//------------------------------// // Final Push // Story: Friendship in Politics // by Shockburst //------------------------------// It was the very next day after the disastrous meeting in the Council. Inside the Mareriott, room 203, Rainbow Dash awoke to find the Blank Mare already up and getting ready for the day. "Hey Red. I didn't see you get back," said Rainbow, as she stretched and yawned. She flapped her wings a couple of times while the Blank Mare straightened out her mane. "Oh, no. I came back at around 12, while you were sleeping," replied the Blank Mare. Rainbow Dash took a look at the clock, which was close to hitting 6 in the morning. "Why the rush?" she added sleepily while the Blank Mare grabbed a pile of papers from a nightstand. "Well, I got to head to the Society of course. I still have my article to finish. By the way, did you hear the news?" the Blank Mare asked Rainbow Dash. "No. You mean the law, right?" asked Rainbow Dash. "The bill," corrected the Blank Mare. "And yeah, it wasn't passed." Rainbow Dash yawned while the Blank Mare looked at her chidingly in the middle of flipping through her papers. Rainbow Dash opened one eye to look at her. "What?" she asked. The Blank Mare smiled. "Nothing, I got to head to the Society now. Have fun," she said as she grabbed a pen in her teeth and began walking out. "Lock the door," she added in a muffled voice as she prepared to leave. The Blank Mare opened the door and headed out to the stairway. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were walking down the stairway and met with her on the second landing. "Oh, hi Blan-, I mean, Red Curl," said Twilight. Pinkie Pie gave a prolonged gasp and ran right into the Blank Mare. She quickly backed up in surprise. "Your name is Red Curl?!" she asked in a shocked voice. "Oh, yeah, it is," the Blank Mare said with a nervous smile. "Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, this is so amazing. I mean, when I met you I was all confused because-" rambled Pinkie Pie as they all started walking the rest of the way down. Twilight and the Blank Mare smiled as they made their way down. They quickly headed out and turned left, where they walked to the Society's headquarters. "I thought you'd be headed to the Council," said the Blank Mare. "Not right now, we need to talk to Lightstring and just discuss some things," replied Twilight. They all walked through the Society's door, where Meriwether, Skyros, and Lightstring were talking urgently. Skyros noticed the four walking toward them and waved. The four quickly walked up to them. "Glad you could make it," said Lightstring. Twilight nodded while Pinkie Pie immediately started prancing around again. "Are they here yet?" asked Bright Seeking, walking all of them from his office. "Yes, sir," replied Lightstring. "Good, because we need to discuss some things. Come on, all of you in my office," he said, and they walked into his office. "Okay, first, we need to discuss the bill. Obviously, it didn't pass for a reason and we're going to make some changes based on that," said Bright Seeking. "Well," said Skyros, taking out Twilight's notebook and flipping through it with his hoof. "A total of 8 mainstream Blue ponies voted against the bill." Everypony looked toward Meriwether, who started whistling. "If we could have attracted 5 of them, we would've had it," continued Skyros. "But what about the two White Party guys who voted against the bill?" reminded Meriwether. "Psht, that was just a fluke. We can't guarantee everypony's vote," said Skyros. "I could say the same for me," retorted Meriwether. "Still," said Lightstring quickly, before Skyros had time to answer back. "8 ponies from the mainstream party is unacceptable. We need to draw some of them in the fold, or else we can't guarantee the bill being passed." "But how?" asked the Blank Mare. "We can't just call them again and tell them they need to vote. We have 3 days until the lame-duck period is over, right?" "Well, I don't know about you, but 3 days is probably enough to change some of those ponies' minds," said Twilight. "Well, true," said Lightstring. "But the problem is, we just managed to reserve the bill another spot today, and barely. We can't spare the time to talk to these ponies again. And if we reschedule, the bill will probably be put into session in the 113 Council, after the lame-duck period is over." The room as silent except for Pinkie Pie humming. Nopony knew what else to do. "Alright, let's back up for a second," said Bright Seeking. "We need to find a way to draw some of the moderates from the Blue Party to support us. We can either talk to