A low droning buzz filled the air as Luna cracked open her eyes, a numbness in her limbs as she struggled to her hooves. Groaning as she settled into a sitting position, the night princess rubbed the base of her horn with a hoof as she slowly took in her surroundings. Warm light shone down on her from pale gold circles embedded in the ceiling of the pristine white room.
The room was featureless, only the glowing circle lights in the ceiling broke the seamless white pattern. Turning slowly, Luna felt her rear hoof brush something, her mind still trying to clear the thick fog that had taken up residence as she struggled to place the alien object in front of her. It resembled an open flower, except it was a fair bit larger than her and made of a clear material. Her first thought was that it was glass but a ginger lift with her hoof disproved that thought as it bent like a piece of fabric.
“What in Equestria?” she wondered aloud, her mind finally clearing as the numbness left her. Putting the mysterious object out of her mind for the time being she looked around the room again as she tried to figure out how she had ended up in her predicament.
“Hello!” She called. “Is anyone there? I demand to be released at once!” Her voice echoed off the walls as she stood panting.
“Greetings,” A cheery, vaguely feminine voice came from behind her.
Luna spun around as her heart jumped into her throat; hovering at eye level a respectable distance from her was what appeared to be a mechanical jellyfish. Reacting on instinct she crouched down wings flared out as she pointed her horn at the intruder.
“What are you?” She asked in a forceful tone as she studied the strange thing.
The machine swayed side to side as if floating in water; pink lights shone along glowing strips across its body. On the large dome roughly the size of her head a mess of lights shone as a strange, peaceful looking pattern flowed across it.
“I am Caretaker Rel XNM-89-X222D356F, Medical Passive Drone. But you may address me as Rel if you wish,” The machine chirped happily, the sound emanating off it from an unseen source. “Welcome back to land of the living Former-Princess Luna, I have been assigned to address any questions you have while you recover from stasis.”
“Sta-what? Explain yourself vile machine!” Luna growled as she attempted to pull magic into her horn only to fail, a force stopping the flow of energy.
“Ah, you will find any attempts to access magic futile Former-Princess Luna. This room is warded to prevent escape while we converse,” Rel said as it bobbed up and down.
Luna uncoiled cautiously, rising out of the stance. Without her magic and with no knowledge on her captors it wasn't wise to start a fight...just yet anyway. “I see, why do you address me as former Princess, machine?” She asked as she looked around the room. “And how did you get in here?” She asked, not waiting for a response as she walked around the room examining the walls.
“Your position of Princess has been made redundant. Until you are given a new title or made a citizen, you are Former-Princess Luna,” Rel giggled, speaking as if she was talking to a child. “I was teleported in, after all there are no doors here silly.”
Luna felt an eyebrow twitch. “Redundant? Is that some kind of threat?”
“Indeed! Well no, not a threat, ahhh, more of a fact really. You and your sibling have been stored in stasis here for,” The pink light lines briefly flashed white. “two thousand, four hundred and eighty three years, six months, nineteen days and twenty seven seconds.”
“That…that is not possible…” Luna said, taking an involuntary step back.
“I am sorry about any discomfort the news has bought you Former-Princess Luna,” The mechanical voice turning sorrowful for a moment before springing back into its cheery tone. “But I will happily help you to adjust into the new world,” It says, one of its tentacles performing a salute.
Shaking her head Luna looked speechless as she tried to cast her memory back, only getting a fuzzy half remembered blur. “I…I recall…a war, my sister had left…for something.
Twilight, something happened to her.” Feeling her heart start to beat faster Luna strained to remember. "She was captured by, by, by Griffons! Yes Griffons! I tried to look for her but...I don't remember."
“Ah, that would be the conditioning; it was feared that your recollection would be affected somewhat.”
“I did something…something bad? We were at war with the Griffons and they took Twilight, we couldn't find her but she found us. I, I tried to help repair her but I couldn't put her together again.,” Luna said, not hearing the drone as she verbalized what she remembered in an attempt to jog her memory. "I attacked, no was attacked by…by somepony after that all I recall is…blackness then this.”
Luna sat on her haunches as she rubbed her forehead. “What happened to her? What happened to me?” She said to no one in particular.
“You would be recalling your defeat by Her Royal Majesty!” Rel said enthusiastically. “According to history you were slipping back into Nightmare Moon and was defeated once again!”
“What, no that’s…impossible I would never…I would never try to harm my subjects again!” Luna balked.
“Sadly, or pleasantly depending on your outlook, you did and was defeated in quick order by Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Who are you talking about?”
The drone floated forward slightly, briefly before the lines along its form flashed red. “Oh dear, I can’t tell you that.”
“What, why?” Luna asked, annoyed. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"
“Apparently Her Majesty wishes for it to be a surprise. Don't ask me why, I couldn't tell you.”
