//------------------------------// // Minimal Trouble Among Ponies, She Said // Story: Norrath, Earth, Equestria. A Construct's Journey // by Nimnul //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie had put together another party. Landshark had since stopped trying to keep track of the various birthdays, anniversaries or minor milestones that Pinkie found worthy of celebration. Nonetheless, her parties remained popular. This one was no exception. The construct found them enjoyable also. She wasn't in any way self-conscious, so she would usually partake in various amusements, such as karaoke, despite her lack of talent. Lack of talent was really half the fun when dancing or singing at informal parties like these, she had observed. This time around, Landshark had coordinated with Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. She wanted to sing, and she had a surprise for Pinkie Pie in mind. She didn't know the musical ponies well, but they'd been game for helping out. "Alright, everyone. Humor me, please. Time to sing some songs from home. Apologies to Miss Scratch and Miss Melody, you'll have to improvise on this one. I'm not sure this is going to be to everyone's taste." Despite that claim, everyone seemed reasonably interested. Pinkie, as always, was happy about anyone willing to take an active role in the course of a party, while Princess Twilight was clearly talking to herself about 'cultural knowledge' while suddenly wielding quill and parchment. Lyra and a drunk Berry displayed nearly as much as enthusiasm as Pinkie did when they started cheering. "Woo! You go, Shark!" She proceeded to perform a fairly reasonable version of Heart of Steel. Of course, the instrumentals were all wrong and sure, the original had been sung by a male, but she was happy enough. The song had always struck a chord with her. She wasn't wholly convinced she had remembered it correctly, but she had likely been close enough. Landshark would never have a career as a singer. She could hold her notes and pretty easily hit the high or low ones, because her voice was, after all, generated by magic, making it a much more direct extension of her will compared to anyone who had to train their vocal cords. There were limits to what she could do, and she knew nothing about the theory of music, however. And she was merely reproducing another's art, while her voice had a smooth uniformity to its quality that made people notice that it was artificial and without effort. There was no achievement or talent to it, and that did make a difference in how singing was appreciated, she thought. Heart of Steel didn't seem to be quite to the taste of most ponies, applause was muted. Landshark bowed anyway. "Now this next one is a tribute to an old friend who introduced me to this song and other silly things, and something Pinkie Pie should like. It was already going on 40 years old when I started my old job. Miss Scratch, let's give everyone the good news." Without a shred of embarrassment, Landshark started in on her own version of the exceedingly silly song and dance of Surfin' Bird. She had met with Vinyl Scratch and Octavia earlier in the day and performed it for them ahead of time, because she thought the song was a little too fast pace to improvise for the musicians. Octavia had been embarrassed enough for all three of them, it had seemed, but Vinyl had appreciated the chance to throw something together that would go well with the lyrics, such as they were. The high energy performance was a perfect fit for a Pinkie Pie party. Landshark bowed again once she was done. The party guests seemed to like it, they stomped their hooves and laughed. "I hope I was right about your tastes, Pinkie." Pinkie Pie positively squealed in joy and tackled the construct in a hug that brought both of them to the ground. By now she knew that Landshark wasn't particularly bothered by minor cracks and chipping from rough handling. Or perhaps sufficiently resigned to them. "It's great! I'll remember that! It's out of this world silly! Literally!" Landshark briefly worried that Pinkie might be the sort of pony to run something like this into the ground to the annoyance of her friends, and Princess Twilight did seem to be exasperated and resigned in equal parts, but the pink mare practically radiated joy, as she usually did, but it felt good to have contributed to that. "Use it responsibly, or someone's going to blame me, hah." She extracted herself from Pinkie's hug, but not without an affectionate tussle of her mane. Pinkie enjoyed the friendly gesture, of course. Landshark was always half-prepared for one of the many odds and ends seemingly stored in that mane to fall out, but it hadn't happened yet. Magic, of course. Once the flow of the party had been restored and the general focus was off