In the cold, crisp morning air, their breath forming clouds of steam, a Human and a Pegasus Colt are busy sparring with one another.
Leo, the human, is a thin, muscular, dangerous-looking young Human male with rich, dark, coppery brown skin and hair as glossy and black as a Raven’s feathers. His face is arrestingly handsome, with black-browed, gunmetal grey eyes; his gaze is unyielding - the gaze of a seasoned military commander, glittering with sharp, bright rage. His nose is small, flat, and smooth; he has a wide mouth with sensuous lips and glittering, sharp teeth; he has a heroic, strong, angular chin and jawline, his head resting atop a broad, heavily muscled pyramid comprised of his powerful neck and shoulders.
His torso displays a perfect V-shape, with wide shoulders, developed upper back muscles, thick, strong pectoral muscles like plates of steel, hard, sculpted abdominal muscles, firmly defined through his shimmering, sweat-slicked brown skin. His arms are thick and strong, his heavily developed upper bicep and forearm flexor muscles bunching powerfully beneath his dark skin. He has large, rough, strong hands.
He has a slender waist, his legs long and powerful, with broad, firm upper quad muscles along his thighs, and lean, powerful calves; he seems like someone who could chase you down at high speed and jump great distances, or kick particularly hard.
Leo is wearing a red, white, and green, skin-tight, stretchy fitness shirt decorated in red, white, and green, with the words “OAXACA PRIDE” clearly printed across the back; it clings to the hard, firm, developed muscles of his pectoral and abdominal areas, barely containing the swells of his bicep muscles. Loose black athletic shorts and off-brand trainers from a local megamart complete his outfit.
The Pegasus colt squaring up to him is a full head shorter, and his body still retains some of the softness of youth; aside from that, he is quite thin and strong, with the physique of a professional athlete; he has very little bodyfat and excellent muscular definition. His coat is a dark grey, with red slashes here and there, like spills of blood; he has bright, sharp, red eyes, a small, clever mouth with a perpetual smirk clinging to the corners of his lips. His mane is a rebellious shock of grey and red.
He is shirtless, leaving the shallow curves of his pectoral muscles, the ridges of his hard abdominals, his slim, youthful arms with firm cords of well-developed bicep muscles and forearm flexors, all bare. He is wearing Lycra bike-shorts that accentuate the swells of his powerful quad thigh muscles and his flanks and a pair of trendy “AIR PEGASUS” athletic shoes. He has large, wide, powerful black wings with magnificently glittering plumage; when he beats his wings it is difficult to resist being buffeted by the strong gusts they produce. His name is Shadow, which certainly seems appropriate given his dark, formidable coat.
He has bandages wrapped around his hands; despite his youth, he has quite strong hands as well, his palms also roughened through hours of gymnastic practice and flight-training exercises. He has worked himself up into quite a lather by comparison to Leo, and he is breathing hard, his slim, strong chest rising and falling steadily, his pectoral muscles tensing.
Shadow clenches his fists, exhaling; stiffening his abdominal muscles, spreading his thighs a little, his arms tightly coiled against his body, building up energy within them like a coiled spring for his attack.
All of this telegraphs his intention to Leo’s expert gaze in a second. Leo narrows his eyes, leaning forward ever so slightly, lifting his hands to prepare himself.
Shadow explodes forward with a powerful leap, his hooves impacting the ground. He swings at Leo with a wild straight punch, his wings extending briefly, increasing his speed until he is practically a red-and-black blur.
Leo parries it effortlessly with a glancing blow from his upper arm.
Shadow clenches his jaws together with frustration, and counter-attacks with a rapid uppercut; he rapidly draws back, pushing against the ground with his hooves, actually propelling himself upward using the full force of his thigh muscles, his abdominals, and his shoulders, aiming his fist at Leo’s exposed belly.
Leo blocks that blow as well in a stinging parry with his right arm; Shadow gasps with pain as the force of the blow resounds through his bone and flesh.
Stung by the pain, Shadow grinds his teeth together and summons his energy for a powerful roundhouse kick, lowering his right arm, raising his left arm, and pushing off from the ground with his left leg, swinging his right leg around in a brutal arc aimed right at the side of Leo’s head.
“It’s over!” Shadow thought to himself, with a furious flash of satisfaction.
Leo raised his left arm and intercepted the kick. He locked eyes with the smaller colt; Shadow’s heart pounded as the larger Human loomed over him.
