Scootaloo peered through the viewport built into the thick wall of the isolation chamber, her purple eyes focused on the slumped, black shape in the corner at the rear of the metal-walled room. All angles and sharp edges, it was curled up like a sleeping dog or cat, and barely moved. The ember-like glow from its’ eyes and other parts of its’ body was barely even present, so low it was only barely distinguishable against the darkness of the rest of its’ metallic shell.
The lanky teenage pegasus pushed herself back from the viewport with her forelegs, both front hooves coming to the floor with a clop.
“It doesn’t look that scary,” she said with a frown and her ears folding back. “It… looks kind of sad,” she said, as she glanced back toward the containment chamber.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances with her, and looked towards Trixie. The blue unicorns’ muzzle scrunched as she listened, and she shook her head.
“Girls, don’t be fooled by how the creature may look now. It might look harmless, but don’t doubt that it can drain every little bit of your magic and turn into a deadly, terrifying monster of a creature with only a moments notice!” she said with wide eyes and a grave tone, albeit one loaded with her normal showmare flair. “Remember that these fiendish, terrible monsters have taken over half the country!”
“Ah know,” Applebloom replied, glancing between the other crusaders and then back at Trixie. “But ah dunno, don’t y’all think that one looks kinda… sad?”
Starburst pushed his glasses up his muzzle with a flash of telekinesis and looked on with a concerned frown.
“Sad?” he said, glancing at the containment chamber. “I hadn’t considered that as a reaction. From how I’ve been observing the creatures’ reactions, they seemed to be in response to it’s lack of mana to feed upon, or perhaps being separated from the rest of its’ race”.
“Well, exactly!” Sweetie Belle said, gesturing to the containment chamber. “Separated from all of your friends and everything you know and shoved into a box. Wouldn’t you be feeling sad and lonely too. And without getting anything to eat either, and nopony talking to you. That’s got to be lonely and sad”.
“Yeah, I know I’d be sad if I wasn’t able to see all of my friends and had to spend all my time alone in a box”. Scootaloo said, taking a step forward, spreading her wings as emphasis. “He’s probably really miserable in there”.
Trixie and Starburst exchanged a thoughtful look, and then looked toward the containment cell.
“Well, whaddaya think, Twi?” Applejack said. One hoof held her hat to her head as the Sun Chaser cruised onward. The oceans’ surface below them had taken on a steely-grey hue, matched by the clouds above. A chilly wind gusted around them, tossing their manes and tails across their faces and stirring their coats.
Feathers bristling against the wind, Twilight lowered the telescope held in her telekinesis and collapsed it down as she frowned toward the horizon. A huddle of regular, angular grey shapes rose toward the skies, their tops lost within the gathering clouds and the early late afternoon’s lowering sun. As they watched, flashes of light churned within the clouds, casting ominous dark silhouettes of the structures within.
“It doesn’t look very welcoming,” she replied after a moment. “In fact, it looks downright oppressive. But appearances can be deceiving”
“Can’t argue with ya there,” Applejack agreed with a nod. “Ah don’t much like th’ looks of it neither, but I ain’t about ta start goin’ back to judgin’ a book by its cover. That only ever leads to folks gettin’ themselves all in a bother”. She frowned as her emerald eyes flicked across the towering shapes growing ever more defined as the airship closed in on the shoreline stretching across the horizon. “Still, while we can agree not ta jump to conclusions, don’t mean we can’t be cautious, right?”
Twilight turned her head to grin at the earth pony. “Of course, and that’s the kind of common sense I count on you for, AJ.” She rubbed her chin with on hoof as she turned around and walked on three legs away from the bow of the ship and toward the mid-ships, where the rest of the crew were hard at work.
“Maybe rather than taking the ship right into the middle of things, we should be cautious, like you said. Let’s just take a small group at first to explore and check things out, and keep the Sun Chaser out of harms’ way. Just in case things do go,” she twirled her hoof in the air “...squirly”
Applejack raised an eyebrow “...Squirly?”
“You heard”
The coastline was a dreary stretch of grey shore. The tides’ constant motion slithered over the stony shingle of the beach, hissing as the water retreated through the gaps between the multitude of drab stones. With a sizzle of magical energy and a popping-crack sound, the air split and Twilight and her friends appeared on the shoreline. The sextet of ponies peered around themselves cautiously, spreading out as they surveyed the scene. Pinkie’s face wrinkled into a thoughtful expression as she moved a few steps away, peering at the rocky, drab ground and the stones of the beach and eyeing them doubtfully.
“I haven’t been somewhere with this many rocks in long time. And I grew up on a rock farm,” she said as she pushed at a small pile of pebbles and sent them clattering apart. “And this place could use some colour and some fun, just like there”.
Applejack’s muzzle screwed into a grimace alongside her fellow earth pony as she held her hat in place with one hoof, as a blustery breeze curled along the desolate beach, stirring the mares’ short coats of fur and sending a shiver through them.
