna.
“A silencing dome. Keeps the voices outside, giving us peace while we talk,” Luna explained. “Now, maybe you can start from the beginning.”
Silver did, going back to kindergarten and her fake cutie mark.
---
“...and that’s why I’m a liar. I had years to tell her, and I didn't say anything,” Silver finished.
Luna gave a small smile, as she said, “Child, you do not know how many colts and fillies have painted a cutie mark on themselves. You are not the first or the last to do this. Keeping the secret for this long does not make you a liar either.”
“I kept it up because everyone who met me knew me as having a silver spoon for my cutie mark. And I wasn't sure how Diamond would react. Since she is...or was...my only friend, I didn't want to do or say anything to ruin it,” Silver replied.
“So you did all the work to keep the friendship together?” Luna asked. “I am no expert on friendship, but one thing I do know is that all good friendships involve some give and take. It sounds like she took, but did not give.”
Silver was silent for a moment, as her mind processed what Luna said. As she thought back to moments in her life, and moments she spent with Diamond, she realized that the only thing Diamond offered was someone for her to be with at times.
“I...I...I don’t want to be alone,” she sobbed, burying her face into Luna’s body. “That’s why I stayed with her for so long, why I put up with her, why I followed her everywhere. I can’t stand being...being alone.”
“My child, you are never truly alone,” Luna answered. “When you see the sun in the morning sky, you will know that Celestia is present, and watching over her subjects. And when the sun sets, and the moon and stars come, I am there. I watch over the night, and over the dreams of foals like yourself.”
“B-But what about when I wake up?” Silver asked, as she looked up at Luna, tears still in her eyes. “I won’t have any friends. And I treated everypony so horribly, nopony will want anything to do with me.”
“It will take time and effort, but if you can show that you are willing to change, that you are changing, ponies will take notice. You may have been a bully in the past, but your past does not have to command your future,” Luna answered, as she turned away slightly. “I have things in my own past that I am not too proud of, but I do not let it affect how I live here and now.”
Silver nodded, remembering the stories of Nightmare Moon and her actions at the Summer Sun Celebration. Her parents were willing to forgive her and even offered a few pieces of their finest gold silverware, though Silver knew it was more for marketing than anything else. She knew that most ponies were not quite ready to trust her at first, the last Nightmare Night was proof of that. But she has made friends in some ponies like Pipsqueak and Princess Sparkle, despite her dark past. And if Luna can do it with that against her, there was no reason why she couldn't do it.
“Still..,” Silver said. “Diamond’s a bully, and I’m afraid she’ll start teasing me next. Or worse, blurt out some of the secrets I confided in her. If she does, I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to stand up to her.”
“You have more strength than you may think,” Luna replied. “When six little ponies ventured into the Everfree Forest to take me on, while I was still Nightmare Moon, do you think they initially had the strength? They courageously ventured in, and found the strength through kindness, laughter, honesty, generosity, and loyalty. All of those traits strengthened their bonds of friendship, ultimately powering up the Elements and defeating the darkness within me. Those traits can help you find the true friendship and the strength to help you defeat your own inner demons, as well as stand up to your former friend.”
“...Thank you, Princess,” Silver answered. as she wrapped her hooves around Luna.
As she did, the darkness around her seemed to fade, and when Silver looked around, she found herself in her bedroom. She looked around in confusion and looked up at the princess, as she cancelled the silencing dome. When she did, Silver noticed the voices were gone.
“Your dream is almost over,” Luna told her. “Just go to your bed and sleep, and you will awake back in the real world. I hope I was able to help.”
Silver only gave a nod, as she climbed into the familiar bed, pulled the covers over herself, and closed her eyes. As she did, the dream started to fade all around her, and Luna stepped out of the dream to find another that would need her assistance.
--- As Luna told her, when Silver opened her eyes again, she found herself back in her own bed, in her own room. As she sat up, she was aware of some voices outside.
“Just be silent when you go in, miss. I think Miss Spoon is asleep, and I don’t want you to disturb her,” one voice said, which she recognized as Good Service.
“I’m just here to drop off the homework from our teacher. I won’t disturb her,” a second voice said, and she recognized her voice as well.
As Silver grabbed her glasses and slipped them on her face, the bedroom door slowly opened, and Sweetie quietly stepped inside. Her eyes swept over the room, her expression one of amazement as she looked over the sheer size and items in the room, before her eyes locked on Silver.
