The Hyuugan Mash - A Nightmare Night Story

Moon frowned as she watched the small child, and then glanced over to Twilight. Deciding that she had a little free time on her hands, despite the hundreds of questions that plagued her, she pulled out a notebook from her bag. It was clearly very old and battered, with symbols and bits of ribbon and charms stuck to the front. Grabbing a pen, she began to look through the book and write a few bits down in it, locked in concentration.

"Thank you" Zoy quietly said, looking at Twilight, before continuing to walk down the hall.

As she and Eva began to leave the restaurant, you once again hear the soothing music of a violin.

Looking for its source, you spot Johan, standing on a small stage at the front of the restaurant.




He seems to be fully consumed by the music, playing with his eyes closed and slightly smiling. The tune he played was very slow and calming.

You note the intricate design of the violin in his hands. It was made of fine polished wood, with beautiful carvings over it.
After a few seconds of watching, you recognize it. It was the violin Moon gave Johan as a gift, a few months back.


Johan continues to play with his eyes closed and a small smile. It appears he hasn't seen you yet and doesn't know you are here.




Eva and Zoy continued to make their way down the halls. After several minutes, Eva opened a heavy door and entered a large room.
It was poorly lit and unfurnished, apart from a giant, transparent sphere in the middle, and a TV screen on the far wall.


Ashley was sitting inside the sphere, her hands dancing over the two dozen control panels, that were built inside.
A small projector was showing some kind of image to Ash, on the inside part of the sphere.

The same image seems to be transmitted onto the giant TV screen on the far wall.



You notice Kaylee sitting in a chair, next to the sphere and watching the TV screen. The screen showed a submarine from a 3rd person perspective, making its way through the depths of the ocean.


"So here we aaare, we are baaack" Ash began speaking in monotone:
"You play as a blue submarine. You push X, it goes kuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh, don't worry about it-"


On the TV screen, the submarine suddenly flew out of the ocean like a missile, spinning around itself and breaking all laws of physics, before getting jettisoned into space by the looks of it.
Ash started laughing:
"Oooooh.... this soon?"

"There it goes..." Kaylee started quietly giggling.



Zoy looked up at Rain and started slightly tugging at her sleeve: "...miss Rain, I have a question...
I.. I have a question..." she called in a tiny voice.

Twilight looked at the foal leaving, recalling the time she was her age and acting just as curious. She let out a small smile as she remembers those days.

But Angelo sapped her out of it with a nudge, as he pointed to the violin player. "Hey, isn't that the guy you mentioned before? You know, that went nuts?"

She turned to look at him and her eyes widened. "He is. What is he doing here?" She rubbed her chin in thought. "I guess I have to say hello to him."

She gets up, picking up her plate to put it away. After that, she walks slowly to Johan, clearly nervous.

"And this is why PC gaming is complete garbage" Sand comments on the screen, starting to laugh "That is just embarrassing. How much money have they put into this?"

She walks right up to the sphere and peers inside.




Omega stays behind and joins Twilight in walking to Johan. His own plate left haphazardly one a random surface.

"This should be interesting, eh?"

(The Restaurant)


Johan's tune slowly came to a stop and he slightly bowed to the audience in the restaurant, releasing a pleasant smile.
As Twilight came closer, he noticed her and his smiled grew brighter:


"Oh, Twilight, hello" he happily nodded to you. His voice was very calm and quiet as usual:

"Its good to see you again. How have you been? Its been a long time since we last saw each other" he released a pleasant smile, then noticed Omega and nodded to his as well:


"Oh, hello, did you enjoy the music? I.. love this tune, it.. has a way to calm the mind" he said to Omega, happily smiling.

(Submarine Simulator Room)


"Not enough money, by the looks of it" Ash said, restarting the level. As you look inside the sphere, it seems that Ash is seeing the submarine from the inside.
A first person view is displayed before her, showing her the submarines bridge, with all the controls, monitors and fictional crewmen stationed there.

It seems that sitting inside the sphere, feels like you are inside an actual submarine, standing on an actual bridge. The simulation looks very realistic.