“I ain’t one to talk bad none about anyone’s home or a different place; travel is all about goin’ places after all. But ah gotta agree with Pinkie; this place is drabber than an accountant’s coal shed.” She frowned and squinted around at the scenery. “An’ where’s all the plants at too?” she said with a frown. “No green grass, no flowers, an’ no trees worth the name neither”. She swished her tail and shook her head as she eyed a spindly-branched tree with thin leaves, bent over by the coastal wind.
“Well at least there’s someone who lives here,” Rainbow said, as she hovered in place with flaps of her wings and pointed one hoof toward the nearby connurbation. “Maybe we should start looking there”.
Fluttershy meeped and drew her wings over her face, big blue eyes peeking over the top of her feathers as she looked at the city. The tallest of the angular buildings were tall enough to brush the steel-grey clouds overhead, their upper reaches lost within the mass. The buildings were a grossly artificial steely blue-grey, with little surface detail to be seen. They positively dwarfed anything in Equestria built by the hooves of ponies. Smaller, yet still large buildings were arrayed around them, adding their bright, steady artificial lighting to the haze over the city and that stretched up the lower reaches of the monolithic towers, giving them the look of some kind of monuments and casting them in an intimidating light.
“I-it doesn’t look very, um, friendly,” the pegasus said in a whimpering tone. “I-in fact, it looks downright scary. I don’t know if we’ll find anypony – or any creature – there that can help us”.
Twilight stepped closer to the yellow pegasus and patted her withers gently. “It does look like a scary and imposing place,” the alicorn said, giving her a warm and encouraging smile, before straightening to look at the towering structures. “But, the compass lead us here, and the people here might know something about the Lemurians, or even the Hollow Things. And this is a whole new continent to us, they could give us information on what to expect”.
“Well then, less chattering and more hustling, ponies!” Rainbow exclaimed and circled around the group in a flash. “C’mon, let’s go explore this strange, new world and whatever’s in it!”
She zipped back and forth eagerly, a wide grin on her muzzle and eyes wide with excitement and adventure. Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile in the corner of her muzzle before nodding in the direction Rainbow was flitting back and forth between, the other girls picking up behind her with firm nods and wry smiles. Even Fluttershy put forth a timid one once Rarity offered her a hoof up and an encouraging smile.
Starlight eyed the equipment being loaded into the back of Applejack’s beaten up red pickup truck with a wary eye and clenched her fists anxiously as the farm girl easily handled the heavy equipment, aided by what was unmistakeably – to her, at least - a telekinetic aura.
“Relax, Starlight,” Rainbow Dash said calmly, and with a smug expression on her face and resting a hand on Starlights’ shoulder. She sighed and glanced to the blue-skinned girl and her expression flattened; the look on the sporty students’ face was all too similar to the one on her blue-coated pegasus counterpart. Even without a muzzle or pointed ears, it was still the same overconfidence.
“Urrgh,” the unicorn-in-disguise groaned, pulling one hand down her face in exasperation. “I wish I could relax, Rainbow Dash,” she answered, holding her hands up to her front, still balled into fists. “But all this seems so, I don’t know-”
“Nefarious?” suggested Rarity.
“Dodgy?” Rainbow added.
“Questionable?” Fluttershy chimed in.
“Conspicuous?” Applejack called out.
“Oooh, sneaky!” Pinkie sing-songed.
Sunset held up her hands to stop the suggestions, and gently took Starlight by one elbow, walking her away from the others a few paces.
“As… dubious as it might seem, it is all above board, Starlight,” Sunset said helpfully and adding in a reassuring smile as she did. “We aren’t stealing the equipment, Twilight and I made a perfectly worded request for the equipment for an off-campus experiment. Rarity and Fluttershy added in their own flourishes and incentives through their own skills and charms, and Applejack and Rainbow are signed on as our lab assistants. And the equipment we’re using will gather useful information that actually could be the basis for a whole host of research and study”.
“Well, that is all important of course, darling,” Rarity said, moving closer to the pair. “And while of course, us staying within the universities’ rules and practices is good for us and keeps our academic careers safe, it does all seem a little, ah,” the beautiful fashionista twirled one manicured nail in the air as she thought before continuing. “...redundant compared to the fate of both of your entire home world, don’t you think?”
Applejack leant back against the strapped-down shape of the sensor equipment and tilted the brim of her hat back with one hand as she looked down, cheeks reddened from the exertion, despite her geode-enhanced strength. “Ah gotta agree with Rarity there. While I’d be mad as hell if we got in trouble with the college an’ all, I’d be fixin even worse if I thought we could do something that’d help save all of Equestria and didn’t do nothin’ about it. Way I see it, we got the power to do something, an’ the responsibility to make sure it gets done.”
“And besides,” Fluttershy said softly, coming up behind Starlight to rest a delicate hand on her shoulder and smile. “We’re your friends, and friends with others in Equestria too. We wouldn’t be good friends at all if we didn’t help out when it was really needed”.
Starlight sighed in relief, a smile crossing her face at last, as she raised her hand to give Fluttershy’s cool, slender hand a squeeze and looked into the warm and reassuring faces of the girls as they looked back.
