Mayor Fluttershy

Chapters

1. At the Town Hall
2. The search
3. Dash's deception
4. The mudfight
5. A lunar dilemma
6. A predicament at the spa
7. The fireflies
8. Torches and pitchforks
9. The trial
10. The jailbreak

1. At the Town Hall

Fluttershy looked up into the highly decorated ceiling of her new bedroom. This had earlier been the bedroom of mayor Mare, but now it was all hers. She had just awaken and was waiting for her breakfast coffee. The yellow pegasus wasn't used to drink her coffee in bed, but since this was the first day as the new mayor of Ponyville she didn't know what was expected of her. Maybe her maid, miss Hooves, would be disappointed if she had already made her own coffee? Fluttershy had decided not to take any chances.
Without knocking, a grey pegasus appeared. She was balancing an empty tray on her head.
"Miss Hooves...?"
"You're welcome! I bring a cup of bed to you in your coffee."
"Thank you... But... um... where is my coffee?"
"It is already in your bed, mayor!"
Fluttershy looked down and saw a big, brown stain on her bedding and an empty cup.
"Oh..."
"I placed it there while you were asleep, because I didn't want to wake you!"
"Oh, my..."

After her breakfast the time had come for Fluttershy to hold her first meeting in the town hall. At the sides of a long table Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were seated. Fluttershy resided in a big, padded chair at the end. She nervously stacked her papers.
"Um... today's meeting... I declare today's meeting opened. Do you have... any suggestions?"
"Suggestions about what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Um... um... the meeting?"
Nopony said anything. The silence was complete, except for the sound of Fluttershy's papers shaking in her hooves.
"I suggest we form a policy about forming a policy about governing Ponyville," Twilight said.
"And a budget for decorating the city!" said Rarity. "With gems and gold and diamonds and gems... and... and velvet and purple..."
"But the Library need new books!"
"And Scootaloo has started some kind of club... Or so I have heard... Maybe, just maybe, we should support her?" Rainbow said while desperately trying not to sound too exited. "I think we should help her spread her message..."
"And what's that message about?" Rarity asked, slowly like a viper approaching it's pray.
"Eh... hm... They didn't say... or, I haven't really heard what they... hm... But I'm sure it will be awesome!"
"Um... excuse me," said the new mayor. "But... there are poor, homeless cats that need our help. I would like to build a new shelter for them, if that's okay with you?"
"Fluttershy, you are the mayor. You have the power to decide what's best for the town. We are only your advisers," said Twilight.
"But I would like to check with you first, so that nopony gets disappointed..."
"Maybe Scootaloo would be disappointed if..."
"Rainbow Dash!"
"OK, fine."
They all decided not to decide about forming a policy about what policy they would form. And Fluttershy decided to agree with her advisors' opinion in that decision.

The next day mayor Fluttershy trotted trough the main street of Ponyville. She was happy and carried a basket with fresh dandelions in her mouth.
"Look! There is the new mayor!" a young filly shouted and pointed in her direction. "Mayor Fluttershy!"
"Ooo! Look!"
And soon all ponies in the vicinity of Fluttershy had turned their heads and were curiously watching her every move. She was overcome with shyness and fled into Rarity's boutique.
"Fluttershy! I mean, mayor Fluttershy!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Oh, quick! You must help me hide here for a while," said Fluttershy.
Rarity quickly locked the door and let her crawl into a cupboard behind the sofa in her living room. A crowd of ponies had gathered outside the boutique, peering trough every window. They were no longer sure what they were supposed to look at, but everypony thought that something really interesting must be going on inside the building.
To distract them, Rarity grabbed a big cardboard box and wrote "TOP SECRET" on its side. She then left the boutique "discretely" trough the backdoor and made sure the crowd had spotted her. Soon most of the ponies started following Rarity trough the streets "like cats after a milk bucket" as Applejack would have said.
At the same time, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom had entered Rarity's boutique from the kitchen. They found it empty and locked.
"Rarity? Are you there?" Sweetie Belle asked.
But she was gone. The fillies continued into the living room and looked for her, but no Rarity was spotted. Instead they saw a jar of cookies on top of the cupboard.
"Oh, they sure look tasty!" Applebloom said.
And without a word, the three pushed the sofa against the cupboard and quickly climbed up and grabbed the cookies.

Twilight was at the Town Hall, waiting for Fluttershy. She wanted to see if there was something she could do to help her with her policy. She expected Fluttershy to arrive any minute, but the pegasus didn't show up. Where cold she be? Twilight knocked at her door twice, but no one opened. She knocked on the windows, and after a while miss Hooves appeared.
"Hello! May I help you?" she asked.
"Yes, have you seen Fluttershy?"
"I have... I saw her this morning, and yesterday when she had left a big stain in her bed! It was brown and..."
"Oh, thank you, no need to describe it to me... hehe," Twilight laughed awkwardly. "Is she here right now?"
"No, she is away."
"When will she be back?"
"I don't know."

And at Rarity's place, still inside the cupboard, Fluttershy tried to open the door and get out... But the door was stuck! Something blocked it from the outside and she couldn't push it aside. She was trapped!

Author's Note

English is not my native language, so the grammar and use of words may be a bit strange at some points... But hopefully it won't be totally insane!

2. The search

An hour had passed and Twilight was getting worried that something had happened to Fluttershy. The unicorn decided to go and look for her at her old place, thinking it would have been typical for Fluttershy to forget her duties as mayor over the sight of a hurt squirrel or a bird with a broken wing. But this day was too important to miss! There would be a parade I front of the Town Hall and the mayor had to make a speech and present a golden horseshoe to princess Luna. It was tradition! And princess Luna like traditions. Since the unfortunate mishap during the princess's last visit to Ponyville, Twilight was determined to not let anything go wrong this time. No pies would be allowed near the podium.
But what if Fluttershy didn't show up? What if she wouldn't be there in time to present the golden horseshoe to princess Luna?" The thought sent shivers down her spine.

At the same time Rarity had decided to end her cunning diversion of the crowd. She had led the curious ponies to the outskirts of Ponyville and was about to open the cardboard box in front of them to show that it was empty... But she stopped herself. That would have been an anti-climax... It would be much more dramatic to throw the box into the river and exclaim something about "No one must ever know about my secret mission!", and then leave the ponies wondering about her for days. It was a bit unnecessary, but she couldn't help herself. And she threw the box into the river with a dramatic gesture.
"Nopony must know about my top secret and very, very important mission!"

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was desperately trying to push open the door and escape from Rarity's cupboard. What if nopony found her? What if she would be trapped inside the cupboard for all eternity? She had no food and no water. Fluttershy almost started to cry over the thought of somepony finding her skeleton still inside the cupboard twenty years from now. They would say "Oh, that's what happened to the mayor! How dreadful! She starved to death inside her friend's cupboard, scared and alone with nopony there to help her!"

