Discipline & Pleasure

The minute hand on the clock in Rich’s Barnyard Bargains was broken.

Or at least, that’s how it seemed to Diamond Tiara. How else could she explain the excruciating amount of time it was taking to reach four o’clock? She had pointed this problem out to the shift supervisor a number of times, only to be assured that, in fact, that clock was functioning just as well as it had before she had arrived there. None of the employees seemed to notice anything, or if they did they weren’t saying anything. To her, at least.

“Excuse me young lady, I’d like to sample Fame by Sapphire Shores.”

Turning her attention from the clock, she found a red-coated mare waiting at the counter, eyebrows raised. The filly leaned under the counter to the display case, shifting boxes around and reading a few of their labels, in no hurry. After a moment she surfaced with the sample bottle in hoof. She sprayed it in the direction of the customer, the air misting with perfume.

The perfume counter was the easiest job in the store - ponies would point out which perfume they wanted to try out, she would spray it at them, and they would either buy it or leave. Being the daughter of the store’s owner didn’t hurt, either, on the occasion that somepony complained. As usual, the customer sniffed and left without saying another word, leaving her alone again.

As the scent of Fame dissipated she looked back at the clock, bringing her hoof down on the counter in frustration. If anything, the minute hand was going backwards. Replacing the bottle among the other samples, another box caught her eye. White Diamonds by Ruby Tuesday. The fragrance dreams are made of, or so the box claimed.

She knew that perfume - it was Rarity’s. Closing her eyes, she could picture the unicorn standing before her, crop in her mouth, beckoning her. Taking a deep breath, she smelled something - White Diamonds. Her eyes snapped open again. Coughing, she caught her breath - four white hooves had gathered themselves in front of the counter.

Diamond’s head shot up from the display case. Rarity. The ugly, perpetual daylight of the store’s lighting was washed clean before it touched her unblemished coat, projecting an aura around her. The filly’s eyes widened as she took in the shopping bags on the dressmaker’s back. Sticking out from one, announcing its presence to the whole store, was a long, thin black rod.

“I have another lesson for you, young lady.” Rarity’s voice was low and sensual, turning the otherwise innocent statement into something lewd and exciting. Diamond’s rear throbbed with the memories of the last ‘lesson’ she had been taught.

“Here?” Diamond whispered, eyes darting around them to see if anypony was listening.

The unicorn said nothing, mouth sliding into a smirk as she eyed her pupil. Diamond ran her tongue over her lips as she took in what the unicorn had said, eyes trained on the crop. Here. In her father’s store. While she was working. It was totally inappropriate. Extraordinarily dangerous. If anypony caught on, well, she couldn’t even imagine the consequences. Her mind was pleading for reason, but her body and her heart would have none of it.

“Could we go to the back?”

“And why should we? There’s plenty of room out here.” said Rarity, raising her eyebrows.

Diamond was speechless. Stuttering, she tried to collect herself. “Rarity, I would prefer my lesson in the back room, instead of in front of the whole store. Please.”

“If you insist,” Rarity sighed, “But understand I won’t go any easier on you because we’re away from prying eyes.”

A nervous excitement swept over her as they made their way towards the rear of the store. She kept looking over her shoulder, eyes scanning for coworkers or managers, but the aisles they passed through were almost deserted. Only a few customers, busy hunting down the day’s specials, none paying attention to the unlikely pair.

When they entered the breakroom, Diamond breathed a sigh of relief. No ponies in sight.

Diamond Tiara began to turn, intending to ask Rarity what was going on. Before she could, she felt hooves grip her under her forelegs. Without a word, she was lifted onto the well-worn beige table at the center of the room.

Hooves pushed against her upper back, forcing her to kneel her forelegs on the dirty, stained plastic. Her rump rose, legs spread, presenting her to the older mare.

She looked to her side to see the unicorn standing behind her. The switch was in her mouth - no magic this time.

“Rarity, please,” she protested. What if somepony came in? What if they heard what was going on in the room? The thoughts rushed through her mind, but none rose to her lips. The silence following her plea turned it into a lusty invitation.

The rod danced over the magenta inner thighs of the earth pony, stopping before it reached her aching pussy. Diamond growled. After all of this hassle, the unicorn was teasing her.

