The news that Discord and Rosencross succeeded in activating another slab gave both hope and immense pressure to the remaining of Twilight’s friends.
While it confirmed that their efforts would be critically useful, it also meant that their immediate actions were sorely needed. Sadly, none of them knew exactly what they had to do in order to appease the Spirits of Harmony.
Moreover, the news that Twilight had returned could no longer be kept under wrap. Intrepid reporters from the Mirror who had caught sight of the purple mare in Ponyville began to ask questions, as well as interviewing the Zebricans, albeit with a lot of language difficulties.
At the end, Equestrians at large became aware of the return of Twilight Sparkle, their national hero, from the overseas. This caused quite a bit of ruckus, as well-wishers and reporters rushed to the treehouse library. It was only through the combination of royal decree that she had to get some rest, and the enforcement from Cruzesian soldiers outside the treehouse, that Twilight was able to recover in peace.
For the friends of Twilight, it was not a time of respite, however. Since Pinkie’s ad hoc pairing seemed to be working, the assigned pairs were compelled to see if living together might produce some results.
One such pair, Rarity and the antelope doe Verna, entered the Carousel Boutique.
“Vernie, watch out!” Rarity cried out in horror as the antelope simply leaped reflexively.
It was already too late, the jumpy antelope had already brought down the chandelier on the ceiling along with a whole row or mannequins and clothes onto herself.
“A- Are you alright?”
Verna popped her head out from the pile and grinned sheepishly. “Apologies, Lady Rarity.”
“I- It’s okay-”
“I must help patch things up.”
“It’s okay! Please, I can do it!”
Rarity yelled, causing Verna to stop in her track. The sleek antelope then sheepishly shook off the mess and stood next to the door.
“Sorry, pony houses are much shorter than what we antelopes are used to live in. I never felt comfortable walking in one.”
“No problem, Vernie, Pinkie often jumps around in here and… uh, well anyway, you just need to make yourself at home.”
Verna shook her head. “I can’t just make myself at home!”
“Eh? Why? Is there anything wrong? If the height of the ceiling really bothers you…”
Verna smilingly shook her head. “Nope.”
“Oh… Are you concerned that you have to live apart from Geuse?”
“No. As much as I want to live with Lady Geuse, Lady Twilight’s recovery is much more urgent not only for us, but for the welfare of the Zebricans as a whole as well. If that’s what it takes to make the Tree glow, then I’m more than glad to separate with her for some time. Certainly Lady Geuse would think so too.”
“I see, then what’s your concern?”
“I’m not a freeloader, Lady Rarity. If I’m to live here, I must earn my keep!”
Rarity looked at the collapsed mess and gulped. “Um… That’s fine…”
Verna sighed and gingerly grinned. “I know I made a bad first impression, but remember, I studied business at Sandcore! I know my way around numbers! Moneymaking is always my bread and butter.”
Rarity widened her eyes, and then genuinely smiled. “Ah, I almost forgot! Darling, that’s excellent! Can you do accounting?”
“Born to do it!” Verna proudly gestured to her chest.
Rarity awkwardly chuckled. “I happen to have received a number of orders for my boutique, dear, and I’m out of hooves to run through the balance sheet for the Raritan steel mills and mines. I’d be very thankful if you can help me audit the items a little bit. Of course, I’ll be paying you handsomely regardless.”
Verna perked up. “More bits is never bad! I’ve always admired Lady Rarity’s keen sense of industry. I’m always amazed when Lady Twilight mentioned who you turned the small starting fund into a booming business. But less talking, more working! Let me have a look at the balance sheet of my boss and benefactor!”
“T- Thank you, dear Vernie.”
Rarity covertly gulped, but maintained a gracious smile, and then took out a large book from her drawer with her magic. “This is a bit thick, please don’t be daunted by…”
Verna had already put on a monocle and going through the items swiftly, while flipping over and again occasionally.
She raised her head and gave her a reassuring wink. Rarity tentatively nodded and went back to her sewing work, her primary and personal interest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rarity smiled warmly. This was the first time in a few moons that she felt genuinely well.
Twilight was now back in the town. Although she’s not exactly in good shape right now, there was a relatively clear roadmap for her recovery.
She still missed the days when Trixie had been helping her out, as she was not the most dexterous mare outside of clothes making. Now that her roommate and guest proposed to help her on her own, it made her heart glow with joy, knowing that Twilight made good friends in Zebrica, as well as that she could be less busy with her moneymaking ventures.
Just when she was giving the finishing touch to her final dress, Verna stood up from the desk and walked briskly towards Rarity.
Rarity heard the distinctive clean trot of the antelope and turned with a smile.
“Is there anything that I can help?”
“No, Lady Rarity, I’ve already finished checking your balance.”
“Whoa, that’s indeed very quick! I myself would need at least half a day to d…”
Rarity paused and noticed the severe look on the antelope’s face.
“… Is there something wrong?”
“I admire Lady Rarity’s business acumen. The explosive growth is nothing short of amazing. Lady Rarity’s keen eyes for gem lodes, marvelous use of skilled diamond dog labor, as well as the artful persuasion with Equestrian officials are all worth volumes of business journals.”
“W- Well, you’re being too ki-“
Verna frowned deeply and gave Rarity a disapproving look. “But forgive me to say, you’re recently being way too much of a spendthrift! If you continue like this, you will run the very business empire that you built aground very soon!”
Rarity widened her eyes and yelped in shock. “H- How?”
“The growth of your gem and metal mining businesses has been going noticeably softer since half a year ago. And yet you’re paying your workers who only work 70% of the original time their full pay, this is incredibly wasteful! Just lay them off already!”
“Well, I- I disagree!” Rarity said with an aghast look. “I’m just giving my employees a living wage so that they can support themselves with what I paid them! When the demand rises again, I’ll need their work right away!”
“You also offer catering and time in the entertainment corner for workers in the mines and mills. What for? They can buy their own food and entertainment with their own wages. If they want more, they should work harder for more bonuses.”
“A happy workforce makes for a well-run company.”
“Okay, then what about the company buggies?”
“That’s necessary! How else are our workers going to travel from one place to another?”
“Can’t they just take the rail? I’m sure Lady Applejack will be more than glad to offer chartered train rides for a reasonable price. Or failing that, they can hitchhike on the transport boats. Or shared rides. Every solution will be cheaper than free buggies for everyone.”
“But the buggies are part of our company welfare. Our workers use the buggies to travel from home and sometimes to Canterlot as well! We need to do our best to attract labor force, which is very tight in recent days.”
“Lady Rarity, they are menial labor! They don’t deserve such pay! And they don’t need so much pampering at all to retain, be they ponies or mere dogs!”
“Verna. They’re diamond dogs.”
Rarity said with a raised voice. “I don’t like that implication that our workers are anything less than someone that we should treat with respect.”
“I don’t mean that!”
Verna looked irritated. “Very well, I will not talk about the ridiculous benefits of your company. What about all these ‘corporate social responsibility’ items? They are almost a quarter of all expenditures, and they all look readily eliminable!”
“They are not useless! They’re the ways that we as a business give back to the community that allows it to thrive!”
“So that’s why you have a municipal service fund that takes up to 5% of your revenue? Why? They collect taxes in Equestria, don’t they? You’re not supposed to chip in when they accidentally shove money instead of firewood into the bureaucratic machinery.”
Rarity frowned at the antelope’s antagonistic tone. “They do, yes, but Ponyville is expanding quickly, so we’re obligated, as one of the biggest employers in the city, to provide extra funds in order for the services to catch up. This need will be more pronounced with the recent influx of Cruzesians and Zebricans, and we can’t possibly cut on that part.”
Verna shook her head. “This is the responsibility of the city government, not the Raritan Industries. The aim of any business venture is to make money.”
“I don’t-”
Verna already shifted onto the next topic. “Let’s see… Okay, we have this Cedar Canopy fellow… the ‘Chief Greenskeeper’ of Raritan. What exactly does he do to warrant eight hundred bits a moon? That kind of money can feed a family of four for two moons! It said in another document that he somehow ‘promotes environmentally responsible industrial practice’…?”
“He’s a cousin of Mr. Greenhooves, our resident gardener. He didn’t have much luck finding a gardening after his uncle, so Fluttershy brought him to me, and I gave him a job. He needs the bits to enroll into self-improvement programs in the local trade school.”
