One
>>Accessing GlowCorp™ Secure Server.>>Firewall.exe Detected.
>>Breaching_Firewall.exe . . .>>Running . . . >>Wait . . .
>>Ready.
ACTIVATE NEON_DREAMS.EXE?>>Yes . . .>>Wait . . .
>>Ready.
>>Begin.
The year is 2777.
Megacities dot the harsh wasteland called Equestria, long since stripped clean of natural resources. Of these cities, what is often called the capital is Ponyopolis, the largest megacity on the continent.
Established on an ancient ruin which used to be called Ponyville centuries ago, Ponyopolis was the pet project of one of Equestria’s ancient princesses, and even today is considered to be a modern multicultural marvel of a metropolis--a shining jewel built in the name of progress. Dense skyscrapers reach up to the heavens, each housing millions of inhabitants.
Creatures from all over Equestria come to visit Ponyopolis, The City of Tomorrow, Today, each considering it a thrilling and glamourous vacation spot, as well as being an interesting and vibrant place to live for those with the means to protect themselves.
Yet underneath the glamour and sparkle, there lies an ugly truth. Ruthless corporations pull the strings of society from the shadows, corruption runs rampant as security turns a blind eye, and both organised and street crime are all too common. To the weary and downtrodden, Ponyopolis is named a living hell, far from the idyllic utopia it was meant to be.
As of right now there are few who know the whole story, and as one hard boiled detective unwittingly learned, there are those who will stop at nothing to hide the darkest secret known to Ponykind...
In one of the megacity’s many districts, police sirens rang out in the night as a squad car came to a stop beside an ordinary looking apartment building. The red and blue flashing light cast by the car reflected off of the various neon signs and puddles formed by the heavy downpour of rain. Passers-by quickly stepped aside as the hovercar landed gently in front of them and made for their homes, eager to be out of the way and out of the rain.
The lone officer--a dragon of all things--within slowly and quietly exited, dreading what was to come, and made his way towards the oh so familiar apartment building. He straightened his tie and pulled his coat, an old fashioned trench coat from the old holovids, around his neck in an attempt to protect him from the rain and buzzed himself in. His tail dragged along the ground behind him and his wings rustled uncomfortably, shaking the droplets of rain off.
Once inside he pressed his claw against a panel on the wall, and cleared his throat as a ding rang out through the dimly lit hallway. A section of wall beside the panel slid upwards with a click, revealing the Artificial Intelligence concierge that acted as the building’s receptionist.
“Good evening Detective Mander,” the holographic interface said after a quick scan, programmed to always have a cheerful disposition.
The detective grunted at it, never one for liking or trusting technology as much as some. Years on the force and a terrible smoking habit gave him the gruff appearance and voice most would deem unfriendly at best. To an A.I. He was just another customer to serve, though.
“How can I help you today?”
“I need my clothes dried.”
“I understand. One moment.”
Despite the sorrow he felt tearing his heart apart, Salazar Mander’s voice still rang out as imposing and authoritative. The hologram flickered as the order was processed. With another ding, vents underneath his feet opened up, and sent a stream of warm air around him that dried his clothes in a matter of seconds.
“Will that be all detective?” asked the A.I.
“Yeah. Thanks,” Detective Mander--Sal to his friends--muttered as he gave his coat a pat down.
“Your account has been billed. Thank you for using our service. Have a good night detective.”
After a click the hologram turned off and the panel slid shut, so the detective turned away from it and smoothed his coat down, too focused on what he had to do for a snide remark about having a nice night. He paused and looked up the stairs sadly, at the flickering light at the top that seemed to add to his dread. With another mournful sigh he began the ascent. His orange scales appeared incandescent even in the dim light, and his yellow eyes cut through the darkness like two shining spotlights.
He soon reached the apartment door he needed, thankful the door was the first one on the right and closest to the stairs. After taking a deep breath, he rapped his claw on the cold metal. The sound of hoofsteps came from inside after a few moments of silence, and he hoped he hadn’t just woken her up--it was late after all. He flicked open his phone and glanced at the time displayed. 1:00AM. He grimaced and put it back in his pocket, and waited patiently.
