The Manehattan Project

by Dash Is Best Pony

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Original Character, Adventure, Slice of Life
Length: 7522

Celestia sends Twilight to Manehattan to work on a magical weapon.

Called to Canterlot in the dead of night, Twilight finds that she has been tasked with the construction of a large-scale magical weapon. After being whisked away to Manehattan, Twilight reluctantly works with her fellow scientists Shock Core and Control Freak, despite her misgivings about the morality of the whole enterprise. And then there's totally a conspiracy theory. And Rainbow Dash is totally gonna drop the bomb.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane 6 go through their own unique experiences in the Fourth Great Equestrian War: Applejack and Rainbow Dash in combat, Fluttershy and Rarity behind the scenes, and Pinkie Pie behind enemy lines, using her reality warping powers to be awesome. Don't worry, there won't be gore. There may or may not be wounds or a broken bone, but it won't go far enough to be "gore". At the very least, any bad stuff won't be described.

This fic has no real genre, honestly. It's going to have dark elements and comedic parts. Just take it at face value, I'm not trying to depress you (well, yet) and I'm not trying to make you fall out of your seat laughing. It's just going to be a fic that I hope will entertain you. Hence a "Slice of Life" tag. That's pretty neutral, and that's just what this is. A situation, and the characters live it out. That's a "Slice of Life", right? Maybe I'm totally wrong.

I do want to clarify that I know SQUAT, and I mean NADA, ZIP, ZERO about the actual science of atomic weaponry. I bet I butchered the terminology just by typing that sentence. Don't judge me, I'm just gonna stay vague about how the bomb works.

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This IS my first fic, so please demolish it. It can only make it better.

Expect periodic updates about twice a week. It'll probably end up being once a week, but hey, I'm going to be positive here and nopony can stop me.

All credit for the cover image goes to Reina-Kitsune, you have my gratitude. Please don't sue me.

All the proper dues and respects to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. Hmmm. I felt like I should put this disclaimer but I don't really know if I need to. Well, better safe than sorry. Please don't sue me.

For those of you who read this far into the description: You rock! You've earned the Rainbow Dash seal of approval and two internets! Sorry for such a long description. :facehoof:

Published 2012-02-22 18:04:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-03-05 22:56:24 UTC

Late Night Business

Twilight’s hoofsteps echoed around the corridors of Canterlot Castle. It had been a few months since she was there last, and the atmosphere was nothing like what she remembered.

The normally busy halls were deserted under the reign of night. Walkways usually filled with nobles and servants scrambling to and fro were shunned and given a moment’s rest from the constant stampede of hooves.

Had the castle always grown this quiet at night? Twilight didn’t know. She had never been the type of filly to leave the Castle during the off hours off the night. Those times were either spent asleep or studying in her tower. How she missed those days.

She gazed forlornly at the grand pillars that lined the hallway, spiraling upward into a poorly lit ceiling. In the day one could see the glorious murals that adorned the roof of the Castle, though at night it left an oppressive darkness that seemed to attempt to swallow everything below it.

The thought of darkness engulfing her set Twilight on edge. She levitated a lantern off of a pillar and breathed some life into it with a spell. With a tad more certainty, she continued on her lonely, flickering way.

Twilight sighed and glanced up into the shadows. Definitely prefer coming here during the daytime. This thought caused Twilight to reflect. Why had Princess Celestia invited her to visit at such an impractical time anyway? It’s not as if they needed to hide something.

Twilight sighed again, louder. She could assume the reason, of course. Twilight knew that Celestia wanted to see Twilight just as badly as Twilight returned that wish. They could just never find the time to meet up and talk. She frowned deeply.

It was the war, of course. What else could it be? Day in and day out the princess had to tend to councils and diplomats and deal with the ridiculously large workload that came with waging war. The Princess was always so busy during the day, she must have asked Twilight to come at a time like this so that they wouldn’t be interrupted.

Then she might be skipping sleep for me. Twilight stopped. That wouldn’t do at all. The Princess was far more important than her, she would have to bring that up with the monarch. It was a question of the importance of a small-time librarian versus the benevolent ruler of all Equestria. Scratch that, it wasn’t even a question. Resolute in her selflessness, Twilight recommenced her march down the corridor, following the lantern she levitated in front of herself.

Her determination, however, quickly wavered as she began to feel giddy. Try as she might, she could never suppress her giddiness when it struck her. She did recall one incident where she drew quite a crowd… Twilight’s eyes narrowed. That had been the good part of her story too! And the Cutie Mark Crusaders had flat out left before she got to it! The nerve of!... Oh yes, where was she? A smile graced her face.

She was giddy. Since moving to Ponyville Twilight and the Princess had never quite been in touch. Oh sure, there were the friendship letters, but they’re nothing compared to the actual thrill of speaking to a loved one. To hear their voice, to nuzzle them, to bask in their companionship.

