The Secret of Manehattan Mall

by Dee Pad

Part 1 - The Premise

The Secret of Manehattan Mall

By Dee Pad

Part 1: The Premise

The steady clickety-clack of the train’s wheels on the sturdy, iron tracks below were like the ticking of the world’s slowest clock, where each tick seemed to take eons to arrive as opposed to the typically allotted one second. It felt like days had passed, weeks even. The sun was still low on the horizon as it began its lethargic ascent into the morning sky. Had Princess Celestia slept in this morning, or did it simply feel like the whole day had already been wasted away?

A pair of impatient, magenta eyes watched as the sun crept higher at an agonizingly slow pace. It wasn’t even high enough yet to hinder her sight to any extensive degree. The pegasus leaned back in her seat, breathing an aggravated sigh as she ran her cyan hoof through the hot colors of her rainbow-streaked mane.

Rainbow Dash was not, by any means, a morning person. Her idea of a perfect morning was one she couldn’t remember because she had risen from her bed past noon. To see her not only awake, but with purpose at such an early hour was a sight that would raise many an eyebrow back in Ponyville. And she was tired, excruciatingly so. Normally, to wake this pegasus when the sky had not even transitioned into its signature blue, would result in the offender having a bad day. A very bad day. Rainbow Dash was not one to take a rude awakening very well. But there was one thing, and one thing only, that would convince her to open her eyes at such an ungodly hour:

The Wonderbolts.

Rainbow Dash’s irritation vanished instantly, being replaced by an eager smile which, itself, became a giddy grin. Just the thought of The Wonderbolts, her idols, her heroes, the amazing pegasi to which she owed and based every aspect of her life, was enough to get the lazy pegasus out of bed and onto the early morning train.

Rainbow Dash glanced down to her saddlebags that were lying on the floor of her train car. Poking out from the open pouch were a trio of blue pieces of paper, trimmed with gold and bearing the very emblem of her idols: a winged lightning bolt. Anypony who knew The Wonderbolts, knew Rainbow Dash, self-proclaimed number one fan of the acrobatic flying team, so, of course, nopony was surprised to learn that she had scooped up the first three tickets to their latest show in Manehattan. But obviously one pony can only use one ticket. The other two would go to her invited guests.

Rainbow Dash looked up to the plush, red seat ahead of her. Upon it was the adorable, sleeping form of a pale-yellow pegasus, her teal eyes obscured by her heavy eyelids as well as her long, flowing, pink mane. Fluttershy was Rainbow Dash’s oldest friend, so she was definitely her first choice to bring along with her to see the show, though the poor thing had a terrible time of just getting out of her cottage, let alone the train station. She kept mumbling something about naughty chickens who wouldn’t return to their coop at bedtime, forcing Fluttershy to pursue them into the late hours of the night. She needed to rest up now; once they arrived at their destination, it was going to be non-stop activity for the rest of the day.

At least, according to Rainbow Dash’s second invited guest.

Rainbow Dash could feel the seat vibrating underneath her. But it was not the clacking of the train’s wheels that caused it, but the constant, erratic movement of the pink earth pony sitting next to her.

Pinkie Pie bounced giddily up and down on her shared seat, her poofy, pink mane bouncing with her as if it were filled with springs. Rainbow Dash couldn’t conceive how anypony could be this energetic at such an early hour, but chalked it up to Pinkie Pie’s seemingly limitless exuberance, no doubt granted to her by the almighty power that was sugar.

Even so, Pinkie Pie was one of Rainbow Dash’s closest friends. Out of all of her friends, she was probably the one with whom she spent most of her time, whether she wanted to or not. The earth pony’s boundless energy possessed her to constantly seek entertainment and companionship, and Rainbow Dash just so happened to enjoy many of the same activities she did.

What was stranger than the pink mare herself though, was the fact that, despite how squirmy she was being, she hadn’t said much of anything since they got on the train. She just sat there—okay, maybe “sat” wasn’t the right word—smiling and looking around randomly in the empty train car. Perhaps it was out of courtesy for the sleeping pegasus sitting opposite them, or perhaps, more worryingly, she was thinking about something; planning something.

