Applebloom stood nervously before the giant oak door of Diamond Tiara’s house. In her hooves she held a bouquet of roses, trembling as she raised a hoof to knock upon the door. The manor was massive and towered above her. The shadow it cast upon her was cold and intimidating.
*Tap-Tap*
Her hoof timidly rapped against the door. Cold silence greeted her. That is, until she heard the sound of some locking mechanism being drawn back. The door slowly creaked open to reveal not some hired-hoof but the mistress of the manor herself; Spoiled Rich.
The mascara on the mare’s face was streaked, as though she had been crying. Her expression, however, was not one of the usual disdain and her voice sounded unusually warm.
“Oh, it’s you. I was wondering when you would show up. Come on in.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned away and left the confused Applebloom at the open doorway. Completely surprised by the courtesy from the mare who had never shown her kindness, Applebloom stood there; unable to move. The voice of Spoiled once more reached her ears from a bit further away.
“Relax. I won’t bite, come in, what’s the hold up?”
Stepping into the manor, Applebloom noticed how empty it was; there were no butlers or maids. It was silent aside from the sound of a whistling coming from a room off to the side. Seeing a couch in a vast welcoming room, Applebloom took a seat on it.
Looking around she admired the stylish decor. It was clear no expense had been spared; with towering golden statues and fancy paintings adorning the room. It wasn’t long before Spoiled Rich appeared before her; holding a tea kettle.
“Are you thirsty, Miss Bloom?”
The words were gentle and warm, as the normally stuck-up mare, gently sat a teapot and two cups on an end table by the couch. Noticing Applebloom staring at her in confusion, Spoiled turned towards her guest.
“Yes?”
Applebloom wasn’t sure what to say so she just spoke what was on her mind; a habit of the Apple family.
“Don’t ya have servants an’ th’ like? Diamond used ta’ go on an’ on-”
“I gave them the week off with pay. It was my way of saying thank you to them. For everything they did for my youngest; for everything they did for Diamond.”
“So she really did leave Equestria? Is there an address or someway for me to-”
Spoiled Rich just gave a sad smile; causing Applebloom to feel hollow.
“Princess Luna came and got her last night. Right after her goodnight kiss; my daughter did indeed leave Equestria, Miss Bloom.”
“Luna? What does the Goddess of Death have to do with…Diamond-”
Her voice broke as the realization hit her. She shook her head in disbelief.
“Oh. Ohno…”
As her voice trailed off into nothing, the hoof that held the roses went limp. Tears began to well in Applebloom’s eyes as Spoiled Rich sat down beside her. Wrapping a hoof gently around the young mare, Spoiled spoke softly.
“Those were for her, weren’t they?”
“Yes.”
She sounded hurt, reeling from the revelation and this did not escape the seasoned ears of Spoiled.
“I have no doubt she would have adored them. Roses were always a favorite of hers. Would you mind telling me, what caused you to think of roses?”
“Erm-”
Spoiled Rich laughed at the blush appearing on her face before gently letting her know.
“I’m already aware of my daughter’s fancy for you, Miss Bloom.”
“Ya-Ya know?”
“I do. After all, who do you think gave her the idea to kidnap you for the confession?”
“Wait, Ya knew ‘bout that?”
Nodding, Spoiled used her own magic to call forth an old photo album. Rifling through it she told Applebloom about a time-honored tradition amongst the Rich’s.
“As you can see, it’s quite the courting tradition in our family; going back to the first mare; Grandma Rich. Mares of my line have been performing the ‘steal and kiss’ scenario for centuries. It has been customary ever since, for the mare to ‘kidnap’ the stallion of their affection and ‘steal’ a kiss before confessing their desire.”
Applebloom stared at the picture Spoiled was showing her; of a hillside in the middle of nowhere where she and Filthy Rich stood. Applebloom looked up at her.
“Wait just a minute...Are ya sayin’ you're okay with th’ idea of meh an’ yer daughter?”
Crooking a perfectly tweezed eyebrow in amusement, Spoiled Rich pointed a hoof at the photo as she replied.
“Why because you both possessed feminine wiles? That’s adorably naive of you. Take a closer look at the photo in your hooves. Tell me what you see.”
Turning back to the photo in confusion, Applebloom noticed something on the side of the hill; sitting patiently. An even closer look revealed that thing to be a unicorn mare; looking on in interest.
“Is that...Oh what’s ‘er name...um.,.”
“Fluer de Lis? Yes, it is. You see, Miss Bloom I’ve tried both sides of the fence. And though my family has had its kinks in the family tree, I simply couldn’t decide between stallions or mares. So, given the fact that my family were Bureaucrats; I decided not to. Why bother deciding when I could have it all? Both Fluer and Filthy became my partners.”
Applebloom seemed a bit taken aback.
“Ya can do that?”
Spoiled Rich nodded though her smile seemed a bit off.
“You most certainly can. Though, I don’t recommend it. It was all fun and games; loud nights and wild parties. Until I got pregnant with Diamond’s sister; Silver Spoon, that is.”
