A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

--Chapter 8: Plans--

Aurora didn’t ask for stories anymore.

She had hoped that first night had been a fluke. When Twist had looked at her, empty-eyed and weary, and said, “What stories?” Aurora had resisted the urge to let her heart sink completely. There was still the chance that this wasn’t the turning point she had dreaded. Perhaps Twist really was just tired from an especially difficult session, and the next night she would be back to normal again. Even as she had whispered her promise to her sleeping friend, a part of Aurora still held on to the hope that she would never have to keep it.

But the next night had been worse than the last. Twist had finished first that evening. When Aurora had made her way back to the little corner the two of them favored, she greeted Twist with the usual question.

“Did you finish the story?”

Twist looked at her with a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion.

“There’s no story to finish, Aurora,” she said. “Let’s just go to thleep.”

That night, as Aurora lay awake, she realized that she had been ignoring obvious signs of Twist’s decline for a while. She should have noticed it when Twist had stopped talking about her dragon friend. He had once been a constant topic of conversation, and, more importantly, a source of hope.

Then Twist began going days without mentioning him. Until finally, she bristled at the mere mention of Spike.

“What do you think Spike is doing these days?” Aurora had asked Twist one day, in as hopeful a tone as she could muster.
“I don’t know,” Twist said. “I’ll never know. Just like he’ll never know what happened to me.”

Twist remained silent for the rest of the day.

Neither Twist nor Aurora had mentioned Spike since.

Aurora had been by herself when she saw the silver foal. It wasn’t the first time a foal had come to the Gallery alone, though such an event was quite rare. When it did happen, it was usually Shamrock Dream and her siblings, looking for someone to join in their games.

Aurora had always found the Dream children rather disgusting. They reminded her far too much of the Junkies, but, in Aurora's mind, the Dreams were far more pathetic. At least the Junkies had an excuse. Most of them had endured years of captivity before their minds had finally given in. The Dreams were different: they were free. Unlike Aurora, they could be anyone they wanted to. And they had chosen to be no different from the Gallery’s most disturbed residents.

Aurora tried her best not to hate most of the patrons. Not because they deserved forgiveness, but simply because it was a waste of energy. The ponies of the Dream family were an exception. She despised them, and made little secret of it, even on those occasions when they had chosen her as a partner. Her open contempt somehow seemed to excite the Dreams even more.

Aurora had been watching the silver foal as she entered, and had, at first, dismissed her as another creature from the same mold as the Dream children. When the silver foal had stopped on her way to the private rooms to observe Happy Tune’s latest flirtation with self-destruction, this seemed confirmation enough to Aurora. She had seen the foal touching herself as Tune screamed. But she had also noticed a hesitance in the foal’s actions, and then, quite to Aurora’s surprise, she saw the silver foal tear herself away from the spectacle, with a strange determination.

After that, Aurora wasn’t sure what to make of the silver foal. What kind of pony comes to the Gallery only to fight their own arousal? Did the foal derive pleasure from self-denial? Somewhere in her gut, Aurora felt that it wasn’t quite that simple.
When the foal turned into the next room, Aurora saw, just for a second, the most peculiar thing: the foal seemed to have two completely different Cutie Marks. The one on her right flank was noticeably different from the one on her left. Or at least, that was what Aurora thought she had seen, in the brief glimpse she had caught of it.

After the foal had left her sight, Aurora smiled to herself. For the first time in a very long while, the Gallery had a patron worth talking about.

Twist lay on her side, panting heavily. She felt disgusting.

The last of eight stallions had just finished using her, and like the others, he had found it amusing to ejaculate on her belly and then rub the product all over Twist’s body. Twist’s coat was now sticky and matted, and patches of fur stuck to the bed when she tried to get up. She groaned and forced herself up, yelping slightly at the pain when a few small patches of fur were ripped away and remained on the bed.

There was a mirror in the room. Twist looked at the ruined foal reflected in the glass, and felt nothing.

There was a knock on the door. Twist didn’t bother answering. She knew the guard would barge in momentarily either way. The knock was for the courtesy of the patrons, not the foals.

“You’ve got a request in roo- oh, wow! Those last guys sure did a number on you, didn’t they?”

“I gueth,” Twist said mechanically.

“Well, your next patron’s a little lady, and I’ll bet she doesn’t like her foals all sticky and gross. Get to the baths, clean yourself up, and then head to Room Eight. You’ve got ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” Twist said. She walked out of the room and headed to the baths.

