Neon Dreams

by Bigwig6666

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Tirek, Drama, Original Character, Science Fiction, Queen Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 65316

For Neon Dream, life couldn't be simpler. That is, until a stranger appears, begging for help. Now she finds herself pursued by relentless mercenaries and authorities alike as the darkest secret of Ponyopolis is about to be revealed...

In the distant future of Equestria, magic and technology have been fused together, and corporations pull the strings from the shadows. The world is a harsh wasteland, and ponies live in sprawling urban areas known as megacities.

For Neon Dream, life couldn't be simpler--or more boring. Despite being the 'best delivery pony in the city', she longs for something more.

She gets her wish, albeit not exactly as she hoped, when a relic from the past appears to be the latest package she was supposed to deliver, very much alive and begging for help. Now, the young mare finds herself pursued by relentless bounty hunters, gangsters and security forces hired by the corporations that run the world in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

All while this stranger keeps claiming to be Twilight Sparkle. But that's impossible, Princess Twilight died hundreds of years ago... right?

===

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Published 2020-07-27 15:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-01-05 11:28:27 UTC

One

>>Accessing GlowCorp™ Secure Server.
>>Firewall.exe Detected.

>>Breaching_Firewall.exe . . .
>>Running . . .
>>Wait . . .

>>Ready.

ACTIVATE NEON_DREAMS.EXE?
>>Yes . . .
>>Wait . . .

>>Ready.

>>Begin.

The year is 2777.

Megacities dot the harsh wasteland called Equestria, long since stripped clean of natural resources. Of these cities, what is often called the capital is Ponyopolis, the largest megacity on the continent.

Established on an ancient ruin which used to be called Ponyville centuries ago, Ponyopolis was the pet project of one of Equestria’s ancient princesses, and even today is considered to be a modern multicultural marvel of a metropolis--a shining jewel built in the name of progress. Dense skyscrapers reach up to the heavens, each housing millions of inhabitants.

Creatures from all over Equestria come to visit Ponyopolis, The City of Tomorrow, Today, each considering it a thrilling and glamourous vacation spot, as well as being an interesting and vibrant place to live for those with the means to protect themselves.

Yet underneath the glamour and sparkle, there lies an ugly truth. Ruthless corporations pull the strings of society from the shadows, corruption runs rampant as security turns a blind eye, and both organised and street crime are all too common. To the weary and downtrodden, Ponyopolis is named a living hell, far from the idyllic utopia it was meant to be.

As of right now there are few who know the whole story, and as one hard boiled detective unwittingly learned, there are those who will stop at nothing to hide the darkest secret known to Ponykind...

In one of the megacity’s many districts, police sirens rang out in the night as a squad car came to a stop beside an ordinary looking apartment building. The red and blue flashing light cast by the car reflected off of the various neon signs and puddles formed by the heavy downpour of rain. Passers-by quickly stepped aside as the hovercar landed gently in front of them and made for their homes, eager to be out of the way and out of the rain.

The lone officer--a dragon of all things--within slowly and quietly exited, dreading what was to come, and made his way towards the oh so familiar apartment building. He straightened his tie and pulled his coat, an old fashioned trench coat from the old holovids, around his neck in an attempt to protect him from the rain and buzzed himself in. His tail dragged along the ground behind him and his wings rustled uncomfortably, shaking the droplets of rain off.

Once inside he pressed his claw against a panel on the wall, and cleared his throat as a ding rang out through the dimly lit hallway. A section of wall beside the panel slid upwards with a click, revealing the Artificial Intelligence concierge that acted as the building’s receptionist.

“Good evening Detective Mander,” the holographic interface said after a quick scan, programmed to always have a cheerful disposition.

The detective grunted at it, never one for liking or trusting technology as much as some. Years on the force and a terrible smoking habit gave him the gruff appearance and voice most would deem unfriendly at best. To an A.I. He was just another customer to serve, though.

“How can I help you today?”

“I need my clothes dried.”

“I understand. One moment.”

Despite the sorrow he felt tearing his heart apart, Salazar Mander’s voice still rang out as imposing and authoritative. The hologram flickered as the order was processed. With another ding, vents underneath his feet opened up, and sent a stream of warm air around him that dried his clothes in a matter of seconds.

“Will that be all detective?” asked the A.I.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Detective Mander--Sal to his friends--muttered as he gave his coat a pat down.

“Your account has been billed. Thank you for using our service. Have a good night detective.”

After a click the hologram turned off and the panel slid shut, so the detective turned away from it and smoothed his coat down, too focused on what he had to do for a snide remark about having a nice night. He paused and looked up the stairs sadly, at the flickering light at the top that seemed to add to his dread. With another mournful sigh he began the ascent. His orange scales appeared incandescent even in the dim light, and his yellow eyes cut through the darkness like two shining spotlights.

He soon reached the apartment door he needed, thankful the door was the first one on the right and closest to the stairs. After taking a deep breath, he rapped his claw on the cold metal. The sound of hoofsteps came from inside after a few moments of silence, and he hoped he hadn’t just woken her up--it was late after all. He flicked open his phone and glanced at the time displayed. 1:00AM. He grimaced and put it back in his pocket, and waited patiently.

The little light above the door knocker came on, indicating he was being watched through the peephole. After a moment’s pause, the light turned off and the door slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing the occupant of the apartment.

A young filly, no older than ten, smiled up at him and hopped down off of her stool. “Hi, Sal!” she cheerily cried and rushed forwards to give him a small hug.

Detective Mander gave her a gentle pat on the top of her head and a quick scratch behind her ear, and noted the mess of the apartment behind her. “Hi, Neon,” he murmured. He winced as his voice sounded dogged and hoarse, and he knew this was going to be possibly the hardest thing he’d ever have to do.

“I was just getting some insta-noodles. Want some?”

Neon Dream, the ten year old filly more than capable of looking after herself tonight was his goddaughter, and his partner on the force was her father. His... Ex-partner, he should say. He grimaced and scratched at his chin. “No thanks, honey. We need to talk.”

“Sure thing, Sally. What’s up? Is Dad with you?”

The filly’s ever innocent attitude and big blue eyes staring up at him made his lower jaw quiver and his shoulders slump down. He had no idea how to tell her what had happened, but he knew he had to. Nopony else would. Nopony else could. He crouched low and ran his claws down his tie, fiddling with the end and looked her in the eye. “Your dad’s... Not coming home tonight,” he started.

Neon Dream’s eyes widened even further. Her pastel blue coat and shock of neon pink hair stood out against the drabness of the apartment, even in the low light. “What do you mean? Is he busy? Is he getting that promotion he talked about?” her voice squeaked out optimistically. A rare ray of hope in this miserable city.

Sal shook his head. “Neon, sweetheart... Sometimes, when cops go out to respond to a call... They don’t always come back...”

As he explained the terrible truth of his visit, Neon felt cold. Tears suddenly stung at her eyes and she shook her head. Her dad had told her that he had to do this a few months ago. He said it was awful looking at the detective’s wife and children’s faces, having to explain that their dad wasn’t coming home. She never imagined she’d ever get this talk, her dad was the best. He was awesome! The best cop in all of Ponyopolis! Undefeatable, incorruptible, always catching the bad guys... He couldn’t be...

“No. No, no, no, no-” she stumbled back and felt her chest begin to tighten. Panic welled up in her mind, and fear gripped her small body, causing her to shake violently. “Not dad... where’s my daddy... Sal...”

The dragon quickly put his claws around her and pulled her in to a hug as she burst into tears. He gently rocked her and held her close as the young filly pounded against his scales and sobbed. Outside, rain continued to pour down, and the world seemed a bit bleaker than usual.

***

Ten years later...

Sunlight poured through the crack in the holographic window blinds. The alarm clock blasted its annoyingly catchy synthwave tunes, and Neon Dream’s eyes creaked open. Her hoof shot out and slammed down on the infernal device, and with a yawn she leant over and squinted at the clock. She quickly pulled the covers over her head and groaned. “10:30? Too early...”

Underneath her comfortable covers, she heard the vague sounds of her cell phone begin to ring, and grunted in irritation. “Ugh... Buzz off, it’s my day off today,” she grumbled and thrust her head further into her pillow. The ringing ceased after a few minutes, and then immediately started up again, causing her to angrily throw the covers off.

She stomped over to the table where her phone was and grabbed it. She tapped her hoof on it to answer and pressed it to her ear. “What?” she grunted without saying hello. She didn’t even need to check to see who was calling to know it was from work.

“Neon! Nice of you to answer your phone! One of the newbie drivers had a crash and nearly lost a package--I need you to get out there and fix this mess!” came the frantic voice of Grey Dust, owner of Grey’s Delivery Company, renowned throughout Ponyopolis for his creative naming, and Neon’s boss.

The unicorn rolled her eyes and snorted. “Mr Dust I put my time in--I’m entitled to one day a week off. If you don’t like it take it up with the union.” She smirked to herself as she heard him shouting at somepony else and mutter something foul under his breath on the other end of the phone.

“I’ll give you double pay! Listen, I’m in a bind here, Neon. The client is not happy and I need my best driver.”

Neon paused for a moment and raised her eyebrows. “Double, eh?” A coy smile spread across her face and she smacked her lips together. “Triple,” she stated smugly.

“Triple?!” exclaimed Dust down the phone, causing her to pull it away from her ear for a second. “You been sniffing glimmer? Don’t answer. Fine, triple, Just get here by twelve, alright?”

“Already out the door, boss,” Neon laughed, glancing at the display of the time on her wall. “Be there in ten.”

She hung up as he started going on about how she was a life saver, yadda yadda, etcetera etcetera, and used her magic to grab her company uniform--a grey (imagine that) jumpsuit with the face of Mr Dust holding a package as heroically as possible emblazoned on the flank.

After getting dressed in company colours, Neon straightened out some of the folds and moved towards her door. She stepped outside and heard raised voices from somewhere downstairs. She cocked an ear and listened. She recognised the voice of the crotchety old Mrs Frost from downstairs, but not the one she was arguing with. Whoever it was sounded like they had made a deeply sorry mistake, spouting several apologies and even offering to pay for damages. Neon Dream shrugged and minded her own business, figuring it was just some young mare test driving her daddy’s new car or something.

She descended the stairs as quietly as possible, covering her face as she passed by Mrs Frost and the stranger. She caught a glimpse of said stranger, and noticed whoever it was was a dragon. This was odd because, save for Sal of course when he came to visit, dragons tended to keep to their own districts, but besides that, this particular dragon looked far too... ‘friendly’. He was light purple, with green spines, and looked like he was more likely to sell you cookies than burn your face off despite his muscular build. His voice was also unusually soft for a dragon, sounding very much more like a pony than his own kind. The unicorn also noticed a large burn mark on Ms Frost’s wall, probably the damages the dragon was offering to pay for.

Neon shook her head and continued out the door, not giving the strange dragon a second glance. She looked both ways before crossing the street--packed as usual--and darted towards her van when she saw a gap. She hopped in the driver seat and started up the engine, and a large smile spread over her face. The unicorn squealed in excitement and pushed down on the accelerator, lifting the van into the air and soaring through the city.

“Triple pay! For one job!” she laughed to herself as she drove. She kissed her hoof and tapped a picture of her dad, donut in mouth and a goofy smile on his face, that hung above the dashboard. “Gonna get there soon, Dad,” she told him.

She still remembered the dream he told her, of one day retiring to somewhere sunny with a cold drink. That was her dream now too, and she was gonna get there for both of them, even if it took her a lifetime. She flicked on the autodrive, putting her faith in her trusty van that it wasn’t going to crash and kill her, and leant back in her chair as she joined the skyway.

The skyway was the quickest, and some would say the most dangerous, way of travelling around Ponyopolis. As one of the main ‘roads’ in the megacity, everypony and anypony used the skyway. Cars, vans, construction trucks, etcetera, all joined the skyway as their drivers journeyed to their destinations. All of them, Neon included, took advantage of the autodrive feature most vehicles came with in today’s world, allowing their cars to drive themselves while they just leant back and enjoyed the ride.

As Neon sped along on her way she stared out the window and puffed her cheeks out. She thought after today she was gonna go get a celebratory drink with Sal later, and stick the extra money in her savings, ready for that trip to somewhere sunny. The smile remained on her face even as she saw the site of the newbies collision on one of the loading docks down below.

“Ah jeez, here we go,” she muttered and switched off the autodrive. She guided her van down to the platform, and whistled at the mess. One of the company vans lay in smoke, and a really sorry looking pegasus rubbed his leg and looked down at the ground some ways away. Neon spotted his uniform and dubbed him the newbie. Another truck also lay in smoke, but it’s driver was nowhere to be found. She recognised the insignia on it as belonging to one of Dusts's rivals, and thought nothing more of it. It was odd that the driver was nowhere to be found, though. ”Probably got out before he realised the storm he was in,” she thought with a chuckle and rolled down the window.

“Hey kid!” she called out to the pegasus. “Come here!” He looked up and jumped to his hooves, striding over to her as she touched down. The door to her van swung open and she hopped out, running a hoof through her mane. The kid wasn’t much older than she was when she started, fifteen, maybe sixteen, and looked utterly miserable.

“Ah, yeah, miss, it’s uh, my first job. Miss.”

Neon waved a hoof at him and smiled. “Pshaw, no ‘Miss’ for me, kid. Neon Dream.” She held her hoof out as a token gesture, exuding a warmth she rarely showed. She was in a good mood for a change after all.

The pegasus flapped his wings nervously and brushed his light green mane out his eyes. “Uh... Spark. Bright Spark.” His mint green hoof touched hers.

“We scrublords gotta stick together, right?” She grinned at him and looked at the van. Scrublords was a term used by the working class, for the working class. It was a term of respect to them, and one of the highest insults a corporate could use. “Dust asked me to pick up your package. Where is it?”

Bright pointed shakily to his van. “It was in there.”

“You didn’t think to get it out?”

He winced and shuffled awkwardly. “Like I said it’s m-my first day... Um...”

Neon thumped his shoulder, eliciting a wince from him and laughed. “No worries kid, that’s why they called in the professional. Just help me get it out, alright?”

“I, uh...” He fidgeted awkwardly. “I can't... I kinda... Woke her up. Sorry.”

Neon froze and looked at him carefully. “Woke... her up? Woke what up? What were you carrying, Bright?”

Bright Spark continued to shuffle nervously and avoided her gaze. “A, p... a pony. A mare.” He grimaced and pawed at the ground. “I thought she looked... I just wanted t-to, uh... Talk to her.”

The unicorn slammed her hoof in her face. “Oh I’m gonna kill Dust,” she muttered and dragged her hoof down her face. “Sending the new kid on a job like this, what was he thinking?” She looked at the pegasus dismissively. “You know what, doesn’t matter. Did you see where she--it--went?”

She, and every other delivery pony in Ponyopolis (save perhaps Bright Spark) knew the horror stories that came from growing attached to ‘packages’. Even if they weren’t technically legal, you couldn’t exactly turn down a job like this, not here, not at this level anyway. The few who did often turned up missing, and were never seen again save for a 'missing' poster here and there for a week at most. Suddenly Neon’s good mood was shattered, and she suspected her triple pay was going to be a lot harder to get.

Bright Spark pointed in a direction. “She flew off that way, where you came from.”

“Flew? So it’s a pegasus?” Neon made a mental note and licked her lips. She hadn’t seen anything strange on her way over, besides that dragon in her building. Maybe they were related, but that would be too much of a coincidence, right? “Anything else? What colour was it?”

He shook his head. “N-no, she had a horn too.”

Neon paused and looked at him curiously. “A horn and wings? What like a...” She floundered for words and waved a hoof through the air. “Pega... corn or something?” She sighed, thinking this kid was caught up in his own imagination, and clearly not fit for this kind of stuff. "What the hell was Dust thinking? Greedy jackass..."

Bright Spark nodded. “I think the term is alicorn, but that sounds right, yeah.”

She grunted unhappily and turned away. “Alright so, I gotta go clean up your mess now.” Something shiny poking out of one of the pockets of his uniform caught her eye, making her do a double take at him. She raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to him, making him stammer and start back in protest. Her horn ignited and a pink aura grabbed the object, hoisting it up into view. “What’s this, Bright?” she murmured in a monotone voice, holding up what looked like a crown made of solid gold. “Is this yours?”

The pegasus’s face dropped and he turned white as a sheet. “Oh, w-well, she gave it to m-me after she got out. She thanked me and-” He fell silent under his disapproving glare.

“Stealing from the client, and losing the package? Oh boy, your tail is fried isn’t it?” Neon unkindly sneered. She noticed his expression change, and he sank to the ground and quivered in fear. She flinched and tapped him on the shoulder, and gave her voice a soothing tone and dropped the ‘crown’ next to him. “Listen... Just... Go home, kid. This job really isn’t worth it. I’ll tell Dust you gotta take some time off, and I’ll get the package sorted. Dust won’t lose his shit with you, alright. Okay?”

He sniffed and shakily nodded his head. “Okay...” he whispered. He looked up at her with mint green eyes and looked like he was about to say something, but bit his lip and shied away.

“What?”

“Neon... I think she was a princess.”

Neon looked at his pitiful face brimming with innocence and fought to keep from bursting out with laughter. “A princess? Come on, Bright, how old are you? Princesses haven’t existed in Equestria for centuries, despite what those crazy COTS guys say. The last one was that Twilight... Whatever.”

COTS: Children Of The Sun. A weird religious gang, a cult really, of ponies who still worshipped the old magic of Equestria, and believed the sun and moon were controlled by ponies--princesses--and that the corporations in charge used artificial sun and moons to control the populace. Utter nonsense and crackpot theories, of course, but some ponies joined them out of some weird sense of searching for the truth, disillusioned by life. Outlawed and hunted by Megacity Security, any member of COTS was immediately deemed a terrorist and detained, shipped off to private jail owned by some crazy rich asshole with too much time on their hooves.

Bright Spark nodded earnestly. “I think the package was her, though, Neon. I swear she... She looked just like she did in the old vids.”

“Alright kid. Alright.” Neon shook her head and tutted. ”This kid should never have been hired, he’s nuts.” She pointed at her van. “I’m gonna go now, you got a ride home?”

“Yeah... My dad is picking me up.” His ears flattened down and smiled weakly, and spoke with a soft chuckle. “I’m probably gonna get my flank handed to me for screwing this up.”

“Probably.” Neon turned her own ears down for a minute as she realised she had spoken out loud. She coughed and gave him an awkward smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, well... I’m gonna leave now. See ya around, Bright Spark.”

“See you, Neon.”

Neon trotted back to her van and climbed in without looking back. What in Equestria was she gonna do? Tell Dust the underqualified kid he hired screwed up big time, and get the kid blacklisted? Take the blame herself and miss out on triple pay? She looked at the picture of her dad, at his goofy smile and half eaten donut, and knew what she had to do. Resting her head on the steering wheel for a minute, she realised what she had to do, and cursed her good nature. The engine started up again, and she rose into the air to set off for headquarters. “I hate being a good pony,” she muttered to herself.

Just as she hit the autodrive button and leant back, running her hooves through her mane and sighing unhappily, something moved behind her in the back of the van. She spun around and stared, wide eyed and afraid as something large wriggled underneath one of the blankets she kept there. Hesitantly and cautiously, the pink of her magic gripped the edge of the blanket and lifted it up, revealing the stowaway.

She gaped in horror as a lanky mare with large purple wings and a horn as long as a pony’s leg stared at her with wide eyes as a nervous smile twitched at her mouth. As they looked at each other time seemed to slow, and then Neon started yelling.

Two

Ten years ago...

Neon Dream winced and squirmed in her seat. She had been crying, and next to her sat a stern looking, light grey earth pony stallion with a scruffy dark mane and pointed, sharp face. Her dad, the super cop, also known as Loose Cannon.

“So are we done here?” he said. His gruff voice coming out as nothing short of a menacing growl.

His breath reeked of cigarettes and alcohol, and the jacket he wore was worn out and faded. If not for his fame, or infamy as some would say, many would assume he was just some bum off the street allowed to carry a gun for some unknowable purpose. Even the chief of his department would agree he was, as his name implied, a loose cannon at best, but the fact remained he was undeniably the best cop in the whole megacity, always getting the job done no matter what.

Opposite from him, across the table, the Headmare of Neon’s school sighed and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, secretly eager to have such a confrontational stallion out of her mane. Miss Dash Wood was a prim and proper unicorn who held an air of sensibility about her, and no small amount of sense. She knew when a fight was lost, and gracefully bowed out of this one while she could.

“I suppose so, Mr Cannon. Have a good day. I’ll see you out.” She rose from her seat.

“That won’t be necessary.” Neon’s dad gave the teacher a curt nod. His piercing eyes stared straight through the mare, almost sensing her eagerness for him and his daughter to leave.

“As you wish, Mr Cannon,” Wood said after a small pause. She looked down at the filly and smiled, although her eyes held no kindness to them. “Good day, Neon. I’ll see you in school tomorrow.” She nodded her head politely as the stallion rose from his seat and marched towards the door.

Neon said nothing but hopped down from her seat. Her eyes glued to the ground as she followed her dad out the room, and bumped into him as he stopped and looked at her.

“Say goodbye to your teacher, Neon,” he sternly told her.

“Goodbye, Miss Wood,” she mumbled quietly.

Dash Wood nodded again and released a breath she didn’t know she was holding as her office door clicked, indicating it was shut and she was free of their presence.

Tears stung at Neon’s eyes as the two ponies walked silently through the school. They breached the main doors and stepped into the sun, soon reaching the car her dad owned, an old beaten up thing that struggled to life. He opened the passenger door and jutted his head towards the seat, silently telling her to get in. Its engines coughed and sputtered as it rose into the air, and soon they were on their way home. Cannon pushed the autodrive button and stared out the window, scanning the city for any sign of trouble.

The ride home was quiet, save for the radio playing some advertisement about something or another. Neither ponies were paying any attention to it. Neon sniffed and rubbed her nose.

“Neon,” her dad said without looking at her. His voice was softer now, kinder. He always put on ‘that’ voice for the bad guys, even if those bad guys were his daughter’s school staff. He sighed and looked around at her. “You wanna talk about it?”

“He started it,” Neon mumbled defensively. “Midnight Charge, he said he was gonna be the best cop in Ponyopolis. I told him he couldn’t be.”

“Why not?” Cannon asked earnestly, trying to hide his smile.

“Because you are!” the filly cried. “You’d have to not be the best so somepony else could...” She looked up at him and noticed his eyes sparkling, and his mouth twitching into a smile as he lost that battle. “You aren’t mad?” she worryingly asked.

Cannon waved his hoof and tousled her mane. “I would be mad if you lost, kid.” He winked at her, eliciting a giggle from her. “From what that shrew of a mare said, you did a real number on him.”

Neon nodded eagerly and grinned. “I heard he was gonna need stitches.”

“Ewwwww, gruesome.” Cannon laughed and put a hoof around her, pulling her in close to him. “Hey,” he said and kissed the top of her head, resting his muzzle amidst her mane and looked out the window. “You gotta stay out of fights, alright?” he told her.

She looked up at him, puzzled. “But you always say-”

“Yeah, sometimes you gotta, I know.” Her dad chuckled dryly and sighed. “Sometimes you just gotta, I know that better than anypony, believe me.” He looked down at her, his eyes shining with no small amount of pride. “But sometimes you also gotta know when to do the right thing. That’s more important. Fighting kids at school isn’t the right thing, unless they really deserve it, alright?”

“What makes them really deserve it?” Neon innocently asked with wide eyes, seemingly missing the point entirely.

Cannon laughed and leant back. “Say if they hurt another kid, or commit a crime in front of you.” He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. “What do we say to those kids?” he growled, his voice returning to the previous gravel he used speaking to Miss Wood. His daughter squealed in joy and sat up in her seat, licking her lips and looking at him intently.

She narrowed her own eyes and set her own jaw, mimicking his appearance as best she could, and with the best gravelly voice she could muster, spoke. “Are ya feelin’ lucky, punk?”

Cannon threw his head back and howled with laughter, and put his hoof around the filly again and gave her a cuddle. “That’s my girl!”

They laughed and made fun together for the rest of the journey. Soon they approached the landing point for their apartment block, and Cannon regained control of the beat up tin can, guiding them down gently. Sooner still they were outside their apartment. The grizzled detective opened the door, sliding it open. Neon trotted in happily, and immediately planted herself in front of the television to start watching some cartoons.

Cannon smiled and draped his jacket over a nearby chair, turning to look out the window with a faraway look in his eye. His phone started ringing, causing him to sigh and turn around. He moved to where the sound was coming from, moved some stacks of folders of old cases in an attempt to find it and grunted in annoyance. The small glow of pink caught his eye, and chuckled as his still ringing phone was being held up by his magically inclined daughter. He took it from her magical grasp and nodded to her, answering it with a smile that quickly faded.

“Cannon,” he sharply stated. The voice on the other end said something inaudible to young Neon, try as she could to listen in.

“Right now? Alright, be there in five.” Her dad looked down at her and smiled as he hung up. “That was Sal,” he told her.

“Uncle Sal need some more help catching bad guys?” she asked with a cheeky grin.

His smile grew and he strode over to her. “That’s right, kiddo. Just don’t ever let him hear you say that.” He glanced up at the cartoons on screen and grimaced. “You gonna be good for a few hours?”

“Aha. Optimus is gonna fight Megatron in this episode,” she told him.

Canon gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead, fully unaware of what she was talking about, but smiled all the same. “Good. There’s a few cups of insta-noodles in the fridge if you want something to eat.” He tousled her bright pink mane once more. “I love you, Neon.”

“Love you too dad,” Neon replied and gave his leg a small cuddle. On her cartoon, one about big alien robot ponies transforming into vehicles, her favourite good guy had just begin to fight the big bad guy, so she quickly shushed him and leant forwards to get a better look, paying no more heed to her dad as he made his way out.

Cannon laughed and turned towards the door, grabbing his jacket on the way. Upon exiting, his face was wiped clean of the joyousness his daughter brought to him, and was now wrought with worry. He sorely hoped he was wrong about this latest case of his. He descended the stairs and made a phone call. “It’s me,” he said after a second of ringing. “I’m heading there now. I hope you’re right about this...”

Many, many hours later, as storm clouds broke over the city, Neon Dream was enjoying some insta-noodles, browsing the late night channels only adults usually got to look at, and waited for her dad to come home.

”Some mares do some weird exercises,” she thought and tilted her head to get a better look at the mare currently on screen, doing some sort of stretching on a mattress. When a knock came at the door, she quickly changed the channel and tried to not blush, and hurried to answer. She climbed on the step her dad installed for her and peered out the peephole.

With a smile, she recognised her uncle Sal and opened the door for him, unable to realise than in a few short moments, her entire life would come crashing down round her.

***

The present day...

“This is company property, not some taxi service! Get the hell out!”

Neon Dream flared her nostrils and jabbed a shaking hoof at her stowaway, Bright Spark's words just a few moments ago pushing through every other thought she had The mare in question raised her hooves defensively and began to stammer.

“Please, I didn’t mean--you have to believe me, I never-”

“Save it!” Neon snapped. “I’ve already got a crappy mess on my hooves and I don’t need a princ...”

Neon’s eyes traced over the horn, and the feathery wings behind whoever this stowaway was and licked her lips. The delivery pony felt sweat begin to dot her forehead, and she breathed a single word.

“Princess...”

The mysterious stowaway mare sighed unhappily and lowered her head. “Yes, I’m a princess, the Princess of Friendship, and I need to get back to Canterlot and warn somepony. I’ve made a terrible mistake and I need help. Do you know where Princesses Celestia or Luna are?”

“A mistake..?” Neon looked away in disbelief. “Celestia? Luna?” Her eyes bore a hole into the side of her van as a giggle escaped her. “I’ve gone nuts, that’s it. I knew this job would push me over the edge.” She looked up at the picture of her dad and felt her heart heave. “Oh boy, I need a drink.”

Her unwelcome guest looked at her carefully, and then looked up at the picture. Sudden realisation dawned on her as she put two and two together. “Was he an officer?” she asked quietly.

Neon snorted dismissively and snapped back. “What, you get that because he’s eating a donut? A bit stereotypical wouldn’t you say, princess? Do you like getting captured by dragons and getting rescued by handsome princes too?”

The mare turned her ears down and frowned. “I didn’t-”

“Well he was, besides.” Neon pointed a hoof up at him. “You’re looking at the best damn cop in all of Ponyopolis.” She sighed and turned her hoof towards herself. “And I’m the best damn delivery pony in Ponyopolis, so we’re very similar,” she bitterly and sarcastically muttered. She looked up at the roof of the van, tutted at a cobweb she hadn’t spotted before, and sighed again. “Such is life in Ponyopolis if you’re a drekhead like me.”

The stowaway extended a hoof and paused, intending to offer some comforting words. She didn’t know what to say, though, she didn’t understand this word ‘drekhead’ or this other word the pony used to describe where they were.

“Ponyopolis?” Her brow furrowed. “What’s Ponyopolis?”

Neon rose herself out of her misery and gave her a questioning look. “Whaddaya mean, ‘what's Ponyopolis’? Megacity numero uno? The biggest apple? Bigger than the biggest apple? Here, well... around us, anyway, not here here. This is my van. I’m talking too much.” She ran a hoof trough her mane and leant back against the driver’s seat. “Who are you anyway? Really?”

The mare straightened up and held her head high. ”She sure acts like a princess,” thought Neon with a snort.

“I told you, I’m the Princess of Friendship. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The princess paused as Neon’s expression changed from mild irritation and disbelief to utter horror. “I made... Something went wrong, I made a mistake and I need help to fix it. Do you know whe-”

Neon pushed her own jaw closed and interrupted, waving her hooves about. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait... Twilight... Sparkle?”

“That’s right.” Twilight flexed her wings, wincing as they gently grazed the sides of the van. She felt terrible, like she had just woken up from a thousand year sleep. Her head pounded, and her throat felt itchy and dry. She didn’t realise how hungry she was either, and her stomach grumbled audibly.

Neon leant forwards, focusing on her features. “Twilight. Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah.” Visible worry spread over her face in confusion as the unicorn continued to stare at her like she was a museum exhibit. “Do you know me?”

“Know you? Heh... you’re dead.”

The circulated air of the vehicle seemed to grow colder. Outside the world raced on without them, ponies all around them speeding on their way to their destinations, not giving a second glance to the stationary van as it lay there suspended in mid-air.

“I’m... dead?” Twilight whispered in horror. Her face turned pale, and she leant against the side of the van. “But I’m not...”

Neon blinked and wrinkled her nose. “Is that some of that legendary princess deduction skills they talk about?” Her ears splayed down as Twilight fixed her with a cold glare and grabbed the button used to open the van doors. “Look-” She pressed it, and the side of the van opened up. Light poured forth, making them both squint and shield their eyes. “This is Ponyopolis...”

Twilight stared in abject terror at the urban sprawl before her. Her chest felt tight, and her breath came heavy as she looked at the mass of skyscrapers, metal boxes like the one she was currently in flying through the air, and massive glowing posters showing smiling ponies holding strange devices.

“Dear sweet Celestia... what happened?” she whispered. The princess turned to the delivery pony. “What year is it?” she asked, her voice barely above a squeak.

“What do you mean ‘what year is it’?” Neon grumbled sulkily and pressed the button again, closing the loading doors and enshrouding them in the quiet dark of the van once again. “You’re a princess, right? Just use some of that superpower you ponies are supposed to have.”

“Please, just tell me...”

Neon looked into the strange pony’s eyes and saw true fear, true desperation she hadn’t really seen before. It scared her. She swallowed and stiffened her neck and begrudgingly mumbled. “2777.”

Twilight strained her ears. “I’m sorry I didn’t-”

“2777,” Neon repeated, louder, and inspected her hoof as nonchalantly as possible.

The princess turned as white as a sheet, like she’d just seen a ghost. “27...77...” The princess pulled back from the window and grew quiet as she began to pace as best she could in the back of the delivery van, repeating the number to herself quietly.

Neon stopped inspecting her hoof and looked at her stowaway. She remembered Bright Spark’s words again, and furrowed her brow. “Didn’t you just fly past here? Shouldn’t you have seen all this?” The van shook as a truck soared past them, bringing a roar of noise and foul smelling fumes in its wake.

Twilight paused in her pacing and gave her a curious glance. “No? I... woke up and that nice colt told me to get into a van when it arrives, I assumed this was it.” She swallowed nervously. “I panicked. It’s possible I might have gotten in the wrong thing. I’m not even sure what a ‘van’ is.”

“Nice colt?” Neon cocked an eyebrow and lowered her voice to a growl. “Bright Spark? Why I oughta...” Now that she thought about it, while Bright had been talking to her she vaguely recalled the sound of a car door closing. She guessed that was when Twilight had climbed aboard.

The princess frowned. “He didn’t say his name. Do you know him?”

“Not willingly.” Neon shook her head slowly. His words rang out in her head again and she stamped at the ground, startling the princess somewhat. “Ohhhh... I get it now. This is a setup,” she growled and looked up at the princess. “He was probably part of COTS. He said he thought you were a princess, he must have been playing dumb. That son of a-”

“COTS?” Twilight wrinkled her nose and twisted her face. “I’m sorry... I don’t understand,” she said.

Neon sighed again and grew irritated at the incessant questions. “Children of the Sun. Bunch of crazies if you ask me.” She groaned as the princess’s face seemed to light up and cursed her own big mouth.

“What makes them crazies?” Twilight innocently asked.

Neon snorted. “I guess they want to bring back the princesses? I figured you're all just stories but I guess if you’re here then the others might still be around somewhere? I’m not one hundred percent sure, you know. I’m just a delivery pony.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “I’m not even sure if I’m that anymore now.” She sighed and slumped down against the back of her seat again. Her gut wrenched at itself as she struggled with her thoughts.

Outside, the roar of traffic and bustle of the city continued on, as it always did.

“I need to get to Canterlot,” Twilight said quietly, looking at the unicorn warily. “I need to find Celestia, somepony--anypony--who can tell me what happened.”

Neon looked up at her and mumbled something. She clamped a hoof over her mouth immediately and shook her head.

“What was that?”

“Mmm. Nothing.”

“Please.” Twilight looked down at the delivery pony and smiled. Her eyes twinkled with kindness and friendliness, a rare thing in this city.

Neon slowly and reluctantly moved her hoof from her mouth. “I said... I can’t believe I’m saying this... I said I’ve got some holopads that detail... what happened.” She looked away and scratched at her nose. “I... suppose I can show you?”

Twilight beamed at her and felt tears begin to water her eyes. “Thank you, that would he super helpful. But I don’t even know your name.” She straightened up and held a hoof out.

The unicorn looked at her hoof warily. She cleared her throat and slowly extended her own, touching the princess’s as lightly as possible. “Neon Dream.”

“Neon Dream. A pleasure to meet you.” The princess continued to smile as the world raced by them. “What do we do then?”

“We?” Neon chortled nervously. “We don’t do anything, I get in the front and turn this thing around, and then we go to my place.” She regarded the princess and stood up. “You just... sit there and try not to move. I don’t know how heavy pegacorns are, but-”

“Alicorn.”

“What?”

“Alicorn. A pony with wings and a horn. It’s what I am, not a pegacorn.” Twilight began to blush under her unwitting rescuer’s cold gaze and sat down. “But, um... carry--carry on.” Her wings rustled in discomfort.

Neon glared for a few moments more and turned around. Before she climbed back over into the front seat, she pressed the button to close the van’s side doors, enshrouding them in darkness for a moment as their eyes adjusted. With a heavy sigh she gripped the steering wheel with trembling hooves and paused. ”What am I doing?” she asked herself. She glanced up at the picture of her dad again and remembered something he said, a long time ago.

”You gotta know when to do the right thing...”

She laughed once and turned the ignition key. The van sputtered to life and slowly turned around. She didn’t know if helping this ‘alicorn’ was necessarily the right thing to do, but something told her to. She just hoped things couldn’t get any worse than they already had as they sped towards her apartment block.

The thing about Ponyopolis, something Neon seemed to forget temporarily, is that things can always get worse.

Three

High, high above the city, in one of the many skyscrapers that jabbed up at the heavens, in the boardroom of the largest corporation in Ponyopolis, several clean cut ponies looked around at each other nervously. Their boss, the CEO of GlowCorp, sat in a chair at one end of the table facing away from them.

The dark room was lit by glowing red lamps that lined the walls, and the sleek, black architecture was a stark contrast to the vibrant colours of the outside world.

“So can somepony please explain to me what happened?” she asked quietly. Her sweet, innocent sounding voice struck fear into the hearts of all those gathered. At the far end of the table sat one Mr Grey Dust, owner and operator of Grey’s Delivery Company. His balding head had what was left of his greasy mane plastered to it, and his wrinkled grey suit struggled to contain his large form.

“Anypony?”

All eyes shifted down the table from the boss to Mr Dust, who nervously cleared his throat and pulled at his tie.

“W-well, you see, um, boss, the thing is-”

A light giggling was heard from behind the boss’s big chair. A small, light pink hoof reached over from the other side and waved in the air. “Is that an excuse I hear, Mr Dust?”

Several of the executives closest to her visibly squirmed and shrunk away form her. “I, uh...” Dust stammered and pulled at his collar for the nth time.

The boss’s chair spun around to reveal her in all her short glory. The CEO was, strangely, a filly, for all intents and purposes. On the outside, she held this constant demeanour of innocence and childlike wonder amid an unassuming form, but inside, underneath all that, there beat the heart of a vicious predator, willing to do whatever it takes to stay on top. She was the mastermind behind all innovative technology of Ponyopolis. The big boss, the pony on top of the world. She was the de-facto ruler of all of Equestria now. She was Ponyopolis. She was Equestria.

She placed two of her hooves together and swished her curly light blue mane out of her eyes. The large bow she wore added to her unassuming form, and she really didn’t look very threatening at all, making Mr Dust relax and breathe a sigh of relief. Her scarlet eyes narrowed at him as he smiled.

“Something funny, Mr Dust?” she said.

He shook his head, his smile quickly dropped. “N-no, Miss Glow.”

Cozy Glow surveyed the entire room, all the executives wearing all their neat suits and slicked back hair, and sighed. “Aw that’s a shame. Today’s been real hard guys.” She noticed a few of them untense and felt a smile creep up on her. “Anypony got a good joke?”

Silence answered her. One of the suits coughed nervously.

“Oh okay,” Cozy frowned and tapped her hooves on the Everfree wood table. She suddenly stood up and broke into a large smile. “Oh I got one! You ready, guys?”

All eyes were fixed on the young filly. The tension and dread in the room was palpable, setting every one of them on edge.

“What do you get, when you let one of the most dangerous ponies in Equestria walk around free?” Her voice struck them like an ice cold shower.

As she spoke, a door to the side of the room opened as if on command, revealing two of the most prominent figures in all of Ponyopolis. The first was the head of Megacity Security, a large, red creature with the lower half of a pony and the top half of a gorilla, minus his large horns and iron ring hanging from his nose, and to his side none other than the synthpopstar sensation Love Pulse, a radiantly beautiful sparkling white unicorn with silver hair and feathered hooves. They, combined with Cozy Glow, practically ran the entire city.

