I can remember the night of four years ago, the sights of the moment, the smells around me, the sounds of the world being drowned out for just but a moment when worst came to worst. I remember the second, hour, and day of it all coming apart for me. A year's worth of work in building a personal relationship with my ex-girlfriend. It was a blight of hope I experienced, a moment of clarity that showed me that I could find the strength to move on from the unrequited spiral of affection that led me to simply separate my amorous ambitions from my lustful, yet unrealistic intentions.

'Finally, I can move on from Rarity with this new relationship' I thought to myself. I even went through the trouble of intentionally removing the fashionista from the equation of my mind, so much that she even woke me from my bed one morning wondering what the hell she did wrong. It was a perfect opportunity to push forward in my life. It was also an opportunity squandered not by intent of my own doing, but an unfair draw of schedule.

"All I hear, 'my schedule' this, 'my schedule' that! It's been a year, where do I even fit in for you!?"

I was in a panic in that moment, shocked to see her so angry. She was always patient and understanding, even accepting of my frantic schedule. I wrote letters to her frequently, and that was before the growing spread of human technology that would've made our communication more consistent. But that still took a week before she heard from me, maybe even longer depending from which corner of the globe I was writing from.

If only the use of phones had exploded that year instead of two years after that day, but only fate can control the timing of things. And letters can only get to her as fast as the public delivery service can allow, even with her being apart of that same system. If things were that simple, she'd hear my voice the day I'd call. I'd be able to schedule things a lot easier, fitting in blocks of an hour during a packed out schedule to maybe show her I still cared. But in the year of us talking and writing, I was given the official position of Royal Friendship Advisor. From there, the two months we grew to one another was spaced out, meeting only an hour for every blue moon.

And at the moment, we were at a table in a high-class restaurant for only fifteen minutes while I was stressing to the guard accompanying me to give me more time. "Sir, your meeting with the foreign minister of Zebrabwe is in forty-five minutes. Your time slot only allows you to be here for another twenty minutes before we have to stay true to the schedule the princess outlined."

"Yes, I know that, but can we not right now!?" I stressfully demanded before turning to the griffon who sulks at the news. "Sorry... I've been trying my best."

"Sorry can't cut it anymore, Spike! I can't deal with this! I need time for us, I feel the way I feel for you because we had the time to make that happen. But now it's like I only know you through a stupid piece of paper!"

Another guard walked up to the previous guard and whispers in his ear. The first nodded and then walked over to me. "Sir Spike, I regret to inform you that your meeting will have to be pushed up tonight."

"What are you saying?" I asked him.

"Sir, I'm saying we have to go now."

I threw my head back in defeat. "Sorry, Gabby. I'm gonna have to reschedule─"

If I was thirsty before the moment her glass of water was emptied onto my face, I would've called it refreshing. Otherwise, it was a humiliation grown out of inconvenience, and extreme disappointment. "Reschedule that! I'm done being the last thing you think about! Since everything else seems to be so important to you that you can't even spare some time with me, then how about I make your stupid schedule a lot easier by removing myself from it! I waited ten whole months for this for you! You wrote letters telling me how this was your best shot, how it was going to be an evening for just the two of us! Not only you lied to me, you didn't even think to tell me outright that we couldn't go today! I would've been a lot less hurt if you wrote to me and told me we had to cancel, but no! So congratulations, you wasted my time for ten months all for a twenty minute date!" She turned away, her voice breaking as she started to walk away. "I'm really not even worth it to you."

The guards stood alert as I called out to her while she stormed out. "Gabby, wait─"

She stormed out of the restaurant through the front door, a few patrons shrugging and watching with piqued interest in my adolescent romance ending with a cold drink to the face. A few mares in the back carelessly applauded the griffon's exit, giving out cries of 'you go girl' while my heart filled with sadness and my stomach turned with nauseous depression.

The waiter came back to see our table with one less patron and questioned me. "I see we're one short, are we still taking an order on tonight?"

With a deep sigh, I accepted the fact that my relationship had ended in abject failure. "Just one order tonight, my date just got cancelled."

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that sir."

I looked back to the guard with a partially angry glance, but also a wounded heart, asking the server. "Do you guys offer take out instead? I hate to waste the reservation."

"No sir, I'm afraid this is not a 'take out' establishment. This is a fine dining experience with some of the most experienced kitchen staff in the land. To request a takeout would have our chefs in an uproar. It's not advised, it's almost what they would consider a violation worthy of a ban."

Beautiful. It was a perfect way to end a terrible night, with even more terrible news. My reservation was gone and I had to wait another six months for a time slot. Everything I planned for, it was all for the four-star experience of getting a drink thrown in my face.

I started to wipe off my face and neck using a napkin used to hold the silverware. "Thanks for your time."

The waiter stops me with a gentle tug of my tail. "Excuse me, sir. I am afraid that she requested sparkling water. I'm going to have to bill you for the cost."

I turned to the guard who broke the bad news for me and grimaced at him. "Guard, have the royal tab pick it up."

"Sir, this would be an unauthorized─"

"RUN THE TAB! TWILIGHT WILL PAY IT! THANK YOU!" I screamed as I slammed the napkin into the table. The other patrons watched as I briskly walked out of the establishment with a seething anger that showed as I breathed.

