The Silver Standard

by Patchwork Poltergeist

Once upon a time, Silver Spoon's life made sense. She had the right friends, the right house, and the right school for a young filly coming up in the world. Once upon a time, Silver Spoon lived amongst proud towers in a vibrant, bustling city that never slept. Now she lives in Ponyville.

18. The War Room & What Lay Beneath

"Seriously?" Diamond Tiara hooked her hooves over the picket fence and stared in disbelief. "You've been here by yourself all week?"

Silver glanced up from watering her roses. "Almost. Mother and Father were here for my birthday on Sunday, and Father's coming back this afternoon, but it's just been me most of the week, yeah. Me and Tacks."

"Yeah, but he's your butler, that's different. Butlers do what you say, not the other way around." Somehow, Silver got the feeling Diamond dealt with a different variety of butlers. "Besides, yours is so low profile you might as well be alone, except somepony still makes you dinner and waxes the floor." She propped her chin on the edge of the fence with a wistful sigh. "Some fillies get all the luck. You could do whatever you wanted for days."

"Oh?" Silver paused to pluck a withered rose petal. She popped it into her mouth and tilted her ears curiously. "Like what?"

"Wha—I—you—seriously?!" Diamond thrust her hooves into the air, sputtering and stuttering over her words like a faulty record player. "Like wh—like anything, Silver Spoon! Come on, use that nerd brain of yours. You've got a blank check to do anything you wanna do whenever you wanna do it! How are you not getting this?!"

"No, I get it," said Silver, who still kind of didn't. "But it's still the same house with the same stuff." She glanced back at her cozy white walls and crawling ivy. "There's not that much to do alone I can't do otherwise. Right?"

"For pony's sake, Silver Spoon, think outside the box. There's TONS you could do, like…um…eat jelly beans for breakfast! Or you could go to bed after midnight, or go out whenever you wanted to buy candy and then you could eat lemon drops until the sun came up. Maybe you could even decide not to go to school one day and sleep until noon or….or… Oh, I dunno, it's your house, you know more than me about it." Diamond's hooves came down with an exasperated clack. "Sheesh, Silvie, don't tell me you didn't do anything all week!"

"For your information, I did plenty." Silver tossed her braid over her shoulder and jutted her chin. "On Tuesday, I ate three croissants instead of one with my tea and I ate them in the drawing room."

"Wow." Diamond Tiara blinked slowly. "Three whole croissants. You're out of control, wild mare. Somepony call the guards."

"Well, I…" Darn it, what else did she do this week? "I also decided to practice the harpsichord on Wednesday!"

"…so you're saying you did exactly what you're supposed to do, but four days early."

Silver frowned. "Well, when you put it that way…" She wrinkled her nose at Diamond's pitying head shake. "Di, the only thing that'll happen if I do something crazy is nopony will trust me on my own anymore. Plus, Brass Tacks is still here, and it's not like he's blind."

As if on cue, the attic window swung open, and a thin, brown unicorn stretched his neck into the fresh air.

"Hello, Tacks!" called Silver Spoon.

Diamond offered a limp wave.

The Silvers' butler gave them both the briefest of nods, but kept his blue gaze upon the Ponyville skyline. His tall ears stood erect and still. Even from a distance, Silver noticed the odd expression on his face: so stern and grim. It didn't suit such a pretty day at all. He had been this way since he tucked Silver into bed last night.

"He keeps watching the sky. I bet he's looking for the mail." Silver Spoon glanced at the mailbox by the gate. "It didn't show up yesterday."

Whatever Tacks waited on must have been very important. Silver hadn't seen him this grave since that minor crime wave swept Lower Manehattan a few years ago. It couldn't be anything as serious as that, though. He would have said something by now, or else shadowed her from breakfast to bedtime. During the money crisis, Silver couldn't brush her teeth without him fussing.

"Yeah, we didn't get ours either." Diamond shrugged. "Mother thinks that The Dink's mom lost it in a cross breeze."

"I don't think so," said Silver Spoon. "The Dink told me her mom's visiting relatives in Cloudsdale this weekend." She cradled a droopy rose in her hooves, debating the effort of saving it or not. "Something got tied up somewhere, I guess."

Diamond's tail swished impatiently. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. You said your dad's not home until late this afternoon, right?" A mischievous smile quirked at Silver's nod. "Let's do something fun."

That sounded an awful lot like "let's get into trouble" from Silver's side of the fence. "What kind of fun did you have in mind, Di?"

"Something way better than doing chores all Saturday, that's for sure."

Silver Spoon laughed despite herself. You're making it up as you go along, aren't you? Even if she didn't entirely trust the roguish gleam in her friend's eye, it'd be nice to stretch her legs for a while.

"Okay, but nothing too crazy."

"Silvie, please. When have I ever suggested something crazy?" asked Diamond Tiara, who'd literally suggested eating jelly beans for breakfast two minutes ago.

"I can't imagine." Silver let the droopy rose fall back into place. Nothing had wilted or turned brown yet; she could give it a few days to come back. She flicked water off her hooves and headed for the gate. "I'll be back a little later, Tacks."

Brass Tacks spun on his heel. "Where are you going, Silver Spoon?"

He asked—no, demanded—in such a sharp tone, Silver paused in mid-step. "I'm only going into town. You know, the square and shops and stuff?" She glanced between the garden gate and Diamond's impatient hoof tap. "Brass Tacks, it's Saturday, remember? I finished all my homework already."

"Yes, I remember." All the muscles in the unicorn's neck tensed. He pressed against the window ledge as if he intended to jump down all three stories and follow them. "When do you intend to return?"

"I don't know…" Midway through the sentence, Silver realized that was an unacceptable answer. "Around four or five, when Father's train arrives, I guess."

Silver's eyes lingered on Brass Tacks' hooves digging into the wood. "Is there some reason I shouldn't go, Tacks?"

"Why would there be?" Diamond Tiara rocked against the fence, half-leaning over the edge. "You've done everything you had to do and been freakishly well behaved all week—seriously, who decides to practice harpsichord early—you oughta go wherever you want." She fluttered her innocent baby blues at Tacks. "Your parents trust you on your own, so if he stopped you, it'd be kind of like stepping on their hooves."

Brass Tacks lashed his white tail and ignored her. "Not a particular reason, no. None that I know of." His eyes flicked up to the clear, tranquil sky. Not so much as a stray pegasus feather, yet he frowned all the same. "However, I strongly advise you to remain watchful today, Young Miss Silver Spoon."

Silver Spoon frowned back. "Why?"

After a brief moment to gather a proper response, Brass Tacks met her gaze. "The sun rose an hour late," he gently said. "Have a good time in Ponyville, but return before five. Do we understand each other, Miss Silver?"

"Home before five." Best to make it home before four-thirty, to be safe. Silver waved to her butler as she left the gate. "I promise. Bye, Tacks."

"There, you see? Even Princess Celestia takes a break sometimes." Diamond's tail beckoned Silver to her side and they set on down the path. She smiled and nodded to herself. "I bet she slept in. Dad says she does that sometimes, especially when the leaves get ready to fall."

Across the street, Sweetie Belle stepped out of Davenport's. She waved her hooves, trying to direct her parents as they backed out of the store, balancing a new loveseat between them. "Okay, a little to the left, Mom… careful, caaaareful. Good. Okay, now it's—oh hi, Silver Spoon—it's a little farther to the cart, Dad. You got it!"

"Hello, Sweetie Belle." Silver smiled and breezed back into the conversation, as if they'd only met Cotton, Dinky, or Twist. "Diamond, the Running of the Leaves isn't for another three weeks."

"It's not an exact date. I said it's around the time the leaves fall." Her gaze skipped from Sweetie to Silver to Sweetie again. A mild sneer crossed Diamond's face. "What's with the buddy-buddy act?"

Silver tilted her head and cast her best I'm-ever-so-sure-I-don't-know-what-you-mean face.

"Don't get cute; I've seen it happening all week between you and the Goofsaders. Something's going on." Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes. "Are you planning something and not telling me? If it's a prank, you've got to let me in on it."

"It's not a prank, Di. It's nothing. Really."

Darn it, she should have walked on and ignored Sweetie Belle. She should have said hello to all three unicorns and masked it under standard etiquette. Silver Spoon knew this conversation had to happen eventually, but did it have to be now?

"Oh, it's definitely something. Something happened at that dinner of yours didn't it?"

For once, the two fillies cut across Saturday's market square with ease. The usual stands were up and running, but the minimal crowd offered plenty of space. No crowds to fight through, but none to shelter behind, either.

Nothing to do but come out and say it. "Sweetie Belle and I have agreed to a truce."

"Wait, what? Why didn't you say anything? What kind of truce?" Diamond's suspicious frown deepened, but she didn't flatten her ears or raise her voice. Not yet, anyway. "What happened?"

"I wanted to wait and see how it worked out before I told you." Encouraged by a lack of shocked disbelief or screams of betrayal, Silver pressed on. "Sweetie Belle and I talked after dinner, and we came to an understanding. Cleared some bad air between us, that's all."

Silver jumped to the point before Di could ask for details. "Diamond Tiara, we can't keep up this feud with the Crusaders anymore. I know I've said it before, but I really mean it this time. We have to drop it and make peace." She stepped closer and frowned to show she meant business. "We have to."

Diamond snorted. "Oh, so we let them walk all over us and straight over the finish line?" Her volume slowly climbed past the safe point. "You're telling me we're just supposed to—"

"They can't win if it's not a competition, and they won't win if we don't goad them into competing."

Did that second part imply fault on Diamond's part? Silver hoped not; she had enough to handle as it was.

"Listen, I'm not saying we all need to be friends. I'm not even saying we need to fake nice with them. All I'm saying is that we stay out of each other's manes from now on." Silver shrugged with a placating smile. "We don't like each other anyway. Why waste our valuable time on them?"

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon rounded the Golden Oaks Library. In the window, a fluffy little owl perched atop a globe. It had its head tucked under its wing, but when Silver went for a closer look, it opened an eye at her.

All the lights were off; Princess Twilight Sparkle must have taken a lunch break. But no, she would have left her dragon friend behind to look after the library, right? No sign saying when the library would open up, either, just an open book return beside the door. Weird.

Diamond's reflection appeared beside Silver's in the window. "You're not answering me, Silver Spoon. What happened?" She sucked her teeth and rephrased the question. "No, what changed? I know you, Silver. You don't backpedal this hard unless you've got a solid reason. What aren't you telling me?"

Diamond must have noticed the nervous twitch in her ears, because after a moment, she added, "I won't get mad."

