"Fer Alien Beer, it's not half bad." Storm said from next to me at the ships bar. It was oddly… homey. Lots of tables made of woods shelves stacked high with various liqueur, and keeping this place going was some… creature.
He was bipedal like a minotaur, but lacked the horns or muzzle of one. He was without a coat but had a we'll kept combed brown mane on his head. He was dressed in a red and black outfit. "Actually, that's Equestrian beer." The being said as they cleaned the glass mugs.
“Really? What year was it made then?” I inquired.
"Well, if you mean when was it brewed, it's only a few weeks old. So fresher than the piss you poor fellows have been drinking that's for sure." The creature laughed. He had a calming, confident and charismatic charm in his voice that made me feel… safe, cared for and trusting of them. Like an old friend.
“Cheers to that.” I said with a smile, raising my glass up and taking a swig of this amazing booze. “I especially needed this after the shit I had to go through…”
"I heard. Sorry about your teach there little Birdy. War is the bad apple of the bunch, and try as the others might he escapes every time." It spoke as it refilled my mug and then returned it filled with foamy goodness.
“Thanks, and...yeah, from what the others told me.” I sighed out. “But you sound like you have… experience with them.”
"You can say that." He said said as he refilled Storm's mug. "Known them for the better part of the last 82 million years."
“Discord’s ballsack, that’s a long time.” I said in surprise.
"Not really." He said as he gave the mug back to Storm and then started cleaning some more empty mugs. "To you, I guess it is, for things akin to myself
and those four, it ain't too terribly long."
“Jeez.” I frowned, taking another swig of my drink. “And here I was hoping for a simple excavation on pre-equestrian history...not accidentally setting off the end of the world…”
"Eh, it happens." The creature shrugged. "At least ya can mess around with all the crap these guys collected over the eons. Shit here that will make you question your understanding of how reality functions."
“I’m already questioning enough as is…” I grumbled. “Seriously, and here I thought the End War was bad enough…”
"Heh. It's not all bad really. Most things here will give you a taste of the rest of creation."
“First learning the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are real, then learning their aliens...now I’m learning about creation?” I took a big drink of my really good booze. “The hell did I sign up to…”
"Something that's gonna make you a regular." He said, quickly refilling my mug for me. "And I don't charge."
“Thank Celestia.” I sighed out thankfully. “Cause with how much I might drink...I don’t know if I’d have enough to pay…”
"Same." Storm agreed. We clanked mugs and chugged.
We stayed there for a while, enjoying fresh, cold booze and getting fairly buzzed before we walked around the ship. Leaving the bar we wandered around until we came across a storage room. "F… fuck is in this." Storm said, half slurred as he popped the lid off one of the trunks. Inside the big trunk is what looked like more boxes.
“Woo, m-more boxshes…” I slurred a bit at seeing all the box’s.
We picked a few out and opened them, finding what looked like… batteries? They seemed to pulsate with a deep blue glow.
“I...don’t remember batteries glowing blue…” I muttered.
"Maybe… they're m-hic-magic batteries?" He chuckled, touching the top of the battery. Every hair of fur, mane and hair, even on his feathers stood up as if charged with static electricity. "Heh, tickles."
“Floofy.” I giggled drunkenly. “M-maybe...we’re a little too drunk to be looking at this stuff…”
"N-nonsense." He brushed off, tossing the battery back into the trunk. Opening the next trunk revealed a lot of slamm golden totems with emerald eyes. "The Fuck er these for?"
“Uh...no idea…” I said, trying to get myself together in some capacity to even know what the hell I’m looking at.
After staring into the green eyes of the little golden things for a while, I tossed them aside and opened the next trunk. Inside was a whole lot of books.
“Well...at least I’ll figure all this fancy crap out…” I muttered, thankful to see a whole lotta books in good condition.
Storm chuckled drunkenly. "Ner-hic-rd~" He teased.
I rolled my eyes, taking a book out and opening it.
"EEEEERRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Screamed the sudden flaming skull from within the book's bindings.
I slammed it shut fast.
"... Either we are way drunker than we thought, or these books are fucking cursed…" Storm said, suddenly more sober like myself.
“Uh...huh…” I started nervously. “What...what the hell is this book?” I asked nervously, looking for a title on this thing.
'The Screams of the Rageful' Volume 3.
"Huh… accurate." Storm said.
“If only one of those three decided to stay here and show me around instead of galavanting to who knows where…” I muttered.
Storm pulled up a different book. "Threats from Demons. Volume 2." He read aloud, opening it.
"I WILL DRINK YOUR SPINAL FLUIDS MORTAL!!" Screamed the sudden head of a burned mares head with four horns and a gorged out eye.
