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// Manehatten 
// Story: The End of the Beginning 
// by Uncle Knot 
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To my eminent and admired Princess Celestia, in the 5th year of thy reign, my 13th letter

As per thy instructions, I have arrived at the isle of Manehatten.  It is a small community divided, with a good port.  Two groups of ponies live here, calling themselves ‘old ponies’ and ‘new ponies’.  Their principal division is the presence or absence of cutie marks.  Being a port, there are also many ponies and other strange creatures from over the sea.  Manehatten has one major street, a recently cobblestone cattle path, called Bridalway.  It is on this street that most shops, business, and trading houses can be found.  There is much confusion in the issue of who belongs and who calls this place home.  There is only one ferry line connecting the town to the main land, but many small fishing boats will also deliver thee to the isle.

Thee be gracious to entitle me with ‘esquire of Equestria’, this seal of approval has empowered me to ‘corral’ the leading members of the community and ‘haggle’ into existence a city council.  Note how I attempt to use local ‘slang’ or manner of speaking; it serves me well in ‘pushing’ forward projects.  The council has agreed to purchase and maintain the ferry service, insure adequate food and water distribution, arrange for cleaner streets, patrol the docks, and provide fair protection for all ponies and others. 

A charter (enclosed) is available for thy review.  The city council looks forward to thy presence to officiate the ‘grand gala’.  I find it disconcerting to ask, but might I request a single dance with thee at that event, beware other members of the community will also ‘monopolize’ thy time.

Our recent encounter in the northern hinterlands seems awkward to me now.  Your last letter confirms this.  It was brave of you to see the events of those tumultuous times as neither successes nor failures.  With the one exception that flatters me, of being your friend. 

I wonder why are we friends?  We surely do not owe each other anything, that we have not already paid to each other several times over.  What is our friendship, better yet, what is friendship?  To enjoy the company of another, or is it to prefer the company of one to another?  Friendship to me seems to be the summation of the parts rather than a whole thing, yet the more I try to define it as one thing, the more it breaks apart into many things.

However, when one examines each part, the more friendship seems to hinge on the whole and that no single part defines it.  This riddle is contradictory and possibly without solution as are so many things in life.  Life could and is another such riddle and so it time.  I can measure a road and know its length just as I could measure a day, but while I can walk that road again, I can not relive the day.  A pony may spend its life traveling the road counting the paces.  Yet the pony may not relive his or her life, while the road will continue to be measurable by another.

Being loveless like I am, do I share my generosity, trust, loyalty, humor, and kindness out of habit?  If so, it is a good habit.  Am I worthy to share myself with thee? – No.  Are you worthy to share myself with? – Yes.  

This is a riddle that is worth exploring, but I do not know if we could find an answer, or if we should.  I wonder if we could view others as always being worthy of sharing ourselves with, would not courtesy increase?  Whereas if we always view ourselves as being unworthy, would that lead to depression or humbleness?  Sincerely, Sum-po-neigh Knot Yew.