Diamond Tiara couldn't believe it. Why did they make the long trek, at the dead of night, to her mansion? As if the day hadn't been active enough with all the emotion and joy attached to their close family members and loved ones getting their cutie marks, why had they taken it upon themselves to stop by, when most ponies were tucked up in bed after the festivities?
The little filly had no idea. All she could do is stand there on the staircase, slack-jawed, as four of the heroines of Equestria made their way past her vantage point and into the lounge, where her parents must have been equally nonplussed. The quartet of guests were as follows: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, with Princess Twilight Sparkle taking the lead.
As they past her amazed stare, none of the visitors noticed the young child watching them intently... That is, apart from Applejack. The farm pony seemed to possess a sixth sense for such things, and without warning turned to give Tiara a friendly smile and a wink, before following the rest of the party.
After all Diamond had done to pick on her sister and the other Crusaders, she could only feel humbled. At least that reaction from the older mare might prove that the four ponies weren't there because she was in trouble. In which case, what were they doing there...?
The pink filly's train of thought was interrupted by Randolph's stammering introduction, before the real confrontation got underway. Taken aback as they were by the sudden appearance of these unscheduled guests, it was Twilight who was able to get the opening salvo, ahead of the usually sharp-tongued Spoiled Rich.
"Sorry to bother you at this late hour." the Princess Of Friendship announced formally, fluffing out her wings "But my friends here have heard some rather disturbing things that may have transpired recently at the school and in town I felt had to be addressed urgently. I wanted to clarify these rumours to see if there was any truth in them, and if there was... Take appropriate steps."
Twilight sounds awfully stilted thought Tiara, renewing her surveillance of the situation. Not like herself at all. I wonder what these rumours could be...
The next voice to be heard was, strangely enough, Filthy Rich. The laconic stallion, used to dealing with high pressure meetings, wasn't sure what this was about, but whatever it was, he was sure it could be straightened out. Adjusting his tie, he spoke to those assembled in his usual authoritative tone.
"Now see here, Ms Sparkle. I appreciate what you have to say might be important, and being a member of the Royal Family might give you some clout. But you can't just barge into other pony's houses at night without prior warning. So, unless what you have to say is of the utmost importance, I suggest we take this up in the morning, and..."
"I'd call child endangerment 'the utmost importance', Filthy... Wouldn't you?" Applejack spoke for the first time, taking a step forward and aiming a purposeful glower at Spoiled Rich. Also noticeable was her calling Filthy Rich by the nickname he hated, and not correcting herself.
The rich stallion flinched in surprise at his old friend subjecting him to this insult, while the orange mare's harsh words earned her a look of surprise from Dash and Rarity, along with a disapproving glance from Twilight. Applejack wasn't backing down though. There was nothing more she hated than child abuse and after what she'd heard from her little sister earlier on, she was sure there was something rotten going on in the Rich household.
She continued "As soon as my little Apple Bloom had finished partying with her pals at her cute-cenera, we got talking about how she earned her cutie-mark. Apparently, she spent the day helping your daughter... Following her around, trying to cheer her up, teaching her how to be a better pony. The poor thing sounded miserable... And it wasn't too long before Bloom figured out why. It was..." At this point, Applejack pointed a hoof at where Spoiled Rich was sitting.
"Because of you." The farm pony finished her sentence with aplomb, a scowl decorating her features.
"W...WHAT?!" Spoiled was outraged beyond belief. How dare this smelly bumpkin force her way into the mansion, and accuse her of such a heinous crime?! She didn't care if the leader of this group was a princess, she was going to have them thrown out this instant. Spoiled reached over to grab the bell, which would summon the guards who'd fulfill the task...
Only to be stopped in her action by an angry looking Rainbow Dash, who'd flown over to Spoiled, so they were almost muzzle to muzzle. "Scootaloo told me what you said about her and her friends, in front of the entire class and the teacher. Let me tell you that that 'confused insignificant low-life' has done more in her short life than you have in your entire existence. Marrying into wealth, and getting fat off the proceeds... Yeah, great talent, that!!" The sarcasm was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
Spoiled retracted her hoof. Why, she'd never been subjected to such uncivilised language before. Well, not since her daughter had chewed her out earlier on, but coming from another adult, that she couldn't punish, was unbelievable.