She felt a spring in her step as she closed the remaining distance between herself and the large, ornate door that marked her teacher’s study. It had truly been too long since Twilight had had a face-to-face with her mentor. Much too long. Not since Spike’s funeral…

Her heart sank again and her body dragged. There was so much pain in war and so much loss. Death. Anger. Hatred. Twilight wanted no part of any of that any longer. It hurt too much.

Everything was OK though. After all, Twilight had learned very quickly how to make a convincing fake smile.

Princess Celestia took one last glance over the parchment she had been writing on before teleporting it away with a short flare of magic. Contrary to popular belief in Ponyville, Spike hadn’t been the only dragon that the Princess had used as a portable post office. She had other ponies and places she needed to be in instantaneous touch with, though Spike and Twilight had been the only personal contact she indulged in.

The Princess heard Twilight banging the doorknocker and allowed herself a knowing smile. She had sensed Twilight’s magical presence far before her student had arrived, call it one of the perks of being an alicorn. She closed her eyes in amusement.

With a lazy flick of her telekinesis the Princess opened her study door wide to reveal one Twilight Sparkle. Twilight trotted in, looking around at all the books and knick-knacks within. The place hadn’t changed much since Twilight had last come, but the memories within deserved recognition, and therefore deserved a quick look over.

The two ponies made eye contact and locked expressions, Celestia’s one of regal kindness and Twilight’s… Twilight had donned a pleasant enough smile, but it was more of a grimace. The Princess kept her face static with the practiced ease of one familiar with politics, though she cringed internally at the look on Twilight’s face. Her student had the worst fake smile she had ever seen, it was clear something, or somethings, were eating at her.

“Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil. How are you?” asked Celestia with her usual motherly aura.

Twilight spoke ruefully, “I’m just fine, Princess. It’s so good to see you again.” She galloped over to the Princess and nuzzled her, and Celestia returned the favor. The alicorn saw that, this time at least, Twilight had a genuine smile.

Celestia’s eyes twinkled with mirth as she promised, “You know that you can visit me at anytime, my student.”

Twilight backed away from the Princess and sighed dejectedly, “But I CAN’T, Princess. You know that as well as me, you don’t have time for me.” Celestia tilted her head and frowned.

“Now now, Twilight. When you put it that way you make it sound like I don’t care about my star pupil.” Celestia said, more playful than condemning.

Twilight backtracked and stuttered in embarrassment, “O-oh! I didn’t mean it like, like that, Princess.” Twilight glanced away shamefaced, “It’s just you’ve had so much work to do since the war started. I don’t want to impede upon you.”

Celestia blinked a few times then replied in amusement, “Nonsense Twilight. You are very important to me. The time I spend with you is never a waste.” Twilight wasn’t convinced.

“But Princess, I-!”

“Hush, Twilight Sparkle. You mean the world to me, the time we spend together means far more than time spent with uptight nobles who obsess over nothing but property and bits.”

“They’re important ponies though, unlike me. We’re going to need their influence to fund our defense. Please don’t do this for me and neglect important duties like that,” pleaded Twilight

“Twilight, that’s why I had you meet me here at night like this, so that we wouldn’t be interrupted by anything popping up.”

“Yes Princess, but you can’t miss out on rest to accommodate me. You’re so much more important than me-“

“Twilight Sparkle, I know perfectly well what I should and should not do. You have no need to worry about me. I am always thinking about what is best for Equestria, my little ponies are more important to me than any personal pleasure.” The Princess answered without anger, but sternly. Her voice still carried an edge that didn’t invite argument.

Twilight looked away, ashamed. Celestia spoke reassuringly, “You have no need to feel guilty for voicing your thoughts Twilight. I understand your feelings and am very glad that you spoke to me about them. But believe in me, my faithful student. It hurts to see you so worried about me. Have faith, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia nuzzled Twilight. After a moment’s hesitation, Twilight returned the gesture with her own, slightly teary, apologetic smile.

“Besides,” The Princess said, breaking contact and walking towards a pile of scrolls and a tea tray, “As much as I would love to have a casual visit and a long talk with you, I invited you here tonight to discuss something far more important.” Twilight’s curiosity was piqued, she trotted over to stand near her mentor.

“What is it Princess? Is something wrong?”

“No, Twilight,” then, with a chuckle, “Well, at least not more wrong than usual. I have a very special assignment I want you to work on.” The smaller unicorn did a complete 180 turn around in mood, and the Princess smiled. It was almost adorable, yet confusing, how the thought of work could excite Twilight.

“Really?!” asked a starry eyed Twilight. The Princess laughed.

“Yes Twilight, really.”

“Well, what’s the project?!” Twilight almost bounced up and down with nerdy energy, and probably would have if she hadn’t been in the Princess’ presence.

