Her hooves slammed on the ground with each step. She kicked at every rock, plant, or fence post that happened to be within reach. Her jaw was sore from the clenching, and her brow was permanently furrowed behind her thick pale-blue rimmed glasses.
“Of course, Daddy, I’d love to,” she grumbled to herself. “And of course she has to leave me here with him. Didn’t even invite me—Los Caballos!” She kicked at a particularly large rock on the side of the path. “Ow!” she cried out in rage. Looking over her shoulder, she saw no one in sight, but she still pretended the pain wasn’t real; she did her best not to hobble on three legs. “Los Caballos, must be nice. Sitting on the beach, sipping exotic fruit punches, while everything you could ever want is brought to you. And the shopping—oh, the shopping. Ugh!”
“All I want is like, one day, to like do nothing. Stupid summer business.” Silver Spoon continued her rhetorical gripes and woes as Ponyville shrunk in the distance behind her. The path ahead transitioned from rural farmland to thick and dark forest. “Dumb forest with the trees, and the—oh, I don’t even know! That tree there”—she raised a shaking hoof to point—“yeah, that tree. I hate you and your branches!” She exhaled, deflating her chest and taking a few deep breaths.
“Much better,” she said. She took a breath, taking in the scent of damp soil and pine needles. “I wonder what losers will be there—Oh, does it matter? Maybe it’ll be worth it if I up the price a little.” A smile crept across her grumpy face. “Yeah… as long as I don’t have to…” She trailed dismissing the thought. There’s no way that was going to happen. I mean it never has happened before.
Silver Spoon pictured herself in an upscale Canterlot mall, her dad pulling a wagon full of shopping bags. He’d smile as she excitedly ran from one store to another, frivolously enjoying the spoils of her new summer job. “This may not be such a bad thing. I just need to get enough customers. I just wonder who the first ones are. We never get business on the first day of summer.”
“But… I have to work!” she shouted at the top of her lungs causing several birds to scatter from the tall overcasting trees.
The foliage thickened as she left the main well-maintained road to a smaller path overgrown with thick brush and grass that devoured entire sections. Nailed to a tree at the fork was a large sign listing two locations the smaller path went to.
Silver Lodge...... 9.5 S
Swan Lake......10 S
Only ten strides… only ten. Along the path, a cool wind gently chilled what was already shaping up to be a hot day. The trickling of water from a nearby stream added an ambient background to the nonstop babble-chirps emitting from unseen locations. Silver Spoon noticed none of these things, however. She was annoyed at the lack of things to kick her frustrations out on. Instead she took to gritting her teeth loudly enough to drown out the melodies of nature.
So, Diamond Tiara goes on vacation for the entire summer, and she doesn’t even invite me? Last summer she invited me to Manehatten for a week. Well, I hope she brings back some of those microwaveable hay burritos. Why did Equestria outlaw those things again?
As Silver Spoon ascended a shallow incline of a small hill, the path lightened slightly, letting in some of the day’s warmth on her back. She panted a little as she lengthened her gait to maintain her pace. I hate exercise! I hate this stupid lake house, I hate this dumb summer business daddy has. And now I have to run it!
“Someone please help! Forced foal labor!” Silver Spoon cried desperately. “Hey… wait. Why didn’t I use that one this morning?” Why am I asking myself? Phew, so glad Diamond isn’t here to see this. She’d probably think I’ve become a huge lame dork and never hang out with me again. The shame of going from the most popular filly in school to, like, unpopular would be like even worse than being one of those blank-flank crusader dorks.
Cresting the hill, she saw a massive opening in the trees and a flat valley below. The path led down to a wood cabin overlooking a lake that stretched on as far as she could see. On either side of the lake stood massive bold-faced mountains covered in lush green forest. A fine snow dusting remained on some of the tallest peaks.
So gross! Silver Spoon's hooves squelched on soft saturated ground. From the top of the hill she didn’t realize how tall the grass was, but now at the bottom, she could see it had become an overgrown swamp. Ugh, why does daddy have to be so outdoorsy? Why can’t he like normal pony things, like shopping?
She unlocked the front door of the cabin, ignoring the rustic interior coated in a thick layer of dust, and opened the windows and shutters. Next she went back outside to a small shed next to the house. It had a large window covered with a piece of wood and a counter in front. Next to the window was a wide bay door. Inside were two racks stacked to the ceiling with canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, and other summer fun lake items. A door on her left led to the office and front desk for boat rental as well as life jackets and oars.
