//------------------------------// // Scurrying Around // Story: Friendship in Politics // by Shockburst //------------------------------// After moving the Blank Mare's luggage from room 312 with the excuse that she was to be moved temporarily to room 208, Twilight quickly galloped back to the Society and dashed through the doors. "Accra! Could you take me to where Lightstring is?" she gasped to the clerk. She was about to get up when Lightstring came out from a hallway and spotted Twilight. "Twilight! Where have you been? We've got some stuff worked out, come on and see!" she exclaimed. Twilight turned and followed Lightstring down the hallway and into a conference room. 3 ponies were sitting around the large table, all with clipboards with their notes in front of them. Twilight suddenly remembered her notes and asked if she could retrieve her luggage. "Oh, no problem! I'll go take care of it. You guys should introduce yourselves," Lightstring said as she walked out. Twilight turned back toward the 3 ponies, who were looking awkwardly around the room. "Um, hi. You may know me already. Twilight Sparkle," she said, extending her hoof out to the nearest pony. She took it and shook it for a moment. "Daisy," she introduced herself. "Hey, I have a friend in Ponyville who's named Daisy," said Twilight. "Oh, you know her? We're cousins in fact," said Daisy. "Awesome," said Twilight. She turned toward the other ponies. The stallion at the end reached across the table and shook her hoof. "Ray Beam, head of the Society's economic department." "Polly Plum," said the last mare, who shook her hoof. Lightstring arrived with Twilight's bags. "Okay everypony? All know each other? Good, because we have a lot of work to do." She sat down at the other head and invited Twilight to sit down next to her. "Okay everypony," she began. "Mr. Beam, I believe you were going to say something before I walked out?" "Yes. I was just about to say that even if we did increase taxes and cut spending, our debt would still be a problem," said Ray Beam in a matter-of-fact tone. "Well, we could always cut spending more and increase taxes more," said Lightstring. "Very true, but if we cut spending even more, I'm afraid we might have to start firing ponies. And increasing taxes would also draw negative fire," replied Ray Beam. "What we need is other source of revenue that can fill up our debt as well," suggested Daisy. "Well, that's true. But where and what can that other source be?" asked Ray Beam. "I think I may know," interjected Plum in a small voice. Everypony turned to look at her. "Um, I believe that the Equestrian Banking Service can give out emergency loans to ponies in need in times of extreme emergency. I mean like dire though. I'm not sure if we count." "Well, if I remember correctly," followed up Twilight. "The Equestrian Banking Service can serve out larger loans more leniently in times of surplus. And I'm pretty sure they'll have a surplus. They always do. Plum may be onto something." "Perfect. Plum, you're a genius!" exclaimed Ray Beam. Polly Plum blushed and looked away. "If we can get some money from the Equestrian Banking Service, we'll have the debt paid off in no time." "Providing, of course, that they don't charge us," added Daisy worriedly. "We'll worry about that later," said Lightstring. "What matters most is what happens now. So we have an extra source of revenue that will allow us to lower taxes with less extreme consequences. What else can we add?" "Well," said Daisy. "What about that Embargo Act? That one where we shut off trade to prevent inflation from affecting other parts of the country?" "True," remarked Lightstring. "I say we get rid of it." "Well, that's all fine and dandy and all," said Ray Beam. "But if we can't just get rid of it now. We can't let inflation creep out from the city and infect the rest of us." "But from what I heard," said Twilight. "The Embargo Act is hurting us more than it is helping the economies outside of here. Besides, trade would help our economy grow. I'm also inclined to believe that there's probably some illicit trade going on right now. What's the point in trying to stop it if it keeps going on?" "So, let's put it to vote. Who wants to see it go?" asked Lightstring. She raised her hoof, along with Twilight and Daisy. Plum raised her hoof shakily a moment later. "Alright, alright, I know when I'm defeated," Ray Beam conceded. "So we get rid of the Embargo Act?" "Yep," replied Lightstring. She made another point on her clipboard. "That's all?" Nopony said anything else. "Well, I guess that's all we really need. Alright everypony, I guess the only thing we need to do now is wait for the stats and we can go really to town from there," said Lightstring. Everypony nodded and left. Twilight packed