Welp, you were inside. The maids seemed to be busy cleaning this and that, not paying attention to you at all. You start to step towards the stairs in the main hall when you notice a few maids carrying plates of confectionaries down towards Filthy’s study. With Mr. Rich out, it made you wonder who that was all for. So with some curiousness, you follow them into the study.
When you step inside, you could see Silver Spoon lounging boredly on the couch near the fireplace, barely moving when a plate is set on the small table in front of her. At the desk however, were Diamond and Spoiled. From what you could hear and see, Spoiled was guiding Diamond through some sort of ledger for the company. She also sounded somewhat frustrated, as Diamond seemed to be focused but too young to understand some of the things she was mentioning. Should you interrupt and announce yourself? Maybe, for now you’ll walk over to Silver Spoon and ask her in a whisper “Heya, Silver Spoon, whats up?”
“Like, the most boring thing ever…” She says with a low groan. “I wanted to take Diamond with me to find a sorta ok bouquet of flowers for the wedding. But she’s totally doing boring stuff, I don’t even know why. She just said she wanted to learn how to run the family business or something like that.”
Oh shit, she really took her dream seriously, huh. “I see, but why does her mom sound frustrated?”
“Because she was all like ‘Diamond, you’re too young to learn this’. Mrs. Rich also said she only does work when she has to, but the lady of the company usually does all the social stuff. I mean, even I know that. But Diamond? She like, totally wants to do everything her Dad can do all of a sudden. You didn’t say anything to her, did you, Anon?” She asks you, still looking quite bored on the couch.
“Can’t say that I have, but I don’t think it's bad that she’s so eager to learn, even if it is sudden. But if she’s having trouble understanding… Well… “ It was obvious to you now that Diamond must have thrown some sort of tantrum or begged really hard to have Mrs. Rich taking her through some sort of crash course. You even wondered if she could teach her with it being all of a sudden and having nothing prepared for her to actually learn. Most likely, she was just humoring her daughter to the best of her ability. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Thank you” Silver says with a huff “This is just way too boring for me.”
Alrighty then, you head over to the study, a few steps off, while listening to what was going on. Spoiled was really trying to get through to her daughter. “Diamond Tiara, will you calm down? At this rate, you’d sink the company for sure. I’m going to tell you one last time. You are too young to learn the ins and outs of the company like I have. Like I said, I started learning AFTER I married your father, and he was taught the financial side of things when he came of age. And even then, you are a young mare, you need to learn the more soci-”
But Diamond wouldn’t have it, she slams her hoof on the desk and starts making demands “No! I want to be able to run the company as good as Daddy does! Since I’ll be marrying Anon for real, I want to be able to be his perfect partner!”
“And you will be… In the future, as in not now. Diamond, be reasonable, I have an appointment at the spa in half an hour. I’m still stressed from a few days ago and I don’t need any of this.” Indeed, her patience was thinning, it was time to say something.
“Um, Hey! Sorry to interrupt, but erm, came to see Diamond, if that's alright.” You say as you wave your hoof.
Spoiled has never looked as happy to see you as she did now, she even came to give you a hug “Anon! Good morning! How are you? Very good of you to see my precious daughter. I’m sure you both will have a pleasant morning. You’re free to do whatever you all wish. Goodbye.” Yep, she hugged you, stepped back, and stepped out within that whole sentence before anyone could even react. She did look pretty stressed though, perhaps she still had some guilt over that day. Or maybe it really was the stress of it all.
“Anon?” Diamond froze when she looked at you, then looked down as she got off the chair. She didn’t move out from behind the desk however as she suddenly became timid. “... Did you talk to Princess Luna? Is that why you’re here?”
“Yep” You say to her in a cute and confident tone “I was worried about you. You ok? You looked pretty intense just now, really focused.”
“Y-yeah… Um, I just want to focus more on Daddy’s business. Not only for me, but for you. For the both of us. I k-know I wanted to become a princess in some way… But…” You could hear her suddenly begin to tear up “I just… Well, y-you know. She told you about the nightmares, right?”
“She did.”
You hear her gulp, as she suddenly sounds more weepy about it “Uh huh… Erm, you’re not upset, right? I-I know you had your heart set on being my prince.”
You shrug “Eh, whatever. Being a prince sounded dull anyway. Besides, your dad seems really set on me learning the ins and outs of…” You do your best to sound like Filthy himself “Barnyard Bargains and all its affiliates and outside businesses, y’hear?” You then chuckle, feeling a tad silly about it. But then, when you noticed no response… “Diamond? You ok?”
