Ashton

"So glad you said that!" There was a loud noise behind them and a... creature? that would haunt so many creature's worst nightmares descended from the cieling, where it had been hanging upside down int he shadows. It was about the size of a pony, but it was a huge steel spider... but with a flesh-and-fur pony head... that had compound eyes and metalic pincers that seemed to shine with some bodily fluid. before anyone could say anything it had grabbed morgan in its front legs, which had hundreds of tiny robotic 'hairs' on them like normal spiders and held him sd he ran off down the halls, speaking in an almost chattering way "So much to do, so many systems to get installed in you, this is going to take so long, I'm so glad I strung up a snack for later!" "Doctor Arachnis!" Zebas growled though sounding more annoyed and angry than worried, leaping after them, he moved so fast he seemed to be floating above the ground instead of running, but as he neared the thorax of the insect opened up and Zebas was caught up in a sticky white net, causing him to tumble to the ground, of course the ripping sounds made it clear this would not hold him for long... But the... doctor? was still rattling off things that were scientific, medical, and possibly a little terrifying....

Iggy merely smiled at that last part, in her head thinking 'oh if only you knew...' very glad that this was Ice's first time meeting them, knowing that if she learned all their dark secrets it would likely be their last... "Like I said, Jasper's never had to deal with any creature that could radically change like that, I mean sure cloudy can turn into a seapony but it's pretty obvious he's the same... but you and Frost... I'm sure he'll come to terms with it himself soon enough" At this point the other two re-entered the room "Sorry about that, just some things that needed to be talked about" said cloudy. Jasper just leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and looking annoyed. Exactly what cloudy had said to him was anyone's guess, but at the least it seemed to have calmed down the dragon's snark for now. The guard answered in the affirmative and presumably went off to find Singlestone.

"Well your main options" explained the bear "color changing, glowing, full diode lighting, allowing you to create patterns, or even prehensile abilities" Zebas clarified "it would be like a slightly slower and weaker leg, or more literally like a tentacle"

Bearnard nodded "pip-pip, the order has been submitted to the kitchen staff and should be ready by the time we arrive" Zebas nodded "Thank you, Bearnard" "Also I couldn't help but notice our guest's unfortunate handicap. I have taken the liberty of colsulting with the good doctor and he said it would be quick and easy, if the gov'ner desires, to install a laytech tail to replace what he has lost, even going so far as to offer the same one he made for the missus's sister" Zebas sighed "Bearnard, that is a rather personal thing to bring up on the spur of the moment like this. Also I rather doubt master morgan would want a tail that can spell out words and symbols..." "tut-tut, sir, It is fortunate that you have never experienced such a loss yourself, but I understand it can be quite traumatizing and a laytech replacement would offer not only restored -and enhanced- functionality, but also provide comfort and symbiotic healing" Zebas sighed "I apologize for Bearnard bringing this up, master morgan, but it seems bearnard is insistent and likely wont let it go until he has an answer"

At the mention of the AI, he reapeared sitting on Zebas' back, once again sipping that holographic tea "Jolly good, gov, always a pleasure when I can be both pleasing to the eye as well as my services" Zebes nodded, smiling "to be honest he's based off a stuffed bear I had as a foal many many years ago" "as for the menu" said Bearnard "we serve food from all around the world to cater to the many different creatures on the ship, whatever you want we can simply make more of, there's pasta, backed potatoes, soup, Fish n' chips -my personal favorite-, rice, eggrolls, bacon, hayburgers, really anything you like. Why dont you tell me what kind of a dinner chap you are and I'm sure we can find something you'll like"

Zebes looked at the scientist "Well... I could probably work out some form of insulation and grounding for it... but it wouldn't be hard to compromise..." she tapped on the screen a few times "It'll take me a little time, but I think I can work something out" Zebes nodded "It seems your equipment is in order then, we'll made sure to call you when we have finalized the modifications" he paused "Bearnard?" The 'posh' mini-Bear reappeared, sitting on Morgan's head this time "Yes, sir?" "Have you located the AI that master morgan requested?" "It was a bit of a job, but we have something... How does the chap feel about it having two heads that breathe fire?" Zebes sighed "I asked for a goat, not a demon" "That was my comment to them, they're modifying its code, it should be ready after dinner" Zebes nodded "that will be all then" "ta-ta" said the bear as he backflipped off Zebes' head and seemed to vanish into the pony's back "Well, while we wait for your AI to be modified, Would you care to join us for dinner? I'm sure the mistress wouldn't want you embarking on this quest on an empty stomach"

