Civic Duty

Pony POV side story
Mayor Mare-Civic Duty

Greetings, I am Mary Mare the duly elected and qualified Mayor of Ponyville. I have to say it is nice to be interviewed for when things are quiet for a change, though that doesn't tend to last long in this town.

What's it like to be the mayor of Celestia's favorite little town?  Ugh, I know it seems like we get a lot of favors and funding from Canterlot but the princess loves everypony equally, we just got more because we needed more, your town would too after having to weather rabbit stampedes, a Ursa Minor attack, an unscheduled storm, a Parasprite infestation and a smoke bealching dragon all in the space of a year and a half.

The Element bearers? Yes they're respected citizens but I only really know them past a professional level, well except for Applejack and that's mostly due to her being a member of Ponyville's first family, so we met often during "Ponyville Days" just like her grandfather and parents have always done until fate took them away.
In any case it's not like they have any real interest in politics.

Yes, I was the one who came up with Mare-Do-Well's name. The younger generation needs more positive role models and I thought it was clever on my part to take a phrase that meant somepony untrustworthy and spin it into a positive message.

Did I know it was Rainbow Dash's friends before the parade? No comment.

Well what do expect I'm a politician it's all part of the game. Not that I intentionally broke promises I had made when I was running, but circumstances can change expectations. When I first ran for office I promised to replace all of the hay thatched roofing in town with tile to reduce a fire hazard, but then when I saw the whole budget I realized to do so I would have to seriously cut back on essential road building efforts. I apologized for not keeping that promise and I gained a reputation for putting aside the demands of others and myself to do what is best for all.

Nightmare Night? Well you must realize that as Mayor I had been part of Ponyville's Nightmare Night celebration for many years and only knew Nightmare Moon as a bogey-mare that was used as an excuse for foals to stay up for a night of fun, when she appeared during the Summer Sun Celebration in place of Princess Celestia I was too shocked to recognize the monster we appeased with candy once a year was the one proclaiming the return of eternal night. I didn't actually expect Celestia's guards to follow my orders and was just trying to do something; I think they probably would have attacked her anyway for all the good it turned out to do us. When Celestia returned along with the sister everypony had forgotten and asked, not ordered but asked, that we continue the Summer Sun Celebration to also welcome Princess Luna back we were all more than happy to oblige.

So when she came back during the next year's Nightmare Night just after Zecora had finished telling the old story looking more like Nightmare Moon than she did the last time she was in Ponyville, blowing out our eardrums with the royal voice that hadn't been used in six centuries we all panicked. After the events of the night ended I tried to apologize to her…

That wasn't what you wanted to know?

"Why did I think a clown costume would be scary?" Clowns ARE scary! About twenty years ago I asked my daughter what would be the scariest thing other than Nightmare Moon and she said "Clowns"!

What do you mean somepony like me has a daughter?!

Oh sorry, I do suppose my family tends to work in background and appearances can make it look like I'm married to my work.

But nothing can be further from the truth. I love my husband and daughter with all my heart and that our work often has us crossing paths is an added bonus.

I fell in love with Robert Rules' mind and well as his grey coat and light blue mane. We first met as foals; him, Raven and me; after we had all just moved to Ponyville. The town was only founded about thirty years earlier and our families came in with the first trains. We were all the new kids in town and had just fell in with each other, only in Robert's case our friendship deepened into love. When we each got a scroll cutie mark, mine closed and his open, we just felt it might have been fate.

We all found our way into the town's government after we grew up. Sarah "Raven" Talin and I both worked in town hall as aides until I first got elected, I must be doing something right since I've won reelection every time. Robert is the chairstallion of the town legislature and he's just as busy as ever writing city laws that I either sign or veto; we sometimes have fights when I choose the latter option on something he put a lot of work into.

My daughter was born Margaret Mare but changed her name to Fair Ruling after she found her calling in Law and got a gavel cutie mark, first as a lawyer and now as Ponyville's resident judge, all without me or my husband's help thank you very much.  She may be a grown mare now but I'll always think of her as my baby, holding that light green coated filly with the red mane for the first time is still the happiest moment in my life. She married a business stallion, Free Enterprise, who's often out of town for work, but anypony can tell you they are head over hooves for each other even now.

