Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer trotted back into the crowded sitting room after their talk as if they were late arrivals to a wake. They just received cursory nods from their friends upon entry which perhaps reflected the gravity of what was about to unfold, nopony said a word as the pair took up central positions in the large room.
Only Spoiled maintained her consistently spiteful gaze as the pair prepared to make their long-awaited announcement together, and as they were about to do so the ornate clock just behind them rather ominously struck five. This unexpected and unwelcome interruption had the effect of putting both mares off their stride, allowing Filthy, who'd now regained at least some semblance of lucidity, to beat them to the punch in terms of speaking first.
"S-So... w-what's g-going ... t-to h-happen... n-next?" He enquired carefully with a trembling voice, as if the fragile sentence was in danger of collapsing off his tongue any moment, with a maid having to clear away the loose letters later.
"We were just about to get to that..." Twilight cast a sympathetic glance in the increasingly nervous tycoon's direction. "...But first of all, me and Starlight would like to express our appreciation for all of your patience in waiting around while we privately discussed the matter, after all something this important shouldn't be taken lightly. Isn't that right, Starlight... Starlight?!"
"Huh?" The seething unicorn had seemingly just resumed her ongoing scowling match with Spoiled without any hesitation, like the initial round had been a warm-up for the main event. "Y-Yes, yes. That's right. And I want my daughter back today. That's my final decision, so you better start packing her things right now."
Oops. It was apparent that Starlight, egged on by Spoiled's dismissive demeanour, was in no mood for subtlety. This put her mentor Twilight in quite the precarious position, as the carefully prepared speech she'd composed in her head where she'd attempt to peacefully reach out to all parties would have to be jettisoned in it's entirety. Oh Starlight... the alicorn shook her head in frustration, why must you always take the sledgehammer approach?
The impulsive unicorn didn't seem to mind disappointing her teacher though, as her clear ultimatum achieved the desired effect she'd craved from those gathered: Complete Pandemonium. Immediately, there were half-a-dozen animated conversations ringing out wherever you cared to listen... some of encouragement, some advising caution, and at least one reptilian wondering when the heck this three-ringed circus was going to end so more urgent matters could be considered. Like gem-watching, gem-polishing and gem-scoffing, naturally.
Through the incoherent hubbub of intermingling voices, the silent sobs of one Filthy Rich cut through like a knife to the heart. But whereas Starlight had felt a degree of pity for the inconsolable stallion before, now her only focus was on leading her filly away from that negligent male and his monstrous wife once and for all. She even deigned to smirk in victory at a slightly paling Spoiled there and then, as if hinting at possible plans to come regarding her flesh daughter's future...
"Enough!" Twilight had tolerated an ample portion of the verbal soup she'd found herself entrenched in, and a flow of magic passed through her horn to light up the room in a brilliant incandescent light. This stunning, shimmering spectacle shushed everypony forthwith into silence, aside from the steady beat of Filthy's soft weeping into Applejack's now quite sodden mane.
After pausing for effect briefly, Twilight cleared her throat and attempted to regain some kind of control over proceedings. "As I was about to say, albeit in a few more words..." the princess stated officiously, while casting her eyes at Starlight in irritation. "My student has decided, for her own personal reasons, that she'd like to regain custody of her child. Let me assure everypony here though, that despite her somewhat casual approach to the matter you've just witnessed, this is a decision she thought long and hard over, before reaching a..."
"Excuse me, but may I say a few words?" The only mare there with enough chutzpah to cut off a visiting royal put her hoof up, before continuing to babble on without waiting for permission. "I can't believe you'd even entertain such arrant nonsense! This disturbed delinquent has no business being in civilised company at all, let alone entrusted with the life of such a precious filly as My Diamond! I don't care how many times she's 'redeemed herself' or 'saved the world'... she willingly gave up her own foal without a breath of hesitation, and to a complete stranger, too! Now, I'm not saying she made the wrong choice, in fact through sheer luck I'd say things have worked out very nicely indeed. But what kind of a potential caregiver does that?! A blatantly unworthy one, that's who! And that's not even going into detail about whatever other misdeeds she's been culpable of. Are we really supposed to believe that this clearly unstable girl has an iota of ability to take responsibility for any other lifeform, whether it be a brainless goldfish, a little filly or even herself? I say she hasn't. Madness, that's what this is. Pure madness..."
