Chapter 21: Internship
Clean Slate
By Alaborn
Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.
Chapter 21: Internship
“Now stand still, dear.”
I stood on a pedestal in Carousel Boutique as fabric settled around me. Rarity scrunched her nose as she made subtle adjustments with her magic. She turned the pedestal, allowing me to see myself in her new outfit.
“A perfect fit, as always.”
The business collar and silk tie looked very sharp. They looked incongruous with the bow in my mane. I would need to change up my mane somehow. Now, my tiara would make the ensemble!
“And here you go, Diamond Tiara.” Rarity levitated over four more wrapped packages.
“Uh, this is too much. There’s no way I can accept all of these,” I protested. I thought Rarity was going to make me one outfit, not an entire wardrobe.
“Nonsense, Diamond Tiara. You helped my darling sister discover her talent, helping her realize it involved neither my boutique nor my kitchen. My meager tailoring pales in comparison to the valuable service you provided.”
Rarity had this certain way of speaking that communicated a lot about her relationship with her sister. It was much like the way Applejack was upset by Apple Bloom’s recent pursuit of her own cutie mark. Fortunately, my own plan to discover my special talent should lead to less hoof-wringing.
“Now what is it that you will be doing this summer?” Rarity asked me.
“I’m about to find out,” I replied.
“Can you tell me what I’ll be doing on this internship?” I asked Legal Plan.
The lawyer shrugged. “Fetching files. Pouring tea. It’s things that anypony could do. But the work isn’t the main focus of an internship.”
I nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“You’ll have the chance to observe how your company works. You might be sitting quietly in a meeting room, but you’ll have a first-hoof opportunity to see what’s important in the scope of running a business that spans Equestria. And you’ll be able to learn from the executives. Just be mindful of how busy they are.”
“That sounds good. I just feel like I want to learn, more than anything I’ve felt at school.”
“Then this should be a good opportunity for you.”
On the evening before the first day of my internship, I reviewed my mental checklist. My collar and tie were set on the dresser. A pair of barrettes were ready to tame my mane; wearing my tiara, the symbol of leadership, didn’t feel right when I would be the one following. I felt ready.
But I wasn’t sure everypony was ready.
I headed downstairs, looking for Applejack, and hoping she would be alone. Thankfully, she was; the mare was alone in the kitchen, cleaning the oven. The sound of steel wool scraping away at the burnt remains of countless apple pies was not pleasant.
“Applejack, could I speak to you?”
Applejack pulled herself out of the oven, brushing black flakes out of her coat. “Of course, sugarcube.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with me working away from the farm this summer?”
“Thanks for asking, but you shouldn’t worry about it,” Applejack replied.
“But all the time you spent away from the farm last year hurt your production,” I observed.
“It’s not a problem until we near fall, Diamond Tiara,” Applejack stated. “The farm’s not as labor-intensive at the height of summer. Heck, there’s a reason why towns have their fairs around that time.
“Besides, if it makes you feel better, I could up your chores some.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said. The light schedule of chores I was assigned would probably still take three hours to do.
Applejack hugged me. “I’m glad that you’re thinking about the farm, sugarcube. But we learned from last year, and we’re prepared to support our larger family.”
If I were to entertain a visitor to Ponyville, I would probably show them the town’s center. Places like the Golden Oaks Library, Sugarcube Corner, and Town Hall are among the town’s most unique buildings. It’s what sets Ponyville apart from other towns.
The downtown area I was now walking through was not unique. But it was clearly an important part of town, judging by the number of ponies, mostly stallions, walking to work. Built around the railroad station, an orderly grid of streets ran among brick and stone buildings with shops and offices. My hooves clopped along the cobblestone streets. It was a lot like Manehattan, just a lot smaller.
My destination was the tallest building in Ponyville. At five stories, it would be completely unremarkable in larger towns. But even if I were in Fillydelphia or Manehattan, I’d still be proud of this building.
It bore the name and logo of Rich’s Barnyard Bargains.
I walked into the building’s lobby. A desk with a receptionist, flanked by two potted plants, greeted me. Behind the receptionist was a large map of Equestria, with stars indicating the location of each Rich’s Barnyard Bargains.
