Crescendos and Cupcakes

Chapter 5: Welcome to Manehattan

“Move please! Out of the way! I don’t want to step on you or your children!”

“Watch it buddy!”

“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO WATCH ANYTHING!”

The scene unfolding in the streets of Ponyville was one that seemed like nothing more than a rude outburst to most. But to Reggie, this was a moment of chaos and panic, because once again he was running late. It wasn’t his fault. Motel beds aren’t supposed to be comfortable, and yet his promoted a four hour nap with ease. 5:56 had rolled around about five minutes ago, officially putting the khaki unicorn behind schedule.

Vinyl went ahead with the others to ensure that she wouldn’t be late. She decided that now was the time to stop being his alarm clock, which meant that instead of getting out of bed in a groggy stupor, Reggie had to rush to the train station at the speed of an Equestria Games sprinter. The problem with this was that unlike such an athlete, Reggie lacked grace. It almost seemed as though he was going out of his way to run into ponies.

What he lacked in finesse however, he made up for in speed. He was closing in on the train station as he heard the telltale whistle of a departing locomotive. He bounded onto the platform, which by sheer luck was devoid of any passengers. The train had already started moving, and was rapidly pulling away. Reggie poured on the speed as he fought to make it towards one of the still open doors.

Each opening was quickly retreating from his reach however, and the effort was beginning to look hopeless. That’s when he saw Vinyl at the back of the caboose with a smug smile on her face, and her goggles over her eyes.

“What part of getting here on time didn’t you understand?” She said, not worried in the slightest.

“Tell them to stop!” Reggie yelled, quickly running out of breath.

“Too late for that. You’ve gotta jump!” Vinyl replied seriously, motioning for him to take a leap of faith.

“I’m going to regret this!”

The khaki unicorn mustered up a reserve of strength and galloped at full speed alongside the train. The platform was about to end, and the caboose was almost out of reach. With one last burst of energy, Reggie leapt diagonally off the platform and towards the back of the caboose, but his hoof missed the railing of the car and he started to fall towards the tracks.

Just as he began to brace for a painful impact, he felt his hoof catch on something. Vinyl had stuck out her hooves and grabbed him, saving him from hitting the ground hard. Reggie planted his hooves on the bottom of the railing, and pushed himself upwards as Vinyl pulled. He flew over the railing and the two ponies fell backwards into the train car, the door sliding shut behind them.

Reggie landed directly on top of Vinyl, knocking the wind from her body. Both ponies were dazed as the adrenaline from their exchange worked its way through their systems. It was about a minute before Reggie broke the silence.

“Well, I guess you saved my ass yet again.”

“It uhh, definitely looks that way…” Vinyl said with slightly labored breathing. Her cheeks were turning a slight red, and her goggles hid the stunned look she had in her eyes.

“What’s the balance on my tab?” Reggie asked with a small smile.

“Don’t worry about it. If anything, I owe you more for dragging you into another situation.” Vinyl said, slowly regaining her composure.

“I’ll take your word for it then.” Reggie said dismissively, keeping his eyes locked on Vinyl’s face. “Something the matter? You look red.”

“You’re still on top of me, Reggie.” Vinyl said flatly.

“Oh yeah.” Reggie said, sounding genuinely surprised. He pushed himself off the white unicorn and helped her to her feet, watching as she dusted herself off. “So, did I miss anything?”

“Nope.” Vinyl replied, removing her goggles to inspect them. She let them fall around her neck as she continued speaking. “The most exciting thing to happen was that death defying leap of yours.”

“It shall be written that Reggie the Great made gravity his bitch.” The khaki unicorn replied softly, with a hint of sarcasm.

“I think I may have been misquoted.” Vinyl turned away and walked towards the connector to the next train car. “We should probably go join the others. They were in the middle of persuading Aurora to tell them about her trip to Manehattan.”

“Oh, well I’m sure that’s going well.”

“They hadn’t broken out into hysterics last I checked.” Vinyl said pensively, subconsciously quickening her pace.

The two ponies walked briskly towards the passenger car the group was located in, hearing their voices become clearer as the number of walls in between them decreased. They sounded oddly loud considering the noise the train was generating, which didn’t bode well. They reached the door to their car and the two unicorns stepped inside.

