Season 2 Episode 25 – A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1
Ponyville Station, Ponyville
GALLOP POLL: HEARTSTRINGS (EQE) 68%/MARE (IND) 28% (±1%)
A wheeze from the train, the station master raising the green flag. “All aboard!”
Colgate, Bon Bon and Twinkleshine hurriedly clambered into the carriage, Councilor Lyra Heartstrings looking back as she ascended. “Amethyst, I’m counting on you while I’m gone!” she reminded, voice rising over the stirring machinery. “Do not let your guard down these few days!”
The purple unicorn nodded, walking slowly beside the carriage. “Criticize, demonize, paralyze!” she repeated her instructions obediently, picking up speed. “I got it, Lyra- ”
“And use your judgment, Amethyst!” the unicorn yelled back, her instructions fast sinking under the billowing steam. “Don’t just follow orders; use your- !”
The horn of the Friendship Express sounded as it sped away from the platform, commencing its special journey towards the Canterlot Wedding.
*
Mane Street, Ponyville
Mayor Mare glanced uneasily out of the corner of her eye, the boisterous tunes of Equestriens Gloria ringing incessantly in her ears. Alright, he’s not saluting… not saluting yet… Now!
The tan pony stiffened up and looked straight in front, right hoof next to her temple as a sea of flags marched past in perfect time, gold-tasseled standards of the Sun and Moon rippling in the breeze; row upon row of ponies under and behind them, impeccably uniformed, silver-tipped lances glinting at their sides, pointing proudly skywards…
“You can drop the salute now, Mayor,” Major General Steel Sword noted to her right.
“Oh.” The politician meekly relaxed her limb.
An irrepressible snigger from said Major General. Civvies.
Mayor Mare let the faux pas slide. “Thank you, General Sword,” she began as she extended a foreleg. “Celestia knows we could use the 108th Division’s help round here.”
The black stallion leant over and gave it a good firm shake. “Her Lunar Highness’ orders, Ma’am. We obey – no matter what we think of them.”
The tan pony indicated out a chair. “And what you think of them is?”
Major General Sword gave a cold smirk in response.
The gray-maned mare was, luckily, sympathetic. “I hear that the Department of Defense has re-designated Ponyville as a ‘Fortress Town’,” she consoled. “So this place still has some importance.”
“Yeah, well,” the general stared aimlessly at the spectacle before him. “Hard to console yourself like that when your brother gets Canterlot East.”
“I suppose so… ”
“Ah well: do a good job here, wait until the trouble goes away, and hope for a better posting.”
Mayor Mare nodded silently.
“Anyway!” The commander turned back to more productive conversations. “Supplies. I trust that the paperwork has been done?”
Uh oh. “Um… did Her Highness not arrange it?”
The black stallion frowned. “Why would she do it? You requested the 108th to come here.”
“I guess so… ” the tan pony mumbled out some inaudible curses. “It’s just that… um… we were kind of… expecting Her Highness to do that.”
General Sword rolled his eyes and sighed. “Great.”
Various assortments of artillery and other miscellaneous contraptions were being wheeled past them.
“I mean, I could ask for an Emergency Meeting of the Legislative Council,” Mayor Mare offered sheepishly. “I’m sure that, since Equestria is in trouble, our citizens would be willing to oblige with this expense… ”
*
Legislative Council Chambers, Ponyville
“NO!” Councilor Amethyst Star, temporary Equine Party leader, grumpily banged her hoof on the table, and not just because she was attending this Emergency Session without pay. “Ponyville will not be held responsible for the expenses of the Equestrian military!”
Mayor Mare broke further into a cold sweat. By Celestia, and I thought Lyra was unreasonable… “Councilor Star. You are a citizen of Equestria. Equestria is now in danger. Surely you want to do your part in defending against our enemies- “
“No!” The purple pony banged her hoof once more before reconsidering. “Well, not to the ‘defending against our enemies’ part; but no to the idea of us paying for the 108th Division!”
“…but they’re the same thing!” the bespectacled mare pointed out.
