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// 20 - Retiring Rich 
// Story: Tarnished Silver and Clouded Diamonds 
// by David Silver 
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Diamond Tiara emerged from a chemist's store with a fresh bag filled with coin. Pinkie tilted her head at it. "How are you getting them all to pay you so much?"

Diamond waved a hoof. "Oh that's easy. Now that everyone knows there's money to be had in it, they want in on it." She moved to close the distance between herself and the others. "I'm just not telling them I'm selling out the secret to a dozen others at the same time. This industry's ruined, and we walk out with all the money." She waved a free hoof over the city. "Meanwhile, a lot of griffons get to not be overcharged just to have a yellow shirt." She smiled with supreme confidence. "And they say greed can't make nice things happen, hmmph."

Gneech burst into a fit of laughter. "Even Gneech manage to sell it to two. Here is money." He surrendered a heavy bag of coin to a grinning Diamond Tiara. "Bad griffons will be furious."

Silver Spoon tapped her chin. "They're, like, probably going to be super angry. Won't they try to hurt us, DT?"

Diamond pointed at Pinkie. "And here is where you come in. It's time to go. Summon up Twilight Sparkle or whoever and get us back to Ponyville." She set down the bags of money she held. "Chop Chop."

Pinkie gave a nervous giggle as she shuffled in place. "I can't... do that. I just came to protect you. I don't know how to get back."

Diamond colored with fury to learn her path of retreat wasn't as assured as it had seemed. "Well... fine! We have enough money, we could pay somepony to get us far away from here."

Silver Spoon suddenly thrust a hoof up. "Oh! We never claimed our money, from the amulet? Maybe that griffon knows someone else who can get us far away before things get too messy?"

Diamond agreed to the plan, simple as it was, and they quickly hustled to the magic salesgriffon. He smiled at them when they entered. "Ah, I had thought you forgot your claim. The money's still available."

Diamond slapped her receipt on the counter. "Good, we'll take it, but we also want to get a ride out of town. Know anyone who can get us out of here."

"Fast," added Silver Spoon.

"Today," added Gneech.

Sharp Find rubbed his beak as his other talon produced the bag full of platinum earned from the sale of the amulet, then noticed Pinkie Pie. "Oh, hello there. Your, uh, herd is it? It's growing."

Pinkie burst into giggles. "I'm just here to keep an eye on them."

Sharp nodded. "It's good to see they have adults that care for them, though I hear they've been terrorizing the town, not the other way around. Now, if you need a teleportation, I know a wizard up to the task. He has a powerful staff that lets him go wherever in the world he wants to go to, and he could take you along, for a fee."

Diamond smiled with satisfaction. "That sounds like exactly what we're looking for. Perhaps you'll get to keep that money after all." She held out a hoof. "How much?"

"Twenty-five hundred, and that includes my finder's fee."

Silver made a face. That was a lot of money, but they had it, so they surrendered it to Sharp Find, who eagerly accepted it and wrote out a quick letter. "Go to the address on the back, give him the letter. He'll know you've paid and that he can come to me for the money. We've done plenty of business in the past."

Pinkie leaned forward. "Could he send us home? It's kind of another world. It's called Equestria!"

Sharp shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know about that. The only spell I'm aware of that does that requires a tuning fork attuned to the plane you're seeking, and he wouldn't have that."

Pinkie pouted, but nodded. "Thanks anyway. Have a nice day!" As they walked through the city towards the wizard that would send them away, Pinkie tugged at her new light-yellow tunic. "Thanks for the clothes. I would have gone with pink though."

Diamond laughed a little. "You always go for pink. A little change won't hurt you."

"I guess not," agreed Pinkie easily. "So, um, besides becoming business ponies, what have you two been up to?"

Gneech hiked a thumb at himself. "Save Gneech and find ancient treasures."

Silver added, "Ran from a super scary ghost."

Diamond Tiara huffed softly. "Escaped from a band of angry kobolds before we found one worth keeping around. We also ran into a griffon that led us most of the way here before she ran off when we got attacked."

Silver Spoon tilted her head. "I wonder what happened to her..."

"She's been hired to kill you." They looked up as one to see a female griffon touching down. Dark Streak chuckled, "Don't get too worked up. I only accepted it so others wouldn't, for a moment at least. My my, I take my eyes off of you for a moment, and here you are, filthy rich and wanted dead by some very powerful griffons."

Diamond Tiara frowned. "Filthy Rich is my father, and we're leaving, so if you don't mind?"

Dark shrugged. "I won't stop you. This town's not my style anyway. I thought you two were long-dead."

