Miss Sparkle Goes to Canterlot

by Fon Shaolin

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 25716

Can Equestria survive Congresspony Sparkle?

Twilight Sparkle attends her first Election Day as a citizen of Ponyville! However, things don't go according to plan when her own notoriety catches up with her a few hours before the votes are cast. Twilight is forced to reconcile both her time as a royal insider and her new position as a member of the Common Assembly, but can her personal morals live up to her political responsibilities? Can her loyalty to Celestia?

Published 2011-10-13 22:28:11 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-30 01:46:18 UTC

Chapter 2

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth – Twilight Sparkle couldn’t sit still if her life depended on it. Her library was a bit full with all her friends inside, but the ponies gave her the space she had all but demanded.

None of her friends had it in them to deny her.

The fervor that had overtaken the crowd upon Twilight “consenting” to run in the representative race had shocked everypony. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to say anything about the situation before ponies were already swarming the poll watchers with their preliminary votes to get the unicorn on the ballot. With all the reporters and important ponies congratulating her on her candidacy, she hadn’t gotten a chance to actually process what she’d just been shanghaied into. She had been whisked from the main office by somepony’s staff to fast-track the process of applying before the voting began. Twilight honestly couldn’t tell who they were if she were pressed for an answer; her head hadn’t even stopped spinning yet.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you don’t stop yer pacing, Twilight.” Applejack, and all the rest, had done all she could and stuck by her friend as she was shuffled around, but there was only so much six ponies could do when an entire crowd had been caught up in a moment. They had managed to get her away from the polling stations eventually, though.

Twilight looked over at her friends, sighed, and plopped down at her writing desk. As much as she just wanted to explode on them (more than once, even) she reined herself in. It wasn’t their fault – she had been the one to open her big mouth. She should have just stood there, let O’Banga do his speech, and then left. Celestia curse her tendency to babble! Darn it, darn it, darn it!

Rarity grabbed Twilight’s mane before she could slam her head into her desk again. “Come now, Darling, it’s not that bad.” She smoothed out the ruffled bits of Twilight’s hair and gave the other unicorn a dainty pat on the back, though the words didn’t exactly reach her expression. “True, you were caught by every major newspaper in the county looking like…well, you, but this whole thing will blow over. You’ll see.”

From the way things had progressed after getting on the ballot, Twilight doubted it would ever “blow over” like Rarity said. “Rarity, ponies will be talking about this for years! ‘Do you remember the time that Twilight Sparkle made a complete mule of herself in front of everypony in the Tenth Equestrian District? I sure do!’” Twilight let out a loud groan and shook off her friend’s hoof. “I can’t even imagine what kinds of things the Princess will think when she hears of this! I was sent to Ponyville to discover the magic of friendship, not try and overthrow the local political system!”

“Overthrow the…? Twilight, you’re being stupid!” Rainbow Dash trotted over to the table and shooed Rarity away. “Listen to yourself! So you told some old stallion to stop lying to everypony – that’s not a bad thing! If the princess thinks it is, we’ll all march straight to Canterlot and change her mind. Right guys?” There was a general agreement from Twilight’s other friends and Twilight actually began to perk up a bit.

“But,” Spike called out, sounding hesitant, “what if she wins?”

Rainbow Dash took it in stride. “If she wins then she wins!” She sounded much more confident than Twilight felt, but, then, that was just how Dash always was. “Twilight would be better than any of those other ponies anyway.”

As her friends all agreed, Twilight sniffed and lifted her head up off the table. What had she done to deserve friends like them? “Thank you, girls. I’d probably be halfway to Hoofnhammer if it wasn’t for all of you.”

She turned to her assistant and patted his head. “And don’t you worry about me winning, Spike. The chances of me actually winning are practically nothing at all – I don’t have a platform, or any experience, or notoriety outside of Ponyville. If anypony actually voted for me over their first pick after only a few words…” Twilight laughed to herself. “Well, I have more faith in ponies than that.”

“I voted for you!” Pinkie piped from the kitchen. She emerged balancing a tray of drinks and late-night snacks on her rump which she passed out to her friends. “I think you’d do a great job, Twilight! You always know what to do when a problem comes up here in Ponyville, so why couldn’t you do that for everypony?”

Twilight levitated a cracker and cup of tea off Pinkie’s tray. As the warm liquid slid down her throat, she felt much more soothed. She had overreacted, like always, and it took her best friends to sort her out. “That’s nice of you to say, but I’m not even technically out of school. Being a representative requires a lot of experience and know-how, especially for a district like Briarwood.”

“Oh, so I shouldn’t tell you that you’re going to win?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Yer Pinkie Sense telling ya that?”

Pinkie giggled. “No, silly!” She put her hoof up to her ear and pulled out a little white earbud. “The pony on the radio is!”

Twilight’s eyes went wide and she bolted from her desk. “Spike! Radio!” She knew the library had one somewhere, though she didn’t listen to it very much. As the little dragon scrambled for the broom closet, Twilight grabbed her friend’s shoulders and, for lack of a better term, started freaking out. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! I didn’t think they would have the results this quick!” She was shaking the bemused earth pony so much that Pinkie’s pupils were starting to bob up and down as well.

“I-I-I didn’t th-think you wanted to kno-w-w-wwww.”

Spike saved the day when he dragged a large wooden radio up from the basement. Twilight bolted over to it and yanked it up with magic, depositing the old radio in the center of the room. Pinkie hopped over to it and flipped the big switch on the side while Twilight gnawed on her bottom lip.

It crackled to life with a high-pitched tone noise, but Pinkie was already zooming through the stations. Twilight caught one or two mentions of the election, but every time she tried to tell Pinkie to stop the earth pony gave her a coy look and shook her head. “We gotta listen to the Canterlot Broadcasting Station! Ponyville representing there every night with DJ Pon3!”

“Pinkie, I don’t think Twilight cares about the latest club track right now,” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“But we’re gonna have to have a party after all this is over and we can’t have a party without music! Plus, Scratch is counting on us to spread the word about her newest single and—”

“Pinkie!”

“Oh, fine,” Pinkie mumbled as she fiddled with the radio’s nobs. “You guys can be real Grumpy Gilda’s, you know?”

Nopony was really listening to their party-minded friend, though, and Pinkie eventually settled down with them as well. The rich, deep voice of a news anchor filtered through the speakers and told of preliminary results and exit polling, giving a promise that an update would come in the next few minutes. To Twilight Sparkle, though, minutes seemed like eternities. Finally, just as she was about to start pacing again, the advertisement for a new brand of automatic quill ended and the station went silent.

Suddenly, a serious-sounding jingle started blaring from the radio. Papers shuffled and a stallion cleared his throat. “Ladies and Gentlecolts, thank you for joining the Canterlot Broadcasting Station and our coverage of Decision Briarwood. It is currently seven minutes after the hour and representatives of candidates Mac Lane, O’Banga, and Mountroamer will be holding a joint press conference within the hour. As it stands, Mayor Mac Lane was the last holdout of the three major candidates to not unofficially concede after the ballots passed the 47th percentile. We are six hours after the closure of major polling stations in Ponyville, the district’s host for this election cycle. Polling stations in Fillydelphia, Trottingham, and Green River closed an hour later and their ballots have already been magically transferred to the town hall in Ponyville where several Canterlot electoral officiaries are standing by at this hour overseeing the ballot arrival and sorting.”

Twilight fell back on her haunches, stunned. “Mac…Mac Lane was the last of the three major candidates to concede? None of them won?” Somepony said something behind her, but her head felt like it had been filled with cotton – the only thing getting through was the news anchor on the radio.

“Now that there is some time, allow me to recount this evening’s ballot numbers as tabulated by our in-house estimators. So far, the leading candidate, Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, is trending near fifty percent in all of our exit polls.” There were gasps from everypony but Rainbow Dash (who uttered a loud “buck yeah!”) and Twilight herself. The unicorn simply rocked on her back legs, forelegs grasping her hind legs, like a buoy in a lake.

The cyan-coated pegasus was more than enthusiastic enough for her catatonic friend. She did a few loop-de-loops in the limited space of the library and swooped down to give Twilight a hug. “Can you believe it?! You won! You really, really won!”

“But I don’t want to win!” Twilight replied, scandalized. “Why would anypony vote for me? I didn’t even have a platform!”

“Well, you smacked-down that slick-talking zebra! Ponies saw just how awesome you could be!”

Twilight’s horn lit up and Rainbow Dash yelped as she was forcibly pushed away. “That’s not how something like this should be done, Rainbow Dash! I was mad that nopony was giving any concrete answers to anything, but that doesn’t mean I’m any better! You should vote for somepony that honestly wants to help the ponies here in Briarwood and make their lives better.”

“But, because you know that, doesn’t that make you the better choice?” All of the ponies turned to Pinkie Pie. She was still listening to the radio, but there was a big smile on her face.

Rarity set her jaw. “Pinkie Pie is absolutely right, Twilight. It’s your choice to go through with it or not, but I certainly think you’re more than qualified. As much as I adore Councilpony O’Banga, I’d be much more at ease with you looking out for us.”

One by one, Twilight sought out her friend’s eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, what she was considering, but they didn’t act like they were just sparing her feelings. They honestly thought she should do it: actually become a representative.

And it scared Twilight Sparkle to death.

“Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a development that is slightly changing our scheduling.” The deep voice of the Radio’s anchorpony was a welcome distraction for the unicorn. He let her get away from her friend’s encouraging looks, at least for a little while. “Our press pool has been informed that Mayor Mac Lane will be making a separate statement from the other candidates. We’re cutting over to his campaign headquarters in Trottingham now.”

The radio went silent for a moment. Twilight slumped back down while her friends edged closer to the box and tried to get her thoughts back in order. Her friend’s words conflicted with what her brain was telling her – that she would somehow make a mistake and let everypony down. Twilight couldn’t count the number of times she’d made a little problem in Ponyville even larger because she didn’t know what to do.

There was a crackle as the radio came back to life. “We apologize for the slight delay, but our equipment is now properly set up.” More than a few cheers peppered the broadcast when Mac Lane was announced. A tap on the microphone signaled that he wanted to speak.

“Thank everypony for coming down here on such short notice,” he began. “I realize that this is a bit of a shock and I apologize to the other candidates who are waiting to do a joint press conference – my wife outranks them, though.” The crowd laughed at the joke and a few clapped. “When she heard I was paying for part of somepony else’s campaign out of pocket, well, let’s just say that I had to hoof it home to settle her down. Now, I realize that a lot of ponies are waiting for me to make this official, so I will right now: Congratulations to Representative Sparkle for taking, my staff tells me, well over half the votes. This just proves what I thought when I said I’d make sure she got on the ballot – that she was the best pony for the job.”

To Twilight’s horror a few boos came through the radio. To her surprise, the mayor spoke up immediately. “Now, that’s not the type of behavior I want to see from my supporters. I realized something up on that stage and I hope all of you did too. Miss Sparkle is, in the end, exactly what the office of Representative calls for. She is young and intelligent, with ideas going through her head that would put any of us to shame. Why, if half the things I’ve been told about her are true then I expect Briarwood to have one of the most dynamic turnarounds in all of Equestria by the time the year’s out.”

“Now, I’m going to take some questions from the press because I can see that they’re chomping at the bit. I’ll let the Fillydelphia Gazette have the first one.”

The crowd hushed. “What are your plans now, Mayor? Are you going to run for Mayor of Trottingham again?”

“I’m afraid not. The decision to not run for mayor again was difficult, but it goes back to my decision to help Miss Sparkle the way I did. Representatives, mayors, city councilmen – these positions shouldn’t be taken by old-hat career politicians. People as old as me should be helping a new generation of driven and responsible ponies get into civil service.” There were few polite claps from the gathered supporters, though Twilight could tell they were still unhappy. She didn’t blame them.

“That said, it leaves the important question of what I plan to do next. I am not ready to retire and I’ve already seen one talented young mare start her path. What’s left for me is to put my years of service in Trottingham to better use. I ask that everypony that supported me in this campaign to support me in my next – the run for Royal Governor!”

Rarity let out a small huff of air. “Royal Governor? My, my, my; he’s really reaching for the top.”

Twilight couldn’t help but agree. There were only four governors in all of Equestria, each responsible for a division of the land. They didn’t sit on any council and were only responsible to the crown. Ferrous Fetch, the current Royal Governor of the southern division, had been at his spot for the last two decades and had never gone against a real competitor. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, though, it looked like he was going to get one this cycle.

“Any other questions? I see a hoof in the back – yes, the mare from the Hoofington Post.”

“Yes, did you say that you made your contribution to Representative Sparkle’s campaign out of your own pocket? Did the other candidates do so as well?”

“I don’t know the finances of my former opponents, but I knew I did not feel it was right to use campaign money to fund what is, ultimately, a personal political contribution. I have to chalk my original words up to my excitement. Anything else?”

From here the questions went on to more mundane topics like what he had planned for the year between the start of the governor’s race or how he intended to keep his campaign together for so long. None of that really mattered to Twilight Sparkle – she was still going over what the stallion had said about her; had said about her on a radio interview that was probably being carried all over the district. She was flattered, embarrassed, and worried all at the same time. The mayor of Trottingham had said she’d make a better representative than he would. To Twilight, that was saying something. Mac Lane had been in politics for decades now and he had used his own money to help get her the position she had never thought about wanting.

“Well, you already have one big fan, Twilight,” Spike said.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Twilight still wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with it, but she felt obliged to at least give it some serious thought now.

There was, of course, one more opinion that would greatly help. Twilight groaned and smacked her forehead when she realized whose opinion she would take over anypony else.

“Spike, take a letter to the princess!”

The little dragon saluted and ran for the writing desk. Twilight felt silly that she hadn’t asked for advice from her teacher before now, especially considering how knowledgeable the princess was on politics. Even though she hadn’t even started the letter yet, Twilight was feeling better. Rainbow Dash went and switched off the radio when Spike ran back with his paper and quill.

“Okay, shoot.”

“Dear Princess Celestia, I wish to ask for your opinion on whether or not I should accept the position of Representative of Briarwood. I have remained in Ponyville for over a year now and have learned many values of friendship and now an opportunity has arose that could let me apply my lessons to even more ponies. As always, your advice would be appreciated beyond compare. Sincerely, your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.”

The letter turned to ash after a fiery huff from Spike and Twilight let out the breath she had been holding. Celestia would know just what to do!

Fluttershy crept up to Twilight. “Um, Twilight, what’s going to happen if you do become the representative? Will it be hard work?”

“Well, I’ve been to court proceedings with Princess Celestia before and I remember seeing representatives there. They were always important-looking ponies that presented ideas to the princess about how she could help the ponies they represented.”

