After getting a call from the map, Gallus and Silverstream head to Manehattan to find a friendship problem.
The map has called Gallus and Silverstream to fix a friendship problem in Manehattan. The hippogriff is ecstatic to go somewhere new, the griffon is more confused about why the map would pick them to fix a problem. They come across a filly and a young stallion, who are struggling to get along, that's where the students come in.
School was done for the day and free period was here again. Sandbar and Yona were with Silverstream, who was showing them she learned with the saxophone. "I wish I knew more songs," the hippogriff said as she stopped playing.
"Still better than Yona on yovidaphone," Yona said.
"Or Professor Pinkie," Gallus said as he flew up to the group.
"She's been getting better," Sandbar stated.
"Yeah, but she kind of needs a few more years."
"Gallus."
"Hey, I'm just being honest."
"You could be a little kinder," Ocellus said. "That's another Element of Harmony."
"Can't help it."
"What friends doing?" Yona asked.
"Smolder said she needed our help with an assignment she was working on," the changeling explained. "You guys?"
"We're just listening to Silver's music," Sandbar said.
"You want to listen?" the hippogriff asked.
"Maybe later," Gallus said. He and Ocellus walked off as the hippogriff shrugged and continued playing her saxophone.
Smolder was in the library as the griffon and changeling walked in. "So, what do you have?" Ocellus asked.
"Okay, this may sound farfetched," Smolder said, "But I'm wanting to do a paper about different worlds."
"You mean... Different universes?" Gallus asked as he sat down.
"Yeah." She looked around for and sighed with relief as they were the only ones there. "I found out about this one where dragons become dogs."
"Really?" Ocellus asked.
"Yeah, and there are things that are called... Humans."
"What are those?" Gallus asked.
"They walk on two legs like me. Except they don't have fur, scales, wings, or magic and the always wear clothing."
"Should we be talking about this?" Ocellus asked.
"We didn't anybody about the universe I went to," Gallus said.
"Exactly," Smolder said. "But what I don't know where they came from. If the worlds are the same then how is there one with ponies and another with humans."
"Okay, Smolder, calm down," Ocellus said. "Let's just slow down and we'll figure this out. Maybe they came from different creatures that evolve differently." The changeling started drawing what looked like a tree branch as a blinking glow started blinding her. "Gallus, turn off that light."
"Um... I can't," the griffon replied. The girls looked and saw what he meant. For some reason, Gallus's beak was glowing. He tried to cover it but the light kept blinking.
"Guys!" Sandbar cried as he ran in with Yona and Silverstream. "There's something wrong with Silverstream." He was right, the hippogriff's beak was glowing just like the griffon's.
"What's happening?" Yona asked looking at Gallus.
"That's what we want to know," Gallus replied. Suddenly, two blue and pink lights in the shape of the griffon's and the hippogriff's heads and the flew down the hall. The students followed them and the light shapes flew into Twilight's castle and stopped while hovering over the map.
"Are we even suppose to be in here?" Sandbar asked.
"Well, Princess Twilight is moving to Canterlot," Gallus stated.
"Which means we could be breaking and entering," Ocellus said.
"There's a reason you're here," said voice. The six looked and saw the Spirit of Harmony sitting Twilight's throne. "Your teachers would use this map to help creatures all over Equestria. Now, it's your turn." Before any creature could ask anything, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew in and the spirit vanished.
"What are you doing in here?" Dash asked.
"Rainbow," Fluttershy said, "I'm sure they..." Her eyes widened when she saw the map with Silverstream and Gallus's heads silhouettes floating over it.
"This... Can't be real."
"We don't know what's going on either," Ocellus admitted.
Silverstream looked at the map, amazed. "You have a map of all of Equestria?" she asked. "That's amazing." Gallus was looking at a specific part of the map. He looked where his and Silverstream's heads were floating, Manehattan. "So, when do we leave?"
"You're not going by yourselves," Dash stated.
"Couldn't one of you just come with us?" Gallus asked.
"Well, Rarity does have a shop in that city," Fluttershy said. "We'll have to ask Starlight about this. Wait here until we get back." The two pegasi flew back to the school as the students looked at the map.
"Are you sure that the map will call one of us?" Ocellus asked. "What if this is a trick by Discord?"
"Didn't Professor Fluttershy tell him off?" Sandbar asked.
"She did," Gallus confirmed. "Plus, you saw the spirit. I don't think he would be able to fake that."
"It just... Doesn't seem right," Ocellus stated. "Why not one of our teachers? They're more experienced."
"Maybe they weren't the right ones," Smolder said.
"We did help create the Treehouse of Harmony," Sandbar stated.
"Yeah," Silverstream said. "Plus, it'll be fun to visit new places."
"I guess," Gallus said.
The hippogriff suddenly gasped. "We should start packing."
Before Gallus could say anything, Silverstream flew off back to her dorm. "Welp, there's no stopping her." He flew back to the school to get prepared for their trip.
Rarity walked with the students to the station, still surprised that Gallus and Silverstream were called by the map. "I still don't understand," she said.
"I feel the same," Starlight agreed. "But it's best not to question the map. It's usually right."
"You have no idea," Gallus said under his breath.
