Of Coal and Diamonds

by Alaxsxaq

18. Bait and Switch

18. Bait and Switch

Somewhere in the city of Manehattan, an affluent pink mare sat in a comfortable padded chair. On her desk stood a fine crystal glass of brandy and a porcelain ashtray, as well as a telephone set. Currently the phone itself was held up to her ear, the pony anxiously awaited whatever her crony had to tell her.

The Mayor, to be perfectly fair, wasn't quite an underling. He was a valuable asset that served to insulate her from debilitating threats. Or rather...he did. The old stallion had kept the law away from Diamond Tiara long enough to ensure the law could not touch her even without his help. Now she controlled the city, behind the scenes. Masked by cigarette smoke.

He was no longer important and therefore valuable resources would not be spent protecting him. His fate didn't matter anymore. Live or dead, this was immaterial.

But while he remained firmly under her power, he could serve well as an agent reporting whatever he felt she needed to know. The Mayor was cowardly enough to comply, lest a bullet find its way into his body.

Taking her glass and sipping the drink, Miss Tiara listened carefully to the words coming from the speaker. Her right-hoof mare Silver Spoon sat in a similarly comfortable chair, watching the face of her magenta friend. As time went on, the large white smile on her face faded to a frown of worry and perturbance.

Silver Spoon had known Diamond Tiara long enough to realized the pony was very distressed. However well she tried to hide it, the truth was readily obvious.

After the Mayor was finished speaking, she gave a calm response. "And...you say she's...on her way to the docks?"

"Yes ma'am." He answered.

"Thank you for telling me. We'll make things right. Call me if anymore developments occur." Before he could reply, she hung up the phone. Taking another drink, she stared blankly into space.

A few moments later, she began tapping her hoof on the desk, anger starting to make itself shown.

"It seems...Silver, that our dear Applebloom...has just paid the lawfully elected Mayor of Manehattan a visit. What's more, a large assembly of ponies has taken upon itself to 'fight back'." Diamond took a couple deep breaths. "She did it...I'm...impressed, really." A deranged smile appeared, only to return to ire.

"What do we have to do? You said it would be enough―"

"I know what I said! And evidently it was wrong. She bounced back. All Hell broke loose, and she still had the GUTS to push back. What can't this mare do?"

Silver Spoon looked at her best friend in this current state. Gritting her teeth and gazing at a picture of her late father, the pink pony shed a few tears.

"It's not fair. How? HOW!?" Silver Spoon had endured enough of Diamond Tiara's fits of rage to know she shouldn't fear; not that it eased her nerves. "I have Babs hospitalized...I break her...and yet she comes back for more! Isn't it enough that she's...'Applebloom'? That she has more money than me? She's more successful! I was born to wealth! She's just the spawn of farmers! But that...BLANK FLANK! How?!"

Silver Spoon remained silent as Tiara took the photograph in her hooves. Staring at it pulled up repressed emotions. "My...father always told me it was lonely at the top. He said it was tradeoff of success... But her. She has friends. True friends! Ponies like her! They LOVE her! Even I―My 'friends' fear me. Hers are sincere." Now shaking with raw, mixed emotions the mare placed the picture frame back on her desk. "And just for one...final blow, she has a loving family, while my own father has passed...away. All I have is you, Silver."

The grey pony stood up and smiled at her friend. "I know how you feel about all this...about her. Are you...having a change of heart?" Silver's response was strangely enthusiastic.

Almost as if she were bipolar, Diamond's expression shifted to sinister delight. "No...not at all. I understand how you could arrive at that conclusion. I cannot have what she has...so I must give myself more. Money has gotten us so far...I think it can get us a little further. We have to end this now. We have to ensure Applebloom cannot interfere any more than she already has. No loose ends. The Mayor’s slip of information can give us a decisive advantage after all."

"How? Where is she?"

"She's headed towards Palomino's motel. He may have one more good use in him yet."

"What if she's already arrived? What if when we get there, Palomino's already dead?"

"He might be. We'll just seek her out again. We'll be relentless. I WILL apprehend her. Too much is at stake." Diamond Tiara went over to a coat rack and donned the winter garment.

Silver Spoon did likewise. "I thought we were immovably entrenched. One pony can't change that. I know Applebloom isn't―"

"She'll find a way! Against all odds she's acquired wealth, power, respect...we cannot be too careful." As the pair left the office room, Diamond dealt with her anxiety. There was one thing that threatened her. The military couldn't touch her. She tied them up with bureaucrats she paid off, not to mention holding Manehattan hostage. The Police were incapacitated, even though the chief she pulled strings to appoint was dead. The law itself bent to her whim.