“Rarity, please.” She thrust her rear backwards towards her teacher. The end of the crop slid over her flank, coming to a rest near the base of her tail. The pressure near her tail let up after a moment, and Diamond braced herself for what would come next.

The rod struck her upended rear with a loud slap, causing her to moan. She could imagine the sound echoing through the whole store. As the crop crashed against her rear a second time, she had to muffle her muzzle with her hoof to keep from crying out.

Bolts of pleasure shot through her body. Diamond ran her tongue over her right hoof, coating it with saliva. The painful red stripes crossing her rear had driven away the fear she had entered the room with. All she wanted was to feel the tool against her flank again.

“Rarity...” Black leather bit into her flank, stinging her soft flesh. Diamond yelped. The break room wavered and faded out of existence as waves of ecstasy washed over her. It was just her and the unicorn now.

Diamond leaned into her left foreleg as the right plunged between her haunches. Passing over her hardened nipples, she cried out again as her hoof brushed the pleasure button at the top of her dripping sex.

Again the rod struck her, and she screamed, driven wild by the unicorn’s ministrations. She had never been this wet. Juices ran down her inner thigh as she swept over her clit again, then dipped lower, her hoof slipping over the folds of her flower.

“Diamond?”

“Rarity!” She screamed the unicorn’s name, rocking against her hoof. Her orgasm erupted like a fountain, coating her inner thighs.

The magenta mare’s eyes shot open, the table below her coming back into view. Between her legs she saw her father standing in the doorway of the break room, his face pale with shock. Behind him was the floor manager, and behind him was the rest of the store’s employees and customers.

“What are you doing?” His voice wavered, attention turning to the unicorn. “What are you doing to my daughter?”

Diamond removed her hoof from between her haunches, lowering her rear and turning around to face the gathered crowd. She sat down, conscious of the cooling puddle beneath her which clung to her coat. Rarity stood to the right of the table and looked to be on the verge of tears. Clearing her throat, she addressed the ponies before her.

“I can explain.”

Her father walked into the room, closing the door behind him. His eyes were intent upon Rarity, as if she were a rabbit caught in a trap. She knew that look.

“Dad, no, please!”

Everything happened at once. Her father charged at Rarity. Diamond tried to get up, and found herself slipping in the puddle.

“Dad!”

She struggled to get up, to stop her father from hurting the unicorn. When she pushed herself up again, her rear legs gave out, face slamming into the table.

Diamond gasped as she opened her eyes.

Predawn filtered through the curtains covering the windows of her room, tinting the room in shades of gray. She could hear birds singing outside. Shifting, she realized that her hoof was between her haunches. The bed, and her, were soaked.

With a choked cry, Diamond sat up, green sheets sticking to her hind legs. Scenes from the dream kept running through her head - Rarity, her father...the way it had ended. She pushed the sheets back, peeling them off and huddling into a ball on the pillows. Diamond bit back a sob. Sitting on the bed, she felt exposed, still fragile from the nightmare.

Between a gap in her forehooves, she glimpsed the clock. Drawing in a slow, shaky breath, she watched the minute hand ticking across the numbered face. It was four in the morning on Saturday. That was real - the clock's hands were moving properly. The night before, she had her first lesson with Rarity. That was real. The unicorn had walked her home, but her father didn’t suspect anything. Why would he? Tonight, she had a date with Silver Spoon. Maybe. Unless Diamond broke up with her first. Either way, Silver Spoon was coming over. Also real. And - Diamond shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs of the nightmare - she had just been caught having sex with the unicorn in the breakroom of one of her father’s stores. Just a dream. And not exactly a bad dream. Well, until the end.

As she changed the soaking sheets for new ones her eyes glanced beneath to check for any lurking parents or other authority figures. The act of checking under her bed made her feel foalish, but she couldn’t shake the memory of all those eyes watching her. It was only when she had replaced the soiled set that she saw the decorations adorning the fabric. Smiling moons and stars drifted across the bedspread - sheets she had had for years. Given the content of the dream she had just woken up from, they seemed inappropriate. With a sigh, she contemplated returning to the closet, but her body was too tired to make the effort.

Despite the early hour, Diamond lay in bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling as she listened to the ticking of the clock. One part of the dream kept running through her head, when her father had first found she and Rarity together. The feeling she had felt then wasn’t fear - that came later, when he attacked the unicorn. Instead, she had felt something else. A sense of relief. As if her life had become so much less complicated. It had all made sense when she was asleep, in that weird way dreams did. She was still trying to decipher how she felt when she drifted off to sleep.

