A slate gray pony with a green mane entered one of the private rooms on the fourth floor. She walked over to a bed, and lightly nudged the occupant. "Jasper, honey. It's time to wake up."
The Diamond Dog whuffed in dismay. "Sun not up yet, Centre. Too early even for Celestia." He complained.
Centre walked to the other side of the bed. "You know you have to get up. You have work to do." She head-butted him playfully. "Cheerilee and Toola depend on you."
Jasper sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah. Cheerilee and Toola. What would they do without me?" He tossed aside his sheet, then got out of bed. Centre went over to the window and opened the curtains, allowing the early morning light to enter the room. Jasper sorted through a chest of drawers as he put together an ensemble for himself, then dressed with a bit of assistance from Centre. She levitated his favorite hat over to him with an aura of gray magic. Jasper took the bowler hat, and twirled it before donning it. "How do I look?" He asked the unicorn.
"You look like a well-dressed dog." Centre replied with a giggle. Jasper reached over, and ruffled the front of her mane, lightly stroking around the small stubby horns in the center of her forehead, a rare deformity caused by the horn bud not forming properly. Centre leaned up into his caresses. Jasper smiled, then leaned down to give her a passionate kiss. The two embraced, savoring the kiss for a moment, then ended it. "See you in a few hours, my faithful hound." Centre said.
"I shall look forward to my time with you, little goat." He replied, using a once cruel nickname as a term of endearment. Centre giggled, waving him off.
"Oh Jasper, you're so ba-a-a-ad." She smirked, mimicking a bleat. The Diamond Dog blushed, and left, heading down to the kitchens. "Yeah, it looks like today is going to be a good day." Centre said as she straightened the bed covers.
~
Bad Apple sifts through several folders of documents, writing relevant details in a personal journal. Whenever he finishes a document, he tosses it into the fireplace where others are already burning. He saves a few relevant photos, slipping them into a weather worn folder.
Jasper walks into the kitchen of the Sagardoteki, and over to one of the prep-tables. The staff are putting together a two meal breakfast tray. The order-slip on the tray indicates what the meal is supposed to contain: Two bowls of steamed oats, two plates of fried potatoes, two cups of juice, two cups of coffee, and the appropriate condiments, napkins and utensils. As each item is added, it gets crossed off of the list. Jasper takes the finished tray, and carries it away. On his way into the mansion, he grabs a copy of the morning paper from the freshly delivered stack.
Bouton opens her door to find Cynthia and Lemon, along with an orange pegasus wearing a red vest. The white unicorn takes a few bits from her saddlebag and passes them to the vested pony. He puts the coins in his own saddlebag, then leads the trio down to lobby. On the way out, Bouton notices a stack of papers at the entrance of the mansion. The headline reads 'A party without Pants.' The story columns frame a picture of Jet Set and Upper Crust, who look shocked and embarrassed. Bouton grabs a copy and stares at it in surprise.
'Lutrokov's farm lights up Manesfield.' Reads the headline for the story at the bottom of the front page. The picture next to the story shows a farm, with a grainery silo that has been set ablaze. Cheerilee lowers the paper and looks quizzically to Toola, who is getting dressed with Jasper's help. Toola gives the earth pony a knowing grin. Once she's finished, Toola helps herself to some of the food, while Jasper puts together a set of clothes for Cheerilee. The Diamond Dog sets the clothes down, then brings a headscarf over and ties it around Cheerilee's forehead.
Bad Apple, under his guise as Udan Ibai, greets Gilbert and Aurelina as they walk along the hallway towards him. The three of them take a ramp-way down to the third floor, and enter a gym room. Inside, Starsong is sparring with Lanzenreiter. The pair go through an exchange of grapples, pins, punches, kicks, blocks, and other maneuvers. They pause upon seeing Gilbert, Aurelina and Udan enter. They bow to each-other, then grab their towels and head to separate shower rooms to clean up.
Cynthia and her group stare in wonder at a series of basins, arranged in a stair-like fashion. The tour-guide points out various features, like the rotating helical tube bringing up saltwater from the ocean and pouring it into the uppermost basin, the pegasi teams using their cloud-making abilities to evaporate the water, and the basins themselves, which dip forward when the weight gets too heavy, causing the water to cascade into the the basin below. The bottommost basin contains mostly wet salt, which is poured into wheeled carts, then taken into another room.
