Fillydelphia

Chapter One

The traits and characteristics of the different races of pony are pretty much the staples of life in our society.  Pegasi used wings to move mail and control weather, the unicorn used magic to do tasks not befitting a hoof, and earth ponies, well, they handle society's hard labor.  Most ponies argue that unicorns are the only race with magic, though some say that pegasi have magic as well.  However, practically nopony says that earth ponies have the capacity to perform magic.  The argument revolves around whether or not growing crops fast is enough to warrant "magical powers", but I say otherwise.  For one thing, yes, earth ponies can do magic, and it wasn't until a pale blue pony came along that I really believed it.  He called himself The Amazing Trixter, Master of Incantations, Escapes, and Mind Bending Illusions.  A big name for such a plain blue earth pony.  He strolled into town, pulling a bright purple wagon with his title printed in bold, fancy font on the side.  He stopped right in front of Pink's factory, garnering a throng of ponies, all curious to see the strange stallion and his bold claims.  Not many earth ponies had seen magic where I came from, but that day, they definitely believed they did.  In a regal voice befitting royalty, Trixter called out to various members in the audience to assist him in his show.  Hesitantly, a couple walked up to him, including a white stallion with a gentle azure mane and a blank flank.

"Fillies and gentlecolts!  Please give a warm welcome to my lovely assistants who will be helping me perform today!"  He looked at me and a black mare who had also walked in front of his wagon.  His smile glowed brilliantly as he sashayed around me and over to the his other volunteer.

"Hello my lovely assistant!  And what might your name be?" He asked while keeping his gaze in the fillies eyes.

She blushed.  "Coal dust..." she stuttered, looking away.

"What a beautiful name for such a beautiful mare," he whispered quietly so only she, him, and I could hear it.  She instantly fell into a fit of blushes, turning away, embarrassed.

"Though..." he started, "Hold on.  What's that?" She instantly ceased blushing and turned to him, a curious look strewn upon her face.

"What is it?" she asked. He eyed her curiously as he inched closer to her, muzzle drawing nearer to hers.  Her eyes went wide as she realized his intentions.  Though, instead of reeling back, she stayed motionless, paralyzed in her position of shocked disbelief.  His mouth came closer and closer until finally his head turned away.  He quickly jerked his head behind her and whipped his face toward the audience.  He smiled as he revealed a deck of playing cards that he had somehow found behind her ear.

The crowd was filled with a cacophony of whinnies and whispers, all wondering where he had gotten them from.

He trotted over to a small wooden table near me and splayed the deck of cards out on it's surface.  They were fanned out quite perfectly as he motioned for the mare to move over to where he was standing.

"Now, my lovely assistant, would you be so kind as to pick one," he said motioning a hoof over the fanning of cards.

She obliged and pointed her snout at a random card, about half-way through the pile.  He gently pushed it out and made sure it stuck to the bottom of his hoof.  He raised it up so the audience could see it, and  made sure they knew he was unaware of it's identity.  He slid it back in the pile and un fanned them back into a stack.  He spun around to his wagon and returned with a small knife in his muzzle.

"Watch and be amazed as for the first time in history, an earth pony performs magic that would make any unicorn jealous!"  With that, he carefully grabbed the deck on his hoof and threw it into the air; before anypony had any time to react, he bit into the knife handle and threw it into the air as well.  The playing cards rained down on us and a loud crack could be heard from the wooden table.  All of the paying cards were facing up.  All except one card face down with a knife going through its center.  The crowd held baited breath, including me.  He seemed like a kind stallion but nevertheless, it frightened me when he started using the knife.  I had heard too many stories about ponies getting stabbed and this was bringing back unwanted memories.  The crowd remained mute as Trixter carefully gripped the knife in his teeth and removed it from the wood.  He grabbed the face down card with a hoof and revealed it to the audience.

"Is this your card?"  He asked the black mare snidely.  She could only utter a brief yes before the crowd erupted into a roar of applause, stomping and wooing at a feat of magic they had never seen before.  I could barely think straight.  Inevitably, the same question kept popping into my head, "How did he do that?"

I stood there awestruck, unable to do anything except hang my mouth open and catch flies.  Before I knew it, the magic earth pony had snuck up behind and casually leaned against me.

"I'm glad to see that some ponies are still impressed by my sorcery!  Now son, if you could close your mouth, we can get on with the next trick."  The crowd chuckled a bit and I blushed at the sea of beaming faces.

