Filthy Rich looked down at his daughter, who was sleeping against his side. The train rode past high, jagged mountains as it made its way towards the bustling, vibrant city of Manehattan. Filthy and his family had been there numerous times. This was the fist time he'd come without his wife. There were a lot of good memories for them in Manehattan. Filthy wondered how much longer there would be a them. The sun was lowering, the Princess preparing to bring the day to an end. Streams of orange and violet fire lit up the mountains bringing the illusion that the mountains were burning. Great, purple shadows spread mist over the valleys. The train took a corner and the mountains receded as the train went through a town. Simple, humble hamlets lined the mostly empty streets. Soon, the train passed from the town and entered a new one.
The last beams of the sun died away and the moon rose, casting silvery light over the wide valleys that the train passed through. The great city came ever closer as the train passed by towns that grew ever larger and then it passed through settlements that were no longer towns, but had earned the title of cities. Great towers rose up and pierced the heavens. An ocean of lights filled the cities, street lights that mirrored the lights of the stars. For a time the train left the cities behind altogether. Diamond stirred, a happy smile across her lips. That was natural as her tummy was full of ice cream and a proper supper of hayburgers that they had gotten before leaving the town. Rushing waters cascaded over a rugged, ancient mountain's face. It shone like a river of silver in the light of the moon and stars. Filthy shook her awake.
She rubbed at her eyes. "Daddy, are we there yet?"
He pointed out the window. "Look, it's Neighagra Falls."
Her face brightened. "Oh, wow!"
No matter how many times she saw it her reaction was always the same. A sense of awe and wonder. When she was younger he and Spoiled had had to explain to an increasingly tearful Diamond that no, she couldn't take a swim in the Falls as the water pressure would rip her to shreds. They had left that part out, but Filthy was sure she'd figured it out as she'd gotten older.
Filthy smiled himself as he looked out at the Falls. Soon, the train had moved on. Diamond yawned, leaned back against Filthy and went to sleep. It wouldn't be much longer now until they reached their destination. If Diamond managed to stay awake maybe they'd see a Bridleway show. Something to get their minds off of this day.
Filthy shifted. He had been acting as a substitute pillow for Diamond for a while and his body wanted to move, but he didn't want to wake her. The motions of the train always seemed to make her sleepy. Very carefully, he adjusted himself while opening a travel case he had bought at a way station. He slipped a pillow beneath his daughter's head and stood. He stretched out his back legs and then his front.
Outside the window, the train was passing through another valley. A lake shimmered in the moonlight. He searched for the name of the lake and realized he couldn't remember it. It had a beautiful sound, he remembered that, and it meant something in an ancient language. A lake where a goddess had wept in the days when his ancestors had grazed in a young world.
He turned away from the window. This was not a time for looking at the past. It was not the time for recalling that that lake was important not because of depressed goddesses, but because he and his wife had made love there in a fit of passion during their honeymoon. It was, more importantly, where they had spoken of the future. There had been things she'd wanted to do. Go to college. She'd gone for a semester. Open a jewelry store. That store had never materialized even though he'd promised to help her with it.
More than her beautiful fur and alluring mane, what had caused him to love her was the fire of ambition he'd seen blazing in her soul, her eyes, the way she'd carried herself. Pride and ambition. He'd loved her for those very qualities that now disgusted him.
Loved her.
Was one argument, even an argument that had culminated in him walking out the door, enough to end their love? He looked to Diamond who had begun to wake up. She looked to him with bleary eyes.
His wife had hurt his daughter. Not just physically, but also emotionally. She had tried to mold her into a pony who was cruel, who looked down on others. He wondered to himself how he could have been so blind. Was it love that had blinded him? Or was it one too many late nights at the office? Too many nights had passed when he had come home after Spoiled had already tucked Diamond into bed.
Or, he assumed she tucked Diamond into bed. For all he knew she had a servant do it. There were several servants Diamond was close too, but that was hardly unusual. Filthy himself had practically been raised by a maid.
Is that what you wanted for Diamond? How could you have been so blind to what was going on in your own household? A stallion cared for his household. It was his chief duty. Filthy's shoulder's sagged as he felt an overwhelming and horrific sense of failure. Diamond noticed it. She hopped off her seat and trotted over to him, nuzzling his chest. "Daddy, are you alright?"
He patted her head. "I will be, Darling. I will be. Everything's gonna be alright."