“But what does promoting environmentally responsible industrial practice exactly entail?”
“He talks with our miners and other workers about the importance of not polluting the environment.”
“… That’s it?”
Rarity winced. “He’s originally also to oversee the actual anti-pollution efforts, like diverting the water source from the Saddle River to underground water, and cleaning up the mining waste, but he… uh, still has to learn about most of these concepts.”
“So you basically paid a fortune to hire someone not at all qualified!”
Rarity bit her lips, but Verna simply continued.
“… What about this one, moon pay a thousand bits… ‘The Director of Good’. What does that even mean?”
“Thistle Wreath promotes community relations of our company.”
“She spent a lot of bits just to hire three ‘strategic promoters’, which, upon my careful inspection, are just three guys walking around Ponyville with a billboard attached to their back.”
“They are employees with, uh… special needs, which we hired to fulfill our social responsibility. What they are doing are suitable to their skill set. They’re very happy that they can finally earn bits with work.”
Verna blinked and continued. “She also put up a giant advertising billboard facing the Everfree forest. I have a slight feeling that it might not be the most crowded place in Equestria.”
Rarity sighed heavily, and said. “Okay, I admit that might not be the best place to put the billboard. But actually, the billboard is part of a community project that we sponsor to help local artists and designers, the lead designer asked me to give him full control over the artistic expression, which I allowed. He eventually decided that the sense of mystery blends well with Raritan’s image of a harmony between nature and extravagance, so-”
“So at the end buck all would read the billboard because only zebras live inside the Everfree, and they can’t read Equestrian.”
Verna huffed. “Lady Rarity, I have always been the one who look after the finance during my time serving Lady Geuse. I might sound like I’m stinking of money, but I’ll not shy away to say that I value frugality and efficient spending. Moneymaking is a noble pursuit in of itself. When I see wastefulness like this, it makes me cringe!”
“I disagree that those cases are wasteful…”
Rarity tried to sound diplomatic. “What I’m doing has always been to help people help themselves, while maintaining a reasonable profit to keep us going.”
“But Lady Rarity, your company is swimming at the border of red and black for the last two moons! With the extra expenditures related to Lady Twilight’s return this moon, the cash flow will likely be crunched in under than a moon! Two moons if we count the reserve fund belonging to Lady Twilight, and I trust you wouldn’t want to tap into those.”
“I can’t possibly do anything to the workers. If they’re laid off, they’d have to live on the street!”
“Lady Rarity, you’re running a business, not a charity! At some point, there must be hard decisions to take. Besides, you can’t just hire but never fire, it just doesn’t work!”
“I’m running a social enterprise, I have to take care of my employee’s welfare as if it’s my own, and give a positive impact to the place where we’re doing businesses in!”
“This sounds great and all, but if your business collapses, then not just the employees, but you’d also have to live in the street as well. You can’t just hand out perks like candies and expect it to be sustainable! These workers are supposed to be persons responsible of themselves!”
Finally, Rarity could take it no more. “Verna, you’re overstepping your bound right now and I don’t appreciate it! I hire you not to lecture me on how I do things, but only to check whether there is any irregularities with our balance!”
“And I did my job. Whether you take my advice or not is up to you, Lady Rarity. I have jotted down some remarks and produced a financial summary moonwise and half-yearwise, in case you’re interested in reading them over. My Equestrian is not perfect, but it should be passable, especially since it’s mostly numbers.”
The levity in Verna’s tone was all gone, her expression was chilling. “Lady Rarity, I might sound like a mean and greedy antelope to tell you to tighten the saddle straps. If you think so, I shall excuse myself. Think of my work as a payment for the damage I caused to your interior.”
The antelope then bit her lips. “I still care for Lady Twilight, but I need some time on my own. I hope that you would think about this on your own as well.”
She then simply walked out of the boutique without a word.
Rarity grumbled. While the initiatives singled out by Verna sounded somewhat wasteful, it was her small contribution towards the vision of a better society. She never set up the businesses just to earn money for herself, but to give as much as she could. It would be totally against her nature to dismantle those benefits, however draining they’re to the company.
She then sat down in front of the thick balance book.
Despite their disagreement, she couldn’t help but admire Verna’s handiwork. True to her claim, she was proficient in accounting work. The amount of cash on hoof, detailed condition of the inventory, lands and investment, all were reorganized neatly in her updated general ledger.
Her report was nearby, and it was dotted with issues and concerns highlighted by the antelope. While her language was mostly subdued and professional, it did not hide her genuine worry about the state of the company she barely had any ties towards.
The white unicorn sighed. Perhaps she was a bit too stubborn. The expenditures related to the fulfillment of her generous promises were indeed increasing exponentially.
She set up her businesses mainly to find bits to satisfy the need to fulfill her promises. In a way, it was like digging a well to find more water. But as her businesses grew, the number of ponies and non-ponies alike who came for her help grew as well.
To extend the metaphor, she could not dig the wells faster than the number of drinkers grew. And if she was to be honest with herself, some of her promises over the moons were indeed a bit over the top. There was certainly a degree of creeping normality with her bigger and bigger spending.
Verna’s conclusion rang true. The cash flow of her businesses were under threat from her profligate company policies and giveaways.
She tutted her tongue. She could borrow some bits from Twilight’s reserve fund or Applejack to sate the temporary solvency issue. But like what Verna said, it was not a long-term solution. But how could she reduce the speed the bits bled out?
Increasing the earnings was what she was trying to do the whole time. But one simply did not suddenly expand in a commodity market with relatively stable demand. The building boom around Ponyville, aided by the recruitment of workers by Applejack, fueled the initial expansion of her mining businesses, but it had since slowed down.
She still had the advantage of having the incredibly efficient diamond dogs in her workforce, so she managed to carve out a portion of market for her gems and other ores. But competition from the seemingly unlimited supply from Saddle Arabia proved to be incredibly strong, so there was little she could do on that front.
She had also been working to translate her expertise on clothes making into larger scale production, despite a small part of her that thought it would make her interest in fashion design into a grueling routine.
But she didn’t even have the luxury of knowing whether this was true or not. The great expansion of the Apples’ farming enterprises had mopped up all the labor in and around the greater Ponyville area. Cotton and flax farmers were compelled to switch to other cash crops to feed into the industrial plants, or absorbed into the new industrial operations altogether.
Correspondingly, the expansion of farms led to an increase of wool production, but it did not solve the problem of the lack of farming labor and therefore raw materials. She had a small textile mill and clothes factory at the periphery of the town, but it was running a sharp deficit due to high cost. Expanding it would simply worsen the problem.
So at the end, she asked herself whether she had to cut down on her spending after all.
She felt terrible. It was like having to decide whether to cut off her right leg or left leg. She couldn’t possibly do this.
The white mare also regretted arguing with the antelope so much that she left. She was still uncomfortable with the idea of removing the benefits, and the antelope did sound strangely fixated on the idea of making more bits throughout their encounter. But ultimately she meant well, as she had no stake in her company whatsoever.
Eventually, she bit her lips and exhaled heavily. She was going to work even harder to bring Raritan back into the black. If she took more orders from the esteemed elites in Canterlot who would pay handsomely for her service, it might stabilize her finance at least for another moon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Rarity, Ah jus don’t think that it’s gonna work out.”
“I-”
“Nuh uh. Yer lucky Ah happened to be visitin’ you. If you keep on workin’ yourself into the hospital, then yer business will fold, no difference.”
Applejack admonished. “Ah know that, my brother knows that, we all should’ve learned this long ago. It’s only been three days since Twilight came back, and you already want to work yourself till your heart gives out.”
“But I have to go back! I can’t afford to lose track! Everything will turn into a mess without someone in charge!”
“Easy there, Rarity. Ah can take care of small stuffs while yer in the hospital, while you can decide on the bigger things. You should-“
“Excuse me! Please give way!”
A team of nurses rushed through the corridor, and Applejack swiftly pulled Rarity to the side. They were transporting a patient into the operation room.
However, when they got a better look of who’s on the stretcher, the two mares gasped aloud.
“Verna?!”
The antelope was bleeding profusely in the forehead and one of her forelegs. She was unconscious, and there were multiple gashing wounds on her body.
The two mares galloped to catch up with the medical staff.