"I'm sure if you trained as much as I have you could pull it off too, I've only been at it for a few centuries" he commented, both brushing off the compliment while also subly making it clear he was aware of his own abilities and perhaps somewhat proud of them They turned a corner and stood before a massive set of doors at least twenty feet wide and likely twice that tall made of riveted oak with black metal accents, it was quite an imposing sight, even more so given that the hallway was so much smaller than the door could physically fit in, causing it to seem to warp in unnatural ways. Zebas sighed "turn off the hologram, we dont need to shock and awe him" the door seemed to quake and swirl like water and faded away, revealing the normal hallway and a normal sized door, though it was still decorated with fake wood and wrought iron, it was clearly metal underneath. The door then slid open. Inside were walls of weapons ranging from energy pistols to plasma rifles, to survival knives and laser lances. There were also dozens of different suits of armor along another wall. Though all of these were behind glass panels. Standing on the other side of the door was a yellow mare with broen mane and tail in a labcoat, a clipboard floating in her horn's glow "what will you be needing, Sir?" "I believe that will be upto our guest, atleast mostly" said Zebes "So, master morgan, do you see anything that catches your eye?"

"Yes, we shall be there momentarily" said Zebas. Indeed within a few seconds the lift dinged and opened, revealing a new hallway, this one covered in fake stone "I do apologize for the time it takes to move about the ship, despite its large size, the mistress will not install teleport pads. She kept mumbling something about 'crazy twilight' every time it was mentioned. Apparently something in her past upset her" As they turned a corner they would hear another voice yelling out "CATCH IT! CATCH IT!" and indeed a cylindrical robot with a single wheel was speeding towards them. Zebas dropped down into a combat pose and as the robot neared, his rear leg swung out and caught it, then his front leg slammed down, smashing the automaton into the ground, leaving a large dent and the sound of sparking wires as a few wisps of smoke came out of it. Zebas returned to a normal position and dusted himself off "My apologies, master morgan, I did not expect for a training drone to have escaped..." he glared down the hallway a mare in a maid's outfit on the other end laughed awkwardly, blushing "Sorry, sir, I was cleaning it and it accidentally...." "That is no excuse. Be more careful next time." he kicked the robot "get this cleaned up, we have a guest" "yes sir! right away!" her horn glowed and she grabbed the robot and hurried off. Zebas sighed "The mistress has a large staff and despite some of them being... less competent than others, she refuses to fire them, saying they're all like family to her"

Sebas looked suprised at the question but then seemed to remember that morgan was not familiar with this world "the advancement of cybernetics are blurring the line between a pony's digital presence and an AI, so pony AIs specifically were made illegal to help clear the waters and prevent forgeries of living cybernetic ponies" he explained "Very well, a goat you shall have" he said "Bearnard?" a small translucent brown bear appeared on Sebas' back, wearing a top hat and monocle, sipping a cup of tea "Yes, sir?" "Please see to it that we locate a intelligence, goat AI module and have it delivered to our guest" The bear nodded, standing up on its back legs, manifesting a fancy cane "I shall get to it immediately" he said, hopping off Sebas' back and vanishing "He likes to make flashy entrances and exits" explained Sebas

Zebes stroked his beard in thought "I suppose I can make some calls... illegal black market AIs though are hard to come by... I suggest you take a standard AI for now and I can see if any of my contacts have any AI ponies they can move... your lucky the mistress likes you, this is going to be an expensive venture..." he said with a frustrated sigh, clearly not happy about doing this, but willing to help morgan in any way possible.

