//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: A Different Kind of Pledge // Story: Clusterbuck to City Hall // by Caddy Finz //------------------------------// "Caramel, I'm worried. You still haven't called me back." Octavia said as she left a message on her coltfriend's answering machine. "I need to know what became of Filthy hitting our van...and...It's just not like you to ignore me. Please call me." "Something's not right, Tavi." Vinyl stated. "The guy loves you. Something must have happened yesterday after he pulled Filthy over. He wouldn't ditch you." "I know that, Vinyl. Either way, I've got a bad feeling about this." "You're gonna regret the day you heard the name Caramel Apple when I get out of here, Rich!" Caramel shouted while tied to a chair in Filthy's basement. "Vehicular assault, assault on an officer, ponyknapping...you'll be a tired old stallion when you get out!" "Empty threats." Filthy replied as he shrugged off Caramel's words. "Nothing more. I told you, you could have gotten off easy but you just had to butt in, didn't you?" "If it's my job, then I'm going to do it." "Then I'm sure you understand that I have a job to do as well, which is why I'm very glad you hoof delivered all this evidence to me. All these tapes, photos and documents could have really done me in big time, you know." "You're doing nothing but digging yourself a deeper hole with every word that comes out of your mouth, pal. I'll see to it that you go away for life." "Oh hush up, you won't be singing that tune when I pack you up in a crate and ship you off to be examined by top stal-what's this?" As he sifted through the incriminating items, a tape labeled "Stoplight surveillance footage" caught Filthy's eye. Caramel was trying to get rid of this tape that he found and now that his marefiriend's sworn enemy had it in his clutch, his heart sank to a new low. "I don't remember any stoplight cameras catching me." Filthy said as he turned on his television and fired up the vcr to play the tape. "Th-that's nothing important, I swear!" Caramel frantically shouted. "A waste of time! Just smash it with the rest of the stuff!" It was too late. Filthy's curiosity was peaked and before Caramel could shake the chair he was tied to, the tape was playing. Filthy had found something he would use against Octavia that he could contort and twist into something to secure the election for himself. If Caramel was ever scared out of his mind, this topped everything he ever had happen to him before tenfold. "This...this is perfect!" Filthy yelled. "Ahahahaha! The mayor's office is mine!" The Next Day... "So you haven't seen him?" Octavia asked as she talked with Big Macintosh on the phone. "Okay, please let me know if anypony finds him. Thank you." Click! "Tavi!" Vinyl shouted. "We have a problem!" Octavia quickly joined Vinyl in the living room not knowing what to expect. Vinyl was on the edge of the sofa turning up the volume on the television. What the two ponies saw on the screen was something they never thought would have surfaced and as the scene played out before them, they both wished that they could just crawl into a hole and stay there. "Heyyyy, I'm *burp* looking for my friend 'Music note pony'." The commercial on the television was footage of Octavia's first time being heavily intoxicated a few months prior. The embarrassing video was recorded by a camera that sat atop a traffic light as Octavia stumbled through the intersection making a complete fool of herself. "Holy princess fucking plot!" Octavia screamed. "It's that night I got drunk and wandered around town!" "How the fuck did that get on TV?!" Vinyl yelled. "Filthy had to get a hold of it somehow! I can't even begin to guess how that happened!" "Is that Octavia?" Rainbow Dash who was a bystander said in the video. "Wow, I didn't know she was a party animal. You go, girl!" "Is this really the pony we want in the mayor's office?" Filthy's voice said on the commercial. "Would you ask a timber wolf to look after your chicken coop? That's what you'd be doing if you elect Octavia as mayor. I'm Filthy Rich and I approve this message. Footage courtesy of Officer Caramel Apple of the Ponyville Police Department." "No...this just can't be." Octavia sobbed. "Caramel wouldn't...not after all we've been through...not after...w-we were each other's first." "No, Tavi..." Vinyl said as she embraced her friend in effort to comfort her. "You're right. He wouldn't. I've seen the look in his eyes when he's around you. He wouldn't double cross you like that. There's more to this...I know it." "V-*hic*Vinyl...hold me..." "Shhh, it's ok Tavi. You've always been there for me and I'm here for you, okay?" "We l-lost th*sniff* the election didn't we?" "No. Not yet. The ballets get marked tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe Ponyville will appreciate that they could have a crazy party girl as their mayor. It's a long shot but there's no sense in beating yourself up over something that's out of your control." "I hope you're right, Vinyl. Otherwise Ponyville is as good as sold out." The following evening of the next day was one that Octavia, Vinyl and their campaign help would have liked to get over with as quickly as possible. Anxiety, and tension with the consistency of peanut butter stunk up the air of the library as they all waited for the call. The one phone call that would prove to be the most important one in Octavia's young life. For once, twilight's library was actually quiet enough to hear everypony's heart's beat. Riiiiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiiiing! "This is it. It's all down to