//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 (Equestrian History Lesson) // Story: Moving Day // by Timothy48 //------------------------------// Chapter 18 The next few days saw Allen’s condition begin to slowly improve as the hospital ponies started him on his treatments. Both Prince Blueblood and the Equestrian Princesses had been quickly informed of Allen’s situation, and had greenlit the funds needed to pay for his treatment. However, there had been a catch. “What do you mean that I’m not going to get any more financial help from you guys?” asked Allen incredulously. Prince Blueblood shifted uncomfortably in his chair, having just arrived from Canterlot that morning. “Mr. Ross, please try to understand, the Equestrian treasury has been hemorrhaging bits at an alarming rate over the past few months. Now, while the treasury isn’t in immediate danger of going negative. At the current rate of spending, the Equestrian government will be forced to start borrowing money to cover our costs within a few months. To prevent that from happening, the Parliament can enforce certain laws to curtail spending and bring the budget back into balance.” “What are you talking about? I thought you guys were hell bent on bending over backward to make my transition as easy as possible?” asked Allen, irritated and confused by these new developments. Blueblood sighed, rubbing his temple with a hoof in an attempt to soothe a forming headache before it got rolling. “Between the damage caused by Discord, the need to compensate various interests for said damages, and the regular expenses that come from running a nation. The large reserve of bits that has been accumulating over the decades has been drastically reduced, by as much as thirty percent in just a month. As such, both the Stable of Lords and the Stable of Commons decided that we couldn’t afford to keep shoveling bits to everyone forever without some sort of return at a later date or understanding that they wouldn’t be getting any further assistance. As such, they have invoked several laws that effectively bind the Princess’s hooves, and by extension, mine. These laws were designed to help keep the Crown solvent in times of crises by taking away the purse strings temporarily from the Crown and placing them in the hooves of the Parliament.” “And why would they do that?” “Having the power of the purse in the hooves of Princess Celestia, and since her return, Princess Luna, is a practice that predates the founding of Equestria back when the three tribes were their own separate nations. Unicornia kept the power of the purse in the hooves of its leader, Princess Platinum, while the pegasi and earth ponies kept it in the hooves of their Senate and Representative Council. As such when the three united there was a fight as to who would control the nations treasury. Eventually it was decided that the Crown, i.e. Princess Celestia and Luna, would be the ones to have final say on budget matters, while also being able to add or remove budgetary items as needed. While the Parliament would be allowed to propose budgets and present them to Their Majesties for their consideration. Ultimately, however, the Crown has final say in all matters financially. However, in certain extreme cases, the Parliament can temporarily take away this power from the Crown for a time in order to prevent abuse or mismanagement. Once the crisis or issue has passed, the Parliament would then return the power of the purse back to the Crown.” Allen sat quietly in his bed as Blueblood spoke, finally he asked, “So what prevents your Parliament from just taking it away permanently?” “Tradition mostly, that and most ponies view Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna by extension now that she has returned, as impartial when it comes to budgetary matters. It also helps that under Princess Celestia’s solo rein, Equestria has had relative peace and prosperity. So ponies trust the Crown to make the right call when it comes to the allocation of funds. The Parliament on the other hoof... is not looked upon as favorably,” replied Blueblood, a peeved look on his face. “I’m almost afraid to ask,” said Allen in reply. “Ponies tend to be very civically minded. It’s not uncommon for newspapers to print special editions of budgetary votes listing what is in them for everypony to see.” Allen let loose a hearty laugh. “Either you guys have very small budget reports or your newspaper printers use big papers and the smallest type that they can find!” Blueblood chuckled at Allen’s remark. “Well, thankfully that is not the case. Crown Law requires that budgetary language be both concise and easy for the lay pony to understand. In addition, budget reports can not exceed a certain amount of pages either. I imagine Princess Celestia did not wish to spend the rest of her life reading mountains of budgetary papers and reports. As such, she had laws passed that would keep things nice and simple. Of course there are clauses that allow the rules to be suspended in emergencies. However, those instances are rare...or at least they used to be,” he grumbled that last part to himself. “However, getting back onto the topic of why ponies do not generally trust the Parliament to look after their taxes. There have been instances in the past where certain