I quickly stopped what I was doing before leaving Ponyville leaving a note on my door with the ever descriptive phrase ‘Gone to Manehattan, be back soon.’
I hung the small note on my front door and locked the door. Since the others had keyblades I didn't have to worry too much about it being broken into. There were still some things to do before I left… but I couldn't place my hoof on what I was suppose to do.
“Duh… Redheart's still in town. I better tell her what I'm going to do.”
I rolled my eyes at my lack of foresight… or was it impatience? Either way I needed to check in on her before I left. I hopped into the shadows though for some reason I felt something try to grab me before I hopped into the shadows.
Pinkie had leapt for the figure of Nebula Gray. She would throw him a party before he could escape once again. With a mighty leap she rushed forward almost beating Rainbow Dash levels of speed. She was almost there seeing his retreating flank hop into the shadows. Her teeth about to grab the final wisps of hair from his tail but he was gone.
Pinkie was almost devastated when she missed her target. Rolling to a stop she had managed to roll against Gray’s front door, hop off the awning, and make a triple socow before she hit the ground. Somewhere she could see triple ten scores from a panel of judges.
“No. No! Why is this happening? He slipped through my hooves again!” Pinkie cried out until she saw the note on the door.
The gears were turning in her head. He had to come back, she knew this. Her head twisted lightly as she started to develop a tic now. He needed to have a party. He needed to.
“I just have to be patient. I just have to be patient. I just have to be patient.” Pinkie muttered over and over as she trotted back to Sugarcube Corner. Her mane slowly deflating with every step. She wouldn't be defeated yet and with a confident stomp her mane reinflated. She would party. Party with him.
I managed to find the hospital in a few jumps. Ponyville was larger than I anticipated. I was also certain that Spike had seen me but since I dived into the shadows within the blink of an eye I was probably safe. At the very least even if they were looking into me because Twilight wanted to know about thestrals I could reliably escape… probably. I had a Dark spell now so theoretically I could create my own shadows.
I looked up at the building noting it was only three stories tall but seemed to have been built out further since none of the houses were built adjacent to it. It seemed rustic… though I suppose that was the charm point.
As I trotted inside I noticed the pony that lived with Redheart working the front desk. Tenderheart, if I remembered correctly. When she noticed me she turned a very dull scarlet. I suppose Redheart might have told stories. That struck me as a bad idea in a heavily populated mare centric town like this. Though from what Luna mentioned, herding was rare. I would probably need to look into it at a later time in case something was wrong with the law on that field but for now I would remain blissfully unaware. If anything I could feign ignorance about the law.
“Um… uh… Gray, right?” Tenderheart broke me out of my whirling thoughts causing me to focus entirely on her. She was still blushing.
“Yes. Hi again… Tenderheart, was it?”
“Yes. How may I help you today Gray? Redheart is making the rounds so she may be a little busy.” Tenderheart tittered slightly though it sounded nervous.
“I can wait. Though is something wrong? You're all jittery.”
“It's Dr. Stable. He's been a bit moody this morning and nopony knows why. He's not a bad pony but he's never been this moody before so nopony knows what to expect. Redheart told me not to worry about it but until he calms down everypony is on edge.” Tenderheart admitted though she was keeping her voice down.
“I see. Sorry to hear that. I know bosses can become tightly wound when under a lotta stress. Still, I need to speak with Red before I head out to do what I'm going to to do.”
“She should be up one floor right now if she's running her usual schedule. Her break starts in five minutes.” Tenderheart informed me and I quietly trotted for the second floor.
If anything the hospital was a bit more open with how they ran things. There weren't any security guards around which made me a bit worried. Then again, all the ponies seemed tightly knit together. A veritable community that actually looked after one another. It was a bit of a culture shock after everything I had seen when I was human.
The stairs up were also a bit weird with how they were spaced apart. I knew why they were like that but it was weird to me still. All those little things that seemed to be similar to before were different to account for my new limbs.
I perused the halls looking for Red. I passed by a unicorn stallion with a brown coats and blonde mane. His glasses were slightly skewed and he seemed perturbed about something. I wisely took a different hallway when I noticed his name tag read Dr. Stable. I didn't need to meet that pony today and go under fire from his bad mood.
It took a few minutes to actually find her as she seemed to be sitting down on one of the hall couches. Her eyes were closed and I trotted up to her booping her snout just because she would make a cute face.
“Look I’m already with somepony. Either leave me alone or I’m tossing you through the closest door.” Redheart growled out.
“That seems extreme…”
“Gray!?” Redheart opened her eyes clearly shocked that I was in front of her. I booped her snout one more time and she scrunched up seeming a bit confused. Before she could stop me from doing anything else I pulled her in for a very deep kiss. Luckily, I didn’t have any other ponies around me, at least I thought so.
