That Silver Tongue - Chapter Three

Chapter Three – What A Nice Time For A Stroll

 

 

>You could hear the loud sounds of ringing beating around inside your ear.  You quickly slap your hand down on the horrible racket, silencing the clanging.  This time, you remember clearly what is needed and get up straight away.  Putting on some clean clothes, you make your way to the kitchen, starting the day’s routines.

 

>Today, you decided to make up some eggs and toast with oatmeal and apple bits in it.  It’s both healthy and delicious, so Silver will definitely like it.  Looking at the time, you see you finish with two minutes to spare.  That’s a massive improvement from yesterday.  Taking the food out on a tray, you see Silver Spoon just now entering the dining room.

 

>She doesn’t even look tired to you.  Walking up to her, you place the tray of food in front of Silver before taking a seat yourself with your own tray.

 

“So, after we get your work done, I was thinking of taking that walk through the park and on the way we can grab some treats from a stand.”

 

>A stand wouldn’t be too expensive on you.  You know Bon Bon sells some pretty good candy for cheap.

 

>“I would much prefer we go to Sugarcube Corner,” Silver Spoon responds.

 

>They always made the best treats and even imported their stuff from other kingdoms.  Most of the p0nies here could even call it gourmet.  You have a feeling Silver would want the really good stuff, too.  And that would be very expensive to purchase.

 

“I heard that Bon Bon was coming up with some new candies.  I thought that might be something to try out, don’t you think?”

 

>You really didn’t want to buy the treats at Sugarcube’s.  It’s just too damn expensive there.  Silver Spoon stops from taking a bite of her oatmeal upon hearing that.  She places the spoon back down into her bowl, looking down at it while swirling it around.  She looked extremely upset, her ears flattened against her head and a frown on her face.

 

>“…But I was really looking forward to going to Sugarcube’s,” she says quietly.

 

>Now you felt bad.  Was she looking forward to this more than you thought?  She probably doesn’t get out much, and she does nothing but study and… that’s about it, really.  As her watcher, you couldn’t help but try and make her feel somewhat happy… You know you are going to regret this decision.

 

“Silver… we can go to the Corner.”

 

>“Really?” she asks, wiping her eyes.

 

“…Yes, you can choose what you’d like.”

 

>She gives you a small smile before going back to her meal.  Seeing as you were already done with your own meal, you grab your tray and head back into the kitchen.  You miss the small smirk appearing on Silver’s face the moment your back’s turned away.

 

>…

 

>After waiting for Silver to finish so you could clean her dish, you went around the house to tidy up.  It didn’t take you very long since there isn’t much activity going around the place.  That gave you enough time to prepare before Silver left.  You’re now waiting at the door for her to leave.

 

>You see her walking to the door with a bag slung on her side.  She looks prepared for the day.  She slowly stops in front of you.  Silver Spoon blinks a few times, looking up at you.

 

>“…Hello Anon, I was just about to leave.  Is there something you needed?”

 

“Just here to check up on you before you leave and make sure you’re fully ready for the day.”

 

>She blinks a few more times at you before turning to her back, quickly rummaging around it before turning back to you.

 

>“Everything appears to be in order.”

 

>...

 

“I meant how are /you/ doing in general?”

 

>“Oh, right!  I feel well prepared and ready for the day!”

 

“There’s nothing bothering you?  You’re not having any problems?”

 

>“…Nnnoo?” she answers, almost sounding unsure of her answer.

 

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure.  You know you can come to me if you do have any problems, right?”

 

>She stares at you for a few seconds before tilting her head off to the side.  What’s there to think about?  You can see her ears twitching about in thought.

 

>“I appreciate the offer Anon and… Um… If I do ever need help, I’ll come ask for it.”

 

>You smile at that.  At least you gave her the option so she knows it’s there.  Is there anything else you can do now?  Thinking for a moment, you remember what Pinkie told you.  It can’t hurt to add that in, right?  Walking up to Silver, you bend down and scoop her up in a hug.  She squeaks out from the sudden action, her body becoming rigid.  Placing her back down, you see that her head’s completely red.

 

“I hope you enjoy your day, and I’ll see you after school.”