her unused notes back in her luggage and walked out and in the lobby. She sat down on a bench and took out An Analysis on Pony Economics, hoping that everypony else was doing okay. Hours later, in the late evening, the Council doors finally opened. All the ponies staggered out, tired from the debates. Meriwether was one of the last ones out, talking feverishly to another Blue Party pony. "Listen, I just need your promise that-" "I'm sorry Meriwether," said the pony. "I've already given you my support and my friends', but talking to the Navy group? No way. Those ponies will never be convinced. You made your point and I think a lot of ponies got it, but really, it's all at a standstill for the Blue Party. We just need to hope that the White Party can organize more supporters for your bill." Meriwether nodded sadly. He had just spent a good hour speaking about the upcoming compromise bill and it was drawing a lot of disheartening fire so far from the center and radical sides. Meanwhile, a rather harried and tired White pony pushed her way out to the front of the group and was about to leave when- "Surprise!" cried out a pink pony, stepping out from behind a pillar and throwing out confetti at her. She was wearing a party hat and she blew a kazoo right into the Council pony's face. The pony stepped back, shocked, while the rest of the Council ponies quieted down to see what was going on. "That's not all," cried out Pinkie Pie, and she grabbed a rope and yanked it. From seemingly out of nowhere, a banner unfurled to reveal the words "Happy Duck Celebration: Gold Digger and White Quilt!" The Council pony, White Quilt, opened her mouth in shock while the other ponies started laughing. Meanwhile, Gold Digger pushed his way out to the front as well. He took one look at the banner and groaned from embarrassment. The two shared a look of deep shame and looked away blushing. "Oh, there you are Gold!" said Pinkie Pie. She rushed up and grabbed them both in a tight hug. The two were now being slowly strangled and they struggled to release themselves. "And now, let's party!" cried out Pinkie Pie, and she immediately burst into song. "What bad luck, 'Cause you're a duck! So let's be a band, and here's a helping hand! No need to thank me, and there's no fee!" She took out two folders while she sang and tossed them to Gold Digger and White Quilt, who both caught them in surprise. White Quilt looked inside and saw a sheet of paper on the right side and a packet of official-looking papers on the left. A quick look of them revealed that they were unofficial versions of a job recommendation for her for the Baltimare Clothing Regulation Agency. She took one look at them and snapped the folder shut, hoping that nopony saw her. Gold Digger was looking in his as well and shut it quickly too. They looked around to see all the ponies either leaning onto a pillar for support or rolling on the floor laughing. "Aw, look at how much fun they're having!" remarked Pinkie Pie. However, the two lame-duck representatives left quick as a flash. "Wait, you didn't even open your presents yet!" cried out Pinkie Pie, as the two galloped down West Street. "Oh well," she said. "My work here is done!" Pinkie Pie jumped up, tore the banner off, and quickly jumped out the door and down the street. Meanwhile, the rest of the Council ponies seemed to have calm down. The Blue pony with Meriwether was leaning on him for support and Meriwether looked disdainfully at him. "Oh Celestia. That was funny," the pony said as he stood up and giggled. He looked at Meriwether. "Oh lighten up, Weather," he said as Meriwether walked away and folded his wings again. "What, did Trottingham have nothing like this?" "I'm pretty sure Baltimare had nothing like this, until now. Listen, I need to get home. I'll see you later," Meriwether said as he walked out the door. However, instead of taking flight and rushing off back to the Soaring District, he took a left down Central Street and walked to the Society's headquarters. Meanwhile, a tough-looking Navy pony was walking briskly down East Street. An orange mare with a cowboy hat was walking in the opposite direction, carrying a pile of books on her back. The Navy pony was deep in thought and didn't really take note of her until they crashed into each other. "Oh, sorry sir," she said as she got up. "No problem," said the Council pony gruffly as he stood up again. He began to help the pony pick up her things. "Thank you kindly sir," said Applejack. She grabbed a folder, opened it and checked something inside, and placed it into the Council pony's hands. Surprised, he didn't do anything for a second, which allowed Applejack to place everything on her back again and quickly walk down the street. The Council pony looked up again and down at