Outside of the sphere, the submarines movements are displayed from the outside, in 3rd person view, on a giant TV screen, so everyone standing nearby could watch how the submarine actually moved in the ocean.


The level reset and the submarine appeared in the middle of an ocean, with a rocky bottom below and a series of reefs to the right.




"We're playing Submarine Simulator version 6.0" Ash began: "also more colloquially known as Submarine 6"

"I didn't know the colloquial clan knew about Submarine Simulator" Kaylee quietly called.

Ash started laughing: "Shut 'yer mouth"
Kaylee started laughing as well.


"This is widely known as one of the worst simulators ever made" Ash continued with a smile: "Unfortunately there isn't an updated version so all navy officers undergoing submarine retraining, have to endure this abomination"



On the TV screen, the submarine unexpectedly made a U turn and got stuck in a reef.


"You know" Ash continued: " When you make a simulator,.. you gotta have like a vision, and-.."

"Are you saying this simulator is blind?" Kaylee asked.

"What did.. what did I say-?.." Ash asked, trying to move the submarine again.

"Because it has no vision." Kaylee continued.

"Okay, Shut-!" Ash leaned forward in her sphere: "Oh my god I can't control this thing! AAAAAAAGH!
I Can't get out of the bay! This is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life!"


The submarine continued to be stuck in a reef, until it suddenly glitched through it, and ended up in the ocean again.


"Did you just clip through a reef?" Kaylee asked.

"Uuuuuhhhh...." Ash called.

"Uumm, you just clipped through a reef Ash" Kaylee said, giggling.

"We have to log 5 hours in this thing, before we reach Ragnveig?" Ash called, leaning back in the sphere: "Oh GOOOOD"




At the back of the room, Zoy started tugging on Rain's sleeve again:

"...Miss Rain, I have a question.
What should an ideal General be like?"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Submarine Simulator Room)


"Not enough money, by the looks of it" Ash said, restarting the level. As you look inside the sphere, it seems that Ash is seeing the submarine from the inside.
A first person view is displayed before her, showing her the submarines bridge, with all the controls, monitors and fictional crewmen stationed there.

It seems that sitting inside the sphere, feels like you are inside an actual submarine, standing on an actual bridge. The simulation looks very realistic.



Outside of the sphere, the submarines movements are displayed from the outside, in 3rd person view, on a giant TV screen, so everyone standing nearby could watch how the submarine actually moved in the ocean.


The level reset and the submarine appeared in the middle of an ocean, with a rocky bottom below and a series of reefs to the right.




"We're playing Submarine Simulator version 6.0" Ash began: "also more colloquially known as Submarine 6"

"I didn't know the colloquial clan knew about Submarine Simulator" Kaylee quietly called.

Ash started laughing: "Shut 'yer mouth"
Kaylee started laughing as well.


"This is widely known as one of the worst simulators ever made" Ash continued with a smile: "Unfortunately there isn't an updated version so all navy officers undergoing submarine retraining, have to endure this abomination"



On the TV screen, the submarine unexpectedly made a U turn and got stuck in a reef.


"You know" Ash continued: " When you make a simulator,.. you gotta have like a vision, and-.."

"Are you saying this simulator is blind?" Kaylee asked.

"What did.. what did I say-?.." Ash asked, trying to move the submarine again.

"Because it has no vision." Kaylee continued.

"Okay, Shut-!" Ash leaned forward in her sphere: "Oh my god I can't control this thing! AAAAAAAGH!
I Can't get out of the bay! This is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life!"


The submarine continued to be stuck in a reef, until it suddenly glitched through it, and ended up in the ocean again.


"Did you just clip through a reef?" Kaylee asked.

"Uuuuuhhhh...." Ash called.

"Uumm, you just clipped through a reef Ash" Kaylee said, giggling.

"We have to log 5 hours in this thing, before we reach Ragnveig?" Ash called, leaning back in the sphere: "Oh GOOOOD"




At the back of the room, Zoy started tugging on Rain's sleeve again:

"...Miss Rain, I have a question.
What should an ideal General be like?"

"I think I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that this simulator's one hundred percent accurate" Rogue says with a completely straight face.

