//------------------------------//
// Confrontation 
// Story: Money can't buy Diamonds 
// by lilinuyasha 
//------------------------------//

	“Father, wake up! It’s almost time for the movie!” An excited Diamond Tiara pushed against Filthy. He stirred awake, finding himself back on his couch.
“Hm? How did you know?” he asked, confused. Didn’t he plan that to be a surprise?
“You told me. Duh.”
“I guess I did,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Also, Di...I’m sorry about earlier.”
“What happened earlier?”
“You know, you catching me yelling at your mother.”
“That never happened. What are you talking about?”
“Oh. I guess I was dreaming that. Well, then, let’s head off to the movie, shall we?”
“Yay! Let me get my coat!”
“Coat? Honey, it’s only 70 degrees outside.”
“Father, do you feel alright? It’s winter.”
Filthy looked out the window in confusion. Sure enough, snow littered the outside of the estate. A small snowpony stood in the front yard, proudly smiling, as if to symbolize all the hard work that had gone into making it.
“I feel fine. Just...lost track of the time in a dream, I suppose.”
Diamond Tiara clamored back into the room, sporting her adorable down coat. She beamed at her father, and the two trotted out the door. Diamond Tiara rushed on ahead, playing in the snow a little. Filthy smiled at her foalish simplicity, and took another sentimental look at the snowpony. However, it had changed. Instead of the generic snowpony there before, it was an immaculate ice sculpture of his wife, who, even in her icy, transparent state, was still casting a snobbish glare over at the two of them. Filthy felt a small sense of uncomfortability and turned his attention back to Diamond Tiara, finding himself suddenly in front of the movie theater. He paid the ticket master, and the two of them trotted off to the concession stands, buying popcorn and hot chocolate before going to their theater.
“Thank you, father.” Diamond said, a rare form of gratitude from her. 
“It’s my pleasure, honey. Sh!” he quieted her, as the theater dimmed and the previews began.
“Coming soon, to a theater near you...” one of them began. “The epic journey of a foal through the imaginative world of Marenia. Brought to you by the director of ‘Nightmare Moon before Christmas,’ experience the story that critics say is set to be the best picture of the year.”
Filthy raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Hey, Di, why don’t we go see that one when-” he turned his attention to Diamond’s seat, seeing that she was suddenly gone. In fact, everypony that was in the theater had suddenly disappeared. He was utterly alone. “Diamond?” he called out to her. No answer. “DIAMOND?” No response. He tried to exit his seat, but suddenly found himself strapped to the chair, floating in space, nothing but darkness around him. A wave of sadness, despair, and an overwhelming feeling of being alone washed over him, causing him to break down and cry. He yelled into the void, tears still in his eyes.
“WHY?” he yelled, sitting upright. He panted, finding himself back in his living room, on the couch. Small beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face. A small twinge of sadness still hung around, but the majority of the feelings in his dream disappeared. He looked out the window, seeing nothing but the pitch-black embrace of night. He swallowed, remembering the events of...how long ago was it? He checked his watch. Nearly 2 hours had passed. He didn’t mean to sleep that long. Rubbing his face, he hopped off the couch and trotted up the stairs toward Diamond’s room. The door was left ajar, the light still on. Filthy gently pushed it open, finding an empty room. He sighed heavily to himself, feeling that small twinge of sadness grow a little. He hung his head low and trotted back downstairs towards his own room, finding the door open and the lights off. He flipped them on, seeing the ugly orange furniture and an empty bed. Spoiled must have gone to some sort of social for the upper-class. He sighed once again and trotted back upstairs towards his study, which he hadn’t come back to see since he arrived. At least one room in the house was sacred.
As he trotted down the dim hall, flipping lights as he went, he pondered to himself. ‘What if they’re gone? What’s been happening recently? Is Diamond Tiara going to be ok?’ He had little time to answer these questions as he opened the study door. He flipped on the lights, staring in sheer amazement.