“Calmed down now?”
“Mmrgh… Always trying to ease things over with a little kissing… It’s nothing Gray. I’m just a bit tired from everything that happened.” Redheart admitted sighing in exasperation as her eyes softened when they looked at me.
“Is it cause Dr. Stable is all stressed out or something? Tenderheart mentioned that when I came to look for you.”
“Him…? N-no… he’s not the problem. I’m just getting used to working the normal nine to five again. Though I gotta know something. Why are you coming to check up on me?” Redheart quirked an eyebrow looking into my eyes to try and guess what I was up to.
“If you say so. I’m actually planning to go look for those things we talked about a while back. The thing you did while we had that nice forest retreat?”
“Oh… Oh! Right I got it. Yeah. Where are you going?” Redheart questioned me… looking a bit sad.
“Manehattan. I’m going to every city but everypony is busy right now. Unless you want me to stick around till you get off work?”
She seemed to ponder things over as she held a hoof over her muzzle rubbing it back and forth. It took a while until she finally seemed to make a decision.
“I’ll be fine while you’re out. You’re a big stallion and I got utmost confidence in ya.” Redheart chuckled as she pretended to bop me on the cheek with her hoof.
She was being pretty playful at this point but I couldn't put my hoof on why. I quietly nodded and gave her a hug before I trotted into the shadows and began hopping towards Baltimare.
Redheart thought things over as she was apt to do. She knew she had to be patient with what was going on since Dr. Stable had been a little pushy over the morning finding excuses to be in the same area as her multiple times. It got to the point where she threatened to knock him in the stomach that finally made him back off, at least for the moment.
Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Stable had watched everything that happened. His eyes had darkened the moment that that filthy monster laid his lips on her. She needed to be saved from this blasphemous relationship she was most likely coerced into. Dr. Stable was not the most open minded pony although it probably stemmed from not getting what he considered his. Nopony really knew.
“Stupid… she doesn't know how dangerous those bat ponies really are. I got to save her.” Stable growled out before quickly heading to his office to plan things out.
Redheart looked around noticing the clip-clop of hooves trailing away. She sighed slightly feeling that something stupid was about to happen.
“I really hope that that wasn't Dr. Stable…” Redheart grimaced as she picked herself up. She held a hoof up to her lips and took solace and hope that she would have the strength to deal with everything today.
I quickly flew out of the shadows back into Baltimare proper. The city didn't seem as lively that morning. There were still guards around trudging up the sewers and newspapers still told the story of four missing guards that still hadn't appeared.
I grit my teeth and quietly flew out of the city due north following the coast. If they were taken by the heartless then I had already destroyed them. I still hadn't met any of their nobodies which left me at an impasse. Kingdom Hearts rules on how the heartless and nobodies work were weird. I knew I could get them back if I found their nobodies and destroy them but that could take forever.
I sailed along the coast taking in the sights while my mind was in a tumultuous flurry of decisions and debates. Luna knew of me and I still didn't know what kind of bureaucracy existed in this place. I know for a fact that Twilight is looking into me though it's because I'm a thestral. Each of my mates have a lot of baggage and I really should have dealt with it then and there.
That problem I would have to trust that Red could deal with it. She was the most capable out of all the ponies with Octavia being second in composure. The only reason she wasn't was because of those two nights together. She was very loud…
I shook my head as I finally reached around where Manehattan was… only to come upon a bridge. The whole city was located on an island with skyscrapers dotting every available space. Lights were billowing from each rooftop and neon signs dotted several of those buildings. Certainly I felt like I was visiting New York and the parallels were pretty spot on. Though I wondered if the demeanor of ponies there would be the same.
I flapped my way across the bridge finally feeling that I had found another city to explore. I hadn't even done that for Baltimare since I was dragged into the sewers for the keyhole of this city. Ponies dotted the streets and filled them up wall to wall. There were even Pony drawn carriages… which confused me since there were ponies in the carriages. Equestria still doesn't make sense to me all of the time.
I found the first roof I could to merely survey the city and luckily nopony was actually around. It seemed everypony remained grounded for ease of communication. Useful for sure but nothing could be told to me about what I was looking for.
I really wished that I had talked to Yen Sid on whether the keyblade could locate keyholes but we never reached that topic before I left back home. We had spent hours chatting about keyblade forms and stances and magical abilities. It was useful for combat but when it came to searching for keyholes to lock it left a lot to be desired.
I rolled my eyes and carefully pulled my keyblade out. Nopony was flying above me and nopony was looking up towards me so it seemed to be for the best. The rooftop was luckily bare as well as far as I could see.
I placed the keyblade in my hooves and pointed it in different directions checking to see if it pulsed or pulled in certain directions. It didn't. I tried holding it like a dowsing rod… and all I felt was foolishness.
