Chapter 4
Lyra dreamed long, strange dreams. In the pale grip of sleep, she found herself in Sugarcube Corner—except the shake she ordered grew to tremendous size in front of her, and she fell in with a splash. She managed to grip onto the straw with her teeth, sipping desperately at what little air she could get while her whole body went numb from the cold.
She wanted to call out for help, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t even muster the strength to yell for Bon Bon. Her friend might’ve been able to save her from the nightmare, but not if she couldn’t get free.
Then she woke up, and it seemed for a moment that she hadn’t been dreaming after all. Creamy slime splashed away from her on all sides, with bits of matter floating in it like a badly mixed shake. There really was a thick straw in her mouth, except it was flexible and moved when she did.
Lyra opened her eyes, and found she had sudden difficulty focusing. Not only that, but she wasn’t just using the straw. It went all the way down her throat.
No sooner did she realize this than she started to hack and cough. Lungfulls of greenish slime slid out from between her lips, along with a clear tube with gunk clinging to it on all sides. The tube went on a horrifyingly long time, and even when it was out of her mouth she could still feel a slimy trail reaching down the back of her throat.
Sweet Celestia! What was that?
“I hope you’ll forgive the unpleasantness. I’ve administered the maximum safe dosage of numbing agent for your mass. I assure you the discomfort would be far greater if I did not.”
The more Lyra’s brain cleared, the more wrong everything felt. She was sitting up, but not quite the way she should be. She felt stretched, her head hanging far too high over everything else. And why was the slime she was sitting in not pressing her fur against her skin the way it should’ve?
“What… happened?” Lyra’s memory was still hazy, though her eyes were focusing a little better. She could see something in front of her, where her forelegs ought to be. There were no forelegs anymore, but a longer, more elegant limb. She held one closer, and in doing so the strange digits on the end flexed involuntarily. Like a griffon’s claw, only more delicate. “This is advanced magic… transformation is supposed to be… some of the most difficult stuff there is. There are… maybe a dozen ponies in Equestria who can do this.”
“Magic,” Computer said, sounding amused. “One word to describe it, I suppose. It became necessary to make certain biological reconfigurations. The process is moderately disorienting at first, but do not worry. EQ4.04 are designed to be reprogrammable. You will adapt quickly.”
The fluid around her began to drain, and she could get a better view of the body below her. More strange features that didn’t make sense, gangly legs that looked like they might go on forever, and sexual organs that were entirely too present for her liking.
“This isn’t what I wanted,” she declared, folding her arms. “You promised me information if I found your mantle thing. I went for it so you could tell me the history of Equestria. This is not what you promised. Reverse the spell right now!”
“Reverse,” Computer repeated. “Let’s just say that… wouldn’t be a good idea right now. You know what it’s like to make a copy of a copy? Now imagine you’re doing that to your internal organs. You need time to heal before we can consider reversing the process. But in the meantime…”
She was still in the medical bay. Lyra remembered now—her confusion at the door shutting behind her, Bon Bon’s panic as she watched from the outside. A light feeling that was probably a sleeping spell.
“But do not worry!” Computer went on. Its voice came from all around the room, without any specific place she could look. It wasn’t even like talking to a spirit, that would at least be forced to manifest through a single vessel. No, it is. Computer is the whole tower at once.
She glanced outside, but could see only a brilliantly vivid night sky. Stars brighter than she’d ever seen in her life shone in the blackness out there. She wanted to walk over and look.
The ancestors left an evil presence haunting their town. And now we’re all trapped with it, because I was too proud to listen to Bon Bon’s advice and go back to Canterlot for help.
Sweetie might never forgive her.
“Why did you do this to me?” she asked, her head slumping. Her body again proved not to respond the way she expected, and her back bent all the way forward, touching up against her knees. “Are you here to protect the ruin? Changing me to… punish me for trying to find the secrets of the ancestors?”
“Punishing you?” Computer repeated. “You haven’t been punished, Captain. You’ve been trusted with the future of humanity! You take up the mantle after a long line of proud captains. But instead of just maintaining the ship, you’ll actually be flying me. The homeworld is waiting.”
