//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Royal Celebration // Story: The Tale of Neon Light // by DeffBwade //------------------------------// The Tale of Neon Light Written by DeffBwade Chapter 2: Royal Celebration I continued to stare with wide eyes at the livestream on the big screen. I couldn't believe it. An...earth pony...and a unicorn? Here in Zephyr Heights? I honestly didn't know what I was feeling right now other than surprised. Shocked? Scared? Amazed? It's most likely that last one. Never in my life have I ever seen a non-pegasus pony. It's just so...surreal. The earth pony was an apricot orange coated mare with brown hooves and emerald green eyes. Her mane was magenta and purple, and was tied back into a braid with aquamarine elastic bands. Her tail was the same color scheme, but wasn't tied back. She was also wearing a teal satchel. The unicorn was a mare with a lilac coat with navy blue hooves and magenta eyes. She had a wavy, cerulean blue mane and tail with an indigo ombre, a bracelet on her left forehoof with blue, pink, and purple beads, and of course, a long powder blue horn with white swirls. And also for some reason she had a tennis ball sticking on said horn. The two mares looked at each other before they smiled and waved at the camera while the two guards around them just gave deadpan stares. I guess they don't appreciate the fact that one of their princesses just livestreamed that fact that there's an earth pony and unicorn here in ZH. "Pipp!" a voice called out with a bit of anger before the camera turned to Queen Haven herself. The Queen had a pale pink coat, periwinkle mane with lilac streaks flipped to the side and braided at the back, a long tail, and icy blue eyes with lavender eyeshadow. She wore a dark purple vest, a golden necklace with a turquoise gem in the middle, and a golden crown with a turquoise crystal that was shaped like pegasus wings in the center. "There's nothing to fear, Those nasty little ponies have been captured. You're queen will protect you," Queen Haven said reassuringly, much to the relief of the citizens as the pegasi around me gave out sighs of relief. She then turned her eyes, presumably towards Princess Pipp, before saying, "Shut it off." The livestream then turned off and went back to the normal news network as the pegasi just went on with their everyday lives, as if that wasn't big news in the slightest. As for me? I just...kind of stood there a bit dumbfounded. "So...that just happened," I thought to myself. Sometime later I was now back in my apartment, laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, and just...thinking. An earth pony and a unicorn. In the pegasus city of Zephyr Heights. Once again it's...surreal. I had so many questions that needed answers, but probably the most important one is...why? Why are those two ponies here? To spy on us? To conquer us? Were they simply tourists that wanted to see the many wonders of ZH? I mean I can't really blame them if that was actually the reason. But then again, in all my life, I've never once seen or even heard of a non-pegasus pony taking a tour in the city. So why? It can't just be a coincidence that on the same day that the royal celebration is meant to happen that the kind of ponies we were taught to avoid (which in my opinion sounds a bit racist when written on paper) as foals suddenly appear. Who's to say that there might be more of them? Is my brain gonna be melted? Are they really as bad as we believe? I'm too young to die! "Gah! Why am I still thinking about this?!" I asked myself as I groaned and rubbed my temples...before I realized what I just thought, "Are they really bad as we believe?" I can't be the only one that's questioning it. Once again, never in my life has there been any type of earth pony or unicorn activity. And if we've been lacking in magic for this long, then surely there would've been some kind of attack or at least a sighting of a non-pegasus at least once. But no. Not once has this occurred. Why is th— "Okay. I need to do something to distract myself from asking more and more questions, or else I'm gonna get a brain aneurysm," I mentally sighed before I looked towards my desk, or rather...what was on it, "Eh. Might as well. I planned on streaming today anyways." I got off of my bed and walked over to my admittedly cluttered desk that contained what every gamer needs. PC SETUP TOUR TIME!!! (say this in an announcer like voice to make it funny) Yo what's up every pony! It's ya boi and today I'm gonna be showing you my gaming setup that I definitely sto—um, I mean totally bought off of Amazone during a huge sale. Seriously, I bought it. I didn't steal it. The first thing I want to show you guys is this Sci-fi Powered (not sponsored) PC. It has some amazing specs to it that I absolutely do not pay attention to because I am in no way a computer technician nor engineer, but also because I simply don't care. As long as something technical had amazing reviews from the Canternet then I'd buy it without thinking twice because I'm an idiot. It