members of the Parliament tried to use the treasury as their own personal piggy bank.” “And they got caught,” remarked Allen with a knowing smile. One which Blueblood returned full force. “And they got caught,” he repeated, “the scandal from my understanding was rather...large, and ruined many political careers in the process. In addition, it also made it rather plain to the common pony that having so many hooves in the proverbial cookie jar invited trouble. As such, the Crown’s authority over the budget increased still further as a result.” “So does your Parliament have any say on financial matters at all?” Blueblood waggled a hoof back and forth in a ‘so-so’ motion. “In a manner of speaking. As I mentioned before, members of Parliament may put forth a request for something before the Crown. The process is fairly straightforward, either a Lord or a Member of Parliament may put forth a motion to add or remove something from the budget. Such as the increase or lowering of taxes and tariffs, the increase or decrease in funding for various institutions, and so on. The motion is then voted on by both the Stable of Lords and Commons, if it passes it is then presented to Their Majesties for consideration, if it does not pass, it is then debated upon and changed accordingly and then voted upon again. Should it fail a second time, it is usually dismissed and no further debate is brought up on the topic again for at least another twelve months. This helps prevent ponies from bogging down the process with junk proposals. Are you with me so far?” asked Blueblood when he saw Allen’s slightly confused look. “I think so,” replied Allen uncertainty, “so, anyone can propose a change to the budget,” when he saw Blueblood nod in agreement he continued, “it is then voted on as is by both groups, and if it passes it goes directly to the Princesses to sign. If it does not pass, then it goes up for debate and amendments and is then voted on again, and if it fails for a second time it’s not brought up again for another year. That sound about right?” Blueblood replied with a wide smile and happy nod of his head. “That is correct, Mr. Ross.” “So what happens when a bill goes to the Princess?” “Well one of four things happens, it’s either signed into law as is, sent back with changes, where the Parliament votes on it again, while the third option is it is sent back with a letter of denial.” “A letter of denial?” interrupted Allen, an intrigued look on his face. Blueblood nodded. “A letter of denial basically means that the Princesses refuse to adopt any of the changes put forth by the Parliament at that time, and that they should drop the matter entirely. This usually means that the bill in question isn’t brought forward again until after at least a few years have passed.” “So in effect it’s their way of saying, ‘no we’re not doing this right now, try again later’?” Chuckling, Blueblood nodded in reply. “Effectively yes, it is.” “Okay, so what’s the fourth outcome then?” “The worst possible outcome from the viewpoint of Parliament. The bill is simply ignored.” “Why would that be the worst thing possible? Other than the sting to one's pride of course.” Giving Allen a positively devilish smile, Blueblood replied, “Discounting the bruised ego that being ignored entails, it also signals the extreme displeasure with which the Crown regards that particular bill. I’m not sure how things are in your world, but here, most of Equestria views Princess Celestia in very high regard. Some even worship her as a deity of sorts.” Upon seeing Allen’s slightly uncomfortable look, Blueblood hastily added, “Don’t worry, neither Princess Celestia or her sister view themselves as demi-gods, and thankfully the number of Solar-Worshippers and Lunar-Worshippers are relatively few.” “That must get awkward at times,” remarked Allen at the thought of some random person prostrating themselves on the ground before you in worship. Blueblood flicked his tail in annoyance, as if he were using it to chase away an especially irritating fly. “You have no idea,” he remarked irritatedly. However, he quickly composed himself and continued saying, “Anyways, as I was saying, most ponies view Princess Celestia with a great deal of respect and admiration, as such, imagine how it would feel if you submitted what you thought was a good idea only to have it completely ignored by the one you hold in such high regard. Even a letter of denial is an easier pill to swallow, as it usually comes with an explanation of why it was denied in the first place. In the case of an ignored bill you have no idea why she ignored it. Furthermore, when the Princesses ignore a bill, it means that it can never be brought up again until after they make a decision on it.” “So it just stays in limbo forever?” asked Allen. Blueblood shook his head. “Not always, but it’s extremely rare for an ignored bill to be sent back to Parliament after the fact.” “Must be pretty hard on the pony that proposed that particular bill then,” remarked Allen dryly. “It can absolutely ruin a pony’s life. As such, Princess Celestia herself has only ignored a few bills over the centuries.” “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you something regarding your Princesses that’s been bothering me since I got here,” remarked Allen