The next month seemed to crawl by for the candidates, especially Amethyst as she was anticipating what she thought of as the first step on her being re-elected and being able to bring out even more prosperity to Ponyville. She woke up early so that before she would go to work, she could go and cast her ballot. Given that Sea Swirl's time to arrive at work was at the same time as Amethyst's, she did the same.
That morning, like it was the last time, Sunny Flames and the ENC news crew had set up shop in Ponyville. That morning it was warmer than it had been four years ago during the primary. Once she had got everything set up, she went on the air, "Good morning Equestria, this is Sunny Flames and I am once again reporting from the Ponyville primary. This year's primary is going to be more unique because a Minotaur is running and not only has the town has grown significantly since the last election, so has its demographics and electorate."
Hard News, the main anchor in Manehattan asked, "A Minotaur is running? How is the town responding to it?"
Sunny replied, "Actually, there hasn't been any negative responses and he actually seems to be fairly popular because he is appealing to both the reformists and the traditionalists." The camera panned of to the left to see Iron Will leaving the polling station. She approached him and asked, "Iron Will, in the debate you seemed to cater to everypony, how do you think you did?"
Iron Will replied, "Well Iron Will is certain that he will win the primary and advance to the general election."
Sunny asked, "And what about your opponents?"
Iron Will replied, "Well Iron Will is certain that Amethyst will face off against him in the general because his other opponents are weak and are stuck in the past."
Sunny finished, "Well best of luck to you."
Iron Will finished, "And if Iron Will wins, free zeppelin cruises for everycreature!"
Sunny gave him a smile and in Manehattan, Hard News couldn't help but get a laugh, "Iron Will may be trying to cater to everypony but I don't think free zeppelin cruises will win him the election."
Sunny agreed before noticing that Amethyst had left the polling station. She approached her and asked, "Mayor Amethyst, how do you think things are going to turn out today?"
Amethyst let out a laugh, "Come on Ms. Flames, you should have learned four years ago that I am not about to go making any predictions, it is bad luck."
At that moment Sunny knew that Amethyst had not changed any since the last election and decided to cut the interview short, "Well best of luck to you."
Amethyst replied, "You have a good day."
Back in Manehattan Hard News said, "It looks like Amethyst is being her usual self, refusing to make any predictions."
Sunny replied, "It seems that way." She looked off towards the polling station and saw no sign of her opponents anywhere so she decided that she would do some on-camera exit polling. She saw a pony that had been less than friendly to her four years ago but decided to approach the unicorn, "Ma'am, who do you think will finish in the top two today?"
Colgate replied, "To be honest, I think Amethyst Star will come out on top because she has fulfilled every single campaign promise, she is close to wiping out the town's debt and during the debate, she proved it by showing the town records regarding the payments on those loans." She stood taller and added, "If there are two things that I value a lot, it is transparency and honesty."
Sunny asked, "I'm assuming it that Amethyst got your vote?"
Colgate thought that was a rather dumb question but decided to placate the reporter, "Yes. As far as I'm concerned, she is the only candidate on the ballot that is worthy of not just my vote, but of any pony who values prosperity and fiscal responsibility."
Sunny asked, "And what about the other candidates?"
Colgate replied, "While Iron Will may sound good to some in wanting to keep some of Amethyst's policies in place, the fact that he wants to restore silly, time consuming, costly and outdated traditions does not make him a viable candidate in my eyes nor should it for anypony else."
Sunny asked, "And what about Miss Mare and Applejack?"
Colgate gave her a smile, "You don't honestly think those two even stand a chance do you?"
Sunny replied, "At ENC we do our best to be fair and balanced so I'm not going to make any calls on that."
Colgate sighed, "Well when it comes to Miss Mare, it is a lost cause. She got crushed last time and that was before so many more forward thinking ponies relocated here and when it comes to Applejack, I think her running is biting the hooves of the pony who allowed her farm to generate enough profits that allowed her grandmare to get her hip replaced."
Sunny replied, "Thank you for your input, you have a nice day."
As Colgate went about her business, back in Manehattan Hard News said, "Well she obviously knows her facts and I have a feeling that she won't be defecting from the other unicorns."
Sunny replied, "You're most likely right." She then saw a cerise earth pony leaving the polling place and decided to get some more information, "Ma'am, can I have a moment of your time?"
Cheerilee, like many of the traditionalist earth ponies in town was no fan of Sunny Flames or ENC in general but decided to give them her input, "Yes, you may."
Sunny asked, "So who did you vote for today?"
Cheerilee replied, "I voted for Miss Mare because I do think that this town was happier back when we had our traditions."
Given that Cheerilee had benefited greatly from Amethyst's policies it shocked Sunny but did not completely surprise her. She asked, "So how do you think things will turn out today?"
Despite knowing deep down that Amethyst and Iron Will would advance, she was not about to admit that her vote was likely wasted. She replied, "Well I do think Amethyst will come out on top but I think Miss Mare will come in second."
Sunny asked, "And why is that?"