“I guess I should open. Daddy said they would be here around noon.” Pulling the string, Silver Spoon opened the main window. She took a seat after putting the open sign out. She turned her attention to her now muddy hooves. This place is soo lame! What kind of lame ponies would come here?
No sooner than she had asked herself she heard very familiar voices from somewhere out the office, and she groaned. Oh no. Of course it has to be those dorks. Worst. Summer. Ever.
“Golly this place sure is pretty. Ah’m ready to get ma canoeing cutie mark!” Apple Bloom cheered sing-song like.
“Not if I get my canoeing cutie mark first!” Scootaloo replied.
“No, Ah’m getting the canoeing one! We both can’t have the same cutie mark!”
“Can too.”
“No we can’t! Stop being contrary!” Apple Bloom’s voice intensified with each word she spoke.
“Oh, yeah! Well, you don’t even know what contrary means!” Scootaloo challenged.
“Neither do you!” Apple Bloom shot back.
“Girls! Stop! We're all here to get a cutie mark. Let’s just have fun, okay?”
“Sweetie’s right y’all. Besides, we got all summer to try and get our cutie marks, and they got all kinds of fun things to do here.”
Oh no, not all summer. Silver Spoon put her forehooves to her head.
“Mr. Sterling told me we can come here anytime,” Sweetie Belle said. “I think we go to that little shed thingy to rent the canoes.
Silver Spoon recoiled as she was suddenly greeted by three smiling and excited faces. This is the end! A whole summer of these dorks. If anyone from school finds out…
“Why howdy, Silver Spoon! Ah didn’t know you worked here. Neat place, my sister would love to have that cabin…” Apple Bloom trailed off under Silver Spoon’s emotionless stare of boredom. It was clear to her that Silver Spoon wasn’t listening to a word she had just spoke. “Um, we would like to rent a canoe.” She offered a sheepish smile, her face turning a slight shade of red.
“I heard,” Silver Spoon replied plainly. With a sigh she got off her chair and went to the other room. “Which one?” she asked, pointing to the rack full of multi-colored canoes.
“The red one,” Scootaloo said. “That’s the fast one.”
“Whatever, you dorks better not sink it, or get stuck anywhere.” Silver Spoon grabbed the red canoe and carelessly pulled it off the rack. The canoe bounced on the concrete floor a few times before she dragged it out of the shed and placed it halfway in the water. Then she returned to the shed to get three oars and life jackets. “It’s ten bits for an hour.”
“Your dad said five bits an hour,” Sweetie Belle said keeping her eyes on Silver Spoon.
“No he didn’t.” Silver Spoon waved a hoof through the air. "Don't be ridiculous."
“Yes he did. He was getting a new suit from my sister when he told me this was a fun place, and he said it was only five bits to rent any of the small boats,” Sweetie Belle insisted.
Knowing she'd hear about it later, she gave in. “Fine. Whatever. Five bits for the hour.”
“Only an hour?” Scootaloo asked, not hiding the disappointment in her voice.
“Look, you guys can go out for as long as you want, then pay when you get back.” Silver Spoon stared into Sweetie Belle’s round green eyes. “And you better have enough bits,” she said through her gritted teeth. “Or else!”
Sweetie Belle gulped then took the oars and life jackets and passed them out to the others. “We won’t stay out there too long,” Sweetie Belle assured, offering an awkward smile.
“We’ll be out there long enough to get a cutie mark,” Apple Bloom added.
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “Well, then I guess you three aren’t coming back, like, ever.” Silver Spoon smirked to herself. Oh, if Diamond could’ve heard that. That was a good one.
Scootaloo puffed out her chest, ready to fire off a counter-insult; however, Apple Bloom wrapped a foreleg around her neck and steered her towards the canoe. “It ain’t worth it. We got cutie marks to get.”
Sweetie Belle stopped herself mid-step and asked, “So our time starts now, or when we get into the water?”
“It actually started ten minutes ago.” Silver Spoon smirked smugly.
“Oh! Oh my, well we better—girls we better hurry up! She started our time already!” Sweetie Belle’s high-pitched squeaks made Silver Spoon cringe and cover her ears.