Rainbow Dash chose to ignore the peculiarly behaving earth pony, instead electing to take advantage of this rare silence. She regretted that her other friends weren’t with them; had they been available, Rainbow Dash would not have hesitated to purchase three extra tickets, even if it meant she would have to go without breakfast for a few weeks. However, life comes first, leisure second.

Twilight Sparkle had been given a “very important assignment” from Princess Celestia and was too involved in her studies to even notice that her friend had asked her a question. Twilight had a penchant for zoning out when she studied, drowning out everything else around her. Rainbow Dash had to grab her studious friend by the muzzle to get her invitation through to the unicorn, not wanting to feel like she didn’t give her a fair chance to say yes.

Rarity, on the other hoof, was not as difficult to get a response from. She hesitated at first though. Manehattan was a big city—huge in fact—and it wasn’t everyday that she was presented with the opportunity to visit. As a fashion designer, she wasn’t so much keen on going to see The Wonderbolts more so than to experience the rich culture of fashion that the metropolis was so well known for within her industry. Such a trip would likely open up many opportunities for her business and perhaps even result in some big-name partnerships. However, Rarity was incredibly busy with a large order already, and as it needed to be prepared by the next day—the day of The Wonderbolts’ show—she simply would not have the time. Her focus was the customer. Disappointing even one client could devastate her business.

Then there was Applejack. If anypony would want to see The Wonderbolts as much as Rainbow Dash, it was Applejack. The two shared a similar love of sports and sporting events, both being well-trained and strong, athletic mares. As a team—or even individually for that matter—the two could immasculate even the burliest of stallions. But when it comes to Applejack, her farm and her family take priority, and this time of year happened to be particularly hectic what with it being Applebuck Season. Sweet Apple Acres needed all the hooves it could get in order to get through the season on schedule. Of course, Rainbow Dash’s loyalty lay with her friends and she offered to stay behind in Ponyville to lend a helping hoof, even if it meant missing The Wonderbolts. Applejack, in all good conscience, couldn’t let her do it. She knew how important The Wonderbolts were to her friend’s life; she owed everything she ever did and ever was to them, and Applejack wasn’t about to let Rainbow Dash miss out on something like that just to stick around and kick a few trees.

So, of course, the two remaining tickets went to meek, little Fluttershy and bouncy, bubbly Pinkie Pie. The only obstacles in their way were finding somepony to look after Fluttershy’s animals and asking Mr. and Mrs. Cake for a few days off from Sugarcube Corner. Both were relatively hassle-free endeavors.

Rainbow Dash felt a tingle in her spine, the feathers of her wings ruffling involuntarily as if her body were anticipating something. On a whim, she stuck her head out of the window, peering into the distance in the direction that the train was chugging. Squinting her eyes, she spotted something on the horizon. She never removed her eyes from the target as it inched closer and closer. Gradually, something came into view beyond the first object: buildings. Enormous skyscrapers jutting up into the sky like beacons, calling out to her.

The first object finally came into view: a large sign placed near the train tracks to deliver a message to the passengers. The metal sign’s surface was decorated with a mural of the city beyond and spelled out in big, elegant lettering were the words she had been so desperately anticipating:

“Welcome to Manehattan.”

A colossal smile spread across her muzzle. She pulled her head back inside, plopping herself back into her seat and unable to contain her excitement. She couldn’t hold back a giddy squeal and she pumped her hooves against her sides.

“This is gonna be awesome!”

***** ***** *****

The train’s wheels screeched to a gradual stop at the Manehattan train station before letting out a loud burst of steam. The moment the door to their train car opened, the three Ponyville mares stepped out onto the train platform.

Rainbow Dash inhaled deeply through her nose, taking in the scent of the big city. Though not quite as fresh as the air in a rural town like Ponyville, Manehattan’s atmosphere had a distinct feel; it smelled of ponies and progress, a city above and beyond in technology, business, and architecture.

