Ponyville, 12:35 AM
Minutes kept slipping away in the chaotic town. A latent tension filled the air, as if something was about to unleash a catastrophe that no one could comprehend. An unusual energy, dispersed throughout the atmosphere, kept the ponies on constant alert, unable to relax even though no immediate danger was visible.
Inside a spacious office with a large window behind an impeccably crafted wooden desk, clearly the work of a skilled artisan, the scene was no less chaotic. The desk was cluttered with papers from various senders, along with unsigned export documents. The entire space radiated urgency and disorder.
(This pony is important).
"Oh heavens, oh heavens! What am I going to do? What am I going to tell them?" whispered a panicked mare.
She paced back and forth across the office, sweating and muttering to herself. In a swift motion, she approached the desk and began scribbling frantically on a piece of paper, writing as fast as her trembling hooves would allow.
"Okay, the citizens will be here any moment... I need to prepare something," she said, finishing her writing. She stared at the paper for a few seconds, cleared her throat, and took a deep breath to steady her trembling jaw. Finally, she attempted to read her speech with as much professionalism as she could muster:
"Citizens of Ponyville, I know you have countless questions, but you mustn't give in to fear. Whatever you've heard is just baseless rumors; everything is under control... What's happening, what's happening is... an experimental magic test? Or maybe... a social experiment?"
The hoof holding the paper began to shake. The mare's face twisted into a desperate pout as tears timidly welled up in her eyes.
"Aaaaaah! Who am I kidding?!" she cried, crumpling the paper and hurling it to the floor. She collapsed onto the floor, rubbing her head with her hooves.
"I don't even know what's going on... I can't lie to them," she murmured, defeated.
Lifting her gaze, her eyes fell on a portrait hanging on the wall. It was her own portrait, framed in wood, depicting a confident and elegant figure. The contrast between the poised image and the trembling, desperate mare occupying the office was stark.
"Some mayor I am," she said bitterly, rising slowly.
It was clear this place was important: Ponyville's town hall, and this office belonged to Mare, the town's mayor. As such, it was her duty to manage the town and ensure its well-being.
But now, her nerves were stretched to the limit. A mere whisper could have made her faint—or she might have collapsed on her own anyway.
As her position required, she had to face the citizens and provide explanations for what was happening.
The problem was, she knew absolutely nothing.
Like every other pony, Mare had been roused from her bed by the strange energy that had arrived without warning. Her staff had informed her that a mob of frightened ponies was heading to the town hall seeking answers.
How could she calm the citizens when she couldn't even calm herself? The answer was simple: she couldn't.
The mare slumped into her desk chair, resting her head against the wood.
"I'm supposed to be the mayor. I should know how to handle this," she muttered, defeated, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts. Her title, her responsibilities, all seemed like a cruel joke at that moment. What did the town expect from her? A miracle? She had no answers, no plans, just a growing anxiety that clouded her mind. How had it come to this?
Her gaze drifted to the scattered papers on her desk. She remembered the days when her biggest dilemmas were allocating the winter festival budget or mediating disputes over misplaced fences. But now, in recent months, so many things had happened that tested her nerves, pushing her ever closer to the edge. She felt like a filly facing a monster she couldn't even see.
"What if I can't protect them? What if everything falls apart under my leadership?" That thought embedded itself in her mind like a thorn, bringing her to the brink of tears.
In moments like these, when stress reached uncontrollable levels, there was only one thing she could rely on.
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a bag of candies. Without hesitation, she stuffed several into her mouth, her cheeks bulging. Chewing and savoring the sweetness eased the tightness in her chest slightly. She swallowed slowly, letting out a deep sigh. This time, a faint smile of relief crossed her face.
Since she was a filly, Mare had turned to sweets for comfort. It was a habit that brought back memories of her childhood, when her mother would give her candies to cheer her up. Some might consider it childish, but for Mare, it was one of the few things that could calm her at any moment.
With a renewed sense of calm, she picked up a fresh sheet of paper and began drafting another speech to distract the citizens—at least until she could figure out what was going on.
Trum, trum, trum, trum, trum.
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" she yelled.
The sound of galloping hooves from a crowd approaching the town hall made Mare's mane bristle like quills. She tore the paper in her hooves in a panic.
All the calm she had gained vanished in an instant. Mare ran to the crumpled paper she had thrown earlier and tried to smooth it out as best she could, clutching it to her chest as she breathed heavily.
"Come on, Mare, you can do this... You just have to face hundreds of scared ponies and answer countless questions you don't have answers to. Haha..." she laughed nervously, drenched in sweat.
She had no candies left to fall back on. All she had was that hastily written and crumpled note.
"Oh, Celestia, please help me," she pleaded to the air.
Fwoosh!