//------------------------------// // Chapter 7. Legal Loops and Corporate Hoops // Story: The Epsilon Pegasus // by Sparky Brony //------------------------------// I look at him, “I was Mary, now I’m Loopy.” He smiles, “Got any proof of that?” I reach back into my saddle bag. Now I know why they had Kendra take pictures of me during my change. I pull out my tablet and bring up the gallery: a series of pictures, starting with my cutie mark, which I follow up on by pulling down my pants a bit so he can see the mark on my flank. He flips through the pictures. After a few minutes, he leans back and smiles. “Good to see that the standard practice in New Beginnings is still being applied.” I frown, “Huh?” He chuckles, “Believe it or not, we had identity thieves try to take the identity of ponies, especially ones who went through the gate back to Equestria. Mayor Mare—well, we should call her Senator Mare now—enacted a rule in New Beginnings that was adopted in all the pony colonies. The rule is, when a pony is changing, documentation of their change needs to be done to prevent fraud. Along with that, financial rules apply having to do with ponies that decide to leave Earth, for good. A hold has to be placed on assets for a number of years in case those ponies decide to come back, whether they assume human form once again or stay pony.” I look down, “That’s pretty smart.” “Which brings me to the reason I’m here today. I had to come here from New York. Something when the settlement was drawn up, was not considered likely considering your birth date. May I ask, why did you quit your job?” Confused, I answer, “I turned into a pony, and I went to New Beginnings. I didn’t think Quizno’s would keep on a pony.” I look down, thinking, “I guess they would keep a unicorn… they don’t actually have to touch the food with their hooves.” He writes for a moment in his note book, then looks up at me, “Are you planning on staying unemployed? Do you have college plans? You know the rules of the settlement.” I look down, “I don’t know. I do plan on getting a job, but what I’ll do, I’m not certain. I’ve talked to an EUP recruiter. I was planning on taking a tour of Fort Inkwell.” “Potential EUP Military service.” He murmurs as he writes. I brighten, “I was told that the weather service always needs pegasi.” He nods as he keeps writing. I look at my grandmother. She smiles gently at me. After a few moments he flips his papers closed, “Well, I’ve got what I need, Loopy. I can assume the ponies you were with would comply with a subpoena if there is any objection?” “I think so.” He smiles, holds out a hand, and gently grasps my hoof when I offer it, “Sorry to put you through the rigmarole, but legal requirements must be met. This is a lot of money we are talking about.” I furrow my brow, confused. “But it’s supposed to be the same as the first payment after the settlement was reached.” He smiles, “You had a good lawyer, I should know: he hired me. And it was known that turning into a pony was often times a severe financial hardship. Lofting Trucking was aware of your birthdate, and how unlikely it was that you would turn since your birthday was on Equestria’s Independence Day. So they agreed to the additional payment. With this documentation,” He taps the tablet, then pulls out another one, setting up a file transfer, “The additional payment becomes mandatory for them from the trust.” I frown. He smiles hugely, “All I need is a signature from you, then I can hand you a check. This will complete my duties under the settlement trust, and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.” He pulls out a thick stack, “This is the entire terms of the trust. Since you turned into a pony, some parts were voided, while some other parts are now in effect. And with your signature…” He offers a pen, which I take in my mouth and use to scrawl out a signature. He looks at it, “And your pony name as well.” I sign a second time, then he takes the papers back and sets a check on the table in front of me. I look at it, stunned. “The original settlement was a million dollars, payable in two installments; half upon agreement of the settlement, and the other half on your twenty-ninth birthday, ten years later. With the provisions that took effect when you became a pony, this final payment makes the total settlement two million dollars.” I stare at the massive amount of money sitting there, represented by a small slip of paper. I look up at him, “I had no idea.” He smiles, “Well, if you had read the entire document, you would have seen it. But I don’t blame you. You were struggling to come to terms with your parent’s very recent death and were not thinking very well. Still, your grandmother insisted. That’s why she paid so much for my firm’s services. She called us yesterday, letting us know that the pony clause, as it was called, is now in effect. I simply had to verify that fact and I could finish my job.” My grandmother stands up, “Thank you, Mr. Litt.” He smiles, “And thank you. I much prefer to give people and ponies good news. In fact, my firm handles a few ponies: Fancy Pants, Lightning Dust, and Sapphire Shores, among others. And finalizing a settlement is far better than handling custody issues because