Luna scowled slightly. “So why then is my memory so clouded? What has been done to me?”
“Oh now, that I can tell you!” Rel chirped excitedly as it raised a pair of tentacles in front of itself, projecting a blue screen in-between them. “Your previous outbursts of violent and manic depressive behaviors has been linked to a string of mental disorders. We have simply corrected them, however it came with significant risk of damaging memory recollection,” The blue screen flicked between multiple images of a brain, illuminating various parts.
“You…you did what!” Luna shouted, springing to her hooves causing the drone to bob backwards in the air quickly.
“Please remain calm, the process was done in your best interests!” Rel squeaked in fear, floating backwards in the air slowly as the alicorn advanced on her, it's fields flashing a bright orange to signal distress. “Without it you couldn't be trusted with release given the certainty that the stress would induce a similar schizophrenic episode that lead to the previous two Nightmare incidents.”
Luna halted mid-stride. “What?”
“You were diagnosed with a serious mental disorder, your organic genetics were highly predisposed to schizophrenia which was only exaggerated by your magic and repeated contact with other minds. Given how often you repeatedly put your mind into contact with other psyches It was only a matter of time before you broke down under the stress,” The drone rambled out quickly, shaking in the air slightly. "Surely you can already feel the difference."
"How can I tell when I can't remember anything!" Luna slowly took a seating position, her mind whirring as she placed a hoof over her face. The drone remained close to the ground in a cowering position. “Sorry. This is a lot to take in.”
Rel slowly hovered closer to the alicorn. “Are you alright? You’re not going to try and break me?” It asked hesitantly.
“No, not yet at least. You promised me answers correct?”
The machine jellyfish resumed bobbing up and down in a happy motion. “Of course!” It said cheerfully.
“Then perhaps you can tell me where my sister is, you told me she had been put in stasis as well.”
“Former-Princess Celestia is being kept elsewhere in this facility.”
"Where?"
A flash of red lines answered. "Sorry, I don't have that kind of clearance."
Luna grimaced. “Fine, why was she put in stasis? I can understand if I was going back to being…being the Nightmare but why Celestia?”
“You sister fought Her Majesty to release you, she claimed that she could bring you back to normality due to differing circumstances that triggered your episode this time around. I think it’s rather endearing,” Rel said, a pink love heart appearing on its dome briefly.
“Hmmm I see, so I dragged my sister into my punishment as well,” Luna frowned as a feeling of guilt over took her.
“Sadly yes, what else do you want to know?”
“What is that thing?” Luna asked, pointing at the strange flower like object in the center of the room.
“Your stasis pod, created by Her Majesty to hold you and your sister.”
“So where is this...facility?”
The lines on the drone’s body flashed red again. “I can’t tell you that, but you’ll love it when you find out,” Rel said with a giggle. The lines flashed white briefly, causing Rel to release a vibrating sound. “Oh, it appears that’s it’s time to activate your interface.”
“Huh?” Luna asked as the drone approached her slowly, its mechanical tentacles reaching out towards her, a blue light emanating of them. “What are you doing?” She asked, scooting backwards slowly.
Rel paused in mid-air before extending its larger tentacles out to the sides, recreating the large pale blue screen from before. A large image of a rectangular metal looking object appeared before the alicorn.
“This is the storage and wireless transiting device of the interface.”
The image changed to show the chip shrinking as a pony head slid onto the screen, reaching a size barely a fifth of an ear length, the chip moved to a spot just behind the ear.
“You will find one of these behind your right ear.”
Luna gingerly reached back behind her ear with a hoof, feeling it brush a hard object she hadn't even noticed. The image flashed blue and changed again, this time showing a brain with a network of lights flowing through it.
“The storage communicates wirelessly with the Interactive Synaptic Net, the ISNet intern (A small micro crystal node attached the synapse) records and interacts with the synapses of organic base creatures. The ISNet then processes and delivers data to your cortex and allowing for communications with everyday appliances and other functions.”
The brain image moved backwards slightly, making space for a pair of eyeballs with a shimmering disc in front of each. “The ISNet in turn communicates with the Interactive Retinal Dish, the IRDish creates a visual overlay over your world for the ISNet. Together these three pieces of technology make up the Interface that every citizen uses day by day to enrich their life style.”
“I…I’m not sure I understand,” Luna said, her voice wavered as Rel hovered closer to her.
“Trust me Former-Princess Luna, you won’t even feel a thing,” Rel chirps as it extends a glowing tentacle, touching it to the metal rectangle behind her ear.
“Ouch!” Luna yelped as an electric shock jolted through her head.
“Aside from that of course,” Rel said with a giggle as it backed away. “Well?”
Luna rubbed behind her ear as a blue bar appears in the centre of her field of vision, a line of strange symbols zipping across her vision.
“Welcome to the Interface,” A soothing female voice sounds from inside Luna’s head. “This appears to be your first time activating the wet ware, would you like to undergo a tutorial?”
