//------------------------------// // 20) Harvest Festival: Day 3, The Council // Story: Climbing the Mountain 2 // by Talon and Thorn //------------------------------// Max didn’t sleep well that night. It wasn’t that his bed was uncomfortable, he was used to the blankets in his tent, or that the sounds of merriment around him were disturbing, he liked the sound of his people having fun. Instead it was mere mental anguish that kept him awake. Tomorrow would probably be the most important meeting of his career so far, he was going to face the representatives of almost every settlement of any size in his province, and he was going to have to put forward his ideas for running Nulpar. Oh, he had so many ideas, but so few of them were truly practical. Worse, he knew that whatever decision he made would be unpopular with at least some of his people. Max sighed, trying to burry his face deeper into his pillow. He wished that Fragrant was here, he was sure she’d know what to do. his problems would probably seem so petty to her; he only had to worry about a few thousand ponies and other species, she effortlessly looked after a third of the skies over Equestria. Still, it would be nice to have someone to talk to. He knew he had friends: Mrs G, Conn, Noble, maybe even Piste and Zephyr, but they weren't his peers any more. Since the princess had made him baron the running of the province was his responsibility and his alone. Maybe the others could help, but only he could really get things done. Growling, Max threw aside his pillow and to his surprise noted that the sun must have risen at some point, early morning light was faintly glowing through the fabric of the tent. He must have fallen asleep somewhen, he doubted he’d get back to the dreamlands any time soon, he might as well get up. Struggling out of his bed, Max yawned and arched his back until he felt something crack. Sticking his head out of the tent he took a deep breath of the morning air and shivered a little, they were certainly in the dying days of summer now. Around him most of the rest of the camp was still asleep, presumably exhausted by last night's festivities. One or two ponies wandered the area, looking like they were probably going to bed rather than waking like him. Scratching, Max trotted out of the tent and decided what to do with himself. The big meeting wasn’t until early afternoon so he, unfortunately, still had time on his hooves. He supposed he should probably go over his notes again but they wouldn’t make any more sense reading them for the hundredth time. He would need to go to Lone Star’s place to find out about Conn’s punishment. he still wasn’t sure what had caused the goat to go crazy like that last night, what Croabh has said had been insulting to both him and Bell but he thought Conn had more self control than that. He was planning to put a lot of responsibility of the librarian, Max hoped he would cope better. Shaking his head gently, Max made his way towards Lone Star’s house. “I don’t give a pile of horse apples what it was you two were fighting over!” growled Lone Star, his one remaining eye narrowed. “A nanny, words, some grudge, I don’t care! I’m the only one allowed to bust heads here!” The face of law enforcement in Sadlzburg was not a pretty sight, shorter than most stallions by almost a head the old sheriff was, despite his age, still a solid block of muscle. He had survived the worst that Equestria could throw at him, judging by the number of scars cutting lines in his grey coat and his one remaining eye and ear. No one knew what he had done before he’d arrived in Sadlzburg almost three decades ago now but most assumed the grizzled earth pony had been part of the military. “Do you understand?” he snarled at the two goats in front of him, both hanging their heads in shame. “Yes, sir,” mumbled Croabh. “Yes, I apologize for my actions,” agreed Conn. “Good,” said Lone Star, suddenly much more sociable. “Now just shake hooves, then we’ll sort out what public service you can carry out for recompense...” Max watched as the two billies apologised to each other. he could probably intervene in the sentencing, but it wouldn’t have been right to abuse his powers to help his friend. He had arrived at Lone Star’s place to find that things were already underway. Mrs G, and surprisingly, Bell, were already there with Conn. The old nanny seemed rather pensive today as she watched her son undergo his punishment. “It’s not that bad,” said Max trying to cheer up his assistant. “Everyone gets a bit wild during the festival. No one will remember about this come next month.” Mrs G looked over to Max, her face drawn, she looked older than normal. “I know, but I thought he was smarter than this. Maybe I put too much pressure on him to be the sensible one. Brian, he’s a good lad but easily lead and Sealbhach, well I think I spoiled him a bit. I just assumed that Conn would do the right thing. I never thought he’d take after his father,” she muttered. “I doubt Conn is going to run off with a mare,” said Max with a grin. Mrs G looked at him strangely for a moment. “No, I don’t think he’d run off, but, I don’t know, maybe I should have stayed home, looked after them all.” Max felt a lump in his throat. “Well,” she began, “If you do want to stay I’m sure I can find someone else to help me in Canterlot, maybe Bell, or I can hire somepony new. I’d miss you, you’ve been such a great help, but your family should come first.” Mrs G looked back and forth between her son and Max for a moment, then shook her head. “No, they're all grown billies now, they don’t need their mother any more. Brian’s got a family of his own, Conn, well, he’s moving on as well, as for Sealbhach, he’s a very talented kid, nothing he couldn’t turn his hoof to. It’s just a shame he isn’t more focused, just spends his time chasing tails.” She shook her head. “Besides, I think you might need me a little more.” “You’re probably right, Mrs G, but,” he leaned over and nuzzled her, “I don’t think your boys, or me, will ever stop needing you.” The old goat closed her eyes for a moment then sighed. “Thank you Mounty,” she said with more strength as Conn walked back from the Sheriff’s house, Croabh following him. “How did it go?” asked Max. “It looks like I’ll,” the librarian looked at his fellow goat, “we’ll, be helping to tidy up after the festival, including taking down the extra outhouses.” He shuddered a bit. “Yeah, sorry,” said Croabh