"Oh the armor will come from our personal armory, so you need not worry about that" explained Zebes "Now, for the AI, they come in different forms - that is they usually visualize using your smartphone's holographic projector or in more secretive times, using the screen or as we mentioned before, a heads-up-display. It is also possible to obtain a robotic body for them to inhabit. However, before we get to that, what kind of animal would you like? It can be anything from a reptile to a bird to a cat"

"Well, it depends on how big of a fall your planning to take" said Zebes "there are some large boots that can handle quite long falls, but they are also extremely bulky, if your only planning on jumping out of windows, then I believe we have something for you, though for greater falls you might consider simply upgrading to a pair of wings similar to the mistress's" he pressed the call button on the lift and it began ascending "Yes, a heads-up display, I'm not sure we have one of those on the ship given their fragile nature but if not we can take you to a shop where you can purchase one, all expenses being billed to the mistress, of course" he paused "As for the AI... are you looking for a casual companion, a battle-centric AI, or more of a research AI? Their abilities are slightly limited in terms of scope, the companion is more amicable and friendly but not too good on the battlefield or gathering information, while the battle AIs can be somewhat... aggressive... and the more research skewed AIs are a bit cold and distant, focusing more on information gathering and organization than their emotional core" he explained as the doors opened and he walked in, motioning for morgan to enter a well

Zebas took note of this as they left and once the door was close he smiled "Dont get too excited, the mistress is an unashamed flirt, but she only has eyes for one pony and you are not her" he cleared his throat "Now then, besides getting you fitted with some armor and weapons that dont belong in a museum, what else can I do for you?" he asked as they walked down a carpeted hallway looking like it belonged in a 5-star hotel, towards an elevator

Dash sighed "Its related to Rad" she explained "she could use symbols like that to do strange and wondrous magic... I keep hoping that... in case she really is...." dash sighed "...well... if nothing else I keep hoping another pony will show up from her world that understands that magic... we have some of her notes and things but even our greatest wizards and engineers cant make heads or tails of them" She crumbled up the paper and tapped a button on her remote Moments later a white stallion showed up at the door with grey mane and tail and a very well-kept bear and mustache, wearing a suit. He bowed "How can I be of Service, Ma'am?" "Zebas, this is Morgan, he is a friend of the family, I need you to help him in any way you can" Zebas nodded "Of course, it will be my pleasure" he stood and looked at the other stallion "Come, sir, we shall take our leave of Miss Dash and see about your... equipment..." Dash smiled a little "Thank you, Zebas" she then looked at the other pony "Morgan, thank you too" she said hugging him and finishing off with a huge kiss on the lips. Afterwards she pulled away, giggling a little. Zebas shook his head but smiled at Dash's antics "Come, Master Morgan, let us be off"

Dash nodded "alright, I'll get Zebas to help you, he's my head butler and also the second in command of this ship" she explained "oh wait!" she grabbed a piece of paper and quickly scribbled two overlapping triangles, one pointing up and one pointing down, in a circle "Does this mean anything to you?"

Dash opened her moth to speak, but when she did, she stopped moving. Everything stopped moving. Even morgan. He found himself completely unable to move himself and he would feel a immeasurably powerful, almost godly, presence behind him My, My, My.... Who would have thought that a no-name pony that got sucked into the gate would prove such a wild card? I'm sorry, but I should warn you, there are still some of us who value this rock called Terra and would prefer to see it kept safe. There are ways to save it that the arrogant and foolish dont comprehend. The Alchemist understood, she tried to help me save this land... and now you... maybe... there is still hope... With that everything was normal again, the world moved, Morgan could move, and the presence was gone. "Yeah I have something that I think will help you" said dash as she walked over to a table and picked up a small rectangular device "This smartphone is fully charged, so it should last about a month before you need to add more lay to it. My number is already in the contact list. If you want an AI module for it, I think we have some spare ones floating around or I can send somepony with you to buy one" she offered, much more cheery and upbeat now that they had moved on to talking about other things. This rainbow really did seem to have a lot of fluttershy's personality in her...

