//------------------------------// // 23| Dioscuri Equine // Story: The Evil Paradox // by Alcatraz //------------------------------// Still in the middle of toweling off my hair from my morning shower, my horn gave a little ping and spark. I left the bathroom and went to open my bedroom door. “I’ll be right right with you,” I said to Radiant, who had her hoof raised and about to knock. I closed the door before she could say anything. It’d been two whole days since I accidentally induced Nebula’s labour via violent trauma. I told myself it wasn’t my fault, but in a way, I was wrong. I should have done more research to figure out what was causing the memory blockage. Yet, I couldn’t have known that Nebula would have gotten jettisoned across the room. It was like the spell had an automatic defense. Whoever put that spell on Nebula knew full well what would happen, and I intended on getting to the bottom of it. All nice and dried, I finished brushing myself down, sighed my troubles away, and then went to open the door to the waiting Radiant. “How did you–” “You walked through a low-level barrier I put up that tells me if somepony is coming up the hall. That way I don’t stab myself in the eye with my eyeliner brush if somepony knocks unexpectedly. Again.” “Well, uh, fair enough. I stopped by because Midni… Midn...” Radiant tried stifling her yawn, she really did, but dear god, the bags under her eyes were basically dragging her eyelids down. “Radiant, stop for a moment. When was the last time you slept?” “I uh, t-two da-” “Go to bed. That’s an order, Doctor. I can’t have you working on any patients in the state that you are. Today’s Friday, I have the weekend to myself, so you can update me on everything tomorrow.” “But Midnight and Nebu-” “Are doing just fine, right?” Radiant blinked drearily and nodded, and I sighed in relief. “That’s the best news you could give me right now, and honestly, it’s a weight off my shoulders.” “But, I, uhm… Okay, Princess. You’re right.” “Besides, I need to talk to the person that put Midnight in that position, that way I can make sure they’re not going to do anything to anypony else.” “You talking about Boreas’ father?” “Yes. Go to bed, Doc!” “I - I’ll take my leave and get some rest.” “Take care, Radiant, you did good.” She smiled, yawned again, and turned to drag herself back down the tower. I was left wondering why she couldn’t have just gotten someone to deliver a message while I finished putting on my usual shoes, tiara, and peytral, then grabbed a pair of saddlebags that I’d put a few things in for Belcusas. “Where are you going?” Veloce asked when I walked out the door. She looked me up and down, noticing the bags. “Your day off isn’t until tomorrow.” “Come with me and find out.” “Yes ma’am!” she saluted. “Bastille, keep watch.” “Veloce, you do remember that I am your superior.” “And that’s why the walking fortress should keep the Princesses personal quarters guarded.” “Hm. A fair point. Carry on, second lieutenant.” Oof. I teleported Velo and I to the guarded entrance of the dungeon. The main door was sunk several feet into the masonry, and in case of a breach, a portcullis could be dropped to seal off the corridor that was big enough for the two of us to walk through it side by side. Though I could teleport in and out, I had to follow proper procedure for the most part so the guards knew who was coming and going. Belcusas looked over his shoulder to me when he heard me coming. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he grumbled. “Good news!” i said. “My employee that you had beaten has recovered enough that he can start walking around again, so I figured I’d come down and let you go.” I didn’t know that specifically, but just the fact that he was doing fine was good enough for me. Veloce did a double-take. “Princess, are you sure that’s a good idea?” “I’d have to agree with your two-legged friend there. Why would you do that?” “The most egregious thing you did to anyone in this country that I am currently aware of is what we would call grievous bodily harm. Even if you didn’t take part, you still allowed it to happen.” Belcusas huffed, then reluctantly sat up to talk to me properly. “I already know what you’re getting at; I’ve done the time that fits the crime.” Despite the stallion doing dirty by a lot of ponies in his kingdom, and the inevitable fallout from letting him go, I decided to give him a chance. That probably wasn’t the wisest decision