Back In Business
“Attention passengers!” the sudden booming voice of the conductor over the speaker system disturbed my sleep, violently. “We’ll be arriving in Ponyville shortly."
I sighed as I looked out the window, it would be a while before Sweet Apple Acers came into view, but it would be the first thing I would see. Its expansive property covered with countless apple trees, unless you asked Granny Smith, she knew how many trees there were, somehow.
"Two months is too long...never again." I sighed, looking down at the mask I had dropped the night before.
I scooped it up, sliding it into my saddle bag as the first whistle of the train sounded. It was still pretty early, but that was to be expected, catching the last train to Ponyville. I would have to give them the bad news that I had turned down the "offer".
As I looked out the window, I spotted something waving in the distance. Curious, I leaned in closer, even with my vision being much sharper as a pegasus the object, or objects rather, were still far away. That changed rapidly, however, as the speed of the train brought them into view.
"Welcome."
"Home."
"Daniel." I smiled as I read the post they had set up aloud.
A blue blur, accompanied by a spectrum of colors, zipped past the window I was looking out of. In the blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash was flying alongside the train, tapping on the window.
I smiled, quickly opening the window. I soon found myself on the train car floor, with a cyan colored pegasus standing on me. Rainbow Dash had a shit eating grin on her muzzle, which almost always proved to be a bad omen of pranks, gags, or other laughs to come at my expense.
“So, did you get the letter?” Rainbow Dash asked, jumping off of me.
“Yes, I did. It’s good to see you too.” I rolled my eyes.
“Hah! I knew it!” Rainbow Dash beamed.
“Really now? Was it that you never got the letter back from being sent in error that tipped you off?” I asked sarcastically.
“They do that?” Rainbow Dash cocked her eyebrow at me.
“Uh, yeah, they’re supposed to anyways,” I replied, quickly shaking my head to keep my thoughts from lingering on the postal system in Equestria. "So was that what you couldn't wait to ask me once I got back? In like...three minutes?"
"Nope, what I really wanted to know is if your race was rigged or not." Rainbow Dash laughed, showing me the sports section of the newspaper.
"What...wait, what?!" I stammered as I skimmed over the title, and saw my picture. It was pretty impressive to have a page in the paper, something I had never dreamed of accomplishing on Earth.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing. Soo, who are you going to pick?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting up close, and past my personal space.
"Pick for what?" I asked in return.
"Jeez how dense are you? You weren't signed by anypony, duh, and with a win like this," Rainbow Dash gestured to the paper. "They'll come crawling to you!"
"Dash, who is they? I was gone for two months, I'm tired, my head hurts, and, heaven forbid, I'd really like to just have some time to rest before I go on anymore wild goose chases." I whined as the train whistle blew once more.
"Right, right, I get'cha." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Do you? I wonder sometimes." I chuckled, receiving a punch to leg.
The buildings of Ponyville were starting to pass by the window slower than they had been, as the train started to slow down. With one final lurch forward, the train came to a stop. The doors slip open as I sluggishly slung my saddle bags onto my back.
"Home sweet home..." I sighed.
Rainbow Dash followed me out, doing her best to stifle her laughter, at what I was afraid to ask, but for my own wellbeing had to know. I disliked Dash when she was like this, but it was better than being at odds with her.
"Okay, what gives?" I asked as we both exited the train.
"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked in return, trying to hold back her grin.
"You're a Pinkie Pie appearance away from busting a gut." I squinted my eyes at her accusingly.
"Nope, not today." Rainbow Dash replied, managing to get a bit of self-control this time.
"Uh huh, so why all the giggling?" I rolled my eyes as we both left the station.
Almost immediately I could tell the difference being back in Ponyville. The air was cleaner, the sun was brighter, and I was already receiving the neighborly wave or nod of the head. The city could keep its "luxury", I had all I needed right here.
"Somepony has been a bit antsy while you were away." Rainbow Dash teased, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Cloudchaser?" I asked dumbly.