"Okay, Rarity, make sure to keep an eye on them."
"There's nothing to worry about Starlight," Rarity said. "I'm sure the two will be on their best behavior."
"Okay, let them know how you handle the friendship missions."
"Of course."
"Good luck guys," Sandbar said to his friends.
"Thanks, Sandy," Silverstream said as she carried her bookbag.
"Did you really need to bring your saxophone?" Smolder asked.
"Some of the other students said they saw some music players so I thought I would give it a shot."
"You've only been practicing that for a month at best," Ocellus stated.
"How long have you been cheerleaders?"
"Yona don't know," Yona replied. "Five weeks, maybe. Yaks not best at math."
"I thought you were the best at everything." Smolder couldn't help but snicker at this.
"Smolder," Sandbar groaned.
"What, it's funny when someone's proven wrong," she said.
"Like when your homemade caught fire after you said it wouldn't catch fire," Ocellus said making her dragon friend blush.
"Okay, in my defense, that was on the first month of school."
"Gallus, Silverstream," Rarity called. "You're going to miss the train."
"Coming," the two students replied.
"See you guys soon," Gallus said to their friends. The griffon and hippogriff boarded the train with their professor before it set off. The creatures waved to them until the engine was out of sight.
The unicorn and students sat down across from each other to wait for their destination. "So, how long until we get there?" Silverstream asked.
"A few hours," Rarity explained.
"Aw. I can't wait that long."
Gallus looked through his bags to find his book to pass the time. He only packed some books and some bits just in case. "So, why did you come with us?" he asked Rarity.
"I have a shop in Manehattan, so I can keep an eye on you and check on my store is doing," Rarity explained.
"Wow," SIlverstream said. "Question, is this going to count as extra credit?"
"I doubt it."
The hippogriff sighed. "Eh, it was worth a shot," Gallus said, making his friend feel better.
After what felt like forever, the train soon got to Manhattan, with Silverstream gazing out at the city. "Wow," she cooed. When everyone disembarked Gallus took a moment to look around. He was trying to get his bearings while his friend was about to burst with excitement.
"Should I step away from you?" Gallus asked, "Because, you look like you're going to burst."
"Silverstream," Rarity said, "It isn't all that much to get excited about."
"But I've never been anywhere like this before," the hippogriff replied.
"The ponies aren't really that kind around here."
"Oh, so they're like griffons," Gallus said.
"...Sort of," Rarity said. "They aren't that bad, but still, not as kind as the ponies in Ponyville."
"Alright. So, where is the problem?"
"That's the hard part. We have to find it."
"In this a city this big? How?"
"I guess we just have to start looking," Silverstream as she took off.
"Silver! Did no creature tell her how to stay still?"
"Trust me, I've tried," Rarity said as she and Gallus gave chase.
The hippogriff flew above the street looking around until she could feel something pulling on her tail. "Silver, Professor Rarity said we had to stick together."
"She said we could easily get lost here. Just land so we can figure out where we need to go."
"Okay, sorry." They both landed and their teacher caught up with them.
"What did I say?" Rarity asked.
"To stick together," Silverstream replied knowing she was likely in trouble.
"I'm not mad. It's just I'm telling you to stick with somepony who's been here before."
"Right, and where to?" Gallus asked.
"To Rarity for You."
"But you're right here," Silverstream said a bit confused.
"I'll explain on the way." She quickly called for a taxi and she and her students rode off the dress shop. Along the way, Rarity explained many things about the city, like the large green statue of the mare on the outskirt. Silverstream took it all in amazed as always, while Gallus searched around if there was anyone who needed help with friendship.
They made it all the way to Rarity for You but the griffon didn't find anything. "So, this is your store?" Silverstream asked.
"Yes. Rarity for You." The unicorn paid the stallion who got them there and he raced off.
"Professor Rarity, how does this help us find the problem?" Gallus asked.
"It may not. But since you've never been here before, I thought you should see a place you should meet if we ever get separated." She let the creatures in the shop where they found three raccoons inside. "Smoky, Soft pad, Junior."
"I guess you know them because of Professor Fluttershy."
"Of course. She helped them settle in and they help around the store."
"Should've we start finding who needs our help?" Silverstream asked.
"She's right," Gallus said. "The sun's setting and we don't even know what who needs us."
"But both of you are just teenagers," Rarity stated.
"Who've saved Equestria. Twice if you count the king who shall not be named." Silverstream shuttered when she heard that.
"You've never been to Manehattan before, the last I want is for you to get lost."
"We understand, but the longer you keep us here, the longer you keep us from fixing the problem."
The mare sighed. "Alright, you know the location of this building. You can fly back here, right?"
"Of course," Silverstream replied.
"And I got this at the station," Gallus said as he held up a map of the city. "I think this will be useful."
"Right. Meet me back here in two hours."
"Roger. Come on, Silver, let go." The two left the dress shop as Rarity turned to the raccoons.
"You think I should follow them?" The raccoons shook their heads. "You're right, this is their mission, they need to figure this out. Though, I will like you to help if they don't come back in the time I told them." The unicorn walked off to help the raccoons and inspect how the store was doing.
