//------------------------------// // Atlas Shrugged // Story: Love Is A Miracle // by Prophetic Brony //------------------------------// Love Is A Miracle Chapter 5: Atlas Shrugged Stella Canterbury looked out the window of her spacious top floor office. From there she could see the city skyline stretch out to the outskirt limits. She found it relaxing to take in the grand sight, especially at night. On a clear day she could even see the PNVL facility with the help of her telescope. A large white telescope with gold trim stood next to the window, pointed out towards the city. She let out a breath and hesitantly put her eye up to the lens to see through it. No sooner did she look then she scowled and stepped back. Stella immediately closed the curtains behind her, shutting out the beautiful view. The businesswoman walked over to her large desk; it was made of mahogany, with six drawers on each side; on the surface of the desk a blue felt protective cover, two fancy gold trimmed wooden cups filled with pens and pencils flanking a personal fountain pen set in the center with a name plate bearing her full name and motto: Stella Danielle Canterbury, “Energy and Persistence Conquer All Things.” She sat down in a large wooden swivel chair with blue cushioning and began to go over several documents for her to sign. A classical phone, more fancy than practical, sat at her right hand. The phone’s body was rounded at the bottom yet daintily tapered at the top with a large metal carrier shaped into two hooks for the receiver. The receiver’s center was a gold tinted metal with white ends. Stella busied herself with reading every line of the form until a pleasant chime from her phone sounded out the tune of Vivaldi’s Spring Concerto from the Four Seasons. She gently lifted the receiver and put it to her ear. “Yes?” “Miss Canterbury, your guests have arrived,” informed a male voice on the other end. “Thank you. Send them in,” she replied and set the receiver down. She smiled as the double doors opened to allow two men and a woman followed by a lavender unicorn with a purple and fuchsia mane into her office. --- Twilight Sparkle saw the double doors open and was met by a room which to her would have amounted to an audience chamber. The office, as it was called, had white marble floors with a wide blue carpet with golden trim running from the door to the desk in the center. Large blue curtains surrounded the farthest side of the office, covering what would have to be several large windows behind the central desk. Three large bookshelves lined the wall to the left along with several potted plants set between each shelf. She saw a smaller desk to the right for what she assumed to be for a secretary along with four wood framed couches with blue cushions. A large wooden conference table with ten chairs was set next to a wall with a large flat screen video monitor mounted. The unicorn’s eyes went over to the woman behind the large desk in the center, standing up and walking around to meet her. The first thing Twilight picked up was the graceful manner in which she moved. The woman’s long pale blonde hair seemed to flow elegantly behind her as she approached. Twilight could see this woman was much taller than Tiffany, appearing to possess maturity and wisdom well beyond her well preserved features. Tiffany and Sean both nodded in greeting as Stella looked at them quickly before addressing the pony. “Greetings again, Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Canterbury Tower, the corporate headquarters of E-quest Corp. I am Stella Danielle Canterbury, president and owner,” she said. Twilight looked up at Stella in awe. She felt as though she were in the presence of Princess Celestia and desired to bow in reverence. “Y-your highness, I am honored to meet you,” she quickly said. Stella chuckled a little and brought her hand up to her mouth in amusement. “Oh my, so respectful,” she said and smiled while looking at Twilight, “Please, there is no need for such words. I am not of royal standing, just a very successful businesswoman who has the pleasure of meeting our first guest from another dimension.” “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean any offense,” Twilight blurted out in embarrassment, “You just reminded me of Princess Celestia.” “In Twilight’s world, you’re a princess, Miss Canterbury,” Tiffany explained. “Oh? Well that is a surprise. So this, ah, pony version of myself is a good ruler?” Stella asked with pleasant curiosity. Twilight‘s eyes lit up as she spoke. “Yes, certainly! She’s the best princess ever, uh-” “Just call me Miss Canterbury. Please, tell me about your princess,” Stella said. “Right. Princess Celestia is a great white alicorn who rules over Equestria. Her mane and tail is a flowing cascade of blue, green, and pink and she has a sun shaped cutie mark,” Twilight began to explain. “I beg your pardon, but what is a ‘cutie mark’?” Stella inquired. “That’s what we call the markings on our side,” Twilight said, turning her body to show off the star shaped cutie mark on her flank. “All ponies get them when they reach a certain age and learn what their special talent is.” “So that is what you call them. I remember noticing these ‘cutie marks’ when I was looking into your world. I could tell they had some sort of importance and they were of various styles but we still had not determined what their significance