//------------------------------// // Ch. 10 To Light a Sun // Story: The Brightest Shine // by Cozy Mark IV //------------------------------// The Brightest Shine Written and read by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release Chapter Ten: To Light a Sun It took several more days for the oxygen rain to finish, but before it had completely tapered off, the nitrogen began to rain out as well, and soon the world outside their igloo was one torrential cryogenic downpour. The liquid levels around their igloo had risen quite a way up the outer walls by now, so when Flare and Spec came up to do their observation, they trotted over to the mark on the inside wall that gave the position of the ramp which wrapped around the outside of the dome. Spec gave Flare a meaningful glance as she used the now familiar spell to form a bubble of soft white light around them, “Please remember now, it does take some concentration to hold this in place, and if you startle me too much, I might drop it by accident.” Flare smiled and kissed her softly on the cheek, “And we don't want to both end up as pony popsicles, so I need to restrain myself.” Spec smirked as she replied, “Well, it is your turn, but my horn will be busy for the next few minutes.” Flare feigned a pouting expression. “Only with keeping us breathing...” Spec rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile as she concentrated on the jump, and the pair disappeared with a soft 'Pop!'. Outside, their shield flashed into existence half way up the ramp overlooking what had become a large shallow lake of liquid air that stretched as far as the dim light of their bubble could show them. The downpour continued from the very low cloud ceiling overhead, the nitrogen running in sheets down the outside of their bubble, blurring and distorting the scene around them. Spec took the necessary readings and jotted them down while Flare idly kicked a loose chunk of water ice into the lake a meter below, watching as it slowly sank in the dim light. The lake itself was so clear that it was actually difficult to see from directly above, and the ice chunk remained clearly visible as it sank, until, with a puff of blue, it splashed into the oxygen layer beneath and came to rest, floating on the light blue liquid. In the middle distance, the little ripples and flaws in the surface of the lake made it easier to discern where the surface actually was, while below her, only the blue layer of oxygen could be readily seen. A few meters away, this gave the strange illusion of a lake of clear liquid that disappeared into nothingness a few meters off, hovering over the light blue sea. “There, that's it for this spot.” Spec stated from behind her notebook, breaking Flare out of her reverie, “Follow me up to the top?” Flare nodded and the two turned and trotted up the ramp and around circle of the igloo dome. Within a few dozen meters, they had climbed up into the cloud ceiling, the view around them nothing but a gray fog. As they trotted on, mindful of their step on the narrow ramp, the gray around them seemed to get thinner and further away, until suddenly, they found themselves above the clouds near the top of the dome. Intent on her notebook and the path before them, Spec didn't notice Flare's awed silence or the sight around her until she came to a stop at the top where the second observation was to be taken. “Wow...” The two ponies stood atop a small dome of ice emerging from an endless sea of cloud stretching out in all directions just below them. The light of their shield cast everything in an unearthly white glow, but only illuminated their immediate surroundings. “It's beautiful...” Spec breathed, “Like a cloud city under the moonlight...” “It is...” Flare agreed her voice trembling with longing and loss as thoughts of home suddenly stabbed her heart. “But it isn't real... It's as cold and dead as the moon, and we'd both die in moments if you dropped this shield.” Spec stepped close and hugged her love, trying to banish her fears and uncertainties with her embrace. As far as she knew, she was the only pony who ever saw Flare's softer side. “We will get through this Flare... We will see our families again: this isn't the end.” There was a soft sniffle, and to her astonishment, Spec felt something wet drip onto her foreleg beneath Flair's muzzle. “But we don't know that... they could all be gone by now...” The unicorn held her closer as Flare's form shuddered beneath her. “You're so smart and brilliant, and you have magic to keep us safe... I don't even have a sky to fly in anymore!” She sobbed as she turned and buried her face in Spec's coat. Spec held the shaking pegasus while she cried, trying her best to console her. “Come on Flare, it's not that bad... We still have each other...” Flare actually sobbed harder at that, “But even that's wrong... I