“I would like you to travel to Manehattan to work on this project. There are already a few ponies I’ve sent who have started their research. They’ll be your colleagues and fellow researchers while you work, their names are Shock Core and Control Freak.”

“Control Freak?”

Celestia leaned in with the ghost of a grin, “The name’s very fitting, I assure you.”

“Um… OK? So anyway, what’s the name of the project?”

“It’s being called the Manehattan Project.” Replied the Princess, opening a scroll and pouring herself some tea.

Twilight facehoofed. “Because the work is taking place in Manehattan. Brilliant.”

“Shock Core was rather proud of the name.”

“And what we’re working on is?...”

“A magical weapon.” The room fell silent. Both ponies could swear they heard their eyelashes swish as they blinked. A scroll shifted and the crackling seemed louder than Luna’s Royal Canterlot voice. Was that Neighagra Falls, or had the Princess just taken a sip of tea? Twilight sat down heavily on some pillows.

“You… want me to make… a weapon?”

Celestia was absorbed with a scroll now, and oblivious to Twilight’s uneasy shifting. “Right, a bomb, apparently. And yes, Shock Core tells me it could very well win the war, he seemed quite confident. That’s why he requested another pony to help with it’s development, he and Control Freak are afraid they can’t progress much farther without additional help.”

“And you thought that I fit the ticket for that job?” Twilight asked uncomfortably.

“I did indeed, Twilight. And speaking of tickets, here’s your train ticket. It leaves fairly soon, actually. I didn’t remember to accommodate daylight savings time, so we missed an hour I planned to use to catch up with you.”

Twilight was puzzled, “But can’t you just- I mean, the sun-?” she was interrupted by train ticket hovering in front of her face, with a large ONE-WAY-ONLY printed on it. Unconsciously, Twilight grabbed it with her telekinesis and briefly wondered how she was going to tell the Princess that-

“Now, you’re almost late. Let me teleport you there, I wouldn’t want you to miss the train. Send me letters every week to tell me about your progress, my faithful student. Farewell!” Her horn glowed and Twilight started floating in a magical golden aura.

“Um.” Was all Twilight got in edge-wise before she found herself in front of a train station with a ticket impaled on her horn. A train blasted it’s piercing whistle.

What the HAY had just happened?

To anyone and everyone who read my first chapter: Thank you! Really! It's pretty cool to think that people actually give a crap about my fanfic! Thanks so much!

Please... DEMOLISH my fic. I'm freaking out right now because I'm certain it's terrible, even though it's probably not. Any and all feedback will be loved and tolerated. And most likely obeyed, unless I have a good reason to not do so.

Also, tell me whether I should post author's notes in the comments or at the bottom like this. I don't know which is better, so you guys tell me what you prefer.

Tired and Confused

Twilight looked out of the train’s window numbly. The scenery rushed by in a dark blur of flora and moonlight. It was later than she was used to, even on her inspired late night studying sessions. Yet despite her fatigue, Twilight was unable to rest her mind. She lay awake with heavy thoughts, staring through the hills and forests. Everything speeding by was oddly satisfying, technology sure was amazing. BUCK, technology was the last thing she wanted to be reminded of at the moment.

Twilight was dumbfounded. She had never wanted hurt anypony before and that’s exactly what was being asked of her. The Princess wanted her to create something knowing that it would hurt others, kill them. But what was more important, keeping herself clean of guilt or obeying the Princess? Which was the lesser evil? Should she risk disappointing the Princess or risk being the indirect murderer of others?

Did the Princess even feel remorse over this decision? She hoped that the goddess at least had her own misgivings about the weapon. Provided Celestia did have doubt, then she must have a very good reason to go through with it. Twilight hoped that Celestia had an excellent reason. After all, if the Princess had a good reason maybe Twilight could use it to convince herself that what she was doing wasn’t the most horrible thing she had ever committed to oh no it totally is this is bad what to do what to do?

Twilight buried her face in her hooves and thought deeply, reflecting on everything. She needed logical reasons to consider, not this maelstrom of emotions whirling around in her skull. There were good reasons to willingly work on this project and there were good reasons to want nothing to do with it, but she was so biased, after all, how could she not be biased about her own life? There had to be a logical, unbiased way to work it out. She would start with facts. She would make a checklist, those always worked.

Ha! This isn't so hard as long as I approach it systematically. Twilght grinned maniacally and envisioned herself etching the glorious facts into parchment, marking them off with those beautiful curvy checks.

Alright… I'm Twilight Sparkle, check. I’m the Princess’ star student, check. I have talent that can be put to use, check. I’m on our side of this war, check. I… Horsefeathers! It all pointed towards creating this murderous bomb. That’s what she would be best at. Twilight stared daggers at the seat in front of her, blaming it for her misery. The sleeping stallion in front of her shifted and mumbled, he was having a nightmare in which daggers came out from his seat and impaled him until death.

