Ashton

Matilda frowned slightly "The nightmare wars were a period when Nightmare moon fought Equestria prior to her banishment to the moon" she paused "That short enough for you? if not I can say say 'it was a war' or even just 'war' thats as basic as I can go" Now she was just being a smartflank "You wont find anything about Rad on the internet" said Orchid "not anything important - her own stuff she wrote down on paper, not in her phone, and even the stuff she talk to it about was lost when her AI was destroyed. The rest of it would be locked away in private archives. I dont think even the queen knows the full extent of what Rad was doing... you'll probably have to piece it together by talking to Rad's friends and family" Matilda again frowned "she's not wrong, all I'm getting is a few purchases she made, some places she was seen, and one registration for a hoverbike - I'm not breaking into secured archives, I'm not some kind of criminal" "your AI's not been modified" commented Orchid "she can do it, but right now her code wont let her" "hey dont you go talkin' about me like that, I know plenty about YOU that you dont want to hear" snarked MAtilda, looking at Orchid. which indeed made the bat-pony go silent. Clearly she was well aware of some things in her past she didn't want to think about and didn't want other to know about...

The goat appeared standing on orchid's head "Oh so now you ask me, maybe you shoulda thought about it before you left?" she paused but contiued in a less snarky tone "The Island now known as the darklands was first discovered back in...." and from there Morgan would be given a long history lesson that no bouty parallelled his own world's history of the island for many thousand years... and considering the detail that Matilda was going into, this was going to take hours and hours before he even reached the nightmare wars....

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you. The black water does that, it makes you sick" she reached into a compartment and pulled out a silver amulet with numerous runes etched into it and handed it to Morgan "put this on, it will negate the effects of the black magic temporarily" she paused "It should give you about 2-3 days before its overwhelmed, but if you stay long after that it will kill you... or worse..."

"I'm just... not used to it" she explained a little timidly. she did giggle as they mounted the vehicle and started out over the ocean "that's kind of you, but I'm a model, honestly, with what I've been doing for the queen I've slipped, I need to lose quite a bit more weight to be back in the light" she explained. As they moved towards the island, the water would start to grow darker, due to the speed they were traveling, it wasn't long until it was pure black, and from that blackness, a vile feeling was coming, a feeling that it was just... wrong... on a very deep level. Morgan would also begin to feel sick as the vile magic started effecting him, at first it was like allergies, then a cold, then he would feel like he was coming down with the flu... and it only kept getting worse. there was no doubt that Nightmare Moon had infused this water with the most vile of magics, the way it clung to the ship and seemed to be trying to reach up and grab morgan... he would quickly realize that wasn't his imagination, the water really was trying to grab him and drag him under. Thankfully the craft had large hydrofoils on the sides that kept the water from reaching him, that it did try...

She sighed "I was bluffing" she admitted "all I had was that little blaster for defense against the wildlife. The Queen trusts Dash so she saw no need to send anypony heavily armed or armored to pick up one of Dash's friends" she explained. When he touched her, she would tense up, her leathery wings twitching like she thought about slapping him for a split-second, but she relaxed again. What would interest him more though, was the fact that everywhere he touched her, he felt bones or even just tightly-stretched skin. This girl was so thin, that she probably was having to wear a weighted suit just not to be knocked over by a gentle breeze.

Orchid lowered her gun "so... thats what this is really about" she commented "Dash sent you to talk to Mid... and probably try to help her..." she holstered the weapon "She probably didn't tell you this, but I bet she's worried about her. I know dash hates Mid's brother, but I think she cares about mid a lot - if only because Mid and Rad were so close - I mean Mid's mate was Rads' daughter's father... I shouldn't have said it like that, it sounds bad, its a complicated relationship and has something to do with Star's past... like... the foal was old enough that she kinda chose who she wanted to be her father... like I said, its complicated, but because of it, Rad, Star, and Mid were really close and considered each other to be family, so by extension, they were part of Dash's family too." she sighed, mentally shifting gears "Your still going to be under suspicion from all the residents and probably most of the guards because of the armor, but... come on, I guess we should go then" she motioned to a craft nearby and started over towards it. The craft was large enough for two and was painted black with green accent lines.

