//------------------------------// // Chapter 34 (The Other Side of the Story) // Story: Moving Day // by Timothy48 //------------------------------// Chapter 35 Allen stood in the middle of the partially rebuilt animal barn and took a deep breath, the smell of freshly cut wood filling his nostrils with its calming aroma. Opening his eyes, he looked around and smiled. Everything is coming along nicely, he thought happily to himself, a satisfied smile evident on his face. Steel and his boys sure know how to put a barn together. It had been nearly two weeks since Steel, Rune, and Allen had come to an agreement on the price to be paid for the work to be done, and for the past six days, the sounds of construction had echoed across the farm. Too bad Penny couldn’t find a better price for the materials, lamented Allen as he continued his inspection of the timber frames. But, I’d rather pay a little bit more now than run the risk of expensive repairs down the road due to substandard building material. Kicking a scrap piece of wood out of his way, he carefully made his way down into the newly expanded milking parlor. Even though it wasn’t finished yet, it promised to be much better than the old one ever was. For one, it was now twice the size, and the ceiling was high enough that Allen didn’t have to constantly duck when he came in and out anymore, for which he was thankful. In addition, the entrance and exit doors were both larger and on rolling tracks instead of hinges, which would make getting cows in and out much easier. The old, flat concrete floor had been torn up and replaced with a new one that had a slight slope that would allow water to flow into a linear drain that ran nearly the length of the milking parlor and promised to make keeping the place clean in the future much easier. The addition of larger windows, better overhead lights, and three-sided, wooden stalls made out of cedar gave the place a more cozy feel to it that the old milking parlor severely lacked. Allen smiled happily to himself as he glanced up at the lantern-style electric lights with their fine brass finish, gleaming in the early Sunday morning sun. Turning his attention away from the ceiling, he looked at one of the ten milking stalls, five to each side, that now occupied the majority of the floor space. It was large enough that even a heavily pregnant cow could get in and out without feeling confined and the stall floors were raised above the aisleway enough that the bedding inside would stay clean and dry, even if it were raining or snowing outside. Each stall also had a hay manger and water trough so that if the cows were hungry or thirsty, they could sate their needs. Finally, there was a bracket for the milking apparatus to hang from out of the way and off of the ground when in between uses. Otherwise, they would be stored in a separate room with the milk holding tank and other milking supplies. All of the stall milkers were connected to the milk storage tank via stainless steel pipes that ran between the stalls and up along the ceiling, thus keeping them out of the way, and through the dividing wall between the milking parlor and the basement of the barn to Allen’s left. Stepping through an access door, Allen entered the barn's basement. This is where the milk tanks were located and where he intended to put things that he didn’t plan on using very often. At the far end of the barn opposite from him, was a large sliding door that would allow him to bring things in and out as needed, and the ceiling was now high enough that he could easily fit his skid loader inside without issue as well. Looking around at the nearly finished room, Allen noted that the milk tanks had been reinstalled, but had not been fully hooked up to the milk delivery system. In addition, he noted that the electric pumps that ran the whole system were still sitting in a corner on a pair of pallets, a cloth cover shielding them from dirt and debris. Looks like they managed to get the lights hooked up though, thought Allen as he flipped a nearby switch on the wall and the formerly dim room was suddenly bathed in a warm, yellow glow from the overhead lights. Much like the milking parlor, this room sported a concrete floor, though it only had a square drain near the milk tanks rather than one down the length of the room. This suited Allen just fine as he didn’t need to keep the whole place clean, just the area around where he would store and process the milk. Walking around the large milk tanks, Allen was glad to see that Steel’s crew had finished hooking up the output pipe to them, as this would allow him to easily empty milk into waiting delivery carts for market. Giving a final nod in satisfaction, Allen turned and left, shutting the lights off as he did so, and closing the door behind him. Exiting the milking parlor entirely, he returned to the main floor of the barn and headed towards the eastern side. Sadly, Steel hadn’t been able to get the main floor finished yet, but Allen wasn’t overly worried as the weather schedule, which he had recently received in the mail, had called for sunny skies for the rest of this week. As such, he figured they would have the barns roofed by then, and thus he wasn’t worried about any potential inclement weather causing issues. Reaching the far eastern side of the barn, Allen was pleased to note that the construction crew had finished laying the last of the timbered floor down on this new section. Per the construction plans Allen had selected, his animal barn had nearly doubled in overall size. However, since they couldn’t expand the barn any further east, as the machine sheds would be in the way, the plans had called for a southward expansion instead. The end result was that Allen’s barn was now in the shape of an L, with the new southern section being built where the old grain silo used to be. Looking out through the unfinished