 

>“R-r-right,” she stutters out as she makes it out the door.

 

>Since she’s now gone, you go over the house once more to make sure everything is cleaned up properly.  While dusting around the place, your thoughts wander back to Silver Spoon.  These activities you’re trying to do with her, they’re not over the top, are they?  You just want to help her out.  You didn’t want her to have a boring childhood and grow up too fast.  The same thing happened to you when you were younger.  Your mom forced you to move around and you never got to have any personal friends.

 

>She was growing up too fast.  It just wasn’t right.  You didn’t want her to be fully grown with the only memories of her childhood being studying and her small interactions at school.  She was so detached from the other fillies at school.  You’re hoping to help her out with that before the mayor comes back.  Maybe if this job doesn’t pan out you could still come over every now and then to get her out, to have some fun.  

 

>You should probably hurry up with your cleaning.  After cleaning up, you look over at the time on the wall.  It took a while longer today to clean since you found a mouse in the pantry.  You were chasing that around for most of the day until you decide to go get Fluttershy to call it out.  She reprimanded the mouse for ‘terrorizing’ you for most of the day... and then she did the same to you for trying to kill it.  

 

>That was such a waste of time.  Now you only have an hour before Silver came back.  It’s not enough time to go out, but you should be able to get a quick shower.  You have to keep your head down so you don’t hit the ceiling.  You can’t wait until your house is resized.  After a scalding hot shower you put on some fairly plain clothes: a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt.

 

>You don’t need to prepare a snack for her since you’re buying it out in town.  You do prepare some lemonade to drink while she’s doing her work, though.  Looking at the clock, you see that you have five more minutes before she returns.  You stand by the door, waiting for her to return from school.  Silver Spoon arrives right on time.  She looks up to you, giving you a small smile.

 

>“Hello Anon!” she says happily.  

 

“And hello to you.  Are you ready to do your homework so the two of us can go out?”

 

>She quickly nods before heading to the table with you.  Her work isn’t exactly difficult though she is making a few more mistakes than you would expect, trying to get it done quicker.  She must be more anxious for the walk than you thought.  It doesn’t take long for her to finish her work and the lemonade you put out.  Silver Spoon excuses herself to her room as you clean up the table before you go to your room.  You grab your bag of bits and stuff it into your pocket.  After putting on a jacket, you make your way to the front door.  You see Silver Spoon waiting there for you with a small smile with her own coat on matching the color of her body.

 

“Well let’s get going on our walk, then.”

 

>“Right!”

 

>…

 

>Walking beside the grey mare, you see she has a little bounce in her steps and a small smile.  At least she seems to be enjoying this so far.  The two of you had some small talk while walking to P0nyville.  Silver talked about her school and her studies.  There wasn’t much to talk about your own day since all you did was clean.  Walking around P0nyville, you wave to any p0ny that saw either of you.  /It’s a pretty good day for a walk/, you think to yourself.

 

>Spotting the Sugarcube Corner, you head straight there knowing you’d be losing a few more bits than you’d like.  Walking inside the store, you hold the door open to let Silver Spoon in.

 

>“Hi, and welcome to,” Pinkie immediately stops, noticing the two of you coming in. “…Sugarcube Corner!”

 

>Once Silver’s inside, you turn to Pinkie, who has an enormous grin on her face.

 

>“Sooooo, what can I get for you two today?” she asks.

 

>“I’m interested in getting a treat, possibly something unique?” Silver Spoon asks.

 

>Good god, unique treats were horribly expensive!  You can practically feel your pocket already starting to become lighter.

 

“Yes, I’ll be paying for the treat… Money’s not an issue, right?”

 

>You say that last part with your teeth clenched, barely able to speak.

 

>“Oh, well we just got a shipment from Canterlot of a new treat made specifically with magic!”  She zips in the back for a few seconds before coming back with a large tub that was sparkling before slapping it down on the counter in a thump.  “It’s a specially made soft serve ice cream that doesn’t melt until you start eating!  This treat is sure to cool you off!”

 

>“What flavors?” Silver asks, tilting her head at the container.