Fluttershy cautiously took her first step into the intimidating city, keeping her head low and one eye behind her mane to try and avoid contact with the many ponies that were present at the station alone. She was shortly followed by Pinkie Pie who didn’t quite step out of the train so much as she bounded from the door like an excited puppy. Contrary to the yellow pegasus, Pinkie Pie was actively seeking out the attention of the locals, zipping from one to another, introducing herself, shaking their hoof, and moving on before they could even register that she had been there.

“Pretty cool, right, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash said, finding nothing unusual with her pink friend’s behavior.

The timid pegasus replied quietly. “Oh, um...yes, it’s...cool.” She glanced around to see if anypony had been staring at her.

“You gotta lighten up, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, appearing suddenly and draping a hoof over Fluttershy’s back. “We’re in Manehattan! The Big Apple as Applejack likes to call it. There’s nothin’ here but good times! It’s an endless world of funtasity!”

Fluttershy reluctantly straightened up, though still opting to shield herself behind her mane. “I guess...”

Rainbow Dash flicked a hoof dismissively. “You’ll grow to like it over time. Like Pinkie said, this place is full of stuff to do and the show isn’t until tomorrow, so we’ve got a whole day to explore and have fun. So buck up, cuz, believe me, we’re gonna paint the town red.”

“Oh, I got just the thing!” Pinkie Pie threw off her saddlebags and began to dig through them fervently, jamming her entire head inside the pouch. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had to actively avoid several items that she had cast aside in her search, everything from cupcakes to rubber chickens to a live lobster for some reason. She finally pulled her head back out, gripping between her teeth a paintbrush and the handle of a can of red paint.

“Not what I meant, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle. “But I like your enthusiasm.”

Pinkie Pie shrugged and replaced the can and brush back into her bags before heading off to retrieve her discarded cargo that she had scattered across the train platform.

“So, what do you think we should do, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. It was her first time in a big city outside of Cloudsdale and Canterlot, but those places had a much more homely feel than Manehattan and its more industrial atmosphere. Fluttershy thrived and lived amongst the vivid colors of nature, but this place just felt cold and sterile.

Rainbow Dash tapped her chin with a hoof. “That’s a good question. Does anypony have any ideas about how to kill time?”

Pinkie Pie, busy plucking a feisty lobster off of a passing stallion’s tail, zoomed back to her friends’ sides and shot her hoof into the air. “Oh, oh! Pick me! Pick me!”

“What about you, Fluttershy? What do you think we should do first?” Rainbow Dash asked, purposely ignoring her pink friend.

Pinkie Pie planted her rump onto the ground and crossed her hooves over her barrel, letting out a grumpy huff from her nostrils.

“Me? Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know anything about Manehattan. But I suppose I’d like to make sure we have a place to stay tonight. Can we reserve a room at a hotel?”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Hmm, not a bad idea. Get the boring stuff out of the way first. Smart thinking, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy grinned bashfully at the compliment.

Rainbow Dash could feel a pair of bright, blue eyes boring a hole through her head. She smirked and turned to Pinkie Pie who was staring back at her anxiously. “Sorry, Pinkie. Did you have something in mind?”

“You betcha!” the pink mare declared. “I’ve never been to Manehattan before, but I’ve heard of a place where anypony of any age can have the time of their life!”

“And where would that be?”

Pinkie Pie flashed a sparkling smile. With a grand flourish, she pointed her hoof straight ahead of them, singling out an enormous sign at the very end of a long street reading “Manehattan Mall”.

“Manehattan Mall?” Rainbow Dash asked with a cocked eyebrow. “What’s so great about a mall? Shopping is more Rarity’s thing. Besides, we didn’t really bring a lot of cash with us.”

“Cash? Where we’re going, we don’t need cash,” Pinkie Pie explained. “Manehattan Mall is the biggest, most awesomest superstore in Equestria! They have absolutely everything! Ev. Ry. Thing!”

