To Chase The Shadows of Redemption

Three and a half months later

Celestia was inside of a large and unknown sealed room of some sort.

She was laughing hysterically.

"Ahahahaha! Of course! As if I expected anything different! Always getting in my way, just like always, aren't you?!"

There was no one else around.

"With no options you think I won't do it?! After I've already come this far?!" She was yelling, bordering on screaming at this point.

Her laugh resumed, completely unhinged. She didn't care.

"I'll do it alright, you cannot stop me. That's right. I've already prepared everything after all. Done all the research. I'll do it... I'll..."

Return to three and half months earlier

Jotted Page grew increasingly frustrated with this backwater small town.

He had gotten a tip that the young Twilight Sparkle had taken up residence here. Why had he been so unlucky so far as to not cross paths with her again? He had paid for the trip out here and the longer he stayed the more it would cost him.

"Excuse me? Have you happened to see a pony named Twilight Sparkle at all?"

"Oh, Twilight? You can usually find her at the library, but don't be surprised if she's absent with her friends."

"I will give it a check. Thank you."

It wasn't a guarantee, but finally he had some chance of seeing her.

A large marble round table sat in the centre of one of the meeting rooms within the castle.

Several Ministers gathered around Celestia at the head of the table.

Maverick Tinker was one such Minister. The Minister of Labour in fact.

"I apologize for gathering all of you here today on such short notice. To be frank, I have a project that I wanted you to all be aware of. I will explain it shortly from now. Is there any questions that needed to be asked before I start?"

Celestia took command of the meeting that she had called them all here for on short notice right away. While not unprecedented, it certainly meant that something was going on of significance. Maverick knew from experience that it was better to listen to the entirety of her thoughts before asking anything. Just as he thought that the others shared in this sentiment, a mare two seats from him spoke up.

"Is this about the expansion of the foster home? We've already processed that mostly and any deviations could be troublesome."

Precise Planning was one of the other minsters he respected most at this table, who had asked the question to his surprise. She was officially titled for Public Works, but she really dictated for all urban planning, housing, and development as well after her competence had garnered Celestia's approval over time. She was that good at her job. He had seen it first hoof.

"It is not."

No one else spoke out for a measured pause.

"Then I shall continue. It is actually an additional project, not in Canterlot mind you. You see, it has come to my attention that a town called Riftly was recently lost."

Everypony in the room became slightly more downcast on remembering the tragedy.

"After reading about it, I couldn't help but wonder just how long it had been since our government has spearheaded a developmental project for our public. While it will be taxing on the populous, pun intended my little ponies, I am putting forth a project to construct an entirely new city just due around fifty kilometres from here in the east. The Cragmire Peninsula has long since been on my watch as an optimal placement for a city. That time will be now. We will clearing the land and constructing soon enough."

Several ponies started talking all at once including Maverick. Celestia held up her hoof to silence them, and pointed to one of them to speak.

"Would that not be a large hike in taxes across the board your majesty? That is an expensive endeavour that would put a large enough pressure on the ponies that we could quite possibly expect to see some outlash. Ponies are fine right now as the majority are making enough to get by, but add on this and it could tip things quite quickly into disapproval from the economic shift. In the past our government has assisted, not completely started and pioneered, these kinds of large scale works. Could we not delay and try to find some other source to work with?"

"A valid question, but one that I can assuage. While it is true that this will put a collective added pressure on every pony, it is also true that the long term benefits would eventually be reaped. It is also forgotten by you all, but Equestria started on doing this very thing in the beginning quite a few times to get things going. This city would provide opportunity for work to many, and even more so once it is established. Do I need to get into the trade increase we would see as well? We would do well to take the short term burden to allow the future to be even more prosperous for Equestria. What has occurred recently has reminded me of this."

This was enough of an explanation for many of the ponies who had originally barged in with their points to hush and no longer request to interject.

Maverick was not one of those ponies. He got his chance to speak.

"How many ponies were you thinking of employing for this? Something of this scale would require a sizable workforce, but as head of labour I would like to start figuring out estimates immediately."

"Hmmm... I was thinking around four to five thousand."

"What?!"

He had allowed his composure to slip for a moment from the shock of the statement. He coughed into his hoof and continued.

"Excuse me... it is just, that is an extremely large force your majesty. May I inquire why you believe that many would be required?"

"It is indeed not a matter of requirement my good Maverick, but a matter of preference. I believe that, just like I mentioned before, the faster we gain those benefits from finishing construction the better. It should not overburden us too greatly, especially since we have some leeway from the treasuries accumulation over time, I do not see a problem."

"I... I see your highness, excuse me."

The rest of the meeting went smoothly, and Maverick allowed himself to be a little excited about his job for once. This would be massive! While he had initially been surprised at the unlikely ambition coming from Celestia, he was not going to squander this time to shine.

"There are a few of you I'd like to have a few more words with for added detail that I'd like put in, but as for the rest of you, you are free to go. This was a less than standard meeting in the first place, so please feel free."

Maverick was one of the ponies she personally picked to stay, among three others. She mentioned both wanting a specific circular design for the city and put emphasis on the shipyard. There was a bit more, but he mostly tuned it out as it wasn't as important to him. He started to think about contacts he was going to have to reach out to soon instead.

He went home that night feeling an energy he hadn't felt in a long time.