A large tick and cross floated into her vision, each with a glowing circle around them.
“What do I do here?” Luna asked.
“Simply focus on the operation you wish to perform,” The soothing voice said. “Choosing the tick will initiate the tutori-“The voice cut off as Luna focused on the tick, causing it to explode in shower of motes.
Rel waited patiently as the former princess completed the tutorial, emitting a pleasant tune as it bobbed in the air. “Is everything going well?”
“Yes, I believe so. This is…remarkable, so much versatility, it will take some time to become accustomed to,” Luna said, the blue iris of her eyes glowing, indicating the Interface was in use.
Luna looked around the room, flickering various icons in and out of her peripheral vision with a thought. “The tutorial said something about an information network?
“Ah yes, once you have been released from here you’ll gain access to our Inter-Stellar information network. When you do, you’ll gain full access to your interface’s abilities,” Rel said, bobbing up and down. “It’s an interesting place, you won’t have experienced anything quite like it,” The drone chitchatted gleefully.
“I…see, and what of my sister? How does she fare?”
The drone flashed white briefly. “She has completed the interface tutorial and has been asking after you quite insistently.”
“Can you put me in contact with her?”
A flash of colors rippled across the machine’s dome. “Done and done!” It said in an ecstatic tone as it bounced up and down.
Luna ignored it and brought up an icon the tutorial had identified as the communications function. Opening it she found a single listing with her sister’s name that she selected, a high note ping sounding in her head followed by a click.
-Luna!- Her sister’s voice screeched. -How are you, have they done anything to you? Are you alright?- She exclaimed, worry in her voice.
-It is good to hear from you sister, do you know what is going on?- Luna thought, according to the tutorial the Interface would pick up her thoughts and transmit them in her voice. She briefly wondered if Celestia was speaking out loud.
A sigh sounded in her head. -It is good to hear your voice again Luna, I thought…I thought I wasn’t going to ever hear you again…- Celestia’s voice wavered slightly.
-Tia, we can talk about my…failings later when we’re safe, do you know who put us here?-
-I…yes of course, later,- The sound of a deep breath rattled in Luna’s head. So she's speaking aloud. She thought privately. -It’s Twilight, sister.-
Luna’s jaw dropped again. -Twilight, but how?-
Her memory stirred but only vague impressions that flitted in and out of her mind on the brink of remembrance. -She is but a mere mortal, there is no way she could have overcome me let alone you.-
-She is mortal no longer sister. She took the Nightmare for herself, so I fought her not long after I returned but she was too powerful for me and sealed me away with you. I’m sorry sister,- Celestia said sorrowfully. -I failed everyone…-
-Tia…it is I who should be apologizing. From what I can piece together it was I who caused all this.-
-I should have tried harder Luna. I can only shudder to think what has become of Equestria under her.-
Luna shivered as the thought crossed her mind, she had a better idea than what she would've liked to admit. -I’m sure you did everything you could Tia, for now we just have to see what your former student wants from us.-
-Yes…yes of course, I’ll see you soon Luna, I love you.-
“I love you too sister, keep safe,” Luna said aloud, scowling as she cut off the call and turned to the drone, a little box appeared just above the machine with a summary of its details. “Take me to her.”
Rel dipped slightly, as if bowing. “Of course, good luck Former-Princess Luna! I can’t wait to see you again!”
Luna perked up as she felt a tingle run through her horn. However, before she could try to tap into her magic, the room disappeared. In its place came a large foreboding corridor filled with bulbous pipes and hanging wires. Flashing lights dotted the corridor at regular intervals however their illumination only feebly pierced the darkness around her. Slowly a familiar pale white light approached her from one end of the corridor while the other stretched off into darkness. A chill ran down her spine as Luna turned away from the gaping maw of blackness before her and turned to face the light, the blackness exerting an unusual grip on her.
“Sister!” Luna shouted as the light approached, the soft glow emanating from the coat of her sister.
Celestia felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw her sister. “Luna!” She shouted back as she ran to embrace the smaller alicorn in a vice grip of a hug. “Oh, I never thought I’d see you again,” She said, tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Oh, isn't that nice. It’s good to see sisters reunited,” A deep feminine voice came from the dark, followed by a chuckle that froze the blood in the sisters' veins as the speaker stepped forward.
Luna slowly untangled herself from her sister who had gone limp at the sound of the voice, turning around slowly. A pair of deep violet, almost black eyes greeted her as a mare she had once known stepped into the light. Standing at her sister’s height with a mane and tail of flowing black fire tinged with purple stood Twilight Sparkle, her coat remained the same shade of lavender she faintly recalled. Confidently, she strode forward, her steps and posture exuding power and confidence as she smirked at the pair of alicorns. Luna couldn't help but notice that she lacked wings, appearing as an over-sized unicorn, though the overwhelming stench of power she gave off certainly quashed any thought of violence. The dark aura stirring her memory, as expected it felt very familiar. Memories both 'recent' and ancient floated into her mind.
