Mayor Marion Marigold Mare usually stayed away from Namepending Castle. Aside from her more personal reasons of aesthetics and building code violations, the building stood as a symbol of just how much Twilight Sparkle’s presence had warped her town beyond recognition.
“Her” town. Marion couldn’t even think that sincerely anymore. Winning more elections than she liked to think about paled in comparison to saving the world so often that those girls might as well schedule their cataclysms.
It was a shame they didn’t. Maybe then she’d know when to take a personal day.
Still, she couldn’t say they were malicious about it. Not when Twilight Sparkle had stood on the other side of Marion's desk for a good five minutes listening to a rant about the woes of being the mayor of town full of heroes, then asked how she could help.
Marion had asked for what had seemed like the mildly impossible. Twilight had just smiled and said “Come to the castle next Sunday.”
Sunday had come, and so Marion knocked on the massive double doors. Spike opened them and smiled. “Morning, Mayor Mare.”
“Good morning, Spike. I trust everything’s ready?”
“Oh yeah. Follow me.”
Marion did her best to tune out the sheer enormity of the castle and what it had done to nearby property values. It really was a shame how the Tree of Harmony sat in the middle of the Everfree. And was, well, a tree. Otherwise she might have directed her complaints to the actual builder rather than the hapless resident.
After several near-identical hallways, she found herself in a library, one occupied by a familiar purple alicorn, an unfamiliar orange unicorn, and a geegaw-covered mirror that all but screamed “not your department.”
“The mayor’s here!” Spike called from her side.
The mares turned from their conversation. Twilight waved. “Good morning, Mayor Mare!”
“Hi, Ad—” The unicorn cut herself off and nodded. “Ma’am.”
“Ladies.” Marion stepped forward and offered her hoof to the stranger. “I don’t believe we’ve met, Miss…?”
“Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset began extending her own forehoof, but hesitated and wrinkled her brow for a moment before completing the hoofbump. “I’m a friend of Twilight’s from…” Another curious bit of hesitation, this time with a lip bite. “Well, it’s complicated.”
Marion quirked an eyebrow. “You’ll have to pardon me if I’m somewhat wary of Princess Twilight’s ‘complicated’ friends. Starlight Glimmer alone has caused more than her share of headaches.”
"To be fair," said Twilight, "she's gotten much better since she began her lessons."
"Relatively speaking," Marion allowed. She turned a hard stare on the newcomer. "And what sort of complications do you bring to the table, Miss Shimmer?"
Twilight zipped in between them before Sunset could answer. "The helpful kind." She took a step back to let Marion see Sunset once more, spreading a wing as though presenting the unicorn on stage. "I told Sunset about the problem we discussed, and she was able to arrange something with a friend of hers.”
“Was she?" Marion made a point of looking around the library. "That’s good to hear, but I’m not seeing this friend.”
Sunset cleared her throat. “We wanted to wait for you to arrive. It’d clear up a lot of misunderstandings that might crop up otherwise.”
“Would it, now?”
“It would," Sunset said with a nod.
"You see, this mirror is an interplanar gateway to a nearby probability nexus—“
“Twilight," Marion said as soon as she could get the word in edgewise. Once she was sure Twilight had stopped, she went on. "I’m an earth pony and a politician. My understanding of arcane science could fit between any two books on these shelves.”
Sunset nudged Twilight, giving a smirk that made the princess rolled her eyes. “The point, Mayor Mare, is that I come from a world similar to Equestria in many respects, but with some major differences. There’s very little magic, but the technology is much more advanced, allowing just about anyone to not just fulfill your request, but do it well.”
“Oh!" Marion blinked and adjusted her expectations. "Well, that will be helpful... though I have to ask, 'anyone'?”
Sunset sucked a breath through her teeth. “Um, yeah, there’s also a different dominant species." She gave the sort of desperate smile Marion usually saw during budget meetings. "Fingers are involved, but based on previous experience, the adjustment period shouldn’t take too long.”
“Twilight, when I asked you for help redeeming Ponyville’s public image, I wasn’t expecting minotaurs from beyond known reality.” After a moment, Marion sighed. “And now that I say it aloud, perhaps I should have.”
