Mapping Manehattan

by The Red Parade

traumatizing

Movement.

Fiddle looks up from the bag she’s rummaging through. Lighting’s frowning, eyes alert. Somepony’s coming. Two pegasi are staring down at them from the top of a building.

One of them nudges the other a few times before sighing. She taps her chest twice and draws two circles in the air.

Fiddlesticks pumps her hoof in the air twice, finishing the sequence. The two pegasi leap off the building, landing in front of them. They identify themselves as Raindrops and Whitey. From the Precinct.

Lightning raises an eyebrow, looking them over. They’re wearing police raid gear and have shotguns slung over their backs. She knows the Precinct is a settlement that took refuge in the police headquarters. Founded by a group of first responders who barricaded themselves inside while rioters burned the town around them.

Raindrops asks what they’re doing. Fiddle says that they’re from Hope Hotel, exploring. She asks how things are at the Precinct.

They could be better, Raindrops answers. But she can’t complain. She tells Fiddle to be careful, there’s been a lot of Ravagers nearby lately. Fiddle frowns. The Ravagers are mostly former prisoners, criminals, and psychopaths. It’s best to avoid them at all costs, unless you've got a death wish.

Lightning has her gaze on Whitey. The entire time they’ve been talking, Whitey hasn’t moved or spoken. She’s been staring forwards, face blank and eyes empty.

Lightning asks what they used to do. Raindrops says she was a police officer. Whitey was a paramedic, assigned to the quarantine.

Lightning and Fiddle flinch. That answers the question. Lightning showed up towards the end of the quarantine. She can’t imagine what it must have been like to live through it. She reaches out and puts a hoof on Whitey’s shoulder.

Whitey blinks. She tilts her head in confusion. Lightning just smiles in sympathy. She knows that behind her blue eyes there’s a world of pain and suffering that nopony else can see. She knows that underneath her skin there are wounds that will always burn and never heal. In her mind are memories that will never fade.

Whitey has loved. Whitey has lost. Whitey couldn’t save everyone. But neither could Raindrops. Neither could Lightning Dust nor Fiddlesticks. She was one mare. Nopony was expecting her to save the world.

But White Lightning was there. And she didn’t give up. For that, she’s braver than most.

Whitey blinks again. Then a small smile forms on her lips. She nods her head in thanks. There’s a flicker of life in her eyes.

Raindrops is intrigued. She hasn’t seen White Lightning smile in two years. She thought that version of her died with Manehattan. Maybe there’s still hope after all. She jerks her head towards the street. They have to keep patrolling.

White Lightning takes a deep shaky breath. She fires off a salute at Lightning, which she returns. The two pegasi fly off.

Thank you. Those two words mean a lot. More than anypony else could ever imagine.

Comments

[Nitro Indigo]

Thank you, Lightning Dust says.

One of your rules is "no direct dialogue", but you cheat with sentences like this. Are you trying to evoke the narration of The Handmaid's Tale?

[The Red Parade]

10171172
It pushes a little bit. I'll probably fix this later. I've never watched Handmaiden's Tale so no comment.

[Tael_Spinner]

10171172
10171199
Probably something like:

Lightning Dust thanks her.

But you would need to pick up a word somewhere to make the 500.

[The Red Parade]

10171214
Yeah, It won't be that hard, mostly just shuffling words around. Nothing I haven't done before lol.

[PonyJosiah13]

I kinda question the wisdom of having two characters named Lightning in the same chapter. There were a couple of moments where I was briefly confused about who was who.

[The Red Parade]

10171328
I guess. I have a fix in mind if I change White Lightning's name to 'Whitey.'

[Sephocolys]

I thought I had followed you but whatever.

There, followed now!

Anotehr great chapter!

[The Red Parade]

10228370
Thank you, glad you're enjoying!