Polish

Chapter 1 - “Leaving Ponyville”

“We’re gonna miss you, Silver.”

“I’m gonna miss you guys, too…” Silver Spoon fought back tears as she wrapped her friends in a gentle hug. “I hope someday I can return the kindness you three showed me.” Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all smiled, though the sadness was apparent in their eyes.

“We would have come by later, but we just plain didn’t wanna risk missing you.” Scootaloo muttered, sniffling a little.

“It’s fine, we’re just loading the carriage, then we’re off…” Silver kicked at the dirt. “Look, I know I was a total bitch back in the day…”

“No complaints here. Ow!” Sweetie Belle rubbed her shoulder as Applebloom punched her.

“But I owe it to you guys for showing me the way. So, thank you. All of you.”

“I just wish Diamond Tiara would have come around…” Sweetie Belle sighed.

“Aww shucks. Don’t worry ‘bout her. She’ll see that bein’ mean jes means bein’ alone. She’ll come ‘round before long.” Applebloom threw a hoof over Silver’s shoulder, pulling her close. “Y’all just visit whenever yeh can. Let us worry about keepin’ Ponyville safe.”

“Thanks, guys.” Silver felt tears well in her eyes as she smiled at the three ponies gathered around her. “Our friendship means a lot to me… Thank you so much for all of your help. Really.”

“Promise you’ll write?”

“As much as I can. I’ll send a letter to each of you with my new address when I get there.”

“Lookin’ forward to it, sugarcube.”

“And, again… Thank you.” They all shared one last hug before the bittersweet farewell. Silver waved idly as they all walked away. With a heavy sigh, she turned back to her task, loading the carriage that would take them away from Ponyville, away from home… Still, as she silently worked at hauling boxes and luggage onto the carriage, she thought back to her time in Ponyville…

Ever since grade school, she and Diamond Tiara had been really close friends. They both got their cutie marks, they both thought ponies without their own marks were silly for not discovering their talent… But that was where the similarities ended, it seemed. In fact, it was right around the time that Babs Seed had visited that Silver Spoon began seeing how cruel and mean Diamond Tiara really was… Thinking back on it now, her stomach churned. The things she had done and said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders made her feel horrible. Thankfully, the three of them had as much forgiveness as they did passion for adventure.

Silver Spoon had been inducted into the Cutie Mark Crusaders, despite her already having a Cutie Mark. It didn’t really matter to any of them. They were just glad to have another friend, and Silver Spoon was glad to finally fit in somewhere. She had been there when Applebloom received her mark, and had even helped Sweetie Belle find hers. Scootaloo was out flying when she got hers, but the excitement was shared nevertheless.

Now, though… All of that was going away. The last box was tossed up onto the carriage, and she took a moment to look around. Outside of her home in Ponyville, she could see up and down the main street, the slow and easy pace of everypony around her… They all meandered about their business, moving slow, talking happily with passing friends, or working on one thing or another… It was all so peaceful and quiet. She knew from previous visits to Canterlot that the city could be alive with hustle and bustle, and all the high-brow aristocrats looked down their noses at anypony they didn’t personally know.

Here, she knew everypony in town. And if she saw anypony new, she could talk with them without feeling awkward. In Canterlot, you were cursed at and in one case kicked. It was a cold city, loveless and dispassionate. Ponyville was her home. She didn’t want to leave.

“Somethin’ on your mind, Silver?” The voice of her father made Silver start and wheel around. She spotted her dad, hoisting the last of his own personal belongings onto the cart.

“Nothing.” She snipped, hiding the tears in her eyes by staring down at the dirt.

“You’re lying.”

