Four Yellow

The clouds flowed quickly overhead, swirling in a high soup-like mixture that seemed to threaten rain at any moment. It was the sky of a much later time of year, an exact copy of the cold and gray skies of late winter. The air at ground level was cold and damp, and Diamond Tiara pulled up her jacket against the cold, regretting her decision to have had lunch in the outdoor seating area of Café Hay.

From what she had heard, an unscheduled weather anomaly was in effect. Diamond Tiara understood weather only to the extent of the equipment her family’s company sold, which mostly involved automated snowflake presses and spectral grinders, but was aware that sometimes especially large storms from the Everfree Forest could break containment and affect the weather in Ponyville. They were usually the worst of storms, though. For ominous clouds to break through was quite unusual.

With all the Pegasi scrambled in response- -and with the sudden onset of the cold, dreary weather- -most of Ponyville seemed oddly empty. Diamond Tiara supposed that having less ponies outside was probably a good thing in that she would not have to explain what exactly Diamond Pick was to everypony- -but then again, part of the whole reason she was not forcing him to conceal his identity WAS to show him off to the town in advance of the Pony Prom.

She looked across the table, and saw Silver Spoon- -looking perfect as always, dressed in a borrowed jacket and scarf that did not look nearly as good on Diamond Tiara- -laughed at a joke that Pick had just told. She did not seem to mind the cold. Pick, who was sitting between them, did not either, but only because his suit was specifically designed to keep him warm. Diamond Tiara had never been to Geoterra, the morlock’s subterranean city- -neither had Pick, apparently- -but she understood that its position in Equestria’s mantle made it extraordinarily warm.

“So then she says ‘but isn’t eating meat cannibalism?’, to which my mother replies, ‘not always, young one. You will learn to enjoy it!’”

Silver Spoon snorted, nearly sending a jet of apple juice out of her nose. Diamond Tiara had entered the conversation late, and she remembered the exact situation that Pick was talking about. At first she did not understand Silver Spoon’s reaction, until, three years late, she suddenly got the joke.

“Oh, wow,” she said, blushing and smiling at the same time. “I can’t believe Pyroxene said that!”

“You were there, Diamond,” said Pick.

“I’ve only met her twice,” said Silver Spoon. “Frankly, your mom terrifies me, Pick.”

“She terrifies me too,” said Pick. “And I hatched from an egg that came out of her.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know…do morlocks…”

“No, of course not. I was being sarcastic. Don’t be thick. Although I suppose you cannot help it, Diamond.”

“Well, I’m surprised, then. Surprised she didn’t try to put you back in when she saw what you looked like.”

“I was an adorable foal! But knowing my mother…well…she might have tried…”

“You know, I always wonder if the reason you like Diamond Tiara so much is because you have mommy issues.”

Pick paused. “Actually, now that you mention it, that’s probably right…”

Diamond Tiara elbowed him hard. “Pyroxene isn’t even that bad! She’s what nobility is supposed to be like. Noble, ruthless, aloof…she’s like a second mother to me. Well…at this point, probably a real mother, because Spoiled doesn’t count.”

“Your mother is actually pretty hot,” said Pick. “Well, until she opens her mouth- -” He squeaked loudly as Diamond Tiara shoved him off his stool.

“You know,” said Silver Spoon. “If you think about it, if a morlock thinks your mom looks good, then…”

“Yeah, but he also thinks I look good. Isn’t that right, Pick?”

“Yes,” said Pick, crawling back onto his chair. “Diamond Tiara is best pony. Please don’t push me off my chair again. The ground is so dirty.”

“Kind of like your mom,” noted Silver Spoon.

This time, Diamond Tiara laughed.

“I think that translated poorly,” said Pick, adjusting the mechanism in the dial on his chest. “Also, for the record, Diamond’s father is Filthy.”

“He certainly is.”
They started laughing again- -except for Pick, whose dial apparently could not translate homonyms. Eventually they calmed down, and Diamond Tiara was starting to feel better. Being with her friends seemed to negate the dark sky, her nightmares, and even her hallucination episode from yesterday. She actually felt good for once.

“So,” said Pick. “I can’t help but be wondering…what exactly am I here for?”