She managed to make it to Room Eight in just under the allotted time. Her coat was still a bit damp, and the bath had made the missing patches even more apparent. But there was nothing to be done about that. Twist knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said a voice.

Twist opened the door and entered the room. It was nearly identical to the one she had just been in, but there was only one other inhabitant.

There, sitting on the bed, was Silver Spoon.

Suddenly, for the first time in far too long, Twist felt something. She was terrified.

“No…” she said. “No, no no!”

“Twist…” Silver began.

The door had already shut behind Twist. She reached for the handle.

“You know that won’t work,” Silver said gently. “The door’s locked, and I have the only key. But it’s okay. I’m not here to-“
“SHUT UP!” Twist said. “Just shut up! It’s your fault I’m in here! You and Rarity! You lied to me! You tricked me and then you threw me down here to rot! Thtay away from me!”

Silver was taken aback. The last time she had spoken to Twist, the filly had treated her as a friend, despite the fact that by then, they were deep within the bowels of the outer chamber, about to enter the Gathering. But, Silver realized, that had been months ago, and Twist had had plenty of time to resent Silver and Rarity while she endured the cruelties of the Gallery.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, I really am!” Silver said. “Listen, I want to make this right-“

Twist covered her ears with her hooves. “NO! I AM NOT LISTENING! I saw how you acted at the Gathering! You liked what they did to you! You wanted it! You should be down here, not me!”

“Maybe I should,” Silver said. “I deserve it more than you…”

“She’s here, isn’t she? Rarity’s hiding here somewhere! She’s going to hurt me again!”

“Twist, no-“

“Well, I’m not scared of either of you!” Twist shouted. “I don’t care what the guards do to me, if she tries to touch me again, I’ll…I won’t let you! I’ll fight back! Rarity can’t hurt me anymore!”

“No, she can’t,” Silver said.

“Th-that’s right!” Twist said, slightly confused by Silver’s agreement. “So you tell her to get out of here, and never bother me aga-“

“Miss Rarity’s in prison, Twist.”

Twist paused for a moment, as if this new information needed time to be fully processed.

“You’re lying,” she said.

“No, I’m not,” Silver said. “She’s in prison, and it’s my fault.”

Twist’s posture relaxed slightly. “Your fault?”

“Twist, what’s the last thing you remember me doing?”

“You…you…”

It took Twist a moment to recall. In her mind, she was reaching back an unfathomably long distance, into the events of a previous lifetime.

“You kicked Fancypants. Because he was going to hurt Sweetie…”

“Yeah, I did,” Silver said. “And this is how Fancypants got back at her. Remember how you all thought I was dead? Well, Fancy set up some fake evidence or something, and now she’s in jail for killing me.”

“What?” Twist said. “But that doesn’t make any sense! You can just go over there and show them you’re alive!”

“No, I can’t,” Silver said. “I’m living with Fancypants now. In his mansion. Except I’m not allowed to leave, and hardly anyone knows I’m there. He’s been making me sit by and watch while he ruins Miss Rarity’s life.”

“Wish we could trade places,” Twist said. “That’s something I’d love to see.”

“I guess I can’t blame you for feeling that way,” Silver said. “I won’t apologize for her, but for what it’s worth: I’m sorry for what’s happened to you.”

Twist shook her head. “An apology can’t really fix something like this,” she said. “Um…thankth anyway, though.”
“Sure…” Silver said.

The two fillies sat in silence for a moment, not sure what to say to each other.

“So….” Twist said finally. “Um…why would Fancy bother to have Rarity charged with something she didn’t do? I mean, there’s a lot of bad stuff she’s actually guilty of.”

“I asked him about that once,” Silver said. “He said it wasn’t just about putting her in jail. It was about sending a message.”

“A methage?”

“Miss Rarity knows Fancypants wouldn’t try something like this if there were any chance I could turn up alive. And for that to happen, I’d either have to actually be dead, or on his side. So by doing this, he’s telling her, ‘I’ve taken Silver from you. I win.’”

"Wow," Twist said. "I really don’t understand grownups,”

Silver smiled. “I don’t think I understand other ponies, period,” she said. “Maybe that’s why I liked serving Miss Rarity so much. It was so simple. Things made sense.”

Twist glowered at Silver. “Well, that’s real nithe for you, I guess. Not so fun for the ponies you hurt.”

