Apple Bloom emerged from undercover tentatively, not quickly enough for an impatient Spoiled. "Come, come little Apple. The gangs all here, we're just waiting on you now."
The farm filly squirmed her way into the light, and made her way next to Diamond Tiara. "Are you alright? We don't have to stay here, you know...". Motioning to the unguarded door.
Diamond turned around to face her friend, trying to be as pleasant as possible, considering her underlying rage. "It's okay, Apple Bloom." She reassured her. "I've been waiting for an opportunity like this to say what I want to ever since you changed me for the better. You can leave though, if you like..."
Tiara's offer was instantly rebuffed. "No way." Stated the farm filly. "I'm not leaving you alone with her. I'm with you in everything you do from now on. Besides, I get the feeling I'll have a few things to get off my chest with the 'head of the school board' myself..."
Diamond looked gratefully at the young Apple who had, in such a short space of time, become her closest friend, with the exception of Silver Spoon. Together, the two children faced the haughty mare in front of them, in the same mindset as if they were about to engage with one of Equestria's greatest villains.
"Well, isn't this nice. The two extremes of society, rags and riches, getting along so swimmingly..." Spoiled's sarcasm cut like a razor. "I must say, when I heard my precious Diamond had been adopted by the dirtiest bunch of mud dwellers this side of Equestria, I was mildly perturbed. But now, it appears my fears were completely unfounded! I mean, look at you. You've got a nice red colour in your cheeks, a ratty old second-hand ribbon in your mane, a mucky bandage on your hoof and a tangled up, mussed up, tail and mane! I can see they're taking really good care of you. Tell me, when does the apple bucking start? Tomorrow? Bet you can't wait!"
Spoiled let out a guttural laugh, followed swiftly by the mutual derision of her new underlings behind her. Both Jet Set and Upper Crust had recovered from the shock of the sudden emergence of the two fillies, and were now glaring nastily at Apple Bloom in the same manner as Mrs Rich, while casting looks of intrigue at Tiara.
Bloom had had enough of these toffee-nosed snobs mocking her way of life, and decided to launch a volley back. "Well, at least we actually give something back to the community, instead of walking around with our noses in the air bumping into each other, telling everypony who'll care to listen just how much 'better' we are. Well, from where I'm standing, you're not 'better' than us at all. Y'all waste your time complaining, and trying to one-up each other, whereas we fill our lives with working together, helping out those in need and making friends. You might be rich in bits, but in common-sense and decency you're as poor as a homeless Manehattanite."
Jet Set and Upper Crust gasped at the sheer effrontery of this little wretch to lecture them on their cosseted lifestyle, while Diamond glanced at the farm filly, impressed. If Spoiled had any kind of reaction to Bloom's words, she hid it very well. Not even one facial muscle twitched, as she responded in the same uninterested tone she'd used since bursting into the room uninvited.
"Oh, I forgot..." She remarked. "Your family is branching out into other areas. Silly me. Obviously fruit doesn't pay as well as it used to. You don't just hang around dirty animals and assault trees now, you've branched out into kidnap and brainwashing. Very impressive expansion of the business there! You Apples have quite a few irons in the fire, don't you? Well, you better be careful one of them doesn't poke your eye out someday..."
Bloom instinctively took a step back at this implied threat, which allowed Tiara to finally have her say. Ignoring the continued curious looks that Jet Set and (especially) Upper Crust were giving her, she walked right up to her mother to stare her down.
"First of all, the reason I'm in this hospital today is because of the stress that you've put me through after years of your constant mountain-high expectations of me! I cut my hoof on a fragment of glass from a picture I smashed, guess who was on the photo! And I regard looking less-than-presentable at the moment as a small price to pay, for getting away from you. As for the ribbon, I have to say, it took some getting used to, but now I think it's really growing on me. I might even prefer it to that old tiara you've got stashed away of mine..." As if to illustrate her point, she smoothed out the bow, before returning to put a hoof around a very pleased Bloom.
Despite her best efforts, Spoiled finally began showing some emotion over her daughter's rejection of her formerly prized headgear. "Why, you ungrateful little..." She seethed. "Do you have any idea how much that Tiara cost me? Why, I ought to..."
Her reply was cut short by Jet Set, who'd wondered over to whisper something in her ear. By the time the grey stallion had finished, the confident smirk was back on Spoiled's face, and she addressed him and his wife,
"Well, of course you can wait outside, dears. I understand that this little argument might be uncomfortable for those who aren't family members or... The ones who helped cause the trouble in the first place. And yes, before you go, I do give my permission for your dear wife to do that. After all, if we are to go into partnership together, we must make sure that we're all on the level, yes?" She turned back to grin evilly at Diamond and Bloom, who were completely in the dark as to what had been agreed.
They were about to find out. Suddenly, both Jet Set and Upper Crust's horns flared up, and the two fillies found themselves encased in a prison of magic. Bloom was the one caught by the grey stallion's power, and she found herself shoved unceremoniously into the corner, unable to move. As for Tiara...
