Not everything works out as planned
Lunch was devoured with the fiercest ferocity, a fevered frenzy caused by his famished state. The vegetable fritters stood no chance against Sundance, who scarfed them up as though he were some great predatory bird. As for the cream of potato soup, he planned to guzzle that right out of the bowl—once it stopped steaming. Something about creamy potato soup made with goat milk pleased Sundance's palate. It was garlicky, rich, creamy, and salty.
Sunburst, who ate with far better manners, wiped his mouth with his foreleg, his nose crinkled for a moment when he realised what he had done, and then he leaned over closer to Sundance to say, "Never seen a rabbit infestation firebombed before. Usually, gas is used. Or poison bait. Awful business, all of that."
"We don't have that," Paradox said to Sunburst. "And we don't have napkins either. Sorry about that."
Almost nodding, Sunburst cast a regretful glance in Starlight's direction, then returned his attention to Sundance. "I've only been here for a short time, but it has been delightful. This place feels like the frontier that you read about in books. That wild and untamed spirit. It's always described as this powerful sense of togetherness, a common and shared goal that brings ponies together. It's great."
In response, Sundance nodded to be sociable; but he knew nothing about frontiers.
"The burn will prove beneficial, I think," Sunburst continued, though the subject had changed. "All those nasty brambles and thorns and such have been burned away. Lots of new land cleared. Oh, and I guess the rabbits are gone too. It's all very exciting. Things are mostly humdrum and quiet in the Empire. Except for when they're not. It doesn't feel like a frontier, though. Not like this place."
"The wilds are shrinking, and this place is an island." Paradox put down her wooden spoon, picked up a golden brown fritter, and then rested both of her front hooves against the edge of the wooden table. "I mean, there's the Everfree, and sure, that's plenty dangerous, but it is smaller. Though I suppose it could be seen as a whole with this place. It is said that there are sections of the Foal Mountains that are still unsurveyed, unmapped. Unexplored. For the longest time, dragons lived in these mountains, but they went elsewhere."
"When the wilderness is gone, where will the monsters go?" asked Sunburst. "Sure, they're monsters, and yes, they're dangerous. But that doesn't mean that they should go extinct. Some of the monsters of Equestria have gone extinct. I cannot help but feel that we should do something to preserve our monster population. Supposedly, there's less than a thousand manticores left in the wild. What do we do when they're gone?"
Around a mouthful of fritter, Sundance asked, "Do you want a horde of monsters loitering around the hospital site?"
"Well, no." Frustration could be seen on Sunburst's face, and the mild-mannered stallion seemed bothered by what was said. "That would be counterproductive. A hospital is a place of healing."
"The wilderness will only get smaller." Even as he said it, Sundance knew this to be true. "Eventually, the mountains will be all that's left. It's hard to build on the mountains. I think that, in time, even the Everfree will be trimmed back so that Ponyville has room to grow."
Sunburst's spectacles, perched upon the end of his nose as they were, quivered a bit as he shook his head. "This troubles me. Now I have second thoughts about the hospital placement. I know what must be done… but I cannot help but feel that it's wrong to do it."
"With that in mind, we should talk about the formal proposal after lunch," Sundance suggested. "I am sure that there is still much to be said."
Rain pitter-pattered against the glass skylight, which left Sundance in a relaxed, almost sleepy state. The table—still covered with paperwork that Turmeric fretted over being disturbed—was crowded with ponies and one diamond dog. Pillows were needed; this much was now obvious to Sundance, who had sore butt-bones from sitting on the floor so often. Yes indeed, his butt-bones ached and he feared that he might become a hardass from all this sitting.
But this was the cost of doing business and he would endure.
Corduroy, her patchwork beanie down low on her brows, read through the presentation paperwork with keen canine interest. Turmeric sat beside her, and when he brushed up against her, her tail would thump against the floor. Sundance watched them, admired their closeness, their friendship, and quite without warning, he wondered what his grandmother might think about his own relationship with Corduroy. It was with great sadness that he arrived at the unwanted conclusion that his grandmother would not approve. After all, Officer Mom was taught to think and feel this way, and she in turn had passed it along to him.
"Twilight Sparkle has her own interests in all of this," Corduroy said as she read through the papers given to her.
"She does," Starlight said with a nod. "When Sundance was told about it, I was busy. But I'm here for the formal presentation, as informal as it might be." She smiled, placed her hoof upon Sunburst's foreleg, cleared her throat, and then squirmed a bit where she sat.
No doubt to prevent sore butt-bones, Sundance suspected.
"The Element of Magic would be remiss if she did not seize upon the opportunity for magic to be taught." In the span of an eyeblink, Starlight Glimmer's demeanour underwent a dramatic change, going from warm and friendly to imminently professional. She pulled her hoof away from Sunburst, leaned forward somewhat, and her ears rose into a commanding position.
"My boss wishes to open a school for magic as applied to medicine. More than just mere alchemy and such, but magic specialised for the field of medicine. Oddly enough, Equestria has no school with this field of specialisation. We have schools of medicine, sure, and we have schools of magic, but the problem is that unicorns who become doctors and surgeons have to attend both, and it is Twilight's opinion that it is prohibitively expensive. She wants a convenient one stop shopping option."
"The Crystal Empire accepts a lot of students from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Sunburst said when Starlight had finished. "Princess Celestia's school has classes for pre-med and nursing, but it would be advantageous to start them young. By the time we get them, they're all grown up."
Holding the papers with one paw, Corduroy reached over and scratched behind Turmeric's ears with the other. She seemed thoughtful, contemplative, and Sundance couldn't wait to hear what she had to say about all of this. Beyond that, he wished that somepony or someone would scratch behind his ears, because that would be nice. When he glanced in Starlight's direction, he could not help but notice that she studied him, and he had himself a mirthful moment when he thought about how she might react if she discovered that he thought about ear scratches during such an important meeting.
Perhaps this was why nopony liked mind readers, and Sundance's absentmindedness made him think of River Raider. It was a pleasant thought; he liked her, quite a lot actually, and he wondered how she was doing. Perhaps he might pay her a visit. She was down in her cellar, all alone, and maybe, just maybe, she might need cheering up—and he was just the pony to do it. At least he hoped he was. River Raider was a grumpy sort.
"Sundance, this presents a unique opportunity for us," said Corduroy.
"I'm sure it does," he replied, "but I don't have your grasp of the situation."
"It gives us something to export." Her triangular ears almost quivered from the intensity of what she had to say. "We'll be taking in a lot of ponies and creatures from the cities under Twilight's plan. Many of which will be low-skilled labourers and workers. But with this, we'll have something to offer the world, a means that will allow residents to leave the barony, if they should so desire to find their way out into the world."
"Magic is Equestria's greatest resource," Paradox remarked.
"The school will of course be paid education," Starlight Glimmer said to Sundance, "but your residents will have access to the school without cost. Also, Twilight wants one-hundred percent of the profits from the school to go into the barony's coffers. She sees this as an investment into Equestria's future. Corduroy is correct; this will give your barony a unique export."
While he stood to benefit from this, Sundance had an inkling that this ultimately wasn't about him. Equestria as a whole would gain from this arrangement, probably in ways that he could barely comprehend. It was already beyond his understanding, the sheer scale and scope of this project flummoxed him. Lost in thought, he could not help but be reminded of his school days, when he was young, and some of his fellow classmates called him 'Sundunce'. If only they could see him now.
"This will take years to implement." Corduroy's remark caused several heads to turn in her direction. "I mean, I'm stating the obvious here, but by the time everything is up and running, Sundance over there will have some grey. Every one of us sitting at this table will only see the beginnings of this project."
"Then we have a responsibility to lay down a strong foundation."
"Well said, Chartreuse."
"Thank you, Master."
Filled with a longing for ear scratches, Sundance thought about the sheer immensity of this project, and the fact that it would span generations. A hospital with recovery and research facilities, along with a school. It was a start, but that was all that it was. Something told him that this wouldn't turn his barony into the financial powerhouse that Twilight needed for it to be. It would contribute, sure, and provide opportunity, but it would only be a small part of a much larger whole.
His butt-bones had a mighty, mighty ache about them.
"It seems to me," Turmeric began, "that the Equestrian military stands to benefit the most from all of this. Which strikes me as a good thing. But I cannot help but wonder if we could somehow do more to help them? I mean, we're at war. The hospital is a good start. But what else can we do? How can we do our part?"
"Good question." After he cleared his throat, Sunburst finished his response. "That is up to Sundance to figure out."
"We seem to be in agreement here," Sundance said to those gathered around the table. "For all of our varied interests and wants, we all have Equestria's future in mind. I don't see the point in drawing all of this out with endless discussion. How do we move forward? How do we take this plan and turn it into reality? What is the first step?"
"Oh, that's easy," Sunburst replied. "We start by signing contracts and then filling out paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork…"
So this was how empires were maintained and kept in existence. Paperwork. It was clearly what bound the universe together. Written agreements and contractual obligations. Sundance had a sense that they were working towards a common greater good—and not trying to screw each other over. He existed as a nation within a nation, and beyond that a corporation. His demesne was its own sovereign entity, whatever that meant, and he could barely comprehend the obligations that bound them together. But he would honour them, even if he didn't fully understand them.
So naturally, he felt some sense of alarm when Turmeric made a rather sudden announcement.
"We're making a mistake."
Multiple heads turned to look at Turmeric, who held an open folder in front of him.
"I don't see anything here about lodging or accommodations for family members."
"Please, explain," Sunburst said in a guarded voice.
"If I were a recovering soldier, I would want my family there to help me out. After reading all of this, not one mention was made for family accommodations. It feels like a mistake. Am I wrong? Is that not important?"
Many heads turned to look at Sunburst, Sundance among them.
"I do believe that something was overlooked," Sunburst admitted.
"This isn't Canterlot or the Crystal Empire." Turmeric closed the folder, set it down upon the floor beside him so it wouldn't get lost among the paperwork on the table, and then he shook his head. "We don't have a whole sprawling city where visitors can seek lodging. I think I have a solution though. Rustic is right now laying down plans for multiple resorts, spas, and vacation lodges. That was the plan that started this whole venture, and why we're here today. We incorporated so that we could protect that plan… that dream.