“Thank you, all of you,” she said warmly. “You didn’t have to do any of this, but you’ve already done so much. You really are true friends – any version of you”.
“Well, we are pretty awesome,” Rainbow said with a wink and a light bump with an elbow to Starlight’s side. “But, you’re awesome too. You helped us out before, and this friendship thing goes both ways. Not to mention, it’s just the right thing to do”.
They all nodded in agreement at that, with firm smiles, before Applejack slapped the metal casing of the bank of equipment and hopped down from the trucks’ bed. “Well then, guess it’s past time we got movin’ then right? This stuff ain’t gettin’ through that portal on it’s own now. Let’s saddle up, partners!”
The group let out a short cheer and climbed into the assembled vehicles. Rainbow and Twilight rode with Applejack in her truck, while Rarity, Sunset, Pinkie, Starlight all climbed into Fluttershy’s car. AJ gave a thumbs up out the window as she started her engine, and Fluttershy returned it enthusiastically as she took the petite, but practical sedan out of ‘park’ and followed after the growling pickup.
Starlight had ridden the bus before, but being in a car was another experience again, and she looked all around in interest, especially trying to crane her neck forward and get a look at the controls as Fluttershy drove.
“What’s up, Starlight?” Pinkie said curiously and with a grin as she watched the other woman's reaction, her eyes moving over everything.
“It’s just so… amazing! How everything fits together, how the car moves, how Fluttershy is controlling it; I never would have imagined anything so… complex! All the electricity and power that must go into it and be wired into things, and all the engineering involved in making so many moving parts and assemblies. And with no unicorns to assemble all of it...” she shook her head in near disbelief. She raised one of her hands and flexed it in front of her face.
“These things really do make a lot of difference,” she said with wonder, and the others around her all gave soft giggles, with Starlight joining in with a grin of her own as they weaved through the traffic.
Twilight and her group of friends had crossed the distance to the edges of the city with little difficulty. As they’d made their way up from the shoreline, the land had risen in a gentle slope and the terrain under their hooves had turned from a stony beach to dry, hard-packed earth spotted with large clumps of rocks, spindly, thorny bushes and shrubs, or clumps of stringy, coast-side grass. The closer the six ponies moved, the more details they could make out about the buildings of the city.
The buildings were scaled and built for creatures of a size similar to their own, from the size of the windows and openings all over them. Hubbub and the noise of activity grew as a low background sound as they moved ever closer; the rising sounds of mechanical devices in motion, rhythmic clattering and clanking and the low drone of other machinery. It was certainly a highly advanced place; all the bright lighting, smooth surfaces and busy machines pointed to that, and it was more of a futuristic metropolis than Manehattan had ever been.
What concerned Twilight and left her ears folded back and a frown on her face, however, was the lack of life around them, beyond the pathetic excuses for plants. No birds sang, or flew overhead. No small animals scurried and scuttled about their business. Even insects seemed to be missing, bar the occasional fly or other small bug. And there was no sign of ponies, or anything like them, other than the paved path they had happened upon, leading up from the shore and toward the city.
As they topped a gentle rolling rise in the terrain, their eyes fell upon a towering wall that cut across the landscape and bordered the city, cutting it off from the wastes outside. The wall, like the other buildings, seemed almost an unbroken construction, with little evidence of seams, fastenings, or joints. It had the same steel blue-grey look as everything else, making it hard to tell what it was made from, even as they moved closer. Bright lights burned at the top at regular intervals, along with what looked like sentry or guard towers. A towering gate broke the wall at the end of their path, flanked with more of the same towers for observation.
“Looks like that’s the entrance,” Rainbow said, feeling the need to say something to break the silence the group had fallen into as they had walked. Frowning and wrinkling her muzzle, she looked at the gateway. “Sure looks like they don’t have a whole lot of visitors though. Or want them much...”
“Maybe we oughta be careful. If they don’t like visitors, they might not take too kindly to us trottin’ up to their gate”.
“Maybe, Applejack. But there’s no way of knowing if we don’t get closer and try. But… it doesn’t hurt to be ready”, Twilight said firmly. “And we’ve come this far, no point turning back now”.
The six mares cautiously made their way toward the imposing portal. No weapons fire lashed out at them, nor any bolts of magical energy, or any other kind of trap or hindrance, despite the nervousness in every step. As they were practically on the doorstep and stepped onto a surface that resounded with the clop of their hooves, lights swung to focus on them, and the six shielded their eyes against the sudden brightness that overwhelmed the dim light beneath the pall of thick smog above.
“Welcome, travelers to our city. Please, remain where you are for a moment longer for the security scans to be complete, and the gates to open”. The voice’s boom was distorted by speakers and sounded almost artificial. The lights dimmed and swung away, and left the mares blinking spots out of their eyes. At the head of the group, Twilight struggled to bring her vision to focus as the gates ground open with a great groaning from the hinges. As her sight returned to normal, her eyes fell upon the figures, and the purple alicorn let out a gasp of surprise and fascination. Despite herself, she couldn’t not stare.