after the fact, but unless Celestia or I could charge him for other crimes he committed while within our territory in the past, I really did have to let him go. “The way I see it, you’ve got two choices, both of which result in you, hopefully, never becoming a problem again. First option is exile from this country. Basically, that involves me pointing you in a direction, telling you to walk, and keep walking, never to be ever seen again.” “Does the second option involve my expeditious release from this mortal plane?” Belcusas deadpanned. “Interesting way to put it, but no.” I leaned forward and smiled. “Come work for me.” That made him pause, leering at me suspiciously. “Why should I want to work for you?” “Few reasons. I can give you a place to stay, a means to a steady income, a bed, and all castle staff get at least one meal served to them in the main dining hall every day.” Belcusas looked rather confused at that, like he couldn’t figure me out. “Why… W-why would you do that for me?” “Look,” I sighed. “I just don’t want you to cause any more problems, doubly so for that misogyny you unashamedly showed off when you challenged me. Simple as that. If you can accomplish that and abide by our laws, then I can start to trust you. And just for clarification, you’re not to go back to your old kingdom. At all. So long as you live.” He spent several long moments in silence, contemplating my offer. “Are those... details negotiable at all?” Belcusas finally asked. I quirked an eyebrow. “I’ll hear what you have to say.” “Alright, I guess it’s time for me to swallow my pride… I ill take your offer of citizenship, Princess Luna. You beat me fair and square, and showed that you’re not one to trifle with. If it’s any consolation, I shan’t cause you any more trouble.” Belcusas let out a deep exhale. “However, if you want me to work for you, I would ask that you retrieve two items from my old kingdom.” “Depends on what would you like.” “My armor and sword. They are irreplaceable to me.” “For as long as you use them for service to this land and its people, and I do mean all of them, I shall have them to you by the end of the week.” With a flourish of the keys, I unlocked the cell and swung the door out. “Allow me to formally welcome you to the nation of Equestria, Belcusas. Now, come with me, I’ll show you to your new room.” That caught him off guard and he balked quite hard. “What?! You got me a room in the castle already!?” “Yup! Everything I’ve just given you has been for free, you would have been a right idiot to turn it down.” After we got out of that wing’s dungeon, I started walking towards my tower with Belcusas in tow. Unlike the crowned-owned rooms for distinguished guests on the upper floors, the one I was taking Belcusas to wasn’t exactly big, and was more meant for personal guests. “Velo, you can go back to your post,” I said. “Nu-uh, I’m staying with you two. That’s why you hired me, Princess.” “Velo, I can honestly say that Belcusas is not going to try anything. In the meantime, can you please find Boreas and have her retrieve the armour and sword?” I looked at Belcusas. “Assuming that they aren't under lock and key?” “No, Boreas knows where they are.” Veloce sighed. “Alright then. Not like I can go with her because I can walk on clouds…” After Veloce took off, it was just me and Belcusas. “So, what’s your angle?” he asked as we kept walking through the halls. “I promise you that I have absolutely no ulterior motive for doing any of this.” “Hm.” He didn’t say anything else after that thoughtful hum. I wouldn’t put it past him to think otherwise. At the opposite end of the corridor that lead up to my room, we came to an unassuming door. When Belcusas and I stopped in front of it, he looked up to me expectantly. “Well?” he asked. From the saddlebags I had on, I pulled out a key attached to a lanyard, unlocked the door, opened it, then stepped to the side and gestured for Belcusas to go in. It was just a basic room with a bed, a desk which had several scrolls on it, and a nice, tall bookshelf. “I’m honestly not sure what I expected,” Belcusas said as we walked inside. I put the bags I was carrying on his new bed. “It is rather spartan, sorry that it doesn’t have a private kitchen, but there is a communal kitchen down the hall if you can cook. We serve breakfast for staff in the main dining hall at eight, and dinner at six for anyone that wants. Any questions?” “Uhm, yeah… Did you know that I would accept