Unusable Story Husk

My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the new President of Germane.

As Twilight began thinking to herself, a curious figure came in her bedroom, squeaking past the barely open door.

I can’t believe I’m in this position. I’ve worked so hard for this.

The figure revealed itself to be Spike, holding a piece of parchment.

Clawing your way to the top, beating every obstacle in your path.

"President Sparkle?" Spike inquired.

Making the right decisions every step of the way.

"Excuse me, President Sparkle?"

Planning day and night, trying-

"My apologies, but your prepared speech is ready."

Twilight let out a deep sigh. She already gave up her ability to think in peace and quiet a long time ago. Once upon a time, she might have had a little, but being a politician made things much too intrusive for that anymore. Even in her Presidential bedroom...

“Spike, just leave me to my own thoughts. I’m speaking out by my own heart, not a written copy of it,” Twilight requested. “To do that, I need to think about how I will shape Germane into a world superpower, and convince the country that they picked the right pony for the job.”

Clearly, Spike didn’t understand the meaning of ‘leave somepony alone’, or ‘stop shoving that speech in my face’.

“You have to use this, you’re up in a few minutes!” Spike reminded Twilight. “You’re bound to make a mistake, at least keep it for reference!”

Without warning, a loud, friendly voice echoed through the building from outside, interrupting Spike's suggestions.

...You, the citizens of Germane, have spoken! Without further ado, here is your newly elected President, miss Twilight Sparkle!

Ack!

There was no time to lose, but Spike was blocking access to the door leading out to the podium. Oh well, I don’t need to read that speech if I take it anyway... Twilight thought, accepting the speech to Spike's delight. Reaching the podium outside took little effort and time, but every second delayed felt like ages to Twilight.

What if they get sick of waiting and leave?

Adjusting her eyes to the light outside was difficult enough, but what she saw after that would rack anypony's nerves up. Thousands of ponies, all Germanian, here to hear their new leader's inaugural speech. Thousands of ecstatic ponies representing every imaginable colour of the rainbow. Thousands of ponies that would see any mistake she made…

"Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!" the crowd roared.

Their enthusiasm wasn't helping, but Twilight's nerves calmed a little after recollecting her campaign, and remembering all the promises she had made. She hadn't gotten this far to simply lose the citizens' trust, and promising to keep promises is the best way to keep it.

Perfect, all I need is to assure them that I'll fulfill my promises and I'm set!

Mustering the last of her courage, Twilight set out to work.

"Citizens of Germane!" Twilight began. "First and foremost, I am pleased with your decision to elect me as your president. I understand that we are in a little of an economic downturn, but plans have already started to be implemented into our infrastructure to improve the situation, such as-"

Hanging on every word, 'improve' seemed to be the clincher as the crowd erupted. Left, right and center, ponies yelled their excitement right at their new president. An overwhelming sense of accomplishment was flying through Twilight's head, leaving a touched smile on her face.

All this work, and I get so much attention and appreciation from the country…

Silence filled the air once Twilight's intention to speak again became clear, the crowd eagerly awaiting their next cue.

"This is truly touching, and by my horn, I swear I will not let any of you down. Not a single pony's thoughts will be left out, as I will make time in my schedule to listen to you, the citizens of Germane, giving feedback. This country will remain the strong republican society it has been for so long, with the Magic Horizons Party and myself working on any future problems that need to be solved. I thank you all, for Unity, Justice and Freedom!"

No amount of words could drown out or stop the excitement the crowd showed at the mention of their motto. The crowd was not physical, but the noise made it difficult for Twilight to return inside without a headache.

Head thumping after every step, Twilight returned to her chambers. Although she planned on getting rest, Spike was still around, seemingly concerned at the condition of his president.

"You need some water or something? I could get some if you need any."

Twilight merely smiled at the baby dragon, head still hurting all the while.

"Don't worry about it, Spike, I just need to be alone for now. Oh, and I didn't use the speech, but if you wanted to keep it, it's outside on the podium. I'd grab it now if you want to risk getting your ears blown out by that crowd!"

Spike's concern quickly changed to annoyance, but complied with her wish for some alone time.

"Well, that was pretty short for a speech, but I suppose I already had their trust. I just wish I, *yawn*, had an idea of the agendas of the other countries in the world. Who knows what they have in mind…"

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        There wasn’t much to see here, and even less to say about it. Although there have been negotiations in the past to get some top secret experimental stuff down here, Antlertica remains a reclusive society - if you call around 100 ponies living off of each other a society. Nopony really wants to be a leader of a big, frozen block of ice, but 3 young ponies stepped up to the plate to give a newer, more fresh outlook to their “situation”.

        Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo all entered the only public building in the only settlement down in Antlertica with the same idea; What if they don't take us seriously?

The building was the hub of the community, being the largest building with the best insulation in the continent. Not everypony was present on this day, however, since large was a little of an exaggeration. The building could barely fit 70 ponies, let alone 100.

        “I’ll talk to them, I have the loudest voice. Don’t worry, I know what you two would say, and I’ll tell them everything,” Scootaloo said. “If I do something wrong, just tell me!”

        Stepping up on a table, Scootaloo looked to her friends for confirmation. After a subtle nod from Applebloom, the ponies in the room perked their ears to listen to the voice of the young filly.

        “Uh, hey ponies. I understand that we don't have a true need for leaders, which makes us all the more grateful that you thought we should be put into that position. It'll give us the skills we need to eventually shape Antlertica, or so I'm told."

Briefly stopping to catch her breath, Scootaloo caught Sweetie Belle's eye, who whispered something unintelligible in her ear.

"Well, we don't believe this is true, because we will shape Antlertica to be more right now! We may be few, but we can make this work! Applebloom has already met with a messenger from Britallia here to survey the land, and we are set to be a part of an international council, where we will surely develop strong partnerships with other countries!"

Ponies all around the room gaped at this notion. Opportunities and advancements could be made to develop this land was the general consensus in the building. Some had already left to get more ponies to join, however cramped the building might become.

"The messenger returned just this morning, confirming our oligarchic system as one of the world's 10 governments. Although we may be small, the attention could attract visitors, and possibly drive us to shape the land to our choosing!"

By the time Scootaloo was on 'shape the land', seemingly every pony in the region was present. Despite the promising things Scootaloo was describing, however, the ponies present began to sour up at 'oligarchic'.

"Don't worry! You probably think it is too much to leave us three in total charge of the region, but this is only a beginning. We will still get input from everypony, and step down if need be. The other members of the international council could also provide advice and assistance if we ask!"

Without anything else to say, Scootaloo entered an awkward situation with the whole building staring at her, expecting a clincher ending to get them going.

"You did great, Scoot! But you should get better at speeches, everything seems really weird, and the public doesn't know too much about what's going on yet!" Sweetie Belle whispered in Scootaloo's ear.

"We will be attendin' the first council meeting tomorrow, as the messenger from before has sent us a boat to depart for the mainland right now. We'll explain more in the future, since right now, we aren't 100% sure of how this situation will work, either," Applebloom announced in relief of Scootaloo.

There were only shrugs of confusion building, wondering what actions will be taken in the future. "They're just fillies, ignore them." was the general message spread around the room.

That was far from what the new leaders planned as they left the building to board the boat.

No, they had a much, much bigger agenda than their awkward speech showed.

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“Oh Great and Powerful Trixie, a letter arrived in the mail a few days ago from the Kingdom of Britallia.”

There wasn’t much that couldn’t aggravate Trixie, and her messenger’s notice was no exception.

“A few days ago? You mean you kept your benevolent ruler from getting the mail this late?” Trixie said impatiently. “Read it.”

        There was no negative reaction from the messenger. He knew exactly what he had done, and like the rest of the country would do in his place, he knew he deserved the punishment he’d get afterwards.

        “*Ahem* Dear Great and Powerful Trixie, the other countries in the world have been discussing with each other of the opportunities the world could create if we were more organized with each other. Now, we understand that you might not want to accept this invitation, but we believe that every country should take part in a council that will be meeting in a few days here in Britallia. You only need attend to show your interest. If you do not wish to attend due to unforeseen consequences, then send a letter and we will understand. In the case that we do not receive a reply, hostilities already presented to your nation will increase. Economic sanctions are a possibility. Looking forward to your swift reply, Queen Celestia.”

        Trixie's eyes were deep in thought, but not about the letter.

        “I don’t care about some silly threat, take that letter away. It isn’t important. What is important is that you be taught a lesson for your tardiness, but such meaningless news doesn’t make it a crime, I suppose,” Trixie explained. “However, Coltreia has had a little more crime than is usually acceptable, and I haven’t had a demonstration in some time. If you will come to the balcony outside, we can get started with the demonstration."

The messenger knew what this meant, and headed to the balcony to meet his fate. With Trixie's advancing gestures, he walked outside to the watching eyes of many thousands of ponies, all expecting Trixie to make a normal, conceited monologue about herself.

