private Mingling in Manehattan

[Carl Poppa 464]

(OOC topic: https://mlpforums.com/topic/138877-mingling-in-manehattan-ooc/ )

 

It was a dreary day in her cozy, but unbelievably large and lonely apartment.  She was draped across her bed, finding herself decidedly melancholic, with little to do.  It simply wouldn't do to remain cooped up in here slowly wasting away in the confines of her mind; so, despite feeling drained and having nowhere in particular to go, Spring Love pulled herself up from the comfort of the bed, using her unicorn magic to tie her rust colored bandanna about her previously bare neck, careful to tuck it beneath her mane, before simply leaving.

 

Outside, the city was bustling, as usual.  She could see and hear so many ponies going to and fro, busy with this or that, or something else.  The city screamed joy, opportunity, fear, heartache, ambition, success, failure, and just about everything in between.  She still wasn't all that used to the big city, but she found it to be nice and soothing while simultaneously being terrifying and chaotic.  The sun positively shimmered, radiant and illustrious, filling the young unicorn with a desire to beam, and bringing a spring to her step as she made her way down the busy streets, taking in the atmosphere and enjoying each sound, scent, and sight on her way.

 

Soon she found herself at the stoop of a quaint cafe she'd never been to before.  Without hesitating, she opened the door with her magic and trotted in, approaching the counter and asking the pony there for a nice green apple smoothie.  The pony behind the counter looked rather dreadful, surely displeased with this menial labor by the looks of it, so she offered him a friendly compliment as she produced the necessary bits and dropped them on the counter.

 

"That's a charming hat.  It looks hoofmade.  Did someone make it for you?"

 

He grunted and mumbled, "Bought it.  Here's your smoothie."

 

He pushed the glass towards her roughly with a hoof, spilling it a little, but she didn't make a fuss, simply catching the smoothie with her magic and trotting away with a small utterance of thanks to sit at an empty table, where she began to casually sip at her treat.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Rubeus

[Overlord0909 479]

There was only one word to describe this day - like all the others; BEAUTIFUL! Oh today is going to be amazing! There's going to be ponies, a Sun, trees, birds, bugs, grass, flowers, like Sun flowers, roses, ooh... And bushes, some filled with fruits! Other animals as well, and well... Just everything will be beautiful!

 

Bright loved EVERYTHING. That's for sure.

 

Bright Shine got out of his bed and breathed in a huge gulp of air, sighing it out in a relaxing exhale. "What a day..." He said aloud this time, still repeating it in his head. He than put on his smile, looking out the window at the ponies passing by... the few in Coltsmane... but still the ones there.

 

He thought about his day, and what he was going to first do. 'First things first... Compliment everypony about some random feature, make a video for everypony in Coltsmane to let them know, I know when there birthday's coming up and just about every personal thing they have on schedule! Next thing... Find a kitten to pet. Gonna do that ten more times after.' Gives a giggle at that, continues. 'Rush groceries, do everypony's chores for them, give the animals a bath...' His train of thought faltered as the mail pony from out of town appeared. 'He never comes here! At least not usually...' As the mail pony put the mail in the box, Bright wondered if Celestia had written him again about an exploration.

 

He decided to open it up to find out, carefully by hoof, ignoring the urge to use the horn. "Thank you mail pony! Love ya!" Hopefully that helped him out... May have creeper him out. Bright didn't know. Bright folds out the letter, taking care with it, because the fabric was so light. Fabric? It's not paper at all! Shine was confused, but accepted it like always, and than read it:

 

Bright Shine. Oh how I missed your sunny smile and positive attitude, it really makes me feel needed. I just wondering if you'd be able to take time out of your usual schedule to come and visit me in Manehattan sometime.

Sincerely, old friend

[-Octavia- 1,176]

Caressing the supple strings as though each were a lover to her hooves, she teases from them the sounds of unbridled emotion. A melancholic melody presents a moment of clarity beyond articulation, and she loses herself to its invitation. The moment lasts an eternity, giving shape to an incomprehensible sea of sorrowful euphoria, the horizons bearing all but the present. Regrets and fears cease to exist, giving way to a peace so ethereal that the musician sheds a tear.