The total cost of that night:
Sparkling Mineral Water: 75 bits.
First taxi coach: 100 bits.
Second taxi coach: 150 bits.
Fresh bouquet of flowers and vase: 185 bits.
Train ticket, first class: 275 bits.
Locked-in reservation for two at an exclusive restaurant: 350 bits.
Custom made satin tux: 1200 bits.
Losing your girlfriend and pissing off the princess in the same evening: Priceless.

There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's the royal treasury.

As soon as I wake up, I'm already feeling a bit better about opening my eyes. I know it's because I don't just have today to live my life for a change. Instead, I'm going to have the rest of whoever-knows-how-long to go through my checklist. And I'm feeling more than pretty good about it. No more nagging princess, no more of that forced schedule, no more being held hostage to my duties. I finally feel like I graduated high school, if only I'd know how that feels exactly.

Huh, come to think of it, I was always helping around the school, helping Twilight through school, know my friends who went through school, but never have I really been to school myself. In fact, I don't even have a GED. I've been working my entire life, running errands, helping to save the world, arguing with princesses, everything but complete my own education. I know that one of Twilight's representatives had to undergo courses to complete their GED certification, but why didn't I? Like I can understand Ms. Kalimba's situation, but shouldn't I be subject to those same parameters?

Hmm... Guess I know what I'm doing today.

"Spike!"

Starlight's calling me downstairs, probably for breakfast. "Coming!"

I hop out of the bed, giving myself a quick sniff test to see if I'm in need of a shower before hitting the breakfast table. I guess I could use one if I'm going to see the girls today. Yeah, I'm still thinking about putting Ocellus in that one position I know I remember from my favorite picture.

...Maybe a quick shower can help me purge that thought. "Hey, I'm hitting the shower, keep my food warm for me?"

After breakfast, I take a walk through town to get my morning started. As I roam the crowded dirt streets of Ponyville's suburban sprawl, I take notice of a lot of things that appear to be sprouting up. There's fast food options, hardware stores, some apartment complexes, even a number of relatively high density housing developments sprouting up towards the main part of town. It seems with the sprouting of the castle a few years back, the building codes of the town have loosened also, from their original limitations of being no higher than five stories, to allowing a ten story building to sprout up downtown. It seems the place is trending not only outward, but seeds of vertical development are starting to show.

If you haven't been here before, you'd say something along the lines of 'Finally, this dirt town is starting to get some real road to walk on. And those that moved from here years back have at least kept up with the town's economic progress. I know I've read a number of newspapers about some developments and how they would come together and create some of the best ideas, only to get frustrated and disappointed by a local committee of NIMBY's looking to keep things in stasis. I can see their concern, but it's pretty played out at this point.

It isn't just ponies who are moving here anymore. It's kirens, diamond dogs, griffons, yaks, changelings, dragons, donkeys, mules, and even humans who inhabit this place. The draw of it isn't so much of the town itself, but rather the close proximity to Canterlot. It's a suburb town with affordable housing that's also been bestowed with an upgraded rail system to drastically shorten commute between the two municipalities, and a strong local government with plenty of disaster pay sitting in treasury for anything that could possibly going wrong. The food is fresh here, the citizens are nice, the town is teeming with a female populace that outnumbers males almost three to one, and opportunities are abound. A lot of ponies are looking to stash away here.

However, that doesn't mean everyone's still willing to stick around with the new changes coming around the bend.

As I'm walking along, I run into Ms. Cheerilee, who's toting with her a wagon full of luggage. I check in on the mare with a friendly greeting. "Ms. Cherilee, good morning!"

"Oh, Spike is that you!?"

I walk up to her and offer a fist bump of greeting. "You know it, back in the fold now. So you look a little encumbered, you okay?"

She shakes her head stressfully. "Oh no. It's fine. I'm just taking all of this to the train station."

"Oh." I reply with a sorrowful drone. "Moving out of town?"

The mare nods with pursed lips. "Yeah, it's... it's time for me. I've done all I could here, and there's a much better establishment teaching the kids around here than that old wooden schoolhouse."

"Did something happen, a downsize in budget?" I ask her. "Low pay, not enough perks?"

"Nah, it's just that I happened to see the signs of my life going by. And... not much is going for me anymore. It's not a hardship or anything, I'm just tired of being alone here while watching everyone I used to teach get into the thick of their lives." She replies as she struggles with her wagon. "I mean I'm pushing forty and I haven't had anything resembling a stable relationship since Big Mac and I happened upon a love potion all those years back. Now he's married and got a kid."

I see now she's in a bit of a midlife crisis. "Oh, I see─"

"Like seriously, Pinkie Pie, the party girl extraordinaire, the girl who couldn't seem to keep her hooves tethered to the ground has a husband and a foal! The Pinkamena Diane Pie, who is a clear ten years younger than me, just had her foal three months ago! She not only settled down, but she's popping out spawns like confetti cannons! And don't even get me started with that temptress of a mare Sweetie Belle! I've watched that little girl grow from a small, cute little filly, to a male-eater in the course of twelve years! Hell, six years ago I had to start calling her and her friends colleagues because they became instructors at the age of fifteen! How am I even going to compete with those three when I can't even keep up with them anymore!?"

