//------------------------------//
// Spoiled's Karma, Part 2: Filthy's Funeral 
// Story: A Shattered Diamond 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
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The next day dawned, ironically enough for the occasion, without a cloud in the sky. It was a bright, sunshine filled day, hardly the sort of day for a funeral. Yet, such was the case. The entire town of Ponyville had practically shut down for the occasion, and every newspaper in town had run Filthy's obituary several times. Not a soul in town was unaware of the great tragedy that had occurred about a week ago.

But although many ponies were full of sorrow, nopony felt worse for the occasion than Diamond Tiara herself. This was it, after today she would close the door on her old home life for what was likely to be forever. This would be the last time she'd see her birth father, before he would be buried six feet under. And it didn't help that among the many attendees for the funeral, one of the ones that would give a speech would be none other than the filly's ex-mother.

Still, Diamond somehow found the will to get out of bed that morning and eat breakfast with her new family. "It still feels so weird to consider them my family, even though I really want to start calling them as such. Maybe I need to talk to Princess Luna about this tonight, assuming she's still monitoring my dreams." The filly thought to herself, in between spoonfuls of her cereal.

After breakfast, Dizzy and Quick got all dressed up, then led Diamond and Scootaloo along to Carousel Boutique to pick up the fillies' funeral dresses. Rarity was a great assistance in helping to put the dresses on, both of which were the most stunning black you'd ever seen.

"Thank you so much, Rarity," Dizzy Twister said to the young fashionista. "They look absolutely perfect. What do I owe you?"

But Rarity only waved a hoof. "Oh, these dresses won't cost you a thing. On such an occasion such as this, you really needn't worry about money. Besides, I've had plenty of funeral dress orders already, I'm more than set for the near future. And these are hardly the only funeral dresses I've sold for free," Looking down at Diamond Tiara, she added. "You sure you're feeling okay, darling? Nopony would blame you if you decided to not be present, you can still see your father afterwards one last time."

Tiara shook her head. "I owe it to my father to say goodbye to him properly. Besides, everypony else is gonna be there, and no way am I letting them think I'm a chicken!"

"You're no more a chicken than I am, Diamond!" Scootaloo said firmly. "And I know I'm not one! But if you're determined to go through with this, then I'll be by your side. And if anypony dares say anything about you, they'll answer to me!"





Although some had expected the funeral to be held inside town hall, like many public ceremonies, all were satisfied with the choice of a simple funeral home near the cemetery. Inside the simple one story brick structure, Filthy Rich lay in a casket carved from fine oak. A small podium was placed in front of it, next to a picture of him, and of course a wreath of flowers.

Everyone filed in, and precisely at 11:30 A. M. the funeral began. Mayor Mare kicked off the proceedings, dressed in a fine black suit, and having swapped out her usual yellow glasses for a similar looking black colored pair. "Dearly beloved citizens of Ponyville, we are gathered here today to pay our final respects to a fine, upstanding citizen of our community," Mayor Mare spoke somberly. "But in a larger sense, we are here today to celebrate the life of Filthy Rich, a stallion who many of us knew to varying degrees," She then spoke at length. "At his heart, Filthy Rich was a stallion who in spite of his status as both owner and CEO of Barnyard Bargains, never forgot his roots. Though he strived to outperform and outsell the competition, he always played by the rules. Many times he would give away his hard earned profits to charity, or offer a discount to a pony or ponies in need. And no one will dispute that he was a family stallion through and through. Not only did he love his wife, Spoiled Rich, but also his only daughter, Diamond Tiara. Of the many families I've had the privilege of seeing founded and subsequently grow in my time as mayor, the Rich family will always be among the ones that hold a special place in my heart," Laughing a bit, she added. "I often used to joke among my advisors that Filthy could easily unseat me from the position of mayor if he really wanted to, and many times I thought for sure he would run, but he never did. A pity, as I feel he would've made a fine mayor. But perhaps he was content with his life as it was, and felt I was doing a fine job. Whatever the case, we will never know what he might have been like as mayor. Yet we will always know what he was like as a business stallion, and a family stallion. Now then, anypony else who wishes to share their memories of Filthy Rich, please step forward."