 

>“That’s the best part!  You can have any flavor!  It’s magic, so you just need to ask what flavor and BAMMO!  Magic flavor ice cream extraordinaire!”

 

>Oh god, anything involving unicorn magic was horrendously expensive!  

 

“…Silver, are you sure you want this?  I mean, it might get cold later on, during our walk through the park.”

 

>You hear Pinkie squeal from that.  Looking at her, she just gives you a grin.  You shrug it off, looking back to Silver Spoon.

 

>“The weather will be fine, it’s not going to get that cold.  The father of one of my classmates works with the weather team and she likes to bring in what the weather will be each day.”

 

>Welp, looks like you’re getting expensive ice cream.  /Just remember, you’re doing this for Silver; just bear with it and grin/.

 

>“I’d like raspberry,” Silver says to Pinkie.  “Two scoops please.”

 

>…Fuck it, why not go for broke?

 

“Make that two cones, Pinkie” you say monotonously.

>With both scoops made up she gave them to you.

 

>“That’ll be fifty bits!”

 

>You stop breathing for a second. Fifty fucking bits!  With that amount, you could have an entire shipment of meat flown out from the Griffon kingdom!  Juggling the cones, you dig inside your pocket, grab your bag with shaky hands, and start depositing the bits on the counter.  Each little clank of the coin hitting the counter made you wince.  Mayor Mare better be paying you very fucking well or you weren’t going to last a month after this job.  Your pouch took a heavy hit with that... you’re lucky you brought enough bits from your money stash to pay for this.  Pinkie grabs the money and slams it into the cash register, not even taking the time to count it.

 

>“Thanks for your purchase at the Sugarcube Corner!  Come again!”

 

>Silver Spoon starts heading out the door with you behind her.

 

>“Hey Anon, can I speak to you reeeally quick before you leave?” you hear Pinkie call out.

 

>Motioning for Silver to go on, you turn back to Pinkie who’s got that same big smile on her.

 

>“So… you’re taking her out somewhere already?” she asks with a giggle.

 

“Yeah.  I figure it wouldn’t hurt to take her through the park on a walk since she seemed to like the idea, along with getting her a treat.”

 

>You say that last part with a small amount of remorse to your departed coins.

 

>“Don’t worry about the bits,” Pinkie says with a wave of her hoof, “just make sure she’s happy!  And just so you know, I gave you a big discount on the cones!  They’re new and I’m not supposed to let those out just yet, okay?”

 

>You blink at that.  That was a fucking discount?!  You don’t even want to know what they were supposed to cost.

 

>“And you even set up the walk for the early setting!  Anon, that’s totally perfect!  She’s going to love her time out with you!”

 

>You’re confused at what she means by ‘setting’ but you nod at Pinkie anyways as if you got it.

 

“Thanks Pinkie.  That reminds me, I wouldn’t mind talking to you when I get the chance.  I’d like to hear some more ideas I could do with Silver.”

 

>“Well of course, of course!  But go on, she’s waiting outside for you!  You don’t want to keep a mare waiting!”

 

>She gives you a wink before exiting to the back of the shop with a quick bounce.  Pinkie… why are you so confusing?  There’s something really weird about how she said that too.  You shrug it off for now, deciding it’s best to think about that later.

 

>Leaving the shop, you see the sun’s already setting, with the moon coming up slowly.  What the fuck is with that?  Is that what Pinkie was talking about?  You can see Silver spoon standing by the door waiting for you.  You give her a nod before the two of you continue your walk to the park.  

 

>The streets seem completely void of any p0nies for some reason.  Did this have anything to do with the early setting?  It made the walk easier when it’s just the two of you so no other p0ny would try and bother you.  Silver Spoon’s been discussing the different uses that the magic used on the ice cream could have.  She seems to be having fun, strange as it may seem given that it’s just a walk.

 

>Finally you make it to the park.  The sun’s set by now, with the moon overhead.  You look around for a place where the two of you can sit.  It’s mostly covered with trees and hilly mounds.  

 

“I wish there was a bench to sit on,” you say out loud.

 

>“There’s one over by that tree,” Silver points out to you.