While Cozy was the mastermind and kept them all on top of the world, Tirek, the large red menace himself took charge of Ponyopolis security, and was the ‘muscle’ of the trio. He abolished the police of Ponyopolis in favour for heavily cybered creatures stripped of magic, what were essentially mindless drones and more of a private army than a real police force. Any real cops who remained had long since been forced into retirement, or met tragic ends in the field of duty.

Love Pulse, meanwhile, was an anomaly. She came from seemingly from nowhere and quickly built a fanbase for herself, becoming idolised and practically worshipped by the masses. Rumours abounded that she used magic with her vocalisations, and enchanted the city under a spell. Obvious nonsense, of course, and any who dared say such things were quickly silenced. She took charge of gathering information for her partners, and regularly fed them what she learned when she wasn’t basking in the adoration and love of her fans.

The room remained silent as the newcomers entered and flanked their partner on either side.

“Anypony? No?” the CEO of GlowCorp giggled. “Well, lemme tell ya! You get...” Her expression grew into a sadistic grin, and she jabbed her hoof at Mr Dust, who cowered and quivered in his chair. “Deleted.”

The head of Megacity Security raised his right hand, a hulking mess of wires and metal fused into flesh and bone that formed a cannon, and grinned as the barrel began to glow orange and hum to life. The delivery boss shrieked and fell back in his chair as a jet of energy poured forth, aimed directly at him. The three city bosses grinned together as the rest of the room looked on in silence.

“Please! Please! It--It was that Neon Dream! She took your package, and some new kid I hired--I asked Neon to pick it up for you. I-if she stole it take it up with her!” he wailed and cowered behind his seat.

Tirek paused and glanced at his partners. Love Pulse looked on with mild interest, and Cozy Glow simply waved her hoof. The centaur lowered his arm cannon and flared his nostrils. “Get out,” he growled.

Dust quickly picked himself up and made to leave, waddling away with his tail tucked between his legs. He turned to thank them. “I’m gonna get on the horn to her right away, your, uh... redness?” He winced and turned to leave.

Tirek called out to him. “Thank you for your contribution, Mr Grey Dust.” He grinned maliciously as the fat stallion turned around with a smile that quickly faded as the cannon hummed to life once more.

Dust threw his hooves up to protect himself. His scream was silent as light engulfed him, and soon only his wrinkled, lightly smoking clothes were left. Tirek pulled his hand back and smacked his lips together. “Delicious,” he chuckled. He flexed his arm. “Never been easier, thanks to this so-called technology of yours.”

“Thanks big guy.” Cozy smiled up at one of the few creatures she would call a friend and turned back to the remaining board members as they looked on in horror. “Now... who’s this ‘Neon Dream’?”

One of the suits coughed and typed in a command on her holopad. The projected image of a cyan pony with spiky pink hair appeared above the centre of the table. “Neon Dream,” she said as all of them looked up at the projected image as a stream of data ran next to it. “Twenty years old, currently employed by the late Mr Grey Dust, according to her file she was affiliated with the anarchist Cherry Bomb in her youth.”

Tirek raised an eyebrow and leant forwards. He inspected the image of the pony and scratched his chin. “Any family? Anypony to raise a fuss if she were to... disappear?”

The mare tapped a few more buttons on her holopad and showed them. “Biological father: Detective Loose Cannon, deceased. Adopted father: Detective Salazar Mander, alive, retired. Mother: unknown, presumed dead.”

Tirek frowned and tapped his chin. “Loose Cannon, eh? Clear the room,” he barked suddenly. The executives stood and quickly made to leave, avoiding the wrinkled suit, which was thing more than a grim reminder of the fate of any who displeased the trio or harmed the city in any way.

The mare with the holopad was the last to leave. She glanced up at the hologram and shivered, and then trotted out the room quickly.

Cozy frowned. “Who’s this Loose Cannon guy?” she asked.

Love Pulse chuckled. “That, Cozy Glow, would have been the pony who almost exposed us with the aid of that infernal Celestia ten years ago.” She gave her silver mane a flourish. Her voice sounded like a song, flowing through the air, melodic and regal. “We had to deal with him, if you recall?”

The filly smacked her forehead. “Ohhh that guy! yeah I remember him. He was funny.” She puffed out her chest and lowered her head, putting on a deep voice. “You’ll never get away with this!” she mockingly imitated the deceased stallion and chuckled to herself as she fell back in her chair.

“Yes, well, if you’re quite finished,” Pulse snapped. A bright shimmer surrounded her for a moment, and her true form was revealed to them both.

Queen Chrysalis, formerly of the Changeling Hive, pointed her cruel looking and jagged horn towards the hologram. “I thought ‘Megacity Security’ was supposed to be dealing with this!” she snarled. “I’ve built my own empire from the simple idiots of this city! I have all the food I could ever want, and we lost Twilight Sparkle? How?! This could ruin us!”

Tirek rounded on her and flexed his chrome arm. “Listen, insect, if we-”

The two quickly fell into another shouting match. Cozy closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, her eyebrow twitching as they argued like an old divorced couple, with her as the young filly they shared custody of. She began quietly debating with herself on what to do, forming a plan of attack as it were, in order to retrieve their hated enemy that united them in purpose. Suddenly it came to her, and a wide grin broke out across her face.

“Quiet!” Cozy demanded and glared at them both. She reached up and put a hoof around them both, pulling them down to her height and smiled at them. “Listen, as long as nopony finds out the truth, we’ll be alright, right? What’s one pony gonna do against little old us, and the entire city under our hooves?”

“Megacity,” Tirek interjected with a grin. “Nothing.” Chrysalis also couldn’t help but grin after realising the filly was right.

“See! That’s what I’m talking about, big red!” Cozy beamed at him and flapped her small wings. She rose into the air and landed on the table and turned to face them. “Now, here’s what we do, alright?”

She laid out her plan for her comrades, as they both grinned maliciously and listened intently.

Several minutes later and once finished, Chrysalis changed back into her ‘idol’ form of Love Pulse, and sent a message to her various showrunners across Ponyopolis that she was going to be making an appearance at one of her clubs soon. If Neon Dream was indeed working with Twilight Sparkle, then they needed the city on their side, and who else could garner support than the beloved Love Pulse? Tirek sent a secure message to his entire force and put out an all points bulletin on Neon Dream, deeming her a dangerous criminal and labelling her a threat to the safety of the city and its inhabitants.

As they went their separate ways, soon Cozy Glow was all that was left in the boardroom of her enterprise. She began to giggle, which turned into a cackle, and then into a roar of laughter as she threw her head back and howled like a madpony.

***

“Alright, here,” Neon Dream grunted and thrust some holopads towards Twilight. “Here just... read these. They’ll explain everything. I think. I hope.”

Her apartment, her home, her fortress of solitude, now playing host to none other than the long dead Twilight Sparkle. She couldn’t help but laugh at her predicament.

Twilight looked at the strange technology and turned one over in her hooves. “What are these things? They look like books but... made of light?” She furrowed her brow and pushed her hoof through the words ‘written’ on the screen, and quickly yanked it back with a small yelp.

The grumpy unicorn opposite her rolled her eyes as she stepped out of her company uniform, bundling it up into a ball and casting it aside. “Well they’re not gonna bite you,” she muttered. “Look.” She lifted one up with her magic and pointed to the screen. “You push this button right here, this one, when you wanna read something. From there it takes you to another page, where you read what’s on there, you get it?”

The princess’s brow remained furrowed. “What happened to books?”

“Hmph. What happened to paper, more like.”

Twilight looked at Neon and her brow only furrowed further. “What do you mean?”

“Well, there aren’t any trees anymore, so there isn’t any paper being made, so there aren’t any books being made."

The alicorn’s jaw fell open. “What happened to the trees?!”

“Ah jeez,” Neon snapped and turned away. “Look your worshipfulness, just read the damn history reports on it, they’ll tell you everything you wanna know--get off my back about it already.” Without another word she grabbed her phone and flicked it open, noting the several missed calls and text messages--all from her boss. Or former boss as some of the messages indicated. She counted the words ‘you’re fired’ at least a dozen times in the first three messages alone. With a sigh she deleted the voicemails without listening to them, and took a deep breath.

“Shit,” she muttered. “Shit... shit, shit shhhit.” She gave an angry kick to a nearby box of her stuff and continued to curse. She slammed a hoof against the wall as well and hung her head in defeat. “...Shit.”

Twilight watched her sadly. She opened her mouth to say something, but again words failed her. She was in a strange new world, far from the Equestria she knew and loved, with a strange pony with something of an anger problem. “Is there anything I can do?” she eventually asked, hopeful if nothing else that she could lend a comforting hoof to her saviour, as unwilling as she may seem.

Neon straightened up and ran a hoof through her mane. “Yeah... there is.” She turned to face the princess, her face wretched and hollow looking. “Can you go back in time and not ruin my life?”

The princess winced. “I’m... sorry, Neon. I didn’t mean...”

Neon waved a hoof and slumped down against the wall. Her horn lit up with magic. The sound of something opening in the other room made Twilight’s ear twitch. Soon enough two bottles floated into view, to which Neon dropped one in her own lap and offered the other to the princess, who took it and sniffed it as the caps were twisted off. The pink glow subsided, and Neon took a sip from her bottle.

“Ugh!” Twilight cried, and thrust the bottle away from herself and pawed at her nose. “What is that?”

“Beer.” Neon chuckled as she stuck the bottle in her mouth and began to chug it, much to the princess’s mild horror. Finished, she dropped it and burped loudly. She smacked her lips together and clicked her tongue, wholly unsatisfied with it. “You ever drink, princess?” she wondered.

Twilight shook her head and gave the bottle a wary glance. “I like cider every now and then around Hearth’s Warming...”

“Ahhh cider! The good stuff!” Neon chuckled dryly. Hearth's Warming was something she always used to look forward to. She, her dad and Sal would always swap gifts and tell stories, usually of cases the two partners had worked. She grew sad as old memories, sad memories, came to her in an instant. “Speaking of apples-” She interrupted her own thoughts and stood up. “You hungry?”

As if to answer her, Twilight’s stomach let loose an audible grumble.

“Ill take that as a yes. I was planning on getting some stuff on my way home. Guess I’ll do that now.” The former delivery pony sighed and shook her head. “Listen, just stay here, don’t answer the door for anything, and I’ll be back soon. Read the holopads, for the lot of good it’ll do you.”

Twilight turned to look down at the strange device in her hooves. “Holopad,” she murmured. “I would have preferred a book, but... this’ll do. I have a lot to catch up on, I guess.” She looked up at Neon and smiled. “Thank you, Neon.” Without anything else, she focused herself on reading the holographic pages, pouring over the knowledge of the past seven hundred years or so she had missed in her absence.

Neon paused before heading out. “You’re... welcome,” she mumbled quietly, then opened he door and left to get some groceries. Thankfully, the nearest superstore was just down the street, and without her uniform she blended right in with the masses going about their daily lives. She wondered what she would do now, now that she was out of a job. No doubt Dust would send somepony after her, and after the ‘package’. She winced and crossed the concrete ground, thanking whoever built this mess of a city put platforms up near ponies’ houses.

“Maybe I’ll see if Sal has anything,” she murmured. She hadn’t seen the old dragon in a few weeks. Now would be the perfect time to visit him, and she hoped he wasn’t in touch with any of his old buddies on the force even after getting canned.

Neon soon reached the superstore and marched inside, thinking if she looked like an average pony not harbouring a long lost princess of Equestria, then nopony would think she was harbouring a long lost princess of Equestria. She sighed and shook her head, forcing a smile onto her face as she began grabbing some food supplies, and hoped she had enough karma left for it.

Karma became the currency of Ponyopolis soon after the corporations took hold. Physical money became a thing of the past, what with metal being used to mass produce building materials and gold quickly being mined to exhaustion. Thus the karmic system was put in place, so instead of getting paid with physical cash, a pony, or any creature for that matter, would get points towards their karma for doing their jobs. Some jobs, like a cop for instance for instance, got you solid blocks of karma that could last you for ages, even make you rich if you had a good grasp of finance. Some jobs like a corporate representative got you so much more, and could afford you the really nice things in life.

Jobs like a janitor or garbage collector, however, were the barebones of society and you’d have to ration it out to afford to feed yourself. The higher your karma, the richer you were in a sense. The poorer in karma you were, the closer to a terrible end you got. Neon herself was somewhere in the middle, not earning too much or too little, and managed to save what she could, all for her dad’s dream of retiring somewhere sunny. It hit her like a truck when she realised she was probably never going to get that dream fulfilled, thanks to Twilight and her sudden visitation.

“That’s not fair,” she told herself. “It’s not her fault that she’s...” She suddenly became very aware she was speaking in public, despite the aisle she currently walked down being completely empty. Her ears swivelled around as she listened for anypony approaching, and quickly filled up her cart with the last of the things she needed in silence. Tins mostly, with a few dehydrated things in case they needed to leave quickly.

Why she thought they might need to leave quickly she didn’t know, but something in her instinct, mixed with her dad’s teachings, told her to always be prepared. She pressed her hoof on the checkout pad and breathed a sigh of relief as the payment went through. "Thank you Mr Dust for never doing your paperwork." Her former boss was notorious for doing that, and as long as she was still registered as having a job she had karma to spend. She debated for a moment on whether she should buy as much as possible to save her the trouble, but decided against it, thinking it would be too much work.

Just as she was bagging up her items, a news report flashed on the billboard across the street. She cocked and ear and listened out to it, caring only to glance over for a split second through the store's doors. She froze and gaped in horror as her own mugshot stared back at her. A glory shot from her heyday as a rebellious teenager.

“Breaking news!” the newscaster exclaimed. “Neon Dream, known to be an anarchist and suspected to have terrorist affiliations, recently broke into the bank of GlowCorp and stole an item of extreme importance from the vault. If spotted, please do not approach, and calmly inform your local authorities. The suspect is considered extremely hostile and dangerous. More on this story to follow.”

Neon grabbed her bags and darted out of the store, trying to hide her face as much as possible. Ponies all around her stared up at the billboard, making note of the angry looking rebel. The bags she held with her magic both helped and hindered her here, as for fear of being seen she looked down at the ground, unable to see where she was going. “Shit, shit, shit,” she repeated to herself quietly. “What am I gonna do? Sal. Sal would know what to do-”

She interrupted herself by stumbling into somepony, mumbling an apology and tried to pick up her stuff as quick as possible. “Hey! Watch where you’re-” The stallion she bumped into started in irritation. He gaped and pointed in horror at her. “That’s her! That’s that anarchist!” he cried. Soon more ponies started to point and gasp, and the stallion backed up away from her. “Somepony get security!”

“Ahhh hell,” Neon muttered. Her apartment building door was right there, if she could just reach it... An idea came to her in that moment. She licked her lips and ignited her horn and widened her eyes. “Move! Or I’ll blow you all to smithereens!” she yelled as manically as possible. They already thought she was an ‘anarchist’ and had ‘terrorist affiliations’, why not just add fire to the fuel, at least to get out of there while she could.

The crowd scrambled to get away from her, shrieking and crying amongst themselves in a frenzy of fear and sudden panic. All save one, strange, tall, purple dragon with green spines, who watched her from a distance before he too disappeared. Neon quickly grabbed what supplies she could and dashed to the door of her block. There was nopony around now to see her enter, thankfully, but she could hear the sirens getting close already. ”Jeez they were fast,” she thought with panic rising in her. She pushed the door open and darted up the stars to her apartment door. She fumbled with her keycard and dropped the bags. “Come on... Got it!”

The door slid open and she thrust the bags inside before leaping in and frantically closing the door behind her. Twilight looked around in a start and leapt to her hooves. “Oh my gosh, Neon, what happened?”

“They know.” Neon gasped. “They know you’re awake, whoever they are.” She giggled as Twilight looked into the whites of her eyes. “They know and they’re coming. I’m a wanted mare.” Her breath, like her words, came short and ragged as she began to panic. “Ponies recognised me outside. We can’t stay here. Shit. Shit, shit, shit shitshitshit-”

The princess placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. “Neon? Look at me.” She cupped the unicorn’s face in her hooves and forced her to turn after a second. “Can you hear me?”

Neon stared into her eyes and felt the panic begin to quell. “Yeah... I hear you, Twilight...” she whispered. She hadn’t felt this helpless before, not since her dad...

“Everything’s gonna be f-” Twilight suddenly shot up and stared at the door. She sensed something terrible coming, and instinctively folded her wings around the unicorn.

“What are you-” Neon began, just as an almighty explosion rocked the world around them. With a flash of magenta light, she found herself outside, on the ground, in an alleyway somewhere. Her stomach churned and she promptly turned to throw up. After wiping the trace of spittle from her mouth she looked at Twilight in wonder, and no small amount of awe. “What was that?” she murmured. Smoke rose up above the city, and Twilight shakily stood, panting heavily.

“I haven’t done any magic in a while, I wasn’t sure if I could...” she mumbled with a smile. “I guess I can...”

Neon stood and looked towards the smoke. She squinted, and saw the last remnants of her apartment on fire. “They blew it up? Were they aiming for us?”

“I suspect so, Neon. Come on, we need to go.” Twilight looked around and frowned. “But where?”

The princess seemed surer of herself now, thought Neon. ”Maybe all that reading helped her get a better grasp of her situation?” She felt dread build up inside her as the thought of living off the grid came to her. “I... might know a place,” she said quietly.

They both flattened themselves against the wall as a large crowd of ponies suddenly marched past the alley entrance. Traffic was, for once, at a stand still in the air. Neon swallowed hard. No doubt security was looking for them, poking through the wreckage of her home. It dawned on her hat they tried to do, and a scowl quickly spread over her face. “Those bastards blew up my apartment!” she grumbled.

“Neon! Focus! Where are we going?” Twilight harshly asked.

After a moment’s silence Neon turned to her. “My dad’s place. In the dragon district.” She twisted her face and tapped her chin as she looked at Twilight’s back. “You gotta cover those up.”

“My wings?” Twilight looked back at them and noticed the tips of her feathers were singed, causing her to tut. “Eh, that’ll buffer out. What with?”

Neon looked around for anything they could use. As if some divine force was looking out for her, she spotted a large tarp currently not in use. “That would do.”

Twilight gave it a disdainful look and rustled her wings. “But that belongs to somepony else doesn’t it?”

“I don’t think we can afford to be picky now, princess.”

“Please, just call me Twilight, Neon. I don’t feel like much of a princess.” Twilight’s expression grew dark, distant. Neon noticed the look in her eye and shivered.

”Maybe letting her read those holopads wasn’t the best thing to do unsupervised,” she thought with a wince. She felt like she should say something inspirational, but how can somepony be inspirational to a princess who has lost everything? Those holopads no doubt held a many deep and dark truths nopony should have to learn, considering they were written well after Twilight’s ‘death’ and well after her time in the sun. The unicorn pitied her in a way. She shook her head and grabbed the tarp, holding it up with her magic.

Neon cautiously approached the princess with it, the warm pink glow of her magic illuminating he alleyway around them for a moment. “Let’s... um... here, Twilight,” she murmured, eager to get going as another crowd of ponies marched past them, thankfully paying them no heed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Twilight gave a stiff nod, rousing herself from her thoughts. “I guess. Is it heavy?”

“You’re a big pony, you can manage it.”

“I’m not that big--ahh!” Twilight’s legs buckled under the sudden weight thrust onto her back. She scowled as the unicorn laughed, and straightened herself up as best she could.

“See? I told you you’d manage.”

The princess shot her a look and stuck her tongue out before breaking into a large smile. It was nice to laugh, even when the world seemed as cold and unfriendly as it did right now. “So where’s this dragon district?”

“About five miles that way-” Neon pointed down the alley, noticing again the princess’s faraway look in her eye, no doubt probably thinking of her old friends and family. She tapped her chin and turned around. “...Or that way.” She groaned and rubbed her head. “Jeez I don’t know.”

Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry, Neon, we can just start walking can’t we?”

Neon shrugged her off and turned away. “We don’t even know where. We need an info terminal. They’re dotted around the city. They have maps. If we can download one, then...” she trailed off, and started pacing, trying to think. ”What would dad do? Grab a gun and raise hell, probably. Unhelpful here, Neon.” She cursed herself silently. She wasn’t her dad. She had never once tried to be her dad, she didn’t even know if she had the stones to be a cop, let alone the temperament. Her dad was a hero, and she was just... her.

“I don’t know, Twilight...” Neon mumbled eventually, and stared up at the alicorn, now wearing the tarp like a weird shawl. “What do you think?”

Twilight stepped forwards. Her face unreadable as her eyes pierced into the young mare’s own. “Take a deep breath, Neon. Relax. You know this place better than I do.” She spoke like a teacher, not like the ones Neon had had growing up, who only cared about getting paid, but like a real teacher, one who understood her student’s suffering and guided them to victory. “What’s the first thing we should do?”

Neon puffed her cheeks out and kept pacing. “Well, we need to stay out of sight as much as possible. You got enough juice in you to do that magic thing?”

Twilight nodded.

“Good. That should help.” Neon exhaled slowly and stopped pacing. She closed her eyes and furiously tried to think of how best to get to Sal’s. She opened her eyes and turned to the princess as a mad thought passed through her mind. “I might have something... listen...”

As she spoke, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Although she didn’t seem like it at first, the young unicorn would have been a prime candidate for Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns. The princess’s heart heaved for all the ponies she failed, and tears began to sting at her eyes again. She blinked them away and focused on the present, listening to Neon as clouds began to form in the sky above, casting a dark shadow over Ponyopolis.

Author's Note

Quick question, would ya'lls like to see exactly what happened to Twilight next chapter, or save that for a later time?

Four

Seven years ago...

Sal Mander groaned and rubbed in between his eyes. “When are you gonna learn, Neon?”

Neon Dream stood next to him as they exited the building, the bright pink markings on her face now just the faintest traces of graffiti paint, and the dark jacket she wore adorned with various markings from different groups. She shrugged and looked away. “Beats me,” she stubbornly said.

The dragon grunted and marched across the street, letting the teenage filly trot to catch up with him. “Listen Neon, this Cherry Bomb is bad business. You keep hanging out with her and I can’t keep bailing you out like this.”

Tensions had been high between the pair of them for a while, and arguments between them were commonplace nowadays. A few weeks ago, a lawyer from GlowCorp visited them and informed them of a libel case the company was filing against Loose Cannon’s and the police precinct claiming that he had been unlawfully investigating their client.

Sal raised hell, of course, as expected, but quickly fell silent when the matter of Neon Dream was brought up, and eventually settled for a lump sum of karma in exchange for testifying against his former partner. He did and sat back as they ripped the entire department apart. Once the dust settled, Megacity Security was formed out of who was left, which led to the abolishment of officers and police departments altogether, in favour of one unit, one private army owned by the corporations that ran the city.

Neon, meanwhile, raised her own kind of hell, thinking Sal a coward and complacent to stand by while they tarnished her dad’s memory. She quickly fell in with the wrong sort of crowd and became a rebel, a ‘free-thinker’ anarchist alongside her friend, the elusive Cherry Bomb. After getting arrested and bailed out several times, she repeatedly made sure he knew where she stood.

“Sure, Sal. I don’t need you anyway,” she muttered at him and sauntered on ahead, not giving him a second glance.

Despite this, and the tension at home, Sal was happy she lashed out at him, thinking that if he had lost the fire then at least she had something to keep fighting for, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

He looked on at her sadly and rustled his wings. “Kid, I’m only trying to look out for you.”

Neon snorted and paused, turning to look back at him disdainfully. “Like you were trying to look out for my dad?”

Sal said nothing in response. They never talked about her dad much, and when they did it was usually in an argument, about how the dragon never did enough, about how he never investigated his murder. He did, multiple times in fact, but he never found anything, and then they canned all the cops meaning he had to get a desk job somewhere in the dragon district, something meaningless but paid enough he could provide for them both.

The crowd passed them by without any second glances. Pony and dragon stared at each other, one old and grizzled, the other young and impetuous. Sal shook his head and stepped forwards towards her. “Listen, Neon. I-”

An explosion rocked the street, sending them both sprawling. Fire and debris rained down upon them, and the crowd scattered.

Sal landed face down in the street, and vaguely heard somepony shouting for Neon. He raised his head with enough strength to see who, and spotted none other than Cherry Bomb herself. Wild eyes, wilder hair singed at the ends and a matching coat to boot, the pegasus was driving a red hovercar that looked expensive, and no doubt stolen. The old detective instinctively reached for his gun, then remembered he was long since ‘retired’ and gave up, letting his claw drag loosely on the ground beside him. He couldn’t feel anything below his waist, and his wings felt strange. Something warm trickled out of his mouth. He saw Neon staring at him with wide, scared eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, then began to charge towards him.

Time seemed to slow as she moved, and then everything turned black.

***

The present day...

The dragon district, or the Crag as the lizard inhabitants called it, was a maze of twisting turns, foreign architecture, cramped buildings and narrow alleys. Originally constructed to resemble the old dragon lands of ancient Equestria, to make the dragons feel more at home, the Crag was a shining example of how far Equestria had come in terms of acceptance.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end, and the Crag soon became home to various gangs of unruly, disillusioned dragons. A few, like Detective Sal Mander, remembered the old days of progress and strived to be an example to the rest of their kind, but their words and actions typically fell on deaf ears.

The dragons of the Crag were notoriously hostile to any outsiders, and after being repressed for years by Megacity Security and the gentrification of their neighbourhoods, many dragon youths enjoyed the idea of raging against the system, finding solace in the casual brutality of their actions like their ancestors had centuries ago.

It was not uncommon to see ponies venturing into the Crag, but neither was it a good sign. Most ponies who did were usually representatives come to hire some bodies for a twisted science experiment their corporate overlords were conducting, or, alternatively, were ponies on the bad side of security. One such pony currently argued back and forth over the pricing of some simple cups of noodles.

“Two!” she grunted. “I want two. Not four.” Neon Dream’s mane clung to her neck in the torrential downpour. Water dripped off of her horn and onto her nose, making it itch. She was hungry, and for whatever reason Dust hadn’t declared her fired yet, so she thankfully still had some karma.

The dragon behind the stall, a large brute of a thing, spotted green and yellow with short ragged wings and cruel looking, twisted horns, shrugged his shoulders at her and cracked his knuckles. “It comes as a packaged deal. The price of four or nothing,” he barked.

“Ugh. Fine, whatever, make four cups, I’ll take two.” The unicorn was growing increasingly irritated with him. The hustle and bustle of the Crag’s markets were something Sal had told her about, but she had never expected to visit them, let alone shop for her and a princess. A nearby dragon wheeled a massive cart full of meat wrapped in plastic sheets, which ravenously hungry dragons greedily snatched up, making her shiver in disgust.

“What am I supposed to do with the extra two?” the noodle dragon muttered at her.

“Put them up your ass, I don’t give a shit,” Neon snapped, eager to leave. She tapped her hoof in the puddle she stood in. ”Should have borrowed that tarp from Twilight,” she thought to herself. She was drenched, and looking similar to a drowned rat. Her tail flicked away like a whip, sending a splash of water onto another puddle, earning the glares of several dragons moving behind her.

The dragon behind the cart shrugged again. “Fine. That’s K10.00.”

“K10.00?!” Neon cried with a scowl. “That’s overpriced as shit for four cups of noodles!”

He gave her a toothy grin and a knowing look. “You look familiar. You been on the news lately, pony?”

The unicorn glowered at him. She sighed and raised her hoof to the checkout pad in defeat. “Fine. Whatever. Take my last karma, not like I needed it. Bastard.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

The dragon forked over two cups of noodles, not even bothering to make the extra two she paid for. She glared at him, wishing she wasn’t pressed for time and could give the bastard what she wanted to give him. As he turned away to serve another customer, she turned too, holding the two cups as close to her as possible and retreated into an alleyway close by where the princess waited in the shadows.

“Here,” Neon grumbled and levitated one of the cups over to her. “Eat. They should keep us going for a while.”

Twilight took hers in her own magic and gave it a suspicious sniff.

“It’s not poison,” Neon mumbled through a mouthful. She was starving, cold and wet, and didn’t have time to explain what noodles were before she ate them. “They’re food. Eat.”

The princess’s stomach grumbled. She hesitatingly lifted some into her mouth and forced herself to chew them. After a few moments she began to enjoy them, and sooner still she practically wolfed them down, happy to be eating something finally.

After a few moments of silent eating Neon sighed.

“This is pathetic,” she muttered.

Twilight nodded her head in agreement, slurping the last of her soggy noodles. “Thank you for these,” she said with a burp. “Pardon me.”

The unicorn grumbled something under her breath and cast her empty cup away. They had at least acquired a map after she hacked into one of the terminals dotted around the Crag. Unfortunately, an alarm rigged into the terminals had sent an alert across the city that it was being tampered with, and security descended upon them like a pack of hungry wolves chasing their prey. One good thing about the dragons that these two ponies agreed on, was that security wasn’t very welcome in this part of the city. As such, they made for a handy distraction while the unicorn and the princess slipped away.

Neon glanced down at the holopad containing the map and brushed her wet mane out of her eyes. “Okay so... we should be...” She murmured and glanced up. The buildings around her looked unfamiliar. Not that it mattered--she could barely see Twilight standing in front of her the rain was that heavy. “I don’t... I don’t know where we are, Twilight,” she confessed. She kept glancing down at the map and then looking up around her, growing irritated and frustrated, both at herself and their predicament.

The princess watched her quietly as she whipped her head around, sending droplets of water splattering against the wall. “Relax, Neon,” she said, repeating her words from earlier, still speaking like a teacher, and set the empty noodle cup gently down on the ground. “We’ll get there soon.”

Neon opened her mouth to snap back and say something snarky. She couldn’t think of anything, and just snorted. Her tail, as drenched as her mane, flicked away like a whip. “Sal’s should be close by,” she stated. “He doesn’t live that far into the dragon district, but, this place is...” She looked around and grunted in irritation. “Damn dragons and their Crag.”

She was cold, grumpy, starving and wet, and longed for some proper food.

Twilight stepped away and squinted at the wall silently. Neon turned and continued to look at the map, and look around, then look at the map, and look around in a repeated cycle of growing frustration. “For... ah to hell with it,” she grumbled and rested against the wall. “I say we just start knocking on doors, can’t be much worse than stumbling around in the rain can it?”

“Neon,” the princess said, still squinting at the wall.

“I mean, if any dragon calls security, they’d out themselves as a ‘collaborator’ right? What’s the worst that could happen?” Neon continued, not paying attention.

“Neon,” Twilight repeated, in a sterner voice.

“And if it’s some jumped up gang that answers the door looking for a fight, well, I’m good with magic I guess. A quick blast or two and-”

“Neon Dream!” Twilight yelled, finally catching her companion’s attention.

Neon glared at her amidst the rain. “What?”

The princess simply pointed to a metal plate embedded onto the wall. “What was the name of this dragon did you say?”

“Sal Mander. Salazar.”

“This says he lives here.”

Neon jumped to her hooves and marched forwards, squinting at the small metal plate. Sure enough, there was his name, just under ‘Apartment 97-32’. She groaned and smacked her head. “Oh for...”

Twilight couldn’t help but grin and stifled a small giggle.

“Shut up. Buzz us in--wait!” The unicorn shuffled and stepped forwards, just as the princess raised her hoof. “Actually, I should do the talking.”

The princess stepped back and nodded wordlessly.

Neon licked her lips and pushed down on the intercom. It buzzed quietly amidst the sound of heavy rain hitting the tarp Twilight wore to hide her wings.

“Yeah?” came a gruff voice after a short while.

“Sal? It’s Neon. Can you buzz us in?”

The two ponies held their breath as silence answered them. Neon glanced back at Twilight and smiled. “He’s old, give him a minute.”

Twilight said nothing but raised her eyebrows.

Neon pressed down on the button again and winced. “Sal, please, we-”

“Door’s open.”

The door swung open. The two ponies glanced at one another and quickly stepped inside, glad to be out of the rain. The apartment block was quiet, and smelled vaguely of burnt toast. A dim pair of lights flashed down the corridor, showing the disrepair and neglect the building had fallen into. Twilight wrinkled her nose and frowned. “Why does it smell like that?”

Neon didn’t answer. She hadn’t seen Sal in weeks, and from the sound of his voice he didn’t sound great. ”Maybe smoking so much has finally caught up with him.” She shivered.

“Neon?”

She turned to the princess, who smiled at her and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Twilight. I’m... fine. Doesn’t matter. Come on, we’ll take the elevator.” Neon set off quickly, heading down the corridor to a pair of steel metal doors.

“Wait,” Twilight said. The unicorn turned to look at her as her horn ignited, and a warm magenta glow surrounded them both.

Neon frowned and looked around. “What’s happening?”

“Just a simple drying spell,” the princess said. “Hold still, it’ll be over soon.” Their manes and coats quickly dried out and stopped dripping. Satisfied at her work, Twilight smiled at her companion. “There. Much better.”

The unicorn felt a smile twitch at the corners of her mouth. “Much better,” she repeated as she hit the button to summon the elevator.

“You said this dragon was your dad right?” Twilight murmured while they waited.

“That’s right.” The unicorn nodded and inspected her hoof. “Well, he adopted me. My real dad...” Her voice wavered and she fell silent. Twilight gave her a sympathetic look as the elevator doors opened. Though before she could say anything, Neon stepped forwards into the cold metal box and turned around.

“Well come on then, we’re not getting any younger here.”

Twilight inspected the box suspiciously and cautiously. “What’s an elevator?”

Neon realised the princess must have never seen an elevator before as they only came about because of the megacities, well beyond her time. “It goes up and down. It’s faster than the stairs, but feel free to use them-” Neon grinned and pointed to the nearby stairwell. “Sal lives on the ninety seventh floor, so it’ll take you a while.”

Twilight frowned and gingerly stepped forwards. The ground wobbled under her weight, and she quickly stumbled to her associate’s side, standing flank to flank with her. “Tight fit,” she murmured with a goofy smile.

Neon hmphed and pressed the button. The elevator door’s closed, and up they went.

***

“There it is, Apartment 97-32.”

They finally stood outside of Sal’s apartment after striding through seemingly endless corridors and a long elevator journey later.

The dimly lit, cramped hallway still smelled strongly of burnt toast like the entranceway, and various scorch marks and graffiti lined the walls. Neon stood in front of the door and felt her heart thump in her chest. She was nervous, both about meeting Sal and what he would say about Twilight. ”Would he understand? Would he believe me? He had to, right?” Her mind raced with questions.

Behind her, Twilight rested against the wall, still feeling her stomach perform somersaults after the g-force of the elevator. She shook her head and groaned. “Aren’t you going to knock?” she asked, trying to steady her breathing.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just...” Neon paused. She took a breath and exhaled slowly, then rapped her hoof on his door.

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard. The door swung open to reveal a metal pony with piercing blue eyes. Both ponies stared at it with wide, fearful eyes. It stared back at them, bringing no small amount of dread and anxiety with it. It had no mane, or tail, no features on its face beyond its eyes, and two strips of metal where ears would normally be. Wires replaced where muscle would be, and its metal plating looked worn out and faded, signifying its age.

“Neon?” Twilight hissed quietly. “What is this?”

“It’s, uh... a droid.” Neon swallowed nervously. She had never liked droids, even as a filly. She found their eyes entirely too unsettling, never blinking, always staring, always recording information. She visibly tensed as it raised a hoof to her and began to speak in its unnerving robotic voice.

[Greetings Neon Dream and guest. I am a personal service and medical droid, designated: Blue. Can I take your coat?] the droid said, addressing Twilight and startling them both with the sudden volume. The princess bashfully shook her head, thinking it must have been mistaking the tarp for a coat and smiled awkwardly at it. Without a mouth it was hard to say if it was smiling, but its tone of voice was friendly enough, despite its wholly unponylike appearance.

“Let them in you stupid machine. Neon? That you?” came a grumpy and old voice, wracked with disease. The sound of a motor approached them, and soon enough an old dragon with machinery for a lower half rounded the corner. He regarded Neon with warm, lizard eyes and gave her a toothy grin. “There you are. Come to see this old rust bucket before he dies?”

The two ponies were ushered in by the droid. It pulled the door close and stood to one side, quietly watching and listening.

Neon felt cold as she looked at her dragon dad. Her worst fears began to come true as she looked at him. She stepped towards him, pushing past the droid and ignoring Twilight’s quiet amazement at a technological feat of fusing metal to flesh. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Sal continued to grin at her. “What do you think, kid? My lungs just aren’t what they used to be,” he wheezed as if to emphasise his point. “You always said smoking would be the death of me.” The motor sounded again as he moved forwards, claws outstretched.

Twilight felt awkward as the two embraced each other. She turned to curiously look at the droid, fascinated by it and undeterred by its unblinking stare. It lowered its head and bowed to her, seemingly out of respect. Sal released his daughter and turned to the alicorn. The smile on his lips and warmth in his eyes faded, replaced by cold suspicion and a frown.

“Sal, this is-” Neon began. She fell silent as he waved a claw and gestured for Twilight to introduce herself.

“Hello Mr Mander,” Twilight said, extending a hoof in greeting. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. Neon saved my life.”

Blue’s eyes fizzed and seemed to brighten. It turned around and moved away towards the wall, it’s metal hooves leaving heavy hoofsteps on the carpeted floor, and remained dormant, waiting until it was next called for.

“Just Sal, no Mr Mander needed.” Sal replied, extending his own claw. He shook her hoof and thumbed towards the droid. “That’s Blue. I figured Neon was in some trouble after seeing the news,” he muttered dismissively. If he was aware of Twilight’s nature he didn’t let on. The princess rustled her wings underneath the tarp.

Neon’s ears flattened and she lowered her head in shame. “You saw that, huh?”

“Neon, if anypony didn’t see it they’re either blind or lying.” The dragon turned around and wheeled away from them, moving through his apartment. “So, what do you need from this old dragon? Come to ask for karma? A place to lie low and plan your terrorist schemes?” he joked.

The pair of ponies trotted after him.

“No, no, nothing like that, Sal, um...” Neon avoided his gaze as he turned back around and scrutinized them both.

Twilight looked between him and the unicorn and frowned, sensing her associate’s apprehension. “I’m sorry to impose on you like this, sir, but we need to find the Children of the Sun. Neon thinks you could help us get there,” she said, earning both a look of desperate pleading from Neon and a joyless grin from Sal.

“Does she now?” the dragon laughed hollowly. He straightened up and looked at Twilight carefully. “Do you know why I’m half a machine now, Twilight Sparkle?” he growled.

The princess shook her head. “No, sir.”

Sal reached down to the beginnings of his machinery and extracted a small packet. “It’s because back in the day, my little Neon was a hellraiser in her youth, chasing after wild dreams and fantasies. Got a metal rebar shoved through my back. My wings haven’t worked in years. My legs died and in order to save my life I got my legs replaced by a machine.” He glanced at the droid and raised a cigarette to his mouth. “I’m lucky to be alive, if you call this living.”

