The Froggy Bottom Bogg Incident

by Flashburn37

Chapter 1: The Muddening

Chapter One: The Muddening

"Princess Twilight!" Mayor Mare yelled as she beat on the librarian turned demigod's door. She waited a few moments, her hooves soaking in the dark waters that had brought her here. "We need your help!" She heard a hoof steps on the other side of the door and held it closed. A force tugged on it but the Mayor would not let it open.

"I think my door is stuck!" She heard Twilight call from inside.

"No! That would be me, fly out your balcony to see me!" She shouted through the door. There were a few seconds of silence before she heard a gasp above her.

"What happened!?" The Princess guffawed as she took in the sight that was Ponyville.

"Froggy Bottom Bogg happened." The Mayor sighed as she turned to view the destruction once more. Murky water, over a foot deep in some places, coated the entire town, any opened door led to the interior being flooded as well. The stench was overwhelming and the mud thick. It had taken her an hour to walk the short distance from the town hall to the Library, even though it was only a block away! Carts were stuck in the middle of the road, Fillies and Foals were trapped indoors and bubbles of Gases made flying a dangerous and difficult prospect.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Twilight asked, hovering slightly above the muck.

"Never... I've never heard of it happening either. Our records indicate the bog has remained the same size for generations." She sighed, "I was hoping you'd know what was happening." The Mayor looked up hopfully.

"I'll check my books." The Princess promised as she flew back inside.

The Mayor looked around at the mess. Tough times were ahead. She trudged towards the pony she knew she had to see.

It would have taken her all day to reach Sweet Apple Acres if she hadn't bumped into Thunderlane who flew her there at great peril to himself.

"Thank you Thunderlane. Could you stick around? I will probably need some help getting back." The Mayor asked.

"Of course! We need to get this taken care of as soon as possible. Rumble can't even leave the house!" Thunderlane laughed, "He's practically bouncing off the walls."

"I will do my best to get this sorted out." She promised as they arrived. They saw the entire Apple family with shovels attempting to clear out their yard. "Applejack!" She called out right before Thunderlane dropped her off next to the orange mare.

"Mayor Mare!" Applejack said relieved, "What in the hay is goin' on?"

"I wish I knew Applejack, I wish I knew. It seems the Froggy Bottom Bogg has overflowed! I'd like to ask you and your family to assist in cleaning up the town. More specifically, I was hoping you could call upon your extended family. We need as many strong hooves as we can get."

"We can try, but it's gettin' a might close to harvest time and they have their own livelihoods to think about." Applejack informed her.

Mayor Mare looked at the farm... it was just as damaged as the rest of the town, she couldn't force them away from trying to save their home first. She sighed and looked at the hills... And saw something strange. "Thunderlane, Applejack... look at those hills." She pointed.

"Yeah, it seems like everywhere is covered." Thunderlane noticed.

"No worse than over here." Applejack shrugged.

"Exactly." The Mayor breathed.

"What do ya mean by "exactly"?" Applejack asked.

"Look here." The Mayor pulled out a bottle of grey hair dye. Hearing the other two giggle she smiled. After the Cutie Mark Crusaders had revealed she dyes her hair it had become a bit of a joke. "Yeah very funny. Well, this dye requires I add water to use it properly otherwise it is far too thick." She poured some on her hoof. "See the consistency? Wouldn't you say it is similar to this mud?" The two nodded. "Applejack may I borrow your hat for a little demonstration?"

"Uh, sure I guess." She tossed the hat over.

"It doesn't stain fabric trust me." The Mayor pour some of the dye onto the top of the hat. It flowed down from the top and pooled at the bottom of the bill. "Now, look at the hat, notice how it flows."

"No offense Mayor, but what does this have to do with..." Thunderlane began before it clicked.

The hat had most of the dye at the bottom, but the hills... they had an even coating... top to bottom. "Sweet Celestia that mud ain't natural." Applejack breathed. "Why isn't it pooling?"

"Thunderlane, take me to Twilight. I must tell her of this new development." She tossed the hat to Applejack. "By the way, how long have you been at this?" She gestured to the mud.

"Since dawn." Applejack admitted.