“You are awake. And you look...” Sweetie started before her voice trailed off, seeing the face of a filly that hasn't really eaten or cleaned herself in a few days. “No offense, but you don’t look too good.”
“That happens when you do nothing but lie in bed for...what day is it today?” Silver asked.
“Monday,” Sweetie answered. “Miss Cheerilee needed somepony to bring you your homework, and I volunteered for the job. I thought it would give us a chance to talk about what I wanted to discuss with you a couple days ago.
As she opened her saddlebags and levitated a folder to the writing desk, one of the drawings caught her eye. She levitated it closer to her face and studied it for a moment.
“Is this a sketch of Featherweight?” she asked “It may not be your special talent, but you have some skill.”
Hearing his name caused Silver to eep and hide her blushing face under the blanket. With a mischievous smirk, Sweetie put the picture down and teased, “Looks like somepony may have a little crush.”
Silver peeked out from behind the blanket and said, “Sweetie, I swear. If you tell anypony-”
“I'm not going to,” Sweetie answered, before Silver’s rumbling and empty stomach interrupted both of them.
“Heh heh, guess I haven’t been eating much either,” Silver mentioned, before ringing a bell by her bed. When Good Service came in, Silver said, “Can you get us both a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk. Also inform my parents that I’m feeling better, and I’ll be joining them for dinner tonight.”
As Good Service left, Sweetie mentioned, “I guess your break up with Diamond hit you pretty hard.”
“Wait, you know about that? What did Diamond say?” Silver asked.
“Nothing yet,” Sweetie answered. “It was Button Mash that saw the argument you two had in Sugarcube Corner. He-” Sweetie said, before Silver cut her off.
“Button Mash is back in town? I though he and his mother got that big movie deal and left Ponyville,” Silver mentioned.
“It turns out that some huge corporation thought what they were doing was too similar to their own stuff. Production stopped while they have been in talks with them. There is some hope that they may get a licence from the corporation to continue. But yes, they’re in town during the talks,” Sweetie answered.
Silver was about to answer, when Good Service came in with the requested plate of cookies and two glasses of milk. After placing it and a small table between the two fillies, he said, “Miss Spoon, your parents are glad that you’re feeling better, and dinner will be at the usual time. I would suggest you clean yourself off before coming down.”
As he left, Silver slid out from under the covers and joined Sweetie at the table. The two of them munched on the cookies in silence for a few minutes, when Sweetie noticed something.
“Hey, Silver, what happened with your cutie mark?” she asked.
Silver looked down at her own flank, already knowing what she would see. As expected, the paintbrush and pencil was prominently displayed, as she didn't paint on her fake one after the rain.
“The silver spoon you know is a fake, and this is my real one,” she admitted, pointing at her own mark. “I was pretty much ignored in kindergarten, while I noticed Diamond and a couple of other early markers were more popular. Like you and your friends, I wanted my own cutie mark. I painted one on a few evenings later, after sketching some designs. Since everypony thinks my cutie mark is a silver spoon, I kept it up even after leaving kindergarten and moving into Miss Cheerilee’s class. I got my real one a couple years later.”
“And you've been...or you were...friends with her since then?” Sweetie asked, and Silver nodded. “What I don’t understand is why you want to stay friends with her, even after what I saw and heard about recently.”
“The reason is that she is, or was, my only friend. Without her, I’d be all alone,” Silver explained, looking down at the table. “Because I wanted to stay her friend, I teased you and your friends, even though I didn’t want to. Calling you blank flanks, going with her tricks, doing everything she told me to do, and never saying no to her. Even if I don’t do those things now, nopony will trust me or want anything to do with me.”
After a moment of silence, Sweetie took her hoof and said, “There’s one thing that Apple Bloom’s grandmother said to me and my friends. When there’s life, there’s hope.”
“When there’s life, there’s hope,” Silver repeated, mostly to herself.
“It means that, no matter what a pony is like, as long as they still live and breathe, there’s hope for them. They can change, or that they can make their own life, or the lives of others, better,” Sweetie explained. “And she also has told us that some ponies do deserve second chances, which is why I’m giving you one.”
“You mean...you want to be...m-my friend?” Silver asked.
“I'm willing to give it a try. I’ll need to forgive you for what you did, and you’ll need to prove that you changed,” Sweetie answered. “But I am willing to give you a chance. Maybe a friendship between us, and between the other Crusaders, can happen. But we have a long, hard path ahead.”
“...Thank you,” Silver said, hugging Sweetie, with some tears in her eyes.
