Chapter Five: The Abbé, the Bank Clerk, and Starswirl the Bearded
Chapter Five: The Abbé, the Bank Clerk, and Starswirl the Bearded
An azure unicorn slowly stepped through the streets of Fillydelphia. Her once silvery, flowing mane was now dirty and just hung limply. This unicorn had once been on top of the world, a great and powerful show-mare in the midst of the highest fame. But now, she had fallen oh so slow. Her credibility completely destroyed, she now lived in poverty, occasionally putting on a cheap magic act for some bratty kids. Those jobs never paid well, and the kids would always leave her with a knotty mane, a dirty coat, and a tail with split ends. However, she did earn enough to keep herself from starving, so yeah, she had that. . .
"Excuse me, Miss Trixie?"
The unicorn's eyes widened when she heard someone actually call her by name, and she turned around to see a curious sight.
Standing there was a tall figure in a brown robe. The robe hid his feet, but out of the sleeves came two furry brown paws. The robe covered most of his face, so only the tip of a brown muzzle could be seen.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said in what sounded like a cross between an Asian and Indian accent, "I am Abbé Canine, religious leader of the Diamond Dogs. I know much about your past, Trixie, and may I say that with the way you had acted and what you have done, you deserve the hardships you are currently enduring."
"How dare you!" the unicorn shot back, shaking with rage, "What, do you think that just because you're some religious big shot that means that you can tell me I'm all wrong?"
"No. I can tell you that you're all wrong because I am wise enough to do so," Abbé Canine said calmly, "As I said, I know all about you, Trixie. About your boasting, your lies, the way you humiliated three of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the way you exalted yourself to the point that you thought you were a god! Why could you not let your magic tricks speak for themselves, instead of spreading lies and misery to those around you! Making them feel inferior! Forcing them to put up with you incredible arrogance!"
"Don't you think I've learned that lesson!" Trixie shouted back, "Look at me! I've lost everything! I have nothing left! Don't you think I wish I could just take it all back!" Tears streamed down the unicorns cheeks as she fell to her knees in front of the Abbé.
"Well, I'm afraid it is impossible to take past actions back," he said softly, "However, you can always. .. start anew."
The Abbé then drew something from his sleeve. Trixie gasped when she saw it. It was one of the rarest gems in all of Equestria. So mystical, so flawless, so brilliant, so rare, so great and powerful!
"An Ice Diamond. . ." Trixie whispered.
"I give this to you now, but just know that where this gem will lead you depends on the choices you make. Choose wisely. Go on. Take it, Great and Powerful Trixie!"
Trixie's eyes glistened as her horn glowed. The diamond rose out of the Abbé's paw, and hovered in front of Trixie face. The unicorn just stood there for a moment, and then, off she ran.
"Now, we shall see. . ." Abbé Canine said, and he turned and walked off, something long, thin, and scaly sticking out from under the back of his robe.
In Manehatten, Filthy Rich strode into the lobby of a sky-scraper. He quickly entered into an express elevator, and shot straight up to the top floor. He exited the elevator, and quickly trotted into the conference room. Already seated around the long table were Jet Set, Upper Crust, Prince Blueblood, and Silver Spoon's mother: Madame Flatware.
"Let's cut right to our problem," Filthy Rich said as he sat in his chair as the CEO of the board of directors, "The Count of Gem Grotto is killing us! He and Fancypants are expanding their investments so that our shares of stock and shrinking! Also, they are investing in rival businesses to the ones that we run and/or invest in ourselves! And since everything they touch practically turns to gold, it will be a matter of time before our corporation is completely dismantled!"
"What a boor that Fancypants is," Prince Blueblood remarked, "Even with all of the resources I have, um, secretly, pumped into this corporation, we could never compete with the massive revenue stream Fancypants is generating through his many successful investments."
"I disagree, " Madame Flatware interjected, "The Count is, as we all know, a dragon. Therefore, his massive horde is what causes a problem for us. Especially those blasted geodes!"
"But, you must remember, that it is Fancypants who is marketing those geodes and other gems for the Count," Upper Crust said.
"I am sorry, but regardless of who our enemy is, we still need a way to tear them down!" Jet Set shouted, pounding a hoof on the table.
"At this time, we have no way of doing that," Filthy Rich said, "We need more resources, and more influences, and more good PR. And luckily, I know how to get all that."
"How?" Everypony else asked.
"We must take over Sweet Apple Acres!" Filthy Rich announced, banging the table hard.
