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Turning the Page (Open: Ponyville)


SteelEagle

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                                                                                mayor_mare_sig_by_dignifiedjustice-d49ik


The Mayor looked herself in the mirror in the bathroom of town hall once more, taking a deep breath. More than ever before she felt her age but she could only guess that was mostly in her head. She rearranged her glasses and brushed her mane. She smiled, then played with the edges. She had to get her smile just right after all. There were expectations of a Mayor and she had ensured over the years that she met, then exceeded all of them. It wasn't just what you could behind a desk or what your feelings on your constituents- it was whether they could look at you and see you as their Mayor. Accept you as somepony they could trust, their deed and mannerism alike. She had succeeded at that for years and would continue to do so until the terminus of her career.

 

It was time for the town hall meeting. It was a monthly bit of business by nature though many an emergency session had been called. It was often times a quiet affair, some speakers would take the podium, ponies would be allowed to come up and bring issues to the forefront of the Mayor and the town as a whole. She was the only official who was answerable to the public so that put the onus on her to handle all the matters that were brought before the town. She assembled a good staff and went the extra mile to ensure she did the best she could. She couldn't do everything but she rarely had a pony who was upset with her.

 

Her efforts had been rewarded with every smile that greeted her and watching the town grow under her care. It had been a wonderful career, and it was those memories that kept her focused as she trotted out into the office and then in a few minutes out into the main foyer of the town hall, to a smattering of appreciative hoof stomping.

"Good evening, mares and gentlcolts, and welcome to the first town hall meeting of the new year. A few small items on today's agenda to start! First off, congratulations to Miss Cheerilee and all the students at Ponyville Elementary for being awarded the Equestrian Heartland Educational Achievement Star for a third year running. Thanks to your efforts, the future of our town is as bright as ever!" She started off, stomping her hooves in approval. Those gathered followed suit and a cascade of applause, well deserved, rounded the room and quieted down in due time.

 

"Next, thanks to our recent fundraising efforts, we met our goal for funding a new shelter for the less fortunate in record time. Naming and staffing will be announced at a later date," she said to several appreciative cheers. Ponyville was always a very giving town and she never felt as if she needed to cajole the money out of them for deeds of greater import. Even during emergencies, all it took was a simple visit with her leading citizens to solve the problem. The blessings had all been hers over the years, she realized, and she hoped she had never taken them for granted.

 

She took a deep breath and then looked up at her townsponies, taking a moment to collect herself before she continued. Okay, here it goes...

 

"I do have an announcement to make, one that is not on the docket," she cleared her throat and took a second longer to regain herself. 
"It has been an honor and a privilege being the mayor of this fine town for many years. I have seen it grow from a small town to a burgeoning, growing home for so many. There have been many challenges and just as often there have been solutions, and I have enjoyed both in my time here. But the time has come for me to move on. The time has come for Ponyville to move on. And so, at the end of this year, I will be resigning as Mayor of Ponyville."

 

Gasps. For most of the ponies in town she was likely the only Mayor they had ever known. Recall campaigns were the only way to remove a Mayor from office once elected- that or royal control. The idea of losing Mayor Mare to many was likely something of a shock.

"We will be running an election to select my replacement. As you can see, we have a candidate signup sheet that will be open until the end of the month," she pointed at a smaller podium off to the side with her aide Raven, who waved happily. Ponies were welcome to toss their hats and hooves in the ring as long as they signed up. 


"I will be revealing further information as to how the election will be run at a later date," she finished with a heavy sigh, readjusting her glasses. Luckily the rush to get the speech out allowed her to maintain her composure, or at least most of it. 
"...So, yes. That is my big announcement. On to the next order of business- an open podium to our fellow townsponies!"



----------------------
OOC Rules:
1- If you want to signup to run for Mayor, feel free. You have to be an adult and live in Ponyville, at least after election.
2- Signups run last until the end of the month of February. More will be revealed then!
3- You may react to the announcement, take the podium to talk about some new topic, or otherwise do as you will within the confines of a town meeting.