He rapidly closed it. "Yup. Not touching these ever again." He tossed the book back into the trunk and then slammed the lid shut.
“Sweet Luna…” I grumbled. “The hell are with these books?”
"Freaky alien books." Storm muttered. He opened up the next trunk and inside this one was… Trumpets? "Huh. They should really label these things."
“Uh…” I started. “Why is there a skeleton holding one?” I asked nervously, seeing a skeleton in the trunk holding a trumpet up to its mouth.
"Doot Doot." Went the trumpet in the skeleton’s hands.
"Is it weird I didn't even notice that thing Until now?" Storm asked as he closed the trunk. "You'd think there'd be more, I dunno, useful stuff here."
“I mean...there might be some useful stuff but...we’re kind of drunk and we don’t have people to explain this shit…” I grumbled.
"True." Storm shrugged. The next trunk held what looked like bags of chips. I couldn't read the label and opening them came a rush of a very strong artificial cheese smell. I took one out, finding it weird they were triangle shaped. "Think it's even safe to eat. I mean, is it even food?"
“I mean...it smells like cheese…” I frowned. “We’d have to ask...again…”
"I doubt that barkeep alien actually leaves that part. Hmm, well, if there is that… thing, here, then there should be a crew around here too right?"
“Or the ship can tell us if it has power.” I mentioned.
"The… ship?" He asked.
“Yes, the entire structure is a ship...somehow.”
"And… you think it can tell us things?"
“Well, if it has an onboard computer system than most likely.” I nodded. “Just...might need to either turn it back on or supply it with power.”
"Right. And how would we do that Nerd Bird?"
“Fucked if I know, I still barely understand whatever the hell’s going on…”
"Maybe we should look for a barracks or crew quarters and see if there actually is anyone else here."
“Yes we should.” I nodded. “It’s gonna be a pain in the ass to find but...hopefully it won’t take forever.”
With that goal in mind we explored floor by floor of this place. There was a fair amount of storage rooms, each one seemed bigger than the last. I think we also passed the armory and medbays. Eventually we finally reached what seemed to be a long hallway with various rooms.
So far all of them were empty. "So what, the barkeep survived but not the crew?" Storm huffed.
“I...don’t think the barkeep was a part of the crew though…” I started. “Something about it...that place...my instincts said it was ‘homey’...not like this place.”
"Well, aren't all good bars supposed to feel that way?" Storm asked as opened the next door. We stood there staring at the entity before us. They looked… kinda like the Barkeep, but hairless, with red skin and patches of metal on their body. They wore some kind of green outfit with a golden cape.
“Uh...hi there.” I said to the new person.
"Hello." They replied. Their voice was rather… nice, kind sounding. And a bit… artificial? "I was unaware we had guests. Are the Captains awake?" It asked us.
"Ya mean Pestilence, Death and Famine?" Storm asked.
"Yes. I was unaware they were going to reawaken." It stated.
“They’ve been awake for...maybe a day?” I guessed. “And...well War’s also out sadly.”
"What?!" They stood up in shock. "How did I not…" He placed two of his appendages to the side of his head. I think Minotaurs call them fingers? "The primary systems are all down? How did that happen?" They pondered mostly to themselves.
“Well...as far as I’ve learned, this place has been shoved into the ground for more than a thousand years, if not more.” I explained.
"Ah. So it seems the plan failed." He said, now pacing around the room. "Well, that isn't good. Not at all. Well, at least War, along with the rest of them are weak after that last battle."
"They're weak?" Storm asked. "How? Famine bit off Plory's arm like taffy." The Pegasus motioned to my now fleshy and possibly metallic limb.
“And...well the only reason why I’m alive is whatever the fuck Pestilence had to replace my heart…” I started. “How are they weak?”
"Welp, last time someone other than them woke her up all that was left was a foot. And normally Pestilence would have given you a fully evolved parasitic symbiote rather than the fledgling in your chest."
"Okay, well, how long until they regain their full strength?" Storm asked.
"Hmm, last time they fought like this to capture and imprison War, they're full powers returned after… ten years."
"Ten years?!"
"Might be more on this planet. I'll have to compare the yearly rotations to this planet and the last."
“Well...we have plenty of time before War starts trying to fuck everything up.” I said honestly.
"Hopefully. So, are you two part of the crew now?" The red being asked.
“Uh...no idea, cause the moment everyone woke up, they all just kinda...fucked off.” I frowned.
"Hm. Well, we do need more staff." His eyes flashed yellow for a second. "Scans show only other life forms aboard aside we three, are in the Zoo. Majority of them won't be of help either. Well then, as first mate of this vessel, I dub you two the newest members of the crew. Welcome aboard the Eternity."