“Okay, okay,” Rainbow Dash conceded with a chuckle. “We’ll go to the mall and see what all the fuss is about.”

“Oh, but what about a hotel?” Fluttershy peeped.

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof. “That can wait. This city has lots of hotels with lots of rooms, we’ll be fine.”

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy surrendered, somewhat dejected that her idea was being ignored.

“That’s not fair, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash defended her fellow pegasus. “Fluttershy made her suggestion first, so we should do that and get it out of the way. Besides, it’ll only take a few minutes.”

Pinkie Pie pouted. “Fine, but after that we head straight to the mall, right?”

The two pegasi glanced at one another before nodding in agreement. “Sure.”

The earth pony’s exuberant smile returned and she quickly took up position in front of her friends. “Then what are waiting for? Let’s go go go!”

***** ***** *****

Manehattan Mall loomed above the streets of the city, an enormous monolith that seemed to watch in bated silence as the miniscule citizens went about their daily routines. Its exterior was a brilliant, well-polished white that reflected the sun’s rays as if to illuminate the inferior structures surrounding it in a display of humble generosity. Breaking up its smooth, pristine walls were tall windows showing all that the magnificent building had to offer and the ponies that chose to accept its gifts.

The three Ponyville mares stood at the very bottom of the stone staircase leading up to the mall’s entrance; one with a look of pure astonishment as she beheld the inconceivably large structure; one cowering behind her mane, finding its sheer size excessively intimidating; one with a grin almost as bright and wide as the building’s own walls. Pinkie Pie was the first to step forward, opting to ignore the intended purpose of the stairs and simply hop and bounce her way up to the front door, weaving left and right to avoid the coming and going ponies. Rainbow Dash began her ascent as well. She had to turn around to make a silent gesture to Fluttershy, ensuring her childhood friend that everything was fine and encouraging her to follow. Hesitantly, she obeyed, taking extra care not to bump into anypony along the way.

Pinkie Pie waited impatiently at one of the many glass doors that lead inside, tapping a hoof against the concrete beneath her.

“Geez, Dashie, I never thought I’d say this to you, but could you hurry it up?”

Rainbow Dash, finally arriving at the top, raised an eyebrow at her pink friend. “Alright, I’m here already. When did you get so pushy, Pinkie Pie?”

“Ugh, I’m sorry,” Pinkie Pie groaned, her lips curling into an apologetic pout. “I’m just so excited to visit this place! I’ve heard sooo much about it that I can’t help but be super impatient! You understand, right?”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head in understanding. Had this been the stadium in which The Wonderbolts’ show was taking place, she figured that she would probably act the same way. It was hard to remain calm and poised when you knew something you’ve been waiting for for a long time was so close at hoof.

The two ponies were soon joined by the third member of their trio. Fluttershy cantered over to them, panting lightly. “Sorry if I made you wait. There are a lot of stairs here.” She took a deep breath. “I guess I haven’t been getting enough exercise lately.”

“I hope you’ve got some energy stored up in your reserve tanks,” said Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy blinked. “My what?”

“Because we’ve got a full day of fun and activity ahead of us, and we ain’t stoppin’ until we’re droppin’!”

Fluttershy lowered her head. “Oh dear. M-Maybe I should just go wait at the hotel. I don’t know if I can keep up with you girls. I’ll just weigh you down.”

Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Relax, Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie’s just a little over-excited. We can all go at our own pace, it’s no biggie.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie agreed. “Like I said earlier, there’s something here for everypony. They got a food court, toy stores, an arcade, clothing stores, jewelry stores, a pet shop—”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “Pet shop?”

Pinkie Pie nodded her head rapidly.

Fluttershy finally managed to eke out a small grin. “That sounds fun. I’d love to meet all the little critters they have here.”

Pinkie Pie shot a hoof in the air triumphantly. “Perfect! Then what are we doing standing out here, twiddling our hooves? Let’s get inside!”