Worse was to follow for her. Much worse. She found herself being levitated towards an expectant Upper Crust, and as she floated through the air, she felt herself turn one-hundred and eighty degrees, until her flank was facing the yellow mare. She stopped a few inches away from the female unicorn's face, still hovering, with her hindquarters being studied by the inquisitive grown-up.
"Stop, what are you doing?!" Yelled Tiara, as Upper Crusts hooves prodded and poked all over her flank area, especially around her cutie mark. Unable to cope with her friend's distress, Bloom tried to charge forward to help her, only to find that Jet Set's magic held her firmly in place. All while this was going on, Spoiled had her hooves crossed, smirking at finally getting her own back on her daughter's verbal dressing-down of her outside the school.
In response to Tiara's struggle and strangled sobs, Upper Crust's declaration that "It's okay, dear. I was a filly once too, I can see you haven't got anything I haven't seen before. " Just made matters worse. Diamond could do nothing whatsoever during the intimate examination, but wait until the ordeal was over.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, but in actual fact was just a few minutes, Diamond felt the probing around her rear cease. A very happy Upper Crust confirmed to her husband. " It's true. This is the special symbol of leadership Spoiled told us about, no sign of tampering or paint on this filly's flank."
Upon hearing this, Jet Set released Apple Bloom from the restraints of his power, and the farm filly just collapsed straight onto the floor, her futile exertions from trying to free herself to aid her roommate really taking their toll.
Upper Crust did the same to a now completely broken Tiara, but not before gripping her forcibly in a tight hug. "You are a very special little girl." she whispered to Diamond. "You could do great things with your life, if you'd only listened to the right ponies. I could be like a second mother to you, if you'd let me. I'll see you very soon, Miss Tiara. I'm sure we'll form the closest of bonds."
Then, after giving the pink filly a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek which even made Spoiled raise an eyebrow, she dropped Tiara, before leaving the room, her husband in tow.
As soon as the door was closed, Apple Bloom struggled to her hooves. "H-how could you..." She stammered through tiredness and pure anger "Y-your own daughter..."
Spoiled rolled her eyes at the farm filly's remarks. "Oh, and what do you Apples know about raising children? Apart from sending them off to do hard labour, while they're still barely even foals? At least my Diamond, like me, won't have to work until she's an adult. And look at your lax discipline! The way you rampage around the town with your misfit friends, destroying everything in sight, and getting away with it, just because your family is well connected to that counterfeit princess! In my household, we believe in an eye for an eye! And that's exactly what I just administered to my daughter. She'll think twice next time before sassing me publicly, again."
Blinking the tears away, and wiping spittle off of her cheek, Tiara disagreed that this form of punishment was universally agreed on in the mansion. "D-daddy would never have let you..."
"Well, I've got news for you, precious. " Spoiled sneered back." Daddy doesn't care about you. Why else do you think he spends most of his life, gallivanting around the nation, as far away as possible, making up any excuse not to come home? Because he can't stand the sight of you, that's why! I shouldn't really be telling you this, but... When I was pregnant with you, he really wanted a colt. All he could do was prattle on about all the boys' games he could play with his new son and how a stallion could take over the business one day. Before you were born, he had your room decorated all blue, he was so sure he was going to get his wish. He was so excited that day in the delivery room...Then he saw you, and his enthusiasm died down considerably. Actually, it would be more accurate to say, he lost interest altogether."
"You liar!" Diamond shouted, quite unable to believe her ears. "My Daddy loves me! I've seen the picture of the day I was born, and you're the one who looks like you couldn't care less in it. Not my Daddy!"
Spoiled sighed with annoyance. "And I suppose this is the photo you smashed on the floor, when you cut your foot? You really need to be more careful around glass, dear. Listen to me: The only reason your father looks so happy in that image is because I made him smile. It took various 'promises' from me that I won't go into now, to even persuade him to sit in front of the camera, let alone put on that phony grin! I looked fed up in the picture because of my frustration at having to go to such extreme lengths, just to convey the illusion that your father loves you, when quite clearly he doesn't. We actually took a much better photo later on with both of us holding you, looking happy, but I guess he threw that one away. It wouldn't work in his mission to label me a 'monster' now, would it?"
"I-I..." A highly pressured Tiara wasn't thinking rationally. "H-he came to my Parents Appreciation day. H-he always offers me good advice when I need it. H-he might not be around a lot, but..."
Spoiled gingerly trotted over to her distraught daughter and began tenderly running her hoof through her mane. "Sh. Sh. It's okay, sweetheart. Let it all out. Mama's here. I tell you, that stallion has some nerve calling himself your father. He only went to your school that day because it was mandatory. You should have heard him complain the day before. Why must I waste my time with children, when I have a business deal in Fillydelphia on the verge of collapsing he told me. Just look at the way he took out his frustration on you afterwards, when the deal fell through, due to his absence. He humiliated you in front of everypony, by making you wear that ridiculous rabbit outfit! That stallion has no morals! At least when I cost you your dignity a moment ago, it was for a good reason. I was teaching you a valuable lesson about respecting your elders. As for his 'good advice'..."
