“So, as you can see, our situation is rather dire and we need to enact a plan moving forward. We already know that Trottingham found a way to weaponize your strange abilities as well as ways to give these same abilities to those who don’t innately have them. You and your five friends definitely have the most knowledge concerning these powers as well as the phenomenon that took place in Equestria. And while I am very grateful that you honored your pledge to us to return to Manehattan and contribute to our cause, I am afraid we cannot wait any longer to see if the rest of your friends will do the same. We must act now, and therefore I am turning to you for support in this desperate hour.”
In her lone seat across from the chancellor, his guardsmen, and a few other executives, Fluttershy wrung her hands together and swallowed a large lump.
“Oh my…”
The grand chancellor himself, sitting in a much higher backed chair, looked puzzled. “Pardon me, I didn’t quite catch that?”
Fluttershy let out a nervous mutter as she looked around. If anything, she was even more nervous than the last time she had been in that room meeting the chancellor for the first time. The fact that the sun was out and most of the soldiers from before were gone didn’t seem to help.
“I…um…that is…” she stammered, “Mr. Chancellor, while I’m flattered for all of that, I’m…I’m not so sure I can help you that much.”
“I can understand your trepidation, Ms. Fluttershy. I, um…well…” He grimaced. “I don’t mean to be rude or insulting, but we were hoping that Ms. Twilight Sparkle would have come back by now as she seems to have the greatest knowledge of these…these…um…”
“…Promethian Sigils?” She nearly whispered.
“Yes, those…Promethian Sigils. Nevertheless, as I said, action must be taken at once. The world is moving and it’s not waiting for us or for the rest of your companions. Therefore, effective 9 o’clock this morning, the Manehattan Doctrine is now in full effect.”
“The…Manehattan Doctrine?”
“Yes. Surely you read of it in this morning’s paper?”
“Oh.” She looked more nervous than before. “I…don’t tend to read the newspaper. It gets me too agitated. I just used it for…for…um, well…the animals who aren’t quite as tidy as the others about leaving their little presents.”
Fancy Pants looked a bit put off for a moment. “I…see. Well, I don’t want to get into the long and short of it and take up any more of your time, but the essence of the legislation is that I have established Manehattan as a sanctuary state for all eidolons, regardless of nationality. We are even offering to put them on a form of ‘fast track’ to citizenship as part of the law.”
“Ei…eidolons…?”
He grimaced. “That’s essentially the title we are using to refer to individuals with these Promethian Sigils. Now, we are expecting some push back from this, but ultimately we think it’s best for the world at large. And if we establish a sanctuary state, then we are hoping that other countries will quickly follow suit as opposed to implementing any sort of programs that penalize or otherwise treat eidolons as second-class citizens. Once everyone is no longer regarding these individuals as lepers, so to speak, we can work on identifying the source of their new abilities and the reason certain individuals are affected and not others. Then perhaps we can find a way to control their outbursts or at least predict who will be affected next.”
He folded his hands and leaned forward. “Now, of course, we can expect that many individuals will be reluctant to believe these claims. They might see this as a trick to allow some form of registration, so that they can be readily identified later for something far more nefarious. And since we are turning Manehattan into a sanctuary state for all of Greater Everfree, that means that both individuals who are allies to Manehattan as well as individuals who are from hostile nations will be allowed to reside here. This has already caused an amount of pushback from the interior, and, no doubt, has only made things worse for those we wish to welcome to Manehattan. That is where you come in, Ms. Fluttershy.”
“Wh…me?” she squeaked.
“Well, as an eidolon in the service of Manehattan, it makes perfect sense that someone like you should head this effort.”
She let out a nervous tremble and gulped. “Um… M-M-Mr. Chancellor…sir… I’m not sure I’m the best person for this… I rushed back to Manehattan as fast as I could in order to take care of Angel Bunny and the rest of the animals, and they still have spots on them from where the Light Eaters touched them that I need to keep under control. That keeps me pretty busy…” She shifted. “Besides, I’m not that good at, um…going to events with large crowds. Or speaking to large crowds. Or standing near large crowds. Or being on the same street as large crowds. Or…well…pretty much anything that has to do with a large crowd…”
“Nevertheless, I truly think this would be the best way you could help Manehattan as well as other eidolons right now. The dominant thought among society is that eidolons are just these mad engines of destruction. Seeing one such as yourself, who I understand has healing abilities, would be a welcome counter-example. Especially if you could help some people along the way with some of those abilities.”
Fluttershy only looked more nervous at the suggestion.
“And,” Fancy Pants quickly interjected, “we would, of course, make accommodations for any of your animals that you wished to take along with you. It would be the least we could do if it would make you feel more at ease about this arrangement. And this would provide an excellent opportunity, for all of us, to try and see if we can locate the rest of your friends. Or, at the bare minimum, look for some evidence about what happened to them. Wouldn’t you agree?”
This part made Fluttershy ease a little, but not much. She put a finger to her chin and thought momentarily. “I…well…I guess so…”
Seeing the apprehension on her face, the chancellor hesitated a moment before leaning back. “Well, how about I give you a day to sleep on the idea? As urgent as our situation is, we have the luxury of not rushing into any decisions just yet.”