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As usual, Spoiled Rich was front and center at the town hall meeting.  She had never in her life missed one, though the times she had shown up under the weather were... less than appreciated by her fellow citizens.  Not that it mattered; one could hardly hold up a reputation as a "pillar of the community" by shirking one's attendance.  Influence could be so ephemeral, that to lose an opportunity to give input would be to suffer a diminishment of power.  And that was something up with which Spoiled would not put!

 

One result of such civic commitment is that Spoiled had come to know Mayor Mare fairly well, as she was perhaps the second-most consistent figure seen in town projects and plans.  She wouldn't exactly call the Mayor a personal friend per se, they really didn't have the intersection of interests or personality that would forge any kind of bridge outside of working hours.  But Spoiled had come to respect the Mayor.  After all, she was competent in wielding what power she had, even if it was over a small town.  Power always demanded respect.

 

Increasingly, however, Ponyville had grown, while the ability of the Mayoral office to have a controlling say in such matters shrunk.  That pretty little princess from Canterlot had proven to be a force in her own right, with her Crystal Castle literally overshadowing town hall when the sun struck it right.  There was little doubt that Twilight Sparkle was the driving factor behind the town's increasing economic growth.  Which was good, of course, business had never been better for Filthy Rich's Barnyard Bargains, which gave her more cash to work with in her own right.  Still, a loss in the Mayor's power was indirectly a threat to her own.  She'd actually brought this up to the Mayor on a couple of occasions, and suspected that this town meeting, Mayor Mare would announce her plans to deal with it....

 

 

By Resigning.

 

Much like everypony else, Spoiled was shocked for a moment.  Even in her own ambitious dreams, she hadn't given any thought to seeing the back of the Mayor and taking her position.  She was too beloved to be taken down by unpopularity, and too competent to justify royal intervention.  But now?  Now there were possibilities.  In an instant, she saw what she had to do.  There had been no time to make plans, but she was fairly confident that she could wing it here.  After all, what possible grounds would anypony here have to contradict her?

 

Once the microphone was open, Spoiled immediately stood up to take the stage.  She was often the first to do so, and out of habit completely ignored the stifled looks of dread and/or boredom from her fellow citizens.  "If I may be allowed to speak for my fellow townsponies... You have served as Mayor in an exemplary manner, and we are proud to have had you."  Ponies began to sit up and take notice.  This was unexpected, coming from a mare of her reputation.  "Speaking for myself, I have had the pleasure of working with you on many projects of town planning and improvement, and shall miss your presiding presence at civic meetings.  Having worked with you for so long, I have internalized all that makes Ponyville tick, and have watched it grow alongside my own daughter-"

She sniffed.  Somepony who didn't know her might have thought this was maternal care bleeding through, but the emotions were more complicated and less pleasant than that.  Nonetheless, she left her sentence broken on the podium, and moved on.  "Therefore, I could not let the opportunity pass without expressing my appreciation for all your hard work... and my intention to continue it!"  More ponies sat up to take notice.  One or two even began to groan as the implications sunk in.  The rest didn't have long to wait in ambiguity, as she went on.  "Yes, my fellow ponies, I shall be running for the office of Mayor in the coming month.  A formality, to be sure, but I have never been one to deny the necessity of proper procedure."

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Filthy Rich was shocked as anypony to hear the news of Mayor Mare’s retirement. The mare had represented Ponyville for just about a generation, and she had served well as a public servant. Under Mare’s watch, Mr. Rich had been able to do well for himself while the town his family lived in prospered as a community worth raising his precious daughter in. And for his part, Filthy counted the Mayor as a personal friend of his.


But nothing lasts forever. Just as Princess Celestia no longer ruled Equestria, Ponyville would have to get used to life without Mayor Mare. It only took Filthy a mere instant to realize what would ensue in the coming days; he always knew his wife Spoiled loved to involve herself in civic affairs, and few ponies possessed the drive to aim high and succeed like she had. Once glance at Spoiled, and Filthy could already see the subtle facial cues indicating that the misses was up to something.


Sure enough, the first chance she got, Mrs. Rich took the podium. What struck Filthy was how... uncharacteristically gracious his wife conducted herself. Behind closed doors, Spoiled was ALWAYS ranting about how Princess Twilight and her naive friends were filling their daughter with rubbish pie-in-the-sky ideas, and how much of an eyesore that tacky Friendship tree castle was... which admittedly, she had a good point. Why couldn’t they regrow the beloved Golden Oaks library tree that Filthy fondly remembered from his youth?


