Obsolescenceby Windy WriterChaptersBanishmentRenewalPunishmentBanishment“Thank you once more for taking the time to do this Rarity,” Filthy Rich said as the dressmaker walked out of the Rich estate. “It’s really you that deserves the thanks,” Rarity offered back, “If it weren’t for the weekly orders I get from you and your daughter, I wouldn’t be making anywhere as much money with the business as I do now.” “Well, you know how us ‘high-society’ ponies are. Always have to stay with the times,” Filthy joked, “Or in my case, just making sure that my little Diamond is happy.” “I’m sure she’ll be really happy when you give her that dress. Isn’t her birthday in a couple of days?” “That it is. I’m getting this as a premature gift.” “Well, I’m sure she’ll love it,” Rarity smiled. Thunder boomed in the distance. “I best be on my way. The storm will start soon.” “That would probably be a good idea,” the stallion chuckled, walking back into his home, “Oh, if you’re available, you open to the idea of me treating you to some coffee Wednesday morning?” Rarity turned and tapped her muzzle with a hoof. She eventually shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” “Alright. I’ll see you at the cafè.” With that, the door closed and the alabaster mare headed for home. Considering the large storm clouds coming in from the east, it was still a pretty nice day out. Not too hot, not too humid. It was perfect weather for a nice stroll about town. As Rarity walked through town, she saw Twilight standing in the doorway of the library, with an orange stallion talking to her, Pinkie was giving free samples outside Sugarcube Corner, for a new cupcake she was testing, and in the distance; Rarity could see Rainbow Dash getting her house ready for the storm. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Bon Bon’s Confectionaries was at it’s peak of business for the year, what with Nightmare Night coming up fairly soon. The aroma of the shop could be scented from halfway down the market. Considering the shop was right behind the boutique, Rarity decided to stop in; and audible ‘ding’ announcing her entrance. “Oh, hey Rarity,” Bon Bon greeted the seamstress. “Hello Bon Bon. Lyra.” Rarity offered back, looking to the calm lyrist on the bench next to the counter. “Anything I could get you?” Bon Bon asked. “I’ll take a simple jawbreaker. I’ll need something to keep my hunger sated while I work on my next design,” Rarity mused, putting a bit on the counter. “I still have yet to actually stop by your shop for actual shopping,” Lyra thought aloud while still strumming her instrument lightly with her magic. “You’re welcome in anytime,” Rarity told the mare, receiving her candy from Bon Bon. “Thanks for stopping by Rarity,” Bon Bon said. “My pleasure. Have a good day.” Rarity popped the jawbreaker into her mouth and trotted the few meters between the two shops. Opening the door and closing it behind her, Rarity sighed as the cool indoor environment rolled over her fur. Undonning her saddlebags, she walked upstairs towards her work station. However, when she got to the door, she stopped. She looked at the floor. Something was off, and there seemed to be an extra scent in the air. Looking closer, she couldn’t see anything. She almost dismissed it, until she actually saw it. There, stained into the carpet, was a small drop of what seemed to be blood. Looking further down the hallway, she could see similar marks all the way until Sweetie’s room. Rarity cautiously walked up to her sister’s room, pressing her ear to the door. Muffled crying could be heard. Rarity decided it sign enough. She opened the door and looked for Sweetie Belle. Finding the filly proved to be extremely easy as she was crouched in the center of the room, tears streaming from her eyes being the first thing Rarity noticed about her sister. However, something much more apparent about the filly stood out. Marking up both her flanks and parts of her spine were scratches. The cuts weren’t that deep or wide, but there was a lot of them. “Oh my Celestia! Sweetie Belle, what happened to you!?” Rarity yelled rushing over to her sister. Sweetie stayed incredibly silent. “Wait right here, I’ll get some bandages!” Sweetie Belle watched her sister run out of the room in complete silence. Within mere seconds, Rarity returned with a complete first aid kit. Sweetie Belle stayed still while Rarity anxiously and meticulously put on the bandages. She winced whenever Rarity’s hoof brushed one of the cuts. “Dear, would you care to tell me who or what did this to you?” Rarity asked. Sweetie just remained silent. After about a minute, Rarity had all of the cuts covered. There was about seventeen of them in total. Six on one flank, eight on the other, and three on her lower back. Rarity looked at her sister. Someone must have done this to her. There’s no way she could’ve given herself that many cuts by herself. The unicorn was thrust from her thoughts when a loud ‘meow’ broke through the air. Looking to the doorway, Rarity saw Opal. She seemed distraught, running quickly over to the two ponies and inspecting Sweetie Belle. Rarity looked at the cat as if it were an angel for a second, then she noticed something. Opal’s claws were red with fresh blood. What was just before a gentle mare who was caring for her sister, Rarity was quickly enveloped by anger. “Opalescence!” Rarity yelled, the cat flinching as she was lifted into the air via telekinesis right up to the mare’s face. “You, of anything in all of Equestria, were the one who cut up Sweetie Belle!?” Opal looked at the unicorn like she was crazy, but calmly shook her head. “Then explain that!” Rarity yelled while manually unsheathing the feline’s claws. Opal’s eyes widened in realization at how bad the situation must seem as a single drop of blood fell to the carpet below. Rarity continued to stare daggers into the very soul of the fear-stricken feline. Opal meowed, looking frantically to find a way out of the situation. She noticed a picture of Rarity with all of her friends on a nearby nightstand. She jumped up to it and pointed a paw to Fluttershy. The white mare stared at the pegasus in the picture for a few moments before giving up, “What would Fluttershy have to do with any of this?” Rarity asked her pet, growing impatient. Opal gestured with a paw between her mouth and ear. “I do suppose she could translate,” Rarity agreed. She groaned, “Alright! Sweetie Belle, come on. You’ll have to help explain things.” The filly silently nodded and walked towards the door. Rarity shot a glare at Opal before walking out herself. The poor cat just meowed out a sigh before trailing behind with her head down. “Fluttershy, dear!?” Rarity called, knocking at the door to her friend’s cottage, “Are you home? We need your help!” After a few moments, the door opened and the yellow mare examined the group. “U-uh sure. What do you need help with, Rarity?” “Sweetie Belle?” The filly turned, showing Fluttershy her flank and spine; all bandaged up and slowly healing. Fluttershy’s face turned to horror. “Oh my Celestia, who could have done this!?” she yelled. “That’s what we’re here to find out,” Rarity said, moving aside. Fluttershy stared at Opal for several moments before she realized what Rarity was saying. “Wait, you don’t think that Opal did it, do you?” Rarity nodded. Fluttershy walked outside and sat down in front of the cat. She looked up at her sitting just the same. “Now Opal, you didn’t do this did you?” Fluttershy asked. Opal meowed a couple times. Fluttershy turned to Rarity, “She says she didn’t. She was just as shocked about Sweetie as you were.” Opal meowed again. “The blood on her claws came from a mouse she found lurking around in the back storage room.” Rarity considered that for a few moments. She walked over to Sweetie Belle, sitting next to the filly that was looking out onto the horizon. “Sweetie Belle, are you sure you don’t want to tell us who or what did this?” Sweetie was silent for a few moments. A noticeable shiver ran up her spine. Finally, the filly sighed. “It was Opal,” she said. Her voice had cracked from it’s recent lack of use. Opal was obviously shocked. The feline loudly meowed something at Fluttershy. Fluttershy gasped, turning back to her, “Opal, that is nothing nice for me to do.” Opal spoke again. “Even if she might be, there is no reason to be rude!