Crews of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies are working in and around the outdoor theater. Some are taking down tents and banners, others are sweeping up flower petals and other debris. One crew arranges a stair-like platform, and covers it with a long narrow gold rug. Alongside the rug, they place lines of brass posts connected with red velvet ropes. They attach brass chains to form barriers across the rug.
Centre sorts through various documents in a basket on a desk. The forms consist of inventory reports, status updates, requests for items or pony workers, and other clerical work. A few other ponies are working in the office with her, focusing on certain tasks that she delegates to them. Some of the finished documents are filed away, while others are sent out via messengers.
Cheerilee, Toola, and Jasper exit the front door of the mansion, and find Gilbert, Aurelina, Udan, Lanzenreiter, Sagari and Starsong waiting. The two parties greet each-other, exchanging hugs and hoofshakes where appropriate. A stretch-carriage rolls up, pulled by a team of earth ponies.Sagari and Udan sit in the front cab, Toola, Cheerilee, Starsong and Jasper enter the middle cab, Gilbert, Aurelina and Lanzenreiter board the rear cab. The carriage rolls off along a cobblestone path.
Cynthia, Lemon and Bouton, wearing hard-hats with small lamps attached, are lead through a mineshaft. Earth ponies are harvesting chunks of salt from the walls, working in the light from firefly lanterns. The salt chunks are loaded into mine carts, which are then pushed along a set of tracks. The tour guide points out how several strains of salt are grown with other minerals, which enhance the flavors.
~
The elderly chestnut colored unicorn looked over to the caramel colored earth pony. "You seem a little distracted, Udan."
Udan blinked then looked to the unicorn mare. "Huh? Oh. I was just thinking, Mother Sagari."
"Working on your game, Udan?" Sagari asked with a chuckle.
Udan snickered a bit before replying. "Gotta keep my skills sharp." He leaned closer. "But that's not what's bothering me." He whispered.
Sagari lowered her voice as well. "Thinking about the one who stole your heart?" Udan nodded. "Not sure about introducing them to us? I understand." Sagari patted his shoulder. "The family business can be rough. I worry for my granddaughter's well being because of it."
"Antonia? No, she'll be fine. From what I've seen, she can handle herself fairly well. Plus she has Cheerilee, Starsong and Jasper. She'll be a great Matron. Like you were"
Sagari smiled, thinking back several decades. "Fun times, fun times." She turned to Udan. "But enough of my reminiscing. Your beloved, be they mare, griffon, zebra, dragon, dog or stallion. Can you show them your true self, and have them accept you for you?"
"I already have, and she does." Udan replied. "She is innocent, but not fragile."
Sagari grinned. "Better that than fragile and not innocent. And I know that you'll do right by her."
"Maybe someday, foals." Udan mused.
"And may I live long enough to spoil them rotten." Sagari added. Both ponies chuckled.
- - -
Cynthia, Lemon, and Bouton were seated on one side of a long table outside of an adobe shop. Spread on the table were platters of various fruits and vegetables, several bowls, some with water, and some empty, and seven clay jars filled with different varieties of salt. The trio would occasionally take one of the crudites, dip it in water then in in a bowl filled with salt, before eating.
Seated nearby, was their tour guide. "Have you ladies decided on what flavors to purchase?"
Cynthia looked to a jar that held silvered salt crystals, and read the label. "I desire a jar of 'Navarran Nights.'" She stated. The guide wrote the order in a small notebook.
Bouton mused. "While I normally don't eat spicy foods, The Bizkalan Blast does have a nice smoky taste."
"I think I'll pass." Lemon stated. "This was nice and all, but I'm not much a salt-sipper."
"That's perfectly alright." The tour guide responded. He looked to Cynthia and Bouton. "Your total comes out to 60 bits."
"I'll cover this." Lemon stated, opening her bitbag and counting out the bills. "Here you go." She passed the money to the tour guide. He thanked her, took the money into the shop, then returned a minute later with two jars. Cynthia and Bouton accepted their respective jars.
Cynthia retrieved her itinerary from her saddlebag, then read it over. "Our wine tour be scheduled for this evening. Then there is to be a special presentation tonight in the casino theater." She looked to Lemon and Bouton. "Be there aught beyond of which ye desireth to partake?"
"Finishing in the casino sounds like a great way to end this vacation." Lemon replied. Bouton nodded in agreement.
- - -
"I knew that your domain was big." Cheerilee began. "But I never realized just how much space it really took up." She looked out the window of the carriage as it meandered about the paths.
"It is our domain, my love." Toola replied, nuzzling the earth pony. "And I hope you love it as much as I do."
Cheerilee nodded. "Maybe I can move my garden to an empty plot of land."