The little light above the door knocker came on, indicating he was being watched through the peephole. After a moment’s pause, the light turned off and the door slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing the occupant of the apartment.
A young filly, no older than ten, smiled up at him and hopped down off of her stool. “Hi, Sal!” she cheerily cried and rushed forwards to give him a small hug.
Detective Mander gave her a gentle pat on the top of her head and a quick scratch behind her ear, and noted the mess of the apartment behind her. “Hi, Neon,” he murmured. He winced as his voice sounded dogged and hoarse, and he knew this was going to be possibly the hardest thing he’d ever have to do.
“I was just getting some insta-noodles. Want some?”
Neon Dream, the ten year old filly more than capable of looking after herself tonight was his goddaughter, and his partner on the force was her father. His... Ex-partner, he should say. He grimaced and scratched at his chin. “No thanks, honey. We need to talk.”
“Sure thing, Sally. What’s up? Is Dad with you?”
The filly’s ever innocent attitude and big blue eyes staring up at him made his lower jaw quiver and his shoulders slump down. He had no idea how to tell her what had happened, but he knew he had to. Nopony else would. Nopony else could. He crouched low and ran his claws down his tie, fiddling with the end and looked her in the eye. “Your dad’s... Not coming home tonight,” he started.
Neon Dream’s eyes widened even further. Her pastel blue coat and shock of neon pink hair stood out against the drabness of the apartment, even in the low light. “What do you mean? Is he busy? Is he getting that promotion he talked about?” her voice squeaked out optimistically. A rare ray of hope in this miserable city.
Sal shook his head. “Neon, sweetheart... Sometimes, when cops go out to respond to a call... They don’t always come back...”
As he explained the terrible truth of his visit, Neon felt cold. Tears suddenly stung at her eyes and she shook her head. Her dad had told her that he had to do this a few months ago. He said it was awful looking at the detective’s wife and children’s faces, having to explain that their dad wasn’t coming home. She never imagined she’d ever get this talk, her dad was the best. He was awesome! The best cop in all of Ponyopolis! Undefeatable, incorruptible, always catching the bad guys... He couldn’t be...
“No. No, no, no, no-” she stumbled back and felt her chest begin to tighten. Panic welled up in her mind, and fear gripped her small body, causing her to shake violently. “Not dad... where’s my daddy... Sal...”
The dragon quickly put his claws around her and pulled her in to a hug as she burst into tears. He gently rocked her and held her close as the young filly pounded against his scales and sobbed. Outside, rain continued to pour down, and the world seemed a bit bleaker than usual.
***
Ten years later...
Sunlight poured through the crack in the holographic window blinds. The alarm clock blasted its annoyingly catchy synthwave tunes, and Neon Dream’s eyes creaked open. Her hoof shot out and slammed down on the infernal device, and with a yawn she leant over and squinted at the clock. She quickly pulled the covers over her head and groaned. “10:30? Too early...”
Underneath her comfortable covers, she heard the vague sounds of her cell phone begin to ring, and grunted in irritation. “Ugh... Buzz off, it’s my day off today,” she grumbled and thrust her head further into her pillow. The ringing ceased after a few minutes, and then immediately started up again, causing her to angrily throw the covers off.
She stomped over to the table where her phone was and grabbed it. She tapped her hoof on it to answer and pressed it to her ear. “What?” she grunted without saying hello. She didn’t even need to check to see who was calling to know it was from work.
“Neon! Nice of you to answer your phone! One of the newbie drivers had a crash and nearly lost a package--I need you to get out there and fix this mess!” came the frantic voice of Grey Dust, owner of Grey’s Delivery Company, renowned throughout Ponyopolis for his creative naming, and Neon’s boss.
The unicorn rolled her eyes and snorted. “Mr Dust I put my time in--I’m entitled to one day a week off. If you don’t like it take it up with the union.” She smirked to herself as she heard him shouting at somepony else and mutter something foul under his breath on the other end of the phone.
“I’ll give you double pay! Listen, I’m in a bind here, Neon. The client is not happy and I need my best driver.”