There was a great deal of applause as Mayor Mare stepped down from the podium and took her seat, while Granny Smith trotted up. Compared to Mayor Mare, she seemed under dressed, having opted for a simple, torn black gown. A noticeable aura of sadness seemed to emanate from the elderly mare, as she spoke. "Many ponies believe that with age comes wisdom, and they're right. But at the same time, age is an unspoken curse, at least for me. It seems like the older I get, the more ponies I expected to outlive me pass on," She then fondly recalled. "I remember how Filthy Rich was always first in line to pick up zap apple jam every zap apple season, but he'd always share the profits with me and the rest of the Apples. We were proud to consider him an honorary Apple, and he always strived to be there for us whenever we were facin' a family emergency. Heck, he'd only just taken over Barnyard Bargains for good from his pappy, when my son Bright Mac and his young wife Buttercup, died in an unfortunate accident while helpin' a filly in need. He was right there for the funeral, alongside his wife and their still newborn daughter. And of the three, he stayed the longest. So that's why I'm wearin' this here old dud, it's the same outfit I wore the funeral where Filthy was most there for me. I only wish some of his compassion and generosity rubbed off on his wife."

Randolph took the podium next. He spoke briefly, but his message still touched quite a few ponies. "Filthy Rich, or Master Filthy as I often knew him, was my employer. And to him I owe a great debt that I shall never be able to fully repay. He knew when he hired me that I had a not so secret desire to become a lawyer, and start my own legal firm. But I lacked the money to afford the books with which to study for the bar exam. So in exchange for helping him and his wife, especially when it came to helping raise their only daughter and boy were those years a work out for these old bones," There were a few faint chuckles, before Randolph continued. "He lent me any books he could find on the subject of law, and even granted me the privilege of helping him on his will. I only wish he could've lived long enough to see his daughter grow up into the fine young mare I know she will be."

After Randolph, several more ponies took to the podium to talk about Filthy Rich. Mrs. Cake recalled her experiences shopping at Barnyard Bargains, particularly when she'd become pregnant with her twins and needed help gathering all the necessary foal care supplies (she mentioned she was especially grateful for the many discounts on diapers). Cheerilee talked about the times Filthy would show up for Family Appreciation Day (even if his lectures on business ended up boring most of the class), and his generous donation of the school's new playground equipment. Rarity mentioned some of the times she'd run into his daughter (particularly after her redemption), and the time she'd helped him buy flowers for Spoiled in time for Mares Day (though she had to restrain herself from calling Spoiled a certain impolite term in public). Even Big Macintosh spoke for a while about some of his business deals with Filthy, and how Filthy was one of the few ponies he truly felt comfortable talking at length with. Most surprising and moving of all though, was when Filthy's father, Stupid Rich, took the podium to talk about what Filthy had been like as a foal, colt, and young adult respectively, all the while the old stallion had to struggle hold back the tears.





"At least he's with his mother now, may Faust rest her weary soul," Stupid Rich said at last, barely maintaining his composure. "I just hope they've prepared a place up there for me, so that one day we'll all be together again." And with that, the elder Rich stepped down from the podium.

For a moment, there was silence and everypony assumed that was the end of the speeches. But just as ponies started to get up and prepare to leave, a furious looking Spoiled Rich took to the podium and loudly declared. "Not so fast, everypony! You all seriously didn't think you could leave without listening to my story, did you?" Several audible groans echoed through the room, as everypony reluctantly went back to their seats and sat down. Spoiled smiled. "Good, I appreciate a receptive audience that does as it's told, unlike a certain filly I had the unfortunate pleasure of raising," Then, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly. "My husband was truly a marvelous stallion, one that I'm glad I married when given the chance. He opened my eyes to a world unlike any other, a world of luxury, privilege, and above all else, power! It always bugged me that my husband was so thoughtlessly selfless with his money, always giving it away without a second thought. But alas, you can't help who you marry, especially not when he goes and gets you knocked up. At first I was overjoyed at the idea of being a mother, in spite of what that would inevitably mean. When I gave birth to Diamond Tiara, that was the happiest day of my life, and my husband was there with me every step of the way. I know he knew I didn't mean half those awful things I said in the delivery room, after all I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences," Seemingly oblivious to the angry looks she was getting, Spoiled droned on. "For many years, Diamond Tiara was the most obedient little filly I could've ever asked for. I dare say she wasn't even that stinky of a foal not that I ever got involved with such uncouth stuff, that's what the hired help was for. I was especially proud of her when she got her cutie mark, and rightfully interpreted it as getting others to do what they wanted. After all, what good is it to be rich if you can't influence others?"

"Wow! You're really digging yourself that deep ditch there, ex-mother," Diamond thought to herself, as she felt her anger slowly rising. "I probably shouldn't be thinking this, but you're making me wish it was you who keeled over and not my birth father." But the filly just feigned interest as best she could, hopefully Spoiled would be done soon.