south wall, Allen spotted Reuben casually munching on a patch of grass next to several cows in a nearby pasture. Due to the fact that the old barn had to be completely torn down, Allen had been forced to disperse his animals to the various paddocks around the farm. This meant more work for him, as he needed to haul water and hay to the various areas he was keeping his livestock. However, he knew that this wouldn’t last for long, so in the end, it was more a minor annoyance than anything else. Everything else that had been in the barn had been removed and put in one of the machine sheds. Of course, this meant that Allen was forced to waste precious fuel moving things around, but there was little that could be done about it. In the end, he had managed to get the remaining hay out of the old animal barn's loft and safely stored inside the machine shed next door with a little help from some of Steel’s crew. As even though there wasn’t much hay leftover from last year’s hay season, moving nearly five hundred, fifty-pound hay bales by yourself wasn’t something that Allen wanted to do if he had to. Once that had been completed and the rest of the barn cleared of animals and items, Steel’s crew had swiftly demolished the barn and the nearby grain silo in less than half a day. After which they spent the next several days cleaning up and preparing the ground for pouring the new concrete foundations. This had entailed some serious excavation and dirt-moving as the old barn had originally been built into the middle of a small hill which had only left the eastern and western sides of the barn's foundation exposed. Thus, Steel’s team had been forced to excavate and reshape some of the surrounding land in order to accommodate the barn’s new dimensions. Standing at the edge of the unfinished southern wall, Allen admired the finished results as already, the grass seeds that the pony crew had spread were sprouting and by the time the rains were scheduled to hit, they should be well enough established to keep the dirt locked in place. What’s more, the extra dirt that they had removed from the eastern side of the hill had been used to improve both the northern and southern ramps that allowed access to the main floor of the barn. Specifically, they were heightened to compensate for the now higher foundation walls, as well as extended to reduce the grade of the slope. Allen hoped doing that would reduce the amount of erosion to the southern ramp caused by rain in the future, as even though his family never let the animals linger on the ramp area for too long, their hooves still caused a lot of damage to the area over time, especially when the ground was wet or during the winter. This had often entailed his dad pushing dirt around with the skid loader from time to time in order to flatten out the ruts and valleys caused by erosion. Hopefully, such activities would be a thing of the past from now on. Turning around, he slowly meandered his way to where the front doors would eventually hang on the northside of the barn and gave another satisfied nod at seeing the finished ramp there. Unlike the southern ramp, the north ramp had been reinforced with a layer of crushed rocks and gravel in addition to the newly added compacted dirt that extended all the way to the main driveway. Moreover, Steel had insisted that they put in some concrete sidewalls to prevent the dirt from shifting as much over the years. The intent was to make it easier to get equipment into and out of the main floor of the barn as needed without digging ruts into the yard or risk wheels slipping due to wet conditions when going up the ramp. Plus, it looked nice. Everything is coming along nicely, he thought as his eyes wandered over the cluttered farmyard. Glancing in the direction of where his old hay shed used to be, Allen decided to head over and see how the concrete was curing. Coming to a stop next to the large concrete pad, Allen squatted down and gave the concrete an experimental touch. It feels cooler than it did yesterday, and it’s definitely hardened up nicely. Standing back up, Allen turned his attention to the silver and golden runework that lined the outer edge of the concrete pad and was pleased to see that Rune Chisel had finished laying them in place as well as making sure they were adequately covered with a protective layer of clear quartz set into a shallow channel cut into the concrete. Even though he’d been in Equestria for nearly two months, there were still things that surprised and amazed him nearly every time he interacted with the locals. Such as watching Rune easily turn a chunk of solid quartz into the consistency of syrup and casually pour it over the runes as a means of protecting them from damage. When he asked how he had done it, Rune had simply smirked, and said, “Sorry, old family secret,” before returning to his task. Allen had simply shook his head and continued watching in silent amazement as the unicorn craftspony continued his task of steadily pouring the syrup-like quartz into the shallow channel, and making sure there were no air bubbles or imperfections. Once finished, Rune Chisel lit up his horn with another spell and less than a minute later, the quartz had returned to its previous solid-state. Turning to Allen, he had said, “There, that part is finished, we’ll need to let everything settle for a couple of days, and then we can charge it up and test it to make sure the runic circuit is properly set. After that, Steel and his boys can finish putting this building together.” “Sounds good, and what about the animal barn? Are you finished with that one as well?” asked Allen. Rune shook his head. “I’ve gotten the foundational runes put in place, but I haven’t charged them up and tested them yet. I need to wait until Steel and his crew finish getting the rest of the framework built before I can do more. So that is what I am