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her voice barely even rising above a casual indoor voice. “What’s she saying?” Rarity asked. “She is accusing Sweetie Belle of lying,” Fluttershy responded. Rarity sighed. “Sweetie Belle, let’s go home.” Sweetie nodded, getting home and heading down the trail. Opal meowed a goodbye to Fluttershy and followed suit. However, upon reaching Rarity, the unicorn put a hoof in her path. Opal looked up confused at her owner. “You are to stay here. I don’t want there to be even a sliver of a chance of you ever scratching my sister again, but I am not cruel enough as to put you down,” Rarity told her, “So, you’re Fluttershy’s now. Do not ever come home again, Opalescence.” With that, Rarity trotted down the path to catch up with her sister. Opal sat dumbfounded in front of Fluttershy’s cottage, looking between the path and Fluttershy. Before long, she melted down; releasing the closest thing to what be summed up as a feline’s tears being shed. RenewalTwo days had passed since Opal had been sent out of the Carousel Boutique. While having taken refuge at Fluttershy’s home was a nice second and a good change of scenery from her workaholic owner, Opal had to admit that she missed helping Rarity with her tasks; to fall asleep peacefully on the materials that Rarity left laying about; and to just comfort the mare after she had stressed herself out on a large order. The other animals around the cottage had easily taken note of her sorrow, trying to comfort her. The feline’s heart leapt in angst when a family of mice offered her some flowers. She took them, gladly, holding herself back from natural instinct as they scurried away. However, where there was room for good, there was room for neutrality. Bad was too cliche, mind you, but, as is expected, Angel was not all too well enjoying the attention his owner was giving to the new pet. He was friendly to Opal, yes. They were friends, as their prior pet play dates had supposed to enforce them to be, but he was not enjoying Fluttershy’s ignorance towards him, just like always. Opal had convinced Angel that she was not to blame for the subject at hand. He took into account her argument, and believed it. Angel, being the boss of the household when Fluttershy was being her too-kind self, found it necessary to get things back to normal. Thankfully for him, Fluttershy had walked in at that very moment. “Who wants lunch?” she asked cheerily. Several critters flowed out of their nests and went to the respective bowls that Fluttershy had just filled. Opal and Angel looked at each other, shrugging. Angel went and grabbed a carrot while Opal ran up and made space between the other cats to eat up some of her standard cat food. Once Angel finished his food, he jumped up onto the table that Fluttershy had situated herself at and started to communicate with her. Fluttershy listened intently, taking in her pet’s thoughts. Once he was done, she tapped her muzzle in thought. She sighed, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go try and convince her one more time. Rarity can just simply be hardheaded at times.” She looked over to the cat sitting in the windowsill. “Opal! Come on, we’re going to go home and talk to Rarity.” The cat was up and at the door in seconds. Angel jumped up onto Fluttershy’s back and she started towards the door as well. The three stepped out, and set down the path to Ponyville. It was just about 2:30 when the trio reached the outskirts of town. They were quickly approaching the park, which was all that separated them from the Boutique. Angel had hopped off of Fluttershy and was now hopping along side Opal, trying to get a conversation going. Opal apparently wasn’t in the mood to talk. Angel sighed, slowing his pace for a second to catch his breath. However, it was not long before he started to hear giggling. He looked to the other side of the fountain and saw two fillies talking to each other. One had pink fur with a white and violet mane; the other had gray fur with a light gray and white mane. Angel could only barely make out their conversation. “DT, you know, you are too good sometimes. Not only did you manage to get Squeaky Belle to stay home from school for a whole two days, you made her two blank flank friends follow suit just to check on her well being.” “Oh, please Silver Spoon. All I did was give the crybaby an entirely acceptable rebuttal for mocking the quality of my precious tiara. You don’t need to inflate my ego over it. You don’t just simply walk up to your superiors and question their Celestia-tier accessories and expect to get away unharmed.” “Still, you did your rebuttal using just your hoof file. I’m not even certain that you could cut somepony quite like you did again if you tried. Those things just aren’t cut out for that kind of thing.” The two fillies faded into the other side of the park, leaving the rabbit with a massive gape in his mouth. He quickly came back to his senses, rushing to catch back up with Fluttershy and Opal to help relieve some stress in the situation. Once Angel had reached the Boutique, he could see that his companions were already entering, so her hurried up and got inside as well. Rarity barely acknowledged him before shutting the door. “It’s obvious what you’re here for, and the answer is still ‘no,’” Rarity said to Fluttershy and Opal. “Please, just hear her out. The poor girl has been really sad for the past couple of days and she really doesn’t seem like the type of cat that would do something like this to Sweetie Belle?” Rarity rolled her eyes, but her expression showed her hesitation. “I-well….” she sighed, “No, I suppose not. But that still doesn’t come to terms with the fact that there was a ton of scratches all over Sweetie Belle. Taking the pattern of the scratches, it only really makes sense that a cat could make those marks. And let’s face it, Opal can be rather grumpy sometimes.” Opal frowned. She looked to Angel who was rummaging through a box of fashion materials. He pulled out a hoof-file, looking like he found a trophy. She ignored him and turned her attention back to the two mares. She noticed Sweetie Belle walking down the stairs behind Rarity. “And how do you explain her claws? They were covered to the root in blood!” Rarity pointed out. Opal unsheathed her claws and looked at them, blood still crusted onto them around her sheaths. “From what she told me, she killed a mouse in the storage room. Did you not look back there?” “I did! No mouse, no fur, not even a single drop of rodent blood!” Fluttershy hummed in thought, turning to Opal for an answer. Opal meowed, motioning the eating of something and lapping up of a liquid. “I guess she ate it and drank up the blood before a stain could settle in.” “That doesn’t even make sense! Do you know how fast blood stains on carpet?” Rarity asked getting annoyed. Fluttershy sighed, realizing that it was a good point. She feared for Opal that she lost the argument. However, a struck thought her. “You said her claws were covered in blood up to the root, didn’t you?” “Yes. They were entirely red from the looks of it. Dripping.” “When you inspected the cuts on Sweetie Belle, how deep were the cuts?” Angel squeaked to Fluttershy, “In a moment, Angel bunny.” Rarity seemed awestruck for a moment, realizing what Fluttershy was getting at. “Th-they weren’t that deep at all. It was more like an irritable rash that opens up.” “So, how could have Opal gotten all that blood on her claws from Sweetie Belle, if the cuts weren’t deep enough?” Fluttershy smiled, realizing that she struck through with Rarity. Fluttershy looked at Angel and let him speak. Rarity noticed that Sweetie Belle was in the room finally, and turned to speak to her. “Sweetie Belle, was it really Opal that scratched you?” Sweetie Belle backed up a step and crouched down; clearly not wanting to tell her sister. Suddenly, Fluttershy started thinking out loud in her conversation, “Pink coat and a tiara? That sounds like Diamond Tiara. What does she have to do with this?" Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened at the filly’s name. Angel squeaked out a few more words to the mare. "She what!" Fluttershy screamed. Angel held up the hoof-file as a final point. Fluttershy looked fairly distraught to Rarity. "Fluttershy, care to tell us what Angel just said?" Rarity asked apprehensively. “According to Angel, he overheard Diamond Tiara and her friend talking about how Diamond had used a hoof-file to hurt Sweetie Belle for mocking her tiara.” Fluttershy told Rarity. Rarity’s jaw dropped. “Sweetie Belle, is that true?” “Y-yes,” she squeaked out quietly, “She had made fun of me for being blank flanks and I guess I had enough and gave her an insult back, saying her tiara looked trashy.” Sweetie Belle paused, sniffling as though she were about to cry, “After she had attacked me, she said if I told anyone, she’d have her dad put the Boutique out of business.” She started to cry into Rarity’s forelegs. “I didn't want you to lose your business Rarity!” Rarity sighed, rubbing her sister’s head, quietly whispering, ‘There there, it’ll be okay.’ Fluttershy patted Angel on the head, and he smiled triumphantly. Fluttershy noticed Opal looking a mix of sadness, joy, and anger in the corner. She walked over, giving the feline a quick petting. She then picked her up, flying over to the two sisters and plopping Opal down right between them. Opal and Rarity stared at each other for a few silent moments before Rarity’s lip quivered and she broke into tears herself. She grabbed her cat and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Opal, I’m so so~o~rry! Please forgive your foolish owner!” Opal was purring, rubbing her head into the mare’s face. She meowed. “She said ‘apology accepted,’” Fluttershy translated for her, smiling. Once Rarity and Opal had made up, Rarity turned back to Sweetie Belle. “Also, Sweetie Belle, thank you for thinking about my shop before your own matters.” She hugged her sister. “However, I can assure you that Filthy Rich, while he may have money and power, he has the intelligence to keep hold of it. If he went around putting ponies out of business for fun, he’d have lost it all in some form or another.” Angel looked down at the scene before him, before an idea struck him. He jumped over to Fluttershy and whispered it in her ear. Fluttershy gasped, “Angel, that sounds so mean.” He squeaked something out with a matter-of-fact look on his face. “Well, I suppose that’s true.” “What’s he saying?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy looked over to Sweetie Belle. “He wants to know if you’d like to get revenge on Diamond Tiara. I personally don’t like the idea, but his plan would work fairly well, I-I guess.” Sweetie Belle seemed to go into thought for a moment. “What’s his plan?” Author's Note This will be one of those rare instances where I portray Silver Spoon as an antagonist. Diamond will be more common, but I still don't want to do it too much. These two work better in redemption arks in my opinion. Oh, and yeah, watch out for an Epilogue. PunishmentFilthy Rich; Ponyville’s richest, owner of the Equestrian-wide service of Barnyard Bargains, and the single father to Diamond Tiara. A simple stallion, aged into his early forties, who likes to think of himself as a middle-class pony however much his peers say otherwise. When his grandfather, Stinkin’ Rich, passed on, he gave his Ponyville estate to Filthy’s mother. Motherload was quick to hand down the property to her son as she wanted to see him in the real world as fast as possible. She was so proud of him when she heard of his astounding progress with Barnyard Bargains. He thinks of her smile when mentioning it as his happy place. Alas, Motherload had recently passed on herself, shortly after Diamond Tiara’s birth. When the two first met, Filthy had expected her to be happy, and she was; until Diamond woke up. Their eye’s connected, and from that moment on, his mother warned him to keep his child in check. To care for her and never let her go until she is ready to carry on his role. Those words are exactly what carries on the brown earth stallion to this day, even if he doesn’t fully understand their meaning. A strive to care for his daughter. He had wished that his wife would be with him to care for her, but she, sadly, had died of blood loss during labor. When Diamond started school, she mentioned seeing most of the other foals being dropped off and picked up from the schoolhouse by their mothers. That’s when Diamond went and broke her father’s heart. She asked where her mother was. Being that she was only about five at the time, he couldn’t work up the nerve to tell her that her mother was dead, so he had lied, telling her that she was on business in the Griffin Empire. Diamond then wanted to send a letter to her, so he complied, letting her write one. He read it, and the only thing that popped out to him was that Diamond requested that her mother come home soon and/or that she send a gift for her or Filthy. Filthy felt it necessary to go out and pretend to mail the letter, but he had to play it right. He went to a local toy shop and picked out a little tiara with fake diamonds lining it. The trinket itself wasn’t real jewelery, but seemed close. His wife, Shop Keep, or as he nicknamed her, Blue, due to her infatuation with the color, wasn’t all into fancy garments, so this seemed like the ideal object for her to buy Diamond. Once he had it, he ran to the post office, and asked that the tiara and a new hoof-written letter be sent back to their address one week later. After one week, Derpy Hooves had delivered the tiara in a small box along with a letter written by one of the staff at the post office. The letter, to Filthy’s surprise was similar to Blue’s hoof-writing. He read it aloud to Diamond. The letter told the two that ‘Blue’ would not be able to return for several more years, decades, maybe even. Diamond seemed crestfallen. However, once Filthy pulled out the tiara with a newly attached gift tag that read, “From Mommy; To my precious Diamond,” she had smiled the widest she ever had. Diamond put her new accessory on right away. The moment that she did, she vowed that she would wait for her mother’s return, even if it took her whole life. That tiara was Filthy’s guilt. His fear. His anxiety. But on top of all that; His hope. His hope that his little Diamond would never have to face the truth. Filthy was just waking up. It was a bit into the afternoon; about three o'clock, but irregardless, he had had a long night, and besides that, it was a weekend. So, one hot tea later, he was on the road to a nice, relaxing evening. It was one of those moments of bliss, days like this. One where he could sleep in past noon, get up late, have some time to himself while drinking tea or maybe some wine, and reading a nice novel. It really took a load off him whenever he did this. It seemed like perfection. But as is with all things that seem perfect, there must be something to interrupt them. Just as he was nearly comfortable, the doorbell to his manor rang. He muttered under his breath, but kept calm. He got up and trotted to the foyer and opened the door with a pleasant smile. He was greeted by a few ponies and some pets. Rarity glared at the stallion, not even returning a greeting. "It's your daughter, Filthy. She's been causing problems lately." Filthy stared in shock at his friend, before a frown found it’s way onto his face. “What do you mean by that?” Rarity looked down at her little sister, whom Filthy had just noticed, as if telling her something with her eyes. The filly turned slowly to show Filthy her