An Election in Ponyville

Chapters

Chapter 1: Election Season
Chapter 2: In the Running
Chapter 3: Debate Masters
Chapter 4: Once a Mayor, Always a Mare

Chapter 1: Election Season

The light of morning bathed the lush hills and valleys of Equestria in rich golden hues. Though it was not quite yet time for the Running of the Leaves, the orange and red of autumn was beginning to take hold of the trees as they glistened in dawn's slowly evaporating dew.

Inside of a modestly built house, a cheerful yellow patch of sun crawled in a second story window to dance on the muzzle of a tan earth pony, gently rousing the mare from her sleep. With a yawn, she dropped her hooves off the edge of her bed, blinking the last of her drowsiness away before fully committing to stand up. The tan pony nipped her glasses off of her nightstand and, in a maneuver that came only with the practice of having lived with them most of her life, flipped them onto her nose.

A turn of a faucet in the bathroom gave the mare cold water to splash her face with. Looking in the mirror, she noted with some dismay that some strands of pink were showing in her otherwise grey mane. She took out a brush and a bottle of touch-up dye. With a few brush strokes, she worked the dye in until she was satisfied with her respectable monochrome.

The contents of the mare's dresser were neat and organized, and consisted mostly of clean, well-pressed collars. There were a few other outfits for special occasions in some of the other drawers, and that one lacy number... well, she kept that one hidden in a box in the closet. Today was just a day like any other, however, so the tan pony took out a ruffled blue collar that matched the ribbon-bound scroll on her cutie mark. With only a passing glance at the clock on her bedroom wall, the Mayor of Ponyville trotted downstairs.

The smell of coffee mixed with that of boiled oats and lightly buttered toast as the Mayor looked through the day's headlines. Another drought in Appleloosa, she thought, balancing the newspaper in her hooves as she took a sip from her coffee. Those frontier ponies just can't seem to get a break.

With another glance at the time, the tan mare folded the paper and stepped briskly toward the door. She did not like leaving her breakfast only half-eaten, but it simply would not do to show up late to Town Hall. Perhaps one of the interns will have brought donuts to work again. With a cheerful smile on her face, the Mayor left her house to greet the day.

“Good morning, Mayor,” called a familiar voice.

“Good morning, Cheerilee,” the Mayor responded, giving the schoolteacher a polite nod.

“Lovely weather today, isn't it?” The purple earth pony matched her step with the Mayor's.

“Mm, yes it is, although I hope we're not pushing our luck too much. If the weather ponies go too much longer without a rainstorm, I know a few farmers that will be upset,” the Mayor said. Just yesterday she'd received a complaint from Golden Harvest that her carrots were wilting.

Cheerilee just smiled. “I wouldn't worry too much about it. Apple Bloom told me the other day that with harvest season so close, there's really not much time left for growing out at Sweet Apple Acres.” The schoolyard opened up to the left. “This is my stop.”

The Mayor waved a hoof as Cheerilee turned and disappeared into the old schoolhouse. That pony is a credit to this town, she thought, continuing her walk to the Ponyville Town Hall.

The wooden steps outside the city center gave a hollow clunk as the tan mare's hooves struck them. A bulletin board stood just outside the entrance, bearing fliers and public notices for everypony to see. A big, brightly-colored piece of paper dominated the other notices, and the Mayor slowed down to see what it was about as she passed by.

With a chuckle, she realized it was an ad for her own re-election campaign; she had nearly forgotten that there would be another election soon. “Re-elect our Mayor: Dedicated service through experience and trust,” she read aloud, grinning. The interns just re-used last year’s posters! Not that she could really blame them. Having run completely uncontested last year, there was probably boxes and boxes of these fliers in the office. As she headed inside, the Mayor made a mental note to find out who on her staff had taken the initiative to put the poster up.

The Mayor stopped, a tingle running up the edge of her flank. Backing out onto the landing, she took another look at the bulletin board. Below her poster was a smaller, purple piece of paper. The Mayor adjusted her glasses as she read:

A NEW ERA FOR PONYVILLE!

ELECT TWILIGHT SPARKLE

for TOWN MAYOR

A faint magenta light reflected off rows of oak-bound tomes, not quite drowned out by the natural mid-morning sunlight that filtered in through the library's skylights. Twilight Sparkle pursed her lips in concentration as she locked her eyes on her project. “Carefully now,” she said to herself, “easy does it.”

A feather quill hovered over an open container of ink on her desk, bathed in Twilight's magical aura. Slowly, ink began to arc off the tip of the pen and into the container. “That's it,” she said evenly. “It's working...”

A furious pounding rang from the library's front door. Twilight's eyes flicked over to the door for a fraction of a second before returning to the pen, which began wobbling. “No, wait--!” But it was too late, her concentration had been broken. A stream of black ink spurted into the unicorn's face.