was. It was in my earlier reports during the observation phase,” Tiffany stated. “Didn’t you coin the term ‘rump stamps’ during this phase?” Sean whispered to Tiffany. “No that was you,” Tiffany whispered back, “I called them flank markings in the official report.” “So all of your kind have these markings then. Now, I understand you are a unicorn and there are pegasi and regular ponies so just what type of pony is an alicorn?” Stella asked. “Princess Celestia has the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. She can fly and cast spells; she’s the most powerful magic user in all of Equestria and is responsible for the daily rising of the sun. She’s also my teacher and mentor. I met her on the day of try outs for Princess Celestia’s Magical School for Gifted Unicorns. During the entrance exam, my magic got out of hoof. Fortunately she was nearby and brought it under control. She made me her personal student and I’ve been learning magic from her ever since,” Twilight concluded. The unicorn then stepped closer to examine Stella. The woman noticed the motion and simply observed as she was being scrutinized. “Miss Canterbury, if you don’t mind my asking, what do you do? If you’re not a princess or rule a nation then how do you dimensionally anchor Princess Celestia?” Stella raised her eyebrows at the question and smiled gently. “Well, I do administer over my domain which is a multi-national corporation involved in various industries, agriculture, and business ventures. The money I make from business I use to expand and invest into the corporation or fund scientific research for projects which interest me; space travel had been my main goal until Doctor Sparks‘s success gave me a new frontier to explore. I am responsible for the larger decisions of management, the overall vision and direction of this company as well as the welfare of my employees.” “She also funds several charity initiatives locally, nationally, and globally,” Tiffany quickly added, drawing a subtle but polite rebuke from Stella. “I believe there is more virtue in anonymous charity. There is a term which determines it is better to ‘let not the left hand know what the right hand is doing’ regarding charity,” Stella stated. Tiffany looked down, slightly embarrassed and aware of being chastised. “Sorry, I just didn’t want Twilight to be disappointed by her princess’s dimensional anchor,” Tiffany said softly while wringing her hands together. Twilight smiled a little at her human self, “I would have done the same thing too.” “I believe you already were, Twilight Sparkle. Tell me, does Princess Celestia get over involved in affairs? Does she micro-manage or weigh heavily her will and decisions of state on your people?” Stella continued. “No, never. She usually only gets personally involved in direct threats to Equestria like Nightmare Moon or Changeling invasions. Most of the smaller matters are delegated to local ponies like Ponyville’s Mayor Mare,“ Twilight explained. She then brought a hoof up to her chin as she continued to remember past events, “She’s even delegated a lot of very important tasks too. There was one time when she put me in charge of removing a sleeping dragon. His snoring caused so much smoke it would have covered all of Equestria for a hundred years if he had been allowed to sleep in that cave. Most of the time she really just lets us solve our own problems. Occasionally special circumstances draw her attention like Parasprite infestations or that time I cast the ‘Want It, Need It’ spell-” Twilight stopped herself abruptly and covered her mouth with her hoof. The shade of red on her cheeks grew deeper in embarrassment as she remembered how out of hoof Ponyville had become on that day. She quickly dismissed the event with a wave of her hoof and a laugh before she continued on, “Anyways, the point is that she is not oppressive at all. Not like King Sombra was. Most of the time she spends it meeting with ponies, teaching about friendship, and sharing the wisdom she’s accumulated from living for over a thousand years.” Tiffany and Sean looked at Twilight curiously over the sudden self-interruption before their eyes widened at how old Princess Celestia was. Stella smiled and let out a wistful sigh. “Oh, the wisdom such age would bring and yet I do not find myself desiring that. She indeed sounds like a fine ruler. In fact I believe she would make an excellent CEO. I typically only get involved in specific matters while my managers run the day to day details. Normally I only have to focus in creating a guidance for my company while leaving me free to pursue interests,” Stella explained before narrowing her eyes. “Normally?” Twilight asked. “These past several years have grown harder to do so. More so then any other time I can recall, even before my company expanded to what it is today…” --- “…and the meeting with the official from the EPA went how well, Mary?” Stella asked. She walked next to a woman with well kept short gray hair which was tied back, wearing half moon bifocals, a white blouse, teal skirt and blazer. “About as well as you expected, ma’am. I tried to explain how our PNVL facility is already up to code with regards to industrial chemical storage and usage regulations but she would not hear it. I showed her the Material Safety Data Sheets, our independent research, all the manufacturing delivery data we compiled and it made