//------------------------------// // Launching! // Story: Beyond Cosmos // by Lion Tale //------------------------------// “Are the gauges appearing correctly?” a voice from the nearby speaker box said. “And is the button flashing green?” “Yes it is,” the pony behind the dashboard spoke. “And stop making me nervous; it’s making me think that I’m going to die.” “Well you are if you wouldn’t stop postponing the damn launch Shanghai,” the voice joked. Shanghai had a great day so far, if it weren’t that he had to go into space. Currently, his mission was to explore a sinister black hole. Although the scientists say nay, many wanted to know what became of one whenever they went into the comic object. So, the deal was that Shanghai had to travel almost two weeks and a half to get to the nearest black hole, with most of the time in a type of stasis. Not to forget that with enough food, oxygen, supplies, and a couple of durable solar/plasma weapons; he’d nearly survive any situation that came from the hole. “Come on Shanghai! You’re an alicorn! You’re supposed to be the most adventurous people of the world,” The voice box yelled. “Oh and by the way, if it makes you feel any better, the unicorns are the most nerdish and stupid.” An audible ‘hey’ was heard. The yellow alicorn laughed. “Just because I like to go into space doesn’t mean I’m adventurous. It just means I like space Minerva.” “And every time you survive the re-entry!” She said. “That takes guts, and a fuckton of luck you gobshite! You better be grateful that the gods have given you such luck!” “How long is it until I actually launch?” Shanghai moved his foreleg armor up to reveal a Mickey Mouse watch. A small, holographic screen appeared on the dashboard; it mentioned that he was supposed to launch about ten minutes from now. But with the supplies and the inspection already done, what’s holding him back? “What’s the problem?” he tapped a few keys on the board. “I see everything is in shape, and the supplies already loaded. The outer field is cleared, no dangerous levels of radiation are absorbed yet, sky is clear of pegasi, alicorns, and aircraft; so why am I still here?” A pause happened, and soon, another feminine voice came onto the com. “Shanty! I’m so sorry! I hope I haven’t done anything wrong.” “It is okay mother,” Shanghai rubbed his face, trying to remove the embarrassment of his nickname. “You didn’t anything wrong, just hoping that I had a chance to say goodbye to some of my family,” He lied. “Oh dear, I wish you a good time! Your girlfriend is here to say hi.” The alicorn’s eyes widened, and tried to turn off the intercom; but unfortunately, it only worked when the speaker on the other side didn’t have the microphone mutton pressed. “Hey, how are you?” a younger voice spoke. “I’m ok,” he tried to keep his composure, but it just wasn’t working right. “I hope you miss me when I’m gone Rubenesque. I would hate to keep you waiting.” “Well, I wish we had more of a connection,” she replied. “What do you mean?” Shanghai paused, confused about the change in subject. “I hate to do this you, but I think we need to break up. I cannot stand long-distance relationships,” Rubenesque said. “Besides, there’s a chance of you dying. I wish I had something for your broken heart, but to be honest, you were always too busy with your work to be with me. So I don’t know much about you to help you feel better about this. I’m sorry; you’ll probably find someone better later on. Maybe a griffon, human, an anthropic animal, or even another alicorn; I really don’t care, but you’ll find someone better.” “Wait! I have an idea that-“ He was cut off by the sound of the microphone suddenly turning off. Shanghai slumped in his chair, and removed himself from it. As refrigerator nearby to seat rose from the floor, and popped out a Monster energy drink, still popular since radiation couldn’t affect it. “Would you like to have a different selection?” it said in a robotic, feminine voice. “No,” the alicorn used his magic to open the can. The microphone clicked back on. “Hey, I’m sorry about that. But I’m pretty sure you can find better.” Shanghai took a swig from the can, placed himself back on the chair, and sighed. “She is now my fifteenth ex, and apparently, everyone I find happens to not like me for some odd reason.” “Hey, at least she wasn’t as bad as your tenth.” The alicorn laughed. “It wasn’t my fault that he decided to try bondage, and then had to leave because his cat escaped. I stayed there for at least thirteen hours.” “Why couldn’t you’ve just escaped using magic?” He looked at his horn, and then to his hooves. “I… I didn’t think of that at the time,” he