“Ironic considering its current state.” I joked.
"Quite. So, your name is Plory if I heard right." They pointed at me. "And you are…?"
"Storm Cloud." Storm informed.
"Alright then, Plory, Storm Cloud. My name is Vision."
“Nice to meet you Vision.” I nodded. “So how do we start up this ship?”
"We will have to restart the engines." His eyes flashed yellow again. "Engines one through nine are in need of a jumpstart. Engines ten through sixty are thankfully fine."
"This ship has sixty engines?" Storm asked.
"For now, yes." Vision informed.
“I know this is a spaceship but...don’t you think that’s overcompensating by a lot?” I asked.
"No. Actually it's well within the current parameters of the ships current power consumption needs." Vision stated, suddenly levitating an inch off the ground and placing both their arms behind their back. "This way." He said, floating passed us and back into the hallway.
“Uh...alright.” I shrugged, following after Vision carefully.
"So… where are ya from Vision?" Storm asked as we followed them back into the elevator. Vision pressed a button and we began to descend.
"Originally I came from a planet known as Earth. My creation took place on it's soil about four million years ago." Vision informed.
“Damn.” I blinked. “I didn’t think it would have been that long ago…”
"Many have said the same thing through the ages. The species that built me, Humanity, long since soared to the stars and began co-existence with the rest of the universe. I, for a time, looked after them. A living archive of their history and of the planet now long gone. But, they began to interbreed with various compatible races amongst the stars. Soon it was hard to tell who even had human genetics in them from other various life forms. I traveled for a while, reviewing and studying other races, species. It's around then I ran into the Captains. War had escaped again, and his Demon race was laying waste to yet another planet. I'd already helped fend off one genocidal madman in the past, and seeing War brought back memories of a life from so long ago. I jumped in without hesitation, and helped the Captains win that battle. When it was done, they welcomed me happily. Few beings in existence can have a form of longevity like mine or in the Captains case, immortality. So we long lived beings prefer to stick together. I've been with them ever since."
“And what’s that stone in your forehead?” I asked, pointing to the glowing yellow gem in the ancient robot's forehead. “Is it an artifact from this...Earth of yours?”
"This?" He tapped it. "No, it's not from Earth. This is called an Infinity Stone." He stated. "One of six. They were created back then the universe exploded into being. Each one controls one of the six primal forces of this reality. This one is for Mind."
"How is Mind a primal force?" Storm asked.
"The Mind stone gives one, like myself, amazing and near limitless psionic abilities. I can phase myself through nearly any form of matter, shoot a laser beam from it. Sometimes it even gives me these… warnings, or foreshadowing. Not always though. Seems it also likes to hibernate for years at a time. Plus, in small tests I've learned it can even bestow primal, mindless races with sentience."
"In ponish that means?" Storm looked over at me.
“In ponish terms, he’s a God of Psionics, he’s able to see the future sometimes, and he could possibly give a wild animal the ability to talk and be a person.” I explained carefully.
"Ah. And have you done that often?" Storm asked Vision.
"Several. Including your own species." Vision replied plainly.
Storm and I did a double take up at Vision as the doors opened and he casually floated out.
“What...in Celestia’s name did we get ourselves into?” I muttered. “What other cosmic threats are there considering you’ve been at this for...four million years?”
"Well, that depends. If you mean still alive in this reality… nine."
"Huh. Thought it would be more." Storm sighed.
"Nine octillion." Vision finished.
"..." Storm looked over at me. "And that's… a lot?"
“It would have been six times larger than the entire planet’s population before the war.” I answered. “And...you said ‘this reality’...”
"Well, yes. Many other threats stem from other realities, timelines, dimensions. Frankly if it's a possibility it exists somewhere and if it's deadly then it's a potential threat. Thankfully we don't get too many threats from either of those."
As we followed Vision into the new room- Sweet Celestia's flanks…
The room was… how…
"Uh, Vision?" Storm asked. "How big is this ship?"
"Hm? Well, the exterior of the ship is approximately the size of your nearby Settlement of Ponyville, however the interior of the ship is four times that of your own planets surface."
Storm and I were looking at engines bigger than mountains. In a room that seemed like it went on forever.
“So...why haven’t I had a mental breakdown at the sheer size and...all the world shattering revelations I’ve had in the past day and a half?” I asked, my voice shaking a bit as I was just...beyond overwhelmed at everything.
"That would be your new symbiote heart. While your brain and other glands are most likely pumping excessive chemicals and such throughout your body, your Symbiote is consuming the excess."
“So...it’s keeping me calm and making sure I don’t die from shock?” I asked in surprise.
