Mezzo reminisced of one of the worst moments of his life, back when he was a freshman at Manehattan academy. He got asked here and there to do some small gigs around the city. Soon enough it landed him a performance at the Sisterhooves social club, whilst it wasn’t particularly the most civilised of places, it usually was packed, and Mezzo could make a name for himself.

As was like any performance he had done, Mezzo was prepared. Formal shirt, Blazer, and jeans completed a nice look for him. He didn’t exactly want to look TOO smart, after all.

He walked onto the stage to find a beautiful pristine white grand piano lay there (with what appeared to be a wobbly leg but the guy didn’t take much notice of it), glimmering in the spotlight. Mezzo sat down at the untouched black and white keys. He began to play a soft melody which mesmerised the audience almost instantly.

All of a sudden one of the grand legs snapped, and the piano came crashing down onto Mezzo’s feet, crushing his toes. He let out a yelp and tears rushed down his face. Of course, the snobby upper class folk of Manehattan could not help but to burst out laughing. This awful case of schadenfreude made Mezzo feel even worse. Not only did he have to travel in a cast and crutches for 2 months, but his whole concept of performance and confidence was knocked off entirely. He rarely performed from that point forward, and if he did it was usually in front of a small audience.

‘So yeah,’ the Pianist began wrapping up his story. ‘I know all too well about being humiliated by people. It’s awful, and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone else to be perfectly honest.’

Pinkie Pie, the usually ecstatic girl that Mezzo Piano was speaking to, had her big smile wiped off of her face. Instead she had a small smile of reassurance instead.

‘Well, I’m sorry that I had to get that out of your system.’ She muttered, placing her hand on his arm.

‘Oh no, it’s quite alright.’ He said, laughing awkwardly.

‘I’m glad that you’ve come back home, you know.’ She said quietly, which is unlike Pinkie in any way. She went and hugged Mezzo tightly. It was bittersweet. Then she checked her phone to notice it was 16:51.

‘Looks like it’s time to take someone home to his Mom.’ She giggled, whilst Mezzo gave her a deadpan look.

‘You mean Roommate who has a crush on me.’ He replied monotonously.

‘You’re saying it like you don’t like her.’ Pinkie said sarcastically. They skipped right towards Rarity’s house, just as it hit 17:00.

‘Yenno Pinkie,’ Mezzo turned to her. ‘This was fun. We should do it more often.’

‘You got it MP!’ She nodded, hugged and said farewell. Mezzo waltz into Rarity’s house to singing and piano playing, coming from the girl herself.

‘Quite a talented set of pipes you’ve got there.’ Mezzo hung up his coat as he spoke.

‘Why thank you, Darling,’ It was noted by Mezzo that Rarity had styled her hair to her usual décor. The pale girl climbed out of her seat, got her coat and scarf on and picked up a massive suitcase. ‘Get your coat on, we’re going on a road trip.’

‘Erm, what?’ Mezzo replied in a confused manner.

‘I have a dress delivery in Manehattan. So I thought you’d want to come with in case you want to, yenno, visit home or something.’

‘But Manehattan is miles away. It’ll take at least 2 hours to get up there by bus.’

‘Yeah, I know, that’s why we’re going now, so I can get home for school tomorrow.’

‘Ugh, fine.’ Mezzo dragged his massive coat back on as they both walked out of the house. The sun was creeping off into the horizon, causing the sky to gain a light purple hue. Mezzo loved the look of the evening sky, causing him to slow down to embrace it. Rarity had to drag him along for him to focus again.

‘Wait, where is Sweetie Belle?’ Mezzo noticed as they walked past the now silent Canterlot High.

‘Oh I don’t know, off out with her “Boyfriend” or something,’ Rarity placed her hand on the giant horse statue that stood proud outside of the grand building. ‘Goodness, I wish Twilight would return sometime soon.’

‘Will she?’ Mezzo replied, looking at the equine with confusion.