Neon paused for a moment and raised her eyebrows. “Double, eh?” A coy smile spread across her face and she smacked her lips together. “Triple,” she stated smugly.
“Triple?!” exclaimed Dust down the phone, causing her to pull it away from her ear for a second. “You been sniffing glimmer? Don’t answer. Fine, triple, Just get here by twelve, alright?”
“Already out the door, boss,” Neon laughed, glancing at the display of the time on her wall. “Be there in ten.”
She hung up as he started going on about how she was a life saver, yadda yadda, etcetera etcetera, and used her magic to grab her company uniform--a grey (imagine that) jumpsuit with the face of Mr Dust holding a package as heroically as possible emblazoned on the flank.
After getting dressed in company colours, Neon straightened out some of the folds and moved towards her door. She stepped outside and heard raised voices from somewhere downstairs. She cocked an ear and listened. She recognised the voice of the crotchety old Mrs Frost from downstairs, but not the one she was arguing with. Whoever it was sounded like they had made a deeply sorry mistake, spouting several apologies and even offering to pay for damages. Neon Dream shrugged and minded her own business, figuring it was just some young mare test driving her daddy’s new car or something.
She descended the stairs as quietly as possible, covering her face as she passed by Mrs Frost and the stranger. She caught a glimpse of said stranger, and noticed whoever it was was a dragon. This was odd because, save for Sal of course when he came to visit, dragons tended to keep to their own districts, but besides that, this particular dragon looked far too... ‘friendly’. He was light purple, with green spines, and looked like he was more likely to sell you cookies than burn your face off despite his muscular build. His voice was also unusually soft for a dragon, sounding very much more like a pony than his own kind. The unicorn also noticed a large burn mark on Ms Frost’s wall, probably the damages the dragon was offering to pay for.
Neon shook her head and continued out the door, not giving the strange dragon a second glance. She looked both ways before crossing the street--packed as usual--and darted towards her van when she saw a gap. She hopped in the driver seat and started up the engine, and a large smile spread over her face. The unicorn squealed in excitement and pushed down on the accelerator, lifting the van into the air and soaring through the city.
“Triple pay! For one job!” she laughed to herself as she drove. She kissed her hoof and tapped a picture of her dad, donut in mouth and a goofy smile on his face, that hung above the dashboard. “Gonna get there soon, Dad,” she told him.
She still remembered the dream he told her, of one day retiring to somewhere sunny with a cold drink. That was her dream now too, and she was gonna get there for both of them, even if it took her a lifetime. She flicked on the autodrive, putting her faith in her trusty van that it wasn’t going to crash and kill her, and leant back in her chair as she joined the skyway.
The skyway was the quickest, and some would say the most dangerous, way of travelling around Ponyopolis. As one of the main ‘roads’ in the megacity, everypony and anypony used the skyway. Cars, vans, construction trucks, etcetera, all joined the skyway as their drivers journeyed to their destinations. All of them, Neon included, took advantage of the autodrive feature most vehicles came with in today’s world, allowing their cars to drive themselves while they just leant back and enjoyed the ride.
As Neon sped along on her way she stared out the window and puffed her cheeks out. She thought after today she was gonna go get a celebratory drink with Sal later, and stick the extra money in her savings, ready for that trip to somewhere sunny. The smile remained on her face even as she saw the site of the newbies collision on one of the loading docks down below.
“Ah jeez, here we go,” she muttered and switched off the autodrive. She guided her van down to the platform, and whistled at the mess. One of the company vans lay in smoke, and a really sorry looking pegasus rubbed his leg and looked down at the ground some ways away. Neon spotted his uniform and dubbed him the newbie. Another truck also lay in smoke, but it’s driver was nowhere to be found. She recognised the insignia on it as belonging to one of Dusts's rivals, and thought nothing more of it. It was odd that the driver was nowhere to be found, though. ”Probably got out before he realised the storm he was in,” she thought with a chuckle and rolled down the window.
“Hey kid!” she called out to the pegasus. “Come here!” He looked up and jumped to his hooves, striding over to her as she touched down. The door to her van swung open and she hopped out, running a hoof through her mane. The kid wasn’t much older than she was when she started, fifteen, maybe sixteen, and looked utterly miserable.
