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- "Uuugh..."
- >You groan.
- >It hurts to breathe.
- >Why is that?
- >For the life of you, you don't know why.
- >The burning pain in your chest might have something to do with it.
- >As might the blood rushing to your aching head.
- >You feel something warm slowly seeping through your trousers.
- >Not the cold, solid pavement you're kneeling on.
- >What is it?
- >Your left hand brushes against the fabric gently, before bringing your fingers up into the shallow light.
- >It's red. Bright red.
- >Blood.
- >But whose...?
- >You try to gaze at your surroundings, but you can't seem... to focus your eyes...
- >"Oh crap." You hear a voice mutter behind you, but you ignore it.
- >Through the darkness, you barely make out a pair of mounds in front of you.
- >Huddled over. Not moving.
- >You crawl towards them.
- >"Car 23, requesting backup..."
- >That voice fades in and out.
- >You drag yourself those few feet. Something in your right hand is slowing you down.
- >You feel around with your left.
- >"...corner of E 14th and St Jo..."
- >More blood.
- >For a moment, you pause, focusing your eyes as much as you can.
- >You find a body.
- >Your surroundings are suddenly illuminated by something behind you, but you pay no heed.
- >The face stares into your eyes.
- "No..."
- >You don't want to believe it.
- "No!"
- >You force yourself unsteadily onto your feet.
- >A tear streaks down your face, leaving a wet trail.
- >"Police!"
- >You turn and are suddenly blinded by something bright.
- >"...the gun down!"
- >Wait what?
- >You hazily look down, and there in your hand sits a handgun.
- >Your brain scrambles to connect the dots.
- >What have you done?
- >"...down now!"
- >You stumble forwards towards the increasingly belligerent voice, arms outstretched as you try to balance-
- >BLAM
- >The pain has been doubled!
- >You fall face first to the concrete.
- >"...down!"
- >All sound is fading out from your ears.
- >"10-52, bring three body b..."
- >It seems like your whole world is turning to ice.
- >Your mind blanks.
- "Glo...ry..."
- >And like that, the darkness takes over.
- *****
- >You are Afternoon Delight.
- >Exotic, beautiful, a diamond in the rough.
- >Or so your friend Morning Glory always told you.
- >She always was a bit of a softie.
- >The two of you have been thick as thieves ever since you were both fillies gallivanting about in Ponyville.
- >It might've been started because neither of you had cutie marks (and incidentally, you still don't), but the two of you grew pretty close all the same.
- >She always said that the two of you would be lifelong friends, despite the occasional butting of heads between you.
- >As such, when the two of you had grown into a pair of delectable young mares, you invited her along when you made your big move to Manehatten.
- >Like the little sister she practically was to you, Glory accepted your offer with glee.
- >So, off the two of you went. Off to the big city to seek your fortunes.
- >Ponyville was too small for a huge ambition like yours. If your destiny was to be found, why not try looking in the city of opportunity?
- >"Dream big!" So you've always said. "We won't go home until we achieve something!"
- >Well, in a sense, that was a mistake.
- >A colossal mistake.
- >The two of you spent most of your time trying out for the various jobs on offer.
- >A brief stint in modelling, flipping hayburgers, couriering, all sorts of odds and ends.
- >Despite all your efforts, you were unable to hold a stable job.
- >Glory had even less luck than you did.
- >Each employer was always saying something about having better talent on hand, despite your hard work ethic.
- >The list of places you'd been laid off from was dissuading other employers from hiring you.
- >A shrinking level of income forced you from place to place, in increasingly worsening conditions.
- >It eventually got to the point where you didn't even have that.
- >A series of unfortunate events later, and here the two of you were.
- >On the street, with nothing but the boxes you call home.
- >"Hey Dee..." You feel a gentle tap on your hoof, an attempt to wake you.
- >You let out a light moan.
- "Darling, remember what I said about needing my naps?"
- >"I know." She mutters, looking away. "But, well, your, um, friend is here..."
- "Oh?"
- >You open your eyes and, indeed, not a few feet away stands a bored-looking stallion impatiently looking at his pocketwatch.
- >Fairly built, dusty orange coat, oiled blue mane, you recognize him nearly immediately.
- "Bad Touch!"
- >"Mister Touch to you, Afternoon Delight." He replies in turn without turning to meet you. "You've not forgotten our little arrangement, have you?"
- "N-no, no, of course not!" You stammer. Glory looks at you, a visual 'what?' plastered across her face.
- >"Good." The stallion snorts. "Well then, up. Running late as is."
- "Y-yes, Mister Touch." You stagger to your hooves, running to catch up with your leaving 'business partner'.
- >Glory begins to trot behind, but you stop and silently plead with her with your best begging eyes.
- "Stay here. Don't go anywhere."
- >"But Dee-"
- "No buts." You say firmly. "You aren't coming."
- >"Hell, bring her along." Bad Touch calls from the head of the alley. "A flank like that ought to fetch a few bits..."
- >Right now, you felt like bucking the stallion right in his damn ugly face, but you restrained yourself.