mom turned into a pony, or some of the other crazy things that have happened since ponies came to this world.” He picks up his briefcase and moves to the door. “Are you sure you won’t stay for supper, Mr. Litt?” Grandma asks. He turns and smiles, “I’ve got a flight back home waiting for me, but I do appreciate the offer.” The door gently closing announces his departure. I sit there, looking at the check. “Grandma, how much did you spend on the lawyer?” She flicks my ear, “As if I’m going to tell you. My poor son died in that wreck. I had to deal with a young lady who was broken, and my own grief as well. We had hundreds of letters from lawyers once the police report was filed, all wanting a bite of any settlement. I didn’t want that, so I hired a reputable firm out of New York. According to the police report, the driver’s phone still had the unsent message on the screen when the police officer picked it up. It was a slam dunk case. It cost some money, but I’ve always kept a nest egg. I had started it as a college fund for you when you got old enough, and I didn’t want some shady lawyer only looking out for himself to help you.” She reaches over and pulls back part of my mane, her nimble fingers pulling the hair into a pony tail; then, she reaches behind her and opens a drawer. I can feel her wrapping a hair tie around the pony tail to keep it in place. She kisses my cheek, “Be you pony, or human, you will always be my little Mary.” She sits down next to me, “You have so much of him in you, even as a pony.” Her eyes are bright with unshed tears, “I know both of your parents would be very proud of you… how you turned out. You got a pilot’s license. You were trying to figure out what you wanted to do with your life. And then you got a cutie mark.” She smiles, and sniffles, “I love you, Mary.” I reach over and hug her, wrapping my wings around her. “Oh Grandma. I still miss them.” She holds me tightly, “It’s been six years, and I do too.” We both cry for a long time. Finally she pulls away. “Wings are nice for hugs,” she says with a sniffle, getting a bark of a laugh from me. She picks up the check, “I’ll deposit this in your bank account tomorrow.” “Grandma, I want you to have half of it.” She looks at the check, then at me, “This is your money, dear.” “You’ve been living on Grandpa’s pension for a long time. You need the money.” She chuckles, “Your grandfather left me with more than just a pension. I told you I had a nest egg set up for you. He set one up for me. I’m not worried about money.” She gently touches my nose, “And you don’t need to worry about money either.” “Please?” I drop my ears, giving her the best eyes that I can. She chuckles and rubs a finger along my ear, “You’ve been trying that trick, thinking you were cute, for years. It didn’t work as a human. It won’t work as a pony, Mary. I’m putting the money in your account in the morning.” She closes her fingers over my muzzle, “No more objections. Understood?” I nod and she lets me go, “Have you eaten?” “Yeah, hours ago.” “After flying all this way, you must be starving. I made vegetable stew.” I find myself drooling, and rub a fetlock along my mouth, “Sounds wonderful.” *** “Are you sure you don’t want to stay, dear?” I look out at the rising sun, then back at my Grandmother, “I kind of do, but kind of don’t. I want to be around other ponies. I want to do things.” Grandma smiles, “And not be stuck in the back end of nowhere. I knew that about you.” She sits down on the porch swing, “For a while, you were horrified to move to Kansas when we lost your parents.” I move up, putting a hoof in her lap, she takes my hoof in her hands, “Then you met Kendra. And you two were inseparable from then on. And now you are a pony. You have the ability; do what you want. Just remember, there will always be a home for you here.” I sniffle a bit, “I love you, Grandma.” She pulls me into a hug, “I love you too, Mary. My little Loopy.” After a long time, I pull away, “I will visit, when I can.” She chuckles as I spread my wings, “Bring Kendra too. She’s been talking to her parents on the phone, but they miss her.” I feel my magic. It takes effort, but I’m starting to get a handle on it… connecting it with my wings, putting my magic where it belongs. “I will!” I call out as I take to the air. I slowly fly over the lake and finally accelerate as I gain some altitude. I need to keep where I’m allowed to navigate without a transponder. After I see Kendra, I need to go buy one. A few hours pass as quickly as the land does underneath me. Soon, I’m fluttering to a landing at Dust’s house. I open the door, and Mischief is laying on the couch, watching TV, “Oh, hey Loopy, where ya been?” “Kansas.” She comes over and whaps me with a wing, “Ah, you find your wings, and next thing, you're flitting all over the country. That’s the speedster in you.” I look down, “I had to take care of some lawyer business.” Mischief giggles, “Oh goody. Well, you can come with me, because you just changed. In case you didn’t know, you don’t look like the picture on your driver’s license anymore.” I sigh, “I know.” “Well, let’s get you a new ID card. Or do you plan on getting a modified car so you can drive, too?” I think for a moment, “Just ID, I