Maple, Redshift and Starlight stared as a tall shape stepped from the shadows. Valey stood one step forward, wings spread protectively, halfway between a grin and a growl. "Y-You're..." Redshift stammered, jaw dropped. "How are you here?"
"The same could be said from me to you," Neon Nova replied, equally flabbergasted. "Whatever could you kids be doing in this generator!?"
"Defense Force," Valey confidently stated. "My credentials are more than enough to be here, and if they weren't, I'd be here anyway. What about you, Mister Sky-District-Locked-The-Door?" Her eye twitched eagerly, and her hat slid slightly to one side. "Steal some sap's card key to come in here and fix it yourself?"
Neon Nova hesitated for slightly too long. "Thought not," Valey continued, stepping forward while staying between him and the others. "Otherwise you'd have done that long ago, especially with how good you Spirit ponies are at robbing others. So what's really the game, here? I can guess..."
"...Be that way, then!" Neon Nova snorted. "Looks like someone's just about figured it out anyway, what with all the lights back on. Several months ago, I hacked that door and deleted all its recognized credentials so it can't be opened from the outside. Since then, I've just teleported past it whenever I feel like coming in, something nopony else in this town has had the horn, the skill and the idea to do! The plan was to just toggle it on and off every now and then... to let the ponies down easier than a total blackout, you know? Safer and gentler. Give 'em time to move up or do something about it. And, well, if any had figured out how to get past the door and fix it, they'd've been a hero."
Redshift looked ready to vomit, ears so close to her head it was a wonder she could hear at all. Face pasty and legs shaking with a mixture of despair and rage, she managed, "B-But... But why?"
"Oh, did I not say?" Neon's brows arched in spectacular concern. "Here's the thing, kid: your town's a doormat, full of bigger doormats. They left their fire at the door, dropped their spunk down the river, and hope ain't even in their vocabulary. What they need most of all is to think things can get better... and that is totally what I came here to provide! But no ponies have ever rallied around being sad in the sad sack before. You need to have something for them to get together against, and they already had that in a Sky District that doesn't do anything! There was nothing fake about that part; they really couldn't care less about you upper-district dropouts. All I did was show them a reason why being ignored from on high is the worst thing ever!"
"I spent weeks in the dark..." Redshift murmured, eyes unfocused and haunted. "Trying to save ponies that you trapped down there!" She flew into a crouch, suddenly burning. "You tricked everyone! You tricked me! You made me like you and believe in you when you were my worst enemy all along! You're evil!"
"Life lesson?" Valey whispered to the side. "If someone ever tries to get a crowd too excited to think straight, they're probably up to no good. Trusting them? Bad idea, right there."
Neon flashed his smile. "Okay, my tactics were a little bit dishonest and sacrificial, I'll give you that. But a drop in the bucket when you've already got a waterfall is a small price to pay for giving everyone else the drive to survive, don't you think? Besides, my work's showing visible dividends, and my motives have your best interests at heart! On the other hoof, check out which side of the room you're standing on..." He gestured unsubtly to Valey. Valey grinned back.
"That's right!" Neon continued with an exaggerated nod. "I've heard plenty about you, Missy, but I believe this is the first time we've met in person. Want to take a guess at how many poor stallions and mares are stuck in this hole of a town because of you? I sure don't, because the results would probably depress me really really bad!" He hugged himself and shuddered, frowning for all to see.
"Y-You..." Redshift blinked, looking between Valey and Neon, suddenly trying her hardest to appear small. "I'm only following her because I wanted to see her get beaten up by Braen..."
Valey nodded slowly, latching on to Redshift's sudden fear of being caught in the middle. "You might wanna decide which one of us you hate less, kid. Really fast."
In a snap, Redshift was at Valey's side, so close they were almost touching, glaring daggers at Neon Nova. Valey clicked her tongue, smirking. "Huh. Being the hero feels kinda fun for a change!"
Neon's jaw fell, and he lifted his shades to blink... but only for a moment. "Well, this sure is a disappointing turn of events," he proclaimed with more gusto than his words merited. "You know, if we hadn't run into each other down here, everything would've been perfectly fine! You could've fixed your little power crisis, been a hero, and no one would've been a hair wiser!" His mouth gave a short, semicircle frown. "And I was only here for a good deed, too."
No response from the opposing side. Maple and Starlight stuck together, several paces behind the aggressive wall of Valey and Redshift.