no difference. We do not store or use one of the chemical agents that is pre-mixed into a industrial compound we purchase from the manufacturer. There should not have to be a need to comply with the regulations for storing the agent, only the compound which is present. All the data should have explained how once the agent is mixed into the compound it is in the compound and no longer independent. We used their own regulatory guidance to try and explain this,” Mary stated, trying desperately to hide the frustration in her voice. “And what did she say then?” Stella calmly asked. “She said, and I am paraphrasing here, that she did not care if the chemical agent was present onsite or not, how much it would cost us to comply, or what data we bring to her. If we do not comply with the regulation she will shut us down and put us out of business,” Mary stated and huffed a little as she recalled the arrogant demeanor of the bureaucrat. Stella chuckled a little at Mary’s indignation. She sympathized with her irritation for the bureaucracy they dealt with. Her amusement died quickly when she reached her conclusion regarding the matter, “Then we have no choice but to comply. I cannot run a business above the law. I have already had finance run the numbers and determine how to allocate the budget to comply with the regulations.” Mary’s face turned downward in sadness, “Then we will not be expanding our business investments in the east coast?” Stella shook her head. “It is already so expensive to operate in most of that area. Overregulation there is what forced me to establish PNVL in this state. It was either hold back growth in that area or cancel Polly’s hospital charity program,” she explained. Mary nodded sadly, “I understand, ma’am. It’s just, there are so many people there who could have used the jobs your expansion would have created.” “I know you came from that area, Mary, and again I am sorry. The fact that we cannot even be certain just how high the tax rate will be in a given year is making it all the harder to plan that much farther ahead,” Stella replied. “It’s not your fault. Anyways, the representative from the construction trade unions is here, along with the members from the Senate revenue committee to seek your support,” Mary stated, putting most emotion behind her. Stella could still pick up on the underlying tone in her voice regarding the two factions and again sympathized. She had no desire to talk to either as well. “Very well then. I will speak to the Senate committee members first. I suppose I should pay them the courtesy. I trust the union rep will not be too adverse to having to wait,” Stella said. “No doubt he will, especially if he is in a hurry to get to the next ‘senior leadership retreat’ event they waste so much of their union dues on,” Mary humph’d in contempt. They continued walking down the hallway of Canterbury Tower to Stella’s office where Mary opened the door, allowing Stella to enter. She saw the delegation was already seated at the conference table in her office. “Good day ladies and gentlemen. I take it the trip from DC was a pleasant one?” Stella politely greeted as she addressed the five members of the committee. Three men and two women in formal business attire stood up and offered to shake hands in turn. They all wore visitor badges, one carried a briefcase, while others held a folder. “Just fine, ma’am. This hasn’t been our first stop though; we’ve been going across the country trying to drum up support for the President’s efforts to generate more revenue,” explained a middle aged man. “You mean raise taxes,” Stella corrected. “The administration has been a solid supporter of business and free enterprise. Unfortunately, if we are to close the gap on our deficit spending then we need to find more revenue. We are just trying to appeal to business owners like yourself to aide our efforts in passing legislation in Washington,” explained the first man. Stella took a second to read the names on each of the visitor badges: Thomas Sedgewick, Rita Lawrence, Alfred Johnson, Richard Cohen, Jessica Hamm. They all sat down at the table to begin their meeting with Stella at the head of one side, Mary taking a seat to her immediate right, and the rest taking seats at the side. Thomas, the de facto leader of this group, took the other side’s end. “I believe your calls to ask for more revenue are going to meet a lot of resistance, especially in the House and from members of the Senate as well. Members within your own party I believe,” Stella calmly informed. “Which is why it is critical we have your support. We’ve already spoken to several of your constituency and many have signed on. Your name would be added to a growing list of civic minded business leaders,” Thomas continued. “I cannot find much benefit to having the tax rate raised on businesses, their owners, and the populace in general. I am afraid you may have some trouble convincing me to agree to such,” Stella replied with a hint of a smile. “You have to understand, the President has been making calls to raise the tax rate for those who can afford to pay just a little more, not everyone. If only just the highest income earners could contribute more we could help save this economy. The revenue from raising the corporate tax rate would go a long way to aiding us in closing some of the budget gaps alone. This in turn would allow us to free up more