mentally slapped himself. “The things I don’t understand is, how in the hell did they get you in the program, and how did you ever pass the tests?” The intercom said. “I have no idea…” He pressed a button to let the ship prepare a cryogenic capsule for his long voyage; he would need it in the near future. Shanghai then took stock of his supplies via the computer interface, and checked up on the plants that were growing in the next room over with a camera. Finally, he stretched his hind legs, and placed them on the dashboard. If ten minutes was all that he had now, might as take a quick nap. L 058 At first, there was darkness. Weightlessness took over his body, giving a light queasy feeling, a familiar feeling Shanghai remembered when he first rode a classic entertainment device named ‘a roller coaster’. The young alicorn saw, in the corner of his eye, a faint twinkle of light. Shanghai turned his head towards to flickering source and watched as the star made out a sort of obsolete system named Morse Code. Suddenly, as if activated by magic, the darkness lit up with millions, if not billions, of stars of different colors and sizes. The alicorn looked in awe, and reached towards the nearest one; a light blue orb no larger than a marble. He touched it and watched as it slowly grew more than triple its size, showing detail of every eroded mountain, lakes both dried and irradiated, and civilizations bustling with technology that was Earth’s. Shanghai watched as several pegasi roamed the high atmosphere and moved clouds. A beeping sound behind him caught his attention. The alicorn turned his head and saw the moon orbiting the planet, with an antenna poking out of the side. Shanghai smiled at the tiny satellite and poked it. It wasn’t until that the moon was drifting away that he noticed he just done damage to the home planet behind him. The alicorn looked back at Earth and saw that it disappeared; and so did the most of the stars around him. No longer familiar with the constellations of the stars around him—even with all the studies in cosmos—Shanghai grew slightly worried. He looked around, and found another planet similar to Earth’s orb color. With a flap of his wings, he slowly drifted to the planet and poked it. Seeing how nothing happened, he then squinted to try and take a closer look at the planet. At least, until a loud beeping noise woke him up from his nap. “Shanghai! What the fuck?” the intercom yelled at him, jolting him wide-awake. “You have half a minute to launch and you’re sleeping?” The alicorn quickly chugged the rest of the energy drink, and placed a dull bronze helmet on his head, covering the sides of his face and forehead, giving a Roman soldier look to his head. The dashboard flashed a notification on the hologram interface, asking for confirmation for launch. Shanghai reached for the yes selection, and then the notification vanished. “Are you ready?” Minerva confirmed. “Yea,” Shanghai threw the can into a nearby trashcan duct taped to the floor—which lead to the plasma incinerator, where it’ll get recycled and used for repairing the ship. “Minerva, think you can tell my co-workers I said, ‘stay awesome’?” “If that includes me you jerk, then yes.” She giggled. “Coolio, I guess I got to wait for the countdown now,” Using magic, he tightened the straps holding him to his seat and switched the AI feature on. It’ll take a while for it to boot up to its max power, it’s just ‘waking up’ from its slumber. At least the AI was the best it was, there was no need to upgrade. The logic of the AI was based on the classic video game series Halo — and also the structure of many ship designs, current plasma/solar weapons, and even the soldiers. The ‘Mjolner’ and ‘Elite’ combat suits are not perfected — it’s at version 2.4 alpha — at the moment, but its tech is roughly the same, including the cloaking device. Wearing them was tough, but Shanghai quickly adjusted to the half-ton suit. The suit was dull bronze colored and even though most people picked the ‘Mjolner’ suit, the alicorn decided that the ‘Covenant Elite’ was better suited for him. He could’ve picked the ‘ODST’ suits, but it was the color choices that killed the decision. A male voice boomed into the cockpit of the ship, “Starting launch, in 3, “2… “1… “Launching codes activated, now go out into space Shanghai! And may the luck of the gods be with you.” The alicorn chuckled, and then sat back as the ship Dragon’s Breath lurched forward, and into the bright blue sky. After minutes that felt like hours of nothing but vigorous shaking, it finally stopped when it had reached the starry, black heavens, also known as space. If his parents