Oops, Red had neglected to mention one key fact, that she did not understand the new ponies' dialect, well, quickest said soonest mended. "I am sorry, but I have a poor understanding of the Stalliongrad dialect of sign, can you perhaps write? I think you are asking about a permit to build a cloud house, which are very expensive, even if all of your bags were filled with bits you still could not afford one. Anyway, I have some brochures on other lodging arrangements up in my office, perhaps you would like to read them?" Red spoke clearly and simply, making sure to enunciate so that her guest would have no trouble with her lips.

Her face deflated somewhat at the mention of a cloud house being very expensive, she had always wanted to live in one. Oh well, she was broke and beggars certainly couldn't be choosers! She nodded at the mention of writing, if Red Tape was having trouble understanding, that would certainly be the easiest way for her to be understood. She rose to her hooves and with a good heave she threw her suitcase onto her back, she certainly couldn't leave it behind. Winter offered a polite smile and a wave of her wing to show she was ready, she was quite thankful this pony was so nice and helpful.

With a 'Follow me' gesture that was so basic it was not even proper sign language Red led the way to her office where she got out a note pad and one of the new 'ball point' pens. Making sure Winter Mint was paying attention she spoke again, always enunciating clearly so the Stalliongrad pony could understand with a minimum of fuss. "I am sure you have questions, please ask them on the sheet of paper and I will answer them to the best of my ability. While you write them down I will get some of the brochures and flyers for rooms to rent around town and potential jobs, which I am sure are the things uppermost in your mind right now." Red Tape explained, then busied herself with the task of finding the papers she needed in the controlled clutter of her office.

The office in question was in fact quite cluttered. There were multiple stacks of papers arranged all over the desk as well as several overflowing file cabinets. With boxes of still more papers on top of them, and the drawers of the desk itself were not well organized either. However the seeming chaos was apparently not as random as it appeared at first blush, because Red was able to find what she was looking for quickly and efficiently, a half dozen sheets of paper, each one with some details about the rooms for rent and the person renting them, some tri-folded in the manner of a brochure and some simple flyers.

One in particular caught Winter Mint's eye, because it was one of the brochure style ones, was on top of the stack, and had a picture of Red Tape, looking much less tired and frazzled, embossed with the words:

"     Room For Rent:
   fully furnished and
     ready to occupy
       immediately!
     
      (Details Inside;
     See back cover for
    contact information.)
"


Well, this was either a fortuitous coincidence or Red was just as corrupt as the worst of the commissariat back home...

Winter followed happily and placed her suitcase back down upon entering the office. It reminded her of home in a way. Her father's workshop had a similar level of controlled chaos, he always insisted that he knew the location of every nut and bolt. Most of the time he did, other times the two of them would spend hours sifting through the clutter trying to find the right size spanner! As a young filly, she cleaned it once as a surprise, she got grounded for a week and had to help reinstitute his 'system.' She shook her head quickly, now wasn't the time to be lost in old memories.

She picked up the fancy pen, a bit surprised that it wasn't a quill. It didn't take her long to figure it out, clicking the pen with her teeth and writing out a few questions onto the notepad. She started out by testing the pen and writing her name at the top of the notepad. The first question would probably surprise Red Tape, but it had been one weighing on her mind, the rest of the questions were probably more in line with that she was expecting.

Winter Mint

Where might one get a good cup of tea?

What is the state of the job market in Ponyville?

Are the laws in Ponyville slanted toward the Renter or the Landlord?

How strongly is the Equestrian Government(Monarchs?) involved in the running Ponyville?

Those seemed to be a good enough start, a bit curious how her mind went from narrow to broader questions. She really needed some tea before the day was out. She had never lived under Princesses before, the Soviet and the Commissariat ran things back at home.

Red Tape was certainly not what she was expecting for a public servant, she hadn't asked for a bribe once yet! Not even hinting, unless she had earlier and Winter hadn't understood the signing. She pushed the notepad toward Red as she glanced over the flyers and brochures, tilting her head upon noticing that Red Tape was renting a room. She picked up that brochure first and quickly started to glance through it.

Red was surprised by the nature of the questions but did her best to answer them, and hide her embarrassment at her bungling of the pony's name.

"Well, shortest answer first: The best cup of tea in town is to be found at the Summer Song Cafe, just a short trot down the street from here. That is where I always go when I want a pick-me-up, though I am a coffee girl myself, but all my tea-side friends swear theirs is the best."