Twilight's ears flattened as another round of hoofbeats rattled the door's hinges. “I'll be there in a minute,” she called, looking around for a towel. A few more rounds of increasingly impatient door-knockings occurred before Twilight pulled the door open. “Can I help you—Miss Mayor?”

The Mayor stormed into the library. “Twilight, what is the meaning of this?”

Twilight tried wiping the inkstains off her face with her hoof, but only succeeded in spreading it to the tip of her muzzle. “Well, I was working on developing a way to get the ink from an old quill back into the bottle to be reused. I figured out that I could get almost two whole extra pages of writing out of a single bottle if I simply--”

“Not that,” the tan earth pony interrupted, unfolding a purple piece of paper, “this!”

Twilight held the flier in front of herself with magic. “A new era for Ponyville. Elect...” The unicorn's eyes widened. “Mayor, this is—I mean, I had no idea!”

The grey-maned politician peered at Twilight over her eyeglasses. “You're saying you didn't post this in front of Town Hall?”

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. “I would never! I've always thought you've done a wonderful job as mayor, and I certainly don't think I could do any better! This has to be some kind of misunderstanding.”

The Mayor's eyes regarded the light purple unicorn with suspicion for a moment longer before her expression finally softened. “I believe you,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. She bowed her head and turned back toward the exit. “I hope to see you at the polls.”

Twilight nodded. “Definitely. And I'll try to find out who made this. Have a good day!” She waved a hoof as the Mayor trotted out. Twilight closed the door behind her. The unicorn’s eyes fell on the scrap of paper, then drifted up to the bed of her assistant. Her tail swished in irritation.

“Spi—ike!”

“Aw, come on,” Spike whined, scrambling to keep up with Twilight on his short legs. “You'd make a great mayor!”

“Spike, being mayor of a town is a lot of hard work. Weather planning, construction permits, irrigation projects, all that has to go through the Mayor's office. On top of running the library and my friendship studies, I just wouldn't have the time to take office.”

Spike waved the crumpled flier in his hand. “But Pinkie and I were up all night working on this poster!”

“And maybe I feel silly for saying this,” Twilight replied, “but I thought Pinkie would know better. Honestly, Spike, why do you even want me running for mayor? You think being a librarian's assistant is hard, you just try being a political intern.” The two of them arrived at Sugarcube Corner. The sugary scent of sweets wafted out of the bakery as the lunch rush brought customers through the doors.

Inside, patrons sat at tables chatting amiably among themselves over their pastries, or staring through the glass counters at the cakes. Pinkie Pie was making rounds about the room, handing out green-frosted cupcakes to everypony. Tucked beneath each cupcake was a folded piece of purple paper. “Free cupcake on the house,” she said as she passed the treats out, “courtesy of Twilight Sparkle for a Better Ponyville!”

Twilight's ears flicked in annoyance. “Pinkie Pie,” she growled.

“Oh, hi Twilight!” The pink pony continued distributing the cupcakes. “Be sure to vote for Twilight Sparkle,” she called after a pair of customers that had just walked out the door. “What's up?”

“Well, apparently I'm running for mayor,” Twilight said.

“That's great! Have you picked a party?” Pinkie gave out the last cupcake in her tray and set the tray down. “I'm partial to the balloon-animal party, but if you think you lean more towards the apple-bobbing party, I can respect that choice.”

“Pinkie, I--,” Twilight's mouth stopped as her brain tried to make sense of anything her friend had just said. Coming up with nothing, she just shook her head. “I don't want to be mayor!”

“That's just silly. Who doesn't want to be mayor? I would run, but then I'd be up against you, and then I wouldn't know who to vote for!” Pinkie turned her head toward a customer as he walked in through the door. “Vote Twilight Sparkle for mayor of Ponyville,” she proclaimed.

“Pinkie, I need you to stop handing out these fliers,” Twilight said.

Pinkie shook her head. “Sorry, Twilight, I can't do that.”

The unicorn grit her teeth together. “Why not?”

Pinkie Pie pulled out a long scroll of paper with a lot of writing on it. She cleared her throat. “Twilight Sparkle for a Better Ponyville is a nonprofit political organization whose viability as a legal source for political donations is contingent upon the condition that it will not coordinate in any way with any campaigning candidates, as is provided in Section 54-382B of the Ponyville town charter.”

Twilight stared blankly.

Pinkie Pie rolled the scroll up and put it away. “It means as long as I'm in charge of Twilight Sparkle for a Better Ponyville, I'm not allowed to do what you tell me to do! You told me to stop handing out fliers, so,” Pinkie reached around the counter and grabbed a fresh tray full of cupcakes and fliers, “now I gotta go hand out these fliers!” The pink pony bounded off to distribute her cupcakes and fliers.

Twilight hung her head, defeated.