"You know, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to work with you." I suggest.

"I'll pass." She says after taking a deep breath. "I just need to pack it up and go someplace a bit slower these days. Ponyville used to seem so promising when I was coming up, but being here for my entire life and then some has made me aware that I'm not really ready to take the great leap forward the town is making now. It's nothing against the creatures living and moving here, I just feel my time is dwindling in a place where everyone is moving forward while I'm still wanting to be stuck back in time. It isn't what it used to be anymore."

An awfully sad take on moving on, I'll admit. In the end, she's like me in the way I view Canterlot. It's played out because the figures that made this place what it is isn't here anymore. I might not be as old as her, but she's pretty tired of being here after so long. "Yeah, I know how that feels. It's why I had to move here over staying in Canterlot." I say as I take the strap from her harness. "Besides, it sucks being somewhere that only reminds you of the past. It would be different if you had some friends that you can still talk to."

"Yeah, but those friends have either gone about their lives elsewhere, or I'm teaching their kids now. And trust me, that last bit is the deal breaker for me." She says as she allows me to take the cart from her and walk with her to the train station, which isn't a long ways from where we're starting. "I've taught Rarity and the girls, her sister Sweetie Belle, I've taught Pumpkin and Pound, and this year I've had to teach little Jasper, a human child in my school because he wasn't old enough to be with the other kids in the Friendship School. I'm not staying here another five years and finding Big Mac's or Pinkie's kid in my classroom. I can't."

I see she's obviously got way more than the baggage I'm towing along. "Yeah, I feel you."

We finally get to the train station, Cheerilee thanks me for carrying her stuff with a smile, a chuckle, and a lovely looking sapphire I could sink my teeth into. However, it seems her train is running a bit late on today. And plus her train isn't coming from the more advanced rails that we have laid coming from Canterlot. The train station is also seeing some upgrades, a glass ceiling placed directly over the boarding port, new loudspeakers for announcements, and a new concrete platform with caution studs signifying to many hard of seeing a boundary of safety.

The growth of the town is even more evident now than when I first came here over ten years ago.

"I remember when this only used to be a wooden platform. There was the counter for tickets, the outhouse around the side, and a little old poster board that had some of the local celebrations on it. The town was so much smaller when I was coming up. This place used to be called the great escape, if you wanted to get out of town, that is."

I also share my experiences of the past. "I remember everything being bigger than it used to be. Even the platform, I thought it stretched out forever, at least until I started flying. The more I look back, the crazier it gets. All the adventures and friendship missions we used to take, they'd start off here. Crazy, huh?"

"Not as crazy as you think." A third voice speaks out. We both turn to see a pink mare with a red mane approaching us with a smile and a gift basket in tow. "I might not have been here nearly as long, but even I can recall seeing how small this place was when a certain friend of mine was running off to face dangers seen and unseen. I remember seeing the whole platoon he was shipped out with to head south. But now it feels like this place is finally meeting up to the demand that's now required."

"Cherry!" Cheerilee greets the mare with a hug. "You brought me a gift!?"

"I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye!" She responds. "I know the party was last night, but I figured you deserved a little something for looking after little Jasper for a while. It's sad to see you go, but I understand why you wanna leave."

"Aw, you're so sweet, Cherry." The former school teacher accepts the basket. "But I've only looked after Jasper for a year. That kid is something else, so smart... and─"

"Devious, yeah I know. He's my son alright."

"I was going to blame your husband, at least let me put the behavior on him."

"Nah, Strapping's just too mild-mannered and calm. I'm the hot personality in the relationship. Always been." She turns to me with a wink. "Isn't that right, Spike?"

"Yeah, you are the one who cussed me out years back."

Cheerilee goes through her gift basket, seeing a number of goods, even some human stuffs. "Aw, you really went through and got me all of this. I can't believe you'd do this." She happens upon a black box with a quirked brow. "Uh, what's this though?"

Cherry walks up to her and whispers in her ear, causing the mare's eyes to widen significantly. She looks back at the young parent who responds with a nod. "Yeah, trust me, you'll love it."

The mare begins to fan herself. "Oh... why how... thank you for the... gift."

"I know you got a lot going on. And I figured after our conversation last night, you'd want to start over with a new bit of spice."

"Yeah, that's pretty spicy." She says with a set of rosy cheeks and red-tipped ears. She gives me a glance and mutters to the mare. "Though should we really be having these conversations around Spike? It might seem a bit inappropriate."

"I completely understand. It's more common than not to *ahem* alleviate stress." I respond with a wink and a claw to my lips. "I won't tell if you won't."

Cheerilee's entire ears run red with thoughts. "Oh, I definitely need to get away from you."

Cherry laughs loudly as she also gives me a glance upward. "Yeah, he's grown into a cutie. Might have to watch himself these older ones, might find them being a lot more educated."

I sigh heavily, thinking about Ms. Royal. "Yeah, might be a little too late to warn me of that one."