But Spoiled just kept on talking and talking, mentioning in no unclear details how much it had hurt her to be told off by her daughter. "Of all the nerve, to imply that I was to blame for her own actions!" She exclaimed in clear exaggeration. "And from that day onward, my life became a living tartarus thanks to those 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' and their ideas. They corrupted my daughter, and my husband never bothered to correct such behavior. I still can't believe he imposed such unfair terms on me in his will, and rest assured that I still plan to dispute that in court, once I've saved up enough money to hire the best attorney in all of Equestria. Hey, if you're good at something, you might as well make a profit off of it, am I right?" Not even bothering to wait for a response, Spoiled finally concluded by saying. "It's just unfortunate my husband had to die in such a way, I always kept telling him not to work so hard but he never listened. I just hope that wherever he is now, he knows that it was I who got Doctor Stable Hoof to try and save him. Had I not already been asleep by the time he climbed into bed that fateful night, perhaps I might have been able to save his life. Alas, I am now his unfortunate widow that he unfairly swindled out of her rightful inheritance."

Unsurprisingly (at least to everyone except Spoiled, who expected a standing ovation), nopony applauded when Spoiled stepped down from the podium. In fact, most ponies already began to file out like they had planned to do before Spoiled had made that speech. A lot of them were silently muttering to themselves about why anyone had allowed Spoiled to speak at all, and others mumbled to themselves about how they could see why Filthy would not leave Spoiled what she probably thought she deserved.

Tiara wasn't quite sure what came over her, but all she knew was that she couldn't allow for Spoiled to get the last word in. "I won't allow her to dishonor my birth father's good name like that!" She mentally vowed, and quickly rushed up to the podium, frantically pleading! "Wait, everypony! Please don't go! I wish to share my own memories of my father, and I think you'll all agree it's much better than what my ex-mother had to say. I promise, it won't be long."

A few ponies (particularly Diamond's classmates who knew her well), turned around and sat back down. Others, however, just stood there, fully prepared to leave if the speech didn't sound interesting or appealing.

Looking out at the crowd, Diamond felt a lump well up inside her throat. Despite never having stage fright before, the pink coated filly struggled to think of what to say. But then she looked at Scootaloo and her parents, who sat there with looks of silent approval and encouragement. It was then that a newfound confidence reached the filly, and a fiery determination reflected in her cornflower blue eyes, she proceeded to speak. "My father, Filthy Rich... well, what I can say about him that so many of you haven't already said, or know about? He was there for me as much as possible from day one, always celebrating whatever major milestone in my life came around. He even told me that he practically shouted to the heavens when my first word was 'Daddy'. Over the years, no matter how hard he worked, Father always tried to be a part of my life. But he also tried his hardest to get me to grow up right. Maybe he never knew about what my ex-mother was doing behind his back, or perhaps he was just waiting for me to tell him, either way I regret more than anything that I never tried to talk to him and confess while I had the chance," By now, tears were streaming down the filly's face, but she didn't care. The whole world of Equestria could see her cry for all she cared. "On the last night of his life, my father came home from work late, tired and exhausted. Yet he still found the time to play with me and tuck me into bed like he always loved to do. I don't think he would've wanted his last memory to be anything else, and I only wish I'd told him one last time how much I love him. Thank you all for your time."

Well, that did it, everypony but Spoiled rose to their hooves and clapped and cheered loudly! Tiara almost didn't notice, not that she particularly cared. She just rushed towards her new family, the Twisters, and embraced Dizzy in a passionate hug. "That was the most moving speech I think I've ever heard, Diamond," Dizzy commented, wrapping a wing around her daughter. "I'm very proud of you. I know that must've been hard for you to do."

"You even got me acting all sappy!" Scootaloo confessed, wiping away her own tears. "I knew you and your father were close, but I never knew you were that close. No wonder you were so torn up about his death, that last memory must've been painful for you to look back on."

"Actually, I find it better to focus on the happy moments like that," Diamond admitted, sniffling a bit. "But thank you, Scootaloo. Thank you AND your family, for taking me in and showing me the same kind of love my father showed."

Just then, Tiara felt a hoof tap her lightly on the shoulder. The filly spun around, finding herself face to face with Randolph. "That was a most excellent speech, Diamond Tiara. I don't think Filthy could've asked for a better send-off."

"Thank you, Randolph," Tiara smiled in spite of her tears. "I hope you find plenty of clients for your new law firm, whenever you get around to opening it. And please, promise me you won't take on Spoiled's case."

"Indeed I won't," Randolph promised, and then he added. "But in regards to Spoiled, it isn't fair that just because she dumped you at the orphanage, you should be denied your inheritance. So I took the liberty of giving the two hundred thousand bits that were supposed to be bequeathed to you, to a scholarship fund in your name. It's yours, once you turn eighteen."

"Randolph, you didn't have to do that! What about your law firm?! Don't you need all the money you can get?!" Scootaloo asked with concern.