Maybe it was stupid of her to only consider things about herself. It had been morality that made her so uneasy about the project in the first place. What did morals dictate? Twilight closed her eyes and continued her organizational fantasy, albeit less enthusiastically after her first failure.

Hmmm... It's wrong to kill others, regardless of anything, check. It would definitely be better to find a peaceful way to settle the war, check. One should be loyal to their friends and loved ones, check. One shouldn't disappoint others who ask for help, check. We owe a lot to our teachers and should respect their wishes, check. Wait... UGH! Even morality was against her! Twilight couldn't disappoint Celestia, she couldn't disappoint EQUESTRIA. Twilight growled and knocked her head against her headrest a few times, stopping when a mare gave her a worried stare. Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly. As soon as the mare looked away though, Twilight returned to her pouting and facehoofed so hard it was almost painful.

It wasn’t fair to Twilight, why was she torn in between two terrible options? She did the easiest thing she could do. The inner rift was killing her, so she opened up the darkest place in her mind and shoved all her worries into it. She would deal with them later.

For now, she needed to rest. Lack of sleep didn’t do her well, it certainly hadn’t served her in the past. She would never forget the infamous “Burning of the Boutique” incident. Housecleaning spells, she had learned that day, could go rather volatile without proper focus. Rarity had been furious… Well, jewels can solve any relationship problem. Twilight mentally slapped herself, HARD. That was a beautiful thought. Yeah, that would make a real great friendship letter to the Princess.

Twilight closed her eyes with a mumble before drifting off into her guilt-ridden dreams. The stallion in the seat in front of hers stopped twitching, it seemed the daggers had fallen asleep.

"Twilight!!"

Groggily, Twilight raised her head and looked in the direction of the enthusiastic shout. Mmmm, comfy… Such a pretty field of flowers she was in…

Who?... Oh, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were galloping towards her through all the flowers, climbing the round hill that Twilight had apparently chosen to nap on. That’s pleasant, they had been off fighting for months now. It was good to see them visiting, plus that probably meant things were going well with the war if they had time on leave.

Twilight called out to them from her prone position, “Applejack! Rainbow Dash! I’m so glad to see you both. Have you seen Rarity or Fluttershy? Any news from Pinkie Pie? We have so much to catch up on!”

The two hardy ponies slowed to a stop in front of her and flashed Twilight the smiles she had missed for so long: Applejack’s positive and reassuring, Rainbow’s proud and fierce. Applejack spoke.

“Wrrim-wrrim-wrrim-wrrim-!” Twilight’s eyes widened, her ear twitched, and she stared. Rainbow started up too.

“Tugu-tugu-tugu-tugu-tugu-tugu-!“ Both ponies kept up their strange banter until it formed a persistence background noise that drowned the rustling of grass and petals. Twilight just marveled. She couldn’t comprehend what they were doing. Was this some kind of army thing?

“Uhhhh… Girls? Everything alright?”

A blue jay leapt into flight and flew over the ponies’ heads. It then tweeted out a massive train whistle. Almost on cue, Applejack and Rainbow Dash began to slow their chanting with an unnatural precision. Applejack spoke again.

“Good evening fillies and gentlecolts. This is your conductor speaking. We are just now entering the Canterlot train station. All ponies planning on exiting the train should prepare their luggage. On behalf of EquesTracks, thank you for your patronage.” Wait, Applejack wasn’t a stallion! What is-

Just then, a fierce wind blew through the field and the rustling of plants made a high pitched squeaking that Twilight found impossibly annoying. It was almost like a train braking… Her brain made the connection. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash exploded and Twilight got hit by a face-full of multi-colored water, the liquid making a crashing sound.

KSSSSHHHH!!! With a slight start, Twilight woke up from her slumber, her eyes flying open. That was definitely really creepy. Sure, speaking in train noises was weird enough, but then they both… exploded and made that steamy noise that came when the train stopped. Was her mind really that demented? She made a mental note to research the significance of dreams in relation to sanity. Thoroughly unsatisfied with her rest, Twilight woefully got out of her seat and took off down the car.

After a quick search through the baggage car Twilight found and levitated away her small suitcase as other ponies likewise searched for their luggage. The suitcase was adorned with the Equestrian royal seal and earned quite a few interested looks from others. Twilight didn’t see any real reason to be upset at earning the stares, she wasn’t… well yes, she maybe was just a little bit on a top-secret government project (or at least she presumed it was top secret). Still, she didn’t like the stares, they made her self-aware.

Should I act like a government pony? Or should I just play it cool? Oh what the HAY. Does it even matter? No, it doesn’t. But seriously, come on Princess. Did you have to make everything as annoying as possible? Twilight was still fuming as she left the train.

