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// Arms Manufacturing Workers Strike! 
// Story: The People's Republic of Twilightlicious 
// by GeodesicDragon 
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	Raymond opened the office door and stuck his head out, saying a few words. As he came back in, he was followed by two women wearing business suits — and giving each other evil looks. They both stood in front of Twilight, who motioned for them to sit down.

"So, what seems to be the problem here?" Twilight asked.

"Workers across the nation have gone out on indefinite strike over what they claim are substandard wages in the Arms Manufacturing industry," Raymond said, looking at his notes. "With us now are two representatives from each side of the argument." He pointed at the first woman. "This is Rebecca Licorish, who is representing the union." He pointed at the other woman. "And this is Hope Clinton, who is representing the employers."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Twilight," Rebecca said.

"You didn't come here to be a suck-up, Rebecca," Hope spat. "You came here to watch the Princess crush your dreams into dust."

"If I wanted your opinion, you money-grabbing worm, I would have damn well asked for it." Rebecca clenched her fists.

"Ladies, please!" Twilight interjected. "This is a place of harmony. While you are in my office, I ask that you conduct yourselves in an orderly fashion, okay?" Both women nodded, and Twilight smiled. "Thank you." She looked at Rebecca. "Okay, Rebecca, please present your case on behalf of the unions."

"We are the backbone of this country," Rebecca said. "I don't think that a twenty percent wage increase over two years is too much to ask, do you?" She leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "But it goes without saying that if the government doesn't give us our dues, we will not hesitate to shut the whole industry down. Can you imagine how well the economy would manage without Arms Manufacturing bringing home the bacon?"

Twilight shuddered slightly at the mention of 'bacon,' but quickly composed herself so she could respond. "Personally, I think that the manufacture of weapons which can do considerable harm is not a good way of making money," she said. "But I can see your point: without your industry, this country would see a sufficient dent in its income for quite a long time — or, at least, until we found another way of making the money we needed."

"So you'll give us what we want?" Rebecca asked hopefully.

"Let me hear the other side of the argument first," Twilight replied, turning to face Hope. "Okay, Hope, what would you like me to do?"

"It goes without saying that we pay our employees very generous wages," Hope said. "Especially when you consider that without us, they'd be out on the street." She turned to Rebecca and raised her voice. "Hear that, you scumbag? OUT ON THE STREET!" She noticed Twilight's harsh glare and chuckled sheepishly. "Anyway, my point is this: if you cave in, you make our entire industry uncompetitive, and that is something you can't do in the global marketplace because It'll hurt the whole country. The best solution, economically speaking, would be to relax industrial laws and allow us to fire troublemakers on the spot."

"So, basically..." Twilight mused. "Give you the right to fire anyone for any reason you want?"

Hope nodded. "Exactly," she replied. "Think about it, Your Highness. We'd be able to find people who are actually willing and able to do the work we ask of them, and anyone who is already employed will think twice about causing any problems. We get to keep making high-quality weapons, and the employees get to keep their jobs. It's a win-win situation!"

Twilight sighed. "That doesn't seem fair..." she said.

Hope waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, who cares about being fair in the world of business?" she asked. "Tell you what, Princess, you've heard both sides of the argument now. So we'll take our leave, and you can contact us when you've made a decision."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree." Rebecca put a hand to her forehead dramatically. "We've plead our cases, Your Highness, now it's all down to you. I trust you will make the right choice... which, of course, is to side with the unions."

"As if," Hope scoffed. "She'll side with the ones interested in keeping the economy alive — and once she does, I will fire you so hard, you'll think I used one of our artillery platforms."

Both women left the room, still bickering, as Twilight buried her forehead in her hooves and Raymond came up to her side.

"No matter what decision you make when trying to resolve an issue, you're always going to annoy someone," he said. "I think it's best if you learn that particular lesson now."

Twilight looked up. "Out of curiosity, how much money does the Arms Manufacturing industry provide to the economy?"

Raymond opened his folder and flipped to a page. "One hundred and eighty one billion, five hundred million bits a year, which is exactly half our annual income," he replied.

"So, in other words, the country would be done for if I was to ignore the demand of the unions." Twilight sighed. "I think we'd better call in the rest of my advisors, and put this to a vote."

"A good plan, Your Highness," Raymond said. "I will make the necessary arrangements immediately."

With those words, he left the room.

And as the door closed, the room was soon filled with the solid thump of head against desk.