“You’re Diamond Tiara’s arm candy,” said Silver Spoon, sipping on a small cup of juice.

“If he’s candy, I don’t even think Pinkie Pie would be able to keep him down,” said Diamond Tiara.

“Wait,” said Pick. “I’m confused. I am going to be eaten?”

“That depends on how well you treat Diamond Tiara,” said Silver Spoon, smiling.

“Silver Spoon! Don’t make me have to come over there!” Diamond Tiara cleared her throat. “You’re here because I’m your favorite pony, and I asked you to be here.”

“Well, yes. But why?”

“It’s for the Pony Prom,” said Silver Spoon.

“Which is?”

“It’s a dance,” said Diamond Tiara. “It’s a celebration held when a class of students graduates. It’s not big in the social circles, but it’s a really important Ponyville tradition.”

“Celebration?” asked Pick. “Why?”

“Why?” Diamond Tiara was momentarily confused herself; the Pony Prom was the only thing that anypony had been talking about for the past six months. Even the adults were excited, talking endlessly about their own Prom experiences and getting their now nearly adult children ready for one last party together.
Then Diamond Tiara realized that Pick really had no context to understand what any of this meant. He had never attended school. “Well, it’s because we’ve been in school together since we were fillies. And now we’re all grown up and going our separate ways. It’s a celebration that we’re starting our real lives now…and I guess it’s kind of sad that way…”

“I see.” Pick paused. “What sort of lives are they going on to?”

“Well,” said Silver Spoon. “The ponies you met the other day? Sweetie Belle is going to college in Canterlot. And Applebloom is going to take over running her family’s farm so her sister can focus on friendship duties. Scootaloo’s going to travel for a bit.”

“And you?”

“I’m going off to the Academy.”

Diamond Tiara felt her breath catch in her throat. “Can we please not talk about this now, Silver?”

“Academy of what?”

“For the Royal Guard. I’ve been accepted for officer training. Of course, it’s hard not to be with an endorsement from a Princess.”

“Silver…” This was not something Diamond Tiara liked to talk about, or even think about.

“The military? You?”

“My parents…kind of used up all of my family’s money,” explained Silver Spoon. “But we actually have a history in the Guard. You should have seen all the old stuff we had before my dad sold it. Swords, armor, stuffy paintings.”

“So your special talent is for- -”

“Spooning. But that’s not the point. I’m good at logistics. And there’s not much else I can do.”

“But won’t that take you away from Diamond Tiara?”

Silver Spoon went quiet, and Diamond Tiara braced for the response, the crux of her opposition to Silver Spoon’s choice. “Yes,” she said, quietly. “I mean, at first. After a few years, I’ll be able to transfer to Twilight’s guard here in Ponyville. Until then, I could be anywhere. Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, or even out on the frontier.”

Diamond Tiara felt herself starting to shake from an emotion that she did not know how to name. Her headache started to return, and she removed some pills from her pocket and swallowed them quickly.

“Diamond, are you okay?” asked Pick, sounding genuinely concerned.

“I’m fine,” snapped Diamond Tiara. “Silver’s a big girl, she can do what she wants.”

Pick looked at her for a long time, but eventually seemed to accept her answer. Diamond Tiara had wanted him to push harder, to get her to talk, to help explain why she felt so bad- -but he trusted her too much. Diamond Tiara looked across the table at Silver Spoon, at her smiling face and perfect hair framing her quaint glasses. She just could not imagine living without seeing that face every day.

Before she could say anything, the waiter appeared from the café. He crossed the patio and then paused at the table, in part because of Pick’s unusual appearance but mostly because of the large and angry-looking drone that eyed him suspiciously.

“Oh heavens,” he said. “They certainly do grow them big these days…”

“Down here,” said Diamond Tiara. “Or am I going to have to eat the flowers again?”

“You know those aren’t appetizers, right?” whispered Silver Spoon.

“Wait, there were flowers?” said Pick, confused. “Wait- -you ate the table decoration? How fat are you?”

“Don’t answer that!” whispered Silver Spoon.

“Um…is this a bad time?” asked the waiter.

