Another Displaced Human Dilemma
By: The Displaced Human

< 10 >

Stardust Takes the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line

I sighed, putting the sketchbook down. Today was a slow day, and I didn't have anything to do today, so I decided to stay home and lock myself in my room, that I'm continually grateful to Lucky Clover for renting out to me.

Said homeowner was currently out having lunch with Roseluck and her friends, leaving me along in the peace and quiet of an empty household.

Over the course of some of the discussions between Twilight and I, it sort of occurred to me that I needed a hobby to keep myself busy when I had nothing to do. Mainly because 'video games' were not an option, so I had to fall back on my other hobbies.

That would just be considered fiction here, though, and I'm not sure if I'm up to trying to be the Equestrian Tom Clancy. I'm not Valiant, you know...

<... Well, maybe you could write some sort of metafiction? We seem to be pretty good at that.>

But no, I can write whenever I want to. That never really changed; they have typewriters. But I need to exercise working with my hoof more. Manipulating mark-making utensils with my mouth just doesn't do my yearnings any justice.

Man, I miss my hands... Maybe if I was a griffon instead. I'm sure they could function pretty well with their talons.

There was more than one set of hooves, so I assumed it was Lucky and Rose. After a while, you get familiar with the weight of hoofsteps; par for the course of recognizing unique features of others, no matter what species.

"Yeah, I'm upstairs!" I called back. I stood up out of my chair and went down to meet them. It was, in fact, the Luck couple themselves.

"So..." Roseluck started, "something came up on Daisy's end. She had to cancel with us for our trip to see Hinny of the Hills in a few days."

"Wouldn't want an extra ticket to go to waste," Lucky said. "You've been good help and pleasant to have around the house. Figured we could treat you to something nice in return."

A trip to New York? Now why would I say no? I've got a history with that place, and I certainly won't stop enjoying the city just because I got thrown into an alternate reality.

Manhattan still exists here in some form, and by god, will I continue to enjoy visiting it. It wasn't a hard invitation to accept.

I found myself at the train station, along with Lucky, Roseluck, and the third flower pony, Lily Valley.

We were at a train station in a relatively small, rustic town. We were headed for a large city that is undeniably New York—Manhattan, to be exact. And assuming Princess Celestia's mention of Fillydelphia in that parasprite episode meant that the Philadelphia-equivalent city was also somewhat nearby Ponyville...

Ponyville suddenly got that much cozier. Here I was, in what could be considered humble Princeton, sandwiched by the large powerhouses of New York and Philly. So from now on, I'm calling this train station Ponyville Junction, and I don't care what anyone else says otherwise.

Just then, my comforting thoughts were interrupted by some feminine cheering. Very familiar feminine cheering.

"This trip is fun already!" Pinkie celebrated for a reason I was unaware of. "I love jumping up and down! Whee-hee!"

"Oh, we're going to go see a showing of Hinny of the Hills," I answered, motioning back towards the three earth ponies I was with.

"You're seeing it too?" Rarity said. "How wonderful! How did you get your tickets? The show is impossible to get tickets for unless they were pre-ordered months in advance!"

Everyone started boarding the waiting train, and my group situated themselves in the adjoining car to Rarity's group. I stuck around with the six to continue conversing, even as the train lurched forward and off to our destination.

"Just the day; go enjoy the city for a bit, then watch the show," I answered. "Why? What about you?"

"Oh, we're staying the week to support Rarity," Twilight answered. "It's Fashion Week, so she's here on business. But she also managed to get tickets for a showing of Hinny of the Hills for tomorrow night, so we also have that to look forward to."

"Well, while Rarity handles more of her business, I figured the rest of us could just enjoy the city," Twilight answered.

I nodded. "Well, there's plenty to do, so you can't really run out of activities."

"Have you been to Manehattan before, Stardust?" Rarity asked. "It's such a wonderful city from what I hear, but I've never been there myself until now."

"Yeah, plenty, actually," I said, not hesitating over the obvious technicality. Now wasn't the time for rambling over a technicality—I'm pretty sure the human city is mostly comparable to the pony city.

"Well, there's the Museum Mile next to Central Park. The Met's a nice place to go..." Already shooting off locations without checking if they're actually real—great idea.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art," I clarified. "To think of it, I should give that place another visit... five hours the last time didn't seem to be enough..."

<What, you going to go view ponified versions of literally every painting, sculpture, and other works from the Met?>

It'll be fun! And I gotta see what they have hanging in the huge room where Washington Crossing the Delaware is displayed normally. Unless there's more interesting attractions to visit.

