Unlimited Books, But No Book

It's been about an hour. An hour of awkward tension that's slowly been fading, as the pair find comfort in the familiarity of their talks. Only difference now, they're like a foot or two from each other, sitting on the only thing big enough on Barnon's ship to seat multiple people. His bed.

They could've folded it into the couch form, but honestly, the bed form was just the shit; it gave them room to sprawl and lay about, giving both Barnon's natural lazy posturing, and Twilight's Pony anatomy, a way to get properly comfortable. A tray of some of the lighter snacks from his fridge, and off-brand soda sat on the coffee table beside them. (Twi wasn't as surprised by the carbonation as Barnon thought she'd be--did they have Soda over there?)

"So... she was furious." Barnon guesses.

Twilight had explained... most, of what had happened, leaving out a few details... like her Journal, and was finally recounting the moments before she appeared on his ship.

"I've never seen her so upset. So disappointed. Not even at the Canterlot Wedding... that was the first time she ever looked at me like that!" Twilight throws her hooves in the air, slumping across the bed again.
"She was yelling at me to show her where it was. How portals like that can destabilize the very balance of the world, shift realities!"

"...Can they?" Barnon asks, glancing at the Macrowave. Didn't look any different than usual.

"Some portals. B-but not this one! I tested it, numerous times! Daily, almost! All my research into it showed that it was stabilized!" Twilight protests.

"Do you think she meant what happened between the portals, rather than just the portal itself? Like the objects that were being passed through, or us reaching through it?" Barnon offers, taking a nibble of a snack from the tray.

Twilight shakes her head.
"I thoroughly tested every single item that you gave me, including the Holopad." She states; though gives him a guilty look about having left it behind. "Not a single one was emitting, causing or serving as the catalyst for any reality-destabilizing behavior."

"...Sounds to me like she's got some pretty loaded experience with Portals and things going shifty, and doesn't want the same happening to you." Barnon muses, chewing.

"Oh." Twilight deflates, remembering.

"Oh?" Barnon shifts, attention renewed.

"...Yeah, she does. There was a whole... Mirror issue that she told me about. When she was younger... when Starswirl, her mentor, was alive. It almost combined our worlds, and she had to give up the Pony she loved to keep them stable..." Twilight summarizes, looking down at the floor.

"Yikes. Think its the whole "Doesn't want you going through what she went through" thing?" Barnon asks.

Twilight falls silent, sighing.
"...Probably. I feel terrible about it, but...it's a little late for that." She mumbles.

"So what happened? She came to close the portal, right? Why did that end with you using it to hop here?" Barnon leans back, joining her in the slump-across-the-bed.

"...I, uh... at least wanted a chance to say goodbye." Twilight says muffled into her hooves, before idly stroking her mane.

"Dawwww." Barnon lets out an exaggerated, lip quivering 'aw' -- earning him a slap on the shoulder by a particularly purple hoof.

"She said there wasn't time. That we had to shut the portal, now. So... I did. Just... with me on the other side." She sighs, taking a deep breath. She still remembered the absolutely shocked face Celestia made when she realized what Twilight was doing.

"And now I'm... here." She finishes, quietly. She stares at the floor for a long moment, before finally speaking up again; her tone wobbly and filled with worry.
"Did I make a mistake, Barnon? What if she was right? I tested it so many times, but I could have missed something -- and she's my Mentor, my Teacher. She knows better. And what about Spike? What if opening a portal to go home does cause a problem this time? I can't just leave him there. Sure, he could go home to Canterlot, with my Mom and Dad -- but I don't want him to think I abandoned him or s-something." Twilight starts to ramble, sniffing.