also comes with a remote that allows me to control its RGB colors which is another win for me. The next things I want to show you are the dual Specter (not sponsored...again) monitors that each are 24 inches, have a resolution of 1920 x 1080, and have an awesome neon colored background to them. But other than that, I once again don't know the specs to them because who cares? My go to brand for gaming utilities is Blazer (once again...not sponsored in any way) because of their high quality and colorful products due to the highly customizable RGB lights. The Blazer Iguana Mouse is very comfortable to grip and came with a charging station due to it being wireless, meaning I don't have to worry about any wires getting in the way. The Blazer Butterfly Mousepad helps me steady my mouse movement and...that's...that's pretty much it. The Blazer Cynova V2 Keyboard is very durable and highly resistant to spills from water and the like. It also has additional buttons for increasing and decreasing volume, muting volume entirely, pausing and resuming videos, and going forward and rewinding on videos. The Blazer Cracken V3 X Headset have immersive 7.1 surround sound, cooling gel-infused ear cushions allowing for some comfort even after wearing them for 5 hours straight (even during bathroom breaks which I don't recommend), and a retractable unidirectional microphone to let your voice out. But since I'm a die hard gamer, I've also got the Blazer Suiren X Microphone that allows you to let your voice out...but at a higher quality, along with a microphone arm whose brand I don't know nor care about. And like I mentioned, all of these Blazer products have highly customizable RGB lights so you can make them as colorful as you want. And all these additional products costed me a total price of...of... ...I really need to stop buying cool looking products without thinking about the price first. END OF PC SETUP TOUR TIME!!! (this segment was completely unnecessary but I don't care) Anyways, I turned on the computer and monitors and proceeded to routinely set everything up. I opened up my recording software and made sure that my mic and desktop audio levels were working properly. I logged onto my YouHoof account and set up a title and description for the stream. And finally, I opened up what's possibly my favorite game of all time: Missing By Midnight. Missing By Midnight is a multiplayer horror game where 4 ponies play as the wanderers who to find the way out of some spooky location, while another ponies play one of many shadowy figures who have to locate the wanderers and, as the name of the game implies, make them go missing. Not sponsored by the way. "Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3," I said into my mic, making sure that it's working properly one last time. Before I could press the button to start streaming, however, I heard my phone start to ring. I looked at the caller ID and smiled a bit as I answered it, "Hello?" "Oh my gosh! Did you see it? Did you see the livestream?" "Yes, I saw the livestream. It was on every big screen in the city," I paused for a second before asking, "So is it true? There's really an earth pony and unicorn here, huh?" "Yep! I like have no words. Never in my life have I seen a non-pegasus pony." "Neither has...literally every pony else. I'm just surprised that no pony is freaking out over it. I mean, you'd think that would happen since they're supposed to be our 'sworn enemies,' right?" I asked in a sort of sarcastic matter, "That unicorn didn't try to...fry your brains...or anything?" "Nope. The guards made sure to place the shield on her." "The shield? What do you mean the—...You mean that tennis ball on her horn?" I asked with a deadpan expression. "Mmhm." Okay. I'm no expert in unicorn anatomy by any means, but I'm pretty sure a tennis ball won't prevent one from performing magic. "And as for the earth unicorn? Well, we shouldn't worry too much. You know they have very tiny brains." "One should not assume what your opponent is like before you face them, you know? Especially if they appear weak," I said as I leaned back on my chair and propped my hind hooves on the desk, "That's one of the lessons that help me as a gamer. But then again, this is real life." "...I'll keep that in mind." "So what happened to those two mares anyway?" I asked. "They were put in the dungeon." "The dungeon? As in the one that looks more like a fancy hotel room with a fountain, a fruit basket, and a massage chair? You talking about that dungeon?" I'm not even exaggerating when I ask that. That's literally what the so called castle dungeons look like. "Yeah. And can you believe that when I went to them for the content, I find that my sister was speaking to them even after we were specifically told to stay away?" "I can actually. You know how she's like," I said before I realized what she said, "Wait, you too went to those two ponies...just for the content?" "...Well, can you really blame me?" "Not really. I meant it's not like you already broadcasted their presence across all of Zephyr