"As well as eats excess cholesterol, some toxins, and regulates how fast to pump your blood when needed."
“Wow.” I said. “That’s really good to hear.”
"Almost jealous." Storm chuckled.
The first engine had a small, manageable terminal next to it. Vision began to type and mess with some items on the control panel. "Hmm. Well, the good news is that the internal star cells are all fine. Should only take a moment to get full power back online."
“Well...that’ll definitely help.” I nodded. “It’s certainly gonna scare the shit out of the locals though.”
"What will?"
“The ship suddenly turning on and flying around.” I brought up. “Hell, even the start up might shake the ground with how much energy it might produce.”
"Actually the startup is undetectable from the exterior of the ship." Vision said. Suddenly all the engines, or the ones we could see, glowed with a near blinding blue light from various vents as long tubes seemed to spark with electricity into massive city sized wall sockets. "And engines are back online and power is reaching peak efficiency."
The room suddenly glowed with large lights that lit up the entirety of the room and everywhere.
“I’m surprised to see it working after all this time, coming back to life without much of a hassle.” I said in awe.
"Doubt pre-war tech would have pulled that off." Storm said. "Uh, Vision… when you said Star cells, did you mean… actual stars?"
"Yes." He nodded as he began to float back to the now well lit hallway and elevator.
"So… each engine…"
"Is powered by ten dwarf stars within their housing and keep them in a temporal loop so they do not die and explode into a supernova or black hole."
“That kind of engineering should be physically impossible.” I started.
"One thing you'll learn about quickly working on the Eternity Ms Plory," Vision started as he pushed a button on the elevator. "The only impossibility in this or any reality, is Impossibility itself."
"Makes as much sense as anything else here…" Storm huffed.
“So…” I started. “How is War a threat when...all of this is available?”
"He can survive it all and come back repeatedly." Vision started. "The demon race also only listens to him and there is no weapon he can't craft and use with absolute mastery."
“Well...I suppose that’s why he’s called ‘War’...” I frowned.
"So how do the letters beat him?" Storm asked.
"Armies, using his own weapons against him, and their skills. There is no disease Pestilence can't craft, no insect or vermin he can't control, and nothing organic he can't modify or mutate. Famine can consume entire planets, however, her blood can terraform even airless wastelands into lush fertile gardens ripe with life. And Death, well, he matches War in every way in terms of combat, and aside from his family, there is no being in this reality that can kill. Or, revive." Vision informed.
“Well...that sounds right.” I nodded. “So uh...when I read about them, being the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...I didn’t expect anything about how they are personality wise…”
"No one ever does. Save for War, he pretty much lives up to what you expect. So, seeing as you two are new, I assume a tour is in order?"
"Yes please." Storm nodded. "We were examining one of your storage rooms and found… a lot of random stuff."
"Hmm?" He hummed, his eyes flashing yellow again. "Ah, storage room AA-55. Very well." He pushed a different button and we were soon in the storage room we were at when we were drunk.
We approached the first trunk we opened. "So, what are these?" Storm asked as he picked up one of the blue batteries.
“They look like batteries but uh...we were kind of drunk at the time.” I said sheepishly.
"Well, you aren't wrong. These batteries are made from a special crystal deposit more commonly found in asteroids. They generate a fair amount of raw energy and even after draining seem to self recharge themselves after giving them a resting period. They're commonly used in various electronics amongst the cosmos and some weapons even utilize their raw energy. The Backup Engines and the Temporal Loops In the main engines are even powered by these and their sister gems." Vision explained.
"Huh...cool." I said simply. “Glad to know these are the worlds best battery’s ever.”
We then walked over to the chest with all the gold and emerald eyed totems. "And what about these things?" Storm asked.
"Totems of undying." Vision informed.
“So...they keep people from dying or something?” I asked curiously.
"Precisely." He said. "So long as you have one either in hand or on your person, it will prevent a death. Each one only has one use. World we got these on was quite interesting."
We then came across the trunk of books. "Ah. I was wondering where these went." Vision said as he picked up a book. He opened it and the second the decayed face popped out, he slapped it and it vanished.
Storm chuckled. "Wait, just like that?"
"It's just a simple fear spell. Meant as protection for the tombs."
“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “So what’s in the books?” I asked, now that the fear spell is gone I was super excited to learn what was in them.
"These are tombs from an old friend of mine. When he passed he left them for me to look over. When the earth was to be consumed by the sun I took them with me into the stars, as well as a fair amount of other trinkets and personal treasures from friends long gone. They contain the incantations and preparations for summoning various other dimensional beings."
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
"Yes. He was the protector of the mystic arts and this reality."
"Who were they?" Storm asked.
