Author's Note

Another interlude, yay! I'm planning on doing interludes between family chapters to break up the babying bits for those who aren't so inclined to that. Plus, it's neat to see the different perspectives of those who aren't affected by The Mist.

Here's a chapter for Ponyville's mayor. What will she discover this fine morning? Find out here...

Interlude- Morning In The Mayor's Office

Mayor Mare woke up late that morning.

She cursed herself for being too tired to dye her mane last night and deciding to push it off to this morning. A few strands of pink were peeking out that she tried to cover with some root touch ups. When she didn’t do a good enough job, she simply gave up on trying to cover up those small imperfections and went to get dressed. Putting on her signature collar and glasses, she gathered up all the important documents she had to bring to work with her today, and headed out the door.

On Ponyville mornings at this hour, the streets were usually bustling with ponies. It was part of why she usually left home earlier- because the hoof traffic was clearer. But today, only a few ponies were outside. That was odd. Saturday mornings were a time when families usually came out to enjoy the early morning sun, maybe have breakfast together, and play. Certainly, the grown ponies with shops in the market or businesses to open would be out and about. But as she passed, she found more of the same. The Carousel Boutique wasn’t open. Barnyard Bargains front sign still read closed. Sugarcube Corner was still locked up tight.

It was peculiar. Very peculiar.

But, as Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare didn’t have time to think about that. She had meetings to go to, documents to file, and decrees to make. She hustled toward her office, and opened the door with moments to spare before she might have been late. The sound of quills writing and voices speaking always greeted her when she was coming into her office. The sound of quills was present, but the voices were notably fewer.

The voice she noticed most that was missing was that of her young assistant.

Ink Quill was a young intern, relatively new to the political scene, but always eager to help out. Among the more important tasks she did, like answering letters from associates or the princesses, she also performed a few mundane ones- such as getting Mayor Mare her morning coffee. Every morning she was given a dark roast coffee, with three sugarcubes and a splash of cream. Every. Single. Morning. It was how she got through conversations with officials, correcting documents, and meetings with her staff that made her want to tear her mane out.

So not having that coffee was definitely an issue.

Mayor Mare set her documents on the desk, and trotted into the main hall. “Has anypony seen Ink Quill?” She asked.

“No, Miss Mayor. In fact, all of our interns but two aren’t in today.” Piped up one of the secretaries.

“All of them?” She asked, befuddled.

“All of them, Ma’am.”

She pursed her lips. That wasn’t right. All of them but two? That was nigh impossible. And none of them had wrote in sick. That wasn’t like them. Each of those interns hadn’t missed more than two days of work since starting a year ago, and Ink Quill herself hadn’t missed one day. This wasn’t right. Not at all.

“Can you get me a coffee?” She said to the secretary, who nodded and immediately went out to get it. Mayor Mare needed to be able to think clearly, and she wasn’t going to be able to do that without her coffee.

Her secretary soon returned with her coffee, perfectly doctored with the right amount of sugar and cream, and Mayor Mare took a sip. As soon as the liquid came down her throat, she could think a little more clearly.

Six interns worked in this building. Four were gone. All of them had near-perfect attendance, and had been fine yesterday. If a family emergency had happened, the sudden absences could be explained, but none of them were related, and furthermore, they would have written in to be sure to maintain their jobs. She thought about the two interns who were there. Both young stallions, with no attachments with family or relationships. “Married to the job” was what they often termed those two. But the other interns… Two were fresh into adulthood, and the others were barely out of school. What could have happened to them?

Her mind involuntarily flashed back to the shops being closed this morning, and the quietness in the streets. She couldn’t get her mind off of the idea that something was off. Very off. When her coffee was done, she went to her secretary.

“Any meetings scheduled for this morning?”

“No, Miss Mayor. There were two, one with representatives from Canterlot and one with Manehattan representatives, but we’ve received word to cancel them from their secretaries.

“On what grounds?” She asked.

“They said something happened with their families.”

She had to take a moment to process those words, and opened her mouth, then closed it again. Finally, she looked to her secretary. “Cancel my appointments today.”

Her secretary looked to her in shock. “A-All of them, Ma’am?”

“Yes. I fear something is terribly wrong.”

“Understood, Miss Mayor.”

“I’ll be around town, and I’ll come back to the office later. Be here in case of an emergency, alright?”

“Yes, Miss Mayor.”

With that, Mayor Mare went cantering around Ponyville. Everywhere she looked, doors were closed or locked. Ponyville had become a ghost town overnight, and yet it hadn’t, because ponies still came about, but in very small amounts. There was no Rainbow Dash flying through the clouds, no Pinkie Pie running through town on some hyper errand. And there seemed to be no families, either. Those she knew that were out there didn’t have families of their own yet, or their only relations were distant or far off.

The sun still shone on Ponyville, the birds still singing happily, the skies still clear and a shade of azure blue, and the flowers in bloom still giving things a splash of color. The day was otherwise picturesque, But the more she looked, the more she knew.

Something is wrong with my town… But what?