“Ah, yeah, miss, it’s uh, my first job. Miss.”
Neon waved a hoof at him and smiled. “Pshaw, no ‘Miss’ for me, kid. Neon Dream.” She held her hoof out as a token gesture, exuding a warmth she rarely showed. She was in a good mood for a change after all.
The pegasus flapped his wings nervously and brushed his light green mane out his eyes. “Uh... Spark. Bright Spark.” His mint green hoof touched hers.
“We scrublords gotta stick together, right?” She grinned at him and looked at the van. Scrublords was a term used by the working class, for the working class. It was a term of respect to them, and one of the highest insults a corporate could use. “Dust asked me to pick up your package. Where is it?”
Bright pointed shakily to his van. “It was in there.”
“You didn’t think to get it out?”
He winced and shuffled awkwardly. “Like I said it’s m-my first day... Um...”
Neon thumped his shoulder, eliciting a wince from him and laughed. “No worries kid, that’s why they called in the professional. Just help me get it out, alright?”
“I, uh...” He fidgeted awkwardly. “I can't... I kinda... Woke her up. Sorry.”
Neon froze and looked at him carefully. “Woke... her up? Woke what up? What were you carrying, Bright?”
Bright Spark continued to shuffle nervously and avoided her gaze. “A, p... a pony. A mare.” He grimaced and pawed at the ground. “I thought she looked... I just wanted t-to, uh... Talk to her.”
The unicorn slammed her hoof in her face. “Oh I’m gonna kill Dust,” she muttered and dragged her hoof down her face. “Sending the new kid on a job like this, what was he thinking?” She looked at the pegasus dismissively. “You know what, doesn’t matter. Did you see where she--it--went?”
She, and every other delivery pony in Ponyopolis (save perhaps Bright Spark) knew the horror stories that came from growing attached to ‘packages’. Even if they weren’t technically legal, you couldn’t exactly turn down a job like this, not here, not at this level anyway. The few who did often turned up missing, and were never seen again save for a 'missing' poster here and there for a week at most. Suddenly Neon’s good mood was shattered, and she suspected her triple pay was going to be a lot harder to get.
Bright Spark pointed in a direction. “She flew off that way, where you came from.”
“Flew? So it’s a pegasus?” Neon made a mental note and licked her lips. She hadn’t seen anything strange on her way over, besides that dragon in her building. Maybe they were related, but that would be too much of a coincidence, right? “Anything else? What colour was it?”
He shook his head. “N-no, she had a horn too.”
Neon paused and looked at him curiously. “A horn and wings? What like a...” She floundered for words and waved a hoof through the air. “Pega... corn or something?” She sighed, thinking this kid was caught up in his own imagination, and clearly not fit for this kind of stuff. "What the hell was Dust thinking? Greedy jackass..."
Bright Spark nodded. “I think the term is alicorn, but that sounds right, yeah.”
She grunted unhappily and turned away. “Alright so, I gotta go clean up your mess now.” Something shiny poking out of one of the pockets of his uniform caught her eye, making her do a double take at him. She raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to him, making him stammer and start back in protest. Her horn ignited and a pink aura grabbed the object, hoisting it up into view. “What’s this, Bright?” she murmured in a monotone voice, holding up what looked like a crown made of solid gold. “Is this yours?”
The pegasus’s face dropped and he turned white as a sheet. “Oh, w-well, she gave it to m-me after she got out. She thanked me and-” He fell silent under his disapproving glare.
“Stealing from the client, and losing the package? Oh boy, your tail is fried isn’t it?” Neon unkindly sneered. She noticed his expression change, and he sank to the ground and quivered in fear. She flinched and tapped him on the shoulder, and gave her voice a soothing tone and dropped the ‘crown’ next to him. “Listen... Just... Go home, kid. This job really isn’t worth it. I’ll tell Dust you gotta take some time off, and I’ll get the package sorted. Dust won’t lose his shit with you, alright. Okay?”
He sniffed and shakily nodded his head. “Okay...” he whispered. He looked up at her with mint green eyes and looked like he was about to say something, but bit his lip and shied away.