Even the Princesses were bound by various measures. She had done the impossible and set up a criminal empire COMPLETELY inaccessible from any and all powers wanting to disassemble it. Unmolested the magenta Donna could rule however she saw fit.

BUT, one obstacle remained. Applebloom possessed the resources, the reason, and above all the determination to stop her. THAT is why it was so imperative to disable the industrialist. It didn't work, and Applebloom had apparently formed a sizable resistance. The 'liberators' could be put down.

However, that mare could raise another army. And another. Diamond Tiara knew this well. It was all she feared.

This was about securing her position, and also some...personal matters that needed to be resolved.

----------

On their way to that motel, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon took a slight detour to oversee a very important move in this game for Manehattan. When the automobile had arrived, the chauffeur opened the rear door and helped his employer and friend out. As the armed guards followed suit from their own vehicles, she led them to the rim of a large concrete depression.

The smell of seawater was unmistakable. This structure was accompanied by a series of buildings and piles upon piles of metal sheets and cables. One of the buildings read very clearly "Apple Industries."

This was one of the company's dry docks, drained for the next ship to be constructed and christened. A skeletal line of steel beams rested along the bottom. Diamond Tiara looked into what was being built here: some new warship for the Equestrian Navy. She didn't really care about the specifics, but she knew how important it was. VERY expensive to make, and therefore...replace.

Giant lights illuminated the workplace, allowing the nightshift to do their job well. Nighttime jobs paid much better working for Apple Industries. Soon, those workers would regret their decision to take this shift.

Lined up against one of the walls were a couple dozen ponies, all held there at gunpoint by several stallions armed with sub-machine guns. Diamond Tiara galloped down and smiled widely. She approached one of the ponies, overlooking her latest "prey".

"And...are these who I think they are?"

"Yes, Donna. Rebel leaders. Ones from a couple days ago. None from what's goin' down by the river. Also, we rounded up da workers, just like youse told us to. And da place is rigged too."

"Good work! Keep them here for a bit longer. I just remembered I have a phone call to make." The pink mare and her friend proceeded to the manager's office. Throwing off all the stacks of papers, Diamond found the phone. Dialing the number, she waited for a response.

After a couple seconds, a very broken pegasus answered. "Yes? Who is this?"

"Palomino." The former boss recognized the voice immediately. "Applebloom is stopping by for a visit. I say we join you two. Keep her occupied and the conversation...interesting. Get her nice and riled up. We're about to follow through with our first major blow to Apple Industries. And...don't touch her. I don't want to punish you again. We'll be there soon."

"Understood..." He weakly affirmed. The once-mighty crime boss had lost all free will, and did whatever he was told. To resist was pointless.

Hanging up, Diamond Tiara left the office and returned to the hostages. Her business done, she prepared to give the orders.

Before she could, however, a beaten unicorn cried out, tears in her eyes. "Please! Can we go home? I want to see my family!"

Nonchalantly, the pink terror came closer, sending fear into the filly. Glaring at her, Diamond patiently awaited another statement.

"We...We haven't done anything wrong! Please let us go! Please..." The unicorn was now crying, and her fellow hostages joined in.

Diamond Tiara lifted up the mare's face so their eyes met. "Ooooh...I know, I know. And it's because you're so innocent that you'd be perfect for this. If you were criminals, nopony would care. Especially that yellow mare you call...boss. And of course some dissenters among you need to be dealt with."

The demented pony gave the unicorn a soft kiss on the cheek then backed up behind her guards. "Go to town." Silver Spoon looked away.

In a blinding flash of muzzle blasts, all the armed ponies unleashed their fury on these defenseless mares and stallions. When they had their fill of bloodshed, the gangsters let the dead bodies fall to the ground.

Diamond summoned her guards back to their vehicles. "You!" she shouted to the others. "Head over to the bridges and see how many you can contain. Your magazines better be empty when you get back!"

Silver Spoon quickly climbed into the limousine, trying to forget the previous minute or so. Before Diamond Tiara joined her, the pony called out to the guards. "We'll be going to Palomino's place! There's a very special guest I want to welcome to my city. Not her or her friends are to be harmed. If even one hair falls from her head...I will repay the inflicted damages with interest."

Nodding in affirmation, her entourage returned to their automobiles. Closing the door, Tiara's chauffeur resumed his driving, heading towards the aforementioned destination. Once the group was a good several hundred feet away from the dry dock, Diamond Tiara produced a small device with a bright red button.

Turning to Silver Spoon, she grinned malevolently. "And so I make my first move of the Second Act."

All over the dock, tons of TNT, dynamite, and whatever other explosives Diamond Tiara could procure were all connected to a remote-control detonator. Hours had been spent setting up this giant bomb. Everything from the large cranes to the drains was rigged to blow. It was all calculated to cause serious damage.

