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It was nothing new that the young stallion would venture to places beyond his garage every now and then, especially to escape the rather hazardous fumes that would cloak him with every new repair. May it be an oil change or especially a tune up, fresh air was a very important thing for anyone to have at any moment. Sure, the kid had grown up around the stuff and was pretty used to it, but that didn't mean he was just 'magically' unaffected. Quite the contrary in all honesty. So now, Jump Start sat alone on a park bench, grumbling to himself as he held a little sketch book in his hand and drew little sketches of modifications he could make in order to change how the cars in the world worked, perhaps in an attempt to make some kind of hydroelectric substitute that would eliminate the use of oil all together. Heck, he didn't know. Sometimes ideas like this just came to him on a whim, and this was definitely one of those random ideas. He never stopped to consider the possibility of it all, nor the fact that others might already have the same thing in mind. His only goal was to get the job done first, and that's what he usually did.

Unfortunately, this dream of his was in no way easy, especially considering that adding more water to a metal vehicle could prove problems of waste and such, and lining the insides would end up with a more expensive car. And there was already a huge rust issue that was completely corroding the bottom and even some of the bodies of cars. Yea, he wasn't planning on digging a deeper grave for himself this early on.

A sigh of defeat gave way as he leaned back in the bench, crumpling up the sketch and throwing it skyward, only to have it fall back down and bop him on the nose. He gave yet another grumble, picking up the paper that had since then landed on the ground and tossed it into a recycling bin. If only things like this were easier...he'd probably be famous and rich by now. Ah, oh well. Rather than letting the lost battle get to him, Jump Start decided to grab a bite to eat to ease his mind. After all, a hot dog always brightened the mood. Once again he went to sit on the bench after giving the vendor his 2 bits for the snack, leaning back at he stared in a thoughtful and almost blank manner while taking a bite. Maybe he should try and get the opinion of others on the matter? It wouldn't hurt to try....but who around here would be a good place to start? His oil-black eyes began to scan about, curiously scouting for anyone that wasn't too busy and readily botherable-- er, able to be...surveyed? Yea...that.

Hopefully this wouldn't be too hard.

Magnetic North was a busy pony. He liked to say that there were more of his hoof prints in the streets of Manehatten than any other pony, but who could really count them all? As a taxi pony, though, it was a safe bet that if it were possible to count all the hoof prints in the city, his would number among the highest. There was very little in life that North enjoyed more than seeing the sights of the city, the hustle and bustle of the tourists and townies alike, but there was one thing he gave it all up for around 1 pm every afternoon.

Every day of the week he took his lunch break at a different spot in the city. Today was the park. He had parked his taxi - a weathered but tough wagon with lots of fresh hay for his clients to sit in and enjoy the ride comfortably - not too far from where he sat, enjoying his customary dandelion sandwich. Before him a dozen or so pigeons cooed and fluffed their feathers, waiting for the crumbs he was sure to throw. The sturdy stallion watched with with what might be called a hint of a smile on his lips. There was a younger pony not far to his right that had caught some of the bird's attention with his hot dog and they'd stared to walk over to see if he'd share, but North didn't mind. He couldn't feel all of the birds and still have enough for himself, after all.

Some strange muttering spooked the birds away rather suddenly, and North dropped what remained of his sandwich on the ground in surprise, the birds rushing away so quickly that it caused a tiny whirlwind to toss dirt everywhere. He looked down at his sandwich with a scowl, then up to the pony that had caused the ruckus.

"Hey, lady," he said to the blue unicorn not far to his left. "If you're gonna start speakin' in tongues do it somewhere else, will ya? You scared the birds." Which in turn scared him. Which made him drop his sandwich. Therefore, it was her fault his lunch was ruined.

The unicorn's offer might have been taken up by others, but North rolled his eyes. "The Mane Fair Hotel? Do I look like I ride in the taxis instead of pull 'em?" He definitely wasn't the type for high end things, be it food, fashion, or entertainment. Dandelion sandwiches and feeding the birds were more than enough for him. It might be hard for some to believe that a pony of his size and in his profession would get by on a simple sandwich, but a big breakfast and dinner supplemented the small lunch. That, and he didn't have much time to eat during the day. Every moment he wasn't pulling his taxi he wasn't getting paid.

"Maybe Jump Start here'll take you up on your offer, but I can find somethin' else. Don't got the time and not the type-a pony to go walkin' off in the middle of the day to eat a sandwich in a fancy hotel."

The blue coated unicorn walked through the park. Her cape and cravat barely bouncing with every heavy step she took. Although the relatively peaceful scenery was a nice change from the rising skyscrapers and the ceaseless waves of walking hooves abounding in the streets of the city, Double Trouble, as everyone called her, wasn't in the highest of spirits. Truth is, she wasn't very fond of Manehatan.... but she didn't have a choice, she was supposed to find a group that would escort her somewhere... but all she received in the taverns was silence, laughs... and a half-eaten cupcake splattered on her left eye... fortunately, it was strawberry flavored.

She spotted a bench right next to a tree, which looked like a nice place to enjoy her meal. Sitting there like any normal pony would, she took out a small bag from under her cape and retrieved what was inside of it... a Dulce de Leche filled doughnut. She sighed in relief, for in a few moments, her worries would vanish for long beautiful seconds as soon as that wonderful taste graced her tongue. Excited, with her doughnut levitating in front her, she opened her mouth, ready to take a bite out of it. What caught her attention was the sudden air breeze in front of her face and the rather funny and strange lack of sweet in her mouth the moment she closed it. Double stood still for a few seconds before realizing what was going on... a pigeon flying away from with her doughnut in its beak. "NonononononoNO! That was the last one they had! Hey!", she immediately took chase after it, the bird wasn't flying too high from the ground, maybe she could still catch it... which of course wasn't going to happen, but she wasn't thinking straight right then. It was one of those moments she wished she knew the teleportation spell, another alternative was using her telekinesis, but by doing that she would risk hurting her doughnut... and the animal, of course. The chase was short-lived, however. She was so focused on her food she didn't pay attention to the figure the pigeon she was chasing flied in front of. Double Trouble didn't have any time to react as she crashed with the hooded pony, the impact made her fall to the ground. Laying on the grass, her rear part raised and her cape covering her head in a rather pathetic way, she let out a frustrated sigh.

A chill traveled down Double's back as Hawk used his magic to help her stand up. It was weird, she was the target of many magic spells on numerous occasions, but it was the first time she felt something so... somber. Once she regained her balance, she brushed the dust from her cravat with her left hoof. She forgot about grieving the loss of her lunch as her heterochromatic eyes focused at Hawk's glowing red eyes. She gulped as a small shiver passed through her, If there was something she learned over the years, is that the eyes are a clear window of someone's true self. She stood still, analyzing curiously the other other unicorn... she couldn't see see him very well with that hood... but his features and that impotent attitude made him look like a royal night guard. She wondered what was the reason behind his hood, was he trying to protect himself from the sun rays? Or was he trying to hide something? Her mind returned to reality the moment Hawk asked her what she had to say for herself... "I, uhhhh...." she looked away, thinking about what to say, and then back at Hawk, with a nervous grin "...am Sorry?", Trouble couldn't think of anything else to say... it was her fault for running like a fool after a small bird, after all. That's when it hit her... she remembered the reason she came to Manehattan. Her awkward grin turning into an excited expression "Ohhhhh... could it be....? Sorry if this is abrupt but... would you... would you happen to be one of Princess Luna's Guard?" she asked joyfully with an ear to ear smile on her face.