I Am

by Waxworks

Pony'ville' No Longer

Amperage waited at Pony-Can station impatiently. He understood that earth ponies had to walk everywhere, but Gear Grinder was half an hour late! Traffic couldn’t have possibly been that bad, and the trains were impeccable. There was no announcement that they’d been delayed for any reason. No pony had thrown themselves in front of one yet, so what was taking him?

He looked around at the motley crew occupying the station. They were made up of lizards, fish, buffalo, minotaurs, and many others. A sign of living in Ponyville. The name still stuck all these years later, but it was decidedly not a village any longer.

It had grown quickly some years after the princess of friendship ascended. The creation of her castle had drawn ponies in at first, as they wanted to take advantage of the proximity to a new seat of power. Soon after the ponies came in, other creatures wanted to move in. Zebras, goats, donkeys, minotaurs. They had been welcomed by the princess, but hearing about how welcoming she had been had drawn other creatures from the south. Creatures without hooves.

They say Ponyville used to be more about friendship, and ostensibly that’s still true, but Ponyville sought to welcome literally everypony that came. Griffins, minotaurs, arimaspi, buffalos, yaks. Everypony who went to Ponyville was welcomed, and it wasn’t long before it contained the widest range of cultures in all of Equestria. That meant that every culture wanted to have the comforts of home, and in an effort to be more welcoming, the princess of friendship helped them make it happen. Now it was a sprawling metropolis covering much of the lower countryside around Horn mountain, but it’s not quite as welcoming as it used to be.Everypony is still welcome, but it’s not as safe as a pony would want.

Ponies, being smaller than many of the other creatures in and especially outside Equestria, are easy targets for bigger creatures like minotaurs or the fish-folk from the south. Pegasi can fly, but griffins are bigger and more vicious, and if you aren’t a powerful unicorn, your magic isn’t quite enough to protect you from anypony wishing to do you ill. The princess tried to quell such habits early on, because friendship is about not taking advantage of your fellow creatures, but as it grew it became impossible for her to police everything. She and the other elements of harmony tried, but it grew too big too quickly.

A police force was created, of course, and they were everywhere, but then the princess of friendship found out she couldn’t police the police, and corruption became the name of the game. Bribery, abuse of power, you name it, it began happening. Now Ponyville was known as the City of Pleasure. Anything you wanted, you could get if you knew the right pony.

“Or creature, as the case may be,” Amperage muttered to himself. He ruffled his wings impatiently, then sighed gratefully as the train pulled up.

He raised a wing and flipped his visor down. The HUD popped up and he hunted the crowd disembarking for the ID of Gear’s visor. A targeting reticle appeared and scanned the crowd, then zoomed in on a pony pushing through the crowd, labeling him as ‘Spider Web’, Gear’s online name. Amperage flapped his wings and floated above the crowd, flying over to Gear. He floated above him and clapped his hooves.

“Gear! You’re bloody late!” Amperage yelled above the crowd.

Gear looked up, then stumbled as ponies behind him pushed him onward. He didn’t respond, but pointed further ahead to an empty section of the train platform. Amperage flew over to it and waited as Gear shoved through the crowd.

“I know I’m late. You can clearly see why.” Gear gestured to the packed platform.

“It shouldn’t have taken you quite this long to get here. We’re forty-five minutes behind schedule.” Amperage pointed to his visor, which displayed the time on the front for Gear to see.

“Well, whatever. Are you ready to go? I got my saddlebags. That’s why I’m here, right? To carry stuff? I just hope it isn’t too much. I wanted to buy some groceries from Ponyville,” Gear said.

“That is why you’re here, yes. I can’t fly while carrying everything, that’s why I volunteered you. I figured you could get out of your apartment and the station once in a while, eh?” Amperage punched Gear in the shoulder with a smile.

Amperage had worked with Gear Grinder for a while, and he’d noticed that the other stallion rarely left his home. Amperage was a bit of a social butterfly himself, so when there were work parties, vacations, nights out, and anything like that, Gear Grinder was conspicuously absent. So, in an effort to give the poor stallion some much-needed socializing, he’d go out of his way to make opportunities for the other pony to get out and see the city.

“Ugh,” Gear Grinder groaned. “Should have known it wasn’t just chance that we ended up together.”

“Aw, you say that like it’s a punishment to work with me.” Amperage smiled wide.

“It’s not on the top of my list of fun things to do.”

“Hey, c’mon. I did this as a favor for you. I don’t expect anything in return, but surely you can enjoy getting out of the power plant?”

Gear sighed and flipped his goggles down over his eyes now that he had connection again. “Yeah, I do. Sorry. Don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

“Nah, dude. I get it. I do.” Amperage bumped into Gear’s side and grinned. “Getting out and about isn’t your thing. But this is work. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me if you want to get paid! Could be worse, right?”

