Manehatten Soul.

“I know what's meant to be broken.

I know what's meant to be lonely.

I know what's meant to be on the way.

But ever since I've come to town.

But ever since I've met my friends.

But ever since I've called it home.

I have become whole again.

I have become brave again.

I have become my own...”

Sweetie Belle's last sentence faded away under a guitar solo. Her voice filled the small bar with ease, every mare and the few stallions swayed in the tact and the slow ballad drifted through the minds of every pony. A few ponies were even slowly dancing to it, or nestled up to one other, or even kissed. Scootaloo and Blue Velvet kissed too and it overstayed its welcome for Sweetie Belle's sake.
A small stitch in her heart undermined her smile, but she put it on nevertheless. Even when it was a little bit wistful, but fortunately they didn't noticed it. Finally the guitar faded out as well with a deep tone and the audience tramped a wild applause. A few yelled for an encore as well, of course Scootaloo and Blue Velvet were the loudest one and get some of her friends to join in quickly.

The crowd demanded an encore, so it would be cruel to deny it, right?
Sweetie sighed loudly, brushed away the sweat from her forehead and touched the remaining shatters of her horn. She winced backwards scared, brushed a streak over it, but it didn't even itched and she hadn't taken any medicine in weeks. She was even able to do, what she really loved.
Sweetie nodded to her friend String Tamer and whispered a name of another song to the younger earthpony.
“Find Yourself?”
The dark green mare looked worried first and opened her mouth, but she hugged the smaller pony and whispered into her ears, as she saw how excited Sweetie Belle smiled.
“This is the last curtain.
After that we're drinking a few mugs and than we're going home.”

She sounded a little bit worried and exhausted, but Sweetie Belle just smiled. She nodded and turned to the audience again. But her marefriend left her place, approached her and nuzzled her face. She brushed away her own long dark red mane and smiled provoking at her.
Sweetie stopped, looked to Scootaloo and had to suppress another sigh. She answered String with a gentle, almost hesitant kiss and nuzzled her even shier on the sweaty cheek. Finally she turned again to the audience with light blushing cheeks and looked out for an orange pegasus, but both friends were nowhere to be found. It was quite impossible to see them in a cheering and trampling crowd of ponies. So she sighed and cleared her throat.
“That's our last song for today.”
Sweetie Belle's singing and her friend's guitar let the bar slowly faded away and the time marched forwards.

Sweetie pushed the handle down and opened the door to her apartment. She held her mumbling friend with the other hoof, like so many nights before. String Tamer had drunken too much cider after the gig and so the older mare had to bring her to her apartment, as she always had to. But it was easier since both mares shared one. Of course it was Sweetie Belle's old apartment and was way too tight for two mares, but they couldn't find a better one and someway it was okay for them.
Sweetie Belle suppressed a sigh, as the mare nuzzled her cheek and babbled with a heavy tongue.
“I love you, Sweetie.
You're the sweetest thing since mummy and...”
Sweetie laid a hoof on String's mouth and pulled her into the corridor quickly, before the neighbors would wake up and wrote another very angry letter again. She closed the door with a hesitant thump and the light went on immediately as she took another step into the corridor.
Velvet's magic worked like it was intended and so Sweetie didn't have to put on the light with her hooves. Sweetie's eyes darted tiredly through the room. She saw many pictures from String's family, a few from herself and finally her eyes stayed on the spot, where the great mirror was.
Now there was just a huge picture from all three Cutie Mark Crusader, who were hugging their very special someponys. On Apple Bloom's back stood a small filly, Sweetie Tarte and on Scootaloo's stood her own filly and both had their front hooves on the heads of their mothers. The fillies grinned and the mares under them tried to smile too, but their eyes darted to both tomboys.
Sweetie Belle stood a little bit far away, forced a smile and stood alone, but she tried at least. Sweetie sighed again, as she thought back to the the last meetup with the friends.