- "Please?" You really needed to get going.
- >Glory bites her lip.
- >"Okay..." She says softly.
- >Celestia bless her oblivious soul, you didn't need her coming along to your day job.
- >All she knew was that your 'friend' helped you get bits from time to time. You haven't told her what you have to do to earn those bits yet.
- >With luck, you won't ever have to.
- >"Ain't got all day. Clients be waiting."
- >You didn't want this stallion's help, but he somehow sold the idea of you to potential clients better than you'd manage alone.
- >You hated him for being the slimeball used cart salesman he was.
- >You hated the fact that you needed him.
- >But you did.
- >And so you went.
- >You were too ashamed to go back to Ponyville. How could you face those ponies you once knew?
- >What did you have to show for yourself, after all this time?
- >Nothing.
- >There was no way you were leaving empty-handed.
- >Glory tried her best to keep her positivity throughout your hardships, but you couldn't keep up that façade.
- >As you once overheard a fashion pony say, it's every pony for themselves in this world.
- >With nowhere left to turn, you alone turned to the last available option.
- >'5 bits for a hoofjob, 10 bits for a full service, 20 bits for anything'
- >Anything meaning anything.
- >Being thrust into against the floor with the force of a thousand buffalo? You'd do it.
- >Taking stupefying loads with the biggest of smiles? Not a problem.
- >Involving Glory was where you drew the line though.
- >You've always steered her usually bubbly, innocent self away, sheltering her from the harshness of your reality where you could.
- >And as a result, you both suffered for it. Lack of food was really getting to you both.
- >But, no matter what happened, she's always managed to endure through your troubles, sticking by your side.
- >She's just that kind of mare.
- >You aren't going to let her be swept away by the world.
- >That naive pony keeps you firmly anchored, sees you through the day.
- >You need her in your life.
- >And truth be told?
- >You don't ever want that to change.
- *****
- >Pain.
- >Unearthly pain, entwined with a pulsing warmth that bathes you.
- >It sears through your very life essence, as you bob along on your present path.
- >Where does this path lead? You don't know.
- >All around, orbs of light dance in tandem with one another, a kaleidoscope of colour reaching your...
- >Eyes? No. You have no solid body that you can see in this ethereal form.
- >And yet, somehow, you are experiencing that sense to its fullest extent.
- >How? You don't know.
- >The pain strikes you again, growing in tempo. You want to scream, but you cannot utter a sound.
- >It's readily apparent that this realm was not meant to be witnessed by a... conscious soul?
- >Conscious. You suppose you were that. Otherwise, there'd simply have been... nothing.
- >Emptiness.
- >What does this mean? You don't know.
- >You float onwards.
- >Up ahead is an increasingly bright wall of white.
- >Like... a tear, almost.
- >Some of the other orbs of light are congregating towards it, and, you notice, so are you.
- >You cannot fight your form's will.
- >Some orbs diverge on a different path, changing direction towards other tears in the realm.
- >Others burn out before they reach their destination.
- >The pain is near synchronized with that warmth now as you get closer and closer to the light.
- >You try to reach out...
- *****
- >You are Morning Glory.
- >Afternoon Delight, bless her, is off whoring again.
- >You know she thinks you aren't aware of how the bits come in, but you aren't a stupid mare.
- >You sigh.
- >She means well. Truly.
- >And it is true that without the meagre income she brings in, the two of you may as well be dead on the roadside.
- >But it doesn't mean you agree with what she's doing. Not at all.
- >You crawl back into your cardboard box, huddled into a tight ball.
- >Sometimes you wish you'd never left Ponyville.
- >Even though neither of you had your cutie marks, that didn't mean that the ponies there wouldn't take care of you.
- >They're a close-knit community, looking out for one another like they were family, not like this Luna-forsaken city.
- >Here, thousands, if not millions (You never counted), of mares and stallions went about their daily business.
- >All bonded together by a common nationality if nothing else.
- >You'd never been surrounded by so many ponies and yet felt so... alone.
- "It'll be over soon."
- >In your heart, you know you're lying to yourself.
- >You can't leave without your childhood friend.
- >And Afternoon Delight is so dead set in her ways that you doubt she'll ever change her mind about Manehattan.
- >This ride isn't going to end any time soon.
- >You, Morning Glory, are royally screwed.
- "Someone will come to take us home..."
- *****
- >Ethereal spirit becomes flesh and bone.
- >Neverending white becomes soft pastel colours.
- >Weightlessness is overtaken by gravity.
- >And you are plummeting.
- >Your brain quickly processes the situation at hand.
- >Passing through soft clouds, you can see a city below you.
- >You steer your away from the high rise buildings as best you can.
- >Well, flailing your arms about at any rate, to no avail.
- >The ground is rapidly approaching.
- >You scream.
- "OOOHH FFFUUUUUU-"
- *****
- >"-UUUCCK!"
- >You, Morning Glory, snap out of your inattentive daze as a loud crash breaks your concentration.