Blue walked up to him and raised its hoof. A small lighter came out of a compartment on its faded and rusty leg, and lit his cigarette for him. He inhaled it deeply and started coughing almost instantly. Twilight waved the smoke away from her nose and gave Neon a worried glance. The young unicorn’s face said it all, really. A mix of pain and guilt.

Neon lowered her head. “I’m still sorry that happened, Sal,” she said quietly.

“Ah, kid, it’s not your fault, I told you to stop beating yourself up about that.” He took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled, sending smoke into the room. “You didn’t know your anarchist friend was going to blow me up.”

Twilight gave Neon a startling look. “Come again?”

“Oh yes,” Sal chuckled. His laughing soon turned to wheezing again, even as he puffed on the cigarette hanging limply out his mouth. “That one they mentioned on the news, Cherry Bomb. An anarchist through and through, I’m surprised you didn’t go looking for her, now that you’re one too.”

Neon stamped her hoof, bringing attention to herself. “It’s a lie, Sal. I’m not a terrorist, you know that.” She pointed at Twilight, growing bold for the first time since they entered his apartment. “You know who this is? This is Twilight Sparkle--Sparkle. You know? The one they taught us about in school. The princess who died hundreds of years ago? She’s alive, Sal. She’s here. What else do the corporations know hat we don’t?”

Sal puffed on his cigarette and took one last final draw of it. He sighed and exhaled. Smoke filled the room again, making the ponies’ eyes water. “I know who she is, kid,” he said after a few moments, and waved a claw at the tarp Twilight still wore. “Take off that damn thing, you must be getting tired.”

Twilight glanced at Neon as she removed the tarp, sheepishly leaving it on a pile on the ground and let her wings unfurl, glad to stretch them. Sal’s cold lizard eyes regarded her quietly, and seemed to flash as he saw her wings and horn.

“Uh, Sal?” the unicorn asked carefully and swallowed. Sweat dotted her brow and her throat felt itchy again. “How do you kn-”

“Twilight Sparkle. The Last Princess of Equestria.” Sal doubled over as a coughing fit wracked his body again. “I know,” he wheezed. “COTS has been trying to recruit me for years.” He laughed and took the cigarette from his mouth, ignoring their looks of amazement. He cast it onto the ground and proceeded to wheel over it, heading into the next room. “That boss of theirs is very persuasive you know? They even managed to get a dragon to come visit me. Spite. Spook? Something like that.”

Twilight’s wings fluttered and her eyes widened. “Spike?” she murmured.

“Tall, purple and green? Yeah.”

Neon remembered the strange dragon she had seen a few hours ago. She never would have thought he’s as old as Twilight, or had anything to do with her.

“Spike’s alive?” Twilight whispered. “After all this time...”

Sal chortled as he came to a stop in front of a large steel desk. “Yeah, yeah, he’s a decent dragon. He’s a lot like a pony. Your doing I take it, princess?” he said. He reached over and grabbed open one of the drawers, flinging an assortment of items over his shoulder, until he found what he was looking for and cried out in victory. “Here.” He held up a small flash drive. “This should explain everything.”

Neon’s eyebrow twitched. “This doesn’t add up, Sal. You were a cop. COTS are the bad guys. Were, the bad guys. I think. Why have they been trying to recruit you?”

The dragon looked at her like he was wrestling with something. “Kid... I never knew how to tell you this, but your dad, he...” He ran a claw over his spines and wheezed for air, motioning for her to come closer. Neon obeyed silently, eyes wide and ears fully cocked forwards, listening intently to what he had to say.

“Your dad was working with COTS, in the end,” he said quietly.

Neon’s already wide eyes grew wider. “What?” she whispered.

“Their boss gave him a credible source to begin an investigation. He followed it. He found something, wouldn’t tell me what, only that it was bigger than any of us put together. Take this data drive, it’ll have everything on it you need to know. He wanted me to give it to you when the time was right.” He pushed a small device towards her. She took it in one of her hooves and turned it over.

”Neon.”

“What is this, Sal?” she murmured, reading the tag on its side.

Before the old dragon could elaborate he was wracked with another cough. A buzz came from the intercom. His droid approached it and responded in Sal’s voice. [Yeah?] it grunted, imitating his gruffness and surliness perfectly.

“Megacity Security,” came a heavily doctored and distorted voice. “Sal Mander, you are under arrest for harbouring a fugitive.”

Twilight started forwards and flexed her wings. “I think that’s our cue to leave, Neon,” she said with a glance at the door.

Sal nodded in agreement. “I think so too. Blue, stall them.”

Blue nodded its head in understanding. [Get lost, I don’t speak to the bastards who took my job,] it said to the intercom, still imitating Sal’s voice. The distorted voice repeated itself on the other end.

The dragon’s motor started again as wheeled himself forwards towards one of the windows and thrust it open. “You two. Outside before they get you.”

Neon stood silent and stared at the drive in her hoof. She vaguely heard Sal and Twilight shout at her to get her to move. Her lower lip trembled as she thought of her dad, the supercop, working with ponies he himself deemed no good dirty rotten so-and-sos and wondered what else she didn’t know.

“Neon!” Twilight yelled and stormed up to her. “We gotta go!” The voice on the intercom went silent as a loud explosion was heard from the street. Neon lifted the drive up with her magic as her horn ignited and made to move.

Blue turned away from the intercom and looked at them all. [It would appear they are done conversing,] it said, almost humorously. Its eyes flickered as its head did a three hundred and sixty degree turn. [My scanners detect hostiles rapidly approaching from all sides.]

Sal grunted and reached into the desk again. He retrieved his gun, an old relic used mainly for reminiscing, his only friend remaining after his time as a cop. It felt good to hold it again. Natural. He stroked the barrel and grinned to himself, and waved a claw at Neon. “That drive will take you right to COTS. Keep it safe. Take Blue with you, it can play it for you.”

His adopted daughter gaped at him and felt tears well up in her eyes. She rushed forwards and thrust her head under his chin, pressing herself against him. “I’m... I’m...” she mumbled. She wanted to scream, to tell him to come with them. She knew it was no use. Her mouth moved feebly as words failed her.

“Shhh, kid. I knew this would happen eventually.” Sal comforted her and wrapped a claw around her back, pulling her in close. After a brief moment of solace he gave her a hard shove towards the window. “Now go. Princess?” he said, addressing Twilight.

The princess looked at him sadly and raised her head. “Yeah, Sal?”

“Make it count, alright?”

“I... I will, sir. Thank you for helping us.”

Sal extended a claw towards her. “It’s been a pleasure. Hopefully COTS can help you begin to make things right in this damn city.”

Twilight nodded and shook her hoof with him. She turned towards Neon and looked outside, peering out the window at the ground far below them. Red and blue flashing lights met them, and several vehicles started to approach from the skies themselves.

“What do we do?” Neon asked quietly.

“One of you has wings,” Sal chuckled. “I think you can take it from here, princess.” The sound of something pounding on metal came from across the apartment, security already banging at the door. “Go, now.” He put another cigarette in his mouth and wheeled himself forwards, aiming his gun just like he used to. “I always wanted to get back at these freaks,” he chuckled dryly. He glanced back at the droid. Blue. “Keep Neon safe.”

Blue paused for a moment before nodding its shiny head and turned to the window. Twilight braced herself for a flight, and wrapped her hooves around the unicorn.

“Don’t look down,” she said. “And hold on.” Neon obeyed and grasped the legs wrapped around her and held on for dear life. She glanced back at Sal sadly. He wasn’t looking, instead wheeling himself away, eyes focused and teeth grit.

And then all Neon saw was buildings. She gasped and struggled for air as she and Twilight hurtled towards the ground. The droid followed closely behind, initiating its flight protocols and taking to the skies alongside the alicorn. Her wings spread and carried them onwards, soaring like a majestic eagle, narrowly escaping with their lives just as security pulled up to Sal’s window.

Neon twisted her head around to see if she could get one last glance at Sal’s place, just to see a series of flashes and hear the gunshots ring out through the sky. The drive she held in her magic remained clutched at her chest, a precious treasure brimming with secrets.

“Goodbye, dad...” she whispered as sorrow wrenched at her heart. She clutched onto Twilight’s legs underneath her and remained silent as they flew.

Sirens filled the city with sound. GlowCorp’s private army descended en masse, and quickly began to gather up any dragon or otherwise suspicious personnel who might have seen the tiniest shred of something suspicious in regards to public enemy number one: Neon Dream.

Five

“Blue... Play it back again... please?”

The holographic image of a tough, gritty and looking rather worse for wear looking pony, Neon’s father, flickered and played in reverse, where it then paused before starting again. Twilight watched as the message repeated for the fourth or fifth time now. Neon herself had been quiet, ever since they fled from Sal’s, asking only for the droid to play the message again. The princess didn’t begrudge her for it, though, and expected her to be too stubborn or proud to suggest anything else right now.

Twilight had no words of comfort for her young friend. A silent tear rolled down her cheek as she felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow and guilt well up inside her. Whether she felt like it or not, she was still a princess, and she still had a duty of care to the ponies she wore to protect, even if she had gone missing for centuries. The sight of one pony suffering so much for something so senseless ripped her heart apart, and she felt like she couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.

Tentatively and slowly, she stepped closer and sat down beside the unicorn. The rain had long since stopped, thankfully, but the night was growing cold. Twilight wondered what month it was and gently put a wing around the shivering pony.

Neon flinched at first and made to move away. The sadness in her face and sorrow in her heart betrayed her, however, and after a few seconds she gave up the tough pony act to reveal the inner filly inside her who just lost her dad. Again.

The light of the hologram reflected in Twilight’s eyes as she looked up at the night sky. Sensing movement she chanced a look to her side and felt Neon shuffle closer to her, beginning to sniff. She smiled sadly to herself and pulled her in closer, up against her side. She rested her head on the unicorn and began to gently rock side to side as the young mare began to sob.

“Shhh, Neon. Breathe.”

Neon pulled at the feathers around her and gasped for air in between long, mournful cries. She thrust her head further into the princess’s side, and heaved as tears streamed down her face.

Twilight quietly continued rocking and thought about the kindness Neon had shown her and the generosity in taking her to her home at great personal risk. Despite her original disposition, she would indeed consider the unicorn one of her friends, and thought Equestria, even this Ponyopolis they were in, was lucky to have such a soul like her in it.

After a short while of gentle rocking, she began to feel her eyelids droop. Neon’s father’s message had stopped playing, frozen on the last image shown before it ended. Blue stood silent and still as a rock, making the princess quietly aware that it may still be active, or awake. She had no idea what a droid was, and wasn’t about to ask just yet as Neon herself had fallen asleep at some point.

”Poor filly must be exhausted,” thought the princess. She reshuffled herself into a more comfortable position, and gently lowered the unicorn to the ground, while still keeping a wing draped over her to keep her warm. “Goodnight Neon. I hope you dream of nicer things,” she murmured sadly and gave her a small nuzzle as she too lay down and rested herself.

The princess closed her eyes as she felt sleep take its hold of her and her own body gave way to exhaustion. Her dreams came quickly as they usually did, and, thanks to the power Luna gave her, she was able to relieve some of her memories, specifically the ones that brought her to this moment with Neon.

***

Twilight’s eyes snapped open. She blinked, unable to see anything but bight white light. Her stomach churned and she felt the corners of her mouth tingle as if she was about to be sick. Her ears were ringing, and her joints felt stiff, like she had been sleeping at a funny angle. The air around her felt cold and unnatural.

Her head pounded, and she felt more hungover than Rainbow Dash gets around cider season. Her thoughts came as jumbled mess as she blinked and squinted. “Hello?” she croaked. Her voice was no more than a whisper, and felt alien and strange to her own ears. “Is anypony there?” she called, attempting to be louder. The warmth of her breath bouncing back at her startled her.

Despite the ringing in her ears, she became vaguely aware of the sound of machinery. She squinted as the light continued to blind her, and noticed the that she was actually in what appeared to be a container of sorts. She pressed her hooves forwards and felt something preventing her from moving any further forwards. “What is this?” she mumbled. “Glass?”

She banged her hoof on it. The sound rang out through the small chamber thing she was in, and panic began to creep up on her,

“Hello?!” she called out, wincing in the fear in her voice.

A lump formed in her throat. ”Keep it together, Twilight. Just think. What do you remember?” She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She furiously tried to remember what happened. There had been a lot of shouting, her friends’ voices crying out, a sudden pain, then nothing. The next thing was her waking up to a bright light and the sounds of machinery, and the smell of her own breath as she fogged up whatever window she was in front of.

She began to bang her hooves on the glass again as her fear gave her burst of strength and energy, hoping somepony--anypony--could hear her and help her. The bright light suddenly darkened, and she saw the silhouette of a pony appear. “Oh thank Celestia! Help me! Please!” she yelled as loud as she could. She had no idea how thick the glass was, or if whoever it was could have helped her.

She heard their muffled voice say something. She shook her head and tapped her ear, trying to indicate she couldn’t hear them. The silhouette moved away to the side silently. “Wait, please!” she cried out and watched in despair as they disappeared from view. “Don’t-”

The sound of hissing filled the small chamber she was in. The glass door began to rise up. Twilight inhaled a deep gulp of fresh air and tried to calm herself. She stumbled forwards and fell face first onto the hard warm ground.

“Please...” she whispered. “Where am I?”

The pony she had seen came back into view. She blinked at him and squinted. He was a colt who couldn’t be that old, wearing what appeared to be a strange grey jumpsuit with an insignia she didn’t recognise. He looked at her with wide, awestruck eyes and moved his mouth silently.

The princess struggled to her hooves and stumble again. “What’s happened to me?” she mumbled. He quickly moved to help her stand and addressed her by her full title.

“Easy, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You’re okay, for now. Listen, you have to-”

“How do you-” she murmured back warily. The sound of an almighty crash and metal scraping on metal interrupted her. They both suddenly lurched forwards as the room began to spin and a beeping could be heard. The colt’s eyes grew fearful and scared as he scrambled backwards, out of the princess’s still blurry vision. The spinning stopped moments after he disappeared.

“Wait! Come back!” she cried weakly, fighting to stay on her hooves. Her legs felt like jelly, like she had been asleep for too long. She raised her eyebrows in an attempt to widen her eyes, to try and see better, and noted the strange design of the pod she had fallen out of. It was cylindrical, and sort of resembled the pods changelings used to house their victims, only white, and cold.

She shook her head and looked forwards, towards where the pony had stood. One of the walls next to her suddenly opened and more light flooded the darkened room. She shielded her eyes and yelped as a hoof grabbed her.

“Come on!” the colt yelled. She recognised his voice and assumed it was him at least. “There isn’t much time! You gotta go. Another van is coming, when it shows up, open the side and jump in.”

Twilight blinked her eyes rapidly. Her vision was starting to come back, although a lot still remained blurry. It reminded her of when she went swimming with her friends and opened her eyes underwater. Lights shone from all around her, massively tall buildings covered her in shadows, things flying through the air at breakneck speeds made her flinch and feel amazingly small. She felt herself tremble and heard the fear in her own voice again. “Please, I don’t understand, what’s happening? Where am I?”

“There’s no time, princess. This is a friend coming, I see her van now.” The colt raised a hoof to his eyes and looked ahead. “Quick, hide, when I distract her, go and get in hers.”

The princess reluctantly nodded, seeing no use in arguing or asking anything more and moved around to the side of the large box. ”What in Equestria is a ‘van’?” she wondered. ”And where am I? What is this place? And what’s that-”

The smell of smoke and burning caught her attention. She turned to where the smell was strongest and although the image was blurry, there she saw another one of these ‘vans’, another block of metal with strange looking wheels. This one was different to the other, though, for the front of it was smashed beyond repair, and a thin trail of smoke rose up out of it.

She coughed and tried to focus her eyes, overhearing voices. She spotted her awakener, the nice colt, talking to a similarly dressed pony with bright pink hair. He caught her looking and gave her a subtle nod, turning his head towards the metal box across from them.

Twilight licked her lips and darted over to the thing, scrambling to follow his instructions. It was a strange, large thing that smelled funny, and as she glanced behind her, saw it was the same thing as the one the colt and the mare stood by. She saw the handle the colt had mentioned and gave it a yank. To her surprise the side of the box lifted up and swung open.

”Where am I?” Knots in her stomach as that one thought repeated over and over.

The princess quickly climbed in and closed it behind her, pulling it shut with her magic. She saw, thankfully, that whatever this place was still had blankets, and quickly threw one over herself and pressed herself flat against the ground. She didn’t know where she was, or what was happening, but the nice colt who let her out of whatever she was in said she would be with a friend. She hoped they were as understanding as he was, and waited to see what would happen.

A short while later...

Twilight looked up as she sat in the small apartment, and turned towards the window. Her hooves went limp, the holopad she held fell to the ground and clattered against the hard floor. “What happened?” she whispered to herself as a shiver ran down her spine.

It was hard, to say the least, to read about her own death, about how Equestria mourned for months afterwards and how the world fell into disrepair as greed consumed everything. What she read chilled her to the bone.

“Is this real life?” she asked herself while gazing out at the world going past. “Or is this just...” She trailed off, gazing at the great structures around her, blinded by all the bright lights and dizzying speeds, that would make even the Wonderbolts jealous, of these ‘vans’ as they soared through the skies. Some were similar metal boxes to the ones Neon Dream owned or that nice colt operated. Some were long and slim with a pony sitting at the front, some carried ponies from end to end, and some held one or two adults and a foal maybe--families. She fiddled with the end of her ethereal mane and continued her train of thought. “...A bad dream?”

“I need some air,” Twilight mumbled as she grew anxious. She pushed open the window with a heavy sigh and leant out of it, resting her hooves on the sill. “At least windows are the same, as well as a few other things.” Her own joke brought a smile to her face, despite the circumstances, and she looked outside at the world going by. The streets below reminded her of her view from her room in Canterlot. A billboard across the street flickered to life showing a smiling stallion who looked remarkably similar to Flim or Flam wearing a collard shirt and tie with a large smile plastered over his face.

”Ponyopolis: The City of Tomorrow, Today,” he said. His voice boomed throughout the city from some unseen speakers, ringing out over the city and the ponies below, startling the princess a touch and making her wings shoot out in alarm. She quickly calmed herself and smoothed her coat down, as well as folded her wings to her sides and blushed quietly, thankful the owner of her haven, one Neon Dream, hadn’t seen her. She listened curiously as the pony on the screen spoke about he was a proud citizen of Ponyopolis, and continued with a commercial about how a corporation with a too long of a name was the leading manufacturer of something or another as corporate jargon filled her ears.

Twilight shook her head and glanced down at the holopad by her hooves and picked it up gingerly. On the bottom of the holopad there was a symbol, an overlapping G and C painted a faded yellow which made her brow furrow in curiosity. She thought to make a mental note of it as something about it felt familiar, although she couldn’t place what.

The ‘page’ she had dropped it on remained open too, and despite her anxiety and worry she chose to read on, forming crazy theory after crazy theory of what happened to her to make her end up here. She had to know what happened, there had to be some record of it right?

Such a thing was far easier said that done.

As far as she could see, the world was a desolate wasteland thanks to years of technology running wild, leaving the fantastic woods and forests of Equestria barren. On top of that, nowhere, not in a single holopad that her host was in possession of, detailed why she would have been frozen in time. Every reference to ‘Twilight Sparkle’ simply stated that she had passed away centuries ago after a tragic and unfortunate accident and that the city was built according to her wishes as a symbol of friendship across all of Equestria atop the sight of her greatest victories: Ponyville.

The thing was, despite trying as hard as she could, she couldn’t remember any ‘tragic accident’, or wanting good old quiet Ponyville brought to ruin by this concrete monstrosity of a city. On top of that, frustratingly, there was very little mention of Celestia, Luna, the Crystal Empire, or any of her friends beyond the fact they along with the rest of Equestria mourned the fallen princess.

The more answers she got the more questions she had. She sighed in frustration and placed the holopad down, careful not to disturb the neat pile she had made of them and gazed out the open window again.

Something else about the city now set her teeth on edge. Everything about it felt wrong, unnatural, like the back of that van she had crawled out of. The crowd below looked the same as normal, but there was a darkness, a shadow lying underneath everything that she couldn’t quite place her hoof on.

Her eyes traced over a pony wearing strange white and yellow clothes holding up a sign, picketing something and spouting words nopony seemed to listen to. Thanks to the din of traffic above her and the noise of the city around her, she was just out of earshot to hear what exactly he was saying, but as she squinted she recognised the word on his sign.

“COTS.”

She remembered Neon mentioned these Children of the Sun guys. They sounded like an old religion of Equestria, when Celestia first rose to power. The colour of the pony’s clothes also reminded her of Celestia, and wondered if they were more than Neon had made them out to be. “Maybe I should ask them what happened to me?” she asked herself quietly. There was that colt when she first woke up, he knew her. “There must be ponies out there who know what happened to me...”

Twilight winced. Amongst herself and her own situation there was Neon herself to worry about now. She couldn’t explain it, perhaps she felt some sense of her duty as princess, but she felt compelled to keep the young mare safe, as best she could. Her arrival and hiding in her van had ruined her life, pretty much, she felt. Despite all that, however, the unicorn had shown her an extraordinary kindness in not turning her away and incredible generosity in letting Twilight stay in her apartment.

In a way, Neon Dream reminded Twilight of Luster Dawn, albeit a heck of a lot grumpier and foul mouthed. A tear welled up in the princess’s eye as she thought about her protégée, long since passed on now.

“Oh Luster... I’m so sorry...” she mumbled with a sniff. She felt a deep wrack of guilt build up inside her as the thought she failed her young student, and all of Equestria passed through her. She didn’t know where to begin, or what to do, but she knew she had to find a way, any way, to help. First thing was first, though: Find out why she was in a container, and why she had to suddenly flee for her life from that nice colt’s--Bright Spark she remembered Neon calling him--van.

The door slid open with a familiar hiss, interrupting her thoughts, and there stood the unicorn she was unfortunately burdening. She opened her mouth to say hello, but noticed the wild and afraid look in her eye and jumped to her hooves instead.

“Oh my gosh, Neon, what happened?” she cried out.

“They know. They know...” Neon Dream panted and gasped for air, clearly in a high level of distress.

The next few minutes went by as a blur. Soon the princess and the unicorn stood in an alleyway, the former’s wings smouldering lightly as her breath came ragged and heavy. Her horn pulsed with residue energy. Thankful her affinity for magic was largely untouched, she made a small joke and focused herself.

They needed a plan. They needed somewhere safe. She was a stranger in this city, but Neon Dream wasn’t. Twilight swallowed and resolved to hep this pony before she helped herself, and hoped there was somepony out there who knew the truth.

Somepony who could help them both now.

Six

“Hey, Neon.”

Loose Cannon smiled weakly at the camera facing him. The cigarette he had just lit hung loosely from his mouth. He exhaled a large cloud of smoke and sighed. His mane was messier than usual, his eyes worn out and tired. The stress of his work finally getting to him.

He sharply turned his head and cocked an ear out. His mouth twisted into a grimace and he looked back at the camera. “We don’t have much time. They found out what I was trying to do and they’re coming.”

Cannon sighed again and inhaled another drag of smoke. “I don’t know how to tell you this. I just... I hope when you get this you understand what to do, and I know you will undoubtedly be angry,” he said. Smoke billowed out of his nostrils in a dragonesque manner as he exhaled.

He stubbed the cigarette out and immediately brought another to his lips. He flicked his lighter open and lit it, before letting out a chilling, solitary laugh.

“Those Children of the Sun guys I talked about? They were right. They were right, Neon.”

As he spoke, the detective inched forwards towards the camera and lowered his voice to a soft growl.

“Everything Ponyopolis is was built on a lie. What it is now, this cesspit of crime and corruption, is because of one twisted lie invented by scared little ponies too afraid and too ashamed to tell the truth.” He rolled his eyes and ran a hoof through his knotted and matted mane. “Twilight Sparkle. The princesses. It’s all true. All of it. And when I’m this close to exposing it, they start to send their goons after me--Megacity Security.”

He sighed and leant back in his chair, pausing for breath and watched the camera thoughtfully. “Listen,” he began. “It’s important that you-” A loud crash was heard from behind him, cutting him off and caused him to curse and spit the cigarette out. “Shit. Alright. They’re here. I’ve installed coordinates to the Children in this message. They told me one day she’ll come back, and somepony’s gotta take her to them. If that pony is you, Neon baby... then I’m sorry.”

A loud banging was heard from the door behind him. He gritted his teeth and smiled at the camera. “Goodbye, Neon. I love you.”

He reached over to the camera to turn off the recording device, but paused just before it. He gave the camera a grave look and murmured quietly, just as the door burst open and armed guards stormed the room.

“Do the right thing.”

His hoof reached over and stopped the recording, just as the flashes of their guns illuminated the world around him.

***

The alleyways and side streets of Ponyopolis were not as vast or winding as the main walkways and catwalks that ran underneath the skyway, but were far greater in number. Many of them were often used by all manners of creatures who chose a less observed route of passing through the city. Sometimes, criminal elements--gangs, corrupt politicians, or otherwise unsavoury individuals used the backstreets and darkened corridors as meeting grounds or resting spots.

In one particular street, cast in shadow by the massive buildings either side of it, two such ponies and one such droid quietly arose from their thankfully peaceful and incident free sleep. Theirs was a quiet shelter, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the city for the time being and provided an opportunity to let them catch their breaths. The overhang of one of the buildings covered them from above, and provided shelter against the cold dark of night in Ponyopolis. But with a new day comes another new set of worries as Neon Dream gazed upwards at the sky, thinking on her dad’s final words to her.

The initial shock of losing the last of her family and viewing her father’s final moments in the previous night had passed. The sorrow tugging at her heart had been replaced by a fiery rage that was determined to avenge them both, whatever the cost.

Blue’s eyes sparked and fizzed, hard at work. [I have translated the coordinates provided by Detective Cannon. Would you like to-] it asked politely.

“Yes.” The unicorn snapped at him with a scowl on her face. She immediately felt guilty and apologised. “Please, Blue. Sorry.”

[It is quite alright, Neon Dream. One moment.]

Neon gave the droid an apologetic smile and began to pace. She felt restless and uneasy. Every sound she heard brought the image of her dad’s final moments to her eyes. She glanced at Twilight, who sat quietly and simply waited, and winced. She had woken up at one point in the night and realised they had been cuddling, nestled in close to each other. At first she had recoiled, but then she felt an urge bubbling up inside her, a longing for some parental comfort she hadn’t had since she was a filly, and allowed the cuddling to continue. The princess’s wings were a warm blanket if nothing else. Also, regardless of their situation, she felt safe next to the alicorn.

Twilight herself remained silent, deep in thought. She was thinking about Spike, and where her little dragon, all grown up now, would be. She hoped he was as okay as can be, he must have been hit hard by her... disappearance. The princess had some of her own questions for the Children of the Sun. How did they know she was real to begin with? Who was their mysterious ‘boss’. Were any of her friends involved with them in any way? With every answer she received in regards to anything in Ponyopolis, she only received more questions.

She chanced a look at Neon, and the two locked eyes briefly. They smiled at one another, and turned to look as Blue beeped and began to speak again.

[Translation complete. The Children of the Sun coordinates direct to the Scrapheap.]

Neon groaned and rubbed her head and went back to pacing, now mumbling under her breath. “Alright... if we... no... but then...”

“The Scrapheap?” Twilight asked with a cock of her head and a glance at Blue. “What’s the Scrapheap?”

Blue looked at her. She could have sworn it was looking straight through her and shivered. Droids were still very unfamiliar to her, despite how friendly this one was. She silently scolded herself and reminded herself to keep an open mind, especially in this future she found herself in. The droid’s mechanical and somehow soulful eyes dimmed, making it appear forlornness almost, and added a hint of equinity to its otherwise blank face. [It is where I was born, Twilight Sparkle.]

The alicorn stared blankly for a few moments. “Oh. Right.” She winced. “Um...” She quickly glanced upwards as a shadow passed over them. A car landing on a rooftop nearby. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued on. “What, uh, what does that mean?”

Neon rolled her eyes and released her own sigh of relief. “Stop being dramatic, Blue.” She turned to address Twilight. “It’s where they’re made and housed, mostly, on the lower levels. It’s just what we, the dregs of society, call it. it’s official name is the industrial sector.” She paused and shook her head. “Since the Novos took over, most ponies just call it the Scrapheap.”

“Novos?” Twilight’s ears pricked up at the familiar name. “Who are the Novos?”

“Cybernetically enhanced weirdos obsessed with BMs. Crazies hanging out with crazies I guess.” The unicorn tutted and stretched her legs. “From what I’ve heard they’re not overly fond of strangers, so whatever COTS did to let them share territory must be something special.” Her ear twitched as she heard sirens in the distance.

“BMs?” the princess asked.

“Body modifications.”

Twilight nodded. “I see.” She didn’t see. Not even close, really. ”The Novos... like the hippogriff Queen Novo?” she wondered if there was some correlation between them, or if it was just a coincidence. A shiver ran down her spine as she wondered what ‘body modifications’ meant. ”It can’t mean more than turning into a seapony right?” she thought hopefully.

[I have information,] Blue said, breaking through both her and Neon’s thoughts.

Neon tilted her head, her ear twitching as she listened to the sound of roaring traffic. “What is it, Blue?”

The droid’s eyes fizzed and sparked. [There are several energy signatures approaching us from every direction.] It turned its head towards one end of the street. In the distance, the tell-tale flashing red and blue quickly grew. [Energy readings match Megacity Security.]

As if on cue, a large shadow cast by an armoured van, emblazoned with the Megacity Security emblem on the side, passed over them. They quickly darted into a portion of the street covered by an overhang and held their breaths.

Neon flared her nostrils. Her emotions, a swirling chaotic mess of anger mixed with frustration mixed with a fiery vengeance boiled up inside her. “We stayed here too long.” She shot Twilight a look as the princess peered upwards cautiously. “I’m ready for a fight. What about you, princess?”

Twilight roused herself, and gave her friend a stern look. “Neon, I know you’re in pain, but we can’t fight this-”

“Why not?” Neon snorted. Her lip curled upwards into an ugly sneer. “Why don’t you want to fight? They stole your life from you! You heard my dad--they lied to everyone!” She grew angry quickly. Her emotions, the frustration brought on by both last night’s and this morning’s events, the anger she felt at seeing her dad’s last message, Sal giving his life so they could escape, it all boiled over in one moment and threatened to consume her in a fiery, vengeance fuelled blaze.

The princess flexed her wings and stamped her hoof. “Neon, listen to me.” She spoke calmly, sternly like a mother to a foal. “I do, but we need to be careful. We need to think about this.” She rolled her eyes as the unicorn tutted and turned away, looking up as the shadow of security passed by them and light shone down on them.

Neon grumbled under her breath. “You just want us all to hold hooves and brush each others hair don’t you?” She batted her eyelashes and raised a hoof to her mouth, giggled like a schoolfilly, and put on the best posh accent she could. “And we shall all play in rainbows, darling--rainbows!” She dropped her hoof and glared at the princess, her face resuming the serious scowl she had acquired. “Well, princess, times have changed. it’s a horse eat horse world, whether you like it or not, we have to fight sooner or later.”

Twilight grew impatient and flicked her tail sideways. “Stop it, Neon.” She closed her eyes and inhaled, then exhaled slowly. “Listen.” She opened her eyes and looked at the unruly pony before her. “Bickering won’t get us anywhere, we need to-” She yelped as a spotlight suddenly fixed on them both, stunning the princess and making her see spots.

”Neon Dream.”

Several loud, distorted and robotic voices called out to them from above. Neon shielded her eyes and shrunk back against the wall as far as possible. She heard the sound of guns being cocked, and looked down. To her startlement, there were several officers wearing the solid black, skin tight uniforms of Megacity Security. Their eyes, hidden behind red visors, were blank and uninhibited by emotions--indicators of the technology used to create them. They were all earth ponies, save for one pegasus, so they lacked the dexterity granted to unicorns by magic. To counter this, each one wore a harness that connected a mechanical arm directly into them, a device that held and pointed their guns--big, vicious looking guns--at the two ponies and droid huddled together.

Twilight couldn’t help but marvel at such a thing, wondering why this technology hadn’t been implemented before, albeit a simpler, less perverse twist of a pony’s soul version.

”Do not resist.”

“Neon, stay close to me.” Twilight whispered as her wing extended over Neon. Neon silently obeyed, eager for a fight, but the sight of all those guns trained on her gave her pause and her her stomach perform somersaults. Several of the officers stepped closer. The princess also stepped forwards and flourished her head. She narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat.

”Stand down, officers.” Her suddenly booming voice rang out, startling the unicorn at her side even further.

The security forces remained undeterred, however, and remained stock still. Not even their guns swayed. They were intended to be as droid like as possible, cruel mockeries of life, both organic and artificial.

”Do not resist,” they repeated in unison.

Twilight repressed a shiver as she heard the underlying voices amidst the distortion, her alicorn sensed more finely tuned to that of a regular pony. ”I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she thought.

Neon tugged at the princess’s wing. “It’s no use,” she whispered. “Security are all hard wired together, ponies given cybernetic implants and ‘upgrades’ to act as one unit, usually given commands by some drekhead using a computer. Probably in there-” She glanced up and pointed at the security van hovering above them. How Blue hadn’t noticed this earlier she didn’t know, and made a mental note to upgrade its radar tech. ”Stupid droid.” She glanced over at the mechanical pony. His eyes sparked and fizzed wildly, clearly computing something, though what she didn’t know.

The princess began to form an idea. “They’re all given commands by the computer?” she whispered back, her voice now returned to normal, though hushed as she conferred with the unicorn.

Neon nodded silently.

“I see.”

Twilight’s plan was simple. ”Take out the computer, take out the officers, right? How hard can that be?” She was about to find out the answer in just a few short moments.

”Neon Dream. Do not resist,” the distorted voices repeated. ”You are wanted in connection with theft, arson, anarchist activities, murder, and terrorism of the state.”

Twilight felt movement beside her, and before she could react her friend pushed aside her wing and started forwards.

Neon felt her face flush with blood. The fear she felt quickly turned back into intense anger and unrelenting rage. She glared into the barrels of the guns pointed at her. “What?” she hissed. “Did you say?”

”Murder? These sons of bitches have the gall to call me a murderer?!” She screamed inside her head, unable to contain the rage and the anger she felt for a second longer. She licked her lips. ”They call me an anarchist and a terrorist? I’ll show them anarchy.”

Her horn crackled to life and a pink lightning singed through the air above their heads, where it then connected with the wall opposite them, leaving a faint scorch mark and a crack.

The officers reacted quickly. Their guns hummed to life, glowing a gentle red at the ends of the barrels. Their distorted voices exploded, screaming at her to stand down.

Several green dots appeared on her body, laser guides for their guns, coming to a rest in between her eyes. She snarled and ignited her horn again, blinded by vengeance for her family. Twilight quickly rushed forwards again and put another wing in front of her. “Stop!” she cried.

The officers seemed to listen to her and stood still again, although they kept their guns still trained on where Neon would have been standing. Twilight cleared her throat again and raised her head up high. “You know who I am?” she asked calmly.

The officers paused for a moment. ”Affirmative,” the distorted voices confirmed.

Twilight nodded and forced a grin onto her face. “Then you know what I can do, don’t you?”

Several minutes of silence passed. The guards remained unmoving, no doubt their technology-addled brains processing new orders. At least, that’s what Twilight hoped was happening. She glanced down at the unicorn at her side and scowled disapprovingly.

Neon looked down, the gravity of her actions setting into her. “Twi-” she began quietly.

“Shush, Neon.” Twilight’s voice was uncharacteristically cold. She was both disappointed in and afraid for her friend now, fearing if she hadn’t been fast enough then something terrible might have happened. Movement behind them made them both turn and look. Blue’s metal hooves clanked on the hard floor as the droid shambled forwards.

[Subject: Megacity Secur-r-r-rit-t-ty.] Its voice glitched out, its movements were no longer as refined as they should have been, and its eyes sparked and fizzed wildly. Neon’s eyes widened in realisation. She remembered holovids she had seen of droids going haywire, speaking in distortion and with static infused words, shortly before going on a rampage.

“Twilight...” she murmured.

Twilight didn’t move, and kept staring at the droid as its eyes began to glow, entranced by the look it was giving her. She could see something there, some hint of maliciousness that-

“Twi, move aside.”

The princess snapped out of her trance and quickly hopped out of the way. It shambled past them, moving like a monster out of an old holovid. Its glowing blue eyes shifted to stare at the officers instead.

“What are you doing, Blue?” Neon hissed.

Blue turned to look at her. Its eyes dimmed lightly, almost knowing what she was thinking. [I will be fine, Neon Dream.]

Neon stared at it with wide eyes. “No, Blue, that’s--what are you doing?”

[Obeying my prime dire-re-rective,] the droid cryptically replied.

Neon glanced around at the various guns trained on them. “What prime directive?”

Blue turned back to the approaching forces. [Detec-tec-tective Salazar Mand-d-der, dated 2777: K-k-keep Neon safe.]

The security officers still remained frozen, seemingly frozen by their own programming as they continued to process. Twilight rustled uncomfortably and eyed them all, and the droid in front of her. There was a lot to worry about now, and she didn’t like it.

The tiniest possible smile crept onto Neon’s face regardless, and try as hard as she could to repress it, she couldn’t. “Alright, keep me safe from a distance,” she quietly told the droid, very aware that there were several pairs of guns raised at them. One false move from Blue--from any of them--and it was curtains.

[That is inad-d-dvisa-b-ble,] Blue continued. Its voice continued to glitch and warp. It sounded like it was struggling against its own programming, like a circuit had come loose.

“Just do it, Blue. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

[Droi-oi-oids do n-n-not feel pain.]

“But you’ll die you stupid robot!”

[I can be reb-b-built.]

Twilight looked at her friend as they continued to bicker and smiled. ”He’s loyal I’ll give him that,” she thought, happy to see even the faintest trace of a smile on the unicorn’s face despite their grim circumstances. Neon noticed her looking and pointed at the mechanical pony, as if to say, ‘are you believing this guy’.

“Come away, Neon. Let Blue do his thing.” The princess shook her head and backed up, pressing a wing into Neon and moved her backwards as well. She didn’t even realise she referred to the droid as a ‘he’.

Blue shambled forwards another step. It raised one of its hooves, and with lightning quick speed, dashed forwards into the nearest officer. Its metal hoof punched clean through the armoured uniform, and time seemed to slow as the small side street erupted with chatter and movement.

Neon and Twilight dove to the ground, the latter covering the former with a wing as shards of wall rained down on them. Bullets riddled the concrete where they had stood, missing them by mere inches.

Neon glanced upwards as Blue continued to fight for them. It moved less like a droid and more like a pony, kicking and bucking like it knew how to fight, more than simple programming could ever achieve. Aside from its movements and judging from the way it was speaking, she assumed somepony had hacked it, although the answers to who, why or where from eluded her. She nervously looked around for any such pony, any such creature really, that could have been watching them as the last of the bullets left the guards’ guns. They didn’t have time to reload as Blue moved in towards them, snapping their necks and punching through their bodies, like in the cartoon she used to watch as a filly.

