* * *
It was quite the sight to see. The usually maternal, confident countenance suddenly slip and shatter into a thousand pieces against the cold hard reality of the situation.
She had lost. Her public had forsaken her. She had failed them and they had shown it in force.
How many rivals had she beaten back in the past? Yet this young upstart, the city mare with the silver tongue had taken her to the cleaners. She had been rolled up and tossed aside.
A landslide victory they called it.
What could she have done to lose their trust like that? Wasn't she a kind, fair and efficient Mayor? Wasn't she a trusted arbiter in local civil matters? Didn't that count for anything?
The ex-Mayor took off her half-moon spectacles and bowed her head. She left the podium behind her and tried her best to drown out the raucous cheers all chanting the name of the new Mayor of Ponyville. She sighed, a look of abject despair on her face, the now ex-Mayor disappeared into the bowels of Town Hall.
She had an office to clear out.
Just as she was putting the last of her personal items into a cardboard box, the door behind her opened, bringing a few notes of laughter in from the hall. Turning, the tan earth pony caught sight of the pony who had rousted her from this very office. Without a word, she turned back to the cardboard box.
“Ah, Mayor- oh, so sorry, ex-Mayor.”
She could practically hear the cruel smile she knew was creeping up the pony's lips. Ignoring the other pony however, she continued placing her things in the box.
“I would congratulate you on running a close race, but... you know.” The sound of hooves padding softly on the carpet could be heard. “We both know that the better mare won.” Smug laughter followed by a succinct clearing of the throat. “Now, I kindly ask that you get out of my office. I've always wanted to say that.”
“Petty insults? Don't you think you're being a bit juvenile about this?” She turned to face the pony behind her, a cream coated unicorn wearing a light grey suit jacket. The unicorn had a simple but elegant cobalt mane, the pony in question was messing with the crest of her mane, trying to get it to sit the way she wanted.
“If you want to get technical, being juvenile is what assured me my position. What these ponies wanted was fresh, young blood, not a doddering biddy like yourself.”
“Doddering biddy!? I'm barely older than you are, these spectacles are prescription and my mane was always this colour!”
The unicorn laughed, the sound annoyingly high pitched. “Perception is reception, Grandma. I can't be held responsible if the citizens of Ponyville react favourably to my style and charm.”
The tan earth pony scowled and grabbed the box in her teeth, she could have carried it another way, but doing it this way forced her mouth shut. She didn't want to come across as a sore loser to the public, she had an image of refinement and grace to uphold. She made it to the door and opened it, believing she was free from the infuriating unicorn.
“Yes, that's right, go home. No doubt you have a small army of cats waiting for you.”
Her grip on the cardboard box intensified, if she kept this up she'd probably bite through it. 'Stay calm. You only have one cat, she's just trying to provoke you.' With her head held high, as high as it could be with a heavy box in her mouth at least, she turned down the corridor, hearing the high-pitched laughter of her successor slowly fading into the distance.
==
Not being the Mayor had taken its toll, the ex-Mayor had so much time to herself compared to usual. Mostly, she had been spending the time at home, keeping herself out of the public eye and just trying to adjust to the calm normality of everyday life.
She wasn't faring very well.
During a particularly low moment, in which she saw the new Mayor stride past her house with a procession of adoring citizens, she got up and searched her cupboards for something, anything to dull the pain. All she found were empty bottles. “Heh, story of my life.” She muttered mirthlessly. With no other option, she peeked her head outside and, seeing nopony around, began a quick walk in the direction of the local tavern.
She had only visited the local tavern once before. A rather rowdy office Hearth's Warming party had spilled from the confines of the Town Hall and lead them there. She remembered very little about that night, but she wouldn't forget the smell from that night, it was caught in her nostrils for days afterwards. A pungent mix of alcohol, vomit and pony perspiration that refused to go away, no matter what she tried.
Any other time she had indulged herself, she always had something ready to go. She spent the majority of her time at the office and her secretary had been ordered to keep the decorative decanter more than half filled at all times, so her cravings had always been sated. Perhaps she had grown to comfortable in the fact that her indulgences could be sated that she wasn't ready to accept the fact that it simply wasn't the case any more.
As she turned one last corner, the tavern came into view. It was as visibly unimpressive as she remembered from her various journeys by the place, but needs must.
Inside, she found that none of the ponies there seemed to acknowledge that she had even entered. A dull murmur filtered across the room as the patrons were interrupted from their drinking, but nopony looked up. Upon closer inspection of the room, she saw things that jumped out at her, things that she had seemingly forgotten from the office party. The awful looking upholstery, the tacky decorations and even the black and white, chessboard effect linoleum flooring.
She took a seat at the bar and asked for whiskey on the rocks. 'It's depressing how much that relates to me at this moment in time.' She certainly felt that her life was on the rocks. Being Mayor was who she was, anypony in town could have told you that. Now, however, that image had been dashed and cut into pieces by the smiling unicorn in her office.
Two whiskeys later and she found her eyes drooping, she fought to keep them from shutting by turning her head and forcing her eyes to take in more information than the depths of a glass full of ice and amber liquid. Her eyes fell upon a pony who, remarkably, was sitting in the seat right next to her. How she had missed her, she'll never know. The mare wasn't exactly camouflaged, her mane and coat both being vivid shades of purple, her cheeks however were rosy red, due most probably to the glasses spread out on the bar in front of her.
The purple pony turned and smiled, her face alight with cheer. “Heeeey! Barkeep, two drinks for me and my best friend here.” The pony put an arm around the ex-Mayor's shoulders, knocking her back and forth a few times.
