Neon Dreams

by Bigwig6666

Fourteen

In the lower part of midtown, in a seedy nightclub frequented by the reprobates and dregs of society both the mighty and meek alike; Flurry Heart, Heiress to the Crystal Empire, First of her Name, niece to the mythical Twilight Sparkle, sat at the bar and stuck out like a red nose on Hearth’s Warming Eve. Next to her, a scrawny, scruffy looking pegasus colt looked around nervously and rustled his wings.

“I don’t like it, F,” Bright’ Sparky’ Spark told her quietly. “These creatures... there’s something oppressive about this place... like thunder.”

“I know, S,” she replied back to him, and gave him a small smile. “Just stay with me, alright? I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. We’re here for N, remember?”

The codenames they had chosen for themselves weren’t perhaps the most imaginative, but got the point cross and kept them discreet all the same. After all, Flurry Heart was a name known to a select few in Ponyopolis, specifically those obsessed with princess culture and artifacts, and who wouldn’t like to add the mythical fifth princess of Equestria to their collection? Speaking of, her horn was currently hidden behind a simple but effective illusory spell, making her look like an ordinary pegasus who bore a striking resemblance to the legendary princess.

Across the room she spotted their reason for being there: an equally as uncomfortable looking griffon who had somehow managed to stuff his overly large body into a suit that looked as corporate as they came. She narrowed her eyes at him as he shuffled through the crowd towards an unoccupied booth, looking around at the creatures surrounding him in distaste. Underneath the distaste, however, were the eyes of a predator looking for his next prey--brought to light by the looks he was giving some of the mares and she-griffons that worked at the club.

“He’s here, N,” Flurry said, holding her hoof to the earpiece she wore, and gave Sparky a slight nod. He grimaced and nodded back.

“I’ll keep a lookout,” he murmured. “Make sure nopony... eh... bothers you when... you know.”

Flurry gave him a brave smile and kept her hoof on her ear. “N? You hear me?”

The crackle of static answered her until a voice belonging to somepony clearly eating something replied back. “I heard. Go ahead, F.”

The alicorn inhaled deeply as she approached the griffon, pushing through the crowd. As she grew closer to him her hips began to sway a bit more, and as she pushed some of her mane out of her eyes her wings fluttered lightly and her breath came a bit heavier. All part of the act, which he seemed to buy as soon as he spotted her. He signalled to a nearby waitress as she joined him at his table to bring them two drinks. Of what didn’t particularly matter, for as soon as she sidled up to him he reached out to her and smiled a crooked smile.

“Hello pretty thing,” he crooned, gently caressing her soft coat with a withered claw. “My you are a treat aren’t you?”

“Not as much as you, big bird,” Flurry replied back with a forced smile and a light chuckle. She bit her lip ever so slightly and widened her eyes to make herself look more desirable. “You come here often?”

The griffon nodded, not even pretending to be subtle as his eyes travelled up and down her body. “Mm. Yes, you’ll do...” she heard him whisper. “I mean... I’ve been here before, yes. The girls... keep me company.”

Flurry couldn’t wait to see Neon jam her hoof into this creep’s beak as his tongue slithered out towards her. “Would you like to accompany me?” she whispered back at him. “My room is already set up for your pleasure...”

A flicker of doubt passed over his face for a moment. “Uh,” he murmured, and looked around cautiously. “I...”

Flurry glanced over and saw Sparky’s head turn, just in time to not be spotted. The griffon fidgeted on the spot as the waitress brought the drinks he had ordered over and set them down.

Fearing her mark was going to bail, Flurry quickly turned her ears down and pulled away, intending to stand up. “I’m sorry, am I being too forward?” she asked him softly. “I’m new here... this is my first time as well, so...”

The griffon’s crooked smile returned. His tongue poked out the sides of his beak to wet it as he gently took her hoof and kept her from going. “That’s alright... in my profession one cannot be too cautious... Your first time, you say?” he murmured, his eyes drawn to her slender neck as she moved some of her mane out the way for him. “I’m... quite sure you will do just fine, my dear...” He placed a claw on her back and gave her wing a light pinch and pulled himself close to her. “Just... fine...”

Inside, Flurry was screaming at herself to blast this maggot into oblivion as she felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck as he gave her the lightest of kisses. She kept her cool, though, and gave him her best bedroom eyes possible. “There’s... something else... sir,” she whispered back at him as he moved closer. “I’ve never... had it before.”