Spike took a breath.

“Not a word, Spike,” she grumbled.

“But I--”

“Not a single word.”

The Mayor found Twilight sitting on the steps of Town Hall, reading a thick book on Equestrian law. With a glance to the bulletin board she found three new purple posters pinned up. “Twilight dear, I thought you were going to put a stop to this nonsense.”

Twilight sighed dejectedly. “I thought I was, too. But apparently, it's out of my hooves.” She nosed a page over on the heavy law book. “According to this, I legally can't tell Pinkie to stop campaigning for me.”

The Mayor peered over Twilight's shoulders at the section she was reading. She recognized it. 54-382B had led her to more than one heated argument with her best campaign donor, Filthy Rich. “But, you're too young, aren't you?”

Twilight shook her head. “I've been old enough to hold office for three years now. Former mayor Golden Bit had barely graduated from school when he became mayor of Ponyville forty years ago.”

The tan pony was surprised to learn this. When Golden Bit had retired, he had fully endorsed her campaign. She had never known how young the old pony had been when he had started. “Isn't there anything you can do?” she said, flaring her nostrils as she watched a purple piece of paper blow across the street in the wind. “These fliers are making an awful mess.”

Twilight was silent for a time, before her eyes widened. “You're right, they are making a mess, aren't they?” she said excitedly. The unicorn flipped her lawbook shut and tucked it into her saddlebag. “I've got to go!”

The Mayor opened her mouth, her eyes glazed with confusion as she watched her unwilling rival trot off toward Sugarcube Corner.

Outside the bakery, Pinkie Pie had set up a platform with multicolored streamers and ribbons. A big banner hung in front that read in big letters:

TWILIGHT SPARKLE for a BETTER PONYVILLE

There was a knot of ponies gathering before the platform, cheering Pinkie on as she shouted to them. “It's time, Ponyvillians!” she said. Pinkie put a hoof against her ear. “What time, I hear you ask? Well,” she pulled a string, releasing a cloud of confetti into the air, “it's time for a new mayor in Ponyville, of course!” The crowd stomped their hooves in applause.

“And who better to be that new mayor than my super-duper awesomecakes friend Twilight Sparkle?” she said. Spike walked across the platform throwing muffins out to the crowd, drawing a particularly enthusiastic cheer from a cross-eyed grey pegasus who hovered above the others. “She's real smart, and super nice, and she's already saved the town more times than I can count! And that's just as a regular ol' librarian. Just think of what she could do as mayor!” Pinkie Pie waved her hooves around, grinning widely as cheers and applause washed over the stage.

Twilight made her way around the edge of the crowd to put her front two hooves on the platform. “Pinkie,” she said. The pink pony didn't seem to hear her. “Pinkie Pie!” Twilight shouted.

Pinkie looked down. “Oh, there you are!” Ignoring her friend's stammering objections, she dragged Twilight onto the stage. “Your future mayor, everypony!” she cried as the crowd grew in volume.

Twilight blushed nervously at being the center of attention, but she shook her head, determined not to be deterred. “Pinkie, you need to take all this down,” she said.

Pinkie laughed. “Silly-willy, do I need to get out the scroll again? I can't coordinate with you, remember?”

Twilight Sparkle straightened her back. “Aha, but this time I'm not asking as a candidate. I'm asking as a concerned citizen who doesn't want to see Ponyville all covered in litter.” She pointed her hoof at the piles of confetti drifting in the streets to illustrate her point. “According to the rules, that's not coordinating.”

Pinkie Pie gasped. “Oh my gosh, Twilight, you're right!”

“Good. Now, I--”

Pinkie scrambled to the edge of the platform. “Listen, everypony! Twilight Sparkle just had an amazing idea! We need to clean up all this trash to keep Ponyville clean. We could form a volunteer litter patrol to go around town picking up garbage!” The crowd cheered. “And while we're going around town, we can tell everypony about what a great civil servant Twilight is!”

The lavender unicorn stood dumbfounded as the excited crowd set to work sweeping confetti off the cobbles.

Pinkie Pie squealed with delight. “Oh, this gives me a great idea for a new campaign slogan! Spike, take a note.”

Spike took out a parchment and a quill.

The pink pony waved her hoof dramatically toward the horizon. “Twilight Sparkle—cleaning up Ponyville!”

Chapter 2: In the Running

As the air grew cooler, the competition grew warmer. The Mayor had not needed to campaign so hard in years. The last time she'd been this worried about an election was when that upstart pegasus Bold Dare had come through with his cheesy “Dare to vote for Mayor Dare” slogan. She'd proven he was all big words and no substance during the debates that year when he couldn't find Manehattan on a map.