 

>Looking over, you see a bench you somehow missed on the other side of a tree.  It was seated right beside a pond, so at least you had something nice to look at.  How did you miss that pond?

 

“Perfect scouting, Silver,” you enthusiastically tell her.

 

>She smiles at you before the two of you walk to the bench.  The night sky shone with the twinkling stars dancing across the sky.  It made looking around much easier for the two of you.  Making it to the bench, Silver hops up to the bench taking a seat.  Taking a seat next to her, you give her the expensive ice cream.  She has to hold it with both of her hooves to keep it steady. Silver looks at it from side to side, as if she was appraising it, before taking a bite out of it and swirling it around in her mouth,

 

>You look down at your own ice cream before taking a bite.  It was very smooth and puffy, almost like eating a cloud.  It started to melt soon afterwards, lightly chilling your mouth before disappearing.  It’s fucking delicious… but expensive.  You wouldn’t mind having more in the future, but you don’t see yourself purchasing this again.

 

>Looking over, you see Silver Spoon’s taking small, delicate bites at a fairly rapid pace.  She’s obviously enjoying it, but you hope she doesn’t get brain freeze.  The two of you sit in silence, enjoying the cones.  /This was a pretty good idea/, you think to yourself.  She seems fairly happy right now, and you just like how relaxing this feels.

 

>Silver Spoon starts crunching on her cone, smearing some of the ice cream on her nose.  You chuckle at her before devouring the rest of your own treat in a few bites.  Silver looks at you in confusion from the chuckle; you respond with a smile and taking your hand out, rubbing the ice cream off her nose.  She blushes lightly, staring at the ice cream at your finger before looking away.  You chuckle once more as you eat what’s on your finger.

 

>You stare out at the pond, waiting for Silver Spoon to finish her cone.  You wonder what else you could do with her.  Surely she’ll want to do something else besides walking around with you and talking, but what?  Looking over once more, you see she’s finished and staring at the pond, tilting her head from side to side in thought.

 

“The night’s out pretty early,” you state, looking out at the pond.   “Not that it’s a bad thing, but it sure was surprising.”

 

>“I agree,” Silver responds.  “The princesses do this once a year so the p0nies could enjoy a nice nightly stroll earlier.  It’s something that Princess Celestia did for her sister, as a welcome back gift.”

 

>Huh, that’s interesting to hear.   It’s interesting to note that it’s just you and Silver at the park right now.  The other p0nies must be somewhere else, probably at some event for this.  You should’ve asked Pinkie about it; maybe you could’ve taken Silver to that instead.

 

>Still, this was pretty nice.  The stars were sparkling all over the sky, some of them twinkling about lively.  You could hear the chirping of crickets with the splashing sounds of the pond water.  This was definitely a good day for a walk.

 

>“Anon,” you hear from Silver Spoon.  You turn to her, curious what she wants.  “Um… could you tell me about yourself?” she asks you, tilting her head.

 

>Leaning back into the bench, you stretch an arm over the back before smirking at her.

 

“Well that’s a pretty open question there, Silver.  Do you mean my favorite drink or book?  Or perhaps what I’ve done so far here in Equestria?  Or maybe-”

 

>“I mean could you tell me about yourself, before you came here?  Like… your family?  I mean, how did you grow up?”

 

>You stare at her for a few moments before sighing.  She wants to know about your family… and how you grew up?  You’re not sure if you want to answer it, either.  The way Silver is growing up, it’s eerily similar in ways to your own.  You really disliked so much of it.

 

“My life wasn’t exactly exciting or anything.  When I was growing up, I was moved around a lot with my mom.  She used to have to travel all over the place for her work, so it was difficult sometimes to deal with.  My mom’s job ended up having her working near the capital, so we moved on the outskirts of it.  It was nice to finally settle down and go to school.”

 

>“…What then?  Did you have many friends or… were you happy?”  Silver Spoon asks you.

 

>Looking over to her, you see she’s completely turned towards you, curious of  what you had to say.  You can’t help but feel she’s asking that for another reason...

 

>...

 

“You shouldn’t worry about the quantity of friends; it’s the quality that counts.  And for the most part yes, I was happy.  I went through school until I ended up getting a degree in teaching.”