The eccentric mare stood before the glass doors, a determined grin on her lips. She rose onto her hind legs and with a grand flourish, pushed open the gates to endless entertainment. The air in the mall seemed to burst outward as if they had just released a cosmic energy out into the world, invigorating the three mares. Finally, they took their first steps inside and their jaws dropped collectively.

Despite all laws of reality, Manehattan Mall appeared even larger on the inside than it did on the outside. Though the building consisted only of four levels, the ceiling seemed like it was miles away; they almost expected to see clouds floating overhead. Each of the mall’s four levels were visible from the ground floor. Walkways stretched along the walls where the building’s many outlets were set up, and bridges even spanned the massive distance from one side to the other, allowing for quick and convenient access to the opposite side.

And the place was absolutely packed with ponies. Young couples strode side by side as they enjoyed a light snack purchased from the food court; foals were gallivanting around their parents, excited to play with the new toys they had bought for them; teenagers were loitering around the clothing outlets and taking up space on the benches placed throughout the mall, chatting and gossiping as if they were the only ones present. But they all had one feature in common: each and every one had a content smile plastered on their face. Evidently this place lived up to the hype.

And this was only the entrance. Elevators and escalators provided access to the upper floors, but one could only fathom how deep the mall’s halls ran. Off in the distance, the three mares could see that the mall split into multiple paths, all leading to vastly different areas with completely unique features and attractions. It could take days to fully explore the complex.

“Whoa. This place is ginormous!” Pinkie Pie bellowed. She giggled gleefully as the spacious structure echoed her words back to her as she hoped it would.

Rainbow Dash continued to stare in total bewilderment. “I don’t think ‘ginormous’ is gonna do it justice.”

Pinkie Pie tapped her chin as she pondered a suitable synonym. “Hmm. Bigantic?”

“Not quite.”

The pink pony shut her eyes in thought and pressed her hoof firmly against her forehead. “Umm...really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really—” She stopped and inhaled deeply. “—really really really really large?”

Rainbow Dash looked around, sizing up the interior of the complex. “Yeah, that’ll probably do it.”

The three mares continued their expedition, their trek taking them towards the vast, round intersection they had spotted from the entrance that seemed to be the center point at which each wing converged. There, the three found themselves standing before a large fountain. Fluttershy gazed in mezmorized awe at the beauty of the clean, sparkling water, losing herself in the peaceful sound it made.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Fluttershy cooed contentedly. “Can we just stay here for the rest of the day? It’s so tranquil.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged disinterestedly. “Yeah, it’s nice, I guess. But I really want to see what this place has in the way of more action-oriented entertainment.”

Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh. “Oh, okay. But how will we know where to go to find that kind of stuff. This place is really big. We might get lost.” No sooner had she said that did she notice a billboard set up near the fountain. Curiously, she approached it, her expression changing to one of realization. “Oh! I think this is a map. We can see where everything is here.”

Pinkie Pie shot a worried look towards Fluttershy and leapt between her and the map. “No! Don’t look!”

Fluttershy stepped back in surprise. “W-What’s wrong?! What’s happening?!”

Pinkie Pie tried desperately to obscure the map with her hooves, then, realizing it wasn’t enough, began to crawl over its surface, attempting to block it out with her entire body. “We can’t use a map!”

Rainbow Dash sighed with exasperation. “Why not, Pinkie Pie?” she asked, expecting one of her friend’s ludicrously inane answers.

“Because! It takes all the fun out of exploring the place ourselves! We need to wander these halls with absolutely no idea where we’re going. Then, when we finally end up someplace, we can be like, ‘Omigosh! How’d we get here? This place looks fun!’ It’s spontaneous! It’s exciting! It’s totally random! That’s the proper way to explore someplace new.”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself, my dear.”

