Chapter 10
My worst enemy...
Fanfic by Englishwitch
Chapter 10
Applejack and Filthy Rich were sitting at the kitchen table with Granny Smith, sipping coffee and sharing stories of days old and new.
“Chores are done sis.” Apple Bloom announced as she came through the door.
Applejack smiled as she looked around the kitchen, admiring the freshly mopped floor. “Ah see. And no fightin’?”
“None.” Diamond Tiara shook her head enthusiastically. “Now, can we please get this rope off?”
Granny Smith chuckled lightly. “C’mon Applejack, half-pint and her friend have been good, keep yur promise.”
“We ain’t friends.” Apple Bloom jumped in.
“Really?” Applejack laughed as she turned her attention to the rope binding the two fillies together. “Seems to me y’all are real close these days.”
Both fillies gave her deadpan expressions, which only amused Applejack further. She seemed to perform some minor miracle of magic with her hooves as she untied the knots that had held both fillies tightly for the last few days. Within seconds the rope fell away and the feelings of relief that washed over the two ponies – mostly coming from their wrists – was almost palpable. They both sat down to rub and look at their limbs. The fur was rubbed a little thin, the skin underneath was red but it didn’t hurt too bad.
“Okay,” Filthy came up to stand beside Applejack, “now just because you aren’t forced to work together anymore I don’t want to see you two falling back into old habits and fighting again. The rope can go back on as easily as it came off.”
“Yes Mr Rich.”
“Yes daddy.”
Applejack nodded. “’kay, now, y’all get you lunches and head on out before you’re late.”
Both fillies gave each other a sideways glance. Twin smirks on both their faces. “NOW!”
The adults were thrown off their hooves as the two fillies tackled them. In a blur of pink and yellow the two fillies clambered over their siblings, then leapt away as quickly as they had jumped onto the two adults.
Diamond rushed to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed the two bagged lunches. Granny Smith started laughing raucously.
Applejack was the first to her hooves. “What the hay-” she was cut off as she realized what had just happened. Her foreleg was bound tightly to the same rope she’d just unhooked from Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, the other end of the rope was tied to Filthy Rich. “very funny Apple Bloom.” she tugged at the knot with her teeth, it didn’t open, if anything it tightened.
Apple Bloom smirked. “It’s kinda funny. You ain’t the only one with knot skills.” Diamond Tiara was at her side and the two fillies rushed out of the house. They were off down the dirt road before either adult could get their coordination down and start running after them.
Granny Smith’s laughter was so loud and lively they still heard it as they were leaving the farm land and turned toward the schoolhouse.
...***...
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle raced up to Apple Bloom with beaming smiles on their faces.
“You’re free.” Scootaloo said with a laugh. She gave Diamond Tiara the most furtive of glances. Diamond didn’t return the look, she didn’t stop, she just trotted past the three crusaders and toward Silver Spoon, waiting by the schoolhouse.
Silver grinned as Diamond approached without Apple Bloom on tow. “So they took the rope off.”
Diamond nodded. “Just before we left for school.”
*
Apple Bloom, on the other side of the yard, was talking avidly with her two friends, catching them up with the prank she and Diamond had pulled on Applejack and Filthy Rich. “Big Mac taught me that knot, once its tied it ain’t openin’ again. they’ll have to cut it off.”
Sweetie Belle cocked her head. “but I thought the rope couldn’t be cut?”
Apple Bloom giggled all the more. “nope, it can’t. They’ll have to go to Twilight for help on that.” her giggles turned to full laughter. “they’ll have to walk through Ponyville together and tell Twilight how they was jumped and hog-tied by two fillies.” she was laughing so hard her face was beginning to turn red, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were also laughing at the same mental image.
*
Silver Spoon couldn’t take her eyes off the space above Diamond’s head where her trademark tiara had been. She still couldn’t get used to it missing. Diamond without a Tiara was like a pony suddenly waking up without their cutie mark.
“It must be hard living with the Apples, making you work on a farm, waking up at dawn and tying the two of you together. It seems kinda cruel.”
Diamond threw a quick glance over her shoulder, snatching a peek at Apple Bloom. The pony was loud, uncouth, a dumb farm pony and a blank flank to boot. But that wasn’t to say she was stupid, Apple Bloom knew what she needed to know, she was also honest and cold be relied upon in a crisis. “They’re not so bad, in their own way.”
She didn’t like Apple Bloom but, perhaps, she might be able to respect her....a little....and not in public. She had a reputation to uphold after all.
*
“So what was it really like dragging Diamond Tiara around?” Scootaloo grinned. “C’mon, now she’s not here you can be really honest.”
Apple Bloom just shrugged her shoulders. “She’s spoiled, whiny and never done a days work in her life,” she darted her eyes to glance at Diamond quickly. “but once you know how to handle her, and if y’all are patient enough to teach her a coupla things, she ain’t too bad ah guess.”
Diamond Tiara had never had to work for anything in her life. She literally didn’t know the meaning of hard work. But she could push herself when she had to and she could learn, even had a willingness to learn....kind of. She would fight kicking and screaming the whole way, but she would learn her lesson. If she could learn how to do an honest days work she might become a decent pony one day. Unlikely considering her father spoiled her all the time, but there was the possibility. Apple Bloom wouldn’t ever call Diamond Tiara a friend, she doubted she would ever like her, but now she knew, she understood her.
...***...
