“So, what do you think?” the broker asked, gesturing expansively with one hand. The other hand held a thick folder that detailed the property in question. “The best real estate bargain in my entire portfolio!” 

I looked around with a scowl on my face. I’d already made up my mind, but I couldn’t let him know that. There was still haggling to be done. 

“A bit of a fixer-upper,” I said, poking a cloud with my hoof. 

“That’s why it’s such a bargain,” he replied. “Besides, consider it an opportunity!”

I snorted and pushed the cloud. It skittered away from me like a sulky kitten. “How are broken weather patterns an ‘opportunity’?”

“Being a ‘fixer-upper’,” he said with accompanying air-quotes, “means that you get to set things up however you like. It’s a great deal!” 

“The sun doesn’t work right,” I pointed out.

“All part of the charm,” he said, starting to sweat a little. 

“Neither does the moon.” 

“Uh, well… Who really needs a moon, when you get right down to it?” 

“They’re all the rage across the third quadrant right now. How could I invite my friends over for a night-time party without a moon to light the sky? I’d be embarrassed to show my muzzle.” I let out a carefully crafted sigh. “No, I’m just not sure this will work. Not as-is, at least.” 

To my immense satisfaction, he took the bait. 

“Well…” The broker flipped through the folder he was holding. “I [i]can[/i] throw in an extra, magical client species. Free of charge! This world has a pretty strong mana field. They can fix a lot of the problems for you.” 

Now [i]that[/i] was an unexpectedly good deal. “Hmm… Can they take any form I want?” 

“Of course!” 

“Ponies, then.” 

“Oh, uh… Yeah, why not? Wouldn’t you prefer something with hands, though?” 

“I’m kinda fixated on equines at the moment,” I said, waggling a hoof at him.

“Consider it done,” he said. Then he winked, “Pending final signatures, of course.” 

“Of course,” I echoed. I manifested a pair of wings and glided down to the earth, frowning as my hooves hit the surface. “Soil needs some work. Especially if there’s a client species I need to feed.” 

He cleared his throat and loosened his tie a little. “Well, how about you specialize your client species?” 

“Meaning?” 

“Divide them into thirds. Some work on the weather, some on moving the sun and moon around, and some on making the soil better.” 

I hate to admit it, but that never would have crossed my mind. “Huh. That could work.” I glanced over at him and saw that he was getting excited, and I realized that I’d let too much of my enthusiasm show through. “Going to be a lot of work. It'll be pretty annoying, having to manage all that by myself.” 

He shrugged. “Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.” 

“Well, how about this. Throw in a minor demigod, maybe two, to manage things for me, knock ten percent off of the list price, and you’ve got yourself a deal.” 

A quick check through the folder was followed by another sigh. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I’d accept the price, but not with the demigods. I’m already too far in the hole on this property as-is.” 

That almost sounded like [i]honesty[/i]. I concealed my shock and arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” 

“Yeah. This property has been languishing for a while, so I’m willing to take a little bit of a loss just to get rid of it. But even a single demigod is too much. I’d rather just write it off as a total loss, honestly.” 

Well, we couldn’t have that. I thought about it for a while. “I suppose I could just pick a couple of the client species and raise them up myself. Would take a few centuries, but it’s do-able.” 

“Good, good!” The broker flipped once again through his folder. “Oh, I almost forgot. This world also has a Harmony system installed. One of the older ones—Crystal Tree, type IV—but it still works great!” 

“Huh. Neat.” 

“So, do we have a deal? Ten percent under list, client species thrown in?” The broker stretched out one of his hands. 

“Sure, why not?” I said. I bumped the hand with a hoof and grinned. “I even have the perfect name already picked out.”