“I know,” Silver said, looking away. “I really am trying to change, Twist. I want to make up for all the stuff I did to you.”

“How do I know you’re not juth lying to me again?” Twist asked.

Silver narrowed her gaze. “Because I could have stood there, Twist. I could have stood there and let Fancy keep choking Sweetie Belle. But I didn’t. I helped her.”

Twist lowered her head. She looked ashamed.

“I wanted to help her,” she said. “Honest, I did! But there was a unicorn...he threatened me…”

“I’m not trying to accuse you of anything,” Silver said. “But I need you to believe me. Saving Sweetie felt right. It felt like it helped me understand something. And the thing is, I owe you. When you told me what Miss Cheerilee said at my memorial, it helped put a lot of things in perspective for me. That’s why I’m doing this, I guess.”

“Doing what, exactly?” Twist asked.

“I’m getting you out of here,” Silver replied. “All of you.”

*******

The sun and the moon had traded places three times since Rarity had been locked in her cell.

In that time, she had become fairly obsessed with the passage of day into night. She would stare at the sliver of light coming from the small high window, and try estimate the current time based on the brightness of the sun or moon. She would note the most miniscule changes in the light’s patterns. Even a cloud going by would not escape her notice.

The light coming from the window was the only thing that changed in that room. And the only evidence that the world outside still existed.

Aside from her twice-daily meals, there was nothing else to break the monotony of her confinement. She had tried to escape into her imagination, or to pass the time by enjoying the memory of a past dalliance with some beautiful, sobbing foal. But Rarity quickly found that she could not lose herself in thought. Every time she tried, she thought of Sweetie Belle.
The guard had said Rarity was forbidden from seeing her sister. But perhaps, Rarity thought, if Sweetie insisted, if she begged, they would allow her to see Rarity one last time.

“Just once,” she found herself whispering into the empty room. “Please, just let me tell her how much I love her…let me help her understand…”

There was a violent banging on the door. Rarity let out a surprised yelp.

“Hope you’re decent, 'cause I’m coming in,” came the voice of a guard.

There was the sound of several locks being undone, and then the door to Rarity’s cell slid open.

“You got a visitor,” said the guard. “Come with me. Try to run or do something clever, and you lose the right to have visitors. Permanently. We clear?”

"Thank you," Rarity whispered, not addressing the guard.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Lead the way, officer. I won’t cause you any trouble.”

As she walked behind the guard, Rarity tried, mostly successfully, to contain her giddiness.

She was led into a small room which housed a single table, with two chairs at either end. There was a door on the opposite side of the room.

“You sit down there and stay there,” the guard said. “There’s a magic force field between you and the other side of the table, so you can’t touch your visitor and they can’t touch you. But still, if you make a fuss or try anything, we’ll make you sorry.”

“I understand,” Rarity said, sitting down at the chair.

“Alright,” the guard said. “You’ve got twenty minutes. Your visitor asked for some privacy, but I’m gonna be right outside the door, and she’s got the right to call me in at any time, so watch yourself.”

Rarity nodded.

“You can come in now!” the guard yelled in the direction of the far door. As the guard exited the room, the door creaked open.

It wasn’t Sweetie Belle.

*******

“A scroll? That’s your plan?” Twist asked. The two fillies were sitting on the bed together, and Silver had just produced the object from her saddlebag. On the scroll were a series of strange runes, written in a language Twist had never seen before. “Those letters don’t even make sense!”

“That’s because they’re not letters. They’re tiny concentrated bits of magic that have been bonded with the scroll. That’s how magic is written down. It won’t make any sense to us, but if a unicorn who’s at the right level sees it, it’ll kind of speak to her inside her mind, and then she just knows what to do.”

Twist gave Silver a befuddled look. “I thought this was supposed to make things less confusing,” she said.

“The point is, I’ve been researching the seal Fancy put on this place. You know, the one that prevents teleporting,” Silver said. “This is the spell that breaks it.”

“You can…break it?” Twist said. She reached out and touched the scroll, tapping it with her hoof, as if to make sure it was real. “You mean there’s actually a way out of here?”

“It won’t be easy,” Silver said. “But maybe-“

“No,” Twist said. “I can’t deal with maybes anymore. I thought maybe I would get to go home after the Gathering, but I didn’t. I thought maybe Spike would come thave me, but he didn’t. No more maybes.”

Twist pushed the scroll back toward Silver Spoon.

“Yes or no: can we get out of here?”