I walked up to the receptionist, but was intercepted by a well-dressed mare. “Good morning, Diamond Tiara,” she said. “I’m Fair Deal, vice president of marketing, and I’m happy to welcome you to the worldwide headquarters of Rich’s Barnyard Bargains for the next eight weeks!”
“Thank you, Fair Deal. I’m looking forward to learning more about my family business.”
“It’s rare to see a pony as young as you be interested in business, but you are your father’s daughter.”
We walked through the hallway. We passed by formal portraits of three stallions. I recognized the third, so I paused to look at them. All portrayed stallions in dignified poses, oil paintings obviously made by somepony with a great talent in art.
Stinkin’ Rich. Stinkin’ Rich the second. Filthy Rich. My great-grandfather, grandfather, and father.
“Are you thinking about your own portrait?” Fair Deal asked.
“I hope I can be worthy of the honor,” I said. “I just don’t know yet if I can be that good of a businesspony.”
Fair Deal paused. “We’ve only heard about what happened to you, with your accident.” She hesitated again. “Is it true?”
“I’m not sure what you heard, but if it’s about my memory, I did lose it. If I’ve met you before, please forgive me for not recognizing you. I still don’t recognize anything from my past. But I think my father taught me a lot about business. I haven’t forgotten anything I’ve learned, even if I don’t remember learning it, and I realize I know a lot more about business than most foals my age.”
“That’s good to hear,” Fair Deal said. “Let me start by introducing you to some of the ponies here, and give you a tour of the facilities.”
The introductions went by in a blur. We went first to the fifth floor of the building. There were so many vice presidents, each focusing on one aspect of the company. Operations, accounting, finance, equine resources, planning, research... it was all so hard to track, and to make matters worse, most of these ponies had cutie marks only tangentially related to their jobs.
The tour was more interesting. I had seen the store, from sales floor to the back, so I wondered how the office was organized. It was a little more compartmentalized. The basement featured a mail room, where mail from customers, stores, and other Rich’s offices was processed, and the telegraph room, where stallions hunched over metal keys communicated with suppliers and railroads. Although it was out of the way, I could feel that these departments were crucial to the success of my company.
The first floor featured a large secretarial pool, with ponies copying documents, and accounting, with mares and stallions diligently pressing their hooves on the large buttons of their adding machines. The cafeteria was also here. The three floors above it included a variety of departments, all sharing a common architecture of rows of desks in the center and offices along the walls.
Finally, we returned to the fifth floor, where I would be working. Now that I had seen the rest of the building, I could see that this floor was much nicer than the rest. Gone were the rows of desks. Instead, each pony here had an office, save for a few support staff. There were several meeting rooms, with large ornate tables, the finest of which was labeled “Board Room”.
“I think it’s only appropriate that you sit here while you’re with us,” Fair Deal said. “Since Mr. Bottom Line chose to stay in the Whinnyapolis office, it hasn’t been used.” She opened the door into a large office.
My father’s office.
I blinked, and thought for a moment that a certain dedicated and caring stallion would be sitting behind the desk. Instead, it remained still. It looked like the office had been dusted and cleaned, but otherwise left untouched.
I looked at the portraits that covered the desk and the top of the cabinet by the window. I saw myself, from the time when I was an infant until the age when I had a cutie mark. There were other photos, several of the mare I recognized as my mother, and several of my father with business associates, but the pictures indicated I was foremost on his mind.
“Why don’t you sit for a while, and read some of the files? Each day, I’d like you to speak to Daily Planner, the executive secretary, to talk about your daily schedule. There are a number of meetings I’d like you to attend, and she’ll let you know how you can help us. But for today, we haven’t scheduled things until after lunch.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll see what I can learn.”
I’m sure whatever my father was working on at the time of his death was long out of date. It had been more than a year, after all. But I still could learn what was important to the president of the company.
My father was a very organized pony. His filing system was easy to understand. I pulled out a folder from one of the drawers. Quarterly sales reports for 1Q77, by store and region. It showed sales for the recently finished quarter, and comparisons to the previous quarter and previous year. I lacked the context to recognize the significance of the actual numbers, but the comparison to previous periods helped. Most stores showed a decline from the previous quarter, likely due to the holiday spending in the fourth quarter, so the comparison to the previous year was helpful.