A phrase that, in Silver's experience, always meant the exact opposite. Treading lightly wouldn't work with Diamond on edge. She could only hope to offer a logical appeal. "I realized something last week. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo have connections. Like, really good connections. Their sisters are best friends with the newest princess, but even on their own, they've got tons of influence. Either one of us has more money than all their sisters put together, but they…they're stronger than us."

Diamond Tiara gave a disdainful sniff. "That's something cowards say, Silver Spoon. Cowards back out as soon as things get tough—and that's what it really is, isn't it?" She glowered at the library and trotted on at double speed, leaving it to Silver to catch up. "You're just scared of them 'cause of their families. Well, I'm not. I'm—"

Silver closed the distance in a sprint. "What you're doing is throwing rocks at a hornet's nest, Diamond!" She dashed ahead, hopped a flower bed, and swung about to land in the middle of Diamond's path.

Diamond pinned her ears back and stomped.

The earth dug deep into the caulkins of Silver's shoes. She didn't budge. "We've been lucky so far. Nopony's noticed or said anything—yet—but what happens when Apple Bloom tells Applejack that you've been on her case? I'm sure she's already watching us, Di, I've seen her."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, what do you think is going to happen if Applejack or Granny Smith goes to your dad about it? Because that'll be the first place they'll go."

Something like alarm shadowed Diamond Tiara's face, there and gone in an exhale. Her tongue ran across the edge of her teeth, ready to counterattack, but it didn't come. Diamond stepped around Silver and moved on at a slow walk.

"Do the other two blank flanks know about your little truce?"

Okay, she'd broken ground. Good. "I'm not sure," Silver admitted. "I haven't actually talked to Sweetie Belle since the dinner, but I've noticed Scootaloo's stopped shooting us nasty looks all the time." That probably had less to do with a truce, and more to do with the Crusaders having a new project, but…details.

"I don't like it, Silver. It sounds like we're giving up without a fight." She didn't look at Silver when she met her at the shoulder, but kept her eyes fixed on the crowd of ponies milling around the train station ahead. "I'm not letting Apple Bloom stomp all over me again just 'cause Applejack's some big important hero or whatever. If she comes at me again—"

"IF she comes at us again, we'll fight back. If we have to." Silver laid a hoof upon Diamond's withers. "It's a truce, not a surrender."

Diamond closed her eyes and sighed. "Then why does it feel that way?"

Silver Spoon couldn't answer that. "All I'm saying is we don't need to start anything. We leave them alone, they leave us alone. Simple as that." She smiled. "We're fillies moving up in the world, right? We don't have time to worry about whatever nonsense Bloom's wrecking crew is up to. Besides, this truce was technically your idea in the first place."

"Mm. I guess…." Diamond didn't smile back, but she didn't scowl either. "I guess if they mind their own stupid blank flank stupid business that'd be okay. I guess."

Silver Spoon held her hoof out. "So, truce?"

Slowly, Diamond took it. She thought on it a moment, nodded to herself, and shook. "Truce. Like, it's a dead weight loss, right?"

"Right."

The crowd at the station had grown larger. Silver couldn't ever recall it being this crowded. Or this calm. Nopony pushed against the tide of bodies to get where they needed to go, because nopony was going anywhere. They didn't meet anypony at the station or hail cabs or walk to other destinations. Travelers parked themselves on benches and idled by the post, preparing for a long wait. No smoke trailed from the engine's smokestacks.

Curious, they trotted closer for a better look. Silver craned her neck back to stare at the growing mass of travelers. She and Diamond climbed onto the platform, pressing close to the wall to avoid getting stepped on.

"I've been thinking about something else Sweetie Belle said to me that night." A few feet away, a stallion in a paisley jacket and striped fedora read a newspaper. Without any effort at all, Silver Spoon found nineteen ways to insult that outfit. "Di, are we mean?"

"Mean?" Diamond Tiara tilted her head and blinked. "Nah, we're only—hey!" She ducked to avoid a swinging briefcase. "Watch it!"

The offending pony hadn't even stopped to apologize! Rude. Silver Spoon glared, hoping the sheer force of her indignation might inspire some modicum of manners. "Ugh, what is with this place today?"

Diamond checked her tiara for damage. "I heard somepony mention some sort of conference happening in Manehattan. Maybe it's a pit stop on the way to that?"

"Lot of ponies for one conference." They also looked too put out for a routine pit stop.

Silver stretched on her back legs to keep glaring at the rude pony. He weaved around the stallion with the paisley suit and shoved past a mare with a golden coat. The mare stopped glaring at her watch to glare at the offending stallion and grumbled something. Silver couldn't see her face, but she couldn't mistake those shots of lavender streaking through the pink power hair.

"Hey, Di?" Without looking away, Silver patted her friend's hoof. "This is going to sound crazy, but I think I see Golden Glitter. By the conductor, see?"

"What?!" Diamond took a running leap onto a bench, ignoring the glares of the ponies already sitting there. Ears flicking faster than a telegraph, she followed Silver's line of sight. "Oh my gosh. I think you're right, Silvie."

The mare shifted on her hooves at the edge of the platform, holding her purse close to her chest. Green rectangular sunglasses hid her eyes as she stared holes into the train window.

"You sure?" This mare certainly looked the part, but the tense posture and flighty flick of her ears didn't resemble the loose confidence Silver had seen at Wisteria.

"Positive. Mom!" Diamond stretched as tall as she could and waved her forelegs in the air. "Hey, Mom! Over here, it's me!"

Golden Glitter pivoted so hard, her hooves scraped the wood finish. "Diamond Tiara?" As she zeroed in on them, her polished smile lit the train station . The anxious, impatient mare vanished entirely. Golden's laughter sparked wild and bright and joyous. "Ha, Diamond Tiara!" She raised a hoof as Diamond started to climb from the bench. "No, no, stay there. I'll come to you."

Silver followed Golden's haircut slicing through the crowd. "What's she doing here? She didn't say anything about visiting, right?" If so, Silver never would have heard the end of it.

"Um, it's called a surprise? Duh." Diamond's tail waved in a show mare's flourish. "You don't know my mom, Silvie. She's got more flash and style than all of Bridleway and Applewood put together. I bet she wanted to make an even bigger entrance, but we ran into her before she got the chance."

"But why?" asked Silver Spoon. "It's awfully sudden."

Diamond waved again, just in case Golden had forgotten where she was. "She probably came for my birthday."

"Um. Your birthday was last month, though."

Diamond's tail flicked Silver on the nose. "Details. Ever since Hinny of the Hills took off, I bet she's been super busy with her big star clients."

"Oh, but none of them bigger than you!" Golden's hooves wrapped around Diamond Tiara's barrel and lifted her into the air. She rose only a few inches before Golden set her down again and opted for a nuzzle instead. "Oof—literally. Diamond, I swear you're ten inches taller every time I see you!" She laughed and kissed the soft curls around her daughter's ears. "What, did you start eating the Apples' plant food?"

Diamond Tiara wrinkled her nose and blew a raspberry. "Ew, no!"

"No?" Golden Glitter drew back and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Well, then I suppose natural fabulousness must make pretty fillies grow faster. It's the only explanation. C'mere." She tilted her daughter's chin upwards and planted another kiss on the tip of her nose. "I missed you, princess."

"Yeah." Diamond buried her smile against her mother's silk ascot. "Me too, Mom."

Silver stepped into their circle quietly, not wanting to intrude on the moment. "Hello again, Miss Golden Glitter."

"Hey, great to see you, Silver Spoon!" Despite the long train ride, she still smelled of new carriages. She gave Silver one of her firm, professional hoofshakes. "Still fighting the good fight?"

"As always. How's Pot Luck doing?" Not that Silver cared, but an adult hoofshake demanded adult small talk.

Diamond tugged her mother's sleeve, trying to steer her towards the road. "The town's changed a lot since the last time you were here, Mom."

Beyond the train station, a few passersby had stopped to observe the happy reunion. Silver noticed Berry Punch, Minuette, and White Lightning among them and whispering to each other. None of them smiled, though Minuette tried to. Miss Punch almost looked nervous.

Golden Glitter took one last glance at the train and stepped into the Ponyville street. "I bet it has." Was that enthusiasm or sarcasm? Silver couldn't tell.

Diamond scoped their surroundings and led the way west, opposite of the Rich household and the looky-loos.

"Anyway, Silver—it's Goldie, by the way—Pot Luck's doing good, but she's got her hooves full. Anypony would, what with the interviews, photoshoots, rehearsals and shows, and that's on top of school. You know Wisteria won't let up on homework just because Hills is sold out until December. She's a trooper, though; handles it all like a dream."

The filly likely rose to the scholarship students' top ranks, too. If the show kept its momentum, the kid could qualify for the new money cliques soon. Not bad for a charity case, though Silver didn't envy her new workload. "That's good to hear."

Golden glanced over her shoulder and lowered her sunglasses to shoot Silver Spoon a conspiratorial wink. "But between you and me," she whispered, "she doesn't have half of Diamond's star power. Diamond here scored blue ribbons before most foals learned to walk."

Silver side-glanced Diamond Tiara, who grinned but didn't leap in to champion her accomplishments. "I've seen them, um…Goldie."

Addressing an adult—much less somepony's mom—so casually still felt weird, like she spoke to Di's big sister or something. She supposed it made sense for a mare who worked with foals. Plenty of tutors, sitters, and new teachers went for the easygoing buddy thing, too. Still weird, though.

Several blocks away, Barnyard Bargains' wide roof slowly rose behind Twist's house. Signs staked into the grass trailblazed a semi-annual sale.

Diamond twitched her ears and gently pulled Golden Glitter in another direction, though she didn't seem to have a destination in mind yet. "Mom, did you know a princess lives in Ponyville, now? Twilight Sparkle did a thing with some stuff and became an alicorn last spring, wings and tiara and everything! We got to meet her, right Silvie?"

"Yes, a few weeks ago!" Silver nodded, the message all too clear. Keep it light, keep it fun. Keep Mr. Rich and all associated with him far, far away. "Her dragon assistant served us tea and nachos."

"So I heard. Strange place for a princess to settle down, but who can tell how royalty thinks?" Goldie looked among the trees and rooftops, frowning. "No towers or spires…where does she live, anyway? Does she have an estate?" Her searching eyes found a stray Barnyard Bargains sign. She mouthed the advertised slogan to herself and shook her head. "Ew, and what a terrible font. Who'd he put in charge of marketing?"

Unsure if that question was rhetorical—and no idea what the answer would be anyway—Silver pointed south. "Princess Twilight's right across from Town Hall, at the library."