If this behaviour was weird in any way, the bartender didn't show it, he merely poured out two drinks and went about his business. The purple pony downed her drink in one go and turned to the tan pony again. “Berry Punch. What's your name?”
Not one to be left out, the tan pony downed her drink as well before answering. “I've been the Mayor for so long that -hic- I've almost forgotten what my real name is. Everypony just called me Mayor.”
Berry Punch laughed loudly. “Names are for ponies with important things to do, so what do you want to called?”
Her reply was a cold laugh. “I'm certainly not important any- hic -any more. You can call me Emily, it's foreign.”
“Well Ms. It's Foreign, I think you need another drink.” The purple pony whistled and the bartender walked over, filling their glasses again. She raised her glass high and said, “To Emily!” downing the lot easily.
Perhaps it was just the alcohol or maybe it was because this pony had reached out to her regardless of who she was or what she had been, but 'Emily' began to feel better. She even had a warm tingly sensation in her stomach, but she was really sure that was just the alcohol. “To me!”
After that point, things got hazy for the tan earth pony. She remembered being walked home by Berry Punch and she remembered messing up her cats fur by stroking him in the wrong direction, but that was about it.
The next thing she remembered was waking up, one phrase floating in her dreams, “You have to dig deeper.”
–
It would be a day remembered by the majority of the population of Ponyville as “one of the dullest days in pony history.” But for one ex-Mayor and her incredibly painful hangover, this would be a day that would change everything.
The tan earth pony opened her eyes and would have screamed if doing so wouldn't have just made things worse. She was lay sideways on her back, with the duvet barely covering her in the slightest. The cold morning air was nipping at her hooves but the earth pony couldn't find enough strength to even throw the duvet over herself. Her front hooves lay dangling uselessly in front of her body, so she tried to stretch one of them out as if reaching to the ceiling. Just as she reached the point of full stretch, the joint clicked painfully into place and made a sound that, to her sensitive ears, seemed like a cannon blast.
Emily worked the muscles in her shoulders and back to roll herself onto her front, tucking her legs up underneath her body for comfort. The room span for a few seconds and a strange buzzing blankness in her head threatened to take over her vision before abating.'Okay, I'm up...ish. Now all I have to do is to get off the bed.'
Not wanting to stand up on her bed, she dragged her body forwards until her hooves hit the floor, she kept up the motion until her back hooves followed suit. She felt like a foal, stumbling about like she did, but one must walk before one is able to run. Of course in this instance, running would refer to finding some aspirin and getting to a point where it didn't hurt merely to exist.
She'd had fun though hadn't she?
…
Had she? There wasn't many things she could remember about last night. She could definitely remember feeling depressed and going to drown her sorrows in the local tavern. She met a purple pony who's name she couldn't for the life of her remember. There was a lot of alcohol, no doubts about that, but after that, it was pretty much a blur until the walk home, singing bars from an old Hearth's Warming carol with the purple pony. She briefly remembered crawling into bed, not even bothering to throw the covers over herself and just laying down over the top.
At that moment, the pain in her head spiked, there was no helping it this time, she screamed, holding her head with her front hooves. Unable to concentrate on keeping steady, she fell onto her side and began to writhe as the pain continued to worm it's way through her head.
“Dig deeper! You have to dig deeper!”
“But I'm already too deep! If I go any deeper she'll go blind!”
“This was your idea, now go deeper damn it!”
As soon as the words passed, the pain stopped. Compared to what had just happened, fighting off a hangover seemed like foals play. She got back up onto her hooves and took a few calming breaths. 'What the hell was that and why were those words so vivid?' Even now, thinking back over the memory brought a short stab of pain with it. The scary thing was, she knew she recognised the voices but the panicked way in which they were spoken seemed to distort them enough to put their identity beyond her grasp. It was like trying to catch water between your hooves, it just kept escaping no matter how hard you tried.
Emily felt a little better, but she still wanted to take some aspirin to make sure. When she reached the bathroom however, not a single one of the little white pills could be found in the medicine cabinet. The earth pony almost collapsed into a sobbing heap right then and there. She somehow managed to compose herself, deciding to merely go out and buy some, that couldn't be too hard.
She walked slowly back into the bedroom, trying to make sure she was perfectly fine with walking and that she had mastered the use of her legs again. Satisfied, she found her half-moon spectacles, which had presumably fallen off of her face during the night and had ended up at the bottom of the bed. She rested them on her muzzle, feeling the familiar pressure of the rubber pads against her coat. Finally, her eyes drifted over to a piece of clothing she always wore around town, the shirt collar that had almost become synonymous with her role as Mayor of Ponyville. She scowled, dismissing the item of clothing and focusing on the other thing that needed sorting out, her mane. It looked like a birds nest.
There was a vanity mirror atop a desk on the wall opposite her bed, Emily sat down on the small stool in front of it and grabbed the brush. It was a slow process, but soon enough, she had restored her mane to it's prior greatness. She took one last look at herself in the mirror, she was a little tired and you could see that if you took a close look at her eyes, but other than that she seemed fine. It would be hard pressed for a passer by to assume she had been out drinking all last night.
Preparations complete, Emily walked swiftly downstairs and opened her front door, the sun was a little bright, but other than that it seemed peaceful. A pegasus pony walked by her house looking content with the world, she had a smile on her face, a spring in her step and a large insectoid creature clamped to her neck feeding a wicked looking proboscis deep into the back of her head...