“Silvy, I’m breaking up with you.”

“But Di, I can’t live without you!” said Silver Spoon, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s over, Silvy. I hope we can still be friends.”

Silver Spoon hesitated. Diamond held her breath as she waited for the gray mare to say the words: of course we can be friends. The silence between the two mares grew heavier as it dragged out.

“Fuck it.” Diamond Tiara spat the curse as she threw the two pony dolls into a corner.

She had been at this all afternoon, playing out the end of her relationship with Silvy, always with the same result. The gray mare would end up storming out, in sadness or in fury. The response was always the same: Never. I never want to speak with you again. I hate you, Di.

When the magenta filly had woken up, late in the morning, she had risen with purpose. The dream and the doubts she had felt after parting with Rarity after their lesson must have been related. Her feelings for the unicorn were stronger than she had thought. Breaking up with her friend would simplify things, if just a little.

But breaking up with Silver Spoon and losing her as a friend were two different things. It had been months before they had spoken to each other the last time Diamond had ended things between them. Given that they had only just become involved again, this time would be worse. Retrieving the dolls from the corner, she frowned at the smaller one she’d labeled ‘Silvy’, shaking it.

“You know it’s best for both of us. Why are you making this so hard?”

There was a knock on the door downstairs. Looking up, the late afternoon sun glinted in her eyes from the stand-up mirror by her closet. She hadn’t realized how late it was.

Diamond moved with quiet steps to the top of the stairway. Controlling her breathing, she stood with her eyes intent on the front door. After a minute passed, she heard another knock.

Maybe she’ll just go away. It was a ridiculous thought. Still, she made no move towards the door.

Her heart jumped as she heard the doorknob jiggle. Of course it wasn’t locked. Bounding back into her room, she heard her friend call out from below.

“Di? You home?”

“Silvy! How’s it going?” Diamond called out, moving into the stairwell once again. She hoped her smile didn’t look as strained as it felt.

The gray filly stopped halfway through the door. “Okay, I tried knocking, no-one answered.”

“Sorry about that, I was busy,” she hesitated, grasping for excuses, “Napping,” she concluded, swallowing hard.

“Long night?”

“What? No!” she yelped. Her cheeks burned at the outburst. “I mean, yes, sort of. I didn’t sleep well.”

“I’m sorry, do you want me to, like, come back later?”

“No, it’s fine, come in already. I just need to freshen up and and we can go eat.”

It was Silvy’s turn to choose, which meant ten-bit barbecue at Appaloosa Al’s Smokehouse. Diamond found the place incredibly tacky, but tonight the ridiculous portions would help keep her mouth full while she considered how best to end their relationship without the whole thing blowing up in her face in a mess of hurt feelings and hot sauce.

They were seated underneath a mural, an impressionist nightmare of gaudy colors and crudely drawn figures that made Diamond wonder whether she was dreaming again. Appaloosa Al, or a blob of orange wearing a yellow smear that served as a stetson, was armed with his signature brand of sauce and chasing a herd of avocados, or really dark apples, across a yellow desert plain littered with smaller gray blobs, which she assumed were either rocks or sheep.

“So, you’ll never guess who I saw coming out of Sugarcube Corner together, holding tails.” Silvy leaned over a heaping plate of sweet potato fries as she delivered her announcement. “Snips and Twist.”

“Eew. What a gross couple. They definitely deserve each other.”

“Totally gross,” affirmed Silver Spoon, shaking vinegar on her plate, “Can you imagine an uglier couple?”

“We need to make sure to tease them about it this week,” said Diamond, “We can call them ‘Twips’!” The fillies giggled in unison.

Diamond felt a twinge in her heart, something close to satisfaction. They had been catching up on gossip for the past half hour, trading stories about Ponyville’s juicy underbelly. The lighthearted banter allowed her to relax. It felt...normal - something she hadn’t been feeling at all since her evening with Rarity. If they could only spend the whole evening dishing about the mundane ridiculousness of this town, she wouldn’t have to worry about her own, very serious problems.

“So, how was your class Friday?”

Diamond felt her heart sink. So much for normal. She paused between bites of slow-cooked turnips, chewing on the question. Her dolls had been so focused on breaking up this afternoon that they’d never discussed this.

