....and why I think you are the greatest pony I've ever met!
The letter came as a shock to her. They hadn’t particularly talked since their youth. As fillies, messing around, and having a laugh at the expense of other ponies. She had had a good time, those years, that time had long forgotten, had been some of the best of her life.
Only as she got older, and started measuring her actions, and their consequences, did she start to understand the amount of bad things she had done. Despite the guilt she knew she couldn’t change the past. And much less move back to Ponyville to try and redeem herself.
Her family, the one from where she had gotten the name Silver Spoon, was “new rich”, or so she had heard her entire life. Instead of being wealthy and noble, they had made their fortune, well, not Silver Spoon, she hadn’t, but her grandfather and father had. And she was expected to be responsible and not dig a financial burden so big it would destroy all her ancestors had worked so hard to get.
So far she had been doing great, she had rented an apartment, nothing to extravagant, but at the same time still better than average, and she had been attending several classes, improving her studies. There were the ones that she had sort of been dragged into, she hadn’t been forced, but she knew she was expected to take, such as economy, and accountability, and then there were the ones that she had allowed herself to attend, because she liked the subject....literature, arts, history....Those didn’t provide her much help in the search for something to do, the amount of liberal studies ponies jobless were proof of that, but she liked them.
But throughout all her studies, and independence, she hadn’t really thought of her childhood best friend, Diamond Tiara. As the years passed, she had been pushed further and further into the back of Silver’s mind, as other stuff happened in her life.
So, as she looked at the letter, in a neat hoof writing, adressed at her, from Diamond Tiara, she certainly had some interesting thoughts, “Why now”, and “What would she possibly want from me?”, and, more importantly “How the heck did she get my address, if it’s unlisted?”.
She first examined the hoof writing, classy, it certainly had a flare to it. She somehow doubted that it had been Diamond who had written the address. Despite her best efforts to the contrary, Diamond had always had an awful calligraphy. Barely readable.
That did raise the question if this was really a letter by her friend. If it was....and she wasn’t entirely sure of that. – She would like to read it. But if it wasn’t....She doubted it was something seriously dangerous, letters were inspected before being sent, but that too raised some questions. “Why would anyone pretend to be Diamond Tiara and go to all this effort to find my address?”
Her whole frame was shaking, she realized. She had lived in a lot of places over the years, sometimes more, sometimes less, and she had made friends most everywhere, but she hadn’t received mail from any of them. Until now, it seemed. She had to leave, and she guessed those ponies made their best efforts to forget her. She didn’t blame them, losing a friend was always hard. She couldn’t deny it.
As those thoughts went through her mind, the letter still on her grip, despite the many wrinkles that appeared, due to shaking, she let out a sigh. Whether it was a real letter from a real friend, or just a con, she couldn’t know. But she had to decide if she wanted to open it or not.
She wasn’t so sure, even if it was a real letter, she couldn’t predict what Dt (her nickname for the other filly) was going to say. Would she still be angry at her for leaving? That had been the sentient when she told her, and Silver knew Diamond could hold grudges for so, so very long.
Or she could be happy to finally find out what had happened to her. That was a possibility too, Silver somehow doubted it.
The truth was somewhere in between, mostly leering towards the later, and Silver didn’t really expect what was written there. It had taken her hours, which she could have used for plenty of other stuff, to decide to open it. And once she had she had read it all in a few minutes, used to texts much more filled with hard language, than Diamond’s prose.
As she read, she couldn’t help but to get on a little smile, this was typical Tiara, and despite the years, there was still something really genuine about the other girl. She had always thought that inside that tough, mean look, Tiara had a really great heart. If she had bothered to show it, she would have been incredibly popular. But she hadn’t, at least in her time, the letter though, revealed some interesting things, and confirmed some of her thoughts.
“Hey Silvie!
I guess I really should be more formal with the way I open up those conversations, now that we are both grown, right? But you know how I am, I always disliked school, and while I can at least write properly now, instead of filling the paper with basic errors, some part of me is still not that educated.
How are you doing? I am being most careful with the writing on this letter. It's very hard when you are so overcome with emotion, like I am right now. The things you see written here? Those are my words, but you know how letters come out of my hoof, blurry and shaken, hard to understand, anyway, I truly do hope you can read this squiggles, you were always good at it.
Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something, you see, It’s been years since we last talked, I know that. Your family moved around pretty often, or so I’ve heard. And I wanted to tell you...
.
I missed you. Yes, I did. Look, kids will be kids and all that, right? I know, I know, we weren’t exactly little angels, as we grew up, but I still thought of you as a friend, in fact, my only friend.