"Now, for my next trick, I'm going to ask my strapping young assistant to help me put on this straight jacket here."  He motioned toward a white jacket with all sorts of straps and locks adorning its front.  It reminded me of the types of jackets a crazy pony would wear upon being taken into the local sanatorium.  He stepped into a wooden trunk-one that I imagine would have come off of an old pirate ship-that also had a large lock on its top.  I grabbed the back of it with my mouth and slung it over his shoulders.  He slipped both forelegs into it and I pulled a long strap on the back to tighten the whole thing.  He fell in and I heard him tell me to close the box and lock it.  I kicked over the top of the trunk and with a flip of my hoof, engaged the large brass lock.  Everything was silent for a minute.  Occasionally the box would fidget and shake for a bit, but for the most part, everything was quiet.  About a minute passed by and the box had ceased it's commotion. Some ponies had lost interest or called out that he was a fool.  Others waited patiently for the box to open.  I for one edged closer to it and lowered my muzzle to the crack in the front.

"Hello?"  I whispered.  "Are you ok?"

He didn't respond.

I tapped on the trunk with a hoof and repeated my question.  Still no response.  I started to panic as I realized that it was a small box with no holes.  He probably ran out of air!

I wheeled around and bucked at the lock until it finally broke off the front.  With my nose, I nudged the chest open.

There wasn't anything in it.  My eyes went wide as I looked at the empty box that once contained a full grown stallion.  He had simply disappeared.

The audience gasped as they too realized that the stallion was no longer bound and in the chest.

"Where did he go?" The black mare asked me.  I looked at her confusedly, not knowing exactly what to say.  I muttered something that sounded like, I dunno, before I heard someone in the audience scream and erupt into a wave of applause.  I turned around to see the magic stallion, walking up to me from the middle of the crowd.  Everypony either had their jaw on the floor or whooped and hollered at the stallion.  Bits were flung toward him as he bowed in appreciation.  After a few moments the crowd dissipated and everpony seemed to be having the same conversation.  I heard things like, "It was amazing!  Spectacular!  Never seen anything like it!  How could an earth pony perform such magic!"  Yep, before I knew it, Trixter was the talk of the town, garnering more and more attention from nearly every citizen in the community.  For the better part of that day, it was all I could think about.  We had all seen him go inside the chest and I made sure that both his jacket and the box were locked.  It seemed impossible.  It drove me crazy to think up how he was able to do it, though every time I came up with a solution, I just couldn't crack it.  That night, I decided that I had to know before I went to sleep.

After my parents and sister went to bed, I snuck out of our apartment as the translucent rays from the moon seeped through the heavy smog-cloud covering.  The purple wagon that Trixter pulled into town sat in the middle of the street.  A candle’s light flickered in the window through white curtains.  I came closer to the large carriage as I began to notice something.  It swayed back and forth and from the inside came guttural moans as if someone were chanting something.  At first I turned around, too afraid to knock on the wooden door of the wagon, but I became filled with a sense of curiosity.   I absolutely needed to know how he did his trick, and my body refused to let me chicken out.

Slowly, my shaking hoof inched closer toward the door and my legs buckling underneath me.  With a soft touch, I tapped on the door.  The wagon stopped shaking and so did the strange noises.  The sound of hooves hitting wood preceded the door opening a crack.  Trixter's head poked out, an expression of anger across his face.  He peered down and scowled at me, glaring into my eyes.  For a second, he hesitated when he realized who I was.  A smile crept up to his face.

"Oh, hello there my young friend," he started, "What brings you to my humble abode at this late hour."

"It's just..." I couldn't form the words.  "I was just wondering if... if you could teach me how to do m-magic."  I stared at the ground, embarrassment displayed across my face.  He gave me a curious look and an expression of epiphany seemed to grace his blue muzzle.

"I bet you would like to know how I performed that trick, am I right?"  I only nodded before he opened his door and ushered me into the cramped wagon.  Inside were all sorts of knick knacks and strange objects.  Puppets hung from strings above us, a variety of rabbits slept in cages on the walls, and various locks and straight jackets festooned the area.  In the far end of the wagon there was a small bed, containing the same black mare from earlier today, blush and all.  I looked at her and she looked away, embarrassed.

"So, my brilliant white friend, you said you wanted to learn a trick or two from old Trixter!"  Once again I nodded in agreement.  "Well I'm sorry to say this but I can't.  A magician never reveals his secrets."  My heart sank.

"But... why not?" I asked.

"Well, that would ruin the whole trick now, wouldn't it?  If you knew how I did it, it would lose what made it magic in the first place."  I looked down,  gloomy expression hanging on my muzzle.

"...Or actually..." he started.  My ears perked up as I watched him tentatively.  "I could possibly reveal my secrets to you... if you were also a magician."

I practically leapt with joy.  My eyes went wide and I nodded my head vigorously.

"Hey, haha.  Calm down there sport.  If I teach you a really easy trick, maybe you can be an amazing magician too."

My mouth was practically watering  at the thought.