“What?”
“Neon... I think she was a princess.”
Neon looked at his pitiful face brimming with innocence and fought to keep from bursting out with laughter. “A princess? Come on, Bright, how old are you? Princesses haven’t existed in Equestria for centuries, despite what those crazy COTS guys say. The last one was that Twilight... Whatever.”
COTS: Children Of The Sun. A weird religious gang, a cult really, of ponies who still worshipped the old magic of Equestria, and believed the sun and moon were controlled by ponies--princesses--and that the corporations in charge used artificial sun and moons to control the populace. Utter nonsense and crackpot theories, of course, but some ponies joined them out of some weird sense of searching for the truth, disillusioned by life. Outlawed and hunted by Megacity Security, any member of COTS was immediately deemed a terrorist and detained, shipped off to private jail owned by some crazy rich asshole with too much time on their hooves.
Bright Spark nodded earnestly. “I think the package was her, though, Neon. I swear she... She looked just like she did in the old vids.”
“Alright kid. Alright.” Neon shook her head and tutted. ”This kid should never have been hired, he’s nuts.” She pointed at her van. “I’m gonna go now, you got a ride home?”
“Yeah... My dad is picking me up.” His ears flattened down and smiled weakly, and spoke with a soft chuckle. “I’m probably gonna get my flank handed to me for screwing this up.”
“Probably.” Neon turned her own ears down for a minute as she realised she had spoken out loud. She coughed and gave him an awkward smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, well... I’m gonna leave now. See ya around, Bright Spark.”
“See you, Neon.”
Neon trotted back to her van and climbed in without looking back. What in Equestria was she gonna do? Tell Dust the underqualified kid he hired screwed up big time, and get the kid blacklisted? Take the blame herself and miss out on triple pay? She looked at the picture of her dad, at his goofy smile and half eaten donut, and knew what she had to do. Resting her head on the steering wheel for a minute, she realised what she had to do, and cursed her good nature. The engine started up again, and she rose into the air to set off for headquarters. “I hate being a good pony,” she muttered to herself.
Just as she hit the autodrive button and leant back, running her hooves through her mane and sighing unhappily, something moved behind her in the back of the van. She spun around and stared, wide eyed and afraid as something large wriggled underneath one of the blankets she kept there. Hesitantly and cautiously, the pink of her magic gripped the edge of the blanket and lifted it up, revealing the stowaway.
She gaped in horror as a lanky mare with large purple wings and a horn as long as a pony’s leg stared at her with wide eyes as a nervous smile twitched at her mouth. As they looked at each other time seemed to slow, and then Neon started yelling.
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Promising Start.
10354420
Thanks
This story looks promising.
I don't see very many fanfics that talk about "Equestria" combining their magic with technology at all sometimes. Its always "Equestria" gives up its magic in favor of technology, which doesn't make sense to me because your basically giving up something very unique that any races government would kill for, in favor for something that is limited.
10354477
Thanks! Ikr it doesn't make much sense to me either, so I'm going for kind of a Shadowrun setting, where magic meets tech etc
Looks promising. Interested where this is going.
I like this. The setting then doesn't feel like characters live in a void.
10354633
Haha good that was the intention
Thanks
It's rare for these "alternate future" type stories to actually pique my interest -- at least where FiM is concerned, but this one definitely has. Tracking now.
10355205
Waay thanks
So far it's good hoping for more chapters
👍
Are you a fisherman???
10356128
I am not, but I'm guessing this is a hook line and sinker?
10355996
Thanks! The second one is coming on nicely, I don't wanna give a day on when it'll be ready but soon!
10356135
Damn it you beat me to the punchline. Great work my dude can't wait for more
10356287
Haha sorry. Thanks man I'm enjoying writing this one, got some good ideas
I do like pony stories taking place in the future. Let's see where this goes.
I like what I'm seeing so far.
10364685
Thanks!
10356778
Same! Glad you're enjoying it so far
Quickly, hit her on the head, preferably with a big stick!
I bet whatever happened is Twilight's fault.
Be careful and don't move too suddenly, the car could clip through the street or randomly explode!
'You’re dad’s' - Your dad’s