//------------------------------//
// Reports 
// Story: Reports 
// by James Pwyll 
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To say that the life of a politician was stressful would have been an understatement on the best of days, but today, Mayor Mare, elected leader of Ponyville, was really feeling the brunt of it. Pile after pile after pile of papers that needed her attention just lined her desk with no end in sight, and all of it for issues which, when looked through professionally, always managed to just blur together. Sometimes she'd wonder why she wanted this job in the first place, and so a long sigh escaped her, and she even came within a hair's breadth of slamming her head against her desk. But then the sound of hoofsteps from the side distracted her, causing her to look up from her papers to the face of her dutiful assistant, Raven Inkwell. The two mares smiled at one another, Mayor Mare doubly so when she saw that her aide had brought a still-steaming cup of tea, which she carefully placed on the desk for her. Mayor Mare looked to it fondly, accepting the cup and, after quickly blowing off some of the steam, took her first sip, leading to a sigh far more contented than the last. "Oh...I needed that." She turned to again look to Raven. "I don't know where I'd be without you, Miss Inkwell."

Her assistant smiled back to her, giving a quick nod. "I'm happy to help, Miss Mayor. Let me know if there's anything else you need."

Mayor Mare chuckled drily at the words. "I don't suppose you could do anything about the budget papers I need to look at after I've dealt with all this..." She gestured to the papers currently on her desk. "Could you?"

Raven smiled again. "Already taken care of."

Mayor Mare looked to her, confused. "T...taken care of?" When she saw Raven nod, she enquired further. "You mean...you've actually finished the work already? It's all sorted?" When she saw Raven nod a second time, the questions just kept on coming. "But...how? There must have been a hundred pages for you to look at and...you've done them already?!"

Raven shrugged. "What can I say? Guess watching you over the years has left me with a bit of bureaucratic know-how of my own."

Mayor Mare stared at her for a long time, glancing occasionally to the work she herself still had to do. Then, after taking in a short, sharp breath, she set her cup of tea to one side, stood up from her desk and looked Raven in the eye. "Raven...you may go home early today." When she saw Raven move to speak, she held up her hoof to stop her. "No, I don't want to hear it. You've been an utter saint today and helped me more than I could have hoped for. You deserve some time off, so, as an order...take some time off. I'll see to the rest."

Raven looked around, seeing the rest of the work that still needed to be done. "Are you sure?"

Her employer reached over, giving her a quick pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure. Now go, have some fun, and enjoy the rest of your evening, Raven."

Though Raven hesitated, it was only for a moment, and she gave a quick bow of her head before turning to leave. She cast one final glance at the Mayor, who silently shooed her away of course, before finally leaving the room. It took little time after that for her to collect her things and leave the building completely, and by this point she could already see other ponies around Ponyville shutting up shop for the evening. There was a slight chill in the air, but not so much as to make it uncomfortable. Onward she walked, passing by a couple of the locals that she recognised, giving them a smile and a nod as she made her way towards her destination. That destination was not, in fact, some other house here in town, but towards the train station. And eventually, she reached it, with the conductor giving a quick salute before letting her on-board. Once the stallion was certain that everypony was where they needed to be, he gave a loud yell. "ALL ABOARD!!!"

The train jerked forward, as it so often did, before finally getting into the groove of its journey, and Raven herself settled into a window-side seat, looking out as Ponyville passed out of view. This would be a long journey, and she knew it. Quite the commute, but not one that caused any problems for her. The carriage was filled with sounds, not only of the train itself but also the chatter of the passengers. Raven did her best to ignore them but there was always one or two bits of stray dialogue that would make it to her ears. Instead, she tried her hardest to focus on the journey, which took quite a while. Eventually though, her ultimate endpoint came into a view, and a smile crept onto her face. "Home sweet home."

That home was Canterlot, glistening capital of their nation, and the train hooted loudly with the approach. Many others prepared their various luggage as they made their way to the doors in readiness to disembark, but Raven simply waited where she was. It was always like this with her, and after a time the train finally halted, with the ponies scrambling to get off. Only when she was alone did she finally stand from her seat, making her way over and leaving the train. But, instead of heading out of the arrival station, as so many others had done, she instead scoured the immediate surroundings. Sure enough, her eye caught sight of one on the far-end of the platform, clad in a cloak that obscured their face. Though their size left no mystery as to who it was. Slowly, Raven trotted over, with the figure turning to face her as she approached. Once over the, Raven gave a deep bow, and only when she rose again did she finally speak. "It is good to see you, Princess."