Pinkie Pie dropped back down to the floor and the three mares turned to the source of the new voice. Approaching them rather casually was a tall, distinguished-looking, earth pony stallion. He wore a freshly cleaned, grey suit that no doubt Rarity would have taken interest in, and looked extremely expensive. The suit covered most of his brilliant, golden coat, but didn’t obscure his cutie mark: A silver dollar sign. His silver mane was slicked back with hair gel, its magnificent luster completely contrasting his age. Finally, he wore a pair of thin glasses upon his muzzle, just in front of his dark green eyes.

“I can think of no better way to experience the wonders of Manehattan Mall than to enter completely unaware of what it may hold,” he said, sweeping his hoof around to all the diverging paths surrounding them.

Rainbow Dash gave the stranger a skeptical look. “And who are you supposed to be?”

“Ah, my apologies. I have yet to introduce myself.” He bowed respectfully to the three mares, keeping his head down as he made his introduction. “My name is Vault Payroll, owner and operator of Manehattan Mall.”

Pinkie Pie’s quizzical expression was replaced by a surprised gasp and a wide grin. “You own this place?!”

Vault Payroll lifted his head from his bow to nod in affirmation. “That I do, miss. I inherited this enterprise from my father, who had inherited it from his father, who built this place from the ground up. And one day, I shall pass control over to my daughter, though I have no intention of retiring anytime soon,” he finished with a light chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s nice. So did you need something from us?” Rainbow Dash asked in a tone that suggested she was in a hurry.

Vault Payroll chuckled once more and shook his head. “Oh no, no. I simply wished to introduce myself to you three lovely, young mares while you were visiting our fair city.”

The three’s eyes widened simultaneously.

“How did you know we were visiting?” Fluttershy asked in mild amazement.

Pinkie Pie gasped loudly. “Are you psychic?!”

Vault Payroll let out a hearty laugh. “Ha ha ha! No, no, my dear. I just make a habit of knowing my customers. I know the names and faces of every citizen in Manehattan by heart.”

“Wow,” Fluttershy uttered in awe. “That’s a lot of ponies to remember.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. Maybe somepony with an eidetic memory would interest Twilight, but the cyan pegasus remained unimpressed.

The stallion nodded to Fluttershy. “Indeed. And seeing as you three didn’t look familiar, logically that means you don’t live in Manehattan. So, in keeping with my habit, may I ask your names?”

“Sure!” chirped Pinkie Pie. “My name’s Pinkie Pie. This is my good pal, Fluttershy...”

“Hello.”

Pinkie Pie scooted over to Rainbow Dash, wrapping a hoof around her shoulder in an attempt to coax her into the conversation. “...and this grumpy Gus is Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash simply made brief eye contact with Vault and made a slight, almost inconceivable gesture with her head that somepony might just take as a greeting.

Pinkie Pie continued, “We arrived in Manehattan today all the way from—”

Vault interrupted with a shake of his hoof and a playful smile. “Wait, don’t tell me!”

Pinkie Pie halted and waited for him, eager to see what he was getting at.

Vault placed a hoof to his chin and sized up the three mares. “Let me guess. Hmm...” He removed a round watch from his suit’s breast pocket. “It’s quarter past two right now. Judging by the saddlebags you’re wearing, I presume you’ll be staying overnight. That means you probably paid a visit to a hotel upon your arrival. That would take about...half an hour? Yes, that sounds about right. So you most likely arrived in Manehattan between one thirty and quarter to two, which means you arrived on the one thirty train. Forgive me for saying, but you all look like you didn’t get a tremendous amount of sleep last night, so that means you caught an early train. The earliest train that runs to Manehattan starts at six o'clock. You took a five and a half hour train ride here. If that’s the case, then a five and a half hour ride from here would end you up in...the rural town of Ponyville. Am I in the ballpark?”

Pinkie Pie—who had been desperately refraining herself from blurting out the name of the town—finally let out her bated breath only to suck it back in for a stupefied gasp. “That’s it! You got it! Are you sure you aren’t psychic?”

