My Little Tactics

Chapter Twelve: Construction and Contracts.

“KWEH!” The sound heard in the kitchen as was the growing Chocobo as she waited for her breakfast to be set in front of her.

“Here it is, don’t have to be impatient now.” Dustan told her with a chuckle only to have her immediately start munching down on the cut up carrots and greens. He had found out from Zecora that she had switched her over with no problems while he was gone. It did him good to see the puffball growing up. One day soon she would be old enough for him to ride, but that day was far off. There was also the fact that he saw her more as a pet then as a mount.

“Good morning Landlord.” Zecora said with a yawn as she came into the kitchen. “What is on your schedule today for you and your sword?”

Dustan groaned as her heard that. “You don’t have to call me that Zecora. I pay you rent after all.”

“While this is true, it doesn’t mean I can’t joke around with you.” The shaman broke out in a smile as he groaned again and got some items from her fridge to start making her own breakfast. “Tell me my landholder, what kind of breakfast would you like to shoulder?”

Giving a shake of his head the human stood up. “None for me thanks. I already ate a bowl of cereal and I have some work to do. Got to go first to Twilight and ask her a few questions, then I have to go see if I can get workers from the construction guild to help me with the project I want to work on. You ponies like to haggle so I might be there for a bit, same with Twilight cause…well Twilight.” The zebra nodded as he grabbed his pack. “After that hopefully I will grab a bite to eat out somewhere. Nothing against your cooking but with how much I always saved up, I have never been out to eat, so kinda want to try my luck.”

“Alright and I hope your day is fun.” She started as he headed out only to finish her rhyme when he was gone before she continued to work on her breakfast looking a bit sad. “Just know that even with all your new money that you still have a home here when all is said and done.”

Dustan sighed as he watched Twilight bring out stack after stack of books after he had just said the simple statement of: Now I own some land, what is it I need to know. He should have realized he set himself up with a loaded question when it came to the bookworm. With the latest stack of books he actually lost sight of Twilight and for a brief moment Dustan thought to escape, but he needed this knowledge.

“Twilight, stop.” Standing up he looked to see where she went and found her bringing out other materials and face-palmed.“TWILIGHT STOP!”

“Huh?” She set down the scrolls in her magic as she finally looked over to him. “What is it?”

“Twilight.” He simply stated before motioning to the books and such. “I like reading, I really do. Fantasy is my preferred subject though and even for me THIS much reading is well beyond me. I was asking you for advice. You have likely read all these books and more so I was hoping you could give me a summary of the need to know points.”

“Oh alright, though you should have said so in the first place Dustan.” Groaning it took a few minutes to magic all the books back to their places as well as the back rooms where some were stored. “Ok let’s start with any questions you might have first then I will go back and fill in anything you didn’t ask.”

Dustan was about to ask her his first question when the words of Zecora rang in his head about being a landlord. “Am I technically nobility now?”

The purple unicorn shook her head. “I would see where you would think that but no. Otherwise Applejack and her family would all be nobility as well.”

“Makes sense.” Muttered the human as he scratched at his chin noticing he needed a shave soon. “I am now curious what does one need to be noble. Not that I want to be one, but I am curious.”

“Hmm that can be a slightly difficult question as there are many routes to go towards to become one.” She told him though pulled out her chalk board and started with her summery. “I suppose it can be boiled down to three points. The amount of land you hold the rights to, and seeing as you own well over the minimum amount I say you pass that requirement with ease. How much land does the Everfree cover?”

“A lot, let’s leave it at that.” The curiosity was written so plainly on her face he followed up his answer with. “Twilight, Ponyville could fit in the Everfree and still leave extra room so think about that.”