Finding her mouth dry Luna swallowed on reflex. “What happened to you?” She whispered.
“Twilight…” Celestia said, looking at her former student with a mix of awe and fear. “What is the meaning of this?” She said, recovering a shadow of the graceful posture she used to be known for as she addressed the unicorn.
Twilight looked around the hallway with an expression of disinterest. “Sorry about the mess, this facility is being renovated at the moment. I’m not sure what will become of it as of yet but I’ll find use for it," Her face flushed with excitement for a second as an idea occurred to her, a wide smile breaking through the mask of disinterest momentarily. "Perhaps a reading room,” She said in a happy tone as she walked past the pair. “Follow me please, there’s something I want to show you. This facility has quite the view.”
Celestia and Luna shared a look as the unicorn wandered down the hallway and into the darkness, lacking any other options they reluctantly chased after her. Taking a spot either side of her, a couple paces behind as she led them down the corridor, dull blue lights blinking softly like stars in the darkness around them.
“Where are you taking us?” Luna asked, shivering slightly from the coldness that clung to the dark mare.
“You’ll see trust me you are going to love this. Maybe.”
Luna grimaced as she suppressed another shiver, the voice reminding her far too much of Nightmare Moon’s for her liking. “So why did you release us fiend?”
“Fiend? Tsk tsk Luna, I thought we were friends,” Twilight said in a hurt voice wearing an expression that was anything but.
Luna scowled back. “You are not the Twilight I remember fiend, don’t think I don’t know what you are.”
Celestia gave her sister a worried glance. “Sister, please don’t antagonize her,” She said with a hint of fear in her voice.
“True, I am not the Twilight you remember…but then again what do you remember?” Twilight said with a shrug.
“My memory is only clouded because of what you did to me.” Luna replied, her wings bristling.
“Sister, please calm down.” Celestia pleaded as Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Luna behave yourself, I brought you back I can just as easily put you on ice again. Besides I didn’t want to mess with your memory, it was a side effect of the treatment.”
“I heard, a treatment for a disease you claim I had,” Luna snarled.
“I don’t care what you think, I did it and you can’t go back so you might as well learn to live with it.” Twilight replied. “Besides you have no idea about what the 'Nightmare' has done to me.”
“I know too well what it has done, you aren’t Twilight, merely the fragmented remains of her psyche, what pieces survived your corrupting touch.”
“I see, and what if I were to tell you it did nothing?”
“Then I would call you a deluded fool.”
“My my, aren’t we hypocritical today.”
“I never was under the assumption I was unaffected by that, parasite. I just didn’t care,” Luna growled.
“Enough of this Luna!” Celestia shouted, the light around her shining brighter for a moment. “Enough, both of you.”
Twilight shrugged. “Very well, I tire of this talk any way.”
“Luna…” Celestia warned, a pleading look in her eye.
“Fine, but this is not over.”
“Of course, I look forward to discussing it in the future,” The dark mare said with a drone in her voice, the tone suggesting she found the prospect rather dull.
Celestia nodded, pleased with herself as she turned to Twilight. “So why have you freed us?”
Twilight gave a grin. “Because I've decided that you've served your sentence long enough. Among other reasons.”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other with raised eyebrows. “Other reasons?” Celestia asked.
“In the past two and half thousand years I've been quite busy, as you've already noted by now technology has improved by light years. Literally as matter of fact, I long ago conquered the whole of Equis and set about extending my reach to the stars,” Twilight let out a chuckle. “And now I've created an empire that spans over a hundred worlds.”
The pair of alicorns faltered in their steps, sharing a look with each other as Twilight continued on.
“You’ll find Equis a vastly different place than when you left it, things have changed a lot with the advances in technology. The reason I’ve brought you back is because there is simply no way you will ever be able to take over, there is just too much…everything really.”
Twilight turned to the pair. “Not that you’d ever be able to defeat me,” She said with a smile and a shrug. “Anyway you’ll find many of my subjects to be alien, my empire spans multiple species. Not that we identify with species. It’s a cultural thing.”
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, equal parts intrigued and worried.
“Technology and magic have given my subjects the ability to change between species as easy as one would change their pants,” Twilight explained.
“And what do you mean by that?” Luna replied, sharing a confused look with her sister.
For a moment Twilight looked eager, torn between launching into a lecture and keeping up the mystery. “I really would love to explain this all to you, it really is the most fascinating process...but that can wait, after all we have all the time in the world." She said as she turned around and walked down the corridor and grinned as they quickly came to the end, a large metal door blocking their path.
“Welcome to the future ladies,” She said with a smile as the doors cracked open without a sound, silently gliding apart.
