//------------------------------// // Chapter 33: Where We Tried New Things // Story: Through the Aurora // by Starscribe //------------------------------// It was quite a hike to the peak, up what felt like thousands of grinding steps. At least they had the comfortably cool mountain breeze around them as they walked, along with an incredible view. It wasn’t just rising switchbacks as she’d initially thought, but a series of farms and meadows taking them all the way to the top. No small wonder why there’d been so much civilization at the bottom of the mountain, with a climb like this waiting for anyone who wanted to go any further. Summer had felt plenty brave about it for the first mile or so, but her own limbs had their limits. “I take it flying would be easier?” she asked, panting. “You don’t have, like… gondolas?” “Anything that would make the valley harder to defend would be an unacceptable risk,” Cloudhunter said. He looked sympathetic, though not nearly as weak himself. Sharp was an earth pony, so he didn’t even seem winded. And Emerald was gliding. “Sure, Aris is safe now. But it wasn’t always, and won’t remain so forever. Infrastructure like that would make the peak easier to besiege.” “Are you attacked that often?” Sharp asked, raising an eyebrow. “Equestria’s seen its fair share of dangers, but actual war? I thought the Storm King was… an anomaly.” Cloudhunter shook his head, watching with an expression of—not anger exactly? Pity? No, he expected this reaction from outsiders. “Equestria has Alicorns to protect it, and you’ve remained safe for as long as any of you remember. We don’t have your diversity of tribes or incredible powers. And the further from Equestria you go, the less creatures are frightened by Equestria’s rulers. They know your princess will let them invade us all they like.” He twisted to one side, exposing the weapon he was wearing there. An incredibly complex crossbow, with various gears and lines. More impressively, it didn’t seem even a little worn from being in the water. Maybe that’s what the lever is for. Different mode when it’s underwater. “Aris wasn’t our first home. There are many old songs about the homes we once had, and the birds we lost as we moved from place to place until we found this one. We were nomads, once. You seem like you’re a nomad yourself, Summer Ray.” She blushed. “Guess I am. And we will be again, once you get the ship working. We—” But she stopped short of explaining it. The Queen hadn’t exactly been thrilled with her talk about Earth, even if she hadn’t completely exploded or tried to lock her away like the ambassador. Maybe volunteering her mission to the other creatures around them wasn’t a great idea. “We have a long trip ahead of us.” The rest of the climb up Mount Aris felt like it would go on for its own little eternity, with Summer needing to stop for a break more than once. It was on her second stop when Emerald landed beside her, nudging her. “Hey, Summer, did you forget?” She winced, trying to figure out what the child might be talking about. “Did I forget about… what?” Emerald raised an eyebrow. “The promise you made? About singing for me?” You mean the one I made before our group almost broke apart and I had to jump out a building? But that was on her, not Emerald. “Of course I didn’t forget!” she lied. “It’s just about, uh… finding the right time. I wasn’t sure how things would go underwater. I still think it’s gonna be a little silly, I’m not very good at it.” To her surprise, Cloudhunter was listening, because he approached, pointing up the slope with a wing. “If you look all the way up, you can just barely make out an old arch. Do you see it?” Summer nodded. She shouldn’t have been able to make out anything at that distance, but Hippogriff eyes were much better than anything she’d had on Earth. Probably she could see fish swimming through shallow water from a thousand feet up, and catch it like any other sea bird. She was hungry enough to consider the idea. “Yeah. The one that’s… a little overgrown, up there…” “Yes,” Cloudhunter said. “That’s the entrance to the Harmonizing Heights. It’s a natural formation as old as the island itself, that we left intact no matter how big the city grew. The wind seems to sing while it blows through them—they’d be perfect for a song.” “That sounds like the place to me,” Sharp said. “Once we’re done at the drydock, I’m sure Summer will want another hike. Just look at her, she loves this.” She shoved him with a wing, hard enough that he nearly slipped down to the next switchback, before he caught himself with his hooves, grinning mischievously at her. But she didn’t argue the point. Maybe if the natural music was loud enough, her companions wouldn’t be able to hear her anyway. They had seen a little of the upper city during their first arrival. Though that trip had been coming off Summer’s fears of imminent arrest by Seaquestia’s queen, and she hadn’t been in much place to appreciate what she saw. Now she could see, and admire the cross between elvish village and stained-glass birdcages. For a nation under siege, they sure made a lot of glass, in every color she could imagine. Not only that, but they’d somehow found a way to coax the redwood-sized trees to grow into structures. Cloudhunter followed her gaze, and he nodded in satisfaction. “It’s the same transformation magic we use to move into the water,” he said. “Hippogriffs and other creatures are delicate, and the pearl doesn’t seem to want to do anything too extreme with us. But plants can keep growing through almost anything. Each of these trees takes a generation of careful coaxing to grow, but the effort is worth it. Ambitious females like yourself usually start on it while they’re young, so they have a tree to leave to their oldest daughter when she flies out of the nest. Everyone else in the family usually lives in one tree forever, which is… why they’re so big. Four or five generations of birds all share one tree, sometimes more.” A little late for me to start on that. She wasn’t even sure where the thought came from. But she dismissed it quickly, blushing deeply. She wasn’t about to be taken in by some strange vision of what her future ought to be like in a place that wasn’t hers. Besides, if she didn’t come home, she’d rather be in Equestria. The culture and creatures who lived there were more familiar. Eventually they found their way back to the dock, where dozens of other military-looking airships were all parked for service. The Horizon was still right where they’d left it, though it now had a crew of anxious-looking birds with toolboxes and carts of supplies waiting on the deck. It didn’t look like they’d changed anything, though Sharp practically galloped to meet them as soon as he saw them. Summer stayed back with Emerald, watching as Sharp gestured to them, explaining whatever mechanical difficulties the ship was experiencing.  Cloudhunter remained with her on the dock, only glancing up once. “We have instructions to provide whatever components or service is necessary to get your airship skyworthy again. Though I wonder if you should be aboard, Summer Ray. Do you really want to go back to live with ponies? Now that you’ve found where you belong.” She might’ve had a little harder time answering if Emerald wasn’t standing a foot away, watching her with wide, expectant eyes. The filly was a reminder of why she was going back. “I hope I get to come back here one day. A whole city built underwater is amazing. I’d really like to bring one of those high-quality underwater cameras. What you’ve accomplished, I don’t think many people would believe. But I’m not ready to move in.” “Underwater cameras,” Cloudhunter repeated, impressed. “I didn’t know Equestria was so far ahead of us. They spend enough time underwater to want to record it?” She winced. “Uh… I probably shouldn’t have said that. It’s not common. I just think it would be amazing for more people to see what you’ve built. Mixing the living reef with your buildings like that…” He patted her on the shoulder, almost peremptorily. “If you say so, young miss. Just know that no creature here will judge you if you can’t abide living with the ponies any longer. There’s a place for you here, even if you were born to them.”  He pointed at her necklace. “The pearl was your test, and you passed. Whatever you do, make sure you’re still getting practice with that. I used to tell my students to go back and forth a few times each day. You need to make it so natural that you don’t need to think about it. Then you can slow down.” Might be difficult while we’re taking an airship journey across the world. “Will you… be with us when we go back down? You said we were staying up here instead of down there tonight.” He nodded. “Me or some other creature with similar training. No one forgot about your weaknesses, young miss.” He lowered his voice. “If you look around you, you’ll see you’re bit of a sensation right now. Creatures all over the city have been talking about you since you arrived. The first hippogriff not born here is a big moment.” One I’ve stolen from the creature that should’ve had it. But there wasn’t any time left to feel guilty. All she wanted to do was go home. Or she thought she wanted to go home. She hadn’t come here to be a minor celebrity, or to take recognition away from the first hippogriff actually born here. A few minutes later, and Sharp came back down the ramp. Not for her, though. “Emerald, we’re going to completely dismantle the engine and replace the entire drive manifold. I’d like to have your help. The hippogriff crew seem skilled, but she’s my baby, and you know her better than any of them.”  He turned slightly to her. “I’m sorry Summer, but this will probably take a number of hours. Even if we finish the engine today, which… seems unlikely, they’re suggesting a number of other upgrades. I’d be a fool to turn them down.” She raised a wing, silencing him. “It’s fine, Sharp. I’ve been waiting to go home for months now. If we’re here a few days, then that’s just more time for me to see the sights.” “Don’t go to that… Harmonizing… place, without me!” Emerald said, hugging briefly against her foreleg and looking up as she said it. “You promised!” “I’ll still sing for you,” she said, defeated. “I won’t go without you.” She watched them return up the ramp, joining the engineering team. Sharp went back to listing the supplies they would need, and more hippogriffs in blue uniforms arrived from elsewhere on the deck. This wouldn’t be a repair that would take weeks, that was for sure. “If there’s anywhere specific you’d like to see,” Cloudhunter said politely. “I’d be happy to escort you, and to cover any expenses. Queen Novo was clear about the hospitality you should be shown for the duration.” “Well…” She flushed. “Honestly, what I’d like to do most is research the history of