I noticed some numbers that looked off, and then noticed my father had written some comments on the report. “Unusual decline—speak to store manager.” “Hartford store shows slower growth than comparable middle market stores—investigate.” “Seaddle store leads the Northwest region—arrange recognition awards.”
Father’s desk included files like this one for two years’ time. The next item I found was a little more interesting. There was an entire drawer devoted to specialty products, including zap apple jam and the Rainy Mountain Rain Drops from Seaddle I had sold last year. I opened the folder for some of these products and read. A common characteristic was the initial contact about these products coming from a local store manager. Sometimes there was a newspaper article about a wonderful product, but more often it was a simple testimonial. “You’ve got to check this out!” Each of the products was unusual and magical, tied to the magic of an uncontrolled area like the Everfree Forest; that made sense, since normal magic could produce most foods and goods anywhere.
Like zap apple jam, these products were produced over a limited time frame, and often had a short shelf life. With its superior distribution network, Rich’s Barnyard Bargains might be the only store in Equestria capable of selling these items beyond their local market. And the deals were profitable for both the ponies making the items, and for Rich’s.
I was so interested in my reading that I was surprised when Fair Deal invited me to lunch.
I trotted after the executives, heading to the cafeteria on the first floor. “We have an excellent cafeteria,” Fair Deal said. “And it’s free for employees!”
That was good news. I didn’t think to bring any bits today!
There were numerous stations in the cafeteria, offering salad, sandwiches, pizza, and pasta. Actually, the pasta station was serving risotto, which sounded good to me. I got my tray, and waited for the partially cooked rice and vegetables to be heated. Afterward, I checked out the other food options.
Five minutes later, I joined the executives at their table, setting down a tray with the risotto, hay fries, tomato soup, apple juice, and custard pie. It was a normal size lunch on the farm, but nopony else had that much food. The food was of middling quality. It wasn’t bad, like the school cafeteria that few ponies dared to eat at, but there were obviously sacrifices made to serve a lot of ponies quickly.
I politely listened in on the conversation. These ponies were good about not talking about work at the table. But what they talked about was families, hobbies, vacations. All things I had experienced with the Apples, but it felt like a different world. It was my world, in the future.
“We have a planning meeting after lunch,” Fair Deal said. “Please bring up the tea set. Talk to Pan Fry; he’s the purple stallion over there.”
I nodded and went to speak to him. Pan Fry was a plump young stallion with a blond mane and glasses. He wore a white coat that didn’t cover his frying pan cutie mark. “Hi. I need to bring the tea service up to the fifth floor,” I said.
“Sure thing, miss,” he said. He retreated into the kitchen, and came out another door, pushing a small wheeled cart with two teapots, cups and saucers, and the normal accompaniments. The tea smelled good. I thanked him and took the cart. Placing my forehooves on the push bar, I was reminded of walking with a walker.
Fortunately, the building had a lift. I don’t know how I would have gotten that cart up stairs.
I soon learned the reason for the two teapots. There was an even split in tea preferences, with four ponies choosing the black tea and another four choosing the green tea.
“Aren’t you going to pour yourself a cup?” one of the stallions asked.
I felt every eye on me. My mere presence was upsetting a careful balance that had existed for a year. Possibly longer, if my father didn’t drink tea. “I’m fine,” I said. Truth be told, I didn’t care much for tea.
The meeting covered the annual business plan. The goal was to forecast sales for the next five years, with stronger focus on the next three years, and the biggest focus on the next year. I spent a lot of time running between the meeting room and various offices, retrieving files, but for the rest of the time, I sat quietly, writing notes on a pad of paper. I was learning a lot of the whats, but left wondering about the whys. I would have a lot of questions to ask later.
I returned home after work. Stepping into the living room, I set my sights on the couch, and immediately sat down. This was a strange feeling for me.
I felt tired.
Sure, the walk to downtown was longer than my normal walk to school, but it wasn’t strenuous. Not like, well, any work on the farm. My mind was racing, thinking about everything I learned, the dozens of contracts, the numbers from countless individual store forecasts. All I wanted was to sprawl out on the couch and close my eyes.
I didn’t know thinking could be so tiring.
And I still had to tend to the garden and the trees in the south orchard.
