Mayor Mare slowly trotted down the streets of Ponyville, sweating under the hot summer sun and the thick stack of paperwork on her back. After the whole Tirek incident, the town had been swamped with insurance claims, damage reports, and for some odd reason, one blackmail letter demanding a bottle of gray hair dye. Thankfully, most of the town had been rebuilt by that point, though a few egregious issues still remained.
She turned onto the main road through town, stopping when she felt a large clump of dirt under her hoof. Looking around, she saw similar clumps going both directions. That was strange; all the roads in Ponyville were hard-packed, and even Scootaloo didn't tear up the road that much. Instead of continuing toward her house, she wiped the sweat from her brow and headed toward the ruins of the Golden Oak Library.
The clumps of dirt grew larger and more frequent as she went down the road. Upon closer examination, the roads themselves weren't torn up, and didn't even match the color of the dirt. This dirt was moist and dark, almost as if it had been ripped right out of the ground.
Berry Punch waved to her from a nearby window. "Afternoon, Miss Mayor! I just saw the most interesting thing! All of Twilight's friends ca-"
Before she knew it, the mayor was tumbling face first into a massive hole, sending papers flying every which way. From above, Berry Punch hollered, "That's what I was about to tell you about! Twilight's friends came by and uprooted the tree! I think Rarity said something about building a chandelier..."
Her back still aching terribly, the mayor began collecting her scattered paperwork. This was an outrage! Anypony could have fallen into this pit. This would have to be dealt with immediately once she was out of the hole. She grabbed the last of the flyaway documents and eyed the edge of the pit.
Summoning every last bit of her strength, Mayor Mare broke into a sprint and charged up the opposite wall of the pit. She made it about halfway up before gravity got the best of her and she slid back down to the bottom. She tried this again in the opposite direction, only to come to the same conclusion.
"Berry Punch? Could you be a good citizen and throw me a rope?" the mayor pleaded. Berry Punch responded by retreating from the window. She returned a few seconds later with a rope, which she threw down to the mayor. The whole length of it.
The mayor sighed and sat down on a large rock. "Well, it looks like I'm going to be in for a long night."
Twilight woke up to the all too familiar sound of Spike snoring in his bead. “Ugh. Spike, can you try to be just a little quieter? I’m still trying to catch up from yesterday.” Spike merely rolled over and kept sleeping.
Realizing she wouldn’t be getting any more sleep done, she dragged herself out of bed, knocking over the plushies that Fluttershy had given her. She grabbed a large stuffed bear and hurled it at Spike, knocking him out of bed. “Agh! I’m up, I’m up! Geez, can’t a dragon get some sleep around here?”
She carefully placed the plushies back on her bed as Spike headed down to cook breakfast. She made sure to place the biggest ones to the back, carefully organizing the rest so the wouldn’t fall down and hiding the Spike’s Rarity doll underneath the whole lot.
Pleased with herself, she closed the door behind her and shuffled toward the dining room. The halls were still cold and empty, despite all of the work that her friends’ had put into decorating. The only decoration in the hall was a trail of confetti from one of Pinkie’s party cannons.
She passed through the heavy doors to the map room. The chandelier was still hanging high above the center of the room, casting a warm glow all around. It still amazed her what her friends were able to come up with on such short notice, a centerpiece that perfectly captured the definition of home…
Spike stumbled in from the kitchen, carrying a burning platter of pancakes in one claw and a envelope in the other. “Sorry about the pancakes, Twilight. Owloysius kept hovering over me with this letter from the mayor.”
Twilight grabbed the envelope from his hands with her magic and ripped it open. The letter inside was light pink, never a good sign. The letter read,
"Dear Ms. Twilight Sparkle,
We regret to inform you that the former site of the Golden Oaks Library has been considered a hazard to the public safety. As the current owner of this site, we request that you bring the location up to code in the next thirty days. Failure to do this will result in you being fined up to three-hundred fifty thousand (350 000) bits. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Mayor Mare at town hall.
-The Ponyville Town Council"
Twilight stared blankly at the letter as Spike downed the burnt pancakes. She thought she had already dealt with all the legal issues surrounding the charred remains of the library, but now that the library had been removed, the place was considered 'unsafe'. What could possibly be unsafe about an empty lot? She would have to see for herself.
"Spike? Can you call our friends to the castle while I'm out?" No response. She looked up from her letter to see that Spike had already left, leaving behind a platter of sooty crumbs. "Never mind. Looks like I'm on my own for this one."