“Oh…that is a lot of land. Normally that amount of land wouldn’t be cheap either but considering it’s a taboo property it’s not a surprise really.” He knew what she was talking about. Because of the nature of the Everfree, all the beasts in it and its wild weather, there had been no offers on it as all that alone would have made the property a huge hassle. There is also the fact its taboo because not only do ponies go missing and assume to die in there, but Nightmare Moon had last been seen there a thousand years ago, and recently making the price plummet once again. Going with that and the rumors all surrounding it, the market had literally placed it at the cheapest it could without giving it away.

Nodding and chuckling Dustan smiled and asked. “So I pass the minimum for land, what about the other things?”

Her magic drew up a clock at this point on the chalk board. “Next would be the amount of time in service of Equestria. Usually those would be taken as military service and other such helpful roles but it’s not exclusively to be taken as such as many have done so just by being helpful and kind around their area, volunteering for example. However the amount of time one would normally need to be raised to nobility in the normal service, would be about three thousand hours of work or a little over a year straight with no days off and on an average of an eight hour work day.”

“Wow, I can’t see why anyone would ever want a title then, sounds like more work than the pay off so far. Unless there is something I am not aware of that nobility get.” Dustan mused to himself as his thoughts were interrupted.

“Yeah no kidding.” The voice belonged to the resident dragon of the library who had been in the back organizing things when Twilight burst in and started grabbing things with magic. “Twilight’s family is lucky as their nobility was inherited from a long time ago.”

“Oh really? What for?” Again his curious nature was showing and getting him more and more off track.

Luckily Twilight was there to rein him in. “We don’t know as the records were lost some time ago Dustan, we should also get back to what we were talking about.” She cleared her throat and pointed to a new drawing one of the Princess of the sun herself. “Last critical point is you need to be recognized by Princess Celestia for something, usually a deed that proves your intent to better Equestria. When one meets all those requirements only then can one apply to the Princess for nobility. Also before you ask, no I will not tell you what it is that makes it worth it, if you wish to know then you will have to try to become a noble yourself.”

Dustan snapped his fingers as that was his next question. “Ok then so I meet one of three points.” He sighed a bit as technically he would have met two of the three but then again his place in history was taken away by a loophole. Better then jail time he supposed. “What can I do then with land rights?”

“Well that depends on what you wish to do with them.” The unicorn floated the eraser for the chalk board and wiped it before drawing a crude design for the Everfree. “One thing you should know, since you own the rights completely towards the Everfree, that land is yours and you will not have to pay taxes on it should you choose to declare yourself neutral territory.” He mentally thought ‘sweet’ for a moment before the magister continued. “However if that is the case you will not be able to receive help from any of Equestria’s forces should something happened. It would be up to you to police your territory. With how large the Everfree is, I would suggest against it.”

“I can understand that.” One man against an entire forest that would take forever to walk from one end to the other alone, no thanks.

“However if you did go the neutral route you would be able to make and enforce your own laws.” Was she trying to make it appealing on purpose, because that was tempting. “Again that would take a lot of work and legislation on your part so I am not sure if it is for you. Going with Equestria means taxes though, which you pay yearly of course at the top of the year. It means you are able to request assistance in problems from the Guard and you are subject to Equestrian law.”

‘So long story short, use existing system and resources at a price or try to do it all myself. Fuck.’ Though his thoughts differed from what he said. “Got it.”

“Needless to say, as landowner you can lease the rights to do various activities within your boundaries for any sort of activity you wish as long as you abide by Equestrian law.” She went on to continue while drawing up a mining pick, saw, and a house. “You can lease out space for living as well collecting upon bits that way should you want, but with how untamed the forest is, I do not think you will find many ponies who would want to…besides Zecora that is. Also maybe Fluttershy, though you might have to check your property lines to see if she falls within it since she is on the edge of the Everfree and not within it like Zecora.”

The knight had not even thought about that at all. Would the skittish animal mare be within his territory now? That was all questions for later for now he would have to focus on some simple things, like how much were taxes going to cost, would he need to charge Zecora, he had not planned on that at all, and he would need to check on the other requirements for his plan today.