The scene had clearly degraded from idle chit chat to full blown argument in the time it took Vinyl to scoop up Reggie. Aurora had her back pressed up to one of the windows, her pupils constricted and darting back and forth defensively. Thundervolt, Applejack, and Rarity were all focused intensely on her, while everypony else watched on with curiosity.

“I’ll jump out the window! You can’t make me stay!” Aurora cried frantically, pointing her hoof at the supposed aggressors.

“Either you tell us, or we go with Plan B!” Thundervolt said sternly, moving his gaze towards the lavender unicorn on his left.

“What? I just said if she didn’t want to talk that I had a lecture about Modern Archaeology that could pass the time.” Twilight said, sounding confused as to why she was being used as a threat.

“Would you really put all of us through that!? Have a heart woman!” Thundervolt said, furrowing his brow in annoyance at the small pink pony.

“Well, somepony isn’t ever going to find out what they discovered out in Saddle Arabia this year…” Twilight said, crossing her hooves with offense.

“Why must you try to make this a public affair?!” Aurora shouted. “I just want to forget it!”

“Rory, if you forget about it, then how will you remember the good times you had?” Pinkie Pie spoke up, wearing a concerned expression.

“What good times!?”

“Ouch, were we really that bad?” Vinyl said, grinning at the defensive pony.

“Don’t pull that Vinyl, you know why I don’t want to remember.” Aurora said, calming herself slightly as she noticed their arrival.

“That’s true. It’s also true that everyone here wants to help you get past what happened. You have ten different pairs of ears ready to listen and give you some actual advice.” Vinyl said, illustrating her point. “Besides, bottling up all those emotions can’t be good for you.”

“Yeah, that’s probably what’s making you so short. Suppressing your emotions has stunted your growth!” Reggie added, putting an irritated look on Aurora’s face.

“She’s right dear, and it can’t be good for your complexion either.” Rarity said, her deep blue eyes pleading for agreement.

“Ah don’t know ‘bout all that, but mah Granny Smith always says that talkin’ out yer problems is the first step towards solvin’ ‘em.” Applejack said resolutely.

“It sounds like everypony agrees, Aurora. What do you say?” Thundervolt asked, changing his tone to illustrate his support. “I’ll even tell you what I was up to the whole time. I’m sure you’re a little curious.”

Aurora looked around desperately, hesitating to respond. She looked at the floor, mulling something over in her mind. “Well, I did have some questions…”

“Then there yah go! Looks like we won’t be needin’ yah after all, Twi.” Applejack said a little too enthusiastically.

“Sure. Fine.” Twilight said with irritation.

“I told you Twilight, no respect.” Spike said understandingly, earning a small smile from the lavender unicorn.

Everypony in the train car rearranged themselves to listen to Aurora’s story. There were numerous bench seats in the car, four per row making room for two ponies each. Aurora sat down next to the window she previously attempted to leave from, and Vinyl Scratch took the seat next to her. Sitting across from them were Applejack and Rarity, the former taking the aisle seat.

On the other side of the car, Thundervolt sat in the aisle seat diagonally across from Vinyl and Aurora with Fluttershy close at his side. Across from the happy couple sat the other happy couple, Twilight next to the window and Rainbow Dash in the aisle seat. Reggie and Spike opted for some male bonding in the seat behind Twilight and Rainbow Dash, looking over the top at the entire group. Pinkie Pie couldn’t seem to sit still anyway, so she chose to float around between seats.

“Everypony comfortable? Because this is one hell of a story, and I don’t want to hear any complaints.” Aurora said a bit tersely for the situation.

“Well, I could use a pillow for my delicate flanks.” Thundervolt replied cheekily.

“I myself could go for a cool beverage if you wouldn’t mind.” Rarity said, snickering to herself.

“Yeah, whose horn do you have to suck to get an alcoholic beverage around here?” Reggie asked with an odd smile.

“Oh no, you’re staying sober. I’m not dragging your ass around again.” Vinyl said. “This moron has a high tolerance, but no self-control. You’d think he’d have learned how to manage it by this point.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have pure alcohol running through my veins, Ms. Party Hardy.” Reggie said, rolling his eyes.

