With the door closed I gave a shiver. Her presence when she was worked up put my fur on end in a way I couldn't completely describe but I love it. I twitched my ear and lifted my hooves, today was going to be a challenge and I was going to rise to it.
Down in the commons room a young-looking zebra mare stood. She had a bright green pair of eyes and the most amazing stripes. As they got toward her flanks I could swear there was a pinkish sheen to them. "I'm Book Smarts." She grinned up to me. "You are Stick's assistant?"
"Penny Farthing." I nodded and she started to turn.
"We gotta get moving, I'll lead the way down to the mine, it is out of the city a fair ways." Her tail was a riot, it had a lot more of the shimmer to it than her flank and, in contrast to her strict black and white mane, almost glittered in the sun.
My ear kept twitching, the piercing bite Stick had given it making me keep twitch it again and again. I was going to have to do something even better to repay the debt. "Oh, it is out along the train line?" We had gotten to the station and the young mare gave a nod.
"Sorta, the path beside the rail is the easiest to travel, but it is a bit north of that once we get out a ways." I brought up my pace so I could trot beside her, now I knew where we would be going, at least for a ways.
"A deal?" I asked, having noticed her eyes stray to me a few times. She looked a little confused at my words. "I mean, a deal in that we each get five questions about the other."
She tilted her head first then smiled. "You and Stick?"
Damn her, hardball… okay. "An item. We don't really keep it secret, but we don't let it get in the way of business. You, related to Crystal Diver? Foal?"
She grinned back, smile showing she was enjoying a little banter. "Sister. Longer questions and answers okay?" I nodded. "Lunar unicorn?"
I nodded to her once more. "Created by Luna's own magic." This got a shock from her but she accepted it. "In your opinion, what is the mine's biggest problem?"
"Hey, that isn't about me!"
I tossed my mane to the opposite side from her. "It is your opinion, there are probably others."
The mare grumbled at me and kicked some rocks as she moved. "Okay. Buyers. Most of them want lower grade crystals and aren't willing to buy higher quality at a higher price. Does it hurt when she eats your love?"
I filed away this very interesting information. Maybe the Crystal Empire wasn't the ideal target for the mines goods. "Very much no." I gave a blush, I probably could have held it in, but I wanted to reward her for telling me the truth. "Many friends out here?"
She looked even more confused with this question than ever. "Uh, sort of. There are a lot of other young ponies living with families near the mine, I prefer books though." She gazed back and grinned the most evil-looking grin such an adorable pony could make. "What's wrong with your ear."
My blush returned in force. "Stick bit my ear, pierced it right through." Book looked startled but kept her pace up. "Why don't you take your crystals to other cities to sell?"
"Not about me."
I grumbled. "Have you thought about taking your crystals to somewhere else to sell?"
She nodded. "Thought about it but there is the problem of getting them there."
This confused me. They were having issues getting the crystals to a nearby city, surely from there it was simply a train ride to Canterlot or any of the other cities along the rail.
"Your name, what does it mean?"
I grinned, this was an easy one. "It is nonsense mostly. I chose it myself to not clash with anypony else, but because it also sounds fun to say. Your name?"
"My mom didn't really expect me. She didn't think a tryst with my father would be able to produce." She kicked a hoof at a big stone near the track and started turning away from the railway. "When I came she didn't have anything handy to dry me, except the ledger of the mine."
Even from a long way off I could see the town, it wasn't anywhere near the size of Ponyville, but it was still a town. A revelation hit me. "Your sister, she pays for this?" My hoof gestured to the town.
The zebra nodded to me, her mane bobbing slightly delayed. "It is where all our profits go. We have a school, a store and a restaurant." She pointed with a hoof at three buildings in the far distance.
Okay, this was more complicated than I thought. I put a hoof to my face as we trotted, how had I been so silly as to think things could be fixed so easily?
"What's the matter?" Book sounded a little worried.
"Hubris." I replied and then giggled. "Race you!" I kicked into a bolt and she called out from behind me, then laughed as she set her own legs to a gallop.
Book beat me to the first building of the town, clopping a hoof against it a good four lengths ahead of me. Damn earth-pony types. "You win." I said, slowing to a trot. "Okay, books first. I take it you are who is taking care of them for Crystal?" Book nodded.