Velvet had almost assailed her with her last visit. She smiled widely, as Sweetie opened the door finally.
“Come on, Sweets, we have to celebrate, that you've found a special somepony.
And a somepony as nice and pretty as String.”
The mare winked at her, as she shoved herself through the door and pushed away the heavy blushing Sweetie Belle.
Blue Hope was a little bit more reserved and pressed her red stuffed toy closely to herself, as she would be ashamed of ripping apart Rarity's present. Scootaloo pushed her gently forwards and nuzzled her face encouraging.
“Come on, Hope.
I know you're very sorry and aunt Sweetie isn't angry about you or was.”
She whispered softly to the filly and smiled gently. The filly pressed her ears on her head, chewed on her lips and rubbed her nose trembling.
“Really?”
The filly sounded a little bit scared and she sniffed even once. Sweetie sighed, let Velvet go on into the living room an knelt down in front of Blue Hope.
She smiled gently and cocked her head.
“Of course, Hope.
I can't be really angry with you.”
She petted over the filly's head and looked to the red stuffed pegasus in her hooves. The filly pressed it closer to herself and nuzzled the soft felt.
Sweetie Belle smiled gently and petted the filly's mane further. She nuzzled her face and whispered.
“I won't take Red Lightning from you, I promise.
I have my own great pony to cuddle, you know.”
Blue Velvet snickered now, answered with a nuzzle of her own over Sweetie Belle's cheek and whispered.
“Mummy and aunt Velvet are doing this as well.
It looks really comfortable and I wanted to snuggle between them every time, but they had said, that I can only do this, when I'm a good child.”
Sweetie nodded and winked to the filly.
“But you're certainly a good child all the time, don't you?”
She tickled the filly with her nose and grinned playfully. First Blue snickered, but then she drew embarrassed circles on the ground and sighed.
“Well...”
Now Scootaloo leaned closer to her and whispered into her twitching ear.
“I love you, Sweetie.”
Her voice sounded strangely loud and brought Sweetie back to reality. The mare shook herself and sighed again.

She looked blindly to the picture on the wall and stayed on her own image. String Tamer whispered in her ears and nestled closer into her side.
She laid a heavy hoof on her neck and kissed her side.
“You...you're the sweetest unicorn of all..”
Sweetie just answered with a smile and frowned. She backed the mare a little bit and walked slowly with her in the shared bedroom. The light went here on, as well as in the rest of the rooms and Sweetie walked quickly to the huge bed in the middle of the room.
The former unicorn sighed again and trembled, as she thought about the upcoming night. She loved String, really she did, but to share a bed with her, when she was so drunk, that was totally a different thing.
She sighed again and frowned, as the younger earthpony clung closer to her and began to purr into her ears.
“Do you want to cuddle a little, before...
I mean...”
The smaller mare rolled her eyes, pushed the nestling face away quickly and helped her on the bed. She brushed the mumbling earthpony's mane carefully out of her eyes and sighed again, as her marefriend prattled something and tried to grab her hoof.
“I just want to cuddle you and...”
She dozed off finally and nuzzled the pillow. Sweetie shook the head, yawned shortly and shook the tiredness away. She rubbed her eyes, stroke the mane and touched the sharp itching reminds of her horn in the same moment.
She covered String's body with the blanket and tried to ease her headache with one cold hoof, as she turned to the door.

Sweetie sneaked out of the room, sighed as she closed the door slowly and walked quietly into the bathroom.
There she found the first and only mirror of the whole apartment and looked inside. She sighed again, as the pain returned in her ruined horn again.
Sweetie frowned disappointed, as she saw her own reflection.
The dark circles around her eyes were fortunately covered by makeup, the shivering and weakly hooves were easily explained by her stage fright and the dozy eyes.
Well Scootaloo could have seen them, but she was backstage just for a few minutes, before Sweetie had to go on stage and she was way more awake at this time.
She suppressed another yawn, sighed again and washed her eyes with two splashes of cold water. Sweetie's eyes were burning, the mare shook the wet mane and stroke it back in place. She forced a tired smile back on her face and sprawled herself.
Sweetie looked to the wall cupboard aside the sink, thought for moment and turned her head from left to right, like she had to consider some actions.
She frowned, opened the cupboard and looked to the huge pillbox on the highest board.
The writing on it's side grabbed her attention and held it tight.

Owlguard's-Alertness-Pills.

She raised her shivering hoof to the box, but a long yawn stopped her and she had to put a hoof on her mouth. She shook the thought away, sprawled herself and closed the cupboard again.
She couldn't suppress another, even longer yawn and breathed out after that. Sweetie turned around finally, waved over her mane again and skulked slowly into the living room.
She walked to her couch and pulled her own old pillow and her favorite blanket from under it. She crawled slowly under the warm blanket, nestled into the pillow and pulled the blanket over her head. Finally the mare closed her eyes, sniffed once and was quickly reminded by the smell of her old home.
Back in Ponyville, as she was younger. She drifted away in happier dreams, happier times with her friends, as she could spend a whole afternoon with crusading for Cutie Marks and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She sobbed once, before the dreams eased her down.