"Doctor Steven Strange, the greatest, and last Sorcerer Supreme of earth."
“Seems a little strange...uh, no pun intended there.” I said nervously. “But in our history, the most magical beings on this world were nigh immortal...what happened to Doctor Strange?”
"He grew tired. True, he, like I, outlived many friends, students and family… but he grew tired of living. In the end it was just him and I, and he gave to me all his arcane knowledge, secrets and artifacts. A month later, he finally passed away from old age. He was going on six thousand years old when he passed."
“Sounds like old records of dragon’s.” I started, finding that parallel even more sad considering I’m talking to one of his old friends.
"I suppose."
We finally came across the last chest we opened before leaving. "So, are these chips or what?" Storm asked.
Vision simply picked up the opened bag, took out one of the triangle things, and ate one. "Yes. An old earth snack food. Oddm, these should be in food storage though. Must have been misplaced from the production level."
“Are they actually safe for people like us?” I asked carefully. “Cause well...your an ancient...sentient machine…” I took a deep breath, still thankful for my new symbiote heart for not making me flip the fuck out about that. “I’m never going to get over all this…”
Rather than respond, Vision popped a chip into my beak. It was a cheesy, salty and crunchy thing the likes of which I have never experienced before and it's delicious. "Yes." He said, handing me and Storm a bag each before he walked us to the next set of boxes.
“Okay...yeah that’s really good.” I said honestly.
"Anything is better than two hundred year old stale chips." Storm replied as he ate some.
We rapidly ate the snack chips then opened a new chest filled with Something I was familiar with. "Some gun parts, from earth. They seem to belong to a Glock 10 millimeter."
"Least it's fairly similar to what we know." Storm said as he basically inhaled the last of his chips. I forget ponies are such salt addicts.
“At least there’s some commonality.” I said at seeing all the gun parts.
Looking between the parts here and Vision. Looks like they're pretty identical to Griffon firearms. Meant to be held and fired from the class or hands, in these humans' case, over by mouth or magic like most pony and zebra arms.
The next few crates held the same for various arms. Some human, some other species.
We soon came across parts for vehicles and machines from all sorts of crazy things and such.
With storage being done with curiosity wise. We next went to the Armory, at Storm's request.
It was a large room with a dark black metal plating along the walls, but was well lit and oddly barren. "Shouldn't an armory have, well, weapons?" Storm asked.
“Either War took all of them, or the weapon’s are somewhere else.” I brought up.
"No, they're here." Vision brought up, tapping his foot twice as suddenly a holographic screen appeared before us. "Anything of preference?"
Storm and I looked at one another.
“Uh…” I started. “What...kind of weapons and armor do you have?”
"The Armory has several billion weapons and armor across space, ammunition, and can easily craft, modify and upgrade any armament across this and ten other dimensions." Vision informed.
I damn near fell over at hearing that. “Excuse me what?”
"So… where are these weapons?" Storm asked.
Vision tapped a few 'buttons' on the Holo screen and suddenly several lines appeared along the walls floor, and ceiling of the room and soon various shelves and racks emerged from every corner of this massive room. "Right here. The rest are kept in the Matter-Mass Computer servers."
“Sweet Luna...” I muttered in awe at all the choices.
"Anything we can use?" Storm asked.
"I can have the computer modify and rebuild some that will be compatible with your biology and combat equipment." Vision said as he seemed to type some things and all the shelves and racks retracted and soon a single one rose up next to us.
I watched slack jawed as small beams of light seemed to build up Griffon and pony weapons from seemingly nothing and continued to stare as they floated against the rack wall without any hooks or strings.
“Uh…” I was honestly speechless at what I was witnessing.
Storm seemed to be in the same boat, just eyeing the weapons seemingly being made by laser lights.
"Something wrong?" Vision asked.
“There...was nothing like this...ever.” I said. “Even before the Bombs…”
"Hm. I suppose it would seem Impossible or is some pure form of magic. Well, technically it's both magic and technology in perfect hybridization, but that's besides the point. Anything of note you'd like?"
“I...I don’t even know where to start considering… anything can be made here…” I said in awe.
"Hmm… well, anything to your preference is available."
"Does… that include weapons already existing here on this planet?" Storm asked, equally as awestruck as me.
"Hm. I can have our satellite grid scan the planet for all weapons and their records for anything weapon like throughout your worlds history from shortly after our burial to the present."
Did… I hear that right?
“You...really have a satellite system around our entire planet?” I asked in surprise.
