//------------------------------// // Anomalous Frontier // Story: Rites of Ascension // by CvBrony //------------------------------// “Okay, now that we have that settled, it's time for step one,” Twilight said, relieved that she managed to make some progress in reconciling Dash and Gilda. Turning to Gilda, she continued, “I need to speak to some of your top mages, including the ones I've designated on this list. In addition, I need to speak with those that work on magic items. Seems most of them are weaponsmiths.” Gilda blinked. “That last one… why do you need to talk with those dum-dums?” Twilight glanced back at her notes just to make sure she wasn't nuts. “Um, okay, first things first. How much have you been read into what we need to do?” Gilda gave them a quick rundown, and while she apparently had not heard the detail about the dragon dying, she otherwise knew what they were tasked with. “Okay, so…” Twilight picked up a stick and started a list in the snow. “I need to see anywhere you research and develop weaponry, as well as anywhere that makes weapons and has sophisticated magic tools. I also need to talk to whoever your best mages are, combat or otherwise. I already have a list of names from RGIS, but it's pretty short.” “Uh…” Gilda scratched the back of her head in a way that actually made Twilight kind of jealous. “So, I probably didn’t mean to say that I think our weaponsmiths are actually stupid. But they aren't the type to be able to do what you're talking about. Honestly, I hate to break it to you, but your list is pretty complete, at least on this side of the war. Also, there's only like ten places in our kingdom that can possibly do what you're talking about, and only four of them make weapons.” Rainbow gave her wings a flap. “Don't be surprised that we can't take your word on that. You did try to kill me last time we were here. Also, gryphons are known for making weapons. You really gonna tell us there's only four places to look at?” “Well…” Gilda’s feathers puffed out, but her tail was between her legs. “The kind and level of stuff you’re talking about, you’re only talking about a maximum of a few dozen gryphons, most of which are here in the capital. But most of our weapon production… Basically, we've taken a page out of the ponies’ book lately when it comes to weapons. We have some smiths that make fancy stuff, but outside of your list? It's decorative half the time, and the other half is often some kind of copy of something already made or just not on the level of what you’re looking for. We're refining what we know; we don't have anything like what you guys do. Yet.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t entirely make sense of that. Maybe you should show me instead.” Gilda’s left wing went limp. “Ugh. Was afraid of that. Okay, follow me. It’s on the far west edge of the city, just on the other side of Mount Balding. It's hard to miss; just look for the smoke.” Twilight motioned for her pegasi to hitch to the Kitalpha and took a position at the front seat, outside the protection of the carriage. This was normally a violation of protocol, but she wanted any funny business or shenanigans from the gryphons to be met with instant alicorn fury. Indeed, on the short trip, they were met with several interceptions, although they all left peaceably once they realized who and what they were dealing with. True to Gilda’s word, it was hard to miss what they were looking for. Built into the side of the mountain was a stone structure with enough smokestacks to trigger someone with trypophobia in about four seconds.  Huh. Twilight tilted her head at both the sight and smell of the stacks. Not as much smoke as I would have initially thought. Still a good amount, though. If we spend too long here, I'm going to smell like a wildfire when I get back. Though there was a small number of actual guards in the area, the bulk of the protection was composed of a few hundred gryphons fighting each other. Their swords flashed in various colors as they clashed amongst themselves, with bursts of elemental magic popping off between them. Twilight wasn’t close enough to see things in detail, but the lack of dying amongst them was enough to tell her that this was training. As the Kitalpha came in for a landing, she could hear a couple of them screaming comments about the combatants’ form. The actual door to their destination was less ornate than what gryphons normally liked. Even the structure was fairly basic stonework mixed with clay and covered in stucco of all things. As they came in for a landing, the crashing of swords filled the air.  