//------------------------------// // Going to Manehattan, Part 1 // Story: A new chapter // by Ponelover //------------------------------// Have you’ve ever been on a train? Silly question I know, most of you probably have been on one. Do you remember your first train ride though? How bizarre everything feels? The steam from the engine billowing past you. The countryside zooming past you with no abandon. And the little noises a train car makes, some bumps from tiny imperfections in the rails, all of that within a train ride. For me. A train ride feels like a place where you can almost meditate. A train ride fits within a nice space in time. Fast enough to reach your destination, but not so fast you can’t catch your breath for a while. Seeing the countryside zoom past you, as your eye feasts on the changing scenery of the Equestrian countryside. It does put you into a more contemplative mood. just looking at the ever-changing scenery… Of course, just like most things I’m experiencing nowadays, this train-ride feels a bit different. Firstly, the bumps of a train track is absent, this train ride is proceeding as smoothly as a baby’s buttocks, secondly, there is no smoke to obscure our vision, everything seems as clear as day, and thirdly, the speed. By Celestia the speed! I thought the Equestrian Steam Train was fast, but this? one moment you’re seeing farmlands, and immediately you’re inside a tunnel, probably already reaching the foal mountain range. Predictably, the ridiculous speed of this train has me feeling a bit uncomfortable, no, not sick. Just a bit uncomfortable. Perhaps I’m just not used to the velocity of a high speed train. Celestia knows I haven’t explored anywhere outside the immediate Canterlot City area during my time in the human world. But gods, this feels unreal. “I take it you’re enjoying your time?” I heard a voice ask me. A rather familiar voice. “Yeah Starlight. I never thought I would ride on a high speed train in Equestria. It just feels weird y’know.” “I wouldn’t imagine it. I was pretty surprised when Princess Celestia announced the project by itself. A series of rail-line expansions that would link Canterlot with the cities of Las Pegasus and Manehattan by a new experimental train. I never would’ve thought that the project would go anywhere, and yet, here we are! 5 years and the project’s still running!” My mind remembered the first time I saw the train. The train that would take us to our destination. It was after a short meeting with my little group, some introductions and icebreakers, getting up to speed with current events, before we finally set off into adventure, or in this case, Canterlot Station. I’ve been discussing with Twilight about potential places where the new element bearers will be located. And the first thing she suggested is Manehattan. I’ve read up about some weird new train system that regular ponies have been talking about, and when I’ve bought the tickets for this ‘Intercity Express.’ I just thought that It’ll be some kind of weird, but powerful steam train. I didn’t expect that this Intercity Express will look unlike anything I’ve seen before. Covered in some weird orange colour, the train itself looks like some weird elongated bullet. A clear ‘muzzle’, if you want to call it that. At the front, lending itself to a sleek, and very uniform exterior. The cabin inside of it looks unusual. A series of row chairs with plastic looking walls lining It’s sides. Everything outside and inside looks minimalist, almost epitomizes the philosophy of ‘less is more’ to a certain extent. “Yeah. It certainly looks… unusual.” I noted. Still busy regarding the unusual sights within the train. “Anyway, so how are you doing Starlight? Are you holding yourself up?” “Oh, good old me? Yeah! I think the last time we met was… at that mall right? The one with umm, umm who’s that girl’s name?” “Juniper Montage?” “Yeah, her! Speaking of which. How is Juniper holding up? I haven’t heard of her for quite a while.” “She’s doing well. I think she’s studying in college now for a movie production degree thingy. Not sure how that’s shaping up.” “Nice, nice. Also. How are you doing Sunset? Sorry it took us some 3 decades to fix that portal back up. Y’know, wars and everything.” “Wait, there’s a war?!?” Exclaimed Sonata. Now looking very confused, “Equestria’s at war?” “Yeah, didn’t I told you about The Great War Sonata? The one between the Changelings and Equestria?” “Oh, that. Yeah, you told me about that. Nevermind.” An awkward silence permeated throughout the train cabin, silence throughout the cabin permeated while I noticed the sudden change in mood. Starlight and Sonata seemed chipper enough, but Tempest? Her unhappy face seems to drop the mood a little bit. Then a ring from somewhere from the train broke the silence. *Mares and Gentlecolts, welcome to Manehattan. The time is currently 3:05 PM Eastern Equestrian Time, and we will be arriving at Maneway Station within 5 minutes. The weather is currently sunny, with a spare few clouds here and there, and the ground temperature is currently 23 degrees celsius. Thank you for taking EquestriaRail, Equestria’s premier rail service provider.