First Feather - Fire Away, Fire Away
I'm bulletproof
Nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet
You take your aim
Fire away, fire away
You shoot me down
But I won't fall
I am titanium!
You shoot me down
But I won't fall
I am titanium!
Chapter 1 - Fire Away, Fire Away
~~~~~
Silver Spoon had no idea what was about to take place as she neared the source of two very distinct voices shouting. All she knew was she could hear the argument and she just had to know what was going on. She recognized the voices as she got closer; Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara.
"Useless blank flank!"
"Stuck up brat!"
Yep, definitely Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara. The insults just kept being thrown back and forth and neither was relenting, that Silver Spoon could tell by the harsh tones of their voices. She felt concern, but not for Diamond Tiara. She was worried that the pink filly would go to far, like she always ended up doing.
Over the years, Silver Spoon had started relenting more with her insults. She had started seeing how much she was hurting everypony and on the inside, she hated doing this. But Tiara was her only friend and she needed to appeal to her, she needed to keep doing this so that she wouldn't be alone. No matter how awful it felt, keeping her friend would be worth it. But unlike her, Diamond Tiara wasn't relenting...
Diamond Tiara had grown into a force to be reckoned with. Now thirteen, every single pony seemed terrified of her very presence, bowing low and grovelling at her hooves. They worshipped the ground she walked on and she just walked on by. Silver Spoon had become her shadow in a way, feared but not as much as her friend. She suspected Diamond was using fear and authority now, abusing her richness as something to get ponies to like her. If they didn't, those cerulean eyes became ice cold and froze anything in their path. As a filly she'd been nasty at worst.
As a teenager? Tartarus, she was downright cruel and terrifying.
When Silver Spoon peeked around the corner she expected to see both of them red in the face, eyes full of fire and ice as they raged at each other. Her prediction was fairly accurate, but the insults were getting worse and worse.
"At least I'm straight! Everypony knows that Rainbow Dash's fillyfooler disease has rubbed off on you!"
"At least she had the bravery to ask Rarity to be her special somepony and at least I have the bravery to admit I'm into mares!"
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you'd have trouble asking a piece of dirt to be your special somepony because you know that everypony and everything HATES YOU! Not to mention the fact that you have the bravery of a mouse!"
What Silver Spoon didn't expect was Diamond Tiara to lash out. There was a blur of pink movement and Scootaloo's wings snapped open threateningly.
Smack!
What she didn't expect was for a pink hoof to connect with Scootaloo's nose, who grunted with pain and managed to slap her back with a wing as she tilted backwards.
Thump!
And she sure didn't expect to see Scootaloo hit the ground, blood gushing from her nose, eyes squeezed shut and teeth grinding together.
Silver gasped loudly, loud enough for Diamond Tiara to turn and see her. Eyes widening, the tiara bearing teenager ran from the scene, knowing full well she'd been caught. Without hesitation she was replaced by her friend, who stood back as Scootaloo got to her hooves, teeth grit and one eye shut tight, obviously in some pain.
Scootaloo spat some blood onto the ground and wiped a hoof across her nose, wincing as she cleaned some blood away. "She sure does pack a punch. Heh, only thing she's even semi good at." She grunted, a smirk on her face. Her voice was nasal, she was obviously in a lot of pain.
Silver Spoon sat down and looked, almost entranced, at all the blood. "A-Are you ok? That looks like it hurts." She murmured.
"I'm not gonna ask why you're being nice to me. Is Tiara gone?"
Silver looked around. "Yeah."
Scootaloo sank to the ground, holding her bloody muzzle. A few tears dripped from her eyes and she let out what sounded like a mix between a whimper and a growl. "Nnngh, Celestia Dammit that HURTS!" She managed to snarl out between her tears and grit teeth.
Silver Spoon was instantly at her side, biting her lip when she saw all the blood. She felt the urge to puke, but she swallowed and held it in. She hated the sight of blood, especially when she bled but seeing Scootaloo, who was, in her opinion, the toughest pony in their school, cry in pain with a bloody nose, didn't just make her want to hurl.
It made her furious.