“Can't you help lead me towards the keyhole?”
I was joking at the time but the keyblade seemed to have a sense of humor as I was pulled along by it along the rooftop. It pointed off in the distance where the largest building stood though I was angled downwards below it.
“Again!? I already had to go underneath to lock one up and you're telling me again?”
In response it tapped against my hoof once. Most likely a yes to my query. I shook my head and sighed. I would need to wait until night to actually do anything so as to not draw a lot of attention to myself. There was no telling what would happen if anypony saw me trying to break into a building for a reason they didn't know anything about.
I summoned my armor checking it for any damages since my battles against Kuro. It seemed to still be slightly scorched and there were some claw marks in the back from what I could see. I would need to go see the Three Fairies later to get this fixed up but for the moment it would suffice. I took off and coasted down to the ground to… mingle with the random ponies of the city.
“Woah… that ain't somethang ya see everyday. Who the heck is he?” A small filly peered around the corner. She had been getting away from everypony to relax a bit when she saw a strange stallion on the roof.
At first she would stop him from doing anything bad. Then he had summoned a weapon and she nearly panicked. She couldn't run for the door since he was too close to the entrance, he would have heard her run.
Babs Seed was many things but she wasn't foolish about getting near anypony with a sword. Even if said sword just looked like a giant key. She was getting ready to sneak into a hiding spot when she noticed him talking to it.
‘Great, he's crazy too. Next you're gonna tell me the sword responds to him.’ Babs cruelly thought languishing at the very idea.
The sword pulled him along answering his cryptic question dragging him towards and edge and pointing off in the distance. Babs had to cover her eyes and mentally groan because it was that unbearable to even conceive.
He trotted over to the center of the building by the sound of the shuffling gravel on the roof which made her tense up. Trying desperately to turn smaller she didn't want to die this way. When she looked around he was not facing her hiding spot seeming to still stare off where the weird key sword had pointed.
In a flash of light he was covered head to toe in armor. It was covered in scorching marks where flames had locked against it and there were three gouged out marks on his back. It was the coolest thing she had seen. He seemed to check over the armor paying special attention to the markings and… sighing. It was a weird moment for sure but he was probably wistful about his time. All heroes and villains were. She just didn't know what he was at that moment.
The armor disappeared and he opened his bat wings before floating down into one of the alleys. She raced for the edge to see where he went only to catch him slowly blend into the crowd of ponies and disappear into the menagerie of colors that dotted the street.
Flipping her pink mohawk mane out of her eyes she was curious. Extremely curious. She wanted to go check this stuff out but was stopped when she noticed her older sister behind her.
“Sup Sunflower. Something wrong?” Babs uttered trying to keep up her tough girl act.
“Mare don't take that tone round me. Ya can relax. Mom says it's time for lunch.” Sunflower answered before looking closer as her sister. “You good? You seem a bit weird, like pale weird.”
“Oh… no. Thought I saw something weird. There was a bat here on the roof but it flew away.” Babs replied before trotting into the building.
“A bat. Weird, those critters usually hate the bright lights of the city.” Sunflower muttered as she went inside closing the door behind her.
I entered the large crowd keeps my my wings folded and enveloped into themselves to hide the tips. Nopony needed to know I was a thestral. I also needed to find something to do with myself until I could let my plan unfold. In hindsight, it wasn't so much a plan as it was a mission statement. I would unlock the doors as I went and look for the keyhole.
It was so simple that I knew something would complicate it within minutes of entering the building. I was planning for the worst since I was in a city that I hadn't figured out yet. That alone made me slightly anxious. I looked for the closest restaurant and decided to calm my nerves by eating. It didn't actually help my nerves in the slightest but I needed something to do.
Eventually I settled on a corner diner called Toasted Oats. I wondered if that was also a pony’s name or just the name of the diner. It wasn't much to look at resembling a fifties style diner complete with strangely shaped jukebox.
I was ushered into a booth quickly by a hostess who looked like she didn't want to be there. I ignored it and was seated down strangely there was a pink unicorn in the seat behind me.
“Cadence, why are we even in Manehattan?” A white unicorn with blue tone mane that was sitting next to the pink unicorn awkwardly asked.
“C’mon Shiny. We're shopping for new things besides when are you ever gonna have the chance for another day off.” Cadence answered clearly enjoying her plate of food.
“Maybe… still did you have to cast that spell?” ‘Shiny’, as I knew him, chided the mare.
“We need to be incognito, you know that.” Cadence answered back defending her position.
“It's just… I've been getting weird looks while I'm walking around with you. We should have hid my coat color as well.” He mentioned offhandedly clearly uncomfortable for some reason.
