A Gizmonk in Ponyville - Chapter 5

A  Friend in Need

When School finally ended at all the fillies and colts exited the school house to go home, Apple Bloom could help but smile as he say on her back with a look of triumph on his face.

“Looks like someone is happy with himself,” Scootaloo said with a smirk as the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked down the road.

“Did you see the look on Diamond Tiara’s face?” Sweeties Belle added. “For a minute there, I thought she was gonna explode.”

“Ah still can’t believe Goggles managed to build that toy train in just a few seconds,” Apple Bloom said as she looked at the Gizmonk’s creation in her hoof. “If this is the kind of thing Gizmonk’s do then Goggles is a lot smarter than ah first thought.”

“Well whatever,” Scootaloo smirked. “I’m just glad to see that smirk wiped of Diamond Tiara’s face! I’ll bet she’ll never be able to get over it for ages.”

“So are we heading up to the clubhouse now?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Sorry girls, ah can’t,” Apple Bloom sighed. “When ah brought Goggles home, ah didn’t tell any pony about him at first and it caused a bit of trouble afterward, so ah have to clean the Cider Press as punishment.”

“Aw, bummer,” Scootaloo commented. “Well I suppose we can postpone our group meeting to tomorrow.”

“Yeah Rarity asked me if I could help out at the Carousel Boutique anyway,” Sweetie belle added. “Apparently she needs someone to try on a punch of Filly-sized dresses she’s making.”

“So I guess ah’ll see you guys tomorrow then?” Apple Bloom said, ending the conversation.

“Alright see ya!” Scootaloo said as she jumped onto her scooter and used her tiny wings to push herself away.

“See you tomorrow Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle added as she walked away, towards the opposite direction.

“Bye girls!” Apple Bloom called out as both her friends disappeared from sight, leaving her alone with Goggles on her back.

As she took the path leading towards the outskirts of town, where Sweet Apple Acres resided, Apple Bloom hummed a merry tune while Goggles squeaked along with it. After about ten minutes of walking, just before she reached the turn that led her home, she heard voices from behind her.

“…and what does that stupid thing think he is acting all smug like that!” Diamond Tiara’s voice said.

Realising that Diamond Tiara must have been talking to Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom knew that even with Goggles she would be considered outnumbered two to one against the two bullies coming up from behind her, and she wasn’t really ready to stand up against Diamond Tiara’s fit of jealousy just yet. Quickly reacting Apple Bloom quickly pulled Goggles off her back, covered his mouth with her hoof to keep him quiet, and dove into the nearby bush to keep them from sight. Sure enough Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came walking along the road seconds later.

“I still can’t believe I was upstaged by that Blank-Flank!” Diamond Tiara moaned. “Oh I’m gonna get her for this, mark my words!”

“Oh come on Diamond,” Silver Spoon said trying to reassure her friend. “It wasn’t THAT bad,”

“Oh that’s rich coming for YOU!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “The one who was the first to clap when that Blank-Flank’s Grandmother came in on Family Appreciation Day!”

“She had an interesting story!” Silver Spoon argued.

“And my dad didn’t!?!” Diamond Tiara screamed. “Honestly Silver, I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes!”

“Oh come on Diamond, Don’t be like… Oomph!”

Before Silver Spoon could even finish her sentence, her hoof caught on a small stone in the middle of the path, which in turn sent her body stumbling forward and her glasses flying off her face.

“Oh great!” Silver Spoon moaned as she felt around the ground, trying desperately to find her only means of vision. “Diamond could you help me please?”

“Sorry Silver, can’t,” Diamond Tiara replied, not even caring in the slightest as she continued to walk down the road without her. “I gotta get home.”

“Oh come on Diamond Tiara,” Silver Spoon pleaded. “You know I can’t see a thing without my glasses.”

“Well then you’ll just have to make do until you get home won’t you?” Diamond Tiara called back as she kept going further up the path. “See you tomorrow!”

“Hey wait, Diamond Tiara!”

