Good Old Manehatten

by The_Black_Knight

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe
Length: 3224

So what was life like before Crimson was even born and his parents were still growing up? How did they even meet? Will Crimson get the answers he is looking for?

So what was life like before Crimson was even born and his parents were still growing up? How did they even meet? Will Crimson get the answers he is looking for?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-08-03 03:10:01 UTC

Chapter One

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon in the middle of the summer in the city of Manehatten. It looked like it was going to rain. So a ten year old Crimson insisted on staying inside not that he never went out. His mom was sitting in the living room reading a book as she had finished all of her work. And had nothing better to in her spare time. She was reading a copy of pony dreams, a book she has yet to read ironically. Maybe she'll have her English class read it. Crimson walks out to the living room and sits on the couch across from his mom. She looks to her son and closes her book."What do you need sweetheart?" She asked him putting her book down on the coffee table.

Crimson asks"What was it like back then when you were a filly, and how did you meet dad?"He smiles hoping to get some of the answers he is looking for.

"Oh I can answer that, though I could write a whole novel with all the stuff that happened. But I'll try to shorten it as best as I can while answering all the possible questions you may have." His mom looked at him with a smile.

"Well it all Started when I was born of course..."

Flashback

I was born and raised in a farm in the country side of Nighpon. I was born into a family of about five other children at the time of my birth. I was the sixth with one yet to be born. My mother was a very sweet Pegasus mare with her rose pink mane, white coat, yellow eyes and her thick Neighponese accent. Well she was sweet back then. My dad on the other hand was a very bitter stallion. He was a brownish red earth pony with green eyes and a glass eye. He got that glass eye from fighting a bear which also resulted in him getting three claw marks across his face. The six of us feared him for that. Not to mention he had enough muscle behind his arms to slap any of us into the next century. That right there is the strength of a Buckssian. A group of earth ponies you don't want to piss off. Well your grandpa is all the earth pony groups you don't want to piss off.

But he was only so bitter because he was born into a and I quote"A sick twist of irony of trading one bastard for another." And grew up working in a coal mine, watching his mom get beaten down by guards just for stealing a loaf of bread for her starving foal. And than ran away from Marescow and found himself in Neighpon when he was only seventeen.

He then met my mom some time later and that's all I remember. And all Buckssians don't all drink vodka, fight bears and scream bombs. What makes you any kind of race is to have pride in what you do. Buckssians for example are passionate about the land they have, they all fight for one another and form a union out of friendship and freedom. The same can be said for what it means to be Neighponese. Its all pride in what you have. Sure some of the stereotypes may be true for some but not all.

But that's enough about race. As I said before I grew up in a farm. When I turned ten I started working on the farm along with my other five siblings. We towed soil, walked for miles on end with thirty pounds of crops on our backs and I had to irrigate all the soil since I was a Pegasus and no one else wanted to do it. I never got a break from working on that farm. And I would never would get a break for four years. Everyday was homeschooling from my mom from five in the morning until ten in the morning. All I had to eat was powered milk and a cup of coffee And I would work until eleven at night and have a cup of rice since that was all my parents could afford. And If I was caught taking a break my dad would beat me. And he got away with it since Celestia made actually punishment legal all across Equrestia. Nowadays all you can do is tell your foal no. Also back then I hardly knew any English since the two tongues that were spoken were Neighponese and Buckssian. That was the only way we could talk to our mom and dad. I did have a love for reading in all of my spare time. It was all I could do. I had such a passion for it I was able to persuade one of my siblings to join me in reading. And there with a flash of white light I got my cutie mark. My dad didn't take it so lightly as he expected me to be a farmer and carry on the farm when they died.

As time went on our farm had to be closed due to the fact that our dad was basically committing foal abuse. I guess there were limits to his punishment. I don't know how law works so I'm not going to argue. But the authorities gave him a choice he could be deported or go to jail. He chose to be deported and that's how I came to Manehatten. He ended up getting a job in fixing broken house appliances like ovens and sinks for a living. Or that's what I thought. As you know he was working for the mafia. As you were the one who found that out in one of your cases.

I still remember the day I first say manehatten. I arrived via boat and I can never forget seeing that statue and seeing her hold that torch of freedom and opportunity. I still remember a song that played when I first arrived It played on the radio and I couldn't help but overhear it. The singer sang of living in the big city and being a part of it all. Of course being the buzzkill my dad was all he could say was."Land of opportunity my ass" Ironic as he has been through so much you'd think he'd be happy about it.