 

With the final note reverberating through the hall, the captivated audience was released from the spell, and the only sound that seemed to exist in the world was applause. Appeasing their enthusiasm, Aria Rosewood bowed tremulously, the weight of relief threatening to overwhelm her. So great was it that upon trotting off stage and into the nearest available room, she nearly missed the cushion onto which she collapsed.

 

It was not that she was particularly nervous whenever she performed. She merely wanted the audience to appreciate every note—every subtle, emotional, beautiful dynamic—as she did, and that was no small feat. She had long ago attempted to define the line between art and technical execution, but since came to realize that perhaps art itself was a science of its own. She certainly could not explain those moments that seemed to transcend the scope of emotion.

 

Both emotionally and physically exhausted, Aria resolved to retire to her apartment, thinking of naught but the luxurious bed that awaited her there. Gathering her composure, she somewhat unsteadily ambled towards the nearest emergency exit. A warmth greeted her on the other side of door, tantalizingly inviting her to explore what gifts the day had blessed upon the city. So it was that, rather than her apartment, she would perhaps find a nice park in which she could relax her aching hooves instead.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Wubtavia

[Gloomfury 243]

Sweat, tired breath the slight ache in her hooves. That was what Shamrock was feeling as she ran though the streets, sometimes witching from all fours to her hind legs to throw a few shadow punches. Inside her track suite she was sweating up a storm, the only thing keeping it out of her eyes was her old hat.

 

The streets of Manehattan was the bets place for a run. The rand ponies helped her work on her dodges and hoof work. She's been running for a about two hours and she was only half winded. Sometimes she would stop in an ally to throw a few more punches, He didn't pay attention to the looks she was getting, all she focused on was her training. When she was done she took off in a sprint not slowing down a bit. 

[Carl Poppa 464]

After having casually finished her smoothie, Spring Love rose and trotted out of the cafe and back out onto the streets.  She inhaled deeply, the breath of the city filling her to the brim with life.  What a nice time to go to a park, sit in the shade of a tree and ponywatch!  She could meet somepony new there, or simply enjoy the atmosphereㅡwhy, it felt like a must after the refreshing smoothie she'd just had!  Smiling a bit, the unicorn pony took off at a trot, closing her eyes briefly as she moved down the sidewalk.

 

She highly criticized herself for that decision when she opened her eyes and saw somepony was racing down the street and heading right for her!  She'd lived in this city long enough to know better than to let her guard drop on the streets!  How could she have been so utterly foolish?  She either didn't have time to get out of the way or was paralyzed by the shock of it all, for soon the sprinting pony was right before her, collision imminent, and she cried out involuntarily, her eyes squeezing shut as she braced for impact.

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

 

During her sprint some of Shamrock's sweat got into her eyes a little and blurred her vision.  She blinked a few times to trying and get it back to normal. But as she she did he let out a yelp as she crash into what felt like another pony. She fell over the other pony and landed on her head.  She rolled over she put a hoof to her head. "Fecking, bollicking shite!" She curse as she rubbed her head.  When she opened her eyes she saw the mare she ran into. 

 

Her eyes went wide as she moved over to her to help. "Sweet jaysus, are you alright?!" She asked as the feeling of worry and guilt started to roll in.

[Overlord0909 479]

If Bright wasn't confused enough, he got even more confused at the letter. 'Old friend?' He thought, 'what a unique name...'

 

Bright than realized what he needed to do now. Bright crossed out everything he had on his mental list; probably not the best thing to do, but this was his thought process. 'I have to go and meet Old Friend as fast as possible! He had r she needs me!' Bright Shine ignored his hygiene and raced out the door, and onto the small village "street" that split the ten buildings apart from each other, five on each side. A mare who was watching told her husband "There goes that happy stallion again... Probably forgot to brush his teeth..." She laughed, it was about the best entertainment they get in Coltsmane.

