Gloriosa's Overgrowth

by Maran

Lying Like a Rug

Timber Spruce made sure his tie was straight before walking into the Rich Corp. office building. It was essential that he put his best foot forward and make a positive impression. This was his last chance before the excrement hit the fan.

He didn't really think Gloriosa would seriously injure Filthy Rich, but she'd become extremely unstable lately, so he wasn't quite sure what she was capable of doing if she snapped.

It may have been a mistake to invite a few families to the camp that weekend, but they had been big contributors to the ComeFundThis page Timber had created, and they'd wanted to come show their support in person. He felt like he couldn't refuse them, especially since they had been friends with his parents. Fortunately, the families wanted to do their own thing and wouldn't require supervision, so Gloriosa and Timber would have minimal interaction with them – at least in theory. As a precaution, Timber had told the patrons that his sister was a rare “forest aspect,” hoping that would explain away any weirdness. Because they'd seen more extraordinary aspects like that Discord guy, no one questioned it too much. As for Gloriosa herself, she agreed to go along with the ruse for Timber's sake even though she didn't care much about hiding her new powers. She didn't seem to care how much money the ComeFundThis account earned, but she was glad to see that people still loved Camp Everfree.

But Timber could worry about handling the campers later. At that moment, he had to try to deal with Filthy Rich.

The door to the front lobby swung all the way open at Timber's slightest touch, as was typical after acquiring magic. It was a nice little perk, but it was just too bad that “opens the Hades out of doors” didn't sound especially impressive. He strode toward the receptionist's desk, read the name plate, and put on what he considered his most charming smile.

“Hello, Copperworth, I'm Timber Spruce. It's a pleasure to finally meet you.”

The young woman was caught off guard. She craned her neck over her computer monitor. “Oh, of course, Timber Spruce. I'll let Mr. Rich know you're here.” She pressed a button on the intercom. “Sir, Timber Spruce is here to see you.”

“Oh, good,” Filthy Rich drawled through the speaker. “Send him on up.”

“Okay.” Copperworth released the button and looked up at Timber. “You heard the man. Oh, and by the way, you just read my name plate, didn't you?” she added with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Yeah. But it still really is nice to finally meet you, Copperworth,” he replied, his smile never leaving his face. In the back of his mind, he realized that he should save most of his smooth talk for Mr. Rich, but he couldn't help sliding into his default mode for meeting new people.

“Likewise, Timber Spruce. Just take the elevator up to the fourth floor and look for the door with his name on it at the end of the hallway. You can't miss it.”

Timber thanked her and followed her directions. The swift elevator ride made his stomach lurch. Elevators and escalators always made him nervous and queasy. He figured he would have to get used to it if he ever ended up moving to the city, though.

When the elevator doors opened, Timber drew a fortifying breath and found the executive's office door. He raised his hand to knock, but before his hand touched the door, Mr. Rich called, “Come on in, Timber Spruce.”

It was then that Timber noticed the security camera overhead. That made sense.

Filthy Rich stood when Timber entered the office, and they politely shook hands. The businessman was well dressed in a dark blue blazer and slacks, as usual.

“Almost didn't recognize you without your beanie,” said Mr. Rich as he sat down behind his polished, uncluttered desk.

Timber laughed ingratiatingly.

“Calm down, son, it's not that funny.”

Timber stopped.

“So, where's Gloriosa Daisy?” asked the older man.

“She's not feeling well,” answered Timber as he sat in the chair in front of the desk.

“I'm awful sorry to hear that.” Filthy Rich did seem concerned as his default smirk turned into a frown, but Timber wasn't buying it. “What's the matter?”

“She collapsed yesterday. She's been working so hard and getting so little sleep that she drove herself to exhaustion.” Since Mr. Rich had already seen Gloriosa as after she became earth aspect, the “forest aspect” lie would have raised too many questions. More importantly, fatigue was a better excuse for her absence. The real explanation was that she didn't know Timber was meeting Filthy Rich.

“Oh, shoot, that's too bad. How long do you expect it'll be till she's back on her feet again?”

“The doctor said she needs rest and quiet for at least a week. That means no visitors. We do have some patrons coming to visit this weekend, but I've asked them to come to me if they need anything,” said Timber.

“All right.” Mr. Rich narrowed his hard blue eyes. “It's surprisin' that an earth aspect woman in her prime would collapse from exhaustion, don't you think?”

Timber spread his hands in a disarming gesture. “Hey, we may be magically enhanced, but we're still human. We still have limitations.”

It was easier for Timber to lie when he wanted it to be the truth. And he wanted this lie to be true more than anything in the world, except to have the ability to go back in time and stop his parents from riding that four-wheeler that flipped over and crushed them.

