//------------------------------// // 6. Manehatten // Story: Divine Indifference // by Orthoros //------------------------------// Atlas and Discord looked on with amazement at what they saw in the distance. They had been traveling all over Equestria, visiting various villages and cities of all shapes and sizes, but the city before them really was on a whole other level. It seemed like Manehatten truly had become the capital of Equestria, trumping every other city with it’s sheer size. The city was located right next to the sea, and its harbor was its crown jewel. The fact that all three pony races were living together really showed, as there was close to no unity between building styles, houses of all shapes and styles stood in contrast to each other. What really caught the eye of anybody seeing it though, was the giant building close to the harbour. It seemed to be at least five stories tall and took up the space of ten regular buildings. If Atlas had to wager a guess, he’d label it as the the seat of the new government. “We’re going to have to visit that place,” Atlas said while pointing at the building so Discord knew what he was talking about. “Princess Platinum is sure to be there, and where she is, Clover shouldn’t be too far away. Maybe she can help us find some of our old friends… Amber might be there too.” “I’m honestly more interested in that place over there, to be completely honest…” Discord said while pointing at something. Atlas followed the direction his eagle claw was pointing and spotted a building that was painted completely pink. It’s shape seemed outlandish as well, but it was hard to tell from this distance what it actually was supposed to be. “That’s certainly… unusual,” Atlas commented. “We can take our time in exploring, since we really don’t need to go anywhere. I’m now kind of curious as well, so let’s make sure to visit that place.” Discord nodded enthusiastically, his curiosity clearly palpable. Smirking at Discords behaviour Atlas began to walk once more. They were still quite a ways out of the city, and Atlas would prefer to get there before sundown, which was approaching fast, judging by the orbs position in the sky. “Come on, I can’t wait to eat something properly prepared again,” Atlas said, getting sick of their on the road rations. “Not my fault you didn’t buy enough cookable stuff in the last village,” Discord muttered under his breath, but followed Atlas nonetheless. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlas walked through the streets of Manehatten, he marveled at the various unique buildings as he weaved between the ponies milling about. Discord was currently perched on his back, even if he was steadily growing too big to do so, whenever he felt insecure about something he’d perch atop him. The ponies they passed shot them pointed looks, mostly directed at Discord. Apparently, since ponies didn’t know what strange species may inhabit Equestria or it’s surrounding countries, the stigma against Discord wasn’t that bad. Yet, he was still a strange sight to see, so Discord earned himself quite a few stares and the occasional hoof pointed at him. Atlas got a few looks pointed his way as well, albeit for entirely different reasons. Back in the Crystal Kingdom, he’d been somewhat famous after all, and if the hushed conversations he overheard were to be trusted, he was being recognized by quite a few unicorns. The duo mostly didn’t mind and continued their exploration undisturbed. It was only after the sun completely went down and cast the world into darkness, that they remembered that they should be searching for a place to sleep. The streets were illuminated by lanterns that lined every street, an odd mixture of magical ones mixed in with oil based ones. Under the dim light, they searched around for a place to stay, and soon enough, found a quaint little inn that looked promising. A big sign hung over the entrance of the three story building that identified it as the, “Overlook Hotel”. They entered into a rustic looking ground floor, which housed a small restaurant, complete with a bar at the back wall. Quite a few ponies sat on the tables provided and were indulging in food, drink and conversation; none of them even sparing a glance towards the newcomers. Atlas walked towards the bartender, which he assumed would also rent out the rooms, or at least could point him in the right direction. A sky blue pegasus stood behind the counter, currently in the progress of mixing a drink for a customer while demonstrating surprisingly good wing dexterity. He was using his two wings like two extra arms, tossing and whirling his shaker around in an impressive display while switching between his hooves and wings seamlessly. When he was done serving his current customer, his eyes fell upon the patiently waiting Atlas, with Discord still on his back. Apart from a raised eyebrow, no surprise could be seen on his face as he approached the two. “Hello and welcome to the Overlook Hotel, how may I help you?” the bartender asked. “Yes, I was wondering if you might have any rooms left?” Atlas answered swiftly. “We’re looking for a place to stay tonight, and depending, maybe even for a few days.” “Not a lot of rooms free anymore, but we do have some,” the bartender replied. “Are you looking for two rooms or will you share?” “A shared one please,” Atlas replied. “Sure, our double rooms cost