The town of Ponyville was indeed in lovely hooves, the large crystalline castle of friendship towering over the small town much like a mountain. The cool caress of the wind brushing over the much more tiny 'Town Hall' , a vast dimming shadow swallowing it whole like a rising tide from the sea.
The stone building vastly more quiet than in previous years, the hustle and bustle gone replaced more by an eerie silence. The hallways empty and the offices no longer echoing with the chime of typewriters, a somber chill taking hold in the heart of the town threatening to never let go.
Mayor Mare inside her modest office simply sat in a oversized chair, dark ocean blue eyes gazing to the changing world around her. No longer a town of quiet retreat and relaxation, but a travel destination for those in search of adventure.
The mare quick to bite down softly upon her lower lip, did she fail her ponies or were they happy to see change come to the town? Whatever the answer she could feel a sickly truth sinking into her soul, this town was swiftly no longer needing a pony like her.
They had a princess now to guide them with knowledge and grace, they would never desire the advice of an old stuffy mare.
“Mayor! The horror, the horror!” Daisy began screaming as she came pouncing through the double doors of the office.
“Daisy, is everything alright!?” Mare was quick to rise from her seat, silver mane bouncing in place with growing excitement.
“I wouldn’t be here if it was!” Her lime mane frazzling out beyond repair, the frantic magenta mare performing a odd type of nervous dance in place.
“Just take a deep breath and tell me what’s wrong?” Mare gave a calming smile, her eyes full of compassion and tenderness.
“THERE’S NO TIME!” Daisy gave a mighty leap into the air, the earth pony vanishing out the open window to the left.
Mare wasn’t sure what was happening, but thought it best to probably check it out. It would be nice to escape the silence of the office, the sun was shimmering brightly in the pale blue sky above.
Surely it was something important, that direly needed her attention.
“‘Turned out to be that Roseluck, got her hoof stuck in a thorn bush.” Mare gave a annoyed sigh aloud, sitting in the dimly lit corner of the ‘Cider Crawl Tavern’ just outside of town.
“A thorn bush?” Derpy slowly began to scrunch her muzzle in place, her wild blonde mane a total mess from a hard day at work.
“Mmhmm, that and when she jumped out my window, both of her back legs snapped like twigs.” Mare slowly drank from her glass of hard cider, nursing it carefully with a steady hoof.
“At least it sounded like an exciting day?” Derpy gave a soft giggle to her friend, gazing down to her half drunk glass of ale.
“Exciting? It happened on my premises, so I have to pay her medical bill as well as get rid of my window…” Mare winced at the mere mention of it.
“Your window?! Didn’t you tell Twilight it’s like…” The grey pegasus began to speak, only to be cut off mid sentence.
“Really dark in my office because of the whole castle thing? Yes, but she said it’s a self harm hazard.” Mare felt her ears drooping, quickly scooting the glass in her hoof away from her.
“It’ll be like a cave!” Derpy blankly gave a large sip from her glass.
“Indeed, I’ll bring candles from home for light but just a matter of time before that’s a fire hazard.” The sound of a mare plopping against the bar table filling the air.
“Again more exciting than sorting mail.” Derpy gave a sheepish grin from across the table, Mare never knew how she could always be so upbeat.
“They moved you off deliveries again?” Mare began to nip at the apple slice she asked to be placed on the rim of her glass.
“Yeah, I lost a package again.” Derpy gave huff as if deflating like a balloon.
“It can be replaced.” Mare flaunted her hoof.
“Had a puppy in it…” Derpy gave a smack of her lips.
“Like a toy puppy?” The older mare gave a questioning head tilt.
“No a real one…” Derpy slowly locked eyes with her friend.
“Maybe it’s for the best then.” Mare gave a slow eye roll.
“You need to cheer up Mare, the world is in need of advice and guidance only you can offer!” Derpy gave a loud squee in her seat, tail swishing side to side in joy.
“Perhaps at a time, but besides being a hazard hotspot I’m useless.” She snorted.