waiting on right now.” If I’m not mistaken, Rune and his sons should be back tomorrow to charge up and test out these runes. Mused Allen idly to himself as he slowly turned and walked away from the bare concrete pad. After that’s done, Steel and his boys should be able to put the hay shed’s frame up the next day, and since they were able to save the metal siding and roofing when they tore down the old shed. They might have it all back on by Wednesday. Which means I can start cutting hay by Tuesday at the earliest or Thursday at the latest. A happy smile spread across Allen’s face at the thought of finally getting the farm running again. Winding his way through the construction site, Allen spotted a pair of ponies trotting down the driveway towards him. Lifting his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, he recognized one of them, but the other was new. Giving a friendly wave, he called out, “Morning, Ms. Checklist, I gotta say, I didn’t expect to see you again for a while. What brings you out to my neck of the woods?” Returning Allen’s wave with one of her own, she happily replied, “Good morning to you too, Mr. Ross. The local DOTI office informed me that you were doing some renovations to your farm, and since I was in the area, I figured I’d pop on by and have a look at your progress. If that’s alright with you of course.” Giving a shrug of his shoulders, he replied easily, “Don’t see why not,” waving an arm at the half-finished animal barn, Allen said, “As you can see, it’s not quite done yet, but it’s coming along nicely.” Turning he pointed back to the concrete pad that would eventually become the new hay shed. “They just finished putting the runework in the new foundation yesterday. Should have it charged up and tested in the next day or so.” Checklist happily stomped her hooves in glee. “Oh, that’s wonderful Mr. Ross, I’m so glad to see your farm rising up from the ashes and returning to its former glory!” Allen smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “Thanks, but I can’t take all the credit here, if it wasn’t for His Grace loaning me the needed funds, and for his assistant helping me manage things, I’d still be stuck here without a pot to piss in, pardon my French.” Hearing Blueblood’s name, Checklist’s smile lost some of its warmth. “Oh, you decided to go with Blueblood then? I had thought you might have elicited the help of the local DOTI office. Did you not like the benefits and program opportunities they gave you?” she asked, a disappointed and confused look on her face. “Yeah, Prince Blueblood offered me some very generous terms, and he was able to get me the resources I needed quickly,” replied Allen with a shallow nod. However, his expression suddenly turned a bit sheepish and he admitted, “Though I’ll be honest, I didn’t speak with the local DOTI office. In fact, I don’t even know where they are.” Checklist felt one of her eyelids twitch in barely suppressed annoyance. “I see, and what kind of terms did he give you?” she asked in an overly casual way. “Well, in exchange for twenty percent of my net profits, he gave me a cash infusion of one hundred thousand bits, as well as letting me farm his duchy’s land, rent-free. Plus, Penny, that’s the assistant he assigned to help me, has really made this whole process go by so much more smoothly than if I had to do this on my own.” By this point, Checklist’s smile had disappeared and she was quietly grinding her teeth in barely suppressed anger at the thought of Blueblood getting one over on her like this. And it’s all because the local office didn’t do that damn follow up visit with Allen after I left like I told them to! She internally raged. Her companion, seeing her about to lose her cool, calmly laid a yellow-colored hoof on her withers and leaning in quietly whispered in her ear. “Easy Checklist, take a deep breath and calm yourself.” Sucking in a sudden, deep lungful of air, Checklist held it for a couple of seconds before letting it out in a dramatic whoosh and repeating the process a couple of times. Allen, seeing her suddenly start doing breathing exercises out of seemingly nowhere, asked in a concerned voice, “Is she going to be okay?” The yellow stallion gave a single nod. He ran a hoof through his graying, reddish-brown mane, before offering his hoof and a pleasant smile to Allen in greeting. “She’s just a little frustrated that our local office didn’t follow up with you after she left. Allow me to introduce myself,” he replied pleasantly, “I am Just Cause, chief attorney, and legal department executive officer for the Canterlot and Manehatten region, and longtime friend of Checklist. She asked me to come with her to meet you and see how you were doing since she last came by.” Taking the proffered hoof and shaking it, Allen leaned to one side and eyed Just’s heavily laden saddlebags. “And would you also happen to be tagging along on the off chance that I might be interested in joining your organization as a new member?” Letting loose a hearty laugh, Just Cause replied, “Hit the nail on the head with that one, Mr. Ross. Checklist here was hoping we might convince you to work with us instead of Blueblood, but alas, it seems as though he got to you first. Let me guess, he hit you with that sob story of his, about his father losing the entire family’s fortune during the Sugar Bubble Crisis?” Releasing his grip on the stallion's hoof, Allen quietly nodded. “He did, among other things.” Letting go a long-suffering sigh, Just simply nodded in understanding. “I remember that time very well. I happened to be a junior paralegal stationed in our Canterlot office at the time. Those were some dark times for everypony. By the time it was all over, nearly all the senior staff in my office had been hauled off to prison, and a large section of the middle and junior members had either retired or quit from disillusionment. I