I still remember when we met, I had already been having an attitude, for years, and every foal around had learned to avoid me. I was lonely, it was true, but then you came around. I thought that maybe you were a new victim, someone to tease. But at the end of the day, we became friends.
It’s funny how this kind of stuff works sometimes, isn’t it? I mean, all that stuff I told you, you replied back, 10 times worse. It got pretty silly, right? With jokes about everything, offensive to the highest degree, but we had a lot of fun. Remember when you called me a....well, I guess I shouldn’t say it, or let it be written down, it is pretty offensive. My response was even worse! Haha, remember? You got all red, and it looked like you were about to have an aneurysm.
So we became friends, pretty soon actually, and you taught me so much!
Not just pretty useful things, like how to tie my mane, and stuff, you know how it went, with my.....I never had a female mentor or guide to teach me that stuff. You also taught me the value of friendship.
Yes I know, I should have learned it a long time ago, with how our world is geared towards it. You’d think it would have been hammered in a long time ago.
Well it wasn’t! You taught it to me. My dad didn’t have the backbone to deal with me, strong as he was on business ventures, he had a soft spot for me, and I took advantage of that pretty badly. He always had hoped I would get better, that my attitude problems would somehow disappear, unlikely as it was. That’s why he pushed me into going out in public and playing with other foals. Of course, my concept of playing was teasing them.
But when you left, after all that anger disappeared, which, by the way, took a while, something else replaced it. Loneliness, I think. I spent months angry at you, being nastier than usual and shouting to whoever was in earshot how much of a traitor you were. And, when
I finally calmed down I realized I missed you, I missed having friends.
That really dented my ego and self pride. Which was a good thing.
I had to make some adjustements to my method of making friends, it turns out most ponies don’t like it when you insult them, even if joking. I know! Shocking! But I eventually did make some friends.
They were slow to trust me, but I think none of them thinks of me as faking it now, we feel a real feeling of closeness and friendship. It’s great! And that wouldn’t have happened if not for you not hiding away, scared, and instead replying back.
I think....I think we could have had such an intense relationship....Oh don’t give me that look I know you're doing! I mean, a strong friendship, at the time we were kids, not yet interested in love. You turned me, someone who had never apologized, and was a spoiled brat, into a filly who, misguided as it was, still had friends.
It took a lot of digging around to find your address, I have my methods....mainly speaking spending a lot of money and time to get school regi stries. Let me tell you Silver Spoon is a common name. I found hundreds with the same name, and I felt very tempted to mass produce and send this to all of Silver Spoons. I didn't. Impulses are a thing of the past, mostly. I looked over, carefully looking over files and files , until I was pretty sure I had the correct you.
You were well worth the effort.
I suppose I wanted you to know how much you meant to me....I mean, I tracked you from all over. The amount of places you have been! It’s...actually very possible that you have forgotten about me....I find that idea simply tear inducing, and I do hope that that isn’t the case...but it’s possible.
Those years were the best of my life, and they opened up the doors for so many more great ones. I wanted to thank you, you were, and still are, my first and best friend.
So I guess that’s all. Honestly I didn't expect this to be so long, I normally don't write as much, because....well, nobody understands it anyway, and It's tiring. But for you? Of course I will do this.
Oh! Some more things, I had almost forgotten....I may need more paper....
I could stay here and talk for days upon days, I could cause a shortage of ink, just to talk to you .... but I guess I should stop, don’t need to make myelf to look pathetic....heh.
I just wanted to add, one more thing, It would mean the world to me if you would write back, unlike you, I’m pretty easy to find. Not many ponies named "Diamond Tiara". Maybe we could even do a “girl’s night out”, or, if you’re not into that kind of stuff, a sleep-over. I still have those decorative paintings you liked so much....I kept them just in case I ever met you again, despite how child-like they seem now.
Best regards (and tons and tons of kisses)
Diamond Tiara. “
She devoured the words, reading it all in a few minutes, it wasn't particularly difficult, what with her being used to texts much more filled with a much harder language, from classics. Despite that, she found out she much preferred Diamond’s prose.
As she read, she couldn’t help but to get on a little smile, this was typical Tiara, and despite the years, there was still something really genuine about the other girl. She had always thought that inside that tough, mean look, Tiara had a really great heart. If she had bothered to show it, she would have been incredibly popular. But she hadn’t, at least in her time, the letter though, revealed some interesting things, and confirmed some of her thoughts.
She was sure this was the most valuable piece of written work she would even own. She carefully unfolded it, taking slow calculated movements. This task was on of precision. She gently folded the paper in two, she intended to re read it. But she was, truly, at a loss for words.
A slow thought inched into her mind, slowly at first, but then taking over the entirety of her thoughts.....She knew exactly what to say....