A button press later, the great sound of a thousand explosions erupted, sending shockwaves out in every direction. A massive plume of fire burst from what was once a dry dock, throwing hundreds of tons of steel and concrete into the air. The spectacle could be seen from all points of the bay, casting an orange reflection on the water.

When the smoke had cleared, the charred remains of the concrete structure crumbled onto the ground, broken and twisted into a mass of ruins. The material damage was not irreparable, but the dead workers would linger like a bad memory.

A memory that would take hold in the mind of Applebloom once it reached her ears. The time for head games was over. The true extent of Diamond Tiara's plan was just beginning to blossom. By its end, that yellow pony would beg for death.

----------

Sitting in the turret built atop the Thunder Runner, and orange Wonderbolt saw a faint light in the general direction they were driving towards. A loud sound soon followed, like the massive boom of a fierce storm. That's odd, Scootaloo thought. There usually aren’t storms like that scheduled during winter. As for the light, it could be anything really. A lighthouse, a faulty streetlamp; it didn't strike her as something she needed to pay any attention to. And in some ways, it wasn't.

Shaking off this little anomaly, Scootaloo looked forward at an old sign. In its heyday it might have read "motel". But now the vowels' neon lights were burned out. The building itself wasn't much better. Dilapidated and crumbling, boards covered the broken glass of old windows, their shudders falling off by the hinge.

Sweetie braked the automobile on some grass outside the motel. Keeping their weapons close, the three fillies hopped out and nodded at each other. Applebloom glanced at the paint peeling off the walls and frowned.

"Ya know, from what Babs told me about this guy, he was real rich. Ah wonder if he works outta here against his will. You'd think an old mafia boss would care about his place of business."

"Maybe it's inconspicuous enough that nopony would suspect he worked here." Sweetie said.

"Whichever the case, he better be in there." Scootaloo replied, loading a cartridge into her chamber.

"Ah'm very excited to meet him. Ah've heard some stories. Let's see if he lives up to them." Applebloom approached the door and removed the cigar from her mouth. Now spent, she threw it on the ground and kicked the door open.

Applebloom frankly was disappointed. All that was immediately inside was a golden pegasus stallion, sitting in what looked like a wheelchair. He wore a very depressed expression, and sat there listening to a small portable radio. A dim lamp was all that illuminated the room, and the broken windows caused the motel lobby to be quite chilly. Curiously, nopony threatened the trio.

Huffing, her breath visible in the cold air, Applebloom laughed a bit. "Don't tell me she thinks you’re not important enough to guard either!"

He looked up from fiddling with the contents of his desk to give a pathetic look of resignation. He said nothing.

"So...this is the great Palomino? The pony who ruled the Manehattan underground since before Ah was born? Babs said you were quite the adversary. Ah just don't see it."

"Why do you mock me? Can't you see I've suffered enough?"

Applebloom grit her teeth. "Not yet you haven't. You sent two ponies to kill me and mah cousin. They were lousy shots. Now, the only reason I'm not paintin' the wall behind you red...is because Ah have some questions."

"Didn't you do dis with da Mayor?"

"We'll do it a thousand more times. However many it takes." Scootaloo proudly pronounced, her barrel aimed at his head. "Where's your boss?"

"Do you three intend to stop her?"

"...Well...that part's...unclear." Sweetie admitted. "Wait! We'll be asking the questions!"

"You can't stop her. I once tried to." He began rolling himself out from behind his desk. Immediately he raised his hooves to declare that he was unarmed. Rolling forward, he revealed his lower half. Covering his hind legs was a blanket; more reminiscent of an old man than a fearsome crime lord.

"If it means anything, I gawt a lotta heat for trying to kill you." Applebloom found no comfort in this, instead reminded of the painful state of her dear cousin. "She shot my kneecaps. These ones are FAKE!"

"It's what you deserve." Scootaloo hissed.

"And who are you to make that cawll? Diamond Tiara...that pony...took everything from me. My power, my money, respect, my loyal employees. It's like she lurked in da shadows, and by the time I realized what was goin' on...it was too late." He sighed, resting his head on his hoof. "She did da same thing in takin' over da city. You can't win, Applebloom."

"It looks like Ah did a hell of a lot more than you in tryin'!"

"And where will dat get you?" Palomino wheeled himself back behind the desk. "You can cause a dent, but once it’s dealt with, everypony you signed up, well dey'll be executed. She has no mercy. The point of mere deterrence is over. Diamond Tiara wanted me to kill Babs so you'd give up. I figured I'd just end the threat altogether by gettin' you too."