Like the drop of a hat, the griffon immediately fell for it hook, line and sinker. His beak lulled open and a mischievous glint in his eye took hold. Flurry slid out of her seat and stood. She raised her tail ever so slightly, the short movement of it drawing his eyes towards her flank. A quiet squawk escaped his throat, and he quickly moved to join her. “Hahhh,” he moaned softly, not taking his eyes off of her flank with an almost hungry look. “You’re a vvv...”

Flurry gave him a light-hearted giggle and turned reached over to get her drink. He watched with lustful eyes as she slung it back effortlessly and flashed him a cheeky smile. “Shall we, then?” she purred and turned to leave, giving Sparky a subtle nod on her way out of the main floor and towards the stairs.

The young colt quickly but coolly hopped down off of his seat and made his way towards her, keeping her within eyesight at all times while maintaining his distance, acting like any ordinary young stallion just looking for some tail to chase.

Up some stairs Flurry led the griffon, trying her best to tolerate and ignore his delighted clucks as he caressed her legs and kept murmuring how soft she felt. At one point she had to keep from convulsing as he pressed himself against her and gently nipped at her flank. Soon they reached their destination, her ‘working room’, given to them after being lovingly coerced out of the nightclub owner, and thankfully she wouldn’t have to endure any more of this unpleasant creature’s company for much longer.

“Here we are,” she cooed at him and pushed her flank out towards him as she opened it.

She felt one of his claws trace around the space above her cutie mark and had to repress a shiver before quickly stepping inside. With a gentle flutter of her wings she carried herself to the bed and laid down with one hoof on her flank, the other propping her head up as he gawked at her.

The griffon gave her what she would call a lustfully feral look and quickly began to remove his clothes. He cast his stuffy, corporate shirt aside without a care, and his beak slavered with drool and his feline tail swished behind him and batted against the ground wildly like a cat in heat. His wigs unfurled and flapped a few times as he gazed at her.

“Eh, one minute sir, please,” Flurry said to the fat bird, and held her hoof to her ear, dropping the act now that they were alone. “He’s here, N. We’re in position.”

“Wh-what?” the griffon stammered. His mood was clearly ruined, his interest in Flurry dropped in an instant, and he began to scowl. “Don’t you know who I am?” he snapped. “I’m-”

“We know exactly who and what you are, Doctor Grant Griefwing,” Flurry sighed with disinterest and sneered at him. “Big-shot scientist with GlowCorp, right? Now sit down or I’ll make you sit down.”

The bird ruffled his feathers and puffed his chest, which he placed entirely far too much self importance on, out. “You bitch,” he snarled. “I’ll have your head for this. You’ll never work in this city again, you’ll-”

“Oh shut up you old creep,” she snapped, and ignited her horn. The illusory spell was broken, and she quickly hoisted him up and held him in place, secretly delighting in his frightened clucks.

“You!” he hissed. “The wretched alicorn helping COTS! I’ve seen your wanted posters! You-”

“It’s taking a lot of effort right now not to pull out your feathers one by one, so please don’t tempt me,” she warned him with a light growl. “Now shut. Up.”

The griffon clamped his beak shut and looked at her with wide, frightened eyes, but still continued to struggle in her magical grasp.

Flurry held a hoof to her ear again and cleared her throat. “N? We good?”

Nothing but the empty crackle of static answered her, and as she began to pace she turned her head just enough to spot the griffon holding something in a tight grasp. She dragged him through the air and ignoring his protests, she wrenched his claw open, only to pull out a small pager-looking device, blinking a steady red.

With a furious scowl she looked up at his smirking face.

“Should have stayed a pleasure pony,” he muttered at her, and spat a gob of spit at her. “Terrorists like you deserve everything you get.” His smirk was wiped from his face in an instant as she brought him down to her level and pulled her hoof back. Terror flashed in his eyes.

There was a sickening crack as she collided with his face, knocking him out with one blow despite their size difference. Letting herself have a single second of satisfaction she pressed her ear to her hoof again. “N, we got trouble,” she said quickly, hoping that there was at least one way in Tartarus that her partner heard her. She looked over to the door as a somepony started banging against it, and used her magic to pull it open.

A bewildered looking Sparky stared at her, and gave a cursory glance to the unconscious bird. “Uhh, a bunch of MSec goons just appeared downstairs, F. What’s happening?”