The three of us still get together for dinner once a week as a family. The first standing rule is that we don't talk about work at the table; it's our time to not be the pillars of the community and just another family in it. The second is that Robert and I can only ask Fair about her and her husband giving us grandfoals once in the entire meal and let it go after that. I'm not worried, I know she can feel her own biological clock ticking and it's only a matter of time until she listens to it. Sometimes Raven or Free joins us, but mostly it's been the three of us since Fair was born and the two of us since Robert and I were married.

I'm sorry; I seem to have something in my eye. What were you saying?
Oh, "The Day the World was Unzipped" as I've come to call it. Everything seems to come back to that lately doesn't it?

~~~

It seems like it's going to be just another day at work; though I'm looking forward to that private meeting this afternoon so Robert and I can, ahem, "Review Policy".  Being the Mayor does have its advantages.

Strange weather, maybe somepony in Cloudsdale was playing a joke on us. Now there are changes happening to the local plants and animals? The town's starting to panic. Town Hall's now filled with Ponies all frightened about what was happening, the Sun and Moon changing positions like the Princesses were drunk, roads turning to soap, houses lifting up into the sky, the ground turning into a chessboard, buffalo dancing ballet through the middle of town, pigs flying, the list seems never ending. I told them I would hold an emergency session with the legislative council to determine a course of action.

I went to my office to gather a few documents. Now Raven is tearing up my office like a madmare! Her coat has faded to a shade of gray and her eyes spiraled in a rainbow of muted colors.

"Sarah?"

She didn't even look at me. "Much easier, much easier! No one cares about what we do! So tear it all down!"

I left her there, have to find Robert. Whatever is happening to the town I have to make sure my family is ok. The meeting hall has devolved into bedlam! Most of the council is either attacking each other or acting like children. Above them my husband is at the speaker's podium with the same faded colors and swirling eyes.

"All in favor of repealing every law in Ponyville? Aye! All opposed?"

The council continued in their dementias.

"The Ayes have it!"

He then leapt down and looked at me like a crazed animal from the Everfree Forest.
"Ready or not Mary, here I come!"

He's going to force himself on me! My Robert would have never in his right mind even considered that!

I ran and barricaded the door behind me, locking my husband in with the other nine ponies on the council. I can only hope that he's only interested in mating with me and not willing to have his way with any mare he comes across.

I ran out of Town Hall, just before it levitated into the sky and turned upside down, and was greeted by sheer pandemonium! Little Archer is a Pegasus shooting arrows at anypony that moved, Twist is stretching and twisting her neck and limbs around everything, Aloe and Lotus were joined in the middle with a head at each end trying to run in different directions to get away.

But nothing could have prepared me for what I'm seeing now. Fair Ruling, my sweet little baby, has become a unicorn! She is levitating a gavel and sound block but her coat's also grayed out. She looked sharply at Chubby Cheeks who was looking at Twist with worry.

"You!" she snarled. "You've been sneaking treats after dinner!"

"How did…"

"Guilty!"

She banged the gavel against the sound block and suddenly a cage just big enough to hold the colt appeared around him. She then turned to Alula, who was flying in a very clumsy manner.

"You've walked on a lawn with a 'keep off the grass sign'!"

"But something's wrong with my wings! They have mind of their own!"

"Guilty!"

Another bang and another cramped cage and she was still banging up and down inside it.
She looked at Flitter and Blossomforth both quickly flying around and stepping on flowers making buzzing noises like bees.

"Speeding! Guilty!"

They were each crammed to separate cages, still buzzing. I couldn't bear to look at Fair anymore, but I could still hear her as she kept banging that gavel throwing a tantrum over the most minor offences while she ignored mad ponies attacking others. As I turned I noticed the sound of my hoof falls seem heavier than usual. It was then I noticed my reflection in a window, my body had turned to stone, living stone but still stone!

"It thought you'd love it," says a large scroll that looked like my cutie mark. "I know I said earlier that I don't turn ponies to stone but living stone isn't quite the same thing. Same goes for the gold and silver statues that I was going to turn those princesses into; don't you just love minor semantical differences? Now you look just like the statue you're never going to get."

I had no idea what the scroll was talking about, nopony else seemed to notice it. "I don't care about statues! I just want our little town back to normal!" With everything else happening around me I didn't think speaking to a floating version of my cutie mark was that out there, I need to vent my fears and frustrations.

"You care a lot for these ponies, too bad they don't care about all the hard work you do."

"Of-Of course they care! They keep voting for me! They must think I'm doing a good job!"

"A funny little thing about democracy, when you've only got one candidate you only got one choice. Who was the last pony to run against you?"

I tried to answer back but my mind drew a blank. Has it really been that long since I had an opponent in an election? Have I always run unopposed?

"The only reason they keep giving you the job is because they want somepony else to make all the big decisions so they can go on with their meaningless little lives. And the sad thing is you could have done so much more, if you didn't waste your talents on this unappreciative little town. You might have made it all the way to the Equestrian Grand Parliament or even an administrative position in Canterlot. Jobs where all your big ideas on how to improve others' lives would have been noticed and acclaimed, but you chose to settle in a town that doesn't care what's done for them as long as somepony else does it. The only monument to your work is going to be your tombstone, not that anypony is going to remember what you did.

I feel like I just found out I had been trying to bail water out of a leaking boat with a thimble. A whole life dedicated to improving the lives of ponies that couldn't have cared less about what I do, only that they weren't the ones doing it.

It's suddenly all clear to me; this cruddy little town has only been holding me back all this time! I knew so many ways Equestrian government could have been run better but I wasted away my life with all these good-for-nothing bumpkins! All I had to show for years of service was endless paperwork, non-stop complaining, a husband with no ambition and a daughter who was too stupid to realize the only reason there's next to no cases for her to hear is because I foolishly coddled the laziest citizens in all of Equestria!

I looked at my reflection again, and I could see the monument I was denied. Yes, I deserved that statue! Yes, I deserved streets and public buildings named after me! Yes, I deserved the highest office I could get! Yes, I deserved to go down in history! And the only thing that has ever kept any of that from me was Ponyville; I wish my parents had never dragged me to this Celestia forsaken manure pit!

Mr. Waddle was dragging himself to where I was standing; he was bleeding from the arrow sticking out of his leg. "Mrs. Mayor, we need your help!" he asked me.

I noticed I was holding a megaphone, where it came from doesn't concern me. I'm going to put it to good use.

"My help?!" I yelled through the device. "Why don't you ask Princess Celestia's precious pet bookworm?! At least you appreciate HER you geezer!"

I turned my attention to all the ponies around who were either mad or suffering; every one of them deserved it.

"And that goes for all of you miserable cretins! I slaved away my life for you when I could have been Somepony! This town is the biggest waste of oxygen on the planet! I could have been the most important political figure in Equestria next to Celestia herself if I didn't delude myself into thinking any single one of you morons were important!"

I ranted and raved like that for the better part of the day, uttering every wasted opportunity and vile insult that came to mind. What do I care if these hicks get their feelings hurt?

The rainbow, my stone became flesh again, the megaphone vanished and my mind came back to me, along with the realization of what I had been doing and what I was letting happen.

"Please, I didn't mean any of it! Please forgive me!"

~~~

I was relieved that nopony in town was permanently harmed, at least physically. Over the following days I threw myself at my work. I was determined to make up for everything I said and more importantly my inactions. I just had to prove that I did care for Ponyville even if it meant that I had to cancel our family dinner, two weeks in a row.

