//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: This is why you should never let ponies play Terraforming Mars // by Petrichord //------------------------------// Ecoline tended to its crops. There was more to that, of course, that mattered to Ecoline’s pocketbook. But to Mars, there was little left but for the algae and fungus and psychrophiles to spread, guided over the land with careful, nurturing hooves. Still, Ecoline was forced to look elsewhere, to tend to themselves as they had tended to others. There were opportunities, of course, but few that hadn’t already been capitalized on by their rivals. But not all the planets with exploitable assets had been exploited - and, rich in sightseeing opportunities and speculative opportunities and strange nostalgia, Equestria’s moon — called Luna — had plenty of assets to exploit. It would help Ecoline nurture its pocketbook as Ecoline nurtured its Martian planets, for the moment. ******************************************* Rainbow Dash snorted. The group looked over at her. Rainbow Dash, grinning like an idiot, seemed to be suppressing the urge to break out into a fit of giggles. “Rainbow Dash?” Rarity frowned. “Is there something funny about our current predicament?” Rainbow Dash shook her head, clasping a hoof over her mouth. “Somethin’ about her turn, then?” Applejack added. “Don’t see what you’ve got to be laughin’ at. Fluttershy made some plants, exploited Luna’s assets — ” The dam broke. Rainbow Dash doubled over, going red in the face as she howled with laughter. “Dear?” Rarity said, between Rainbow Dash’s breathless wheezings. “What in Equestria has gotten into you?” “P...plundering!” Rainbow Dash giggled. “F-fluttershy’s gonna c-claim Luna’s assets!” “And how is that — ” A loud snort echoed down from the other side of the table. Rarity turned and saw Fluttershy covering her mouth with her hoof, silently doubling over as her sides heaved. “Not you, too!” Rarity sighed as Rainbow Dash’s laughter redoubled. “Could one of you please cue me in on — ” “Big, big assets!” Rainbow Dash giggled, tracing out curves with her hooves. “A-and Fluttershy’s driving herself rrrrrright into them!” “Oh, for Celestia’s sake, is that sexual innuendo?” Rarity groaned as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy burst out laughing again. With a sigh, she turned to look at Applejack, who seemed like she was trying a bit too hard to keep her face neutral. “Laughter’s contagious.” Applejack tugged the brim of her hat down. “That’s all there is to it. They’ll all calm down, don’t worry.” “All aboard for the dark side of the moon!” Rainbow Dash bellowed. Fluttershy raised her hoof in the air, then jerked it down as if she was tugging on an invisible rope. “Toot, toot!” That set both of them off yet again, and Rarity frowned as Applejack’s shoulders trembled. Worse, though, was the faint tinge of hysteria beginning to seep into her mood. Contagious, of course, and nothing more. It wasn’t funny. It was juvenile and bizarre. “C-careful, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash sniggered. “Y-you don’t want to get lost in...in Luna’s big, deep crevice!” “I-I j-just h-h-hope there aren’t too many craters!” Fluttershy wheezed. Applejack snorted as Starlight Glimmer joined in Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s fit of giggles. “Th-this isn’t...th-this I-I-isn’t…” And then the five of them were laughing. For no sensible, rational reason at all, they were laughing like loons, bent back in their chairs and over into their laps, riding a wave of unabashed mirth for minute after breathless minute. Gradually, one by one, they came down from their euphoria: wheezing, red-faced, tear-streaked and sore-chested, grinning as if each of their respective days had just been made. “That…” Rainbow Dash gasped. “I-I needed that.” “What?” Rarity puffed. “You needed to laugh at something silly?” “Yeah. I just...hff. Wow. I just needed to feel, y’know...not all tensed up. I think my body went a little overboard with rebalancing itself.” Rainbow Dash slumped backward in her seat. “Not that I’m complaining, though. I just...let’s not think about our questions for a bit, okay? I just want to smile a little longer.” “Can’t say...can’t say that don’t sound reasonable.” Applejack sat up a little. “Whoof. Goodness gracious, but that was a dumb thing to get all worked up about. Not that I mind.” “I can think of worse fates, yeah.” Starlight Glimmer sighed. “Right. So, uh...it’s your turn, isn’t it, Applejack?” ******************************************* Now, just because Aphrodite thought that there was little point in getting rid of Venus’ bad gas… ******************************************* Applejack snorted, cracked another grin, shrugged apologetically and kept going. ******************************************* Just because that effort was thought to be wasted didn’t mean it was to be wasted. Maybe makin’ Venus a safe place was a long, long, long time in th’ future thing, but that didn’t mean it was impossible. It didn’t mean it couldn’t have been useful to those folks a long, long, long