Back at the farm.
Big McIntosh dropped the axe and shook his head. His coat glistening with sweat. “Nnnope.” he sat down and wiped his face with a rag.
The old stump which the Apple family used to cut wood had almost been cleaved in two by his spirited efforts to chop the rope that was now binding Applejack and Filthy Rich. Despite the damage to the log, the rope wasn’t even frayed.
“Dagnabbit!” Applejack pulled and yanked at the knot with her teeth and hooves. “Them fillies is gonna pay for this.” with a grunt she finally gave up on the knot. “We’re gonna hafta go to Twilight and get her to take the unbreakable spell offa this.” her eyes widened, “dang it. Twilight’s in Canterlot learnin’ ‘bout bein’ a princess. She won’t be back in town until the end of the week.”
Filthy glanced toward the town, taking in the time on the distant clock tower. “Maybe we can send her a letter or something, but later, I’m late opening the store.” he started to walk down the path but Applejack yanked him back by the rope.
“Hold up Filthy,” she caught his attention by using his first name rather than his preferred Rich, “maybe we hafta make the best of this, maybe we’ll think of somethin’ later, but if we do gotta go ‘bout our business tied together, then its gotta be Apple family business. You gots ponies to run your business for you, it’s only me and Big Mac on the farm.” She tugged on the rope, indicating the trees, “so c’mon, we got trees to buck.”
Filthy pulled back, “Now, just wait, I might have ponies working for me but nopony knows how to run Barnyard Bargains like I do. Owner and Manager,” he said with pride, “I need to be there for the daily running of the place. “You got that walking brick wall of a brother to pick up your slack.”
Applejack glowered at him, “y’all tryin’ to say your job is more important than ours?”
Filthy returned the glare with equal intensity, “Yes, I guess I am. Barnyard Bargains is the backbone of Ponyville.”
Applejack leaned closer until the two of them were almost nose to nose. “They hay it is! Ponies go all over the place for stuff, not just your store. Ponyville ain’t gonna fall apart jus’ ‘cause Filthy Rich ain’t sittin’ in his office.”
“It AIN’T gonna fall apart just because a few apples stay on the trees a couple of days longer.” Filthy pushed himself forward so the two were now touching nose to nose.
“Ponyville ain’t gonna fall apart, but the farm will. We need to get these trees bucked to sell the apples. Y’all can take a day of bad profits, we can’t!”
Big McIntosh watched the heated exchange, his head shaking back and forth as each pony tried to convince the other that they were right. “Nope.” slowly he backed away, deeper and deeper into the orchard until he was out of sight. He knew what Applejack was like when she got into an argument, better to stay out of it until the war was over.
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...and father; you forgot to add that.
Heh, gotta love payback.
I take it this story's almost finished?
2547262
I kind of hoped "siblings" covered all family members, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers.
I guess I should look at the dictionary more often
I haven't read the story, but I'm going to give it thumbs up for the cover art. Let it not be said cover art isn't important.
I'll read the story later today.
Ohhhhh yes... This is sweet. Even more so because, as Apple Bloom and Diamond will soon find out, however much revenge might make you feel better, it won't make the world a better place!
Also:
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw4627-Discord.gif
You could have a chapter where the CMC, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon work together to get DT's tiara back. Maybe Applebloom and DT can teach the others the lessons they learned in working together etc....
What I don't understand is why don't they ask Fluttershy to ask the rabbit to stop stealing from them and give Diamond's Tiara back? "How dare you steal from Applejack! Now you apologize and give that filly her tiara back!"
Gotta agree with Derpsby, stepmom-AJ and auntie Applebloom would be DT's worst nightmare.. Smooch 'em up, Filthy's got them hawt big eyebrows!
Gotta tie things up. Next can be an epilogue.
Anyways, great story! It was a fun ride, and personally hoping this wasn't the last chapter because it just screams incomplete xD
I see someone already mentioned the sibling bit - now that would be a story... Filthy secretly AB's father because of a forbidden love. AB's would'been Dad who raised her never once knowing of the affair his wife and her having that feeling you get when you get sick decided to have kids again. Whoa... that is a whole other series right there! AB only being 50% blood related to AJ & Big Mac? Oh the scandal! but how would AB and DT eventually find out?
ANYWAYS I also wanted to point out "Applebloom was honest and cold" which given this fic's run, I almost thought you made that intentionally! lol then I read the next part and realized it really was -could- and not -cold-
This is a very fitting ending! Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara have learned to appreciate each other's differences and strengths, and understand that they aren't terrible ponies, even if they aren't friends.
As for what happened to Applejack and Filthy Rich in the end, that is just hilarious, and entirely appropriate. Now they get to find out what it's like, and learn that getting along isn't as easy as they thought it should have been. I can see three ways this can end:
1) AJ and FR bicker and fight all week until Twilight comes back, or they finally persuade Apple Bloom to untie them.
2) They work out their differences like sensible adults and figure out a workable schedule for the farm and the shop.
3) Sexy results!
Anyway, I hope DT gets her tiara back - I'm surprised she isn't freaking out about it more, really. Wonderful story! This is a good ending, but another chapter or two would definitely not go astray.
Yes! VENGEANCE!
OH YES!TASTE REVENGE AJ!YOU JUST GOT YOUR ADS KICKED BY TWO FILLIES!
I just realized how much that sucks.Good fic.
I’m laughing so hard my chest hurts