could see him now, no wait, they’re probably watching the holotape program right now! Shanghai gasped, no matter how many times he went into space, even on simulations and shadowing astronauts, it still struck a chord into his heart. If there ever was a queen of the stars, he would try and possibly marry her — if he felt like it. The ship suddenly jerked, and then the dashboard flared with light, telling him it was time to move. At first the lights went out, and then the cockpit was suddenly filled with a dim light; just barely enough to be able to see the controls. A blue light flickered next to him, revealing an AI appeared on a stand to his left; and she was as beautiful as a human can be. Dressed in classic Greek robes, the entire ensemble was white with a golden belt around her slim waist; her brown hair was surrounding her in such a voluptuous way, that it looked like water. The colored AI’s radiating, olive skin barely hiding the deep red color of her cheeks, brown eyes matching the hair color, and the long, skinny fingers grasping a small tablet in her arms, as if she were writing on it. “Hey there Cytherea, think you can hand me another can of Monster?” Shanghai asked. “No need to be so formal,” she replied, snapping her fingers, causing the tablet to disappear. “I’m now going to be with you for a while, and while we’re at it, I’m going to declare us friends. Besides, I’ve seen you naked.” His eyes widened, and the slowly turned his away from the AI, and placed his eyes to the dashboard. “Oh I’m just joking with you,” Cytherea said while she ordered the refrigerator to hand him the 24 oz. can. “Yea,” He grabbed it, opened the large can, and took a chug. “Think you can turn this ship towards the black hole I’m supposed to suicide myself into?” “Please, I could do that in my standby mode,” she cracked her virtual knuckles and neck. “Now watch the master take control.” Cytherea then made Dragon’s Breath shifted the command into autopilot and turned the ship port-wise. Shanghai watched as the stars that were in front of his turn towards the right, and prepared for the upcoming message. “Before we go into Slipspace,” the AI started. “I need you to head to your cryogenic tube. I’ll awake you whenever you’re needed.” He unstrapped himself, and then walked towards the doors, leading to the plant room. Once opening, he caught a whiff of dandelions, petunias, fresh grass, roses, and even mint leaves. Shanghai stopped at the grass, and decided that it was time to eat a few of the herbaceous plants. He munched slowly, taking in the delicate flavors. But, the mood was killed by a fellow member of the two-person crew. “Hey!” an intercom nearby yelled. “When you’re done eating, can you at least head to the tube before you end up having to use the restroom before we go into Slipspace?” “Yes mother,” he mocked. “If you keep acting like that, I will become your mother.” The alicorn gulped and then walked towards a second set of doors, which opened up to a small hallway between many doors. It was a medium sized ship, but it was big enough to be classified as a suburban house if needed. With the special titanium coated with non-rusting enamel, it could withstand any natural disaster. He reached the door to the room lettered ‘Bed and Cryogenic room’. The doors opened with a soft hiss, showing a king-sized bed, and the cryogenic tube next to it. With the artificial gravity, the bed could never float away. Shanghai then pressed a couple of buttons on the tube and watched as it slowly opened up with nitrogen gas leaking to the ground, making the floor colder than normal. “I think I need to pee,” the alicorn nervously backed away from the tube. “Dammit!” Cytherea snapped. “I knew in a way you were scared of this. Trust me when I say this, it’ll be just like sleeping, except you have lucid dreams instead of normal crazy dreams. And yes, I can actually know what you’re dreaming. It’s not hard to do because of brain functions and…” she was slowly tuned out by Shanghai. He stepped into the tube and made himself comfortable, Shanghai also had his can with him, but it was just getting to be frozen from the nitrogen gas. He relaxed his eyes, and focused on sleeping for the remainder of the time he’s going to be on there. Cytherea, finally noticing he was sleeping, closed the tube, and set it to manual awakening. She then went to the cockpit, and started to adjust the coordinates for the Slipspace. Once everything was in place, the AI set Breath to be launched towards the black hole. The scientists said that it would take weeks, but Cytherea knew that it would only be just a couple of days with the shortcut she was