With everypony else gone, you turn to Silver Spoon. She keeps opening and closing her mouth, like she’s struggling to find what to say.

“That was…“ She finally looks up and extends her neck toward you, “Really weird!“ You both draw back from that and she starts to look around. “I-I mean… In a good way?“ Her gaze rests on you and she lifts her hoof, “I know this whole trip was supposed to be Diamond Tiara’s present for me. But it never really felt like that, you know?“ Her eyes wonder again, “What I mean to say is…“ Then they fall back to you, “If you wanted to come to my birthday party, I wouldn’t turn you away or anything.“ She looks down and kicks at the ground with her hoof, “Not like it’s a big deal. It’s, you know, whatever. I mean, you already gave me a present. It’d be silly to give me a present and you weren’t invited.“

She looks up again, this time with her head tilted, “So, I guess I’ll see you there. You know, if you want to come, that is.“ Then she turns and walks away without waiting for an answer. You watch her until she disappears into a side street.

You suddenly feel very tired, and your head starts to pound. You definitely still have that knot on your head, though the swelling has gone down a lot. You release a long sigh, then head home. There’s still plenty of choices left to make, but you think you can manage for now.