Bang!

It sounded from outside the building but might have actually garnered attention if it had occurred within the building. After all, that particular kind of bang was the distinct sound of a toasted engine and a mere everyday occurrence in modern day Fillydelphia. Suffice to say, the city had seen better days. In fact, all of Equestria had seen better days.

The noise was subconsciously recognized and dismissed as a sigh escaped the lone stallion within the building. He was tired. He was lonely. He was discontent. Had today been a long and exhausting day of work? No. In fact, this particular stallion worked as a freelance expert in information storage. Anything related to electronic information was his field. It was a rough age and he survived by being flexible. Yet, in reality, his worst days consisted mostly of mental exhaustion and nothing else.

Why was he lonely? It had nothing to do with romance and if it did then it certainly was not the root problem. He had no friends. It was not his fault, as his personality was right around average and the same could be said of his appearance. Actually, this was a problem that existed all throughout Equestria. The sad fact was that it had been many hundreds of years since the last mention of the Elements of Harmony and no one seemed to know or care what happened to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. It had been far too long since the mention of the "power of friendship."

The stallion was on an electronic terminal, browsing the Net, as he stumbled across a recent news article reinforcing the belief that "friendship was dead." It was the go-to philosophy of the modern age and everypony firmly believed that relationships were not to be considered anything but business. They were nothing but contracts - much like the one the stallion had been working to fulfill for his latest client.

He was browsing the Net but was actually fulfilling his work. The client had wished to integrate several libraries of data but had been encountering odd problems accessing random parts of the network. This included the client’s own network and that of the greater Net. It was puzzling and the client had already wasted too much time attempting to solve it. Thus this stallion was hired.

It was not his first job by far but it was one of his more interesting ones. By browsing the Net for the last hour he had already begun to see a pattern in the non-accessible portions of the network. Given two more hours, he might even have everything fixed. That was good news right? Not at all. This unicorn was more concerned with his own situation than that of his client. After all, this job would be over within the day but the problem in his own heart would not. All of Equestria had been this way since long before he was born. No one pointed out the problem but he knew it all the same. He needed friendship.

It was not specifically the friendship of a family or that of a female pony but just friendship itself. It might be said that most ponies take it for granted but that was not even applicable with the Equestria of the here and now. This stallion had never seen friendship before so he tended to agree that "friendship was dead" even if he didn't want it to be. Every relationship was cold and uncaring.

The room's clock chimed to inform the sole occupant that it was now noon. The sound echoed because the room was far too large for the furniture and equipment it contained. A few desks and data terminals rested against the wall opposite of the windows. They seemed to huddle there as if afraid of exploring the expanse of the clean carpeted room. The room's only chair held its only occupant. The echo of the clock only reinforced the empty feeling that hung darkly over the building. It was not only the room that contained too little. Most of the building was empty. It was actually a tad spooky.

He had pulled the window blinds open earlier to let in a soft glow of sunlight. However, even when alone he tended to be too self-conscious. Even though he opened the blinds, he avoided the direct sunlight. He thought the light made his deep green body brighten too much. He would probably be less conscious about it if there were more deep green unicorns like himself. As he was, other ponies tended to give mocking glares. His appearance may have been average but that was his own perception and looks were quite subjective.

This building he was in was near the edge of the business side of Fillydelphia. So it was no surprise to him when a large cargo hauling vehicle began coasting by outside the windows. Its bulk quickly blocked out the sunlight and its image filled each pane. He was on the third story of the building so it was definitely a major cargo hauler. The stallion took a break to venture to the windows and view the craft.

The front of the vehicle was still in sight just fifty hooves past the last window. It had the look of a brick with a flat-faced front, long rectangular body, and a backside that might be confused as the front side. A small window could be seen on the front upper corner. Inside was a pegasus who was, if the unicorn could tell, quite focused on piloting the vehicle. It made sense given the fact that the craft was about four-stories tall and two blocks long. It was almost as wide as the road - counting all four lanes. Clearly there was some kind of traffic control below to help it along. They must have planned it to go from point A to point B and back out the same way it came because it was clearly incapable of making a turn within the city.

He could see the contents clearly marked on the hauler. All of it was the latest transmission cable. The city must be upgrading again, he thought. The first upgrade several years ago was a necessary one but each upgrade since was a useless gesture. As he saw it, the new cable was nothing more than a useless waste of resources to "stay on top." The population of Fillydelphia demanded it, however. When all was said and done, their electronic terminals were the most important thing to them. This stallion could not really say it was less true of him but it was certainly not what he wanted.

