//------------------------------// // Mayor Mare's Ponyville Politics // Story: The Mares // by PColumbus //------------------------------// “Applejack! Rarity said with surprise. “Help! Somepony locked me in this horrid, smelly, unfashionable cell!” She pleaded to the apple farmer. “Ah’m sorry Rarity, but Ah can’t do that.” Applejack said calmly. “What do you mean?” Rarity was puzzled. “It’s in the script…” Said the totally non-stereotypical country mare as she pulled out the script and showed Rarity. “Uggghhhh… does this pony have anything better to do? I have a very important order to fill and I can’t be locked up in this cell for… as they say… the lulls.” Said the whiny prisoner. “And Ah never miss a chance to terrorize one of my best friends.” Replied Applejack. “By the way, the bars are rusty.” She taunted, Rarity leapt back and look at the rust flakes on her hooves. “How revolting!” Rarity squealed as she furiously wiped her hooves on the ground. “You can’t keep me down here Applejack! Ponies will start wondering where I am!” The prissy pony tried to convince her capture to let her go. “Ummmm… nah.” AJ pondered with a hoof at her chin. “You have fun now, Sugarcube.” She said as she walked back in the shadows. At Ponyville Town Hall, Mayor Mare was expecting a meeting with one of her advisors to discuss the campaign strategy for the upcoming election. She heard a knocking at the door. “Come in!” Said the Mayor, but heard no response, she then cleared her throat. “Come in!” She said a little louder. Still nopony entered the room. “Hey! You! Get to work! I don’t have time to waste because you couldn’t figure out what comes next!” Mayor Mare scolded as she looked at the screen. Then, her advisor entered the room casually. “…About time.” The frustrated politician muttered under her breath. “Sorry, Madame Mayor, I was stuck in traffic on the Ponyville Expressway.” Apologized the guest, then, in a fit of aggravation, Mayor Mare chucked a book at the screen. “THAT DOESN’T EXIST!” She shouted as her temple pulsed. “You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep looking like that.” Somepony said off-screen. “SHUT UP!” Mayor Mare barked as she looked to where the comment came from, and then tried to resume the scene. “Welcome, please have a seat.” She said with a heavy sigh. “Now Mrs. Mare, you’re the longest serving Mayor in Ponyville history, but my research is showing that you are losing support among pegasi.” The pony said. “That doesn’t seem like a big problem, it still leaves two thirds of the population.” Replied the mayor. “Yes, but the pegasi population has increased by 35% since the last election, they are now the second largest voting demographic in the city.” The advisor informed. “The Earth ponies and unicorns would still provide a secure reelection.” Mayor Mare suggested. “Earth ponies, yes, but the unicorns have been split down the middle for a while now; they are the deciding factor in the coming election.” Said the guest. “I know this is a hot-button issue, but the pegasi have been insisting on annexation into Cloudsdale.” “The voters would never support annexing into Cloudsdale, we’ve been rivals ever since Ponyville came to be.” The Mayor scoffed at the idea. “Madame, if you ran on the platform for Cloudsdale annexation, you could easily pull off a 63% lead over any opponent.” The political advisor explained as they laid out the graphic information. “I’ll think about it, thank you for your time.” The Mayor bid farewell to her visitor. Back at Rarity’s cell, the imprisoned pony sat bored in the center of the room, like when she has to wait for a hair appointment. She began to get thirsty and saw a glass of water in the corner. “I hope you like your beverage.” Applejack said as she emerged from the shadows again. “It’s not bad, although I really would like a latte right about now.” Rarity replied as she sipped the drink. “I’m glad you like tap water.” AJ smiled mischievously, as the words entered her ears, Rarity’s eyes narrowed as she spat out her the drink. “No! Not tap water!” She squirmed as she tried to brush the taste off her tongue. “What’s wrong, Rarity?” The apple pony asked mockingly. “Here, Ah brought a friend for you!” Applejack then released a big… ugly… hideous… terrifying… praying mantis into the cell with the marshmallow. “You two have fun now…” Applejack taunted and left the light once more. “Applejack! No! Don’t leave me here with that… that… thing!” Rarity coward in fear in the corner as the bug crawled on the wall across from her. As Rarity started to relax, the praying mantis spread its wings… and started to fly. Applejack exited her apple cellar when she heard the screaming of the fashion forward pony and collapsed on the ground, laughing until it hurt. Apple Bloom sat in the living room of Twist’s home as the host brought out some of her famous peppermint sticks. “So, I had just left Bon Bon’s shop with some ingredients for my peppermint sticks when I saw Diamond Tiara at Sugarcube Corner. At first, I thought she was waiting on Silver Spoon, but then I saw Snails come out of the shop with a milkshake and two straws, and they drank it… together!” Twist explained as Apple Bloom sucked on a peppermint stick. “Do you think that they’re each other’s very special somepony?” Apple Bloom asked with the stick in her mouth. “How could they not be?” Asked Twist. “Did you see anything else?” Apple Bloom wanted to learn more. “Oh yeah! Right before I turned the corner to head home, I saw them nuzzle each other!” Twist said, Apple Bloom gasped in sheer astonishment. Diamond Tiara and Snails, dating? The juice practically gushed out of this story! Apple Bloom finished her visit with Twist and rushed back home to Sweet Apple Acres, she was about to enter the house when she heard a whimpering. Her red bow swayed as she looked around the farm looking for who was making the noise, but saw nopony. She walked around the house and heard the noise coming from the cellar. The filly opened the door and entered the basement; she walked down the dark corridor and gasped at what she saw… “Rarity!?!” DUN… DUN… DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!