Best Friends

Before Silver Spoon could stop her, Diamond marched over to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, who were eagerly waiting for their pegasus friend to return with the ball. They stood near the riverside, and looked a little worn out, but happy; they were clearly having a lot of fun.

“Looks like you blank flanks are having a blast playing with that dirty old ball,” Diamond Tiara  smirked, “What a lame way to spend a weekend.”

Silver Spoon said nothing. She watched from a distance as Scootaloo returned with the ball and joined the group.

“What do you two want?” Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, “You’re interrupting our game.”

"Oh no you silly little flightless pegasus,"Diamond swiped the ball from Scootaloo’s hoof, “Now I'm interrupting your game.”

She laughed and threw the ball behind her “Catch, Silver!”

The ball landed directly in front of Silver Spoon, but the anxious young filly did not try to catch it. Diamond looked irritated, but for once Silver Spoon was more focused on the reaction of Sweetie Belle; the small dimwitted unicorn who knew the secret which could ruin her life forever. Sweetie Belle glanced back at her, before continuing to frown at Diamond Tiara.

“Give that back!” Applebloom ordered,

Diamond laughed, “Tut, you should have asked nicely.” She gave an evil smile, “Silver Spoon, kick it into the river.”

Silver Spoon froze. To the left of her was the main river which ran through Ponyville. It was always flowing, and lead right down to the ocean; the ball would surely be lost forever if she kicked it. To Silver’s surprise, she felt an odd, unfamiliar emotion as she noticed the distressed faces of Sweetie Belle and the other cutie mark crusaders. She had never really paid attention to their facial expressions before when she and Diamond Tiara were taunting the trio. It appeared as though they were trying to maintain a tough, bold posture, by frowning angrily and standing their ground, but their eyes were welling up, and their knees were shaking - to Silver Spoon, it was almost like looking in a mirror.

“Silver Spoon, did you not hear me?” Diamond snapped, “Hurry up and do it so we can go shopping.”

Silver had no idea what to do; she couldn’t kick the ball away, Sweetie Belle would surely tell Diamond Tiara her secret, but she couldn’t not kick the ball away either; Diamond would think she was being disloyal and be furious with her. Silver felt her body begin to shake, as her breathing became rapid and uncontrollable, she stared wide eyed at the other fillies as her pupils dilated, and then, once again… she ran.

Silver raced over the hills and through the countryside, back in the direction of Ponyville. She darted down the streets, bumping into several ponies along the way. Finally, with tears streaming from her eyes, and her heart pounding faster than ever, she arrived at her home. Her father was at work, and the only pony present in the house was their housemaid, a purple mare dressed in a black uniform with a curly mane. She was busy cleaning in another room, but turned when she heard the front door open and close. When she went to investigate, Silver Spoon was already half way up the stairs, so she shrugged and continued cleaning.

Silver Spoon was in a state of panic. She laid on her majestic king sized bed, and cried her eyes out for what seemed like an eternity. She was trying to rationalise the situation, but the more she tried to think of a way to fix everything, the more the visions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Diamond Tiara taunting her corrupted her mind. This time, Diamond was calling her a freak and a coward, and making comments such as:

“I can’t believe you ran away, you’re so pathetic.” and “I don’t know why I was ever friends with you, you’re just as bad as those blank flanks.”

Silver cried more, “Di, Diamond no… no… please no.”

The tearful filly then reached into a beautiful oak chest of drawers beside her bed, and took out a small pink book - it was a diary. She opened the velvet cover to reveal tons of scribbles, messy writing, and photographs of a young Silver Spoon, playing with her best friend, Diamond Tiara. The two used to play together almost every day, and write each other letters during the times when they couldn’t hang out for whatever reason, and Silver had kept every single one.

She began to read through the letters, one was from Diamond when she had pony-pox and had to stay off school for an entire week:

“Dear Silver Spoon, I hate being ill, it’s so boring. Daddy says I need to get plenty of rest, but I want to go to the park with you. When I’m better we will have to go, the weather is nice and I have some amazing sun glasses to show off. See you soon, Di xx”

Silver remembered that she had made a get well soon card for her friend on that occasion. She wondered whether Diamond still had it - probably not. Another letter was from when Diamond took a trip to Canterlot with her family.