Spoiled looked up for a moment at the frowning face of Apple Bloom, before returning to talk to Diamond, this time in a whisper "I didn't want to tell you this way, but... Your father is an expert manipulator. He tells you things that you want to hear, so he can get his own way with you later. He does it with me a lot, so I don't complain while he's travelling around the world, and his tactics seem to work on you, too. He's even got you convinced that I'm to blame for all the bad in your life, when I'm the only one that's ever cared about you, and supported you all the way. Isn't it so much easier having the benefit of my life experience and doing exactly what I tell you to do, instead of making decisions for yourself and getting all confused and depressed, like you are at the moment?"
Tiara's fragile spirit was in tatters. "I... Don't know." She croaked.
Spoiled smiled sweetly at her daughter, and started to unravel her ribbon. "Well, let me answer that for you then, darling. Yes, it was much simpler to just follow my lead and obey the instructions I gave you. I mean, look at how lost and bewildered you are, and you moved away less than a day ago! Do you really want weeks and weeks of what you're feeling right now, pounding away in your head, driving you up the wall, until you explode? No, I'm sure you don't. I've got a great idea. How about, you go over to that librarian Twilight Sparkle's castle, convince her to drop the charges against me as nothing more than a huge misunderstanding, then the two of us can escape to Canterlot together, away from that awful Filthy. Me and him'll separate later of course, and I'll get most of the bits, supporting a child all by myself. Then, I can enrol you in that wonderful boarding school I was telling you about, you'll return to your old self eventually and everything will be fine again. We'll have a much better quality of life too..."
"W-what should I do? W-what should I do?" Diamond's brain was frantically searching for an answer.
"Well..." Spoiled pondered for a moment. " I think a good start would be to get rid of this..." She completely removed the bow from her daughter's mane, to throw it at the feet of a now approaching Apple Bloom. "And put on something that more befits your status..."
She reached into a saddlebag she'd worn the entire morning, and from inside produced a shiny trinket, Diamond's tiara. "I was going to have this passed onto you today while you were at school, to show there are no hard feelings between us, despite your uncivilised behaviour of late. But right now, I feel you need it more than ever, as a reminder of who you truly are."
Spoiled pushed the mini crown on her daughter's head as far as it would go, almost to her nose. Trying to comprehend everything that had happened, Diamond listlessly stared at the floor, with teardrop marks fresh on her face, as Mrs Rich continued to communicate with the pink filly in a childish voice, as if lecturing a mental defective.
"Listen to me. You are my Diamond Tiara. I carried you around for nine months inside me. You'll always be a part of me, whether you like it or not. And right now, I don't like what you're doing. If you have any appreciation for all the times I've accepted your many failures, the way I take care of you in the absence of your deadbeat father, and my overwhelming compassion in my willingness to forgive you, despite your betrayal of our family and everything it stands for, you'll wear this tiara for as long as I say. Then, when you've cleared my good name, you will be relocated to St Winnean's until such a time that the trained staff there strip you of all the subversive thoughts you've had of late, which go against my direct teachings. Do I make myself clear?!" Spoiled had her daughter right where she wanted her. in an almost catatonic state of misery, ready to do her bidding.
All of Tiara's fire and resolve from the time she'd crawled out from until her bed was gone. Didn't her father love her? Did he really hop around Equestria, skipping her birthdays and Hearth Warmings, because... He couldn't stand the sight of her? Did he really want a male heir, instead of the prissy pink filly he found himself lumbered with? Was she... A mistake?
The sight of fresh moisture in Diamond's eyes brought a fresh smile to Spoiled's smug lips. "Now settle down, dear. It's not becoming to cry for too long. What you need to do now is acknowledge that I'm the only one who's ever cared about you in this life, the only one who thinks about you now, and the only one willing to take you away from all this torment. Just say the word, and we'll leave Filthy and this Tartarus cursed hole behind, and leave for Canterlot together at the earliest possible opportunity. After all, what can anypony else possibly offer you, that I can't...?"
"...Love." Came a small, yet resolute voice from a few yards away.
Spoiled immediately shot up, to bare her teeth at one third of the bane of her recent existence. She thought she'd taken care of that annoying little upstart already. She was so close to winning her prize back, and all without even having to make convoluted plans or enter a courtroom. Well, she was just going to have to deal with this child in the same way she'd browbeaten her daughter.
She left the zombie-like form of Tiara behind for a moment, to address her latest target. "Oh, and I suppose you think you're special, because you got your cutie mark at the same time as your little friends? Well let me tell you something, to me you're just as worthless as your sister and her entourage, who went through the same thing. 'Special'? More like: Freaks of nature! I bet other ponies whisper about you behind your back, all the time. Just think: for the rest of your miserable lives, you'll be stuck with a flightless pegasus and a talentless unicorn! You'll never have any individuality. Don't you feel any shame at all?"