side and back. Filthy’s jaw dropped. “You’re telling me that my daughter did….that!?” Both Rarity and the other mare with her, Fluttershy, Filthy believed, nodded. He looked at Sweetie Belle a bit more before something stuck out to him. She had no cutie mark. His head drooped and he muttered something to himself, sighing. He lowered himself to face the filly and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Sweetie Belle, are you part of the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ that I keep hearing about in Diamond and Silver’s conversations?” Filthy asked her. “Y-yes,” she said with a shaky voice. Filthy grunted to himself, looking to Rarity. He began to speak, but Sweetie Belle started up again, “It’s just me and my friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom. Diamond and Silver are always picking on us, making fun of us for having no talents or for screwing up. She always calls Applebloom poor, mocks Scootaloo’s inability to fly, and constantly jabs at me because of my ‘Wanna-be-a-high-society-pony sister,’” Rarity’s eye twitched at the insult, “It just gets worse and worse after every encounter, and we’re treading thin ice. One more verbal throw, and me and Bloom might not be able to hold Scoots back from attacking your daughter, with this problem right here taking a huge toll on the remaining sanity we Crusaders have. “Please, Mr. Rich, if you can, just get Diamond to stop tormenting us. We never did anything wrong.” Filthy looked at Sweetie like he just heard a ghost story. A scary one. He looked at Rarity, expecting some kind of help, but all she did was raise an eyebrow in question. Filthy looked between the sisters a few more times before sighing. “I’ll try.” He looked back into his manor, the top of the stairs being his focus. The third door on the left was his daughter’s room. She was home right now. They could take care of this much quicker. “Diamond!” he called up to her, “Come down here for a moment, will you?” A door opening and hooves trotting down the stairs was the only sound made for the next few seconds, until Diamond got to the bottom of the steps. “Yeah, daddy?” she walked up to him, looking to see who was at the door. She stopped once she saw Sweetie Belle. “What are you doing here!?” she yelled at the filly, but with a fearful look. “We’re here,” Rarity started, giving the filly a death glare, “to put discipline on those who need it most.” Filthy turned to his daughter, looking down at her. “Can’t you ever give your classmates a break?” “I-er...but…” Diamond stuttered, searching for something to say, “She started it!” she randomly yelled, pointing a hoof at Sweetie Belle. “No I didn’t!” Sweetie yelled back, her voice cracking. “Yes you did! You mocked my tiara’s quality!” Filthy’s eyes widened. “It’s not my fault that it obviously isn’t real jewelry!” Rarity put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, pulling her back a little. Sweetie calmed down. “Even if it wasn’t real, which it is, you don’t make fun of your superiors’ accessories!” Diamond growled at the other filly. She turned to her dad, “Daddy, you should run Carousel Boutique out of business! They shouldn’t be able to treat me like this and earn no punishment!” Filthy sighed, “Now Diamond, if anyone is in the wrong, it’s you.” “What!?” Diamond screeched, “You’re siding with them? I’m your own bucking daughter!” “Diamond Dazzle Tiara!” Filthy yelled. Diamond flinched back. Filthy lowered his voice, “First off, watch your language, especially around company. Secondly, you should know that there is no excuse for what you did to Sweetie Belle. Diamond looked down at her hooves, her tone now soft, “I….she mocked my tiara. To me, that’s like she made fun of mommy. This is all I have of her until she comes home from the Griffon Empire.” Filthy looked down at his daughter, and felt her remorse. “Look, sweetheart, I know it’s tough being without your mother, but I’m trying my hardest to raise you until she comes back.” He turned to Rarity, pulling out his checkbook from his suit. “I’m sorry for all the trouble that’s been caused by this incident, Rarity, I really am. Here, have this check for one-thousand bits. It should cover some psychological therapy for your sister, or at least something relaxing to get her mind off of it.” Diamond groaned audibly behind her father, “Daaad! You’re doing it again; siding with the filly that caused me emotional pain!” “I’m sorry, dear, but this is what fathers have to do: clean up after their foals. I’m doing my job by offering Sweetie Belle a bit of relaxation from the physical pain that you caused her.” “So what if I hurt her? This tiara is precious, and should be treated just as perfectly as the diamonds that make it up!” Filthy sighed, turning to his little filly, “Look, Diamond, considering your act through all of this, I feel you should know something. It’s something I thought you would have figured out actually. Your tiara, isn’t made of gems. It’s just some plastic bought from a party store. It was the most your mother could afford once she flew out to the Empire.” Diamond gaped, staring at her father. She took off her tiara, holding it in her hoof for a few moments. It seemed as if tears were forming in the corners of her eyes, her lip was quivering as well. It was over in mere seconds. Diamond threw the piece of party jewelry on to the ground in rage. She growled into the air, “I can’t believe that mare would even think that a filly like me would deserve something less than top of the line! She is useless!” “Di-!” “And what kind of stallion are you to have married that kind of cheap pony!? Even if she had rich tastes before, why didn’t you keep it that way!? In fact, why didn’t you just go and force her to come home and raise her daughter along your side? I ask you, dad, what kind of stallion are you!?” Filthy’s eye twitched, and he opened and closed his mouth several times. He simply stared at his filly for several seconds. “I asked-” “I’m a single father doing his damndest to raise his filly by himself!” Filthy was out of air, he was breathing hard, and everypony else was silent. Seconds passed before the stallion broke into tears. Rarity trotted over to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder. Opal and Angel came over and patted his flank. “I’m sorry, Diamond, but I-I-I just couldn’t take the stress. You were so young….I couldn’t have possibly told you the truth about your mother. S-she passed away during your birth. The doctors say that she had lost too much blood. I went and bought you the tiara myself, buying off of her tastes, and had the postal service stage a letter delivery. It was a weak point, but I pulled through for a while. You are the only thing I have left of her, in truth. That’s why I’m hoping for you to grow into her hoofsteps. But you’ll never be able to do that if you keep going around and hurting others.” Diamond was silent. She took in her father’s words, before falling back to the stairwell and slowly going upstairs. Filthy sighed, looking back to his guests. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Rarity, I’ll see you on Tuesday?” Filthy asked the mare. “As….always….Filthy.” “Alright. I’m going to go talk to Diamond.” Filthy retreated up the stairs, and the ponies and animal companions exited the manor. As they walked, Rarity looked down to her sister. “I’m sorry you had to hear about Diamond’s mother,” Rarity told her. “You knew?” “Of course. Filthy is one of my best friends outside of Fluttershy and the girls. It was rather tragically I found out about it, but I didn’t know his daughter lacked the knowledge. However, I’m pretty sure that any drama between you two is going to come to a halt, if things with Mr. Rich go well.” “You know, Sweetie Belle, that reminds me of a word that Twilight taught me once.” “What word is that?” “It means, and I’m paraphrasing to fit the situation, something or someone that has been considered insignificant due to a recent event. Opal jumped up on Rarity’s back, “Obsolescence.”
