//------------------------------// // Embers of the Old // Story: Skyborn // by That Avi Nerd //------------------------------// Aurora opened her eyes to a world blocked by a blue haze. Moving her mane out of the way she found that it was still swaying in the wind up-side-down. She could feel the rope cutting into the bottom of her right leg as it held her to the tree branch. The sun was beginning to set behind the far mountains and the sky slowly changed colors. It had been several hours at least she guessed since she passed out. She secretly prayed to pass out again so she wouldn't have to feel her pounding migraine. Taking a deep breath the pegasus assessed her situation. The wolves were no where to seen. She listened closely to the different species of birds chirping, to the crickets and frogs. It seemed as though she was the only thing in the area. A snap. Somewhere nearby a twig was broken in half with force. Aurora held her breath with the rest of the world. Everything became maddeningly quiet. Her own heart's pounding seemed to echo through the trees. Oxygen deprived she let out an exhausted breath before inhaling deeply. I have to get out of this, the pegasus panicked. She crunched herself forward, bringing her head and arms towards her tail. Aurora fiddled around with the rope around her leg for a few seconds before giving up after it didn't budge. Following it up to where it connected to the branch, she thought she could see a gab. Maybe I can slide it off of the branch... Unfurling her wings Aurora levitated herself up to the branch's height. She grabbed onto the knot and pulled the loop towards the thinner parts of the branch with all her might. It took several heaves before it gave way, sliding a few feet until it was caught by a small branch sticking out. She wrapped a hoof around the smaller branch, tucking in her wings and using her body weight as she fell to break it. The main branch bent slightly, dragged down by the relative stick Aurora had just broken. The pegasus found herself hanging by the rope still. She attempted to fly back up to the branch but couldn't. A sharp pain had shot its way around her barrel and her wings had snapped to her sides. The world fell back up-side-down. The force of her fall swung her like a pendulum into the trunk of the tree, worsening her migraine. "Ow..." Aurora groaned. She looked around to find out what happened. Around her waist was a rope that was wrapped around her several times. Had part of it broke and entangled her? When she inspected the rope still holding her up it seemed undamaged besides a few frays. The air behind her seemed to shift. It felt warmer and the gentle breeze had stopped. Aurora drew a sharp breath as something touched the back of her shoulder. Slowly the forest spun around until it turned into a pair of orange and gold emblazoned eyes. She could see the smile in them which countered her own scowl. "Greetings, Skyborn," the feminine voice said. With a strained snap the fibers of the rope frayed apart to release the pegasus from her captive tree. Like butter on toast Aurora fell on the last place she wanted, her head. At least from here she could better see her new captor. An earth pony who looked no older than her. The new mare's coat was orange, highlighted by a long reddish-brown mane that had a slight curl in the end. She too had what seemed like blue cuts along her body. Though being this close she could see a texture to it that resembled paste. "Ash," she looked to a pony Aurora couldn't see, "test her." Aurora struggled in the ropes that bound her. She could see the gray legs of a pony approaching from the side. Black hairs of the pony's mane blocked her vision as the pony leaned down towards her. Something cold and runny ran along the side of the pegasus' neck. It even had a somewhat rotten odor to it that seemed to fade away, that or she had just gotten used to it. The pony moved away and Aurora could see again. The orange mare was standing over her again. "Looks negative," said the gray mare. "So it looks like," said the orange pony with an inquisitive expression. "Hoping for something different?" "Yeah," she sighed, "Now we can't just leave her. Osiris want's to be all goody and help everypony. So, Skyborn, looks like you get to come with us." Aurora glared back at the mare. "Wanna take the ropes off? Then I will!" The gray pony started walking towards Aurora, and for a moment she thought that it was going to work, at least until the other spoke up. "Hey!" she barked, "What do you think you're doing?" "Undoing the ropes, Ember, so she can get up." Ember, as she was apparently called, put her hoof to her face. "You twit, Ash, she's a pegasus!" There was a moment of silence. Judging by Ember's stare it would seem that the other pony, known as Ash, wasn't getting the point Ember was trying to make. With an expressive hoof, she continued, "She has wings! If you take the ropes off she'll just fly away. Leave them, and tie one around her neck so we can walk her back." Ash fiddled with a length of rope for a moment, tying off a loop in one end into a knot. She