After a few moments of rage Twilight remembered to pull out the map and directions the Princess had given her from within the suitcase. At least the Princess had prepared some necessities: a comb, toiletries, a little travel money and the map and directions. The Princess had gone through such trouble to prepare the suitcase, she really should have just asked ahead of time and Twilight could have brought her own travel gear. The rush felt wholly unneccessary, what was Celestia talking about, 'daylight savings time'? It seemed a poor excuse for kicking Twilight out like that, she controls the sun! It was almost like Celestia hadn’t wanted to leave Twilight the option to stay.

Twilight froze in her actions and marveled at a lamppost. It was an absurd thought. The Princess wouldn’t manipulate her like that and force her to go. She wouldn’t have left her optionless.

She shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Twilight was sure that she was just thinking the worst about the Princess. After all, she was so perturbed at the moment that she must have been channeling her anger towards the Princess. That was all. She put that worry in the dark corner along with all her previous fears.

Removing herself from her mind, Twilight narrowed her eyes at the map she held magically suspended in from of herself. She found the train station on the map. It was time to find Warehouse 15.

Author's Notes:

Wow, I really hate that dream part. I was planning on planting some kind of cryptic message in it, but this is what came out. I don't know, my friend told me it was fine but I'm not sure if he was being nice or what.

This chapter was pretty heavy on Twilight's feelings and concerns, but rest assured, in the next few chapters things will pick up, in case this wasn't your cup of tea. Things are gonna be happening instead of just thoughts being thought.

One thing I'm wondering about... The constant questions. I've been taking this omniscient perspective where we can see everything Twilight is thinking, but it feels like every other sentence of Twilight's musings is a question. I'm worried that either it makes the message too vague for you readers or it's just getting repetitive and dull. Thoughts, everypony?

So yeah, chapter two, I hope you enjoyed it! Overall, I like this one better than chapter one. I hated chapter one. The Twilight/Celestia converstaion was giving me hell, it was just so awkward. I still hate the dream though. I'm not sure whether it or the Twilight/Celestia part is worse.

Thank you for reading! Any and all feedback will be loved and tolerated.

You're In Manehattan, Get Used To It

Twilight exited the revolving door marking the entrance of the train station and glanced around worriedly at the tall and decidedly artificial buildings that lined the streets. Despite having grown up in Canterlot, the bustling capital of Equestria, Twilight lacked the street smarts of most city ponies. Canterlot Castle she knew like the back of her hoof, but whenever she had need to leave the Castle she generally always went by way of flying chariot and not her own four hooves. All this walking, through a unfamiliar city no less, wasn't going to be fun. But it would definitely be worth it.

True to it's name, Manehattan certainly was the busiest city in Equestria. Ponies flocked the streets in doves, milling about with purpose or wonder. Camera flashes and cheap souvenirs distinguished the tourists from the locals and businessponies, but overall, the picture was still one so chaotic even Discord could appreciate it, so such distinctions were unimportant. The ponies took on one mass that endlessly moved in bizarre patterns. Vendors popped up periodically along the road, but the train station seemed to be in a residential area of the city and there were few shops. Most of the buildings near Twilight were apartment blocks. Ponies would come in and out of each building periodically to enter or detach themselves from the sea of motion that was the Manehattan streets. And what a treacherous sea it was, it's times like these a nice ride in a flying carr...

Celestia actually had arranged for a chariot to pick her up in Manehattan, and Twilight appreciated the offer one hundred percent. Despite that, Twilight had taken the liberty to tell the royal guards in the station lobby holding a sign saying “Twilight Sparkle” that no, that would not be necessary. Strong, independent mares for the win! She had never been to Manehattan before and she wanted to take the time to see all there was. However, seeing the ominous, towering buildings, she realized how daunting a task that apparently was. Perhaps deciding to walk hadn't been the best choice.

Nervously, Twilight magically unrolled her map again and double-checked her route, taking note of each street and landmark. Just walk a few streets until she finds Mane Street, then go down that a while, then turn off and take a couple of turns and presto! Warehouse 15, easy enough. There was nothing to it. Well, the walk was a little long… but on the bright side, Twilight would be going through the Times Squares. If she wanted to, she could also probably take a detour to find Broad Hay. It was Equestria’s longest soda bar and restaurant, hence the name. She had read that their hay milkshakes were to die for, though Twilight wondered why anypony would really die for a milkshake. They would be dead then, wouldn’t they? How would they drink it? The brochure never explained these kind of things. Shaking her head at the paradox, she rolled up the map and put it back into her suitcase.

Armed with her mental map, Twilight was ready. Smugly, she trotted into the mob with confidence and her head held high.

Alright, let’s do thi- woooOOOOooOOOOOAH! Immediately after joining the flow Twilight found herself forced to dodge pony after pony rushing to get to the things at the places.

“Excuse m-- Oh! I’m so sorry-- Oops I-- Eheh, Hi. My na-- Sorry!--“ weaving in between ponies and apologizing, Twilight eventually found a niche in the traffic where she could ride the flow of ponies and walk mostly unhindered. Her sigh was drowned out by the city noises.

