Flash Proposal Thread: Defense Contractor

>“Anon, Flash just proposed! Isn’t it great!?”
>You put down your drafting supplies, and turn to her with a smile.
“Fantastic! So, you know when the marriage is, eh, love birds?”
>Twilight seems to back down for a second.
>”uh, we uh, we haven’t scheduled it yet…”
>You beam out a smile, happy to hear about this development in her life.
“Not to worry, just let me know if I can help at all.”
>She smiles at this, it seems oddly reserved.
“So, I’m sure you didn’t come all the way to tell me that. Whatcha need?”
>Your home and workshop was a forty minute walk outside of Ponyville
>You aren’t anti-social, but you like the quite.
>”Oh, I um. I… Came to pick up… A, uh… One of your new suspension carts!”
>Well alright.
“Well alright, you want help taking that back?”
>”Yes please… If you don’t mind…”
“Not in the slightest… Gerome!”
>A brown earth pony comes from around the corner.
>”Yeah?”
“You were just about to head out for the weekend?”
>”Yeah?”
>He seemed hesitant at this; you knew that his anniversary was coming up.
>Can’t disappoint the missus.
“I’ll pay you an hour and a half of over time to help Ms. Sparkle take this cart home.”
>”Oh, sure thing boss!”
“I’ll see you at the wedding aye?”
>Twilight’s smile seemed forced, she’s probably just nervous about such a big life change.
>”Y-yeah, see you then.”
>You give a hearty nod and get back to your drafting. Now if only you could figure out how
>To make the shell extraction simpler for the new guards cannons.

>You are now twilight.
>That went terribly.
>You didn’t want the cart, as well made and technologically advanced as it was.
>Maybe AJ wants it.
>You sure hope the food here is good; you need something nice after that.
>Why did you think it would work?
>”So, sorry I’m late darling.”
>Rarity seats herself and takes a moment to compose her features.
>Meticulous about appearances as ever.
>”So how did it go? Don’t spare me any details.”
“… He was happy for me.”
>”…Well… I suppose that’s good… Well better than… hmmm…”
“So, friend zoning him didn’t work, your subtle hints didn’t work, and trying to get a rise out
of him from fake marriage didn’t work either… I don’t think your ‘experience’ is helping.”
>You angrily look back down at your menu.
>”Now, dear, maybe we just have to try other things.”
“Like what!”
>A couple of the restaurant patrons look over at you.
>Rarity lets out a forced smile.
>”Sorry.”
>You slump back in your seat.
“Look, I don’t blame you, maybe I should diversify my sources.”
>”Well it couldn’t hurt.”
“Lets just order and talk about something else.”

>Well you finally finished your prototype, with the help of Gerome.
>Behind you are Celestia, Shining Armor, Luna, and a small group of high-ranking guards.
>You turn to them, putting on your best presentation demeanor.
“So, the model FG-5 is, without a doubt, just the piece to keep the griffons from your
doorstep.”
>You gesture to the artillery piece behind you.
“With a range of over two miles, using the right munitions, and automatic shell extraction
You won’t ever have to see the combat zone to lob these bad boys over there.”
>You pat the small crate of artillery shells. You had this sale in the bag, the guard still used
>black powder and spherical cannon balls… out of an unrifled bore too.
“The controls have been altered, moved, and tuned to that of pony hooves, so that all walks
And types of guards can use it without limitation… Now for the good part!”
>You hand it off to Gerome, who promptly opens the crate and loads a shell in.
“You might want to plug your ears.”
>Your audience of royals does as you say. You nod to Gerome, who pulls the firing chord.
Bom!
>The canon fires, you watch as the observing parties mouths drop.
>The shell bursts apart on a hill side just over two miles away with a nice crack sound.
>You smile and turn back to the Royals. They turn around and begin to talk amongst
>themselves. Before Celestia walks up to you.
>”Anon, considering the unit price, we have to take a little while longer to decide upon a
>final decision.”
>Well, fair enough.
“That’s quite alright; you know where you can find me.”
>With that she nods and begins to turn around. Shit, you only see her maybe twice a year.
>It’s now or never!
“Perhaps, we can discuss this over dinner?”

