As Twilight made her way towards the town market, she made a mental list of what she would need. “I suppose I could get some more quills, and more paper. There’s bound to be some paperwork that will need taking care of, right?” she asked more to herself than to Spike, who was now riding on her back.

“Yeah, sure,” Spike mumbled non-attentively. His gaze was turned, as a certain white mare was trotting towards the two. Suddenly snapped to attention, Spike began to panic over his looks. “How do I look? How’s my hair?” he asked Twilight in a hurry, who turned back to give him a quizzical look.

“Spike, you don’t have hair,” she said with a chuckle, turning to greet Rarity.

Spike rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh. “Oh, right.”

“Good morning, Twilight!” Rarity called to her, slowing to a casual walk a few feet away. She was wearing two empty saddlebags, and she seemed to be in an excited mood.

“Hello, Rarity. You’re up and about quite early,” Twilight commented. “What’s going on?”

Rarity put on a smile, as if she’d been anticipating Twilight to ask. “Well!” she said excitedly, with an ounce of pride in her voice, “I recently got a large order from some very important ponies in Canterlot. I’m off to the market to procure some supplies before I take on the challenge.”

Twilight smiled and spoke sincerely when she said, “That’s quite impressive! I actually have a challenge of my own for the next few days. One that I’m quite anxious to tackle.”

Rarity perked up at the news. It was atypical for the purple unicorn to do too much, aside from tending to the occasional event within Ponyville. “Really?” she said, leaning closer. “Do tell, Twilight!”

“Well earlier today I received a letter from Princess Celestia, requesting me to temporarily take over operations in Ponyville while the Mayor leaves on diplomatic business. I’ll be handling the usual day-to-day business that the Mayor would,” she explained, more excitedly than she imagined she was.

“The MAYOR?” Rarity exclaimed, astonished. “Why that’s quite the task!” She lowered her voice and carefully asked, “Are you sure you’re prepared for it?”

Twilight grinned sheepishly, “Well I have to admit.. It’s quite a daunting job to handle. I’m not sure what to expect.” Then, more out of reassurance for herself than for Rarity, she added, “But I’m sure nothing’s going to go wrong. Just another job to do, right?”

Rarity nodded quickly. “I’m sure everything will go off without a hitch!” She said in her usual confidence-inducing manner. “And if you need anything, you have Spike to help you with things, correct?”

At the mention of his name by the white unicorn, Spike perked up immediately, grinning like a fool. “Yep! You can count on me Rari- I mean, Twilight.”

Twilight shot him a look of both amusement and slight irritation, and Spike returned a nervous smile.

Ignoring the blunder of Spike’s words, Rarity nodded her head and smiled. “Of course, darling! You can always ask me for help. I may be busy, but helping the Mayor would be a nice change of pace, for sure!”

Twilight nodded and spoke gratefully, “Thank you for the offer, Rarity. I’ll be sure to contact you should I need anything. In any case, I’ve got to get to the market to pick up some supplies for tomorrow.  Would you like to walk together?”

Twilight could feel Spike shifting on her back at the mention of travelling with Rarity, and she mentally sighed. “While I would like to, I really am in a hurry. Perhaps another time?” Rarity said regretfully.

Twilight spoke kindly, “Don’t worry. I understand. Have a nice day, Rarity.” Rarity looked relieved that Twilight had not taken her words unkindly, and she spoke sincerely, “Same to you Twilight, and you as well Spike!”

Spike smiled and waved, not saying a word out of nervousness. Rarity trotted quickly away, seemingly to be in more of a hurry than Twilight. It was typical of her personality, though. Twilight knew she took her work very seriously, and had always admired that trait about her.

She continued along the road towards the market a brisk pace, but not as speedily as Rarity. The morning was still young, and Twilight liked taking in the scenery when she could. The smell of fresh flowers and the sounds of birds waking up to go about their business intrigued Twilight. She could see why Fluttershy enjoyed her hobbies so much. Inhaling deeply, Twilight relaxed considerably.

The market was in sight now, and Twilight observed as the shops seemingly came to life. The market was already bustling, despite the earliness of the day. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike were all getting ready to sell their wares that ranged from simple necessities to rare oddities. She made her way towards the section where she could find writing supplies and other necessities she expected that she’d need.

It was about midday when Twilight ran into another one of her friends within the busy market. Bouncing around as was her habit, Pinkie Pie had two saddlebags nearly filled to the top with party supplies consisting of confetti, streamers, horns and other odd devices. Noticing Twilight, she hopped her way over to her, stopping mere inches away.

Twilight took a step back, surprised. "Hi!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. "Hey, Pinkie. What're you doing out here?" Twilight asked curiously. "I'm buying party supplies in case I run out soon! Never know when you'll need more party supplies, and it's always good to have a good stock just in case!" Pinkie said in her usual sped-up style. "What are you doing out here?" she asked Twilight, a bright smile on her face.

Twilight turned to see her own saddlebags were half-full, and Spike was off buying the rest of the supplies. Turning back to Pinkie, she explained her situation.

"Wow! You're gonna be the MAYOR?" Pinkie said, jumping up and down. "Think of all the parties we could have! Oh, oh! We could give out candy to everyone! It'd be so fun! Then we could-"

Twilight interrupted her before she could go way too offtrack by saying, "No, Pinkie. This is a big responsibility. It'll only be for about a week, so I don't even expect anything big to happen."

Pinkie giggled at Twilight's last statement, nudging her a little. "Silly! Of course something big is going to happen!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow to this, feeling a sense of dread crawl into her heart. "What do you mean? Is it your Pinkie Sense?" She shuddered at the thought, knowing Pinkie's abilities all too well.

Pinkie laughed abruptly at this, and shook her head. "No, no! The Farmer's Festival! It's in four days!"

Whatever confidence Twilight had, it seemed to have drained from her in a single instant. Her eyes went wide, and she nearly shouted, "The Farmer's Festival! I'd completely forgotten!" She began panicking, and looked around for Spike, who was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, no. I hadn't planned for this! What if I mess up? I haven't planned for a festival before, let alone been the MAYOR during one!"

Pinkie frowned at having caused Twilight to panic, and decided to help. "Don't worry, Twilight! The Farmer's Festival is just like a big party! I'll help you out with whatever you need! Pinkie promise!"

Twilight turned to see Pinkie with a big smile, her hoof extended towards herself. She gave a sigh and bumped hooves with Pinkie, saying softly, "Thanks, Pinkie. I'm going to need all the help I can get by that time."

Pinkie nodded to her, "No problem, Twilight! Well, I'm off to get more party supplies! I'm gonna need to get even more for the Festival!"

Twilight watched her bounce off, and decided to go search for Spike, who was taking a mysteriously long time getting quills and paper.