A Reflection of sorts

Chapter 3

A Promise Upheld

854 years since Luna's Disappearance

Four years ago, an odd occurrence happened in Manehattan: Edgar Brickmason, a rookie amongst the town guards, was elected mayor of the town due to his ability to rally the townsponies together to ward off an attack from an Ursa Minor. Since that day, he's been working diligently to keep the townsfolk at peace with each other. It has been mostly successful, but there were still many hate crimes popping up throughout the town. Dissatisfied with what little he could do, he began secretly funding a small group to travel throughout Equestria, spreading words of peace and tranquility. However, he realized that this could possibly end as soon as his term as mayor does. He awoke in the morning of the Monday of his last week in office before elections began anew, unaware that his past was coming back to bite him.

"Just another week of this, eh? I can do this..." said Edgar to himself, groggily. He arose from bed, trying not to disturb his sleeping wife. He shambled into the water closet and bathed himself, waking up in the process. His mind, now caught up with his body, began to run down a list of what he needed to do today. "Arrive at the office, read the bills that have been sent my way, and then bring Nimba to 'The Gilded Truffle' for supper" he thought to himself out loud. Having bathed himself, he dried himself off and walked out into the kitchen to find Nimba preparing some breakfast.

"G'Morning Dear" she said, sleepily.

"You didn't need to get up to make me breakfast, Nimba. You need your rest" said Edgar, concerned.

"I'm fine. Besides, the little bugger inside me wanted food just as much as I'm sure you do" she remarked, softly rubbing her hoof along her rounded stomach. Edgar grinned at this comment, and trotted over to her. The two nuzzled each other briefly, and Edgar motioned for her to sit down. She complied, not wanting to cause any sort of argument.

"French Toast sound alright, Love?"

"Wondrous, Darling" she replied, walking outside to retrieve the morning gazette. She returned with paper in mouth, and sat down in the kitchen to read it. She came across an article that caused her brow to furrow slightly due to the shocking nature of the news. Edgar noticed this, and felt it necessary to inquire about it.

"What's wrong, Nimba?"

"Gerald Blackmoor Jr. and his wife have gone missing. There's no trace of where they've gone, according to the paper" she said, deadpan.

"Really? Damn, I'll have to see to it that the guard put in as much effort as possible to find them. Anything else interesting in the paper?"

"Yes. It looks like a potential riot was dispelled by an unknown group of ponies last night. These are odd times we're heading towards, don't you agree?" Hearing this caused a grin to spread across Edgar's face, as he placed his and Nimba's breakfast on the table. "What's with that smile, Dear?" she asked, concerned.

"I just love to hear good news!" he replied, not bothering to hide his glee. The two sat down and ate their breakfast quickly, both returning to their bedroom afterwards. Nimba climbed back into bed as Edgar put on a collared shirt, a tie following soon afterwards. Fully dressed, he trotted over to his wife and nuzzled her once as she began to drift off to sleep once more. Grabbing his briefcase, he walked out the door and cantered down to the mayoral office. Along the way, he stopped at the sidewalk in front of a house, the inhabitant of which was making his way out. A white pegasus stallion bearing a light brown mane nervously exited the house, briefcase in mouth. He turned to see Edgar sitting there, and waved his hoof at him.

"Top of the morning to you, Mayor Brickmason!" he called out, briefcase still in mouth.

"And the rest of it to you, Mr. Linshire!" he replied. The pegasus glided over to him, a mildly annoyed expression having formed on his face. The two began to walk towards their destination and coninued to converse between each other, Linshire somehow able to speak coherently despite having a handle in his maw.

"You are free to call me 'Colin', sir. How long has it been since I've first told you this?"

"The same length of time since I first told you to simply refer to me as 'Edgar'".

"You're the mayor. You deserve that much respect, and I intend to give it".

"Possibly not after this week. I've always seen you as more of a friend than a co-worker anyways".

"I'm not sure whether to see that as an insult or a compliment, Edgar".