She looked at the next item on the list: "As for Jobs that depends on your field, I observe that your Cutie Mark is a cog with a crossed spanner and screwdriver, so I am guessing your talent relates to mechanics. Sorry to say there is not very much call for machinists in this town, but there are still plenty of job opportunities here in Ponyville, not the least of which is trying to get the fershluging air conditioning in this building to actually cool off the offices. We have been in need of an HVAC technician for some years now, the whole system is held together with bailing wire and spit at this point. There also are openings at the aforementioned Summer Song Cafe, though that would be waitressing, which I think you would find a challenge: as well as an opening in government service as an assistant librarian, what with our current librarian being constantly sidetracked with her royal duties and the crisis-of-the-week. That however is an entire discussion unto itself, let us move on..."

"The Ponyville legal code tries to be fair and balanced to both renters and landlords but in all honesty it is the renter that has the greater degree of protections so long as they uphold the terms of their lease. Now most professional landlords counter this with stringent leasing requirements and complex lease agreements which give them the 'right' to throw tenants out for minor infractions but this rarely stands up in a full court case. Besides, the other approach is to eschew formal lease agreements at all and simply have an accord with one's 'paying guest', that is much more common."

"Moving on to your last item: the equestrian government is just as involved with Ponyville as every other town in the principality, but the monarchs do seem to take a special interest in our welfare, and not without reason, for the past four years or so since Luna's return from being imprisoned in the moon most of the major events of the principality have involved ponies from this town in one way or another. Princess Luna herself is in fact staying in town on an extended vacation even now. I understand that the ponies of Stalliongrad have rejected the monarchy, but rest assured the celestial sisters have not rejected YOU, the sun and moon still rise over your city by their grace and they are actually very sweet mares."

Thank the cogs that there was a cafe near by! She wondered how ponies here liked their tea, would it be as bitter as what she was used to? She needed to stop getting sidetracked, luckily she hadn't missed anything Red Tape had said. She was quite happy about Red Tape's clear lip movements, there had been quite a few ponies she had talked to her in life that she could never understand what in Tartarus they were saying! One time a colt tried confessing his love to her but instead of 'I love you' she thought he said 'Elephant Shoes.' It had been a very confusing conversation, and quite awkward.

Winter took the notepad back and started writing again once Red had finished answering her questions. The last part about the Princesses sounded a bit preachy, but she wasn't going to complain. It was the good thing about her condition, she could put more thought into what she signed or wrote before it was relayed to the other pony, significantly decreasing the chances of her saying something stupid or rude.

I am quite experienced in working with limited resources on old and failing appliances and machinery. I also have some experience as a jeweler, mostly in the area of clocks and watches.

I am interested in the room you are renting, could you please tell me more about it if it is still available?

Winter clicked the pen again, partially because she could feel the mechanism in her teeth, and passed the notepad back to Red along with the brochure that had indicated that she was renting a room.

Red looked over the new subject matter, and thought for a second: ~I wonder if the Mayor would be willing to hire... Well, we do have a surplus at the moment, and she is experienced, and getting it fully overhauled might be cheaper than buying and installing a new system, but she also is an unknown quantity, and after the Flim-Flam incident the mayor has been much more cautious... It's worth a try anyway.~

Nodding Red finally spoke. "Well, I can certainly make the suggestion that you be allowed to look at the HVAC system for the town hall, but I advise you to not expect much, our mayor is a frugal lady and since an unfortunate incident with two scam artists a few years ago has been cautious about new ponies in town who want to do anything major, which fixing the AC in this building would be. However, I do have some degree of pull with her, so hopefully she will take you on to do the work, or at least let you submit a bid."

"As for the room" Red hurried on, opening the brochure to display several reprinted color photographs...

 "It belonged to my brother Sharp Eyes, who moved out a few weeks ago. The house has been lonely since my siblings left so I thought I might rent one or two of the rooms to other ponies so I would not feel the emptiness of the house when I went home at night. I have a fairly straightforward rental contract worked up if you prefer to have one of those, but I was planing to just come to a simple accord with whoever took me up on my offer. The housing market in Ponyville right now is kind of bi-phase: if you are looking to buy it is tight, few homes for sale and not that many areas to buy a lot to build on, but if you are looking to rent there are a lot more places available. However, my rates are lower than anyone else, and it even comes furnished, you will not find a better offer." Red flipped over the brochure and pointed to the innermost fold's back side.