“This sack of crap had a panic button on him,” Flurry growled, and jabbed a hoof towards her prisoner. “And I can’t reach N, they must be jamming the signal.”

Sparky’s face paled. “Wh--really? What do we do?” he whispered. “Oh geez I don’t-” He began to hyperventilate, entirely and decidedly not cut out for all this espionage and stress he was suddenly thrust under.

“Easy, S. Catch your breath. Stick with me like I said, yeah?” Flurry smiled and put a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. It was bad enough they had more or less walked into a trap, she didn’t need him to lose his cool now. “You good? I need you to get the van and bring it around as soon as, alright?”

The young pegasus inhaled and exhaled deeply, then nodded his head frantically. “What about N?” he asked her. “What’s she-”

“She knows where we are. Once she hasn’t heard anything in a few minutes she’ll come, trust her to make a fancy entrance.” Flurry winked at him and ruffled his mane. “Go on, out the window. Hopefully they’re being discreet and aren’t gonna torch the whole block this time.”

Their last venture had ended in somewhat of a small disaster with half of the Scrapheap going on lockdown while Megacity Security took to ransacking nearly everything they could get their metallic mitts on, cultivating in a riot that cause copious amounts of damage to public property.

Sparky stepped close to the window and pushed it open. He poked his head outside and looked around. “I don’t see anything,” he said, and glanced back at her. “You really gonna be okay by yourself?”

Flurry waved her hoof at him and winked. “What’re they gonna do, shoot me?”

Just then, a hail of gunfire sounded out around them, and countless bullet holes appeared up and down the door side of the wall. The alicorn was quick to ignite her horn and create a shield around them, and grimaced.

“Well... I did ask.”

Sparky looked at her optimistic grin and spread his wings. “I’ll be quick,” he told her. “Try not to die.”

“Gimme some credit, S,” Flurry laughed. “After all. I am an alicorn.” She spread her own wings and her face took on a serious expression as golden lightning crackled around her horn. Her shield pushed out towards the door, sending several bullets right back into the barrels they came from and causing several minor explosions in the process. Sparky took once last look back at her as the door burst open, and with a quiet yelp he dove from the window, soaring down to where their ride was parked, the sound of gunfire and magic spells being cast ringing out in his ears.

He only hoped Neon would show up soon and help Flurry before something really bad happened.

***

“I heard. Go ahead, F.”

Neon Dream sat on a rooftop, looking out over the fake horizon. She sighed a heavy sigh and let the wind blow her mane around her head as she took in the sights and bit into what Twilight had called a cucumber sandwich; a homemade gift from the princess of a bygone era. It didn’t taste like anything particularly mind-blowing, but was still good. Not great. Not terrible. In any case, ever since Twilight had told her everything of what she new--about Equestria, about Midnight Sparkle--nothing seemed to matter much to her, let alone the taste of a sandwich.

Nothing, that is, except for discovering exactly what happened to her dad. Alas, even with Flurry and Sparky’s help, alongside her A.I. powered mechanical suit, for every step she took forwards she took three backwards, and every question she had answered only served to raise more in a never ending cycle. For half a year the four of them had been chasing leads across the city, from all the way up to Hightown and what was left of the nobility, to down to the dredges of the Scrapheap and the Novos, occasionally undertaking COTS operations here and there to disrupt the tyranny of corporate rule.

It was strange, when she first met Flurry she suspected the mare had some sort of slight grudge against her and harboured some sort of jealousy for Twilight’s attention. Now, though, Neon would happily call Flurry Heart one of her best friends, with Sparky coming in a close second as her foster-brother.

Her suit, meanwhile, remained her truest and closest companion. Partially, maybe, because she wore him at nearly all times when in the field, unless she had time to relax when waiting for something to happen, just like now.

Blue shifted his hulking massive body and nuzzled her gently. It was no small coincidence that the suit Razor had given her needed an A.I. to power it, and whether it was luck or divine providence, she had one such chip ready to install on a new host. Perhaps it was destiny as Twilight suggested.

“Destiny... heh...” she chuckled dryly to herself and chomped down another mouthful of sandwich. “What do you think, big guy?” she asked the metal pony whose leg she rested against and reached up to pat his metal head. “You suppose destiny’s real? Or just another scrape of muck in a long trough of sewage?” She waved her hoof out over the city in gesture.

Unfortunately, the suit Blue now operated meant that he could no longer talk, and so he acted more like a big, metal, wearable dog that whined softy at her, a strange metallic sound from deep within his circuits.