There goes that confidence, she moped. Then, self-righteously, she made a decision, No! I’m the Princess’ prized student! I can handle one measly, ridiculously large city. What do you say, Twilight Sparkle?

The other, less confident side of her brain gave a timid, Yes?

THEN LET’S GET GOING! Sure enough, during her mental dialogue Twilight again felt confidence surge through her body. She picked up her pace. She was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' faithful student. She passes ponies up on the street, not the other way around. Twilight allowed herself an authoritarian smile, she had this. Nopony can stop this purple bomb! She flinched. Horseapples, there was that stupid bomb again. FOCUS TWILIGHT!

She was making real headway through the crowd now, so when she rounded the next corner she afforded a second look at the city. Gone were the intimidating buildings. During her entrance into the city she had been claustrophobic, felt trapped in such a forest of stone and steel. That had changed, Twilight found herself admiring the way the buildings scraped the skies and how the ponies scurried with purpose from place to place. Though it had started out as nothing but a few small homes, over the years Manehattan had built it’s way upwards and outwards, until it was the largest, if not the fanciest, city in Equestria. Though not as pure and graceful as the buildings of Canterlot, Manehattan buildings had a kind of strong will in the way the buildings climbed the skies and defied the weather for the sake of their inhabitants. The place wasn’t classy, but Twilight felt respect well up inside of her. This was the kind of city where ponies got things done, where history was made. Her eyes lit up with inspiration.

As she walked, Twilight checked the street signs of the intersections she passed. Sure enough, eventually one of them read “Mane Street”. She brightened, put a little spring in her step, and sped around the last corner. She couldn’t wait to see it!

Wide and oh-so-long, Mane Street was named as it was for the way it rolled off of the hill where the Equestria State Building made its roost. The road was the masterpiece of Stone Cutter, the most famous sculptor and architect of the last century. It had taken over 20 years for Stone Cutter to start and finish Mane Street, partially because she had refused to let anypony else help, since she claimed they would ruin it, and partially because at the time there weren’t very many ponies in the Manehattan area to begin with.

The true Mane Street was the part that flowed off of the hillside, the stone delicately woven together hundreds of thousands of times to give the impression of a mane cascading downwards. From her distance, Twilight could almost believe that it was about to blow in the wind, and though it remained still every minute movement she made shifted her perspective and gave her the impression of the “hairs” shifting as a natural mane would. Its official title was “Waterfall Mane”, though everypony preferred “Mane Street”. She shook her head in a mixture of awe and disappointment, because the descriptions she read could never capture it's beauty accurately. Twilight resolved herself to take the tram ride to the top of the hill at some point, though the price was steep. Walking was free, but no way in hay was she going to do attempt something that grueling. Mane Street was truly an amazing piece of work, though enjoying it could be a pain.

The Mane Street of the city however, was really just the addition of prospectors who had come to establish the town after Stone Cutter had completed her work. It stretched on for what seemed like all of eternity, Twilight would have thought it went forever if she hadn’t read in the past that it was only eight miles long. A far cry from eternity. Still, eight miles could be a long way for a unicorn who does nothing but eat bon bons and read books all day in her library. Thank Celestia the train station wasn’t on the other end of the city, she only needed to walk about a half mile before her next turn.

It wasn’t nearly as artistic, but Manehattan’s Mane Street was far more practical and far busier than the original. At 50 meters across it held the record as the widest street in Equestria. As such, ponies had gathered along Mane Street, set up shop, expanded, and eventually created the towering metropolis that was Manehattan. For that reason, Mane Street was even more chaotic than the rest of Manehattan and Twilight was caught right in the thick it. Swarms of ponies obscured the ground beneath their hooves, even during nighttime, going about their important business. This time, Twilight's confidence didn’t falter in the crowd… much. But she still found herself avoiding the looks she got for her fancy royal suitcase and apologizing to the unlucky ponies that bumped into her.

Like all the big cities, advertisements flashed and propaganda made promises all over building walls and lampposts. The bright oranges and yellows of one poster caught Twilight’s eye. It was a picture of Spitfire the Wonderbolt dressed up in some sort of cheesy, overly generalized army getup giving the camera bedroom eyes and taking a seductive pose right by some military equipment. The caption read, “Make me proud, join the REA”. Twilight shook her head, stallions who fell for such an obvious ploy were complete idiots.

Well, Twilight reflected, it worked with Rainbow Dash… She shook her head, What happens in that mare's brain anyway? Twilight reasoned Rainbow Dash's decision making process went something like this, Can it get me into the Wonderbolts. Can it get me laid. Do I look awesome doing it? What would Daring do? She smirked internally, Ha! That last one was clever. It was an unconventional method, but she guessed it worked for Rainbow Dash. Yet at the same time, she found the fact that Rainbow Dash's thought process was close to her analysis mildly depressing. It's times like these that one just loses themselves to their thoughts and-

WHAM!