the ponies quickly, revise the bill, or cancel it altogether and wait until the next Council." "I don't think we should wait," said Meriwether. "We can't waste any time on this bill. The expiring date on government policies on the economy ends in just 2 weeks from now." "I quite agree," said Skyros. "Talking to the ponies now won't do anything as well. It probably won't change their minds and we would have just wasted time." "So that means we'll have to revise the bill," concluded Lightstring. "But how?" asked the Blank Mare. "What can we add that would convince the Blue Party ponies to vote for the bill while not alienating the White Party?" Nopony knew. The room remained silent as everypony thought deeply. Suddenly, the answer came to Twilight, and even though it sounded ridiculous, it seemed like their only chance. "What about the Cutie Mark Discovery Tutorship Bill?" she asked. It was like she dropped a bombshell on the table. Meriwether and Skyros rose their eyebrows quizzically, Lightstring grew confused, and Bright Seeking replied with, "What?" "Think about it," said Twilight. "We need to get more Blue Party guys in our fold. The Cutie Mark bill would definitely attract more Blue Party votes." "But what about the White Party? All my friends would vote against the bill in a heartbeat!" replied Skyros. Meriwether nodded. "What we need is to somehow make the bill less liberal and more in the middle," said Twilight. "That way, it would appeal to the White Party." "Twilight may be onto something," said Lightstring. "But how could that work?" "Well, how would the bill provide funding to the lessons?" asked Twilight. "Through increased taxes from the rich," said Skyros. "Then how about this: we have the lessons but we put a price on it. Say, 50 bits or so," said Twilight. Meriwether, Bright Seeking, and the Blank Mare appeared skeptical. "Well, think about this," said Meriwether. "I'm sure that the ponies in the Blue Party mainly support the bill because it takes the money from the rich to pay for education, but the thing is is that once ponies themselves start paying, I'm pretty sure the Blue Party would stop supporting the bill." "But wouldn't they appreciate the fact that the bill is actually being implemented? What you're saying is that the sole reason that the Blue Party made the bill was to take money from the rich for use for the less affluent classes," replied Twilight. "Well, yes, I think they would be glad to see the bill implemented but once the ponies themselves start paying, I don't know whether they'd support it," said Meriwether. "I don't like it," said Bright Seeking. "But I think it's the only thing we'll be able to do. Right now, there's pretty much nothing we can do that will attract more Blue Party voters, other than adding the Cutie Mark Tutorship Bill. Lightstring, can you put it in?" "Sure," said Lightstring. "Come on Twilight, lets meet up with the rest and see what we can do." Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie rushed out with Lightstring to the Economic department. "Alright, Blank-, wait, would you like me to call you Red Curl?" asked Bright Seeking. The Blank Mare shrugged. "Whichever name you'd like," she said. "Alright, Red, do you have the article revised?" asked Bright Seeking. The Blank Mare took out her article and placed it on the table. "Excellent. Accra!" Accra walked in the office. "Take this to the up to the News department and have them send it to the Baltimare Daily when it's done," instructed Bright Seeking. She nodded, levitated the papers, and quickly walked out the office. "Skyros, can you talk to your White Party friends?" asked Bright Seeking. Skyros nodded and quickly left the office to head outside. He turned right and briskly walked down to the Council Building. Inside, he quickly spotted a group of his friends talking and he rushed over to talk to them. One of them noticed him and called out to him. "Skyros! Come on!" he said, waving to him. Skyros trotted over to him and two ponies moved aside so he could join them. "What's the news?" asked one of them seriously. "You're not going to like this I expect, but it's the only thing we can do now," said Skyros. He told them about adding in a revised version of the Cutie Mark Discovery Tutorship Bill. A couple of them had raised eyebrows by the time he finished. Most looked unsure about the addition. "Are you sure about this?" asked one of the ponies. "First, I want to be sure that you'd support this," said Skyros. "Well..." the pony replied. They all looked at each other. Since they were moderate White ponies, they didn't support the bill. "I mean," said