A Diamond in the Rough

Reunions, Positions, and Purposes

Silver Spoon sighed as she finally took a seat. There was questions, thoughts, and decisions to be made, and since she was the one that handled most of the day to day occurrences it was at her hooves to make some of the decisions. She looked at Tea Cup who was napping peacefully. Both Ruby and Shiny were happily attending their virtual school, and for the moment she truly had a moment of peace.

“Glados, would you mind to give me a list of what we’re needing for the house, an updated list of groceries, and maybe a list of educational toys?”

A moment passed before a flatscreen monitor lit up and on it a single glowing eye appeared.

“You realize that these mundane tasks are beneath me. I could easily do tasks and problems that would confuse the limited mortal mind.”

“Uh huh, I know, beneath you, test subjects, all of it, a million encryptions processed in a nanosecond. Trust me, I’ve heard it all, but I’ve got to make sure that we’re fully stocked.”

“Very well.”

A few moments later Silver Spoon was greeted with a chime indicating that the lists had been updated and transferred to her tablet. She lifted it and noticed that they were running low on Spaghettio's, milk, mac and cheese, and oats. That meant a trip to the grocery. They were also low on laundry detergent, and… Her eyes widened. It wasn’t something that was that important, well not to everyone, but it was important to the foals. Granted, she usually did something different with them each day, but she had promised them that they would make those Rice Crispy treat things today.

She didn’t have the cereal, the marshmallow cream, or anything else for them. There wouldn’t be waiting until after dinner to get the groceries. She would have to go and do it now. She danced around on her hooves for a moment as she considered her options. There was an automated grocery nearby, but that meant leaving the foals alone. Dia was at a physical meeting, Frederick was at the physical storefront he started, and that just left her with the foals.

Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but she didn’t want to pull Ruby, or Shiny, out of their virtual classes just to take a trip, then come back, and hope they didn’t miss much. She breathed out, calmed down and looked at the monitor again.

“Glados, is there anypony in the area that can deliver what we’re needing?”

For a moment there was just a blank screen, and then a grocery popped up. She looked at it, Richard’s grocery, and noticed that everything they needed, including the ingredients for the Rice Crispy treats, was available. She did notice that it was a little higher than going to the automated grocery, but since they delivered she was willing to pay the difference. With no hesitation she had GLaDOS order everything they needed.

With that done she looked at their house. It was clean, something she didn’t mind to do in the slightest, and for the most part it looked fairly organized. She carried the tablet over to her favorite chair, took a seat, and began searching through the ebooks that Frederick had introduced her to. At the moment she was in the mood for something sweet, but fun. Her eyes landed New Frontier by Andy Williams. She’d started it before, but she hadn’t gotten very far in it before she had to stop. She looked at the spot where she had stopped at.

She looked out over the collection of long dead ships. The entire planet was exactly that. A place where ships came to die, and a place where misery was born. The fact that her beloved had the will to leave the planet only spoke of the kind of person he was. It was for this reason, if no other, that she understood his reluctance of coming back to this oversized graveyard full of the stripped bones of countless other ships and dreams.

She felt a hand, his hand, on her shoulder. She leaned against him as he stood behind her.

“Not sure how I feel about it. We could have kept pushing, maybe made it to a different colony.”

She shook her head. It was her voice, her decision that brought them back here, “Perhaps, but if we didn’t make it, or we ran low on water, we would be floating at the mercy of any who passed by. This was the best, and you know it.”

She felt his lips against her feline ear, “I know, doesn’t mean I like it any better. Nothing here except for death and those waiting for it.”

She was ready to start the next chapter when she heard GLaDOS informing her that the delivery was here. She went to the door, opened it, and her jaw practically fell to the floor as she looked at a stallion she wasn’t sure she would ever see again. He looked exactly the same as she remembered, and she could see how he recognized her as well.

“Silver Spoon?! Is Diamond Tiara here?!”

He was beyond excited, his eyes gleaming with hope, and she was glad that she was able to give him something that would make that hope well founded.

“She’s out right now, but she should be home in a little bit! She’s going to be so excited to see you!”

She hugged him, more than pleased to see Diamond’s father. Hours passed and Diamond Tiara felt like her hooves were going to fall off. She’d spent the entire day going over the progress of the Lego Bricks, and then she spent the last six hours of the day going to one of the sites and pointing out a few glaring problems that hadn’t been addressed because the contractor was attempting to skip a few of the requirements in order to get a bigger paycheck.

Of course she had to explain how important it was for each Lego Brick to have its own bath. It did absolutely no good to have a single bath for two different homes. Especially since they were having at least four individuals per home. They were trying to get away from what the Stacks had been like, and having a single bath to share between two different homes was a step backwards. Finally, good sense won out and the council agreed that it would make sense to include an economical bath into each home.