time in the future, either. Maybe it didn’t look good to anypony but the ponies in the United National Mars-Equestria initiative, but Applejack’s folks thought they had a pretty good idea in doin’ like Aphrodite was doin’. It weren’t pretty, weren’t the sort of work that the other megacorporations might get to see an’ be jealous of every day, but it did a useful thing. More useful than just securin’ more funding from the United National Mars-Equestria initiative, anyway, but the extra funding wasn’t unappreciated, neither. ******************************************* “I suppose I should offer you a compliment right back, then,” Rarity said. “Backhoofedly admitting that I’m playing cleverly? That’s positively flirtatious, coming from you.” “Keep dreamin’, Rares.” Applejack smirked. “You had an okay idea, once. Okay enough for me to do on my own. That don’t mean you’re some kinda genius.” “Whatever you say, dear.” Rarity hummed happily to herself. “In any case, I ain’t got any more things I can do on my turn. Who’s next up? Rainbow Dash, right?” ******************************************* Ponies are preemptively manipulable and post-emptively stubborn. A complex way of phrasing an ultimately simple sentiment, to be sure, but sometimes the complex phrases were also the most succinct. And such a principle most certainly applied here. Ponies, as a rule, preferred to think of morals in black-and-white terms: good and evil, easy to define, easily pleasant, all-encompassing in nature. When probed to see if their feelings were slightly more complex, ponies tended to say that they see morals in a sort of dawn-and-dusk nature, too. Like the dawn, ponies could rise out of the night (which was bad) and come into the light (which was good;) or, like the dusk, ponies could descend from the day (which was good) and sink into the night (which was bad.) Good, becoming evil, evil, becoming good: those were the four points on a pony’s moral compass, which had guided them through untold eons, from their roots amidst the grassy fields towards the present-day voyages to the specks of dust that floated around the stars. There wasn’t much space at all in a pony’s moral compass for anything grey, which was what made them preemptively manipulable and post-emptively stubborn. Helion, the housers of immigrants and refugees, was a good company run by good ponies. That had been established early on, years and years ago, and the fact of their goodness was now undeniable. It would take multiple serious incidents to convince the other ponies of Mars and Equestria that they were anything but good. This meant that, so long as Helion was clever and cautious, incidents of a slightly unfavorable nature could be dismissed as mere accidents. Besides, Mars needed heat. Heat must flow, and would flow, for it could not be contained. Kinetic energy, too, would disperse when it wished, including all the heat that came with it. If, theoretically, a large enough asteroid was guided to smash into the surface of Mars, the amount of energy and heat that the impact would release would be great - and quite suitable indeed for the purposes of creating a habitable planet. There weren’t even any ponies living by the Sinai Planum, technically. It was such a victimless crime that it could barely be considered a crime at all. ******************************************* “Barely a crime?” Rarity sputtered. “There were lichens growing there! My lichens!” “Accident.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Totally an accident. Couldn’t be helped.” “Oh, it most certainly could and you know it.” Rarity sniffed. “Mark my words, you’ll pay for this.” “Shouldn’t you be the one paying for things? On account of you being so unaccountably rich?” Rainbow Dash fired back. “If I had anything to pay for, I might. But I’ve earned everything I have on virtue alone.” “I’m sure that virtue lead you to ignore the well-being of Mars in pursuit of Venusian contracts. Anyway.” Rainbow Dash raised a hoof, cutting Rarity off. “It’s not my turn anymore. Starlight? You’re up.” ******************************************* All of this talk of the uncontrollability of spreading life was, in some regards, true. It was, in some regards, a fundamental aspect of the spreading of life. But it wasn’t the only aspect, to be sure. Now, commerce — that was a lifeblood so easily ignored. But what was the exchange of materials but an extrapolation of the exchange of particles? To dismiss it was to dismiss the nature of the universe, which was a ludicrous proposition at best. No, the invigorating aspect of trade must be recognized, embraced and capitalized on to its fullest extent. Thorgate was no stranger to the value of monopolies and establishment and possession of subsidiaries. Countries did not matter in the greater schemes of those designs; and if nations meant nothing, then why should nationless planets have any greater say? Thorgate, and the Undying Chairmare Starlight Glimmer, displayed their cleverness on this matter. The establishment of a trading colony on Triton may not have been an original move, but simply because