"Duh, who else? Anyways, she's been waiting for you; I know she'll want to see you when she gets off weather duty today." Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Speaking of, were you the only one off? Don't get me wrong, it's great to see you, I guess I thought more would be waiting for me." I said, trying to steer the conversation away from my love life.
"Well, that was the plan, but you came here early. Everypony is still at work." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck, looking away as she spoke. It was then something occurred to me.
"Rainbow Dash....did you fly by every train to check if I was on it or not?" I asked.
"Heh....maybe?" Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly.
"Well A for effort, but what in Equestria for?" I asked with a laugh.
"Now that you’re a better flyer, I wanted to see how fast you really are," Rainbow Dash darted into the air doing a mini loop before landing in front of me. "Come on, you and me!"
"Dash, I just got through telling you that I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep on the train ride home. After I talk to my sister I'm going to bed for a bit." I sighed.
"Uh yeah about that....remember when I said everypony was at work?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, what's that got to do...no way, show me." I said as it dawned on me what she was getting at.
---
Rainbow Dash pushed through the doors to the spa first, a broad smile on her face; she was enjoying this a little too much. I couldn’t hold it against her though, as tired as I was, if what Rainbow Dash had told me was true, this would be worth the detour home.
“I don’t believe it.” I said, my muzzle scrunching as I tried to hold back my laughter.
“Laugh and I’ll turn you into an earth pony before you make it out of the building.” Isabella threatened, making cutting motions with two of her fingers like scissors.
“Uh oh, we’ve got a bad ass on our hooves.” I rolled my eyes as we approached the counter.
“More than you at least,” Isabella shot back before looking over at Rainbow Dash, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. “So, how’d things go with your marefriend?”
“How does everypony in town know about my love life? I just got back!” I exclaimed.
“Hellooo, this is Ponyville, remember? Gossip spreads around here like wild fire. Besides, half of the weather team watched Cloudchaser take you into her home that day.” Rainbow Dash said as a matter of factly.
“You’re telling me this now!?” I could think of several places where they would never find the cyan pegasus’ body.
“I think it’s cute. You finally found someone er-somepony, rather. Besides Cloudchaser is pretty…I think. I’m not sure what defines beauty by pony standards. She’s upbeat, you’re kind of mellow; you two balance each other out.” Isabella said.
“Yeah, I don’t see why you’d be embarrassed. I mean, it was kind of expected when Flitter said she was going to see you.” Rainbow Dash added.
“I’m not embarrassed; I just don’t want half the town in on my personal life.” I replied.
“Well get used to it, because your five minutes of fame is far from over now that your face is all over Equestria.” Isabella shrugged.
“What do you mean?” I asked nervously.
“Didn’t you read the title of the paper? Equestria Daily, this is shipped out all over the kingdom.” Rainbow Dash waved her hoof in an arch motion.
I moaned as I sank to the floor, covering my head with my hooves. I was tired and didn’t feel like processing the thought of having to deal with more ponies trying to talk me into running off somewhere for who knows how long next time.
“Come on.” Isabella sighed picking me up with ease.
“I don’t wanna…” I mumbled.
“Stop being a baby.” she chuckled, carrying me into a room that smelt like name brand soap.
“It stinks in here.” I hissed.
“Keep it up and I’ll drop you in the mud bath with Rarity. Have fun explaining that one.” Isabella said, her threat silencing me.
I was placed on a padded table that I had seen masseuses use to perform their profession. I elected to be a bit stubborn, snorting in discontent as Isabella guided my head into the hole where ones face, or in this case muzzle, would go.
“Why are you doing this again?” I asked, my own voice sounding muffled even to me, due to my ears being located at the top of my head.
“Because, you said you were tired. Being the loving sister that I am, I thought I’d help.” Isabella replied sarcastically.
“Pfft, yeah, you’re help is about as good as a hole in the heaahah-ooh…” I trailed off as I felt two soft hands begin to rub my back.
“I’m sorry, what was that about a hole in the head?” Isabella asked.
I didn’t respond, my tired form content to remain motionless despite the smell of feminine bath products, and the knowledge that I was actually in a spa to begin with. Not surprisingly, I started to drift off as Isabella worked. A part of me found this slightly weird, but I wasn’t about to complain after going to bed sore for a majority of the two months I was away.