Banishment“Thank you once more for taking the time to do this Rarity,” Filthy Rich said as the dressmaker walked out of the Rich estate. “It’s really you that deserves the thanks,” Rarity offered back, “If it weren’t for the weekly orders I get from you and your daughter, I wouldn’t be making anywhere as much money with the business as I do now.” “Well, you know how us ‘high-society’ ponies are. Always have to stay with the times,” Filthy joked, “Or in my case, just making sure that my little Diamond is happy.” “I’m sure she’ll be really happy when you give her that dress. Isn’t her birthday in a couple of days?” “That it is. I’m getting this as a premature gift.” “Well, I’m sure she’ll love it,” Rarity smiled. Thunder boomed in the distance. “I best be on my way. The storm will start soon.” “That would probably be a good idea,” the stallion chuckled, walking back into his home, “Oh, if you’re available, you open to the idea of me treating you to some coffee Wednesday morning?” Rarity turned and tapped her muzzle with a hoof. She eventually shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” “Alright. I’ll see you at the cafè.” With that, the door closed and the alabaster mare headed for home. Considering the large storm clouds coming in from the east, it was still a pretty nice day out. Not too hot, not too humid. It was perfect weather for a nice stroll about town. As Rarity walked through town, she saw Twilight standing in the doorway of the library, with an orange stallion talking to her, Pinkie was giving free samples outside Sugarcube Corner, for a new cupcake she was testing, and in the distance; Rarity could see Rainbow Dash getting her house ready for the storm. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Bon Bon’s Confectionaries was at it’s peak of business for the year, what with Nightmare Night coming up fairly soon. The aroma of the shop could be scented from halfway down the market. Considering the shop was right behind the boutique, Rarity decided to stop in; and audible ‘ding’ announcing her entrance. “Oh, hey Rarity,” Bon Bon greeted the seamstress. “Hello Bon Bon. Lyra.” Rarity offered back, looking to the calm lyrist on the bench next to the counter. “Anything I could get you?” Bon Bon asked. “I’ll take a simple jawbreaker. I’ll need something to keep my hunger sated while I work on my next design,” Rarity mused, putting a bit on the counter. “I still have yet to actually stop by your shop for actual shopping,” Lyra thought aloud while still strumming her instrument lightly with her magic. “You’re welcome in anytime,” Rarity told the mare, receiving her candy from Bon Bon. “Thanks for stopping by Rarity,” Bon Bon said. “My pleasure. Have a good day.” Rarity popped the jawbreaker into her mouth and trotted the few meters between the two shops. Opening the door and closing it behind her, Rarity sighed as the cool indoor environment rolled over her fur. Undonning her saddlebags, she walked upstairs towards her work station. However, when she got to the door, she stopped. She looked at the floor. Something was off, and there seemed to be an extra scent in the air. Looking closer, she couldn’t see anything. She almost dismissed it, until she actually saw it. There, stained into the carpet, was a small drop of what seemed to be blood. Looking further down the hallway, she could see similar marks all the way until Sweetie’s room. Rarity cautiously walked up to her sister’s room, pressing her ear to the door. Muffled crying could be heard. Rarity decided it sign enough. She opened the door and looked for Sweetie Belle. Finding the filly proved to be extremely easy as she was crouched in the center of the room, tears streaming from her eyes being the first thing Rarity noticed about her sister. However, something much more apparent about the filly stood out. Marking up both her flanks and parts of her spine were scratches. The cuts weren’t that deep or wide, but there was a lot of them. “Oh my Celestia! Sweetie Belle, what happened to you!?” Rarity yelled rushing over to her sister. Sweetie stayed incredibly silent. “Wait right here, I’ll get some bandages!” Sweetie Belle watched her sister run out of the room in complete silence. Within mere seconds, Rarity returned with a complete first aid kit. Sweetie Belle stayed still while Rarity anxiously and meticulously put on the bandages. She winced whenever Rarity’s hoof brushed one of the cuts. “Dear, would you care to tell me who or what did this to you?” Rarity asked. Sweetie just remained silent. After about a minute, Rarity had all of the cuts covered. There was about seventeen of them in total. Six on one flank, eight on the other, and three on her lower back. Rarity looked at her sister. Someone must have done this to her. There’s no way she could’ve given herself that many cuts by herself. The unicorn was thrust from her thoughts when a loud ‘meow’ broke through the air. Looking to the doorway, Rarity saw Opal. She seemed distraught, running quickly over to the two ponies and inspecting Sweetie Belle. Rarity looked at the cat as if it were an angel for a second, then she noticed something. Opal’s claws were red with fresh blood. What was just before a gentle mare who was caring for her sister, Rarity was quickly enveloped by anger. “Opalescence!” Rarity yelled, the cat flinching as she was lifted into the air via telekinesis right up to the mare’s face. “You, of anything in all of Equestria, were the one who cut up Sweetie Belle!?” Opal looked at the unicorn like she was crazy, but calmly shook her head. “Then explain that!” Rarity yelled while manually unsheathing the feline’s claws. Opal’s eyes widened in realization at how bad the situation must seem as a single drop of blood fell to the carpet below. Rarity continued to stare daggers into the very soul of the fear-stricken feline. Opal meowed, looking frantically to find a way out of the situation. She noticed a picture of Rarity with all of her friends on a nearby nightstand. She jumped up to it and pointed a paw to Fluttershy. The white mare stared at the pegasus in the picture for a few moments before giving up, “What would Fluttershy have to do with any of this?” Rarity asked her pet, growing impatient. Opal gestured with a paw between her mouth and ear. “I do suppose she could translate,” Rarity agreed. She groaned, “Alright! Sweetie Belle, come on. You’ll have to help explain things.” The filly silently nodded and walked towards the door. Rarity shot a glare at Opal before walking out herself. The poor cat just meowed out a sigh before trailing behind with her head down. “Fluttershy, dear!?” Rarity called, knocking at the door to her friend’s cottage, “Are you home? We need your help!” After a few moments, the door opened and the yellow mare examined the group. “U-uh sure. What do you need help with, Rarity?” “Sweetie Belle?” The filly turned, showing Fluttershy her flank and spine; all bandaged up and slowly healing. Fluttershy’s face turned to horror. “Oh my Celestia, who could have done this!?” she yelled. “That’s what we’re here to find out,” Rarity said, moving aside. Fluttershy stared at Opal for several moments before she realized what Rarity was saying. “Wait, you don’t think that Opal did it, do you?” Rarity nodded. Fluttershy walked outside and sat down in front of the cat. She looked up at her sitting just the same. “Now Opal, you didn’t do this did you?” Fluttershy asked. Opal meowed a couple times. Fluttershy turned to Rarity, “She says she didn’t. She was just as shocked about Sweetie as you were.” Opal meowed again. “The blood on her claws came from a mouse she found lurking around in the back storage room.” Rarity considered that for a few moments. She walked over to Sweetie Belle, sitting next to the filly that was looking out onto the horizon. “Sweetie Belle, are you sure you don’t want to tell us who or what did this?” Sweetie was silent for a few moments. A noticeable shiver ran up her spine. Finally, the filly sighed. “It was Opal,” she said. Her voice had cracked from it’s recent lack of use. Opal was obviously shocked. The feline loudly meowed something at Fluttershy. Fluttershy gasped, turning back to her, “Opal, that is nothing nice for me to do.” Opal spoke again. “Even if she might be, there is no reason to be rude!