Luna was speechless as she walked outside, above her a pitch black sky extended into infinity. Stars shone down onto the barren landscape and off in the distance a sleek metallic ship glided over the horizon. But she noticed none of it, her attention was focused solely on the green and blue orb hanging in the sky above her, the sun just visible as it began to crest the horizon.
Above her was Equis, hanging forlornly in the sky so very far away.
“We’re on the moon,” Celestia whispered as she stepped out onto the lunar surface, her eyes fixated on the planet above her.
Small dust clouds drifted around her hooves as her steps stirred up the loose debris.
Looking around her Luna gingerly walked out after her sister as Twilight followed them, a sense of lightness overtaking her the instant she walked out the door. Though she was too preoccupied to notice it.
“Sister…how?” She asked, her eyes not moving from the planet.
“I don’t know Luna, I don’t know,” The elder alicorn replied, wonder and fear evident in her voice.
“The power of science and magic working in harmony, that’s how,” Twilight said from behind them. “The wonders I have accomplished make even the grandest of tales you once told me seem small and insignificant by comparison.”
Luna broke her gaze away from the planet to look back at Twilight, only instead of the unicorn she saw a hairless bipedal creature with a head of flowing black and purple fire for hair.
“What on Equis?!” She exclaimed.
Twilight shrugged as she walked forward, running a hand through the mess of fire atop her head.
“This is one of the forms my subjects like to take, Luna,” She said as she strode forward her form suddenly dissolving into a black mist, reforming just as fast into another strange shape. Then another and another, her form blurred between bipedal, quadruped and shapes even stranger. “There are many, Luna. You do not yet even comprehend the scale my civilization, my culture has grown. In time perhaps I'll teach you to grasp your true nature, then you'll understand how narrowly you and your sister currently limit yourselves.”
Celestia had by now broken her gaze away from Equis to catch the latter end of her former student’s shape shifting, her mouth agape as she returned to the strange hairless bipedal form. Catching her eye Twilight just smirked as she strode forward, shifting back into a unicorn.
“You once ruled Equestria, over Ponykind, and called yourselves gods. I rule over entire worlds with subjects who have long ago abandoned the divisions of gender, race and species. You lived for a thousand years and called yourself gods. To my subjects’ true death is a choice, not a certainty. You once claimed to raise the sun and moon,” Twilight looked at the pair of alicorns with a grin as she tilted her head, pointing her horn at the planet.
“But you merely spun a pale blue dot, a child playing peek-a-boo with its mother and thinking it has the power to make people disappear. My subjects have watched the death of stars, chased the orbit of moons and traveled the ring of the galaxy.”
“W-why are you telling us this?” Celestia asked.
“Because you wished to know why a brought you back and I told you I didn't fear you taking over because there was too much for you to take. That was part of it but that,” Twilight replied, looking up at the planet. For moment she looked almost sad. “That is why I have freed you. You are no longer relevant, not in the way you once were. You cannot take back your throne because it no longer exists, Equestria in any form you would recognize in gone. You are free because I have since realized that I don’t need to keep you locked up any more.”
“I-I understand…” Luna said, part of her still in shock. She guessed it would remain that way for some time.
Twilight’s smirk faded slightly as her features softened, becoming friendlier.
“And I will admit that I have missed you, both of you. Equestria may no longer be a tiny country on a pale blue dot, its citizens multiplied by the thousands and changed to be so remote from what you knew to seem alien but they are still Equestrian’s in spirit. I have kept you from them for too long, you are no longer their Princesses but you can still be their guides.”
“And what would you have us do?” Celestia questioned, surprised at the change in demeanor.
“Long ago I decided to do things better, to make a world you would be proud of," Twilight smiled fondly as she looked up at the planet. "I like to think that I did alright on your final test Celestia. I suppose, in a way, I want to know what my grade is."
And then Twilight did something that shocked the sisters, she started to laugh. It was a good natured laugh, even though the voice was different the laugh was the same. Unable to restrain herself, Celestia began to giggle at the absurdity of it all as Luna watched them, shooting distrustful glances at Twilight. As the laughter slowly died down, Twilight Sparkle bowed her head to the sisters.
“You are free to do as you please, within the bounds of the law of course. And as a measure of reparations for my actions I decree that my wealth is your wealth. You have full access to my personal accounts, as long as you don't do anything silly like buy a star system you will be provided for.”
“I am unsure what to say Twilight,” Celestia said, uncertainty in her voice. “This is surely a….gracious gift.”
Twilight gave a small smile. “Don’t say anything, think of it as a retirement present. Luna,” She said, turning her head to address the smaller alicorn who stiffened in response. “I know I can’t make you trust me, I understand why you wouldn't. Honestly, if our positions were reversed I would be doing the exact same thing. Perhaps in time you will see I am telling the truth, I am still me and have always been.”
Luna just gave a terse nod in reply.