“Look, before you decide anything, you should at least meet her for yourself. I’ll tell her to come through.” With that, Sunset walked into the mirror, making the surface ripple and shine with her passage.
"I know it sounds unusual," said Twilight, "but this isn't exactly an area where I have any direct connections. So I had to get a bit creative."
Marion wrinkled her brow. Something felt off about that. "Didn't you—"
Another burst of light from the portal cut her off, making her turn to see just what would emerge. First was Sunset Shimmer again, and in her wake...
Marion wasn't sure what to expect. All she knew was that fingers were involved somehow. Iron Will had been just as intense in getting his performer's permit as he had during the seminar itself, at least according to Addendum, the clerk who'd had to deal with him. Marion mentally braced herself for butting heads with an ego who felt they knew her town better than she did.
In short, it was much like preparing to deal with Trixie's ongoing one-mare campaign against Ponyville's public disturbance laws.
Whatever Marion had expected, it wasn't an earth pony tottering through the portal like a newborn. A mare barely out of fillyhood, no less, still growing into her legs. Her two-tone green mane was pulled into pigtails, bound by film-reel hair ties that matched her cutie mark, and she squinted behind oval-framed glasses precariously perched upon her snout.
The setup the stranger carried couldn't have been helping her balance either, a massive array of sliding and rotating mechanisms that wouldn't look out of place in an optometrist's office if it hadn't been made to rest on a pony's back. Given the movie camera attached to the rig, ready to shift in front of the young mare, it was easy to guess what it was for, though Marion had still never seen one before.
Certainly not one that seemed made of hot pink hard plastic.
The stranger was far from quiet as she stumbled about the room. "What the actual crap, Sunset? I figured I'd have to be key grip for this, but you didn't say I'd be the dolly too!" Once she finally got her hooves under her, the filly stared at them like she'd never seen them before. "You didn't mention the stump limbs either; you just said to bring my phone and a selfie stick and magic would take care of the rest! I'd rather be seven feet tall and crazy again than whatever this... " She trailed off as she finally looked up. "And you're a unicorn."
Under one hoof, she was terribly young. Under another, Marion didn't understand half the words coming out of her mouth, which definitely indicated an experienced professional.
Sunset met the outburst with a flat look. "I told you exactly what would happen, Juniper. I explicitly used the phrase 'magic ponies' at least five times, to say nothing of the name of the town."
"I thought we were going to ride them or something! Do a few shots of the corrals for the publicity short, you know?" 'Juniper' snorted, ears flat. "I'd better be getting paid for this. I'm not giving up my thumbs for exposure."
Marion cleared her throat. "We can discuss that soon. Hello there, miss..."
The filly blinked as she turned to look at Marion, blushed, and cleared her throat. "Uh, Juniper Montage. Hi. Sorry, ma'am, I wasn't expecting... well, pretty much any of this." She waved a hoof across the room, only to slam it back down as her others knees began to shake.
“I see. I must say, I'm surprised myself. I suppose I was expecting somepony... older.”
“Twilight told me what budget we’re working with,” said Sunset.
“As I said, it’s not like I have connections in Applewood.”
Marion pinned down what had bothered her about that. “Wasn’t there a movie about you and the other Bearers?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “You know how that movie didn’t get a major theatrical release? There’s a reason for that. I had nothing to do with it and each of my friends was trying to make a different film. When I sent a letter to Wormer Horsehooves, I got a polite but very firm response from his attorney.”
“Yeah, because you had me send it," Spike added from one of the reading couches, looking over a comic book he'd procured at some point. "I told you most ponies aren’t used to letters appearing in puffs of smoke.”
Juniper gasped. “Wait, you got a film about you made by Wormer Horsehooves?”
“No, I got one made by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie…" Twilight nodded as Juniper winced. "And you see the problem.”
“Oh yeah." Juniper turned to Marion, a smile of near-Pinkie magnitude on her muzzle. "But trust me, Mayor Mare, I’ll make you proud.”