Twilight also chanced a look upwards and immediately wished she hadn’t. Blue was a whirling mass of death, one of its hooves firmly in the jaw of one of the security officers as their body twitched uncontrollably. Blood splattered its face and chest, and its hooves were stained a deep red as well. Its cold blue eyes gazed around looking almost bored, scanning for further hostiles. The princess felt her stomach churn at the sight of such casual brutality.

“Go on, Blue!” the unicorn at her side cheered gleefully, earning her a worried look. “You seeing this, Twilight?”

[There is an esca-ca-pe vehi-hi-hicle approaching. W-when it ar-rives jump-p in,] Blue said, eerily calmly as it stood amidst a slaughter of its own making. The lack of metal face plate on it gave it a monstrous appearance, not to mention the various bloodstains covering it. It reached up a bloodied hoof to the sky as a shadowy figure approached them. [There. G-g-get in.]

Neon squinted and recognised one of Dust’s Delivery’s vans. She gaped as the side door swung open to reveal that purple and green dragon waving at them.

“Come on!” he yelled. His voice was softer than she expected. She recognised the driver too, even as he gave her a goofy smile and a cautious wave, and felt the heckles on the back of her neck stand up on end.

“Bright Spark,” she growled as her ears turned down in annoyance. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.” She glanced back and saw Twilight gaping in horror at the carnage around them. Blue stood silently and still, having seen off the last of security for now. “Come on, Twi!” she called.

The princess swung her head around and looked at her, or straight through her, and promptly fell face first into the ground. Neon cried out and darted over to her, helping her up as much as possible. “Come on!” she grunted. The dragon leapt down from the van and hurried over to give her some assistance, helping hoist the alicorn into the van.

Blue started towards them and froze as sirens rang out through that part of the city. Neon and it locked eyes. “Don’t you dare,” she muttered.

It simply reached up to its head and gave a sharp tug. When it showed it’s hoof again it held up it’s CPU, a droid’s very soul, and held it out to her. Neon’s magic surrounded it and gently took it and held it close to her chest. She understood what that gesture meant. A droid can’t die if their CPU remains intact. It was all she needed to rebuild it--him. She solemnly closed the door to the van and rested her head against it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The rumble of the engine kicking to life made her stumble. She fell back onto her flank and cursed, before jumping up and trying to make herself look dignified. She cocked her head and listened and held a hoof against the door as she heard sirens approach rapidly. She glanced ahead towards the driver’s window and saw they were already speeding away. She groaned and hung her head in defeat, staring at the droid’s CPU as it remained surrounded by a small pink glow. “Shit. You stupid... damn you, you dumb droid, how am I supposed to rebuild you without a body?”

She turned around slowly and glared at the stranger in the van with her.

The dragon gave her an apologetic smile as he cradled Twilight’s head in his lap. The princess was breathing steady, thankfully, and from what she could see was uninjured in any way.

“Shock?” Neon grunted.

The dragon nodded and stroked Twilight’s mane. “She’s gonna be fine.” He reached out a claw towards the unicorn with a friendly smile. “I’m Spike,” he said.

Neon extended her own hoof and replied curtly. “Neon. Dream.” She looked down at the princess, then back at the dragon again. “You wanna tell me what exactly that was?” she grumbled.

Spike chuckled softly. “A friend hacked your droid and gave you a chance to escape.” His voice was softer than she expected, he sounded more like a pony than a dragon when he spoke, quite different from Sal.

Neon groaned and ran a hoof through her mane, and winced as she sniffed and realised she hadn’t showered for a while. “Oh that’s all is it? You know he was a family friend?”

The drake nodded and took a deep breath. “Yeah. We gave Sal that droid, hoping one day he wouldn’t have to use it, but just in case, we-”

“We?” Neon raised an eyebrow and lanced towards the driver’s seat. “COTS?” she murmured after a moment’s silence.

Spike smiled. “Yeah. That’s what they call us, right? Crazy COTS. Heh.” He leant back as Twilight began to stir. He immediately snapped to attention and gently lowered her down. “Twilight? Can you hear me? Twilight?!”

“Hnnn...” the princess groaned and turned over. “Just a few more minutes, Spike...”

Neon watched silently as her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright. “Spike! It’s really you?!” she cried happily. Tears immediately began to flow from her eyes as she swung her hooves around the dragon’s neck and pulled him him into a tight embrace.

“Twilight!” Spike cried back and swung his own claws around her.

The two embraced one another like old friends. Like family. Twilight planted several kisses around his face and continued to squeeze him. Neon couldn’t help but feel a bitter jealousy rise inside her as they began to talk and catch up. She felt like she was intruding, so she away, choosing to clamber forwards into the passenger seat. She glared at the pony next to her, who waved and smiled as she readjusted herself.

“Hi, Neon,” Bright Spark cheerily said without a care in the world. He reached into a small bag next to him and withdrew a cookie. “Want one?” he asked as he took a bite from it.

“Not a word,” Neon muttered back. “Not in the mood for your shit, Sparky.”

“That’s fair.” Bright Spark chortled to himself and leant back in his chair, quietly munching on his biscuit. He was, strangely, manually piloting the van even as they flew through the skyway. “I’m sorry... for what happened, Neon,” he said to her as an awkward silence fell upon them.”

“I said not a word.”

“I know, I know, but--oww! Why’d you hit me?” Bright Spark rubbed his shoulder and frowned. His wings, now free from the restraints of his delivery uniform, rustled against the chair. “I’m trying to apologise-”

Neon raised her hoof again and glowered at him while Twilight and Spike continued to reunite behind them. She closed her eyes and let her hoof fall limp. “Just drive, you hateful horrible little colt,” she muttered, ignoring his hurt look. He fell silent and focused on driving.

”What a shit start to a day,” she thought and gazed out the window at the world whizzing past. The sun was just barely above the skyline right now. She hoped she could find another model of Blue to repair and install his chip. She held it up with her magic and examined it closely.

Bright leant over and pressed a button on the radio. Music began to play, some synthwave song by Love Pulse. “I hate this song,” Neon muttered. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth, feeling the catchy tune creep into her soul. Her stomach rumbled, and she turned her hungry eyes over to the small bag the colt’s side.

“So do I,” Bright chuckled in response, and offered her it. “Just leave me one.”

Soon enough they were both humming and mumbling the words to a song they both hated as they sped towards their destination.

Seven

The Scrapheap was a messy place.

Dark and cramped, even by Ponyopolis standards, the industrial sector was easily the most densely populated area of the entire megacity. Approximately three million souls made their homes there, crammed into spaces rife with disease, organised chaos, and vice.

It was a city within a city, a self contained government that collected no karmic taxes and provided little to no security for its inhabitants. Shoddily erected wells collected water that dripped down from overhead pipes that stemmed from the city’s generators. Improvised houses and shantytowns took up most of the streets, of which were usually packed with workers, beggars, or creatures who simply wished to disappear.

It was the ideal breeding ground for those who dealt in illicit trade--gambling, trafficking, drugs, black market arms deals, and everything else in between. The only law was that of the Novos.

The Novos themselves were a group of violent, sometimes deranged creatures obsessed with body modifications, preferring their cyberware to be over the top and excessive, each relishing in resembling monsters straight out of the old legends of Equestria. It became an addiction of sorts, to replace what they perceived as weak flesh with cold, hard chrome.

Typically the Novos achieved this goal by way of the various cyber clinics, known to the locals as ‘chopshops’. In these establishments was where they upgraded their cyberware, whether it was to impress a rival in the gang or simply to get their latest fix. This was not without cost, however, as off the books and black market surgery was often excruciatingly painful. Not that this deterred an aspiring cyberjunkie in any way shape or form, however, as many who had been indoctrinated by Novo ideology viewed their pain as a necessary sacrifice for the betterment of themselves and what was left of Equestria, in order to forge a new future, shiny and chrome...

***

A dented, bullet riddled and partially rusted van, once belonging to the now defunct Grey’s Delivery Company, rattled and shuddered to a halt in a quiet corner of the Scrapheap. Bright Spark released the controls and gave a smug smile to the pony in the passenger seat next to him. “Told you I could land this thing.”

Neon glared at him and stuck her tongue out. “Yeah, yeah, well done you can drive.” She turned around to face the dragon and the pony in the back of the van. “So what’s the game plan here? We walk in, tell them ‘take us to COTS’ and that’s it?”

Spike shook his head slowly. “It’s not that easy, Neon.” He glanced at Twilight and grimaced. Her eyes were wide as she stared down at the floor. The rings of worry around her eyes he had sorely missed appeared as clear day, just as he remembered them from centuries ago, but brought him no level of comfort. “This is Novo territory. We have to play by their rules or we won’t get anywhere, no matter who we are or who we’re with. We’re looking for a place called Six Hooves, don’t ask about the name. We need an audience with Lady Razor if we’re gonna get anywhere.”

The unicorn snorted. “Lady Razor? What is she a queen or something?”

Spike ignored her and continued. “You can’t get an audience with her until we get an invitation. That’s why me and Bright will go on ahead. We’ll politely request an audience with her and tell her that it’s important COTS business. They have an arrangement with each other, so they usually, keep out of each other’s hair.” He paused, and a nervous smile crept onto his face. “Or wires.”

Bright Spark nodded silently and looked out the window. The muck and grime of the Scrapheap covered almost everything, and the clouds were too high above to see what the weather would be like. His mouth turned down as he prepared himself for a less than stellar experience.

“What if somepony sees us and calls security?” Neon interjected. She raised an eyebrow at the dragon and crossed her hooves. “How do you expect us to get to this ‘Lady Razor’ without having an army called down on our heads?”

Bright Spark shook his head and spoke up. “The Novos don’t like any authority but their own. Anypony who calls security down here quickly... um...” He swallowed nervously. “Disappears.” He took a deep breath and rubbed his head, looking worriedly at Twilight, still staring down at the ground and not saying a word. “Besides, security tends to give this place a wide berth anyway.”

Neon opened her mouth to fire back with another question. “What about cameras? Drones? Droids?” She looked down at the CPU from Blue, now contained in a small box and kept safe from the world until she could find a new body for him. “They all record stuff right?”

“Cameras don’t last very long before their stripped for parts. As for drones and droids, well, the Novos kinda mess that up with their, um... stuff.” Bright Spark flexed his wings and shuffled his hooves. “Something in their programming, droids, not Novos--do not call the Novos droids--messes up, and they can’t function very well down here. Security won’t find us, not if you follow our lead.”

Spike nodded. “He’s right, Neon.”

Neon sighed in resignation and threw her hooves up. “Fine. Whatever, I guess.” She glanced at Twilight and frowned. “Is she gonna be okay?”

Twilight flinched as all eyes turned to her. She roused herself from her thoughts and forced a sheepish smile onto her face. “Sorry, everypony, I was just... thinking... What did you say, Neon?”

Spike ran a claw across his spines and smiled. “Still the same old Twilight,” he murmured to himself. “Aright, you’re looking for a cyber clinic called Six Hooves...”

The princess listened intently as he ran through the plan again. She didn’t understand the term ‘cyber clinic’ and wondered if Lady Razor was a family name or not. She nodded in understanding as Spike finished explaining himself again, and soon after he and Bright Spark exited the van.

“We’d better hurry,” the young pegasus said as he looked around nervously.

Spike nodded in agreement. He turned back into the van and addressed the two ponies remaining. “Wait for a message to come through on the dashboard, then come out. It’s just down the street, first clinic on the right--you can’t miss it.” He reached out and tenderly took Twilight’s hoof in his claw and smiled. “Everything will be okay, Twilight. Just wait and see, alright?”

Twilight nodded and smiled back. Her heart felt heavy, and her hooves felt tingly. He released her and started off down the street. Bright Spark joylessly waved to them and followed after him, clearly dreading what was to come. The princess used her magic to pull the door shut, the roar of the city replaced by the quiet stillness of the dark and stuffy van.

Neon puffed her cheeks out as the princess sat down. One of her hooves tapped nervously. “You alright, Twi?” she asked quietly.

The princess shook her head. “Not really,” she murmured back.

“Me neither.”

Several minutes of a loud silence passed as Twilight sat quietly and stewed, lost in her own thoughts. Neon began to pace, moving like an animal from an old holovid. She ran a hoof over her face and groaned in anxiety, then shook her head.

Then she began to laugh. A long, hollow laugh. It came from somewhere deep inside her, where all the negative feelings she felt--fear, frustration, anger, and everything in between--came from, and echoed through the small van.

Twilight glanced up curiously, and fearfully. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

Neon shook her head. She composed herself and stopped laughing, and made an attempt to smooth down her coat. The barrier she had maintained up until that point reformed itself, and she tried to appear stoic and calm, much like how the princess carried herself.

“Do you even get what we’re doing, Twilight?” she said finally.

“Going to see the Novos so that we can see the Children of the Sun?”

“I mean besides that. What happens after?” Neon continued pacing. “We get you in charge of everything and then it all goes back to how it was centuries ago?” she said.

Twilight had no words of comfort to give her. In truth, she hadn’t thought that far ahead, and had been focusing mainly on finding out more bout her past. Spike had done a good job of filling in the blanks, mainly in regards to what he and her friends had been doing, and had--to her delighted surprise--told her that they were all actually alive and well, hidden away at a safe location. She felt both ecstatic and nauseous at seeing them all again, and hoped they wouldn’t be too upset at her disappearance for a few centuries.

Neon continued on, not waiting for Twilight to speak. “And these Novos, they’re freaking crazy, Twilight. If they’re helping COTS they’re in it only for themselves, I guarantee it.” She snorted. “I bet they want you to give them a megacity to themselves for helping put you back on top, I can’t imagine how well that would go down before they declare war on anything not as cybered as they are.”

The princess frowned as Neon’s words brought her back to the present. “Or they could just be good, kind creatures?”

The unicorn shook her head. “Nah. Not the Novos. They don’t do anything not programmed into them by their own gang. I’m not even sure they have hearts anymore, or know what kindness is.” Her pace quickened. Her head snapped around as she turned, her brow furrowed and her eyes grew wild.

Twilight stood up and moved closer to her. “Neon I know you’re afraid. I am too.”

“I’m not afraid, Twilight. I’m angry.” Neon stopped and glared at her. “My dad died because of some conspiracy bullshit. Sal died for the same bullshit. They ended them both because they were what, loose ends?”

“You don’t think I’m angry, Neon?” Twilight snapped back. “They stole years of my life from me, and all I remember is feeling like I made a mistake. I don’t even know who ‘they’ are.”

The unicorn waved a hoof dismissively. “Please. You’ve got Spike, your Children of the Sun who want to put you back on top. What do I have? Nothing. Nopony.” She glanced down at the small box that held Blue’s CPU. “I feel like I’m going crazy. That damn droid is just about the only thing I have left of a family now. The only thing keeping me... sane.”

Twilight reached out and softened her face. “You aren’t going crazy, Neon. This is just shock, and grief.”

Neon growled and batted her hoof away. “Don’t patronise me, princess.”

“I’m not trying to, Neon,” Twilight replied sadly. “I’m trying to be helpful, I’m trying to keep it together for you and you keep throwing it back in my face.”

“Whatever,” Neon grunted and turned away sulkily. “We’re about to walk into the lions’ den so what does it even matter now? I’m a wanted criminal, if I show my face in public I’ll probably be executed on the spot, I’m willing to bet I don’t have a shred of karma left.” She held up a hoof and tapped the side of the van as she counted off things. “My apartment. My job. My way of life. Both of my dads. Gone. All gone. And for what? So a relic of the past can sit on her throne again?”

Her words fell heavily in the quiet van. Twilight watched in silence as she turned around to face her.

“I’ve got nothing left, Twilight,” she murmured sadly and waved her hoof, brushing it all away. “Nothing. I’m a nopony now, no better than the gutter trash we’re about to meet with.” She slumped to the ground and sniffed, her emotions catching up with her. “I’m not my dad, I don’t know what ‘the right thing’ is anymore.” She curled her tail around herself. “I’m useless.”

“That’s not true, Neon,” the princess said finally and put her hoof down. She smiled and stepped closer to her young friend and lifted her face up. “You know what I think of you?”

Neon was silent as she stared into the alicorn’s eyes, even as they twinkled and sparkled with tears.

“I’ll tell you.” Twilight tapped her own hoof against the side of the wall. “I think you’re a good pony. A decent, kind hearted pony with a lot of worry on her back.” She looked down into the unicorn’s eyes and smiled. “You’re helping me, helping us, make Equestria a better place, even if we don’t know how to do that, but you’re still trying to help. You’ve lost as much as anypony, more than anypony else could have, but regardless of that, you’re still helping me. So thank you, Neon. I’m so, very proud of you.”

The unicorn felt her heart flutter. Only her dad, and Sal once or twice, had ever said that he was proud of her. To hear it from somepony as important as Twilight Sparkle, even in the back of a dusty old van, was something to behold. “Sorry, Twilight...” she mumbled after a few minutes of silence. “I’m...”

She trailed off as the princess put a hoof to her lips and tears rolled down her cheeks. “It’s alright, Neon. If you ever want to talk, I’ll listen.” Twilight smiled warmly and wiped the tears away. “That’s what friends do.”

The radio in the front of the van crackled to life, startling them both and interrupting the moment.

“Guys they’re ready for you. Better come quick,” came Spike’s voice. Both ponies noted the urgency in his voice and looked at one another, nodding in silent agreement that their conversation would have to wait for another time.

Twilight smiled at Neon, and Neon smiled back. Both felt marginally better after their little heart to heart regardless of whether it was cut short or not. The door was thrust open again, and they hopped down into the Scrapheap. The roar of the city echoed around them, a million voices crying out in the dark undercity, each a downtrodden soul scraping by a pitiful existence.

“Down the street and to the right yeah?” Neon clarified.

Twilight nodded in response and rubbed her temple. “That’s right.” She glanced back at the rusty van and winced. “Do we just leave this here?”

Neon shrugged. “I guess. I suppose it’ll be scrapped for parts before we see it again.” The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. “Sparky won’t like it so much.”

“Sparky?”

“Well Bright Spark is a bit of a mouthful to say every time.”

Twilight laughed and rustled her wings as they set off, towards the chopshop known as Six Hooves.

***

The clinic had a stifling atmosphere. The dim and flickering lights above gave it the appearance of a morgue more than a doctor’s office, and the cold sterile air smelled strongly of metal and blood, hidden not very well under the stink of industrial grade antiseptic spray.

Somewhere in the distance, in the depths of the clinic, a whirring sawblade could be heard, coupled with agonising screams.

Neon felt eyes all over her as she and Twilight entered a deathly silent room. While she tried not to show her nervousness at being surrounded by a group of psychotic cybered-up-to-their-eyeballs fanatics, Twilight remained as steady as a rock as they walked. Her wings folded neatly at her side, and head held up high, she looked like a real princess.

They came to a halt in front of a heavily cybered hippogriff, surrounded by equally as cybered creatures, each and every one of them looking like something out a twisted, metal nightmare. Spike and Bright Spark stood to one side, looking down at the ground respectfully, or fearfully. The former glanced up at Twilight and smiled at her before quickly turning his attention back to the ground.

”So this must be this Lady Razor then,” Neon thought as she stared the hippogriff in the eye. She shivered involuntarily as the whirr of a saw sounded again from somewhere in the building, although followed this time by manic laughter and cries of ecstasy.

Lady Razor inhaled a long drag of smoke from the cigarette holder jutting out from her beak. Where her eyes should have been were empty sockets, and between them was a single, large glowing red lens. Her bleached and colourless mane hung loosely around her neck, and behind her her solid metal wings rustled. Each ‘feather’ was a razorblade sharpened to perfection. Her equally as metallic claws rested on a small table in front of her and tapped impatiently.

“Dearest Spike has informed me of your situation,” she said. Her voice was sickly sweet, but contains traces of malice and absolute contempt.

Twilight nodded stiffly and said nothing.

Lady Razor’s singular eye shuttered open and close as she pushed some of her mane away and shinked her wings together. Around them, several Novos with similar eye transplants watched them with cold, red glares.

“So you come to me, to Six Hooves,” she said sweetly.

Perspiration appeared on the dragon’s forehead, but he remained quiet.

“And potentially led the dogs of Megacity Security to my front door, endangering myself and my humble clinic and all of my brothers and sisters.”

Razor exhaled a long cloud of smoke. Her eye offered them nothing, no hint of insight into her mind as it scrutinized them. She traced one of her claws along the steel table in front of her, marking it and sending a few sparks into the air.

“I thought princesses were supposed to be smart.”

Twilight and Neon’s heads both turned to each other for a split second.

The hippogriff giggled as she took another drag of smoke and continued. “Yes. I know who you are, Twilight Sparkle, and you Neon Dream. You are quite famous in the megacity, even in the Scrapheap.” The corners of her beak curled upwards. “My name is Lady Razor. It is a pleasure to meet you both.”

The ponies both glanced at Spike, who gestured for them to bow with as little movement as possible. The hulking brute of a pony beside him jutted his metallic jaw towards him and growled something inaudible.

“Lady Razor, it is a great honour to met you,” Twilight declared with a dramatic bow, sweeping her left foreleg outwards and cradling her right leg underneath her so her forward half . She knew how to appease nobles, even if they only pretended to be nobles, and she needed this hippogriff to be on her side. ”Manners are everything,” she thought to herself.

Neon, on the other hoof, wasn’t as aware, and twisted her face at the princess’s bow. “Really?” she murmured without thinking.

Several of the guards nearby lurched forwards, their murderous red eyes focused solely on the unicorn, each intending to force her to show respect.

“Right. Sorry. Hello, Lady Razor,” she said and craned her neck downwards, stiffly and awkwardly going into a bow .

The hippogriff’s clacking claws on the table were the only sound as she leant back and smirked.

“N-Neon’s new here, Lady Razor-” Bright Spark mumbled, refusing to take his eyes off the ground. “She-”

Razor shot him a look. Her eye closed to a pinprick ass he focused on the young pegasus. “Mustn’t speak until spoken to, dear Bright Spark,” she spat.

The pegasus whimpered an apology and fell silent, daring to take only the smallest breaths possible. Satisfied with it, Razor turned her attention back to the two before her and inhaled another drag of smoke.

Neon opened her mouth to scold the hippogriff for talking to the pegasus like that, but Twilight shot her a look and mouthed to be quiet. She obeyed and kept her head bowed. As she looked at the ground, she noticed some of the tiles had faint traces of red on them, and she could only imagine who had stood in a similar position to her before.

“Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Razor said. “I will allow you passage into the Children’s territory, as per our arrangement.”

Twilight felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Oh thank you, lady-”

Razor held up a chrome claw that glinted in the dim light. “However, I find myself in need of somepony...” She glanced over Neon and clacked her beak. “Disposable.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Neon looked up and scowled.

The Novo leaned forwards and blew smoke in her face. “It means, that to me, you are worthless, and if your little princess wishes to see her Children, you will-”

“Neon Dream is a very capable pony, Lady Razor,” Twilight interjected. She held her head up high again and placed her front hooves together. “And is more than willing to assist you in whatever you need help with, I assure you, but please do not refer to my ponies as worthless.”

The princess flashed a smile at the Novo, who looked on in mild entertainment.

Neon glared at Twilight. ”Thanks for giving me a job, I guess, not like I wanted a say in the matter,” she bitterly said in her mind.

Razor arose from her chair and strode up to Twilight. Standing at roughly the same height as the alicorn, she sized up the pony as she began to circle her. “Strong legs, firm shoulders...” she murmured quietly. Twilight remained stock still as the Novos eyed her up. “Large wings. With some enhancements you could be truly powerful, Twilight Sparkle,” she hissed with a soft chuckle. “Instead you are wasted in this fleshsack of a body of yours. A pity.”

The princess felt her lip curl downwards and fought to keep from snapping at the rude hippogriff. “That’s very kind of you to say, Lady Razor. But I fail to see what this has to do with the Chidren.”

“All in good time, princess,” Razor continued as she focused her attention on the smaller unicorn. The corners of her beak once again turned into a tight smile. “Now, Neon Dream, you have a fine body. Your potential is higher than the princess’s, assuming you are not as attached to your body as she?”

Neon grunted in response. “I like my body as it is, thanks.”

“You dislike cybernetics?”

“I don’t dislike them I’m just not a cyber happy lunatic like you.”

Twilight closed her eyes, fearing the worst. She felt magic build up inside her horn, and readied herself to make a quick getaway if need be. Instead, Lady Razor threw her head back and cackled. The alicorn opened her eyes slowly and saw the hippogriff turning around.

“Yes. You will do,” she said. “You were a delivery pony, yes, Neon dear?”

Neon nodded and gave Twilight a curious look. “Yeah? What’s that-”

“I need a package delivered to an associate of mine.” Razor snapped her claws before Neon could even agree. The door behind them opened, revealing a small, skinny pony wearing overalls who shambled forwards, holding a metal case. He navigated around the princess and the unicorn, avoiding all eye contact possible, placed it on the table in front of the Lady with a short bow, then quickly made his exit. Neon noticed one of his legs was made entirely out of cobbled together bits of technology and didn’t look as refined as the rest of the Novos cybernetics.

“This is your package, Neon Dream,” Razor said with a smile. She spun the case around and put the code in on the front and opened it up. She inspected the contents of it, nodded to herself, then clasped it shut again and made sure it was locked. “Everything is accounted for. You are to bring this to the edge of the Scrapheap. Once delivered, return to Six Hooves, and you shall be reunited with your princess and be free to leave.”

Neon glanced down at the case. “That’s it?” she asked quietly.

“That is it,” replied Razor, still with a sickly sweet voice. “Young Bright Spark knows of whom I speak. I have hired him myself a few times to perform deliveries for me.”

Bright Spark nodded. “Yes, Lady Razor, right away.”

“So obedient.” Razor grinned maliciously. “Does it please you, princess, to know your former subjects are such obedient creatures?” she asked Twilight.

Twilight remained stone faced. “It does,” she stated bluntly, earning a cautious look from both Bright Spark and Neon. “I know my ponies will serve you well. And I trust that once they are finished with your task, they will be returned to me unharmed?”

“But of course, princess,” Razor chuckled. She held up a claw. “I swear to you, Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, that no harm shall befoul them as long as they are in Novo territory.” She grinned from feather to feather. Her long, white mane hung loosely to one side.

The princess nodded. “If I may, then, Lady?” she gestured to her friends.

Razor waved a claw dismissively. “You may leave. Say your farewells for now. I expect you back shortly, Neon Dream.” She clacked her beak and snapped her claws again. The Novos in the room eased off their relentless gazes and turned their attentions elsewhere, whether it was amongst themselves or idly tinkering with their own cyberware.

The group turned to leave. Neon took the case in her magic and let it hover beside her. The Novo by the door opened it for them and stepped to one side. He glared down at the young pegasus as he scampered past and growled menacingly at him. Twilight gave him a deathly stare back and put a wing around Bright Spark, ushering him out and shielding him from the metallic gaze of the Novo. Spike was the last one out, and as he turned to close the door behind him, he spotted Razor waving at him with knives for claws. He shivered and gave her a small bow before closing the door.

“We’d better leave, before she asks for anything else,” he murmured. He glanced at Neon and Bright Spark and smiled at them hopefully. “Well... not out of a job yet then?”

Neon set the case down gently. Even a fired delivery pony still knew how to treat clients’ packages. She rounded on Twilight. “Alright what the hell was that?” she grunted. her eyes sparked with anger. “You think you can just pimp me out to get what you want, huh?” she snarled.

Twilight smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Neon. It worked, though, right? And it’s just a delivery job, nothing dangerous?” she offered hopefully. ”What in Equestria does pimp mean?” she wondered, having never heard the word before. Another thing she had to learn in this dark future.

“Nothing dangerous?!” Neon’s already deep scowl deepened. “If you’ll allow me to remind you, the last delivery I was supposed to do cost me my job, my home, and made me a criminal.” She jabbed a hoof at Bright Spark. “Thanks to this idiot.” She cuffed the young pegasus on the back of the head and glowered at him.

He rubbed where she hit him and mumbled an apology.

“We really should get moving, guys,” Spike said hurriedly. “I don’t know what’s in that case but you’d best hurry, the edge of the Scrapheap’s a ways away. Twilight we need to go see the Children, now. I heard something in there before you guys arrived.”

Bright Spark nodded. “He’s right. Come on Neon, I know where we’re going.”

Twilight and Neon paused as they looked at each other.

“Goodbye Neon,” the former said quietly and held out a hoof. She realised this was going to be the first time they were separated since leaving her apartment, and dreaded at what could happen in this dark place of the city. “Look after yourself alright? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Neon bitterly held her hoof out and shook the princess’s. “Don’t get all misty eyed on me, Twilight. We’ll be... Sparky, how long will we be?”

Bright Spark allowed a small smile at hearing his nickname play across his face. “Not long. Thirty minutes?”

“There. Thirty minutes, forty tops.” The unicorn smiled, although her eyes held no happiness to them. “Go find COTS, and we’ll... meet you back here I suppose? You know where we’re going right?” she asked and turned to the pegasus.

“Oh, yeah no--no problem,” he replied cheerily.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Nopony’s ever given me a nickname before.”

“Ah jeez, alright well don’t get all mushy on me, kid.” Neon rolled her eyes and lifted the case up, surrounding it in her magic. “Come on, hopefully the van is still there.”

Sparky frowned, his smile quickly fading, and hurried after her as she set off without another word. “Wait, what do you mean ‘hopefully‘?”

Twilight and Spike stood side by side, watching them leave the clinic and turn left. The dragon put a claw around the pony and gave her a small hug. “You okay, Twilight?”

“I’m... fine, Spike,” she murmured back, grateful he was there. “Are they gonna be alright coming back here?”

“I’ll come back on my own and take them to the Children, don’t worry.”

“Alright.” Twilight sighed in a resigned manner. She forced yet another smile onto her face. “Lead the way, dearest Spike,” she chuckled quietly.

Spike groaned. “Oh come on Twilight, it’s awful when she calls me that.”

Twilight laughed and gave him a sorely needed nuzzle as they exited the cyber clinic and turned right. She glanced back and saw the name of the sign outside was actually GlowCorp Cyber Surgeries. She frowned and questioned Spike about it. “I thought it was called Six Hooves?” The word GlowCorp struck her as odd, and somewhat familiar. ”Surely not, though...”

“Well, like anything else in this city, ponies just sort of name things what they want,” Spike replied.

“But why Six Hooves?”

“The pony who used to run it gave himself an extra pair of hooves to help him operate.”

“Was he that busy?”

“From what I heard? No, he just liked cutting things.”

Twilight grimaced and fell silent. She hated the Scrapheap, even from what little she had seen of it. She wondered if anywhere else in the city had such grim tidbits of information about them.

Eight

The journey to the delivery drop-off point was relatively quiet. Even in the skies around it, the Scrapheap was a busy place, as row after row of hovercars filled the sky, creating colossal traffic jams and bottlenecking parts of the skyway.

Neon examined the case in her hooves carefully, looking over it to see if she could see any identifying features. A part of her, that rebellious side she thought she had expunged after Sal’s accident, longed to take just the shortest peak inside. Another part of her, the professional yet apathetic delivery pony, simply wished to get the job done without any unnecessary drama.

Beside her, Bright Spark hummed a small tune as the radio continued to play Love Pulse’s latest album.

“Enjoying yourself?” she grunted at him.

He glanced at her and smiled, keeping his hooves firmly on the steering wheel. “I’m just glad to get out of Razor’s place with both my wings,” he told her cheerfully. “Besides, I love this song.”

“Hmph.” Neon snorted dismissively and turned away. She grimaced and sighed unhappily at the huge line of cars in front of them. “This is gonna take ages, might as well get comfortable,” she muttered. She leant back in her seat and puffed out her cheeks and stretched her legs.

The young pegasus rolled his eyes at her and began to form a small smile on his face. He pressed his hooves into the pedal and made the van shoot forwards, then pulled back sharply on the wheel. Their vehicle rocketed into the sky and rode in uncontrolled airspace in a brazen show of disregard for public obedience.

Neon’s legs splayed out as she made to grab something to keep herself steady. When they levelled out she relaxed herself and smoothed down her coat. She glared at the pegasus disapprovingly. “I suppose you think you’re clever for that?” she muttered.

He laughed apologetically. “Sorry, Neon. You looked too comfortable.” He stuck his tongue out at her and grinned from ear to ear.

She continued to glare at him, but found herself smiling all the same. Though she loathed to admit it for the mess he’d dropped her in, she liked the young pegasus. He wasn’t like her, not brash and headstrong. He was a worrier, a thinker--at least outside of his van. Inside his van, behind the wheel, he was a genius. She wondered if he would have rivalled her for employee of the month at Grey’s.

Her smile faded as she thought of her old boss Mr Dust. She clenched her teeth as her temper flared up again. They had both heard over the news about the ‘tragic’ death of Grey Dust, brought to ruin by a former employee, one Neon Dream to be exact, before she stole a van and sent a malfunctioning droid to slaughter the many brave security guards who were sent to apprehend her.

Again, they--the corporate overlords in charge of the city--had framed Neon for a crime she did not commit. She was beginning to feel like it was personal at this point. Mr Dust was a cantankerous old jerk at times, but he didn’t deserve to die.

She ran a hoof through her mane and scratched her ear as her thoughts turned to Twilight and Spike. She wondered how Twilight was doing meeting with the other Children. She hoped the princess was more successful speaking to a group of weird fanatics who practically worshipped her some kind of god more than she was floating through the city like a-

At that moment, interrupting her thoughts, Sparky cried out. “Aha! There it is!”

He pointed at the building in front of them. Neon’s eyebrows skyrocketed in surprise as she recognised it from various holovids and news reports. The Monarch Spire loomed before them, home to Monarch Solutions, the second largest corporation in the megacity and direct rival to the largest corporation: GlowCorp.

“Yeah. I know,” Sparky said as he saw her bewildered expression and pointed towards one of the hexagonal platforms jutting out at various levels all the way up the skyscraper. “I’ll set us down on one of those platforms--we can get in there.”

“Wait, wait, hold on,” Neon said and waved her hooves in the air, her mind suddenly abuzz with questions. “Razor said an associate of hers? What, is somepony up there in league with the Novos? Or COTS?”

Sparky grimaced as he guided the van downwards. “Lady Razor’s not the kind of hippogriff who you ask a lot of questions about. All I did was nod my head and do the job. There was usually a contact waiting on one of the platforms. Weird there’s nopony there now.”

Neon fell back in her seat. “I guess. Still.” She wrinkled her nose and peered up at the oddly pristine building. “What an eyesore. Doesn’t even fit the décor of the Scrapheap.” She snorted. “Typical corp.”

Sparky grimaced as he guided the van down and landed on one of the platforms. Neon gathered herself and lifted up the case with her magic. “Ready?” she asked her partner.

“Uh...” he swallowed nervously.

Neon looked at him. “What?”

“I have a bad feeling about this, Neon.” Bright Spark looked around the platform. Not a soul in sight. “There’s usually somepony here.” His eyes darted back forth and his teeth set on edge. Neon sighed at him and remembered what she thought earlier.

”He’s a worrier alright. That’s good.” She shook her head and chuckled softly to herself. “You wanna wait here in case we need to get the hell outta dodge?”

He turned to her quickly and stammered out a response. “W-well, it’s just that-” he started in an attempt to justify his actions. He fell silent as she patted his shoulder in a comforting way.

“That’s not a bad idea, actually you know.” She forced a smile onto her face. ”In the spirit of friendship, I guess I’ll give him this one,” she thought. “It might get hairy in there. It might not be a bad idea to leave quickly, if you know what I mean.” She winked at him. “Think you can handle that?”

Bright Spark let loose the breath he was holding and looked visibly happier and instantly more relaxed. “Oh yeah. Totally.” He placed his hooves on the wheel and looked ahead with a lopsided smile on his face as Neon retracted her hoof and hopped outside.

She glanced around quickly at bare and basic platform. The city both above and below her continued on as it always did, and she could hear the distant sounds of the street markets far below in the dregs of the Scrapheap.

The lack of anypony on the platform out to meet them unnerved her as it did the pegasus, and made her think that with a company like this, surely there’d be at least one creature who’d meet her. Unless they didn’t know they were coming... ”That must be it,” she told herself in relief, more in an effort to alleviate her own worries than anything. ”Razor mustn’t have said we were coming. Dumb bird.” She turned back into the van and grabbed the case, dragging it out with her magic.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Sparky,” she warned and placed a hoof on the door. They locked eyes for a minute and smiled at one another.

Bright Spark nodded. “I won’t.” His smile faded as he looked up towards the sky. “Storm’s coming. You’d better hurry, I’d prefer if we don’t get caught in it.” He shivered. “Storms in the Scrapheap are worse than in other parts of the city.”

Neon grunted in agreement and craned her neck upwards, scowling at the darkening sky. “Sure, I’ll just march up to them, dump this case at the first pony I see then meet you back here.” She looked down at him and winked. “Deal?”

He laughed hollowly. “Deal.”

Neon ran a hoof through her mane and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. “Alright, well... Keep my seat warm, kid.”

A mischievous glint appeared in the young pony’s eye as she turned away. “You know...” he murmured quietly, making her pause and look back at him. “Since you’re technically a member of COTS now-”

Neon glared at him with an unamused expression. “Uh huh?”

“And I’ve been with them longer, I’m technically your superior.”

The mischievous in his eyes and the smirk on his lips wavered as the cold steely gaze of the unicorn made him quake in his seat.

“Or, you know... nev-never mind.”

After a few minutes more of silent glaring, Neon gave him a sarcastic salute, slammed the van door shut and turned around. She heard his muffled cries of protest and his declaration that he was only joking, to which she turned her head sideways and grinned at him. She saw him relax and make a rude gesture after her with his hooves, which elicited a laugh from her. He was definitely growing on her, like a little brother. Or a fungus.

As she walked towards the entrance of the Spire, the first few drops of rain began to bounce off the concrete platform. She glanced upwards and cursed the sky silently.

She picked up the pace, her hooves echoing around her as the clouds broke. As she grew closer to them, the metallic doors slid open, and the clean, sterile atmosphere of the Spire was revealed to her. She paused for a moment to glance back at Bright Spark as a familiar sense of dread washed over her. Shaking her head she sighed and pushed those thoughts away. “Focus on the job, Neon, this isn’t the first corporate shit you’ve dealt with.”

Upon entering the marble white and bare lobby her nostrils were immediately assaulted by the clinical smell of the corporate tower. “Ugh,” she grunted and lugged the case along beside her. She didn’t know much about Monarch, other than that they were one of the biggest competitors to GlowCorp, and apparently in cahoots with the Novos. “I wonder where that’s gotten them,” she muttered quietly. She inhaled another whiff of the surgical cleanliness of the building and grimaced.

