The kitchen was a great sprawling expanse. A dizzying number of cabinets and drawers surrounded Silver Spoon as she quietly made her way into Diamond's house. Each and every time Silver had been over for dinner, the kitchen had never been so huge and daunting; like a desert of endless tile floors and spotless counters. With each step a thunderous echo booming in her ears, Silver Spoon slowly realized she was holding her breath as she crept through the house. Her ears were perked and upright, listening for the smallest of sounds that might betray Spoiled Rich's presence- but the house was terrifyingly empty. Not a soul lurched though the towering halls nor cavernous rooms. Spoiled had sent all the servants home, which meant there wouldn't be anyone to tell her not to drink or stop her.
Glancing around the kitchen, Silver Spoon could guess Mrs. Rich had been making a snack for herself. There was a knife sitting next to several slices of carrots, and the stove was gently warming a pot of delicious smelling something. Silver's tummy gave a furious roar, and the little girl froze on the spot. She stood there for almost a minute, wide eyed and trembling, just waiting for Mrs. Rich to round the corner from the hall way and start screaming wildly at her like some terrible monster out of Tartarus.
...
The house remained still, and slowly, ever so slowly, Silver exhaled the breath she caught herself holding again. Safe. She was still safe. Mrs. Rich didn't have any reason to suspect she was in her home, and if worse came to worse, she could just claim she came over to visit Diamond. Which was more or less the truth. Sort of. For a moment, Silver pondered sneaking something from the fridge. Something tiny, just to shut her tummy up and not make trouble. Curiously, the refrigerator door was already open, with a yellow stripe of light spilling out.
Silver Spoon tsked, making the short trek over to the refrigerator door to slam it shut. Humph. She was no thief. After all, she would be home and eating dinner in fifteen minutes anyway. Idly, Silver Spoon wondered how Mrs. Rich could leave the fridge door open like that. Her mother would be furious with her if she ever discovered Silver had opened the refrigerator door and just left it like that. Although, Silver supposed it might be okay if you were only gone for a...
Silver's ears perked at the sound of hoofsteps thumping down the stairs, and her tummy clenched itself into an agonizing knot. She swallowed, frozen in indescribable terror, as the heavy thumping came closer. Spoiled Rich was coming to the bottom step. She'd turn the corner, and Silver Spoon would be standing there, in the middle of her house. And that would be it. Silver Spoon would be grounded for life. Maybe two lives. Two lives and an eternity, if her parents were merciful. If she were lucky enough to get back to her parents even. Maybe. They'd never believe for a moment Diamond was in any kind of trouble, not with the wealth of the Rich family. Regardless of the numerous times the angry shouts from Diamond's house spilled over into their home. Through walls and windows, and in one ear and out the other. Ponies could trick themselves into believing a lot of things, like everything was under control, and things were 'fine' but Silver Spoon- for all her intelligence and practice, seemed incapable of mastering that art.
"Grab it!" screamed the voice in her head. "Grab it and hide!" it yelled urgently. Grab what? For a second, Silver felt the oddest disconnect. Like everything was happening at once and in slow motion. Some part of her brain had realized she was staring into the refrigerator, while another part of her brain scanned the items inside. And yet another part was drawn to the glittering key with a heart shaped diamond emblem on the end of it. A key. The key. To Diamond's Room. Get it. Grab the key. Why is it in the refrigerator? Doesn't matter. Hide! She's coming!! HIDE!!! And all at once, Silver had scooped up the key and dipped around an island in the center of the kitchen. Mrs. Rich stumbled in quietly, chuckling to herself.
"Help, help, alllll my dresses are on fire! Hehehehe...teach her to let that brat infect my daughter. Scum. All of 'em. Unicorns. Round 'em all up n' run 'em outta town. Ruining Equestira-ra, " mumbled the mare as she pulled the refrigerator door open and glanced around curiously.
"Where...where did..." The pink pony grumbled, before peering around the room. She paused, before making a bee-line for the counter and picking up the carrot she'd been chopping up.