went from a lowly paralegal just out of law school to legal department head in under a week. Just due to the fact that there wasn’t anypony else to do the job. Somehow, I managed to keep it and advance from there to where I am now.” “So was he telling the truth then, no embellishments? You guys really let Hollow Sword pump up that bubble that nearly killed your entire economy?” asked Allen incredulously. Another sigh, this one sad. “Yes, I am afraid so. Prince Blueblood’s family wasn’t the only one wiped out financially, mine suffered as well. Though thankfully, my father wasn’t foolish enough to put all of his eggs in one basket like Prince Blueblood’s did, and he certainly wasn’t stupid enough to do so on credit either.” “Point, though to be fair, he was operating on false information. Information that you guys helped spread if Prince Blueblood is to be believed,” retorted Allen. “True, all of what you say is true. My predecessor was a very corrupt stallion, the whole system was in fact. But what can you expect from five hundred years of successful complacency? Our hubris nearly led to the complete destruction of our country and our organization. I am forever thankful that Princess Celestia is so merciful as to allow us to atone for our misdeeds as we have. In any case,” he said suddenly, changing topics like a sailor would change tack while sailing, “I’m sure His Grace saw fit to paint us in as poor a light as he possibly could. If the rumors are to be believed, he has a vindictive streak as wide as the night sky. I know it’s probably too late to change things, but I would be ever so grateful if you would be willing to hear us out on what the DOTI can offer you. Nopony said that you had to only work with His Grace after all... unless he put that in your contractual agreement,” he finished awkwardly. Allen shook his head. “He didn’t, though he did say that joining you guys would entail a lot of rules that I would have to follow and fees that I would have to pay. I’m not sure how much that would end up being, but I’m a little leery about having more of my earning potential sucked away before I’ve even figured out what kind of cash flow I would be looking at, I mean, I haven’t even cut a single acre of hay yet, let alone sold any of it.” Just Cause smiled and gave a nod of understanding. “That is certainly a concern, Mr. Ross. Though, I think His Grace might be overexaggerating the requirements necessary to be a member of the DOTI along with the financial and regulatory burdens that we place upon our members.” By this point, Checklist had managed to calm herself down enough to rejoin the conversation. “Just is right Allen,” she cut in, “surely you can see that Blueblood is painting us in an unfair light due to his lingering grudge against us for what happened all those years ago?” “Well yeah, even Blueblood admitted he wasn’t the best pony to ask in regards to the costs and benefits of becoming a DOTI member. He even said he was biased against you guys when I asked him,” admitted Allen. “So then why not come to us, and let us tell you our side of the story, before you signed your farm over to him?” pouted Checklist. “First of all, I didn’t sign over anything. I retain full control over my farm and what I do with it. Second of all, I was in the hospital for several weeks due to medical complications with being in a mana rich environment and my body not being able to properly handle it, and yes, I’ll be fine,” he confirmed when he saw both earth ponies open their mouths to speak, “so I didn’t have the opportunity to go looking for your guy’s local office. Finally, Prince Blueblood approached me while I was recovering in the hospital and offered me his deal. I liked the terms that he gave me and felt as though I didn’t have many good options at the time, so I accepted it and hoped for the best. Simple as that,” he finished with a shrug. “So... does that mean you’re not interested in hearing about the benefits that we can offer you?” asked Checklist hesitantly as she turned up the cuteness factor and hit Allen with her best puppy dog eyes, quivering bottom lip and all. “Jesus Christ,” muttered Allen tiredly to himself as he dragged a weary hand across his face, “fine I can spare an hour or two to listen to your spiel.” The effect was immediate as Checklist’s face lit up like a happy Christmas tree as she gaily bounced around Allen like a hyperactive six-year-old that had just learned they were going to Disneyland for their birthday. Just Cause chuckled at his friends' antics. “Easy there Checklist, don’t overload the poor fellow.” “I’m sorry,” she replied, though she continued to bounce around like a small wind-up toy, “but I’m just so happy to hear that you’re willing to listen.” Motioning for the pair to follow him, Allen stood aside and opened the door for them, waving them inside. “I take it from your reaction there, that if somepony sides with the nobles they tend to shut the door in your face?” Checklist gave a derisive snort in reply. “Pretty much, though most times they just tell us to leave, many times rather rudely. It’s such a shame. The DOTI’s primary purpose is to help ponies, but there are a lot of ponies nowadays that look down on us because of the Sugar Bubble Crises. Membership is down in many parts of the country, especially in areas such as Manehatten and Canterlot where most of the upper classes tend to live. They like to spread misinformation about us,” she clarified, “However, even in working and middle-class areas, we’ve seen a noticeable drop in membership. It's taken our organization a lot of effort to turn that decline around. I’m afraid that it’ll take much more effort and many years to get things back to where they were before that whole mess happened,” lamented Checklist sadly. Motioning to a pair of chairs at the dining room table, Allen asked, “You guys want any water or something