“There’s another thing. Twilight once told us that you should be proud of your talents. So I want you to think about possibly coming to school showing your true cutie mark,” Sweetie mentioned, then stood. “Thanks for the cookies. I need to get home before Rarity wonders where I am.”
As she walked towards the bedroom door, Silver said, “Sweetie, before you go, I just want to say...that I’m not going to make excuses for my behavior in the past, or blame it all on Diamond. I’m responsible for the things I did, and...and I want to say that I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” Sweetie answered, turning back towards her. “That means a lot coming from you. But I’m not the only one you need to apologize to.”
“I know,” Silver replied, as Sweetie walked out the door.
As she did, Silver turned to stare at her flank, and the real, yet unfamiliar, cutie mark that adorned it.
---
When Silver walked into school the next day, Sweetie leaned forward, trying to get a good look at what cutie mark she had. She slumped back down in her seat when she saw the familiar silver spoon painted on Silver’s flank.
The tree that stood before Silver that afternoon seemed large and imposing. The treehouse before her looked something like a small cottage, and would normally look inviting to ponies from the outside. But the nervous filly felt the current residents would want to keep her out.
“Are you sure about this?” Silver asked the white filly next to her.
“You’re the one that told me you wanted to get your apology to them out of the way,” Sweetie answered, with a camera “borrowed” from Rarity. “And I saw you while grabbing the camera we need so we can be Cutie Mark Crusader Photographers, so I decided now would be a good time.”
“I guess. Still, I don’t think they’ll be too welcoming,” Silver said, as they walked up the stairs.
“I’m sure, as soon as you apologize, everything will be fine,” Sweetie answered.
--- “What were you thinking, Sweetie?” “Why th’ hay did ya bring her up here?”
Their comments about her mere presence in their clubhouse was close to what Silver was expecting. Scootaloo was sitting in a beanbag chair, Apple Bloom in a desk chair, and the both regarded Silver with suspicion. She started to feel like this was a mistake, and was ready to just forget the whole thing and leave.
“She has something to say to all of us. I already heard it, but...” Sweetie started.
“Then why can’t you tell us, instead of bringing her here?” Apple Bloom asked.
“For all we know, this could be some trick cooked up by Diamond,” Scootaloo added, crossing her front hooves and leaning back in her seat.
“S...she doesn’t have anything to do with...” Silver started, before she was cut off.
“Nobody asked you, Silver. In fact, why don’t you leave like that masked character?” Scootaloo cut in, waving a hoof dismissively. “Hi, yo Silver, aw...”
“SHUT THE BUCK UP AND LET HER SPEAK!” Sweetie shouted at the both of them.
The other three fillies glanced at each other in surprise before turning back towards her. They rarely heard Sweetie yell at anypony, and it was the first time they heard a swear come out of her mouth. Granted, it was one of the most mild curses, but hearing it come out of the mouth of Rarity’s sister was shocking to both of them.
“Okay, I’ll give her a few minutes,” Scootaloo said, before turning to Silver. “But if I hear the words ‘blank flank’ come out of your mouth, I’ll be kicking you out the door so fast, you’ll be making your own Sonic Rainboom.”
Apple Bloom merely nodded in agreement, before the three fillies turned expectantly towards Silver.
Having three pairs of eyes on her, in a place that she only was in a few times, made Silver freeze up. Diamond did most of the talking between them, and Silver just went along with whatever she said. Speaking alone, before others, was not one of her strong points. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she let it all out in a rush.
“I want to apologize, for everything. Like I told Sweetie, I’m not going to make excuses for my actions. I...I want to say that...I’m sorry,” she told them.
There was a pause, before Scootaloo said, “I don’t buy it.”
Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo, some shock on her face. Sweetie also turned towards Scootaloo with some surprise, and a touch of anger. Neither of them said anything, and Scootaloo used their silence to continue.
“Seriously, girls. She’s been tormenting us with Diamond ever since we knew them. Now she’s suddenly all apologetic and sorry for what she did? I think this is some trick conjured up by Diamond to let our guard down, before they spring something on us,” she told them, before leaning close to Silver, purple eyes burning into her own violet ones, as she said, “I’m right, aren’t I?”
Wilting under her gaze, Silver just managed to stammer out, “N-no, Scootaloo, i-it's not...”
“Scootaloo, stop it,” Apple Bloom scolded, before turning to Silver. “Can you step outside a moment, while we have a private talk?”