Randolph laughed and played it off. "Oh, it's no big deal. I had quite a bit of money I was already holding onto, I always did intend to at least start the foundation of my business with my own bits," He reassured the fillies. "I made sure to check and re-check my math, I'll still have more than enough money to open my office with or without the two hundred thousand bits. In fact, here," He gave Scootaloo a slip of paper. "Give this to your parents and make sure they store it in a secure location, preferably a fireproof safe. It contains information on how to access the fund, and what can and can't be done with it."

"Oh Randolph, how can I ever repay you for all the stuff you've done for me?" Diamond commented, burying her face into the old stallion's chest.

"You've more than repaid me day after day, just by being the sweet filly that you are now," Randolph replied, stroking his former charge with a hoof. "Don't ever lose sight of that, no matter what. And I hope that one day, you'll pay me a visit and I'll get to see with my own eyes the fine young mare I'm sure you'll grow up to be." And with that, the former butler departed.





When Diamond departed from the main room a short time later in preparation for the funeral procession, she was not surprised to see Spoiled Rich standing in the entrance hallway, just moping about and apparently looking quite sorry for herself. She seemed to be staring at the ground, as if it were infinitely more interesting than it probably was.

Looking across to Scootaloo and Dizzy, Tiara reluctantly said to them. "You two go on ahead and get into position, I'll be along shortly. There's something I need to do first."

"Are you sure you wanna talk to her?" Scootaloo asked, pointing a hoof at Spoiled. "After everything she's said and done, I'd say you're better off not even acknowledging she exists."

"I'm afraid I must agree with Scootaloo on this one, Diamond Tiara," Dizzy commented with a frown. "I hate to speak ill of another mare. But Spoiled is, well, a witch to put it bluntly."

Diamond nodded. "Yeah, I know she is. But this is something I have to do. We probably can't go through life pretending the other doesn't exist. At the least I need to make sure she knows that I'm NEVER crawling back to her."

"Alright, just don't take too long," Dizzy advised. "The funeral procession starts in ten minutes." And then she and Scootaloo trotted off to join the rest of the ponies taking part in said procession.

Now, Tiara was alone with Spoiled. The pink coated filly let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Well, this is it. No turning back now!" She thought quite firmly, and approached the mare that used to be her mother and loudly cleared her throat.

Spoiled spun around in surprise, her eyes making contact with those of her now ex-daughter. "Oh, it's just you," She faintly snarled. "Come to stick the knife in some more? Don't pretend I didn't overhear what that sneaky slime ball Randolph did with your inheritance. Basically you're leaving me with just a store to my name and nothing beyond that."

Diamond only shook her head. "I didn't come here to make you feel even more like dirt, ex-mother, not that I need to try. I just came to let you know, that I'm not going to forgive you for what you've done, probably not ever. And don't think I'll just forget about it either. I'm not going to dwell on it, but I don't think I'll ever fully move on from the way you treated me over the years. I was your only daughter, yet you treated me like an accessory you could swap out at will."

"That isn't true, I raised you!" Spoiled furiously protested.

"To some extent you did," Tiara replied, shaking her head again. "But listening to your speech back there," She gestured to the room where Filthy's casket still rested for the time being. "It's become clear to me that you still don't get it, and you probably never will. You can't seem to think of anypony but yourself, and you view others as if they're all inferior to you. Maybe you didn't start out that way, but it's clear that somewhere along the line, you lost sight of your ability to think of others as if they could be anything but you. And that you're not the only pony in the world. Perhaps if you'd been willing to listen to reason, you could've avoided making a complete and utter fool of yourself, twice!"

Spoiled said nothing, she just growled and kicked the ground lightly.

"Don't expect me to acknowledge your presence the way I am now," Diamond added. "And don't even think about trying to beg for me to come back, let alone offering me the chance. I have a much better family now. Maybe one day, you'll be able to see the light as I did, and become the pony you truly could be. But until then, far as I'm concerned, you don't exist anymore. And if I have foals, you can be darn sure I won't let them near their Granny Spoiled, I'll make sure they grow up to be more like me and less like you."

"But what about the store? Don't you want to run that one day?" Spoiled asked Tiara.

"Indeed I do, but only once I've had the chance to think over my career options and see how well you're managing Barnyard Bargains," Tiara answered. "In the meantime, I just hope you don't go out of business because nopony wants to deal with your attitude." And with that, she turned and trotted off to join her family.

Spoiled just stood there, watching the filly she'd given birth to and raised, trot off to be part of the funeral procession. Suddenly, the mare felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she realized what it was. "So, this is what it feels like to care." She thought to herself.