Gallus and Silverstream flew over the street. The griffon kept looking down at the ponies below while looking back at the map multiple time. The hippogriff meanwhile was just looking at all of the many tall buildings. "So, where do we go?" Silverstream asked.
"I don't know," Gallus replied. "You think that the spirit would be a little specific." They kept flying for a bit, but eventually, Silverstream's bags started weighing on her. She started panting as she started losing altitude. She landed on the sidewalk to catch her breath as a filly walk up to her.
The filly was an earth pony with copper fur and had a dark orange mane and tail which were braided and her eyes were emerald green. "You're a weird looking griffon," she said.
"Actually, I'm a hippogriff," Silverstream stated. "A tired one at that."
"What's a hippogriff? Are you part hippo?"
Silverstream chuckled. "No, I'm part pony and griffon." Gallus then landed behind them.
"Like that one?" The filly pointed to the griffon.
"Like what?" Gallus asked.
"She doesn't really know what hippogriffs are," Silverstream explained.
"I'm Copper," the filly said.
"Well, I'm Silverstream, and that's my friend Gallus."
"Hey," the griffon said as he continued to look around.
"What is he looking for?" Copper asked.
"We're trying to find a problem," Silverstream explained. "It's supposed to be about some friends arguing."
"I don't think it'll be me or my friends. We're getting along fine."
"Aren't you a little young to be out here by yourself?" Gallus asked. Copper did look fairly young, ten years at best. She didn't even have a cutie mark.
"I'm very grown-up for my age."
"Sure you are."
"COPPER, WHERE ARE YOU?" cried a male voice that sounded very angry.
"I've gotta go," the filly sighed. She walked off as the hippogriff began to think.
"Maybe that was the voice the pony who needs help," Silverstream suggested.
"It could be," Gallus said, "But Professor Rarity said that most ponies around here are angry." The hippogriff didn't listen and followed Copper. "Gosh darn it." The griffon let out a frustrated sigh before following his friend.
When they caught up with Copper they found she was walking with a stallion who looked to be rather young. He was a unicorn with golden fur and white mane and tail that had a shaggy look to them and his cutie mark was a golden shovel. He looked back and the two creatures following them. "What do you want?" he asked.
"We were just looking for the pony who scream," the hippogriff explained. "You sound like him."
"This is him," Copper said.
"Copper," the stallion groaned. "What have I told you about talking to strangers? Let alone, griffons."
"Hey!" Gallus cried a bit offended.
"Goldie," Copper groaned.
"Copper, stay out this," the stallion ordered.
"I'm actually a hippogriff," Silverstream stated. "I'm only half griffon."
"Do I look like I care?"
"Goldie, she's nice," Copper said.
"I am," Silverstream confirmed. The stallion didn't reply and just used his magic to lift the filly onto his back and he picked up the pace.
"Hey, buddy," Gallus said as he flew beside the stallion, "Can you at least tell about some ponies who have a rocky relationship?"
"You going to scam that out some bits?" the stallion replied. He got kicked by Copper and he turned back at her.
"Stop being mean," the filly ordered.
"I'm twice your age, why would I listen to you?"
"Because you're not giving them a chance."
"A chance is something I can't take right now. You know how many bits it's taking me just to help you through school?"
Silverstream flew up to Gallus and whispered to him. "I think we found the problem," she whispered.
"Are you sure?" Gallus replied. "I'm not liking this guy by what he said to me."
"Gallus, you can't just let one insult ruin everything." The hippogriff flew up to the stallion and flew backward so she could look at him. "Can you tell us your name?"
"Gold Digger," the stallion replied. "Now, leave us alone."
"Goldie, shut up," Copper groaned.
"You literally just met these guys. How can you trust them?"
"The fact we haven't tried to mug you is one thing," Gallus said.
"What's mugging?" Silverstream asked.
"Not important, look Digger, we've been given orders to help out some ponies that are having a friendship problem. And my friend thinks you're one of them."
"Goodie," Gold Digger groaned.
"I can show you the way to our place," Copper said as she jumped off the unicorn's back. She ran off with Silverstream following behind, both of them giggling.
The stallion and looked at each. "This is going to be a drag, is it?" Gallus asked.
"Probably," Digger replied. The two followed the girls embracing themselves for what was to come.
"Here we are," Copper said as she stopped outside of an apartment building.
Silverstream didn't seem to like the looks of the building. "This place looks pretty..."
"Dirty?" Gallus interrupted.
"Yeah," she confirmed.
"It's not much, but it's home," Digger said. He and the filly walked inside as their guests followed inside. They got to the ponies' room and it was quite... Small. It seemed hard to tell what was the kitchen and what was the living room.
"Let me show you my room," Copper said. The hippogriff followed her and could see the filly's room had a small bed and small bookshelf across the room.
"Don't you have any toys?" Silverstream asked.
"Not anymore." Copper showed her one of her books, "But my brother did get some books." Only a few of these books looked like something a filly Copper's age would enjoy. A good majority of them were educational books.
"Do you enjoy reading these?"
"Only some of them. Goldie says I need to read them to get through school." She then showed some papers of incompleted assignments of math, English, and even some history.
"Would you like some help with these?"
"Sure."
"Okay, so I think you're missing some commas in this sentence here." Copper saw this and so she grabbed a pencil to fix it. "And you wrote a word twice, I think that's redundant."