suddenly. Shifting in his chair to get more comfortable, Blueblood made a ‘go on’ gesture with his hoof. Taking a deep breath, Allen continued, “It’s just that, you’ve made mention that Princess Celestia has been around for a few centuries, and that her sister has just ‘returned to the throne’ recently. Is that a euphemism for something or are you being literal?” “The latter,” replied Blueblood simply, “Princess Celestia has reigned over Equestria for more than a thousand years, first alongside her sister. Then alone after Princess Luna succumbed to a demon that fed off her jealousy for the adoration that their subjects gave her sister and turned her into Nightmare Moon. The Nightmare then tried to bring about eternal night and was subsequently banished to the moon for a thousand years by Princess Celestia with the help of the Elements of Harmony. Naturally, she returned and tried again, however, this time the Nightmare was purged from Princess Luna by Twilight Sparkle and five other mares who used magical artifacts called The Elements of Harmony to free my aunt from that demon. Now that Princess Luna has been freed, she is working tirelessly to bring herself up to speed on modern society. Hopefully she’ll be able to resume some of her duties before this year’s Nightmare Night. Though, if the recent toaster incident is anything to go by, that hope might be a bit premature.” As Blueblood spoke, Allen felt his jaw sinking lower and lower in incredulous disbelief. Finally, he held up his hands in front of him and exclaimed, “Wait, wait you mean to tell me that your rulers have been alive for a thousand years?!” “Well, actually it’s longer than that, but we’re not sure anymore, Auntie sort of ‘forgot’ how old she was several hundred years ago, whether on accident or purpose she won’t say, but I digress.” Allen felt himself fall backwards into his pillow in stunned amazement. The mere thought of a ruler being able to outlive entire generations of people was on one hand an interesting idea. However, on the other, it was also a terrifying one. Interesting in that the thought that a single person could impose their vision upon a country and then stay around long enough to make it stick, moving the various pieces around in such a way as to allow that vision to naturally mature and flourish rather than force it through in just a few years, and alienate the population. However, at the same time, that same idea was just as terrifying to him. Images of an immortal Hitler or Stalin came to mind, and all the damage that those two individuals could have done if they had more than a thousand years to inflict their vision of ‘utopia’ on the world. However, here it seemed that the ponies had lucked out, and got a benevolent ruler instead, one who sought to nurture and support them as they progressed through the ages. Rather than trying to forcibly mold them into what they thought a ‘perfect’ society should look like. In any event, it was a lot to take in. However, something that Blueblood had said, had started bugging Allen again, and looking at the pony prince he asked, “Earlier you said that Nightmare Moon tried to bring about ‘eternal night’. Was that some kind of metaphor for the suppression of knowledge or something?” Again, Blueblood shook his head. “No, it is exactly what I meant. Both Princess Celestia and Luna are responsible for bringing forth the sun and moon and helping guide them across the sky. Nightmare Moon literally wanted to keep the land shrouded in night forever.” Allen felt like his brain was going to melt. “So when you said she was ‘banished to the moon’...” “She was literally banished to the moon, yes,” replied Blueblood patientally. “Every single scientist and astronomer is rolling over in their graves, past, present and future,” said Allen with a heavy groan and he draped an arm over his eyes in a melodramatic fashion. Blueblood chuckled. “It’s really not that bad.” “What do you mean it’s ‘not that bad’?” Shot back Allen, as he sprung forward and pointed an accusing finger at Blueblood, “You guys just literally smashed every single known law of physics from my world to pieces!” He then fell backwards in bed again, his pillows absorbing his full weight with a hefty sounding poomf! Chuckling to himself, Blueblood leaned forward and cheerfully replied, “If you think that is bad, you should have seen what Discord was doing to the laws of reality.” Allen shook his head. “Please,” he groaned weakly, “let’s just move on already.” Still chuckling Blueblood leaned back in his seat and steepling his hooves together said, “Alright, I’ve had my fun, but if you want to know more, there are several books I can recommend that go into detail on how the princesses keep the day and night cycle going.” “I think I’ll pass for now,” moaned Allen, as he silently wept over the death of physics as he knew it. “In any case,” began Blueblood, “back to the original topic.” “Right, the part where you’re basically saying that I’m S.O.L.” “S.O.L.?” “Shit Out of Luck,” was Allen’s terse reply. Blueblood grimaced at Allen’s choice of words and tone. However, he gamely replied saying, “Mr. Ross, it’s not all doom and gloom for you. Yes, the Crown will no longer be able to pay for any expenses that you may incur. However, there are other sources of capital that