The earth pony was stood stock still, her eyes glued to the strange insect attached to the back of the pony's head. It looked like your average, everyday beetle, except it was easily twenty times as large, glowing blue and oddly enough, was see through. Emily could hear her heart beating in her ears, adrenaline was coursing through her veins but all she could do was stare, her legs began to shake and she forced herself into action, galloping madly in the other direction, her vision half blinded by fear.
'You're just seeing things, Emily. There's no way that just happened. For the first time in your life, please be seeing things!'
She stopped behind a house, hiding in the small gap between it and the one next to it. Breathing heavily, Emily took a fleeting look down the street, the pony she had seen wasn't there, but others were making their way towards her and the ethereal glows about their heads weren't very encouraging. “What the hell is going on?” She whispered to herself, more to make herself feel better than anything else. Saying it out loud seemed to validate the fact that this was actually happening and not some kind of stress and depression induced delusion.
The weirdest thing about this was how each pony seemed to have a content, if slightly bored smile on their face. It was as if they didn't have a care in the world. This was the most disconcerting thing to the earth pony, not that the strange insects existed at all, it was that the ponies with them attached didn't seem bothered that they were there. It left Emily feeling as though there was something she wasn't being told, why were they suddenly here now? Had they always been there, just invisible? If so, what had happened to make them visible?
Either way, Emily knew that she didn't want any part of this. No strange insects would be attaching themselves to the back of her head, regardless of the calming effects it seemed to have. All she wanted right now was an aspirin, her headache had started to get worse now that the shock of the earlier pain had been washed away.
Armed with some casual observation on what she was dealing with, the tan pony seemed comfortable in assuming that she could walk somewhat safely through town without causing a fuss. She cautiously tested this theory by following a few ponies walking south, when none of them even bothered to acknowledge her, she sighed in relief.
Everything seemed like normal, it was your average boring Ponyville day. What used to be her boring Ponyville day, staring out onto the peaceful town from her office and feeling at one with the world. Her bespectacled eyes drifted over to the tall Town Hall building in the centre of town, but she turned her head away, the ill feelings it dragged up weren't something she could afford to dwell on at the moment. Not when she was surrounded by an entirely new problem.
Her mood dipped slightly when she realised that the pharmacy she was heading for lead out into the town square, right where Town Hall was, but it couldn't be helped. The earth pony crossed a small bridge and emerged in the shadow of her former place of work, her destination was to her left, but something dragged her eyes to the right. A purple pony was walking across the square, heading out into Ponyville's southern quarter, something in the back of her mind told her that she knew that pony and that she was important somehow. One other thing was important about her however, the back of her head was clear, no glowing insects to be found.
Emily didn't want to risk looking away and losing her in the crowds, but the splitting pain in her head caused her to look left towards the pharmacy. 'Pain relief... or answers? Sorry, but this is too weird to ignore.' Scrunching her eyes up in a pathetic attempt to lessen the pain in her head, the earth pony began a quick gallop in the direction she knew the purple pony was heading.
Thankfully, as she turned the corner into the southern quarter, the purple pony was just at the end of the short street and seemed to be looking in each direction in turn, as if trying to decide which way to go.
“Excuse me!” Emily shouted, picking up her pace a little to catch up. “Excuse me, miss!”
The purple pony turned round to face the earth pony, but her face didn't betray any surprise, in fact she seemed quite bored with the whole thing, waving her hoof in a 'follow me' kind of way.
Emily silently obliged and began a casual walk to simultaneously catch up to the mysterious pony but also appear as discrete as the pony apparently wanted to seem. When she was within a few feet of the pony, she spoke again. “Excuse me, miss?”
“Quiet. Wait until we're inside.” The pony replied, not even turning around.
“Inside where?”
The purple pony moved her head slightly so she could only just see the tan earth pony out of the corner of her eye. “You'll see. In fact, I believe you're truly seeing for the first time, it's okay, don't worry.” She winked playfully and put her eyes front and centre again.
Emily didn't have much time to ponder those words when she saw the pony stop suddenly. With her eyes on the pony for most of the trip, the tan pony wasn't paying much attention to where they were headed, but when she looked up she saw the somewhat familiar tree that comprised the Ponyville Library.
“The library?”
“Yes, I love the library! Reading is such an enriching activity!” The purple pony said rather loudly, looking around with a forced smile on her face. She turned quickly to the tan pony and gave her a 'what are you, stupid?' glare.
The pony opened the library door and walked straight in, holding it open for Emily to follow. “Hurry up, we don't have all day and for Celestia's sake, be quiet.”
The library was exactly how Emily remembered it, the first room was round and filled to the ceiling with books, there was another room beyond it, which was filled with yet more books. A few doors lead off from the ground level and the purple pony headed to one in the back room, tapping on it a few times with her hoof. She waited for a few seconds before a similar knock answered her.
The purple pony turned to Emily, giving her a smile. “We've got the okay to come in, let's go.” She pushed the door open and waited for the tan pony to precede her.
Emily didn't hesitate, for better or for worse, answers lay at the bottom of this staircase and she wasn't the kind of mare to turn away when answers were at hoof. A few steps down, Emily began to wonder what exactly she was getting herself into, she was quite certainly descending into the Library basement, but what exactly could be down here that could answer her questions? The Librarian, a unicorn who had studied under Princess Celestia by the name of Twilight Sparkle, was somewhat reclusive but definitely knew what she was doing when it came to magic.
It was even reported that the unicorn had read every book in the library at least once. Keeping in mind that this wasn't exactly the smallest library in Equestria, that's a lot of books.