"A princess of Equestria lives in a library?" Goldie tilted her head at the oak's faraway branches. "Doesn't seem—"

BANG

A bolt of pink and white and purple tore the sky in half. Birds careened off course. The trees smacked sideways and clouds of debris swirled into the sky.

Blown off her hooves, Silver Spoon yelped and pulled herself into a ball. For a split second, the hairs along her spine burned supernova hot and the world crackled.

Miles away, something crashed.

Debris settled. The birdsongs resumed.

Silver shook the dust out of her coat and slowly got up. She still felt the earth's aftershocks trembling in the soft frog of her hoof. "What was that?"

Golden Glitter huddled over her daughter, and didn't rise from her protective crouch. Crooked sunglasses dangled off her muzzle. She stared at the path of minor destruction that cut through Ponyville, then at the sky. "I'm not sure."

Flurries of lavender feathers dusted down the path. A couple tangled in Diamond Tiara's mane as she climbed out from under Goldie. "It kinda looked like Twilight Sparkle." She pulled a quill out of her hair. "She has feathers like these, see?"

Above, a figure burst from a cloud and beelined for the crash site.

Silver Spoon pointed at the fading rainbow streaks in the sky. "Oh, there goes Rainbow Dash! I think you're right, Di; that was Princess Twilight."

"Testing out some new flying move, I bet." Diamond shook the feathers out of her mane. "She crashed into, like, a million billboards when she learned to fly."

"Princess ought to know better; she could hurt somepony that way." Goldie smoothed Diamond's mane into place while she checked for damage. "You two alright?"

"Yep." Diamond swished her tail and did a little prance to prove it.

"That's my tough girl." Goldie laughed it off and jostled Di's withers. "It takes more than that to shake you guys, right?"

"Much more." Wish it didn't shake up all that dust, though. Silver wrinkled her nose. She'd need another bath before she met Father this afternoon.

"That's the spirit." Goldie sighed, shaking her head. "Sheesh. Ponyville." She slid the sunglasses back on and let Diamond lead her down the road. "It's never boring; I'll give the place that much."

Indeed, the town seemed to have familiarized itself with random crashes and near-disasters. A pony or two looked out their windows to see what caused all the commotion. Some stopped on the street to mutter to each other, and one rubbed her ears to see if they'd popped. No screams or stampedes, though. No sign of panic at all.

Slowly, Silver felt the last of the tension ease out of her shoulders.

"All this going on, I'll bet it's impossible to get any beauty sleep around—oh!" Goldie's ears perked and the million-bit smile flashed across her face. "Oh, Diamond, I almost forgot to ask! How'd Nationals go this year?"

Diamond Tiara tripped over a rock.

Goldie caught her before she fell. "Careful!" She tilted her head and frowned at Diamond's less than enthusiastic expression. "Oh, princess. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it this year. I would have—I promise I would have—but I never got a letter from Coach Razz to tell me where it was. By the time I even found out it'd be in Whinniapolis, the prelims were half over."

"That's…" Diamond glanced to Silver for help.

The best Silver could do was maintain airs and offer a sympathetic wince.

"That's okay, Mom. I know you tried." Diamond smiled, soft and understanding and a little sad. Too soft not to be real. "It's okay."

"That's mature of you, Diamond, but it's not okay. I should have been there." Goldie folded her ears and snorted. "I'll bet my bottom bit that bubblehead at the post office lost it in the mail. Nothing we can do about it now, I guess."

Not one to dwell on past mistakes, Goldie sighed and patted Diamond's back. "So, how bad did you slaughter them this year? Am I looking at a nine-time National Ultimate Grand Supreme?"

Silver Spoon blinked, not sure if Goldie just named a pageant title or one of Pinkie's sundaes.

"Um." The smile thinned. Diamond's eyes trailed sideways, searching for another princess crash. "Well, um…eight-time National Ultimate Grand Supreme's still pretty good, right?"

"Eight ti—? Oh, Diamond Tiara." Goldie pursed her lips in a huff. "Well, I'm…" She sighed. "I'm sure you still did your best. Even if it's only Grand Supreme, there's always next year."

"Absolutely." Silver Spoon had no idea what Grand Supreme meant, but it sounded like second place. She pointed towards a sign leading to White Tail Woods. "It's nice out for autumn, isn't it? We should go for a hike." Far away from Ponyville and Mr. Rich.

"Great idea, Silver. We can go down the Running of the Leaves route." The spring returned to Diamond's step. "Mom can tell you how she beat Berry Punch and Applejack in the race. Twice!"

But Golden Glitter knew a distraction when she saw one. Sharp violet eyes narrowed behind the sunglasses. "Diamond. You did get Grand Supreme, didn't you?"

"Not exactly…" Diamond looked at her hooves. "No."

"Then, did you get Mini-Supreme? High Queen?" The hard, thin line of Goldie's mouth dipped into a frown. Worry knitted her eyebrows. "Pretty Princess? At least tell me you got a Little Miss?"

Diamond shuffled her hooves and didn't answer.

"Diamond Dazzle Tiara, don't tell me you didn't crown at all?" Golden Glitter slowed to a stop and knelt to face her daughter. "Pony's sake, what happened? Didn't you practice at all? Princess, I told you to practice."

"I did!" Diamond squeaked. "Three hours a day, every day! Like always."

"It's true, Mis—um… It's true, Goldie." Silver stepped up, anxious to pull the threads of their nice walk back together. "I was with her all spring: three hours every day, and some days she did four or five."

"Don't lie to me, Diamond." Goldie shot Silver Spoon a withering glance. She didn't approve of supposed lying to buff cover stories either.

"Mom, I'm not lying!" Diamond stomped hard with both hooves. "I'm not!"

"Then there's something you're not telling me, and that's just as bad as lying." Goldie met her daughter nose to nose. "Nopony with your talent could work as hard as you say you have without at least crowning Queen. What happened?"

Movement in the street caught Silver's attention. A trail of ponies filed out of Bon Bon's candy shop and down the street. They stuck close together, though Silver couldn't recall that particular assortment of ponies being friends. Pinkie Pie stood on the roof, watching them go.

"I didn't crown because…" Despite the tremor in her voice, Diamond Tiara brought her head up and didn't break eye contact. "Because I didn't qualify for Nationals. I didn't go to the Regionals in spring at all."

The sunlight glinted off Goldie's lenses, obscuring her eyes. "Why not?"

At first, Silver assumed Bon Bon decided to close shop early. Then she noticed the bowling alley turning its lights off. Vinyl switched the music shop's sign closed. Ponies shooed out of the theater, Applejack and Rarity on their tails.

Silver Spoon pulled her attention back to the matter at hoof. "We—that is, Diamond Tiara and I—entered to carry Ponyville's flag at the Equestria Games. It's a huge honor."

Her ears twitched at voices whispering in a hushed argument. Out of the corner of Silver's eye, Applejack pointed at them while Rarity shook her head and Pinkie frowned.

"Yeah," said Diamond. "The contest happened the day right before the Baltimare regionals, we couldn't travel to both. There's only one chance in our whole lives to carry a flag in the Games."

Golden Glitter flicked her tail with a sigh. "That is true. Why didn't you say anything about it, Diamond? You know I would have come straight to the Crystal Empire to…see…" The sentence trailed off.

Slowly, Golden folded her sunglasses and slipped them into her front pocket. Her tongue ran across her perfect teeth, mulling over her words before she said them. "You lost the flag, too, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," whispered Diamond Tiara. "I tried."

"And what do we say about trying, Diamond?"

"Everypony tries." The dirt ground against the filly's hooves. She swallowed down the trembling in her voice and kept her head high. "Winners succeed."

"That's right." The sunglasses had vanished, but that didn't matter. Nopony short of Celestia herself could crack Golden Glitter's poker face. "So, you know what you need to do before you try again next time?"

Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes and gave a quick, firm nod. "Figure out what I did wrong, and remember not to do it again."

"That's my girl." Goldie smiled. "So, do you know why you lost?"

The whispered mutterings became regular mutterings. Silver Spoon turned to find Applejack and Rarity slowly pushing Pinkie Pie toward them. All four of Pinkie's hooves dug so deep in the ground, they ploughed trenches.

Silver Spoon and Pinkie Pie's eyes met. That seemed to seal the deal, and the other two mares ran for it. Pinkie humphed, shook it off, and approached them.

Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara squinted in concentration as she considered her answer. Eventually, she rubbed the back of her neck and admitted, "I don't think I actually do."

Goldie spared Pinkie an annoyed glance, but otherwise ignored her approach. "I don't know, Diamond, I think you do." She curved a foreleg around Diamond's shoulders and both of them turned their backs on the pink mare. "Don't you think it may have had something to do with splitting your attention between two projects?"

"Maybe." Diamond's shoulders sagged a little. "…Yeah."

A bouncy shadow with a fluffy mane fell over their withers. Pinkie Pie cleared her throat.

"Yeah, see? I knew you knew." Golden gave Diamond a mild noogie and chuckled. "See, but here's the part I don't get. You never had a problem with priorities before, or even seemed that interested in the Equestria Games." She raised an eyebrow. "Did somepony suggest it to you?"

Pinkie cleared her throat louder.

"Pinkie," whispered Silver Spoon, "it's not really the best time?" She turned back to Golden Glitter. "Yes, ma'am. Gamemaster Miss Harshwhinny visited our class and told us all about it."

Goldie flicked out her sunglasses and slid them back on. A sneer wriggled across her muzzle. "Hm. Harshwinny and somepony else, I'll bet."

The color washed out of Diamond Tiara's face. She smelled the outcome of this conversation miles away. "The flag was my choice, Mom." Diamond kept her firm stance, but her ears pressed flat against her head. "Mine. Not Dad's or Spoiled's or anypony else's. They wanted me to choose one, but that's all! I'M the one that chose it." Both hooves clutched Goldie's sleeve. "It's my fault, okay?"

"…Alright." Goldie's face softened. "It's alright, princess, we don't need to talk about it anymore if you don't want to. I didn't mean to upset you." She rubbed Diamond's shoulders and rose back to full height, searching for a change of subject. "Why don't we all get something to eat and—"

"A-HEM." Pinkie Pie practically rode the sound into the conversation.

"Oh, for the love of—what is it?!"

"Seriously, Professor Pie," Silver Spoon whispered, "this really, really isn't a good time." She wondered if she should try a bribe.

"Can't be helped, faithful student." Pinkie didn't bother whispering at all. She smiled at them with all of her teeth. "Hi there, Golden Glitter! Haven't seen you around here in a while, not since you got in that cab and said it'd be a cold day in Tartarus before you'd ever set hoof in—"

Goldie's stare began to smolder.