the Martian-Equestrian Multinational Establishment had elected to engage in a desirable endeavor did not mean that said endeavor was subsequently off of the table. There was plenty of wealth on Triton to go around — what use was there in not sharing it with ponies in need? ******************************************* Applejack snorted. “They wouldn’t be in need if you treated ‘em right.” “My civilians are thriving, thank you very much.” Starlight Glimmer stretched her forelegs. “Besides, I’m not wrong. There’s more than enough minerals on Triton to go around.” “It ain’t the technicalities that’s the problem.” Applejack jabbed a hoof at Starlight. “It’s the principle of the thing! You keep doin’ things like that, you’re gonna end up like Rarity. You don’t wanna be like that, do you?” “I beg your pardon?” Rarity sputtered. “What’s wrong with being like me? Do you think that you, or anypony else at the table, has their affairs together better than I do?” “Well, if last turn made a show of it, you’re got your affairs put together so well that you ain’t got any money t’do anything with, ‘cause you can’t budget worth a darn.” “Can’t budget worth a darn?” Rarity glared at Applejack, before suddenly grinning with all the cheeriness of a shark’s smile. “Well, dear, I’ll have you know that my subsidies are here in my bank accounts, practically begging to be spent. And it would be remiss to not invest them, wouldn’t it? So, if you’ll allow me…” ******************************************* It had been said, by the cruder races of Equestria, that the quadrupedal forms of ponies implied that they were meant to be ridden. Even in a traditional sense, this was gauche beyond words. If anything, being the pioneers of a civil society and beacons of the free world, they were meant to ride, not to be ridden. And while they were too noble and graceful to stoop to such a thing to other living creatures, it did not mean that concepts were exempt from becoming makeshift steeds. Such was the case with fiscal investments. Profits did not need to be claimed right away, and sources of revenue did not need to be “cashed in” immediately. There was still money to be made, at the behest of investors who had not cancelled their contracts, in clearing the poisonous atmosphere of Venus. And there was still money to be made, too, in tapping aquifers and gathering non-planetary sources of ice, and bringing much needed water to Melas Chasma. All for a greater cause, of course, but all greater causes started with humble, well-founded and thoughtfully laid roots. ******************************************* “That was supposed to be your clever play?” Applejack arched an eyebrow. “You didn’t really do nothin’ important, Rares.” “I beg your pardon?” Rarity sniffed. “I’ve increased the funding being invested in my enterprises immensely! Once again, my gains are towering over the gains of everypony else here, and that certainly includes your paltry sum.” “Okay, sure, yeah, you did good ‘bout the money. Congrats.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “It just wasn’t very excitin’, was all. I mean, Rainbow Dash crashed a big ol’ rock into Mars — ” “On top of my lichens, I should add!” “ — an’ Starlight got herself a big ol’ colony set up, even if it is kinda treading on my hooves more’n a little.” Applejack readjusted the brim of her hat. “ ‘Course, you still got plenty of money left. Plannin’ on actually spendin’ some of it on your next turn?” “Perhaps.” Rarity sniffed. “But a pony shouldn’t inquire about the personal affairs of a gentlepony before she wishes to share them. I’m afraid you’ll have to take your turn first.” “Um, actually — ” “Right.” Applejack groaned. “Whatever. Fluttershy, you’re up.” ******************************************* It seemed like space was starting to get a lot more crowded for everypony. Not, um, not that having a lot of ponies in space was a bad thing. They were all doing very useful things out there! It was wonderful to be able to bring so many wonderful minerals all the way over to Mars! And, um, and it wouldn’t be very nice for Ecoline to try and stop them from doing something like that, anyway. Besides, Ecoline wanted to help! So they, um, they decided that the best thing to do would be to create a city for all the seafaring ponies out there! A big, friendly base, right in the middle of Lunae Planum, full of infrastructure to help all the traders and colonists out. A-and they had to keep it powered with, um, by burning a lot of materials, so that wasn’t very nice to the planet. But maybe they could switch to nicer things later, once everything on Mars was green and beautiful! Anyway, all the ponies who lived in this base were so thankful they had all these nice things build for them, that some of the ponies decided to stay there! And they decided to call it Flutterport, for all the nice things that Ecoline and Fluttershy had done for them. ******************************************* “Alright. My turn.” Applejack cut in. “Um.” Fluttershy mumbled. “Maybe, um. I might have wanted to add more…?” “Really? ‘Cause that sounded like you didn’t have much else to say. Or you didn’t need to say much else, anyway. So. My turn, then.” Rainbow Dash sat up a little. “Hey. Cut it out a little.” “Huh?