The Mayor looked at the progress before telling Applejack, "Stop wasting your time and energy, it must be magic." As she flew off she saw Applejack watch as the mud flowed up from under her shovel, to form a nice... even coating.

***

Rarity was just exiting the train from Cantorlot when she saw it. Her worst nightmare. Mud... Everywhere! She looked at her luggage, all filled with the finest fashions and fabrics fresh from Cantorlot... "What is going on!?" She screamed.

"It's been like this since early this morning apparently." Rainbow yawned as she flew overhead.

"Oh thank Celestia you're here Rainbowdash! Could you be a dear and help me ferry my luggage to the boutique?" Rarity begged.

"Fine..." Rainbow grumbled before she saw just how much there was. "Oh come on!"

"What? I went to Cantorlot to pick up the latest trends after all." Rarity explained.

"But twelve boxes!? I don't think I can safely take more than two at a time!" Rainbow complained.

"Please?" Rarity pleaded.

"Fine... but you owe me big time!"

"I'll make you an aerodynamic suit for your next big race!" She smiled.

"Deal!" Rainbow laughed as she picked up all the bags at once and flew quickly into a bubble of gas, causing her to crash into a nearby building, Rarity caught the three bags that fell with her magic before they splashed down.

"Careful!" Rarity scolded her before Rainbow dashed off again. "This is going to be a long day..." She mumbled.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading and please post a comment and or critique at the bottom! This is planned as a 5 chapter story that is in progress. Unless I forget to change this Author note later in which case it may be done once you read this. I remembered! Kinda... Right now I just finished chapter 5 and it's running a bit longer... sorry about that. Well I did say planned right? Oh and you may notice a little inconsistency, I said it would be dangerous to fly, yet Thunderlane and Rainbow do so. I did say dangerous, not impossible. Oh and Thunderlane has Wonderbolts training. He went to the academy.

Comments

[La Barata]

Hm. Clever.

Not enough Mayor fics, and FAR too few with her being competent.

It could use a good bit of work, but you have a strong base.

[pendrake72]

@Flashburn37...
4687198

1. Just two minor bits of correction to point-out...
~ a. Formatting the chapter title within the fan-fiction; it should be centered, underlined, and visibly enlarged.
exerpted...

Chapter One: The muddening

advised correction...

Chapter One: The Muddening

[.center] [.size=1.5em] [.u]Chapter One: The Muddening[./u] [./size] [./center] (obviously, remove the " . " bits)

~ b. Also, just in case (& for later as well), Rainbow Dash (two words), not Rainbowdash (one word).
.

2. I agree with La Barata as well, having a competent Ms. Mayor Mare protagonist is a good storytelling angle. Gods knows there are far too many cases (fictional and RL) of incompetent political authorities...

3. Also, from the chapter (1) Author Note: Thunderlane's regular job is that of the Ponyville Weather Team (under Rainbow Dash's lead), so another factor in him being a trained and experienced flyer.

[Flashburn37]

4687198
Thank you! I noticed that in the show, everyone would always go to the town Librarian. Whereas that makes sense now she's a Princess/Demigod, I always found it disjointing that the town's leadership was so often ignored. Especially when the Canon goes out of it's way to make you wonder how she got elected in the first place. Plus... best background pony is best.

[Flashburn37]

4687601
Thank you for that! I love comments and critiques that point out errors! I usually copy paste from Microsoft word and many things, such as underlining and italics are lost but I never noticed before. Thank you for helping me improve!

[pendrake72]

4689522

1. Always glad to provide a friendly point-out, creative suggestion, or literary writing guidance/advice.

2. Of which, it is always advisable to back-up your writing with an Editor &/or Proofreader, to provide eyes-on assistance &/or correction.

For finding an Editor & Proofreader(s) here on FiMfiction site itself...
~ a. Looking for Editors
~ b. The Proofreader Group

As the general rule for literary writing, you should only have a single Editor, but you can have multiple Proofreaders.
.

3. Also, Rainbow Dash (two words), not Rainbowdash (one word); as opposed to Applejack (one word) or her younger sister Apple Bloom (two words).