"Okay. Touchy subject. Forget it, toootally my fault." Pinkie laughed too merrily for a genuine laugh. "Heeey, I know you guys are probably really busy and I don't wanna get in the way of your fun, but if it's not too much trouble could you maybe, possibly, perhaps go inside, lock all the doors, board up the windows, and stay there for a while?"

Silver Spoon, Golden Glitter, and Diamond Tiara exchanged a three-way frown.

Goldie flicked her tail skeptically. "And how long is 'a while', Pinkie Pie?"

"In-definitely!" She chirped it like a charades answer. "Or at least until Mayor Mare or Twilight gives the all clear."

Silver studied her old mentor's smile, but couldn't quite get a bead on it. "Should we be worried? What's happening?" If she didn't know better, it looked suspiciously like a smile trying too hard. "Miss Pinkie Pie, is this like an Everfree monster emergency, or a Nightmare Moon emergency?"

Diamond must have sensed it too. She looked between the two mares and hummed to herself.

"Don't worry, we've got our best draconequus on the job." Which didn't actually answer any of Silver's questions at all. Pinkie Pie winked. "This is just to make sure you guys stay extra-super safe. Think of all the fun stuff you can do inside, like board games and teatime and blowing balloons and playing dominos. It'll be like a slumber party that doesn't end! Ever."

Not an apparent fan of everlasting slumber parties, Golden Glitter snorted and rolled her eyes.

Pinkie Pie began to say something else, but stopped at the sight of Sunny Daze and Shady Daze coming back from Sweetshine Lake. "Ooh! I gotta go. Remember: hunker in your bunker and everything'll be hunky-dory-lemon…um…chorey." She spun and dashed down the street. "Sunny! Shady! Wait up, I gotta talk to you!"

A moment later, Silver's ears twitched at the sound of Sunny Daze's tearful whimpers. Were it anypony but Pinkie, the filly would be sobbing buckets by now.

"Should we go to town hall or something?" Silver wondered how fast they could even get there. "Or maybe the school?"

Golden Glitter laughed dry and short. "Yeah, the town's center of government. Nothing would think to hit there, I'm sure. We'd do better in the Apples' cider cellar." She shrugged. "Assuming there's even anything to worry about."

"I don't know. Pinkie seemed worried."

"Silver. Honey. Pinkie Pie worries about everything from sprinkle overflow to sasquatch attacks." Despite the nonchalance of Goldie's tone, the hair at the base of her neck fuzzed. She lifted her head to take in the scope of the town. "Besides, those places are probably packed by now."

Diamond pressed close to her mom's barrel. She hadn't said a word since she took the blame for choosing the flag. "Didn't your butler say the sun rose late today?"

"…yes," said Silver Spoon. "Yes, he did."

Even on the chance Silver had nothing to fear, if Pinkie and her friends had combed all of Ponyville to warn everypony inside, poor Brass Tacks must have been worried sick.

"Di, I think maybe I should go ho—"

A flash of blue light blinded them for a split second, and the air smelled of ozone, smoke, and lemon cleaner.

When Silver Spoon opened her eyes, Brass Tacks stood over her, his horn brightly lit, and the edges of his white mane singed black. "There you are. Miss Silver Spoon, you need to find shelter." Tension lines mapped his face. "All of you. Now."

He turned towards Golden Glitter, turning something over in his mind. "You arrived by train, yes?"

"Noon train to Canterlot." Goldie placed a hoof on Diamond's shoulder. "Why?"

Diamond's ears drooped. "The train to Canterlot?"

Brass Tacks stepped closer, lowering his voice so that Silver barely heard him. She caught the phrases "reroute", "emergency stop", and something about the arriving trains.

Goldie considered whatever question Tacks had asked her and shook her head. "I don't know."

An emergency stop. That explained the anxious, impatient crowd at the station. If Goldie had been on that train, she must have known the train would remain in Ponyville for several hours. Otherwise she'd have stayed put.

A chill coiled in Silver Spoon's stomach. No mail for two days. The sun rose late. And now, the trains—or at least the Canterlot trains—had stopped running. Including the train Father was supposed to arrive on today.

"B-Brass Tacks?" Silver stared at the harrowed lines under Tacks' blue eyes. "Please, what's going on?"

The unicorn looked at her closely. "Young Miss Silver, you must be brave. I need you to remain calm. Will you do that for me?" He waited until she nodded. "Equestria is under attack. Canterlot has…been compromised."

Somepony—Diamond or Goldie or Tacks or maybe even Silver Spoon herself—said a number of things. Silver couldn't hear any of it above the blood rushing in her ears.

"What? But Tacks, Mother and Father are still in—"

"I know, Miss Silver Spoon." The grass trembled under the unicorn's pale hooves. In the far distance, a white trail of smoke curled into the clouds. "We can worry about that part later. Right now, you need to find shelter."

You. Not we. "Aren't you escorting me home, Tacks?"

"It's too far. I can't be certain you—or I—can run that fast." He glanced up at the wisps of smoke around his horn. "And I don't think I can send you all the way across town."

Suddenly Silver wished they hadn't walked so far. They didn't have to go to Whitetail Woods; there was no reason they couldn't have gone to the lake or a restaurant.

Tacks kept his eyes on the skyline, mentally mapping something out. "Now, there's a place under the schoolhouse, and if we—"

"I know a place." Diamond Tiara's head poked out from behind Golden Glitter. "We've got…uh…" She twitched her ears and cleared the frog in her throat. "There's a panic room under my house. It's closer than the school and way bigger, with an iron spell-buffed door, and…"

Diamond frowned and looked away from Goldie, who appeared as if she'd swallowed a bug. "…a-and Daddy says it's the safest place in all of Ponyville."

"I do hope he's right, Miss Diamond Tiara." Brass Tacks braced his hooves, took a deep breath, and lit his horn. "Stand close together, if you please."

"Wait. Tacks, you're coming too, right?" Silver Spoon frowned as her butler's magic pulled her away from his legs and nudged her beside Diamond. "Right?"

He smiled and nodded towards the train station. "I only need an extra moment to confirm your father hasn't somehow arrived early."

"But—"

"I'll be right behind you, Miss Silver." The grass trembled again. "You promised to be brave, remember?"

Far away, ponies screamed. Before the blue light blinded her eyes, the last thing Silver saw was a crooked pair of horns rising over Town Hall.

---

The air flipped inside out, Silver Spoon's stomach turned upside down, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself stumbling over the Rich household carpet. Her ears rang and she smelled smoke and she wanted to throw up for more than one reason. The room swung and wobbled.

Golden caught Silver's right side before her hooves gave out. "Teleporting's some ride, huh?" She laughed a thin, watery laugh nopony believed in. "Everypony's okay, right? Diamond, you good?"

Diamond realigned her tiara and nodded. Her legs wobbled under her.

"Good." Goldie dusted off her suit jacket, cleared her throat, and stood up. "Then let's—" The surroundings hit her all at once. Quietly, she took in the high arch of the ceiling, the gaping maw of the window, and the glittering reflections from the pool outside; Diamond Tiara's saddlebag, hairbrushes, and half-finished homework on the couch; back issues of The Stall Street Journal, Hoof Beats, and Weekly Wedding Prance Primer on the coffee table; and the line of new photographs leading up the staircase. She cleared her throat again. "Let's find this panic room of yours."

Diamond Tiara curled her tail around Silver Spoon's and led the way. "We put it under the War Room. C'mon."

The house had gone dark. Silver guessed that made sense, since nopony needed lights in the middle of a sunny day, but the light streaming through the window had taken on an ominous orange tinge. The color reminded her of old amber and sickly sunsets, and she wished somepony would turn a light on or play some music or something

Where was everypony? Shouldn't Randolph have greeted them already? Silver wrapped her tail tighter around Diamond's, staring at the shadows of the chandelier slithering up the stairwell. She'd never quite noticed how big and empty this house felt. "It's really quiet in here."

Diamond shrugged. "Maybe everypony's down there already?"

"Maybe." Silver frowned at the silhouetted shadow pouring over the carpet a few feet ahead of them. Or not.

Spoiled Rich sat in the bay window with her back to them, cuddled in a spa robe. She cradled half a glass of brandy with both hooves and stared at the road leading up to the house.

Her ears pricked at their approach. "Fil?" Spoiled turned and sighed with relief. "Oh, Diamond Tiara. I didn't hear you come in. And with Silver Spoon, too." She glanced back toward the window, and barely seemed to register Silver at all. "You ought to be at home, dear. It's dangerous outside."

"Yes, ma'am," said Silver Spoon. "We know."

"We teleported here." Diamond patted Silver's withers. "Nopony's home at Silver's house right now, so I brought everypony here." She stepped toward the window and peeked out at Ponyville. "Dad's not home yet?"

"I sent Randolph to get him. He'll be back home…in…" Mrs. Rich finally looked beyond Diamond Tiara and across the hall, where Goldie leaned in the doorway of the War Room, examining the trophies with convincing nonchalance. "…in no time."

Diamond Tiara edged to the farther end of the window.

The corners of Mrs. Rich's mouth drew taut. Her words sagged like wet cardboard. "What are you doing in my house, Glitter?" She slung back the rest of the brandy in one gulp.

Goldie put down the dance trophy she'd been turning in her hooves. She tilted her left ear a centimeter; the barest minimum of her attention. A chuckle ruffled behind her half-smile. "The Trottingham Shuffle, what's it look like?" She set the trophy down and turned, priming another quip. "As a matter of fact I—pffffft!" The cool chuckle exploded into laughter. "What happened to your face?!"

A feverish shade of scarlet ran from Spoiled Rich's ears to the tip of her nose. She drew her lips and pulled the robe tight around her shoulders. Turning away, she looked back to Diamond Tiara.

Diamond watched the road. She hadn't even flicked an ear. Silver stood beside her and laid her chin upon the bay windowsill.

When she couldn't stand the silence of Mrs. Rich's eyes upon her, Silver glanced back. "…Ma'am?"

"Silver Spoon, why is nopony at your house?" she softly asked. One hoof absently toyed with the golden chain around her neck. "Surely your parents didn't leave you all alone?"

"No, ma'am."

Silver didn't know if Mrs. Rich heard her, or had even really been addressing her in the first place. She also really didn't want to discuss this subject now—least of all with Mrs. Rich—but when an adult asked a question, that question had to be answered.

"They… left Brass Tacks to look after me. He's our butler. Mother and Father have business in Canterlot this week."

The clock chimed four. Father should have been boarding the train right now.