"Mrs Rich, let me reiterate that contrary to what Starlight just rather hastily blurted out, no final decisions will be made today, wherever Diamond Tiara ends up next..." Twilight's neutrality was under threat as she couldn't help the tiniest of eye-rolls. "...And you can rest easy, that everything will be taken into account when her final permanent placement is decided. That includes the treatment administered to her at her current address, in case there's any confusion. After all, if we're not fair and impartial in Ponyville, we're no better than a pack of squabbling Diamond Dogs. So, if you want a small tip from me, I'd save your theatrics for the court. We have a long process ahead of us and getting overly worked-up at this early stage isn't going to help anypony."
Spoiled pulled one of her infamous faces upon hearing this 'unsatisfactory' answer, but unable or unwilling to take issue with any of the alicorn's argument, she sat back down while petulantly crossing her hooves. The unprecedented accomplishment of temporarily shutting up the garrulous mare earned Twilight a nod of gratitude from a still fired-up Starlight, but the princess didn't acknowledge it. She was simply trying to calm things down to a more rational level, which might be a forlorn hope considering what she hoped the next course of action would be...
"Now, I want you all to prepare yourselves." Twilight said, scanning the room to make sure everypony was listening. "I think, with the agreement of her parents of course, now is the time to tell Diamond the truth about her heritage. This is probably going to be the most difficult part of the procedure, and once it's over we can start thinking further into the future. It's impossible to know what kind of an impact hearing such difficult news will have on somepony so young, which is why I think it would be for the best if everypony present waits outside when we reveal the truth to her... parents and Starlight excepted, of course. As the pony in charge of this case at least temporarily, naturally I'll stay as well. There's been enough needless disturbances here today, and the last occasion we need another one is when Diamond is trying to comprehend everything in her head. Do all of you understand?"
Despite Filthy's desolate despair at what'd unfolded in his very own mansion that life-changing day, he was somehow able to nod his approval of Twilight's plan, reasoning to himself that it wouldn't be long before the entire town knew anyway, so why bother delaying the consequences?
Spoiled, still a little perturbed at Twilight's thorough dressing-down of her shameless grandstanding, murmured a less-than-enthusiastic 'whatever' to the princess's request, already thinking ahead to who the slimiest attorney for hire was, and how much she could derive from the Crown after she sued them for this outrageous abuse of power.
Somewhat disappointed that they were going to miss the climax of the action, yet a little relieved to be out of that stuffy room finally, the rest of the visiting entourage left the lounge in single file, but not before Rainbow Dash gave Spoiled a final warning glare for good measure, and Pinkie Pie made sure nopony was looking as she sneaked away a plateful of yummy cashew cookies under her disheveled mane... for 'research purposes', of course.
Only Applejack lingered a little longer, whispering something secret into Filthy's ear which not even Twilight managed to overhear, before the orange farm pony straightened her stetson and took her leave with the other departing ponies.
It was as the area became completely free of individuals who weren't directly linked to the case that Twilight gestured to Filthy, as if she somehow expected him to know what he should do next. After staring blankly at the alicorn for a few seconds he seemed to grasp her meaning, as he did his best to stand up once more with his customary presence and panache, despite his vulnerable mental state.
"Feather Duster..." He exclaimed to his servant a few doors down in the kitchen with impressive redolence, under the trying circumstances.
"Yes, Sir?" A faint servile voice could be heard in the near distance, waiting on the next instalment of the Master's instruction.
"Come here this instant. Bring Diamond with you, if you please."
................................................................
In the midst of hearing such dramatic news that would probably shape the rest of her life, one would expect a naturally curious filly like Diamond Tiara to have a thousand and one questions.
From the moment she'd sprinted back inside the now suddenly much more spacious lounge, bored of the dubious child-entertaining talents of Feather Duster as she was to firmly deposit herself back onto the lap of her barely-keeping-it together 'father' however, she'd been strangely subdued. It was as if she'd figured out all by herself that so many distinguished ponies wouldn't have turned up on her doorstep that day without a few good reasons, and she wanted to hear all of them. So very mature for her age, Twilight couldn't help but note, maybe the one thing Spoiled was correct on.
Aside from receiving the whole unedited story from those present, Diamond's overlying concern seemed to be making sure her Dad was okay. Even though the stallion was now doing a persuasive job of covering up all of his doubts and insecurities for his daughter's sake, he needn't have bothered. When you possess as close a relationship as those two have forged, the phrase 'I can read you like a book' becomes almost redundant.