“I can only hope so. After what the last fellow put out…" Marion shuddered in remembrance. "We need something to give the newsreels that will make Ponyville look like something other than the disaster capital of the kingdom. And given the approaching deadline, my only request is that you keep comparisons to Detrot to a minimum.”
“Oh. Oh. I… see." Juniper cleared her throat. "Well, why don’t we focus on you?”
Marion took a few moments to process that. She pointed a hoof at herself. “Me?”
“Sure! How long have you been the mayor of Ponyville?”
“Twenty years. Though the last several have felt several times longer than all the rest.”
“I’m standing right here,” said Twilight.
“No offense meant, Twilight. You and your friends have certainly kept Equestria safe, but you’ve done my blood pressure no favors." Marion gave the princess a hard stare over her glasses. "And don't forget, I'm still the one who has to sign off on that school of yours."
Sunset chuckled. "Wow. Look at Miss Goodie-Four-Shoes learning to politic." Twilight smacked her with a wing, which did nothing to stop the laughter.
Marion brought her attention back to the last pony in the room. "You really think focusing on me is the right choice, Miss Montage? We have a resident princess, and she’s far from the only national hero in town.”
“Yeah, but this is a tourism video. People coming expecting to see celebrities are always going to be disappointed when those celebrities don’t live up to their expectations. I saw that tons of times while working for Uncle Canter."
Twilight nodded. "We certainly saw that sort of behavior after publishing the Friendship Journal."
"To be clear," Marion said, "'Uncle Canter' would be?"
Juniper winced. Sunset spoke up in her stead. "Canter Zoom, one of the premiere directors in the other world. Juniper worked for him for years," added Sunset.
"R-right." Juniper took a deep breath. "Let’s... let's look at it this way: Is this place open to the public?" She looked around, the creases in her face vanishing as old regret gave way to confusion. "You know, wherever we are? Also, is this what most buildings in this place are like?”
“In order," said Marion, "partially, Princess Twilight’s castle, and thankfully no.”
“Still right here.”
“Twilight, just standing in this giant zoning violation makes my cutie mark ache.”
“Got it," Juniper said before Twilight could shoot back. "Getting back to my point, okay, we can feature the landmarks. They’re not going anywhere. But celebrities are people with their own wants, needs, and desire for personal space. Fans don’t always get that.”
Everypony else in the room nodded. “There's a lot of pressure on you,” Spike observed, for reasons Marion felt it was better not to investigate.
"So," said Sunset, "think you two will be able to make this work?"
Marion considered the proposition for a few moments before nodding. "We can at least give it a try."
"Great." Sunset began leading Twilight out of the room. "So, hypothetically speaking, if you had an anniversary coming up, what would you want as a gift?"
Marion tuned them out, focused on the task at hoof. "I won't lie, Ms. Montage, you will be working on a shoestring budget in terms of both time and bits. We have a month before this is meant to show in theaters. The last fellow wasted eight and turned in... well, I won't bother listing all the things wrong with it. "
"If it's anything like what I think it is, you don't need to. But I think we can make this happen with plenty of time to spare."
"We?" Always a word to be wary of in politics. It all too often meant "you" in terms of work and "me" in terms of taking credit.
"We're worried about Ponyville—okay, in hindsight, should've seen this coming—and making it look its best." juniper gave that near-party-pony grin again. "And I think you're the voice for it."
"A politician? On camera? I can't tell if this is a ridiculous idea or a brilliant one."
Juniper balked at that. "I mean, it can work, but don't go overboard."
"I have several questions, but they can wait." Marion nodded at the assembly Juniper carried. "How long do you think you can lug all of that?"
The filly lifted one leg after another, much steadier than when she'd first emerged. "It's more awkward than heavy. As long as I don't tip over, I should be fine."
"Very well, then. I'll give you the grand tour. Should we start with the castle?"
Juniper shrugged. "Eh. I can get a few shots of it on the way back. If it doesn't fit in with Ponyville as a whole, it doesn't need to take top billing."
Marion smiled. She could get to like this filly. "Then we'll begin at the beginning."
