"Well, Rarity?" Twilight Sparkle leaned in close, hovering over the dense rushing waves that plummeted into the cosmic abyss. "How does it feel?"
Rarity had her eyes clenched shut. The ghostly fashionista concentrated hard, her horn glowing with spectral brilliance. At last, she opened her eyes and exhaled breathily.
"The chains attached to the harmonic alicorn apparatus stretch far beyond the reach of my senses." She gulped, turning to face the others. "However... from the tension that they are exhibiting, I would venture to say that they're firmly attached to something on the other end."
"You mean like the Gondola?" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Or perhaps just a set of identical rigging on the other side," Rarity explained. "Although—presumably—a gondola could be made to travel the length of the chain. Like a cable track!"
Applejack squinted. "You sure it ain't just the pull of gravity makin' these ancient chains so taut-like?"
Rarity raised an eyebrow at her. "And just how far down the edge of the plane do you suppose the laws of gravity decide to work in the same way as they do here?"
Applejack shrugged. "I'unno."
"I think what Rarity is trying to say is that gravity isn't a constant when it comes to this piece of Urohringr," Twilight Sparkle said. "Whoever or whatever built this structure must have possessed the ability to artificially create the gravity that is generated by natural formations of huge mass." She waved a lavender hoof. "Therefore—in the process of transferring ourselves from the Light Side to the Dark Side, we can expect a spontaneous shift in gravity... or a complete lack thereof."
"Then... h-how does the Gondola even work?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, darling, it doesn't matter how it functions!" Rarity exclaimed. "Only that it does!" She pointed down the lengths of chain that pierced the incomprehensible waterfalls. "Mortuana and Whitemane's father saw to the engineering! And everything about my senses is telling me that the structure is intact!"
"So... all that's left is to call the dang thing so that it comes to us!" Applejack said. "Er... right?"
"Precisely!"
"But then..." Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "...how exactly do we do that?"
The Mane Five were silent.
Then...
"HEY GUYS!" Pinkie Pie phased out of the rushing currents below—startling all of them at once. "Guess what I am!" She reached up, forced her fluffy pink mane into the shape of a dorsal fin, and "swam" around the upper surfaces of the water. "Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh...!"
Rarity sighed, staring at Twilight with bored eyes. "Rainbow Dash?"
Twilight nodded. "Rainbow Dash."
The four of them shot up like spectral comets, rejoining Rainbow and the Herald atop the platforms. Pinkie remained behind, flailing. She shot her head up. "Hey! Wait for me!" She "swam" up after them. "'We need a bigger Gondola?!' I could have told you that one for free!"
"Ahem." Twilight reached Rainbow first.
Rainbow stopped pacing to turn and face her friends. "So? What's the scoop?"
"Rarity's certain that the chains are still attached to a fixed point on the other end," Twilight said.
"You mean like another set of golden spires?"
"Absolutely, darling," Rarity said, floating closer with a nod. "You see, judging from the tension in each platinum link and the consistent pressure that they're exhibiting on the support beams on this side—"
"Hey!" Rainbow spun to face the Herald. "Good news! Rarity says the alicorn thingamajigger is in working order!"
Ariel, Kepler, and Flynn cheered.
Rarity frowned, her temple pulsating. "I would still issue extreme caution in what we're about to do next!"
"But Rarity..." Rainbow turned to face her. "...either this is our ticket or it isn't. So what's there to lose?"
"What's there to gain?" Twilight Sparkle shrugged. "Rainbow, I'll be the first to admit that finding this thing was an absolutely astounding accomplishment—even for the Austraeoh."
"Although... uhm..." Fluttershy blushed slightly. "...you could have done it in a less-frightening way than diving into the drink."
"Yeah, Dashie!" Pinkie hovered behind Fluttershy with a frown. "What she said!"
"Look, I'm sorry..." Rainbow said, shrugging. "But the gold light pointed me! So I knew there'd be a solution!"
"But what do we even do now?!" Twilight exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "There's no ruby flame to turn on or turn off here, Rainbow Dash! All we have now is a golden elevator—but nothing to move it with!"
"And how do we know if it can still move at all?" Applejack remarked, tilting her ghostly hat back. "That thing's gotta be super ancient!"
"But if it's anywhere nearly as intact as the specimen we observe here—" Rarity began.
"I dun care what you observe!" Applejack frowned. "Out of sight, out of mind! Unless we've got some definitive proof that this here alicorn doohickey can still tick like clockwork, then we're still stuck at square one—as far as I'm concerned!"
"Yeah, Dashie..." Pinkie sighed, positively deflating. "What she said."
Rainbow stared off in thought.
Remna shuffled past Bard, Wildcard, and the others. "What are they saying, Austraeoh?"
"I hate to say it, but it's a good point," Rainbow muttered aloud. She started to pace under the lightning-filled sky. "Dredging this thing up was awesome and all, but what's the point if there's nothing to get it moving?"
"The Gondola's on the other side, though!" Ariel exclaimed. She blinked at the others. "I mean... that's where it must be, right? Why else wouldn't it be here?"
"If I rrecall frrom the Motherr Matrron's storries," Kepler spoke, "Contact with Darrkrreach was brroken severral centurries ago." The wyvern adjusted his spectacles. "This was shorrtly afterr the Exodus of sarrosians rreached the prrecipice of the worrld upon which we currrently stand." He raised an eyebrow. "It is quite possible that—faced with an insurrmountable opposition—the prrotectorrs of Darrkreach submerrged the chain trrack and harrborred the Gondola prrotectively on theirr end of the plane."