another pony. "As long as, you know, it doesn't really hurt the taxpayers." "No, the lessons are optional and they require payment," said Skyros. "I can't really see what's wrong about this. At least it doesn't require taking more money from the rich," said another pony. "You know Skyros, we still have some concerns about the entire Lightstring Bill right now." "I know, but trust me, it's the only direction we can turn," said Skyros desperately. "Right now, we believe that's the case, but I only wish the circumstances were better," said the pony. "I know," said Skyros. "But after a while, they will be." The group was silent for while. Then, one of them cleared his throat. "It's 7. We should talk to the others or something." "Right," said another. "Skyros, you should head back or something, unless you'd like to stay and watch." "No, it's fine, I'll leave," he said and he quickly turned around. He was just about to exit when a hoof on his back stopped him. Skyros turned around a saw a thin, small, brown coated, and rather energetic stallion behind him. "Sneaky Slate!" Skyros exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "To help you," replied Sneaky. "Listen, I know you have influence over the mainstream White Party, but those Right wing gals are going to mess you up." "You have a plan for that?" asked Skyros. Sneaky Slate nodded. "This'll be grand. We can't change their vote, right?" asked Sneaky. "So what we can do, is say that they, oh I don't know, call in sick or something." "You mean, like, force them to abstain, right?" asked Skyros. "Right," said Sneaky. "That way, the supermajority requirement goes down and you can spare more ponies saying 'no.'" "Great, but how do we force them to stay away?" asked Skyros. "Simple. They're a bunch of spoiled aristocrats, right?" asked Sneaky. Skyros nodded. Most of the Right wing mares were snobs who acted like they were the top of the top, which they somewhat were. "So I managed to sneak some spoiled cat food in their air conditioning system. Classic," said Sneaky, smiling with barely contained glee. Skyros however appeared skeptical. "You sure that'll keep them? They're not that bad, right?" he asked. "Well, you see them here?" Sneaky asked cunningly. Skyros looked around. He was right. None of the mares who were unicorns were wearing any peacock hats or had trimmed, elaborate dresses, which was the standard for the Casting District mares. "You're kidding me, right?" asked Skyros, amused. "Dead serious," said Sneaky. "Which reminds me, the first one I got immediately fell unconscious from the smell." He laughed derisively. "You sure that's safe?" asked Skyros. "No worries, I'm sure she came around by now," said Sneaky. "Well, anyways, I gotta go now, before they trace me somehow. Those unicorns may be snobs but they're pretty smart actually. Do I smell like cat food to you?" "Ah, no, I think you're fine," replied Skyros with a smile. "Thanks for your, um, initiative, Sneak." "No problem," Sneaky replied and he was out in a flash of brown. Skyros chuckled before he took a look at the clock. 7:10. 50 more minutes until the Council convened. He decided to head back to the Society. He rushed back out and down to the Society's headquarters again. Inside, Lightstring was just handing Meriwether the bill. "Make sure to hand it to the EMC guys, alright?" she asked him. "No worries. I'll have it done faster than you can say 'tantivy!' Best be off." He quickly exited and trotted down the street. Meriwether entered the Council room and quickly took his seat. His colleague leaned toward him and pointed toward the Casting District table with a puzzled look. None of the ponies had arrived yet. Meriwether just shrugged. "Beats me. Besides, all the better for us. They're all Right White Party and they didn't vote for the bill last time," said Meriwether. "Oh good," the pony replied. He took a look at the sheets of paper Meriwether had. "You already have a new speech?" "Of course," Meriwether replied. "Don't want to repeat the last speech, it was boring anyway." Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie found their spots in the balconies and sat down. Twilight took out her notebook and double-checked her revised notes, which had the districts in order now. Applejack was looking nervously over the crowd of incoming Council ponies while Pinkie Pie was smiling and giggling at random intervals. Just a minute later, Speaker Baner and the Council scribe walked through the double doors. Speaker Baner looked flustered and walked without caution down the aisle to the rostrum. He climbed on his seat while the scribe sat down in front of her table. "Okay, okay. Settle down," said Baner unprofessionally to the crowd of chatting ponies. "Let's get this over with." "Okay, scribe?" Baner instructed the scribe. She nodded. "Okay, 62 meeting of 112 Council, on December 6, After Nightmare Moon 4, commencing at 8 in the morning as usual." The scribe rolled her eyes and began writing down on her sheet. "Okay, first on our agenda," Speaker Baner took a look at the empty spots in Casting District. "Where's the entire set of representatives from the entire Casting District?" Nopony seemed to know. Speaker Baner began to get frustrated. "Never mind that," said Baner. "First, a domestic affairs concern about our counterparts in Stalliongrad," rattled off Speaker Baner. Twilight felt a poke at the back of her head. She turned around to see Skyros and Lightstring smiling behind her. Twilight smiled as well. "Sorry we're so late," said Lightstring, as they sat down. "We got caught off in, ah, difficult matters." Twilight nodded and the two sat down behind her. The Domestic Affairs Committee Head was making a speech and Twilight turned and listen. The hours went past slowly. Skyros slept on and off, Pinkie Pie was snickering and giggling at frequent and long intervals, Applejack started dozing off permanantly. Only Twilight and Lightstring where listening and Twilight was slowly beginning to lose attention in the matters, as domestic affairs passed, followed by infrastructure concerns, construction concerns, and other important issues passed and deliberated on. Finally: "Okay," Speaker Baner looked backward at the large clock above the rostrum. "7:30. We should wrap this up," he said to himself. "Alright, thank you Blaze," he said to a Council pony who was sitting back down. "Next up, we have, the return of the bipartisan economic bill, ah yes. Well, Meriwether, I expect you know what to do." Meriwether nodded and stood up and walked down the aisle, this time with more confidence. Meanwhile, Keg sat shaking in his seat. His colleague, Morning Dew, leaned to him. "Please Keg, I'm thinking of you, when I tell you that you can't vote for this bill-" "I know!" hissed Keg. Morning Dew backed up nervously. Meanwhile, Left Step and his fellow Navy pony were talking. "You got this, I mean, are you really-" asked the Navy pony, but Left Step interrupted him. "Yes, yes, I will do it. Teach this guy to try to mess with the Navy party," said Left Step, relishing with the thought of taking on Meriwether. Meriwether got up on the speech platform and set down his papers. "I know that all of you by now know about the Lightstring Bill, which this time we've decided to rename the Twilight-Lightstring Bill." Twilight looked backward in shock at Lightstring, who only smiled and shushed Twilight. "Well, last time I probably bored all of you with my speech filled with boring diction and other apathetic references to different things..." continued Meriwether. The Council ponies chuckled. "Not this time though," said Meriwether. "This time, it'll be short. I just want to bring to your attention not only the need for compromise, which I said last time, but without any effect apparently. I also just want to let all you know, that this bill will not just serve to save us all this time. It'll save us all a second time. And a third time. And more. The fact is, you're not just saving our generations, everypony. You're saving countless others. You're setting an important precedent. You're not just voting for another vague bill to affect our short and daily lives, you're voting for history. Now, what you say here, I can assure you, will be remembered. It will be recorded..." The Council scribe raised an eyebrow. "And it will be marked within the very books that also record our founding by Lord Baltimare from Canterlot. Because you're not just a part of history now, everypony, you're making it." The Council ponies were all nodding and generally showing assent, to the surprise of Left Step. He turned and prepared to face Meriwether, only to realize that he was stacking his papers again. "Thank you, Meri-" began Speaker Baner, but Left Step stood up dramatically. "Wait, Councilor Meriwether, I would like to issue a challenge to your bill," he said, as Meriwether stopped to look at him. "Um, yes, the Council recognizes the representative of Sector 2, Gliding District," said Speaker Baner and sat back again. "Mr. Meriwether," Left Step began. "You, I understand, claim that this bill will bring us prosperity and deficit-reductions. How, then, are you going to answer the facts then? According to a pony from the Economic Management Committee, the debt will be gone based on your bill in 10 years. 