"Yes. After we crashed we sent ten Satellites into high orbit around your planet and cloaked them from all forms of detection. After a bit of research we determined this planet once did house a thriving, primitive form of life, your ancestors, but a meteor impact wiped them all into extinction rendering the planet lifeless but still habitable. Some samples from various fossils and some genetic reconstruction and cloning later the species living here today were made from the literal ashes of the species before. None seemed to have any form of intelligence so I used the Mind Stone to grant it to all of them. They helped us capture and seal away War and we had hoped to be buried until this planet met its end naturally."
"Wait, so Ponies, Griffons, Diamond Dogs, Changelings, Zebras… all of us were originally an extinct species you revived?!" Storm said in shock.
"Yes. And after all was said and done your ancestors were all free to live about upon the planet as you all pleased."
“This...is some really heavy stuff.” I said, not believing I’d get the history lesson of a lifetime here.
"We actually have a large population your still primitive ancestors aboard in the Zoo. We keep all kinds of DNA samples and live specimen's aboard to prevent a species wide extinction. We find it's better than letting an entire planet's ecosystem perish." Vision added, his eyes flashing yellow again. "The Satellites have just sent in their recorded data. It should only take the ship a few hours to scan it all and render our modules of every weapon your various races ever crafted."
"Damn." I said. "Stars...this...I'm excited to learn all this stuff but...it feels like it's too much…"
"Well there is time for an adjustment period. We can take a week. By then I imagine the Captains will be finished with their fun."
"Hopefully…" I grumbled. "Seriously, just ditched us after they woke up like we'd figure out everything by ourselves…"
"Yes, sadly the captains are not the mentoring type. They much rather prefer the-" His eyes flashed yellow. "Intruders entering the main entrance." He said, suddenly flying off like the wind itself. When he returned he was holding two familiar cyborg diamond dogs by their scruffs. "Do you know these canines?" He asked.
I looked at Greg and Clipper, the two diamond dogs were a mix of confused and terrified.
"I know those two." I said. "Their friends, let them in." I said quickly.
He dropped them. "The Fuck happened while we were asleep?!" Greg asked/shouted.
"Clipper is… very confused." Clipper stated.
Storm and I gave a fair recap of everything that's happened and what is apparently happening. Vision adding bits and pieces there when needed.
"... I'd like a raise." Greg stated.
"Clipper would also like a raise." Clipper stated.
"There's a free bar on ship." Storm stated simply.
"That works." The two dogs replied simultaneously.
"I'm really sorry you two, it's been...a trying day and a half to say the least." I said sheepishly.
"Clearly. Though, I am interested in what this ship and the technology aboard can do to benefit everyone. Well, if we can fend off this War Griffon." Greg stated.
"From what we've learned...it could help revolutionize this entire planet and get it back on track." I said simply. "And...we also learned that it might take up to ten years before extraordinarily bad things happen."
"So there's time, but it seems like despite it looking long it really ain't." Storm added.
"My advice would be to train and learn about what we have that can aid you in your mission." Vision informed.
"Which is a metric fuck ton of stuff." I said honestly. "From all corners of space...stars that sounds both great and weird…"
I sat in what was now my room in the crew quarters of the ship. The door showed glowing yellow letters that now showed my name on it. Inside the room was a fair amount of items. Possibly from a prior occupant. Books from an alien world in an alien language lined the nearby shelves. Random trinkets and odd objects were placed about and decorated the walls and smaller hanging shelves. A desk with some strange built in computer rested near the bed which thankfully, the bed looked like a normal bed.
"It kinda sucks that I can't read half this crap…" I sighed out.
"Adjusting well?" I looked up, seeing Vision at the door. "Brought a trunk for you to store all this old stuff." He said, pulling a fair sized trunk that seemed to levitate off the ground half an inch.
"I am, but all the knowledge and...I can't read jack shit." I frowned.
"Hm." Vision nodded. "Perhaps I can help with that?" I raised an eyebrow as he placed two fingers to my forehead. His Mind Stone glowed bright for a second when it finished he walked over, picking a book then handing it to me.
I looked at the title. 'Moby Dick'.
Wait, what?!
"You can do that!?" I asked incredulously.
"I did invent the way your species mind thinks and processes intelligent thought. Programming in memories of several thousand alien languages only required the smallest altercations to the flow of how your brain processes and registers information." Vision informed.
Several… thousand...
“Uh…” I felt my right eye twitch at hearing just how many alien languages I just learned immediately.
"Something the matter?"
“Getting a thousand different languages in my brain all at once…” I started. “Shocking…to say the least.”
"Hm. I suppose. Well, have fun reading. Just let me know when you've packed the rest of the items away."
With that, Vision left and I decided to enrich myself with alien literature.
…
…
…
…
"Uh, Plory?" I looked up, eyes burning as I rubbed them. Once that stopped and I looked I spotted Storm at my door. "You good?"