Rain breaks away from her gaze. Her stormy gray eyes looking to the small girl, "You need to be valient, You need to be a stratagest and you need to know what to do at the right time." She sighs, "Your troops need to be hard and unstopable, the most elite." She looks down at zoy, "you must be fearless, able to run through every line in a battle with your men and woman on the field." She looks to Harle, "not only that... you need to be able to hold a life as well..." she smiles, "...and listen to your leader."

Fire leans against the stage looking up at Johan. Her ears perked at the sounds of the violin, "Hay there beautiful, what brings you to this ship?" She flirts looking up at Johan.

Megan chuckles as she watches the screen, "you know we have mechanical body parts and souls trapped in bodies yet we cant get a simulator right." She pulls a niccotine patch from her pocket and rolls up her sleeve and puts it on her forarm before rolling down her sleeve again and shruging, "well looks like we gotta restart it"

"Hello, Johan." Twilight spoke softly.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "I've been busy these days. And what about you? You must be doing well if you got a job here." She looks around, hoping to find something else to talk about.

(The Restaurant)


Johan looked at Firewing and became red like a tomato. He's clearly not used to be flirted with:

"Oh, Uh.. K-Kaylee sent me an invitation" he released a sheepish smile, then looked at Twilight:

"I don't really work here, its, just a hobby of mine" he looked at the violin: "I thought since I'll be sailing on the ship for three days with everyone, I might as well bring this along. Thought it could lift everyone's spirits a bit"


He looked at the violin lovingly, releasing a peaceful smile: "I've asked Kaylee if its okay for me to play here, from time to time and she agreed"


He brightly smiled to Firewing and Twilight:


"I am doing much better, thank you for asking. I've completed my treatment at the Soren's mental care hospital. They discharged me last month." He looked at his shoes.
"All I have to do now is visit a community psychiatrist, every month for a follow up. There's also some prescribed medicine but, all in all... I feel better"


He stopped studying his shoes and looked up at you:



"I'm glad I was given this chance.
I don't remember much about what happened with Slavegear. There's.. bits and pieces, missing. Dark spots, blocking the places, where some memories should be... but,

I remember... people in pain... people scared... because of my illness...


It would've been easier just to kill me... but you didn't. You pulled me out of that robot. You believed in me." He looked at you and smiled:




"That's why... I don't want to waste this chance. I've applied to the Soren's Medical University, to become a doctor.
First semester starts in October. Doctor Riza is helping me prep. There is a lot of things I must cover, things other people learned in school... I... never had that chance...
Its going to be hard. But, I'm going to succeed.

That's what I've decided.





He paused for a long moment, looking at you with determination:


There's more to me than my illness. I do not want to be defined by it.
Eight billion people live on this earth. If I can help even one, my life would've been worth it"


He smiled.

(Submarine Simulator)


Harlequin smiled and subtly winked to Rain.


Ash began restarting the level again: "Please send all your complaints to the Soren Naval Command" she began smiling: "And if enough people complain, hopefully they will wake up and get enough budged to patch this broken sim"

She looked to the right: "Kay, could you read the mission briefing again? I forgot what we're supposed to be doing" she said with a laugh.

"Ye, gimme a sec" Kaylee went fishing under her chair for a folder and started flipping through its pages.



In the meantime, Zoy is still staring at Rain with determination. Her eyes are glowing with excitement and wander. She seems to be hanging on to every word.



"Okay" Kaylee seems to have found the right page: "You've been stationed at a secret naval base in Equestria, patrolling around in your sub, when suddenly! A man calls you on the radio and says:
Help me! Oh help!!"


"It doesn't say that" Ash said, laughing.


"An officer from the Equestrian base, calls you on the radio-" Kaylee continued: "-and says GAH! A spy has stolen all our bases cop secret tossified files.... cop secret... tassified files.." Kaylee burst out laughing.


"Hey Kaylee, wow, can you read that again please, except this time, not in stroke speech?" Ash called, laughing: "So what are we doing?"


"Apparently a spy stole a disk with classified files from the base and he boarded a submarine, trying to get away" Kaylee continued, giggling:
"Hunt down the enemy sub and sink it, before it reach open waters. But, Oh no! There's two other decoy submarines in the bay. Hunt down all three, and sink them, before the time runs out"



"Okay I got this" Ashley called, her submarine blinking into view again on the big screen and started making its way through the depths.