the folder. He opened it to reveal an identical sheet of paper as the other folders' papers in the right hand side and a packet that was a recommendation for an executive position in the Baltimare Police Department. He looked up again and made sure nopony was watching him before he placed the folder in his bag and began walking again. Meanwhile, a streak of rainbow crossed the sky and dived into Rising District. The pegasus landed right in front of Council pony Grapefruit as she was about to open the door to her house, which was right beside Central District. She jumped up and yelped. "Hi, you Grapefruit?" asked the pegasus aggressively. "Um, well, yes, I am-" she began, but the pegasus cut her off as she slammed a folder in her hooves. "This is for you, gotta dash," said Rainbow Dash and she took off in a streak of color. Grapefruit remained still for a second before she placed the folder at her hooves and opened it, checking its contents, before gasping in surprise. She quickly opened the door to her house, entered, and slammed the door shut. Meanwhile, back in the Society, the survey agents were gathered around in the lobby, sharing data and comparing stats before a call rang out across the lobby. "All right, everypony! I need one pony to gather up all the data and compile it quickly. We need to get this down now!" cried out Bright Seeking, Lightstring standing next to him with her clipboard. "What is it?" added Bright Seeking, now talking to Lightstring. "We have a rudimentary bill worked out," she said, holding up her clipboard. "All we need now are the statistics." "What took you so long?" asked Bright Seeking. "You had all afternoon!" Lightstring raised her eyebrows. "We've been getting everypony's approval in here, and stop worrying. We didn't even have the stats yet and Meriwether isn't even here yet." At these words however, Meriwether trotted through the door and through the crowd to the two ponies. "Hullo, you have the bill, I presume?" he asked. "Unfortunately, no," said Lightstring. "We still need the specific statistics from everypony there." She pointed to the crowd of agents. "I see. When can we get the bill ready then? We only have almost 4 days until the lame-duck period is over," reminded Meriwether. "I'm keeping everypony here until we can get this bill together and up," said Bright Seeking. "We'll probably have it ready for tomorrow." "Excellent, well at least everything's going well here, you will not believe-" began Meriwether, but he was interrupted by a shout near his ears. "Mary! What's up? How's the Council?" asked Skyros, as he grabbed Meriwether's neck and began shaking it vigorously. "Let go!" shouted Meriwether as he took flight suddenly, forcing Skyros' front leg to fall off from his neck. "Ah, come on, Mary. Is it the Council?" Skyros asked he Meriwether landed again. "It somewhat is. I've made the pre-bill speech to the Council and I don't think it's going to go well for it," said Meriwether darkly. "It's taken a moderate amount of fire from the center guys as well." "We can work around that," said Skyros. "My friends are assuring me their support and the rest of their moderates." "And mine," said Meriwether. "But not all of them." "Never mind that," said Bright Seeking. "Skyros, we'll have the bill ready tomorrow. The Blank Mare says she's already prepared an article. You have a show when?" "Well, we have it on Wednesdays," said Skyros. "So we can't do anything about that." "Blast!" cursed Bright Seeking. "We'll just have to work with the Blank Mare then. In the meantime, try to talk to your friends more. We need to guarantee their support." Skyros nodded. "If I may add, it would be nice to have some of our agents in the Council room when they begin deliberating on the bill." "Why?" asked Lightstring. "It's so we can see who supports our bill and who doesn't. That way, we can single those guys out and convince them." "But Meriwether can do that, can't he?" asked Lightstring, turning to Meriwether. He shook his head. "Not really. I sit at the middle, so it would be a little funny to see me craning my neck around to look at everypony. If we have somepony at the balcony, they'd have a clear view of all the Council ponies," he replied. "But who can we send? All these ponies need some rest," said Bright Seeking. "Why not Twilight?" asked Lightstring. "She could do." "Alright, sounds good," said Bright Seeking. A pony rushed up to him with a large clipboard. "Sir, I think I got it all worked out," he said, as he flipped through the papers, showing them statistics. "Excellent. Give that data to Lightstring. Lightstring, can you-" "On it," she said, as she took the clipboard from the pony and rushed down the economic department hallway again. "Twilight," she said as she entered. Twilight