“Wa.... up”
“Wake..”
“Wake the fuck up!”
“She’s dead, leave her!”
A rough hand shook Celestia’s body, her eyes snapping open. A horrendously bright light assaulting her vision, only to be eclipsed by the head of a Human.
The Human turned his head to another unseen being, “No she’s not, she just out of it.”
“You have to move!” The massive figure yelled at her.
She was on her back, in a pile of rubble. She turned her head to see another Human, in armor that looked to be a copy of Johns’, partially hiding behind a wall, the Human took aim at some unseen force and fired his weapon, its base thumps reverberating through her body.
“She’s tougher than she looks I’ll give’r that!” The Human said.
She was manhandled and tossed away by the Human standing over her, barreling into another body, the sound of Luna screaming in surprise reached her ears. She saw a host of divots appear in the ground where she once was, dust kicking up with each impact, the sound of a whip crack following close behind.
The Human hiding behind the wall got up,letting loose a wave of gunfire, before twisting into a standing position back to cover, his back to the wall.
“We need to-” The rest of the Humans sentence was cut off as some unseen force came shattering though the metal wall next to his head.
Then a hand materialised itself over what would have been the Humans face were he not wearing a helmet.
Then to her horror the hand was drawn to the side, and the Humans’ Head violently rotated to the side, a sickening snap reaching her ears. The Humans’ body falling to the ground like a puppet without its strings.
Then what remained of the wall was forced to the ground, another massive Human clad in their characteristic armor, this one a mix of red and black.
The Human appeared to punch at the ground, then out of the Humans forearm, just behind the wrist, two blades of light appeared, casting off a blue gas as they moved.
The Human jumped at her.
:~:
“Ah!” Celestia’s eyes snapped open, she kicked at the blanket on top of her only succeeding to tangle it around herself as she fell out of the bed and onto the hard metal floor.
“Nightmare.... it was just a nightmare.” She said to herself, a chill clinging close to her form.
“Memories actually.” A voices rang out from all around.
Celestia looked around wildly, only to find that the room was unchanged and no one else was in it other than herself and her sister who was still floating in the air.
“Who’s there? show yourself Human!” She called to the air around her.
“Over here Celestia,” The voice now had direction and she turned around to see the same group of floating embers from before, “Also, don’t call me Human.” The embers shaking whenever the voice rang out.
“Who are you?” She asked, moving a little bit closer.
“The more accurate question would have been, ‘What are you?’, but to answer your question. I am the main AI for the 'Odyssey', you can call me ‘Ember’.” The hundreds of floating embers spinning around periodically.
“A...I?” Celestia said, not understanding ‘Embers’” words.
“Oh, sorry. AI stands for ‘Artificial Intelligence’. You can think of me as a mind without a body.... A ghost if you’re feeling.... antiquated.” Ember said.
“Are you alive?” She asked, moving closer feeling the heat coming off the embers.
“Technically, under UEG law I have the same rights as any living organism and I’m considered as ‘living’ as any other Human, but do I have the bodily functions that donates being considered ‘alive’, no. I am a machine, Celestia, I’m about ‘alive’ as that blanket.” Ember said, idly floating about the room.
“Oh...” Celestia shook her head, her pride about to take a big hit, “I need to... wash up.”
“I figured you would, I took the liberty of preparing a fully stocked bathroom that matches your.... biology, follow me please.” The AI floating to a section of the wall.
“What are you-” Celestia's question was cut off was a section of the wall... changed. It became almost see through, a normal looking bathroom on the other end, the section of the wall itself looking to have the consistency of jello.
“Go on, just step through.” Ember said.
Celestia simply looked at the.... door, not trusting the strange gateway at all.
“It’s just a nano-door, it won't hurt you.” The AI said.
“I’m not- Ah!” She was interrupted as an unseen force picked her up and tossed her through the..... door. The ‘wall’ going back to normal.
Whatever rebuke she was going to say as she caught herself in a mirror. She looked like her normal self except for one thing.
Her hair.
Her normally ethereal multi-tone hair was back to the one color light pink of her youth. She shook herself from the mirror and looked at the bathroom around her, slightly happy to have something to take her mind off everything, if only for a moment.
:~:
Celestia stood still as.... something dried her fur and hair, using her magic to comb through her now one color mane. She had happily discovered that at least her magic had been partially restored at some point, though it was hard to do even this, no doubt for the incident with John earlier.
“Ember? Can you let me out?” She asked to the air.
Just as the last word left her mouth the door became see through once more.
Celestia looked at the door with suspicion, before using her horn to poke at the film, a slight electric sensation sending shivers through her form. She closed her eyes and stepped through, it felt like water pushing on her wherever the ‘door’ passed over.