looking bashful. “Sorry to you too, Baron, and you, Miss Fir,” the goat nodded to both of them, the latter, standing nearby, was pacing on the spot looking awkward. “I shouldn’t have said what I said.” “And I shouldn’t have taken it so seriously,” said Conn. “No you shouldn’t,” said Noble, gently flicking one of Conn’s ears with a hoof, “It was very stupid, no matter what he said.” “I know,” said Conn, lowering his head but keeping his eyes on the young mare, a slight smile on his face. Mrs G tensed for a moment then relaxed. “I think we could all do with some breakfast don’t you?” she said looking at the small group. “You as well Croabh.” Max’s stomach growed in agreement for a moment. “Just give me a minute to talk to Lone Star,” he said, “I just need to get something sorted out...” After a brief conversation Max and his friends made their way to the market place. Most of the traders had already gotten rid of all their wares in the first two days of the festival, and some had even already started to take down their stalls, but those selling food and drink were still open and making a good trade. They slumped into some chairs next to a stall where a family of goats was selling traditional breakfast fair. A little to her own embarrassment, Bell was rather nervous about eating goat food, and had to have it explained to her that just because they could eat things like wood and paper didn’t mean they did if something else was available. Max himself rather enjoyed most goat cuisine although, according to Mrs G, he didn’t savour the more complicated mixes of spices they often used in more formal meals. During the meal he explained some of his plans to his friends, and the roles he hoped they would play in his new government. He was a little surprised how quickly they accepted his offer, but he guessed it wasn’t all that different to what they were already doing. Bell in particular seemed overjoyed and fought to control herself and stopping herself from breaking out into a little jig. Once their meal was finished, Max asked them to go and find Hayseed and Combine and tell them that Nulpar would take on both of their offers pending a bit more information. He also asked them to help organise today's meeting and told them that he would definitely get there on time, and that he wouldn’t let anything distract him. He just had a few chores to carry out first. As soon as he’d finished breakfast Max made his way towards the town hall. Part of him, quite a large part, wanted to head in the opposite direction, but he knew that what he had to say later would hurt Piste and he wanted to at least have the decency to tell him in advance, stallion to stallion. Maybe it would be more professional to let him find out at the same time as the other province leaders, but professionalism be damned, Piste was his friend. Max came to a sharp stop as the town hall came into view, or rather the line of ponies stretching out from the town hall came into view. It reached across the town centre and beyond. For a moment Max stood confused, his brow furrowed, then he remembered what day it was. With the market more or less closed most of the towns traders and farmers would be paying their taxes for the year. usually the process took all day, or at least it had when he’d been in charge. Looking up and down the line there must have been at least a hundred ponies and other species there, grumbling and chatting to each other as they waited. Several were glancing at him, often giving him rather dirty looks, as if he was responsible for the taxes they were paying. Trying to explain that he had nothing to do with it, that the funds were levied by the town not the province, and in fact he hadn’t set up any tax at all yet, probably wouldn’t change their minds. He could probably push through the crowd and ask Piste for an audience, but that would be an abuse of his power. Max sighed as he joined the back of the queue. He guessed he’d just have to wait like every other pony. And wait he did, and wait, and wait, and wait. with snail like speed the line slowly made its way forwards, one step at a time as the sun crawled up the sky. “Baron,” came a cry from nearby. Max’s head shot up, he’d zoned out for some time. He looked around at the Unicorn mare standing next to him, a large basket for groceries in her aura. It was Welcoming Hearth, the owner of the only hotel in Sadlzburg. “Oh, hi Hearth. How are things?” he asked. “Busy as always baron, the festival has my place packed.” “Are you here to pay your taxes?” “Oh no, I’ll be waiting a few weeks if possible, it’ll be easier for me and Piste, you?” she asked, “I didn’t know you’d have to pay even with your rank.” “No, well not at the moment,” he wasn’t sure if he needed to pay or not, he did live in town for some of the year, hopefully his mother or Mrs G would have sorted it out. “I’m here to see Piste.” “Well, it could take a while,” said Hearth looking up and down the line. “While I’ve got you here can I ask you a favour?” “Of course!” said Max then tried to control himself, he hoped Hearth wouldn’t take advantage of their friendship and ask anything too unreasonable. “Could you present the prizes at the events tomorrow?” Max blinked a bit, it was traditional for the fourth day of the festival to be full of sporting competitions, races, horseshoes, a pony pull and the like. He’d used to present prizes as mayor. “I’d be honoured, but shouldn’t that be Piste’s job now?” “Well,” the unicorn looked a little uncomfortable, “there’s some that have always been a bit put out by the prizes being given out by the mayor of Sadlzburg even though the winners are from another settlement, so I thought, well, you’re in charge of the whole province so you might be a better choice. Plus, I think Piste could do with a bit of a rest really, he’s been working his hooves to the bone sorting everything out, plus I think he might like to complete in the skiing.” Max nodded, he knew his friend was a keen skier and had won several awards in the past. “Sure, of course I’ll help out.” “Good, thank you Baron,” she gave a curtsy. “I better get these off back to the hotel,” she indicated the basket, “dinner won’t make itself.” Max glanced at the sky, time seemed to have somehow passed quicker than he’d thought. it was past midday, he’d have to admit defeat. Even though a number of the crowd decided to head to cover rather than tempt Corona, there were still well over a dozen