It was a pleasant surprise when Applejack offered her words of support. She told me that everypony knew that I cared about them (I was a little flabbergasted at the time that she paraphrased something I said when I was alone). I took comfort in her words but still wanted to prove I cared. So I still buried myself in work until the therapist said I had to take a day off. I had spent that day doing some minor shopping then catching up on my reading while lounging in a lawn chair. Next thing I knew the whole town was fighting over a raggedy old doll, the next thing after that I just had to have it myself. Then the princess showed up and I was back to my senses…again. After stopping the wrestling match I was having with Ditzy Doo I decided it was time to go back to work, but I took it a little slow after that. I also made sure I gave the raggedy little thing that made me look so foolish a good taste of my hoof.

I didn't think that much of it when Ponyville had caught Gabby Gums fever, even if I wasn't burying myself in work I wouldn't normally have had the time to read gossip columns. It was only when I had noticed that Featherweight had just taken a photo of me dying my mane that I found out about the column.  I had taken to dying it because I kept hearing about how grey manes made politicians look more distinguished. I was embarrassed and angry of course, not just at the those three but the editor who allowed it into print in the first place, but I had accepted the three fillies' public apology. I thought demoting Diamond Tiara to running the press was too lenient given her lack respect for others and wanted Cheerilee to kick her off the paper completely as well as ban her from being a member of any school club. As one in a position of authority I felt that if Diamond abused it she should learn that the consequences in the real world would be severe, especially since she "rage quit" the next day rather than take her medicine like a mare. However in the light of her disappearance maybe we should have tried getting to the root of her problems instead. Isn't that what a community should be?

Robert never told me what he might have done with any of the council members; I would never blame him for it though, not in state he was in. He also buried himself in work, and not just in the town council. The first thing he did was undo his solo repeal of all the laws we had, the vote was unanimous.  After that he poured himself over the local laws, trying to see which were no longer needed or needed to be modified. He said that it was to make the local laws more streamlined but I know he was just looking for more work. And that was just around Town Hall at home he attacked my "Honey do" list like everything on it was an emergency.

What's a "Honey do" list? It was just the list of things around the house that needed to be done. Like "Honey will you clean out the gutters?" or "Honey that floorboard is squeaking again" things stallions tend to put off if they don't find it interesting, suddenly he couldn't get enough of them. He was also uneasy around mares, me especially; like we were made of glass and he didn't want to break us. It reminded of that story Lickity Split one told me about a vain pig princess who had a magic cloak that turned whatever she wished into reflective glass until his ancestor and her friends taught her that those she thought were her friends were just using her and that real friends would appreciate for more than her beauty.

Fair was more in the opposite approach, I remembered when I was seeking her opinion on a new proposition that was given to me and went into the courthouse to wait until she had a spare moment. But when I went into the courtroom to wait in the gallery the bailiff stood in my way.

"Mrs. Mayor, have you seen Her Honor Judge Ruling?"

"No why?"

The defense attorney, a blue stallion with a spiky black mane and a pair of scales for a cutie mark spoke. "We both presented our arguments and she said she would come back with a verdict after a fifteen minute recess."

"So what is the problem?"

"Those fifteen minutes ended an hour ago," said the attorney representing the plaintiff, a maroon coated Stallion with a well styled black mane and a white knight chess piece for a cutie mark.

I asked them to be patient and went to my Daughter's chambers. I opened the door and found that she was nowhere in sight and the window was open. I ran out thanking Celestia that her office was on the first floor. I found her in a nearby park we used to take her to when she was a filly. She was sitting under a tree where we had a few picnics bawling like she hadn't done in years.

"Fair?"

"I can't do it anymore." she said between sobs. "After what I did, I can't make a judgment that might make the rest of a pony's life worse or even ruin it completely."

"Fair, what I saw that day wasn't you. I know I was messed up too; I still can't quite get over it. But I'm trying to make up for it. I want to go back to how it was before, you should too."

"But, what if I make the wrong the choice? I just can't do that any other innocent pony!"

"Fair! Maggie," I called to her using the name that always comforted her as a filly. "Remember that you took longer than most fillies to find your cutie mark? You were more worried about how it how reflected badly on me and your father than the teasing some of your classmates put you through. But when you finally earned your mark you told me it was because you wanted arguments settled quickly in a fair way so those fighting could go back to being friends. I can't think of a more noble way to use your gift."