slid it over the neck of Aurora as if it were a noose before tightening it flush with the pegasus' fur. Taking the other end of the newly created around her fore-arm, Ash lead Aurora, following Ember through the woods and back onto the path. "Where are we going?" Aurora interrogated them, but to no answer." She thought that they might be headed towards the village ruins that she had originally fled from. That maybe somehow they were with the wolves and that the latter were guards of some-sort. Preposterous, she thought, shaking her head to expel herself of the silly idea. No, they were headed deeper into the forest. The local wildlife gave no heed to their presence, continuing about their days normally, chirping and buzzing and flying about. The forest became darker and thicker the deeper they went. Above them the thick canopy nearly blotted out the sunlight completely to create an unnatural night. Even the bark of the trees themselves became darker. The leaves on bushes were replaced with thorns, forcing them along the stone path. It twisted and swirled through the forest. Aurora lost all sense of direction. For a few hundred feet she swore they were headed back the way they came. Throughout the short journey her mind was a myriad of questions. Who where these ponies? Where are we? More importantly, how have they survived, and did we not see them for so long? Aurora's captors had been bantering back and forth for sometime, but she only now cared to listen. Mainly because it involved her. "Why does Osiris want a Skyborn so badly?" Ash had asked. In her voice Aurora had noticed the youth in her voice in comparison to Ember. "Beats me. Guess she's fascinated with them. She's the only pony who doesn't hide when their ships go by." The path opened up to a small clearing just before a ravine. A well maintained rope bridge seemed to be the only way to cross. Ember was the first to start the cross, shortly followed by Ash and Aurora. Midway across Aurora looked down. Albeit it wasn't as rickety as the bridges in her swashbuckling stories from the library, she was still worried that one of the planks might give way at any moment. She wanted to fly, she didn't trust the ground. Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. In the mist that hugged the bottom of the valley was something large and artificial. A skeleton, made of metal. Deformed rings long since rusted out and warped in the sun. Beams had once connected the rings together, but most had severed over the years. Sheets of torn fabric stuck to some of the pieces like shredded skin. At one point they were as white as clouds, but now were stained by nature. The rings were biggest in the center, tapering off gently in size on either side until they disappeared entirely into the mist. On one end, a maze of metal scaffolding shot crookedly up. More canvas covered its side, and emblazoned in white paint that was chipping away at the edges, was a large number. Despite being led on across the bridge, Aurora managed to slow to a stop, her eyes fixated on the symbol. Navis 8... It was the sister ship to Navis 7. The pair were the largest of the projects, carrying more ponies, more supplies, more research. Despite the success of the Navis project not all of the airships survived the last 200 years. Only a hooffull had crashed. Most were located, but Navis 8 had been unheard-from for the past five decades. Ash stopped to see what was the matter with her charge. She followed the pegasus' eyes. "Crashed years ago," she said as-a-matter-of-factually. "The technology helped us." "Did anypony survive?" Aurora asked. Each ship had life pods on board, for both water and earth landings. Had these ponies survived the disease outbreak, or were they decedents of survivors from this ship? "No," Ember's words were cold as she stood by the pegasus. "Though you Skyborns may be different from us in many ways, you're still ponies. Don't worry, they were all given as proper-burials as we could manage. We see these ships many times a season. This is the only one we've been able to touch. So far." Aurora wasn't sure what to make of her final sentence. All of her attention was back to her home, to Navis 7. The last she saw of it was a gaping ball of fire ripping from the side of the ship. If the emergency repair teams on board didn't fix any holes in the skin on time, they'd end up just like this. Her family... Mother, father, sister, brother. Her friends... Rose, Buck, Storm. Hundreds of ponies, years of research to end this terrible plight, gone. The trio of ponies had exited from the fore-deck. Their return trip had been dominated by silence. All their minds were wondering. What had Admiral Hawkins told Captain Aries? Where was Aurora? What happened to the ship? Since the explosion, the ship had been sent into temporary chaos. In all the districts alarms had gone off. Ponies were still running around, trying to find loved ones and repair damages. Street lights had been toppled. Build's walls had been cracked. Street stalls and anything that wasn't secured to the floor had been tossed about, completely