twenty bits a night, breakfast included,” the bartender explained. His wing reached under the counter and produced a key with a little number tag on it. “I’m gonna need the payment up front, and if you do decide to stay longer, please inform us before noon of that day. Your room is on the second floor, you’ll find it has the same number on the door as the key, two-hundred and four.” Atlas produced enough bits from his saddlebags for two nights, since they were probably going to stay for a few days at least and he wanted to sleep in past noon tomorrow, if at all possible. After counting them, the bartender nodded approvingly and slid the key over the bar towards Atlas, who picked it up in his magic. “Breakfast starts an hour after sunrise, lasts until we see fit to stop,” the bartender said. “Please enjoy your stay.” “Thank you,” Atlas replied and turned towards the stairs, eager to sleep on a comfortable bed again. Everything else could wait until tomorrow. --------------------------------------------------------------- Atlas nudged the still sleeping Discord with a hoof. He had been awake for some time now but opted to let Discord sleep in a little. After the long days of travel all across Equestria, he had earned himself a little leeway. However, noon was creeping closer as the sun outside indicated and Atlas didn’t want to waste their included breakfast. “Huh… Wha…?” Discord mumbled, his eyes blinking owlishly at the world. “Come on, time to get up,” Atlas said. “Or do you want to miss the first real breakfast in two weeks? Because if you sleep any longer, you will.” Atlas watched with barely hidden mirth as Discord was jolted awake by the promise of breakfast, or rather, the thought of missing it. Since they mostly ate whatever they could find on the road or the occasional bought produce, food had been a rather boring affair. Since Atlas was a cook back in his old world, it always sent a pang of guilt through his mind whenever he had to serve anything without much taste, even though he was completely fine if it was for himself. He wanted to make sure his son would at least get proper food while they were staying here, so missing breakfast was a no-go. “I’m ready, let’s go!” Discord almost shouted after snapping his talon once, his bed hair and fur suddenly neatly combed. “Come on dad!” The roles suddenly reversed, Atlas was now the one being waited on by a eager looking Discord floating by the door. “Sure, see you downstairs,” Atlas replied before simply teleporting out of their room and down the hallway, reappearing before the stairs. Two could play at this game and Atlas wouldn’t lose to Discord. Atlas lazily started descending the stairs, his nose already picking up on the smell lingering in the air. Although the familiar smell of meat was glaringly absent, he was reminded of walking past a bakery. The smell of freshly baked bread entered his nose, mixed in with other familiar smells that made his mouth water. He took a deep breath and savoured the smell just as Discord popped into existence at the bottom of the stairs, a mischievous smile spread on his face. “Last one downstairs is a wet noodle!” He shouted, before taking off at top speed, intent on racing his father to the restaurant. Atlas simply shook his head with a smile before teleporting straight down, immediately winning. He’d have to teach Discord to set clear rules when he wanted to play games with anypony. As it was now, he was just too gullible. For now, he’d enjoy his easy win as well as the bread he smelled earlier while waiting to see his sons surprised face when he realized what just happened. ---------------------------------------------------------- They had spent a great deal of the day simply wandering around the city aimlessly. Just like sight-seeing tourists they’d tried to visit every place that looked even remotely interesting. Along the way they had met a great many ponies, amongst them some rather unique characters. On one street corner in particular, a disheveled looking pony was trying to convince passersby of the theory that unicorn magic caused cancer. Even a few griffons could be seen wandering around, almost looking a little lost in the sea of ponies surrounding them. Atlas would’ve loved to talk to one of them at some point, but the opportunity had yet to present itself. With an eventful day at their backs, they finally arrived at their main destination, the building that housed the newly formed government. The stream of ponies was even denser here than anywhere else in town, barring maybe the harbor. Seeing this caused Atlas’ optimism to fade away slightly. Clover would undoubtedly be very busy and might not even be able to see them. In that case they’d probably just have to make an appointment like everypony else. “Stay close to me while we’re in there, alright?” Atlas murmured to Discord. “Got it,” Discord replied, eying the throng of ponies rushing in and out of the building. Atlas wasn’t worried about losing Discord in the crowd, but he was definitely worried about Discord starting some kind of trouble just by being present; just in case, he decided to keep close tabs on the draconequus. They joined the throng of ponies and entered the building proper. An atrium of respectable size greeted them, the other ponies filing into various hallways or going upstairs that lead deeper into the building. Almost everything