Highway South and the Dark Industry

by Highway South

Chapter 2: Sweet Celestia!

Chapter 2: Sweet Celestia!

The air outside the rundown apartment was cool. A thick fog had rolled in overnight, but only those now awake were aware of it. A light in the second floor of the corner apartment turned on; the glow shown in the fog like a lantern through a dark forest. The silhouette of a pegasus waking up in the morning blanketed out some of the light from the window.

As suddenly as it had come, it was gone. Hoovesteps were heard down the main flight of stairs in the apartment. They echoed and creaked over and over, finally reaching a stop at the door. Through the opening door came the very excited Highway South. He wasn’t the least bit tired, and he had seemed to awaken before any of the other ponies.

‘Today’s the day,’ he thought to himself as he gazed into the fog. Its presence had lessened over the course of his time awakening. The first light of morning was peaking its way over the horizon, just in time for him to take first flight.

Over the buildings he flew, below the old town seemed not as dark as it had before. The area gave off a vibe of being ancient ruins. As far as you could see there was the cool, gray-blue city.

What would become of this new job, he wondered. Just what does lie on the edge of the city? As he traveled his mind continued to overflow with these thoughts.

The cool air was gradually becoming warmer, until it reached a temperature slightly more comfortable. The sun rose higher in the sky as a few hours passed, and the beating of his wings steadily grew more relaxed. His speed was decreasing, but that didn’t mean he was going much slower. After all, the huge size of his wings allowed him to glide far longer than other pegasi. Soon the skies above the city were filled with others; going to their usual jobs about the day. It was now about ten o’clock.

“Man, how far away is the edge of the city? Feels like I’ve been flying forever.” After a few more beats of his wings a sign of hope came into view. “There it is!” he shouted to himself in enjoyment. The buildings suddenly cut off from the horizon. Behind them was a humongous golden field, more commonly known as a desert. He’d never seen a desert before so he flew faster. His curiosity was reaching an all-time high.

Positioned around the city in a mathematically correct way, were towers stretching just a few inches below his altitude. They stretched around the city’s circular edge like sentries on guard. Their presence was a bit disturbing. Why would they be needed? There was no war going on, it was peaceful around the area.

Below one of the towers was a large rectangular building, pitch black on the outside. ‘That looks like a good place to start looking.’ He dove at the ground until he was just above the tallest building’s roof; then gently glided down. Landing at the front of the building, he trotted over and went inside.

This was nothing like the factory it was comfortable in here. The walls were freshly painted tan, some flowers were in vases along the edges of the room, and there was even enough chairs to sit around twenty ponies. The receptionist’s desk only housed one pony, this time he was older and more rough looking. He appeared to have razor stubble, and had a hard hat next to him on the desk. “And you are?” he asked before looking away from his television.

“I’m Highway South, and I’m look-“

The stallion quickly turned around to inspect the new person in his office. “You’re Highway South? Pleasure to meet ya boss.” He sat up from his chair in recognition of the new authority.

“Uhh…so I’m in the right place?”

“Yes you are. We’ll start you off easy until you get used to the new working environment. Here, let me take you to your office.”

The desk flipped open to make way for someone getting through. “I’m Bricks, Stone Bricks, but you can call me whatever you want sir.”

“Its fine…Bricks.”

“Follow me sir.”

He opened the door against the back wall that said, “Employees Only,” and they both walked through. There was a dimly lit hallway behind it, and it seemed more like its purpose was only to divide the standard area from the working area. The next door swung open, inside was a huge loading dock. Crates were stacked to the ceiling in some places, and there were unicorns everywhere using their magic to lift things not usually possible. Most of the crates being lifted were bigger than the guys lifting them. The wall on the right hand side of the factory was missing, instead the sun’s white morning rays came through. This provided a lot of natural light. There was a raised platform that snaked along the other side of the building so that you could get around without actually going inside the working area. That is where they were standing.

“Wow, this is amazing!” South said in awe.

“Yep, these are the loading docks for the out of city transport. You’re area is on the other side.”

They walked along the outside path for quite a while before reaching another door. As they came up to it Highway noticed that there was another, much larger steel door separating this place and the next. It sat along the same wall as the current door and couldn’t be opened without magic; mostly because it was huge and made of steel.

“Right this way, he said opening the final door.

They entered a sort of, control room encased by glass. There was no desk, only an angled control panel filled with a few buttons and levers. Outside of the glass was a miniaturized version of the dock, very miniaturized. Only a few wooden crates occupied the floor. There was no opening for natural light, which seemed odd at first. “Why no light?” asked South.

“Oh that? That’s because this is the special delivery part of the building. See the number painted over there?” He motioned over to the opposite wall, “that three means you’re in section three. We chose this as the location of your office due to the proximity to special deliveries, the things demanding the most attention around here. Also, to be secure, we have no windows…sorry ‘bout that.”