What could he do? A philosophical pony might say that if he couldn't find a friend then he should make one. That is to say, be the one to befriend another pony. He had indeed tried that many years ago and was still nursing a damaged heart. Few ponies realized how vicious others could be until they actually experienced it for themselves. In any case, this was the unicorn's current plight.

The hauler finally finished drifting by. It suddenly got quieter as the low hum of the transporter faded into the distance. The green unicorn had his eyes closed in thought and then suddenly opened them in realization. He had figured out the solution to his client's problem. It looked like he would be back home today in time for nothing. That thought produced another sigh.

Well he did need to get home to water his one and only plant. Of all the residents of Fillydelphia he might just be the only pony who had one. Speaking of which, he had been seeing less of the fake plants throughout the city. It seemed everypony didn't even care for the aesthetics anymore. In his case, he enjoyed the thought of another living thing needing his existence. Well, of course, that assumed one could consider a plant a living thing. Some ponies didn't.

He moved back to the terminal on the other side of the room and entered some commands to fix the issue. It turned out to be nothing more than a misconfigured node. It was almost comical how a simple mistake could snowball into a bizarre problem. A few more commands and he was done. A few tests showed the issue was resolved and, with that done, he would message the client on the way home. For now he would pack up his equipment and close the blinds.

Only when he got home did he realize how suffocating that building had been. He was not quite sure whether to call it an office or warehouse because it fit neither description. It was used to store and manage data so maybe it was more like a library. In any case, the mood that hung over that place was dreary.

He went over to collect the watering can in the kitchen so he could water the vine in his backyard. But that is when it all started. There was a knock on the door. He had been hoping to have a moment’s peace but life hardly ever went his way. Still, who would be knocking on his door? There were no deliveries or jobs expected and certainly no friends.

He answered the door to find a sea green colored Earth pony.

"Good afternoon. My name is Lifeline and I'm here to see Synch about tomorrow's trip," the Earth pony introduced himself with a very subtle smile.

The unicorn mentally berated himself for forgetting entirely about tomorrow's job. Somepony was going to be sent over a day in advance to discuss the finer details. This must be him.

"Sorry, I'm Synch...please come in," he was nervous now. Perhaps he was expecting something bad to happen. After all, his earlier thoughts were far from good and might even be called depressive.

Somehow Lifeline seemed to pick up on the mood. He moved over to the cushion in the living quarters and began speaking about the following day.

"It's going to be a lot of work and a long journey. Everypony calls it Equestria just the same but it really looks nothing like Fillydelphia - or even Canterlot," the Earth pony droned on with just a subtle amount of optimism.

Synch was moving to the kitchen to get a drink for his guest, but that fact hardly escaped the Earth pony.

"You don't have to get me anything, though I appreciate the thought. I'd rather you sit and talk with me."

Was there some demand in his voice or was Synch imagining things? The unicorn felt a bit defensive but decided to oblige.

"Is there something urgent - I mean have there been any changes to the plan?"

"Not at all," Lifeline replied. "It's just that you look like you're going to blow up."

"Huh?" That was an odd remark. Was this pony under the impression that he had anger issues?

"Sorry, I don't mean to pry. I just don't want to be inconsiderate. The plans are the same...we need you to setup the data terminals in New Ponyville. It's critical that we monitor the greenhouses."

Synch certainly didn't need to hear that one more time. Equestria had suffered greatly over the past few hundred years from pollution and city development. Optimists would call it a concrete jungle and pessimists would just call it dystopia. Synch preferred not to think of it at all.

This job was just a quick setup operation. Some big shot pony had made some enormous greenhouses for New Ponyville. Either the bigwig had a love of plants or actually gave a hoof for nature. For this reason, Synch was a tad more eager than usual to grab the job even though it required some special travel. Although all inhabited areas of the galaxy were considered Equestria, New Ponyville was not on the same planet as Fillydelphia. The planet that held the new colony was officially called Aquarria, but that name was rarely ever used or heard. Everypony just referred to the colony name and even that was rare to hear. The unicorn's only guess was that the colony was considered a useless pet project. However, he really didn't know much about it or other people's opinions on it.

There were many other colonies and inhabited planets but they all resembled the Equestria that Synch already knew. He still had a bucket load of questions, so he started as he sat on one of the other cushions, "What's so special about growing those plants?"

Lifeline definitely had a smile now, "They're all rare species that are key to fixing up Equestria. Some of them can grow off of the types of pollution that has settled into the ground. Others can survive in the harsh city and some of them just look good. The point is that we finish testing them so that we know how to implement them here. All of Equestria is in bad shape - I don't think many ponies really understand that."

His smile seemed to wilt at that last statement.