“No,” said Diamond Tiara. “Did you come out here to flirt with my drone, or are you going to give us our food?”

“Oh- -yes- -sorry,” he said, putting down the plates: a pair of identical large salads for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and something that superficially resembled a milkshake for Pick. He then backed away from the drone carefully and ran back into the warmth of his café where the other employees were looking through the window.

“He is so not getting a tip.”

“It’s not your drone,” protested Pick.

“Yes it is,” said Silver Spoon. She leaned over to see what Pick had got, but as soon as she got in close proximity, her eyes widened and she recoiled so hard she nearly fell off her chair.

“Oh! What is that?!” she cried, holding her nose.

“I have no idea,” said Pick. “Whatever was rotting in their refrigeration unit, I suppose.”

“You’re kidding!”

Pick twisted his dial again, and then extended a long tube from one side of his mask. He set it in the tall metal cup and began to drain the fluid within. “Surface food is…distasteful. My normal diet consists of various molds and fungi, supplemented with meat. And I am told your people do not tolerate meat well.”

“Wait- -I thought you were joking.”

“He’s not,” said Diamond Tiara. “It actually isn’t bad, though. The meat I mean. Whatever he’s drinking- -no. Just no. You should have seen their faces when I asked them to stock it. But, of course, I’m rich enough that they’ll do whatever I tell them to.”

“Just how rich are you?”

“Way richer than you’ll ever be.”

“Or me,” said Silver Spoon.

Diamond Tiara almost choked, and she had not even started eating yet. “Silver, I didn’t mean- -”

“No, it’s okay,” said Silver Spoon. She smiled, but still looked sad. “It’s not like my life is any different now anyway.”

Diamond Tiara looked away, embarrassed. She felt herself breathing more quickly, and decided to focus on her food instead. She looked down at the late-season greens and small dark croutons in her bowl and reached for the dressing.

She had just picked up the small cup of ranch when she noticed something in her salad move. Confused, Diamond Tiara looked closer. Salad, as far as she knew, was not supposed to do that.

As if to confirm her suspicions, a tiny cucumber ring shook and jumped, pushed from below. Then something emerged from beneath it. Diamond Tiara wanted to scream in disgust at the sight of the enormous worm was it pulled its way from the crevices between her lettuce, but the absurdity and surprise of it held her transfixed, unable to move or even speak.

It was not any kind of worm that Diamond Tiara had ever seen. In fact, as she stared wide-eyed at it, she realized that it was not really a worm at all. It was a long, narrow, segmented creature made entirely out of gleaming metal. Its hair-thin clockwork legs pumped chaotically, efficiently allowing it to scramble over her salad.

The creature- -or device- -looked up at Diamond Tiara with a tiny glass eye, and its mandibles twitched. Then the whole salad seemed to vibrate, and several more emerged from below the greens. Then they started to move toward her.

The sudden appearance of so many of them finally gave Diamond Tiara the impetus she needed to cry out and throw the bowl away, sending the worms scampering across the table haphazardly as they tried to squirm back toward her, leaving sticky dark trails as they moved.

“Whoa, what was that?” said Silver Spoon.

“There was- -there was a worm!”

“Well, it did grow in a field. That just means it’s organic. Although, honestly, I would have preferred the inorganic stuff. Preservatives make you live longer.”

Diamond Tiara looked up to protest, to explain that the “worm” had been some kind of bizarre horror, and to ask why neither Silver Spoon nor Pick seemed especially concerned that the table was now covered in them. But then she saw Silver Spoon face.

Silver Spoon looked across the table with a pair of blank, cataract-covered eyes. Her beautiful mane had been nearly shaved away, revealing a black numeric tattoo in a language that Diamond Tiara could not read. She was pale and thin, with one of her forelegs badly distorted as though it had been severely burned long ago.

“Hey, Pick,” she said, her voice sounding strained and buzzing, as though a swarm of bees were between her and Diamond Tiara. “If there are grape tomatoes, do you think somewhere somepony has tomato grapes?”