your offer? This all seems like it was set up from the beginning.” “I hoped you would, and I’m just glad you did, because I would hate to waste talent like yours. Oh yeah, I meant to say, nice cutie mark.” It was a cloud with three little snowflakes coming out of it. “Do you make it snow or something?” “My talent is weather manipulation, and my affinity is ice.” Belcusas pointed at the bags I put on the bed. “What’s in those?” “The bags are a gift, and contains everything you’ll need to get a fresh start. Some money, a few tools, a water bottle, all that good stuff.” I pulled out a little silver medallion attached to a small length of silk rope and hung it around his neck. “You’ll also need this; it’s a temporary formality, basically proof you work for me until I can get some of our armour and a uniform fitted for you.” I pointed at the several scrolls on the desk. “Citizenship papers, an employment contract, the job description for your position, and a dossier with some intel for the job I’m giving you. Now, I have some work I need to get done, so feel free to have a walk around the castle to familiarise yourself with the place. Go have a fly if you want. Nearest town that didn’t get razed is a two hour flight north-east. Have the scrolls to me by Monday.” “You just... gave me all of this because I’m working for you, and now you’re giving me free roam to do whatever I want?” Belcusas really was confused, and judging by his demeanour, a little scared. “I’m having trouble figuring you out, and that’s what I don’t like about you; it makes me think you’re up to something.” I sighed. “I’m not sure what to say that would convince you I’m not trying to do anything to you or for you that isn’t otherwise mutually beneficial for everypony involved. Just don’t cause me and mine any problems, and we’ll get along just fine. “I just… Look, I get it. You don’t have the best reputation, and you’re wondering why I’m not using that against you.”  I shrugged. “Honestly, I have no reason to. If you have any problems, I’ll be in the throne room from nine-thirty to four today. Breakfast is in thirty minutes; would you like to join me?” Belcusas’ stomach gave the quintessential growl. “I’ll show you the way there,” I said. I tossed the key to Belcusas as I started to leave his room. He followed, closing the door behind him and locking it. I saw him crack an almost imperceptibly small, grateful grin. It took a few minutes of walking in awkward silence to get to the doors of the dining hall. To my pleasant surprise, Midnight, Firefly, and Ares were all in the middle of eating breakfast as we headed inside and took our seats, with Belcusas sitting next to me.  Something weird was in the air, and before anyone could pass comment about Belcusas, I said, “Somethi—” Ares grunted angrily. “I fell over in a bog that something had clearly died in, and despite two piping hot baths with soap, I still can’t get the smell out.” “It really happened,” Firefly said when I looked to her for confirmation. “We were doing our patrol on the incoming roads when someone on their way to the castle was robbed. Ares gave chase, and I had to pull him out of the mud. Thief is locked up. Forty-eight hours, was it?” “Correct. Good job for both of you, and Ares, for your next bath, put a cup of vinegar and toss in a couple sliced lemons. It’ll help with the smell.” “Thank you, princess,” he said. “By the way,” Firefly said as he pointed at Belcusas, “what’s he doing here?” “He did the time that fit the crime, so I let him out and invited him to breakfast,” I said. Belcusas looked up to me. “Care to introduce your servants?” “I ain’t no servant!” Firefly objected. “Oh, uhm, right. That’s Firefly; resident pyromancer. This is Ares; he can headbutt you into next week. Midnight you’ve already met; he can make you see things that aren’t there. Boreas is probably sleeping in on her day off, Veloce you’ve met, so the only ones left are Bastille with the hammer, and Comet, my captain.” “Hey, uh, Belcusas!” Firefly said. “Wanna have a fight later?” “Uh, no.” “Maybe tomorrow, then?” “Why do you insist?” “I still owe you an ass-whooping after what you did to Midnight!” Other ponies started looking in our direction. “You do not owe me anything, nor do I owe you. If anything, I should be apologising to Midnight, so put a lid on it!” Belcusas said. “Why you–!” “Look,“ Midnight said to Firefly, “you can best believe he and I are going to have some words later. You