//------------------------------// // A Push And A Shove (Revised 10/2/2014) // Story: Cubic Zirconia // by arcum42 //------------------------------// She really ought to have known better. It had been the perfect setup, though. Scootaloo's scooter had been sitting in the road on top of a hill, while Scootaloo had climbed into the wagon hooked up to the back. She'd been chatting away with those two other blank flanks, totally oblivious to anything around her. And down the hill had been a mud puddle with their name on it. So what else was there for her to do? It wasn't like they didn't totally deserve it for what had happened with Babs, anyway, and imagining the look on their faces as they sailed right into the mud was almost worth it in itself. So she pushed the wagon, sending it rolling down the path. And then everything went wrong. The wagon hadn't gone right down to the mud puddle, the way she had planned. Instead, it missed the puddle and hit some rocks beyond it at high speed. All three of them had flown out of the wagon on impact. It was the first time she'd ever seen the chicken fly, though, with the way she landed with a thud on the ground, her wings were useless as ever. Sweetie Belle lay next to her, and Apple Bloom had been thrown onto a pile of rocks. A moment later, the wagon itself landed with a horrible cracking sound and a painful scream. It had crashed right into Apple Bloom, and her legs were right between the wagon and the rocks. Diamond Tiara hesitantly walked closer to the site of the crash. She didn't really want to associate herself with it, given how badly wrong that had gone, but it had a certain horrid fascination. She had done this, and she just had to see the results. While Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were lying there groaning, and were battered and bruised, they looked like they'd be fine. Apple Bloom was a different matter. She seemed to have passed out, and what she could see of her legs below the wagon didn't look good. She was pretty sure that there were bits sticking out that should still be inside them. Miss Cheerilee was at the crash scene, checking on the three of them while talking to a nondescript stallion she didn't recognise. A few other colts and fillies milled around at the crash scene, looking on with a mixture of horror and curiosity. The stallion nodded to Miss Cheerilee and galloped off, presumably going for help. Miss Cheerilee then said something to a blue unicorn filly with golden mane, who took over watching over the crusaders and making sure nopony else got too close. Then, much to her shock, Miss Cheerilee headed straight in her direction. She immediately launched into something between a lecture and a rant, and it was obvious Cheerilee blamed everything that had happened on her! It just wasn't fair! She was acting really upset, too. The other foals in the area were all backing away from the two of them, and she was sure they'd spread gossip all over town about this. There was no way she was going to be living this down. A team of ponies arrived with a cart as Cheerilee was still ranting. They got the wagon out of the way, very carefully moved Apple Bloom on to a stretcher and loaded her on the cart, then moved the other two crusaders on as well before taking off. Diamond hadn't exactly been paying the best attention to what Miss Cheerilee had been saying, and not all of it was that intelligible anyway, but she did catch something about talking to her parents. She would have thought Miss Cheerilee would have remembered that Mommy had died a few years ago. It was going to just be Daddy, and Daddy would straighten it all out for her. He always did. Somehow, though, thinking about Apple Bloom as she'd been taken away on the stretcher, and the way you could see the bones in her leg where the wagon had hit, she wasn't so sure. In her bedroom, Diamond sat on her bed, trying not to nibble on her hooves or chew on her mane, or any other of those disgusting nervous habits she still found herself doing from time to time. She hardly needed to have to have another hooficure or mane styling done, as she expected Daddy wouldn't be very sympathetic to that right now. She'd been sent upstairs shortly after Cheerilee had arrived at the manor to discuss what had happened, and her and Daddy had been talking down there ever since. She was trying to relax, but every so often, scraps of what they were saying downstairs drifted up. Daddy was angry. She had never heard him yelling this loudly before, even when a particularly big business deal fell through. He was so angry that she was actually starting to get pretty scared. "So you actually saw my daughter shove the wagon before the accident?" She winced. That did explain why Cheerilee had jumped on her back about what had happened so quickly. She hoped Daddy believed her over Miss Cheerilee. Still, she was probably grounded. Diamond still couldn't make out most of the conversation that was going on down below. Usually when things did drift up, it was Daddy she heard, because he was so much louder than Miss Cheerilee. The things she heard him say did nothing to calm her down. "Both of her hind legs have been