her, Landshark found herself supporting the wall in a quieter corner, sharing companionable silence with Bon Bon. She shook her head. Ponies didn't seem to commonly lean against things, so she had to assume 'supporting the wall' would be kind of a useless euphemism for hanging out at the fringes of a gathering. Eventually Bon Bon spoke up. "I liked the first song." Landshark shifted her weight and crossed her arms before answering. "Thanks. It used to make me feel proud. Not even our god could hold or break us! But now makes me a little melancholy too. Just because I deal well with loss doesn't mean it doesn't suck. But, y'know. Heart of steel. Can't wear me down, heh." "Right on." Bon Bon rubbed a hoof across her eyes. She seemed tense. The construct didn't think that Bon Bon was a big fan of crowds. "I don't think I'm having much of a party day, Shark. Could you find Lyra and tell her that?" "Sure, Bon," Landshark agreed. "I guess I got a better view anyway." She looked across the interior of the barn the Apple family had made available for the party. It wasn't too crowded, so she wondered why Bon Bon hadn't gone looking for Lyra herself. Landshark herself would have been worried about a denser crowd of potentially drunk ponies. She'd be easy to push over on accident. She took another quick look at the candy maker. There was something familiar about her that the construct couldn't quite place, which didn't seem to make much sense now since she had never been around talking horses before arriving in Equestria. She shrugged off the thought and went to get Lyra. The unicorn wasn't hard to find. Landshark was beginning to find the bright colors rather convenient, it helped pick ponies out from crowds. "Lyra, Bon said she's not having a party night." By her expression, this wasn't anything unfamiliar to the unicorn. Before Lyra could respond, Pinkie suddenly dropped from the hay loft to land between the two. "Hi again! I hope you had a good time. Tell Bon Bon I'm super duper happy she came along anyway. You should probably take along Berry too if you're leaving!" "You know it, Pinks." Lyra grinned. "Had a great time, but you know how it is. My planet needs me!" She made a wooosh sound and cantered in Bon Bon's direction. "Yeah, it was fun as always, Pinkie." Landshark nodded with enthusiasm. "Oh right, I'm staying at Berry's place for the time being, just so you know." Pinkie gave the construct a hard stare. "Pinkie always knows where you live!" Then she started giggling. "Well, Ditzy would have found you anyway. You can't hide from the postal service, you know." She jabbed a hoof at Landshark's chest to punctuate her words. "You. Can't." Landshark shook her head and snickered. "Right. I'll take your word for it. I'll go collect the girls now." She paused halfway through turning away. "I'll come round tomorrow morning and help with the clean-up. Seeya then." Now she was, together with Lyra and Bon Bon, escorting a badly intoxicated Berry Punch home. Landshark had seen Berry drunk before, but she hadn't expected the mare to get so utterly hammered. She hadn't had any real context for Berry's alcohol consumption, not until now. Perhaps the difference had been that the mare had gotten her daughter squared away in a responsible manner early in the evening. Ruby Pinch had left the party earlier accompanying Ditzy and Dinky for a sleepover. They conversed quietly among themselves, keeping their voices low in case local residents were attempting to sleep. "Pinkie is probably going to be a real terror for a while with that song. Especially the second half with the nonsense." Bon Bon didn't seem too broke up about it. Pinkie generally seemed to know to respect Bon Bon's personal space. Landshark was slowly beginning to realize that this was, in fact, unusual. Lyra snickered. "You won't have anyone but yourself to blame if she makes someone snap and come after you." She started laughing out loud. "Oh, you...haha, you should have seen Princess Twilight's face. Cultural knowledge!" Bon Bon had to crack a grin at that as well. "Yeah I think you left her a little disappointed." "I'm told Pinkie Pie knows other people's limits." Landshark sounded amused. "In any case, thanks for suggesting I talk to Miss Scratch and Miss Melody beforehand." The construct shook her head. "I think I lucked out coming here. Well, not being back home anymore is bad but I could have landed somewhere a lot worse." They had nearly made it to Berry's house when they found themselves accosted by a larger group of ponies, none of which Landshark could remember interacting with personally so far. Immediately, there was tension in the air. "We knew we'd catch you after the party, machine!" Landshark hadn't been aware she was being hunted in any fashion, so for the moment she just shrugged