think, for now. I got on the computer last night and put through the name change for my pilot’s ticket, so I should get the new ID in the mail in a few days.” Mischief comes closer, “Oh, Loopy. This is eastern Montana. You won’t see it for at least a week. Mail service out here sucks. And the state doesn’t use Pony Post.” “Oh.” Mischief smiles brightly, giving me a hug, “Let’s go get your ID.” The flight takes only a few minutes. Mischief leads me in, “I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of calling ahead for your license. They had open appointments for today.” I furrow my brow, “When did you do that?” “Three days ago. Signed you up.” “How did you?” She taps my ear with a wing, “Mom said to make sure you were taken care of. I do what my mom says.” She giggles, “Most of the time.” I roll my eyes as I sign in. And in a matter of minutes my eyes are tested, I’ve paid the fee, and I’m sitting on my haunches in front of a neutral background as my picture is snapped. “Turn to the side and lower your pants, please.” The employee of the state of Montana behind the camera says. I look over at Mischief, uncertain. She smiles, “They need a pic of your cutie mark, Loopy. Duh.” I roll my eyes and pull the Velcro closures apart and lower my pants, making sure my cutie mark is visible for them. A quick snap and I move over to a small waiting area. Mischief comes up, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I shake my head, “I need to call Kendra, let her know what’s going on.” I reach into my small satchel, and after a moment, “Where’s my phone?” Mischief hums, “I dunno, maybe you left it at my place.” I frown. I didn’t take it out there. After a moment, a DMV employee comes out, “Here is your new license, Loop De Loop.” I look at the plastic card, gender is female; race, pegasus; it lists my coloring for my coat, and my mane. I look at the pictures, my face, and my cutie mark. “I now have ID for the 520th.” Mischief giggles, “You’ve already had to deal with them? What a bunch of pricks.” “Well, I don’t know the rules for pegasi.” “Mum has set up a training course up on the Rim, you’ll learn the rules of the air. Let’s get home.” As we land back at Dust’s house, Sunset Shimmer is smiling as Kendra is laying on the floor of the living room, obviously out of breath. “Kendra!” I say as I flash to be by her side, “Are you okay?” She gulps and nods, then slowly lifts a hand and points a finger at Sunset, “That mare is…” She breathes heavily a couple of times, “Evil!” I furrow my brow as Sunset comes over and nuzzles Kendra, “Oh, you big baby. I just wanted you to work on a few gears.” “A few gears!” Kendra shouts. Then she flops her head back, “With two other unicorns being trained, we had to put gears together and keep them spinning!” Sunset whistles softly, “At least I didn’t have you do a five thousand piece puzzle while blindfolded. Though that’s coming quicker than you would like, Kendra.” Kendra moans and brings a hand up, rubbing my ear. I nuzzle my friend. “Oh, Loopy! Glad to see you are home. Dust wanted me to give something to you, once you got in the air.” I look at her, curious, “Mischief had to give me your old one so we could transfer all the data…” I look over at Mischief, “I said you must have left it at my home.” She looks down, with a smile on her face, “I didn’t say that I made sure you left it here.” Sunset looks at Mischief with a frown—which causes the white pegasus to wilt a bit—then Sunset's horn lights and a package is brought over to me. “This is a new phone. Since you are a speedster, it is also a transponder. It’s a bit bigger than you are used to, but there’s a foreleg strap for it and a Bluetooth headset designed with ponies in mind. You’ll find it to be pretty comfortable. And a good week of battery life on it too.” I open the package as Mischief comes close, “Just after the change, Mum got pulled over by Fleetfoot. Fleet told her to get a transponder and showed her the one she had. Mum hated it. I mean seriously hated it. She had one custom manufactured for her. She had to wait like a month for it to show up, but it was still a bit of a prototype design. Well, she talked to a few manufacturers, and once the ponies seriously went public. She got them to start a line of speedster pegasi phones. Look at the screen.” She pulls the phone away and tilts the screen so I can see the glass, “This is made by a spell a few unicorns know. It was developed by a unicorn who worked in the Army at the time. It’s essentially sheet sapphire. It’s scratch resistant, UV resistant… Hell, it’s bullet resistant.” She flips the phone a bit, “She contracted a company, Setec Astronomy, to build in a mini projector with the ability to read hoof gestures. You can file flight plans on it without a stylus. It will give you necessary alerts and whether your plan will violate any restricted areas. It’s called the PonyPod 4c.” Sunset giggles, “I was an Apple devotee, and once this came out, they tried to come out with a pony friendly design. They called it the iPony, but it never took off.” “This is amazing.” I murmur. Mischief, “Yeah, we had to set you up new service. You don’t have Verizon anymore.” I look up at her, she smiles, “You are now in our family