fractured?" Oh, that sounded bad, though it certainly matched with what she had seen. She didn't like Apple Bloom, but that didn't mean she wanted her legs broken. She might even have to be nice to her for a while, and try to find some way to make up for it. "So you can show a consistent pattern of her maliciously targeting them in the past?" That was hardly fair! She wasn't being malicious. Not really. They were just a lot of fun to mess with. It's not like she had really meant anything by it. They were really just asking for it, anyway. The voices were gradually fading as the conversation dropped to a more reasonable volume, not that that helped her state of mind any. She remembered how he'd acted after Mommy had died. He'd been calm and collected, but you could see the fury burning somewhere behind his eyes. Not to mention he'd been acting pretty odd for a while. She'd noticed him just staring off into the distance a few times, and not paying attention to what was going on around him. He'd been a little forgetful, and some of his decisions didn't always make the most sense to her, though there was probably something she was missing. And he'd been getting upset more easily than usual, though not like this. She was so dead. She really wished Mommy was here right now. She'd always managed to calm everypony down before things got too bad, and Mommy would have been there for her right now. She missed her. Maybe she should stop picking on those blank flanks so much. Sure, they were really lame, and made easy targets, but things just kept getting worse and worse between them. She supposed she could try to offer a truce, but Diamond doubted they would ever take it. There was just too much bad blood between them. They could never be friends, and she wasn't sure any of them would be able to leave each other alone. The conference was probably over by now. She thought she'd heard the front door a little bit ago. Daddy was probably just letting her stew over everything that had happened before they talked about it, which was fine, since that gave him a chance to calm down, too. There was a knock on the door. Opening it a crack, she saw the familiar face of Mister Greywithers, their faithful butler. As she started to greet him, it was obvious something was wrong. She'd been mostly raised by her mother and Grey, and most of the time, he was willing to let his stiff demeanor drop somewhat around her. Today, he was acting very formal, and very much the part of the prim, proper butler. "The master has requested your presence in the study, ma'am," he said stiffly. Oh, this was bad. For him to act this formal with her, something he was really uncomfortable about had to be going on. "Thank you, Grey," she said. "I'll be down directly." Okay, she was walking into a tempest. How should she approach this? Should she just deny everything? Would bursting into tears and saying she was sorry help? Maybe she should just meekly submit to everything he said? Not coming to a firm conclusion, she decided she'd better just play it by ear. Slipping out of her room, she easily caught up with Greywithers. "So how mad is he, Grey?" she asked him softly. "I'm sure it isn't my place to say, ma'am," he said, avoiding looking in her direction. Really mad, she interpreted. Really really mad. She ought to be fine. Daddy had always stood by her before, and this shouldn't be an exception, even if he was mad. So why was she shaking as she walked down the hall? Arriving at her father's study, the elderly butler held the door for her, and followed her inside. Daddy was sitting behind his desk in the study, putting the final touches on some paperwork in front of her. Hearing the door open, he looked up and glared in her direction with such intensity that she found herself looking away uncomfortably. He stood up, and pushed the chair back. "Thank you, Greywithers. Leave us for a few minutes, but stay nearby, as I'll be needing you afterwards." Mister Greywithers nodded and left the room, closing the door afterwards, leaving her alone at the mercy of her father. She'd have rather been anywhere else. "Sit," he told her curtly, though Daddy didn't sit back down himself. Diamond obediently took a seat, heart racing, as he paced back and forth, agitated. "Diamond Tiara. To say I am disappointed in you is a huge understatement, but for the moment it will have to do. As a direct result of your actions, three of your classmates are in the hospital, and one is seriously injured. What were you thinking?" Under his glare, she could hardly help herself, and started stammering out excuses. "It wasn't me! Miss Cheerilee—" "Miss Cheerilee saw you push the wagon with her own eyes, and has several witnesses to back her. Care to revise that?" "It was an accident! I didn't mean it!" That was almost true, at least. "According to all reports, you grinned, and then shoved all your weight against the wagon. That is not an accident, but a deliberate act. I didn't ask you for excuses. I simply want to know this. Why did you do it?" "I thought it'd be funny!" she finally confessed in desperation. "You… thought… it… would… be… funny." He rubbed his eyes wearily for a moment, and then continued. "A