Derpy let a frown slowly cross her muzzle, quickly downing the last bit of ale from her glass before standing to her hooves. Those golden eyes of hers still clinging to some strand of hope, her slender hoof gently tapping her friend’s shoulder.
“I’d love to wallow with you, but Dinky has a ‘Talent Show’ tomorrow I need to help her practice for.” A soft giggle escaping her lips.
“Talent Show for the school?” She asked silver hair falling over her face.
“Yep!” The pegasus gave a joyous nod.
“Yet I wasn’t even asked to judge, what a sight am I?!” Mare let a muffled moan escape her lips, diving face first into the wooden table.
“Oops, sorry. But you should tag along with me, forget all the lack of windows in your world!” Derpy tried to flash a chipper smile.
“Might as well, children are our past or something…” Mare let her hoof bat at her glass in defeat, Derpy giving a sigh before galloping out of the bar in a bit of a hurry.
“Have you had enough miss?” A strong tall stallion bartender spoke walking over, his coat a dark bronze color and mane a sleek umbra hue.
“Nah, get me a drink that can erase a Monday.” Mare blew a soft pink raspberry between her lips, the bartender giving a hearty chuckle before walking off once more.
She was never good at Monday's, it was a weakness she suffered from for all her life. Though always able to turn it around before the weekend, yet tonight just felt as if it were sucking the life from her.
Her ocean hues gazing across the hazy smoke covered bar to a handsome stallion in the right corner, she sweetly flashing him a tender smile and a delicate wave of the hoof. His own eyes narrowing in disgust, the male quick to spin around locking out the mare in the cold.
“I hate Monday.” Mare gave a scoff, this day proving itself a bummer.
A bouncy pink pony easily began to push the office doors open, poking in her small muzzle with a beaming smile. Her pink mane wild as cotton candy and twice as full, her eyes as dark as a calming blue ocean.
Pinkie Pie let the giggles fly bouncing from place to place across the floor, giving a large backflip into a nearby chair in front of Mare’s desk allowing it to perform a dizzying spin. Those sparkling hues locking on the elder mare who had sent her a letter days before, her silver mane deflated and lovely blue eyes full of defeat.
“I had no idea, you were into the ‘Life Coach’ business Pinkie?” Mare let her eyes narrow a bit, hidden behind rose colored glasses with slight skepticism.
“I had no idea, you needed some pep in your step mayor!” The mare gave a soft giggle before spinning in circles in her seat like a filly.
“I see, well perhaps I had made a mistake.” Mare softly shook her head to the side, the anonymous flyer uptown looked so professional she was indeed surprised it belonged to Pinkie.
“Nope-a-dope! You didn’t make a mistake at all, honestly you’ve made a super duper awesome choice!” Pinkie began to clap her hooves together like a mad mare.
“You see I just feel…” Mare let her mind race wild, in search of words that could fit this odd meeting.
“I know what you are thinking, I’m too young or too wild! How could I help you!?” Pinkie gave a sly wink from across the desk.
“Indeed.” The mare simply agreed.
“Well the answer is, I’m not afraid to take chances! I see a new opportunity I take it, so tell me do you want to have a new path to play in?” The cotton candy mare suddenly came to a stop mid spin, locking eyes in a serious nature to the mayor.
“Yes, please.” Mare gave a soft frown, pursing her lips in a lost manner.
“Okie dokie, all I need is one hundred bits!” Pinkie gave a wild squee, pouncing suddenly onto the desk her tail swishing side to side frantically.
“Oooook?” Mare felt her muzzle start scrunching.
“You gave her a hundred bits!” Derpy was quick to squeeze the life out her daughter, the string to tie her daughter’s delicate violet dress being pulled beyond the natural limit.
“Can’t breathe mommy!” Dinky spoke up in a whisper, her mother swiftly releasing the string from her hoof.
“Well yes I did! She then just up and left, not telling me a darn thing.” Mare stood in the corner of the room, her eyes lost in a sea of indifference.
“You don’t think, she like robbed you or something?” Derpy gave a warm smile to her daughter, tying the string into a cute little bow.
“Pinkie!? No not at all, just wish she gave me a heads up.” The mare was quick to flaunt her hoof dismissively.
