Rainbow Dash: Paperwork Blues Part One
"Ugh, this is lame. I thought this 'VRquestria' stuff would have, action, or adventure, or something other than boring, normal, everyday life. I mean, I'm not even a Wonderbolt! What gives, Crystal Chaos? I mean, with a name like that-"
With all of her complaining, Rainbow Dash failed to notice that the cloud she had flopped herself down upon was right over the doorway into Ponyville City Hall, and when she remembered it was supposed to rain today, well, she also didn't notice all of the paperwork for the last month, or the beige earth pony carrying it.
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Mayor Average Mare stepped out of the doorway, grunting slightly under the weight of the paperwork she was carrying, and was subsequently drenched.
Wait, I thought I told Rainbow Dash that the rain for today was called off, based on the fact that all the various paperwork is being delivered today. Wait, the paperwork!
Mayor Mare quickly darted her head back to where she had been balancing the paperwork, and almost screamed in horror when she saw that the water was quickly seeping into the towering pile.
"AIEEEEEE!"
Okay, maybe not almost.
----------
Ponyfeathers! I totally forgot the rain had been called off! And that was all of last month's paperwork! For the entire town, which includes the weather service! And now it's all ruined!
A look of horror slowly crossed Rainbow's face.
Including... my paycheck. No paperwork, no bits. No bits, no new, radically awesome, super cool, amazing Wonderbolts Official Training Gear!
Her eyes narrowed with steely resolve.
I have to fix this.
Ever so slowly, a plan formed in the cyan pegasus's mind.
----------
"Alright. Twilight, since she's just settled back into Ponyville after her Princessifying, has been getting the copies of the paperwork. Derpy's got the note, and while she's occasionally late, she always gets it there eventually. Now all I have to do is make up the extra hassle to Mayor Mare."
"Rainbow? Sorry to interrupt your monologue, but I only have Mayor Mare's paperwork. I don't have the paperwork for Cloudsdale Weather, the AIs, the random ponies that used to be portals, the damages caused by the self-regenerating cake pony, or the paperwork for the three drunk changelings that wandered in the day before we got our goggles, or-"
Twilight's list of paperworks she didn't have was interrupted by a blue hoof.
"Yeah, I get it, you're missing a ton of paperwork. Stick a hoof in it."
Twilight pulled her mouth away from Rainbow Dash's hoof with a loud pop. "You already did."
Dash facehoofed. "Eurgh, I know that, that's why I said it!"
"Also, it's called a Coronation. Not a 'Princessifying' or whatever you called it."
"Same difference. Anyway, you got any idea as to how to fix this?"
"Well, you could just go apologize to her..."
----------
Mayor Mare sighed. Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. With extra added paperwork. It was even on her cutie mark, which she had gotten by fixing a teacher's end-of-the year paperwork and preventing her from being fired. No, there was no escaping the paperwork, no matter what she tried.
Ordinary Mare, Celestia's second-greatest spy, flattened herself against the green, goopy floor.
"I know you're in there," hissed a raspy voice. "Why don't you come out and play?"
"I'll stay here, thanks," the spy cooly retorted. After all, an abandoned cocoon wasn't the worst place to hide from a Changeling-
The beige earth pony was roused from her memory of her mother's tales of spydom by a loud knock at a door.
Somepony else with more paperwork, like as not. If only I'd disguised myself as Pencil Lead instead to plead her case, instead of just fixing her paperwork, maybe I would have been a spy, like my mother wanted. At least spies get their paperwork done by somepony else, though like as not I'd be the one doing it for all of them. Or get assigned to steal paperwork, or destroy it, or something.
No, Average Mare knew that the paperwork would always haunt her, no matter what.
The knocking came again, more insistently this time.
Mayor Mare sighed, and plodded slowly over to the door, taking care to avoid the various piles of paperwork, bills, and other miscellaneous pieces of paper lying about. Pulling the door open, she fixed the pony standing there with a hopefully neutral and not Oh-My-Celestia-ALL-THE-PAPERWORK expression. "Yes?" she asked the cyan pegasus standing there.
"I... I'm sorry I ruined all of your paperwork. Twi's got Ponyville's, at least, so at least that's something, right?" Dash fixed her with a nervous grin.
Mayor Mare's eyes narrowed. "Well, it is something, but it's a lot less than I would have had done if somepony hadn't activated a raincloud right above it."
Dash looked down, fidgeting with her hooves. "I... yeah. I guess I just... forgot the rain was cancelled."
"You... forgot."
"Er... yup?"
"You forgot that the rain had been cancelled on Paperwork Day."
"Yeah, and I'm really sorry! Mistakes happen, right?"
"Mistakes."
Mayor Mare fought the urge to facehoof.
"Well, it was!" Rainbow Dash protested. "I'd never drop a rainstorm on all your paperwork on purpose, you know!"
"An entire month's paperwork quite literally down the drain, and-" Mayor Mare stopped.
For once, I have an excuse for the paperwork being late. Maybe, just maybe, I can take a day off for once and let Fine Print handle the paperwork.
She turned her attention back to the cyan mare looking at her with a sheepish grin.
"Well, I suppose mistakes do happen, and I'm sure that your boss is going to give you enough rotten hay about this without me adding more to the pile, and it is almost lunchtime, so shall we discuss how you're going to fix this over dandelion sandwiches?"
Rainbow Dash gave her a determined nod. "I'll do anything I can to fix this mess." Even if it does mean I have to do paperwork.
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PAPERWORK.
Of course, we must now address how the finale fits. After all, assuming this was a logical progession, the coronation couldn't have happened yet. Therefore, the fic must have stopped for a bit.
How long between this chapter and the last to make way for said coronation?
2347859
Should I include a progression in the next author's notes? Obviously Chrysalis needs the Mane Six in the game and isn't going to kick them out for needing to go save the world or welcome the Equestria Games inspector or anything like that, she needs them to gather love!
Yeah, everypony had to go do season 3 at some point, and Chrysalis and Screwball had to not mess up their taxes.
(I almost put a small short of Chrysalis being annoyed at her taxes at the bottom of this chapter, actually. Hard to run the game when you're doing taxes.)
2349423
Tack on a message at the start saying this occurs after the finale. Problem solved! (Also.. Update the ones with Twilight in it to show her shiny new status)
Also... Nothing I love more than seeing a inactive fic become active again. (Says the hypocrite)
~Skeeter The Lurker
2354474
I don't plan on updating the Twilight ones, they occurred before the Coronation, Discord's occurred right before a (slightly modified version of) Keep Calm and Flutter on, and they were gone for a while after that. They returned when they had actual normal everyday life again after Season 3 ended.
Tell me if that timeline has any issues?
2356187
That works.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Huh. I like your take on Mayor Mare. The jumping chronology is odd, though. Stories should be more self-contained than that. It's hard to imagine coherent arcs in something which isn't occurring in a well-defined timeframe. I may cease following the story for that.
2372894
This fic was started pre-season 3, and takes place before and over the course of Season 3. I can provide a more coherent timeline in the AN of the next chapter, if you think that would be useful and not even confusinger
I'm glad you liked my Mayor Mare! I wasn't sure if people would like my take on her "private face."
The fic mainly was happening between episodes, so I guess the chronology was a bit confusing there. There shouldn't be any more time-weirdness, though. I don't think I plan on changing this for Season 4, unless it seems like I can go into it smoothly, so the time-oddity is over. Sorry for any confusion I have caused, and all the weird rambling in this comment.
2372894
Also, it said that PrettyPartyPony commented, not you, what happened with this? Is notifications being weird?
2379467
I changed my name! That is possible.