True Equestria

To the Manehatten West Main

I sat in a cafe, just by the window. Blackheart was ordering food. The cafe smelt of chocolate muffins and coffee beans and there was a nice atmosphere lurking around. The cheap tables reflected the light of the overhead lamps. It was grey outside, but a little brighter. The immovable blockade of clouds still hung in the air, but light still shone through. Blackheart had no food in her apartment, so we had come here. She didnt have a credit card and would only pay in cash. I turned to face her as she walked over with a tray of food. I had been feeling guilty all morning. I didnt need this. I was already looking for my somepony. It filled me with dread.

"Right I got your black coffee. You sure you didnt want anything else?" She said while putting the tray on the table and picking up her mug and passing one to me.

"Sure" I said, ignoring her, scowling at the ponies walking outside.

"Is everything okay?" She said with a mouthful of muffin.

"Its fine." I said.

"Sorry." Said Blackheart, realising what was wrong. "I just wasn't thinking."

"Well its too late for that."

"I know..I'm just sorry."

"You had no right to do that." I said, getting angry. "The whole reason I am here is to find her, and you come and do that! Are you fucking serious!? Whats wrong with you!?"

Neither of us spoke for a while. I continued to scowl. I didnt care what the other ponies in the cafe thought. I could see Blackhearts astonished look on her face, bottom lip shaking slightly.

"So how do we find this guy?" I said finally.

"Um.." trembled Blackheart. "If we take the subway down to the west side there is a place we should be able to find him."

"Lets go then." I said shortly, standing up without touching my coffee.

"Um..right sure okay." She said, standing up as well. We left the cafe and headed towards the underground platforms.

The subway was crowded. Ponies walked in and out of doorways, security systems and up and down stairs. The actual subway itself was barely visible due to the sheer amount of ponies in the complex. If you could have seen the walls however, you would of seen a grey, unmaintained stone floor, white panalled walls and train times stuck up like propaganda. The floor was littered with cigerette ends and crisp packets. Blackheart and I navigated our way through the ever-moving maze of ponies towards a timetable. I looked at it.

"We can take the 10:30 on platform 14 to Manehatten West main. Come on." I said without looking at Blackheart. I still felt bad, but not as bad as I did early. Perhaps releasing it out in anger like that helped. We walked down a seemingly endless set of stairs, constantly bumping into other ponies.

"Watch it!" I heard a pegasus yell as I collided head on with him coming down onto a landing.

"Yeah yeah move along faggot." I quietly spoke back.

Manehatten was a big place. The subway metro system ran down for ages, and the further you got down the less ponies you found. When Blackheart and I found ourselves on platform 14, it was nearly deserted, save from one silver earth pony in a brown hoodie sitting on a bench. We stood by the platform and waited. Blackheart had barely spoken since I had snapped at her.

"You know, its rumoured that during the time when these platforms were being built, several ponied fell to their deaths or got crushed between piping and air ducts. Apparently you can still hear there screams if you walk on the tracks." Said Blackheart, staring at the two parrallel train tracks. Only the platform was lit, the area above the tracks was not. It was a small place, and it was cold, and quiet. I stared into the gloom where train would appear out a tunnel.

"I dont believe in ghosts." I replied.

"Then what do you believe in?"

"Celestia has turned our back on us, so if there is a god I doubt he cares as well. I am just stuck in this shithole."

Blackheart paused.

"Look Arlo, I am sorry. I didnt mean to do that. I was just being stupid." She then said in hushed tone.

"Hm."

"Can you forgive me?"

I thought about this. I didnt like what she had done. But finding a friend, or at least a companion, was difficult. Especially for me.

"Oh fine." I said at last.

We waited in complete silence. Every now and then I looked over to check the silver pony in a brown hoodie. He stayed where he was, muttering to himself. I let out a long breath. Blackheart stretched her wings out and yawned, then placed them back.  I turned to him again. He had moved out of his seat and was now slowly walking towards us, holding a large knife in one hand. He saw I had noticed him. I nudged Blackheart to warn her.

"Now, this don't need to get violent, just give me your money and jewellery and I will be on my way." Said the pony in the brown hoodie. Blackheart took a step back. I took a step forwards.

"Excuse me, but what do you think your doing?" I asked him, feeling a brief thrill of exitment as I spoke. He panicked. He hadnt expected a verbal responce.

"Uh.." he said. Without thinking, he lunged forwards with the knife. I stepped to the side quickly, then grabbed his front leg. I put one hoof on the joint and pushed as hard as I could while twisting with the other. The pony yelled as his joint snapped. He took a step back, his right front leg now hanging limp. Anger filled his eyes. He jumped onto his hind legs and raised his front left leg. The punch hit me in the side of my face. I felt the pain rush through me. I turned my head to him and dashed, tackling him. He fell to the ground. I quickly straddled him and punched him in the front of the face. His head banged loudly against the concrete floor and he stopped moving. I hit him again, my hoof impacting in his lower right jaw, dislocating it. Blood was flowing from the wound in the back of his head. I got up and trotted over to Blackheart. She was speechless. I wiped the blood off my hooves and streched my head to the left, hearing my neck snap. Then the rumbling and screeching of a train could be heard. I hurried Blackheart over to the left side edge of the platform as the train pulled into the station.

"By the time they find his body we will be gone." I said quietly.

As the doors opened, we got on while other ponies got off. I heard a scream as the doors closed but it was all over now. I sat down in one of the blue covered seats and rest my head against the window, panting.

"Its been a while since I had to do that" I told Blackheart as she sat down next to me.

" I would have handled it differantly" she said smugly. I could feel the train move into motion as the sound of engines powering up started. Before we knew it the train speed away as quick lightning.