But it was too late, the supposed friend of the struggling bully had already gone, leaving Silver Spoon to find her glasses herself. As they watched the helpless Earth Pony try to find her glasses Apple Bloom and Goggles couldn’t help but pity the poor girl, however Apple Bloom had known Silver Spoon for so long that her feelings of empathy towards her didn’t last long.

“Come on Goggles, let’s go,” Apple Bloom whispered, turning away to leave.

However as she tried to carry him away, Goggles suddenly struggled and jumped out of Apple Bloom’s grip and onto the ground.

“What?” Apple Bloom questioned.

Goggles merely responded by gesturing towards Silver Spoon continuing to struggle, still keeping the concerned look on his face, indicating that they should at least help her out.

“No way!” Apple Bloom retorted. “I ain’t helping her, you’ve seen what she’s like!”

But Goggles merely scowled and crossed his arms at her.

“Give me that look all you like, I ain’t helping her!”

Suddenly both of them heard a crack and a scream of aggravation from Silver Spoon, once again peering through the leaves of the bush they were hiding in, they saw the filly holding up one of the broken pieces of her glasses, it would seem that she had stepped on them while trying to look for them, thus snapping them in two. Upon seeing this sight, Goggles once again looked up at Apple Bloom, only this time with a look of dominance and he put his foot down and pointed towards Silver Spoon, clearly he wasn’t taking no for an answer this time.

“Alright fine,” Apple Bloom pouted as she walked out of the bush with the satisfied Gizmonk. “But ah’m doing this for you, not her.”

As she walked up toward the depressed Earth Pony before her, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but sigh with defeat, she just knew that this wasn’t gonna be easy. As the two got closer, Silver Spoon’s ears perked up.

“Who’s there?” she said, trying desperately to make sense of the blurry shapes her eyes only allowed her to see. “Diamond Tiara?”
 
“No,” Apple Bloom answered blunty. “It’s me.”

This surprised Silver Spoon slightly.

“Apple Bloom?” she said, before trying to regain her usual image. “What do you want, Blank-Flank?”

Apple Bloom would have scoffed at that and turned away in an instant but the scolding look Goggles gave her made react differently.

“You looked as though y’all needed help,” she said, answering Silver Spoon.

“Ha! Like I need any help from you!” Silver Spoon retorted, trying once again to look as snooty as ever.

That was when Apple Bloom really began to get irritated, at that moment she didn’t care what Goggles did, she wasn’t going to offer help if Silver Spoon wasn’t willing to accept it.

“Well fine!” she snapped before turning away, “If that’s how ya gonna be then I suppose we’ll just leave.”

Silver Spoon suddenly gained a look of panic at that, as much as she hated to admit it, she DID need help, and Apple Bloom was the only one around.

“Apple Bloom wait!” she called out, stopping Apple Bloom from walking away. “Can you… help me first?”

At first Silver Spoon thought that her pleas were in vain since she couldn’t see or hear the young Apple anymore, however as she sighed with depression she suddenly felt a hoof against her own.

“Come on,” Apple Bloom said with a slight smile as she led Silver Spoon down the road. “Goggles would you mind?”

Giving the Filly a happy thumbs-up, Goggles jumped off Apple Bloom’s back and picked up the broken pieces of Silver Spoon’s glasses. He then led the two fillies down the road, limping along with a smile on his face

#

After another ten minutes of walking, Goggles had lead Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon back towards Sweet Apple Acres. At first Apple Bloom was confused as to what was going to happen next but as she looked back down towards the Gizmonk leading them, Goggles smiled as put one of his fingers to his head, showing Apple Bloom that he had something in mind and thus putting her mind slightly at ease. He then led Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon towards the Barn and opened the big red doors before ushering the two fillies inside while he went into one of the empty stalls that the Apples usually kept the pigs.

“Are… are we in your barn?” Silver Spoon said, scrunching her nose up. “I can smell hay everywhere.”

“Hey, don’t disrespect the barn, Silver Spoon,” Apple Bloom replied as Goggles stepped up onto a nearby workbench. “Now, Goggles here is gonna help y’all out so just sit back and relax.”

“Goggles?” Silver Spoon questioned. “That thing you brought to school today?”