After two weeks, I had a variety of questions. I had spoken to the ponies in the office on occasion, asking one or two questions, but by this point, I felt I had learned enough to ask questions to help my understanding of the big picture. Fair Deal was there, as she was my unofficial contact, but I also was able to speak to Willow Dream, the stallion in charge of operations, and Big Score, the vice president of sales.
“Why did Rich’s Barnyard Bargains expand the way it did? Why were the new stores established in these cities, and why in that order?”
“You want to start with a history lesson?” Willow Dream said. “Now, of course, I wasn’t around for those first new stores. As I understand it, they were founded by close associates of your grandfather, and not with any plan.”
“It was more like your grandfather thinking he could trust that pony to share his vision,” Big Score added.
“But the expansion over the last twenty years was your father’s goal. He believed that since everypony needed to buy things, they could do it best at Rich’s Barnyard Bargains,” Fair Deal said.
“But actually building these stores? That’s my headache,” Willow Dream said.
“What kind of problems do you have?” I asked.
“There are a couple of problems. Out west, the population is sparse on the ground, and our studies show the cities won’t support even our smallest store. And in other towns, negotiations drag on like a dragon.” Willow Dream chuckled at his atrocious pun.
“Studies?” I asked.
“Market research,” Fair Deal answered. “The most important part of opening a new store happens before the first brick is laid.”
“Can I read this market research?” I asked.
“I insist,” Fair Deal replied.
As my job duties were rather trivial, I had a lot of time available to read, and so I looked at the market research that had been done for two recent store openings. Phoenix, in the arid southwest, was a growing pony town. Bullsa was an older plains town, and a major hub for trading with the buffalo. Both towns had their first Rich’s Barnyard Bargains opened last year.
The research started with the towns themselves. History, geography, demographics, projected growth. Major industries, resources, and income. The studies documented infrastructure, particularly railroad connections to the town.
The next section considered the competition, showing where the ponies now shopped and challenges that the new store would face. I learned how different competitor stores approached their consumers in different ways. Many duplicated the friendly environment of the local market, but others focused on fast service, select items, or products hard to find locally. The conclusion of this research, of course, was where the new Barnyard Bargains would fit.
The final part of the package included standard business documents, like budgets and sales plans. They presented clear goals for the manager of the new store, which looked challenging to meet.
One thing I noticed is how similar the two reports were. Notably, there was no adjustment of the strategy for dealing with the buffalo population around Bullsa. Wouldn’t there be different business opportunities there? The reports were entirely too focused on selling to ponies.
The map of store locations at the front of the office had a number of gaps. I realized that many were in the parts of Equestria with large populations of deer, goats, donkeys, buffalo, and other non-pony races. If I could understand how best to sell to them, then that would suggest a new growth strategy for Rich’s Barnyard Bargains.
Meanwhile, two other expansion opportunities for Rich’s Barnyard Bargains seemed to appear on the agenda of some meeting or another at least once a week. Manehattan and Fillydelphia were two of the biggest cities in Equestria, but the company still hadn’t established a store in either city. I found various market research reports. It wasn’t as if there was a lack of demand. Both cities were business centers, and the reports suggested the Fillydelphia area could support three stores, and the greater Manehattan area as many as eight.
Everything written in these reports, everything said in the meetings, it all sounded the same after a while. I heard long words, spoken in the most roundabout matter, but I was able to figure out what it all meant.
It came down to politics.
I thought about what I had learned about my family and myself. My friend Silver Spoon said my talent was reading ponies, letting me lead them. I could play the game of politics. But this was a talent that didn’t come easy to my father. He, on the other hoof, knew the business. He came up with the plan that grew Rich’s Barnyard Bargains into the Equestria-wide retailer it was today. And now I had the inkling of a new business plan.
Both business and politics were skills that would take time to develop. But I could start working on them now.
On the way out, I stared at the large map of Equestria. My hoof traced over colors, moving from green to yellow to brown, stopping under the name of a northern mountain town. There was one pony I knew who could help me understand both topics.
Diamond Tiara
Sweet Apple Acres
One Orchard Way
Ponyville, P.E.
Golden Sky
Golden Skies Resort and Lodge
100 Jennet Lane
Jackson Colt, P.E.