ponies between him and door to the town hall, let alone how ever many there were inside. The meeting was probably no more than an hour away now and he needed to prepare, and probably get something to eat before he got there. “I think I’ll have to set off as well Hearth,” he said stepping out of line, “I’ve got a meeting soon.” “Your big presentation?” asked Hearth, “Well I hope it all goes well.” “Me too, see you later,” said Max as he headed off towards the stream. He should at least have a bath before he met the various important people of his land. Maybe it would help calm his nerves as well. Now that the meeting was only a short time away he was starting to imagine all the different ways it could go wrong. By the time Max had actually arrived at the manor house, the butterflies in his stomach had multiplied into an entire flock, he even felt a little sick. This was probably going to be the most important meeting of his life, oddly even meeting the princess seemed less daunting. Then, he’d just been a single normal pony, Luna had to have met millions just like him over her long life, but now, now he was in charge, what he said and decided would affect the lives of everypony, and every other species in Nulpar, of his people. Even worse, he knew that some of what he said wasn’t going to be popular with his audience, in some cases they might even consider it a betrayal. His thoughts turned to Off Piste, he really wished he’d had a chance to talk to him earlier, or had he been subconsciously avoiding that? It was too late to try to look to deeply into his motives now. The meeting was due to take place in the main meeting room of the hall. By the time Max got there it was already crowded. A great circular table had been set up in the centre with enough space to seat dozens, but it still looked like it might not be enough. Headmares, mayors and other local leaders of all species were gathered around the walls mumbling to each other. Max also recognised several of his friends and assistants: Mrs G was off to one side next to Conn and Noble. Jurgaghan and his translator were only a short distance away, both of them looking rather uncomfortable. Sparks was talking to Glacial Stream near the door while Arctic and Summer where holding hooves at the back of the room. As Max entered the room went silent, it seemed like everyone's eyes were on him. Trying to swallow through his suddenly parched throat, the baron made his way towards his seat on a raised platform at the other end of the chamber. Despite how full the room was everyone separated to let him through. He almost wished they’d jostle him, it would make him feel less alone. Eventually after a seemingly endless walk Max came to his chair and looked down at his people. Taking his action as a prompt most of the seats in the room were filled, but there were still many representatives standing. as he watched, more were trying to force their way into the room; some of them he recognised, others, presumably from smaller settlements, were still strangers to him. Most of them looked up at him as they entered, some even bowing or curtsying. “No, this won’t do!” Max wasn’t entirely sure if he had spoken aloud or not, but every head not already pointed in his direction seemed to have locked onto him as he hopped off his seat and moved around behind it, pushing it off of its pedestal with a crash, followed by a grinding sound which echoed around the room as he shoved it down to the same level as the others before sitting down again, his cheeks glowing slightly. “That’s better,” he said, “I didn’t come here to sit above you all. I came here to talk to you as equals, as friends.” He glanced around the room, all the seats were taken and rows of standing ponies could be seen looking towards him and jostling for position. The few cows in the audience looming over the smaller ponies, goats and donkeys. Some of the pegasus were even floating near the ceiling, although it wasn’t high enough to make that much of a difference. There was hardly room for any of those present to move. Max took a deep breath. “Thank you for all coming here today and taking the time to listen to what I have to say,” he began. “Hopefully you’ve all heard that Princess Luna appointed me the baron of these lands about half a year ago. If you don’t, well you were probably wondering why you were here.” A subdued laugh made its way around the chamber making Max feel a little better. “Excuse me Baron,” said Barrel, the mayor of Neighagra, from nearby. “But is it really necessary to have everypony here? We’re not going to be able to hear ourselves think, maybe only those representing the towns of Nulpar should be present? Not those from smaller settlements,” he suggested. “Hey,” yelled a donkey Max didn’t recognise standing behind Barrel. “Why shouldn’t I be here? Stable might not be that big but we’ve got just as much a right to be here as you have, the baron’s been put in charge of us as well!” “Maybe we should have several meetings?” suggested Moorial, “It is a bit cramped.” The cow shuffled a little uncomfortably against the smaller ponies pushing against her. “Yeah, the... there’s hardly room to breath,” said Southern Breeze, the griffin looked almost panicked, not her normally jovial self. “What’s going on?” came a cry from near the door, “I can’t see!” Max sighed again, there was no way he could hold a meeting in these conditions and no way he was going to turn anyone away. Then inspiration hit. He leapt off of his chair and onto the table in front of him. “Everybody out!” he roared, startling much of the room. “We’re taking this meeting outside!” Several jaws dropped at the suggestion. “Come on, move!” he cried, “We’ve got a lot to get through and the quicker you get organised the quicker we can get started.” He clambered off the table and started to push through the crowd towards the door, driving a chunk of the crowd ahead of him. They quickly got the idea and the room started to empty as a stream of local dignitaries rushed through the halls of the manor and out into the town beyond. Max marched at their head and led them towards the edge of town near the camp sites. He selected a small copse of trees which would give some shade and stopped there. He gestured to the crowd following him, which seemed to have grown a little on the journey and they started to form a circle around him, chatting amongst themselves as they did so. Max took a deep breath of the fresh air, this was more like it, he thought, this felt better. “Right,” he said starting again, “I’m glad you could all make it today, I’ve got a lot to tell you, and I’m sure you’ve all got things you want to ask me as well. As I said before Princess Luna has appointed me to represent all of you, and many who aren't here, at court. To be able to do that I need you to tell me what I can do to help, but you’re also going to have to do what I tell you sometimes, for the good of everyone,” a small forest of hooves shot up in the crowd around him. He held up a leg for silence before everybody started talking at once. “In a bit, let me get through this introduction first.” “Now this isn’t going to be the only meeting between us all,” continued Max looking around the crowd. