Last Call at The Big Reveal

“Excuse me, miss?” Diamond Tiara smiled hopefully as she waved at a passing pony. “I’m a little lost.”

She was in Canterlot now, sitting at a table outside one of the numerous little bistros that served overpriced, unsatisfying nothings and called them meals. How could Silver stand Canterlot, when there were maybe ten places to eat that served actual food?

The lavender unicorn Diamond waved at shrugged, and trotted over to her table.

“It can be difficult to find your way around the city from time to time,” she allowed, giving Diamond Tiara the once-over with judging yellow eyes and evidently finding her Rarity-designed outfit suitable to be seen speaking to. “Where are you going?”

“That’s actually the problem,” Diamond explained, sliding some of the pictures she’d been looking at over. “My friend sent me these as part of a little hide-and-seek match, and I’m trying to figure out where she’s hiding. I recognized the restaurant from this one,” she explained, indicating the background of one of the more distant shots.

The unicorn looked the pictures over, raising an eyebrow as she saw the candid nature of each shot. When she saw Silver’s face in one of the close-ups, the other eyebrow joined it, and she looked up at Diamond, then back at the pictures.

“Well, if you’re looking for where she lives, I’ve no idea. Probably in the art district somewhere. However, this sign here,” her magic glowed over a half-hidden sign on the left side of the photograph, “is for the Helping Hooves Society Outlet. I’m one of their larger donors.”

”Sure you are, lady. I’m sure you positively dwarf the Rich Foundation’s meager efforts,” Diamond thought to herself, though she put on a suitably impressed expression.

“Well, I lucked out then! I don’t suppose you know where it is?” She asked hopefully.

“Oh, hardly, dear! I’ve never actually patronized one of their little establishments. However, they only have ten or twelve locations in Canterlot, and most of those are in the… well, the worrisome part of town. This one looks like it’s actually somewhere you could walk in the daylight without your hoof on your pouch all the time,” the noblemare mused. “Hmm… perhaps near the artist’s district? The nicer end of it, of course, closer to the Spires, not the end for the more decadent sort.”

“Of course,” Diamond nodded. “Well, thank you so much for your help! I can’t imagine how I’d th- oh, of course! You simply must have lunch here, on me.” She gave the mare her best ‘I’ll insist’ smile. The uncomfortable grimace that crossed the mare’s face told Diamond instantly that she’d made the right choice.

“Really, Miss, that’s absolutely unnecessary,” the mare tried to dodge the offer anyway. “It’s not any trouble, and-”

“Oh, don’t think of it, I wouldn’t know where to find Silvy without your help! I insist, at least dessert.” Diamond raised her head, noticing the orange unicorn waiting on the outdoor tables, and clopped her hoof on the table twice. The waitress turned towards her table and came over with a barely suppressed sigh.

“Can I help you, ladies?” She asked brightly, floating a pad and pencil to take their orders.

“Yes, thank you, could you bring my friend here one of the chef’s best desserts?” Diamond put two small gems on the table and gathered her photos together. “I have to hurry off, so please, keep the change.”

“Of course, Miss!” The waitress said with much more genuine cheer, glancing over at Diamond’s impromptu dinner guest. “Yes, I think I know just the thing,” she nodded, turning around and heading back in as Diamond stood to leave.

Allowing herself a faintly sadistic smile, Diamond walked past the stuffy mare across from her.

“Don’t try to out-snob the Queen,” she whispered with barely a pause, sure that she’d been heard loud and clear.

If their entrees were flavorless bites of despair, she could only imagine what dessert was like.

The next few hours were spent trying to track down the Helping Hooves locations that weren’t in “the worrisome part of town.” After that, it was a matter of visiting each one and seeing how they compared to the one in her photograph.

Not the easiest thing to do from ground level, when the picture had been taken from the air, but she managed to figure it out on the third stop. She stepped inside the thrift shop, glancing around briefly at the racks of stale, musty, out of style outfits, rusty tools, dogeared old books, and racks of cheap costume jewelry while she made her way to the counter.

“Can I help you?” The elderly mare at the register asked her.

“I’m hoping you can,” Diamond admitted. “I’m looking for an old friend, who I know comes through this neighborhood pretty often.” She put the picture of Silver Spoon up on the counter. “Do you recognize her?”

“Oh, I haven’t seen her in ages!” The elderly unicorn smiled warmly. “She comes in every few months with a donation, usually some jewelry or a dress. It’s usually my backup who sees her though.”

The seafoam green unicorn turned towards the back of the store and lifted a hoof to call out to the back.

“Silent, dearie, could you come up front for a minute? I should warn you,” she added, turning back towards Diamond Tiara. “Silent’s a Firehive changeling. They didn’t change like the ones from the Badlands did, but they’re good creatures.”