"I see." Mrs. Rich peered at Silver Spoon with an expression that could have indicated anything from genuine sympathy to a minor gas pain. "I'm sure they're fine. Old and paranoid as they are, the Silvers likely own a bunker twice our size somewhere. They wouldn't leave their heirs unguarded." Her gaze shifted to the road. "Ponies know better than to run off and leave their foals all by themselves. Wouldn't be responsible."

The smile faded from Golden Glitter's face. She stepped closer. "You got something you'd like to say to me, Spoiled?"

"Did I address you, Glitter? I know this may be hard for you to comprehend, but not everything has to do with you." The robe twisted in Mrs. Rich's grip. She twitched her ears and edged closer to the window. It rattled. "I have better things to worry about."

A shadow swept the lush expanse of the Rich front lawn. Too big for a pony, griffon, or most creatures from the Everfree. Silver wondered if it might be a dragon, but outside migration season, Ponyville didn't get that sort of air traffic.

Maybe it's some kind of wild storm cloud. The windowpane rattled again. Nothing but clouds made shadows that big. Silver crouched low. It has to be a cloud.

The shadow crept closer. The windows trembled in a slow rhythmic pulse. Spoiled Rich stared at the swinging light fixtures above their heads. "Diamond Tiara, take everyone and go down. You remember how."

"But Dad's not here yet!" Diamond pushed her back against the rattling glass, cornered in the crook of the bay window. "I wanna wait 'till—"

"We all want a lot of things. Wait downstairs." Mrs. Rich narrowed her eyes as Diamond opened her mouth. "Do. Not. Argue with me."

"Yes, ma'am. Come on, Silver." Diamond tapped Silver's leg, and led the way into the dim War Room, where Golden Glitter waited for them.

"It's under here?" Goldie blinked up at the winner sashes stretched across the skylight. Light leaked between the silk and satin in weak, sallow stripes. The walls of awards, prizes, and trophies dappled wavering spots of light across their coats.

"Yeah. Under the table." With one last look at the bay window, Diamond braced her shoulder against the metal table and shoved. It didn't budge.

"I got it, princess." Golden Glitter popped her neck, shook out her muscles and shoved. The table groaned and squeaked in protest as it slid across the floor.

Diamond Tiara followed close behind, rolling up the carpet to reveal an odd decoration in the center of the floor.

The off-color circle of petrified wood blended almost perfectly with the hardwood floor around it. Faint green magic glowed around the edges, only visible because the lights were already dimmed. It felt warm underhoof.

Diamond pulled off her right shoe and gave it to her mother, who hovered behind to watch. "Hold this for a sec." She pressed her bare hoof in the center of the circle, knelt, and whispered something. Her eyes flashed sea-green for a second.

She stepped back, watching the door glow brighter. "Sheesh, this thing takes forever."

The trap door fell open with a ch-chunk. Silver Spoon gingerly stepped down the carpeted stairs into the bright room beneath their hooves. She eyed the labyrinth of iron teeth and bars and locks and runes beneath the door. It was thicker than her haunch. "Kind of reminds me of the bank vaults Wondermint's mom has."

"Same design, I bet." Goldie nudged her daughter to the bottom of the stairs.

Diamond took her sweet time getting there. She sat upon the last stair, swiveling her pricked ears.

Just outside the War Room, voices rumbled in low, urgent murmurs and hissed harsh whispers. Silver heard hoofbeats above their heads. After a moment, Randolph's wrinkled face appeared above their heads.

The whisperings grew louder until they were no longer whisperings. Somepony spoke; clipped and stark, like flint hitting stone. "When?"

There could be no mistake; Mr. Filthy Rich's voice clearly said it. Yet, this calloused growl sounded nothing like Filthy Rich at all.

"A few minutes ago. Teleported, apparently," Spoiled Rich said. "I told the maids to lock the liquor cabinet."

"Good."

Silver Spoon felt Diamond's tail wrap around hers again. Tight. Silver didn't blame her. "Come on, Di. Let's go get settled."

Diamond nodded. "Okay."

Large enough to house at least three families, the Rich panic room looked more like a strange meeting between a basement lounge and a furniture store's showroom.

Two rows of curtained beds filed along the back wall, separated by a large nightstand and a traveling trunk. Ceiling-high cabinets with supplies to last weeks—if not months—ran along the walls. Silver glanced back at the mini-kitchen in the corner and wondered if any of those cabinets housed some decent tea.

"Has anypony come down here before?" Silver's nose twitched at the scent of fresh varnish as she wove her way around a bookcase that still had its price tag.

Diamond shrugged, glancing up at the ornate, too-bright lanterns that cast few shadows and gave no heat. The springy carpet fluffed underhoof. It still held the smell of the store it had come from. "I did, before we moved the table over the entrance." She pointed at the Power Ponies pinball machine beside the billiards table. "I liked to come down and play sometimes, because then nopony could complain about the noise."

They found Golden Glitter perched upon the sofa in the center of the room, investigating her reflection in her pocket mirror. She smiled up at them as if they'd just come back from a dip at the beach. "Nice setup you've got down here."

"Yeah." Diamond Tiara plopped into a lounge chair worth more than some ponies' living room set. "It's pretty nice, I guess. I like our living room more, doesn't smell as weird."

"Only the best for you, right? I bet all of Equestria could burn down and you'd never know it, too busy baking cupcakes and playing Battleclouds." Goldie laughed. "Even better, you could actually play a full game of Oligarchy, because everypony'd be stuck down here with you and couldn't leave the game." She leaned on the arm of the sofa with a small sigh to herself. "...You do still like Oligarchy, don't you Diamond?"

"Uh-huh." Diamond nodded towards a stack of board games underneath the billiards table. "But nopony wants to play with me anymore, 'cause I win all the time." She shot Silver Spoon a playful glare.

Silver flicked her tail with a smirk. "Or because you want to play for five hours. You don't win all the time, you just wait everypony out."

"Same thing," said Goldie. "Sometimes, the pony who wins is the pony that lasts the longest, because she wants it most. It's not enough to be good or lucky or rich. Ponies—especially earth ponies—need to put in the work, otherwise they'll never get anywhere worthwhile.

Golden Glitter leaned back, dangling a foreleg over the arm of the sofa. The Applewood smile didn't falter an inch when she spied Filthy Rich in the reflection of her pocket mirror. "Heya, Ritchie." She glanced back with a wink. "How's business?"

Spoiled Rich lashed her tail and glowered at her from behind her husband's withers.

"Good, as always." Mr. Rich's tie hung askew, like he'd been fiddling with it. "We're expanding. Considering partnering up with the Brightly Company." He closed the distance between them and leaned on the billiard table. "How about yourself?"

Silver Spoon joined Diamond Tiara in the lounge chair, though Diamond didn't seem to notice.

"Can't complain." Goldie shrugged. "Three clients with a nationwide ad campaign, four with a decent film contract, and one in the biggest Bridleway hit since Mare of La Manecha. Oh, and I bought a new house."

Mr. Rich offered a weak, diplomatic smile. "Are you ever even in it?"

"I pop by every couple months to give housekeeping something to do."

"Mm. Well, that's…" The creaky half-smile snapped into a grimace. "No. No, I'm sorry, I can't do this." He breathed a deliberate, calculated sigh. "Goldie, I'm grateful to you for bringing the girls here safe, I mean that, but I don't think I can have you in this house. You need to go."

Diamond Tiara jolted upright. "Dad, she just got here!" Nopony besides Silver heard her.

The pocket mirror shut with a snap. "Fine by me." Golden Glitter curled her tail in a perfect pink arc. "I was on my way out, anyhow." She flicked her sunglasses out and walked towards the entrance.

Diamond bounced off the chair and ran to cut her off at the stairs. "Mom, no! It's dangerous outside, and where are you even gonna go?" She stamped the plush carpet. "You can't."

The elder Riches exchanged glances and moved fast. Spoiled got there first, reaching a foreleg around Diamond's shoulder and steered her away from the stairs. "The school's not far from here, sweetheart. There's a shelter underneath it."

Diamond glared. "It's four blocks away."

Goldie glanced at the ceiling and shrugged. "I'm a fast runner."

"I'd have thought it'd be the first place you went, honestly." Mr. Rich blinked slow and dry. "It's perfect. You like spending time with every other foal besides your own."

A ridge of fur sparked at the base of Golden's mane. Slowly, she turned around. "You know, Filthy, I might see her more if somepony hadn't shackled her to the boonies of Canterlot. Or been so mule-headed to get custody." She held up a hoof before her ex could retort. "No, it's fine. I don't want to spend another minute in this tacky, gilded stable. Diamond, I'll see you at Hearth's Warming. If your father lets me."

Diamond Tiara wrapped her tail around her hooves and glanced at the stairs. For all intents and purposes, she'd technically done what she set out to do. After all, a pony too busy fighting couldn't leave.

Looking at the desolation upon Diamond's face, however, Silver Spoon wondered if this option might have been worse.

Mr. Rich raised his eyebrows. A cold laugh rumbled under his breath. "Right, Goldie. 'Cause of course it's always me, isn't it? It's my fault you can't be bothered to see your own foal more than once a year. At most. Oh, but that's not all I did, right?"

He laughed again, now with all of his teeth bared. "I'm the one who forced you to move clear across Equestria. I'm the one who personally stops all the cabs and wagons and trains from ever gettin' you five steps within Ponyville. Oh, and naturally I'M the one who bought up all the inns in town and told 'em not to let you stay. You've sure got my number, darlin'."

Silver Spoon pressed against the back of the chair and stared.

Once or twice, Silver had caught the smoldering embers of an argument between Mother and Father. At the country club, she'd watched adults she didn't know trade viperous quips over champagne, either not knowing or not caring small foals were in the room. She'd also seen those same quips somersault into sobbing, drunken shouts. On rare occasions, Silver had even seen ponies on the street snap from verbal to physical fights.

None of them were anything like this at all. A corrosive ugliness Silver Spoon didn't have a name for bubbled up from the carpet and soured the air. She couldn't recognize half the ponies in this room anymore.

Diamond Tiara's fires extinguished without a trace of smoke. She wilted against Mrs. Rich's barrel and turned towards Silver's direction, but she may as well have been staring at the wall.

The wrongness of it all frayed the ends of Silver's tail. She glanced at the panic room's kitchenette, and recalled what she'd told Berry Pinch a couple of weeks ago: Sometimes when ponies are upset, angry, or scared, they say things they don't mean. The ceiling rumbled. Things are pretty scary right now, but maybe…

While Mr. Rich and Golden Glitter crossed verbal swords, Silver hopped out of the chair and went for the cabinets. Her nose led her to the teas in no time. She fired up a copper kettle she'd found with the teas, set out some cups on a platter and waited for the water to boil. Silver didn't quite know what could be done here—she'd never handled an adult party on her own, and this set up didn't constitute a real tea party—but still.