"For a simulator, this is a very detailed mission briefing" Eva called, thinking.

"I guess they tried to make it more realistic for practice reasons?" Ash said, sticking her tongue out in concentration and flipping a dozen switches at once, maneuvering the sub through the ocean.




"Hello" Zoy called, looking up at Sand and smiling: "What's yoooour occupation?"

Megan watches the radar, a toothpick hanging in her mouth instead of a cigarette or cigar, "no pings." She clears her throat, "lets robust these nukies" she snickers at her obscure reference, "you would think that instead of sinking the sub equestria would send a special unit to infultrate the sub and take back the files but you know whatever... blast a hole in these losers and let all the info rest at the bottom of the ocean... fantastic idea."

Rain gives Harle a warm smile before turning her attention back to the simulator.

Fire gives a smile back to Johan, "thats fantastic darlin' im sure you will be the best there ever was!"

When Johan mentions the idea of saving him, she feels a pang of guilt. She looks towards the drapes, if only to not look at him anymore.

"I'm, happy to hear you're doing well, Johan. Good luck with the study, it's not an easy course to take."

Angelo notes the change and looks at Twilight. ~What have you done to this man, princess?~

Twilight swallows again. "I guess I owe you an apology for not refunding your losses for helping us...~

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Submarine Simulator)


Harlequin smiled and subtly winked to Rain.


Ash began restarting the level again: "Please send all your complaints to the Soren Naval Command" she began smiling: "And if enough people complain, hopefully they will wake up and get enough budged to patch this broken sim"

She looked to the right: "Kay, could you read the mission briefing again? I forgot what we're supposed to be doing" she said with a laugh.

"Ye, gimme a sec" Kaylee went fishing under her chair for a folder and started flipping through its pages.



In the meantime, Zoy is still staring at Rain with determination. Her eyes are glowing with excitement and wander. She seems to be hanging on to every word.



"Okay" Kaylee seems to have found the right page: "You've been stationed at a secret naval base in Equestria, patrolling around in your sub, when suddenly! A man calls you on the radio and says:
Help me! Oh help!!"


"It doesn't say that" Ash said, laughing.


"An officer from the Equestrian base, calls you on the radio-" Kaylee continued: "-and says GAH! A spy has stolen all our bases cop secret tossified files.... cop secret... tassified files.." Kaylee burst out laughing.


"Hey Kaylee, wow, can you read that again please, except this time, not in stroke speech?" Ash called, laughing: "So what are we doing?"


"Apparently a spy stole a disk with classified files from the base and he boarded a submarine, trying to get away" Kaylee continued, giggling:
"Hunt down the enemy sub and sink it, before it reach open waters. But, Oh no! There's two other decoy submarines in the bay. Hunt down all three, and sink them, before the time runs out"



"Okay I got this" Ashley called, her submarine blinking into view again on the big screen and started making its way through the depths.

"For a simulator, this is a very detailed mission briefing" Eva called, thinking.

"I guess they tried to make it more realistic for practice reasons?" Ash said, sticking her tongue out in concentration and flipping a dozen switches at once, maneuvering the sub through the ocean.




"Hello" Zoy called, looking up at Sand and smiling: "What's yoooour occupation?"

 

"Trust me, submarine operations can get a whole lot more complex than this" Rogue chuckles, crossing his arms and leaning on one leg as he settles down to watch the computer monitor.

"Oh I can imagine. You know... the worst part of a real subarine mission is when you get caught in coral and get flung into space..." Megan looks over her shoulder to rogue

"Your playing is fantastic. Johan," Omega interjects in an attempt to make the conversation less awkward. At least for Twilight "Last night's as well"


Sand pulls her attention away from the simulator to answer Zoy's question. Just before answering, Ornstein soars into the room and lands on Sands outstretched arm.

"I'm a historian" Sand massages Ornstein behind his head while she continues to answer "I research old and ancient cultures, write about them, and I publish the occasional work. But I'm also big into adventure, so I'm usually the one who goes into the collapsing ruins to get the artifacts.