“Shut up.” She glared at him before going to sit in the carriage, sniffling as quietly as she could manage. It wasn’t her dad’s fault they had to leave, but that didn’t mean she didn’t blame him. He was hardly there for her during the hard times since she had graduated, let alone since they even moved out here… Being a guard, he worked nights and slept during the days, and whenever he was awake, he was too tired or disinterested to care about her. Sure, he asked the standard father questions, ‘how was school, what did you learn?’ But he didn’t care. She could tell in his dead expression, his cold eyes…

Her father, the guard pony Buzz Saw, was originally a prestigious member of the Canterlot guard. But, not unlike several other guards, he had fallen for a whore. Silver Spoon had been the daughter of the two, and Buzz Saw was discharged from the guard. He couldn’t stay in Canterlot, so he had moved to Ponyville. He held a job as security for the local hospital, which was enough for them to live on. Nothing fancy, just enough for food, rent, and some small things here and there. She really didn’t like being so hard on him, but over all the years, he had never really been there for her. He was either asleep, drunk, or at work. Which meant Silver Spoon was either in bed herself, at school, or with her new friends. He wasn’t a violent drunk, but he certainly wasn’t friendly. The things he said sometimes hurt.

With a grunt, her father loaded the last box. “Silver,” He said gruffly. “Help me get hooked up.” With a huffing sigh, Silver Spoon wiped the tears from her eyes with a hoof and went to help him with the harness. “Buckle that for me… Not too tight, there you go. Thank you. Are you ready?” He wriggled in the harness, getting comfortable for the long hike. The question he asked, though, was loaded. She understood the meaning behind it, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“I never was ready. I’m still not ready. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.” She felt the tears coming on again.

“Silver, come on…” Her dad groaned. “We can’t keep having this discussion-“

“We haven’t ever had it!” Silver cut him off. “You always blow it off! I mean, I don’t even know why we have to go to Canterlot!”

“Trust me, it’s important-“

“Important to you, or important to me?”

“Important to us.” Buzz Saw, despite his failings as a father, never raised his voice to her. Standing there in his harness, he calmly talked to her, his expression platonic and unresponsive. He always looked like that. The only time he didn’t was when he was working. Then, he was serious and even slightly grim.

“So you say,” Silver whimpered. The tears began to flow freely now, falling to the dirt beneath her hooves. “But you never tell me why. Why do we have to leave? This place is my home… Canterlot isn’t.”

“It’s more your home than you think it is,” Buzz Saw muttered quietly. “And trust me… If you were old enough to understand, I’d tell you.”

“I’m twenty-two, dad… I think I’m old enough to understand something like this.” The look he gave her was markedly different from any other she had seen on his chiseled face. Was that sympathy? Now she felt anger mingle in with the sadness.

“What’s that look for?!”

“I suppose you are old enough…” With a sigh that made the leather harness creak, Buzz Saw appeared to be preparing himself for something. Still fuming, Silver was about to tear into him when he spoke. The words he said shut her up effectively.

“Your mother is dying.”

Her anger died away completely, replaced first by shock, then by sadness.

“M… Mom?”

“I just found out two days ago… That’s why we’re rushing to leave…”

“Is… That why you left?” She asked quietly, the tears spilling from her eyes. Buzz Saw had gone away for a few days, and he never told her why. But when he returned, he told her they were moving to Canterlot. That she had to start packing immediately. His soft nod confirmed it. He had gone to Canterlot, seen her mother, and hadn’t told her when she returned.

Silver Spoon never felt strongly towards her mother. They visited often enough, or at least they did in the past… She hadn’t been back to Canterlot since junior year of school… Five years, already… Before that, it was about once a year. Once she graduated, they never returned. Silver didn’t mind. She had never really enjoyed spending time with a whore anyways. Instead, she focused on spending time with her friends, finding a job, studying whatever she found interesting… She just tried to live her life.

Now, though… Her mother was dying. Silver felt oddly sad for a pony she never cared much for from the start. Why was she crying? She couldn’t stop… Sobbing helplessly, she turned away from her father and climbed into the carriage. Curled up on the seat, Silver Spoon cried, too afraid to look out of the window…

Too afraid to watch them leave Ponyville.