She paused "Orchid." she said plainly "And you claim you want a peaceful envoy with out queen, but you show up dressed for a war, complete with visible weapons! what else am I to think?" ther was the tiniest of quivers in her voice - she didn't want it to be true, she didn't want to fight or kill, but she also didn't want to risk her country and queen.

Once he landed though, things would go much worse... As he made his way to the coast he would see a pony in a black jumpsuit and futuristic helmet, pointing a blaster at him "So, Rainbow finally turned on us? Good thing the Queen sent out somone with the guts to be prepared and make a stand" she paused "and dont get any funny ideas, my suit is rigged with high-powered explosives, if I die -or give the command- it will detonate with enough power to take us both out. So, why dont we end this without any bloodshed. Just turn around and walk away. We dont need or want any trouble" what might suprise him was the voice, once again it seemed to belong to a pony he knew, namely Rarity, but the accent was gone, the pony before him was a pegasus -and a painfully thin one too, even with the armored jumpsuit on it was clear she was far far far too thin-, and, well, rarity probably wouldn't be pointing a weapon at him and threatening to kill them both.

"I prefer a lighter look myself, but we cant all be demons" he said with a smirk and a hint of flame circling him as he shoved Morgan out before he could ask any further questions. The earth pony would find himself falling towards a swamp, it was not at all inviting, seeing as if he failed to open his parachute he'd be lucky if he died on impact with flat ground, many gnarled old tree branches and spiked plants reached skyward, all eager to impale him. Looking out over the water though he would see an island shrouded in darkness, in an eternal twilight, its black castle reaching into the clouds and beyond, he couldn't make anything else out from this distance, except the sea around it seemed thick and black, almost like it was the coagulating blood of some vile monster... Dash had said nightmare moon left some nasty surprises behind, there was no doubt that sea was one of them... But for now he main mission was to land safely, hopefully there would be somepony there to take him to the island... if not, well he had a backpack full of food... as long as he remembered which bag was the backpack and which was the parachute... if he got them mixed up, then food would be the least of his worries...

And so the pony went off to train, time seemed to fly past, and all too soon he heard the voice over the loudspeaker telling him that they were arriving at their destination, though they awkwardly used the phrase "insertion point" to try and make it sound less casual and more battle-like... probably failing miserably... Zebas approached him "Master Morgan, it is time. I will escort you to the bay doors, this is your backpack, courtesy of us, just in case things go wrong and you dont make it to the island. This is your parachute, it will allow you to land safely. Please do not mix up the two" he explained, handing morgan two painfully similar bags.

For the first time since they met, Zebas cracked a grin "While I appreciate the request, I must respectfully decline, I would have to be responcible for you ending up in the hospital... or morgue... this soon into your job"

Matilda sighed "well I am forced to serve you... seems there is some slave tradin' goin' on" she snarked as she vanished Zebas ran a hoof over his hair "yes, now that that's out of the way... the mistress has already cleared you to get anything you want from the armory. We also have a variety of training robots avalible, ranging from 'beginner' to 'lethal'" he explained as he began leading morgan through the ship again towards the armory

"oh well you better stop that drinkin,' boy, or your gonna need more than just an AI" quipped Matilda Zebas tok a deep breath to calm himself, trying to remain focused and ignore hte goat as much as possible "we'll be arriving in about an hour, master" "Master? You ain't one of them slave traders are ya? I'll delete myself right here 'cuz I dont stand for none of that!" commented Matilda Zebas clearly was wishing the goat had a physical face he could punch right now.

"Acknowledged. Programming Chip. Chip Programmed. Enjoy your new AI and have a fantastic day!" the voice then cut out The goat walked around a little, looking around, then at the two ponies "Oh great, so I'm suck with a brawns-for-brains or a stuffy suit?" she asked but before either could reply "I'm kidding. I know I belong to brawn here, I see why you chose me, hun, you got the killing stuff covered but needed to make up for the lack of brains, eh?" she grinned. Arrogant didn't even begin to describe this AI. It was more intelligent than any other creature and it knew it well. Zebas just muttered the word 'insufferable...' clearly Bearnard was a 'companion' not a 'research' AI

The sweet voice spoke again "Acknoledged. Programming chip. Chip programmed. Please choose a color for your new AI research assistant!" Zebas sighed "I always hated these setup wizards, I dont know where they found that voice for them..."

