//------------------------------// // Totally Not a Light Bulb // Story: Urohringr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Beneath the glowing beacon of Central D, beneath the mushroom-shaped platforms and buildings built along the wooden stalk, beneath even the treeline and rugged clefts of earth, there was a solid floor of wooden planks. They covered the surface of the earth that bordered the southwest edge of the tower. Down here, a quartet of pegasi stood at attention, their forelimbs girded with stone-carved javelins. Two were First-Borns and the other two were Gray Feathers. While they stood in a tight circle, facing opposite directions, they nevertheless engaged in casual conversation, even affording a chuckle or two among themselves. When they heard hoofsteps approach, they were naturally calm about turning to observe who had arrived. Upon seeing Rainbow Dash at Fawful's side, however, they jumped with a start, their eyes widening in the dim shadows of the lowermost platform above. "Rest easy," Fawful said, nodding her gray head. "We need access to the Lower Reaches." The First-Borns exchanged nervous glances. "Fawful... how is it that you mean 'we?'" one of the Gray Feathers asked. "Is there a problem, Dressen?" "It's just that..." The old stallion fidgeted, avoiding Rainbow's gaze. "She may appear First-Born, but... sh-she's an outsider, Fawful." "The only outsider," one of the First-Borns nervously stammered, shivering slightly. "I mean, should we? Is... is th-this allowed?" "I was charged with caring after Rainbow Dash during the extent of her stay here in Central D," Fawful said, smiling calmly. "The head elders trust my wisdom in this matter. In order to better understand each other, it's imperative that I let her see the Lower Reaches." "Including..." The other First-Born bit his lip. "...the Gold Lights?" "Shhhh..." The other elder, a mare, rested her hooves on both First-Borns. She stepped forward and bestowed Fawful an aged smiled. "It is true. You are responsible for Rainbow Dash, Fawful." Rainbow Dash blinked at that. The mare chuckled slightly. "Surprised? Your name has become well-spoken of around here. Everything I've heard about you has been exemplary." "Oh. Well, that's cool." Rainbow stirred slightly. "I-I guess." Fawful nodded. "Elders, may we?" The old mare turned towards the two young pegasi and let loose a chirping sound. They twirled their polearms around, revealing hooks on the opposite ends. These, they latched onto tiny notches built into a square panel of the wooden floor. With grunts and heaving muscles, they swiveled the panel open on its hinges, revealing a stone-carved stairwell leading crookedly down into a deep, dark abyss. Rainbow craned her neck, curiously. "Thank you, Gren. Auburn." Fawful brushed past the two and trotted gracefully down the steps. "Rainbow...?" "Er... right..." Rainbow trotted swiftly after her. The elder stallion called out: "The group is still down there, meditating on Second Light." "Understood, Dressen," Fawful said back. "We shan't disturb them." As the two mares made their way down—Fawful trotting and Rainbow hovering—they heard the creek of the latched door shutting above. Darkness overcame them. "Uhhh..." Rainbow fidgeted in midair. She gazed straight up at a ceiling comprised of countless slits of dim sunlight. "They're gonna let us back out... r-right?" Fawful managed a raspy giggle. "But of course. We are merely visiting. I make trips down here daily. All Gray Feathers do." "Uh... okay..." Rainbow gulped. "So... wh-what kind of a pit is this anyway?" "You shall see," Fawful said. Suddenly, she sensed a ruby light behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. Rainbow blushed, taking her hoof off her ruby pendant. "S-sorry. Force of habit." "That's quite alright." Fawful continued descending the steps. "You must be used to entering dark caverns." "Girl, don't you know it." "Hmmm... amusing." "What is?" "Nopony has called me 'girl' in years." "Awwww... Well that's a shame." "I think otherwise. I'm honored to be a Gray Feather." "Guess it's one heck of a retirement plan, huh?" "Hmmm? Retirement plan?" "Er... my bad. Equestrian humor." Rainbow squinted. "Jeez... for real, though. How do you walk so confidently down steep stone steps in the dark—" Before Rainbow had even finished her sentence, the ground