Only Chapter
Yo-Yo Spinners looked out over Manehatten from the roof of the second tallest building in the city. A faint glow of orange highlighted the star studded sky, making the night appear like a sunset in one of those greeting cards. To his left sat his friend and former co-owner High Rise. They had met a few years earlier and started the Yo-Yo and Rise emporium of candy, toys and military grade munitions. The last one wasn't one of their smarter ideas. High Rise was currently curled into a fetal position, crying and mumbling about fate and how destiny hated him. Yo-Yo thought he could do with some cheering up so turned to his friend.
“Beautiful night sky, don’t ya think?” he said to his roof mate.
High Rise, still in the fetal position, turned his head and glared at Yo-Yo. Well, at least he wasn't rocking and mumbling anymore.
“What?” asked Yo-Yo in response to the glare, “You can’t say its not pretty.”
“Pretty!?” said Rise, fuming as he moved towards Yo-Yo. “You think the sky is pretty? What about the sky is so damn pretty, hmm?”
Yo-Yo stepped back as Rise began prodding him with his hoof.
“Please, tell me what is so pretty. Is it the stars? How about the city? Or, I don’t know, the glowing ball of fire and death encompassing this building and trapping us on the roof?”
“Well, it does kinda make it look like a sunset.”
“How can you think about the sky in a situation like this? WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!!!”
Rise began panicking and running back and forth on the roof. trying to spot an escape from the impending death-ball-of-fire climbing its way up the building.
Yo-Yo rushed over and grabbed his friend. “Calm down colt, get a hold of yourself,” adding a slap for good measure.
Rise stood wide eyed for a bit, a hoof holding his cheek. He turned to look at Yo-Yo. “You're right. I can’t panic at a moment like this.”
“Right? That’s my partner”
“If I panic, I won't have time to beat you senseless”, Rise jumped at Yo-Yo and tackled him to the ground. “This is all your fault. I said it was a bad idea to add munitions, but no, you said it would be fine.” Yo-Yo wrestled with him as he avoided punches aimed at his head. “You said it would put our names on billboards across Equestria. Yo-Yo and Rise on all the street corners. I should have never listened to you”
Yo-Yo managed to kick Rise off and put some space between them.
“Well, when you put it that way it sounds bad.”
“ARRRGHHH!!!”
“AGK!"
Yo-Yo jumped backwards from the lunge, but High Rise still managed to wrap his front legs around this neck.
"OK man, get off. I get it, OK? It’s my fault that we added that branch. It’s my fault we won’t have our names on billboards across Equestria. And it’s my fault we are stuck on the roof waiting for the building to collapse and kill us.” Rise let Yo-Yo go from his attempted headlock and lay down beside him. Both of them lay there and take a moment to catch their breaths and after a minute or so Yo-Yo turns to face his friend.
“I’m sorry.”
“...”
“You can keep hitting me if it will make you feel better.”
“No.”
“Oh, good cause I think it was starting to hurt there towards the end.”
Both sat there in awkward silence, until Rise just starts to chuckle. Yo-Yo gives him a befuddled look, and soon finds himself joining in. They both roll on the roof, with death mere floors below them, laughing like they had just heard the funniest joke in the world. After what seemed like hours, their laughter dies down to slight chuckles and then to just two friends smiling at nothing at all.
“I’m sorry too, Yo-Yo”
Yo-Yo turned his head, “For what?”
“I lied to you all these years. I was so desperate for someone to help me start my business, and after so many attempts I just changed it.”
“I don’t follow. Changed what?”
“My name isn’t High Rise, it’s High Low.”
“So that's why you wanted me to put my name on all the documents.”
“Yeah. Seems like my name is appropriate though. Reach a high point and life just has to bring me low again. Sorry I got you caught up in all of this.”
Yo-Yo lay still for a moment, then leaped to his hooves. “Nope, I don’t believe it.”
“It’s the truth Yo, I’m sorry.”
“Not that. I don’t believe that life has fated you and me to beaten like this. This is our lives, and destiny or fate can go buck itself if it thinks it can break us. We still got so much live for and ain’t nothing gonna stop us from living it.”
Rise looked over at his friend, a smile spread across his face. “Yeah, buck destiny, buck fate, and buck having to hide my name. I am High Low and we’ll make sure the world never forgets it.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Yo-Yo, pulling his friend into a tight hug. After a few moments they pushed apart.
“Well, I feel better, but we are still stuck on the roof about to die.”
“Oh yeah.” Yo-Yo chuckled.
“Hello up there? If there is anyone on the upper floor or roof, this is the Manehatten Fire Department. We have set up a landing pad, so you’re going to have to jump since we can’t get to you.”
High and Yo-Yo looked over the edge and see a large X marking the landing pad.
“We’ll, if we’re gonna get our names know throughout Equestria, we're gonna have to jump.”
“Yeah, time for Yo-Yo and Rise Emporiums to take that next step.”
“Nope, Yo and Lows Emporiums, right partner?” Yo-Yo held out his hoof. High Low looked at, then smiled and gave him a fist bump.
“Yeah, Yo and Lows. I like the sound of that.”
The both grabbed the others hoof, turned towards the edge and jumped.