Harmony and curse

"Fwoosh!!!"

A violet flash flooded the office, forcing Mare to shield her eyes. The burst was accompanied by startled screams and the sound of three bodies hitting the floor with force.

When Mare uncovered her eyes, she immediately recognized the new arrivals. Their presence brought a fresh wave of relief to her heart.

“Ouch! That wasn’t very gentle, Twilight,” complained a mare, rubbing her head. In a high-pitched and overly dramatic tone, she gasped in alarm:
“My mane is a mess! All those hours spent on it… completely ruined!” She began trying to smooth her mane with her hooves.

“Hehe, that was funny! I tried to keep my eyes open to see the light,” said the party pony, rubbing her eyes. “And now I see lights everywhere.” Pinkie shook her head and blinked rapidly. “Nope, still there. Twilight, do you see the lights too?” she asked, addressing the portrait of the mayor on the wall. “Is it just me, or are you looking more artsy than usual?” She tried to touch the painting, failing completely in her depth perception.

Twilight, who was in the middle of the two, got up from the floor with soft groans.

“Sorry, girls, I miscalculated,” she said with a nervous laugh, shaking the dust off her coat. “I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t fully align the loca—”

She didn’t finish her sentence because Mayor Mare launched herself into her arms, embracing her tightly with a palpable sense of relief.

“Celestia heard my prayers! Miss Twilight, I’m so glad to see you.” The older mare looked at her with pleading eyes, clinging to her as if she were her salvation. “Please, tell me you know what’s going on.”

Twilight used her magic to gently separate the mayor, setting her back on the floor.

“Ehh, well, the thing is…”

Pinkie Pie poked her head out from behind Twilight, interrupting her enthusiastically.

“An explosive Ursa Major is coming to Ponyville!” she exclaimed, only to be promptly silenced by Rarity.

“Pinkie!” both unicorns shouted in unison, reprimanding her.

“An explosive Ursa Major...? Oh, by Celestia!” gasped Mare, teetering on the edge of fainting.

Twilight had to catch her with her magic to keep her from falling.

“Calm down, Mayor. Everything’s fine, I promise,” Twilight said nervously, folding a piece of paper with her magic to improvise a fan and fanning her.

She cast a side glance at Pinkie, her brow furrowed.

“Right, Pinkie?”

Pinkie scratched her poofy mane, giving a guilty smile.

“Oops, I meant to say... uh, hmm... a giant, sweet-smelling bunny is coming to give the town hugs!” she declared enthusiastically, nodding as if her explanation was entirely plausible.

Rarity sighed in exasperation.

“This is far too late for me to recover my poise, darling.”

“So... there’s no danger?” Mare asked, hopeful.

Twilight hummed conflictedly, looking around for the right words to not alarm the mayor further.

“Well... it’s just that... we don’t know anything either,” she confessed in a near whisper, forcing a nervous smile. “B-but don’t worry, Mayor. We’ll figure out what’s happening in the Everfree Forest.” Twilight stepped closer to the mare, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “And in the meantime, all you have to do is calm the frenzied crowd that’s about to show up any second now. That won’t be much trouble... right?”

The mayor’s eyes trembled with panic as a cold sweat ran down her forehead. Finally, she fainted.

“Mayor Mare!” Twilight shouted, catching the mare with her magic and fanning her faster. “What did I say!?” she cried, desperate.

“And they say I’m the one who gives ponies heart attacks,” Pinkie quipped, covering her mouth with a hoof to stifle a laugh while nudging Rarity with her shoulder.

“This is truly too late for me,” Rarity muttered with a refined sigh.

Twilight gently shook Mare, continuing to fan her.

“Mayor? Mayor, please wake up!” As the seconds passed, desperation seeped into her voice.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

A firm knock echoed from the office door.

“Um... Mayor Mare? There’s a crowd of ponies outside asking for you,” announced a male voice as the door creaked open. A stallion peeked his head in, his eyes widening at the scene: the mayor suspended like a puppet in magical grasp and three ponies who clearly didn’t belong there.

The silence in the room grew so thick that even the buzz of a fly would’ve been deafening. The stallion blinked several times.

Twilight cleared her throat, avoiding his gaze. “It’s not what it looks like...” she said with drooping ears and a weak voice.

Pinkie, of course, decided to chime in.

“Yes, we absolutely didn’t barge into Town Hall or accidentally knock out the mayor. Nope, not at all!” she said with a radiant smile.

Twilight dropped her head, defeated.

“Pinkie, you’re not helping.”

"Calm down, Twilight. You're exaggerating again," Rarity intervened, her voice calm as she approached the stallion.

Twilight’s eye twitched. Of all ponies, Rarity was undoubtedly the least qualified to accuse her of being dramatic.
“Says the queen of drama…” Twilight muttered under her breath.

Rarity ignored the comment and adopted an elegant posture, flashing a warm smile at the stallion.

“Everything has an explanation, dear. What is your name?”

The stallion, still visibly nervous, swallowed hard and took a step back.
“I-I’m Light Wood… ma’am.”

“Oh, miss, if you don’t mind,” Rarity corrected him with a melodious laugh, gracefully adjusting her mane with a perfect sweep of her hoof. “Though I’m flattered you assumed my sophistication might come with a stable relationship.”