Fluttershy, by now, was looking to one side and avoiding his gaze, but let out a near mutter. “Ok…”
“So I’ll have one of the servicemembers come by tomorrow at, say, 9 o’clock and you’ll have you answer for them by then?”
“Ok…”
“Splendid,” he smiled. “Thank you for your consideration, Ms. Fluttershy. The servicemembers outside will see you safely back to Carousel Couture.”
Fluttershy gave a meek nod and muttered something that only vaguely sounded like a thank you, then rose from her chair. The door to the room opened, and the same agents that had been keeping a watch on the factory/residence for weeks, including the one with the thick mustache, silently stood there and waited for her as she timidly walked out. She nearly shrank from both of them as she scooted by, but once they were out the door shut again.
Fancy Pants, looking less at ease now, exhaled as he reached for one of his cigarettes. He had barely managed to get it out when there was a knock on the door. Soon after, it opened and let another executive aid in.
“Sir, we just got the telegraph back from Winsome Falls. The escort reports that everything is going well and that Fleur-de-Lis is in excellent health and spirits.”
He nodded back. “Good to hear. Tell them to go ahead and extend the trip for three more days. I’d like her far from the capitol as long as possible. In the meantime, let’s get those contractors lined up. We need to make as much inroads into Equestria as we can.”
Fluttershy had hardly opened the door to the residential complex connected to Carousel Couture when she heard a rapid, yet familiar, scampering, followed by the cries of the maid. She stiffened in surprise right there in the foyer, and didn’t move an inch until she saw the latter of the two stomp over from the kitchen in a huff. She laid eyes on Fluttershy and immediately bellowed.
“Ma’am! Your rat was in the kitchen again! Raiding it!”
Fluttershy shrank in alarm at the verbal outburst, but quickly calmed when she realized what she was talking about. “Oh, do you mean Angel? He’s a rabbit, actually. Not even a rodent-”
“Whatever he is, he needs to stay out of the kitchen! He’s pilfering whatever raw vegetables I can get, and those are getting pricier by the day with the embargos from Fillydelphia! And I don’t need him leaving any presents around the meals either!”
Fluttershy stared back silently a moment before looking up a little and glancing to one side. Sure enough, Angel hadn’t gone far. He was in his favorite hiding spot in the little space between one of the heavier armoires and the wall. He almost seemed to have a smile on his face as he smugly munched on a carrot.
“Oh…well, Angel is too…I mean, I’ve trained him well enough to make sure he won’t do his business anywhere in the kitchen. And I’ll give him a talking to about the vegetables again. I’m sure once I’ve explained the situation with prices being the way they are, he’ll more than understand.”
“Exp…explain?” the maid nearly stammered back. She rolled her eyes and groaned. “How in the world are you going to explain something to a rabbit?”
“Well, you see…we kind of have something of an understanding-”
“So long as you’re talking to that rabbit,” she half-scoffed, “why don’t you let him know if I ever catch him in the kitchen again I’ll make a stew out of him!”
At once, Fluttershy saw Angel stop eating. His incisors bared and a squeak of a growl came out from his throat as he began to step out from the armoire. Fluttershy gulped and quickly shook her head ‘no’ at him, but fortunately the maid was already turning around and heading back.
“I have no idea how he got into the cupboard anyway… I had it locked! It’s not like rabbits can use keys!”
As she began to head back, Angel finally leapt out, prompting Fluttershy to quickly snap forward, rush over, and snatch him up before he could do anything they would both regret. She had scarcely managed to grab him and stand again, with him struggling all the way, when she nearly jumped again. Coco Pommel had just finished walking out in the wake of the maid and now stood right in front of her.
“Ah!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Ms. Fluttershy. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
The woman took a moment to compose herself, which wasn’t too easy as Angel tried to seize the moment to escape again, but in the end relaxed while still holding onto him. “Oh…that’s quite alright. I was just…um…tending to Angel Bunny. He gets a bit energetic after having fresh carrots.”
“I just heard you come in and I came out to see you. You’re back from the government quadrangle sooner than I thought. What was it about? Um…that is, unless it was classified or something.”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” Fluttershy went on as she finally got Angel to relent for the moment, much to his unhappiness. “They just…well…they asked if I wanted to do a job for them, more or less.”
“Oh, I see.” A pause, during which her face turned more anxious. “So…they didn’t mention anything about having found Ms. Rarity or hearing from her yet, did they?”
Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid not.”
Coco nodded back, but her own head slumped as she turned away. “I didn’t think they would, but…I kind of hoped they would,” she half-muttered as she walked up the foyer to the windows. “We’ve been able to keep things running without her. Especially Sassy. There’s only so much we can do without her, though.”
She reached the window and glanced out of it, looking a bit more uncomfortable.