"Already pulled 'em out...See?! Those blank flanks have me in a tizzy! MMMmmmmmmaybe ided jus be easier to move. Maybe to Can'erlot. I should tell Filthy I want to live in Can'erlot. At least it wouldn't be here. AND MAYBE IF WE MOVED, I'D LEAVE MY SPOILED BRAT BEHIND BY ACCIDENT AND LET HER LEARN HOW LUCKY SHE IS TO LIVE UNDER MY ROOF! WOULDN'T THAT BE A TRAGEDY!" barked the pony at the ceiling with an angry snort. That'd show her. That'd teach her a thing or two about respect. She could just stay locked in that room for the next day or so. That'd show Diamond how it was done! Put her in her place. She'd learn respect then! Where were those carrots?
Spoiled Rich staggered over to the fridge and pried it open, peering in quietly. Where'd they go? She leaned back, peering into the fridge, frowning in confusion. She closed her eyes. Phantom carrots. She needed a drink to clear her head and calm her nerves. She'd find the stupid carrots easier with a stiff drink. She put the carrot down on the counter and turned towards the parlor. Or maybe she'd just have radishes tonight. That sounded good, too.
With the larger mare stumbling into the next room, one of the tiny cabinets on the island opened up. There was plenty of room inside for pots or pans or even a small filly frozen in horror. Silver Spoon spilled out of the cabinet, landing on her belly with a quiet whump. She went dead still, and perked her ears. If mrs. Rich were to wander in now...
...
Never had Silver Spoon felt so relieved and so terrified at the same time, then when she heard the familiar sound of ice tapping the bottom of a glass from one room over. She crept as fast as her little legs would carry her towards the stairs- making sure to skip the 6th and 11th step on the way up. Sleep overs and late night snack raids had revealed those were the 'squeaky' steps and ones to be avoided when planning to stay up far past one's bed time. End of the hall, take a right. Third staircase, end of the hall, third door on the left. That was Diamond's room, and with any luck, where Silver would find Diamond.
* * * * * * * * *
It was a good twenty minutes since Diamond had heard or seen Silver Spoon across the street. She'd disappeared shortly after mother had returned to scream at her some more. Come to think of it, Diamond hadn't heard from mother, either. Like both of them vanished at the same time. Had mother passed out? Could she relax a little bit? Slowly, Diamond pressed her head against the carpet of her floor, and tried to scan for sounds coming from undernea- "AND MAYBE IF WE MOVED, I'D LEAVE MY SPOILED BRAT BEHIND BY ACCIDENT AND LET HER LEARN HOW LUCKY SHE IS TO LIVE UNDER MY ROOF! WOULDN'T THAT BE A TRAGEDY!"
Oh.
Why? Why though? What did mother have to gain from taunting her like this? Was it to remind her how lucky she was to receive a lecture instead of a beating? Was it because she had really truly blundered, and what Diamond did was far more serious than she thought? Was it because- Hoofsteps! NO!! Had mother found the key?! Was that what the screaming was?! A warning?! They approached her door, and the lock jiggled with a distinguished sound of metal clicking against metal. Cha-clink. Diamond drew herself as far into the corner as she could. Maybe the closet! The closet, yes! She could hide in there!! And then what? Hope she doesn't check? Leave herself trapped? No, no no, make a break for it when she opens the door. Yeah. Find somewhere else in the house to hide. Maybe she could make it to the front door. Maybe she could get outside, maybe, somewhere public for a little while. Yeah, yeah that might work. That could work!
The door slowly crept open, and Diamond's eyes widened. Now! Nownownownow! RUN NOW! But she was a statue. Stuck to the spot and forced to await another harsh lesson. Diamond had already vowed never to talk back again, what more could she want?! What was she supposed to do?!
"Diamond?" A voice whispered faintly. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Diamond dared to glance up towards the door. For a brief second, she couldn't understand what she was seeing. Silver Spoon slipped into the room quietly, closing the door behind her. Silence echoed through the room for what seemed like minutes until slowly Silver Spoon held out her arms and bit her lower lip and Diamond wrapped her arms around her in turn. There was nothing left to fight about. Any and all arguments they had ever had with one another faded into a forgotten memory, and hurt hearts healed instantly.
"Besties?" Silver Spoon whispered. Diamond simply nodded her head, and tried not to cry.
