//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Manehatten // Story: The Frost Chronicles: Book 2: Shadow of the Storm // by steelwingx //------------------------------// CHAPTER 2 Manehatten The ship engines hummed in the distance, as the airship we borrowed from the Night Ranger’s flew gently towards the large metropolis of Manehatten. Said to be one of the oldest in the kingdom, Manehatten has seen much change in the centuries of its existence, but now it served as bustling social and economic city. It remained as living proof that not everything under Red Spear’s rule was terrible, the kingdom had seen much growth in many ways, and Manehatten was the heart of it all. The airship we used was an older model used from 20 years ago, an old cargo ship that the Night Ranger’s had gained after a successful raid on one of the army warehouses. Luna was also kind enough to give us a pair of recent military uniforms, as well as formal attire that would help us into the club. Based on what we knew of our informant, he owned a club known as the Soaring Heights Night Club. It was said to be the most popular and classiest of them all in the city. Many military officers of all ranks, come to visit the night club for a night of pleasure and drinking. ________________________________________ I looked out the window of the ship as the tall buildings of the city grew closer. I shifted uncomfortably in my outfit, which was layered upon my tuxedo. River walked up to me and smiled, adjusting my outfit with her magic, “this uniform is killing me, how do these guys stand it?” I asked as I continued to shift. “Stop your complaining, you won’t have to wear it for long” Dust said as he walked into the room, a heavy frown on his face, we all turned to look at him. I stopped shifting and walked up to him, “hey, you okay?” I asked him, with a concerned look on my face, he huffed and walked past me, “I just don’t see why I have to be on this mission, you three can handle it fine without me. Aurora already got to stay behind” he said with a frustrated look on his face. I walked over to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “I can understand that you may not want to be here, but we each have a role to play, we need you on this, we’re a team” I said in the most comforting tone I could make. River walked up to me and nuzzled my chin, Dust sighed sadly just as the Captain of a small crew walked up to us. “Alright, we’ll be landing soon, you might want to wait down by the bay doors” he said and we all nodded. Dust cleared his throat and stood up, “let’s just get this mission over with” he grumbled to himself, as he walked past us. I glanced at River, who merely shrugged her shoulders, and walked after him. ________________________________________ The loud hiss rang in our ears as the large lamp lowered to the ground, we had landed the ship in a more secluded part of the field, where we would draw the least attention. As we walked down the ramp, we saw a solider walk up to us with a bored expression on his face. “Okay, follow my lead” I whispered back to my friends as he came up to us. “Halt! You’ll have to show your papers and the manifest of your cargo” he said with a dull tone. I did my best to smile and levitated the papers to him, he took them and shuffled through them. We all waited silently as he skimmed through, but he suddenly stopped and his eyes widen. I could feel my body tense up as he looked up at me with a confused expression. “Hmm…these papers are dated back 20 years…” he said with a suspicious glance. I swallowed nervously and glanced back at my friends as I thought of something to say, but then it came to me. I chuckled lightly and smiled, “is it? My apologies sir, my assistant here is terrible at filing, I’ll go get the right ones” I said as I turned around, but instead of walking, I quickly leaned forward and bucked the pony in the chest. He cried out in shock as he crashed into a pile of boxes and stopped moving, I turned to see the shocked look of my friends, “okay…that was uncalled for!” Vapor said as she looked around. I sighed and picked the pony on to my back, “he would have reported us, he’s only unconscious, let’s just get him on to the ship, and then let’s get out of these” I said as I carried him up the ramp, while my friends kept an eye out for other guards. ________________________________________ After making sure the coast was clear, we had changed out of our military uniforms and made our way off the field, where we managed to catch a cab that would take us to the club, luckily he didn't seem to question four nicely dressed ponies walking off a military base. As we rode along, we couldn't help but gaze at the wondrous lights of the grand city, it was truly a marvel to behold. The city lights shined brightly as we passed multiple shops and restaurants, all bustling with the local nightlife. Having grown up in such a small town, I was amazed at the technology of the city, flashing neon lights, automobile’s sped past us as we moved along, but we quickly found ourselves pulling up to the club. After paying the driver, he sped off and I turned to my friends. “Okay, we all know the plan, I’ll try and find Silver Wing, Dust and Vapor will scout out the building and make sure we aren't seen as suspicious, and River…you’ll have to make sure you keep every ponies attention on you, shouldn't be hard, you look beautiful” I said with a sly smile. She blushed and pecked me on the lips quickly, “I’ll be sure to do that, I’m on soon, I have to go in from the back, I’ll see you soon” she said as she nodded and Dust and Vapor, and trotted off to the back. I smiled as I watched her go, but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the slightest bit nervous, but before my mind could start