You don't even know if you're being serious?... Well, in any case, I'm noticing some possible discrepancies between Manhattan and Manehattan now... I'm doubting they have an equivalent to the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum. Which is a bit saddening.

<Well... maybe not... we can mess around with Manehattan in that universe later.>

"Stardust?... Stardust..." Twilight said, trying to grab my attention. When I reestablished eye contact, she made a comment. "You zone out a lot."

Seriously though, is it actually possible to have a head this thick as to be completely ignorant of external stimuli? Because I don't remember us being this bad.

What is it here? Because I know Liberty exists here, but I have no clue as to the name.

<Well, like I said, the universe you find yourself in has no explicit Equine Earth qualities, so that means you just mentioned an imaginary location.>

"You said you've been to Manehattan multiple times before though," Twilight noted.

I decided to take an out. "Hey, I think I should get back to my group. They've been so kind to invite me along just by chance."

While it did change the topic, adding in that last bit kept me here to finish a new conversation. But at least I wasn't likely to make a faux pas here.

I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah... one of their friends had to cancel, so Lucky and Roseluck invited me as to not waste the ticket to the musical."

"After all," Rarity continued, "if you weren't originally planned to be with them, they may have just made plans to go to places that differ from your interests."

"True... I'll go see what happens." I stood back up and headed back towards Lucky and the others. An hour or so of travel was ahead of us, assuming that the travel time carried over from home.

I slowly woke up, head leaning on the window of the train. It just occurred to me that I'd been drooling in my sleep—whoops.

I quickly wiped that away, then looked forward to see Lucky looking back at me. He seemed to have been holding back a grin.

Then we passed through a tunnel, and in the darkness, I saw my reflection in the window.

"I agree!" Lily added, also laughing. "You've got to wear your mane handsome the way all handsome stallions do."

I brushed my mane back forward, eliciting some moans of disappointment. "Feels awkward to wear my mane the same way..."

"Nonsense," Lucky said. "I think it's a very comfortable way to wear my mane, and other ponies wearing the same style isn't going to stop me from enjoying the way I feel and look."

"Well, you can say that for yourself," I said, looking at my reflection momentarily before looking away.

Just in time, too, as we exited the tunnel and was presented with a view of—"Oh, hey, New York."

"New Yoke?" Lily asked, leaning over me to take a look. "Oh, that's great! We're almost there!"

The remaining travel time passed by quite quickly. Our group and I came to an agreement that, since I wasn't originally included in their plans, I was free to either join them or go off on my own touring Manehattan, and then meet them back at Bridleway by the time the musical was set to start.

We got off at Penn Station, or whatever it was called here, and out into the concrete jungle of Manehattan.

"Man, Madison Square Garden looks a lot less impressive in Equestria..." I commented to myself.

"Less impressive?!" I looked back to see Rarity with a questioning expression. "I didn't hear the entirety of what you said, but just hearing the words 'less impressive' while we stand—"

I looked around, and never directly at Rarity. I mumbled my response. "Animation budget, probably."

"Man, Madison Square Garden is always a wondrous sight. I haven't been to Manhattan enough times to get bored of it, at least." Wait... this feels... what just happened?

"Get bored?" Rarity walked up beside me, with the bustling crowds flowing around our group. "In this glorious metropolis? I'm not sure any amount of traveling will ever make me think any less of wondrous Manehattan!"

My eyes moved around, scanning the various skyscrapers. "I bet it would, if it was your daily commute. You'd get used to it eventually..."

"Hm, perhaps so," Rarity said. "Well, maybe, maybe not. At least, I feel like this feeling would never fade." She turned to her friends. "Come along, ponies! I found us a place to stay only a block from the train station in the very heart of this grand city!"

"Hey, look!" Applejack called out while we were walking. "That's the theatre where Hinny of the Hills is playin'!" The sight elicited 'oohs' and 'aahs'.

"Wow, Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed. "How'd you manage to get us seats for tonight?"

Rarity smiled. "Oh, I gave some designs to the costume designer, so he pulled a few strings. That is what makes Manehattan so splendid and amazing. You do something nice for somepony, and then you never know when they'll do something nice for you!"

"It must be good if Rainbow Dash is impressed," Applejack noted. "Normally she doesn't even like musicals."

"I know," Rainbow said. "Ponies just bursting into song in random places at the drop of a hat? Who does that?"

So... the song happened. I still have no idea how these song montages work. I don't think it's something meant to be experienced in a regular state of mind, because I sure as hell don't remember having much lucid moments during it.

I do remember that Equestria is more lax about letting tourists up Liberty's torch.

And just a few seconds ago, Rarity did her whole swing around a lamp post thing, and preached all about generosity. And showing it to random strangers.