The train came to a stop. They joined a crowd of passengers as they shuffled into the streets of Manehattan. High skyscrapers rose up for thousands of miles and surrounded them. The streets were lit and still crowded. There were shouts and laughter and upraised voices. The scents of freshly baked bread and other foods wafted through the streets.
There was a pulse and energy to the city. It could be felt in the tall buildings and shops all around them. It could be felt in the constantly surging crowds. It could be felt in the thrum of far off music coming off of Bridleway and from street performers. Diamond pranced ahead and then turned back, sheepish. She went back to standing beside him. He, not trusting her not to rush off in her excitement, ushered her on top of his back. She held on as he trotted at a brisk pace around the crowds.
He took off down a less crowded, but still lit, side street. His hooves clopped onto the hard stone. It was an older part of the city, the street still cobblestone. A ragged looking brown stallion came up to him, looked at him with hollow eyes. He reached out a hoof. "Spare change?"
At first, Filthy recoiled both from a sense of possible danger and the offensive odors emanating from the stallion. Then, he reached into his saddlebag and took out ten bits, handing them to the beggar.
He smiled, showing yellowed teeth. "Thank you, Sir. Gods bless you, Sir." He stumbled off.
"Daddy?" Diamond asked from atop his back.
"Yes?"
"Why did you give money to that beggar?"
It was a fair question. While he made contributions to charity, handing out change to beggars was not something he normally did. "Diamond, what do you think the most important thing in the world is?"
He found a park bench and sat down. Diamond sat down beside him. "I guess, how other ponies think about you. And money."
He sighed. "Well, those things are important. Money's important. You don't want to spend your life having to beg or steal. It's good to have money to buy the things you want or need. But it's not the most important thing. Family is." He wrapped a hoof around Diamond, drawing her close. "Family and being a good pony. And that means being kind, helping the less fortunate..."He paused. "Admitting when you've done something wrong and trying to make it right."
Her ears folded back, as if she were being scolded. "I am sorry for how I treated the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I plan on apologizing to them."
He tousled her mane. Her ears perked back up. "I'm right proud of that, Diamond, but it's not what I was talking about. Diamond, remember that time I missed your fifth birthday party?"
She nodded. "Because you were in a meeting, right?"
"I was. But I was wrong to miss your birthday. It was an important meeting, but not more important than you. I've spent a lot of time working, but I haven't spent enough time with you."
Diamond shifted on the bench. "Mommy says you have to work so you can make money to buy me things."
"That's true. But I'm going to spend more time with you. You're more important. And I'm sorry I haven't spent enough time with you."
She wrapped her hooves around him. "It's okay, Daddy."
He held her. They stayed that way for a few minutes. Finally, she let go when her tummy growled. "Daddy, I'm hungry."
He stood up. "I'm right hungry myself. How do you feel about pizza?"
She had scampered halfway down the street before he'd caught up with her and lifted her back onto his back again. She giggled and held on. He rolled his eyes and tolerantly smiled, just glad that she was in good spirits.
...
There would be no Bridleway show after pizza, though they had spoken of it before Diamond had nearly fallen asleep in her plate. The day had simply tired her out. It was ten in the evening before he found his brother's apartment. He walked up the stairs, his precious burden still atop his back. The stairs leading up to the top floor of the apartment was carved from a shining, well-polished oak wood. The walls were painted a cheerful, creamy white.
He stood at the brown door and knocked. It was late, but he hoped that they were still up. A few seconds passed before the door was opened by a light yellow Earth Pony mare with a pink mane. "Filthy?"
He smiled. "You know I prefer Rich, Ocher."
Ocher ushered him inside. "Gonna get confusing since that's also my husband's name."
"Where is Stinking?"
The stallion in question rose from the couch he was sitting on and turned off the television. His coat was the same brown as Filthy's, but his mane was blonde, a shocking contrast. He trotted over to Filthy and they nuzzled in greeting. "How have you been Brother? Where is that wife of yours?"
Something must have shown on his face because Stinking's eyebrow raised. "She's back in Ponyville."
Ocher picked up Diamond from Filthy's back and laid her on the armchair. She was sleeping hard, the pizza and the day's events finally taking her off to dream land for the night. Then Ocher went to make tea for their guests.
"So, Amethyst is asleep already?"
"She sure is, Bro. Now what happened between you and Spoiled?"
He moved over to the couch. "Let's sit down."
Stinking sat down. "So, spill."