seemed to be built out of wood, which gave the interior a very rustic look which was appreciated by Atlas. Discord had settled on Atlas’ back by now, both of them letting their eyes wander over the impressive interior design while being careful to not stand in anyponies way. Atlas approached what looked like some sort of reception area, where multiple ponies sat behind a counter, all of them energetically talking to visitors which had small lines of further waiting ponies. Atlas joined one of them at random, hoping to get the one that would be resolved the fastest. He actually expected his line would take the longest, since he always managed to pick terribly for some reason. Maybe it was because he wasn’t british. It didn’t take too long for Atlas to get his turn, thankfully, and he stepped up to the counter coming face to face with a green unicorn mare. He picked a line with a unicorn doing the service on purpose, since she might just recognize him. After all, Atlas was pretty much famous to some degree. “Hi, I was looking to visit Clover, might she be available?” Atlas asked the mare. “Welcome, did you have an appointment?” The mare asked in return, starting to flip through a thick book in front of her. “No, I don’t,” Atlas replied truthfully. “We’re just some old friends that happened to be in the neighbourhood, thought we’d come over to catch up.” “What was your name again?” The mare asked, now apparently somewhat suspicious of Atlas. “It’s Atlas.” The mare’s eyes seemed to light up with recognition for a moment. “Oh, the Atlas? With the triple affinity?” “That’s me alright,” Atlas replied with a raised eyebrow. Apparently his plan had worked out after all. “Well, Miss Clover is currently pretty busy so meeting her without an appointment might be difficult,” the mare explained. “I’ll send somepony over to ask her if she has a minute or two to spare for you. Why don’t you take a seat over there? I’ll get back to you once word reaches me, alright?” “Sounds good, thanks,” Atlas replied with a nod before trotting off towards one of the nearby benches, sitting down next to an incredibly bored-looking stallion. It would appear that government buildings were working just as slow in this world as they did back on Earth. It didn’t even take fifteen minutes of boredom and trying to keep an energetic draconequus in check when Atlas heard a familiar voice call out to him. “Hey Atlas, over here!” Atlas zeroed in on the direction the call came from with his ears and spotted Clover just casually coming down the stairs, an excited smile on her face. “Clover!” Atlas called back, rising from the bench, Discord in tow. “Long time no see, how have you been doing?” “I could ask you the same!” Clover said, meeting Atlas and Discord at the halfway point between them, shaking both of their primary appendages enthusiastically. “You guys told me that you’d be staying back in the kingdom for some research and then you drop off the face of Equus for years, and now you just show up here out of the blue? We’ve got a lot to talk about.” “I guess we do…” Atlas said, a sheepish look on his face. “Truth is, it’s kind of hard to actually locate any of our old friends here in Equestria. We just recently learned you were here through some travelling merchants.” “Oh, is my father here as well?” Clover asked, peering over Atlas shoulder, trying to spot the elderly stallion. “I’m afraid not,” Atlas replied. “We set up base close to Vanhoofer, Starswirl actually owns a small house there as well, you should drop by sometime.” “So it’s just you and Discord then?” Clover asked, sounding slightly disappointed. “Just us, yes,” Atlas confirmed. “We’ve been travelling all over Equestria in an attempt to see as much of it as we could, maybe even find where our old friends settled down. So far we haven’t had much luck though.” “Oh yeah, I can imagine it could be hard finding anypony specific with the way things are right now, Ponies are moving to and from cities as they please, trying to keep track of anything is a nightmare.” “I can believe that, you wouldn’t happen to know if there’s a guard stationed around here that’s called Amber, would you?” Atlas inquired. “Unicorn mare, orange coat, blonde mane, three question marks for a cutie mark?” “Doesn’t ring a bell, but I can have it looked in to,” Clover said after a few moments of deliberation. “But what do you say to moving this little talk to somewhere more out of the way, and more importantly, somewhere more comfortable as well.” “I’d love to,” Atlas replied. “Ok then, follow me,” Clover said, turning around towards the stairs she came from earlier. “You coming Discord?” Atlas asked over his shoulder, only to find a noticeable lack of son material in his vicinity. Instead, there was a slip of paper resting on Atlas’ back, a short note scribbled on it. Gone ‘sploring “Where’d he go?” Clover asked confused, surprised and slightly panicked at Discord’s disappearance. “Wherever he is, it’s too late now,” Atlas sighed. “He’ll return eventually, I just hope he doesn’t do anything too crazy…” Discord was technically a teenager now and could look out for himself. He also knew where the hotel was where they were staying, he’ll be back when he was hungry at the latest. Atlas trusted that he wouldn’t get into too much trouble, he did his best to raise a somewhat responsible being. With a look of resignation Atlas turned