Mr Dust’s office smelled like the same thing, she remembered, back when he had called her into his office to either berate her or praise her--both sides of the same coin with Grey Dust really. She bitterly thought about the cranky old bastard, and added his name to the list of ponies (and dragon) she was going to avenge by the time this was all over. It seemed like a lifetime ago she was dreaming about retiring to somewhere sunny with a strong drink and sunny skies.

Alongside one of the walls, a terminal flickered to life. An A.I. concierge appeared as a holographic image of a mare, and gave her a happy greeting.

“Hello, Neon Dream,” it said cheerfully. “You are expected.”

Neon frowned at it and set the case down for a moment. “Uh, hi?” she murmured warily. “What do you mean I’m expected?”

“You are expected,” the A.I. repeated cryptically. Across the room a pair of metal doors slid open to reveal an elevator. The hologram gestured towards it and smile. “Have a pleasant day.”

Neon held up a hoof in front of the holographic interface. Her frown stayed firmly put atop her brow. “Hold on a second, I have this case I’m supposed to deliver-”

“I’m sorry, Neon Dream, I have been instructed to inform you you are to move with urgency.” The concierge’s voice held a sinister undertone to it before the hologram smiled again. “You are expected. Have a pleasant day.”

And before Neon could protest or speak up anymore, the interface shut off, leaving her confused and irritated. The unicorn’s own breathing was the only sound as she shook her head. “Cool. Great. Alright. Corporate jackasses,” she muttered. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

She picked up the case with her magic once again and shuffled into the elevator. Giving it a cursory glance, she determined it was nothing more than a typical elevator, although touch colder and more sterile than any she had been in before. The panel to the side of the door, where an elevator’s buttons would typically be, was bare, save for one large button that had a simple arrow pointing upwards. She shrugged and pressed it, and took a step back as the doors closed. Immediately she could feel the g-force of being rushed upwards press down onto her, and calm, cheery music began to play as she soared to her destination.

Neon rubbed her temple in frustration. ”At least it’s not more Love Pulse.” She glanced down at the case beside her and took a deep breath. She didn’t know what she hoped for at this point. That sensation of dread once again washed over her, and the feeling she was walking into a trap began to eat away at her.

Several things didn’t add up. This was a corporate building, security should be crawling all over them. If she was expected, why was there literally--besides her--not a soul in sight? Questions with confusing answers ran through her mind as she stared at the metal doors in front of her.

The elevator jolted to a sudden halt, making her stumble. She sucked in a deep breath of air and rubbed her eyes as the doors slid open once again and once again grabbed Razor’s case with her magic.

Her head craned outwards of the doors and looked around carefully. It was eerily quiet. No corporate suits strutting about like they owned the place, nothing and nopony at all, not even a cleaning droid scurrying along the--still oddly clean--floor.

The whole building looked abandoned yet kept in remarkably good condition.

“Hello?” she called out. “Anypony there?” Silence answered her, as she expected. She licked her lips and held the case up. She cleared her throat and spoke as loudly as she dared. “Package delivery, from Lady Razor.” When she finished, a door at the far end of the corridor creaked ajar. She waited a moment, but nopony came through, or opened it any more.

“Well I hate this,” she whispered to herself. Something about the eeriness and silence of it all was getting to her. She’d heard of ghosts in the machines--allegedly ponies who had died while plugged into the matrix, whose spirit had lingered in the system--and wondered if there were any legends and stories of these ghosts getting out of the matrix. Just as she was wondering if she could throw the case far enough to get through the door, she began to hear a horrid grinding metal sound from directly behind her. She jumped forwards and spun around. The wall of the elevator was moving towards her, pushing her, practically, towards the open door at the end of the corridor.

She groaned as the grinding stopped, and a cold metal wall greeted her and mustered up what courage she had left and turned around. “Alright. Good joke, play a prank on those less fortunate than you, har har. Now somepony come and take this case, I got a ton of other deliveries to do today.” She knew lying would probably not get her anywhere here, but figured she’d give it a try.

More silence. Neon was getting tired of this shtick now and took a deep breath. ”Alright, fine. Have it your way.” With nowhere left to go but forwards, she lifted up the case and marched forwards. Moving quickly and keeping her head high, she reached the open door and pushed it open, only to reveal a pitch black room. The pink glow of her magic around the case couldn’t even penetrate the darkness, it was as if the void itself existed solely within this room.

“Uh,” she said, taking a careful step forwards into the dark. “Hello?”

The room exploded into light and colour, making her eyes water.

“Agh!” she cried and made to cover her face. “Shit! My eyes!”

“Language, young Neon Dream,” said a voice, quietly and calmly in a manner similar to how the Princess of Friendship spoke. Yet unlike Twilight’s, whose voice was warm and kind, this mare’s voice ice cold and rang out with authority. “I have been waiting for you for some time now.”

The unicorn flinched. “I was expected, yeah, your system told me.” She snorted and blinked as her eyes still watered. She could see spots and felt like she had just looked into the sun itself. “What’s the big idea, anyway? Where is everypony? And who are you, anyway?” Her ears spun around atop her head and she bit her lip. “Actually, don’t tell me. I don’t care. Here.” She dropped the case on the floor and pushed it forwards. “Package delivery from Lady Razor. I’ll be on my way now.”

A chilling laughter reverberated throughout the room. The lights dimmed, and the unicorn could finally make something out in what appeared to be nothing more than a cold, extraordinarily clean white room, almost as long as the corridor she had just walked down.

A large desk, with an even larger chair facing away from her, looking out over the city. There was a pony in the chair, the speaker, she gathered, whose large, flowing and ethereal like mane spilled out down towards the ground in a similar vein to Twilight’s.

“Thank you for being so diligent with your delivery, Neon Dream, but I am afraid you cannot go just yet. Please, sit.”

A chair surrounded in light blue magic rushed towards Neon, making her flinch. The case was picked up in the same magic and zoomed towards the desk. Neon stared at it suspiciously and refused to budge.

“Listen,” she started. “I just-”

“Please,” the mare cut her off. “I insist.”

Neon felt compelled against her own will to take a seat. Her mouth moved wordlessly as she found her body moving of its own accord, and sat down in the chair brought before her. As soon as her hind quarters touched it, she was whisked towards the front of the desk in a flurry of movement.

“Whoa!” she cried in surprise. At least her mouth was her own, if not the rest of her body. “What gives?” The sensation of dread increased as she was brought closer to the mysterious mare.

“What gives, my dear Neon Dream, is we have a great many things to discuss.” The mare’s reflection stared back at Neon, who was now close enough to make out a few scarred features but nothing discernible.

“We do? Who are we?” the unicorn demanded. She felt her temper rise, despite the coldness of the room and the sense of dread she had. “I don’t have time for this-”

The reflection of the mare in the chair held up a hoof. “All will be explained in due time, Neon Dream, daughter of Loose Cannon.”

Neon froze. ”How does this corpo bitch know my dad? Did she have him bumped off?”

Another round of laughter from the chair made her shiver involuntarily. All her bravado, all her gusto that her dads, both pony and dragon, raised her with vanished in an instant, and she was reduced to feeling like a filly brought before the school principal again.

“I assure you, this ‘corpo bitch’, as you so eloquently put, Neon Dream, most definitely did not have your father bumped off. In fact-” A heavy sigh came from the chair. Neon saw the pony’s reflection shift and hang her head. “I would go so far as to say I was rather fond of him.”

Neon’s mind raced. “You... can read minds?” she murmured quietly.

“Indeed,” said the mare coolly. Her voice now sounded heavy and sorrowful.

A few moments of silenced passed between them. The tension hung thick in the room, which, to Neon, was beginning to feel more and more like a coffin, with walls closing down around her. “Who are you?” she asked quietly. She remained glued to the chair, despite leaning forwards so much.

The chair turned, and the reflection of the pony sitting in it vanished. Neon gaped at the dark blue mare sitting across from her, horn broken and chipped, coat matted and patched, face scarred and bruised, and, the things that made her eyes widen even further, the hints of torn and ragged wings behind the mare’s back. Atop her head sat a small metal object, a black as night crown with a small white jewel embedded into it.

“You’re an alicorn..?” Neon breathed. She felt her hooves begin to tremble. The sensation of dread overwhelmed her, and every fibre of her being screamed at her to run, to flee, to find somewhere warm and hide forever-always, yet her flank remained firmly glued to the seat. She couldn’t believe her eyes, she refused to believe it, yet knew it to be real and in front of her very eyes. If anypony had told her that she would be meeting not one, but two alicorns within the space of a week, she would have called them insane and retired then and there.

The mysterious alicorn nodded. “My name is Princess Luna of Equestria, Neon Dream. I have summoned you here to warn you of something terrible you have unwittingly unleashed upon the world.” The case from Lady Razor lifted up onto the table and clicked open, aided still by the light blue magic emanating from the mare’s horn “The greatest threat Equestria has and ever will face.”

She took a deep breath and lifted the case’s lid to reveal a cracked and damaged golden crown. On its crest was embedded a magenta jewel in the shape of Twilight’s cutie mark. The crown also radiated with magic that pulsed and beckoned temptingly.

Neon shifted her gaze away from the alicorn to the crown and stared at it in just as much horror as she did to the pony. “What?” she whispered, her voice no more than a croak.

The alicorn gave her a grave look. “Have you ever heard the story of the pony known as Midnight Sparkle?”

Neon shook her head slowly and strained her ears. “Midnight? I thought her name was Twilight?” she thought.

‘Luna’ smiled. “I thought not. It’s not a story one would commonly hear in civilized spaces...”

As she began to recite the tale burned inside her mind, outside high above the Scrapheap, and the rest of the megacity, the storm that had begun to brew finally broke. The light droplets of water turned into fat, heavy drops that crashed down onto anything underneath them. Lightning cracked the skies, and thunder echoed around the tall buildings.

Nine

“Five minutes, he said. I’m pretty sure that was fifteen minutes ago...”

Twilight looked around in a disgruntled manner as she leant against a shop window, waiting for her not-so-anymore little dragon to hurry back to her.

He’d said he was going to make sure everypony was ready for her, but was beginning to think he had gotten lost or distracted or something along the way. From across the street she saw a screen similar to those billboards she had seen when Neon had first revealed the world to her, only smaller and showing footage of her rescuer’s burnt out apartment. She looked around carefully before making to move over to it. Nopony around her gave her the time of the day, let alone any sideways glances or even seemed to care she was the fabled alicorn princess brought back to life as she waded through the sea of dull-eyed creatures going about their lives.

Her wings shuffled uncomfortably as she approached the screen. From what she gathered it was a news report, similar yet entirely different to ones in her time. Currently footage was showing the ‘violent’ and ‘deranged’ fugitive Neon Dream escaping justice in a stolen vehicle while her equally as dangerous droid battled security before it was subdued and dismantled. The princess winced as she saw the blood flecks on the ground, picked up by the crisp and clean camera footage, and realised how much she owed Neon Dream her life. She surmised that whoever was in charge didn’t want word getting out that she was awake... or alive for that matter. ”That would explain why there isn’t any footage of me there, then,” she thought.

She tapped the side of her head and tried to focus her thoughts in an attempt to desperately try to remember anything from before she woke up as the beginnings of rain dropped down around her. Thunder broke in the distance, rumbling over the city, signalling an incoming storm.

She raised her wings above her in an attempt to shield herself form the rain as it began to fall heavy and fast. She tried as hard as she could to just think, but for all her might, all her skill that she’d shown in her journey to become a princess, she simply couldn’t remember anything from before she woke up. This caused her no end of discomfort, and forced her to stamp her hoof in irritation. She opened her eyes and hung her head as the images on the screen changed to show the run down outside of Sal’s apartment building. She felt terrible for her young friend, and hoped she was having more luck delivering that case for Lady Razor.

“Hmph... Lady, indeed,” she snorted derisively, thinking about the audacity of that unnatural combination of metal and feathers. Rain dripped through her feathers and onto her nose, making her sneeze and sniffle.

Who did Razor think she was to call Twilight’s ponies--her friends--worthless? A flash of anger crossed the princess’s expression, twisting her face into a dark sneer for a moment before turning back into her usual self. She let loose a disgruntled sigh and gave her head a small shake then looked around, refusing to give any more of her own time to that wretched and rude creature.

She glanced around again, keeping an eye and an ear out in case Spike returned, and thought that regardless of whether she had subconsciously cast a spell of illusion around herself to avoid being seen, or if the Scrapheap was just as unfriendly as Manehattan was on a bad day, she was at least grateful the crowd surrounding her paid no heed to the alicorn standing in their midst.

A gentle tapping against her leg made her blink and look down. She saw an ancient looking pony drenched to the bone with blacked out lenses for eyes poke at her leg with a short stick and give a crooked smile to the world, looking below where her head was, no doubt assuming she wasn’t a giant in comparison to him.

“Watch where you’re going. Not like I can,” he croaked in laughter. His voice was hoarse and rough, and sounded as old as he looked.

Twilight stepped side and said nothing as he shuffled past, his joke cracking the faintest smile cross her face. ”At least some ponies still have a sense of humour,” she thought as she saw the blind old pony shuffle through the crowd, continuously getting jostled and pushed about with no respect. Her smile rapidly faded and she had to hold herself back from interfering, thinking it unwise to draw attention to herself. ”What happened to Equestria? Nopony cares about each other...”

It sickened and disheartened her to see what her home had become. Along the sides of the street many ponies were simply sitting in the rain, some with blank stares and emotionless expressions, some looking like they had just lost everything and were stewing in self pity, and some either asleep or--she gulped--worse. She tore her gaze away from the wretchedness of the Scrapheap inhabitants and looked upwards towards where the sky should have been, or tried to at least, as the bleak dreariness of the dull concrete buildings loomed above her, stretching for miles, not to mention the miasma created by exhaust fumes blotted out much of her view.

Despite being a mare out of time and unwillingly thrust into this alien and miserable world, she couldn’t help but marvel at such ingenious creations like flying cars once again. Just like the mechanical arms Megacity Security forces had employed to hold their weaponry, these cars and vans as Neon had called them astounded her. In her time, the only means of transportation were pony drawn carriages or by steam train. A dark thought crossed her mind as she mused that Celestia and Luna had perhaps stifled the scientific growth of Equestria to keep the advances of technology from falling into the wrong hooves.

This led to her wondering if maybe Equestria had been allowed to progress as much as it had since there were no princesses left in charge, and the possibly of this fact contributing to why the world was the way it was now. The thought dismayed her greatly, and yet she couldn’t help but silently confess that she was bitter she had missed the greatest scientific advancements Equestria had ever seen. They had flying cars now for Celestia’s sake! As well as these screens that held ponies advertising their products, not to mention holographic books--although she still preferred the physical feeling of turning the pages herself.

Despite her awe at the technology at her hooves now Twilight still just couldn’t help but feel that magic of the world seemed all but forgotten, replaced by machinery and automation. She still struggled to wrap her head around what happened to trees, and vowed that of she came across a library she would absorb as much information on the history of everything as she could, starting first and foremost with how ponies raised and lowered the sun and the moon-

”The sun and the moon?” Her own words echoed within her skull.

She couldn’t believe she hadn’t questioned it earlier, and clapped a hoof to her head, utterly appalled and dumbfounded that she had overlooked such an important thing. She immediately turned her gaze upwards and squinted, peering in between drops of rain and up at the grey bleakness of the massive skyscrapers that jutted up around her.

Earlier, when they had been in another part of the city and she could feel its warmth, the sun had felt real enough, although she could feel there was something deeply unsettling about it. She closed her eyes and stretched out with her magic, feeling for the sun’s comforting pull again. Her horn tingled as she felt the familiar warm glow of the sun’s rays dance with her magic in that moment, but again, like before, she felt there was something wrong with it. She gritted her teeth and reached further out, stretching herself like butter over too much bread across the big wide empty of space towards the celestial body that was as much a part of her as her horn was now.

There it was! Celestia’s own sun, and there, in the same sky... Luna’s moon? Both of them felt relatively the same, the moon felt lighter than when she felt it seven hundred years ago perhaps, but there was something else. Something wrong. Like a deep rooted sickness had taken hold of them. It was an unnatural, familiar magical feeling, and it frightened her.

Twilight’s eyes snapped open. She knew she had to see for herself now as fear gripped her stomach and began to churn out butterflies, and un controllable urge dominated her being to fly upwards. She glanced around to see if Spike was even close to coming back. He wasn’t. Lightning flashed overhead, prompting her to move quickly.

“Sorry, Spike,” she mumbled and stretched her wings. “I’ll be quick, I hope you don’t mind...” She paused, and smiled as she thought of a joke. “Call it payback for making me wait...”

After making sure she wouldn’t disturb anypony around her--not that they noticed or cared--she crouched as low to the ground as she could and then leapt into the air, creating a strong gale of wind to carry her upwards. She heard some confused voices call out for a moment before the sound of rushing wind filled her ears.

Her powerful wings carried her up, closer to where she could feel the sun’s pull. From the corner of her eye she saw billboards and great big screens showing ponies advertising products in the latest whatevers, their bright colours and neon screens poking through the misty rain. She ignored them, forcing herself ever upwards, aiming to get above the line of traffic, and then above the buildings around her, and eventually through the clouds. The rain did provide some cover, she supposed, from any cameras that might have seen her, or anypony paying attention to their surroundings.

She twirled and darted through the air like a graceful dancer, despite the fatigue her wings were suddenly feeling. ”All those flying lessons with Rainbow are finally paying off,” she thought with a grin as she twisted upwards and through several lines of cars. After narrowly avoiding crashing into one that skidded to a halt in mid-air, she decided to stop making jokes and focus on flying, looking a tad sheepish amidst the rain and wind.

Soon enough she broke the line of traffic and soared above them, galloping through the air like she was running on the wind itself. The downpour of rain cascaded down around her and the wind made her already messy mane worse and slap her continuously in the face. She wished at times like this, which weren’t many but all the same, that she had something she could tie her mane up with. The muscles of her wings began to feel the burn, that sensation that she was growing close to her limit. Still she persisted.

The air was getting thin now. The rain continued to thunder down around her, and streaks of lightning cracked the skies, making the buildings around her seem taller somehow.

The pull of Celestia’s sun grew stronger and stronger as she carried herself upwards, on and on through the city, through and away from the smog and miasma of misery. After minutes that felt like hours dragged by of what seemed like endless flying, finally she breached the clouds, and then something strange and wholly unexpected happened.

Just as she broke into a smile at the relief of reprieve from the storm, she came to an unceremonious halt as she hit something.

It was her nose that first collided with the unknown force, then her body followed, crashing into whatever it was, making her eyes water and send pain shooting through her body. Thankfully her alicorn constitution saved her from being seriously injured, although her nose stung and when she looked at her hoof after rubbing it she saw the dark red stain of her own blood against her light purple coat.

“Owwww!” she whined and pinched her nose. “What was...”

Her hoof fell away and her voice trailed off as she blinked and saw the sky itself shimmering where she had struck. “What in Equestria...” she murmured and drifted closer to the centre of the shimmering, and realised she had made a small dent in... something... from crashing into it. She tentatively and curiously stretched out her hoof and was intrigued, to say the least, to find it was a solid wall, simply rendered invisible. “A magical barrier?” She scanned it quickly with her magic and received nothing in return. “No, it’s...” She tapped it, and the sky around her hoof rippled and shimmered again.

Drifting closer to the wall, she noticed a very thin line, thanks in no small part to her keen senses for finding the little details in things--a trait she had picked up from Rarity--that crossed through the sky and formed hexagonal patterns. She thought they resembled the stop signs in Manehattan, in both size and shape.

“It’s not magic... it’s technology,” she murmured quietly in realisation of what she was looking at. “An artificial mirage... or something along those lines at least.” She tilted her head at it with her brow still firmly furrowed. “It looks kind of like a... screen...”

She flapped herself backwards a few feet and looked upwards, wondering how far it stretched for and if it went around the whole city, and also if there was anypony who knew about it--Neon certainly never mentioned there being an invisible wall anywhere. She drifted close to it again, her wings keeping a steady beat as she hovered in place.

With a flash of magic her horn ignited in its familiar magenta glow, and she turned it at the dent she had made, intending to pry it apart and investigate further. She lowered her head and focused herself, and used her magic to grasp at the seam in between the hexagons. After a minute of pulling, she felt it start to come loose, and with a triumphant grimaced, it came free. Inspecting it closely, she turned it over in her magic.

“Incredible,” she whispered as the slab of metal shimmered and sparked, and stopped showing the luscious world outside. “It’s like a piece of the sky itself, cleverly disguised to camouflage itself as to what somepony told it to look like. But why-”

Twilight’s voice choked in her throat as she looked up, through the hole where she had removed the panel. The bleak and barren world she barely recognised as Equestria greeted her with a harsh wind.

***

A terrible sensation of abject terror rose up inside the princess.

All the colour and greenery of Equestria was gone, wiped clean and replaced by the dull browns of harsh sands that seemed entirely too unfriendly.

From her vantage point Twilight could see what she thought she recognised as the Appleloosan hills and the Macintosh Hills in the distance, which--if her sense of direction was correct--would put her current standing on what should be the edge of the Everfree Forest--albeit very high up. She leant forwards intending to peer outwards, and was promptly struck with feeling like she had walked face first into a spider’s web, and retracted her head quickly.

She clicked her tongue in displeasure at the sensation and looked up to see the sun hanging low in the sky. She shrieked as a sudden spike of pain drove itself through her head, giving her an intense headache. The sun, normally glowing a bright and warm yellow, was enshrouded in a dark purple glow, clearly the work of exceptionally powerful dark magic and cast the world in a strange shadow. Its sister, the moon, shocked Twilight to her very core.

It looked as though a huge chunk of it had been blown apart, left to scatter outwards into space while a colossal crack ran down wat was left of it. It was a ruin, a sad and dejected ruin that struck fear into the princess’s heart.

“What... happened?” she breathed, hopelessly hoping that the two giants in the sky would answer her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as her magic stretched out to them again. Her headache intensified as she tugged at the sun, trying to move it. It didn’t budge, not a single inch. She tried the moon delicately, and promptly faced the same problem. She persisted anyway, reaching out with her magic through the small porthole she had made in the wall.

A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face as the strain of both keeping herself aloft and her head splitting headache that came from being in direct contact with the celestial bodies began to get to her.

“Come on... be a good sun, just...” she grunted and puffed as her horn sparked and fizzed. “I promise I’ll have lots of picnics... ugh... I’ll take long walks in your light if you just... moooove...” She hadn’t had a problem getting either of them up or down since she had first started raising and lowering them. Had centuries locked away from the world really lessened her connection to them?

A flash of vain arrogance passed through her for a moment. ”Of course not, you’re Twilight Sparkle! The First and Last Star! Come on!” she told herself, and gritted her teeth. ”It must be that purple glow... yeah...” She redoubled her efforts in an attempt to commune with them like Celestia and Luna had shown her, yet they remained a pair of silent, uncaring rocks in the sky that refused to budge or respond to her magic in any way.

Finally she couldn’t hold it any longer and dipped out of view of the sun. Her headache immediately cleared up, disappearing as soon as it had arrived, although the base of her horn itched. With a stark realization she realised she had called herself he First and Last Star and didn’t remember that ever being one of her titles.

Twilight snorted a flush of hot air out of her nostrils and opened her eyes. She flapped upwards and squinted at the dark purple glow of the sun’s rays and a thought occurred to her as her head immediately began to pound again. “Wait a minute, I’ve been here for a few days right?” she asked the empty air around her. “How come the days have been progressing if nopony can move the sun?”

It ticked over in her mind for a few minutes. Then it hit her.

“Was somepony making an artificial day-night system? But that’s...” She paused as a smile graced itself over her lips and the purple glow of the sun reflected in her eyes, making them shimmer. “Quite ingenious really, if I can’t move the sun and the moon... then I guess nopony else can... huh.”

She wasn’t quick to admit it, but she was impressed that whoever was in charge, even if they were bad ponies who did bad things, had the idea to make such a thing. She joked quietly to herself that the ‘sun’ she had been seeing was simply just a large bulb that was switched off at night. She giggled and looked at the hexagon of metal still in her magical grasp. Her smile faded as she looked out at the purple glowing sky through the hole she had made. She didn’t notice her headache fade even in the light of the dark sun, and shivered and looked away, suddenly feeling like she was being watched.

The sudden rumble of an engine nearby caught her attention and made her smile drop in an instant. She cocked an ear out and quickly made to place the hexagon back to where it had originally been. “Come on Twilight hurry,” she said hurriedly. The hexagon thankfully slotted back on to where it was without issue and seemed steady enough, so the princess slowly turned to see what it as that was approaching her. A long, dark green hovercar came to a stop a few meters away, and between its reflective windows and the lump in her throat, she began to have a very bad feeling something terrible was coming her way.

”Uh oh, authorities, maybe?” she thought with a lick of her lips. Her mind began to race, frantically putting together a story for why she was up there. In the moment it didn’t occur to her that whoever they were might instantly recognise her as the resurrected Princess Twilight Sparkle. She held her breath as the door swung open, and who else of all ponies but Bright Spark leant out and smiled at her.

“Hello, princess!” he called out and waved her over.

Twilight blinked in confusion but smiled all the same, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Bright Spark? How did you know I was here?” She looked at the car and then back at where she had put the panel back. Strangely, she felt a calling to her from beyond it. “Say, do you know anything about-” she began.

The pegasus gave her a hurried wave and interrupted her. “Call it a hunch. Everything will be explained eventually but first we gotta go, everypony’s waiting for you.”

“Is Neon with you?” Thoughts of the grumpy but endearing unicorn came to Twilight, and she anxiously wanted to ask her about the wall, and the world beyond it, and what exactly happened to the sun and the moon. It also didn’t occur to her that Neon knew as much as she did, and probably less at this point, about current affairs.

Bright Spark nodded eagerly. “Yep, she sure is.” Again, the pegasus waved her over, and added a hint of urgency to his voice as he spoke next. “Come on, everypony’s waiting.” He scooted over to the other side of the car and patted the seat next to him.

Twilight quickly flapped over and placed one hoof in the car before glancing back at the space where the hexagon she had moved was. She shivered and thought it best not to mention it just yet. The car being a lot shorter than the van she had grown accustomed to, she had to crouch and hobble in awkwardly and clumsily. As soon as she was fully in it the door slammed shut behind her and encapsulated her in darkness. “Bright Spark?” she said quietly in the darkness.

He didn’t answer.

Twilight took a step forwards and felt something warm and sticky on the floor grace her hoof, making her look down in alarm.

“What the-”

As her eyes began to adjust to the sudden darkness she saw that the entire inside of the car was covered in a light green goo that smelled strongly of eggs about to go off. Panic quickly rose in her as she recognised both the smell and the colour of the mucus, and gave Bright Spark a fearful glance. Her fear receded and was eventually replaced by a wash of anger as the pegasus grinned at her with an unnaturally long smile.

She recognised her old enemy, even through the disguise she wore.

“Chrysalis,” Twilight growled. Her ears plastered downwards in a defensive manner and she took care not to get too close. Her horn ignited in a blaze of magic. “What are you doing here?”

Bright Spark clapped his hooves together and cackled manically, while nodding enthusiastically. “Oh it has been too long, Twilight Sparkle,” he hissed. A shimmer of green light surrounded him, and the former Changeling Queen’s true form was revealed. “Far too long indeed.”

“What are you doing here, Chrysalis?” Twilight demanded.

Chrysalis’s tongue slithered out between her teeth as she pulled her lips back into a wide grin.

“Why, I’ve come to ask a favour of you, princess, isn’t that what friends are for?”

Ten

A pregnant silence occupied the solitary hovercar resting high above the Scrapheap. Its tinted windows reflected the world perfectly and flawlessly, and its engines let it drift slowly from side to side.

Inside, Queen Chrysalis, formerly of the Changeling Hive, began to giggle. Her guest and fellow monarch, or rather, deposed monarch, stood in stunned silence, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Perhaps... some music?” the queen offered with a grin. Her horn ignited and some quiet music began to play from an unknown speaker, somewhere in the car. “Something of my own composition.”

As the music began to play, her head started to sway back and forth as her lips moved soundlessly, mouthing the words to the song.

A small squeak escaped her company, making her eyebrow arch and the corners of her mouth twitch into a wide grin.

Twilight Sparkle stared the changeling down, her own mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find the words she needed. Her mind raced at a thousand miles an hour as the queen’s words sunk into her. She was caught so off guard by her remark that she lost concentration of the spell she was preparing, and her horn deactivated.

Chrysalis sighed and stood from her seat. “Really, Twilight, nothing to say after all these years?” She pouted and turned her head away. “No biting remark? No witty declaration that ‘your friendship is as strong as it will ever be’?”

The princess’s eye twitched. “Friends?!” she eventually exclaimed in sheer disbelief as her words finally escaped her throat. “You tried to destroy everything I believed in!” Her wings rustled and fluttered on their own, and she stamped her trebling hoof down on the ground, only to splash some more mucus onto herself. She didn’t care, and snorted as she stared at the changeling.

“We are not... friends.”

Chrysalis’s eyes flashed and her devilish mind set itself to work. “Oh, are we not?” She leant forwards with a sneer and a mean glint in her eye, and looked Twilight directly in her eyes. “How much, I wonder, do you remember?”

Twilight’s resolve wavered. “I, uh...” she mumbled. The fear and doubt that had begun to creep into her mind reared its ugly head, forcing her to look away. Her cheeks flushed red as the changeling threw her head back and cackled cruelly.

“Oh this is too good to be true!” the queen cried gleefully. She clapped her hooves together and continued to howl with laughter. “Twilight Sparkle has lost her memory!”

As laughter continued to echo throughout the vehicle, Twilight felt her cheeks burn indignantly. She felt very, very small in that moment, both from being mocked by Chrysalis and knowing she was very much out of her element. As the saying went, she wasn’t in Mustangsus anymore. Her ear twitched, and she heard a quiet voice inside her head speak up in her own voice.

”Make her remember who you are, Twilight!”

She blinked and began to grow angry. Her horn ignited in a sudden blaze of magic and she lowered it at the changeling queen.

“Tell me what you want, Chrysalis,” Twilight barked, feeling her magic give her the strength and bravery she needed. Her pupils shrunk as her temper grew. “And why you’re not imprisoned, before I put you back there.”

Chrysalis’s smile faltered and her laughter immediately ceased. A flicker of what could only be attributed to pure, unadulterated fear danced across her face, before she quickly looked away and regained her composure.

“I’ve already told you, Twilight, I want to ask you a favour,” she said, refusing to show her fear in the face of her once-upon-a-time enemy again.

She looked out of the window and sighed wistfully.

Twilight followed her gaze and frowned, the light from her horn reflecting off of the mucus that covered the floor, and sent strange shadows up around the walls of the vehicle.

“What favour? Why should I believe anything you say?”

The changeling’s face twisted into a sneer again as she glanced at the pony.

“I realise you may be prejudiced against me, Twilight, but I assure you, after I recieve some...” She swallowed and cleared her throat. Her eyes seemed to shimmer with magic for a brief moment. “Insurance... I will tell you all you need to know. By my honour as queen.”

The princess didn’t believe a word she was hearing. “What sort of insurance?” She didn’t trust the shape-shifter, and gave the vehicle a quick scan. It wasn’t as tall as Neon or Bright Spark’s delivery vans, and would--if not for the changeling goop all over the floor, not to mention its vile occupant--be a cosy enough ride for a while. The song Chrysalis had put on continued to play, something soothing and calm sounding. She recognised the voice singing as Chrysalis’s own, and she found herself feeling suddenly fatigued.

“What did you...” she mumbled as her eyelids suddenly began to droop. The realization she had walked into a trap hit her. ”My own composition, Chrysalis said...” she remembered the queen saying. ”Oh Twilight how can you be so stupid...”

Her horn fizzed and deactivated, and she let loose a yelp of pain as she dropped to the ground in a heap of feathers caused her muscles suddenly atrophying. She quickly tried to stand again, but her legs felt like they had been turned into jelly and weakly gave way underneath her. Barely managing to raise her head, she found her own body unresponsive, and looked up with wide, fearful eyes into Chrysalis’s own cold, green ones as her forked tongue slithered out from behind her teeth again.

“Dear poor, predictable Princess Twilight Sparkle...” she crooned. “Did you really think I wouldn’t utilize some sort of protection for myself?” She raised a hoof and gestured to the air around them. “This song was written specifically for you, should you ever return. Can you hear the beauty of it?” She mockingly brought her hoof to her ear and cocked her head sideways as if she was listening, all with a smug grin plastered over her face. All traces of fear in her previous expression had vanished, replaced by her typical malevolence and hatred.

Twilight’s head rang out as the song continued to play. It still sounded calming and soothing, but the more she listened to it the weaker she felt. Soon she felt like she was half submerged in mud, caught in a thick mire, and tried desperately to will her magic to come to her, but the only thing she managed to conjure up were the smallest of sparks that fizzled weakly into the air like firework duds.

Chrysalis stepped closer and sneered down at her. “As much as I would love to crush you like the pony you are, Twilight,” she hissed. “I will refrain from doing so. Instead let us talk. Or, rather-” She giggled and caressed the princess’s long mane with her hoof. “I talk, and you listen.”

”What did you do to me?” Twilight tried to say. All that escaped her mouth was a barely audible squeak and a few wisps of air. She followed the changeling with her eyes as she began to walk in circles around her.

“You see, Twilight, I have become something of a celebrity in Ponyopolis,” Chrysalis continued. “The form I have assumed in my current life is beloved by millions, and known famously as-” She broke into a series of giggles before quickly composing herself. “Love Pulse, the Princess of Synthpop.”

She paused grinned again in front of Twilight, locking eyes with her. “I think Queen sounds nicer, but alas, I make do with what I am given.” She resumed her walking and cleared her throat. “Regardless, I do not wish to see it all go to waste, so I ask of you this favour, as one ‘princess’ to another.”

She stopped circling Twilight and stood in front of her, looking down with an uncharacteristic display of pity across her face. “I want you to leave me alone when you inevitably take the throne of the world again.” Chrysalis looked out of the window again and sighed. “The ponies of Ponyopolis look at Love Pulse with nothing but love and adoration. The same love and adoration that my own children used to look at me with, until that maggot traitor Thorax and the wretched Starlight Glimmer intervened and destroyed my beautiful throne.”

At the mention of Starlight and Thorax, Chrysalis’s face twisted into a vision of pure hate. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and looked back at the princess.

“If you promise me I will not be harmed when you retake the world, I will disappear. You will never hear the name Chrysalis again, and Love Pulse will become one of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s greatest allies and supporters.” She smiled. Not a vicious or malevolent smile, or even a mocking smile, but a hopeful one that could have held the remotest trace of friendship.

Twilight struggled to raise her head and gritted her teeth, mustering up what strength she could to say something. “Why...” she managed weakly before giving up. Her tongue felt heavy and her throat burned when she tried to speak.

“Why?” Chrysalis asked as her horn ignited with her own magic. “Because I am no fool, Twilight. I know you will win, you always have and you always will, I simply wish to be on the ‘winning side’ for a change.” Her smile dropped and she returned to her seat. “So what say you, princess? Will you accept my bargain?”

Twilight watched her silently, deep in thought. Her wings felt heavy and distracting, and her mind raced with questions. Chrysalis, judging from her expression and soulful look in her eyes, seemed to be telling the truth.

”Or a very convincing lie.”

The possibility that Chrysalis was lying definitely crossed her mind and made her worry all the more.

”What does she have to gain by lying?” she reasoned with herself. ”The promise I won’t turn her to stone?” She needed to speak, she needed to argue back against Chrysalis’s points, but she couldn’t as long as the cursed song was still playing, keeping her frozen and subdued.

“St... op...” she murmured. Her throat burned again. She tried to speak anyway and gritted her teeth once again. “Sp... ell...”

“Ah-ah, Twilight,” Chrysalis said in a sing-song voice and waved her hoof in front of her nose. “Before I lift the spell I require your assurance you agree with my terms.” She leant back on her seat and nonchalantly inspected her hoof, picking off a piece of dirt with her magic. “I offer you this. In exchange for my freedom, Love Pulse will be not only your biggest supporter, but also provide you with information.” Her previous, mischievous grin returned.

“Namely about your supposed ‘death’.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. Indeed, she did long to know what happened to her, and subsequently the world, and why the sun was purple and why the moon was in pieces. ”If she’s telling the truth, then...” Her thoughts ran rampant in her mind. Her own voice argued back with her. ”What are you doing, Twilight? She’s Chrysalis! She’s obviously lying to you... we can’t trust her!”

We?

Her brow furrowed, and she suddenly felt weightless. The music had also stopped, and Chrysalis sat across from her, frozen solid. Twilight found her strength returning to her, and shakily and slowly rose up to her full height.

“Chrysalis?” she said quietly.

The changeling did not answer. The changeling could not answer. She appeared to be frozen in time, completely and entirely unmoving--not even her hair swayed. Twilight reached out as she grew closer, and yelped in surprise as her hoof passed right through the queen.

“What? What’s happening?”

The world suddenly turned dark, and the edges of her vision grew, for lack of a better word, wobbly. A sudden flash of bright light blinded her temporarily.

“Ahh!” she cried, and quickly folded her wings downwards to protect and shield her eyes. She blinked away the spots in her vision and slowly unfurled herself, and stared in horror at the sight before her.

The sun burned in a dark purple fire, like she had seen outside, only she was now amongst the stars, standing on nothing. The raw magical power it was exuding was both overwhelming and incredibly refreshing at the same time, like taking a nice long warm bubble bath after a stressful day. Twilight shivered with unease, despite the feeling welling up inside her.

“We always did want to see the stars...” came a voice from beside her, making her jump in fright. She spun around quickly and the tight grip of fear surrounded her as she stared at the pony suddenly standing next to her.

It was herself, only... not. The familiar yet unfamiliar mare’s mane and tail were made up of a series of pinks and purples and resembled fire, the same fire that encased the sun and cast the world in a dark light. Her wings were a very deep shade of dark purple, almost black, and elongated more than Twilight’s so they stretched like tendrils around the empty void they currently stood in, and around her eyes were a pair of glowing pale aqua blue rings that connected into her horn.

“Hello, Twilight,” she said as she turned to look at the princess. Her words both sounded real and at the same time like Twilight’s own voice inside her head. Her eyes glinted and gleamed, reflecting the light of the dark sun. “It’s been a while.”

Twilight gaped in both amazement and terror and took a step back. Her wings fluttered in alarm. “Who are you?” she breathed.

The Not-Twilight rolled her eyes and folded her wings by her sides.

“Come now, Twilight, you’re a smart mare. The best and brightest of Equestria some would say.” The corners of her mouth twisted into a perverse smile. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember your oldest and dearest friend?”

Twilight shook her head and began to tremble. “Wh-who are you?” she repeated. She tried to make her voice sound forceful and powerful, but her fear was getting to her.

The dark mare sighed in irritation and scraped her hoof along the nonexistent ground. “I see when they tore us away from each other it had an adverse affect on your memory. No matter. Hold still. This will only take a moment.”

