//------------------------------// // Bearer of bad news // Story: House of the Rising Sunflower // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Rustic was a harried, red-eyed, anxious mess, and Sundance’s first instinct was to sweep his friend up into a swift, crushing hug. Surely, being boarded and harassed by the guards hadn’t helped matters any, but right now didn’t feel like the right time to say something about that. Something was wrong though; the unicorn wasn’t at all groomed and he was not his calm, reassured self. “Where’s Turmeric?” Rustic’s voice was scratchy and rather weak, with none of its usual silkiness. “Is something wrong?” asked Sundance. “Yeah… there is plenty wrong.” “Care to tell me?” “No.” With abrupt suddenness, Rustic became focused and collected. “Not until there is something to tell, Sundance. You have enough to worry about.” “Oh, this is about me, is it? Us?” “Damnation!” The word was spat out and Rustic’s mustache bristled as if the profane utterance had left a bad taste in his mouth. “I’m sorry, I can’t go into this right now. It would be a very long and drawn out conversation if I did, and would cause you all kinds of worry, so I—” “You do realise that I am worried right now, correct?” “Of course I do!” Rustic snapped. “I’m not doing well under all this pressure.” His voice became apologetic. “Not doing well at all. A long question and answer session would only further exacerbate my problem, like rubbing poison sumac on hives.” This time, Sundance did not relent, and spreading his wings out wide, he collided against his friend, closed his wings around him, and gave him a squeeze. Rustic squirmed a bit, no doubt trying to pull away, or perhaps he found the feathers ticklesome. The smaller unicorn that Sundance held smelled like ink, tea, and something foreignly spicy. “When I know more, I’ll tell you, I promise.” Rustic’s words were muffled, but understandable. “By the way, you smell like really bad eggs…” The tin teacup jittered in Rustic’s sparking telekinesis and the tea within threatened to slosh over the sides. He was a bit calmer now, not quite so frantic, and the fastidious unicorn was even trying to smooth out his mustache, which Sundance took as a good sign. Seeing his friend so shaken was unnerving, and whatever was wrong, it was safe to assume that it was quite bad. “Turmeric, I’m sorry. I feel really bad, I do. You want to stay, I know it. But I need you with me. Your eye for detail and your organisational skills… I don’t trust anypony else. All of this has me so anxious, because I know what you want and I’m fully aware that you have a hard time telling me no… or anypony else, for that matter.” “If I knew what was going on—” “If I told you what was going on right now, Sundance would know.” “Would that be so bad?” Turmeric turned about, round and round in a circle, almost chasing his own tail. “Yes.” Rustic nodded and his teacup bobbed in the air. “I’m worried that if I say even a little bit, there’ll be too many questions that I won’t have answers for, and then everything will be worse.” “I really like it here,” Turmeric said, almost whispering. “Been having the time of my life. There’s lots of queer teenagers here… and for once, I’m the older, wiser one with some answers. It feels good, you know? Because usually, I’m on the other end of things. My own life is still a mess… but talking with them, it’s helping me to sort everything out.” “And now I feel even worse asking you to come with me—” “Aw, Rustic, don’t feel bad. It’s important for us to talk. You and I… we need to stop being such sissies and have more heart to hearts. Though now might not be the best time. You and I, we’re too afraid of stepping on each other’s hooves and we control each other with passive-aggressive sniping.” “Uh, Turmeric—” “Oh, there’s been a lot of talking and I’ve learned a few things. I’ve come into my own.” Sundance, silent, watched as his two friends looked one another in the eye. Rustic drew in a deep breath and the tin teacup almost went still. A stiff breeze left cool kisses on Sundance’s sun-warmed hide. Turmeric had gone still, no longer chasing his tail, and now stood staring at Rustic. For a moment, all the hustle and bustle around them retreated, and for Sundance, it felt as though the world had gone still. “The banks smell money,” Rustic said to his companions. “A lot has happened all at once. At first, the banks wanted to be co-investors, so that Sundance’s debts can be reclaimed. But bank agents make for lousy investment partners. They have no cares for long term gain, only what they can get now, to get the debt paid off. When I told them that I had no interest in working with them, well, I suspect that I’m about to be muscled out the process entirely, and Sundance, Sundance… I’m afraid that they’ll go ahead with our idea for the sake of recovering what is owed. I don’t actually know what is going on. I’ve called in a favour with Raven, and I should have access to the barony’s financial records before sundown. And that’s why I need you, Turmeric. You have the best eye for detail. We need to go over those