“Are you all done? Seriously. Apparently now’s the time to try and piss me off, so take your shots before I start taking mine.” Aurora said angrily.

“I think we’re done, Aurora. Go on, get started.” Vinyl said.

“Hooray! Story time!” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically, bouncing around the train car.

“Well, it all started about a year and half ago…”

***

October 2nd, Year 1000 of Celestia’s Reign

Neighagra Falls, 23.5 miles west of Manehattan

Thick spruce trees closely packed together rushed by at break neck speed. The forest floor far below looked like an incomprehensible blend of flora two stories up as Aurora bounded from branch to branch. Her movements were fluid and graceful, each limb touching down exactly where it needed to, despite the rate at which she moved.

Every so often, she’d turn her focused neon green eyes up towards the top of the canopy, scanning the sky diligently for any signs of her pursuer. She didn’t know where she was going, but she pressed on as if she was out of time. She knew she was headed east, and that she had to remain unseen. That was the main goal, and there was no way she’d let him see her. It wouldn’t be hard in the dark.

Aurora heard the telltale sound of wings slicing through the air and took immediate action. The petite pink pony rebounded off a particularly springy branch and took to the air, missing the branch she would have hit next. She let herself keep falling until she was mere feet off the ground. Her rear hooves barely touched the floor before she rolled into a ball, distributing her weight smoothly across the vegetation and popping back up at full speed.

You’re not finding me, not yet.

Aurora could hear him screaming for her. His voice carried throughout the forest, swiftly becoming muffled as the distance between them grew. That naïve pegasus wouldn’t stop trying to find her, even though it was a lost cause. She was nothing more than a ghost once she entered a natural environment. Thundervolt knew that. He’d see her again when she was ready.

The pink pony poured on the speed, dodging in between trees and continuing eastbound. Aurora kept going and going, never taking a break, never turning back. For over an hour and a half she kept that pace, her lungs burning and her muscles aching. She reached her breaking point as she crested a hill exiting the forest. Just before she thought of collapsing to the ground, her eyes darted towards a large source of light in the distance. About three miles east was what looked to be a huge city floating in a giant expanse of water.

That’s the Eastern Equestrian Sea. Which means that must be Manehattan.

Aurora looked towards the city very curiously, with a glint of hope in her eyes. Still out of breath, she inhaled deeply, filling her nose with the refreshing scent of saltwater. She hadn’t realized she had been running for so long, and was surprised that she’d ran out of land before she’d run out of breath. She gazed towards the city for a minute longer before walking slowly down the hill until she found a decent place to rest for the night.

Nestling herself underneath a small ledge jutting out above the ground, Aurora prepared to get a little bit of rest. Going into a big city was probably the worst decision to make given the circumstances, which is why it was her exact plan of action. Thundervolt would never expect it from her, and if she was careful, she wouldn’t draw attention. All she needed to do was lay low there for a while and sort things out. The petite pink pony closed her eyes and curled up, letting out a strained breath.

Tomorrow should prove interesting.

***

“I still can’t believe I couldn’t catch up to you.” Thundervolt said in a disappointed tone.

“Let it go already, would you?” Aurora replied, rolling her eyes.

“Ok, so you laid down for some beauty sleep. Then what happened?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Right, where was I…”

***

The sun was already low in the sky as Aurora made it to the city limits of Manehattan. She had slept for a long while, passing through the mid-morning sunlight and late afternoon heat without any bother. It was probably the combination of her previous exertion, and her skewed sleep schedule that had knocked her out so efficiently.

Regardless, she was in the city now, free to do whatever she wanted. The evening in a large city such as Manehattan is full of life, with something to see around every corner. It was truly a majestic sight to look at. Skyscrapers extended high into the air, overlooking a huge expanse of land and sea, with tens of thousands of ponies wandering the streets with their own agendas and a blend of sights and smells that would dizzy anypony that tried to take them all in.

In an effort to simplify the experience, Aurora decided to take a methodical approach to her first time in Manehattan. She looked around the area she had stumbled into and took note of some landmarks in case she needed to find her way back quickly. Satisfied with her ability to navigate, the petite pink pony began to walk and started working out a small list of tasks in her head.

