The streets of Manehattan were calm. Well, relatively calm compared to how they usually were. Despite being a bright and sunny midday for this bustling city there weren’t that many ponies moving about. Carriages were still as numerous as ever, but the sidewalks were nearly empty and nopony seemed to be in a rush. Well, aside from a certain trio of fillies and the older mares who followed them.
“C’mon, Sis!” Applebloom, leading the pack along with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, called back to her older sister, “We’re gonna be late!”
“We’re goin’ as fast as we can, Applebloom!” Applejack yelled back as she continued to gradually catch up to her sibling, “You and yer friends oughta wait up so we don’t lose yall.”
“I don’t understand how they’ve managed to outrun you girls this long.” Dash thought aloud as she casually glided a few feet above her friends, before addressing AJ directly, “I mean, Starlight and Trixie I can understand, but I imagined you or Pinkie coulda kept up with them at least.”
“Says the pony who claims to be the fastest in Equestria!” Trixie replied from the back of the group as she barely managed to keep up with Starlight and Fluttershy. The magician was by no means out of shape, but then again she wasn’t exactly an athlete either. The same could be said for most of them, except those ponies were more used to physical exercise. It didn’t help that the train had dropped them off farther from their destination than they would have liked.
Dash only smirked as she glanced down at the showpony, “I could catch up to those three right now if I needed to.” She boasted, “But they’re fine, and it’s fun to see you break a sweat from where I’m at, so why waste the energy?” Starlight suppressed a giggle as Trixie murmured something about breaking something of Rainbow’s under her breath.
Twilight, who had a tired and snoozing Spike resting against her upper back, did a quick check on the three fillies ahead to make sure they were alright. Despite the near desolate state of the sidewalk the were on, and the fact that nopony aside from them were even within twenty feet of the girls, she didn’t want to take any risk in a big city like Manehattan, “I think it’d be best if you stayed close to them, Rainbow.”
“I agree!” AJ called up to her, “And I’d really appreciate if ya got them ta slow down before they tucker themselves out.” Rarity nodded in agreement. Dash was about respond with something along the lines of ‘Relax, they’ll be fine’ or ‘I’ll make the effort to catch up if you do’, the latter of which brought a smile to her face thinking about it. However, when she saw how serious they were about it the cyan pegasus only nodded back, affording them the same degree of sincerity, before gaining some speed to catch up with the CMC. It should be pointed out that had the streets been busier than they were, Rainbow Dash would already be flying right above them since they ran off ahead.
Pinkie, deciding she wanted some dialogue as well, spoke up, “Is anypony else excited for this week? I know I’m excited! Even more excited than I was at the start of last week, and that’s saying a lot considering how super fun last week turned out to be!”
“I certainly am.” Fluttershy answered as she caught up the hyper mare, much to the annoyance of Trixie who assumed that she could at least keep up with the timid pegasus, “We have the whole week to hang out together here in Manehattan. Which is good considering how busy all of us were these past few months.”
“Agreed!” Applejack commented, “I don’t know ‘bout you girls, but things were a bit hectic at Sweet Apple Acres for a while there. Now that the harvest is over it’s good to spend some quality time with mah friends.”
Rarity joined the conversation, “The feeling is mutual, Applejack. It’s been far too long since all of us have been able to get together like this and just enjoy ourselves. And because of Twilight we’ll be staying at one of the best hotels in the city!” She looked back at Twilight, “Thanks again for that, dear!”
“Yes, Trixie is also appreciative of Sparkle’s offer of an adequate bed to sleep on for her trip to the city!” Trixie added, speaking in third person as she tended to do. In her thought she continued, ‘Especially after staying at the same gross motel during her last few visits to this town…’
“It is really nice that you were able to get us such great rooms for our visit, Twilight.” Starlight gave her thanks as well.
Twilight began to blush from the praise, “Oh, it’s no big deal girls. Besides it’s Celestia you should be thanking. After I wrote to her about our plans a few weeks back she booked us for some of the best rooms in the city.”
“Trixie is also grateful to have a friend with such great connections.” Her comment earned the blue unicorn a few quick glares from the others, though none were too mean spirited.
Pinkie, upon realizing that nopony else was going to continue right away, analyzed all that had been stated, “Great job on the monologue, girls! Now the people at home know what’s going on, and I know the writer appreciates it since he forgot to mention why we’re all here sooner! Silly Robert!”
…
What?--
“Oh, wait, you all forgot a few things!” Pulling a small list out of her saddlebag with her mouth, Pinkie slowed down until she was just behind Twilight. She leaned forward and stuck to paper to the princess’ flank, causing the alicorn and a few other mares to blush violently, so she could read it properly, “Now let’s see here… hmm…” She mumbled to herself for a few moments, “... Applebloom is going to be spending time with her cousin Babs Seed, um… Trixie is putting on a magic show later on this week. What else is ther-- oh yeah! Right now we’re on our way to a concert featuring AJ’s friend, Coloratura, who will also be spending the week with us! Aaaaand that should be it aside from all the stuff we’ll be doing in between, like this fancy restaurant we’re going to tomorrow, but it’s best to not overwhelm the people reading this with all the minor details.” When she was done the paper flew off of Twilight’s rear and disappeared into the wind.