“Are you sure you even need a ‘Life Coach’?” Derpy took a brush in her mouth off a nearby vanity, quickly brushing the tangles from her daughter’s mane.
“Well yes, my routine consists of being sued and rushing to taverns!” Mare let a soft huff of air escape her lips.
“Mmmmrhmmm fffmmm mmmph.” Her friend spoke in a complete baffling tone.
“I think she said, why do you rush to taverns or the gold is inside a cavern?” Dinky gave a small giggle, lifting her hooves up in front of her tiny muzzle.
“Why!? Well I kind of feel I have a curse on me, if I don’t get to the tavern by at least five...meh forget it!” The silver mane of the mare bouncing in front of her eyes in shame.
“C’mon Auntie Mare!” Dinky gave a small whine into the air.
“If I don’t get there early enough sweetie. then all the younger ponies crowd the place and I go from mature elegance to just a mere beast in the eyes of stallions.” Mare gave a smile kneeling in front of the child mockingly.
“MEEER!” Derpy quickly spit the brush out of her mouth, smacking her daughter in the back of the head by accident.
“Owww!” Dinky gently gave a wince, her little hooves rubbing her head.
“Honey, go play in the living room, I need to get dressed for your show.” Derpy lead her daughter out the door, nudging her backside with her muzzle.
“In front of Aunt Mare ewwww!?” Dinky got one last quip in before vanishing out of the room, the sound of tiny hooves galloping away filling the air.
The pegasus gave a stern glare to her friend, Mare simply placing a hoof atop her temples in defeat before massaging them. Her friend walking over to her with growing attitude, those once joyous eyes becoming more annoyed.
“Don’t say such things in front of my daughter!” Derpy gently gave a tap of the hoof upon her friend’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I’ve just been under alot of stress as of late.” Mare let her hooves wrap around Derpy’s, sweetly giving it a soft stroke in apology.
“Well, the world doesn’t revolve around you.” Derpy gave a shrug and swiftly pulled away, walking over to the nearby vanity across the room.
“What does that mean?” Mare let her eyes narrow a bit, a flower of anger blossoming deep inside her belly.
“Nothing Mare, just know it’s tough all over.” Derpy quickly smoothed out her mane with a hoof, heading off towards the door in a bit of a gallop.
“I might swing by the show a bit later, need to get some air.” Mare let a faux smile creep across her lips, the pegasus flashing a slight somber look across her face.
“Oh, well don’t be too late. Dinky really wants to see you there, I’m sorry.” Derpy gave a firm embrace to her friend, Mare pulling in as well as if on auto pilot for the moment.
Her dark blue eyes full of broken promises.
The scent of smoke was thick in the air of the bar, Mare sitting alone at the front counter with ears folding down in absolute dread of the night. A half drunk cider in front of her while ponies of the night passed her by, the voices of the bar a blur of noises she could not make out.
“I could tell she thought I was a bitch.” Mare let a raspberry escape her muzzle.
“Mmhmm.” The bartender gave his reply, busy with a young bronze mare off to the side.
“But can you blame me? I mean they took my windows today, from now on if anypony visits they might think they’re meeting with a crypt keeper.” Mare slowly let her chin plop onto the counter with a thud.
“Interesting.” He nodded.
“Now I’m paying for a life poacher…” Mare gave a loud pop of her lips.
“Who’d want it though eh?” The bartender let himself chuckle, the mare glaring to him in silence.
“Pinkie was right, I need a change in pace. This life is affecting my attitude, it’s affecting my life!” Mare let herself sling up off the wooden counter, her mane a frazzled mess.
“So ask yourself, where do you need to be?” He spoke up from across the bar, pouring a young stallion some whiskey.
Mare slowly let her eyes fall down to the floor, knowing where she should be at this moment. Yet deep inside had no drive to jump off her stool, tapping a delicate hoof atop the bar to grab some attention.
“I need to be drunk, cider please.” Mare spoke in a whisper, her heart gaining a heavy sensation.
Tuesdays were never that pretty, always just grey.