“Darling, you’re leaving out the best part!” Rarity exclaimed. “You’d get to work with the Assembly of Nobilities as well! Oh, just think of all the royals you’d meet! Every day at work you’d be rubbing shoulders with the best and brightest of Equestria!”

Twilight shook her head, smiling. “Both assemblies have to work together, Rarity – the Charter of 649 says so.”

Rarity looked impressed. “You’ve already done research on it? Why, whenever did you find the time? You’ve been a bit…flustered since the election.”

“I didn’t study magic all the time back in Canterlot, Rarity.”

“Sorry, Darling. I always imagined you with your nose in books the whole time. Of course you must have learned things other than magic being the princess’s personal student.”

Twilight didn’t rush to correct her friend’s view. She had spent most of her time in Canterlot in the Royal Library; she had just branched out from time to time, especially when it came to learning more about her teacher. The Canterlot library had an excellent selection of ancient treaties and laws that Celestia had implemented, after all, and the 649 Charter was just one piece Twilight had read over the years.

The purple unicorn was saved from an embarrassing confession when Spike started hacking. It took Twilight by surprise – usually the princess took some time before she could answer a letter.

A small scroll shimmered into existence right in front of Twilight’s eyes and fell limply to the floor. Spike cleared his throat, puffing out a little cloud of smoke, and picked it up. Twilight felt that there was something off about the scroll besides its swift delivery – it didn’t look like a casual piece of parchment.

“Is that royal stationary?” she wondered out loud. Her friends were already starting to crowd around and Applejack peeked over Spike’s shoulder.

She let out a whistle. “That is a might fancy letter! Looks just like one of the royal tax sheets from the castle the mayor shows us farmponies at tax time, seal and all!”

“A seal? Let me see it, Spike…That’s the royal seal! Why would the princess sign a letter with the official seal?” She pulled the document out of Spike’s hands and floated it up to eye level.

“Congresspony Sparkle,” Twilight began, reading aloud, “allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your electoral success. Public service is one of the most important duties a subject of Equestria can undertake and it takes a courageous heart to take the step that you have just taken. Official swearing-in will be held at Canterlot on the fifth day of Waning Moon. Further information about offices, scheduling, and court procedure will be provided at the official orientation.” At the end of the short message was a seal in gold leaf. It showed a blue orb, which represented the Earth, and the twin princesses circling it.

Spike’s finger poked at the paper. “There’s something on the back, Twilight!”

Indeed, on the bottom corner of the paper was a single line, so small it could easily have gone unnoticed. It was simply, “ Congratulations, my dear and faithful student.” No signature, no seal, no other writing.

“That didn’t seem like much of an answer to your letter, Twi,” Applejack said.

Twilight frowned, agreeing with her friend. Then she looked down at the little message on the back again. Unlike the words on the front, it had been written by Celestia’s own horn. Her teacher was proud of her. Celestia thought she would do a good job.

She emptied her lungs with a long, even breath. “She answered, Applejack. The princess hardly ever sends out stock letters personally, but she took the time for mine.” Her eyes watered a bit, but there was a big smile on her face.

Twilight looked back up from the letter with determined eyes. All of her friends looked back at her with warm smiles.

“I know what I’m going to do now. I never asked for this job, but it’s my fault I have it. I’ve been studying the magic of friendship and now it’s time for me to share it with everypony. It isn’t right that I keep my lessons to myself, my friends, or even just Ponyville: It’s my job to help as many ponies as I can!”

Twilight felt good as the last words slipped past her lips. The happy faces of her friends stoked a fire in her chest, just like the faith of her teacher had done. It was still scary to think that she’d be responsible for all the ponies in Briarwood and Twilight didn’t know if she could actually do it, but she’d do just what her teacher had always taught her to do – try her very best.

Her friends all crowded closer to give her a hug and Twilight couldn’t stop from sniffling. She didn’t know why she was crying, but it didn’t feel wrong or sad. There was a new goal set in front of her that was daunting and challenging and it had made Twilight doubt herself. In the embrace of her friends, she felt silly for ever being worried. She was going to do her best for all the ponies that had voted for her and make Celestia proud.

She was going to be Congresspony Sparkle, Freshmen Representative of Briarwood – the best darn representative that Equestria had ever seen!

Chapter 3

“Spike, what box is EquestLaw: Volume 12 in? I want to read it on the train.”

“It’s in the green box!”

Twilight rooted around for a moment in the huge stack of moving boxes until she found the sought-after box. She pulled out a large brown tome from within and glanced over the title just to make sure. “Thanks!” she shouted and floated it over to her saddlebag. It took up precious space within, but Twilight figured that some last-minute political studying couldn't hurt her on the trip to Canterlot.

The library was, for the most part, still intact after Twilight had gone through it with a fine-tooth comb. In the few days leading up to the start of Waning Moon, the purple unicorn had spent nearly every waking hour getting ready to move back to Canterlot. There were boxes on top of boxes that were packed with most of the books Twilight had gotten transferred from her Canterlot home when she moved. Even though there were still mountains of books left in the library, the work went surprisingly well; Spike had been diligent in his daily book sorting and his system let Twilight pick out exactly which ones she’d be having moved with her.

The packing itself hadn’t taken so long, then – it was the reporters. Twilight had been in one news interview after another in a futile attempt to sate the public’s appetite for information about their newest representative. Even now, in the last few hours she had in her library home, Twilight wasn’t free from the public microscope. She cast a furtive look at the reporter sitting in one corner of the library. He was scribbling on his notepad, but Twilight had no doubts about where his attention was.

Polaroid was a beat reporter from the Hoofington Herald that had waited until the initial reporting rush had blown over to get his story. Instead, he wanted to do a story on Twilight’s departure from Ponyville. True to his original promise, he had stayed out of the way and didn’t ask for anything, but at the same time Twilight felt a little uncomfortable. Today was going to be hard enough for her without an audience.

The reporter’s head looked up and Twilight followed his gaze. Spike was very carefully stepping down the stairs, stack of books in-hand. He had evidently tried to take them all down at once to save himself a trip or two and they were piled up past his top-most spine. Twilight reached out with a little cloud of magic to help him keep steady as he nearly toppled over halfway down.

Of course, Polaroid found something interesting there to write on and he was back to his notepad.

Twilight went back to ignoring him. “Did you get everything from up there, Spike?”

“Yup, that’s the last of the books on your list! Everything is checked, double checked and even triple checked.” Spike marched over to the table where the massive, leg-thick scroll was sitting and proudly rolled it back up. “The only thing left to do is get my stuff down here and then we can head to the train station!”

Twilight winced. She reached out with her magic and lifted her assistant off the stairs and put him back in front of her. “We can do that after the party, Spike. There’s still a little more time.” I need a little more time for this as well. She put on a fake smile and nudged him toward the door. “Come on, Pinkie’s got all kinds of games and stuff for us to do.”

As Spike was shuffled out of the library, Polaroid rose from his seat and approached. He was a middle-aged stallion with a dark coat and Twilight had to look up to meet his eyes. The camera hanging around his neck bounced off his chest as he stepped over some boxes.

“Do you mind if I come with you? I’m almost done here and I just want to ask a few questions.”

It was a bit of a walk to Sugarcube Corner and, if the reporter wasn’t exaggerating, there was a chance Twilight could get rid of him before he overheard anything personal. “I can answer them on the way to the party,” she offered. He nodded once and they set out for the bakery with Spike in tow.

“Do you have any comment about the recent investigations into the campaigns of Dairy Star and Mountroamer for misappropriation of funding? There is talk that it was the impromptu donation to your own campaign that sparked interest from Canterlot’s Election Committee.”

Twilight nearly tripped over her own hooves when she heard that. “An investigation? I-I haven’t heard anything about that.”

The reporter raised an eyebrow. “That story is nearly two days old now. Donors have begun suing to get their contributions and the amount they paid to get you registered might have broken the donation limit for political action committees.”

“I’ve been busy getting ready to move,” Twilight muttered, but she sounded uncomfortable. Wasn’t it her job to keep up with things like that now? “Well, if they’ve broken the law then they should face justice. If they haven’t, then there’s no harm in the inquiry.”

Polaroid didn’t react to the answer beyond making a note. “How do you feel about the upcoming legislative session? Is there anything in particular you want to get done?”

This was a question Twilight was ready for. She cleared her throat, recovered from her earlier gaff. “Well, I’ve looked at all of the positions the other candidates were campaigning on and I think I’ve found areas that need special attention. Education, infrastructure, and trade policy seem to be what the ponies of Briarwood want done and I plan on going over every piece of legislation in Canterlot dealing with them.” The question had been asked so much over the last week that Twilight had her answer down by heart now.

Twilight had spent the better part of three days locked in her library after deciding to accept her new job – she didn’t do things by halves. She poured over every newspaper clipping and editorial written by any pony that had been even a semi-serious candidate and looked at all their positions. She studied Canter Polls that measured what issues were important to which ponies; she reviewed tapes from radio interviews with concerned citizens; she visited the mayor of Ponyville to see what problems there were in the town that escaped her notice – anything and everything there was to find about what ills plagued the land Twilight consumed with gusto. When she emerged to the reporters she had a veritable portfolio of ideas and had talked their ears off.

All of that was already in the newspapers, though. Twilight was sure Polaroid was asking only to cover his bases and that her stock answer would appease him. She very much doubted that he’d be the first one to ask to see her flow charts on seasonal labor migration.

Indeed he was not. Polaroid took one more picture of Twilight outside of Sugarcube Corner and said he’d be at the train station to snap a few more before she left for Canterlot. Twilight relaxed when the brown unicorn was finally out of sight. Today was the last day she’d have with her friends for a while and she wanted to make the most of it.

True to usual Pinkie fashion, the bakery was done up with party balloons and streamers. Things were already swinging when Twilight entered – music was thumping from a boom box in the corner and a few of her friends were at the pastry table getting snacks. Spike, of course, was there as well.

Twilight walked over, awed by the effort put into the party. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, Pinkie.” The pink earth pony was carving up the purple cake that had “world’s best representative” spelled out in icing on top.

“Sure I did! You’re going to miss so many parties that I had to roll them all up into one super party!” She maneuvered a large piece of cake onto a plate and nudged it over the table. “I’m gonna call this party your ‘birthday-goodbye-comebacksoon-apalosa!”

Not quite trusting her voice to not hitch, Twilight levitated her piece of cake over and took a demure bite, just to keep her mouth occupied. She let her eyes wander over the room of twenty or so ponies, most she really didn’t know that well but had helped in some way over the year. Five, though, were most dear to the unicorn.

Twilight’s situation started to dawn on the unicorn. These were her friends – her best and only friends – and she was leaving them behind. She would always be back, but they wouldn’t be by her side for months at a time. What if there was a problem that she couldn’t solve by herself? What was she going to do without their advice? The problems she would be facing now were going to be bigger than anything she’d ever faced before and would affect more ponies.

And she was going to face them. Alone.

Twilight swallowed hard. She looked away from the crowd and her eyes landed on her little assistant. He was trying to reach the punchbowl and failing. Twilight magic’d a chair over so he could grab himself a drink. He grinned back at her and Twilight tried to return it.

Not for the first time Twilight wondered if she should adjust her plans when it came to Spike. It hadn’t been a spur of the moment decision, but instead one Twilight had went to her friends and discussed. Most of them agreed with her (Applejack and Fluttershy had expressed some worry, but her explanation had settled them a bit) and the original reasons she had laid out still rang true. Twilight chided herself when a little voice in the back of her mind whispered her to do it anyway. But, no, she was being selfish enough already leaving her post in Ponyville – she wasn’t going to hurt Spike in the process. He had been entrusted her to and she’d look out for him.

“Am I interrupting, Darling?” Twilight startled slightly as Rarity’s voice broke through her thoughts. She hadn’t noticed her friend come up to her.

“No, I’m just thinking about Spike.” Twilight let out a deep sigh. Rarity had been one of the first to offer her help and the white unicorn, with the exception of Applejack, probably understood what she was feeling better than anypony else. She glanced at her friend, half afraid to have her fears confirmed. “Do you think he’ll be angry with me?”

Rarity let out her own sigh. “He certainly won’t be happy,” she answered. “I understand why you have to do it, but I don’t know if he will. Are you quite sure there isn’t a way you could take him with you to Canterlot?”

“We’ve already gone over this, Rarity. He would be so unhappy there! You know how attached he’s gotten to you girls,” Twilight argued. She and Rarity had gone over the same topic since Twilight made her decision to leave the library to Spike. “He loves it here so much and I remember what it was like for him in Canterlot. He was so busy just being my assistant when I was a student; can you imagine what it what me having an actual job would be like?”

“You could simply go easier on him. Don’t you imagine he’d want to see his friends back in Canterlot as well?”

Twilight didn’t have the heart to tell her that Spike didn’t have any friends back in Canterlot – or that it was Twilight’s own fault he didn’t. Friendship was a hard thing to come by when you spent hours in the research library like Twilight did. On the odd days that Twilight did take a break, Spike never ventured very far from her dorm. More often than naught he’d simply crash a party if he were too lonely, but as far as Twilight knew he didn’t have any social life beyond acquaintances.

“You girls are much better friends to him than the ponies back in Canterlot,” Twilight muttered. The truth sounded far, far worse than that lie.

Rarity’s face scrunched up in thought. Twilight imagined her picturing Spike being bullied or picked on. “I suppose you know best, then. You’ve known him longer than I have so if you believe that he will be happier here in Ponyville then I won’t argue any further.”

Twilight cracked a weary smile. “Thanks, Rarity. Now, are you sure you’re alight with looking after Spike for me? I know the other girls said they’d look after him too, but I have a feeling he’ll be at your shop the most.”

“I have a little sister, Darling. Children are not anything I do not have experience with. Besides, Spike is an excellent assistant and equally good at watching Sweetie Belle for me when she comes to visit.”

It would be better if Spike was occupied, Twilight thought. He got along fairly well with the “crusaders” and he enjoyed their antics more than he admitted. Twilight almost felt guilty potentially adding a fourth to their group, but Spike was a bit more mature than them. Maybe he’d even talk them out of some of their more disruptive schemes?

After clearing the rest of the details with Rarity, Twilight fixed herself a plate of party food and tried to enjoy herself. If she tried, Twilight could almost convince herself that this was just another “typical” Pinkie party and that she wasn’t going to leave all her friends in a few hours.

Almost.

Pinkie was good at reading the mood, though, and picked up the slack when Twilight found herself really starting to get down with games, drinks, or just little conversations. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were trying to do the same thing and were following her around like a shadow. Twilight was having a good time watching them fuss over who was closer to pinning the tail on the pony, but every time some other pony would approach to say their goodbyes it dimmed the mood.

Finally the only people left were Twilight’s closest friends and most of them were busy cleaning up. Rarity caught her eye and motioned to Spike with her head.