She watched as the three donned their life jackets, and she laughed aloud at how ridiculous they looked as the three of them sat in the canoe, unsure of how to get it fully into the water. She saw Scootaloo doing some weird jerking motion as if trying to inch it into the water.
“Ya mind giving us a push?” Apple Bloom called over her shoulder while trying to use her oar to push the boat, but she couldn’t seem to get enough leverage.
“Boat launching costs extra,” Silver Spoon replied lazily. Besides, this is way more entertaining.
Finally Sweetie Belle got out and pushed the canoe. Right before the very end left the bank, she jumped inside, causing the canoe to lurch forward. The three fillies cheered as they drifted free from the shore.
At least one has half a brain. Silver Spoon watched as they tried to use the oars to steer. The canoe traveled on an uneven and unpredictable path. Every time they started to turn one way, Scootaloo would overcompensate and turn them the opposite direction. This eventually led to the canoe going in a jagged circle and lots of shouting.
“No! Scootaloo put it on the opposite side! Sweetie, row harder!”
“Shut up!” Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shouted together at Apple Bloom. “You aren’t even rowing!”
"Y'all ain't listenin to me! Y'all have to row on opposite sides to go straight!"
***
Eventually they figured out a rhythm and rowed out of sight. Silver Spoon sat behind the counter, bored. She cleaned the mud off her hooves, picked the mud out of them, and brushed off the dried mud that was stuck to her lower legs. She hummed to herself, polishing her hooves, thinking about a better summer she could be having. Even thinking about what Diamond Tiara was up to got boring as the time went by. She only hoped they’d come back soon so she could go home.
That was all short-lived, though, as a blindingly bright ball of white light shot up in the air. Silver Spoon stood up quickly, her heart pounding. Then she remembered who had rented her canoe and face-hoofed. Knowing those three... they probably thought it was a firework. She sat back down on her chair, returning to filing her hooves with a well-worn out hoof-file. She had lost track of the time spent polishing her hooves, but her hooves were starting to resemble what she called “spa quality.”
After a few minutes of returning to mind-numbing polishing though, she sat the hoof-file down as the image of the flare returned to her mind. If they thought it was a firework, then they probably would have set the rest of them off. She stood up again then sat down. Oh buck it! I have to go, don’t I? She leaped off her chair, hastily grabbed one of the closest single kayaks. She threw a double sided oar into it, and dragged the kayak out to the boat launch. Pushing it into the water, she hopped in and expertly rowed off in the direction she saw the flare.
As the pier shrank away with each stroke of the oar, Silver Spoon turned her kayak to follow the shoreline. Judging from the location the flare had shot up at, she knew exactly where they went. Not far from the pier was a little cove of shallow waters and low hanging tree branches.
Of all the times working at this place with daddy, no one ever uses a flare! What did those blank-flanks do? Silver Spoon increased her rowing. They are going to get it! But even as her kayak increased in speed, she realized she was fighting a current, and she had to slow down.
If any of them got a cutie mark, it would be for failing at life! Of course they’d get stuck out there. Close to the cliffs, she could make out every detail, every tree, and every rock. The cliffs jutted out in front of her a little ways out. She knew that once she rounded it, she wouldn’t be far from the cove.
Let’s see, Sunpetal Grove is fifteen nautical strides away… what’s a nautical stride again? Silver Spoon panted slowing her rowning and flexing her shoulders. A normal stride is twenty paces at a canter. A pace is fifteen steps at a trot, and a lope is two and a half steps as it is neither a walk or a trot. And a step is equal to the normal step taken by Celestia. I think a nautical stride is smaller than a normal one… five point two—how did Cheerilee show us how to convert it? I even made fun of Scootaloo for not figuring it out! Wait… did I ever figure it out?
“Oh, who cares. I’ll be there in, like, ten minutes!” Silver Spoon shouted. After all, silly things such as the intricacies of the Equestrian units of measurement weren’t of her concern. Those were things only eggheads and nerds knew.
It had been a while since Silver Spoon had been out in a kayak. Popular fillies definitely didn’t do such dorky things. She was slightly embarrassed at how well she could still do everything, or the fact that she even knew the difference between a kayak and a canoe. She never told anyone about any of this, and the most she had ever told Diamond Tiara was that her dad owned a lodge by Swan Lake. However, it was more of a bragging point than anything else.