"Uh oh." The young parent answers with a glance. "A certain friend of mine didn't get your number, did she?"

"She did." I reply. "And she already got a hold of me last weekend."

"Oh yeah, she did." I look over to the former teacher and see her suffering through hot flashes. It seems Cherry's in on the fun and teases her further on the topic. "Heard she drove you around town."

"Yeah, she showed me some pretty amazing things, even some stuff humans do. Pretty wild."

The older mare stammers as she taps her hoof impatiently. "W-where is that damned train?"

The loudspeakers come on with a click. "Train to Las Pegasus now arriving. Repeat: Train to Las Pegasus now arriving."

"Ah, finally!" Exclaims the former teacher.

A school teacher longing to slow things down is going to a place where every night seems to end with a blackout or blur, I can't exactly say that's something I had pinned for her. I figured she would've gone to someplace like Silver Shoals. "Las Pegasus, that's where you're starting over?"

She shakes her head. "Oh no! I'm just going there to retreat for a while before I relay to the real destination. I don't think I'd be able to keep myself contained if I decided to live in a place like Las Pegasus!"

Cherry smiles at the mare, putting a hoof to her shoulder. "It's okay to let yourself be free. You've lived long enough to afford it. Do you!"

Cheerilee closes her eyes in thought before returning the smile. "You know what, I am going to be more of myself. I'm not a teacher anymore, so I don't have to hold back!"

"That's the spirit!" I cheer her on.

"Yeah! I'm gonna go party like it's going out of fashion!" She announces, pumping a hoof emphatically. "I'm gonna go meet a bunch of ponies, drink a lot, and black out till the next morning feeling like I bashed my head against a chalkboard!"

Maybe she's getting a little too excited. "Uh... sure."

"And you know what, I don't have to play nice anymore. I don't have to keep a reputation in a place like Las Pegasus! I can just be what I want to be!" She screams to the sky above before pointing back at me. "And I'm gonna start by teaching young studs like you how to properly treat a mare!"

Okay, maybe she might be a tad bit repressed from the years of work. "Okay, I think they're calling for boarding now."

She grabs her belongings and darts to board the train at near sonic speed, leaving a purple blur behind her. Once she boards, she lets down a window to hang her head out of it. "So long, Ponyville! I'm off to be the real me!" She refocuses her attention to me once more. "Oh, and Spike... do drop by."

Gulp. "I'll... see if my schedule will allow it." I won't.

As the train whistle sounds, the mare's eyes grow obscenely chaotic. "VIVA LAS PEGASUS, BABY, YYYYEEEEAHHHH!"

While the train disappears off into the distance, Cherry giggles as she questions me. "So how many older mare are going to hit on you? I swear you're like prime cougar bait."

"I hope not." I drop my head in disbelief. "Ms. Royal is about the limit I can take at this point. I don't need another one of her."

"If that's what your limit is, then I'd hate for you to get caught up with Mayor Mare. Rumors has it that she's been hiring young interns from various towns, all males, all of them around your age. She even hit on Nondis once. She obviously has a type, and you might be on that list."

"I know I'm on her list." I groan with unease. "Just don't remind me about last year's Winter Wrap-up, please."

Another stop of my day leads me to a familiar part of town. While much around the place has seemed to undergone some mode of upgrade, there's still one community staple that remains the same on the outside. Always and forever the confection-appearing, Sugarcube Corner remains the one venue the community wishes would remain the same for the sake of novelty. The place is pretty well-kept too, lots of the elements of the building have been refurbished to near-mint condition, the paint is always stripped away and repainted exactly as it was, no rebrands, no additions, just the ever-persistent mom-and-pop bakery.

Now the management, that has changed over the past few years. Mr. and Mrs. Cake left the keys to Pinkie and Cheese, the latter of the new pair of owners adopting the last name 'Pie', being all the more of a true baton being passed between the Cakes and Pies. Both Pound and Pumpkin are currently enrolled at the School of Friendship, they come by whenever they get done with school and work part time. They especially come over to help babysit whenever Pinkie needs them to do so, which is fairly often considering her line of work.

The proud Pie couple are a pair of successful caterers, often being called in to coordinate weddings, special events, parties, birthday celebrations, centennial events, cuteceñeras, and even funeral repasses. They use the money they earn from that to keep everything here at the shop up to date and working order. While the culinary technology changes, they keep up with the trends while also practicing traditional methods of creating the sweet confections that everyone loves. It's that dedication to the craft that keeps this place a local tourist trap, everyone comes here looking for a bite. It's one of the foodie's international pilgrimage spots.

As soon as I enter, I greet the pink mare working behind the counter with a wide smile and a boisterous salutation. "Hey Pinkie! How's it going today!?"

"SHHH!" Everyone in the room turns to me to chide me for my volume, the only exception being Pinkie herself. The place with it being so packed is as quiet as a library.

"Sorry." I whisper softly in response. "Is this quiet game day?"

Pinkie turns from measuring out her current order and greets me with an excited whisper of her own. "Spike! So glad to see you!"

"Is this like a game where no one can whisper past a certain level?" I ask her.