It was either now or on the train platform and Twilight did not want to drop this on her assistant like that. The little dragon was finishing off the punch and looked so content that Twilight took a few minutes just to make it across the room in order to let him be happy for a little while longer. Rarity joining her, though, steeled her nerves somewhat – enough to make it over and tap him on the shoulder.

“Spike,” she began, “can Rarity and I have a word with you in the kitchen?”

The dragon looked curious, and he checked the big clock on the wall, but followed the two into the empty part of Sugarcube Corner. He and Rarity plodded inside and Twilight closed the door to give herself a little extra time to brace.

“So, what’s up? You guys look kinda serious.” Spike turned to Twilight. “We’ve got to leave in an hour, Twi, and I’ve still got to get my stuff.”

Twilight looked to Rarity, but her friend wasn’t any help. She was ignoring the conversation for the moment and was looking out the kitchen window.

Do your own dirty work, she seemed to be saying.

“It’s about your things, Spike.” Twilight took a breath. “You’re not going to need them. You aren’t going with me to Canterlot.”

The dragon’s mouth flapped a few times. “I…you…what? What do you mean I’m not going? I’m your—”

“Spike! Do you enjoy it here in Ponyville?” Twilight couldn’t stop, couldn’t let Spike get on a roll or she’d lose her will. “Do you remember what it was like for you in Canterlot? We were in the library seven hours a day! It’s going to be like that again, Spike, only worse.”

“But, I don’t mind any of that! It was my job!”

Twilight stomped her hoof. “That’s right! It was your job and it shouldn’t have been!”

The outburst calmed the storm in the kitchen for a frightful moment. Rarity actually looked like she was ready to jump in. Good, Twilight thought. That’s what I need her to be like.

“Spike, would you really drop everything to go with me to Canterlot?” She saw him start to answer and cut him off with a raised hoof. “Think long and hard about that, Spike. I know how much you like Pinkie’s parties or Rainbow Dash’s pranks – if you leave with me you won’t see them for two whole years.” She dropped her voice and leaned in so that Rarity couldn’t hear her. “I don’t want to be responsible for you losing the only friends you’ve had in years, Spike.”

The little dragon looked thunderstruck. Before she got to Ponyville Twilight never would have realized how antisocial the two of them had been back in Canterlot. This would be her biggest friendship lesson – leaving her best friend behind because it was good for him.

She pulled back and let out a breath. “You know I’m right.” Her eyebrow arched, waiting on him to disagree. “Can you honestly say you want to go back to Canterlot and only get to visit Ponyville a few times a year?”

“No.” The words were quiet, but both Twilight and Rarity heard them. It hurt Twilight to hear the defeat in his voice, but it also gave her the hope that Spike wouldn’t make this any harder.

“I’m not leaving you, Spike. Whenever you’re feeling lonely, you can send me a letter. I promise you that the first thing I’m going to do when I get settled in Canterlot is get the princess to teach me how to send letters to you. We could write each night if you want, okay?”

Spike still looked miserable, but he sniffed and nodded. Twilight wasn’t fairing that well herself and she swept the little dragon up in a hug. “It’s only for a little while. I’ll be back before you know it,” she whispered, fervently hoping she was being truthful. “You’re the best assistant anypony could ask for, Spike. I know I’m leaving the library in good hands.”

“I still have all your checklists. I’ll check them every day! Every single one!”

Twilight let Spike down and wiped her eyes. “I don’t doubt that you’ll try, Spike.” She gestured to Rarity. “Rarity’s going to have you come over a few times a week to help in her shop and the other girls are going to take turns checking in on you.”

Rarity stepped forward. She was struggling to keep her emotions even as well, Twilight saw. “That’s right, Darling. Anytime you feel lonely, overwhelmed, or you just want to talk come right down the street to the Boutique. The door will always be open.”

Emotionally drained, Twilight let her mind drift as Spike and Rarity worked out a schedule for helping at the Boutique. She felt emotionally battered after that; the talk itself was one of the worst things she had gone through in a long time. Rarity’s words from earlier, about being lonely in Canterlot, were starting to echo in her head as well. She had never been lonely before, but then again she’d never had friends before and Spike had been a constant companion.

How bad would it be without any of her friends around? Twilight was, she knew, something of a shut-in in the eyes of the other ponies and that her friends constantly tried to get her out of the library more often. Twilight didn’t think of herself as one, though – fact was she spent far more time now being social than she did back in Canterlot. As she thought about going back to those days, she felt a knot tighten in her chest. She had just given up the only real social link she would have had in Canterlot other than the princess.

In the midst of her mild panic attack, Twilight felt Spike tug on her mane. He looked much happier than he had just a moment ago and the unicorn wished she hadn’t drifted off like that in the middle of the conversation.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Twilight. Really. Rarity said I could be her assistant until you get back and I promise I’ll take care of the library.”

Twilight wondered how miserable she had to look for Spike to turn the tables on her. “I know you will.” She couldn’t tell her assistant what she was really worrying about. He would feel guilty and Rarity would insist that she take Spike. Twilight was firm in thinking that he shouldn’t have to suffer for another one of her odd choices in life.

The party was winding down by the time the trio of friends returned to the bakery’s main room. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had managed to knock a few plates of food off the snack table and were busy helping the Cake’s clear the mess while Pinkie was telling Fluttershy an uncomfortably enthusiastic joke by the look on her face.

She would miss this. Twilight’s unease crept back as she watched her friends go about their business. Were there ever five ponies as great as her friends? Twilight doubted she’d meet better ponies anywhere in Equestria even if she spent the next two years looking nonstop. The thought of leaving all this behind, even for a little while, hadn’t crossed her mind. She had been too caught-up with winning and being excited about the princess thinking she could do the job.

“Darling, are you alright?” Rarity had hung back with the other unicorn as Spike fell in with Pinkie and Fluttershy to salvage the rest of the party. She looked more worried than when Twilight had been talking with Spike. “I know that leaving him here was hard for you, but something else seems…off.”

Twilight ached to say something, anything, to explain what she was feeling. She knew that keeping feelings bottled-up wasn’t good for her (as the doctor at the clinic had explained after the Smarty Pants fiasco), but Twilight couldn’t bring herself to dump her feelings on Rarity or the others right before she left.

“I’m just a bit overwhelmed with the moving and the reporters,” Twilight lied. “I hope that there won’t be too many at the train station.”

As Rarity let out a sigh of understanding, Twilight promised herself that she’d talk to Princess Celestia about what was worrying her the second she got to Canterlot.

If anypony would know what to do it would be her mentor – of that, Twilight was absolutely certain.

Chapter 4

Twilight looked out of her cabin window, not really interested in watching the trees speed by but unable to force herself to do something else. She had been in her cabin for the better part of two hours and nothing other than the conductor going through the cars on his ticket check had pulled Twilight out of the little compartment. Even then she had only gone to the door, had her ticket punched by the old stallion, and slumped down back on her bench.

The little ceremony at the train station hadn’t even been depressing. All of Twilight’s friends had gone with her after the party to help with her luggage and Twilight had said a few words to the crowd of well-wishers that had turned up. They had wanted to show “Ponyville solidarity” with their representative and shaking hooves with old biddies and meeting fillies in strollers had distracted Twilight from the sense of loss that had been bubbling up since the farewell party.

Twilight had been happy to think that she’d spend the rest of her life in Ponyville, doing research for the princess and reading every book in the library. Maybe, one day, she’d write her own encyclopedia of magic, but anything along those lines had been distant plans at the very least. The swiftness at which she’d accepted the representative position actually scared Twilight; all it had taken to do away with her doubts had been an official letter and a few words of praise from her mentor. It had been another research project to her – a new challenge to understand and overcome. The reality of it all had, Twilight reflected, hit when those passenger car doors slid closed. After that point the only view she got of her former home had been a fleeting one through the thick glass of her cabin window.

That had been over two hours ago and Twilight hadn’t moved much since. Her stomach was one big knot of anxiety, filling her up to the point of nausea. Everything she knew and loved was, literally, miles behind her now and she was traveling into the unknown. The only possible positive of all this now that the thrill of moment was gone was the promise of being close to her teacher once again. Somewhere at the end of these tracks her teacher would be waiting on her, ready to dispense advice Twilight knew she needed badly. Princess Celestia would want to know all about the election and would pull her student aside for an hour or two, probably over dinner, to get the full story. Twilight could almost feel the glow of her teacher’s smile as she brushed away all of Twilight’s problems with a few words of wisdom. After that, the princess could help Twilight get adjusted to her new job and fill the social void she now had in her life.

The only thing left to do now was wait until the train arrived in Canterlot. Twilight shook her head when the idea of spending the entire trip staring out of her window actually sounded appealing in her head. The bag of books that Spike had put aside for her earlier was tossed haphazardly on the bed. Its flap had come open and a book had slid half-way out. Twilight continued to ignore both the books and the slight mess; she couldn’t touch them without remembering Spike’s miserable face as he had said his goodbye at the platform. She didn’t know if it would have been better if he had actually broken down instead of trying to keep a stiff upper-lip. He had been assuring her he’d take good care of the library up until the door slid closed and the train’s workings drowned out his voice…

‘Too much moping,’ Twilight told herself, pulling away from the memory. She could go through this with the princess in Canterlot, but not now. Not alone.

Ignoring her books and saddlebags, Twilight rolled off her cot and moved to the door. She didn’t have anything else with her in the room; her travel trunks were stored further down the train in the baggage car and it would be too much trouble to go retrieve something. Besides, right now the unicorn didn’t want to spend the rest of the trip cooped up in her room reading: she wanted a distraction. Something to keep her mind busy and off her friends and Ponyville.

The car Twilight was in was a passenger sleeper. Rooms just like hers lined each side of the central hallway and there were doors at both ends that connected to the other cars. The lounge was behind while the dining car was ahead – Twilight wasn’t particularly hungry, so she turned on her hooves and made for the lounge. She passed a few passengers in the hall, but they exchanged nothing other than polite nods between one another. Twilight watched them disappear behind their cabin doors and wondered if she’d find anypony even in the lounge. It was almost past six in the afternoon and the dining car would probably be more popular.

It turned out, though, that there were indeed ponies to speak with. Twilight entered a warm car bathed in red when she got past the clattering passage between her sleeper and the lounge. The entire car was upholstered in vibrant velvet and more than a dozen ponies were littered around the room, some in pairs or groups and one or two by themselves.

“Excuse me, Miss.”

Twilight mumbled an apology and hustled inside, letting in an older stallion. He magically tipped his hat to her as he passed and headed for the far side of the car where a small party of ponies seemed to be waiting for him.

There was plenty of room for Twilight to find a place of her own. The comfortable heat, she discovered, was coming from a fine-polished radiator near the middle of the lounge. She took the couch directly beside it and pulled a Canterlot newspaper to her from further down that somepony had left so she didn’t seem too out of place. She hadn’t intended on reading it, but the headline caught her attention. “Major Crackdown on Campaign Funding” was splashed across the front of the page. Below it was an enormous picture of the candidates she had shared a stage with during the election – sans McLane. The article reported on an ongoing investigation into the inappropriate use of campaign funding. Larger political donors were demanding back the money that had went into Twilight’s election fee and the other candidates couldn’t deliver.

‘McLane said in his news conference that he paid out of pocket,’ Twilight remembered. Her fee had been fronted by the other candidates and it had amounted to nearly twelve-thousand bits apiece for them to put her on the ballot that close to the election. She wondered just how out of the loop she was to be surprised by the news that several important ponies were being investigated for election fraud. ‘I’ve been so busy just trying to figure out what my job will be that I haven’t been able to think about it.’

Twilight had spent the last week brushing up on her political science studies. Princess Celestia was responsible for approving laws and motions that came out of the two branches of Equestrian Parliament: the Common Assembly and the Assembly of Nobilities. As a member of the former, Twilight was responsible for her own district, Briarwood, and would work for the ponies living in Ponyville, Briarwood, Fillydelphia, Trottingham, and Green River. She had some idea of what to suggest, but because she had never visited most of the areas she would represent Twilight was unsure of what she could actually accomplish during the first year of her tenure.

The unicorn’s thoughts began to drift, but this time they dwelt on what was coming rather than on what had been left behind. Twilight knew she would get an office in the upper-platform area of Canterlot: the upper-platform was the center of Equestrian political life. It was where the Assembly offices were, where the Castle was, and where the massive parliamentary building held the meetings that would take up much of Twilight’s time. It would be easy to commute if Twilight’s old room at the castle was still available. If the princess put her somewhere else she might have to walk a bit.

In the midst of planning a daily course to work Twilight felt the cushion next to her shift. The stallion that had come in after her had sat down with the rest of his group. Several were still standing in the middle of the car talking, but a few had descended on the newspapers and magazines laid out on the end table beside the radiator. The one sitting next to Twilight, however, cleared his throat and pointed to the purple unicorn’s newspaper.

“I say, are you finished with that paper, young lady?” he asked. His voice was scratchy, but elegantly so. With a smart black suit, dapper top hat, and well-groomed red coat, he reminded Twilight of her old professors from the princess’s school. She had already skimmed the article that had grabbed her attention, so she floated the paper over to him. “Thank you. I say, you certainly did select the best spot in the car. It is dreadfully drafty near the other end.” His Spanish-style mustache twitched as he magically shook out the folds in the newspaper.

It seemed like a statement that didn’t warrant a real reply, so Twilight just politely nodded. She felt suddenly uncomfortable as more of the obviously upper-class ponies settled on the couches closest to the radiator. Some were reading papers, but most were discussing various bits of news from around Equestria. From what Twilight could gather from unavoidable eavesdropping, they traveling from a business trip in Fillydelphia back to Canterlot and hadn’t been watching recent events very closely.

One of the unicorns, an elegant mare in a frilly dress, snorted in distain as she read the cover of the Hoofington Post that was on the couch next to her. “We may have missed Canterlot’s spring ball, but count our blessings that we weren’t in Ponyville during their election fracas. Can you believe that McLane is trying to become a governor now? Why, he married into the McLane’s if I recall correctly – does he believe he’s entitled to a noble’s office?”

“He’s of acceptable stock,” one of the others replied. “His wife’s family has always poached talented public servants over the years and he’s made quite the handsome sum himself in Trottingham. If we must have someone from average stock as a governor he isn’t the worst we could do.”

Nods all around, Twilight observed. She didn’t exactly understand what the conversation was about – Twilight knew that the official governorships had been open to general ballots since 1279 – but she couldn’t help but feel drawn to the conversation. Here were ponies that obviously kept up with goings on in Equestria and were educated enough to have informed opinions; Twilight almost felt like she was back at the castle already.

Her captivation didn’t go unnoticed, though. “I say, I believe we have a bit of an admirer.” The pony that Twilight had held up earlier had caught her paying too much attention. Twilight thought he’d be mad, but the stallion only inclined his head to get a better look at her. “Interested in politics, Miss? You looked as if you had something you wanted to add. Come now, speak up!”