But the tears came anyway.
They have it in their heads that kids are resilient or something.
So happy she got to Diamond Tiara. Oh, and congratulations on getting featured.
oh :D
i need to get you on as a pre-reader for my fic
I'll never understand, either. I used to think it was more of an all-parent thing and that becoming a parent was terrible and then I realized that not all parents were fond of verbally screwing with their child. Imagine my surprise!
When I saw the Dark tag to this, my mind immediately went to abuse gone too far. Well, further across the line than abuse is on its own, anyway.
Now I'm eager to see how things play out. Let's have more!
I started crying by the end of this one... My dad is verbally abusive... I basically had a flashback in this one of my few days in Hell's jail. And I still have three years to go... Great now I'm crying again
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Screw that...I'd fire the orbital friendship cannon.
Okay, you got to her, Silver. Now.........
GET THE TWO OF YOU THE BUCK OUT OF THERE AND TO TWILIGHT!!!
I REALLY hope this has a happy ending and that spoiled rich gets her comeuppance.
I wonder I don't get a notification when there is an update for this story?
I'm tracking it but doesn't show up sadly...
I just wonder why didn't she try escaping through the window...
Poor DT. At least she has SS.
Oh yes, burn Rarity's dresses. See how well that goes for you. She totally doesn't have all the design details stored away as well, perhaps in the Canterlot Boutique, or the money to get all the materials to replace them.
Then again, she's actually drunk this time, so it's not like she could realize these things.
6545063 Wait for it.
I left a few clues to whats about to happen next.
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I should like to bring your attention to Diamond's warning in a previous chapter:
Fire is only the first step, and very easy to look like an accident. Just one set back can be handled, given enough time, but too many set backs have a way of crushing ponies...
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DT is on the third floor
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This made me giggle. <3
6545542 Yes, she's going to try, and it's obviously going to suck for Rarity if Spoiled goes through with it. But I doubt Spoiled could pull anything big on the Crusaders' sisters more than twice at most, when they have Princess Twilight Sparkle there, who could easily cast any amount of spells to protect, prevent, or monitor if she realizes there's suspicious activities going on, or her friends ask her to. Certainly, she could make some stuff fireproof, she could add security measures, etc. etc. Not to mention, if Spoiled Rich ever managed to sabotage their reputation in some way, they need not do anything but convince Twilight that they didn't do anything wrong in whatever Spoiled decided to sabotage, and Twilight would find a way to salvage their reputation, which would not be hard when she's got her face in three different stained-glass windows in Celestia's castle and Canterlot Tower, and has the word Princess before her name.
6545542 except more than one would become suspicious.
also they gots pinkie pie. something as dangerous as fire gotta have a reading on her pinkie sense.
also considering this is equestria, that means anyone who investigates the problem will have both great talents in invetigation and even magical powers to aid in it.
Some ponies should never drink.
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All you really need is one well aimed bullet...Destroying the boutique would devastate Rarity, and Spoiled knows it. It would crush her, mentally, watching all her dreams, all of her work going up in smoke. Grease some hooves with some coins, and suddenly, Rainbow Dash is looking to be QUITE the promising Wonderbolt. And off she goes for training, leaving Scootaloo alone and vulnerable. As for Applejack, and as close as the family is, losing another family member would be heart wrenching. Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Applejack would all be crushed if something 'happened' to Granny. She's old, accidents happen. There are plenty of ponies who might not have a problem with a few grand in their pockets in exchange for accidentally nudging an old lady down the steps. All random accidents. Just a nasty string of bad luck, really. A nasty string, pulled by a nasty puppet master... Get rid of the apples and there goes her funds? Do you really think a gold digger like Spoiled Rich wouldn't have additional bank accounts? Maybe a bit of coin squirreled away somewhere that Filthy Rich doesn't know about? He could leave her at any time. She's a terrible pony, and she knows it. And that makes her far, far more dangerous than your average villain. Not to mention she's driven to do these things under the guise of protecting her child. In her warped and twisted reality, she's protecting Diamond from ruining her life, and a mothers desire to protect her children is terrifyingly powerful.