don’t have to like that he’s here; just ignore him.” “Excuse me.” Belcusas suddenly got up from the table and hurried through the doors and out of sight. There were multiple whispers and pointed looks in our direction. I turned and gave Firefly a thoroughly displeased glare. “If you scare off a guest of mine like that again, you best believe you and I will be having a chat. Just remember that you don’t have to talk to somepony you don’t like.” Her ears flattened against her head, and she sank back in her chair. “I… I’m sorry, Princess. I stepped out of line, I’ll go and apologise.” “Please do. Just don’t push your luck,” I said. Despite the rocky start to the morning, the rest of the day went pretty well. Firefly didn’t manage to find Belcusas, but instead a note tacked to his door that he was going to the town I mentioned to buy himself some food. I honestly didn’t blame the guy; all he needed was some time to readjust and to find a place he could fit in. Come six o’clock, Boreas knocked on my door. ‘“Good evening, Princess!” she said with a smile, walking in with a couple large and packed saddlebags, plus a sheathed sword. “I got the things you asked for.” “Thank you, Boreas,” I said. “Sooo…” I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. “Your thoughts about your father working for me?” “I honestly don’t mind, and I really do mean that. Sure, he’s not the nicest pony I’ve met, but I’ll give you the same benefit of the doubt you gave me.” I smiled. “Thanks for that.” Despite her troubles and reservations, Boreas seemed a lot happier than normal. “I’ll be honest, Princess. I’m glad you gave my father the choice you did instead of executing or exiling him. He’s the only family I have left. I don’t like him that much, but… I don’t want to lose him either.” Her visage faltered a bit. I got up from my desk and went to give Boreas a little hug. “I’m confident you’ll get back at least a few of the years you two missed out on.” “Yeah…” Boreas perked back up. “That’s good. I’m honestly glad we’re going to have a chance to reconnect.” We were interrupted by knocking at the door. “Just a sec, please.” I went over to open the door and was surprised to see who stood before me. “Radiant? I thought I told you to go to sleep.” “And I did, Princess,” she said. “For a blessed nine and a half hours, and I feel very refreshed, so I came to see you.” Looking closer, I saw she seemed a lot more well rested and put together than she did that morning. More radiant, dare I say. “I thought I’d come by to see if you had time to go see Nebula and her little one,” Radiant said, though not with a smile. “Is everything alright?” “Yes, but there are a few things I need to say with you and Nebula present. Harvest and Hayseed are there, too.” “Is it about the anomalous mana readings from the other day?” I asked. “Yes and no, it’ll be easier if I just show you. Would you mind teleporting us?” I turned to Boreas, “You can leave all that stuff with me for now. I’ll give you extra pay since you did work for me on your day off.” “Thank you, Luna!” And with that, Boreas trotted off out the door. With a brief flash of light, Radiant and I were outside the infirmary before Boreas closed the door. Radiant rubbed her brow and dragged a hoof down her face. “Sorry, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being teleported.” “Sorry, I should have warned you.” She waved it off. “No worries.” Radiant opened the door to the infirmary, leading me down a hall, and through one of the doors into a room that had four empty beds lined up against the wall. In the fourth one lay Nebula, who had looked like she’d run a marathon. Even though she looked as beat to hell as one would have expected after going through such a complicated ordeal, I did not expect her to look so utterly drained. Off to the side, a frazzled and emotionally drained Harvest sat in a chair gingerly cradling a little bundle of blankets as Hayseed looked on with rapt wonder and delight. Both of them looked over to me when I walked in. “Heeyyyy, Luna,” Nebula said drearily. She sounded like she was doped up on lots of drugs. Fun times. “Hey, how’re you feeling?” I asked with a half smile. “Sore, like I pushed out somepony like Bastille.” I opened my mouth, but Nebula cut me off, “Look, before you say anything, I just want to say no hard feelings. It was just an accident. You couldn’t have known what would happen, okay?” “I know, it’s just… I…” I sighed. “I was