Levitating his breakfast plate beside him, Bucky watched as Bittersweet looked after the shrieking Empress of the Crystal Empire. The donkey was kind, patient, trying to cajole the crying foal into silence. One thing was for certain… alicorn foals had impressive sets of lungs. The knick knacks along the fireplace mantle rattled from the force of Cadance’s cries.

At least Bittersweet is deaf, Bucky thought to himself as he shoveled in some sweet baked beans served cold from a tin and poured directly onto the plate. He smiled when Bittersweet looked up at him to let her know that she was doing a good job. He saw the donkey smile back at him and then nuzzle the foal to try and quiet her.

Nearby, Harper and Peekaboo sat on the floor, looking somewhat irritated that the quiet morning was being interrupted by some fussy upstart foal.

“Foods?” Peekaboo asked.

“Want breakfast?” Bucky asked in reply.

“Yes foods,” Peekaboo stated, looking up at Bucky hopefully.

“Got it,” Yew announced as she came through the living room arch.

“Harper still needs to be fed at some point,” Bucky reminded.

“I know,” Derpy replied as she walked over to the blanket where Harper was laying and stood beside Yew. “Wanna trade?”

“I could try to feed Harper… but Peekaboo is so much easier,” Yew answered apprehensively, giving Derpy a doubtful look.

“I know… you stick food in front of Peekaboo and she makes it vanish. She doesn’t even care what it is,” Derpy said, looking down at Peekaboo and smiling a motherly smile. “I see you Peekaboo.”

Hearing Derpy’s voice, Peekaboo fell over and covered her eyes with her front legs. “Nope. Gone. No see me.”

Tongue tied, Twilight Sparkle studied her cousin Violet Velvet. The unicorn was lavender in colour, just like Twilight, and she had a distinctive silver mane and tail. Her reading glasses hung from a delicate silver chain around her neck. The mare’s cutie mark was curious, a single blue-white snowflake and two small silver stars. Twilight watched as Violet sorted through the sheaf of papers that Raven had sent along with Twilight.

Putting on her glasses, Violet began to read, her eyes darting over the papers, her horn glowing. There was a strong whiff of ozone. The unicorn read through several pages very quickly and then looked at Twilight, her eyes narrowing.

“I like what I am reading,” Violet announced as she stared hawkishly at Twilight.

Feeling unnerved, Twilight Sparkle squirmed in her chair and wished that Violet would stop giving her that soul piercing stare. She felt her stomach prickle with some unknown fear. She wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table and hide. The stare was icy and reminded Twilight of Fluttershy.

“I can move to Ponyville. Been wanting to do that for a while anyway. I hear there is a housing shortage,” Violet said in a conversational tone as she peered through her reading glasses down at the papers she was studying.

“I have an idea… I know that one of his wives has an apartment over her candy shop. I plan to speak to her about letting you stay there,” Twilight said, feeling relieved that the unicorn was no longer staring at her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Nice to see my stare works on alicorns,” Violet stated in a blunt voice.

“Huh?” Twilight questioned, now feeling morbidly curious.

“The Cold Stare. Pure raw intimidation. Causes a fear response. One of the many services I provide,” Violet explained. “I stared at some idiot one day and my cutie mark showed up. I find that it is quite handy in my line of work.”

Almost immediately, Twilight began to have second thoughts. The nascent alicorn of war did not need a weaponised secretary. “What happened to the idiot?” Twilight asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“Oh… Fancy Pants? He lost control of his bladder and fainted,” Violet remarked as she flipped through the stack of documents.

“Fancy Pants… you mean the pony that you worked for?” Twilight inquired, sitting up a little taller and feeling quite curious.

“Yes. That Fancy Pants. How many Fancy Pants unicorns are there?” Violet snapped.

“You must have left quite an impression,” Twilight said, nervously rubbing her left front hoof against her right fetlock.

“I almost didn’t take the job. He was an idiot. I can’t stand idiots. He offered extra pay and begged me to work for him. I finally broke down and accepted because he was so pathetic looking,” Violet said, shaking her head. “Real shame that he lost everything. I hear he is in Ponyville now, managing the new orphanarium with Fleur Dis Lee.”

