//------------------------------// // His Proof // Story: F.R.I.E.N.D.S of Equestria: Party Squad // by ChaseTheChangeling //------------------------------// Neon was going to show them, he was going to show them all! He had long since collected himself from the ruble that he fell into, his pain subsided after vigorous exercise and medicine. There weren't enough pills in the world for his job, but he would try. The rush of the high from the muscle relaxers had left him, and he was left to think in his cave. On the side of the Canterlot mountain was where he dwelled, just under the waterfall below the city, a hole that was accessible by only him and his two helpers, Noteworthy and Harpo Parish Nattermane. The cave was one of few that had enough room for his inventions, and the only one so close to Manehatten with such a lovely view of Equestria. He was a true hero, with a true lair and a true costume, and real gadgets to get him by, not like that stupid Vinyl with her stupid little side basement and GPS and her lazy teleporting powers and eye lasers. Neon growled as he looked out the window that faced the city of Manehatten from the back of his cave. "They'll see," Neon hissed trough his teeth, "I'll catch that stupid Mistress Strings on my own, and they'll never need that White Unicorn..." "Would you like a glass of whisky, sir?" Harpo asked as he walked into the room, his head held slightly up. He hated his job, the personal ass kisser of a super hero wannabe in his opinion. That snot nosed brat wasn't a hero, he was a kid with fancy toys and a lot of money. "Yeah, get me a glass of the good stuff, you know what I like." Neon quickly waved his assistant away. Harpo suppressed the groan that was building in his throat and instead opted to get his 'master' the drink he was so fond of. Neon stood, supporting his weight on the ledge below his window reaching up to almost one hundred feet wide and fifty feet tall. "Those people don't know true heroes when they see them! If they did they would be cheering my name!" Neon growled once more before hearing more footsteps in the cave. "Wassup boss?" came a cheery voice. Neon turned to see the man, tall with large muscles and a purple jacket, his shades rested atop his 'just out of bed' hair, and his thick mutton chops reaching down just before a break leading to a spiky goatee. "What do you want, Noteworthy?" Neon asked as he turned back to his window. "I don't get why you keep staring out that window... you know Equestria like the back of your hand by now!" Noteworthy dropped his book bag, no doubt filled with beer and porn magazines on a leather swivel chair that sat at the end of the conference table, several of the same chairs sat around it in the center of the large room. "I just like to look over that pathetic town everyone seems so fond of..." Neon finally turned to sit at the conference table with Noteworthy who had already pulled out a book and a beer. "May I suggest you don't drink at work?" Noteworthy looked up and gave Neon a condescending stare as Harpo returned with a glass full of whiskey. "You drink, sir..." Harpo said with a flat tone. He swiftly moved to another chair and again, was not surprised at the lack of other heroes. "Perhaps we could get a smaller table?" "NO!" Neon shouted slamming his hands on the table, "When I rule the heroes, they will sit here, and I will be sitting at the head of this table, all of them awaiting my orders before leaving and doing their jobs." "But there are so many heroes!" Noteworthy said with an exasperated sigh, "Like, we have the Masked Matter Horn, we have Flash Dash, we also have Filly Second, Muffin Head, you, Bad Brass, Silver String, Black Keys, Zap Apple and her two friends Fire Wheel and Sweet Note, not to mention-" "I get the point! Besides, Zap Apple, Sweet Note and Fire Wheel are children, they aren't really heroes.." "But you're only eighteen, sir, you, by technicality, are still a child as well." "Don't give me your shit today, Harpo! I have enough stress to deal with as it is! Speaking of which, did you organize the weapons, papers, taxes, and file all of my suites in alphabetical order?" Neon turned back to his glass of whiskey and sipped it awaiting an answer. "Yes, sir, all of it is done, and the cave has been cleaned to your liking..." Harpo soon wondered why he wasn't being paid more for this. But it was really the only job he could get aside from his music job. "What are the plans for today?" Noteworthy asked cracking open his beer, despite his boss's orders. "We need to figure out how to find Mistress String's true identity." Neon said as he finished his glass of whiskey, placing the cup a little too hard on the table, "Maybe then I can take her down without much problem." "What does she look like?" Harpo asked. "Well, I'm sure you've seen her, long black hair, shadow on her face, grey trench coat, long tentacles, green glowing eyes-" "Sounds like Sombra's magic," Hapro interrupted, "Maybe look up what makes the magic weak?" "Isn't it like," Noteworthy threw back a gulp of beer before finishing his sentence, "love, or something?" "That's what I heard from the Princess of F.R.I.E.D.S," Harpo agreed producing a small bottle of water from his side, "If you have love, then the shadow will disappear." "So I have to love her?" Neon asked leaning into the table. How would he manage loving a girl he doesn't even know? "Or find someone who loves her in her outside form?" Noteworthy added, "Maybe the shadow will fly off, it gets power