Spoiled finished off her rant with a flourish. She stared derisively at Apple Bloom, expecting her to meekly back down to her oratory genius. Or, run away in tears. Now, that would be worth seeing. She waited...
And waited...
Bloom did nothing of the sort. She just stood where she was, glaring at Spoiled with the same tenacity that her oppressor was showing. Giving as good as she got.
Spoiled decided she'd had quite enough of this farce. "What's the matter with you, you useless little mud pony? It's over. You've lost. Soon, Diamond will realise the only pony who wants her is me. She certainly doesn't need the likes of you tainting her reputation, or that yokel-spouting hick you call a sister. Do you really think I'd let such an unworthy specimen become the sole provider for my precious jewel? Such a concept is beyond laughable..."
"Mrs Rich. There's something I've been curious about. What does your cutie mark mean?"
"W-what?!" Spoiled couldn't believe it. The irritating little nuisance had dared to speak again, when by all rights she should be a prostrate mess cowering on the floor. And, she'd just asked quite the armour piercing question. " I... What relevance does that have?!"
"Well, you may not know this, but..." Apple Bloom did wonders to keep a civil tongue, considering who she was speaking to. "Me and the other Crusaders aren't exactly 'talentless'. Aside from me having a big heart, Sweetie Belle's singing ability and Scootaloo's being able to ride as fast as lightning, our shared true destiny is, as you can see in the colour of our manes on the shields, to help other ponies find their calling in life, based on their cutie marks. A very important job, I'm sure you agree. We did it for Troubleshoes in Appleloosa a while ago, and we helped your daughter discover that she could harness her leadership ability without becoming... Well, like you. Now, my friends aren't here so I can't be entirely accurate with my reading, but I just got to thinking... Do you need my help?"
The usually unflappable Spoiled retreated a couple of steps. "N-no of course not! W-why would I ever..."
"So, what does the ring on your flank represent then?" Bloom asked with genuine interest, her eyes trained on Spoiled's mark. "Are you good at making jewellery?"
"Never! If I want something, my husband just buys it for me!"
"Selling jewellery?"
"Me?Get a job? Huh! The day that happens will be the day I jump over the moon!"
"So, what does it mean, then?"
Spoiled glanced back at her insignia, drawing a complete blank. The room felt like it was beginning to close in on her. She never felt this unsure about herself since... That day.
"If I may, I have a theory I'd like to run by you." Apple Bloom stated, plainly. " It's up to you whether you take it at face value or not, and of course I could be completely wrong. But, I'm going to tell you it anyway.
Spoiled continued to stare dumbly at her mark, not saying a word.
"The ring on your flank, shows your aptitude for marrying well. And you did. Look at you, hitched to the most successful businesspony in Ponyville! One who loves his daughter dearly, contrary to what you say. One willing to journey around the world, earning extra bits to keep his selfish and ungrateful wife happy! One who tolerates her many childish tantrums and outbursts, because he has unlimited patience! His only fault is not putting his hoof down when he sees how much you mistreat and abuse your beautiful daughter, out of some wrongheaded sense of keeping his family together, because Diamond Tiara needs a mother! Well, let me say, after what I've witnessed today, forget about Applejack, Queen Chrysalis would make for a better parent than you! At least she knows what love is. It's a term that you clearly don't, and probably never will, understand!" Apple Bloom was uncompromising in her ire.
For the first time in quite a while, Tiara's head ceased to slump, and she looked up, captivated by what was unfurling.
Spoiled was in a state of shambles. She didn't know whether to lose it there and then, or run off through the welcoming front door. So instead, she just stood there, eyes glazed over, while Bloom resumed her tirade.
"If you ignored your sole talent, and left your husband to try and make it in Canterlot with your daughter by yourself, do you really think you'd survive? That other ponies wouldn't turn against you, once they saw you for what you truly are? An abusive, lying, manipulative, nasty piece of work? No, they wouldn't. And I promise that soon, Diamond wouldn't think much of you, either. You might be able to win her favour for a while with your non-stop threats and deceit, but I've already opened her eyes to other possibilities. Soon, she'll see you as the beast you clearly are, and you'll be all alone! And, guess what? You'll have no pony to blame but your own rotten self! If I've learned one thing from you, it's that cutie marks don't just tell us about the pony they belong to, the name can reveal a lot too! Spoiled by name, Spoiled by nature. That's you!" Apple Bloom had Spoiled on the ropes.
10...9
Mrs Rich began to totter, while Apple Bloom made her way over to see how Diamond was doing, picking up her old ribbon along the way.
8...7
Spoiled's eyes began to roll into the back of her skull, as Bloom helped Diamond up, removing the unwanted tiara from her head in the process and tossing it across the room, where it broke into pieces against the wall.