Silver Spoon sat down her oar as her thoughts came to an abrupt halt. If those three see me in this kayak.... They will tell everyone— “Ugh!” She smacked the oar against the hull of her kayak. “I can’t believe this!”
Rounding the jutting cliff, Silver Spoon was presented with a perfect view into Sunpetal Grove. It had a perfect beach, shallow crystal clear water, and low hanging tree branches that were perfect for diving. The water was picturesque and calm, completely undisturbed.
“Where are they?” Silver Spoon asked herself. She tried to recall the location of the distress flare in her mind, and also how long they had been gone before it was set off. “It was to my left, and it looked like it was from this area… but maybe they made it further, despite them being really bad at it. If I can compare the location I saw to the time it took them to the, um, something…” She paddled deeper into the cove as she tried to reason with herself the absence of the Crusaders. Yet, a slight uneasiness was settling in at the complete absence of the trio.
“If they aren’t in here, maybe they made it to the Cove of the Willow.” She jammed her oar into the water and held firmly, causing her kayak to about face. She started rowing again, now facing the vast lake; only the mountains on the side indicated its other shore.
Silver Spoon sighed as her boat picked up speed again and she found a comfortable rhythm. “The next cove is only five strides away, so it will only take me a few minutes at this rate… I think. I bet Sweetie Belle could figure it out, no problem. That dork is good at these things, what with her dorky personality, perfect coat, and cute mane—” Silver Spoon gulped. Despite the fact that she was nowhere near land or even any other pony, she still had to look around to make sure no one overheard her.
“Actually, the more I think about it... she is the only one out of the three that has any sort of class. If she gets her cutie mark, I might be able to associate with her. As for the other two… ick,” she shuddered. Just thinking about actually hanging out with Scootaloo or Apple Bloom made her squirm with discomfort.
After a few minutes of rowing, she came around the second cliff, to a smaller cove. This one had only a small sand spit for a shore against the sheer jagged cliffs behind it. In the middle of the cove, however, was a massive and ancient weeping willow that had grown straight out of the water as an island of its own. Its massive drooping branches created a curtain, that blocked everything from the outside world.
Not far from the tree, a spot of red caught her eye. In the midst of some logs and other shallow-water brush, was the red canoe. Inside, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle sat huddled together, shivering and soaked to the bone.
Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up at the sight of Silver Spoon coming around the corner. “Over here!” she squeaked.
“We’re s-s-saved!” Apple Bloom exclaimed through her chattering teeth.
Silver Spoon brought her kayak to a gentle stop in front of the canoe. “What. In. Equestria. Happened?” she panted.
“Well, what happened was…” Apple Bloom began but trailed off. “Let’s just say we lost the oars. Me and Scoots dove in after them, but they got picked up by the current and carried away before we could catch them.”
“You guys seriously lost all three oars?” Silver Spoon deadpanned.
“We flipped the canoe over—”
“Ya mean, you flipped the canoe over!” Apple Bloom cut across Scootaloo.
“I don’t even want to know...” Silver Spoon muttered.
“We swam onto these logs. I used my magic to get the canoe back. I was trying to use that spell to get the oars back…” Sweetie Belle’s ears drooped. “We’re sorry we lost them.”
“You three are the worst,” Silver Spoon grumbled. “I guess I’ll pull you losers back to the lodge.” She pulled a rope out of the back compartment of her kayak and tossed it to towards the other boat, not caring if it hit anyone or not.
Apple Bloom caught the rope in her mouth and quickly tied it to the metal ring at the bow of the canoe. “Alright.”
Silver Spoon dug her oar into the water, trying to gain momentum, but the ran-aground canoe wouldn’t budge from the brush holding it. “Can’t you use some dumb magic to move that thing without the oars?” Silver Spoon wined.
“It doesn’t work that way. And I don’t know any other spells,” Sweetie Belle said while fixing her eyes on the water. “Sorry.”
That last word Sweetie Belle spoke at barely a whisper, and Silver Spoon felt little twinge of guilt in her stomach. She quickly shook it off, because there was no way she was going to feel bad for them.
Sweetie Belle jumped out of the canoe. She wobbled a little as she balanced herself between the log and the boat. She gave the canoe the slightest of nudges, and it broke free from the retaining brush. As the canoe drifted free, Sweetie Belle hopped back inside at the last second. The canoe listed violently from the impact, and both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had to grab hold of the sides so they wouldn’t be tossed out.