Cheerilee replied, "Well Amethyst has brought a lot of prosperity to the community but a lot of the ponies I know miss the traditions of old and how they brought the community together."
Sunny asked, "What about these ponies, many of who are unicorns, that relocated their businesses here, ponies who have no idea what things like Winter Wrap Up are?"
Cheerilee knew that the reporter was trying to get under her coat and replied, "Well they may like things the way they are but I really need to get back to the school. They did not give us the day off for the election."
Sunny said, "Very well ma'am, you have a good day."
Back in Manehattan Hard News couldn't help but shake his head, "I know we're supposed to be fair and unbalanced but it seems like that pony was just cutting her muzzle off to spite her face."
Sunny agreed, "I would think she would vote for Amethyst because her policies have helped her out so much." She noticed that the other two candidates were leaving the polling station. She approached them and asked, "While I'm certain I know who you two voted for, how do you think things will turn out."
Miss Mare replied, "No offense Applejack but I think that I will be facing off against Amethyst in the general. I don't know if ponies will take an absolute traditionalist over somepony who wants to keep some of the modern financial policies and I think that Iron Will is a lost cause. NOPONY is going to vote for a Minotaur."
Applejack countered, "Seriously, y'all think that a true traditionalist doesn't stand a chance?" She turned to the camera and added, "I think I will advance to the general and so will Amethyst."
Sunny asked, "I take it you don't think anypony is going to go with Iron Will either?"
Applejack replied, "No. Even the newcomers probably aren't going to trust a Minotaur to run the town."
Sunny got a beep in her earpiece letter know that they were running short on time. She said, "Well thank you two for your input, you have a nice day." The camera focused back on Sunny and she added, "Well it looks like there are some divided opinions here but I'm going to be honest, I don't think ponies are going to take kindly to candidates who will likely set the economy backwards."
Back in Manehattan Hard News replied, "I wouldn't think so but four years ago proved that anything is possible so we'll have to wait in see." He then got a notification of his own and finished, "This is all the time we have for now everypony. Up next, The Market Report and then election coverage on the west coast."
Once they went off the air Sunny and her crew headed to the local cafe for a bite to eat. As Sunny sat there eating her meal, she couldn't help but laugh over the fact that there were some ponies out there who were willing to vote for a candidate that may not have their best interests in mind.
One hour had passed since the polls had closed in Ponyville and the head anchor in Manehattan had been waiting for much longer than he did four years ago. While this did frustrate him some, he knew that because Ponyville had grown significantly. Around 2020 he finally got a notification that all the ballots had been counted and the results were ready.
"Good evening Equestria, today has been primary day across all of Equestria and like it was four years ago, we have been focusing heavily on Ponyville because for the first time in recorded history, a Minotaur is running from office. Now let's head out to Ponyville where Sunny Flames is reporting."
Once the camera began rolling in the small community Hard News continued, "Sunny, how would you say things have gone in Ponyville today? Do you think that the winners may be determined by the turnout?"
Sunny replied, "Yes. I noticed that the unicorn turnout was huge. I'm thinking that every single unicorn that is registered to vote likely turned out."
Hard News asked, "And what about other types of ponies and other creatures that have located to the community?"
Sunny replied, "Turnout overall was extremely high and judging from the looks of things, the only pony I can make an accurate call on would be that Amethyst will easily finish first and advance to the general."
Hard News got a notification that the time to release the results had come. Each of the four candidates had a watch party going on and waited in anticipation for the results. Everypony took a deep breath when Hard News announced, "For the Ponyville Primary, Amethyst Star received 182 votes, Iron Will received 107 votes, Applejack received 10 votes and Miss Mare received 8 votes. In the general election for mayor of Ponyville, it will be the incumbent Amethyst Star going up against the most unlikely opponent, Iron Will."
The creatures at both the winners' parties went wild as both candidates had went out in the crowds and began to interact with their supporters. While they were celebrating, the time for the post-election discussion had begun. Hard News commented, "While I was fully expecting Amethyst Star and Iron Will to advance, I did not think that the Minotaur would receive that many votes."
Sunny replied, "Neither did I. I am thinking that outside of the unicorns, many of the long term residents and some of the newcomers from smaller communities may want old traditions restored."
Hard News asked, "I take it you are certain that the unicorns won't defect from Amethyst and the newcomers from larger communities will stick with her as well?"
Sunny replied, "Yes. In the last election the unicorns were fiercely loyal to Amethyst and I know ponies from larger cities are not going to want to have to mess with antiquated things such as having to change seasons themselves."
Hard News commented, "That is true. Now given the results of this election, Amethyst could win with just what she got but knowing Amethyst, I'm certain she will shoot to gather as many votes as possible."
Sunny replied, "I know Amethyst some and I could see her setting a goal of at least 200 if not more although in a perfect world in her eyes, she'd garner them all."
Hard News said, "That is true, very true." He got a notification in his earpiece that it was time to go. He finished, "Thank you Equestria for watching our coverage of the Ponyville primary. Stay tuned for coverage of primary coverage in Vanhoover."