30 June, Y.C. 970
Ponyville
“He still owes us a case of beer for that one.”
“That’s not happening,” said the senior pegasus, shaking her head dully. “Like hell I’m going back there.”
The first one held her tongue for a moment. “I was in the back formations,” she ventured, “so I didn’t see much of the ground through the smoke….”
No response to the prompt. She had been trying to get her companion to give her something, anything, but the past two days’ worth of inquiry had been met with stony silence.
“Guess that’s all the better for me,” she ventured with a reluctant shrug.
“Who’s that?” said the other abruptly, gesturing towards in the general direction of the landing fields. Pegasi were coming and going all the time, but the pony approaching had neither wings nor horn; she must have come by courier.
And, unfortunately, it looked like she was coming towards them. Certainly there were enough ponies around, but nopony made a beeline from the landing fields to the torn hall unless they needed to go there. It wasn’t as if they were on the way to the commissary.
“No idea,” she offered. “Doesn’t look like brass.”
Indeed, the pony had no uniform, just a well-worn saddlebag over light blue flanks. She kept straight at them, drawing up to the door in a minute.
“Good afternoon,” she said in tired voice. She didn’t sound particularly enthused to be there, but at least she wasn’t taking it out on them. Guard duty wasn’t any fun, particularly not when their entire shift was spent in the sun. Sure, Ponyville was pretty and all other sorts of picturesque, but pictures didn’t convey heat or the pounding sunshine. And they certainly didn’t do anything about the fumes that kept drifting over the town, despite prevailing winds in the other direction.
“Ma’am,” nodded the senior pegasus. This pony might not be an officer, but politeness at the outset didn’t hurt. Just in case. “Can we do something for you?”
The pony glanced at them with the slightest trace of… something, as if there was a joke they had missed.
“I can open the door for myself, but it’s a bit difficult to do with you two in front of it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” responded the guard, hackles raising slightly. “Access to the town hall has been restricted. If you need information from the archives, the library….”
“I know,” said the pony, waving her off. “That’s why I’m here.”
A momentary pause.
“I’m expected.”
The younger pegasus frowned. “Respectfully — you’re not.”
“The mayor has no visitors today,” said the elder pony with an admonishing glare. “All of her appointments are off-site.”
“That’s impossible,” declared the light blue arrival flatly. “I sent word…”
She stopped short, shaking her head. “Damnit, Maggie.”
“Um… ma’am?”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to let me in without authentication,” she sighed. “Give me a moment.”
As the pony started rooting around in her saddlebag, the pegasus guards glanced at each other. Usually if somepony thought they were important, expected, or otherwise entitled to something, they would pull the do-you-know-who-I-am card, which would fail miserably. The ones who followed rules that didn’t even need explaining? Those were the ones who, as a rule, tended to actually be important. As a result, by the time the pony had her papers out, the door was already open.
“Thank you,” said the pegasus, accepting the offered papers and scanning them down. “Go right on through, miss… Mc….”
Her voice wandered off somewhere, as the light blue pony retrieved her papers from a slightly trembling hoof.
“…McNamare?” finished the pegasus lamely.
“Thank you,” said the Secrepony of Defense, stowing her papers neatly and stepping between the frozen guards.
The door closed with a muffled knock, snapping the pegasi out of it.
“That,” started the younger of the two after a moment.
“That,” agreed the other.
A pause.
“Why is she here to see the mayor?”
“No idea, but I’m willing to bet next week’s pay we didn’t see anything.”
He laughed at that.
“No appointments, huh.”
The elder pegasus snorted.
“Surprise.”