In a split second her horn ignited in a blaze of magic, and a bright beam of energy fired at the princess.

Twilight cried out in alarm and made to defend herself. She didn’t move fast enough, and the beam pierced straight through her.

A series of broken and disjointed images quickly flooded her mind.

She saw Grogar’s Bewitching Bell lift up in her magic as if she was inspecting it. She heard it click, and a surge of magic began to pour into her. She remembered how intoxicating it was, and then the images shifted. Visions appeared in her mind’s eye of her own hooves and her own magic committing atrocious acts against the ponies of the world. She saw the young group of creatures, Gallus, Silverstream and the rest of their friends, who had rallied Equestria behind her. They were talking to her, but their words were inaudible. A colossal crashing sound echoed around her, and she turned to see the moon splitting in two. There was a flash of light and an intense headache, then darkness.

The images ceased, and the terrible truth that Twilight’s memory had denied her was revealed to her.

***

“Midnight Sparkle...” Twilight hissed through gritted teeth. “How?”

The dark mirror of herself said nothing in response, instead she simply held her head up high and looked at the purple sun. it’s cosmic rays danced over both of them, imbuing them both with its power.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it Twilight?” Midnight breathed. “My beautiful sun.”

Twilight followed her gaze and stared at the sun. Her eyes didn’t sting as she looked into the celestial fire. In fact, she would almost go so far as to say it felt... pleasant. Warm, something like approval. Like when Celestia smiled at her all those years ago at the entrance exam to her school.

“I don’t understand,” she murmured, giving her head a shake and wiping her thoughts clean. “How are we here? I was just talking with-”

“That loathsome cockroach?” Midnight turned to the princess and sneered in disgust. “Time is a set of rules, Twilight. With the right application of magic I bent those rules and paused time for a while, freed you from that wretch’s spell, and brought us here, so that we may discuss things in private.” Her sneer turned into a falsely sweet smile and looked back at the sun.

Twilight, although impressed such a magic existed, grew deeply afraid. She had only experienced time travel twice before, and once on a large scale, and even then it was mostly the Cutie Map and Starlight Glimmer that did most of the work. Freezing time was a foreign concept to her, and this impostor of herself had mastered it? How?

“What did you do?” she whispered.

Midnight laughed heartily. “What did I do? Oh no, Twilight, this was all you!”

“Me?” Twilight’s blood ran cold. “B-but, I-”

“Yes. You.” The annoyance and irritation in Midnight’s voice was a clear as day. With a wave of her hoof the scenery suddenly changed. The stars disappeared, replaced by grey clouds and stormy weather. Great shadows suddenly loomed overhead, and Twilight stumbled as she fought for her footing, prompting a sneer to cross the dark alicorn’s face. She raised a hoof and gestured to their surroundings. “Take a look, Twilight. What do you see?”

Twilight reluctantly obeyed and moved her eyes around. To her surprise they were suddenly standing in the streets of Ponyopolis, and from the judge of things, specifically the Scrapheap. “We’re in Ponyopolis,” she said quietly.

“Indeed. But what do you see?”

The princess shook her head. “I don’t...” She stopped when she saw a figure lying to one side of the street, causing a quiet dread to quickly form in her stomach. Quickly moving over to it she gasped as she recognised the body of the old blind pony who brought a smile to her face just a short time ago, his face frozen in time, but very clearly quite dead. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes, and she hung her head and said a few quiet words of prayer to him.

Midnight tutted and looked down at the body in disgust. “This world is broken, Twilight. Diseased. Vermin rule the world while our ponies suffer and die.”

“Shut up,” Twilight snapped. “This is your fault-”

“My fault?” The dark mare threw her head back and laughed. “Aha! No, Twilight. This is the work of your so-called friends. That spider you were speaking with before you so blindly fell into her web. She and her cohorts. All of this-” She gestured around to the dregs of the Scrapheap. “Is their fault.”

“Chrysalis isn’t my friend,” the princess fired back and quickly stood up. She jammed her face close to Midnight’s and flared her nostrils. She was beginning to grow angry at the arrogance Midnight Sparkle was beginning to show. “And who do you think you are anyway! We’re not the same pony!”

Midnight simply smiled and flared her own nostrils.

The scenery changed again. Twilight remained steady, her own nose inches away from Midnight’s nose. Her eyes flickered sideways as the dark alicorn gestured with her head. Twilight reluctantly turned to see a sight that both warmed and chilled her heart. Her beloved friends stood flank to flank, striking a pose as if they were about to take on the whole world amidst a ruined and smouldering Canterlot Palace.

Rubble and debris lined the once familiar hall. Her friends looked battered and bruised, and she wondered what on Equestria had done that to them.

“Appleack!” she called out. “Fluttershy! Rainbow Dash!”

“What good will that achieve?” Midnight Sparkle said disapprovingly as she stood next to the princess. “They can't hear you.”

“I have to try!” Twilight felt tears well up in her eyes as she continued to shout their names. “Pinkie Pie! Rarity! Girls I’m here, I’m-”

She froze and stopped herself as the world rotated around them, showing what they were standing against. Twilight stared into her own eyes and realised what they were doing. “They’re... fighting me?”

The Twilight shown to her was also frozen in time, horn lowered and glowing with magic, while her wings were fully outstretched and keeping her aloft. Her hooves were cracked and dry, and she had some blood trickling out from her nose. Patches of her coat appeared worn and bruised, similar to how her friends looked.

Midnight nodded. “They are, indeed. They clung to you like parasites, Twilight, and while they were useful at times, they became mere burdens in your greatest hour.”

Twilight shook her head. “No! I don’t believe it!” she defiantly cried, and continued to shout their names. “Applejack!”

“To deny the truth is folly, Twilight.”

“Rarity!”

“Now that you have found your true calling...”

“Fluttersh...”

“...You need only put your faith in me.”

Twilight felt faint. She gasped for air and sunk to the ground. Her heart felt like it was on fire. A deep burning sensation occupied her throat, making it hard to swallow. Her legs felt wobbly and heavy, like they had when Chrysalis’s spell took hold of her. “What’s happening?” she mumbled.

Midnight’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Ah. I see the spider has detected a fly different to that than she originally anticipated. Go on now, Twilight. Strike your deals. Make friends. Remember what I have shown you, and know that I am always...”

A significantly bright light surrounded the princess, and the visions given to her by Midnight Sparkle disappeared. She felt like she was flying, being brought up on a gust of wind, until she quite inexplicably felt solid ground beneath her hooves.

”Watching...”

And then she was back in the present, in the same dimly lit car she had been having a one sided discussion with Chrysalis in. After blinking a few times she stared up at the former queen’s wide and fearful eyes with her own equally wide and frightened eyes.

“She is here isn’t she?” Chrysalis whispered.

Twilight gave her head a stiff nod. She winced at the clear dread in her old enemy’s voice, and realised they might share a common enemy. Midnight Sparkle certainly had no love for the changeling, and judging by the visible worry across Chrysalis’s face, the feeling was mutual.

The queen turned and quickly moved towards the front of the vehicle. She whispered some quiet words to the unknown driver, and Twilight felt the vehicle increase in speed. Chrysalis turned back to Twilight and ignited her horn once again. The quiet music, the spell she had placed on Twilight lifted immediately.

The princess felt her strength start to return to her, although she was still shaken by her experience. She shakily rose to her full height and looked around. The mucus that covered the floor seemed to have vanished

The changeling quickly crossed to her and grasped her face with one of her hooves, inspecting her in a manner, Twilight was reminded, of how a mother would inspect her child’s dirty face.

“But... how? She was not supposed to be able to awaken without...” Chrysalis bit her tongue and released Twilight as the latter’s expression turned into a hate filled scowl. “How?”

“I, uh... saw the world,” Twilight offered quietly. “Outside...”

Chrysalis’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Outside? You saw...” Her voice faded as Twilight simply nodded. They shared a knowing, pained look. “I see. The sun... the sun must have given her enough strength to return.” Her scowl furthered and she gave the pony a dirty look. “Because of your blind arrogance you may have doomed us all, Twilight Sparkle. Curiosity didn't kill just the cat. It may have killed the world."

For not the first time today, Twilight felt incredible unease as the changeling began to pace and mutter under her breath. “Where are we going?” she asked, unable to think anything else but that the changeling queen was speaking the truth. She needed answers first and foremost. The Children of the Sun seemed the safest bet, and she desperately wanted to talk to Neon again. It felt like a lifetime had passed since she spoke to her young friend.

Chrysalis tutted and turned away. “In regards to our deal, Twilight.” She spoke quietly, ignoring Twilight’s question.

Twilight straightened up, realising she wasn’t going to get anything more from Chrysalis at this time, and relented. “I can’t trust you, Chrysalis. But am I right in thinking we share an enemy?”

The changeling nodded. “You are. What is the old pony saying, the enemy of my enemy is my f...” She caught herself from retching and scrunched her face up. “Friend?”

The princess nodded in return. “It is.” She extended a hoof and smiled. Chrysalis begrudgingly reached out and shook it. “When we beat Midnight Sparkle, I’ll trust you to do as you say, Chrysalis.”

“On my honour as queen and like I previously said, Love Pulse will be your biggest supporter.” The changeling cocked her head and listened. “Until then-”

The vehicle lurched to a halt. Chrysalis leant into it and remained steady, while Twilight stumbled. The former cracked a smile and opened the door. “Be on your way, Twilight Sparkle.” She ushered the pony out into the--thankfully--quiet street. “If I come across information I deem worthy of sharing with you, I will contact your little friend Bright Spark.”

She flashed a toothy smile at the princess as she hopped down and turned to look. “I hear he is quite the fan of Love Pulse. Until then, ta ta.”

Before Twilight could respond, the door to the car swung shut, and the engines keeping it aloft roared to life. Twilight shielded her eyes as a great gust of wind billowed some garbage around her hooves and down the street.

“It’s funny how you think you can beat me,” came the sing-song voice of Midnight Sparkle from the deep recesses of her mind. “You know that cockroach cannot be trusted.”

Twilight shook her head and ignored her, and set off without a word. She rounded a corner onto the main street, still a sea of creatures trudging through the Scrapheap, still moving to their homes. Remembering the vision given to her by Midnight, she couldn’t help but glance around for that old blind pony. She didn’t see him, and hoped it was nothing more than something meant to frighten her. Soon she saw Spike anxiously looking around and felt a wave of relief wash over her. She marched through the crowd and pushed towards him, longing for a hug.

He spotted her quickly, the unmistakable sight of an alicorn towering above a swath of smaller creatures as she moved through them was a hard sight to miss after all, and dashed towards her.

They embraced one another, and Spike scolded her for wandering. “I thought we’d lost you again, Twi!” he cried, clutching at her mane and burying his snout into her shoulder.

“I know, I’m sorry, I couldn’t--but Spike, listen-” she started as she pressed her chin against his scales.

He waved a claw and retracted from their hug. “No, you listen, Twilight,” he said with a firm voice and a frown. “Everypony’s waiting for you. We need to get you to the-” He lowered his voice to a whisper and looked around. “The Children. Come on.”

He took her hoof and led her away. Twilight glanced upwards, towards where she had flown off. At least, she thought it was, it all looked the same shade of grey after all. When she looked back down, she saw the crowd giving a portion of the street a wide berth, and felt sorrow wrench at her heart as she saw the old familiar, blind pony, lying motionless in the same position he had been in her vision. A hoof stepped close to his head.

She traced up the leg the hoof belonged to, and locked eyes with Midnight Sparkle, who gleefully waved at her and winked.

***

Bright Spark peered outwards of the van’s windshield at the dark skies above. Thankfully the storm had stopped almost as quickly as it started, and while the thunder and lightning and sheets of rain had passed, several large puddles still dotted the platform he had parked on. He jumped in fright as the door was suddenly thrust open to reveal Neon Dream.

“Ahh! Oh it’s you Neon, I didn’t-”

“Drive.”

Neon’s eyes were tired and heavy. Her mane clung to her head and neck, and judging by the grim look on her face she had been through an ordeal. Sparky thought twice about commenting on her appearance, and quickly started up the engine. The van rose into the air and sped off, towards their destination.

The pegasus glanced across at his friend as they moved. She stayed still, staring ahead with a blank expression. Bright Spark felt nervous and cleared his throat. “So, um...” he began.

Neon didn’t turn to look at him, or give any indication she had heard him.

“Deliver that case alright then?”

The unicorn gave no answer.

Sparky bit his lip. “Did you see what was in it?” he asked, trying to start a conversation.

Still no answer. The visible worry on his face gnawed away at him, creating a deep pit in his stomach that made him nauseous.

“Neon?” he asked quietly. She shifted to look at him and fixed him with a blank stare. He swallowed nervously. “You alright?”

Neon continued to say nothing. After a few agonizingly slow moments of silence she finally shook her head and exhaled. “No, Sparky. I’m not.” She took a few deep breaths and rubbed her head. “I need... a drink.” She looked out the window at the wing mirror, and saw the Monarch Solutions Spire fade into the distance. Her blood ran cold and she shivered as she remembered the words Luna had said.

The alicorns were a cruel species, she determined. Crueller than dragons, or griffons, or Novos, or whatever else the universe was going to throw at her. Eternally far from the benevolent goddesses the history holopads had led her to believe. She scowled as she remembered the smug look on the bitch’s face. Her temper began to grow again.

She snorted and without a word climbed into the back of the van and began to tinker with the box that held Blue. Her lip twisted as she imagined building him back to working condition would take some time. She was grateful for it, though. A distraction was just what she needed.

Something to keep her thoughts from eating her alive.

In the driver’s seat, Bright Spark glanced back at her sadly, wondering what his friend was going through, and continued to drive in silence.

Eleven

The clinic of Six Hooves was deathly quiet.

A steady dripping coming from somewhere in the facility sent chills up and down Neon’s spine as she stared up at the Novo leader, Lady Razor, still lounging on her luxurious chair like she had when the pony and her three companions had originally went to see her. It felt like days ago to Neon since she was last there, even if it was just merely few hours ago.

The two stared at each other, Razor having sent her ‘subjects’ away for some privacy, while Neon told Sparky to wait in the lobby, on the off chance things turned ugly.

“Are you thirsty, Miss Dream?” the Novo leader asked casually, as if greeting an old friend.

Neon, although reluctantly, admitted to herself she was in desperate need of a drink, feeling how dry her tongue suddenly was. She stiffly nodded her head, silently thankful for . “Listen your ladyship, uh, ma’am,” she quickly corrected herself as Razor’s knife-like wings snikt among themselves. “I only came here to report back on that job I did, and to collect my payment, so if you don’t mind-” She silenced herself as the hippogriff raised a chrome claw. The bird exhaled a cloud of dull grey smoke and leant forwards to grab a bottle of some unknown golden brown liquid.

“There is a saying I have taken a liking to, Miss Dream,” she crooned as she poured out a pair of drinks for herself and her guest. Neon hungrily watched the liquid swirl at the bottom of the glass and licked her lips. “Are you aware of it?”

Neon shook her head. ”Ah hell, what have I walked in to?”

“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both,” Razor said as she clacked her beak and extended a claw, holding the glass outwards.

“Marechiavelli, right?” Neon responded, unexpectedly reminded of her old school headmare’s incessant reciting of philosophical scripture. She moved forward to take the glass. It looked so tantalizingly close, the liquid so deliciously delectable. Just an inch more and then she could finally taste that sweet sweet nectar of the gods, and then the hippogriff quickly pulled back, almost toying with the pony.

“Indeed. Smart pony, that one. Capable. You are a smart and capable mare yourself, Miss Dream.” The corners of her beak curved upwards in a mean smile as the unicorn’s empty hoof fell to the ground. “Payment for your services has been loaded into your...” She paused and sneered. “Ah... friend’s vehicle. I trust it will be more than sufficient.”

The unicorn lowered her head as a token of respect, of which the Novo clearly liked. “I can see our partnership being a long and healthy one, should you wish for it.” She grinned as she spoke, and fixed Neon with her cold, metallic stare.

“Sure, thanks.”

The mechanical sound of Razor’s eye lenses contracting into a small dot filled the room.

Neon rubbed her neck and grimaced. “Uh. Yes, thank you. Ma’am.”

“Good dog.” Razor swirled one of the glasses underneath her beak and inhaled the scent that drifted upwards. “In regards to the Novos, Miss Dream. Would you say we are loved, or feared?”

The unicorn wrinkled her nose. ”Hell. What have I walked into here?” She cleared her throat and spoke confidently. “Feared, ma’am.”

“Why?”

Neon blinked, taken aback a bit. “Well, because your... goons are psychotic? You torture each other for fun? You...” She faltered as she stared into those red, unblinking eyes and lowered her voice. “You hurt ponies.”

Razor’s beak stayed curved into a smile. “All true, I will not deny. The local peasantry does not look on us as favourably as I would like. However, can the same be said for your dear princess?”

”What’s this buzzard getting at?” Neon thought. “There are ponies who love Twilight,” she snapped back, feeling her temper rise and sweat begin to form on her forehead.

“Indeed there are.” Razor took another drag of smoke and raised the drink to her beak. She exhaled and swung the glass back, swallowing a shot of the golden brown liquid in an instant. She clacked her beak and flexed her wings when finished. “Do they love your Princess Sparkle? Or do they simply love the idea of her?”

The Novo’s words caught Neon off guard. She tilted her head in question and flicked one of her ears. “What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.

Razor looked down at the pony and offered her the glass again. Neon took it in her magic before she could snatch it away again and sniffed it. ”Whiskey... dad’s favourite.”

“Imagine, if you will, a group that had control of an alicorn willing to fight for what they believed in. Imagine if that pony was the most powerful magic user Equestria has ever seen and most likely ever will.” Lady Razor paused momentarily while Neon slung the glass back, swallowing her drink without so much as a wince, closing her eyes and savouring the taste of the fine liquid. Razor continued when the pony opened her eyes and allowed herself to smile. “A pony born to lead what was left of Equestria into glory. A pony born to rule. To conquer, and destroy their enemies.”

Without any more words, Razor snapped her claw. Screens all around the room flickered to life, showing scenes of devastation and destruction, buildings on fire, bodies in the streets. The Lady rose up from her chair and crossed over to one of the monitors, patting it gently on the side. The sound of her metal claw touching the hard metal echoed through the otherwise silent room.

“I refer, of course, to the Children of the Sun, Neon Dream,” the hippogriff said, her voice returning to its usual sickly sweetness. “I have been... instructed.” Her feathers bristled and she clacked her beak disapprovingly. “To show you these images. Here is but a fraction of what my source suspects is their true goal. Chaos. Anarchy.”

Neon gaped at the screens and felt cold. Her dad talked often about his cases with her, only staying away from only the nastiest and grisliest of details. The things he had shown and told her about the infamous COTS always made her wonder about them, specifically if they were right and what would happen next. As a filly she could afford to dream, to wonder about the wide world and how it came to be. As an adult, she was far too cynical for such daydreams.

Loose Cannon always dismissed them as crackpot theorists with a political agenda, using the imagery of the famed Twilight Sparkle to rally others to their cause. Neon remembered their last major offense against Ponyopolis when he was alive was the daring hijack of a major news network and proceeded to spew their propaganda across the city, from the depths of the Scrapheap all the way to the pillars of Uptown.

For six and a half minutes they were on air, but that was all it took for the billions of inhabitants to learn their name.

Anything they did after that always carried the same message as well, always a declaration that the Last Princess was alive, merely kept locked away in secret by the corporations that ran the world, the same corporations that ‘forced’ their hooves to commit such acts of terrorism that made them criminals, and often incited others into joining in their fight for Equestria’s ‘freedom’.

When the disbandment of actual police officers came about, they seemed to grow bolder as well, unafraid to shy away from outright attacking and raiding security checkpoints. Neon remembered hearing a story about how they stole several shipments worth of guns and ammunition a few years ago, and remembered thinking she’d be lucky if she never saw them up close for herself.

How naïve she had been.

As the years went by it seemed almost all crime nowadays was perpetrated by somepony claiming to be affiliated with the Children of the Sun in one way or another. Whether this was just stories spun by the corporations or not was another matter, however, as very few seemed to know the full truth, including Neon Dream and lady Razor.

Neon remembered what her dad said, how they were always one step ahead of him no matter what he tried or how many resources he pooled into his investigations.

In the end, it didn’t even matter, and apparently took one of them to contact him for him to get some answers.

Unfortunately for Neon, those answers for dear old dad meant more questions for her.

Questions that currently wracked her mind. ”What is the Children’s endgame here? Is Razor right, do they want to use Twilight to just destroy everything they don’t like? Surely not... right? Ugh. I need another drink...”

And then another thought wormed its way into her mind. Something Sparky had said. Good natured, brave little Bright Spark, eyes full of optimism and a good heart to match.

“What do you have against the Children?” she eventually murmured, holding on to that one thought with a flicker of hope. “They just want Equestria to be how it was when Twilight was alive, everypony working and living together in harmony and peace-”

“Perhaps they do, perhaps they do not,” Razor cut her off. “In recent years, however, the Children of the Sun seem eager to employ any random witless thug to their side. I hope I cause you no offense, Neon Dream,” she muttered while inspecting one of her claws.

A flicker of anger crossed the unicorn’s face as she realised what was said. “None taken,” she said through gritted teeth. ”Witless thug? I’ll show you a witless thug you damn pigeon.”

“In any case, I suspect your friends in COTS are closer to the animals many of those corporate parasites would have us believe.” Razor spat her words out in disgust, as if they left a bad taste in her mouth. “As opposed to the idealist revolutionaries they claim to be.”

“Corporate parasites?” Neon spoke quietly, her gaze steely and unwavering as she looked at each screen around her, coming to a final rest on the cybernetic horror of a hippogriff. A sudden spell of bravery passed over her as she stared at the Novo. “You mean like that ‘associate’ of yours in Monarch Solutions? Do your ‘subjects’, those cybered up freaks you call employees, know about the partnership you have with Princess Luna?”

Razor’s eye shutters slowly closed again, mimicking the motion of narrowing eyes. Another cloud of smoke exhaled from her beak and drifted into the air wordlessly.

Neon continued, ignoring the sudden chill in the room. “I don’t appreciate being sent to the corporate wolves, ma’am,” she sneered. “And I can’t imagine your gang would like their beloved ‘Lady’ taking orders from a parasite like her, would they?”

Unicorn and hippogriff locked eyes in an intense but silent battle of sky high tempers and total dislike for each other’s company.

Razor scraped one of her claws along the ground. The sound screeched throughout the room and even sent a few sparks into the air as metal scraped along hard concrete until she clenched her fist and stared at the unicorn and spoke again with barely contained fury lacing her voice.

“Were you any other creature, even one in my employ, I would have already gutted you for your impertinence, Miss Dream,” she snarled. “But as you have proven you can be a loyal and obedient dog, I will allow you this one chance to leave with your life before you try my patience any further.” She turned and waved dismissively. “You may leave. Run along now. I will inform your precious princess if I have need of an obedient dog.”

Neon shook her head in disbelief. “Why would I work for you again?” she snorted, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. ”I’m really trying to keep it together, dad, but if she calls me a dog one more time I swear I’ll...”

“Because if you value the life of your princess then you will do as she commands.”

The Novo’s words were ice cold, very much so in a way similar to her glare.

Neon’s eyes shifted down at the glass hovering before her, and tried desperately to refrain from hurling it at the bird. Taking as much self restraint as possible, she silently set it down and spun on her hooves, marching towards the exit. When she reached it she glanced back and spotted Razor pouring herself another drink. Something told Neon to stay, to listen if the bird was about to say something else. She inwardly groaned and turned around to face her.

Razor’s wings sliced through the air as they folded in on herself. “Watch yourself closely, Neon Dream. True friends are hard to come by in this city. But a new enemy lies in wait around every corner.”

Without explaining more, the hippogriff simply raised the bottle to her beak to take big, greedy gulps of the golden brown liquid within, then proceeded to inspect her razor sharp wings as if they hadn’t been at each other’s throats mere moments earlier. The unicorn felt a slight chill run down her spine. She exhaled loudly through her nostrils and turned to leave, ripping the door open and slamming it behind her, then proceeded to storm towards Bright Spark, who waited patiently for her with Spike. He jumped to his hooves upon seeing her and surged forwards.

“Neon! Oh boy you don’t look happy, is everyth-”

“Yeah. Fine, kid.” Neon stopped in front of Spike and glared up at him. “Are we leaving, then?” she grunted, trying to calm herself. ”I did get your temper didn’t I, dad?” She ran her tongue across the inside of her cheek, getting an aftertaste of whiskey. A memory of his face flashed in front of her eyes.

Spike nodded. “Yeah. We should get going if there’s nothing else.”

“Good. Let’s get this over with, I need to talk to Twilight.”

***

Twilight looked around the small hovel she had been given and smiled. It wasn’t exactly like the standards of her bedroom in Canterlot, but clearly somepony--probably Spike now that she thought about it--had tried their hardest to give her some semblance of home and her old life, despite the rusted walls and messy floor.

A pair of faded and torn curtains hung over the window, styled with stars similar to those in the Canterlot library, and across the bed lay a duvet embroidered with the ancient flag of the Two Sisters of Equestria. Although it was clearly an amateur job, Twilight liked it and smiled as she remembered her home.

The place Spike had led her to, the home of the so-called Children of the Sun, left much to be desired, what with being what she could only describe as a shanty town made up of scrap metal welded together to form houses, and more than a few armed guards--more of those ‘delightful’ Novos--at the entrance. The ponies within, though, the Children themselves, were everything she imagined they would be, and she adored them, and they her.

It had taken most of the dragon’s own strength to keep them away from her when she had first arrived, shielding her from being caught up in the swarm of them as they clamoured to see their princess. Many of them declared their love for her, and began to rhythmically chant her name. Spike bustled her through and showed her to her cabin, her own shack where she wouldn’t be disturbed and suggested she got some rest while he went back out to wait for Neon and Bright Spark.

How could she rest, though? She had so much to do, so much to plan--so much to see, so many ponies to talk to, so many questions to ask. Her little conversation with Chrysalis played on her mind as well, and last but not least was that invisible wall around the city. She wondered if the leader of the Children, whoever they were--Spike had been deliberately vague--knew something about it.

Her wings fluttered and her ears twitched as she heard the scampering of quick hooves and quiet laughter from outside her window. A pang of guilt fired through her as she relaxed, unaware she had tensed up so much and bit her lip.

“Should I go and say hello to somepony?” she murmured to herself. She immediately regretted opening her mouth as she heard the crunch of an apple behind her.

She turned to see Midnight Sparkle helping herself to some food that had been left out for her. The dark alicorn swallowed what she was chewing and grimaced, sneering down at the food distastefully. “This filth is hardly befitting of royalty,” she snapped. “But I suppose these simple creatures can do no better.”

Twilight closed her eyes and willed her to simply go away, fearing what might happen if somepony overheard her talking to herself.

“Believe me, Twilight,” Midnight sneered as she approached the princess, reading her mind once again. “If they knew what I knew about you...” She giggled and flexed her wings.

“Shut up. Please just shut up,” the princess barked, louder than she intended. She quickly looked around and swivelled her ears around, hoping nopony had heard her. “Shut up,” she hissed. “Go away, leave me alone.”

“Oh but you are alone, princess. Locked away in a proverbial tower, waiting for your knight in shining armour to come and rescue you...”

Midnight laughed again and winked as Twilight furrowed her brow. “Say, here’s an idea,” she said suddenly, brushing a hoof through her fiery mane with a coy smile. “Would the princess like to escape her tower and see her friends?”

Twilight froze. Midnight noticed and her grin stretched across her face from ear to ear.

“See my... what do you mean?”

“What do you think I mean? Spike did say they were all here, did he not? Let’s go and see our, ahem, your friends. "

Midnight moved towards the door and tapped a hoof against it. Twilight felt herself move of their own accord as she stepped closer to the dark alicorn. “He did say they were all here, didn’t he?” she repeated, feeling an elated joy begin to swell inside her.

“Precisely my thinking. What a good idea, Twilight, and with only minor assistance from myself.”

Midnight darted across from herself and cowered, putting on a voice that sounded entirely nothing like Twilight’s. “Oh th-thank you, M-M-Midnight, gosh and golly where would I b-be w-without you?”

Twilight scowled. “I don’t sound like that.”

Her comment only made Midnight laugh harder.

The princess felt her ears burn with indignity and made to open the door. She paused briefly and bit her lip again. “I should probably cast an illusion spell or something,” she told herself. “I don’t want to trouble anypony...”

“Tch. Typical Twilight, always putting others above herself,” Midnight jeered. She sighed and shook her head. “I’ll be around if something interesting happens.” She vanished as quickly as she appeared, leaving the alicorn alone with her own thoughts again.

Twilight’s horn ignited, and she closed her eyes, imagined herself being invisible, moving unseen like the wind. Magic began to flow through her, surrounding her and binding her in a spell. When she opened her eyes and looked down, she saw her hooves, and the rest of her, wasn’t there “That should do,” she said. Nodding in quiet satisfaction of her own spell, she pulled opened the door and looked around.

Above her, the roar of traffic could be heard above a cloud of thick smog. She supposed that it was magical in some nature, and even if it wasn’t imagined it kept the makeshift town safely hidden away from the world. Looking down, the princess’s attention was directed at the amount of lights strung around the makeshift ‘houses’.

Some were fairy lights that she recognised from Hearth’s Warming decorations, some were just simple bulbs, and some even looked like straight up fireflies trapped in jars. They surrounded the buildings all the same, though

Whatever they were, they brought a smile to the princess’s face as she stepped outwards and began to explore. Dipping and ducked underneath washing lines strung between the buildings, she overheard lots of chatter and the sounds of life from the Children. All these ponies, even some griffons and dragons, seemed to be one happy little community, making her reminisce of Ponyville in the last days of her reign.

She paused and allowed a group of foals to charge past, caught up in some game or another. She smiled, her eyes twinkling with tears of pride.

As she rounded a corner, she was immediately hit by the smell of fresh cooking. Twilight’s stomach grumbled. ”I didn’t realise how hungry I am...” She winced even as she followed the scent and came to a stop in front of a shack door, imagining a starving family who begged her to stay and sit with them all the same. She was about to turn back and go back to her own cabin, feeling a bit silly for stalking around in a place like this like an invisible predator, when the door suddenly opened to reveal a large earth pony stallion wearing a filthy looking apron, and a zebra mare behind him.

Twilight held her breath and remained still. The mare seemed to look straight at her with a small smile, while the stallion took a deep breath and hollered at the top of his lungs, completely unaware he was bellowing in front of the princess.

”Soup’s on everypony!”

Twilight’s ear flicked as she heard many thundering hooves approach, and she quickly darted to one side. In a manner extremely similar to her first encounter with Applejack all those years ago, ponies lined up and down the area waiting for a chance at some food.

The earth pony adjusted his apron and hoisted up a large cauldron, brimming with a thick viscous liquid and grabbed a set of bowls. “One at a time, one a a time!” he called out as the line began to take shape. The zebra laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Take it easy, everypony, there is more than enough for all of you,” she said, speaking to the queue forming. She gave the stallion an affectionate nuzzle and assisted with ladling the soup out into bowls for the other Children. It was a slow and arduous process, but sure enough every one of them was getting something to eat.

Twilight watched quietly from the side, noting proudly how even when the next in line had their bowl, not a single creature sat alone. It warmed her heart to see such camaraderie, such friendship in a place like this, compare to the hordes in the Scrapheap who ignored one another.

A few bad thoughts began to nibble at her mind as she thought many of them looked like they had been sleeping rough, or been in their good fair share of fights. A griffon with one wing and one claw encased in a cast shambled forwards, to which the zebra--Zuri, as Twilight had learned her name was--helped him along. She glanced back at the earth pony, called simply Basil, and he nodded at her.

“I got this, go do your thing, Z.”

Zuri smiled back and helped the griffon hobble away, holding the bowl for him while they found a spot. Curious, Twilight watched them closely and listened to them talk, taking care to remain as quiet as possible.

“Thanks, Zuri,” the griffon said in between heavy and dogged breaths. He looked more worse for wear than many of the others, clearly in a great deal of pain. “That last raid... got me in my wing... it was all the bleeder could do to stop me from dying then and there...”

“Hush now,” Zuri replied, stroking his feathers and sitting with him. “Eat. It’ll help.”

The griffon lifted the bowl up to his beak and took a sip of it. His eyes closed and he exhaled slowly. “So did you hear? Twilight Sparkle’s back!”

At the mention of her name, Twilight inched forwards. The zebra’s ear twitched and her eyes moved quickly to where the alicorn was watching them from. She said nothing but smiled all the same. “I did. Spike brought her in about ten minutes ago. I saw her myself as clearly as I see you now.”

Twilight had an inkling this zebra could see through her illusion spell, and that comment she made made the princess doubly sure.

“Wow. Twilight Sparkle, the princess is really back... I wish I was in a good enough shape to meet her...”

Twilight listened intently and realised all the groups of the Children were talking about her as they ate. her ears swivelled around as he listened to them, silently moving past them like a ghost in the night.

“Twilight Sparkle’s come back...”

“Soon things will change around here, you’ll see, now that the princess is back...”

“She’s back...”

“She’s really back...”

“I can’t wait ‘til she gives them corporate jerks a piece of her mind...”

After listening to them mention her name again and again, Twilight lingered close to Zuri and the griffon and held her tongue, wondering if she should reveal herself to them or not. That soup did look nice, and her stomach grumbled again in agreement, but it would look a bit strange if she revealed he had been essentially spying on them and eavesdropping on otherwise private conversations.

“I’m sorry, friend, I’m needed elsewhere,” the zebra said to the griffon. He nodded and happily ate his soup, while she moved on to a pony with a bandage over his eye currently conversing with his own group of friends. “Apologies for the intrusion,” she said to them. “But may I?” she asked the bandaged stallion.

The stallion nodded and carried on with his train of thought as if having himself be examined was commonplace. He winced with pain as she lifted up the bandage and got a closer look. “Hmm. Not infected.” Zuri smiled and patted his leg. “Good. You’ll pull through. Enjoying the soup?”

The pony nodded vigorously and took another gulp of it, pausing in his story to thank her. “Thanks, Z. You and Basil are the best.”

Zuri simply laughed and waltzed away, making a beeline for the next pony with an injury.

Twilight watched closely as she did this, flitting back and forth among the group of creatures, checking their wounds and making sure they were okay or not. She determined the zebra was something of a doctor, but kept hearing references to this ‘bleeder’ the griffon had first mentioned and furrowed her brow in confusion, wondering what in Equestria a bleeder was. The implication from such a name made her skin crawl.

Finally, Zuri came to a stop, conveniently next to where Twilight was standing, and took a deep breath, pausing in her duties as the local medic. “Hello, princess,” she said quietly. “Enjoying yourself?”

Twilight’s ears flicked up in alarm. She stepped back, intending to run, to turn back into her own cabin and pretend she hadn’t been spying on anypony.

“Do not be alarmed, princess,” Zuri continued in a hushed but reassuring tone. “It is in my nature to notice things that do not typically wish to be noticed. My name is Zuri, I’m... I suppose I am the caretaker for these Children.” She glanced up at where Twilight’s head would be if not invisible. “How do you like your Children of the Sun?”

The princess allowed herself to relax and spoke with an equally hushed voice. “I never imagined everypony would be like this. They seem almost... peaceful.”

The zebra chuckled softly. “If only for a fleeting moment while they are fed.” She smiled warmly. “It is an honour to meet you, Princess Sparkle. One of my ancestors was a great friend to you, so I have heard.”

The princess looked at the zebra closely now. Indeed, now that she was standing still and could be given a proper inspection, she looked remarkably like Zecora. Her mane was braided and hung loosely by her neck, and a large feather hung from her ear, no doubt to remind her of her heritage in this concrete city. Bangles of some description wrapped around her hooves, and various markings and paint dotted her coat.

“You’re related to Zecora?” she whispered.

Zuri nodded. “She was my grandmother, twenty three times removed.”

“Huh.” Twilight was filled with feelings of resentment at again having missed such an important thing. Had Zecora met another zebra in Ponyville? Had she gone home to Zebrabwe? Yet another thing Twilight had missed because of her own bad choices. There was another thing that came to the forefront of her mind as she looked around and remembered a group of six mares she longed to see, having gotten caught up in the moment of observation. “I... Zuri?” she asked quietly, keeping her voice as low as possible.

The zebra strained an ear to listen. “Yes, princess?”

“My friends... Spike said they were all here. I haven’t seen them, are they-” Twilight fell silent as Zuri’s face twisted into a mask of sadness.

“Princess I must tell you, if I show you, you won’t like what you see.”

Twilight blinked and felt worry begin to rise in her again. “What do you mean?”

Zuri sighed again and twiddled with the feather hanging down from her ear. “It is better to show you... follow me.”

Zuri set off towards a row of shacks, being followed quietly by the still invisible Twilight Sparkle. She passed by Basil on her way there and nodded at him. He nodded back and began preparing four more bowls of soup.

***

In a single instant, all of the fear, all of the doubts, the worries, and even the thoughts of joy and happiness that flooded Twilight’s mind when Spike had told her of her friends vanished in a single instant as the door to what Zuri called his shack swung open.

She looked on and saw several hoofmade--or in this case clawmade--sculptures cobbled together from various items into resembling the ponies she dearly loved and longed for. Her heart leapt into her throat and she began to hyperventilate as she took in the heart wrenching sight.

Twilight’s eyes filled with tears. She covered her mouth in shock and horror and froze in place, unable to move or speak. With a quiet shimmer, her spell faltered and she was revealed to the world.

Midnight Sparkle’s voice trickled into existence once again. “Oh now this is interesting...” she giggled cruelly. “Poor lonely little Spikey Wikey. These must have taken him a few decades at least...”

Zuri stood silently to one side as Twilight took ginger steps forwards. The princess reached out and gently grazed the cheek of the statue that looked like Rarity and felt her heart heave for Spike. “This is how he coped with losing us all?” she croaked. Her throat felt coarse and she found the suddenly thick atmosphere hard to breathe.

The zebra nodded. “At first we tried to discourage him. But he...” she trailed off and gestured around the room. “He refused to acknowledge they had... passed on. I’m sorry, princess.”

“Oh... Spike...”

Overcome with grief, Twilight felt her heart break in to pieces the longer the looked at the statues and various paraphernalia Spike had gathered over the years. Each and every little thing he had collected was in memory of their friends. There was a brochure for Rarity’s boutique in Canterlot, worn and faded but unmistakable. Propped up against the wall on a small shelf was a signed copy of a Wonderbolts flight manual, Rainbow Dash’s familiar scrawl all over the front cover. Perhaps the saddest thing she saw besides the statues was a poignantly deflated pink balloon that clearly hadn’t seen any enjoyment in years.

Unable to bear it any longer, she turned away and hung her head low.

Her body heaved in silent sobs as she thought about her friends. Tears streamed down her face and splashed onto the ground.