…
WHAT?!--
“Oopsy! Sorry, Mr. Writer!” She turned to the now terrified man sitting behind his keyboard as he typed, “I promise I’ll won’t break the fourth wall this badly in the future! Pinkie Promise!”
…
Moving On
The others, even the pegasus and the three fillies in the front, all stared at Pinkie Pie as they continued down the road as she spoke to someone who appeared to not exist at all. Starlight, cautiously, was the first to speak, “... Who were you talking to?”
“Oh, nopony!” She denied her momentary 4th wall demolition and began to hum a cheery tune to herself.
“... I worry ‘bout ya sometimes, Pinkie Pie…” Applejack addressed the mare’s odd episode as many others nodded their heads in agreement. Twilight continued to blush brightly, and, despite her best efforts to hide it, was met with a few playful chuckles from her friends.
Deep within the thriving city of Manehattan, there was a small and abandoned neighborhood. The last legal residents, some family of unicorns, moved out last year. The building on this block were old and falling apart. A month back some thugs had set fire to one of the houses, and now less than a third of the structures remained. Nopony would dare move here, to this street, and only the desperate would attempt to make a shelter within its boundaries. These two were desperate.
Inside the only building left on the block with stable walls and a roof, both merits being exaggerated to a degree, were two young sisters. One was grown and mature, although she’d been forced to be that way for almost a decade now. The other, a mere filly, had a bright outlook on life despite never knowing the comforts of a warm bed or loving parents. They were seventeen and ten years old, respectively, and ever since the latter was born they’d been forced to stay on the move. They couldn’t afford a place to stay when food was more important. Therefore, they would make shelter wherever they could for as long as they could until being forced to leave. This house is there latest residence, and fortune had smiled on them when they were able to make it through the winter inside.
Autumn, the older sister, was an average sized pegasus for her age. Her fur was a dark shade of purple which grew even darker as it reached down her legs to each of her hooves. Both her mane, which was short and poorly kept, and her tale, which was cut short due to becoming caked with dirt far too often, were an equally deep cobalt blue. The mare’s eyes were a deep, dim pink with a hint of one being brighter than the other. Her cutie mark was a sturdy blue shield with a grey raincloud hovering behind it.
Spring, her happy-go-lucky little sister, was a fellow pegasi who’d lost her right wing when she was just a newborn foal. She was similar to her sister in that her fur, which was sky blue, grew darker as it hit each hoof. The filly’s mane and tale shared their color with her eyes: a soft shade of violet. She had yet to discover her talent, and therefore didn’t have a cutie mark yet. In terms of size it could be said that she was smaller than most girls her age. This might be due to the fact that she was born from the womb of a weak and malnourished mare. After their father disappeared and their mother… well… it was just them since Spring was only a mere newborn.
Life had gotten better for the siblings over these past few months thanks to this house, though anything was an improvement. And water was easy enough to come by when you’re resourceful, but food was a different story. Autumn, being the good sister she was, never had a problem clearing a few gutters or washing a couple of toilets if it meant scraping up enough bits for a warm meal. And if money wasn’t an option she always had a knack for, erm, finding a few lost apples or abandoned vegetables. It wasn’t ever much, but rarely was it not enough. And thanks to her sister, Spring was able to continue her life without ever having to abandon her childhood.
Stirring while she slept, the aforementioned filly slowly opened her eyes as she noticed the sunlight pouring in through the window. Spring felt the warmth of another all around herself as Autumn hadn’t moved an inch in her sleep. Similar in fashion to how a dog or a cat used its body to keep their young warm while they slept, Spring spent every slumber wrapped in Autumn’s comforting embrace as the older sibling kept her sister close at night. This, along with other miracles and acts of kindness throughout the years, was how the filly had managed to survive the early stages of her life. Spring knew this well. She was mature enough to understand that she could have easily of died a long time ago were it not for the efforts of Autumn and a few others she’d been too young to remember. But that was only another reason to enjoy her existence to the fullest.
Now aware that she was at the start of another day, Spring slowly and softly escaped from the sleeping form of her sister and stood off of the ground. Making certain to stay as quiet as possible, the filly limped her way across the room until she had a clear view out of the nearest window that didn’t have boards in place of glass. Looking outside Spring quickly knew that it was going to be a bright and sunny summer day. The cities skyscrapers cast a shadow over surrounding streets as the afternoon sun brightened the land. A few clouds were scattered here and there, but that wasn’t--
Wait…
It was already past noon!
Making a sharp turn, and almost crashing to the ground because of it, Spring galloped over to Autumn with all of the haste her legs would allow. All of the strength which could be mustered came forth as Spring pushed her body against the older sibling’s rump. Quickly shooting her eyes open, Autumn turned to see who or what had entered their shelter and disturbed her sleep. She relaxed her now tense muscles upon seeing a familiar pony rather than some unwanted intruder.