"And repetitive." The two shared a chuckle as they kept going.
Back with the boys, Gallus and Gold Digger kept staring at each for a while. At last, the griffon was the first to break the silence. "So, you and your sister don't get along pretty well," he said.
"Yeah," Digger replied dryly. "Who sent you here."
"Some friends of the princess of friendship."
"You met the princess of friendship's friends."
"Well, they're my teachers."
"...Really."
"It's much easier to believe than a map told us to come here."
"Okay, if you told me that now I know you'd be messing with me."
"Thought so. What is it with you and griffons?"
"They're not the kind of creatures who are friendly."
"That's true. Princess Twilight planned to change that with the school of friendship."
"Why would they let a griffon like you and your friend into a school?"
"First of all, Silver's a hippogriff. Second, Princess Twilight is changing the relationships of all the creatures."
"Right."
"Are you taking any of this seriously?"
"Not really."
"Of course. You know, I could leave at any time."
"Be my guest."
"Goldie," Copper cried as she ran out of her room.
"Hey, I said you weren't supposed to leave until your homework is done."
"But I am done." She showed her brother the papers and the stallion couldn't believe it.
"There's no way you could've finished in that time."
"Silver helped me."
"It's true," Silverstream confirmed in a sing-songy voice.
"So, can I go out now?"
The unicorn groaned. "Fine."
"I could go with her," Silverstream said.
"Exactly why I should I trust you?"
"Again, not mugging you," Gallus informed.
"Alright, fine. Just be back in an hour."
"Got it," Copper said.
"I'll go with you," Silverstream said. "I want to see more of this city."
"Okay, let's go." The girls left the building as the boys looked at each other.
"You know, not all griffons are greedy," Gallus stated. "There's this one named Gabby."
"Right," Digger replied not really carrying. He looked towards the clock and his eyes widened. "Ah, crud. I'm going to be late for work."
"You have a job?"
"How else do I earn bits?" The unicorn raced out of the apartment while using his magic to drag Gallus behind him.
"Put me down."
"Look, I don't feel comfortable leaving someone alone in my home. Much less a griffon I just met." Gold Digger locked the door and then left the building while still carrying Gallus.
Silverstream followed Copper down the street, as the hippogriff was awing at all of the sights. "I don't know why Professor Rarity didn't show me this," Silverstream said.
"This isn't all the much," Copper said. "Oh, look, here's the park." And she was right. Out of the many browns and beiges of the city, there was a nice patch of green grass. The two walked down the park path until they found a brown and red-headed filly. "Babs."
"Copper, you made it," the filly replied. "And you brought a friend." She took a good look at Silverstream. "Aren't you one of those hippogriffs?"
"Yeah," Silverstream replied. "Are you Babs?"
"Yeah. How's mah cousin been doing?"
"Really good. She's been helping me and my friends in lessons, even in potion-making."
"Nice, but what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Gallus and I are on a friendship mission. We're trying to help Copper and her brother's relationship."
"Uh hu, good luck with that."
"It doesn't seem too hard."
"It will be," Copper said. "My brother has problems with meeting new ponies, let alone different creatures."
"I'm sure we'll manage." SIlver then notice the river flowing under the bridge and she had an idea. "You want to do something amazing?"
"Sure," Babs answered. The hippogriff led the fillies towards the river. She left her bags on the bridge and leaped into the air. Some glowing swirls surrounded her and she landed in the water before Copper and Babs could see her. After a few seconds, Silver resurfaced, but she looked different.
"What happened to your beak?" Copper asked.
"I'm a seapony now."
"A seapony?"
"Yeah, I've heard of them," Babs said. "They use some sort of pearl to change their bodies if they want to go on land or in the water."
"You want to join?" the seapony asked.
"You sure you want to leave your bags unattended?" Copper asked.
"This'll be real quick." The fillies looked at each other and just shrugged. They walked down the hill to walk into the water and Silverstream used her pearl necklace to turn them into seaponies.
"Whoa," Babs gasped. "This is freaky."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." She did a backstroke and went underwater with the fillies following behind.
Copper flopped around and just started thinking. "How do I swim like this?" she asked.
"Don't act like you have two legs. Move your tail like you're moving both legs at the same time." Copper did so and she seemed to a lot better. "That's it."
"This totally beats those swan boats," Babs said as she picked up speed and passed Silverstream.
"Hey, wait up." The three seaponies swam around for a while. When they got back to the bridge the noticed a gruff-looking stallion looking through Silverstream's bags. "Who is that, and what's he doing?" She quickly changed back into a hippogriff and flew towards the stallion, but he already ran off. She checked her bags and saw that the only things that were left were some bits and her saxophone.
"I told you not to leave your bag alone," Babs said. "This ain't like your home or Ponyville, there are a lot of bad ponies in this city."
"I forgot to tell you about that," Copper said.
"It's okay," Silverstream replied. "I still have my saxophone. The teachers would be fuming if I lost this."
"You mah cousins sister?" Babs asked.
"Yeah. What else can we do?"
"We can go the ice rink," Copper suggested.
"Ooh, that sounds like fun." The hippogriff picked her bags up and followed the fillies to the rink.