There was another door at the bottom of the staircase, but at the moment it was wide open and the noises from inside began to drift onto the staircase. There seemed to be a few ponies down there, which was odd considering this was a library basement. Libraries weren't exactly renowned for their crowds and especially not their basements.
“Welcome.” A voice said from behind her, the purple pony had caught up. “To our secret headquarters.”
“W-what!?” Emily spluttered. She definitely hadn't been expecting that.
The mysterious pony laughed at the look of shock on the ex-mayor's face. “We're a secret organisation dedicated to the protection and advancement of Ponyville.”
Okay, Emily could understand secret, but she used to be the Mayor. Surely she should have been in the loop about this. “Why do I know nothing about your organisation?”
“We're not exactly government sanctioned and we haven't been around for very long, so I'd be kinda scared if you did know about us, it would probably mean that they know about us as well.” The purple pony lead her into the basement proper and immediately to their left was a ledge that had been left dangerous bare.
“Isn't that a safety hazard?” Emily asked.
The purple pony laughed again. “Only if you're stupid.”
“I... er, good point.” Emily smiled warily, she didn't exactly trust this so called secret organisation, but if the purple pony was anything to go by, they were a nice enough bunch. “Who exactly are you anyway? I get the feeling I recognise you.”
“Oh wow, you did have a lot to drink last night. I'm Berry Punch, met you in the tavern and we knocked a few drinks back, you can just call me Berry though.” She winked playfully.
“My memory regarding last night isn't so good, no, but I remember you now, you walked me home. Thank you for that.”
Berry Punch slowed for a second, but tried to cover it up with a wide smile. “Yup, that's what I did. Erm... why don't I introduce you to the team?”
They began walking down another staircase and Emily could see a bunch of ponies moving around and generally seeming busy. It reminded her of busy days at the office and the sight warmed her a little despite the painful memories it brought up. The tan pony took a closer look at the actual ponies themselves and found that she recognised almost all of them. Sitting before a huge crystal ball was the librarian herself, Twilight Sparkle, her horn glowing slightly as she did something that would most likely fly over her head if explained.
At the bottom of the staircase she saw another pony she recognised, a cream coated earth pony with a burgundy mane who she had seen working in the flower shop. “I didn't expect to see you here, Rose.” Emily said, approaching the bottom of the stairs.
She looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Why? Don't look the resistance type, huh? I'll have you know I can be plenty fierce when I want to be.”
“I'm sorry, I'm just still trying to wrap my head around all of this.”
Berry Punch laughed, knocking a hoof into Roselucks foreleg playfully. “Calm down, Rose, we're amongst friends. No need to get defensive.”
Roseluck snorted. “Whatever, I've got a job to do.” She pushed past the both of them and made her way up the staircase and out of the basement.
“She's one of our best intelligence agents, but her attitude stinks. Kinda weird for a pony who works around flowers, am I right?” Berry Punch nudged the tan pony in the chest hopefully.
Unaware that her companion had just made a joke, Emily pressed on with the tour. “So what exactly is it you do? An organisation or resistance has to be aiming for something, right?”
“You should probably talk to the boss about that.”
“Could you at least tell me the name of the organisation?”
“That one I can answer. We're called Dionysus.”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “That's a rather peculiar name. I've never heard of anything like it before.”
Berry Punch nodded her head, smiling agreeably. “Neither have I. The boss thought it up, she said it works well with our goals and I trust her.”
“So when will I get to meet this mysterious 'boss'?” The two had passed through the main bulk of the basement, passing various ponies poring over scrolls and looking at large maps on noticeboards. Emily could see that this was definitely not a joke, everypony seemed truly serious about what they were doing. The two were heading towards another door in the back of the room, it had the word 'Boss' painted on it.
“She's actually pretty anxious to meet you, so just go on in and do your best.” Berry Punch nudged her towards the door and merely smiled at her.
“Aren't you coming in as well?” She probably wouldn't want to admit it, but she was feeling pretty scared. Having Berry around was somewhat of a relief, the purple pony was upbeat, happy and diffused a lot of the tension that the tan pony was feeling, but now she had to meet a resistance leader all by herself? 'Why did I even bother getting out of bed this morning?'
“I've got meetings to attend, but I'll make sure to stop by later. Good luck!” She bounced away and began whispering things into Twilight's ear.
Emily took a deep breath and pushed the door open, the room beyond was rather small, with the desk in the back taking up a lot of the room. Behind the desk was a high backed chair, the back of which was currently facing her. There wasn't much room to move around because this seemed to be a storage room of some kind, the boxes lining the wall left little floor space.
“So you're the ex-Mayor, huh?” The voice drifted from behind the chair, the occupant of which was still hidden. Her voice sounded rather high-pitched, which seemed a little off for somepony who was supposed to be the leader of an underground movement. Emily had always thought of them as gruff sounding and fierce. “I'm glad we were finally able to get you on the team, I've had operatives working overtime trying to bring you around. It's just too bad it had to come to this before we could bring you in.”
The chair began to turn, spinning around to reveal another familiar pony. This time, Emily wasn't so surprised that they had gotten involved with a secret organisation, never mind founding and heading one. The shocking pink coat and the less shocking but still pretty pink mane of Pinkie Pie revealed themselves.
“Welcome aboard the resistance train. Next stop, victory.” Pinkie Pie leaned forwards over the desk, bringing her forehooves together in a contemplative gesture.
Gathering her courage, Emily began asking the questions that had been haunting her all day. “So what exactly is Dionysus? What is your ultimate aim? Why involve me in this?”