That wasn't going to work on Twilight. The bookworm was absurdly well-read, and the Mayor wasn't sure even a pony with her own vast political experience could hold her own if she forced it to a debate on cold hard facts. No, if the tan mare was going to keep her job, she was going to have to make this year's election about the hearts and minds of Ponyville's citizens.

The Mayor of Ponyville stretched her legs, letting out a steady breath as she eyed the long trail in front of her. Ponies gathered between the rows of red- and orange-leafed trees, getting ready to start the annual Running of the Leaves.

Twilight Sparkle approached, eyeing the number taped to the Mayor's flank curiously. “Miss Mayor, you're running today? Who's going to officiate the race?”

The Mayor put on a very professional smile. Twilight was a sweet young mare, but right now she was the enemy and the Mayor couldn't allow herself to get too friendly. “My intern is handling the official duties for today's race,” she said, nodding toward a red-maned pegasus with braces. The intern smiled broadly and waved her hooves. “I need to be seen getting my hooves dirty, doing my part with all the rest of Ponyville.”

Twilight waved back at the intern. “That's great! I just hope she's up to the challenge. It's a lot of responsibility.”

“She's a bright filly,” the Mayor said. “She'll do fine. Now I hope you'll excuse me, but I think the race is going to begin soon.” With that the tan pony trotted off, taking her position at the starting line.

Her legs began aching preemptively as she peered down the dirt road. Running had never really been her special talent, but a few more years than she cared to admit had passed since the last time she could have expected to make a run like this relatively painless. She sucked in a deep breath. This was for her constituents' benefit.

“Everypony to your marks,” called the Mayor's intern. The crowd of runners grew still with anticipation. Despite herself, the Mayor pawed at the ground eagerly.

“...Let the Running of the Leaves begin!” shouted the pegasus excitedly.

Everything burst into motion as the ponies took off down the trail. The ground rumbled with the passing of hooves, shaking the autumn leaves from the trees.

The Mayor found she had to fight her adrenaline down, backing away from the front of the pack so she could find a comfortable pace. “Easy now,” the Mayor said to herself, “I need to pace myself.”

“Did you say something, Miss Mayor?”

The Mayor reared in surprise as Twilight Sparkle trotted past her. Putting her head down, the tan mare built some speed until she caught up with the purple unicorn. “No, nothing at all,” she said, noting with some dismay that she was already starting to get winded.

Twilight continued jogging. “Oh, okay.”

A short distance of trail passed beneath the two of them before the Mayor spoke up again. “I hope you don't take any of my behavior this election season the wrong way, Twilight,” she said, a bit of panting leaking into her voice. “I was simply caught by surprise when I learned you would be running. I would hate for you to think I'm some power-hungry tyrant.”

Twilight shook her head. “Of course I don't think that. I've spent the last week reading up on your previous campaigns, and I can tell you have a deep love of democracy.”

“Thank you, Twilight. I--” The Mayor nearly stumbled. A lump rose in her throat. “You've been reading up on me?”

“Yes, and I've been learning a lot. The way you beat Wispy Billows in the runoff election was impressive. And then the way you turned the Great Hay Crisis into the centerpiece of your campaign?” Twilight took a breath. “Pure brilliance. It's given me lots of ideas for my own campaign.”

The Mayor gulped. “I thought you didn't want to run,” she said.

“I didn't at first,” Twilight said, “but reading about your career has really inspired me! I doubt I can beat somepony as experienced as you, but that's no reason not to give it my all.” Twilight and the Mayor passed a handful of ponies that had spent too much on the first half of the course and run out of steam. “I think it'll be a valuable learning experience!”

The Mayor smiled weakly as she struggled to keep up with the younger mare. If only it wasn't her own job on the line, she might have beamed with pride. However, as Twilight continued talking all she could hear were her own things in the office down at Town Hall putting themselves into boxes. She wondered if they would let her keep the chair.

With a start the Mayor realized that she recognized the layout of the course. They were nearing the finish line. She looked over at Twilight Sparkle, who had kept the same steady pace for the whole race. The Mayor, by contrast, felt like she could barely go on. Her lungs burned and her legs felt like they were full of sand.

No, she thought, forcing her hooves to keep moving. If the press got a picture of Twilight crossing the finish line just ahead of a ragged and bedraggled Mayor, it would be like throwing chum in a pool full of sharks. Squeezing every last bit that she had left, the Mayor took off at a mad gallop for the finish line.

She didn't dare turn to look, but the tan pony was certain she heard Twilight keeping perfect step with her, just beyond her vision. The Mayor grit her teeth; the checkered banner loomed just ahead. It was now or never. Closing her eyes, the Mayor dove for the finish line.

The Mayor found herself in a heap on the ground. She coughed as the dust clouds swirled around her. A blurry purple shape loomed over her.

“Wow, that was a great finish,” Twilight's voice came from the shape. “You took off so fast, I didn't even see you cross the line!” The purple shape walked off. “See you tomorrow at the debate!”