Sweetie woke up in the middle of the night, as she heard galloping hooves and an even louder noise with she was strangely familiar with.
String Tamer had galloped into the bathroom and almost puked her guts out.
The smaller un, well, former unicorn sighed, as she heard another gag from the bathroom and the splashing sound showed, how badly the younger earthpony suffered.
Sweetie opened the weary eyes, yawned and came back onto her trembling hooves. She stumbled and bumped shortly into the couch table. She grimaced with pain, sighed and staggered tired into the bathroom.
She saw String kneeling in front of the toilet and threw up again. Sweetie sighed and yawned after that. She rubbed her burning eyes, yawned again and stepped into the bathroom.
“I've told you...”
She looked first firmly, but her expression softened, as she saw how miserable the younger mare looked. The tousled mane, the pasty face, the very shaky hooves and the throwing up were a clear sign, how bad the mare must feel.
The mare looked out for help in a short pause and drew a small circle on the toilet seat. Sweetie sighed again and staggered beside her. She hugged the earthpony, sat down and petted her bent forward head.
“You'll be alright soon, String.”
Sweetie swallowed an accusation, but expressed it clearly. Fortunately String couldn't see it. The mare sighed again and shook it away. She glanced to the mirror shortly and seemed to plea for help to herself.
Sweetie took a deep breath, tried to smile again, but her expression changed into an angry one first, then into a disappointed one. She shook it away and smiled confident, as String raised her head and whispered silently.
“I'm really really sorry, Sweetie.”
I will never...”
She tried to nuzzle Sweetie's cheek, but the foul reeking mouth let Sweetie turn her head in disgust. The younger mare teared up and clung scared onto the smaller unicorn's neck with both hooves.
“No, please don't leave me.
Please, I'll improve and...”
Sweetie sighed again, hugged the sobbing mare, fondled her mane gently and hummed a lullaby.
“Hush now, quiet now it's time to rest your sleepy head...”

The former unicorn had to suppress sobs on her own and brushed away tears, while she rocked the desperate mare back to sleep and consoled her as well.
Meanwhile she looked back to the mirror, to the sink and finally to the little cupboard beside it. She tried another smile, but it faded away quickly.
“I love you, mummy.
Please don't leave me. Ever!”
String sounded so vulnerable and weak again, that Sweetie had to hug her, like a mother would hug a sick foal. The stronger earthpony shivered, as she relived her darkest memories.
She clutched closer and closer on Sweetie Belle. The former unicorn groaned in pain in the strong hooves, tried to held the hooves off, but failed and her horn sparkled in even more pain.
“Please mummy, don't leave me.
Please stay with me.
Please don't leave me.”
The mare pressed her eyes harder and harder into the chest of the struggling former unicorn. Sweetie tried to strike the strong hooves off and struggled more and more, but she couldn't free herself.
Her marefriend nestled her head harder into her chest, mumbled something inaudible and eased off finally, as her friend's smell sent her into better dreams.
She let go at last and Sweetie Belle crawled away quickly, rubbed her painful flank and inhaled stressed, to fought down sobs. She pressed away more tears and came back to her trembling hooves finally.
She looked fidgety over the strong mare, over her Cutie Mark, a guitar with broken strings and stayed on her reflection finally.
Sweetie stared into her eyes, like she had done the nights before that night and mumbled something to herself.
“I need you, Scootaloo.
Please come back and hug me.
Just for a moment.”
She looked down to the trembling mare and sighed deeply. Sweetie liked String of course. She could be sweet and calm and gentle.
When she didn't drink! But this was very rare the case and if she didn't drink it wasn't for long

Sweetie sighed again, skulked slowly into the bedroom, grabbed the blanket and covered the sleeping earthpony in the bathroom. She left the door ajar and walked slowly into the living room finally.
Sweetie sat down on the couch, stared to the bathroom, sighed and turned her head to a picture on the couch table.
She had indeed upset it, but a gentle hoof replaced it in eye sight, when she would lay down again. Sweetie yawned long and nestled into the little pillow again. She turned her head and looked to the photo.
Sweetie Belle's look stayed on the little orange pegasus, who raised her flank in the air as innocent as she could and presented her Cutie Mark to the camera. The filly pointed on it with one hoof and smiled widely and proud.
Beside her stood a younger version of Sweetie Belle with a horn and a real real smile and Apple Bloom, who had raised the flank with proud and had hugged the smaller unicorn with one hoof.
“You know, Scootaloo.
I would return with you and life there right now.
But...”
Sweetie yawned again, nuzzled the pillow and closed her eyes hesitantly, as she finished the sentence.
“We have lived ourselves apart and have fallen in love with other ponies, right?”
A last sting drifted over her head, into the reminders of her horn, then deeper down her throat and grabbed her heart. She sobbed again and rubbed her tearful eyes an the pillow.
Finally she dozed off into a dream.

Author's Note:

Well I hope you liked it.
This is sort of an experiment.
I've written the first of those stories for a contest,
but it seemed, that it needed more chapters.
So I've written more about it and was finally able to do a few more of them.
So I hope you liked th third one and you'll return for the last one.
Manehatten is a town like no town.
A town to get lost in.

I really hope you like the structure and the naming of the stories.
Feel free to comment.

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