"The basics are prepared, it will take time to develop the special shielding you wanted, probably a week or so" explained the buttler "Also I do apologize but we cannot drop you off directly on luna's island, we will have to leave you on the shore and have her send one of her servants out to get you with a protection amulet... that island holds many dark magics" he explained. upon being asked if he was alright, he raised a brow "oh? so you noticed. yes, I am keeping an eye out for that infernal spider so he doesnt get the drop on us again. My pride was already wounded earlier when I was unable to save you myself" As soon as morgan put the chip in he would turn around to find a goat behind him. it would make a bleating sound and begin changing colors as a honey-soaked female voice spoke "Welcome to the AI setup wizard! Please give a name to your new AI research aid!" the voice was almost sickeningly sweet...

Dash nodded, glancing over at Zebes who nodded back - clearly she relied on him to handle most everything that happened on her ship --- but then dash was known for her speed, not her brains... The pegasis giggled and raised her cup "here! here!" she toasted, sloshing a bit of her drink out messily. Fortunately she was far enough away that morgan didn't have to worry about it hitting him or his food, but it only further instilled that image of her as some crazy god of plenty... or debauchery... that the whole throne and giant golden goblet conjured up. After the meal, the maids again resumed their positions, taking up and cleaning the dishes, while Morgan found himself with Zebas again "While you were eating, they finished work on your AI" he explained "since you were busy I took the liberty of holding onto it for you" he reached into his pocket and revealed a plastic case with a computer-chip inside "all you have to do is open the back panel of your phone and you will find the expansion port where you can install the chip"

Dash shrugged "Thats up to you" she said "If you want to stay in touch and be a part of the family, I'm not going to say no" she laughed "look around you, I dont think I'm capable of saying 'no' to that!" she smiled "But right now we're kinda flying around in circles, so I suggest you decide where you want me to drop you off" Zebes stepped forward "your AI is ready as soon as you finish your dinner, master morgan" he explained. then stepped back into his place near the door.

Rainbow Dash As suprised no pony, Dash had once again overslept. She woke up to the scroll poking her int he face. After trying to swat it away a few times, moaning "cut it out, twi!" she finally woke up enough to realize there was a scroll there poking her in the face. She unrolled it, not noticing as the seal vanished. At first she just stared at it, it had to be a joke, she must have missed the 'ha ha gotcha!' thats all. she read it again and she got an unsettling feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She carefully slid out from her bed and shuffled to the window, opening it and looking out... "OH FOR PETES SAKE!!!!" The whole town no doubt heard her exclamation, it was a wonder that Cloudsdale didn't --- she would have loved for them to! They intentionally made sure that Ponyville would have the worst wrapup in years now that twilight was gone. They were being spiteful that the unicorn prodigy could get ponyville wrapped-up faster than they could! That was the only answer. Dash quickly threw on her uniform and kicked open the door, leaping off the cloud and spiraling down, taking time to circle wide and make note of all the proverbial damage... this was a disaster! She finally made her way to the center of town, perching on top of the statue "OK! EVERYPONY KEEP CALM, NO NEED TO GET THE TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS OUT YET!" she announced, in her typical fashion of comically missing the point. "I DONT KNOW WHERE THE OTHER LEADERS ARE, SO FOR NOW I'M TAKING CHARGE!" Her internal monologue though was far from so certain...: Oh wow, THATs your big idea? you dont have any clue what your doing! Yeah, well if somepony doesnt, there's going to be chaos, and the last thing we need is an invitation for discord to show up! point taken. She sighed "I none of us were expecting this, things looked so clear and simple last night... but..." A tune began to float through the air "I know things are looking dark This is an unexpected test But we wont miss our mark! Because we're gonna be the best! "Those ponies up there dont know us Think a little snow'll get us down They think they'll ruin us But they dont know this town! "Its time for us to pull together! We wont let them pus us around! Claw, hoof, horn and feather! Its time for us to stand our ground! "They think we're softer than the rest Just because we're small But we'll push it, we'll show them we're the best! IT wont be us that will Faaaaaa-aaaaaall! "Yes! We're the best! Yes! We're the best! Yes! we're the best! "We'll make a stand and prove it to the whole world! We're the best!" Dash flashed her winning grin and rose her hoof in a cheer... hoping beyond hope that they'd all join in... if not... well... that was all she could think of right now... and she didn't like having to dodge pitchforks flying through the air...

