The Recall Scandal of 1002

by Blue Hour Pony

Chapter 2

The Recall Scandal of 1002

Chapter 2

By: Blue Hour Pony

The residents of Ponyville were notorious for their reticence when it came to dealing with conflict and controversy. In the time since the Mayor Mare scandal had first come to light a sort of phony peace had begun to set in. The brevity of the rain of the other day had lent the town residents the impression that the storm in their hearts would also pass and that with the scattering of the clouds so too would the scandal evaporate. The sky was now a hazy blue, as though somepony had put droplets of cream into it, a light brew for a fresh new morning. The air was still and heavy. The ground was sponged with moisture. Vapor rose from the lighted portions of the pavement and grass, and it seemed for a morning that Ponyville had chosen to forget the scandal and pretend that nothing was happening.

It was with this mindset that Lily took to the streets. She was a skittish mare. She liked for her mane to be neat, her garden to be tended, and for the bricks beneath her hooves to be without crack or chip. Everything had to be just so. All it took for her day to be cast into the throes of an evil uncertainty was one misshapen, out of place happenstance that simply did not feel right. Never mind that there were already many things in her life that could be taken for misshapen.

For example, there was that little hole in the wall of her bedroom that she had never taken occasion to fix. It was a little nick, not too big. She could easily have had it plastered. But it had been there since she had moved in and she had become used to it. It had become a personalized mark of her space, an idiosyncrasy that told her “this is my room. I’m home.” There was that way one of her stairs creaked when she stepped upon it. That too was nice and familiar.

This mindset percolated over to more dire matters too. Though she loved neatness, she also, above all else, loved predictability. She, like many residents, was willing to put up with anything that was part of an established set of expectations. Did town hall run at maximal efficiency? Maybe not, but that was all right. It had always been like that. Did Ponyville have a woeful scarcity of hot water (so much so that the whole town would run out every time a certain dragon took a bubble bath)? Sure, but that was to be expected. Did the trains to Canterlot and Manehattan always run on time? Goodness no! But what are you going to? None of this was cause for panic.

What about a stampede of baby bunnies? The appearance of a zebra? Or (Celestia help us!) a cancelled DJ Pon-3 concert? Not cool at all! Anyone of these things would cause her to become light-headed and dizzy. She couldn’t take such shocks.

As she sat down at an outdoor table in front of her favorite coffee shop she ordered the usual: a slightly caffeinated beverage with a smidgen of whipped cream on top, a doughnut, and a sandwich that she had long ago forgotten the name of (she had had it the first day she moved to Ponyville and liked it so much she would never order anything else in the morning. She had simply taken to calling it The Usual and the waiter always knew what she was talking about).

She had acquired a new habit too: reading the Foal Free Press. She had purchased a copy on her way to the coffee shop, and she did not like the way the mare at the newsstand had looked when she gave it to her. That newsmare was usually of a happy, cheerful sort. However, she hadn’t even looked at Lily because she was too busy reading a copy herself. What story had been so important that she had not even bothered to look her in the eye when she said good morning?

Now Lily was eager to take a look, and when she finally unfurled the paper and eyed the front page it was Mayor Mare’s apologetic face that looked back at her. Lily’s heart sped up. Her hooves tingled. She feared she may faint, for she was reminded of the shock she had felt upon first hearing of Mayor Mare’s wrongdoing. She had hoped that the story would just go away. What had happened now? Would she have to take much more of this? Her stomach churned with a sickening unease as it seemed her innards were being liquefied by fright. She no longer felt like eating.

The article was an apology written by the mayor herself. It was something of a relief to read the mayor’s own words instead of listening to the mystifying gossip that had charged the air recently. It was as though one’s mother was here to explain something scary. But what if mother was the scary thing? Could she be trusted after what she had done, after she had taken advantage of everypony? As Lily looked up from the paper – carefully, as though afraid the world beyond the sheets would be different from the one she had known – she noticed that it was quieter than usual and everypony else was reading the same story.

***

In a woody corner of town the story in the Foal Free Press had also caught the eyes of another group of ponies, albeit ponies of a more charged and excitable nature. In stark contrast to the muted setting of the town square, an out of the way tree house was abuzz with activity and chatter. This elevated structure was playing host to the Rainbow Dash Fan Club. At regular intervals, the club’s members would often meet to gush excitedly about the exploits and antics of their club’s namesake Pegasus.