‘Well of course Darling. She will have to meet you, won’t she?’

‘To be honest, I wouldn’t mind meeting a princess, even if she is a horse.’ They both chuckled as the two of them walked onwards to the bus station. As they got there a few people stood there waiting bored. One girl wore a dress and bomber jacket, a beanie covered her golden-red hair. Some kind of rock music was blasting loudly through her earphones.

‘Sunset Shimmer!’ Rarity beckoned over. The girl looked over at Rarity wildly waving and Mezzo trying to conceal his blushing with his scarf.

‘Rarity! Mezzo!’ Sunset moved over to the two of them. ‘Why are you catching the half past 5 bus to Manehattan?’

‘Oh, I have a few dresses to get to Coco Pommel for a fashion show she’s doing,’ she said whilst pointing to the giant suitcase she had in her hands. ‘And what about yourself?’

‘Well, Canterlot High has given me a bursary in Manehattan National Bank. So I’m going to see if there is anything in there that can pay off the debt.’

‘Oh that’s convenient.’ Mezzo muttered, as the bus pulled into the station. The three hopped on right away, one stop, Manehattan.

The thing about Manehattan is that unlike many cities where it is usually very active during the day and quiet during the night, this ideal is reversed. At night, all the shows from Bridleway are blaring, even more people pack the streets, and all the shunning lights practically make the sky look like midday. Hell, they would even have school and work on at midnight if so many people didn’t hit the clubs at the time.

The noise, the people, the lights, all made Mezzo Piano nauseous. Whilst true, he had lived there for the past 3 years, the transition and bad memories did not settle well with him at all. He dragged Rarity and Sunset Shimmer out of the constantly moving heard of people and vomited in a trash can by the sidewalk.

‘Oh shit, Mezzo, are you alright?’ Sunset shouted to get herself heard over the deafening sounds that surrounded the trio.

‘I must ask the same, darling,’ Rarity placed her hand onto Mezzo’s shoulder, who was wiping puke off of his face. ‘You look a little, errrrm, unwell.’

‘I’ll be fine. Does this “Coco Pommel” live in the main city?’ Mezzo said before throwing up once more.

‘Well, she lives in one of the smaller neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city. It should take about 10 minutes to get there if we move quickly.’ Rarity yelled, before dragging Mezzo Piano up and moving back into the rotational crowd, with Sunset Shimmer following behind.

It was 20:24 by the time they had reached Coco Pommels house. The houses in this area were significantly smaller, but this did not stop what almost seemed like infinite amount of civilians to crowd the streets. Mezzo Piano, Rarity and Sunset Shimmer aptly stood outside the young fashionista’s house. Rarity, after regaining her composure from being surrounded by the unhygienic people of Manehattan, knocked 3 times on the stylised oak door.

After about 15 seconds. A blue bob with a face attached to it peeked around the door, which inspected all 3 people and then got rather excited.

‘Rarity! So glad you could make it! Please, won’t you all come in?’ Said the girl, who looked in her teens, but younger than Rarity.

‘Sunset, Mezzo, this is Coco Pommel, Coco, Sunset Shimmer and Mezzo Piano.’ Rarity said in a rather professional manner.

‘Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.’ Coco said, shaking the hands of them both.

‘Listen guys, Coco and I have to sort out these fashion items. Will you two be okay to hang fire for about 20 minutes?’ Rarity asked Sunset and Mezzo.

‘If you’re going to take a while, why don’t Mezzo and I go to the bank?’ Sunset Shimmer asked ‘Surely we won’t be too long.’

Sunset looked at Mezzo with her striking blue eyes, freezing the man right on the spot.

‘Wanna tag along, Piano Man?’

Mezzo said ‘Sure.’ hoping that he didn’t stumble over his words. The two of them walked out of Coco’s majestic house and into the social streets of the city.