They were quadruped, like the majority of sapient species on Equus that she’d heard of and encountered. But they weren’t ponies, or seemingly any kind of equine. Instead, they looked closer to the deer that inhabited some parts of the Everfree forest. However, they were taller and built more solidly with thicker antlers that swept back along their skulls, instead of out to the sides. They almost looked like heavier-set versions of the Lemurians she had seen in the recordings from Livvy.
What surprised and intrigued her further was the way their hooves clicked or clattered with each step, and the gleam of lights reflected off of the intricate straight lines of silver marked into their coats. The princess struggled to find her words, to make her muzzle move, but the leader at the head of the group that had walked out to meet them cut her off with a warm, calm smile.
“Please, I understand that we may look… alarming… but do not be frightened, we mean you no harm. I apologise for the brightness of the lights, and the theatrics of our greeting. We did not mean to alarm you, it is that we have so few visitors, and there are dangers outside the walls. Come, we would welcome you and show you around our home, and explain our ways to you, while we learn about your own.” The voice sounded male, and – his, she supposed – build reflected that also, while a pair of the quartet flanking him seemed more slender. Their hooves gleamed almost metallically, and some of their antlers. All of the ones whose coats she could see had the same silvery patterns all over, laying out angular, complex shapes all over their bodies. She was reminded of textbooks and diagrams she had seen in Sunset’s world of the insides of computers or other hi-tech devices. Far more impressive and intimidating were the ones whose coats she couldn’t see, as they were totally enclosed in some form of armour. Thicker and more powerful-looking than any armour the Royal Guard wore, it made the wearers hulking and intimidating, but didn’t seem to restrict their movements to any degree.
“Thank you,” she finally managed to blurt, words falling out of her muzzle as she overcame her culture shock. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am the Princess of Friendship, and I am the ruler of a land called Equestria, many, many miles from here across the ocean. These are my friends, and together we are the Elements of Harmony, guardians of our land, and part of its’ overseeing council of friendship. We came here on a journey to save our homeland from a dangerous foe”.
“My name is Haglan,” he replied with a smile and a dip of his antlers to her and the others. “And while I am not the leader here, I am a representative of our ruling council. I can’t say that we have heard of Equestria, but we know of lands across the ocean, and have always wanted to learn more about them. We call our city – and our nation – Rangifera. Please, Princess. You and your friends are welcome here, let us continue this discussion within the city and in more comfortable surroundings”. Twilight found herself smiling slightly as he spoke; his voice had a gentle, lilting accent to it and was warm and rich in tone.
Haglan gestured with one foreleg behind them, and deeper into the city. The mares exchanged glances, before Twilight put on a broad smile, and trotted toward the entrance into the city, the others following in her wake as the caribou moved into step alongside them, leading them through the gate. The smiles around them and the gentle interested conversation that sparked up between them was disarming, and seemed completely genuine. But Twilight still couldn’t help putting a glance back over her shoulder as the gate groaned at the hinges and creaked as it slowly began to close behind them.
The two-vehicle motorcade pulled to a gentle stop outside the front of Canterlot High. It was after the end of the school day, and the sun was low in the sky, casting an orange sheen on everything and drawing long shadows. It was a calm, peaceful evening, Starlight reflected as she climbed out of the rear door of Fluttershy’s car, patting the metal roof fondly before shutting the door. The others moved around too, unloading the equipment from Applejack’s truck and helping to push it toward the base of the statue at the front of the school, and the portal it contained.
“Are we even sure that it’s going to go through?” Rainbow asked, peering at the portal and almost reaching to put a hand through it, before stopping short. “I mean, people have gone through plenty of times and ponies too. But, anything else...”
“Relax,” Sunset said, patting her on the shoulder. “Starswirl the bearded was-”
“Is,” Starlight corrected, prompting a raised eyebrow from Sunset before she continued.
“Okay, is, apparently, the greatest wizard Equestria has ever known. I’m sure when he created this portal that he had in mind that whoever used it might want to take some luggage with them one way or another. And it preserved my bags and the journal Twilight made for me when I took it through. I’m sure it’ll be fine”.
Applejack, Twilight and the others came up, pushing the wheeled banks of equipment before them as Starlight lead them. Sunset turned to face them and nodded to Starlight.
“Ready?” she asked with a smile, and the light purple-skinned woman gave a hesitant smile.
“I… guess? Honestly; I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready, Sunset. Being here with all of you, even as briefly as it was, it felt like a break. And I almost feel guilty for that too; they need me back at home”. She shook her head and grimaced, wringing her hands anxiously. “It’s… bad back in Equestria. Getting worse every day. I need to get back, and I wish you girls could come with me, almost. Your counterparts are doing their best on their quest, but right now, we need anything and everything we can get”.
“Well, what are we waiting for!” Dash said, holding her hands out and looking to the others. “C’mon, right? Saving worlds is what we do, fighting the forces of evil? I mean, isn’t that our thing?”
