Antagonization
I didn’t want to apologize. I really, really didn’t, and hated every second of every word I said. There was nothing for me to apologize for, and in fact, I was the one who was owed an apology after the way Filthy Rich had been acting towards me. But no, I sucked it up and said I was sorry in hopes that it would finally start to smooth things over. Still, it was mostly Golden Crest’s idea for me to say sorry publicly to him and have it be in front of Diamond Tiara.
Filthy was definitely surprised by the move, and the look on his face when I did apologize told me that it was, in fact, a good idea to do. He didn’t hassle me while I ate with Diamond and our friends, even if he did feel the need to keep his eyes on me the entire time during dinner. I didn’t pay much attention to it though. If he wanted to stare at me, I didn’t care, so long as he stopped giving me trouble.
He left a few minutes before we finished, and after dinner, we went back upstairs to Diamond’s room for the sleepover. I tried not to appear too bored when they started doing makeup and talking about girl stuff, but was drawn back into the conversation when it switched to how to expand the Talent Discovery Association.
“I wanna hang signs and posters up around Ponyville!” Scootaloo declared, flapping her wings happily as she got it out. “And we need to build an official clubhouse! That way we can have meetings and stuff and plan out how to find cutie marks!”
“My sister has a tree house on our farm we can use,” Apple Bloom suggested. “We’d need ta fix it up, but Ah’m sure it’d be perfect for a clubhouse!”
“I can buy paper and poster board and stuff if we want to hang stuff up,” I offered. “I mean, I’m not great at drawing or designing stuff, but if I buy the materials, I’m sure you guys could take care of it. And tools if Applejack lets us use that old treehouse in her yard.”
“Oooh, that’s good, Asher!” Scootaloo started again. “We’ll have a whole bunch of ponies joining us in no time! But also, we need a club president, and a way to vote on how to handle stuff if anything happens. Maybe a president, or a parliamentary system.”
Okay, this was more complicated than I was expecting from a bunch of ten year olds, but I didn’t question it. I did start to get nervous though when everyone went quiet and looked my way. I knew what they were thinking.
“Don’t look at me,” I said quickly. “I don’t want to be president. If you offer it to me, I’m gonna say no.”
“That’s why you’d make a good president!” Scootaloo said. “Because you don’t wanna be!”
I was sure I’d make a great president, but I could safely say it was not a responsibility I wanted to have, especially since we were planning on expanding the club. There were other things I had to focus on.
“I like the idea of a parliament,” I said. “Like, we can have us five vote on things as permanent members, and if the club gets bigger, bring other people in, but make us five permanent members of whatever parliament we set up.” Then I paused before adding, “Or we could just, you know, have fun and see what happens. It doesn’t need to be planned out extensively.”
“I think Asher’s right,” Silver Spoon agreed. “It won’t be very fun if it turns out to be just like school, or Mayor Mare’s job. We can all just be the five who votes on things and just have fun.”
“Hmmm, yeah, that makes sense,” Scootaloo said thoughtfully, putting a hoof under her chin. “But let me tell you, this is why you should be president, Asher. Because you’re such a good thinker.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I am, but if I’m ever nominated to be president, I’ll accept the position and then resign immediately. So keep that in mind guys. But anyway, poster board and markers. I can buy some now if we have time and we can draw up some signs if you guys want. It’s not too late yet.”
They all agreed, and Golden allowed us to head down to the store to buy stuff, even offering his own money to pay for it. We’d only gotten about a block from his house though when we came across Filthy Rich, pacing back and forth all alone on the sidewalk at the corner of the street Silver's house was on. He did not look happy, and we could hear him grumbling to himself up until he turned back and saw us standing there.
“Daddy?” Diamond Tiara asked as she blinked at him. “What are you doing out here?”
“Nothing, sweetheart,” he said casually, giving her a smile that seemed to reassure her. “I was just out here tryin’ to remember what else I was gonna talk to Mr. Crest about, but lost track of time tryin’ to remember. It’s nothin’, dear.”