"Oye..." Nicole winced.
Echo sighed, glaring off. "Way to go, our blood."
"Our ancient texts speak nothing of this alicorn construct," Enix said, exchanging nodding expressions with her fellow warriors. "Granted... if any group may have encountered this Gondola of which you speak, it would have to have been the ancestors of the Dark Vigil. And they carried their secrets with them to the Dark Side." She shuddered. "Somehow..."
"Well, that's neither here nor there," Bard said, strolling forward. "What matters is gettin' this dayum thang to sing." He narrowed his gaze on Rainbow. "Darlin', does yer fancy schmancy new 'Utaan vision' have any light to shed on the machine in front of us?"
Rainbow stared dumbly at the twin golden stalks. A platinum haze enveloped the thing unceasingly.
"It's lit up like a Hearth's Warming Tree," Rainbow muttered.
"Huh?" Logan exclaimed.
Wildcard gestured.
Logan glared at him. "For real? Pffft... Equestrians are weird."
"For realsies, Dashie?" Pinkie Pie floated closer. "There's still some... purpose in this machine?"
"That's remarkable..." Twilight Sparkle blinked. "I-I mean... that this new... sense of yours can change so dynamically on the fly."
"Well, it hasn't changed much now," Rainbow said. "It's still pointing me to what I just resurfaced."
"Care to explain?" Remna remarked.
"Believe me, I want to!" Rainbow barked at her, flailing her forelimbs. "But just because I was able to sniff up this crud doesn't mean I explain it!"
"Yeah, Remna," Ariel said. "Cut her some slack! It's not like there's a lever built into the thing that she can just yank and make the Gondola come to us!"
Just then, Wildcard whistled.
Everypony looked his way.
The Desperado calmly pointed a metal talon—singling out a lever built into the thing that Rainbow could just yank and make the Gondola come to them.
"Huh... neato..." Bard scratched his exposed head, then swiveled towards Rainbow. "Lil' Missy?"
"Hmmmmkay." Rainbow Dash trotted over to the machine. Wildcard was already pulling and tugging at the newly discovered mechanism—but it refused to budge. Catching his breath, the mute griffon gestured to Rainbow Dash and took a step back. "Let's see here..."
"Heeeeeeeee..." Pinkie leaned forward, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hmmf..." Twilight Sparkle folded her hooves. "I swear. If this actually works, I'll eat a hat—"
"Zoop!" Rainbow Dash pulled the lever. It easily slid out, glowing a bright gold at her blue-hoofed touch.
"Oh for Pete's sake!" Twilight tossed her hooves, then spun towards Applejack. "Gimme."
"No!" Applejack hugged the article in question, pivoting protectively away from her.
"Applejack—"
Applejack spat, "It's the only one I've got! Both in the past and in the afterlife!"
"Look!" Fluttershy pointed, gasping.
From Rainbow's touch—the gold light spread throughout the twin stalks... then shot brilliantly down the two lengths of chains. A beam of platinum energy briefly lit up the blackness, then dimmed to a low but persistent pulse. A high-pitched melodic sound filled the air, like tiny bells constantly ringing.
"Coolie crispies!" Rainbow leaned back from the apparatus with a devilish smirk. She released her grip of the lever and turned towards Rarity. "Rare-Rare?"
"There's definitely something different about it, darling," Rarity murmured, brow furrowed. "Yes... yes!" She gasped, grinning wide. "There's a consistent vibration! Intensifying at a gradual pace!" She tried to contain her squeals. "I do believe you have summoned something!"
"So..." Fluttershy blinked brightly. "The Gondola, then?"
"It's got a longgggggggggg way to go," Pinkie said.
"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash nodded, gazing at the chains as they stretched brightly into the ether. "A super long way."
"Can somepony please fill me in?" Logan groaned.
"Rainbow Dash has obviously triggered the alicorn mechanism," Flynn said, gazing in awe at the chains. "I don't know if it's... because of the Equestrian Princesses' enchantment on her pendant... or the powers of Austraeoh invested in her—"
"Can we cut the pretense?" Remna grumbled. "It's because she's the Austraeoh. Simple as that. Honestly, mortals, let's move on." Snorting, she turned towards Kepler. "Did Mortuana have any more wisdom to impart in this matter?"
"I fail to rrecall," the wyvern said. "But one thing is forr cerrtain, the lift that is attached to this apparratus has a grreat deal of distance to trravel."
"Just how big is the thing?" Ariel asked.
"Considerring that it was used in prre-classical times to ferrry multiple Emerraldinian subjects and rresourrces to and from Darrkrreach, I would venturre to guess that the Gondola itself is quite large." Kepler blinked through his lenses. "And its weight most substantial."
"In otherr worrds..." Flynn nodded. "It's likely designed for efficiency... not for speed."
"Then it's going to take its sweet time," Bard said.
Flynn nodded. "Most likely, yes."
Wildcard glanced about. He gestured.
Bard interpreted, "So... what do ya reckon we should do in the meantime?"
Rainbow looked at Enix and the other nightblooded warriors. She smiled proudly. "What do you think?"