But Apple Bloom couldn’t get a word in before both she and Silver Spoon suddenly heard the distinct bangs and other various noises coming from the stall Goggles had entered. Before long Goggles had stepped out again and placed the newly repaired glasses onto Silver Spoon’s face.

“What the…?” Silver Spoon stuttered as she looked upon the Gizmonk with her newly restored vision. “B… but how did he…?

“Ah don’t really know,” Apple bloom admitted with a shrug. “Ah just know that he likes fixing and building things.”

“But these things were snapped in two,” Silver Spoon pointed out. “And it doesn’t smell like he used any glue or anything,”

Goggles merely winked at the two fillies at that remark, allowing both of them to simply shrug off the subject.

“Well… thanks I guess,” Silver spoon said awkwardly. “I suppose I better be going then.”

However before Silver Spoon could even turn away, Goggles tapped her shoulder and presented her with an empty cup. Sensing what Goggles was indicating, Apple Bloom sighed and spoke for him.

“Ah don’t suppose y’all could stay a little longer?” she asked. “Goggles DOES make a nice come of Camomile Tea.”

Normally Silver Spoon would have refused straight away, but upon seeing the pleading look in Goggles’ face, she simply sighed in defeat

“Well I suppose ONE cup won’t hurt.” She said.

#

At first all that the two Earth Ponies shared were several minutes of awkward silence as Goggles proceeded to brew the tea while they sat at the kitchen table. But before long, small talk soon escalated into sharing each other’s interests, as it turns out Silver Spoon seemed fascinated by the kinds of things that Apple Bloom and her friends did while trying to get their Cutie Marks, in many cases she wished that she could even try some of that stuff herself. Soon enough, the two fillies were laughing and sharing stories.

“So your folks REALLY used to be farmers too?” Apple Bloom asked as she took another sip of tea.

“Yeah,” Silver Spoon said with a sheepish smile. “But one day, dad struck a massive vein of silver while digging up some new areas on his land. The whole family’s been loaded ever since.”

“Ah still can’t believe it though,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Then again, ah suppose that explains why you were so interested in Granny’s story when she came into school.”

“Yeah I guess,” Silver Spoon replied, taking another sip from her own cup of tea. “I must say this IS some good tea.”

Goggles smiled at that and scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he cleaned up after himself.

“Ah told ya,” Apple Bloom giggled. “Would you like another cup?”

As she stared down at her nearly-empty cup, Silver Spoon couldn’t help but smile.

“You know what, I think I will have another,” she said.

Giving a small salute, Goggles once again took put the kettle on the stove and leaped towards the kitchen table to collect the empty cups. However, while he would mostly be able to make that small jump between the kitchen counter and the table with no trouble at all, the fact that his leg was still bound in a splint made it slightly harder for him to keep his balance. All it took was one small leap and Goggles ended up sliding across the table and knocking over the remaining tea in both cups all over the two fillies.

“GOGGLES!” Apple Bloom snapped, shaking herself off.

Goggles cringed with guilt as he looked upon the mess he had made on the table, suddenly something else caught his eye, something running down Silver Spoon’s flank that wasn’t tea.

“Hey wait!” Silver Spoon said desperately.

But it was too late, with one quick movement Goggles leaned in towards Silver Spoon and wiped off a piece of Silver Spoon’s Cutie Mark.

Upon seeing this Apple Bloom gasped in shock as Silver Spoon tried in vain to cover up the running paint on her flank.

“Your Cutie Mark…” she gasped. “IT’S FAKE!?!”

Realising that there was no point in trying to hide it anymore, Silver Spoon tried a new tactic and began begging instead.

“Please don’t say anything!” She pleaded. “I…. I….”

But Apple Bloom wasn’t having it, ignoring Goggles’ attempts to calm her down she began to lash out at Silver Spoon.

“You mean after all this time of bullying and teasing, you mean to tell me that you’re a Blank-flank too!?!”

“P… please don’t…” Silver Spoon pleaded again, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“Why shouldn’t ah!?!” Apple Bloom screamed. “Why shouldn’t I just go out and tell the whole of Ponyville!?!”

