//------------------------------// // Meeting The Mayor // Story: Land of Equines // by Daddy Joe //------------------------------// Meeting The Mayor November 7th, 2012 "Alright, lay it out on me." I said. "The mayor is one of the most trusted ponies in Ponyville. That got me thinking we could perhaps head over to town hall and see if we get her to say good things about you." Twilight said. "If we're going to do that, I should at least say something, too." I said. "You can do that." Twilight said. Twilight, Spike, and I stepped outside of the library to venture over to town hall, but Twilight came to a halt and whispered something into Spike's ear. "You sure about that?" Spike asked. Twilight nodded her head in response. Spike ran back inside the library to do whatever task he was assigned. "What did you say?" I asked. "I hope you don't mind, but I told Spike to write a letter to inform the Princess on your arrival in Equestria." Twilight said. "Princess?" I asked. "You did make sure to tell Spike to make me sound like a kind individual? I don't want the princess coming after me with bad intentions." I urged. "Spike should know what to and what not to write, he's got this." Twilight assured. "I hope so." I replied. About a minute later, Spike regrouped with us. "Okay, it's sent." Spike announced. "Thank you, Spike." Twilight said. "What'cha write to the princess, Spike?" I asked. "About how much of a threat you are to Equestria." Spike teased. I stared at him with wide eyes. Spike then began to laugh his tail off. "You should've seen the look on your face! It was priceless!" Spike laughed. "Oh, so you've got jokes now, huh?" I asked. "Oh, Spike." Twilight interjected. With that out of the way, we began our walk to town hall. Along the way, many other ponies who lived in Ponyville spotted me again. It would go from continuous chattering and then silence once they saw me. I felt so awkward and out of place at the time. "Now I know how you feel when everyone stares at you." Spike said as we passed a crowd of ponies. "I know, right? It's so weird." I said. "Like you said, the ponies here just don't know much about you. At this point, I think they're curious rather than fearing you." Twilight said. "You could be right." I said. As we walked through the crowd, I spotted a familiar face from earlier. It was the mare who dropped her daisies. "Oh hey, it's you!" I exclaimed. "Hi there." she replied in a calm tone. "Look, I know you may not trust me, but I'm not what you think I am." I said, sincerely. "Now that you mention that, I figured that out right away when you showed kindness." the mare replied. "I wish the other ponies here were as understanding as you." I said. "I'll make sure to spread the word about you." she said. "Thanks! The name's Caleb, by the way." I said. "Junebug. Y'know what, take this daisy. My gratitude for helping me earlier." Junebug said, handing me a daisy with white petals and a yellow center. "Thank you very much. I'll be sure to keep this." I said. "Your welcome." she said. "Would be nice to stay and talk, but I gotta go meet the mayor before I do anything else today." I said. "The mayor? I bet she'll like you." Junebug said. "Keeping my fingers crossed." I said. "Alright, bye-bye now." Junebug said. After that meeting Junebug, we continued on our original intent. "Seems like friend making is pretty easy now." Twilight said. "Good thing too. She seems nice." I said. After taking many turns around Ponyville, all three of us entered the town or village square and spotted town hall instantly. We walked up the step and stopped at the door. "Ready?" Spike asked. "Yep, lets go." I said. I pushed on the door and we walked inside. The inside had that scent when you enter a courtroom and there were four balconies on each side of the room, much like those old theater VIP booths. "Hello? Anypony here?" Twilight asked out loud with no response. "Must be a slow day." I said. "Where is everybody?" Spike asked. "I don't know. Maybe we should check upstairs." Twilight suggested. All three of us headed upstairs and there was a hallway with several rooms. I scanned the doors and found one that read, "Mayor Mare." "Hey guys, I think she's in here." I informed. Twilight and Spike walked over towards me and examined the door as well. Twilight then knocked on the door. "Mayor Mare, it's Twilight and Spike. May we come in?" Twilight asked. "Yes, Twilight, you may come in." replied a female voice from inside the room. Twilight opened the door with her horn magic and sitting at the desk was a mare with a light brown coat with a light gray mane. Her face lit up with surprise. “Hello Twilight and Spike,” she greeted while looking in my direction. “Who’s your friend?” she asked, collectively. Twilight was about to speak, but I stopped her. "I got this." I said and Twilight nodded. “Mayor Mare, my name is Caleb Barlow. I’m new to Ponyville and it is a great pleasure to meet the sole head pony of Ponyville.” I introduced, formerly. “Well, it’s also a great pleasure to meet you too, Caleb. When did you arrive here?” she asked. "Not long ago. I'd say about four hours ago." I said. “Is that so? How has everyone taken to your arrival?" Mayor Mare asked. "I'm glad you asked that because that is why I'm here." I said. "Go on." she encouraged. "Unfortunately, almost everypony here seems to be very reluctant to make my acquaintance because they fear me. Well.... I shouldn't say fear. What I meant to say was confused and unsure about me." I said. "Is there something you want me to do?" Mayor Mare asked. "Yes. Mayor Mare, would you organize some sort of speech event or something and get these ponies on my side. It really sucks when I enter a town where everypony is hesitant to even talk to me." I said. "We can make that happen. How do you want this to work?" Mayor Mare asked. "What I was thinking of doing is that you would say some good things about me and near the end, i'll make a surprise appearance, and say a few words." I explained. "Sounds good." Mayor Mare replied. "So is that a yes?" I asked. "Of course. I can see the situation you're in and I want Ponyville to be a place where everypony will accept you." Mayor Mare said. "Thank you so much, Mayor!" I thanked. "You're welcome." she replied. "So when can this event take place?" I asked. "I can probably get the word spread by today. Therefore, we can have an audience for tomorrow, if that's okay with you." Mayor Mare said. "The sooner the better." I said. "Very good. So we have a plan?" Mayor Mare asked. "I think we do." I replied with a nod. "Excellent. For now, I'll get the word out and you should come up with what you're going to say. The event will take place in front of town hall at three o'clock in the afternoon." Mayor Mare said. "Sounds good. Thanks again for making this possible." I said. "Anytime. Hopefully things will go better for you." Mayor Mare said. "I sure hope so. Be seeing you." I said. "Okay, bye now." Mayor Mare said. All three of us walked out of the mayor's office. "Well that went well." I said. "I know. You were very professional and punctual with her." Twilight said. "How was I professional? I didn't even realize I was." I said. "The way you interacted and worked things out with her was impressive. Maybe speaking is your calling in life." Twilight said. "Maybe." I said. As we exited town hall, I heard this deep rumbling sound. I looked at Spike and he had his claw on his stomach. "Spike, was that you? Sounds like you haven't eaten in days." I said. “Nah, that’s what it usually sounds like when it’s partially empty.” Spike joked. "Want to get some lunch? My treat." Twilight offered. "Yeah, I could eat." I said. "Then let's go. I know a place." Twilight said.