"These are the terms of the rental agreement: I am asking 10 bits a month plus a quarter of your earnings toward food, fuel, and electric costs, but you will be free to use any food in the refrigerator and freezer as well as any of the appliances including shower and bath with as much hot water as you want. You may borrow books from the house library, but must return them within the week and tell me you have them if I ask where they are; there is a small book on a reading stand to sign out each book."

"You are expected to give two days notice if you intend to have a party and clean up afterwards as well as not make noise between midnight and six. I do not permit subletting the apartment if you move out and would expect to meet anyone you may get involved with whom you intend to have live with you and for them to agree to the same terms before moving in. You may be held liable for any damage you or your guests cause to the house and it's contents, which must be paid by the next monthly rental payment at the latest."

"You are expected to cook your own meals and clean any dishes you use. We do not have a dishwasher or mechanical washing or drying machine in the home, you will have to wash any clothes or dishes you generate manually or take the clothes to the town's professional cleaners."

"Lastly my bedroom, bathroom, and the Solarium above it are completely off limits except in case of serious emergency such as fire, flood, tornado, monster attack, or other Act of Discord, unless I give you specific permission for that individual instance." Red explained one point at a time.

"Does this sound amenable to you?" She finished.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:33, Tue 27 Aug 2013.

Winter wouldn't get her hopes up about fixing the AC in the Town Hall, she could find alternate employment given the saturation of repair ponies in Ponyville. Shame two scam artists had to ruin it for everypony though.

She read very closely as Red described the room and the numerous rules relating to it. They were all rules she could live with, she was unlikely to have any parties, noise was unlikely to be a problem, and she was fairly self sufficient. Though the list of emergencies worried her, do they get monster attacks or Acts of Discord often enough that new ponies should be warned? Regardless, she had enough bits to get her a month or two which should be plenty of time to find gainful employment.

Yes, these terms seem fair. I do not believe I will be able to find a better deal. Though you seem far more trustworthy than the public servants in Stalliongrad, I would still prefer to sign a contract that clearly lays out these terms. This is no reflection on you, it is a result of past experience.

I do not believe you will have to worry about any parties or noise. I can both cook and clean. I will do my best to be as uninstrusive as possible, as you are inviting me, a stranger, into your home. Regardless of payment.

Red smiled. There would now be someone else in the house, that might stop the stress of sitting in absolute silence when she went home at least. There was a different quality when someone else was there, even if they were not making any noise, just the faintest hint of anther's breathing was enough to keep the 'boogeymen' at bay.

"Very well then." Red replied, and indicated a set of circles next to each set of points on the folded legal paper brochure. "Please initial each of these showing I have gone over the terms with you and sign on the first line at the bottom and date next to it, I will do the same and then we do the reverse on this second copy." Red Tape explained holding an identical brochure. "That will constitute a legally binding contract for the purposes of the Ponyville municipal court system, and since a term of lease is not stipulated it reverts to the default of an indefinite term as long as the provisions of the contract are upheld by both parties with violations by either side constituting grounds for the other to terminate the contract." Red explained. "If you want something more formal I have a much longer contract in 'legalese' at home, but that will have to wait until I get off work..." Red explained further, already started on initialing the other half of the contract.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:59, Fri 01 Nov 2013.

Winter nodded in understanding as she started to fill out her half of the brochure. She couldn't believe it, things were actually going her way. She proudly signed and dated the brochure, before switching with Red Tape and filling out the other half of the second copy. Once it was all said and done, Winter wrote a new question on the notepad that had been provided.

Will you be needing the first month and a security deposit? I have the bits with me.

The pegasus beamed a bright smile at the earth pony, clearly pleased with the arrangement. Now all that was left was to find employment and she might be able to afford her own home someday, maybe even find a way to move her family here to Ponyville.

Red smiled, and put one of the finished brochures into her saddle bags that sat casually discarded next to her desk, the one with Winter Mint's initials on it, then turned back to the young Pegasus. "First month's rent in advance, no security deposit is needed since you can be held liable for damages." Red replied and looked at the clock. ~Not too much longer till lunch, I can show her her room then.~ She thought.