“Because if you do I’ll NEVER have friends!” Silver Spoon retorted instantly.

Apple Bloom blinked at that, not really knowing what words to say in response to that.

“Say what now?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

Clearly this was a subject that Silver Spoon never wanted to bring up, but never the less, with her secret already out in the open, she knew that she couldn’t keep it quiet any longer.

“When my parents and I moved to Ponyville five years ago, I wasn’t quite able to fit in,” she sighed. I was what most ponies considered a dork, they always teased me about my glasses and things like that. When I met Diamond Tiara she helped me become popular, showed me where to get better looking glasses, gave me a new hairstyle, stuff like that. And when every pony in school started getting their Cutie Marks I panicked, after seeing what Diamond Tiara really was  like, I couldn’t risk losing her as a friend. So I painted a Cutie Mark on my flank out of fear. After that things sort of escalated from there.”

“But that don’t make any sense,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “You would just have to tell the truth when your REAL Cutie Mark appeared anyway.”

“I know, but I spent so long without friends I couldn’t risk it,” Silver Spoon replied. “In all honesty, I knew it was a stupid idea but after I went through with it, it was too late. By then, Diamond Tiara was showing my Cutie Mark off to every pony and I had to keep re painting it since then.”

It was then that Apple Bloom started to feel sympathy for Silver Spoon, she even felt a little guilty for shouting at her just now.

“You… were really that scared of losing your friend?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t you do the same if it were one of your friends?” Silver Spoon replied.

Apple Bloom pondered at this, would she really do something like that to keep her friends, but then again comparing Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to Diamond Tiara would be like comparing herself to a rabid Timberwolf.

“Not if my friends wouldn’t accept me for who ah am.” She finally said, surprising Silver Spoon with her answer. “If she were to dump ya as a friend just because you didn’t get a Cutie Mark then she ain’t really worth the effort.”

“But I would lose everything if she found out about this,” Silver Spoon argued. “My friends, my popularity, Diamond Tiara would make sure of that.”

“Does popularity REALLY make ya happy?” Apple Bloom bluntly said in response.

Silver Spoon was taken aback at this, never in her life had she’d been asked such a question, after a brief moment of thought she sighed.

“No,” she admitted. “In fact it’s horrible. Ponies don’t know the real me, I’m always playing second fiddle to Diamond Tiara, and worst of all, I’m constantly forced to pick on you just to keep up appearances when I’m no better myself. I guess I’m just that pathetic.”

“Of course not… well kinda.” Apple Bloom said, trying to reassure her. “But it don’t have to be that way.”

“It… it’s doesn’t?” Silver Spoon asked. chocking back a few tears.

“Just because Diamond Tiara is as shallow as they come don’t mean other ponies will be,” Apple bloom answered with a gentle smile. “It may take some time but I’m sure every pony would understand.”

“But after everything I’ve done?” Silver Spoon argued. “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo…”

“They’ll forgive you eventually,” Apple Bloom said, interrupting her. “I know I have.”

To say Silver Spoon was surprised by those words didn’t even come close, in fact for a moment she wasn’t even sure that she had heard Apple Bloom right.

“Really?” she asked. “Just like that?”

Apple Bloom may not have liked what Silver Spoon has done over the years that she had known her, but regardless she knew from past experiences that even some of the worst things can be forgiven.

“Ah know how it feels to wait for your Cutie Mark,” she said. “The wait can make ya do crazy things sometimes. And if it’s a matter of keeping friends, well… then consider me your first real one.”

Now Silver Spoon was sure that she had heard wrong.

“You… you would consider me a friend?” she asked, still finding it hard to believe.

“If y’all would let me.” Apple Bloom replied gently.

At those words Silver Spoon broke down into tears, tears of joy that was clearly show through a slight smile on her face. Before she knew it, Apple Bloom had pulled her into a hug. As the two of them enjoyed each other’s embrace Apple Bloom looked up a saw Goggles giving her a smile of approval, she had definitely done right today.