“Those men came by again today. As much as I hated having those government agents around all the time, at least they stayed away when they did. I’m not sure what to do when they knock on the door. I’m afraid they’ll try and force themselves in like that one time if I open it, but I’m scared they’ll break it down one of these days if I don’t. I keep thinking back to that story in the papers…”
A thought came to her when she said that, and turned to the woman.
“Fluttershy, I don’t suppose… I mean, well… That is… I know you have a way with animals when they misbehave. And you can make people hold still for when Ms. Sparkle needed to-”
“Oh, oh no-no…” Fluttershy immediately cut off, tensing up a bit herself. “An emergency where I have to keep someone from hurting themselves is one thing, but I don’t use my power on people. I don’t even really like using it on animals. I’m sorry, but that’s out of the question.”
Coco looked a bit unhappy at the answer, but nodded just the same. “I understand.” She sighed and turned from the window. “I just really wish Ms. Rarity was here. She always seemed to know what to-”
“Sequins and stitches…”
She cut herself off, and both she and Fluttershy looked back up to the hall leading to the foyer. Sassy Saddles, a bit stressed and frazzled herself, was standing in the entryway.
“Ms. Pommel, we really need you on the floor. We’ve had three more no-shows to work today and we’re already behind on the collar hems on half the uniforms.”
The younger woman’s eyes widened. “Oh no! Three?”
Sassy sighed. “Apparently someone’s still going around harassing our employees. We know who to blame. The bottom line is we’ll need all hands on deck. Maybe we’ll only need to plead for an hour of overtime if we start now…”
“I’ll be right there.”
Immediately, she took off for the hallway. She passed Sassy soon after, and the older lady nearly turned to follow her when she paused, seeming to notice Fluttershy for the first time, and turned back to her.
“Oh, welcome back, Ms. Fluttershy. I’m sorry I don’t have time to ask about how the visit went. We’re backed up far too much.” She nearly turned away again when she paused and looked back. “You…didn’t happen to hear anything about Ms. Rarity, did you?”
She shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”
“Oh, buttons and bobbins… Thank you anyway.” She soon followed after Coco. In moments, Fluttershy was left alone in the foyer with Angel.
She stood there silently for a time before sighing. Looking down to Angel, she patted him slightly before turning away to head to the rooms where Rarity had let her keep her animals. She only got a few steps before she paused and looked back to the front door. She could see out the windows from here. There was no sign of the rough-looking men, but she knew they still came around. Even more so now that the government wasn’t watching them so closely.
She turned away and kept walking.
“Maybe I can do more than just wait around here…”
The government official, a rather rough-looking man with a hard jaw and no nonsense about him (probably part of the military corps of engineers), gave the sheet of paper before him one last dismissive glance before lowering it and squaring the woman seated across from him in his gaze. She did her best to maintain her plastered smile even as she struggled not to sweat. He was silent for several seconds.
“New company, huh?”
“Um…yes, yes we are! Saw an opportunity…I mean, need that needed to be filled and we rose to it!”
“Uh-huh… Don’t think that just because we need this job done as fast as possible that we’ve lowered our standards. If you expect this contract to hold up, you’re going to provide a daily quota. Two miles worth of road made wagon-worthy per day.”
“Understood.”
“And we don’t have enough soldiers to provide an escort on all parts of the route either. That means you provide your own security. You don’t head out until an hour after dawn and you’re back an hour before dusk. Understand?”
“Yes sir. Clear as crystal!”
The official glowered at her a bit longer, before he muttered while giving the paper his stamp of approval. He followed it up with a signature before nearly throwing it across the desk back to her. “Well, if you’re crazy enough to want this job at all, I won’t stop you. Consider yourself and your company under government contract, Ms….?”
She immediately took the paper as soon as she had it, quickly folding it and slipping it in her vest pocket as she began to rise. The question, however, made her hesitate. “Oh…Glimmer! Starlight Glimmer!” She rapidly held out her hand. “Pleasure-to-do-business-with-you!”
The man, after a time, reached out to take her hand, but he was too slow. Eager to get moving, she ended up grasping the air and making a shaking motion before turning on her heel and walking out of the temporary office as fast as she could.
She emerged through the door and down a small staircase to a military encampment right on the edge of the Everfree Forest. In addition to being surrounded with cannon and gun emplacements and swarming with soldiers, it had a number of civilian contractors lined up in a sizeable stretch all waiting to go into the small shack that had been erected there to act as an office. The next one in line bolted for the door before the nearby MP had the chance to call “next”, but Starlight ignored all of them. She made straight for one of the groups of civilians surrounding the area, in particular one with Party Favor, Double Diamond, and Sugar Belle all waiting eagerly for her.
As soon as she got close enough, all three of them arose. She quickly held open her vest and showed off the contract.
“We got it?” Double Diamond asked as she neared.
“Yes, and now we have to put it to good use. How are we on manpower?”
“You kidding?” Party Favor snickered. “With the way the world has been going, we’ve tripled our numbers!”
“Then let’s get our sleeves rolled up and our hands dirty. Twilight’s got to be somewhere in that forest. And even if she isn’t, we need a clear path to that site in that journal before anyone from Manehattan gets to it.”