After a particularly filling lunch of Granny Smith’s famed Waldorf salad, the Cutie Mark Crusaders returned to their clubhouse to continue with their project. “Okay, so here’s what we still need,” Scootaloo said as she looked at the plans. “One mirrored disco ball, one roll of bubble wrap, and an anvil.”
“I thought we already got the bubble wrap,” Sweetie Belle said as she scratched her head in confusion.
“We did,” Apple Bloom said as her eyelids lowered into a squint. “An’ then you two spent about thirty minutes poppin’ it to make sure it was real bubble wrap, so now we need some more.”
“Hey, I’ve been burned by fake bubble wrap in the past,” Scootaloo insisted. “We had to make sure it was legit.”
“And you had to pop every single bubble in an entire roll to do that?” Apple Bloom asked with a scowl.
“Um, maybe?” Sweetie Belle responded sheepishly. “So, uh, where’d we get the last roll?”
“Here on the farm,” Apple Bloom said. “We use it to protect our jars of Zap Apple Jam for shippin’. I s’pose we can get another roll, but if we ain’t careful with it, we’re gonna be in trouble, on account of Applejack is probably gonna notice we’re runnin’ low. I figure I oughta handle that, so that nopony else gets tempted to test it out on her own.”
“The disco ball shouldn’t be a problem,” Sweetie Belle said in an effort to change the subject. “I bet Pinkie Pie has plenty to spare.”
“Yeah, nothing to worry about there,” Scootaloo agreed with a nod. “So that just leaves the anvil. Um... you wouldn’t happen to have one of those here on the farm too, would you?” she asked Apple Bloom with an odd wrinkle in her eyebrow.
“Why in tarnation would we need an anvil?” Apple Bloom asked. “It ain’t like we got time to forge our own shoes.”
“Okay, so I guess we need to head over to the blacksmith’s, then,” Scootaloo said.
“Actually, I’m pretty sure he’ll notice if one of his anvils is gone,” Sweetie Belle said. “Rarity took me over there once to pick up some custom shoes he’d made for her, and I think he uses all of them.”
“Well, that’s no good,” Apple Bloom said. “I mean, if we can’t get one from the blacksmith’s, where else will we find an anvil?”
“Hmmm...” Sweetie Belle said as she idly tapped her hoof against her chin. “Does it actually have to be an anvil, though? I mean, we just need something heavy, right?”
“Basically,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “Why? Do you have an idea?”
Sweetie Belle grinned. “Let’s just say that Rarity knows somebody that might be able to help us out.”
September 1 – 12:54 PM
As Fluttershy’s friends split up to begin their roles in her plan, one thing was quite obvious: Mayor Pinkamena Diane Mare needed to know what was going on. Thus, with Pinkie Pie in tow (partly so that the earth pony could secure the town hall for her party, and partly because Mayor Mare really liked her niece), Fluttershy went to the Mayor’s office and outlined her intentions for the next day or so.
To the Mayor’s credit, her reaction to the news was considerably more reasonable than Fluttershy had expected. “Okay, so, if I understand you correctly, your plan is to blow the fog through Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest. Have I got that right?”
“Um, yes,” Fluttershy said.
The Mayor nodded her head calmly. “And this was Pinkie Pie’s idea, correct?”
“Um, no, I came up with most of it myself,” Fluttershy responded.
“Are you sure about that?” the Mayor said, looking Fluttershy in the eye. “Because that sounds like it might be something she’d come up with.”
“Aw, you’re just being silly now, Auntie Diane,” Pinkie Pie answered in her usual cheery voice. “I suggested cutting up the fog like a brownie! This is Fluttershy’s idea all the way.”
The Mayor blinked several times at this, but otherwise her face remained impassive. “I see. Er, Fluttershy, you do realize that it’s important for a leader to be able to keep things in perspective, right?”
“Well, yes,” Fluttershy said, though she looked a little confused by the Mayor’s question.
“Ah, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Mayor Mare said as she pushed her pince-nez glasses further up her muzzle. “Perhaps now would be a good time for you to take a short break. A session at the spa can do wonders for the mind. After a few hours, I’m sure you’ll be feeling refreshed and ready to consider a solution to the problem.”
“But... I already did that,” Fluttershy said as a somewhat stern edge crept into her voice. “This is the best solution to the problem. The long-term consequences of the alternatives make them completely unacceptable.”
“I understand,” the Mayor said in an artificially soothing tone of voice, “but perhaps you should wait a bit before—”
“Waiting is one of the unacceptable alternatives I just mentioned,” Fluttershy said, taking a few steps toward the Mayor to emphasize her point. “We don’t have much time to act.”
The Mayor seemed perturbed by Fluttershy’s forwardness. “Well, in that case,” she replied as the smile vanished from her face, “you might want to consider a different retreat on the outskirts of Baltimare where you can get your head cleared. This one has individual apartments, all of which are upholstered for maximum comfort, and ponies in white coats will attend to your every need, and there are even specialists there who will listen to your problems until your mind working properly again.”
“Hey,” Pinkie Pie said suspiciously, “that doesn’t sound like a retreat. That sounds like the Whispering Pines Sanitorium for Complete Nutcases!”