"My loyal subjects! Instead of having you all celebrating my ruling, I have chosen to show you another miscreant to be punished, and what will happen to you if you do not remain loyal to your country. To keep everyone in check, an example will be made of this pony for neglecting to inform your ruler of pressing matters. Hopefully you will all learn from this and never neglect your duties to me. If you can't see up here, don't worry, you'll get to see it all soon enough. My messenger, if you will please show yourself to everypony."

The messenger willingly complied, keeping the crowd below him in perfect view. Without a moment's hesitation, a light grayish magenta colour began to surround him, lifting him above and over the balcony ledge. No matter how dedicated somepony is to his ruler, the fear shown by the messenger was too overwhelming to keep at bay.

"Please, oh Great and Powerful Trixie! I meant no harm! I will never do it again!" the messenger cried.

Trixie merely laughed as the crowd below applauded her decision.

"Maybe next time, you will have a stronger sense of patriotism and willingness to work for your country. In the afterlife."

The light surrounding the pony disappeared as his life slowly drifted away, getting closer and closer to the hard pavement the ponies below were clearing away for.

For all of a minute, silence. Trixie gave a reassuring smile to the crowd, which ignited a loud cheer for their leader.

"Thank you, everypony, for being loyal to your leader. Learn from this, and I may be doing this less often. Until next week!" Trixie finished.

Exiting the balcony from her adoring ponies, Trixie called for a servant.

"Clean up the mess down at the ground. I don't care what you do to the remains, I have no use for a traitor, live or dead. This country is mine, and no one will stand in my way to make it exactly how I want it. Now, go! I need to go find out what happened with our assault on that pitiful place everypony calls the USPR."

The servant nodded and departed to clean up the mess grudgingly, being one of the only ponies in the country who opposed Trixie. It's only a matter of time before Trixie knows about him, but by then, the rest of the ponies in his force will have already begun to fight against Trixie's revolting actions.

His revolution will have begun.

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        “Umm... are you ready to perform your - I mean - my speech? It’s fine if you aren’t, but there are a lot of ponies outside waiting for somepony to make a speech...” Fluttershy said quietly.

        There weren’t a lot of people who supported Fluttershy in her run to become Empress of Neighpon, especially considering she hasn’t spoken in public with groups in excess of 50 ponies. But, as luck would have it, the 2 other parties vying for the position dropped out before the election, putting Fluttershy as the Empress by default. The main questions on everypony’s mind was whether she would begin to make decisions a leader should be making, and why she even decided to run in the first place if she is so shy.

        “Well, even though this is your country now, I suppose I have no choice but to announce the speech in your place. You know, this would elevate your status and ponies would put you in higher regard if you did this yourself,” a dark green pegasus reminded Fluttershy.

        “That will be quite alright, Green Thorn. If I need to go out, I will.”

        Fluttershy sighed deeply, wishing she had the courage she desperately wanted to run this country more efficiently. Her ideas flew through her head, and she questioned whether or not Green Thorn could make it sound convincing when he was speaking.

        “Alright, as your advisor, I trust your opinion is correct. But something is telling me that you will be speaking today, but you just aren’t aware of it yet. Now, the megaphone, please,” Green Thorn said, gesturing to the big cone next to Fluttershy. The crowd awaiting the speech was pretty slim, but they were scattered around, and the megaphone was the only way to reach them.

        Handing the device to her advisor, Fluttershy felt a pang of remorse as she realized that she was the country’s leader, and they expected her to feel no shame. Not speaking in public probably seems shameful and unpatriotic to the citizens and her country.

        “Good... good luck. I hope they like what they hear,” Fluttershy hoped.

        Green Thorn flew up to the top of the town hall’s main gazebo, where 100 or so ponies gathered round to hear what Fluttershy had to say. To none of their surprises, it wasn’t what Fluttershy had to say, but what her advisor had to say. Several ponies grunted in mockery and left, leaving the scene even more scattered.

Hmm, I really hope she falls for my plan... Green Thorn thought.

Green Thorn attached the megaphone to his head, allowing him to freely speak through the opening without using his hooves. Most of the ponies remaining perked their ears, but had little hope.

        “Greetings, ponies. I trust that you will tell your friends and relatives about what I’ll be saying here today, because it is the definition of Fluttershy as how she well lead the country. You will not be disappointed, despite the current lack of faith I see the country holds so far in our future dictator.”

        Any pony listening felt disgust and outrage over the word ‘dictator’, setting most of them off and alerting Fluttershy, still in town hall.

        “Wow... he thinks I’ll be a... a... dictator? I can’t let him say such terrible things!” Fluttershy exclaimed, raising her voice.

        She flew over to a smiling Green Thorn, who knew that his plan had worked. Without even grabbing the megaphone, Fluttershy began to speak to ponies from far away with a powerful, loud voice.

