New Five Star Service side story by Leo Archon! · 4:51pm Sep 19th, 2016
Well, folks... The new Five Star Service chapter now stands at 5200 words and growing. I'm aiming for a post next weekend if I can get the chapter draft done and all the feedback in.
In the meantime, however, Leo Archon has written a new side story off it! A Gentlemanverse one-shot based on a surprising character who appeared early on in my story; a character who has been described by Five Stars in not-so-glowing terms--Harvest Moon, lead mare of her first herd and mistress of the Shemareaton Manehattan.
It's a first-person recounting of the events during and following the letter she sent to Five Stars asking for forgiveness as she's forced to confront her own actions and the ruin now visited on her. Expect some notable cameos, a mixture of self-reflection and action, and one of the unlikeliest acts of redemption you could imagine!
He's done a bang-up job with her in this new story and its events will be referenced in the new chapter I'm writing. I edited it along with most of my usual prereading crew and it has my enthusiastic stamp of approval. It is canon to Five Star Service, so by all means give it a read. Leo and I have been collaborating together on various works for a while now, and I'm very flattered that he chose to do a new work based on mine. Story is here:
Preview follows:
“Sign here, please.”
Three small words, those. Ones I'd heard many a time before; ones I'd said myself many times. Words ponies everywhere hear multiple times throughout their lives. But this time was different; this time, it felt like the lawyer’s words were that of the human Devil, and I was signing away my soul.
In some respects, I was. The Shemareaton had been my pride and joy for many years, the fruit of all my labors. I'd built a power base in Manehattan as the hotel's head, and had enjoyed the influence that came with being in a position of prestige and power. And all of it was now crashing down, as I signed this one last paper: the notice of sale.
It was unavoidable; according to the board of investors, the loss in profit in recent months was being attributed directly to my presence at the hotel. While I could potentially keep the hotel afloat with my own sizeable savings, that would have been a delaying action, at best. The board had made it clear that if the Shemareaton was to survive, I would have to leave.
Celestia's mane, that's a pill to swallow! I thought, as I signed the paper. Buck Five Stars, anyway! How could she do this?!
From what I'd been able to glean from my network of contacts, the erstwhile member of my old herd had somehow turned public opinion in Manehattan against me; this in turn had caused the loss in profit that the hotel had seen. I couldn't wrap my head around it; how could Five Stars, an earth pony with no truly outstanding attributes except an uncanny knack for annoying me, have managed to sway an entire metropolis against me?
Finishing my signature, I passed the notice back to the attorney. He looked it over, nodded, and rolled it up, putting a legal seal on it. "Our business is concluded, then. Farewell, Ms. Harvest Moon."
I nodded curtly in reply and turned to leave, pausing only to grab my luggage from next to the door. I'd prepared for this day by packing my entire life into two large saddlebags, as well as a larger trunk that I secured to my back. While my lifestyle had been rather sedentary as of late, I was nonetheless an earth pony, which meant that my strength was still enough to carry several times my own weight on my back.
I walked towards the front door of the Shemareaton, all the while thinking, This is just a minor setback. There will be plenty of opportunities for a mare like me in cities beyond Manehattan. All I have to do is reach out for them...
With that in mind, I walked out the front door, for what would be the final time.
Hopefully that should pique your interest! He's done a lot for me and my writing over the past couple years on everything from Turnabout Storm to Rise of Firefly, so give him areas and some love!
Ah, your writing Five Star Service again. I approve of this.
I will be watching vary close for this new chapter and I will reading the one shot.
This looks quite interesting