5) Nulpar Tour: Day 2, Neighagra
The night passed quickly. To his relief, Max found Pickle’s casserole to be very edible, and the spare bedroom to be comfortable, if cramped. He parted company with Chutney early the next day, asking him to spread the news to the settlements to the north about the meeting in the Autumn. Max himself set off east with a tinker who was touring the various small farms that dotted the area. He was a little worried they might not make his next stop by nightfall as they wormed their way from settlement to settlement. Still, it gave him a chance to talk to a number of local ponies; most knew of him by reputation, and he got several hugs for his part in helping Innsbuck despite how small his own contribution had actually been. He was quite tired by the time he and his companion finally arrived at the town of Neighagra, where he hoped to spend the night.
The town was small, larger than Innsbuck but nothing like Sadlzburg. It sat in the shadow of the Broken Back Mountains, which ranged across much of Nulpar. The town was set up next to a large lake, which fed the river which in turn flowed all the way down to his home town. Across the lake, he could see and hear the massive waterfall as tons of water crashed hundreds of meters down the side of the mountain. The town was home to a fishing industry, which provided food for those ponies and other creatures so inclined to eat them, as well as a small tourist industry for the trickle of interested ponies who braved the wilds to see the sights, and in the winter ski on the mountains or skate on the lake.
To his surprise as he approached, Max noticed a blue-painted sky carriage parked on the outskirts of the town. He frowned. He couldn’t think of anyone in the whole of Nulpar who would own such a vehicle; they were very expensive and quite rare. It looked very similar to the one owned by Fragrant. The thought brought a bit of pain to his heart; he missed her, but it would be a few months before he had a chance to see her again. Maybe Neighagra was starting to attract a higher class of tourist? It occurred to him that Fragrant had told him that her nephew was keen on extreme sports; could he be visiting for the climbing or the falls? If it was him, it would be an amazing coincidence, unless Fragrant had told him about this place.
Nodding his thanks to his travelling companion, Max made his way into the town, his curiosity piqued. He headed towards the guest house near the centre of town; if there were any visitors that would be the only place they could stay. As the building came into view, he saw Barrel – the stout pegasus mayor of the town – in conversation with a rather svelter pegasus mare in a flowing blue gown, her long pink mane and tail blowing in the breeze. Max’s heart almost stopped in surprise as he saw her. What was she... how was she... He broke into a gallop and came to a skidding halt not far from her, his jaw hanging open in surprise.
“Ah, Baron Max. I’ve been waiting for you,” said Fragrant Posey.
A wide smile on his face, Max leaned forwards to nuzzle Posey. He only realised at the last minute that there were several other ponies around, and converted the gesture of affection into a more socially acceptable friendly hug, although it went on for a little longer than was proper. He felt Fragrant tense for a moment, then she relaxed into his grasp.
“Fragrant... Um, Duchess Posey, what are you doing here?” asked Max once he released the pegasus. Her presence was certainly welcome, if unexpected.
“Well, Baron Max,” she said with a smile, “I discovered that my ministry was due to carry out a review of the weather service to Nulpar now that it is formally a province, and I thought that given our good working relationship it would be polite for me to lead the investigation myself.” A gleam in her eye seemed to translate that to Max as I missed you. “I had expected to find you at Sadlzburg, but when I arrived there last night I was told you were on some sort of tour of your province. The mayor was good enough to give me a copy of your itinerary, and I decided to meet up with you here. Mayor Barrel here has been good enough to fill me in on his town’s weather services.” She gestured to the other pegasus, who Max had more or less forgotten about.
“Hi Max,” drawled the mayor. “Haven’t seen you around these parts for a few years. You still smarting over that drubbing I gave you at horseshoes?”
Max sighed. Barrel was obsessed with that game; almost everypony that came to the town got challenged. “Well, I’ve been busy with Sadlzburg and things.”
“Yeah, I’d heard some crazy rumour you were made baron.” the pegasus slapped Max on the back with a wing. “Good on you. Can’t think of a better stallion for the job. Anyway, what brings you out here? I thought you’d be too busy for a social visit.”
“Well, that’s sort of the point. Now that I’m in charge of the whole province, I thought I should make sure I get a chance to talk to everybody. See what they want me to help them with.”
“Well, I think I can probably chew your ear off for a few hours about our problems. Seems like this beautiful lady here wants to spend time with me too. Now, don’t get me wrong, Max, but she’s prettier than you.” He winked.
“I was just discussing with Mayor Barrel the role of the weather ministry now that Nulpar has been formally recognised. We are required, of course, to provide a certain minimum of weather services to all Equestrian citizens. Areas may choose to opt out and use the monies to purchase their own weather, but we are still required to test and regulate all weather personnel.”
“Well, most of our weather ponies are volunteers, normally as a way of getting out of paying taxes.” Max nodded. It was a standard practice in most of Nulpar. Sadlzburg only actually had one permanent weather pony. “But from what you’re saying, you could provide training and support for them?”
Fragrant nodded. “Your system is similar to many of the other more rural provinces. My ponies should be able to help you. We will also need to set up weather stations to deal with the areas not already covered by the town-based weather ponies, but a full review will be needed first. That is something I will need to discuss with Baron Max.”
“Sounds good. We can always do with a hoof. Weather’s a tricky thing. Still, at least we don’t have any problem with getting water vapour.” He gestured towards the waterfall in the distance. “It’s almost like having our own cloud factory.”
“Indeed, you are well supplied for water. Have you ever considered selling it? Cloud export regulations have recently been relaxed.”
“Oh, your cloud bill! How is it working out?” asked Max.
Fragrant scowled. “Not as well as I had hoped. There have been some teething difficulties. But I am sure they will be dealt with soon enough.”
“Selling water, you say,” said Barrel, rubbing his face with a hoof. “That sounds interesting.”
“It may not be very practical, since the larger cloud cities do not pass near to here, but some of the smaller settlements may consider diverting. It may even be practical to set up a factory in province depending on local need. Further details can be sorted out with my assistant Saltpeter or one of the weather companies. Maybe even my brother’s.”
“It’s something to think about, but anyway, where are my manners? It’s getting late. We ain’t got too much night life out here, but let me take you out to dinner somewhere. You too, Max, we can talk further there.”
“Thank you Mr. Barrel, I accept your invitation.”
“Yeah, thanks, Barrel, I’ve been on the road all day. Just don’t try to feed me fish again. You know I can’t stomach it.”
“Hey, that was a honest mistake, but the look on your face when you realised what you’d eaten...” The pegasus laughed loudly.
“Now, Mr. Barrel, I will retire to my hotel room to freshen up. I am sure Baron Max will also want to arrange a room for the night.”
“Oh, right, of course,” agreed Max.
“I’ll see you in a few hours then, your ladyship,” agreed Barrel with a bow.
Fragrant nodded in return and she and her servants turned towards the hotel, Max following behind.
Fragrant looked around her room. It wasn’t much, really; it was smaller than her bedroom in the castle, let alone her estate. It was large enough to hold a double bed and a wardrobe and not much else, and the toiletry facilities were primitive, although at least she assumed it wouldn’t be emptied out the window. She had been shocked to be informed that if she wished a bath, she would have to give an hour’s notice for the water to be heated, and that one of the staff would bring the water to her room. Still, she had to take into account the location; it might even do her good to see how less fortunate ponies had to live. She was just glad that Cloudsdale was more advanced.
There were one or two advantages, however. The view out of the window over the lake was spectacular. The sun was just starting to set behind the mountains, throwing out a rainbow from the falling water. Despite all the efforts her people put into constructing artificial rainbows, you never could quite match the glory of a natural one.
There was a knock from the door and she turned, frowning. She had given Saltpeter and her chauffeurs the night off, so who else could be calling? Oh, of course! “Come in Max!” she called, moving towards the door. It opened to reveal the grey earth pony in question. For a moment Fragrant felt a pang of worry; had his feelings towards her cooled during their time apart? Then he lunged forwards and covered her lips with his own. She gave a surprised squeak for a moment, then opened her mouth to let his tongue enter. She was dimly aware that the door was still open and somepony could walk past at any time, but in a way that only made her feel more passionate.
After a long moment, Max broke away from her, leaving both of them panting. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was... I missed you!”
“I quite understand,” said Fragrant, returning a gentler kiss before making sure to close the door. “I have missed you too. When I was made aware of this inspection, I just had to come along with the team. I wish I could have given you some notice. I was worried that I would not see you when I found you were not in Sadlzburg.” She wanted to pour forth her real reason for visiting – the betrayal that had upset her – but now did not seem the time. Later, after they had caught up. She slumped against the bed and gestured for Max to join her. There really wasn’t anywhere else to sit.
“I didn’t plan to leave, but I got there and...” He paused for a moment. “One of my friends pointed out that all my plans were for Sadlzburg and that I should be thinking of the whole of Nulpar. It hadn’t occurred to me, really, so I decided to go on this ‘tour’ to get to meet all my people wherever they live.”
Fragrant nodded. “It is easy to get fixated on your capital and not remember the more remote parts of your province. I have carried out similar tours in the past, although they were normally rather grander than just myself. It is generally easier to have the regional leaders come to you.”
“Oh, I’m planning something like that as well,” said Max. “Wait a minute, I thought you only ruled Cloudsdale.”