When Twilight reached Fluttershy's cottage, she found the place abandoned except for some animals and large piles of animal feed that the ever thoughtful Fluttershy had left there earlier. Although she was the mayor now, she still cared a lot for her animal friends.
"Have you seen Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.
All animals shook their heads.
"Twilight!"
She turned around and saw Pinkie Pie trotting through the gate.
"Do you know where Fluttershy is? Have you seen her?" Pinkie said.
"No, I haven't...."
"Oh! What if she has been kidnapped by pirates?! Or zombie ponies? Or ninjazombiepirateponies?"
"She has not been kidnapped! Fluttershy is most likely just busy with something... Maybe she has gone to the forest to help a lost deer or something like that..."
"What if she has g... gone to the Everfree forest?!"
"But Fluttershy would be to scared to go there."
"But... what if she has? What if she is being eaten by a timberwolf?!"

When Rarity entered her boutique she expected to find Fluttershy there waiting for her. But Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. And also her jar of cookies was gone! Rarity deduced that Fluttershy must have taken the cookies and left the boutique, although it would have been very unlikely for her to take something without asking first. But since the unicorn had locked the front door, nopony else could have done it. She therefore decided to go over to the Town Hall and ask Fluttershy why she took her cookies.
But when Rarity arrived at the Town Hall only miss Hooves were there, sweeping the floor with a shovel.
"Have you seen Fluttershy?" Rarity shouted.
"Yes, she left a stain on her bedding and disappeared!"
"Strange..."
"Not at all," miss Hooves exclaimed. "She must have been sleeping in it."
Rarity was starting to feel confused. Had Fluttershy went home and gone to bed while eating all her cookies? Off course! She must have been overcome with stress and ran home, hiding in her bed and eating the cookies to comfort herself! Oh, the poor pegasus... But why had she suddenly disappeared?
Rarity then saw Pinkie Pie and Twilight running towards her.
"Rarity! Fluttershy has disappeared! We must search for her! She might have gone into the Everfree forest! Or even someplace even worse!"
"Oh NO! IT'S THE WORST POSSIBLE THING!"

The ponies searched all over Ponyville looking for Fluttershy and at Sweet Apple Acres they found the now empty jar of cookies.
"She must have been here!" Rarity concluded while carefully examining the jar for evidence.
"What if we don't find her in time for the parade?" Twilight asked, terrified of the consequences. She had almost forgot about princess Luna and the golden horseshoe! She would arrive in about an hour!

The square in front of the Town Hall was filled with ponies, waiting for the princess to arrive to watch the parade. Fluttershy was gone and instead Twilight and her friends had convinced Rainbow Dash to disguise herself as Fluttershy. They had painted her coat in a yellowish colour and made a pink wig out of material gathered from the hairdresser's trashcan. The wig itched and Rainbow didn't like at all to have her coat drenched in paint. She must resist the urge to scratch herself, but it was nearly impossible! She couldn't do it while all eyes were watching her.
And now the orchestra started to play. Princess Luna's carriage appeared on the sky, in broad daylight, and slowly descended from above. She waved at the citizens and they cheered. Rainbow Dash tried to move her right wing, but the drying paint had glued it's feathers to her side.
"Um... Oh my," she said to herself, trying to practice on her impersonation. It didn't sound like Fluttershy at all.

3. Dash's deception

Rainbow Dash witnessed the parade of ponies in front of her podium. Princess Luna stood beside her and waved at the ponies, happily trotting by in rows. It was a beautiful sight but Rainbow had more important things than enjoying the parade. She had to focus on making everyone believe that she really was Fluttershy and not a shoddily disguised Rainbow Dash. The time for her speech was drawing near...

At the same time, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were at Sweet Apple Acres, desperately searching for Fluttershy. But no trace of the yellow pegasus was found other than the empty cookie jar. Where could she be?
"Maybe she in fact has been kidnapped?" Twilight said.
"By timberwolves and pirates!" said Pinkie, looking absolutely terrified.
"Oh, the horror!" said Rarity and threw herself into Granny Smith's rocking chair. But she had misjudged the steadiness of the chair and flipped it over, landing on the porch with all four legs in the air. She looked like a beetle on its back.

Rainbow Dash shuffled her papers and began to speak.
"Dear ponies of Ponyville! Today I have the great honour to welcome... um... princess Luna... and um... to our beautiful town. As mayor of Ponyville, I feel the great... I mean, I feel great pride to... um... the great pride that I feel has rendered me speechless!"
All the ponies clapped their hooves.
"What a beautiful speech, mayor Fluttershy."
"Awesome! I mean...um... oh, my!"
She then grabbed the golden horseshoe from its velvet pillow.
"Here you go, princess Luna!"
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Luna whispered.
"You're welc... No! Wait! I'm Fluttershy. I'm totally Fluttershy."
She said the last sentence out loud, and the whole crowd looked a bit confused.
"You do not need to feel dismay, Rainbow Dash. It's perfectly natural sometimes to pretend being somepony else. I often pretend to be... hm... other ponies."
"Hm... mhm..." said Rainbow Dash, blushing with embarrassment beneath the thick layer of paint that covered her face.
"Shall we continue to the next stop, mayor? I believe it is the Ponyville Liberary?"
"Oh! Oh, yeah... right..."
Rainbow realized that Twilight totally had forgotten all about receiving princess Luna in her library. She must come up with a plan to distract the princess while warning Twilight!
When Luna held her speech, thanking the ponies for the golden horseshoe, the disguised pegasus excused herself and ran behind the stage. She desperately searched for help and found Scootaloo lying on the floor, reminding her of an anaconda that had swallowed a young hippopotamus.
"Scoot! You must help me! Go and get Twilight! She must present her library to the princess! They are at Sweet Apple Acres, searching for Fluttershy!"
"But aren't you are here?" Scootaloo said, a bit confused.
"I'm not Fluttershy! I'm actually Rainbow Dash in a wig. Now, go!"
Scootaloo got up on her hooves and ran off to get her scooter.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was still trapped inside Rarity's cupboard crying. But then she toughened up. This was not the time to give in. She was after all the mayor of Ponyville and she knew that deep down she was as brave as any pony, if not even braver... Fluttershy turned around inside the cupboard and gave the door a strong kick. It didn't move at all, but Fluttershy knew that given time, she could break out from the cupboard. And she was determined not to spend any minute longer than necessary inside that stupid piece of furniture!