Am I a party pony or aren't I? She'd averted total disaster before, she could do it again. This was her element. Silver nodded to herself and took the kettle off before it could whistle and make everypony angrier than they already were. She jury-rigged a peppermint tea blend and let it steep. If I think a little outside the box, surely, I can—

Somepony cleared his throat. Randolph—who'd come down with the Riches and quietly been picking price tags off the furniture—stood beside her and placed a hoof on Silver's shoulder.

"Hello, Randolph. Um, do you know if there's a fancier pot down here? I don't think Mrs. Rich would want to…" The butler didn't seem enthusiastic to help. Silver frowned. "…to drink from a copper kettle."

Randolph blinked at her sympathetically, but shook his head. "Miss Silver." He spoke in a soft, tottering creak. "You can't fix this."

"But somepony's got to do something! Look at this, this is terrible!"

Randolph sighed. "Yes. And not your mess to fix."

Silver Spoon blinked at him, suddenly aware of something. "Since when do you talk?"

"When it's necessary." He straightened and bowed his head to Mrs. Rich, who was approaching with Diamond trailing behind.

Silver set up the sugar bowl and spoons, just in case. "Randolph? Can…" Terror and tears welled in her chest. She shoved it down. Brave young ladies did not cry in the presence of company. "Randolph, I know it's a little late to ask, but can you leave the front door to the house open? For when Tacks gets here?"

The old cob tilted his head curiously.

"Brass Tacks teleported us and told us he'd meet us here. He said… he said he'd be right behind us, but we won't hear him knock from down here. He can't get in the house if the door's not open." Silver indicated the house above. "I don't think whatever's out there will be stopped by a front door anyway."

The shadow of Mrs. Spoiled Rich spread over the tea tray. She eyed the steaming tea pot curiously, but said nothing of it. "Your butler knows how to teleport other ponies? More than one of them?"

Silver chewed her bottom lip in defiance. "He's not just a butler, Brass Tacks is my friend." She glared at Mrs. Rich's unimpressed expression. "And also my bodyguard."

"In that case," said Mrs. Rich, "he's done his job already and can probably take care of himself."

Silver flattened her ears. The job covered protection against muggers, kidnappers, pickpockets, criminals, and ketchup stains. Amazing as he was, whatever waited out there had to be way out of Brass Tacks' pay grade.

"Besides, it sounds like it's calmed down out there already."

Indeed, the ceiling stopped rumbling a while ago. That might have been a credit to the panic room's thick walls, or meant they'd entered the eye of the storm, or the emergency had truly ended.

Mrs. Rich presumed the latter. With a flick of her head, she indicated the door. "Which means you can go now, Glitter."

Goldie smoothed her jacket collar. "Fine. I'm going." Her eyes fixed upon Spoiled's hoof on Diamond's shoulder. Golden's perfect teeth clenched. "Don't want to get in the way of you playing house."

Diamond Tiara blinked slowly. Goldie's pink and purple tail slipped up the stairs and vanished. Slowly, the vacant haze faded from her face. Diamond's eyes narrowed into a familiar blue glare. The kind of glare that came before doing something stupid. Really stupid.

Silver Spoon opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again when Diamond shot her a look.

Diamond ducked out from Spoiled hoof and bolted. "Mom, wait, I'll—I'll walk you to the school!" She cut through the room, hooves skidding and slipping over the carpet. Her hooves hit the stairs before anypony caught her.

Mr. Rich hopped a coffee table and dashed after her. "Diamond Dazzle Tiara, you come back down here this instant!"

Mrs. Rich remained in the kitchenette. She sank into a chair and let her hooves rest in her lap. Her eyes bored holes into the marble countertop.

Silver nudged a cup of tea in her direction. After a moment, Spoiled Rich took it and sipped. Satisfied, Silver nodded and crept off to sneak back up the stairs. She cautiously stepped into the dim light of the War Room, flicking her ears.

Down the hall, Diamond Tiara's voice pitched over her parents' gentle counterarguments. "No! If it's safe enough for Mom, then it's safe enough for me!"

"Diamond, come on." Goldie strained, as if trying to pull out of something. "I'll be fine."

Mr. Rich did his best for calm, but it sounded like a struggle. "Your mama's a grown mare, darlin'. It's different."

"It's not even half a mile from here, princess. You know me. I can make that in five seconds." The front door swung open. A breeze rolled into the War Room, curling Silver's braids. Goldie sighed. "I'll still be here, and I'll come right back as soon as we know it's over. I bet it's probably over alread—"

THOOM!

The house lurched and shook to its foundations. Something hit to roof so hard, bits of ceiling plaster dusted the floor. Winner sashes came fluttering down from the skylight, flopping over trophies, crowns, and Silver's face.

Silver shook off the trappings of Mini-Grande Supreme '92 and stepped out into the hallways on trembling legs. Something in the air stung her eyes and hurt her throat.

The front door sagged open on busted hinges. A few feet away, Golden, Diamond, and Mr. Rich huddled together in silent shock. They were staring at something. Silver Spoon stepped closer and looked outside.

Several blocks away, dark plumes of smoke and embers billowed over the rooftops and into the orange sky. The stink of burning wood and paper choked the air. Tattered remains of books scattered across the roof of Pipsqueak's house. And Twist's. And Miss Shoeshine's. A smoldering copy Wuthering Hooves tumbled over the Riches' welcome mat.

Faraway, a charred gnarl of wood twisted through the smoke. The lofty branches of Golden Oak Library had vanished.

Filthy Rich coughed. "Maybe…" He blinked at the burnt pages scattering into his house. "Maybe that's just a weird coincidence. I'm sure it's fine."

Diamond glared. "Daddy!"

"Totally fine," said Golden Glitter. A lens popped out of her sunglasses. "Libraries explode all the time. You know, one of those natural small-town milestones."

Mr. Rich nodded. "Yup. First farm, first store opening, first thousand ponies, first tourist spot, the first time a library explodes..."

Goldie brushed ash out of her mane. "Cycle of life."

A blinding light sliced through the smoke towards the hulking horned mass outside the Everfree Forest. The air burned and the ground trembled.

The light of a mushroom cloud reflected in Goldie's remaining lens. "But, uh…it wouldn't hurt to stick around a little while longer." She shot Mr. Rich a glare he pretended to ignore and marched down the hall.

Glass tinkled around the corner. Silver Spoon coughed and sat up. She thought she heard hoofsteps on tile, but everypony should have already been either here or downstairs.

Goldie pricked her ears. "Something's in the kitchen."

As one, Golden and Mr. Rich took up Diamond Tiara and shoved her into the War Room with Silver Spoon. Around the corner, something fell and shattered.

Before either filly could try and see what was happening, Spoiled Rich grabbed their tails and dragged them down into the panic room. She pinned them in place with a glare. "Don't know why children can't do what they're told."

Overhead, Mr. Rich braced for impact. "Who's out there, comin' round? Speak up!"

"It's us, sir," a young mare's voice rasped. She had a terrible cough.

Diamond glanced at her stepmother. "That sounds kind of like Dusty Trails."

Mrs. Rich kept her grip on Diamond's tail, watching Goldie trot back down the stairs. "It does."

It went quiet. After a few moments, Mr. Rich backed into the panic room. "…won't hear of it. It's the least I can do for getting everypony here safe. I can't tell him how grateful we are."

"I know he appreciates it, sir." A maid with a sooty purple coat and a blue mane limped over the lush carpet. She supported a barely conscious Brass Tacks upon her withers. The maid—Dusty Trails, apparently—coughed and nodded to Silver Spoon. "He's fine."

Silver's dry throat cracked with a whimper. "No, he's not."

The shine in Brass Tacks' coat had dulled to the color of parched soil. At the sound of Silver's voice, his ears twitched against his limp, sallow mane. When he tried to stand, his legs buckled under him and he fell back upon the maid's withers. Brass Tacks blinked at her through milky, clouded eyes.

"Well, he's alive, anyway. That's fine enough." Dusty Trails glanced at Tacks with the same milky eyes while she eased him onto the soft carpet.

Randolph whispered something to Dusty that made her smile. He nodded, patted her on the back, and stepped aside to speak with Mr. Rich.

Silver Spoon curled next to Brass Tacks and nuzzled his ear. She guessed he hadn't found Father at the train station. "I'm sorry, Tacks. I should have stayed closer to the house."

"Think nothing of it, Miss Silver." Brass Tacks brushed ceiling plaster off Silver's haunches and checked her for damage. He waved his charred tail and smiled at her. "This is a better spot, anyhow."

Diamond Tiara sat on the unicorn's opposite side. She tilted her head, squinting at his haunch. "Your cutie mark is gone," she whispered. Indeed, the blue irises weaving through crossed keys had vanished. Brass Tacks lay blank as a newborn foal. "Is yours gone too, Dusty?"

Dusty Trails bowed her head and sighed. "Yes, miss." She frowned at sooty hoofprints she'd tracked across the carpet. "Completely."

The little pink filly stared at him, still not processing it. "But… like… how?"

"Taken." Brass Tacks bobbed his horn toward the shaking vault lock above their heads. "Along with the…" He ground his teeth and tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head. "…the rest of our magic."

Silver Spoon wrapped her forelegs around her butler's lean neck and buried her face in his ashen mane. He smelled like a steel mill, all smoke and sweat and sulfur.

Mr. Rich sank into the daybed, next to his wife. He rustled a hoof through his mane, staring at the ceiling. "What in Tartarus are we dealing with, Spoils?"

"We?" Goldie paced the room, flicking her tail like a metronome. "We're not dealing with anything—not that you ever deal with anything, anyhow—that's for that new princess of yours."

Mr. Rich snorted and ignored her.

"Do you think she'll get him?" Diamond Tiara asked nopony in particular. "I mean, it's kind of her job. She has to do her job, right?"

"I do believe she shall, Miss Tiara. Young Miss Silver Spoon, if you'll kindly step aside a moment?" Brass Tacks sat up and shook the ashes out of his mane. He adjusted the lapels of his tattered tailcoat, and flicked some debris out of his tail. "Are you quite sure you're alright?"

Silver helped wipe the soot from his cheeks. At worst, her hooficure would be ruined, but then, what didn't ruin nice hooves in Ponyville? She'd live. "Yes, Tacks." She stared at the fog in his eyes and bit her bottom lip. "I'm okay.

"Very good." The tip of Brass Tacks' nose sniffed at Silver's hooves. "You've brewed tea. Peppermint, I believe."