"It's nothing like that." She says with a quiet giggle. "I just put Little Cheese down for a nap. So I put up this traffic light I had ordered in from the human world to let everyone know what volume we need to have. Green for normal, yellow to warn everyone that we need to start keeping things down for him, and red to keep it quiet so that Little Cheese can sleep."

As adorable, and somewhat tedious, as that is, I'm more surprised that everyone is going along with it. "How do you get everyone here to keep up with that."

"Sign by the door." She whispers before she pulls out a replica of the sign from the top of her mane. Everything on the page is illustrated just as she described it, having the words bolded at the top of the page reading 'Baby on Board: Keeping noise traffic to a minimum'.

It's amazing to see that the community and the touring public all come to one accord on the matter. "And I come in all loud, sorry for that."

The mare giggle-snorts before replying. "It's always someone. You're just the first of the day. So what can I get for you?"

"You still have the pear-apple muffins?" I ask the pink mare.

"Ah, our papple-sauce perfection, how many you want?"

"I'll take six."

"Aw, Spike. I know you're hungry for more than six. I'll make you a baker's dozen, on the house."

"You don't have to do that." I plead with the mare.

"Duh! Of course I don't! Doesn't mean that I won't though!" She immediately walks into the kitchen and walks right back out with a box of twelve, plus one more from the display case. "Careful Spike, it matches your temperature!"

As I grab for the box, I feel how hot the box is. I chuckle a little over her comment. "Okay, I see what you did there."

"In speaking of high temperatures, I hear that you and Twilight aren't really getting along these days. Is everything okay between you two?" She asks.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just needed some space, so I moved here."

The pink pony coos with interest. "So, you're moving here. Let me guess, Twilight couldn't handle you having adult interests?"

"Personally, I think it's better we have our own spaces. I feel like my being there takes away from me having the time to make my own schedule, and she's probably so co-dependent on me being a constant that she doesn't actively go out and search for someone." I answer.

The mare rolls her eyes. "Nope, swing and a miss."

"So what is it then?" I question her.

"Big sibling stuff. You wouldn't understand until you either become a guardian of someone real young or have a kid of your own." She replies with a glance upstairs. "It's hard watching everyone around you grow old, including yourself. You'd think that the party lasts forever, it doesn't. Things start to hurt, minds start to be cemented in habit, the innocence we see in others become tainted as they grow and do more things we come to question, even certain lines that might have been drawn in the past may get shifted for better or worse."

"Huh... that's an awfully thought-provoking perspective... and a bit bleak." I reply quietly.

"Fun fact, the amount of creatures who are older than you never increases after you're born."

"Okay, not trying to have an existential crisis here." I warn the mare.

"Really, you don't have those?" She asks with a quirked brow. "I have them all the time."

Well that explains much. "Yeah... So thanks for the muffins. I guess I'll go find someone to share some of these with."

The pink mare snickers as she waves me over to her. I lean down and wait for her to speak. "If you're looking for Ocellus, she's gone back to the Changeling Kingdom with Thorax."

Ugh, great, so much for my Saturday. "Ah, thanks for the info... How did you know I was looking for her anyhow?"

The mare cuts her eyes as she gives me a devious expression. "Well there's this really spicy video me and Rarity happened to run across─"

"Please don't get into it."

I'll be the first to admit that hearing Ocellus had gone out of town on the weekend I move back is a bit disheartening, even depressing. But I can still look forward to spending time with her throughout the week, I should be able to piece together some time to do that after she gets done with her teaching. But it still feels like I won't be able to close the gap on a few things that still meander at the forefront of my mind.

To take my mind off of things, I go on an extended stroll through town. I'm hoping to make things go by a little easier. I take up my next point of interest, visiting the Carousel Boutique to check in on some outfits that were advertised. Passing through, I see a young colt handing out pamphlets and approach him. "Hey there, kid. What'cha dumping out there?"

"Excuse you, I'm no child." The small figure snaps around, speaking with a fully grown tenor-like tone. "Huh... Spike, you've sure seemed to sprout up fairly well."

Seeing the short figure being a grown stallion surprises me. He's dwarfish in stature, but normally built otherwise. He has a shaggy mane pulled back into a rattail style. His brown eyes seem to glare at me with envy as I start to piece together his mottled coat of white and brown. "Hold on... Pipsqueak?"

He throws his head back with an annoyed grunt. "Okay, you know me by that. But I'll have you know ponies around here don't call me Pipsqueak anymore!"

Well his appearance sure doesn't shake the name off very well. "Okay. So what do they call you these days?"

"Pip Fairbottom. I am a member of the Ponyville city council, third ward. And I am spreading the good word of my attempt to unseat Mayor Mare for the position of Mayor."

As small as he is, ambitious is the other thing he's always been. He was always a pretty big thinker, though I guess that makes up for his body being too small to carry out very many physically-demanding tasks. "That's... that's a pretty big upset if you can pull it off."

"So what, you think I can't do it?" Ah, I see his fuse is as short as his stature.

"I never said that. I mean that Mayor Mare's been mayor of the town for over the past two decades."