filly is currently lying in the hospital with two broken hind legs. She may be limping for the rest of her life. She might not walk at all. Is that funny?" "No," she mumbled. "I can't hear you. Is that funny?" "No!" "Tell me, what business gave Rich Enterprises its start? And, in fact, is still our most major supplier and directly responsible for our success?" "Um, Sweet Apple Acres?" "And who runs Sweet Apple Acres?" "Granny Smith?" she guessed. "She used to. These days, she passed on all the business aspects to Applejack and Big Macintosh, as you would know if you payed any attention to my business dealings. Now, you have been the heir to my business. Who do you think they will be passing the farm on to when they get older?" With all the stress, Diamond's mind was drawing a major blank. Business wasn't her strongest suit anyway. He huffed. "Let me give you a little hint. You have been tormenting her for years, and she is now lying in a hospital, both leg broken, which I may add is also your doing. I am covering her hospital bills personally, but I wouldn't be surprised if she wants as little as possible to do with Rich Enterprises, both now and in the future. All due to you." Diamond looked down and closed her eyes. She'd never really thought about it that way before. Not only had she hurt Apple Bloom, she was hurting his business, and worse, had disappointed Daddy. He still wasn't done, though. "You have paid no attention to the details of how my business is run, and your schoolwork shows you have no aptitude for it. You spend all of your time antagonizing everypony around you, and now you are even putting them in danger. Your mother spoiled you rotten." He stopped his pacing and stood directly in front of her. "She did it with my help, sadly." He shook his head. "And you cry crocodile tears any time you think you aren't going to get your way." Tears were, in fact, streaming down her face, but this time there was nothing fake about them. Hearing her father tear her down like that had hurt, and he was probably right. She opened her eyes back up when she felt him unceremoniously yank the tiara off her head. "You should be paying attention to the world around you. Instead, you spend all your time admiring this!" He flung the tiara to the ground, and stomped on it angrily several times. There was a terrible crash of hooves on metal, and it shattered into pieces, diamonds flying loose from the twisted, broken metal. Diamond stood there in shock, looking down at it. She'd had that tiara for as long as she could remember. "That's all over now. You certainly can't handle the business, so I'm making my second cousin heir to Rich Enterprise. We may not see eye to eye, and she may not have a great head for the business, but she'll certainly do better than you ever could." Still reeling from the destruction of her precious tiara, it took a moment for this to sink in. I'm not my father's heir any more? He eyes grew wide. It was like her worst nightmares, all wrapped together and coming to life at once. "Wait! Y-you c-can't—" "I can, and I am," he said, stomping one hoof on the ground. A piece of her broken tiara clattered next to it. "Matters are clearly beyond the point of fixing. What's more, I am formally disowning you. I simply cannot tolerate your behavior any more." What? "Greywithers?" He popped in the room so quickly that Diamond had to wonder if he had been listening in. Filthy Rich turned to him. "Please escort Miss Diamond Tiara off the premises. As of today, she is no longer welcome here." "Sir?" he said, in a questioning tone. "You heard me," he said sternly. "She has failed me for the last time. As far as I am concerned, she is no daughter of mine. Get her out of my sight. She is not to be allowed anywhere in the manor." Her brain starting to kick back into gear, Diamond protested. "Daddy, no! I can change! I can do better, I promise!" She ran up to him, heedless of the broken metal and precious gems scattered on the floor, and tried to put her forearms around him in a hug, desperate to do something, anything to get him to reconsider. Diamond found herself so abruptly shoved back that she toppled over backwards, and had to pick herself back up. "I've already made up my mind," he said coldly, one eye giving a twitch. "This has gone on for far too long." "B-but where can I go? What can I do?" He turned away. "Frankly, that is no longer my concern. Greywithers!" At that, the butler gently but firmly escorted her out of the mansion, picking her up delicately when she dug her heels in and refused to move. "Grey!" she pleaded. "You've known me your whole life! You can't let this happen!" "I am sorry, Miss Tiara," he said. "But my loyalty is first and foremost to Mister Rich, as the head of the Rich family. I will talk to him about this, but until I have permission, I cannot allow you to come back." "I—" she started to say, and then choked up. She just didn't know what she could say. "I'll do what I can. That is all I can promise you," he said, and then closed the door. She could hear the clicking of locks and bolts being set in place. Diamond just stood there afterwards, paralysed and afraid. What could she do now?