The tan earth pony felt something jab at her back from beneath her. She used her hooves to examine what it was. The Mayor of Ponyville whimpered as she beheld her now quite broken pair of eyeglasses.

Chapter 3: Debate Masters

The air around the Ponyville Mayoral Debate tingled with a kind of excitement that it had not had in years. Practically everypony in town had gathered in the town square to see the event. Businesses closed up their shops, school was let out early. Even the Apple family took a break from their busy apple-bucking season to attend. The entirety of the town square was filled with ponies, with some of the latecomers having to stand all the way out in the side-streets.

Above the throngs rose a wooden platform with two podiums set upon it. Behind the podiums, the two candidates stood ready to begin the debate. The Mayor stole a sidelong glance at her opponent. With some small relief, she noted that Twilight was shifting uncomfortably as she took in the sheer enormity of the crowd. A filly with stage fright wasn't going to be a challenge to beat in this debate.

The Mayor's pegasus assistant helped Spike onto the stage, and together the both of them drew the crowd's attention. Having no truly neutral ponies available to host this year's debate, Twilight and the Mayor had agreed to split the moderation duties between each of their assistants.

“Attention, everypony,” Spike called out. He was met with an eerie hush as all eyes fell upon the stage. The baby dragon brushed his hand against the spines on his head. “Welcome, everypony, to the Ponyville Mayoral Debate!” The sound of the crowd's applause shook the wooden platform. “On the left, we have this year's incumb- incumbe...” Spike stumbled over the long word, “...the pony who's already mayor, Miss Mayor!”

The Mayor smiled broadly as cheers and whistles rose from the crowd.

Her assistant spoke next. “And on the right we have this year's challenger, our resident librarian Twilight Sparkle!” A roar ripped through the crowd as the lavender unicorn waved nervously.

The assistant raised a hoof, waiting for the cheers to die down before speaking. “The rules are simple,” she said, “Spike or I will pick a pony with a question to ask, and then each of the candidates will take turns answering. Now, do we have any volunteers?”

Every hoof in Ponyville waved in the air. The two hosts shared a disbelieving glance with one another.

The mayor's pegasus assistant picked a purple hoof out of the crowd. Attached to it was Cheerilee. The crowd hushed themselves so they could hear the schoolteacher.

“As most of us probably know, Ponyville is growing,” Cheerilee said. “But our schoolhouse is the same size it was when I was a filly. We need to build a new wing on the school, or else some ponies will have to send their foals to other towns to get an education!”

Twilight Sparkle flinched as all eyes in the crowd turned to her, waiting to hear her response. The purple unicorn flipped nervously through the stack of note cards on her podium. “Building permits... building permits... Aha!” She snagged one note card from the rest. “A building permit is an official note of permission from the central municipal authority to start a construction project within city limits.”

Cheerilee rubbed her hoof awkwardly. “Well, yes, that's what a building permit is... but what I was asking was if the school could have one.”

Twilight's face turned dark red. “Oh, right... probably...” Her voice grew quiet as she shrank behind her podium

The Mayor felt a pang of pity for her opponent. She knew Miss Sparkle was brighter than this; the pressure of public speaking must be getting to her. The tan mare cleared her throat. “Miss Cheerilee, as you well know, the education of Ponyville's youngest citizens is a critical priority. In my next term, you have my guarantee that our school will have the space and funding it needs to serve the growing needs of this town.” The stage trembled as the crowd pounded its applause.

It was Spike's turn to pick a pony. He pointed into the crowd. “There! Mr. and Mrs. Cake, what's your question?”

Mrs. Cake cleared her throat. “Well, every day after school gets out, our bakery gets a bunch of little fillies and colts that come in to get a snack before going home. But with the rising price of sugar, we just can't sell our cupcakes cheap enough for the little ones to afford anymore! We were just wondering if you had anything you could do about that.”

The Mayor took the lead this time. “I can attest from personal experience that your cupcakes are delicious. It would be a tragedy if anypony couldn't afford to try them.” The Mayor adjusted her glasses. “I have some friends in Withers City that work in the sugar trade. I will write them a letter tonight and ask them to send an extra load of sugar to the markets.” The crowd cheered.

Twilight Sparkle gulped as everypony turned expectantly to hear her input. “W-well,” she stammered, before stopping to shake her head. “Well, I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot of power over the price of sugar, Mr. and Mrs. Cake...” she began slowly, trying to overcome her mistake on the first question, “but I know that the Apple family is having one their biggest harvests yet.” From the back of the crowd, Apple Bloom let out an excited whoop. “If you asked them for a barrel of their apples, then the little ponies could have a cheap, nutritious snack after school, and you could split the profits with Sweet Apple Acres.”

The Mayor gaped as the masses of ponies applauded. Stage fright or not, Twilight was going to be a tough opponent today.

Miss Mayor's assistant picked the next one. A pink pony with a flower tucked in her blonde mane raised her voice. “How do you plan to keep Ponyville safe from the monsters that wander out of--” she gulped, her voice taking on a frightened tone, “--the Everfree Forest?”

Nervous murmurs and whispers were exchanged among the crowd at the mention of the forest. The Mayor had to pound her hoof on her podium. “Everypony! Everypony, calm down.” The murmurs slowly died away. “I know that living in the shadow of the Everfree Forest can be, well, a bit too exciting at times.” Indeed, she couldn't remember a year going by in Ponyville without some kind of hoopla over a cockatrice on the loose, or a manticore nesting in the water tower. Last year's incident with Discord, though, had been unusual even by Ponyville standards. “We need to be prepared to face our problems together as a herd. Now, I have been pulling some strings, trying to get a squad of the Equestrian Guard stationed permanently in the area, but you have to remember that we're not the only town with these problems. Our neighbors in Trottingham have been the victims of a serial burglar for the past month, and just last week there was a basilisk in downtown Baltimare!”

The Mayor knew this was not what the ponies wanted to hear, but they needed to have the truth on this issue. Sugary promises of complete safety and security were not going to do the town any good.

“The Mayor is right,” Twilight Sparkle said, stepping in before the murmuring crowd could rise too far in pitch. “We can't count on the Guard being here. What we need is an organized procedure for this kind of emergency. I have a checklist here,” she levitated a long scroll off her podium, “if everypony stays calm and follows it the next time there's an emergency, I'm sure everypony will be safe.”

The debate lasted most of the day. By the time the sun began to set, marking the end of the time they had, scarcely half of the ponies with questions had gotten a chance to ask them. Spike and the Mayor’s assistant, who were exhausted by this time, announced to the slowly dispersing crowd that they could submit their concerns by mail.

The Mayor and Twilight helped the workers take down the decorations. The purple unicorn chuckled as she stepped over her prone assistant. “Tough day, huh, Spike?”

The little dragon let out a moan. “I didn't even know pointing muscles could get sore!” He waved his arm pathetically in demonstration.

Twilight levitated a long streamer, carefully rolling it up for reuse. “Well, I'm not the kind of pony to go and say 'I told you so,' but I seem to remember telling a certain baby dragon who wanted me to run for mayor that this would be a lot of work.”

Spike rolled to his feet. “Isn't that basically the same as you saying you told me so?”

The lavender unicorn started on another streamer. “Okay, so maybe I am the kind of pony to go and say 'I told you so,' then.” The two of them giggled. “So, how do you think we did?”

“Well, you had a bit of a rough start,” Spike said, picking up discarded note cards off the platform. “But you got a lot better as time went on. I especially liked the speech you made about magical fire safety.”

The unicorn smiled. “I was lucky somepony asked about that one. Living in a library with a dragon, it was something I knew a bit about.” Twilight looked over to see the Mayor helping to fold the large banner. “Keep picking up, Spike, I'll be back to help in a minute.”

The tan mare looked up to see her rival trotting up to her. “You've got the makings of a politician in you, Miss Sparkle,” she said, setting the folded banner down on a wooden pallet.

“Thank you, Miss Mayor,” Twilight said. She cocked her head to the side. “...I think.” She extended her hoof to the Mayor. “I want you to know, whatever happens tomorrow, I'm glad to have had this opportunity. Good luck!”

The Mayor smiled genuinely as she shook the lavender unicorn's hoof. “Good luck, Miss Sparkle.”

Chapter 4: Once a Mayor, Always a Mare

A layer of thick, flat clouds gathered on the horizon the day of the election. Ponyville was due for its first snowfall of the year, but the pegasus weatherponies had decided to hold it off for an extra day to give everypony a chance to make it to the polls. Despite the clear sun shining down on Ponyville, the crisp chill in the air made it clear that winter was nearly at hoof.

Ponies huddled together against the cool morning air while they waited in line to vote. A team of volunteers staffed a table at the head of the line, registering voters and distributing ballots. Behind the table stood a row of voting booths, their heavy blue curtains providing their occupants with privacy as they marked their ballots. On the other side of the booths, still more volunteers collected the baskets of ballots and set to work counting them out. Off to the side, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith had set up a stand to sell hot cider to chilly voters.

Applejack stepped behind the curtain and placed the ballot in front of her where she could study it. Her first instinct was to mark Twilight Sparkle's box and be done, but it would be irresponsible of her to make her decision based solely on the fact she was her friend. The pen hung in her mouth as she pondered. Miss Mayor's always done all right by us Apples, she thought, but then, Twilight's a real smart cookie. She got Winter Wrap-up whipped into shape, after all. Applejack winced, remembering runaway plows and avalanches. Well, after a couple false-starts, anyway.

The orange earth pony rubbed the brim of her hat with her hoof. Aw hay, this is a tough one! She could hear a hoof tapping impatiently outside her booth. The line had already been long when Applejack had arrived, and it was only going to get longer as the sun climbed. Besides which, she needed to get back to work. May as well get on with it, she thought, and brought the pen down on the ballot.

Pushing the completed ballot through the slot, Applejack trotted out of the booth, paying no heed to the impatient glares of the ponies standing outside. She had apples to buck, after all.

Fluttershy peered at her ballot from behind her mane. She wore an expression as though she thought it would grow teeth and bite her. I don't want to hurt Twilight's feelings, she thought, clenching her pen between her teeth, but I don't want to hurt Miss Mayor's feelings, either. She blinked as the dilemma played out in her head. Twilight was her good friend, of course, but it might be rude to the Mayor if she gave Twilight special treatment because of it.

The pegasus gasped. What if Twilight doesn't want to be mayor? Her thoughts flitted back to her short-lived modeling career, and how awful it had been to be roped into something she had not wanted to do.

Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two boxes on her ballot. Of course, it was a secret ballot, so nopony would know who she voted for, but she would know who she voted for. Her breath became more and more rapid, until it culminated in a panicked squeak.

Fluttershy glanced at the curtain behind her in embarrassment. She hoped nopony had heard that. She forced her breath to slow down. She knew what to do now.

The yellow pegasus softly muttered, “I'm sorry,” and pushed a blank ballot through the slot.

A brown-coated volunteer cocked his head incredulously. “Excuse me?”

The cyan pegasus crossed her hooves in front of her chest, hovering at eye-level. “Just put me down for Twilight Sparkle,” she said.

The volunteer frowned. “Miss, this is a secret ballot.”

“Don't care, just mark me down for Twilight,” she said impatiently.

“Th-that's not how this works,” he stammered. “You have to take your ballot into the booth there and—.”

“Fine, whatever.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. She grabbed a pen, placed a mark in Twilight Sparkle's box, and zipped into the nearest voting booth.

“Hey,” the booth's occupant cried as a chromatic blur whooshed in and out of the curtain.

Rarity stood before her ballot, rubbing her chin in thought as her pen levitated in a light blue magical aura. On the one hoof, I simply adore the color of that collar the Mayor wears, she thought, it really complements her eyes quite nicely. Her pen hovered over the Mayor's checkbox, but stopped.

On the other hoof, Twilight did say she would try and bring that import of those fabulous Mareasian silks in to Ponyville. The white unicorn frowned in concentration. Before long, a solution presented itself to her.

I wonder how Twilight would look in one of those ruffled collars, she pondered as she pushed her completed ballot through its slot.

Pinkie Pie stood blinking at the piece of paper before her. The clear metric to use in this decision was who would throw the best party if they won.

I've been to lots of Twilight's parties, and they've all been a blast, Pinkie thought to herself, but that might just be because I was the one throwing them. A bit of confetti spilled out of her mane and drifted to the floor. I haven't been to very many of the Mayor's parties, but she must throw some pretty good ones, if she's been mayor all this time.

The pink pony came up with an idea, and began scribbling on the ballot. Humming happily, Pinkie Pie bounced out of the voting booth.

The last of the voters filed out of the booths just before sundown. It took the volunteers well into the night before they could finish tallying the results. Twilight finally had to take Spike home and put him to bed. The little dragon was simply unable to stay awake, no matter how excited he was.

The library was dark when Twilight arrived, Spike slung across her back. She did not want to turn the lights on and wake him, so she just summoned a dim glow from her horn to light the way up to Spike's bed.

“Goodnight, Spike,” she whispered, tucking her assistant beneath the covers. The baby dragon murmured quietly and rolled onto his side.

Twilight smiled. As she lifted her head, the glow of her horn caught on a book she had left open on her bed that morning. She knew she needed to get back to hear the election results, but habit and curiosity drew her eyes to the yellowed pages.

Twilight's eyes widened as she read. She doubled back and re-read the passage, just to be sure. “I need to tell them!” she exclaimed, and levitated the book into her saddlebags.

The volunteers' table murmured and muttered as they went over their tallies one last time. The votes had been checked, and re-checked, and they were finally ready to announce the results of the day's election.

A chilly breeze bit into the Mayor’s beige coat. She bit her lip in anticipation as a green stallion with a volunteer tag stood up and cleared his throat.

“As of our final counting,” he said, “we have 48 percent for Miss Mayor, 51 percent for Miss Sparkle, and one write-in for,” he squinted at the scroll in front of him, “for Pinkie Pie,” he concluded.

The Mayor—no, scratch that, the former mayor—'s heart sank straight to the pit of her stomach. I lost, she thought numbly. She suddenly found she had trouble balancing, so she lowered herself to her haunches. She was no longer the Mayor anymore, just an old mare.