10 years. That's a long time for the average taxpayer while he or she is forced to pay more." "Well, my friend from Sector 2, Gliding District," countered Meriwether. "If you look in the bill, it clearly states that only ponies who make more than 100,000 bits a year are going to receive a tax hike. This won't hurt the average taxpayer at all." "Yes, but you do realize that you haven't put in tax cuts in your bill have you?" asked Left Step. Meriwether raised his eyebrows. "Again, if you read the bill, you would clearly see that there will indeed be tax cuts for the middle class. That way, they'll have more money to purchase items." "Yes," continued Left Step, looking down at his list again. "But you do realize that cutting our spending will put thousands of ponies who work for Baltimare at risk, right?" "Representative, you must understand that if we don't cut spending, we will never get our debt under control. It will grow until we go bankrupt, and what then? Will Princess Celestia have to come down again? Put everything right? As you can see, representative, my other ponies supported the bill. They think the spending cuts were a good idea. Why can't you see it?" asked Meriwether. "What about your revised version of the Cutie Mark Tutorship Bill? You have corrupted it! Turned it into some conservative, bile-drenched-" Left Step stopped at the look of the entire Council, who was looking at him with disdain and contempt. "I think you said too much," whispered the Navy pony beside Left Step. Left Step bit his lip. "Representative, I have no doubt that we have made some big changes," said Meriwether. "But the idea is that we bring equal education to these ponies in order for them to discover their talents. Taking the money from the rich is going too far off the line. Is that all you seem to care about the bill, representative? That it takes more from the rich? Do you seem to realize that the rich are ponies, just like we are? Do you have something against them? The entire purpose of the bill was to ensure that ponies from all classes could enjoy a clear path toward their talents, not just the upper-class. It seems all that was to you was an extra tax to them." Left Step had no comment. He made a gurgling sound before sitting down again. "All done?" asked Speaker Baner. Left Step only stared blankly at his hooves. Meriwether sat down in his spot and nodded. "Very well. Scribe, put it to vote." "Yes, your Honor," she said. The scribe took out another sheet of paper and put it on the table. "When I call your sector, please stand up and call out your vote," she said. "Again, we'll start with Waving District. Sector 1." "Yes," came out the cry. The scribe marked down the vote. "Sector 2. "Aye!" came out the cry. The scribe marked that down. "Sector 3." "Nay!" came out the first dissent. The scribe marked that down and continued for the other 3, which all voted "yes." "Okay," said the scribe. "Next, Flaming District." 4 for and 2 against. Twilight was marking down the votes again and Lightstring and Skyros were looking at the tips of their hooves. Even Pinkie Pie was silent and Applejack was still sleeping, although nopony bothered to wake her up. "Alright, next up, Gliding District." 2 for and 4 against. "Okay, next, Showering District," said the scribe. 3 for and 3 against again. Twilight nervously marked down the votes. "Next, Lasting District." 3 for and 3 against again. "Okay, next, Soaring District." 5 for and 1 against. "Next, Cas- Oh, right," said the scribe, looking up at the empty table. Skyros started laughing quietly and Twilight and Lightstring looked at him curiously. Pinkie Pie started laughing soon as well. "We'll just abstain them, shall we?" said Speaker Baner and the scribe nodded. She marked "CaD: Abstain." "Okay, next, Rising District," she continued. All 6 for. "Next, Central District." 5 for and 1 against. "Finally, Shining District," said the scribe, dipping her quill into the ink well again. Twilight quickly tallied up the votes and found them at 34-14. With Casting District out, they needed only 36 votes. Could they get it here? She looked behind her where Lightstring was biting her lip and Skyros was looking nervous as well. "This could turn bad," said Skyros. "Shining District is almost entirely Navy." Twilight turned around and hoped to Celestia that the ponies could find it in their hearts to vote for the bill. "Sector 1," cried out the scribe. "Nay!" said the representative. The scribe marked that down. "Sector 2." "No." Silence as the scratching of the quill filled the room. "Sector 3." "Shining District, Sector 3 