July 13, 1478 AC
Dear Uncle Golden Sky,
I am working an internship at Barnyard Bargains this summer, learning more about how my company operates. I remember you mentioned there was no store in Jackson Colt, and I think the only store in the cities where you have resorts is in Damver. These towns and cities are at least comparable to Ponyville, and some are much larger. The difference, however, is that there are fewer ponies in these cities.
I wonder if we haven’t done enough to make a store for all Equestrians. From what I saw of your snowboard resort, you don’t have that problem. What can you tell me about your resort that makes it attractive to all Equestrians?
Your niece,
Diamond Tiara
Golden Sky
Golden Skies Resort and Lodge
100 Jennet Lane
Jackson Colt, P.E.
Diamond Tiara
Sweet Apple Acres
One Orchard Way
Ponyville, P.E.
July 21, 1478 AC
My dear niece,
I think you have recognized something that took me at least three years in business to learn. Ponies are different from other races. While we recognize the obvious differences, we are too quick to believe we think alike and have nearly identical goals.
If you were put in charge of equipping my resort, you’d probably guess you need different equipment for goats, given that they’re obviously smaller. You might not think the same thing about donkeys, with our similar sizes. But a donkey’s hoof is slightly differently shaped than a pony’s hoof. My resorts have snowboards fitted specifically for donkeys for that reason. They can use pony equipment, but it doesn’t fit well.
I think pony stores don’t fit well for non-ponies. Not just Barnyard Bargains, but everything from the local flower seller on up as well. All I’ve learned in my thirty years in business is a motley assortment of facts. Donkeys like their desserts to be less sweet. Goats don’t like plain dried alfalfa. Buffalo rarely agree to a business deal on the first day, even simple ones.
I can’t even begin to understand what business is like in the griffin and minotaur nations.
In short, I think you have the right idea, but I can’t say how well it will work. Can a store the size of Barnyard Bargains “fit well” for all Equestrians? You could do worse things than trying to learn the answer to that question.
Your uncle,
Golden Sky
P.S. If you want to learn more, my resorts are always looking for “interns” over the winter holidays!
I clutched my uncle’s letter in my hooves, reading it one more time before going to bed. The candlelight flickered over his sage advice. Yes, I could do worse things than try. Doing the same things my father did would be the safe move, but I calculated that Barnyard Bargains would plateau, and then struggle.
No, I had to try.
I blew out the candle and rolled over in my bed. The night was quiet, the soft breathing of Apple Bloom barely audible. In my head, I sketched out plans for my future.
First step was finishing my last year of primary school. Secondary school would be a must, and likely study at the university level. Math, accounting, business. History and psychology. I’d want to take every opportunity to learn about the other cultures in Equestria. I could travel once I was older, perhaps spending a summer out west. But I should begin learning now, with independent study in the library.
I woke up feeling invigorated. Even if all I was doing was digging through files and pouring tea, I wanted to go to work. I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
I turned my head and sighed. I still didn’t have my cutie mark.
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Three chapters left? Oh no no no, but I live for this fic! I spent my entire few months of Summer Classes waiting in anticipation for updates! This fic ending would be devastating!
That being said, I really loved this chapter. I thought for sure Diamond would've gotten her mark after she discovered what she wanted to do, but it was a nice surprise when she didn't. I suspect that there's something she's missing out on before she finally gets her cutie mark.
3126608 The thing that she's missing is that while she knows what she wants to do, she doesn't know if she is any good at it. It's like any of the Crusader's schemes. If she wants a cutie mark in fashion, like Sweetie did, but she's no good, it isn't where her talent lies. Wanting it isn't enough.
Super-Twist-Could-Be-SPOILER!!!
DT is a sleeping agent changeling. The real DT died in the crash, evil changeling swiched the bodies of DT and minderased changeling
. Doesn't remember, my donkey. 
While this isn't my favorite chapter I have to applaud your attention to detail, even if it is a subject I know nothing about and became rather bored with.
Good to see DT discovering her passion and possible destiny. I on the other hand am forever a blank flank.
Hope to see more of Silver Spoon for better or worse, in the last three chapters.
Should that be 'local flower shop'?
I think now her mark will be reading other ponies related, maybe a pony mane that turns into words halfway down?