Meanwhile, Gold Digger and Gallus arrived at a diner. The two walked in could see there was a line of ponies wanting to order some meals. "Digger, there you are," a mare cried from behind the counter.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Dish," Digger apologized, "I'll get started right away." Digger put on a hairnet and help start cooking. Gallus didn't really know what to do here, so he just sat down at one of the tables. After a little bit, the line shrank away, so he thought it would be the perfect time to talk to Digger some more.
"Yo, Digs," Gallus said trying to grab the unicorn's attention.
"If you hadn't noticed, I'm busy." He placed some cooked veggies on a hayburger and placed a bun on them. "Table twenty-three." A pony came to pick up their meal as Gallus noticed a mare washing the dishes.
"Hey, could I come back there?"
"If you put this hair and gloves on, sure," the mare replied. She used her magic to levitate the net and gloves to the griffon and placed them on.
"Okay, these are not made for ponies, not griffons." Gallus decided to stay aborn, but this proved to be a mistake as the wind from his wings blew some stuff around the kitchen.
"Quit it!" Digger ordered.
"Goldie," the mare said. The mare was a unicorn that had white fur with a silver mane and tail tied into a bun and dish for a cutie mark. "I'm really sorry about him, he can get cranky."
"I noticed," Gallus said. "Name's Gallus."
"I'm Crystal Dish and to my diner."
"It looks nice."
"Why did let him back here?" Digger asked.
"Because I saw you drag him in here with you," Dish replied as placed some silverware into the drawers.
"How do you put up with him?" the griffon asked.
"He's a nice guy when you get to know him."
"Yeah, I tried to get some more information from him, but he refused to talk to me. Look, this may sound crazy, but my friend and I are here to help G.D. over there with the relationship with his sister."
"By who?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Anyways, how long has he worked here?"
"About two years. He's a pretty good cook."
"Table six," Digger said placing a plate of grilled cheese on the counter which a waitress pegasus flew up to. "Hey, Rose, how's your coltfriend?"
"He's doing great," the pegasus replied picking up the plate. "His wings are still bandaged but he can walk now."
"Great." The waitress flew off as Digger started cooking the next order.
"See?" Dish said.
"I wish I treated me like that and gave me a straight answer," Gallus complained.
"Look, have you tried..."
"I already tried figuring out what his interests are like. The only problem, he won't talk to me. Couldn't you get him to?"
The mare sighed. "I'll try." She turned around for a second before looking back at Gallus. "Anything you want to order?"
"I'll just take grilled cheese." With that, Gallus gave the gloves and hairnet back and flew back to his table. "Maybe I should go and check on Silver."
The hippogriff was having a blast with Copper. Babs was fine with sitting on the bench watching the remains of Silverstream's stuff as the other two skated around the rink. "So, your brother's a chef?" the hippogriff asked.
"Yeah," the filly replied. "I love the soup he makes."
"What does he like?"
"Well, usually he liked to go to the theatre with me, but he's too busy with his job. I want him to spend time with me."
"I see why he try and spend time with you. This rink is so much fun."
"Yeah, it was also one of his favorites." Copper stopped as her ears drooped.
"...Hey, don't act like that. Who knows, maybe he'll have a day off."
"He only gets one a week."
"But weekends. Maybe we can talk to his boss or something?"
"Do you not know how jobs work?" Babs asked.
"Not exactly."
"But I haven't talked to his boss," Copper said.
"Still, I think that you should..." Babs couldn't finish as Silverstream and Copper removed their ice skates after getting out of the rink. "Are you two listening to me."
"Babs, I just want to spend time with my brother again."
"Yeah, who wouldn't want to help with that?" Silverstream asked. "I would want to spend more time with my brother any time I had the chance."
"Yeah, but your brother's different from her brother," Babs said. "And I'm not talking about species, I'm talking about..."
"Babs, I don't want to talk about that," Copper interrupted.
"About what?" the hippogriff asked confused.
"Nothing important. What do you do when your brother's angry?"
"Well, I try and figure out what's bothering him. What's bothering Goldie?"
The filly took a moment to reply. "...Stress from work."
"That doesn't seem too hard. Where does he work?"
"I'll show you." Silver picked up her bags and followed Copper away from the rink.
"Yo, Copper," Babs said as she followed behind, "You should really tell her."
"How far is this place?" Silverstream asked.
"Shouldn't be too far," Copper said as she ran down the sidewalk. The filly suddenly took a sharp right which the hippogriff didn't notice she was flying just above the street. A stallion pulling a carriage swerved to avoid her but when he did one of the carriage's wheels broke off.
"Watch where you're going you stupid fluffed up eyesore!" the stallion cried.
"...Sorry," Silverstream apologized. Not knowing what to do, she just flew off trying to catch up with Copper. "Wait up!"
"That was a weird looking griffon," the stallion muttered checking the damages of his carriage.
Back at the diner, Gallus was enjoying the grilled cheese sandwich that he ordered. "Wow, she's right," he said, "Digger's a good cook." As he enjoyed his sandwich he could the gold and white unicorns walking towards him.
"I'm supposed to check to see if my sister is home yet," Gold Digger groaned.