"Well, this trick is really simple," he said giving a smile.  He leaned in really close.  "Now I think you already know how to do this trick because odds are, you do this on a daily basis.  I'm not even going to give you any instructions, because I'm confident you can do it.  I'm going to close my eyes and when I open them, I want you to disappear!"  He stood over me, smile fading away, replaced with that same glowering expression as before.  I hesitated for a moment.

"W-what?" I asked.

"I want you to disappear!  Poof!  Gone!  Here no longer!"  He continued.  I looked at him confused.  He stared at me.  "Kid, get the fuck out of here.  I'm not your babysitter and I'm certainly not gonna teach you any of my tricks.  If you really wanna learn something, learn how to get lost.  There you go!  That can be your specialty!  The earth pony escape artist, able to escape any confinement and leave real magicians alone."

He trotted to the door, opened it, and motioned for me to leave.

Inside, I felt awful.  How could somepony who was so nice, be so nasty?  I hurt to think of how much of a fool I had been.  I had let my curiosity get the best of me and for that I was yelled at by one of the most talented earth ponies in Fillydelphia.  I walked to the door and felt a swift kick from behind.

"Alakazam!"  He shouted as I flew from his wagon.  I landed on my face as I heard a cacophony of laughter erupt from behind me.  The door slammed shut, leaving me cold, alone, and crying on the wet Fillydelphia pavement.

~~~

"Razz," a soft voice called out, cutting through the silence of my bedroom.  "Razz, it's time to get up honey."

I groaned as my body began to wake up.  My olfactory sense came back to me as a wall of soot and smoke cut through my nostrils.  Even though I had lived here nearly all of my life, I still never got used to waking up to that old, deathly scent.  It behaved aggressively, never ceasing to fill every home in the city with its invading fumes.  My throat burned and my nose tingled, a feeling that I had nevertheless become accustomed to upon waking up.  It may have been more or less displeasing to be woken up by my overactive nose, but it did get my mind moving quicker than it probably would without it.

My eyelids parted like curtains, revealing the same dull grey color that enclosed Fillydelphia at all times. I let out a deep breath.  For the past week, I had woken up the same way, broken and tired from working late the night before, only to go back to perform the same tedious tasks again.  My first day, I was happier than I had been my entire life, after all, it was my right of passage and I was more than excited to finally be a stallion.  Though, the praise from my family and friends wore off quicker than it had arrived.  Every morning I woke up to the same thing, a depressing sight of those smokestacks and the knowledge that my day would inevitably provide the tinder to keep those flames alive.

I wanted more than anything to stay in bed that morning, to sleep in and go back to school like I used to.  It was only then that I realized I had no business working at that factory with the rest of those ponies.  I was a whole year younger than the usual age to begin work and the company looked past my age because they knew no inspector would ever look so closely at somepony like me.  I've always been pretty mature compared to the colts and fillies at my school.  In fact, I've been mistaken for a full grown  stallion a couple times.  It had its perks, especially around the local movie theater, if I wore a long coat; my blank flank would be covered and they never asked to check it to I.D. me.  But now, it felt more like a curse than anything else.

When I was young I was always worried that my flank would always be bare.  I would often spend all my hours after school trying different things before I became frustrated and threw out whatever I was working on.  I lost count of how many things I attempted before finally finding the one thing I was good at.  My whole experience with Trixter all those years ago still made me cringe at my stupidity, but I did learn one thing about myself.

A knock on the door activated my full wake-up cycle as I sprung out of bed and over to the door.  I smiled to myself.  This was going to be fun.

"Come in," I called out, a mischievous smile plastered my face.  The door to my room swung open and the unnatural glow of indoor light flowed gracefully into my room.  My mother, Rosemary, stood in the doorway, head glancing around the room for my whereabouts.  She bore a smile as she stepped inside.

"Razz, it's time to wake up," she said carefully tip-hoofing to the bed. "I know you're under the bed and you're not going to scare me this time."  Quickly she ducked her head underneath the bed finding nothing but carpet.  I cackled a bit, she had no idea.  Standing back up, she whirled around to the dirty pile of laundry by my closet door, the only other place large enough to hide a stallion in the small bedroom.  As if she were a cat, Rosemary crouched down and pounced on the laundry pile.

"Gotcha!" She screamed.  Her excitement faltered quickly however, upon realizing that I was not in the clothing pile at all.  Her face had a strange expression, as if she didn't understand where I could have gone.  She shrugged it off and started towards the exit.  She passed through the doorway and turned towards the kitchen.

"BOO!" I shouted, scaring my mother up toward the ceiling.  I broke down into a fit of laughter, rolling on the floor as my mother stood still, shocked by my antics.

This had become a sort of daily ritual between us and recently, it had gotten to be the most entertaining part of the day.  At first, it had been easy but recently, I had to be creative and place decoys and vary my hiding places.  If there's anything I've learned, it's that the diversion is the most important part of any trick, and the key to any successful escape.  Trixter may have given me my moniker as some twisted joke, but it did give me something to work toward.  As I continued to laugh, my mother made it known that she was not as amused as I seemed to be.

"Razz!  Don't do that!  You almost gave me a heart attack."   She looked at me but I was still too giggly to take her seriously.

"Oh come on, that's funny.  You should have seen your face!"  With that I broke out into another fit of laughter as she once again displayed her displeasure.  "You're just mad because I managed to trick you again," I said concluding my chuckling.

Her expression eased a little and a slight grin crossed her face.  "I'll get you tomorrow then."   She gave a small laugh and looked back at me. "How did you do that anyway?" she asked.