Diamond Tiara lashed her tail and gave Silver a weird squint. "You made tea? When?"

At the farther end of the room, the Riches and Golden Glitter huddled with harsh whispers and strained sentences. Another storm brewed beside the daybed, quieter this time. Every few seconds, the jagged corner of an argument poked out.

"…am not getting into this with you again, Golden."

Silver shifted towards a more peaceful part of the room. "Um. A little while ago."

The steel tiara slumped with Diamond's head toss. "Everything else going on today and you decide to focus on teatime? Seriously, what is the matter with you?" She tilted the tiara back into her mane, but her flattened ears couldn't keep it upright. "That's not gonna fix anything, Silver Spoon."

"That's right, Filthy. Go back to your charts and stick your head in the sand like you always do."

It likely wasn't even very good tea, either. Silver had to use whatever she found offhoof, and neither the withered peppermint leaves nor sparse fennel seeds looked exceptionally promising. She'd added some ginger and honey to even it out, but who knew if it hadn't only made the brew worse.

"Don't you speak to him that way! I've never seen a mare so ungrateful. Thank your lucky stars you're in here at all and not out there on your rump."

"It was the only thing I could think of." Silver should have tasted the tea before she let Mrs. Rich have some. Hopefully she hadn't been too disappointed with it. Silver Spoon wrapped her tail close to herself. "I dunno, I just thought…I dunno."

Brass Tacks leaned one ear towards the festering nastiness in the corner. He smiled to cover a frown. "Well, I, for one, would enjoy a cup of tea. My throat could certainly use it after the hot air." The unicorn eased to his hooves, walked a few steps to test his legs, and nodded toward one of the large beds with thick curtains. "Why don't we take our tea there? It appears to be a somewhat cozy and…."

"Ha! I thank my lucky stars there's even a house left, the way you've handled things."

"…quieter place."

Diamond, who did not appear at all in the mood for tea, wrinkled her nose and readied a complaint. A few feet away, her father brushed past the bookcase and stormed into the kitchenette to cool off, armed with a pen and a small portfolio of paperwork. "Yeah. Tea does sound kind of good."

Despite Silver's protest, Brass Tacks insisted on sending them ahead while he took care of the tea. Diamond crawled over the satin duvet and nestled into a nest of throw pillows at the head of the bed. Silver drew the bed curtains, leaving just enough room to stick her head out in case Tacks needed any help.

The lack of magic slowed him down—two minutes instead of twenty seconds—but he managed to gather up the tea tray without much trouble. Before he joined them, Tacks paused and gave the Riches a loaded stare.

"…can't be surprised, it is in the name. I feel for you Spoiled, but I don't see why you're so determined to ruin my foal just because you can't have your own." Goldie didn't even bother whispering anymore.

Tacks drew the bed curtains tight.

Silver Spoon sighed, listening to the familiar comfort of tea pouring into teacups. She listened until it became louder than the voices outside, louder than the terrible rumbling above their heads, louder than the labored breathing of her butler. Here was tea. Tea was good.

"It has gone a bit lukewarm, but no harm done." Tacks took a sip and smiled. "You discredit yourself, Miss Silver. Superb work as always."

Silver tried some for herself. It tasted…well, it did alright. Still better than generic teabags. "Thank you, Brass Tacks." She took another sip and smiled a little. Yes, even if everything else had gone bad, tea was always good.

Somepony muffled something nasty and indecipherable. Somepony else cried out in indignation.

Diamond cradled her teacup in her hooves, staring at her reflection. "Can I have more sugar? Please?"

"Really, Spoils, sweetheart?" Silver could practically hear Golden's crushing smile through the curtains. "In that case, maybe you can explain why you've turned my daughter into a loser."

"For Celestia's sake! She's right there."

"Oh. He speaks."

"Of course, Diamond." The sugar spoon shook in Silver's hooves. "One lump or two?"

"Five." That honestly made it more sugar than tea, but whatever. Diamond slung back half a cup and squeezed her eyes shut. "I should have just let her go to the schoolhouse before." She gulped down the rest. "I knew they'd do this."

"Oh, trust me, Filthy, I know! It's not Diamond I'm blaming."

Diamond Tiara huddled into the pillows. "They always do this."

"But you weren't wrong, Di." Silver edged closer, but she couldn't quite pass the moat of bolster pillows. She reached a hoof out anyway. "You wanted to keep everypony safe, and it's really safe down here. Right, Tacks?"

No response. Brass Tacks curled at the foot of the bed, gangly hooves dangling over the footboard so they wouldn't stain the duvet. He'd fallen fast asleep. Silver hoped the commotion wouldn't wake him up; she didn't think he'd slept at all last night.

"You know what?" Spoiled Rich's laugh rang thorned and hollow. "You're right. I'm not her mother. I never sent her to the emergency room.

A heartbeat of silence. "You wer—NEITHER of you were there, and don't you dare give me that look Filthy Rich, don't you dare! What happened in Vanhoofer was an accident and you know it!"

Diamond Tiara pulled her cracked hoof against her barrel and sank deeper into the pillows. She pressed her cheek against the silk, breathing hard against the fringe. The little flag of her tail tip lashed over the side of the pillow fortress. She muttered something into the fabric.

Silver twitched her ears. She'd heard her name in there. "Di? Did you say something?"

She shifted. Blue eyes glared over a crest of chiffon fringe. "I still can't believe you want to make nice with the Crusaders. Even after all they've done." Her voice shook. "After all the times I'd been doing great and they wrecked everything."

That had not been the subject Silver Spoon expected at all. She blinked, unsure of how to respond. "Diamond, I don't think they do it on purpose. It sort of just… happens. They wreck stuff like a freak storm or a hydra wrecks stuff. It's not personal. That's why I don't want us to step into their path anymore. Try to be… well, if not nicer, then civil." Silver reached out to the pink hoof poking over the pillow.

The hoof snapped back before Silver reached it. "Don't you get it? It doesn't matter if I'm civil to them or not, Silver Spoon! I tried being nice and fair and a good boss when they were writing the Gabby Gums stuff, and look what happened." She wrapped her hooves around one of the pillows and gave it a firm shake.

All at once, a familiar wave of oily blackness rose from the depths of Silver's stomach. "Uh, Diamond, I…" She poured herself more tea to steady her hooves. "I'm not sure what happened with the Press was the Crusaders' fault. Not entirely, anyway."

A snort ruffled the pillow fringe. "Yeah?" Diamond bared her teeth in a snarl. "Yeah? Whose is it then? If it's not them, then…" The snarl crumbled into a grimace. "…then why am I losing? Why am I losing all the time?" She buried her face in the pillows and Silver heard a muffled whimper. "Why can't I win, Silver Spoon?"

If she knew the answer to that, Silver would have told her a long time ago. She couldn't touch Diamond within the pillow nest, so she cozied up to one of the silk bolsters.

"I'm supposed to be a winner, Silvie. I don't understand what happened." A wet sniff. "Is it me? Am I not trying hard enough?"

"Diamond." The long claws of guilt wrapped around her throat until she couldn't breathe. "Di, the thing with the press… It…um… It wasn't…"

It bubbled beneath Silver's bones and skin, and burned her tongue. "It wasn't the Crusaders' fault, but it wasn't entirely your fault, either. Like. Um."

Her mouth forgot how to form words. "What I mean to s-say i-is… uh."

Diamond Tiara's ears flicked up. Slowly, she lifted her head from the pillow and rubbed her wet eyes. "Silver Spoon." Something pieced together behind her eyes. Her withers stopped trembling and her breathing steadied. "Silver, the thing Pinch said, that you… That you told Featherweight to—"

Diamond took a deep breath and looked Silver Spoon in the eye. "You messed up my editor job. Didn't you?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "I'm so sorry, Diamond Tiara. I didn't…"

Didn't what? Didn't think about how much it meant to her? Didn't think it would hurt her? Didn't think at all? Even if all of those were true, they still were pathetic excuses.

"I did tell Featherweight to use the pictures because I knew what you'd use them for, but that's all." Silver heard her voice talking but didn't feel herself saying words. "I also don't really think the Gabby Gums thing could have lasted much longer, no matter what anypony did. The Crusaders are too clumsy not to have been found out on their own."

For all Silver knew, maybe they already had. Maybe she'd done the whole thing for nothing.

Silver cast her eyes down at the pillows. "Anyway, it's still partly my fault. I'm really, really sorry, Di. I've been sorry."

"I bet you are."

"I didn't know how to tell you."

"I bet you didn't."

The nest of pillows tumbled off Diamond's shoulders as she stood up and shook herself off. She jumped onto the velvet duvet without a sound. She paced in a circle, first clockwise, then counterclockwise.

Diamond stopped and looked at her. Not angrily. Not with the slow-burn build to anger, either. No faux-serenity masking anger. No cold fire. No scowls. No narrowed eyes or pinned ears. She didn't even sound upset. "Was it because of your crush of Featherweight?"

"When all the secrets started being published in the paper, I thought—"

…Wait.

Wait, what?!

"I… no!" Silver felt her whole face burn from ear tip to chin. Her glasses fogged up and for a second, her tongue forgot how to work. "Wh-what… are you talking about? I don't have a crush on Featherw—"

Diamond snorted. "I'm not the blind stupid idiot you think I am, Silver Spoon. You drooled all over him through half of Nightmare Night and mooned over his flimsy wings all through Hearts and Hooves. You've got rotten taste in colts, Silver, but whatever. No tan off my hide."

Silver pulled into a ball and flattened against the duvet. Diamond's shadow fell over her shoulders. Silver's tongue still wouldn't work.

"What, did you think if you gave him a cushy editing job, he'd hold your hoof?" A dark smile curled at Silver's flinch. Diamond laughed. "You thought you two would share milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner? Go to the school dance and he'd ask you to be his special somepony?"

"Diamond, n-no, it wasn't—wasn't like tha—"

"Oh, no, I think I got it! You wanted a big wet kiss from those giant ugly buck teeth." She laughed again. "It'd be cute if it wasn't so pathetic." Diamond kneeled down to eye level and wrapped a foreleg around Silver's shaking withers. "Oh, and fun fact: Featherweight likes colts."

Silver Spoon stared at her. "…he does?" she whispered.

"Yup! He's had a crush on Rumble since last year. What, you didn't know that?" Diamond Tiara grinned so wide Silver saw the alfalfa in her molars. "Wow. Guess that means you went and sold out your best friend for absolutely no reason, huh? Sweet Luna, what an idiot."

"Diamond, I got SCARED!" Silver's words squeaked out a tight, frantic whisper. "I didn't do it because of Featherweight. I…I just got scared and I did something stupid. I'm sorry. Diamond, please. I'm so sorry."