“Now hold on there, hero” Applejack said, holding out her hand to stop Rainbow from charging right into the portal. “Not that I ain’t agreein’ with ya an’ all, but we got responsibilities here. An’ besides, if those things do get outta control and over run Equestria, then we’re gonna need to be here to guard our world”.
“Applejack is right,” Sunset said with a nod. “Who knows what might come through, or what might happen with magic here if things in Equestria are upset or thrown off balance”. She hesitated and chewed her bottom lip a moment, green eyes staring longingly at the portal.
“Darling?” Rarity said in question, lightly touching her arm. “Are you worried about Equestria?”
“Very,” she admitted with a sigh and a slump of her shoulders. She gave a small, guilty smile at the concerned faces around her. “All of you have made this place my real home, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be”.
“But Equestria is where you’re from,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile and a gentle touch to Sunset’s shoulder. “It’ll always be special to you, and there are people there you care about. It’s where you were born, and where you grew up. It has a lot of memories for you”.
Applejack gave a wry smile, putting one hand on her hip and tilting up the brim of her hat. “Ah reckon we can probably handle things fer a while without ya, just so’s y’all can go back on check on things or whatnot”.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, and pouted, huffing as she did. “I mean, you won’t have all of us to be as awesome as you could be, but someone’s got to stay here and look after things I guess. And if anyone’s going to go through other than Starlight, then I guess it makes sense it’s you, after all”.
Rarity and Twilight added encouraging smiles to the group and Sunset sighed in relief, eyes gleaming with moisture for a moment. The girls all came in for a hug – roping Starlight in as well – before drawing apart. With a firm nod and a tight smile Rarity nodded at Sunset and Starlight. “All right, ladies. Enough delays before we all decide to go with them and be damned with the consequences. Get back to Equestria and save the day, so you can get back here all the sooner.”
The other girls voiced their approval similarly, and backed away to give the pair space as they lined up the wheeled monitoring equipment and the necessary tools, wiring and other paraphernalia that would be needed for it to work and had been put into bags or carts, or even just draped across the machinery itself.
“Ready?” Sunset said with a nod to Starlight. She positioned her hat and then nodded in agreement, setting her face into a firm, determined expression.
“Ready!”
Starlight heaved a push forward and moved toward the portal at a gentle jog, leaning to look around the head-high equipment in front of her as she did. The mirror-like glass at the base of the statue loomed closer, showing her rapidly approaching reflection, before with a flash and a blurring of lights, she plunged into its’ magical depths.
The Rangiferans had been as good as their invitations so far, much to Twilights’ relief and that of her friends. Their city seemed clinical and intimidating at first, and their appearance a little unnerving, especially some of the more ‘augmented’ individuals, but they seemed perfectly amicable and friendly.
The walk from the gate was only short. A large wheeled vehicle with an open-topped passenger compartment and an enclosed driving position for another caribou at the front waited for them. Vigga, one of their female escorts climbed into the cab at the front as Haglan lead the rest of them into the compartment at the rear. With a grumbling whine of some kind of engine and a gentle lurch, the vehicle set into motion on eight wheels.
As they moved through Rangifera, Twilight couldn't help but look around at their surroundings with a combination of awe and curiosity. The city was sleek; the same blue-grey material formed many of the buildings and fixtures, while in other places white stonework and gleaming pearl-grey competed. Neat sidewalks bordered paved roads with a moderate to-and-fro traffic of quiet, purring vehicles with mixed numbers of Rangiferans in them. Buildings of all sorts passed them by. Some looked like eateries or gathering places. Others like offices or businesses, and others still like factories, or any number of other things she could only guess at.
Their vehicle turned a corner onto a broad avenue, complete with the first green-leafed trees she had seen since coming ashore lining the middle strip of the road. At the far end, two of the immense, monolithic buildings they had seen from outside clawed at the skies above. This close up, it was even more awe-inspiring to see the true scale of them. She had compared them to Manehattan’s skyscrapers before, but they were far, far larger and much less numerous. Canterlot Castle was the biggest building she'd ever seen, and it made even those soaring peaks and turrets look small. Only a mere four of the gigantic constructions thrust into the clouds from within the towering walls of Rangifera, two ahead of them and two behind. All of them were gigantic, with huge dimensions across their base and numerous entrances and exits of all sizes going in and out of their ground, and even second, third, and higher floors above ground.
“You seem fascinated by the towers,” Haglan commented, picking up on Twilights’ curiosity and the focus of her attention as they drove onward. “They are part of how our city generates power, and defends itself. They draw in clouds through a circuit of spell-stones and mana-batteries. The convergence of spells from all four towers charge the clouds into thunderclouds. The lightning from them strikes the towers, and the resulting electricity is stored in immense capacitors. Each tower also projects part of a powerful shield over the city”.
“A shield… you have enemies out here?” Twilight asked. “It seems virtually deserted, from what we saw outside the walls, and we didn’t see any signs of any creatures at all”.