are available to you. Of course, these sources do have some strings attached to them I’m afraid.” Allen let his arm drop to his side and turned his attention to Blueblood. “What kind of strings?” he asked with a suspicious look on his face. “Well, as of right now, you have three real choices when it comes to securing a line of credit. The DOTI, a banking house, or a private investor/investors.” Allen gave a thoughtful hum. “I’m pretty sure I know what strings are attached to the banking house option.” “Yes, I would say the need to make many timely payments with interest,or risk losing your farm to foreclosure, about sums that train of thought up nicely. Of course that option will be difficult as you, as for all intents and purposes, didn’t exist in our world until about a month or so ago. This means you have no credit history, nor any real way to build any up in a short period of time. You could see about having somepony vouch for you. However, that again runs into the problem that you don’t really know anypony well enough that they would be able to effectively convince a bank to lend you bits on such short notice.” Allen sighed in disappointed understanding. “Yeah, that’s about what I figured you would say. Okay, so what about the DOTI then?” Blueblood’s face suddenly looked like he had bitten into a particularly sour lemon. “Truthfully speaking, I am afraid I would not be the best source when it comes to discussing the merits of the DOTI. As you have probably guessed, they and I do not get along very well.” “You know, I’ve been wondering about that to be honest. You mentioned something about them almost financially ruining your family years ago when we had the discussion with my neighbors about land compensation. What’s the deal with that?” Blueblood ran a hoof over his mane in frustration. “It happened shortly after I was born, so I was still too young to really understand what was happening. At the time all I knew was that my family had to let most of our servants go and sell much of our family estates and businesses to pay back our sudden and crippling debts. It also shattered my parents emotionally and nearly destroyed our family. If it hadn’t been for Princess Celestia stepping in when she did...I shudder to think what would have become of us.” “Okay...so what happened?” asked Allen hesitantly. Blueblood sighed as he gazed forlornly at his hooves. “Honestly, even I am not entirely sure what really happened or why it did. All I know is what Aunt Celestia told me when I was much older, as well as what I could glean from the history books on the subject. Remember how I told you that many years ago there was a big scandal that involved Members of Parliament dipping their hooves in the proverbial cookie jar?” “Yeah,” replied Allen with a nod. “Well, the DOTI had its own version of that same scandal. It nearly destroyed the economy and it absolutely ruined many a pony’s life and livelihood, and it all centered around sugar.” “Sugar?” Blueblood nodded. Getting up, he began pacing as he explained. “Yes, sugar is a very valuable commodity here in Equestria. As you are aware, our magic is fueled by mana, which is found in various things such as food and water. Well, as it so happens, sugar possesses a lot of mana in it. As such, it is an excellent ingredient in boosting the mana concentration in our foods. So as you can imagine, the sugar must flow.” Allen had to quickly suppress a snort of amusement. Shooting him a quizzical look, Allen waved him off saying, “Nothing, you just reminded me of something from my world just now.” Shrugging, Blueblood resumed his pacing. “In any event, as the Equestrian population continues to grow. New sources of sugar are constantly being developed. This is where the DOTI comes in, as they were the ones, back then at least, who primarily oversaw the development of various industries and resources.” “Okay, and what does that have to do with your family?” asked Allen. “I’m getting to that,” replied Blueblood, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Back then, there was little Crown oversight into how these ventures were funded and managed by the DOTI, as Princess Celestia generally has a hooves off approach when it comes to managing governmental affairs, both then and now. Thus, since there hadn’t been any major problems in the DOTI since its founding that couldn’t be ironed out by Parliament and citizen groups, she hadn’t seen fit to really dive into their financial and managerial practices up until that point. Now, at the time, Equestria was facing a sugar shortage. Most of Equestria’s sugar production at the time came from our southern states around Baltimare, Mareida and Stableside, as they have favorable growing conditions. However, lack of investment in the local infrastructure at the time had hindered further development of additional sugar plantations. Therefore, it became necessary to find alternative sources of sugar to quickly meet the spiking demand.” “Let me guess, somebody came up with a scheme that sounded good on paper, but turned out to be an absolute disaster in practice?” supplied Allen, having already guessed where the story was going to end up. Blueblood nodded his head sadly. “I believe you have hit the nail on the head in your assessment, Mr. Ross. An employee at the