“What happened to the patient?” Rarity asked worriedly.
“Excuse me, please don’t hinder our staff.”
Another nurse stopped them from chasing the stretcher. The white stallion with a caduceus as his cutie mark said. “Miss Rarity, Miss Applejack, even though you’re both important ponies in Ponyville, I must still confirm that you’re indeed related to the patient before we can divulge any information.”
“W- We’re Verna’s friends!” Applejack said hurriedly.
“Hmm, so you do know her. But she only told the diamond dogs who brought her here to look for someone named, uh… ‘Juice’?”
“Geuse is also our friend.” Rarity asserted. “We’ll notify her soon. But first, we’d like to know what’s going on.”
The nurse studied them for a moment, and then nodded. “Very well. The patient was recovered from a mine to the north of Ponyville. There has been a collapse.”
“W- What?!” Rarity yelped in horror, and Applejack also widened her eyes in shock.
The nurse gave the white unicorn a complicated look. “I’m afraid it’s one of the mines under your name, Miss Rarity. There seemed to be an explosion of sorts, and a few shafts collapsed. Miss Verna was nearby, and she rushed into the mines to help anyone who was trapped. Unbeknownst to her, no miner was in the mine at the time as it was at lunch. She herself was unfortunately trapped under the rubbles when the unstable mine collapsed further.”
Rarity felt a bit light in her head, but she steadied herself. She turned to Applejack and quickly said. “AJ, go get Geuse. She should be living right next to the Sugarcube Corner. I’ll be here tracking Verna’s status.”
Applejack tentatively nodded, but she added. “But you just…”
“I’m in a hospital right now, if I’m to faint again, there’s nowhere safer than being here. While you’re at it, please send for someone to look for Rover as well. He’s the diamond dog manager of the mines in Ponyville North. I want to know if anyone else is in danger.”
“… Take care, Rarity.” The orange mare nodded and bolted off quickly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“… Lady Rarity?”
The white unicorn shot up from her bedside nap and slightly yelped. “Verna? You’re awake! Thank goodness!”
The antelope looked a bit bemused at first, but then she was flustered by Rarity’s presence and attempted to turn her head.
“Aww!”
“Don’t turn your neck! It’s in a cast right now.”
“I- Is anyone else trapped down there?”
“Nope, no one. It was lunchtime, so no one’s down there.”
Verna first looked relieved, and then turned bashful immediately.
“… I’m so stupid.”
“No, you’re not! Trying to rescue someone in distress is not stupid.”
Rarity drew in a breath. “What are you doing around there anyway?”
Verna looked conflicted, and she seemed reluctant to speak.
Rarity frowned. “The mines are dangerous places! I demand all workers to wear safety gears at all times. It’s nowhere to fool around!”
“I- I’m not fooling around!”
“Then pray tell-“
Verna’s face reddened, but she burst out willfully. “I’m treading around your mines and mills to brainstorm a way to increase the revenue, since you’re so reluctant to cut down the expense. Does this sound like fooling around to you?”
She then squeezed out with her short forceful breaths. “I don’t want to see the fortune of someone I care for get ruined because of something that can be salvaged and prevented.”
Rarity sharply inhaled, and then she began to shake her head and said with an unsteady voice.
“Why do you care?”
Verna tutted slightly. “Lady Twilight’s companions all have a problem with overly burdening kindness, and I’m obligated to correct some of the excesses.”
“Don’t speak like you aren’t one of us, Vernie.”
Rarity wryly shook her head. “If you don’t care, you could just not do anything. Instead, you decide to go around and enable my ‘wasteful’ ways. You even rushed into the mines knowing that it would be dangerous.”
Verna’s mouth quivered, and she did not reply.
“Vernie. I don’t claim to know you very well, as we’ve met for only a short period of time. But I can see that behind your collected levity hides a very dedicated and stubborn antelope. There seemed to be some reasons behind… Are those why you’re so concerned about… money matters?”
Despite the pain, Verna grinned. “… Very well, Lady Rarity. I guess I’d have to be frank, or else I’d be forever seen as a stupidly greedy antelope fixated on earning more money.”
“I don’t mean-”
“I’m not shy to admit that I’m stingy, only that I’m not greedy. I appreciate moneymaking as an artful skill, but ultimately, I make money not just for making money.”
Verna then coughed, causing Rarity to frown. “Vernie, don’t overexert yourself yet.”
“I’m fine, Lady Rarity. I can’t rest anyway before I make my case.”
Verna then inclined her bed slightly upwards, and looked Rarity in the eyes. “I told you before, Lady Rarity, that I used to live in the lower rung of Timbucktu. I had been a servant girl since I was very young. But actually, there was a better time.”
“… So you’re like Geuse as well?”
Verna momentarily looked confused, and then she instinctively shook her head, in the process causing her to yelp out in pain.
“Careful!”
“Aw, aw!” Verna gritted her teeth, and then sheepishly grinned. “Oops, I forgot about my neck for a second… Anyway, I’m nowhere as prestigious as Lady Geuse. As antelopes, our status was limited in West Zebrican society. But still, I’m a Van der Does, the first patrician family of antelope origins in Timbucktu. My full name was Vernahinde Hooft van der Does... Quite pretentious sounding, isn’t it?”
“No at all.” Rarity gently chuckled. “… So you’ve had a wealthy life?”
“Not really. Way before I was born, our family name had already fallen into disrepute. There had been a great sandstorm that blocked the travel in the Great Desert for years, and my granddad, an ambitious antelope, decided to gamble big. He decided to sail our shipment through the famously treacherous Cape of Storms, which since the days of early settlement was rarely traversed. Unfortunately, he spent all the money into building the fleet, but the whole fleet was lost in a tremendous storm. As a result, the company went into insolvency. He himself was lost in the storm, while my father was forcefully dragged to the debtor’s prison. When he came out, he was another antelope entirely. Mom and I had to leave him before something worse could happen.”
Despite Rarity’s shocked look, Verna continued plainly. “Since then, my mom had raised me until I could fend for myself. Unfortunately, she had worked herself so much, that her heart gave out some years afterwards. From then on, I was on my own.”
“I- I’m so sorry…”
Verna tutted. “Back in Timbucktu, this kind of stories are dime a dozen.”
A pang of conflicted feelings ran through Rarity’s mind. She didn’t know whether to feel guilty or offended.
Verna’s gaze turned steely. “Sob stories don’t buy bread. The only way one can pull themselves out of misery is through the fruit of labor. It’s only fair and natural for fate to favor individual endeavors. We should not only welcome and applaud them, but to culture and reward them by not making a lack of skills and effort seems viable. I pull myself up from the lowest dreg by the bootstrap, and so should we all. I don’t think the way you show your generosity by showering the ones who surround you with perks would end well for either you or them.”
Rarity took a deep breath and asked. “Why do you think so?”
“Of course I admire your generosity, Lady Rarity, but I value fairness and self-improvement more. The way you’re pampering all these people give them an unrealistic outlook of the harshness of the real world. Access to wealth and prosperity should be contingent on hard work and ingenuity, not their blind luck of being near a generous mare named Rarity. Plus, no one is forever, and that includes you and me. Where would they be if you or your business, forgive my uncouth mouth, go pop?”
Rarity’s eyes twinkled. After a pause, she said. “True, no one is forever. But it’s my hope that my idea will last longer than me. And that idea is the idea of generosity and community.”
Verna blinked but said nothing.
“Just as my Element is the abstract concept of generosity, I want to plant the seed of the idea of generosity through my action. I admit that the details could be adjusted, but I don’t want to flip-flop on something I believe strongly about.”
The white mare then looked up in thought. “You know I live here with my little sis, right?”
“I’ve heard about that from Lady Twilight.”
“My pa and ma are… well, not the most anchored ponies. Other than a deed to this plot of land in Ponyville, they have left us with little belongings before they went on a cross-country trek. So from a young age, I too had to work my head until it span just to earn the bits to build the boutique which doubles as our home.”
“I never doubted your industriousness, Lady Rarity.”