money to invest in the business sector to help create more jobs. Creating more jobs is something we have all been focused on all these years,” Thomas stated, gesturing with his hands while he did. “So you plan on spending the extra revenue not on paying down the deficit but on another stimulus package?” Stella asked in clarification. “Of course. The last stimulus package did wonders in pulling our country out of the recession. We should be able to do more if we can just guarantee the revenue, push it through Congress, convince others to sign on; you would be doing wonders to help the country, and in turn yourself. The more people working and off unemployment, the more people can buy things for themselves again,” Thomas continued. Stella’s mouth narrowed and she looked at Mary, “I believe you ran the unemployment numbers in Pennsylvania to me just the other day, didn’t you, Mary?” “Yes ma’am. Along with several other states you were considering expansion into,” Mary replied. “You know, every time I look at those numbers, Mr. Sedgewick, I can’t help but wonder just what good the past, three I believe, stimulus packages did. Unemployment still seems to be hovering around eight percent, even after four years. That, unfortunately, is only the number reflecting those who are still applying for unemployment benefits,” Stella said. “Ma’am, I don’t know what data you have been looking at, but the unemployment rate has dropped several times. The economy is recovering, just very slowly. We need to continue investing to keep the recovery going,” Thomas stated. The other members of the committee had been quiet the entire time but had begun to grow somewhat concerned at Stella’s questions. Their faces even displayed a quickly hidden hint of irritation. “I think you know which numbers I look at. They are only the same numbers the national labor bureau compiles. Your administration releases the jobs numbers and the unemployment rate but never mentions specific details, especially those concerning the Americans who have stopped looking for work or can no longer apply for unemployment benefits. Once they stop looking or cannot apply then you simply stop counting them. When you stop counting those individuals then you can say unemployment has ‘dropped’ when in fact it is closer to fourteen percent or more. Mr. Sedgewick, I was hoping for at least a little more accuracy,” Stella said. “Look, the unemployment numbers not withstanding, the purpose is still the same. We want your support in the revenue legislation,” Thomas said. “I don’t think I would want to sign my name to a measure that will only succeed in confiscating the hard earned wealth from more businesses and Americans,” Stella concluded, folding her hands in front of her. “But you don’t understand; the revenue increase will not take money away from the lower income earners, only the ones who make more than a certain amount and are in the higher tax brackets. These are the people like yourself who can afford to pay more,” countered Rita, one of the younger looking members of the committee. Stella looked at the young woman and smiled at her as though she were a granddaughter. “My dear young lady, people like myself who ‘make more’ are not affected by the earned income tax rate. My earnings come from investments and stock holdings, portfolios and such. When you have other individuals like myself claiming to want to raise taxes because my rate is lower than others it is because we are being taxed on different holdings then my manager here,” she said and motioned towards Mary, “Also, the notion that to raise such taxes would only make me ‘sacrifice’ one more lavish vacation or buying an expensive car is rather uninformed. Smaller business owners need that money in order to expand their business or invest in improvement. What you fail to inform the public, is by increasing taxes and making businesses have to pay more for their operation, the business must then charge more for their products and services. That cost is then passed down to consumers. The same goes for my business. The more I have to spend on taxes the less I have to put into another venture which creates more jobs or save a business; preventing it from closing and losing those jobs.” “That is what we are trying to do. The stimulus alone is responsible for saving millions of jobs,” countered Richard, a young man in his late twenties. “By investing it into the failed businesses of many of your administrations political supporters and bundlers. Even those businesses which have not failed are once again teetering on the edge of insolvency. Just like those businesses which did not learn to change their failing policies, the people you represent continue to push for the same policies which have not lifted this country’s economy. I believe the practice of doing the same action and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity,” Stella stated firmly. “I understand that perhaps some things have not turned out quite as well as many of us have hoped. We truly thought this recession would have been completely over by now. One thing we would like to as well,” Thomas pivoted in an attempt to be diplomatic, “is to hear ideas from business leaders like yourself. We know you have concerns and we welcome such advice.” “I have offered many ideas, but never seem to receive any response. I do not see why, we have had many examples of policies