Silver Spoon picked up one of the aforementioned fruits- -and to Diamond Tiara’s horror, one of the worms was coiled around it. Before she could stop her, Silver Spoon popped it into her mouth. She chewed for a long moment, but before she even stopped Diamond Tiara saw the metallic creature emerge from Silver Spoon’s nose and crawl across her face into one of her ears.

“No! Don’t eat that!” cried Diamond Tiara, jumping up and pushing Silver Spoon’s plate off the table. “It’s poisoned!”

“It doesn’t taste poisoned,” said Silver Spoon.

“Diamond,” said Pick, are you okay? No. You’re not. Something is wrong.”

Panting, Diamond Tiara looked down at Pick. She expected him to be different, the way Silver Spoon was or the way Rarity had been- -but somehow he looked the same. Nothing about him had changed, save for the fact that he now seemed to have a whitish corona surrounding his body, emanating from the technetium dial in the center of his chest.

It was at that time that Diamond Tiara realized that they were not alone. Standing between Silver Spoon and Pick was a tall, pale unicorn, his large eyes locked on Diamond Tiara.

“Diamond Tiara?” said Silver Spoon, now sounding extremely concerned. “Is something wrong?”

“N- -no,” said Diamond Tiara. “Nothing- -nothing is wrong. I’m not insane.”

“I didn’t say you were…”

Something latched onto Diamond Tiara’s arm, and she yelped when she saw that one of the worms had reached her and was now rapidly progressing toward her head. She knew that if she let it get there, something bad would happen.

With greater speed than she had thought herself capable of, she threw the creature across the table at the pale unicorn. In response, his horn flashed with almost colorless yellow light and suspended the device in the air. It squirmed for a moment, but then condensed into a metallic sphere that he then dropped onto his hoof. He then put it in the pocket of his uniform, all while staring unblinkingly at Diamond Tiara- -until his eyes twitched just enough to look over her shoulder.

Diamond Tiara froze in panic, and then she slowly turned. She had not heard it, or seen it arrive, but when she finally turned her head enough to see what the tall unicorn had been looking at, she saw another one. One that she somehow had always known was there, standing beside her, watching.

The unicorn behind her nodded, and began to drift closer. For the first time, they seemed REAL. Diamond Tiara could smell them- -something like bleach and antiseptic- -and could hear them. They were talking. Or something was.

Diamond Tiara pushed away from the table, shaking with fear. Her friends looked at her in surprise and concern, and the unicorns watched her in ambivalent concentration.

“Diamond Tiara, come back!” said Silver Spoon.

“No- -no! I have to- -I have to not be here right now!”

Diamond Tiara turned and ran. She heard her friends calling after her, but she could not hear them through the electronic buzzing cutting through her mind. She could not turn or look behind her, because she knew that the unicorns would be there, watching and waiting.

All around her, the world seemed to shift. Buildings seemed taller and distorted, their normally cheerful colors replaced with splotches of gray. The light of the sun became painfully bright and cold, and the shadows around became darker and seemingly more angular. She was in the same place, the same town she had grown up in, like the world inside a mirror, and somehow so much more threatening.

Eventually Diamond Tiara reached the center of town, and she stopped. She wanted to call out, to scream for help, but she did not know against what or why or if anypony would even hear her. That was when she saw them.

There were not just two, or even ten. The tall unicorns were everywhere, following and standing beside the happy and somehow unaware population of Ponyville. They were all nearly identical, and all dressed in nearly identical uniforms. Some just followed ponies closely, taking notes on flat translucent plates projected from their horns, moving just slightly out of the way when ponies happened to step toward where they were standing.

Others, though, were doing much worse. Nearby, a Pegasus pony had stopped to have a conversation with an earth pony friend. Three of the tall unicorns had surrounded her and were taking samples from her legs with long needles. Across the way, a unicorn was adjusting the metallic knobs inserted into Golden Harvest’s head as she somehow hummed without a lower jaw, pulling her cart of carrots fresh from the field with badly scarred and atrophied legs.

Several fillies and colts ran by, laughing and playing. One watched them go, seemingly wresting- -save for the unicorn that was looming over him, her magic pulling apart his spine and inserting strange glimmering machinery.

