Business Opportunities
Chapter 1: Ethics and Relationships
Pools of sweat poured in river-like streams down my pearl fur and over the lavender markings of my tribe. My pink and purple mane clung to my head and neck like a rock climber would cling to a wall for fear of falling to the unforgiving Earth. My dirt-crusted hooves were so tired that the dust caked onto them felt like they had lead weights strapped to them. But they weren't the least of my worries.
I thought Ponyville was closer to oceans. 'At least 30 miles' didn't sound so very far of a walk written on a map. At least by my calculation, it would be cheaper to just walk instead of taking the pricey train ticket route, although very time consuming.
"I must be at least kinda close by now," I thought exhausted beyond all reason and ready to just flop underneath the closest tree and take a much needed nap. However, I had only just cleared that dust-bowl of a desert hell and was in desperate need to wet my blood-cracked, dry lips with the nearest stream. "There must be some kind of water around here somewhere," I thought, panting even in my head. My throat was so close to the stage of matching my lips, I was incapable of speech.
Stopping for the fourth(? Maybe the fifth?) time since my sparse brunch...if just a bruised apple counts as a meal. I unhitched myself from my wagon and put my head and neck under it. "Well, at least the shade is somewhat refreshing," I tried to reassure to myself. I laid there for a short while, gathering what little energy I had left when I heard something so beautiful, I would've cried if I had more water in my system.
The sound of another wagon heading towards me from the direction I was headed, rolled into my ears like the sound lulling tails in a gentle breeze. I scrambled to my hooves and began stumbling to the wagon trotting into my heart, hoping, praying the the colt had some water, and that he was willing to share. When he was close enough for me to see clearly I frantically waved my forehoof to get his attention. I thanked every single celestial being I could think of when the merciful, red and green colt slowed in his trot to a walk up to me.
"Howdy," the saint greeted, "What can ah do you for?" he asked looking mildly concerned.
When I tried to answer, only a faint, airy squeak managed to come out. Instead, I made a drinking motion, hoping that he would understand.
"Water," the angel before me whispered skeptically, "Ya need water?" All I could do was nod with what felt like hope in my eyes.
He pulled out a simple travel skin that sloshed with water. To me, it was more beautiful than the cherry blossoms that I watched as a filly in my homeland. In my exquisite joy, gulped down every drop in the skin faster than I thought possible. A tears welled up in my eyes but in my greed for the life blood of the Earth, I forced them back down as I handed him his empty skin.
I bowed to the colt as if he were a king. I cleared my throat of the sudden lump of saliva. "Thank you a thousand times over, dear sir," I said, oozing of my immense gratitude, "I fear that I wouldn't have made it if not for your kindness. I hope you would forgive that I drank all of your water."
"Eeeup," he agreed with a gentle smile. "Best ah be moving on now," he said looking above my head.
"Oh! Okay," and with that I moved my own cart farther to the side of the road and he trotted on.
For a brief moment, I stared after the enormous cart thinking just how gentle that colt was. He may have been enormous, and I wouldn't have gone up to him if I hadn't been so desperate, but I was glad that I did anyway. It is always a treat to meet colts like him that are so kind and generous, even to complete strangers.
I pressed on at a brisk trot, hardly noticing my heavy cart. My legs slowly began to feel lighter and easier to move, the rivers of red life in my veins flowed with greater ease, and my head cleared its thirst for basic needs went back to the side table to make way for my excitement to get home and finally rest in a decent bed...after a nice long bath. My muscles may had recovered to a degree, but my coat was still caked in a thin layer of dirt, sand, and sweat. A layer dry enough to flake off to leave still matted fur behind.
Needless to say, I was quite happy to see that town come into view as I crested one of the many rolling hills.
"First order of business," I said to myself, "Take a good, long, bubble bath."
"And then have a party?!"
Suddenly, the phrase, "jump out of my skin," and "hair-raising," made all the sense in the world. "AHHH!" I felt as if I had jumped about 10 feet. Stopping in my tracks, I looked back at my cart, to see the brightest pink pony I've ever seen, lounging on my dresser like she had been there her whole life. "WHEN DID YOU GET UP THERE?!"
"Just a second ago," she replied like it was completely natural. "So, you must be new! I only assumed that since I've never seen you before and I EVERYPONY in town! GASP! Where are my manners?! I must give you the customary, Ponyville welcome!" Now you must understand that this eccentric, little, bundle of electric pink energy was talking so fast I just barely keep up. In fact, thinking back on it now, she talked as fast as my pony friend from Trotan. I would tune her out sometimes too.
"...eh?" I swear to this day, she pulled her "welcoming cart" out of thin air and she stretched so impossibly far, I thought her body was made of taffy! As if the explosion of sound, color, and trumpets wasn't enough to shock me into a drawn out silence, she began to sing...face hoof. Why did she have to drag me into town to watch her do something that I still find fascinating, if a bit horrifying.
My name is Pinkie Pie (Hello!)
And I am here to say (How ya doin'?)
I'm gonna make you smile, and I will brighten up your day-aaay!
"I just want a bath."
It doesn't matter now (What's up?)
If you are sad or blue (Howdy!)
'Cause cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do
"A nap would cheer me up!"
'Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile
Yes I do
"No you don't."
It fills my heart with sunshine all the while
Yes it does
"You mean torturing me?"
'Cause all I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine
"What smile? I wanna smile, so shut up."
I like to see you grin (Awesome!)
"Please?"
I love to see you beam (Rock on!)
The corners of your mouth turned up
Is always Pinkie's dream (Hoof-bump!)
"Why do you hate me?"
But if you're kind of worried
And your face has made a frown
"Like right now?"
I'll work real hard and do my best
To turn that sad frown upside down
"More like keeping it firmly in place."
'Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Yes I do
"Quit lying."
Bust it out from ear to ear, let it begin
Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin
"I would if you would just silence yourself."
And you fill me with good cheer
It's true, some days are dark and lonely
"Story of my life."
And maybe you feel sad
But Pinkie will be there to show you that it isn't that bad
"You've only shown me it could be much worse."
There's one thing that makes me happy
And makes my whole life worthwhile
"Torturing my poor ears?"
And that's when I talk to my friends and get them to smile
"Why do they mock me by smiling?"
I really am so happy
Your smile fills me with glee
I give a smile, I get a smile
And that's so special to me
"Stop encouraging her!"
'Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam
Yes I do
"I'm just going to go home and cry now."
Tell me, what more can I say to make you see
That I do
"By shutting up."
It makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam
Yes, it always makes my day!
"Oh no. Not a parade. Stop this maddness!"
Come on everypony smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine!
[Choir and Pinkie Pie]
Come on everypony smile, smile, smile
"That's it! I'm outta here."
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine!
[Choir with Pinkie Pie]
Come on everypony smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine!
[Pinkie Pie with Choir]
Yes a perfect gift for me
Is a smile as wide as a mile
To make me happy as can be
Smile, smile, smile, smile, smile
Come on and smile
Come on and smile!
It was by this point, that I was already about halfway to my house, and feeling my overdue bath rear its ugly head. Using my well drawn map from Princess Celestia, my new queen, I was able to get to my house in fairly short order. It wasn't until I got there, that I realized one very important detail.
There I stood, staring at my new front door, then I looked at my enormous cart of belongings and general junk. Then back at my frustrating mousehole of a door. I sighed at this realization...and life in general.
"What is with my luck today? Why can't I just have a bath?!"
I figured that standing around whining wouldn't help, so I got to work hovering my never-ending, and ever-growing pile of junk into my new home. I was too exhausted to care where I put everything, so I simply did some minor tetrising to get it all to fit in the main room. It seemed to take forever, but just as the sun was about to get ready to set for the day, I was done. But of course, it would have been too convenient for me to be in that god-like tub directly after my lazy stupidity.
As a little filly, I remember going to a neighboring country called Canterna. While I was there, my family and I went to see one of the 7 wonders of the world: the Great Wall of Canterna. A wall so long that it would be impossible to be able to see the entire length of it from only one spot. It was the first time I ever felt such awe.