---
I slowly opened my eyes, my surroundings no longer consisting of the bright spa interior or the accursed perfumes that saturated that environment, but instead my own bedroom. I must have passed out from the massage, which made sense. What really got my attention however; was the sensation of someone stroking my mane, sending mixed emotions through me.
Assuming it was my sister, I rolled over ready to ask her how I ended up in my room. I was pleasantly surprised to see Cloudchaser, contently petting me. The human side of me could appreciate the light humor found in a pony petting another pony. How long had she been there?
“You’re funny when you sleep.” Cloudchaser said, looking down at me.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Since I got off, I thought I’d let you rest.” Cloudchaser replied, giving me a quick nuzzle.
“You have no idea how much I missed you.” I smirked as I gently pulled her closer to me.
“I don’t huh? I’m pretty sure I missed you more~” Cloudchaser sang.
I rolled my eyes, a smile forming as I quickly recognized this game. It had been a while since I played it, but it wouldn’t end until one person, or pony in this case, yielded that in fact their significant other had missed them more. It was sappy, kind of stupid, and it was a trap I was hell bent on avoiding.
“I don’t plan on leaving for two months again any time soon. So, what did I miss while I was gone?” I asked, enjoying the time alone I had with her.
“Hmm, while you while you were gone nothing spectacular happened. While you were asleep? Ditzy brought a bunch of mail for you, express mail, magic and everything.” Cloudchaser replied, one had to give the mare credit for covering all her bases.
“Express mail? How much is a bunch?” I cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly.
“I dunno, maybe ten, fifteen letters? I didn’t count all of them,” Cloudchaser shrugged. “They’re lying on the table if you want to look at them…they seemed pretty important, especially if somepony took the time to use express.”
I groaned childishly, I didn’t want to leave the comfort of the bed I had been set in. My room and I still needed our quality time, but Cloudchaser was right and logic won out by a small margin.
“Come on, I’ll help you look through them. I have a pretty good idea what might be in them.” Cloudchaser said, breaking away from our embrace to jump off the bed.
My eyes were immediately drawn to her rump, unable to help myself. She looked over her shoulder, noticing where my eyes had fallen. With a coy smile, she gave her hips a little wiggle, flicking her tail towards me.
“You can wait, come on.” Cloudchaser scolded, disappearing into the hallway.
I followed after her, finding her seated at the table. I had missed my home, admittedly sleeping on the tenth floor of a building was pretty cool, but nothing could replace my house that was a bit too big now, if not for its other occupant.
I took a seat beside her as she spread the letters out. Express mail worked a little differently in Equestria, and worked a lot faster. It was often used by the upper crust for special occasions, and was topped only by the princesses’ method of written communication; magical fire letters that I’m sure possessed a more proper name.
“One from Baltimare, Manehattan, they’re from all over Equestria…” Cloudchaser said, scanning over a few of the addresses.
I picked up the one from Baltimare and opened it. Inside was a letter requesting my presence before some big wig. They had apparently seen and heard the news too. Some nopony had beaten out a top contender. Lean Streak was right; I had gained more than Sky Mark’s attention that day. The letter laid out the bare bones of what I would be getting myself into if I said yes, perhaps luck decided to cut me one more break.
“So…what are you thinking?” Cloudchaser asked.
“Let’s look at the others first, Baltimare sounds nice, and it is a little closer to home, but I’m going to hold off until I’ve seen read them all.” I replied, reaching for another one.
Cloudchaser went through them as well, giving her input on various ones that she liked or disliked. She did have something at stake in all this, me. The thought of being away from her for a lengthy period of time again was now a horrifying idea that I tried to block out as much as possible. It seemed like a silly, irrational fear, but it was one I had little control over now that I was starting to grow closer to her.
There was little doubt from the way she commented so negatively about some that were located a great distance away that she felt the same way. It made me chuckle how determined she was to keep me close to home, I wasn’t opposed though.
Eventually the last letter was opened and read, leaving a mess on the table. I sighed, none in particular had jumped out at me, and more than a few had been eliminated due to distance alone.