"I know Mom. But I still have to use the gavel and I can't even look at it or even my cutie mark without breaking into chills."

That would explain why she was still wearing her judge's robes out of the courtroom.

"I'm thinking about going on a sabbatical. Clear my head and spend time with Free Enterprise. You think that would be a good idea mom?"

I wasn't sure at that moment, Robert and I had been trying to give as much as we could back to the community hoping to get our old selves back along the way. Fair however was worried about actually being able to do her job and felt she needed time before she could get back to it. Come to think it Fair, Robert and I had hardly spent any time together since that day. No wonder something still felt wrong.

"Fair, I think you should discuss this with your father and me tonight, family dinner just like the three of us like we…used to have."

"I'd like that."

"You better go back and tell those lawyers you need to recuse yourself."

"Ok, thanks mom."

She galloped off back to the courthouse and I went about making perpetrations.

~~~

I had prepared Robert's favorite vegetable soup and had gotten a strawberry cake from Sugar Cube Corner, the kind that was Fair's favorite as a filly.

So we all sat at the table, we should have done this sooner.

"So Fair," Robert asked her.  His chair directly across from me and Fair, still afraid of losing control around us. "If you go on this vacation what are you planning to do?"

"I don't know," she answered.  "Maybe head to Canterlot with Free Enterprise. We could take in a show or visit a few of the museums."

"That sounds nice."

"On the other hoof maybe I should see if Free could come back home, just in case there's an emergency."

"Well which is it?" I asked.

"I was hoping that you both could help me with this, I don't want to make to make a bad decision."

"Fair of course you can make a good decision, why just a few months ago…" then I stopped. I almost broke rule number one. "You were making decisions that left everypony happy."

Fair seemed to be mulling it over. I wished I could do better, but I still felt a little broken inside myself.

Robert took that moment to chip in. "So I heard that Chubby Cheeks got his cutie mark a few weeks ago, turns out he's just as good at cooking food as he is at eating it. Anyway since his grandfather and I are old friends I thought maybe we should all go to his Mark-Mitzvah."

"That does sound lovely," I answered.

Fair however started to look a little gloomier. "Yeah, I'm sure he'd love a visit from the Mare who locked him into a cage so small he couldn't move."

Things got very quiet at that point. There just didn't seem to be that much to talk about other than work which as rule we didn't talk about here and what Discord put us through which none of us wanted to talk about.  So what did that leave us?

"So, about those grandfoals…"

Dinner turned out to be a disaster, after my daughter invoked rule number 2 we just spent the time eating and occasionally tried talking about the weather or the performance of the Canterlot Comets against Baltimare last week. Fair left after dessert saying it was wonderful and Robert loved the soup, but we never really talked like we used to.

That night felt chillier and it wasn't because Robert wanted to sleep in the guest room again, I was having trouble remembering the last time we were intimate. How could we, could I have been so selfish? Instead of opening up with each other about that day we tried to keep up with appearances telling ourselves it was for the good of the community. How could I possibly be a good mayor if I allowed the ponies closest to me to drift away?

~~~

The next day I went to work hiding my gloom behind a mask of confidence. Many ponies were starting to get better and the last thing they needed was a leader that was a visible wreck. The morning started out normally enough, a request to be at the ribbon cutting ceremony for a new public swimming pool, a few requests for the town budget… nothing extraordinary except for the continued search for Diamond Tiara.

I was just coming back from a meeting with the zoning board when Fair came galloping in gasping for breath.

"Fog…birds…bunnies…foals…danger."

"Judge Ruling calm down," Robert told her still keeping the decorum of our offices. "Explain what's going on, slowly."

"There's this strange fog overrunning Ponyville, anypony that touches it turns into a foal!"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"And that isn't all. There are these birds and rabbits that are going around and they're hypnotizing everypony they met into going into the fog! They look like the chaos beast has been messing with their minds again."

A very audible gasp came from those in the main foyer. I decided it was best if Fair, Robert and I continued the discussion in my office.

"How bad is it?" I asked once I closed the doors.