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “I ain’t sayin’ anythin’ bad, sugarcube. I’m just tryin’ to move things along.” “You’re really not. Though, I mean, I’m really not being great about this, either.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “...Um. Have we been downplaying Fluttershy being here this whole time?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to look at Fluttershy, who was once again doing her best to hide behind her cards. “I, um, I-I mean, I haven’t felt downplayed to,” Fluttershy stammered. “I just, um...I just thought that you wanted to play the game the right way.” “There’s playing the game and there’s being a jerk about it. I...oh, man, we’ve been jerks the entire time, haven’t we?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead. “What’s wrong with us?” “Yeah, I...I reckon I’ve been real unkind to you, Fluttershy.” Applejack scratched the back of her neck. “I...I dunno what came over me. I’m...I’m real sorry, sugarcube.” Fluttershy didn’t speak for a few seconds. “...I thought you were all mad at me,” Fluttershy finally mumbled, “A-and I didn’t know why. I couldn’t think of why. So I, um, I just thought that, um...m-maybe i-if I let you be angry, then eventually y-you wouldn’t want to be angry anymore — ” “Yeah? Well, that’s stupid. Not your line of thinking is stupid, I mean. The stupid thing is that we...we just went along with it! Without even bothering to think a little!” Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration. “Okay, look, everypony, new rule. Nopony acts like a jerk to Fluttershy anymore. And if one of us does, the rest of us immediately call them out on it. And Fluttershy, if all the rest of us forget about that for some dumb reason, jog our memory, okay? ‘Cause there’s no way we’re supposed to treat you like…” “Garbage. We’ve been treating her like garbage.” Rarity sighed. “And I’ve been the worst of the lot in that regard. I’ll do my best to remember, Fluttershy. I promise.” “Same here,” Starlight Glimmer added. Applejack nodded her head. “Yep. Me too.” “You gonna be okay, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash turned her head. “Is there anything else we can do?” Fluttershy shook her head, and broke out into a small, timid smile. “I’m, um...I’m just thankful. Th-that you want to, um, not be mad at me anymore. That...that makes me happy. Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Thank you, everypony.” “ ‘Course.” Applejack nodded. “Like I said, I’unno what came over me. But I ain’t reckon I want it to happen again. An’ I’ll do my darndest to make sure that nopony has to go an’ stop me from bein’ a jerk to you again.” Fluttershy nodded. “I-I, um. I appreciate that.” “ ‘Course.” Applejack nodded her head. “So you had some more stuff ‘bout your turn to talk about, right?” Fluttershy peered at her cards, then shook her head. “Um. I, um. I think I’m fine, actually. Y-you can take your turn.” “Are you sure? Seriously, no pressure. Take as much time as you need.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I-I’m positive. I’m ready. Your turn.” ******************************************* Strange how the ponies of Equestria seemed to be fickle about what they wanted changed. Applejack’s crew almost started to wonder if there was something that weren’t right ‘bout them. But they kept funding whoever did good things to Venus, sure as sugar, an’ so clearly there was some value in tryin’ to make planets besides just Mars better. An’ that weren’t a bad thing to do, to take a bit of a break from Mars to go help out Venus for a lil’ while. ‘Course, the other megamoneygroups competin’ with Applejack’s crew were all tryin’ to work with Venus’ atmosphere. None of them gave a hoot about its soil, so it seemed. But the Applejack sort-of-family, they knew how to work with the soil. They had special bacteria on Mars that could help all the algae and fungus grow even when it was real cold. It weren’t easy to develop a kind of bacteria that could live in super hot places and eat all the nastier bits that were stuck in th’ soil, but it weren’t impossible, neither. An’ Applejack an’ her makeshift family managed. An’, bit by bit, they made Venus a little bit better a little bit deeper down inside. ******************************************* Applejack lapsed into silence. The rest of the group matched her silence with their own. “...Huh. Sorta figured y’all would say somethin’ sarcastic ‘bout what I did just now.” Applejack scratched the back of her neck. “Are y’all tryin’ to be nicer to me, too?” “Not really trying, dear.” Rarity shook her head. “I just...I rather liked that, honestly. It wasn’t elegantly phrased, but it wasn’t overly crude, either. And it sounded meaningful.” “Shucks, you actually liked all that?” Applejack boggled. “That’s almost as crazy as everythin’ else we got goin’ on around here. Huh.” “It wasn’t quite as much of a surprise as Rainbow Dash, of course.” Rarity shook her head. “Not as poetic, trust me. But...but it’s been getting better. I won’t complain about that.” “I’ll...I’ll take that compliment for what it’s worth.” Applejack nodded. “Well, uh...Rainbow Dash? You doin’ anything else?” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Out of money.” “Same,” Starlight Glimmer added. Rarity looked back at her cards. “I suppose it’s back to me, then.” ******************************************* Truthfully, however, Aphrodite’s claims had slightly overstepped their financial boundaries. Opportunities were still plentiful, but money was still rather sparse. Money, truly, was what Aphrodite needed. But money, truly, was what it did not and could not have. There was still work to be done on Venus, of course. And there were still some funds left in Aphrodite’s accounts. But in order to properly clear the more toxic elements of Venus from the air, more experimental methods were required. There needed to be a steady operation in a potential-rich environment, which required investing more money to earn more money. Such was the way of all altruistic corporations: to have their hooves bound by the very ponies that nurtured them. But the operation would be seen to. A colony would be founded, in Titan, no less. Studies would be made. Venus would be improved. Money, and beauty, would flow shortly after. ******************************************* Applejack tucked a couple of strands of mane behind her ear. “Gotta admit, Rarity, I’m kind of looking forward to your next turn already.” Rarity smirked. “What, no sarcastic comment from you?” “Nah. I aim to give as good as I get, but you ain’t exactly in the givin’ department right now, are you?” Applejack spread her cards in front of her in one hoof, like a makeshift cardboard fan. “...Had I known that you’d be willing to drop your theatrical posturing so quickly, I might not have elected to exercise the barbs of my wit so freely.” The corners of Rarity’s mouth turned downward in a faint frown. “You’ve gone and made me feel like a bit of a fool.” Applejack grinned. “Out of money, then?” “Sadly, shamefully, yes.” Rarity huffed. “But I assume you’ve still got some left to use.” “As a matter of fact, I do.” Applejack nodded. “Are you game to feel even more foolish after I show off my, ah, ‘clever play?’ ” “I’m ready and eager.” Rarity grinned back. “Go ahead and give me a benchmark to vault over next turn. I’m looking forward to your stunned silence already.” “Well, how’s this for a stunner?” ******************************************* The multiwhatever Applejackian group still did at least two things well, not just the bacteria stuff: They were good at the whole titanium business, too. An’ now, with their cryothingie sleep pods, they were good at colony an’ shippin’ stuff, too. So shippin’s what they did. Back to Titan? Naw - Thorgate an’ Starlight Glimmer’s other related folks were diggin’ up the good stuff on there for all it was worth. Naw, there were other planets to make the most of. Ganymede was one of ‘em. Now, Ganymede weren’t a place for livin’, per se, but it was still a pretty good place to test out growth of the green stuff. A good place to figure out how to grow the green stuff a lil’ better, away from pryin’ eyes. And, once Applejack’s folks had pretty good-er batches to work with, plenty of green stuff to bring back down to Mars an’ spread, nice an’ pretty-like, over the rocky, barren soil. ******************************************* “So that’s why your start seemed a little slow!” Starlight clasped her hooves in front of her. “Setting yourself up for sneaky little operations already, huh? I’ve underestimated you.” “You’d be surprised how often I hear that line, hon.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Or maybe you wouldn’t, I dunno. Still, I reckon I’m done here. Got more of Venus seemin’ a lil’ more healthy-like, got a lil’ more breathable, maybe edible junk on Mars, an’ I can’t think of any better way to go from here. Not even with the cash I’ve got on hoof.” “Well...okay, then.” Starlight Glimmer paused. “Next turn, everypony?” Silently, they nodded. Starlight began to distribute cards and income for the next turn. “...You know what?” Rainbow Dash piped up. “That wasn’t so bad, just then.” “What wasn’t, dear?” Rarity replied. “This turn. Like, things have been kind of...ugh, you know? As we’ve been going deeper and deeper in. And I’m not sure I want to think more about that, even though I guess we’re probably going to have to. But I don’t mind having the sort of breather where we get to laugh and...and learn how to actually not be awful to Fluttershy. Which I still, y’know, kind of feel really crummy about.” “It’s okay,” Fluttershy replied. “As long as, um. As long as everypony remembers, then...then I don’t think I can be all that angry with everypony.” Rainbow Dash cocked her head. “Are you sure?” Fluttershy nodded her head. “I’d rather be happy than angry. And I don’t think I can be not-angry if I let myself think about this too much.” “...Fair. I guess.” The starting player token was passed clockwise, and the game continued.