>A couple weeks later you’re standing in Canterlot castle, watching as the first shipment of
>new artillery pieces and shells come in. That’s not the best part, you have a dinner date
>tonight. Completely separate from the business transaction of course, you were both
>mature adults capable of dealing with this.
>You couldn’t wait for tonight.

>You are now Twilight. Rarities advice has led you to make Anon believe that you were
>getting married. Well that was obviously bad, you hate that smug prick. Your crush with
>him died on the first date; all he did was talk about himself.
>You asked the rest of your friends for relationship advice, they were all along the lines
>of coming clean to Anon. You couldn’t do that! What would he think if he knew that you
>had been setting up all these odd happenstances in an attempt to get him to ask you out.
>So tonight you were going to see your long time mentor about a subject you never thought
>that you’d have to bring up. Romance.
>Her requested meeting time was odd, but she did say she had dinner plans.

>You are now Anon, and you are dressed in your best.
>Not fanciest, no, just what seems and feels naturally best.
>You could fit in at a burger joint, and pass at a high end establishment.
>Currently you are waiting outside the throne room, ready to escort your date to the
>Restaurant of her choice, she said she wanted it to be a surprise.
>It’s all good with you.
>The door opens… It’s Twilight

>You are now Twilight.
>You never mentioned Anon by name, but you told her about the circumstances.
>She laughed and said you should come clean as well. You couldn’t believe it.
>It was like everyone wanted you to suffer this onerous embarrassment.
>With a sigh you stand to leave, understanding that your time with her is up.
>Probably had a meeting with some foreign dignitaries or something.
“Thanks for the advice.”
>Celestia gives a sagacious nod.
>”I wish you the best of luck Twilight.”
>You magic the door open and turn to head down the hall.
>You are now looking Anon dead in the eyes.
>You saw him here earlier from afar, but you just assumed he was overseeing the
>new shipment… Wait… he’s here, dressed reasonably nicely… And… Celestia has
>dinner plans… Oh no.

>You are now Anon. Hey Twilights here too! Always good to see her!
“Hey Twigs! What’s up?”
>You were about twenty minutes early from your appointed meeting time.
>So you had time to talk.
>She seems a little stunned; she’s been acting real weird lately.
“So… Did you get the wedding dates finalized?”
>She opens her mouth slightly, eyes still wide, and body still locked in place.
>You can tell she wants to say something but all that comes out is weird combination
>between a groan and a sigh.
>”eeeeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhh”
“You okay?”
>She seems to snap back to reality.
>”I HAVE SOME BOOKS I NEED TO RETURN!”
>Okay, that was loud. You stare dead pan at her for a couple of seconds before speaking up.
“Don’t you run the library? Also, don’t the Canterlot archives just magic the books back?”
>She has a very forced grin across her face. It’s disconcerting to say the least.
>”I HAVE LATE FEES TO COLLECT!”
>With that she begins to sprint down the hall away from you.
>You call after her.
“Well don’t be too harsh now! And keep me posted about that wedding!”
>You’ll make the couple something nice.

>You are now Twilight.
>You’ve been sitting in the middle of the library floor a long time now.
>Long enough that spike stopped asking questions and went to bed.
>You’ve been reading the thank you letter Anon wrote for you before he moved out.
“Dear Twilight,
Thank you for all the support you’ve given me. I’ll make things even between us! If you ever need anything come down to the shop! See you there!
Thanks,
-Anon.”
>You know what you have to do.
>A huge, manic grin splits across your face.
>You have to get them to break it off, surely you can catch a rebound right?

>You are now Anon, and caught the midnight train back to Ponyville.
>Man was that a whirl, sure it was only dinner and a walk through the park, but to you
>it was so much more. Especially when you parted ways, oh god that wink and the
>”Till next time.”
>Holy shit.
>Aw, man, but now you’re standing here at two in the morning with a nice long walk ahead.
>Fuck. Oh hey, the library’s lights are still on. Maybe you can crash at Twilights.
>Hell you’ve done it before, and All of the six stayed at the shop before after some of the
>more tiring of her escapades.
>It’s a short walk, a relaxing good length of a walk. You knock on the door.
>Twilight opens it; oh no she’s got that grin on again. The one she had when she thought
>that Celestia was going to send her back to ‘magic kindergarden’.