"It's already got half the town, maybe more."

"And the element bearers?"

"Nopony has seen them since this morning."

I knew that everypony around would be looking to me to make a decision and I knew it was going to be the hardest one I have ever made.

"We need to evacuate Ponyville. We'll head to Canterlot and try to bring as many ponies as we can with us."

"We can't evacuate," Robert said.

"Robert I know this town means as much to you as it does to me…"

"No, I mean WE literary can't evacuate! Look!" He pointed his hoof out the window.

I looked out and to my horror the fog was closing around town hall like a coiling serpent around a mouse. It was even spreading high into the air, something I know fog doesn't naturally do. I knew at that point there was no escape.

Ever since last year's Summer Sun Celebration whenever there was a real crisis threatening the town I was helpless, what good is a civic leader who can't do anything when it matters the most?

The fog directly shot down from overhead and braced myself for what I thought would be more mind twisting lies. But instead there was an almost familiar voice that seemed to just radiate kindness.

There, there Mrs. Mayor. You work so hard for everypony; it must be tiring being responsible all the time. Why don't you rest now? Mommy will take care of everything all you need to do is show the others how wonderful this will all be, they all look up to you so. Let go of all that responsibility and just listen to my song.

Day to night, dark to light,
Fall the sands of time.
Let the years like the gears
Of a clock unwind

In your mind walk through time
Back to better days.
Memories, like a dream,
Wash tears away.

Like a star in the sky,
Darkness can't reach you
Light the night, joy is light,
Till the new dawn.

