mylittlejamjar | [visual]

[Well, this is unusual. The scroll comes on, revealing a middle-aged, stocky green stallion, with slicked back dark brown hair and a pencil mustache. He would seem tobe an otherwise normal pony - nothing outwardly odd or ominous. For those who deigned to go to the movie premiere, however, there is no doubt who this is.

This is Tom Shanks.

And he's beaming.]

Howdy, my friends! That's how Ponyville talks nowadays, right? Well, in any case, this is Tom Shanks, owner of Placeton and Quarterhorse Quarterly, with a special announcement! We're expanding again!

[Why does he look so happy. Why is he telling the off-worlders.]

And we've found the perfect place to do so. See, I've wanted to expand my business to the smaller towns, spread the truth and beauty I've come to find recently, but I just can't seem to do it without a significant presence. So, I've decided to buy up some lands that were in lien - don't worry yourselves about what that means, by the way - to make a brand new production lot right here in Ponyville!

[Waving his hoof, he moved aside, revealing a curtain. An unlucky assistant pulled it, revealing a large sign with a before and after picture. The after picture is a sprawling mecca of buildings, studios, and even a mini theme park clearly designed with Quest for Canterlot in mind. Its, for pony standards, impressive and advanced?

The before side?...looks...an awful lot like Satyagraha Farm.]

We'll have the legal niceties wrapped up by the end of the week. I've already put a bid on the place, and I believe I'll be able to bring my dream of truth to Ponyville at long last.

[A pleased, deep breath of contentment. Then he comes back to the scroll again, his voice flat as he stares.]

Oh, also, to the squatters on my land? You have a week to pack up and leave before I start razing. Nothing personal, just progress.

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[...She can't ignore even the possibility, though. And three or four others confirming her worst fears later, she's only able to blink in unbelieving silence.]

[No. This...this can't be right. And even as she hopes that, the ice grows colder and a lump sits in her throat.]

[And when it actually hits that this is real, not a nightmare in her sleep...the ice becomes a blazing inferno, leaving her visibly shaking in anger.]

[Congratulations, you have successfully slammed your hoof down on the berserk button so hard that she has to actually make herself sit down and stay the heck away from the scroll while she calms, Shanks. No one has managed THAT before! You should be proud!]

[How dare he threaten the livelihood of so many. Of her friends, her family. Her Commune. The Sentinel draws air that comes in long, quivering breaths as her mind reels and spins and thinks.]

Edited 2015-08-17 01:50 (UTC)

[But...slowly, oh so slowly, she calms. M-maybe he's mistaken. Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding!]

[And maybe Ashnard had been a completely sane and good individual.]

[...She's going to talk to the guy...but first, she needs to kick a training dummy to release this energy coursing through her.]

[When Nephenee finally pops up on the scrolls, the Commune leader is smiling in calm serenity. At least, that's what it appears to anyone who doesn't know her. There's a hyperaware, keen edge beneath it all, apparent to any who do know her.]

Hello, Sir Shanks. Ah'm Nephenee Knight, the leader o'the Commune. Big fan!

[Yes, she is straight up lying there, what of it?]

Ah, uh, hate to mess with any plans ya might be figurin' on, but Ah think ya got the wrong land pictured there. See, that there's Satyagraha Farm [It takes her a second to not actually say "You big city folk know what a farm is, right? We feed y'all an' stuff."], we provide housin' an' food an' stuff to folks who need it, an' help feed Ponyville!

Ah mean, you're a swell fella, Ah know ya wouldn't want to take away folks' homes an' a food source for the town. Ah mean, what sorta nice fella would do that?

[And somehow, there's not a lick of irony or sarcasm there. You may been an actor, Shanks, but you've never had to BS to save people. Being a soldier comes in handy for that!]

Edited 2015-08-17 02:18 (UTC)

You're the leader of the commune?

[WELL. There's a glimmer in his eye that, even with his skills, he just can't suppress.]

I'm sorry to say that you're the one mistaken. That is the land I've bought, and it was called Satyagraha Farm. However, it will be Placetone Ponyville when I've finished renovating the land.

Now, as for housing and food, I'm sure there are other places where you can provide those things. Provided you pay to do so, of course. And I'm certain if you start looking now, you'll all be able to find alternative space to live in.

I mean - I don't want to have to throw you all out come the end of the week. I am a nice pony - so I'm giving all of you the chance to leave on your own accord.

[Gelding, she is in full-on Sentinel mode right now, she's not missing that glimmer. Still, she suppresses everything she can, though she allows a confused look to slip.]

Bought? How'd ya buy it, though? We've had it for a real long time, got it back when we first got here...

[In reality, she can think of a few ways that can occur, but she wants him to actually say it. Plus, this way, it's easy to let him perhaps believe she's simply a stupid country bumpkin...Not like she hasn't been thought of as that before.
Incidentally, Shanks? She owns the piece of land right next door that that big house is on, as in actually has the deed and title to...really want to move a amusement park right beside that?]

But you didn't own it. The owner on the land is Nemo Vantas, and he hasn't paid in two years.

[He'd just...close it off or something. He'll figure something out.]

So, I offered to pay the lien off, which makes me the legal and sole owner of the commune and the lands which come with it.

[...Really, Shanks? Did you just bring Nemo into this?]

[Thankfully, her face is still masking her emotions...even if there was a slight fluffing of feathers...But that's totally just a pegasus thing. Them silly pegasi, amirite?]

..Sir Vantas passed away two years ago. [Incidentally, right before she came here...] It's a lil' hard to pay off things when that happens to ya.

Ah mean...Ah'm jus' a country gal, but ain't there stipulations for that sorta thing? Don't it usually pass to someone else 'fore it goes back to the country?

[Something doesn't feel right, though it's not the reasons given.]

That's right. He didn't leave any heirs, no will, so the city held the liens on it. Really, the only reason anypony is still living on the commune is because Mayor Mare had felt sorry for you. But, even she knows that the law is the law, and liens are liens. Once I offered to pay the liens, she had to comply.

Edited 2015-08-17 03:10 (UTC)

Why here, though? Ah mean, there's gotta be better land for all that. Ya ever been on farmland? Ya ever been walked on over here? This ain't good land for buildin' heavy things like what your talkin', it's way too soft! Ya need good, hard land, not the stuff that's been softened up by crops an' hard work. Ah can even show ya some in land jus' as big as this!

Why don't ya come by, Ah'll throw on tea, too!

[PART OF HER REALLY HOPES HE DOESN'T TAKE HER UP ON THAT, but she will do what needs to be done to defeat the enemy. Including taking him to tea and snacks...and acting totally hospitable despite her growing intense dislike for him.]

Hmm. Perhaps I will! It might be a good idea to discuss the details of moving your pony friends out. They'll likely listen to somepony like you.

[She isn't sure if she should take offense at him saying "somepony like you", so she just lets it roll off. She has bigger crops to harvest.]

[Despite that, she smiles.]

Well then, it's settled! When would ya like to come over, an' what sort o'tea do ya like? Or are ya more the coffee sort?

[GONNA BE THE MOST HOSPITABLE PONY THIS GELDING HAS EVER SEEN.]

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NOT HERE 2/????

STILL NOT HERE 3/????

MAYBE ALMOST HERE 4/????

WE HAVE MODPLOT SIGN 5/5

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