Getting back to the topic; to Filthy’s surprise — or lack thereof — Spoiled declared her candidacy for mayor. For the husband, it was news both joyful and also potentially frightening. Mr. Rich was happy for the new opportunity coming his darling wife’s way, but if running an election campaign was anything like planning a wedding... oh Celestia, Filthy still had nightmares of that terrible ordeal, and the monster that said ordeal created.....


For everypony’s sake — and for his household’s own — Filthy mentally prayed that Spoiled would run unopposed. Fortunately, that was a very real possibility, as everypony else lacked both the clout AND the raw civic ambition to take on Mrs. Rich in an election fight and win.


As for this moment, Filthy Rich knew what familial duty required him to do. As husband of the mayoral candidate, he would be expected to act as Mrs. Rich’s most devoted surrogate... because anything less would end up with him getting an earful! Making his way up to the podium so he could join his wife, Mr. Rich boldly smiled towards the assembled townspoines as he declared; I, for one, can’t think of anypony else more qualified to succeed Mayor Mare than my beloved wife. For years, Spoiled and our Mayor have worked as partners in growing Ponyville to the great town we live in today. That ALONE is a resume that nopony else in Ponyville can beat!”


Mr. Rich spoke with confidence, yes, but a hawk-eyed observer might also notice a drop of sweat on his head, or the way the edges of his smile artificially curled in a way that suggested the existence of a twinge of fear.....

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The announcement, didn't have nearly as much of an effect on twins as it may have on others. Besides their normal refrain from negative emotions, they had not been living in this town for long enough to really form a deep enough connection with the soon to be former mayor. That was not to say they had no reaction at all, it was just, not obvious to probably 99% of the population in this town. Somehow delve into their tight network, and you would be able to hear the fast conversation that may overload your mind. 

 

"Well, that kind of brings up want I've been wanting to say for a while now sister. You know, true business isn't booming as much as we thought. It seems ponies don't have many problems that require us in this town," Placidity pointed out. 

 

"Well, this town is pretty calm, in that sense. It's not going to be as hectic as other cities, if you discount the exaggerated panics sometimes. We're doing alright, nothing wrong there, I don't see what you're trying to say. Do you want to leave this place?" Tranquility asked, mentally raising an eyebrow. 

 

"No, not at all, we're staying here. I mean, we're not going into poverty or anything anytime soon, it just seems redundant for us both to be working the same job, even if there are some, side projects that could be beneficial." 

 

"You brought this up now, are you suggesting..."

 

"Yes, precisely. I'm going to run for mayor," she announced before dramatically pausing for effect. "There's no real harm in doing so, more benefits I would see. I've always been more charismatic than you. I can do the same basic stuff, just a bit differently." 

 

"But, like, I mean, I've always done things with you. Like..."

 

"Yes and no. We do the same basic stuff, but delve deeper and we do different stuff. Truth be told, I don't like sitting inside writing a book the same way you do."

 

"Hey, if it's what you want to do. I can take over for myself. My book shouldn't take that much longer anyway, and there will be downtime before I can even start the next. Plus, I guess this way you might be able to actually solve the panic epidemics."

 

"Maybe, yeah. Put matters into my own hooves. Seems a bit intimidating sometimes, but I've always got you to back me up." 

 

"I don't know how much authority I have, but who's going to know?"

 

The two of them would smile at each other as Placidity walked up to the signup sheet. As much as sometimes they like mundane, change can be fun in life. Placidity would probably give a speech sometimes, but not now. She wanted it to be good, and as much as there is to being open about yourself, sometimes ponies don't need to hear what you're really thinking about. But hey, if anypony wanted to ask her some questions now, well normally she asks the questions, but why not?

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Very few would have recognized the unicorn wearing a hooded jumper walking towards the stage. Truth be told he had only just recently moved into Ponyville a little before Hearth's Warming. Strong Copper honestly doubted that the number of ponies in the crowd that he was just about to step in front of could be counted off of on his own hooves...