else to drink?” “Water will be fine, thank you,” said Just Cause with a grateful nod. “Same for me as well, thank you,” added Checklist as she began pulling various papers and pamphlets out of her bags and spreading them excitedly over the table. Filling up a pair of plastic cups for his guests, Allen set them down in front of them before grabbing a cup for himself. “You know, I can’t help but feel that I’m being fed conflicting messages about how things work in this country.” Taking a sip of her water, Checklist paused for a moment before swallowing and saying, “What do you mean?” Taking a seat across from the pair, Allen set his cup down on a coaster and said, “Well, it’s just that when I was speaking with Blueblood, he made it sound like you guys had a near stranglehold on the economy. In fact, I remember him saying that if a pony didn’t join the DOTI, their business would suffer as other ponies wouldn’t want to buy or sell things with them in an attempt to either force them to join or drive them out of business.” The sudden loud crack of a hoof against wood made Allen and the water cups jump as Checklist slammed her hoof onto the tabletop. “He’s a LIAR!” she snarled angrily, her lips pulled back in an ugly snarl. “Our organization would never tolerate such behavior from one of our members! So long as the minimum standards of safety and health were met, there would be no reason for somepony to exclude a fellow businesspony from the market! Nopony should have to worry about being discriminated against just because they weren’t part of our organization! Nobles and their thugs might do such things, but we do not!” By this point, Checklist had both front hooves on the table and was practically frothing at the mouth in rage. Allen for his part had his chair leaned as far back as he could and he was very worried that Checklist would either have a stroke or fly into some kind of murderous rage. Neither of which he wanted to deal with at the present time. However, before she could continue her tirade, a pair of yellow hooves gently encircled her in a hug and calmly pulled her back down into her seat. Adjusting his seat so that it touched the edge of Checklist’s, Just Cause gently held his friend and whispered calming words in her ear as he quietly stroked her mane. Slowly, the fire of rage died down in her eyes, to be replaced instead by tired sadness. Allen for his part simply sat still and didn’t say a word, lest he reignite the pink mare’s fury. Finally, after several minutes, Just Cause let Checklist go, however, he did leave his side pressed against hers, and Checklist leaned into him, her head bowed low. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Just quietly said, “My apologies for that, Mr. Ross. Checklist has had a... difficult history with the nobility and their... associates, and she tends to get rather upset when she learns that they are spreading lies and half-truths about us. It’s not even really that difficult for them, there are many ponies that remember the economic crisis and still resent what our predecessors did that allowed it to happen. Noble propaganda just makes it worse.” “R-right, I-I remember Blue-” Allen paused when he saw Checklist tense up, “uh-I mean my business partner told me that the...uh, noble who oversaw Checklist’s hometown was a real ‘twat’, as he put it. He didn’t seem to particularly like this individual either.” Checklist let loose a harsh laugh. “Well, at least we have one thing that we can agree upon,” taking a deep breath to steady herself, she used the back of her fetlock to wipe away a few tears before saying, “I’m sorry for my outburst Mr. Ross. If you do not want to listen now, I would completely understand, we’re sorry to have wasted your time.” She made to gather up her material and slowly stuff them back in her bags, however, a hand gently laying itself done on her hoof caused her to pause. Looking up at Allen, she saw that he had a small, comforting smile on his face. Shaking his head, he said, “It’s alright, I might not know what is going on right now, but I’m willing to let you give me your pitch.” Sniffing, she regarded Allen with a hopeful look. “Really?” she asked. He nodded. “Really, I might not say yes to joining, but I am at least willing to listen.” Giving him a grateful smile, Checklist said, “Alright, well before we go any further, there is one thing that I want to clear up with you.” “What’s that?” he asked curiously, having let go of her hoof. Readjusting her mane slightly, as it had gotten a little messy when she had her outburst, she continued, “The DOTI does not require anypony to join our organization as a full-fledged member anymore. That rule was changed a few years after the Sugar Crisis and instead, you can elect to remain a non-member and just pay for those services that you want. Though, if you are a member, you have access to everything and at a reduced cost than if you were a non-member. The board felt that this was one of the reasons that led to the crisis in the first place, as we had gained too much power and it went to our heads.” “I believe that we should also point out that, regardless of our personal opinions, the DOTI does not forbid its members from forming business partnerships with anypony they desire, this naturally includes nobles,” explained Just Cause helpfully. “Now, there are obviously some ponies out there that will discriminate against you if they find out you are not a member and work with the nobility. However, our organization works to... correct these ponies when their bad behavior comes to light.” Allen felt a headache coming on as he gingerly rubbed his temples in quiet frustration. Fuck me, can’t anyone just give me the straight facts around here? “Are you alright, Mr. Ross?” asked Just Cause, concerned at seeing Allen’s distress. Still rubbing his temples, Allen groaned out, “No, I’m not. I