before answering. "I guess so. If you'd told me you were hunting me I might have tried to be sneakier." "Anything we can help you with?" Lyra asked. She'd put on another one of her manic grins, but seemed unsure of herself. Bon Bon appeared to try and keep every other pony in view at once. "We're going to do something about the machine before it's too late!" "Why?" Bon Bon had asked the question bluntly, without the cheery tone she tended to affect when dealing with customers. "She's done nothing to anypony." "I'll second that." Landshark nodded. It felt good to have Bon Bon stick up for her. "I don't even know you lot." There was angry muttering in the group. "We know the machine hates the Princesses, and who knows what she's teaching the fillies?" The rumor mill was at fault, then. Landshark emitted a sigh. "Girls, get Berry home, then call the cops and pick up my pieces." "We can't just leave you behind," Bon Bon hissed. Lyra nodded, but seemed frightened. "You can and you will," Landshark whispered. "I'm a machine. Machines can be fixed. Princess Twilight will know how. If not, have her ask Celestia." Louder, she addressed the other ponies. "Just let the mares walk and I'm all yours. They'll get the message." The crowed seemed agreeable. Landshark assumed that they simply did not grant the construct any kind of person-hood, and would not feel troubled over attacking her. They were unlikely to be willing to hurt another pony unless pressed, she hoped. Bon Bon and Lyra hurried away as best as they could, dragging along the barely conscious Berry Punch. The glares Bon Bon was aiming at various ponies in the crowd made some of them physically flinch, but she had taken the lead in moving out without arguing further, Lyra followed her example. Landshark stood there, impassively. "I'd rather you just left. I am not planning anything against anyone. I just want to live here. This might not have the outcome you want." This appeared to be amusing. "There's like ten of us and one of you. What could you possibly do?" Landshark tilted her head. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I'll take my beating, because that's all you amateurs are going to manage before the cops come along." She chuckled. "And then next time I talk to Princess Twilight, I can tell her all about how Celestia's little ponies cornered me at night and tried to kill me. I'm sure you understand the petty appeal of that. It's going to hurt her." Landshark had to admit that she really did like the idea on some level. There was a reason she wasn't prone to trusting her instincts. They were so often counterproductive, especially since the local immortals had been nice to her so far. The agitated ponies seemed to take that as their cue to descend upon Landshark. The construct didn't fight back. "I'll remember this." Landshark was being badly damaged. Her major joints were being compromised beyond functioning, her teeth were being broken, and much of her ceramic covering was splintering off. Not even earth ponies could break her major bones or dent her skull, though. Landshark had been reinforced. She was glad that she didn't feel pain. She almost wanted to laugh at these ponies getting in each others way, everyone trying to get their shots in. Before someone could formulate the idea to carry the construct away and bury her somewhere, or steal one of her limbs, a lookout called out and the impromptu mob scattered again. Bon Bon and Lyra had returned with the guards in tow. Lyra was clearly distressed, but Bon Bon was positively seething. "Damn cowards never took a real risk in their lives. Ten on three? Ten on one?" She scraped a hoof along the ground and snorted, like a bull about to charge. Lyra moved to comfort and calm her marefriend with a nuzzle. "Shh, let's not worry about that now. Let's get Shark to Princess Twilight." She began using her magic to collect ceramic shards. She wasn't a scholar like Twilight, but Ponyville had seen enough trouble that it did not sit right with her to leave bits of the construct around for just anyone to pick up. After being found in her damaged state, her friends had carried Landshark to Twilight's palace, where'd she been put up during her recovery. The construct had taken the opportunity to get a few hours of sleep. Later, Twilight had somewhat guiltily admitted her burning curiosity about the construct's internal make-up. Landshark had explained, upon waking up, that her body would mend itself over time, although she had agreed to allow Princess Twilight to try and speed her recovery. "You see, Princess, back in the Underfoot where we were crafted, bellikos were very strong and recovered quickly from damage. I've been much diminished by distance and time, but the clay of Cosgrove I was made from still retains its divine spark." "It's