Cast away your old face
Let go your spite,
With this mask I'll ask
To borrow your light

~~~

Such a pretty song, Princess Gaia is so kind to sing it for us. Why is my collar so big? Why's my mane dyed grey? I always liked my usual magenta; I should wash out this boring color next chance I get. My cutie mark looks like now in crayon, it feels like it's better this way.

"You look goofy Mary!"

I turned to the gray colt next to me with a light blue mane wearing a necktie that was too big for him. "So do you Robbie!"

"Ohhhh!"

What a scary moan! Robbie and Me looked where it was coming from and saw a black ghost!

"Ah! Mama Princess Gaia help!"

"Save us Your Kindnesty!"

The ghost seemed to collapse to the ground.

"BOO!" cried a light green filly with a red mane and wearing a collar too big for her. The "ghost" was just her robes that were covering her like a blanket.

I was so mad! "Maggie that wasn't nice!"

"Her Kindnesty doesn't like jokes that scare ponies!" Robbie added.

Maggie blushed. "I'm sorry mama."

"Silly." I put my foreleg around Maggie, all is forgiven. "Princess Gaia is our mama now. From now on we're sisters!"

"And I'm your brother!" Robbie said Sticking out his chest.

We were all giggles right then.

"Come on," I said. "Ravey's missing out on all the fun!"

After I washed that boring dye out my mane we started trotting out of Town Hall and found almost all of our friends waiting for us. Better let them know how wonderful I feel. "Everypony! Let's all hear it for her Kindnesty Princess Gaia!"

They all cheered back at me. Her Kindnesty was right, they do look up to me! I see them all around me.  Onyx Tiara's skinner than I remember and he's got a black coat now, well I guess if he wants a new look that's ok. Carrot Cake and Cup Cake had frosting all over their mouths, hope they saved some for the rest of us! Funny why do I feel like something is missing from Cup Cake? Oh well, probably not important.

"There's Ravey!" Robbie said. "Why is she running away?"

Well this won't do, it just wouldn't as fun without my best friend.

"Sarah! Come play at once!" I said trying to sound like a grown-up so she would listen. Kinda silly now I can hear myself say it.

"NO!" then she just turned and ran away again.

It hurt my feelings; my best friend doesn't want to play with me?

I felt a hoof on my shoulder. "Don't worry Mama…I mean Mary. Her Kindnesty will get her to see how much fun she's missing."

"Thanks Maggie."

We waited for a little while and soon Ravey came out finally little like the rest of us.

"Hey Mary Mare!" She waved at me, just like old times

"Hey Ravey!" I gave her a noogie, not a real hard one.

"Hey-hey! Uncle Uncle!" Ravey laughed.

"Gotcha! That was for being such a fraidy cat!" I said laughing right back.

"I'm sorry."
We hugged then we made a special best friends handshake.

I then looked at everyone all the little foals of our town, our family. "By order her super-duper Kindnesty Princess Gaia! I declare today and every day play day!"

"We're free!"

Tidily Winks opened her toy store and said everything was free as long as we shared. The Cakes went and got all sorts of cookies and pastries for everyone while Doctor Hooves got a whole bunch of ice cream from his little blue shed that we found is a whole lot bigger on the inside, Ravey was a little worried we'd all get belly aches but I was sure Mama would fix that. A few of us took some fireworks to tear down that bad club I never liked but let still be up for that freedom…freedom…because everypony should be able to say what they feel. Little Waddle scraped himself but Little Redheart patched him up then they both ran off somewhere.

"Hey let's play Pony-in-the-Middle!" Ravey said.

"That game's my favorite!" Robbie answered.

"I call not it!" I said.

"Hey can I play too?" said a colt coming over our way. He had a brown coat with a scruffy straw colored mane, his cutie mark was now a crayon colored line graph that was going up.

Maggie ran over and gave him a hug. "Free! What are you doing here?!"

"Mama's spread her kindness to Manehatten but when she heard that I missed you Fair she let one of her nice dragons give me a ride home."

"Hee, Hee. Just call me Maggie."

"Ok, Maggie!"

