Off to See the Lights
"You will certainly love Central!" Sivrem said with a smirk. "It's a magnificent city, run by the Gray Feathers and built by the Gray Feathers before them and the Gray Feathers before them."
"Yes, and plenty of fruit and leatherback milk to go around!" another pegasus exclaimed.
"Wait..." Zaid tilted his head aside from where he stood on the Jury's top deck beside Props. "You mean to say you milk those giant floating devil ray thingies?"
"Yup!" A winged mare said with a smirk. "They provide us with nourishment and we provide them with protection from Durandana's elements! Symbiosis with nature is the Valkyrie's way, after all..."
"Plus," a stallion nodded and said, "The milk is delicious." Several other pegasi chuckled and whistled in approval.
"I see..." Zaid rubbed his chin. "So... ahem... it stands to reason th-that—"
Before he could finish his sentence, an enormous gong echoed across the Crater.
"Oh come on!" Zaid spun, frowning. Props giggled as he spat, "What now?!"
Sivrem produced an eagle's cry, lifting himself up high with a serious expression. "The Tower Rises."
"The Tower Rises" Every pegasus lifted up, their faces as serious as the First-Born.
"What is this, now?" Zaid frowned. "Batmare?"
"Zaid, shhhh!" Ebon insisted, squinting nervously aside. "They're going someplace—"
Every pegasus flew over the edge, soaring down towards the jungle canopy below.
"Where are they all going?!" Kera's voice cracked.
"Hrmmmf... good riddance, Floydien says."
"Handsome, please," Props said while trotting down the now-empty deck. "Something must have spooked them! They're not used to seeing the likes of Nancy, after all."
"No, I-I think it's something else," Pilate muttered. "Did you hear the seriousness in their voices? It was a completely different tone."
"Speaking of tones..." Josho rubbed his chins, blinking. "What was that loud noise just now?"
"A dragon farting?" Kera squeaked.
"Don't even g-go there," Ebon said with a shiver.
"Uhhhhh..." Floydien twitched, blinking high towards the eastern mists. "Don't every boomer glimmer inside out, now..."
"Why? What is it?" Props turned to look, then threw herself into Zaid's forelimbs with a shriek. "Aaaackie!"
"Whoah..." Kera cooed.
Out of the jungled basin to the east, an enormous wooden structure spiraled its way skyward. It rose at first like a drill, growing thinner and thinner as several helixes of wooden architecture locked in place. At last—when the tower was at its thinnest—it ended in a bulbous egg-shaped hollow, with large gaping holes carved into its east and west sides. Once it had reached its maximum height, the lantern-like structure swiveled ever so slightly, rotating its open sides in swaying motions.
After staring so long, the Jurists could make out a pulsing beacon emanating from some distant position east of the tower. At last, the golden beam made its way into the hollow at the top of the structure. The light made contact with something deep in the center, and suddenly the light intensified, leaving a fiery bright laser of gold light shooting due west, slicing the air above the heads of every crewpony on board the Jury.
"I'm at a loss," Pilate murmured, fidgeting. "What is everypony murmuring about?"
"Some sort of focused light is being funneled through the top of a stupidly tall wooden tower," Josho said, still blinking with wide eyes. "The source of it appears to be due east."
"Due east?" Pilate's ears twitched in thought. "Like... the Sun?"
Floydien nodded. "The walls of this mist hole are high enough to catch the glimmer shine at this time of day," the elk said.
"Well put, handsome..." Props climbed out of Zaid's grip, gulping. "But why? What for?"
"Because it looks cool?" Kera remarked.
"Pffft! We all know that, adoracuddles!"
Suddenly, the pegasi flew back up, hovering around the jury. Their lips moved as they finished a collective mantra under their breaths.
"...to secure and to protect the Gold Lights forever," Sivrem said, his grin slowly returning across the relaxed muzzle. "So promise the—"
"—foals of the Valkyrie forever," Jerrio and Kitsune murmured the loudest while the pegasi all around them gradually stood back up. "From First-Born to Last."
The rest of the winged ponies ended the mantra with several whoops, chirps, and cheers.
Belle and Eagle Eye were gawking at the peak of the brightly-lit tower high above them.
"At least now we know that they treasure something," Roarke said.
"Huh?" Rainbow glanced aside.
Roarke gazed at her. "A society that values something stands to lose that something." Her brow furrowed. "It's a key weakness we can exploit the moment they feel inspired to turn on us."