Leo grasped Shadow’s leg in his left hand in a split second, taking hold of Shadow’s body with his right,, tugging the colt towards him, forcing him into a joint lock.
“Ah! Stop...stop…!” Shadow grunts, clenching his jaws. Sweat rolls down the contours of his pectoral muscles in rivulets. His body trembles in Leo’s grip as he struggles against his opponent, to no avail; Leo’s hands are like steel pincers, forcing him to remain still.
Leo lets go of him. Shadow collapses to his knees, rubbing his shoulder, panting for breath.
“Damn it…!”
“What’s wrong, kid?” Leo says, kneeling down next to him.
“It’s not fair! You’re bigger than me!”
“So?”
“ How am I supposed to fight against someone like that?”
Shadow scowled, and placed his hands on his hips. “It doesn’t make sense. I can barely reach you! You’ve got too much of an advantage.”
“That’s right. I’m gonna guess you’d prefer sparring with someone your own size.”
“Well...yes!”
Leo shook his head, good-naturedly. “Nope. You see, kid, eventually you’re going to have to fight someone who’s bigger than you. That’s just how it goes. You never know when you’ll have the order to attack and whoever it is you’re about to take down is much bigger than you. That’s why you want to train against someone bigger than yourself; it’ll prepare you for real combat with someone like that. Think about it. If someone like me came charging at you in a real fight, you’d probably lose your nerve.”
“No, I wouldn’t!” Shadow snapped.
“Sure, whatever.” Leo grinned humorlessly “If you fight against me now, you’ll be ready to tackle five people my size. Perhaps more, if you keep training.”
The door to the tenement apartment opens; a young Zebra mare trots out into the open air, running up to Shadow and Leo.
She is a few inches shorter than Leo, approximately the same age as him. Like most Zebras, she is powerfully built, with a strong body, a stubby muzzle, long, sensitive black-and-white striped ears, a moist, warm, thick black nose, plump black lips, bright, large aquamarine eyes, and a glossy, luxurious black-and-white striped coat. She is wearing a black Hijab on her head, with red and green stripes.
Her upper body and arms show clearly defined, tough cords of muscle jutting out under her coat. She has huge, round, heavy breasts, barely contained by a blue T-shirt stretched taut around her plump melons; on the front of the T-shirt are the words “STRONGER TOGETHER” in white. It’s a tight-fitting shirt, leaving her hard, muscular abdomen bare.
This Zebra mare has wide, fertile hips and a slender waist, giving her body the much-coveted hourglass shape. Her flanks are a pair of large, juicy half-moons that quiver with every step; as is common with most Zebra mares, her flanks are much bigger, more developed, and softer than those of a normal pony. She’s wearing skin-tight black yoga pants that stop just short of her hooves; left just teasingly low enough to expose a brief glimpse of her lime-green g-string and her cutie mark - three arrows pointing downwards in a circle.
Her long black-and-white mane is tightly braided against her head; her tail has been carefully combed and washed, causing it to gleam in the early morning sunlight.
She sneaks up behind Shadow.
Leo catches sight of her, and grins.
“What? What’s so funny?” Shadow eyes Leo suspiciously.
“Nothing,” Leo says, watching the zebra mare approaching Shadow.
The Zebra mare scoops Shadow up in her powerful arms. Shadow yells in dismay and struggles, flailing about, beating his wings, before realizing who it is.
“Ow! Get off m-...oh, it’s you, Alsvid. Don’t startle me like that!”
Alsvid, the lush Zebra mare, giggles, and gives Shadow a hug, squeezing his body against hers.
“Bet you didn’t hear me approach you, did you, matey?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Everyone always says that.”
“They do?”
“Yes! Apparently, I’m rather good at walking quietly. It’s a good skill. It’s like second nature to me, now. I don’t even put any effort into it, and still everyone always says they don’t see me coming until the last...possible...moment.”
Alsvid’s eyes glitter as she pronounces the last few words. Her light, fluting, heavily Northern Equestrian-accented voice takes on a menacing softness.
“Um, Alsvid…” Shadow cranes his head back to look up at Alsvid’s face; this is somewhat difficult to do, since she is holding him protectively against her belly.
“What is it, shipmate?” Alsvid looks down at him innocently.
“I have wings. I don’t need to walk quietly.”