“I’ve met a few,” Diamond smiled, looking through the jewelry beneath the counter. “By the way, you want to reprice this one, the gems are real.” She tapped her hoof by a diamond necklace made from a cheap, gaudy piece of costume jewelry to make it less attractive to burglars.

“Oh my, are you sure?” The cashier went to inspect it as movement from the back of the store attracted Diamond’s attention.

A short changeling with grey chitin and bright blue eyes trotted out of the back of the store, a brass, heart-shaped pendant in her green mane to mark her as being registered and approved by the guard as a visitor from her Hive.

“Hi! I’m Silent Whisper,” she introduced herself, offering a holey hoof to shake that Diamond took without a qualm. “How can I help you?”

Silent glanced back at her co-worker, and leaned in close to Diamond.

“And what did you say to her? I’m getting a buzz and I’m not even trying!”

“I spotted a piece that was severely underpriced,” Diamond giggled. “And this is a friend of mine; have you seen her lately?”

“Oh! It’s Sil,” Silent smiled, looking at the photo. “Yeah, I think she goes to the dance studio down the street to practice, I saw her walking by earlier, while Seafoam was on lunch. She might still be there.”

“Thanks! Since you’ve talked to her more often… how’s she doing?”

“Pretty well,” Silent nodded. “She’s nice; usually comes in looking for props or costume pieces, always brings them back after her act changes. Doesn’t act like she’s doing us a favor by shopping here either.”

“Her act? I thought she was a model,” Diamond frowned.

“Uhm… I don’t think so. She might do that too, I guess.” Silent tapped her hoof against her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I should get back to work in the back, if you don’t need anything else.”

“No, not really. Thanks for the information.”

“A little advice?” Silent said quietly, leaning in close. “I can feel that there’s something that happened between you two. I don’t know what it is, but… remember that you love her, okay? That’s real. But so are a lot of other feelings too. You’ve got to focus on the ones you want to work out.”

“Thanks. I’m trying.” Diamond smiled wryly. “Very trying, I guess.”

With that, the filly turned to leave the store, heading down the street in the direction Silent Whisper had indicated.

As she walked, she looked at the businesses she was passing by on both sides of the street, looking for the studio. She walked past several shops; jewelry stores, book stores, boutiques, florists. Finally, she noticed a broad window opening into a mostly clear floor, some weight stations and a small stage in the back.

More importantly, she saw Silvy.

The grey mare was stretching on the stage, pulling one hindleg up behind her back as the other took her weight in the front. It looked like she’d been studying with Blossomforth, judging by her ability to twist her body in ways that were frankly painful to watch.

Silvy lowered her legs, shifting to her rump and back, placing her hind hooves on the ground and arching her back up, supporting her weight on her wither. Then she braced her back with her forehooves, and lifted her hind legs up parallel to the balance pole on the stage with her.

Diamond winced, imagining even trying to do those poses.

”She’s right there. Just go in and talk to her!”

Diamond was about to follow her own advice when Silver Spoon shifted her pose again, wrapping her hindlegs around the pole and using them to lift herself up into the air. As Silvy took an entirely different type of pose, Diamond’s eyes widened.

A dance studio.

She looked up at the sign above the door.

The Pole-Cat
Dance and Gymnasium

Diamond’s cheeks flushed red as she realized what she was watching.

”Modeling career my ass!” She started for the door to the studio, eyes narrowing as she reached out for the handle. ”Celestia damned lying little sl-”

Diamond pulled her hoof back from the door, and she swallowed hard. She looked back at Silver, who was spinning around the pole effortlessly, her ponytail whipping out behind her as she practiced her routine.

The expression on her former lover’s face was….

”She’s happy here.”

She was, too. Happy, and good. So she’d lied the day she left… why wouldn’t she?

Diamond tried to think of what her reaction would have been if she’d found out this was what Silver was training for, and going to do after she left.

...After she escaped.

It was good that she’d ‘only’ gone into modelling. Diamond didn’t know what she would have done, but she didn’t want to know either.

She’d just proven that, hadn’t she? Five years later, and she was about to storm in there and take up right where she’d left off. Shouting, breaking things, trying to scare Silver into doing what she wanted.

”Remember that you love her, okay?”

Diamond turned to leave, just as a unicorn pony walked up with a lunch bag floating in her orange aura.

“Are you interested in a class, Miss?” The unicorn asked cheerfully. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, we’re totally about the style here.”

“Uhm, no, thank you,” Diamond said, shaking her head. “Just saw a friend, but I’ll talk to her later.”

The unicorn’s eyes flicked between Diamond and the window, then back to Diamond and narrowed.

“Much later, if you know what’s good for you,” she said coldly. “We take care of our own, Miss Rich.”

Diamond swallowed the lump she felt growing in her throat, and quickly turned to move away at a near-canter.

This was going to be harder than she’d thought.