just worried I hurt you.” Harvest decided to tactfully interrupt. “Hey, Luna, come say hi to little Gemini.” His eyes were bloodshot and misty looking. He looked like he’d been crying for two days straight. I cautiously crept closer while Radiant stood off to the side, and Harvest folded down one corner of the blanket bundle so I could get a better look. My heart skipped a beat, a smile formed on my face. I surreptitiously wiped my eyes. “Awwww, she’s so adorable!” A tiny little Gemini was all wrapped up and fast asleep within the blankets. She had a similar tan coat colour to Harvest’s and Hayseed’s, and it looked like someone took Nebula’s coat colour on a painting palette and accidentally dropped it on the filly. Splotches of black and purple covered half the filly’s face and horn, her shoulders, back, front left and back right legs, and even where her cutie mark would be one day. Even her unusually long and frazzled, otherwise orangey-tan mane had streaks of black and purple through it. Gemini stirred in her sleep when I got close, blinking up at me as she opened her eyes. That was the real shock. One green eye, one red eye. “I had the same reaction, too,” Nebula said. “Radiant said that it’s not unheard of for some foals to be born with different coloured eyes.” “It’s just a quirk of nature that happens sometimes.” Radiant said. “It's benign, I promise you that.” I knew that it’s called heterochromia, but did the ponies have that word too? “Luna, Radiant also has something else to show you,” Nebula said. I sat up rigidly and looked at Nebula, aghast. “Wait, another one?! Was that what caused the wacky reading, twins?!” “No, no,” Nebula said with a chuckle followed by a wince. “Would make sense, though.” Radiant stepped out the door a moment, then wheeled in a large cart, similar to a service trolley in a large kitchen. It had some kind of bulky machine composed of what looked like wires and crystals sticking out everywhere, and tied with twine to keep it from toppling over. It looked like the earlier device to read mana that radiant used, only this larger version looked like it was on steroids. Radiant must’ve seen the look on my face. “It’s perfectly safe, I promise you. Just doesn’t have a casing to keep everything in one place.” Then, she proceeded to gingerly take one of the filly’s splotched legs, and put a band around it like some kind of blood pressure monitor. The ring that would’ve gone around an adult unicorn’s horn sat on Gemini’s head with room to spare around the filly’s small horn. “A different device than the one you used before?” I said. “Yes, but it gives more accurate mana readings.” Radiant turned towards the device, turned a couple knobs, and two of the three gauges lit up like the fourth of july. They danced around a moment before settling on different positions. “Fifty-eight percent unicorn, and forty-two percent earth pony. Give or take, this machine is only a prototype.” “Wait… What?” I said. “Something like that isn’t unexpected. When a unicorn and earth pony like Harvest and Nebula have a foal, it’ll inherit mana traits from both parents. For example, Hayseed could have ninety-eight percent earth pony and two percent unicorn. Then, if he has a foal with a unicorn mare, statistically that baby is highly likely to be a unicorn. Ratios and inherited traits like that tend to dictate if a foal comes out one race or the other, as heavily varied as it is. I just didn’t expect it to turn out like… this.” Radiant looked at me and sighed heavily before continuing. “That would make more sense if Gemini had a higher ratio of unicorn to earth pony, but she has two completely different types of mana co-existing in the same body. Over thirty years treating ponies and various other races, and this is the first case like this I’ve seen, or heard of, in my entire life. I don’t know what to make of it.” “Is it something to be concerned about?” I said, looking at the baby. As Radiant took off the band and horn ring from Gemini, she said, “To be on the safe side, I want to keep an eye on Nebula and Gemini for the next week before I send her home, with follow-up visits bi-monthly to monitor any changes. I need to do some research on what might have caused such a disproportionate distribution of mana. Other than that, she's perfectly healthy, albeit a very unique, little filly.” Everyone else, for the most part, seemed to take everything in stride as Radiant explained herself. “How do you