from sadness and hate, if you think about it, that's kind of how we treat all villains, so basically we're bringing this on ourselves." "Do you have anything else that might help us find out who this mystery woman is?" Harpo asked, cocking a curious brow. "Well, Vinyl told me during our Hero Summit that a playing bow was dropped, it said 'Courtesy of the Philharmonics Company' in gold." Neon scratched his chin and lit up at the name. "Harpo!" the man in question jumped slightly at the shouting of his name, "You play for the Canterlot Philharmonics orchestra, don't you?" Harpo nodded and tried to sip his water again. "So do you know who would have a bow like that?" Harpo considered it and smiled. "Yes, the first chair violinist, bassist, and cellist would have such a bow." "Who are they?" Neon asked eagerly. "Well, there's Upright, but he's a man, there's Fiddle Sticks, and there is Octavia Harmony." "What do they look like?" "Well, like I said, Upright is a man, and Fiddle Sticks has long blue hair, and Octavia Melody is a very beautiful girl with-" Harpo was cut of suddenly by an overly excited Noteworthy. "OCTAVIA?" Noteworthy gave a low whistle, "That girl is a knock out! We went to collage together, she was totally into me!" Noteworthy put his feet onto the table, placing his hands behind his head, "She was such a wall flower too, she always needed help with something! I swear!" "Last heard from Vinyl, you harassed her to no end and she had to fight you off of her because she wasn't interested." Neon said sipping more of the whiskey and leaning back into his chair. Noteworthy grit his teeth at the remark and sat quietly waiting for Harpo to continue. "...Hmm... Like I was saying... Octavia is a very beautiful woman with long dark black her and violet eyes, she seems fond of the colour grey, and wears a pink bow tie all of the time." Harpo lifted his nose slightly in the air and cleared his throat to signify he was done. "Doesn't Mistress Strings have long dark hair and a grey suit?" Noteworthy asked leaning forward again. "Yes..." Neon answered slowly as he thought until exploding into excitement, "Yes she does! Oh my sun! She might just be! OCTAVIA IS THE VILLAINOUS MISTRESS STRINGS!" Harpo and Noteworthy hardly flinched at their boss's sudden burst and instead opted to continue drinking their preferred beverages and waiting for him to calm down, a flat look on their faces. "So... what?" Noteworthy began with a confused look, "Are you going to waltz up to her place with some cuffs and show her off to the cops?" "No you fool!" Neon shouted jumping onto the table, "Octavia is a friend of Vinyl's isn't she? What if Vinyl finds out that Octavia is Mistress Strings? She wouldn't want to fight her! Then I would swoop in and BOOM! I'll take her out and save the day! And with any luck, Vinyl might try to stop me, and she'll be hated! Then I will be the true hero I DESERVE to be!" Neon broke out into a laughter that could only be described as creepy. "Well, sir, you wouldn't be doing something heroic would you? Turning a friend on another?" Harpo asked after finishing his bottle of water and setting it down in a bin below him. "Harpo is right" Noteworthy added quickly, "if you want to be a hero, you should be doing a heroic thing, not making people hate each other..." "But isn't Mistress Stings a villain?" Neon asked. The two other men nodded. "Then if I stop her, it will be saving the city, and we have to get her while she has that shadow thing off of her face, so it's not wrong of me! Vinyl will find out sooner or later." "I'm quite surprised she hasn't already..." Harpo chimed, "Maybe she has, but doesn't want to admit it..." Neon smiled at this. It was looking better and better. His actions were justified as good, he wasn't hurting anyone, he was just ridding his city of an evil monster that no one liked anyway. So what if a hero who didn't know she was her friend the true bad guy gets hurt? She should have known. Besides, she might even thank him for ridding her of that evil Octavia, begging him to be leader of the team even! Then he would decline, instead starting his own team and being the leader of that one! Neon would be a great leader. "Now all we need is a reason to arrest her." Neon said scratching his chin. "A false claim? An interview?" Noteworthy quickly listed off his ideas. "Perhaps we should inform the Princess of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, she might know what to do." Harpo began to say standing from his spot at the table. "I will prepare the call for you, sir." Neon smiled almost darkly. "Good job, I should give you a raise..." Neon jested. Harpo only rolled his eyes and prepared the viewing monitor. Soon the face of a darker skinned girl appeared on screen, her face one of impatience and stone. She had a flat bang and long indigo hair, a small crown on her head, and glasses placed loosely over her nose. This was the ever famous Princess Twilight Sparkle of F.R.I.E.N.D.S "Neon? What do you want now?" Twilight was well aware of Neon and his goofy and childish antics. She had no time for his schemes and ridiculous attitude. She wondered how he had even become a hero in the first place. "I have some news that might interest you, Princess Twilight," Neon said with a sly grin as he climbed from the top of the table and into the head chair. Twilight leaned in a bit to listen to what he had to say, she had to at least look interested. "So princess... do you know anything about... a miss Octavia Melody?"