Dash sighed "...celestia... I think it would be easier for me to show you..." she pointed the remote at the screen again. This time the picture changed to a live broadcast, showing a mare sitting at a desk "Good evening equestria, I'm Manea Harding, and this is ENN" the camera shifted and she looked at it grimly "Our latest story is sure to tug at your heart strings, as the Dictator Celestia, the Sun Queen, oppresses her ponies even more. We go to our correspondent Daniel Hoofington for more. Daniel?" The screen faded and came back showing a huge almost-opaque magical barrier in some snow, stretching all the way to the horizon, with unicorn guards on top of it, looking angry and ready to attack. The camera then reversed the zoom, showing that it was a safe distance or close to a mile away from the wall "Thank you, Manea. Good evening, equestria, I'm Daniel Hoofington with the latest on what I'm calling, the littlest tragedy. Report came in that last night, the foal called Orange slice, has died. Those of you who have been following this story will know that Orange was born with a defective heart, something that here in the civilized world can be fixed quickly and easily with a replacement laytech heart, but withe the sunlands absolute zero-tolerance ban on laytech, the parents pleas fell on deaf ears and tonight, after having only lived to see three sunrises, little orange died of complications from his malformed heart." the reporter paused to allow viewers to grasp the scope of what he said "...but I'm afraid it does not end there. I have just received word that the Sun Queen publicly admonished the grieving parents, telling her whole kingdom what so-called 'sin' they had committed by wanting to use laytech to save their only foal. ...and as one might expect in the sun kingdom, a lynch mob formed as soon as the Queen left, and now there is not just the one grave to fill, but three...." he hung his head a moment before somberly saying "back to you, Manea" The screen switched back to the studio and the mare at the desk was shaking her head sadly "A true tragedy" the screens shifted and the anchor said "Now for a commercial break, and when we come back, another sighting of that mysterious blue lightning, this time near cloudsdale, and a special report on how you can retire early by investing in the right stocks!" Dash turned the screen back off "Celestia is a radical dictator of the far-north who bans any and all use of laytech in her lands... and every day her dispicable wall is expanding, claiming another foot of land from the rest of us... she's so dedicated to her crady ideas that she lets her ponies suffer and die..." Dash paused "That... is what has become of celestia" she said dramatically.

"Lets just say it would end with you drowning... over and over and over..." said Orchid sinisterly as they sped off towards the island. Indeed as the got nearer and nearer, the water turned more and more dark, tendrils of it seeming to be reaching up as if to grab Rainbow, and not only that, as they neared she would start to feel sick, as if she was coming down with a nasty cold... yeah, flying would have been a bad idea. Orchid opened a compartment and pulled out a pendant "put this on" she said, passing the strange amulet with a lightly pulsating gray stone in it. "It will protect you from the dark magic of the island for now. It wont last long though, a couple days at most" and indeed if Dash put the amulet on, she would immediately start feeling better and the ill feelings fade back to normal. The island itself was now coming into view, large Gothic buildings, mostly with a near monochrome palate of blacks and grays with only brief splashes of color. The jagged and pointy architecture looming dangerously as if the buildings themselves wanted nothing more than to kill every creature on the island... and reaching far into the sky, almost as high as the clouds, was the massive black castle... no doubt Luna's domicile.

"The only one I know who has power like that is Storm, he is likely the one who drug you here, and if he finds you, he will use you to destroy it." explained Orchid "My queen, Luna, may be able to help you, while I have never heard of her crossing worlds, her powers are vast and she may be of use. Please, come with me" with that she stood and began walking towards the machine again, climbing atop it and leaving enough room for Dash to climb on behind her.

"Is this some kind of joke, or did you bump your head?" but then she locked eyes with Dash and after a moment took a step back "...those eyes... they're not the eyes of a pony who... and your wings..." she paused, sighing and sitting down hard in defeat "I-I'm sorry, I mistook you for another rainbow dash, as did my queen, Luna. Ever since the Alchemist's disappearance... Mid has been... well... severely depressed. My queen thought you were Rad, finally returning and perhaps Mid's spirits would be raised, even a little..." after a moment she commented "If we met, it was in your world and it was not me, I am Orchid, There is probably a pony in your world much like me" she explained, but did not take off the helmet. "I'm afraid your now in a world similar, but very different to your own."