6...5
Spoiled's feet started to buckle out from under her. Apple Bloom began to tie her bow into Tiara's mane, with the pink filly watching her mother's gradual collapse in silence. Neither pony laid a hoof to help her.
4...3
Spoiled's long snake-tongue began to unravel yet again, just like the last two occasions she fainted. The children continued to wait for the knockout blow. The ribbon was nearly on securely.
2...and...
The door burst open, with a great deal of noise caused as a result. Spoiled, on the precipice of darkness once again, suddenly woke up, all of her faculties restored. So near, and yet so...
In the meantime, the bow-wearing Tiara and Apple Bloom's attentions turned to the grey stallion who'd intruded on their fun. It was Jet Set, out of breath and looking as if he had something to say.
"Ponies... Lots of them... Here... To see Diamond... We need to leave... Now." He pounded his chest as he spoke.
Spoiled didn't need a second invitation. She gave each filly in that room an unreadable expression, mostly one made up of hatred and bitterness, before swiftly making her way outside.
The door shut.
Peace and serenity reigned.
At least, for now...
Well I half expected Bloom to deck Spoiled in the schnoz from the chapter title, but oh well a complete verbal dismemberment is just as good I suppose
Spoiled just got dressed down by grade schooler, I don't think she's going to be displaying any higher cognitive functions for a while (mostly on account she's going to be having her own little Blue Screen moment)
As if that wasn't bad enough;
Now I really hope that Filthy Rich left town to see some lawyers. Not to clear Spoiled's 'good name', but to divorce her ass.
Woo-hoo! You go, Apple Bloom!
Well, Spoiled broke the restraining order, continued her abuse, and once again forgot how Twi and the others have personal and professional relationships in the highest echelons of high society. Not to mention, the Apples have a lot more money than she does, having a monopoly on apples and apple products throut the whole of Equestria. Im fairly certain that she owns no shares in her husbands business of Barnyard Bargans, so technically Pip and his piggy bank have more money than she does. Shes funding her entire lifestyle on Filthys assets, not her own
yep, shes doomed...totally boned...
I think Jet Set just realized how bucked they are. The real question is if Filthy Rich will put his hoof down and stand up to take care of his daughter?
Meh. It was great :D
Still looking forward to seeing DT adjust to hard wok on the farm too
I await the day Diamond is going to be like, "Cancel my subscription, I'm done with your issues, mom."
6912634
When Twilight gets involved, Spoiled is going to be royally boned.
Bravo! Bravo! That was a killer move AppleBloom did there!
The scene: A beautiful day in Aaaaaaaaple-oooosa!
Braeburn tips his hat forward, eyes watering with liquid pride as he watches the smoke from that burn rise over Ponyville, grinning ear to ear..
"That's mah cousin doin' that."
The scene: A lovely day in Trottingham.
Pip points a column of smoke on the horizon near Ponyville out to his parents and family.
"Oh, that's a good one. Felt the heat over here!"
The scene: Snow gently spirals around the protective dome of the Crystal Empire.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza pauses her pregnant pacing as her unborn foal begins to wriggle excitedly.
She glances south, and smiles with glee. The snow around the Empire is displaced by dozens of feet as the dome of love expands explosively.
The scene: The Castle of Canterlot, a darkened room decorated in midnight blue, stars and moons.
Princess Luna sits up in bed suddenly, awakened from her daily slumber.
"HUZZAH! The burn has been DOUBLED!" She laughs and clutches her pillow as if hugging somepony.
The scene: A Zebrcan hut in the Everfree Forest, a wild rain pattering away outside.
Zecora feels the very earth tremble, and pokes her head out the window, to see the column of smoke.
"I see that Apple Bloom's final reserves brings the justice Spoiled Rich deserves. No ointment, balm or spell of healing shall undo the burn that mare is feeling."
Also, like and a fave. And a Yay.
...That. That is the very definition of a "the reason you suck"- speech.
Apple Bloom just had herself a Crowning Moment of Awesome and delivered one impressive The Reason You Suck Speech. Well done!
"And if you're worried that this might nearly be the end, fret ye not. Spoiled ain't going to give up that easily"
Um, I'm pretty sure that after violating a restraining order, using the term "mud pony" (using racial slurs is a hate crime), and SEXUALY ABUSING HER DAUGHTER BY PROXY OF TWO OTHER PONIES, Spoiled has done enough to not only lose all contact rights with her daughter until she is an adult, but also earn herself a several year long prison sentence. Jet Set and Upper Crust should also be put in prison for what they just did.
The calm before the storm. I wonder what Twilight will do.
Rekt
Enough said
Two words: 'get rekt'
WOW! THAT WAS AMAZING! Spoiled is such a monster! Please keep having her in this story, she's such a great villain!
My one comment would be when Spoiled asks "Do you know what this cost me?" I'd have said "I have no idea what your husband paid but it didn't cost you anything but sex" Probably not something a child would think of
DId Apple Bloom just channel Phoenix Wright!?