"Exactly!" He calls out, issuing me a brochure. "All due respect to her, she's been in power for way too long and Ponyville is expanding faster than what she is willing to accommodate! We need to put out a grassroot effort to unseat Magnolia Mare in this year's election! Too long now has the issue of her personal conflicts been getting in the way of equitable hiring of local staff and administering questionable internships. There are plenty of qualified mares who would be willing to offer their ideas on how to further improve the quality of life of this town, not just teenage eye candy for her own consumption."

Okay, at least he has a fair point. "Yeah, but I know a good amount of ponies here are pretty okay with the current pace of development. It's not so overwhelming that it's pricing out the long-time locals, but it's substantial enough to show that there is some gradual improvements around the corner."

"The window of progress can be fleeting, Spike! Progress is ever marching forward, and there are plenty of towns here in Equestria that are already half a century behind! We must push forward! If we want to remain competitive, we need to be able to accommodate for larger conventions, more resting places for tourists, increase draw of attraction to the town, and initialize a campaign of advertisements to extend the reach to all sorts of creatures looking for a great place to stay for the long-run. Think of what future generations will say about us if we don't act!"

My mind lingers back to the development of the Corrotto District. While I can see how great of a tourist attraction it is, it was fashioned in a manner where the old elements that were often dangerous to many were uprooted and replaced by friendlier accommodations. It's reasonably gentrified, whereas this might end up being too much of an economic strain for long-time residents. "I mean it's a great idea."

"But what?"

"Don't you think we should make some sort of leeway path for the ones who've been here for most of their lives? I'm sure it would suck for those who've spent their foalhood here being priced out of everything."

"While I do see your concern, I don't particularly agree that bringing in more amenities will be so much of an economic strain."

"Okay, let me lay it down for you." I start to explain. "I'm friends with a real estate developer and realtor. The usual way of the trade is that they take property that hasn't been lived in for some time, or develop newer properties nearby those new amenities. But due to the proximity of nearby zoning, the property values will already be set to increase in value. Those values go up, the price of development goes up. That goes up, so too does the price of rental or buy. Demand for those areas will already be high enough, so that further drives up the price of the unit being sold. That gets bought up, then it forces some developers to look to build outward, the amenities look to go outward too, the values of the homes already here will diminish because of depleting commercial interest. Local economy suffers, ponies sell their homes to live in a nicer place out there, then the real estate developers scoop up the old properties, and the cycle repeats after every twenty years."

The stallion takes a moment to think to himself. "Huh, I guess I never took it upon myself to see that far into the future."

"Look, I know Mayor Mare has a propensity for post-pubescent perversion, and I might have to question the legality of her activities to see if all of these guys are actually of legal age." Because some will say they are while they really aren't. "But maybe her decisions on having a carefully-gauged pace of development is for the good of the local economy. If you develop too fast, you put too much strain on the local chains to compete with the national chains that come in. If you want to do what's best for your local economy, you'd take your vision and scale it back to phases. See what's good for local development, and see what's really a corporation looking to profit off of a growing town. Prioritize the platform for the many, not the pockets of the few."

The young stallion looks down to his pamphlets, seeing his bombastic promises of change. "Huh... I always thought going big was the huge draw for places like Manehattan and Canterlot."

"It can be." I give him back one of his brochures. "But you have to understand the reason for why it happens, not just look at the glitz and glamor of possibilities. Things are changing, bit by bit. But sometimes a patient approach can prove to be just as powerful as plopping down a few commercial chains. If anything, this kind of 'slow' works out pretty damn well."

"I just thought that we could have something like that thing in Canterlot, that Corrotto District development. We can have that here! I just wanted to appeal to the crowd of our own age group."

"Yeah, but running in with your head down does nothing but drive away what you have now. And plus the Corrotto District is based more on human tech than anything." I start to think back on our trip to the human world, seeing the massive glass towers touching the sky, colors adorning their high-seated crowns. My mind also goes back to seeing the pair of humans having their romantic dispute end in a destroyed car. "And also, the human world's glamor isn't built for every town. We already have a castle that's pretty outstanding, in both appearance and height. Believe me when I say we're not ready for any of that here."

"Speak for yourself." A familiar voice calls from behind me. I turn around to see a lavender mare walking up to me with a jeweled-encrusted necklace, sapphire blue eyes, and a black clipboard with a diamond tiara emblem on the back. "While you were away in Canterlot helping the princess get through her day-to-day, we've been here trying to look for way to further improve our measures for family recreation. I've already traveled the entire land of Equestria to know what it is that this tiny little town needs to zest things up!"

She comes to the side of the smaller Pip. "Diamond Tiara, I see you're still just as spunky as ever."

"You've been to Corrotto, you've seen that place with your own eyes! You can't tell me that we don't need something like that here in town! Just one place where the locals can proudly come to, in and out, be it a casino, a resort, or even a club, we're looking to improve not only family recreation, but also our nightlife for young and middle-aged adults. No longer will Ponyville be considered a quote-unquote 'one-rail town!' We're going to put our stamp on Equestria and make it great!"

Hmm, I wonder if this is where Pip is getting his drive from. "Didn't expect you two to be in cahoots."

Diamond smiles as she wraps her foreleg around the chest of the smaller stallion. "What, you don't expect me to be in the corner of my future mayor! Soon our vision for this town will be even greater than you can possibly imagine!"