“Celestia Dammit!” he yelled. His sacred room, his study, his thinking chamber...none of it was the same. While the books were in the same place, his desk, his pure mahogany desk imported from Yakyakistan, was gone, replaced by some yew oak lounge chair. All of his little trinkets, like an ink well and quill, a bust of his favorite composer, and a small clock given to him for boss appreciation month, were gone. He frantically searched the room, high and low, but unfortunately didn’t see any sign of them. Glancing the bookshelf behind him, however, he did notice one particular thing missing: an old photograph of him and his grandfather at Filthy’s first hoofball game. That photo had been his favorite for years. He’d taken it with him to every single house he lived in, every estate, and placed it within sight in every study he’d ever owned. What’s worse, some new chairs had been placed in various corners of the room, as if it were set up for some sort of book club meeting...and they were all orange. Tears welled up in Filthy’s eyes. He slammed his study door behind him and collapsed on the floor, bawling his eyes out. He knew it shouldn’t bother him as much as it did, but it certainly, undeniably did.
***
Diamond Tiara tried stifling back a few tears that were trying to come back. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle sat on either side of her, patting her back in an effort to comfort her. She had burst into the clubhouse in tears just minutes before the CMC were planning to leave for the day, since the clubhouse didn’t have all that many lighting options. The only lighting they currently had was a small lantern, and some light that Sweetie Belle produced from her horn. She hadn’t managed to produce a single coherent sentence within the last 20 minutes, but it seemed that her emotional wreckage was almost over.
“Do ya think you can tell us about it now?” Applebloom asked, rubbing her back a little. Diamond Tiara nodded.
“I just...I came home today...and Father was yelling at Mother. They’ve never done that before...I just...” she started, trying to get the next few words out without breaking down, “...maybe Mother was right...and Father doesn’t really love us. Maybe he...Maybe...” she managed to choke out before utterly weeping, nearly slamming her head down on the wooden floor. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both looked at each other, giving a non-verbal “I don’t know what to say” kind of look.
“Listen...” Sweetie started, “Maybe he didn’t mean it. I mean, ponies get mad all the time. Maybe his favorite sports team lost and he was taking it out on her?”
“The Broncos haven’t even started their season yet.”
“Oh. Well, maybe...I don’t know, Diamond Tiara. I won’t lie and try to tell you I know how this feels, because I don’t. All I can really tell you is that we’re here for you.”
“I know...” Diamond stated, her head still buried on the floor, “and I really appreciate it. I just...I don’t understand. That’s never happened before. Father has never yelled before. I just don’t...”
“We get it, Diamond Tiara. But it’s getting late and our parents are expecting us to be back any minute now. Why don’t you head on home as well?”
“I guess...” Diamond Tiara clamored to her hooves, “Thanks for letting me get it off my chest. I don’t really have anypony else to talk to.”
“Oh, that’s what friends are for!” Applebloom exclaimed, “And we’re friends now!”
Diamond smiled a little to herself, “I guess we are, huh?”
“Well, I’d hope we are,” Sweetie Belle muttered.
“Thanks, girls. I’ll make it up to you somehow.” Diamond muttered, carefully trotting down the small path to the treehouse. She parted ways with Applebloom at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, and continued trotting with Sweetie Belle until they passed by Carousel Boutique. Then, it was just Diamond, trotting all by herself in the dimly lit square. Some hanging lights in the distance, accompanied by some music, was her only indication that there was some sort of gathering. Since it was on her way home, she glanced at the activities. Seeing a lot of nobles she knew, she rolled her eyes. How many gatherings could they possibly have without getting bored? A familiar voice amongst the crowd caught Diamond’s attention, and she snapped her head to a small table out on the patio, where she saw her mother sitting next to an elderly noble, whose Cutie Mark was just a bag of pennies. Curious, Diamond hid from sight but listened to their conversation.
“...of course not,” Spoiled said.
“I mean, it should be fairly obvious.”
“It’s not like that will matter soon, anyway. If he doesn’t get the hint soon, then I’ll just have to be more obvious about it. Maybe I’ll just tell him. You’re far more affluent than he is, and what’s better, you know how it all works, so you can help me keep everything.”
“Well, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, but I can do most of that, yes.”
“Good. Now...shall we dance?”
“I’d love to, darling.”
Diamond Tiara, not understanding any part of the conversation, decided to gallop away, out of sight, back towards the estate. The porch lights were on, and she could see the silhouette of her father on the porch, smoking a pipe. He hadn’t done that in years. Why was he doing it now? Filthy, lost in his own little world of thought, didn’t even notice Diamond Tiara until the loud clop of her hooves on the stone porch snapped him back to the real world. He jerked his head towards the sound, seeing his daughter.