"That's not strictly necessary. I can always edit that into place later."
"Trust me on this one, Miss Montage."
Juniper shrugged. "Well, you're the mayor."
"Yes. Yes, I am."
The warm glow faded a little when Spike said, "Do you two need me to show you how to get out of here?" But only a little.
The walk invigorated Marion, but watching Juniper did so to a much greater degree. Seeing the filly look around in naked wonder at everything around her, at the ponies getting along every day, smiling and waving as they passed...
It was enough to make Marion give her own wide smile, one that persisted until they neared their destination. "You'll want to begin recording." The smile faltered. "Er, you do know how to operate that camera, yes?"
"I... Hmm..." Juniper's initial look of wide-eyed worry gave way to something more contemplative. With a few shrugs, head tilts, and adjustments by hoof, she had the eyepiece of the camera in place and the reels whirring. "We're rolling."
"Excellent. Follow me." Marion moved along the last tree-lined rise, and her first subject came into view.
"Sweet Apple Acres," she said in her best speech-making tone. "Established AC 793. That barn... well, that barn's long-since collapsed predecessor was the first building erected in what would become Ponyville, raised by the Apples after they were granted the land by Princess Celestia herself. A few months later, Sugar Smith would venture into the Everfree Forest and retrieve the zap apples that would in turn attract the traders who would settle the town proper. She only managed it by risking her own life, pursued by timberwolves practically to her doorstep."
After a few moments, Juniper paused the recording and moved the camera back to its over-the-wither idle position. "Wow. So is there a statue to Sugar Smith somewhere? It'd be a great shot to hold on while the voiceover plays."
Marion blinked at her. "What do you mean? You could interview her if you wanted."
That got a blank stare in turn. "Uh, just checking, what year is it right now? You know, different calendars and all."
"AC 1006."
Juniper's gaze started to slide off into the middle distance, like anypony who had to listen to Pinkie Pie for too long. "And she's... still alive."
"Oh, very much so."
"Is, uh, is that normal?"
Marion shrugged. "It is for the Apples. I suspect the zap apples have something to do with it."
"... Huh."
"There's also her granddaughter Applejack, the Bearer of Honesty." May as well get her out of the way, Marion thought.
But Juniper shook her head. "No celebrities, Mayor Mare, we went over this. You and Ponyville are the stars."
"Ah." Marion couldn't help but smile at the idea. "Right."
On the walk back into town proper, Marion smiled and said, "I must admit, I had an ulterior motive for starting at Sweet Apple Acres."
"You did?"
"Yes. I was hoping you could tell me about yourself."
Juniper stumbled, and it took a steadying hoof from Marion to ensure she didn't overbalance and crush the camera. "Oh, uh, I mean, like I said, this is all about you."
"But it wouldn't be possible without you." Marion smiled at the filly. "I've been called many things on the campaign trail, but I'd hate to be known as ungrateful to those who volunteer their time and labor to benefit others."
Juniper glowered at her from the word "volunteer." "I am getting paid for this, right? I've had enough unpaid internships to last me a lifetime."
"Absolutely."
"Okay." Juniper's gaze fell to the road. "But, well..."
"You mentioned your uncle, an internship..." Marion hesitated for a moment, then brought up the alicorn in the room. "Turning seven feet tall..."
"Right." Juniper sighed. "The last one didn't really have anything to do with my work experience... except for maybe why Sunset let me go through the portal."
"She mentioned that your world doesn't have as much magic as Equestria."
"Yeah. I got a little, and I made some dumb decisions with it. If it weren't for Starlight Glimmer..." Juniper shook her head. "Well, at least I got some friends out of it. And one heck of a way to break into the business." She frowned and considered the camera. "If I can ever show this footage to people back home."
Marion frowned. "Why couldn't you?"
"Hey, you didn't know about humans. I didn't know about Ponyworld until Sunset told me to come to her high school."
"I see..." Marion didn't. Not fully. But she could piece together enough to get a rough idea. But then she realized just where they were. "Hold that thought for the time being."
"Why?" Even as she asked, Juniper brought the camera into position.