Silver just nodded, as she stepped outside and let the clubhouse door close behind her. Once outside, she stepped around the balcony and watched them through the window. She couldn’t hear what they said, but she could watch their actions and expressions well enough.
---
“Scootaloo, that was unnecessary,” Sweetie said.
“But what if I’m right? And this is some trick?” Scootaloo answered. “After all she’s done, you still believe her?”
“You didn’t see her on Monday like I did,” Sweetie replied. “She looked horrible, she was upset over her breakup with Diamond, and she was worried about being all alone.”
“She deserves it,” Scootaloo answered, then noticed Apple Bloom had been silent the entire time. “Apple Bloom, back me up here.”
After a moment of silence, they heard Apple Bloom whisper something under her breath, before looking up at her two friends and saying, “We should give ‘er a chance.”
Scootaloo just shook her head and stomped her hoof before yelling, “I can’t believe you’re both buying this!”
She reached up and, with a tug, removed her Cutie Mark Crusader cape. After tossing it on the floor before them, she turned and walked out.
--- When Silver saw Scootaloo heading towards the door, she quickly made her way back around the corner to the front, just before Scootaloo opened the door and started down the stairs.
“Scootaloo...” Sweetie started.
“Tell me when you two come to your senses,” Scootaloo yelled back, without turning her head, as she got on her scooter and sped away. The three fillies watched her go, before Silver started for the stairs herself.
“Silver, you’re going too?” Sweetie asked.
“All my apology did was break you girls up,” Silver said, turning back towards them. “And it’s not like I can join you on your crusades, I already have my cutie mark. I have to go and hopefully make things right.”
“Silver, ya didn’t have anything ta do with Scootaloo leavin’. Ah'm sure she’ll come around eventually,” Apple Bloom told her, walking up and wrapping a hoof around her neck.
“Still, I feel responsible, and I have to do something...” she said, then brightened up a bit. “And I think I know what.”
--- An hour after the clubhouse incident, Scootaloo was at a grassy field bordered by a river, near the Apple Family property. It was a spot where she went to think, and kept it a secret from even her closest friends.
Only Cheerilee knew she went here. Apple Bloom may know about the field and river, but not that she used it as a secret area. She leaned against a tree, thinking about what happened back at the clubhouse, wondering if Silver was really sincere...
No, there’s no way she could be sincere. It’s a trick, and the others will see that...
“Scootaloo?” a voice said.
Scootaloo turned around to see Silver spoon standing a few feet away, just emerging from the trees at the edge. Scootaloo jumped up on her hooves and glared at her, the two of them standing only a few feet apart.
“How did you find me?” Scootaloo asked.
“Miss Cheerilee told me where I could probably find you,” Silver answered.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper from her saddlebags, pushed it towards her, then turning and walking away. Scootaloo watched her for a moment, then took the piece of paper and opened it up. It had a sketch of herself and the other two Crusaders, walking together with smiles on their faces. Along with it was a message.
“Even if you don’t trust me, please don’t break up with them,” Scootaloo read.
--- As Silver made her way from the field, she was suddenly grabbed and pulled behind a bush, her glasses flying off her face. She struggled for a moment, her muzzle covered by a hoof. As she tried to focus her eyes to see who had her, she gave a muffled gasp as she recognized her.
Diamond stepped off of Silver, and she picked herself off the ground to get back on her hooves. Trying to focus her weak eyes, she just kept them on her former best friend, who looked more like a featureless pink blob.
“I’ve had time to think about it, and I decided that I’m fine with your real cutie mark,” Diamond continued. “You can’t control it. Maybe you could even show it off instead of hiding it”
Silver blinked a bit in surprise. She wasn’t expecting Diamond to say anything like that. But still...
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for that,” Silver answered, as Diamond walked around her in a tight circle, blushing slightly when her tail brushed against her painted flank, before she stopped and stood before Silver again.
“I also must congratulate you on breaking up the Crusaders like that. That’s something I haven't even been able to accomplish,” Diamond continued.
“I didn’t mean...” Silver started.
“Quiet, I’m still talking,” Diamond interrupted, cutting her off. “Now, because of that, I’m willing to give you another shot. We can have everything back the way it was, starting now.”
Silver pondered her words a bit. She had to admit, it did sound tempting, her life hasn’t been the same since what happened back on Friday. She was a wreck over the weekend, just staying in bed until Sweetie and Luna helped her out of her sadness. Having things back the way they were, not going through the change...
