BridgeWorld

[994AB Day 057]
"I am just truly amazed by your accomplishments, Tom!" Princess Celestia exclaimed. "In just eighty days, Wingnut has been transformed from a broken shell of a pony to a pegasus who's found a whole new meaning in life! Even if it's not as a Wonderbolt, the stallion's back in the air again, being very productive in his new job as a Guard Courier!"

"I'm just glad that particular magictech wing wasn't one of our failures, Your Highness," Thomas Mane replied. "We've had so many setbacks. Fifteen percent is still way too high of a failure rate."

"Nevertheless, this certainly calls for a new contract between the Crown with Mane Industries, Tom! This time for pegasi rehabilitation," she insisted. "No other company has come even close to your achievement! Not Hoofthor, not even Pony Stark!"

"Well admittedly, it is rather easy to beat them on getting a flightless pegasus back into the sky when those guys are only interested in blowing stuff up," Thomas replied laughing. "Although, I do hear that Pony is making pretty good progress in retractable plate armor and rocketry propulsion."

"I've heard the same," Celestia said, nodding. "His work certainly sounds intriguing. Still, how about I provide you some additional help with enchantments to help you work out the bugs with your wings? You think that might entice you to sign? It comes with several million bits—" she said in sing-song. "Like a five hundred several," she added. That got him to coughing in surprise.

"Okaaay, toss in a dozen more enchanters to help me research the standard Royal Guard gear and I'll bite," he counteroffered. That got Celestia to blink.

"Your—Royal Guard armor is exemplary, Tom," she pointed out. "All the armor we've been getting from you fully meets our QA standards. Why do you need additional enchanters to work on them?"

"As you know, Your Highness, there are always some manufacturing defects," Thomas explained. "There's one particular defect that we've been seeing that serendipitously has qualities that exceed the standard armor's protectiveness rating but has a drawback in that it doesn't allow for the normal cloaking and illusionary effects. We're still trying to find ways to reliably duplicate the—variance—and to incorporate that higher protection value while still meeting the Crown's contractual requirements for identity concealment."

"Hmm, how much increased protection are we talking about?" Celestia inquired.

"At least twenty times," Thomas told her.

"You mean about twice what we're getting with your standard shipments?" she asked, intrigued.

"No, I mean on top of the ten times protection of non-enchanted chainmail," he said grinning. This time, it was Celestia who choked.

"That's—that's right up there with Pony's plated armor!" Celestia exclaimed. "And you're still talking about chainmail!?"

"I am, indeed," he confirmed.

"If the laws didn't require you all be in strict competition with each other, I'd be very interested in what the three of you could come up with if you were allowed to work together on something!" she complained.

"I'm sure we all would agree with that idea!" he replied, nodding.

"Okay, what about if I toss in some unicorns for your research on the Royal Guard armor, as well as workers to help you with the wings, for say, seven hundred and fifty severals, if you put your geniuses to work on a little idea that I've been dying to see happen for a long time," she proposed.

"What—kind—of 'idea'?" he cautiously inquired.

"Have you ever heard of Thestrals?" she asked him.

"Vaguely," Thomas replied, frowning. "Aren't they supposed to be the legendary bat-ponies?"

"They are, indeed. Long ago, they made up the Night Guard," Celestia answered. "There are several pockets and tribes of them scattered all over Equestria."

"I see," Thomas said, his curiosity piqued. "What do you want me to do about them?"

"They're still an honorable tribe," she told him. "They still stand ready to serve the Crown at a moment's notice. But some of their abilities are unique among the pony tribes. For one, they have exceptional hearing as well as a near perfect night vision that allows them to see in pitch blackness what a normal pony can see in daylight."

"Okay," he replied, thinking she was painting him a sufficient picture to understand what she wanted.

"There are a number of old friends of mine among their tribe," she ventured. "Unfortunately, age and exposure have cost them much over the years. Some of them have lost much of their hearing so that they can only hear as well as a normal pony, although some have gone completely deaf. Likewise, some have lost much of their vision, and even some are completely blind. And then there are those who've lost both senses."

Oh, you aren't—? Thomas began to dread.

"You—want me to help restore their vision and hearing?" he asked, laughing.

"I do, indeed," she replied. And deadly seriously, too.

"Certainly, a worthy cause," he acknowledged, still laughing.

"No less worthy than helping pegasi get back into the air."

"And a damned tight contract!" he sighed, shaking his head.

"Sorry, but I am pretty restricted in what I'm allowed to negotiate, Tom," she replied, shrugging her wings.

"Next, I'll bet you'll be asking me to help restore a unicorn's horn!"

"That is on my bucket list, yes," she replied with a grin.

"Well, this will certainly help Alfalfa with the household expenses," Thomas muttered.

"Wait—you mean you've been financing your research into the armor issue out of your household finance!?" she exclaimed.

"Yes," he replied. "That, and the magictech wings." That made her choke again.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" she angrily exclaimed. That got the attention of the guards who were standing at appropriate distances so as to not be involved in the Princess' private discussions.

"You know how tightwad those accountants of yours can get where it comes to anything that might possibly be classified as 'inappropriate funding'," he explained, shrugging his shoulders as Celestia lifted a wing to signal all was alright to the guards.

"Indeed, I do," she grumbled. "Let me see those household records of yours, Tom, and I'll be sure to toss in heaping amount of reimbursement to cover your work. Fortunately, as bad as my accountants are, they do prefer seeing nice round numbers. I don't know what kind of 'New Math' they're teaching in schools these days, but those idiots can't do simple arithmetic to save their lives. I'll make the contract out for an additional thousand million."

"You do know, Princess Celestia? We call that a billion, right?" he inquired.

"Shhh! Be careful in using the B-word when talking contracts, Tom!" Celestia warned him. "They're stuck in that 'New Math', after all. It's easier to let them think a billion is a million million."

"I'll be sure to have Alfalfa deliver them to you post haste," Mane replied. "This will certainly be a relief for her. She's all in favor of this type of work, but the poor mare's been pulling her mane out trying to balance the household funds. And believe you me, a bald pegasus isn't pretty."

"Don't I know it!" she replied with a horrified shudder.

"You're a tough negotiator, Your Highness," Thomas said, toasting her with his teacup.

"I try," she said, giggling as she returned his salute. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Tom."

"Likewise, Your Highness."

As Thomas Mane left the castle, he reflected on one of the things the Princess had mentioned, "That is on my bucket list, yes." Funny that she would have thought about that—seeing as he was already working on the idea….