feel about all this?” I said to Nebula. “Radiant also treats you and Celestia when you two are sick, right?” I nodded. “Mmhmm.” “If you trust her that much, then I do too. Gemini is a healthy little filly, and right now, that’s all that matters to me.” She looked at Harvest and Hayseed. “No, us.” “Congratulations, Nebula, Harvest,” I beamed. I then lightly booped the too quiet Hayseed on the nose. “How does it feel to have a baby sister?” He giggled and smiled up at me before turning his attention back to Gemini. “I’m gonna play with her a bunch when she can run!” “That’s my little big boy,” Harvest said. I could almost feel the pride oozing off of him. “I’m sorry to cut the visit short, but there’s a lot of work i still need to do. I will come by again when I’m done, okay?” “Luna, you’ve helped us more than you know,” Nebula said. “You have my sincerest thanks, and I would welcome you back into our house at any time.” I couldn’t help but blink away a couple tears as I walked over to Nebula, giving her a hug, followed by a small kiss on the forehead. “Nebula, Harvest, and Hayseed. Congratulations on the little addition to your family. I wish you all the best for the future.” That earned me a raised eyebrow. “A blessing from the princess?” Nebula dipped her head slightly. “I’m honoured. Really.” “I’ll uh, send in some food for everyone, alright?” “That sounds lovely. Thank you,” Nebula said. I tousled Hayseed’s mane softly. “I’ll see you three shortly.” “You can even hold Gemini when you get back if you want,” Harvest said. “Now it’s my turn to feel honoured,” I smiled. “I’ll be back soon!” I teleported into the kitchen to ask the chef to send up some wholesome, delicious food to Nebula’s room in the infirmary, then I popped myself into my chair at the dining table before dinner could be served. “Whew,” I exclaimed with a heavy breath, “they’re okay.” “Who’s okay?” Celestia asked, looking me up and down. “Did something happen that I should know about?” I just shook my head and gave a relieved chuckle. “Nah. Nebula had her baby!” “Oohhh, is it a colt or filly?!” Celestia exclaimed like it was the best thing ever, and let’s be honest, it kinda was. “An adorable little unicorn filly,” I almost squeaked. “Her name is Gemini.” “Are both Nebula and Gemini alright after what happened at Mercy? Harvest? Hayseed?” “Everypony is as good as gold. Nebula is about as beat as you can imagine after what she’s been through lately. Harvest is fine, too, though he seemed a bit emotionally drained. Hayseed had a bit of a scare back at the house to say the least, but he’s been a real trooper despite everything.” Celestia smiled warmly. It put me at ease. “Thanks to you and your initiatives, as well as the new guard hires, you’ve saved a lot of lives. Not only that, you usurped a king and gave Equestria new territory, dismantled an illegal mining operation, and then turned it into what’s becoming a very profitable endeavour. I’m proud of you, Luna. You’ve done good.” Despite Celestia’s genuinely warm demeanour and pride for me, I could only manage a half smile. “Yeah…” “You alright?” she asked. “I’m fine, I suppose. I’ve just… Having to deal with all of that in such a short time span has left me feeling rather drained, both physically and emotionally. There’s been a few instances where I’ve teleported into my closet instead of my room because I didn’t have a clear head.” Celestia wanted to laugh at that, I could tell, but instead she said, “There is still a lot of work to do, you know, right?” “Thanks for the reminder,” I harrumphed. “What I’m getting at is; I can give you a lighter workload for you to do at a more leisurely pace if that’s how you feel. There’s also a couple other things I’ve got lined up that I’m certain you’ll enjoy doing,” she said with a wink. That made me perk up slightly. “Oh? Well, I’ll hold you to that. I still have no idea how to track down whoever Tundra is, either.” “Off the top of my head, I’d check around the Frozen North. Logically speaking, it makes most sense considering the name. And with something as coveted as an ice dragon ashe, it should give you a good starting point.” “That is true. What leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth is I haven’t been able to put any resources into actually doing so. Not only that, but actually sending resources and somepony to look for somepony else… somecreature… or whatever you want to say, that may or may not be alive.” Celestia leaned forward and gave me a comforting pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll find a way. You have proven yourself a bit tenacious lately. You’ll be able to do it, I promise. It’ll just take time.” “Yeah…” I felt an almost renewed sense of vigour at that, and sat upright. “Yeah, you’re right! I’m one of the most prominent creatures in this entire country! I’ve got connections all over the place! I can do almost anything if I try hard enough!” “There you go,” Celestia gestured with an upturned hoof. “Feel better?” I gave a toothy grin. “Perspective is everything with matters like this!” “Indeed it is! If you’re still feeling drained, why don’t you unwind?” I blinked at Celestia. “Again? Another day off?” “Oh no no! I meant that to say that I’ve got things for you to do like I said before, just a lot less strenuous.” She wiped off her muzzle with a napkin, plopped it on her plate, then got up. “Come, I’ll explain what needs doing.” Celestia teleported off, but since she didn’t tell me where she was going. I just sat there and drank some tea before she reappeared. “Erm, right. My room?” “What’ve we got here?” I asked once we finally made it to Celestia’s room. I went over to her desk and peered over her shoulder. “Those scrolls,” Celestia began by gesturing to a small pile of scrolls, “are financial reports. Expenditures and funding, and so on. They go back six months. This one, however...” She levitated me the one she had open. “Is our projected budget for the next six months.” That was a lot of money. “Alright, you got my attention. What do you need from me?” I said. “Right now, we’re mining more gold, metals, and precious gems than we know what to do with, not to mention all the raw ore, rock, and clay we can use for building materials.” I went bug-eyed. “Holy shit…” Celestia clapped her hooves together. “So! What I need from you is to speak with the various masons and smiths in the surrounding villages and towns, etcetera, and come up with some building projects. Right now, we’re just one castle on the edge of the Everfree governing the wider Equestria. I plan on changing that.” I found myself slowly nodding my head in approval. Celestia was effectively giving me free reign on these projects! However… “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves right now. Sure, the mine is going great, but we don’t know how long it’s going to last. It could run dry in a year, ten, or fifty.” On Earth, there were a large number of towns that had been deserted after whatever they were being mined for, ran dry. Mine rich in resources gets discovered, build a town nearby to accompany people and workers, mine runs out, and eventually, everyone moves on. Rinse and repeat. “A fair point,” Celestia agreed. “To ensure we’ve got our bases covered, we should at least try to find a more secure means of income.” “So, if I’m understanding you right, you want to build something that will attract a wide variety of creatures.” “Precisely!” “I’m guessing the long term goal is to create a city, or something like that?” I said. “Yes, but not quite yet. Start with something small, like a stadium. That would mean we can host tournaments, festivals, fares, markets or bazaars, and it’d even give us a place to train new recruits. Point is this: It’s going to attract a lot of attention, investors, and even more money.” Celestia was grinning like the Cheshire Cat with dollar signs in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but give a good-natured sigh. I could definitely get on board. “What do you think? Square, rectangle, circle, or oval?” she said. “How about you leave that up to me? You’ve given me plenty to start with, so now it’s just a matter of compartmentalising everything.” “Very well, then. I’ll leave you to it. If you don’t mind, I’ll take care of as much of the court side of things as I can, but I will have to send the overflow your way,” Celestia added. “That… shouldn’t be a problem. Hopefully, anyway. Damn, I still need to hire a secretary or something like that. Anyway, I’ll see you later.” I teleported back up to my room and grinned like a mad scientist. There was absolutely no way in hell I wasn’t going to build a stadium like the Romans did. Hosting massive markets and epic tournaments was a great way to start small and aim big, because then it gives Celestia and I good traction to be able to expand into a massive city for every type of creature that wants to be a part of Equestria.