“Ok, so how much would the taxes on my property be?” He asked plainly knowing now what he knew he hoped it wouldn’t be too much.

“Well considering the nature of the Everfree and the fact that towns already guard against it, it shouldn’t be all that much. Really it’s only when ponies start coming in that you will need to pay for anything beyond the set price.” She drew a number on the board and honestly it wasn’t that bad, still a good bit but not bad. “Factoring in all the land, of which this would be a closer estimate if I knew exact numbers, the fact you and Zecora are the only ones to live in the Everfree, and that security is taken over by individual towns, then the price should be very low. Only around five hundred bits a year, which again for the amount of land you own is very cheap Dustan.” Twilight wasn’t done though as she put up a slash through the price. “However you should know that devoting portions of your property to charities or specific endeavors can cut this price of even make it so that Equestria pays you.”

“I will try to find someone to give me exact numbers and details on this later Twilight that way we can get a more accurate number, but thank you for giving me the general idea.” She beamed at that and he wondered why all ponies had to be adorable, though if he had to guess marketing would be the main reason. Standing up he stretched and gave a bit of a bow. “I think that is all for now, if I need to know more I will ask next time I am around for a visit. Now I believe I have to go talk to some of the guild workers have a good day Twilight.”

“You too Dustan.” Twilight said though looked curious as to what he had planned.

Dustan was thinking about his plans while walking along the streets of Ponyville. He had been to a lot of places in the town while visiting so he knew the vague area he needed to go on instinct now which was good since he was lost in thoughts. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn’t even hear someone calling out his name till they tapped at his hips startling him.

“Sonva-give a person some warning next time!” Dustan shouted down to the pony who looked at him with a look of curiosity and confusion.

Said pony was Mystic Quandary, Dustan did remember him stating that he was going to be setting up shop nearby so that he could conduct studies on him more so he shouldn’t have been surprised. “Well, I did try to get your attention but you ignored me or maybe ignore isn’t the best term, you looked like you were thinking about something deeply so didn’t hear me maybe?”

Looking to the spotted earth pony he sighed. “My bad then. Yeah that was my fault as I am on the way to the guild square in Ponyville to see about hiring some construction workers to help fix up a place as well as get a price estimate for it.”

“Oh can I come along then? I would really like to ask you a few questions along the way. If it’s not too much trouble that is.” The way his eyes sparkled at the thought of his questions being answered honestly reminded Dustan too much of the library mare he just left.

“Sure, but again I can’t explain more about my magic specifically as I am as about clueless as you on it.” However a flash to his meeting changed that answer. “Actually I do have some new info and that came from the princesses themselves. Apparently what I can do is called Neutral Magic.”

“AHH, OF COURSE!”Mystic exclaimed loudly causing some ponies to turn and look at him as he pulled out some parchment and something to write with. “That makes things more clear. It would also mean that if it’s true and we can study this some more a lost branch of magic can be revived.”

His enthusiasm was infectious for sure as Dustan found himself smiling as they continued to walk. They would occasionally have to stop so that Mystic would be able to write his findings down but overall the questions so far were simple. What were humans like, his personal preferences for food, what he was currently eating, his hobbies and general information such as weight height and more. When the knight asked why was he asking this, the answer came in the form of the magister in training simply saying it was for a baseline.

So enthralled was he in the questions that when he got to the guild square he barely noticed till somepony nearby asked him if he needed help setting up a rain gutter for a house. “Ahh Mystic I need to talk to some ponies about some business so won’t be able to answer any more questions you are free to tag along if you want till after but I am not sure how long it will be.”

Seeing him nod made the human smile as he started to talk to several ponies. Each one gave him similar answers as it seemed the ones he wanted to talk to were the stonemason guild and they were located to the north of the square. He honestly didn’t need to ask which building it was as it was a completely stone structure with a symbol of a chisel and hammer on the outside with giant letters stating it to be a branch of the Manehatten Stonemasonry guild.