this." Twilight said as she picked up the phone. "Lyra? Yeah, what's the verdict?" The town clerk had given Twilight a short, sweet and straight to the point answer. As soon as the news was bore upon her, her head hung low and her eyes closed as she struggled to keep her emotions in order. "Okay, th-thanks Lyra. *sniff* No, we'll be alright. Thanks." Everypony's hopes were not high at all as Twilight's reaction to what she was just told on the phone was a good indication that something may not have worked out. The group including Octavia and Vinyl were gathered around Twilight anxiously waiting to hear the details. "It was a landslide..." Twilight said quietly as tears streamed down her face. "Seventy nine percent voted for Filthy Rich...only twenty one percent for Octavia. I'm so sorry, everypony." This was truly a sad day for Octavia, Vinyl and all of their closest friends. The election had ended and the worst part is that Octavia lost by a landslide. The saddened Octavia had never been more depressed in her entire life and to make matters worse, she was becoming less and less sure with each passing hour that her coltfriend had not betrayed her. Caramel, the only stallion Octavia had ever fallen in love with was now seeming to have been in on her downfall the whole time. The more she thought about it, the sicker she felt as she had even gone so far as to give Caramel her virginity and even take his in the process. Everypony in the room shared Octavia's sorrow and all joined together in a tear filled group hug with Octavia and Vinyl in the center. As sad as they all were, It was those two who had been dealt the hardest blows. Both of them would need the moral support from good friends now more than ever and with Octavia dealing with what seamed like a knife in her heart from somepony she loved, they all knew it could take years for the wounds to fully heal. The next day was a somber one to say the least as it was the day Filthy Rich would be sworn into office much to Octavia and her friends' dismay. Filthy paraded around his large house with the shittiest of shit eating grins as he prepared for the ceremony. Caramel was still being held in the basement and was soon to be sent off in a shipping crate heading Celestia knows where. "Say, do you think I should wear my black tie or my usual red one with the bit sign on it?" Filthy mockingly asked the tied up Caramel. "Eat my spunk, you scumbag." Caramel replied. "Humph. No matter. You're as good as lost soon anyways. I'll bet that marefriend of yours really thinks that you helped me out too. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an office to be sworn into and a town to capitalize on. Sayonara, sucker!" Filthy Rich slammed the door of the basement and left Caramel all by himself. Caramel was not the toughest, strongest stallion by any means but at a time where he needed to be more than ever, he felt helpless. The thought that he had failed Octavia weighed on his mind and made him feel sick to his stomach. Not only that but the thought of Octavia thinking that he had betrayed her was the worst feeling and he could not begin to imagine how hurt she must be feeling right now. Hurt by something that was not even true. "Octavia..." Caramel said to himself as he began to break down. "My darling, I'm so sorry. I've failed you...I'm not half the stallion you deserve. I'm nothing but a little fucking runt. A runt who got ponyknapped just to have a little filly unt-What th-Diamond Tiara?" Caramel looked down at the little filly who was busy pulling the binds of rope from Caramel's hooves. Filthy's own daughter was trying to set free the only pony that could stand in her father's way and Caramel was about to find out why. After Caramel was freed from the lasts of the binds, the sad, lonely little filly stood before Caramel as he arose from the chair, the glossiness in her eyes making it well known that it was a call for help. "Please...you've got to stop my dad, Officer." Diamond Tiara sobbed. "I thought he was crazy before but now he's *hic* gone off the deep end. He was never the same after my mom died. He wasn't always like this. He was kind and caring and would have done anything for his family. Now, I don't even know him. He became greedy and and wasn't satisfied with anything anymore. He always had to try to go further and further with his companies even if he had to step on everypony else to get there." "Diamond, I will do everything in my power to stop him. He's done a lot of terrible things that could land him prison for a very long time though. It's really sad that you...*snivel* this must be the hardest thing you've ever had to do, kid." "After all the crimes he's committed, all the ponys lives he's ruined...I just can't get myself to hate him...After all the neglect and him never spending any time with me I just can't hate my father...please, I'm begging you, Officer! There's got to be something you can do! I know he's screwed up bad but if he goes to prison, I have nothing! I've already lost my mother, I can't live without my dad too!" "Diamond, you are the bravest little filly I've ever met. I me*sniff* mean that. I promise you, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help you. I'll take this case to the royal sisters if I have to!" "Th-there's not much time. you've got to hurry. He's at the town hall." Caramel was at a loss for words at the sad little foal who touched his heart with a huge impact as he gathered his police belt, uniform and cap and made his way up to the first level floor of Filthy's home. He did not have a vehicle available so he searched for a phone and made a