//------------------------------//
// Greed and Lies 
// Story: Eq. Divided: Sky Dreamer's Journal 
// by PurpleFire18 
//------------------------------//

April 7th, 15 ATD
I left Appleloosa and Earthborn territory this morning. As I expected, Leaf Heart didn't want to let me go, but I managed to convince her in exchange of a kiss. I can't say I didn't like it, but I tried to leave as soon as possible before I started having second thoughts. The moment the sun was rising, I started flying away from Appleloosa with Guardian, towards the east.

I was flying for at least a couple hours, and was beginning to get tired when I saw an airship in the horizon, slowly disappearing into the clouds. I remembered seeing similar airships near Canterlot, they belonged to House Whitegold. The slaves told me that seeing them so close to a city without attacking could only mean trade between factions. It didn't surprise me, Whitegold very rarely started battles with other houses, and the few times they did so the battles were short.

I decided to fly towards the airship, hoping to end up in a neutral city. To my surprise the airship led me to Whitegold's fortress city and capital, Manehattan. Not wanting to attract unwanted attention, I landed outside the city and slowly walked. The guards saw me and asked where I came from. I was getting tired of being asked that everywhere I go, so I simply told them I was a wandering pegasus and happened to arrive at Manehattan by chance. They believed me and let me into Manehattan's Undercity, though before they left one of them told me to keep a close eye on my belongings. I didn't worry, Guardian already did that for me.

The Undercity is truly something that makes me wonder if Whitegold and M&S are equals in terms of elitism. Everywhere you turn there are ponies living in poverty and thieves. If it wasn't for Guardian, I'm sure my saddlebags would have been stolen shortly after I arrived. What really made me realize the bad situation in this city was when I saw a group of ponies stealing from a poor little unicorn filly with a bandage over her left eye. They were quick to take her bits and quick to leave, and even if Guardian flied after them we wouldn't have been able to catch them. I looked at the girl, she was crying very quietly over her stolen bits. I asked her why the money was so important, and she pointed to a pair of signs the thieves had knocked over, one of them said "HUNGRY" and the other one said "Mommy died. No daddy.", as I read them the girl asked me if I had any money, and that "just one bit will do". I couldn't believe such a thing. I asked her for her name, and she said her mother used to call her Starsong. I told Starsong to give me her hoof and, holding it with mine, I made Guardian take one of the jewels I had in my saddlebags and place it in her hoof. I then told her to keep it safe and run to wherever she lived, she gave me a hug and her thanks, then ran off with the jewel.

As soon as Starsong left, a pony with a beard and a hat came up to me, saying that was easily the most generous action he had seen in this city. I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, and asked who he was. He introduced himself as Lucky Shot, mercenary and card sharp. Both me and Guardian were wary of this mercenary pony, and I could tell he knew this. He asked if I enjoyed card games, and I said I hadn't played one in years. He then told me to follow him to where he was staying, and though I didn't trust him, I still followed him to see what he was planning.

Hours later I realized I misjudged him. He was staying at an inn and paid the owner to stay one more night in a room with 2 beds. When he was finished with that he invited me to have a drink with him, and even though I said I didn't drink, he still took me to the bar and ordered a drink for himself and one for me, which I didn't even touch. Moments later he took a deck of cards and we started playing poker. In the middle of the game I asked why he was doing this, and told him I could have easily paid for my drink and my own room myself, since I still had most of the money Thin Veil gave me. He answered with "I do this to show you that you can't judge by appearances in this city, just because I look untrustworthy doesn't mean I am, and the same happens with those upper-class 'nobles' who are nothing but greedy liars, even more so than mercenaries like me. Could you believe that?". He certainly had a point, but I could not agree entirely as I don't know any nobles.

After the long card game we went to the room he paid for. It's not the best but it is something. Guardian still doesn't trust Lucky Shot, and I'm sure he will keep him away from my things until he does. Not like I would let anypony near my things anyway.


***


April 8th, 15 ATD

Today my own luck surprised me.