“By all accounts, he is ridiculously happy,” Twilight responded, her nervous sensation growing alarmingly.

“Of course he’s happy… he’s a blithering idiot. Plus, he has all the foals he can stand now with that supermodel Fancy pony wife of his,” Violet Velvet barked, her tone rather abrasive.

“I hear you like foals?” Twilight Sparkle half questioned, trying to find some way to make the mare across the table a little friendlier.

“I love foals. They’re sweet,” Violet replied. She lifted her head and glared at Twilight Sparkle. “You know, you aren’t much of a princess. I’ve given you the Cold Stare, I’ve been abrasive, I’ve been abrupt, short, and foul tempered. I’ve managed to set you on edge, make you nervous, keep you out of sorts, and with the way you are squirming I know that you are very uncomfortable. Never once have you stopped and asked me to treat you with respect or have you asserted your authority.”

“You’re doing this on PURPOSE?” Twilight demanded, her eyebrows rising in alarm.

“Well of course I am. I must say, I’m disappointed,” Violet muttered.

“You… you… you’re still doing it right now!” Twilight stammered.

“Show some spine,” Violet suggested as she peered at Twilight over her reading glasses.

“YOU… YOU’RE COMING TO PONYVILLE WITH ME TO SPEAK WITH BUCKMINSTER!” Twilight angrily commanded, her temper rising.

“Better, but not really scary. You know, I have a contact you could speak to about assertiveness lessons… his name is Iron Will… if you ever plan to be a real princess, a few lessons might do you good,” Violet Velvet remarked in a flat monotone.

“We’re going now…” Twilight growled through gritted teeth.

Taking a deep breath, Bucky stepped into the farmhouse library where the lawyer was waiting. He crossed the room quietly, looked at the pegasus once, and then he settled himself into his chair.

“Greetings,” Bucky said, looking at the pegasus. “My name is Bucky. Please, call me Bucky. No more, no less,” he instructed.

The pegasus, white, with grey hair, smiled at Bucky. “My name is Great Scott. No, I don’t know what my mother was thinking,” he added, chuckling softly in an attempt to be friendly.

“What can I do for you… Scott? Might I call you that?” Bucky inquired.

“Please do,” Great Scott replied. “First off, let me make it clear, this isn’t about money. I am not here to ask for or to get money in any way shape or form. In fact, all of my fees have been paid in advance by Mister Rich himself and all of the documentation was drawn up at his word.”

“So then, what is the point of this unexpected visit?” Bucky questioned as he continued to study the pegasus.

“Mister Rich had one final lesson to teach his daughter in the event of his death. After his change of heart… well, he came up with an idea you see,” Great Scott explained hesitantly. He looked over at Bucky and then stroked his chin. “Mister Rich had several foals. He wasn’t a good father to them and he knew that. He knew that he couldn’t make it up to all of them. This becomes complicated and I am only mentioning it in passing… he had one colt with one mare that he was rather fond of.”

“I’m listening,” Bucky said in a subdued voice.

“Well, even before his change of heart, Mister Rich was fond of this particular mare and this colt. He named the colt even you see… and then he kept things quiet. When he had his change of heart… he sort of came to the conclusion that he could teach his daughter a life lesson you see… which is why I am here,” Great Scot said, trying to choose his words carefully.

“The point?” Bucky asked, his Taint filled eye locked on Great Scott.

“Mister Rich, Filthy Rich, has a colt named Dirtbound. In the event of Mister Rich’s death, he wanted Dirtbound to meet Diamond Tiara, so that Diamond Tiara would know that she had a brother and so that she might get a chance to see how the other half lives… he was hoping that at some point, she would be at a place in her life where meeting Dirtbound would be meaningful… that she would understand the plight of the poor ponies and the troubles of farmers. He wanted Diamond Tiara to understand how her life might've turned out as an earth pony, and maybe gain a little humility,” Great Scott explained. The pegasus pushed his glasses up on his nasal ridge and heaved a small nervous sigh when he was done speaking.