We all had a lot of fun playing games and using Tidliy's toys, but then her Kindnesty told us that there was this fun park in the Everkind Forest and we were all invited! Sparkler and Mama's Knights stayed behind in case Ditzy Doo or the Squeaks wanted to play, the forest wasn't that far away. I took the lead with Ravey by my side, Robby was right behind me and Maggie and Free were catching up a little behind us. Taking the lead just seems natural to me, not because I want to tell others what to do but because I want what makes everypony happy.

A bunch of cute sunbirds flew over us. The one at the back is a different color. The way he's flying is funny.

Then I hear another pretty song, but somepony else is singing it.

My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Isn't the world a lovely place?
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Everywhere you go, a smiling face!
Running and skipping; merrily tripping
Watching the morning unfold
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
What does the future hold?
Sunny and pleasant
Everyday is a present

No sign of trouble in sight
Little Pony, My Little Pony
May all your days be bright
May all your days be bright . . .

Then the voice called to look for her and but we couldn't find her then we looked ahead again and this older filly with a white coat and pink mane. Three smiling suns were on her flanks.

"Whao. You're pretty."

"Thank you. Hello ponies! Do you wanna play with me?"

"Un, we'd love to, but mama Princess Gaia kinda promised us a field trip through Everkind Forest and we get to be first in line to her new fun park!"

"Oh, I'm sure she won't mind if you take the time to make a couple new friends first. I'm Sunny Day! Nice to meet all of you! Can you please all tell me your names?"

"Well, I'm Mary Mare, this is my best friend Ravvey, and this-"

"Have everyone introduce themselves please. It's so much fun to introduce yourself instead of having someone else do it."

"Okay."

"And it's wonderful to personally meet each and every one of you!" Sunny Day declared sounding more delighted than any pony had a right to be. "AND! There's somepony I want you all to meet too! He's a member of my family and I love him very much, but he has trouble around other ponies. . . . Come out now dear."

A white unicorn colt came out of hiding, he seemed so scared but why could that be? Her Kindesty made the forest better.

"H-hi, I'm Blueblood, PRINCE-PRINCE Blueblood!"

Apple Smith came closer to him. "I've never heard of a Prince-Prince Blueblood! Nice to meet you!" Wanna play?"

"What? No I can't!-I mean…"

Sunny Day whispered something to Prince-Prince Blueblood.

"But my instructors say I'm not allowed to play with other ponies."

"Well today's an exception!"

"WHOOPEE!"

Sunny Day let a bunch of balls go. "CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN!"

I chased after one with Ravey, Robbie, Maggie and Free. It feels like we all met for the first time all over again. Robbie went off to play with some of the colts a little more and Maggie wanted to play with Free by herself but we gave each other a big hug before that. I didn't mind everypony is so friendly Ponyville has got to be the very best place to be in the whole world.

The Sun had just started to go down "I'm sorry, everypony! Looks like playtime is over."

I came a little closer to her. "Aaaahh!~ Does it have to be?"

"Yes, sorry dear. I'm afraid it has to. I'm very sorry dearie. I know that it would be
nice if it didn't have to end, but Mary, nothing does last forever. But I think this day has done all of you some very much good."

She nuzzled me. It felt like a hug from Mom. ""And you all did have fun with your best friends, right?"

I thought about all the fun we had today, just being with Ravey, Robbie and Maggie not needing to do anything but enjoy life. "Yeah! Yeah I did! Me and Ravvey both did!"

"There! Then this day wasn't a waste! I think being without your troubles for a day has done you some good indeed."

What troubles? I don't understand. I just nodded to keep her happy.

"I want you to know, you and all of you are my bestest friends. No matter what happens, do not forget that."

I feel sleepy, I'm sure Her Kindesty will understand that we didn't go to her park today. I said goodbye to Ravey and everypony else then I started to go home with Robbie, Maggie and Free.

The fog's almost gone now, but I'm sure we'll have just as much fun tomorrow…