"Ladder!" ejaculated Edgar, moving to the side. Colin failed to noticed this, as he was more focused on the conversation than their path.

"Don't you mean 'the latt- Agh!" questioned Colin before colliding with a ladder that was standing up against a buidling. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, and a unicorn stallion turned the corner to confront them.

"Dammit Colin! Seventeenth time this month! Watch where you're going!" roared the stallion. Colin apologized profusely as he scurried alongside Edgar on the sidewalk. They dropped the conversation, and chose to discuss the wondrous subject of potpourri until they arrived at the office. As they stepped indoors, a pegasus mare motioned for Colin to approach her. He obliged, Edgar following close behind.

"Good morning, Rose. How are things?" asked Colin, finally putting his case down.

"Things are well, Colin. Did you still want to meet up for supper tonight?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"I'm good unless something dire comes up. I see no such thing happening as of yet, though".

"Wonderful! So we'll meet at 'The Gilded Truffle' at 6!" replied Rose, gleefully. Colin nodded his head and smiled. He and Edgar walked off towards their office, Edgar smiling as well.

"My, it seems like that restaurant is rather popular. Me and Nimba were going to go there tonight as well!" commented Edgar, gleefully.

"I suppose it is. Thank you for talking me into talking to Rose. She's made me a happier pony overall!" replied Colin, smile still present.

"It's nothing to fret about, Colin, really".

"Still, I can hardly imagine where I'd be in life right now had I not listened to you..." They both entered the office and placed their cases down besides two desks. They read over paperwork for what seemed like hours when suddenly, Colin spoke up again. "It looks like a piece of this document is missing. I'm going to check the filing cabinet in the storage closet".

"There's no need to report your every action to me, Colin. Feel free to do what you need to". Colin fluttered over to the closet and entered it, leaving the door ajar by merely a crack. Edgar proceeded to continue reading, but sudenly the door from the hallway leading in flew open, and city guards spilled in. "What's the meaning of this? Can't you have knocked and entered normally?" questioned Edgar, shocked and slightly enraged.

"It seems as though mayoral power has made you quite arrogant, Brickmason. No matter, though" announced a deep voice as an armor-clad stallion entered the room.

"V-Valorous? What's troubling you?"

"That's Captain Valorous, worm!" exclaimed Valorous, enraged. He turned towards the other guards, glare still ever-present. "Men! Take him away!" he roared. The guards moved in to drag Edgar off.

"Under what charges?!" demanded Edgar.

"Assault on an officer, amongst many others" replied Valorous, a smirk spread across his face. The guards attempted to drag Edgar away from the desk, but he put up a surprisingly strong fight. Seeing the resistance being put up, Valorous gripped a vase with his magic and smashed it into the back of Edgar's head, knocking him unconscious. One of the guards restraining Edgar took notice of this, and turned his eyes towards his captain.

"Sir, wasn't that a tad bit excessive?" he asked, concern reflecting in his voice.

"I hardly think so, Blackmane. After all, did you see how tacky that vase was? I was doing it a favor breaking it!" replied Valorous, jokingly. The other guards laughed at this, and even Blackmane couldn't help but chuckle slightly. After regaining their composure, they dragged off Edgar, unaware that the whole event had been watched. Colin emerged from the closet, shocked at what had unfolded.

"What in the name of Tartarus' nine circles just happened?" thought Colin, out loud.

Edgar came around to find the floor around him cold. He opened his eyes, despite the throbbing pain in his head, to find bars surrounding him. He began to remember what unfolded before he lost consciousness, and began to panic. "Hello?! Someone?! Help!" he called out, praying he got a response. He heard shuffling behind him, and nervously turned around to find an earth stallion staring at him.

"Mayor Brickmason?! What in Celestia's name have they done to you?" called out the stallion. Edgar recognized the voice, and could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"Gerald Blackmoor?! What in the world are you doing here? Shouldn't you have been reported as-" asked Edgar, before a realization struck him, causing any semblance of calm within him to vanish.