"Oh Mom, a magician never reveals his secrets!"

We concluded our daily shenanigans and both continued toward the kitchen where the smell of freshly cooked hay-pancakes flowed through the air.  My father sat in his chair, staring at me as I entered the room.  I could tell he was nervous which was very strange for my father who had always seemed to be confident.  I took a seat next to him and chowed down on the delicious short stack and maple syrup.

Breakfast was usually a very talkative affair among my family considering we would each work late and therefore, immediately go to bed upon arriving at home.  Today, though, it was quiet.  The silence in the kitchen was broken by my father.

"Razz," he started.  "I don't think you should go to the factory today." I only shifted my gaze up at him, giving him a curious look.  "Me and you...  We're going downtown today.  I want you to go upstairs and go into my closet.  There's a sport coat and tie in there.  I want you to put them on and meet me down here when you're done."  He finished talking and I realized my pancakes were gone, having been devoured as quickly as they were made.  Without any more hesitation, I trotted to my parent’s room and found the articles my father spoke of.  It was a black coat that I usually saw being worn by rich ponies at the movies as well as a black tie which proved to be the polar opposite of my snowy coat.  Being accustomed to never wearing any clothes, they felt awkward to have on, but nevertheless, I managed to tie the tie and button the coat, a feat that is not easy without "unicorn" magic.  My magic was strong, but it didn't give me the power to levitate items just yet.

I trotted back into the kitchen where my father stood impatiently next to the kitchen table.  Strewn about the ground were a variety of white pieces of paper, each cut out with a different design.  On the table were a few different colors of spray paint.  I had realized that I stopped in my tracks to survey the situation when my father motioned me over to him.

"Razz, hold still while I make a few... additions to your outfit."  He took a stencil paper in his hoof and carefully taped it to my flank.  He took a can and shook it rapidly, causing the kitchen to fill with a speedy clicking as the paint was primed to spray.  My flank felt icy cold as he carefully sprayed my side.  After a few moments he stopped and repeated the process on my right side, being very careful not to make a mistake.  He told me to sit still until he thought it was okay to take the papers off.  Underneath was a picture of an offset scale containing books on the heavy end and numbers on the other.  A cutie mark?  Why would he draw a cutie mark on me now?  I looked at my father curiously, about to ask  him exactly what was going on.

"Let's go," he said suddenly.  "We have a big day ahead of us."  With that, we departed, leaving behind our small apartment and heading downtown.  As we walked, the neighborhoods seemed to get nicer and the citizens snobbier.  Though, they didn't seem to give us any looks, probably because we resembled them with our nice clothing.

The trip was silent, neither my father nor I making the move to talk.  Eventually, as we were passing what appeared to be a very busy stock exchange, I turned to my father.

"Where are we going?"  I asked him.

"Do you care about this family, Razz?"  He fired back, not turning his gaze from the street ahead of him.

Do I care for the family?   What did he mean by that.

"Of course I do, Dad.  But what does that have to do with us wearing these fancy suits and walking to the nice part of town."

"Lesson one Razz.  Never refer to nice clothing as 'nice'.  This is simply just another suit, of which you have many back home, got it?"

"You mean lie?"  I asked my father who continued on as if I wasn't even there.  I ran forward to catch back up with him, slowing my pace as we strode on.

"Razz, I'm gonna tell you something that you can never tell your mother.  Sometimes, you need to lie in order to get where you need to be.  I'm not saying to go around fibbing to everypony until you get in trouble, but sometimes, when something important to you is at stake, it's okay to lie."

My mind erupted.  Here I was, walking with my father who had always been the most respected, honest pony I had ever known, telling me that it was okay to lie if the occasion called for it.  Everything in my body was telling me that it wasn't true and my father must be testing me, but a quick glance at him showed me that he was very serious.  The same sullen expression gave me reaffirmation.

I nodded again.

"Good boy.  Now up here, you're going to go into that bank across the street."  He pointed his muzzle toward a white building with tall pillars out front.  "I'm going to wait out here while you walk in there and meet a teller.  Ask them if you can speak with a consultant about opening up a new account.  They should lead you into an office somewhere in the back.  Razz are you listening?"

My head spun around, confused at the instructions being thrust toward me.  I only managed to nod again before he continued to rattle off what I was going to do.

"Okay, once you're in the office, set up an account for yourself.  It should be easy.  All they're going to do is ask for your name and occupation.  You are going to tell them that you work at a marketing firm in Manehatten.  If they ask specifics, just say you specialize in small claims disputes.  You got this so far?"

Once again I nodded, looking at the ground.

"Then you're going to say that you have had a business opportunity open up in Fillydelphia and you're going to need a loan because unfortunately, your money is tied up at the moment.  If they grant you the loan, they'll just take a picture of your cutie mark and hand you the bits.  Razz, look at me."  We both stopped, eyes locked for a moment.  His gaze showed sympathy, but also a look of fear.

"Razz, I'm going to ask again.  Do you care for this family?"  This time I spoke up.

"Yes sir."

"I know this is a lot to take in, but I really need you right now buddy.  Do you think you can be brave for me just this once?"

"Yes sir," I repeated.

"Good, now turn around, get in there, and make your father proud."  He nudged me forward toward the white steps that lead to a beautiful white sandstone edifice.  It almost felt like a sin to be walking on it with my unclean hooves.  Behind me, my father stood nervously, waiting for me to begin my ascent into the building.  It felt wrong what I was doing, but I knew it had to be important. The family could be in trouble, and it seemed like I was the only one who could do anything about it.  I took a deep breath, stood up straight, and strode into the First Street Bank.