It was just about then that hoof falls sounded from outside the office.  Past the ajar door Red Tape would be able to see the familiar sight of Mayor Mare and one of her fellow office-jockeys, Fine Print, trotting past.  The latter of the two was taking notes as he walked using a small brace set about his neck that held a pad of paper out in front of him, and a pencil clenched between his teeth.

"--as soon as it's all handled, and make sure to follow up on the return files from Canterlot!  Last time they screwed up the paperwork and never sent us any of the files.  Poor Red Tape had to... ah...?"  the Mayor paused what had been a long ramble and quickly backtracked a few steps to the office door.  She took a moment to glance over at Winter Mint, but that didn't stop her from interrupting all the same.  "Red Tape!  What in the world are you still doing in the office?  I distinctly remember telling you to start using your back-logged vacation time three days ago.  You've got so much paid vacation time saved up that you're going to break our system."

Winter retrieved a bit purse from her saddlebags and quietly counted out ten bits in two stacks on the desk. She passed them to Red with her wing, sporting a grin. It took her a good few moments to notice Mayor Mare interrupting, but when she did she nearly took off into the air! Luckily, her reaction was limited to a bit of a startle, causing her to shrink back away from the older mare in surprise. She only caught the tail end of what the mayor had said... something about breaking some system?

"Um, I'm sorry? There were these forms that needed to be sent back to Canterlot and..." She trailed off in the wake of the Mayor's 'old fashioned look'. "Yes, mam, I was just on my way out!" She finished and hirieedly put on her saddle bags and rose to leave. "Winter Mint, would you like to get a drink at the cafe? It seems my work day is ending early..."

The Mayor wasn't having any of Red Tape's excuses as she leveled a signature look at her.  Not exactly a glare... but the stern expression shot over the rims of her glasses didn't leave any room for argument.  She seemed pleased that her tremendously dedicated employee was so quick to agree, though she had the feeling she was going to need to check on her to make sure she didn't try and take home some case files with her.

"Just a moment, actually.  Who is this young filly?"  The Mayor asked as she gave Winter Mint a curious nod.  She'd popped into the office in time to see money changing hooves, which meant there must have been some official business on the table.  But having Red Tape invite her to get a drink raised the Mayor's interest.

Winter seemed to shrink back a bit more, even if the look wasn't trained on her. She happened to glance at Red long enough to read her lips for the invite. She gave a quick nod before looking back toward the Mayor. The pegasus seemed quite a bit intimidated, but upon reading that the Mayor was asking who she was, she started to sign with her wings. She attempted to explain the situation, regardless if the Mayor could understand her dialect or sign language at all!

^I am Winter Mint. I am Red Tape's new tenant. I am from Stalliongrad, I just arrived by train today.^

Unfortunately for the both of them, Mayor Mare didn't know a lick of sign language.  She recognized it for what it was, at the very least, but looked a bit startled as she found herself suddenly on the spot.  "Ah... oh dear.  I'm afraid I don't understand..."  she looked plaintively to Red Tape in hopes of assistance, not realizing that Winter Mint could read lips just fine.

"Oh, I forgot, you don't sign!" Red hurriedly said apologetically. "This is Winter Mint, she is new in town, just arrived from Stalliongrad. I rented her a room in my house to stay in and am going to try helping her find a job. Speaking of which, her special talent is mechanical engineering, and you know how skilled the mechanics of Stalliongrad are with older systems like the Town Hall's AC: and we happen to have a budget surplus..." Red simply left the implication hanging.

Winter was having a bit more trouble keeping track of the conversation now that there were two ponies to pay attention to. She was able to piece together that Red was recommending her for a job! The pegasus quickly stood up as straight as she could, a wing spreading and trying to futilely straighten her mane. She had to look presentable if she wanted to impress the mayor! Due to all the travelling she ended up looking a bit ragged, but she hoped that Mayor Mare could look past that and give her a chance! As it was obvious that the mayor couldn't sign, she gave up trying, letting Red speak for her for the moment. If there was anything she needed to say she would write it when the opportunity presented itself.

While Red Tape had the best of intentions, her efforts were met by a deadpan glare from the Mayor.  It was immediately followed by a weary sigh.  She knew the hard-working mare meant well, but the girl just didn't know how to turn off!

"First of all, you know that Mister Whatsits has a contract with Town Hall.  He always gets first dibs on public service projects and we only issue out to others if he refuses."  the Mayor sighed as she rubbed at the bridge of her nose.  "And secondly, you are supposed to be on your time off.  I want you to relax, not find more ways to make yourself even busier."