suddenly feel like I don’t know who is right and who is wrong anymore, and it’s giving me a headache.” Checklist opened her mouth to reply, however a stern look from Just made her reconsider and she closed her mouth with an audible click. Seeing that his friend wasn’t going to put her hoof back in her mouth again, Just Cause turned his attention back to Allen and said, “I understand how you must be feeling right now, Mr. Ross.” “Do you now?” groaned Allen, not moving his hands from his face. Just nodded. “I do. When I first joined the DOTI twenty-seven years ago at the tender age of eighteen, I was fed a lot of bunk about how great we were. About how we were saving Equestria from the ‘evil’ nobles,” he made air quotes with his hooves at the word ‘evil’. “I even believed the propaganda for a time, and that’s what it was, Mr. Ross, pure propaganda. It wasn’t until after the Sugar Bubble popped the following year that I saw the corruption, the greed, the lies that had been hiding in the background. Make no mistake,” he said, “the DOTI of twenty-five years ago was everything Prince Blueblood accuses us of being today. However, the crisis was like a refiners fire, it cleansed us of the dross and the impurities that had been allowed to gather in our organization for the hundreds of years that it has existed. In one fell swoop, everypony was finally able to see what really was happening, and we didn’t like it. The end result is that the DOTI has undergone serious reforms both internally and externally over the years, and Princess Celestia has made sure that such excesses are kept to a minimum. That’s not to say incidents do not happen, but they are not as common as they once were.” Looking up from his hands, Allen gave Just Cause an unconvinced look. “You really expect me to buy that? That you guys just changed overnight and now you’re the ‘good guys'?” Just Cause laughed. “Oh heavens no, it took years to clean out the DOTI from top to bottom and to make sure the rot wouldn’t easily return. Even today, there are still ponies that are stuck in some of the old ways of doing things. However, we keep a close eye on them and bring them to task when they step out of line, and there are ponies that will use their position to abuse others for personal gain, the same as there are among the nobles. However there are ponies, such as I, who work tirelessly to root out those ponies that would abuse their positions of power for personal gain and to bring them to justice, and for what it is worth, I do not believe that Blueblood has misled you, Mr. Ross.” Giving Just Cause a tired and frustrated look, Allen replied, “And what makes you say that? Because from where I’m sitting, it’s sounding a lot like he did, and I can assure you, I’m going to have words with him the next time I see him.” “While it is true that Blueblood may have given you the wrong idea about us. I do not think he had malicious intent in his warnings. I mean, you said it yourself, he did caution you that he was a biased source of information. It would be no different than if you asked Checklist about the Equestrian nobility and whether they are good ponies or not.” “They aren’t,” muttered Checklist quietly. “Regardless,” continued Just Cause as if nothing had happened, though Allen thought he saw a small smile flash across his face before it returned to its more serious state, “my point is that Blueblood sees the DOTI as what it was, not what it is. Ponies tend to have a nasty habit of allowing their biases to blind them to what is in front of them, even when reality says otherwise.” “Sounds like home,” remarked Allen dryly, before then asking, “So then why would he make it sound like they still happen all the time then?” Just Cause shrugged. “My guess is that it has to do with his upbringing. A sheltered noble foal, fed on a steady diet of vitriol against the DOTI for what they did to his family, and a lack of interaction with us over the years has led him to believe that we are still as corrupt as we were back then. Of course, there could be other factors involved that neither you nor I can see which have influenced his current attitudes on the matter. Obviously, you would need to speak with him.” Allen rested his elbows on the tabletop and put his head in his hands and sighed. “Why can’t people just fucking get along?” “One of life’s great mysteries I suppose,” replied Just Cause quietly. Lowering his hands, Allen quietly regarded the two earth ponies sitting across from him. Alright, let’s think about this. I know why Blueblood wants me to be his business partner or at least part of the reason why anyways. He wants me to help him restore his family’s fortune back to the way it was before his dad lost all their money. That alone is reason enough that he would be willing to bend the truth if it meant getting me on his side instead of the DOTI’s. I mean, if he still thinks that it’s a zero-sum game, where if I join the DOTI, then I won’t work with him, and thus he’ll lose out on the chance to improve his family’s standing. However, that doesn’t sound like it’s the case anymore. If Checklist and Just Cause are being truthful, then I can pick and choose what I want from the DOTI without having to worry about choosing one side or the other. The question is... are they telling me the truth? What would they have to gain from bending the truth or even outright lying to me? It doesn’t make any sense... and now my head hurts, fuck. “Uh, Mr. Ross? Are you okay? You’ve been staring at us for a while now,” said Checklist, a nervous look on her face. Jolted out of his thoughts by her sudden interruption, Allen gave himself a shake. “Sorry, I was just... thinking about... things,” he replied lamely. Both Just Cause and Checklist shared a knowing look with each other. “If you want, we can come back some other time, perhaps next Saturday? Give you a little time to think