Rainbow Dash and princess Luna slowly moved in the direction of the Ponyville Library. The crowd of exited ponies watched them, enjoying the historical significance of this moment. Princess Luna waved. Rainbow Dash knew that Twilight couldn't possibly have gotten back from Sweet Apple Acres already and she decided to buy her some time with a desperate plan.
"Princess, before we reach the Ponyville Liberary, I must show you Rarity's boutique! It was added to the program as a surprise, to... to... compensate you for the... hm.. incident during your last visit to our town!"
"Is that really necessary?"
"It's the least thing we could do."
Rainbow Dash knew that she was now in deep trouble, but Twilight's reputation was more important to save than her own or Rarity's since she could be fired from her work as a librarian if Luna or Celestia were unhappy with what they saw. Rarity couldn't be fired since she owned her own boutique. She would be devastated, but Rainbow hoped that she could take most of the blame herself when princess Luna would have had enough of her shenanigans.
But when they arrived at Rarity's place, the front door was locked. I desperation, Rainbow Dash bashed it open with a furious kick.
"It's a little rusty," she said.
"The place looks a bit deserted... Are you sure you have red the programme for my visit?" princess Luna asked. "This is very, very important to me."
"Off course, princess! And, as planned, I hereby invite all ponies to follow us into the boutique!"
Rarity's place was soon filled with ponies, crowding the boutique. Rainbow and the princess retreated into the living room.
"Make yourself at home. I will get you some coffee," Rainbow said.
"Coffee?!" Luna asked, slowly beginning to lose her patience.
The pegasus then ran to the kitchen and started making coffee for Luna and the over one hundred ponies who were pouring into the building like ants into a jar of jelly.
Princess Luna seated herself on the sofa next to the cupboard. A unicorn with a very light aquamarine coat made her company, sitting on the sofa in a very strange way. Luna watched her with bewilderment.

At the same time, Twilight and her friends were running trough the streets to get back to her library in time. But when they arrived at the library, they saw that nopony were there. Instead a crowd had gathered around Rarity's boutique.
Rarity saw it too, and her face went pale. (Since she already had a white coat, nopony really noticed it.)
"No! Not that! Everything but that!" she screamed in terror.
She didn't really know what was going on inside her boutique, but she could feel in every fibre of her body that something extremely bad was happening.
And they stormed into Rarity's place, pushing their way trough the crowd of ponies. They arrived just in time to see an angry princess Luna, now standing on all four legs in Rarity's sofa. The wood and fabric creaked under her weight.
"What mockery is this?!" she screamed, her voice booming with royal frustration. "I came here to perform my royal duties! To celebrate with my subjects! But instead that nefarious Rainbow Dash fooled me! She has made a farce out of my important visit to Ponyville as a princess! Why can't I be treated with dignity?! I HAVE HAD IT!"
Twilight looked out the window and saw Rainbow Dash, still disguised as Fluttershy, playing in the mud, laughing and rolling around in the puddles like a pig.
"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted in tears.
That Rainbow Dash sure had a lot to explain to her...

4. The mudfight

Before Twilight could stop her, princess Luna had pushed her way trough the crowd of ponies and was struggling for the door. Ponyville's citizens tried their best to get out of her way as quickly as possible, fearing the rage of the lunar princess. They shoved and pushed, but the mass of pony was greater than the space of the door. The result was a massive plug of ponies, which Luna just barely managed to push trough. The struggle had cost her one of her shoes, some of her feathers and most of her royal dignity. But a raging Luna was a force not easily stopped.
When she stood there, outside Rarity's boutique, she saw Rainbow Dash's highly questionable behaviour in the mud puddle.
"RAINBOW DASH!" she screamed. "What is the meaning of this?! I have had enough of your... your insane acts of... insanity! Let me finish my royal duties, which you have turned into a circus act! You have destroyed my whole day! In fact, you have made me look like a fool! You have made me fail my task! WHY?!"
Twilight emerged from the crowd and ran past Luna, shouting:
"Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?! I never told you to behave this way! This is madness!"
"Hush, Twilight! Don't say anything! I'm trying to get her really mad at me so she won't even remember that you and Rarity and Fluttershy forgot all about her visit! That way only I will be punished..." she whispered.
"But Rainbow! What about you?!"
"Don't worry about me! Save yourselves! I'll make sure she'll be only mad at me."
She then, as a really terrible idea, flung a bit of mud at the alicorn princess, hitting her right on the snout! Luna's horn lit up, glowing with terrible magic. She could easily have squashed the pegasus like a fly with her immense powers, but in all her rage she managed to refrain from using her magic. Instead she flung an even bigger ball of mud at Rainbow, who ducked and instead the mud hit Twilight in the back of her head! She dove face first into the puddle.

When princess Celestia travelled in Equestria she always used her golden carriage. On these travels she liked to follow a strict schedule, but sometimes the alicorn princess chose to show up unexpected to see what her empire really was like when nopony had time to prepare themselves for her visit. This day she had inspected a factory in Cloudsdale while her younger sister had been sent by her to Ponyville as a test. It was a simple task that Celestia had assigned her to see if she was ready to regain her duties as a princess of Equestria after her thousand year long exile.
And now Celestia had decided to stop by Ponyville to see if her sister had managed to complete this simple task. She had told her that she must do everything absolutely perfect if she was to be trusted with more important assignments. Celestia had her doubts as the younger sister might easily crack under pressure. She had always hated being tested. Always.
Now her carriage descended from above, slowly flying trough the clouds and down to Ponyville's Mane Square.
The sight that met her made the princess jaw drop. She saw a big crowd of ponies flinging mud at each other, rolling around in the dirt and behaving with the dignity of feral pigs.
"WHAT is going on?!" she screamed.
All ponies froze, staring at Celestia in silent dread. A tall, brown shape emerged. She immediately recognized her younger sister, covered in mud and with an expression in her face of total shock.
"Princess Luna! What in my own name are you doing?! What is this madness?!"
"I... I..." Luna said, reminding her of a little filly who had been caught with her hoof in her big sister's cookie jar. "It wasn't me! I wasn't throwing mud!"
"That's enough! This behaviour is beneath the dignity of any princess, even you! Now you will come with me back to Canterlot and we'll never speak of this again."
Then another mud covered shape slowly arose from the ground. It had wings and eyes in a reddish colour. The rest of it was unrecognizable underneath the dirt.
"I'm so sorry," it said, looking sad, probably. "It was all my fault. I was the one who started the mud fight. I also impersonated the mayor, sabotaged princess Luna's visit to Ponyville and behaved badly. If anypony should be punished, it is me and not your sister."
"And who might this be?" Celestia asked.
"I am Rainbow Dash, the element of loyalty. And I can't betray princess Luna! I did this to her... to... to..."
"To save our reputation," said Twilight, or the moving pile of mud that was standing next to Rainbow. "She did it to buy me and Fluttershy time, but when the plan started to fall apart she threw herself into the mud and acted like a fool to make us look good in comparison..."
"But that's insane!" Celestia said and put a hoof to her face. "No, that plan is beyond insane... it doesn't even make any sense. Rainbow Dash, off all different things you could do you chose the most idiotic option possible."
"I panicked..."
"You threw mud at a ruling princess of Equestria because you panicked?! I have never seen such... pffftt... such.. pfff... insane...he he heheheHAHAHAHA"
And princess Celestia burst into laughter. She jumped from her carriage and trotted trough the mud, giggling at her subjects.
"Hmmm... haven't we forgotten about something...?" Twilight asked.
"I can't remember that I forgot anything," said Rainbow.
"Oh, I cant stand it!" she laughed. "You are all pardoned! Anyone up for some coffee?"
"I have coffee at my boutique, princess," said Rarity, who had managed to scrape of most of the mud from her coat. "I'd be honoured to welcome two princesses there the same day!"
When they entered the boutique Rarity began to make coffee. But there were more ponies than cups.
"I have some more cups in my cupboard, just behind this sofa," she said and pushed the sofa aside...
And then Fluttershy leapt from the cupboard!