“Fine. Boring.” She leaned over, taking another bite, feeling the words she had been rehearsing this afternoon welling up inside her. I have something we need to talk about, Silvy.

“I can’t believe your father’s making you take classes on Friday nights! It must be so boring to be stuck in that dress shop with that snooty dressmaker.”

“It’s not that bad,” Diamond spoke around a mouthful of turnips, “And she’s not snooty.” Swallowing, she glanced at the mural, wishing she could escape into its orange-lemon sunset. “She’s...passionate,” she added, frowning.

Silver Spoon giggled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she cares about how she acts and what she says.” Diamond thought about Friday night’s session with Rarity. How the crop had danced over her flank, hard enough to hurt, but careful, always under control. “You should see her, when she’s working. She’s so careful. She puts her heart into everything she does.”

The gray mare sipped her lemonade through a crazy straw. Setting the glass down, it was her turn to frown. “She could still be snooty, though, yeah? She’s still telling you how to act, right? How can she teach a class like that without, you know, thinking she knows better than everypony else?”

“Maybe she does know better,” Diamond snapped. “You don’t know her.” It had been a mistake to tell Silvy anything. How could she expect her friend to understand a feeling she barely understood herself? The feeling of the crop on her flank, the look in the unicorn’s eyes after they had negotiated using it, these were still mysteries to her.

The main course arrived, the conversation between them grinding to a merciful halt. They ate without speaking, surrounded by the ambient noise of wailing foals and the staff wishing a half-hearted Happy Birthday to a table nearby.

Silvy spoke up over the remains of her baked potato. “So, have you picked out a dress for the Summer’s End Festival?” The festival, marking the nearing of the end of summer, would be held in four weeks. It was the last big social event before school started again.

“Not yet.” The question irked her. She turned back to her friend, looking her in the eyes. “I need to talk to Rarity about it. Where are you getting yours?”

“Probably her, I guess, I don’t know yet.”

“Well, it might help to speak more respectfully about her, especially if you’re going to be ordering a dress from her.” Diamond lectured her friend. “If she makes a dress for you, you should think twice about calling her snooty. You don’t even know her.”

“Okay, geez, I get it.”

Diamond stared a hole into the plate of macaroni sitting in front of her. She wanted to say more. She wanted to yell at Silvy. You don’t get it at all. This is why we shouldn’t be together. This stupid argument, it’s your fault. Her friend could be so disrespectful sometimes. Like a stubborn child.

“Di, are you feeling okay?” When she looked up, she saw Silvy watching her, concern painted on her face.

“Yeah, why?” Diamond shot back.

“You’ve just seemed really out of it lately.” Her friend spoke without malice.

Diamond felt a heaviness in her heart. What was she supposed to say? I want to break up with you, but keep you as a friend. Or, I’m breaking up with you because of something I felt on my doorstep last night and a dream I had. I can’t even explain how she makes me feel, but don’t get too angry. All those words she had practiced before in her room had the same result: I never want to speak with you again. She wanted to say something to unburden herself, but the truth would ruin everything.

She took a deep breath and looked her friend in the eye. “Actually, I’ve been feeling pretty out of it. I just... haven’t been feeling like myself lately.” True enough, she supposed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Silver Spoon asked, a beneficent smile gracing her face.

“No, I’d rather not. Not right now. But, thank you for the offer. I’m...sorry I’ve been acting weird.”

“That’s fine, but if you want to talk at some point, I’m here to listen.” Silvy’s voice was tinged with annoyance, but the arrival of the bill, borne by an older mare decked in a bright orange stetson coated with flair, marked the end of any further argument.

The setting sun coated downtown Ponyville in an orange which reminded Diamond of the painting in the restaurant. As she walked home with Silvy, the conversation turned to a discussion about plans for the Summer’s End Festival.

“I was thinking we could get a carriage to ride there. I’ve only ridden in a carriage once, it’d be super fun,” Silver Spoon bubbled.

“Yeah, that sounds pretty fun.” Diamond nodded. In truth, a carriage didn’t sound super fun at all. She didn’t relish the idea of pulling up to the festival with Silver Spoon, their relationship on display for all eyes to see. But the argument at the restaurant had tired her out, and she was willing to agree to just about anything to keep them away from another serious discussion.