demolished. Slowly ordered was being restored at the guard's directions. "This is bad..." Buck muttered. "Our parents are going to be worrying about where we are," Rose pointed out. "We should all go home like Aries said." The two looked to Storm, waiting his turn to say something. The stallion looked intent, his brows furrowed. There was a slight frown to his lips. Almost anypony around would have been able to see the gears turning in his head had they paid enough attention to. "Storm?" Rose poked the side of the pony, asking again, "Storm?" "Meet me outside Aurora's house tonight. After lights." "You got a plan you want to let us in on buddy?" Buck asked. "No. But if you want in, be there. If not, I'll go alone." Storm took to the air, flying back down the district corridor towards his home in the seventh ward. Rose and Buck exchanged glances, shrugging, before continuing on their own paths home. Several hours later, the lights across Navis 7's interior had shut off. Only what street level lights were left turned on. Just as they did, Storm's window opened. He swiftly glided out, not bothering to shut it behind him. Across the district, Rose's phone rang. Thankfully for her her mother had answered it, per the plan. Buck had called asking for a book. Being the good friend she was, Rose was quick to help a friend in need, leaving the house quickly under the promise of being back soon. Between the two, Buck had hung up the phone, telling his own parents that Rose needed something from him, and proceeded to act out a similar scene to a near award worthy performance. The two ponies met up quickly, sticking to the shadows. Generally ponies were expected to be out after lights. If seen, surely they would be stopped and questioned. Storm waited patiently outside his pegasus friend's home. This time of night it looked deserted completely. He wondered if Captain Aries had returned home. Aurora wasn't in her room at least, that much he had already checked into when he flew up to her window, peering inside. His ears flickered to the sound of ponies whispering around the corner. Storm flew up to the roof of the house behind him, landing gently as to not be heard. From the adjacent street Buck and Rose turned, gently jogging towards Aurora's house. For a moment the stood in the middle of the street looking around for their friend. He pounced from the roof behind them, gliding to a soft landing just between them and Aurora's home. "You made it," Storm said with a raised brow. It wasn't that he think that they wouldn't come along with his half-hearted plan, but that they couldn't. "You've got an idea," Buck started out, "and it involves helping our friend. Of course we're in." "So what is it?" asked Rose with a tall posture. Storm bent forward, allowing the saddlebag that was on his back to slide off and over his head, landing in the center of the group. Opening one flap revealed rope, a flashlight, and various other tools. The other had dark clothes, and a plastic card with a metallic clip. He picked the card up in one hoof, showing it's face to the others. "Snagged it off Aries during the commotion," a coy smile facilitated his words. "We're going in. To find out what happened to the ship. And to our friend. You still in?" His eyes shifted back and forth between the two.There was barely a pause before they nodded their heads. Outside the entrance to the fore-deck, a single guard pony dutifully stood his post. His eyes swept from right to left, looking for anything, or anypony, suspicious. Since the ship's sudden course change, things had been quiet. Normally he had a partner with him. Tonight however he was running around with patrols trying to restore order and survey the damages, leaving the other guard to himself. Hours of methodical silence passed. Then finally something happened. Something different Something he could run to and investigate! There was a clash of commotion next to a nearby shop, just across the street, within sight of him too! A darkly cloaked figure sprinted behind the street light. A burglar! the guard thought. In search of stories to tell the others, he took off after it. To his dismay it had disappeared behind a building around the corner. Head held low, he trotted back to his post, turned around, and continued to look right to left, over and over again until his relief came in a few hours. Inside of the white-lit corridor, Rose used her magic to swoop a black cloak around and on to her. Buck and Storm stood by her side, the duo clad in all black sweats. Storm nodded in appreciation at her idea to distract the guard. He led them down the hall carefully, taking hesitant steps forward while listening for anypony. It was nearly two in the morning, so the hope was that most everypony would be asleep save for essential workers. They twisted and twirled their way through the maze of corridors. Around one corner Storm halted the group. At the end of the hall were a group of ponies surveying the damages near the far wall of the ship. Shattered glass was being swept up, light fixtures being put back in their places. The walls seemed scorched