The ponies watched in total bewilderment when she fled trough the door and away across Ponyville like a greyhound released from its cage.
"Dear princess Celestia, some things are not easy to explain..." Twilight begun to write in her friendship report.
"I'm right here," said Celestia and took her quill away from her. "Don't waste good paper."

5. A lunar dilemma

The next day Fluttershy spent most of the morning in her bed, drinking coffee and eating a muffin provided by miss Hooves. After she had finished her coffee, Fluttershy decided to read the newspaper. Her jaw dropped in shock when she saw the front-page:
"Ponyville's mayor hiding from Princess Luna inside cupboard!" it red.
"Oh, no!" Fluttershy shouted, throwing her paper to the floor. "I wasn't like that at all! I wasn't hiding from her! Oh, my... what if she think I didn't want to meet her? I must tell her that I was trapped and that I really, really wanted to see her! What if she is angry with me or sad...or sad and angry and disappointed? Miss Hooves!"
The grey pegasus appeared in the door.
"Yes mayor?"
"Um... I must find princess Luna and tell her that I'm sorry for what happened yesterday."
"The mud fight or that she failed her test and is now refusing to leave Twilight's place?"
"M... mud fight? Test? Twilight's place?"
"Yes! It was a funny mud fight and Luna threw mud and Celestia was angry at her and then happy and then she decided that she had failed her test and then Luna said that she did not fail her test because she didn't know that Rainbow Dash would behave the way she did and then Celestia said that she was tired of Luna's excuses and then Luna was angry and said that she would ran away and Celestia laughed at her and Luna ran to Twilight's place and now she is sleeping in Spike's bed."
"In Spike's bed?!"
"Yes. And Spike is sleeping in Twilight's and Twilight is sleeping there too, but she is not sleeping at all because she is pacing around in circles all night," miss Hooves said and picked up the newspaper from the floor. She then put it in a vase. "More muffins?"
"But how do you know about all that?"
"Because I have spied on them! It is very funny to spy on other ponies!"

Soon Fluttershy trotted trough Ponyville's streets carefully avoiding to step in the mud puddles. When she arrived at the library she was greeted by a very tired Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn's eyelids were heavy and her mane was in a state of despair.
"Please, princess Fluttershy! You must help me! Mayor Luna has invaded my home and her behaviour is truly outrageous! She stays up all night and refuses to sleep! And she has taken Spike's bed! And she says that she won't leave our place until princess Celestia changes her opinion about some test! This is bad, bad bad bad!!!!"
"Um... maybe if I could talk to her?"
"Go ahead Fluttershy... But she is as stubborn as a mule!"
A grey, old mule looked at her with shock and anger in his face.
"No offense!" Twilight said.
"Hold it! Actually I find that very offensive. We mules are not stubborn. I am very hurt and offended by your behaviour, miss Sparkle," the mule said and walked away. "I expect an apology when I return. Now I will go home and cry."

Fluttershy found the lunar princess sleeping in Spike's bed. It was too small for her and she looked a bit ridiculous lying there with a sleep mask covering her eyes, earplugs and Miss Smarty-pants as her pillow.
"Um... excuse me..." Fluttershy said.
No reaction at all came from Luna. Fluttershy didn't know what to do, she couldn't decide if she should try to wake her up or if it was best for everypony to let the princess sleep.
"Um... are you asleep, princess?"
No reaction.
"Oh... but if you were asleep, then you couldn't tell me, off course. But if you are awake, then please tell me that you are not asleep... and then I would be happy to speak with you... if that's okay with you, off course, and you're not busy doing something else."
The alicorn princess moved her head a little.
"Fluttershy?" she asked.
"Um... yes?"
Luna lifted a corner of her sleep mask and looked at the yellow pegasus with a tired, watery eye.
"Why have you come to see me when I am clearly asleep?"
"To tell you that I am sorry about what happened yesterday... I really wanted to meet you and welcome you to Ponyville, but I was trapped inside a cupboard the whole day. I couldn't get out and I was scared, but not of you, off course."
"Thank you, dear Fluttershy,"
"And now... Twilight was wondering... I mean, I was wondering if you... would... leave Spike's bed?"
"Leave?" the princess asked in a confused voice.
Fluttershy suddenly feared that princess Luna might feel a bit hurt if she was asked to leave. She panicked.
"A...and come and live with me at my place for a day or two? I'd be happy to have you staying at the Town Hall. We could stay up all night, drink tea and talk about animals," Fluttershy could hear herself say. "Or discuss politics, maybe?"

At the same time, but in another part of Ponyville, Rarity was finally done cleaning up the mud in her boutique. She had been scrubbing the floorboards all night and washed the walls with soap and water. But the worst thing had been the clothes. The thought almost made her cry. All of her clothes had been smeared with mud by the fighting ponies. Her whole day was destroyed and she could not open her boutique before she had washed and ironed everything. Sweetie Belle had volunteered to help her, but she had respectfully declined her sister's offer. Now, she could finally rest.
The exhausted unicorn crashed into a slumber on a pile of cloth in a corner, her bed had been crushed under the weight of five or six wrestling ponies. She could not even look at the devastation in her bedroom.
Soon after she had shut her eyes a strange shape emerged from the cupboard. It was covered in dried up mud, yellow paint and had the remnants of a pink wig on its head. Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had, soon after Fluttershy's escape, crawled into the cupboard to hide herself from Rarity. She knew that Rarity would not be pleased with her decision to initiate the mud fight, although her intention at the time was purely good. Someday Rarity would realize that Rainbow had done her best to protect her friend from an even greater problem, but this was not the day. Silently she sneaked past the sleeping unicorn and disappeared trough a back door. The only traces of her presence were small bits of dry mud that had fallen of her hooves.