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to be in Nulpar most of the time, I’m needed in Canterlot, but I’ll come back whenever I can. However, me being in the big city doesn’t mean you can’t get word to me when you need to. I’m going to set up a council to advise me on what’s going on, and that council’s going to be made of all of you,” he turned on the spot holding out a hoof to those gathered there, which seemed more than it had been just a few minutes ago. Various curious townsfolk and visitors had started to gather around to listen. “My home will be welcome to everyone of Nulpar’s leaders, and anyone you designate as your representatives who want to come and discuss anything, hopefully it won’t be quite as cramped in future,” that caused a few chuckles from the crowd. “I hope you can work most things out amongst yourselves, but my deputies will be here to chair any meetings.” He took a deep breath, hoping the next bit would go down well. his chosen assistants might not be entirely popular, as he’d learnt from last night, but he was certain they were the best for the job. “While I’m away, I’ll be leaving Conn Grobhar and Noble Fir in charge, they will speak with my voice and can pass any messages on to me.” He gestured to the goat and the pony in the crowd. Conn looked a little overwhelmed but Noble was quickly on her hooves and dragged the goat with her as she headed towards the centre of the meeting. As the two made their way to Max’s side there was various muttering throughout the crowd. some of the individuals from the more distance settlements looked a bit confused, they probably didn’t know who the two were, others looked downright angry or surprised, but most looked at least unconcerned about the decision. There was an enthusiastic stomping from somewhere behind him and Max turned to see Chipboard’s wild reaction, next to him Silver was also cheering although somewhat more conservatively. Not too far away Mrs G and her other two sons were also stamping the ground. The two families glared at each other for a moment but then smiled at the good fortune of their children. The applause spread from individual to individual around the crowd growing in strength. Max let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding as the sound started to die down again. Noble took a few steps forward and beamed at the crowd. “Thank you,” she said, “I look forwards to working with all of you to try and do the best for all of Nulpar.” A little more hesitantly, Conn also moved forwards and smiled bashfully at the crowd. “I’m also happy to accept the role, and I’ll do all I can to help any of you who need me,” he said. “See, with these two you’ll hardly need me,” joked Max, stepping forwards again as his two assistants started to sit at his side. “One of the first things I want the council to talk about is what farming equipment we need. there’s a representative of the Fisher Trust in town looking about putting together an order for the whole province; if you think you’re people will need anything now's the time to get it cheaply.” A round of grumbling went through the crowd as the leaders considered the idea. “You don’t need to do it all right now, but it’s something to think about,” said Max. “Now as you know, my position at court is normally a hereditary one. If something were to happen to me then the role would pass on to my family, my children, if I had any.” “Well you better get to work on that then!” came a cry from a pale green mare in the crowd giving a flirtatious wink. “Oh, um, well,” Max flushed brightly through his coat, “Anyway, I can nominate an individual to be my heir if I don’t um, have any of my own. So, um anyway,” Max tried to pull himself together. “I’ve previously assigned Mrs Grobhar as my deputy to be able to vote on my behalf at court, so I’m going to nominate her as my heir for the moment. She already helps me a lot at court and knows all about my plans there.” He stepped aside and the old goat got to her hooves and trotted forwards into the space in the centre of the circle. Once again there was a smattering of applause from the crowd. “Thank you all,” said Mrs G with a bow, “Although Max is young and fit, so I don’t expect to have to fill his shoes any time soon. Still, you’re right,” she nodded to the mare who had last spoken. “He really should get around to increasing his family soon,” she turned her gaze to Max who squirmed a little. “Anyway, now that that’s dealt with,” said Max clearing his throat. “It’s time to move on to more important matters. As most of you know I’ve spent the last few months touring Nulpar, stopping off at all the settlements I could find on the way so I could introduce myself and answer any questions you might have, as well as finding out what help you needed...” “You didn’t visit us!” came a cry from the crowd. Max looked to see a canary yellow pegasus mare with a pink and white striped mane cut short hovering over the crowd. “I’m sorry Miss...” said Mac frowning. “Mayor Crosswind,” she barked the mare scowling, “Of Freehold, you didn’t come to our town, aren't we part of Nulpar too? Aren't we important enough?” “I’m afraid I didn’t have a chance to visit your town,” said Max trying to wrack his brain for the location of the town. Then it struck him. “You’re on the very east of Nulpar, I did plan to visit you, but Dragon Tooth pass was blocked, I tried to cross it but I couldn’t.” “That pass has been closed for years,” exclaimed Crosswind, “Why didn’t you use the southern passes?” “I’m afraid I didn’t know until I’d already set my route, it would have taken too long to go around,” explained Max. “I really did want to visit, I’ve