Applebloom sat there in silence, as she listened to the words of a pony that had been through Tartarus and back in the relationship game.
“I want you to understand; I actually did love them both equally. There was no favoritism on my side. Filthy spent equal time with us as well; it was actually a wonderful time. The thing we didn’t know at that time, however, was that Fluer was barren. She didn’t know either. When I got pregnant and she didn’t, tensions began to escalate in our little family.”
Using her horn, Spoiled Rich caused a bottle of wine to appear in her hooves. It was still sealed and to Applebloom’s surprise, she just stared at it wistfully.
“Fluer was annoyed and demanded more time with Filthy. It was only natural she wanted one of her own. It made sense, because like I said; we didn’t know she couldn’t birth a foal of her own. I agreed. Everything settled down for a while; Fluer helping us to raise our daughter and Silver seemed quite happy as well.”
Turning the bottle over in her hooves, Spoiled Rich closed her eyes.
“And then, Diamond was conceived.”
Hearing the sorrowful tone, Applebloom saw the tears stinging the corners of her eyes. She’s mad at herself. Spoiled Rich continued her regretful confession.
“Fluer grew enraged. Two children for a single Unicorn simply wasn’t common. As an Earthpony you may not be aware, but Unicorns only give birth but once; normally. A second conception in a mare’s life is something that is just unheard of. A miracle.”
Applebloom watched as Spoiled Rich tapped the wine cork, as though planning to open it before letting out a sigh and placing it on the end table beside her.
“She was angry that between the two years of Silver and now Diamond, she had borne no foal of her own. Her pain turned towards anger and she took it out on me. ‘How could I?’ She shouted. She raged at Filthy, and at me. And then, while we did our best to console her, just like that; she left us.”
Uncorking the wine bottle with the magic from her horn, Spoiled sniffed the lip of it as the liquid sloshed inside. A wanting look appeared in her eyes before she recorked the bottle and sighed in distress. Staring wistfully at the bottle, she whispered softly.
“Because of my undying love for both; my heart broke. Fluer leaving sent me into a spiral of depression and as a coping mechanism, I began drinking. I hated myself; I hated my little miracle.“
Shaking her head as bitter tears fell, the head of the Rich Manor told Applebloom her biggest regret in life.
“It should have been the greatest event in my life; we Unicorns take great stock in having a healthy foal. It is not only encouraged, not having one is simply unacceptable. My little miracle; my Diamond, I hated her for causing Fluer to leave. My anger...Turned me into the worst kind of mother and I took it out...On her.”
Turning to face Applebloom, Spoiled Rich stared into her eyes as the tears slowly dripped down her muzzle. Her voice conveyed her horror; her eyes were hollow; haunted as she recalled the memory.
“I beat her, Miss Bloom. For the first two years of her life, I hit her with anything at hoof. It was her fault, at least that’s how I rationalized it. Because of her, Fluer left. So I let her have it; all my anger all my pain. During the day I drank and at night I would hit her with anything nearby until she passed out. That wasn’t even the worst part. No, the worst thing about it was she never once cried out for me to stop. Her eyes would just get big and watery, and she would stare at me.”
The wizened mare’s resolve completely dissipated and she began sobbing like a baby. Applebloom could hear just how tortured she was by the memory. However, there was just one thought on her mind: If it was only for two years, what caused her to stop? That’s when she heard Spoil Rich, through the tears and broken words, tell her what happened.
“One night, I...Couldn’t constrain myself. I was drunker than usual and as I struck Diamond; again and again, for some reason it made me even more furious and I snapped her hoof. She didn’t scream, she didn’t cry she just stared at me with an almost pitying glance and the next thing I remember, we were in the hospital where she told the doctor it had snapped while playing on a hillside; ’fell in a gopher hill’, she said.”
Glancing over at the wine bottle; her eyes narrowed in a glare.
“I never told her to lie about it, but the doctor just bandaged her leg, and gave her a splint. It was then as we checked out, we learned she needed bloodwork done. So once more we sat in the lobby, and she looked over at me...And smiled. She spoke in a cryptic way; that at that moment, I didn’t grasp and I wouldn’t either; until after we got the news.”
Applebloom had a sense of dread as she heard the echoes of what was just said. She opened her mouth and whispered gently.
“What did she say?”
“Mommy, don’t worry; Celestia heard my prayer. You’ll be okay.”
The Unicorn shook her head in disgust. Her words conveyed her own self-loathing.
“After everything I put her through; sitting there with a broken hoof, she just smiled at me and told me I was going to be okay. At that time I shook it off, but when we got the blood work back, her seemingly innocent words came back to me. My little miracle whom I had demonfied in my mind, because of something out of her control, had Cancer.”
Using her magic to pick up the bottle once more, she looked at it angrily, before shattering it against a nearby wall. The red viscous liquid dripped down the wall. Her next words carried her conviction as she wiped away the tears of regret.
“Out of desperation she had made a prayer to Celestia I later learned, that even if it took her life being taken to ‘Help mommy, at any cost’. She was in the hospital bed when she told me ‘not to cry, mommy’ And how much she loved me. It was then my eyes were opened. I told the doctor I would pay any price just make my baby better; but alas, it was too late. It was an unidentified strain; no method of removal had been made, as it resisted all magical healing spell attempts.