evened out. Fawful stepped confidently onto a polished granite straightaway. She smiled with bright teeth. "As I said... daily." "Yeah, okay..." Rainbow nodded with a smirk as they both proceeded towards a dim light at the far end of the cavern. Her voice echoed against the high walls of the place. "Yeesh, this place is huge. Kind of a freaky location to build a tall wooden tower, huh?" "I assure you, Central D has a firm foundation. We constructed ut here for a purpose. It was the first part of the basin where we Durandanans settled. Fitting that it would be nearly in the center, as you so perceive it." "That seems... uhhh—" "Fortuitous? We're inclined to agree." "You know, ever since I came here, I haven't had a single one of you guys tell me straight just how you showed up here. And... ugh... please don't tell me that you remember your culture as having always lived here." "Everything has a beginning, Rainbow Dash," Fawful said as they approached a tunnel flanked by lamps full of lightning bugs. Another set of descending steps—this time less steep—led down the winding stone passageway. Fawful slipped in first with undaunted grace. "That's one reason why I brought you down here. I feel that you have as much to teach us as we have to teach you." Rainbow touched down, blinking. "Really?" "Do you find that so hard to believe?" "Honestly, yeah..." Rainbow trotted slowly after her, ducking wherever a flickering was hung in the crooked, sloping hallways. "I mean... I know stuff. Or at least I think I know stuff, but... I-I've been crazy-afraid of stepping on everypony's hooves." "A reasonable concern," Fawful said, nodding. "But perhaps a bit too anxious." "You really think so?" "I'm a considerably young elder, Rainbow Dash," Fawful said. "I'm... still getting used to being a protector of the scrolls. My youth betrays me often, for I am ever so frequently pining for the days of flight and romance that carried me daily over the mists of this valley." "Yeah..." Rainbow winced slightly. "That's gotta suck..." "And yet, the other elders believe that I am gifted with sharp perception," she said calmly. "That is the reason that they chose me to be a direct representative in communicating with you, or at least I like to think so." "Oh yeah?" Rainbow smirked. "And just what do you perceive about me?" Fawful paused to turn and face her. "I sense that you are not here to sow strife or confusion. I believe that your courage and your sincerity are one and the same, and what you do and the way you do it is what defines you. If you thought that being here in Durandana would be a damaging thing, then I doubt you would have stuck around for as long as you have." "Heh..." Rainbow brushed her bangs back a bit. "You sense all that, huh?" "Mmmhmmm." Fawful smile. "Also, your eyes linger on the flanks of mares." Rainbow bumped into a wall. "Gahhh—I... uhhhh.. th-that's not what I'm here f—!" "Shhhh!" Fawful suddenly hissed. Rainbow squatted, wincing. "None of the elders, though, I swear! Please, don't think that I'm some kind of a—" "Relax," Fawful said, gesturing slowly forward. "We simply need to keep our voices low for this part of the Lower Reaches." She shuffled ahead, and it was then that Rainbow noticed equine shadows dancing against the walls. "They are meditating..." "Who?" Rainbow blinked. Then, as she slinked ahead, her eyes grew less tense. "Ohhhh..." The two mares threaded their way through a group of Gray-Feathers, all spread out and seated in various places. Some of them faced the walls of the stone compartments. Others huddled under flickering lamps. It didn't matter either way, because most of them had their eyes shut. All the while they chanted and murmured repetitive prayers, often rocking back and forth from where they were seated. Rainbow glanced aside. Every now and then, she caught sight of a mare or stallion with an old dusty scroll spread open before them. Their wings were stretched forward, framing the edges of the parchment and holding the pages down as they read and read and re-read choice passages. "The Valkyrie left us many words to focus on," Fawful murmured, snapping Rainbow back to the path they were trotting. "Some of them make sense. Then a lot of them don't. We pay close attention to every one of them, regardless, in faith that clarity awaits the good servants of the Light in the Windlessness