“Twist, I can’t promise tha-“

“I need to hear it from someone else,” Twist said. “No one else believed me when I said we could get out. Please.”

Silver picked up the scroll and placed it in Twist’s hoof.

“Yes, Twist. You can get out of here.”

“Thank you,” Twist said. She closed her eyes and smiled.

“Do any of the unicorns here know how to use magic?”

“I don’t think tho,” Twist said. “The oldest foal here is a unicorn, though. We’re friends. Maybe she can learn?”

“I stole another scroll on basic magic techniques,” Silver said, producing the item from her bag. “It should help. Seal breaking isn’t very high level magic. If she knows the basics she should manage it.”

“You stole it?” Twist echoed. “From where?”

“Fancy’s library,” Silver said.

The color drained from Twist’s face. She dropped the scroll on the bed.

“You need to take this back…” Twist said. “You need to forget this whole plan…”

“Twist?”

“I still thee it sometimes...” Twist said. She was shaking. “Thometimes in my dreams I still see Fancypants choking Sweetie. The sounds she made, the way she thrashed around...and the look on his face. I keep trying to shut it out of my head, but it keeps coming back. He was so mad, but at the very end, just before you kicked him...Silver, he smiled. He was enjoying it.”

Twist covered her face with her hooves.

“He was enjoying watching her die…” she said.

Silver moved toward Twist, but Twist reflexively moved away.

“All she did was spit on him!” Twist said. “But you’ve stolen from him! You’re trying to empty out his Gallery! If he finds out, what do you think he’ll do to you?”

For a moment, the room stood utterly silent.

“I’ve been trying not to think about it,” Silver said.

“I just can’t believe it,” Twist said. “You’re risking so much, just for me…”

“I can’t really believe it, either,” Silver said. She picked up the scroll and put it back in Twist’s hoof. “But this is what I want to do. Besides, whatever Fancy does to me, it can’t be as bad as being stuck down here for so long.”

“I guess,” said Twist. “But I mean, do you have some kind of escape plan? Like, are there trap doors in Fancy’s mansion or a secret tunnel, I mean, obviously a different one from the secret tunnel we’re in now, and also, how come seal breaking is so simple I mean if it’s that easy you’d think Fancy would have had an escape by now, and-“

“Twist,” Silver said. “You’re rambling.”

“Oh,” Twist said. “Thorry.”

“Don’t be!” Silver said. “You wouldn’t be Twist if you didn’t ramble sometimes. It’s good, you know? It’s nice to see you’re still you, even after all this.”

Twist turned away from Silver and looked into the mirror which hung over the bed.

“There you are,” she whispered, smiling. “Please don’t go away again…”

Silver pretended not to notice.

“To answer your question,” Silver said. “The reason Fancy gets by with such an easy to break spell is because seal breaking is all about being close. Basically, every seal has a central point that’s located at the point where the spell was cast. You need to be touching that point when you cast the spell, or it won’t work.”

“Thith is where it geth tricky, isn’t it?”

Silver nodded. “Remember that huge mural on the roof of the outer chamber? Right at the center, there’s two foals, a colt and a filly, and together they’re holding a giant goblet of wine.”

“Oh, that’s supposed to be a magic thing?” Twist said. “I thought it was meant to be all abstract and arty. Like, maybe it represented hedonism or something.”

“Well, that’s where the central point is. If a unicorn touches it while casting the spell, the seal breaks.”

“Um, but the roof is thuper high up! Like, a hundred hooves, at least.”

“It’s probably not that high,” Silver said. “Anyway, there are Pegasi at the Gallery, right? One of them can carry the unicorn up.”

“Oh…we need a Pegasus,” Twist said. “I guess you didn’t notice.”

“Notice what?”

“They keep the Pegasus ponies chained down,” Twist said. “I guess this must be why.”

“Don’t they ever let them go, like when they’re with a patron?”

“Not often,” Twist said. “Most of the patrons like having them restrained.”

“I see…” Silver said. “I guess I didn’t count on them chaining down all the Pegasi.”

Twist sighed. “Not all of them. There’s one who never learned to fly, so they don’t chain him down.”

“Oh. Well maybe he can learn? It’s going to be a while before I can get someone here who can teleport you all out anyway. Are you friends with this Pegasus?”

“I…” Twist bit her lip. “I know him. I’ll…try to talk to him.”

She suddenly felt a little sick.