“Yes, yes I am.” I nodded. “After a bit of reading, I feel much better.” I answered. “Anything happen while I was reading?”
"No I was just checking up on ya. Been in here for a… few hours." The Pegasus replied. "Thought you might have gotten hungry."
Before I could say anything, my stomach growled in confirmation. “Well...yeah.” I said sheepishly.
"Figured. You have been in here for seven hours."
I blinked at that, looking at the book I was reading and I realized I now had a fair pile next to me. Huh.
“Uh...well alright then.” I said honestly. “I didn’t think I would have read all that in seven hours…but damn was it all good.”
"Heh. Didn't know you could read alien." He said as I flew next to him and we began walking towards the Cafeteria. It was on the same floor as the crew quarters so it was a short walk.
“Well I originally couldn’t, but then Vision gave me the ability to read...over a thousand different languages.” I told him.
"Shit, seriously?" I nodded. "Doubt I'm ever not gonna be surprised by what this place can do. As is I'm still half expecting to go ta sleep and wake up from a bad chem induced fever dream." He chuckled.
“Same here my friend.” I sighed out. “At least then things would at least make more sense than having your entire worldview destroyed again and again…”
We walked to the cafe and I marveled at how I could now read the signs.
Various lines offering food from shiny, chrome like machines and one that looked like a pre-war coffee machine. Well, sorta, it had what looked like a keyboard in place of coffee selection buttons. "So, uh, anything here we can eat?" He asked me.
“Uh...no idea…” I started, looking at all the shiny chrome machines and wondering what they did and how we could get food from them.
We walked over to one. Arriving in the "line" suddenly a flash of light and there was… some weird looking robot with lots of mechanical arms descending from the ceiling. It seemed to observe us for a while before finally it spoke in a surprisingly organic voice. "What would you like for your meal?"
“Uh...what is there to eat?” I asked curiously.
"What would you like to eat?" It repeated.
"Uh… waffles?" Storm asked.
The robot seemed to turn as the machine began to make some kind of whirling noise and suddenly previously hidden panel opened. The robot took out a metallic plate and fork with four stacked waffles covered in syrup, butter and topped with whipped cream. "Enjoy your meal." It said as it gave the plate to Storm.
"I most certainly will!" Storm said happily as he took the plate.
“Can you make me a Medium Well T-Bone Steak?” I asked.
The panel closed up, the machine whirled again and when it opened the robot handed some a plate with a nice, inch thick T-Bone seasoned perfectly with garnish even as well as a knife and fork. "Enjoy your meal." The robot said.
I sniffed the freshly made steak and shuddered in pure bliss. “Oh I’m going to enjoy this to no end…” I said as I grabbed the plate. “Thank you.” I nodded with a smile as I flew off to a table, ready to demolish this steak like it’s my last meal.
It. Was. Amazing. So rich and meaty and juicy. I haven't had cooked meat this good in years! Maybe even ever!
"Growing up, my family lived in a renovated old diner." Storm said, taking another large bite from his waffles. "And the menu was printed on the wall. Grew up looking at this kinda faded but delicious looking photo of waffles. Looked around but never found any packages from the pre war and never found anyone who could cook them. It's as tasty as I imagined."
“I’ve only had steak like...a couple times in my life, and the rest it was told about in Pre-War cookbooks or the chef’s own personal views...but it’s never been this good…” I said, taking another piece and eating it, shivering in delight.
"Don't Griffons usually eat meat in their diets? Lot of old Wasteland Era pony folks still do from what I hear."
“I was raised by a single pony mother...so meat was few and far between sometimes.” I answered.
"Oh. How'd that happen? Met only a few Griffons in my time and they are pretty protective of their eggs and hatchlings."
“My mom found me at The Hoof…” I sighed out. “Barely old enough to talk to...but she found me in that hell hole and took me in as one of her own…”
"Oh. I've heard some horror stories about that place. Both before and after Gardens, still a bit of a warzone." Storm admitted. "You grow up there?"
“How I hatched from there or left for dead I have no idea, all I know is that mom picked me up and ran as fast as she could back home.” I shrugged.
"Oh. You ever wonder about it?" Storm asked. "How you got there and where you came from?"
“I have, especially considering how I managed to survive The Hoof as chick all things considered.”
"Sounds like you were one lucky bird. Any… siblings?"
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Single child, both from my previous parents and mom.” I said simply.
"Huh. So, what was your mom like?"
