Author's Note

NOTE: There is no clop here in the first chapter. That all takes place in the next installment. Gotta set it all up first! :)

An Unfair Firing

Diamond Tiara waltzed into her home, having finished her final day of school for the year. Ever since the Cutie Mark Crusaders showed her to the truth of who she was and how she was meant to behave, she had a new lease on life. No longer was she the secretly depressed schoolyard bully. She had learned how to love friendship and had also learned the traits of benevolence, kindness, and faith in herself and her fellow pony. She could not stop smiling that entire day as she had made much merriment at Ms. Cheerilee’s pizza party to end the year. She and her friends were ecstatic that the year was drawing to a close, and they could finally enjoy the warmth and beauty that summer offered. They even planned to kick off the season with a wonderful slumber party in the Crusader clubhouse.

“Mother, I’m home!” Diamond called as she trotted up the grand staircase of their Ponyville mansion, “I’m gonna get my things and head over to the Crusaders’ party!”

“Not in a million years!” Spoiled Rich replied. The snobby mare popped out of a side room and gracefully ascended the stairs until she stood on the same level as her daughter. She took a look at her offspring and pointedly turned her nose up. She couldn’t believe that her daughter, one of the elite of Equestria, wanted to befriend and socialize with ponies that were so far beneath their social class. She hated all that the Crusaders had done to Diamond, as she felt that her unique little filly was becoming drab and common.

“Diamond Tiara, you know how I feel regarding your incessant trotting about with those Crusader ponies.”

“But, Mother-“

“Don’t talk back to me, young filly!” Spoiled snapped, “you need to remember your place, my dear. You’re rich. They’re not. You’re special. They’re not.”

Diamond felt sick to her stomach. The Crusaders had introduced her to such wonderful things, and all her mother did was contradict them in her usual haughty manner. Her disposition seemed to be even more impertinent than usual that evening, and the red curtains draped behind her did nothing to soothe Diamond’s view of her. The young pink pony was on the verge of tears, as her mind fought with itself over what her mother said and what the Crusaders said. She knew that her friends were in the right, but her mother’s stern look nearly forced her mind to revert to its old, devilish ways.

“Ma’am,” said a kind voice. Spoiled and Diamond turned to see their head butler, Dumb Waiter, standing at the bottom of the stairs. Despite his name, he was far from inane or mentally moribund. In fact, he had helped Diamond on many a homework assignment and project. He worked for the Rich family to help offset the cost of living as a young bachelor, and Diamond had always secretly found him attractive. She batted her eyes a bit as he ascended the stairs to speak with them.

“What is it now, you putrid piece of rat droppings?!” Spoiled thundered, “I don’t have all night!” It was well known that she hated her wait staff and paid them next to nothing. But, all the same, Dumb Waiter still held his smile. Diamond admired him, along with all of the other members of their staff. She had learned to respect them and see them as ponies rather than stepping stones to her own satisfaction. She smiled up at him, trying to silently point out that she would be on his side no matter what.

“Well, ma’am,” Dumb said respectfully, “I had looked into my accounts earlier, and…well…the last check was only 10 bits instead of the usual 20. I don’t wish to be a bother, but-“

“It’s too late for that!” Spoiled barked.

“Yes, well…I was just wondering why you subtracted 10 bits from my pay?”

Spoiled looked like she was about to go the way of an old freight train and explode. Diamond swore she saw steam pour out of her mother’s ears, and her eyes were set ablaze. Spoiled’s selfish, nasty attitude was famous throughout the land, but this was a level that Diamond had never seen before. As the little filly watched in horror, Spoiled slowly advanced on the quivering butler.

“You…dare…to ask me…a question like that?” She asked with venom in every word.

“I…I’m so sorry, ma’am. I mean, it’s fine by me, but I’ve also spoken with several other members of the staff, and they’ve reported the same situation. Have…we done something to offend you?”

“You offend me every single time you draw breath, you alligator-skinned, pompous, sick son of a Hydra!” Spoiled Rich thundered. “In fact, every time any of you are in my presence, you offend me! You’re BENEATH me! So…let’s put it this way. Either you become happy with the new arrangement of 10 bits, or you go crawl through the sewers while you look for another job!”

Diamond gasped. She knew her mother was legendarily mean, but her cruelty had taken a turn for the worse. The queasiness crept up again, and she had to dash up the next flight of stairs and take refuge around a pillar. She just could not bear to watch her favorite butler get evicted, both from his job and from his friends around the house. As she listened, Dumb Waiter begged Spoiled to reconsider, and even offered up a compromise of fifteen bits instead of twenty. But Spoiled would not be brought to reason, and she mercilessly fired him. Diamond sat in her dark shadow and wept bitterly at the loss, for she counted on Dumb Waiter in many aspects of her young life.

Oh, Mother… she thought, …how could you be so unjust and uncaring? Poor Dumb Waiter doesn’t have any other source of income! How the hell can you even THINK of firing him?! Worse…you unfairly took 10 bits away from him! You STOLE from him!

Diamond felt her anger rise, only this was a new kind of rage. She had never been angry with her mother before, because she was too afraid of her. But now she realized that it was time for her to stand up to Spoiled Rich’s tyranny. It was time for her mother to learn how to respect the ponies around her, not just those who had as much money or fanciful possessions as her. Diamond grit her teeth together as a plan began formulating in her head. Yes…her mother would learn how to be nicer, whether she liked it or not!