Farmers and Swindlers, Friendship and Pain

by Wunderbrony

Chapter 4: A Boring Meeting Regarding the Entire Future of Equestria

Chapter 4: A Boring Meeting Regarding the Entire Future of Equestria

Quill Books knocked on the door to the Princess’s solar without any hint of the apprehension he had experienced the first time he met the goddess. He carried an oiled leather bag filled to the brim with documents that he had no intention of referencing. The entire situation with the Flim Flam brothers and their miracle of a machine was the single most important thing Quill had ever investigated, and he had memorized the entire report.

Princess Celestia looked up from her brunch of tea and muffins at the sound of the knocking, and serenely stood up to answer the door. Quill entered the solar, report temporarily forgotten as he gazed out the immense glass window at the glorious sun, still a few hours from its apex. Warm light streamed into the solar like warm, sweet breath, and comfortable chairs and tables adorned the room. It was easy to see why this was the Princess’s favorite room in the castle, and the preferred meeting place of dignitaries and commoners alike.

At the Princess’s urging, both ponies sat in the chairs nearest the glass window so as best to appreciate the warmth while they talked. Despite Quill’s excitement, he remembered himself, and respectfully waited for the alicorn to begin the discussion.

Celestia skipped formalities, and cut right to the chase. “So, Mr. Books, tell me about this machine that is causing such an uproar in Ponyville.”

“Well, Princess, the Flim Flam brothers were originally traveling salesponies, peddling their cider from the back of their machine, moving from city to city. I have a map here in my bag of their routes prior to arriving in Ponyville should you care to appraise it. Once in Ponyville, the Flim Flam’s challenged the Apple family to a contest, winner seizing the right to a cider monopoly in Ponyville. The Apples, full of pride and confidence, accepted, competed, and lost. Their business went under without the cider sales, they liquidated to Flim and Flam, and moved to Dodge Junction where they currently labor as farm hooves for a cherry orchard.”

Celestia was disheartened to hear of the misfortune that had befallen her friend Applejack and her family, but she hoped that this machine’s benefits would far outweigh the initial misfortunes it had caused.

Quill continued. “Their machine, as I told you in my last report, is capable of producing cider of top quality at speeds far superior to any hoof made cider. The machine is powered by unicorn magic, and involves a series of different, self contained steps inside the machine, the end result being top notch cider. Originally, the magic powering the machine was provided by Flim and Flam themselves, but since they have set up a much larger, permanent machine at the old Apple ranch, they have hired several local unicorns full time to provide power. As you can imagine, with the larger machine and more power, simply phenomenal amounts of cider are being produced.”

“Pardon my interruption, Mr. Books, but where is all this cider going? Surely every pony in Ponyville has enough cider now to last a lifetime?”

“I am glad you asked, Princess. You see, the excess cider is being shipped all around Equestria, and revenue is pouring in to Flim Flam Fields. It is only logical to assume that the revenue will be returned to Ponyville and the surrounding areas in wages, and local prosperity will be at a high never before seen worldwide.”

The Princess gazed out the window for a few minutes, quietly eating a muffin and mulling over the news Quill brought. Quill sat patiently as he thought out the next part of his report. At last the Princess turned to Quill and said, “It has reached my attention that all sorts of local farmers are being put out of business by Flim and Flam. Perhaps you can fully inform me of the situation?”

Quill nodded. “Yes Princess, it is true. Flim and Flam have extended Flim Flam Fields to cover most of the area surrounding Ponyville, and anypony not willing to work for Flim and Flam on their terms has been put out of work. However, since the country ponies now have no place to live or work, they have come to the cities and towns around Ponyville looking for occupation. In order to obtain a decent job in town, these ponies must get educated, and education opens up many doors for these country ponies to improve their quality of life and take a share of the wealth flooding in from Flim Flam Fields.”

“Surely the demand for cider must run out at some time?” the Princess asked.

“Yes, you are right. Flim and Flam, shrewd business ponies that they are, have foreseen this outcome, and have experimented with machines to perform tasks other than cider making. For example, machines to harvest crops from the orchards, machines to manufacture baked goods, machines to sew clothing...the possibilities extend as far as there are unicorns willing to provide power.” Quill looked pointedly at the Princess and continued in a different tone of voice. “And, according to the latest census, there are plenty of unicorns in Equestria.” It was the closest Quill had ever come to making a joke, and the Princess rewarded it with a dignified smile.

“How many unicorns does it take to power one of the large machines for an entire work day?” She asked.

“I interviewed Flam himself, the more talkative one, and---”

Celestia interjected, with all the dignity of a goddess, “Er, pardon me, Mr. Books, but which one is Flam?”

Quill smiled. “The one without a mustache.”

Celestia nodded and gestured for Quill to continue.

“Anyway, I interviewed Flam, and he told me that each workday is 14 hours long, with two 7 hour shifts. Each shift is manned by 5 unicorns, overseen by a floor manager. The unicorns get one hour long break during their shift, one at a time. What is truly remarkable is that these 10 ponies in one day can do the equivalent of about 400 pony hours of hoof work.”

“That simply cannot be true.” Celestia contested. Such a figure must surely be an exaggeration.

“It is true. Think of it this way. It takes a regular seamstress about a whole day to make a dress of middling quality. However, these five unicorns, using magic to power an assembly line that breaks the task into several sets of separate mini-tasks, can produce around 400 dresses of comparable quality. This new idea of ‘division of labor’ is truly revolutionary. An entire dress business, nay, corporation, could be kept alive and thriving by 10 unicorns a day with a machine.” Quill beamed at the potential these machines possessed.

Celestia was thinking a few steps ahead, and asked “If 10 unicorns could put 400 dress makers out of business, where would all those jobs go? They would be put out of work!”

Quill thought for a moment. He had not come to this conclusion yet, and it caught him broadside. “Welllllll....” he began, “I suppose they themselves could get factory work with these machines, or perhaps they could work on the farms that supply the raw materials. Although I believe that there would still be an excess of unused labor...I need to think further on that point, Princess, but you must admit, with all due respect of course, that these machines mean big things for Equestria!”

“Yes, they do. I myself must think further on the topics you have raised, so if you would be so kind, I believe I will take my leave.” This was diplomatic nonsense. It was Celestia’s castle; Quill was the only one with leave-taking to do. However, the Princess put into polite terms that the meeting was over and Quill could leave now. Quill took the hint, and exited, his bag of documents un-opened.

After he had left, and the door to the solar was shut, the immortal alicorn looked out her window, no longer at the glorious orb that she was responsible for raising every day, but downwards, towards her subjects in the far off cities they had built. She was pleased at the wealth these new machines promised to garner, but there were undercurrents of unease in her heart. Foremost, what about all the job loss? What would all these unemployed ponies do to survive?

And perhaps most troubling was the root of the whole matter itself. Or rather, themselves. Flim and Flam. Flam and Flim. The Princess rolled their names around in her head. She had no delusions that the majority of the wealth made from the machines was not going to get redistributed back into Ponyville. She was more than a little unsettled at the idea of Flim Flam Fields becoming the single most powerful economic entity in the realm. The power they would hold over the ponies of Equestria encroached just a little too much on her own jurisdiction. However, the benefits of their system could not be denied, and she would have to let things play out and see what could be done at the time that things had to be done. As a being that had lived for millennia, waiting was one thing Celestia was good at.

The sun continued to climb effortlessly into the sky, turned by the magic of the most powerful pony in all the world, heedless of the conflicts that gnawed at the heart of the ruler of Equestria.