really quite fascinating. Lost parts seem to lose these properties very quickly. I'd love to have a sample of the raw stuff and play around with it." Twilight had scribbled notes, as usual. "Well," Landshark had ventured, "I once talked to a scholar who thought that my spirit was very deeply attached to my body, and that my self-image influenced this. Lost parts lose their magic when they are no longer part of my Self. Repairs with mundane materials do not diminish my spark, they are transmuted into my base materials over time. Internal reinforcements or certain deliberate marks on my shell were not rejected because I chose for them to be part of me. Granted, that world had barely any magic. Everyone was groping in the dark." Twilight had nodded. "Well, it's a decent theory. I don't like to guess wildly but it might also explain why your people couldn't be recreated easily by mortal magic users, since according to you, both the base material and the creator were ... divine, as you explained before." "True. It was said that Cosgrove Clay was around before the gods arrived to lay claim to the world, and that all mortal children of Brell Serilis were first sculpted from it before being placed into the world as flesh and blood to multiply on their own. The First was a lesser artisan, and though he gave all of us true sapience, he could not realize the Clay's full potential and truly create a race. Or perhaps he thought personally giving us life would make it easier to control us. But let's not dwell on that upsetting topic." Once Landshark had been somewhat mobile and presentable again, Twilight had requested a meeting with her friends to discuss the situation. Although most ponies seemed to have learned a lesson after getting to know, or know about, Zecora, it seemed that some retained worrisome xenophobia. The Changeling attack likely hadn't helped, and neither had the fact that Landshark was clearly not alive in the same sense an organic body was. "But what Ah don't get is, why didn't ya fight back or try an run away? Yer telling us that ya just stood there, calm as ya please, an' let them beat up on ya?" Applejack still seemed to have some difficulty telling whether Landshark was honest or not, although there appeared sufficient evidence and witness accounts to back up her explanation. "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash reared up and struck at the air with her hooves. "I would totally have kicked their flanks in that situation!" Landshark was running her good hand over the side of her skull to get an impression of the damage while answering, her voice betraying no obvious emotion. "Please. I know you don't like me, Miss Applejack, but at least do me the courtesy of intellectual honesty. On two legs I am not out-sprinting a healthy pony, and if I had fought back and hurt some of my attackers, I would still have been damaged, perhaps worse than now. Most importantly, I would be in a lot more trouble now." Before she could be interrupted, the construct went on. "I'm not a citizen, I'm not a foreign national, I'm not even alive by your standards. Or do you really want to make it official that I'm an alien visitor and not just a random magical automaton? What would you even charge my attackers with that a halfway competent lawyer wouldn't run roughshod over? Vandalism? But if I fought back, I would have done harm to one or more of Celestia's little ponies, and without good witnesses it's the words of concerned Equestrian citizens against the word of an interesting piece of ambulatory pottery. I have effectively zero legal protection, and I don't judge any of the Princesses to be willing to overrule their lawfully constructed legal system over my case, hah." "So don't pretend like fighting back would in any way have helped. At least this way they got tired of me before doing permanent damage – although surely if I was made of meat I'd be dead or brain damaged now. And I'm not in jail for assault with a deadly weapon for biting a pony. That's another big plus." There was uncomfortable silence in the room. "That's awful," Fluttershy eventually whispered. There was muttered agreement. Pinkie was the quickest to recover. "Well, you know what they say, right?? Living well is the best revenge! So we're going to have to throw a 'Landshark isn't dead!' party as soon you're repaired enough!" She started bouncing around the room in the throes of party-planning excitement. "You're in a simply dreadful state, Miss Landshark," Rarity countered, "wouldn't you rather have Pinkie wait with the party until you're fully recovered?" Landshark shook her head in Rarity's direction. "Not at all, Miss Rarity. The sooner, the better. Without legal protection worth mentioning, all that is left is to try and spark public sentiment in my support. I'm afraid that it is best that ponies see the damage their neighbors have done to me." "There's got to be something on the books that gives you legal protection," Twilight insisted, "I'll have to make time to research that, and I should probably write a letter to Princess Celestia too." Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane and spoke up softly. "How can you take this so...so calmly? Shouldn't you be feeling more?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash nodded along with the question. "Yeah," Rainbow Dash added, "I'd be furious in your place." Landshark shrugged. "There's nothing ponies could do to me personally that could diminish me in any way. Put me where you will, there I stand. Well, figuratively. I'm not going to be doing a lot of standing in the near future. I feel no physical pain. I was not protecting anyone dear to me. I judged that they would lose interest or simply not manage to do permanent harm before help arrived." She eyed Fluttershy evenly. "You might say I was banking very heavily on my resilience to avoid having to hurt ponies. Even if I am as much of a manipulative psychopath as Applejack seems to think, it would still have been the smart move to avoid legal trouble." Fluttershy nodded meekly as Applejack sputtered a protest. Rarity appeared surprised. "Do you really think so little of Miss Landshark?" "I can see where Applejack is coming from," Twilight mused while piling up legal treatises and other law-related books. "Psychopaths, vague as the term is, can be disarming or even charming. They learn to mimic emotions, despite their inability to actually feel them, and will appear normal to unsuspecting ponies. Some are so good at manipulation and mimicry that they have families and other long-term relationships without those around them ever suspecting their true nature. They are emotionally dissociated from their actions, consider their every deed and rarely act rashly out of anger. They are incapable of remorse or guilt and care nothing for other individuals or social mores – if they are law-abiding, it would be out of purely intellectual concern for the consequences of criminal acts." She finished her latest pile of books and turned back to her friends. "Naturally, we might expect Pinkie Pie to be able to see through that kind of mimicry eventually, but these sorts of ponies don't just lie with words. They can look you in the eye and present a falsehood without flinching or sweating. They don't experience guilt." "I don't like being labelled," Landshark interjected, but before she could explain herself, Applejack interrupted. "Well Ah'm glad ta know that someone understands, Twilight. Reckon it's been buggin' me since I first heard it talk ta someone. Makes all nice with ponies and t'ain't got a grain o' truth t' back it up." Rarity had begun to eye Landshark warily, but then shook her head. "And what would you have us do about it, Applejack? If faking politeness was a crime, we would have to banish nine out of ten nobles to the moon." "Hah, yeah," Rainbow had to laugh. "You might be onto something with that. Doubt they'd be missed." She shot a glare at Landshark. "I'm gonna keep an eye on you, lady." Twilight grimaced. "We're going to do nothing 'about' this. I said I understood Applejack, I didn't say I agreed. I'm afraid I'll have to side with Princess Celestia and Pinkie's pinkieness here and assume that Landshark is genuine. Applejack can be good at reading ponies, but in this case I think she's been thrown off by how different Landshark is from organic creatures." Invoking Celestia served to quell further dissent from Applejack for the moment, although she continued to glower dubiously at Landshark. "Yeah! Landshark is A-OK by me. She's always game for a party and doesn't mind being silly." Pinkie had paused her bouncing to listen to Twilight's lecture and the following exchange. "She can't help it if her face makes her hard to approach." Landshark nodded and stage-whispered to Pinkie. "She's still mad about the wig." Which sent Pinkie giggling and Applejack trying to suppress an amused snort. Twilight wasn't quite done talking yet and continued in a musing tone. "And if your body was constructed first and then infused with your spirit instead of growing together like us living beings, perhaps there is an inherent disconnect between your emotions and your physical state. The absence of autonomous affect display may also appear dishonest, when every gesture, facial expression, such as they are, and your tone of voice are more or less conscious decisions. You don't blush, or sweat, or develop nervous behavior either." "Well," Rarity reasoned, "I suppose I shall trust you on that, but I feel that perhaps Miss Landshark's demeanor strikes some ponies as incongruous. She doesn't usually appear like she is given to heights of emotions, so the contrast can seem striking when she cuts loose in an undignified manner, as it were." "My personal dignity is measured by my conscience and confidence, not by the judgement of others. It is not diminished when they roll their eyes and cluck their tongues in distaste." Landshark shrugged but didn't sound offended. "I have emotional needs just like anyone else. Parties are fun. It's enough that Pinkie knows I'm enjoying myself. I'm very privileged to be allowed to call her my friend." "Hah!