"We've arrived at Market Square." Marion swept a hoof from one end of the store-lined street to the other. "The commercial heart of the town, from..." She felt her face twitch as the words left her mouth: "From Carousel Boutique to Sugarcube Corner."
"Hold on, is that a Barnyard Bargains?"
Marion blinked and followed Juniper's pointing hoof. "Why, yes. The very first."
Juniper just stared at the store for a few seconds. "We have that chain in my world. How in the..."
"Do you think we should include it? It's... technically historical."
Juniper snorted. "If nothing else, we could probably get Filthy Rich to bolster the budget of the film."
Marion frowned at that. "This is meant to encourage tourism for the whole town, Miss Montage, not act as a Barnyard Bargains commercial."
"Hey, a little product placement never hurt anyone, as long as we're subtle about it."
"Well..." Marion tapped a forehoof as she considered the idea. "Mr. Rich's grandfather was one of the traders who first sold zap apple jam..."
"See?" Juniper grinned like Discord himself. "Like you said, we've got a historic angle."
"And the... other stores I mentioned?"
All that got was a shrug. "Eh, I'm sure we can work them in."
With some prime storefront footage captured, the pair moved to their next destination. "So," said Marion, "I believe the term you used was 'humans'?"
"Yeah. We're like..." Juniper trailed off, frowning. "Um... Hmm. Have you ever seen a chimpanzee?"
"I've met a minotaur."
Juniper nearly stumbled again. "Oh. Wow. Those are real here. Okay, sort of like that, but the feet have stubby little fingers too, and the face is..." After a few moments, she shook her head. "Gosh, I need to watch more sci-fi. I never thought about how to describe humans like this."
"It's quite the mental image thus far, I can assure you." Marion couldn't help but smile at the imagined absurdity.
"Yeah, I bet," Juniper said with a sheepish grin.
"So what precisely did you do for your uncle?"
"Coffee orders, mostly." The camera rig shifted around Juniper's shrug. "Like I said, intern."
Marion nodded. "That's how I got my start." She hummed to herself. "You know, I'm not sure if we've cleaned out the coffee pot in Town Hall since I started working there..."
"It was still nice." Juniper took on a wistful look she seemed too young for. "I made a lot of friends, learned to love making movies as much as watching them..." Her ears drooped, soon followed by the rest of her. "And then I ruined it all because I wanted a spotlight I didn't deserve."
"Ah. You know, during my first election—"
"Um, Mayor Mare?"
Marion blinked away the fog of her own nostalgia. "Yes?"
Juniper pointed at the approaching Everfree. "Why are we heading towards the forest full of angry wolves?"
"I assumed you'd want to get a good shot of Sweetfeather Sanctuary. Fluttershy runs it."
"Ah." Juniper mulled that over for a moment. "Is this world's Fluttershy a big fan of the spotlight?"
Marion shook her head. "Anything but. I could tell you some stories of her modeling career."
"Is there a reason you want to feature it besides the fact that she's a famous hero?"
"Well, when you put it like that..." After a bit more thought, Marion shuddered. "Honestly, now I'm a bit concerned that Discord might interfere with the shooting."
"So that's a no on the sanctuary?"
"You said you could rearrange parts of the film after we're done?"
Juniper considered her camera, then gave a slow nod. "I'm not exactly sure how this will translate to a smartphone back home, but it should be easy."
Marion let the obvious question go unsaid. The tools of the trade weren't her concern. "Let's save it for last, then. There's a chance he may get revenge on her behalf if we leave it out entirely."
"That works." Juniper looked back. "So, what's the most important part of the town to you?"
"To me?" A hundred answers came to mind, and none of them seemed adequate. "Well. Goodness. Everything's important! Ponyville wouldn't be what it is today without all the ponies who call it home."
Juniper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, that's what you say on the campaign trail. What do you really think?"
Marion shook her head. "It's sad to see somepony so young have such a jaded opinion of politicians."
"That didn't answer my question."
That got a smirk. "You, my dear, may have missed a calling in investigative journalism. Very well, come with me."