Smacks straight into another pedestrian, evidently.

"Omigosh, I'm so sorry! I was just in such a hurry and I ran around this one stallion and then I saw you getting closer but it was too late to get out of the way and then we sort of just went WHAM! and gosh are you OK you don't look so good need a hoof let me help you up I'm so sorry!" ARGH. As if the collision wasn't enough, it had to be a collision with probably the most annoying pony in all of Equestria (going by the fact that Pinkie wasn't in Equestria right now).

Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a hoof before reaching to grab the hoof being offered to her. Once upright, she blinked twice to right her eyes and took in the other pony. It was a nervous looking yellow mare wearing a strained expression on her face. She stumbled over herself, righted, and continued her flow of apologies.

"Really this happens all the time I'm just such a klutz you see I collide with ponies all the time and I drop things and--" Her eyes widened at the remembrance of something. "Oh no! I'm late, I still need to hurry." Uh-uh, no way was she just running off.

"Wait! What are you late for?" Twilight was actually pretty curious. The yellow mare gave her a sideways look.

"Well, it's. Um, you know. Not important! I just really need to go."

"At least tell me your name!"

"Risky Run," she sheepishly extended a hoof towards Twilight, "and I'm sorry that we hit again... I do that a lot, it's nothing personal."

"Well Risky, my name is Twilight Sparkle." she said, shaking hooves.

Risky's irises shrunk to the size of peas. "Tw-Twilight Sparkle? The element of harmony?" This surprised Twilight. Supposedly ponies did know about Twilight and the other elements, but in name only. They had never earned any kind of fame because of it. While they did have windows in the Canterlot Castle dedicated to them, it's not like the public was allowed to wander into the Castle. Because of that, Twilight and company had remained comfortably unknown for the most part. It was rare to be recognized like this.

"Um, yes. How did you know? Not that many ponies know me."

"I'm... a fan! Yep, big fan of the ponies that saved us from Discord, yessiree. Well, tar- I mean Twilight, it was really nice meeting you but BYE!" And she sped away into the crowd.

"Hey, wait!" Twilight looked after her with a mixture of amusement and confusion on her face. That had been... eventful. Why had she been so nervous? It still bothered Twilight that Risky had known who she was. It gave her the feeling that everypony knew her, and half-interested glances her way became full on scrutinies in her mind. But forget about what just happened, she had somewhere to be, too.

With that little experience abruptly cut short by Risky's exit, Twilight made good time down Mane Street, just drinking up the sights and apologizing profusely to anypony she bumped into. Soon enough, the crowd got slightly thinner and fewer shops stood on the sides of the street. Instead office buildings, banks, and other establishments began popping up. The traffic as a whole became quieter yet more hurried. At first Twilight was at a loss for what could have caused these changes. After a moment of confusion, she realized the reason was right under her snout, literally and figuratively. She was walking on the Times Squares.

The Times Squares were giant multiplication tables that covered an entire mile of Mane Street. Large numbers were plastered all over the street, carved into the fine white marble that marked the area from the rest of the road. At the start, the numbers one through one hundred ran horizontally across the street from building to building. Vertically, one through eight hundred ran down Mane Street, split every hundred by more horizontal numbers. That way, ponies dealing with more complex equations could easily reference their place on the table. Every building that lined the Squares had a number of telescopes poking out from inside to allow ponies within to check the table, even if the number they’re looking for was a quarter mile away. Because of the height of most buildings, the distance generally wasn’t an issue except for the ponies on lower floors.

It was because of Times Squares that so many offices and banks had sprung up in the area. It was the business center of Manehattan. When Twilight was younger she had dreamed of working here, with so many smart ponies and such large, beautiful numbers. Really, she could just sit here and stare at them for days, just memorizing the equations... At least, that’s what she had dreamed of. Unfortunately she already had memorized a multiplication table going up to 13,824 times itself. Still, if she ever needed a review this would be the perfect place to do it. Twilight got the urge to kiss the lovely numbers, and nearly did before realizing she was in a public place. She blushed sheepishly and took a step back, though nopony paid her any mind.

She sighed and turned her back on the glorious shapes. Her secret romance with science, numbers, and all kind of information would have to wait. The fact that she was at the Times Squares meant that she was near the warehouse. Twilight checked her mental map of the route. Seeing the next turn nearby on 34th Street, she regretfully left down a side street.

To her relief, almost as soon as she left Mane Street the crowd thinned considerably and left her room to maneuver. Despite that, Twilight felt even more uncomfortable than before. The tall buildings blocked out sunlight, an effect she found disconcerting given that it was shaping up to be an exceptionally bright and sunny day. Plus, while being jostled by other ponies had been frustrating, walking all by herself in the artificial dusk made Twilight feel vulnerable. Of what she had no idea, but her old trepidation came flooding back with a vengeance. It tugged at her hooves, asking her, What are you doing!? RUN!