Next, it was the turn of Rarity, who had been scanning her surroundings with interest. "Much as I love what you've done with this place, darling, I'm afraid your parenting leaves more than a little to be desired. Shouting at your daughter in the middle of the town like that, just because she didn't win a class election. Yes, my sister has been with Diamond today too, and I hesitate to say this, but from what I can gather, a lot of the problems Sweetie's had with your daughter over the last few years would seem to originate from your bad lessons."
Spoiled listened in amazement. Even Rarity, the only pony there she vaguely used to respect for her fashion and designing skills, was giving her a mouthful. Well, she'd just lost herself at least one customer, that's for sure. The wealthy mare was going to take a trip soon to shop at the new boutique the unicorn had just opened in Canterlot... No chance of that happening now.
Twilight, who had lost control of the situation long ago, visibly facehoofed. This was supposed to have been a genial discussion about dealing with a fraught domestic situation, but events had spiraled completely out of control. She was glad Celestia wasn't around to see this, some mediator she'd turned out to be.
Still, in their own unsubtle, roundabout way her friends had kind of laid out exactly what she'd popped over to discuss: Spoiled Rich's toxic influence in the form of verbal and emotional abuse on her daughter which had apparently gone on for years, and had turned the filly into a friendless, obnoxious spoiled brat (at least, until now). Having come from a loving home herself, Twilight found it impossible to believe anypony would put so much unwarranted pressure on their offspring, as well as imbue them with so many unhealthy prejudices about the less well-off.
The princess wanted to understand.
Even though, she was quite sure she wouldn't.
"So, Mrs Rich..." Twilight spoke politely "You have heard from my friends our concerns for the way you've raised Miss Tiara, along with your publicly belittlement of the students at our local school, which may I just say, is shocking behaviour for the head of the board. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Spoiled almost exploded with anger.
This wannabe princess had the gall to tell her how to bring up her own progeny?!
Somepony who hung around with a baby dragon all day?
Somepony who was nothing but a common librarian, until recently?
Somepony who was lecturing her about being a mother, when she was childless herself?
(Of course, she left out the part where the purple alicorn had saved Equestria from certain destruction on a few occasions... Let's just say Spoiled has a very selective memory when she wants to).
THIS. SHE. WOULD. NOT. STAND.
"Who do you think you are?" Spoiled huffed. "She's my daughter, and she's mine to do with as I see fit. I have high hopes for her... She's certainly not going to end up a common farmer, a failed Wonderbolt, an overrated fashionista or a princess in name only. Honestly, I don't know what Celestia was thinking by giving you wings. Clearly you don't deserve such a position, you don't even know how to talk to your superiors. I'd like you to leave now, I have enough to deal with, undoing the damage those three little runts did to my blessed Diamond, without you four malcontents sticking your hooves in. Randolph will see you out."
Everypony present in that room wore an absolute looks of horror on their faces, and the one who looked most distressed of all was the usually stoic Filthy Rich. Once again, his wife had engaged her mouth before her brain, and had ended up making a complete fool of herself, and, by extension, him. How could he have let things deteriorate to such a degree? He was always happy to play the part of the silent breadwinner. Spoiled would be the one who'd actively bring up Diamond, and he'd respect whatever decisions she'd make without question.
He was only now starting to realise the folly of such an arrangement.
He only hoped he wasn't too late to fix it...
As it turned out, he might very well might be.
The next thing to happen was Twilight's horn glowing, which had the effect of covering the doors to the lounge in a purple hue, closing them abruptly before the butler could send her and her friends on their way, and cutting off an increasingly anxious Diamond's eavesdropping.
Then Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Twilight got into a miniature huddle.
To the accompaniment of murmurs such as "It's worse than we thought" and "Poor filly deserves better", the princess quickly conferred with her three friends, before they firmly nodded to each other, having reached a conclusion.