Prince Blueblood scoffed, "What! That little mud hole! The one that horrid, rowdy, uncouth mare that fed me foul peasant food and tried to assault me with cake came from!"
"Don't be a fool, Blueblood, my friend," Filthy Rich said with a smile, "I've seen it myself. Ponies line up in a lines miles and miles long just get apple cider from that farm! And surely you've heard of Zap Apple Jam! Did I not recently sell each and every member of this board some of it, at a generous discount I might add?"
"Generous, my flank," Madame Flatware remarked.
"If we take control of that farm, and the formulas of that cider and Zap Apple Jam, we can mass produce it, ship it all over Equestria, and jack up the price! We will be able to add millions more to our revenue stream!" Filthy Rich said.
"And how do we make that stable enough for shipment?" Jet Set asked.
"Chemical preservatives, the cheapest we can get," Filthy Rich said nonchalantly, waving a hoof.
"But how do we get the Apple Family to sell us the farm? Country folk are always so stubborn and stupid," Upper Crust said snootily.
Filthy Rich nodded and said, "First of all, I recently got very friendly with a certain bank clerk from Thompson and Prance. A very intelligent looking Wyvern. Fine looking businessman. He kept asking to come to this meeting, but seeing the slightly, ahem! Underhanded nature of my plan, I had to say no on the grounds of privacy."
Blueblood chuckled, "Underhanded, eh? Well, as Machiavelli said, 'the ends justify the means!'"
"Here! Here!" Everypony shouted as they nodded their heads in agreement.
"So, what is your plan?" Madame Flatware asked.
"It involves a certain pair of unicorns," Filthy Rich began.
"You call?" a pair of voice said from behind the doors.
The doors were opened by green magic as a pair of yellow unicorn stallions entered. They each wore a straw hat, a black and white pin-stripped shirt, and a black bow tie. They also had apple Cutie Marks, and red hair with a white stripe down the middle.
"He's Flam!" said one, pointing to the one with the mustache.
"He's Flim!" Flam said, pointing back to the one without the mustache but with shinier hair.
"We're the world famous Flim-Flam Brothers! Traveling sales-ponies nonpareil!" the pair sang.
"How are these fools supposed to help us?" Blueblood said with disgust.
"These 'fools' as you call them happen to be the masters of the underhanded deed," Filthy Rich said, "Also, they have it in for the Apple Family, so instead of having to hire somepony to do it, or having to do it ourselves and deal with the guilt, we can simply have them do it for us."
"Right indeed, Mr. Rich," Flim said.
"Indeedy-deedy-do!" Flam said.
"We'll deliver Sweet Apple Acres right into your hooves!"
"Just be sure to let us in this sweet board of directors you got here as inside directors!"
"That's right! We'll march right down to that farm!"
"Slip in un-detected!"
"And unleash the fury!"
"Of!"
"This little guy!" they both concluded simultaneously, holding up a small jar containing a small, round, big eyed, buzzing creature. . .
On one end of the table stood Applejack and Big Macintosh. Granny Smith was asleep in her room, and Applebloom was at school. The two present family member looked very tense, and even a little nervous. Applejack had even taken her hat off.
On the other end of the table stood a Wyvern, a dragon like creature with two legs and large wings where it's arms would have been. The Wyvern was completely black, as if to symbolize how dire the situation was. This particular Wyvern was actually a clerk for the banking firm Thompson and Prance. And he had come to discuss selling the farm.
"My client is very interested in this property, my good ponies," the Wyvern said his wings folded across his belly.
"Ah can't believe this is happening," Applejack said, looking very distraught.
"I give you my condolences," the bank clerk said sincerely, "Parasprites are very nasty things. Who knows how one arrived here. Tell me, how did you get rid of them?"
"Pinkie Pie," Applejack said, "A good friend of mine. She played music to lead the Parasprites into the Everfree Forest. But. . .she was too late. . .they had already eaten. . .everythin'. . ." Applejack hung her head.
"I see. . ." the Wyvern said, "Well, I understand how hard it is for you to part with this Farm. The Apple Family has owned it for so long. But, you have no way of paying all of the bills, let alone the mortgage, so I'm afraid that you will have to sell."
"How long do ah have?" Applejack said hollowly.
"Until your next mortgage payment, which should be three months," the clerk said.
Applejack picked her hat off of the table and placed it over her face. As the sound of sobs leaked through the hat, Big Macintosh placed a hoof on her shoulder and said, "Well yet ya know our decision."