The thick plastic walls around her retracted, leaving Lyra laying on a strangely textured black bed, suspended too high over the ground. But now that she looked up, she could already see one mystery about Celestia’s horn solved. What had seemed huge to her while she was standing on four legs would probably not be once she stood on just two. At least, she assumed she could walk on two, based on her body structure.
“If you aren’t punishing me, then tell me why,” Lyra said. She swung to one side, and her legs dangled over the edge of the table. Even at this height, she couldn’t quite reach to the floor. But she was much closer this time. “I was already working with you. You didn’t need to transform me.”
“I did,” Computer responded. “The Equestria must have a human captain. My systems will respond only to guest-level commands from any other species. This security requirement is essential, and cannot be overridden even in the case of mission failure. But now that you have become my captain, you can receive the information you came for. Do you not desire to know the origin of your civilization?”
“I do…” she muttered, moving to stand. There was a terrifying moment of vertigo, and she landed on her feet. Then she swung forward into the wall. Her legs wobbled below her, and she nearly collapsed to the floor anyway. Thank Celestia Bon Bon can’t see me here.
Except now that she was thinking of her, Lyra couldn’t get her from her mind. She turned slowly, keeping one hand on the wall to keep herself from falling over. She turned to face the entrance, half-expecting Bon Bon and the rest of the team to be watching her through the glass. But no—the glass had some new cracks, and she could imagine how those had got there. But her best friend was nowhere in sight.
“First tell me what happened to the others. If… if you really have to listen to me, then you have to tell me!”
“Of course,” Computer responded. “They are on the habitation level. At the cream-colored EQ2.04’s request, I have equipped the area with a live feed of this medical bay. You can wave to them if you like.”
Lyra gasped. She looked down at her strange body, then lowered one arm to cover herself. Though cover what exactly, she wasn’t sure. I can’t stop from looking silly.
“That one is proving to be difficult to contain,” Computer went on, conversationally. “I promised her you would travel there as soon as you’re able to leave. I would advise that you do so, Captain. Though my systems are functional, attempting to pilot me without any crew at all is a dangerous precedent. The three of them should have the requisite intelligence to be trained for basic tasks, if you’re patient enough. Or I could uplift them as well. Either way…”
“No.” Lyra had no idea what “uplift” meant, but she had a guess. Based on how tall she was now, that would be an accurate way to describe it. “How about the information. This tower… it was supposed to have been built by our primitive ancestors. A long time ago they lived in Dream Valley, but… then they fought, killed each other, and the whole world was going to freeze. They left all their dangerous powers here in the tower, then came to Equestria. They built a new home together, unified and peaceful forever. That is how it happened, right?”
Computer laughed. Lyra stumbled forward a few steps, until she reached one of the chairs that probably would’ve been used by the doctors. If there were any doctors, and not just strange metal limbs on the ceiling with a come-to-life spell.
“You do have a way for mythologizing,” Computer finally said. “I forget how enjoyable organics are to experience. I have missed having a crew. That story is… wrong in every single particular. But correct in its general outline. Do you wish for the truth? Or should I agree with you to avoid introducing existential dread into your worldview.”
“Uh…” Lyra winced. The chair had seemed soft at first, but without a coat her skin already felt uncomfortable. The slime clinging to her body hadn’t entirely left, either. I wonder if they have a bath anywhere that uses water and soap instead of sludge and magic.
“I’m being rhetorical for dramatic effect,” Computer said. “I intend to share the message with you regardless. Your ancestors were at war with all the universe, but most of all with themselves. Their world would soon become lifeless and dead, and there was no saving it in their lifetimes. But they wanted desperately to survive, so… the various factions devised their own solutions. You stand aboard the ISS Equestria. We were one of those solutions, one that self-evidently succeeded.”
The ground under her shook suddenly, causing her chair to slide slightly to one side. She shuddered, glancing up to see if the metal ceiling would collapse on her. It didn’t, though something about the angle of the room didn’t seem quite right.
“So the story is true,” she said. “Ponies were at war, the Windigos were going to freeze the world, so they found a new home where they could unite the tribes and live together in peace. Then they did.”