Silver Spoon repressed a smile as she looked away from Sweetie Belle, and focused on turning her kayak about. At least we can ride the current back. She dug her oar into the water, and she moved forward. She increased her efforts when she felt the resistance of the rope tightening. But to her amazement, towing the other boat wasn’t as hard as she thought.
Slowly, Silver Spoon picked up a decent rhythm, gaining an even speed. As soon as she left the cove, she felt her kayak get picked up by the current. It gave her just enough of a boost to make her rowing less intense.
After she cleared the sharp hook of the cliff, she executed a couple of maneuvers to stay along the shoreline and in the current.
“Wow, you’re really good at this,” Sweetie Belle said in what she hoped what an encouraging voice. “Turning was always the hard part for us.”
Silver Spoon didn’t react immediately due to the burning in her cheeks. She took a few deep breaths before turning around with her most threatening glare. “You three better not say anything! Got that? Anything.”
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle said, flashing a toothy smile.
“What? No! Sweetie,” Scootaloo groaned. Her face lit up with a wide grin as she looked Silver Spoon in the eyes. “I mean, we’ll do it for a price. Right girls?” Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle looked uncertain while Apple Bloom held a hoof to her chin, really thinking it over.
“Ah don’t know. Can we get a cutie mark for blackmail?”
“Why would want that to be your special talent?” asked Sweetie Belle in a serious tone.
“Why not? Ah mean we tried almost everything else.”
“Oh come on, Apple Bloom, you can’t want your cutie mark that bad,” Scootaloo said, chiming into the conversation again.
“Oh, my, gosh! Will you three just stop talking!” The three fillies shrank into the canoe under Silver Spoon’s glare. “Please. I won’t charge you those extra ten minutes, if you three stay quiet.”
They exchanged confused glances and shrugs. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to say something, but Apple Bloom silenced her with a hoof and nodded vigorously.
Thank Celestia. They are so annoying. The dodo is right though. I have to keep them quiet. Somehow… I just don’t know what’s worse; them telling everyone about me saving them, or that they think I’m really good at this outdoorsy thing? What if Diamond finds out?
Silver Spoon gulped, her face still burning as the lodge came into view.
After returning to the pier, Silver Spoon put all of the boats back in the shed. To her amazement, the Crusaders managed to stay quiet the rest of the return journey.
The three fillies laid themselves on the pier, under the hot sun, in hopes of drying off. Silver Spoon had to suppress a giggle at Sweetie Belle’s fuzzy coat as she approached them.
I hope this works. The pegasus blank-flank is craftier than she looks. At least Sweetie Belle is somewhat reasonable. Her heart pounded as she started walking down the pier.
As she got closer, the three fillies woke from their sun bath. They rose to their hooves and waited for Silver Spoon to close the gap.
“Okay, blank-flanks, if you three keep quiet about—um… what we discussed earlier, then I won’t charge you for the rest of the summer. But you have to pay for the hour today.” Silver Spoon watched as they considered it carefully.
“We just need a second to discuss this in private,” Apple Bloom said.
Silver Spoon tapped her hoof impatiently as the Crusaders huddled together whispering. The time seemed to pass at an extremely slow rate. Come on already. What’s there to talk about? It’s more than fair!
High-pitched giggles and hoof bumps concluded their secret huddle session. Sweetie Belle stepped forward, approaching Silver Spoon. “We accept under one condition…”
“A-and what would th-that be?”
Sweetie Belle closed the distance until her nose was nearly touching Silver Spoon’s. Neither one blinked as they fixed their eyes on each other. “You don’t get to call us blank-flanks. You have to use our real names,” Sweetie Belle said softly then flashed another toothy grin.
“I-ye—oh, but—” Silver Spoon clenched her jaw and resorted to simply nodding.
“Okay. Well, here are the five bits from each of us for the hour with the canoe.” Sweetie Belle held out fifteen bits in her outstretched hoof. Silver Spoon remained motionless, her eyes glazed over.
Sweetie Belle shook her head and placed the bits in Silver Spoon's saddlebag. “We're very sorry we lost the oars. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a fun rest of the day.”
The three fillies left the pier, talking and giggling as a transfixed Silver Spoon stood on the pier, red-faced, and confused.