Diamond opened the front door to her darkened house. Her father hadn’t been home yet - Saturdays he would go out with some of his managers for drinks after work. When she moved to hit the light switch, she felt Silvy’s hoof on her foreleg.

Silver Spoon’s lips pressed against hers as she turned around. The kiss was gentle but urgent, and soon she felt a tongue slide against her lips. Diamond opened her mouth, pushing her tongue into Silvy’s muzzle, the muscles wrestling with each other. Her teeth played over the gray filly’s teeth, exploring her mouth. When the fillies parted, both were panting.

“I’m sorry, Di, I didn’t want to make you upset at dinner.” Silvy’s hoof rested on Diamond’s shoulder. “I was just worried about you.”

“It’s fine.” Diamond ran her hoof along Silver Spoon’s foreleg. “Don’t worry about it.”

Their mouths met again on Diamond’s bed as they lay next to each other. Diamond sucked Silver Spoon’s lower lip into her mouth, biting her gently, grinning as she heard her friend moan. Diamond’s hoof ran over the soft grey coat of her friend’s belly, stroking her just above her pink teats.

Diamond licked her lips, admired her friends teats. They were smaller than hers, pert mounds capped by small, hard nipples. Silvy’s kisses grew deeper and more urgent as Diamond’s hoof pushed lower, massaging her friend’s teats, making slow circles around the small buttons on top.

She felt a hoof run down her thigh, and parted her hind legs further to give her friend access to the wetness between. The hoof brushed over her stomach, taut with tension, pressing towards her now-throbbing teats.

When the hoof pressed on her her nipples she moaned, pushing towards her friend, seeking more friction.

Their hooves moved in time with each other, stroking hardened nipples, filling the air of the bedroom with moans and the wet smacking of their lips.

Silver Spoon pulled her muzzle away, a string of saliva hanging between them when their mouths parted. “I want to go down on you,” she said, her voice low and husky.

Silvy leaned back on her haunches before Diamond, glistening with sweat. The magenta filly could see another wetness glistening between her friend’s hind legs from the moonlight streaming through the window. She ran a hoof between her friend’s haunches, caressing her mound. Silvy cooed, moving her forehooves behind her to undo the braids which ran down her back. Once her hair was freed, she shook her silvery mane out, cascading it over her shoulders. Removing her glasses, she blinked as she leaned over Diamond and placed them upon the table beside the bed.

Diamond rested against her pillows, spreading her hind legs. Silver Spoon leaned between her spread legs, kissing her hard on the lips and smiling before she moved her attention lower. Her mouth ran over Diamond’s belly, covering her with saliva.

When Silvy paused to lick her swelling teats, Diamond ran her hoof through her friend’s mane, gently urging her towards her steaming slit. The head between her haunches dipped lower, and Diamond sighed as she felt the tongue part her outer lips.

Silvy lapped at her mound, teasing her clit and causing Diamond to writhe on the bed, urging her friend to continue. She watched as Silvy moved a hoof between her own hind legs, massaging her cleft as she stroked her tongue between Diamond’s legs.

Diamond closed her eyes, feeling pressure build within her. Images from her dream played behind her eyelids - Rarity, pushing her down onto the table. The crop whipped her, biting into her flesh, dominating her.

Burying her head in the pillow below, she screamed as the orgasm ripped through her. It left her feeling fragile, as she had after the dream, gutted by pleasure in the wake of release.

Looking up, saw Silvy sitting on her haunches and biting her lip. Her hoof rubbed furiously at her dripping mound. With Diamond watching, the gray mare squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled sharply, giving a soft cry before falling onto the bed next to her.

As the fillies lay in bed together, in the quiet of the evening, Diamond felt the same heaviness in her heart she had felt in the restaurant. So much lay unspoken between them. Part of her wanted to tell Silver Spoon everything - about the dream, about her session with Rarity, about that first afternoon with the unicorn. Not talking with her as a lover, but as a friend. The friend she could confide everything in before that day at the Carousel Boutique.

“Did you see the dress Rarity gave to me?” Diamond spoke to the darkness hanging over them. I wore it to cover the stripes on my rear after Rarity spanked me.

“I think so.” Silver Spoon rolled over to face her. “The black one? Hanging near the closet? Totally cute.”

“Yeah, that one.” Not cute, beautiful. Beautiful like the mare who gave it to me. “You know she makes all of those dresses herself? It’s super impressive.”

