//------------------------------// // Framed // Story: Trouble in Neo Neighpon // by ZeroChill //------------------------------// Dark clouds endlessly covered the skies of a tall city of dark teal and red structures. Heavy downpours of rain painted the streets with moisture as the sounds of the drops were drowned out by the roars of levitating monorails and the hoofsteps and chatter from the crowds of ponies. Colorful neon signs abundantly hung around all the buildings, walls and staircases that led underground. Hologram screens of various sizes freely floated throughout the streets. Each screen depicted a mug shot of a lavender unicorn mare’s head with purple eyes and a straight-curled sapphire mane with a pink stripe that ran down its middle. She had a deep frown on her face as a red ‘警告’ lined up along the bottom of the images. Amidst the chaos of the crowd, a dark brown-cloaked pony hid within the alleyways behind a green dumpster. Its eyes scanned the immediate area, the cloaked figure ducked its head away from sight as a levitating machine with two red lights on the top of its head passed by. The cloaked figure extended its right front hoof out of its sleeve and brought it up to the hoodie. As the hoodie was pulled back by the hoof, a unicorn mare with a head similar to the one displayed on the holograms was revealed. She slowly closed her eyes. Earlier A lavender unicorn mare had her haunches on a blue office chair within a dark room made entirely of rusted metal. Her left hoof was blue, mechanical and heavily wired. It lit up with different holographic screens that levitated on the top. In front of her sat a large computer monitor that provided the only light in the room. The image on her flank resembled a six-pointed star in a hot pink color. With her right hoof, she moved the various screens to the left as she scrolled through them. During that time, a series of hard knocks banged against the door. “Open.” She flatly stated as her head turned away from the series of screens in front of her. The knob turned and the door became ajar. Behind it was a white alicorn with an ethereal mane and tail in the colors of an aurora. Similarly, her hooves were also enhanced with mechanically. Her hooves unlike Twilight Sparkle's, had wires that connected to her chest through a apparatus. . “Twilight Sparkle…” She said in a slightly broken tone. Twilight Sparkle’s ears drooped over as she looked into the sorrowful eyes of her visitor. “What's wrong Commander Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle questioned in a confused tone. Celestia gently shut her eyes and pointed her eyes down the floor. “As you have heard, the Equestrian Police Federation were on the hunt of a criminal that had been forcibly stealing biotech from various ponies on the streets, killing them in the process. In addition, some of these ponies have gone missing.” She said. “We…” She stuttered out. Her eyes opened and stoically looked towards the visibly distraught Twilight Sparkle in front of her. “We traced the source of all the stolen technology to you Twilight Sparkle.” A shrill gasp escaped from Twilight Sparkle’s mouth. “That can’t be right! I was in here all this time in my stay in the Neighpon University for Technological Advancement. There’s no possible way that I could have killed those ponies on the streets.” She reasoned. Celestia shook her head despondently. “I do not like this news as much as you do. You were working on a program that would have allowed for a clean source of limitless energy to be used to fuel our modern world. You would have saved the unfortunate souls that would eventually be consumed by their biotech. I looked out for you as if you were my daughter. You would have finally brought this rusted time into a golden age!” She said as her somber tone gradually rose with each word. Twilight Sparkle had her mouth agape in a frown. “I had not hoped that it would have never reached this point, unfortunately I have no choice…” As these words escaped Celestia’s mouth, she stomped her right hind hoof hard on the ground. A hologram of a sparkling moon within a stylized sun materialized in front of the apparatus on her chest. “Twilight Sparkle, you are hearby under arrest on multiple counts of aggravated assault, robbery, murder and abduction. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you.” Two ponies in navy blue armored suits and helmets ran into the room on the whim of her words. Both ponies held up their right hooves, which revealed silver piping on their bottoms, and pointed them towards Twilight Sparkle. “I’m telling you Commander, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Twilight Sparkle shouted in confusion. Tears began to flow down her face. Celestia, still feeling that acute shock of pain and disbelief, glanced away. “I’m doing this… for your own good Twilight. Please… just let us take you in. I will try to make this as quick and painless as possible…” She hesitanted. Twilight Sparkle's head was marked by red lasers pointers by the officers' silver hooves. She rolled out of the marks, extended her left hoof outwards and, with her right hoof, quickly tapped various buttons on it. “I’m sorry Commander, but I have to resist arrest.” Celestia and the two police officers suddenly became wreathed in blue electricity as these words passed out of Twilight Sparkle's mouth. The three law enforcers clenched their mouths and craned their heads and necks downward. Their bodies erratically shook, held in the grip of their own technology. A few seconds later, their bodies dropped to the ground, passed out. Twilight Sparkle ran out through