Gilda waved them over to the door, then gave it a good yank to get it open. “In here. It's where we're making a lot of our weapons now.” Twilight hopped out of her chariot and walked slowly so that her pegasi could catch up. The air around her was slathered in the scent of burning wood and hot oil, and it only got worse when she looked inside. A tsunami of heat punched her in the face the moment she stepped inside the dim, sooty structure. Rows of blacksmiths’ stations lined the walls of the building, each with their own forced air furnace. Many even had motorized hammers. After a few moments spent blinking and getting used to the heat, a bell sounded and each worker passed an object to a fellow worker beside them. “Oh!” Twilight tapped her hoof on the sandy ground. “You’re setting up assembly lines! I’m guessing you’re short on viable weapons, so you’re looking to mass production to fill in the gaps.” Gilda half-shrugged. “Yeah. That. It's not something we're proud of, but if it works…” Cloud wrinkled his nose and sneezed. “Ugh. Well, if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.” Gilda pointed to a raised area in the back. “I'm pretty sure that's the thing you want to see.” The doors closed behind them as Twilight trotted to the back and up roughly half a flight of stairs. The area at the top was illuminated by what looked like a few holes in the roof but were actually a set of bright runes that may as well have been directed sunlight. The station in the middle was not a blacksmith's, but a runesmith’s. The bottom was a cylindrical shape made of earthen clay, with a parabolic depression on top. Inside the depression was a silvery, almost mirror-like metal coating. The top was also a clay, mostly cylindrical object affixed to the ceiling. Rather than a depression, the bottom of it was a silvery cone with a fine point. Both parts of it had the same metal etched into designs on the side, with tracks going between both parts. Three gryphons were manning the station, and a sword was placed in between the top and bottom stations. While one gryphon each held onto the top and bottom, the third put on goggles and carefully held the blade as magic was sent into the station. A beam no wider than a pinhead shot down from the tip of the cone, blasting straight through the sword. The magic not absorbed by the weapon hit the depression and was redirected back to the cone to be reused. Twilight watched them work, but kept her eyes away from the actual point of contact of the beam. She didn't have goggles, after all. After a few moments, a freshly engraved sword was ready to spit fire whenever its owner wanted. Twilight clopped her hooves in approval. “Nicely done! The tools are obviously hastily put up, but your movements are very steady and the quality of the work can't be denied.” The three gryphons just kind of looked at each other.  “Um, thank you?” one said. Twilight turned to Gilda and gave her a little bow. “I appreciate the transparency, showing me this. And you're right, this is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. But I doubt this particular station would be useful for what we're suspecting. I don't see a way to control the amount of power used to the degree that would be necessary, and the platinum you used as a reflector is probably too effective for anything not… uh… scrambled. Also, it seems this can only really use one type of mana at a time. But yes, I need to see stuff like this.” Gilda ruffled her head feathers. “It's the biggest type I know of. We have a half dozen or so of these factories and they're all mostly the same. So you need something… what, more sophisticated?” Twilight nodded. “Yes. If you could come up with a list of such locations, that would be great. I'll send Trixie to check the others; she's more than qualified for that.” “Oh.” Gilda blinked. “That was easier than I expected. I think I can get you that stuff. So, that's all for here?” “Yup. Let's go see these ‘anomalies’ you were talking about, since I'm confident Trixie can handle this part. Let's go.” A loud “ka-chunk” from the doors echoed through the factory, and Twilight sized up the trouble sitting in front of them. Waving to her guards, she approached the male gryphon who was obviously waiting for her.  He was a bit bigger than Gilda and had a lot of blue paint on his head feathers. He only had a short sword for a weapon but held a smug look on his face.  As Twilight and her entourage arrived, her guards stepped ahead of her, one on each side. Then, Gilda flew up to get right in his face.  “Logan, this isn't the time. Get out of the way,” Gilda growled.  “Oh?” Logan grinned. “You can't expect me to not want to meet the Equestrian Grand Mage, can you?” Gilda seethed for a moment, then spun around. “Twilight, meet our hostage from Ragnar’s side. His name is Logan and he's a butthole.” Cloud snapped to meet Gilda's gaze. “Hostage? That doesn't sound gryphon-like.” Rainbow stepped closer to her comrade. “Old tradition. When clans go to war, they trade one hostage each to make sure each side follows the rules. And yeah, they usually send the troublemakers.” “I resent that,” Logan pretended to grumble. “I mean, it's true, but I still resent the remark.” Gilda poked him with a claw. “I think you mean ‘resemble.’ Now get out of our way; we're here on behalf of the dragons. Means I can gut you if you don't behave.” Logan grabbed her talon and pulled. “See how scared I am?” Twilight nodded her head at Logan. “Cloud. Rainbow.” In a rushing blur of feathers and wind, the two pegasi launched forward. After a mere blink, Rainbow had pulled him to the side of the doors by his hind leg and was holding on, ready to break it if need be. For his part, Cloud had pressed the gryphon’s face into the wall with his hoof, and had energized pinion feathers ready to burn and electrocute his throat. Ka-chunk. Twilight unlocked and pulled open the doors to the factory, then walked over to Logan, meeting his panicked eye. “I'm very sorry about that, but I'm getting just a little sick of the ‘hey let's see what the Grand Mage is made of’ routine. If you like, I'll be happy to arrange a more formal meeting later. Until then, accept these words of advice. “When an emissary of the dragons is working, don't get in their way, no matter who they are. Whatever you think of me doesn't matter compared to what the dragons are going to think of you. “Cloud, Rainbow, let's get going. I want to see these anomalies already.” Twilight undid the lock and pulled open the door, shivering as the comparatively cold air punched her in the nose. She was sneezing by the time Rainbow, a snickering Gilda, and Cloud were letting Logan go and exiting the factory themselves, with the former kicking the door shut. Logan coughed like he was horking up a hairball. “Holy Hell. I think I'm in l-” WUNK! “Gotta give it to you, Sparkle.” Gilda’s tail was twitching like she was ready to pounce. “That was pretty good. I'm glad you didn't actually hurt him, though. That would be a real pain. Politically, I mean. Not that I don't know what it's like to be on the receiving end.” Twilight fought back an unsatisfied grumble from somewhere in her gut. “As I said, I am sorry about that.” Rainbow blew a raspberry at those words. “I'm not. Maybe next time don't be a-” Gilda coughed. “It's okay. I got better, and seeing Logan almost create a puddle like that was worth it. So, are we off to the east, then?” “Almost.” Twilight hopped into her chariot. “First, we need to get back to the embassy.” Cloud picked up the Kitaplha’s harness and wiggled in. “Let me guess, passing orders to Trixie and Spike?” “Yup. Fly slow so I can write it all out.” “Hey, looks like we have a welcoming party.” Twilight finished putting the seal on her orders to Trixie, then pressed her head against the window. A few of the embassy workers were already on the landing pad. At their hooves was a small box with a lock on it. When she opened the door, they all went into a bow. “At ease, everypony. I gather that your presence here means something has happened.” One of the workers shook his head. “We don't know. This contains messages from Celestia to you. None of us were told what's inside.” He leaned over and unlocked the box, revealing two scrolls, sealed with magic. “Ah.” Twilight pulled out her own scroll. “I'll trade you. This is for Trixie and Spike.” “Of course.” He bowed, picked up the order, and trotted off with the group. Cloud, still pulling the chariot, walked up beside her, dragging Rainbow with him. “New orders? World coming to an end? Ban on sugar exports?” Rainbow cringed. “I hope not. If we're going to be up here and fighting, I need fuel.” Twilight allowed herself a little smile before diving into the text of the first scroll. The first words alone raised her eyebrows. “Oh. Well, that's unfortunate. Duke Buckheart of the Hinterlands has passed away.” Rainbow turned to look at the chariot behind her. “Um, we're kinda busy here. How are we going to investigate that and the egg?” Twilight shook her head. “We're not. No foul play is suspected, but they are going to do an autopsy. Current cause of death is suspected to be cardiac arrest in his sleep, which isn't that much of a stretch, really. He was the oldest of all of the Dukes and Duchesses, and known to be withdrawn