to come." "Windlessness?" Rainbow whispered back. Fawful stole a glance over her shoulder. "The calm beyond death, of course." "Er... of c-course..." "Without wind—or even air—only the glory of the Valkyrie will keep us afloat, as it has allowed us to survive for so long in this basin." Fawful brushed a hoof across a stone pillar as she trotted forward. "After all, it helped Duranda's ponies survived in the Days of Dimness." "Days of Dimness. Gotcha—" Rainbow did a double-take. "Wait." She winced, then galloped forward until she was even-neck with Fawful so she could whisper: "Duranda? Am I hearing that right?" "Mmmhmmm..." Fawful turned to smile at the mare. "She was a brave and selfless soul, one of the few whom even the scrolls confirmed had witnessed the Valkyrie when she flew through the air. When Duranda awoke upon the greens, she had very few ponies to aid her. Many were sick and dying; so starved were they of the Light From Above. But Duranda's quick thinking and wisdom spared the foals of the Valkyrie from certain oblivion. She built a shelter here in the Lower Reaches—simply to survive. Little did they know that they would unlock the majesty of this place, for down in these depths is where they found the Gold Lights." "Huh... then I guess this place was—" "In honor of her indomitable spirit, we have since named our realm after her. She was a brave soul, harboring a courage that cost her her life far too soon. She may only have been a mere pony, but she exalted the Valkyrie with great vigor. We have all since learned from our sparrow years to follow her example, and it's not let us down in the least." "Yeah. I can see that." Rainbow glanced aside as the two walked down the crooked stone floor. "Well, for what it's worth, looks like you guys have chosen the best sort of heroes to—" She froze in place, hooves scuffling. Fawful trotted a few steps, stopped, and looked back. "Rainbow?" Her red eyes darted about, and her ears folded in concern. "Rainbow, is everything alright?" Rainbow's eyes were twitching. She took a few steps forward and placed a hoof on the wall before her. Three rings were etched into the stone. Even through the dust and soot, she could spot twelve segments on each of them. "Urohringr..." Rainbow murmured. Fawful's brow furrowed. "I..." She leaned forward. "What was that?" Rainbow hovered backwards, taking in the full extent of the etching. She glanced down the wall, and immediately her heart skipped a beat. Hauntingly familiar images of pegasi leapt at one another amidst impressionistic designs of cosmic stars and nebulae. "Pegasi," Rainbow murmured, hovering now on blurred wings. Her muzzle hung agape as she scanned down illustration after illustration. "The 'angels' that the Herald spoke of... from before the Sundering..." "I... I am confused, Rainbow Dash," Fawful said, shuffling over to catch up with the scrambling mare. "Do you... somehow recognize the Valkyrie's Symbols?" Rainbow spun to gawk at her. "Valkyrie's what-now?" "Her Symbols," Fawful said. She cleared her throat. "They are very sacred to us. From what the elders understand of the scrolls that Duranda preserved, they are meant as a warning of the coming Windlessness and how we must preserve the Valkyrie's glory to surpass oblivion." Rainbow turned to face the symbols once more. "A warning..." "That is why they stand upon the threshhold of the Valkyrie Silver... which lies ahead..." Fawful squinted, trotting up until she was right beneath Rainbow. "Rainbow, are you feeling okay... ?" "I feel... I feel..." Rainbow turned around. She gazed down the way which they came. Through the combined aura of the various lanterns, she made out chambers, columns, and perfectly cut walls of smoothe granite. "We're inside a sentinel," she murmured to herself. "Or j-just a piece of one..." She gulped and flew back before the Urohringr symbol. "We were right all along... this is Stratopolis. It has to be." "These words that you're using..." Fawful shook her worried face. "They are... very strange." "Sorry. I'm just... erm... h-having something of an epiphany right now." "Would you mind sharing it?" Rainbow exhaled. "Not until I get a better grasp of the full picture." She turned calmly towards Fawful from where she hovered. "Please... may I see the Gold Lights, now?" Fawful led Rainbow through five more turns and