“Thank you for letting Diamond come over to our house, Mr. Rich!” Silver Spoon told him gratefully. “We all wanted to have a sleepover for so long, and now we finally get to have one!”
“Oh, no trouble dear, but where are you all goin’ this late in the evening?” He raised an eyebrow curiously, and I could pick up on the suspicion in his voice. He stole a glance at me, one that sent my way all of his thoughts, before turning back to Silver.
“We’re gonna buy some paper and poster board and markers so we can make signs about the club we made! The Talent Discovery Association!”
“That’s that cutie mark findin’ club, ain’t it?” he asked, sending another glance my way, the glare nowhere on his face except in his eyes. “Y’all aren’t gonna be doing anythin’ dangerous now, are you?” Now he stared me in the eyes as he asked the question, one that was clearly directed at me.
“Um, no, we’re just going to make signs telling people to join our club,” I said. “I guess we’re also probably gonna be building a clubhouse with an old treehouse in Applejack’s backyard, which might be dangerous, but not anything else.”
He stared at me for a long minute, the scowl on his face deepening. Me and the rest of my friends stared back at him uncomfortably, then looked at each other, waiting to see what he was going to say. It felt like a good five minutes that this went on before he took a step back, threw his head back, and laughed loudly. Not a genuine sounding laugh, but something.
“Of course you are,” he said, sounding sarcastic. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you girls now. But say, since you’re out here, how about some ice cream at Sugarcube Corner while it’s still open? My treat.”
That was enough to get the rest of the group excited, already clamoring over to him. I kept my distance though, and eventually, when he saw I wasn’t close to him, asked, “What about you, Asher? Wanna get some ice cream with us, missy?”
“I’ll pass,” I decided, keeping down my frustration at his intentional attempts to rile me up. “I have to buy the poster board and markers, after all. I’ll see you guys back at Silver’s place.”
“I’ll come with you,” Silver Spoon said, running to my side. The other four fillies looked at me with questioning looks, but I nodded to reassure them it was okay to go with Filthy. They left a minute after that, I having to decline an attempt to get Filthy to come with us one more time. Then he and the other fillies walked off toward Sugarcube Corner, and Silver Spoon and I headed the opposite way to the store.
“Filthy Rich is acting really weird, isn’t he?” the gray filly asked, more than smart enough to see the strangeness of the situation. “What was that all about?”
“I have no idea, and I don’t want any part of it,” I told her. “If I have to guess though, it is something about me, because everything always is.”
“That’s what I’ve been realizing, too,” she agreed. “I mean, I thought you only felt that way at first, but everything these days revolves around you. Maybe it’s because you’re still a new pony.”
“Maybe it’s because God just…” Nope, I was cutting that thought off right there. I wasn’t gonna blame God for my misfortunes, as much as I wanted to. “Never mind,” I continued. “But yeah, it’s annoying, and I wish it would stop.”
“Mhm, I do too… but I have another question,” she said as we walked. “I’ve been meaning to ask for a little while, but, um, who’s God?”
“Huh?”
“It’s just that you said before that when you’re praying, it’s you talking to God, and that he’s invisible and all powerful and knows everything, and said he was like Celestia, but also not, and I’ve been wondering about that a lot now.”
I did say he was like Celestia, but when I did, I meant the idea she had built into the minds of these ponies, not who she actually was. I didn’t mention that fact though cause I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was omniscient, too.
“Nah, she couldn’t be omniscient. She can’t even seem to control me, and rages at me over every little thing for ruining whatever plans she’s trying to put into place. I’m an agent of chaos.”
“And you talk to him a lot,” she continued. “But also, during the Summer Sun Celebration, you asked God to protect Rarity, and she showed up right when you asked him to get her to, so that means he’s a real pony, right?”
“Well, I can talk to you about him,” I told the filly, “but that’s a conversation for… not tonight and not right now. Bring it up if we get to be alone sometime else.”
She nodded again, and we continued from there to the store, walking silently now. We were only there for about ten minutes– long enough to grab poster board and markers– and within twenty minutes of leaving, Silver Spoon and I were walking back into her house to Golden Crest sitting in a rocking chair reading a book. He looked at us strangely and questioned where everyone else went.