All of a sudden a massive white flash appeared above and behind Twilight followed shortly after by a pressure wave, creating a massive ringed dust cloud that preceded to roll out across the landscape. Celestia and Luna flinched and covered their faces with their wings to shield themselves from the dust, electing a chuckle from Twilight. Looking up, they saw the dust cloud had impacted an invisible barrier, now made visible as the dust cloud was battered against it and was soon washed over seemingly by an invisible hand. Though shortly after, their breaths were once again snatched away as they looked over Twilight’s shoulder, floating a distance away was a massive sleek metallic object. Its hull shimmered with a bright blue light as it slowly spun around to present its broadside to them, hovering in the air as it framed itself against the backdrop of stars.
Twilight didn't even look over her shoulder as she grinned. “That would be our ride planetside, would you be liking a lift?”
“What is that thing?” Celestia asked as Luna drank in its every feature.
“It’s beautiful,” The smaller alicorn whispered, transfixed by the floating ship.
“You can ask it yourself when we board, I’m sure it’ll be happy to indulge you,” Twilight said, her grin back in place. “But if you must know you can always use the interface to find out, I did have those things installed for a reason.”
Luna frowned for a second as she activated the overlay and was astounded by the change in her surroundings. Above her, in every direction, stretched a sheet of white and blue hexagons that cut off her view of the outside world, a small label identifying them as atmospheric containment markers. Dismissing the markers she turned her gaze to the ship, another label appeared that identified it as the Welcome Home, Can I Take Your Coat?, a star-dancer class exploration and hospitality vessel with the Ministry of Immigration. As soon as she had looked at it did an icon appear, alerting her to an incoming call from the ship itself. Briefly puzzled but curious, she accepted the call and was greeted with a happy whistling tune.
-Welcome home Luna,- A joyful feminine voice echoed in her head.
“Who are you?” She spoke aloud.
The voice laughed in her head, a rich and sincere laugh. -I am Welcome home, can I take your coat?. But for pleasantries sake you may address me as Welcome. The ship you see is my body, I am its mind and it would be an honor to be the one who carries you away from your prison.-
-You are the ship?- Luna asked, remembering that she didn't have to speak aloud, as she watched the ship, getting the feeling it was watching her back. Which it probably was. -
-Your name is, interesting, if you don’t mind me saying.-
-What else would I be?- Welcome replied cheerfully. -My name is an extension of myself, I may be built to explore but my true purpose is to bring my charges home.-
“Sister, can you hear that?” Celestia asked aloud as Twilight just watched the pair.
“Yes Tia,” Luna said as she looked at her sister and back to the ship.
“Good to see that you’re introducing yourselves, but if you don’t mind there is much I would show you,” Twilight grinned. “Welcome, you know what to do.”
-At once your grace,- The reply echoed in Luna and Celestia’s heads before everything flashed white momentarily.
The moon with its view of Equis disappeared, being replaced with a cosy lounge and cocktail bar. Behind it, a cute female bipedal creature was preparing a mixture of drinks while wearing what could only in the loosest sense of the word as clothing. Socks would have provided better coverage.
“Greetings your Grace, honored guests. It is wonderful to have you aboard,” She said as she sauntered out from behind the bar, a tray of drinks balanced on one hand.
“How did we-“Celestia began to ask before the bipedal creature cut her off.
“I teleported you on to me. This form you see before you is an avatar of mine, a portion of myself in a physical body.”
“Wait, you're Welcome?” Luna said as the avatar handed Twilight a drink and began placing drinks on a nearby table.
“More a fragment of my attention than anything else. Please take a seat and enjoy the finest hospitality I have to offer. Normally, I would go and mingle with the rest of my charges but I am currently empty, a courtesy to yourselves and your Majesty. Wouldn't do to overwhelm you with our particular brand of crazy just yet,” Welcome said with an ear splitting grin.
“If you need anything just ask, I’ve enabled access to the Interstellar information network so you can begin diving whenever you feel comfortable.”
Twilight opened her mouth to speak only for her iris’ to start glowing, causing her to stare into space for a few seconds. “Sorry to leave you two but matters of state call. Welcome, please take care of them for me,” She said as she rose from a chair she had sat in, her form briefly dissolving as she shifted into the hairless bipedal form Luna had seen earlier. Albeit that form lacked the reverse jointed legs and bony carapace.
“Of course your grace, I’ll take them on the introductory tour. You can count on me to keep them safe,” The avatar said with a bow.
Twilight went still for a second, looking as if she was contemplating something before she disappeared in a flash of liquid darkness, causing Luna to shiver reflexively.
Smiling the avatar turned to the two alicorns and clapped her hands together, causing everything to move around in ways that made Luna consider that the thin black straps might just be a part of the avatar's skin.
“Well then, let’s get you up to date!”