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her voice barely even rising above a casual indoor voice. “What’s she saying?” Rarity asked. “She is accusing Sweetie Belle of lying,” Fluttershy responded. Rarity sighed. “Sweetie Belle, let’s go home.” Sweetie nodded, getting home and heading down the trail. Opal meowed a goodbye to Fluttershy and followed suit. However, upon reaching Rarity, the unicorn put a hoof in her path. Opal looked up confused at her owner. “You are to stay here. I don’t want there to be even a sliver of a chance of you ever scratching my sister again, but I am not cruel enough as to put you down,” Rarity told her, “So, you’re Fluttershy’s now. Do not ever come home again, Opalescence.” With that, Rarity trotted down the path to catch up with her sister. Opal sat dumbfounded in front of Fluttershy’s cottage, looking between the path and Fluttershy. Before long, she melted down; releasing the closest thing to what be summed up as a feline’s tears being shed.
RenewalTwo days had passed since Opal had been sent out of the Carousel Boutique. While having taken refuge at Fluttershy’s home was a nice second and a good change of scenery from her workaholic owner, Opal had to admit that she missed helping Rarity with her tasks; to fall asleep peacefully on the materials that Rarity left laying about; and to just comfort the mare after she had stressed herself out on a large order. The other animals around the cottage had easily taken note of her sorrow, trying to comfort her. The feline’s heart leapt in angst when a family of mice offered her some flowers. She took them, gladly, holding herself back from natural instinct as they scurried away. However, where there was room for good, there was room for neutrality. Bad was too cliche, mind you, but, as is expected, Angel was not all too well enjoying the attention his owner was giving to the new pet. He was friendly to Opal, yes. They were friends, as their prior pet play dates had supposed to enforce them to be, but he was not enjoying Fluttershy’s ignorance towards him, just like always. Opal had convinced Angel that she was not to blame for the subject at hand. He took into account her argument, and believed it. Angel, being the boss of the household when Fluttershy was being her too-kind self, found it necessary to get things back to normal. Thankfully for him, Fluttershy had walked in at that very moment. “Who wants lunch?” she asked cheerily. Several critters flowed out of their nests and went to the respective bowls that Fluttershy had just filled. Opal and Angel looked at each other, shrugging. Angel went and grabbed a carrot while Opal ran up and made space between the other cats to eat up some of her standard cat food. Once Angel finished his food, he jumped up onto the table that Fluttershy had situated herself at and started to communicate with her. Fluttershy listened intently, taking in her pet’s thoughts. Once he was done, she tapped her muzzle in thought. She sighed, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go try and convince her one more time. Rarity can just simply be hardheaded at times.” She looked over to the cat sitting in the windowsill. “Opal! Come on, we’re going to go home and talk to Rarity.” The cat was up and at the door in seconds. Angel jumped up onto Fluttershy’s back and she started towards the door as well. The three stepped out, and set down the path to Ponyville. It was just about 2:30 when the trio reached the outskirts of town. They were quickly approaching the park, which was all that separated them from the Boutique. Angel had hopped off of Fluttershy and was now hopping along side Opal, trying to get a conversation going. Opal apparently wasn’t in the mood to talk. Angel sighed, slowing his pace for a second to catch his breath. However, it was not long before he started to hear giggling. He looked to the other side of the fountain and saw two fillies talking to each other. One had pink fur with a white and violet mane; the other had gray fur with a light gray and white mane. Angel could only barely make out their conversation. “DT, you know, you are too good sometimes. Not only did you manage to get Squeaky Belle to stay home from school for a whole two days, you made her two blank flank friends follow suit just to check on her well being.” “Oh, please Silver Spoon. All I did was give the crybaby an entirely acceptable rebuttal for mocking the quality of my precious tiara. You don’t need to inflate my ego over it. You don’t just simply walk up to your superiors and question their Celestia-tier accessories and expect to get away unharmed.” “Still, you did your rebuttal using just your hoof file. I’m not even certain that you could cut somepony quite like you did again if you tried. Those things just aren’t cut out for that kind of thing.” The two fillies faded into the other side of the park, leaving the rabbit with a massive gape in his mouth. He quickly came back to his senses, rushing to catch back up with Fluttershy and Opal to help relieve some stress in the situation. Once Angel had reached the Boutique, he could see that his companions were already entering, so her hurried up and got inside as well. Rarity barely acknowledged him before shutting the door. “It’s obvious what you’re here for, and the answer is still ‘no,’” Rarity said to Fluttershy and Opal. “Please, just hear her out. The poor girl has been really sad for the past couple of days and she really doesn’t seem like the type of cat that would do something like this to Sweetie Belle?” Rarity rolled her eyes, but her expression showed her hesitation. “I-well….” she sighed, “No, I suppose not. But that still doesn’t come to terms with the fact that there was a ton of scratches all over Sweetie Belle. Taking the pattern of the scratches, it only really makes sense that a cat could make those marks. And let’s face it, Opal can be rather grumpy sometimes.” Opal frowned. She looked to Angel who was rummaging through a box of fashion materials. He pulled out a hoof-file, looking like he found a trophy. She ignored him and turned her attention back to the two mares. She noticed Sweetie Belle walking down the stairs behind Rarity. “And how do you explain her claws? They were covered to the root in blood!” Rarity pointed out. Opal unsheathed her claws and looked at them, blood still crusted onto them around her sheaths. “From what she told me, she killed a mouse in the storage room. Did you not look back there?” “I did! No mouse, no fur, not even a single drop of rodent blood!” Fluttershy hummed in thought, turning to Opal for an answer. Opal meowed, motioning the eating of something and lapping up of a liquid. “I guess she ate it and drank up the blood before a stain could settle in.” “That doesn’t even make sense! Do you know how fast blood stains on carpet?” Rarity asked getting annoyed. Fluttershy sighed, realizing that it was a good point. She feared for Opal that she lost the argument. However, a struck thought her. “You said her claws were covered in blood up to the root, didn’t you?” “Yes. They were entirely red from the looks of it. Dripping.” “When you inspected the cuts on Sweetie Belle, how deep were the cuts?” Angel squeaked to Fluttershy, “In a moment, Angel bunny.” Rarity seemed awestruck for a moment, realizing what Fluttershy was getting at. “Th-they weren’t that deep at all. It was more like an irritable rash that opens up.” “So, how could have Opal gotten all that blood on her claws from Sweetie Belle, if the cuts weren’t deep enough?” Fluttershy smiled, realizing that she struck through with Rarity. Fluttershy looked at Angel and let him speak. Rarity noticed that Sweetie Belle was in the room finally, and turned to speak to her. “Sweetie Belle, was it really Opal that scratched you?” Sweetie Belle backed up a step and crouched down; clearly not wanting to tell her sister. Suddenly, Fluttershy started thinking out loud in her conversation, “Pink coat and a tiara? That sounds like Diamond Tiara. What does she have to do with this?" Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened at the filly’s name. Angel squeaked out a few more words to the mare. "She what!" Fluttershy screamed. Angel held up the hoof-file as a final point. Fluttershy looked fairly distraught to Rarity. "Fluttershy, care to tell us what Angel just said?" Rarity asked apprehensively. “According to Angel, he overheard Diamond Tiara and her friend talking about how Diamond had used a hoof-file to hurt Sweetie Belle for mocking her tiara.” Fluttershy told Rarity. Rarity’s jaw dropped. “Sweetie Belle, is that true?” “Y-yes,” she squeaked out quietly, “She had made fun of me for being blank flanks and I guess I had enough and gave her an insult back, saying her tiara looked trashy.” Sweetie Belle paused, sniffling as though she were about to cry, “After she had attacked me, she said if I told anyone, she’d have her dad put the Boutique out of business.” She started to cry into Rarity’s forelegs. “I didn't want you to lose your business Rarity!” Rarity sighed, rubbing her sister’s head, quietly whispering, ‘There there, it’ll be okay.’ Fluttershy patted Angel on the head, and he smiled triumphantly. Fluttershy noticed Opal looking a mix of sadness, joy, and anger in the corner. She walked over, giving the feline a quick petting. She then picked her up, flying over to the two sisters and plopping Opal down right between them. Opal and Rarity stared at each other for a few silent moments before Rarity’s lip quivered and she broke into tears herself. She grabbed her cat and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Opal, I’m so so~o~rry! Please forgive your foolish owner!” Opal was purring, rubbing her head into the mare’s face. She meowed. “She said ‘apology accepted,’” Fluttershy translated for her, smiling. Once Rarity and Opal had made up, Rarity turned back to Sweetie Belle. “Also, Sweetie Belle, thank you for thinking about my shop before your own matters.” She hugged her sister. “However, I can assure you that Filthy Rich, while he may have money and power, he has the intelligence to keep hold of it. If he went around putting ponies out of business for fun, he’d have lost it all in some form or another.” Angel looked down at the scene before him, before an idea struck him. He jumped over to Fluttershy and whispered it in her ear. Fluttershy gasped, “Angel, that sounds so mean.” He squeaked something out with a matter-of-fact look on his face. “Well, I suppose that’s true.” “What’s he saying?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy looked over to Sweetie Belle. “He wants to know if you’d like to get revenge on Diamond Tiara. I personally don’t like the idea, but his plan would work fairly well, I-I guess.” Sweetie Belle seemed to go into thought for a moment. “What’s his plan?” Author's Note This will be one of those rare instances where I portray Silver Spoon as an antagonist. Diamond will be more common, but I still don't want to do it too much. These two work better in redemption arks in my opinion. Oh, and yeah, watch out for an Epilogue.
PunishmentFilthy Rich; Ponyville’s richest, owner of the Equestrian-wide service of Barnyard Bargains, and the single father to Diamond Tiara. A simple stallion, aged into his early forties, who likes to think of himself as a middle-class pony however much his peers say otherwise. When his grandfather, Stinkin’ Rich, passed on, he gave his Ponyville estate to Filthy’s mother. Motherload was quick to hand down the property to her son as she wanted to see him in the real world as fast as possible. She was so proud of him when she heard of his astounding progress with Barnyard Bargains. He thinks of her smile when mentioning it as his happy place. Alas, Motherload had recently passed on herself, shortly after Diamond Tiara’s birth. When the two first met, Filthy had expected her to be happy, and she was; until Diamond woke up. Their eye’s connected, and from that moment on, his mother warned him to keep his child in check. To care for her and never let her go until she is ready to carry on his role. Those words are exactly what carries on the brown earth stallion to this day, even if he doesn’t fully understand their meaning. A strive to care for his daughter. He had wished that his wife would be with him to care for her, but she, sadly, had died of blood loss during labor. When Diamond started school, she mentioned seeing most of the other foals being dropped off and picked up from the schoolhouse by their mothers. That’s when Diamond went and broke her father’s heart. She asked where her mother was. Being that she was only about five at the time, he couldn’t work up the nerve to tell her that her mother was dead, so he had lied, telling her that she was on business in the Griffin Empire. Diamond then wanted to send a letter to her, so he complied, letting her write one. He read it, and the only thing that popped out to him was that Diamond requested that her mother come home soon and/or that she send a gift for her or Filthy. Filthy felt it necessary to go out and pretend to mail the letter, but he had to play it right. He went to a local toy shop and picked out a little tiara with fake diamonds lining it. The trinket itself wasn’t real jewelery, but seemed close. His wife, Shop Keep, or as he nicknamed her, Blue, due to her infatuation with the color, wasn’t all into fancy garments, so this seemed like the ideal object for her to buy Diamond. Once he had it, he ran to the post office, and asked that the tiara and a new hoof-written letter be sent back to their address one week later. After one week, Derpy Hooves had delivered the tiara in a small box along with a letter written by one of the staff at the post office. The letter, to Filthy’s surprise was similar to Blue’s hoof-writing. He read it aloud to Diamond. The letter told the two that ‘Blue’ would not be able to return for several more years, decades, maybe even. Diamond seemed crestfallen. However, once Filthy pulled out the tiara with a newly attached gift tag that read, “From Mommy; To my precious Diamond,” she had smiled the widest she ever had. Diamond put her new accessory on right away. The moment that she did, she vowed that she would wait for her mother’s return, even if it took her whole life. That tiara was Filthy’s guilt. His fear. His anxiety. But on top of all that; His hope. His hope that his little Diamond would never have to face the truth. Filthy was just waking up. It was a bit into the afternoon; about three o'clock, but irregardless, he had had a long night, and besides that, it was a weekend. So, one hot tea later, he was on the road to a nice, relaxing evening. It was one of those moments of bliss, days like this. One where he could sleep in past noon, get up late, have some time to himself while drinking tea or maybe some wine, and reading a nice novel. It really took a load off him whenever he did this. It seemed like perfection. But as is with all things that seem perfect, there must be something to interrupt them. Just as he was nearly comfortable, the doorbell to his manor rang. He muttered under his breath, but kept calm. He got up and trotted to the foyer and opened the door with a pleasant smile. He was greeted by a few ponies and some pets. Rarity glared at the stallion, not even returning a greeting. "It's your daughter, Filthy. She's been causing problems lately." Filthy stared in shock at his friend, before a frown found it’s way onto his face. “What do you mean by that?” Rarity looked down at her little sister, whom Filthy had just noticed, as if telling her something with her eyes. The filly turned slowly to show Filthy her side and back. Filthy’s jaw