corners. Finally, they came upon a straightaway, and this was where the interior changed. At some point about five meters down the stretch, the stone floor cracked at an odd angle. Thick wooden pillars had been erected between the floor and a partially collapsed ceiling. Nevertheless, there was still enough room to proceed, and a patch of sundered earth was covered with wooden planks. The Gray-Feather escroting Rainbow had to trot carefully along this point. Rainbow simply flew through the niche, ducking beneath the jagged ceiling. On the other end, she saw the hallway ending abruptly before what appeared to be an enormous dull expanse. In the center of the chamber ahead, a pulsating gold light hung in a circle, like a spotlight was shining straight down from the distant ceiling above. Before they entered the next spot, Fawful paused. She knelt down low, extended her wings forward, and murmured a breathy prayer. Then, with a flick of her tail, she stood up and stepped boldly onto a strange floor. Rainbow looked straight down. Where the stone ended, an immaculately polished sheet of metal began. It proceeded forward at a perfectly even angle, with several geometric grooves and lines winding across it as far as her eyes could see in the darkness. "This is the Valkyrie Silver," Fawful said quietly, though her tiny voice echoed immensely across the incomprehensible expanse. This forced Rainbow to spin around towards the tunnel exit, upon which she gawked at the sight of a huge chunk of gray stone resting eternally at a jagged angle against the metallic floor. Around and above her where she hovered, a domed hollow of exposed earth, rock, and dust lingered just beyond the penumbra of light. "And this..." Fawful's voice caused Rainbow to look ahead. The elder stood a before a wooden pedestal flanked by four ponies—once more, two Gray-Feathers and two First-Borns. "...is the source of the Gold Lights." She stepped aside, allowing Rainbow to see what was on top of the platform. Rainbow squinted. She saw a gold helmet, stained with the decay of time. All across its top, several tiny fibrous strands stuck out at every angle. She could faintly detect multiple colors clashing and mixing all at once. Glancing down, Rainbow could see a pulsating halo of light emanating from where the wooden pedestal made contact with the metallic floor. The smooth curves and geometric lines shimmered with living energy. Beyond the sphere of influence, the metal was dull, dim, but no less shiny. Rainbow sucked in her breath. Once again, she gazed at the helmet. A pair of blue hooves clasped over her muzzle, and she clenched her eyes shut with a shudder. "Yes... the... the sheer power of the Valkyrie is overwhelming to anypony," Fawful said with a reassuring power. "At first, our ancestors had no idea that the Gold Lights would be here to bless us. But then, on one fateful occasion, Duranda brought this artifact down here while she was seeking shelter for the foals of the Valkyrie. Not long after they discovered the unblemished silver of this realm, it began issuing unworldly illuminescence—directly in response to the last piece of the Valkryie's essence. It was immediately afterwards that Duranda and everypony with him knew that the Lights From Above had blessed the surviving remnant of the Air's Protector, for they had given this sign to mirror the glory that awaits us every dawn." "I..." Rainbow Dash exhaled with a shuddering breath, lowering her hooves. "I know wh-what this is..." She reopened her ruby eyes thinly. "This... essence of the Valkyrie—" "Contained within the helm," Fawful said, pointing atop the pedestal. Rainbow stared squarely at her. "It's her mane hair, isn't it?" She glanced at two of the guards. "Is that why you're dying yourselves to look like her? Because of this?" "Elder?" One of the First-Borns leaned towards her, eyes on Rainbow. "Who have you brought to gaze upon the Gold Lights...?" "Shhh..." Fawful placed a hoof on her shoulder. "It's okay. Trust me." She turned to look up at Rainbow. "The scrolls that Duranda preserved also maintain who and what the Valkyrie looked like in her physical form. We emulate her out of reverence, an honor that is carried out by the First-Borns and then humbly sacrificed upon achieving the status of elder." "Right... right. I-I get all of that. But... but you see..." Rainbow