“But the fact is, I could not have done that alone. When we first came to Ponyville, we knew nothing and no one. But help poured in from all corners. The Apples and Cakes gave me vastly discounted food until we could stand up on our own, the Silky Rolls, the resident textile merchant, allowed me to put the cloth I bought on the tab before I made the first sale. Even Dr. Whooves, a stallion just passing by, voluntarily helped us to erect the beams to the boutique when we’re too weak to do it ourselves and couldn’t afford to hire strong hooves. To the weak and powerless, unconditional help is like a shower of rain in a long drought. I’ve since taken the idea of being generous as my central tenet. By growing the community in the spirit of sharing and generosity, we’re also helping ourselves.”
Verna thought for a while, but she did not seem to be entirely convinced. “Let’s agree to disagree, Lady Rarity.”
“Why, Vernie? Didn’t you also injure yourself in order to help searching for any of the trapped miners? I doubt that you did that to squeeze bits from their relatives or cozy up to me.”
“T- That’s different!” Verna flustered. “When it comes to the matter of life and death, I will not hesitate to lend out my hooves. If one is no more, then there will not be a chance for him or her to strive and improve. We must provide the basic assurance of having the starting line. But once the race has begun, everyone should have the opportunity to shine on their own.”
Rarity covertly inhaled. The antelope’s worldview was quite different to hers. However, she could not say that it was illogical or incoherent. Verna just had a whole different idea to make where she lived a better place.
She sighed. “So you fear that what I’m doing would encourage them to become scroungers?”
“Exactly.”
“Vernie, how about after we’ve both been discharged from the hospital, we join together and have a look of these ponies and diamond dogs you see in the ledger? You can see for yourself whether they truly merit my generosity on a case-by-case basis.”
“… Okay, Lady Rarity.” Verna blinked and said.
They then just stayed side by side to wait for the others to come. A veil of silence again descended on the two, dressed only by the faint cricket noise from the distant bushes outside the window, until it was broken by the antelope humming a tune lowly.
“Vernie, you do like to sing a lot.” Rarity smiled.
Verna chuckled. “… Maybe. It’s become kind of a reflex for me to write and sing songs. Before I earned enough rands to attend the Sandcore, I part-timed as a singer at pubs and taverns. People always said I had a cheery, bubbly voice, which I don’t think much of it, as I’m not a cheery, bubbly antelope. I’m a heartless moneygrubber, remember?”
Rarity temporarily frowned, until she noticed that there was a cheeky smile on the antelope’s face. She shook her head with a wry grin. “Tell me then, sarcastic girl, what are you humming?”
Verna looked out of the window. “It was a song my mother used to sing to me.”
“Oh…”
“You don’t have to feel bad. It happened so long ago, the pain had long been dulled with time. On the contrary, I feel that singing the song she taught me was a great way to remember her, not to mention this song was what earned me my bread and butter during my poorer days.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, for some reason the song really caught on with the Timbucktuans. It actually has lyrics too, but it’s just about a story which makes fun of me.”
Rarity smiled. “My interest is really piqued, dear Vernie.”
“Alright. Hear me out then.” Verna rolled her eyes. She then began to sing the tune she’s been humming.
“The tears were rollin’ down, oh my sweetheart,
The tears were rollin’ down, oh my sweetheart,
To where the sun and the moon, both goin’ down,
Sweetheart let’s go back to town.
Nay, nay, nay my Verna, nay,
Nay my Verna nay, nay my Verna nay,
Nay, nay, nay my Verna, nay,
My silly Verna will not get away.”
After Verna finished singing, Rarity clapped her hooves aloud. “That’s amazing! But why were you crying?”
“I was not!” Verna pouted. “My mother was merely making fun of my disheveled fur and embellished my pouty face.”
“How so?”
“Well… Life was hectic after the granddad’s company folded, and my mother and I seldom had a chance to go out together. But we found the opportunity once, and we went to the seaside. It was the middle of winter, and the sea wind was ridiculously strong, especially on the cliff. After a while, my furcoat was already blown into a crazy half-fro. I was pouting and begging mom to take us home. Although mom agreed, she couldn’t help but want to make fun of the situation. She was a singer and songwriter of her own, and she made up the song on the spot.”
Verna huffed, but a sense of longing was apparent in her voice. “I was angry at her for teasing me with such a catchy ditty, but it soon became a running joke between us. After I was thrown onto the street for having no money, I began to try to earn tips by singing to patrons in taverns. Amazingly, they positively loved the song, the whole thing soon ballooned, and my singing became sought after, albeit just moderately. It’s enough for me to eventually buy a small hut to live in again.”
She sighed. “I really have to thank my mother. She not only looked after me and literally worked her life away just to raise me, she even left me with something to make a living with after she passed away.”
Rarity became reticent after hearing more of Verna’s story. “… She really was a great mother.”
“Inde-”
“Hey Bokkie! You alright?”
An orange pegasus quickly flew into the patient ward, behind her was a gruff-looking diamond dog.
Geuse widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hoof. “Wee geez! You look like you’ve been beaten up by the Koevoet again!”
“Please don’t remind me of them, Lady Geuse…”
“Sorry, Vernie. Judging from your look, you seem to have broken a few bones there, no?”
“Uh… Actually I don’t know very well. I’ve been chatting with Lady Rarity since I woke up.”
Rarity nodded. “Hello, Geuse, Rover. Verna’s injury was fortunately light. The doctors put her in cast just in case, since they suspect that her neck bone might be slightly cracked by the falling rubbles. But they later told me that there’s probably only some soft tissue swelling. If everything’s alright, she could be discharged in a few days.”
Geuse and Verna both let out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness.”
Rarity turned to the diamond dog, her look turned severe. “Rover.”
The tall diamond dog gulped. “Madam boss.”
“Tell me, how in Equestria could our mine cave in after we’ve done so much for basic structural safety?”
“I- It has to be sabotage!”
Aside from the surprised and curious looks from the antelope and pegasus, Rarity raised her brows. “Why do you think so?”
“One of my brothers reported a suspicious hooded figure near the RB-17 mine shafts before the explosion. But since the mine in that area was almost depleted, we didn’t really give it too much thought. Now that I think about it, it has to be dirty tricks from our competitors!”
“I agree with the assessment of Mister Rover.”
“Vernie?” Rarity widened her eyes.
“When I was rushing into the mine, a hooded figure came from the opposite direction. It’s only because of that person, I thought more miners were in the mine. But now that I thought carefully, miners don’t wear hoods and capes.”
“Who could that be?” Geuse asked with a frown. “Rarity, did you really cross someone?”
“… I hope not. I always try to be diplomatic in my dealings. My expansion of mining businesses caused some small mines to become unprofitable, that’s true. But I always offer very generously in compensations or buyouts. My demands of equal treatment towards our friend, the diamond dogs, also cause some grumbling in the capital. But it wasn’t something that couldn’t be soothed with bits and favors. Above all, it wasn’t such a deep resentment that someone would want to sabotage our mine.”
Vernie blinked. “If it helps, I don’t think the suspect was a pony.”
“Really?” Rarity asked.
“The hooded figure I saw had really slender body and legs. And quite tall as well. He or she was still a quadruped, but unlikely a pony.”
Rarity frowned deeply. “… We must consider this carefully. The safety of my workers is something I care strongly about. I’d rather have my company fold than have any of my employees injured in any incident, deliberate or not.”
“Should I inform the authorities, madam boss?” Rover asked.
“Please do. Also I’ll give you a statement to release to the press later. In the meantime, I’ll hire more guards to patrol around the mines. Please tell your brothers and sisters to be careful and vigilant as well. See you later in the field office.”
“Yes, madam boss.” Rover nodded and bowed out.
Verna looked at the leaving diamond dog and said. “Lady Rarity, forgive my bluntness, but I don’t think you have any free bit left to hire more guards.”
Rarity winced. “I understand the practical concern. That’s why I invite you to review the financial status of the company after you’ve recovered. I promise I’d be less stubborn this time.”
Verna smiled. “Will do.”
Rarity gave a glance to the smirking but covertly worried pegasus, and nodded with understanding. “Vernie, I must again thank you with all my heart for your bravery, I’ll certainly reward you even more handsomely.”
Against Rarity’s expectation, Verna seemed surprisingly fidgety towards the prospects of receiving more bits. “T- Thanks.”
Regardless, Rarity continued. “I’ll excuse myself for now, because I have to check myself out of the hospital. See you later, Vernie, hopefully in full health.”
Verna and Geuse both nodded. “See you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cool winds blew in from the open window, the smell of rock dust permeated the field office of the Raritan mines.