So the first stallion I meet in school Is your father. He was sweet, strong and he was a little silly. He helped me adjust to life in the city and we shared a lot of friendly dates at the pizzeria he worked at, at the time we met. No place makes pizza better than Manehatten. But that's just me. But after a few years of being friends, helping me out with a lot of things. We ask each other out which I still find to be very strange. But when he asked me out he held out a black rose. Which at first he said it inspires strength and mutiny in ponies. I handed him a dark red rose because in my mind it shows unconditional love in someone. So we both blush and hug each other and shared a somewhat long kiss on the lips. Which was my first kiss. Just my luck the first stallion I meet is my husband.

I take him to my place for dinner that day and my family seemed to like him. My sisters loved him for his looks. He was a buff stallion back then. My mom liked him for the gentlecolt he was. And my dad didn't take him lightly at first but he truly appreciated him after he mentioned he was going into the armed forces. My dad always encouraged me and my sisters to marry into military families. He only said that because he tried but due to his glass eye he couldn't join. Which upsetting him because he really wanted to thank Equrestia for not killing him off so fast and giving him a second and even a third chance in life. So as a last resort he joins the mafia and works his way up to godfather.

Back to me and your dad. If there is one thing I don't like about him its that he has a bit of a ill minded look on Ponyism. I mean I see where he is coming from. But on my side I saw it as a cheap way to achieve equality and get all the money you want because you cheat the system. But it was only that way because ponies are greedy. Also he is so clumsy at times he could trip over a grain of rice. And he was hard headed and was very bad with money. Which is why I pay the bills. Anyways as we continue dating we attend prom, we graduate, we go to college. When I graduated from college with my master's in education not only do I walk to the stage to get my degree but your dad also walks on the stage and kneels to me. He proposes to me and I couldn't be any happier. I hug him and I kissed him what must of felt like a thousand times. We get our own place and I begin teaching English at the high school I graduated at. Now with my academic life coming full circle. But the pay rate is a bit of a slap in the face for someone who has a Master's degree. I mean really 250 bits every month.

So fast forward two years your dad and now my husband graduates from college and as a celebration we share a bottle of wine with his name on it and we make love with one another. Don't ask what love making is your still too little for that. And the next morning after our celebration I see he left for me saying he left for a boot camp called "The Farm" and he was gone for about four and a half months. I was pissed at him for  not telling me  But In the four months I calmed down and taught at school as normal. After the four months he returns and has now started his job in the Equrestian Marine Corps Engineering Core. Or EMCE for short. And here he is coming home every other week with a paycheck of 450. Not to mention monthly checks as gratitude for his service adding another one hundred to his monthly payroll.

And so another seven months pass(Because horse pregnancies last eleven months) and I go into labor with you. I swear you never wanted to come out. You took an entire day to come out and I drank a gallon of water before hoof because I heard It made giving birth easier.But it made me want to go to the bathroom really badly. And alas you are born and I named you after me and your dad's favorite book and made a pun out of it. So Red October became Crimson September.

And well here we are today. Did that hopefully answer your question.

Flashback Over

"Well you were right mom. You could write a novel out of that... Why do I sense irony when I say that." Said Crimson hopping off the couch and heading back to his room. "I wonder what dad's side of the story is." Crimson said to himself.

Chapter Two

Later that night when dinner was over Crimson and his dad were out getting ice cream for his mom, his dad, and him. It was a little ways away but not so long that the ice cream would melt by the time they got home. Crimson spoke up "So dad, you don't tell that many war stories about yourself and what it was like before I was born. We've got plenty of time for at least one story...Right?" Crimson asked his dad.

"Well I guess I have some time. But I will have to make it quick so I can still get my sleep. Waking up at five in the morning is a bitch... Don't repeat that!" His dad replied and began to speak."Well it all began like this."