But was the change necessarily a bad thing? She has made a real effort to change, and two of the Crusaders may be starting to trust her. Did she want to throw that away, the chance to have three new friends, to have Diamond back? The answer was that she did want Diamond back, but she didn't want things to just go back to the way things were. If Diamond really wanted to be her friend again, things needed to change.
“I do want you back, Diamond,” Silver started. But as Diamond started to smile, she added, “I have some conditions, however.”
The smile forming on Diamond’s face dropped, as she stared into Silver’s eyes, before saying, “What are they?”
“First of all, I don’t want anything as small as a Cutie Mark get between us. You were perfectly willing to be my friend, even buying a snack for both of us, before you saw it,” Silver started. “Something like that, something neither of us can control, shouldn’t get in the way of a friendship.”
---
As Scootaloo sped her way down the path back towards home, a glint caught her eye. She skidded to a stop and got off her scooter to take a look. As she picked them up, she recognized the designer frames immediately.
“Silver Spoon’s glasses,” she said.
She was about to take them with and give them back the next day, but then she heard Silver and Diamond talking to each other. Thinking that this would be a perfect way to get proof of her suspicions, she creeped closer to where she could hear their conversation.
---
“Okay, that seems reasonable. Go on,” Diamond answered.
“Secondly, I want you to stop being a bully to the Crusaders...”
“What? Stop teasing those blank flanks?” Diamond interrupted with surprise in her voice.
“Yes,” Silver answered. “I really think I can become friends with them at this point, and you could too. I really don’t know what your problem with them is, but if you can let go of that...”
“My problem is that they ruined my cute-centenia,” Diamond interrupted. “It was supposed to be my day, and they ruined it by taking the attention off of me...”
“You did that to yourself with your teasing, and you teased her before that,” Silver almost yelled. “If you would have just left Apple Bloom alone, the adults wouldn’t have had to set you straight, and get the attention going towards her.”
“It was still ruined by them! It was my party, I was supposed to get all the attention! I don’t see why someone that has a blank flank should get the attention over me, or anyone else that’s not blank,” Diamond yelled, before turning her back to Silver.
“If you can’t change and be nice, then I guess you walked out of my life when you walked out of Sugarcube Corner,” Silver answered, as she lowered her head and stepped back towards the path.
---
As Silver got back to the main path and start to look around at the ground, an orange hoof held up her glasses for her to see.
“Drop something?” Scootaloo asked.
“Scootaloo, how long were you there?” Silver asked, as she took her glasses and slipped them back on her face, enjoying the world becoming crystal clear again
“Long enough to hear you and Diamond arguing. And long enough to hear you tell Diamond off like you did, which I thought was awesome,” Scootaloo answered, as she rolled her scooter along, with Silver beside her.
“I don’t know, though,” Silver said, glancing back towards where they were talking. “I had a chance to get her back as a friend, and I blew it.”
“You don’t need her, though,” Scootaloo answered. “Like you said yourself, you can become friends with us, all three of us, and you didn’t want to lose it. If she doesn’t want to do the same, it’s her fault, not yours. You also earned the trust of at least one of us.”
“I did?” Silver asked. “Who did I...”
“Me.” Scootaloo answered simply.
“You?” Silver asked
“Once your argument started, once I heard you tell Diamond off, I knew that I was wrong. That my suspicions were wrong,” Scootaloo said, and turned away a bit. “And I...I want to say...say that I’m sorry for accusing you.”
“It’s okay, Scootaloo,” Silver answered, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “I had trouble believing I could change, too. It took a weekend of sadness and Princess Luna appearing in a nightmare to get me out of it.”
“You’re not the only one that had Princess Luna in a dream. Though the last time she was in one of my dreams, I ended up drowning in custard while riding a mixer,” Scootaloo laughed.
The two young fillies shared a laugh, as they went through Sweet Apple Acres orchard and split apart to go to their separate homes.
---
Back at the spot where she talked with Silver, Diamond was fuming, as she paced back and forth. The pony she thought was her best friend has just rejected her, and was siding with the blank flanks over her.
She stopped pacing and stomped her hoof, as she said, “Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily. Nopony but my father can say no to Diamond Dazzle Tiara and expect to get away with it.”
“Girls, I thought we talked about this,” Twilight said to the fillies at her doorstep.
It was the next day after school, the same Wednesday they always used for Twilight Time. They still kept it a secret from everypony, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time. But now they felt confident enough to invite Silver Spoon along, hoping it would help the growing relationship. Though initially reluctant, she soon figured that they may be onto something.