 

Bright sped along, running so fast, that the ground was a blur, trees were flickers od shadows, and the road up ahead got closer, so close that Bright had to slow down.

 

Bright got to the side, panting, and looked up flicking his now sweaty, long hair (usually in a spiked mess) out of his eyes. His gaze drifted down the familiar route. But than remembered that his destination was Manehattan, not Canterlot...

 

"... Which was that?" He said to himself out loud. He sighed. "I guess I have no choice." He concentrated his spell on the name, and let the magic do the rest. It hit it's mark, and he felt himself deteriorate into dust as the teleportation took effect. "Here I come, Old Friend!" He disappeared with a smile.

 

A random mule dropped a cup full of water with his mouth open.

[Carl Poppa 464]

@Gloomfury

 

Spring Love rubbed her head with a hoof slowly as the similarly green mare before helped her to her hooves after the collision.  She ran a mental checklist.  She was a bit sore in places, but she wasn't seriously injured or anything, so that was good.  When the pony spoke, Spring Love made a note of the other mare's accent, but didn't give it much thought or see a need to bring it up.

 

"I'm okay, thanks.  Wow, you sure are in a hurry though," she said with a friendly smile, "I hope you're not late for something."

 

Wouldn't that be just lovely?  To have been so stupid as to close her eyes while walking, trot right into somepony's path, and then make that pony late for something important... oh it would be such a disaster were it so!  Actually, it was making her somewhat anxious, more so than the incident at hand had.  Taking a breath, she reminded herself that it wasn't the end of the world or anything catastrophic of the kind.  If this pony was late for something, Spring Love would just help her get there on time, if possible.

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

 

Shamrock chuckled. " Nah. I'm not headin' anywhere right quick.  Just doing my normal daily training. Sprinting helps stretches your limits. Anyway I'm mighty sorry for running into ya like that. Too much sweat must have gotten into my eyes. " She took her drivers cap off and wiped her face with her sleeve. She smoothed her mane back and placed her hat back on.  "Are you sure you're alright? I don't think I can bare the thought of hurting a pretty lass like you." She said still feeling a bit worried. 

[Overlord0909 479]

@ @@Gloomfury

 

A flash of light appears above the two mares and a yellow spotted, white pelt comes plummeting down towards them. "Look out below!" Bright yells as he realizes he made the trip... After the two other tries... 'I just said "I love Manehattan... How did it bring me here? I love everything!"' Bright was too confused to make an effort to stop himself.

[BronyDoesBronyThings 63]

He didn't feel lonely... until he was actually alone. Now, Alabaster lay upon a small futon in a hotel room in Manehattan, staring at the drab, unattractive wall, desperately wanting- no, needing someone to talk to... He thought to himself, 'This is it. This is the pure, unadulterated form of boredom.' With a sigh, Alabaster glanced to his side. He felt his eyes narrowing as they rest upon the supportive boots that allowed him to walk, which happened to be... "Across the room." As Alabaster spoke the last part of his thoughts out loud, he smiled at the cruel irony if the situation. "Too tired to fly, too handicapped to walk, and too lazy to call room service... Great." Alabaster shakily brought himself to a stand, and slowly walked off the futon, before tumbling to the itchy rugged floor. He sat in silence for a solid 20 seconds, his face full of carpet, before letting out a muffled "ow." As the pegasus repeated his first attempt, now with the support of a wall, he deduced that today was going to be absolutely terrible.

 

 

Alabaster shuffled through the streets of Manehattan, his back hooves now protected by the metal footwear. The many ponies of Manehattan sweeped by him, all of them busy with something. 'Nopony seems to have any time in a place like this. Always late. Perhaps I should hand out alarm clocks.' Alabaster's thoughts were always... strange, to say the least. At any rate, he decided to get a coffee, as he was still drowsy and irritable. He found his way to a small cafe that he'd been to a few times since he began his stay in Manehattan. Alabaster's head met the glass door with a small *thunk* as he nudged the door open. The blackjack dealer trudged toward the counter. He stared at the stallion who worked the register, and muttered his order of a single black coffee. 