It was that day I threw the bottle down for the last time. I forced myself to stay focused on my work. I alienated friends and family alike, ignoring all in my presence and focusing solely on the goal. If I could make enough money, maybe I could fund…”
She gave a soft chuckle.
“All to no avail. Ten years; that’s what the Goddesses told me. You see, I was desperate, Miss Bloom. Desperate enough to do anything to save her. Everything from the shady to the downright taboo; leading me to break into the Royal Library of the Goddesses themselves. Of course I was captured and brought before the two sisters. I pleaded with them to have mercy, but they instead denied me of it. There on my knees, tears coursing down it was revealed that my daughter had asked to exchange her own life force for my salvation:
Her life held no worth, until it was clear you would lose her. My sister Luna wove the malady Diamond Tiara suffers from not of our accord but of hers. We blessed you with two, yet your eyes failed to see her value and now you dare ask us to save her when you only saw her for the treasure she was; only after you’d been stricken for your actions?
We are unconvinced. In ten years time from the prayer, your daughter will return to our side. We suggest you treasure every moment you have left with her. She has no regrets for our pact; your request is denied. You’ve brought this upon yourself.
That’s what they told me. I’ll never forget those words. Even now they are burned into my brain. I brought this on myself. Ten years ago, my pain began, and yesterday, the hourglass ran out of sand. And even after all this time, she just smiled before saying goodnight to me. That she loved me and was proud to call me mom. And then, she just closed her eyes for the last time.”
Applebloom stared at Spoiled Rich, now seeing her in quite a different light. This wasn’t the nightmarishly cruel mare who had almost closed down Miss Cherilee’s Schoolhouse; this was a mare who went to Tartarus and back to repent for her past. Hadn’t she suffered enough for her misjudgement? If Diamond can forgive her, I guess I can too.
Looking down at her hooves, Applebloom eyed the bouquet of specialized roses. The roses were a soft lavender in color; specially bred by a pony named Snuggleberry, the local florist. The scent they gave off was exquisite and caused Applebloom to smile.
“Ya asked me why Ah brought these. Ah’m not all that sure, t’ be honest. I kept seein’ her kiss me in mah mind and Ah remembered a specific aroma; the same as these roses, wafting through the air. Next thing Ah know, Ah brought these to give her.”
Spoiled Rich sniffed and wiped her tears away, giving a small chuckle.
“That would be the perfume Diamond wore. To do the ‘steal and kiss’ the ‘thief’ wears a specially selected floral perfume. The suitor, normally a stallion, will, of course, buy a bouquet as is customary for a first date in Equestria. It’s an old superstition among our family:
Should the suitor bring a bouquet that matches the perfume’s scent, then it’s meant to be."
Applebloom sat in silence for a moment, before grinning as her eyes welled with tears. The roses in her hooves were a special hybrid bred for the upper crust of Canterlot; lovingly named Diamond Dust. A popular perfume of the same moniker was made from the distilled essence of the rare flower.
“That explains it. She played meh like a fiddle, didn’ she?”
Spoiled laughed.
“My daughter always had a way of getting what she desired.”
Scoffing, Applebloom’s smile faded.
“So that’s it then? She used me one last time before leaving this world? Just one more cruel joke ta close th’ book, huh?”
Seeing the pain in the Earthpony’s eyes, Spoiled Rich stopped laughing and gave Applebloom a gentle hug. Her next words carried an unusual tone of gentleness.
“You’re reading it all wrong, Miss Bloom. Diamond has had her eye on you for quite a while. She used to come home and go on and on about how amazing you were. It was rather adorable to be honest.”
Applebloom’s reply was merely a whisper; carrying the defeated tone of many years of abuse.
“Then why did she bully meh?”
Applebloom’s mind was running wild with images of past insults, cruel pranks, and even traumatizing times Diamond had inflicted upon her. The tears in her eyes began to sting from the salt within.
“I suppose I’m not entirely blameless in that regard.”
Applebloom’s eyes widened in anger as she shoved Spoiled Rich off her.
“Ya told ‘er ta bully meh? Ta torture meh?”
“Not directly, no. Still I did cause it.”
The words of Spoiled were calm; almost resigned to acceptance. Applebloom was suddenly silent. It was a blatant acknowledgement of fault, she hadn’t expected that. Seeing the hesitation, Spoiled Rich seized the chance to explain her position.
“I never told my daughter to bully you, Miss Bloom, but my actions spoke louder than my words. For the first two years of life, a foal determines how emotional responses are to be carried out. After everything I put her through, her mind saw inflicting pain as how mommy showed her love. As a result, showing love or a crush, was to inflict pain.”
Applebloom’s mouth went dry. Did she hear that right? Looking Spoiled Rich in the eyes, she spoke slowly as she pieced the words together.
“Are ya saying...that Diamond Tiara was bullying meh, because...She wanted ta be mah friend?”