What came next was not what Dustan had expected at all. He had expected a bit of a higher price, some doubts about working in the Everfree, and over all, and a lack of willing workers. What he got was much worse.

“Look if you don’t like our prices you can always look somewhere else you rancid sack of horseapples.” The pony wearing a vest said almost dismissively. “Our prices are set for PONY customers, those of you that want to build on pony land like this might as well be better off trying to build yourself, or maybe try the Misfit guild haha.”

It was outrageous, not only was this pony charging well beyond the price, thanks to Mystic letting him know that it was over ten times the price of what he wanted, but he tried to include overpriced hazard pay, over priced building materials and more. It Dustan had even tried to accept he would have estimated he would have been charged about twenty five times the price of normal all together. He would have gladly accepted even up to five times the cost considering it was the Everfree, but THAT MUCH! No that wasn’t even close. Plus the entire time the solid brown earth pony in charge of that branch of the guild was beyond racist having made open remarks about him, about Mystic trying to be a mage when he should have been working the land like an honest earth pony, and he heard comments towards the other pony races as well including feather duster for pegasi and horn heads for unicorns to name some of the cleaner of the remarks.

Overall Dustan very close to punching the pony out and had to storm out in a rage at how such a person could exist in the land of harmony. Being outside of that place did little good, he wanted to shout to rage, even throw something but he knew he couldn’t as ponies were to easily startled. In the end he settled for a bit of self destruction as he knelled down and punched the ground causing pain to jolt up from his fist. The only pony he did cause to jump was Mystic who looked at him in concern.

“They seriously piss me off. How can that type of thing pass around here, and who else are they increasing their prices on?” Growled out the biped as he rubbed his fist trying to nurse the pain away. “Elitist assholes.”

“The Manehatten guilds tend to be the best at what they do though, so it’s understandable for them to be a bit of a showboat or have an ego, but I agree in that it’s a bit much.” Brushing a lock of his mane from his eyes he looked back at the building and spoke again. “Even still, I think that place is bad news for sure. They did give us a second chance as they mentioned the Misfit guild. I didn’t think Ponyville had a branch.”

“Wait, that misfit bit he said is actually a thing?” Seeing the earth pony nod brought only one statement to mind. “Explain.”

Standing up he would listen to the explanation with his full attention. “The Misfit guild is a guild made up of well misfits. Those that don’t fit in with other guilds, outliers, or even those that were banned from their guild will often find themselves becoming a part of it. As such the Misfit guild is a rather hit or miss type of guild. You can find really talented ponies there that you would not expect to have a specific talent, or those of questionable nature with nowhere else to go. I myself am a part of that guild, but only because the Mage guild of Canterlot won’t take me.”

“Let me guess, cause you aren’t a unicorn?” Seeing him nod frustrated Dustan only for him to sigh and start looking around. “Well nothing we can do about it at the moment, so let’s find the Misfit guild and see if they will be willing to work on things.”

It took only a few questions and a friendly face to point them in the direction they needed. “It’s over that way Dusty, here follow me I can show you the way.”

As always Pinkie Pie surprised him, both in her knowledge and in the fact she could pop up like that. “Thanks Pinks. Do you know if anyone would be willing to build for me with stone?”

“Hmmm there might be a few ponies, why? Are you building a castle or something?” Pinkie asked all hyper.

Seems Mystic was also curious as to what he wanted. “What are you building Dustan?”

So far Dustan had only told him he wanted to build a bigger building then most and not what was needed. It also never approached that level in the discussions with the masons so no one but him still knew anything. He didn’t get to answer either as they soon stood before a larger building of various colorations. There was one prominent symbol above the main door and it was of some kind of blue blob with stars inside of it.

“Here we are, the Misfit guild. Come on in I can introduce you.” Pinkie opened the door and right away the sound of fighting was heard as well as grunts. “Oh looks like Lift and Breaker are at it again.”