As the Wyvern sat in the carriage as it was pulled towards the outskirts of Ponyville, the sound of tweeting reached his ears. He looked out the window to see a small Phoenix chick flutter through the window. The Wyvern smiled as it rubbed against his cheek.
"Peewee. . .there's no fooling you, is there?"
Rubber wings were then pulled away. . .
. . .Three Months Later. . .
Applebloom sat alone in the Cutie Mark Crusaders' tree house. She had told Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo that she needed to be alone, and they had respected her wishes, especially after Diamond Tiara had constantly been teasing her about how the Apple family would loose their livelihood, and thus, become completely worthless.
Applebloom was aware of what was going to happen to Sweetie Apple Acres. They were unable to get any apples growing, mostly because the Parasprite attack actually killed most of the apple trees. Even the the corn fields and grape vineyards were ravaged and lifeless.
The filly sighed. Was this really it?
Applebloom's thoughts were interrupted when a paper airplane suddenly hit her on the side of the head.
"Ow! Hey! Who threw that?" she shouted.
When she received no reply, the filly picked up the projectile, and quickly noticed that it had writing on it. She quickly unfolded it and read:
Dear Applebloom,
Dig underneath the left side of the tree you are sitting in. You will find something that will be a big help for your family.
Signed,
Starswirl the Bearded
"Starswirl the Bearded?" Applebloom repeated in confusion. She stared at the letter a moment, and then rushed off to dig.
Applejack blinked as somepony began pounding on her door. Applejack put the bottle down and unlocked it.
"Hallelujah!" Granny Smith shouted as she pulled the door open and gave her grand-daughter a bone crushing hug, "It's a miracle! A miracle! We're saved!"
"What the hay are ya talking about? Wha-?"
Suddenly, Big Macintosh and Applebloom joined in on the hug, yelling and shouting all at once.
"Will somepony please tell me what's going on?" Applejack shouted.
The group broke up the hug as Applebloom shouted, "Look what ah found!"
Applejack gasped as the filly held up a square shaped gem with a gorgeous aqua color that was so deep, so flawless, so rare. . .
Only an Aqua Sapphire has such qualities.
"Where the hay did you get that?" Applejack gasped.
"Someone buried it under the tree house!" Applebloom cheered.
Applejack could somehow sense that Applebloom spoke the truth, so, she let loose her emotions.
"YEEE-HAW! That'll pay for a 50 years worth of bills and mortgage!" she shouted, her heart racing with excitement.
The family laughed and cheered on and on, amazed and eternally grateful for their good fortune.
"Score one for me, Filthy," the Count said as he laid back on a sofa in his home in Canterlot, reflecting on his most recent action, "I dare you to try again. Maybe it'll be my turn to administer the suffering."
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WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
MOAR IS REQUIRED! DO. NOT. MAKE THE UPDATE TIME AS LONG THIS TIME!!! THAT IS AN ORDER SOLDIER!!!
underrated story is underrated
So.
Freaking
AWESOME!
Don't dare mess with spike's shit.
hnng, yes~
Why does spike look like a girl?
...I... I will put this on Read later...
...I think this could be good
I swear, I could learn some things from Spike,er the Count, he is GENIUS
A classic turned into a parody...
YAY
You should try and do this to other classics too. Decent ones like Sherlock Holmes, The Muscketeers, A Tale of Two Cities. Cool classics like those, that would be pretty awesome. And not a horrible parody or crossover of Sherlock Holmes like the ones I've read so far, an actual decent one. From the way this one is going, I think you could pull it off.
Congrats on the featured buddy! will have to give this a read soon!!!
Impressive, good sir.
Waiting patiently for the most awesome story.
Yeah Spike!
Man, this is a great update.
Also nice usage of little Pee-Wee in this chapter.
Great usage of Spike's wealth to help out the Apple family in their time of need. I can't wait to see how he'll strike back.
Do keep up the good work.
Dude. Moar. Now.
More please
Just read up to this point and dear god, this story made my day.
I wanted to read this for a while and finally found the time. Great work and much success to you.
-Sturrn
Stumbled across your story, it perked my interest. I'm enjoying this very much and am looking forward to future chapters.
Thanks for an update. Glad to see it you always find ways to surprise. Keep up the good work and look forward to more updates.