things over and talk to some other ponies? We don’t want you to feel as though we are trying to pressure you into making a decision or anything,” said Checklist gently, a concerned look on her face. Allen shook his head. “No, it’d be better if you just gave me your little presentation now. I’m planning on cutting my first hayfields as soon as I’ve got a place to put the hay. Which should be either this week or next week at the latest sometime if everything goes well.” Checklist’s ears perked up at hearing Allen’s plans, and licking her lips nervously, she hesitantly asked, “W-will you still let me come watch? I promise I won’t get in the way.” Allen blinked in confusion, before remembering that Checklist had expressed an interest in seeing his machinery in action the last time she was here. Nodding his head, he gave her a little smile and said, “You bet, you can even bring your friend here too if you want. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a small audience as I’m sure Lyra and Twilight will want to record everything that I do for their research. Though, if he’s returned from Olenia by then, Blueblood will probably be there too, so just an FYI.” “So long as he stays civil, and far away from me, then I will stay civil,” replied Checklist, a determined look on her face. Having gotten her promise to behave, Allen nodded and waved a hand at the material on the table and said, “Alright, enough politics and crap, tell me about all of this stuff.” Her eyes lighting up in genuine excitement, Checklist quickly launched into her well-rehearsed presentation. As he had expected, the DOTI had many programs and products to offer, so many in fact that Checklist went well past the couple hours that had been originally agreed upon. “Training programs, apprenticeships, research and development, loans, health insurance, crop insurance, and you guys even have life and disaster insurance too?” asked Allen incredulously. Even though when last they spoke, Blueblood had mentioned in passing that the DOTI offered a myriad of services and products, Allen still found himself blown away by just how much was available to choose from. “Sure do,” replied Checklist with a smug smile, “and the more you apply for, the greater the discount that goes with it, and really, that’s only a small portion of what the DOTI can do for you. We also offer cost savings when shipping products as we can coordinate with the railroads to maximize the amount of product that gets shipped from one location at the same time, thus netting our members a bulk rate discount.” Looking over the various pamphlets Allen just shook his head. It was surprising to him just how much the DOTI offered people, and all of it without the need to fully commit if you didn’t need or want everything. However, the biggest service that they offered was that they also served as a sort of national job board. The concept was straightforward and simple, businesses, for a small fee, could list open job positions with the local DOTI office. They would include all the basic information, such as what the position was, the responsibilities associated with it, the necessary qualifications, and any pay or benefits that went along with it. On the flip side, a pony looking for work would just need to go into their local DOTI office and ask if they had any work offers available. If they did, then they would help that pony try and get the job. This often included helping the applicant with their resume or providing interview coaching tips for those who needed it, among other things. However, if there were no jobs, the office would look beyond the local area to see if there were any open job requests in nearby towns. If none were available or were a poor fit, they would inquire with the DOTI’s main office located in Manehatten if they had anything available. When the inquiry arrived, the main branch would look through their records for any potential positions that the pony might be able to fill and then send that information back to the requesting office. “Wait, you’re saying that your main office knows what open positions are available for every business in every town and city across the entire country? How do you keep track of all that?” asked Allen in disbelief. “Well, we don’t actually,” replied Checklist, “most local offices only send job positions that either requires an extremely specialized pony or have been open for longer than two months. Though sometimes the main office gets a request for a job that hasn’t been put into their system, so they’ll just send out a general alert to the other branch offices around the country to see if there is a matching job available.” “What happens if there isn’t?” Checklist shrugged. “It can happen from time to time, usually we just tell the job hunting pony to loosen up their criteria and try again. I’ve never heard of a pony that was never able to find a job through us.” “Do they have to be a DOTI member to either post or look for a job through you guys?” asked Allen as he thumbed idly through a little promotional booklet. Checklist shook her head and replied, “No, but members get both priority and a lower fee, so there is that. However, regardless of their membership status, if we do find them a job in another part of the country and they accept the offer, we will help make arrangements for that pony to meet with the employer for an interview. This can include helping them with train fares, finding them accommodations, food, and so on, and if the pony doesn’t have the means to make the trip on their own. The local office could step in and offer them financial assistance, which they will need to pay back at a later date. If the worker is hired, then we can also offer them assistance in moving themselves and their family across the country if necessary as well.” “Huh,” grunted Allen as he sat there thinking. To him, this sounded no different