"This way then, we have our own house near the mine." Beside the town, as Book had lead me, there was some huge stacks of crystals, all covered by lean-to sheds and, sure enough, there was the mine and a few more buildings clustered around it.
A big metal frame stood above the mine and I could see a winch that led down into it. "The vein deep?" Book nodded as she approached one of the structures. Opening the door it was obvious that no one else was here. Duh, working the mine. "Considered opening up a shaft leading on an angle to the railway and getting a small station built there?"
Book froze and turned to me. "That…" The mare shook herself and trotted to grab some ledgers from a desk. "That is a great idea, but we would need to find out if the train can haul cargo like that, or if they would even let us build a station… what kind of station would be best for heavy cargo…"
I could see I had sparked an idea in her and even as I took the ledgers she had another book out and was writing furiously in it.
Shuffling the books, I got the store first. Running at a loss. It sold things for the same price it purchased them for, covered transport and wages only with bits from the mine.
The school was a complete write-off, no parents paid for their foals to go there.
When I got to the eatery I was surprised, it was not only in the black but doing well. "Who runs your restaurant?"
Book looked startled from her writing. "Huh? Oh, Seng handles that."
"You thought about getting them to help with the shop?" I settled down on a nearby couch to read and think.
"He says we should raise our prices, that it isn't right how we run it."
"He is right. But, what about buying further away? I really don't think you are seeing how connected everything is. You don't have to buy in the city, what about buying it from farmers directly?" Book tilted her head and gave a bit of a nod.
"Decrease purchasing instead of increase income…" More scribbling accompanied her musing.
"She is a good miner, a very nice pony, but I think your sister needs a mare who can be a bit more aggressive business wise."
Book Smarts sighed. "I don't want to take over, she really does love all the ponies here but… but she doesn't see the big picture. The way things are going everything will be gone in ten years. Mine's Heart will die as a town, without the mine or its bits."
"So, first step, we sell all that crystal you got stored." My words shocked Book who looked about to say something. "Then we see to getting the shop making bits. With income established the mine and the town can grow." Book was bobbing her head, in time to a beat. I grinned wide. Best day ever.
The song had started to bite and I watched as the mare opened her mouth and started to sing about how working together we could see this through. I raised my own voice in time, the rush of the song making everything feel effortless. It was a challenge and answer type, her voicing the problems of the mine and town, me replying with ideas that even I hadn't come up with yet. As we sang I took over the notebook, my magic practically writing the lyrics.
We burst out the front door together, I thought the music was done. I was very wrong!
There were dusty ponies everywhere, in overalls, singing the chorus now and we were trotting past the mine, singing how we would heal this town so its ponies could shine bright. I swear, every time we sang that there was a dozen lens-flares from the crystal ponies.
It seemed like the whole town would be involved, even the foals from the school got a chorus about how great it was to live in Mine's Heart. The song made sure that even as the other ponies loved their town, I fell in love with it too.
When at last the huge number had let go everypony looked very happy, trotting around. It was as if a spark of hope, pure and powerful, had ignited here. "Wow, songs are powerful stuff…" I noted out loud, Book looking at the pages my magic had written.
"Songs? Huh, these are all great ideas. But we are going to need bits and a pony in Canterlot to help with the big things." Book was flicking pages with her nose.
I thought back, to somepony I knew was not only a gentlecolt but also had his head on very straight. "Fancy…"
"Huh?" Book lifted her head from where she had been reading, nose smeared with some ink.
"I am going to need to draft a letter, but that will be later with Miss Stick. For now, can I keep those ledgers?"
Book closed her namesake and nodded. "Sis had me copy them for you, took a bit, shame we don't have anypony out here with magic."
After what I had seen I just had to counter. "Nonsense, I mean, you don't have unicorn magic, but look at the faces around, look how happy everypony is. There is magic here, lots of it."
Book blinked at me and shook her head. "You are an odd mare."
I secured the books and realized it was about time for lunch. I wondered, twitching my ear, how Stick was doing. "Lets grab something to eat. I may have missed breakfast."
We both, mutually, headed for the eatery. "Why would you skip breakfast?"
I blushed a little, Book noticed.
"Forget that, I am saving that one for the next five-question game." Book nudged me in the shoulder and took off running at a gallop.
I laughed my blush away and tried to catch up.