Friendship is Magic, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Original Character
The Equestrian bit has been around for centuries. Itʼs time for a change.
Rusty Coin is your average Earth Pony - unremarkable appearance, mediocre appartement, normal personality. Expect for the fact that he’s currently the Director of Platinum’s Royal Mint, the sole establishment with authorization to produce Equestria’s bits.
Princess Twilight Sparkle is the ruler of Equestria. She’s recently taken over the throne and has been analyzing some of the grievances her little ponies have. And she’s discovered a slight issue with the kingdom’s currency.
The Equestria bit is long due for a change.
Together, Rusty and the Princess work to find a solution. Hopefully, they can help better the future of Equestria and learn more about each other along the way.
One-bit, half-bit, tenth-bit
There was a time where unicorns, pegasi and Earth ponies were hostile with one another. They depended on each other, yes, but they hated each other and didn’t interact more than they needed to. Between the three tribes, they exchanged food for controlled weather and nights and days. But you might be wondering - what did they do when they needed to exchange items among their own tribe?
Well, the pegasi and Earth ponies used the barter system, exchanging items of approximately similar value. The unicorns, however, had a different idea. They lived in mountainous regions, near caves and mines. They used gems as their currency; gems that were found within the mines. With those gems, unicorns bought and sold food, clothes, shelter and services such as transportation.
When the tribes came together and founded Equestria, a new system of currency was needed. Pegasi and Earth ponies refused to use the unicorns’ gems as they were hard to find. The ponies’ new peace was fragile and would have snapped at the slightest problem.
And that’s when Princess Platinum found gold.
Gold was found not just in caves, but at the bottom of mountains, too. It was easier to mine than jewels and was not prone to breaking. Platinum mined the gold herself, cut it up in pieces and fashioned small, round coins for easier use. That was the earliest form of modern currency. For the months that followed, that was the new exchange system. Ponies assigned a value to each product in terms of gold coins.
For a while, the system worked. Only Platinum and her team had authorization to manufacture the coins for the populace. But as the coins become more commonplace, so did the counterfeits. Unauthorized ponies would find random gold ores and fashion the coins themselves. So, Platinum came up with a creative solution.
Magic.
After creating the round coins, Platinum’s team would then stamp the coins with her cutie mark on one side and the date the coin was minted on the other side. The spell used to stamp the designs was created by the manufacturers themselves and the secret was well-guarded. The counterfeits stopped instantly.
Eventually, as the population of Equestria grew, so too did the number of ponies working for Platinum’s team of coin-makers. A few dozen ponies became a hundred, then expanded into the thousands. She named them Platinum’s Royal Mint. The team continued to work on producing Equestria’s currency, even long after the Princess’ passing. The money was eventually called the bit.
Today, the bit is Equestria’s main form of currency. You can still certain street vendors accepting jewels as money, but most establishments these days accept only bits. It is still a solid gold coin, with ridges and two designs - the minted date on the tail and Platinum’s cutie mark at the head. Platinum’s Royal Mint remains the only facility with authorization to produce coins.
Our currency is stable, simple and has remain unchanged for the past millennium. It has survived countless eras and is simply put, the best form of money there ever was.
Signing off until next time,
Page Turner
Rusty sipped his coffee and put down his copy of The Canterlot Chronicle.
Rusty Coin, 34 years old, was no-one special. He was an average Earth pony - crimson coat, burgundy mane, hazel eyes. He had been in the coin-making industry for 14 years, having joined as a young stallion hungry for work. He started out as an apprentice, before making his way up to machine operator. Up until recently, he had been the Head of Operations at the mint. Four months ago, he was promoted to Director of Platinum’s Royal Mint.
The Mint had remained mostly unchanged for the last few centuries. The facility used a mix of manual, mechanical and magical processes, obtaining the best of all worlds. Thousands of coins leave the factory everyday, heading to banks and agencies across the kingdom.
Located in the mountainous regions of [insert Placer here], the Mint does not usually deal with the Crown. The facility keeps the economy going, but rarely does it ever need direct intervention with the rulers of Equestria. Platinumʼs Royal Mint does its own thing.
So imagine Rustyʼs surprise when he received a summon to his office last Tuesday, one from Her Royal Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. She had asked for a private meeting with him in her castle in the capital.
Rusty was apprehensive. He was still new to this job. To have a meeting with the Princess this early in his career? Surely something was wrong. Right? Rusty tried not to worry too much.
The train pulled up in the Canterlot station.
Rusty had been in the capital before. Once, for the Friendship Festival. In which he was practically enslaved. He hadn’t returned to the capital since, and he had certainly never been to the Palace.
Rusty approached the castle and his jaw dropped in awe. Somehow built into the side of the mountain, the castle was the single most gorgeous building Rusty has ever laid his eyes on. It was decked in magnificent purples, golds and whites. At the very entrance, the flag of Equestria waved proudly for all to see. Rusty crossed the drawbridge, showed his invitation to the guard at the front and was escorted inside.
The inside of the castle breathed beauty and majesty. Rusty breathed in the warm sunlight shining through the tall windows and the sweet scent of the lavenders in the wall scones. His eyes wandered to the various stained glasses across the hall he was being led across. Rusty’s hooves made a soft click with each step on the tiled polished floor.
The guard led him through dozens of halls and stairs. Rusty was pretty he would never have found the throne room on his own. At one point, Rusty spotted a pair of imposing double doors with the words ‘Throne Room’ carved in it. The guard led him in the opposite direction. Rusty was confused.
“Aren’t we supposed to meet the princess in the throne room?”
The guard shook his head. “The Princess has requested your presence in her office.”
What kind of princess has an office? Rusty thought.
Soon enough, the pair reached a small pair of double doors. The guard opened the door and peaked inside. “Princess, Mr. Coin has arrived,” Rusty heard him say. Without saying anything, the guard gestured for Rusty to go in.
Rusty took in a deep breath and steeled his nerves. It’ll be fine. She means you no harm. I hope. He walked in the office and bowed deeply. “Your Majesty,” he said, “it is an honor to be here.”
“At ease, Mr. Coin.”
Rusty immediately straightened up and had his first good look at the alicorn.
Princess Twilight Sparkle was very petite for a princess, let alone a ruler. Despite her small size, though, she exuded a great amount of confidence, power and authority. Her crown was set aside on a pillow on the table.
The Princess rose from her seat and approached Rusty with a smile. She extended her hoof. “Itʼs a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Coin, sir.”
Rusty shook it.
“Please have a seat. We have much to talk about,” the Princess said as she went back to the desk.
Rusty nodded, his eyes scanning the office. The office, if one could even call it that, was unlike any Rusty had ever seen. One large oval table sat in the center, on which there were piles of books and papers neatly arranged in rows. Several cushioned seats were arranged around the table. The walls were lined with bookcases and filing cabinets. One wall was filled with tall windows, bathing the room in warm sunlight. One side was the flag of Equestria and a banner of Princess Twilightʼs cutie mark.
Rusty took a seat opposite the Princess. The latter levitated one binder from one of the piles.
She cleared her throat. “Alright. Letʼs get this meeting started.” She opened the binder to a certain page and laid it in front of Rusty. “Iʼd like to begin with showing you these.”
Rusty examined the opened page. It was a newspaper clipping.