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Apparently when you die you're supposed to see a blinding white light, all your dead relatives and long lost friends all waiting for you. The soul left for it's final journey, so the priests of old once said. She thought to herself as light streamed through the murky white liquid.
"Welcome back to the world of the living Miss Leaf," The neutral voice of the technician greeted her, somehow managing to convey a tone of mild disappointment. As if the fact he had to bring people back from the dead was a waste of his time.
Good morning to you too, Jackass.
"What in the Queen's good name is going on?" She said as she coughed up some of the cream coloured pod fluid. For an elixir of immortality, it tasted like a mixture of cardboard, ethanol and watery cream.
"You are currently in a rebirth facility on White Rose in the capital city Apple Seed," The techy replied as he consulted a holographic chart. "Apparently you were found shot in the head, autopsy shows a high alcohol content in the blood. Drug glands showed to have been producing a mixture of Slow, Frazz and Burn. Time of death is put around 1-2am."
"Well shit," Leaf said as she went rise out of the pod, only to realize she was lacking a certain appendage and had another set at her sides.
"Where the bloody hell are my hands?" She asked, flapping her wings as she realized she was currently in an orthodox equestrian Pegasus body.
"Your insurance only covers a birth state replacement," The techy said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Like hell it does! I paid good credits for that body."
"Mam I'm telling you-"
"And I'm telling you, asshole, that my contract with the state covers a full rez," Leaf said as she pulled up her interface overlay, pulling up the articles that clearly stated that law enforcement were fully expected to be reloaded into a body akin to the one they wore at time of death.
"See!" She said, thrusting the info into his tablet. “If have to get Vigilance on the line to explain why one of his DCI’s isn't getting a proper treatment...”
The techy leaned over and read the lines highlighted before making a face that clearly screamed, oh crab baskets.
"Oh, err sorry, we'll fix that right away," He said as he scurried back over to a large machine in the wall. "I'll get that fixed up right away, really sorry for the inconvenience ma'am."
Leaf lay down in the pod again. "Just hurry up," She huffed. And this is why I prefer machine operated clinics.
One quick rejuvenation session later, DCI Bitter Leaf was back in the bipedal body she'd paid for, and after collecting her clothes and gun she was moved into a sterile white booth to change out of the hospital gown they’d stuck her in.
Let’s check these dipsticks got everything right, She thought to herself. Given that they had to work with a canvas body it can't hurt to check, I can't afford to be waiting for another day while they ship a proper replacement in.
First thing gender, she thought peaking down her top. Hello girls and a quick check...yep, not a man. Hands, yep, skin tone cream, check. Hair bright green, check, OC tats...yep yep and yep. Striping out of the gown Leaf took a moment to admire the body in the mirror. While she hadn't gone with drop dead gorgeous and wouldn't be winning any beauty contests anytime, her ego had convinced her to go with an aesthetically pleasing design. The small chest was definitely a good choice given that she frequently found herself chasing criminals through tight spaces, small enough to sprint with but enough so that she could wear a swimsuit and not look like a prepubescent girl. Not that potential lovers paid attention to her chest, many men had complimented her legs and (in one man's words) divinely sculpted ass. He had then tried to get a grab in, and she then tried to stop repeatedly kicking him in the nuts but alas neither of them could quite reach their goals.
Though to be fair, it was rather hard to grab something with a pair of broken hands and fractured pelvis.
"Everything looks good," She said to no one in particular, changing into her regular clothes. A pair of black jeans with a loose professional shirt, suit jacket with her gun holstered on her thigh and badge proudly displayed on the hip.
So the question now is why I was found dead in the street somewhere. Great, I just love investigating my own murders.
A knock on the door signaled it was step out, the pod techy looked at her with a mild sense of disinterest. "If you’re finished I can let you get through the rest of the procedures before we release you."
Giving her arms a shake Leaf adjusted the cuffs on her jacket. "Let’s go then, sooner we’re done the faster I can get back to work."
A curt nod was all the answer she received as the techy lead her out of the changing room and into a fairly busy cream corridor. Along the walls a myriad of lines appeared in her overlay, each labelled with directions to parts of the hospital. Selecting the morgue line with a thought Leaf set to following it, stopping for a moment to grab an apple from a food vending machine on the way there as she flicked through the electronic paperwork. Being in a new body tended to give her the munchies, regular body hoppers called it the new-u-chews.
It's a weird thing seeing your own lifeless corpse stretched out on the table before you. Leaf thought as she wiped her hands on her coat, her eyes roaming over the corpse laid out on a metal table in front of her. The body was an exact copy of herself, which was to be expected of course but seeing it in person always sent a shiver down her spine. Heavy wounds covered the body, whatever had happened she’d put up a hell of a fight. Leaf supposed she should feel happy about that. Putting her feelings aside she began to analyse the body, bringing up her overlay and activating her specialist forensics ware.
