//------------------------------//
// 10-Ugh, citizens. 
// Story: This Beautiful Darkness Shall Protect Me... 
// by Timemaster 
//------------------------------//

	"Are you insane?" my assistants both say.

"What? This place runs itself, how could it be bad to live in?"

They look at me funny, "You cannot be serious about letting this city go to the most dangerous for—"

"Well," I said, pointing the the books on the floor, "these books on recorded encounters in the Everfree state that that most of the things cannot fly and those that do, like the manticore, are as harmless as a butterfly... as long as you do not go into their nests."

"Well, yeah, but we're am not talking about that." Juan says, his  low voice making me sleepy.

"What can you possibly say that could harm the citizens in the SKY?"

"Erm..."

"Exactly."

Yung looks at her watch, "Argh, I guess it is time you explain it to the citizens, for they seem to be mad."

I cringe, "Where do I go this time?"

"Center of town, there is a floating podium waiting for you."

"Fine."

I walk out the fluffy doors, and my hoof falls through a hole in the cloud.

"Dammit." I said, pulling myself up.

I should probably fund maintenance.

I move onto a small, grey cloud with a square at the bottom. I touch the square, and a crackling sound comes from the cloud, and it starts to move on its own power.

I attempt to keep my balance, but as I am not a good flier (nor accustomed to these crooked, wrecked wings), I topple onto my side over and over. I elt like a dummy, laying on the electrical cloud, but it was soft. Very soft... so soft, that I did not realize I had landed, and the citizens just saw me drooling on the floor of the city.

I wipe the drool, and explain nothing as I ran to the middle of town.

...

After pushing through a small crowd of ponies, I made it to my podium. I looked at the angry audience with a big smile.

They were grumbling, moaning, and some even were looking at me with quizzical faces.

"I will now explain why we are going to the Everfree, so if you wouldn't mind..."

They looked at me, their eyes feeling like spears.

"Ahem." I breath in, "The Everfree, as told in the recorded encounters and scientific documents, is one of the most DANGEROUS places to be..."

They look at me, nodding their heads.

"But, they have no mention of any beast that can, literally, rise into the clouds that can harm us. The manticore, proven by the Element of D- ,er , Harmony holder, Fluttershy, to be a seclusive animal and does not interfere with beings that don't interfere with it."

Their faces relax a bit, but one pony says, "But the land there just ain't natural!"

"Natural means it occurs in the universe. Nothing can be deemed unnatural unless it is from a higher plane of existence, so why do you say it is that?"

He looks at me, "I mean, the land does things by itself... it must be sentient or something!"

Many nod their heads.

"I guess none of you took a science class, for I am about to educate you guys on something huge in a few sentences. ALL things, non-living or living, in an environment effect effect one another in ways. Think about it, without ponies in this world, the forces of nature would rule the world and other species would adapt to suit the needs. Tiny plants in water need energy, so they turn deadly gas into breathable gas; bigger organisms need more energy, so they eat the tiny plants; bigger plants find places to escape to on land; organisms follow and eat the plants, but as they grow bigger, they eat eachother, too; and, finally, a species finally becomes the master of the entire world by adaption. WE are the top-species in this world so far, as we have adapted to use magic in a concise way to grow food and protect eachother."

I look to them.

"The land we are going to is perfectly natural, and is absolutely beautiful, so when we make the city... I will ban any kind of building in the forest. That forest is a tiny drop of imperfection in this world, so it would be the best tourist attraction to give this city more citizens, more c-, er ,bits, and a lot more influence on the world-board."

"Influence?"

"Well, you see, if a city becomes indispensible to a country, it is usually funded to such a degree that it can never fail unless the nation fails. It is what Canterlot essentially became, but they were the capital, so its normal."

They all seemed to (somewhat) get the idea, so they smile a bit.

"Who here works at the weather factory/rainbow factory?"

Half the citizens raise their hooves.

"Well, if you go to the Everfree, which has self-regulating weather, you do not need to sell that many clouds to the city. This means that we have more clouds to sell elsewhere, making the company, the city, and, by effect, you more wealthy."

Half the population rejoices as the other half just looks at them odd.

"Yes, and who here is an avid flyer unlike me?"

Most of the other half raise their hooves, excited.

"Well, with the Everfree being self-regulated, again, you do not have to set up a course to train on, you can train essentially all-day without any set-up. This will give you more time to train your wings and to, possibly, become a wonderbolt a bit sooner."

Now everyone is rejoicing and it makes me feel good...

Too good.

After shaking hooves and learning some important ponies in town, I went back to the mayor-tower, which I learned that the citizens called the Behemoth. Odd name, but kind of fits.

I return to my desk and spend the rest of the week doing paperwork... waiting.


For I had a plan.