than one of those job search websites back home, save for the fact that it was all done physically, rather than electronically, and that the DOTI would help relocate ponies around the country as needed. All in all, it sounded almost too good to be true. However, Allen had learned very early on in his stay in Equestria that things sometimes worked differently here than back home. So he decided to remain cautiously optimistic. By the time the presentation had ended. It was getting well into the late afternoon, at which point Allen, feeling hungry and not wanting to be a poor host, had invited the two ponies to stay for dinner. However, Checklist and Just Cause declined his invitation, saying that they had to catch the evening train back to Canterlot or risk having to get a room at the local inn for the night. Nodding in understanding, Allen helped them quickly pack up their things and walked with them to the end of his driveway before saying their final goodbyes for the evening. Waving as he watched them go, Allen sighed. While his outward appearance seemed calm, his inner thoughts were awhirl, like a handful of leaves caught in a windstorm. Fucking hell, why is it my luck that I get caught in the middle of political shenanigans in fantasy ponyland? He grumbled silently to himself as he watched Checklist and Just Cause disappear around a bend in the road just past the edge of where Sweet Apple Acres began. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he quietly turned and started walking towards the house. His mind kept turning over the new information that he’d learned today, and he couldn’t figure out what to do. Stomping up onto the front porch, Allen wiped his boots on the welcome mat and went inside. Walking tiredly down the hall to the kitchen, he turned to the fridge and opened it. Looking inside, he spied one of the few remaining beer bottles and grabbed it without hesitation. Popping the cap off, he took a hearty swig and after draining a third of the bottle in one go, let loose a sigh of contentment as he felt the beer settle in his belly. Turning, he sat down at the dining room table and stared at the various pamphlets and brochures that Checklist and Just Cause had left him. Picking one up at random, he looked it over. It depicted a courtroom scene with a smiling pony in a suit looking at him, with a caption above them saying, When you need legal help, big or small, call the DOTI, we’re there for you! Shaking his head, he carelessly tossed it on the table and took another swig of his beer before leaning back in his chair and staring up at the ceiling, the cogs in his mind silently turning. Okay Allen, let’s just think this through. What do we know right now? Blueblood has a grudge against the DOTI, because they ruined his family financially, even though his dad was an idiot for putting the family in that situation in the first place without having done his due diligence. Now, however, Blueblood is trying to change that, and for some reason, he thinks a thirty-year-old, displaced farmer’s son from Indiana can help him achieve that. To the point that he might have lied to me in order to keep me from working with the DOTI. The problem is that he didn’t need to do that. If what Checklist and Just Cause said is true, then I never had to choose between Blueblood or the DOTI. Which means that I could partner with Blueblood for fast cash and rent-free access to more land than I know what to do with, while at the same time selecting services and products from the DOTI that I need in order to make my operation more efficient in the long run. Even if my overhead does go up, I would still be making good money without running the risk of going without a safety net, which means that in the end Blueblood would make more money, and if something did go wrong, he wouldn’t have to help me get back on my feet. So it would be a win-win right? Leaning forward, Allen stood up and began pacing. But, what if Checklist and Just Cause were lying to me? He paused and shook his head. No, that doesn’t make any sense. What would they gain from lying? Sure, they’ll get another member, big whoop. That still doesn’t change anything for their organization in the long run, unless their reason is just to spite Blueblood and deny him my help by convincing me to work with them instead. But again, what will that accomplish? If I find out that they’re lying to me, and they suckered me into a bad deal, then I’ll just cut ties with them the first chance I get and go back to Blueblood and be even more committed to helping him. The same could be said if Blueblood lied about the DOTI. Coming to a stop at the back sliding door, Allen stared out across the backyard and to where Blueblood and Twilight had originally erected the large sign that allowed the two parties to establish peaceful contact. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Allen nodded his head silently as he made a decision. I need more information before I go any further. Both Blueblood and Checklist are biased as hell and hate each other for no reason other than what side of the proverbial picket line they’re standing on, so they’re pretty much useless as far as reliable sources go. And I should have thought about that before I went all in and signed that contract with Blueblood. Allen mentally kicked himself for his hasty decision to accept Blueblood’s initial offer, without first doing some of his own due diligence on the matter. However, what was done, was done and there was no easy way to change it. Allen just counted his blessings that Blueblood didn’t try to sneak some clause into the contract that would cost him dearly if he didn’t place nice with the noble. Turning away from the door, Allen returned to his seat and drained the last of his beer. Setting the bottle back on the table, he quietly made a decision. I’m going to go have a talk with Penny.