"Eh... you girls really haven't experienced the city culture, have you," I commented.

"Ugh!" Rarity exclaimed. "Stardust, dear, why must you sound so pessimistic? You're in one of Equestria's centers of opportunity! It gives you so much, so we should be courteous enough to give back chances for opportunity when we can!"

<Yeah, hey—don't be that way. We know firsthand that generous, kind people do exist in New York.>

Oh... oh, I'm right. I almost forgot... that one time when a complete stranger gave us an umbrella when I was a kid, and Mom didn't have one, and it was pouring out.

I suppose people like Rarity aren't that far-fetched at all. Law of averages, I guess?

I looked around. What about it? Looks to be plenty of crowds around here, 'bout normal for New York, so it doesn't feel like they skimped out on animation.

Rarity sighed. "To think my dresses could soon be displayed on the most glamorous shopping thoroughfare of the most glamorous city in Equestria! Oh, it would be my dream come true!"

I rolled my eyes, joking to myself. "Displayed across windows on Fifth Avenue. Pinnacle of her career. Well, wouldn't be a bad peak."

"Oh, but it wouldn't!" Rarity said in reply. "To have ponies admiring my designs! Oh!"

"Hm, nothing I can think of," Rarity said. "The dresses are all completely finished, all made from a fabulous new fabric I've been developing for months. Stretchy, but not clingy. Shimmery, but not showy."

"There's nothing left for me to do but check in at the runway with my dresses by two this afternoon."

"Oh, that's funny," Pinkie said. "Because that clock over there makes it seem like that's only ten minutes from now!"

"Oh, my ribbons and threads," Rarity said, worried. "And the runway ballroom is all the way across town! If I don't get there, I'm disqualified! Taaaaxiii!"

Across 'town'? In New York? Good luck with the traffic, Rarity. You are screwed.

<Yeah, uh... I guess some parts of the show don't fit well with the Manhattan interpretation...>

<So... I may have changed up the setting a bit and made Manehattan as busy as it should be because text isn't limited by an animation budget...>

Well, now we've got a problem. The six seemed to have been trying to hail a cab.

"Huh?" Rainbow stepped back after a short argument with some pony. "What? Does everypony in this town want a cab?"

"I'm afraid getting a taxi at this time could prove almost impossible!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Please won't you let her have this taxi?" Twilight pleaded with some businesspony. "She has somewhere very important to be right away!

"Not likely!" the pony answered back. "She can get in line like the rest of us!"

"Oh, it's no use!" Twilight signed. "The cab drivers just drive right past to get to the next pony in line!"

I looked at the confrontation inquisitively. Is it really that hard to miss a combination of horn and wings? I walked over.

The businesspony looked at me with a bit of a stink eye. "I already told your friends to wait in line. Didn't get the memo?"

I shrugged, then pointed towards our purple alicorn friend. "I'm guessing Princess Twilight Sparkle's status has no weight here?"

All the ponies' eyes went wide, and they all started stammering, and apologizing, letting us by.

But it still made no sense! One of the country's heads of state can't have some authority when they need to?

I don't think they're that bad. Anyways, the cabbie from earlier that had a busted wheel pulled over, giving Rarity her much-needed lift.

Twilight stepped aside me, looking around at the fading attention she was getting. "Gee, Stardust, was that really necessary?"

"I would've thought that using your status as leverage was something you'd use in a desperate situation like this..." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"I've never had, well, 'status' to use before. And using it to force things to go my way... feels wrong."

"Your friend was about to miss an incredibly important appointment that you all came here to support her for..."

Rainbow stepped in. "I think Dust's got a point there, Twi." She slapped Twilight on the back. "Come on, Twi, live a little! You're a princess now, enjoy the benefits."

"Well, there's no changing the fact that you're an alicorn," I said. "Short of surgically removing your wings and shortening your legs and... I dunno, just making your smaller again?"

Then Spike spoke up. "Anypony else got a sneaking suspicion we're forgetting something?"

I bade them farewell and went off to explore Manehattan by myself. They had their own plans, and I... well, didn't have my own plans, but I wasn't going to intrude on theirs.

<Well, yeah. Same place where it is normally. And I guess a pony equivalent of Comic Con is hosted there at different times in the year.>

I found myself a less busy corner and hailed a taxi. The cabbie pulled over, and I got into his cab.

The cool dusk air met the crowd as we all walked out of... er... what's the place called? My head swiveled as I searched for the name.

I stretched my joints out after having sat in a theater seat for a few hours, and they all popped in satisfaction.

"What a great musical!" Lily smiled next to me. "Hinny of the Hills was as great as everyone said it'd be!"