Dash sighed "The most sane is either queen luna or the ice queen... Luna's trying to clean up her mess and the Ice queen is trying to subtly sabotage Celestia and give respite to those who are... in-between... wanting to leave the latyech lands but not quite ready to go and live an Amish lifestyle" she paused to tear a cunk off a turkey leg and gulp it down "there's also Chairpony Applejack... She's trying to keep things as civil as she can, avoiding laytech in favor of steam, but not discriminating against anycreature who has it or wants it" She paused to drink "Of course the flip-side is Luna has an island full of ponies who can never leave and is fighting renegades who liked it better under nightmare moon, the ice queen has two heads which are constantly arguing with each other, and Chairpony AJ is trying to convert the redline to a new form of government and the citizens are none to happy... plus desert raiders" she shuddered, clearly some bad memories there

After several minutes they entered into a massive dining room, it was likely the largest that Morgan had ever seen, having room for every single servant on the ship, the tables appeared to be dark oak with gold inlays, with high-backed chairs for everyone to sit at... everyone that is, except for Dash... Dash had what looked like a solid gold throne, inlaid with precious gemstones, eating and drinking from a goblet and plate also of gold with gemstone inlays. This dash might have been polite and soft-spoken, and adverse to violence... but one thing she was not was humble... she made it overly clear who was in charge... The food had already been prepared and was set aside with a screen over the table showing who's food it was. The food was cooked and seasoned expertly, Dash likely had one of the finest chefs on terra making the food, and it showed. There was also an assortment of drinks, mostly high-end wine and beer, along with softer non-alcoholic drinks... along with Morgans single glass of ale. Clearly the crew were not much for ales. What might catch Morgan's attention though was, oddly enough, Zebes and quite a few of the maids did not eat, but instead stood near the doors.

"Dont worry about him, he'll be up and about in no time -unfortunately- and if he's not somepony else will see to him, right now we need to get you to dinner. Its impolite to keep the mistress waiting" he said, very properly... though it was clear he had some distaste for the doctor... Bearnard appeared on Zebas' back "your just jelous because you cant use lay-tech" "oh yes, I'm so dissapointed that I cant turn myself into a giant spider-monster, that must be it" muttered Zebes to his AI Bearnard sighed and just gave Zebes a hug. he was still a hologram with no mass, but the gesture was genuine. Zebes sighed and after a moment carefully put a hoof around the little bear too. They were clearly close.

Indeed the shock did disrupt the doctor's legs and cause him to fall from the ceiling, roll, and smash head-first into a wall, knocking him out. By now Zebas had gotten free of the web and made his way over to the pair "Serves you right" he snarked, kicking the doctor off the pony "My apologies Master morgan, the mistress's doctor is a bit... eccentric... and overzealous..." he explained, trying to make it sound as benign as possible, despite the obvious fact that the doctor seemed a few fries short of a happy meal...

The trio exchanged glances "I wouldn't go quite that far" said Iggy "Sure ponies are xenophobic, but baring a few exceptions they seem to mostly be fairly nice and trusting to each other" "Yeah, and I think after the war with the storm king, they're starting to open up a little to other races... but only a little... we wont see complete equality in any of our lifetimes... well Jasper might..." "I'm not holding my breath" snarked the dragon There was a bit of an uneasy silence, thankfully it was broken by the crew announcing that they would be arriving in 3 minutes