“Oh come on, Twilight,” Midnight cruelly interjected, having materialized once again from the recesses of Twilight’s mind. “Crying? You must have always known this would eventually happen. Did you really think, did you really cling to some slimmer of hope that your friends were actually alive after all this time?” She disapprovingly shook her head.

“I thought...” Twilight mumbled through the tears. She turned her head enough to see Zuri looking at her pitifully, attempting to take a step forwards, intending to offer some words of comfort. “I hoped...”

“I’d think it were funny if it weren’t so pathetic.” After a moment’s pause Midnight shrugged and sighed. “Oh what the hell, I’ll laugh anyway.”

She threw her head back and howled with laughter, pointing at and viciously mocking Twilight’s tears. The princess felt her sorrow fade as the taunting reached her ears. Anger rose up inside her, a deep, deep hatred for this vicious, cruel creature that dared invade her mind time and time again, this arrogant monster that dared to belittle her poor, dearly beloved Spike and make an already terrible situation a thousand times worse by laughing at her as she cried for her long since deceased friends.

Nothing she had faced before compared to the anger she felt towards Midnight. Nightmare Moon. Discord. King Sombra. Even Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow combined. Even the Storm King and Tempest Shadow. They were all nothing. Insignificant footnotes on the book of Twilight compared to Midnight Sparkle.

Her nostrils flared as she took deep breaths and rose herself up. Her horn ignited in a blaze of magic and she rounded on the dark alicorn. “Shut. Up,” she growled.

Zuri quickly pulled back in alarm and looked around. “Princess?” she murmured quietly, her eyes darting around the room. “I didn’t say-”

Twilight lowered her horn and charged towards Midnight, crashing into her and sending her careening across the room, shattering some of Spike’s memorabilia, including a mirror. Seven years bad luck was the last thing on the princess’s mind.

“Ugh!” Midnight grunted in pain. She wiped her nose and kicked Twilight away, looking down at her hoof she saw blood, and began to grin as Twilight quickly recovered and towered over her. “Is this the elusive rage of an alicorn princess? Come on. Hit me. Give it your best shot.”

Twilight needed no further encouragement. She barely heard the screams of Zuri as she laid into her enemy.

Again, and again, she swung her hooves into the dark alicorn, into the dark mirror of herself until her hooves were as sore and bloodied as the mare’s face.

Twilight had never been a violent pony. She had never wanted to fight, except when she had to to save her friends and Equestria, and even then she used her magic. Never before had she struck anypony with her hooves. The anger, the raw unadulterated rage she felt coursing through her veins filled her with no joy, no happiness, not even any sorrow. She felt nothing except the soft flesh underneath her. She had nothing left, her emotional bulwark finally broken down by none other than a twisted and evil version of herself.

Her hooves came down again and again, and she grunted and cried with every swing.

”Get. Out. Of. My. Head!” she bellowed, punctuating each word with a stamp.

Midnight continued to laugh in response, cackling madly with wild and gleeful eyes, despite her injuries.

Twilight paused in her assault and glanced around when she heard the door burst open, taking ragged breaths from the sudden exhaustion she felt, her body heaved, her muscles worn and strained.

She saw Spike standing there, staring at her silently in horror. Alongside him she saw Neon Dream and Bright Spark also staring, and in between them was a familiar soft pink coated pony she thought she would never see again. Recognising her violet mane with its trademark blue streak, and those beautiful opal coloured eyes she felt the rage subside, replaced by a strange serenity and sense of longing.

“Fl...” she mumbled, finding it suddenly difficult to speak. “Flur...”

With trembling hooves she removed herself off of Midnight Sparkle’s chest and took a step forwards before crashing into the ground. She forced her head to move around to see what trickery Midnight had done now, but saw nothing and nopony there. She caught her reflection in a piece of shattered mirror and began to shake with horror.

Her own bloodied and bruised face stared back at her, while Midnight stood behind her, grinning from ear to ear.

She felt surprisingly no pain when she realised what she had done, and exhaled one final breath before everything went black.

Twelve

Twilight’s eyes snapped open. The ground felt soft and warm beneath her hooves, and her nose was filled with the scent of... flowers? She shot up and looked around, twisting her face in confusion.

She was back in Canterlot. Specifically in the royal gardens, which were full of life and flowers of all colours, shapes and sizes. She always liked coming here, even when she was a young student of Celestia. It was peaceful. Quiet. The perfect place to study and read up on ancient history, and as she grew older became a place of reprieve from the dealings of court. High above her loomed the glittering towers and spires of the palace itself, stretching up to the heavens.

After picking herself up and dusting herself off, she stretched her legs and wings and looked around. “Hello?” she called out. “Is anypony there?”

Despite the vivid colour of the gardens, indicating they were clearly well cared for as usual, she saw no signs of life anywhere. No birds were singing to each other, and there weren’t even any sounds of insects that she could hear. The air around her was still and quiet. Save for her own breathing and her own hoofsteps, not a single sound could be heard.

She trotted forwards, intending to search for somepony--anypony--who she could talk to. “Hello?” she repeated.

“Hello, Twilight,” came a quiet voice from behind her. She spun around to face them, and immediately felt emotion ripple through her as she looked into the eyes of her old mentor and dear friend.

“Princess Celestia!” she cried. She jumped forwards towards the white mare, inclining her head for a well needed nuzzle. Celestia smiled and returned the gesture, swinging her wings around her former student and pulled her close.

“It’s good to see you again, Twilight,” she said.

Twilight felt her heart melt as the princess’s warm words reached her ears and buried her muzzle into her illustrious mane. She always smelled the same too, some combination of rare tea and the shampoo she used, and here--wherever here was--was no different.

“Oh Celestia, I need to tell you someth-” she began.

“I am afraid I am not here under pleasant circumstances,” Celestia continued, interrupting her and pulling back sharply. Her eyes narrowed and her expression hardened as she held Twilight in her forehooves.

Twilight looked into her eyes and trembled. The words she wanted to say wouldn’t come to her, and so she hopelessly stammered and sputtered incomplete sentences, quaking with fear under her mentor’s sudden steely gaze.

“Prin... princess, there’s something... Equestria, it’s--I, I mean... There’s.. there’s Midnight, and-”

“You betrayed Equestria,” Celestia coldly stated, bringing a hoof up to silence her. “You brought our great country to her knees in pursuit of your own selfish gain. You corrupted the sun and shattered the moon and silenced any who opposed you, including that of your dear friends. Your crimes are unforgiveable.”

Her horn ignited in a blaze of golden magic.

“I take no pleasure in this, Twilight. I do this out of duty, not out of hate. I am sorry I failed you.”

Twilight yelped as she felt the cold sting of magic penetrate through her. “Princess?” she squeaked, finally finding her voice. “No, there’s a mistake--that wasn’t me! Stop, please!”

“I loved you, Twilight.” Celestia’s voice rang out, tinted with sorrow and grief. The gardens grew colder with every word, and her magic began to take effect. “You were supposed to be the best of us, to save Equestria, not leave it in darkness. I cannot allow this injustice to go on any longer. Be at peace now.”

Twilight screamed as she felt an excruciating pain. Looking down she saw her hooves begin to change. They lost their colour and became hardened, like rocks. Like stone. she was turning into stone!

As she realised this fact she felt all hope leave her. Her jaw seized up as she struggled to beg and plead for forgiveness.

Her eyes whipped around, trying to find Celestia, and settled on the white alicorn gazing sadly at her with tears running down her cheeks.

”Princess Celestia, please!”

The world began to spin. She reared up on her back legs before they too turned to stone. Her words caught in her throat, which was also rapidly being changed by the magic, and soon even her eyes froze in place, staring ahead blankly, just as a large group of ponies had gathered, springing up from precisely nowhere to come and look at her.

Come to see the beast that doomed Equestria.

The Solar Sovereign hung her head, her spell finished and her horn deactivated. “Goodbye, my disappointing student. Sleep well, know that Equestria is now safe from your tyranny...”

The ponies behind her continued to gather, to stare up at Twilight with mixtures of fear, revulsion and relief across their faces.

Twilight screamed for forgiveness inside her head, and watched as time began to rapidly advance. Ponies came and went, the sun set in the sky, the moon rose high time and time again... an eternity passed.

Soon, no ponies came to see her. Soon, she was completely and totally isolated, cut off from the rest of the world as it progressed without her. She screamed and cried and begged for forgiveness, to an end to this torment, but nopony answered her. Eventually, the greenery of the gardens disappeared, replaced by grey and dull concrete.

A shadow bore down on her, and she heard the whir of machines and engines approaching. She looked on in horror as from out of the shadows approached a huge metal beast, with glowing eyes and a massive metal mouth with teeth the size of shovels.

She braced herself for impact as it reached her, and expected a lifetime of pain to follow. She squeezed her eyes shut, and prepared for the end of all things.

What happened instead, was nothing of the sort. At first she felt her wings flutter. Then her hooves began to tingle. She felt her head move and her lungs cry out for oxygen. Blearily and blinking she looked around, and looked straight into the eyes of none other than Princess Luna, who watched her calmly without saying a word.

“Princ...” Twilight whispered. She felt weak and stumbled, rapidly blinking her eyes. “Princess... Luna?”

Luna stood by and watched as she collected herself and made to stand.

“Celestia...” Twilight continued quietly, breathing heavily and looking around. “Luna, is this...”

“A dream? Perhaps, a nightmare would be more fitting.” The Moon Princess fluttered her wings and sighed. “Typically, a pony’s nightmares extend from their deepest and darkest fears. Yours, Twilight-” She regarded her old friend carefully, with narrow eyes and a pushed out lip. “Yours seem to be rooted in a fear of failing Equestria, and my sister especially.”

Twilight picked herself up and looked around sadly, at the forgotten and overgrown flowerbeds, and then looked upwards at the moon shining bright in the sky. Images of what the moon in the waking world looked like came to her and made her shiver.

“I have failed Equestria... I let everypony down...”

Luna simply looked on with interest, twisting her face as if struggling with an internal conversation. She glanced upwards at the moon cautiously. “Are you aware of what you have done, Twilight?”

“I saw the sun. And the moon.”

“I see. Are you sorry for it?”

Twilight scowled. “Of course I am,” she snapped. “What kind of question is...” She breathed in deeply, noting the princess’s expression and raised eyebrows. “Sorry, Luna. I am.”

A few moments of silence passed between them while Luna tapped her chin and appeared deep in thought. The silence, coupled with Luna’s troubling expression, made Twilight feel uneasy, until she could no longer bear it.

“Luna, do you know how exactly... Midnight Sparkle appeared?”

“Midnight Sparkle...” Luna said quietly and coldly, nodding her head gently in understanding. “That vile creature...” A flicker of doubt passed over her face as she looked at Twilight. “I do.”

“Can you please tell me?”

Luna’s mouth opened, and then she froze. Her eyes glazed over and became glassy, like a doll’s eyes. Twilight stepped closer to her and waved a hoof in the air in front of her face. “Uh... princess? Luna? Hello-”

“Ah ah, Twiiiliiight,” came a sinister, sing-song voice. Twilight slowly turned to see the shadows behind her extend and grow, twisting and warping the very air. Midnight Sparkle materialised there, grinning from ear to ear once again and looking like a demon surrounded by her own dark fire.

“Spoilers,” she giggled, waving her hoof like a disapproving mother.

Twilight spun around to face her head on and assumed a defensive stance, flaring her wings and igniting her horn in a blaze of magic.

“What did you do to Luna?!” she demanded.

Midnight tutted and shook her head. “That simpleton? I stopped her from making a mistake.” Her grin grew as she stepped closer and fluttered her wings. “It’s funny, really. I’m so powerful, I can control the great Princess Luna in her own realm.”

She winked at Twilight, who trembled but held herself with as much dignity as she could muster.

“You see? My power has no limits. Imagine how strong you could be, Twilight.”

Twilight’s lower lip trembled. “I don’t want your power, Midnight. I just... just...”

She collapsed to the ground and covered her head, crying and shaking with anger and sorrow. She knew she must have looked pathetic. She certainly felt pathetic. However instead of mocking jeers as she expected to hear, she heard Midnight’s sigh of discontent.

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. I am not your enemy here,” she cooed. Twilight flinched and felt a hoof on the top of her head. “In fact, I’m perhaps your only true friend left. Only I know what you did, and why you did it. For anypony else to tell you would be an injustice to our friendship.”

“We aren’t friends!” Twilight snapped, shoving her hoof away and scurrying backwards. “Friends are ponies who help each other, who understand and love one another, ponies like-” She blanked. “Like, um...”

“Like who?” Midnight jeered. “Come on, speak up, don’t be shy.”

The princess wilted under her counterpart’s menacing eyes. “Neon,” she said, trying to hide the uncertainty in her voice. “And Sparky, Spike, and... and Flurry Heart! The Children of the Sun. They’re my friends.”

Midnight hook her head in disappointment. “They are as much your friends as this...” She waved a hoof at the frozen Luna. “This malevolent creature is, Twilight. Spike, your brave and courageous Spike, is beyond even your help now. You saw him. You heard him. He truly believes your dear friends are still amongst the living. His mind is shattered, his will broken.” She snorted derisively. “At best, in his current state, I would suggest he is nothing more than a loyal dog awaiting your next command for a treat.”

Twilight’s mouth opened and closed in shock at the barbarity of Midnight’s words. She refused to believe that this alicorn was born from the same mind as hers, and yet... there was a niggle of doubt in her mind that suggested she spoke true. Spike was indeed a shell of his former self, why she hadn’t noticed it sooner--his glazed over look when he spoke about their friends--she didn’t know, and cursed herself for it. For not seeing the signs... For not being there when he needed her.

“As for Neon Dream, well...” Midnight narrowed her eyes, continuing in her tirade and breaking Twilight’s train of thought. “How much faith would you really place that particular pony? Or that of her little friend, the coward who can barely form a sentence without stuttering?”

“They both helped me get to the Children,” Twilight mumbled. She stole a glance over at the still frozen Luna and shivered. “Neon especially... she helped me. She’s my friend.”

“How naïve are you, Twilight?” the dark alicorn snapped. “Everything she has done, she has done for herself. She harbours a grudge against you, and your pathetic Children for destroying her life, and she-” She sharply turned her head towards Luna and narrowed her eyes. Her horn glowed with a sinister magic that trailed and coiled around the princess’s head. “Oh... I see.”

A coy smile began to spread across her face.

“I really see.”

Twilight rapidly flicked her eyes between them. The young mare grew increasingly anxious. “What? You see what?”

Midnight’s horn began to glow again, and Luna began to move. She gasped and jumped back, lowering her horn in an aggressive manner.

“Keep your magic to yourself, you insolent wretch!”

Twilight quickly stumbled to her hooves and continued looking between them. “What? Luna, what’s happening? Midnight, what--”

“Tell her, then, Lulu,” Midnight chuckled, winking at the blue alicorn across from her. “Or should I do it for you?”

Luna growled again and scraped a hoof along the ground. “I will cut your disrespectful tongue from your mouth you vicious devil-”

“Yes, yes, we all understand you’re very capable and dangerous,” said the dark alicorn dismissively. She looked at Twilight and smiled sweetly. “Do you see, Twilight? While I am calm and centred, she is the aggressor here. A fine choice for a friend.”

Twilight trembled and gave the princess an imploring look. “I don’t understand. Luna, what-”

“Twilight, I had planned to tell you in due time, but-”

“Oh please, take your time, I will keep us here for eternity if I have to,” Midnight chuckled. She huffed as Twilight scowled at her and straightened herself up, choosing to fiddle with a lock of her fiery mane. “Tell the truth, Luna, or I will do it for you.”

Luna looked positively miserable and hung her head in shame. “Twilight, I... I want you to understand that... I only wanted to save Equestria from any further danger-”

“Luna what did you do?” Twilight asked calmly, trying desperately to hold it together, while also trying to ignore Midnight’s gleeful giggling. “Please.”

Luna swallowed. “I... In my anger upon learning you were not only alive, but free of your imprisonment, I... proposed to your friend Neon Dream that she should...” The Moon Princess took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling her guilt eat away at her. “Consider turning you in to your former captors to prevent you regaining your seat of power, if not flat out destroy you.”

Twilight’s jaw fell open in shock. Her eyes immediately welled with tears and her heart wrenched itself in two. She stumbled backwards, subconsciously towards Midnight.

“I made a snap decision and I was wrong to do so, and she refused--obviously,” Luna quickly continued, sinking further to her knees. “But even so, my actions are unforgiveable. I thought my anger was justified, but seeing you here, in the dreamscape... I see your guilt runs deeper than I had assumed.”

She curled up and prostrated herself before Twilight.

“Twilight... Princess of Equestria... I am ashamed of myself, of my heinous and treasonous actions against you, even for the suggestion that you should be imprisoned again. I humbly beg for forgiveness, and throw myself at your mercy.”

Twilight didn’t know what to do.

”Luna wanted me locked up again... destroyed even... Luna... if she did, then did... did Celestia also want me gone?”

She glanced sideways at Midnight, at the dark alicorn still smirking. Everything seemed to move too fast to understand, no doubt an effect of the dream she was still in. Her lips moved wordlessly, granting her the time she needed to process and think of an answer.

Luna, meanwhile, chanced a look up and met her gaze for a moment. “There is no excuse I can make that will absolve me of my sins. I made a snap decision that I thought could help save Equestria. You have a loyal friend in Neon Dream, she refused immediately and told me to... ah.”

Luna smiled despite her situation, and no doubt in an attempt to placate Twilight in some way.

“To go to hell, and take my corporate bullshit with me.”

Twilight felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth and a tear roll down her cheek, imagining Neon telling Luna off. Her smile quickly faded as she looked down at Luna, pitifully grovelling before her like she was a vengeful tyrant.

In spite of it all, she felt no anger. The sorrow, while still clearly there, didn’t hurt her heart as much as she initially thought.

Instead, a strange sense of pride swelled within the Princess of Friendship.

Luna did only have Equestria’s best interests at heart after all, and she of all ponies would know how it felt to betray those closest to her. Twilight wondered who would do anything else in her situation. What if it was Nightmare Moon who had threatened the world? What if Celestia was the aggressor? What if Discord returned to a life of chaos?

Well, she would try and stop them, of course at any cost. She would try and make an attempt to convince whoever they were working with to stop them before they grew too strong, like how she reasoned with Tempest Shadow in an attempt to bring her back into Equestria from the Storm King’s grasp, which the dark unicorn eventually did of her own accord anyway.

Twilight took a step forwards and fluttered her wings. “Luna, please stop... I know you-” she began.

“Oh come on!” yelled Midnight suddenly, making her flinch and shy away as the dark alicorn stormed up to her, having lost her patience. “You’re not actually going to forgive her are you? She tried to poison your only friend against you! She lied to you, and if I hadn’t made her tell the truth, you wouldn’t even know it!”

Twilight closed her eyes. ”Inhale... count to four...”

She exhaled deeply and repeated her brother’s mantra. “Go. Away. Midnight. I’m done listening to you.” She rounded on Midnight Sparkle and glowered at her. “Luna was doing what was right for Equestria, like I would, like Celestia would--like anypony would.”

Twilight looked over at Luna, who finally looked up at her with wide, bloodshot eyes.

“And I’m glad she did. You won’t win, Midnight. You’ll never win. You’ll never control Equestria again.”

“Ugh. And I had such high hopes for you,” Midnight snarled, her horn igniting in a flash of magic. “You ignorant slime. You’ll see. You’ll see, the both of you!” She began to grow increasingly erratic in a considerably short amount of time, making Twilight back away from her fearfully. “You are an idiot. Equestria is mine, do you hear me?! Mine!”

She lowered her head and spread her wings.

“Enjoy your friendship, Twilight. While it lasts.”

She spat her words and rose up into the air with a powerful flap of her wings, creating a huge gale of wind around her. The clouds from above descended rapidly and engulfed her, creating a swirling vortex that sparked and cracked with magic, and then, almost as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving only a cold wind blowing in it’s wake.

Twilight unfurled her wings from around herself and looked around, suddenly feeling very much out of breath. “Is... is that it?” she wheezed, blinking rapidly, feeling her horn itch. “Is Midnight... gone?”

Luna shook her head sadly and rose up from her pitiful grovelling. “Unfortunately, I fear this is only temporary. I have no doubt she will return, and when she does, you must be ready, Twilight.”

Twilight half listened to her, hearing several voices suddenly call her name. She felt her body heave and her muscles begin to atrophy. “What’s... happening, Luna?” she mumbled. Her words came out slurred as if she was drunk, or very tired.

The Lunar Sovereign stepped closer to her. “It would seem you are needed in the waking world.” She smiled sadly and bit her lip. “Twilight, I... you are a good pony, I was wrong to judge you otherwise. You are a loyal and dear friend of mine...” She reached out and brushed some mane out of Twilight’s eyes tenderly. “I... will you forgive me?”

The princess smiled and placed her hoof on her friend’s. “Of course, Luna. I know... I know it must have been hard, and I’m so, so sorry for everything I’ve done, and disappearing for a few hundred centuries.” She squeezed Luna’s hoof gently. “I will try and fix my mistake, Luna. I promise you.”

Luna nodded and spread her wings. Moonlight from above shone down around her. “I will offer you whatever aid I can, Twilight.” she bowed her head low, so low that her nose almost touched the ground. “I put my faith in you, Twilight Sparkle. You are my princess, now-”

Her horn began to glow, and Twilight felt her cheeks redden slightly.

“Wake up.”

A blinding source of light spilled forth from her horn, making Twilight wince and shield her eyes.

And then it was gone. Darkness overtook her vision, and out of the darkness she began to see shapes, glowing shapes and figures of ponies. Some she didn’t recognise, and some she did. With a smile, she pushed forwards and thrust herself back into the waking world, eager to speak with her friends and her family.

***

“Is she gonna be okay?”

“That remains to be seen, Flurry. Alicorns, as you should know, have a very different physiology to the rest of you ponies.”

Neon watched as the third alicorn she ever met fretted and paced back and forth, in front of her aunt, Twilight Sparkle.

”I had no idea Twilight had family,” she thought quietly to herself. ”Let alone an alicorn for a niece... I went twenty years without knowing they still existed and in just a couple of days I’ve met three. Unbelievable.”

She sighed and tapped her hoof nervously. Beside her Sparky tried to comfort the zebra sitting on the other side of him, who looked shell-shocked, the whites of her eyes as large as Neon had ever seen in any living creature. Still, Sparky seemed to be doing a good job of keeping her calm, murmuring her reassuring words and patting her on the back with one of his wings.

”It’s weird seeing the kid act like an adult...”

Neon looked around the room carefully. Bits and pieces of broken furniture lay scattered about, not to mention the small bits of metal and garbage lining the floor that Spike was delicately trying to pick up with a blank expression. She winced as she looked at him, and wondered exactly how long he had been alone before COTS found him.

Thinking about COTS specifically, Neon bit her lip. Lady Razor’s words and images still lingered in her mind. She really needed to speak to Twilight about it all, and tell her about Luna’s offer. She couldn’t imagine the princess would be too happy about one of her old friends wanting her back in prison. or dead. Neon didn’t know which was worse, and didn’t look forward to that particular discussion.

Looking up, she focused herself on the bleeder currently tending to Twilight. She had heard of bleeders from her dad and from Sal. Street doctors. Mercenary surgeons, offering their services to the highest bidder. What she knew of them made her skin crawl, and this bleeder was no different.

The Bleeder, they had called him, made a nasty feeling of unease sit in her stomach. She had never seen a creature like him before: Blank flank, bat-like wings, tall and thin yet still muscular, with sunken eyes that looked lizard-like or cat-like, or perhaps some combination of the two, with an ashen grey coat and a jet black mane and a gaunt face. He looked like something out of an old horror holovid she used to watch when she was too young.

Neon shivered and averted her eyes from the bat-pony... thing, just as a low groan escaped the princess in the bed. She leaned forwards while Flurry jumped forwards, kneeling close to the patient’s head.

“Auntie? Auntie Twilight, can you hear me?” Flurry Heart said, clutching at Twilight’s hoof and squeezing it gently. She whispered her aunt’s name over and over, willing her to wake up.

The Bleeder picked up a small scanner device and ran the light over Twilight’s body. It beeped steadily but he still frowned, although Neon wasn’t sure if that was just his resting face or not.

”I hope this is Twilight that wakes up,” she said to herself and bit her lip again, tasting the faint trace of her own blood for a moment. She waited and watched quietly, trying not to look too uncomfortable.

Flurry gasped and looked up at the Bleeder expectantly. “Her eyes are open!” she whisper-shouted. “Bleeder, is-”

The Bleeder held up his hoof. His wings fluttered lightly as he spoke. “Yes. She is waking up, Flurry. best to give her some space, we don’t want to overstimulate the princess, do we?” He noted Flurry’s concerned look and nodded. “I understand you want to speak to your aunt, Flurry, but please.”

Flurry let her wings droop a touch and brushed some mane away from Twilight’s face. “Yeah. You’re right. Okay.”

She leaned back and stood up, turning to look at Spike. The dragon’s head was snapped towards Twilight, fixating on her like there was nothing else in the world. Neon wondered if perhaps there wasn’t to him.

Everypony, dragon, zebra and bat-creature held their breath as Twilight stirred some more.

The Bleeder also took a step back and remained stoic and steady, holding his head up high with dignity, just as Twilight’s eyes opened.

The princess’s head turned and looked around at them all slowly. She blinked a few times, squinting and widening her eyes as they adjusted to the light of the room.

“Ne...on...” she whispered.

Neon flinched, feeling all the attention in the room suddenly turn to her. She shrunk away, trying to look invisible as best as possible, but Sparky beside her nudged her to stand up and nodded his head towards the bed. Seeing no use in attempting to hide, she reluctantly rose up and approached the bed.

Flurry looked at her and flared her nostrils wordlessly, clearly annoyed--or jealous, or something--that her own aunt would choose this otherwise stranger over her.

Neon gave her the best apologetic-yet-at-the-same-time-apathetic shrug as she could and cleared her throat. “Twi?” she murmured.

Twilight’s head turned in her direction, moving like she was heavy with weight. She smiled slowly and breathed deeply. “Neon... wh... where am... I?”

The unicorn glanced sideways at Flurry Heart and winced, noting her vacant expression and rapid ear twitching. “We’re, uh... in with COTS. You remember, yeah?” she mumbled awkwardly and coughed lightly, scratching the back of her downturned ear. “Listen, there are more ponies here you’d better speak to, they, uh... They kinda need you more than I do.”

Twilight’s head turned again. She looked right at Spike sadly and feebly reached out to him without a word. He reached out to her and gripped her hoof in his claw, clutching onto her with a vice-like grip, not that she minded--or even felt it. She smiled at him and moving her head again, where she spotted Flurry Heart and broke into a huge smile.

“Flurry...” she breathed, offering her her free hoof and gesturing for her to come closer. “My Flurry Heart... I’ve missed you...”

Flurry rushed forwards and practically tackled her aunt, burying her face into her chest. “Auntie Twilight!” she cried. “I’ve missed you too! We have so much to catch up on, I need to get everypony to come and see you, they’ll all be so glad to see you-”

“I would suggest that the princess refrain from overexerting herself, Flurry,” the Bleeder said quietly, interrupting the young alicorn for a moment.

As Twilight looked at him and frowned, he dove into a sweeping bow so low his nose almost touched the ground. “Your most royal majesty, it is with great privilege that I welcome you to the land of the living again. You gave us quite a scare.”

“Oh... um... thanks?” Twilight murmured shyly, inclining her head in a respectful nod as both her dragon and her niece cuddled up to her. “And I’m... sorry for worrying everypony.”

Spike lowered his head and rested on the bed, still clutching at her hoof like a lost child reunited with his mother, seemingly appearing to fall asleep almost instantly, while Flurry nuzzled into her again and fluttered her wings in contentment.

The Bleeder rose up out of his bow and held his head up high. His wings folded neatly at his side, and he reached up to smooth some of his messy mane back, probably to look presentable for ‘her most royal majesty’ as he put.

The princess looked up at Neon, matching her eyeline and smiled at her.

Neon saw no happiness in her smile. In fact, she would go so far as to say she saw a great and terrible sadness, perhaps even anger. It made her shiver and return to her seat, where she leaned back against the wall and had a think about what to do.

“I’m... really sorry for the trouble I caused, everypony. I didn’t-” Twilight looked around and spotted Zuri, still being comforted by Sparky and smiled at her. “I didn’t hurt you did I, Zuri?”

Zuri shook her head. “No, your majesty. Just a bit startled, is all.” The zebra smiled happily, although she looked like she was fighting to keep her teeth from chattering.

Flurry looked up around at her. “You’ve met?”

“Briefly. Zuri sort of showed me around camp. Showed me, um...” Twilight winced and looked down at the ground, noticing all the broken bits and smashed furniture.

Flurry followed her gaze and made an ‘o’ shape with her mouth.

“Flurry, Spike?” her aunt said after a moment's silence, looking at them both. Spike raised his head and yawned.

“Yeah, Twilight?” he mumbled. “Five more minutes...”

“I promise we’ll have a cuddle later, big guy,” she chuckled softly and stroked his spines. “I need to talk to Neon for a moment. Privately.” She said her last word with a hint of urgency, making the mentioned unicorn swallow nervously.

”Wuh oh.”

Flurry nodded her head and looked around the room. “Alright everypony. Come on. You want something to eat, auntie?” she asked, giving her a look over.

“Please. I think Basil’s soup looked really nice, if there’s any left?” Twilight responded hopefully, acting like she hadn’t been caught in the act of almost killing herself.

Neon looked quite bewildered at them all as they all began to shamble away. Even Spike rose, although very reluctantly, and trudged out the door, following the ponies. The Bleeder gave him a pat on his wings and smiled at him, showing a pair of razor sharp fangs that were longer than the rest of his teeth.

“Chin up, old boy,” he said. “All will be right soon enough. This is a victory for us.”

Spike simply nodded his head, listening to the creature ramble on. As the last one out, he glanced back at Neon and Twilight and smiled at them both, before pulling the door close. It clicked, and in no time flat they were left alone.

Neon shuffled in her seat while Twilight turned to look at her.

“Come here, Neon, please,” she said.

It wasn’t a request, even though she phrased it like one. Neon recognised hat authoritative tone, and obeyed the order given. she slid of of her seat and slinked towards the princess, standing at the foot of the bed.

“Look at me.”

Sill with that authoritative tone, Twilight told Neon what to do.

Neon looked up and into her eyes. They shared a silent understanding, and the unicorn moved around to be closer to her, picking up her dragging hooves. She flinched as Twilight reached out to her, expecting something--a strike maybe, or perhaps even-

Her eyes widened as Twilight yanked her in close, pulling her in and holding her tight to her chest. Her other hoof came around and squeezed the unicorn’s back. Her wings even folded around them, constricting poor neon.

“Ack--Twi--please,” she gasped.

“Oh! Sorry, Neon!” Twilight said with a sniff and loosened her hold. “Oh Neon, you-”

“Lemme stop you there, Twilight--princess--or whatever,” Neon stated, rubbing at her throat. “Listen, I, uh... I met Princess Luna, right? She-”

“I know.”

“Oh... you do?” Neon blinked. “Well, uh, see, she told me about Mid-”

“-Night Sparkle. I know. She told me.”

The unicorn frowned in bepuzzlement. “Eh? But-”

Twilight chuckled softly, seeming to enjoy Neon’s confusion. “Luna controls dreams, Neon. I was dreaming while I was asl... unconscious. I spoke with her, she told me everything.” With a twinkle in her eye she continued after a brief pause. “She told me what you said to her.”

“Ah.”

Neon fidgeted on the ground, pawing with one of her hooves and swished her tail nervously. “Well, to hell with corporate slags like her, right?” she mumbled, scratching at her nose.

Her choice of words made Twilight unexpectedly snort with laughter. “Oh if she heard that I’m sure she would be furious. She wasn’t upset with you, Neon. In fact, she said she was quite proud to have met you, and that I’m lucky to have such a friend like you.”

Neon scowled. “Why?”

“Because you’re a loyal, brave mare. Not many ponies would speak to princess Luna like you did, you know.” Twilight grinned for the first time since Neon had known her. “But listen, we need to form a plan. So you know about Midnight Sparkle?”

The unicorn nodded her head stiffly. “Well, from what Luna said. I don’t trust corporate stooges like her, though.”

“That’s fair. From what I’ve seen and read of the corporations in this place I wouldn’t either, but I need you not to tell anypony else about her, okay?” Twilight reached out and placed a hoof on Neon’s shoulder, giving her a grave look. “Please. I need to tell them, but I need to be ready for it. I’ll need your help, too.”

“Why me?” Neon muttered, looking back at her. “That other alicorn seems capable, Flurry Heart right? She said she was your niece?”

Twilight nodded. “I know. I will tell Flurry, but I... can’t just yet. I’m not ready. Please, neon. promise me you won’t tell anypony. Please.”

Neon sighed and reluctantly nodded. “Okay. Sure, whatever you want.”

“Pinkie promise.”

“Pinkie who?”

“No, no, not who, what,” Twilight said with a smile. “Like this, follow me.” She placed a hoof over her chest and made a crossing motion. “Cross my heart, hope to fly-” She flapped with her hooves and placed one hoof over her eye. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Neon stared at her like she was mad, or perhaps, she had gone mad, and this place was the nuthouse. “Uhhhh, sure, Twilight...”

She repeated the same motions. “Cross my heart... hope to fly... stick a... cupcake? In my eye...” As she finished she frowned again. “What’s a cupcake?”

Twilight gasped and clapped a hoof to her head. “You don’t have cupcakes in Ponyopolis?!” she exclaimed loudly, making the unicorn jump from the sudden increase in volume. “Well. We shall have to correct that won’t we? Come on, let’s see if Basil knows a recipe for some. If Pinkie could hear this, she’d be... well she’d be Pinkie, alright.”

She swung her legs out of the bed and hopped down, wobbling for a moment as she chuckled to herself. Neon made to offer her a hoof, but noticed the princess didn’t need it and remained silent. Strangely enough, for a pony who was unconscious a few hours ago from a vicious self beating, she looked remarkably well, even perhaps... happy. In a way. maybe getting conked on the head helped cheer her up a bit.

Neon didn’t get it, and shrugged as she crossed the room and opened the door for Twilight. The crowd outside had gathered around Flurry Heart, who was waving her wings and her hooves around trying to get everypony to settle.

They all silenced themselves as Twilight stepped out into the dim light. Neon looked up at her and felt a strange sensation rise in her. Perhaps it was how quickly Twilight had recovered, or her newfound jovial attitude, but something about her radiated friendliness.

For the first time in a while, Neon felt hopeful as she watched Twilight step towards the crowd and immediately begin to chat away at them, shaking each and every one of their hooves and greeting them all like they were old friends.

“Maybe the Children really are right after all,” she said quietly to herself, admiring the princess’s resolve. “Maybe things will start to get better now...”

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay on this one guys, this chapter went through several rewrites before I was happy with it, and I've been distracted with work and playing Sea of Thieves a ton lately too, as well as general procrastination. Hope you enjoy!

Thirteen

Neon puffed her cheeks out and absentmindedly pushed a mug of cider back and forth between her hooves. It wasn’t whisky, it didn’t taste great--it wasn’t even that cold--but it was something to give her a light buzz and take the edge off.

In the minutes that followed Twilight’s revealment of herself to COTS, the group of ‘dangerous terrorists’ and ‘criminals’ had began to throw a party, complete with games, sharing drinks and playing music amid a smattering of cheerful creatures. Even Spike seemed to liven up, sharing in drinking and laughing with the ponies around him. The princess herself seemed to also enjoy it all, although Neon suspected in truth she was merely putting on airs to not worry any of them.

As their namesake suggested, the Children of the Sun indeed looked up at her like children, wide-eyed and full of awestruck wonder. Even those that weren’t ponies, the odd griffon, dragon and hippogriff here and there, seemed to worship her like a goddess or some other divine being, to which she was quick to tell them otherwise and insist she was no different than them.

”These are good creatures. A good family. You think I could fit in with them, dad?”

Neon looked down into her mug. She sighed and brought to to her mouth for another sip. She winced as the piss tasting liquid trickled down her throat and heavily set the drink down. From out of the crowd she spotted a happy looking Sparky heading towards her, one of his wings clutching at a fresh mug of cider.

“You seem awfully chipper,” she commented as he sat down and rubbed his hooves together.

He grinned back at her. “Why wouldn’t I be? This is a party after all.”

Neon snorted again and looked around the makeshift bar. To say she was surprised that COTS allowed alcohol, let alone had a bar and any sense of fun that didn’t revolve around Twilight would be an understatement. Her gaze settled back on her mug of half drank cider and she grimaced.

“Some party. The booze isn’t even strong.”

Bright Spark aimed an overdramatic gasp at her. “You’re kidding right? Neon, this stuff, it’s like premium cider, it’s like the best pre-Ponyopolis cider around--how can you not like it?”

Neon shrugged. “More of a whisky filly myself.”

“Whisky, eh?” came a voice from beside them. Neon looked up quickly and recognised Flurry Heart. The alicorn chuckled and sipped at her own mug of cider, swishing it around with a devious smile. “I do recall us having some ‘stronger’ stuff as you put it stashed away somewhere, but, uh... on account of last time, well...”

Neon felt her eyebrow twitch. “Last time?”

Bright Spark’s eyes widened and he pushed himself away from the table, clutching onto his drink with an excited look on his dumb face. “Contest!” he yelled. Around them, the crowd paused in their revelry to watch, and even Twilight turned her attention towards them, curious as to what was transpiring.

The alicorn placed both her front hooves on the table and set her drink down. “Tell you what, Neon Dream,” she said confidently, avoiding the question posed to her. “Let’s say you can’t hold your liquor half as well as I can, and we’ll call it a day.”

“Is that a challenge?” Neon also rose up and placed her hooves on the table and pulled her ears forwards. “Is Sparky right? You saying you want drinking contest with me, Flur-ray?”

“You bet your ass I am.”

They leaned so close towards each other that the tips of their horns began to spark in the close proximity. An instant rivalry was formed.

A light cough and the clearing of a throat made them both turn and look. “Now, now girls,” Twilight said, speaking up and waving a hoof at them. She hiccupped and excused herself. “We’re all friends here, and I’m not having either of you hurt yourselves.”

Neon flared her nostrils. “Nopony’s getting hurt Twilight,” she said, forcing herself to smile as she spoke. She ignored the crowd’s gasps at her referring to the princess by her first name alone, something the rest of them seemed reluctant, afraid almost, to do. “We’re just gonna have a friendly little contest is all.”

“She’s right, auntie,” Flurry replied, also glancing at Twilight with an equally forced smile. “Just a little competition. Between friends, of course.”

Twilight frowned at them both. The bridge of her nose was a light pink shade, indicating she’d had a bit to drink, and her eyelids fluttered briefly. She was about to say something more when she was stopped. Spike placed a claw on her back and leaned in close to her ear. He whispered something inaudible over the din of the other occupants of the bar and smiled. After a moment more a large grin spread across the princess’s face, one that was although joyous hinted at a great sadness underneath, and nodded back at him.