not been to Freehold before, and I did want to see if it was as nice as I’d heard,” Max was exaggerating a little, he really knew almost nothing about the place, it was just a name on a map to him, but he didn’t want to annoy the mayor any more. “You’re free to put any questions or issues to me just the same as any anyone else here.” “Well, thanks,” said Crosswind deflating a little, “But it really would have been nice if you could have come and visit.” “Look, can we actually get onto something important?” asked Southern Breeze ruffling her feathers, “Like him,” she pointed a talon at Barrell who was sitting on the other side of the circle of mayors, “Refusing to sell us fish!” “Sell to you!” he cried, “It’s all I can do to stop you stealing from us! You and your lot swooping down taking the catch straight from the boats!” He stood up and shook a hoof at her. “Now we’ve got a baron he’ll put you in your place, won’t you Max!” Max looked back and forth between the two of them. “Southern, have your people been stealing fish from Neighagra?” he asked. “They’re just swimming there, you can’t really steal them,” she said, looking down a little shamefaced. “Yeah, maybe a bunch of us used to go poaching, now and then, but griffin aren't like ponies, we need fish or meat to stay healthy. But since I became talonmaster I’ve tried to cut it down to the minimum, we really are happy to pay market value for it, but you still refuse,” she snarled, “You just don’t like griffins, do you, bigot!” “Bigot!” cried Barrell, stomping forwards, “Trying to stop your thieving ways, my flank! I remember a raid the year before last, my people had taken in the biggest catch of the season, a pike almost the size of a pony,” he held out his hooves to indicate the size of the fish, “They were just bringing it in when out of nowhere this griffen drops from the sky, grabs the fish and overturns the boat! Off and away before anypony can stop her, and who was that griffin, eh! It was you!” Southern didn’t seem fazed by the accusation. “It was Gunter’s birthday, I wanted to get him something special. I’d offered to pay over the going rate for it, but you refused, so yeah I took it,” she paused for a moment, “Course, I ended up burning most of it and had to come up with another present, you know I think that might have been where Gusty and Gentle came from.” She waved at her children with their father in the audience. “Southern!” cried Max in exasperation, “You can’t just do things like that.” “Hey, it's his fault! We want fish, we’ve got bits, he’s got fish, he wants bits, it should be easy, but noooo!” She threw up her talons in exasperation. “He’s just got to be a bigot!” “You griffins have been nothing but trouble since you moved here,” growled Barrell, advancing on Southern. “Somepony needs to stand up to you!” “And that’s gonna be you right?” She bared her claws and took a step forwards as well, “Hey kids, watch this, it's part of your culture, the ancient griffin art of kicking specists flanks!” “Stop!” yelled Max leaping into the shrinking space between the two mayors. “Stop both of you, you’re acting like foals!” For a moment it looked like the two opponents would just shove Max aside and continue their feud, but slowly Barrell took a step back and Southern lowered her talons. “Sorry Baron,” they both mumbled, looking down. “Southern,” said Max turning on the griffin, “You and your people just can’t take fish, and Barrel,” he turned on the pegasus, “You can’t just refuse to sell to the Eyrie, they’re a good market, not many others around here eat fish.” “We don’t just need fish,” he grumbled, “We’ve got tourism too.” “You know Duchess Posy was right about most tourists not wanting to stay in rooms without heating or running water. You need the fishing to pay for better facilities.” “Yeah,” he said looking up again, “I guess you’re right Max.” “Of course he is!” said Southern buoyantly before she was silenced again by a glance from Max. “Look what I mean is, well, sorry, I shouldn’t have stolen that fish. I’ll pay reparations or something. We’ve got some good engineers in the Eyrie, so maybe they can help out with your plumbing?” she suggested. “We’ll that sounds, well good... I suppose.” With effort Barrell raised a hoof to Southern, and after an awkward pause. the two of them shook on the deal. “Sounds like a deal,” she said. Max let out his breath. That sounded workable, but there was obviously still tension between them. “You see,” he said looking around the gathered ponies. In addition to the local leaders a much larger crowd of other interested parties had now grown, apparently word of the meeting had spread and most of the town was interested in what was being said. It was almost like a show, with whole families sitting on and around blankets, eating and watching what was going on; there were even a few entrepreneurs selling food and drink. “Like I said, I’ve visited most of Nulpar, and I’ve seen plenty of strong, proud settlements, full of ponies, goats, donkeys, griffins, cows and even more, all of whom want a better future for their children, but...” he let the word hover in the air for a moment, “I haven't seen Nulpar! I’ve seen Snow Town, the Eyre, Sadlzburg, Sharpside, Herdstone, and more, but each settlement only thinks of itself, we don’t think like a province!” He looked around watching his words settle in. “That’s to be expected, we’re not used to being united, I only used to think of Sadlzburg, that was my job when I was mayor, but now that I’m baron I need to think of all of Nulpar and I need all of you too as well. We need the Eyre to trade with Neighagra,” he pointed out Southern and Barrell, “Sharpside needs the food from Sadlzburg, and Sadlzburg needs the tools from Sharpside to grow it, we need to stop petty rivalries. Pinegraves need to work with Sadlzburg and share their resources.” He turned back to Crosswind. “Freehold and its neighbouring settlements have been cut off for years due to a rock side! And what did you do about it?” He continued before the mayor could speak, “I’m sure you did what you could, maybe you can open the pass again in a few years, but did you ask for help? Do you see what the rest of the province could do to help you?” the pegasus hung her head. “We are a proud and independent lot! And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s one of our strengths!” continued Max going with the flow. “But it can also be a