The white unicorn picked up the newspaper and glanced through the headlines.
“Crystal Empire Reaches Out To Past Dominions; Ville De Platine, Vanhoofer Ambivalent”
“Northern Railroad Revamp In Earnest; Apple CEO: Completion In Three Moons Expected”
“Raritan Mine Explosion: Foul Play Suspected; Royal Gendarmerie Issues Warning”
Rarity swooned backwards into her chair with a sigh. “That Crystal Insight girl was relentless! I almost had to bring the safety manual on stage to argue with her.”
“Isn’t the newspaper founded by Lady Twilight? How come it sounded like she’s out for your blood?”
“True, Twilight founded the paper as a conduit for her ideas. But in order for the paper to be taken seriously, it must build an aura of trustworthiness by treating each and every incident with incisiveness and without bias. It’s a careful thin line that we’re treading.”
“… I don’t really understand, but if it’s Lady Twilight’s idea…”
Rarity sat up straight and asked. “You sure you’re up for this, Vernie? We have to travel long and far.”
“I’m more than ready, Lady Rarity. On the other hoof, I have to ask you whether you’re prepared mentally, because you promised not to be stubborn and I’d not be sparing in my judgment.”
“I understand. We’ll begin reviewing the wage level soon.”
“Okay.”
“In fact, the representative of the worker’s union will be coming by soon.”
“Union? You let your workers group together under some big honcho?” Verna frowned. “It’s going to be a toxic mess.”
Rarity raised a brow and asked. “I’m curious, what’s a union to you? Do they also have unions in West Zebrica?”
“They’re a corrupt monstrosity. Unless you pay an exorbitant fee to the big guys each moon, you can’t even get a manual labor job without getting harassed or even beaten up. That’s why I could only go singing in pubs once I was kicked out of my home.”
“Hmm…”
Verna raised her voice in visible anger. “The union bosses pocket all the members’ due, but do almost nothing for them. Besides, it drives up the cost of production and prices of goods all around West Zebrica. What’s more, when the bosses don’t get what they want, they order strikes and screw everything up. Part of why my granddad’s company went under the water was because the union pounded on him for recompense for ‘lost work hours’, whatever the heck that means. There have even been consistent rumors that the bosses were in cahoots with the changelings during their first invasion.”
The antelope was already gritting her teeth in seething rage. “Worst of all, they were a bigoted mob. When I tried to use whatever rands I had to try to apply for membership in one of the unions, hoping that I could work towards buying back my house, I was instead called a ‘damn dirty bok’, robbed, kicked out and beaten up. If it was up to me, I would have thrown all of them out of Timbucktu, cos they’re a scourge of basic decency!”
Rarity gulped with round eyes. “T- That was bad.”
“And yet you allow something like this to happen in here?”
“I assure you, the union I have here is nothing like what you’ve described. I’m trying my best to make it something beneficial to both me and my workers.”
Verna raised a brow and then slowly smirked. “Oh? So the ‘union’ here is actually a way for you to control the labor? I’ve never considered it can be used this way.”
Rarity winced. “No! I’m not trying to control them. I help organize my workers together in order to give them a more coherent voice on the discussion table. We try to do everything here with a consensus.”
Verna gazed suspiciously. “If so, then who’s the boss of the company?”
“I still am. But the workers are also my partners. If I want them to care about my company, I must also care about their health, wellbeing, and of course, their pockets.”
“So what does the union here do?”
“They put forward a representative to negotiate work hour, wage level and details of benefits. They collect bits from dues and the company to feed into a fund which is used for day-to-day running and helping the members if they’re in medical or other emergency. Most importantly, they are a conduit from which I can listen to the complaints from my employees. Unlike Applejack, who employed a large number of Apples and relatives to Apples, I don’t have the advantage of close ties to gather any misgivings. Having a union rep helps me guarantee the rights of the workers are upheld.”
Verna became quiet after listening to Rarity’s words. She then muttered. “I still have some doubt. But if they’re really like what you’ve described, then maybe it isn’t as bad as I thought.”
“Yes, let’s see, shall we?”
A while later, a petite female diamond dog entered the office. She had a coat of light grey fur, but there was a patch of white fur in the middle.
“Good morn’, madam boss.”
“Good morning, Sadie. I trust that you know the purpose of this meeting?”
“Rover told me ‘bout it. It’s a wage review as I understand it.”
“Yes, you see…”
“You want to cut the wage level?” Sadie said without a hint of covertness.
“… Only if we both agree to it. The company finance hasn’t been healthy recently.”
“Actually, we have some mental preparation for this.”
Rarity widened her eyes. “Hmm?”
“The sales rep has been saying this for moons. We all know the sales are dropping and the output has to be reduced.”
Rarity gulped. “Thank you for your understanding…”
“But madam, it really depends on the scale of the wage cut.”
Verna interjected. “30% docking on both pay and benefit. Flat across all job types.”
Rarity turned and looked at the antelope with uncertainty, and Sadie indeed immediately protested. “That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?”
“The current wage bill of Raritan is not sustainable and will never be. Raritan is currently under massive liquidity pressure by the competition from Saddle Arabian imports. I suspect that the camel merchants saw threat in increased domestic production in Equestria and wanted to nip the bud while it’s still growing by flooding the market.”
Rarity bit her lips as she already knew this, but Sadie seemed somewhat shocked and angry. “Darn dirty dromeds!”
“Sadie, language please.” Rarity frowned.
“Sorry mam, just never trusted those hump-bearing greedy-types.”
Contrasting with the disapproving looks from Rarity, Verna almost smirked. “Anyway, having to lend out resources to the new Zebrican arrivals added another layer of strain on the finance. In many ways, that’s the last straw on the proverbial camel’s back.”
“B- But 30%! It’s way too harsh, uh….”
Sadie looked at Verna and realized that she wasn’t sure who exactly this antelope was. Rarity then stepped in and said. “Verna is my newly hired financial consultant. She’s the one who was injured in the mine collapse earlier.”
“Oh, well…”
“She came in to help me find new ways to increase the income, and streamline the expenditure without too much impact on the workforce.”
Sadie’s somewhat thankful expression turned into alarm. “Madam boss, you can’t be doing this?”
Rarity widened her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“My pony brethren who worked in big cities said that bosses always brought in some expendable faces into the company, just to cut everybody’s wage and fire off troublemakers…”
Verna immediately said. “Do you know that the competitiveness of this company is abysmal compared to most Equestrian ventures? And why is that? The mean wage in this company is over 1.5 times the national average! I’m just trying to bring it back to a more reasonable level, and it would still be over 5% above average. And yet you paint us as if we’re some greedy villains!”
Sadie raised her voice. “I’m not! I, Sadie, stand before you mainly to defend the welfare of my brethren. They join this company in hope that they finally find a worthy employer who treats their work with respect. They would certainly be demoralized to find that this company can slash their wage with this trivial regard!”
Verna huffed. “You put your generous boss in a rather low regard as well. You’re partly right that I come in to cut down ridiculous spending. But the biggest opposition I had is exactly your madam boss. If I had my way, I would have proposed layoff compounded with outsourcing some jobs to the Zebricans. They’re willing to take a far lower level of wage than the pampered workers here.”
“Madam boss? You have to speak up!” Sadie asked in frustration.
Rarity sighed. “I really, really don’t want to come to this. I tried my best to keep the company afloat by working extra orders at my boutique. But it’s futile to begin with, since the expenditure in Raritan is several orders of magnitude higher than whatever I could have earned by making clothes.”
“She worked herself into the hospital just to enable the overpayment in this company. Don’t you ever spare a few thoughts for your madam boss instead for yourselves?” Verna tutted.
Accused of selfishness, Sadie looked stung. “O- Of course I do!”
“Verna, let me do this.”
Rarity said with apparent reluctance. “Sadie, like a frog in heating water, I have failed to pay attention to the increasing resources I have to direct to maintain the current level of benefits and pay. I have been saying from the first days, the reason I form this company is to give, not to take. We are not a traditional venture, and I don’t plan to become like the Richs.”
Sadie calmed down somewhat and said. “And I’ve always known that madam boss is not a traditional pony, or else she wouldn’t have fought for the right of diamond dogs, or give us pointers in forming a union for our rights.”