“Okay,” Silver said. “Then you take the scrolls. Hide them somewhere. You’ll need to practice magic and flying at night or something. Fancy will know when the seal’s broken, so we have to time this right. When I bring Twilight here, I’ll let you know somehow, and we can-“

“Wait, Twilight Sparkle? She’s coming?”

“I don’t know any other ponies who can teleport,” Silver said. “None who would be willing to help, anyway.”

“How are you going to get her here? How are you going to get out of Fancy’s mansion? How are you going to signal us without being dithcovered?”

“I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” Silver said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. “I’ve kind of just been taking chances as they come.”

“Well, that always seemth to work for Daring Do,” Twist said. “Except for that one book where this Germane commandant used Daring’s resourcefulness against her, and tricked her into falling for a deadly- sorry, this probably isn’t important right now.”

“Well, there are worse ponies to be compared to than Daring Do,” Silver said. “You keep those scrolls somewhere safe. I’ll do my best to get things set up on my end, okay?”

Twist nodded.

“Okay,” Silver said. “I should get going, then. Fancy hates it if I’m late for din-“

“NO! Just…wait, okay?”

Twist leapt toward Silver and embraced her.

“Please…if you leave I’ll have to go back out there. And if I’m out there, then I’m a Gallery foal again,” she said. “In here with you, I can feel safe. In here, I’m just Twist.”

Silver sat there. She did not return the embrace.

“Um…does this mean we’re friends?” Silver asked.

“You can’t tell?” asked Twist.

“I’m not really all that good at making friends,” Silver said. “It’s so funny; I can talk to grown society ponies for hours with no problem, but with other foals...”

“You never really had any friends besides Diamond Tiara, did you?”

“Not really,” Silver said. “I guess I didn’t do much to make any, though, did I?”

“Well, you’re doing a lot now,” said Twist. “Yes, Thilver Thpoon. You’re my friend.”

“Thank you,” Silver said. She smiled and finally returned Twist’s hug.

The two fillies chatted for a while. Silver made a point not to bring up anything too heavy. No mention of Rarity, or the current happenings in Ponyville. Instead, they talked about books, fashion, music, and other trivialities. Silver even resisted the urge to ask Twist about Diamond Tiara. The only mention of the Gallery had been when Silver had asked about the yellow filly with the musical scale cutie mark. Twist noted with some concern that Silver seemed unusually curious about the Junkies.

Their talk was eventually interrupted by a knock on the door.

“You okay in there, Miss Silver?” said a guard’s voice. “You’ve been in there for almost four hours.”

“Oh, I’m fine!” Silver yelled back. “I was just, um, finishing up! Thank you!”

She listened for the sound of the guard’s hoofsteps trailing away before she spoke again.

“I should go,” she said. “If it’s been that long, then Fancy should be looking for me anytime now.”

“It’s okay. Thanks for staying this long,” Twist said. “It was really great. This is the first time in a year that I’ve actually felt safe.”

Silver blinked. “A year?”

“Yeah,” Twist said. “You know, since they put me in the Gallery.”

“Twist,” Silver said. “It’s only been about two months.”

“That’s not funny, Silver,” Twist said.

Silver shook her head slowly. Her expression told Twist that she had not been joking.

“But, but that can’t-” Twist stammered, “But it’s felt like so long! I always just thought…because it’s like you can’t even tell when it’s daytime down here and I just…I thought it had been at least that long since…”

Twist embraced Silver again.

“It’s just…I just…” Twist said. “I just feel so old…”

Twist began to sob quietly as Silver held her.

To hell with it, Silver thought. I can miss dinner for one night.

*******

Breakfast at the Rich household had become an almost oppressively somber affair. Much to her husband’s chagrin, Crown Jewel had always insisted the Riches eat breakfast at the table each morning, “like a family.”

Lately, this meant that Filthy would wolf down some toast and oats while trying his best to ignore the food his wife had set out for Diamond Tiara.

Every morning, she made some new, elaborate breakfast platter for her daughter. It was never just cereal or toast. It was fruit waffles with imported syrup, or Phrench toast with a special type of cinnamon which only grew in the Everfree Forest. “Only the best for our Diamond,” she would say. “When she comes out of her room, I want her to have the best breakfast in Equestria waiting for her.”

By lunch each day, the meal would still be sitting on its plate, untouched. By the afternoon, Crown Jewel would unceremoniously throw it out and begin making the evening’s dinner. Diamond now only ate once a day, at dinnertime, and even then, she only ate if a servant carried the food up to her room, left it by the door, knocked, and left. In the morning, a perfectly clean plate could always be found outside Diamond Tiara’s door.