"No thanks to you!" spat Diamond Tiara. "We managed, and we're doing just fine." She led the others away, but Dark walked alongside.

"No thanks? Do you have any idea how many arrows I had to pull out after that night? It was the fortune of the gods that got me here, and for what, to save two ingrateful pony chicks?" Dark waved a talon with annoyance.

Silver looked a little guilty. "We tried to look for you at first... Why didn't you find us? I mean we're, like, the only earth ponies in this whole city."

Dark Streak snorted softly. "Same story, other side. I checked for you at first, but I'm guessing you didn't come into town that quickly. Being in this city's not free, so I started doing odd-jobs, which eventually led to an offer for a generous sum to end your little lives."

Diamond Tiara paused her march a moment. "Hold on a second. Do you know who's paying?"

"Talked to them face-to-face, why?"

Diamond turned to face Dark Streak with a new grin. "Was it a mook, or someone with actual money?"

Pinkie shook her head quickly. "No no no! We should go. I'm supposed to keep you two safe."

Diamond snorted at Pinkie. "Pinkie, I'm surprised and shocked. You don't want to teach a valuable lesson to a griffon that clearly needs to learn the true value of friendship and laughter?"

Pinkie crashed to her haunches, her thoughts shattered by the sudden challenge. "Well, uh, I guess, yeah?"

Dark glanced at Pinkie before focusing on Diamond Tiara. "Is that your mother?"

Diamond snorted softly. "Just because we're both pink? Pinkie's alright, but she's not my mother." She threw a leg over Silver Spoon. "She's closer to my sister, and we're not even related." Silver Spoon grinned at the compliment and looked giddy. "But enough of that, tell us everything about who sent you."

Dark described a heavy-set griffon of the classical sort, an eagle-lion. "He seemed to be in charge of things, and he was furious with you. He knew you were skipping town and sent me to catch you before you could get away and make sure you never caused anyone trouble ever again." She chuckled softly. "He paid half up front. I'm using the money to skip town myself if you're running."

Gneech tilted his head. "And if we don't run?"

Dark shrugged. "Then I assume you'll be hiring me on, and we'll crack some skulls."

Pinkie stomped a hoof on the ground. "No! Enough. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon. We are going. You already won. Let's just go." She bowed to Dark. "Thanks for being a totally cool griffon about it, and good luck. Thanks for watching over them." Pinkie started nudging everyone along the road.

Dark snorted softly before she spread her wings, launching out over the city and leaving the ponies and their kobold friend to figure things out.

Diamond glared at Pinkie as she was shepherded towards the wizard's home. "He's just going to do it again, you realize."

Pinkie perked an ear. "Who's going to do what again?"

Diamond waved a hoof. "The no-good creep that wants us dead. He'll find some new angle and try to exploit other griffons. He hasn't learned anything."

Pinkie licked over her lips, wracked with indecision and hesitation. "Be that as it may... We really should go. I'm sorry, but it's my responsibility, OK? Super serious time." She stopped pushing them and got to walking, and they followed behind her. "So, Gneech right? Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie. You remind me a lot of a friend of mine. His name's Spike and he's a baby dragon."

Gneech nodded his head a little, feeling flattered for being compared to a dragon, even a baby. "Gneech has strong red dragon blood. Nice to meet, Pink Horse. You know Alpha Horse?"

Pinkie looked over her shoulder and saw where Gneech was directing towards. "Diamond Tiara? Oh yea! I put together her cute-cenera and it was a hoot! Everyone had a good time."

Gneech looked confused. Silver smiled and offered an explanation, "Pinkie Pie is a party planner. That's her calling." She pointed at the balloons on Pinkie's flank. "See, her destiny."

Gneech blinked. "Huh, ponies is lucky. Gneech not have easy butt mark tell Gneech what best do." He looked over at Diamond Tiara's mark of a tiara. "See, Alpha Horse has mark of alpha. So easy. Gneech is little jealous."

Silver glanced back at her mark, the doubt that she'd forgotten welling back up in her. A silver spoon... She pressed close to Diamond. "Hey, DT, what do you think my cutie mark means?"

Diamond glanced back at Silver Spoon's silver spoon. "It means you're a rich pony and are meant to live the good life, which you will if you stick with me."

Was that good enough? Silver frowned a little, glancing back at it again. Gneech chuckled. "Gneech wish he had mark say he destined be rich forever. Good mark."

Pinkie waved a hoof. "Oh don't worry about it. A cutie mark's just a starting point, not an end. You can be whatever you want to be, Gneech. Right now that's being a cool little dragon dude!"

"Yes, Gneech is great dragon dude," Gneech agreed with a grin, clearly coming to like Pinkie Pie.