looked up from talking to Daisy. "Yes?" she asked. "Could I have a word with you? Ray, take this. It has all the stats on it," Lightstring said as she tossed the clipboard down the table. "Twilight. Listen, we need your help with the Council," said Lightstring as they walked down the hallway. "Sure," said Twilight. "What do you need?" "We need a sort of agent in the Council while they're in session and see which pony supports us and which doesn't. Look for their body language and facial expressions. Just mark their sector and district on a clipboard and we'll find their names." "How will I know their sector and district?" asked Twilight. "Simple. The 10 districts are all split apart. There are 10 tables, 6 ponies each. The pony on the left is Sector 1 of that district. The pony on the right is Sector 6 of that district. Each table has the district name on it," replied Lightstring. "Which left and right?" asked Twilight, as she began marking the information down in her memory. "If you look from Speaker Baner's point of view, that's his left and his right." "Great. Can I take another pony in with me?" asked Twilight. "Sure, but try not to make a big disturbance," said Lightstring. "No worries, I think I'll only need one," said Twilight. "Great, thank you very much Twilight. Anyways, you should head off to the hotel." "What? But I thought I would be working on the bill?" "No worries," said Lightstring. "We'll take it from here. All we need to do is just pick a good number from the list and put it in. It's going to be dull work, trust me. Besides, you need to get rested up for tomorrow. You'll be going in with the rest of the Council. I suggest looking out for Meriwether." "Right, see you later," said Twilight. She levitated her luggage and walked out. Twilight quickly walked back to the Mareriott, where she climbed up the stairs and stopped at the second floor. Should she go first to room 203 and tell Rainbow Dash that the Blank Mare would be sleeping with her or go straight to room 312 and dump her things off? After 5 seconds of thinking past, the door to the second floor opened and Rainbow Dash jumped out. "Twilight!" she said. "Yes?" Rainbow Dash walked up and suddenly punched Twilight in the head. "Hey! What was that for?!" asked Twilight indignantly, rubbing her head. "I'll tell you what's up!" said Rainbow Dash angrily. "Why'd you put me in the same room as her?" She pointed down the hall where the Blank Mare was raising an eyebrow disparagingly. Twilight almost smiled but quickly suppressed the urge. However, her lips must have betrayed her for a second, because Rainbow Dash appeared to get even angrier. "Twilight? Is there something wrong with you sleeping with me or something, because I sure as Celestia's mane got a problem with staying with her!" Rainbow Dash pointed again at the Blank Mare. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. The clerk said that he had to change things up a bit to accommodate with some important matters," replied Twilight. Rainbow Dash didn't buy it however, and neither did the Blank Mare. She just scoffed and walked into the room again. "Rainbow, I'm sure that you can survive a couple of nights staying in the same room as her. Besides, what's the big deal? You girls don't hate each other already or something, right?" asked Twilight. "No, but she's one big pain to deal with Twilight! I'm not sleeping in the same room with some pony who thinks all ponies are the same!" "You know, that's not what I believe in," explained the Blank Mare as she stuck her head out of the room. "I'm just simply saying that no ponies should be considered better than the rest." "So what? That's just a better way of saying it, you Socialist!" said Rainbow Dash. "Girls!" said Twilight, shocked at the fact that Rainbow knew about Socialism. Rainbow Dash was incensed. The Blank Mare was looking at her disdainfully. Could this plan work? Already these ponies probably couldn't stand being in the same building as each other, much less a room. They hated their very ideals, or at least Rainbow Dash did. Maybe somepony else could do. Maybe, Twilight thought, she herself should do it. Twilight was more capable and collected. She could control her temper, unlike Rainbow Dash. But Twilight knew that even though she might take a more practical path on things and she wasn't really capable of hurting the Blank Mare in a hoof-fight, Rainbow Dash was clearly a pony who could bring a rather isolated pony like the Blank Mare back into pony society. Besides, they already have a connection, however acrid it may be, and Twilight knew it may pay off more than Applejack's Southern hospitality and Pinkie Pie's sheer randomness. "Twilight! Are you keeping me in the same room as her or not?" asked Rainbow Dash, which brought