//------------------------------// // Two // Story: Neon Dreams // by Bigwig6666 //------------------------------// 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.