>You continue to stare down at the maniacal Twilight.
“Is something bothering you? You’ve been acting really weird lately.”
>With that Twilight passes out and falls flat on her face.
“Well… shit.”
>You shake her by the wither.
“Twigs… yo, Twigs.”
>She’s not responding.
>Well, she’s pretty light, just put her in her bed.
>You pick her up and begin to carry her up the stairs.
>Spike has woken up and is looking at you from his bed basket thing.
>”Oh… Hey Anon, what are you doing here.”
“Just got back from my date, I saw the lights were on and was wondering if I could crash
here. I think I’ll just go home now, Twilight seems to be having a hard time with something.”
>”Yeah, I don’t know what’s happening… Who did you go out with?”
>You can see it in his eyes ‘please not Rarity, please.’
>It’s tempting to lead him on, but it’s late, and you’re tired.
>So you set Twilight down on her bed and pull the blanket up over her.
“Celestia”
>Spike seems a little stunned at this.
>”Oh, uh. Wow.”
“Yeah wow, I’m gonna go home, night.”
>”Night, turn out the lights on your way out.”
“Yeah.”

>It’s been four days since your date with Celestia.
>You’ve mostly spent this time getting the manufacturing process for the FG-5
>As streamlined as possible. You’ve received a couple more orders from local guard groups,
>and the odd few wealthy ponies.
>”Hey boss, you got a letter.”
“Thanks Gerome.”
>You take the letter, flick out your knife and open it.
>It’s Celestia, she’s managed to convince Luna to take over the day shift.
>You give a happy nod and look out over the front storage area of your workshop.
>Is that… Twilight?
>You aren’t sure from this distance, but it might be. You give a small wave.
>There’s a poof of magic and the might be Twilight is gone.

>You are now Twilight.
>You’ve been finishing with the library as quickly as you could to watch Anon.
>He was a late sleeper and could usually begin your ‘observation’ before he wakes up.
>However it’s been another three outings , and Anon and Celestia just seem to be getting
>closer together. You’ve tried everything you can think of to make these dates go poorly.
>Nothing worked, every time you tried something they would just laugh it off and go about
>business, they even laughed off the lightning bolt! No, you just brought it down next to
>them. Needless to say you’re not giving up.

>You are now Anon, and life has been going swimmingly.
>You’ve just finished your designs on the new five barreled gatling gun. It took forever
>but you think you’ve managed to capture the reliability and fire volume of the version back
>on earth. Gerome finished the prototype earlier this morning, you’ve already test fired a
>couple of rounds. You wanted to test more, for fun, and for science, but your stockpiles of
>mercury fulminate were getting low, and making primers took forever.
>“Hey boss, they’re here!”
>You polish off your glass of water and head to the door to greet your guests.
>You pull on the chain to open the rolling door to the manufacturing wing of your workshop.
>Before you stand five griffons. They walk in looking around curiously.
“Please come with me, and for your own safety don’t touch the equipment.”
>The griffons follow you into the back area of the workshop, where a dirt berm lies behind a
>row of targets. With a small flourish you pull the canvas cover off the gatling gun.
“I give you the gatling gun model 3”

>You are now Twilight, and you’re excited.
>This is exactly what you needed to separate Celestia and Anon!
>You recognized a couple high ranking griffons in the group Anon was presenting to.
>You pull out your camera and begin snapping shots, while writing down everything he’s
>saying.
>You are now Anon.
“See even with just a short lecture a griffon can now put out as much fire as ten rifles.”
>The griffon behind the gun looked very happy, while the other four looked impressed.
“I cut down the number of barrels to make it lighter, allowing your gun crews to fly, albeit, slowly. The controls were specifically made for griffons and minotaurs, so no more giant
pony buttons. Considering the unit cost, I’d say this is a very good deal.”
>The griffons group together while they decide on what to do.
>You patiently wait, you haven’t lost a government contract yet, so your pretty confidant.
>One of the griffons turns around, secretary of war believe.
>”Considering that this is a new, untested weapon, we will purchase ten for combat
>evaluation. How quickly can you fulfill the order?”
“Well, this is our only prototype so far, but conserdering that I already have a factory out in
Phillydelphia getting retooled to make theses. I would generously estimate about 2
months.”
>”Good, shall we do this as last time?”
“Half up front, half upon completion?”
>”Yes, Jeremy here should take care of that.”
>The smallest of the griffons steps up and begins to talk bank numbers with you.