Regardless, not a word was uttered during Twilight's lengthy reprisal of the pink filly's true family history, with the only other movement in the vicinity being Starlight's unblinking looks of adoration towards Diamond, Spoiled's persistent grunts at regular intervals concerning sections she took issue with, and Filthy's gentle stroking of the youngster's mane: the comforting filly had quickly becoming the one needing to be comforted herself.
It was only towards the end of the extended tale, when Twilight reached the crucial part where Spoiled made off with her foalish self in Manehattan to raise her in a not-quite-legally-binding adoption, that Diamond's eyes began to widen. The logic behind all the odd looks she'd been getting from the weird unicorn sitting across from her began to make sense, and she creaked her neck around as if to properly observe Starlight for the first time.
"Y-You're... M-My R-Real... M-Mother?!..." The filly recited those four simple words as if she couldn't quite believe them herself, like she was playing some kind of silly fantasy game where the winner was the one who came up with the most implausible scenario. Judging by the incredulity of her tone, she thoroughly expected to romp home in first place.
This was no fun yet irrelevant diversion, though... it was bitter, truthful, painful real life, something that became ever more apparent at Starlight's next statement. "Yes, I am my darling. And I promise you: one day not too soon from now, I'll take you away from this dreadful place, and give you the wonderful fillyhood I never had. We're going to have so many good times together you and I, and you'll never have to see that awful mare over there ever again..."
Twilight's annoyed glare aimed directly at her reminded Starlight that she may be overstepping her boundaries a tad with her intervention, while everything was still fresh inside the youngster's mind, so she reluctantly cut short her 'welcome' speech for now.
This gave Filthy a chance to say his piece, although once more he seemed to trip over his own words in his unremitting sorrow. "D-Diamond, I-I want you to know... t-that whatever happens from this point on, y-you'll always be the precious, shining little jewel in my life, a-and I-I'll always love you as if you w-were my own..."
"Oh please! Less of the sentimental hogwash, darling! You're making me feel rather queasy, and just before teatime, too!" Spoiled Rich and Rainbow Dash had little in common, but one notable trait they shared was a profound dislike of emotional outpouring displays. "You and I both know, My Diamond's not going anywhere! Aside from the fact that no court in Equestria would entrust her care to such a certifiable basket case, just look at our daughter! She's let herself get shown up at her own cute cenera by a bunch of pathetic blank flanks, she can't hold down an editor's job at the school newspaper for a week without being replaced by a goofy shutterbug, and she didn't even make the final cut to represent Ponyville at the Crystal Empire Games, beaten by a crippled pegasus, of all humiliations! And, that's not even going into how she embarrassed me in front of the entire school when I was trying to drum some much-needed discipline into her disobedient head. Frankly, right now she's worse than useless, I'd even go as far as to say she'd be completely lost without my guiding hoof! With my essential help long into her marehood years, she could grow up to be somepony truly special, but first I have to remove all of that harmful programming her new so-called friends have corrupted her with. Then, and only then, can I wipe the slate clean and start her out on the long road to recovery by returning her to who she was before those insignificant low-lives got their tawdry hooves on her. She certainly wouldn't get that kind of support from Miss Grimmer over there, which leaves only one viable candidate to look after her from where I'm sitting. To be honest, you'd be unwise to even take this to trial, Princess, unless you want to be laughed out of the courthouse at how preposterous this entire sorry enterprise is. So, why don't we just stop all this foolishness now, and..."
Up till now, Diamond's face had been creased with thought, her mind struggling to cope with all the new information it was trying to process. She'd been too cogitative to get angry... too contemplative to cry... in fact, just a few short moments ago, the overriding state of the pink filly's being could be described as 'numb'.
...Until her ears pricked up at the sound of Spoiled's latest impassioned rant. Then, everything changed.
Towards its end, Diamond's neck spun around to face the sneering mare head-on, eyes that had been filled with bewilderment now narrowed in enmity, brain that was previously wracked with turmoil suddenly clear as a bright summer's day.
She leapt off Filthy's lap without warning, Twilight and Starlight backing away in puzzlement at the sight of this new, confident Diamond Tiara. Whatever else they might have expected from the aftermath of the testy meeting, it definitely wasn't this.
The pink filly strode right up to a somewhat perplexed Spoiled, looked her straight in the eye and in a loud, booming voice just like her adopted father's, said:
"What did you just say?!"