5142255 The coffee and flatbread order? The tenth try will get it correct, although actual deliveries to Princess Luna instead of Celestia's test request will take another five tries and full four hours of poetry reading to the kitchen staff. Only one of the post-Discord era poems finally gets them to follow up. Right after that poetry session Chief Cherrypicked and most of kitchen staff were in no state to finalize the request (or any, for that matter; some still attend therapy sessions), so a part-time intern kitchen helper on his first day at work, showing up for a late shift shortly after the poetry session was over, fulfilled the order to the dot and supplied Princess Luna with exactly what she requested. He was immediately promoted to the Chef of Night Kitchen, and the problems ended. Also, Sir Finery managed to pay his mortgage in full and seventeen years ahead of schedule through mere four hourly poetry reading sessions at the bank. Afterwards, poetry books appeared alongside weapons, explosives and mass destruction spells on the list of items not allowed to be carried into a bank.
As for the potion, at first the guards tried to be clever about the potions and would assign one of the thirty to tend for all the cauldrons while the remaining 29 would enjoy playing cards or other "manly entertainment". Roughly three months after starting, the guard on duty suffered severe indigestion and bungled his duty, leading to spoilage of all thirty batches. With the reduced numbers of cockatrices in the Everfree Forest the guards took another three months to finally get all thirty batches going again, reorganized themselves into much more disciplined manner and only spoiled fifteen of the batches before the full ten cauldrons were completed. Believing their task complete, they partied, and cheered spilling the remaining five still active cauldrons (mostly under a month until completion), to which Luna reminded them their duty is to keep making the potions continuously, and the ten was merely a bottom limit allowed, after which Luna would be able to grant them release. Which she didn't, bumping the limit to thirty successful batches.
Afterwards, six of them went AWOL, forming a band of mercenaries in the Caribou lands (and shortly met their demise in a skirmish against polar bears), one was released from duty after suffering a permanent injury in a fight with a manticore during the cockatrice hunt, and the remaining 23 resumed potion production. Only three batches were spoiled (from using Crocodile Tears instead of Liquid Pride at one point), but Luna didn't count it against them; upon completion of the remaining twenty batches they were all offered opportunity to transfer to a different unit. Only eight decided to call it quits, and the remaining fifteen choose to stay as the permanent crew of the station, producing many other time-consuming medicines and guarding roads through Everfree (which allowed Luna to begin restoration of the Castle of Two Sisters.)
6952027 1. I didn't have a good idea how to integrate it with the core story which is from Zecora's POV, 2. it took shape in my mind only much later, and 3. a clop chapter was long overdue, and this, as you see, is non-clop.
Jesus. How many syllables per word?
I wonder how long it will take them to finally get it right^^
5142255
The coffee and flatbread order? The tenth try will get it correct, although actual deliveries to Princess Luna instead of Celestia's test request will take another five tries and full four hours of poetry reading to the kitchen staff. Only one of the post-Discord era poems finally gets them to follow up. Right after that poetry session Chief Cherrypicked and most of kitchen staff were in no state to finalize the request (or any, for that matter; some still attend therapy sessions), so a part-time intern kitchen helper on his first day at work, showing up for a late shift shortly after the poetry session was over, fulfilled the order to the dot and supplied Princess Luna with exactly what she requested. He was immediately promoted to the Chef of Night Kitchen, and the problems ended. Also, Sir Finery managed to pay his mortgage in full and seventeen years ahead of schedule through mere four hourly poetry reading sessions at the bank. Afterwards, poetry books appeared alongside weapons, explosives and mass destruction spells on the list of items not allowed to be carried into a bank.
As for the potion, at first the guards tried to be clever about the potions and would assign one of the thirty to tend for all the cauldrons while the remaining 29 would enjoy playing cards or other "manly entertainment". Roughly three months after starting, the guard on duty suffered severe indigestion and bungled his duty, leading to spoilage of all thirty batches. With the reduced numbers of cockatrices in the Everfree Forest the guards took another three months to finally get all thirty batches going again, reorganized themselves into much more disciplined manner and only spoiled fifteen of the batches before the full ten cauldrons were completed. Believing their task complete, they partied, and cheered spilling the remaining five still active cauldrons (mostly under a month until completion), to which Luna reminded them their duty is to keep making the potions continuously, and the ten was merely a bottom limit allowed, after which Luna would be able to grant them release. Which she didn't, bumping the limit to thirty successful batches.
Afterwards, six of them went AWOL, forming a band of mercenaries in the Caribou lands (and shortly met their demise in a skirmish against polar bears), one was released from duty after suffering a permanent injury in a fight with a manticore during the cockatrice hunt, and the remaining 23 resumed potion production. Only three batches were spoiled (from using Crocodile Tears instead of Liquid Pride at one point), but Luna didn't count it against them; upon completion of the remaining twenty batches they were all offered opportunity to transfer to a different unit. Only eight decided to call it quits, and the remaining fifteen choose to stay as the permanent crew of the station, producing many other time-consuming medicines and guarding roads through Everfree (which allowed Luna to begin restoration of the Castle of Two Sisters.)
5142406 ha!
5142406
It's perfect. Why isn't this part of the story proper?
6952027
1. I didn't have a good idea how to integrate it with the core story which is from Zecora's POV, 2. it took shape in my mind only much later, and 3. a clop chapter was long overdue, and this, as you see, is non-clop.