"Mr and Mrs Rich." The princess stiffly told a scowling Spoiled, and a nervous Filthy. "I didn't want to have to do this, but your uncompromising stance..." (she angrily glanced at Tiara's mother) "And your determined inaction..." (she cast a disappointed look at the father) "Has given me no option. I feel your daughter, emotionally speaking, is in clear and present danger in this environment, and is not being being nurtured to the best of her considerable potential."
The alicorn then levitated a piece of paper, with a few signatures on it, in front of the shell-shocked couple." I have here a temporary restraining order, written on her behalf. She'll be leaving with me tonight to a foster home. Perhaps only for a little while, depending on how long it takes for both of you to get your act together. You can see her on supervised visits twice a week, and you will of course be given regular updates of her progress. But for now, this is no longer her home. I hope you both see the error of your ways eventually so she can return here. Now, who's going to tell her, either of you, or us?"
Filthy started to cry, tears of shame and regret. Spoiled fainted, unable to cope with the gravity of what was unfurling.
Diamond, now having crept downstairs, with her ear glued to the door, stood motionless in stock silence.
What was going to happen to her now?
6624495 Hello.
Woah.
I have to say... no. The way Twilight and her friends acted here was pretty bad. Spoiled Rich's cartoonishly arrogant evil talk doesn't change that.
I vote for it to blow up in their faces massively after they took Diamond Tiara away from her home.
Addendum: To explain why this is bad, take a look from it this way: They come to the Rich's home in late in the day, gang up on them, insult them, goad them into returning the insults, and as soon as Spoiled Rich does Twilight pulls the slip of paper saying their daughter is to be taken away. That she already had all prepared.
That's no way the Princess of Friendship should behave, nor her friends.
Furthermore, you know what's also endangering your child? Not teaching her that wandering off into the Everfree is a bad idea. Or feeding ponies love poisons. Or one of many, many things the Crusaders did.
Well this isn't a fic to take your tie on. Please continue.
I think that Diamond Tiara would be better off staying with either Twilight or Applejack in my opinion. That way if Spoiled B tries anything to circumvent the restraining order then she would face the full judgement of the Apple Family or Celestia and Luna.
It was about time.
6624525 They are royalty so
This right here?
This, kids, is what is known as a classic case of "Open mouth, insert hoof".
All the way up to the elbow.
6642743 I 100% agree.
She's the freaken princess!!
6650122
Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.
Librarian, Element of Magic, Princess of Friendship, Six-time saviour of Equestria, Protege of Princess Celestia, Defeater of Nightmare Moon, Saviour of Princess Luna, Defeater of God of Chaos Discord, Sister of Prince Shining Armor, Sister-in-Law of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of love, Hero of Canterlot Invasion, Hero of Crystal Empire, Neurotic Bookworm, Solver of King Sombra's traps, Time Traveller, Returner of Cerberus, Friend of Discord, Alicorn, Saviour of Princess' Celestia and Luna, Saviour of Tree of Harmony, Safekeeper of Magic, Mare of Mass Destruction, Defeater of Tirek, Returner of Magic, Master of Castle of Friendship, Fooler of Nightmare Moon, Saviour of Time, Part-time foal instructor.
~Owned~
Nice job on this, nice job, hehe. I feel bad for Filthy, and I want to think he can redeem himself. Spoiled however... her name literately says it.
nice one.
6712356 I can just see Spike listing off every single one of those titles in a total deadpan voice if he were there for this.
Not sure why, but I can imagine the Mane Six being the equivalent of foal protective services. Yep, I can see it now...
Oh. Well it's a Princess, at least.
6624525
... So in other words she was a more proactive version of the CPS?
Thats... bad? Ho-kay then.
