//------------------------------//
// New Starts 
// Story: Hikarus Freedom 
// by 20percentcooler 
//------------------------------//

"You hit me!"
"You were calling him stuff."
"You hit me!!!"
"You were getting out of hoof..."
"YOU FREAKING HIT ME ZEN!!! WHY WOULD YOU-GAH-WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THAT ZEN, YOU FREAKING ASSAULTED ME! THATS ASSAULT! THATS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE ZEN, A CRIMINAL OFFENSE, THE HAY ZEN! THE HAY!"

Flash was visibly angry and was shaking in rage.

"Ok Flash...." Said Beam putting a hoof over his friend. "I think you need to calm down...."
"She hit me bro! She just freaking hit me! You just saw that right? she just hit me right in the face! No smoke and mirrors she freakin HIT me!"
"I know...dude...come on over here...you need to just cool off...."
"She hit me bro....man..."

Beam pulled Flash around the corner to try to get him to calm down a bit.

Zen sighed and looked down at the ground. "I probably shouldn't have done that. I don't know what I was thinking..."
"Nah don't worry about it, its fine." Assured Neko giving Zen a small hug. "He was on the verge of losing it. He probably needed something to snap him out of it. Don't worry, we don't blame you for what you did."
"He's gonna hate me..."
"If he's in his right mind, he wont..."

The two stallion pegasi were silent for a bit. Both looking down at the ground. Then, the one who had been the first to speak earlier, began to say something.

"Im....really sorry about this..." He said brushing his mane back and looking away.
"Oh don't worry about it." Said Neko. "Flash is being ridiculous is all."
The pegasus continued, "We were trying to get here on time....honest..... We are usually never late to anything...Its just that we had some trouble with the carriage on the way here. One of the locks came loose and it fell into the river. We had to chase it for miles before we managed to catch it and bring it up into the air to try to dry it out."
"That's all my fault really...." Said the other pegasus quietly. "Im the one who checks to make sure the carriages and chariots are always secure. I guess this one just slipped my mind somehow..."

Hikaru tried to hear what was being said around the corner, but the sounds of the city were too loud for him to hear anything but loud noises of carriages, factory machinery, and other talking ponies whose voices blended together in a strange flurry of sound.

Luckily, Flash and Beam emerged from around the corner. Flash looked up at everypony around him.
"Sorry....I guess I..over-reacted....a bit..."
Beam nudged him.
"Ok a lot....I don't know...I....just....sorry.."
He looked down again at the ground.

"Well we should get going." Said Beam quickly trying to change the subject to something a bit more uplifting. "We don't want to be too late to get everything done in Ponyville that needs to be done. So now. Shall we?"
"Roger that!" Said Cobalt pumping a hoof into the air enthusiastically. "YEAH!"

And with that, the group climbed into the carriage, and with a few deep flaps of the two pegasus wings, they were up in the air, and speeding toward their destination.

Flash and Zen went to the back of the carriage and were talking, so Hikaru figured it was best not to disturb them, or listen in. So he opted for taking out his music player and hooking it into the built in sound system in the carriage.

As he listened to the music play, he thought back to everything that had happened the last many days he had spent in Ponyville, on the road, and in Manehattan. So much had happened and his life was totally changed. And here he was, only an hour or so from the event that was gonna be one of the biggest moments in his life. And it was real. No dream, this was it.
He sat back and watched the land fly by. The sun was slowly starting to set and the colors painted on the sky and the land were absolutely breath taking to see. Hikaru felt happy. And it was an emotion he had rarely ever felt back in Ponyville. And it reassured him that the life he would now live, was the life he was meant to live.

"Thank you.." He whispered looking up at the sky. 

And with that, he sat back and listened to the sounds of the music he loved so much.

The sound of pure Trance.

-------------

"Did you just raise your voice at me?!?" Yelled Storm with a look of anger on his face.
Iris sunk back. "Oh...um...no sir...I didn't......"
"Good, I didn't think you did." Responded Storm settling back down and grabbing his magazine.

Iris thought for a second, and then decided to just go with what she felt. She was done with feeling intimidated by Storm. 'I have something to say.' She thought to herself. 'And I'm gonna say it!'

"No, actually....You know what Storm," She continued as she walked right up to the front of the desk. "I DID raise my voice at you, cause what you just said is one of the most selfish, stupid, and heartless things I have ever heard in my LIFE!"
"Well I guess we think different." Said Storm giving Iris a condescending look. 
"You just called a young filly with a bone deformity a "lost cause", how dare you Storm....how can you say that."
"Its simply the truth." Said Storm without  hint of regret. "Nothing more than that."
"I have never met such a heartless pony in all my life...Never once....and I didn't think there could ever be somepony with that little of a heart." Said Iris through clenched teeth. She was starting to get very angry with every single word that came out of Storms mouth.

"You know Storm, I used to side with you when Hikaru would come to me saying how he hated the way you were, how you didn't care about him, but I always told him that it wasn't true. I told him that it was just his perception of things that weren't reality. But after seeing how you are this past week, I can honestly say that I am seeing the same way Hikaru did. You're a heartless little foal...And you don't even care."
"You're right, I don't." Replied Storm sounding audibly annoyed. "Get out of my office Iris, this conversation is over."

Iris huffed and turned to leave. 'I don't know how much longer I can take working for this idiot. Im on the last straw now....'

"Oh and Iris?"

She stopped.

"You're fired."

Iris opened the door and started heading out. But she paused for a bit, then turned around to face Storm head on.

"Hey Storm."

Storm ignored her as he continued to read his magazine.
Iris knew he was listening however. And she knew he would hear what she said quite well.

"Hey Storm...."

She turned to leave.

"Buck you."

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