"Roarke!" Rainbow winced, glanced over her shoulder at the cheering pegasi, then leaned in to whisper. "Will you keep your friggin' paranoid bounty hunter delusions to yourself for one bucking day?! These ponies are not going to turn on us!"
"It helps to be prepared, Rainbow," Roarke droned. "After all, the predominating pattern of contact made with cultures during our flyby's have consisted of a fair shair of explosions."
"Yeah, well, these guys aren't gonna explode us!"
"And just how do you know that?"
"They're pegasi for crying out loud! They're not going to tear us limb from limb! Life's too awesome to spend it with empty skies!"
"I think you're making gross assumptions."
"And I think you're a poo poo buckethead!"
"Hey!" Rayvinne craned her neck, grinning. "What are you two lovers bickering about over there?"
Roarke and Rainbow immediately spun, shuffling a foot-and-a-half apart. "That gold! It sure is... golden! Yup! Totally!"
Bellesmith pointed up at the bright beam of light slicing through the misty air. "Is that the gold lights that you speak of?"
"Mmmmm..." Jerrio shook his head, smiling. "That is First Light. In four hours, there will be Mid Light. Then, eight hours from now, there will be Last Light."
"That's qu-quite the schedule you Durandanans have made for yourselves," Eagle Eye said. "Very elaborate."
"It is not a construction of ours," Kitsune explained. "The Gray Feathers before us built the towers, yes, but it is all to honor the Lights From Above."
"Lights From Above?" Rainbow asked.
Jagold giggled. "The Sun, ya silly gull!"
"Nothing other than the Righteous Lights that the Valkyrie and her foals owe their lives to," Jerrio said. "The Gold Lights try to emulate the Lights From Above, but the Gold Lights are fragile and require the constant protection of the Valkyrie's children."
"Oh really..." Belle turned and gave Rainbow a silent look. "How interesting..."
Rainbow gulped. She shook her saddlebag, causing the hilt of the Sword of Solstice to sink in deeper. "So... uhm..." Rainbow Dash squinted. "There's more than one tower?"
"Oh, totally!" Rayvinne and Jagold flew up high, grinning in one accord. "Would you like to go see them now?"
"Don't forget about Sivrem," Smythe said.
"Hey, enough standing around here!" Rainbow Dash said. "How about we kill two birds with one st—" She instantly winced. "Er, I mean, let's meet Sivrem and check out the towers along with my friends all in one go? H-huh?"
Eagle Eye face-hoofed while several pegasi laughed and chuckled. Belle smiled, her giggles joining the fray.
"Let's gust!" Jerrio said, taking off with Smythe and Kitsune in tow.
"There's no way we can catch up with them," Belle said.
"I doubt they'd let us even if we tried." Rainbow flapped her wings. "I'll go on ahead and follow them to the Jury." She turned and glanced down. "Roarke? Whizz it up?"
Roarke groaned, her ears folded. Motioning to Eagle and Belle, she turned around and trudged back towards where the Lounge sphere was parked. "Whizzing away, Rainbow..."
Stats
Page generated in 0.061 seconds
Total duration
1,090 users online
1,759,390 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Hm
I didn't know she could bend that way.
4710661 Kinky, I bet that solves all kinds of problems... in the engine room.
[whizzing intensifies]
Wait so they worship the sun?
4710766
[Sun Praising Intensifies]
Silly Changeling Ebon, change back.
4710661 Oh, you might finally get grilled cheese!
Hmm, I wonder what they would do if they found out that Dashie has a direct line to the pony who controls the sun...
Thirty crunches, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Dedicated followers of enthusiastic sects are all well and good, but occasionally you get some rising to the top, and I dont mean cheese curds, to who you turn up, and quite definitely show you have a direct line to their god, dont like the percieved usurpation of their god line power.
So not the machine world after all. I wonder how they would react to meeting Celestia, if they worship the sun meeting the one who moves it would blow their minds I bet. I hope that does happen before the Jury moves on.
Well, that's one hypothesis debunked. I still suspect the Machine World has some role in this, though.
Also, I love how Roarke is slowly resigning herself to her ship's fated name.
4710832 They'll probably explode from excitement.
I knew they'd worship lasers. Hell, I would to if I had a giant one of ancient origins in my neighborhood.