Alsvid is instant in her reply: “Ah, but what if one of your wings were damaged?”
Shadow gives this some thought, furrowing his brows and scrunching up his muzzle. “Hmmmm...you’ve got a point there.”
“Or what if you were in a narrow enclosure and couldn’t fly?” Alsvid points out.
“That’s true. Where’d you learn to walk so quietly, anyway?”
“Her Majesty’s Royal Space Force, of course! To put a finer point on it, I was one of Princess Celestia’s Space Marines, and a Marine Pilot at that. So I’m probably better at flying than you are, matey,” Alsvid teases Shadow.
“No way!”
“That’s not all! Marine Pilots hafta be as good on the ground as they are on the sky. Take the squadron I was with, for a start. I was never shot down, thank Celestia, but a few of my shipmates did, and they hadda fight their way outta the ground ‘til we could fly an evacuation mission to go get ‘em. ‘Matter of fact, I was selected to infiltrate an enemy command post…”
“Couldn’t they send regular Marines to do it?”
“No, ‘cause it was a time-critical mission. The win conditions lay on getting in there before the enemy shifted their position. We had the initiative; our unit was within striking distance. That was where my ground infiltration skills paid off!”
“So you snuck inside?”
“Sure I did!”
Alsvid wilted under Shadow’s questioning look. “All right, all right, so I just had my squadmates shoot their way in, ‘cause who needs stealth when you’ve got the enemy by surprise, right? Besides, I didn’t have the patience to go in quietly. So I just had my girls shoot every Celestia-damned thing in the perimeter, throw explosives at anything still moving, and leave. It was quicker and easier that way. A lot more fun, too. We were under a lot of stress; that little sortie gave us the chance to really let the enemy know how we felt. You couldn’t get a moment’s rest back then without some scout drone buzzing your camp at 0300 hours, not doing anything, just messing with unit morale by keeping us awake for a bit. Just to liven things up, they’d attack our camp, so we’d always be at stand-to the moment we heard the enemy approach.”
Alsvid scowled.. “That was one of the things that made me start to hate society. We were stuck in a meaningless conflict against an equally meaningless enemy, but the vast part of Equestrian society didn’t really care as long as the war made money for someponies. I risked my life so others could turn a profit. Worse, when I was demobilized and they sent me back to the Empire Province, I found that the Governor was letting his Police officers kill citizens over mere trifles. I came home, expecting a relief from the war, and found myself on the frontlines of yet another conflict. I’d never seen anything like this before, because the ponies who were killed in battle overseas were at least hailed as heroes, but the victims of Police brutality were always portrayed as these hideous, larger-than-life monstrosities who deserved death for daring to go against the Empire Province’s police.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you let rich people decide what’s best for you,” Leo said, coming up behind Alsvid, and placing his arms around her. “The Empire Province has always been the worst, most cruel province in all of Princess Celestia’s realm.”
“What, even though Manehattan belongs to the Empire Province?” Shadow asked.
“Especially because of that,” Leo said. “I’d say that this city is one of the reasons why the Empire Province has become so corrupt. All the ponies around here care about is capital; starting businesses, making money, destroying the competition. The Princess should do something about it, but she won’t, because the Empire Province is one of her largest money-making provinces. It directly funds a great deal of the Canterlot high society. Think about it: when the Canterlot ponies come out here to buy jewelry or clothes, they’re not worried about how many ponies or humans the Manehattan Police has killed. They just want to buy the latest fashions; then they leave, while we’re stuck here trying to survive.”
“Honestly, even being a Marine Pilot was less dangerous than just being a poor citizen of Manehattan these days,” Alsvid says. “This...this ridiculousness of shooting civilians dead that the Manehattan Police carry on with...it’s crazy! Back when I served with Her Majesty’s Royal Space Marines, the Military Police spent the better part of their time breaking up barfights and writing tickets, not emptying their magazines into ponies. Don’t even get me started on all the heavy equipment the Manehattan Police use. The MPs at my base drove buggies and carried sidearms. I come back home and find the Manehattan Police using assault rifles, full military gear, armored personnel carriers, choppers...what are they bloody well playing at? Who are they hoping to attack? I don’t feel safe going outside anymore! I pass by one of these heavily armed officers and wonder if I’m going to die! A squad car drives behind me and I start making my peace with Celestia. “Well,” I think to myself, “I had a fairly good life,” and wait to see if I’m going to be cut down in a broadside of gunfire.”
