Loyalties

by GJT_Productions

UGA Assemble

"Wow, I didn't realize there were that many earth ponies that lived in Canterlot!"

"Well, most of them aren't as lucky as we are. They scrape whatever living they can make off of whatever special talent they have - they weren't born into wealth, which is why they'll go along with this..."

"Wait, there are unicorns here too?"

"Yes, the pegasi turned them away from their own meetings, so we offered to host them here to protect them from 'the contagion'..."

"Blech, wings are so overrated! And those batponies are even worse about it than the regular pegasi!"

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"And don't you forget it, Diamond Tiara!" Spoiled Rich pointedly states down to her daughter, who along with her friend Silver Spoon was walking beside her toward the building hosting the first UGA (Unicorn Grand Alliance) meeting.

Filthy Rich, walking along with the rest of his family, has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes in public. Of course he knew his wife was feeding their daughter opinions of hyperbole, but both public reputation and the great urge to remain dignified in defiance of all earth pony perceptions to the contrary. He stewed about having to hold his tongue, but like with so many trials he would have to suffer in silence.

The group ascended the stone steps into the "forum" where the meeting would be held, as indicated by the large banner reading "UGA" hung over the front entrance. The entrance was a pair of wooden doors ornamented in gold, and posted directly in front of them were a pair of stallions, one unicorn and one earth pony, of the large stock the E.U.P. Guard typically drew from.

"Stop! All visitors must be inspected before entry!" the earth pony stallions speaks as the group approaches the door.

"Inspected? For what?" Spoiled Rich snaps with equal parts indignity and impatience in her tone.

"For signs of 'the contagion'. The spread has been proven to not be limited to any particular kind of pony." the earth pony stallion responds.

"What kind of signs are you looking for?" Diamond Tiara asks.

"I'll explain as we go along. The parents first, please. Open your mouths." the unicorn stallion answers, prompting the parents to exchange looks.

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Spoiled Rich's eyes slowly grow narrow and angrier at the idea of submitting to an inspection, but the words of her husband show arguing to be useless: "Just do it, we need to keep Mr. Mule and Chancellor Neighsay happy, and this is the only way to get in there."

The earth pony mare grumbles quite loudly, but after a moment she opens her mouth wide and lets the unicorn stallion look inside. Filthy Rich beside her does the same for the earth pony stallion. Both stallions stare for a minute, one speaking for the benefit of the fillies: "We're looking for signs of excessively pronounced canine teeth. This is one of the reported signs of infection by 'the contagion', and based on how 'Nightmare Moon' looked seems to a general sign of corruption in general... all clear. Now the fillies."

"Go ahead you two. It's not like the dentist." Filthy Rich gently encourages, hoping to over the obvious reluctance on the faces of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

As the adults step aside, the two fillies slowly step into where they were and open their mouths for the inspection. This time it takes longer due to several requests to "open wider" and "stop fidgeting", but eventually they are cleared by the stallions as well.

"You may proceed into the hall." the unicorn stallion pronounces, using his unicorn magic to push open the door.

A low buzz spills out from inside the building, sourced from the ponies already gathered inside. Spoiled Rich again leads the way into the building, the foals scrambling to catch up and Filthy Rich cautiously following behind. The doors are pushed closed behind them, and as their eyes adjust to the dim lighting inside the building, Diamond Tiara again engages in conversation with her mother:

"Don't the batponies have fangs? Is that part of keeping them out?"

"Yes dear. Although those savages usually only stay with their own kind or the pegasi, some of them sneak into other places and attempt to feed on other ponies - suck them dry of blood."

"That's disgusting! And terrible!"

"Yes, we definitely don't want them here, especially if they're also infecting with this magical chaos contagion going around or whatever it is..."

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Filthy Rich had mind to speak up again - after all, batponies had played a critical role in saving the Rich family from harm during the Operation Whirlwind rebellion not that long before. But, he reminded himself, that they had done nothing during Discord's release, and the rumors of "vampiric" attacks had recently been apparently confirmed with the appearance of dead ponies in the middle of the night. Plus, he had joined the whole UGA campaign in an attempt to get monetary compensation for the damages Discord had caused to his Canterlot townhouse, which insurance was refusing to pay out under the argument of Discord being "an undirected natural force" which they were not liable to cover.

Spoiled Rich started moving out while her husband was still on the cusp of indecision, forcing the conflict in him to be temporarily suppressed as he trotted to catch up with her and the fillies. A skinny unicorn stallion opened the door leading to the main meeting room with magic as the Rich family approached, revealing a hall already full of ponies equal parts curious and excited about the upcoming meeting.

"...'UGA: United in Growing Enlightenment'... What does that exactly mean?" Diamond Tiara asks, referencing the text on the large banner hanging over the stage.

"It's an earth pony metaphor thing. Now Filthy could you keep mind of Diamond and Silver? I need to make sure Mr. Mule and Chiton know we finally made it..." Spoiled Rich dismissively explains, starting further into the room without waiting to hear her husband's response.

"Yes, dear. Come on, let's get to the reserved front row seats..." Filthy answers through too-obvious clenched teeth, prompting Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to exchange concerned looks.

"Is there something wrong with your parents?" Silver Spoon finally speaks up in whisper to Diamond Tiara.

"Don't know, they have been working much harder than usual since the attack. They're just not used to being this busy, and hate it..." Diamond Tiara answers in the same whispered tone, only much later recognized as a pathetic attempt to paper over cracks Diamond should've seen long before. And also the growing but inexplicable sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach...