From the moment he'd first stepped into that office, Flash had been hard at work. Barely a moment went by without the Mayor asking him to see to some task, like fetching important files, or sending messages to the rest of her staff in the Town Hall, or simply even to get her a cup of coffee. And speaking of which, the older woman was indeed enjoying such a drink at this very moment, looking down to a few notes on her desk as she did so. As for Flash, he was down on one knee right now, looking over a few files he'd been given to sort out into alphabetical order, before promptly placing them carefully into the open file cabinet in front of him. Every once in a while, the Mayor would glance up at him, watching him work, but saying nothing as he did so. Flash, for his part, seemed to be enjoying what he was doing, which naturally came as something of a surprise to his "employer". But, there came a time when the Mayor finally broke the silence between them, adjusting her spectacles as she looked to her aide.
"Everything going well over there, Mr Sentry?"
Flash looked to her with a smile.
"So far, Madam Mayor."
She nodded to that.
"Very good. Principal Celestia has told me good things about you, lad. I trust you won't let her down."
Flash gave a nod.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of slacking off while I'm here."
An amused smirk came to the Mayor at that.
"You'd be the first. Most students who get sent to me for this sort of work don't really seem that enthusiastic about it."
The boy looked to her, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't they? Not even the Crystal Prep ones?"
The Mayor grunted at that.
"Oh, don't even get me started on Crystal Prep students! I may have attended the place myself once upon a time, but the students they send to work with me out only ever seem to want to do so to brag about it to their friends later. Oh, they were capable, but they never viewed this position as...worth putting much effort into. I'm still working through some of the papers from their last sessions here."
Flash scratched the back of his head.
"Well...they might be getting better now that Principal Cadence is in charge."
The Mayor sighed, her expression softening slightly.
"You're a good lad, Flash. But try not to be too optimistic. It may be your downfall one day."
In response, Flash frowned slightly.
"If it helps, I've come to know some of those students. They're not like they used to be. Things are getting good over there."
The Mayor looked to him, looking more than a little surprised.
"Oh? I wasn't aware things between CHS and the Prep had been all that good."
Flash smiled.
"Trust me, they have. But you can probably thank Sunset and Twilight for that."
The Mayor raised an eyebrow.
"Sunset and Twilight? Oh, yes, I believe they were two of the girls who helped wash my car some time ago. Friends of yours?"
Looking away, a knowing smirk came to Flash.
"You could say that."
The way he'd spoken those words made it clear that there was something else going on, but the Mayor instead elected not to probe too deeply into the matter. Instead, she decided to turn to topic of conversation towards another matter.
"So, Mr Sentry...where do you see yourself after your time at CHS has come to a close?"
Though a little taken aback at that question, Flash quickly composed himself, thinking on how best to answer.
"Well...my family already know this, but...I was thinking of joining the local police force."
That took the Mayor by surprise.
"Really? Forgive me, but many your age wouldn't be that interested in such work."
A smile came to the boy's face.
"Let's just say that trying to serve is...something of a family tradition."
Understanding came to the Mayor.
"Ah...your Father?"
Flash nodded, a brief look of pride coming to him, and the Mayor smiled.
"I see. Well, I hope you do well there, lad."
Her smile faded a little.
"It would certainly be more rewarding than my line of work I imagine."
To that, Flash looked to her, arching an eyebrow.
"With respect, Madam Mayor, what you do is very important."
But the older woman scoffed to that.
"I appreciate you saying so, Flash, but this position hasn't really been a respected one for some time now. Ask anybody in this town and they'll tell you. Remember how low voter turnout was at the last election? Heck, I only won because nobody else even bothered to run against me! That’s how little people care for this job."
A grimace came to her.
"As much as it pains me to admit...perhaps those other students had good reason not to be all that excited about working here."
Flash nodded.
"Maybe...but that doesn't mean you don't still contribute. You decide where local funding goes, you decide policies on what gets built and where, you decide..."
But he was halted by a raised hand from her.
"You're young, Flash. You see my position and you see something and someone of great importance, who should be looked up to."
She sighed.
"But when you've actually been in this job for a while...the glamour fades a little. Oh, sure, every once in a while I may feel as though I've accomplished something important, but those moments are few and far between. Gone are the days when I had any real enthusiasm for this kind of work."
Slowly, she turned to him, looking slightly amused.
"In truth...you’re the only person in this building who still has something of a spark in them for this."
A chuckle escaped her.
"Heck, maybe you should be Mayor one day."
Flash matched her laugh.
"Thanks for the offer, but being student President is all the politics I need in my life right now. Besides..."
He glanced out of the window, into the nearby streets, and started to smile.
"...I look forward to the day when I can be out there, as part of the force, doing good for the people."
Leaning forward, the Mayor nodded.
"I'm sure you'll serve the town well, Mr Sentry. In fact..."
She placed a finger to her chin, pondering.
"...it wasn't that long ago when I met a young man just a few years your senior who also just joined the police. He seemed to be just as eager to do his work there as you are. Shining Armour I believe his name was."
Flash perked up to that, looking interested.
"Oh, Twilight's brother?"
The Mayor looked to him.
"You've met?"
Flash shook his head.
"No, but I know his sister. She and I both go to CHS."
The Mayor nodded.
"Well, if you do end up joining the force, I imagine you two will get along swimmingly. He was a lot like you, from what I remember."
Flash chuckled.
"Well, here's hoping."
Leaning back into her chair, the Mayor let out a deep exhale, making it clear that she was feeling tired right now.
"You know what...I think I'm going to go out for another coffee."
Flash watched as she got out of her chair, walking over to the door of the office.
"Do you need me to come with you, Ma'am?"
Smiling, he Mayor shook her head.
"Thank you, but I'll be fine. You just keep with your work."
As she opened the door, she gave him one final glance.
"Besides...it'll be good for this office to still have one person who's enthusiastic about it."
And with that, she left, leaving the boy all by himself. He would have wanted her go leave on a somewhat higher note than she had, but it was clear to him that such a thing probably wasn't happening any time soon. Slowly, he looked around, and after glancing back down to his still-unfinished pile of files, he put on a small smile.
"For what it's worth...I’d vote for you, Ma'am."