Look at me… Scared like a school filly, there's nothing scary about this place. Except that I’ve never been here before, and it’s dark, and there’s lots of ponies I don’t know all around me, and I’m so confused right now! Twilight grimaced and lowered her head, giving sideways glances at her surroundings. Who was she kidding (herself?), she was terrified of this place.

She hated her stupid emotions, they were too hard to control. Numbers, facts, those things she could learn and apply, they remained static no matter what. But her emotions? Those had always given her trouble. They came and went when they wanted to, they whispered nagging doubts to her, they embarrassed her in front of others. It was so enraging, not because of any of the problems they caused, but because she couldn’t understand them. That was the ultimate deal-breaker for Twilight. If only she could understand everything then she wouldn’t need to freak out so much.

Fortunately, the trip through the gloomy streets was actually fairly short, and Twilight quickly found herself passing by a number of large buildings. Each was adorned with a massive double-digit number. She looked to the building closest her and saw the number “18” boldly portrayed. Likewise, the building ahead of her had a “17”.

Descending order, eh? I don’t have far until 15 then. Twilight quickened her pace. Knowing that she was getting near to her destination made her satisfied, but it also represented safety from this insane city full of danger. She reflected on her collision with Risky Run. And I used to think Ponyville ponies were crazy...

Her proximity to the warehouse let Twilight take her mind off of her fears and just let it wander. She wondered, why this specific warehouse? Supposedly, there didn’t need to be a reason. But still, a pony would think that there would be a pretty good explanation for picking this spot over another. Well, this was a probably-top-secret government project, and a warehouse doesn’t exactly advertise itself.

It’s enough out of the way to be discreet, she figured. But why couldn’t we do this somewhere more intellectual? Like a library… Like my library in Ponyville! We could of done it there, I even have my own lab in the basement! It would be like a slumber party! But with science! A SCIENCE PARTY!!!! She clopped her hooves together at the delightful thought but frowned right afterwards and grounded her hooves. Why did they have to do this in the city? She hated to admit it, but except for the Times Square and the traditional part of Mane Street, she already hated Manehattan. Stupid “Manehattan Project”… she pouted, rolling her eyes in exasperation at the generic name.

Somewhat unwillingly, she wrenched herself out of her musings to take in her location, finding herself standing right beside a faded white “15” backed by a worn wall of grey steel. The warehouse loomed over the street like it wanted to swallow Twilight. Why did they have to make the warehouse look so... scary? She looked at the numbers and swallowed, her old doubts returning. What was she getting into? Is this really such a good idea? But the Princess…

It’s OK, I can do this. What’s the worst that could happen? There will just be a lab or something and I can go in, introduce myself, and get to work. Steeling herself, Twilight approached the simple gray door underneath it's number and, horn glowing, pushed it open.

She was surprised to find the space within pitch-dark, not the well lit space filled with scientific equipment she had hoped for. If the horror novels she had read were anything to go by this was always a bad sign. Tentatively, she took a few steps into the building, careful to keep to where the weak light shone into the room from outside. There was something dangerous about leaving that light. Twilight peered into the darkness, but found it was becoming hard to stay in her rapidly diminishing island of light. She realized why when the door shut behind her with a metallic clang that echoed through the shadow. It was dark.

Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY dark.

“Ummm… Hello?” Twilight asked the darkness, panic creeping into her voice. To Twilight’s horror, the darkness didn’t respond how she had hoped. Instead of saying, “Hi Twilight! You have nothing to be afraid of!”, a great bright light clicked on and blinded Twilight, who gave a yelp of alarm and shielded her eyes, cowering.

The light demanded, “WHO ARE YOU?”

Well, it took me long enough, huh? Rest assured, it took so long because well, I wanted to make it good. I went through hell and back to make myself satisfied with this chapter, but I bet it's still only decent to non-me's.

I had tons of fun making those puns. I decided to embrace them rather than put them in for some dry humor, and I think it really payed off.

Heh heh, dropping hints about where Pinkie is(n't). Make what you will of it.

And there is Risky Run, OC character number 1. I'll be introducing more next chapter, there are going to be a ton by the time I'm done with this fic. Which, FYI, probably won't be for about 3-4 months. And knowing me that's probably an underestimation. I'm expecting at least a good 20 chapters out of the story.

At any rate, from now on Twilight will be doing things with other ponies, so it will be both easier and more fun to write the story. I've been wanting to introduce these characters ever since I thought them up, so we'll see how you like 'em next chapter.

As is my motto, any and all feedback will be loved, tolerated, and most likely followed.

Thanks for reading. Keep on rockin', everypony!