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Come on, Shark, Pinkie is friends with everyone, it's hardly an achievement." "Perhaps not," Landshark conceded, "and yet certainly not everyone is willing to be my friend, so I count myself lucky regarding the ones I have." Landshark looked at the assembled Bearers, considering her next words carefully. "Princess Twilight, I require your feedback." "Huh? Um, sure, let me hear ... whatever it is you need my opinion on." Twilight had no idea where this would go, her friends also appeared confused. "Very well. Here's a thesis. In your system of ethics, my existence as a sapient being has a certain intrinsic value. I'm not crucial for national defense nor employed in a critical industry, and my uniqueness is of merely academic interest, so avoiding conceit I would lay claim only to the most basic value of a destitute pony. I don't actually believe that some lives are worth less than others, so try to avoid splitting hairs, there's more I need to ask." "Substantially correct," Twilight agreed. "Although legally your situation is murky at this time, ethically I tentatively concur, much as I would love to split hairs." Landshark nodded before going on. "My friends are unlikely to be intimidated into keeping their distance from me even if 'concerned citizens' make trouble for them." "Yeah," Rainbow Dash beat Twilight to the answer. "If you mean Bon-Bon, Lyra, Berry and Ditzy, then yeah. They're not awesome, but they'll have your back. They're solid when the chips are down. Unlike some ponies I could name who might scream and pass out." Landshark droned on. "My friends are likely to be upset that I have come to harm and they were in no position to help me. Although I value my friends more highly than my physical integrity, I should, as a friend, take their feelings into account in the future. Special mention goes to Berry Punch who may convince herself that had we not been escorting her home, or had she been sober during the encounter, she, Lyra and Bon Bon would have been able to help me." "Quite so, dear," Rarity agreed. "It is quite upsetting, and you might well be on to something regarding Berry Punch as well. But where are you going with this line of thinking?" Landshark waved off the question. "We're nearly there, Miss Rarity. I appreciate your answers, everyone. Now, Princess Twilight. With no other influencing factors, if you do not find any sort of obscure rule or precedent in my support shortly, whatever legal action might occur can't be expected to have any sort of dissuading effect upon the perpetrators?" "I'm afraid that isn't too far fetched. I'll be voicing my displeasure publicly, and I'll suggest that the Mayor do so as well, but in the short term, there isn't much more to be done." Twilight appeared frustrated. "I don't understand the hostility anyway. It's not like you're a changeling refugee, where people remember Canterlot, or a gryphon or even minotaur, which some people still mostly think of as prone to violence. You should just be a curiosity, even with those teeth of yours." "I've heard rumors about myself that might have set off some of the more volatile Patriotic Equestrians." Before Twilight could inquire further, Landshark directed her gaze at a visibly upset Applejack. "Well, I said I'd explain myself, but it looks like Miss Applejack has a guess to put forward?" "Well, I reckon it's pretty obvious. Ya'll are puttin' together a justification ta fight back next time something like that happens. Don't quite see why ya'll hadda go about it in that weird way. Can't say as I like the idea of you puttin' the hurt on ponies. They can't take the shots the same way. They can hurt." "I survived once, I'd rather not take the risk again, or risk my enemies thinking they have to get inventive. Like 'stuff my pieces into a box and tossing it into a lake' inventive." Landshark looked around the room and tried to make eye contact with each of the Bearers. "So here's how this is going to play out. I'm going to be armed most of the time from now on. If I get bothered again, I will do my level best to defuse the situation, or escape, but I will defend myself if my hand is forced. But here's a promise you can take to the bank, ladies. If any of my