near the edges that connected to what would have been the outside but was now covered by a metal blast door. As soon as the ponies looked in the opposite direction, Storm ushered the group across. Traveling deeper into the fore-section of the ship they found themselves standing in the sacred hallways of the AIR Team. They slowly trotted through, most of their attention scowering the names on the tiles above. Storm's point of interest was up ahead. The door to Captain Aries' office. He tried the knob, which rattled in his hoof but wouldn't turn. His next attempt involved him slamming his shoulder into it in an attempt to force it open. Rose and Buck were behind him keeping watch down the hall, each hit increasing their paranoia that some pony would turn up and catch them. "Let me try?" Buck changed spots with Storm. He pushed on it with a hoof to see how much give it had as is. Seeing that it barely moved he took a step further back than where Storm was. Angling his head away he charged at the door. Under his weight and force it gave way with a mighty crack as the wood notch for the lock gave way to splinters. Storm and Rose hurried themselves inside, while Buck did his best to close the door, re-locking it. The room was dark. A sliver of moonlight slipped through the gap in the middle of the closed curtains. Peeling them back to look outside Rose saw an infinite blackness above and below. The moon light reflected off of wave caps, the only clue to the ocean below. Buck kept an ear pressed against the broken door, eyes closed in silent concentration, waiting to hear any clue of somepony's approach. With Rose's help, Storm searched the desk. Papers and file folders were strewn about the top. Weather reports, mishap reports, injury reports, damage reports, gear reports, reports, reports, reports, more reports. Nopony would have thought that survival would have been so beurocratical. Storm noticed the picture frames off to the side while Rose started to go through the various drawers. It showed his whole family: mother, father, daughter, Aurora, son, and another stallion he hadn't met. He had heard rumors about the death of Aurora's brother, an AIR Team member, but he never heard Aurora herself talk about him. "Anything?" Buck asked from the door, his voice slightly hushed as if somepony in the hallway would have heard him. "No," Rose moved on to the line of filing cabinets along side the wall. Storm shook his head, changing his focus to elsewhere around the room. Pulling out each individual drawer and searching the names on the tabs of the folders was meticulous. After several Storm came over to help her. They met in the middle, and neither was able to pull it open. In the top right corner of the drawer was a keyhole. "Locked," she cursed under her breath. "Can you open it somehow?" asked Storm. Another his questioned was directed at Rose, Buck managed to hear and reply. "Got it," he trotted over to the pair. "I would like what-ever contents are inside to survive, thank you. Rose, can you do it?" The mare had been dwelling over it. "I've got an idea for it," her horn lit up as much as her grin. Her reddish-pink magic wrapped itself around the lock, most of it slipping inside of the hole. After a tense minute, a gentle click, and the magic disappeared. "Care to do the honors?" Storm stood where she had, and pulled back on the handle. The drawer glided open seemingly on its own. It contained a single minella folder, about a half an inch in thickness, layed flat on the bottom. "More reports..." Buck sighed. The label, however, read Reconnaissance reports. Luck would have it that that was the moment the door opened. Light washed in, blinding the trio before the shadows of two ponies fell on them. A flip of a switch and the lights turned on to reveal their identities. "You shouldn't have opened that," said Captain Aries in a sharp tone. At his side, Admiral Hawkins. Night had fallen, bringing a relief to Aurora, who had been starting to burn up in her suit and gear. The group approached a second ravine, though not as wide or deep as the last. This too had a well maintained rope bridge stretching across it. On the other side was the broken remains of a castle. A tower on each side still stood, but anything higher than them had collapsed inward long, long ago. It seemed vaguely familiar to the pegasus. "Where are we?" Aurora asked to satisfy her curiosity. "Home..." Ember sighed. She was the first across the bridge. One the other side Aurora noticed a flickering light escaping from inside the castle. She swore she saw a shadow slip by one of the windows. The closer they got the more details she could see. For instance the recent woodworking on the sides of the castle in the weaker areas. Ponies had placed them to help maintain the structural integrity. The pair of doors opened for them when they were a few steps away. A warm glow of light and the smell of freshly baked bread wafted through. Aurora took a deep sniff of the scent, a smile growing on her face as much as the hunger in her stomach. Only now had she realized it had been almost an entire