She made her way to the castle entrance, grabbing her saddlebag and carefully securing the letter. If her presumption was correct, she could catch the mayor on her way to Sugarcube Corner. Double-checking to make sure the letter was their, she walked out the front door, only to be sent tumbling back through by a pink blur.
“Hiya Twilight!” Pinkie was standing over her, pinning her legs to the ground. “I just got the strangest feeling last night. I don’t know why, but I think Mayor Mare fell into a giant hole! Either that, or Applejack’s wagon had the wheel fall off again.”
Pinkie hopped off of her and started licking Spike’s plate, coating her muzzle with burnt crumbs. “Mmm, these are delicious! You should try some.” She lifted Twilight off the ground and offered her the empty plate.
Twilight pushed the plate away. “No thanks. I was just going to find the mayor. I got a letter in the mail, something about ‘unsafe conditions’ where the old library was.” She waved to Pinkie as she walked out the door. Pinkie waved back to her, then promptly bounced through the door to catch up to her.
“Unsafe? Unsafe?! What could possibly be unsafe about a giant hole in the ground?” Pinkie continued bouncing at Twilight’s side, brushing her mane against the tree branches along the path. Twilight stopped in her tracks, turned to her and tilted her head.
“A giant hole?! Why didn’t you guys tell me about that last night? Of course a giant hole in the middle of Ponyville is going to be a major hazard!” Pinkie stopped bouncing midair, her hair deflating as she floated back to the ground. She let out a half-hearted laugh as Twilight face-hoofed.
“You know what? Never mind. I have a giant hole to fill, and one month to do it. Come on Pinkie, you’re coming with me.” Twilight spread her wings and soared toward town, Pinkie frantically bouncing behind trying to catch up to her.
She finally caught up to Twilight at Carousel Boutique. The door was wide open, and she could her Twilight panting heavily as she explained herself to a confused Rarity. Pinkie pulled a catsuit out of a nearby bush, put it on in a blur, and snuck into the showroom.
“Library. Chandelier. Big hole. Danger. One month.” Rarity stared blankly back at Twilight, then shook her head. Pinkie meanwhile pulled a lampshade out of her pocket and placed it over her head.
“Darling, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What could possibly be wrong with the lovely gift we gave you last night? Maybe we should sit down and talk about it.” Rarity strolled over to one of her vanities, pulling out a small notepad and a pen. “Take your time dear, I’m in no hurry.”
Twilight took a seat at the adjacent mirror, slowly catching her breath. Pinkie inched her way across the room to them, bumping into a bare mannequin. It clattered to the floor, diverting the attention of the other two. She stood up on her hind legs and stood and stood perfectly still.
“We know you’re there, Pinkie,” said Twilight, “but was there really any reason to hide in the first place?”
“Nope!” Pinkie replied as she threw off the lampshade and catsuit. “It’s just fun to pretend to be a spy.”
Twilight shook her head and turned back to Rarity, who was situated with the notebook and pen. Pinkie took a seat on the floor, fiddling with the lever on the back of Rarity’s chair. The lever went down, and the seat sprung up, launching Rarity a few inches out of her seat. “Pinkie, can’t you see our friend has something important to tell me? I’d greatly appreciate it if you sit still for a minute while she explains her situation.”
Pinkie planted her rump on the floor and froze in position. Twilight eyed her cautiously, then turned back to Rarity. “As I was trying to say earlier, I received a letter from the mayor this morning informing me that I have to bring the former property of the Golden Oaks Library up to code. Pinkie Pie has kindly informed me that your gift left as massive hole in the middle of Ponyville.”
Rarity jotted down a note. “That does sound quite serious. And how long do you have to do this?”
“Thirty days, or else I have to pay a pretty bit.” Twilight grabbed Rarity’s shoulders and shook her violently. “Look, I know this is a lot to ask of you after all you did yesterday, but you’ve got to help me! There’s no way I can create and implement a solution by myself!”
Rarity pushed her off and smiled. “Come on, darling; this is nothing compared to some of the other stuff we’ve been through. You know we’ve always got your back.”
A tear streaked down Twilight’s cheek. “Thank you, Rarity.” She wrapped her forelegs tightly around her, with Rarity returning the favor. Pinkie broke form and wrapped herself around them, nearly suffocating Twilight.
They broke apart, Twilight gasping for air. She paused to catch her breath, then bolted out the door, followed by the other two. “Come on girls! We’ve got some friends to gather and some planning to do.”