and sickly the last decade or so. I think I've seen him, like, four times since becoming Grand Mage, and he didn't speak to me once in any of them. “They do want me at the funeral, which is surprising, but not unreasonable given our positions. His daughter, as Duchess-in-wings, has already stepped into her new role. Unless the autopsy finds something remarkable, this is just letting us know ahead of time. It'll be formally announced tomorrow in the papers.” Cloud scratched his chin with a pinion. “Honestly, I expected that old bastard to hang on for another decade or so. He's stubborn as all hell. Death probably needed a crowbar to pry that stallion’s soul from his body.” Twilight exhaled, releasing a lot of the tension that she hadn't realized had been building. “Okay, next scroll…”  After a moment, Gilda poked her in the shoulder. “You okay? You look about five shades paler.” Twilight gulped. “About four hundred kilometers west-southwest of here, just inside gryphon lands, Luna’s scouts found a Titan. She's heading there personally to engage and destroy it. She's asked me to ask Gryphonia to evacuate any citizens it has in the area and declare the region off limits.” Gilda’s beak dropped open. “A what now?” Rainbow grabbed her by the throat feathers and pulled her down to whisper in her ear. This time it was Gilda's turn to get pale. “Crap on a cracker. Okay, I'll go tell Her Highness. She's going to be pissed that Luna wants to do it instead of leaving it to us, though.” Twilight rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it in her saddlebag. “Trust me, you guys have enough to occupy your warriors in dealing with Ragnar. You'll almost certainly lose a lot of them if you try to take on this thing conventionally. Let Luna deal with this; she has the experience.” “Okay then,” Gilda relented. “I'll head right back here afterwards, and we can get going. Sound good?” Twilight nodded. “Deal.” Twilight switched off the Kitalpha’s climate control. They'd been flying in the cold for well over an hour at this point, although her reading and theoretical ponderings over using a dragon’s egg in magic had her thoroughly lose track of time. Even though all the ponies present, including herself, had a pegasus coat, the outside air was still unusually cold for the time of year. If her friends had to fly in it, she could at least go without her heater. “Hey Magey, you hearing this?” Twilight looked around for a few seconds. Wait, was that Gilda? And was she talking to me? Aurora gave her a mental poke. “She used the radio. I think she's talking to you?” One of the pieces of gear added to the Kitalpha recently was an internal radio piece. It had a greater range than the head units, but only when the antenna was raised. That still left one question, though. Twilight held down the button for the radio and cleared her throat. “Gilda? Did Rainbow give you her radio?” “Huh? No, this is mine.” “I am pretty sure that Equestria hasn't released those to the general market yet. Where'd you get it?” “From you guys? We got a shipment from some company a while ago. Pretty sure Ragnar got some, too. They're pretty handy when you don't have line of sight. But we have to be careful because the other side can hear us, too.” “Oh, joy.” Twilight grumbled. “Gonna have to investigate that at some point, too, but the cat's out of the bag now and we have more pressing issues for the moment. How close are we to our destination?” “See for yourself!” Twilight rolled herself over to the side window and looked out. When she didn't see anything, she opened it and looked forward. Ahead was a massive dome of what could only be described as fog. As they flew toward it, the fog barely seemed to get bigger, which could only mean one thing: whatever this was, it was massive. “Holy moly.” Twilight gulped in some of the dry, cold air. Switching to her Sight, she could see that the dome had a definite magical structure to it. She was still too far away to see any informative details, but she could see a clear pulsing of power, as if a tide was rhythmically pulling in and pushing out of the border. “I don't think I've ever seen fog do that. And I'm not sure what magic could have caused it.” Rainbow’s voice crackled on the radio and struggled in the wind. “Think we found our egg?” “Maybe. But it's not guaranteed. There are natural magic forces that can do this kind of thing, at least in terms of power output. Never seen a configuration like this before, though. Can we get closer? I want to see what the magic is doing in there.” Cloud asked, “Is it safe?” Twilight chuckled. “No, it's obscenely dangerous.” Rainbow laughed