Fragrant giggled at his confused expression. “I rule the sky province of greater Cloudsdale. It in fact covers about a third of the skies over Equestria, specifically the southern and eastern parts. I am responsible for two other full cloud cities and several hundred smaller settlements. Individual cloud homes may remain under the control of earthbound authorities, but larger conglomerates belong to me. Really, your understanding of how Equestria works is most lacking.”
“I guess Miss Blackboard didn’t think it would be very useful.”
“As an incorporated city, Cloudsdale itself is actually the part of the province I have the least direct control over. In the same way as Sadlzburg has its own government, so does Cloudsdale.” Max gave a little flinch, and Fragrant paused. Was Max having some sort of trouble with his city? Maybe a disagreement with the mayor? Certainly there could easily be friction between different branches of government; she had personal experience of that. She waited for a moment to see if he would tell her what was bothering him.
“Um, so will you be around long?” asked Max, changing the subject.
“My teams will be in your lands for at least the rest of the year. I’m sorry, it was a bit of a breach of protocol not to tell you they were coming, but you are rather difficult to contact out here. I myself can only spare a few days before I will need to return to Cloudsdale.” Max’s face drooped and he looked absolutely adorable for a moment. “I am sure we can find some time to ourselves while we are here, although unfortunately it seems like we will both have our own duties to carry out.”
“Yes, but it’s good to see you anyway.” He leaned forwards into a hug, and she joined him.
“It’s good to see you too. How long will you be spending in town?”
“I was going to leave in the morning, just stay long enough to chat with Barrel and anypony else who wants to talk to me.”
“Oh.” Fragrant’s disappointment was tangible.
“I might be able to stay a bit longer, but I’ve got a lot of places I want to go to and I’ve got to get back to Sadlzburg for the Autumn festival.”
“Of course, I would not want to delay you. Your ponies must come first,” she said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “I suppose we should just make the best of tonight, then.”
“Yeah, although Barrel might be a bit of a third wheel. Don’t get him talking about fishing, griffons or horseshoes. You won't get a word in all night.”
“I will try not to.” She stood and walked over to her bags in the corner. “I guess I should start getting ready. The water for my bath should be arriving soon.” She reached into the rather dainty saddlebags embroidered with her family crest and her cutie mark, and to Max’s astonishment her leg disappeared up to the shoulder.
“How do you do that?” he asked.
“Do what? Oh, the bag? It is enchanted to hold more than normal. It is very useful, but expensive. Now, what do you think will suit me best of tonight?” She pulled out a long gauzy sky blue dress, followed by a rather ornate red outfit, and finally a shorter simpler black number.
Max seemed to consider for a moment, looking back and forth between Fragrant and the clothes, and his eyes gleamed. “You know, we’re not much for formality up here. I doubt anyone else will be wearing anything.” He frowned. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you naked.”
Fragrant swallowed nervously. She briefly considered explaining to him why she preferred to keep herself covered when possible, but he would consider her at best silly, at worst mad. “It would not be proper for someone of my station to go to a formal meal unclothed. It would be disrespectful.”
“Oh well.” He frowned for a moment. “The black one.”
Fragrant held the fabric up against herself. Yes, it would be suitable. It looked professional, although the length was decidedly last season; she understood the latest fashion was for the hem to reach the floor so the wearer seemed to float across the floor. This dress would reveal most of her legs... and that would be why Max had chosen it. He seemed to consider them her best feature. She’d always considered them too long, they made her look ungainly; still, it wouldn’t hurt to reward him a little. “The black one it is, then. You should get back to your own room. You look like you could do with a bath as well.”
Max looked a little crestfallen – he had probably thought he could watch her change – but agreed, and after giving her a quick nuzzle left to his own room just across the hall. Fragrant had just finished laying out her dress when there was another knock on the door. She opened it to reveal a member of the hotel staff, not much more than a filly really, balancing a large steaming container of water on her back while dragging a bath which looked like it had been made from the bottom of a barrel and was hardly big enough to contain her. Fragrant tried to suppress a shudder and invited the girl in.