"So," Juniper said a ways in, "you were saying about your first election?"
"Yes. I wanted to take the reins of this town. I was so young and confident, sure I knew best, that I could guide us to a new era, that I would be the best mayor to ever serve."
"I'm noticing a pattern."
Marion nodded. "Indeed. I made it all about me, not the town or the ponies who lived in it."
"Oh. Kind of like what I'm doing with the film."
"Not at all."
"No?" said Juniper.
"No. When I first ran for mayor, well, you mentioned chasing after somepony else's spotlight?"
"I tried to sabotage a production because I wanted to play the lead role." Juniper grew quieter as she went on, until she mumbled out, "Despite, you know, no acting experience."
Marion nodded. "Exactly the mistake I made. I wanted to be in front, but I didn't care about anypony behind me. The second time I ran for mayor, I didn't just race off and assume everypony was following. I gave them reasons to want me. And here, we're using me as a symbol for Ponyville itself, not just its six most famous residents. I admit, it's taken me some time to get out of that mindset myself, but this will be just the thing to bring the rest of the nation out of it as well." She smiled as she took in the approaching building. "Which brings us to our next stop."
Juniper looked at it from top to bottom, not a hint of recognition in her eyes. "It does?"
"Yes. Town Hall. If Market Square is Ponyville's heart, we're the brain." Marion couldn't keep the pride out of her voice, and frankly didn't try very hard. "We do all the messy bits of governance so the resident princess doesn't have to."
"Nice," Juniper said with a grin. She shifted the camera into position. "Can I get a few shots of the inside?"
Marion hesitated. There was pride, and then there was outright delusion. "Do you think ponies will really want to see that? It's one thing to use me as a symbol. It's another to show the day-to-day bureaucracy."
"We'll be showing dedicated, capable people working to make people's lives better, right?"
"Of course."
"Who wouldn't want to see that from a government office?" Juniper said, more than a hint of desperation detectable in her tone.
Marion looked to the filly, trying to keep the dawning horror out of her own voice. "What's the government like in your world?"
"That's..." Juniper winced and refused to meet Marion's gaze. "Look, I'll go through my own dark past any time you like, but I'd really rather not discuss that. You know, alien world, different standards, different expectations, less magic everywhere."
"I see." And this time, Marion feared she did. "Very well, come with me, Miss Montage."
Several shoots later—including a suspiciously picturesque panning shot across Sweetfeather Sanctuary—the duo found themselves back at Namepending Castle. "So," said Marion, "what do you think?"
Juniper grinned. "Between the audio and the video, I think I can put together some amazing stuff. Just throw in some royalty-free music ponies have never heard before and we're in business."
Marion couldn't help but smile herself. Royalty-free. How appropriate. "I'll make sure the payment... Hmm. We'll have to figure out how to get the bits to you. We may need Sunset Shimmer's help."
"Pretty sure she said something about flooding my world with way too much gold at once." Juniper shrugged. "I'm sure we can work something out, though. Thank you for the opportunity, Mayor Mare. Even if I doubt I'll ever be able to show this to employers on my side of things."
"You are most welcome, Miss Montage. I have no doubt this will be the first of many great works in your future. And who knows? We may be seeing each other again sooner than either of us thinks."
"Maybe..." Juniper muttered.
"Something wrong?" said Marion.
"I'm still not sure how something that could fit in my pocket turned into all of this." Juniper fiddled a bit with the camera rig. "I have no idea how I'm going to get the file to you in a format you can use."
"I suspect Miss Shimmer may be able to help us there as well. In my experience, it's best to leave these sorts of things to the unicorns."
Two weeks later, Juniper stumbled through the portal once more, this time nearly crashing into shelves as the expected weight of the camera rig failed to settle on her withers. Instead, the only thing she brought with her went flying.
"Whoa there!" Princess Twilight caught the film canister in her magic, then considered the label. "Ponyville underscore tourism underscore video dot em-pee-four?"
Juniper picked herself up off the floor with a growl. "I'm saying it now: I'm glad I came out a regular horse, because magic is bullcrap."