>”Hey boss… you mights want to come to the door.”
>What could it be now? The sign says closed.
>You go down to the rolling door and pull the chain to open it.
>”Anonymous you are hereby under arrest.”
>Before you stand about twenty or so guards and Shining armor himself.
>Better yet, they’re all equipped with weapons you designed and manufactured.
>You just let out a long groan and put your hands behind your head.

>You are now Twilight, and you have no clue what you just did.
>Anon is now being taken to the train station in cuffs. You thought that Celestia would show
>up to give Anon a lecture or something. You didn’t want this.
>But really, what were you expecting?

>You are now Anon, and you are pissed.
>It was a shitty train ride, and an even worse trip through Canterlot.
>Most of the ponies who were out doing they’re nighttime business recognized you.
>You have become something of a large player in the internal circles of the Canterlot elite.
>If only because they knew you held so many government contracts.
>Now you stand in the throne room. Celestia looks about as angry as you do.
>”You may leave us.”
>With that the guards and Shining armor take their leave, leaving the two of you.
>”What in the name of Tartarus do you think you’re doing!”
“Me! You just extrajudicial had me arrested, and came on to my property without a
Warrant! Or permission!”
>”How is protecting my subjects from griffon armament extrajudicial!”
“It isn’t, the way you’re going about it, is!”
>”Oh, please, do tell.”
>She’s dropped all pretense of royal language, or high class, resorting to snide comments
>It boils your blood and sets your mind aflame.
“Look, I run a major export business, you don’t think I know this, you don’t think I have a
Legion of lawyers who study this shit for me!? There are currently no arms exportation, or importation, laws, statutes, or orders! Not even a goddamn, tariff. As such I haven’t done
anything illegal! I was just arrested for a law that doesn’t exist.”
>Celestia scoffs at this.
>”You think the law matters in a situation like this, the griffons are a warrior race. You have
>no clue what they’ll do if they think they can win.”
“There you go again, believing that you can control other nations, other species. Someone get Applewood down here, because such hubris has never been seen by the likes of ponies
Before.”

>”Prudence! Not hubris, prudence!”
“Either way, you are going to release me , I have done nothing illegal.”
>She grumbles before calling the guards back.
>”Consider all your contracts null and void.”
“Oh, no. You won’t do that.”
>Her nostrils flare at this.
>”What’s going to stop me!?”
“No one else manufactures arms, no one else can. I got patents on everything. So unless
Your willing to overstep the law again, I suggest you cool it.”

>You are now Twilight, and you are with Luna.
>Both of you are listening through a spell to the throne room.
>This is really not going as planned.

>You are Anon, and you left as soon as the cuffs were off.
>They were going to see hell from your lawyers, but now you have bigger issues.
>Like getting piss wasted drunk. You know there’s a 24/7 bar in the castle, you’ve been
>there a couple of times. You throw open the bars doors and march in, throwing down your
>Company card.
“Just charge everything on it.”
>As you said you’ve been here before, and the company’s logo is pretty universally
>recognized. Before the bartender can respond you spit out your order.
“three fingers of rye, half pint of larger, half pint of cider.”
>The bartender looks at you for a second before responding.
>”Fingers?”
>You groan.
“3 ounces of rye.”
>You wait for your drinks. Once they arrive you take the double of rye and mix the larger
>and cider. It was going to be a long night, you look around. There’s only a couple of off duty
>guards in the corner booth. Long, quiet night.

>You are now Twilight.
>Luna obviously sensed your distress, and offered to buy you a drink at the castle bar.
>You agreed. It wasn’t until you opened the door that you came to regret your decision.