~~~

The look on my father's face was gratifying upon the sight of me carrying a heavy bag of bits in tow.  He practically leapt with joy as he took them in his mouth, truly understanding the weight of my success.  Although the experience had been uncomfortable to say the least, I managed to do rather well for my age.  I think I have my father to thank for that considering he was the one who taught me to always stay calm even when things looked terrible.

Upon entering the old mare's office, I was a bit uneasy as she looked me over once or twice, somehow judging me on a visual level as she drilled me with questions.  There were a few times when I thought I would be denied, including when she asked me what the name of the marketing firm I worked at was, but a bit of quick thinking allowed me to pass off my answer as sufficient.  I kept most of what I said vague and I had to lie about a lot of stuff, including my age.  Though, I knew it was worth it if it was helping the family, so against my better judgement, I continued to lay it on thicker as the interview went on.  As she handed me the bits, the hardest part was to contain the goofy smile that crept on my face as I took them and walked straight out the front door.

My father and I sauntered back, the spring back in his step and a grin wider than I'd ever seen him wear.  We didn't speak on the way back, but I could tell he was proud of me.  I had saved the family.

When we reached home, my mother practically flung herself at my father, hugging him and then turning to me to give me a kiss.  She was absolutely hysterical, celebrating over something I still didn't know the specifics of.  Looking at the house I could tell she had been nervous considering everything  was clean. She coped with stress by throwing herself into more work and if the fact that the living room was spotless told me anything, it's that she was about to have a panic attack.  Before I knew it, the small radio in the corner of the living room had been turned on and soft piano music encapsulated the air.  My mom and dad held each other, softly swaying back and forth as they stared into each others eyes.  It made me happy to see them like this, finally back to the way things were when they were young and in love.  Before they could notice me, I slipped out of the house and headed to the theater.  I had the day off, a few extra bits, and a new movie was playing. Everything seemed to be going my way.

~~

"Hey Razz!" A voice called from behind, barely audible over the distant sound of metal clanking and power drill buzzing.  I turned around to see my new friend Straps staring at me.  I carefully unhooked the welding torch attached to my harness and stepped off of the platform.  I raised up my mask so he could see my face.

"What do you need?"  I asked him quietly.

"I don't need anything, but did you hear about Black Hoof?" he asked.

I shook my head.  He was speaking about the owner of Pink Manufacturing.  He had taken over about 40 years ago when his brother passed on.  He was unmarried, without children, and just about one of the strictest, most impersonal ponies you would ever meet.  It's not like I ever got the opportunity to meet him, but when you hear rumors around the factory, odds are they deserve some sort of credence.

"The old coot finally kicked the bucket," he said.  "Now they don't know what to do with his money on account of he had no family.  They think they're gonna have to pass his estate along to his great nephew or something.  Last I heard though, is that they couldn't even find the colt."

"How did he die?"  I asked him.

"Heart attack in his sleep.  Not a very fitting death for somepony like him if you ask me.  He should have been pushed into that big furnace years ago," he said coldly, pointing a hoof at the large burning oven in the middle of the factory.  It was what we burned excess garbage in and pretty much anything else we didn't feel like spending money on relocating to the dump site.  It's also what created the massive plumage of soot that climbed into the air, dissipating into the grey sky above.

"Well, what's gonna happen to us?"  I asked my new red friend.