Heights," I responded sarcastically, "So do you know what your sister was talking to the prisoners about?" "I do not, but the earth pony did ask me why no pony was flying. And...well..." "I know. Only royals can fly," I sighed. "Yeeaah...Soo...you excited about tonight's celebration? And my—" "I already told you like 3 times. I got the ticket that you sent me...literally about a week ago. And yes, I'm going." "Really?! Oh, I'm like so glad to hear you say that!" "Heh heh. Of course I'm going to see your performance. How else would I support my best friend?" "Thanks a lot Neon! Okay, I got to get back rehearsing, but I'll talk you after the show tonight. Bye." "Hope you put on a good show," I said with a smile, "See ya, Pipp." I then ended the call before putting my headphones back on and pressing the "Start Streaming" button. "What's up every pony! It's your host, the Neon Gamer, coming back to you with another stream..." What? Surprised that I'm best friends with one of the princesses of Zephyr Heights? Later that evening It was almost time every pony. Almost time for the royal celebration to begin, and with that comes a performance by the one, the only, Princess Pipp herself! Yeah! The crowd is going wild! They're not actually, but you get what I'm trying to do. It's called building up hype. Due to me personally knowing Princess Pipp, I'm no stranger when it comes to navigating through the castle and to the throne room. Okay, this place was and always will be a bit of a maze, but I at least I have some familiarity and know when I'm close to it. After all, one gains an advantage when they become familiar with the layout of the battlefield. Huh. I should write a book listing off all the lessons that help me whenever I play video games. Can make some moolah alongside the streaming career. I can call it...Neon's Gaming Lessons That...Every Gamer Should Follow...When They...Play...Video Games. ... I'll work on coming up with a better one. Anyways, as stage performers would say, it's show time. Although I'm not the one putting on the...whatever. I opened the doors to the throne room and— "Holy crap. That's a lot of ponies," I thought to myself with slightly widened eyes as I saw the sheer amount of ponies in the throne room alone. In hindsight though, that's to be expected. The throne room is obviously pretty large, and who wouldn't want to see Princess Pipp perform in the flesh? I know I would. I took a deep breathe and entered the large crowd. "It's alright. As long as the attention isn't on you, then you're fine," I told myself. You might be asking yourself: how is a common pony such as myself best friends with somepony that's not only a princess, but that's also really popular on social media? First of all, I consider it kind of rude to refer to me as "common." I prefer the term "everyday" or "ordinary." I know those two words are synonyms, but they just sound much nicer. Second of all...that's a story for another time, I'm afraid. But if you want the short version, it's that we met on accident, we connected, and there. The throne room looked...exactly what you would expect from any other throne room. Grand, glamorous, curtain walls (walls made of glass in case you didn't know) all around, pillars going up to the ceiling, and three thrones for the Queen and the Princesses. And up above at the ceiling is some sort of balcony where the Royal Family would graciously descend from, as a means of just looking spectacular to their guests, I guess. The crowd then started to cheer and looked up as the lights dimmed down. I looked up as well and saw the spotlights shining on two pegasi floating down from the balcony. One of them was Queen Haven. The other was the aforementioned Princess Zipp. She had white fur with silver hooves and turquoise blue eyes. Her sleek wings had light blue and lavender feathers. Her clearly gelled up mane and tail were hot pink with aqua and pink streaks. The two ponies continued to float down to their thrones before music started playing. Once the ponies finally sat down, another set of spotlights suddenly revealed Pipp flying above. We got the Light, We’re coming in stronger We’re in it together, If you want it It’s all inside your mind We got the light, we won’t wait any longer, we’ll get it together, if you want you can paint the sky As she began to sing, she also started to fly around the room, making everypony else, including me, look up in awe. Used to care what they say, let them into my brain But I found a new way (Oh-hoo-hoo) Every time I fall down, I pick it up like rebound, gotta get through somehow Remember when I said that Pipp has a fantastic singing voice? Yeah, I wasn't lying in the slightest. One might even say that she has the voice of an angel, but I just say that she sounds good. "Putting on an amazing performance as always, eh Pipp," I mentally chuckled before my ears picked up on something. It was kind of feint due to the music, but noticeable, "...Do I...Do I hear a dog barking?" We don’t fly like we used to, we take what we’ve been through, and we can