Vault chortled in amusement at the pink pony’s reaction. “It’s logical deduction, my dear. Oh, but I feel I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

Rainbow Dash let out a barely audible sigh, relieved to finally see the end of this encounter approaching.

“You three have come here for a reason,” he continued, “and I won’t hold you up any longer. I have other business that needs attending to anyway. Please, enjoy everything we have to offer here at Manehattan Mall. Perhaps, if we’re lucky, we’ll see each other again before you leave.”

Vault offered a friendly smile to his guests before trotting away. Pinkie Pie waved goodbye to the older gentlecolt.

“Bye bye!”

“Goodbye, Mr. Payroll,” Fluttershy added. “It was nice to meet you.”

With that, Vault Payroll disappeared amongst the mall’s many visitors, leaving the three Ponyville mares to their own devices once again.

Rainbow Dash let out a huff and began to trot off in the opposite direction. Pinkie Pie was quick to catch up and cut her off, standing in front of her and blocking her path.

“What are you doing, Pinkie? You’re in the way,” Rainbow Dash huffed in annoyance.

“And you’re being a big ol’ grouchy pants,” the party pony quipped back. “What’s got your saddle sore? He was just being friendly and you treat him like he’s just in the way. Not the proper way to make friends, Dashie.”

“I’m not trying to make friends here. Especially not with that guy.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “You don’t like him? But you only just met him.”

“He seemed really nice,” Fluttershy interjected.

Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Didn’t he seem a little pompous to anypony else? Talking about how he owns this place and knows everypony in the city. Seemed like he was trying to make us feel smaller or something, sticking his nose up at us.”

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy exchanged uncomprehending glances. “He seemed okay to me,” Pinkie Pie said.

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Maybe I’m just letting my impatience get the better of me. Let’s just forget about it and get to why we came here in the first place, huh?”

“Right!” Pinkie Pie agreed, shooting a hoof into the air to punctuate the proclamation. “So, what do we do first?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head in thought. “I guess that depends on what we know is here. But we can’t really know if we don’t look at a map, can we?”

Pinkie Pie groaned in defeat. “Do we have to? I like all the random,” she whined.

“I know you like all the random, Pinkie, but I don’t think any of us want to end up in some frou-frou makeup parlor or something, right, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked up, surprised to be suddenly included in the conversation. “Huh? Oh, actually, I wouldn’t really mind if—”

“Besides,” Rainbow Dash continued, cutting off the quiet, yellow pegasus, “we probably all want to do different things anyway, and if we just wander around all day hoping to just stumble on what it is we want to do, we’ll end up wasting all of our time. So let’s look at the map, figure out where we want to go, and go there, ‘kay?”

Pinkie Pie hesitated. Her dejected eyes drifted over to Fluttershy for a moment who simply offered a smile suggesting that she agreed with Rainbow Dash. With a groan, she finally decided to cave. “Fine. Let’s look at the map. Even though that’s no fun at all.”

The three once again found themselves before the large sign displaying the map of Manehattan Mall. Pinkie Pie attempted to avoid staring straight at it as though it were a solar eclipse, shifting her eyes toward it for fractions of a second at a time in hopes that her brain wouldn’t register the information. She saw how her two friends were examining it carefully.

Fluttershy was slowly tracing a hoof over one of the many paths that lead away from the fountain, likely trying to memorize the mall’s layout and all of the lefts and rights so that they reduced the risk of getting lost.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, seemed to focus her gaze onto one particular wing of the mall, her eyes determinately not straying from it. The area she stared at was rife with sporting goods stores. It was evident she was interested in perhaps getting a little exercise in the future or looking for something that she and Applejack could do together when she got home.

Pinkie Pie was starting to realize that her friends were right. While simply wandering the halls randomly could lead to pleasant discoveries and fun times, there was also the chance that they might end up bored out their skulls. Had Applejack, Twilight and Rarity been able to join them, it really wouldn’t matter where they went since there would likely be something for at least one of them to enjoy. Pinkie was not willing to take that chance though.