Highway stood there for a moment and wondered if that was the longest possible way to answer a question. Then Brick showed him how to use all the controls in the “desk,” and left.

He picked up the delivery schedule, which had been left on the floor, then began reading it. He mumbled a little while reading, “ten-thirty delivery, apples…eleven o’clock special delivery from Princess Celestia.” After reading that last one he stopped. ‘Princess who?’ he wondered in slight shock.

With a cold grinding sound the huge door opened to his right, scaring him into staring as it opened. The light from the outside temporarily blinded him as a figure walked in with a small box. A golden sun decorated the box that was floating in the air. His eyes adjusted to the light. A dark red stallion with blond hair was carrying the box. He was wearing a yellow hardhat, and was somewhat happy. He walked over to the front of the other boxes and dropped it there. In the top right corner it read, “From Celestia.”

‘That Celestia character again, I’ve never heard of her.’ He looked back to the smiling stallion now walking slowly away. ‘Maybe he knows.’ He thought looking down to his schedule. ‘Well, I don’t have any more deliveries for a few hours. Maybe I should go talk to him.’ He walked over to the corner of his new space and went to open the door. The image of Impound telling him not to talk to the workers appeared in his mind. He hesitated and thought about it, ‘I don’t need to get involved with the commoners.’ Highway looked back up to the red stallion, now smiling and waving at him. He sighed, ‘how am I not supposed to go talk to him now?’

He pushed the door open and walked up to him. “Hey there! Is there something wrong?” he said in a lighthearted voice.

“Well no, but it says that the package you delivered is from a Princess Celestia.”

“Oh yeah! That was a special package. I honestly can’t believe I got to deliver it!”

“Um, yeah that’s great but”-

“I mean, how often d you get to deliver a package from the princess of the sun!”

Stunned by the implications he paused, and then spoke, “The sun?”

“Yeah, its great isn’t it?” he said with a sort of rub it in tone.

“So, who is she?”

His happy expression disappeared, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. His expression then turned back to normal, “Oh I get it, nice one.”

With a not amused face he replied, “No really, who is she?”

“Alright joke’s over, everyones’ heard of Celestia.” He thought to himself for a minute, “I mean, how could you not hear of Celestia?”

“I’ve lived in this city my whole life and no one’s even mentioned her. Now you come in for a delivery, for a few minutes, and tell me she’s famous?”

“Pretty much!”

They stopped and stared at each other in confusion. The sound of boxes being moved filled the air. One worker even stopped for a minute to see what was up.

Highway spoke in a very controlled manner, “Do you have anywhere in particular you’re supposed to be?”

“No, not really why?”

“I must continue this conversation, I need to know more. Could you come into my office for a while?”

“Sure! I just can’t believe you don’t know the Princess.”
They walked into the office and began talking. Minutes passed, then hours. He told Highway all about the summer sun celebration and how she was the one responsible for raising the sun. How the ponies that lived outside the city called the world Equestria. He talked about Canterlot, and all the rich ponies that lived there. He talked about the Princess’s sister, Luna, and how she had become the wicked Nightmare Moon.

The conversations stretched on all day, during which the deliveries were made on time and in one piece. It was indeed peaceful around the building for a long time. Around five o’clock the day was over. The ending buzzer sounded, and all the ponies in the building began packing their things. The sunset had come back into view, as radiant as yesterday.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to cut it short for today,” the red stallion said.

“That’s alright,” replied Highway as he accepted the truth. “OH! By the way, what was your name?” In all the talking, he’d forgotten to ask his name.

“I’m Commune, what’s yours?”

“Highway,” he said proudly, “Highway South.”

“Hmm? That’s a strange name. Why’d your parents name you that?”

South’s heart sank, as bad memories filled his mind. “I-I couldn’t tell you that.”

“Why?”

“…I named myself.”

It took him a minute to realize what he was trying to tell him. Then his face changed to show that he’d gotten the message. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked”-

“No its fine, do you want to know the full story?”

“Actually, how long is it?”

“Not long, but you gotta stay awake.”

“Alright, let’s just go outside.”

The building had mostly shut down by this point. Cool air rushed past them as they walked along the back platform. A great door shut on the other side of the room, a sign that the place was about to be locked down. The lights shut off row by row behind them, the last shutting off right as they left the room. Arriving outside as Brick was leaving. “Good night boss.” He said shutting the door.

The only two remaining people were he and Commune. He looked over to him and said, “Can you, you know,” he said slightly embarrassed, “do that teleportation spell?” A teleportation spell was something only unicorns could do; as it was of a magical nature, and extremely difficult to do.
“Yep! ‘Course I can. You don’t just deliver special packages for a princes and not be good at magic.”

“Sorry, it’s just that most unicorns I know can’t do that.”

“It’s fine, but where to teleport to?”

Their eyes scouted along the rooftops to find a suitable location for a conversation. “How about, that one!”