Dash sighed "I'm just a racer, not some politics scientist" she said, sincerely "but I can give you some basic info on some of them, and I can get a pony who can tell you more about the specifics. I have a large staff, some of them are ponies with an education in politics and history" she paused "From what Rad and others said... the main divergence in our world started around fifty years ago when Storm found some way to create the magic liguid called Lay" she walked over to the same machine and pushed another series of buttons and it dispensed a capped vial of a glowing blue liquid, which she handed to morgan "from what I understand, this is related to the energy unicorns use to cast spells and it sparked a revolution in technology. Today all technology runs off it... from our smartphones and TVs to life-saving laytech hearts and other organs that keep a lot of ponies alive... well almost all the tech. Rad found some way to power our tech without lay... which is important because the lay is running out" she explained "From there other points of divergence include the dark sea and Luna's island. Luna, or then Nightmare Moon did something horrible there - I dont really know the details, but she made what we call Dark Ponies - their like bat ponies but they can suck out a normal pony's soul, transforming that pony into a dark pony, and they use these souls to cheat death somehow. As you can guess some time after Nightmare Moon was banished, the dark ponies broke free of the secret island and started coming to the mainland, stealing souls... this lead to the shadow wars. That was why Luna was not welcome back to equestria when she finally escaped the moon, Even though now she's working hard to fix the mess she started. Somehow there was a piece of nightmare moon in every dark pony, and luna is now removing that. They're still Dark ponies and they still can chest death, but they cant steal souls anymore, and they arent as violent or evil... but its a slow process. Rad was working with Luna to try and find a way to cure all the dark ponies at once, since right now Luna can only cure them one at at time" She paused again "Any questions so far?" she asked

Dash reached over and picked up the remote and pointed it at the screen. An image came up showing a group of four ponies, three of which would look familiar to Morgan. One was clearly another Rainbow Dash, but she had massive dragon wings and wore a red hooded cloak, the hood pulled back, that had her cutiemark on the back of it. Oddly enough her eyes were not magenta but blood red, and despite the fact she was smiling, those eyes told the story of a pony who had been through a very hard life and done things she regretted. The second pony was a small orange filly with purple hair and tail, lacking a cutiemark, her eyes though instead of their familiar color were a piercing blue seeming to glow they were so light, she seemed happy and excited. The third pony was black of fur, mane, and tail, but had a grey skunkstripe in it of gray, with batwings and a horn, she wore a black low-cut bodysuit and boots along with three small hoops in the other sides of her ears and a pair of silver studs, 'snakebites', under her lower lip, her smile showed a mouth of fangs instead of normal pony teeth. It wouldn't take much to realize this was some batpony form of Twilight Sparkle. The fourth pony though, she was a mystery. Dark grey fur and blacke mane and tail, bat wings, and military fatigues, though in a black-and-gray cammo. This pony was not smiling but did not seem particularly unhappy and was standing especially close to the bat-pony-twilight, clearly sompony special to her. "This was a photo taken before they left on their mission" explained Dash, "As you see we have my sister, Rad, Scootaloo, Midnight Sparkle, and Dark Star, apparently now known as Nova and with some changes to her appearance, including now being a stallion" her voice cracked a little at first as she mentioned her sister "They were sent on a mission by that... by Storm to another universe to retrieve something-or-other for him. However just as they were pulled back, the universe collapsed... They were all presumed... d... d..." she paused a moment "gone" she finally said "that was a month ago. Roughly a week ago Mid returned, babling almost incoherantly, and after Luna spoke to her and calmed her down... well their mission had been wild and ended badly..." Dash sighed and closed her eyes "...Rad is still alive. She and I are linked in a way I cant explain... but I can feel her life essence... and... and dammit, she's a Rainbow Dash, we're the most awesome pegasai in any universe! If mid could make it back, I know rad could too!" This was the first time Dash swore, and the first time morgan would see that familiar fire in her eyes that was the signature of a Rainbow Dash. She might be more mild than he was used to but there was no question she was a true dash. "I dont know what happened. I dont know if Storm has her... or the Ice Queen... or Luna... or that psycho Celestia... or hell maybe she's even somewhere else like Stalliongrad or in the Redline... but I know she's alive... and your the only one who has no alliance to any of them. So I can trust you to look for her without hiding anything from me to appease your masters... I cant trust the others... not even Luna or even my old friends... dont get me wrong, I still love my friends, I speak with Chairman Applejack every other week and the Ice Queen even more often... but Rad was important. She had found some way to save our dieing world... and because of that, any or all of them might be hiding her away somewhere."