Mayor Mare sighed. “Well, it is rather effective. Screw Loose swears by their doctors; she says they’re the reason she was able to become a functioning member of society again. According to her neighbors, she hardly ever howls at the moon these days, and now she uses a shovel to bury her assorted belongings for safekeeping.”
Pinkie scratched her head, looking quite confused. “Really? But if that place is for real, why do ponies keep telling me I should try checking in there?”
Apparently, both the Mayor and Fluttershy thought it best to ignore Pinkie’s question entirely, because they continued their conversation as if Pinkie hadn’t jumped in. “My idea isn’t crazy, Ms. Mare,” Fluttershy said, deliberately dropping the Mayor’s title to subtly remind her which pony actually had the authority to make this call. “I’m an expert, and I know what I’m doing.”
“Then why does this plan sound like it might kill us all?!” The Mayor abruptly shouted. She jumped out of her seat and began pacing rapidly across the room, gesticulating wildly as she made her points. “Why is it that a town as small as Ponyville has to put so much at risk for the rest of the country? Do you have any idea how much property damage we’ve sustained over the past year alone? The emergency room at the hospital only has so much space, and you’re asking me to subject the citizens to the same fog that nearly killed Pinkie Pie?!” By the end of her tirade, the Mayor was standing on her desk with her cravat askew and her glasses dangling precariously on the end of her snout.
“Um, to be fair, I think it would have been a while before the fog actually killed me,” Pinkie pointed out in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
Apparently, this was enough to get Mayor Mare back on a more even keel, as she returned to her chair and straightened her cravat. “Sorry,” she said with a sigh as she pushed her glasses back to their usual spot on her face. “I’ve just been under a lot of stress over this fog business, but I shouldn’t have indulged in unprofessional behavior. I’m sure you have very good reasons for thinking this will work, Fluttershy, and I know you wouldn’t put anypony at risk unless you had to.”
“Wow,” Pinkie Pie said. “Was that one of those political apology thingies you were telling me about? Because you said all the right things, but I still can’t tell whether or not you’re actually sorry.”
“Elected officials can’t afford to apologize for their opinions,” Mayor Mare explained. “Not if we want to be reelected, at least. They create openings for accusations of being wishy-washy.”
“But I thought Wishy Washy just got elected to Parliament last year,” Pinkie Pie said as she wrinkled her brow in bewilderment.
Mayor Mare groaned. “Don’t remind me.” The last thing anypony needed now was a discussion of local electioneering. “How can I help you?”
“Well,” Fluttershy said, her expression softening, “if you could call a town meeting so I can explain the situation to everypony else, that would be good.”
“Consider it done,” the Mayor said as she scrawled a memo onto some stationary. “Anything else?”
“Oh, right,” Pinkie Pie said as her legs abruptly stiffened and her attention refocused on the reason Fluttershy had brought her along in the first place. “I’m going to need to use the town hall for my fog party.”
“A party?” replied the Mayor, whose eyes widened in shock. “Pinkie, is this really the time?”
“Well, yeah. We need to make sure all the foals are safe, especially the pegasus foals, and what better way to keep them from wandering outside than to throw a party to keep them interested?”
“That is a solid idea,” Mayor Mare responded, bobbing her head in an approving nod, “but I don’t think town hall is the best place for it.”
Pinkie Pie’s ears flattened in disappointment. “Why not? There’s plenty of room.”
“Yes, but we still haven’t quite finished the repairs from the... er... ‘incident’ with Ms. Hooves. They’re using tarps to keep the rain from coming through the back walls and the unfinished windows, but I doubt that will be much help against fog.”
“Oh, yeah... that is a problem, isn’t it?” Pinkie said, looking rather despondent as she stared at her hooves. “I guess it’s too much to ask the construction workers to hurry up.”
“Definitely, especially since their jackhammer has gone missing,” the Mayor replied drolly.
“Why would a construction crew need a jackhammer?” Fluttershy asked.
“I have no idea,” said the Mayor. “All I know is that their union agreement stipulates that they need to have all of their necessary equipment on site before they can work on anything, and they consider the jackhammer to be necessary equipment.”
Pinkie shifted her weight back and forth for a few seconds before looking up again. “You, um, wouldn’t know of any other places that might be large enough for all of Ponyville’s foals to fit in, would you?”
“The schoolhouse, perhaps?” suggested the Mayor.
“Maybe...” Pinkie Pie said unenthusiastically, “but there’s not a lot of room in there, once you also include all the foals who are too young for school, and the adults who’ll need to watch them all. Plus, if it gets really stuffy, somepony might be tempted to open one of the windows.”
“Well, I’m not aware of any other public buildings that might serve your needs,” the Mayor said apologetically. “Perhaps you can bring the issue up at the town meeting and find somepony who can volunteer their facility.”
“Volunteer?” Pinkie Pie repeated in distant-sounding voice.
“Don’t worry if you need to rent a space, Pinkie,” Fluttershy reminded her friend. “The Department of Weather will cover the cost.”
“No, it’s not that,” Pinkie Pie said as she shook her head dismissively. “I was just thinking about something.”
“And...” the Mayor beckoned, clearly interested in what her niece had to say (albeit in the same way one might show interest in a potential train wreck).
“There just might be a place that can work for us,” Pinkie Pie said, breaking out into a wide grin.