The tan pony's mind drifted glumly over what would become of her. She wondered if Just Law still needed an assistant. The old politician had been bugging her to lend him one of her own staffers for years now. Boy, will he be surprised when I show up at his door myself looking for work.

Miss Mayor scarcely heard the frantic pounding of hooves until she was practically bowled over by a breathless Twilight Sparkle

“Oof, sorry Miss Mayor!” she said, skidding to a stop. A heavy book was bulging out of the unicorn's saddlebag. “They haven't read the final tally yet, have they?”

The tan pony sniffed, then resolved to straighten her back up. She would at least face this with some dignity. “Actually, they have,” she said. “Congratulations, Miss Sparkle. You are the new mayor of Ponyville.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I'm not.”

The former Mayor blinked. Sure, there was still technically a month of lame-duck sessions left in her term before Twilight would take office, but Twilight Sparkle was essentially already mayor. Was she playing games with her now? The tan pony felt stung.

Twilight addressed the group of volunteers, who were stretching their legs after the long day of counting. “Everypony, can I have your attention? There's been a mistake.”

Everypony, the Mayor included, watched in confusion as the new mayor-elect lifted the large book out of her saddlebag. In the glow of the firefly lamps, she recognized the old tome as a copy of the town charter. The tan mare looked on in curiosity as Twilight flipped through the dusty pages.

After a moment of searching, the unicorn seemed to find the passage she had been looking for. “Section eight, part three of the Ponyville Town Charter, subsection twenty six B,” she read aloud. “No pony who holds or in the past year has held a public position of importance in the Equestrian central government or the local governing of Canterlot shall be eligible to take the office of Mayor of Ponyville.” She put her hoof on the page. “The founders put this rule in here to keep Ponyville from becoming a pawn for the nobility in Canterlot.”

Twilight was met with a lot of uncomprehending stares. “It means I'm disqualified,” she said.

The Mayor frowned. “But Twilight, you haven't even lived in Canterlot for far more than a year, let alone held office there.”

Twilight shook her head. “That doesn't matter. As Princess Celestia's personal student, I technically count as part of the central government. I have a monthly expenses allowance from the Royal Treasury for my friendship studies,” she explained. “I am disqualified from this election. Congratulations, Miss Mayor.”

The frown remained on the Mayor's face. While part of her was delighted that she was going to keep her job after all, this felt like sliding by on a technicality. Twilight had won the popular vote; the ponies of Ponyville had spoken. “Twilight,” she said, “may I see that?”

The tan mare coughed slightly as she was handed the charter. The brittle pages ran under her hoof as she studied the passages. “I think I have an idea,” she said.

A hazy winter sun gleamed through the thin cloud cover, sparkling on the clean white blanket of snow that rested on the rooftops of Ponyville. Crystal clear icicles hung from the eaves of buildings, scattering silvery glimmers of morning light across the slowly rousing town.

Equestria was a month deep into winter, and brightly-colored decorations were already being put out for the coming Hearth's Warming Eve celebration. Red ribbons hung from the highest branches of the great oak that housed Ponyville's library, contrasting pleasantly with its magically-sustained green leaves. From within, the sound of hooves could be heard, tramping excitably from one end of the library to the other.

“Spike,” Twilight called, nosing open a drawer in her dresser, “what happened to that collar Rarity gave me?”

An irritable grumble issued from the pile of blankets on Spike's bed. “Lemme alone. I wanna try that 'hibernation' thing.”

Spike yelped in surprise as his bed was magically lifted off the floor. “No, not under there,” Twilight said and set her assistant's bed back down. “I need to look presentable. It's my first day, and the Mayor is going to want help planning the Hearth's Warming pageant.”

The purple unicorn opened her closet, rearing up on her hind legs to see into the top shelves. “How did this get in here?” she pondered, taking out an eyepatch.

Spike growled and rolled out of his bed. He stomped down the stairs to where Twilight's saddlebags hung next to the door. “You never put it away after your last visit to Rarity,” he said, fishing the ruffled violet collar out of the canvas pouch.

Twilight levitated the collar out of his hands to fasten it around her neck. Then, after a moment of thought, she trotted over and lifted her assistant in a hug. “Thank you, Spike.”

The little dragon peeled himself out of her hooves. “Yeah, well,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Can I go back to bed now?”

“Sorry, but no you can't,” the lavender mare said, turning to find a brush and a mirror. “I need you to keep the library open while I'm at Town Hall. And I'm expecting a few packages in the mail today, and we're running low on ink.”

Spike's shoulders sagged.

“We both have a busy day ahead of us,” Twilight continued, brushing her mane. “After all, you're now the assistant of Ponyville's new Vice-Mayor!”