* All of us seemed to be broken out of that silence, I peered the window to see the city. And my jaw dropped into the floor. Why do I have a feeling that this will be rather frequent? Manehattan was a magnificent city before I escaped into the Human World. A veritable metropolis of commerce and entertainment. It’s construction of skyscrapers were the first in the world. Triggering various reactions from shock to admiration to hatred to the ‘manehattan style.’ It’s always been a trendsetter. And by Celestia is Manehattan still setting a trend. The city has grown considerably since I’ve left. I don’t think I can see the Manehattanite Skyline grow even taller, yet it did! The Crystaller Building seemed to have gotten a complete style makeover, somehow making it even taller. And even the nearby neighborhoods of Manehattan are growing to become cosmopolitan areas by their own right. I trotted outside the station. Leaving it’s golden arches and chandeliers behind. I expected many things, majesty, style, beauty, elegance. And the first thing I encountered was hitting the rump of a police pony. She turned around and scowled at me. Her face unamused while I myself am rightfully embarrassed. “Sorry, sorry!” I said. Trotting my way out of the police pony. And seemingly entered into a different world. I encountered a sea of Ponies, Griffons and Changelings, each of them carrying banners as they march through the road just off the train station. Slogans like ‘EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK’ and ‘DON’T MOURN, ORGANIZE!’ were up in the air as Ponies were protesting… something. My heart rate quickened. I watched as the procession went on it’s way. Definitely hitting Bridleway if it continues to go on. With a flick of my hoof and a motion of my head. I brought my group straight into the thick of it. Melding with the various protesters and forging ahead. “Uhh Sunset? Why do you want us to be in the middle of a protest?” Sonata asked, avoiding the sea of quadrupedal bodies. “I didn’t know you were politically active. Are you a supporter of the ELO-” “No, well, I don’t know too much about whatever this ELO is. But that’s not the point! I think that whoever organizes these protests is an element bearer.” “... What?” Starlight asked. “How?!? This seems like a weird place to get an element bearer. Are you sure about this?” “Definitely! It’s hard to pin it down, but I’ve got a good feeling on this.” I replied, trudging my way as the protests move forward. We’re almost at bridleway at this point, and my group was nearly at the front. A clear voice ringed through the protesters, breaking through the various shouts and screams. “We want fair wages! We want contracts! We want fair wages! We want contracts!” Screamed the leader. “We’ll never stop till all of us don’t get dropped! We’ll never stop till all of us don’t get dropped!” “Stop exploiting changelings, we are equals too! Stop exploiting changelings, we are equals too!” “United in suffering, United in Struggle! United in Suffering, United in Struggle!” “Less wages for fat cats. More wages for all class! Less wages for fat cats. More wages for all class!” I pushed through the front protesters, and my eyes cocked suddenly. That blue... Changeling? Yes, she’s the leader, that blue Changeling is definitely the leader. My eyes caught the sight of a female with a blue carapace and a pink mane. She’s definitely a changeling, but what kind of a Changeling is that? She looks definitely like a ‘bug,’ but at the same time. Unlike the few Changelings I encountered, her colour schemes all of, and most importantly, I don’t sense any malice from her. There is rage, definitely. But it feels righteous. It feels justified for some reason. “Ocellus?” I heard one of the protesters, definitely another leader approach Ocellus. “Scouts report that there’s a ton of MMPD Officers at Bridleway, we really fear that they might open fire at us. Are you sure that we must proceed?” “Yes, I’m sure. I’m sure the officers won’t fire. They don’t want every newspaper in Equestria showing images of police officers firing on labourers protesting. Keep with the regular pace. We’ll disperse once we’ve crossed through Bridleway.” The protester only nodded before he motioned the group to continue marching, chants and all. Myself only a curious observer regarding the events displayed before me. The