“You’re right Spike,” she said softly. “Good idea. Make some room for them, everypony,” she continued, raising her voice a touch to address the crowd. “We’ll also need some judges. Three should do. Anypony want to volunteer?”

A few hooves went up. The princess pointed at them and waved a few forwards. An earth pony stallion, a pegasus mare and a female griffon.

Twilight nodded and used her magic to set up a small space, dragging a table over and placing Neon on one side, and Flurry on the other. Neither mare protested, clearly eager for the contest to start, clearly longing for the chance to show the other pony up.

“Your names?” the princess asked the appointed judges.

“Cinderblock, your majesty,” said the stallion with a polite bow.

“Sugar Rush, miss,” said the mare.

“G, your grace,” said the griffon. “Spelled, G-E-E.”

“Well, judges Cinderblock, Sugar Rush and... Gee?” Twilight continued, beaming at them, if a touch confused at the griffon’s name. “If you all sit here-” She gestured next to where she was sitting, directly beside the newly acquired table. “Rules?”

A few murmurings of agreement went up around them.

Neon didn’t hear exactly what the rules were as she tuned out the ‘formal proceedings’. What she did notice was how the princess seemed to relish organising things, even something of great importance like who could drink the most. She grinned to herself as the princess ordered the ponies around, and spotted a heavy set unicorn approaching them, a pair of glasses and a large bottle in his magical grasp, awash with a pale blue light.

The stopper came out, and Neon caught a whiff of the what the substance inside smelled like. The liquid poured out was clear, something which surprised her as well. Flurry too looked surprised and gave the unicorn a quizzical look.

“Vodka, eh? I thought we didn’t have any left?” she asked the unicorn.

He shrugged and grinned at her. “I found a bottle last time I was out. Long as you don’t wreck my bar again.”

“Crystal Scout’s Honour that was a one time thing, Bilge,” Flurry chuckled, holding her hoof up.

Neon eyed the strong smelling liquid suspiciously and felt her eyes water from the sheer intensity of it. It smelled an awful lot like the varnish Mr Dust used to wax his precious vans. The alicorn made no further hesitations and lifted her glass up.

“Cheers,” she said with a confident smirk.

“Cheers.” Neon did the same, giving her a sarcastic smile back. The glasses clinked together. The crowd held their collective breaths and waited to see what would happen.

The first to move was Flurry, who brought her glass to her lips and swung it back. She set the glass down firmly and slammed her hoof into the table, closing her eyes. After a moment passed she opened them and smiled a toothy grin.

“Wow,” she wheezed, earning a few chuckles from the crowd, even Twilight too.

Her opponent gave her a venomous look then glanced down at her own drink. She chanced a look sideways at the judges and at Twilight, then at Sparky sitting next to the princess. He egged her on and made a hoof pumping motion, silently cheering for her. The rest of the crowd had returned to being deathly quiet, all of them leaning forwards in anticipation. She braced herself and slung her own drink back, and immediately began to cough and sputter.

“Wow,” she wheezed in between coughs.

This ‘vodka’ was unlike anything she had ever tried before. She reckoned even Sal would have trouble stomaching this stuff down... and yet, once the initial shock had passed, she found the taste quite appealing. She clicked her tongue and licked at the corners of her mouth and grinned at the alicorn across from her, who quietly clapped her hooves together and grinned back.

With the competition well underway, the crowd whooped and cheered, watching intently to see which mare would stop first. Neon stole a look over towards Twilight, and although the princess gave her a pair of raised eyebrows, as if to say ‘don’t overdo it’, she still smiled and seemed happy that everypony was having a good time.

Neon smiled and slung another shot back.

***

Twilight awoke slowly and quietly, to an even quieter bedroom. She yawned and stretched her hooves, glad to have a peaceful sleep for a change in a real bed. After stretching, she looked around for a brief moment. Events of the previous night came to her in bits and pieces. She smiled, glad to have been a part of some joy for a change--however brief it may have been. Her head, unlike many of the others, didn’t actually pound with an intense headache, as she sensibly swapped her cider for some hot cocoa at one point.

The time for celebration was over now, however. Now came the time to save Equestria, and find a way to stop Midnight Sparkle from invading her mind again. Speaking of, her dark passenger had remained oddly quiet since she met Luna in the dreamscape.

And the princess didn’t like it.

When she was there, taunting her, yes it hurt but at least she knew what her game was--sort of. When Midnight was quiet, Twilight was left worried and unsettled. Was she planning something in retaliation for being beaten back? She certainly seemed the vindictive type. Twilight bit her lip and knew she had to be alert and watchful for any more trickery. But then again, at least Neon knew about her--and two heads are always better than one. Unless it’s an unruly and bad tempered orthros.

Thinking of Neon, Twilight realised she lost track of her friend--and Flurry as well--at some point in the night’s festivities, and wondered where they had ended up.

“Well, first thing’s first,” she said to herself, stretching her legs and cracking her neck. “I should talk with Flurry and figure out where exactly to start.”

She made to move and found the duvet of the bed restricting her movements. She looked down and smiled, for at the foot of her bed, like he always used to be, Spike curled up and tucked his snout under his tail. His body rose and fell with steady breaths, and a thin trail of drool hung out from his mouth. Twilight’s horn ignited and lifted up the covers as best she can, freeing herself and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

“Spike,” she whispered, stepping around to be in front of him and gave him a gentle push. “Spi-ike!”

Spike turned his heavy head and groaned at her, pawing feebly at his spines with laggy claws. “Ten more minutes, Twilight...” he mumbled. His breath rolled out of his mouth with an odious stench. Clearly, he had had too much cider.

Twilight chuckled and gave him another push, glad to see he hadn’t really changed after all these years. “Come on, sleepyhead. Busy day today.”

The dragon groaned again and clutched at his head. His eyelids slowly creaked open to reveal his bloodshot and hungover eyes. “Hnnnnn...”

The princess giggled and stepped away. “Come on. Let’s go see if we can find Flurry somewhere.”

As if on cue, a knock came at her door. “Auntie?” she heard to her delight. “Uh, can you come out for a second?”

Twilight quickly opened the door and looked down into her niece’s also bloodshot eyes. The young alicorn smiled back at her and held a hoof to her head, clearly nursing the tail end of a hangover.

“Well hello, you,” Twilight said with a smirk. “Enjoy yourself last night? Is neon in the same sorry state you look?” she chortled.

Flurry bristled her feathers and sheepishly looked down at the ground. “Uh, yeah. About that, um... auntie... Neon’s sorta disappeared.” She pawed at the doorframe, trying to avoid the look Twilight was giving her.

“What do you mean disappeared?”

“W-well, after you turned in for the night, I sorta... started throwing up, and Neon wandered away looking for a place to sleep, mumbling about something cool she had picked up to that kid she was with--Bright Spark. We’ve got a few guys looking out for them both, but nopony’s seen either of them since... well since last night. I don’t remember much, either...”

The princess sighed and shook her head. “I told you two to take it easy... Alright, let’s go and find her. Spike, are you-” She glanced back at the dragon, once again snoring and passed out on her bed. She rolled her eyes at him and couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine. Well, lead the way then, bug.”

Flurry nodded. A smile pulled at the sides of her mouth. “You haven’t called me bug since I was little,” she mumbled.

Twilight smiled back and nuzzled into her niece’s mane. “Look at you now,” she said proudly. “You’ve kept these ponies safe, Flurry. Whatever happened to that sweet little filly I used to babysit? When did you grow up? And who for that matter taught you what alcohol was?” she playfully scolded.

Her niece grinned up at her mischievously. “Dad did.”

“Ohh, yes I see.” Twilight nodded knowingly and turned her head, pretending to look serious. “I should have guessed my brother’s bad influence would rub off on you. Did he ever tell you about the time he and Cadance were kicked out of the Canterlot library for ‘public indecency’?”

“Auntie!”

The younger alicorn turned scarlet, while her aunt laughed and nuzzled her again.

A few moments of silence descended upon them as they shared in a small cuddle, reminiscing about happier times. Twilight wrapped her wing around her niece and felt her heart wrench itself apart thinking about Shining Armour, Flurry’s dad, and those years Flurry was alone.

“I’m so sorry, Flurry,” she whispered, breaking the silence. She rested her head atop the young alicorn’s mane and took a deep breath. She still smelled the same, a mixture of baby powder and... mushed peas.

“I missed you,” Flurry murmured quietly, burying her muzzle against her aunt’s fuzzy chest. She voiced exactly what Twilight was thinking, and prompted the princess to pull her in closer and give her a gentle but tight squeeze.

“I know. I missed you too, Flurry,” she replied. “I promise I’m not going anywhere any time soon. Crystal Scout’s Honour.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Auntie Twily,” the alicorn sniffed. She looked up with twinkling eyes and smiled happily. “With the best auntie in the world, now we can really start to help Equestria get better.”

“Of course we can.” The princess beamed with pride at her and rubbed at her eyes before they turned towards the door and made to let the sleeping dragon lie. “Seriously, when did you grow up?”

“I still have Whammy, if that helps?”

After some more back and forth and some more gentle teasing as they walked together, they heard some commotion. They quickly rounded a corner and soon enough they spotted a large swath of ponies staring up at a pair of great big metal doors. At the head of the crowd several ponies were trying to keep peace, including a couple of the judges from the ‘competition’.

Flurry frowned. “That’s the garage,” she murmured. “Where we keep the cars and everything. What’s happening over there?”

Twilight shrugged. “Let’s go and find out, shall we?” She placed a wing around her niece and her horn ignited. Before the young alicorn could protest, say or do anything in particular, there was a flash and a pop. In an instant they appeared in front of the crowd, next to those trying to keep the peace. Flurry stumbled away and clutched at her head, groaning and rubbing her temple.

“Warn me next time you do that, auntie,” she grumbled. “I’ve still got a headache you know.”

The princess fluttered her wings and looked at the crowd, which had instantly subdued itself at her presence. “Good morning everypony,” she said cheerfully. “Now, what’s the trouble here?” Many of them mumbled a good morning back, while a few simply stared up at her with fearful and worried eyes. No, not at her, but behind her.

She turned around and squinted up at the large metal doors. They were imposing alright, but that didn’t explain the crowd’s reaction at all. Frowning, she turned back and looked at the griffon beside her with a smile of recognition. “Gee, wasn’t it?” she asked the feathered creature politely.

Gee nodded, holding one of her claws underneath her chest to bow lightly. “Yes, miss Twilight,” she said excitedly. Her voice was soft and quiet. The tips of her wings and a few feathers around her face were stained black. “Sorry but I’m, like, so amazed you remembered my name.”

“I try and remember every creature’s name that I meet,” Twilight said with a smile. She nodded towards the crowd and then the door behind them. “So uh, what’s happening here?”

The griffon’s excitement faded and she gave the princess a worried look, bristling her feathers and clacking her beak. “There’s something in there,” she said with a tremble. “Some sort of animal, we can’t tell. Cind said he saw a pair of glowing blue eyes and heard something growl, and then he got out. I don’t blame him, freaky things are always being found in Ponyopolis...”

“It’s true, your majesty,” the stallion beside them said--Twilight recognised him as well as Cinderblock. He stepped forwards upon hearing his name being spoken. The stallion looked haggard and just as hungover as Flurry, but still forced a smile onto his face and bowed to Twilight. His accent was curiously enough that of a Manehattanite.

“A growl you say?” Twilight gave him a curious look, making a note to ask Flurry about these ‘freaky things always being found in Ponyopolis’, wondering briefly if they had anything at all to do with her imprisonment. “What sort of growl?”

“I’d say it sounded like a wounded animal. Uh, your highness. Somethin’ alive an’ dangerous.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away, the edges of his cheeks turning slightly pink. “It’s not like I stuck around long enough to see what exactly. I slammed the door shutters button on my way out and we haven’t gone in since.”

“I see. Thank you,” said the princess. She turned her attention to the door and addressed Flurry. “Is there a way to open these doors from this side?”

Flurry nodded. “Uh, yeah. Hang on.” She looked around for a moment and spotted a large red button on the wall behind them. She crossed over to it and pushed her hoof into it.

The doors began to creak and slide open, grinding metal on metal and groaning and creaking with the strain of movement.

Twilight braced herself as they opened enough for a pony to walk through. “Alright everypony, stay close to me. If it is an animal it might be dangerous. I don’t want any of you getting hurt.”

They all nodded and murmured in agreement and gazed up at her in awe. Flurry glanced around at the crowd behind them and cleared her throat. “You lot had best stay clear, just in case it is dangerous,” she told them. The remaining ponies quickly backed off and stood at a reasonable distance, watching and waiting curiously.

The princess, her niece, Cinderblock and Gee all stepped forwards into the dark building. The cold air surrounded them with an icy grip, and from out of the shadows came a low rumbling.

”That must be the growl,” Twilight told herself. She spread her wings out in front of the others, who walked slowly behind her. “Hello?” she called out. “We don’t wanna hurt anypony in here.”

Another rumble answered her, and as she grew closer she saw the aforementioned pair of glowing blue lights, fixated directly on her, watching her from the shadows.

“Hello?” she tentatively called out towards it. “Hey there, it’s alright, we’re not here to hurt you-”

Another rumble cut her off, although now she was closer it sounded less like a growl and more like... snoring?

Twilight frowned and licked her lips, growing ever closer to whatever it was. “Gah, I can’t see anything,” she murmured. “Wait...” Light sprung forth from her horn, illuminating the area around them. She gasped and stared at whatever was growling-slash-snoring.

The ponies behind her did the same, even Flurry Heart, who looked up with a puzzled frown.

It was big, perhaps just a touch taller than Twilight at eight or nine feet tall. It’s legs, shiny and metal, were branded with one unfamiliar symbol and one, more recognisable symbol she knew she had seen somewhere before but couldn’t place where. It had no mane, or tail that she could see, and the design of its sleek featureless head looked wholly alien and unsettling to her--she thought to herself she’d feel the same even if she hadn’t been frozen in time.

“It’s a Megacity Security Battle Suit,” whispered Gee fearfully. Twilight didn’t turn to look at her, but still heard the griffon’s powerful wings flap together nervously. “I’ve seen them before... What’s one doing here?” she squawked.

Flurry stepped towards both it and her aunt cautiously. “Auntie Twily?” she whispered. “We should back off a bit-”

“Ugggghhhhh...” came a low rasp from nearby, just to the left of the suit, making the griffon freeze and the stallion instinctively step in front of her and puff his chest out in a chivalrous manner. Flurry snapped to attention, lowering her head and flexing her wings out behind her, while Twilight calmly and slowly directed her eyes downwards, towards the new groan, piecing bits of the puzzle together.

The princess recognised Bright Spark’s delivery van, the familiar paint giving her a fleeting level of comfort, and surmised the groaning must--hopefully--be coming from him within. That still didn’t explain where Neon was, or what the ‘battle suit’ was doing there. She held a wing up to stop anypony else from approaching it, and took a few steps forwards for herself.

“Sparky? Are you in there? Are you okay?”

Another groan came from within the van, followed closely by another rumble from the mechanical pony beside it. Twilight flicked her eyes between them nervously.

Using her magic, she gripped hold of the van side door and pulled it open. Several empty cans spilled out, and the stench of alcohol hit her like a truck. She gasped for air and waved a hoof in front of her nose, shining her light inwards. Bright Spark was revealed to her, currently looking very sorry for himself and trying to shrink away from the light.

“Aggghh... put the sun out,” he mumbled, idly waving his hooves to shield his face. Around him were several more empty cans, stamped with the same branding as those that spilled out onto the ground. He squinted and shielded his eyes. “Prin... Princess Twilight?” he slurred. “What... are you... what’s going on?”

“It’s morning, Bright Spark. We’re looking for Neon,” she replied tersely, trying not to find the situation humorous. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop a small smile from spreading across her face. The ponies behind her began to relax, even Flurry heart stopped groaning and straightened herself up. “Do you know where she went last night?”

“Neon? Ssssure, she’s, uh...” The young pegasus looked confused for a moment and looked around. “She’s... no... should be right...” He shakily rose to his hooves and lurched forwards, stumbling out of the van. His mane was a mess, and his breath reeked of alcohol, making the princess’s eyes water for a moment. “Neon’s... ahh there she is, there,” he said, pointing a a wavy hoof towards the metal pony beside them.

Twilight frowned, her smile faltering. “In that? I don’t follow.”

“They’re like... exosuits you can wear, auntie,” Flurry quickly explained, seeing the confusion etched onto Twilight’s face. “Ponies called pilots sit inside one of them, hook themselves up to the machine, and they move with it. They enhance their power, make them stronger, faster, harder to kill, etcetera. Security only rolls them out for emergencies.”

Twilight nodded. “Oh okay.” She still looked and felt puzzled, but was beginning to understand.

Her niece looked semi-pleased with herself and squinted at the big pair of blue lights on the pony’s ‘face’. “I didn’t see it come in earlier, where’d it come from?” she asked Sparky.

The pegasus roused himself and clicked his tongue, sleepily yawning and looking at her with bleary eyes. “Neon said it was payment for a job well done... from that metal bird...” He yawned and began to lie down. “I’ma just nap here... yeahhh...” He glanced at the walker and frowned. His eyelids fluttered for a moment, and then he was out again, resting happily on the cold concrete floor.

Flurry frowned and tapped her chin, deep in though. “From that metal bird?” she murmured to herself more than anything else. “Hmm. Must be Razor, right? For once that buzzard’s actually useful. How she got a suit like this I have no idea, and I don’t particularly wanna find out. Still. Cool, right?”

Twilight nodded curtly and rustled her wings at the mention of the unpleasant Lady Razor. She took a tentative step forwards and then tapped the metal pony’s leg.

“Neon? Are you in there?” she called out. Her words echoed out around the otherwise empty hangar. There were several vehicles in there, all strange designs Twilight of course didn’t recognise. She looked around at them and reminded herself this was most definitely not the Equestria she remembered, despite the jovial nature of the Children.

The Battle Suit groaned and grumbled again, making the ponies behind her flinch. A snort came from deep inside of it, and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief when Neon’s voice answered her.

“Ugghh... what... time... is it?” the unicorn’s voice rumbled, sounding like it was coming through a radio from deep within the metal suit.

Behind her, Twilight heard Flurry mutter under her breath. “We found your growling animal then, Cin. Nothing more than a drunk mare with a killer hangover...”

At her words, the princess couldn’t keep it in any longer and began to laugh. Her uncontrollable giggling soon spread to the others, and sooner still they were all laughing, save of course, for Bright Spark, who lightly snored and let a trail of drool hang out of his mouth.

Fourteen

In the lower part of midtown, in a seedy nightclub frequented by the reprobates and dregs of society both the mighty and meek alike; Flurry Heart, Heiress to the Crystal Empire, First of her Name, niece to the mythical Twilight Sparkle, sat at the bar and stuck out like a red nose on Hearth’s Warming Eve. Next to her, a scrawny, scruffy looking pegasus colt looked around nervously and rustled his wings.

“I don’t like it, F,” Bright’ Sparky’ Spark told her quietly. “These creatures... there’s something oppressive about this place... like thunder.”

“I know, S,” she replied back to him, and gave him a small smile. “Just stay with me, alright? I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. We’re here for N, remember?”

The codenames they had chosen for themselves weren’t perhaps the most imaginative, but got the point cross and kept them discreet all the same. After all, Flurry Heart was a name known to a select few in Ponyopolis, specifically those obsessed with princess culture and artifacts, and who wouldn’t like to add the mythical fifth princess of Equestria to their collection? Speaking of, her horn was currently hidden behind a simple but effective illusory spell, making her look like an ordinary pegasus who bore a striking resemblance to the legendary princess.

Across the room she spotted their reason for being there: an equally as uncomfortable looking griffon who had somehow managed to stuff his overly large body into a suit that looked as corporate as they came. She narrowed her eyes at him as he shuffled through the crowd towards an unoccupied booth, looking around at the creatures surrounding him in distaste. Underneath the distaste, however, were the eyes of a predator looking for his next prey--brought to light by the looks he was giving some of the mares and she-griffons that worked at the club.

“He’s here, N,” Flurry said, holding her hoof to the earpiece she wore, and gave Sparky a slight nod. He grimaced and nodded back.

“I’ll keep a lookout,” he murmured. “Make sure nopony... eh... bothers you when... you know.”

Flurry gave him a brave smile and kept her hoof on her ear. “N? You hear me?”

The crackle of static answered her until a voice belonging to somepony clearly eating something replied back. “I heard. Go ahead, F.”

The alicorn inhaled deeply as she approached the griffon, pushing through the crowd. As she grew closer to him her hips began to sway a bit more, and as she pushed some of her mane out of her eyes her wings fluttered lightly and her breath came a bit heavier. All part of the act, which he seemed to buy as soon as he spotted her. He signalled to a nearby waitress as she joined him at his table to bring them two drinks. Of what didn’t particularly matter, for as soon as she sidled up to him he reached out to her and smiled a crooked smile.

“Hello pretty thing,” he crooned, gently caressing her soft coat with a withered claw. “My you are a treat aren’t you?”

“Not as much as you, big bird,” Flurry replied back with a forced smile and a light chuckle. She bit her lip ever so slightly and widened her eyes to make herself look more desirable. “You come here often?”

The griffon nodded, not even pretending to be subtle as his eyes travelled up and down her body. “Mm. Yes, you’ll do...” she heard him whisper. “I mean... I’ve been here before, yes. The girls... keep me company.”

Flurry couldn’t wait to see Neon jam her hoof into this creep’s beak as his tongue slithered out towards her. “Would you like to accompany me?” she whispered back at him. “My room is already set up for your pleasure...”

A flicker of doubt passed over his face for a moment. “Uh,” he murmured, and looked around cautiously. “I...”

Flurry glanced over and saw Sparky’s head turn, just in time to not be spotted. The griffon fidgeted on the spot as the waitress brought the drinks he had ordered over and set them down.

Fearing her mark was going to bail, Flurry quickly turned her ears down and pulled away, intending to stand up. “I’m sorry, am I being too forward?” she asked him softly. “I’m new here... this is my first time as well, so...”

The griffon’s crooked smile returned. His tongue poked out the sides of his beak to wet it as he gently took her hoof and kept her from going. “That’s alright... in my profession one cannot be too cautious... Your first time, you say?” he murmured, his eyes drawn to her slender neck as she moved some of her mane out the way for him. “I’m... quite sure you will do just fine, my dear...” He placed a claw on her back and gave her wing a light pinch and pulled himself close to her. “Just... fine...”

Inside, Flurry was screaming at herself to blast this maggot into oblivion as she felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck as he gave her the lightest of kisses. She kept her cool, though, and gave him her best bedroom eyes possible. “There’s... something else... sir,” she whispered back at him as he moved closer. “I’ve never... had it before.”

Like the drop of a hat, the griffon immediately fell for it hook, line and sinker. His beak lulled open and a mischievous glint in his eye took hold. Flurry slid out of her seat and stood. She raised her tail ever so slightly, the short movement of it drawing his eyes towards her flank. A quiet squawk escaped his throat, and he quickly moved to join her. “Hahhh,” he moaned softly, not taking his eyes off of her flank with an almost hungry look. “You’re a vvv...”

Flurry gave him a light-hearted giggle and turned reached over to get her drink. He watched with lustful eyes as she slung it back effortlessly and flashed him a cheeky smile. “Shall we, then?” she purred and turned to leave, giving Sparky a subtle nod on her way out of the main floor and towards the stairs.

The young colt quickly but coolly hopped down off of his seat and made his way towards her, keeping her within eyesight at all times while maintaining his distance, acting like any ordinary young stallion just looking for some tail to chase.

Up some stairs Flurry led the griffon, trying her best to tolerate and ignore his delighted clucks as he caressed her legs and kept murmuring how soft she felt. At one point she had to keep from convulsing as he pressed himself against her and gently nipped at her flank. Soon they reached their destination, her ‘working room’, given to them after being lovingly coerced out of the nightclub owner, and thankfully she wouldn’t have to endure any more of this unpleasant creature’s company for much longer.

“Here we are,” she cooed at him and pushed her flank out towards him as she opened it.

She felt one of his claws trace around the space above her cutie mark and had to repress a shiver before quickly stepping inside. With a gentle flutter of her wings she carried herself to the bed and laid down with one hoof on her flank, the other propping her head up as he gawked at her.

The griffon gave her what she would call a lustfully feral look and quickly began to remove his clothes. He cast his stuffy, corporate shirt aside without a care, and his beak slavered with drool and his feline tail swished behind him and batted against the ground wildly like a cat in heat. His wigs unfurled and flapped a few times as he gazed at her.

“Eh, one minute sir, please,” Flurry said to the fat bird, and held her hoof to her ear, dropping the act now that they were alone. “He’s here, N. We’re in position.”

“Wh-what?” the griffon stammered. His mood was clearly ruined, his interest in Flurry dropped in an instant, and he began to scowl. “Don’t you know who I am?” he snapped. “I’m-”

“We know exactly who and what you are, Doctor Grant Griefwing,” Flurry sighed with disinterest and sneered at him. “Big-shot scientist with GlowCorp, right? Now sit down or I’ll make you sit down.”

The bird ruffled his feathers and puffed his chest, which he placed entirely far too much self importance on, out. “You bitch,” he snarled. “I’ll have your head for this. You’ll never work in this city again, you’ll-”

“Oh shut up you old creep,” she snapped, and ignited her horn. The illusory spell was broken, and she quickly hoisted him up and held him in place, secretly delighting in his frightened clucks.

“You!” he hissed. “The wretched alicorn helping COTS! I’ve seen your wanted posters! You-”

“It’s taking a lot of effort right now not to pull out your feathers one by one, so please don’t tempt me,” she warned him with a light growl. “Now shut. Up.”

The griffon clamped his beak shut and looked at her with wide, frightened eyes, but still continued to struggle in her magical grasp.

Flurry held a hoof to her ear again and cleared her throat. “N? We good?”

Nothing but the empty crackle of static answered her, and as she began to pace she turned her head just enough to spot the griffon holding something in a tight grasp. She dragged him through the air and ignoring his protests, she wrenched his claw open, only to pull out a small pager-looking device, blinking a steady red.

With a furious scowl she looked up at his smirking face.

“Should have stayed a pleasure pony,” he muttered at her, and spat a gob of spit at her. “Terrorists like you deserve everything you get.” His smirk was wiped from his face in an instant as she brought him down to her level and pulled her hoof back. Terror flashed in his eyes.

There was a sickening crack as she collided with his face, knocking him out with one blow despite their size difference. Letting herself have a single second of satisfaction she pressed her ear to her hoof again. “N, we got trouble,” she said quickly, hoping that there was at least one way in Tartarus that her partner heard her. She looked over to the door as a somepony started banging against it, and used her magic to pull it open.

A bewildered looking Sparky stared at her, and gave a cursory glance to the unconscious bird. “Uhh, a bunch of MSec goons just appeared downstairs, F. What’s happening?”

“This sack of crap had a panic button on him,” Flurry growled, and jabbed a hoof towards her prisoner. “And I can’t reach N, they must be jamming the signal.”

Sparky’s face paled. “Wh--really? What do we do?” he whispered. “Oh geez I don’t-” He began to hyperventilate, entirely and decidedly not cut out for all this espionage and stress he was suddenly thrust under.

“Easy, S. Catch your breath. Stick with me like I said, yeah?” Flurry smiled and put a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. It was bad enough they had more or less walked into a trap, she didn’t need him to lose his cool now. “You good? I need you to get the van and bring it around as soon as, alright?”

The young pegasus inhaled and exhaled deeply, then nodded his head frantically. “What about N?” he asked her. “What’s she-”

“She knows where we are. Once she hasn’t heard anything in a few minutes she’ll come, trust her to make a fancy entrance.” Flurry winked at him and ruffled his mane. “Go on, out the window. Hopefully they’re being discreet and aren’t gonna torch the whole block this time.”

Their last venture had ended in somewhat of a small disaster with half of the Scrapheap going on lockdown while Megacity Security took to ransacking nearly everything they could get their metallic mitts on, cultivating in a riot that cause copious amounts of damage to public property.

Sparky stepped close to the window and pushed it open. He poked his head outside and looked around. “I don’t see anything,” he said, and glanced back at her. “You really gonna be okay by yourself?”

Flurry waved her hoof at him and winked. “What’re they gonna do, shoot me?”

Just then, a hail of gunfire sounded out around them, and countless bullet holes appeared up and down the door side of the wall. The alicorn was quick to ignite her horn and create a shield around them, and grimaced.

“Well... I did ask.”

Sparky looked at her optimistic grin and spread his wings. “I’ll be quick,” he told her. “Try not to die.”

“Gimme some credit, S,” Flurry laughed. “After all. I am an alicorn.” She spread her own wings and her face took on a serious expression as golden lightning crackled around her horn. Her shield pushed out towards the door, sending several bullets right back into the barrels they came from and causing several minor explosions in the process. Sparky took once last look back at her as the door burst open, and with a quiet yelp he dove from the window, soaring down to where their ride was parked, the sound of gunfire and magic spells being cast ringing out in his ears.

He only hoped Neon would show up soon and help Flurry before something really bad happened.

***

“I heard. Go ahead, F.”

Neon Dream sat on a rooftop, looking out over the fake horizon. She sighed a heavy sigh and let the wind blow her mane around her head as she took in the sights and bit into what Twilight had called a cucumber sandwich; a homemade gift from the princess of a bygone era. It didn’t taste like anything particularly mind-blowing, but was still good. Not great. Not terrible. In any case, ever since Twilight had told her everything of what she new--about Equestria, about Midnight Sparkle--nothing seemed to matter much to her, let alone the taste of a sandwich.

Nothing, that is, except for discovering exactly what happened to her dad. Alas, even with Flurry and Sparky’s help, alongside her A.I. powered mechanical suit, for every step she took forwards she took three backwards, and every question she had answered only served to raise more in a never ending cycle. For half a year the four of them had been chasing leads across the city, from all the way up to Hightown and what was left of the nobility, to down to the dredges of the Scrapheap and the Novos, occasionally undertaking COTS operations here and there to disrupt the tyranny of corporate rule.

It was strange, when she first met Flurry she suspected the mare had some sort of slight grudge against her and harboured some sort of jealousy for Twilight’s attention. Now, though, Neon would happily call Flurry Heart one of her best friends, with Sparky coming in a close second as her foster-brother.

Her suit, meanwhile, remained her truest and closest companion. Partially, maybe, because she wore him at nearly all times when in the field, unless she had time to relax when waiting for something to happen, just like now.

Blue shifted his hulking massive body and nuzzled her gently. It was no small coincidence that the suit Razor had given her needed an A.I. to power it, and whether it was luck or divine providence, she had one such chip ready to install on a new host. Perhaps it was destiny as Twilight suggested.

“Destiny... heh...” she chuckled dryly to herself and chomped down another mouthful of sandwich. “What do you think, big guy?” she asked the metal pony whose leg she rested against and reached up to pat his metal head. “You suppose destiny’s real? Or just another scrape of muck in a long trough of sewage?” She waved her hoof out over the city in gesture.

Unfortunately, the suit Blue now operated meant that he could no longer talk, and so he acted more like a big, metal, wearable dog that whined softy at her, a strange metallic sound from deep within his circuits.

“Thought not.”

Neon inspected her sandwich and took another bite. “Mm. his is pretty good actually,” she murmured after chewing in silence for a minute, and looked up at Blue. “I mean don’t get me wrong it’s not insta-noodles, but-”

Her earpiece suddenly crackled to life, cutting her off mid-thought. “N..eo...”

It sounded like Sparky’s voice, only full of static and barely audible. She quickly jumped to her hooves and pressed into her ear as a bad feeling welled up inside of her. “Kid? That you?”

“Ne... Fl...y’s in... roub... got... to s... ve... her!”

To punctuate his crackly words there was a small explosion from down in the city, and a large plume of smoke rose up into the sky.

“Radio must be getting jammed,” she muttered. “Dammit, why can’t one thing just go right?” She looked up at Blue as the mechanical suit already started to open with a slight hiss, and some pressurized steam fired up into the air. She nodded firmly and cast her sandwich over the side of the building. “Well I suppose that’s it, then,” she said to him with a grim look. “Destiny awaits.”

Sliding into the cold, padded suit felt so familiar now, like a second skin. The weeks of training she had taken to get it right, to learn all the systems and subsystems, had finally been worth it. And after the training, there came the personal flourishes she had to add--after all--what is substance without style? No reason she couldn’t kick ass and look good while doing so.

Blue’s body shifted as she slid her hooves into the sleeves. The lights around her dimmed as they had countless times before, and she readied herself for the sharp jab at the nape of her neck as she plugged herself in. There it was, and soon she felt her entire consciousness slip into the automaton. Her vital signs and power levels flickered up in her vision.

“Is it bad this feels better?” she murmured. Her voice sounded metallic and robotic like a droid’s yet still retained her accent. A series of beeps and chirps that she understood fluently sounded out in her head, Blue’s systems speaking back to her--integrating with her own neural network.

“We good?”

The beeps answered her and she saw a flight path form in her eyes. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and let herself fall.

“Maximum effort...”

***

As the smoke cleared and the last of the MSec goons slumped to the ground, large cavities where their chests or heads should be, Flurry squinted up at her ‘saviour’. A large, metal pony stood over her, the fresh bullet holes and scorch marks still smoking lightly.

“Well it’s about time,” the former princess grunted as she dusted her wings off. She deactivated her shield, and sneezed as some golden dust drifted past her nose. “Take the scenic route did you?”

[Just in time to save your sorry flank looks like,] Neon replied. Although her mouth was obscured by metal, Flurry swore she was doing that cocky smirk she always did. The metal mare’s piercing blue eyes shifted over to the unconscious griffon, still bound with magical energy. A deep rumble emanated from within her as she nodded toward him. [That him? Griefwing?] she growled.

“Uh huh. Watch it, when he’s awake he’s handsy,” Flurry confirmed. She hoisted him up with a wince and a pained grunt, and hobbled on three legs with the fourth being held close to her chest. “Sparky should be bringing the van around any second now, ‘case you’re wondering. Security’s crawling all over this place so we gotta move... hnng... quick.”

[Yeah,] Neon replied hollowly, her cold metal eyes fixated on the fat bird before shifting over and scanning the mare up and down, noting her pained expression and obvious limp. [You’re hurt,] she bluntly stated.

“Gee, good of you to notice,” Flurry snarked with a wince. The dark stain of her own blood clashed with the soft pinkness of her regular coat as it trickled out from a tell-tale bullet hole on her upper leg.

Neon hmphed, and leaned down to get a better look. [Nothing fatal, looks like. Still.] There was a click, and a small vial with a large spike on one side was revealed to her. [That would have taken a regular pony’s leg off,] she idly commented.

“Alicorns are made of sturdier stuff.” Flurry replied cryptically, and used her magic to grasp the needle to jammed it into the space above the bullet hole. “Thank Celestia for whoever invented these medical hypos,” she murmured as the gel injected into her pushed the cap out and the wound itself began to close up. “Ahh that stings...”

With the hypo having served its purpose, she cast the empty shell aside, inadvertently knocking it out the window and sending it tumbling down to the ground below.

Her ears twitched, and she looked over as one of Grey’s Delivery Van trundled into view, coughing and sputtering like it was on its last legs.

“We need a new ride I think,” she muttered with a grim chuckle.

[Agreed.] Neon herself pushed away, hovering in mid-air thanks to her engine powered hooves and allowed the van to sidle up to the hole in the wall. Leaving a short gap between one another, the loading doors slid open.

Sparky poked his head out of the driver side window and looked around at them. “You badmouthing Betsy again?” he grumbled. “She can hear you, you know!”

[Tell Betsy she can get interfaced by Blue, then if she doesn’t pick up the slack,] Neon snorted, earning a scowl and series of under the breath grumblings from the young pegasus and a laugh from Flurry. She turned her heavy head and stared at the unconscious griffon with a blank, emotionless metal stare. [Get him in,] she ordered, her voice losing its joyful edge in a flash. [I wanna hear him squawk.]

“I know, Neon,” Flurry replied, indeed knowing that the whole reason they were in this debacle was for her friend in the suit. She lifted their prisoner up and unceremoniously thrust him into the back of the van where he landed with a soft thunk, his bloated form and padded fathers providing him with some resistance to his fall. She clambered aboard and sat down opposite him, poking him away from her with a disgusted look on her face, and looked up toward Neon.

“You coming?” she asked.

The metal mare nodded before she sharply turned her head and looked around. [Whoa, whoa, what?] she murmured, her metallic voice edged with concern.

“What? What is it?” Flurry asked, but she already knew what it was, as the sound of sirens quickly approaching made her ears twitch and a small amount of anxiety fire through her.

[You gotta go,] Neon warned. [My sensors just lit up, we got like two, three dozen units moving in--I’ll keep them off you as best I can, but-]

“I know, Neon,” Flurry said gently. She raised a hoof towards the metal mare and smiled. “We’ll be fine. Betsy will get us home. Won’t she, Sparky?”

“Damn straight!” came the pegasus’s voice from the front of the van as the engine trundled to life once again.

Neon looked down at the alicorn. After a short pause there was a hiss and the sheet of metal covering her face shifted and raised itself up. Wires and circuitry were all around her, and several pairs of dim lights shone down on her pale coat, giving her an almost spectral appearance. “I won’t be long,” she promised. Her voice, unmodulated and clear as crystal sounded strange, foreign almost to Flurry’s ears.

“I’ll hold you to that,” the alicorn chuckled, trying not to show how worried she suddenly felt upon seeing her friend’s face. They touched hooves tenderly for a moment before the metal mare pulled away, and once again her face was covered up.

[Alright get goin’,] Neon barked. [Get out of here before they decide to show up.]

Flurry reluctantly pressed the button to close the loading doors, leaving her enshrouded in the dark with only Sparky and their prisoner for company. She sighed and slumped against the seat, and decided to inspect her injured hoof again. The hypo worked a treat, having sealed up the wound so much you couldn’t even tell she had been shot--save of course for the blood on her leg.

“Sparky?” she said to the colt behind her after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“You think Neon’s getting... I don’t know... worse?”

“Worse?”

Flurry sighed. “You know, since the whole suit thing? She didn’t exactly look healthy in there.”

She heard Sparky snort. “Neon’s fine,” he snapped. “Like she always says, she’s more of a dragon in disguise than a pony these days.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Silence descended upon them as the van sped along the skyway, winding in and out of traffic. Flurry hoped and prayed that Neon wouldn’t do anything too reckless and join them soon enough, alive and unharmed. Across from her, the griffon stirred and clacked his beak as he rose from his hoof induced coma.

“Wh... where am I?” he murmured, and fixed Flurry with a hateful glare while clutching at his head. “You! Release me at once you-”

Without a word, Flurry’s horn ignited, casting a sleeping spell over him and knocking him clean out once again. She snorted and rested her head against the back of the seat, intending to have a quick nap while she had a moment. Strangely, the only thought she had in her mind as sleep took its hold of her was as follows.

She wondered if her auntie had any more cucumber sandwiches for them when they got back.