taking. Of course it would require setting the engines to one-hundred and ten percent, a dangerous move, but they would be able to reach it. With the solar power they were using, it wouldn’t take too much time to recharge. Cytherea looked on the radar and found several shaped entities several miles away; ship-like by her assumptions. “Don’t want to be a part of whatever’s going on there,” She trailed off. The stars slowly appeared longer and thinner as the ship was starting to launch itself into Slipspace. A loud groan came from the engines, and suddenly, they vanished without a trace from where they just were. C 259 Luna jumped awake, and looked around her room. Nothing was different from the norm, and with the sunlight still coming into the window, she assumed it was just another bad dream that she had accidentally formed. It was uncommon, but it happened from time to time. The alicorn got out of her bed, and placed her royal tiara, boots, and necklace on. She then walked to the door and was going to open it, until her beamy sister slammed the door open, making Luna crash into the door. “I’m sorry Luna!” Celestia scrambled to the night princess’ side. “But I’ve just felt a weird presence and I also think it’s about that time.” “What time is that dear sister?” she replied, rubbing her sore muzzle. “Project Manehatten,” Celestia gave a desperate stare. “You mean the one where we go and take over the Griffon Kingdom?” “No, that’s Project Birdy.” “The one where we force all the creatures to bow to us?” “That was just a joke Luna,” Celestia giggled. “Oh! Was it the one where we reanimate the dead?” “That’s Project Z, and we might need to possibly do that, just for the shits and giggles.” “But sister! It’s all shits and giggles until somepony giggles and shits! What are we going to do then?” Luna sat on her bed, unable to hold her child-like giggles. “Besides, what was the project where we have to start getting better stuff? “That’s Project Manehatten!” Celestia hugged her. “Is it?” Luna gasped for air, but couldn’t find any. Before she went unconscious, Celestia let go, and then started leave the room. “Wait sister! Where are we going to get the materials?” That stopped the sun goddess. She then slowly turned around, and her lips slowly formed into a grin. “I don’t know! But I bet it’ll be here soon hopefully!“ Luna facehoofed, and then trotted next to Celestia’s side, “Well, since we’re awake, we better get a nice cup of tea. How does black tea sound today?” “Nay, how about Earl Grey?” Celestia said. Luna scowled. “I hate the bitter taste of that, chamomile?” “Even though I’ve had it millions of times, I’m going to say sure,” Celestia then flared her horn to teleport both of the alicorns to the private tea room. She looked at the clock once she had found a decent spot to sit, it said five. “It was about that time for tea anyways,” Celestia muttered while she conjured a tea set. “So tell me about this presence you’ve felt,” Luna said while pouring herself a cup of the relaxing elixir. Celestia pondered, “Well, you know that feeling of when you know something is there, but it’s not?” Luna nodded, “I get that quite a lot ‘Tia, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.” She shook her head, “No, that not what I meant! What I’m trying to say is that, you know how there’s a pony nearby and you could sense their aura?” Luna nodded. “Well I’m feeling that, but the magical aura is quite faint. I know all the auras of all the ponies in this country and of all animals too, but this, this one aura is new. It’s completely alien for me.” “What are you going to do about it sister?” Luna asked. “Nothing, I cannot find out where it’s from, but all I can say, the aura feels familiar to Starswirl the Bearded.” “Could it be…?” Luna trailed off. “I highly doubt it; it could be another unicorn from the unknown lands coming through the country.” Celestia concluded. “Anyways, tell me, can you teach me how to lucid dream?” “Of course I can sister,” Luna announced. “Decided that it was boring to have normal dreams?” Celestia nodded. “Then the first thing you must do is…” 6 - 321 Dragon’s Breath suddenly came out from Slipspace. Slowly, but surely, it orbited a planet that seemed to resemble Earth, with an atmosphere similar to the planet. The AI ran a full scan of the area around them. A beep appeared on the radar, a large entity made up of unfathomable power. Cytherea let out a long sigh. This was easy. Now, it was time to actually head to main objective, which was to go kamikaze into a black hole. She figured it was about time to wake up the alicorn from his slumber, so he could actually see what a black hole looks