DOTI, an earth pony named Hollow Sword, had come up with what sounded like an easy, quick and cheap alternative to funding additional infrastructure improvements in the southern states. His idea was to form a company using DOTI funds and name it the South Equestrian Sea Sugar Company. In addition, he would place himself as its president and staff it with DOTI members, which would basically make the company fall fully under the control of the DOTI in all but name. Their goal was to build sugar plantations on a chain of islands between Equestria and the continent of Zebrica. In practice, this shouldn’t have been an issue. The company should have received its initial funding from the DOTI that it would later pay back, with interest, by issuing stock in the company to the general public once it got its operation going and began turning a profit. Moreover, since the DOTI would effectively control the South Equestrian Sea Sugar Company, they would be able to siphon off some of the profits for their benefit.” “But I’m assuming that didn’t happen,” said Allen quietly, a knowing look on his face. Blueblood shook his head sadly in reply. “It did not, Hollow Sword attempted to negotiate the purchase of several promising islands from one of the various Zebrican Kingdoms. He was successful in gaining possession of these islands along with negotiating for the use of nearby Zebrican ports to ferry in resources and labor to get the island's infrastructure set up quickly. However, the zebra’s had asked the SESSC to pay a hefty price for these islands, far more than had been initially expected, and due to his lack of negotiating skills and foresight, he foolishly agreed to their terms. As a consequence, they didn’t have enough capital to move forward with their plans, and the DOTI didn’t have the bits needed on hoof to fully bring the islands online.” “So where does your family come in then? Because to me it sounds like it’s the DOTI that’s the one that got screwed here,” asked Allen casually. “I’m getting to that,” replied Blueblood testily. Allen simply threw up his hands in a placating gesture, and let Blueblood continue. “As I was saying, Hollow Sword quickly found his company on the verge of bankruptcy, and without the additional backing of the DOTI that he now sorely needed, he was forced to turn to other sources of credit. In this case, private investors, such as nobles and wealthy merchants.” “And your family was one of those he contacted?” Blueblood nodded in confirmation. “He actually came to us first and spun a very convincing tale to my father, who had several sugar plantations near Stableside, and knew how profitable they could be. He also happened to be familiar with the islands that Hollow Sword was promoting, and felt that they would be a good place to set up some plantations easily. However, everything that he told me father was either a half-truth or a bald faced lie. He claimed that everything was nearly finished and that some unexpected cost overruns and delays had caused them to run out of money before they could get their operation going. As such, he was offering my father a twenty percent stake in the company if he was willing to loan him the bits. Naturally, my father, sensing a good opportunity to make some extra bits, agreed and loaned him a substantial amount of money.” “Don’t tell me your dad went into debt to finance this gamble?” asked Allen incredulously. Blueblood grimaced and let his ears drop in shame. “I’m afraid he did, as Hollow Sword made the claim that others were also interested in this venture and that my father needed to hurry if he wanted in on the action, so to speak. Thus he tricked my father into paying much more for the shares of the company than they were actually worth. I am not sure if he did it with malicious intent or if he was hoping to artificially drive up the share price right out of the gate. Either way, my father agreed and the bits changed hooves.” “So what happened next?” Blueblood tossed his head in irritation. “The son of a nag went from investor to investor making the same pitch he did to my father. However, he was now able to use the previous investors' names as a way to further pump up the price of the shares that he was selling to the newer investors.” Allen let loose a humorouless chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve seen my fair share of schemes like that. Guy comes along and says that there is an amazing opportunity to invest in this company before the stock takes off, and that everyone who is smart is getting in on the action. As a result, the price of said stock goes up, and when it gets high enough, the dude sells his shares and skips town, leaving everyone to scramble to get rid of their shares before they become worthless. Classic pump and dump.” Blueblood nodded in agreement. “Yes, it would eventually turn into something like that. However, at the beginning, Hollow Sword truly did want to make the company a success, or at least, that is what he claimed. The problem was that he really wasn’t very good at managing the company’s money. Oh he could raise money like the best of them, but when it came time to use that money, he spent it like a foal splashes water around in a lake, carelessly and in great amounts.” “How do you mean?” “Where to begin?” said