6. A predicament at the spa

Fluttershy was very happy that princess Luna had accepted her invitation, but at the same time she was also a bit worried. What if the princess wouldn't like it at her place? What if Luna, who was used to live at the magnificent Canterlot Castle, would find her humble Town Hall simple and boring? And what if she would find Fluttershy herself simple and boring? The yellow pegasus stopped right in the street, overcome with nervousness. She must not let that happen! She must not make princess Luna disappointed! Surely the Town Hall was way better than Spike's bed, but still...
Fluttershy decided to make sure everything was perfect. She must immediately run to Rarity and ask her to help her decorate the place and then run back and instruct miss Hooves to clean the building! And then she must get some nice apples from Applejack! But what if Luna didn't like apples? Fluttershy trembled with panic. She felt so perplexed! What would Rarity have done?
Fluttershy decided to go to the spa and rest while gathering her thoughts.

The new mayor of Ponyville soon enjoyed the warm, comforting atmosphere of the Ponyville spa. She felt safe, happy and not nearly as nervous as before. This was a great idea, she believed. Just to relax and come up with a another great idea that would surely save the day. Fluttershy had her pink mane wrapped in a towel and she was dressed in a white bathrobe. The spa ponies, Aloe and Lotus, had filed her hooves and put slices of cucumber on her eyelids. It felt so good. Nothing could take away the peaceful, comforting atmosphere in the place...
She then heard a familiar voice. "No! Cut it out! I'll do it myself!"
"Rainbow Dash?"
"Right here!" Rainbow answered.
When Flutttershy removed one of the slices of cucumber from her eye, she could see her friend submerged in a big, wooden bathtub. Only her eyes and her rainbow coloured mane was visible over a mountain of white foam. The two spa ponies were furiously scrubbing mud and yellow paint from her coat and wings.
"Um... what are you doing?"
"I'm deflutterizing myself."
"Oh, my..."

Meanwhile Spike was at home, cooking some gemstones while thinking about Rarity. He was a bit tired since he had found it difficult to sleep in Twilight's bed. The bed itself was great, but the restless unicorn had kept him awake with her constant rolling and turning, pacing around in circles and moving. Princess Luna had offered to give him pleasant dreams about gemstones and having a moustache, but he had declined the offer out of fear that she would find his dreams already inhabited by Rarity. That would have been too embarrassing for the young dragon.
Now Luna was in his bed, sleeping like a kitten. The princess was fully nocturnal, so he tried to be as quiet as possible not to wake her with his cooking. She had thrown all her stuff in a pile on the floor. It looked a bit messy and there was still some dried mud on her shoes, gorget and crown. Spike had thought about cleaning them, but he decided it was best not to touch any of her regalia. He didn't want to risk sneezing on her crown and sending it directly to princess Celestia.

Back at the spa, Fluttershy had almost forgot about princess Luna's impending arrival. Rainbow Dash, who for various reasos didn't like being at the spa, had went home long ago. But Fluttershy could not resist staying a little longer... and then a little longer after that. Suddenly she saw a another familiar face appearing... Mare, the former mayor! Fluttershy leapt from the massage table and hid behind a potted plant. She must not be seen! It would be too embarrassing! What if the former mayor was angry at her for taking her job, her home and her title? Mayor Mare had been the mayor of Ponyville for so long that "Mayor" had become a part of her name. What if she thought that Fluttershy had done it on purpose?
She realized that Mare must have spotted her long ago.
"Fluttershy," she said in a neutral voice. "So you're the one hiding in the shadows..."
"I didn't do it on purpose!" she mumbled while backing away, looking into the floor.
"What? What didn't you do on purpose...?"
"Nothing wrong... nothing that is wrong in... um... according to Equestrian law..."
"Mayor Fluttershy! Do not take me for a fool! Why are you cowering like a suspect? If you do something to my beloved town..."
"Th... there is no... oh... evidence pointing to me!" Fluttershy stuttered and tried to run away, stumbling on her bathrobe before fleeing from the scene in a most suspicious of ways. She had totally lost control.

When she arrived at the Town Hall, Fluttershy realized that she was still dressed in bathrobe and towel. Now the other ponies must think that she was some kind of spa thief! Oh, she must go back and return the stuff... Or maybe send miss Hooves? She decided to go and get her maid.
"Miss Hooves! Where are you?"
"Here!"
The voice came from above. When Fluttershy looked up and saw the grey pegasus dangling from the old crystal chandelier in the hall.
"Um... Miss Hooves? What are you doing?"
"I'm cleaning it from cobwebs!"
"Good... Would you like to go to the spa and return the towel and bathrobe that I... um... accidently stole?"
"Yes."
"Um... would you like to do it now?"
"Yes, mayor! I will do it immediately."
And miss Hooves leapt from the chandelier and took the bathrobe and the towel from Fluttershy in a move performed with the elegance of a hawk striking its prey. She then flew trough the door in a speed worthy of Rainbow Dash. The clumsy pegasus was far quicker and nimbler than Fluttershy could ever have expected.

7. The fireflies

Mare, formerly known as "Mayor Mare" sipped on her tea to make a pause mid sentence. The ponies at her table watched her in silent antecipation.
"...and that's why I suspect that the new mayor is up to something terrible," she said.
"But what could that be?" an aquamarine unicorn asked.
"That, my dear Lyra, is something we can only speculate about. It could be a dire crime... like arson, robbery, counterfeiting, conspiracy..."
"Or maybe corruption?" a pony with two-coloured mane suggested.
Mare gave her a chilly look. The pony smiled awkwardly and looked away.
"Let's not guess blindly..." the former mayor said. "Does anypony have any serious theories?"
"Oh! I saw Rarity throw away top secret content into the river!" said Lyra.
"That's it! It must be the lost evidence of Fluttershy's crimes! She said that no evidence was pointing to her... Maybe because she had ordered her political toadies to destroy it?" Mare exclaimed and nearly spilled her tea over the table. "Gather your families! We must go and search the riverbanks!"