The black spec was nearing and if dash looked hard enough she could make out some strange machine with what looked like a pony riding it, both the pony's outfit, which seemed to be a form-fitting bodysuit and helmet, and the machine itself were black with accents of gray and neon green. The machine got near and just as it hit the beach, the pony on back leapt into the air, her wings fluttering gently so she landed without disturbing a single leaf. "So the great Alchemist finally returns, without Darkstar- I mean Nova... Mid wont be happy about that, but I'm sure she and Luna will both be glad to see you survived" The words sounded familiar, in fact it almost sounded like fluttershy's voice. However this pony... she was far slimmer than fluttershy, to say she was extremely thin would be an understatement, looking at this pony even with the skintight suit on would make most scream at her 'eat something before you starve to death!' it was a miracle that her body could move at all much less perform acrobatics like she did when she arrived. The pony looked at Dash expectantly, waiting for a response as if she knew her fairly well....

Dash nodded politely "nice to meet you" she said, but then sighed "yes, 'was' is right... after things settled down we kinda all drifted apart..." she paused though, looking a little suprised and a little upset "those... they weren't golems..." she looked pained "They were once ponies... they were the wonderbolts... storm took them and slowly twisted them into his own private police force... some of them got off better than others... I have an alliance with Soaren still... Lightning Dust was saved by my sister and last I heard was recovering... Spitfire..." she sighed "Spitfire completely lost her mind... she became a psychotic pyromaniac... she almost k... k..." dash struggled with the word "...she almost ended me and my family... if not for Rad..." She paused "I saw the way your looking at me. At my back. maybe this will better explain it to you..." she walked over to a small metal pedistol and pressed a series of buttons with her hoof. The ceiling slid away and a pair of robotic arms extended, reaching down to her back where he wings should be and pulling off what would best be described as highly realistic dust-covers, revealing large electronic ports on her back. The arms retracted into the ceiling and a new pair came down carrying what looked at first like amputated wings, but at closer inspection these wings were noticeably larger than usual and they shined of metal, and where they would usually attach to a pony's back were the male electronic connectors. the arms carefully positioned the wings and locked them in place, then retracted. Dash flapped the wings a few times then folded them up along her back and side like a normal pegasus would. "I lost my natural wings in an accident years ago, flying over a garbage dump not unlike the one we're over now. While it saddens me, it turns out that this was a blessing in disguise... as the world progressed, more and more racers were using cybernetic wings, if I had still had my own wings, I'd have been left behind and unable to compete" she spread the wings wide and glowing energy formed between the large metal 'feathers' turning into a forcefield. "This is the world your now in, Morgan. Your mind will soon be expanded" she paused dramatically, posing just as dramatically, before releasing the forcefield and letting the wings fold up again. She sighed and sat down "But the reason I need you..." she said, her eyes starting to redden a little as she forced back tears and steeled her emotions "I need somepony I can trust to find my sister."

Small slits on the side of the robot opened up and extended cylindrical shapes that spewed fire out the bottom, literally rocketing the robot and his occupant skyward. the other three followed suit. It took nearly a full minute to reach the airship, it was huge, it wasn't an exaggeration that a small town could be contained inside it. the ship itself was decorated in right colors, most of them pastel blue with quite a few small fountains that were releasing liquid rainbows into the bowls below. As the robots lead morgan inside the walls were still following the same pattern, with the ceiling painted to resemble clouds and occasional pillars that were also cloud-like. There were numerous pictures on the wall, some of which were animated, all of them showing a certain cerulean pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail as she won race after race, or simply lounged around or flew. It wouldn't take much brainpower to figure out who the owner of the Prismatic was... Indeed when they reached a central room, they would find the familiar sky-blue pony with rainbow mane and tail sitting on a large couch. the bizarre part though was that she seemed to be an earth pony with no wings! She was watching what appeared to be a massive moving painting that also emitted words! It looked like it was showing scenes from some kind of war, but as soon as morgan entered, the mare on the couch picked up a remote and turned it off. the screen turning black. "Thank you, you can all take your leave now" the robots remained only a moment more before they left, leaving the two in the same room. "Please forgive them, storms experiments tragically left them with barely enough intelligence to follow basic orders" she sighed sadly "I dont know if you know me, since your not from this world. My name is Rainbow Dash" she spoke very calmly and politely, a little quietly. In fact if morgan was familiar with the six 'heroes' he would likely feel that this pony was less like the rainbow dash of his world and in fact closer in demeanor to Fluttershy.