The diamond dog exhaled. “We appreciate everything that’s been done for both diamond dogs and ponies, but I simply think a 30% cut is not only going to hamper our enthusiasm, it’s going to send some of us into financial troubles. A lot of my diamond dog brethren are still grasping with the ideas of currency and service, which are new to them. Some of them have borrowed against future wage income from the moneylenders in order to buy a house above ground. If the cut really is as steep as 30%, then I believe a lot of them will go broke.”
Verna tutted again. “If they get themselves into bankruptcy even with such high-paying jobs, then it’s entirely their fault. Do they have no concept of personal responsibility?”
Rarity again showed discomfort at the antelope’s razor-sharp criticism, and Sadie was riled up. “How can you say something like that! They’re still learning to adapt the lives above ground!”
“Please, don’t get personal.”
Rarity pled. “I always want to bring the best to both my employees and the society that enables my businesses, and I mean it. If it hadn’t come to a position that the future of the company would be threatened if we do nothing, I would not do something to upset the status quo.”
“And to say the truth, madam boss, we aren’t blind to the company’s woe either. Even before this meeting, I have the mental preparation that we have to make some sacrifice to allow the company to go back onto the right path. You know me, madam boss. I’ve heeded my brethren’s call and trekked half a country to Raritan, all because I put our trust in your ability to end prejudice and bring us the prosperity of our dreams. So far, I’ve heard nothing but praise for your leadership, and I do not doubt your good will.”
The diamond dog bared her teeth, not in aggression, but sadness and frustration. “We know very well that we’ve got the long end of the stick by joining Raritan. Our race being uplifted notwithstanding, our pony brethren always praised not only the pay and benefit, but the care towards our very being shown by madam boss. We all want this to go on, and we’re willing to do our part to preserve this.
She sighed heavily and pled. “But perhaps, madam boss, you would consider tuning down the cut? Please, to let me have a case before my pack, my brothers and sisters?”
Rarity sighed, and turned to Verna. “Verna, is 30% really unnegotiable?”
Verna looked a bit shifty, which caused the white mare and the diamond dog to press on. “Well?”
The antelope again tutted her tongue. “Well, if Lady Rarity insists. There is actually an alternative to a 30% wage cut.”
“And what would be it?”
“The wage cut can be softened to 15%...”
Rarity gazed at the diamond dog, while Sadie looked a lot more relieved. “15% is not exactly ideal, but to be honest, it’s the upper estimated limit from the union. If I give it my all, perhaps I can convince them to support this plan.”
“Miss Sadie, you have to listen all of it first. The 15% cut is contingent on certain other forms of expenditure cutting. You have to agree to them in order for the whole plan to work, otherwise Raritan would remain overburden and be poised to insolvency.”
“… Do tell.”
“First of all, there must be a thorough review of the paid leave, vacation and transportation benefits. The cafeteria plan regarding flexible spending account on shopping, catering and housing would have to be cut back as well.”
“That would not go over well with a lot of our workers.”
“Perhaps you’d take consolation in that I have left out benefits on child care and healthcare because not only Lady Rarity would likely oppose to it, I am also conducive to the real need to keep our workforce healthy and focused.”
Sadie gave a somewhat withering gaze to the antelope, but verbally, she simply said. “Give me the details first.”
“First, paid annual leave is now, to my shock, a whole moon per year, and unpaid vacations are unlimited with full benefit. More importantly, even as the production demand slows down, and a part of our workforce stands idle, we’re still paying them the full wage. This is way too draining for Raritan.”
“As I said, I set this policy to keep our workers by our side in case the demand goes up again.” Rarity said.
“And this policy is what have attracted many pony migrants to Raritan to begin with!” Sadie added.
“But the cold, hard truth is that you can’t pay someone who’s not working the same as someone who’s working. This way expenditure cannot be scaled to our sales, and it’s one of the major reasons we’ve come to this difficult situation. This does not make sense in our labor-intensive company. It must change. How, we can discuss, but it must change.”
“What then do you propose?” Rarity asked cautiously.
“Don’t you say that you want to lay us off.” Sadie warned.
“No, no. Calm down, Miss Sadie. Even if it was up to me, I would not do a layoff. At most, I would just change all the salaried contracts to hourly ones.”
“No, that would unsettle the workforce too much.” Rarity shook her head, followed by a firmer, stronger affirmation from Sadie.
Verna shrugged. “As expected. I am only proposing a modest back-scaling of the current system. Either we keep the length of annual leave but cut the pay and benefits in half, or we cut the length of annual leave to half a moon.”
“… We would definitely take the latter option. As far as I know, only a small portion of our workers have used or planned to use the whole moon.”
“Very well. And I also suggest a voluntary reduced worktime scheme to solve the current excess productivity.”
Rarity raised her brow. “I… hadn’t thought of V-time.”
Verna cheekily grinned. “Hey, I’m more surprised that Lady Rarity seems to have known of this concept and even has a shorthoof for it. I only thought that up when I was trotting all over the mines some days ago.”
“And what’s that V-time that you’re talking about?” Sadie asked with a frown.
“Correct me if I misunderstand you, Verna, but V-time as I know it refers to an arrangement which allow the workers to work fewer hours according to a predetermined scheme, and there would be a corresponding reduction in wage and benefits. After an agreed period of time, the worker may revert to full-time status.”
Verna grinned wryly. “That’s exactly what I was going to propose. I should have consulted with you beforehoof, Lady Rarity.”
Rarity smiled briefly and then continued. “As we said, V-time is voluntary, it’s a choice that I’d hope a portion of our workforce would take to lessen the stress on our payroll, while releasing excess productivity.”
After some deliberation, Sadie said. “I don’t see anything wrong with an extra choice for us.”
Verna nodded. “Good. Now onto the ‘cafeteria plan’. I have never encounter such form of benefits in Zebrica, presumably it’s again something that had been introduced by Lady Rarity.”
Rarity cautiously nodded, and Verna said. “This is again a very progressive scheme, but it’s also unmanageably complex at this stage. There are over two hundreds different types of expenses that can be claimed in the plan. Both the net expense and the administrative burden that is becoming overwhelming for our startup. For one, we must reduce the demand for oversight by narrowing down the possible range of claimable expenses. While crutches are reasonable for an injured mine worker to have, I sincerely doubt cosmetic hair transplant or… heck, snake oil should be covered.”
The antelope gave two copies of the proposed reduction to Rarity and Sadie.
Sadie shifted slightly. “I don’t disagree with this in principle. Some of the claims are indeed somewhat wild.”
Rarity looked at Sadie and said. “I’m relieved to hear that. I created this plan not only to give freedom of choice to my workers, but also to allow my ever loyal diamond dog workers to have an easy access to the life above ground.”
Sadie slightly widened her eyes. “If anything, my diamond dog brethren are bewildered at the petty things ponies can claim expenses over.”
Rarity grinned with embarrassment. Verna smirked and said. “Well, then surely you wouldn’t be too opposed to my suggestion to cancel the buggy scheme.”
Sadie leaned forward and said assertively. “This one cannot go forth! We ride buggies everywhere, it’s the single most convenient mode of travel from Raritan to Ponyville and back. Even I came here in a buggy!”
“The maintenance of the buggy fleet was almost 5% of the entire expenditure. How can we justify having so many drivers waiting around just for someone to hitch a hike on their buggies?”
“Are you telling us to walk miles and miles to work? That’s mad!”
“Or you can just ride on the trains and the boats, like how Raritan has been transporting its ores, steel beams and cotton.”
“We are not going to be treated like goods! Also, if you cancel the buggies, where would the drivers go? Some of them are also members of our union!”
“Hmm… Replacing the buggies will free up some funds, which can be directed to organize chartered train rides for the workers. I’m not asking you to sit on top of ore cars.”
“But you still don’t said how you would deal with the surplus drivers.”
“… Well, why don’t we also make the buggies for hire? That way, we can earn some extra cash, and if some of the workers feel rich, they can hitch a buggy for a reduced price, perhaps deducted from the wage directly.”
“Intriguing…” Rarity tapper her chin.
Sadie looked dissatisfied. “It has been free before.”
“Well, we all have to make some sacrifice. Not trying to make a threat or anything, but this is pretty much the only package that can guarantee no further wage cut in the next half year, given the current levels of demand and sales remain the same.”