"I can talk to Rustic and I'm positive that we'll be able to offer lodging to visiting families, but we're bound to have operating costs associated with that. We might even be able to offer accommodations to poor families, a sort of pay what you can or nothing at all sort of deal, but—"
"But you'll need to be compensated for doing so," Sunburst said.
"Yeah, I hate to even mention it…"
"But it is necessary. I am positive that I can work out something with the treasury department on my end." Reaching up, Sunburst gripped his goatee in his fetlock and gave it a tug.
"I'm not so sure about my end," Starlight said with an expression of annoyed dismay. "The treasury department hates Twilight. Like… there is an unbelievable amount of hatred there. I wish I could offer some sort of guarantee, but I can't. Twilight might be able to swing something out of her own funds, but I would need to speak with her first before I can commit to anything."
Ears down, head low, Turmeric glanced around the room but avoided eye-contact. "It is expensive to run a resort. I mean, there's a lot of cost involved. It is not my intent to be greedy, or to cause a delay, but I feel that this is important. We need to sort this out before we commit."
"And I agree," Sunburst replied.
Turmeric's ears pricked up a bit, but he still looked pretty dejected.
"Don't feel bad," Bourgogne Blintz said to Turmeric. "This is an important detail. The bean-counters and planners failed to take the pony element into account. A delay won't hurt us."
"It is rather embarrassing, actually." Cheeks puffed out, Chartreuse averted her eyes while she let heave a sigh. "We just assume that civilisation is there to pick up the slack. And we don't have that here."
"We've hit a snag, but this isn't the end of the world. Our project isn't ruined, just delayed." Sundance offered a reassuring nod to his friend, who still seemed rather put out. "Thank you, Turmeric. You've saved us a lot of headache and heartache. Your eye for detail has proved its worth yet again."
"So what now?" asked Corduroy.
"We sort this out," Sunburst replied, "and then we start again. This time, with all of our ducks in a row. The project will move forward. Delays should be expected, though I didn't count on one during the proposal phase."
"So…" Sundance began, "how about we ditch the meeting and go have tea together?"
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10085261
There is actually a huge problem brewing that will threaten all of Equestria.
this story is absolutely fabulous.
so just how much more on this story will we be seeing??
10085477
It ends in the fall, as the first winds of winter begin to blow.
10085420
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
10085496
What rough beast approaches Canterlot?
10085486
ok ty
It is obviously easy for others to forget that there is literally no modern infrastructure in the Sunfire barony. Oddly enough, this was on my mind while reading before it was brought forth as an issue. I blame playing the Civilization games. They are going to have to do a lot of building up before the wished for hospital can really break ground.
10085420
I feel like we need the drama button after your bit of foreshadowing..
10085536
Flash player no workie.
10085486
Frostpunk?
10085540
I swapped to YouTube to get the sound. Flash is going away. I need to remember that. :p
10085550
No.
Where will the monsters go?
Reminds me of an old Icelandic story. On the high cliffs, men would scale down by rope to collect the eggs of nesting sea-birds. But, the trolls who live in the sea-caves would reach out with their long sharp knives and cut the ropes. To stop them, priests would come to bless the cliffs, and afterwards the ropes hardly ever snapped. There are still a few cliffs which have never been blessed, and which the men never go to collect eggs. A Bishop tried to bless these last cliffs once, but as he was about to, a voice cried out, asking him to leave the wicked somewhere to live. The Bishop, being a fair man, left those last cliffs as a last refuge for the trolls.
10085486
When the white eagle of the north is flying overhead the browns, reds, and golds of autumn lie in the gutter, dead. Remember then the summer birds with wings of fire flaying. Come to witness springs new hope, born of leaves decaying. As new life will come from death, love will come at leisure. Love of love, love of life and giving without measure gives in return a wonderous yearn of a promise almost seen. Live hand in hand and together we'll stand on the threshold of a dream.
10085536
This is a big issue. People are born into society, even those who learn to build onto it don't learn how to create the foundations for a civilization, no matter how large or small. That change and add on to what's there. But getting started is its own beast. The overlapping infrastructures needed for just simple things.
If goal is A, too bad for you. It's at tier five on the tech tree - and you're still working at tier two in this region. Then the careful balance of not destroying too much of your natural resources trying to get there, let alone that Goal A was just the first of many. Each decision requires checks and balances and a way to support even HAVING checks and balances each time.
People born in cities and towns don't think about how they gain or maintain stability, only how they can be modified, rise, or decline. Easy to forget things like what Turmeric has pointed out.
10086119
Ponies don't talk, either. Or fly for that matter. And brains could not possibly exist in heads with eyes that large. Standing on clouds is a physical impossibility. Griffons can't exist, and animals in general can't form crossbreeds of that sort. Wizards can't do it because wizards aren't real.
One of the MANY reasons to read everything over carefully before you sign. Also that even experienced professionals can make mistakes or make certain accidental assumptions.