Twilight back to Equestria again. "Well... Yes, but-" began Twilight, but it was too late. Rainbow Dash turned around and pushed past the Blank Mare in the room. Twilight was afraid that she might carry her luggage out, but Rainbow didn't come out again. "She's just sitting on the bed, don't worry," assured the Blank Mare. "You don't mind if she stays with you, do you?" asked Twilight anxiously. "Not unless she decides to sneak up on me tonight with a knife," said the Blank Mare. "Don't worry, I'm staying here. I'm pretty much under your bill here, which is the Society's, so I'll do whatever you say." "Oh don't say that," said Twilight. "They invited you here too, right?" "Yeah, but they didn't offer to pay me," replied the Blank Mare. "I'll see you later Twilight, it's rather late." "Okay, see you tomorrow then," said Twilight. The Blank Mare nodded and the door closed. Twilight sighed and picked up her luggage on the floor of the landing and walked up to room 312. Inside, Pinkie Pie was laughing on her bed while Applejack was smiling as well. "What's up with you girls?" asked Twilight, as she placed down her luggage at foot of the Blank Mare's old bed. "Oh, she was just telling me what she did with those duck Council ponies," said Applejack. "Oh, that reminds me, I didn't ask you how it went. So how did it go?" asked Twilight excitedly. "We got the folders out. Ah' talked to Rainbow as well and she said she got her folders out as well," replied Applejack. "Great! So all we have to do is just wait," said Twilight and she sprung into bed. She was just about to get in before she realized that she forgot to tell them about her Council duty tomorrow. "Oh, by the way, Applejack," she said as she got up again. Applejack was about to climb in bed as well. "Yeah, what's up Twilight?" Applejack asked. "I'm going up to the Council tomorrow when Meriwether presents the bill," explained Twilight. "Would you like to come? We have a job there as well." "Really? What is it?" asked Applejack. "Well, we basically have to watch everypony and see who supports the bill and who doesn't by watching their movements and facial expression. Kind of like an interrogation, except we're not asking the questions." "Gosh. You'd like me to come?" asked Applejack. "Well, yes. It'd be nice to have somepony else there who could work with me," replied Twilight. "Sounds good. Count me in," said Applejack. "Great," said Twilight. "Alright girls, I guess we better turn in. We have a big day tomorrow. Well, not you Pinkie Pie, but still-" But Pinkie Pie was snoring away, which contrasted heavily with how much energy she had 5 minutes ago. Of course, this must happen at a daily basis, Twilight reminded herself. She smiled and turned off the light. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash finished brushing her teeth and walked out. The Blank Mare was sitting on the bed on the side closest to the window and was reading something. "Hey, Blankie! That side's mine," she said as she jumped on the bed, knocking the Blank Mare off. She got up indignantly but did not say anything. The Blank Mare moved to the other side, sat down, set the papers on the pillow, and began to read again. "What're you reading, Blankie?" asked Rainbow Dash as she reached for her light. "Well, I-" began the Blank Mare but at that moment the light turned off. "Rainbow!" said the Blank Mare frustratingly while Rainbow Dash started laughing. "Fine, I suppose it is late." She looked at the clock, which read close to 11 in the night. "By the way, could you not call me 'Blankie?' It's a terrible nickname," said the Blank Mare. "Sure, Blanker!" replied Rainbow Dash in a sarcastic tone. "That was even worse," replied the Blank Mare. She pulled off the covers and got in. Both immediately pulled to the very opposite ends of the bed, facing away from each other. Some time passed before Rainbow Dash made a request. "Hey, tell me one thing though." The Blank Mare rolled her eyes but responded. "What?" "Why do you call yourself the Blank Mare?" Rainbow Dash asked. The Blank Mare turned to Rainbow Dash's side. "Why do you ask?" Rainbow Dash turned to face the Blank Mare. "I dunno. Just curious." The Blank Mare raised her right eyebrow. "Well, I don't know. It's a name. It's meant to symbolize something, I guess. Why do they call you Rainbow Dash?" "Like I said, I'm probably the fastest flyer in Equestria," responded Rainbow Dash. She was about to get up again before the Blank Mare forced her down with a hoof. "Let's not have that here," she said. "I've already seen what you're capable of. Anyways, it's a name. It's supposed to symbolize something. You, probably your parents hoped that you would eventually turn out fast or something, coupled with the fact that your hair is rainbow-colored, which