Twilight’s jaw flapped as she was suddenly the center of attention. “Oh, no, I just couldn’t help b-but overhear.” She was already the center of attention, however. The group of ponies were already looking at Twilight with varying degrees of interest.

She couldn’t escape, but at the same time escaping was what Twilight had been specifically trying to avoid by leaving her cabin. A little conversation wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

“Well, I was thinking of the Administration Reorganization of 1279 and the new election rules. I just didn’t see why being nobility was so important now.”

Most of the upper-crust ponies looked affronted or confused by the argument. Twilight felt smaller than ever and chided herself for getting too wordy, but she didn’t know how else to add anything to the conversation. The only bright spot for her was that the stallion next to her looked like he was thinking about it.

“That’s quite the position to take,” he commented. Unlike Twilight, everypony was giving him their undivided attention. “I don’t think I’ve even heard of the…what was it? The Administration Reorganization of 1279? I can’t say I’ve ever heard of that. Are you a student of the Canterlot College?”

The College, Twilight remembered, was the primary bureaucracy provider for the government. She had actually attended a few classes there during the summer downtime. “I spent my summer semesters there, but I’m a student of the princess’s school.”

“Is that right? I didn’t know that political studies were a large part of the magic academy. You must be rather impressive to pick that up during just the summer.”

Twilight blushed. “Well, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about politics recently because of the election.”

One of the mares fluttered her fan. “Were you following that election fiasco in Ponyville as well?” She asked the question with a fair bit of sarcasm. “Why, I’ve never seen such a—”

“Excuse me,” the stallion cut in, looking at Twilight, “But I’m terribly embarrassed that I haven’t introduced myself yet: I’m Ser Reinhoof. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of your name yet, Miss…?”

“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry! I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

It was only after she introduced herself that Twilight realized just what Reinhoof had implied with his introduction. His title revealed him as a hereditary noble and the young unicorn struggled to remember the proper greeting. She slipped off the bench and spread her front legs, ducking her head a quarter down from the top of her shoulder. It was hard to get the exact pose, but Twilight was certain that she remembered the description from the Nobility and Postulating, Second Edition.

Reinhoof was silent for a moment, but he too rose and ducked his head. Though not as deeply or ridged, his moves were just as precise as Twilight’s. “I haven’t seen an official supplication in over three years,” he remarked, smiling broadly. “I didn’t think there was anypony of the younger generations that remembered it.”

“My father and his friends still do that,” one of the mares spoke up. They looked like they were in on a joke which Twilight didn’t quite think she understood. “All the older ponies do. Don’t you think it’s just so…retro?”

There was a good bit of tittering from the younger ponies gathered. Twilight suddenly felt extremely silly, standing on formality like she was. This was a public train after all; she hadn’t judged the mood correctly and had made an ass of herself.

Just as she was about to apologize, the red stallion tapped Twilight’s hoof where the others couldn’t see. “I find it charming that some of the younger generation remember proper decorum,” he stated. It didn’t seem like he was addressing anyone in particular, but the muffled whispers abruptly stopped. “It’s quite something for the Princess’s personal student, not to mention the youngest representative in Equestrian history, to honor me so.”

An even older stallion, whom had remained quiet from the conversation thus far, looked over at Twilight. His caterpillar-like grey eyebrows hitched upwards a bit when he glanced over the young mare. “It’s in bad taste for members of the government to show deference to one another, young lady,” he muttered. “Still, politeness in any form is at a premium these days.”

Twilight wanted to reply to that, but Reinhoof was already guiding her away. “It’s an excellent time to speak of business before we get to Canterlot,” he explained. Twilight followed him to the back of the lounge car, far enough removed from the group that Twilight couldn’t even hear the hushed whispers that had started back up as they moved away.

“You’ll have to forgive Ser Hapspan for his bluntness. His trip to his holdings in the west did not go as he had hoped.”

“Oh, there’s nothing to forgive! I’m just so embarrassed I couldn’t remember the correct etiquette for an informal meeting! It’s been so long since I’ve read up on the subject that some parts are blurry in my head.”

Reinhoof chuckled and shook his head. “Remarkable! You actually are embarrassed that you couldn’t remember the exact positions and motions of that ridged old greeting! I admit the keenness of your studiousness leaves me feeling rather inadequate: I could only partially remember what I was supposed to do in answer.”

“That can’t really be true, can it?” Twilight joked. Her smile fell when Reinhoof didn’t laugh and she felt foolish again.

The stallion sank down onto the sofa and Twilight did the same a respectable distance away. She got the feeling that there was something heavy weighing on the noble’s mind since his eyes did the same annoyed dip that the Princess’s did when she was worried. Twilight had never known what to do when her mentor was upset and she didn’t know what to do now so she just waited for Reinhoof to say something.

After a good minute of silence, he did. “Tell me, did you feel anything in particular when the others didn’t return the correct greeting?” Seeing Twilight’s confusion, he added, “Were you even aware that they were all nobility of high station?”

Twilight tried not to look completely mortified, but it was impossible. She tactlessly looked over at the group of ponies they had just left; while not in casual clothing, they certainly weren’t dressed as sharply as Reinhoof or the older gentlecolt that had spoken to her. The young stallions were in casual shirts and slacks and the women had on plain saddles. The ones that weren’t going for less had gone for too much: a few of the mares wore such bright colors and jewels that they even glittered and gleamed inside the dark lounge. Twilight was no fashionista like Rarity, but she would have never pegged that clothing for what nobility chose to wear.

“I can see in your expression that you didn’t realize they were the same station as I. You need not cover what you think of it to me – I assure you that I feel the same.”

“Well, I’m not the best judge of fashion myself.”

Reinhoof sharply shook his head. “I’m not referring to just their wardrobe, I’m afraid. More and more types like them have been granted their hereditary seats in the Assembly of Nobility. I had hoped that with some proper guidance they would turn a corner, but my way, our way, of behaving isn't nearly as attractive as a life public flamboyance and celebrity.”

He clapped the stunned unicorn on the shoulder. “I’ll be counting on you to show a good example in the Commons. I’m not exaggerating when I say you’re one of the most talented and fair-mannered representatives I’ve seen in a good many years…not that the student of the princess could be any less.”

Twilight dumbly nodded. When she had wanted to have a conversation with another pony this was not what she had expected. Honestly, she didn’t know what Reinhoof expected her to do. A seat in the Assembly of Nobles wasn’t something a pony could be kicked from easily. The families allowed to sit in the Assembly had all done some spectacular service for the princess at some point. Her father was probably better-equipped to answer something like this than she was.

Reinhoof tapped Twilight gently on the hoof. “Don’t worry too much about it, Miss Sparkle. I’m only giving you the same pep talk I try and give every new representative so you don’t end up in the papers for anything other than your successes. I’m sure you’re already more than experienced on the workings of the court from your time with the princess.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the pair when Twilight didn’t answer. Reinhoof’s kind smile started to droop a bit as Twilight’s blush intensified. “I actually didn’t attend court that much with the princess,” she admitted, bashful and embarrassed. “I-I don’t want to be a black spot on the Assembly like…” her eyes briefly cut across the car, seeking out the rude and gaudy nobles further down. “Could you…could you tell me what I’m supposed to do?”

The red unicorn floated out a small piece of paper from inside his suit. “Well, at least you can admit when you need help. That’s an admirable trait as well,” he said, though a bit less-enthused than he was previously. “I have the honor of hosting the Fall Ball this year at my residence. Traditionally only nobility usually go to the non-public affairs, but since you’re the princess’s assistant I believe I can make an exception. That’s the card of Canterlot’s premier tailor. If you tell them you were referred by me, they should be able to give you all the help you’ll need when it comes with how to dress. Dressing smartly is, after all, the best way to show a proper outward face.”

Twilight, lacking pockets at the moment, kept the card near her with magic. She wondered if Celestia would want her to go to a ball when she could be working in her office for the ponies of her district. She had wanted advice on how to act in the parliament, not how to act at a party. Dressing up for a ball with a bunch of ponies she didn’t know wasn’t really Twilight’s forte, either.

“I’ll see what my schedule is like when I get settled, Ser,” Twilight replied. She could tell that her answer wasn’t the one the older stallion wanted, but he was too polite to press the issue.

He gave her a perfunctory smile. “Well, I certainly hope to see you there. I shall certainly put your name on our guest list. Perhaps before then you can—” A raucous laugh echoed through the cabin as the younger nobility traveling with Reinhoof erupted into laughter. Twilight, Reinhoof, and the other travelers all turned to stare. The red stallion’s nose twitched and he hastily said his goodbyes, taking his leave to reign back in his companions.

Twilight let out a deep breath. She had gotten sucked up in a topic far out of her experience. Her friends had once thought that Twilight would be posh and noble-like since she grew up in the castle, but she had corrected that view very quickly. The princess kept most of her lessens in the school and very rarely did Twilight actually accompany her mentor to anything more official than a meet-and-greet. She had never sat in on a session of the court or even been present for an awards ceremony. In hindsight, Twilight wished she had tagged along more considering her current occupation, but wishing wouldn’t help now. The best she could do is act like she always had and do the best job possible.

Still, she kept the card. Twilight hustled out of the lounge before Reinhoof could catch her again while he was busy politely trying to keep the rambunctious young fillies in-check. As she stepped into her sleeper, the train’s intercom crackled to life.

“Next stop: Canterlot. All departing guests should get their baggage tickets ready to present to the conductor.”

Perfect timing! Twilight trotted down to her cabin and slipped the tailor’s card into her saddlebag after hoisting it onto her back. The books that had caused so much early distress went back to their places quickly so Twilight didn’t linger on them. ‘Soon,’ she told herself, ‘I’ll be back at the castle with the princess and I can talk about all of this with her. I certainly have a good topic to break the ice with!’ Perhaps the princess would even know a way to politely turn down Reinhoof’s invitation?

***********

Twilight was grateful that she didn’t see Reinhoof or any of his companions when she stepped onto the platform. She had prepared her baggage ticket as well as all her belongings from her cabin half an hour before it was time to detrain just for that result. Twilight found herself at the front of the baggage queue, well ahead of anyone who would catch her in time-draining conversation. Hopefully she could be up the mountain and at the palace before dinner; Celestia tended to eat rather early, after all.

Genesis Station was situated in a cave inside of the mountain upon which the city was built. Since Canterlot was over two thousand feet higher than the plains below, a tunnel and bridge had been a necessity in construction. Shafts and tunnels used to be the thoroughfare before steam engines and modern building techniques made a city at the top of a mountain viable. Twilight had gotten a very personal look at the old tunnels underneath Canterlot unwillingly, but every few years an expedition would go down to dig up artifacts from thousands of years ago and put them on display at the college or Royal Museum. This station itself was formally just a market from an era long ago; it was an exceptionally large cavern that had been in just the right spot for the bridge to meet. A little bit of blasting and the tunnel had linked right to it.

There was a surprising amount of light for being so far inside a mountain. Twilight easily moved around on the platform and informed the baggage handlers that she would need her things delivered to the castle in a few hours. That should be enough time for her to not only speak with the princess but to also get settled in her old room.

Behind her, the train let out a long whistle and it rumbled along its tracks, continuing onward to the grand rail yard where it would take on water and coal for the trip back to the provinces. Contrary to many outsiders’ imagination, Canterlot wasn’t simply the city at the top of the mountain. The actual city stretched downward from the plateau at the top to this station, fifteen hundred feet down. The districts, divided into one quarter per level, stretched all the way up the mountain. Only the ones above Genesis Station remained inhabited, but there were still over twenty thousand ponies living and working inside Canterlot. They ranged from clerks for the government, miners that traveled out to neighboring mountains for limestone, steel workers in one of the massive forges that would ship steel to settlements all over Equestria, and merchants that sifted through the produce of an entire country.

Twilight’s own parents lived at the very top of the district pile because her father had been Canterlot's chief magistrate for years. She had written them a short letter before setting off for Canterlot of course, but there hadn't been enough time for them to respond before she had to leave. If Celestia didn't know how to politely deal with Reinhoof's invitation then her father certainly would. She would drop in on them after meeting with the princess.

The train that went upwards, winding around the quarters, departed on the other side of the platform in ten minutes. Twilight trotted over to the main kiosk and purchased a simple transit pass and queued up on the platform. Most of the ponies with her were upper-class day travelers who went to nearby Fillydelphia for pleasure or business and returned to their homes at the top of the mountain in the afternoon. It took a few hours to make the commute, but Twilight was always surprised at how many ponies decided to go to that much trouble. To her, Canterlot contained anything a pony could want if they were willing to search – especially when you only wanted one thing.

“One ticket for the castle, please.” Twilight’s smile crept back onto her lips at the words; she hadn’t said them in over three years and the nostalgia swelling about her was like a warm blanket after so long. She remembered the trips and assignments the princess would send her on from time to time and the thrill of adventure every time she’d set hoof on the train platform. That thrill didn’t compare to feeling Twilight would get holding her ticket back home after the trips, though. Twilight didn’t want to have the feeling, but her mind almost fell into the same patterns once again. She didn’t want to think of her time in Ponyville as just a fieldtrip, but here she was, back at the main station, holding a ticket for the familiar Prestige Line that would take her back to the castle.

Unlike the train she had just left, the Prestige Line (Canterlot natives simply called it “The Prestige”) functioned exclusively inside Canterlot. Trains running it started on this quarter and made stops at every station until it hit Canterlot Summit Station. It was operated by sleek, modern trains that only carried passengers and their luggage – specialty freight trains or porters would take goods and raw material from here into the different city quarters.

Twilight stepped into the packed commuter line and struggled to find standing room. At one time these crowds had been so daunting that she regularly missed several trains just so she could stand in one not so crowded. Now, the more-worldly unicorn pushed with the best of them to get room.

The dazzling lights of Canterlot flashed by the windows as the train pulled away from the station. One train on the Prestige had broken the Equestrian land speed record for a train last year and Twilight knew it wouldn’t take very long for them to reach the summit. Riders on the line could see the entirety of Canterlot in twenty minutes if they wanted, but Twilight was anxious to get to the castle now. She was so close she could almost feel the blissful peace of the gardens, even in this mass of ponies.

Summit Station was announced two stops before reaching it and Twilight worked her way closer to the sliding doors. A flood of ponies got off at the Counting Quarter stop and a healthy bit stepped out at Embarkation Ledge, the best place for pegasi in Canterlot on business to take off without having to deal with security at the summit. The Ledge also had great scenic housing for those rich enough to buy. Quite a few of Twilight’s old schoolmates lived there.

It didn’t compare to the Summit, though.