"So...how long will it take to get there?"

"Where?" Lifeline's face was blank.

"...Um...New Ponyville..." Synch felt that they hadn't strayed so much from the topic that Lifeline wouldn't know what he was talking about.

"Oh! Sorry," he apologized, "sometimes I just lose track of things. Not good for my profession. Yes, it will probably take a few days to get there. Luckily we will have one the best navigators to see us through. Nebula Swirl will also be piloting us to the off-planet transports. He's never disappointed me - or anyone else for that matter."

There was the Earth pony's smile again.

"Wait. See us through? Does that mean there is something I need to be worried about?"

Lifeline paused before answering, "Well, you're pretty sharp. Maybe a little paranoid too - not that that's a bad thing!" He seemed to try to cover up what might have been an unintended insult. "There are just a few particle clouds we have to go through to reach New Ponyville. They are kind of considered hazards so....my boss got a good navigator. There's nothing to worry about."

Synch was happy that he got to do something exciting but the details were something of a killjoy. Lifeline might have felt an awkward silence coming on because he spoke up again, "We'll be stuck together for a while so I do hope we'll be friends."

"Friends?" That was awfully...forward.

Lifeline held out his right hoof. "Yeah, let's shake on it and have some fun. After all, if life is work then why not enjoy it?"

This pony seemed a tad off in some regards but Synch could not deny the irony of what was just said. He had just been thinking earlier about "friendship is dead" and here was this pony asking to be friends. He had no reason to say no and, even if he did, what would that change? Nothing probably.

They shook and Lifeline suddenly noticed Synch's coat.

"Nice color! I used to wish my color was darker like that," the Earth pony beamed.

Synch suddenly felt very self-conscious but had no idea how to respond beyond a blank expression.

"I'm trying to think if there's something I needed to mention," Lifeline filled the silence.

"All I'll be doing is some terminal work when we hit the colony so I don't really have anything else I need to ask," Synch offered up.

The other pony nodded.

"Well...same here. Of course I'll be working more with plants rather than terminals. And speaking of plants, you have one?"

Synch's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that?"

"The watering can."

The deep green unicorn whipped his gaze toward the kitchen where the watering can was clearly visible.

"Oh."

"It's nice to know that somepony wants a bit of greenery. Since I was in New Ponyville just a few days ago, I couldn't help but miss the fresh air, green backdrops, and sound of wildlife. It's amazing what the ponies can do there with the animals. Some of them have their cutie marks just for that."

Lifeline seemed to notice his mistake as soon as he mentioned the cutie marks. It was not an unusual problem and was actually commonplace all throughout modern Equestria. Few ponies ever got a cutie mark. Needless to say, Synch's flank was still blank.

"Sorr-"

"Don't be," Synch interrupted. "It doesn't bother me. You just want to be careful with other ponies. Some of them can get really touchy about it. It's like a recipe for random disaster."

"I know. Honestly, I try to be sensitive about it, especially since I have my own," he looked over to his flank where a red mark rested. It looked like the spiky line from an electrocardiograph.

"What does it mean?" Synch couldn't help his curiosity.

"Uh..." he paused again awkwardly, "it means that my special talent is keeping plants alive. That's why I'm a member of this New Ponyville project."

The unicorn sighed and Lifeline thought to ask, "Did I upset you?"

Synch sighed again and replied, "No, it's just that you seem very concerned about what it is you say. I don't need anypony to filter their every word. If you have something to say then just say it."

That last statement might have had too much irritation in it because Lifeline didn't say anything for an entire minute. The silence was deafening.

"I just noticed that everypony is so detached," the Earth pony started.

"What?" That was a rather confusing and sudden line of thought.

"Things are done...differently in New Ponyville. I noticed that a lot of ponies here are...well I want to say independent but that's not the right word. They just aren't involved much with each other - they're detached."

"Yeah, so?" He didn't intend to be sharp but there was something that was getting to him. He didn't realize it directly but Lifeline was hitting the exact point that Synch had been moping about earlier.

"I just don't want to be offensive or insulting or anything like that because I want to be on good terms," his gaze was straight forward now.

Synch opened his mouth but no words came out. What was he supposed to say to that? That Lifeline was being too self-conscious? No. He knew all too well that being self-conscious was a result of the over-analysis and cheap judgments of others that got thrown at him. He had lived practically his entire life experiencing it so he didn't have to think hard, or really think at all, to know why Lifeline was being so careful and considerate.

Synch just wanted to be accepted and that was something he never truly felt he had been since birth. His blank flank seemed to accuse him of being nothing to everypony. That was the core of his discontent.