- >Poking your head outside of your box, you see garbage spewed across your alley from punctured garbage bags and overturned bins.
- >An open trash can rolls past your box, dropping apple cores and other waste in its wake.
- >You quickly brush the worst of it away, trying not to gag.
- >Your day just gets better and better.
- >"Ugh..."
- >You stiffen as a voice speaks out from the trash.
- >It's a stallion's voice, or so you suspect. You've half a mind to tell him off for ruining your peaceful afternoon.
- "Hey! What's the big id-"
- >The words melt away in your mouth as your eyes fall upon a... what is it?
- >That ain't no stallion.
- *****
- >Well, that went better than expected.
- >By all accounts, you should've been splattered against the concrete, all your bones smashed into a thousand pieces like shards of broken glass.
- >Fortunately, you got off with just a massive headache and a ringing in your ears... at least, as far as you can tell.
- >Hurts like a sonofabitch, at any rate.
- >You look down at your body.
- >Human. Okay. That hasn't changed.
- >Bitching new suit, sullied by... yeesh, you don't want to know what was in that trash pile.
- >Your limbs felt relatively intact though, or so you believe.
- >Said belief rapidly disappears as you attempt to rise.
- >Ungodly pain shoots up your right leg, causing you to tumble back into your throne of waste.
- "Ow! Shit..."
- >Yeah, you aren't moving any time soon.
- >"Um..."
- >A voice! A female voice! Thank God, there's someone here who can-
- >You freeze as your eyes meet that voice's owner.
- >That ain't no human.
- >"H-hi there..."
- >Is that a horse?
- >Your eyes don't deceive you. You hope.
- >It's a talking horse.
- >What in the actual fuck?
- "Sorry about the mess." You mutter under your breath.
- >Its eyes widen. You can see it twitch slightly.
- >"I, um, don't mean to be rude, but, um..." The horse (Mare? Female horses are mares, right? Right.) diverts its gaze into the wall beside it.
- >Her mouth moves, but you don't hear the words come out.
- "Wait, what?" You say, unsure of what to make of this situation.
- >That headache might well be brain damage, as far as you were concerned.
- >"...what are you?"
- "What are you?" You return with an unintended snappiness to your tone. "How exactly are you talking English?"
- >You see the mare visibly blank on the spot.
- >"...English?" She asks, clearly confused.
- "Yeah, English- wait..." You pause for a moment, collecting your thoughts. "Where am I?"
- >The mare raises her eyebrow.
- >"Manehattan." She says in a matter-of-factly voice.
- >Again, what?
- >Horse puns?
- "That can't be right..."
- >Could it?
- >You take a closer look at this vision of craziness.
- >The mare shuffles uncomfortably on the spot under your scrutiny. You must be making her subconscious of her ragged appearance.
- >Even you could tell there was something wrong with this picture.
- "You're a talking horse-"
- >"Pony." She mutters.
- "Right, pony, sure." You pause. "This isn't Earth, is it?"
- >"Earth?"
- >Okay, something's really wrong here.
- "That's right, Earth. Big blue planet."
- >She frowns at you. "I, um, don't know what you're talking about, mister. You're in Manehattan, in the magical land of Equestria."
- >Equestria?
- >You pinch yourself.
- >Nope, this isn't a dream. This is reality.
- >You hold your quaking hands up to your temples.
- >If you were a military man, this shit would be way beyond your pay grade.
- "Oh man..."
- >How'd you get here?
- >You've clearly crossed dimensions or something. Talking magic horses, good lord...
- >But how? Why? Did you piss off some cosmic entity? Some controller of the universe?
- >"Um..."
- >Why ponies? Why something impossible? Infeasible? Irrational?
- >"Excuse me..."
- >A chill goes down your spine.
- >What the hell is going on?
- >"HEY!"
- >You flinch, your attention swiftly returning back to the talking horse, whose confusion has since disappeared why you were lost in your thoughts, replaced with a deep frown.
- >"You still haven't answered my question."
- >Come on, man, think.
- >You take a deep breath. Couldn't go about hyperventilating.
- >This is an important moment, dammit!
- "Human."
- >"What?"
- "I'm a human." You reaffirm your words with a solid nod. "A human being from the planet Earth."
- >"Okay..." The two of you fall silent, just staring at each other.
- >First contact. Going according to plan, so far. You got this.
- >Totally.
- >Yeah, you don't know what to think. Better just wing it.
- "What's your name?" You blurt out, breaking the silence.
- >Back to the uncomfortable shuffling she goes.
- >Smooth.
- >"...Morning Glory." She eventually answers, actively avoiding your gaze.
- "Alright then, Miss Glory. I'm..."
- >...
- >Shit.
- >You frown.
- >What's your name?
- >How have you forgotten your name?
- >Hell, why can't you remember anything before that massive fall?
- >You wrack your brain very quickly. The pause has made Morning Glory look you dead in the eye.
- >Quick! Think of something!
- "You can call me..."
- >You smile. This is perfect.
- "Anonymous."
- *****
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