"Look, he says he wants to help you," Dish said. "Just sit down and talk with him." The stallion just groaned some more as he sat across from the griffon.
"Okay, so you're going to talk this time?" Gallus asked.
"Yeah," Digger replied not really interested.
"Finally. Look, I understand you probably don't have a good history with griffons. But I haven't been trying to scam you out of any bits, now have I?"
"Not really. You caught me at a bad time. Dish said we'd be busy today but she said I could have time off in between shifts. I only had two hours to take care of my sister. She hadn't finished her homework yet and I told her to get it done."
"Yeah, Ocellus would know how that feels. If you're curious, she's one of my friends at the School of Friendship. She's a smart cookie."
"Yeah, and if that's not enough rent's due next week."
"Ooh, that stinks. If it makes you feel better you make a really good grilled cheese."
"Thanks. It's nice to be appreciated. Someponies don't appreciate something until it's gone." Suddenly, they heard some gasping and Gallus realized who the voice belonged to. He looked towards the entrance and saw Silverstream with Copper and Babs.
"Hey, Silver, over here."
"Gallus," the hippogriff cooed as she flew over to him, "You won't believe this city. There's a park and a skating rink, I thought you only skate in the winter."
"Yeah, that is pretty fun," Digger said.
"Why don't you get out more."
"Because I have a job to do."
"You know," Babs said, "I think I should be getting home." The filly walked out of the diner, leaving her friend, unicorn, griffon, and hippogriff.
"Why'd she go?" Silverstream asked.
"Probably because she doesn't want to get involved," Gallus said.
"Is it really that hard to understand how getting bits works?" Digger asked.
"Digger, she didn't know," Copper said.
"It's got to be common knowledge. I mean, her home has to have some sort of currency."
"Okay, buddy, calm down," Gallus said.
"Well, sorry, it's not my fault that she misses normal education." The hippogriff gasped at what he said.
"Hey, look, Silver might be naive, but she's not stupid."
"So, what does she use for money?"
"Seashells probably."
"Why?"
"Because I'm also a seapony," Silverstream said. With a flash from her necklace, she turned into the said creature.
Gold Digger stared in awe. "...How did you do that?" he asked.
"She has a magical necklace," Copper said.
"Yeah, it's thanks to my pearl piece."
"Okay, now you're getting weird," Digger commented.
"I guess it's better than being dumb," Gallus said, "Or stubborn."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I still don't get what's the problem with you and your sister."
"He never spends time with me," Copper said.
"Because I'm busy," Digger stated. "Bits are no objects."
"What does that mean?" Silverstream asked as she turned back into a hippogriff.
"Probably he's not wasting a cent," Gallus whispered.
"The skates you and I use only cost three bits," Copper said. "And it is an object."
"It's an expression," Digger explained.
"Okay, how about we calm down," Silverstream said as she started getting nervous. "I could play something on my saxophone."
"Stay out of this!" Digger ordered.
The hippogriff coward which her friend didn't like. "Okay, what's your problem?" Gallus asked.
"You have us at a bad time. Come on Copper." Using his magic, Digger lifted his sister into the air they left the diner. "I'll be back later, Dish."
Gallus and Silverstream raced outside but the unicorn was already gone. "Wow, he's faster than he looks," the hippogriff commented.
"And our mission has gotten a lot harder," Gallus added. "I barely got anything out of G.D. You have any better luck?"
"Oh, yeah. I heard that Goldie was way more outgoing when he was younger. He and Copper were best friends and then, they started drifting apart. She didn't say why they just did."
"Great, now a mystery. Why couldn't we go help somecreature we knew?"
"We know where they live, so we can just go there."
"I guess you're right." The two took off to catch up with the ponies.
When they got to the apartment they could hear the stallion and filly arguing inside. "You never help me anymore," Copper cried. Gallus and Silverstream flew up to the window to listen in on their conversation.
"Do you know how many hours I work to keep a roof over your head?" Digger asked sounding very annoyed. "I wanted to amazing things in my life, but I have to stay here and make sure you're safe."
"Like getting me through school? When was the last time you helped me with my homework?"
"I couldn't help you because of my job."
"I feel like we should go in," Silverstream said to Gallus.
"Shh," the griffon replied. He didn't want the arguing siblings to hear them.
"That's what I mean when you don't help me," Copper cried.
"Help you?" Digger questioned, "That's all I've been doing! I spend six days a week working my flank just to keep you alive. What's it going to take to get it through your thick sulk?! If you can't appreciate what I do for you maybe you should just live one of your friends."
The filly started to cower from her brother's outburst. "Goldie... I..."
"No, I'm going to keep going. Your school is a ripoff. Do you know how many bits it costs just one of your books? Ten bits. Ten BITS!"
"We should get in there," Silverstream said.
"Yeah, this is getting ugly," Gallus agreed. The griffon tried to open the window but it was locked. They went for the door as the stallion kept letting out his anger.
"You think the world just works all the time for you?" Digger asked, "NO! Copper, you don't care for anything I do for you. You what, why don't you just leave? I don't care where, if it's impossible for you to be happy with me unlike how mom used to then get out of my life so we can all be happy!" The stallion panted as he finally noticed the scared look on his sister's face. Before he could more or say anything, Copper ran to her room with tears pouring down her crying face.