The purple unicorn wasn’t really listening. “And it’s obvious you did this to spite LegCo, Mayor. You’re going to get voted out, so as revenge, you’re going to leave Ponyville with this massive debt that we then have to pay down!”
Oh please. “Do you think I would hold the entirety of Equestria hostage, simply to score political points?” the tan pony retorted in frustration.
The answer was obvious. “Of course you would! That’s why we’re voting against it, Mayor!” Amethyst Star declared to raucous applause.
The results were disappointing, to say the least.
YEA: 2 (with much hissing and booing), NAY: 89, NOT VOTING: 9
Not for the first time, Mayor Mare felt irritation, frustration, rage as she looked at these numbers. “Can this Council do anything at all!”
The tan pony was fast losing hope in her own creation.
*
108th Division Main Command Post, Ponyville Park, Ponyville
“It’s not my fault,” the gray-maned pony argued steadfastly. “I pushed hard. LegCo was dead set against any funding whatsoever.”
“And I only brought three days of supplies. Just great.” Major General Sword stared intently at the map, refusing to meet his counterpart’s gaze. “You know, if you’re going to make me come to this hill fort, the least you can do is not make my life any more difficult.”
“It’s not. My. Fault,” Mayor Mare repeated through gritted teeth.
“Look, Mayor.” The black stallion looked up, sick with excuses in that uniquely military way. “Nopony has any idea what the threat to Equestria is – not me, not the lovey-dovey Captain of the Royal Guard, not even Her Highnesses themselves. It could be a whole horde of Crystal Dragons; it could be some crazy disease that turns everypony into cotton wool – I don’t know. All I know is that if we want to be prepared, we need every single one of these machines- “ The stallion gestured as the mass of bleeps and bloops and the technicians operating them – “ –working24/7. I’m guessing you don’t want your ponies to die; I certainly do not want my ponies to die – not needlessly, anyway. So why don’t you figure something out before it’s too late.”
The uniformed officer looked back down at the map again, seemingly oblivious to the tan pony’s smoldering tempers.
*
Crimson Ribbon’s House, Ponyville
Another fine, furloughed day for the Secretary for Administration. Unlike the majority of his bureaucratic subordinates, the gray stallion was not too fussed about his lack of pay – after all, he belonged to that old breed of civil servant who was in it, so to speak, for “fun” rather than for purpose. After all, the income from his East Phalian estates was more than enough for decent living.
And besides, once Government reopened he could always ensure that he was first in line to be remunerated…
A gentle knocking on the door interrupted the bureaucrat’s trains of thought. Crimson Ribbon smiled as he put down his teacup. Few ponies knocked on this door; he had a good idea of who it was. After all, he’d read the news.
He opened the door. Well alright, it wasn’t who he thought it would be, but it was close enough. “Miss Cheerilee: please, do come in.”
The purple teacher gasped in awe at the lacquered bookshelves, row upon row, which lined this aristocratic bureaucrat’s house. “You are very learned, Mr. Ribbon.”
“Well, one has to do something when the children have flown... please sit. Tea?”
Brown brew swirled gracefully into porcelain cups. “So, Miss Cheerilee,” the stallion leant back as he gave the opening cue.
“Yes, Mr. Ribbon,” the cerise pony replied as she rummaged around in her pack. “You see, I’ve been going through this civics class – for free, of course, you know the thing about union hours – and Scootaloo asked a question which I didn’t know the answer to, so I thought I’d come and ask you about it.”
Crimson Ribbon smiled mysteriously. Obviously Cheerilee’s alibi was only an excuse. But he played along nonetheless. “Ah, Ms. Scootaloo: Editor of the Foal Free Press, is she not? I shall endeavor to in any case.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ribbon.” Cheerilee smiled as she riffed through her notebook. “The question is this: what does the law say about the emergency powers of the Ponyville Mayor?”
At last. “Ms. Scootaloo certainly has an eye for the political, Miss Cheerilee. This is a prickly question to answer: for there is no law in Ponyville that covers this particular subject.”
The purple pony frowned in disbelief. “Nothing?”
“Nothing. I guess Her Highnesses never thought there would be a need to suspend discussion during a disaster, what with the ideology of ‘Harmony’ and whatnot. Ponies are supposed to unite during times of crisis.”