“Woah, one at a time, lady.” Pinkie coughed and continued. “Dionysus is an organisation dedicated to eradicating boredom. As you've noticed, Ponyville has been pretty dull lately and that just doesn't sit well with me. I told this to Twilight Sparkle because she's the smartest pony I know and after a little investigation we began to notice that there was an outside force manipulating the levels of imaginative activities in the townsfolk. After that, Twilight and I tried to figure out a way to counteract this strangeness.”
Pinkie stood up and turned her back to the ex-mayor, she sighed, but managed to continue. “All our efforts did however, was reveal the true cause and make us realise how important it was to stop it.”
“What are you talking about, what outside force?” Emily stepped forwards, resting her front hooves on the desk.
“Surely you've seen them?” Pinkie spun, glaring at the tan pony. “The strange insects sucking the fun out of everypony.”
Emily stepped back, the memory of walking through town still burning brightly in her mind. “Why did they just suddenly appear now? It sounds like you've been doing this for a while.”
“Two months... Do you remember what happened two months ago?” Pinkie sat down again, spinning slowly and silently in the chair.
“That was- are you referring to the start of the electoral campaign?” That was the only thing she could remember from two months ago, but with her mind so thoroughly focused on it, missing something else could be a certainty.
“You could call it a coincidence that I began to notice this stuff happening around the same time as the electoral campaign. You could also argue that with everypony looking towards Town Hall to the battle for Mayor, things like fun just got forgotten. You should also know that I don't believe in coincidences.” Pinkie stopped spinning, facing the tan earth pony directly, glaring. “This is happening. This is real. The new Mayor of Ponyville has enslaved the minds of the public, stealing their votes and their desire to resist her. What she plans to do with this new position, we still don't know, but we do know that to fix it, we need you.”
“Wh-whatever do you m-mean!?” Emily spluttered, stepping back so much she felt her rump hit the door.
Pinkie Pie didn't stop her glare and Emily knew now why she was their leader, the pink pony had a way of staring into your very soul, a prospect more frightening than any gruff and fierce voice could muster. “We need someone to capture the hearts and minds of the public once more. We need you to show this new Mayor that Ponyville will not fold so easily, we need you to be the pony that Ponyville needs. A true leader.”
Emily fell silent, these ponies were counting on her to fight for them. She couldn't deny that the idea certainly had merit, getting revenge on the new Mayor was very high on her 'want' list, but now that she knew the facts, now that she knew that the new Mayor was putting the ponies of Ponyville, her ponies, in harms way. That was an injustice that could not be allowed to stand. “What do I have to do?” She returned Pinkie's glare with equal ferocity and was glad to see the pink pony crack a smile.
“We have everything already set up... Mayor.”
The tan pony felt chills running up her spine, she had missed being called that.
==
They were stood in Twilight's living room, Emily, Pinkie Pie, Berry Punch, Twilight Sparkle and Roseluck. Pinkie had ordered a meeting between the heads of staff, to discuss their next move.
“This better be important... Boss.” Roseluck said when everypony was sitting comfortably. By her tone it was obvious to see that she hadn't improved her attitude much since her and Emily's last meeting.
“I'll have less of your thorns, Rose.”
Despite the situation, Emily couldn't help but smile at the turn of phrase.
“I've called you all here because, as you can plainly see, we have the Mayor with us. The real Mayor. With this final piece of the puzzle, we can finally put our plan into motion. This is not a drill.”
“If I may, Pinkie.” It was Twilight, Pinkie's right-hoof mare. She stepped forwards and began to address the tan earth pony. “We have solid evidence that the new Mayor is the pony responsible for the strange insects, I know this because the insects are purely magical creations and their aura is a direct match to the one I picked up from the new Mayor herself. Magical signatures, or their aura, are unique, so there's no chance that any other pony conjured them. What we don't know however, is why she conjured them.”
Pinkie stepped in, waving Twilight back. “Best we can figure, she wanted the power. If she required the mayoral power for something else though, if becoming Mayor was merely a stepping stone to loftier goals, then we have no idea. It doesn't really matter though because we have the tools to nip her plans in the bud.”
Roseluck winced at the analogy.
“Our plan required a lot of research to set up and I can't say I know enough about the theory to do it justice, so I'll let Twi jump in.” Pinkie stepped back again, watching the lavender unicorn as she rose to speak.
“Obviously, we've met, Miss Mayor, but I'd like to reintroduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle, I run research and magical analysis for the entire operation, it has been my main goal to create something that would be able to inhibit the influence the current Mayor is having on her magical insects. I can proudly say that through information brought in from Roseluck and her colleagues, I've been successful in isolating the current Mayor's aura and developing something that will block it outright.” She smiled, but frowned just as quickly. “The only problem we've had however, is that the item must be affixed to the current Mayor's horn for it to work, it's useless otherwise.”
The aforementioned burgundy-maned earth pony nodded to Twilight, who stepped back, and rose to speak herself. “Roseluck, head of investigation and intelligence. The Mayor has been a difficult pony to pin down, she always travels with high security, her lodgings and the Town Hall have become almost air tight. I've tried sending ponies in, heck, I've tried myself and none of us can crack either. After that we decided that we shouldn't risk it any more and that we needed an advantage, somepony on the inside, or at least somepony who could get on the inside.”
Despite being silent up until this point, Emily finally decided to speak up and say what was on her mind. “Why do you think I'd be able to get on the inside?”
Roseluck laughed harshly. “I've seen the Mayor, the type of pony she really is. I highly doubt that she'd miss an opportunity to rub her victory in your face if you came calling.”