>You look over at the door.
>It’s Twilight and Luna, you could do with some company actually, you hate drinking alone.
>You wave them over. They both seem to lock up in place, surprised expressions.
>Whatever. They eventually come over to join you.
>There’s a long silence while all of you just sit there, the bartender comes over.
>”Well ladies what will it be?”
>Luna orders for both of them.
>”We will both have a pint of larger if you will.”
>The bartender nods and heads off to fill the order.
>Luna decides to break the silence first.
>”Anonymous, you seem… vexed,”
“Damn straight, just got arrested, illegally too… Don’t you have say in the law?”
>”Not as much as my sister, no.”
“Just you watch. Mark my words, there’s going to be more laws on exportation soon.”
>Luna frowns at this, it seems a little forced, but the alcohol is already setting in.
>”Why, what happened?”
“Griffons just placed an order for some gatling guns, new stuff, you guys haven’t seen it yet.
Cellys was angry enough to have me arrested without warrant or cause, and then try to cut
off the contracts.”
>”oh…”

>There’s another pause in conversation, broken only by the Barkeep coming back.
>”Sorry about the delay, had to put on a new one.”
>The mares take their drinks. Luna raises hers for a toast.
>Both you and twilight give a dead stare at her, she backs down and drinks.
>So do you and Twilight. Luna speaks up again, seemingly intent on conversation.
>”So are you an-“
“No.”
>Another stretch of silence.
“How’s the wedding coming along then Twilight?”
>You just want to talk about something else.

>She seems to lock up at this. Then suddenly the damn breaks.
>Her head collapses onto the table, and she begins what you can only call quiet sobbing.
>”There is no wedding.”
>You feel like shit now, first your romantic life dies, and now hers? Shit today was awful for
>every party that woke up for it.
“Oh… What happened?... If it’s not too much… If you don’t want to talk, I get it.”
>Jesus twilight looks like she’s about to hang herself.
>”Th-there was one… I lied.”
“huh?”
>You are genuinely confused, well better take another drink.
>”I-I…”
>Twilight takes a deep breath before continuing her resolve seems to strengthen a little.
>”I lied, I was hoping to get a different reaction out of you.”
>Now your more confused.
>”When I heard you and princess Celestia were seeing each other… I”
>She clears out her pint, another deep breath.
>”I started following you trying to get you two to split up.”
“You what?”
>The statement came out clear, but you are working very hard to control yourself.
>”I thought I had a chance when the griffons came b-
>Your hand wraps around her muzzle preventing her from talking as you drain the last of
>your drink. You slam the glass down with enough force that is shatters. Drawing the
>attention of the other patrons and bartender.
“You’re going to pay for my tab, don’t come by the workshop anymore.”
>With that you stand and leave.

>You wake up with the sun. It’s a Sunday, Gerome should be here tomorrow.
>shuffle out the door of your workshop to pick up the paper.
>You feel like trash inside and out. You lost your marefriend, your best friend, and
>the possibility of any future government contracts in one evening.
>Great.
>You toss the paper down on the kitchen counter as you get yourself a glass of water.
>You take a sip and look down at the paper
“Oh shit”
>The entire front page is a huge article about you selling arms to the griffons.
>This won’t go over well.
>You spend the rest of the day trying to forget about yesterday, reading, working, nothing works.

>However around five your attention is grabbed by a large commotion outside your
>workshop. You tentatively look out the window, there’s a mob about the size of all of
>Ponyville standing outside the gates to the workshop, armed with bricks and bottles.
>Fuck.
>They stand there yelling insults and occasionally throwing things.
>You run back to your room and grab your BOB and a single shot rifle, one of the first you
>designed. You check back at the window, they have Gerome and his family pressed against
>the gates. One of the ponies steps forward and raises a megaphone.
>”Come out and we won’t hurt them!”
>You can see Gerome and his wife trying to comfort their two colts.

>You do the right thing for once.
>You set the rifle down, pull open the rolling door, and step outside with your hands up.
>The mob goes from angry to furious, a couple pegasi take flight to get a better angle. The
>single megaphone voice is lost as the ponies begin to throw bricks, and now molotovs, with
>renewed vigor. That’s when the gate falls. Gerome and his family are forgotten, trampled
>by the angry mob. You immediately turn tail and run through the workshop, grabbing the
>rifle on the way, you run out through the back door. The molotovs have light most of the
>workshop on fire now. It’s only a matter of time until the powder stores go off.
>You manage to make it the area where you test explosives, you hurl yourself into the
>earthen pit and cover your ears. There’s a great flash and boom as the earth around you
>shakes and heaves.

