//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Manehattan Scenes // Story: Blood of the Sunstrikers // by Clacker Volley //------------------------------// Joseph was looking around the café, waiting for Suzie Q to come back to the bathroom so that they could call a waitress over for their order. Suzie would probably pester him to get some breakfast in the morning but all he really needed some coffee in his system, today being a tiny bit special as he normally prefers cola. Sighing, he took out an old photo showing Caesar, Lisa Lisa, and himself posing over a ridge right before they were about to take their final Hamon test. ‘Those were good times…even if training was annoying as crap.’ Joseph thought to himself. Looking outside the café window to the busy streets of New York, Joseph took a moment to breathe in the less polluted air of the small corner café. ‘I wonder why no one even cares about that whole tommy gun incident a while back…I doubt I can go back to that cafe ever again…if they ever fixed the exploded mess I left it in.’ Joseph thought to himself. And then Joseph noticed someone that he thought he shouldn’t ever be able to see again on the other side of the street. Walking around with blond hair with his damn wingtips and blue clothes. Joseph quickly got up, garnering the attention of the people in the café, before he rushed out the door. “Jojo?” He could hear Suzie Q call him right before he walked out. “Uhh…I’ll just be a quick minute! I think I saw someone I owe a favor to.” Joseph turned to explain to Suzie Q, before he started running after the impossible phantom. As he rushed across the street, against the horde of people, Joseph spot the silver wingtips of his old friend duck into the alley ahead of him. Running past more bystanders, some crying out in annoyance or anger, Joseph reached the barren alleyway, walking until he stopped in the cross intersection within. ‘Was this always here? Why would there be space here? The buildings should be taking up as the very space I'm standing in.' Jojo thought as he made a turn down the mystifying empty space. “Bubble Cutter!” Joseph heard from behind him. Turning around, he sees an onslaught of bubbles coming towards him. “Bubble Barrier!” Joseph heard from behind him again. Turning around to see a giant bubble coming towards him, Joseph holds up his guard and closes his eyes. And he could’ve sworn he saw purple for some reason. “CAESAR!” Joseph yells, waiting for the bubbles to hit him. But they never do. Eventually, Joseph opens his eyes to find himself in the same alley, with no addition of Hamon-charged bubbles. “What the hell?” Joseph looks around to his new surroundings, with the only noticeable landmark being a vending machine to his immediate left. But what concerned Jojo the most was how breakfast morning became the dead of night. “Where am I?” “I need coffee.” Joseph yawned, as he walked down the empty back streets of Manehattan. “Were you even listening to what I was saying, Jojo?!” Cadence asked annoyingly, as she trotted beside him. “I’m sure he was, Cadence…right Mister Jojo?” Fluttershy asked in such a sweet voice that Joseph had no choice but to cringe. “Uhh…no.” Joseph looked down towards the ground, kicking away a small pebble as he walked. Fluttershy looked away in disappointment, and Cadence just proceeded to glare at him, prompting Jojo to at lest try and say something. “Uhh…basically, heroes beat the bad guys. Bad guys come back with more strength and seem almost invincible. They kill a whole bunch of peop- ponies including the godly one that moves the sun around. Moon one is who knows where. Bad guys take over your kingdom, and Flutter’s town. And everything goes to shit. Right? Yeah? Yeah.” Cadence sighed, “…Close enough. Say, what magic did you use earlier anyways?” “I just stuffed cards in my sleeve. It's not too hard to shoot them out, especially with practice." Jojo explained holding up his index finger, assuming Cadence had meant the sleight-of-hand he showed earlier. Cadence rolled her eyes in annoyance. “No, I mean the electricity stuff that let that trash bin fly!” “What? Alright, first, it wasn’t flying, it was only revolving around the clothesline. And it stopped moving because there wasn’t any Hamon left in it since I didn’t keep in contact.” “Hamon? What’s that supposed to be?” Cadence questioned. “Oh, well… basically, it’s breathing. In