Alternate Beginnings: Year Two

by Doug Graves


8 Deliberation

February 9th, 994

Lunch is a simple affair; Doug has a bowl of nuts and dried fruit, Applejack has a few pieces of apple buttered bread with her hay while the other mares prefer their hay more plain. Big Mac quietly excused himself after finishing his meal, leaving Granny Smith and the mares of herd Apple to discuss the events of yesterday. Nopony batted an eye when Pinkie asked to spend the night, though the mare was mildly disappointed that there wouldn't be room in the master bed. She perked back up when she learned that there was room in the master bedroom.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are busying themselves by playing with the foals, neither showing much interest in the upcoming discussion. Both want to be nearby, just in case their input or insight is needed. The foals recovered quickly from the incident, though they are still showing signs of hesitation at being too far away from their dams. Granny Smith is sitting off to the side, ready to provide her knowledge as necessary, while Doug and the other mares gather around the dining room table.

Doug places several sheets of paper on the table, spreading them around. He labels one 'Actions', another 'Notes', and the last 'Theory'. The rest of the paper he leaves blank, twiddling the pencil in his hand while the other mares refill their drinks.

Rainbow cracks open her cider, saying to Applejack, "I seem to remember you running out of cider this time last year. You weren't holding out on me, were ya?"

Applejack snickers, opening her cider as well. "Nah, Rainbow, we just had to sideline the two biggest fans for a year, build our stock back up." She clinks her glass against Rainbow's, both taking a long draft before setting the bottles on the table. They both look to Doug, Applejack asking, "So, you like running these meetings. Where do we start?"

Doug waits as Rarity comes to the table, levitating her cup of tea and a plate of crackers. She daintily sets down the plates, taking a sip from her cup and sitting down. Rarity shudders slightly as Rainbow lets loose a large belch, giving Rainbow a short glare before Rarity levitates a hoofkerchief and dabs her face.

Doug pops a pecan in his mouth, chewing slowly as the silence continues. He leans back in his chair, continuing to stare at Rainbow. The mare starts looking around the room, trying to keep her composure. She fidgets a little, finally saying in a forced voice, "Okay, fine, I'm sorry Rarity, can we start now?"

Rarity says, "Apology accepted, Rainbow, we'll make a gentlemare out of you yet. Doug?"

Doug swallows, scooting his chair towards the table. He pulls a piece of paper out with the agenda written down, "Alright, first off, we're going to get what we know on the table. We will discuss what happened last night and what the situation is right now. If we think it is relevant we can discuss what incidents or occurrences happened that caused Spoiled Rich to do what she did. Let's try to keep speculation to a minimum. Afterwards, we can discuss possible plans of action or others things we can do to gather more information. Let's try to keep discussion of the various plans to a minimum; right now, we're just getting the facts on the table and brainstorming as to future actions."

Rainbow pipes up, "Can the first action be to clobber Spoiled Rich into next week? Might make me feel better."

Doug smirks as Applejack glares reprovingly at Rainbow, writing, 'Violence - Spoiled Rich' on the 'Action' page. He continues, "Now that that is out of the way, I don't think we need to recap what happened last night. However, I would like a little more clarification on what this... cold shoulder? entails. Is it a common punishment for ponies? It isn't that uncommon a punishment for humans. You could use it for a single business, letting that person know they aren't welcome there and their continued presence will result in the potential use of force to remove you from the premises if you persist in continuing."

Rainbow's eyes glaze over as Rarity restates, "A shop will kick you out if you try to go there again."

Rainbow rolls her eyes, "Well, why not just say that then?"

Doug nods, ignoring Rainbow, "And it would be similar for countries, just they have a bit more power to enforce their decisions. That would be exile. The punishment for breaking these laws would vary from removal, maybe jail time or fines for multiple infractions. Some more... brutal areas might even have the penalty for returning be death. What sort of actions could Spoiled Rich and her sympathizers take against me?

Rarity responds, "It depends on how close they want to skirt the law. The Rich family controls a lot of the shipping trade around Ponyville, as well as multiple businesses. Getting on their bad side could be disastrous even for medium sized, herd owned businesses. As such, few ponies will go against what the Rich family decides. Spoiled Rich said that you should not attempt to patronize any of the businesses, so I assume they will not sell to you. They probably will not physically force you to leave, but they will certainly make your brief stay unpleasant instead of simply refusing to deal with you. Other actions might be considered harassment if you could prove a trend, but you won't be able to."

Rainbow adds, "There are so many different things you can do to somepony that border on harassment; it could be bumping into them or their stuff while you are walking down the road to 'accidentally' starting a raincloud while it's above you. Or if they were feeling particularly mean, a mild lightning strike."

Doug drops his pencil, looking at Rainbow. "A -mild- lightning strike? That would be potentially fatal, unless electricity works drastically different here or with ponies."

Rainbow grows despondent as she realizes one of the pranks she had in the works could have proven lethal to Doug. She moves over, giving him a hug and sobbing, "I'm sorry, I didn't know, please forgive me."

Doug holds Rainbow, confusion showing on his face, "It's okay Rainbow, I'll be sure to avoid any nearby storm clouds, especially if I'm walking through town." He sifts his fingers through her mane as she shakes her head into his chest.

Rainbow mutters, "Wasn't that."

Doug frowns, asking, "Was it something you were thinking of doing?" Rainbow nods into his chest and Doug squeezes her tight, "It's okay, you didn't know. You didn't mean it."

