Facing Consequences, Making Choices

by 1Bit

Chapter 10 - City Of Wonder

Even with such a heavy burden on their shoulders, defending Equestria from an otherwise unknown threat, the six ponies couldn't help but admire the spectacle that was Manehattan; one of the biggest cities in the land. Among the sea of ponies pacing up and down the sidewalks, all six of them gasped as they passed huge skyscrapers made almost entirely out of glass that towered above the streets and filled the city skyline. Coloured lights adorned every building, a beautiful spectrum of colours painting the otherwise dull concrete with various shades of red, blue, yellow and green. The whole city was buzzing with life in comparison to the quiet lives they were used to in Ponyville.

Rarity had recovered from her somewhat traumatic experience on the train and stopped various times to stare at the huge displays of vibrant, classy dresses in every fashion shop window. She was practically squealing with delight at each new dress she saw and her eyes sparkled with joy. Fluttershy often joined her in viewing the displays, still maintaining the soft, kind smile she usually did. Although, any time the crowds began to build up again, Fluttershy quickly retreated back into her shell. She was too shy to face the huge amount of ponies and so hid within her circle of friends for a large duration of the journey. Twilight found herself having to restrain Pinkie from flying all over the place. While traversing the Manehattan streets, small stalls selling everything from Hay Fries to jewellery popped up again and again and Twilight had to keep reminding Pinkie that they didn't have the bits to buy it all, Pinkie pouting like a toddler who didn't get what they wanted most times.

"I hate these darn cities"

The small utterance from Applejack matched Rainbow's thoughts exactly. The two of them hung at the back of the group with deadpan expressions and tired eyes. "Mah family is all the way back in Ponyville, in the middle of Applebuckin' season, and where am I? Out in the middle of some fancy city, bored out of muh brains." Applejack rolled her eyes, sighing softly. "Ah hope this trip is worth it an' all. Applebuckin' season is hard enough with all four of us there...and then there's Cloudjumper..." Her train of thought was broken as Rainbow placed a hoof on her shoulder comfortingly, smiling confidently.

"Don't worry about it, AJ" Rainbow grinned. "We'll zip on out of here, buck the monster in the face and head home as heroes!"

"For the second time Rainbow, you can't buck a virus in the face!"

"Dangit Twilight!" Rainbow groaned "Anything can be bucked in the face if you put your mind to it!"

Twilight shook her head disbelievingly. "That's both illogical and incomprehensible."

"-And those are both words I don't know the meaning of!" Rainbow laughed, spreading her wings and starting to hover above the ground slightly. "I'm just gonna guess that it means I'm awesome and be done with it"

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes you are, Rainbow. You're certainly awesome" She smiled back at her friend.

"And don't you forget it!" Rainbow replied smugly, in a slightly better mood than before. Even Applejack managed a small grin, laughing a little. "Now let's go and save Equestria!"

"Sugarcube, Ah'm afraid savin' Equestria is gonna have to wait a bit. We ought to find some place to sleep, right Twi?" Applejack turned to Twilight, who was already scanning the surroundings for a nearby hotel.

"Luckily, I already booked us a few rooms at the Mayfair Hotel in preparation for our little visit." Twilight explained, pointing her hoof down one of the smaller streets further down the row of shops. "We're pretty close now anyway. Everypony up for an early night? We'll be heading out early in the morning."

There was general murmurs of approval across the group, although Rarity muttered a little about wanting to see more shops. They left the busy main street, heading directly for the Mayfair Hotel on the other side of another line of shops.

Giving Rarity ample time to look at more dresses.

---

"We certainly ain't in Ponyville no more." Applejack muttered as she sized up the dauntingly huge building in front of them. Posh, gold tiles above them informed them they were definitely at the Mayfair Hotel. The red carpet, heavily furnished reception and neatly uniformed clerks informing them they were also at the classiest hotel in Manehattan. Everything about the building reeked class; something that was certainly lacking in the Ponyville hotels.

The reception area was almost entirely a deep shade of red. Every surface shared the same distinct colour and featured the gold italics of the Mayfair Hotel's logo. Even the staff wore crimson uniforms, with small gold buttons and trimmings. Unlike her friends, Applejack found it all quite terrifying. "We certainly ain't in Ponyville no more." She repeated to herself, following her friends towards the grand wooden staircase that led to the rooms. Applejack was less than excited to see their room, despite her friends squeals as they opened the door. Even their rooms were fit for a queen, with huge amounts of furnishing, en-suite bedrooms. This was all on top of the huge, windows which occupied an entire half of the room, offering up breathtaking views of Manehattan from high above the city.

"Oh, Twilight." Rarity sighed happily. "I never took you for such a classy pony! This is so wonderful!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Uh, Rarity? I lived in Canterlot for most of my life."

Rarity smiled awkwardly. "Ahem, well yes of course, but still, you had your head in books all the time."

Twilight blushed. "Well some of the books had stuff about classy ponies." She said defensively, giggling a little.

Rarity just smiled, trotting off to explore more of the room. Applejack hesitated in the doorway, gagging at the sight of the room and shaking her head. Rainbow noticed it, nudging Applejack softly. "Take it this ain't your style, girl?"

"Ah wonder what gave that away." Applejack smiled knowingly at the pegasus. "There's a reason ah ran back to the farm when I was a young 'un. Ah hate all this fancy, frou-frou stuff."

Rainbow snuggled up a little to her marefriend. "Well even so, that bed looks rather comfy for two..."

"-Ah ain't sharin' with ya"

"W-what?" Rainbow's eyes opened wide.

"Layin' low, remember? After that sleepover, ah don't think you can keep ya hooves off me in that situation." A small grin crossed her face, placing a hoof around Rainbow. "So, ah'll be bunkin' with Flutters instead."

Rainbow pouted. "Well who am I meant to share with?!"

"Oh, ah had somepony in mind." Applejack giggled mischievously.

"ohmigosh, Dashie! Guess who's bunking with you tonight!" A hyper pink pony leaped onto the pegasus quite suddenly, a giant grin covering her face.

"...of course."

Comments

[Shining Dawn]

The description makes the story sound like adventure, but the tag says slice of life. Which one is more accurate?

[1Bit]

6495069

It's a mix of both. If I could, I would have put both in the title as they are both true.

The story alternates between Slice Of Life and Adventure. For example, we're currently heading into an adventure arc in the next few chapters before returning to SoL

[Shining Dawn]

6502365 I can't wait.