Cheerilee swatted off the subtle jab. “So the Mayor can’t assume any Emergency Powers, ever?”
The gray stallion smiled. “That depends on your interpretation of the law.”
The schoolteacher thought of this for a moment. “Interpretation of the law?”
“Implied powers. Do you think that a Ponyville Mayor should be allowed to lead in crisis circumstances, against an intractable opposition?”
“Well… ” Now that the question had been phrased in such a way, it was kind of difficult to say otherwise. “…isn’t this for the court to decide?”
“The court is closed because of the shutdown, Miss Cheerilee. You will have to make your own interpretation.”
Great. Cheerilee certainly knew what her interpretation was going to be. “Well thank you, Mr. Ribbon. I’m sure Scootaloo will appreciate your answer.”
“Not at all. And Miss Cheerilee?”
The schoolteacher glanced back from the front door.
“Please tell Mayor Mare that even if she assumes Emergency Powers, she had better find a good reason to do so.”
Cheerilee could only give an embarrassed chuckle as she left.
*
Mayor Mare’s House, Ponyville
“Ponies!” Amethyst Star was speaking from down below. “We have finally seen Tyrant Mare reveal her true colors! Not only is she corrupt and a racist; now she wants to use the military to rule for life as well! Ponies! Your freedom is at stake! We need to do everything in our power to resist this evil dictator from taking over our town!”
Mayor Mare remained mired in her seat, caught up in her own qualms and counterfactuals, as her cabinet – assembled under the pretext of a “house gathering” – looked frustratedly on.
“What’s there to debate?” Security Chief Delta Force interrupted. “You want to protect Ponyville, right?”
“Well, of course.”
“Then you need these Emergency Powers.”
“But… ”Mayor Mare gulped. “If I use them, then I’ll be ruining the very thing I set up?”
Finance Secretary Bit Coin shrugged. “LegCo has refused to fund the military. Can you protect Ponyville any other way?”
“That’s not the point!” the gray-maned mare snapped. "Ponies should have a bigger say in how this town is run!”
“Stop the Mayor! Stop the Mayor!”
“Fat lot of good it’s done.” The Security Chief looked out of the window. “We’ve endured social upheaval, government shutdown, and near-riots because of this, and we still have very little to show for it.”
The politician could only mutter inaudibly in response.
“If I may say so, Ma’am,” Secretary for Administration Crimson Ribbon chimed in. “Your Emergency Powers will not affect the upcoming elections, which you are constitutionally obliged to hold. So the ponies still get a say.”
The gray-maned mare continued to stay silent.
Delta Force decided to press the issue. “Mayor Mare. An unknown threat is fast appearing over the horizon. Are you going to risk the lives of Ponyville’s citizens because of a few silly liberties?”
Mayor Mare tried again. “But- ”
“Isn’t it enough that ponies live happy and secure lives?” Crimson Ribbon banged his hoof on the table. “Why is it so necessary for them to have so much freedom?”
… but…
The consequences proved too much for the Mayor to bear.
The gray-maned politician looked up, a newfound determination on her face.
“I declare a State of Emergency in Ponyville. Enact curfews. Ban all gatherings. Clear the protests.”
The red stallion saluted and began muttering into a walkie-talkie.
“Mr. Ribbon and Ms. Coin, draft two decrees: one to pay the military presence in Ponyville; one to end the government shutdown as soon as possible.”
The gray stallion and the chestnut mare bowed. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“The security of Ponyville comes before everything. We must prepare quickly for the oncoming danger.”
The members of the cabinet quickly exited, a newfound bounce in their steps.
Yet despite this apparent victory, Mayor Mare could do nothing more but feel a mixture of emptiness and dread. Yes, she finally had at her disposal the tools to solve Ponyville’s many crises – and with good reason too, given the impending danger – but at what cost? Certainly her own election chances were well and truly scuppered now… unless… unless…
A distant siren blared above the raucous crowd outside. The State of Emergency was fast doing its work.
“Citizens! You are now violating the terms of the State of Emergency! Disperse immediately, or you will be arrested and put on trial… ”