“Alsvid’s one of the lucky ones,” Leo added. “She was born on Equestrian soil and nobody challenges her citizenship…”
“Mostly. The good citizens of the Empire Province are trying to change that, too. Now they’re saying only unicorns, Earth ponies, and pegasids are real citizens, and Zebras like us aren’t real Equestrians,” Alsvid muttered darkly. “That’s why I’ve always backed Humans as the front-line defense against the bad ponies in this Province, because if the provincial government gets rid of the Humans, we’ll be the next to fall. And from there, it’ll just be a fascist nightmare where you’ll probably get dragged out into the street and shot if you aren’t a full-blooded Unicorn. The Unicorn supremacists are out of control in this Province,” Alsvid said. “Diversity is our strongest weapon against them. I don’t know why the Princess won’t do something about it.”
“Because the Empire Province is controlled entirely by the rich, Alsvid,” Leo reminded her, stroking her sides with his hands, pressing his fingers into her warm, voluptuous, soft flesh. “Besides, the fascist nightmare you describe is already in full swing, here. You can, actually, be dragged out into the street and shot by the Manehattan Police, for no other reason other than that you’re a Zebra, and the Police Commissioner would say that you were endangering the life of her officers…”
Alsvid snorted. “Yes, quite…” She stamped her hoof, her tail standing straight up indignantly.
“Most certainly,” Leo said, his voice thick with irony. “You, as a Zebra, are much stronger and faster than normal Equestrian ponies…”
“That’s not true!” Shadow protested.
“You’re right,” Alsvid said. “ In fact, I’m sure you could beat me at a run-”
“I know I could!” Shadow said.
“Yes, but that doesn’t change hundreds of years of Unicorn supremacists poisoning the citizens here with their talk of how all Zebras are much stronger, faster, and more resistant to damage…” Leo said.
“They’re not entirely wrong. I can certainly take a good pounding for longer than these normal ponies,” Alsvid said.
“I don’t think the police care about that particular talent of yours, Alsvid,” Leo said, with a chuckle.
“They should! After all, I’m quite proud of my ability…” Alsvid said, with a touch of righteous indignation. She brushed her muzzle against Leo’s bare skin, thrusting out her long, powerful tongue, dragging it over his flesh slowly, then she nipped at him gently, just barely squeezing his flesh with her teeth, teasingly.
“It is quite impressive,” Leo said, placing his hands on Alsvid’s slender waist, pulling him closer towards him, pinning her body against his own, burying his face in her warm, soft black-and-white mane. “Anyway..yes, where was I?”
“You were talking about the Manehattan Police,” Shadow suggested, helpfully.
“That’s right. So, yeah, heavily armed death squads roam the streets, looting, pillaging, and killing ponies and Humans at the slightest provocation. Not much difference between that and the fascist nightmare you describe, Alsvid.”
“You’re right, Leo. I hate it here. We’re being horribly oppressed by the Empire Province’s government, and they think they can get away with it just because a bunch of rich ponies live here, too. You know, a few years ago they elected a Zebra as our Governor, and I thought things were going to change around here, but, if anything, the Unicorn supremacists got even more out of control, the rich ponies stole even more of our stuff - but never mind that, we’re supposed to be frightened of Zebras and humans, because, you know, they’re criminals, and that’s why the Police department is allowed to get away with all these atrocities,” Alsvid scowled.
She looked down at Shadow, who she was still holding against her belly. “Listen here, shipmate, you want to hurt ponies and commit lots of crimes, and get away with it?”
“No, not really. Sounds terrible, actually,” Shadow said. “Good Celestia, Alsvid, what’s wrong with you? I’m not a complete monster.”
“That makes you far better than most of the Empire Province’s bankers,” Alsvid said. “They steal stuff from everyone and get away with it. I was going to say that if you wanted to do all of these bad things, you should open up a bank. Then you can kill ponies and take their stuff, and everyone in this province will ignore you, because it’s just good business. The regional government doesn’t care. Meanwhile, these idiotic Unicorn supremacists run around the place crying about how everything is bad just because other races are allowed to breathe around them, and these credulous idiots believe that, instead of taking the fight to the rich ponies who are bloody well squeezing the life out of the rest of the Empire Province’s citizens. You know, if these Unicorns are so bloody well smart and superior, why can’t they figure out this business of money and banking is a bloody dead end? Well, I’ll tell you what will happen, Shadow. We’re all going to die because of these rich ponies. That’s what I figured out; life at home in the Empire Province is no different from being at war, because the rich ponies will kill us off to make room for themselves. They don’t even attempt to hide it, nowadays.”