“Yeah, it could be worse. Thanks, Amp.”

“Excellent! Now, this is a fully reimbursed trip down to Ponyville. Travel and food are all paid for, but luxury items are not. Keep your receipts, and let’s pick up some fun stuff, eh? And remember…”

“No separating from your partner. I know. I’ve been sent down before.”

“There ya go! But we’re covered for the whole day, so let’s make the most of it, yeah?” Amperage fluttered his wings in excitement. “Anything in particular you wanted to see?”

Gear Grinder thought about it for a moment. “Well, besides some of the cheaper and exotic foods they have down here, I wanted to find that electronics store. Do you know the one I mean? What was the name…”

Amperage’s face lit up. “Eternal lights! Yeah, I know the one! You can see it glowing at night. The place is lit up like a Hearthswarming tree.”

“You’ve never been?”

“Never wanted to. I use the net for information and the occasional bit of Dirtville on Muzzlebook. Most ponies talk about Eternal Lights as ‘the’ gaming store in Ponyville, but gaming isn’t my thing.”

“That makes sense. I haven’t been because it’s expensive. You can see the prices online and they’re out of reach, but I wanted to see if they had a techmantic antenna I could buy. That way I can use my goggles inside Mount Horn.”

“Ohhhh, that’d be cool. Maybe I’ll get one too. Then I could check Muzzlebook while at work!”

“That’s part of the reason I want one so much. In Canterlot you have to go to the upper levels to find stores that sell them, and they always charge more to earth ponies. I stopped going up there when I found that out.”

“Ah, yeah. Shit sucks.” Amperage’s ears flicked as he clicked about his own visor. The sensors attached to his ears picked up the motions and Gear could see the cursor moving about his HUD. “Alright then. You want to pick up the supplies before or after our shopping spree?”

“That depends on what you want to do, if anything. I just want to shop for food and the techmantic antenna. Depending on distance, that should be done in a couple hours.”

“I don’t need anything. I can fly down here whenever I want, remember?” Amperage flapped his wings for emphasis.

“Right. Rub it in, why don’t you?”

“Hahaha!” Amperage put a hoof over Gear’s withers “Not trying to rub anything in, dude. Just making a point. Maybe I’ll help you with groceries sometime, eh? As payment, maybe we can hang out?”

Gear looked at Amperage in confusion. “And do what?”

“Hey, I dunno, maybe play some of those games you like so much?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I can ask for!” Amperage flicked his ears some more. “So, groceries?”

“Yeah, let me pull up the directions.”

Gear’s ears flicked about and his eyes darted to and fro inside his goggles. He clicked through several maps until he found one he liked, and with a flick of an ear, he sent it over to Amperage, who looked it over.

“Ahhh, yeah. I know these landmarks. Doing it by hoof will be very different, but I think I can find the way. Come on, Gear!” Amperage made sure Gear Grinder was following him and led the way off the station platform and into Ponyville.

The station they were at was at the base of Horn mountain, and was the only train connection between Ponyville and Canterlot. Being in such a position, it saw a lot of traffic, and the train was huge to match the need for business. The morning and evening rush saw ponies leaving Canterlot and going to Ponyville to work, then it saw those same ponies at the end of the day leaving Ponyville and heading back up to the safety of Canterlot. It was mostly earth ponies, of course. Unicorns and pegasi either didn’t need to leave Canterlot in the case of the unicorns, or could just fly down in the case of the pegasi.

During the rest of the day, it saw the occasional use by non-pony folk. The rest of the creatures who weren’t welcome in Canterlot still had business to do there. Many of them employed ponies who could get about the city with ease and safety, and likewise ponies would call on the creatures from below to help them do business in Ponyville. It was a neat and tidy symbiotic relationship.

In Gear Grinder and Amperage’s case, the power station just didn’t want to be seen employing such creatures, and sent a duo of ponies down to Ponyville to fetch supplies they needed that they could get for much less than by dealing with the unicorns above. All it took was sending a couple ponies deep into the lion’s den.

Amperage looked about the streets as the two of them walked, and saw why it was considered so dangerous. The two of them were dwarfed by nearly every creature around them. All manner of beasts, reptilian, mammalian, and avian were everywhere, and all of them stood taller than the two ponies.

“You’ve been down here before, right?” Gear Grinder asked.

“Yeah…” Amperage was distracted, trying to pick between two roads.

“How come they don’t send a unicorn in the team?” Gear asked. “I feel… exposed. I’m not even the strongest earth pony at the power station. What am I supposed to do if we get attacked?”

“Get captured, but don’t get captured with the supplies.”

“That’s not very funny.”

“It’s not supposed to be. They really don’t care what happens to you.”

“It feels that way.”

“Well, let me put it this way: Do you have family in Canterlot?”

“No. They all live in Vanhoover or Baltimare.”