Meanwhile, a nervous Fluttershy and a tired Rarity were cleaning the Town Hall. It was already late in the afternoon and miss Hooves had not yet returned from the spa. What took her so long? When everything was absolutely spotless Fluttershy sat down in a sofa and let Rarity brush her mane. She could almost fall asleep.
Suddenly they heard a knock on the door.
"Princess Luna!" Fluttershy yelled and leapt from the sofa.
She ran to the door and opened it.
"Welcome to my humble... um... Town Hall, princess," she said and kneeled.
"Thank you, dear Fluttershy," a voice said.
She looked up and saw princess Luna, Twilight and Spike. They carried a big bouquet of flowers as a gift to her. Flutterhy showed them to the mayor's elegant dining room. Rarity had set the table with the most beautiful plates and silverware she could find and the only thing missing was Miss Hooves who still was nowhere to be found, probably aimlessly wandering around in Ponyville. Now the sun was setting behind the pine trees in the west and the shadows were getting longer. Soon the day would change to into dusk.
"May I have another cup of coffee? I'm a bit tired" Twilight asked.
"Off course!" Rarity said and filled her cup with the blackest of coffee.
"Thank you Rar... *yawn*... ity."
"This night will be sooo beautiful! We must truly stay awake!" Luna said. "The stars will be visible tonight!"
"With pleasure," Fluttershy assured and took a small bite of her sandwich.
"But I would like to go to bed ea..." Spike began to say before Twilight interrupted him with a kick to the shin.
"We'll be very delighted to en...*yawn* the night..." the unicorn said, rubbing her eyes.
After a while the sun had gone down and it was nearly dark outside. They could se small dots of light flickering on the riverbanks just outside Ponyville. It reminded Fluttershy of a swarm of fireflies.

The lights didn't come from a swarm of fireflies, but from a swarm of ponies. The citizens of Ponyville had lit torches and were searching the riverbanks for evidence against Fluttershy and her friends. Mare carefully climbed on the river stones while looking into the water, her torch flickering in the chilly breeze. Suddenly she heard a voice.
"Mayor Mare! Mayor Mare! We have found something!"
She jumped into the water and ran towards the voice.
"What? What have you found?!" she exclaimed, almost jumping up and down with anticipation.
A proud Bon Bon held a soggy piece of cardboard in her snout.
"Is that all?"
"Yes! Absolutely binding proof!" Lyra said and patted Bon Bon on the shoulder.
"Binding proof about WHAT?"
"Um... binding proof that there was a cardboard box...?"
"I already knew that! Now get back to your search! We must find documents, a weapon or anything that can be used as evidence in a legal court..."
A loud scream was heard further downstream. They all ran to the spot from were they had heard the scream, and when they arrived they saw an absolutely terrified pony crying and shaking with fear. It was Lily Valley and she pointed at a strange object in the sand.
"Ske.... sk... ske... skel.. skel..." she stuttered, almost too afraid to watch.
The ponies moved closer to the object and they saw that it was the skull of a dead badger. It must have washed up on the shore.
"Aha!" said Mare and poked the skull with a stick. "This must be the evidence that we are looking for! If we take the piece of cardboard and this skull and combine them... it would almost count as proof of murder!"
"Murder?!" all the ponies shouted in fear.
"Yes. An unspeakable act that might have been committed by none other than that bad, bad pony Fluttershy! She pretends to take care of animals... WHEN INSTEAD SHE MURDERS THEM!"
And all the ponies shivered.
"We must act quickly! This evil must be stopped!"
"We must drive her from the town before she does more horrific things!"
"Arm yourselves! Destroy the mad beast!"
"Reinstate Mayor Mare!" Mare shouted, covering her mouth with a hoof.

The same time, over at the Town Hall, Twilight had fallen asleep and was now snoring on the sofa. Princess Luna had used her magic powers to quietly remove the sleeping unicorn from the table and to put her in a place where she was less in the way of things. Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy had just finished their meal while Luna took a bite from her apple. (She did in fact enjoy apples very much)
"Shall we go and look at the stars?" Luna asked.
"With all respect, princess, I must go home and rest," Rarity said.
"Off course, dear Rarity. You way leave, so you don't fall asleep on the table like poor Twilight Sparkle."
And Rarity left the Town Hall. On her way home trough the starlit night she noticed that the fireflies were gone.

8. Torches and pitchforks

A crowd of ponies had assembled outside the house of Ponyville's prosecutor, a little blue pony with magenta eyes and a purple palm tree as her cutie mark. Inside the building was also the former mayor and some of her posse. They had just placed their "evidence" on the prosecutor's desk and she studied the badger's skull with a disgusted frown. She prodded it with her pencil.
"This is like totally garbage," she said.
"Evidence," Mare corrected.
"No. This whole case... I will not accuse Fluttershy of murder based on this crud."
"But I think the evidence is very strong..."
"Then you're like totally dumb. Now go away."
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
"The only possible crime here is littering. Rarity threw litter in the river which is like totally forbidden. That's it."
"She littered the river?! What a crook!" Mare shouted and grabbed the wet piece of cardboard. "We must go and teach her a lesson!"
"Destroy this mad beast!"
"Chase her from the town!"
"We must arm ourselves!"
"Reinstate mayor Mare!"

Spike watched the stars from the balcony of the Town Hall together with Luna and Fluttershy . He started to feel a little cold and a little tired. The young dragon excused himself and went down the stairs, preparing to go home and get some much needed sleep. Twilight was still snoring on the sofa and he didn't feel the need to wake her up. Fluttershy wouldn't mind letting the tired unicorn sleep over at her place, he thought.
When he walked trough the empty streets of Ponyville Spike saw a towel and a bathrobe hanging from the sign of a bakery which was famous for its muffins.
"Strange stuff!" he said to himself.

Meanwhile Rarity had just brushed her teeth and was preparing herself to go to sleep. She had filled her mane with hair rollers and put on a red dressing gown. The unicorn made sure that Opalescence had plenty of food and water for the night and then she crawled into her bed. Rarity decided to read for a while in her book before turning off the light and falling asleep. The book was about a happy, friendly pony that lived in a house with no ghosts at all. Fluttershy had recommended it, but Rarity had found it a bit disappointing. There was no tension, no drama and no danger.
"What a boring book," she said out loud and put it away on the bed table.
Then she heard some commotion from outside her window. Ponies were shouting and she could see the glow of torches. "Litterer! Litterer!" they yelled.
Rarity got up and trotted to the door, annoyed by the disturbance of her sleep. When she opened she saw a big mob of ponies standing at her doorstep. They were armed with pitchforks and torches.
"What is going on?!" she demanded.
A tomato hit her right in the face.
"No! What are you doing?! How dare you!" she cried when the mob pelted her with rotten vegetables.
"This is for throwing litter in the river!" somepony shouted at her.
"What?! That's not a crime!"
"But it's like totally is," the prosecutor said and shoved the old "Book of Pony Jurisdiction and Law" in her face. "Read here at page 453 part 4B..."
"And I like throwing things!" Lyra said, taking the last bite of an apple.
"Rarity!" a voice shouted.
It was Spike who came running and threw himself in front of the angry mob.
"I will defend you with my life!"
"Spike?"
"At your ser..."
He then got hit in the eye by an apple core. Spike was so shocked by the sudden attack that he let out a green puff of dragon fire from his mouth that engulfed Lyra right where she stood. When the flame went out, no trace of the aquamarine unicorn was seen!
"AAAHH!!" Spike cried with bottomless terror in his eyes. "She is gone! I destroyed her! NOOOOO! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! What have I done?!"