Down the street, a group of ponies appeared. To her horror, Diamond Tiara saw that almost all of them were unicorns, save for two. One was almost unrecognizable, her body replaced almost entirely with steel and black metal. From the color of what little shaved skin she had that was not horribly scarred, though, Diamond Tiara could tell that she was Twilight Sparkle’s quasi-lover Starlight Glimmer.

Standing next to her was Twilight Sparkle herself, and the two were talking. Somehow, though, Twilight looked completely normal. The unicorns surrounded her but never touched her; her body was free of scars or marks and almost seemed to glow. The small and unseen contingent around her seemed to have unparalleled interest in her- -and she was the only one they seemed to show any respect toward.
There was a rush of wings, and a pony landed beside Diamond Tiara.

“Diamond Tiara!” cried a voice with a slight lisp. Diamond Tiara immediately recognized it as belonging to Dinky’s mother, and she turned to see a pair of golden crossed eyes- -and a number of metallic spikes protruding from the open back of her skull.

“Oh!” said the gray mare, her body shaking from the obvious brain damage. “You don’t look so good. Is everything okay? Do you need a muffin for energy? I have several if- -”

“Get- -get away from me!” cried Diamond Tiara. “Don’t- -don’t touch me!”

She backed away, and then ran.

“Do you not like pistachio?” called Derpy, sounding dejected and spitting out several teeth without noticing.

Diamond Tiara ran again- -but this time ran directly into another pony. She looked up to see one of the many ponies in Ponyville that she did not know, a white and green Pegasus. Somehow, she looked as smiling and happy as normal. There were no signs of surgical scars or deformities- -until her image shifted with a silent electrical vibration to reveal yet another pale unicorn.

“Who- -who are you?” said Diamond Tiara. She was beginning to overcome her fear and standing her ground.

He paused for a moment, and then spoke. His voice was almost incomprehensible, in part because of an unusually heavy but unrecognizable accent and in part because it somehow came through distorted.

“We are no one.”

He looked up, and Diamond Tiara turned to see Pick’s drone behind her, its simulated coating removed and one unicorn standing over it, inserting a piece of foreign machinery into its open access panel.

“No you don’t!” yelled Diamond Tiara. She ran up to the front of the drone and slammed her hoof into the frontal release switch. The drone’s pitted armor separated, revealing its cubic core. Diamond Tiara reached in and adjusted the internal alignment, forcing an emergency discharge from the internal reactor.

The explosive force was enough to badly burn her hoof and to knock her backward, but the unicorns fared far worse. The blast of white light reacted with their horns, arcing and reacting with their magic and driving them backward, staggering in pain. The machine that the unicorn nearest the drone had been holding dropped to the ground and shattered into droplets of rapidly boiling silver liquid.

The drone, its internal technetium reactor now expended, slumped to one side and collapsed. Diamond Tiara heard it fall, but she could not bring herself to move. The world seemed to be getting more distant, as though she were falling. She blinked, and for just a moment the sky looked so very different, brimming with bizarre light and suns that had no name- -before everything suddenly stabilized into normality.

“Diamond Tiara!” cried a distant voice. Diamond Tiara stood up and looked around. The village seemed hazy, but everything was normal. There were no tall ponies, and the only unicorns were being helped up by their friends from having their magic momentarily overloaded. Diamond Tiara was just glad that Twilight had already passed; she would not much appreciate an anti-magic detonation in the center of town.

Silver Spoon arrived at Diamond Tiara’s side and helped her up. Pick appeared immediately behind her, and paused for a moment to look at the drone.

“What did you do?” he demanded, angrily.

“I overloaded the main reactor,” said Diamond Tiara, groggily, wincing at the pain from her burned hoof. “I’m sorry…I can pay for a replacement to be shipped- -”

“I don’t care about the drone! It’s an old piece of mining equipment! I care about you!” He lifted her hoof and examined the burn. “You pink idiot, what were you thinking?! You can’t just reach into the cube without shielding while the reactor’s on! You should know that!”

“I needed…to make them go away…”

Pick paused. “Make what go away? Who? Diamond, did somepony try to hurt you?”

“I just…I just…”

Diamond Tiara could not finish her sentence. She grabbed Pick and held him as close as she could while she broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably.