Diamond Tiara fidgeted with her plate, she stared at her food as if it was the most interesting thing in the world at the moment, making the carrots dance with the rice and the peas. But that wasn’t entirely true, while she was playing idly with her food, her attention was elsewhere.
She listened closely to the sound of Silver Spoon’s voice, who was sitting across from her. This wasn’t an unusual afternoon for the two mares. Lunchtime used to double as meeting time nowadays; with Diamond Tiara posed to take over her father’s business—and Silver Spoon serving as her secretary and advisor—the mare had to learn how to handle her money responsibly as well as how to make a profit.
Diamond Tiara didn’t mind this, of course. Being the CEO of your own company was basically everypony’s dream! And what could possibly be better than sharing your dream with your best friend?
They've been friends for longer than they could remember, thick as thieves. They've got each other's backs through thick and thin.
Diamond Tiara listened closely to Silver Spoon’s words. Meetings, assets, finances, profit. Words which Tiara knew the meaning of by heart now and didn’t care to study anymore. And yet she couldn’t help but listen as they were coming from Silver Spoon’s mouth.
There was something about Silver Spoon’s voice. The cadence of her speech, the intonation of her words, the pronunciation of the letters, the way her lips moved, how her tongue pressed against her lips, the way it curled and flexed… Diamond Tiara flicked her gaze downwards before Silver Spoon caught her staring.
Finding herself in the faux fascination of her meal once more, Diamond Tiara couldn’t help the soft sigh that left her mouth.
You should tell her how you feel.
Said a little voice in Diamond Tiara’s mind. She had heard this voice many times before, it was a familiar feeling now. It appeared whenever she was alone with Silver Spoon; sometimes it even came with a strange feeling in her stomach.
You should tell her how you feel.
Sometimes the voice was louder than others, pushing its way to the forefront of Diamond Tiara’s mind. Bringing with it thoughts and memories of Silver Spoon, of the times when they were younger; sleepovers and school projects. Times when they hung out together, just the two of them walking around Ponyville, spending the afternoon talking each other’s ears off until the evening with promises of meeting tomorrow to do it all over again.
You should tell her how you feel.
Diamond Tiara found pushing the voice back to be an increasingly gargantuan task the more time she spent with Silver Spoon. She always told herself that she'd tell her later only to never actually do it. She knew what those thoughts meant, what those feelings in her stomach were, what caused them, what she—.
“Is something amiss?" Silver Spoon's voice—soothing as it was—cut right through Tiara's thoughts and startled her to attention. Diamond Tiara sat up straight and blinked twice with a quizzical expression before fixing her eyes on Silver Spoon's, gazing through the mare's framed glasses.
"I know these topics are a drag but they’re very important if you are to step in after your father’s retirement, Di.” Silver Spoon’s voice was gentle as ever, even with the slightest hint of scolding in it.
Tiara exhaled softly, finally dropping her fork to gently tap her hoof on the table as it clanked against the plate. “No, I know Silver, I’m sorry.” She smiled softly as she glanced towards her friend.
Silver Spoon smiled at Diamond Tiara and the pink mare could feel how the strange feeling in her stomach turned into a frantic buzzing. Just from looking at that small, understanding smile, she felt so, so warm, so fuzzy. Tiara focused her thoughts on Silver Spoon as the grey mare continued with her lecture. She explained about the moves they needed to make, the ponies they needed to meet, the assets they needed to invest in and the connections they needed to make or strengthen.
Tiara paid full attention for reasons more than just business.
“Is that all clear? If we follow these steps your profits would be greatly increased by the end of the month.”
In moments like these, Diamond Tiara found herself lacking courage. She was usually a bold mare, and had been even when she was a filly, but somehow when she was alone with Silver Spoon lately all that courage drained and left a different feeling behind.
Thoughts raced back and forth in Diamond Tiara's mind. That nagging voice kept whispering at her, and no matter how loudly she yelled at it in her mind, she couldn't silence it this time.
It had been too long, hadn't it? She had spent years with that voice in her head, keeping it quiet—trying to. Years with the feeling in her stomach whenever she was with Silver Spoon, years with ideas of having sleepovers again even though they were far too old for such things. And yet, and yet Diamond Tiara craved all these things all the same.
Today would be different.
Diamond Tiara took in a deep breath, steeling herself. The voice in her mind got louder and louder, but it wasn’t screaming at her, it was encouraging her; leading her to reach for that which she wanted and coveted most.
She slid her hoof across the table and rested it atop Silver Spoon’s. The grey mare looked down at her hoof before lifting her gaze to meet Diamond Tiara’s.
The moment their hooves touched, Diamond Tiara felt electricity run through her body, filling her with an exhilarating feeling.
It was as if her hoof belonged there on Silver Spoon's.
Diamond Tiara's breath froze in her throat as her heartbeat began to thunder through her ears. Had she made a mistake? Her face burned as her hoof began to tremble. Just as she was about to pull it away, she caught sight of Silver Spoon, how her mouth hung agape, and her eyes showed shock. But not displeasure. She slowly closed her mouth and smiled as rouge overtook her grey cheeks. Diamond Tiara knew at that moment that her feelings were not unrequited.
With newfound courage, she pressed on. “What’s the point of this all?” Diamond Tiara waved her other hoof dismissively. “I don’t need any more riches, you know?” She chortled softly at the look of confusion in Silver Spoon’s face before answering the unasked question. “I’ve got all the Silver I need right here.”