Haglan nodded, a grim expression settling over his face and twisting the silver lines and patterns into distorted shapes. “Yes, unfortunately this land is now a wasteland, with only the hardiest things clinging to life. It used to be beautiful and verdant, or so we are told. Now the only greenery and life left is what we protect here in Rangifera, and it helps keep our people alive as well.”
“What happened to everythin’ else?” Applejack asked from opposite them. “Y’all say there’s ‘enemies’ out here, did they have somethin’ to do with it?”
“After a fashion,” Haglan answered, looking at the earth pony mare seated across the passenger space from him. “But look, we have arrived. Come inside, we will talk more in comfort. I’m sure we all have a lot of questions for one another”.
They ascended the broad, shallow steps of the building they had arrived at after disembarking from the transport. The building itself was a curiosity; it was linked with the cables and gantrywork that connected other buildings they had passed, and had panels of the same dark, dully-gleaming material that made up large sections of other buildings in Rangifera that they had seen, but there were also sections of pitted, weathered stonework among them. Even a casual look could tell that this building was old, and had been built with pride and elegance in mind, from its’ fluted columns, slanted, tiled roofs and inlaid sculptures that had succumbed to the passage of time.
The doors – also looking more modern than the rest of the building – slid open after a moment, a light turning from red to green above them. Haglan and his companions lead the way into the brightly lit, clean interior. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, Twilight found the warm, ambient lights more suited to her eyes than the dim conditions outside. The constant sounds of the city were inaudible inside the building as well. Combined with the bright white paint, royal blue and red of carpets and decorations, and the lovingly cared for varnished reddish wood panelling, it was like another world entirely. Only the artificial lights attached to the ceilings and the subtle mechanical enhancements of their hosts really gave any clues, and they almost looked out of place by comparison. Haglan lead them into a lavishly furnished room with a long, low central table surrounded by cushions. He sat upon one, and bade the others to take seats. The room was quiet and comfortable, with only the dull buzz of the lights to interrupt the stillness.
“Thank you for welcoming us so warmly,” Twilight began hesitantly. “Your city is fascinating, and there’s so much I’d love to learn about it. And I’m sure you’d be interested in the differences and similarities in our cultures too”.
Haglan bowed his head in acknowledgement. “Of course. We do not get many visitors. In fact, you are the first for years, and I am most curious about what has bought you to Rangifera from so far away across the ocean”.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey,” Rarity said, speaking up to join in the conversation. “But it is an important one. Our homeland, Equestria, is under attack by a race of vile creatures. They absorb our life force and are immune to our magic, and destroy our cities”.
“And almost nothing we have works to fight them! They’ve got all sorts of weapons out the butt; lasers, rockets, you name it. But our best doesn’t stack up, which is why we’ve come this far”. Rainbow Dashes fore-hooves clomped on the table as she spoke, and her wings flared in annoyance and frustration, the other ponies nodding in agreement. The caribou looked among themselves a moment, before Vigga, answered back in a melodic, if somewhat accented voice.
“So, you are looking for weapons to fight these creatures? And that has bought you here?”
“Kind of,” Twilight continued, picking up the thread of the conversation. Reaching into her saddlebags with her magic, she levitated out the navigation device that Livvy had given them, setting on the table, where the hologram glowed to life. Immediately the caribou murmured in fascination and leaned closer over the table, casting glances among themselves and looking with curious eyes toward the object.
“This device, where did you acquire it? And what is its’ function?” another of the females asked. Her antlers had been replaced with artificial ones that gleamed under the lighting. Along with the silvery markings on her face, it gave her an air of authority and seniority. The firm and unwavering tone of her voice added greatly to the effect and made Twilight feel as though she was being examined in a courtroom. Thankfully, Applejack spoke up as the purple alicorn stumbled over her words.
“An ancient and powerful wizard, who was also kinda instrumental in our country comin’ to be what it is discovered an ancient ruin. Seemed as though it were connected to the creatures runnin’ all over and destroyin’ everythin’ and that the folk who built it fought ‘em. So, anyhows, we went there and found a whole bunch of fancy technology”.
“And that’s where we met Livvy!” Pinkie added with gleeful enthusiasm. “She was super nice, especially for a computer. She helped protect us from this really big airship sent by the meanies, and gave us these super-cool flying machines, and Twilight’s fancy compass to help us find the Lemurs!”
“Not Lemurs, Pinkie, Lemurians!” Rainbow Dash corrected, rolling her eyes and smiling. The smile left her muzzle as she realised the room had fallen quiet and the Rangiferans were staring intently at the six ponies.
“Did… we do something wrong?” Fluttershy asked in a quiet voice. “We didn’t mean to,” she said quietly, hunching back into her seat and curling her wings around herself.
The four caribou looked among themselves for a moment, before Urlur, the other male of the quartet spoke up. His voice was deeper and much more sonorous than Haglans, and matched his formidable size and bulk.
