Six girls huddled in Pinkie Pie's bedroom.

"So let me get this straight, sugarcube," said Applejack as she fixed Twilight with a hard stare, "the integral of e to the x is e to the x?"

"Plus the constant."

"And the derivative of e to the x is e to the x?"

"Exactly."

Pinkie Pie blew a noisemaker in celebration.

"Whoo boy, Twilight, Ah don't know how Ah let you talk me into taking calculus."

"You got this," reassured her friend.

"Well, one thing's for sure," said Rainbow Dash as she ran her hand through her prismatic hair.

"What's that, darling?" prompted Rarity.

"Sunset Shimmer has this down pat. Otherwise she'd be here studying with us."

"Where is she?" asked Fluttershy.

"She said she had some errands to run," said Twilight.

As if on cue, the door swung open and Sunset Shimmer strolled into the room.

"You're here!" cried Pinkie Pie.

"I wanted to study for the test with my best friends. After all, calculus isn't something we're taught in Equestria," she said, sitting down next to Twilight and taking off her jacket.

The bespectacled girl examined her friend. Her eyes suddenly went wide. "What's that!"

Looking down at her shirt, Sunset Shimmer said, "What?"

Pointing at the sticker on her shirt, Twilight read, "I voted today."

Sunset shrugged. "They gave it to me after I voted."

"But - but - but, you can't vote."

"I can't?"

"You're not a citizen!"

"Oh." She shrugged, "It never came up."

Twilight began, well, twilighting. "You could get in so much trouble! You broke the law! You could go to jail! Wait, are we accessories? Can we go to jail!?" She began to hyperventilate and her glasses slipped to the tip of her nose.

"Twilight, darling, breathe."

As Twilight took deep calming breaths, Sunset said, "Would it make you feel better if I told you that I voted for - " she leaned in and whispered into Twilight's ear.

Twilight's eyes widened and she stopped hyperventilating. She slowly pushed her glasses back up on her face. "Well.... I suppose we could overlook it, just this once."

Author's Note

Today, Election 2024 ends. Tomorrow, Election 2028 begins!

• Dreadnought