Coming in he saw two ponies roughing it out, tumbling on the ground with one another and doing their best to knock the other one out. “I take it you are here often?”

“Mhm.” Was all she said as she pronked towards an office at the side of the building with no one even batting an eye. The moment she opened the door though she saw something and ran over. “ALLURE!”

The sound of grunting came from inside as a smooth and warm voice chuckled. “Alright alright Pinkie good to see you again too.”

As Mystic and Dustan came in the human was honestly surprised with what he saw. Pinkie was hugging a pony with scales. The pony had a mane that was the same color as snow but on her main body she had a pink face that gave way to red along her body as well as splotches of black and white reminding him similar to how a Koi fish had their own patterns. On her flank was the same splotch as on the door above the entrance.

“Oh, hello guild leader,” Spoke the magister in training as he dipped his head in greeting. “I didn’t even know there was a guild branch here and then finding you here, must be a stroke of luck.”

The pony saw the yellow and black spotted pony and smiled. “Actually the reason I am here is cause of that recent attack. I heard you and others were involved and came to see if I could contact anyone to get the full story. Which I did from a few new recruits to the guild.”

‘Anyone she said. Whatever she is, she wasn’t raised as a pony since it would have been anypony.’ The thought got no further then that as at last he was noticed.

“Well, well, well, seems we have the hero I have heard of. Then again given your description it isn’t hard to know it’s you.” She rose up and gave him a hug, and though he hesitated he did return it.

He found the scaled pony to be strangely soft, even her scales. “Umm thanks?”

“Yeah, you did good work helping ponies out. It does this Kirin proud to know other races won’t leave someone behind.” The Kirin said as she proclaimed her species name before holding out a hoof. “The name is Scale Allure. Pleased to meet you.”

“Wait a Kirin? Isn’t that a pony and dragon hybrid?” He took the offered hoof and smiled. “Also the name is Dustan.”

“Good to finally meet you Dustan. Also to answer your question yeah, a Kirin comes from a dragon and pony mating. It’s very rare for sure considering the size differences of the two races.” Allure told him as she moved back behind her desk. “So what is the hero of the Everfree doing in my office with two of my guild members?”

“I was going to ask-wait two?” Looking to Pinkie she just nodded and giggled. “Well I suppose that makes sense why no one batted an eye as you marched in and how you knew names.”

“Yepperoni.” She smiled and stood on her hind legs as she started gesturing widely. “You see, after I left the farm I had a hard time finding work. For a while I tried everything, party planning, comedy, and more to make ends meet. I even learned to be a one pony band all in the hopes of earning my way around. When I couldn’t do that and couldn’t find a guild to take me, Allure took me in at the Misfits guild and helped me get jobs. While I am not an active member anymore, thanks to being employed by the cakes, I still like to come around and pick up an odd job every now and then when I can.”

This was rather interesting for sure and it made sense. He had always wondered about things like this back in his normal life on earth. Twilight could be explained as she always had funding from Celestia for stuff, Rainbow Dash had her job as a weather pony after graduation. Applejack had always worked on the farm and that gave her income. Fluttershy was the same way in that she had a job after flight academy. Rarity might be an outlier in that she likely didn’t always have the boutique…might be something to look into there.

It was Pinkie Pie though that always had his interest for back stories in this particular area. The pink party pony of Ponyville was shown in a flashback by Cheese sandwich that she visited other places before settling in Ponyville and surely planning and throwing parties couldn’t have been THAT profitable right? Well now he knew that it wasn’t and that things didn’t become stable till after her job at Sugarcube corner. It was moments like this he felt the show could really do with, but for the most part it never went into the lives of the cast beyond what was happening at the time, a shame really but oh well.

“So what was it you came here for again?” Allure asked of him bringing him out of his musings, a habit he noticed happened all too much.