The Manehattan National Bank is a spectacle all in itself. The sweeping blood red curtains that covered the stained glass windows left both Sunset Shimmer and Mezzo Piano in awe.

‘If only the bank at Canterlot were as epic as this. I’d become an accountant.’ Mezzo muttered.

‘You’re not wrong.’ Sunset replied.

As they looked at the amazing imagery that even a royal castle would not get treatment towards, a snooty woman behind a desk caught their attention.

‘How may I help you?’

‘Ooh, erm,’ Sunset stalled for a few seconds to recollect her thoughts. ‘A believe a bursary has been opened in this bank for me by my school.’

‘Right, name?’

‘Sunset Shimmer.’

‘Hold on a second.’ The woman strutted behind a set of grand doors, and then came back out to ask one of the male managers for help. They both disappeared behind the giant metal entry gates, leaving Sunset and Mezzo stood around waiting.

10 minutes passed, 20 minutes passed. The queue behind them started to get bigger and bigger. More people started to get angry.

‘What the FUCK is going on up there?!’ One angry man decided to yell.

‘We’re waiting.’ Mezzo spoke back in a raised voice, not a shout.

‘COME ON,’ Sunset screamed ‘SURELY IT DOESN’T TAKE THIS LONG TO FIND A FRIGGING ACCOUNT!!!’

Suddenly the woman burst back through the door, frantically buttoning up her shirt and fixing her hair. The man followed shortly after, pulling up his pants.

‘Sorry for the wait,’ she said in a rather embarrassed way. ‘We’ve looked through our servers and couldn’t be able to find any “Sunset
Shimmer’s”. We apologise for any inconveniences.’

‘Are you shitting me?’ Sunset said through gritted teeth.

‘No, ma’am, we aren’t doing as such. You can always sign up for one if you-’

‘NO! I WAS TOLD THAT I HAVE AN ACCOUNT HERE, WHY WOULD I BE LIED TO?’ Sunset got more disgruntled as Mezzo got more secluded.

Shit, we’re going to be put in prison Mezzo thought. He zoned out to watch his angry crush have an argument with a bank manager (something he wasn’t expected to see today).

He blocked out any sound that was going on, which consisted of loud noises, curse words and security guards grabbing Sunset by the wrist and dragging her outside.

Wait.

Mezzo chased the poor girl out as she was flung onto the floor, the epic doors slamming behind them both.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, are you okay, Sunset?’ Mezzo cried, helping her get onto her feet.

‘Ugh, yeah, I’ll be fine.’ Sunset said in return, a hint of anger in her voice to go along with it. She stuck up her middle finger towards the bank,
spat onto the ground and stormed off back towards Coco Pommel’s house.

‘You need to calm down.’ Mezzo ran in front of her, stopping the angry teen in her tracks.

‘I can’t Mezzo, I have a week to collect 15 grand, or else my ass is going to court,’ Sunset’s eyes started to well up. ‘Yenno, I’ve been an outcast for most of my life, and just when things seem to be getting better…’ She fell to the ground and collapsed into a pool of tears.

‘Sunset, don’t worry,’ Mezzo hugged her and spoke softly. ‘We’re all working together to keep you safe.’

‘Why? I deserve to be put away to be perfectly honest.’

‘What? No! You don’t, not at your age and what you’ve been through.’

‘You really think so?’ Sunset looked deep into Mezzo’s eyes, which caused him to blush. He struggled to get his words out.

‘…yeah.’

She hugged him rather tightly, fireworks burst off in Mezzo’s head, hoping it would never stop. But they did as he noticed that more and more people looked at the two bodies kneeling on the floor in the middle of the street. So they got up and walked swiftly to Rarity’s house.

The fashionista was waiting on the doorstep of the house, she looked cold and frustrated.

‘Where the shit have you two been? I’ve been sat outside of here for ten minutes!’ she grunted, teeth chattering all the while.