rushing to the worst case scenario Dust spoke up. “Alright, let’s just get this over with” he said as he made his way to the door, Vapor and I exchanged concerned looks, but we shrugged and made our way inside. ________________________________________ To say that the Soaring Heights was the classiest place I had ever seen, would be a complete understatement. The place had everything one could hope for in a respected establishment, many tables for ponies to sit and relax, a large stage where the club would have performers entertain the audience, and an especially a large bar filled to the top with a wide variety of alcoholic beverages. There was a faint smell of cigar’s and perfume in the air, and we noticed a large amount of guards posted around the exits, mostly for control of the room, should a wild stallion or mare get to crazy. As we entered an older pony came up to us with a warming smile, “good evening good sirs and lady, might I take your coats?” he asked in a friendly and respectable manner. We all smiled and gave them to him, he smiled back and motioned for us to enter the club, “very good, welcome to the Soaring Heights, I hope you enjoy your time” he said as we walked in and looked around, marveling at the decor and design. After a moment of looking, I turned to my friends and nodded, they nodded back and went off the other way, while I took a deep breath and made my way to the bar, where Luna said I would find Silver Wing. The club was relatively crowded, but that would make it easier to remain anonymous. As I made my way there, I hoped into a seat and turned to face the room, many ponies were sitting at the tables, calmly sipping wine, smoking their cigars, and chatting about their daily lives, and just as Luna said, I also saw multiple uniformed officers of the army around, but none of them seemed to be here to do more than drink their hard day’s work away. Other ponies sat along the bar, but they were many seats down, leaving me alone to admire the room around me, but before I could fully settle myself in, I heard a voice call from behind me. “Excuse me, mind if I have a seat?” I heard a voice ask, I turned to see an older male Pegasus stallion smiling at me, his coat was a dull grey, which was accompanied by a silverfish mane, which looked like it lost its original sheen many years earlier. A few quick moments passed before I shrugged and smiled, “not at all” I said with a smile. He chuckled and took the seat next to the one I offered, leaving a small gap between us, he raised his hoof to catch the bartender’s attention. “Ash, give me a brandy” he said, the pony nodded and turned to the alcohol, while I turned and began to examine the room. A few awkward moments of silence passed when the bartender came back, levitating a small glass with a brownish texture to it. “Here you go, Mr. Wing” he said as he turned away and walked back to the others, and my ears immediately perked up and looked at him, he simply cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink, I slowly turned to him and leaned on the counter. “Mr. Wing? As in Silver Wing?” I asked him, partially in shock that I had found him so easily. He sighed and glanced at me, “maybe, maybe not” he said as he looked at the glass of alcohol, “sorry, I didn't mean to be so…surprised, it’s just that…” I said, but I had a hard time trying to act as classy as I could, but he simply chuckled, “son, a bit of advice, if you’re trying to get a free drink, it’s isn't going to work, I know all the tricks in the book” he said as he sipped his drink again. I deadpanned as I sighed and cleared my throat, “sorry about that, and I can assure you, I’m not here for a drink, my name is Frost Fall, I was sent here by a friend of yours” I said as I regained my composure. He chuckled again and gave me the same glance, “well…I have a lot of those” he said with another swig of his drink. The entire time the club went on as we talked, but nopony seemed to be interested in our conversation. “Yes sir, your friend said you could help me” I said as I readied for the big moment, I cleared my throat and said the words. “yes, North Star needs advice” I said in a calm tone, I watched as he raised his glass up, but as soon as I said it, his eyes widened slightly and he stopped for a moment, but he quickly tilted his head back and downed his drink, and as he tilted his head back down and chuckled. “Does she now? Well…that is interesting. Well Frost Fall, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ash! Get my friend here a drink on the house, a brandy” he said. The bartender nodded and poured my drink. But before we could do much, a loud feedback ringed through the room, forcing every pony’s eyes to the stage, where a young stallion was addressing the audience. “Attention mares and gentlecolts, we have a special guest star tonight, right here to sooth you with her lovely voice. She hails all the way from a small mountain town, please welcome, Miss River Blue! Singing a Sweetie Bell classic” he said as he stepped to the side, allowing the curtain to draw away. One of the lights above flashed on, revealing a stunningly beautiful mare in a gorgeous blue dress, her mane in a nicely done braid, with just a few strands that sprung free and hung around her face. I would be lying if I said my face wasn’t on fire at that point. I swallowed nervously as the musicians started playing and she opened her mouth to sing. “It doesn't matter is your rich or poor. I’ll give you my love, if you give me yours” As her voice filled the room, all the eyes fell on her as she paced around the stage in a somewhat sultry manner. I heard a chuckle from beside me, “hmm? She’s very lovely, you know her?” he asked me, nudging my shoulder, but instead of turning to him, I smiled dumbly and