"Hey, Stardust," Lucky called out. "You got any more plans of your own, or are you going home with us?"

"Uh..." I thought a little about my answer. "You know, the others are here for Fashion Week and stuff, and Rarity seems like she's having an interesting time, so I'll just go check out what's up with them."

With that, I waved them goodbye, then headed for the hotel where they were staying at, which was just a short walk away.

So they had floating museums. And by that, I meant, yes, they did have a carrier. A lot less impressive than a big ol' Essex-class aircraft carrier and a bunch of planes, but an equivalent ship was there.

I went there, toured, and still don't get it. I think it was a sea-borne pegasus platform or something. I dunno. No jets on the deck. Oh—I did learn that they do have event-based and location-based ship naming systems. Which is weird, because I always figured they would be more Royal Navy-like, and have a word-starting-with-letter naming system instead.

Yeah. More powerful ships, more significant location—like Manehattan or Baltimare. So I guess some things stay the same between militaries.

I shrugged that off and walked into the hotel. I asked for Rarity's room, and subsequently, found myself outside of the door.

I poked my head in, eyes going wide at the sight. "Rarity! Why are you operating a sweatshop in a hotel room using your friends?!"

"PROBLEMS," Rarity said intensely. "Now if you don't mind, I have work to get to."

Rarity tried closing the door on me, but I held it open. "... Do ya'll need some help? I don't have any plans of my own from this point. Does anyone here mind filling me in?"

Rarity gritted here teeth. "This pony—Suri—stole my designs after I leant her some of my fabric. I couldn't bring my dresses in after Prim Hemline had already seen them, so now I have to improvise! And, dare I say, I think this may even prove to be a boon, with a new design driven by bold inspiration!"

I walked into the room. "Well, some do work better when cramming during crunch time." Myself included. I think.

Applejack spoke up. "I told 'er that all she needed was fabric to get back in business. She's nearly turned this hotel upside down in the process."

"You're using the hotel's draperies and sheets?" I said, mixed between impressed and incredulous. "I sure hope you paid for all of the material you're using from scrapping all their stuff..."

Not to mention the fact that I'm not exactly sure I'd call this 'high quality' material compared to what Rarity originally had. Still, I thought I was great at improvisation. Though, upon closer inspection—"Wait, how'd you get your hooves on all these room keys?!"

Look, I know how the saying goes, but I think this overreaches 'desperate times—'

"Desperate times, desperate measures!" Rarity exclaimed, shoving me to a workstation, ignoring the matter of probably stealing hotel property. "You're good with your hooves, right, Dusty dear?"

Twilight grumbled next to me. "Rarity had us skip the dinner we had planned at the Far-Afield Tavern later, and the food she ordered for us hasn't even arrived yet..."

Rarity overheard. "Don't fret. It'll be here in an hour. That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"Well, we're supposed to be watching Hinny of the Hills by then..." Rainbow grumbled. "Oh yeah, Stardust, how was it?"

"It was..." I hesitated, not exactly wanting to make things more awkward. "Uh—"

Rarity saved me from that fate, but only because she took it upon herself to do so. "Oh! I see! I go out of my way to get you tickets for a show, and this is how you repay me? By abandoning me in my hour of need? Oh, oh, oh! Fine! Go and see Hinny of the Hills tonight! And then tomorrow morning when you come to see my fashion show without any fashion to show, you can have more entertainment! "Oh, why look, there's our friend Rarity going down in flames! Isn't friendship magic?!""

Hey, she just title dropped!... How many times has the show actually title dropped?

<Oh, hey! This next line has a nice curse-editable spot. Maybe I should, just for sake of the story.>

"What's gotten into you?!" Rarity lashed back. "Oh, go ahead! See your little show! Congratu-fucking-lations, fillies! Sounds like you've all figured out already it's everypony for herself in this town!"

You know, it's still quite impressive how well the all-nighter worked. The dresses did come out pretty well.

Still, there's that familiar feeling of accomplishment and yet foreboding that came with putting the final touches on while the sun was coming up.

"There," Twilight said, adjusting a last piece on a dress. "That's the last of them."

And just like that, she was gone, taking the dresses and show camera along with her.

Personally, I still felt like I had energy and was somewhat awake, but I was familiar enough with this scenario to know that it was a deceptive physical state, and I was probably going to crash at any moment.

I got mixed reactions, but didn't really stick around to check who was coming with. I just knew there was complimentary breakfast and stuff on the first floor of the hotel.

Unfortunately, lack of sleep combined with lack of setting an alarm meant we missed the fashion show. Still, it was only proper that we all head down there anyways to see how Rarity did.