the open door. She ran down the industrial-style hallways where various officers crept out from hidden corners and held their hooves out towards Twilight Sparkle. The corridors were sprayed with red lasers from the officers’ hooves. Twilight Sparkle jumped and rolled her way through the barrages of lasers. She clung onto the walls and imputed various commands on her hoof. Suddenly, the officers that opened fire screamed when the blue electricity shot out from their suits. They were dominoes that dropped to the ground. “Good thing that I have skills in biotech hacking. It makes encounters so much easier.” She said to herself with a guilty grin. As she ran through the corridors, her eyes came upon a window. As she looked behind her, she noticed a crowd of officers running down the corridor. A quick inspection of all sides revealed that they had also rushed down each corridor. “Stop right where you are scum!” One of the officers shouted. As she looked out the window, her heart skipped a beat. Her nerves and muscles felt restricted by the sight of the ground five-stories below. Her teeth chattered rapidly and all felt like darkness... "No! I can't let this end here, I won't!" She screamed in her thoughts. Courage filled her very soul as she clenched her teeth and jumped out of the window. "Stop!!!" One of the officers shouted as she jumped. The officers rushed over and looked out of the window. Much to their displeasure, no sight of Twilight Sparkle was anywhere. With hawk-like eyes, the officers carefully scanned the ground below. Underneath the windowsill, Twilight Sparkle tightly sidled against the wall as the officers looked around. Her knees on her hind legs and her hooves gradually turned to jelly as the officers looked below. "The perpetrator has escaped!" One of them shouted. The entire force dispersed from the immediate area and left. Twilight Sparkle sighed with a despondent frown. Now Twilight Sparkle looked at the active city of Neo Neighpon from behind the dumpster; countless ponies were physically connected to various technological apparatus on various parts of their bodies. They unintentionally bumped into others, which was usually followed up with angry screams of accusations from both sides. Behind the colors and bright flashes of the neon signs was a dead world with streaks of gray and brown. “Why would Commander Celestia charge me with a crime I didn’t commit?” Twilight Sparkle questioned out loud. "There must be something I missed. Now that the coast is safe, I should check my own biotechnical status for any sort of conclusions." She pulled out her mechanically augmented left hoof. With a series of taps from her right front hoof on some key buttons, she pulled up a series of light blue hologram screens with encrypted writing on them. Examining, her eyes widened at the sight of an odd code in her programing. "Wait a moment... last time I checked, this coding wasn't here." She said, physically tapping the hologram. At the moment her hoof touched the hologram, her body suddenly felt a burning sensation that intensified. She squeaked in pain as illicit coding filled her system. “A… virus? That… can’t be.” She uttered out in pain. She quickly imputed commands into her mechanized hoof. Her eyes quickly closed and she suddenly fell onto the ground. Her eyes opened moments afterwards. She slowly lifted herself off the wet ground and stood tall. She shook the excess rain and dirt from her mane. “It looks as if I’ve been hacked myself. No wonder Commander Celestia and the Equestrian Police Federation accused me of a crime; whatever this virus was, it contained data of various high-profile crimes and set off a traceable signal.” At the thought of this explanation, her eyes and mouth formed a scowl. “I’ve been framed! Whoever the real criminal infected me so that he or she can continue his illegal activities.” At this very moment, a bot that hovered by detected her. It wailed its sirens as its red lights suddenly flashed. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened. A flood of bots materialized from out of nowhere and surrounded her. Twilight Sparkle hopped over the dumpster and dashed into the streets. The pedestrians eyed her and screamed. They ran into nearby buildings as quickly as possible. Metal carriages that hid along the alcoves of the streets flashed their red and blue lights. They hovered above the streets and chased after her. Their sirens wailed loudly. “Looks like I have no choice then.” Twilight Sparkle thought to herself as she was endlessly pursued by the police. She closed her eyes as she ran. Her teeth were clenched and her eyes were closed as tightly as possible. From the tip of the horn, lavender sparks illuminated from the tip after a few second. Those sparks then enshrouded the horn in light. Twilight Sparkle exhaustively grinned. She disappeared from the streets in a lavender light. All of the police and bots that chased her suddenly stopped. Behind the waves of police, Celestia slowly walked towards the scorched ground. “Officers, I want you to trace that magical signature back to its source. That’s an order!” She shouted. The officers that walked out of the cars saluted before they left. Celestia looked back on the scorch marks and scooped a hoof-full of ashy water. “What kind of game are you playing here Twilight?” She asked to herself. Twilight Sparkle re-appeared just outside Neo Neighpon’s boundaries. Her hooves met the wet slosh of mud as she landed on the ground. The wasteland surrounding the city looked dark, cold and unpleasant. Her ears perked up at the sound of a shrill roar. She looked to her left