“… I guess we do.” Sadie looked bumped, but she nodded.
Rarity asked with concern. “Sadie, would the wage cut cause serious problem for any of our workers?”
“The Raritan Chapter of Miners and Millers does have a contingency plan for those who are disproportionately impacted by the wage cut. For those who experience difficulty in housing and food, we will subsidize them up to 30% of the cost for three moons, hopefully by then things would have improved.”
Rarity looked apologetic. “I thank you so much for your understanding. I might also be able to secure for anyone who are in need some housing in the new project south of the town. As you know, Raritan supplies steel for the construction projects there to accommodate for the newcomers to the town, and I might be able to persuade the mayor to assign extra land for some workers’ hostels as well.”
“That’s good news. Is there anything else?”
Rarity turned to look at Verna. “Anymore to add?”
“Nothing at this stage. If this package is approved, then the company should be able to trough through the next few moons.”
“If there isn’t anything else, I’m gonna go back and announce this to the boys and girls. The union needs to get running.”
“See you then, Sadie. Hope we can weather this together.”
“True that, madam boss. See you later!”
After Sadie left the office, a brief silence existed between the two. Rarity eventually glanced at the antelope and said. “Let’s check out those staff and projects which you’ve singled out earlier, shall we?”
Verna visibly straightened herself. “Of course, Lady Rarity. Even though we’ve got the wage level sorted out, the workplace efficiency is still a big concern. And I will not let freeloaders and scroungers roam free.”
Rarity exhaled. “Let’s go then.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Cedar Canopy, meet Verna. Verna, meet Cedar Canopy.”
Rarity gestured to the timid white unicorn with short green mane, who was tending to a half-cleared piece of forest land. He had almost squeaked like a small animal when he saw the approaching pair, until he noticed that it was his madam boss.
“G- G- Good afternoon, madam boss. And n- nice to meet you too, Miss Verna.”
Verna pulled a cool and indifferent face, and simply stared down the meek unicorn like he had beaten up her pet squirrel.
“Cedar, Verna is our newly hired auditor. She would ask you some questions regarding your job.”
As if it’s something physically possible, the white face of the stallion somehow became even whiter.
“Now, Cedar.”
Rarity sighed. “You don’t have to be nervous. Verna is not going to eat you whole. Antelopes are vegetarians as well.”
“Hah, I did chomp on bugs and fishes when I was the most desperate. You might not want to count out a desperate antelope’s voracity.”
Cedar Canopy’s pupil shrunk to pins, while Rarity sighed. “Verna, we’re here to…”
“… Stamp out wastefulness in the Raritan Industries.”
Verna interrupted. “You promised to let me have freedom in this.”
“Yes, but…”
“Lady Rarity, let me judge for myself whether your generosity is also fair and sustainable. I’m gonna talk with him alone.”
Rarity bit her lips. “… Promise me you will let me have the final decision.”
“You’re the boss, of course you have the final decision.”
The white mare nodded. Although left unspoken, she understood that Verna would want her to respect her will to a certain degree and not overrule her. She gave the nervous white stallion a last glance, and retreated from the small clearing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How was the meeting, Vernie? Do you still want to fire him, still?”
“I never wanted to fire him outright, although I have had strong reservations to both his pay and the circumstances to which you hired him.”
“How so?”
“First, I must make it clear that Cedar Canopy is not a bad young stallion. Actually, he leans towards the good and hard-working side among those I’ve met. Although he’s terminally shy and had a little bit of a stutter, he’s honest and willing to learn. He’s not a scrounger.”
“I’m glad that you see it this way.”
“But the way you hired him isn’t the most commendable either.”
Rarity looked shocked. “How?”
“When a company hires someone, the most important point should be to hire the one who’s most qualified to do that job. I must admit that, as a West Zebrican, environmental protection is a slightly foreign concept to me. But I can see that why it has become so important for Raritan to observe it. Ponies in and around Raritan operations are clearly concerned that the mining and steelmaking would degrade the pristine environment. If Raritan screws up, for instance, by accidentally dumping a load of mining waste into the Saddle River and poisoning the whole of Ponyville, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
“We’ve have many things in place to prevent just that. I can’t shoulder the enormous responsibility if that ever happens.” Rarity said with a shudder.
“But a company officer in charge of overseeing and promoting good practice to prevent damage to the environment is critical. And yet you did not hold due process in hiring someone with such an important role, but rather simply put someone here because he’s the relative of your acquaintance. Nepotism breeds inefficiency and proneness to mistakes.”
“I- It is not fair to say that! He’s involved in forestry management before. Bottom-line, if it’s nepotism to hire Cedar, then we…”
Verna interrupted. “Yes, it’s also technically nepotism to hire me to do this job. It just so happens that I am actually capable, but he barely hangs onto it. Knowing how to move dead branches in a forest does not translate to knowing how to treat polluted sludge. Whatever measures that are currently put into place are the works of you, Miss Pie, and Miss Applejack. This needs not be if he could do his job from the get-go.”
“It’s too harsh to demand our workers to absolutely know about the job they have to do from day one. Don’t we all begin with knowing nothing?”
“Forgive me if I sound harsh again, Lady Rarity. But we’re not a trade school or a university. Some on-job training may be needed, but it’s unacceptable to employ unqualified workers in such important positions.”
The antelope pouted. “Lady Rarity, I can’t stress enough the importance of fielding our positions with qualified applicants instead of whoever close to you. Let me tell you a story about what I’ve learnt from my own experience.”
“Do tell.”
“When I was very small, and we still had a trading company, there was a family acquaintance who was very close to my granddad and dad. I still have no idea how he was able to gain their trust, but he got a well-paid job for it. Then come a time, when we had to build a fleet to brave the cape, my dad was sent to look for someone who can direct the workers to build sturdy ships. Now, if my dad found Mkondo back then, everything would go fine and dandy. Instead, he found said acquaintance and hired him as the chief engineer. When my mom was getting suspicious, she asked my dad what qualification that acquaintance had, she was told that the guy had a degree in theoretical mechanics from Witwatersrand. And when she tried to verify that with that guy, he said he actually had a theoretical degree in mechanics.”
Rarity tried to cover her mouth, but her snorting sound still leaked. Verna showed her a mix of smirk and growl. “Indeed, pretty funny. If not for the fact that his shoddy work likely sunk my granddad’s fleet, I would go tell this to everyone I meet in the pub.”
“I- I’m sorry, Vernie.”
Verna smirked. “I’m just pulling your tail, Lady Rarity. That guy might be incompetent, but his damage is in the past. But we can still deal with something in the present.”
Rarity went quiet with thoughts, and Verna said. “This Cedar guy is at least willing to learn, and is using the bits to attend classes in Canterlot. This is why I don’t recommend a specific pay cut or termination of his contract. I know you want to help, Lady Rarity, but sometimes what’s better for them is to help them help themselves.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Lady Rarity.”
Verna asked as they were heading back to the headquarters to meet the last pony, Thistle Wreath.
“Vernie, darling, what’s troubling you?”
Verna briefly blushed by the casual use of address, but she soon coughed and said. “Although I risk repeating myself, what I’ve seen in the headquarters make me worry about our generous policies again.”
“I know that you don’t like these ponies being paid so handsomely...”
“Lady Rarity, I now recognize that the pay levels certainly boosted the workers’ morale a lot. I wouldn’t do it this way myself, but I’m willing to wait and see how your generosity pays off. For example, look at the acceptance. Even though some of them already caught wind of the wage cut, they still show a lot of understanding. But I’m not talking about those you already hired.”
“Hmm?”
“See the long line of ponies and diamond dogs in the waiting area just now?”
“I did, they’re applicants to the office jobs in the finance department. Ever since you’ve come, I began to realize the importance of keeping a tighter tab on the money, so I posted a job ad in the Ponyville Mirror.”
“And yet there is only one vacancy for such an undertaking. Why is that?”
Rarity sighed. “We can’t really afford to hire more than one employee in addition to those we already have.”
“That’s the problem, Lady Rarity. It’s simply mathematics at this point. If you pay everybody a higher wage, you can afford to hire less workers. Yeah, you certainly treat those lucky enough to get in well, but what about those who are left out in the cold?”
Rarity inhaled sharply. This hit home hard of her long-time worry that her generosity could not cover everyone in need.