“Oh right.” Dustan spoke as he looked at the guild leader. “Well you see-”

Meanwhile outside Heavy Lifter and Back Breaker were still tumbling over one another in their wrestling match till a shout brought a stop to their fun. “You want to WHAT?!” All ponies that were in the guild were now interested in what was happening behind those doors

The ringing in his ears took a moment to stop before the human even thought to continue. “I want to restore the Everfree castle to its former glory while modernizing it making it fit for anyone to reside in. I don’t expect to do it all at once, but a project that is piecemeal, a bit here and a bit there.”

There were many reasons he wanted this to happen, the main reasons being that the tree of harmony was under the castle or at least near it and thus he wanted a secure place to watch over it. Second as seen in a few episodes, the castle was home to many artifacts of power as well as historical relics that should be restored and guarded. Restoring the castle and getting it habitable would draw in some to live there which would make things easier than if it was just himself doing the job.

The kirin was rubbing her temples with hooves as she heard this before sighing. “Ok, so let’s say my guild takes the job, what is it you are looking for? Stonemasons are an obviously call cause of it being a castle, but what else?”

“Anyone who knows how electricity and lights work, as well as possible defensive enchantments and such to protect any who live inside from the creatures there.” Allure was busy writing all that down as he continued. “In the long run I hope to see if it’s possible to get the valuable and unique plants of the Everfree to grow in controlled conditions, I know there are many in the forest just from my handfuls of experience in brewing and potion making. I am sure there are ones beyond useful that are unknown still in there.”

“Ok so someone useful in herbology and herbalism, gardening, as well as alchemy.” As she wrote that down Dustan was curious about something.

“Um why do you need to know that?” He could get those later as he doubted he had the funds for them at the moment.

“Cause, while this project of yours sounds impossible, my instincts tell me that if you can make it work and my guild is in on the ground floor then it will be profitable for everyone involved. As such, expect a bit of a discount as long as you are willing to populate this new castle of yours with some of my guild members.” Well he had not expected that but it made sense. “While we are discounting things, you should become a member; I can make it so that there is a further discount as well since it’s for guild related activities. Plus it would bring in some work if it was known the hero of the Everfree was part of the guild.”

He winced again at that and sighed. “My being part of the guild won’t bring in anyone cause there is no Hero of the Everfree except Logistics Trail.”

“Ha like he could steal all of the credit himself. He was a paper pushing jackass that manipulated others to make him look good.” The smile vanished from her face as well as all those there as he quickly told her of what went down in Canterlot. “Seriously…buck that is a grade A asshole there.” She quickly pulled out a black book and a weird glowing quill and inkwell. “Well honestly was willing to not put him on there before because he did help out, but hearing that, he just officially makes the blacklist for the guild.” She then pulled out another scroll and marked on it with the glowing quill and slid it over to him. “If you want to sign up with the guild sign your name there after reading it.”

Dustan was really unsure of if he should or not but as he was reading it, the only things he saw was that if he didn’t regularly take missions he would have to pay guild dues to the guild though if he did take missions the guild earned a percentage of the profits, otherwise hiring guild workers from the guild earned him a fifteen percent discount, even more of a discount if he himself was part of the work. As he read that he had an idea.

“So if I sign this right now before our deal is done and help out with the work I am hiring you for…” He trailed off seeing if she would follow and indeed she did.

With a grin and a chuckle she leaned back and nodded. “Your fee is drastically reduced likely up to about three forth’s of what it would be normally. A twenty five percent discount. You are free to refuse any mission we have for you as long as you give a somewhat reasonable excuse.”

So it came down to this, a way to earn reasonable money and a good discount for his project, or take it on full price and hope that in a few years he would have a portion of the castle done at all. He would like to say it was a no brainer but it wasn’t as it meant signing on to a place he had no clue about. His only assurance that this place was a good one came via the two ponies at his side, Pinkie and Mystic. If not for them he would likely have refused the invitation.

“Alright then.” Dustan told her as he signed his name. “I am on board.”