I'm still not sure is genetically possible. Me, I just don't like pony society that much. So I've created an empty persona, per say, so ponies can associate with the name, but only so they can identify me. I would like to stay rather far away from them." "Well, yeah, you probably do hate society," responded Rainbow Dash. "But why this? How is it possible to think that all ponies are equal? I mean, we're all different. I mean, I fly and do amazing tricks and you, um, you can grow things." The Blank Mare rolled her eyes again. "I mean, that's just our physical system. We have different personalities. You're more quiet and I'm more loud. We have different interests and different likes, and well, different everything pretty much. Ponies can be free sure, but they can't be equal. I mean, I'm not saying that ponies should discriminate against others and stuff like that, but ponies aren't all equal. It's just that some ponies are more cut out for different stuff than others. Like your writing. I'll admit, I can't bear with that boring stuff, but you can. And me. Obviously you can't fly, but even those that can are still not capable of matching up with me. It's just that some ponies are better at some things and others aren't. And sometimes we may act like we're the best. I mean, I sometimes may act a teensy bit proud, but the fact is is that it's normal. Sure you may feel offended when other ponies start bragging, but you can't really just fix all that. You can't make it better because ponies just can't be equal. And becoming some sort of nun is overreacting a bit if you ask me. Sure some ponies can be really mean, but not all of them. If you're judging the entire society out of a few ponies, well, that's just wrong. Because 5 or so ponies don't make up millions." The Blank Mare just looked at Rainbow Dash while she talked. Rainbow Dash was making sense. Maybe she herself was being ridiculous, with this whole thing. And her name and attitude. Did that mean she was acting like she was better, that she was above all this mess? But she wasn't, and yet, she sure acted like she was. The Blank Mare felt terrible. All those years thinking that ponies were all horrible and somehow combining a social life with antisocial beliefs; it all seemed rather impossibly paradoxical now. "It's almost 11:30," said Rainbow Dash and she yawned. The Blank Mare looked up and realized she was right. "Well, night, Blank," said Rainbow Dash and she turned over and immediately began snoring. The Blank Mare turned over on her back but didn't fall asleep. She was still thinking. All those years of just shunning away others and creating this name to feel better. It all felt wasted. At the time, she justified creating the name for secrecy. But the Blank Mare now realized that it was more than that. It was because she felt better than society. And wasn't that against what she believed? She thought that everypony was equal, but it turned out that, well, she believed that she was better than them in a way. The hypocrisy of it just made her sick. But there was still time. She remembered Celestia talking to her. Her old, childish wish, to want to make her name known everywhere, it was still possible and the Blank Mare even accomplished that goal somewhat. But Celestia was right. She was building a reputation that she didn't really want. And Rainbow made her realize something even more. Her reputation was built on equality, but not only was it impossible, it was just plain hypocritical. Here she was, believing that she was above the mess of names and taunts and insults that was just part of society, but she did it to others multiple times. The ponies she shouted down in the lobby of the Spring and Gait. The ponies she wrote about in her articles. And now, Rainbow Dash. She remembered laughing at her while she was checking her reflection off from the chandeliers. Maybe now was the time to give up this ridiculous thing, and start actually interacting with others. But could her reputation as the Blank Mare survive if she rebuilt it? Could she be regarded as the same pony as before, the pony who brought down dozens of corrupt officials for the common good, the crusader of morality? Well, there was only one way to find out. And that would start now. "Hey, Rainbow, wake up!" she whispered. "Hm?" grunted Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, you awake?" "Yeah, geez, what's the matter Blank?" she asked sleepily. "You want to know my real name?" asked the Blank Mare. Rainbow Dash sat up, interested. "What?" she asked, now completely awake. The Blank Mare sat up and drew herself up to the maximum height possible for her sitting position. Rainbow noticed that there was a gleam in her eyes that wasn't present before. "Red Curl. My name is Red Curl."