like, a weird way. It can interact with stuff in weird ways, but it’s mainly an anti-vampire technique.” Joseph explained. “It lets me do things like this.” Joseph stepped onto a puddle, and walked on the water’s surface. As Cadence marveled at what she still believed to be magic, Fluttershy asked, “Vampires? You mean, like the foals’ tales? Or the really mean way of saying bat-ponies?” “Wait, there are bat-ponies, too? And not the masked and caped detective kind?” Joseph blinked rapidly as he processed the new information. Before continuing his explanation and after his recovery, Joseph looked around the next corner, primarily to see if he could find any coffee shops. “Anyway, vampires as in the evil bastards that like killing people and sucking their blood.” “Oh…so you're somepony actually fight those, huh?” Cadence took a moment to process the new information. “So, how does Hamon hurt them?” “Well, it burns their insides and they essentially disintegrate. That’s because the whole sunlight weakness of vampires, Hamon emits the same waves as waves of sunlight, and some other nonsense that I didn’t pay attention to during training.” Joseph explained, stopping his strut as he looked back to Cadence who had taken a moment to ponder his words. Looking up, Cadence began speaking, “Wait, did you say sunlight?” “Yeah, why? Hey, hey!” Joseph cried as Cadence used her magic to hold his arm and pull him with her. “I’m not a pony by the way! Don’t call me a somepony! Where are we going?” Joseph looked to Fluttershy, who seemed similarly confused. Sighing, Joseph looks back at Cadence for her answer. “We were going to get out of the city. But now, I think we're gonna try and take it back.” Joseph and Fluttershy exchanged glances before continuing walking. As Cadence dragged Joseph further down, she didn’t notice the presence the ones following them on the rooftops. “Oh ho? Princess Cadence got herself new friend, did she?” A small rat wiggled its way onto the rooftop, presumably to look for any food, as it spotted one of those that stood upon the roof. As ponies had often granted the rat food earlier, the rat approached them, hopeful for a meal. “But even her new pet could never see us coming…” But as the air around the rat attained a new aura that induced fear into it, the rat hesitated. The small rat then witnessed the two beings vanish within an instant, scurrying away partially in sadness, but mostly in fear. Cold Blood was getting more progressively annoyed, as the darkness continued to giggle at her. At one point, her frustration got the better of her and she spoke out of turn, “This really isn’t a laughing matter.” Cold Blood scowled. The darkness’s laugh became roaring loud in response, as its voice echoed, “While I apologize for being unable to control my vessel…” Noises of steps being taken towards Cold Blood caused her to freeze in absolute fright. “This most certainly is a laughing matter.” As breath trickled onto the top of Cold Blood’s head, she dared not to look up, and continued to focus her gaze straight down into the ground. Cold Blood felt fear run throughout her body as a hoof touched the side of her face to reveal Cold Blood’s cheeks to be clearer for the hoof’s owner. Cold Blood could hear snickering, as the other party proceeded to turn Cold Blood’s head so the other cheek was facing them. And then they repeated the words that were humiliatingly written on Cold Blood’s face in permanent marker. “’I am a pony, fear me’. And ‘I like pretty flowers.’” The other party traced with their hoof over the crudely drawn picture of a sunflower, one that looks like it could’ve been drawn by a very young foal. Cold Blood could almost see Death himself as the other party leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You disappoint me.” Before Cold Blood could try and argue, the other party’s presence quickly retreated and their voice continued, “But I suppose I am curious about the creature for now…” Cold Blood could feel relief rushing through her. “And I do want a new test subject.” Cold Blood finally took a moment to look straight into the darkness, catching a glint of something. “Test subject? For what?” A very simple bow clattered onto the floor. However, what drew Cold Blood’s attention was the ornamented arrow that fell alongside it. Looking back into the darkness, the voice asked, “Miss Cold Blood, would you like to have a Stand?”