Let’s see what I'm working with here….hmmm not much decomposition, I’d say I’ve been dead barely a day. She thought, verifying the date with a quick look at a calendar. A call icon appeared in her vision identifying it as her boss Vigilance, the High AI in charge of managing security across the planet.
“Where’d you find me, Lance?” She asked aloud as she connected the call.
A male sounding voice reverberated in her head. -Down an alleyway in the immigration sector. You know I don't like you calling me that DCI Leaf,- It said in a mildly annoyed yet resigned tone.
“What was I doing over there?” Hmmm shot above the left eye into the data storage of the interface, angled down so the shooter was taller than me or had the high ground. No residue and some burning, perhaps an energy based weapon or magical attack?
“Lance, can you send me the cloud data from the time of termination?”
-Sorry Detective, but I am afraid I cannot do that. Your communication went dark a few minutes before you were killed. I dispatched drones to your last know location and found your body in an alley way only a few steps away,- Vigilance made a grumbling sound.
-This is most troubling, can’t have one of my Chief Inspector being murdered in the streets. It’s downright barbaric. I’m just glad I had you take a mental-state upload the day before.-
“Yeah, lucky me. Without that cloud data and my physical storage shot to bits we won’t be able to get a real time view of what happened. Looks like we are going to have to do this the old fashioned way,” Leaf said as she activated her skin level shielding and began poking her fingers around in the wounds.
“Traces of gravel, some glass shards and more burns along the wounds. From the looks of things I was stabbed repeatedly with a form of energy blade.”
-Fantastic. You don’t have to go poking around in your old body, Detective. The hospital AI coroner has already submitted its findings to me. We have a couple ideas at the moment, I’m monitoring the whole security net of the city trying to look for anything suspicious.
“Can’t hurt to look around myself, see if my findings match up with the report when I take a look. Oh…that’s interesting, traces of magic laced arcanite dust in airways. Lance did you identify what the enchantment on the dust was?”
-Illusion school, from what we could analyse it was meant to induce vivid audio and visual hallucinations. A common street drug called Crush.
“I know what Crush is Lance, give me the details."
-We also found shards arcanite crush in your abdomen. Like you were transporting it.-
Leaf perked up and looked at one of the camera’s in the room. “What? You know I would never-“she started to say before being cut off.
-Relax Detective, it would take much more than a simple plant to fool one of Her Royal Majesties High AI’s. Besides, I know you too well, I wouldn’t have promoted you to Chief Inspector otherwise,- Vigilance said.
“Was that a compliment, Lance? Why if you had a face I bet you’d be smiling right now,” Leaf said as she turned back to examining the body with a grin.
-Well, I’m sure one of my Avatars is grinning right now,- Vigilance replied.
"So what's the most likely lead?"
-Given the skill displayed, the use of high tech equipment required to blackout a section of the city and the ability to evade my search net so far, it's highly likely that this is espionage.-
"By whom?"
-Unsure, but E.I.S are combing through every scrap of data they can get there hands on. They'll likely update me as soon as they find something, until then we are monitoring outgoing ships and broadcasts closely.-
"What's the chances this spook, if it exists, is going to slip through the net before we find it?"
-If it's still in Imperial space then it's unlikely.-
"Good to know, I take it you'll want me working the case?"
-Of course, you'll find the relevant information in your inbox. There is a car out front, for when you want to get back to work, Detective Chief Inspector,” Vigilance said as he cut the connection.
"Sir," Leaf said into the empty air as she wiped her hands underneath a cleaning station, the automated gurney moving the body back into storage as she signaled the hospital administration to dispose of it.
Exiting the hospital, Leaf breathed in deep, glad to be alive again as she adjusted her coat and gave her badge a wipe. A sunny day greeted her as she walked down the steps and waited on the curb, the clean white architecture of the hospital stretched up into the sky as it shone brightly in the morning sun. However as she looked around she couldn't shake the feeling that something big was coming just around the corner.
A high pitched revving sound caught Leaf's attention, dragging it away from the hospital building as a sleek silvery grey vehicle pulled up next to her. Leaf grinned slightly as the door opened and she slipped into the front left seat, her interface identifying the vehicle as a high speed police interceptor.
"Manual control please." She said, unclipping her badge and showing it to the micro camera hidden in the center of the dash above the holo display.
A small beep signaled at her as the black material of the dash in front of her shimmered, the shape of a steering wheel quickly assembled itself. Leaf reached out and grasped the wheel, the hard memory plastic still warm from the nano-scale manufacturing process. A pair of pedals formed on the inside of the foot-well as the car sent her a notification that the task had been complete.
As she pulled away from the hospital, her window down to let the airflow through the cabin, Leaf grinned. She might not use the Pegasus body she was born with but that didn't mean she didn't love the feeling of air rushing through her hair.
"Car, patch a connection through to the web, I've been disconnected for a day. Let's get me up to date."