“Excellent. Now I know a few ponies to help get things started that are already here, otherwise I am going to have to call some in from other branches. Stay here for a moment.” As she headed outside he wanted to think he would have some peace and quiet to think about the decision he had just made.

Nope. “YAY!” Instead a pink battering ram plowed into him knocking him to the floor. “Welcome to the guild Dusty.”

Never in his life did he think he would need air as much as he did at the moment, but the fluff of the pony covering him as well as the squeezing hug had his lungs burning before with the sound of a door opening he was released to wheeze in air as best as he could.

“I see Pinkie is giving you the guild welcome…I say guild welcome but really it’s just that she does that for every new member to the guild she meets, even if they have been part of the guild for years and she just met them.” She must have found his gasping for the sweet, sweet air of life amusing as she chuckled when he didn’t answer. “I have three members I want you to meet, well two, but the last insisted she show up and all things considered I decided to indulge her.”

Dustan managed to get into his chair just as the three arrived. Two ponies, a unicorn and pegasus, and a griffon. The unicorn had an interesting pattern on her coat: light brown with white spots with a bit of black along her back, the pattern reminded him of Bambi or at least a fawn of a deer making her look rather adorable. Her mane and tail were colored vastly different alternating blue and teal locks making it stand against the brown coat so much more. However with her soothing chocolate brown eyes, eyes that almost seemed familiar, brought him back to being reminded of a doe so much. He got a glimpse of her cutie mark and it was one he expected on a certain earth pony family but not on a unicorn: An apple tree surrounded by thick billowy grass.

The next was the pegasus and their coat was even more striking then the fawn looking unicorn’s was. A dark blue that was almost purple was the main coloration but a series of white dots in a string littered his body making him look like a pattern in the night sky. His sky blue eyes were a nice comparison to his coat and the wild streak of blonde that was his mane and tail reminded him of a sunrise coming up from the night. The cutie mark of the pegasus was a stone arch with a hammer in the opening.

Last was a griffin he recognized, she was from the mines, now that she was properly cleaned up he could see how regal she looked. The white of her feathers was of clouds and the brown was rich in her fur looking of fresh dug up earth. All her feathers were tipped in sky blue as if she each one was individually dipped in paint as was the markings that were under her eyes that swooped back giving her a fierce looking appearance.

“These ponies are going to be in charge of the ground and stone work.” She pointed to the unicorn first. “This is Still Eden, she is a plant specialist with her magic so she will be able to manage the grounds and keep vines and plants at bay while you all work.”

“Pleased to meet you.” The friendly smile she gave him with her greeting was almost too kind.

“Next is our stonemason Sturdy Structure.” She pointed to the pegasus and it was a bit curious that he was a stonemason of all things. She might have seen that on his face as she spoke up further. “Don’t let him being a pegasus fool you, he is likely one of the best Stonemasons I have known even though he is a recent addition just like Eden is.”

“I look forward to working with you.” The voice was gruff and very familiar. It was tickling the back of his mind as if the answer was just out of reach.

Allure sighed and looked to the last. “Last we have the one who wanted to speak with you so I will let them introduce themselves and what they wished to talk to you about.”

Stepping forward the griffon bowed before him deeply. “I am Merlene of Talonholm.”

“Nice to meet you Merlene. I am Dustan, but we met in the mines while captured right?” When the question was asked she nodded and gestured her wing towards the others as well.

With the gesture she continued speaking while bowed. “We were all in the same cell.” OH that was the unicorn and pegasus in the cell with him? They were absolutely filthy and looked more brown then anything before so it was no wonder he didn’t recognize them before. “Dustan, I am here to pledge myself to you and your service.”

‘Come again?’ Was what the knight thought at that moment, however what he said was. “Come again?”