6624525 Yeah... you had a point up until that last bit. That was all the Crusader's doing things they knew was wrong. You don't need to be told NOT to go into the dangerous forest that everypony avoids. You're ten, assume that you will get into a world of trouble if you do. Of course, the adults then assume that you know what's right, and will do it. (Such foolishness!) As for the love poison, again, Twilight thought she was teaching them history. A bit like handing someone a book about Socrates, then having them feed someone hemlock. You gave them what should have been simple knowledge, not told them how to apply it. Especially, when they showed no signs of being capable of it before.
So, they are responsible, but the crusaders, when together, are determined, sneaky, and impulsive. Not a good mix.
6624525
Your post is absolutely correct. This is not a criticism of the story but rather a criticism of whoever thinks it is legally and morally acceptable to pull a child or filly away from their family based on hearsay and one outburst. CPS works with families and they usually only take children away from the home if they have evidence that the child is in physical danger. They interview both parents and talk to them about their parenting strategy and inform them if such strategies are unacceptable to the state. Twilight and her friends took away Diamond Tiara based on things they heard and did not see. They only saw a snapshot of Diamond Tiara's life and made their decision based on that. They gave no warnings and no chance for the parent to change their ways. This type of behavior by any leader and government is unacceptable and borders on tyranny. "Child abuse" is not a black and white subject, what one might define as child abuse is not what another might define as such.
You child now belongs to the state by mandate of the crown. You have failed as parent, the child will be made to comply with mandatory friendships.
6844531 That was possibly the funniest comment I have ever read. But it makes me wonder what will happen to Diamond Tiara. Will she be forced into servitude like Spike, or just be thrown aside by the crown?
Poor Filthy Rich, man. I feel for the guy. It was as if he could have saved the day, but he was just too late and passive to do so...
aw...
6844531 The freindquisition is upon us!!
6843752 but you have got to realize that removal from social interaction for a month at her age is almost as bad for a child's mental health as beating her for bad behavior, while pony's in their world might not be a herd species even humans need social interaction to have good mental health, punishing your child for making good friends is horrifying, and considering all her mothers verbal abuse, well to hurt someone especially a young impressionable child, you don't have to hit them or physically abuse them, some words cut deeper then any knife, especially from a parent.
Ooooh, this is getting good.
i have to say, teaching your child to be a bitch is not a criminal offense. They really needed something more substantial to stand as an accusation of abuse. Even overt verbal abuse would qualify. But.... that's lacking here. Spoiled is abusive of everyone else-- but only unfairly demanding of Tiara.
6950316 Ah, but that's not all she might be culpable of. I don't want to give away too much... But all may be revealed in future chapters.
And didn't she overtly verbally abuse her daughter in town that day in canon at least?
ok two things
one i couldn't be a unicorn. or anything with telepathic powers because i would have grabbed her and started tossing her around the room.
2
filthy and the butler should have been like "And take 5 steps to the left" and left her alone to her fate.
6843752 the thing is Diamond Tiara just got grounded for a month, banned from many of the pleasures she once had and threatened with strict boarding school if she did it again. And what did she do. She called out her mom and had her send a letter to her dad to donate money for replacement playground equipment. THAT alone is abuse. DT did nothing wrong and got a very harsh penalty. And Filthly was been really stupid. While he loves his daughter dearly he has allowed Spoiled too much control of the raising of their daughter. He should have put his hoof down long ago.
I'm a bit perturbed by the weak reasoning for Tiara being taken away from her home. This could have been handled better and put in a way that didn't come across as simply a contrivance to get the plot going. Putting too much pressure on your child, while not good parenting by any means, is not child abuse. That said, I can see why the author would hesitate to add more severe actions on the part of Spoiled to the story, one can't have it go too far out of character and the idea of getting tiara into foster care seems like it would be filled with chances for interesting events and stories. For now, I'll let it slide because it's simply not story ruining yet, but it is a mark against it, unfortunately.
6972531 Remember, it's not just about that one day, it's about years of abuse by her mother, burdening somepony so young with massive expectations and the consequences of failure that turned DT into who she is and sadly, her father not intervening enough to prevent it. There are other incidences as well which I'll go into more detail on in the future chapters, so hopefully I'll allay your grievances. Regardless, thank you for giving my fic a try.