Before you knew it, Diamond came running from behind the desk, and jumped on top of you, hugging you and bringing her head under your chin for comfort as she nuzzled “Anon! Y-You’re the greatest! I’m so happy to hear that! I was so scared you’d be upset! A-Anon…” She started to sniffle as she cuddled, and so you started to comfort her by holding her close, and tapping her nose with yours.
“Yeah, I know I’m the best. But hey, relax, alright? Your mom is right, you’re taking things in too quickly. Just tackle em’ as they come, ok? For now, let's hang out! You’d like that, right?” The poor thing, you had to do your best to get her to smile.
“Mhmm, I’d like that… Very much.” She said in a low voice, obviously still as infatuated with you as the day you ‘saved’ her.
“Oh my gosh! This is like, the most romantic thing ever! You two really are perfect for each other!” said the voice of Silver Spoon, as she just kind of stood over the both of you, making things kind of awkward. Awkward enough for you both to let out a small cough, and stand on your hooves.
“Yep, eheh. Ummm, anyway. You alright, Diamond? I mean, really alright.” You ask her, composing yourself from such a show of affection.
“I definitely am now. Oh, um… Hi, Silver Spoon, how are you?” Diamond asks, now in full realization that her best friend is present.
“Was kinda bored, but seeing you two so happy with each other has really inspired me! Diamond, have you ever thought of getting Anon a makeover? Oh! We could totally, like, make him look super cute in time of the wedding!” Silver Spoon said, with heightened excitement over such an idea.
“No, Anon is already perfect the way he is. Hmmm… “ Diamond said as she began to ponder to herself as she looked at you with loving eyes.
“Well, ummm…” Silver Spoon seemed disappointed by that answer, but would say nothing to upset her friend. So she decides to go with the original reason she came by “We could find a sorta ok bouquet for you. Something that screams ‘This is not as nearly as great as I thought it was’. How does that sound?”
“No… no, Mother and Daddy already have everything ready for the wedding, so we don’t have to do anything ourselves. Although, since I do want to learn more about the family business, maybe I should learn about how Anon does things.” Diamond then looks deep into your eyes, as if she was looking for something “Like… Hero work.”
Not only you, but Silver as well, step back with a “What?!”
“Well, it’s just like Anon said, we should hang out! And since we’re future partners, not only will we be equals at business, but also at heroing! Makes sense, right?” Diamond said with a wide and closed eyed smile.
“U-uhhmmm, Diamond, what happened to the other thing I said? The ‘take things as they come’ part?” She can’t be serious! That’s even worse than the royalty thing!
“Well, adventures are always coming and going, right? I’m not asking to go out doing hero work with you everyday, just this one time to learn how it’s like. Then, like a responsible mare, I’ll wait until we’re married for us to do it on the regular. Besides, your dad already told me I’d get to go on your next adventure anyway, so why not do it now and get it over with? And besides…” She steps towards you with longing eyes “They say lots of romantic stuff can happen on adventures too, it sounds really exotic.”
Goddammit, you do remember SOMETHING about that. And even then, given Discord’s personality, he’d really make it happen if he found out.
But wait… Wait. WAIT! Holy fuck, Anon, you were an adult before you came to Equestria, why are you bending to Diamond’s demands? She had those nightmares for a reason, and goddammit, even then, she did not fully seem to understand WHY she actually had them. Goddammit, Anon, stop being a pussy and stand up for yourself! Just do it carefully. So, you look over to Silver Spoon, and give her a heavy glare “Silver, you mind giving me some privacy? I need to speak to Diamond alone.” Your stare was intense, so much so you accidently seemed to have instilled some fear into her.
“Anon? What’s wrong?” Diamond asked, confused about your sudden serious demeanor.
“Umm… Erm…” Silver started to back up as she looked at you, then shifted her gaze towards Diamond, unknowing of what to do.
Diamond, both worried and yet intrigued, just nods to her “Do what he says, Silver.” Diamond then looks to you, she went from happy and lovey dovey to shaken and subtly distraught. This attitude was familiar to you with the last time you had a major argument with her, so you knew what to expect.
When Silver finally left the room, Diamond looks to you with a frown, with worry in her tone. “Did I say something wrong? Why are you so serious all of a sudden?”
Just stand your ground, Anon, she is just being a child .”Diamond, you’re being unreasonable.”
“What?!” Diamond said, in shock you’d be so direct “How am I being unreasonable? Do you mean on going on an adventure?” Suddenly, she began to look at you with a hard stare “I said ONE adventure! Just one. How is that unreasonable?”
