Manehatten was possibly the most boring place to live. Day in and day out it was the same thing. Get up, yell at somepony in a cab for not picking you up, eventually getting where you're going and hating every second of it, getting home and repeat. Ever since Silver Bit was a filly, she wanted to leave the hustle of the city. She hated having to keep her long, dark orange mane up in that complicated fashion and her rust colored coat brushed in the most specific manner she had ever heard.

It wasn't until she found the a job that her parents hated and made her sweat like no tomorrow that she could find some kind of happiness. No she didn't become a whore you dirty bastards! She found a job with the local craftsman. The furnaces forced her to take her mane down, lest the sweat just make it sag down into her face. She still kept most of her mane behind her ears and had to tie the end of her tail to keep any stray hair from catching one of the machines. She loved it there.

Silver Bit got use to staying late and tinkering with some broken machinery hoping to make it work again. She'd always had a knack for fiddling with things. She once made an alarm clock catch fire. No pony understood how she did that but it got under her parents skin so it was still a win. Eventually, she fiddled with a hot press and got it working. She stayed up all night melting down old silver that had been trashed into ingots. That's when her cutie mark appeared. A stack of three silver ingots.

Her boss was elated with his janitor's accomplishment and made her a full intern, learning everything there was to know about the trade. After six years of training, she was a master at the forge and with the tools of the trade. She saved up enough money from side jobs in her apartment building and across the city that she was able to move out of that stuck up town and into the middle of BF nowhere just outside of Baltimare. Just like she always dreamed. What made it better was the sudden influx of insperation.

In two months, she created the most innovative weapon every. It was a happy accident; she meant to make a fireworks launcher, but when the ball of fireworks failed to go off and instead knocked down birds and a small chunk out of her right ear, she had an epiphany. She named it the Silver Bit Musket and showed it to Princess Celestia. She loved it. Her soldiers did too. They ordered a few hundred of them and she had to work for hours building them. After a while, she had to go looking for some extra hoofs.

Her only issue, every stallion that came for the interview kept hitting on her. So what if she hadn't quite grown out of the girlish look she had about her? That didn't mean she was looking for a date! All she wanted was a few hoofs to help her build a few hundred muskets. She was about to give on trying and just hoping to Faust that Celestia let her have some more time until two mares came to her. One was a little rough and tumble for being a mare. She was a dust colored earth pony with a pale green mane and neon purple eyes. They really clashed but considering how messy her mane looked it didn't matter.

The other had a quiet disposition. She was light blue with pale sky blue mane mane and eyes. She looked to have a small shimmer in her coat. They sat down as a pair with smiles on their faces.

"Can I help you two?" Silver Bit asked.

"We're here for the job." the dust colored one answered.

"I'm not sure you're sure if you understand what I'm lookin' for. I'm lookin' for somepony not afraid to get their hoofs and teeth dirty."

"We don't mind a little mess. We’re here for the job in metallurgy." The blue one said softly. "I'm Fixette (pronounced Fix-it). This is my partner Autumn Spark."

"Partner in what exactly?"

"Life." Autumn Spark added to the end of her "friend's" statement.

"Oh… I'm sorry if I-"

"It's alright sweetie, no pony guesses it by lookin' at us."

"Well, okay. So what makes you qualified for this job?"

"We've worked several side jobs here in Baltimare; ranging from pluming to some minor electrical. We've also done some repair work in the newspaper factory." Fixette told Silver.

"So you two are handy ponies?"

"More or less." Autumn said.

"Well, is there anypony else waiting?"

"I didn't see anyone." Fixette said.

"Well, considering you two are the only ones that haven't hit on me in the past month…"

"Well if you want a flirt." Autumn said with a sly grin before giggling a bit.

"You're not serious right?" Silver asked hopefully.

"Nah. Just foolin' around. I'd never try so long as I've got Fixette to flirt with."

Fixette giggle before answering. "Yeah, she's cute when she flirts."

"So long as you two don't do anything on the job, you're hired."

"Really?!" Fixette said giddy but still quiet.

"Yeah. Welcome aboard." Silver Bit said putting her hoof out to Autumn first.

Autumn shook it happily and so did Fixette. Once the trio were back at their shop, Silver took them right to work. She had to show them how to use everything and get them familiar with the safety equipment but other than that, the two caught on quick. In no time, IE just before the due date a month later, they made over seven hundred muskets. Celestia was very impressed. She even added a few hundred bits to the bill as a tip for excellent service. Silver was happy with the results.

"So, what are you two gonna do now?" Silver asked just after Celestia left.

"Well, I guess we could go back to working around Baltimare." Fixette suggested a little depressed.

"Why? The description only said for this job."

"Well, would you two be interested in staying permanently?"

Both mares eyes lit up instantly and they eagerly accepted the offer. The three decided the best use of the new contract money was dinner in town. Fixette got so excited that she even called her older brother back in Manehatten to celebrate with them. Silver Bit loathed the idea of somepony from Manehatten joining them, but she wasn't going to tell the mare she couldn't invite her own brother.

It took a day for the stallion to arrive so they had to hold back on the celebration. At least it gave her some time to make a reservation in the fanciest restaurant in Baltimare; The Griffon's Taverne. She found the name stupid but a lot of words from the north east were so similar that it didn't matter.

The restaurant was far from a tavern however. The place was lined wall to wall in velvet red carpet and had a live string band playing soft music for everypony that could afford to even walk into the restaurant. All of the tables were made of dark, polished oak and the silverware was made of actual silver. It was a remnant of home to Silver Bit, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd treated herself to some good food.