Also:
Not only is that the funniest thing all day, but a great way to end an argument with a cyborg. Simply adashable.
...I'll just pack my things...
4710811
Don't tempt fate!
I am this close of doing so.
[WHIZZING INTENSIFIES]
I wonder if Dash will give Celestia a call soon? I'm sure all the Pegasai would totally not freak out or anything!
So we've got a neato religious reverance for the sun (and moon?). Can't wait to see how that plays out. It's nice to step back into a moderately tribal society for once as opposed to the super high-tech places we've been visiting thus far.
24
I'm so hip with the youth.
Hmmm. There hasn't been a religion in the story yet which hasn't turned against us at some point. Withholding judgement until future.
Things can only go well from here.
Or maybe the real twist is that things DON'T go downhill from here.
Unida - Last Day
4710661 She's a Pinkie expy,of course she's that flexible.
I can't wait to see how the Durandans deal with the Sword of Solstice.
4711301 Well, there were the Mintian monks back in Blue Shelf, they were a cool bunch.
Although it lead to Belle shaving her head and Phoenix shaving his moustache, so there's that.
Has anyone mentioned this particular gem?
She's talking about Paint Bucket and Metal Mare.
The RianbowRoarke ship is sailing even stronger!
4711405 Oh yes, Celestia yes. I noticed.
They both jumped back, which means they both were thinking about it.
Rainboarke FTW
Ill go down with my ship.
4711392 Valid. You win this round Zaid. You win this round.
4711300
When I read this I thought of them getting really, really high for some reason.
4710832
It could go really well, or extremely badly, or neither. It could go bacon, ya never know with this series
get celestia
Still have no idea what the Gold Lights really are. Though it could still be a flame in the machine world, even though the tower wasn't one of those obelisks.
I tried to make a funny quip about cheese, and whether or not it would be available, but I couldn't think of anything. So I decided to Google how cheese is made to see if I could find something to work with there. After 45 minutes, I realized how much time I wasted looking up a way to make facts about cheese funny. I think I need to reevaluate my life.
4710886 says it like it is and will be. However, I imagine the rest of the pegasi are just gonna get super pumped about it while the Gray Feathers get all offended.
Also, 4711179 was right. It only took a chapter, but Belle... really? You clearly saw that Raibow was working a cover and you couldn't just play along?
4712371
Do I get a cookie?
I guess Belle knows that it'll only lead to more trouble to longer it goes on. They'd get suspicious quick whenever RD has no idea what's going on. With anything, at all.
Am I the only one who was vaguely reminded of this?
So, they praise the sun. Sword of Solstice, go! I wonder if the moon has any sort of importance in this pegasus society?
4712308 But at least you learned something, and that's what really matters.
"Poo poo buckethead"? These just keep getting better and better.
Ooo pretty lights...
4711692 They should just attach Ebon and make it a sailboat-ship.
Also, why do I suspect these guys are going to react very intensely when Rainbow accidentally calls Celestia and she answers?
Hold on. wasnt DuranDuran the psychopathic scientist in Barbarella who ended up vaporising the kingdom by use of a high power beam weapon?
The Gray Feathers themselves built it? How curious.
And now I want a Floydien science show.
4710832
Literally.
4711020 Nope. Milk doesn't clot. Calling it now. Which also reminds me that I still haven't tried to imagine how milking one of those things would look like ... Remind me never to try to imagine how milking one of those things would look like.
4711301 It's always the same thing with those damnable Nietzschians.
4715075 Have you figured how milking one of those things would look like?
4715393 Nope, still stuck on thinking about how absolutely impossible it is to get any cheese from them.
4715501 Ow, Nevvy.
Nothing is impossible if you try hard enough.
I guess it just requires some squeezing...
4715512 Do you squeeze blood from a stone, too?
4715813 I once tried that and blood did come out!
Then again, it may have been my blood.
SHIPPING INTENSIFIES.
i.imgur.com/E0Kh7J7.gif
This has been your daily Swan Song Shipping Synopsis.
4715827 Well perhaps that means that if you go and try to make cheese with their milk now it will be your mi- nope, nope, let's stop right here.
4710759
4710773
4711179
4718615
well, this seems to be a popular theme.....
[Intensifying intensifies]
4712507 now that you mention it, no.
4714078 well shit...
Never mind about the machine world (unless it's encased inside the wooden whatever it is).
And the things you do with that name!
-Spirit