Chapter 53
Rainbow Dash left the library and made her way to Derpy's office. She found her sweeping the floor with less than stellar results.
“Hi, Derpy,” said Dash, “I, uh, need your help with something.”
Derpy stopped sweeping. “Hi Rainbow Dash,” she said, “I'm always glad to help!”
“Good,” said Dash, “because I have a little problem. The house I'm living in is for the Weather Team Leader and that's isn't me anymore. Can you find out how long I have before I have to move? I don't know if they'll let me buy it, or even if I can afford to but I'd like to know about that too.”
“Gosh!” exclaimed Derpy, “that's a problem alright. There is a section in the manual about pay and compensation. Let me get this dirt cleaned up and I'll take a look.”
“Uh, why don't you let me do that while you have a look now,” suggested Dash.
Derpy smiled and retrieved the massive book. Laying it on the desk, she immediately began leafing through it while Rainbow Dash finished sweeping the floor. Rainbow Dash finished long before Derpy and waited impatiently as she flipped from one section to the other in the book. At last she looked up.
“Okay,” said Derpy, “it looks like you have two weeks from the time you submit your resignation until you have to move out. After you resign, we have two weeks to choose a new leader or Cloudsdale will choose for us. Did you send in your resignation yet?”
“No,” replied Dash, “but I should do it soon. They know I'm a Wonderbolt now and will be expecting it.”
“Yeah,” agreed Derpy, “I'd say you should send in the form naming a temporary leader with your resignation. It's Friday now and we can probably wait until Monday to send it. That will give you a couple extra days. Now, you could buy your house if Ponyville is willing to sell it but then Ponyville would have to build a new one for the next leader and pay extra for their lodgings until it's built. You might be better off just building a new one.”
“Yeah,” said Dash, “I'll resign on Monday if you can get the rest of the papers ready. I'll fly them over to Cloudsdale myself. It will give me a chance to find out how much a cloud house will cost.”
“I'll have it ready first thing Monday morning,” said Derpy.
“Thanks, Derpy,” said Dash. “Say, did you ever take the tests for the Weather Department?”
“Sure,” said Derpy, “I did pretty good on the written tests but not the flying part. I barely passed.”
“Okay,” said Dash, “I just wondered. See ya Monday, Derpy. If you need any help, I'll be around town or out at Fluttershy's place.”
Rainbow Dash left the office and debated on whether to go see the Mayor about her problem or Twilight Sparkle to see what she had been researching. She opted for Twilight since seeing the Mayor so soon after Razor's little escapade seemed awkward. She made her way to the library.
She walked into the library and found Twilight at her desk with a few large books. She looked up as she heard Dash enter.
“That was quick, Rainbow,” said Twilight. “What did you find out?”
“It looks like I'll have to be out two weeks from Monday,” said Dash. “I might be able to delay a few days more but not much. I think it will be cheaper to build a new place than to buy mine.”
“That's too bad,” said Twilight. “I just checked about the homestead law and you can get land for just a small filing fee. The trouble is there isn't much land left under Ponyville control that you can get. Most is owned by somepony or other and some of what is left is really tiny.”
“I don't think I'll have any problem getting land,” replied Dash. “Ponyville recently about doubled in size.”
“What?” exclaimed Twilight, “What are you talking about?”
“We were trying to figure out a way to get some more ponies for the Team,” explained Dash. “Derpy knew about a clause in one of the regulations that allows a town to claim an area twenty miles from town center. That allows us three more ponies for our Weather Team.”
“Wow! That's great, Rainbow,” said Twilight. “It says here that you're allowed up to five acres for a home and forty acres if you want to farm it.”
“I think I'll pass on the farming,” said Dash with a laugh. “Five will be fine.”
“There are a few stipulations,” continued Twilight. “You have to build your home in six months. You must lay out the land you claim in one day. Last one, you must provide a basic map of the land you claim to the town council.”
“That doesn't sound too bad,” said Rainbow Dash. “I'll get A.J. and Fluttershy to help me and we'll measure it out tomorrow or maybe the day after.”
“Any idea where you're going to build it?” asked Twilight.
“I thought out by Whitetail Wood would be nice,” said Dash. “There are some good spots in the direction of Cloudsdale too. I'll take Fluttershy and scout them out this afternoon.”
“You should take your time,” said Twilight. “You're going to be living there. It's a big decision.”
“I know,” said Dash, “but I want to act fast before everypony else finds out about it. If I do it tomorrow, before the Mayor announces it, I'll get first pick of the best places.”
“It's a good idea but it hardly sounds fair,” said Twilight.
“Tough,” said Dash, “I'm doing it anyway. This whole moving thing is a big hassle and I want to get it over and done.”
“Alright, alright,” said Twilight, “I guess you have good reason to want to get this done. You are a busy pony after all.”