Silver wore a brand new black dress she bought after she made the reservation and a new pair of ruby earrings. She kept her hair mostly messy and let it hang lose. The most she did was brush it until it was somewhat neat. Autumn Spark wore a bright red dress and did the same thing with her mane. She also bought a brand new pair of red heels to match the dress. The two mares sat in the dim light of the restaurant waiting on the rest of their party. The two of them had already started drinking. Silver a simple glass of wine and Autumn an apple martini.

"Uhg! Where is she? I'm gettin' worried." Autumn said taking a sip of her martini.

"They're only five minutes late. Don't you two live together?"

"Yeah, but she took a cab to her brother's hotel first."

"I'm sure they'll be here soon Autumn. Where is she from anyway? She doesn't look like a normal pony."

"Her mother's from the Crystal Empire and her dad's a manager at a hotel in Manehatten. That's why her coat shines like it does, she's part Crystal Pony."

"Really? That's cool." Silver said genuinely. "What about you?"

"Born and raised in Baltimare. Nothing that cool."

"No offence, but I agree."

"We're here!" Fixette said as loud as she could without sounding loud.

She wore an ice blue dress that complimented her well. The dress seemed to have a pearly sheen like her coat, but stronger. Behind her a very handsome brown earth pony stallion in a pressed suit. He stood tall with a black mane and bright yellow eyes that were hard to look away from. It took Silver a moment before she realized she was staring.

"Hey. I'm Silver Bit." Silver said putting out her hoof.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tiber. But you can call me Tyler." the stallion said bumping Silver's hoof.

"Better late than never, Ty." Autumn said.

"Yeah, we would've been here sooner but Fixette insisted on haling the cab."

"Hey." Fixette said quietly insulted.

"We still got here and that's all that counts Sis." Tiber said sitting next to Silver.

Silver felt her heart start pounding nervously. This was nice as it was. A guy that wouldn't hit on her was sitting next to her, but it didn't help that he was absolutely gorgeous! She tried to keep her eyes off of him and on her associates, but they were too busy saying "hello".

"Um," Silver wracked her brain for something to strike up conversation. "So, you're part crystal pony?" That's good.

"Yeah, Sissy got more of it then I did but yeah." He said with a smile.

"That's cool." 'Come on think of something else.' "What'd you do back in Manehatten?"

"I'm just a ferryman. I take ponies across the harbor to the Freedom's Light Statue and back."

"You drive the boat?"

"Drives it? The man owns it!" Autumn said after breaking her kiss.

"You own it?"

"Well, I'm just the Captain."

"The Captain that can take it out as often as he wants."

"Hey."

"Well you can." Fixette added.

"I can retire if I want."

"Retire? How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-four. But I've worked there since I was ten. I've made enough money to just get a nice little house somewhere and settle down."

"You think we could get some of that so we could get out of our apartment."

"What's wrong with our apartment?" Fixette asked. It's more than likely that she decorated it.

"Well nothing, other than it's an apartment. We should get a house."

"Well I'm sure that's a discussion for later. We're here to celebrate! Remember?" Silver said trying to break a little tension.

"Ya know what? You're right. And I'll celebrate even more when I get home." Autumn said ginning to her lover.

Fixette giggled. "So have you two ordered already?"

"Not yet. Waiter! Another glass of wine, and leave the bottle this time." Silver shouted to the closest waiter.

Two hours, a few steaks, a lobster and two bottles of wine later, the four decided to call it a night. Fixette was lightly buzzed but Autumn Spark was flat out drunk. She had to stumble to the cab outside of the restaurant. Silver was just a bit tipsy as she left. Tiber was the same. The two giggled on their way to the cab where Tiber's sister and her lover were laughing waiting for them.

The four laughed at incoherent jokes the entire way to Autumn and Fixette's apartment. The next stop was suppose Tiber's hotel but he insisted on seeing her home. The two chatted the entire way there. They talked mostly of what they hated about Manehatten; the bustling streets you were likely to get run over in, the claustrophobic sidewalks and the smoggy air from the factories on the coast. They laughed gaily at jokes at old friend's expense and even current friends. When they got to Silver Bit's cottage outside of town, Tiber walked, or rather stumbled her to the door.

"Well mahm," Tiber said in the most southern voice he could muster while intoxicated. "I believe this is yer stop."

The two burst out laughing remembering the joke they shared in the cab. "I had a great time tonight." Silver looked to her door and a drunken thought crossed her mind. "Hey, you wanna keep it goin'? I got some apple whisky inside."

Tiber's head slowly swiveled for a second. He quickly shook it to try and clear his thoughts if only for a moment. "I had a great night too." He said moving closer.

Silver didn't stop him. Hell if it were Autumn she probably wouldn't have stopped her either. Silver leaned into him and let their drunken lips meet. The two moaned a bit as they kissed. The cab driver rolled his eyes and started out of the drive. The two didn't notice, Silver simply opened the door and lead Tiber into her house.

Author's Notes:

Nexus: Lesbians? Really?
Me: Hey, I had to give her assistants and a way to have connections to her BF before the next chapter.
Nexus: Okay... But why lesbians?
Me: Because I haven't had any ponies of different sexuality and I wanted to have a little fun with it.
Nexus: Please tell me you're not doing a sex scene.
Me: I will never write a sex scene. And stop toughing yourself.
Nexus: I'm not touching myself! I had an itch!
Me: Sure you did. Horny bastard.
Nexus: Oh. I feel like I got whiplash from the speed of that chapter.
Me: Well it's a prologue. It's not to be a play by play story. Anyways, I think you have some explaining to do. *points to Dust Storm walking up behind Nexus*
Nexus: You got room on the couch for me back in your world?