Diamond in the Rough

Three’s Company

A Diamond Tiara in the Vogonverse Story

Silver Spoon wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about this. She was happy to start dating both Dia and Frederick, but this seemed a little wrong. The mare asking to join a herd was supposed to be the one paying for everything. That’s what her second mother had told her. She looked at Frederick, and she could see he was a little uncomfortable as well. From what she understood it was something of a taboo here for there to be more than just two people in a marriage.

That was something she didn’t understand. Sure, in Equestria there was several ponies that were monogamous, but it was still fairly common to see herds. In fact herds made far more sense. If something happened to one or two of the parents there would still be at least another mother, or two, that could continue to raise the foals. She gave them both a small smile, and slowly reached for their hands.

Both of them willingly took her hands, and she felt that in some small way that was at least a good sign. Looking around she studied the place they were at. The small restaurant wasn’t something she’d ever believe Diamond Tiara would go to. It was small, fairly plain, and it looked a little common for the daughter of Filthy Rich to be sitting inside of it. Instead, here she was obviously enjoying the atmosphere, and animatedly looking around at the lavish lacking room.

“Do you think that Father Andrews is having any trouble with Ruby and Shiny?” Diamond asked.

Frederick shook his head, “I wouldn’t think so. Ruby will be pretty good as long as she’s near her brother, and Father Andrews does love the two of them like they were his own children.”

Feeling satisfied with that answer Diamond Tiara looked at her best friend. Silver Spoon was looking a little put out, and she could only guess why. It had taken some convincing to get Frederick into the idea of trying herding. When he did finally agree to try, and learned that Silver Spoon would have to date both of them, he’d suggested their first real date be here. The little bistro was a place he had taken her to before, and she had quickly learned that judging it by how it looked was a mistake.

They served almost everything a pony could want, and their fried asparagus was as close to hayfries as she had found since being here. Their waitress, Cloe, was heading back toward their table with their drink order. She sat down a Coke for Frederick, a Mountain Dew for Silver Spoon, and finally she left a glass of lemonade for Diamond herself. Diamond sipped the sugary drink and smiled as she tasted the tartness of the real lemons that the bistro used. Nathanial’s, she reminded herself.

“So, what will y’all be having today?” Cloe asked.

“I’d like a plate of the fried asparagus, and if the cook doesn’t mind to fix one special, an oat burger,” Diamond said.

“That actually sounds really good,” Silver Spoon replied.

“The kitchen set-up for me, please,” Frederick said.

Cloe nodded, and then looked at the both of the mares, “Would you two like a dessert to go with your orders? Maybe the cherry dumplings, or we do have some of the best peach pie in Oklahoma.”

“Peach pie?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Uh huh, it’s handmade from fresh peaches, and the crust is made right here. We don’t used the frozen or rolled up kind,” she said.

Silver Spoon looked at both of her dates and they nodded, “I’d like a slice of peach pie to go with my order, please.”

Cloe nodded, wrote it down, and soon disappeared to the kitchen. Around them Silver Spoon could hear the chatter of other couples, the sing song voices of young foals talking and teasing one another. It was actually fairly relaxing, and Silver Spoon didn’t realize how much she had missed just hearing other ponies having a normal day. Being with Frederick and Diamond was wonderful, but she had missed being able to go out and listen to the other ponies.

She slid back in her chair and took a drink of the Mountain Dew. The Citrisy taste bit at her tongue as she swished it around for a moment before swallowing. She looked over at Frederick and watched as he nursed his Coke. He drank it slowly, and before he swallowed another drink he stopped and looked at Silver Spoon. She took a moment to look away, unsure of why she was breaking eye contact with him.

He wasn’t a terrible stallion. Instead Frederick was more than kind when dealing with her, Diamond, or his foals. She felt a little heat in her cheeks, and closed her eyes for a moment. She felt a little embarrassed that she had been staring at him. It seemed so silly that she would feel embarrassed about looking at him. It wasn’t as if she was silently taking in how he looked, considering what it would be like to lay with him.

Her eyes widened as she thought of that. She liked him, and through his actions that like had become more cemented. She felt attracted to him, and she was already attracted to Dia. Chancing a look back at him she saw the soft questioning look he was giving her. She swallowed down her nervousness and started to say something when their waitress came back. She watched as their food was placed in front of them, and the Oat Burger smelled fantastic. She took a moment to look at their waitress, and noticed that she was wearing a pair of blue jeans that looked almost threadbare. Her shirt was a tie-die nightmare with Nathanial’s printed across the front in white, but somehow the blond waitress with a ponytail pulled the look off.

“Okay, so two oat burgers, two orders of fried asparagus, and a kitchen set-up. When you’re ready I’ll bring out your dessert,” she said to Silver Spoon before she walked off.

Reaching out she picked up the piping hot oat burger, and she let out a soft moan of delight when she bit into it. It tasted like the same oat burgers from back home, but there was a slight difference. These had a crisper taste to them. The patties had the taste of oats, but it had something more. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but the difference was enough to make her realize how much she was truly enough this.

The oat burger was heavenly and certain put the burgers from the Oat Burger to shame. She picked up a fried piece of asparagus and bit into it. It was crispy, fresh, and tasted like a deep fried hayfry. She ate, trying to keep from making a mess, or get too involved with her food. Still, she felt like she could be looking a little like Princess Twilight when she was at the Hay Burger. She slowed down, looked up at Dia who was smiling a reassuring smile, and then over at Frederick and gave her a nod. Feeling a little better she finished her fried asparagus and waited for Cloe, their waitress, to come back over so she could get her piece of peach pie.