like. Cytherea ‘walked’ from the cockpit, past the plant room, and finally into cryogenic room. She turned off the nitrogen gas, and turned off the sleep stabilizer. After a minute, the AI slowly opened the door to the tube. Sitting there was the alicorn she had sworn to take care of, and be a friend to. A dull bright light filled Shanghai’s vision as he started to choke on the slime in his lungs and throat. “Sit up Shanghai.” Cytherea said. “Sit up, breathe deeply, and cough. You need to get the bronchial surfactant cleared. “ Shanghai slowly climbed out, with wisps of fog flowing out of the tube. Clumsily, he sat on the bed and tried to inhale. Instead, he doubled over, coughing until a long stream of liquid flowed from his mouth. He then sat up, and took the first breath he ever had in a couple of days. Shanghai wet his lips, and almost gagged from the taste of the cryo inhalant. It was meant to feed him the nutrients that were lost in the deep sleep. But, the taste from the inhalant was a bad-flavor; more like mucus and lemons mixed together that was diluted with flat, irradiated Mountain Dew. “Tell me I don’t have to do that again. What’s the problem?” “Fortunately, you don’t have to,” the AI replied. “But what you need to do is go to the cockpit and take over. Your piloting skills are needed, there’s only so much that I can do.” Shanghai coughed again, “Got it, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to wash up and use the restroom.” Shanghai replaced that last of his foreleg armour back on, and sat down in his chair, taking note of the current situation. “How much longer until we gamble our lives for the better?” “Approximately fourteen more minutes,” she replied. The black hole was clearly visible and it obviously yelled out danger. But Shanghai wasn’t backing down just yet, he just wanted to find out if he would be able to live, if not; well, let’s just keep it at if he lives. “It’s been a pleasure just meeting you for about an hour Cytherea,” the alicorn said. “Hey, I’ve talked to you in your sleep,” she jested. “That was you?” “Yup,” she appeared on the dashboard. “We are about ten minutes until closing in.” Shanghai stared at the looming, sinister cosmic object. For about a minute, he thought it was moving towards him, considering how fast the ship was moving towards it. For a half minute, he imagined that it whispered tales of paradise. For a second, the naive alicorn thought he could blow it up with specialized missiles in case of hostile aliens. Shanghai thought he just forget this mission and just live on another planet, maybe the one behind him. But the black hole didn’t change, it didn’t say those words, it couldn’t be blown up by proton missiles; it just sat there, sucking up all life and light, leaving nothing but a dark mass in the starry night of Earth, and many planets nearby. “Five minutes until we reach the outskirts of the black hole,” the AI stated. But yet, it was one of those stars; it was an atomic gas object that shot off light; it was beauty in the stars. But now, it’s nothing but a gravity defying object in space. “Two and a half minutes until impact.” Shanghai loathed the fact that it was once a happy sun to the planets nearby it; happy to live; happy to give out light; but later, it had corrupted into darkness. “One minute.” He sighed, if he survived this; he would be more than happy to not let a sun become corrupt rather than for it to turn into a dark mass. “Thirty seconds.” The mysterious black hole was closer than ever, it was too late to change his mind. Now, he didn’t care if death wanted to claim him. Shanghai just hoped that whatever happens to him, that at least he could die with a friend, even though it was an AI. He chuckled lightly at the idea. “Ten seconds. Shanghai, if we don’t make it…” she trailed off. “Oh we’ll make it,” he calmly said with determination. Dragon’s Breath started shaking, “Turn off the engines!” He yelled, hoping the violent quake would stop. Fortunately, the shaking did stop as the engines did nearly at same time. The equine watched as the light around the dark mass quickly turned into a straight line, making a light outline through the diameter. Slowly, the mass was ever growing bigger, like a burning hole in a piece of paper. Soon, it got as big as to cover the entire window of the front of the ship. “One last thing, tell the next person we see is possible that I said hi,” Shanghai spoke, clutching the arm rests as tight as he can. Suddenly, the ship shook violently, sending things flying around the room. Then suddenly the alicorn’s vision went black as he felt a cold and metallic object hit his unprotected head.