"I heard that this new kid isn't gonna want to take over running the factory so odds are he'll liquidate the assets and fire the employees..." He trailed off, demeanor shifting to an almost somber gaze.  I choked a bit.  Everyone in my family, excluding my little sister, worked at this place.  If it failed, so did we.  With everypony out of a job, it would be nearly impossible to pick up work and with money the way it's been recently, I didn't think we would make it too much longer.

I panicked.  I threw off my helmet and rushed past Straps who just watched me as I ran away.  I sprinted through the assembly lines passing pony after miserable pony, most probably unaware that they were about to lose their jobs because of some rich kid no one had ever even met.

I paused.

Nopony had ever met him...

~~

The inside of the main offices of Pink Manufacturing Corporation was cleaner than it looked on the outside, but then again, all of Fillydelphia looked pretty terrible with that grey smog choking the city.  I was nervous, but if you looked at me, there would be no way you could tell.  My suit and necktie were impeccably clean and my coat was shinier than it had ever been.  On my flank, I felt cold wet paint slowly drying over my white coat, though, my jacket covered it so nopony could probably see it all that well.

I didn't know much about Silver Star, other than his name, a description of his cutie mark, and the fact that he grew up in Canterlot.  My knowledge of Canterlot was minuscule to say the least; from the few movies I had seen about the city, it had a very distinguishable accent and mannerisms among the upper class.  Other than that, I was in the dark.  What I was about to do was wrong and I knew it, but what they were going to do is worse and I wasn't going to just lay down and take it.

"Can I help you?" A cherry colored earth pony called to me.  I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to her.  Mustering up the most accurate imitation of a royal pony I could muster, I responded.

"Ahh yes, I was called here on urgent matters regarding my Uncle, Black Hoof.  I came as soon as I heard he might be hurt.  Can you tell me what happened?"

The cherry pony had a surprised look on her face.

"Oh dear," she said, "I'm sorry to tell you this but your Uncle passed away late last night.  You're Silver Star I presume?"  I gave a subtle nod while she continued.  "I'll call Mr. Crest, he'll be out shortly to speak with you."

The mare quickly got up and trotted through two large metal doors behind her desk.  Within a minute she was back, a pale grey stallion with a ridiculous looking hairpiece, in tow. Upon seeing me, he smiled and trotted over to give a greeting.

"Hello my young friend," he said shaking the hoof I had extended.  "It's great to finally meet you.  I'm terribly sorry for what happened to your Uncle.  He was a fine stallion, and an even better businesspony."

Yeah, he certainly knew how to squeeze a bit out of nothing.  My mind went back to the scars and burns that my workmates had succumbed to from lack of proper safety equipment.  A result of necessary "cutbacks" in order for ponies to keep their jobs.  I simply smiled at him and began to speak.

"Hello, Mr..."

"Crest," he said quickly.

"Well, Mr. Crest.  Your lovely assistant told me the rather tragic news, so I'm not really sure what I'm here for."  I gave a quick glance at the mare who was blushing behind her desk.  "I'll be sure to handle any funeral arrangements, but until then, I must depart to Manehatten for some rather important affairs."

I quickly turned around after a quick goodbye and trotted towards the door.

"Wait!"  I heard Mr. Crest call out.  A smile crept upon my lips.  I turned around, changing my expression to one of curiosity.

"Wait my boy.  Don't you know why you were called here in the first place?"  I nodded.

"My Uncle was sick and requested my presence, thus I am here."  The snooty speech I performed was almost enough to make me cringe, but it seemed sufficient by the look on the businesspony's face.

"No, my boy, you were called here because you are next in line to inherit his estate."  I stood there, giving the best resemblance of a shocked pony as I could.  "Here, let's go into my office and fill out this paperwork.  All I need is a few signatures and I can send you on your way."

My heart sank a little.  Crap, I forgot about the signature.  This could ruin everything if they took a careful glance at the document.  Usually, all somepony needs is to verify a cutie mark and transactions can commence, but then again this wasn't a bank and I was stranger.  I guessed they took that precautionary measure to assure somepony doesn't walk in with a fake cutie mark and claim to be somepony they're not.

Well, it's too late now, I thought.  Maybe it's just a formality.

I calmed myself down and followed him into the office.  It was about as big as my room and one wall was entirely filled with books.  They all looked pristine in their uncut spines.  I wonder if he had ever read any of them. He went around his desk, pulled some papers out of the top drawer, and wheeled around to face me.

"So Silver Star, care for a drink?"  I nodded quickly, before realizing what he meant.  He turned to a small desk in the corner, on which a large glass pitcher sat next to four tiny crystal glasses.  He poured out two glasses of clear brownish liquid before sliding one over to me.  He eyed me carefully as if watching to see my reaction.  I didn't hesitate any longer.  I downed the drink in one gulp.