First off, I have to find a place to stay. I can probably find a cheap motel and dip into my reserves for a night until I find something more permanent. Next step would be getting something to eat. I’d rather not starve. After that…hmmm.

Aurora hit a wall, realizing her systematic approach was overcomplicating a fairly simple endeavor. She shook her head for a moment to clear her senses, and she looked up towards the sky. The towering buildings in her immediate area shared the view with the orange glow of the evening sky, creating a sensational image to behold. Aurora was soon lost to the world, just watching the sky with appreciation.

Without warning, she was shaken from her sightseeing as somepony obliviously walked right into her. She immediately snapped back to reality and set her gaze on the perpetrator, her neon green eyes digging into their soul. Aurora expected to be met with a fearful apology, or a confrontation. The bright pink pony with the frizzy pink mane standing in front of her had other ideas.

***

“Oooh! That’s me everypony! I’m in the story now!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly, moving in between her companions with an unrivaled level of zeal.

“Pinkie, sit down. I’m trying to tell everypony how you ruined my life.” Aurora said with an authorative tone.

“Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie Pie replied, finally planting her flank in the row behind Aurora and Vinyl.

***

“Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name!?” The hyperactive pony said, fixing her bright teal eyes on the petite pink pony.

“Excuse me, but I have to be going.” Aurora said dismissively, not even trying to hide her irritation.

“Aww, but we just met!” Pinkie Pie said with disappointment. “I’ll bet we could have a lot of fun together!”

“I sincerely doubt it.” Aurora continued in the opposite direction of the hyperactive mare, making an attempt to get away.

“Don’t be silly! You haven’t had fun until you’ve had it with Pinkie Pie!”

“Then I suppose I’ll never be graced with that luxury.” Aurora retorted sarcastically as she quickened her pace. The bright pink pony matched her speed, much to her chagrin. “Stop following me.”

“I’m not following you; I just have to go in this direction!” Pinkie said with a wide smile.

“You were walking in the opposite direction when you hit me.” Aurora said accusingly, halting her movement and turning to face down the mare.

“I got distracted by a pretty looking cloud on my way.” Pinkie said almost guiltily.

“Well that’s just charming. If you’ll finally excuse me, I have to go get something to eat.” Aurora mentally cursed herself for elaborating.

“You need to eat!? Come with me, I know the perfect place!” The pink pony reached out her hoof with frightening speed and grabbed onto the surprised hoof of the pony with the forest mane.

Aurora protested and tried to remover herself from the pink pony’s clutches, and was shocked to find that her grip was easily overpowering her own. Whoever this pony was, she was now in control of where she was headed. Aurora was dragged along for two city blocks before the hyperactive pony turned abruptly towards a small, unassuming building in between two other storefronts.

The building had a logo that resembled a vinyl record next to a baked confection, framed by what looked like bar chords and sheet music. The title was written in electric blue and neon pink lights, flashing periodically to the beat of the music coming from within.

“Crescendos and Cupcakes?” Aurora said speculatively to herself.

“Uhuh! This is my friend’s shop! Come on in and get yourself a snack!” Pinkie Pie said, giving her a choice and subsequently throwing her inside.

The scene wasn’t at all what she had expected. The sound of the music once muffled was now pounding directly into her entire body. Deep bass and resounding thuds from nearby subwoofers resonated in the petite pink pony’s body, shaking her to her very core. The majority of the building was filled up by a dance floor, with two identical bars to either side framing the stage. There were a few unlabeled doors to the back, presumably the offices, and a fire exit. The main spectacle however, was the DJ’s stage.

Turntables, speakers, lights, and innumerable records were being manipulated by an unorthodox, albeit skillful unicorn wearing dark purple goggles. She seemed at one with not only the pulsing electronic music she composed, but also the very heartbeat of the party that seemed to be alive and well in the center of the room. The entire scene was intriguing, and yet Aurora couldn’t really figure out why.

“You can get a snack over there!” Pinkie Pie yelled over the music, shattering her concentration. Aurora looked over to where the bright pink pony was pointing and saw that one of the bars was actually selling food.

“Uh, thanks…” Aurora said, walking over to the counter. Though she didn’t really want to be there, the petite pink pony couldn’t argue with the fact that she was starving.