 

As he payed his bits, he gulped down half of the cup in one large swig. As the pegasus felt his senses returning to their normal state, he smiled and spoke. "Did you make that hat yourself?" The stallion narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he forced out the words, "I bought it." Alabaster's eyes widened a bit, before shrugging and lightly limping away. As he opened the door, he began hovering above the ground, his body only a foot in the air. His sigh of relief as the caffeine coursed through him was interrupted by a light yelp to his left. Instinctively turning, he saw a pony falling through the crowd- presumably on top of somepony. His brow shot up as he flew toward them. The ponies of Manehattan didn't even shoot a glance in their direction. Apparently, this was a normal occurrence. Alabaster called out as he made it to the small group. "Is everypony okay?"

[Carl Poppa 464]

@@Gloomfury @@Overlord0909 @@BronyDoesBronyThings

 

Blushing slightly at having been called pretty, the green unicorn replied, "No worries, you didn't hurt me."  She rubbed a hoof across her mane and continued, "Daily training, huh?  So do you run for fun or competitively?"

 

It was at that moment that she heard somepony shout, "Look out below!" and looked up in shock, to see a stallion falling from the sky above her.  Marveling at the likelihood of this series of events, she quickly dodged to the side, with a cry of, "Be Careful!"

 

About the same time, a pegasus stallion approached, asking if everypony was okay.  What an encounter!  This was certainly more exciting that sitting at home would have been!

 

"I'm okay," she replied in general, "I hope everypony else is, too."  Then, to the stallion who'd fallen,  "Where did you come from?"

[Overlord0909 479]

@ @[member=Gloomfury] @[member=BronyDoesBronyThings]

 

"Oh! Me?" Bright said, immediately knowing the answer. "Sorry... I uh... Teleported really terribly." He gave an awkward smile, and almost forgot to apologize and respond to the other pony there! "I'm sorry, so, so very sorry! I feel awful for almost hurting somepony. Thank you for your concern towards everypony as well!" Bright looked at the Pegasus stallion as he said the last bit. "I'm fine physically... But I don't know exactly until I know the other mare is alright..." Bright looked at the other mare there.

 

Bright was still confused on how he got there with the advanced teleportating spell, but he felt sure he'd find out as he talked to the ponies in this te... EOWN!

 

Bright gasped as he saw a couple of surrouding buildings, and all the ponies! Dear Celestia!

Edited September 29, 2015 by Overlord0909

[-Octavia- 1,176]

Blades of grass bowed to the whispering wind, whilst leaves danced wildly upon its breeze. The warm light augmented the world, painting it in an almost ethereal light. Vivid colours whirled as foals scampered across the park in a spirited game of tag, maintaining the innocence of youth from which the city threatened to part them on a daily basis. Aria sighed with contentment, enjoying solitude amidst the public and existing in the moment. Not long after she had taken a mindful view of the world, her attention was drawn to a commotion not far across the grass.

 

Two mares had apparently collided with each other, though this was not an uncommon occurence in the city of Manehattan. What was more peculiar about the situation was that a garish unicorn had teleported on top of them. Wondering if she should play the role of concerned citizen, Aria considered getting up to see if they required assistance. Her intentions fell short of action, however, when a blue pegasus took it upon himself to do the same. Concerns assuaged, she settled back into the grass, observing the interaction with mild interest through lidded eyes.

[Gloomfury 243]

@,@@Overlord0909, @@BronyDoesBronyThings,

 

Shamrock gave a light chuckle. "Aye, I'm fine. I may not look like it but I am pretty tough." She chuckled again as she she sat down on a nearby bench, taking off her hat to scratch her mane a little. "At least this day ain't boring." She smiled. " So by the looks of you bunch none of ya are from around hear. Am I right?  I like makin' new friends so it's not a big deal if any of ya need help." Then she looked over to Spring Love with a smile. "Plus, it's not often that I get to literally bump into a darlin' mare."