“Thought not.”

Neon inspected her sandwich and took another bite. “Mm. his is pretty good actually,” she murmured after chewing in silence for a minute, and looked up at Blue. “I mean don’t get me wrong it’s not insta-noodles, but-”

Her earpiece suddenly crackled to life, cutting her off mid-thought. “N..eo...”

It sounded like Sparky’s voice, only full of static and barely audible. She quickly jumped to her hooves and pressed into her ear as a bad feeling welled up inside of her. “Kid? That you?”

“Ne... Fl...y’s in... roub... got... to s... ve... her!”

To punctuate his crackly words there was a small explosion from down in the city, and a large plume of smoke rose up into the sky.

“Radio must be getting jammed,” she muttered. “Dammit, why can’t one thing just go right?” She looked up at Blue as the mechanical suit already started to open with a slight hiss, and some pressurized steam fired up into the air. She nodded firmly and cast her sandwich over the side of the building. “Well I suppose that’s it, then,” she said to him with a grim look. “Destiny awaits.”

Sliding into the cold, padded suit felt so familiar now, like a second skin. The weeks of training she had taken to get it right, to learn all the systems and subsystems, had finally been worth it. And after the training, there came the personal flourishes she had to add--after all--what is substance without style? No reason she couldn’t kick ass and look good while doing so.

Blue’s body shifted as she slid her hooves into the sleeves. The lights around her dimmed as they had countless times before, and she readied herself for the sharp jab at the nape of her neck as she plugged herself in. There it was, and soon she felt her entire consciousness slip into the automaton. Her vital signs and power levels flickered up in her vision.

“Is it bad this feels better?” she murmured. Her voice sounded metallic and robotic like a droid’s yet still retained her accent. A series of beeps and chirps that she understood fluently sounded out in her head, Blue’s systems speaking back to her--integrating with her own neural network.

“We good?”

The beeps answered her and she saw a flight path form in her eyes. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and let herself fall.

“Maximum effort...”

***

As the smoke cleared and the last of the MSec goons slumped to the ground, large cavities where their chests or heads should be, Flurry squinted up at her ‘saviour’. A large, metal pony stood over her, the fresh bullet holes and scorch marks still smoking lightly.

“Well it’s about time,” the former princess grunted as she dusted her wings off. She deactivated her shield, and sneezed as some golden dust drifted past her nose. “Take the scenic route did you?”

[Just in time to save your sorry flank looks like,] Neon replied. Although her mouth was obscured by metal, Flurry swore she was doing that cocky smirk she always did. The metal mare’s piercing blue eyes shifted over to the unconscious griffon, still bound with magical energy. A deep rumble emanated from within her as she nodded toward him. [That him? Griefwing?] she growled.

“Uh huh. Watch it, when he’s awake he’s handsy,” Flurry confirmed. She hoisted him up with a wince and a pained grunt, and hobbled on three legs with the fourth being held close to her chest. “Sparky should be bringing the van around any second now, ‘case you’re wondering. Security’s crawling all over this place so we gotta move... hnng... quick.”

[Yeah,] Neon replied hollowly, her cold metal eyes fixated on the fat bird before shifting over and scanning the mare up and down, noting her pained expression and obvious limp. [You’re hurt,] she bluntly stated.

“Gee, good of you to notice,” Flurry snarked with a wince. The dark stain of her own blood clashed with the soft pinkness of her regular coat as it trickled out from a tell-tale bullet hole on her upper leg.

Neon hmphed, and leaned down to get a better look. [Nothing fatal, looks like. Still.] There was a click, and a small vial with a large spike on one side was revealed to her. [That would have taken a regular pony’s leg off,] she idly commented.

“Alicorns are made of sturdier stuff.” Flurry replied cryptically, and used her magic to grasp the needle to jammed it into the space above the bullet hole. “Thank Celestia for whoever invented these medical hypos,” she murmured as the gel injected into her pushed the cap out and the wound itself began to close up. “Ahh that stings...”

With the hypo having served its purpose, she cast the empty shell aside, inadvertently knocking it out the window and sending it tumbling down to the ground below.

Her ears twitched, and she looked over as one of Grey’s Delivery Van trundled into view, coughing and sputtering like it was on its last legs.

“We need a new ride I think,” she muttered with a grim chuckle.

[Agreed.] Neon herself pushed away, hovering in mid-air thanks to her engine powered hooves and allowed the van to sidle up to the hole in the wall. Leaving a short gap between one another, the loading doors slid open.