Summit Station, situated far back from the palace, was one of the oldest buildings in Canterlot. It hadn’t always been a train station, as evident by the high arches and open skylights that Twilight passed under as she disembarked. At one time it was the royal carriage station, but when Canterlot had finally reached the summit the princess had given the carriage house to the transit authority. A few signs, like the architecture, pointed to what it had been before the rapid expansion necessary for all the traffic it housed, but normal ponies wouldn’t know what they were passing through. Twilight had always loved it, though. There was a little museum in the back that had some old carriages and pictures of Princess Celestia riding in them (some of the first pictures ever taken, according to the curator).

Twilight didn’t bother with looking through the museum today, though. Twilight’s mind was already past the summit grassland and the noble estates that were between the station and the palace; her hoofs were briskly taking her out of the crowds and onto the main road. Other ponies could wait for a carriage – she would get their quicker herself.

Canterlot Castle loomed over the summit from any place on the plateau. It had originally been built on the side of the mountain, but over the centuries it had spilled over the side and now parts of it hung down like a bee hive. The guards let her through the gates without incident, but only the castle grounds were open to the general public – you had to have the proper credentials to get into the palace itself without an appointment. Twilight, ragged and huffy, suddenly wished she hadn’t been so enthusiastic that she trotted the whole way from the station. Her bags probably wouldn’t get to the palace for another hour!

The unicorn floated a brush out of her saddlebag and ran it through her mane. The princess would probably be in the dining room right now. Dinner in Canterlot for the princess was simply another court function and the princess would retire to her private dining room for actual food whenever her guests got tired of talking. That was as good a place as any to catch the princess when she had a moment.

Twilight hoped that the princess had gotten the letter she had sent the day before. Celestia hadn’t written anything since the election and Twilight was a bit worried that her mentor might be too busy to see her tonight. If she was, then maybe the princess could just give her advice about how to deal with Reinhoof and they could talk more tomorrow when the princess would inevitably give Twilight a tour of the council building. Maybe the big talk about her duties and such would be better in the morning? Twilight would be fine with that – she was a bit drained anyway and her old bed was practically singing to her.

In fact, Twilight decided, it would probably be best if she just headed up there before meeting with the princess so she could put away her saddlebag and maybe take a shower. She might not get intimidated by riding on the Prestige Line anymore, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel dirty after being packed in with so many ponies.

She made for the central staircase that led to the towers, but to her considerable surprise the guards on duty extended their wings to block her. Twilight looked around for any other ponies getting too close to the stairs, but saw none. Odd.

“Um, excuse me,” Twilight said, trying to sidestep. The guards extended their outerwings and blocked the entire stairway to her. By now the commotion had drawn the attention of several tourists who were watching with curiosity.

Twilight’s muzzle scrunched up at the impassive faces of the golden-armored pegasi. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she said, slowly and clearly so that they could hear her.

The guard’s expression didn’t change, but one did answer. “We were not informed by the steward that Representative Sparkle had business in the castle today,” he said. Their wings still blocked the entrance.

Completely frazzled, Twilight couldn’t think of anything to say in response to that. It was true that she hadn’t checked in with the castle’s steward. Then again, never before in her eighteen years had she ever had to check in with anyone but the princess. She would have just demanded that the guards move, but they had always intimidated her a bit.

“Isn’t that the princess’s student?” one observer said to another. What had been just a few curious glances had now turned into a group. Some of them were even snapping pictures. Twilight, frozen like a deer on train tracks, didn’t know how to convince the guards and shake the attention. She was almost to the point of skulking away and sending the princess another letter about getting in.

As chance would have it, however, Twilight’s salvation was coming down the stairs that very instant. The castle’s steward, no doubt drawn by the ruckus, nudged his way past the guard’s wings. He paused at the landing, took in the crowd, and turned a serine smile on Twilight.

“Miss Sparkle, I’m afraid there was a bit of a mix-up with your clearance,” he loudly declared. “You can come right on up.”

The relief that flooded through Twilight’s thoughts was immense. She darted through the now-open passage past the guards and was taking the steps two at a time on her way up. As she turned the corner at the top, she could see the steward personally ushering the tourists along toward the statue garden outside.

Twilight lingered and waited on the other unicorn to join her. The steward, an old stallion named Sol Shard, had known Twilight since she had been named Celestia’s student. He usually wasn’t a fixture of Twilight’s time at the castle, but of the few memories she had of him his gentle smile stood out. Twilight certainly never remembered the steward looking as upset as he did coming back up the stairs.

“Mr. Shard, thank you for helping me. I don’t really understand what happened with the guards.”

He gave Twilight a look of barely-restrained annoyance and motioned her to follow him. “Not out here. There are still some guests about.” Twilight said no more and hurried along after him. She didn’t envy the chewing-out those guards were probably going to get for causing a scene like that; the steward seemed to be positively steaming.

As well as Twilight could figure, they were heading to the offices over the barbican, away from the royal dwelling area. ‘Perhaps,’ Twilight thought, ‘the princess is running late on official business?’ She could think of no other reason why Celestia would be in this area of the castle this late in the day. Twilight had often followed her around on her daily rounds, but never this late. The princess closed court a little after three and it was well past four at the moment.

This part of the castle kept busy, even if the official court did not. The Canterlot bureaucracy kept things running just as eternally as Celestia’s sun or Luna’s moon overhead. The princess often spoke of how dedicated the staff here was to work so late into the night to ensure that Equestria ran smoothly. Twilight had done a few studies on magical manipulation at the central record office here with the princess – some of the record-keepers could manipulate stacks of papers that contained hundreds of individual pages with magic. It was truly a sight to see!

Twilight and Sol Shard had already passed that room, though. The unicorn steward stopped in front of an old oak door and Twilight went in first. To her confusion, the princess wasn’t inside. What was there was a large, open office dominated by a wooden desk flanked by two windows overlooking the approach to the castle.

The harsh sound of the door slamming closed made Twilight jump. Sol Shard stalked past the desk to the windows, leaving Twilight standing uncomfortably in the middle of the sprawling office.

“Um,” Twilight coughed when her voice came out raspy and dry; this was highly uncomfortable. “Is the princess going to meet me here?”

Sol Shard let out a mirthless chuckle. “The princess? Young lady, what makes you believe you are going to see Princess Celestia?” He turned from the window and looked at Twilight with the same ruffled expression he had worn in the hallway coming to the office, only less-restrained. Twilight could see his lip curling slightly. “You arrive at the castle unannounced, start a scene that was highly embarrassing for the crown in front of a crowd of tourists, and now want to interrupt the princess?” he asked, incredulous. “Perhaps you don’t understand your position, Representative Sparkle.”

Floored, Twilight took a step back. The large office now seemed much, much too small – her chest was starting to burn and her breaths came out in quick gasps. “What…what are you saying? I’m the princess’s student!” She had never, in all her years in Canterlot, been treated like this at the castle. The castle had always been open to her!

“You were the princess’s student! Now you’re the newest member of the Common Assembly and the current media flavor of the month!” He let out a gruff breath of air and pointed a hoof at Twilight, as if giving an explanation to a child. “The Princess cannot be seen favoring one faction in the Parliament over another. If you get unrestricted access to the castle, then the other representatives will demand it as well.”

Twilight couldn’t breathe. The sheer gravity of what the steward was telling her –that it was somehow politically toxic for the princess to see her– was suffocating. “I’m not a member of any faction! I haven’t even been sworn-in!”

The stallion groaned. “You defeated a popular reformist candidate that was looking like a sure thing at the last minute and you’ve been the princess’s student for your entire life! There are already accusations that the princess groomed you for this position to undermine the newest reform bills being debated in the parliament! If you come and go from the castle anytime you wished what kind of message would that send? The royalist and reform blocs have been moving toward compromise, at the princess’s behest, for weeks now and your success in the elections could up-end that!”

Distantly, Twilight realized that this was something he had obviously put a lot of thought into. If the castle steward was thinking about it, Twilight’s mind rationalized, then the princess was thinking about it. The lackluster, near-hidden congratulatory message from the princess now seemed much more significant. Maybe it was brief because the princess wasn’t happy for her success? Maybe it was nothing but the colossal headache that Sol Shard said it was?

Maybe the last thing Princess Celestia wanted was to see Twilight’s face?

“I didn’t know…I-I didn’t think about any of that! I wasn’t trying to…to influence the princess! I just…I just—” She couldn’t finish. Her throat was clenching tighter with every frantic beat of her heart and the burning behind her eyes was nigh-blinding. With one shuddering breath, the floor rushed on her as she collapsed in the middle of Sol Shard’s office...

Chapter 5

One thing that the average pony would not know about “Miss Realist” Twilight Sparkle was that she kept a dream journal. It was a simple book of a hundred or so pages filled with random scribbles from a sleep-addled mind. Most of the entries were silly things like descriptions of colors and feelings; some were of bizarre scenes like a garden full of thorn bushes and lush fruit.

Once in a while, though, there was the odd dream that Twilight could recall with crystal clarity. The young unicorn yawned and rolled over in her bed, already reaching out with her magic for her dream journal. The quill flew to her with practiced ease and the nightstand next to her bed gave up the book itself.

It had been a most terrible dream, Twilight thought as she dipped the quill in her bedside inkwell. Her nightmares were always bad – more so after her episode a few months ago with Smarty Pants, but tonight it was worse than usual. She put the tip of the quill down on the page and began to write about her ordeal, only to find that the words wouldn’t come. In fact, nothing was being marked on the page at all.

She dipped the quill again with the same results: no words, no ink, and still no marks. Frustrated, Twilight maneuvered the inkwell over to her and peered inside. There was ink at the bottom, but it was a red soup of miniature waves lapping at the side of the little glass jar. Captured by the scene, Twilight bent her head over to get a better look and tipped – off the bed and down, down, down into the black bottle and into an ocean that had not looked so deep and wide from so far above…

Twilight snapped awake with a yelp loud enough to echo on the stone walls of her room. She was panting and sweating so the pony threw back the thick blankets and tried to slow her breathing. It was only as she was trying to get her breath back that the filly noticed her surroundings.

Twilight wondered where she was. It was still the castle, she could tell from the stonework, but it was unlike any the young unicorn had seen. Rich tapestries of blue and pink flowed down all four walls like rivers of color and the massive four-post bed she was in dominated the room. Twilight sat up on the soft down mattress and tried to will the fuzziness in her mind to dissipate. Something about this place seemed so familiar though Twilight was certain she’d never set hoof in this room before.

The large wooden door at the far end of the room opened with a loud creak, answering her odd sense of familiarity with the room. A very familiar head peaked around the corner of the door clad in a golden helm.

“Shining Armor!” Twilight exclaimed. She tried to jump to her feet, but her legs shivered and she slumped back down on the bed.

Her brother took a few tentative steps into the room and looked around, giving the windows more than a cursory glance. “Are you alright? I thought I heard you yell.”

Twilight shook her head. “Sorry, bad dream.”

“That’s what Cadance said, but you know me: big brother to the rescue.” His helmet came off with a yank of magic and he gave his sister a quick nuzzle. “Don’t worry us like that again, Twilight,” he muttered.

Twilight chuckled. “It was only a bad dream. I used to have lots—”

“I’m not talking about the dream! They had to call me in to get you from the steward’s office because you fainted. Do you have any idea how worried Cadance and I were?”

“I fainted?”

“In Sol Shard’s office. Don’t you remember?”

Suddenly everything tumbled back down on Twilight like a flood. “I remember,” Twilight whispered. Oh how she remembered. What little good cheer she had gotten from seeing her brother so unexpectedly was gone. “Am I still in the castle?”

“You’re in our room. The minister wanted you to wake up here so that there wouldn’t be a…an…”

Twilight finished the sentence. “Another ‘embarrassing episode to the crown’ like the one I put on in front of the tourists downstairs, right?”

The guard captain ducked his head. “Something like that. I’m sorry, Sis.”

Sorry seemed to be the word of the day for Twilight. Sorry that she was an inconvenience to the princess, sorry that she had cause such a scene, and sorry she had ever opened her big mouth on election day.

Apparently, though, Twilight would have one more thing to be sorry about as Princess Cadance followed her husband in at just that moment. The normally bubbly princess looked sorely upset and there were the beginnings of bags under her eyes. This time Twilight did manage to get to her feet, if only to properly greet her sister-in-law with a nuzzle.

The Princess of Love gave her friend a tired smile. “I didn’t think you would be up for some time or I’d have been here for you. I thought you were having another nightmare.”

“How long have I been sleeping?” Twilight asked.

“Two and a half days if you count today,” Shining Armor answered. “If you had been out for much longer I would have taken you to the hospital, steward be damned.”

Cadance saw that Twilight looked confused. “Sol Shard said we couldn’t take you to the hospital in case there were paparazzi around.”

Sol Shard this, Sol Shard that. Truthfully Twilight was getting sick of hearing that old stallion’s name. He’d always been kind and courteous before, but after basically telling Twilight she wasn’t welcome in the castle he’d more than burned that bridge. Now that the initial shock of it all was over with, Twilight couldn’t imagine the princess saying anything like that to her. Celestia had been her teacher for close to two decades – the bond they shared was stronger than politics, of all things!

A fierce determination lit itself deep down in Twilight’s stomach. She’d get to the bottom of this right now!

“Cadance! You’re a princess, right?” The pink alicorn recoiled as Twilight tapped her on the chest with her hoof. “Would Princess Celestia really say that I’d be a liability to her? Me, her best and most dedicated student?”

The poor princess gulped and eased away from the accusing poke. “Twilight,” she began, low and measured, “I don’t think for a second that Celestia actually said anything like that. Likely, it was just Sol Shard being what he is – the Castle Steward. You have to understand how these things work…”

Twilight’s lips twisted into a scowl. “You’re taking his side?” she asked, incredulous.

Cadance blanched at Twilight’s tone. “No! I’m not taking anyone’s side, Twilight! Just…just try and see how this looks to everypony else. You were Celestia’s private student, you’re from a well-to-do Canterlot family, and I’m your sister-in-law. That makes you a distant crown relative yourself. Put that on top of beating one of the most talked-about candidates in recent memory and the news story practically writes itself.”

Cadance shrugged hopelessly at her husband when Twilight slumped back onto the bed. “I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but better it come from us than some tabloid. If you just wait a few months it’ll all blow over and then–”

Twilight’s head snapped up suddenly. “What if I resign?” she asked. “Would things to back to normal?”

“Resign? Are you kidding? Sis, this is the biggest opportunity you’ve had since Princess Celestia picked you to become her apprentice!” Shining Armor stamped his foot on the thick carpet, but it was enough to make Twilight jump. “You can’t stay in Ponyville your whole life, Twilight. Don’t you want to get out there, in the real world, and make your mark?”

“I want to stay the princess’s apprentice!” Twilight snapped back.