[Overlord0909 479]

@@@Gloomfury @@BronyDoesBronyThings

 

Bright brightened up hearing that, also thinking of the city in his thoughts. "Oh my Celestia! Is this Manehattan? It's soooooooooo big! You're an amazing pony! Why? Because you like friends! I like having friends too, but I consider everypony to be my friend, some may just not know it yet...." Bright took in a gulp of air.

 

Bright smiled. "How rude of me... I didn't introduce myself. I'm Bright Shine, I live in Coltsmane... A very small village, especially compared to all this." His smile grew. "So many ponies to make friends with!"

 

Realizing he got off topic. "And what's all your names?"

Edited September 29, 2015 by Overlord0909

[Carl Poppa 464]

@@Overlord0909 @@Gloomfury @@BronyDoesBronyThings

 

With so many ponies talking so sporadically, it made it difficult to hold a specific conversation with just one, so Spring Love decided it was best not even to try.  She made sure to adjust her gaze between the ponies equally, or at least to attempt to do such a thing (she couldn't deny that her gaze kept returning to the runner), as she responded generally to their inquiries and did her best to ignore the uninterested city ponies who just kept going by on either side of this hodgepodge down the street, each surely wrapped up in the worries and complexities of hundreds of lives they kept all to themselves that this one grass colored pony knew nothing of and for the most part, never would.  The vastness around them seemed to be nothing but an irrelevant backdrop to the stage that was her life, and so was easy not to focus on at all as she spoke to the collection of ponies before her.

 

"My name is Spring Love, and I could certainly use some friends myself.  I'm not originally from the city, but I have been living here for a while now.  See, I come from Appleoosa originally, but the small town didn't seem right for me, so I moved out here to the city quite a few moons ago."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,  ((LIVE DAMN IT!))  @@Overlord0909,  

 

"Glad to meet ya. Name's Shamrock. I was borne and raised here. And I pretty much know my way around the city." She said with a friendly smile. "So how about we stop off in a local dive to grab some grub. I could eat the bark off a tree I'm so hungry." She chuckled as she stood up. She started leading the ponies she met to the diner. "And to answer your question from before sweetheart, I run for exercise."

 

She said give Spring Love a smile. "If you what to know what I do, I'm a boxer. So I have to get in a daily run. Don't wont my legs to start getting flabby." She laughed.

[Carl Poppa 464]

@@Gloomfury @@Overlord0909 @@BronyDoesBronyThings

 

"Ah that sounds very interesting.  I'd love to talk more over food," Spring answered with a warm smile.  An athletic sort and a boxer... this was certainly not the kind of pony she normally befriended, but what should that matter?  It could be quite nice to experience something new and exciting, after all.  "Although," she continued, "I was on my way to the park to enjoy the weather.  Would anypony mind if we sort of make a picnic of it?"

 

She turned towards Shamrock, prepared to leave, but she turned back to Bright Shine after a moment, "Bright Shine, are you coming along too, or are you busy?  I'd be interested to hear about whatever brought you to the big city."  He was very excited about the place, it was clear, although it could just be that he was excited about everything, based on the way he carried on, but she couldn't be sure at all only having just met him.  To be honest, though it had only been a moment or so, the pegasus stallion who had come to check on them had been so quiet in such stark contrast to Bright Shine that she had almost entirely forgotten that he was involved in all of the hullabaloo that had been going on here, particularly considering the still steady stream of busy ponies thundering past them along the crowded street.

[Overlord0909 479]

@ @@Gloomfury @@BronyDoesBronyThings

 

Bright Shine responds to Shamrock first. "Wow! You know the whole city!" He said, with sparkles in his eyes, "You mus have such a good memory! That's amazing! I barely can remember routes to nearby places." Gives a little laugh with that sentence, then he focuses on Spring. 

 

"Spring Love... Now it makes sense..." He first pondered... But quickly changed his response, "So, you came from a small place too? And like making new friends, which I'm assuming you meant, correct me if I'm wrong. If so, we already have sooooooo much in common!" He gave a big huge smile again. "As for a picnic, I couldn't ignore a response to make a new friend no matter what! Well... Sometimes it'd be hard to decide... But I have my strategy..." He said the last part with a funny look of confidence. "I can't wait to talk more, I'm sure we'll end up becoming best friends!" He finished, bouncing up and down, seemingly to no end.

