[Manehattan] [Open] Shattered Dreams

[MagicBolt]

Shattered Dreams

What should a Pony do when all his Dreams fall appart?

***

Magic Bolt, sleepless, walked down the empty corridor and headed for the stars on the ship.

The Viewing deck was no bigger than a room, the walls, as always, shined along the silver metal that composed it; Engraved with several magical and mathematical symbols, tought at the most of those were covered with several maps and blueprints that layed across the walls. At the front a Curved polycarb glass allowed a 180º view from the deck. Several astronomical instruments layed across the right corner of the room along a shelf and a desk filled with papers and books. But aside from those, Located in the near center and far front of the room, there were several Cushions, soft and big enought to fit a pony, made in a blue silk like material.

The Blue stallion advanced towards them laying down with a perfect view of the outside. As he sighed and looked at the stars, his sight looking nowhere, yet everywere at all noticing that Luna's moon was at the peak of heavens. "There are moments like this when I can almost see the underlying problems around it: an impossibility..." The Stallion turned around. On the walls at the opossite side of his Studio several blueprints were framed, not showing his inventions, But a building and a rought picture of his Cutie Mark, made by himself when he was a colt. He always looked at them when the he needed calming.

To the stallion, that spent the last months looking back into his life at Mt. Fire Foal, His goal on life became a dream so strange and difficult, that he is starting to belive that it could only be wished into existence. Looking at the Horizon the colt started asking to himself yet again, a hundred time since his parents asked him. "What have you done of your life?" Looking further back he only saw himself studying and working. But were was his dream? He had lived the past several years as a simple automaton with only a few breaks from routine. He may have helped develop the Air-ships as they are known today. But he dosnt haves a name in the High-class society, and maybe only some of the most zealous of the Air-ships lovers and some of his clients have heard of him.

This stung him hard since last night he had a fever dream, where he realized that he was going to die and it couldnt be just yet. It would be giving truth to the path he'd feared he was on, and would make lie of all those times where he'd told himself that he would be fine if only he went on just one more day. It'd be the last betrayal to himself, and it couldn't happen. He wanted to see something else, and be somewhere else, and feel that he was dying as someone else, not as a simple mechanic no-pony, but as someone that left his legacy.

Celestia's sun struck the colt eyes as they opened themselves slowly. Magic Bolt had spent the night pondering and fell asleep without noticing. With a melancholic glance to the horizon he noticed his destination wasnt near. He dragged his feet, walking along the empty corridor of his ship. The colt entered the Kitchen, a simple room filled with the most essential of the tools needed to have a so needed meal. But ignoring that aside, Magic Bolt just took a bowl of hay and returned to his cushion in the viewing deck. As he looked towards the Horizon, his coat and mane colors started to lose their hue, Started to turn greyer...

The airship hovered ebove manehattan, just where the colt less wanted to be. The nightmare of his unnacomplished goals that metastasized itself. But somehow he felt he was just in the right place. He let himself drift around, Hovering over the buildings, and searching for something else. He felt sure that he was on the right track, for whatever reason, and he refused to believe that he was supposed to stop just yet.

He arrived to a clearing, Something weird in manehattan, but by luck big enought for the airship to fit in. There he was, a grey and monotone street that leaded him to the endless maze of the stree of asphalt. He gave a step, then another... and started walking.

[Neoniie]

Neon trotted absentmindedly through the streets of Manehatten, feeling like a zombie from lack of sleep. He had been out all night on patrol and the huge stack of work that his schoolteachers had presented him with hadn't helped matters. The older colt sighed, once again remembering the suspicion that his parents had been developing lately. They had noticed his constant state of fatigue and his slipping grades much quicker than he had hoped. The yellow earth pony couldn't figure out what they thought he was involved in, but he knew it couldn't have been anything good.

He turned a corner, suddenly feeling the urge to punch something. His patrol last night had not been one of his best, ending up as a complete and utter humiliation and embarassment once again. The colt didn't understand. Nighthoof was supposed to be the defeater of the dastardly, not the dope of dismalness. He was starting to question his resolve.I don't know what to do anymore, he thought, a complete sense of failure falling over the earth pony. He couldn't in good conscience stop trying to help the downtrodden, but he never seemed to do more than amuse or occasionally distract any of the criminals he came across.

Combined with his persistant lack of a cutie mark, Neon couldn't help but feel worthless and helpless. His vision had blurred slightly and the colt angrily brushed the obscuring liquid away. However, the sudden landing of an airship distracted the colt from his woe, bringing forth his curiousity instead. He began to trot toward the impressive vehicle, never having seen such a contraption before.

[MagicBolt]

Magic Bolt started walking aimlessly, looking up into the landscape filled with buldings, all of them showing off the same architecture, almost as if they were just a copy of each other, the only remarking change being the colors that changed between the red and the gray. But he wasnt looking up to appraise the architecture, but to see into the life of every pony that lived there, that had lived a life just like his before he started questioning himself.