back towards Clover, following her lead through the maze that was somewhat typical of government buildings. Up stairs and through hallways they went, until Atlas had no actual idea where they currently were. The interior design changed somewhat from the entrance area and looked much less official. If he’d have to guess, Atlas would say this was a private wing of the building, where officials lived. All along the way Clover was telling him facts about the building, frequently stopping to explain some painting or sculpture or vase along the way, which Atlas mostly tuned out. It was like he was taken through a free tour he didn’t sign up for. “And here we are at my study,” Clover said, stopping in front of a door bearing her cutie mark. “It’s also sort of my workplace and my bedroom at the same time.” “Sounds like an effective use of the available space,” Atlas replied with an approving nod. “It’s also a very cramped use of the available space,” Clover snarked, opening the door with her magic. “Please, after you.” “Thank you,” Atlas nodded politely, taking her up on the offer. He entered the room, letting his eyes wander. The first thing that grabbed his attention were the bookshelves. Similar to how his secret lab was furnished, bookshelves or workstations of various types lined the walls. There was a door leading out of the room to his right, otherwise every free space seemed to be dedicated to work. Two large, wooden desks occupied the center of the room, official looking papers littered all over them. “This is where I do most of my work,” Clover said from behind Atlas as she closed the door. “I’m afraid it’s rather boring, so why don’t we move to the other room?” “Sure,” Atlas said, trotting towards the open door he spotted before. The next room looked a lot more lived in. The sun was shining through the windows on his left, illuminating everything nicely. A bed stood on the opposite wall, the sheets neatly made. Aside from that two couches and a coffee table took up most of the remaining space. A white ear and a tuft of pink hair poked over the back of the closer couch, apparently they were not alone. “Clover? Is that you?” The pony asked without looking. “Who is this mysterious pony that has you bolting out of the room in the middle of our conversation at the mere mention of his name? Your coltfriend maybe?” Atlas raised an amused eyebrow at Clover, which looked away sheepishly with a blush. “You know I don’t have time for a coltfriend, Plat,” Clover said with an awkward chuckle. “And his name is Atlas, a friend of my father. Actually, I’m pretty sure you’ve met him before.” “Oh?” Atlas could see the ponies ear perk up at the news, apparently finally curious enough to check out the newcomer. The head that appeared above the couch definitely identified the mystery pony as Princess Platinum, if Clover calling her “Plat” earlier wasn’t enough of a hint. “Aren’t you the one with the triple affinity?” She asked after looking Atlas up and down. “I do believe I’ve heard the name before.” “That would be me,” Atlas said, taking a small bow to show his respect for royalty. “No need to bow to me anymore,” Princess Platinum waved him off. “Lately I’m only a princess in name. Since we’ve built a working council, our earlier titles don’t mean much anymore.” “So what are you guys then?” Atlas asked the mares, glad to be able to drop the act. Dealing with royalty never was high up on his list of enjoyable things to do. “Just councilors, I guess,” Clover answered, making her way over to the couch and making herself comfortable next to Platinum. “Why don’t you take a seat as well?” Atlas took her up on the offer and made his way to the still empty couch directly across from them. From the corner of his vision he could see Platinum’s eyes following him curiously. “That’s a very weird, yet interesting cutie mark you’ve got there,” Platinum said once Atlas got comfortable. “What is it?” “It’s a titan, a creature from mythology,” Atlas explained cryptically. “Let’s leave it at that.” Platinum hummed curiously. “So does your special talent have something to do with mythology? Seeing as you’re the first and only pony with a triple affinity I’d have guessed your talent would be related to magic…” “It actually is,” Atlas confirmed. “I got it when I developed a very accurate mapping spell that peruses runes, my area of expertise.” “Fascinating…” Platinum said. “Yes, yes, very fascinating,” Clover interjected before Platinum could continue her line of questioning. “More importantly, I haven’t seen you or my father in years! You have to tell me what you’ve been up to and what new discoveries you’ve made in your magical studies.” “Ah, of course,” Atlas chuckled. “That.” “Don’t just shrug it off like that!” Clover pouted. “I was really worried! For all I knew you all could have ended up as frozen statues back in the kingdom!” Atlas smile dropped, replaced by a sad frown. “I’m afraid there’s more truth behind that sentence than I’d like to admit…” Clovers eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with a hoof, while Platinum simply adopted a sympathetic look on her face. “When… when we made our last push to leave the kingdom, we were trapped by the windigoes and… Amethyst Blade sacrificed himself so that we could escape.” Atlas said, looking at the ground. “His body must still be there, buried under mountains of snow… If nothing