Instantly my throat began to burn as the liquid went down my gullet hard.  For a moment, I couldn't breath, pain encompassing my mouth as the foul taste festered in my muzzle.  From the outside, I didn't dare move a muscle, but on the inside I was screaming.

"More?"  He asked.  I immediately shook my head, feeling the disdain of my previous puerile decision.  "I had to import that all the way from Stalliongrad you know.  Not easy to come by, but the best damn bourbon in the world if you ask me.  You handle your liquor pretty well for somepony so young; I usually get at least a flinch from my nephew who just graduated from Canterlot University.  You're an alumni there, correct?"

I gave a quick nod, my heart beat racing at the thought of having to answer a question of my past.

"I went there as well," he said pointing to a small, framed diploma behind his desk.  "Those were the days...  Pulling all-nighters, playing intramural hoofball with my old fraternity... You pledged, right?"

"Uhh, no.  I did not."  I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Really?  What a shame.  Pikes could have used a strapping young lad like yourself on our hoofball team.  Did you play?"

"Yes," I answered quickly.  "I played midfield backer."  That wasn't a lie, I really did play when I was younger.  I had to quit when I started working at the factory though.

"What a coincidence, I played there as well!  What are the odds?  By the way old sport, I didn't want to say this earlier, but I do have to say that you look much younger than I presumed.  You don't look at all like you've already graduated college, in fact, you look like you're barely out of high school!"

I gulped nervously.  "Well, I skipped a few grades when I was younger," I said looking out of the window.  While I didn't actually skip any grades, I did drop out of school so technically you could say I "skipped some grades".

"I'd thought as much.  You do seem like a very bright young fellow.  If you are ever interested in doing business, I'll have my assistant give you my card.  I'd love to go golfing one day!"  His welcoming grin had assured me that I was above suspicion.  I loosened up a little and almost immediately, I let out a deep, alcohol flavored breath I had been holding in.

"What exactly is my Uncle leaving me?"  I asked cautiously, still taking the identity of an innocent young colt who loved his dear, deceased Uncle.

"Oh let's see here..." He moved his focus to the papers on his desk and started shifting them around casually.  "He left you his penthouse suite at the Fillydelphia Imperial Hotel, and uh... his trove of vintage suits, and let's see... he also left you his entire collection of books from his personal library."

"What about the company?"  I asked him.  He stopped reading and looked up at me, a curious expression decorating his rather plain muzzle.  "I mean, um, he did own the controlling stake in this company, right?  Somepony has to be responsible for it now, don't they?"  He nodded, seeming to be knocked out of his trance.

"Yes, I was just getting to that.  And finally, he leaves you with a balance of 100 million bits in the form of savings bonds and other miscellaneous mutual funds.  It shouldn't take very long to convert the money over to your bank account in Canterlot or whatever you want to carry the money with.  After all, we have a very good relationship with the Fillydelphia banking system."

"What of the company?  What will happen to all the workers?"  I asked a little more nervous than any of my previous statements.

"You needn't worry about that.  Board members met this morning to discuss what to do with the company.  They decided to liquidate what assets we have and lay off the workers.  That 100 million is part of the deal actually.  It's lucky we got you that much considering we found a way to get around paying most of the workers' severance."

Anger welled within me.  700 ponies were about to be out of a job and destitute.  They would wander the streets begging until somepony tossed them a scrap of food.  Ponies could die because of this, and this... this thing in front of me was acting like it was no big deal at all.  He was acting as if the workers weren't even ponies, but instead machines meant to obey his every command.  I wanted to hurt him somehow and avenge the workers; to repay them with retribution.  But I had a better way.

"How fast do you think you could distribute 100 million bits to 700 ponies?"  His mouth practically dropped.

"You mean give the workers all of your money?  W-why would you do such a thing?"

"I didn't ask if I could do it, I asked how fast you could do it."  I spat, a flash of anger in my voice.

He paused for a moment. contemplating a response.

"I guess we could get them paid in about a week.  Are you sure this is what you want to do?"  I nodded, eyes locked on his.  It may have been just me, but the way he looked at me, I could almost swear he was afraid. Maybe I had the power to fire him and he just didn't tell me.  I wonder if he would still get his money if he left before the company was liquidated.  No, this would come back to him someday, maybe not in the next week or so, but one day I was sure of it.  When karma comes knocking, you can run, but you can't hide.

"Absolutely, just make sure it's distributed out evenly among the workers."  He put the hoof on the paperwork and moved it towards me.  Without another word, I took a pen on his desk in my mouth and began to write the name Silver Star in big, cursive letters.  He gave it a quick glance before moving around the desk and giving my hoof a shake.  Before long, I had walked out of the front door of Pink's Manufacturing, having stolen 100 million bits from some rich snob who probably didn't even wipe his own ass.