        “No, this is completely wrong! I want all of you who left and heard what he said to return! That is not how ponies respect their leaders, whether they had a true election or not!” Fluttershy yelled, seemingly forgetting her shyness for a while.

        The sudden outburst would normally stun and cause more outrage if it was any other leader, but the change of pace with Fluttershy made things much more interesting. More and more ponies came hearing her words, now intent on listening to what she had to say.

        “This country has been thriving well as a republican society, and as your Empress, it will remain that way until I am finished my term! We will not have a dictatorship, and I have already made plans to make this country an even more stable and strong member of the world economy!” Fluttershy continued, attracting more and more ponies in the thousands after Green Thorn raised the megaphone to her mouth, increasing her range even more. “You may question why I even ran for Empress, and believe me, I know I am shy. But I will improve. I ran because I got news of an upcoming council for the world’s countries, and the previous leader was not interested. I thought it would be a great opportunity to advance our country’s ideals, and I trust you all have the same wishes to make our country better! We will make it better, because the honour of our country is the honour of us all!”

        About 10 minutes ago, there was a scattered group of around 80 ponies remaining to listen to their ‘fearless’ leader. Now, there were tens of thousands of them, gathered in buildings and the roads to listen to their new leader earn their trust. With the finishing statement being the country’s motto, they were all ecstatic and began to chant her name, when they would barely utter her name the day before.

        The excitedness of the crowd startled a happy Fluttershy, relieved that they seem to trust her even if her shyness did kick in.

        “Green Thorn, I’m heading back to the town hall. I trust the rest of the ponies will tell the rest of the country about my speech, but my shyness sort of... kicked in again. I won’t be able to speak with them anymore. I’ll see you tomorrow, I hope,” Fluttershy said with a smile on her face.

        “I sure hope you know what you’re doing with this council thing, you’ll have to tell me in a few days when you return what happened there,” Green Thorn requested.

        “I think it will work. I hope it does, for Neighpon’s sake.”

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        Rarity, deep in thought, trotted up and down the backstage, looking at each dress intently. With a smile of satisfaction, Rarity pointed her hoof to the colourful pink dress on the far right.

        “I absolutely love it! I don’t see any other way the ponies of Prance will keep me as their President if I have anything less! Don’t just stand there, help me get it on!” Rarity exclaimed, gesturing to the tailor laying out several dresses.

        “Why not make it yourself, President Rarity? I’ve heard from far and wide that other than your ability to lead a country, you are one of the best dressmakers in the world!” the tailor questioned Rarity.

        Rarity seemed a little distraught at the addition of ‘one of the best’ rather than simply saying ‘the best’, but that wasn’t the priority right now.

        “I’ve been dreadfully busy with Celestia, Britallia’s queen. There’s going to be a council of leaders from all over the world, and I think it will be a great chance to show off our stuff!”

        On the other side of the stage, a mass of ponies awaited their President to make her inaugural announcement. Murmurs of ‘I heard she wasn’t doing a speech...’ and ‘What does she want?’ flooded the room, starting rumours everywhere. Their new leader seemed like a good pony for the job, even if her methods seemed a little odd. Image this, fashion that... it didn’t seem like something a country’s leader should focus on.

        As the lights dimmed around the stage, a catwalk unfolded out into the crowd. The ponies’ predictions of a fashion show were realized after Rarity went front and center stage, along with other ponies by her side, baring other fashionable dresses.

        “Hello ponies of Prance! I’m sure you already know most of what I’ll be doing to improve the country, but in times of peace, we want to maintain a good image for ourselves! This is why we are all out here, so that you can see my wardrobe for international interactions before the rest of the world does!” Rarity said to the crowd.

        The audience wasn’t happy with the scenario, and it wasn’t because the wardrobe or the poses weren’t great, but they knew this had nothing to do with running a country. This kind of attitude instead of having a leader personality wouldn’t sit well with anypony.

        “Now, I hope that the upcoming world council I’ve been invited to will turn out splendid, because I think the fashion statement shown here will elevate us to a well-liked status within the world! I trust you’ve seen enough of these dresses, so I bid you good night!”

        Walking off stage from a distraught and confused crowd, Rarity put on a smug smile to accompany her visions of grandeur.

        “President Rarity, the train will be leaving soon for Britallia. Please board immediately,” a sharply dressed colt told her. Judging by his official looking attire, Rarity gathered that he was one of her business planners.

        “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll get on the train soon enough darling. The only thing I’m worrying about is if the rest of the world is ready for how great I will look at the council meeting!”

        The colt rolled his eyes. Typical Rarity.

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