"Apparently, Diamond decided to make friends with some fillies Spoiled didn't approve of. So, she paddled her."
Stinking winced. "Rather harsh. Who were these fillies?"
Filthy shrugged. "Just ordinary fillies. One of them's the daughter of Apple Blossom."
"Of the Apple Family? Your primary business partner?"
"Yep."
Stinking blinked. "And I'm presuming she's not a bad filly?"
"No. Actually, she's rather sweet. Energetic and curious, obsessed with finding her cutie mark, but weren't we all?"
"So, Spoiled's objection to Diamond being friends with her is...what exactly?"
"Apparently, she thinks these fillies are beneath Diamond. One of them's a Pegasus and, well, she doesn't like Pegasii."
Stinking sighed and rested a hoof on his shoulder. "Bro, I told you. I told you she was no good when I met her. She married up and she's acting better than she is. Should have gone with Apple Blossom yourself."
"What a difference that would have made. And Blossom was a nice girl too. Too bad Runner got a hold of her."
"And he's no good either. Ships passing in the night."
Filthy leaned back in the couch. "You been listening to Mareilow again?"
Stinking shrugged. "I can't just listen to classical all the time. Well, what are you going to do now?"
Ocher came back in with the cups of tea which she laid on the coffee table. She sat down on the armchair, settling Diamond in her lap. The stallions told her what was going on. She stroked Diamond's mane. "You always deserved better, Filthy. And Diamond definitely does."
Filthy sipped the chamomile tea. The warm liquid eased him. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Divorce her? It seems so final."
"Divorce her." Ocher and Stinking spoke in unison.
"We've been together for eleven years. We have so much history together. And it's not like she's always a b...it's getting late. I need to tuck Diamond in. Can I stay here tonight?"
Stinking shook his head. "You don't need to ask. Take the guest room."
Filthy stood, laid Diamond on his back and walked to the guest room. He laid her down on a guest bed that Ocher had been kind enough to lay out. Her teacup mark was in tea-making, not hospitality but he'd assume that it was. She'd explained once that tea was about more than tea. It was about creating a warm, inviting atmosphere. That was where her skill in hospitality came from. He kissed Diamond's forehead and pulled the blanket around her.
Then, he returned to the living room and sat down. "Don't think she's always terrible. She can be kind."
"When?" Ocher asked. "Give me an example of her being kind."
He searched his memory. "When Diamond used to fall she would always bandage it up and kiss the boo-boo. You know how moms do."
"Right. That's called being a good mom. Bare minimum anyway."
"And she always supports me. She never makes me feel bad about working late. If I get too tired or my back is hurting she'll massage my shoulders. She's good at massage, a lot of ponies don't know that."
Ocher and Stinking exchanged significant glances. Stinking placed down his tea cup. "Yeah. We've heard it when you two argue. She's said some terrible things to you. I recall her telling you that you were a lazy piece of garbage when your company took a hit."
That had been a nasty argument. "She said she was sorry."
Ocher sipped from her own cup. Then she set it down on a table. "Please listen to yourself. She said she was sorry. She's nice sometimes. I got that bruise when I slipped down the stairs."
He narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying? That she's abusing me?"
Ocher laid the cup on the table. "Using and abusing."
"Stallions do not get abused. That's ridiculous."
The couple exchanged another glance.
He continued. "Hell, I spanked her because I was so angry about what she did to Diamond. Wouldn't that make me the abusive one?"
Ocher looked over to Stinking. Stinking drank deeply from the tea and laid it next to his wife's cup. "She deserved a spanking if you ask me. Yeah, abuse isn't just a physical thing. She's emotionally abusing you and Diamond. She's been doing it for years. I have a pamphlet I picked up-"
Filthy rose. "How dare you! I am not being abused! She just...she gets angry sometimes...you don't know what she's really like...oh, oh Celestia..."
Stinking walked over, patted his back. "It's going to be alright, Bro."
Filthy leaned back into the couch. Stinking sat next to him. Filthy rested his head in his hooves. "How did this happen? Why didn't you two say something sooner?"
Ocher walked over to him."Would you have listened?"
"No, no. I wouldn't have. I need to go to bed."
He stood up and walked away from the living room. He turned back. "Thank you for the tea, Ocher and for the hospitality, both of you. I really need to think right now."
After he brushed his teeth he went to the guest room and slipped beneath the covers. Then he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.