The Truth: An alternate-world 'Truth or Dare' tale

by SFC Ponycron

Chapter Three: Reopening Wounds

The Truth
Chapter Three

---

“Red Zircon?” all the foals asked. Twilight nodded.

“What did my daddy do?” Rose Quartz asked as she stepped up to Twilight and looked at the picture frame.

“He was a jewelcrafter,” Twilight replied. “He had a little bit of a reputation for his designs and his work.”

“Really?” Rose looked up at the lavender unicorn. “Did he make necklaces?”

“He made all kinds of things, Rose,” Rarity replied. “He often went with Spike and I to mine jewels.”

Dawn looked up at her mother. “I thought you said...”

“He rented a little corner of the basement to work,” she replied, anticipating her daughter’s assumption. “Shortly after he moved here from Canterlot, he used to work from his home, but he ended up wasting the day borrowing books from the library.” She smiled inwardly, recalling his face and the many times he passed by to talk or read. “After orders for jewels and accessories started to pile up, he asked me if he could rent one part of the basement so he could work without distractions. ‘Working from home makes me lazy,’ he said.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “That sure worked, considering he was around you most days.”

Twilight looked to her pegasus friend. “He worked, Dash. Besides, if Spike and I had to leave, he volunteered to look after the library while we were gone and he managed to get some of his own work done during the quiet periods.”

Applejack grinned. “Ah don’t see why yer complainin’, Dash, when you used to come to th’ library to pretend to borrow a Daring Do book to see if’n he was workin’.”

Rainbow Dash frowned at the orange earth pony. “I did borrow a book sometimes...” she muttered.

“Did Dad go on any adventures with you, Mom?” Crystal Prism asked.

“Not really,” she replied. “He didn’t like being in the spotlight all that much.”

“He sounds kinda boring.”

Dash looked at her daughter. “He has a really good eye, though,” she countered. “Your dad used to point out slight flaws in some of my tricks, and pointed out little details that made the tricks easier or flashier.” She frowned. “Said it was part of his talent, to notice and tweak little details.”

“Mama,” Jasper spoke up, “why did he leave?”

A sudden silence, as if somepony just spoke of something taboo, hung in the air above the older mares.

“You see, Jasper,” Twilight began after a moment, “not everypony was...accepting...of the relationship your father had with all of us.”

“Some ponies in town wanted ‘im ta leave, others wanted ‘im t’ break up with us,” Applejack said flatly. “Thing is, they never told us right to our faces. They sent only yer father letters an’ threats that he hid from us.”

“Why did he do that?” Dawn asked.

“He didn’t want us to worry,” Fluttershy spoke up. “Your father never told the other townsponies about us, but they found out eventually about our relationship.”

“Even after I made a Pinkie Pie promise!” the bubbly pink earth pony chimed in, her tone slightly subdued.

“Ours...wasn’t exactly proper according to society’s standards,” Twilight said with a nod. “Nopony really saw Red Zircon for what he really was: a devoted, caring, generous pony.”

“He always made sure he didn’t favor any one of us. He spent what free time he had with us equally,” Rarity replied, a sad smile forming on her face.

“What...” Jasper couldn’t bring himself to ask the inevitable question.

“What happened to him?” Jonagold asked softly.

Rarity looked at Twilight, tears forming in her eyes. The snow-white unicorn shook her head as she turned to Applejack’s son.

“Jonagold, I...” She paused then glanced away.

“Even after six years, it still hurts,” Applejack replied. “Jonagold, Ah’ll...” She looked up at the others. “Ah’ll tell ya t’night, when the moon’s full and bright.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I will, too, Rose. I promise.”

“We all should,” Rainbow Dash agreed, her voice slightly shaky.

“It’ll make a good bedtime story,” Pinkie Pie said as she ran a hoof through her son’s hair, attempting to calm it down.

Twilight looked at the foals in front of her. “I know this is a lot to ask of you, but did you bring your music boxes?”

The children nodded. Their mothers brought them out from their saddlebags.

“I’m going to ask you to leave them here.”

“Why?” Silver Streamer asked.

“Can you fix them?” Rose asked. “Mine doesn’t even open. There’s no lock or anything.”

Twilight smiled. “It’s fine. There’s only one with a keyhole, and the pony that has the key will be coming by in a few days.” She managed a weak smile. “When that pony arrives, I’ll invite you all to come over so we can open them all together.”

*-----*-----*-----*-----*

“Can I help you, madam...?”

“I’m here to speak to Filthy Rich,” Twilight said, trying her best to quell her anger and disgust.

“And you are...?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” she stated flatly. The butler stared down his snout at her and blinked.

“If you’ll wait just a moment, madam...” He turned around stiffly and walked back into the lavish mansion, leaving the door open for her. Twilight carefully stepped in, feeling uncomfortable, edgy, and slightly sick to her stomach.