“I’m sorry!” he yelped, dropping his pipe, trying to hide it in shame. It bounced on the ground, the tobacco spilling out, chipping the main pipe, which frustrated Filthy. He loved that pipe.
“Father...is something wrong?”
“I’m just...upset that I have to leave tomorrow. I feel like I haven’t gotten to spend as much time with you as I’d like. That’s all,” he stuttered, an obvious lie he hoped Diamond would simply accept.
“What time do you leave tomorrow?”
“Probably not until late afternoon. Can I have a hug?” he asked. Diamond had never known him to ask for such things, and as she looked at him, she could tell his eyes were red, as if they had been crying. Maybe some tobacco smoke got in his eyes, though.
“Of course,” Diamond Tiara gave him a smile of comfort, knowing that in order for him to ask something like that, he had to have been seriously hurting.
“Thanks, honey,” Filthy said as he crept out of his chair, taking a seat on the porch, pulling Diamond Tiara into a tight hug. They gazed out at the stars, like they did the previous night, Filthy trying to forget about all of the things that had been bothering him.
“Father?”
“Yes, Di?”
“I’m sorry I got mad at you earlier.”
“I’m sorry that you caught me yelling. That was wrong of me.”
“It happens, I guess. I can’t stay up for too late tonight, either.”
“Gotta go back up to the school to work on the project again?”
“Yeah. I’ll be done before noon, so I’ll make sure to see you before you leave.”
“That would be great, honey. I don’t want to miss you again. I don’t know when I’ll be back again.”
“I’ve tried writing...”
“I know, honey. And I’ve written back. I guess the letters just...” he started, wondering whether to tell her or not, “got lost in the mail or something.”
“All 12 of them?”
“Yes. Maybe I didn’t write the address correctly. But I have been writing, I promise.”
“I was worried that you didn’t love us anymore,” she said, her voice faltering a little. “at least, that’s what Mother said.”
“Mother told you that?” asked Filthy, another strong sense of anger building up inside of him.
“She said that if you weren’t writing then you couldn’t love us...that you were going away to get away from us. That-”
“That is absolutely not true at all, Diamond. I love you more than life itself. You’re my daughter! My sweet, precious child and it hurts me when I’m away from you. Please don’t listen to your mother when she tells you those things. I don’t know why she’s lying, but...” Filthy trailed off, unsure of what to say next. Diamond Tiara sniffed next to him, as if she was crying. He looked down at her, seeing a sole tear run down one cheek. He felt her hug him harder, as if she wanted to make sure he didn’t leave. Filthy smiled to himself and let the silence between them speak all the words they wanted to say, as they stared at the night sky.
After about 20 minutes, Filthy saw the dark silhouette of his wife in the distance, accompanied by another figure. Filthy saw, what looked to him, kiss, as the other figure trotted away and her figure trotted towards him.
“Hey, Honey, why don’t you go to bed? I need to have a talk with your mother.”
“Hm?” Diamond asked, slightly out of the loop. “Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Father.”
“Goodnight, Di. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she stated, trotting back inside the house, to her room to sleep. As Spoiled’s figure drew closer to the porch, Filthy felt a sense of anger, guilt, and fear well up inside of him. What would he say? How could he say it? Would it really change anything?
“I wasn’t expecting you to be up,” said a somewhat annoyed Spoiled.
“Who was that?”
“Who was whom?”
“I saw them off in the distance. Don’t lie to me. I’m sick of it.”
“Just the pony I’ve been having brunch with. He offered to accompany me home from the dance this evening. I just couldn’t refuse.”
“Mhm. On another note, we need to have a serious talk.”
“What about, dear? I’m rather tired, can’t it wait until tomorrow?” she asked, starting to walk her way to the door. Filthy stood in front of it, refusing to let her take another step.
“No. I’m not letting you ignore me and shrug me off again.”
Spoiled looked at him with a sense of curiosity and anxiety. He had never been this authoritative. He’d always been a push-over. Something had changed inside of him, and it made her very uncomfortable.
“Fine. What is it?”
Filthy gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out what he wanted to discuss first. There were a multitude of issues going on, and though he knew talking about them wouldn’t fix most of them, he needed answers. He needed to know why. And with that on his mind, he took a deep breath and started speaking.