Slowly, the figure lowered her hood, revealing that it was indeed Celestia, eldest of the alicorn Princesses. She smiled to the comparatively diminutive mare before her before speaking in that warm and welcoming tone she was so known for. "And you, Raven. I trust your journey went well?"

Standing up again, Raven smirked slightly. "A bit of a commute, but nothing I can't handle."

Celestia nodded, gesturing to the path behind her. "Shall we?" She saw Raven nod to her, and so led the way, with the newly-arrived mare beside her. It was a more worn path than the one most ponies took to leave the station, but that just gave them the benefit of not having to worry about prying eyes down here. After a short distance however, Celestia broke the silence between them. "So, how fares my student?"

Raven did not look to her as she answered, instead keeping her gaze firmly on the path ahead. "I've been trying not to catch her gaze, but it seems she's settling into Ponyville nicely. Her friends are...well...rather hectic a lot of the time. But I'd say she's opening up to them at a good pace."

Celestia's smile widened. "That's good to hear. I was glad when she finally allowed friendship into her heart, but for her to decide she wanted to live in Ponyville? It was unexpected, to say the least."

Raven chanced a glance to her. "You know, if you wanted to keep her close, she wouldn't have likely said no."

The Princess sighed. "No, I couldn't have done that to her. I won't go into details, Raven, but suffice to say I kept that young mare alone for far too long. My own worries hampered her, and really...I should have sent her somewhere like Ponyville long before now."

To that, Raven smiled. "Well, if it's any consolation, she's making up for lost time over there. I didn't see much of her when she was studying under you here, but if my observations of her are anything to go by, she's definitely coming out of her shell. I daresay she's turning into one of the friendliest ponies I've ever seen."

Celestia dwelt on that thought fondly, no doubt imagining Twilight with her friends this very moment. "It warms my heart to know that she's opening up to others." A sly look came to her. "And little Spike too, I imagine?"

A quick chuckle from Raven. "Oh, certainly. That little dragon never strays from her for too long. And like her, he's really come to love Ponyville." She paused, a warm smile coming to her herself. "And I must confess...so am I."

Celestia looked down to her, arching an eyebrow. "Oh? How unlike you, Raven. Usually you remain rather detached whenever I send you somewhere to keep an eye on things."

Raven rolled her eyes, something few would have dared around Celestia. But she kept her smile, knowing the Princess was speaking in jest. "What can I say? That place has a way of making a pony really fall for it. But then, when you spend most of your life in Canterlot, I suppose anywhere would seem like the friendliest place in the world after that."

Even Celestia couldn't argue with that, at least if the long sigh she unleashed was anything to go by. "I share the sentiment, Raven. Goodness knows I prefer being out of the city whenever I can." Then, after the two kept on walking for a few more metres, an idea popped into the Princess' mind, and a smile returned to her yet again. "You know...I have some spare time coming up, and I think that might be a good opportunity to drop in on my beloved student."

Raven looked to her with curiosity. "Oh? An official visit?"

Celestia shook her head. "Nothing so formal. I think just me and a small entourage, going down to Ponyville to mingle with everypony down there. Nothing spectacular or grand, just a chance to speak to Twilight and her friends."

Raven considered that, then gave a firm nod. "I would recommend Sugar Cube Corner. It's no five-star venue, but for a visit like what you suggest I think it'd be ideal."

Celestia looked down to her, giving her an appreciative look. "I imagine you'll be able to make the proper arrangements?"

Another smirk from Raven. "I know the drill, Princess. You send the letter to the Mayor, she'll fluster for a bit, then I'll calm her down with some tea and suggest the Corner. Trust me, everything will be in place."

The Princess considered the idea she'd come up with, looking rather excited at the prospect. "It'll be good for me to see Twilight again. And of course getting a reprieve from the Canterlot nobility would be a welcome bonus also." A quick giggle from her. "I think I'll take Philomena with me too. She's been rather under the weather lately. Some fresh air will do her good."

Raven grimaced. "Well, as long as she doesn't let her mischievous side get the better of her, I think the visit will go swimmingly." She smiled. "And more importantly, I'm sure Twilight will love seeing you again. She might be falling in love with that new home and growing closer to those other mares, but there will always be a place for you in her life."

Celestia looked down to her, slightly taken aback for a moment after hearing such a musing from her aide. But then slyness came back to her. "I thank you for the kind words, Raven. And I thank you also for your great work so far. Being able to keep abreast of Twilight's growth has been a delight to hear."

Here, Raven stopped, giving another bow to her leader. "It has been a pleasure helping you, Princess. And I will continue for as long as you wish."

Celestia stopped too, looking ahead and, as Raven knew well, letting her thoughts turn to the future. "Then watch...until the day comes when she is no longer by student...but my equal."