votes NO!" yelled out the representative. The scribe raised her eyebrows as she wrote down the vote. "Sector 4." "Nay." "Sector 5." No answer. Everypony, even Meriwether, who was looking down at his lap, turned to Keg, who himself was staring down, eyes closed, shaking. Morning Dew looked at him in concern. "Sector 5? Representative, I need an answer now," said the scribe in a bored tone. Keg drew in a shaky breath. Morning Dew patted his back encouragingly, although she still looked worried. He stood up slowly. Left Step waited with batted breath, as did his Navy colleagues. Twilight and the others looked on as well with rapture. "Representative, you will answer now or I will abstain you," said the scribe, looking up, annoyed. Keg drew in a another breath, still looking down. Everypony leaned in. "No." Left Step nodded with satisfaction and sat down again. Meriwether shook his head and sat down as well. "No," continued Keg. Everypony stopped, confused. The scribe looked up again, puzzled as well. "No, no, no, no, no. Screw it all. Just, no. I vote yes. Yes, yes, yes , yes, YES!" Left Step stood up in shock. The entire Rising District stood up as well and clapped and cheered. All the supporters of the bill started clapping as well, standing up. Twilight was stunned as Lightstring and Skyros clapped and yelled. Soon, the room was full of the shouts and cheers of the ponies. Even those who didn't support the bill stood up and clapped for Keg's bravery. Two Soaring District representatives flew up and joined Keg at his table, while his Navy colleagues stood yelling and jeering at him. Left Step and his Navy co-representative stood in shock. "Stop! Stop this instant everypony! By Celestia, Sergeant-at-arms, control this mess right now!" called out Speaker Baner. His voice however was drowned out by the cheering crowd. There was no need to call again however, for the Sergeant and his two guards immediately entered and began attempting to restore order. Meriwether stood up laughing, while Rising District ran over to join Keg. The entire room descended into chaos. Meanwhile, Applejack finally woke up from her slumber. "Wha-. What's happenin'?" "STOP!" called out both the Speaker and the Sergeant. The officers managed to force some of the other districts back into their spots, while the other representatives crowded around the Shining District table, all yelling and cheering. Twilight smiled as she stood up and immediately began casting a spell. A ball of light flew up to the top of the room and immediately began emitting a strange, eerie, high-pitched sound. Everypony stopped to look at it. "Thank you," said Twilight, as she sat down again. "Sergeant. Get everypony back into their pot. Rising District and Soaring District, you will refrain from moving out of your spots again or I will abstain your vote," said Speaker Baner. All the representatives returned to their spots again. "Good, carry on scribe," he said to the scribe. She nodded. "Okay, finally, we have Shining District, Sector 6," she said. "AYE!" came out the call loud and clear. The scribe marked the vote down and immediately began tallying the vote. Twilight, Lightstring, and Skyros were looking at Twilight's notebook. Her ears flopped down as she realized that they had only 35 votes. Just 1 more vote off from a supermajority. She closed her eyes. Lightstring shook her head and leaned on Skyros. He put his leg around her head and sighed. "The final count-" began the scribe, but Speaker Baner stopped her. "Wait. Scribe, I would like to cast a vote, please," said the Speaker. Meriwether and Left Step stood up in shock. If the Speaker voted, it wouldn't count to the total amount of ponies, so the total would remain 54 in this case, but his vote would still count as one, so it could turn to 36-18, or 35-19. "Your Honor," they said. "But, Your Honor," insisted Left Step. "The Speaker votes only in times of important matters, this is-" "Obviously an important matter," said the Speaker. "Like Councilor Meriwether said, we're making history, advancing it, not just living through it." "In that case," said the scribe. "What is your vote, Speaker?" The entire Council leaned in and waited. Meriwether, Twilight, Lightstring, and Skyros waited, listening with all their might, hoping for the best, hoping against hope. Baner had refused to compromise, but could this be different? Could he throw aside his partisanship? "Speaker?" asked the scribe, turning to him. "What's your vote?" The Speaker closed his eyes, breathed in slowly, and opened them. "Aye, of course!" he said. The room was silent as the scribe marked the vote down. She