nodded. “Yeah…she’s my marefriend” I said as she continued to sing as she glanced around the room, when her eyes finally rested on me, she gave a particular wink at me. But, I felt the slightest bit of jealousy rise in me at the fact that other stallions were looking at my marefriend in such a manner, but I was too entranced by her performance to truly care. “She’s your marefriend!? Well…I’m impressed, you’re a lucky stallion” he said as he sucked down his drink, and waved off the bartender. “Hold the drink Ash, watch the place while I’m gone” he said with a certain tone of voice I did not understand. I turned just in time to see Silver Wing wink at the bartender and him nod back before glancing over at one of the guards. Silver Wing turned to me and smiled, “alright then Mr. Fall, let’s go have a chat about our friend North Star” he said as he got off the chair and motioned for me to follow. I quickly hopped off and trotted after him. I turned to the stage and saw River following me with her eyes, a nervous flash in them, I nodded in certainty as she moved back to the center stage. As we walked to the other side of the room, I scanned the room for Vapor and Dust, until I saw them walking around the area, they saw me and nodded in confirmation. With that, I turned and followed Silver Wing into a small side room, which he unlocked with a special key ring that he kept under his coat. After unlocking the door, he motioned for me to enter with him. As we did he flipped on a light revealing a large room filled with multiple boxes of wine and beer. He quickly walked over to a small door on the other side, which I presumed led to another storage room, but he reached into a hidden coat pocket and pulled out a single key, he glanced back at me and unlocked the door. I smiled and walked up to him, after walking in he closed the door behind us and flipped on another light, revealing a much smaller room with a table and map on it, as well as various file cabinets across the room. He turned to me and smiled, “I had a feeling Luna would send somepony my way soon, tell me, how is she?” he asked me, I was slightly taken off-guard by the question. “Well…she’s fine, she said you had some information for us, somepony that could help us in our fight against the king” I said in a calm tone, he simply smiled and nodded and made his way to the table. But before he could talk, the door opened up and Vapor walked in cautiously, and I could tell Silver tensed up. But before he could say anything I turned to him, “it’s alright, this is Vapor, and she’s a part of my team. Wait where’s Dust?” I asked her, but I quickly heard Silver gasp. “Wait, who’s your other team member?” he asked, but before either of us could say anything, we heard Dust come in behind us. His gaze was fixed on Silver, who simply stared back with a shocked expression, Dust gave a small smile as he stood up fully. “Hey…uncle Silver” ________________________________________ Both Vapor and I stared in shock as the two Pegasus stallions looked at each other in shock and surprise. Silver slowly took a step forward, and we could all see Dust tense up. “Dust? Is that really you?” he asked in disbelief, Dust merely nodded in silence, neither of them moved until, Silver shot forward and wrapped his hooves around Dust in a tight hug. Dust’s eyes went wide for a moment, but he soon hugged back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Silver pushed away, a confused look on his face. “But…how did you get mixed up with the Night Ranger’s?” he asked with a concerned tone, Dust sighed as he sat down, “It’s a long story…I met Frost and Vapor on an Army convoy, they were taking us to the New Canterlot mines. But, something happened and we managed to escape, we wondered in the forest for a while, but then…the Night Ranger’s found us. I wanted to come and stay with you, but I thought…well, after dad died…” he said as his eyes began to tear up slightly, Silver smiled and hugged him again. “I know your father and I had our differences, and I never appreciated his change after your mother passed, but you should have known you’re always welcome with me. I wish you had never gotten mixed up in this madness” he said as he pushed away again, tears starting to form in his eyes. Dust sighed sadly, but a small smile formed on his lips, “I know, but if I did that, I would have never met such great friends as Frost and Vapor” he said smiling at us. Before Silver could reply to that comment, I took a step forward, “I hate to intrude on your family reunion, but I think it’s best for us to get business done” I said with a concerned look. Silver nodded and cleared his throat, “yes…indeed” he said as he walked over to the table. “After doing some research, I think I found somepony that might help. Although I don’t know their exact location or how they can help, I do know that they are hiding out here” he said marking a location on the map. We all gathered around and saw that he marked the location near the edge of the Everfree forest, as we looked it over, we recognized the location of the very famous town. Ponyville. He turned to us and sighed, “usually I get more information, but the army has been harassing me for months now, it’s been hard to get info to Luna with the army breathing down my neck, but I hope it helps” he said, I looked at the others and nodded. “It should do fine, I’m sure Luna can help us out more, but we should probably be leaving” I said nodding at Vapor. Dust looked back at Silver with a sad expression, he simply smiled. “I’ll be fine, I survived this long without being caught. You have to go with your friends, better for you to be out there helping ponies then here” he said with a comforting tone, Dust sighed sadly and hugged him quickly and walked out with us.