At the same time princess Celestia was in her dining room at Canterlot Castle, having a midnight snack. She couldn't sleep and she still was a bit upset over her younger sister's ridiculous antics. Throwing mud and threatening to run way! That Luna sure had some nerve... But at the same time she cared deeply for her sister. Maybe she was to hard on her? Celestia decided to write her a letter next night, when Luna had cooled off a little. Now she would have a slice of cake from the delicious strawberry cake that her servants had placed on the table in front of her. It was Celestia's favourite dish and she had promised herself to save it for brekfeast, but this cake was too good not to taste... just a little slice couldn't hurt she thought.
She grabbed the royal silverware cake spade and slowly moved it just above the cake. Then suddenly there was a puff of smoke and she was splattered with her own cake!
"What the...?!" Celestia cried, with cake in her eyes and all over her face and coat.
When she had cleared her view the princess saw there was a pony lying in her food! The aquamarine unicorn looked as shocked and surprised as she probably did herself underneath the layer of cream, strawberries and squashed parts of cake bottom.

Princess Luna and Fluttershy were now alone at the balcony of the Town Hall. The yellow pegasus was very happy that the princess seemed to enjoy her company and that she had managed to stay awake this long. Luna wasn't interested in animals at all, but she couldn't stop talking about the stars. Fluttershy had a talent for getting along with most ponies and most of them liked her because of her niceness. Sometimes ponies could be a bit annoyed by her, but that did not occur as frequent as one might think.
"Thank you for inviting me to your home, dear mayor Fluttershy," Luna said.
"And thank you for coming. You... um... honor me with your presence, dear princess Luna."
Fluttershy realized that she was beginning to speak like her, maybe because she was getting drowsy. She was indeed very tired and it was long past bedtime, but she didn't want to risk to offend the princess.
"I will drink some more coffee," she said and filled up her cup with coffee from a little coffeepot. "Do you want some more coffee, princess?"
"I am fine, but thank you... Wait! What is that strange noise coming from the street below?"
They looked down from the balcony and saw a lot of running ponies coming from the Mane Square. The ponies screamed and shouted and they seemed very upset over something.
"Citizens of Ponyville!" Luna yelled in her most royal of voices. "What is the matter?"
"Fire! Arson! It's so terrible!"
"The horror! The horror!"
"D... Dra... Dragon! Like totally dragon!"

9. The trial

The next day a jury of ponies were assembled at the Ponyville Courthouse. Spike and Rarity were the defendants in the trial. The unicorn and the dragon looked very sad, constantly peering down into the carpet with shame.
The prosecutor arrived to the court. The light blue pony was late and she had a thick scarf around her neck. She also wore some kind of dress in many bright, horrific colours. Rarity cringed at the sight.
"I accuse the defendants of many crimes!" she said and pointed at them. "Hmm... *cough*... I have a sour throat. Like totally sour."
The old judge looked at her with a displeased smirk.
"I am sure that you have something very interesting to say, my dear Turf," she said. "Perhaps even... relevant in a court of law... Now, shall we continue?"
"Totally."
"What are the crimes?"
"It's like totally littering and making a fire without permission. The fine is 100 bits for the fire and 50 bits for the littering... But I think they should be released with a warning."
"WHAT?!" the former mayor Mare screamed from the back row.
"Silence!" the judge ordered. "I will not tolerate any unnecessary interruptions."
"Yeah, totally a warning. I mean, it's not like they did it on purpose, huh?"
A pony with a very light coat and a two-coloured mane started to cry in the back row, right next to the mayor. She was shaking with tears and her eyes were red and swollen. Lily Valley gave her a hug.
"Lyra is gone," the prosecutor said. "And there is nothing we can do to bring her back. The only thing we can do is to care for the ponies and dragons that are still with us. Spike is not a cold blooded murderer. He is a kind, caring dragon that would never do anything even remotely close to murder..."
"Objection!" the defender shouted.
"What?"
"This trial isn't about murder. It's about criminal negligence because the defendant used... I mean... is accused of using fire in a way that led to the untimely demise of miss Heartstrings."
"Oh, I didn't know."
"You didn't know?! What kind of prosecutor are you?!"
"Cut me some slack!"
"Order! Order! Behave properly or I will hold you in contempt of court, miss Turf!"
"Yeah, totes. I will like totally behave properly, ma'am."
"You will address me as YOUR HONOR!"
"Yeah, totally, your honour!"
"This whole trial is already a confusing mockery... Why is the prosecutor more lenient than the defender?"
"Because they are innocent, your honour?"
"No, probably because you are acting more and more strange, miss Turf.. If you continue to behave in this questionable way I will see no other option than to throw this case out of court. It's becoming a waste of time."
"What about my poor Lyra?!" Bon Bon sobbed from the back row.
"I'm sorry... she is in Pony Heaven now. May Celestia protect her soul. However, I see no further reason to continue this trial. Both the prosecutor and the defender seem to have agreed that the crimes involved are minor and should be punished only with a symbolic fine. This trial is pretty much over, provided that there are no further ways for the prosecution to make this already absurd and tragic event even more preposterous..."
"Awesome!" the prosecutor said.
Then suddenly the doors to the courtroom swung open and a guard pony stormed in!
"Your honour! We have found the prosecutor, miss Turf, bound and gagged in her office! I have sounded the alarm!"
The room soon became filled with the sound of confused mumbling from the ponies.
"Then, who are YOU?" the judge asked in bewilderment.
"I AM RAINBOW DASH!"
For it was Rainbow Dash, dressed in a wig and a fake tail! She threw her disguise on the floor and spread her wings. The guard ponies shut the doors and moved closer to arrest her. There were four of them, but Rainbow was faster! She leapt trough the air, just above the heads of the jury and then dashed around like a fly trapped in a bottle.
"You can't catch me!" she yelled.
"Stop! Stop in the name of Celestia!"
The guards jumped after her, but they were all earth ponies. They were stronger built but not nearly as nimble and fast as Rainbow. Compared to her they were slow and clumsy. Then a door opened and five pegasus guards emerged. They flung themselves at her and Dash got entangled in the big crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. She swung around and then the whole thing came off from its hook. The chandelier and the pegasus fell to the floor in a rain of crystals, brass and parts of broken stucco.
And then all nine guards descended upon her en masse.

After a while the real prosecutor arrived. Turf looked indeed a lot like Rainbow Dash, except for her mane and tail that had an orange colour. The two of them had an eerily resemblance.
"That pony attacked me!" she cried and pointed her hoof at Rainbow. "She like totally ambushed me and tied me up with duct tape!"
"Then you may press charges later, miss Turf," the judge said. "But for now the court is adjourned. I will postpone the trial to next Tuesday."

