"...Mayor Mare!"

Twilight's ears perked up upon hearing the unexpected name, and before she could say or do anything in response, there was a bright flash of light just across from her, on the other side of the table. When the light died down, the Princess saw that the elected leader of Ponyville was indeed there, sitting opposite her and, rather understandably, was looking more than a little shocked at her situation.

"Wha...what's...where am I?!"

"It's okay, Mayor," Twilight responded.

Only here did the older mare notice her Princess here, and while startled, she quickly composed herself a bit, giving a slight bow of her head before speaking up, albeit in a clearly unsure manner.

"Princess! I...I must confess, I was not expecting to see you here."

Twilight let out a dry chuckle.

"Trust me, I wasn't expecting to be here. But, we are."

Looking around, the Mayor was appearing nervous about all of this, to which Twilight could not blame her.

"So...where is here anyway?"

Twilight let out a sigh and, in the organized and collected way she was so known for, began to explain their situation. She talked about everything, from the mysterious voice, to their inability to escape for the time being, and even, more importantly, their reason for being here in the first place. That latter point seemed to cause a slight blush on the face of the Mayor, and she cleared her throat somewhat before finally replying to all of that.

"Well, I...that's a lot to take in. I mean...the two of us are...dating right now?"

Twilight gave a brief laugh at the whole situation, nodding as she did so.

"It seems that way."

The Mayor tugged at her collar a bit.

"I...pardon me for saying this, Princess...but surely this voice fellow could have picked somepony more worthy of dating a Princess such as yourself?"

To that, Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"There's no need to go and put yourself down like that, Mayor. I'm sure any pony, stallion or mare, would be lucky to go on a date with you."

The Mayor looked down at the table, giving a laugh even drier than the one Twilight had given not so long ago.

"You're very kind to say so, Princess...but I'm hardly a catch-of-the-day."

Twilight shook her head.

"Nonsense! You're organized, diligent in your work, a respected member of the community..."

"And old, Princess," the Mayor finished.

Twilight took a moment to look at her, only to surprise her date by giving a short giggle.

"I'm sorry, but...you're hardly that old. Besides, don't tell anypony I said this, but..."

For a few seconds, Twilight took the time to look around herself, making sure nopony else could hear them, before turning back to the other mare and finishing her sentence.

"...Celestia is older than both of us by centuries, remember? And if she can continue to catch a pony's eye every now and again, I'm fairly certain you can."

The Mayor placed a hoof over her mouth, doing her best to stifle whatever laugh Twilight's words had caused in her, almost as if she were worried Celestia herself might hear. But, when it sank in for her that this was not going to happen, she allowed herself a moment to simply join in on the laugh that Twilight was having right now. When it died down, the Mayor sighed, reaching up and taking off her glasses, carefully placing them upon the table, before looking back up at her Princess.

"Well...I suppose I could let myself enjoy a brief date. If we're stuck here, might as well enjoy it, right?"

The look on Twilight's face made it clear that she shared her date's reluctant acceptance of the situation. For a while, however, she didn't seem to know what to talk about, but, after almost a full minute of silence between the two mares, the young Princess finally said something.

"So...how have you been?"

The Mayor gave a nod before answering.

"I've been good. Thank you for asking. My work takes up a lot of my time, so I don't usually get the chance to go out much for things like this."

A grimace crossed her face as she looked away.

"I shudder to think of how much paperwork I'll have to do just for this amount of absent time."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Say...when was the last time you took time off."

Here, the other mare seemed somewhat hesitant.

"Oh...I don't want to bore you with things like that, Princess."

Twilight shook her head.

"No, I want to know."

While again hesitant, the Mayor eventually let out a deep sigh, avoiding the younger mare's eyes as she finally answered.

"I'd say, about...six months?"

Twilight's eyes widened.

"Six?! That settles it! When we get out of here, I'm arranging for you to go on vacation!"

The Mayor raised her hoofs in an almost defensive manner.

"Oh no! You don't need to do that! My work...!"

"Your work can wait, Mayor. No pony should go on that long without a little R and R."

A look of inspiration then crossed the Princess' face.

"In fact...I think I could ask Rarity to take you on a day to the spa. I'm sure you'd love that!"

But, far from seeming satisfied with that suggestion, the Mayor simply seemed all the more reluctant.

"Look...Princess...I appreciate all of this, but...I just can't."

Twilight's smile faded.

"But...why?"

Slowly, the Mayor's face looked up to her, and she frowned slightly.

"I mean no disrespect when I say this, but...ever since you came to Ponyville, ponies have been going to you more and more for help. In time...I became..."

She looked down at the table.

"...useless. If I went away for a bit, and everything just ran on fine without me...it would just prove it."

Twilight seemed stunned by such words.

"But...you're not useless! Ponyville needs you! It's always needed you!"

And empty laugh escaped the Mayor at that.

"I thank you for the kind words, but...we both know that's not true. Let's face it...you are the only leader this town of ours needs. It hasn't needed me for...a very long time."

Silence passed between the two mares, and for a time, Twilight had no idea what to say. What could she say? But, as she looked to her date, seeing her sink further and further into a saddened state, her expression became a determined one, and she reached forward, placing her hoof upon hers. This caught the Mayor's attention immediately, and when she looked up, she saw Twilight's fierce eyes.

"I can't claim to understand how you might have felt these last few years. But I can tell you this...it was never my intention to make you feel neglected or without worth."

The Mayor was taken aback, but stayed silent as the Princess continued.

"Maybe I have assumed more of a position of leadership, and yes, maybe I did all that without realising what it might have meant for you. But trust me when I say that this town still needs you there, Mayor. After all..."

Her expression softened into a smile.

"...remember how peaceful things were before I showed up?"

The older mare considered this, and all of the rest of Twilight's words, and after a brief moment of further silence between the two, the former started to finally break out into a small smile of her own.

"I...guess you're right. I mean, no offense, but...we never did have world-ending catastrophe's on my watch."

Twilight giggled to that, which the Mayor promptly joined in on. When that laughter ended, the latter sighed again, looking up to her Princess.

"Thank you, Prin...Twilight. This was...nice."

Twilight's smile widened.

"No problem, Mayor."

While satisfied at all of this, the Mayor, just for a moment, seemed hesitant about something, culminating in her clearing her throat before finally speaking up to Twilight again.

"Actually, my name is...Flitter Flutter."

Twilight looked taken aback by this confession, but soon composed herself again, smiling warmly once more.

"Thank you...Flitter."

The older mare smiled, but, before she could say anything further, she was shocked to find that Twilight was now bathed in a bright light. When it faded, she realized, to her horror, that the young Princess was gone, and her chair empty. Naturally, this caused a great deal of concern for her.

"P...Princess?!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her, Mayor. You and her have had a pretty good date, but now, it's time we moved on."

The arrival of the unseen voice caught the mare off-guard, but, having been pre-warned by Twilight about this being, she had already prepared herself, narrowing her eyes at the darkness around her.

"What have you done with the Princess?!"

A laugh followed that demand.

"Trust me, she's safe, frozen in space and time and all that, ready for when I need her next. As for you, however, it's time we moved onto date number two!"

The Mayor opened her mouth to speak, only to stop when the voice interrupted her.

"And for our illustrious Mayor of Ponyville, you're next date for the evening is...!"