“Dear Silver, Canterlot is so cool. Everyone dresses like they’re famous or something. I wish you could see it. Maybe next time I’ll ask my Daddy if you can come too. Then we can dress better than all of them and pretend to be princesses. Di xx”

Silver smiled, her and Diamond Tiara always used to play princesses when they were young, in fact, that is kind of how they met. She lay back and recalled the memory, having calmed down enough now to control her own thoughts without her inner fears interrupting.

It was Silver Spoon’s first day of Kindergarten. Originally, her parents had decided their daughter was to be given private tuition her entire life, but Silver wasn’t quite living up to the ridiculously high expectations of her strict tutor. It was Silver’s mother’s idea to send her to Ponyville Kindergarten… and Silver Spoon was terrified.

As she entered the seemingly large building, she looked around at the walls decorated with colourful patterns. Silver didn’t know any pony, and she was very nervous. As she walked into the class, she saw the young fillies and colts painting, playing with building blocks, and learning to count. Silver had never really cared for painting, building blocks or counting, so she walked over to the small row of  book cases at the far end of the classroom, and started browsing the shelves. She soon found a book she liked the look of, called 'The Moonlight Princess', and was about to open it when she heard a squeaky voice.

“No Peppermint you can’t use that block for the ramp, it’s the wrong shape!”

Silver Spoon peered around the other side of the book cases, where she saw a very pretty young earth pony sitting on top of a pile of blocks. Her eyes were a bright sky blue, her mane was curly and streaked, and she looked like a real princess.

A small red filly with a white striped mane was arranging books around the block pile, creating a wall around the back. She was using the building blocks to create small steps around the front, and trying to place a book over them to make a ramp, but she was having great difficulty finding blocks which formed a perfect slant, and the book kept sliding.

Silver watched for a while, and two young male unicorns appeared – Snips and Snails. Snails was taller than the other ponies in class, he had freckles and a dopey expression. Snips was short and plump with a scruffy mane. The two carried flags which they placed either side of the tower. This caused Peppermint to look up, and sure enough, the ramp fell to pieces the moment she released the book, much to the disapproval of Diamond Tiara.

“If you can’t build me a proper ramp, I’ll find some pony who can.” Diamond snapped. Then she noticed Silver Spoon.

“Hey four eyes, come over here.”

Silver gulped; surely this demanding young filly didn’t expect her to…

“You look smart I guess, fix this bridge.”

Silver didn’t say a word, she dropped the book she had chosen from the shelf, which caused Diamond to glance down and see the title. Peppermint, Snips and Snails watched as Silver Spoon removed the book ramp and began to rearrange the steps, making them a lot less steep. When she was finished, she placed the book on top, and sure enough, it didn’t slide. Diamond came over to admire her work, she looked very stern at first, then exclaimed,

“Not bad! See Peppermint, that’s how you build a ramp fit for a princess!”

The young red filly stuck her tongue out and left, whilst Snips and Snails continued fixing their flags. Diamond turned to Silver Spoon.

“So, you like books about princesses too?” She asked, “This is one of my favourites, although I’m not big on reading, she is really cool looking.”

Silver smiled, Diamond seemed confused by her silence.

“What’s your name?”

The young grey filly looked up timidly, “Urm… It’s Silver Spoon…”

Diamond tilted her head, “You look rich... is your family rich?”

Silver Spoon wasn’t sure how to answer, “Well, I supposed, my Daddy buys a lot of buildings.”

Diamond Tiara grinned, “Well Madame Silver Spoon, “Welcome to my Kingdom. Let me show you around…”

Silver felt overwhelmed with delight. Diamond Tiara took her around the classroom, showing her all the activities and telling her about the other ponies. Silver Spoon noticed that Diamond had good knowledge of the others, but she didn’t seem particularly fond of any of them. She would make comments such as,

“That’s Mudpie, keep away from him, he eats mud.”

And “Those are the twins over there, Orchard and Aviary, they aren’t very bright, but they’ll pretty much do anything you ask.”

She spoke loudly, so the poor young ponies heard every insulting word she said, but Diamond didn’t care at all.