at him. “When is it ever safe?” “Only in my dreams, heh.” The Kitalpha lunged forward as they all picked up speed. Overhead, Twilight heard clunks as claws grabbed hold. Gilda was hanging on to the roof, stabilizing the chariot in the face of increasing headwinds. “Hey, Gilda!” Twilight yelled over the wind. “Was this one of your anomalies?” “No! This is easily bigger than anything I've heard of!” Twilight dove to one of the storage compartments in the Kitalpha, pulling out a new sensor pod that she had ordered. It was a bronze rectangular thing, with a tube attached by a cord that could be docked with a couple big hooks at the top of the device. After smashing the On button, she dangled the tube part out of the window, and some of the lights and gauges on the face of the device flickered. “I'm not getting any real sign of contamination or radiation here!” Rainbow groaned. “Are you saying this isn't something to do with the egg?” “Too soon to tell, but that's one less thing to worry abooooUUUUUUUU—!” Twilight grabbed onto the chariot via the open window as they all rocketed forward, gaining easily a hundred kilometres per hour in velocity.  Cloud turned the chariot hard left, banking to face away from the anomaly. “Twilight, the dome! It's moving!” Raising a foreleg to shield her eyes, she squinted back to see the whole mass moving north. It looked like it had a glacial pace, but at this scale, that meant terrifying speed. Even worse, it was gaining on them, even as two of Equestria’s best flyers were fighting to get away. Twilight paused for a second as an idea popped into her head. “Guys, turn around!” “Are you nuts?!” Gilda yelled, making the Kitalpha groan from her grip. “That thing is a monster!” “And its magic is pulling us in faster than Rainbow can fly with a chariot! Turn around and aim for its south end, full throttle!” Twilight once again held on tight as they turned, this time picking up even more incredible speed. A magic shock field — the same that forms when a pegasus tries to break the sound barrier — was manifesting ahead of them. They were already at the maximum possible speed for any chariot. At least, any chariot that wasn't the Kitalpha. Twilight popped off a teleport, grabbing hold of her ride right next to Gilda. She lit her horn, hooves, back, anything on her fledgling alicorn body that could express magic and pushed it into the Kitalpha’s protective wards. The protection the chariot offered its occupants pushed outward into a bubble, eventually meeting with and pushing back the shock field.  The magic in Twilight’s body sizzled near her hindquarters, and she pulled it from her back to her front. The barrier from the Kitalpha warped and rippled, shifting its shape into a cone, pointy end forward. As the tip solidified, the shock field broke. In an instant, they were launched from a black and purple explosion—a rainboom that had never been seen before.  At supersonic speeds, they rushed towards the southern edge of the fog dome, the magics around it pulling them forward. Rainbow and Cloud rolled the group right as they met it, mere centimeters above the event horizon, now more or less flying as if the dome was the ground and the chariot was just rolling along on a cloud. Pulses of magic tried to pull them in, but each time, it was turned into more speed that kept them just this side of the anomaly. Breathless moments later, Twilight remembered to inhale as they pulled away from the dome on its eastern side, finally shrinking as the distance to it grew. The rainboom had faded as the pull from the dome slowed them, but they were still escaping. “Orbital mechanics!” Twilight shouted. “Used the pull from that thing to give us the speed we needed… to…” Gilda hushed out an “Oh no…” Twilight’s magic faded as she watched the dome stop moving north. It was now moving east, right towards them. “Fly! All of you! Take the reins off and get ou—!” The dome had caught up. Fog enveloped them, even as they tried a blind dive to pick up speed. “What now?” Gilda put a wing over Twilight as bits of dirt and plant debris pelted them.  “Now we pick a direction and head that way and up!” Cloud spat out something that was likely a small rock. “What if it keeps following us?” “Then it's time to set a new altitude record! Don't worry; as long as we can tell which way is up, and nothing else weird happens, we can still get out of this!” Strange blue magic washed over them like a wave, warping space, nullifying gravity, and pulling them along whatever thaumic riptide was at work inside the fog. In an instant, direction had no meaning. Twilight put her ears back. “Aw, ponyfeathers.”