"Any jump out at you?" Cloudchaser asked.
"Not really...but I have to pick one of them." I replied.
A knock interrupted whatever it was Cloudchaser was about to say. I jumped out of my seat and headed towards the door, anticipating Rarity or Pinkie Pie. It was midday, and lunch time for most ponies. The weather team was an odd exception which explained Cloudchaser's prolonged visit. I never did grasp the concept of their shifts, even though Rainbow Dash had tried to explain it to me once.
I was more than a little surprised to see...Filthy Rich? My train of thought derailed almost immediately. It wasn't because I didn't like Filthy Rich, heck, the guy was pretty cool, despite having a daughter in dire need of an ass beating. Seriously, I wouldn't be able to sit down if I did half of the things she did as a kid. It was the fact that he was at my door at all that made me metaphorically scratch my head.
"Uh...hi?" I said, a perplexed expression over taking me.
"Daniel, isn't it? My name is Filthy Rich, I'm pretty sure we've seen each other, but never had the chance to get properly acquainted," Filthy Rich said, giving my place a quick assessment glance. "So, this is where you hang your hat at night?"
"It keeps the wind and rain at bay." I replied with a nervous laugh.
"Hey Daniel I think you should-oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Cloudchaser now stood beside me, holding one of the letters. I assumed she'd finally settled on one and was going to try and persuade me to agree with her.
"Am I interrupting anything? I can come back another time." Filthy Rich said, why couldn't his daughter have inherited some of his mannerisms?
"Not really I guess." I shrugged looking over at Cloudchaser who shrugged as well.
Filthy Rich's expression changed when he noticed the letter Cloudchaser had in her hoof. As if a switch had been flipped, he cleared his throat and gained a firm, serious aura about him. Whatever this was about, he meant business.
"I was hoping that we could talk about an idea I had." the stallion's chest puffed out a bit, his posture shifting as he spoke.
"Well I-"
"He'd love to, wouldn't you?" Cloudchaser spoke over me.
There's the mare I love. I thought to myself.
"Splendid! Do you mind if we walk and talk? My daughter forgot her lunch today, and I thought I'd stop by to check on her." Filthy Rich smiled hopefully.
I was pretty sure they had some kind of servants for taking a forgotten lunch to Diamond Tiara. It sounded more like an excuse to pass through my neighborhood and talk, but maybe he genuinely wanted to check on her. Besides, I hadn't seen Scootaloo in a while; she'd probably be surprised if I stopped by since it was around time for recess.
"Sure, why not?" I replied.
“So, I read about what you did. I have to admit, that was pretty impressive.” Filthy Rich said as we walked towards the school.
“I can’t take all the credit; I had a great team to help me.” I said.
“Humility is all well and good, but I don’t think it’s wise to downplay such an accomplishment.” Filthy Rich laughed.
“I guess not…was that what was on your mind?” I asked.
“A stallion after my own heart, straight to the point,” Filthy Rich commented. “Not entirely, I guess I wanted to know why you didn’t sign on with anypony? No doubt you’ll be receiving offers, but why not venture off and see the rest of the kingdom?”
“It’s a complicated situation, kind of boring actually.” I replied dismissively.
“Humor me; my daughter always says my interests are boring.” Filthy Rich said.
“Well, I didn’t take the deal because it meant that other ponies would lose their jobs. They did anyways, even though I tried to do the right thing, I just caused more harm. Now I’ve got a bunch of letters sitting on my table that only remind me of how I screwed up…and I let somepony else down by not accepting the job.” Filthy Rich was silent as I told my story until I had finished.
“I don’t suppose this somepony would be Miss Cloudchaser?” Filthy Rich asked.
“She’s special to me, but that’s not who I was talking about.” I frowned, keeping my gaze to the ground.
I glanced over at Filthy Rich who seemed a bit perplexed by my response. He was clearly trying to determine who it was I was talking about, but unless Isabella had spilled the beans about my ambitions, he probably had no idea, and it was probably for the best.
“You said you received letters, I assume they’re related to your little venture into racing.” Filthy Rich said, giving up on trying to guess who it was I was talking about.