~~

It took the better part of the next day to wipe the spray paint off of my flank, but it eventually came off without too much trouble.  It sucked that I had to take it off, but if I was caught with someone else's cutie mark, the whole plan would go down the drain.  When I got home, my parents were having a small "We're getting fired, but we're rich so it's okay" party due to my actions yesterday.  I was going to tell them eventually, but I think it would be best if everypony had their money first.

That day at work was fantastic.  Everypony was celebrating their newfound wealth and for the first time in almost 400 years, the factory was happy.  Not many ponies were working and those that were had decided to take apart the machines that enslaved them, in a gruesome manner.  Best of all though, were the furnaces.  The smog producing, lung killing, heat bending beasts were put out for the first time since they were created.  Different ponies took turns dumping buckets of water over the remaining embers as they happily spat at the piles of blackened ash.

Throughout the factory, ponies everywhere were talking about Silver Star the hero, who gave everything he was given to the faithful ponies who worked so hard to achieve it.  Not a minute went by without hearing somepony shout, "To Silver Star!  The most generous earth pony alive!" before swigging their pints of cider and merrily singing through their shifts.  Every time I heard his name, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.  They were praising me for their good fortune and they didn't even know that the one who had given them their generous severance was standing less than 10 feet away.

~~

The day we were paid, partying went on as it had the few days before but only on a much larger scale.  Streamers and balloons riddled the factory floor as ponies wheeled in carts to carry their riches away.  Some chose to have it deposited into their bank account, but to others, that meant a loss at a lot of good gambling to be had.  I, however, was very jumpy.  The past few days, I was nerve racked because it had taken longer than I was told for the money to be given out.  I was worried that the real Silver Star had arrived and cancelled the whole transaction, and soon they would find a white earth pony with the faint stain of black paint on his flank and a very familiar suit in his closet.  Though, nopony had come and until today, nothing had changed on the money front.  Perhaps Silver Star had simply deemed the visit unimportant and went on with his daily business.  I for one, kept clear of the foremen on the off chance that one of them recognized me from the office building.

I stayed around until most of the money was passed out, telling them to delegate the funds to my father’s bank account  instead of my own. I left the factory for the last time in my life, happy and rich.  Instead of going home, I made my way to the local movie theater.  It wasn't too late and I think I had a few bits to spare.

~~

The movie that had played was a remake of an old spy movie which I had seen once before.  The catch of the film was that the main character was madly in love with the mare whose father was also the bad guy. It was decent but I didn't like how the good guy was arrested in the end.  After all, he had saved the world, right?

After the credits rolled, I, who happened to be the only pony inside, filed out of the theater and started my slow walk home.  As I approached my tiny apartment, something made me stop.  I heard the noise of a bustling crowd and above that, a foal crying.  I broke through the throng of ponies, making my way to my front door which hang ajar.  I slammed into it with a shoulder, bursting into my home with a sudden bang.

I stopped.  My family was standing in the living room, talking to a variety of ponies, all donning a deep blue uniform and a long black billy club strapped to their flanks.  They had all ceased their chatter, turning around to face me.  One police pony began to speak.

"Razz Jr.?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Son, you're going to have to come with us.  There was an incident and we need you to answer a few questions..."  He trailed off, waiting motionless for my response.  My world seemed to collapse around me.  My heart beat was erratic, I couldn't breathe, my eyes were welling with teardrops.  Somehow they had found out and I knew I was going to prison.  My mother had been crying, her red eyes made that apparent.  Even my father looked sullen, his eyes, while not crying, were saddening to look at.  I had disappointed him.

I would like to remind all of you that I was and am not a terrible pony.  I was afraid.  I was afraid and I was young.  It's at this time in my story that I did the only thing I knew how to do.

"Wait!"  I said before the ponies could make a move towards me.  I could see two had already gotten their handcuffs out and were waiting for me to try something.

"Wait, I need to get something in my room."  They eyed me hesitantly.  "It's important," I added.  The police pony who had spoken to me earlier sighed and gave a quick nod.  I slowly walked around the ponies and headed toward my room.  My heart beat faster as I prepared to make my move.  I could hear the sound of hoofsteps behind me as one of the police officers had followed me. I reached my door and immediately bolted through it.  The door slammed shut behind me as I locked it quickly with my muzzle.  Loud bangs emanated from the door as the police officer attempted to break it down with his shoulder.  After a few loud bangs, the door swung open and a barrage of police officers filed into the room.  All they found was an empty room and some ticket stubs.

~~

"ALL ABOARD!"  The voice called out over the steam whistle that blew on the front of the train.

Nopony seemed to notice a white stallion, quivering in the corner of the train car as it carried new wealthy earth ponies to their new homes.  I wasn't sure where I was going, but I knew that it would be a long time before I saw the grey clouds and billowing smoke stacks which almost seemed like a faraway dream, silent and somber.