“She’s right, you know,” Leo put in. “Entering the Empire Province is practically a death sentence, if you’re not being flown in on an exclusive private aircraft. The provincial government’s border patrol units actually just shoot at you and don’t ask any questions.”
Shadow wriggled out of Alsvid’s grasp, and flew into the air, batting his wings powerfully, hovering at the head level. “Gotta admit, that is kind of excessive.”
“It is,” Leo said.
“Still, though…”
“What?”
Leo watched him, patiently.
“The provincial government’s gotta start and end somewhere, right? How can we exist if we don’t have a clearly defined set of boundaries? I’m not saying that they’ve got a right to try to kill just anypony trying to cross our borders, but it sounds like you just want anypony to come and go as they please…”
“Sure, and why not?” Leo said. “Exactly who does it hurt if this happens?”
“Some of them might be criminals…”
“What, more so than the criminals who run this city? The banks? Those shadowy companies we can’t ever actually talk to? Besides, you’ve got law enforcement to take care of that,” Leo pointed out, giving Shadow a hearty slap on the back.“
Shadow looked at Alsvid, then at Leo, questioningly. “Shouldn’t there be somepony keeping an eye on who enters the province?”
“You’re not wrong, Shadow, it’s just that it’s ridiculous that the provincial government thinks killing others is the solution to this,” Alsvid said, with a deep sigh. “ Since when did it become acceptable to just kill ponies or humans for victimless crimes? Is this really the kind of place the provincial government wants us to live in? It’s amazing that ponies don’t just think this is okay; they actually want even more control! It’s like they’re enjoying all this fascist nonsense! You know, I actually saw some ponies wearing badges supporting Manehattan Police officers; it’s like they’re just telling us “We hope you all die. All of you.”
Alsvid let out a choked sob. “It’s really like nobody cares about how bad things are. Why won’t the Princess Celestia save us?”
Leo hugged her, protectively, encircling Alsvid’s slender, beautiful body within his heavily muscled arms, holding her close to him. “I won’t let them hurt you, Alsvid.”
“Thank you, Leo. At least my life matters to someone,” Alsvid said, gratefully..
“To answer your earlier question, Shadow, closing our borders is just hurting the Empire Province’s economy...which, in turn, makes the Unicorn supremacists even more annoyed, so they call for even harsher border control, while the rich ponies outsource all the jobs to other provinces, or, sometimes, installations in foreign countries,” Leo said.
“And this was while a Zebra was governor,” Alsvid said. “You’d think the bloody coward would have done something about it; he’s not from around here, he should know what these local ponies actually think about him. Oh, sure, I thought all the ponies around here didn’t care that I was a Zebra, but then I grew up and realized that they were holding this against me. They expected me to fail at everything; I was determined to prove them wrong just because of that.”
“Were you?” Shadow asked her.
“Of course I was!” Alsvid protested. “How else d’you think I got all these medals? That was why I put my life on the line to protect our Princesses from all threats, foreign and domestic!”
“You certainly don’t seem to have much to show for it now,” Shadow said, smugly.
Alsvid bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I don’t want to put it too bluntly, Alsvid, but you’re kind of a failure. You live in a dilapidated ghetto and break the law on a daily basis.”
“That’s to be expected, isn’t it, shipmate? The government doesn’t give a flying buck about you once you leave their service.” Alsvid snorted. “Anyway, I’m done trying to prove things to these ponies now. I’ll take my revenge on them for pushing me to the outside. It was stupid of me to ever try to earn their approval in the first place. Matter of fact, I feel like all those years I spent in Her Majesty’s Royal Space Navy was a waste of my bloody time. It certainly didn’t make anypony get over their dislike of me…”
Leo, who had been watching Shadow and Alsvid trade jabs at each other, a look of faint amusement upon his face, now spoke up.
“Look, you two, much as I hate to interrupt all this intellectually stimulating debate, which is the primary method of making decisions in a revolutionary army like ours…”
“That’s quite all right, my dear,” Alsvid said, taking hold of Leo’s body in her hands.