dropped. “You’re telling me that my daughter did….that!?” Both Rarity and the other mare with her, Fluttershy, Filthy believed, nodded. He looked at Sweetie Belle a bit more before something stuck out to him. She had no cutie mark. His head drooped and he muttered something to himself, sighing. He lowered himself to face the filly and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Sweetie Belle, are you part of the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ that I keep hearing about in Diamond and Silver’s conversations?” Filthy asked her. “Y-yes,” she said with a shaky voice. Filthy grunted to himself, looking to Rarity. He began to speak, but Sweetie Belle started up again, “It’s just me and my friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom. Diamond and Silver are always picking on us, making fun of us for having no talents or for screwing up. She always calls Applebloom poor, mocks Scootaloo’s inability to fly, and constantly jabs at me because of my ‘Wanna-be-a-high-society-pony sister,’” Rarity’s eye twitched at the insult, “It just gets worse and worse after every encounter, and we’re treading thin ice. One more verbal throw, and me and Bloom might not be able to hold Scoots back from attacking your daughter, with this problem right here taking a huge toll on the remaining sanity we Crusaders have. “Please, Mr. Rich, if you can, just get Diamond to stop tormenting us. We never did anything wrong.” Filthy looked at Sweetie like he just heard a ghost story. A scary one. He looked at Rarity, expecting some kind of help, but all she did was raise an eyebrow in question. Filthy looked between the sisters a few more times before sighing. “I’ll try.” He looked back into his manor, the top of the stairs being his focus. The third door on the left was his daughter’s room. She was home right now. They could take care of this much quicker. “Diamond!” he called up to her, “Come down here for a moment, will you?” A door opening and hooves trotting down the stairs was the only sound made for the next few seconds, until Diamond got to the bottom of the steps. “Yeah, daddy?” she walked up to him, looking to see who was at the door. She stopped once she saw Sweetie Belle. “What are you doing here!?” she yelled at the filly, but with a fearful look. “We’re here,” Rarity started, giving the filly a death glare, “to put discipline on those who need it most.” Filthy turned to his daughter, looking down at her. “Can’t you ever give your classmates a break?” “I-er...but…” Diamond stuttered, searching for something to say, “She started it!” she randomly yelled, pointing a hoof at Sweetie Belle. “No I didn’t!” Sweetie yelled back, her voice cracking. “Yes you did! You mocked my tiara’s quality!” Filthy’s eyes widened. “It’s not my fault that it obviously isn’t real jewelry!” Rarity put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, pulling her back a little. Sweetie calmed down. “Even if it wasn’t real, which it is, you don’t make fun of your superiors’ accessories!” Diamond growled at the other filly. She turned to her dad, “Daddy, you should run Carousel Boutique out of business! They shouldn’t be able to treat me like this and earn no punishment!” Filthy sighed, “Now Diamond, if anyone is in the wrong, it’s you.” “What!?” Diamond screeched, “You’re siding with them? I’m your own bucking daughter!” “Diamond Dazzle Tiara!” Filthy yelled. Diamond flinched back. Filthy lowered his voice, “First off, watch your language, especially around company. Secondly, you should know that there is no excuse for what you did to Sweetie Belle. Diamond looked down at her hooves, her tone now soft, “I….she mocked my tiara. To me, that’s like she made fun of mommy. This is all I have of her until she comes home from the Griffon Empire.” Filthy looked down at his daughter, and felt her remorse. “Look, sweetheart, I know it’s tough being without your mother, but I’m trying my hardest to raise you until she comes back.” He turned to Rarity, pulling out his checkbook from his suit. “I’m sorry for all the trouble that’s been caused by this incident, Rarity, I really am. Here, have this check for one-thousand bits. It should cover some psychological therapy for your sister, or at least something relaxing to get her mind off of it.” Diamond groaned audibly behind her father, “Daaad! You’re doing it again; siding with the filly that caused me emotional pain!” “I’m sorry, dear, but this is what fathers have to do: clean up after their foals. I’m doing my job by offering Sweetie Belle a bit of relaxation from the physical pain that you caused her.” “So what if I hurt her? This tiara is precious, and should be treated just as perfectly as the diamonds that make it up!” Filthy sighed, turning to his little filly, “Look, Diamond, considering your act through all of this, I feel you should know something. It’s something I thought you would have figured out actually. Your tiara, isn’t made of gems. It’s just some plastic bought from a party store. It was the most your mother could afford once she flew out to the Empire.” Diamond gaped, staring at her father. She took off her tiara, holding it in her hoof for a few moments. It seemed as if tears were forming in the corners of her eyes, her lip was quivering as well. It was over in mere seconds. Diamond threw the piece of party jewelry on to the ground in rage. She growled into the air, “I can’t believe that mare would even think that a filly like me would deserve something less than top of the line! She is useless!” “Di-!” “And what kind of stallion are you to have married that kind of cheap pony!? Even if she had rich tastes before, why didn’t you keep it that way!? In fact, why didn’t you just go and force her to come home and raise her daughter along your side? I ask you, dad, what kind of stallion are you!?” Filthy’s eye twitched, and he opened and closed his mouth several times. He simply stared at his filly for several seconds. “I asked-” “I’m a single father doing his damndest to raise his filly by himself!” Filthy was out of air, he was breathing hard, and everypony else was silent. Seconds passed before the stallion broke into tears. Rarity trotted over to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder. Opal and Angel came over and patted his flank. “I’m sorry, Diamond, but I-I-I just couldn’t take the stress. You were so young….I couldn’t have possibly told you the truth about your mother. S-she passed away during your birth. The doctors say that she had lost too much blood. I went and bought you the tiara myself, buying off of her tastes, and had the postal service stage a letter delivery. It was a weak point, but I pulled through for a while. You are the only thing I have left of her, in truth. That’s why I’m hoping for you to grow into her hoofsteps. But you’ll never be able to do that if you keep going around and hurting others.” Diamond was silent. She took in her father’s words, before falling back to the stairwell and slowly going upstairs. Filthy sighed, looking back to his guests. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Rarity, I’ll see you on Tuesday?” Filthy asked the mare. “As….always….Filthy.” “Alright. I’m going to go talk to Diamond.” Filthy retreated up the stairs, and the ponies and animal companions exited the manor. As they walked, Rarity looked down to her sister. “I’m sorry you had to hear about Diamond’s mother,” Rarity told her. “You knew?” “Of course. Filthy is one of my best friends outside of Fluttershy and the girls. It was rather tragically I found out about it, but I didn’t know his daughter lacked the knowledge. However, I’m pretty sure that any drama between you two is going to come to a halt, if things with Mr. Rich go well.” “You know, Sweetie Belle, that reminds me of a word that Twilight taught me once.” “What word is that?” “It means, and I’m paraphrasing to fit the situation, something or someone that has been considered insignificant due to a recent event. Opal jumped up on Rarity’s back, “Obsolescence.”