plan for P-Mobile. You aren’t limited to cell towers anymore. This puppy switches between cell towers and satellite connections smoothly. It’s pretty smart.” Sunset puts a hoof on the phone, “This is designed for extreme use. It’s made from space age carbon fiber, grown crystal glass, and high strength plastics and rubber. It’s rated well past 25G's, able to operate in temps from 50 below zero to 120 degrees, and is good to a depth of 20 meters.” Mischief pipes up, “That means even the worst rainstorms won't damage your phone. I furrow my brow, “P-Mobile?” She smiles, “P-Mobile is an upstart carrier. Been around five years or so. They have a lot of towers around most of the pony towns, but they have agreements to share bandwidth nationwide. And they are building new towers quickly. Pegasi are good for building tall things.” She finishes with a roguish grin. Taking a moment to power up the phone, I find the phone is already programmed. Someone had set a picture on the screen, a selfie that I took before my change, showing Kendra and I inside the Widgeon. I smile at that picture. “I know how much you like that pic, so I chose the background photo for you, Loopy.” Kendra says. I reach over and hug her. *** The door crashes open and three foals stumble inside. All three of them seem to be glued together somehow. Pine needles adorn their coats as they try to coordinate walking, with only three legs available to be used at any one point, the ponies’ progress is very slow. Strawberry Sunrise hears the commotion and peeks down the stairwell. Seeing the foals in that condition causes her to scream, “Gold Dust, Dylan, I need you!” In a matter of moments, Gold Dust’s magic has all three foals in the tub. She starts scrubbing where she can, trying to lessen the grip the tree sap has on the little ponies. Along with a generous amount of soap and near constant use of magic, she eventually separates the three. Strawberry Sunrise and Dylan both have big towels ready for each foal as they are cleaned up. Soon, all three are swaddled in big white towels and are sat down. Dylan sits down in front of all three of them, “We live in eastern Montana. How in the hell did you three find enough trees for this?” Berry Breeze shuffles forward and collapses in her father’s lap, “Oh, we were at the orchard.” As in the orchard owned by the resident Apple Family members. Which happens to also have a large patch dedicated to growing… “We were trying to see if we would be good at Christmas tree decorating.” Strawberry huffs and picks up her foal, snuggling Berry in with her wings. She nuzzles Dylan and then Berry, “You three.” She giggles. All three of the CMC giggle too. Gold Dust sits down with them, “You know, I’m going to have to call your parents.” She says to the other two. Getting big sighs out of both of them. Then Dizzy Twister looks up, “But Mom is deployed. She won’t be back for months!” Gold Dust looks at the unicorn, “You have two more herd moms, and your dad is in town. I talked to him yesterday. Don’t think you are getting out of it.” Dizzy wilts. After a few minutes, Gold Dust and Dylan leave the foals to Strawberry Sunrise. “You know, in the show, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had a lot of adventures before they got their marks.” Gold Dust sighs, “I was lucky. I found I had my talent pretty young. These three though…” She looks back at the closed door and sighs again. Dylan puts a hand on Gold Dust’s withers, “Honey, just be patient, they will find their talents soon enough.” “Yeah, but can New Beginning survive the process?” Dylan chuckles at that, “Remember Mischief, Zed, Rinoa, and Rydia?” Gold Dust shudders, “I’m surprised Dust is still alive after that.” “And that was just the first wave. Dust had two more foals, Irony had one, Mindy had four more, and Moon Shadow had three.” “Your home was stuffed for quite a few years.” Dylan smiles, “Sometimes I wonder how she is handling empty nest syndrome. The youngest moved out about six months ago.” “She makes do. Our oldest have moved out too." Dylan kisses the end of her horn, “ I know, and don’t worry about Dust. She’s one of the toughest ponies I’ve ever met. Though I think Mischief was trying to drive her nuts.” Gold Dust walks towards her office, “I know. I was very happy for your sisters getting their marks. Too bad Zed took longer. I think he felt cheated that it took him longer.” Dylan sighs, “But Momma Irony was always supportive, she never let him give up. Hell, Mischief kept at him. They made sure that he never gave up.” Gold Dust smiles, “The party for him getting his was a wonderful affair. Mindy went all out for that one, didn’t she?” Dylan chuckles, “I remember the after party more.” She hip checks him, “You naughty boy.” He runs a finger down her horn, getting a shiver from her, “One who loves you very much, Goldie.” She rears up and gives him a proper kiss, then she finally pulls away, more than a little weak in the knees, “With oil prices down again, my services are more in demand than ever. I have work to do, love.” He smiles, “I’ll help Strawberry with the foals. Have fun working.” She sighs, “I’d much rather be spending time with you.” *** “How much further?” Mint Leaf whinnies to the