The dinner went better than Max had expected. Fragrant had worn the stunning black dress he had picked out. In his opinion everything she wore was stunning, but this was particularly good, showcasing her long, slender legs to best effect. He himself hadn’t packed any clothes at all for his trip apart from a reliable weather cape, which probably wasn’t suitable for a meal. As predicted, no one else in the restaurant was wearing much. Barrel had on a bowler hat. The mayor had once again tried to get him to try the local fish, and once again he had refused. To his surprise, Fragrant had accepted the offer and had taken several small mouthfuls of the local delicacy, noting it was quite similar to something she had tried at a diplomatic visit to the court of a griffon king. As expected, Barrel had been his normal verbose self, and after a few drinks had spent much of the night regaling Fragrant with various tales of life in Neighagra. To his surprise, Fragrant had actually managed to steer the conversation onto business matters, and they had spent at least some of the night talking about the province’s weather management and what Barrel thought Max could do for the town. Barrel thought that if the town only got some advertising in the rest of Equestria, tourists would flock to the place. Fragrant had pointed out that although the area was picturesque, it did lack some rather basic amenities, and did not have the facilities for too many more visitors. If it wanted more tourism, it would first need to deal with these issues.
Eventually the evening came to a close, and Max escorted Fragrant back to her room. They stayed in the doorway for quite some time, talking over the events of the last few weeks since they had last been together. Max carefully edited his rendition to remove any reference to Honey Bun or Zephyr; Fragrant didn’t need him bringing her down with his problems. Eventually they had finally parted with a kiss and Max returned to his room.
He lay awake for some time, thinking to himself, the roar of the falls the only sound in his room. He was glad that Fragrant was here, but it all seemed so brief; just one night together, then he and she would be off again. It didn’t seem fair. If only he could stay for longer. He supposed he could, really; he didn’t need to visit every settlement, did he? But what would he miss out? He’d never liked Sharpside much for a start, but his personal preferences shouldn’t have anything to do with this; everyone in Nulpar deserved a voice.
It just didn’t seem fair.
Unfortunately delayed due to lack of site so I'm going to put this one and the next up together to keep to my original schedule.
As always thanks to Grass and Clouds 2, Rainbowdoubledash and Mooncalf for their help
Comments are always appreciated.
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¡The PegasusDevice needs more foals!
Ahh, fun having Fragrant show up, I had already forgotten her plan to visit Nulpar.
Oh my, I see the passion has in fact not cooled in the slightest.
Interesting. With one province covering the air over several others, I can imagine the bureaucracy in handling who has governance over who and what.
Heh. Also, that's a good question. My first thought was "scar" or something similar, but that doesn't really fit with the reason being considered silly or mad.
Hahaha.
Come on guys, you're right across the hall from each other, don't be strangers.
5877516
I think it's simpler than is sounds but yes there are various problems.
It stretches back to when Equestria was founded the Pegasus didn't want to fully integrate they had a problem following leaders who couldn't even set hoof on their cities. Thus when Equestria was being separated into provinces for the first time and given to various leaders the sky was considered a separate province inhabited by those Pegasus who didn't want to integrate. This has carried over through the years to sky Pegasus being a bit xeno-phobic compared to their more ground bound cousins. Over time as Equestria grew the single 'sky' province was split up into now 4 sky provinces with Cloudsdale being the largest and most important. Generally a sky province contains any significantly large sky settlement within it's borders so say Dash Cloud house is still considered part of Ponyville but Cloudsdale itself is part of Greater Cloudsdale regardless of what patch of ground it happens to be floating over. It does get more complicated and some Pegasus may try switching between two provences (sky and ground) to get the best deal on taxes and the like but it generally works.
Ah, Max. A man after my own heart. *Hums a bit of 'She's got Legs' by ZZ Top. :p
Anyway, nice chapter. I like Fragrant showing up here and surprising Max. Also her managing to talk business with Barrel. She's probably got a lot of experience with that. :D
Max's hug with Fragrant always reminds me of this video I saw once when Queen Elizabeth visited America on a tour or something in the 80s. She stopped in for a surprise visit with a random African-American home - which I'm sure was cased everything beforehand - and the woman in the home gave Her Majesty the Queen an exceptionally tight hug as she came in the door.
The Queen looked positively scandalized and I think you can see one of her security officers reach for his sidearm, but the woman meant it innocently and nothing else happened bad happened. Still, again, the look on the Queen's face is priceless; she was expecting a handshake or bow, not a big ol' hug.
I kind of like the idea of Barrel standing along the town's road during merchant seasons, accosting passing caravans. Perhaps by throwing shoes at them or something, like some kind of derranged highwayman.
The cloud cities are actually in an interesting position in my mind in that while they're probably pretty advanced at the moment, the simple expense of getting anything non-cloud up to them means that they'll inevitably start to lag behind the rest of Equestria technologically. Even if they could magic up some lightning thing to replace electricity, for example, things to send that electricity to would be hard. Already they're running into that issue with how it's impossible to telegraph them anything.
Of course, this is a ridiculous world of magic and SCIENCE!, so it's possible that in a few decades you might get the cloud cities looking like Columbia from BioShock Infinite - stuff suspended via balloon or rotors, with the clouds themselves serving as walkways or highlights rather than the main construction material.