and saw a red-rusted building that was slanted to the right with broken windows. She strongly nodded as she ran towards the building. A purple teenaged dragon with a green jaw and underbelly slept sat-down on a brown couch with a red magazine on his face. His wide arm span scaled towards both sides of the couch. His chest was built strongly while his claws looked sharp enough to rend through metal. His most peculiar feature, however, were metallic apparatuses connected to his knees and elbows. They were connected with wires that ran down to his claws and toes. The room he was in was deathly silent save for the sound of rain outside and his snores. On the steel door, a powerful series of knocks broke the silence of the room. The dragon fumbled about as the magazine stuck to his face. As he removed the magazine, he looked towards the door. He narrowed his eyes and stood up. With a slumped-over back, he walked over to it. “Whoever it is, nobody’s home!” He shouted. “Spike, it’s me!” Twilight Sparkle cried out. Spike’s eyes widened as he grasped the wheel on the door with both of his claws and turned it clockwise. With a deep sound, the door’s lock became undone and it became slightly ajar. Spike peered his head out into the crack. “Twilight? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be locked up in that prison?” Spike asked. Twilight Sparkle smacked her forehead with her hoof. “First of all Spike, it’s not a prison. It’s the Neighpon University for Technological Advancement.” She said in an aggravated voice. “Second of all, if you haven’t been keeping up with the news, I’m a fugitive that is wanted for multiple felonies of murder, theft and abduction. I can’t exactly go back to Neighpon.” At these words, Spike’s jaw dropped. “Well what are you doing here then?! I can’t assist a criminal! I’m not exactly on the best terms with the Equestrian Police Federation!” Spike fearfully voiced out. “Spike, I’m not a criminal! I was just framed for another pony's crimes.” Twilight Sparkle reasoned back. Spike eyed her intenely before he exhaled a sigh of relief as his panic slipped away. “Thank goodness! For a moment there, I actually thought that you did intentionally kill ponies.” He said with a smile. The door fully opened as Twilight Sparkle walked into the room. “Make yourself at home Twilight. I know it isn’t much, but it’s hard to come by stuff when you live out in the outskirts of Neo Neighpon.” He said. “So, out with it Twilight; what do you need me for?” He asked. “You are one of the best hackers I know. I can’t go to anypony else because of obvious reasons, so I need you to trace back a virus I was infected with.” Twilight Sparkle requested. Spike glanced over towards her hoof and then back to her eyes. He locked his claws together and cracked them. He dashed over to a metal back chair and a vanilla computer module. He pressed a red button on it. The module’s screen lit up in an electric blue. “So, this virus you were infected with," Spike trailed off. "Would you mind giving me details?” “I explored a bit of my coding and discovered it in my central system. I managed to reboot myself, so the malware left my system. I still have the original coding stored if that helps. I think this was how the criminal framed me.” Twilight Sparkle explained. Spike looked towards her as he imputed the commands into the keyboard. “Alright, give me your hoof Twilight. My biotech skills should be able to safely transfer the virus for scanning.” He said as he lifted one of his sharp claws. Twilight Sparkle shyly lifted her hoof towards Spike, which he grasped with his free set of claws. “Fair warning Twilight; this is going to hurt.” He said as he plunged his claw into an input slot on her mechanized hoof. As she felt a stabbing pain enter her hoof, she shut her eyes and clenched her teeth. “It’s over Twilight.” Spike said dully. Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes. “That wasn’t so bad. Didn’t even feel a thing.” Twilight Sparkle stated with a sheepish giggle. Spike scoffed skeptically and flipped his right hand. He took his talon and drove it into an input slot on the computer. Green 0s and 1s flooded out of his claw and went into the computer. Various screens opened up on the computer along with several green bars that filled up completely. Spike removed his claw from the system and then imputed various commands on the keyboard. “Get through this encrypted mess, reroute the points back to origins…” He said as he worked on his computer. A few beeps were heard and Spike grinned. “I got good news and bad news for you Twilight. Which do you want to hear first?” He said as he smugly blew his claw that transferred the data. “Give me the bad news first. I’m prepared to hear what I am given.” Twilight Sparkle stated. “The bad news is that you need to risk your life just to reach this criminal. The good news is that I successfully traced the criminal’s hideout and found out who she is.” Spike stated. “Then who is it?