Mare Imbrium, Sea of Showers
The skies over Manehatten weren’t known for being the clearest, or the prettiest, or even the easiest to inspect in the first place – a towering, jumbled skyline of rooftops blocked most of the view from street level. Tonight’s brief glimpses of the cloud cover were worse than usual. Dark shapes hovered above the layer of smoke and smog from the city, grinding against each other in the night air and blocking even the light of Princess Luna’s moon from breaking through. A misty, acrid rain began to fall from the shifting mess high above even the weather ponies’ normal routes. The miserable drizzle soaked every pony shuffling across the crowded streets below, and any sense of discomfort was both ignored by busy office pawns and lost in the din of the construction crews’ constant bellowing.
Somepony, somewhere, had said that Manehatten would continue to rise forever. The peaks of its skyscrapers would grow higher and higher, and the unstoppable ocean of bits swapped between hooves would swell in the greatest localized economy Equestria had ever known. Not even the capital city of Canterlot could match the gleaming spires of the Big Apple’s industrial and corporate sectors. As beautiful as the Royal Princesses’ home was, it was still the same old Canterlot…and Manehatten changed on a daily basis as the main hub of commerce, trade, power, and greed.
Manehatten was many things Canterlot couldn’t claim to be. The sleepless labyrinth of districts and complexes was hectic, rather than merely busy. It was ambitious, not serene.
The city was vicious. The city was unforgiving. And the city was definitely not fair.
In the back alleys and the damp shipyards, ponies continued to breathe and work and sweat and starve, with or without the attention of the nobles and the bit-tossing fatcats that rarely deigned to travel below the umpteenth floors of their various studios and boardrooms. The ground level was for peasants, and peasants lived and died there. The Royal Guard’s presence this far from the capital was slim, and there were no princesses nearby to cast a kind eye on the lives of their subjects.
Curled up under a few scraps of tarp and a haphazard pile of cardboard, one little pink pegasus filly desperately wished that there were.
“Five seconds, blank flank. Five more seconds an’ I’ll just beat it outta you.”
Outside the relative protection of the lean-to, a scrappy young earth colt snorted in agitation. On his pale green flank was a series of thin scars – whatever his cutie mark had been, he either hadn’t been happy with it or the local color had found it amusing to carve away his dreams after a fight. Beside him stood another filly, this one hardly older than the child trying to back deeper into the heap of trash. Her pretty orange face might have been prettier without the bruise around her left eye. Or the cut above her lip. Or the cigarette burn on the tip of her horn. The cutie mark above her leg showed three fallen rose petals, arranged in a simple triangle. Her gaze drifted indifferently over the whimpering pegasus as her sneer split the cut open again.
“He means it, you know. Just give him the food.”
“Four...”
“C’mon, runt, we’re giving you an offer here.”
“Three…”
“Just give us the damn food, you stupid waste of wings!”
Squealing in fear, the pegasus retreated against the brick wall her hideaway was built against. “Please, stop! This is all I’ve found for two days!” Sagging under the weight of the rain, her cardboard roof ripped with the sudden movement and collapsed in on itself, covering the filly in wet sheets of paper and plastic. Snorting in agitation, the unicorn lit her injured horn with a dim flicker of orange magic and began tearing the filly’s home to shreds. Pieces of rain-slick garbage came apart easily under the glow of unicorn energy.
Weeping openly without the meager protection of her roof, the little pegasus never even saw the blow coming. The dull crunch of the colt’s hoof as it pounded her into the concrete was the greatest pain she’d ever known in her short life. The second kick was worse.
Magic fields relieved the filly of her half-eaten stash while the green colt pummeled her.
“Cinder, quit it. We’re done. All she had was a few pieces of rotten old fruit, anyway.” Wiping the rainwater from her tangled brown mane, the little unicorn took a greedy bite from an apple. She spat it out almost as quickly. “Eugh. I hate apples.”
Bruised, battered, and beaten, the pegasus watched as the older foals stomped her remaining food into a pulpy pile of mush on the asphalt before trotting deeper into the alley. Deeper into the city. Even at her young age, she knew that the city wasn’t fair. Her wings flapped feebly as she crawled back to the brick wall and hugged against it, drawing a sheet of tarp over her body to protect herself from the rain. A thin trail of blood and pink feathers spread behind her before being washed into the gutter by the increasing downpour.