She feels a warm hand tussle her mane, rubbing against her head.
"Oh, I'm sure the Macrowave/Microwave interchange stabilized the polarity of the Portals, ensuring an equal footing of Time and Space. If it was a Reality based issue, than the items we'd exchanged would've already caused a significant problem in regards to distortion and dilation. You can probably use that magic-soaked Gem you gave me as a powerbank to help boost your return trip, too, whenever you want to go back. Or at the least, we could send a letter? You're the Princesses prized Student after all -- even if she's upset by this particular path you've set into motion, as long as you commit to it with your full chest, there'll be no shame behind the consequences."
Barnon explains, bullshit flowing from his mouth. He had no idea about anything he just said. It sounded smart, though. And hopefully comforting. Sage-like, was what he was going for.

The little purple pony looks up at him from underneath her bangs, sniffling and wiping her nose with a hoof.
"Y-you think so?"

He had no clue.
"Don't see why not. You're a clever one; you'll probably know this whole ship better than me in a weeks time."

She stifles a giggle.
"Are you sure you don't mind? About me staying, the Holopad..."

"Nah, you seem like good company. You gave me my Macrowave back, too. We'll call it even." Barnon shrugs, giving her mane a final ruffle. She was fucking soft.
"Oh, we'll probably need to establish ground rules or something. And a list of the things you'll need."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asks, rubbing away another sniffle.

"Like, don't use my toothbrush -- and if you'll need a toothbrush. Or a regular hair brush. Or like... well, tell you what. Let's do it this way." Barnon starts, but decides to cut to an easier route.

He rolls back on the bed, hands supporting his head.
"Pooputer?"

"Yes?" The AI Ship-Post voice chirps over the internal speakers. Twilights ears twitch as she glances around for the voice.

"Uh... check previous Spamazon orders for Holopad, re-order same, Quantity of 1, Elite Shipping. Import Bookmarks, Cookies and Cloud-Saved Files. Nothing else."

There's an affirmative ping. "299.89 deducted from your dedicated Spamazon account. Spamazon thanks you for your continued, non-negotiable consumerism."

Silence takes the little ship again.

Twilight leans closer to Barnon, whispering.
"Barnon... I've been meaning to ask, who is that?"

"The Ship. It's got like an... assistant thing built-in, so I can speak to it and have it handle basic or pre-programmed commands, instead of having to type shit into my console." Barnon explains, rolling onto his side so he's facing the purple pony. They're closer, now. "Give it like... two hours, and we'll have a new Holopad."

Twilight nods, idly tapping her hooves. "She sounds... nice." Twilight mumbles, still not entirely sure what any of that meant.

"Oh, check this out. Shidooder?" Barnon loved having a long, preset list of things that sounded even remotely close to Ship, Computer, or AI. Barnon is pretty sure if he moaned at the right pitch, it would activate. The fun he had, all alone, deep in space.

"Yes?" It chirps.

"Swap Personality Program." Barnon states. Twilight watches him, curious.

"Certainly. Which would you prefer?" There's an inquisitive ping, awaiting answer.

"List currently licensed."

"Certainly. In regards to Personality Modules, Voice Modules, and Sub-Additions; you currently have temporary, revokable at any time ownership of..." The Computer voice begins to list several options.

"Eldritch Horrors and Screams from Beyond the Void, V.012"
"Farts, and only Farts V2 - More Farts"
"Intergalactic Recognized Spanish; Un-Gendered."
"Historical Earth Spanish; Re-Gendered."
"Mo'Tisha, the Ghartuvian Comedian."
"Jerry Seinfeld from Seinfeld."
"Regular Voice, but muffled to simulate Tunnels underneath the Ship. Feat - New, New York Ambience - Optional Yiddish Ambience."
"Racist Grandfather - Alcoholic and Religious Options, with Ethnicity Variations available."

"This concludes page 1 of 13. Shall I continue?" The Computer chirps.

Barnon gives Twilight an expectant look. She seems completely overwhelmed by both the situation, and the options.
"Go on, pick one, or try the next page." Barnon urges, giving her side a poke. He spent way too much money on this kind of shit, anyway. "We've got like two hours to kill."

"To... kill?" Twilight asks, confused.

"To waste. Sorry, Human saying." Barnon corrects. She makes an 'Ooohhhh' face, tapping her hoof against her chin.

"... What's Yiddish Ambience?" Twilight asks.