I think he will hire Trixie as his assistant, Marketing Manager or public relations manager (while he actually doesn't need that, is just to give Trixie a honest work and recover herself)
The next time "Rich Enterprises" try to pull something like this I'm sure that our dear Count will leak stright to Celestia some documents that indicates a certain leak of resources from the royal arks into a certain corporation... heads will roll in the most literal sence, specially if they are actually stealling to the crown
I can't wait to see what our great spy master/master of disguises/Spike/Count of Gem Grotto will do to them
ever since i read the book i had fallen in love with the count of monte cristo. i love how after everything he did and was going to have he was wrongly accused and sent to jail and finally persumed dead.
when i saw this book on this site i want to read some more man i love it awesome work keep it up.
simply amazing.....and i needs MAOR!!!11!!!!!!!11
A short chapter, or maybe it just feels that way. Very well written and very interesting as Spike sets himself up to stop his enemies.
I kinda hope we see Filthy and his allies try to take Sweet Apple Acre's place, making their own apple products (including knockoff zap apple jam) only to fail horribly.
I still feel bad for Filthy RIch, the rest can go fry, but he's jst trying to save his family's buissness. However, one can not argue with the mastery of the weave of the story. Spike plays all the angles and counters wonderfully. I figred he'd offer to buy or become partners in the farm though. In that way he could help the Apples, improve everyone revvanue, and get the farm better known.
...damm good story you got here.
0 - 0
*Ding!*
1 - 0
Spike: "Winning!"
awesome story
And now, after reading the first chapter, napping for a few hours, and finally reading the rest, I can tell you that, despite the flaws, this is pretty good. Now then, to point out the problems.
Again, the prophecy is the most contrived thing this side of an Uwe Boll movie. The ellipses are annoying when they're spaced out like that.
This next thing really pisses me off, so forgive me for ranting. Trixie is a traveling magician, it's her job to boast and seem larger than life. In Boast Busters, nothing that happened was really her fault. In fact, the actions of the mane 6 just seem mean-spirited. You don't go up to a street performer and disprove every one of their tricks, do you?
Lastly, Spike is deliberately misleading his friends and lying to them. When he finally reveals that he didn't die, they won't forgive him. Of course, for the purpose of narrative laziness, you can still have them forgive him almost instantly. He should have to work for their forgiveness, and not just a token scene or two each. You're not a hack or something, right?
MOAR DAMMIT MOAR
PLEASE
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Do you know what happens to Caderousse?
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Kind of a spoiler alert, but not if you have read the end of the actual novel. Spike may or may not return to his friends at the end. At this point, like the count, he's really caught up in his plots and gambits. It is Rarity that he plans to reunite with at the end. How that turns out remains to be seen.
And that just ruined it for me. It took quite a few paragraphs for my enjoyment of the story to reestablish itself. Like kingtiger666 said, it's a magician's job to be flashy and boastful to get their audience excited. I'm glad Spike's offering her redemption, and I hope they'll be working closely in future chapters, but to someone like myself who would prefer to see these two characters shipped, Spike was far, far too harsh with his words.
I noticed that this story lacks diamonds even though they are only found close to the earths core. is it not that rare?
You are working on another chapter, right?
I need moar!!!
Please don't don't quit writing the story. I hate it when people do that.
Why u no update.
Hello?
You still there?
Please keep writing
We miss you...
Hey, you! ANOTHER!
heroisx.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/another_anime.jpg?w=468
this is Sparity??
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If you have read the book "The Count of Monte Crisco" or at least have viewed the motion picture of the same name, I believe that it will be fairly obvious why Sparity is tagged in this story. I know that you can see that this is that story with a MLP twist.
I'm afraid that if I say anything more about this, I would end up spoiling the entire thing. I'm actually a little anxious that I have already spoiled the story for you, if that is the case, I truly apologize.
Would you mind letting us know if you wish to continu this fic or if you are sort of giving up on it? Since I've been coming across the songs from the musical version I wonder if someone should use that as a nice twist to a similar story.
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Please write more, cause it's AMAZING!
highly enjoyable. I await the next chapter.
I think you have a good plot, but it's a shame to see this story fade so quickly before it's conclusion. If you want ideas or help I'd be happy to assist.
My good sir, you who at first had my curiosity, then gained my full attention, I ask of you, continue with this beauty you write. Show us more plots and schemes. I implore you to create such a vivid painting that Celestia would have a mosaic of it in her great hall the Fall of Spike The Dragon and the Rise of the Count. Let us hear the cries and pleas of those who scorned him and his. Let us see how far spike is willing to go for his vengeance. And most importantly, reveal to us the fates that await this Being as he erects a Chateau D'if in the minds of those who dare to harm what he claims. I ask, NAY I BEG of thee, to show us hell upon their doors
Awesome story. Cant wait for the next chapter
When are you going to update this story? MORE!!
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