“Now that you mention it, you probably have a point.” Emily admitted with a frown. Any mention of the new Mayor just set her blood boiling, but at least now she had a more legitimate reason to dislike the mare other than just, 'she stole my job'.
“It's unlikely she'll be around the main foyer when you walk in, someone like that would want to stay in the upper levels where they would feel more powerful. There must be some ponies in the Town Hall who respect you, use that to your advantage to get past security. If push comes to shove, just call her out, say something like 'are you too scared to talk to me?' I highly doubt she'd turn you down after that.” Roseluck sat back down, despite her bad attitude, she really did know what she was doing and the grey-maned pony couldn't argue with her logic.
Emily looked around the room, at each pony who had given her advice or orders, but there was one pony who had remained silent throughout. “Have you got anything to tell me, Berry?”
The purple pony jerked forwards as if she had been rudely awoken. “Whoops, sorry. Board meetings can get pretty dull at times. I don't really have any mission related things for you, but I'm chock full of encouragement and liquid courage.” Berry Punch produced a bottle of wine and two glasses from somewhere and began pouring them out. “You want one?”
Emily felt the headache building, she really needed some aspirin. “No thank you, Berry, not after last night.”
“Suit yourself.” She half sang, downing one glass in one fell swoop. She retained a sense of class and dignity with the second, swirling it around for a few seconds and admiring the aroma before taking a small sip.
Pinkie Pie, having been silent for too long, decided to pick up the conversation. “Berry Punch is in charge of our supplies, it helps for us to keep this place as autonomous as possible. Lowers the chance of being detected.”
“What about medicine? Do you have any aspirin?”
“Nope, fresh out.” Berry Punch stated. “Used the last one yesterday, I need to go out and get some more.”
Emily winced, half because of her headache and half because she knew she couldn't do anything about it. “I have one final question, Pinkie. What about you and your friends? Did you try anything like that first?”
Pinkie looked towards the floor. “You mean the Elements of Harmony? Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity. All of them have been infected, there was nothing we could do because it happened before we even knew these things existed.”
“I've tried countless magical experiments, nothing has ever even looked close to working on separating the insects from the host. This is our only hope.” Twilight produced a small circular object that looked fairly difficult to manipulate without magic, there was a hole in the middle and the earth pony imagined that she had to slip it over the horn for it to start working.
“Put it in this bag, I wouldn't want you to lose it.” Pinkie Pie threw her a set of small saddlebags, they didn't look very obtrusive so she stood up and started to fix them on straight away. Once she had them secured, Twilight floated the magical inhibitor over to the tan pony's bags and dropped it inside. “We can't stress the importance of this task enough.”
“I'm fully aware, my friends. I won't let you down, I won't let myself down, but most importantly I won't let Ponyville down.”
With those words, Emily left the room with a fierce determination in her eyes.
Pinkie Pie and the others held their breaths, they had been planning for this moment for months, but a taint of dishonestly mired the air.
“I'm sorry it had to come to this, but please know that we did it for Ponyville's sake.” Pinkie was speaking to the tan pony's empty chair, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
“Pinkie, that process was the only way we could have gotten her to see the insects, the only way we could have gotten her to help. I'm fully aware of the risks having performed it a few times. I also know you feel a little guilty about making me go as deep into her mind as I did, so let's stop worrying and just hope she'll come out on top.”
“Heh, she got so drunk last night I doubt she remembers any way. You guys are safe.” Berry Punch tried to lighten the mood, but even her good-natured banter wasn't enough to break the sombre atmosphere.
Pinkie sighed and looked over to the purple earth pony. “I'll have a glass of wine if you're still offering. Make it a large one.”
–
Emily hadn't intended to come back to Town Hall this quickly. She had worked in the place for so long that being given a reprieve from it felt almost like a holiday, albeit a depressing holiday. Her feelings regarding that didn't matter though, what mattered was getting the job done and she fully intended to do that.
She pushed the door open and felt a few eyes turn her way, but none of the ponies nearby said or tried anything. Her eyes fell onto the stairs to the upper level, Rose was spot on, two burly guards stood either side of them. She didn't recognise them either, which meant that they were probably the new security ponies that Rose had mentioned. Emily didn't fancy her chances trying to get past them, so decided to take some of the cream earth pony's advice.
The reception desk was nearby and Emily was glad to see that Cherry Sundance was sitting behind the desk. The pale pink pegasus was currently occupied with some files on her desk, but quickly looked up when she saw the approaching earth pony. “Why hello, Mayor- whoops sorry, old habits.” She giggled embarrassedly.
“It's okay Miss Sundance, I've only come by to pick up the last of my things from the office. I've only just realised that I didn't get everything on my first go around.”
“I'll just go see if the Mayor is in her office and ask whether she minds. I'll be right back.” The receptionist got out of her chair and flew through a door behind her. Emily knew that this door lead into a fair sized shaft that went all the way up to the top of the building, the pegasus ponies used it to traverse floors easier, the receptionist not being an exception. Moments later, she reappeared with a smile on her face.
“The Mayor was in her office, but she said she'd love to see you.” She took her seat at the desk again, reaching for something underneath it. “You'll want to take this as well.” She handed the earth pony a visitors badge that she had seen used countless times. It gave you right of access into some of the normally off-limits areas of Town Hall, a right that Emily was pleased to have again.
“Thank you, Miss Sundance. Have a good day.” Emily affixed the visitor badge to her saddlebags and made her way over to the stairs, feeling awfully smug as she flashed her badge at the guards.