day since she's last eaten. Inside, various ponies milled about. Shop-like stalls lined the walls, all with their own goods. Fabrics, junk, rocks, gems, clothes, food. Ponies were flowing in from a set of stairs on the far side that spiraled down, while some came from another set of stairs on the other side that went up to a second floor. This seemingly abandoned castle from the outside was a thriving town. Just how many ponies live here? Aurora had wondered. Ember took them up the stairs and to the second floor. It contained a library far larger than that aboard Navis 7. The sight of it nearly made Aurora drool. But to her dismay she wasn't allowed to stop. Ash would push her on a chance whenever she tried to take an extended gaze at a book or two. She was lead to another pair of doors at the end of the room. On the other side was an elongated room with a large table in the middle. At the head of it say a yellow mare, who was signing different papers and forms, talking to the group of ponies around her. The mare looked up and saw the three standing at the door. "Everypony please excuse me," she said, standing up, "I have business to attend to. Ponies took their signed and unsigned papers, making their way out the door. Ember, Aurora, and Ash weaved past them. Once they reached the table, Ember and Ash stood on either side of Aurora. "So you're the Skyborn I've heard so much about..." said the mare. When she stood from her chair, Aurora could see her elderly mane. Her coat was faded with a slight sag, and her gray mane was dull. Her eyes seemed deep. "Who are you ponies?" Aurora questioned her. "I am Osiris. We are survivors. Pony's who have banded together. Fighting, everyday for one another, for the future, so we can see tomorrow's light. And we've done it without your... ships." "How, though? Everything was wiped out 200 years ago!" "Our ancestors managed to survive. They isolated themselves from the population centers, the town. They came here, to the Everfree Forest. Magic as it's known doesn't exist here... there was nothing for the virus to feed off of. So we survived. We built. You and your ships... You abandoned us." "Why didn't you signal the ships? Try to contact them?" "We have... but we've been ignored. The crashed ship we found, there were smaller crafts inside of it. We tried to pilot them but most of them broke. One was able to get airborne, a few months ago. We never heard from the crew." She took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. "Our people were abandoned. Celestia, Luna, your 'project.' So many ponies died... But it isn't your fault. You, and your ships, are our last hopes..." She looked at Ember, "Take off her suit and gear, store them with the others. Remove her restraints, too, she will no longer require escort. She will accompany me." "Yes, ma'am," Ember nodded. Ash removed the ropes, and just as they fell from her wings Aurora felt the need to spread them. To fly. Fly away from this castle. From the dark forest. Back home, to the ship, her friends, her family. Back to the sky! Or maybe even just to some random cloud to sleep it all away. But curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to know more. And she still needed a way to get home in the first place. She undid the harness holding the tank to her back. It fell to the floor with a hollow thud, the release of the weight relieving her back. She pulled down her hood, letting her mane breathe for the firs time in hours. Undoing the zipper, it took the help of the other two to peel the suit off. It had been stuck on like a second layer of fur. But once it flopped to the floor, chills shot down Aurora's spine from the change in temperature. Everything seemed so much cooler, better. "Come with me," Osiris said, stepping past Ember and Ash as they retrieved the fallen gear. "Somepony want's to meet you." Aurora followed the yellow mare. They went down to the first floor and retraced her initial steps back outside. A dimly lit path branched off next to the bridge, following the side of the ravine where it zig-zagged downwards. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Osiris seemed to follow the path with swagger, as if she took it every day to and from work. Even as they were enveloped in mist. The bottom was sandy and damp. The mist gave the impression of slight rainfall. She stuck by the mares side as to not lose her. They approached the entrance to a cave, the gaping hole covered by vines. "You first," Osiris said, parting the vines with a hoof. Aurora hesitated, then stepped inside. For a few moments all she could see was blackness. But everything lit of with a blue glow. The walls were tall and arced up to the roof. Purple crystals twinkled with their own essence. The floor was covered in vines of dark blues. In the center, was the last thing she thought to see. A single tree. Seemingly made of blue crystals. Thought its branches were leafless, it hung what seemed like diamonds from class string. She had never seen anything like it. But more importantly was what laid in front of it. To her side, Osiris bowed, "Your highness.