“What now?” Shadow said, finally alighting on the ground, and crossing his arms over his chest.
“There’s a much more serious problem at hand.”
Leo paused; Alsvid and Shadow looked at him, expectantly.
“Yes?”
“What happened?”
Leo left them for a few more seconds. “The fact of the matter is, I’m bucking starved.”
“Oh, that’s right! Silly me, I’ve been out here flapping my gob all this time and plumb forgot to tell you what I came for. I made breakfast for everyone! Come inside,” Alsvid said.
They went in.
Inside, Alsvid had set out a delicious table, a variety of small portions: roast beef so hot it emitted thin wisps of white steam, falling off the bone with a mere touch of the fork, drizzled in lashings of gravy; she had thoughtfully roasted some vegetables - piping hot turnips, broccoli, and carrots - in the remainder of the gravy, as a garnish.
Next to this was a thin, crispy tortilla, lightly buttered, topped with crispy, fresh green lettuce which formed a bed for the chopped avocado, sizzling cuts of grilled chicken (this formed a decadent contrast with the cold lettuce when eaten), soft cheese, not entirely unlike the packaged string cheese one might find in supermarkets, and tangy, piquant tomato salsa.
Accompanying this was a dish full of grapevine leaves with rice and delicate cuts of lamb; Alsvid had cooked the rice and lamb together with onions, garlic, a pinch of salt,and curry powder before carefully wrapping them in the leaves. She had provided a tiny pot of fresh yoghurt to dip them in.
To drink, there was a carafe full of water with ice cubes popping and crackling inside, and three cups of a hot, thick, sweet chocolate drink comprised of cornflour, milk, water, chocolate, beaten with a whisk until smooth, with some sugary cinnamon churros to complement the chocolate.
Leo threw himself down in one of the nearest chairs and began attacking the food with an eager appetite set to the food with an eager appetite. “You did great, Alsvid, thank you.”
“You’re most welcome, Leo,” Alsvid said, smiling proudly, sitting at the chair directly opposite of him.
“This is good stuff, Alsvid, where’d you get this recipe?” Shadow said, through a mouthful of tender vegetables
Alsvid waved a hand at him airily. “Oh, this? This is nothing. Just typical Equestrian Royal Navy vittles…” she said, indicating the roast beef and vegetables. “Try the Warak Arish. That’s a bit different from Navy fair. It’s a old Northern Zebrican recipe. I only get my meat from Northern Zebrican butchers in Lower Manhattan; they make all their stuff according to our dietary law, so you know it’s really clean and fresh.”
Shadow dubiously picked up one of the stuffed grapevine leaves, nibbled at it, chewed, swallowed. His eyes grew wide, and he promptly began scarfing down another, this time eating it whole.
“Hey, kid, leave some for me,” Leo quipped, as he broke off a piece of the tortilla, taking care not to let any of the toppings slide off, and eating it with quick, sharp, wolfish bites.
Shadow picked up another stuffed grapevine leaf, blowing on it slightly, then popping it into his mouth. “Mmf. They’re really good! You should think about opening a restaurant.”
“Never!” Alsvid shouted. She struck a dramatic, yet defiant pose, placing one hoof on her chair, one hand on her hip, the other pointing at Shadow. She struggled not to laugh.
“Why not? You seem to know something about making a good meal; you’d probably become a millionaire. Wouldn’t you like to have a bunch of really popular restaurants with your name on them?”
“Nope. That sounds bucking awful, actually. I won’t back down, matey! I’ll fight these capitalist pigs to the last breath in my body,” Alsvid declared, sitting back down. “I’ve got me standards to keep to! Why, if I let myself become another capitalist I’d just become another soulless monster like the rest of these Manehattan freaks, exploitin’ the labour of my comrades.”
Shadow eyed the tortilla. “What about this? Is this, like, a taco…?”
“Better than a taco, kid,” Leo said thickly, through a mouthful of food. He swallowed, took a sip of the hot chocolate drink, and continued. “This is a tlayuda. Actually, I’m surprised Alsvid could get the ingredients for this here. It’s a pretty popular dish where I come from.”
“You can count on me, Leo!” Alsvid said, brightly, perking up her long, striped ears. “I hadda improvise a little bit with the ingredients, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine!” Leo hastened to assure her. “The drink is also something you’d usually get in my old neighborhood. It’s called Champurrado.”