“Come on, Sis! Wake up!” Spring continued to push her side against Autumn’s rear, her head resting on the amused mare’s left cutie mark, “It’s past noon: we’re going to be late!” The young mare rose from her slumber as the smaller filly tried to force the older sister off of the ground. It was a feeble attempt, but fueled by enthusiasm which continued to flow through the small one’s every movement.
Spring soon caused Autumn to rise from the cold floor beneath them. Not wanting the filly to waste her energy, Autumn forced herself to get up and awaken despite the pain in her stomach and the kinks throughout her whole body. Even though she was slow and calm in her approach, the mare found that her vision was fuzzy while a headache nearly caused her to collapse. Spring, seeing the shaky movements ravaging her Autumn’s body, quickly hobbled around until she was able to see her sister’s face. Despute trying to hide it, Autumn’s eyes betrayed her as her sister saw the pained expression within them.
The filly ran to her guardian and rose to place her front hooves on the mare’s chest, “Sis? Are you alright?” Her sister shrugged off the concern and slowly nodded, assuring the filly that nothing was wrong. She wasn’t convinced and, instantly realizing what might be wrong, pressed on, “Did you eat anything last night?”
No response. Spring lowered her front legs as she watched her sibling’s face closely, “Please don’t say you gave me all of it…”
She didn’t dare look her in the eye, “Autumn! You promised you wouldn’t do that anymore! I don’t need that much, and you have to eat too!”
Mustering some strength, the older sibling sat up straight as she made her authority clear. The younger sister watched Autumn make a complex set of motions with her front hooves over the decrepit floorboards. When she was done Spring shook her head in denial, “But you need it more that I do! You’re the one who has to get food in the first place!”
Autumn moved her hoof across the ground again, “I know, but--” Spring stopped to let her sister finish, “I…” The tired mare, finished with making her argument, watched as her sister’s previously cheery face deteriorated from concerned to heartbroken. Life had been tough for the two of them, and Autumn always placed Spring before herself. That meant almost all of the food, water, and everything else was given to her. Despite her protest, Spring sometimes found that Autumn had forsaken a meal even when there was enough for them both. It was just about the only thing which made her upbeat sister sad, and that broke the young mare faster than anything else in this world ever could.
With a heavy sigh, Autumn moved her hoof once more. Spring perked up as she watched her sister, in short, apologized for going behind her back again and that she swore to eat the next time food was available.
“Promise?”
She nodded.
“Do you really mean it this time?”
Knowing her sister would just refuse to eat if she lied, Autumn placed a hoof over her heart as if to say, ‘I swear on my life.’ This was enough as Spring beamed with her usual delightful outlook and embraced her sibling in a baby bear hug. Autumn returned the affection as she held the filly close. They stayed there for a while, neither wishing to leave the comfort of the other, until Spring gasped as she frantically broke away from her sister.
“Oh no! I almost forgot again: we’re going to be late for the concert!” She turned to go for the door, “We need to--” She turned too fast in her rush once again. Only this time her leg gave out and the filly crashed face first into the decayed wood floor. A missing wing wasn’t the only handicap Spring was forced to grow up with. Along with being born smaller than most foals this filly had to deal with a birth defect with her front right leg. It was shorter than her other legs, if only slightly, but this meant she walked with a permanent limp. This also made it nearly impossible to trot or gallop. While she could move and maneuver well enough from years of dealing with it quick movements always carried a degree of hazard, and she would always stand a chance of losing her balance.
As Spring began to gather herself, her muzzle now sore from the impact, Autumn quickly ducked next to her and scooped the filly onto her back. With her sister’s problem, the mare typically ended up carrying the crippled pegasus around wherever they went. She never complained, and actually enjoyed being able to give her smaller sibling rides around the city. When she was certain that Spring was ready, Autumn continued on as the duo exited the moldy house. Once the door was ‘closed’, she went into a full gallop as they made haste to Coloratura's Local Concert.
Spring was a huge fan of the former Countess, and Autumn would be lying if she tried to deny liking her more recent songs. Every time she was playing in Manehattan they would do their best to be there and just enjoy themselves. From what the pegasus had heard this particular concert was some big charity event involving several other musicians and shows going on throughout the week. Now neither Spring nor Autumn had any tickets themselves, but there were more ways than one to get into a big event like that when you're resourceful.
Autumn could hear her stomach rumble as she went, but ignored it without second thought. She’d gone for longer than this without even a bite Not to mention that, in her mind, getting Spring to this concert was vastly more important than her own needs. Finding something to eat wasn’t worth the risk of being unable to enter that stadium on time. She could wait. She would.
After around ten or fifteen minutes of running, thanks to several shortcuts Autumn had come to learn from growing up in this part of town, the sisters were already halfway to the show. Taking side street after side street, going between buildings and picket fences, they were getting closer and closer to their destination. One turn after another. It was--
“Well well, then; what is it we got here?”