Rainbow Dash felt a little guilty about getting a head start on other ponies that might want to claim land, not enough to stop her present course of action but enough to annoy her. Besides, she thought, if it wasn't for her becoming a Wonderbolt and putting Derpy in charge of the office there wouldn't even be any land to claim. Her conscience mollified, she smiled and addressed her friend.
“Yeah, I am,” said Dash to Twilight, “I should be going over to Fluttershy's right now to practice. See you later Twilight and thanks for the information.”
“You're welcome, Rainbow,” said Twilight, “take it easy on Fluttershy.”
“No problem,” said Dash, “just some nice slow sky dancing.”
Rainbow Dash left Twilight's home and flew to Fluttershy's cottage. She found the yellow pegasus shuffling through records in her front yard. She landed near her.
“All ready to practice?” asked Dash.
“I guess so,” replied Fluttershy. “I was just looking for some appropriate music. I think one of these will do. What do you think?”
Rainbow Dash looked at the titles. They were nothing she was familiar with as her taste in music was a lot different than slow dance music. She sighed. “Pick what you think is best,” she told Fluttershy.
“Um, okay,” said Fluttershy. She took one of the records and put it on the player. She was about to turn it on when Rainbow Dash stopped her.
“Let's do a walk through before we start flying,” said Dash, “just to make sure we're on the same page.”
They actually did the walk through several times. Rainbow Dash continually got ahead of Fluttershy and she had to work at slowing down. They then tried it with the music and Dash found that Fluttershy wasn't being slow but had matched the music pretty well. Fluttershy reset the player and the pair took to the sky.
They spent the afternoon practicing the sky dance that Mr. Immelmane had chosen and by the end of the session Rainbow Dash was finding it easier to fly slower and match the music. She was also beginning to sympathize with Frost and wanted to really stretch her wings. Fluttershy was enjoying herself immensely and would have continued until her wings gave out but it was getting close to feeding time for her menagerie. They decided to call it a day.
“Say, Fluttershy,” said Dash, “want to take a little flight out to Whitetail Wood when you're done? I could use your opinion on something.”
“Sure Rainbow,” said Fluttershy, “what's at Whitetail Wood?”
“It may be the place to build my new home,” said Dash. “I want to pick out a good spot.”
“Maybe we should bring Rarity,” suggested Fluttershy, “she has an eye for that sort of thing.”
“Rarity can't fly,” replied Rainbow Dash. “I may need your help tomorrow too. I need to lay out the land so I can claim it.”
“How much are you going to claim?” asked Fluttershy.
“Five acres,” said Dash, “it's the maximum so I figure I may as well get as much as I can. If I put my house in the middle I won't have neighbors getting too close either.”
“That makes sense I guess,” said Fluttershy. “Let's feed my animals and we'll go.”
“You feed them and I'll get your record player and stuff put away,” said Dash.
When all was done, the pair flew out to Whitetail Wood. Even at Fluttershy's comparatively low speed, the flight didn't take long and soon the pair were flying back and forth along the border. Eventually Rainbow Dash settled on a section along the south eastern edge of the woods. It wasn't far from Ponyville and had a wonderful view of the woods. To celebrate they started to sky dance again.
They were about half way through their dance when both were startled by a flash of light right in front of them followed closely by a second. Fluttershy squealed and dove to get under the figures that suddenly appeared while Rainbow Dash banked hard and rolled away. When they had recovered back to level flight they looked back to see the two sisters that ruled Equestria hovering nearby. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash turned and flew back to them.
The two Elements of Harmony hovered in front of their sovereigns and did a mid-air bow. Celestia was the first to speak.
“Our apologies, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy,” said Princess Celestia. “The sky is usually clear this far from town.”
“It's alright Princess,” said Dash, “no harm done. What brings you to Ponyville?”
“I received a letter from Twilight Sparkle about the expansion of Ponyville,” replied Princess Celestia. “I wanted to get here before ponies started to claim the land. You weren't planning on moving here were you?”
“Not over the forest, your highness,” said Dash, “but I was looking at claiming five acres along the border. Is that alright?”
“It should be,” replied Celestia. “Why don't you show us?”
Rainbow Dash made a rough out line by flying close to the ground around the land she intended to claim. She flew back up to the two Princesses.
“You certainly picked a good spot for your home,” said Celestia. “The view here is lovely.”
“Yes, it is,” added Princess Luna. “You are right, sister, this is a very good spot for the royal residence we discussed before. It's close to Ponyville and the Elements, it's removed from the bustle of Canterlot and there's plenty of room for it.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” agreed Celestia, “and it wouldn't hurt to have Rainbow Dash nearby to watch after the place in our absence.”
“That would be nice, your Highness,” said Dash, “but I'm going to be traveling a lot. I won't be here to look after the place all that much.”
Celestia laughed. “That's quite alright, Rainbow Dash, there will always be a few servants and guards here to do the actual work. What I meant was, it would be good to have you as a neighbor. We need a place to use as a retreat and to entertain a few special guests from time to time. Canterlot is far too busy for us at times. We were thinking of having a nice, quiet place built where we won't be constantly interrupted.”
“Interrupted by nonsense most of the time,” muttered Luna.
Celestia wanted to reproach her sister but couldn't as she was too occupied in trying to keep from laughing. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had no qualms about giggling at Luna's comment.
“Come, sister,” said Celestia, “let us choose our land. We must go see the Mayor soon and let her know of our claim. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, fly to Ponyville and let her know we are here. Stop by the library and let Twilight Sparkle know too. We'll be along in a little while.”
The two pegasi bowed to the princesses and took off back to Ponyville. Both of them were rather tired out by now and Rainbow Dash found it easy to fly slow for a change. As they approached Ponyville, they agreed to split up. Rainbow Dash would go to the Town Hall while Fluttershy would visit Twilight Sparkle and let her know of the unexpected royal visit.
Dash entered the Town Hall and went directly to the Mayor's office. As she approached, she could hear the voice of a stallion. There was no pony at the secretaries desk outside the office so Dash knocked on the door. The stallion immediately stopped talking and the door opened a crack. It was one of the Mayor's aides.
“The Mayor is in a meeting right now and can't be disturbed,” said the aide, “if you would like to wait, please have a seat.”
“I'm here to deliver a message,” replied Dash impatiently. If there was one thing she hated it was waiting. “The Princesses are in town and will be here soon.”
The door closed and there was silence for a few seconds. The door opened again and the aide motioned Dash inside. Rainbow Dash entered and found the Mayor, her secretary and her aide gathered around a large table with a map of Ponyville and the surrounding area. Filthy Rich was there too and he didn't look pleased with the interruption.
“What's this about the Princesses being in town?” asked the Mayor.
“I was out by Whitetail Wood looking for a place to put my new house when they popped in right in front of me and Fluttershy,” said Dash. “They're going to build a retreat or something out there. They're looking over the land right now and sent me back to tell you they were coming.”
Filthy looked at the map with a confused look on his face. Rainbow followed his gaze and clearly saw large red rectangles drawn over Whitetail Wood. It seemed she was not the only pony to try to grab a choice spot though she wondered why he wanted farm size parcels in the middle of a forest while there was plenty of good land already cleared. She also wondered how Rich had found out about the availability of the land so soon.
“Do you still want to do this?” asked the Mayor.
Filthy Rich hesitated. “No,” he said, “let's wait until we hear what the Princesses want to do. Rainbow Dash? Where exactly are they looking to build?”
“Same as me,” replied Dash, “along the border of the woods.” She walked to the map. “I wanted to claim five acres right about here,” she said pointing at the map. “They seemed to be looking at the area just north of mine.”
“I see,” said Rich slowly, as if he were considering the implications. “This might just work out after all. Let the Princesses pick first and then we'll take what's left. If they're looking at the cleared lands it won't interfere with our plans at all.”
“But what about when we clear the forest?” asked the Mayor. “I don't think they'll like that.”
“Wait a second,” interrupted Dash. “You're going to clear Whitetail Wood? Why?”
“Lumber,” answered Mayor Mare. “With the expansion of the town we'll be needing it.”
“And you're going to cut it and sell it and make a ton of bits, right?” said Dash in disgust.
“That's the plan,” answered Filthy Rich. “You know, Ms. Dash, now that you're getting paid all of those bits by the Wonderbolts, maybe you'd like to invest in our little venture. You could make a lot of money from it.”
Rainbow Dash was shocked. It didn't really surprise her that Filthy Rich was involved in such a scheme but that the Mayor was obviously involved did. She also found it disturbing that she was considering Filthy's offer. It seemed wrong that they would cut down the beautiful forest just to make easy bits.
Filthy Rich noticed her confusion at once. “You have to think of your future, Rainbow,” he said in a friendly manner. “You can't do stunt flying forever. If you join us in our plan you could make enough bits to retire comfortably when your career is over.”
Though this ploy would have probably worked on almost any other pony in Equestria, it was the worst thing Filthy Rich could have said to Rainbow Dash. She was just starting her new career and did not want to hear anything about it ever ending. As far as she was concerned, she would fly until the sun burned out.
“I'm not worried about my future,” replied Dash tersely. “I figure I'll do okay. Besides, I'd rather look out over a forest than a bunch of stumps. How do you think this is going to work anyway? Those look like farm sized parcels of land. You have to farm it or lose it.”
“That's the beauty of the plan,” replied Filthy smugly, “the trees are the crops and they're ready to harvest. We'll have to put up a few barns and houses, using the lumber we harvest of course, but after the ten year minimum residency we can sell them too and make even more bits. In the meantime we'll rent them out to ponies that want to farm or just need a place to live.”
Rainbow Dash felt like pounding her head on the table. The plan was brilliant. Why couldn't she think of things like that? Sure, Filthy's plan was morally questionable but it wasn't illegal and the wood would be needed. Even Twilight Sparkle couldn't have thought up a better scheme. No, she corrected herself, Twilight Sparkle wouldn't think up a scheme like that. It was wrong. Ponies often went to the wood to enjoy the scenery, have picnics and watch the wildlife. It was where the Running of the Leaves was held. All of Ponyville would lose a wonderful place so that a few could reap the benefits.
“So, are you in?” asked Filthy.
“No,” sighed Rainbow Dash. “I'm sure you know what you're doing but did you think about what we lose if Whitetail Wood is gone? You have a daughter. Doesn't it bother you that she'll never get to see Whitetail Wood again? Even if you let the trees grow back, she'll be as old as Granny Smith by the time the forest looks like it does now.”
Filthy Rich didn't know what to say. The Mayor looked away, unable to meet Rainbow Dash's gaze.
“It is a sacrifice,” said Filthy Rich slowly, “but change happens all the time. Of course I care about my daughter but by making money I'm able to provide for her and ensure she never wants for anything. There is nothing wrong with making money.”
“Of course not,” said Dash, “but that doesn't mean you have to make it like this. I won't have any part of it. It's tempting but I just can't. Why not take the wood from the Everfree Forest? It's huge and no pony goes there.”
“We thought about it,” answered Filthy, “but we were afraid that it would be hard to get ponies who were willing to do the work. The land wouldn't be worth much either. No pony wants to live next to that forest.”
“Fluttershy lives next to Everfree,” pointed out Rainbow Dash. “If she can handle it, I'm sure others can too. If you want to do this plan along the borders of Everfree, I'll go in with you but not Whitetail Wood.”
“You're not going to tell the Princesses, are you?” asked Filthy.
“So now you're worried that the Princesses might not like it?” asked Dash. “Don't you think that setting up a lumber camp next to their vacation home is going to tip them off?”
“I'm not doing this either, Rich,” said the Mayor. “I'm not doing anything that might offend the Princesses.”
“What might offend us?” said a voice from the doorway.
All the ponies turned and bowed as Princess Luna entered the office. None of them spoke in answer to her question.
Luna sensed that something was wrong. She repeated her question and was again met by silence. At first she thought that the ponies were scared of her again but ruled that out since even Rainbow Dash had failed to answer.
“Rainbow Dash,” said Luna, her voice grim, “we command thee to answer us.”
Rainbow Dash stood and pointed to the map. “They were afraid that claiming land so close to yours might not be a good idea your highness,” she said. Rainbow Dash didn't like what the Mayor and Rich had been planning but she couldn't bring herself to rat on them.
Princess Luna walked to the map and looked at it. “Who wishes to claim Whitetail Wood?” asked the Princess of the Moon.
“Er, some friends and I,” answered Mr. Rich.
“Art thou aware that Whitetail Wood is a designated Forest Park?” asked Luna.
The Mayor and Filthy Rich looked at one another as did her aide and the secretary. They obviously had no idea what she was talking about.
The Mayor was the first to speak. “Your Highness, please, what is a Forest Park?”
“It was something that my sister came up with whilst I was away,” said Luna. “She told me about it when we first discussed the possibility of a home away from Canterlot. A Forest Park is an area dedicated to nature. No homes or farms; just the forest in it's natural state. It is forbidden for thee to claim this land. She set aside Whitetail Wood when she first granted the town charter.”
“I had no idea, your highness,” said Filthy Rich. “I will, of course, withdraw my claim immediately.”
“There is no need,” said Luna, “thou canst not withdraw a claim thou hast no right to make.”
“You're right, your highness,” said the Mayor. “Now then, Rainbow Dash said you and Princess Celestia wish to build a place of your own near Whitetail Wood. What land would you like to claim?”
“We will await my sister for that,” answered Luna, “she has a better head for maps and that sort of thing. It is in the same area that Rainbow Dash chose. We will claim sixty acres.”
“I thought that forty acres was the maximum amount any pony could claim,” said Filthy Rich.
Luna didn't even look at him. “We are invoking our Royal Prerogative,” she said. She did turn to look at Mr. Rich at that point. “Who art thou?”
“Filthy Rich, your highness, owner of Barnyard Bargains,” said Mr. Rich, “my card.” He drew a business card from his briefcase and offered it to the Princess with his teeth.
This was new to Luna. She stared at the card and cocked her head quizzically.
“Itsh ma bishniz ard, yur hinesh,” said Filthy with his teeth still holding the card.
Luna frowned as she tried to decipher what the stallion was trying to say. The Mayor decided to help.
“Your Highness,” said the Mayor, “he is offering you his business card. It has information about him and what he does for a living that you can read at your leisure.”
“Ah,” said Luna, “like a small letter of introduction. Thank you, Mr. Rich.” She took the card with her magic and scanned it briefly. When she was through with it, there was a puff of smoke and it vanished. “We sent it back to Canterlot,” explained the Princess. “We, excuse me, I have no place to carry it.”
“That's alright, your Highness,” said Mr. Rich. “I understand.”
“I seem to recall some ponies from long ago by the name of Rich,” said Princess Luna. “There were two brothers in particular, Gonna B and Wanna B, who were always trying out various schemes to make themselves wealthy. I wonder if one of them may have been your ancestor.”
“I really don't know, Highness,” said Mr. Rich, “I can only trace my family back about two hundred years. My ancestor, Kinda, was the pony who first started to record our family history. The family was moving from Baltimare to Trottingham when...”
Rainbow Dash was tired, a little hungry and she was getting bored. She had no interest in Filthy Rich's ancestors, or in Filthy himself for that matter. Fortunately, she was spared hearing more about the Rich family tree by the arrival of Princess Celestia with Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy in tow.
All the ponies turned and bowed to the Princess, except for Princess Luna, as she strode into the room.
“Arise my ponies,” said Celestia. “How are things progressing, my sister?”
“Well, I suppose,” replied Luna, “I stopped any claim on the Wood itself. It seems that it's status as a park has been forgotten.”
“Really?” said Celestia. “It has been a while since the proclamation was made. Ah, well, no harm done. Good, I see you have a map laid out. This should speed things up.”
Celestia went to the map and immediately noticed the outlines in red over the woodland.
“I see you were none too soon, my sister,” said Celestia, “though I don't know why anypony would want a farm in the woods. It would be a lot of work to clear the trees before they could farm it.”
“I thought it odd too,” said Luna. “Mr. Rich, would you care to explain?”
Filthy Rich was very nervous under the gaze of the two alicorns but tried to pass off the plan as a minor matter. “My friends and I had an idea to harvest the timber,” said Mr. Rich. “With the expansion of Ponyville, we thought there would be a need for a good supply of wood. Of course now that we know that Whitetail Wood is a Park, we'll have to try somewhere else. Perhaps along the borders of Everfree Forest would be alright?”
Rainbow Dash scowled at Filthy. That had been her idea and he didn't even give her credit for it.
Celestia's eyes narrowed and her voice betrayed her displeasure. “You were going to cut down the forest?” she said. “Are you not aware that many of your neighbors enjoy the park? It is good that I had some foresight when I declared the wood off limits to prevent such a travesty. Rainbow Dash? Were you aware of this?”
Rainbow Dash was surprised by this accusation. “I just found out before Princess Luna arrived, Your Highness,” replied Dash nervously. “Mr. Rich asked me to go in with him but I refused. I suggested getting the wood from Everfree Forest instead.”
“Then why did you want land next to the forest?” asked the Princess.
“I thought it would be a good place for my cloud home, Your Highness,” said Dash, “You saw the place I picked out. It has a beautiful view of the forest. It's not too far from Ponyville but far enough to have some privacy. It's perfect.”
“Good, I am glad you were not involved,” said Celestia. “And you and your friends,” she said with a glance at Filthy and Mayor Mare, “are lucky no harm came to the Woods due to your little plan. That said, you are right in the fact that wood will be needed. The Everfree Forest is the best choice in this area. You may use it, just stay within the confines of the town limits. I also suggest that you be very careful and post plenty of guards.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” said Filthy Rich.
Celestia turned her attention back to the map. Her horn glowed and the land she and Luna had claimed changed color. A smaller zone was outlined within the larger. “Rainbow Dash,” she said, “this land will be yours. It will be included as part of our claim. You won't have to pay the filing fee that way.”
“Thanks Princess Celestia,” replied Rainbow Dash, “I can use every bit I can get.”
“Haven't the Wonderbolts started paying you yet?” asked Celestia in surprise.
“I kinda remember them saying I could pick up my pay weekly but I haven't been back to Cloudsdale since the inquiry,” said Dash. “I'll check about when I go there on Monday. I doubt if it's very much since I haven't even performed yet. I wonder if it says how much I'll be making in that contract I signed?”
“You didn't even read it?” asked Twilight in surprise.
“Eh, not really,” replied Dash, “I figured that I'd be making more than I was as Weather Team leader so I was happy.”
Celestia laughed gently. “I think you may be in for a surprise when you next visit. Let's see, you should have one full weeks pay due now and another next Friday. I don't think you'll have any trouble building a very nice cloud home. I expect it to look nice. You'll be living next to us and some important visitors are going to see it.”
“I'll do my best Princess Celestia,” said Dash. “Should I add some rooms in case you have pegasi guests?”
“No, I don't think that will be necessary,” said Celestia. “We can take care of that.”
“Will you be sending out your own surveyor team to mark off your land or would you like us to do it?” asked the Mayor.
“There is no need,” replied the Princess, “the land is magically marked. When I caused the map to change, the same marks appeared around the borders of the land.”
“That is so cool!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, “I gotta go see this!”
“I'd like to see it too,” said Twilight. “May we go Princess Celestia?”
“Of course, my little ponies,” said Celestia, “we are almost through here. We will stop and see you on our way home.”
The three friends left the Mayor's office and headed off towards Whitetail Wood. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy easily outpaced their ground bound friend and spotted the newly marked land which glowed in yellow and blue. Rainbow Dash circled back to Twilight while Fluttershy went down for a closer look.
Eventually all were assembled by the border of what was to be a royal retreat. The glowing symbols floated about chest high off the ground and alternated between Celestia's golden sun and Luna's white moon on a deep blue background.
“Here's the Princesses outline but where's yours, Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight.
Rainbow Dash flew up a few pony lengths. “There it is!” she called down. “It looks like they put the borders around my land. That was nice of them. Come on! It isn't very far.”
Rainbow Dash flew over to her land and Fluttershy followed. Twilight Sparkle examined the glowing symbols but was at a loss as to how to cross it. She reached out and delicately touched the line with one hoof. It passed right through the line which reformed on the backside of her hoof. There was no feeling so she stepped through the line. She found it fascinating and vowed to investigate the spell further. She trotted over to the two pegasi near the line denoting Rainbow Dash's land.
Rainbow Dash was practically squealing in pleasure as she gazed at the outline which alternated between her cutie mark and her Element symbol. “I wonder if this will stay here,” she said, “that would be awesome.”
“I doubt it,” said Twilight, “this kind of magic usually fades after a while.”
“Aww, think you could come over now and then and give it a boost?” asked Dash.
“Sorry,” said Twilight, “I don't know this spell.”
“Oh well,” said Dash, “it was just a thought. So what do you think of my new home?”
“It sure has a lot of space,” said Twilight with a laugh.
“You know what I mean,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Is this a great location or what?”
“It's lovely,” said Twilight, “I can see why you chose it.”
“You should see it from up there,” said Dash. “Come on Fluttershy, let's give Twilight a pegasi's eye view!”
Before Twilight could stop them, the two pegasi seized her and flew upwards. Soon, she found herself high in the air. They were much higher than even the tallest trees in the nearby forest. Twilight found it difficult to enjoy the view. Though she was not normally afraid of heights, she was not used to being supported only by the strength of two pegasi with her hind hooves dangling below her.
“Yes, it's beautiful,” said Twilight nervously, “let's go back down now.”
“In a minute,” said Dash, “I want to show you what I have planned. The living room will face the forest and I'll have a big picture window there. My bedroom will only have windows on the west side so the sun doesn't wake me up too early. On this side, I'll put the kitchen with windows on both sides so I have plenty of light in the morning and afternoon. Now over here will be the dining room...”
As Rainbow Dash was speaking she was also turning and moving around her imaginary home. Fluttershy, having no idea which way she would go next, had a hard time keeping up. Twilight found herself being uncomfortably stretched and twisted between the pair. Her fear of plummeting to the ground was also growing.
“Please put me down!” squealed Twilight, “Rainbow stop! Fluttershy! Not that way! Don't drop me!”
Eventually she got through to Rainbow Dash that she was not enjoying this at all and the two pegasi lowered her to the ground which she kissed repeatedly. “Thank Celestia, I'm still alive,” she gasped.
“I didn't know you were such a scaredy-pony,” giggled Dash. “I totally had you. You wouldn't have fallen.”
“Easy for you to say,” replied Twilight. “Besides, you weren't the one being stretched all over the place.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” said Dash. “I guess I got a little over excited. I can't wait to get to Cloudsdale and find out what kind of house I can afford.”
“You really don't know how much you're being paid, do you?” asked Twilight.
“Not really,” admitted Dash, “they could be taking bits from me for all I know. Mr. Immelmane said I would be well paid so when they put the contract in front of me, I just signed it.”
“You should be more careful about your affairs, Rainbow,” said Twilight. “Next time you have to sign something important, come see me first.”
She hugged her friend. “Sure, Twilight,” she said, “I'll do that.”
As the three ponies examined the site of Rainbow Dash's future home, the two sisters who ruled Equestria were talking in the Mayor's office. Celestia was still displeased with what Rich and Mayor Mare had planned for Whitetail Wood and wanted to make sure no other schemes were being considered. She spoke for some time to make it quite clear that there would be consequences should anything like the plan to raze Whitetail Wood happen again. She also demanded to see the original land grant and any additional grants and proclamations that had been made since the town was founded. Satisfied that there would be no excuses for errors, she prepared to leave.
“Sister,” said Luna, “I think it might be a good idea to mark the map and the ground in the same way you did our land so there are no mistakes.”
“That's a good idea, Luna,” said Celestia. Her horn glowed again and a circle of light appeared around the outskirts of Ponyville.
“Excuse me, your Highness,” said Filthy Rich, “I know that the rule states twenty miles from town center but that makes the border circular. It will be much more difficult to survey that way. Do you think it would be alright to make the town border square by adding land to make the corners?”
Celestia considered the suggestion. While she did not want to give in to anything that Filthy Rich wanted, she was forced to admit that it made sense. Celestia's horn glowed once more and the circle changed to a square. “Very well,” she said, “we will allow that.”
Luna spoke again. “I think we should receive reports of each land claim and what the land will be used for. Perhaps twice a week?”
Celestia smiled. Her little sister was proving to be a more capable a ruler than she had thought possible.
“Yes, Luna, that is another good idea,” said Celestia. “You may send us the reports through Twilight Sparkle, Mayor Mare. Unless anypony else has anything, I think we will take our leave now.”
Filthy Rich and Mayor Mare shook their heads and the aides remained silent. All bowed to the princesses as they turned and made their way to the door. Just as they were leaving, Celestia turned once more.
“One more thing, I want to remind you that Ponyville is going to benefit greatly from our project,” said the sun princess. “Not just from the building of the retreat itself which will use a lot of local materials and labor but by future visitors and support ponies. I suggest that you two be content with the very fair profit you are sure to make. Remember; I will be reviewing all contracts and bids so you had better play fair.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” said the Mayor, “we will.”
Celestia and Luna left the office and the door magically closed behind them. All the ponies in the room let out a sigh of relief.
“That was a close one,” said the Mayor. “I'm surprised that she didn't question our doing this before the land grant was announced to the rest of the town.”
“I don't think she could,” replied Filthy. “After all, one of her favorites was doing the same thing. Rainbow Dash was staking her claim before the announcement too. I'll have to find a way to thank her for that.”
“Yes,” said the Mayor, “having the Elements in town has certainly changed things. I doubt that the Princesses would be building in our town if they weren't here.”
“True,” agreed Filthy, “and we, the whole town really, will make a lot of bits out of this. The money will be flowing in for years.”
“You really think so?” asked the Mayor.
Filthy grinned. “Cha-ching,” he said.
After the Princesses left the Town Hall, they briefly greeted the crowd that had gathered when the news spread that they were in town. Princess Celestia took the opportunity to announce the expansion of the town so that soon all of Ponyville would know. They then waved goodbye and flew to meet with Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. As they flew they talked.
“Those were very good suggestions you made, little sister,” said Celestia, “I may start giving you more actual work to do. You can't lay around all the time while I do everything.”
“We do not lay around all the time,” replied Luna indignantly, “you are asleep when we are awake and simply do not see what we do. Still, I thank you. We, er, I am glad you do not think me incompetent. As for my suggestions, I made them because I do not trust them either.”
Celestia laughed. “You sensed that, didn't you? What else did you did you learn at our little meeting?”
Luna frowned. “I thought you should have been harsher with them. I thought about throwing them in the dungeon myself but I suppose things have changed. The Mayor is the one that would have suffered the most. She was probably the one that told Filthy Rich about the grant before the announcement was made. In return he would have paid her or let her invest in his scheme. He was acting as any canny businesspony would but she is a public servant and should certainly not have done what she did.”
“True,” said Celestia, “and there was a lack of knowledge about the whole thing that shocked me. I'll tell you this much but it should go no further, I might have been harsher but then I may also have had to punish Rainbow Dash.”
“Why?” asked Luna, “What did she do?”
“She was staking her claim before the other ponies had a chance,” said Celestia. “She wanted nothing more than a place to build her home and wasn't trying to profit from it but it was still wrong. Using her knowledge to beat the others is cheating. She may have simply been choosing a site and didn't plan to claim it until the announcement was made but I will question her about it when we meet.”
“You thought it better to err on the side of caution?” said Luna. “Yes, I think that was the best course of action. I suppose if the Mayor and Mr. Rich are truly corrupt they will be caught and punished eventually. Personally I wouldn't have had any problem with throwing the Mayor and Rich in the dungeon and doing nothing to Rainbow Dash but you do what you think is best.”
“Yes, Luna,” said Celestia, “and we can keep an eye on them now.”
They flew silently for a bit before Luna spoke again. “Tell me sister,” she said, “Filthy Rich's ancestors, do you remember them?”
“I remember a pony by the name of Kinda Rich,” said Celestia, “I banished him from Canterlot.”
“Mr. Rich mentioned a pony by that name as an ancestor of his,” said Luna. “What did he do?”
“He made a lot of bits off other ponies investments but somehow the plans never quite worked out,” said Celestia. “He really did try but he just couldn't seem to get ahead. I banished him not so much as punishment as it was to keep him from being killed by his irate investors.”
Luna found this hilarious and began to laugh.
“It's not really funny,” said Celestia.
“Phhhht, ha, sssoorry,” said Luna as she continued to laugh.
“Alright,” said Celestia with a grin, “maybe it is a little funny.” She started to laugh too.
The Princesses found Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy giving Twilight Sparkle a little sky dancing demonstration. They landed beside Twilight and joined her in watching the pegasi. When the dance ended Rainbow and Fluttershy landed in front of Twilight and the Princesses and bowed as they applauded.
“Very nice you two,” said Celestia. “You see Luna? Rainbow Dash will certainly be an attraction at your party.”
“I know, sister,” replied Luna, “she is special. I think that even you have never seen a pegasus who can fly like her.”
“We shall see,” said Celestia, “but you sound as if you've seen her fly already.”
“I see much as I watch over the night,” said Luna, “and there are very important ponies here in Ponyville. It is only natural that I would see a pegasus who likes to fly at night.”
Rainbow Dash was blushing as she absorbed the praise. “You saw me, Princess Luna?” she asked.
“From a distance of course,” said Luna with a smile, “I can't wait to see you fly with my own eyes.”
Rainbow Dash was puzzled by this but she figured it was just another weird alicorn power so she said nothing.
“Is everything alright at Town Hall now Princess?” asked Twilight.
“Yes,” said Celestia “but I was a bit upset with Filthy Rich and the Mayor. They were using their knowledge of the land expansion to try to make a profit. I might have been harsher with them if it hadn't been for a certain pegasus doing something similar.” She looked at Rainbow Dash.
“Me?” said Dash, “I was just looking for a place to build my home, Princess. I wasn't in on their deal, honest. I just wanted to be ready to stake my claim.”
“Yes, I believe you my little pony,” said Celestia, “but you were still using your knowledge the same way they were; to get a jump on the other ponies.”
“But I have to move fast,” protested Dash, “I only have two weeks to get out of my house. All I was doing was trying to chose a good spot so I would be ready.”
“You weren't planning to stake your claim early?” asked Celestia.
“Well, not today,” said Dash. “I figured I'd chose the spot today or tomorrow and get the stuff I'd need to stake the claim. Then I'd set the corner stakes the next day and then as soon as the announcement was made we could come out here and stake it out real quick. If I could get done early, then I could fly to Cloudsdale and check on getting a house.”
“So you thought it was alright to cheat just a little bit?” said Celestia. “It was nothing on the level of what the Mayor did and I'm not really mad at you but it was still technically wrong. The point is, I couldn't do too much about Rich and the Mayor without punishing you too. I can easily forgive you for your error but it made it awkward for me to deal with the Mayor and Mr. Rich.”
“I'm sorry Princess Celestia,” said Dash, “Twilight said something like that when I told her what I was doing. I guess I should have listened to the smart pony.”
“That would have been better,” said Celestia, “but didn't your heart tell you something even if your head didn't?”
“Maybe a little,” admitted Dash, “but I can ignore that most times if it means winning. Nah, I'd better just ask Twilight or some pony if I need help deciding, Princess. After all, I'm loyalty not honesty.”
Luna put a hoof over her mouth to hide her laughter and Twilight placed a hoof to her forehead and winced. Celestia was somewhat taken aback by the revelation that Rainbow was very likely to ignore the rules if it meant that she got what she wanted. It was fortunate that she was basically a good pony at heart. She might make mistakes but not with bad intent. Celestia looked down at Rainbow Dash who was smiling up at her as if nothing was wrong at all.
“Well, I hope there is always some pony handy to help you,” said Celestia. “I think you do have a good heart, Rainbow Dash, just try to listen to it a little more.”
“I'll try Princess,” said Dash, “but I'll be around a lot of great ponies if I need advice. Besides my friends here in Ponyville, I have Mr. Immelmane and my friends in Cloudsdale.”
“Very well,” said Celestia, “we'll see you in a few weeks, Rainbow Dash. Twilight, you and the others are invited too, of course. Your invitations should arrive in a day or two.”
“Farewell,” said Luna, “I look forward to seeing you perform, Rainbow Dash. Until then.” Luna rose into the air and joined her sister in flight. They flew towards Canterlot and vanished in a flash of light.
“You were lucky again, Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight. “At least you didn't make the mistake of joining in with the Mayor and Filthy Rich.”
“I couldn't have done that,” said Dash, “no matter how much money they were going to make. I didn't think it was a big deal about me choosing a place to live a little early though. Good thing the Princess didn't think so either.”
“And it's a good thing she's the forgiving kind,” added Fluttershy.
“Yes, it is,” said Twilight. “What about some supper you two? I haven't eaten yet and it's at least supper time by now.”
“Let's go to the cafe,” said Rainbow Dash. “My treat.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Twilight, “come on, I'll race you!”
“You're on!” said Dash, “I guess I'll have to run to be fair.”
“I'll just fly along and meet you there,” said Fluttershy. “I can stop and get Spike on the way if you want.”
“Sure,” said Dash, “why not?”
“Ready?” asked Twilight.
“Let's do this,” replied Dash as she got ready to run.
“Okay,” said Twilight, “One, Two, Three, GO!”
Dash took only a couple of steps when she noticed another flash of light. She glanced around to find that Twilight was gone. Fluttershy hovered in the air giggling.
“She teleported,” muttered Dash, “and she talked to me about being fair.”
“At least we can just fly there now,” said Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash smiled. Fluttershy was good at seeing the bright side of things. “Yeah, lets go. We'll fly slow and make her wait.”