~~~

Now the world seems like a smaller place. My sense of inadequacy seems to be creeping back up into my brain after being ripped out of me. I look over to Robert and he also seems a more world weary as well. Fair and Free are also looking around confused. Was it all a dream, how could it be if Free was right here with us? Either way I feel so tired, we wordlessly went to our houses to try to fall into a dreamless sleep.

The next day I knew for sure what happened was real, but at the same time I felt better for the experience. With no offices to worry about or personal demons haunting us during that day our family just seemed to come together naturally.

Celestia's announcement about the next few days being in Fluttershy's honor helped to get my mind back on work but not like it was since that day. I felt energetic about it again, Princess Gaia was in charge for a day and it was the simple things that made it wonderful. We tend to get so entangled in the big problems that we tend to forget how the small things can improve our lives.

We managed to clean up most of the mess left by Princess Gaia's day of foals by the end of the morning. Tidily Winks got most of her inventory back minus a few toys that were broken. The Cakes weren't as concerned with all the baked goods we had gorged on as they were with how a powerful magical entity might have effect their unborn child, twice now, but not only gotten a confirmation that nothing was wrong but that Cup Cake was carrying twins.

As for the Doctor…well although we appreciate the contribution I am going to contribute the physics defying shed as part of a foal's overactive imagination.

Free Enterprise was going to stay in town for the festivities his bosses understood given they experienced the same thing as the rest of us. I mostly stayed out of the spotlight it was Fluttershy's day after all.

The pony who threw the stone at Fluttershy actually confessed to me, no I won't tell anypony their identity. Turns out they let their feelings overwhelm them for just a moment and they didn't even realize what they had done until it had already happened. I suggested that they give Fluttershy a private apology and then let everything go after that.

That night however we had another family dinner, this time with Raven and Free coming over. It was like old times again we were laughing and just talking about the little things. Fair had decided that she and Free should take her sabbatical in Canterlot. Fair said she didn't need it to recover but she actually started thinking about her and Free having a baby and she wanted to take some time off to decide. And Robert…well let's just say that night we really made up for lost time.

Well that was weeks ago and things are more or less back to normal for us. Just this afternoon Robert, Fair and I were going over a project to find mentors for at risk foals when we saw Pinkie Pie just bouncing down the street the image brought a smile to all our faces. It just reminded me of something that can often be forgotten in the political area.
A town; and to a greater extent a country; is not just some land, buildings and roads. Those things a town needs but what makes up a town are the people who live there and the lives they lead. We are a family of families so when one hurts we all cry, when one of us is in trouble we all pitch in to help and when one of us is happy we all smile.