‘Well that’s the thing,’ Sunset said, wiping away her tears. ‘The bank doesn’t seem to have an account for me. They lied, and kept us waiting whilst two of the managers fucked in the back room.’

Rarity ran and clung onto her. ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry for you.’ Rarity’s voice was cracking, like she too was holding back tears. Mezzo put his hands into his pockets, being the anti-social man he is, he could only sit back and hope for the best.

‘Mezzo,’ Sunset Shimmer turned around and looked at him though watery eyes. ‘Wanna make a stop by your house?’

He gave the two girls a nod.

‘Lead the way, maestro.’ Rarity said gleefully. So Mezzo Piano lead the way, trying to navigate the bustling late night streets.

The trio stopped at what was a grand house, but even saying that would be an understatement. The 3 story building overpowered the teenagers. The many windows, neatly arranged bricks and beautiful statues that graced from the walls just left them all, except Mezzo Piano, in shock.

‘Mezzo,’ Sunset Shimmer asked ‘Why the fuck did you move to Canterlot when you used to live in a place like this?’

‘Because,’ Mezzo walked slowly forward. ‘They were both pricks.’

‘But look at this place! Even royals don’t get this kind of treatment, what are their jobs?’ Rarity curiously stated.

‘Well, my mother is an accountant in the main city,’ Mezzo Piano started ‘and my dad, well… let’s not talk about him…’

‘Why not, he can’t be that bad?’ Sunset Simmer started ‘unless he’s some kind of-’

‘Drug dealer?’ Mezzo cut her off. ‘Yes, he is. Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine if you’re curious.’

‘Wow, so your dad must be pretty well off then.’ Rarity said, looking once again at the mansion.

‘I don’t think anyone’s up though.’ Mezzo slowly said, cursing under his breath. ‘Rarity, can I have a piece of your notebook paper and a pen?’

‘Of course, Darling.’ She responded, tearing off a piece of the blue bubble-gum-scented paper and handing it, along with a black glitter pen, to Mezzo. The pianist began to scrawl out a note.

Dear Mom and Dad,

It’s me, Mezzo Piano, you know, the son that ran away from home a while back? Yeah, sorry about that, I think I could’ve handled the situation a little better than what I had done. But the past is in the past, and I really should be telling you what has happened to my life over the past few weeks, this week in particular.

It was fortunate that Uncle Aux Cord allowed me to stay in his spare apartment. Despite this, the state of the house was revolting to say the least, but at least I had a bed to sleep in and the sort. Secondly, I transferred to Canterlot High. Now I know that you don’t really approve of that school, but I’m having a ball! I’m back friends with Pinkie Pie, my old friend from before we moved to Manehattan. She’s introduced me to her friends, who have helped me out so much. One of them allowed me to move into her house for the rest of the school year. And many have just been committed to helping me out a lot.

Actually speaking of helping, one of my friends is in a predicament at the moment. Her name is Sunset Shimmer and she needs to pay off a debt on 15,000 bits by the end of this week, or else she’s going to end up in prison (it’s a long story). I know it may seem greedy, but can you please send some money to help us out with this situation? It would mean the world to me if you did.

Lastly, I know I’ve made myself out to be a bad son to you guys, and for that I’m sorry. Please could you allow me to stay at Canterlot high, I promise I will move back home once I graduate. It would mean the world to me, plus I know you wouldn’t mind it if I were out of your hair for a while.

Please find attached my New Address and cell number if you wish to contact me.

Miss you guys lots, and don’t forget to write back (or text, I don’t care).

Mezzo Piano

He folded it up neatly and pushed it through the letterbox. He began to walk off and said to Rarity and Sunset ‘Come on, let’s go home.’

The two girls caught up with him as they strolled to the bus station home.

Author's Note

Sorry I haven't written in so long, trust me I will try and get more chapters out more regularly.
Make sure you leave nice comments and shizz and tune in next time! Adios!
-TheOldRedHills