'Okay, part one is done, I've gained entrance to the dragon's lair. Part two is finding where she sleeps and making off with the jewels.' She gulped, the metaphor seemed scarily accurate at this juncture. As a unicorn who had enough magical skill to conjure a horde of mind-controlling insects, what else could she do?
Emily steeled herself, she didn't have time for fear right now.
She walked down the familiar corridors, smiling weakly at the ponies who waved to her or said hello, until finally she found herself outside of a door with the words 'Mayor's Office' on it. Emily took one last deep breath to calm her nerves and knocked.
“Enter.”
She pushed the door open and took a brief glance at the office, it hadn't changed much, everything was still in the same place, but the decorations were all different.
“What do you think of my office? I'm probably going to fully refurbish the place and maybe change the wallpaper, you one you picked is kinda dull. Magnolia, really?” Emily followed the high pitched voice to it's owner, the impudent whelp was lounging in a large swivel chair behind the desk. “That receptionist kid told me you came to pick up some stuff, but I've thrown out everything that wasn't needed. So your stuff has probably been recycled by now, I just thought I'd let you know that.”
Emily took a few steps forward and reached the front of the desk, she looked deep into the indigo eyes of the unicorn. “Lucky I didn't actually have anything to pick up then wasn't it?”
The unicorn sat forwards and rested her forehooves on the desk. “Then why trot all the way over here for noth- okay, I get it. You came over here to start something because you lost. You fed the receptionist some cock and bull story to get past my guards and then you waltz right into my office. Well aren't you the proud owner of a particularly large pair of brass balls? Coming after me, in my house? With my guards patrolling the corridors? Do you have a death wish? I only ask because I can write up a request form for one if you don't, I have the paperwork right here.” She snorted and got out of her chair, looking out of the window that gave viewer a perfect panorama of Ponyville.
Emily had loved staring out of that window, but right now her eyes were laser focused on the back of the unicorns head. “That is so like you, hiding behind guards because you're too afraid to get your hooves dirty.”
The Mayor laughed, that high-pitched cackle that Emily so despised. “Aw, are you actually trying to goad me into fighting you? Give me some respect, I'm not a prideful filly any more, I have what I want, there's no reason to fight you.”
“And what exactly is it that you want? The Mayor isn't that powerful of a position in this town, believe me, I've been there.”
“Would you join me by the window, I have something I want to show you.”
Hesitantly, Emily walked behind the desk and stood at the window. This was the Ponyville she remembered. Her Ponyville.
“Ponyville is such a quiet town isn't it? Not a lot really goes on yet there are quite a lot of ponies who want to make their home here.” The way she was speaking, she seemed almost reminiscent, as if recalling an old memory from her fillyhood.
Emily looked over and noticed that the cream coated unicorn wasn't paying her much attention, she was busy looking out of the window. 'No, it's too dangerous, I can hardly pick up that doo-dad Twilight gave me. If I drop it I'm toast.'
“As Mayor though, I have a certain power, do you know what it is? I can decide how this land is used and I can sign contracts to that effect. So say I signed a contract worth a lot of bits in exchange for flattening Ponyville and turning it into a shopping mall, I can do that. The citizens of Ponyville will be well compensated for their co-operation of course.”
Emily flared, feeling a wave of anger welling up inside of her. “You can't do that, you'll ruin hundreds of lives!”
“You know better than anyone what I can and can't do.” The Mayor sneered. “I couldn't say no when I was offered such a generous amount of money. Of course, it was part of my contract not to say no, becoming Mayor of Ponyville was one of the easiest jobs I've done. That really says something about your leadership skills.”
“This isn't a case of bad leadership, I know that now. There was a time that I thought it was, but my eyes have been opened to the truth, quite literally. I've seen what you've done to the citizens of Ponyville, what you are still doing to them. I will not let such a heinous act against my citizens go unpunished!”
The Mayor froze for a moment, that revelation was one she didn't expect to come out, but she quickly composed herself. “How did you?- Never mind, it doesn't matter any way. You can't do anything about it and soon your precious Ponyville will be a construction site.” She sat gloatingly in her swivel chair, eyes full of tears with laughter.
“There's quite a lot I can do about it actually.” Her anger had gotten the better of her, she grabbed the nearest solid object, which just happened to be a tacky looking vase full of flowers and brought it crashing down on to the head of the unicorn before she even had a chance to look up and acknowledge that she had said something.
The unicorn fell forwards onto her desk, her eyes seemed glazed over as if she had been knocked unconscious.
Emily was breathing heavily, the red mist that had descended over her eyes was gone, leaving only the tan pony looking stunned at what she had done. It took her a few seconds, but she finally remembered the magical inhibitor in her bag. Her hooves were shaking slightly, but she managed to carefully place it as far over the Mayor's horn as it would go. She was shocked to see a few small pins punch into the horn itself. Emily had no doubts it would hold securely.
Her job was done, but Emily didn't seem to be moving, she was just staring at the limp body of the unicorn, hoping beyond hope that she hadn't lost control and accidentally killed a pony. 'Just go! You've done your job, everypony should be fine now, leave before you get caught!' She was screaming at herself in her own mind, but a part of her wanted to know that the unicorn would be okay.
When finally she saw the body twitch, she let out a sigh of relief. The Mayor's eyes blinked a few times and her head rose off of the desk, she shook the blur from her eyes and stared daggers at the tan earth pony. “You just hit me with a vase, you bitch!” She rubbed the top of her head with a hoof. “If that leaves a mark I will hunt you down and destroy you! First though, I'll have the guards arrest you.” She focused her gaze as if she was about to attempt a spell.