I face-hoofed at what I was standing before right then. Of course my laziness would come right bite me right in the flank. I couldn't exactly move part of it to make a path either, that would make the rest of the wall fall over. I did a self analysis to estimate how much energy I had left to see if I could use the power of my tribe. I figured I did.
"Well at least, I can still go over it," and with that, my horn and wind-markings glowed a brilliant pink, and the air lifted me over the pile, and touch down with a gentle clop of my hooves. As the wind left my side, I began to feel a little lightheaded. Regret clocked me right over the head like a sack of apples. I stumbled upstairs, barely able to keep my hooves moving and under me, and nearly toppled right into the bathroom.
Without enough energy to use my magic, I was forced to turn both the hot and cold faucets with my hooves. I was too tired to care if it was ready so I just let my heavy limpness fall into the tub to let the water rise around my body. I've found that no matter how tired I am, a good, long soak is enough to perk me up for just a little while longer to maybe get a meal in me to wake me up. My stomach purred at the thought of food. When the water came up to my neck, I pushed myself up and leaned on the faucets, using my weight to stop the flow of water.
By the time I was able to get up and walk around with ease, the sun was already setting. Right when I was just getting onto my hooves to step out, I heard a low murmur coming from downstairs. Living in Trotan isn't as sheltered and safe as Equestria. If you're not careful and listen to the sounds in your home, you could get killed during a robbery. An arctic tidal wave of memories as a filly and fear that I thought was justified at the time, crashed through my mind and bloodstream. I could almost feel everything at once, as if my body was making a desperate attempt to live this moment before I could feel nothing more. All my memories as a filly and my journey coming here flooded into a waterfall before my eyes.
Being as quiet as I could possibly be, I lifted myself with a little of my wind again and floated over to the door. Adding another layer of light to my horn, I opened the door a silently as a phantom. Like I was a little filly again, just barely learning how to command the wind, I pretended to be my foal-hood hero, Black Wind, the most talented wind-alphas from my homeland. Once I was through the door, I immediately floated to the top of my high ceiling and skimmed along it like my idol did in the book "Kitty Sneak" when she was going to confront the infamous Cat Burglar. The murmur suddenly turned into a chorus of shushes and shuffling that died to be an eerie silence, charged with a tightness that made my fur stand on end.
"Oh no," I breathed, "There's no way I can take on more than 2, maybe 3 ponies. But it sounds like there's more like 20." My mind instantly launched into a storm of ideas ranging from insane to passive. I was only able to get a few ideas sorted out before I came the closest I ever had come to having a heart attack before or since.
An explosion of confetti, and shocking pink burst before my eyes, and before logic could get a grip on my head, I ordered the wind away from me. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor with a crushing pain in my back, and a head full of sluggish lead.
"I hate everything," was my first thought. "No, scratch that, I detest bright pink more than ever."
"What are you doing just lying on the floor?!" gushed the bright pink monstrosity, "We have places to go and things to do!" And with that, she literally dragged me down the stairs before I could say a word of protest.
"SURPRISE!"
"AAAAHHHHH!" I couldn't believe my eyes. There I was, standing in my now much more spacious living room, with all my stuff stacked up against all the walls, and in its place about 3 dozen technicolor ponies, male and female, squished in my somewhat large living room, with party decorations galore. "Yeah, give me a heart attack. Thats fine." I gasped.
"Silly pony, if you had a heart attack, you wouldn't be able to enjoy your welcome party! You left before you could hear all of the song, and I felt so bad that I completely forgot to sing you the welcome song. So when I realized that you weren't there at the end of my song, I decided to throw you a welcome party to make up for it. It is my special skill after all. Speaking of cutie marks! What does yours mean? Can you grow money? I've never known where bits come from. Then again I've never thought about it either! Oh but I'm getting off track again! What's your name?"
"...Um...Sorry, what was the question?"
"What is your name?"
The low roar of talking ponies, my aching head, the feeling of my still recovering roots being torn out again, and Pinkie's jumping around, doing things that shouldn't even be possible, left my head whirling.
"...Um...Wind Blossom."
"OOOO! That's a cool name! Is it because of your markings?! How did you get those?! I've never seen anything like them!"