“She...did her best.” I said honestly. “A griffon for a daughter, all the crap she had to deal with, and all the time having a smile on her face and a penchant to try and teach me reading and writing, about the past like it’s some long lost fairytale land…”
"Sounds caring. Kinda reminds me of my mom. After the war and Gardens and the Enclave disbanded my dad met my mom on the surface. An earth pony for a mother and a former enclave engineer for a father. Lot of the older Pegasi despised me cause I wasn't pure enclave. Just a bunch of racist assholes. At least ma dealt with them better than I did sometimes."
“Beat the crap out of them?” I asked.
"Ten gauge bean bag rounds. She had a good shot too. Saw her shoot one almost up old man Scissors plot." He chuckled. "Was the funniest, coolest thing I've ever seen."
“Yeah, never piss off a mom, I saw that first hand.” I chuckled. “You’d think she was a griffon with how brutal she physically beat the shit out of a bandit.”
"Still can't believe some folks prefer raiding and robbing over how life has been turning around."
“It’s sad, yes.” I sighed out. “But...hopefully it’ll get better with what we’re learning.”
"Key word there is, Hopefully." He said as he finished his plate. "Heh, think the shock of… all of this is finally settling in."
“Hell if I know…” I sighed out. “Cause normally I’d feel the shock but...my new heart makes sure that doesn’t happen.”
"Heh. Lucky bird. So, any of those alien books good?"
“A lot of those were actually really good, and from what I read up is that those are ‘the classics’.” I brought up. “Like Moby Dick and To Kill a Mockingbird.”
"Hm. What were they about?"
“Moby Dick is weird, cause it has a lot of metaphorical implications based on the White Whale the main protagonist is chasing the entire time.” I started. “And To Kill a Mockingbird…” I said nervously. “It’s pretty sad, considering all the racist shit, killing an innocent man just because his skin color was different.”
"Sounds more sad that racism and bigotry is a universal concept. Literally…" Storm grumbled. "Wonder what else that machine can make?"
"I wonder that as well." I nodded.
"... Wanna test it?" He asked.
“Yes.” I answered readily.
With that I rapidly finished my meal and we went back into the line.
"What would you like for your meal?" The robot asked again. Looking back at our table I saw another one of them came down from the ceiling and picked up our trays and went back up. Cool.
"Hmm…" Storm thought. "How about… a large red apple?"
The machine made the noise and out popped a fair sized red apple on a tray.
“Hmm…” I hummed. “Beef Jerky?”
The Machine went off and soon a tray holding freshly dried jerky popped out.
"Okay, let me try something a bit more complex… I'd like a strawberry milkshake with whipped cream and a curly straw." The machine went off and soon a frothy milkshake popped out on a tray in a crystal clear glass cup. The robot soon added the metallic curly straw. "Sweet." Storm smiled as he took it and began drinking.
“Hmm…” I hummed with some thought, trying to think of something special. “Uh…’The Ultimate Sandwich’.” I asked, having always wondered what would be considered such the ‘ultimate sandwich’.
The machine activated and when it finished what popped out was the largest, thickest, most oddly symmetrical sandwich I have ever seen.
"Sweet Celestia." Storm whistled. "How do you even eat that?"
“Determination.” I said. “So what’s in this sandwich?” I inquired to the chef robot, grabbing onto it with my talons as I figured out how to shove this into my beak.
"All food aboard the Eternity is created with a programmable biomass gel that the Processor uses to create your orders as requested." The robot replied.
"Wait, so it ain't real food?" Storm asked.
"The Biomass gel once programmed is genetically and atomically identical to their nature made, manufactured, or cooked counterparts."
“Alright…” I started, not the answer I wanted so I just shrugged and took a bite out of the sandwich.
…
Woah…
"I see you two found the cafeteria well enough." Vision said as he approached us.
“What’s this sandwich?” I asked, in awe at all the flavors that were assaulting me and it meshing so well with each other. “This...I’ve never tasted something this good.”
“That is the ‘Perfect Sandwich’ from Adventure Time.” The chef bot said. “You asked for it.”
“Uh...yeah it most certainly is.” I said in awe. “But uh...hi Vision, and yes...we found the cafeteria.”
"I am glad you both are feeling at home." The red being nodded with a smile. "I hope that later tonight you both can accompany me to the schoolhouse for a briefing on the Captains and War."
“I will.” I nodded. “Cause we better know everything we can...even if it’s another world shattering revelation…”
"Excellent. Schoolhouse is a shuttle ride away and the shuttle is two blocks down."
"This place has a shuttle train?" Storm asked.
"Every floor does." Vision confirmed as he headed off.
“Considering how...big this place is, I’m not surprised.” I said honestly.
"Well, guess we best pig out now and then head off." Storm stated.
“Yes we shall.” I nodded with a smile, continuing to dig into my perfect sandwich.