The silver filly clenched one hoof and her eyes smouldered with rage. She let Scootaloo cry, not saying anything but being there as a shoulder to lean on. After the moment the pegasus got up, wiping the sticky tears from her eyes before looking at Silver suspiciously.
"Well I'm waiting."
"Waiting? For what?"
"For the insults. 'Stupid blank flank! Crybaby! Go cry to Rainbow Dash!' Hurry it up Silver Spoon, I'd like to go get checked up for this." She imitated, glaring coldly at Silver Spoon.
Silver backed away a bit, eyes wide. She bit her lip and looked at the ground, ignoring the itching in her eyes. "I-Is that how you feel? Fine, I'll go. Next time you need somepony to help you, don't come running to me." She snapped bitterly, turning away. Her braid swished and brushed against her face, picking up a lone tear the shimmered for a moment before falling to the ground, followed by many more as she ran away from the pegasus.
Scootaloo pressed a hoof to her bloody nose, sniffling and wincing as a jolt went through her muzzle. It stung like Tartarus, but that wasn't what made her eyes fill with more negative emotions. Why was Silver being nice to her? Sure, the grey filly had relented as the years had whisked past and had melted into the shadows of her life, but she still didn't expect anything less than cruelty and teasing from her. "Maybe I was a bit harsh..." She murmured to herself, straightening herself and walking towards the nurse's office.
~~~~~
Silver Spoon stopped when she ran out of breath. She sat down and panted, still feeling a sting in her heart and the tears rolling down her cheeks. Her breaths started coming out as hitched sobs and hiccups that she failed to compress, upper teeth still biting into her lower lip.
"Aw, look at the baby, crying because she got yelled at."
The cold, cruel voice hit her ears and Silver turned to see Diamond Tiara stalking up to her with menace in the cold cerulean eyes, two chips of ice that bored into her soul. "Get away from me." She snapped venomously, making it clear she had no wish to speak with her friend right now.
Diamond ignored her and sat down in front of her, glaring coldly at her. "I saw you. You sat there and pretty much held that filthy fillyfooler while she... ugh... cried." She spat the last word out like poison, her brow furrowing in a furious glare. "They are below us Silver Spoon, they are blank flanks and I will not accept you socializing with the likes of them." She hissed, all the menace of a predatory cat.
Silver Spoon wiped the tears away and glared back at the purple and white maned filly. "Who died and put you in charge of me? I saw what you did to her Diamond, you clocked her across the nose for no good reason! What the hell is your problem?" She growled viciously, stomping her hoof for emphasis.
The bully chuckled and sighed, eyes never leaving Silver's. "I don't have a problem Sil. You do. And now that you have seen what I can truly do, I won't even make a threat. Our friendship is over, and you will not tell anypony about what you've seen, clear? If you do, I will make your life a living nightmare." She promised, voice cold as ice.
Silver scoffed and turned around. "Nothing you say will scare me. Let me run the list for you; Stupid? Most certainly not, the only reason you have good marks is from copying my tests, notes and homework because all of your study sheets and homework ended up as spitballs in somepony's fur, mane and eyes. Blank flank? I've had my cutie mark longer than you, so that judgement is invalid. Lazy? I'm the only reason you aren't obese, sitting and gorging yourself on snacks all day. Remember when I made you do that run? Just go away Diamond." She snapped, in no mood to do this. She started stalking away, a mixture of sadness and anger fighting a war inside her eyes.
"Fillyfooler."
Silver Spoon stopped. "What did you just call me?" Her voice was low, cold and was filled with fury.
Got you now. The tormentor thought with a sly smile. "I called you a fillyfooler. Imagine my surprise when a stranger showed up at my door, a younger Silver Spoon with flowers and saying how much she admired me from afar. Remember that day Sil? Remember-"
Smack!
Silver looked at her hoof.
Diamond looked at the sky.
Without another words Silver Spoon turned around and stalked away, an emotional war raging inside her head.
Satisfaction.
Terror.
Anger.
Hurt.
Sadness.
Soon her eyes were releasing their loads, the tears running down her face before her legs gave out and she cried into her forelegs, not caring who saw her.