Her brother let out a grunt. “Mom and Dad are worried about you, Sis. They don’t know what you’re still doing in that little town, running a library. You were Celestia’s personal student and now you’re a graduate of her private school – you can do better than that!”

Twilight saw red. “Don’t bring up our parents, Shining Armor! Don’t you dare do it!” She found her legs again and rolled off the bed. Though Twilight only came up to the stallion’s chest, she came as close as she could to shoving the larger pony. “You ran off to join the Guard when you were half my age! Do you know what that did to Mom and Dad? I remember going down to the barracks and demanding the guards there to give you back because Mom wouldn’t stop crying!” Twilight’s hoof clanked against her brother’s polished breastplate as she gave him a few hard taps. “Don’t you give me the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ routine.”

Cadance quickly pushed herself between the two. “Twilight, stop this!” she said, rounding on her sister-in-law. “Shining Armor is only trying to help you. We both are. Celestia doesn’t wish you to spend the rest of your life in Ponyville anymore than your parents or Shining Armor does. I know that she’s proud of you, Twilight. I know that. The last time we spoke you were all she could talk about. You just have to give this some time until everypony stops seeing plots in every corner.”

Twilight wanted to scream and demand how long that would be. Why should she care what other ponies thought was going on? Her job didn’t include making friends with paranoid politicians! “Why is the princess even dealing with ponies like that?” she asked. “I just…” Twilight felt the tension and stress pile onto her shoulders. It made her legs shake and she sat back on the carpet with a thump. “I just want to help her. That’s why I went through with this. Now I can’t even do that.” She wouldn’t cry. She would not! The clench of her eyes was proving her a liar, though. Cadance sat down beside her and pulled her close, but she wasn’t what Twilight wanted: Cadance was too small, her mane too rough. She didn’t smell of flowers and sunshine.

Why doesn’t anything ever go right? The election had been a disaster; she’d only wanted to ask a few questions about policy to help decide which pony to vote for. Instead, she’d been pulled up on stage in front of all those ponies. They had clapped and whistled and voted. She’d ended up taking the job because the princess had written that she was proud. Twilight had been all too eager to take the honor then. Now, though, it was as if she were the second coming of Nightmare Moon for all Celestia cared.

“Maybe your library was best for you. At least for a few more years,” Cadance murmured. Twilight didn’t know if the alicorn was speaking to her or not, but she nodded into the princess’s neck regardless. If she had just turned this down she’d be writing a friendship report to Celestia right now about and it’d just be another episode in the life of Twilight Sparkle. But, no, her friends had insisted, the princess had congratulated her, and it was all so new and exciting! This wasn’t exciting, though. This wasn’t fun or new. This was getting underfoot and that was something Twilight hadn’t done since she was a filly.

Shining Armor let out a sigh. “Twi, it’s not going to be that bad. I promise. In a few weeks you’ll be too busy drafting laws and arguing with other senators to worry about what a few trash tabloids think of you.”

“I don’t care what they think of me now,” she mumbled. It’s the princess that cares what they think.

Cadance nuzzled the unicorn she’d known for years. “It won’t be that bad, Twilight. You’ll see. Shining Armor is right about how busy you’ll be. I don’t think that you’d have very much time to see Celestia anyway for the first few weeks. By the time you get settled it will be much easier for you to get appointments.”

Appointments. The very word raised Twilight’s heckles and she pushed away from the alicorn she’d known for years. Cadance sounded like Sol Shard.

“Then I guess I’ll see her in a few weeks,” Twilight curtly replied. She wiped her eyes and got up off the floor. “Like everypony has been telling me, I have duties that are going to keep me busy.”

Shining Armor and Cadance shared an uneasy look and a part of Twilight wished that they would say something, anything, out of place. Instead of driving the point on further, though, Twilight’s brother gave her a tight smile.

“That’s my little sister. You’ll have a lot more to talk about after your first real session. It’ll be great.”

“Yeah, great. That’s what this whole situation is for me, Shining Armor – Great.”

The stallion didn’t lose his forced smile. He pulled out Twilight’s traveling suitcases. Twilight took her saddlebag from him but otherwise let her brother do most of the heavy lifting. He waited for her out in the hall while she said her goodbyes to Cadance.

“Everything will work out,” the Princess of Love whispered as they embraced. “I know it seems like everything is changing, and it’s not going to be easy, but it will be a good journey for you. You’re all grown-up now and it’ll take some getting used to. For all of us.” She looked over at Shining Armor as she said that, though Twilight could tell that the princess was hurt.

Twilight practically slinked out of her brother’s apartment. She felt lower than low – lower than dirt. The guilt that had only been a tiny voice was now jumping up and down on her back like Spike used to when he was little. It hurt almost as much, too. Cadance didn’t deserve to have Twilight angry with her.

The pair’s walk through the royal apartments was quiet for the most part. It was late in the morning so most of the castle’s permanent residents were already gone for the day. Twilight wanted to ask her brother why he’d moved into the castle or when, but she couldn’t get her voice to work. With every step she felt like Shining Armor was getting angrier and angrier with her and why shouldn’t he? She’d made his wife nearly break down in tears for just trying to help.

“So, what did Dad have to say about you coming back to Canterlot?”

Twilight’s nose scrunched up at the odd question. “Dad? I haven’t talked to him yet.”

There was a hitch in the stallion’s steps. He slowed his pace to cast a look over his shoulder at the trailing unicorn. “So, what, you just got off the train and ran to the castle?”

“Because it’s where I had to drop my luggage. I was counting on being able to get my old room back, in case you didn’t realize it.” The moment the flimsy rationalization left her mouth Twilight knew Shining Armor could see right through it. She heard him snort, loudly, and had to step up her pace to keep up with him.

He didn’t say anything else to her for the rest of the walk. For that, Twilight was glad. The question had both surprised and upset her. Was Shining Armor trying to suggest she’d neglected their parents? They had a three page letter describing nearly every mundane moment from when she was pulled up on the stage to be elected until she set foot on the train! Twilight dismissed Shining Armor’s sentiments for what they were – his attempt to make her feel even guiltier. It wasn’t going to work on her. Her bother couldn’t guilt her into feeling foolish for wanting to talk to the princess about the biggest change that’s ever happened in her life. Twilight spent the rest of the trip resolutely ignoring her brother and instead trying to guess just where they were going. They had already gone down three flights of stairs and the hallways were getting darker and older the further they went.

Finally, after yet another decent, Shining Armor stopped next to an old iron door. The light was so low here that he had to keep his horn blazing just to fit an old blue-iron key into the lock.

The door opened, surprisingly, without a squeak, reveling one of the far corners of the castle gardens. Shining Armor floated Twilight’s luggage through the door and Twilight followed.

“Since you missed orientation someone will be waiting to give you a tour at the Assembly Hall when you get there. They’ll show you your office and things.”

Twilight nodded. Whenever she was troubled in Ponyville Twilight would throw herself into her work to forget; hopefully it wouldn’t be different here. Cadance’s promise of “a few weeks for things to settle” was bouncing around in the unicorn’s head. She could bury herself for a few weeks. At least, that’s what she told herself.

Shining Armor was still standing at the door when Twilight levitated her suitcases. They awkwardly stared at each other for a few moments and Twilight’s ears drooped when the stallion didn’t say anything.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye for now.” The awkward silence tugged Twilight’s lips into an even more awkward smile. “Make sure you take care of Cadance. Tell her I’m sorry and –”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief when her brother finally pulled her in for a hug. “I thought you were going to just kick me out without a proper goodbye,” she sniffed.

“Never. You’re my little sister, aren’t you?” He pulled away with an honest smile on his face. “Just…take care of yourself for a few weeks. The reason we’re using one of the secret entrances to the palace is because some paparazzi have been sniffing around. You know how to get out of the gardens without anyone seeing you, but you can’t avoid them until the story blows over.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ve been dealing with the news ponies in Ponyville for two weeks now.”

Shining Armor didn’t look convinced. “It’s different, Twi,” he insisted. “You were a hero in Ponyville – now you’re just another Canterlot politician. They’re really out for blood with the elections fresh on everyone’s minds.”

“Alright, alright.” Shining Armor being about her was a good change from being mad. Twilight promised that she would be extra careful when dealing with the press. “Forget the reporters for a second, though. Are we alright? Still my BBBFF?”

The seriousness of his face scared Twilight for a moment. “Well, you’ve been a bit pig-headed your whole life,” he said. The stallion couldn’t keep his pokerface forever, though. “What’s one more time to your big brother?” Twilight let out a happy sigh when her brother ruffled the top of her mane. “If you can’t find a place to stay tonight, my old place is still empty. You know where the spare key is.”

“About that, why are you here at the castle? Wanted a bigger looooove nest for Cadance?”

Shining Armor awkwardly chuckled. “Yeah, something like that,” he said, confusing Twilight.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

“If I am you don’t have time to wring it from me. Don’t’ want an even bigger tardy on your record, do you?” He ducked behind the door when Twilight went to swat him. Twilight heard the heavy deadbolt slide closed and she was left only with her brother’s annoying chuckling dogging her until she was a good distance from the door.

********

It was only a little before noon when Twilight finally arrived at the Assembly Building. She had dropped her luggage off at the baggage claim at the train station after slinking out of the gardens rather than draw further attention to herself just in case Shining Armor’s warning about the paparazzi came true.

The Equestrian Parliamentary Building was close enough to the castle that Twilight hadn’t lost too much time dropping her things off at the station. Like every other building at the summit, the Parliamentary Building was splashed with the same extravagant carousel colors of the castle. What distinguished it, though, was the large domed roof that dominated the Canterlot skyline. It managed to be quite imposing even overshadowed like it was by the castle towers.

What it had in common with the castle were the gold-clad guards standing beside the door. Twilight gave them a wary look as she stepped inside the main foyer area of the Assembly. Her horseshoes clicked against the polished marble floor as she walked past various displays; she was very nearly tempted by the original Canterlot Charter, though.

Everything was still and quiet. Twilight looked around for whoever was supposed to show her around and didn’t see anyone. There was, however, another guard post further into the hall. Two massive stallions stood watch on either of a hallway leading deep into the building.

“Excuse me,” she called out. The guards didn’t show any sign of actually listening to her but Twilight knew they were. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Representative for Briarwood. Is there…is there someone waiting on me? I’m supposed to meet—”

One of the guards cleared his throat. “All the way down the hallway then turn to the left. Fourth door on the right,” he said. Twilight didn’t quite understand what kind of direction he was giving her and she didn’t feel much like arguing with another guard after what happened at the castle. She mumbled a quick “thank you” and hurried past them as quickly as she could.

Inside the Assembly the halls all looked the same. Each one had the same expensive carpeting, flashy red rug running down the middle, and evenly-spaced doors that confused Twilight to no end. She had to count them in her head until she reached the one the guard had indicated. Twilight lightly tapped on it with her hoof and got no response. She tapped slightly louder and heard a muffled voice, but nothing else.

Maybe they want me to go on in? Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed the door open. She just hoped that missing orientation hadn’t been too bad.

As Twilight stepped through the door, over a hundred sets of eyes locked onto her. Rather than being in the office she had expected Twilight had stumbled through the Assembly Chamber side door. Both houses of the Royal Assembly were gathered: the Assembly of Nobles and the Assembly of Commons. The two Assemblies were mingled on benches that filled the major part of the large circular room. At the front were the raised desks of the Assembly Leader and, to Twilight’s complete mortification, Princess Celestia. The alicorn’s face was too far away to make out so Twilight didn’t know what kind of expression her teacher was wearing but the unicorn guessed it mirrored the looks of aggravation she could see on the ponies closest to her.

Twilight had no idea what she should do now. Obviously her knocking had ground the entire session to a halt. Worst of all, she couldn’t even run to her seat and hope to melt into the floor – she didn’t know where to sit! No one had told her anything yet! And Celestia was there, watching and judging and probably thinking that it was a very good idea to distance herself and that she’ll never have to bother with this sad, pathetic little pony again and…and the room was shaking so horribly and her ears were starting to fill with cotton.

“Twilight Sparkle, there you are.” Twilight latched onto the strong voice like a life preserver. From the middle of the aisles a well-dressed unicorn broke whatever spell had been cast over the Assembly by getting to his feet. “I was afraid that I’d miss you. Come, come! I’ve got your seat right here.”

It was Reinhoof. The overwhelming gratitude that Twilight felt for the stallion at that moment was indescribable. Focus on him. Don’t look at anypony else, Twilight told herself. If she did; if she looked at their faces again Twilight was sure she’d stumble and not get back up. She walked up the aisle as fast as her shaky legs would take her and sank down next to her friend from the train. The noble’s smile was languid as he politely dipped his head to the Prime Minister and Celestia in turn before retaking his seat.

Slowly, like old gears struggling to grind against one another, the Assembly started moving again. Somepony at the front cleared his throat and turned back to the Prime Minster. He was talking about something about how grateful he was for being here. Twilight could barely hear him through the stuffy feeling still constricting her head.

“It appears our parting was a brief one. Well met, Miss Sparkle,” Reinhoof said, just loud enough that it blended in with the rest of the low chatter in the chamber. No pony on their bench was paying them any attention; the noble had given Twilight his aisle seat and he shielded her from the rest of the bench.

Twilight gulped and slumped down lower in her seat. “I’m so, so sorry for embarrassing you like that. I don’t think I can repay you for this, Ser.” Her face was still burning.

Reinhoof looked to be in his element – much more so than Twilight Sparkle was. “Nonsense. All you succeeded in doing was liven up an otherwise droll day. I should be thanking you.”

There was a shuffle around the chamber as the speaker closed. “And now we stand,” Reinhoof suddenly instructed. Twilight awkwardly got to her feet and mirrored her friend. “Bow once to the Prime Minister and once to Princess Celestia.”

Twilight had barely finished her bow when it was time to retake her seat. “That’s how we start each session,” Reinhoof said. “The nobles trade off on who has to do the daily address – today was Ser Pirouette’s turn.”

Pirouette was so prodigiously large that Twilight actually saw him pant a few times when he finally arrived back at his second-row seat. Nevertheless, there was a smattering of polite applause that managed to eclipse the low buzz of whispered conversations.

The loud crack of a gavel finished off the rest of the chattering. The Prime Minister, a middle-aged unicorn stallion, brought the chamber to order. Dressed in fine silk robes he looked nearly as regale as the alicorn sitting behind him.

The Princess of Equestria was seated on a rater drab throne situated next to the Prime Minister, though still towering over the normal-sized stallion. This far away it was impossible to catch the alicorn’s eye, but Twilight tried to nonetheless. She desperately wanted to see if Celestia was angry at her. Please, Twilight thought, give me some kind of sign. Just a wink or a smile.

Reinhoof glanced over at her. “Is something the matter? You look quite put-out.”