This was the moment. The time to see if Twilight really knew what she was talking about. 'If this works she can have all the planning permission she wants for renovations.'
The Mayor's horn sparked and faltered. Nothing happened. 'Yes!'
“W-what's going on! Why isn't my magic working?” She reached up to her horn and felt the foreign presence of the inhibitor, her eyes flying wide. “What the hell did you do to me? What is this thing?”
Emily allowed herself a gloating smile, even though on the inside she was trembling like Whitetail Woods on Running of the Leaves day. “It's something designed to cancel out your magical energy, you'll find that all of your spells will, and have, failed. Including the one you used to enslave the townsfolk. Check and mate, Mayor.”
A whole range of emotions appeared on the Mayor's face; shock, fear, surprise, disbelief, but finally it settled on anger. She stomped her front hooves on the desk and glared at the earth pony with such an intensity that Emily faltered. She may not have magic, but she still had hooves and a deep well of anger to draw strength from.
“You've ruined everything! You couldn't just sit down and roll over could you? You had to get in the way and now I have no option. I will hurt you and I will torture you until you give me the key to unlocking this thing on my horn. Then I will kill you and believe me when I say that I will enjoy every single second.”
Emily felt the red mist descending again, this mare wouldn't quit, she had her heart set on destroying Ponyville, that much was clear. “By enslaving this town and it's people, by threatening to destroy it for money, you've hurt Ponyville and by doing that, you've already hurt me. But there is no amount of pain that can bring me down if it means I can protect this town from ponies like you!” She charged, jumping onto the desk and crashing into the unicorn with all of force she could muster. “My body is nothing if it can't protect Ponyville. I care for it more deeply than a pony like you could ever know and I more than willing to sacrifice everything if it will help keep it safe.”
Both ponies collided with the window at the back of the office, feeling the glass smash under their combined weight, broken shards cutting into their skin and the sudden embrace of gravity as they fell.
The Mayor was screaming, but Emily was truly calm for the first time that day. She may not survive this, but Ponyville will. The tears she shed were ones of joy, but what happened after that, she didn't know.
Her vision faded and her body felt numb. She didn't even feel anything when she landed.
==
It was calm and it was quiet, there was a slight breeze but it wasn't too cold. Her body felt warm, as if she was sleeping under a thick blanket and the white walls made it seem like the room went on forever.
She saw a pair of pure white wings above her, they were huge, covering a vast amount of distance but they hurt to look at. It was like she was staring at the sun itself.
“Wake up, my little pony.”
“But I'm not asleep.” As soon as she said it, she felt her eyes opening, her vision was blurred, but she could see the white room around her, the same as in her mind. Even the wings were there, the feathered appendages like sails on a boat.
“Welcome back, Miss Mayor.” The voice was calm, pleased and conveyed such a sense of warmth and familiarity that she couldn't help but feel at peace.
“What- where am I?” The blurriness faded, leaving her with the image of Princess Celestia herself, stood over her bed. To the Princess' right was a relieved looking nurse and far in the background were Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle and Berry Punch, all of them trying to get a good look at the tan earth pony. Even Roseluck was there, and although she seemed engrossed in a gardening magazine, Emily appreciated it nonetheless.
“You've been taken to the Ponyville Hospital for observation, you had quite the fall I'm told.”
“But how am I... still alive?” Emily asked this question cautiously, she was genuinely confused as to how she could have survived a drop like that.
The Princess let out a regal laugh. “I believe you have your friends over there to thank for that.” She turned her head and smiled at the four ponies sat in the background. They read her expression and rushed over, all standing on the Princess' other side.
Pinkie was the first to speak, she seemed a lot cheerier than Emily had been used to. “I used one of my patented Instant Bouncy Castles to break your fall. All the fun of bouncing, none of the mess.” She winked.
“That was a terribly brave thing you did, Mayor. I don't think we can thank you enough for helping us.” Twilight's eyes were watering, but the smile on her face told the true story.
Berry Punch was wearing her signature playful grin, the purple earth pony had always been consistent in the short time Emily had known her. “That glass of wine is still on offer you know. It's a good year.”
Surprisingly, Roseluck stepped up to speak as well, the burgundy-maned earth pony could be difficult at times, but she was dedicated and reliable. “I thought I was a bit gung-ho, but tackling another pony out of a top floor window? That takes serious balls, chief.”
Emily couldn't help but laugh. “That's the second time somepony has said that today, I guess I can't deny it now.”
“After being told everything that has happened, I would like to inform you that when you feel up to it, the position of Mayor of Ponyville will be yours to hold once again. The unicorn who committed crimes against Equestria to become Mayor is currently in Canterlot being questioned. We have faith that she'll give us the answers we need before she spends a long time in prison. You'll also be glad to know that the ponies of Ponyville are all fine and none have suffered any ill effects from their magical manipulation.” The Princess smiled one last time and the whole room seemed to become pleasantly warm. “I'm needed back in Canterlot, but Miss Mayor, you have my gratitude and respect for your actions today.”
When the Princess left, the nurse told everypony that Emily needed some rest, so they filed out as well after some quick goodbyes. As Emily lay in her bed, silently resting and trying her hardest not to think about the events that day, she felt herself smiling uncontrollably. Ponyville was safe and she had been the one to save it. She couldn't even feel her headache any more, the nurses must have done something about that whilst she was still out.
'Everything is finally going back to normal, the ponies are safe and I have my Ponyville back.'
'My Ponyville. I'll never let you go again.'
With that final thought, Emily drifted into a peaceful slumber, a content smile on her face.
* * *