Red and I reached the tunnels end, out into the blinding sunlight. The sand seemed paler in comparison, bleached from the sun beaming down on whatever remained. I didn't have any better a grasp of what happened to the precursors here. This place is a barren wasteland. How could something so full of life just disappear to sand? Now that I think of it, that white being... it reminded me of Celestia a lot. Great, now I'm thinking about Ponyville again.
What was I doing before I came here? I remember talking with something. Something with someone. Wait! It was Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash was in my boutique, and then I just... disappeared. What did she see? Was she panicked? Is she looking for me now? How did I even get here?! Why me?! I felt myself getting a little worked up. I centered my thoughts. Now, where was I?
Ah, right. Why am I here? If anypony would be assigned to climb a mountain, I'm the least concern. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could easily fly to the top in a span of a few minutes, Twilight would use some advanced teleportation spell, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie would have the strength to carry on longer than I could. And don't get me started on my sister Sweetie Belle. She's so geared to get a cutie mark, she'd up that mountain so fast for a destiny in pathfinding. Am I so out of touch?
My thought process was interrupted as a noise broke the silence. It sounded like a cooing, from a pigeon, but there was nothing above me. No reason to look up, anyway. The soft chirping came not from the sky, but under the sand. Red and I stopped, looking around. The sand around the dune we stood on seemed to be upturned, forming a streak of rippling sand. Something alive was burrowing nearby. But what?
I found my answer shortly after. Right in front of me, a creature dove out of the sand. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was a fold of crimson cloth with ribbons streaming behind it. It darted through the air like a dolphin in water, carelessly drifting in the wind. Red began to run after it, and glided in the air before dropping to the sand.
I began to follow the two red creatures, and lept off the dune to get some air. I drifted a little longer than before, probably due to my scarf being longer. But I couldn't really understand how that worked. As Red, the cloth creature, and I crossed dune after dune, more of them popped up from the sand. Each creature that surface joined the pack, making more chirping noises in the area. Red made his own hum, making the strips of cloth trailing the creatures glow dimly. One had slipped underneath him, scooping him off the ground and across the next few dunes. I decided to try it as well.
A creature burrowed under the sand, and appeared under my hooves, carrying me off like a magic carpet. As it dropped me off, I slid down a particularly big slope, stopping at Red's side. He was glancing up, at the structure I hadn't noticed before.
A giant stone building, towering in the desert pit. Clouds of sand swirled around it, and blocking out some sunlight. It seemed rather frightening at first. But Red kept walking. I followed him, naturally. We hopped up a few stones to make it up onto the steps, encircling the structure before reaching the first flat roof. I stopped to catch my breath, and looked up at the rest of the building looming over me. Now that I mention it, it looked very familiar. My eyes widened to realize something. This was the structure built by Ancestors as the power source; a generator, if you will. The roof I stood on was connected by a narrow bridge to the stairs that wound around the building. The sides had windows with metal grates that emitted more cooing. I trotted closer to the grate, and inside, there were at least 30 cloth creatures floating inside. Was there a way to release them? I couldn't just let them sit here forever.
I walked up more of the steps, with Red shortly behind. After hopping up on the highest roof, I felt almost relieved to see another slanted statue. I used my tone to light the markers up, and as the light illuminated the ground around it, I sat, and closed my eyes as Red joined me.
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Ready for a surprise? More white. I wished for a little more color or shape in this void, but the distant mountain slowly creeping closer and the Ancestor standing before me was the only things worth looking at.
"You have come far, traveler. I have heard about you." The being spoke, in a deep, masculine voice. Clearly different from the more soothing, feminine voice I met at the bridge. But despite the Ancestor's authoritative presence, it still felt heavenly and god-like.
"Yes, I have. I'm beginning to miss my friends..." I said half-heartedly.
"I feel your pain. There are very few Ancestors left, and a strong spiritual essence hold us apart. Only a being's death can bring us together." It said, sounding just as solemn I was, if not more. And I thought I had it rough.
"I'm terribly sorry. It must be an awful way to live." I said, trying to reassure the white being.
"You speak the truth. My brothers and sisters haven't seen one another in decades. Death is scarce here." It spoke. I still felt a little worried. If they only see each other during death, how would they even feel friendship or passion anymore? I felt a little down on the topic.
"Now, I must teach you more of the legend. I trust my brethren have told you their parts." The Ancestor stated, and once more, the primitive imagery flashed before me. The buildings powered by the energy, just like the last Ancestor showed me.
"The more energy the Ancestors collected, the more determined they grew. They built massive towers, reaching into the heavens themselves. They wanted to go beyond their world."
The image depicted the villagers around smaller glowing towers, like a staircase. Near the top was a single being, surrounded by glistening stars.
"You are making progress, young Rarity. Do not lose hope."
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Excessive chirping had filled the air, snapping me out of the trance. Red stood next to me, and I looked behind me. Over the egde of the building, were cloth creatures, happily swimming in the air. Red hopped off the building, and I saw the cloth creatures helping him hover across a stone wall.
I had to follow after him. I slowly approached the edge, and looked down. Vertigo nearly took over. It was a long way down, and if I screwed up... I don't want to think about it. But, despite my stubbornness, a cloth creature circled me, and as it's trailing cloth brushed me, I began hovering over it. If my voice was working, I would have screamed as it carried me over the gap....