“It’s nothing.” Celestia hadn’t looked her way even once. Twilight turned her attention away from the goddess and back to the chamber floor. Another pony had taken the central podium and was reading out the minutes from the last Assembly session. Of course, none of it was familiar to Twilight. “Did I miss that much because I wasn’t at the orientation?” she asked.

“Oh no, that’s was the last regular Assembly from before the elections. Orientation was just a chance for the reporters to snap their pictures and inflate some egos,” Reinhoof replied.

“Don’t I need to know the rules and procedures?” Twilight whispered back, still trying to pay attention to the official goings-on. She’s already missed a lot.

The stallion dismissively waved a hoof. “All of that business is in the Assembly Rules Compendium. I’ve already requested a copy to be waiting for you in your office. Right now, you should be focused on meeting your colleagues.” He subtly pointed to the fat stallion that had been in charge of the opening address – the one Twilight had so rudely interrupted. “Ser Pirouette is the noble whom the Lake Alfalfa Logging Consortium leans on in the Assembly. I can introduce you to him.”

“The…the Lake Alfalfa Logging Consortium?” Twilight had no idea what Reinhoof was talking about.

“Yes, that’s right. Ser Pirouette has been leaning on other members to support his push to bring back up the Lake Alfalfa Accords. I’m sure you know, but the Logging Consortium supports a renegotiation of the new tax levies – something I recall you campaigning on.”

Twilight wasn’t sure she’d her remarks an actual campaign, but it was certainly one of the things she wanted to talk to someone about. The question was how had Reinhoof known about it? Twilight’s curiosity was piqued enough that she was distracted from the dull ache at not being acknowledged by her mentor. “How did you know that?” she asked.

Reinhoof clicked his tongue in a tut-tut manner. “I would not be much of a friend to you if I couldn’t help with a few small things such as this,” he said. “It only took the briefest of mentions to my own staff to get a good sampling of local stories in the papers that cover most everything you said during the election. Even the Canterlot Standard ran a biography of sorts on you a week ago.” Twilight’s surprise must have shown on her face as he added, “If I had known our corresponding interests on the train I would not have brought this up in such a delayed fashion. It is unfortunate that my westward travels prevented regular delivery of the Standard.”

“We have ‘corresponding interests’?” Twilight questioned.

“We both want to see that private economic prosperity is brought back to the Lake Alfalfa region,” the noble explained.

While the pair had been talking, the floor had been given to a string of petitioners and representatives were roaming around the chamber in roving cliques of legislators. Reinhoof got to his feet and Twilight hesitantly followed as he made his way across the aisles. Twilight couldn’t help but spare a look at her mentor once again as Reinhoof’s path was taking them closer and closer to the front. At this distance she could clearly make out the alicorn’s face as she listened to the petitioner, occasionally craning her neck to hear one of the Prime Minister’s comments.

Suddenly their eyes met. Celestia had looked up from the Prime Minister at just the right time to catch Twilight’s own gaze. While Twilight stopped in the middle of the aisle, Celestia’s expression didn’t change. She looked placid as ever, betraying no indication that her attention wasn’t solely directed at her petitioner. Twilight thought she could see the edges of her mentor’s eyes narrow, but she couldn’t be certain. If she’s angry at me…

“Is something wrong?” Reinhoof asked. He had come back over to see what was holding up his colleague.

Twilight glanced away for just a moment and the spell was broken; when she looked back she found that the princess’s focus was back on the old mare standing at the podium. “No, it’s nothing,” Twilight sighed. She was emotionally drained from trying to figure the princess out and the unicorn wouldn’t let her personal problems ruin her first day on the job. There were ponies back home who were counting on her.

Pirouette was unmoved from where he had first sat down. The generously large pony had his own little group around him and Twilight had to stifle a small giggle when she likened it to moons orbiting some large planet out in the night sky. Certainly, they were captivated enough for the analogy; they seemed to hang on every word that came out of Pirouette’s mouth.

Nevertheless, Twilight let her noble friend lead. Reinhoof easily broke into the ring of representatives and nobles to claim a standing spot near Pirouette. The hefty noble interrupted one of his hangers-on mid-brownnose to throw his forelegs open when he saw Reinhoof.

“The rascal himself comes to see me! I half expected you to miss the first day playing plantation owner out in the provinces.” Pirouette laughed and his fine-tailored suit rolled on his gut like the skin of a water balloon. He sounded much different than the pony Twilight had walked in on; deeper, more authoritative. “Don’t just stand there like a yokel. You,” he pointed to one of his group sitting near him, “give my good friend some room to sit.”

Reinhoof motioned for Twilight to take a seat with him and Pirouette noticed her for the first time. He actually leveraged himself from his bench to trot over to the unicorn and gave her a dramatic bow – as dramatic as Pirouette could make it considering his figure, that is.

“I see my old friend has brought something far more interesting to discuss than his little cowpony trip. How are you this fine morning, Madame?”

“I’m…good?” Twilight quickly glanced over at Reinhoof to see how to handle this. To her consternation, the noble was simply stroking his mustache and was seemingly waiting to see what she’d do.

Twilight remembered her trip on the train and Reinhoof’s earlier lesson on how important Pirouette was to her future initiatives. Recovering from her earlier confusion, Twilight put on her widest smile and slipped out of her chair to give the rotund noble the same formal bow she had given Reinhoof when they had first met. “It is a pleasure and honor to meet you, Ser. I am Twilight Sparkle, Representative of Briarwood.”

“Delightful! Simply delightful! My children could learn a thing or two from you!” Pirouette declared. When he heard dutiful agreements from his crowd, he turned to them with an upset look. “What are all of you still doing here? Can’t you see we have work to do?” Pirouette rolled his eyes when they practically fell over each other to get out of the cramped aisles. “Clerks,” he muttered.

“This is not simply a personal visit, my friend,” Reinhoof reminded. “I believe I’ve potentially found a wonderful new co-signer to your bill in Miss Sparkle.”

Pirouette plopped back down onto his bench. “I certainly wouldn’t turn down any help at this point. Those tree-hugging types are blocking everything I do these days. What sort of ideas do you have to get the bill un-stuck?” He waggled his eyebrows at the younger unicorn. “Got anyone good to lean on?”

I had the best before I got this stupid job. “I’ve only just arrived in Canterlot and the only pony I know so far is Reinhoof. He’s been nice enough to get me used to things here.”

The noble tapped his hoof on his chin thoughtfully. “Of course, of course.”

“Every vote will help, Pirouette,” Reinhoof added. “I think that with the most talked-about representative of the cycle we can mount a good push to at least get the new regulations back on the debate docket.”

“Yes, but what good is debate if we can’t convince any of these fence sitters! By Celestia I wish I could give them a good boxing!”

Twilight looked between the two nobles. “Are things really that bad at the lake?” she asked. “The new laws were only implemented last spring, weren’t they?”

“Yes, but revenue is already down a quarter for some of the businesses there. I can’t tell you how much of a hit it’s been to Neighport. How much were you telling me you’ve lost already in Fillydelphia, Reinhoof?”

Reinhoof’s mustache seemed to bristle as he added in his head. “I’ve already had to close three warehouses and one of my restaurants has cut its staff by half. Simply not enough dockworkers coming in these days.” He shook his head “I can only imagine what the shipping companies are going through with the new tolls and tonnage taxes.”

It certainly did sound dire. Lake Alfalfa was Briarwood's largest tax center. Neighport, Trottingham, and Ponyville all depended on the taxes on goods going through the lake. If the new Canterlot taxes were too much, then businesses might find it better to avoid shipping altogether and move things by wagon, cutting into the amount of transport taxes the cities and towns in her district could levy.

This was her chance! Twilight felt slightly lightheaded as she realized that this was a real problem that she could fix. Tax laws and debates were part of her job. If she did a good job here then maybe, just maybe, Twilight would prove that she was good at this position and not a complete gaffe-prone fluke!

It would prove that she belonged here.

She licked her dry lips. "We're going to need to come up with a proposal. We can do graphs and statistics." Her mind was whirling with ideas and dreams of presenting an air-tight argument in front of all these ponies. It was a scary prospect, but also exciting. "If I have all of the tax information I can do the math! We can just show everypony how much it will hurt the economy. I can even do projections year by year!"

Pirouette slapped his hoof down on the bench. He had grown more and more interested as Twilight spoke and by the end he was practically stomping his hooves. “By thunder, that’s the kind of attitude we need around here!”

Twilight would have wilted at all the new attention Pirouette’s outburst was getting her if the looks hadn't been genuine curiosity. A few ponies went back to their work, but more were starting to work their way over to the tightening ball of congressponies.

“Clerks? Clerks! Where are my clerks?” The crowd parted as several young colts rushed back to their large boss. Pirouette clapped the nearest one on the shoulder. “You, you’re going back to my office and personally taking my Lake Alfalfa renegotiation draft to Miss Sparkle’s office. If you lose even a single page you’ll be cleaning inkwells until your coat is black.”

“I knew that you were a pony of action the second I saw you! Reinhoof, the bandit, probably wanted to keep you to himself. He didn’t count on Pirouette, did he?”

Reinhoof gave Twilight a knowing look and rolled his eyes. “You are far too cunning for me, old friend. I was going to introduce her to you at my Fall Ball, but I do not know if she’ll have time to make it, what with all of her duties.”

Pirouette looked floored. “Not going? Miss Sparkle, the most powerful ponies in the city will be there! You said you don’t have anyone to lean on? Well, I guarantee that after a night with Pirouette guiding you that you’ll have a larger social circle than I.”

Everypony around them was looking at her now and not because she had embarrassed herself again. It was a good feeling. The bill would take a lot of work, but so what? These ponies actually wanted to listen and spend time with her. “My situation has changed since the ride over,” she quickly explained. “I would be very honored to attend your ball.”

As Pirouette and Reinhoof expressed their delight at the prospect, Twilight realized how at ease having friendly ponies around made her feel. She wished her friends were here with her. Would Applejack be able to explain all these complicated tax laws better? Maybe Pinkie would know how to act at a high-class party? Rarity would surely be able to pick out the best outfit for her and Rainbow Dash would know just what to say to break the ice. Without her circle of friends, though, and without the princess, Twilight only had one avenue to explore that would teach her the ins and outs of what she needed to know for Reinhoof’s Fall Ball.

It was time to take Shining Armor’s advice. It was time to visit her parents.

Chapter 1

Ponyville, usually the sleepy little town it appeared to be, was slowly beginning to set that image aside as the morning sun rose higher in its celestial trek. First light had revealed quite a few travelers streaming into the town from both ends of the Royal Highway that fed into the town. There were farmers, merchants, well-dressed nobility – ponies of all shapes, sizes, and creeds were mingling around the shops and streets of Ponyville and the town was rapidly becoming quite crowded, even before midday.

Outside of Sugarcube Corner, six ponies were huddled together closer than limited space dictated. They were an unusual mix of two pegasi, two unicorns, and two earth ponies and, upon closer examination, the group also included a tiny dragon. They looked to be avoiding the worst of the hoof traffic by standing next to the Corner’s bay window and out of the way.

“This is simply the worst crowd I’ve seen in all of my years here!” Rarity, the white-coated unicorn, grimaced at the hustle and bustle. While it was good for business (she owned a downtown dress shop) the jostling and jockeying of all the ponies was kicking up a terrible amount of dust. It seemed like she was constantly combing her mane to keep it dirt-free. “Twilight, I simply must say that we should put this off until everypony else finishes.”

Twilight Sparkle, the other unicorn in the group, shook her head. It looked as if she was barely keeping her giddiness in check. “How can you girls not be excited?! This is the first time Ponyville has hosted the ballot in twenty years!” She looked at her circle of friends, expecting to see them as awed by the whole process as she was.

Pinkie Pie, the pink earth pony, might have been wound up because of the ballot, but it was more likely that she was just being Pinkie Pie – this many ponies meant that, sooner or later, a party would spontaneously break up somewhere; Rainbow Dash was hovering off the ground a little ways away, in an argument with Applejack in a separate conversation about whether Manehattan or Cloudsdale could hold this many ponies without even noticing; Fluttershy was trying her best not to be noticed by anyone and was hiding behind Rarity, shivering slightly.

This was certainly not the type of reception that Twilight had been expecting from her friends. When Ponyville had been randomly selected to hold the district’s elections for representative to the Parliament, Twilight had been over the moon with excitement. Canterlot, despite being the political center of Equestria, didn’t have a direct representative. It was, under the code of law, a “neutral administrative body” that served as the capital of the nation. Princess Celestia had always looked out for the city and saw to it that it didn’t have many problems, so no one questioned the arrangement.

What was disappointing for Twilight, though, is that because of that arrangement she never got the chance to vote! Until she moved to Ponyville she had been a permanent resident of Canterlot. Finally – today would be the day she did her duty for society by casting an actual ballot! It was hard for the little purple unicorn to keep from hopping up and down.

“Ah really don’t see what’s so excitin’ about this here shindig,” Applejack groused. She was giving up a whole morning on the farm to come downtown and fight the crowds. “Mah candidate isn’t even here. I hope Mr. Huckaburr isn’t too upset ‘bout how everything turned out.”

Rainbow Dash snorted – apparently this had been the topic of their most recent spat. “Yeah, I bet he’s spitting mad since he didn’t get on the ballot. I don’t trust a pony that smiles that much – he’s hiding something!”

“You’re just mad cuz he said he don’t think pegasus ponies should mess with the weather as much as they do! Admit it!”

Twilight shook her head as the two friends started bickering again. She was happy that they were getting into the spirit and all, but wished they could at least try and get on the same page. Did they have to be so contradictory in everything they did? Huckaburr was a nice enough pony, Twilight supposed, but he had been eliminated in the preliminary voting for his party early on by one of Celestia’s ex-guards who was mayor of Trottingham.

That pony was just one of a half dozen from the major cities included in the Briarwood District, though. Briarwood was the name of a large settlement that had been located around the Everfree Forest, but after the capital was moved to Canterlot the ponies had spread out, founding more than a few cities in the area – or so Twilight had read.

At some point, the group had begun to move with the crowds. It was almost noon and the ballots would be opening soon. Rarity was in the lead, walking slightly ahead of Twilight, since she seemed to know how to navigate a crowd. She didn’t hesitate to give a shove every once in a while as the ponies packed in on all sides to get into the main square.

She caught Twilight’s eye over her shoulder. “They’re still going at it,” Rarity muttered with a sigh, looking back at Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “I could use Applejack up here to help find us a spot; Rainbow Dash should have known better than to say anything bad about her favorite pick. Didn’t she remember that giant Huckaburr banner Applejack had over her cart for weeks?”

“I’m sure they’re not serious, Rarity. Councilpony Huckaburr didn’t really have that much of a chance, anyway, since he was from Fillydelphia. They’re getting their own district next season, so voting for him now wouldn’t be that smart.” Twilight was careful to keep her voice low enough that her friend couldn’t hear her, though.