“I thought that you might like this place Silvy,” Diamond said.

“Y..yeah, it reminds a little of home,” she replied.

Diamond knew what she was talking about. The Hay Burger was fairly close to this place. She and Silvy had eaten there a dozen times before, but there was some nice differences between it and Nathanial’s. Nathanial’s didn’t feel like you were ordering fast food, and it didn’t really taste like it either. The food here tasted fresh, and she had to admit that Nathanial’s was a bit more clean than the Hay Burger usually was.

She saw Silvy looking for something, and realized that she must have wanted to catch their waitress. Peach Pie sounded good, but Frederick would be getting cherry dumplings with his order, and she knew that he’d want to share with her. A few moments passed and it seemed as if Cloe had forgotten about them. Diamond Tiara looked for her, waiting, and listening, to see if she was coming, but instead it was just the chatter around them. After a moment Frederick pushed back from the table.

“I’ll go and see what’s keeping her,” he said.

“Wait, she should be back soon,” Diamond said.

Almost as if she heard the conversation Cloe walked around the corner. The blond looked out of sorts, and instantly Diamond Tiara could see the telltale signs that she had been crying. A red hand print was cropping up on her cheek, and she almost didn’t stop at their table. She sniffed hard, and tried to put on a smile for them.

“What’s wrong?” Frederick asked.

“Oh… it’s not important,” she said.

Diamond stood up, grabbed a nearby empty chair, and moved it over to the table. She offered it to Cloe, who at their insisting finally took a seat. The young blond woman was fighting hard to keep from crying, that much was obvious. Diamond touched her shoulder gently.

“Please, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Cloe finally looked at her and the sobs started. It was a single tear followed by another, and soon it was small rivers moving down her face. She leaned forward and laid her head on the table.

“Maxie… the head cook here, we’ve been seeing each other for a while now, and I thought that he was divorced. God help me I swear that I thought that he was divorced, but he wasn’t. I wouldn’t help a man cheat on his wife. I ain’t like that at all, but that’s what I ended up doing. His wife, Shirley, she came in through the back, and she caught us kissing,” she sobbed harder, pulling her head down lower, “she caught us kissing, and then she tore into him. She called him everything under the sun, and I figure he deserved it, but then she slapped me so hard.”

She sniffed and looked up at Diamond Tiara, “She slapped and said it made her so upset that he was throwing their marriage away over a whore like me.”

She leaned back down, crying onto the table, and Silver Spoon looked at her in disbelief. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t heard of tail lifters in Equestria. Her mother's had almost chased a mare off because they thought that she wanted to bed her father and then go on. She didn’t know much about this girl, but she sounded sincere.

Slowly, the three of them got up, and Diamond reached a hand out to Cloe. She got up from her chair, walked with them, and they stopped briefly only to pay for the food before walking out of the bistro.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Diamond asked.

Cloe nodded, “I… I have an apartment in the Lego Blocks, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep it. Even with that job I was just scraping by. Without it I’m afraid that I’m going to be on the street before too long.”

Diamond looked at Frederick, and then at Silver Spoon. It was a silent question, and one that they all understood. They were being asked if they would object to her being invited into their home. Diamond knew that Frederick would side with her, there was no question there, but she wasn’t so sure about Silvy. Silvy was dating them, and by all rights she most likely was going to be protective of her perspective herd.

It was Silver Spoon who answered first, “Dia, what about Father Andrews?”

Diamond Tiara felt like kicking herself. She was about to ask if Cloe wanted to stay with them for a while, but the Church, Saint Thomas’, was in the need of some help, and Father Andrews most likely would ensure that Cloe had a place to sleep. The good Father was a kind man after all.

“Cloe, have you ever considered working for a church?” Diamond asked.

Cloe shook her head, “No.”

“Well, it just so happens that I know the priest of a local church, and I know that they’re needing to hire someone to oversee the relief efforts. It doesn’t pay very much, but it certainly is more than enough for the apartment. If you want, I can get you his contact information. Actually, I’ll be more than willing to make the introductions,” Diamond said.

The group made their way to the lego blocks and Cloe headed toward her apartment. Once she was out of sight they walked into their apartment. There was Father Andrews, sitting in a recliner, holding two foals. Diamond made her way to him, carefully picking up both of her foals, and ensuring that they were still asleep.

“Did they give you much trouble?” Diamond asked.

“No, they were sweet little lambs. Children are truly the greatest gift that God gives his children. My child, I fear that I must head back. I’ve been away from the church for a while now, and surely they are in need of my services,” he said.

“Thank you again. Oh, Father Andrews, I may have found you a replacement for the relief position. She’s a very sweet girl,” Diamond said.

“Well, I’d love to meet with her. Please, send her to the Church tomorrow, if she’s able to make it, and I’ll have a little interview with her,” he replied.

She watched him leave, and then she went to lay the foals down. Even with the evening having the slight bump things went well. Silvy was obviously attracted to Frederick, and in return Frederick seemed to be interested in her. She didn’t feel jealous, which is what she thought she would have felt, but instead she felt happy. She wasn’t going to invite Silvy into their bed, not yet, but it would be soon.

Author's Note

Yay! Another chapter update! Sorry for it being a little while since the last one. So, things are progressing, and that's good. Silver Spoon had her first official date with Diamond and Frederick, so here's hoping for few more.