//------------------------------// // Election Day // Story: Election in Ponyville // by StormLuna //------------------------------// One month had passed since the debate and election day had arrived not just in Ponyville, but across all of Equestria. While ENC had news crews stationed across every community in Equestria, like always, Sunny Flames and her news crew had set up camp in Ponyville. It was early morning and ponies had already lined up to cast their ballots. 0700 arrived and the polls opened. Sunny ordered for the cameras to start rolling and began, "Good Morning Equestria, this is Sunny Flames reporting to you live from Ponyville. Well today is the day, today is the day that many communities across Equestria will let their voices be heard. Here in Ponyville this is going to be more than just one candidate versus another, this is looking to be a vote of tradition versus fiscal responsibility." She had the cameras pan towards town hall where Amethyst Star was just coming out from casting her ballot. Despite being leery of the pony who hugged her that summer, she figured she would not do that on camera. She approached Amethyst and asked, "Amethyst, so what has the atmosphere been like here in Ponyville since the last debate?" Amethyst replied, "Things haven't been normal. While there hasn't been any violence, it seems like some ponies just don't get along anymore. I'm not sure if any friendships have been lost or not but you can tell when one of my staunchest supporters has to deal with one of the mayor's staunchest supporters, they deal with one another in whatever way they have to and then go about their business. They don't just stop and have friendly chit chats anymore." Sunny asked, "I know you probably aren't going to say anything but who do you think will win today." Amethyst couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Come on Ms. Flames, you know that after the primary I told you I wasn't going to make any predictions and I'm going to say the same this time. I think it is bad karma to go predicting things like this." Sunny replied, "I figured you would say that." She patted Amethyst on the shoulder and continued, "Best of luck to you Amethyst." Amethyst replied, "Thanks. You along with all of Equestria have a good day." Hard News, the main anchor in Manehattan joined in on the telecast. He said, "Well, it looks like Amethyst is being her normal self, not making any predictions." Sunny replied, "Nope, that is something she simply won't do." She looked behind her and saw the mayor heading out of the town hall. She ordered the camera crew to follow her to the mayor. When she reached her Sunny asked, "Madame Mayor, how would you say things have been in the town since that last debate?" Mayor Mare replied, "Well I don't think things have been going all that well. The atmosphere of friendship seems fractured and I have noticed that some of the earth ponies have been avoiding having to deal with unicorns." Sunny asked, "Would you say it is the most old fashioned earth ponies that are avoiding them?" Mayor Mare replied "Yes, it is. It is sad really. It is sad to see a community go from one where almost everypony enjoys one another's company and descend into one that is clearly divided over something as simple as an election." Sunny asked, "That is sad but I do want to ask you this. Who do you think won today?" Mayor Mare gulped, "You know, I really don't know. After the primary I was certain that I would win but the atmosphere has changed so much since then. It seems like my opponent's message of cutting spending has really become popular with a lot of ponies, and not just unicorns so I can't make a call on that." Sunny replied, "I can understand that. Well I better let you get going. You have a good day." Mayor Mare said, "You have a good day too." After the mayor departed, Sunny and Hard News began to discuss the situation in Ponyville, "Sunny, while I have never been to Ponyville, I have heard about how close knit of a community it is. I am shocked that this election has turned the citizens against one another." Sunny replied, "After what happened in that last debate, it doesn't surprise me. The old fashioned ponies are really digging their hooves in and the ponies who want reform are doing the same thing. I certainly hope that once this is over, that Ponyville will return to being the most friendly community in Equestria." Hard News said, "I certainly hope so." Hard News got a notification that it was time to move on to another crew's coverage, "We will continue our coverage in Ponyville tonight when the results are announced." After the cameras stopped rolling Sunny and her crew headed to the local cafe to grab a bite to eat. While they were there they saw multiple ponies get into arguments throughout the day, which brought about discomfort to Sunny. She put her head down and sighed, "How could such a friendly community become like this? Are they really so divided that they'd even make a city mare like me uncomfortable?" Evening had arrived in Ponyville and the polls just closed. Both candidates had organized watch parties where they would watch the results come in. Because of this, ENC had to send an extra crew and would have The Ponyville Express's reporter Breaking News reporting from Mayor Mare's watch party while Sunny would be reporting from Amethyst's watch party. At 1920 the cameras began rolling in Ponyville with a split screen as Breaking News would be seen on one side at the mayor's watch party in the town hall and Sunny would be seen at Amethyst's, which was being held in front of her house. Hard News began, "Breaking News, Sunny, how would you say the mood is at the watch parties?" Breaking News began, "Things are kind of quiet here at Mayor Mare's party. I'm not sure if part of it is because not nearly as many ponies showed up as were expected or they simply have a bad feeling that things may not go as they hoped." The focus then shifted to Sunny. Hard News asked, "And how would you say the atmosphere there is." In the background music was playing, ponies were dancing and talking. Sunny