Digger walked up to a wall and started banging his head against it. Gallus and Silverstream walked in finding the stallion in his guilt. "Ugh, knock-knock," Silverstream said without a lot of confidence.
"What do you want?"
"We wanted to talk to you," Gallus said.
"...How much did you hear?"
"It was a little muffled near the end but we did hear Copper crying." With that being said, Digger resumed banging his head against the wall.
"What would your mom say if she heard about this?" Silverstream asked.
"Nothing."
"Wha... She would have to say something."
"She can't."
"But why..."
"She's dead." Both visitors went silent. "Along with dad."
Gallus and Silver looked at each other before breaking the silence "Wh-what happened to them?" the griffon asked.
The unicorn sat down. "House fire. Dad did what he could to keep it down so mom could get Copper and I out. One of the roof beams broke and took mom with it and... We had to leave without her and dad." Digger's eye started watering up. "I was legally old enough to live on my own and I had to take care of my sister. I had my job at the diner and Copper was in a good school, but I... Could barely afford the school and rent... I just... Dad was smart... And mom... They..."
He couldn't hold his tears back and start crying. Gallus placed his claw on his shoulder and gave him a tissue. "I know how it feels," the griffon commented. "I didn't have anyone looking out for me back in Griffonstone. Trust me, it's rough there. No roof over my head, having to steal food from other griffons, and if I got caught..." He cringed from think what he was going to say. "I got beaten up."
"Jeesh."
"I know. Honestly, I think you should be lucky. You have someone who cares about you, a nice warm home and judging by how Dish acted, you have other ponies who care about you. You could have it way worse."
"When you put it like that, yeah. Sorry for being a stick in the mud earlier."
"Well, when you have someone telling you they're sent by Princess Twilight's friends to help fix your problem, I would be suspicious too." The griffon and unicorn smiled before looking towards the hippogriff.
"I think I know what we should do next," she said pointing to Copper's room.
"You're right," Digger sighed. He walked up to the bedroom door and knocked on it. "Sis, can we talk?" There wasn't a response. "Look, I was frustrated and... Probably wasn't thinking straight. Just let me in so we can talk." Still, nothing but silence. "Copper, I know you hear me."
After a few seconds without a response, Digger opened the door to find his sister was nowhere in sight. "Where did she go?" Silverstream asked.
Gallus noticed the sheets were missing from the bed. He could see they were tied around bed's leg and were leading out the opened window. The three looked outside and could see the makeshift rope led all the way down to the sidewalk. The unicorn had a huge wave of guilt and fear on his face now.
Gallus, Silverstream, and Gold Digger raced down the street in search of the runaway filly. "Where could've she gone?" the hippogriff asked.
"I don't know," Digger replied. "She could've gone to a friend's place or the park or... I just don't know."
"We should probably split up," Gallus stated. "We'll find her faster that way." The three split up at the next intersection, Digger went left, Silver went right, and Gallus went straight.
The griffon looked around and saw the express coming into the train station. He flew down towards there and looked around for Copper. The filly didn't seem to be there so he asked the pony at the ticket booth for answers. "Sorry sir," the pony said, "I haven't seen the filly you have described."
"Okay, but if you see her, don't let her on the train." The griffon took to continue searching for the missing filly.
Silverstream had flown to the park and turned into a seapony to check the river. She swam around for a bit but Copper was hiding under any of the bridges. Silver turned back into a hippogriff and decided to check the tree, Copper wasn't in any of them. She flew off towards the ice rink hoping that she would have better luck there.
Gold Digger had raced to Babs's place, Copper wasn't there either. He checked in with her other friends, again, not there either. He was starting to get desperate, he checked by the diner just to be sure, nothing. Not know what to do, he started looking for places that Copper visited once or twice.
The three returned to the apartment all empty-handed. "I checked all the places where she could get a ride out of here," Gallus informed, "Nothing."
"Same with the park and skating rink," Silverstream said. "I checked the theatre as well."
"None of Copper's friends have seen her either," Digger replied. "Their parents are keeping a lookout but it's slow going."
"Gah," Gallus groaned, "How hard is it to find just one filly?"
Digger thought for a moment until he realized something. "Uh oh."
"What's wrong?" Silverstream asked.
"This may sound crazy, but I think she's in the south of Manehattan. This city gets worse when you go south."
"How far south is it?"
"South."
"Oh, why didn't I take a map with me?" Copper asked herself as she walked down the sidewalk. "I can find my way to the park and rink but not to the station." When she stopped to take a look at her surroundings, she could see she was in a dark part of the city. Many buildings had their windows boarded up, several homeless ponies out in the streets, and some wild dogs were wandering around, some fighting each other.
The filly was now scared as she knew these were all bad signs. "Man, I knew this was a bad idea." She looked around to head home, but every way looked the same to her. She turned around and took a left just as her brother, Gallus, and Silverstream came racing down the street.
"So, this is the south of the city," Silverstream said looking around. "It looks... Pretty bad."
"Looks like luxury compared to my home," Gallus commented. "Should we split up again?"
"No, even from the air you could get lost here," Digger replied. They then heard some thunder as dark clouds started to form. "And it's going to rain, big surprise."
