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// Prologue: Business As Usual 
// Story: Filthy Business 
// by Frekser 
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"And by capturin' the wholesale market, purchasin' in bulk, and slashin' our prices, we undermined every other gift market in town. And that's how Rich's Barnyard Bargains became the cornerstone of retail in Ponyville."

Filthy Rich kept a calm demeanor as he finished his presentation. He hadn't missed the fact that most of the class seemed to be absent during the presentation, so to speak - he didn't mind, though. He was there for his princess' Family Appreciation Day assignment, nothing else. He wasn't surprised the fillies and colts - bar the curly red haired one - weren't interested to hear about his business, especially the financial charts.

"Well, thank you Mr. Filthy--" Cheerilee began, but quickly saw her mistake in the glare Filthy shot at her. "I- I mean, Mr. Rich... What a wonderful day of sharing. And thank you for being part of Family Appreciation Day!"

Filthy nodded at the schoolmare, satisfied, and turned to leave. Of course, he had not told the foals everything about running a company. It was a thing for adults, after all.
He dug out his antique pocket watch and checked the time - 13.40.

"Mhm, I'm almost late," he muttered as he continued on his way and returned the watch to his pocket. He was a busy stallion, and he had barely scratched the time for this visit to the school. Atleast his princess seemed happy, and that's all that mattered. Filthy calmly observed his surroundings as he walked through the town. He answered the occasional greetings with a warm smile, most of which came from his collaborators - the farmers that provided him with the goods to sell. 

"Well howdy there, Mr. Filthy! Still meanin' to buy the first batch of Zap Apple Jam this year?" Came a cheery, southern voice from his side. He rolled his eyes at the name before forcing a smile on his face, and turned to address one of his most important providers, the Apple family.

"Ah, of course, Applejack. Just like every year. And I prefer Rich."

"Who wouldn't?" The orange mare said, chuckling at her joke. "I'm just teasin', Mr. Rich. I still can't believe it's our jam that got you folk all rich and dandy these days! Makes me wish I had the eye for sellin' as well as you do. Coulda kept the profit to ourselves!" 

"And I wish I could produce the jam myself so I didn't have to buy it from you first, even further increasin' my profits!" Filthy Rich jabbed back with a smile. "Then again, only an Apple can grow apples as magnificent as yours, so it'd be a lost cause."

"Aww shucks, thanks for the kind words, Mr. Rich! Here, have a free sample of the Sweet Apple Acres' best!" Applejack grinned as she chucked a shining apple at Filthy. He caught it with relative ease and gazed at it before giving Applejack an appreciative nod.

"I will, and I don't doubt it's the one of the best apples in all of Equestria. But, it'll have to wait. I have an important business meeting to catch, and I'm already startin' to be late," Filthy Rich explained as he turned in the right direction. "I'll come for the jam in a few days."

"Aw, don't let me keep ya! Have fun if ya can!" Applejack hollered, waving at the stallion's back quickly disappearing into the crowd. She imagined what it would be like in one of those fancy business meetings - her time in Manehattan gave her some insight in dealing with finances and such. Seems boring, she thought as she turned to regard a customer.

Truth is, Filthy didn't like the meetings, but for completely different reasons than Applejack thought. They were not boring, per say, but he still despised them. Unfortunately, they were necessary.

"Nut Cracker," he greeted the buff earth pony standing guard at the entrance of the house the meeting was to be had in. Nut Cracker was a stallion with almost Big Macintosh' physique, and plain, brown-yellow colors. His cutie mark was, unsurprisingly, a simple nut cracker. His defining characteristics were instead the beanie he wore at all times, his rugged features, and his rough personality - though it fit his job, Filthy mused. A job he didn't have until recently, actually. Filthy had found him in a simple store selling various nuts. Filthy had offered him a job where his physical properties would come to better use, and Nut Cracker didn't wait long to accept. Unfortunately, the shop went out of business shortly after.

"Mr. Rich. The others are already inside," the stallion grunted. He turned to open the door for Filthy, who nodded in appreciation as he trotted inside. As the door closed behind him, Filthy continued through the building until he came to the stairs.

Then, he took the stairs to the basement.

Business meetings were something he wished he could avoid. But, as it was, they were necessary to keep his company afloat.

Filthy opened a door at the bottom of the dark, moist basement. Inside, he saw the usual - a few of his other henchmen-...
No, henchmen was such a harsh word. Colleagues.
He saw a few of his other colleagues, and of course the competitor he was expecting to arrive to the meeting.

Filthy Rich took a seat at the other side of the table and faced his competitor. He placed the apple given by Applejack on the table and nudged it, letting it roll towards the middle of the table. He then adjusted his suit jacket and necktie before nodding to one of his colleagues closest to the pony at the opposite side of the table.

When the potato bag was removed from the head of the gagged, wide-eyed and green earth pony, he mumbled in horror through his gag. His eyes frantically darted around before focusing on the apple on the middle of the table. Slowly, his shaking gaze lifted to meet Filthy Rich's smile.

"Greetings, I'm Filthy Rich. Let's talk business."