 

>A good load of shit that turned out to be; you still ended up working at a small construction site for on the job training.  You should’ve tried for a different degree, but you were too hopeful on getting a job straight out of college.

 

“What about your mom?  What happened to her?  And what about your dad?”

 

>Yeah… you didn’t want to answer those questions, way too many bad things to think about there.  You quickly take your arm from the back of the bench before grabbing Silver and pulling her towards you.  She lets out a small yelp as you squeeze her against you in a hug.  You could see her face redden all of a sudden, looking up at you in embarrassment.   She looks extremely adorable right now, making you smile.

 

“So inquisitive tonight, aren’t we?” you ask.

 

>You turn your head away and stare at the pond with the filly held up against your side.  It took a while but you could feel her body slowly start to relax before she leans her head against you, staring at the pond as well.  The two of you watch the frogs jumping around, trying to catch their buzzing prey.  It’s more entertaining than it sounds, really.

 

>You definitely should get a telescope next time; this night’s perfect for stargazing.  You can feel Silver breathing on the arm you’re holding her as she watched the pond with a strange fascination.  Slowly, you move your hand up to the top of her head and scratch the side of her ear.  Taking your fingers, you roll them around her ear, getting a satisfied purr from her.  You can feel her scooting in closer to you, making you smile.  You look up to the sky, watching the stars move about.

 

“Looking at the stars here, it always felt... off to me.  I don’t recognize any of those constellations.  And yet, they’re a memory of home that I have… it almost feels like I’m home, staring up at those little twinkling lights.”

 

>You spent your time there telling Silver about how you used to stare up at the stars, learning about them when you were younger and wondering if there was anything out there.  You’re not entirely sure, but it’s a possibility that one of those stars could be of home.  It’s always a nice thought, thinking that.

 

>The entire time, she sits there and stares up at the stars with you as you pointed to each one, telling her what you know about them.  Learning these from Twilight is coming in handy right now.  You can feel her nudging her head against your hand as you scratch her ears.  Looking down, you see she’s pushed up against you with her eyes closed, listening to you talk with a small smile on her face.  It was definitely a great idea to come out here.  You should plan for some future walks.

 

>You’re not exactly sure of the time, but you know the two of you have been out here for a while now.  You still have to give her a bath and get dinner done.

 

“Hey Silver,” you say gently to her, “it’s time to head back.”

 

>“Hmm-hhmm”

 

>That sound like an okay to you.  Standing up, you watch her slump over on the bench.  She must be pretty tired.  You’re about to wake her up to walk back when an idea pops up.  You smirk, thinking it would definitely be fun for her.

 

>You lightly grab her body, seeing she’s still slumped over in your hands and not noticing you lifting her up.  Lifting her above your head, you place her sitting on your shoulders.  You can feel her body slump up against your head as you grab her legs for support.  She finally starts to notice her odd position, sputtering at you.

 

>“Wh-what are you d-doing?!” Silver questions with a squeaky stutter.  You imagine her head must be like a tomato right about now.  “W-why am I up here?!  Th-this is embarrassing!”

 

“Why, I’m taking you home, Silver.  I hope you’re comfortable up there!”

 

>Before she could say anything else, you start walking back to her house, making sure to keep a very good hold of her legs.  Her front hooves wrap around your head as she holds you up against her, most likely afraid of being up so high.  You can feel her lighten up on her hold within a few seconds, noticing she wouldn’t fall down.  You could feel her fur warming the back of your head

 

>It’s a long walk back, but you take your time since you felt Silver would like that.  Walking out of the park, you could feel Silver pushing her weight against your head with her front legs on either side of you.  You can hear her let out small, continuous squeaks.  /She must have fallen asleep/, you think to yourself walking into town.

 

>You walk down the empty streets of P0nyville, the only light sources helping you coming from the street lamps and the starry sky.  Up ahead you could see some movement coming from the corner of Sugarcube Corner.  You can easily make out Pinkie Pie bouncing in place, staring in your general direction.

 

>Walking close, you can finally see her fully.  The same must have been for her, as her face erupts into a large smile once she sees you coming up.  She lets out a loud squee, squeezing her eyes shut while hugging her own tail before zooming off in some random direction.  Why’s Pinkie got to be so confusing?