else I’d like to go and recover it once I’m strong enough. To give him the proper respect he deserves…” “Oh Atlas, I’m so, so sorry…” Clover said. “It’s ok,” Atlas replied. “He died a hero, just like he always wanted to.” He shot the two mares a confident smile. “It’s just that sometimes I blame myself for what happened, even though I know there was nothing else we could have done at the time.” “Well, if there’s anything we can do to help once you decide to recover his body, let us know,” Platinum said. “I’m sure we could expend some resources for such a noble cause.” “Thank you, I appreciate the offer,” Atlas replied. “But I feel like this is something I’ll have to do on my own.” “I can respect that,” Platinum relented. “Just know that you have our support should you change your mind at some point.” “So, could you… maybe still tell us what you guys have been up to?” Clover asked daintily. “I’d really like to hear about it.” “Of course,” Atlas smiled. “It is quite the story after all…” So Atlas told the two mares what Starswirl, Discord and himself had done over the last few years. He told them about their time in the Crystal Kingdom and how they collected a veritable library of books. About how they travelled Equestria in search for their old friends and a suitable place to settle down. The arduous process of building the secret lab and what kind of magic they’d researched ever since then. Of course he left out some more sensible things, like the fact that Starswirl was now technically ageless or that Atlas now possessed an affinity for every type of mana. The story took a long time to tell and the two mares were listening attentively and asking questions when they wanted to know more about something. They had to stop several times to get refills for the tea Clover had brought in at some point and the sun was slowly starting to set outside, the light in the room getting dimmer and dimmer until they had to light a few mana lights that were installed on the walls. “And as you already know, Discord and I have been travelling all over Equestria once again, in an attempt to find our old friends and just generally surveying the progress Equestria is making as a whole.” Atlas finished his story, his throat feeling parched, even though he drank a lot during it’s retelling. “We’re not yet sure what our next destination is, but we’ve heard rumors about a unicorn purist town far up in the north. Maybe we’ll go and check if there’s anything to them.” “Oh I can assure you that those rumors are true,” Platinum said, after having mostly remained silent during the story, content with letting Atlas and Clover do all of the talking. “I don’t know any specifics, but a few of their messengers tried to win me over for their cause several times.” Atlas perked up at the new information. He’d mostly mentioned them as a light joke, never expecting to actually learn that the rumors were all true. “Of course I shot them down right quick, their ideology is the complete opposite of the harmony we are trying to achieve within Equestria, after all,” Platinum elaborated. “While I don’t know of their exact location, they’re definitely holed up somewhere up north, just as you’ve heard. But really, I must ask, what would you want with ponies like them? You seem like a decent pony yourself, so what is it that draws you to them.” “Curiosity mostly,” Atlas answered truthfully. “Since we are mostly busy building up a new home here, magic research has been stagnating somewhat. If there’s truly a whole city filled with unicorns, I do believe they’d have made some significant advances by now. I hope to learn at least something new by paying them a visit.” “The mind of a true scholar I see…” Platinum replied with a smile. “Then I wish you the best of luck in finding them.” “If you do learn something important there, would you mind sharing the knowledge after you come back?” Clover asked, a small glint in her eyes proving how she had earned her nom de guerre. “We probably won’t come back here for quite some time, but I can arrange a letter to be sent your way, if I do find something of import,” Atlas replied. “That would be wonderful,” Clover said happily, barely suppressing a childish giggle. “I’ll also try to visit my father in Vanhoofer as soon as I can, now that I actually know where he is. Maybe we’ll meet again when I do.” “Perhaps,” Atlas nodded. “But for now, I believe it is time I returned to the hotel.” The sun had already set and the moon had taken it’s place, illuminating the roofs outside in a soft light. “I must also find Discord, I do hope he didn’t get into any trouble…” “Oh, I’m sure he’s just fine,” Clover said confidently. “It’s not really him I’m worried about…” Atlas deadpanned. “Oh…” “Well, if you’d excuse me now, it was a pleasure catching up with you,” Atlas said, getting up from the couch and stretching his numb legs. “I’ll show you the way out,” Clover volunteered. “This place can be like a maze if you don’t know your way around.” “Then I’ll retreat to my own chambers,” Platinum announced. “It was a pleasure meeting you again, Atlas, until another time.” They left Clovers rooms, splitting up with Platinum soon after, since her quarters were down a different path. Meanwhile, Atlas was already making a mental list of things to pack for when they ventured north. It was going to be cold and he didn’t want to be caught unprepared.