“Well of course, darling. Huckaburr is no O’Banga!”

O’Banga, a zebra from a small community in the Whitetail Wood, had been causing quite a stir. Twilight had never heard Rarity mention him before, though.

“You think he has a chance? He hasn’t exactly been really clear on what he wants to do.”

Rarity turned around, which was difficult in the crowd, to look at her purple friend properly. “Clearly you missed his speech the other night at the central pavilion! The other candidates tried to match his articulation but, of course, it was impossible. He has such an otherworldly character about him and he’s so exotic!” The unicorn seemed slightly flustered and she caught herself. “You really should have came with me to see him, Twilight. You have to be there to see how much good he’d do for us.”

The purple unicorn didn’t know about that. She hadn’t seen O’Banga in person, but she had read a few transcripts of his speeches. He never talked about anything other than how bad their current councilpony was. Granted, Ranger Shrub wasn’t the best of representatives, but wasn’t an election about what you were going to do differently?

Then again, maybe she was wrong. Twilight looked around and saw that a lot of the ponies were wearing O’Banga pins, hats, stickers, and vests. In fact, most of the ponies Twilight’s age looked to be supporters of the zebra.

“Oh, are you guys talking about O’Banga?!” Pinkie Pie was hopping over to them from out in the crowd. Twilight hadn’t even noticed they’d lost her in the walk to the town square!

How the earth pony managed to keep her signature hop was beyond Twilight. Pinkie was so decked out in O’Banga merchandise that it almost covered her pink coat.

“You went with Rarity to see him?” Twilight asked once their friend had joined them.

The earth pony nodded so frantically her white and black striped hat nearly catapulted off her head. “Yep, yep, yep! He’s so amazing! You have to go and see him, Twilight! All of you should! He’s doing a speech right now on the stage!”

“I think we should go and listen, Twilight.”

Something soft and fluffy poked Twilight on the leg and she looked down in disbelief. “He even sells giant foam hands?” Spike’s said O’Banga #1 in giant red and white letters. “Why do you even want to see him, Spike? You can’t even vote!”

“If I could I’d vote for O’Banga!”

Twilight groaned, but faced with three instant O’Banga supporters she soon found herself pushing her way through the crowds yet again, this time into an even denser part of the square. All of the various candidates had been given an opportunity to have one last stump speech before everypony ran to the polls. The other candidates were off to the side of the stage, but it looked like O’Banga’s staff was setting up equipment.

“Isn’t he handsome?” Rarity gushed. Twilight followed her friend’s gaze and caught sight of a middle-aged zebra doing a microphone test. He stood a few spans taller than any of the other ponies onstage and he did cut an imposing figure. Currently, he was reading some lines into the dead mic as he read them off cue cards held up by an assistant in the crowd.

The group found a decent space right in front of the stage thanks to Rarity’s pushing and shoving. No one was willing to say no to the unicorn when she was on a mission. Spike and Pinkie crowded up beside their friend and began waving around their foam hands even though nothing was really going on. Oddly, though, Fluttershy was also up by them, though far more timid.

“You too, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. Pinkie and Rarity she could understand getting excited, but not the timid pegasus.

Fluttershy looked far more reserved than her three compatriots. “Oh, well, he’s a really good speaker. I started going to his events because I wanted to get better at talking to other ponies, but it just kind of…stuck. Have you listened to any of his speeches? He’s so confident and sure of what he wants to do.”

Twilight thought back to the transcripts she had read, but nothing in particular stood out as being revolutionary-enough to get Fluttershy in a titter over.

“What about Longhaul? He’s smart, witty, clear and concise about his policy positions—”

“—Old, boring, slightly senile.” Rarity ticked off the same points everyone brought up when discussing the genteel doctor from Foal Harbor. “Come now, Twilight! He wants to put the currency back on the apple standard for Celestia’s sake! Surely you know that won’t work.”

Applejack’s ears perked up. “Hey! The apple standard was good enough for Equestria for over a hundred years. Why in tarnation wouldn’t it work again? It’s a might bit more stable than the gem standard we’re usin’ now.”

While her two business-owning friends went at each other about monetary policy, Twilight lamented that Rarity had a point – Dr. Longhaul wasn’t a serious contender in most ponies's eyes. In the name of friendship, she chose not to make any snide remarks and just wait for O’Banga’s speech to get over with so she could go check out the ballot machines.

Her friends eventually did stop arguing when the speakers next to the stage blared to life. One of the zebra’s assistants tapped the microphone with his hoof to get the crowd’s attention and, after succeeding, turned the stage over to the equine himself.

O’Banga cleared his throat and took a moment to look over the crowd assembled before him. Twilight had to admit he looked more “congressional” than any of the other ponies sharing the stage with him. The zebra had a black dress vest on as well as ornate horseshoes that glittered in the sunlight. He was all smiles and waves as somepony adjusted the microphone for him and the crowd seemed to really be warming; standing tall and confident, it was hard not to like him.

“My fellow ponies,” he began, “it’s great to see so many of you braved this horrible weather to come out to vote.” There were quite a few laughs from the crowd and Twilight felt herself smiling along with them. “Well, here we are in the final stretch of this campaign and the end is in sight. We’re close to finally yanking the cart out of the ditch. I’ve got on the bit and bridle for it and now I just need you to give me a push. We’ll put it back on the road, together, and get things working again.”

As the ponies around her began to cheer and clap, Twilight realized why Fluttershy found him so appealing – he was a really good speaker. She had heard Princess Celestia give speeches, but never like this. The princess was kind and patient, but O’Banga was inspiring. He went on for what seemed like an hour about how he was going to turn the faltering economy of Briarwood into the best in the kingdom or how he was going to push the Royal Assembly for more events to be held in the area - a party in every public square kind of thing. It was a pity that Dr. Longhaul never made speeches like this. If he had, it might have been him standing up there.

Suddenly, as he was winding down, the zebra’s eyes locked on something in the crowd. “Is that Twilight Sparkle in the audience?” O’Banga put a hoof over his eyes to see through the noon sun. “If it isn’t my stripes aren’t black! The personal protégé of Princess Celestia herself, as well as the young filly who single-hoofedly saved Ponyville from a rampaging Ursa Major! I’m honored!”

Twilight suddenly was the center of well over a thousand ponies' attention. “It – it was an Ursa Minor,” was all she could squeak out before the crowd erupted into cheers.

“Come on up here, Miss Sparkle. All of us are just dusty old politicians – you’re a pony that actually deserves some recognition.” Flashbulbs were going off everywhere as journalists from every major settlement in Briarwood – half on Twilight and half on O’Banga.

He, unlike the unicorn, was smiling through the attention. “Come on, don’t be shy! Stage is big enough for the both of us no matter how tall I am,” he quipped to the delight of his fans. Ponies were starting to nudge Twilight on and she was practically pushed to the front of the crowd. As she ascended the steps of the stage, she noticed the other candidates, some that had gone before and some still waiting their turn, gauging her. O’Banga’s time was nearly up. They politely clapped along with the crowd, though.

The zebra personally helped Twilight up on the stage and led her over to microphone to stand by his side. “This,” he began, gesturing at Twilight, “is a true hero. This is the type of pony I know that each and every one of you has inside yourselves. This is also just the type of pony all the other gentleponies sharing this stage with me want to stamp out. Councilpony Dairy Star wants to cut education funding, funding of the same kind that helped Twilight Sparkle through school.”

Wait, what? “The School for Gifted Unicorns is provided a royal stipend and I—”

“Mayor Mac Lane has stated that he would support a curfew for young fillies and colts to keep them off the streets at night. Nights like the one where this brave young lady saved this fine town from an Ursa Major!”

“It wasn’t actually that late…and, again, it was an Ursa Mi—”

“And who could forget the speech last month from Administrator Mountroamer where he said we shouldn’t look to the capital for help. Where would we be if Princess Celestia hadn’t sent Twilight Sparkle to help with this town’s problems?”

“I’m actually a resident now…”

No matter how many times Twilight Sparkle tried to interject, the roars of the crowd silenced any of her objections. O’Banga smiled and nodded as the cameras went off from every possible angle, bathing the stage in even more light than the noon sun.

The zebra certainly had stage presence. He was younger than all the other stallions by far and his stripes made him stand out amongst even the colorful ponies. Still, he hadn’t said anything in the speech that had outlined what he wanted to change about Briarwood. Everypony seemed to like him, but Twilight couldn’t figure out why.

Still, she tried to smile and keep a brave face. She had never liked the limelight too much, but she didn’t see any resentful faces out in the crowd. Twilight, remembering her question from earlier in the speech, decided now was a good a time as any to ask so she leaned over.

“Mr. O’Banga, could I ask you a question?” She was consciously avoiding the microphone so that she didn’t cut into his remaining time.

O’Banga, on the other hand, had another idea. He gestured for the crowd to quiet down and nudged the microphone over to the flabbergasted filly. “Now, you guys out there listen up! Miss Sparkle has a question for me.” When they were quiet, he said, “Go right on ahead.”

Decidedly uncomfortable with this turn of events, Twilight gulped. All eyes were on her again. “I-I just wanted to know more about what you were talking about earlier – about the roads program. Representative Ranger said he wanted to go back to the Everfree Forest and put a road through it to Trottingham. Are you going to cancel it?”

The crowd was remarkably silent while O’Banga glanced at his staff. A few spattered conversations could be heard, but most were listening. “Well, of course we’ll…we’ll have to look at each program individually.”

Twilight was on a roll, though. “And what about the town security programs he put into place? Do you have the latest crime figures? I couldn’t find them myself. Could you send me a copy for my library?”

O’Banga’s cue card manager was making frantic cutting motions with his hooves and the zebra tried to get the microphone back. Twilight, quite caught up in her rambling, had already levitated it and was now pacing the stage.

“You know, you said it was a failed administration, but now that I think about it things weren’t that bad. Are you going to stop the education push in the grades schools? What about the medical prescription plan he authored for the elderly? The mother of a friend of mine gets her medication through that plan. Are you going to restructure it?”

The poor zebra was now following Twilight like a pecked hen, trying to get the microphone back. “I think I’m out of time right now, Miss Sparkle,” he said after stepping on the cord to get the purple unicorn to stop.

However, the other three candidates had been in a huddle from the second Twilight started her questions. One of them, Mountroamer, cleared his throat. “I yield my time to Miss Twilight Sparkle,” he said.

“We all yield our time to Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor Mac Lane called out.

O’Banga looked like a rabbit facing down a stampede. The crowd was starting to whisper louder and the unicorn on stage didn’t look like she was ready to wind down yet. “Look, obviously there are some things we should keep—”

Twilight’s face scrunched up. “But you said that it was a failed administration. Cart into a ditch and all that? I also want to know if the speech you made to Flankfurt is correct. If it was, then what you told Neighport last week was a lie – you don’t intend to support renegotiating the Lake Alfalfa Trade Accord at all! Didn’t you get most of that season’s donations from the dock workers there? If you don’t renegotiate it a lot of them will lose their jobs!”

“I work at Lake Alfalfa!” came a shout from the crowd. That one raised voice, from a middle-aged stallion near the front row, broke something in the assembly. More and more ponies started calling out, demanding to know what the zebra planned to do about the trade agreement. Just as many were trying to yell out questions about their medical benefits or if the No Foal Left Behind law would also be repealed.

It was impossible to tell what part of the crowd the first vegetable came from, but the angry shouts were silenced for a moment as a bright, cherry-red tomato sailed over their heads. Transfixed on the surreal sight, O’Banga and Twilight watched it gracefully arch over the crowds and land squarely at the zebra’s hooves.

“This,” he muttered, looking down at the ruined vegetable, “is not good.”

The resulting wave of hurled produced proved O’Banga prophetic: he ran from one end of the stage to another, dodging carrots, apples, and tomatoes. When one particularly ripe squash nearly beamed his head, the zebra retreated to back of the stage by the other candidates. He couldn’t so much as look at the microphone without vegetables being readied.

This left Twilight Sparkle in an odd position. She had been spared the vegetable pelting and nopony had been demanding she make herself scarce as well. Then again, she wasn’t really the current center of attention, either. Most of the ponies were in various states of anger or panic, yelling at each other now that O’Banga was gone.

“You’re the one who wanted to vote for him so much!” “I donated half my life savings to him!” “Don’t blame me – I voted for Kodos.” The arguments were as varied as the ponies making them and Twilight could see tempers flaring all over the place. And, unless she missed her mark, those were uniformed police ponies approaching the ring of the crowd.

Twilight’s magic lifted the microphone again. “Ponies! Please, calm down! I didn’t mean to– I mean, I wasn’t implying that Mr. O’Banga was a bad candidate! I just wanted him to clarify on some things! Give real solutions! I’m sure if he just explained everything that it would be alright.” She looked back at the zebra with a wide, panicked smile which faltered when she saw him frantically shake his head.

“W-Well, there are still all the other candidates. You don’t have to give up just because one didn’t turn out a winner.”

“And are their solutions any better?” somepony shouted. “If they aren’t, what do we do? Just accept some liar that’ll collect a paycheck from us!?”

Honestly, Twilight couldn’t answer. She was naturally something of a cynic and her brain was telling her that nothing she had read suggested that any of the ponies sharing the stage with her would do anything differently. The only difference between a pony like Mountroamer or Mac Lane and O’Banga was that O’Banga was much more popular.

After a few moments of silence from Twilight, Mayor Mac Lane braved the hostile crowd and stepped within speaking distance of the microphone. “I think I can offer something that will satisfy everyone,” he said. When it seemed like the crowd would allow him to approach, he did. Standing next to Twilight, the old stallion’s age was even more apparent than usual. He held himself up with as much dignity as a pegasus staring down a potential barrage of cabbage could.

“We,” he pointed back at the other three ponies, an abashed O’Banga included, “were discussing how this could be resolved. The elections can’t be postponed with this many people traveling so out of the way for them and the law is clear – it has to happen today.”

The old pegasus let that sink in. “Therefore, in the spirit of the democratic process, we’ve all come up with a solution – we’re going to stay on the ballot, but each of us will be putting in a percentage of our campaign funds to cover the entry fee of one more candidate that everypony seems to agree is a trustworthy and dedicated worker.”

Mac Lane’s announcement was taken amicably by the crowd, which bolstered Twilight’s spirits. There was a reason these were the best ponies out of all of them! A part of her started fantasizing about Dr. Longhaul appearing from the big curtain at the back of the stage, announcing his candidacy. There could be real reform! Real change! A real difference! Ponies could prove that the power of friendship and harmony could prevail no matter what!

“That’s why it’s my pleasure to announce the candidacy of Miss Twilight Sparkle for Briarwood Representative to the Court at Canterlot. May the best pony win!”

Wait.

What?!