 

>The rest of the walk was relatively peaceful and quiet, save for the squeaking snores of Silver Spoon.  She hasn’t stirred once from her sleep, other than occasionally rubbing her head against yours.  Arriving back at her place, you head straight to the living room and place her down on a couch, waking her up in the process.  You leave her there and head straight to the bathroom, starting a bath for her.  Once you got everything set up you walk back out to the living room, seeing Silver Spoon leaning over the arm of the sofa, nodding in and out with a wobble.

 

>You walk over to her and take off her glasses, setting them aside on the couch.  You take off her necklace before undoing her braid, letting her hair loose.  Lifting her up, you take her to the bathroom before placing her inside the water.  It helps reawaken her slightly as you go about cleaning her.

 

>You start cleaning her exactly like you did yesterday, making sure to do a thorough job as before.  You had to make sure she didn’t fall asleep.  Afterwards, you dry her gently, making sure not to shake her about before you tell her that you’ll get dinner ready in a few minutes.  The only response you get is a nod before she walks off to the living room for her stuff.

 

>Walking into the kitchen, you decide to prepare tomato soup and some grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.  After finishing the meals, you take them out and place them on the table.  You stand there, waiting for her to come in before you took your own seat.  It takes about ten minutes before she comes in and takes her seat.  She completely forgot her necklace, glasses, and to braid her hair.  She must’ve taken her stuff to her bedroom before coming out.  It’s strange seeing her hair flow like that since you’re so used to it being braided.  Silver Spoon seems to be extremely groggy from how she’s slowly going at her meal.

 

“Did you have a good time today?” you ask before sipping on a spoon of your soup.

 

>“…Yes, it was… very fun,” she answers back slowly.  She seems completely tuckered out right now.

 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.  We could do this again sometime or even plan something different for another time.”

 

>“…I’d like that,” she replies, nodding off with her eyes half closed.

 

>Okay, she’s clearly too tired to eat anymore.  Getting up, you walk over to Silver and gently pick her up, cradling her in your arms before walking towards her room.  She doesn’t respond to you picking her up as she slumps up against your chest, snuggling her head into you.  

 

Walking into her room, you go up to her bed and peel back the covering, struggling to keep her in your arms.  Placing her down, you pull the covers back over her before she quickly grabs a pillow, smushing her face into it with a smile.  You let out a smile yourself at the adorable scene.

 

“Good night, Silver,” you say to her.

 

She twitches her ears in reply.  Today was definitely a good day.  Silver got to have some fun going out, so you think you did a good job.  You should try and ask Pinkie later on for some more ideas for sure.  Walking out of the room, you head back to the dining room to finish your meal before you started cleaning up.  You wanted to hurry up since you’re tired yourself.

 

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Silver Spoon’s POV

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

 

“Hmmm, hmmm.”

 

>…

 

>Thump!

 

“Uuugghhh…”

 

>Oh that hurt.  Why’d you get out of bed?  You were so comfortable only a moment ago...  Oh right, your diary needed to be updated and you refused to miss a day.  You shakily walk over to your desk, mumbling to yourself before taking out your diary and quill with ink and turning to the next entry.

 

>Entry Number 136

 

>Today was very fun.  I hadn’t had this much fun in… I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun.

 

>Anon wanted to go to a stand for a treat but I got him to turn it around to Sugarcube’s.  I feel bad about getting Anon to treat me with that expensive treat.

 

>Maybe I can get my mom to reimbu…  I can’t spell that word, I’m too tired.  To get mom to pay him back.

 

>I love going on walks, and the special magic ice cream was great.  We even got to see the early setting!

 

>I didn’t get to see them last year, so I’m glad I got to see it this time.

 

>Anon said he might have something else to do tomorrow.  I hope it’s just as fun as today.  I also feel I’m getting closer to him.

 

>This is a lot of fun, but I still need to remember that I need to keep him close to learn more about him.

 

>I’m too tired to keep writing…  I’m going to sleep.

 

>End Entry.

 

 

~End Chapter Three~