“She doesn’t have her blankflank sister helping her or something?” asked Silver Spoon.

“No.” Diamond frowned at the comment. “Don’t be stupid. Like I said, it’s just her. She works so hard, I don’t think a lot of ponies know that.” But I know. I know lots of things about her.

“Oh yeah?” The gray filly yawned.

“She had to work today, too. She told me last night.” We were laying on her bed together, just like this. “There was a special order for somepony important.”

“It sounds like she needs to take some time off and get laid.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” Diamond pushed the pony next to her.

“Whoa, looks like somepony has a crush! You two should-- ow!”. The grey filly rubbed her shoulder. “That seriously hurt, Di. What was that for? It was just a joke.”

“Well it wasn’t funny.” Diamond huffed. It took a moment for her heart to start beating again after the shock of Silvy’s comment. Silver Spoon said nothing. After ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, she turned to her friend.

“Geez, Silvy, it couldn’t have hurt that much--”. The gray mare had her eyes closed, chest rising and falling with the rhythm of sleep. Diamond felt a twinge in her heart. I’m sorry, Silvy, none of this is your fault. You don’t know the half of it.

Extracting herself from the bed, Diamond padded from the bed to the window facing downtown. A sea of stars spread out below her, street lamps and lights shining from inside homes lighting up the Ponyville night. She opened the window and peered out, letting the warm night air caress her. She knew one of those lights was coming from the Carousel Boutique, shining like a beacon.

A soft summer breeze whispered up from the street below, tousling her mane. Come with me, it tempted her. If she followed, it promised to whisk her from her home to the dressmaker’s front step. Follow me, it insisted, speaking of adventure and danger that most ponies could only dream of. Escape with me, the breeze whispered again, kissing her face.

Diamond looked back into her bedroom. Silver Spoon lay on the bed, snoring softly. If I leave, she won’t notice until the morning. She lowered the window again, feeling the chill of the air conditioning embrace her again. Moving across the floor, she lay her hoof on the door to the hallway. She stood at the door, looking at her friend, listening for the breeze to speak to her again, to urge her over the edge.

“Di?” Silver Spoon’s speech slurred at the edge of consciousness.

She lowered her hoof from the door, taking her place in bed without a word. As she lay in bed, she listened still, waiting for some direction from the wind.

Diamond awoke the next day refreshed from an uneventful sleep. She had half-hoped to see the unicorn in her dreams again, but the surprise guest at her father’s store was a pony she recognized as Rarity’s yellow model friend, and she had spent the whole time trying to ask where her father was. Nonsense dreams annoyed her, but she preferred them to nightmares.

As usual, she and Silvy ate before the other filly left. Sitting at the kitchen table, the smell of cooking batter drifting from the waffle maker, Diamond noticed the bruise on her friend’s shoulder.

“Is that from last night?” Diamond gasped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”

“It’s okay, Di, don’t worry about it.” Silver Spoon shrugged, “That’s kind of what I figured.”

“Are you sure? Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No, really, it’s totally okay.” The gray mare smiled and shrugged again. “Also, you should probably check the waffles, I think they’re burning.”

Something was wrong. Silvy always wanted to talk about it, whatever ‘it’ happened to be. But after Diamond returned from rescuing the waffles, her friend had already begin sketching the carriage they’d be taking to Summer’s End on the morning paper, something she was prepared to describe in great detail.

Diamond put Silvy’s reticence out of her mind as soon as the front door closed behind her. Trotting upstairs to her room, she stopped in the doorway of her room. The stars and moons scattered on her bed taunted her with their mindless grinning. She rushed to the bed, tearing the sheets off with her teeth.

Her sheets balled up on the floor, she moved to the closet to find something more suitable. She was greeted with layers of playing pastel pegasi, cutesy cartoon cupcakes, and dainty dancing dragons. Throwing it all in the laundry hamper, she unearthed a plain blue bedspread.

Placing the new sheets on her mattress, a lump in one corner of the room caught her eye. She retrieved the dolls she had been using yesterday, tossing them both in the closet. Good that Silvy hadn’t noticed those. Her eyes traveled around the room. Dolls and stuffed animals populated the periphery, staring at her with their dumb, sightless eyes. With a cry of disgust, she charged the menagerie of pinks and purples.

It took Diamond the entire afternoon to remodel her room. After the toys, she had taken down the posters and cut-out magazine articles littering her walls. The wind that had spoken to her last night drove her. Though it had been gentle, there was something understated in its words, something wild and untameable. It called her to something unknown and risky, a world she had glimpsed in her encounters with the unicorn, far different from the mundane life she had lived up to that point. If she wasn’t going to break up with Silvy, she would at least free herself of the clutter that childhood had left in her room.

The scent of dinner cooking brought her downstairs. Her father stood at the stove, sauteing scallions and beets.

“Dad, I want my room repainted.”

“Well, hello to you too.” Filthy grinned, half turning towards her.

“I’d like it painted white.”

“That’s fine, dear. I guess it has been a while.” His attention was trained on the stove. Taking a spoon into his mouth, he stirred saucepan that sat on another burner. “I’ll have to talk to the guy I had do it last time, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Filthy Rich had two passions in his life: business and food. On the nights he was home to prepare dinner, he would spend a good portion of the evening preparing elaborate meals he had taken from Sur la Trough magazine, with varying degrees of success. By the look of things, dinner wouldn’t be ready anytime soon.

“Oh hey, something came for you in the mail, it’s on the counter.”

Something turned out to be a small white envelope with her name written on it. In her room, she turned it over in her hooves, inspecting it. Mail in Ponyville could arrive at any time, but this had no postage and no return address. Inside she found a note, written on plain notebook paper.

Monday, 5 p.m.
Dandelion Café
Come alone.

Downtown Ponyville on Monday evening was bustling with ponies pushing through the humid summertime heat. She wasn’t used to jostling herd of workers which populated the town during rush hour. Clock in, clock out, struggle through the herd to make your way home, rinse, repeat. Twelve months a year, no summer break. It all seemed so tedious. But, she supposed, that was part of what being an adult was about.

Diamond set herself down at a bench off to one side of town square, in sight of the café. The traffic had held her up, leaving her with ten minutes before the mysterious letter-writer said to meet. Her eyes trained on the door to the restaurant.

She had reviewed the writing dozens of times since then, examining the intricacies of the script, seeking some clue as to who had sent it. But there were no answers to be had in the gentle curve of C, or the accent over the e. The note refused to explain itself.

The unicorn. It had to be her. The letter, the mystery, it was like something out of a romance novel. Perhaps Rarity had felt the same tugging at her heart that had grown in Diamond’s since their evening together. Maybe she had also listened to the wind that threatened to spirit her away Saturday night.

But the possibility that Rarity had written the letter left her feeling self-conscious. A date? In public? It felt presumptuous, inappropriate. She glanced towards the outdoor seating to the side of the building. Ponies were scattered throughout, grazing and chatting with each other. Since when did Ponyville have so many couples?

Diamond Tiara’s tongue ran over dry lips. Her thirst was sudden and overpowering, her face flushed. She didn’t dare to enter the café yet for fear of seeming over-eager, but she couldn’t bear to leave her post to buy water elsewhere. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, bringing herself back down to earth. It’s just dinner. You don’t even know what she wants. If she was eating dinner with Rarity, nopony would think anything of it. It was probably just another etiquette lesson. Dining Out with Your Secret Lover 101.

Five o’clock was chiming from the clock in the square. The bells set her heart pounding again. She willed her eyes shut a moment longer, trying to collect herself. What’s the worst that could happen, anyway?

“Diamond? What are you doing out here?”

Her eyes snapped open.

Silver Spoon stood next to the bench, mouth quirked into a sort of half-smile, as if it was amused by something but too polite to admit it.

“Nothing,” Tiara snapped, glancing at the door of the restaurant again, “Just meeting somepony for dinner.” She needed to get her friend away as fast as possible.

“Oh, I see,” The half-smile twitched, threatening to become a grin, “Who would that be?”

Tiara’s eyes darted from the door to focus on her friend. “I’m not sure. What do you want, Silvy? I’ve got things to do.”

The gray mare narrowed her eyes, taking an exaggerated step backwards. “No need for the attitude, Di, I just wanted to know if you would join me for tea at the Dandelion Café.”

“The Dandelion Café?”

“You know, the one over there?” Silver Spoon gestured with her head, “The one you keep looking at? You got my letter, didn’t you?”

“Your letter.” Tiara let out a sigh as she felt herself deflating. “No, look, Silvy, I really don’t have time.”

“Come on, Di, I only get to see you a few times a week, this will be fun.” The gray mare pouted, a gesture Diamond, under different circumstances, would have found endearing. “And besides, I have something we need to talk about.”

Diamond Tiara glanced at the clock tower, and back at her friend. “Fine. Forty-five minutes, and then I need to go.” She unstuck herself from the bench and followed the other mare to a table outside the restaurant.

As they chatted about the inanities of their respective mornings, she watched her friend with caution. Silvy was cute. She’d always thought so, and she was reminded again as she watched her friend across the table. The way she leaned in to study the menu, despite her glasses. The way she looked without those glasses, braids undone, biting her lip on the verge of climax on Saturday night. But her friend’s tone made her uneasy, and that taunting half-smile had slipped back onto her face soon after they were seated.

After their orders were brought out, Diamond decided she had had her fill of small talk. “Look, what’s this all about?”

“What’s what all about?”

“The letter. This. You said you had something to talk about.”

“Oh. Well, Di, I wanted to ask you...” Silver Spoon hesitated. The half-smile had retreated, leaving her face somber.

“Yes?” Diamond found herself struggling not to raise her voice. Why was Silvy being so stupid?

“...how long have you been sleeping with Rarity?”

“What?” Diamond slammed her hooves down on the table. The ponies eating a few tables away were looking at her now.

“I’d be careful, Diamond, you wouldn’t want anypony else to hear you,” Silver Spoon cautioned, “Or me.”

She surveyed the patio. The curious diners from before had gone back to their meals, and the ambient chatter around them had resumed.

“What are you talking about, Silvy?” she asked, voice level, swallowing an unpleasant mixture of surprise and anger.

“I just want you to be honest with me.”

“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Diamond said, stepping off of her chair. “I don’t know what kind of joke you think you’re telling, but it isn’t funny.”

Her heart was pounding as she walked away from the table. She had to leave before she really lost her temper.

“I’ll tell your father!” said a voice behind her.

Diamond Tiara stopped walking. With reluctant steps, she returned to her seat.

When she took her seat, she found her friend frowning at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she started to speak. Celestia get me through this.

“This is a ridiculous accusation, even from you.” She rolled her eyes. “Rarity? Really? Of all the ponies in Ponyville, you think I’d be cheating on you with her? She’s totally not my type. Way too,” she paused, sipping her water, “Proper. Like, a total authority figure. She’d probably just spank me and put me in time out if I even suggested it.”

The taunting smile returned to her friend’s lips. “This is serious, Diamond. I know you’re involved with her, and you’re gonna be in trouble if you keep it up.”

Diamond leaned back in her seat with a sigh. Grabbing a knife from the silverware in front of them, she began tapping on the table. “Okay Silvy, how? How did you deduce that I was cheating on you with my etiquette teacher? Did you find a soup spoon in my pussy Saturday night?” Silver Spoon was blushing now.

“It was the way that you talked about her. We spent half of dinner arguing about your dumb teacher. You know, before you hit me over a joke?” Silver Spoon shook her head. “And...before that. You’ve never kissed me like that. Did Rarity teach you that, too?”

Her mind raced, the tapping on the knife moving in time with her thoughts.

Careless. Careless and stupid.

“Okay, so let’s get this straight. You’re going to tell my father that, because I like taking lessons with Rarity, and think you should respect her, I must be sleeping with her?” Diamond chuckled. “How are you going to start, ‘It all came to me when I was kissing your daughter’?”

“He believed all that stuff about Humbolt, didn’t he?”

The knife she was holding clattered to the table.

Diamond moved a shaky hoof to retrieve the glass of water in front of her. Though her friend’s voice wasn’t loud, to her Silvy may as well have screamed the name at the top of her lungs. Her eyes flickered across the patio once again for prying eyes.

Somewhere, a bell was tolling.

“If you bring this little fantasy you’ve cooked up to my father, I’ll make sure he understands the kind of crazy, jealous bitch I made the mistake of getting involved with.” Diamond stepped off of her chair, pushing it into the table with a metallic shriek. As the table rocked from the impact, a mixture of tea and water to spill towards the now wide-eyed gray mare.

“Don’t talk to me again until you’re ready to apologize.” Diamond scolded.

She didn’t start galloping until she was out of view of the café.