“To hear you mention the Lemurians is very…” his ears twitched and his jaw moved as he searched for the right words, his sharp, intense look moving between the six ponies’ faces. “...Curious,” he finished after a long pause. “They are deeply important figures to our people. Rangifera owes much to them, and much of our society is moulded by their influence”. The other Rangiferans around the table gave deep, serious nods at the words as the ponies looked between them.
“We meant no disrespect,” Twilight said quickly. “We had no idea-”
“How could you,” Freun, the other female caribou, replied. “We have only just been introduced, and you had never heard of us. How were you to know of our peoples’ history or how we have lived. It is not a case of harm done, Princess. Just one of surprise and fascination, that you should arrive here of all places, after finding yourselves in possession of Lemurian technology”.
“Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence,” Rarity said hesitantly, exchanging looks with the others before she continued. “You said that the Lemurians are people you owe a lot to, and that they had a big influence on your society? Maybe the compass lead us here to find you, or something you have?”
“The Lemurians legacy is what our city is founded upon. Our ancestors took in the last survivors of their civilization as their cities turned into tombs. In return, they raised our society to this advanced state, giving us the means to protect ourselves against the things that live outside the walls”.
Vigga nodded sombrely. “They felt it was their responsibility to protect and guide us”.
“Ohhh, like teachers, or parents leading you to grow up and learn about the world, bringing you up safely with all the things you need to live a comfortable life”, Fluttershy said eagerly with a smile. The caribou looked at one another uncertainly, before Urlur replied. “Not quite, Fluttershy,” he replied hesitantly. “While the Lemurians did care for us, certainly, their gifts to us and their sense of responsibility came less from the care for us, and more from their sense of shame and obligation. Their war against their enemy and the fallout from it is what made the environment out there, and the… things… that stalk it”.
“Your city was founded by the Lemurians, and their technology is part of your whole civilization?” Twilight said with a note of awe in her voice. “There could be any number of things here that could be instrumental in our quest, or help us find the way to their cities-”
“If it’s the Lemurians’ cities you want to find, then you won’t need a compass; we know where they are. But the journey there is not an easy one, nor a safe one either. The remains of their cities are full of the legacy of their wars”.
“What are you talking about when you say ‘legacy of their wars’” Rainbow Dash said, hovering up from her seat. “Like, old collapsed buildings, ruins and stuff? Or some kind of freaky robot weapons, or zombie Lemurians? Because I’m ready to take something on.” She swiped at the air with her hooves and snorted. “So far on this trip we haven’t managed to get ahead, and if something needs a skull cracking, then sign me the buck up. At least something we can fight would be straightforward!”
“Settle down there, hero,” Applejack said, tugging at the pegasus’ rainbow-striped tail and pulling her back into her seat. “While ah can’t say I don’t disagree with ya, goin’ off half-cocked and with a head fulla spit ain’t gonna help none if we don’t know what we’re up against”.
Twilight looked down at the compass device and watched as the indicator pulsed, the holographic arrow pointing down at the ground. She frowned and then looked up at Haglan and the other caribou.
“I don’t know how reliable or clever this thing is. But… it hasn’t steered us wrong so far, and I think that there’s more here for us to understand, and that we both have things to help one another. Rangifera was important to the Lemurians, and they had a big influence on your city and its’ technology. I don’t think it’s a coincidence the compass lead us here”.
Haglan looked at the pulsing indicator as Twilight spoke, and nodded in thought. “I think you may be right, Princess Twilight. There are many things the Lemurians left us. Many have guided our way and given us a lot to keep our society and people thriving. Lemurian knowledge and technology have kept our people fed and our homes warm, lit and clean, and our people safe. But there are other things they have left us, other secrets and knowledge we have never been able to unlock and technologies or machinery that has never come to life for us or worked within any of our lifetimes. Perhaps with the equipment you have bought or even with your magic and knowledge, it may yet show you what you need”.
“Awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed with glee and wide eyes. “More super-cool secret technology. Last time it was wicked-awesome fighter jets. Maybe this time it’ll be what we really need to kick the flanks off of those Hollow Things, like some kind of super weapon system or some kind of kickass super armour or something!”
Rarity rolled her eyes with a corner of her muzzle turned up in a smile, while Twilight chuckled behind one hoof. Even the caribou gave smiles of their own at the cyan pegasus and her excitement.
“Could you show us to these things?” Twilight asked, curiosity and excitement lighting up her face at the thought of new knowledge to uncover, and the fact it may yet lead them further on their journey. “There’s no time to lose!”
“Of course,” Freun replied with a smile and a dip of her antlers. “But perhaps first, we should make time for refreshments and rest. After all, you have journeyed a long way. And I for one would like to hear your story of how you crossed the vast ocean, and the other places you have seen. And of your home, Equestria, also!”
Pinkie sprang up from nowhere between Vigga and Haglan, stretching her forelegs around their shoulders and drawing them into a characteristically crushing hug and grinning ear to ear as she did.
“And if we’re going to tell you about Equestria, we abso-tively-posi-lutely have to throw a party. Because that’s one of the things that makes Equestria great… and I haven’t had an excuse to throw one since we began this trip; and it’s kind of my thing,” she added in a fake hushed voice and a whisper toward Vigga’s ear. “Besides, making new friends is definitely something worth celebrating – and I’d love to see how you guys celebrate too!”