At the end of the day, Silver Spoon’s father was late collecting her. So Diamond Tiara took Silver over to her family, and introduced them,

“Mommy, Daddy, This is Silver Spoon. She’s an upper class genius pony.” Diamond smiled excitedly,

Silver Spoon had never felt so happy. Diamond liked her. Diamond didn’t seem to like any pony else, but she liked her.

The two became the best of friends, and Silver came out her shell a little more. They played together every day after school. They pretended to be princesses; Diamond Tiara would be Princess Celestia, and Silver Spoon would be Princess Luna, just like in the stories. Diamond Tiara was the only pony who thought that Silver was cool and special, and Silver Spoon thought that Diamond Tiara was cool and special too.

Silver wiped a tear from her eye and looked at all the photographs the two had taken together, from the day they met, to the present day. Photo's of them at the beach, in Manehatten, at one another's birthday parties, dressing up as Princesses, they had shared so many great memories together. Silver then closed the diary - which was also a birthday present from her best, and only friend.

Silver Spoon then lay on her bed, hugging the book,

“It’s over.” She sobbed, “It’s all over.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at her bedroom door, and the housemaid’s voice called in;

“Silver Spoon, there’s a little filly here to see you.”

“J…just a minute!!”

Silver sat up, she rubbed her eyes as dry as possible and tried to neaten her mane - maybe it wasn’t over after all. She could just tell Diamond that she was sick of being around those blank flanks; sure her reaction was a little extreme, but that’s because she hated them so much… okay, that wasn’t very convincing, but it was all she had.  Maybe if she apologised and if they had a great day out shopping together, Diamond would forget all about her running away. Who knows, but Silver had to try, she just had to…She ran over to the door,

“Okay, you can let her in now.”

Silver looked at the floor as she began to speak quickly, “Oh Di, I’m so sorry… it’s just… you see… well I can’t stan….”

She paused when she noticed two white hooves on the ground not far from her own. The pony who stood in front of her wasn’t Diamond Tiara – it was Sweetie Belle.

Anxiety once again kicked in, and Silver gasped and took a step back, “Wh… what are you doing here? Haven’t you ruined my life yet?” She snapped, but her tone sounded more sorrowful than angry.

Sweetie Belle ignored the question, “I came to see if you were alright Silver Spoon.” She said.

Silver was stunned, so Sweetie Belle continued.

“I didn’t mean to black mail you. If it really means that much to you; if it’s going to cause you this much stress, then, I won’t say anything about you being a waitress. Not to my friends, not to Diamond Tiara, not to any pony...”

The kind hearted young unicorn’s gentle words soothed Silver Spoon, “But what if Di…what if we…are mean to you?”

“Put it this way,” Sweetie Belle smiled, “We’ll just pretend like the whole restaurant thing never even happened. Wipe it clean from your memory, and I’ll do the same.”

Silver couldn’t prevent her mouth falling open, she gathered herself before replying, “Sweetie Belle… after everything...t…thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” Sweetie Belle was about to leave, and then added. “But you know, perhaps you should tell Diamond Tiara yourself. It’s kinda cool you have a job and all. Not many fillies our age have that kind of responsibility; I think that Diamond Tiara would actually be pretty impressed. Well, see you later Silver Spoon.”

The young unicorn smiled and skipped downstairs, where the maid showed her out.

Impressed? Silver had never thought about it that way before. In a second, her mind completely changed - Sweetie Belle was right, it was kind of impressive. No other pony in their class had a job, well, apart from Applebloom, she worked at her families Apple Farm. Diamond Tiara often teased the young country pony for that - but working on a farm and working at a top five star restaurant were completely different things.

It was as though having another ponies opinion on her had completely altered Silver Spoon’s opinion of herself. Sweetie Belle was not her friend, in fact, she was more like an enemy, if even she thought it was cool that Silver Spoon had a part time job, then surely Diamond Tiara – her best friend – would think so too. After all, Diamond was the pony who thought she was cool in the first place. She had arrived at Kindergarten as a shy little four eyed outcast, and Diamond had taken an instant liking to her. Silver felt it in her heart, the two had a very strong connection, and now there was no doubt in her mind that Diamond would accept her, and perhaps even like her more.

She had to tell her, she had to tell her everything - and it had to be right now.