"...They are the markings of my tribe in Trotan."
"Trotan?! I've never heard of it before! Where is it?!"
"...Um...on the other side of the planet actually."
"WOW! I've never been outside of Equestria. In fact! I've hardly been outside of Ponyville until just recently. It must be so fun in Trotan! Are there other ponies that have your markings galloping around?! Thats sooooooo COOL!"
"Simmer down, Pinkie," a new voice broke in, "We don't wan' her not likin' Ponyville." A down-to-Earth, sensible, and mothering voice to and orange pony with a blond mane and tail tied only at the tips, making her hair look like a yellow, green onion bulb, and a classic, brown, stetson hat sauntered over. "Howdy do, miss," she said tipping her hat. "The name's Applejack. What's yours?"
"Oh, I'm Wind Blossom," I returned nodding my head. "Is she always like that?" gesturing towards the pink fuzz ball hopping. I'll never know how she could jump that high so consistently.
"...Yep. Ya git used to afta a while though," she said with a shrug. "So y'all said you're from somewhere called Trotan?" She drawled in one of the heaviest southern accent I had ever heard.
"Yes, I got my markings from my tribe of wind ponies." Something about made me feel comfortable enough to make me want to unload my whole heart to the hearty mare.
"Ya don' say," she gasped, "Are there other tribes of ponies there?"
"Yes. As a matter of fact, there are 7 tribes total: Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Metal, Light, and Dark. Each one having their own special job."
"And what might those jobs be?"
"Well my tribe's, wind, were in charge of the mail, since we can fly."
"What?!" her face showing nothing but shock, "But you're not a pegasi!"
I smiled, "You don't need wings to fly," I said my markings and horn glowed as I called some of the wind around me to lift me into the hair, with my mane and tail being gently blown around me. The collective gasp of the other ponies made me giggle at my quickened heart rate and I puffed out my chest and lifted my head high as I floated over the applauding mares and colts.
"My, oh my, I knew there was a spell that could make it so anypony could walk on clouds, or make special wings, but ah never knew unicorns could float themselves!" Applejack exclaimed with wide, foul-like eyes.
I floated gently to the floor, with my head up high, chest out, and my poised like a royal. The moment I touched base, all the ponies in the room crowded around me asking a whole slew of questions. I spent the rest of the night explaining about my homeland, why I came here, and my journey here. The sun eventually set, and all the mares and colts decided to head on home to bed, and bid me welcome and left all accept Applejack and a very special colt.
"Ok, you have a good night, Vinyl!"
"Hey, you too, Windy. Stay frosty!"
"Will do!"
I turned from the door to see Applejack still talking to a rather large and bright red colt.
"Why does he look so familiar," I mused to myself, I could have sworn I had seen him somewhere before. "I'm pretty sure I didn't talk to him during the party."
Like a lightning bolt trying to light a lightbulb, I remembered him. It was none other than my savior that gave me water in my time of great need. So overjoyed in my excitement, I gasped and threw myself at his hooves. "How could I have forgotten!" i gushed, "Thank you, again for saving my life!"
"Whoa there, pardner!" exclaimed Applejack, "What are ya'll goin' on about?"
"Oh!" I hopped back onto my hooves, "This fine gentlecolt is the one that gave me water right before making it to Ponyville!" I explained nodding to him. I could have sworn that his cheeks looked just slightly darker.
"Why, then ah guess ah must introduce ya then," she said standing a little taller, "Windy, this is mah big brother Big Macintosh. Big Mac, this is Miss Wind Blossom."
"Howdy, Wind Blossom," he said holding up his hoof to me.
"Hello, Big Macintosh," and shook hooves with him, "You can call me Windy, if you like," I said with a smile."
"Everyone calls me Big Mac, ."
I chuckled, "Fair enough. It has been a pleasure to meet you."
"Ta pleasures all mine."
"Well, we better be heading on home, Windy," interjected Applejack, "We gotta git up early tomorrow mornin'."
"All right then," I replied, escorting them to the door, "I hope for a good night's rest for both of you."
And with that, I closed the door behind them with a curious sigh.