pegasus. Sunshower looks back at Mint Leaf, “China didn’t want us. Vietnam let us live in peace for a few years. I pray to Celestia that Japan will take us in. We have no home.” Crafty Crate moves closer to Sunshower, “Need a break?” He whickers. “No, I’ve got her.” Mint Leaf looks at the other earth pony of the group, “Caboose, you okay?” Caboose is holding onto Rainbow Swoop for dear life. He shakes his head tightly, “I hate flying.” He murmurs. Rainbow Swoop looks back at the earth pony on his back and smiles. The other two pegasi, Blueberry Muffin and Helia, stay in formation with their friends. Only a few more hours to Kagoshima. Maybe they can get some refuge there. *** I look at the prices for all the pegasi specific equipment, then look at my phone. “This stuff is expensive.” Picking up a set of goggles, Kendra looks at the price tag, then at all the features, “This one will link with your phone and transponder. It’s got a built in heads up display, showing your air speed, your altitude, and direction.” I smile, “So will a lot of these, but I want something I can communicate with.” Kendra sets down the basic setup, “You know, I was with you when you were searching for stuff for the Widgeon. I said the stuff was expensive.” I look at her, “Well, of course it is. I need it to last a long time in a rough service aircraft.” Kendra picks up a model with an integrated throat mic, “Same principle here. It has to be comfortable on you and allow you to communicate. Buying quality now means not having to replace as quickly.” I nod, “Okay.” I grab the box underneath the display model she was holding, “I like this one.” We continue walking through the speedster pegasi section of Wings and Caps in New Beginnings. “When is Dust coming back?” I ask. Kendra looks back, “Oh, she should be back in a day or two.” I smile, “I hope her mission went well.” We walk towards the front of the store. Wings and Caps. The best place in New Beginnings to get pegasus-specific equipment, along with the best selection of custom ball caps that I’ve ever seen. I stop and look at the team specific selection of caps. “I would love a Cubs cap.” I say, looking at the blue cap sitting there. Kendra smiles and pulls me along, “The Cubs haven’t won a pennant since 1908. They aren’t going to start anytime soon. *** “I’m home!” I hear from the front of the house. I peek my head over the couch to look at the front door. Mischief is already there, hugging Dust. The rest of the ponies that went with her smile tiredly. “Where’s Moon Shadow?” Dust sighs, “She has to handle some legal complications. The girl is safe now, but the parents are fighting for custody. She’s having to testify as to what she witnessed. She’s done it before, and she’s an accredited witness regarding her dream abilities. But every time a defense lawyer tries to find some way to discredit her, she’s always ready for that.” I frown, “So, you are going to get her put in foster care?” Dust shakes her head violently, “Hell no. In every case, where we’ve helped a child be freed from horrible circumstances like hers, we’ve brought them here and gotten the child placed with a family that’s vetted and looking for children. We aren’t going to make a child the ward of the state.” I look down, “So, she’ll live with pony parents?” Dust shrugs, “I don’t know. Some families are pony, some are human, and some are mixed. The happiness and welfare of the child is what’s important. And state services have never been up to the task. The children we rescue go to homes that know what problems they may have and are equipped to deal with their situations.” I smile at the turquoise pegasus, “You always have a solution, don’t you?” She shrugs again, “I try. I hate the feeling of, ‘Out of the frying pan, into the fire,’ so I try to prevent that from happening to anypony else.” I smile and sink back into the comfortable couch as Dust trots to her office. *** Something grabs me from my nap. I poke my head up. A voice is raised. I hop off the chair and head towards Dust’s office. The shouting continues as I walk down the hall. I hear something behind me. Irony is standing there, a look of concern on her face. If she’s concerned, there is something big wrong. I get to the half open door to Dust's office as I hear a loud bang. I push into the office. Dust has her wings spread, a grimace of pain on her face. She’s panting as she holds her hoof over something on the desk. The glass covering the desk is smashed. “Oh, Dust! What happened?” She doesn’t respond. She’s looking off into space, still panting. A few tears are dripping down her face. “Dust!” I shout. She jerks and focuses on me, then looks down at her desk. She picks her hoof up, looking forlornly at her phone, which looks to be smashed as well. I look at the phone, then up at her, “Upsetting phone call?” She nods. I hop up in the chair, “Wanna talk about it.” She looks at me for a long time, “Someone wants to do a damned foolish thing. I told him in no uncertain terms, no.” I look down at the desk and the phone, “Looks like you need a new desk covering… and a new phone.” She looks at the shattered glass and the smashed phone, then up at me and smiles, “The wonder of having a level five unicorn in your family.”