The stallion opened his mouth but failed to form coherent words. Instead, he produced an unintelligible sound, somewhere between an attempt at an apology and a nervous gasp.

“No need to justify yourself, darling,” Rarity continued, stepping a bit closer. “I’m sure your comment came from the purest respect.”

Light Wood, now visibly blushing, tried to look away, but Rarity gently tilted his chin back with her hoof.

“Well, Mr. Light Wood, we came to assist the poor mayor in dealing with the crowd.” Rarity gestured dramatically toward Mare. “Just look at her—so stressed she fainted at the sound of your mere knocks on the door.”

Twilight let out a nervous laugh, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

“Y-Yes… uh, that’s… that’s exactly what happened.”

“That’s not what hap—” Pinkie tried to correct her, only for Rarity to stuff a crumpled piece of paper into her mouth to silence her.

Rarity, unfazed, continued with the elegance characteristic of a high-society pony. She leaned closer to the stallion.

“Now, be a dear and tell us: have you ever witnessed such drama in this office?”

“Uh… no. Definitely not,” he replied nervously, managing an awkward smile.

Rarity turned to Twilight and Pinkie, letting out a theatrical sigh.

“We deeply regret barging in unannounced, but you must understand we’re here on urgent business.” She stepped a little closer to the stallion, fluttering her long lashes for emphasis. “Surely, there’s no need to introduce ourselves, is there?”

The stallion, red-faced, stammered.

“O-of course not. I know very well who you are, Miss Rarity, and I must say, your arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. If the mayor is indisposed, I’m sure your magnificent presence will be more than necessary.”

“Well, at least someone here appreciates the magnitude of the chaos we’ve descended into,” she said with a faint tone of reproach. “Although, dear, let me say that with your help, I’m certain we can restore some semblance of order. Don’t you agree?”

The stallion nodded quickly, though he didn’t seem entirely sure what he had just agreed to.

His gaze lingered on the mare’s eyes for a moment, as if hypnotized by her elegance. Twilight cleared her throat uncomfortably, breaking the moment.

The stallion blinked, shaking his head slightly to snap back to reality. When his eyes landed on the other two mares in the room, he grew even more flustered, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“And… you two as well… haha. W-well, I’ll go ahead and introduce you to the crowd,” he stammered before darting out of the building as if fleeing a pack of timberwolves.

“Wait! We need to wake up the mayor first so she can talk to the ponies!” Twilight shouted after him, but if the stallion heard her, he chose to ignore it.

The unicorn started sweating and pacing back and forth, almost as much as Mare had before fainting.}

“Oh, sweet Celestia, what am I going to do!? I don’t know what to tell them. If I tell them the truth, they’ll panic. But… but if I try to lie, they’ll probably panic anyway. Oh, by Celestia!” Twilight’s voice grew louder with each word as her breathing became faster. “Come on, Twilight, think, think!”

“Uh… Twilight, darling?” Rarity tried to intervene, her tone calm and soothing.

Before she could say more, Pinkie Pie jumped between them, raising her hoof as if she were in a classroom.
“Ooh, ooh! How about we use the exploding bear again?” she suggested with an innocent smile.

Rarity groaned, placing a hoof on her forehead.

“Pinkie, enough with the exploding bea—”

“Yes, that!” Twilight suddenly shouted, her eyes gleaming with a manic light. “That could work. Yes, yes, yes! We’ll tell them that an angry Ursa Major is coming to town, and it’ll only leave if everyone goes home quietly. It’s perfect!” The unicorn began laughing with a tone that edged dangerously close to madness, while Pinkie wrapped a hoof around her and joined in the laughter, as if sharing an inside joke.

Rarity closed her eyes, massaging her temples to stave off an impending headache. Slowly, she advanced toward the duo, her patience hanging by a thread.

“Am I the only sane one here?” she muttered with elegant exasperation.

Once in front of them, she raised her hoof and lightly slapped Twilight, who immediately stopped laughing. Then, she turned to Pinkie and, with a delicate but firm motion, shut her mouth by pushing up on her jaw.

The silence that settled over the office was, for Rarity, a blessing.

“Ow,” Twilight muttered, rubbing her cheek.

“I truly am sorry, darling, but you were entering the ‘Twilight Zone’ again. Someone had to bring you back to your senses.” Rarity flicked her mane back with elegance, as if what had just happened required no effort at all.

Twilight lowered her gaze, blushing with embarrassment.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she said with a small, nervous laugh.

“Ohhh, but we were having fun. I like it when Twilight goes all crazy. She’s so funny,” Pinkie protested, disappointed.

“Pinkie, darling, your eccentricity is already more than enough for this town. We don’t need to double it,” Rarity responded with a calm smile.

Twilight took a deep breath and shook her head to regain her composure.

“Alright, seriously… what are we going to do about the ponies outside?” she asked, her voice high-pitched and desperate.

Rarity placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and gave her a confident smile.

“Don’t worry, darling. Leave the diplomacy to me.” She smoothed her mane and lifted her head with determination. “You don’t survive high society without learning how to handle a crowd.”