And that night three cells were occupied at the Ponyville Lockup. Spike, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were all held in custody until the next trial. They each and one had their own cell but they could look at each other trough the prison bars. Spike was the saddest of them all, he nearly ever looked up. It was evident that the dragon felt guilty, although what had happened wasn't his fault.
"Spike!" Rarity said in her softest voice. "Don't be sad, Spike. It will all get better. We will be released and this whole thing will soon be over. Nopony thinks that you are to blame."
"But... the prosecutor? And the jury... and the judge?"
"Nopony that matters..." said Rarity. "I think that you are a brave dragon and I know that you were only trying to protect me. That I will never forget. Not in a million years, Spike. And Rainbow wouldn't had done what she did if she didn't think you were innocent. That's two ponies who's opinions matter."
And Spike smiled a little. He felt like a big and heavy stone had fallen from his chest.

10. The jailbreak

Rainbow Dash was lying on the iron bench that was suspended from the wall of the Ponyville Lockup. She hadn't said a single word more than four hours. The pegasus was thinking, and her thoughts were wandering far and wide. Was it a god idea to ambush the prosecutor and try to derail the trial against Spike and Rarity? She did not know. Was it right to do so? She did not know the answer to that question either. But she knew one thing. She did it out of loyalty. Spike and Rarity were her friends and she desperately wanted them to save them from the incompetent judicial system of Ponyville and that was what mattered most to her.
It was now dark outside and the moon cast it's pale light on the walls of her cell. Suddenly she heard a single word that coming from the other side of the prison window. It was a word that filled her with hope. It was "Um..."
Rainbow turned around and saw Fluttershy hovering just outside her cell. She tied a metal chain around the bars and then disappeared. With a sound of creaking metal the bars gave way and then the whole wall crumbled! Rainbow leapt trough the hole and escaped into the night. She was free!
"Follow me!" Fluttershy said, jumping up and down with anticipation. "We have planned your escape! Rarity and Spike are breaking out too! Big Mac and princess Luna are tearing down the wall of their cells and soon you will all be free! Oh, this is so exiting! Twilight has learnt a spell that will make you invisible! Oh, this is so awesome! But now we must hurry!"
"But... but how did you tear down the wall, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked. "I don't want to call you weak and helpless, but you are not exactly the strongest pony around..."
"Simple!" Fluttershy said with a big smile. "I got so many friends that wanted to help. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Big Mac, Mrs Cake, Mr Cake, Miss Hooves and princess Luna..."
Suddenly they heard voices.
"Guards! Guards! They're escaping!"
Fluttershy and all her friends fled into the night.

After the guard ponies had investigated the collapsed wall and put up a sign, a pair of shadows emerged from the dark. It was Mare, Turf and Bon Bon that had conspired to plot their revenge. The three ponies had made a pact to overthrow mayor Fluttershy, punish Rainbow Dash and maybe assassinate Spike (Bon Bon didn't really want to assassinate him, she was just a bit upset and although she said that she wanted to assassinate him she knew that she could never do such a thing. She just said it to get to be part of the pact)
"How dare they?! We must act! I bet Fluttershy was somehow involved in this horrendous act of treason," Mare said.
"Yeah, like totally involved. And Rainbow Dash, she is like the new Nightmare Moon," said Turf.
Suddenly the ponies heard a voice coming from out of nowhere!
"Ooooh... I am a ghoooost!" it said.
"A... a.. ghost?"
"Yes a ghooost! I am the ghost of... the ghost pony!"
"Gh... ghost pony?!"
"Yes! An I want to tell you that the prisoners have escaped... to Manehattan!"
"To Manehattan? That's like totally awesome! Thank you, ghost pony!" Turf said and rubbed her hooves. "The train leaves in about one hour, so we can totally call the guards and stuff!"
And they ran off to alert the guard ponies at Ponyville's train station. When they had left, a familiar shape emerged out of thin air. It was Twilight, who had used her invisibility spell to fool them.

Lyra Heartstrings woke up. She had slept trough most of her train ride from Canterlot. The aquamarine unicorn had been forced to spend a whole day cleaning the royal kitchens as a punishment for destroying princess Celestia's cake. Now she could finally get back to Ponyville and the first thing she would do was to tell Bon Bon all about her strange adventure.
"Next stop Ponyville! The train will arrive in about five minutes," the train conductor said.
When the train reached the station Lyra was surprised to see that the whole place was filled with guard ponies. They were everywhere. In the station building, on the platform and along the railway tracks to secure the perimeter. In the middle of this was Bon Bon, Mare and Turf. Lyra waved to them.
"Hello! What's up?"
"Lyra?! You're alive!" yelled Bon Bon and ran to her, crying with happiness. "You're alive!"
She threw herself around the unicorn's neck and gave her a hug. Bon Bon was so happy that she didn't even notice that Mare and Turf quietly sneaked away in the dark.

The next morning Fluttershy woke up in her bed. She rubbed her eyes and reached tor the newspaper that miss Hooves had provide for her. She red:

"EXTRA! LYRA HERATSTRINGS IS ALIVE! All charges dropped against Spike the Dragon. Spike, who together with two ponies escaped from the Ponyville Lockup, is no longer a suspect of criminal activity. The dragon is believed to be in Manehattan along with Rarity the littering Unicorn and the nefarious Rainbow Dash. If encountered they are my no means dangerous, but please tell them to return to Ponyville as soon as possible. The unicorn has been pardoned by the High Court of Canterlot, provided that she never throws litter into the river again. The pegasus Rainbow Dash is still wanted for her actions at the Ponyville Courthouse, but all charges are to be dropped if she agrees to give a public apology to Turf the Prosecutor for her actions against her."

A little further down the front page she could also read:

"Mare, former mayor of Ponyville, was arrested earlier by the local police. She is being questioned about her involvement in the construction of the Ponyville Lockup two years ago. The wall, which last night collapsed due to shoddy engineering, was discovered to contain serious weaknesses. Its bricks were held in place only by paint. The former mayor, who had ordered the construction of the Lockup is believed to have known about the questionable building practices but failed to take any action to prevent them from being made."

Fluttershy smiled.
"You have to read the paper!" she said.
Rainbow, Spike and Rarity emerged from their sleeping bags. They had spent the night hiding at the Town Hall and were by no means on their way to Manehattan.
Suddenly they heard a knock on the door to the bedroom. It opened and in came Lyra.
"I have a letter to princess Luna," she said and placed a small scroll on Fluttershy's bed table. "Princess Celestia told me that I could leave the Canterlot kitchens a day earlier if I brought this letter to her sister. I haven't red it, off course, but she said it was about some test that princess Luna had passed."
"Yay!" said Fluttershy.

THE END