The grin faded. Diamond Tiara flicked an ear. "I believe you. It doesn't matter anymore, Silver." She brushed open the curtain and hopped onto the carpet. "It's fine. Quit crying before you stain the velvet."

Silver Spoon hiccuped. She sniffled and wiped her lenses. No wonder they'd gotten so blurry; she hadn't even realized she'd been crying.

Brass Tacks shifted at the end of the bed. Still asleep.

Silver folded part of the duvet over him so he wouldn't be cold and stepped back out into the panic room. She twitched her ears. No low rumblings from the ceiling. No shouting. No whispered venom or stifled crying. Nothing at all. Silence misted over the varnished wood and fluffy carpet. It reminded Silver of humid air after rainfall, the kind that fizzed manes and made fetlocks soggy.

Silver crept to where Diamond Tiara sat staring up the ladder. The hatch hung wide open, with Mr. Rich and Randolph nowhere to be seen. They must have gone up to check if the coast was clear. She wondered how long they'd been gone. The maid, Dusty Trails, dozed in the corner with her tail wrapped over her flank.

Golden Glitter and Spoiled Rich stood in deadlocked silence beside the fireplace, waiting for the other to strike. Every couple of seconds, Goldie glanced at the fillies in the room and she recalculated whatever argument she'd been building up to. At some point, she'd reapplied her eyeshadow; when the light touched Goldie's face, Silver saw faint smudge lines on her cheeks.

An aura of calm severity hung over Mrs. Rich, calmer than she'd been all day. Whatever had happened, she'd gained the high ground. She took a breath and continued off an earlier tangent. "The simple fact is, Glitter, there are better, more productive applications of her talents than the stage." She glanced at Diamond, who didn't dare glance back. "It isn't my fault or his if you're too mulish to see that."

"Hm. Decent sales pitch, Spoiled, but anypony can toss out a couple of buzzwords. It means nothing without results—at least I've accomplished something." Goldie flicked her pocket mirror open and sighed. "What have you produced, aside from more stress and zilch to show for it?" The mirror snapped shut without Goldie even looking inside. "Do you even have an example of one of these "productive applications"? Or a plan, for that matter?"

Mrs. Rich raised her eyebrows, unfazed. "Well, Glitter, not all ponies are so tacky and insecure they need to announce their plans with a megaphone." She angled her head towards Silver Spoon and fixed her under a teal gaze. She smiled.

Instinctively, Silver edged towards Diamond Tiara.

Diamond stared at her as if Silver had just been sick on the rug. After a moment, she smiled, too.

Silver Spoon clutched her saddlebag and flattened her ears.

The student council pin on Silver's bag gleamed in Spoiled Rich's eyes. "I'll have you know, Miss Glitter, our little Diamond Tiara is aiming for Student Pony President next month."

Silver blinked and frowned. "She is?" She looked to Diamond, who stood up and blinked back at her. "You are?"

"Uh. Y-yeah?" Diamond glanced between the two mares and her best friend. She cleared her throat, tilting her chin in the air. "Yeah. Of course I am!"

"Of course she is." Spoiled Rich fluffed her mane, smiling sweetly at the room. "Why do you look so surprised, Silver Spoon? I thought you would have known, being secretary of the student council."

"I know, right?" Diamond's tail whipcracked against Silver's hoof. "Come on, like, keep up, Silver Spoon."

Silver Spoon would have bet her rarest tea blends that Diamond didn't know Ponyville Schoolhouse even had a president until ten seconds ago. Would have, except after the past couple of hours, Silver didn't really feel certain of anything anymore.

"I told you about it," said Diamond. "Remember?"

"Oh, right. …Right." Silver adjusted her glasses. "You've been planning it since Aug—"

Diamond stared at her hard.

"Uh. Since May." At Diamond's slight nod, Silver smiled. "Yes, May. Started plans in May, solidified them in August. Heh, must have slipped my mind."

"May, huh?" Golden Glitter raised an eyebrow at her daughter. In better circumstances, she might have smiled. "Strange nopony mentioned it before."

Diamond shrugged. "We didn't get a lot of time to talk before all that stuff happened."

"There's not much to tell this early," Silver added. "Nopony else has even officially announced they're running yet." Keyword officially. Interest had been expressed in the position a while back, but she'd heard nothing else about it since then.

"I'll take your word for it, then. Good luck, Diamond." Golden offered a small smile.

"Thanks."

Above, the lanterns pulsed once, then twice. Randolph appeared at the foot of the ladder to confirm the all-clear.

"Finally." Spoiled Rich wrinkled her nose at the hoofprint stains in the carpet and nodded towards Dusty Trails in the corner. "When that one wakes up, tell her clean up her mess." She dropped her robe in the butler's waiting hooves and climbed up.

Diamond and Goldie followed a few rungs behind. Diamond waved from the top. "Come on, Silver."

Silver glanced back towards the bed where Tacks still slept.

"Today, Silver."

Silver sighed. "Randolph, can you wake Brass Tacks up and tell him it's safe outside?" At the old stallion's nod, she rushed up and out into the War Room. Above, cracks spiderwebbed across the skylight. The sun, unhindered by the banners and sashes, hurt her eyes.

In the hall, Spoiled wished Golden a terse, "See you," with a distinct aftertaste of "in Tartarus."

Goldie snorted after her and grumbled a sentence most unsuitable for polite society.

"You know..." Diamond waited until her stepmother had rounded the corner. She sidled up to Goldie's leg. "You could stay a while longer. The inn doesn't have any stars, but it's not that bad."

From the living room, Filthy Rich's voice assessed damages to the house. Apparently, part of the roof had caught fire and since gone out.

"Diamond, princess." Golden Glitter rubbed her temples. "I don't think that'll work."

"I didn't think it would," sighed Diamond.

"We can still finish our walk, if you want."

"Okay. That's good."

Outside, a pastel rainbow arched above the battered rooftops and smoking debris. Odd, as Silver saw no sign of rain. A few pegasi fluttered amongst the clouds, perhaps one of them made it. One of them nosedived straight toward The Dink's house.

A few restaurants had already reopened for business. Golden Glitter bought them all a round of carrot dogs and raspberry lemonade, so they could eat while they walked. It was a significantly quieter walk than before.

A train whistled in the distance. Diamond watched her mother's ears prick. "You were on the train to Canterlot, weren't you? You didn't plan on visiting me today at all."

"Close, but you're only half right." Goldie swallowed the last of her carrot dog. "As a matter of fact, missy, I did plan to visit, just not today. I had an extra day or two on the way back from my week-long conference in Canterlot." And she had also probably intended to send a message ahead of time.

"Oh," said Diamond. "Are you still going to?"

Debris crunched behind them. Silver Spoon turned to find Brass Tacks plodding a respectful distance away. He'd exchanged the tattered suit for a new vest and tie. Where he got them, Sliver had no idea. The cutie marks had returned to his haunches, and when he raised his head to nod at her, his eyes shone clear. Still, Tacks looked like he could use a nap or… twelve.

Golden Glitter hummed uncertainly. "The conference might be delayed, thanks to…" She gestured to the wreckage around them. "I have no idea how long it'll take now, especially with that distempered little nag, Svengallop, directing. But if I can, I'll still drop by on my way back to Applewood." She smiled her million-bit smile. "I promise."

"Okay." Diamond smiled back, but it faded after a moment. She shuffled her hooves and looked at the pony-sized dent smashed into the side of a dentist's office. "You've promised before, though."

The million-bit smile dropped a few zeroes. Goldie chuckled under her breath. "Nopony's pulling a fast one on you, huh? Okay, how's this: I promise to do my best to drop by on my way back. And if not, I'll get down here for Hearth's Warming."

For a second, Diamond's eyes shone brighter than the broken glass at her hooves. "Really?" She twitched her tail, thinking it over. "I'm not sure if Dad'll like that, though. And don't you have to work?"

"Your father doesn't like a lot of things; he'll get over it. We just need to stay out of each other's manes, that's all. I haven't had a vacation in, what, six years? I'm way overdue." She kicked the broken glass out of her path. "Besides, it's not every Hearth's Warming I get to meet with a president. Don't beat the other guy too bad, alright?"

Diamond Tiara stuck her nose in the air. "No promises." She exchanged a meaningful glance with Silver Spoon. "Whoever the other guy is, they're going down, because I am going to win."

"I don't doubt it." The train station appeared over the next ridge. Goldie's pace slowed to a stroll. "You do know I love you no matter what happens, right?"

This conversation started to edge into awkward territory. Silver fell back a couple of paces to give them space. It also gave her the chance to walk with Brass Tacks. She stepped lightly around the juts of obsidian spiking from the ground. Princess Twilight must have passed through here.

"Yeah, and what's going to happen is I'm gonna win." Diamond lifted her head high and narrowed her eyes. "I'm gonna be perfect."

The train platform rumbled with activity. The crowds lept back into impatient activity, with passengers and conductors shouting to be heard over each other. The battle debris had been pushed aside to form a hill of loose nails, boards, and broken glass.

It looked like the trains had started running again. Silver wondered if Father might make it home tonight after all. She hoped so.

Golden Glitter helped Diamond Tiara onto the platform. She brushed the bangs out of her daughter's eyes and looked at her a long moment. "You're already perfect, you hear me? You're strong and brave and beautiful, and…" She lurched forward and crushed Diamond in a hug. "Oh, Diamond Tiara, you're brilliant! You're the brightest star in my whole damn sky. Nopony shines brighter, don't forget that. I love you."

Diamond buried her nose in Goldie's short mane. "I know. I love you too, Mommy." She pulled away with a nod. "I'm going to make you proud."

"You already do, princess."

The train to Canterlot boarded at six. In the half hour they had to wait, Golden bought them all flower wreaths, both for future victory and a pre-dinner snack. Brass Tacks ate his in only a few bites, while Diamond elected to wear hers on her head. They sat on the bench together until Golden Glitter boarded her train.

Diamond Tiara perched at the edge of the platform, watching the caboose fade into the horizon. The setting sun glinted off the fresh obsidian and lit her tiara bright orange—a blazing torch in the center of her flower crown.

"Silver Spoon." Diamond didn't move her head. "You are with me on the student pony president campaign, right?"

"Absolutely!" Silver cried a little too loudly. "I'm with you all the way, Diamond."

"You're not going to get 'scared' again?"

"No." Silver thought it over. She played the strongest card in her deck. The one thing she couldn't break. "I won't get scared on this. I give you my word."

"Hmph. Good." The fillies shook on it. Diamond slowly stood up and popped the bones in her neck. "Let's get to work."