Blueblood as he resumed his pacing. Lighting up his horn, he made several small, royal blue colored balls of light appear as he began listing off instances of mismanagement. “The use of low quality, over-priced materials, overpaying workers, paying bribes to local authorities in the Zebrican ports for various reasons, straight up theft and embezzlement by company officers, and the list goes on.” “Didn’t anyone realize that the company wasn’t making any money after a while?” Blueblood shook his head again as he came to a stop at the window. Gazing out over Ponyville, he idle watched the citizens go about their happy lives. A bitter frown marred his face as he continued to dredge up painful memories. “No, they didn’t. For two years, ponies poured money into this venture. At first it was just the rich, nobles, merchants, and even a celebrity or two. However, when there wasn’t any noticeable return on their investments, they began to close their bit purses one by one. Thus Hollow Sword was forced to look elsewhere for cash. By this point, the company had some production going, but it was slow, inefficient, and the quality was poor. However, Hollow Sword was nothing if not good at promotion. Thus he hatched a new idea. Sell shares of the company to the general public and then use that money to pay back the original investors. A ponezi scheme, in essence.” “Really?” asked Allen with a deadpan expression. Turning away from the window, Blueblood saw Allen’s unamused look. “What?” he asked, slightly confused. Looking around the room confused, as if trying to find the answer on the sterile walls, Blueblood regarded Allen with concern. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Facepalming, Allen replied tiredly. “Is everything in this world a fucking horse pun, or am I just lucky?” Blinking, Blueblood cautiously approached Allen’s bed and asked, “Is something bothering you, Mr. Ross?” Shaking his head, Allen, head still in his hands muffledly replied, “Sorry, it’s nothing important, just...keep going.” “Are you sur-” “Yes, please just...go on, I’ll be fine eventually, just need to get over some cultural differences is all,” interrupted Allen brusquely. Slowly nodding his head, though still unsure about Allen’s sudden outburst, Blueblood stepped back and after clearing his throat, continued, “Well, in the interest of time I’ll just try to summarize what happened then, if that’s okay with you?” When Allen nodded and made a ‘go on’ gesture, Blueblood continued. “In anycase, Hollow Sword suddenly found himself in a trap of his own making. With the company unable to turn a profit, and his investors clamouring to be paid, he decided to try and lie his way out of his mess. So, with some ‘creative’ book management, he made the company seem profitable, thus causing the now public stock price to start going up. The money made from this was then used to try and pay back the earlier investors. In addition, he used some of these funds to try and make the company actually profitable, and for a while, it seemed that he might be able to pull it off. The price of South Equestrian Sea Sugar Company stocks was continually climbing, and so long as nopony took a hard look at the company's finances, he felt he might be able to make it work. However, because the price of SESSC stocks kept climbing, more and more ponies kept buying, oftentimes with bits that they didn’t have. This included my father, who got carried away in the supposed success of the company and took out more loans in an effort to buy more stock, confident that the price would just keep going up and that he’d be able to eventually sell it for a handsome profit.” “But that didn’t happen,” said Allen quietly. “But it didn’t happen, no,” was Blueblood’s melancholy reply. “Before he could sell, rumors started to spread that the price of the stock was overinflated, and that caused some ponies to begin dumping their stock in the company. This then caused a chain reaction, where suddenly everypony was dumping their stock at the same time, and the price quickly went into free fall. In less than a day, the company had lost nearly ninety percent of its value. The following day was even worse, as now it wasn’t just the South Equestrian Sea Sugar Company that was in trouble, but the entire market went into a dive as ponies were forced to sell stocks in other companies in an effort to cover their losses in SESSC stock. In the span of a week, hundreds of companies went out of business, ponies lost their jobs, their homes...their lives, banks went under, it was pure chaos. Princess Celestia was forced to take drastic action and use treasury funds to help shore up critical sectors of the economy. Somehow, she managed to keep the economy from nose diving off a cliff. But, she couldn’t save everyone.” The room grew quiet, as Blueblood’s story wound down. Taking a handkerchief from his vest pocket, he dabbed at the corners of his eyes as harsh memories replayed themselves in his mind. Putting it back, he resumed his seat beside Allen’s bed. Taking a deep breath, he recomposed himself. “There was an inquiry into the matter, and it didn’t take long for the truth to come out. Hollow Sword got the largest share of the blame, and he was sentenced to life in prison for what he did. However, it was quickly determined