which have proven their effectiveness in the past. One such idea is to lower the tax rate across the board, reduce capital gains tax, and business tax. When we have more revenue to spend on our business we can grow the economy ourselves without the need for government interference and stimulus packages,” Stella explained cheerily. “But then we can’t afford to run the government. How can you expect us to continue running up more deficit spending? The President has been working to reduce our deficits from the beginning of his term,” Thomas replied. “Then you do what every normal person does and cut down your spending. There are numerous programs and departments which can be cut. I could point them out to you simply based on the reports I receive from my managers who have to interact with them. The sheer amount of programs doing the same thing is wasteful for both the government and my company,” Stella offered. “We are always looking to reduce the waste but its going to take more than just cutting a program here or there to close the gap. More revenue is the only answer to this problem, Miss Canterbury,” Thomas countered. “I wasn’t finished. You need to cut the entitlement spending programs which have swelled over these past decades. Rather than reduce poverty, it has only created a citizenry with the mentality that they can live comfortably without ever going to work. When people do not have any incentive to change their behavior and are instead rewarded for not working then what possible reason would they want to look for employment. The tax money you collect is instead frivolously spent and results in more people applying for your government aide programs,” Stella added. “I find that rather heartless of you,” snapped Jessica, “there’s so many people who need those programs just to survive!” “Some people, true, there are those who are incapable of working to support themselves,” Stella nodded, “However, the programs are created as such to be easily taken advantage of by people who are capable of working. These people then in turn continue to apply for such benefits to the point where they make more by being on welfare then actually working. Since these benefits are discontinued once they find employment there isn’t much motivation to do so. Why work for less money when you can simply get more for free?” “You have a very skewed view of people,” Jessica replied indignantly. “On the contrary, I believe I hold a very realistic view of human nature. It is unchanging; a force no different today than hundreds of years ago. Virtue must be taught, we are not simply born with it. After so many generations of people not being taught the virtue of hard work, it is sorely lacking. This administration continues to promote more dependency rather then independence because to try and cut these programs would be politically unpopular. In the meantime, you demonize people like myself for being wealthy and blame us for the difficult condition people are living in. I find it ironic since the wealthy people of this nation are the ones paying the greatest majority of the taxes being levied,” Stella concluded. Thomas shook his head and shrugged to the other members, “Alright then, I think I can take the hint-” “If I believed that, I would not be here addressing so many concerns. If cutting spending is too difficult then try loosening up the regulations so we would not have to spend so much on compliance. The extra costs on our economy just to comply with federally mandated regulations is in the billions. My finance department must set aside and allocate enough money in the budget to do so; money which could be spent, again, on job growth,” Stella quickly followed up. “Whoa whoa, for someone having such a negative view on human nature, now suddenly you have enough faith in others that we need to roll back regulations and let businesses run wild? Regulations are needed to keep bad businesses in line so they don’t cheat people,” stated Alfred. “There is already plenty of regulation in place as it is. Most of them coming from bureaucracies with no real understanding of how business is run or what effect they will have. If I were to try and start up a business like this one today I would never have gotten past the levels of red tape, paper work, and fees necessary. All this over regulating has done is strangle businesses from ever starting or hobble them from being able to function,” Stella countered. “But it’s for the good of the people. We can’t just let businesses run wild and do whatever they want. We need environmental regulations and business regulations to punish those who would break the law,” Alfred reiterated. “And you establish such regulations from your offices in Washington to enforce them across the country when the local state laws were already in place. Nor do they consider the fact that each state has different conditions which must be deal with locally. Your one size fits all federal regulations only add more bureaucracy and does nothing to help at a local level,” Stella finished. The business woman then looked at the clock and smiled at everyone, “Gentlemen, ladies, I believe we have come to the conclusion of this meeting. Thank you all so much for coming. I look forward to future correspondence, be certain to give your constituents my regards and pass along my ideas.” Thomas shrugged and began standing up. The others followed suit