Verna continued. “In essence, you’re creating a circle of privileged insiders at the cost of everyone else. Not only the now unemployed, but the consumers who have to pay higher for the same service or goods.”
“I don’t think so, Vernie. There must be some form of arbitration regarding the benefit raising wages can bring and the benefit of employment itself. One always have to strike a balance. So what if I hire everyone in Ponyville, if the pay is a measly one silver bit per moon? I don’t want to operate a sweatshop, and I don’t want to use the financial desperation of someone to tie him or her to my business. This is not ethical in my eyes. I’ve always known a hard fact, that I cannot afford to make everyone’s life better immediately. However, I can always start somewhere, and this is what I’m going to do with my company.”
Verna looked thoughtful for a moment. She eventually shook her head and said. “Even though I have many reservations, I still admire your tenacity, Lady Rarity. Let’s hope the seed of your generosity would indeed bloom into beautiful prosperity.”
“The road ahead is long, darling.”
“Indeed. Patching Raritan up and sending it back onto a smooth track isn’t something that can be done in a day. If you’re willing to take me on despite my thorny disagreement, Lady Rarity, I’m willing to give me my best as well.”
“Of course, Vernie, of course. I’m glad to have you by my side.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Name’s Thistle Wreath, ‘tis good to meet you, Lady Rarity, Lady Ver-”
Verna looked slightly flustered for the first time on their trip. “I’m not a lady. It’s fine to just call me a miss.”
The earth pony mare has a light grey coat, and her mane was of a muted blue with light green streak. Her smile was thin and lopsided, Verna observed. She wondered if the grey mare showed her such an unnerving expression because she was there to slash cut.
“… Miss Verna, I notice that you’re staring. It’s congenital, my face muscles are weak, and I can’t make natural smiles like other ponies do. It’s a bit weird-looking, isn’t it?”
Verna was mortified. “Oh dear… I, uh, sorry.”
Thistle Wreath put her hooves to the corners of her mouth and make a smile there. “No problem, Miss Verna. I suppose you’ve come here to discuss the issue with wage and subsidies?”
“You caught wind of this really quick, didn’t you, Thistle?” Rarity blinked.
“As the boss of the company, your smallest moves are in the eyes of every employee.”
The mare then quickly said. “Let’s say I agree to all conditions, and everypony who are under me will abide by my decision. And we should end the discussion right here and now.”
Verna widened her eyes and said. “Whoa, I mean, really? I debated my tongue off with that diamond dog just to shave a few more percentage off, and you’re letting us have the free rein on the cut?”
“I believe the primary reason those in our department work here is not the bits and benefits.”
Verna looked bemused. “… What? Then what are you working for?”
“We work for and because of Lady Rarity.”
Rarity looked flustered. “Darling, you’re-”
Verna was more suspicious, however. “Sounds a bit hollow to me.”
“Hey, now. We all know Lady Rarity is a generous soul, and this cut is forced by practical needs. No one like pay cuts, but what Lady Rarity gave us are far from only bits. I must get this topic concluded and put away as quickly as possible, because all these talk of money is threatening to change the atmosphere of work here.”
“We need to talk about it, money keeps us, our company, and even the society running!”
“It’s important, but it’s also too contagious and too overbearing.”
“W- What do you mean?”
“Ponies say, it’s the thoughts that count. It’s not telling us to subsist on good will alone, obviously. But we do work because of things other than money. We might like our work, we might like our coworkers, we might like our boss. All these are true here, and this is why we will so willingly accept the cut. But if this drags on, the idea of making money as the only goal of work here will seep into the mind of our workers, and this is far from good.”
“Why? Of course we should correlate their pay with their level of work, huh?” Verna retorted.
“This is not my first job, Miss Verna. In my first job as a middle manager in a trading firm in Manehattan, my boss noticed a thing about my team: Many of them are willing to work overtime and even get back on off-days to help on the project. It turned out that our team also get the yearly award for best sales. And so he thought, hey, how about he paid more for overtime, maybe it will encourage my team to work around the clock more!”
“Did they? I bet they did.” Verna said.
“… Actually, no. The amount of work and overtime hour actually went down drastically.”
Verna widened her eyes in shock. “How come?!”
“When it concerns material goods, the more money of course translate to more goods. But when it comes to heart and mind, good will, and of course, generosity, you can’t count it like goods. Something just turns bad when money is brought into the equation, or even merely highlighted. It turns out that my team works because they appreciate being with each other, the cordial working environment makes them want to work more, both for each other and for me, the project manager. But when the boss explicitly want to encourage working overtime using money, suddenly the whole thing become strictly business. Money just crowds out other intrinsic values entirely.”
Verna looked deeply thoughtful, while Rarity smiled sweetly.
The grey mare then took down a small placard from the wall. “This is the letter of appreciation sent to us by PPRA, Ponyville Physical Rehabilitation Association. It’s a club that advocates for the rights of ponies with physical injuries and disabilities. They only formed after the Mirror covered this seldom mentioned group of ponies, and was disheartened that even with so much promotion, they still find job hunting an impossible task. It’s till Raritan walked the first step and hire them as normal employees. It’s little things like that pushes us forward.”
She then walked in front of a very large and well-drawn wall painting. It was a large group and ponies and diamond dogs in front of the headquarters.
“I know what you would be thinking after reading about the advertising board facing the Everfree – a horrible waste, right?”
“O- Of course!”
“But see, we didn’t spend a bit on this painting right here.”
She pointed behind her. “Artists know who treat them badly and who truly respect their work, and we clearly respect them. That’s why they gifted us this beautiful painting, a symbol of the good we’re giving to Ponyville. And they even give us discount on all the later commissions because they feel so good taking our orders.”
She sighed. “And the fact that Lady Rarity and you are here talking with me is yet another example of something we, as employees, appreciate very much.”
“What’s it?” Rarity asked curiously.
“You actually want to talk with your workers, and care about their opinions. This already set you apart from the Rich & Rich in Ponyville, as well as the MTA in Manehattan, two places I worked with, and certainly many more of other workplaces.”
“You’re too kind, Thistle, I only try to treat my workers as I would treat my friend - with kindness and respect.”
“That’s something we all noticed and wanted to keep it going. Please, Miss Verna, don’t feel bad that Sadie was so adamant about her positions. She’s the union representative, it’s her job to defend her fellow workers’ right. But she too knew about the things I said. Working at Raritan is more than money, it’s our pride. And Lady Rarity, we’re always thankful for you to create such a wonderful place for us to work for, and such a little sacrifice is just something that we can do to help.”
Rarity was moved to almost tears. “T- Thank you, Thistle.”
“So, promise me, Miss Verna, Lady Rarity. Wrap this up quickly and direct us onto our normal work swiftly. Don’t let us fall into the trap of money-talk in the one place I really don’t want it to happen.”
The two bit their lips and nodded firmly.
“Thank you… Now, you can send in the required areas of cut later, and I’ll distribute it to my team later. If there’s any shortfall still, feel free to tell me, I’m willing to take a further pay cut if it helps.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What a character, innit?” Rarity grinned.
“No wonder you hired her as your community manager. She had a teeth of iron and a tongue of eels.” Verna said.
“Is that a metaphor that I haven’t heard of?”
Verna smiled with an embarrassed look. “Oh, I simply mean that she’s very persuasive. It’s a West Zebrican idiom.”
“Ah… But isn’t the only thing that matters whether she has a heart of gold?”
“I get what you mean, but the ‘gold’ part seems a little bit ironic.”
Verna chuckled, and then turned wistful-looking.
“… I guess what she said was right. Money is important, and without money a lot of things become inaccessible. But we might also want to be careful about putting a money tag on everything and talking about bits all day long.”
Rarity nodded. “There’re something that can’t be bought, like love, respect and friendship. You bring money into these at your own peril.”
“… True that, Lady Rarity.”
“So darling, we should always remember this even as we dive into Raritan’s rescue. Don’t ever see our employees as assets and objects to shed off on a balance sheet. They’re ponies, diamond dogs, sapient beings to be treated equally and with respect. We should always use communication and listen to them as we would to our friends.”
“O- Of course I’ll!” Verna pouted.
Rarity smiled wryly. “Good! Let us wrap up, shall we? We still have days of work ahead of us.”