call for backup with much hast. "Big Mac! It's Caramel!" He exclaimed, relieving his older cousin that he was safe and sound. "I need you to come get me at Rich's place and dispatch the entire force to the town hall! I'll explain it all on the way! Oh and cuz...I'm gonna need to talk to somepony with a lot of pull. I need somepony to contact the princesses. There's a misguided fool who's going to need a pardon that only they can give!" "I don't even see the point in being here, Vinyl." Octavia sighed as she and her best friend sat in the audience at the town hall. "I don't think I can bear to hear that stallion's voice right now." "I know, Tavi, I know." Vinyl reassured as she softly patted Octavia on the shoulder. "Just a few more minutes of this, okay? It'll let everypony know that you're a good sport." "At this point, the way I'm feeling, I don't care what the public thinks of me. That's why I made some calls to look for a new place. When we get back to the apartment, we're going to start packing...we're *sniff* moving back to Canterlot, Vinyl." "What? Why? Octavia, when we moved here, we were looking for a place that was more quiet than the huge city. We both agreed that this place was perfect! Not so big where you could never see the same pony twice but big enough where nopony is inbred! Tavi, Ponyville is our home!" "Not anymore, Vinyl...not anymore." "Fillies and gentlecolts..." Mayor Mare said as she addressed the crowd with as much false enthusiasm as she could muster. "The ballets have been tallied and our new mayor will now be sworn in now so let's get this over with so I don't have to look at this piece of sh-" "Stoooop!!" A voice screamed from the back of the room causing every head to turn back in alarm. The presence of the voice's source made nearly made Filthy jump out of his suit as he saw Caramel pointing at him. "Caramel!!" Octavia and Vinyl beamed in unison. The fact that he was now staring Filthy down as the latter stood on the stage was enough proof Octavia needed that her coltfriend was her true hero. "That stallion's under arrest!" Caramel shouted much to the confusion of everypony else in the room. Filthy just stood there dumbfounded, his heart racing faster with each passing second. More Ponyville police officers and even some help from the state troopers entered the room and blocked off every possible exit. Filthy was now sweating profusely as he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "How the fuck did you escape?!" Filthy shouted. "I didn't!" Caramel yelled back. "I was let out!" "By who?! Shit, I knew I shouldn't have trusted those big thugs I hired! If I get a hold of them I'll rip their f-" "It was me, dad!" Diamond Tiara shouted as she trotted into the large room. Filthy did not know what to say, how to react or even how to think as he was just let in on the biggest shock if his life. His own daughter had ratted him out and ruined his plans. "Diamond! Why?!" Filthy screamed, as Trooper Captain Shining Armor slapped a set of hoofcuffs onto him. "I'm your father! Your own father! How could you?!" Finally, Filthy was exposed and the town knew that he was nothing but a fraud, a crook, a scam artist and most of all not mayoral material. As the police lead him down the center isle of the room, Diamond Tiara stopped in front of him to do what she had been waiting so long for. Now that she could have a moment of her father's undivided attention, she could pour her heart out to him like had wanted to all along. "Dad, I love you so much but you've gone crazy. You've become a backstabbing, lying, greedy bastard who puts your own gain before the morals you once had. You're not the guy mom fell in love with and you're not the hero I once looked up to. Ever since mom died, you've changed. How do you think she'd feel if she saw what you've become? You weren't always like this." Filthy continued to stare into the sad, glossy eyes of his daughter and with every second, every word that came out of her mouth, the further his heart of stone sank. For the longest time, he had put his own personal gain and money before the one thing he had in his life that could truly make him happy if he had just paid attention. "I need you in my life, Dad! For years, I wanted a relationship with you so badly but now, who knows how long it will be before I can see you again! I barely even know you anymore, Daddy! What happened to you?! What happened to us?! I just wish you would *snivel* I just want *hic* I-I...I want my dad baaack!!!" The brave little filly that Diamond Tiara truly was could no longer keep her emotions from showing as she broke down and galloped out of the building, sobbing uncontrollably the entire way. For the first time in years, Filthy had looked his daughter in the eye and listened to what she had to say, every word cutting through him like a knife. The hardened stallion was made to think, really honestly think about where his actions were about to lead him and now most importantly what would become of his precious daughter he had emotionally neglected. "Diamond! Honey, wait!" Filthy called out as the police dragged him out of the building. "Guys, please just let me talk to my daughter! Diamond Tiara! Come back! Please! Diamond! I'm sorry!" The crimes that Filthy knew he was going to be charged with were all serious felonies that according to equestrian law would normally call for a minimum of a ten year sentence. As the middle aged stallion laid on the jail cell cot, new thoughts of the possibly ruined future rushed though his head. "You're not the guy mom fell in love with love with love with" The cold, hard truth echoed