"Well, now we definitely can't fly up there. We'll get struck by lightning."
"There has to be an easier way to find her," Silverstream said.
"If you have any ideas, shoot," Digger said. The three carried on calling out for Copper but the filly didn't reply. "Maybe she's still angry at me."
"But not at Silver," Gallus said.
"Yeah, but still she hasn't responded to my voice," the hippogriff said. She looked at her bag and her saxophone. She then had an idea.
Copper had hidden in one of the boarded-up buildings. She started crying. "I'm such an idiot," she wept. "Why didn't I stay with Goldie?" She cried into her hooves until she could hear some sort of music. Not just that, but a voice.
"Copper? Where are you?" the voice cried.
"G-Goldie?" She slowly stepped out of the building in the cold rain.
"Sis, can you hear me?" The filly walked closer to where she heard the voice and the music. She peaked around the corner and could see Goldie calling out her name as Silverstream played her saxophone as loud as she could. A bit of guilt was holding her back, but Gallus saw her head.
Before Copper could runoff, the griffon landed in front of her. "Found her," he said. Goldie and Silver ran around the corner and the unicorn used his magic to pick up his sister. Once he got Copper closer to him, he hugged her. "Don't scare me like that," Digger said. He was crying at this point and his sister seemed pretty confused.
"You're... Not mad?" Copper asked.
"I'm too happy to know you're safe to be mad." He let her go so they could stand up. "Come on, let's get somewhere dry." The group walked back North as they didn't want to stay in the South part for too long.
Later, they got back to the diner. Gallus sat with Copper, both of them were drying off with the towels Crystal Dish had provided for them. "Feeling better kid?" the griffon asked.
"A little," Copper replied shivering a bit. "I still don't understand why he went from angry to sad so fast."
"That's family. From what my friends have told me, one minute you hate each other's guts, the next you're best friends. To be honest, I wouldn't really know how that feels."
"Were you an only child."
"Yes, and an orphan."
"Oh. That..."
"I know." The filly stayed quiet for a minute. "Your brother does a lot for you. He works hard to keep you safe."
"I know."
"He could've just left with some other pony, maybe one you don't even know. Even then, you would still have a better home than me."
"Where do you live?"
"Out in the cold. Rain, snow, and not to mention having to get your own food. Consider yourself lucky kid, appreciate your home and your brother's work."
Copper sighed. "I will."
In the kitchen, Gold Digger and Silverstream were busy making some soup. "So, why did we come here?" the hippogriff asked.
"I don't have the ingredients at home," Digger replied as he chopped some green onions. "Besides, Dish let me do this before. Can you hand me those bowls from the cupboards?"
"Of course." The hippogriff flew up and took out four bowls. "Do you cook food like this at your home?"
"Sometimes. Copper really likes the grilled cheese sandwiches I cook."
"Oh, Gallus told me about those. I'd like to try one, but I'll stick with the soup." She placed down the bowls and sniffed the finished soup. "Smells good. I don't know why Copper wouldn't be happy having you as a brother. She seems like a fun filly."
Digger chuckled as he poured soup into the bowls with a ladle. "Yeah, kind of wishing I could spend more time with her. I can't remember the last time I went ice skating with her. I've been wanting to see if I could beat my limbo record."
"Wait, you can play limbo on the rink?"
"Sure can." They took the bowls of soup over to were Gallus and Copper sitting. "Hope you're hungry." By the looks of, Copper sure was. She started slippering while the others just used spoons.
"This is almost as good as the grilled cheese," Gallus commented.
"Thanks."
"So, Copper and I talked a bit."
"So did we," Silverstream said.
"About what?" Digger and Copper asked.
The siblings looked at each other before the brother spoke first. "I'll go first," he said. "I'm sorry for my outburst. I was just at a breaking point."
"Sorry about that," Silverstream apologized.
"Don't be. Copper, I'll try my hardest to find time to see if I can get more time off."
"Good," the filly replied. "Sorry for pestering you for so long. I just... I miss mom and dad."
Digger sighed. "Me too. Listen, we'll try and work this out. Just remember, I'm doing this for you." The filly stood up so she could hug her brother. Gallus and Silverstream smiled at this and were surprised when their beaks started glowing.
"Do all of your species do that?"
"No," Gallus said. "But it's a sign that our work here is done."
"Aw," Silverstream sighed, "I was enjoying this soup."
"I'll get you some to-go bowls," Digger said as he walked off.
"You think you could all get us an umbrella?" Gallus asked.
"Sorry, not a chance."
"Worth a shot." After getting their to-go bowls, the griffon and hippogriff raced down the sidewalk. They got to Rarity for You as soon as possible and got inside, soaking wet.
The generous mare gave them some towels and after they dried they each got an umbrella and headed back to the train station. "So, how was your first mission?"
"A little bumpy," Silverstream said, "But we got it done. And I got to see more of Manehattan. Did you know this city had an ice rink?"
"Why yes. By the sound of it, it seems like you enjoyed it. But who needed your help?"
"Two siblings," Gallus explained. "A young stallion name Gold Digger and a filly named Copper. Digger's a really good cook, let me tell." The two students explained their adventure to their professor as they made their way back to the station to get back to the school.