weakness, Equestria could not stand if every town, every city, every province just tried to go alone. We are strongest when we work together! I visited a village where bandits had kidnapped their children! Their children! And the people didn’t ask for help, they thought their neighbours wouldn’t help! If your neighbour came to you and told you his children were missing, wouldn’t you help?!” asked Max. There was a rumble of agreement from the crowd, several members clutched their offspring closer or glanced at those sitting next to them. “If your neighbour’s children were missing, would you help?!” cried Max again. This time the reply was thunderous and universal, as one the entire crowd stood and yelled their agreement. “Good!” said Max with a smile. “So we need to trust each other more and work together, no longer can be just be residents of Sadlzburg, Snow Town, Norton, Freehold, Herd Stone, or so many more, from now on we have to also be Nulparians. I AM A NULPARIAN!” be bellowed. “I AM A NULPARIAN!” yelled the crowd, many of them jumping up and down as they stomped their hooves on the ground. Max panted from the exertion, a wide grin on his face as he waited for the cheers to die down. That had gone better than he’d expected, he knew his people would work together if given the right push. However, he only hoped he would retain their support when he brought his next points to the table. “Good, good,” he continued once he had his breath back fully. “Now, in order to work together we need to be able to communicate and travel from settlement to settlement. Unfortunately, Nulpar’s not very well put together for that, it’s a bit bumpy,” he waved one leg up and down to indicate mountains, “that’s not so much of a problem for you up there,” he gestured up at the hovering pegasus and Griffins, “but it gets a bit wearing for the rest of us. Now we can get from town to town, I’ve proved that, it just takes time, quite a bit of time. To speed things up we need some real paved roads, not just to make it easy for ponies but also for wagons of goods, in a few places we might even need bridges or tunnels to get from A to B.” He glanced around trying to catch sight of Prudence the donkey who had lead the caravan he’d joined to Midnight’s Folly, but if she was present he couldn’t see her. “I’m doing what I can at court to try and make them cheaper to build, I’ve got high hopes to be able to get grants for that. We’ve already got off to a good start here in Sadlzburg, and Sharpside’s done some building as well, but we all need to chip in what we can.” Several of the nearby leaders nodded a bit, Max ran his eyes over them and noticed Honeybun sitting a few rows back glaring at him. “Now there’s no need to spend more than you’ve got, you need to look to your people first of course,” the mare nodded, her eyes still hard. “But anything you can spare will help, even if you can only reach your neighbour that’ll make things easier.” Max took a deep breath, this would be the painful part, it was easy to say they needed to build roads and the like, but they didn’t have the resources to do everything at once. Things had to be rationed, and not every pony would like the decision he had made. “Those of you that know me know I’ve always planned to go a bit further than just roads,” there was a mumble through the crowd. “I’ve always felt that Nulpar should get with the times and build railroads.” He glanced over at Piste sitting at the front of the crowd, the stallion was smiling broadly, Zephyr next to him. “Now railroads aren't cheap and we’re not going to be able to build many, at least not right away, so we need to target where we’re get the most for our bits, and...” he paused for a second wanting to screw up his eyes, but forcing himself to keep them open and to keep looking at Piste. “And after I’ve been around Nulpar, I think the best place is... well, it’s Sharpside, and maybe Snowtown if we can get the track that far, they need rails to get their coal to Rushia and Iron Trotsky...” He watched as waves of emotions rolled over Piste, his smile dropping from his face as first surprise, and then disbelief, crossed it. “Max... Max!” he stuttered his voice growing shrill. “You said you’d bring a railroad to Sadlzburg, you promised!” His voice was echoed by others and spreading through the crowd as the population of Sadlzburg reacted to the news. “I did... I know I did Piste, and I’m sorry,” he lowered his head. “Sorry? I don’t... this is some mistake, you promised us...” anger was just starting to blossom on the earth ponies face. “I know I did Piste, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for all of you. I did promise, but I made that promise when I was mayor of Sadlzburg, it was my job to do the best for the town then. But now I’m baron of Nulpar, and it’s my job to do the best for the whole province. Things have changed, Iron’s got plans, he’s done some excellent work and it just makes more sense to use a railway to export coal and iron from Sharpside rather than food from Sadlzburg, most of our produce get sold in province anyway.” “You can’t do this!” cried Piste trying to step forwards, Zephyr tried to restrain him but her face was just as hard. “I am sorry,” intoned Iron Trotsky from nearby, “But the baron speaks the truth, it does make more sense for my people to get a railway than yours, it is fact.” Max flinched, Iron probably thought he was helping but Piste didn’t need to hear that from him. Sure enough, the earth pony turned towards the unicorn. “You did this didn’t you!” he yelled, “You got to Max somehow, he wouldn’t betray us on his own! It was you!” “Piste please!” cried Max, “I’m my own stallion, if you need to blame someone, blame me! I made the decision, it’s my responsibility! Now please calm down!” Piste turned back to his ex-friend and looked for a moment like he might charge him but another voice stopped him. “I don’t like him,” said Honeybun, “But if he says this is the best for Nulpar, I believe him.” Piste looked back and forth between Max, Honey and Iron before slumping back to the ground with a growl. “I’m not saying I’m never going to build a track to Sadlzburg,” said Max towards the locals in the crowd, “Just not right now, maybe in a few years once the Sharpside tracks made some profit.” He hoped, though Max, really it wasn’t guaranteed that a line to the mines would work, it just seemed more likely to be profitable than one from Sadlzburg. “Plus