She sat down and ordered plate of hay fries, doing her best not to scarf them down in front of strangers. While she fought her primal urges to devour, Aurora turned her attention back towards the dance floor. The DJ was beginning to wind down her set, as some less energetic music began to take precedence over the previously upbeat tunes. The bass was still pounding in her chest, but the petite pink pony no longer noticed.

The bright pink pony was bounding all over the club, bringing smiles to everypony’s faces. She seemed to have a natural talent for butting into pony’s lives, but the majority of them didn’t seem to mind. Aurora was just glad she wasn’t currently being bothered by her.

A look of intrigue flashed across her neon green eyes as she witnessed the hyperactive pony do something she’d never have expected. Stop. The earth pony settled down at the opposite bar and ordered a bubbly drink. Looking at how innocently she behaved with everypony, it had to have been something non-alcoholic.

Mercy on the world when that pony drinks…

Aurora saw a stallion approaching the mare, and had a mind to go interrupt. She didn’t even know why. Perhaps it was her inherent friendliness that made her seem worth protecting, or maybe Aurora was just naturally overprotective. It wasn’t her problem however. She whipped her forest green mane from her eyes and turned back to her meal. The peace was short lived.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Aurora turned around as the music stopped to find the DJ galloping over towards Pinkie Pie.

It took a second to make the connection, but she wasn’t yelling at the pink pony. She was yelling at the stallion who’d been talking to her. Pinkie didn’t seem to know what was going on, but the stallion looked pretty guilty about something.

“Nothin’! Get outta my face!” The stallion responded hastily.

“How about you get out of my club!?” The DJ replied, lowering her goggles to expose her ruby red eyes at the stallion.

“Why don’t you make me!?” The stallion replied audaciously. He reached forward and pushed the white mare backwards and into a table. Aurora was out of her seat before she hit the floor.

She galloped through the now motionless crowd in the middle of the room, heading straight towards the stallion who was about to advance on Pinkie Pie. Aurora leapt upwards and hit the stallion in the side full force, smashing him into the bar. He gasped, not expecting the blow, before turning his vision towards the source.

“Ey, you’re dead! Hear me?”

“I only hear you blowing words out of your ass.” Aurora said, intentionally provoking the stallion once more.

He raised his hoof to strike, and Aurora waited for it. As his hoof shot forward, she moved to the side with ease and swung her own hoof around his. She shifted her weight, bringing the stallion closer to her. She lowered her head as his came forward and their two skulls collided. Aurora was unscathed; the stallion fell to his knees in shock.

Without waiting for him to get up, Aurora walked around to his backside and grabbed the end of his tail in her mouth. She dragged him towards the clubs exit and began to swing him around and around, gaining sizeable momentum. She released her grip on his tail at the middle of her arc and sent him flying out the door and into the street. By the time the clubs security actually showed up, the problem was solved.

“Sorry for doing your job, boys.” Aurora said as she trotted over towards the DJ, who was currently picking herself up. “Are you ok, miss?”

“Ugh, Vinyl Scratch.” The mare said as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Thanks for taking care of that. God knows my security team should have.”

The mare sent an irritated look at the two bouncers now standing by the door, causing them a bit of well-deserved embarrassment. She turned her attention towards Pinkie Pie before continuing.

“Pinkie, I didn’t know you’d be coming by today. You have to be more careful in the city, I told you that.”

“I was being careful. He seemed like a nice guy!” Pinkie said defensively, turning her gaze towards Aurora. “That looked really tiring and cool! Mostly cool though. Here, have some of my super bubbly soda!”

“Uh, thanks.” Aurora said. She was actually pretty thirsty. Not from whipping the stallion though, that was child’s play. The hay fries at the club were just very salty. “Bottoms up.”

Aurora took a large swig of the pink pony’s drink, savoring the taste as she swallowed. She looked over towards the DJ and saw a look of panic forming in her eyes as she seemed to make a realization of her own. She seemed to be yelling something, but it sounded muffled for some reason.

Why can I not hear what she’s trying to say? And why is the room spinning? Oh, now I know why the DJ was mad at that stallion…

“H-He…the drank…yes.”

With that, the petite pink pony fell to the floor, her eyes rolling back into her head and her consciousness slipping away from her.

Damn this city.