“True. Shouldn't let Shining Armor look like a cheater. Don't worry you can make it up to me later for going around with that pink unicorn later.” Cadence smirked clearly in control of the situation.
“This is because I forgot your specialty saddlebags, isn't it?” Shining winced slightly.
“Kind of.” Cadence admitted.
I chuckled slightly under my breath as the waitress brought me a cup of coffee. I think the couple noticed me since the mare’s ears swiveled to my direction. I pretended to be ignorant of everything and remained aloof.
Vinyl and Octavia entered the recording studio and went to work on their specialty project. Ever since a few weeks before the Summer Sun Celebration.
“Okay Tavi, let's get started. I’ll start the wubs you come in with the strings.” Vinyl mentioned as she powered up her turntable.
“Yes, yes I got it.” Octavia muttered as she took up her cello carefully taking her bow and holding it against the strings.
What began was a very intense session of jamming out while the two worked on a specialty song at Vinyl’s behest. The very tones had shaken the very room they were in and left the two mares breathing intensely from the wubs.
“Cool. Sounds like we got something done.” Vinyl chuckled as she joined the now disheveled Octavia.
“I would hope so. Now I must head to the orchestra and get ready for the Grand Galloping Gala. You know how the royals enjoy my playing.” Octavia proudly stated.
“Don’t you hate being there though?” Vinyl quickly shot making certain to pull her sunglasses down so Octavia could see the look she was giving her.
“Of course I do. But this year we all have somepony to go with so I play well enough and maybe I’ll get to enjoy it this time.” Octavia mentioned hiding the blush that spread across her face.
“Three questions for ya. Why would he want to go? How are you gonna get enough tickets for all of us? Finally, Why should we go?” Vinyl grumbled out. The music choices for the Gala had always been lackluster and the lack of decent ponies became discomforting.
“One, he would always want to make us happy plus if he is looking for those keyholes as he mentioned back with Yen Sid he would find this as the perfect opportunity to investigate. Two, I have my contacts with Raven Inkwell, Celestia’s personal attendant and she mentioned getting my more tickets should I find ponies that wanted to go thanks to a favor I did for her before. Also Spitfire has multiple tickets already because of her status as the Wonderbolts Captain. Finally, I’ll make sure to ask Gray to personally convince you. One way or another that silver tongue of his will convince you.” Octavia boasted her answers completely countering anything Vinyl was stating as fault with the plan.
“Celestia damn you…” Vinyl mumbled clearly unamused that it would actually work.
“You good till I get back?” Octavia stopped and placed a hoof on her shoulder. She knew about Neon and his weird habits.
“Yeah. I’m meeting with Ditzy later. Apparently I promised to go shopping with her a while back. I don’t really remember saying that but I might as well go along with it. I think it will be good for me.” Vinyl stumbled over her words getting softer with each one.
“Be careful out there Vinyl.” Octavia tapped her forehooves together as she watched Vinyl leave the studio.
“Are we done with this cloud bank!” Sunshower yelled out.
“Yeah! Head to the southwestern section with those rain clouds!” A pegasus with blue coat and blonde mane screamed out.
“Got it!” Sunshower called back.
Spitfire joined the rest of the crew placing on her captain’s jacket and inspecting the troops. Fleetfoot had mentioned that Soarin would be back that very day and she had psyched herself up for this meeting.
It would be weird for sure but she had come to terms with it. She stretched out slightly and cracked her neck attempting to calm that tiny voice that was screaming in the back of her head. She still wasn't ready to meet with him again.
In a flurry of emotions she had moved on in the span of a few days. She even slept with said pony a little fast… though not as fast as she used to. She had hated taking her time but at this point she forced herself to, to not be taken in by a pair of wings.
Spitfire flew around the academy looking thoroughly at all her reserves and hopefuls. It helped quell that building anger she still harbored. Tartarus knows no fury such as a mare scorned but Soarin had when she had found him canoodling with another rabid fanmare.
Spitfire took a deep breath and prepared herself.
Fresh Coat looked over her studio. It was a far cry from what would assume an artiste would have but she liked simpler places. The small Canterlot loft was full of palettes with different paintings of random things.
There were several me from her fruit painting days, some from went she painted ponies and plenty of landscapes. None of them actually feature in galleries but she was persistent if nothing else. She also thought of what she wanted to do.
Certainly being in a herd was a big deal but her mom was in one and she actually expounded on how safe it felt. Though she had three moms so that was weird in of itself. She never knew whether she would call the other mares her moms or aunts. Pushing the thoughts away she needed to make a decision.
If she moved to Ponyville she could open a studio within Gray’s house but she would be further from her family. They were close and had put the money on her loft to follow her dreams as they put it. She did want to meet up with Octavia and Vinyl before the day was up but she needed to ask somepony else first.
She needed to ask Water Color, her mom, first.