When the train finally arrived in Canterlot, the line to see Celestia was not nearly as long as it was in the past given that trains all across Equestria had been facing delays that morning. Only a few ponies were in front of them in line and they were all filing for big cities back east.
When Amethyst and Sea Swirl reached the front, Celestia greeted them warmly, "Amethyst Star! How is the best mayor in the history of Equestria today?"
"I am doing quite well your Majesty." replied Amethyst.
Celestia then turned to Sea Swirl and asked, "So are you keeping her overconfidence in check? Are you making sure she doesn't go thinking she's already won?"
Sea Swirl gave her a sheepish grin, "Well I've gotten into politics and maybe I've been encouraging it."
"Tsk, tsk." replied Celestia. She then handed Amethyst the proper paperwork and said, "You know the drill."
Amethyst began what was a very familiar process for her, filling out the proper paperwork but this time with Sea Swirl by her side. Once she finished it she handed it to the princess and would be surprised when she leaned down and whispered, "Good luck Amethyst. I really hope you win again. It is so good to see one community that doesn't have to beg me for money."
Amethyst whispered back, "Well wait until who is next, you'll likely realize I have my toughest opponent yet."
Celestia gave Amethyst a smile and was indeed shocked when she saw who was next. Standing before her was a former student of hers, Colgate. Celestia gave her a smile and gasped, "Colgate, I didn't know you'd be running!"
"Yep, I've decided to run for Mayor of Ponyville." replied Colgate.
"But why?" Celestia asked, "Aren't you and Amethyst basically the same pony when it comes to how the Ponyville is ran? I thought you were one of her strongest supporters!"
Colgate replied, "I do like everything she has done but I do think that she could take more risks. I think with the surpluses Ponyville is running, we could start buying other communities' debt, particularly those of the dirt pony towns that are always in debt! If they had to put up with me, they'd pay their debts more quickly."
Celestia gave Colgate a frown over the idea, particularly over her referring to earth pony communities as dirt pony communities. She sighed, "Well I don't know about creditor cities but I can't stop you from running." Her frown deepened as she continued, "And you really should lose that racist attitude. That won't get you on very many ponies' sides and it certainly won't get you on my side."
Colgate grunted, "Well they are always in debt and it is a well known fact that unicorns are better at governing, better at succeeding in general."
Celestia sighed in frustration as she handed Colgate the proper paperwork and as she was filling it out, she was trying to determine what party to run under. She knew she couldn't just put down unicorn supremacist party or anything else showing her favoritism of unicorns so she simply decided to run as an independent. She handed the papers back and said, "Here you go your Majesty."
Celestia looked over her paperwork and said, "Alright, you're on the ballot. With as close as you are to Amethyst, I'm sure you know the routine."
Colgate replied, "Yep, Sunny Flames will want to interview me, if there are four or more ponies running there will be a primary and I need to be ready to kick ass!"
Celestia sighed, "Yeah, pretty much. You have a good day."
Colgate replied, "You as well."
As Colgate was walking away, Celestia couldn't help but think that she would not make for a good mayor. While she would be a lot like Amethyst, she realized that not only would she take risks that Amethyst would never dream of but that she was openly racist against earth ponies. She thought to herself, "Oh Mother Faust I hope she doesn't win. The last thing we need is an openly racist mayor who wants to force other communities to be in debt to her."
She then saw who was next in line, Rarity. When Rarity approached her she said, "Rarity, what is wrong. It is filing day and unless it involves some villain escaping, could you wait until later?"
Rarity replied, "Actually princess, I'm here to file my paperwork to run for mayor."
Celestia handed her the paperwork and said, "Alright, it is rather simple. Simply fill out all the personal information and then select which party you are running under. If it is not listed, check 'other' and then write it in."
Rarity did as requested and when she got to the party section, she was conflicted. She wanted to fill in other and put down traditionalist but she knew that doing so would sink her immediately. She then remembered that for years that Miss Mare would run as an independent so she decided to run under that.
When she handed the paperwork back to Celestia, Celestia looked over it and couldn't help but wonder why she would run under that party. She thought for sure she would run as a progressive given her nature. She replied, "Alright, you're on the ballot. Now if one more pony files, there will be a first primary in March, a primary election in April and then once it is down to two candidates, you will have ENC wanting to interview you and after that, the fall primary and then the election."
Like Applejack, Rarity wasn't overly fond of the cable news outfit from back east and knew full well that their political analysts absolutely adored Amethyst but kept her cool, "Alright, thanks for letting me know in the event I advance to the general."
"Alright Rarity," Celestia finished, "You have a good day."
"You as well your Majesty."
As Rarity left, Celestia couldn't help but wonder if her friends, well one friend in particular, didn't put her up to this thinking that maybe having a unicorn running to support old traditions would help their cause. When the next two ponies showed up, she was shocked. She looked at the two and asked, "So which one of you two are filing or is it both of you?"
Trixie replied, "It is just The Great and Powerful Trixie who is here to run for mayor of Ponyville!"
Celestia broke down laughing when she heard this. "Seriously," she asked, "you're going to run for mayor."
Trixie replied, "Yes, Trixie plans on running for mayor and when she wins, Ponyville will be greater and powerfuler than ever!"
Celestia continued to laugh as she handed Trixie the paperwork. The paperwork was quite simple so Trixie had no problems filling it out. When she got to the party affiliation part she quickly checked other and wrote in "Great and Powerful."
When she handed the paperwork back to Celestia, she again broke down laughing. She knew that she couldn't continue to laugh at Trixie but it was so difficult for her. She then asked Trixie, "Did you hear everything I told Rarity about the election cycle?"
Trixie replied, "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie will have to take part in a first debate, a primary election and then Sunny Flames will make Trixie a star before the general election!"
Celestia corrected, "Only if you finish in the top two in the primary, which I don....."
Trixie interrupted, "Well, who wouldn't vote for The Great and Powerful Trixie? Trixie knows that everypony will wind up wanting the town to fund magic shows!"
Trixie then took off and Celestia couldn't help but continue laughing even though another pony was approaching her. She began to wonder if maybe she shouldn't attend the debate in Ponyville not so much for what the candidates were going to say but for the comedy act that Trixie would likely provide.
The rest of the day went by as normally as other filing days would. There were plenty of candidates from various cities filing for their candidacy, many who Celestia pretty much knew nothing about fiscal responsibility. As candidate after candidate filed, she thought to herself, "Too bad I couldn't duplicate Amethyst multiple times and put each one in charge of every town and city, that way no community would ever be in debt!"