winced, sighed, and ultimately muttered, "Fawful, I... I knew who the Valkyrie was before I even arrived here." The guards glanced nervously at each other. "You mean..." Fawful smiled brightly. "...before you arrived from beyond the greens?" She took a bouncy step forward. "That is delightful to know, Rainbow! It means that the glory of the Valkyrie extends to all realms! If she spoke to your heart, then surely the scrolls—" "It's... not like that. She..." Rainbow gulped. At last, she sputtered, "In Equestria, we have a different name for her: Commander Hurricane." The two First-Borns immediately exchanged wild expressions. "Commander... What?" one of the two elders stammered. "She was the military leader of a kingdom in the sky... a cloud city named Pegasopolis. It belonged to winged ponies—just like you and me—only thousands and thousands of years ago. After a horrible winter that lasted over a decade, the pegasus formed an alliance with other ponies in the land—most famously the earth ponies and unicorns. Equestria was founded, and the remaining Alicorns—ponies with both wings and magical horns—ruled over the land as monarchs. Not long after, a terribly nasty cloud city flew in out of nowhere. Commander Hurricane took it up on herself to steer this cursed thing away from Equestria before it could destroy the newly-formed kingdom. She took a bunch of pegasus soldiers and warriors with her, and they were never seen or heard from again... until I stumbled upon what remained of the ill-fated city once fabled to be called 'Stratopolis.'" Fawful blinked. "Stratopolis...?" she murmured. "Fawful, what is this all about?!" an elder exclaimed. The other pointed. "Is this the outsider whom Sivrem spoke of?" "I... I..." "Please... just..." Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth and shook two hooves in front of her. "Just hear me out! The reason I know the Valkyrie is because I had always grown up learning about her as a kid! And then—to my surprise—I totally stumbled upon the place of her last stand! I saw a magical projection of her, delivering a message. I even saw an effigy of her on her tomb and—" "Her tomb?!" one of the elders blurted. "Why... wh-why is she speaking of the Valkyrie in this way?" A First-Born stammered. "Fawful...?" "Rainbow Dash, do you actually—" Fawful winced, straightened her bleached bangs, and composed herself. "You mean to state that she is an Equestrian?" "You mean from a realm beyond the greens?" an elder barked. "Preposterous!" "Look," rainbow said. "I know this sounds crazy—" "Why've you brought this pony here?" a First-Born growled. "To the Gold Lights?! This place is sacred! And yet you let her speak like this?" "Everypony, please, just calm down!" Fawful exclaimed, spinning. "Let us not be quick to anger!" Taking a deep breath, she turned and gazed up at Rainbow. "Rainbow, if that was even somehow remotely true, how is it that the Valkyrie Silver reacts to her essence?" "Well... that... uh..." "Clearly, she was fated to have arrived here, in the hooves of Duranda. It was a message meant to keep us on the path of exalting the Lights From Above. I... I-I fail to see how cloud cities such as 'Pegasopolis' and 'Stratopolis' have anything to do with this matter—" "Because I think that there's more to the story than what you guys get from the scrolls!" Rainbow gulped. "Fawful, you yourself said that 'everything has a beginning.' Well, that's just what I'm trying to get at here! I suspected it for a while, but I didn't want to open my mouth until I saw all of the evidence before my very eyes. Well, now I've seen it, and—clear as day—this is all related to Commander Hurricane! Someway, somehow, I'm dead-certain that everypony who lives here is descended from a piece of the expedition that commandeered the cloud city most ponies beyond the green called 'Stratopolis.'" Fawful opened her mouth to respond, but an angry elder stallion brushed past her and growled: "And just how do you intend to explain our arriving here?" "I... I don't know... but you did." "In a flying cloud city?" "It... nnngh... it wasn't all clouds!" Rainbow spun and pointed at the granite structure that housed the tunnel exit. "That's one of the buildings that flew in it!" "A flying structure..." "Yes! Just like the Noble Jury—an example of 'flying Valkyrie Silver' that got me and my friends here