6912939 So much irony because Spoiled Bitch is a fricken earth pony who wants to be like the Canterlot nobility... or in this case, the Manehatten nobility. While manipulation can be right up Filthy Rich's alley, he wouldn't do that to Diamond... even if she wasn't born a colt. I also agree that Queen Chrysalis would be a better parent than Spoiled Bitch.
well no matter what now spoiled rich has knowingly broken the law, that's jail time.
6912634
Mark 12:41-44New International Version (NIV)
The Widow’s Offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
I feel this might be appropriate here. It's true the Apple family may not be rich, but they're happy, and they give to the community from their hearts. Spoiled only uses her money to influence and bribe, and her 'love' is all for show. I agree with Apple Bloom completely here. There are rare occasions where kids are smarter than adults, and this is one of them.
Okay, this is getting a bit weird now. What on earth is going on with Jet Set and Upper Crust? I mean, why go so far just to cause some mischief with those who had disrespected them? It's beginning to strain suspension of disbelief that they'd risk so much (maybe ending up fugitives if the fillies identify them correctly) just for the sake of a glorified prank!
Yeah, I kind of thought that Spoiled's special talent was to be a gold digger. Never worry about her; if Filthy were to divorce her, I'm sure she'd find another sugar daddy soon enough; it's something she's good at!
WOW!! I wasn't expecting such a positive response so quickly, just a few short hours after I uploaded the latest update. I must say, it is quite heartening to see so people like my work, after I spent the best part of eight hours writing parts 1 and 2 of chapter 30, and another couple of hours proof reading them, making some minor adjustments etc. Sort of makes all the effort worthwhile.
Thank you all very much for your comments. I shall now reply to some in one post, seeing as how the page is full enough as it is, without me responding to each one individually and clogging up even more space...
6912578 Are you serious? High praise indeed.
6912194 Not quite...
6912599 That would be slightly OOC, doncha think?
6912617 Oh, I'm sure he'll have a few words to say when he gets back. Perhaps he'll even get round to defrosting his balls...
6912634 On paper, yes. But I'm sure there are a few more twists in the tale to come...
6912653 I'd like to see her prepare any food, let alone Chinese. But seriously, yep. Expect some more slice of life of DT learning to life the rustic way coming soon...
6912658 Now, that's a Bond One Liner if ever I've heard one.
6912718 This is one of my favourite comments of all time. You, sir/ madam have just won the internet (as well as a follow from me, as soon as I finish typing out all this shizz).
6912768
6912890 YAY!! TV TROPERS UNITED!!
6912939 Well, yeah. Don't worry, I won't be brushing that little incident under the carpet in the coming chapters...
6912942 Stay tooned!
6912948
6912983 Great minds think alike. And to think, I didn't even know what that term meant a year ago...
6913174 I dunno, she's a slippery customer that one. Underestimate her at your peril...
6913204 Did you read Part 1 of chapter 30? They've somehow got it into their heads that DT is the potential catalyst for an uprising among the underclass. Pretty far-fetched to say the least, but hey. Chalk that one up to the powers of manipulation attributed to Spoiled.
That's ya lot. Now, go out and get some fresh air. Or if it's night, go and open a window. Keep safe...
6913204 Upper Crust is doing it mostly because she's petty and spiteful, like a lot of people (wealthy or not) tend to be. Jet Set is doing it due to a combination of the previous, and because he's horse-whipped.
6913186 I would tak another look at that statment about the Apples not being rich. It may not look it, but given the sheer amout of area covered by Sweet Apple Acres alone, and then adding in the amount of land owned by the rest of the massive Apple clan, the monoploly the Apples hold on all apple and apple related products in Equestria, the extensive business and social connections held by the Apple family....the reason that Applejack and her imediate kin live as they do, as simple farm ponies, is because they choose to, not because they have to. The Apples of Ponyville own and operate more land than the Richs, make prudent investments into the farm that inevitably show very healthy returns, have working business relations with other near by farmers...in terms of assets, the Rich famil is only the second wealthiest family in Ponyville...
I think I have a new favorite chapter of this story. This was amazing!
In earlier chapters, you said that Spoiled Rich was not evil, just severely misguided. I have to disagree at this point. She has gone from "stuck up rich bitch" to "racist, incestuous child molester" (the fact that it was by proxy of Jet Set and Upper Crust is irrelevant). This chapter also makes it very obvious that she does not give a damn two shits about either her husband her daughter. She married Filthy for his money and only wants her daughter to grow up to be just like her. She crossed the moral event horizon in this chapter. Her Freudian excuse of being raised to be mean by her own mother is not enough to make her sympathetic anymore. I doubt her own mother ever sexually assaulted her or told her that her father never loved her. I hope she gets put on the sex offender list for this and gets prohibited from ever contacting her daughter again until she is an adult. Jet Set and Upper Crust should also go on the sex offender list for this, for life. I hope the three of them enjoy the pizza bombs and shit themselves at the death threats they get every night. The three of them are f***ing c*** suckers.