 

But he was a child of Canterlot. Even if his cutie mark had absolutely nothing to do with the political scene, one did learn how to read a crowd and do some research in order to figure out who was actually important in a given organization; Spoiled Rich was a well known name in Ponyville and not for the right reasons. In fact, just from his position in the crowd and watching the reaction to her announcement that she was going to run for Mayor would have been enough to prove just how unpopular Mrs Rich actually was.

 

Would this mean that he actually had a chance at winning an election against her? Sweet Celestia he hoped not. Strong Copper knew himself well enough that he would likely run Ponyville into the ground if he was put in charge, through he would give it his all in order to try and make it work regardless. He had his own reasons for walking up the stairs of the stage, crossing the floor and standing just a little way away from the Riches with a polite, respectful smile on his face as he waited for them to be done with their announcements.

 

Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the crowd "Hello Ponyville! Following the example of Mrs Rich, I would like to start by offering some congratulations to the resigning Mayor and complimenting her what I suspect has been stressful but highly successful career in public office. I have only recently moved into this wonderful little town, but I've been hearing stories come out about Ponyville for years now. The appearance of Nightmare Moon, the brief reign of Discord, not to mention countless other tales of crisis and disasters both natural and unnatural that has threatened it from time to time. There are plenty of places in Equestria that would struggle to recover from even one of these situations, but Ponyville has taken each and every one of the blows given to it and not only is it still standing, it's thriving!" He paused for a moment in order to let his words sink in, taking a breath to keep himself going; Public speaking wasn't a strong point for him, but when he needed to by hell and high water would he step up to the task.

 

"Most holders of public office would have either given up due to stress or have been thrown out of office for not being up to the task by an angry public... and yet, after all this time Mayor Mare has continued to serve Ponyville as its Mayor without complaint, but is going to be leaving office with the town looking better then when she arrived. So remember to keep showing her the respect she deserves even after she is no longer the mare to talk to about getting parking licenses and zoning permits."  With his peace seemingly said, Strong Copper turned to leave the stage... before suddenly stopping. Raising a hoof and bringing it down in a small stamp, he chuckled as he turned back to the crowd.

 

"Almost forgot. My name is Strong Copper and I humbly would like to become your mayor. I'm sure you'll be getting to know me in the coming month, but might as well make it official. Take care of each other, alright?" With that, his hat was thrown into the political ring.

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Filthy's enthusiastic endorsement was the first bit of audience reaction to reach Spoiled Rich's ears, and it was indeed music to them.  Not that she had expected anything else from her husband dearest; the stallion knew what was good for him.  And for his good sense, he was rewarded with a warm smile, a rare enough sight for him, and an exceptionally rare look for her to wear in public.

 

Sadly... it was not to last, as it seemed her run was not to go unopposed.  Out of the corner of her eyes, she'd seen half of one of a pair of twins walk to the sign up sheet.  She didn't really know either very well, they were part of the "new crowd" which Ponyville's growth (and Princess) had brought in.  They didn't seem to say much; a discomfort with public speaking, perhaps?  Well, that boded well for her in the inevitable public debates, so perhaps that was a mere negligible concern.

 

Less negligible was the next pony to get the podium.  This... Strong Copper, another newcomer, was of an altogether different breed.  Canterlot breed, in fact, and Spoiled was enough of a snob to have that count for something with her, though it might have been merely increased rivalry than any desire to court favor.  Especially as he seemed to seek to out-do her in ingratiation of Mayor Mare, despite not having anything near the personal experience with her company, or civic work in general.
Leaning over to Filthy Rich as she resumed her place, she spoke in a tone low enough to pass for private conversation, but in reality pitched to carry through the whole hall, "Well, how progressive our systems are, to not have lack of experience be a barrier to attempted service!  I wonder if any of Miss Cheerilee's students would care to announce their candidacy as well?"

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Agent Scoots by Orschmann

Scootaloo

(with the NPC-Chorus of the other CMC)

 

 

When Rich spoke, a pony could almost HEAR a certain filly's eyes sparkling, and after a few moments of hushed conversation, and perhaps an argument or two, music began playing, and an orange filly leapt onto the carpet... how scootaloo had managed to change into a fancy suit like that in less than a minute was anypony's guess, or where she got the top hat... though what would surprise nopony was when the music swelled and she began to sing...