“No foals or special somepony?”

“No.”

“They you’re incredibly disposable.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Sorry, dude. S’just how work sees it.”

“Well at least I’m out of the power station!” Gear forced a smile.

Amperage clapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit! Now let me concentrate on where we’re going. I might need to fly up and get a pegasi-view of the streets.”

“What? Don’t leave me down here alone!”

“It’s just for a second. I need to get my bearings. Now don’t move.” Amperage spread his wings and leaped into the air. He flew up in tight circles to ensure he didn’t move far from his take-off point, and kept the reticle in his HUD trained on Gear.

He spun about in the air, trying to find the buildings that matched the pegasi-view of the city. The path it was asking them to take to the nearest pony-friendly grocery was through some questionable streets, but he was trying to find some that were going to end up near Eternal Lights. That way they’d be able to hit two pegasi with one rock.

Amperage double-checked the path one more time, then nodded to himself and swooped back down to rejoin Gear Grinder. He found the poor earth pony waylaid by a smaller cat-creature who had his large coat open to show off unicorn horns. Gear was not amused.

“Okay, first off, that is disgusting. Second, that’s not even how a unicorn horn works. You can’t just glue it on your forehead and have it work. Now get the hell away from me before I call the police for trafficking body parts,” Gear Grinder said, shooing the cat away with a hoof.

Upon seeing Amperage landing nearby, the cat creature closed his jacket and scuttled off.

“Making friends already, eh?” Amperage trotted over.

“It is the City of Friendship.”

“City of Pleasure to anypony who really knows it.”

“I hear it’s not as bad as all this near the Castle. The princess really keeps things under control over there. Regimenting most things with a bit of an iron hoof.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“The net.”

“Ah.”

“Well, you got the path?”

“Yeah. Follow me.”

The two turned down a street lined with small shops and smaller homes on either side. Children of all ages and sizes played in the streets, and some probably weren’t playing at all but just wanted you to believe they were. Amperage kept a hoof on his bits and kept most creatures away with his wings. Gear Grinder wasn’t worried about his saddlebags because he had nothing in them yet, but he kept his bit-pouch around his neck and a sidelong eye on anypony around him. Otherwise he stayed tight on Amperage’s tail.

“I think we’re almost there,” Amperage said.

“Good.” Gear responded.

Amperage looked behind himself at Gear, and noticed the pony’s eyes weren’t fully on the path ahead of him. It looked like he was reading or writing something in his goggles. It was about what Amperage had come to expect about the stallion.

He didn’t bug him about it. He led the way, making sure Gear was following him the whole time, and waved a happy hoof at the store when they had arrived. “Here we are, Gear. One of the few shops that sells only pony-friendly food! Fruits, vegetables, and grains abound! Without a single carcass in sight!”

The store had a friendly and colorful sign out front, and was much smaller in size than its neighbors. Compared to the other streets they had traveled down, there was a significantly larger population of ponies around the store. Earth ponies and pegasi were coming and going. Usually in pairs, but there was the occasional lone pony. Not a single unicorn, though.

“Oh, I didn’t need it to be strictly pony-friendly. I’m not squeamish about meat, but thank you, Amp.”

“Anything to make my new bud’s trip down to Ponyville that much more pleasant,” Amperage said. “In addition, it’s not that far from Eternal Lights, either, so I had an ulterior motive for picking this.”

Gear visibly brightened at mention of the electronics store. “Oh! That’s fantastic! I’ll hurry and get groceries. Then we can head over there!”

“I’ll wait out here,” Amperage said with a smile. He took up a position outside the front of the store while Gear Grinder went inside.

Amperage waited patiently for his friend. He pony-watched while idling outside the store. Pegasi flew down from above, one of which he recognized. He nodded hello and got a nod back, but he didn’t know them well enough to strike up conversation. But then he noticed a pony across the street watching him.

It was a lone pony. A unicorn mare, of all things, but that wasn’t the only thing that made her stand out. Her clothes looked hoof-woven, with obvious and poor stitching, and she was wearing a lot of them, as well as a large straw hat. She also appeared to have no headset, goggles, or other augments that were visible. It made her look out of place among the myriad electronics, cables, and concrete surrounding them. Either she’d done a damn good job hiding them in her clothes and hat, or she had none. Amperage wasn’t sure which was stranger.

It began to unnerve him. She was just standing there, watching him appraise her and her clothes. She didn’t waver in her gaze, and Amperage couldn’t bring himself to stare back. He glanced at her eyes, but he found himself unable to hold her gaze. Her eyes were a bright and sunshiny yellow, and he wasn’t able to stare at her the same way she stared back at him.

He tried to pay attention to anything else, but she wasn’t leaving, and she didn’t appear to be shopping. It was like she was there just to look at him. He looked around, but there was nopony else standing in her gaze but him. Tentatively, he waved at her and gave an awkward smile. To his surprise, she waved back. He pointed at himself, and she nodded.