“I see,” Bucky acknowledged in a soft voice. “So this isn’t some cheap ploy to get to Diamond Tiara and manipulate her for money. I’m glad. This was Mister Rich just trying to be a good dad and make up for his mistakes. I take it that you have no problems allowing me access to all of the legal documentation?”

“By all means. Everything I’ve brought with me today is yours to keep. A small amount of money has been set aside for Dirtbound. The mansion, the business assets, the remainder of his wealth, all of it is Diamond Tiara’s. There isn’t much, but the house is somewhat valuable if you could find the right buyer. Big houses really aren’t selling right now,” Great Scott replied, one wing fidgeting nervously as he spoke.

“I would like to meet with Dirtbound before he meets with Diamond Tiara,” Bucky requested in low soft voice. “And of course, a chance to read over all of this.”

“By all means, of course. I have an appointment coming up, so it would be best if we wrapped this up. I just wanted to drop off these papers and give you a very brief explanation if I could. I have an office here in Ponyville, so I can be reached at any time,” Great Scott responded.

“Thank you for stopping by. I will be in touch with you in a while,” Bucky said.

“Thank you for helping me keep up with my schoolwork,” Diamond Tiara said in soft weak voice to Sunset Shimmer.

Smiling, Sunset Shimmer looked over at Diamond Tiara, who was hunched over Dinky and Piña’s desk, her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out her schoolwork. “You seem better this morning. You’re up and moving around a little bit better.”

“I feel better… Bucky is going to take me into town later and we’re going to get some candy. You should come along,” Diamond Tiara said as she tried to make heads or tails of her geography exam.

“Well, if you’re asking, I might come along. But Bucky might want me to stay here and guard the Empress if he’s out and about somewhere,” Sunset Shimmer replied.

“It is really going to be good for her to grow up here,” Diamond Tiara murmured in reply as she tried to figure out where Mustangia was.

“Ya think so?” Sunset asked as she approached the desk and looked over Diamond Tiara's shoulder.

“Don’t tell me! I’ll never learn if I don’t figure it out on my own,” Diamond Tiara begged.

“Okay, okay, I won’t give you any hints,” Sunset Shimmer said as she backed away.

“I wish I could stay here, but I understand that I can’t,” Diamond Tiara huffed in a frustrated voice.

“Where do you plan to go? The Apples have offered you a spot… you’ll have a room right next to Apple Bloom’s… Big Mac and Cheerilee are promising that you’ll learn the value of hard work and to appreciate the earth pony way… and on the other hoof, there is Rarity and Coco, who are promising you refinement, culture, and that you will learn the social graces that you will need as an adult,” Sunset Shimmer said as she flopped over into a chair and watched Diamond Tiara scribble something on her paper.

“I want both,” Diamond Tiara stated.

“Both?” Sunset Shimmer questioned.

“I plan to ask Bucky about it today. I need both. I need to understand what it means to work and struggle but I also need what Coco and Rarity are offering. I want to stay with the Apples during the summer and for about a half of the year. I can stay with Coco and Rarity for the winter and the other half of the year. There’s no apples to be picked in the winter so there isn’t anything to do on the farm but I can still be productive and learn stuff,” Diamond Tiara explained.

“You’ve really been thinking about this,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“A whole lot actually. It beats staring up at the ceiling or the wall. Plus, I never would have reached this conclusion without you,” Diamond Tiara replied.

“Me?” Sunset questioned.

“You told me about all of the hard work you had to do to make up for your mistake. Your community service. You said that you had to pay your dues and now you have your reward for all of your hard work,” Diamond Tiara answered.

“Well, that’s true, I did say that… hmph. Diamond, you’re choosing a very difficult path. I respect that. I will help you in any way that I can… because I’m like totally your big sister now. I think that Bucky will be proud of the choice that you’ve made,” Sunset Shimmer said to the earth pony foal at the desk.

“Thanks… sis,” Diamond Tiara murmured happily.

Author's Notes:

Look out for Violet Velvet.

She would never tolerate typos.