6913379 Well, I'm not sure if I'd go that far, but yeah. What they did was pretty despicable.
Judge for yourself if whatever consequences might befall them in future chapters fit the crime. Going by the angry tone of your message, you might be disappointed, but hey. Sometimes life is not fair, and bad people don't get punished enough, or they get off scot free.
Sad, but true.
Is there even a sex offenders list in Ponyville?
Well, I am going to try and change the laws one day so that people ARE punished appropriately for this sort of thing (and others). If I fail, I will instruct my decsendents to try and do the same, give them a couple hundred years, see if they can clean this planet up. if not, then they will have permission to set off the worlds nukes. If someone did something bad to someone in my area, and the cops did not do anything about it, I myself would deal with them. Anyway, all I gotta say is that I hope that Tiara is not too damaged and can recover. I really hope this fic has a happy ending.
Spoiled is doomed.
She has truly crossed the line; she violated a restraining order, threatened minors, sexually/physically assaulted her own daughter, condemned a minor based on race, and conspired to relocate a minor in violation of the terms place by the restraining order.
Spoiled is doomed, and there is no way that any of her husband's money or assets are going to save her.
Not even he should save her.
The moment that Twilight gets involved with this is highly anticipated, especially if she has the ability to prove everything Spoiled said.
Spoiled is most certainly doomed.
Very nice chapter, highly anticipate the next update.
Savage.
Also, you said "foot" somewhere in this chapter. I'm going to have to report you to the Brony Fanfiction Feet Police.
6912718 Holy shit... we need ALL the Fire Departments and ALL the Burn Salve for this one... but not even that'll work... damn...
6913580
^this. No way logically she could escape this.
Eh. I say pass her on to Luna.
She's much more versed in old fashioned punishments for such evils.
6913392
A quick...ish...comment.
Heh, you got me invested in the story and now I can't help it!
*deep breath*
While yes, that is true, especially in today's society; bad people go free, and good people pay the price....that doesn't work in this situation, I think. The crimes that are now documented to being committed with a witness...AND the past history of abuse....
Corruption, money changing hands...it's one thing in a democracy, but I can't see that passing in a monarchy, where 1-3 individuals have say over not only the law, but, (to an extent) the existence of the world, AND said beings who are undeniably good. One of the ruling parties is involved with this case; there is no way for said rulers to NOT get involved. If it was handled in lower courts and parties, then yes, I'd agree with you, the punishment could, sadly, be less severe.
With the current individuals involved? Would not make sense.
Only thing is if you paint Celestia/any of the others as cowards.....the whole 'well, I can't make the law/have total influence, because that's bad'.
....which would be a total cop-out, in my opinion.
verrrrrry curious how this all turns out. I'd be careful though how you handle the ending. Of course, you can't make EVERYONE happy; but with an issue this provocative......and the overall positive tone you've painted in the fic. (the current chapter's....'incident' caught me totally by surprise), many readers (like myself) are expecting a can of royal kick-flank to be opened soon.
Eh. I vote for the moon. Simple, cheap, and effective. Spoiled could finally be a queen....with no subjects.
Alone.
Forever.
Fantastic writing, by the way. Remember that for any response you get to your work; especially if it's emotionally-charged (negative or positive,) that shows your talent as a writer and storyteller. Great stories elicit emotion, good or bad.
Splendid absolutely splendid. I really should have seen it coming sooner, but as soon as AB started asked Spoiled about her cutie mark my first thought was "there probably isn't enough popcorn for what's about to happen."
That was awesomely savage and so spot on I think the grin on my face would have rivaled Pinkie's when she saw that first Rainboom. By the time it got to the end that comment about Chrysalis was just an extra layer of icing on the proverbial cake. I wonder if Pinkie has a Pinkie Sense tell for when someone is getting hit with a rhetorical H bomb, because if she did I'm sure it was going off in spades.
6913822 I am starting to wonder if maybe I set myself too high a standard with the last chapter, as apparently a lot of people will be disappointed if the next one isn't equally, in their eyes, as good.
And now I've entered the choppy waters of some pretty controversial topics, I am going to have to be extra careful how I handle those too, to avoid upsetting those who've suffered something similar...
Great, just great.
Still, it's a nice problem for a writer to have. Tell the story you want to tell, keep it as logical in-universe as possible, and try to make it entertaining while not p*ssing the reader off.
Challenge accepted.
It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it...
Flexing typing muscles
Should this somehow make it to some sort of court, which it should, I would expect magically based investigation techniques to get involved.
This could go so many more ways then just "truth potions"
What if luna gets involved, using her dream walking magic to investigate spoild's mind? What if some other pony lawyer uses a similar spell? What if night court generally handles kases involving criminals? It might explain pert of ponies mostly probably unwarranted dislike of luna.
What if some form of destiny magic is used? Destiny magic seems to just saturate pony blood and genetics. What if they just look at a ponie's future to determine if the crimes will ever be repeated? This would remove the need for a traditional law system.