Just then, Gear Grinder walked back out of the store. “Alright then. Got a good amount of produce much cheaper than you can get in Canterlot. It’s criminal how little they charge down here. I’m just glad it’s not actually illegal.” Gear stopped as he noticed Amperage glancing across the small street.

“She’s been watching me for almost the whole time you’ve been in there, dude,” Amperage said. “It’s been a little weird. I even waved to her and she waved back.”

“Yeah, and? Did you talk to her?”

“Not yet. You think I should?”

“I’m actually surprised you haven’t yet. Aren’t you the one who tries to get me to go out and talk to ponies all the time?”

“Yeah, but this is different. Her stare is… kind of unnerving.”

“She’s just looking. Maybe she’s got a thing for pegasi, or your wings are just the right size, or your color sets her off in just that kind of way. I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just… those eyes. Have you looked at them?” Amperage gestured with a hoof at the mare across the way.

Gear looked over at the mare, and she glanced at him, but then looked right back at Amperage. Gear did cluck his tongue in amazement, though. “Wow. They’re intense, you’re right. But she really seems interested in only you. I really think you should go say hello, at the very least.” Gear punched Amperage in the shoulder.

“Yeah, okay. I think I will!” Amperage puffed up his chest, and ruffled his wings. “Here I go!”

“Good luck!”

Amperage crossed the street, ducking under some of the creatures going about their business, and fluttering over one of the huge electric cycles that puttered down the roads. He alighted on the road just in front of the mare and cleared his throat.

“Hello there,” the mare spoke first, throwing him off. Her voice was deep, but she spoke in a clipped manner, without wasting time.

Amperage gawped for a moment before he could speak. “Uh… hey! I saw you watching me and thought I’d come say hello.”

“I was wondering if you’d take the hint or not. You really must thank your friend there for giving you the push you needed.” She gestured across the road to Gear.

“Hahaha. He’s not quite a friend yet. I’m working on that. He doesn’t get out much, but we’re down here for work. Speaking of, I really can’t stay and chat for a long time. My name’s Amperage. Pleased to meet you.” Amperage stuck out a hoof.

She reached up and took his hoof. “I am Nom de Guerre, but you may call me Guerre. It is a pleasure indeed, Amperage.”

Amperage felt an electric charge go up his spine when she spoke his name. Hearing her say it just made him feel tingly all over. This mare was something else, and she was interested in him! He couldn’t believe his luck!

He smiled at her and sighed. “So, Guerre…” Amperage savored the sound of her name. “Since I can’t stay, is there any way I might contact you? I noticed you don’t have any tech. Are you purely techmantic?”

“Oh, not at all. I do not use any tech whatsoever. I find it distracts me from the here and now.”

“A reasonable way of looking at it. My co-worker over there spends most of his time online, but he seems happy,” Amperage said. “So, is there any way we can meet again? I’d love to get to know you better.”

“Yes, of course there is.” Guerre levitated a card out of one of the pockets of her coat. “Call this number if you wish to contact me. It is where I live. They will relay the message and I can call you back.”

Amperage took the card out of the air. It was a business card for a bakery called ‘Loafers’, with Nom de Guerre’s name written in a beautiful flowing script on the back. Amperage looked up at Guerre and grinned wide. “Sweet! Thanks very much, Guerre! I’ll contact you tonight! I promise!”

“I look forward to it, Amperage.”

Amperage felt that delightful chill go up his back again as his name spilled from her lips, and he grinned even harder. He waved goodbye to Guerre and flew back across the road, doing a happy spin before landing next to Gear.

“Went well, then?” Gear asked.

“Dude, it went awesome! She’s totally into me, and I got her number!” Amperage excitedly shook the business card under Gear’s nose.

“Nice! What’s her name?”

Amperage grinned. “Nom de Guerre.”

“Nom de Gwhere? Isn’t that Prench?”

Amperage shrugged. “Hey, I dunno, but that’s what she said her name was.” He suddenly looked worried. “You don’t think she gave me a fake name and number did she?” Amperage looked back across the street, but the mare was gone. Only the creatures hurrying up and down the street remained.

“No, no. Not at all. I just said I thought it was Prench. I don’t actually know Prench,” Gear said. “Anyway, let’s get to Eternal Lights. We’re still on a schedule you know.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Amperage looked at where Nom de Guerre had been standing one last time, tucked the business card into his shirt, and gave a happy little hop, fluttering his wings. “This way, this way!”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

If the main OCs in this story were voiced, what would they sound like?

[Waxworks]

8520891
I imagine Gear Grinder as a soft-spoken baritone. Amperage would be a tenor, but excitable and frequently sliding higher as his enthusiasm gets the better of him. Guerre would be a throaty alto, but slightly grating.