Their loyalty and devotion to her was unquestioned. Their enthusiasm for her poured forth as water from a spring without bottom. Any given meeting offered a chance for one to observe perfect examples of youthful obsequiousness. However, today’s meeting was especially singular. Firstly, Rainbow Dash was in the building! She was not usually present at such meetings, for she was always out doing the awesome things that made her the envy of every action oriented filly. However, this warm and humid day, she had deigned to proffer her glorious presence for the sake of her devotees.

However, that was not all. The second thunderclap of day related to a mission of great and far reaching importance. The fillies and colts present at the meeting were all aware of the controversy that had taken town hall. After all, everypony attended the school that played host to the muckrakers who broke the initial story. Scootaloo herself had been a part of the matter. However, Rainbow Dash was there that day to make everypony privy to a development that stood to change the lives of every foal in town. Rainbow Dash was going to run for mayor!

An excited murmur ran through the tree house after Rainbow Dash made the announcement.

“Settle down, everypony. Settle down. Yes, it’s true! Yours truly is going to be running for the highest office in Ponyville! This town deserves a better class of politician. With your help, I’m gonna give it to them. Do you appreciate stuffy, arrogant grownups who don’t take you seriously?”

“No!” was the resounding reply.

“Do you like it when ponies you trusted lie to you?”

“No!” was the report.

“Isn’t it about time that all of Ponyville understood just how awesome and amazing I am? And how awesome and amazing you all are?”

“Yes!” The whole clubhouse seemed to jump.

“Well, would you believe that there are some ponies out there who don’t understand that, that there are ponies who think you’re dummies? They don’t think you can make a difference. They don’t think that you’re worth listening to.”

“Boooooo!” the group crowed to the amorphous they.

“Well, I can hear you! Mayor Mare will hear you! And soon all of Ponyville will hear you!”

The cheers and jubilation seemed to physically shake the air, like waves of heat rolling over concrete.

“And why stop there? I think we can be a force for good for all of Equestria! But we have to start with Ponyville.”

“We’re with you Rainbow Dash! We’ll do whatever you need!” Scootaloo said, her wings fluttering involuntarily.

“That’s right, pipsqueak. That’s where you all come in. I can see here that you have a pretty nice clubhouse. It’s cozy and beautifully decorated.” The flattery dripped from her mouth like honey.

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said, beaming.

“And I love these cool posters you have all over the walls,” Rainbow Dash said, referring to the fan posters that surrounded them featuring Rainbow Dash in a variety of poses. She smiled as she looked around her and saw her own face smiling back from all over the room.

“Aww, don’t mention it, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo blushed furiously.

“All in favor for this place being my campaign headquarters?”

Rainbow Dash was met with a unanimous aye that seemed to shake the walls. The energy in the room was building with each passing moment. The club house seemed ready to combust from pure excitement.

Rainbow Dash looked proudly at her sea of admirers. “Great! Now, who wants to be a part of my campaign staff?”

“Oh! Oh! Me me me me me me!” was the general response.

Stepping from the podium, Rainbow Dash set immediately to give marching orders to her legion. “Do you all think you can make even more posters like the ones you have here, only with an election themed angle?”

“It’d be no problem, Rainbow Dash! No problem at all. Trust me! By this afternoon we can have this town absolutely covered in your election posters! Ponyville won’t know what hit it,” Scootaloo said, tears welling up in her eyes as she felt more happiness than she could ever recall.

Rainbow was pleased. “That’d be awesome. Oh, and don’t you work for the Foal Free Press, pipsqueak?”

“I sure do!” Scootaloo was feeling faint now. For so long she had wanted to do favors for Rainbow Dash, and now here she was tending to her every election-related need.

“Excellent. Well, would you be willing to do a story about this? I have a lot of things I’d like to do for this town, and I’d love for you to help spread my message. A favorable series of editorials would also be nice.” She patted Scootaloo’s head as she made this request.

“They’re as good as written Rainbow Dash! I just need to get the next addition of the paper printed and distributed and we’re set.”