The higher-class districts of Canterlot were well-designed and opulent, but mostly in an aesthetic, flowing fashion. Poetic, even, Twilight mused. However, Filthy Rich’s estate was littered with glass and crystal, and painted sterile white or gold. Everything about the house seemed to call out gaudy and ostentatious to her. The posts on the stairs had pieces of glass that were cut to look like diamond. The chandelier was covered with much of the same cut glass. The railing was painted gold and polished to a sheen.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Sparkle?” a voice called out to her. “Does my daughter have an overdue book, by any chance?”

Twilight looked up as Filthy Rich descended from the second floor. She could hear the condescending tone in his voice as he approached.

“I will be able to pay the fine, of course,” he said with a haughty laugh.

“Actually, I am here to talk about your daughter,” Twilight replied, “and of how she sent my daughter home to me in tears.”

Filthy winced and narrowed his eyes. “Oh? What happened?”

“Your daughter claimed that mine was a foal of a stud,” she snapped. “Now, I don’t know where she learned such language, but to say that to a child...”

“That’s because your daughter was the foal of a stud,” Filthy retorted matter-of-factly. “Doesn’t he have five other children from different mothers?”

“Yes, but...”

The brown earth pony cut her off. “Then my daughter stated a fact, nothing more.” He frowned. “It’s his fault that he couldn’t keep it in its sheath, and, quite frankly, I’m surprised that he’s able to support all six of them...” He sneered. “...Given his current situation, of course.”

Twilight’s vision immediately went red and she felt her magic beginning to boil over. “How dare you...!” She took a single step towards Filthy Rich, the entire house quaking slightly and her hoof creating a circular crack on the tiles. “After all my friends and I have done for this town and for Equestria, you dare to talk about my daughter’s father that way?” The mansion shook again as she emphasized the word ‘father’. “You and this town cast her father away, drove him from his sons and his daughters, and you expect us to just turn the other cheek and forget it ever happened?”

Despite the shaking of the mansion and her threatening stance, Filthy Rich just barely managed to stand his ground. “You’ve not said a thing for six years, Miss Sparkle. Why bring it up now?”

Twilight took another step towards the earth pony, and this time he stepped back. “Because you involved my daughter,” she answered in a seething tone, “and you involved Applejack’s son...his son and his daughter. Your daughter insulted their father to their faces. I’m sure that you’d not want the entire town to hear that you’re nothing more than an ignorant, heartless colt that teaches their foal that it’s fine to call other ponies insulting, slandering names to another foal’s face. A word in the right ear from myself or any of my friends could very well mean the end of your business.”

Filthy Rich bristled. “Are you threatening me, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yes, I am,” Twilight replied. “You keep your daughter away from mine. One thing you should have learned by now is that I’m very defensive of my friends, and very defensive of my family.” She stepped closer to him again and brought her face right up to his. “Neither I nor my friends were able to defend Red Zircon when he needed us most, and for six years this entire town thought it better to forget he even existed. Now that my foal and her half-siblings know who their father is, I don’t doubt that they will want him back.” She turned to leave. “This time, if, no, when he returns, I’ll be able to defend him, defend my family, and defend his family.”

Comments

[abandoned2123]

Whoa. That's kinda... I don't know, but I hope you update fast. I'm liking this.
I'm a little miffed that Filthy is acting like such a jerk though. He was actually a pretty cool dude in Family Appreciation Day.

[Bronzedragon]

It's a wonder that it has taken this long for someone to use normal equine behavior. One stallion, several mares. Not a large herd in this case, as sentient beings it might be harder to find several compatible mares. Maybe they need to check the paleopony period.

[Jet Howitzer]

This. This is why I enjoy your work. You can do emotions so well. Please, continue your work. I eagerly await the next chapter.

And if you didn't see it, I gave you thanks in a blog post for what you've done.

[Jet Howitzer]

Also I'm sad that I can't thumb this up more than once.

[La Barata]

She mad, bro

[SFC Ponycron]

611036

I'd have to re-watch Family Appreciation Day again, but if you think about it for a minute, part of the reason he was acting so agreeable during that episode was because the Apple family is responsible for his family's success. Twilight, being an outsider and in no way affecting his success (right now, anyway), thinks he can act like a high-and-mighty douche all he wants.

611125

I'm not sure if you noticed, but the term 'stud' is considered a very bad thing, in this story's case, used like the term 'slut'. Much as close to normal equine behavior as this may be (I don't really know, I'm no expert), comparing our normal society's standards to the FiM universe, it seems like having more than one marefriend (or coltfriend for females), even though the relationship is consensual, is considered taboo and a big no-no, or at the very least not spoken of openly.

[abandoned2123]

611238
Touche.
I suppose the only nice rich pony is Fancypants.

[SFC Ponycron]

611247

Sadly, I'm inclined to agree.

[Stryker12324]

This is all I have to say right now to Filthy.

I want to play a game...

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