Filthy Rich didn't look convinced, but he didn't press Timber any further on the topic. “I suppose. Now, Timber Spruce, I have a feelin' you didn't come to my office just to talk about your sister's health. Let's talk business, shall we?” He leaned back and folded his hands.

Timber nodded. “First of all, I want you to know that my sister and I are committed to paying off the debt we owe you.” He desperately wanted this to be real, too.

“We started a ComeFundThis page to raise money.” Timber slid a printout across the desk toward the businessman. “I know it's not enough to get caught up on our payments, but we raised that much in just two days. There are a lot of people who care about Camp Everfree and want to keep the camp tradition. I'm sure we could raise enough money to get current in a day or two, and in a few weeks we could reach our goal of paying off the entire loan,” he finished with a winning smile.

Filthy Rich studied the printout. “I appreciate that you're beggin' other folks for money to pay down your loan.”

Timber fought back his annoyance, and he was pretty sure he didn't let it show.

“I'll be frank with you, Timber Spruce,” Mr. Rich went on, “I have my heart set on buildin' my spa in that location. I'd rather have Camp Everfree than the money, and per our agreement, I own the land if you all fall more than six months behind on your payments, which you have.”

Timber's gut twisted. Sure, he wouldn't mind leaving Camp Everfree, but he was worried about Gloriosa. She cared about the camp more than anything. And after their parents' deaths, Timber didn't think his sister could handle another loss in her fragile emotional state.

“But,” said Filthy Rich, after a long pause, “if so many folks want to keep the camp the way it is, then maybe it doesn't make sense to build a spa there after all. I consider myself a fair-minded and practical man. So, I'll make you an offer. You said you think you can get enough money to pay off the entire amount in a few weeks? Then I'll hold you to that. I'll give you until the end of next month to pay off the whole loan. If you can do that, the land is yours again. If not, I'll take full possession of it and start buildin' my spa there. Do we have a deal?”

“I can't ask for much better than that. You've got yourself a deal, Filthy Rich.” Timber reached forward and shook his hand with more enthusiasm than the first time. “But if you don't mind, I'd like more than just your word and a handshake.”

The older man nodded. “Understood. I'll have the extra paperwork written up for you write away.” He pressed the button on his intercom. “Copperworth? Pull up the Everfree account and write an addendum.”

---

Timber left the office building with an extra printout and a spring in his step. He felt good about being able to raise enough funds by the new deadline. And if the patrons enjoyed their stay at Camp Everfree, they'd tell their friends, and more people would come. All he had to do was ride out the weekend and hope Gloriosa didn't cause any trouble.

He had this in the bag.

Author's Note:

There should be about two more chapters after this. How do I keep letting side stories take over my writing?

Comments

[QueenMoriarty]

We're all going to die.

[FanOfMostEverything]

This could go either way, really. It remains to be seen which one. Still, good to see Filthy show some business sense beyond the "evil banker" archetype. After all, if people are paying to keep the camp, those same people probably won't want to support his spa.

[Malandy]

Yay! It continues! And I guess after this is when Canterlot High makes their entrance, if they do, that is... Agreeing with FOME, nice Filthy Rich!

Even when magic is commonplace

Perhaps change into, something like "Even after magic became commonplace" and then change the tenses of the rest of the short description to match?

I wonder if Copperworth is gonna be important? ... Filthy's likely to uncover Timber's lie, if he makes a visit to the camp...

[Maran]

7704504 I prefer present tense for the story description, though perhaps I could change the first line to "Even now that magic has become commonplace . . ." I'll give it some thought.

I hadn't planned on using Copperworth after this chapter, but now that you mention it, maybe I could use her for something else later on. We'll see.

[Flame Heart]

He had this in the bag.

You have called upon the Wrath of Murphy we are all doomed

[Maran]

7704444 Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to make Rich completely evil even here.

[conantheimp]

7704444
We only got to see the one side of Filthy in the movie, and we usually only see his "nice" face in the main show. Perhaps both world's representations of him are accurate? He's a businessman who knows the game, knows how to keep friends, but also knows a bad deal and an opportunity when he sees it.

[My name is R]

All he had to do was ride out the weekend and hope Gloriosa didn't cause any trouble.
He had this in the bag.

...Really Timber? Know you nothing of the ways of comedy? Nothing?!

I was surprised by Filthy Rich’s proposition. Here's to hoping everyone gets to walk away happy.
_{'You just got on to Timber for that sort of talk.'
'No, I acknowledged a possible good outcome, I didn't assume everything would be perfect.'}

I'll have the extra paperwork written up for you write away.

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