There's something about setting off an old trap that's been sitting there for over 500 years and surviving by the skin of your teeth that just gets the adrenaline going!"

Rain_Runner wrote:"Oh I can imagine. You know... the worst part of a real subarine mission is when you get caught in coral and get flung into space..." Megan looks over her shoulder to rogue

"Oh no, that's easy. You just hitch a lift with the next starship that passes by." Rogue says with a completely straight face, "Which is why you should always have money on you to pay for your share of the fuel."

(The Restaurant)


"Thank you" Johan brightly smiled to everyone.

When Twilight mentioned losses, Johan looked at her in confusion: "..refunding losses?.. Do you mean my house in Nyx?"

He smiled and waved it away: "Please, there's no need for that. General Dakova's men barely broke anything. The only thing of real value was the violin they damaged, but, that's okay.
Moon Dusts gave me a new one as a gift" he showed you the violin he was playing a few moments ago:

"It really is quite something" he said, looking at the musical instrument: "..nothing can really compare to a live music of a violin, it has a way of setting the heart at ease" he smiled.


"What about you guys? What have you been up to?" he cheerily asked, looking at everyone.

(Submarine Simulator)


"You can't think too hard on the plot of these sims, or the whole thing falls apart" Ash said, smiling a bit: "I don't think the designers were thinking too hard when they made this"

On the big screen, the submarine sailed under a rock formation, resembling an arch, then suddenly made a 360 turn, several times in a row, in a split second, before continuing to sail on as if nothing happened.

"W-Wow!" Kaylee leaned forward in her seat.

"I think I saw my life flash before my eyes" Ash started laughing.

"It feels like, every time we play, it breaks down more-" Kaylee said, leaning forward. The submarine is making jerking motions for no reason, as it moves forward.
Kaylee blinked several times, it looks like she's getting dizzy, just from watching the screen.


"I've been playing this entire time, you wonna go?" Ash asked.

"No I wonna watch you play and vomit some more" Kaylee said, leaning back: "Wait, THERE'S A SUB! THERE'S A SUB!!!" she suddenly shouted, pointing at the screen.

"WHERE??" Ash yelled.

"SHOOT IT!" Kaylee yelled.

"AAAAAAAGH!!!" Ash shrieked, flipping several switches. On the big screen, you saw a silhouette of an enemy sub, slowly sail by, before it suddenly got hit by a torpedo and blew up.



"Hey I think they should be starting preparations for the main concert soon" Kaylee said, looking at her wrist watch: "The crew was asking for volunteers to set up decorations.
We could all head there in a few mins, if you guys want"




Zoy is looking at Sand with wander: "Woooow.." her eyes are lighting up again:

"What should an ideal historian be like?" she eagerly asked.

Moon continued to scribble in her notebook for a short while, listening to the conversation with Johan quietly. She had enjoyed the music, happy that something good had come from her mother’s violin. She had never liked it personally. Moon sighed and leant back a little more, her gaze shifting to the others for a moment.

(The Restaurant)


Johan had suddenly noticed Moon in the distance and happily waved to her.

"Oh! Moon! Hello!" he happily called: "Its been a while, how are you?"

He looked at her notebook from a distance: "..is it okay of I ask? What are you writing? Is it a story?" he smiled.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Submarine Simulator)


"You can't think too hard on the plot of these sims, or the whole thing falls apart" Ash said, smiling a bit: "I don't think the designers were thinking too hard when they made this"

On the big screen, the submarine sailed under a rock formation, resembling an arch, then suddenly made a 360 turn, several times in a row, in a split second, before continuing to sail on as if nothing happened.

"W-Wow!" Kaylee leaned forward in her seat.

"I think I saw my life flash before my eyes" Ash started laughing.

"It feels like, every time we play, it breaks down more-" Kaylee said, leaning forward. The submarine is making jerking motions for no reason, as it moves forward.
Kaylee blinked several times, it looks like she's getting dizzy, just from watching the screen.


"I've been playing this entire time, you wonna go?" Ash asked.