 

The Time had come to change the precedent,

and some of the candidates, thought they were heaven sent! 

The speak and neigh and pounded, their hooves upon their hearts!

But soon all their noble promises were hard to tell apart!

 

From a humble start, a filly sincere and brave!

and everypon' hoped the ci-ty she soon would save!

The ponies said 'the time has come to take a stand!

For hope has left us all across the wond'rous land!

 

Some wear the sign of the earth po-ny

and some weir the sign of the 'corn

But we'll hold the sign of Scoo-ta-loo high

and hope will shine right through!

 

Some wear the sign of the earth po-ny

and some weir the sign of the 'corn

But we'll hold the sign of Scoo-ta-loo high

and hope will shine right through!

 

As she ended her song, whether anypony thought she had been serious was still very much up for debate... but there was plenty of clapping and stomping for the song!

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Strong Copper tilted his head as he watched the orange filly perform her song and dance number... even as his ear flicked as he overheard what might have been considered to be a 'private' conversation if the speaker clearly hadn't intended for her words to be overheard by others. Pretending to ignore Mrs Rich's statement, he instead kept his attention on the singing filly and was one of those who offered a round of stomping in acknowledgement and support for her efforts. For an song that had been made up on the spot, it wasn't actually a bad one.

 

While he intended to run a good, clean campaign going forwards, just the brief interactions with Mrs Rich so far told him far more about her character then one would think... and thus how to use it against her to further his own goals. Once Scootaloo was done, Strong Copper turned to Mrs Rich and offered her an honest smile. Mimicking the tone of voice that she had made use of (seemingly a private conversation, but meant to be overheard), he politely said "Considering how much hard work you must have put in to help lay the foundations of such a progressive system of government, I'm sure your years of experience will be taken into account when it comes time for ponies to vote."

 

A simple compliment to a mare who had clearly worked hard and volunteered her time to help run the town. It would take some kind of egotistical, vain pony to even consider it to be anything else but a kind word.

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Of course.  Of course.  Of bucking COURSE the universe was not going to take Spoiled Rich seriously.  Like most ponies with an unrepentantly unpleasant disposition, Spoiled attributed every bit of bad fortune and humor at her expense to the whims of cruel fate, if not to the petty envy of all the ponies around her.  But that sort of inter-social meanness was not something she could attribute to Scootaloo, for all that she was one of those (formerly) blank-flanked little ingrates that corrupted her daughter.

 

No, like most foals, she was just dumb.  The very fact that the tiny pegasus had taken Spoiled's obvious sarcasm seriously was testament to that fact.  And the rest of the town applauding her?  It honestly made the mare think twice about proposing to run for mayor in a town with such a collective lack of brains and taste.  *But they won't improve if ponies like us don't do something about it.*

 

With set jaw, she inwardly renewed her resolve.  She would win this contest, and drag Ponyville kicking and screaming into better circles, come Tartarus or the deluge!  Snorting, she answered Copper in a flat tone.  "Oh, of course.  If they aren't bewitched by some song-and-dance razzle-dazzle.  It wouldn't be the first time we all got carried away by that."  Kind word though it may have been, a pony in a sour mood is half-deaf to such things.

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Almost as soon as Filthy Rich was awarded with a public display of affection from his wife, the good vibes ended as two other ponies threw their hat into the ring. The middle-aged stallion cringed internally; one of them didn’t even bother introducing herself, and the other... well, nopony knew who his name was until the end of his speech.


And that was exactly the problem: name recognition.


Ponyville may not exactly be small enough of a town anymore where everypony knew your name, but it was still a relatively close-knit place. So maybe this Strong Copper fellow knew a thing or two about public speaking. Too bad though Filthy knew nothing else about the guy: what his background was, his political personality, his skills, his occupation, his day-to-day personality, his ability to remain committed in the face of adversity, how well he actually understood the intricacies of Ponyville life. All these things mattered — and doubly so for new residents — even if Mrs. Rich wasn’t running, Mr. Rich in good conscience could never endorse the other two candidates... at least, not unless they proved themselves just as dedicated to Ponyville as much as those residents who’ve lived there for nearly their entire lives.