documents and come up with a plan.” As Sundance felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, Turmeric said, “I understand.” Chewing on his lip, it was hard, almost impossible even, to not ask questions. Sundance knew that doing so would wreck the moment, and tried to be satisfied with what little he knew. Thinking about Skyla, and the things that Skyla had said, he chose action; action was something he could do, and so he took charge. “Turmeric, I need you to be the barony’s official spokespony in Canterlot.” “Spokespony?” Turmeric was an odd mix of confused and curious. “I do believe Sundance meant liaison,” Rustic said to Turmeric. “Also, I’m inclined to agree. This is a smart move. I’ll even pay you, Turmeric. You’ll be our liaison. Our coordinator.” “Me?” “I trust you,” Sundance said. “Do good for the barony. Act in my stead. Do what is necessary.” “This feels important—” “This is important.” Rustic smoothed out his mustache, and for the first time, he smiled. “Turmeric, you’ll spend time in Canterlot and here. Moving forward, we’ll need the means to coordinate our efforts. You are the ideal pony for the job. Sundance trusts you, and I trust you, and Sundance needs to focus his efforts here. It looks like an awful lot is happening.” “I’m flattered—” “I’ll take that as a yes,” Sundance said. “Well, I… of course that’s a yes. I do miss Canterlot. A lot, actually. But I love this place.” Blinking, Turmeric took a moment to compose himself and get himself under control. “Best of both worlds, really. Please, I need a moment to say goodbye to Corduroy, and then I’ll be ready to go. She’s my sweetheart!” With Turmeric gone, Sundance was left alone with Rustic. There was tension in the air, plenty of it, but Sundance kept temptation at bay. Rustic, sipping his tea, seemed to be recovering just a bit, and stood watching the busy goings-on happening all around him. For his part, Sundance tried to think noble thoughts, whilst he maintained a noble air, even though he really wanted to blurt out question after question. “Hey, Sundance…” One eyebrow arched as he looked over at his friend. “Did you know that your debt grows by about thirty-three gold bits a day?” This revelation caused Sundance to almost swallow his tongue. “I would imagine that those holding your debt are torn between collecting the whole sum and allowing the debt to grow ever-larger, for the sake of a greater return. Because of Princess Celestia, the barony is valuable. If for some reason, everything falls through, the debt defaults back to her. That’s the big legal issue with being immortal, you know. She founded this barony. By technicality, she’s still the rightful owner—because she’s the founder and she’s still alive. I’ve been doing a bit of study with the hopes that I could find some way to fix all of this.” Still reeling from everything said, Sundance stood in shocked silence. “Collecting would mean taking Princess Celestia to court somehow, and successfully putting the pinch on her.” Rustic sighed, sipped his tea, and shook his head. “After the Mister Mariner shakeup, I don’t think the banks want to antagonise Princess Celestia, so they just allow the debt to keep growing, no doubt hoping that everything will be paid off somehow, someday.” “I only learned a little about the debt,” Sundance confessed. “When it comes to this stuff, I’m pretty stupid. Once I was a bit more established, I was going to look into it. Or maybe I was just procrastinating. Pevensey was nice enough to deal with though. He didn’t strike me as being a jerk.” “Oh, Pevensey is a nice fellow, but he’s still a banker. He’s a shark, Sundance. All pleasant smiles and upper-upper-class etiquette. I spoke with him just yesterday. He politely suggested that I just walk away from this and let ponies who understand money deal with everything. But he was polite about it. Apologised with every other word.” This left Sundance rubbing his chin, and he recalled his own meeting with Pevensey. “That was a smart move with Turmeric,” Rustic remarked. Still stroking his chin, Sundance did not respond. “Princess Celestia plays a long game.” Rustic’s voice was low, hissy, and a good bit smoother after a spot of tea. He gestured at everything going on around him. “All of this benefits you, but in the long run, it benefits her too. I think. What do I know? I’m not immortal. Her logic and our logic aren’t the same. I’m thinking in financial terms, but she probably has other reasons for doing all of this, with the financial stuff being the least of her concerns. That’s the problem with ancient alicorns, Sundance. Inequine logic. They look a bit like us, but make no mistake, they’re not us. But she took one look at you, saw something that piqued her interest, and now she’s doing whatever it is she’s doing. Meanwhile, us mere mortals, the bankers, you and I, we’re just trying to sort out our lives and our finances and do all the stuff that us short-sighted mortals do. Her plans overlap our plans… it kind of makes me feel small.” No words graced Sundance’s lips. As for Rustic, he finished his tea in silence, with nothing more to say.