This chapter left such a bad taste, I don't think I can continue reading. I've read stories where Twilight Usurps the crown where she doen't act like this much of a fascist. Not to mention the gall of inviting all her friends there just to insult Spoiled Rich, like they're options mean more than her own. Rainbow Dash shouldn't even be there and only makes Twilight's mob of friends seem even more like jerks. Applejack is irrational and just a plain hypocrite, how she could think this is child endangerment is beyond me, when she herself has put Applebloom in mortal danger numerous times. Not to mention the time Bab's visited and abused Applebloom while she did nothing to help. That doesn't even come close to Twilight though, who's condescending attitude destroys any likability for her. She who took Spike to a vet when he was ill then stood and watched him destroy the entire town has the nerve to look down on someone's parenting?
>>Gagster Well, everyone has their own opinion about how Twilight or any of the Mane 6 behave in the show or in this fic, so you are entitled to think that of course. Personally, when I think about all that Spoiled must have subjected her only daughter from verbal abuse, to purposefully warping her personality over the years, I believe that anything the Mane 6 have done is mild by comparison in canon. And, that's not even to mention the other stuff she gets up to later in this story. Still, thank you for making the effort to read it anyway.
6624525
6843752 I'm glad Twilight Sparkle is investigating child endangerment in Ponyville. I hear there is another child about the same age, who doesn't even attend school and is just inside all the time, and is forced to work live a slave for his parent full time! When is the Equestrian CPS going to take Spike away and charge Twilight with child labor?
7000797 ...And now, even making him grow a moustache for her own sick amusement. WHEN WILL THE HORRORS EVER END?!
7000797 Homeschooling, debate of relative age and needs, lack of qualified teachers for dragons.... Also Spike is markedly incapable of almost any actual responsibility under pressure, and behaves a bit like a preschooler with the intellect of a middleschooler. There is no 'right' way to handle him for the ponies. Just the best his caregivers can come up with.
HAHA!! In yo face spoiled BITCH!! You just got owned!! *ahem* Anyhew, I think Twilight would make a great mother!!
7000845 but doesn't he like that mustache?
This fell completely flat. It wasn't enjoyable to read.
Wow, I was almost right!
Would have felt more official if twilight and the police had showed up instead of twilighht and her pals...
7863937 That would be a case of "screwed if we do and screwed if we don't."
7863937 Considering she's a princess accompanied by three others who have virtually the same amount of respect. And as far as we know the highest title in Equestria is a princess. Effectively giving her the same amount of power and respect of their literal ruler. You can't get more official than that. Although I do agree. If I were writing it I would personally have them with a few guards in tow.
7000845 No
Common librarian? Yeah right. Considering that Celestia pretty much a second mother to Twilight... And I'm sure that there been at least several cases of public affection between unicorn and Princess... Spoiled Rich really rather stupid.
7863937
When was the last time you saw anybody resembling law enforcement around Ponyville. Unless they're all just sitting around instead of actually upholding justices. If there are actually any Ponyville cops, I'm willing to bet they're trained by either the Royal Guard or these guys.
I was not expecting that! Oh boy.
Edit:
Applebloom: I wanna sister and I want one now!
I say this with all the respect in the world but none of the elements as the right to cause child endangerment. They allowed three kids to do whatever they want to go wherever they want with minimal punishment even when what they do destroy the town property or hurts other people. Applejack rainbow dash and rarity of black people that could be speaking on this.
Maybe because I'm used to American system of child protective services. But it seems real sauce that a random person who has some authority can take away people's kids for emotional abuse. On top of child selling those signs and being mean.
Well, that happened. I gotta say, I would have thought Twilight could have come up with a better solution than taking away someone's kid. Counseling, monitoring visits, moving Spoiled Rich instead since she's the real problem, magical
brainwashingreformation spells, anything other than the most drastic measure of separating a family (something which should only be done as a last resort).I wonder if the story is going to acknowledge what a messed up thing Twilight did here, or if she's going to get away with no consequences.