Sparky poked his head out of the driver side window and looked around at them. “You badmouthing Betsy again?” he grumbled. “She can hear you, you know!”

[Tell Betsy she can get interfaced by Blue, then if she doesn’t pick up the slack,] Neon snorted, earning a scowl and series of under the breath grumblings from the young pegasus and a laugh from Flurry. She turned her heavy head and stared at the unconscious griffon with a blank, emotionless metal stare. [Get him in,] she ordered, her voice losing its joyful edge in a flash. [I wanna hear him squawk.]

“I know, Neon,” Flurry replied, indeed knowing that the whole reason they were in this debacle was for her friend in the suit. She lifted their prisoner up and unceremoniously thrust him into the back of the van where he landed with a soft thunk, his bloated form and padded fathers providing him with some resistance to his fall. She clambered aboard and sat down opposite him, poking him away from her with a disgusted look on her face, and looked up toward Neon.

“You coming?” she asked.

The metal mare nodded before she sharply turned her head and looked around. [Whoa, whoa, what?] she murmured, her metallic voice edged with concern.

“What? What is it?” Flurry asked, but she already knew what it was, as the sound of sirens quickly approaching made her ears twitch and a small amount of anxiety fire through her.

[You gotta go,] Neon warned. [My sensors just lit up, we got like two, three dozen units moving in--I’ll keep them off you as best I can, but-]

“I know, Neon,” Flurry said gently. She raised a hoof towards the metal mare and smiled. “We’ll be fine. Betsy will get us home. Won’t she, Sparky?”

“Damn straight!” came the pegasus’s voice from the front of the van as the engine trundled to life once again.

Neon looked down at the alicorn. After a short pause there was a hiss and the sheet of metal covering her face shifted and raised itself up. Wires and circuitry were all around her, and several pairs of dim lights shone down on her pale coat, giving her an almost spectral appearance. “I won’t be long,” she promised. Her voice, unmodulated and clear as crystal sounded strange, foreign almost to Flurry’s ears.

“I’ll hold you to that,” the alicorn chuckled, trying not to show how worried she suddenly felt upon seeing her friend’s face. They touched hooves tenderly for a moment before the metal mare pulled away, and once again her face was covered up.

[Alright get goin’,] Neon barked. [Get out of here before they decide to show up.]

Flurry reluctantly pressed the button to close the loading doors, leaving her enshrouded in the dark with only Sparky and their prisoner for company. She sighed and slumped against the seat, and decided to inspect her injured hoof again. The hypo worked a treat, having sealed up the wound so much you couldn’t even tell she had been shot--save of course for the blood on her leg.

“Sparky?” she said to the colt behind her after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“You think Neon’s getting... I don’t know... worse?”

“Worse?”

Flurry sighed. “You know, since the whole suit thing? She didn’t exactly look healthy in there.”

She heard Sparky snort. “Neon’s fine,” he snapped. “Like she always says, she’s more of a dragon in disguise than a pony these days.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Silence descended upon them as the van sped along the skyway, winding in and out of traffic. Flurry hoped and prayed that Neon wouldn’t do anything too reckless and join them soon enough, alive and unharmed. Across from her, the griffon stirred and clacked his beak as he rose from his hoof induced coma.

“Wh... where am I?” he murmured, and fixed Flurry with a hateful glare while clutching at his head. “You! Release me at once you-”

Without a word, Flurry’s horn ignited, casting a sleeping spell over him and knocking him clean out once again. She snorted and rested her head against the back of the seat, intending to have a quick nap while she had a moment. Strangely, the only thought she had in her mind as sleep took its hold of her was as follows.

She wondered if her auntie had any more cucumber sandwiches for them when they got back.

Comments

[Bigwig6666]

10713782
Holy jeez yall been makin the rounds tonight havne't ya? Man I really appreciate all the spots for mistakes, some of them are downright embarassing it took me this long to fix them. I legit don't know what this

'the princess was more some success speaking'

was originally supposed to say

[iAmSiNnEr]

10713841
:)

[Robipony]

Out of curiosity, is there a chance that you will resume this story?

[Bigwig6666]

11354755
I have no immediate plans to go back to to it as of yet. I'd like to go back to it, but I was getting kinda burnt out of it and wasn't sure what direction I wanted it to go. I have loads of notes written gotta get out of the hole I put meself in