Ah okay, I see what's going on. "Pip, is any of this a part of your policies?"

"Yes." He answers quickly. "I'm tired of hearing how we're so small and we have a mayor with questionable integrity. I hear it from the other interns all the time. This is the only mayor with the capability to move things forward for the town but chooses not to."

"Okay, so what else is on your agenda?" I ask the stallion.

"More parks and playgrounds for the kids."

"What about the old schoolhouse, it's in disrepair."

"We'll look to tear it down and rebuild it from scratch." He announces proudly. "That building's been there for decades, and the wood's been replaced far too many times to keep up. The structure is obsolete, so it's going to be transformed into a primary school, one that can better hold the increased amount of young students in the town."

"Diamond Tiara, aren't you a member of the school board?" I ask the mare.

"Why yes I am." She confirms proudly.

"Then shouldn't you talk to Mayor Mare about the condition of the school?"

"We have already." She answers with her ears pinned back, showing her annoyance. "She thinks the School of Friendship and Ponyville Primary should be consolidated! Po-Pri shouldn't be consolidated into the SoF, it should remain an option for parents who choose to embrace a more traditional education route. The two schools have coexisted for years now, there shouldn't be any kind of consolidation happening!"

"We're not just fighting for our town to improve. We're also fighting to keep our options open, and more importantly the ponies who believe in our humble alma mater being transformed to better suit the newer generations to come."

"Yeah they do have a solid point." A third voice chimes in from above me. "Sup, Spike."

"Hey Smolder." I greet the dragoness back. "So, what's this going on?"

"Yeah, the mayor wants to consolidate the schools. She says it's a cost-saving measure to better enhance the education of all of the residents. But in all reality, it'll only increase our class size and increase our workload by around thirty-percent. I get that the other school is old, but that's no real reason to dump that load onto us like that. We gotta have a life too."

I know that problem solving is always a thing I do, but getting too deep into the politics of it on my day off isn't particularly my cup of tea. "Sounds like a pretty strong reason to have a referendum. I wish you the best, Pip."

Diamond Tiara gallops over to me with a brochure in tow, placing it in my claw. "Well since you're moving back in town, your vote matters in this discussion. Feel free to swing by the polls on election day so we can hear your voice."

"Will do." I have no worldly idea what's going on. How do I vote on a referendum when I haven't heard both sides? Anywho, I direct my attention back to Smolder. "Hey, why did Ocellus get picked up by King Thorax?"

"Because of some issues between the humans and changelings, I guess some unresolved stuff from years back." She explains briefly. "Why, you wanna see her?"

"I just thought we could talk about something." I reply with a soft groan.

The dragoness floats down to me and playfully grabs at my tail. "Maybe you should look into saving your own skin before diving into someone else's. Dragon Lord Ember paid a visit just a few days ago, says something about needing to discuss something with you."

...Oh great.

Smolder and I travel throughout the town, discussing some of the things that have been popping up recently. According to her, it seems some local events have been getting really oversaturated with hoof traffic through the town streets with the recent population increases. There's also a growing concern that with the growing numbers of the population coming into play, there's been an increasing trend in the herding practices often seen in larger cities. A lot of the older citizens, or even some who are more traditional in beliefs think that this is a bad thing for Ponyville's image. And some of the recent integration efforts with changelings have been met with some reasonable pushback by concerned citizens, mainly those who have lost family members in the abductions seven years ago. It's a lot of social issues taking the mainstage here in the growing municipality of Ponyville, but that's to be expected.

Along with our discussions, we hover above the streets as to not disturb the traffic of cloud workers above. They appear to be getting a rainstorm ready for the spring crops and flowers. One stallion greets us, a familiar face to me. "Oh hey, Spike!"

"Hey there, Mr. Lad! I see we're gonna be in for some showers today."

"Nah, these bad boys will get going around sunset. As far as the afternoon is concerned, we'll be sure to leave the air clear for you lovebirds around here."

Smolder blushes with a scowl on her face. I can't help but to have a sensible chuckle at her expense. "Thanks for the warning! At least I'll know we can keep floating around until then!"

"All good!" He sounds out before darting off to grab yet another cloud.

Smolder groans in thought over the stallion's comment. "Seriously, 'lovebirds'? Who does he think he is calling us that?"

"Well, he is one of the humans who moved here a little over a year ago. You know, one of the heroes who helped with that whole big event seven years back?"

"Really, so he was actually there when all of that crazy stuff went down?" She asks. "Why'd he move here instead of staying in the human world?"

"From what I heard, things got a little too chaotic for them. So they just packed it up and moved worlds." I briefly summarize. "They say they're pretty happy with being ponies and all, but I can't help but wonder if they miss having hands."

"Curious question. You bring up an interesting point." Says the dragoness.

"I mean I'd miss all the cool stuff they have. I'm still floored from the moment we hit the road over there. It was like stepping into some crazy-advanced future world─"

Without warning, I get a face full of cardboard and addresses. I tumble from out of the air and land hard on my backside. I rub at myself to soothe the pain a little before I notice the multitude of boxes strewn across the ground. My eyes wander to the source of a pained groan. "Ugh... Can today's air traffic be any worse!?"