Her line of sight finally made contact with the map for more than two seconds. Though she felt like she was betraying her sense of whimsy, she slowly began to see things that caught her interest. One area in particular stuck out, displaying outlets such as bake shops, snack stands and sandwich shops: the food court.

Pinkie Pie licked her lips thinking of all the snacks and confectioneries they could serve here. Staring at this map had accomplished one thing: giving her an appetite. She knew exactly where she wanted to go.

“Let’s go here!”

All three of them went quiet again as they realized that they had all piped up at the exact same moment, each pointing their hoof to a different location on the map.

Rainbow Dash looked to where Pinkie Pie was pointing. “The food court? Come on, we can’t eat yet. We should get a good workout first. You know, work up an appetite.”

Pinkie Pie was too busy looking to Fluttershy’s location of choice to hear Rainbow Dash. “A pet shop? Fluttershy, if we eat first, then all the little animals will smell food and they’ll get super excited and want to lick you and stuff. It’ll be so cute!”

Fluttershy seemed preoccupied by Rainbow Dash’s preference. “Sports? Animals have sensitive noses, Rainbow Dash. We can’t go over there when we’re all sweaty.”

The mares looked back and forth at one another. Clearly there was no unanimous decision here.

“Look,” Rainbow Dash sighed, “it’s obvious we all have different ideas of how we’d like to kill time. If we go one place, then two of us are gonna be bored while only one of us is enjoying themselves.”

Pinkie Pie spoke with a hint of worry in her voice. “Then what’re we gonna do?”

“The only thing we can do where all of us get to have fun: split up.”

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy blurted their reactions simultaneously. “What?!”

“But that defeats the whole purpose of coming here!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “We were supposed to have fun together!”

“And what if we get lost?” Fluttershy reiterated. “What if we can’t find each other again?”

Rainbow Dash pressed her hoof against her forehead. “We can have fun together, that’s why I invited you guys to come with me. We’ll have the whole day tomorrow when we all go to see The Wonderbolts, okay?”

Pinkie Pie was reluctant, but ultimately nodded in acceptance. “Yeah, I guess. We probably won’t have time to come here tomorrow, so having fun by ourselves today is better than not having fun at all.” She forced a smile. “Besides, we can all talk about how much fun we had when we all meet up again.”

“Right,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “Which brings up Fluttershy’s point. How about when we’re all finished what we’re doing, we meet back here before going to the hotel. Sit on a bench and wait, browse one of the stores near the fountain here to pass time, whatever. Sound good?”

Though Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie still weren’t entirely keen on the idea of splitting up, they nodded their heads.

“Good. So, I guess I’ll see you guys later.”

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and lifted herself off the ground, turning herself in the direction of the sporting goods department. She offered a wave to her friends before soaring above the mingling crowd below and disappearing around a corner.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were left alone in the plaza, the latter nervously rubbing her foreleg.

“Can we be sure we won’t get lost? This place is pretty big.”

Pinkie Pie waved a dismissive hoof. “I’m sure there are lots of these maps all over the place. We’ll be fine. Dashie seems pretty confident.”

Fluttershy hung her head. “I guess...”

“Okey dokie then. Let’s see...” Pinkie Pie took one last look at the map she had formerly treated like a plague. “Sooooo, food court’s...that-a way,” she said, pointing a hoof to the left of the fountain towards the mall’s west wing. “See ya later, Fluttershy,” she bid her friend before bouncing on her merry way.

“Oh, uh, bye, Pinkie Pie.”

Fluttershy watched as Pinkie Pie entered the sea of ponies, getting brief glimpses of her friend as she hopped and bounded her way through the thick mob of mall goers. The pegasus took another look at her surroundings. The ceiling somehow seemed higher than it once did, and the crowd sounded louder. She swallowed pensively; she was alone now. The meek pegasus looked at the map in front of her one more time, pinpointing the location of the pet shop. A small smile crept onto her face. She wasn’t going to be alone for long. Soon she would have plenty of animal friends to keep her company.