that other officials high up in the DOTI had helped, nay, encouraged him to keep the scheme going for years. They also tricked DOTI members into investing in the scheme, and squashing any attempts by outside parties to audit the company’s finances. In the end, due to Hollow Sword and his accomplices, my family nearly lost everything.” “So, what happened to your parents?” asked Allen gently. “They moved to a small vineyard my aunt gave them near Baltimare. My father was devastated by what had happened, and fell into a deep depression. My mother feared he would take his own life at times, though thankfully with counseling, he seems to be doing better, but he’ll never be the same. My aunt took over what remained of the family estate and managed it for me until I came of age. She even managed to restore part of our estates to us, specifically the Grand Duchy of Canterlot, though it’s not nearly the bit maker it used to be. Ever since I came of age, I’ve been striving to restore my family's fortune and prestige, but it’s been difficult.” Allen was quiet for a minute, unsure what to say next. It was strange to him, he barely knew anything about Blueblood up until now, and the same could be said of Blueblood’s knowledge of him. Yet here they were, Blueblood telling him of his family’s difficult past and how it had affected him. It just didn’t seem real for some reason, yet it was. Leaning back, he wiggled a bit to get more comfortable and asked, “So, if the DOTI was responsible for all of that, how come they weren’t punished?” Blueblood gave a humorless chuckle and replied, “Oh they were, just not to the extent that they should have been, at least in my opinion. Everypony that was involved in the scheme was punished, they were sent to jail and had their wealth confiscated and distributed among the injured parties. However, there were simply too many ponies affected by the crash and there just wasn’t enough wealth to go around, so not everyone got compensation. The DOTI itself was completely overhauled from top to bottom with the Crown placing a heavy emphasis on transparency and integrity within the group. Moreover, various financial reform laws were passed as a consequence of the crash, and so far they have prevented a repeat of the so-called ‘Sugar Bubble’ from happening again.” “So do all the nobles hate the DOTI then?” Blueblood shook his head. “No, there are some, such as Baroness Everfree, who you met earlier, that are staunch supporters of the DOTI, and then there are others who do not really have an opinion of the organization.” Allen shot Blueblood a quizzical look. “Who’s Baroness Everfree? I don’t recall meeting another noble like you.” Chuckling to himself, Blueblood replied, an amused smile on his face, “Sorry, I tend to forget that not everyone has been taught the in’s and out’s of noble families and their members. Baroness Everfree rarely goes by her title, and instead just prefers to be called Granny Smith.” Allen blinked in surprise, before then blurting out incredulously. “Wait, you mean that my neighbors are nobility?!” “In a manner of speaking,” was Blueblood’s amused reply, “Granny Smith’s family was granted land by Princess Celestia about a hundred years ago. This land included the Everfree Forest, hence the name, along with the land that Ponyville now rests upon. Princess Celestia has the power to ennoble ponies and she will oftentimes do it to inject ‘new blood’ into the upper crust of society from time to time. She says it ‘helps keep the nobility somewhat attached to the common pony’.” “Okay, I guess that makes a bit of sense. Though, I’m still a little shocked that Checklist would have anything to do with a noble. She seemed pretty antagonistic towards you during the negotiations.” Blueblood rolled his eyes. “She comes from a working class background, and the noble she and her family lived under was an absolute twat. Driving up rents needlessly, not using that rent money to fix roads and infrastructure, and wasting hundreds of thousands of bits on frivolous vanity projects that did nothing but enrich him, his friends and their egos. Therefore, she regards many noble families with suspicion and hostility. In the case of Granny Smith, she turns a blind eye to the fact that Granny is a noble, mostly because Granny Smith doesn't fit the stereotypical definition of a ‘noble’. She doesn’t rub her title in other pony’s muzzles, and doesn’t live the noble lifestyle, instead preferring to keep to herself and sort of blend in with the common pony. Also being staunch members of the DOTI doesn’t hurt either.” Allen rubbed his head with a hand in an attempt to push back a headache that was forming. “There is so much stuff to remember here, it’s making my brain hurt,” he complained. Blueblood chuckled and patted Allen’s arm gently with a sympathetic hoof. “I am sure it is a lot to take in, perhaps we should move on from the history and political lessons and back to your original question?” Allen groaned. “Yeah, let’s do that.” “Alright then, now if I remember correctly, you were wanting to know what the pro’s and con’s were of joining the DOTI?” “Yeah, something like that,” nodded Allen. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Blueblood replied, “Well, as I mentioned before, I’m rather biased against them, but I’ll do my best to give you what you want to know,” pausing a moment to collect and organize his thoughts, he continued, “Well, the obvious advantage to joining the DOTI is that you’ll be granted access to a literal treasure trove of resources. Aid programs, insurance, training, information on new equipment, seed varieties, magical matrixes, and so on. Not to mention the large network of ponies that you can call upon to improve your business. That right there is the biggest advantage of being a DOTI member, and for many it is worth putting up with the downsides of membership.” Allen nodded in agreement. “Yeah, back home we have a saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Blueblood gave a thoughtful hum. “Interesting saying, yet very true. I will need to remember that for later,” he said quietly to himself at the end. Giving his head a shake to break himself out of his thoughts, he collected himself and continued, saying, “In any case, yes, that large network of contacts is most useful, sometimes too useful.” “What do you mean?” Making a sour face, Blueblood let loose a huff of irritation. “It’s what makes the DOTI so powerful and difficult to work outside of as a non-member,” he paused, weighing his next words carefully before continuing, “there have been many cases where ponies use this network to pressure non-members into joining the DOTI against their will. The Crown has passed laws that are supposed to prevent this from happening, as being a member of the DOTI should be voluntary, but ponies will be ponies, and if you’re not part of ‘the herd’ then you are a potential danger. There have been many promising businesses ruined over the years because of this subtle pressure, and it can be very difficult to bring the guilty parties to justice as it’s difficult to prove any wrongdoing happened.” “I think I see where this is going,” replied Allen knowingly, “there are probably a lot of rules and regulations that DOTI members have to follow, along with various fees that they have to pay. As such, they have to charge more for their goods and services as a result. However, a pony who isn’t a member can charge less, and thereby undercut their competition. Therefore, they become a threat, and the easiest way to deal with that is to pressure them into joining by convincing everyone not to do business with them until they join.” Blueblood nodded sadly. “You are correct. Being a member of the DOTI has benefits, but those benefits come with a price. You need to pay membership fees, get certifications that are approved by DOTI regulations. Have DOTI regulation approved equipment, and so on and so forth. Failure to comply can lead to fines and even expulsion from the DOTI, at which point you are pretty much blacklisted and nopony will do business with you. Therefore, you are in essences ruined as a businesspony.” “Harsh,” said Allen simply. Blueblood nodded in agreement. “Yes, it can be. It’s one of the reasons I dislike them. Most of their rules and regulations have already been adopted by the Crown as common law. However, the DOTI regulations are more strict and specific on what you can and cannot do. Therefore, it places a higher financial burden on the average businesspony, which then gets passed along to the consumer in higher priced goods and services. Now obviously the DOTI would argue that they are simply looking out for the wellbeing of everypony, but I feel as though there comes a time when the costs outweigh the benefits. However, in the eyes of many ponies, the DOTI is still the gold standard when it comes to products and services, and having that seal next to your business license is worth its weight in gold.” “Yep, sounds about right,” remarked Allen, “so what’s the third option then?” “Oh well, that would be to find a private investor to partner with. You would still have a large degree of control over your farm and what goes on on it, and just so long as the investor is getting a profitable return on their investment, they should be fairly hooves off in the day to day operations. Not to mention that you wouldn’t have to go through massive amounts of forms and red tape to make any changes or deal with multiple different ponies asking for multiple different things at the same time. Of course, you run a higher risk of failure due to the potential lack of support and resources. Not even the Crown can match the awesome amount of talent and resources that the DOTI has at their hooftips.” Allen hummed thoughtfully to himself as he stared at the ceiling. “So I’d basically be trading a strong support base for less overhead and greater freedom of action, while also having a potentially smaller market share.” “More or less,” was Blueblood’s reply. Shooting Blueblood a look out of the corner of his eye, Allen smirked and said, “And I suppose that you might know a pony or two that might be interested in investing in an old rundown farm from another dimension?” Returning Allen’s smirk with one of his own, Blueblood casually remarked, “I might know of a pony or two. If you would be willing to meet with them, I am sure that we could come to an arrangement that would be beneficial to both parties.” “Then let’s talk business then,” was Allen’s reply, a determined smile on his face as he gave Blueblood’s extended hoof a firm shake.