As they spoke, the door to the hallway opened.
An odd-looking girl, human in appearance, but with long silver Equine ears, walked in.
At a glance, she seems to be about 16 years old. Her skin is smooth, the color of ivory, her silver hair cut in a bob.. Her blue eyes sparkle brightly. Her mouth is small, with pert pink lips bearing a hint of coral-colored lipstick. She has a slender body, with narrow shoulders, a thin waist, small, pert breasts, and wide hips, with large, round, firm buttocks, and plump thighs.
She is wearing a short micro-cut black dress with long juliet-style sleeves and a window open at the front of her chest to expose the soft white globes of her breasts, black stockings, black leather stiletto high-heels, and leather gloves. At her side hangs a long, lean, gently curved katana in a worn, used leather scabbard.
She sits down next to the table on a chair slightly adjacent to the table, folds her hands in her lap, and watches the other three eating.
“Ah, it’s 2C,” Shadow says, glancing at her briefly, between bites of food. “Wonder if she’s hungry.”
“Androids like me can’t eat Human food,” 2C says, shortly. She has a very firm, resolute voice.
“He was joking, 2C,” Leo says, with a tiny sigh. “Don’t take him seriously. Can you show us the News?”
“Roger that, Commander,” 2C says, crisply. Her eyes glow blue, emitting rays of light upon the table. A holographic screen appears just above the table, flickering into sight like the display on an old CRT monitor being switched on, in a flash of blue light.
The display shows a Manehattan skyscraper’s ground floor, through which a cavalcade of ponies, all centered on a young, blonde female Unicorn, are bustling. A chipper mare is describing the scene in rapid tones; 2C seems to be emitting the sound from devices attached to her neck.
“...J.P. Morgan’s stock prices soared today after the CEO completed her acquisition of Vanguard Financial Group, in a move that our financial analysts say is worth 4.8 trillion Bits! Jane Morgan, the CEO and owner of J.P. Morgan, was unavailable for comment on her stunning acquisition…”
“Bloody capitalist.” Alsvid’s hands closed into fists.
Leo barely glanced at the screen. “Her? I know a lot of evil people like her. Where I come from, people like her used to stir up immense hatred against us. They would stop at nothing to destroy us. What’s worse, people who had no reason to hate us let themselves get caught up in their hatred.”
Alsvid shook her head, baring her teeth. “What does she want with all of that money? Manehattan suffers from an epidemic of homeless and poor ponies. Even now they’re building robots to take over our jobs…”
“You don’t like robots?” Shadow asked.
“Far from it, matey. I love robots. I hope that in the future, if we’re successful, robots will take care of us and do all the heavy lifting while we’re free to live our lives. Instead of letting renegades like Jane run wild, robots will help to govern our society and ensure that everypony’s needs are met, that nobody has to suffer, go hungry, or worry about if they can survive another day.”
Alsvid pointed her fork at the figure of Jane on the display. “Capitalists like her don’t want to let that happen. So they force us to work while keeping a tight grasp on their machines. They don’t want to let us have robots. Even now we’re breaking the law by having a robot like 2C in our household.”
“She has made our lives so much easier,” Leo said. “Robots should work together with us, instead of being the tools of the rich, used to enforce their rule.”
Alsvid snorted, tilting her ears back. “Yes. Meanwhile, ponies like her keep their gilt hooves on our necks and kill us for daring to speak up. That mare...she is truly evil. She makes no attempt to hide it. I can’t believe so many Manehattan citizens support her.”
“I can,” Leo said, flatly. “You’re forgetting how selfish these ponies can be, and how easily led they are. They like how evil she is. They think it’s just great. If she was a character in a story book, people would say she is unrealistic and cartoonishly evil.”
“Well, they think she’s right because she’s rich and talks about how many great deals she’s made. She’s this big winner, remember, Leo? She makes the best deals, she said. She even wrote a book about how great she is at making deals. I think it’s called “The Theory of the Deal”, or something along those lines.”
Alsvid looked down at the table. “I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one,” she murmured. “This is awful.”
“Leo, tell me the story of how we got the 2C androids,” Shadow said, changing the subject.
“He is good at telling stories, isn’t he?” Alsvid said, with a warm gaze at Leo, brightening up instantly.