friends get hurt just for associating with me, I'm going to be very, very upset. It would instead be ideal if this strange conflict were to be de-escalated. Some ponies will never like me, but it is quite unfortunate that they now feel violence is acceptable. For that, I will need your help." "How...how can we help you with that?" Fluttershy was curious to know. "We don't really know what changed. Do you mind telling us?" "Best guess?" Landshark idly fingered the hinges of her jaw. They were barely mobile. "There's some rather fanciful rumors flying around. How I hate the alicorns. How I'm likely planning something sinister. That's bad enough for the more xenophobic citizens, but then add the fact that two of my friends are mothers to allegedly impressionable fillies, and it demands immediate action before I corrupt the children. It's hurtful." The construct suddenly sounded defeated. "If you believe nothing else I say, please believe me when I say that I would never intentionally harm a child. Dinky and Pinchy trust me, along with their mothers. That is a gift beyond price." Rarity smiled, trying to reassure Landshark. "I will believe it. But my dear, as you said earlier, perhaps you need better publicity, or at least need to visibly take part in daily life. This won't change the minds of people who fear you, but the support of public sentiment would be a good thing. Twilight speaking out in your support will help to that end." "Maybe we should have offered help sooner," Fluttershy muttered. "Helped Landshark settle in and appear like a normal citizen, I mean. A home, a job of some kind ... maybe?" "Perhaps," Landshark agreed, "But I would not have known to ask for that help. I've done many things, but being an ordinary citizen has never been one of them. I would not know where to start, and I suppose I have not recognized the importance of it initially. I suppose by the time I made friends and they helped me create a routine, my first impression has already been poor, wandering about town as I have been." Twilight seemed thoughtful as she started speaking again. "If there is some sort of craft or trade you think you could pursue, I could arrange for a loan under very reasonable conditions to get you started. Or we could frame it as a settlement out of court given the current uncertain legal situation." She paused, looking frazzled. "I'm really sorry Landshark, after our first meetings I was probably overheard while telling the girls about your views and it got into the rumor mill like that. I wasn't being careful." "I thought that might be possible. No hard feelings from me." The construct looked at the other mares. "I trust you'll nip it in the bud if she starts beating herself up about it. And I think I like your offer. A very long time ago, before ... back when we still trusted the First, I was a blacksmith of acceptable skill, creating arms and armor for my sisters. I could learn to craft mundane items also. I know your big cities have foundries and factories, but out here, I could still earn some coin, or at least keep busy, right?" Rainbow nodded with enthusiasm. "Yeah. I mean that's not my kind of work at all, but c'mon, you could totally sell that. Who wouldn't want to own a bunch of genuine golem-forged tools or a knife or something? It's all in the presentation, and makes ordinary metalworking sound more awesome." There was general agreement. Even Applejack seemed to make an effort to be encouraging. "Well, ah reckon that could help in general, but ya'll are gonna run the risk of upsetting folks if they figure out ya got money from a Princess t' start off. So, ya'll keep that in mind." "You're likely right," Landshark agreed easily, "although I suppose we could argue whether it would cause additional resentment, or simple allow ponies to claim an explanation for existing antipathy. Possibly both. Perhaps we should speak of it as a loan, then, not a gift or settlement. The actual conditions need not be made public." Twilight nodded and floated a quill and parchment over. "I agree. And I can make sure we get any books on the subject of blacksmithing that we might be missing, and I'll help you make a list of items you need to run your own forge. It'll be great! I'll make sure we amend things you might not need but are part of the image, like protective clothing you might skip because you're so sturdy." "That is a good offer. But I would like to postpone it for now. I want to spend the rest of the evening with my friends." Landshark made a grab for her crutches and hauled herself up from her seat. Warped joints protested noisily, accompanied by the sounds of pottery shards grinding together. "I'll walk you over," Pinkie offered. "Just in case you gotta lean against me or something!" "Thank you, Pinkie. The rest of you, have a good night."