With that bit of scolding out of the way, Mayor Mare looked to Winter Mint with a gentle smile.  After asking and confirming that she could indeed read lips, the Mayor spoke for herself.  "Miss Mint, as Mayor of Ponyville, I'm very happy to welcome you.  I know you'll love it here and I hope that you'll come to feel at home.  If you ever need anything, my door is always open."

She lifted her gaze over the rims of her spectacles to shoot Red Tape a telling glance.  "Now, both of you scoot!  Scoot!  Go have lunch or relax or anything but be in this office working!"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:14, Wed 09 Oct 2013.

"Right, Sorry, just trying to help." Red replied apologetically and rose fully from her desk to escort Winter Mint off to other parts of the city, parts where she was distinctly 'off duty'. As the two of them walked downstairs and out of the town hall Red explained a bit of the town's sociopolitical structure to Winter.

"I apologize about the contract, I should have remembered that we have a standing deal with Widget. I am afraid you are going to find that a lot of the town is like that, they welcome outsiders readily enough, but trying to work your way into the network of interpersonal relationships can be difficult. It's not that people don't like you, it's that everyone is busy with established friends and their own jobs. You will find people you can relate to though, they are around: just start with Pinkie Pie when she get's back from her latest adventure and soon enough you will be right in the thick of things. I had it easy, I was born here so I made friends with the other foals my own age. As I grew up many of them moved away though, and my job leaves me little time to socialize, even here in the mayors office, so I am not perhaps the best one to introduce you around. But, that said, I can at least buy you lunch to celebrate, and there are few better places to meet some new people than the Summer Song Cafe!" Red blathered energetically and at some length.

"First though, let's go to the house and show you your room. It would be better if you could put down your possessions in a safe location before you go to the Cafe. I mean I cannot imagine how heavy all the stuff you must have packed for a move all the way from Stalliongrad is, and I need to give you your keys to the room and the house anyway." Red explained as she gently cantered towards the main doors out of the town hall.

Winter looked rather disappointed that she hadn't gotten the job, but she certainly couldn't steal somepony else's job. She would find a way to make ends meet some other way. She hefted her heavy luggage onto her back with a mute grunt and followed behind Red Tape. As they left, she kept her eyes on Tape's mouth to catch her explanation of the town social structure... this had the unfortunate side effect that she couldn't easily watch where she was going.  She managed without bumping into any pony though... which is not to say she didn't come close.

Apparently, her best chance at integrating herself into town was this pony called Pinkie Pie. She made a mental note to seek her out when she was black from her adventure. So this Pinkie Pie was an adventuring pony, like Daring Do? She couldn't help but imagine her as a pink version of the pony from the novel covers. She was so caught up in her imagined version of Pinkie Pie that she almost missed her new landlord's suggestion of lunch and dropping off her luggage.

Winter gave a quick nod, she had been carrying this stuff around for too long on her small frame. With some effort she managed to sign to Red as they approached the main doors.

^Dropping my suitcases would be nice, thank you. Is this...^ She struggled for a moment thinking how exactly to sign Pinkie's name. Red probably would only understand bits and pieces anyway so it would be best just to fudge it and see what go through. ^...Pink Pie an adventure pony like Daring Do from the novel series?^

"Um, well..." Red hedged as she tried to figure out the unfamiliar dialect. "She is kind of like Dering Do I guess, except her adventures are real and she is an Earth Pony."

Red Tape exited the town hall and led the way to the relatively nearby house, not talking nearly as much on the way, but managing to cover a bit of background with her new tenant.

"My family are long time residents of Ponyville, but I am the only one left: my mother and father got jobs out of town a few years ago and in the past few weeks all my siblings left too. With no one around the house is kind of lonely, that's why I went looking for tenants." Red Explained, making sure Winter Mint could see what she said.

---> To: Red Tape's House. --->

Winter nodded slowly in understanding as she followed. Red Tape was a bit like her... only the reverse. She was the first one to leave her family instead of staying. The story made her feel a bit sad, your family leaving you behind to go do their own thing? She felt a bit guilty for leaving Stalliongrad and her family behind. Throughout this, she paid careful attention to how to get to her new home from the Town Hall, she certainly didn't want to get lost on her way home someday!

>>> To Red Tape's House >>>

This message was last edited by the GM at 02:53, Tue 23 June 2015.