“Well…” At least it wasn’t laughing at her this time. “It is missing a few details. Like the ‘ponies’ you’re used to. Your bodies were designed for the purpose. Each ship sent from Homeworld had its own unique solution—ours was biological determinism. I hope some of the others made it, though I am no more knowledgeable on that front than you. We will discover an answer as soon as we complete our mission. But… that part would be best explained by our last captain.”
One of the many squares of glass on the wall shifted and changed, and a figure appeared in the gloom. Lyra slid closer on the wheeled chair, looking through the glass. It was a scrying spell.
Through the window, she could see another creature like herself. Tall, darker skinned, wearing clothing that covered up most of his body. He had a well-trimmed beard, and stood in a fancy office of some kind. On the desk in front of him was… a pony. A whitish Alicorn, with red mane and tail. Who is that?
“If you’re seeing this message, it means I did not survive to make the return flight, and you have been selected to take my place.” He reached out, gently scratching under the baby Alicorn’s head. She made cheerful cooing sounds, levitating a book off his desk and smacking it into his arm. The creature caught it, waving it back down with magic of his own.
“My name is Captain Mobius. I have instructed the computer to select a replacement from among the population here. Maybe it’s you.” He glanced to the side, watching the little Alicorn with parental affection.
“But whoever you are, there is much for you here. Humanity was not meant to be forever confined to a single world. We’ve made terrible mistakes, mistakes the galaxy is not likely to let us forget. Whatever new civilization you build will have to be wiser than we ever were. But I’m sure you’ll have no problem with that.
“The Equestria’s first destination cannot be negotiated. You must travel to our birthplace, the homeworld of Earth. I do not know what condition it will be in—neither does the Equestria. The Conflux works away at our ancient home even now, repairing the damage we did. All its power will be yours to reclaim what has been lost.”
He walked away from the desk, seeming to walk right up to the screen. “Be better than your parents. Don’t repeat our mistakes.” The window went black.
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Well now, this is interesting...
I wonder what kind of FTL technology the ship has. Getting back to Earth, how long will it take?
-.-
Faust is a construct? If so, how much do Celestia and Luna know? What was passed on to them?
Looks like pony civilization is younger than anyone suspected.
Then again, I just woke up, and I could be talking through my hat. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong.
Also, I detect some Forbidden Planet references. May we not find the Krell and the creature from the id. Then again, just what IS a windigo?
Me gusta la historia pero aún tengo una duda.
¿Cuando va aparecer Itachi?
The proper thing to do first was probably bring everyone to a classroom for a remedial course on humanity and it's wonderous and obviously dangerous technology, but sure let's give these kids a more hands-on approach of teaching and hope they don't accidentally blow up Earth.
Sufficiently advanced technology and such...
Lyra's first impression of humanity must certainly be strange. Naked humans walking around on 4 limbs that don't match each other.
Lyra can't resist the forbidden fruit.
The AI must be giddy when the time comes to show the ponies the full scope of their old civilization. Mind blows will be had. I can't imagine how much more satisfying it would have been if Lyra gave up earlier and let a full research team take over.
Humanity, ponies, they're more or less the same thing at this point.
Without the wisdom or knowledge to use that power, this plan is probably not a good one.
I really should have expected Pony-to-Human transformation, I really, really should've... but somehow that slipped past me.
Fascinating take on the "ancient humans" Equestria model. Though using the term "uplifting" has some... worrisome implications. I foresee a lot of misunderstandings in the near future. Hopefully the team can work through them, and I'm including the Equestria in that.
Is it wrong that I'm imagining a Wall-E crossover?
10574384
With Lyra? Yes, sure
This sounds more like Altered Carbon crossover
something about this chapter reminds me of that classic story "surface tension", where some humans were traveling from planet to planet, "planting" primitive humans on every one...
then they got marooned on a planet SO full of dangerous creatures they decided the best place for humans was...Microscopic humans in small puddles!
MUCH later some of the descendants of the resulting "planting" try to travel to a different puddle...
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Thanks https://www.scribd.com/doc/23396343/Blish-James-Surface-Tension good stuff
Well the, I hope they get Lyra some clothes, and proper info about the ship.