from beyond the greens, only this thing was powered by something else." She spun to glance down at Fawful. "Fawful, those symbols I saw along the way here—they're the same kind of things I saw while my friends and I were stranded inside Stratopolis not long ago! I think something caused it to crash-land here, and afterwards Duranda and her fellow pegasus soldiers had to make do with what they had and rebuild a society in this strange crater!" "And what of the majesty of the Valkyrie?" the aged stallion remarked, frowning. "And the power of the Lights From Above that are imbued in her glory?" Rainbow shook her head, wincing. "I-I... I can't—" "Rainbow, so much of what you claim is... unbelievably far-fetched. Don't you understand that?" Fawful said, her face awash with concern. "I refuse to think that you have any intention of deceiving us. Nevertheless, I implore you to look deep down and ask yourself just why it is you believe these things..." "You wanted answers, didn't you?" Rainbow Dash's voice cracked. "I'm trying to give you some!" "On what claim?!" the other elder spoke up. "That your outsider history somehow validates the insults that you've launched at the Valkyrie's legacy?" "It's... it's more than that," Rainbow murmured. "This metal place... this machine world... I-I've seen it before... like a gazillion times." "'Machine... world...?'" one of the First-Borns stammered. "And... and..." Rainbow sucked in her breath, closed her eyes, and spoke through tight lips. "I think I may actually be related to Commander Hurricane." One of the elders almost fainted. "Related... to the Valkyrie, Rainbow?" Fawful exhaled in shock. "Enough is enough!" The old stallion adjusted his gray mane and shouldered his way past the First-Borns. He marched towards Rainbow, snarling up at her. "Listen here, outsider, you will not blemish the glory of everypony's Righteous Mother! We don't need the likes of you down here! This is a sacred place! The essence of the Valkyrie—contained in this helm—has produced the Gold Lights for eons, and it will continue to do so long after your eggshell soul has fallen into Windlessness—" Rainbow clenched her jaw. Coiling her wings to her side, she dropped straight down. Cl-Clank! Her hooves made contact with the metal floor, and instantly pulsated with four round halos of shimmering light. A swift shriek escaped Fawful's lips. She stumbled backwards, eyes bulging as she held a hoof over her muzzle. The stallion stood dead-still, his eyes locked on the glowing flood of light issuing outward from Rainbow Dash in every angle. One First-Born shivered in his avian armor. The other immediately dropped his javelin and fell down in a panicked state, bowing towards Rainbow—at least until the other elder fiercely yanked the timid youngster back up to his hooves. All five Durandanans watched in stunned silence as the gold light spread further and further from the living pegasus. Soon, the entire chamber was as bright as day, illuminating the entire earthen ceiling along with every crooked crevice along the corners. Fawful was slowly twirling about, whimpering indecipherable words into her hooves as her teary eyes darted across every golden sheen. "Fawful," Rainbow murmured. Fawful kept spinning, trembling. "Fawful..." Rainbow marched firmly towards her and grasped the mare's hooves. "Look at me." The elder's frightened eyes locked with Rainbow's. A tear or two trickled down. Rainbow smiled calmly. "I don't understand it either," she said. Slowly, she flapped her wings, lifting her legs off the ground but not letting go of Fawful's hooves. The room gradually dimmed, the gold light pulsating a few more times in the last spot where the pegasus' limbs made contact. "But perhaps we can find out together, okay?" Fawful simply gazed at her, lips trembling. "Hey, c'mere..." Rainbow tugged at the mare. The Gray-Feather's wings nervously flapped, and soon she was hovering in Rainbow's tight embrace, her head gazing blankly over her shoulder as they hugged. "Tell me," Rainbow said quietly. "What do you sense?" Fawful's hyperventilation came to a gradual end. She gulped hard, and said in a shaky voice, "C-Confusion." Her face scrunched up as she fought another sob. "N-nothing but confusion..." Rainbow gently patted her shoulder, gazing at the helm on the pedestal below them. "You and me both, girl..."