On a cold, wet night in the city, what was there left to do but cry?
-----
Lily Breeze woke up to the pitter-patter of rainfall on her tarp and rosy fur. The asphalt was wet and the sky was still dark, but she felt warmer than she had in days. Her stomach rumbled uncomfortably as she thought about the last of her food that had already been washed away by rainwater. Occupied by the aching of her bruises and her belly, she didn’t even notice the blue-furred foal soundly asleep against her side until he yawned and blinked awake. Filly and colt stared at each other for a few seconds before screaming simultaneously.
“What do you want!? Stay back!” Lily fluttered her wings wildly as she backed into the wall of the alley, scattering her tarp and the few bits of her cardboard fort as her pale blue eyes widened in shock. Too many encounters with the other ponies who skulked in the back alleys of Manehatten had taught her quickly that strangers rarely, if ever, had anything pleasant to share in their company.
“Woah, hey! Hold on a sec! I’m not trying to hurt you or anything, I just wanted to get out of the rain! I was just trotting by and I saw your tarp there, and I figured, hey, she’s not using all of it, and…well…” Rubbing the last of the sleep and rainwater from his eyes, the colt looked at his confused bunkmate. Dark spots had begun to form on her face, stomach, and legs from the beating she’d endured earlier, and her small wings were missing patches of feathers. Even without the obvious signs of injury, she looked like she was on the verge of collapse. Her chest heaved with stifled sobs and her eyes searched for escape avenues. She wrapped her wings around herself protectively as she shuddered against the dirty bricks.
Chancing a step closer to the injured filly, the foal cleared his throat before starting over.
“Had a rough night, huh, kid?” The only response he received was a quiet murmur under an outstretched wing. “…I’m Spring Showers. Sorry I scared you.” Spreading her feathers a bit, the filly peeked at him from under a curtain of pink. “Say, are you hungry? I’ve got a little food I snatched from a couple of hoity-toity types earlier. You can have some if you want.” Reaching under his wing, Spring pulled out a rumpled paper sack and laid it on the street in front of him. Lily’s stomach betrayed her with a loud groan as soon as she smelled the telltale citrus scent of fresh oranges lilting from the bag. The young pegasus pulled her wings to her sides as she leaned away from the wall to savor the smell.
“Um…I’m a little hungry. You’re…just giving it to me?” When was the last time somepony had offered her food?
“Well, not all of it, kid. I’m a little hungry, too.” Spring laughed and upended the bag, letting four ripe oranges and a single, beautifully red apple roll into the rain. “Besides, you look like you could use a bite to eat. Tell you what; you tell me your name, too, and you can have two of these oranges and half of this apple.”
“The people at the orphanage called me Lily. Lily Breeze. Are you sure…?” She half-extended a hoof for an orange, still unsure about the generous offering from a strange colt.
“Well, jeez, Lily, you want me to peel it for you, too? Here, lemme show you.” He smiled and stuck his tongue out in mock concentration, biting into a fruit’s thick skin and scraping some of it away with his hoof. “Here you go, fresh off the branch. Try ‘em, I had one earlier. I’m not really a big fan of those frou-frou stuffy nobleponies, but they sure know how to pick good eats. And I don’t think they’ll miss them – they owned the fruit stand. And the city block it was on.” Lily giggled a bit as she took the sweet-smelling treat from his hoof.
“You know,” he continued, “You kinda remind me of a pink party pony I met once when you do that.” Breaking from her delicious mouthful of citrus just long enough to give him a curious glance, Lily gulped down the first bite of the kindest gift she could remember.
“Do what?”
“Smile.” Spring flashed her a grin of his own before digging greedily into his meal.
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Luna as the matron saint of the weak and downtrodden? Someone else with my headcanon, then.
I just wanna swoop in and save that poor filly from her terrible life in the city!!!
I must keep reading to see if she gets to ever have a savior!! 
When I read, "the Big Apple," I immediately imagined a bigger version of Big Macintosh, except with a business suit and a terrible lust for bits. Haha!
Well, the fic has a good setup for a dystopia. Manehattan can go eat hay.