“Yeah, none really appealed to me though, and now that I have another party interested in my wellbeing, I have to take that into consideration too.” I chuckled.
The sound of childish laughter, and screeching of old metal bolts against the dull wood of seesaws caused my train of thought to shift. I hadn't realized how long we had been talking, it didn't seem like it had been long enou-
"Daniel!" I heard Apple Bloom shout, starting the chain reaction I was expecting.
The other two members of the CMC were quick to join her as she rushed up to meet me. Filthy Rich broke away to find Diamond Tiara.
“Hey girls, how’s school been so far?” I asked, unprepared for the two hug tackles I received. Scootaloo, was content to play things off, she did have an image to keep.
“Borin’ Ah don’t care much fer fractions.” Apple Bloom replied.
“They make my head spin.” Scootaloo added in agreement, swirling her hooves close to her head for emphasis.
“I’m pretty sure we won’t have a cutie mark that involves math.” Sweetie Belle sighed.
“Hey, that’s the process of elimination.” I shrugged.
“Hey uh, Daniel can I talk to you in private?” Scootaloo asked, rubbing the back of her head.
“Uh, sure.” I replied following the filly over to what could be described as the corner of the playground, despite the lack of a fence or any landmarks to indicate otherwise.
“So what was on your mind Scoots?” I asked.
“I wanted to uh…” Scootaloo fumbled with her words before hugging my foreleg. “Thanks for the scooter.”
“I had a little help from a friend picking it out; he reminds me a lot of you. By the way, thanks for keeping my sister safe, I knew I could count on you.” I gave her a light noogie.
“H-hey, quit it!” Scootaloo laughed, punching my foreleg, which felt more like a hard poke.
The bell sounded, signaling the end of the student’s recess period. A few moans of disappointment could be heard from some of the fillies and colts as Cheerilee began to usher her students back inside. Scootaloo sighed, her ears drooping a bit.
“Better not keep Cheerilee waiting. I’ll see you later okay?” I smiled down at her.
Scootaloo nodded before running off to join her friends. I watched as Cheerilee stopped to talk with Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara at his side. She didn’t seem like her usual cocky self, keeping her head lowered slightly. I let out a mental sigh of relief, perhaps now I would be able to go back home and rest for a bit. Surely he wouldn’t want to talk with his dau-nope, apparently he was hell bent on talking to me about something else as he waved me over once Cheerilee had gone back inside.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Fine for the most part, would you care to finish this conversation at my house?” Filthy Rich asked.
Creepy.
“Uh, sure.”
---
“Anyways, that’s how my grandfather learned about one of the draw backs of Zap Apple Jam.” Filthy Rich laughed.
“Heh, pretty interesting story.” I said as a butler placed three drinks on the table.
“I have a million of them, but I’m getting distracted. What I really wanted to ask you this morning is if you would be willing to race again?” Filthy Rich’s question completely blindsided me, nearly causing me to choke, much to his daughter’s amusement.
“I guess that’s a no then…” he summarized based on my reaction to his question.
“Sorry, you just kind of surprised me is all. I’d be willing to, but none of the offers have appealed to me. Like I said, I want to be a bit closer to home than Las Pegasus, or some other distant city.” I replied.
Filthy Rich nodded, taking a drink. “This pony of interest you mentioned earlier, it wouldn’t happen to be a certain tangerine pegasus filly, would it?”
Perhaps it was how casually he asked his question, or maybe the fact that he knew at all, either way he had my attention now. Not just mine, but his daughter’s as well, probably for completely different reasons than mine. Diamond Tiara’s gaze bounced between us as if some sort of code had just been spoken and she was trying her best to interoperate it.
“Uh, yeah.” I replied, as much as I wanted to keep things a secret from Scootaloo, I didn’t want to look like some creepy stalker either.
“So, what is your relationship with Miss Scootaloo?” Filthy Rich asked. His smile was that of somepony that had just guessed the million dollar question correctly.