This morning, Crown Jewel’s breakfast for her daughter revolved around oatmeal. “But not just any oatmeal!” she had told her husband cheerfully. “I mixed in a rare variety of brown sugar. I had it flown in all the way from-“

“Honey,” Filthy Rich said wearily. “Please, can’t you just…”

His wife looked at him with desperation in her eyes.

“Go on,” Filthy said after a moment’s hesitation. “Tell me more about the oatmeal.”

“Well, the oats I’m using are from Trotterdam, but the…sugar…”

Her voice trailed off as she heard a set of small hoofsteps coming toward the kitchen.

Both she and her husband knew exactly who they belonged to.

Diamond Tiara walked into the kitchen.

She looked immaculate.

The filly had a private bath in her room, but Filthy was sure he hadn’t heard the water running for weeks. Yet here she was, his little Princess, as flawlessly primped as if she had never locked herself away.

Even her Tiara sparkled as if it were brand new.

“I’m sorry, daddy, but I broke them all,” she said. “I broke every mirror in my room. I had to. I just felt so ugly.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Filthy said, finding himself almost unable to move. “Don’t talk like that. You’re the prettiest little filly in town…”

“No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m mean. I’m selfish. I made fun of fillies who never did anything to hurt me. So yes, I’m ugly. But you know what? There’s someone even uglier than me.”

Diamond held up a copy of the Ponyville Express, and pointed to the front page headline. It was accompanied by a picture of Rarity.

“Someone’s been slipping these under my door. For three days now, ever since she got arrested.”

Crown Jewel looked nervously at the floor.

“She’s really gone, isn’t she? Silver Spoon’s really dead. Because of her.”

Unsure of what else to do, Filthy nodded.

“I thought I would cry,” Diamond said. “I waited to cry. For three days, I’ve been waiting. But I haven’t. I’ve barely felt anything.”

She threw the paper on the floor.

“So this morning, I got up, and I called in one of the servants. I told her to clean me up. Make me look pretty again. I’m not, of course. But I can look that way, and that’s enough.”

“Does this mean you’re going to go back to school?” asked Crown Jewel.

“Not yet,” Diamond said. “I need to see her first. Daddy, call in whatever favors you need to.”

“Sweetheart,” Filthy said. “I’m not sure that’s such a good ide-“

“I could just go back up to my room, Daddy,” Diamond said. “I mean, if you think I’m not ready to go out and talk to ponies.”

“This isn’t just any pony you’re talking about, pumpkin…”

“No, it’s not,” Diamond Tiara said. She spoke with calm determination. “It’s the pony who murdered my best friend. I need to see her. Today.”

“Well, today might not be possible,” Filthy said. This was not how he had pictured his reunion with his daughter. “I do have some friends inside the police department, so I’ve been keeping tabs on Rarity. Silver was a family friend, so it was the least I could do. But Rarity’s only allowed one visitor a day, and she’s booked for the next two.”

“Then get me an appointment on day three,” Diamond huffed. “I can’t go back to school until I’ve talked to her.”

“For sun’s sake, WHY?” Crown Jewel asked, in a voice loud enough to startle her husband. “Why would you want to talk to that monster?”

Diamond turned away. “I just want to know why. I want to know why she took Silver Spoon away from me,” she said. “That’s all.”

“I’ll be in my room,” Diamond said.

She began to walk out of the room, but then she stopped.

“Oh, and mom? Dad?” she said, turning back for a moment. “I really missed you.”

Diamond Tiara walked out of the kitchen without another word, leaving her stunned parents behind.

She had not touched her breakfast.

*******

Rarity did an excellent job of hiding her surprise.

She had hoped that her visitor was Sweetie Belle, but when the door opened, she had seen the silhouette of an adult pony.
She had half expected this. They had said they wanted to keep Sweetie away from her, after all.

What she had not anticipated was a visit from the pony who now stood on the other side of the table. In all honesty, Rarity had not expected to ever see her again.

Rarity looked up at her visitor, with her practiced expression of self-assured superiority.

The visitor returned a look of sheer contempt.

Good, Rarity thought. At least we understand each other.

The other pony sat down on the chair, and took off her hat.

“Howdy, Rarity,” said Applejack. “You n’ me, we gotta talk.”

[NEXT: Three days, three visitors]