hippogriffs. Do you have a library? Oh, but… it would be really helpful if I could grab some of my things first. The ones we left in the palace.” It would be great if I could take pictures of the relevant passages instead of having to copy them down by hand, but I don’t want to tell you about tablet computers. “No problem. Your things have already been moved to your accommodations for the night, we can stop by quickly.” He nodded. “When the Storm King finally captured Mt. Aris, he looted the library along with everything else. But he was only interested in supernatural lore. Follow me.” She did, along the trail between the trees. Now that she wasn’t traveling with ponies, there were far fewer stares. She had her own little piece of the pearl, and apparently that was enough for her to pass for one of the natives on quick inspection. The library was one of the few stone structures built on the peak, aside from the castle. It had a single stone spire twisting up into the sky, and plenty of slot-like windows cut into the rock. Not built from blocks, but hollowed from the mountain itself. Cloudhunter took her inside, through a low corridor and over an ancient mosaic of the pearl and some historical ruler or another receiving it into their claws. “The loremaster’s desk is in back. I’m sure they’ll have some recommended reading for you.” It wasn’t anything like the libraries she’d visited in Equestria, which might’ve been on Earth if they had a few more computers and fewer horses. It became immediately clear that she was walking somewhere that wasn’t commonly visited. Through the tunnel, and one side of the building fell away in a spectacular drop hundreds of feet through the rock. There was no railing, just a drop off the edge lit by spectacular skylights above in blues and greens. Along the far wall, with no way to walk or climb to it, were little cubies cut into the stone. There were few books—most of what was stored here were parchment scrolls, tightly packed into wooden or canvas rolls. Some were even ceramic, covered in writing that looked frighteningly like cuneiform. But that was probably just her imagining things. There was almost no sound in the building at all, just the wind that was obviously the hot air she felt blowing down past her.  “It’s the oldest continuously operating library in the world,” Cloudhunter said proudly, stopping beside her as she stared. “Though a few of those years were by the Storm King’s brutes, and not the ones who built it. Our collection isn’t nearly as large as what’s been stockpiled in Canterlot, but some of it is even older. Mt. Aris predates Equestria itself.” She followed Cloudhunter past the exposed shelves to a reading area, with secluded booths each lit with their own skylight. Most were empty, though there were noble-looking birds tucked away in a few, with piles of scrolls and books around them. Not much beyond that, they reached the loremaster. Once Cloudhunter had explained her situation, Summer said, “I’d like to read a little about the history of Mt. Aris. Where hippogriffs came from, how they settled here… that kind of thing.” The loremaster was an elderly bird, most of his feathers bleached white. He had thick spectacles, and from the look of it only one working eye. He squinted at her with it, apparently searching for something. He settled briefly on her necklace, staring a little as he saw it. “It’s natural for you to want to know your history. Even if you only share it by adoption.” He pointed back at the booths. “Wait there. I’ll have someone fly you what you need to start.” That was what she did. She clambered inside, expecting Cloudhunter to follow close behind. But the bird just nodded to her. “I’ll be waiting just outside for when you’ve finished your study, young miss. I’m afraid I’ve got nothing of worth to contribute here.” She nodded to him. “Thanks for your help, Cloudhunter.” She didn’t have long to wait for the books, which were brought not by the loremaster but a young bird who barely even looked at her as he settled the basket on the table in front of her, then hurried off. Unfortunately that did leave Summer to figure them out for herself. All scrolls, except for a single book tucked away near the bottom of the basket. She pulled it out first, sliding it in front of herself and flipping it open. Mount Aris by the Ages, a Summary was fairly new compared to everything else in the basket, with pages that hadn’t started to yellow and a cover of flexible leather. Or… maybe not the real stuff? It didn’t smell like it came from a cow, anyway. She flipped through the beginning section about Mt. Aris’s ancient days, but met quickly with disappointment. It said only what she already knew, that the city had been founded by a tribe of nomadic wanderers who had been hated in every land they traveled to. It made only vague references to the “old cities” they had built, each one abandoned because of disaster or violence. Then they found a place that was so hard to reach that they couldn’t be invaded, and established a home. The rest of the book went on to talk about the various kings and queens who had ruled, and what they’d accomplished. She picked a scroll at random after that, and was pleasantly surprised to see that she could still read it. It was less obvious how she could do that, since the writing was absolutely different from what she’d seen before. But somehow there was meaning. But just because she could read the words themselves didn’t mean she could make any sense of the authors’ original intents. Most of it was rambling nonsense, ascribing great honor to someone called the “Spearbreaker” and his army without saying anything meaningful about him. She’d nearly given up hope when she finally found what she was looking for, an otherwise insignificant reference near the bottom of one scroll.  “From the first inheritance we walked, until we found the spirit of transformation to teach us how to fly. Lir promised it would give us the ocean too, so the whole world could be ours. When we learned how to swim, we realized it had kept its promise, and we were content.” The quotation came from a chronicle of oral histories, describing the “Great Migration” from the north. Most of the other accounts she saw seemed obviously fictional—whole rivers frozen so they could cross, or champions brought back from the dead to fight again. First inheritance, huh? There was no telling if that account was any truer than what she’d seen so far. But considering what else Summer had learned, it did seem suggestive. They all seem to agree that hippogriffs came here from the north. Could it be that the north they’d come from wasn’t even in this world?  There was only one inconsistency in that story, and it was a big one. The ruins of the Doorway were on this side. There were no traces of ancient stone structures on that end. The native Alaskans had built almost nothing from stone, as far back as she knew. Too bad she didn’t have Google to verify her suspicions. But she did have her tablet, and no prying eyes to watch her. She opened her PDF-scanner, and used it on each scroll in sections. Not perfect, but… she’d have them to review. Whatever she missed during her skimming might be clearer when she really had the time to sit down. When the sun finally began to dim, the same young bird returned to her booth, nudging her in the leg with one claw. “Are you, uh… I’m afraid you’ll have to return to us tomorrow, miss. We’re closing for the night. I need to take those scrolls back to their places.” “Go ahead.” She rose, nodding towards the table. “Thank you for letting me study here. It was very helpful.” Not as definitive as I would’ve liked. If only she could figure out why the Doorway was on this side, she’d be confident in her interpretation of the data. Without that… she was only more confused. But it didn’t really matter. Whatever the history of their worlds, it wasn’t for her to figure out. Unless she actually did make it home. Feather is still looking for us. Kate might murder us before we make it back to the Doorway. Or maybe she’d just given up. Maybe she didn’t care. Cloudhunter was waiting for her outside the library, and together they made their way back to the docks. “There’s an excellent restaurant here near the peak,” he said as they walked. “As soon as we’ve met up with your pony friends. They won’t appreciate much of the food, but I’ll wager you haven’t had much fish living with them. I’m told omnivores make ponies queasy.” She laughed. “That sounds amazing. I’ve been craving a good steak since I got here, something bloody enough that it’s still dripping on my plate.” “Oh, uh…” He raised an eyebrow. “What’s a steak? Maybe I can pass word to the chef now.” Shit. “Nevermind.” She spread her wings, in the gesture she’d long learned was a shrug. “I’ll want their specialty, whatever it is. I’ll be glad for whatever meat you have.” Their meal together was fantastic, spent mostly listening to Sharp and Emerald talk in excited voices about what they were doing to the Horizon. “I’ve always wanted to add external guidance fins, and here they’re a standard feature! We’ll have them deployed in a few days!” or “They’re preparing a fresh coat of paint for the exterior. They have an airbrush and everything!” But Summer wasn’t bored, not even a little. She had her first decent dish of something carnivorous since arriving in Equestria, sizzling thin fillets of some tropical fish in a bed of grilled veggies. Her pony friends just got the veggies. The next few days were spent similarly, with Emerald and Sharp working with the engineers while Summer explored Mt. Aris. After another day in the library, she couldn’t stomach more reading old scrolls and learning nothing concrete. Unless she was imagining something, she would’ve sworn that someone had intentionally purged it. Aside from the Spearbreaker and the First Inheritance, she couldn’t even find any proper nouns. You’re hiding your history, birds. Why? After a week, she woke up one afternoon with the hardworking ponies already gone and a banging on the door. She groaned, flopping sideways out of bed and straightening her feathers with one claw.  There were some advantages to being in a world of nudists—she didn’t have to put her clothes back on when she got up. She swung the door open, expecting the morning delivery of bits for food and supplies from the Queen. But there wasn’t a delivery mare on the other side, there was a princess. “Hi!” Skystar said, waving eagerly at her with one claw. “Are you busy? No, you just got up. I can tell. Your mane is… a little messy.”  She blushed, running a claw through it. “Y-yeah, sorry. I did. Good to see you again, Princess. What’s up?” “The court wants to see you,” she said. “Without your friends. Which… looks like they aren’t here, so they won’t be disappointed they can’t come. Let’s go!”