"I would be happy to help you." Toola replied.
"Yeah, count me in." Starsong added. "We could totally make an event of it."
They looked to the Diamond Dog. "Would you help, Jasper?" Toola asked.
"I could lift and move stuff, but digging might be a problem." He held up one of his paws. "Hard soil hurts my claws."
"Would it help if I made the ground muddy?" Cheerilee asked.
"Mud is easy." Jasper replied with a smile. "A little mud never hurt anybody." All three ponies hugged him. Jasper managed to hug all of them at once. "When shall we start?"
"We should begin tomorrow." Cheerilee added. "Or is that not enough time to coordinate everything?"
"We should make it the day after." Jasper replied. "Tomorrow, we can work out the plan." They ended the hug then returned to their seats.
"See if you can get Applejack and Big Macintosh to help you." Udan called back from the front cab. "They enjoy that sort of work."
"Applejack for sure, but I don't know about Big Macintosh." Cheerilee mused. "There's still some awkwardness from the Love Poison incident."
"You like him as a friend, but you asked for my hoof." Toola replied. "You are Cheerilee LaRoulette, not Cheerilee Apple."
"Actually, she would have been Cherry Apple." Udan replied. He looked to Sagari. "Um, how would that have worked?"
"Since Cheerilee's parents are in the Business, The Apple Family would be considered associates." She replied. "And with Applejack being one of the Element wielders, that would have drawn more attention to our deeds."
"Ah, you'd have to clean up your act." Udan mused. "And that would make you less effective. It's better this way then." He looked into the middle cabin. "Cheerilee, do any other the other element wielders know?"
"We've kept it from Twilight and Rarity." She replied.
"Rainbow Dash isn't interested cause we have no connections with the Wonderbolts, and I don't think Fluttershy's the least bit curious about us." Starsong added.
"What about Pinkie Pie?" Udan asked.
"We told her that we bring smiles to ponies in distress." Toola stated. "That's something she can approve of."
"Good. You've got all your bases covered." Udan said with a grin.
"What about Princess Luna?" Starsong asked.
"I would think that you three and Celestia would have the sense to hide the Business from her. She doesn't need to know." Sagari stated. "She has enough to deal with as it is. She doesn't need to worry about ponies like us."
"Besides, were Toola to go up to her and perform the no-contact contract, that might prompt some curiosity." Udan added.
"You mean the Rite of the Friendly Stranger." Sagarai corrected. "And you don't need to do that unless she's been made aware of us already."
"Do not fret, Phuri Dai." Toola said. "I do not intend for her to find out."
Starsong and Udan suddenly became very interested in the scenery.
- - -
"Have the two of thee ever read of Arcadia?" Cynthia asked her companions as they trotted along a cobblestone path through a copse of trees.
"Of course. It's part of what's known as 'classical education." Lime replied.
"Most of the upper class derides it as a fantasy for the lower tiers." Bouton added. "But there is something rather appealing about the tamed wilderness."
"That be of what this reminds me." Cynthia said, motioning around to the trees. "While my sister hath had parks constructed within Canterlot, this feels more natural."
Lemon stopped and looked around. "Other than the lack of a defined border, I don't see much of a difference."
"Neither do I, but I think I know what she means." Bouton added. "The parks were built on a foundation of stone. The soil, plants, and other features had to be brought in from elsewhere. This right here, is original."
Cynthia leaned over to Bouton and grinned. "Art thou certain thou doth not have an earth pony ancestor lurking in thy family tree?"
Bouton rubbed her chin in thought. "The nobility keeps accurate records of such things going back for the past millennium. But there could have been something from before that. there's a noticeable lack of information prior to you and your sister coming to power. For obvious reasons though."
"Aye." Cynthia nodded. She made her way to one of the trees. "But let that pass. The past is the past." She found an open patch of dirt, and rubbed her hoof into the soil. "I can feel the care that goes into the land."
Bouton and Lemon both came over, and pressed their hooves into the soil. "I feel a little silly doing this." Lemon stated.
Bouton chuckled. "I can just imagine what the upper classes would think if they could see this. A famous model getting in touch with nature."
"Aye, I believe the term for this be 'Flowerfoal'. It wast explained to me last night. Any non earth pony who tries working with the soil."
"Does that include you and Celestia?" Bouton asked.
Cynthia thought for a moment. "Yes, I suppose that it does."
"I've heard of getting in touch with your roots." Lemon began. "But I never thought I'd be doing it literally."
All three laughed.