moment this mass of labourers entered Bridleway, the hopeful energy suddenly dissipated. And I can see why. Police Ponies, armed with batons and shotguns lined up the street. Police cars have formed a barricade, preventing the protesters from marching forward, they’re all wearing face-shields and some form of segmented body armour. I looked at their faces, all of them cold and determined, but none of them angry. “Disperse!” A police pony screamed through a microphone. “Disperse! You are not an authorized to protest. Disperse or we will push through!” The leader, this Ocellus. Walked right in front into the dead pony land between the protesters and the police. Her head cocked up, defiant against the show of force in front of her. “We are here to protest the rights of every species, yours included. Our demands are simple, better pay, and no discrimination in hiring. We do not intend to harm anyone, but we will if we must do so in self defense. Let us go through Bridleway, and we will not bother anypony.” She sounds just as young as I did. But her tone shows that she’s aged beyond her years. Ocellus speaks, not necessarily with eloquence, but with a blunt tone, a veritable jackhammer if you want a visual metaphor. She isn’t a Changeling that will coddle your feelings, but one that will show the ugly truth no matter how hurtful it might be. Wait, is she? “Sunset. Sunset.” A voice came up upon me. I turned my head back around and saw Tempest, her eyes darting through the police picket line. As if she’s searching for something. “The police won’t budge.” She whispered. “I have dealt with the MMPD, and to say that they’re not good is underselling it. I fear that once things heat up, they will shoot.” “Crap. I don’t think this day could get any worse.” My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a sound I never expected to hear. I cocked my head back towards Ocellus and see that she’s fine, but there is smoke rising from below the asphalt. A quick inspection reveals a hole, and some object made of brass pummeled into it. “That is a warning shot! Disperse!” The police spoke again on the loudspeaker. “Disperse or we will charge!” Ocellus stood there, defiant, and not raising her voice any bit. She stood there, and started walking backwards, back towards the group. She was about to coordinate things when suddenly, another shot was heard. Time seemed to slow down for all of us. I saw a bright flash from one of the police officer’s guns. The protester organisers seemed to be frozen as they saw the bullet travel from the police officer’s gun. The trajectory for sure will hit at least one protester. I felt like I needed to do something, cast a shield spell, do something to protect the organisers. But I turned my head and saw a crimson blur. A crimson blur with sparks of blue light emanating from it’s horn. That blur ran towards the front. Into the no pony land, and her horn lighted up. In an instant the bullet crashed towards a brightly coloured blue wall. Landing on the ground with the tiniest of thuds. My jaw dropped as I saw Tempest had created a gigantic shield off of her broken horn. The officers, probably realizing who she was, lowered their weapons. She only need to glare at the pony in charge of the barricade, before that pony ordered the police cars to open up the route, allowing the protesters to march once more. There were no barricades after that. And the protest ended as peacefully as you can imagine. As I saw the protest dying down, the workers now dispersing back into their homes. I proceeded to walk towards Tempest, and gave a slight hoof clap. “Well done Tempest. Quick thinking on your part. I never thought you’d be able to cast a spell with such a wide area.” “I… didn’t. I never thought I could cast a spell like that at all. Sunset, when I was running towards the bullet, My mind was preoccupied with casting only a minor shield spell. Something to protect myself and my immediate surroundings, I don’t know. I just felt this feeling burning inside of me. Like I needed to protect these protesters or something.” “Well, whatever it is, i’m glad that you didn’t let any lives be thrown today.” I noticed that we are being watched. Turning my head towards whoever’s watching us. I noticed 4 figures all staring at our motley group, Ocellus being one of them. “First of all, thank you for casting that spell.” Ocellus started. “And also, would you like to come with us? We would like to discuss some things with you. You don’t have to accept though. We are more than willing to just chalk this up under a happy little accident.” Turning my head towards the group, none of them seems really fearful of Ocellus’ invitation. “Sure.” I replied. “We’d come, where will you be taking us?” “Uptown, specifically the Pronx.”