“Off with Filthy Rich to eat ice cream, I guess,” I said. “He was just pacing back and forth outside down the street when we saw him, and he asked us all if we wanted to get dessert at Sugarcube Corner. Silver and I said no, but everyone else went with him.”
“And he was acting really weird, too,” the filly next to me added. “Like, staring at us like he was angry, and at Asher especially.”
That got him curious, but he didn’t say anything as he tried to think about what it all meant. He must have come up with something, because after a few seconds, he asked, “Why don’t we head down to Sugarcube Corner and get some ice cream, too?”
It wasn’t very long before we got there. I don’t know why I expected that Filthy Rich would be trying to kidnap them or something, but that was the idea that played in my head. I imagined he’d come up with some convoluted plan to endanger everyone and blame it on me or something, but no, he was sitting there eating ice cream with all of them just like he said he would be. Or rather, they were all eating ice cream together and he was sitting at a table beside them watching them eat and talking as they did. A perfectly normal scene, but a weird one nonetheless.
“Oh, hello Asher,” Filthy said, trying to be polite, but the disdain he had for me clear in his voice. “I’m glad you could come with us, missy. And you too, Silver Spoon. Nice to see you both here with all of your friends.”
“Yeah,” I said simply, doing what I could to not be bugged by his words. Was that his plan? To just subtly harass me? I wasn’t gonna bite on his bait.
“Glad we could be here,” Golden said carefully as he sat down, scooting next to Filthy as Silver and I sat with everyone else. “Not that they were gonna stay away. They were just off grabbing some materials to advertise their little club.”
“Oh, of course, I know how fillies are,” he said, feigning laughter. “You know, I heard before that you guys used to fight all the time. I’m happy to see you all being friendly with each other.”
“Better to be friends than enemies, right?” I shrugged. “Besides, they all have the same interests, so all the more reason to be friends.”
“Yes it is,” he agreed with a nod. “You’re all precious little girls and should be together. You know though, that apology got me thinking. I’m sorry, too,” he told me. “I shouldn’t have been trying to go after you like I was, missy. You’ve just been the most respectful little filly I’ve met, and I think I’ve learned something from all of this.”
Okay, so he was trying to antagonize me. Great. I did my best to not grind my teeth and fall over because of dysphoria, closing my eyes for a second to catch my breath.
Golden Crest could see that I looked uncomfortable, and put a hoof on my shoulder.
“You know, Asher here has been telling me that he’s a colt, and he looks like he’s getting upset hearing you call him a filly.”
“Ah, my mistake. I heard from Diamond that Asher said he was a colt, but you can never be quite sure if it’s just fillies playin’ pretend or not.”
Ugh, and he was still going. How wonderful.
"Well if you could, it would be appreciated if you treated my employees with respect, one stallion to another."
“I’ll certainly try my best, but you’ll have to forgive me if I make any mistakes,” Filthy Rich finished. “Now how do you two fillies feel about ice cream?”
“I can’t wait to deal with his pettiness forever. This is gonna be so great.”
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Filthy Rich still being a shitbag like usual
The sarcasm is strong with this one.
dam filthy is a sore loser, wonder how hes conducting his Business deals with that attitute
Oh, don't worry; his lifespan is shorter than yours.
Well, so much for cautious optimism with regards to Filthy Rich. Still, it's nice that Asher has an ally in Golden Crest.
Great chapter.
11390929
There's an optimal level. It's a level that's less than the full Sherman.
I'm starting to wonder if Filthy Rich is behaving the way Asher used to treat Trans. It just feels really ironic at this point.
I just want to punch Filthy right on the nose. I mean right after saying he'd try his best the first thing he does is call him a filly.
I think there’d be a little more understanding or leeway given if MC explained the ‘magical accident’ making boy parts go away while retaining the mind and reiterating Celestia’s confirmation of the incident. MC isn’t the most articulate under pressure.
Alright, now that it's explained, now Filthy is being deliberate. Before the requests were akin to "don't call me kid!" but clarification on both sides has occurred.
Trying to figure out his current angle though...