Not bad. Not bad at all. It's always nice to see a story that closely resembles the human world and its economic corruptions. I also enjoy the idea of the young, innocent orphan. I see plenty of room for development in here, which is what any good fic needs.
919271
Luna is best princess, of course.
919274
Don't fret.
919533
That's definitely going in one of my fics.
919543
Thanks very much. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
919575If you like Princess Luna that much, you should go check out my Princess Luna fic. I'm revamping it in prep for submission to EQD, but I can let you know when that is done, so you can enjoy it to the fullest. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Luna_lolface.png
919586
Oh yes, prease.
919605 Okay, I shall let you know! Also I did enjoy your story so far, keep up the great work!
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/092/5/c/princess_luna_by_racoonkun-d4uq6gv.jpg
My intreats has been aroused. Looking forward to seeing the next installment.
This is clearly Lunar republic propaganda!
just thought I'd say so.
Eagerly awaiting the next installment!
919658
Should be up soon. Thanks for reading!
919883
I smell a Solar Empire spah...
920072
Me, too.
Good stuff, here. I'm looking forward to more. Don't disappoint me.
More good stuff!
Well,, I wish to know more.
919274 Agreed, on both points.
919575
Even when she's doing nothing and just being a plot device.
...Just like her sister.
For srs, they both deserve an episode and a chance to be badass.
A very saddening, but true story. Life in the city isn't fair, as you portrayed. I applaud you for this story, and wish to see how this progresses. The two foals seem nice enough, and i have a feeling this'll turn out kind of like the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire". Brilliant movie, and this is the brilliant story. Continue onward!
Excellent job M2. I like it, I likes it a lots.
920165
...Okay.
920648
And on my honor, YOU WILL.
921339
Very much agreed.
921744
You got it!
921829
Hey, thanks! Ooh! I have a nickname now. Nicknames are cool.
You certainly know how to make descriptions interesting to read, they make my mind create connections between the described thing and the surroundings/the world around it. It helps imagining a world breathing and living beyond the sight of the narrator, not just a big blot of "here be dragons" on the map. Like this one:
"On his pale green flank was a series of thin scars – whatever his cutie mark had been, he either hadn’t been happy with it or the local color had found it amusing to carve away his dreams after a fight."
Princess Luna! a poor little pony needs your help!!
953066
Thanks again for your input. It's good to hear people appreciating not just the story, but how it's written.
1552286
THERE'S NO NEED TO FEAR
Lulz br0 u totaly stoled this hole idae fro mthe last episode. get out u haK. go writ som Litlest Pet shoop ficshun or somthng k? k
1765501
It makes me so HAPPY AND PISSED OFF AT THE SAME TIME.
919630Can I have a source for that pic?
1765501That made me laugh more than it should have.
This is a good portrayal of a dystopic city where the bourgeoisie basically rules over the proletariat. There needs to be a spread of power, money, and food. Capitalism is what drove Manehattan into that state. It must be replaced with the Communist way!
...
...
Okay. I need to be serious and not try to act like something I don't believe or even properly know of. This story, it is a well written story. I really feel sorry for that young filly. It makes me wish that someone would take her under their wing. As far as I can tell, Luna will only help her through her dreams and they will not meet in person. I could be wrong of course, but it would fit this story's apparent style.
1766398
Well, hey, the new update should be up in a few hours, give or take. Let's see what you think after that.
Also, thanks for the opinion on the proletariat being crushed under the massive wheels of industry.
1766448I eagerly await it.
Wow. This isn't bad at all. Feels like it's set quite a bit in the future, but with the offhand mention of
probably not that far. I like the grungy atmosphere. Also, the cut away / scarred cutie mark isn't something I've seen done in a fanfic before. I like the concept. It works here.
1766398 *reads the first paragraph and gasps!* A COMMUNIST SYMPATHIZER!!! *beats you with a railroad tie!*
Die, red devil!! Huh... there's another paragraph? *reads* Oh... uhm... *pokes your somewhat squishy body, which has taken a rather beanbag-and-jello-like consistency* No hard feelings?
Now this is a curious start to a fic. I like how it reads so far, and the story seems slow, but steady.
This will be fun to read...
~Skeeter The Lurker
This is just lovely