Flashback

As far as I know I have lived in Manehatten my entire life. I grew up as an only child. I lived in the projects, where all the gangs lived it wasn't as bad back then as it is now. Back then I could walk outside at night, sleep with the front door unlocked and even the windows open. And I could go to the park when I wanted to. As you know gangs were different back then. As I said I was an only child, my dad was rarely ever present as he was always out at sea trading with other places. Except for Buckssia. And as you know my mom was a nutcase. Its sad you never met her. Now she's living in Las Pegasus. Like I said she was a nutcase and she tried to tell me that pegasus ponies are bad ponies and yet... She had no idea considering she herself was a zebra. Again nutcase.

So with that said I spent most of my time outside the apartment playing sports with my friends or playing chess with the elderly. To be honest It was a bit of a boring life. All my mom ever did was smoke and cook meals that were okay. That's why you see me mixing my beans with spicy mustard and why your mom will never let me cook in the kitchen. But fast forward to High School I meet your mother. She was like a goddess with her beauty. She was strong both physically and mentally even rivaling some of the athletic stallions that played hoofball. I remember introducing her to my friends and one of my buddies said she wasn't as strong as she said she was. So they had an arm wrestle and she won with flying colors. She was a tom colt back then. They asked how she was that strong and all she said was," For four years I did intense farm work like towing miles of soil and moving entire logs all by herself and if I didn't my dad would beat me. Also I always have to fight with my older brother." She was a tough mare. But she knew enough English to get by. But after a few months of work she was speaking English as good as her teachers. She said her love for reading was her talent. Oh I forgot to tell you how I got my cutie mark.

Well I was a little colt back then. I was just tinkering with some motors and some copper wire. And somehow I was able to make a mini automotive device and there was a flash of light and there I got my Cutie mark. My teacher said It had to do with something with engineering.

And after that point math was more of a way of relaxation. And with all that practice in math I was able to fix a lot of things around the house, from the electricity, to the pluming. To even saving lots of money on stuff my mom would normally buy.

I know I'm all over the place switching from foalhood to stallionhood. But back to me and your mom. When I first met her mom and dad they were nice. But at first I thought my dad hated me. I mean the first thing I did was butcher your grandma's name. And I offended her at the dinner table. But after I told him I planned on joining the marines he started to have a liking for me. As he said he encouraged his daughters to marry into military families. So after some months of dating we graduate and head our way to college. We attend college. Eight years later I earn my Doctorate in mechanical engineering. I'm sure your mom told you what happened when she graduated from college. I'll assume yes. So after we settle down we make love and the next morning I was to leave for a boot camp called "The Farm". And After four months and a half of basically every horror story you hear about boot camp.

Wake up at six hundred, make your bed, do your work out, do your drill, do more working out, get shower, take break, take the daily hike which got worse everyday, or navigate in the dark. Sometimes both. And we had to go off rations everyday, which was just hay and eggs. And if you don't know what a hike is. Think of it as a daily miniature marathon where you have to run for how long your instructor says and you will have 60 to 120 pounds on your back. And in some cases we would have to hike into the night and camp out when we were done. And don't get me started on the drills. If you have ever seen a marching band at a parade they all march at the same pace and stride. Its like that and if you are the slightest bit off your drill instructor would point you out and rip you a new one. And since this was the farm, Equrestia's most dangerous boot camp for marines. We also had to swim in pitch black ice cold water and find a target. They wanted us prepared for anything and on some nights we had to run because the instructor felt like it. I think I remember him firing live ammunition during the weekly obstacle  course. I think I recall one grazing my coat.

I was trained for warfare but never wanted to go into it. If I had to I would. I have only been on international trips to work on projects and over see some facilitates. Since it's not classified I had a small part in magical weapons. But with the FAD(Friendly Assured Destruction) policy that Celestia and many national leaders signed they became sorta useless. But in the event of a magical fallout I know what to do.

So after four months of what most would call a living hell I come home to your mother. For the first few hours she was pissed at me for leaving without any say. But now I could officially became a marine and I worked in the engineering core. She told me she was having a foal, and I couldn't be any happier. We couldn't decide on a name for a long while. Then your mom thought it would be funny to make a pun out of our favorite book. I know your heard that story plenty of times. And so seven months later she gives birth to you and that was the best day of my life. Next to the day we got married and last was when I met her.

End of flash back

"So I hoped that gave some light on what you were wondering about." Sprocket finished his story about to open the door to his apartment.

"I got everything I needed dad. Thanks." Crimson replied happily as he walks into the living room to sit down on the couch. And enjoyed his milkshake.