Twilight was standing at her doorstep, looking at the four fillies in turn. She didn’t seem too angry, just thinking back to what happened last time they brought a guest with them for what she always considered a private learning time for the three of them.
“We know, Twilight,” Apple Bloom said. “But Silver is tryin’ to change, and we thought bringing her along would be helpful. And even though she has ‘er cutie mark...”
Twilight noticed that Silver’s face twitched, and shuffled her hooves a bit at that point.
“...we thought she might want to learn some of the same stuff you’ve been teachin’ us” Apple Bloom finished.
Twilight looked up at Silver and just stared in her direction for a moment, making her look down at her hooves, not wanting to meet her gaze. Finally, Twilight said, “Okay, she can join you. But if there’s a repeat of what happened last time, I will officially cancel Twilight Time for everypony.”
The four fillies silently followed Twilight in the Crystal Castle, and Silver looked around in amazement. The sunlight was shining through the crystals that made up the structure and breaking it up, giving the look of multicolored light everywhere. The floor was also made of crystal, though this crystal was made to be walked on, and colored red. The place was also massive, with hallways and doors that led to just as many rooms. Anyone unfamiliar with the place would easily get lost.
“Okay, you three,” Twilight said, cutting into her thoughts. “You go to the library and wait for me there, and Spike should have some nachos ready soon.”
As the Crusaders ran off, obviously knowing the way they were going, Twilight turned to look down at Silver.
“Is there something going on?” she asked, a bit of worry showing on her face.
“What do you mean, Princess?” Silver asked.
“Please, just Twilight will do,” Twilight answered. “But I noticed that you shuffled your hooves when Apple Bloom mentioned your cutie mark, so I thought that you might be worried about something related to it. It’s your choice whether you want to tell me, but I know something about cutie marks. I even had my own stolen once. So I thought, whatever it is, I may be able to help.”
Silver paced a bit as she thought about it, while Twilight just stood there and waited.
“No,” Silver finally said, shaking her head. “I...I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Twilight gave a short nod, as she said, “Okay. But if you change your mind, I’ll be here to listen.”
As Twilight led Silver to the library, a bit of worry was etched on her face, as her eyes kept drifting down to the spoon on her flank. A spoon she could tell was a fake.
---
When Silver got home from school the next day, Good Service was nowhere to be seen, which slightly confused her. He knew when she usually got home, and is waiting for her with her after-school snack. While she trotted through the unusually empty house towards the study, she heard something behind her, she turned around, seeing Good Service approach with a cart, that had a tea kettle and three tea glasses on it.
“Ah, Miss Silver. I do apologize for not meeting you at the door like usual. Your father and mother have a very important guest, and they ask that you do your homework in the dining room tonight,” he informed her.
"Important guest?" she asked.
"Yes. It seems that Princess Twilight has paid us a visit this evening," Good Service answered.
As he walked towards the study with the tea, Silver headed to the dining room. But as she dropped off her saddlebags, mind whirling with the question on why Twilight was there, so soon after she saw her with the Crusaders. Leaving her saddlebags behind, she headed over to the closed door of the study. Glancing around and seeing nopony nearby, she went over and put her ear to the door.
“Princess...” she heard her father begin.
“Please, just Twilight,” Twilight interrupted.
“Twilight, I know you mean well, trying to bring this to our attention. But I feel this is a family matter, and we are already well aware of our daughter’s painted on mark...”
“They know?” Silver thought, her eyes going wide.
“...but I always felt that it was her accepting her true destiny, taking over the company. Anyways, that art stuff that her true mark shows can’t bring in the bits like our company can,” her father finished.
“I thought of it as a phase at first, one she was going to grow out of. Even after she got her actual mark, I felt it was mostly harmless,” her mother added.
“I know you're just trying to give your daughter a secure future, but a cutie mark is supposed to represent where your talents lie, and I can’t imagine having her deny who she is can be healthy,” Twilight answered. “Even if she is an artist, Mr. Smith, you should accept your daughter for who she is, not for who you want her to be.”
“All I can promise right now is that we’ll think about what you said,” Silver Smith answered. “Now, I trust you know the way out. If you get lost in our house, one of my servants will be happy to point you in the right direction.”
“That’s all I ask,” Twilight said.
Silver could hear the sounds of three ponies standing up, and knew she could get in trouble for eavesdropping if she was caught. So she made a dash away from the door and up to her own room, her mind churning with the new information she overheard.