replied, "Well this seems more like a coronation party than a watch party. Amethyst has yet to take the stage but ponies have already begun to chant Amethyst's name over and over. One thing I can tell, this crowd is quite large and I'm guessing they are certain that their candidate won." Hard News heard a beep in his ear piece letting him know that the results were in. Both watch parties went quiet as the monitors went straight to ENC. Hard News began, "The results for the Ponyville election are in. Amethyst Star received 72 votes, Mayor Mare received 30 votes and there was one write in vote. The Mayor-Elect of Ponyville is Amethyst Star." The ponies went wild at Amethyst's watch party. They were cheering loudly and chanting, "AMETHYST! AMETHYST! AMETHYST!" The cameras focused on the stage as Amethyst walked up to the podium as fireworks began to go off. She stood there waving at her adoring supporters for a minute before motioning for them to settle down. Once they had got quiet enough she began, "Thank you Ponyville! Thank you for supporting me!" The crowd began to cheer again and like before, she motioned for them to quiet down. She continued, "Before we continue I would like to congratulate my opponent on not just running a great campaign but on sixteen years of public service as mayor of Ponyville." Despite having a desire to boo, they wanted to show that they were not going to stoop to that level so they stomped their hooves in delight. After that Amethyst continued, "Citizens of Ponyville, I remember back when I filed my papers up in Canterlot. Princess Celestia warned me that there had never been a non-earth pony mayor in Ponyville. I remember telling her that I believed that ponies were not like that here anymore. I told her that I believed that the ponies here would focus more on my message than what kind of pony I was and today, Ponyville proved that it has moved forward! Ponyville has proven that the message is what's important! Thank you everypony! Thank you all!" The crowd roared so loudly that it was heard all over town. The camera shifted to Sunny Flames where she was asked, "Sunny, I know Mayor-Elect Amethyst has made a lot of promises. Do you think she will be able to keep them?" Sunny replied, "Actually yes, I do. I have met some ponies who are close friends with her and from what they told me, I think this town will have a balanced budget in her first year if not even run a bit of a surplus." Hard News asked, "With what Amethyst just said, do you think the same can be said for other communities in the future regarding the message being more important than pony type?" Sunny replied, "I'm not so sure. Some communities are entirely or almost entirely one type of pony so no matter what a different kind of pony would propose, they probably wouldn't stand a chance. Ponyville has just the right type of mix of ponies that this was able to happen." Hard News said, "I can understand what you mean there, other towns don't have the same mix of ponies." The cameras were cut at Amethyst's party and turned on at Mayor Mare's watch party, where the mood was much different. Like what normally happens, the defeated candidate waited until her opponent had given her victory speech to give her concession speech. When she stepped onto the stage the crowd began to cheer despite her defeat. She began, "Before we get started I would like to congratulate my opponent on her victory. Apparently times are changing and tradition just isn't as important as it used to be." The crowd began to boo. The mayor interrupted, "Come on, let's not stoop to this level. We want to show Equestria that we are the bigger ponies." Applejack, one of the ponies in the crowd yelled, "But Madame Mayor, Amethyst used an unethical practice in that last debate and Ah can't believe mah friend Twilight would take part in it." Mayor Mare replied, "Applejack, there were no rules against it. Besides, when this town has been transformed into a sad, rigid place in four years I'll run again and I will restore this town to what it is now." This caused the crowd to cheer a little. The cameras cut to Breaking News. Hard News asked, "Obviously quite the different atmosphere than there was at Amethyst's party?" Breaking News replied, "Yes. But that is always the case when it comes to the watch party where a candidate is defeated, especially an incumbent." Hard News asked, "You have lived in Ponyville your whole life. Did you ever think that a candidate would defeat Mayor Mare?" Breaking News replied, "No, I didn't and I especially didn't expect her to be defeated by that kind of margin." A tear began to run down his eye as he continued, "I'm sorry Hard News, being a Ponyville native and being a traditionalist, the thoughts of a unicorn mayor who is dead set on changing things really bothers me." Hard News knew that this was the time to cut him off. While he could understand Breaking News's sadness, ENC was known for being the most unbiased news network in the country. He replied, "I can understand that but we have to leave the Ponyville coverage to cover contests on the west coast where ponies are still voting." The cameras went black in Ponyville and Hard News continued, "Equestria, I would like to thank you for tuning in tonight. We'll have a commercial break and when we return, we will go to Vanhoover where the polls have just closed." In Ponyville Amethyst's party remained in full swing for a couple more hours while the crowd at the mayor's party dispersed and headed home not too long after her speech. While Mayor Mare was defeated, the traditionalists did not view this as the end of tradition. What they hoped for was that Amethyst would fail to deliver on what she promised or would make the town so rigid everypony would turn against her. Amethyst and her supporters on the other hoof, saw a new era of hope beginning. They saw a time arriving in which their fillies and colts would get a better education, a future in which Ponyville would have the most advanced hydroelectric dam in Equestria and most importantly, a future where debt would soon be a thing of the past.