and gathered their belongings before filing out the door. They were cordial in their farewells but the mood in the room had cooled. None of the members appeared satisfied by the results, with most of them giving Stella wary glances as they left. “So, do you think any of them learned something?” Mary asked once she was certain no one would hear her. “Doubtful but I always hope. Now then, why don’t we make ourselves acquainted with our next guest,” Stella declared. Mary left the office and retrieved a man in a gray business suit in the outer reception area. He advanced and offered his hand when he got within arms length. “Miss Canterbury, I’m Leon DeGeneres, with the construction trade workers union,” the man introduced as they shook hands. “Good day, Mr. DeGeneres,” Stella greeted. “Now then, what is it you wished to discuss?” Leon chuckled and put his hands to his sides. “I’ll get to the point then. The union took note that in the last bid for the construction contracts at the PNVL facility, your contracting department went with all the non-union construction companies. I came here to appeal to your good senses as to how critical it is that the union is given this contract.” “I have reviewed the terms my head of contracting established and am in full agreement. We have already drafted up the contracts, so if you came with a counter offer then I’m afraid you are too late,” Stella replied. “Well that’s just it. You know, the union is made up of hard working Americans and in these times we could use all the work we can get to make ends meet. I am hoping you would reconsider for the sake of the workers,” Leon said. “Unfortunately, we are past that stage now. It would not be good business to break a commitment we have already made,” Stella said. Leon’s face hardened and he became noticeably more belligerent, “Miss Canterbury, I don’t think you understand. The union wants this work and we are prepared to take whatever steps necessary to convince you to grant us this contract. Maybe you don’t realize it but this decision could be seen very unfavorably among many influential circles.” “Oh really?” Stella questioned, her face remaining calm. “The union has very powerful supporters in Washington. Not to be so blunt, but we will work with lawmakers to see our members receive their fair amount due. This contract is one of those things,” Leon said. “Ah yes, your friends in Washington, the ones whom you support with money from your membership dues. I am quite aware of that. I am also quite aware of how little regard you have for your ‘members’ whom you claim to represent. How many of them truly agree with the political views you support? Why is it that funds which are supposed to be used to aide union members in need, instead gets spent on political campaigns around the country to support certain candidates? I suppose it does help to have politicians in your back pocket so you can make threats like these. Perhaps it justifies your senior level management‘s pensions and corrupt spending,” Stella replied with a growing firmness to her voice. “I don’t care much for the accusations you’re making Canterbury. You know, things happen when you don’t acquire the ‘quality’ workmanship of the union. You can’t guarantee the work you hired won’t be shoddy or even up to code,” Leon countered. “Yes, I’ve long known some of the quality workmanship you espouse. I am more than aware of the many instances when your thugs have sabotaged facilities or bullied non-members and businesses who hired them, like that incident in Philadelphia not too long ago,” Stella crossed her arms and smiled, “You should know however, that I have my own security firm in full emplacement around my assets; the head of whom is a former Army special operations officer. I allocate to him a very good budget and encourage him to hire as many former military, law enforcement, and contract security operators. So many of your politicians played a part in the massive sequestration and cuts to our national defense budget which forced most of these service members to be ineligible to reenlist despite their good records of service. I believe you will find it very hard to follow through on any mischief your, ‘leadership’ if that is what such criminals can be called, decide to make. Indeed, God help whoever they send.” Leon frowned and let out a breath. His eyes bore anger but he held his tongue. He shook his head and snarled a terse ‘Goodbye’ before turning around and stormed out of the office… --- Stella could see the expression on Twilight’s face had grown rapt with a mix of curiosity and shock, “Oh, my apologies, Twilight. I had not realized I had run on so long. Actually I am surprised I was not interrupted sooner,” Stella quickly said. A knock at the door resounded and drew everyone’s attention. “Ah, there we are. I suppose she is right on time,” Stella declared. The door opened and a woman with similar features to Stella but slightly younger, a head shorter, with long black hair, wearing a slate blue blouse and midnight blue jacket and skirt. Around her neck was a silver chain with a small crescent moon pendant. She walked in quickly but came to a sudden stop when she saw Twilight. “Stella? Is this-?” “Good, you made it. I wanted you to be here and share in this event,” Stella said while walking over to the newcomer, “Twilight Sparkle, I would like you to meet my younger sister, Lucy.”