Once we arrived, we were met by two mares, one pink, one cream. Judging by their looks, I'd say the former was the boss of the latter.

"Hi there," Twilight greeted them. "Our friend Rarity was here for the fashion show, and we came by to see her. Is she around?"

"Oh, Rarity?" the pink one said. "It's such a shame, but I'm sorry to say, she lost." The tone she said it had hints of smugness, one of someone confident that they won instead.

"Suri Polomare," Suri introduced herself. "If I have to say, my chances of being the winning designer are quite good." As if remembering that she had a subordinate next to her, she looked to the mare beside her with disinterest. "Oh, and this is my assistant, Coco Pommel."

Oh hey, I recognized that—"Ohhh, so you're the one Rarity was talking about, what with all the fabric-stealing and all. Only really heard that story about you, but man, your voice really just gives it all away."

"Grade. A. Bitch!" I smiled a goofy grin and chuckled. If I had fingers, I'd be making the 'a-ok' symbol.

A couple were taken aback at the sudden verbal assault. Applejack and Rainbow's expressions turned suspicious, maybe even somewhat hostile. Suri looked like she was recovering from a slap in the face, getting her smug bitch-face back on as quickly as she could.

"Riiiight," Applejack said, breaking the stalemate. "Let's just go find Rarity..."

We went off to find the white unicorn. Applejack positioned herself next to me. "Is that how you greet random ponies you just met?"

I shrugged. Probably not, but this was fictional pony land. But maybe I would've even it were real. "I mean, between what Rarity told us and how she sounded... I was just being honest." I leaned in towards Applejack. "Personally, I think she's the type that hasn't had someone call out her bullshit, but desperately deserves it."

Applejack looked back ahead with a blank expression. "And I thought I was the honest one."

"... I have to rush back to Ponyville, but I just wanted to thank her first for—"

"Uh-uh-uh, you'd best steer clear of Prim for a while." Oh, and there's Grade-A Bitch. "She's pretty furious. Isn't that right?"

Then Rarity noticed us. "There you all are! I can't believe it, I thought you went back home!"

"We missed the show because we overslept," Twilight said. "Suri told us you lost. I'm really sorry."

"I lost?" Rarity said. She shook it off. "You know what? I don't even care. I'm just happy you're all still here after how I treated you. Taking advantage of your friendship the way I did. How could you ever see past it?"

"Well, I gotta protect my title from somepony here." Applejack playfully jabbed me in the side.

Twilight ignored us. "Last night we may not have seen you at your best, but we know you. And we would never let one thing like that change how we feel about you."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Tight project deadlines tend to do that, even between friends..."

"Oh, thank you!" Rarity exclaimed. "You really are the most wonderful friends a pony could have! You know, I already arranged to make it up to you this afternoon! Hope you're all available for an exclusive performance of Hinny of the Hills!"

In the middle of the group hug, Rarity turned to me. "You too, Stardust. I don't believe you'd be opposed to a second viewing."

Something felt off though, but I couldn't quite put my hoof on it. Oh well, I guess we'll find out later if it matters.

The final act of Hinny of the Hills was just finishing up when the show camera came back.

"How did you ever get them to agree to do an extra performance just for us?" Twilight asked Rarity.

"Remember my costume designer friend who got me the tickets?" Rarity said. "Well, I offered to make all the costumes for his next show!"

"But I so wanted you to see this show!" Rarity said. "And working for this designer is such a great opportunity!"

"We know," Applejack responded. "We're happy for you, Rarity. We're just sad for us."

Just then, Coco Pommel arrived. Who, I might say, was a pretty mare. Nice creamy coat, interesting shade of mane. Cute personality and manecut. Hm... 8 out of 10, would bang.

"This is the first place trophy for Fashion Week." Rarity gasped. "With my name on it! But I thought I lost!"

"You didn't," Coco said. "You won. Suri was hoping that if you didn't claim your prize, the judges would consider it a forfeit and first place would go to her. So she lied to make you and your friends go away, and, well, I lied too. I've worked for Suri for so long, I started to believe that it really is everypony for herself in this city. Until I saw how generous you were with your friends and how generous they were with you. It made me start believing there was something better for me out there. So, I–I quit. I brought you something to say thank you."

"Hm. I suppose you'll need a job now that you're no longer with Suri. How would you like to work for my friend making all the costumes for his next show?"

But then Coco turned to me. "Oh, and... I just want to say..." Coco bit her lip. "Yeah, you were right about Suri." She turned her face away, hiding what I assumed was a satisfied smile concerning her resignation.

Another Displaced Human Dilemma

by The Grey Pegasus

[10] [S4E08]-Rarity Takes Manehattan