Lucky Shot, Guardian and I were walking near the Wall that separated the Undercity from the REAL Manehattan, when we saw a small group of guards fighting a larger group of thieves that had robbed a couple and their kid in front of the guards. Lucky Shot stood there and watched and advised me to do the same, as the guards would likely get backed up by the rest of the militia around the Wall. However nopony came to help the guards. I could barely stand still witnessing such helpless violence, but I reached my limit when one of the thieves threatened to kill the mare if the guards kept fighting them.

I told Lucky Shot to keep my saddlebags safe and then I ran to the guards' aid. Sure, it was something stupid to do, as it was 3 against 7, but I had Guardian on my side to help me. I'm sure it was just luck that me and Guardian were able to beat 3 of the thieves without a lot of trouble. The thieves fled without the stolen goods when other guards came.

I was ready to leave with Guardian and Lucky Shot when the guards that had just arrived told me that I had to come with them and that General Fancy Pants wanted to see me. I wasn't sure what this meant, but Lucky Shot told me that it would be better to go along with it. The guards brought me and Guardian to the Wall while Lucky Shot left, wishing me good luck.
As soon as I got to the inside of the Wall, I was greeted by Fancy Pants, who seemed genuinely interested in me. He said he had seen how I helped the guards fight the thieves, and that he was impressed by how I fought. I said it was nothing worthy of recognition, and I wasn't being modest. Fancy Pants still complimented my determination, and asked if I had ever thought of joining the military. It was then when I saw where this was going. I said I didn't think of that possibility since I was just a normal pegasus with nothing special, adding that I wasn't even from Manehattan. Fancy Pants then directly offered me to join House Whitegold's military, and also offering entry to the Inner City. I was about to reject the offer when I heard a voice saying "My, General, PLEASE tell me you're not wasting your time with more of the common populace!". I nearly froze in place.

It was Rarity, the former bearer of the element of Generosity. While Fluttershy looked different from what I remembered, Rarity looked far more different. She had crystals growing from different parts of her body and even covering her horn, and she made no effort to hide this and even seemed somewhat proud of it. She walked in and took a quick look at me, then proceeded to talk to Fancy Pants, who told her of my "outstanding" skills. I still did not understand what was going on, and it seemed like the "liars" part of Lucky Shot's description of the nobles was coming to be true. Rarity looked at me as Fancy Pants finished talking, seemingly examining me, and then smiled as if she had either found something good or wanted Fancy Pants to believe she did. She then said that I would need to prove to be useful and loyal before forming part of the military, and Fancy Pants said, very sure of his words, that I wouldn't need to prove much. Rarity then smiled at me and left.

I was losing my patience and demanded an explanation from Fancy Pants. He told me to calm down, and asked if the name Silver Petal meant anything to me. That's when I started to remember something, and started looking for something in my saddlebag. I took out an old picture of my mother, she had finished one of her most expensive works, a rose made of gold and silver, and it was being shown at an art museum. It took me little time to notice that, aside from my father, there was another pony in the picture, the pony who had encouraged her to show her work at the museum, and I realized...that pony was a much younger Fancy Pants.

Fancy Pants then proceeded to explain that he had known who I was the moment he saw me from the wall. He knew that Silver Petal and Cold Wing, both his old friends, had stayed in Canterlot, but he never forgot about them, nor their son. That is when I realized what everything was about. Fancy Pants once again offered me to stay in Manehattan, but this time he said I would be able to stay without needing to be part of the military, as a favor to my parents. I was overwhelmed by the recently revealed truth, and only said that I would need to think about it. He understood, and said that if I ever changed my mind his offer would still stand.

I got back to the inn very late, to find that Lucky Shot was nowhere to be found. The owner said he didn't even show up at all  that day, but that somepony else had already paid for another night on my behalf. I simply returned to the room, not even interested in finding out who the other pony was, and went straight to writing this all down.

Whitegold...I can't see myself here, but the offer is tempting. Do I really want to stay in this city, where the social difference is so obvious? I don't know...I think I jus


HA! HA! HA!
THAT IS ONE VERY DETAILED MEMORY OF YOURS, DREAMY!