Seems as if everyone there also wanted to know the answer as they stared at the griffon who stood back up proudly. “I am a former retainer of the lord of Talonholm. They were a noble sort who wished to help anygriffon in need. They were loved by all except his children who felt he was wasting his money serving the public griffon like he was. Last year when he gave a large sum of money away towards various charities, his oldest children had enough and started a rather nasty coup. It was blood and ended up with none of the lords relatives living, not even himself, though he was the last to succumb to his injuries.”

“Geez.” Was the only thing he could say in response so far to her story.

The blue tipped female got misty eyed and seemed to lose some focus. “He had taken me in when I was an orphan and gave me a home; I joined his routine to help him in his noble cause. When he died he told me to find somegriffon worth serving even if it wasn’t a griffon. I came to the pony lands to find one who would be worthy of my service as none of the griffons I met were worthy. I had met some nobles in Canterlot and while there were some that were nice, most were not acceptable in the least. When I asked to join the ones that were acceptable they declined saying they didn’t need a warrior.” Wiping her eyes she looked up at him. “I was then captured by those things and forced to work for them. I fought back fiercely and stayed willful as long as I could, but I was down there for months till I admit, I broke and lost hope.”

He remembered that look on her face, one that said of a spirit that had lost its fire; however he also remembered that changing at some point but couldn’t remember when. “Ok so why pledge yourself to me? I mean yeah I fought to help everyone in the mine sure, but that isn’t reason enough to follow me.”

“You are right; it wouldn’t have been enough to make me follow you.” She told him honestly but he could hear that upcoming but in her statement. “But-” haha he was right. “Every other bit of your actions down there was. You tried to engage in talk with your cellmates to lift our spirits, defended Eden when she couldn’t go on. When you looked like you were going to be executed you said ‘I have no regrets on protecting another’ those same words were said time and time again by my former lord. What is more you offered enemies a chance to give up arms peacefully and keep their lives, only to be upset when that choice was taken from them as they were executed by that one unicorn pony. You got upset at it, a sentiment Lord Talonholm would have agreed with.” Bowing once more she placed her head on the ground before him. “That is why it is all those things and more that I pledge myself to you and your cause. Take up my talons how you wish for I am your retainer now to follow you and your cause. You lit my soul back up when I thought it was crushed and I can think of no one, no pony, no griffon, no dragon, no anything more fitting and worthy to serve then yourself.”

Her loyalty to both her old lord and to him was a bit frightening to him, he honestly felt like he had not earned it at all. “Ok I am kind and looked on the bright side, but honestly, I am not a noble or a lord that you need to pledge yourself to.” Dustan could practically feel her desire to help him though as if it were tangible, so much so he couldn’t deny her service at the least, just not him being her lord. “Tell you what, I am restoring a castle, I could use someone to at least help guard those working there. I mean I am not a lord so I can’t honestly tell you that I accept you as my retainer, as I am not even sure I can have those, but you can at least help out how is that?”

“That is acceptable my lord.” Merlene stood as she said that though Dustan still noticed she addressed him with the title. “I will do my best to serve you and guard those working for you.”

“Not for me, with me. I am going to be down there working as well.” The human told her only for the clap of hooves to be heard.

This called attention to Allure who smiled. “Well then, as nice as all this turned out, we have work to do. Sturdy, gather a team that you know is good at building as well as start talking to the quarry team about getting fresh stone. Eden, gather up any supplies you will need to work in the forest. We will all meet at the south gate to follow Dustan to his destination after breakfast.” The two went off quickly with a salute.

“I will leave as well Lord Warner. I must prepare myself to be vigil in my watch as well as to sharpen my talons.” With that Merlene left as well leaving the four of them alone.

“Whelp that will be all, Dustan show up tomorrow and lead them where you need to go so they can take measurements and you can tell them what section you want to be done first. Now if you all will excuse me, I have a lot of paper work to file for all this.” With that they were shooed out of the office with the promise for some of a full day ahead of them.

Author's Notes:

Neat a Kirin right? Wonder what she looks like?

Tada