“Because adventures are dangerous, Diamond. Almost every single one I’ve ended up in has lead to somepony getting hurt. Yes, usually it’s me, but sometimes it's one of my friends. And sometimes it's a situation where nopony is going to walk away from if a mistake is made.” You explain to her, keeping your cool the best you can.
“But I wouldn’t make a mistake. I’m actually very good at coming up with plans, so I’d totally be able to help out so we don’t end up getting beaten.” She retorts, her voice desperate for your validation.
“Diamond, you know I know about what you had nightmares about. I understand you wanted to tone things down to a more realistic future for us, and I’m really happy about that. But when it comes to adventures and heroing, you don’t just go looking for trouble and expect to come out on top. Ok? I don’t just walk up to something dangerous and say ‘Hmm, I should get involved in this despite it possibly being really dangerous’. I do what I do when I’m needed, that’s all.” Ok, so that wasn’t exactly the truth. You’ve gotten yourself into danger many a time due to arrogance or ignorance, and only got out of it mostly due to luck or the power of your horn. But you couldn’t let her know that.
“But then… How am I supposed to be your partner? I thought with us running Daddy’s business together, that we’d be able to go on adventures together too. I just wanted to help you, so it wouldn’t be so dangerous for you… Like when I nearly got…” Diamond gasped, and brought her hooves to her mouth “When ‘I’ nearly got fillynapped. You got hurt only because I…”She looks to you, tears in her eyes “Because I got you into it”
Well, that wasn’t exactly true either, there was no way either of you could have foreseen Discord coming in to cause all this in the first place. You sigh, and slowly approach her for a hug. “That is a little different, you didn’t go looking for trouble when that happened. But…” And you really could use this to your advantage “With inexperience, that kind of thing could easily happen if we go adventuring, or something even worse. I’m not saying it’ll never happen, I’m just saying that, well, that I’m happy the way things are now, and look forward to helping you run this company. Because, really? I may be good at being a hero, but if your Dad gave me the reigns to his livelihood… Erm.” You raise your hoof, then spiral it down to the ground, accompanying it with a sound similar to a plane in a falling tailspin.
Diamond had a small giggle at that, but then seemed rather surprised “Really? You really think you’d do that bad? I know I don’t know too much, but I got through most of the basics just fine. Really, I know enough about running Barnyard Bargains itself… Just not when it includes all those other stuff Daddy owns. It’s all just numbers, projections, predictions, and well, as mother told me, socializing with the right ponies. I don’t understand how you'd have trouble with that, you seem so good at it, and you always get very high grades in Miss Cheerilee’s class.”
Only due to your true origins and your current status. In truth, you’d never be able to put that altogether to run a business by yourself, at least not the financial side of it. “Yeah, but I can’t put it all together like you can. I mostly live in the moment, and I have more of this ‘intuition’ than I do financial sense…” Or more really, you use tropes you know about to your advantage “But that's what I’m talking about, we can still be a team, be business partners, and IF the situation arises… We could go on an adventure together. We can do all those things, Diamond…” You look to her with a gentle smile, and put your hoof to her cheek, prompting a blushy gently nuzzling from her “But we have to be smart about it, ok?”
She nods, finally agreeing with you “Ok, I think I understand now. I still totally can’t really believe you can’t handle business stuff, but if you really can’t, I can run you through the basics. Then I can teach you the more advanced stuff when I learn it. Ok…” Diamond takes a breath, and calms herself “I’m over it now, and I’m really sorry, Anon. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s alright, Diamond. Heh, can’t be worried now since our wedding is so soon.” You say with a sunny smile
“Yeah… I know it’s not a real one, but it does sort of feel real. I… Really can’t wait.” Diamond says with a long hopeful sigh, before a thought pops in her head “But Anon, what would be a situation that we would go on an adventure together?”
You already had a perfect example for that one “Well, if we had a daughter, whoever foalnaps her will be in for some pain.”
“Yeah!” Diamond jumped forward “They totally will! I’ll finally be able to try those moves I learned when Mother put me in those self defense classes! I’ll just use my hind legs to grab them like this!” And without even realizing it, Diamond grabs you by the neck with her hindlegs, and twists your entire body with a spin before throwing you down. “And then slam them down like that! Much better than just bucking them… Or thats what I… ANON!” Diamond gasped “A-Are you ok?!”
You were dazed, and even confused, from such a sudden spin and slam to the ground. Hoo, you were even turned on a little bit, that was the first time you’ve ever really been between her legs. “I-I’m good, eheh. J-just peachy.”