“All right my friends! Go out and spread the word. Rainbow Dash is here to bring change! Mayor Mare tried to gloss over things in the paper this morning, but now we’re going to show Ponyville that it has real options. Real change. A real leader! I’ll be your mayor! I won’t just sit around in an office all day filing paperwork and doing a bunch of boring, namby pamby writing. I’m going to be out here with you, listening to you and helping you to make this town more awesome! With me on your side you’re going to be free to do whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want to do it. Who’s with me?”

Euphoria reigned. In the eyes of many of her fans Rainbow Dash had already won.

***

In her standard flamboyant fashion, Rainbow Dash blitzed Ponyville before anypony had a chance to soak in Mayor Mare’s apology piece. No sooner had citizens managed to digest that story did Rainbow Dash and her cohort strike with all the fury and fulgurating majesty of an isolated storm cell. That afternoon the recall election, which had hitherto been heard of only in whispers and rumors, became an established fact, a tangible event that ponies were acting on and responding to. The phony peace was over; the front had lit up with activity. Some were more prepared than others.

Some, such as Lily, stood gawking and dumbfounded as they began to realize just how many posters had been put up in so short a time and just how real this event was to become. These ponies looked at the posters as though they were looking at freshly fallen snow in July, so numerous and eye catching they were. They did not yet feel that they were personally partaking, but instead felt as helpless as those who are forced to sit and witness an occurrence of nature.

Others were more enthusiastic. In the streets could occasionally be seen a fully grown mare or stallion wearing a Rainbow Dash button (for it seemed at first that Rainbow Dash was the only one challenging Mayor Mare). Amongst these, and in markedly greater numbers, were legions of fillies and colts, devotees of Rainbow Dash who ran about passing out fliers, giving speeches from atop soapboxes, and making a general spectacle. Every minute the proselytes were gaining followers. Everywhere hordes of young ones were being drawn rapidly into the matter, for the more they heard of Rainbow Dash’s platform, the more they saw in it something that appealed to them.

“Rainbow Dash thinks we should be allowed to go to school only when we want to! And she thinks recess should be an hour longer! If Rainbow Dash is elected, ponies will actually listen to us!” said one ebullient filly to a steadily growing crowd.

“Wait a minute,” said one calm voice, barely perceptible in the din. “We’re just foals. Can we actually vote?”

“That’s the beauty of it!” the filly returned, gesticulating as she spoke. “Rainbow Dash said that Ponyville doesn’t really have any election rules. I’m pretty sure we can do whatever we want. And even if we can’t, ponies are gonna listen to us if we protest. They have to. That’s what democracy is all about, right?”

Others in the crowd chimed in, the excitement growing.

“Yeah, we’ll protest! We’ll refuse to go to school! They can’t put us all in detention or time out.”

“And we’ll stay up as late as we want!”

“And eat cookies for breakfast!”

“Freedom!”

“WOOOOO!”

“The Foal Free Press said that Rainbow Dash is the freedom candidate.”

“She’s the only one who understands us.”

“Hey! Hey, Applejack! Do you support Rainbow Dash?”

Applejack had been trying to quietly pass by the crowd unnoticed when one of the fillies called out to her.

“You and Rainbow Dash are friends, right? Do you support Rainbow Dash?”

Applejack seemed a bit hesitant for a moment. She carefully enunciated her next words.

“Well, sure. Dash is a great friend a mine.” She smiled.

A few in the crowd clapped upon hearing this. Applejack continued.

“But…Ah don’t really reckon she’s ready to be a mayor.”

The atmosphere changed as the crowd begun immediately to reassess its view of Applejack.

“What do you mean, Applejack?”

Applejack put a hoof to her chin as she thought about how to put the matter delicately. “Well, Rainbow Dash is loyal and kind. I’ll give her that. But ah don’t think she knows the first think ‘bout running a town.”

“But she believes in freedom. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

A murmur ran through the crowd as Applejack responded to this inquiry.

“Listen everypony. Don’t ya think that Rainbow Dash is gettin’ ya’ll a little too excited? Ya can’t just do whatever ya want. Nopony can do whatever they want. You’ve got to have a set of principles and then you’ve gotta stick to ‘em. And ah know that Rainbow Dash sounds like a pretty good deal, but is she practical? She needs to have a plan or else she’ll just create chaos.”