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Spike clicked away the excess screens and brought up a mug shot of a vermillion unicorn mare with a red and orange-striped mane. Her right red mechanized eye, natural ice-blue left eye and her wicked grin brought a shiver down Twilight Sparkle’s nerves. “Meet Sunset Shimmer, leader of the Sunset Suicide Squad a.k.a. the biggest crime syndicate in the Equestrian Underworld.” Spike nonchalantly stated. “She’s the one that sent a virus to you and had you framed.” Twilight Sparkle jaws dropped as a gasp escaped her mouth. She asked, shock building in her tone. "But how did somepony like that infect my biotech system? I don't even know her!" “There’s one thing you must know about the Sunset Suicide Squad Twilight; they may be a criminal organization, but they hold more of the world under their control than you think.” Spike stated. “That even includes that prison you live at.” “But… why me? I never did anything to ask for this…” Twilight Sparkle dejectedly asked as her ears drooped down. Spike shrugged his shoulders and kept a stoic expression in his eyes. “Dunno… but she has eyes everywhere in that place. If she sees something she doesn’t like, then she will take action against her offenders.” He replied. “Unfortunately, her power even extends into the police force. As far as they’re concerned, you’re the source of the virus.” Twilight Sparkle gulped as the news passed her ears. “So if I want to bring her to justice, then I have to infiltrate her hideout?” “Yep.” Spike replied. “If you are going there, then I think you need to stalk a member of the Sunset Suicide Squad. The hideout is hidden to the point where commoners wouldn't be able to find it if they tried. Members of the gang are characterized with black and orange robes.” Twilight Sparkle raised an eye in curiosity. “How did you exactly know that but not know of my criminal status?” She asked suspiciously. “I used to be a part of that gang. I got tired and left, but not before dealing a blow to them that Shimmer won’t forget in a long time. As for the criminal status thing, I only look up underground news. I could care less about what’s on the mouths of the public.” Spike stated with a wave of his right claws. “I’d be more concerned with how you’ll handle yourself when you leave. This world… it’s miserable.” “This world can't be all that bad, right?” She asked with a confused tone. "This is our world, so we have to care for it even if it is miserable like you say." Spike's eyes narrowed slightly. “This world used to be better than it was, but everything changed when all this biotechnical implantation became mandatory” Spike replied. "Now, it's either made ponies powerless or had given ponies the power to commit evil deeds. We became bound to an idea that would have supposedly enriched our lives. In this world, the bad guys win while the good guys pay the price." Twilight Sparkle's mouth contorted into a crestfallen frown as she ruminated upon these words. "Unfortunately, you are right. I never thought I would have had to resist arrest. It was a spur of the moment, but what else was I supposed to do? I know I'm innocent, so I just can't let them take me away when the real criminals evade punishment. Why is this society so..." A frown enveloped on Spike's face as her words slowly drowned themselves out. "Please Twilight, don't cry. I swear, you'll be able to get through this. Just, keep your chin up and smile through the whole way. No matter what happens, never lose strength. Whatever you feel, know that there are others who feel the same way you do." Spike stated. "You are one of the strongest ponies I know. I don't think I would have been able to sit in that prison for five years." As she allowed these words to soak up in her mind, Twilight Sparkle's tears slowed down to a stop. A small smile cracked on her face. "I told you Spike, it's not a prison. It's a university." She said with a bit of laughter in her voice. "And I told you that they're both the same thing. You stay in one room for most of your time awake, you only get a recess for an hour, you get visitors and you can only leave after you complete the years you spend in there." Spike explained. "If you can get through that, then you shouldn't falter when the going gets tough. The tough should get going." At these words, Twilight Sparkle opened her front legs and embraced Spike with a warm hug. Spike looked around before he returned the hug. "Thank you Spike, thank you for sticking by my side when I thought everything was lost." Twilight Sparkle stated. "So, is there anything I need to know about this hideout?" “There are two things-“As Spike said this, he went over to the desk that his module sat on. He opened a drawer and pulled out a black chip. He placed the chip inside of Twilight Sparkle’s left hoof. “First of all, members of the Sunset Suicide Squad ride monorails when they go to their hideout. Just hide out around a monorail and looked for black and orange-robed ponies.” “That’s nice to know Spike, but what’s this chip for?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “I hear that Shimmer’s found something incredible. While you are there, you should probably collect evidence on the project. That chip I gave you enabled your hoof to take pictures and save them on a cloud where I can analyze them. Then, I’ll send the evidence into the Equestrian Police Federation server.” Spike enthusiastically stated. “I see. Then, we can finally eliminate the Sunset Suicide Squad once and for all! You’re a genius Spike!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. “It’s nothing. By the way, you should probably go into Neo Neighpon right now. Those gang members won’t wait around forever.” Spike said. “You’re probably right on that. I should probably go now.” Twilight Sparkle enthusiastically stated as she ran towards the door. As she was about to walk outside of it, she stopped for a moment and looked back. “And, thank you. Thank you for staying on my side when everypony else gave up on me.” She then dashed out of the door. Spike glanced down towards the nodes on his elbows. He sighed. “All these advancements have caused so much pain to everyone. I’m sorry for what you have to go through Twi…” Softly, he said to himself.