I tossed the possible negative outcomes of this in my mind. If I asked Diamond Tiara to leave, she would probably run wild with stupid rumors and cause all sorts of hell. I didn’t put anything past her at this point, besides, I still remembered what Scootaloo had told me she said to her that night. With that memory resurfacing, I didn’t second guess myself for very long.
“There isn’t one yet, but I was planning on trying to adopt her soon. I’ve been keeping it a secret from her since I didn’t want to get her hopes up if things didn’t work in my favor.” I replied.
“What!?” Diamond Tiara squeaked. I felt it was safe to assume her jimmies had just been rustled.
“What’s wrong sweetie, stomach acting up again?” Filthy Rich asked.
“Uh nothing daddy, e-everything’s fine, honest!” Diamond Tiara flashed the most innocent smile she could muster.
“Alright then, why don’t you head to your room, I have some private matters to discus with our guest.” Filthy Rich said, dismissing his daughter.
Diamond Tiara was slowly starting to turn pale, even though her brightly colored coat. Maybe this would cause her to lay off of Scootaloo for a while, but that was probably wishful thinking.
“So, that’s why you want to keep things as close to Ponyville as possible. You want to start a family.” Filthy Rich seemed quite proud of himself.
“One piece at a time anyways, but yeah that’s why.” I sighed.
“How would you like to race for me then?” Filthy Rich asked.
“You serious?” I asked in return.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this. Neither were all those offers sitting on your table at home you told me about. If you agreed there would be some legalities to work out, but-“ Filthy Rich started to ramble.
“I only request that I get to pick who trains me. Everything else can be what you think is fair.” I said.
Filthy Rich seemed perplexed by my answer. “I wasn’t going to pick who trains you, you do that yourself anyways…didn’t you know that?”
I had to fight the urge to let my anger show. Sky Mark had lied to me and my friends, he claimed to have another pony in my place, but for all I knew that could be a lie too. I was mad at myself for letting my own ignorance cause so much trouble, if I had known that then, perhaps things would be different.
“No, I didn’t.” I sighed, releasing my anger with my held breath.
“I get the feeling your first brush with ponies in my field wasn’t the best experience. I can’t guarantee hooves won’t be stepped on, but I can promise you that I’ll be straightforward with you.” Filthy Rich said extending his hoof.
“I can live with that.” I said, bumping my hoof against his.
---
“I have to admit, it broke my heart when I learned a stallion with such potential was brought to a grinding halt. Then you went and blew everypony away at a race.” Sky Mark said looking out his window.
“It still irks me that I was your second pick, but whatever.” another stallion replied.
“All of that’s in the past, and he’ll never see a track again unless it’s from the stadium seats. It’s your time to shine now.” Sky Mark walked over to his desk, sliding a form atop a large folder towards the charcoal coated stallion.
With a smile, the stallion quickly wrote his signature. Sky Mark smirked at his eagerness, there was a night and day difference between this stallion and that misfit that had walked out on him. Even his name had a sense of power in it, Thunderlane.
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And old rival in love, a new rival on the track. One sleaze for another. I like your Filthy Rich. Why be the dirty businessstallion when you can break stereotypes by being the opposite of what your name hints?
Diamond... please don't ruin this. I know you tend to be a bully and all, but this is one line you really shouldn't cross...
I really should have waited more than a minute before replying on the previous chapter. I wonder how Thunderlane is going to mess things up for Daniel. Trying to sabotage him in a race, flat out assault so he can't fly, bring out him being a human to turn every pony against him, recruit Diamond Tiara to make sure Scootaloo ends up in jail, etc. So many ways things can go wrong. Here's hoping he pulls threw.
5903436 Then he pulled an AK-12 out of nowhere with infinite bullets and start massacering everyone.
5903934
img.pandawhale.com/post-1816-Say-hello-to-my-little-pony-me-jvBL.jpeg
5903325
How boring would that have been if he had everything he wanted and lived happily ever after so soon?
I'm starting to wonder how many
's I can put throughout this site by the time I stop coming on here,
Damnit thunderlane!
5905383
Isn't that how this story's supposed to work?
5905383 Then this plays as he trot away remembering better times
Yeah, that was about as surprising as the sunrise. Saw it coming a hundred miles away.