“That wasn't so bad no was it?” Ember asked, sounding smug.
Celestia did not answer the AI, instead she simply went to her sister side and placed a ear to Luna’s side, a smile gracing Celestia's face as she listened to the strong beat of Luna’s heart.
“Your sister is ok Celestia.” She heard Ember say.
“Then why is she not awake?” Celestia asked.
“Many reasons, the foremost one being its easier to deal with one of you panicking about everything then it would have been the two of you. James will talk more about you and your sister later on today.... He sent word that you should use the mainframe to read up and learn a bit, so you're not walking about like a child.”
“Earlier, you said that that nightmare was a memory. What did you mean? I don’t remember any of that.” Celestia asked.
“Your mind has many ‘blocks’ in it..... walls protecting you against the memories of a life you so long ago lived. They have..... degraded in these hectic times and your subconscious mind is slowly bringing them back.”
“Oh.... “ Celestia said, “Can you tell me about them.... Humans I mean.”
A images of a Humans appeared, one male the other female, “Humans, also known as Homo sapiens, are a race of primates the originated on Terra. They have expanded from their homeworld to control about sixty percent of the Milky Way. Achieving massive feats of technological advancement in that time.”
“Like what?” Celestia asked.
“Space flight for one, the ship we’re on is a stellar example. It can cross this galaxy in minutes..... if it’s drive was functioning. Others include the fact they they can make planets and stars from the raw materials around them. They can make installations hundreds of thousands of kilometers in diameter in short order. They could not make life from nothing, they are not gods, but.....guiding life into the paths they thought was best was trivial.”
“Why are they so.... violent.” She asked, her..... memories still fresh in her mind.
“Humans are not ‘violent’, their Humans. Humans thrive on competition, on..... one-upping each other. What you see as ‘violent’ they see as normal. The real world is not like the simulation you’ve lived in for so long, things are not black and white. Humans are a mixed bag, you’ll have some that will kill you without batting an eye, others still would happily sacrifice themselves so that you can live. You’ve had much experience with the latter. Though I would be lying if I said Humans are not a conflict bound people, it’s in their nature.”
“In their nature? How can killing each other so callously be ‘In their nature’?” Celestia asked.
“Trust me, most Humans want nothing to do with war. Humanities conflict with itself was the product of an unavoidable causality, one that you have yet to truly experience. Do not judge them for something you’ve yet to go through yourself, they did the best they could with the cards fate dealt them.”
“Then help me understand.” Celestia said.
“Trust me when I say this, watching a modern day Human conflict, in its fullest expression, would drive you insane.” Ember said, getting brighter for a moment.
“I’ve seen conflict before.” Celestia said back.
“Ha! What you call a full on war, a Human would call it a bar fight. In Human skirmishes, entire worlds can be wiped from the face of the universe. We still don’t know what happened in the Second Fall, the last full on conflict, swaths of stars are missing from the night sky. I can still see the scars that conflict left on the universe.” The AI said spinning around in the air.
That left Celestia to silence for a moment.
“You said this trip has been on for nearly ten thousand years... How long does a Human live?” Celestia asked.
“The answer is subjective. Humans can chose to be immortal, though most chose only chose to live as long as they want to.”
“Why would you, if immortality is within your grasp, chose to die?” Celestia asked perplexed.
“You see death through eyes full of fear, fear of the icy grip of deaths embrace. Some would say that immorality is the most horrendous curse that can be placed on a sentient being. Humans see death as a new beginning, even they do not know what happens when we die. Some Humans believe they go to a paradise, or a hell, depending on the actions of their lives; some believe nothing happens, that only a timeless sleep awaits the dead. By no means do Humans wish to leave the world of the living before their time, but when they are ready, they greet death like an old friend.” Ember said.
“Those are.... wise words.” Celestia said after a moment of thought.
“You have..... much to learn about them Celestia.” Ember said, after a moment the AI spoke once more. “The Captain, James, John, and a..... guest wish you to join them for a meal, to take a step towards peace as it were.”
Celestia nodded after a moment.
:~:
Celestia found herself seated at a table, a plate of greens in front of her that she had been gradually eating for the short time she had been sitting. The Three Humans eating a mix of greens and..... meat. The ‘Captain’ a tan skinned Human as tall as John, Del Marco, she found his name to be, was a good man thus far. He greeted her with a handshake and a knowing nod.
She turned her head as the rooms nano-door rippled, and her heart skipped a beat.
Despite its strange form, she recognised it instantly.
Queen Chrysalis.