A colt in the crowd spoke up.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash told us that her opponents might try to say that!”

“Say what, now?”

“She said that you’d try to say she wasn’t ‘practical,’ or whatever.”

Others started to achieve the same wavelength as this colt as they began to remember things they had heard from their other rallies.

“Yeah, yeah. What did she say again? That ‘impractical’ is just a code word the adult establishment would use for ‘too-much freedom.’ That’s it! Applejack doesn’t support freedom!”

“Is it true Applejack? You don’t support freedom?”

“She’s calling Rainbow Dash impractical! She’s one of them!”

“She’s part of the adult establishment that wants to make us go to school to learn things that aren’t important and boring stuff like that!”

So many foals were shouting at her now that Applejack didn’t know who to answer first. “Now hold on ya’ll. Ya’ll are just putting words in my mouth. Ah didn’t say anything like that. I’m just saying you’ve gotta have a plan in life…”

“We do have a plan! That’s why we’re out here. Rainbow Dash is gonna be mayor and then we’re finally gonna be taken seriously.”

The crowd had begun to mob Applejack. Questions were flung at her from all directions. The flash of a camera bulb added to the stormy impression that she was dealing with rabble rousers. The whole affair had begun to overwhelm her senses.

“Look, ya’ll. Ah really need to go, but ya’ll are taking me the wrong way.”

Shouts and boos followed Applejack as she stepped away from the mob.

One pony called out after her, “Apple Bloom would be ashamed of you!”

“Hey! That’s not true!” Applejack turned and tried to face this accuser, more than frustrated now. “Don’t you call my role as a sister into question! Just ‘cause ah don’t support Rainbow Dash doesn’t mean ah don’t love my family.”

Had she not needed to head home she would have stayed and taken issue with the mob, for it was not in her nature to turn her back on accusations or baseless suppositions. As she left a few more bulb flashes followed. She hadn’t any clue as to why anypony would want to take her picture until she was at a newsstand the next day and saw a copy of the Foal Free Press.

“Outrage! Applejack explodes at reporters, refuses to answer election related questions!” the headline said. Beneath the headline was a picture of Applejack, seemingly in a rage, an expression on her face that made it appear as though she were ready to erupt in anger. In reality, the picture was but one frame of many; this particular one was chosen for the annoyed expression Applejack wore in the second that she had turned to face the crowd.

The mare at the newsstand had her nose in a copy and upon seeing Applejack, her expression turned from surprise to one of reproach.

“My my. What happened Applejack? Exploding at a crowd of foals like that. I never knew you had such a temper.” She smiled, but something about her expression was disdainful.

“What?” Applejack returned heatedly. “Let me have one a those!” She slapped a bit on the counter and snatched up a paper. As she scanned the article it didn’t take her long to see the pernicious influences that were at work.

“Hey! This is all taken outta context!” she exclaimed.

“You sure?” the newsmare asked roguishly. “The Foal Free Press has been pretty accurate lately. They got that story on Mayor Mare down to a T. And now they’re covering this election business pretty well too.”

Applejack growled to herself. “Oh, that Rainbow Dash. This has her hoof prints all over it. Those tiny little fillies believe whatever she says, and they control the only paper anypony in town reads!”

If she did not think Rainbow Dash’s policy to be very sound, she had at least clearly underestimated her ability to rapidly mobilize her fan base. She already had fliers, posters, and a legion of supporters!

If Applejack was going to nip this thing in the bud she would have to work fast before the Pegasus had a chance to gain more ground. And that was not even taking into account the fact that all her other friends, minus Twilight, were starting incipient campaigns as well. She would have to clearly enunciate her own narrative before anypony else had a chance to do it for her.

This whole business made her uncomfortable.

“Rainbow is my friend, as are all the other girls. Just how far am ah willing to take this?”

Comments

[CookieMonstar]

Screw Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy 2012 all the way!

[Ravenmane]

1046235 Sounds like a curious statement, what do you expect from Fluttershy in office?

[Lucky Break]

1046829

She would end all argument with cuteness or by FORCE! We are all going to LOVE HER!

[CookieMonstar]

1046829

... Honestly, I don't care. Just the thought of Fluttershy running for office amuses me. I'm evil, whatev.

[Themaskedferret]

*grins* Definitely looking forward to more of this.