stood up and cleared her throat. "The final vote for the Twilight-Lightstring Economic Bill: 36, yes. 18, no. 6 abstain." The room was still silent as they digested the information. Then, like an engine being slowly revved up, the supporters started getting and cheering again. Meriwether sat in shock as his friends grabbed him and lifted him on their backs, cheering. Everypony started getting up, cheering. Keg stood slowly, as if he were in a dream. He smiled shakily and started laughing along with the rest of the ponies. Suddenly, a pegasi from Central District came over and gave him a hoof-bump. Several Rising District ponies returned and started cheering for him. Left Step stood up and shook his head. He began packing up his things. Twilight, Applejack, Lightstring, and Skyros started clapping and stomping as the ponies exuberantly burst out in song. "Oh, in a time of glum, How sweetly did he come. He trounced them all, And a good hit will ya'll, He did find our fair ground. Oh, he trounced them all, Quick as a ball! We took 'em all, And answered the call! We built it all, The office and stall! Our fair and one: Baltimare!" "WHEEEE!" cried out Pinkie Pie. She jumped down from the balcony suddenly and landed gracefully among the still cheering ponies. "Pinkie! What are you doing?" asked Twilight. But it was too late. Pinkie Pie raced over to the doors and opened them. The Sergeant and his officers backed up in shock as the entire crowd pushed their way through the doors. Twilight and Applejack quickly followed. Speaker Baner laughed and even the scribe smiled as she packed up her papers, quill, and ink well. Meanwhile, the entire crowd pushed their way through the streets. To their surprise, the Council ponies met with a large crowd of Baltimare citizens. At the head were the Blank Mare, Rainbow Dash and Bright Seeking. They were smiling at the crowd and noticed Meriwether being lifted by his pegasus friends. He quickly dropped himself down in the middle of the two crowds. "We got it!" exclaimed Meriwether to the citizens. The ponies all cheered and the two crowds merged. Some of them even brought posters supporting the bill. Twilight and Applejack ran out and pushed through the crowd, finally arriving at the head, where Meriwether was lifted again on the top. The two laughed and Rainbow Dash flew to their side. "Glad you could make it!" she said. "Did you organize this?" Twilight asked her. "Oh, somewhat," said Rainbow Dash with a smile. "I would say that the Blank Mare did the most. She sent the word out and got everypony here. Well, I delivered the letters, but still." Twilight laughed and suddenly Pinkie Pie jumped out from between two ponies and landed at their sides. "Oh mi gosh! This is so amazing!" She giggled and snorted. The crowd pushed their way through the streets, moving through Central District. They were joined by even more ponies, cheering and laughing. Speaker Baner and Left Step watched the procession from an office facing the district. "What happened?" asked Left Step. "I thought you didn't support compromise." "I know," replied the Speaker. "But Meriwether made me realize something. I realized that my party intentions had blinded me from my real duty: serving as a leader to the ponies of Baltimare. The same could be said for you, Left Step. We may be from opposite parties, but that doesn't stop us from working together." Left Step didn't say anything, so Speaker Baner pushed on. "You know, I'm surprised that you managed to last this long. You represent the ponies, yet you seem to be representing yourself. I've seen a lot of ponies like you, I'm afraid." "The ponies voted for me because they thought I was made up of the right beliefs," said Left Step. "No, Left, they voted for you because they thought you would work best in the Council. They thought that you could bring in policies that would help them. But all you've done is just made speech after speech. Not insulting your work or anything, but your policies have constantly been rejected. Why? Because they're too radical. The ponies don't want you to say what you mean, they want you to do what they ask." Left Step didn't say anything again. Speaker Baner sighed. "I've got to head home Left. We have one day of break and then it's the 113 Council. I understand you're going to be in. You should get as much rest as possible." Speaker Baner pulled his bags on and left the office. Left Step stood in the office for sometime, looking down at the crowd of still celebrating ponies. He sighed, still confused and unsure of something, picked up his bags as well, and left the office, walking slowly down and out.