However... it seems like a bit of a waste of our time, don't you think? The story is more about diamond's slow adjustments than it is about spoild's life. I can see how spoiled is relevant, since her life caused diamond's life to be the way it is, but she isn't a main character, at least not at the moment. It just seems like she is this separate presence that only existed so that diamond could have someone to yell at in order to express what she is feeling so that we could all get behind her and yell "yeah!" because we all already agree that spoiled is some bullshit. Now that she already did that, she is kind of awkward for the story. Like, we are basically just waiting for her to get convicted at this point. The only other option I see as being likely is the one where spoiled goes full super-villein and decides not to listen to the rule of law. She could appear near tiarra at the worst possible moment and maybe kidnap her and say unspeakably rude and manipulative things to her and generally prove herself to be a crazy pony who isn't worth saving. But...like...this story isn't supposed to be about her and how unforgivable she is, from what I can tell. This is Diamond's story, and diamond's story is about how diamond adjusts to her new type of life. For most real people, in real life, adjusting to a major change in lifestyle does not have to involve our closest loved one being totally irredeemable. Not being a dick is about not being a dick, not about abandoning our mother. Really, ideally, since this is about tiarra's growth, the conclusion of this should be about how diamond deals with the pain of hating someone who she loves. Don't kid yourself. Spoild is her mother. Diamond loves spoiled and that's the reason why this betrayal hurts so much. Even if they do never speak again, even if she puts on a strong face and yells down her mother and leaves her mom in some sort of an emotionally scarred, legally screwed pile, diamond will hurt and her father will hurt more.
6913905
In what sense?
Honestly? The only way I could see it being too high a standard, is if Spoiled and the Set's don't get a harsh enough punishment. I see this as one of a few climaxes to the story, if not THE height of the emotional/ect toll.
6912939 691263 But alas, It's a she said, she said, scenario. However somepony had better be keeping a closer eye on them from now on... Possibly some of fluttershy's animal friends.
Or at least that is what would happen if the writer wanted to keep things going for a while longer...
Might seem incredulous at first for Applebloom to so REAM Spoiled so badly, but lets not forget she and her friends have a talent for finding a meaning of cutie marks when it isn't obvious and showing that how the talent is used is as important as the talent itself. Spoiled Rich's talent reflects her very nature and what she focuses on, social climbing via marriage. if she wanted to Spoiled rich could apply her talent in more constructive ways, like a marriage planner or match maker,but she's chosen to only use it for her own gain.
6914128 Well, there's such a wide variety of views expressed here over what's happening in the story right now I wonder if I'm going to let any of those expressing them down.
I have a pretty good idea of where I want the story to go, and I'm not going to change it midway. I just hope I don't step on too many toes as I go on... I may act like I don't care, but the opinions of readers do matter to me. After all, if not for them, where would we be as authors?
Let's see how many I can upset/ annoy along the way. Hopefully, as you say, it's because I'm eliciting an emotional response to the events unfolding in the narrative, and not because they find the story lacking...
Spoiled Rich clearly does not have any real love in her heart for anypony. I hope Filthy sees her for what she is. It's clear at this point that redemption is not possible for her at least at this point, as she does not truly love her daughter and wants to send her off to a boarding school. Mabey a few years away from her daughter, coupled with Appleblooms words sinking in, could get her to rethink her life, but as of right now, I do not see how she could change her ways anytime soon, but I still hope that Filthy can become a bitter parent. I have no idea what he sees in her.
6914337 He was influenced by her cutie mark . IT'S EEVVIILLL!! BURN IT OFF!!
Seriously though, I have no idea. Maybe I'll get into that in future chapters. Maybe, as I said in my first chapter (gosh, doesn't that feel like a lifetime away now) he just has bad taste in mares.
Interesting how, even though I'm more 90k words into this fic, I've only just scratched the surface of what I want to cover. Looks like we'll be here for a while, folks. Hope you all enjoy this crazy journey with me now...
Not gonna lie. was kinda hoping Diamond or someone would punch her in the face.
6914472 For reals? And there was me thinking you were a peace loving fella, going by your username...
6914225
You should take the general feelings of the readers into account, yes, but by no means should it steer you away from what you have planned.
You've indicated you have a MUCH larger story planned (yay!) So, if pitchforks and torches come at any point, there's always a chance to (if needs be) appease the masses farther down the road.
Honestly, the only issue I'd foresee is if, once all is said and done, Diamond's mother & cronies get off with little more than a slap on the wrist.
I say death by sun because the moon is too good for them
6913822
And Jet Set and Upper Crust will be going down with her on the sexual assault charge.
Sadly, I suspect they will only get imprisonment, not the... varierty of more creatve things I would suggest, but I have observed that when other people have expressed such, it can sometimes upset people (including the author of a story on one occasion). Though frankly if you write a story that includes severe, violent child abuse, a berserk button for many people these days, you kinda have to expect those sort of opinions about the inflicting characters to be aired, even here.) But I digress.