I’ve been talking to a representative from the Apple Trust and he’s interesting in investing in Sadlzburg, they want to build a big farm here, and we’re going to certainly carry on road building, we should link up with Praris in a few years tops.” Although it didn’t entirely stop, the mumbling in the crowd quietened. “What about us!” cried one of the ponies several rows back in the crowd. “It’s alright for the big settlements, but when are we going to get roads? It takes forever to get here!” “I’m sorry,” said Max, “I really do want to get every settlement linked up, but I can’t do it all at once, I have to start where roads can make the most difference for the most people. Nulpar’s not built to make roads easy, building them all won’t come cheap.” The complaining pony looked aside apparently not happy with the reply. Max tried to stop his hooves trotting nervously in place. His announcement had been taken as badly as he’d expected. he’d hated to put Piste through that, if only he’d managed to talk to him before the meeting, he was sure he could convince him the decision was for the best. Still, railways only really affected a small number of the audience, most settlements hadn’t even considered such an option before. The next topic, well no one would like that one. “As I said, road building won’t come cheap, and neither will much of the other stuff Nulpar needs, teachers, guards, doctors, everything the rest of Equestria has, it’ll cost. Now, we’ve got some income, like I said, the Apples are thinking of setting up a big new farm, there’s even a dragon up on Old Smokey who might make us some money letting others look at her books.” A laugh went up from several delegates near the front of the crowd until they realised Max was serious, then further confused muttering started to spread. “Even with that, we’re going to need more money and, that’s going to mean taxes... I’m going to introduce a three percent sales tax on all non food products in Nulpar.” Instantly the crowd around him erupted into chaos as everyone seemed to want to talk, and in many cases yell at once. He could make out questions, arguments and outright abuse. “Quiet!” he cried but his voice was lost in the crowd, several representatives started to move forwards into the centre of the circle and Max even considered that they might start a fight. “Quiet,” came a voice from next to Max, not as loud as his own, but oddly easier to hear, “Let the baron speak!” continued Mrs G. “Stop squabbling like kids, or I’ll put you over my knee!” Only partially to Max’s surprise the noise started to die down and many of the crowd suddenly found the area away from the old goat to be very interesting, unable to meet her gaze. “Now if you want all the benefits of being part of Equestria you’re going to have to pay for it. it might mean tightening our belts a little, but it’ll be for the best.” “Um... thank you Mrs Grobhar,” said Max, trying to take control of the meeting again. “Now I’m going to try and keep it as simple as possible, but I know you’ve probably all got questions, my assistants will be providing you with full details in the next few weeks.” As soon as they write them up, though Max, until the last few days the plan had just existed in his head. “Now, I’m not going to introduce anything for a month or more, you’ll have time to take it into account in your budgeting,” his mother and Mrs G had suggested he start the tax at the festival itself, more buying and selling took place there than at any other time but he felt that his people at least needed some time for the changes to sink in, even though it would reduce the amount he collected. “Plus the tax is lower than almost anywhere else in Equestria,” he protested. “Now Baron,” said Glacial Stream, mayor of Snowtown as she stood clearing her throat, “I can see why you’d need the money but you know folks won’t be keen on paying, and collecting from the whole province... well most ponies are law abiding but, well, some will think they’re not getting anything for their money, and it might be difficult to prove what they have to pay.” Max nodded. “Like you said, most of my people are law abiding, but I am going to have to hire tax collectors and... I hope they can show the people what their money is doing.” Glacial’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean? I don’t think ponies will be keen on seeing their money being used to hire others to take money from them.” “No, but I have a plan,” he took a step forwards, he really hoped this plan would work. “Nulpar’s a difficult place to get around, but not impossible, I’ve seen that, but there are a lot of small places which don’t see outsiders very often. I think the tax collectors can fix that, because they won’t only be tax collectors! I’m planning to send them around in groups probably of half a dozen or so and teach them other skills as well. We have travelling tutors who move from village to village teaching the foals, but not enough. So the tax collectors can help with that as well! We can teach them some doctoring as well, it won’t be perfect but they’ll recognise common diseases, and they can call on real doctors if need be,” he glanced over to Iron who was nodding slowly, “And others can be taught to be sheriffs or guards, if there's any trouble they can help, they’ll also act as a postal service and carry news from the other settlements! I want us to act as a single province and these tax collectors, and so much more, can be the glue that hold us together. think of it, no more having to wait months or even years for news from other places, a regular service!” The was a hububb as many of the representatives started to talk amongst themselves. no one like paying taxes, but everyone like hearing gossip. There was a flash and a surprised moo, as Sparks clambered on top of one of the cows in the crowd staring out over the crowds. “I think it’s a great idea!” she infused. “But let's not think of them as tax collectors, we should name them something else! As they’re going to be set up by Baron Mounty Max, I think we should name them after him! Brave souls traveling through the wilderness between settlements, bringing news, law and help! We should call them Maxies!” Max frowned, that didn’t sound quite right. He was about to raise an objection, when the crowd started to stomp. “Maxies!” cried Talon Strike, “I like that!” Many calls of agreement were heard. Max shrugged, he guessed the