>Wasting no time you scrabble out of the pit and keep running for the forest.
>”Hey, He’s ov-”
>Without thinking you spin and aim at the source of the noise and fire.
>You watch as your bullet tears right through the neck of a rather young stallion.
>If he was a human he might have been about 20.
>You don’t wait to see any more detail.
>With that you enter the tree line of the forest leaving the angry mob to deal with your
>burning workshop.

>You didn’t make a fire that night.
>Too big of a risk. Instead you just set up your tent, and stared at the roof.
>That’s when the thoughts and emotions set in.
>Where did it all go wrong?

>When you first came to this land you were perfectly content to tinker with the towns
>mechanical devices. You were making the lives of the ponies around you better, they
>were very appreciative.
>You got greedy.
>Because love and community wasn’t enough, you had to branch out, start manufacturing
>on a mass scale…
>Then came the weapons.
>Still wasn’t enough.
>So you started selling overseas.

>You begin to count the amount of orders you’ve fulfilled to other nations.
>It’s simply too large a number, so many rifles and artillery pieces to the Saddle Arabians.
>So many early pattern shotguns to the Griffon Kingdom.
>So many mortars and handguns to the Minotaur tribes.
>You’ve opened the door and now there’s no closing it.
>You have single handedly forced a whole planet into the industrial age before they were
>ready, and today, you killed a fellow sentient.

>You quickly leap out of your tent and vomit on the forest floor.
>The hollow feeling in your stomach, and taste of vomit on your lips, they distract you.
>But not for long as the thoughts come creeping back.
>The stress and trauma of killing another sentient, you always thought that maybe you
>could do it and continue life like normal.
>But you aren’t cut out for this, you can’t hack it.
>All the wealth, all the property, all of it, all your pursuits and endeavors.
>It was at everyone else’s detriment.
>Greed is a terrible thing.

>Dear lord, Gerome and his family.
>They had you over for dinner bi-weekly. You were like an uncle to them.
>And now they’re pummeled into the dirt and asphalt for no fault of their own.
>You didn’t just kill that stallion, you killed them as well.
>The thoughts keep coming, preventing you from sleeping. Eventually sun rises and you
>Begin walking to the west, maybe you can buy a ticket to the Griffon Kingdom,
>maybe you can get a second chance you don’t deserve.

>You are now Twilight.
>Things have utterly and truly fallen apart.
>Currently you stand in front of the wreckage that was once Anons workshop.
>There’s nopony around… save the corpses.
>A family trampled to death by the gates. Their forms still recognizable.
>If only barely.
>You stare down and consider you actions. You cannot deny that you had a hand in this.
>That realization cuts deep, deeper than you would have thought possible.
>No tears, just a slow creeping dread that ponies died because of your desires.

>You are now Celestia
>Luna keeps saying that this was in no way your fault.
>A large portion of you agrees… but what would have happened if you approached Anon
>in person? If you had not tried to overstep the law? If you had not taken this as a personal
>attack? You will never know.

>You are now Anon, and you have been walking for the past five days
>You avoid large towns, they would recognize you. They would attack you.
“Justly so”
>You add to yourself. If your map is correct, then the town you just left should be the last
>one until the shoreline, but all the towns on the coast are large and well informed.
>There is no way out of this Atonement, you can only delay it.

>The town you find is surprisingly small, large enough that you are recognized.
>But not large enough to give the ponies the courage needed to lynch you in the street.
>Not that it would matter, you know what you deserve.
>You find a boat crewed by griffons on the docks, and ask about passage back.
>They seem joyous and excited that you are immigrating to the Griffon Kingdom.
>Constantly chatting about how your inventions have helped their hunts and skirmishes
>against the Minotaur tribes. This new life is going to be an effort of atonement for you.
>As the crew casts off the moorings there’s a single quote that runs through your mind.
“I would have rather invented a lawnmower.”