feel brand-new (Oh-hoo) I know I am a fighter, I feel the fire, I’m shining brighter (Ooh-hoo-hoo) Glowin up, kind of love, dip and slide, through the cut Glowin up, kind of love, we say "hi", you say "what?" I kept my ear out this time for whatever noise I just heard, but instead there was no sound of what I believed to be a dog barking. Just the music. "Huh. Maybe I have been playing too much video games lately. I think I'm starting to hear things now," I thought to myself before I shrugged and focused my attention back on Pipp. Everywhere that I’ve been, yeah they say I’m different, but I’m good in my skin (Ooh-hoo-hoo) If it doesn’t feel right, break it in with tie dye, and don’t you stop ‘til sunrise We don’t fly like we use to, we take what we’ve been through, and we can feel brand-new (Ooh-hoo-hoo) As Pipp continued to sing, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Or rather...lack of somepony. "Hmm?" I muttered as I turned my head in the direction of the thrones...and saw that Zipp wasn't there on her chair. I know I am a fighter, I feel the fire I'm shining brighter (Ooh-hoo-hoo) We got the light, we're coming in stronger, we're in it together... "That's...weird. Where in the world did Zipp go? Did she go to the bathroom or something? No, that can't be right. She might not be interested in the same things as Pipp, but Zipp would always be there to support her. And that includes holding in the water inside the tank during her concerts," I thought to myself before asking with a cringed out face, "Wait, why exactly do I know that?" As I was questioning my...questionable thoughts...the lights in the room started flickered on and off. "What the...?" I, and probably every other pony in the room, asked out of confusion as I looked up at the lights as they continued to glitch out. Suddenly, a light beamed down right next to me, which honestly startled me a bit. I turned my head to see a pegasus stallion with light amber fur with various white markings across his body and chocolate brown hooves. He also had a short, aqua green mane and tail, amber eyes, and a moustache. His wings...er...looked discolored from the rest of his body. ... ...Well that sounded a bit racist. It was quite clear that the stallion wasn't expecting the lights to suddenly be on him, much less all eyes to turn on him, if him freezing in place and stuttering a bit were any indications. It was also quite clear that he wasn't part of the show due to him trying to sing the song. Key word being "try." Throwing up find a glove fly around, bup-bup-bup, doing stuff that I love, you’re like "why?", I’m like "what?" Crisp and Dry, eat some mud, flowing up lovey dove… I didn't want to be mean or anything, but this was both painful...and comical to watch. But mostly painful. I was watching this stallion's...cringe worthy performance...I noticed two things. First of all, there was some fluffy white dog (a Pomeranian if you want to be specific) with a round body, short legs, tiny paws, and wings howling (I'm assuming that's a dog's version of singing) right beside him. "What the hay?" I thought as I instantly recognized him as the Royal Family's dog, "Is that Cloudpuff? What's he doing?" Second of all, there was also crystal laying on the ground. One that was turquoise and looked pegasus wings. "Wait a minute..." I mentally processed before I was able to tell what it was, "Isn't that—" "WHOOAAAA!" a scream rang out. I immediately turned to see what the commotion was...and my eyes widened in shock as I saw Pipp flying out of control all over the place. As if her wings had a mind on their own. "What the...?!" I mentally yelled with steadily increasing worry for my friend's safety as I continued to her watch fly around, "What's going on?!" I was so focused on the whole situation that I didn't even notice the crystal being swiped from right beside me. "Is this all part of the show?! Because if it is then this is one heck of a perform—" "Freeze!" the stallion suddenly yelled out, prompting me to turn towards where he was looking at... "It's the prisoners!" ...in which I saw the earth pony and unicorn that have captured earlier today trying to sneak away. That wasn't the most shocking part, however. No, no, no. What really shocked me was the pegasus that was with them. "Zipp?!" I muttered with widened eyes as I also the oldest pegasus princesses also sneaking away with the prisoners. Before I could do anything, Pipp suddenly zoom by...and knock the stallion's apparently fake wings off. "Another earth pony!" yelled another pegasus, to which the stallion ran off. I looked back and saw him following Zipp and the two other ponies, whom were now running away. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous! I'm gonna find out what's going on!" I thought with determination, with the intention of following after them. Before I could so much as take a step, however, the crowd suddenly gasped. "She's a fake!" I looked at back to see what the crowd was looking at...only to see Pipp hanging upside down...with wires tangled around her.