name would work for the moment. He waited for the sounds to die down, he’d finished most of his announcements now. Looking around the crowds that seemed to have grown even denser he saw a sea of faces with a mix of expressions. Most seemed to look at least guardedly optimistic, but a significant minority were scowling, Piste and others from Sadlzburg amongst them, and a few just looked confused. “Anyone who’s interested in becoming a, well, Maxie, talk to Noble or Conn once the meeting’s over, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover so we’ll need plenty of bodies. I can’t say the pay will be spectacular, but it’ll be enough to keep body and soul together. Ok, that’s all I’ve got to say for the moment, anyone else want to raise anything?” Somewhat to Max’s surprise the rest of the meeting actually passed quite quickly. Most of the other issues were fairly minor, mostly disagreements between various settlements. Despite his earlier calls for unification it didn’t seem like most had listened, still no one seemed to want to secede from Nulpar or anything too drastic. However, there also didn’t seem to be any sudden upwelling of support for the province either. There were some queries about exactly how the tax situation would work and where the new Maxies would be visiting and when. Max had to admit that at the moment there had been little planning and it was only Noble and Conn’s quick thinking that managed to at least come up with a rough idea for the schedule. Any volunteers could come to Sadlzburg over the winter to be trained, most of his ideal tutors, House Martin, Lone Star, Arctic Breeze and Zephyr would all be present and free at that time, then once winter was over and travel became easier again they would spread out through the province. Waiting almost six months before tax collection got going wouldn’t be easy on his finances, but as his mother had mentioned he could survive on this year's income until then. He’d just have to be careful not to throw any grand parties in Canterlot. Not that he’d be doing that anyway, some of the other nobles excesses were well known. Puissance’s Jubilation had probably cost what Nulpar would produce in a decade, more even. Once the meeting was over everyone started to go their own way. To tell the few locals who hadn’t been present at the meeting what had been said. Mrs G, Conn and Noble went their own ways to do their own things. Max felt a little lost, he had built up so much into the meeting and now he didn’t have anything more to do. He glanced Piste and Zephyr talking to each other at the edge of the nearby woods. The stallion still looked upset and Zephyr had one of her wings over his back pulling him closer to her. For a moment Max wanted to shy away, to leave the two of them alone, but it was his own fault; he had caused Piste’s distress and he should take responsibility for it. Steeling himself he set off towards them. “Piste!” he called as he approached, “Can we talk, please,” he asked. “What do you want!” growled the brown stallion. “Any more lies?!” Max physically recoiled from the angry stallions accusation. “I’m sorry Piste, I had to do what was best for the whole of the province, I can’t just think of Sadlzburg anymore.” “Why didn’t you tell me! Why did I have to learn at the last minute?” “I... I tried to I really did, but you were so busy all the time...” “So it’s my fault is it?” he spat, “I never asked to be mayor, you did that to me when you left!” He slumped a little. “It’s so hard, there’s so much to do,” he recovered a little anger blazing again. “But I knew that my good friend Max would be there looking after us, but now I find you don’t care any more, that you break your promises!” “But Piste...” began Max. “No!” replied Piste holding up a hoof in Max’s face, “You don’t get to talk! Canterlot’s changed you Max,” he said turning his back and stomping away. Zephyr looked between the two stallions for a moment. “He didn’t mean that Max, really he didn’t,” she said, “He’s just been under a lot of pressure recently, Honeybun and the like, he really put alot into getting the railway built, to show what he could do. I’ll talk to him, calm him down... just keep away for a while.” She looked at Max once more then turned and flew away towards her stallionfriend, leaving Max standing there alone. Max spent the remainder of the day and evening moping. Piste didn’t seem to be the only one angry with him about his decision, much of the rest of the population of Sadlzburg seemed to angry as well. Maybe not to the same level as the mayor, but he got any number of hateful glares and mumbled curses as he passed. He hadn’t understood how important the railway was to the locals, or had he forgotten? He remembered how much effort he’d put into it when he’d been mayor, but he didn’t realise that it had become so much a part of the town's personality. Why did they all have to be so unreasonable about it all? He was still going to build roads, and probably rails, eventually, just not right now! He tried to calm down, it wasn’t the fault of the townsfolk; of course they were only thinking of their own problems, it was his job to take the larger view. It wasn’t his job to be loved by everybody, as much as he wished it was. He would just have to grow a thicker skin about this type of thing. He hardly remembered the meeting with Conn, Noble and Greenleaves about the representatives from the Apples and Fisher Agriculture. He told them to use their best judgment to decide where to offer to put the Apples farm and to try and arrange meetings between the various settlements to put together the Fisher order. He sighed as he made his way to bed through the town. The market was now closed after the third day of the festival, but the fair was still going in full swing. Now that the practical part of the festival was over even the most workaholic local was enjoying themselves, apart from Max. Tomorrow would be full of sports and games as the population of different settlements competed against each other. He’d always used to enjoy that sort of thing, but now it just seemed to highlight how fractured his province was, how hard it would be to get them all working together. It would also be his last full day in the province, he needed to leave by about noon on the last day of the festival to get to Praris to be able to catch his train back to Canterlot. Given how he felt right now, it wouldn’t be a moment too soon.