A head lifts from the packages, shaking off a number of packing peanuts. I blink for a second before I instantly recognize the face of the griffon who recovers from our brief crash. "Gabby?"

She quickly cranes her head at my direction to see me staring back at her. Her eyes widen for a moment as she greets me with some enthusiasm. "Spike! Wow, you grew again?"

"Yeah, pretty much the going rate these days." I confirm as I start to help her pick up the boxes. "Sorry for knocking over your goods here."

"Oh it's fine!" She stresses happily. "I'm just getting a little bit of OT in, clocking in some extra time for a little extra pocket change. If anything, I'm in your way!"

"Not really, I just wasn't paying attention to where I was flying." I reply back to her as I give her three of the boxes I picked up. "You seem pretty overloaded here."

"Nah! I'm fine." She answers. "Don't waste your time on little ol' me. I know you got a pretty busy day ahead of you. So I'll just get this and be up out of your way."

"I'm not that busy." I reply to her, going after a few more boxes. "I can still help if you need to─"

"Don't waste your time." Her voice briefly shifts into a more serious tone. She politely hovers to me to grab the boxes from my possession. "You have a lot going on, meetings, interviews, trades agreements, all the important big stuff you gotta do for Equestria. It's okay, just leave me to do this so you can get back to doing you."

While it's good to see her again, it's obvious that some of her words are still strategically pointed. The situation feels more like a passive-aggressive exchange. Perhaps it would be better for me to leave her alone altogether, but I at least want to catch up. "So... I thought you moved back to Griffonstone."

"I did." She bluntly answers. "And just like last time, it's still the same bunch of greedy griffons only looking out for themselves. So I moved back here to Ponyville again, it's still pretty good."

"Okay, okay. How about the job, any changes there with the new technology being implemented?" I ask.

"The scanners make it easier to organize, that much is certain."

I smile with a bit of pride, knowing that I had a claw in the negotiations myself. "Yeah, you won't believe what it took to get that stuff over here. Lot of trade embargos and red tape on our end. And just the sheer effort of trying to even get that kind of stuff over here from the other world was a logistical and legal nightmare─"

"That's cool." She cuts me off. "Actually, I really need to get these moving. I need to get finished so I can get back to the house and get ready to hang out with my boyfriend."

"Oh, that's cool." At least she's doing well for herself. "I guess I'll run into you again, especially with me moving into town sometime yesterday."

She increases the pace of her grabbing her packages and placing them in her overloaded saddlebags. "Oh yeah. That's pretty cool." She sounds very unenthused. "Well, gotta run. My boyfriend's expecting me to be done and I want to try to make good on our time together. Later!"

She almost fumbles another package as she darts off to the distance. "She looks like she's taking the whole office workload by herself."

"That's Gabby for you, always a hard worker." Smolder comments. "She's always looking to make an extra bit. Seems her griffon side is really showing out these days."

"No kidding." I say as I see her struggle to keep her load in the distance. "She could really use some help."

"No point in offering, she's a stubborn one. Even Gallus tried to help her and she declined. Half of the whole town knows about her, but no one ever sees her outside of her usual routes. It's odd."

"Does she still talk to Apple Bloom and the others?" I inquire, seeing if she still kept up with the CMC.

"Not nearly as often. She's an unusual one these days."

"Strange, she used to be way more open back in the day." I say while thinking back to our dating history. "I guess us breaking up has her being really strict on her time."

"You think she's still bitter about that?" Smolder asks.

I sigh in embarrassment. "I wouldn't blame her. But I would like to at least try to make amends."

"Good luck with that one." The dragoness scoffs with a slight chuckle.

"What, what do you mean?"

"Well with as quick as she blew you off there, I don't think she's looking to amend anything that has to do with you. In fact, saying she's still bitter would probably be a gross understatement. Just saying."

As much as it hurts to think about, I did have to acknowledge that the way I tried to manage the situation back then wasn't the best way to go about it. She has a right to be upset about that, and she's entitled to feel the way she feels about me as a result. I'll just have to deal with it. "Well, I sure hope it doesn't hurt the idea of me getting any mail in the future."

"I'm sure she'll just have someone run your route. Easy fix." Smolder causally concludes. "Now come on, we don't want to get caught up in this rainstorm."

As I glance back to the distance Gabby flew to, I purse my lips and accept the circumstances. "Yeah, don't want that."

Author's Note

Yikes, these past few weeks have been a logistical nightmare, I'm sorry I missed you guys for two weeks running. I got a little busy IRL and a lot of great musical opportunities dropped in my lap quicker than I could type up a thousand words. I'm just glad to be able to release a chapter in the midst of it all.

Thank you all for being patient with me. This month was a struggle, but next month has me running roughshod. I got a full schedule ahead, two major shows where I have to arrange a fifteen-minute set of live arrangement (tedious as hell arranging and production wise), plus our band is opening for T.I. in two weeks after we just got through winning a battle of the bands this past Sunday, which leaves us strapped for time to plan and arrange.

Again, thank you for being patient with me. I'll try to release another chapter in a timely manner.