"And a lot of good that did you. Nopony messes with our family!" Scootaloo interjected.

"You're a military mare right?" He asked, a slight grin growing on his face.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo huffed, not letting up her gun.

"Tell me dis: what happens when one pawrty wants to avoid conflict with another? What do dey do?"

"Hold them off with threats of force."

"Or demonstrate dat force. But what if dat fails? What if da pawrty cannot succeed in keeping the others out of the way?"

Scootaloo thought for a second. Almost on cue, Sweetie Belle pieced it together.

"War." She said flatly. "Whatever they can to win."

"I'm afraid Diamond Tiara decided to turn da war with you hot a while ago. I understand, Applebloom, you have a dawck somewhere 'round town."

Disturbed and frightened, Applebloom nodded. She was scared to find out where the stallion was going with all this.

"How many worked at dis place?"

Mentally recalling those documents and rosters, she paused and realized what he meant. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came to the same revelation soon after.

"No...it can't...she didn't...no no no..." Applebloom was holding back tears, about to erupt in rage and sorrow. "WHY! They didn't do anythin'!"

Scootaloo remembered the light and thunder from earlier. She decided to remain silent, not wanting to upset her friend anymore.

"I told you. Ain't no way out." Applebloom slowly thrust her rifle closer to the pegasus' neck, the bayonet blade cutting some hairs covering the skin. She was done "dancing" with this pony. Now she wanted nothing but answers.

"Where is she? Where is Diamond Tiara?"

"I wouldn't want to trouble you with dat." Palomino slowly reached for the pistol strapped to the underside of his desk.

"You have until the count of five. Five. Four..." Applebloom was deadly tired of playing games. She was very serious about shooting this miserable pony. Or at least she thought she was.

Palomino saw out of the corner of his eye a small shape approaching the motel through the open doorway. "She's a fool for letting you live." Lightning fast he yanked the gun out and prepared to shoot. Applebloom's mind wasn't fully committed to take the shot, and as a result she hesitated.

Luckily Sweetie Belle noticed him and reacted quickly enough, swinging her rifle around to bash Palomino's face. The blow knocked him to the side, causing the bullet to miss Applebloom's vital areas. But it still grazed her right foreleg.

Before the three could follow this up, a voice called out. "Drop your weapons!"

All of the sudden the room became filled with large muscular stallions, aiming rifles and sub-machine guns at the trio. They had no choice but to comply. Palomino wiped the blood from his mouth, looking at the pink mare entering the room, followed by her silver companion.

"Applebloom! Darling!" Tiara cried out. The yellow pony turned around slowly to face her. She winced a bit at the pain in her foreleg. "Aw...are you ok? Let me have a look."

Applebloom's anger reached its boiling point. There she was. That pony who had caused all this trouble. Wasting no time, she drew her revolver and pressed its muzzle against her head. However, Diamond Tiara wasn't scared. She wasn't even shaken.

"Put that away. Please. You aren't fooling anypony."

Trembling from the adrenaline rush, Applebloom pressed harder. "Ah don't care about your guards. Before they get me, you'll be a red spot on the floor."

Diamond just laughed and smiled deviously. "You know you won't. If you're going to shoot, shoot already!"

No matter how much her brain commander her foreleg, Applebloom couldn't follow through. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked on nervously.

"What’re you doing! Shoot her!" Scootaloo shouted, her legs now being held by a brutish stallion.

"She won't do it. Because if she was going to, Applebloom already would've." Diamond Tiara glared at Palomino, still holding his pistol. "I'll deal with YOU later."

She took Applebloom's weapon and left the mare to silently sob to herself. "How about we all reconvene somewhere less...awful! But…let's keep it a surprise."

"What do mean by―" Sweetie Belle began, only to black out as something hard hit her in the back of the head. Before Scootaloo could do anything, the same sort of blow caused her to collapse unconscious on the floor.

Smiling in unfettered cruelty, Diamond Tiara removed Applebloom's hat and softly stroked her red mane. Admiring the delightful scent, she leaned in closer. "We can talk there, my dear." The yellow earth pony's eyes didn't leave the floor. Glancing at the wound on her "friend's" foreleg, Diamond Tiara took her hoof and jammed the edge inside it.

It stung Applebloom, and the magenta pony keep pushing harder until the victim couldn't take the pain anymore. Her adrenaline rush had subsided, and she fell down.

Wiping the blood of her hoof, Diamond Tiara gave the order to bring the four ponies with her, finally having the much coveted prizes in her possession.

As she left, the Donna wondered just how much entertainment she could extract from the unicorn and orange pegasus. Just how loyal would they remain to Applebloom once they learned what it entailed?