[Gloomfury 243]

@,@@Overlord0909,  

 

"A picnic sounds grand. I'm sure they'll sett it up for us if we ask." She smirked at Bright Shine. "To be honest my memory ain't that great. But if you've lived her as long as I have and walk down almost every street a map will just implant into your mind. Like knowing the street you're home's on. But I like to think of this city as my home, not just the place where I sleep."  

Edited October 4, 2015 by Gloomfury

[Carl Poppa 464]

@@Gloomfury, @@Overlord0909

 

"Excellent!" Spring Love beamed, "So it's decided then, we'll have a picnic and continue to chat."  She was so glad now that she had decided to get out of that bed today.  What an interesting turn of events!  She might have two new friends after this, and none of it would have happened had she simply had the sense to pay attention to where she'd been trotting; sometimes poor decisions can lead to good things, it would seem, or at least so she could hope.  The unicorn mare adjusted her rust colored bandana and motioned for Shamrock to lead the way with a hoof.  "You know this city best; why don't you lead the way to some good eats?"

[Overlord0909 479]

@ @@Gloomfury

 

Bright Shine nodded in agreement, knowing that he had found new friends... His friend, Old Friend, will have to wait. It'd be rude to just walk away now. The picnic will be a blast! Anything else will be a blast too! It all will! Bright knew it! "Yeah! You can lead us!" He was so pumped, he could hardly think about what he was saying, Bright smiled towards the two as well.

[Gloomfury 243]

@,@@Overlord0909,

 

 "Well alright then." She kept leading them to the diner. She led then down a few corners and and alley as a short cut to get there quicker.  They passed by a few homeless ponies sitting near the end of the alley sharing a bottle in and brown paper bag. They looked up a with a smile and greeted Shamrock. One of then had the same accent as she did but she greeted them like they were old friends. 

 

One of the ponies passed the bottle to her. She protested a little but not too much. He took a sip and made a face. She gave it back with a laugh, saying it put a few more hairs on her chest. The other ponies gave a hardy laugh as well. She she said her good byes and continued to lead Spring Love and Bright Shine. The ponies ave them both a friendly smile before going back to talking amongst themselves.  

 

Shamrock chuckled before looking back at them. "Sorry about that. Those fellas live in a homeless community by my neighborhood. I like to make a big meal for everyone once a week and the hobs grew to really like me. I use to be one of them when I was a filly before I met my da, and they all looked out for me when I was young. So I like to give back as much as I can."

Edited October 6, 2015 by Gloomfury

[Carl Poppa 464]

@@Gloomfury @@Overlord0909

 

"Oh that's so kind of you," Spring Love said with a smile, "You know, something like that sounds like just what I need.  That is, if you could use any help, I'd be honored to help with those meals every week.  Spreading love is supposed to be my talent, anyway... food for those in need can be love right?"  At this she chuckled a bit, somewhat nervously.

 

Those ponies back there had seemed a bit... rough around the edges, to say the least, and it did make her a tad uncomfortable, but she knew how positively unkind this city could be.  Besides that, for the past few weeks she'd hardly left her apartment.  She found her life was growing ever more stagnant, rather like an untended pond consumed by algae and insects, smelly and entirely distastefulㅡhelping the homeless ponies once a week would give her an excuse to leave the apartment, attempt to do her life's work, and, if this was possible, she could become good friends with Shamrock perhaps; and she really could use some good friends in this big city.

 

Ever since the dreaded... event... that had left her brokenhearted, Spring had been friendless.  All of her friends had been mutual friends... but none of them had stuck by her, instead cutting her off altogether.  She contained a wistful sigh as she pondered what life would have been like had she remained back home in the sleepy old frontier town of Appleoosa with her folks.  Would things have been better or worse?  It was hard to say... but hopefully, by the looks of today, maybe she'd be able to honestly say that moving to Manehattan had been a good move after all.