through Filthy's head as he experienced an epiphany of sorts during his utterly sleepless night. "You're not the hero I once looked uo to up to up to" The hardened tycoon that is Filthy Rich had not cried as hard before in his entire life as he had in that jail cell at the Ponyville town lock-up. The thoughts of a possibility of spending several years in prison were soon replaced by the anguish of missing his only daughter growing up more than he already had. "I want my dad baaaaack dad baaaaack dad baaack" "Dear Celestia in Canterlot, what have I done?! What have I done?!" The next three days that passed by were agonizing for the remorseful stallion. The way his court hearing ended was a good indication of how grim the next several years could be as the judge could barely look at his face. His lawyer advised him to simply plead guilty to his charges as taking the case to trial would be pointless. If one would ask him, he may have even said they were the worst in his life. The once proud husband and father and all around former family stallion was now reduced to nothing but a dirtbag sitting in a jail cell as he awaited his fate. The entire time, he could not take his mind off his daughter. "How could I have been so blind?" Filthy thought to himself. "So stupid, so selfish...oh my little girl...I've failed my poor little girl..." "Mr. Rich." Caramel said as he and his cousin Big Mac approached his cell. "Come with us. We've spoken to Princess Celestia herself and she has decided your punishment." As the cell door opened, Filthy stepped and presented his fore hooves which Caramel then fitted with cuffs. The two police stallions then lead the miserable stallion out of the police station and into the back of their waiting patrol car. With Caramel now in the driver's seat, they made their way down the road to who knows where. Several minutes went by before Caramel finally broke the awkward silence. "I hope you've thought a lot about what you've done, Mr. Rich." Caramel stated. "I have..." Filthy quietly replied. "Come again?" "Yessir, I have thought about it. I'd give anything to be able to go back and fix things with my daughter. I've failed her as a father...now because of me, she has to grow up without either of her parents. I'm the scum of Equestria and let me tell you, Officer...It doesn't feel too hot." "Well then in that case, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what the princess has set up for you. We're here." "What? Already? But we're still in Pon-er...this is my house...What's going on here?" "Step out, Mr. Rich." Caramel instructed as he exited the driver's seat and opened the door to let Filthy out. "So here's how things are gonna be. Big mac, if you would please." "Eeyup." The big red stallion replied as he knelt down by Filthy and fitted a bracelet firmly around his rear left hoof. The bracelet in question had a small black box attached to it with a little green light blinking on it. "Vehicular assault, assault on an officer of the law..." Caramel began listing the many crimes that Filthy had committed as Big Macintosh removed the cuffs much to Filthy's confusion. "...ponyknapping, unlawful imprisonment and possession of an illegal tranquilizer that you had some big dumb muscle head shoot at me...five years of house arrest and you will be picked up at eight o'clock every morning Monday through Friday for eight hours of community service for the entire duration of the sentence. When your five years of house arrest is up, you will be put on an additional five years of strict probation. Any questions?" "B-b-but h-how did you even-what did you...how is this possible?!" The dumbfounded Filthy stuttered. "I don't understand!" "A few days ago, I made a promise to a certain little pink filly." "Dad?" Diamond Tiara said as she trotted out the front door of the large house. "Diamond?" Filthy replied with tear soaked eyes as he turned to face his daughter who was standing on the front porch. "Your foal needs you, Mr. Rich." Caramel stated. "Go to her. We'll keep in touch." Without another word, Caramel and Big Macintosh reentered their patrol coach and drove away leaving an awestruck and eternally grateful Filthy Rich behind to make up for lost time. When the black and white coach was out of sight, he turned back to his filly and did what he was meant to do all along. "Diamond! My baby!" Filthy beamed as he made a full gallop to her. "Daddy!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed as she galloped over, meeting him in the middle of their front yard. The father and daughter embraced after years of drifting apart. There was not a dry eye on the entire block as ponies passing by witnessed the end of an unpleasant clusterfuck and the beginning of a mended relationship between single father and his daughter. As Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara held each other close and drenched one another with endless tears, he vowed that he would never again neglect his precious filly and work hard to fix everything that was broken. "Tavi...Oh my gosh..." Vinyl said as she and Octavia observed the heartwarming scene before them from their car across the street. "This has to be the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on." "I couldn't agree more, Vinyl." Octavia replied. "As stressful and fucked up as the past few months have been, I'd say a lot of good has actually come from it." "Yeah. I think I speak for everypony when I wish those two the best. Now come on. You've got a new office to decorate, Miss Mayor." "And a wonderful, amazing stallion in my life! Woohoo, what a clusterfuck this summer was!" THE END