"Those two, back there?" Neon gestured over Valey's head at the duo, taking a step to the side. "A friend asked me to give them a hoof if I saw them, so when I ran into them at the bar, it seemed logical to turn the lights on for the duration of their stay! Figured I'd give them the best Blueleaf has to offer, you know? It's a shame, really. We've got a friendly connection and everything! Maybe we could've been friends if things had turned out slightly differently..."
"Like anyone would want to be friends with you," Redshift huffed. "You're evil!"
Neon Nova smirked. "That doesn't stop the rest of the town, now, does it?"
"So who is this friend?" Valey asked, keeping her stance relaxed while functionally defensive.
"Mmm..." Neon sucked his cheek, thinking. "Seeing as we're enemies now, I think it's best if I keep that a little old secret. When in doubt, protect your friends' identities! And make sure to have friends to protect!"
"It's Braen," Redshift growled, still clinging to Valey like glue. "I heard you talking in the bar. You had a magic stone. She said she's on her way here." She paled slightly, then looked up at Valey. "What are you going to do when she gets here? She wouldn't be in on this, would she?"
"Take a chill pill, little filly!" Neon urged, waving a hoof. "All Miss Braen knows is that Blueleaf's got a power problem and I am doing my best to keep everypony's spirits up! No need to think trash about all your heroes, now! The whole point here was to give you someone to cheer for, after all!"
Redshift started to reply, but Starlight cut her off with a loud cough, speaking for the first time since Neon Nova had arrived. "You two realize he's stalling for time, right? He's also between us and the stairs. Whatever you're going to do, do it, because this is probably a trap!"
Valey nodded appreciatively, tipping her hat with a wing. "Smart kid," she acknowledged. "So then, Spirit guy, what'll it be? I know how I'd like this to end..." She licked her lips, polishing hoof against her chest in anticipation.
"The only thing it can be," Neon tossed back, grinning confidently. "Here's the facts, ponies... and weird bat-creature. Up there, every last citizen positively adores me and my mane, and at least one of you is a known criminal, despot, tyrant, jerk and all-around slice of cow pie! The other two are complete strangers, and one is just a kid! So all we have to do is go up there with the lights on, and it'll be a battle of your words against mine! And no offense, but you'd kind of be pushovers, even without my awesome PR." He tossed his head, smile flashing again.
"But I... no..." Redshift paled again as the reality of his words washed over her. Suddenly, her fire returned. "My father will trust me over you. He's the mayor! The ponies will listen to him over you! They chose him in the first place!"
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy," Neon answered, turning and showing off his black cloak. Yellow eyes flashed confidently from underneath his shades, and he continued, "You see, when you hold office for months without doing anything about a town's number one problem, your popularity goes doooown." He punctuated his words with a long, vertical sweep of a hoof. "I could challenge him for his job and win by a landslide. He can't touch me! And of course, if I ever needed even more leverage, I could always stoop to spreading sensational stories... about your mom!"
Redshift blanched. "You leave my mother out of this!"
Valey's lips pursed. "Your mom has a penchant for trouble? Filing that away for later..."
"Point is, you can't touch me." Neon Nova swaggered, turning fully and putting a hoof on the spiral staircase back to the entrance. "Anyhow, the generator's all fixed, so I better go tell everypony the good news. You know... the little story about how I tricked the big bad bat into opening the door, then snuck in and fixed everything myself! See ya!"
Only an instant passed before Maple whispered, "What do we do? Wait here until he's likely in the middle of talking, then turn off the power again to cost him credibility?"
"No," Starlight shot back, also whispering to stay out of Neon's earshot. "He'd just say we were still down here and blame it on us!"
Valey bonked her forehead with a hoof. "Wow you guys are dense. Use your brains! What have I wanted to do since pretty much the moment you met me?"
Neon stopped on the staircase, less than a quarter turn up, staring down curiously.
"Hey. Kid." Valey nudged Redshift, who was looking on, confused. "That bet we had is off, right? Or at least doesn't apply to him?"
A moment's pause... and then Redshift's face twisted into a smirk, then kept going. "No. It. Doesn't."
Neon leaned over the stair railing, blinking. Valey's wings snapped out. She spun to face him so fast, she could have teleported in place... and she kicked off, streaking toward him in a flash, leading with a pummel-hungry hoof.