“Ah, it’s nothing,” Leo said, modestly. He drew his chair closer to the table, snatching two of the stuffed grapevine leaves for himself, along with a little yogurt, cleared his throat, and began.
“When Princess Celestia first opened diplomatic channels with Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, the two heads of state agreed to help each other with scientific research. Now, we humans have been trying to make real robots for a long time. We had robots for decades, but they were mostly just big dumb things that were too big to fit in a house, and were cut out only for industrial work. Earth had yet to make a human-sized robot that was realistic, intelligent, and capable of doing everything a regular human could do. Plus, they were all big steel things, not like our 2C here.”
“So the Equestrian scientists put their heads together, with the help of a few Human scientists, at a joint Equestrian-Japanese lab in Osaka, and developed the technology to make fully organic computer technology. It’s totally reversible - you can plug 2C into a normal computer, but you don’t need a normal computer to do anything with her. Of course, Humanity had been working on something like that, but we couldn’t figure out how to do it without screwing up. And so the first flesh-and-blood robot with positronic, customizable black boxes in their backbones, capable of running an operating system. The first series was called the Model A, Type One. Abe sponsored the creation of a manufacturing concern specializing in androids called Yorha Automation Systems. They recently opened a Terafactory in Appaloosa, maybe you heard about that. Anyway, 2C is an older model - a Yorha Type 2, Model C. People like to joke that the C stands for Combat, but the manufacturers say it stands for Concordance. They’re up to the Model S these days.”
“I named her Prophecy,” Alsvid said, halfway through a mouthful of the tlayuda.
“That’s a stupid name,” 2C said, shortly. “I don’t like it.”
“Why not?” Alsvid protested. “It’s a play off your model type - 2C, to see...a prophecy is described as a sort of a vision, or something seen. It also rhymes with your name. Prophecy, 2C, prophecy.”
“Your sense of humor is totally awful,” 2C retorted.
Alsvid ignored this. “I built her myself,” she boasted. “Mind you, I couldn’t get the more expensive parts, but she’s strong and can run most modern-day videogames pretty easily without overheating too much. Things have really changed since we used to put together computers. I thought I was going to be sick at first when I was squeezing her organs into her chest cavity. They’re so squishy and gross, ugh…” She shuddered.
“And that’s how androids entered Equestria,” Leo said, sitting back in his chair and reaching for his cup of champurrado, pushing his empty plate away. “Even though androids make life better for everyone, troublemakers on both planets have been putting up a fight against using them. The general public aren’t allowed to have robots. Only the rich corporate executives are allowed to use them in their factories. Some folks talk about Robot Revolutions, which is just plain old racism against robots. Now, I understand why they’re upset. The rich people are using robots to force us out of jobs, and since they have complete ownership over these robots they get all the money the robots earn them. They’re getting richer than ever, while the rest of us are struggling to survive.”
“You’re certainly not struggling,” Shadow quipped, waving one hand at the table.
“Yeah, that’s because we’ve got the Professor taking care of us. She makes a solid profit as one of Equestria’s most highly lauded academic, but she won’t remain out of the grip of the robots. If they can figure out how to have robots teach students and research, she’s out of a job, and she knows that, which is why she’s fighting against the capitalists.”
“We also break the law and steal, but it’s not really stealing when you’re taking things from these corporations,” Alsvid added, brightly.
“Right. So we’re mercenaries. We risk death for a contract and the money paid. We’re not much different from normal workers in that sense, kid. You have any idea how many laborers die every day?”
Shadow rubbed the back of his head. “Ummm...lots?”
“Yes, lots,” Leo answered, harshly, glaring at Shadow. “You should read up on the history of labor sometime. A lot of good people died just so we could have a weekend off, you know.”
I’m no lawyer, but it seems to me like we’re gonna need laws to protect androids like Prophecy here.”
“Why?” Shadow said, carelessly, as he attacked a joint of roast beef. “They’re just dumb machines.”
2C, or as she was nicknamed, Prophecy, ignored this.
“Well, look at it this way. You can’t just drive a car without getting proper licensing and such, because of the law. Those laws let us use cars without disrupting people’s lives. They just need to introduce some laws that protect androids so that they can do their jobs without a whole set of pushback,” Leo pointed out. “I wouldn’t trade Prophecy for anything. She’s a good little fighter and she helps out a lot around here. She’s very useful.”