Of course, what mattered right now was dealing with Spoiled Rich’s loss of composure. To everypony’s good fortune, one of Diamond Tiara’s newer friends swept to the rescue with a cloud-pleasing musical number. Yes, it was cheesy and immature... but sometimes, rolling with what kids decide to do was the polite thing to do. Plus Filthy couldn’t deny the sheer enthusiasm of youthful energy, which he expressed by joining in the applause.


Regrettably, the wife was a different story as always. Not only did Spoiled break composure, but like a minotaur chasing after a matador’s cape, she responded to Strong Copper’s passive-aggressiveness with blatant sourness. Filthy wanted to facehoof, but thought better of that. Acting fast, he stepped in-between Copper and his wife, exhibiting his trademark good-ole’-boy charm. “The point,” Filthy flashed a gregarious smile towards the unicorn; “Is that we have a long election season ahead of us, and us townponies will need all that time to get to know each and every candidate better. Electing a mayor is not something to be taken lightly, you understand? For tonight though, let’s put that competitiveness aside in the spirit of Friendship for all.”


Whew; crisis maybe averted? Even though Filthy engineered things to make Strong Copper look like the bad guy if he kept baiting his opponent, Spoiled especially needed to take her husband’s words to heart if she really wanted to win. Filthy knew one thing however; first thing tomorrow, he was taking the morning train to Manehattan in order to hire a campaign manager for Mrs. Rich. Because there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY he was going to handle damage-control for this entire election season!

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"Of course." Strong Copper offered back to Mr Rich, offering a small smile. "I fully intend to run a clean and friendly campaign. After all, once all is said and done I know we're going to have to work together." In this case, he didn't want to interrupt the filly if she decided to do some more advertising. That would just be rude after all.

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  • 2 weeks later...

*"Friendship for all?"  Really, Filthy?  Really?  I suppose you can't afford to offend the ponies who do business with you-*  And it was at this moment, right as she was preparing a sardonic look for her husband, that Spoiled Rich realized that she might not be able to afford offending ponies any more than her loving partner could.  The politician's constant awareness of the public eye was a new thing for the mare, who though politically active had been relatively unaccountable for her entire public 'career.'  But now?  She had to be cautious.  Ponyville was a nice town to a nearly disgusting degree, but things like the yellow press were not unknown here.

 

But then, Spoiled Rich remembered that the only instance of a scandal sheet being published had been from her own daughter, and immediately felt better.  It would be she who could control such weapons, and not her opponents!  At least, provided dear little Diamond wasn't disobedient...

 

Speaking of opponents, though, it seemed like the only contender, besides the unqualified filly, would be this outsider nopony.  How lovely!  "Well, you'd hardly be able to get rid of me, in any case.  I am Ponyville's most prominent citizen, after all."  Not counting the Princess, of course, but royalty wasn't citizenship by definition.  Having said her piece, she even managed a little smile for Copper, before turning back to her husband.  "In any case, I don't suppose there's much point in us sticking around any longer, is there?  It doesn't seem as if anypony else is interested in futile gestures, and there wasn't anything else on the meeting agenda.  And we do have a campaign to plan... not to mention a daughter to round up."

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*Keep smiling politely, Filthy... keep smiling.*


Readying Mr. Rich’s wife for political prime-time was going to be a very tall order. Even when Spoiled tried to to present herself as amicable, she only came off as an entitled elitist. And right afterward, Spoiled indicated to her husband how the mare took virtually nothing of his earlier message of friendship to heart. *Ugggh, you can sigh when nopony else is looking...*


In any event, it was time to pick up their daughter. Diamond Tiara was going to be overjoyed to hear the news that her life was about to be thrown upside-down by her mother’s mayoral campaign. With as best of a smile as he could muster at that moment, Filthy Rich exited Town Hall alongside the current electoral front-runner... although with Spoiled’s attitude, who knew how long she’d stay in that position....?

 


*EXIT MR. & MRS. RICH*

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