"And, um, in the end that is why the new Springwater Dam project should not go ahead."

At the end of her speech, Fluttershy clicked her mouth shut, yet she couldn't swallow down her nerves. Her mouth was too dry, too sticky with anxiety.

Across from her uncomfortably short and narrow chair sat Governor Dally, who oversaw the entire Springwater Valley. He'd patiently sat through her whole speech. The greying stallion seemed attentive, his hooves settled atop his desk. He'd barely even touched the sandwich his assistant set out for him a minute into the quarter-hour explanation.

She'd worked so hard on preparing it, so hard practising every word. There were only a few stumbles, something to be proud of as far as Fluttershy was concerned!

The governor's office looked about what Fluttershy expected, though it was perhaps a little over-exuberant. A wood floor with a fluffy wool rug in the middle, and a giant desk a little too large for a regular pony to sit behind, though short enough Fluttershy didn't feel like she needed to crane over it to see Dally in his high, plush seat. It smelled old but not dusty.

The silence stretched out, and Governor Dally's practised neutrality didn't allow his expression to budge an inch. He just smiled the same smile Fluttershy was used to seeing on about every politician she had the pleasure--and sometimes displeasure--of meeting.

At least she got to meet Mayor Mare enough to see her drop it. It gave her the heeby jeebies, knowing full well the wearer could be thinking anything.

"It's always so good to see folks do their research," he drawled out. The accent was thick, reminding Fluttershy of AJ and her family, though Springwater was considerably further north than even Canterlot. "Lots of ponies try to get me to change my mind by shouting at me or calling me names."

Fluttershy wasn't sure how to take Dally's words, so she defaulted to assuming they were a compliment. "Oh, um. Thank you."

"Oh, I didn't think they were compelling enough." He chuckled, and for the first time he moved a hoof, nudging the sandwich aside. The flowers poking out the edges glittered.

Lilium Coruscate. The Glitter Lily. It only grew up in the valley above Springwater City, behind the proposed dam. She'd never tasted them, but they made the room smell a little brighter, less ancient and oppressing.

Fluttershy pawed at her seat, pushing herself up. She'd almost slipped out a few times since arriving. "What?"

"Oh, you've your research. You cited all the right legislation and even found a few loopholes." The old stallion heaved his chest and leaned back in is chair. His attention seemed more focused on his food now, not his guest. "It's just so unfortunate there's so darn much written into law. What Equestrian laws supersedes local laws and vice versa."

To think Fluttershy had built up so much confidence. She'd been up for two nights straight, more or less. She'd taken a page from Twilight's book, researching as much as she could the moment she'd received the first letter from the locals up the valley.

Apparently that wasn't enough.

Fluttershy put a hoof over her heart, pressing the necklace Rarity gave her before she set off into her coat. The gem shifted a little in its frame.

"So the lilies--"

"Oh, yes. They're rare, exceedingly so, but the Royal Botanical Society doesn't agree they are unique to the region. Not enough evidence to suggest they don't exist elsewhere." He lifted the corner of his sandwich and licked his lips. "I'm afraid that their potential eradication isn't enough to stop the project on its own."

"Well, what about--"

"Clause 2B of the Royal Equestrian Business Bill of 1006 dictates that no business may take president over public projects that benefit the local community as a whole. Springwater Dam fits the requirements."

Fluttershy frowned, leaned forward, and lifted a hoof. "That's not what I was going to--"

"And the Residents' Act of Springwater waives the rights of homeowners who have not owned their homes for more than twenty years if the local authority deems it appropriate to re-appropriate their land."

"Well, maybe, but there must be at least--"

"And the remaining few homeowners who have been so..." Dally licked his lips as he mulled the word and his lunch. "Fortunate to have consistent residence will find their expensive residences have rare, toxic materials beneath them. Such a shame, but it does mean we would need to remove them and hand over their land to the Governor's office until such a time the locations can be deemed safe. If they can be deemed safe."

The frown deepened, turning into an ache at the sides of Fluttershy's jaw. "That's not--"

"I am sorry, my dear. This is just the way it is. The residents will be evacuated and relocated in the coming weeks. The wildlife will be fine, I am sure. We here at Springwater pride ourselves on our forests' management, and will endeavour all the local creatures and such and such will be safe and out of harms way once the dam's construction is fully under way."

Fluttershy felt sick. All that time reading, cross referencing, writing an entire speech... Almost all of it went to waste.

"So you're just going to kick everyone out? There are foals who grew up there. Little creatures who don't want to live anywhere else..."

She started to curl in on herself. Feeling small, pitiful. For once Fluttershy stuck her neck out not because of some divine call or her friends dragging her along but because she wanted to help.

She squeezed the gem to her chest again. It failed as a good luck charm.

"That's just how the cards fell. I am so sorry you couldn't change my mind on the matter but..." Dally shrugged as he trailed off. He didn't look sorry. His eyes had the right shape to them, the eyebrows raised, but he still smiled through it all.

A lump clogged up Fluttershy's throat when she tried to speak again, then she struggled to swallow it down. Her mouth was too dry, drier still thinking about what she was going to say next.

Raising her head, Fluttershy did her best to stare into Dally's eyes. "Would those reports come from the Funds brothers?" Her voice was too quiet, too squeaky. She felt like a child trying to convince her mom to let her have another cookie from the cookie jar.

For the first time since she'd stepped in, the corners of Dally's mouth twitched down. "Who?"

Oh. Oh. That was an interesting reaction.

"The partners who hold majority stakes in the company behind the dam project? Apparently they also own part of a surveying company, too."

Dally's bushy eyebrows pushed together. He still showed teeth, but his smile had fallen so far to look more like a snarl. Not the kind an animal makes when about to eat, but the kind of snarl they made when cornered.

She hadn't got him that badly, surely.

"The... Funds brothers? I can't say I've heard of them before."

Fluttershy's eyes went up, and as if they had inertia so did her back.

That was an outright lie.

"You graduated from school together? N-not that I mean to say I remember everyone from school but it's not like Springwater is as big as Cloudsdale."

More of Dally's upper lip curled forward. Definitely a snarl. He knew he screwed up.

"So? It's just a coincidence, nothing more."

"I don't think it is." Fluttershy straightened her back, but found herself slipping out the chair the more she uncurled. She had to paw at the seat more to get herself up. "I think you've had a few meetings with them. I think I've maybe, um... Happened to be around. Just sort of... Doing my own thing, but it's funny what you can overhear. Things you won't want shared with papers and community leaders..."

Governor Dally frowned as he reached forward to his desk. "Be careful what you're about to say, my dear. Libel and slander can be very expensive mistakes."

"Well it's not what I said..."

She cleared her throat, forced a little smile onto her cheeks, and pressed the gem again.

Dally spoke, but his lips didn't move. He sounded a little tinny, but it was unmistakably him. The sounds of silverware scraping plates, mumbling in the distance.

"--Hedge, your donations helped me get in this seat. I'll make sure the entire dam project goes over smoothly. By the time I am out of office--"

With another click, the gem went quiet.

"It's what you said."

Something about Dally had changed. He'd hunched over his desk, head bowed low despite his glare. He looked ready to charge, but something in Fluttershy told her to stand her ground, keep her head high.

"I thought you were meant to be kind," he growled.

A little giggle bubbled from Fluttershy's throat, like dish soap foam popping in the water. "That doesn't mean I'm soft, Governor."