The surprise on Hagalan’s face at the sudden appearance of the pink pony morphed into amusement and a grin crept across his long muzzle as she spoke, and he nodded.
“It is a while since we have had visitors, as I said. And I’m sure our people would appreciate a chance to celebrate – it is a while since we’ve done that too. And we could all use some more colour and cheer. Please, my friends; make yourselves welcome. We will show you to quarters to rest for the night, and then tomorrow we will show you what you seek, and plan a celebration for the evening that all can enjoy”
Rarity cleared her throat delicately and caught Twilight’s attention, and the alicorn turned her way with a quizzical expression.
“Darling,” she said gently and in a lower tone and a reassuring smile. “While this is all very fortuitous and the Rangiferans are very charming and accomodating hosts, perhaps you should make them aware of the crew on the Sun Chaser, and vice versa? They may be wondering where we are...”
Twilight winced and slapped a hoof to her face, before turning back to face the Caribou.
“Ahem, ah, excuse me Haglan...”
Sunset felt the same disconnect of time and self that she remembered from every trip through the mirror portal. It was no surprise; having your body and being twisted, warped and changed by magic to be a different kind of creature altogether isn’t going to be something that’s as simple as a snap of the fingers… especially since one of those creatures didn’t even have fingers. The awareness of the technicolour vortex between dimensions, worlds, or whatever it was lasted only long enough to be aware of it’s existence. It was dreamlike, experienced with no senses but at the same time with them all, before like waking from a dream but with eyes already open, she was in reality once again… and rapidly losing her balance!
Her legs felt wobbly and awkward, and however she tried, she couldn’t stop teetering and catch herself. She fell forward, putting her hands out to stop herself – and then realization quickly caught up as she felt things quickly return to normality as her front hooves clopped against the floor, and her tail swished behind her. Chuckling to herself, the golden-yellow unicorn shook her head wryly. “I should really be used to that by now,” she said with a self-deprecating smile.
Looking ahead of herself, she was relieved to see that, despite Rainbow Dashes’ worries, the equipment had all arrived as it had left, and was all in one piece and in the state it had left in. Starlight was already taking charge of her carts of equipment, and also of her restored unicorn magic to make pushing the equipment that much easier. A moderate amount of concentration – which resulted in the top of her tongue poking out of the corner of her muzzle – the tapering horn on her forehead came to life with a fiery red glow that also surrounded the equipment she’d been given to take charge of.
“Sunset, everything all right?” Starlight asked as she looked back over her shoulder at the yellow unicorn. She nodded in reply with a slight smile curling the corners of her muzzle.
“I should be used to this by now; I’ve been back and forward from one world to the other enough times that I ought to be used to the transition from two legs to four… and from hands to hooves”.
“Ehhh...” Starlight answered, waving one forehoof in the air with a smirk. “To be fair, it’s not exactly an everyday thing to get used to. Although, I suppose for Hippogriffs it’s pretty standard”.
Sunset shook her red-and-yellow mane and rolled her eyes as she trotted to Starlight’s side. “Well, as much as I love debating the relative natures of Equestria’s native species and the nature of transformational magic, I think we had a priority to take care of. After all, that is why I came along”.
Starlight blushed and nodded “Sorry, I can get a bit distracted when I find an interesting topic”.
Sunset chuckled and patted her on the withers with one hoof. “All that time as Twilight’s student obviously rubbed off on you”.
They both laughed as Starlight lead them through the halls and corridors of Twilight’s one-time castle, now given over to Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst and the School of Friendship for additional space.
The crystalline castle lacked none of its’ former magnificence, and it was hard to separate the place from the shadow that Twilight cast over it, even in her absence. Even without the Princess of Friendship in residence, it was always her castle. After all, it was her actions and those of the other Elements of Harmony that had raised the castle to begin with.
The pair descended through the levels of the castle, and then to its’ below ground vaults and chambers. Sunset marvelled as they went; she had never explored, nor seen so much of the place. Guards ponies started to appear more frequently, guarding staircases and corridors. The next turn the light purple unicorn took lead them into a dead-end corridor with a great vaulted door.
“That doesn’t look like part of the original castle,” Sunset ventured, looking up at the door with a mixed sense of curiosity and trepidation. “Unless Twilight had a lot of treasure she never told anyone about”.
“School fees,” Starlight said with a grin. “Got to keep the school running somehow”.
Sunset laughed in reply, before her face turned more serious. “This is why we’re here, isn’t it?” Starlight nodded in reply, her muzzle setting into a thin, hard line. “It is. I… don’t know what you’re expecting, but here we go”. She directed a firm nod to the door guards, who returned it. Both of them unicorns, their horns lit up in unison. A sigil on the door shifted pattern and the locking wheel on the door started spinning. Sunset steeled herself and took a breath as the lock ground open with a resounding clank, and with a groan of metal, began to swing open.