Rainbow looks up, "But, what if somepony who doesn't know tries it? Or, what if somepony tries something on you, thinking it'll be a funny prank, but you react wrong and get hurt?"

Doug gives Rainbow another hug before setting her back down, "Well, I hope that doesn't happen, and that's why we're having this meeting, see if we can get to the bottom of this and figure out a way forward." Rainbow slowly smiles, moving to her seat as Doug continues, "So, does Spoiled Rich have the authority to enforce her whim throughout Ponyville, or does it rely on the actions of each individual pony?"

Applejack replies, "It'll be each pony, but they'll just be deciding what's best for them. Nopony will want to be the long stalk that gets the scythe."

Doug nods, writing down in his 'Notes' section. "Alright, so we will need to find out what Spoiled Rich wants and try to assuage her fears. Or figure out what else she wants." He writes in the 'Action' section 'talk to Spoiled about reasons' before looking around the room. "Any ideas on why she is doing this?"

Fluttershy responds quietly from the side, "Well, she had a filly recently, about the same age as ours. Maybe a few days older. Could she be worried about her?"

Doug says, "Unfortunately that will be something we have to wait before we can really reassure her. She wasn't happy enough with our presentation and we have nothing new to offer." He does write in 'Action' 'Talk to Spoiled about fears'. "Alright, that's a good idea. Any others?"

The mares look back and forth, none venturing another suggestion. A frown crosses Doug's face as he taps his pencil against the table. After a minute Rainbow asks, "What do we have already?"

Doug looks at the paper, "Talk to Spoiled about her reasons, her fears, and try to beat her up?"

Rainbow smirks, "Try?"

Applejack adds, "Well, we might need to figure out what she wants, but if we tried to buy her off? Pay restitution for whatever slight she imagined happening?"

Rainbow rolls her eyes, "That's just giving in to her even more. Sure, it might get her off our back now but it's not going to help long term."

Doug asks, "Well, how bad is this impacting us? If we do give in, and assuming things don't get any worse. I already barely go into town, just to see Rarity, and she's allowing that."

Applejack says, "Well, that's a pretty large assumption there, but Ah suppose it isn't really that bad. Ah mean, it's like she deliberately left us and the foals out of whatever it is she's planning. Do ya think she's gonna try to drive us apart later on?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it past her," Rainbow raises a hoof to her chin, "Though she might need some pretext to increase whatever restrictions she plans on placing. She'll probably try to instigate something when Doug is going to see Rarity." At Rarity's questioning look she responds, "What? Ponies accuse me of instigating all the time, you figure I would know how it works."

Doug says, "So, what if we put her on the spot? Ask her, point blank, what her plans are, what her end game is. If she says that she just wants me out of town, fine, we can handle that. If she wants to take it a step further, we know and might be able to counter it. Or, if she says she has no plans, and later retracts that? We might be able to use that to persuade other ponies that what she is doing is wrong. Or unjustified."

Rarity responds, "So, it sounds like we need somepony to go have a conversation with Spoiled Rich. And I know just the pony."

Rainbow rolls her eyes, "Who, you? Just go on and say it, you'd be the best pony for the job."

Rarity shakes her head, "No, you, Rainbow Dash. If I did it Spoiled Rich would immediately be suspicious. She would know there is some ulterior motive that I have. Same with Applejack, though I think Spoiled Rich would be slightly less suspicious of her. And, while I do love you, Fluttershy, I don't think this kind of confrontation would go well for you."

Fluttershy slowly moves her head side to side, "No, I don't think I would like that at all."

Rarity looks back to Rainbow, "So you see, Rainbow Dash, you are the best pony for the job. She already knows you aren't happy with this arrangement, so you would have a pretty good reason for visiting her. She won't think that you can keep your emotions in check, so she won't think that you are hiding anything when you ask her what she really wants."

Rainbow looks eagerly at Rarity, "Sounds pretty awesome so far. So, what am I hiding?"

Rarity gives Doug a confused look, "Um, I didn't think that far ahead. Is Rainbow hiding anything? Or just being sincere in her effort to fix this situation?"

Doug answers, "I think sincerity is the way to go. Either we find out her demands or she is being unreasonable and we go from there."

Rainbow wipes a hoof across her forehead, "Okay, Rainbow, you can do this." She looks around the room, "Am I doing this right now? Just, go into town and find Spoiled Rich and ask her 'what's up'?

Applejack shrugs, "Well, Ah think we're all out of ideas here. We need to know a bit more about what Spoiled wants before we can really proceed, if'n we proceed at all." She looks over at Doug, who nods.

Doug adds, "Pretty much. Just, try not to antagonize her too much, okay Rainbow? Only punch her if she punches you first." He winks at Rainbow, who rolls her eyes before smirking.

"Ya, if she tries to lay a hoof on me I'll show her!" Rainbow leaps into the air, doing a few spinning kicks before overbalancing and crashing into the floor.

The pegasus rubs her head as Applejack looks over, asking, "How many of those ciders did you have? And you didn't grab the... Ah mean, uh, maybe Ah should get you a glass of water before you go." Applejack leaves the room, looking shiftily side to side.

Doug helps Rainbow up as Applejack returns with a glass of water. Rainbow downs the water quickly, lightly pushing Doug and Applejack away. She utters, "Alright, I got this," before leaving the house.

Applejack looks over, "Well, it can't get any worse, right?"

Rarity responds by putting her head on the table and covering it with her hooves. She looks up at the ceiling, wailing, "Whhyyyyy?"