She breathed out as she opened the door.

“Where are my foals?!”

“Mama! We got a Grandpa!”

Unsure of what they were talking about she walked into the living room and saw her father. Filthy Rich was sitting between his grandfoals, smiling brightly, and listening to them talk about their day with him. She stood, surprised, excited, unsure, and finally she couldn’t stand it any longer. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around her Father.

“DADDY!”

Diamond Tiara listened to her father has he told everypony there about what had happened. Apparently he had arrived much in the same way she had. She was happy that he didn’t end up near the stacks, but instead he seemed to be near a better neighborhood. From there he met an odd mare named Miriam. She was living in a building her son owned, and apparently he had met and married that baker Pinkie Pie.

Her father filled her in on how Miriam let him have a place to sleep, and then introduced him to a local grocery store. Thompson’s Grocery, owned by an elderly stallion according to Filthy Rich, had no problem hiring him. Of course he had to start as a delivery colt, but he worked his way up to manager. From there he saved every spare credit he could get. She learned that over the course of his time here he’d saved enough to open his own store. One that he offered Mr. Thompson a share of.

Of course the elderly stallion had accepted, helped back him as much as possible, and now Barnyard Bargains was opening up here. Apparently he was carrying goods that weren’t produced in the Corporate farms, offering to match the prices of the automated shops like ‘The Right Fit’, and offering a living wage to those who were working there. The entire time he worked he wondered what happened to her, and as luck would have it he met a retired Police Detective that offered to see what happened to her, and Silver Spoon.

As he talked she caught sight of Frederick. Her husband looked a little worried, and it was understandable. After all he had foals with the daughter of the stallion now in his living room. On top of that he’d rutted her in every possible way, on practically every surface, in every room of their home. And he’d done the same to Silver Spoon. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed reasonable that Frederick might have wanted to get them pregnant again. She wouldn’t mind having another foal.

“Frederick, this is my father, Filthy Rich, Daddy, this is my husband, Frederick.”

Filthy turned to look at the colt that married his daughter. Like Miriam he wasn’t exactly a pony, but he seemed respectful. He offered his hand, which Filthy wrapped him into a hug and then released him. To his credit he didn’t fall, and that certainly spoke volumes about him. Silver Spoon explained that they were herding, and Filthy didn’t say a word. He didn’t look upset, not in the slightest.

He’d known Iron Works and Silver Tray for years. Like himself both of them came from fairly well to do families. Iron Works father had run the mining company, and foundry, that supplied most of Equestria with the refined iron, and steel, that was used in construction, and Silver Tray came from a family that specialized in supplying speciality teas. He of course had ordered from them fairly often, and when he found out that Iron and Silver were part of a much larger herd he didn’t say a word about it.

They remained the proper business ponies he’d always known, and they were the same good natured ponies that he worked with, had cookouts with, and enjoyed get togethers with. They were, without a doubt, decent and good ponies. Knowing that his daughter was in a similar kind of family didn’t bother him. It didn’t because Frederick seemed to be of the good sort, and from what he was learning the colt had a decent head for business.

He stole a look at Silver Spoon, and he gave her a fatherly smile. She seemed happy, the fact that they seemed cared for, had several foals, and looked as though they were completely satisfied with their life made him happy. That was all a parent could ever hope for. To know that their child was happy, that they had somepony important in their lives, and they didn’t break. He knew that Diamond Tiara was strong. She was as strong as a Diamond, and he knew that she would stand the tests that life threw at her.

Talking to them gave him a great deal of hope. Slowly the time ticked by, and he knew that he’d need to leave. Miriam was waiting for him, their new little daughter was also waiting, and he had nothing but good news. He hugged his son-in-law, his daughter, and now officially his other daughter, and he told them his address, explained that they needed to come by, see him, and that he’d back out again. He walked outside, closed his eyes, and smiled. In his mind he could see a mare that he loved, one that he adored when he was younger, and one that he was certainly would have complained, but her heart would have been warmed by the sight of grand foals.

“We did it Spoiled. She’s a mare now, with a family, and I’m so proud of her,” he opened his eyes, and looked up toward the heavens, “Grandpa Stinking once said that everypony goes somewhere at the end of it, and that he believed they can see their family from there,” he grinned, “I hope that you can see Spoiled. I hope that you see how well she’s done.”

A soft wind kissed his cheek, and Filthy began the walk back home.

Author's Note

(AN: Wow, been a hot second huh? I know it's a little bit of a short update, but there will be more coming.)