"No I wonna watch you play and vomit some more" Kaylee said, leaning back: "Wait, THERE'S A SUB! THERE'S A SUB!!!" she suddenly shouted, pointing at the screen.

"WHERE??" Ash yelled.

"SHOOT IT!" Kaylee yelled.

"AAAAAAAGH!!!" Ash shrieked, flipping several switches. On the big screen, you saw a silhouette of an enemy sub, slowly sail by, before it suddenly got hit by a torpedo and blew up.



"Hey I think they should be starting preparations for the main concert soon" Kaylee said, looking at her wrist watch: "The crew was asking for volunteers to set up decorations.
We could all head there in a few mins, if you guys want"




Zoy is looking at Sand with wander: "Woooow.." her eyes are lighting up again:

"What should an ideal historian be like?" she eagerly asked.




   

"Sure, i've always wanted to go to a party to work" Rogue replies to Kaylee jokingly.

"Yes! "Angelo exclaimed. "Lift the veil on your secrets on what has transpired while the temporal rift expanded!"

Twilight looked at him annoyed. "You mean, show him what we've been up to?"

"Well, yeah, but that sounds so mundane." The blonde stallion said, his bravado gone.

Twilight let out a sigh. "I'll keep it brief, the details are just boring. I got my seat back in the equestrain government, where I continue to try and fail into pushing a more fair agreement for dealing with the Union. During that time, our ragtag group happened to cross paths as we fell into an old conspiracy called the Digital Waltz, who almost took over the world. Don't ask me how, but by some coincidence it was ended. After that, it back to old politics."

She then points to Angelo. "And this guy here stuck along during that last endeavor."

Angelo stood proudly. "Yes, I have managed to catupre this royal heart!"

Twilight turned to him. "What."

(The Restaurant)


"Ended by coincidence... Mmmm...." Johan smiled and pretended to think:
"I don't know if things like that can be solved by coincidence"

He brightly smiled: "Sounds to me like someone worked really hard and their efforts payed off" he meaningfully looked at you:
"You guys were kinda all over the news, you know."

His expression became more serious, but the smile remained:

"...It must have been hard, that last battle. You fought really hard to help everyone. Thank you."

He brightly smiled.




From the corner of your eye, you notice Harlequin. She's lingering at the edge of the stage, not really doing anything in particular.
It seems like she's patiently waiting for a pause in the conversation, and every few moments she looks at Twilight.

(Submarine Simulator)


Kaylee pretended to pout: "Muuuu... are you gonna let us do all the work?" she jokingly giggled.

On the TV screen next to her, another enemy sub got blown up so hard, it flew into space.

"PAKAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Ash is making explosion noises.

"You only have 60 seconds left dude" Kaylee called, turning towards her.

"I can't find the last sub!" Ash said, leaning forward in the sphere. The submarine passes next to a series of caves to the left and carried on through the bay.

"Go back, go back!" Kaylee yelled suddenly.

"Aaaah! What" Ash asked.

"Try the caves, try the caves!" Kaylee pointed off screen.

"What caves??" Ash asked in confusion.

"There's submarines in there. Probably." Kaylee giggled.

"Kaylee don't mess with me, I'm trying to beat this!" Ashley said, leaning to the right and making the sub turn.

Kaylee started laughing: "I'm not messing with you, I'm just messing with you"

"There it is" Ash said, noticing the last sub, slowly swimming along the ocean floor, before blowing it up so hard, it disintegrated: "PADA PAPA PU PI! MISSION COMPLETE!"

"Good job" Kaylee grinned.

"You wonna do the next mission?" Ash asked, popping the sphere open.

"Yeah alright" Kaylee said, getting up.




Harlequin looked at her own wrist watch as well and frowned a bit:
"Shoot. I almost forgot" she placed her hand on Rains shoulder and quietly said: "I forgot to discuss something with Twilight. It shouldn't take long. I wanted to do it before the concert.

I'll meet up with you later okay?" she smiled a little: "At the concert hall, I'll help you set up decorations" she waved goodbye and slowly wandered off.




"Hey have you guys seen Maddie and Cookie yet?" Kaylee called to everyone, climbing into the sphere: "They're aboard the ship somewhere, preparing for the concert I think"