"I Wish that life could be like a movie..." the stallion tought out loud as he decided to take a tu..

BaAmm!

The stallion bumped into a young yellow colt, a blank flank too, as Magic Bolt snapped back to reality he looked at the... Blank flank? Tought he tought it was quite a rare sight for such a colt to not have a cutie mark not being a foal, after a few seconds of wondering he inmediatly said. "Are you okay? im sorry for bumping into you, i was just... looking around and didnt noticed you"

[Neoniie]

Neon had been staring in awe at the huge machine, watching it with a singlemindedness that had unfortunately left his feet to their own devices. Trotting on autopilot was generally not the greatest idea for the earth pony, due to his propensity for clumsiness. Sure enough, he managed to steer himself right into a passing stallion. He snapped his gaze from the airship, thankful that he hadn't sent the older pony sprawling. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I probably should have watched where I was going a bit more carefully."

He picked up on a specific part of the stallion's sentance and wondered aloud, "I guess he isn't from Manehatten then." Realising that his words had been audible, he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, you. You aren't from Manehatten." The colt now had a rather embarassed look on his face, mentally berating himself for such rudeness. He wasn't exactly high class, but manners were certainly not beneath him.

[MagicBolt]

Are you really ok...? the stallion asked as he heard the Colt continue his speech "Hehe, quite obvious isnt?" The stallion exclaimed in a melancholic tone, tought at least experiencing the first laught he had in days. "Dont worry about anything... Im just... well... honestly i dont know what im doing here..." The stallion looked at the horizon briefly before turning back to Neon, " You should be more carefull, you might get run by a carriage one day" Patting the colt head Magic Bolt started walking away. Tought after taking a few steps, he exclaimed "Hey, by any chance do you happen to know how to get to the industrial sector?"

[Neoniie]

"Umm...okay." Neon watched the stallion with a slightly confused expression. He seemed to have a saddened note in his voice, even as he laughed at the obviousness of his foreigness to Manehatten. His brow furrowed, not used to getting patted on the head, even by his parents. The colt usually associated such things with little foals and he wasn't that young, even without a cutie mark. He was still loathe to bring attention to that embarassing detail, despite it being only a private thought. Everypony was supposed to gain their cutie marks as foals, but he still couldn't pinpoint his own unique talent. It made him feel lost and without purpose and that was something decidedly unpleasant.

Catching the stallion's words as he turned, Neon tortted back over to the unicorn. "Yeah, actually," he grinned as he spoke, feeling proud of his knowledge of the city. Most of that knowledge was attributed to jumping - and usually falling - around the city every night. "I could show you, if you want."

[MagicBolt]

Since arriving to Manehattan Magic Bolt dragged his hooves as he walked, the monotone landscape of Manehattan brought him nothing but painfully memories, and the herds of creatures that walked trought it gave him a headache, But by some reason this little Colt's exuberant energy just made him jiggle.

Looking at the little colt replying to him he just answered "Thanx you, You will be a great stallion one day! Im sure of it, now.. shal i tell you a small story?" Magic Bolt started following the colt, with a little smile on his face. "Once upon a time, when i was way younger than you, I Came to this city once, you see i was born in a small island in the Gallopocus Archipielago" The stallion motioned his hoove towards the sea and continued "The sight of the city captivated me that time, it was something i never have forgoten, but ebove all, there was this little Factory in the city were we sold our merchandise too. It was the place were i discovered what i wanted to do in my life!.." Magic bolt sighed and after a small silence continued "It took me a while to realize it tought, i think was a bit older than you when i got it!... in the end i... i Think... i want to remember those memories..."

[Neoniie]

Neon had a little bounce in his step, feeling quite energetic despite the gloominess that the normally imperceptive earth pony felt about his older companion. Nevertheless, he was free from the iron grip of school and he had a purpose in mind, even if it was just directing a stranger to his destination. It could be said that the colt was far too willing to help complete strangers, but he was not ignorant of that fact, regardless of his young age. Even though he tended to bungle his superheroics, he had still gotten a glimpse of the worse side of pony society. He didn't let that bother him however, as he firmly believed that the good could always outweigh the bad.

He felt quite a swell of confidence at the light blue unicorn's praise. It wasn't often that such a conpliment was directed at the colt and he definately enjoyed it. With a slightly self-satisfied grin, he listened to Magic Bolt's story. As the stallion weaved the tale, he tried to put himself in the hooves of the younger Magic Bolt. His imagination was rather vivid, as most colts' are, and he painted the story around him as the stallion spoke. The story brought two things to the colt's mind. The first was the realization that perhaps he wasn't as much of a late bloomer as he had thought. After all, this stallion hadn't discovered his purpose until he reached older colthood as well. It gave the yellow earth pony some hope that he could still find his talent.

The second thing was a phrase oft said by his father, which he recited aloud. "I think you should, mister. After all, memories are what make up a pony. Without them, you'd be kind of a blank slate, I guess." He ended hesitantly, unsure what his father's exact reasoning had been.