6546286 Are we forgetting Rarity's rich? Her Boutique's seen heavy damage before. She'd feel as bad as Twilight feels about Golden Oaks, but less, because unlike Golden Oaks, her Boutique can be rebuilt. Sure, there's memories in the original, pictures, personal possessions. But her dresses? At most that's just some hours of work gone to waste. I doubt Rarity's a pony silly enough not to keep her design details stored away with backups when she has two boutiques.
Yes, because Ms. I-make-my-fortune-off-of-Apples can bribe the Wonderbolts, Celestia's personal flight team and some of the most famous celebrities there are. I'll totally buy that. Rainbow Dash is rising ranks, Rainbow Dash's entry into the Wonderbolts seems inevitable when it comes to how the show has been portraying it. If Spoiled's method is to get Rainbow Dash to leave, that'd be really lame. Scootaloo knows it will happen eventually.
Now killing someone, that... that is truly the only way Spoiled could make a mark, along with physical attacks in general. Anything else she could do can be ignored through fame and money, but not this. Unfortunately, the story has given no indication this is on her mind.
6546457 Just food for thought. With enough money in the wrong hooves, she could do a lot of things...
I hope that Spoiled eventually gets a Sonic Rainboom powered kick right into her face for whatever she's going to try to do.
This brings to mind bad memories of my own, but I got out, and hopefully so will poor Diamond, in this story and in the show.
They should have made the cliche blanket rope, or does that ever work? Point is, get out of there!
So are they not going to try to get out of the house since SR is still in there?
Also hi Bull.
There is a huge difference between punishment and abuse. Growing up, I did some boneheaded crap, and my parents never hesitated when it came to punishing me. I've been yelled at, and I've been bent over and had my butt swatted if the situation was severe enough. Funny thing though, I never felt abused. I always knew my parents loved me, and did what they did because they genuinely wanted to steer me away from a bad path.
It always disturbs me when I hear people talking about how you should never raise your voice to your child, and absolutely never spank them, because "that's abusive, and will scar the child mentally". Giving a child a half dozen swats on the bottom is one thing, dragging out a leather belt and going into a raging "you will obey me 'cause I said so" rant is totally different. I know I was a hardheaded little hellion growing up, and sometimes it took a stinging backside to remind me that stupid choices equal painful consequences.
You have to love your child enough to be willing to discipline them, but also love them enough to know not to go too far.
"He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
6549059 I respectfully disagree.
6549279 That's the cool thing about being two adults: we can disagree, and yet still remain civil. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, it's just the way I was raised and what I personally believe is right.
That said, excellent story. This is a perfect example of how NOT to treat a child.
The sudden switch to Spoiled Rich's perspective is a little awkward and jilted. You might want to give that a bit of a polish.
6549059 I agree with you. In fact I'd go one step further and state that not punishing your child when necessary is neglect, which is in itself a form of abuse, because you are not teaching them to be a decent human being, you're teaching them they can do anything they want without any significant repercussion.
Case and point, I've sat there and watched one of those super passive parents sit there and quietly inform the 3 year old punching her that hitting is wrong. For a good five minutes. It might work with some kids, it would probably work with kids that have already been abused and know what could happen if they don't listen, but it will not always work. Part of the lessons you HAVE to teach a kid is 'Actions have immediate consequences, some of which are significant.' If you don't, that child will be unequipped to deal with life outside of their crib, and that constitutes neglect. Never insult your child, but don't be afraid to raise your voice. Never strike them without consideration or from emotion, but sometimes it's better to redden their rear than for them to find out that there's a reason they got a warning not to play with the electrical outlets. Blah, I'm ranting.
Time for the great escape! Haha!
Nice job! Gawd I hope they get out of this alright ;n;
To the next chaptet
You're saying you wouldn't lecture a child about why what they did was wrong? As long as it's not verbal abuse (insults and threats), I don't see the problem. Some kids just need to be firmly told why their actions or behavior are wrong.
9185809
I meant verbal abuse and threats.
9185861
(please do not sue me in a court of law, im partially insane)
if you're gonna verbally abuse them might as well get physical to right?
The harsh reality is.....words hurt more than any injury a person can make.