“The tallest building eh? Alright, I can do this.” Commune turned to him for a moment, “You can go on ahead, I need a minute.”

He nodded and flew up, hovered for minute, and then landed. A flash and a magical swoosh later, the unicorn appeared.

“Told ya I just needed a minute,” he said speaking in an overconfident manner.

“Whatever dude.”

“So what’s up?”

“Duh, the sky!”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Well then, what could you have meant?”

“Never mind, you really don’t get out much do you?”

The truth was inevitable, “No, no I don’t; but I want to.”

Relaxing a bit from the jokes, Commune asked, “So what did happen to you’re parents, and why the name?”

He took a deep breath, “Well, you see, I never knew my parents. All I remembered was me in an orphanage. It was dark and cold, much like the rest of the city. The kids were fed if nothing else. I grew up there, always wanting out, always wanting to know my parents.”

“Wow man, that’s intense,” he spoke while chewing a bite of his sandwich.

“Wha-where did you get that from? I’m trying to tell you a dramatic life story and you’re eating?”

“Hey,” he said still chewing, “It’s not like I’m listening any less, and anyway its time for dinner.”

Sighing dramatically he pressed onwards with the story. “When I was sixteen I moved out. There was no law against it. Trying to find work was hard, but I had powerful wings. Using them I could do deliveries and small chores around town to make money. However, it was always hard to find work. The people around here were just always depressed and not wanting any help. It was as if their happiness had just been sucked out of them. I only ate when I needed to, and sometimes I couldn’t eat at all.” He paused for a quick moment in thought. “Up ‘till this point my life’s been pretty bad. So I’ve dreamt of leaving the city to go anywhere else. Not because of a thought that maybe something else is better out there, but because I just want to fly and have fun. There’s nothing fun in Dimsville. Props to the most accurately named city in,” he took a moment to think before he spoke, “all of Equestria.”

He was now standing looking at the sunset, Commune looked at him in wonder. “You said all you want to do is fly and have fun right?”

“Yeah, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s just that, well, it’s kinda hard to fly on an empty stomach.”

Taking another bite of his sandwich, “I see what ya mean. You know, you could come back to Ponyville with me.”

“WHAT!?”

“Yeah, they have a delivery service there; and if that didn’t work you could just help take care of the weather.”

“Take care of the weather!”

“Yeah, like all pegasi do.”

‘All pegasi take care of the weather in Ponyville?’ he looked up to the clouds. “Nopony in all of Dimsville takes care of the weather! When did this happen?” He got a little more in his face about the issue.

“Well, since years ago.”

“YEARS!”

“Yeah you could’ve come with us.”

Highway’s mind was officially blown, too many questions to process at once. He pretty much fell over, and then laid there on the ground for a good minute. The sunset was close to disappearing behind the factory in the distance. From being upside down, he had been given a much-needed alternative perspective. From this angle, it looked as if the sun was trying to rise in the sky, only to be blocked out by the darkness of the city, and most importantly, the factory. This new realization relaxed him for some reason. Instead of it decimating his life, it was almost as if he’d known it all along.

“Commune,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Yes?”

“Has my entire life been a lie?”

Thinking for a moment, “I’d say for the most part, yes. However, I wouldn’t say it was completely wasted.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because, you have you’re cutie mark don’t you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“The thing that even some fully grown ponies don’t have. You know what you want to do, and what you’re special talent is.”

“I thought everypony gets theirs when they’re young?”

“Not everypony,” his facial expression showed that there was a specific group he was thinking about.

Highway sighed, “You know the reason I called myself Highway South?”

“You wanted to get away from the city?”

“That, and I have one memory of a piece of paper from, I think, maybe, when I was a baby?”

The chewing stopped, he was finally done with his sandwich.

“I remember it clearly, it read ‘The Highway South.’ I’m pretty sure it was something from my parents. I also remember that below it was a bunch of shapes and colors. It could’ve been a map.”

“A map? Maybe you’re parents were map makers?”

“I don’t know, but that’s all I remember anyway. So I named myself after it.”

“Interesting, I wonder what it was.”

They watched as the sun finally made its way behind the factory. They’d have to continue talking tomorrow.

“I have to head back to my apartment,” Commune said.

“It’s alright,” he stared off into the darkness, “I’ll just stay up here tonight.”

The unicorn got up off the ground and stretched. Loosely shaking one hoof he said, “I’ll see ya tomorrow then. Good Night!” and with that, he teleported out of sight.

His eyes slowly closed, and he fell fast asleep after that. His dreams were filled with that of freedom in the sky, with nothing to hold him back. He dreamed of a group of six ponies in a small town in the countryside. They laughed and played together for hours. Also, it was very warm there, that’s probably because he was currently freezing his tail off sleeping on top of a roof; not important. In his dream he also met a pegasus with a rainbow colored mane, and they raced across the sky.