know we try not to talk about it, but...” Spec gently stroked her mane as Flare sniffled and waited for her to continue. “But every other mare here is already expecting a foal! I love you so much, but even if we survive this, we're as useless and barren as everything else!” She exclaimed with a gesture at the dead clouds around them. “I've always been so careful... I've never let myself fall for somepony because I knew this is how it would have to be...” Spec couldn't help but look down at her in shock. “Flare... I... I'm sorry, I didn't know... I had just thought we would adopt somepony's foal...” Flare sniffled again. “I know... I know how selfish it is to want what everypony else has when there are orphan foals out there in need of parents... but I don't want just any foal! You're the smartest, most amazing mare I've ever met, and I want to have your foal!” She looked up into Spec's eyes for a moment before hanging her head once more. “Is that really so wrong?” Spec didn't have an answer to that, and as she hugged her lover, she felt the first of her own tears fall as Flare's words bit home. The two of them held each other for a long time as the light from their shield dimmed and faded away to almost nothing. After what seemed like a very long time indeed, Flare raised her head and kissed Spec softly once more. “I'm sorry Spec, I can be so strong around everyone else... I don't know why...” There was a long pause as Spec looked quizzically down at Flare whose brow had furrowed in confusion. “Uh... Spec? Can you see that?” It took Spec a moment to process this abrupt shift in the conversation, but after a moment, she turned around to see what Flare meant, and as she did so, the shield which had nearly dimmed out lit back up, it's dim light nearly blinding them after so long in true darkness. “Gaah! No, don't light it up again!” Flare complained as she covered her eyes with a foreleg. “What are you... Oh!” Spec said as she realized what Flare was getting at. It wasn't easy, but with a bit of feeling around she grasped the emotions she had felt when the bubble dimmed, and concentrating hard, she gradually brought the light output of their bubble down to almost nothing. As their eyes began to adjust to the true darkness once more, Spec realized that she could actually see further without the light of their bubble shining in her eyes. At first, the nearby mountain tops began to come into focus a few kilometers distant, poking up into the vacuum through the nitrogen clouds below them. A moment later the scientist within her asserted that this light had to be coming from somewhere, and she looked up to try to find the sun or moon, but what she saw in the sky left her mouth hanging open in astonishment. Stretching out from the north towards the south, a series of faintly visible straight lines of light, spanning every color of the rainbow were radiating outward towards the horizon. As she watched, each line seamed to receive a surge of power, one line after another in sequence, and each one glowed brighter at the source as the glow shot rapidly from north to south, sending out what could only be described patches of lightning into the surrounding sky. The distance in hard vacuum made it tough to guess at the height, but Spec would have sworn it was higher than any cloud she had ever seen, maybe even low orbit, but the most unnervingly part about the display was the lightning. It kept disappearing! Beyond the obvious fact that hard vacuum couldn't support lightning in the conventional sense, these arcing bolts that had to be many kilometers long seemed to be weaving in and out of an invisible cloud that completely hid their light when they bolts penetrated it. “What in the world is that?” Flare asked in awe. Spec could only stare as her eyes were drawn slowly back towards a point just over the horizon where all the lines seemed to converge, and where the sky seemed to be lit from underneath by some strange light. A deep suspicion crossed her mind as she reached out with her magic and plucked a feather from Flare who let out a surprised yelp. “Ow! What was that for!?” “Hold on, I want to try something.” Spec said as she lifted the feather up and out of the bubble into the vacuum with her magic. She waited until the next pulse of light was coming up, then let the feather fall, both of them watching as it drifted south, and actually accelerated southwards as the pulse of light and lightning spread out countless kilometers over their heads. “That seals it then. There's no air out there, and your feather is still getting blown south by the 'wind'. I'd wager tenure that whatever is causing this is at the end of... whatever that is...” She trailed off with a gesture at the lights overhead. The two of them stared at the rigidly straight beams of lights overhead for another long moment before Spec climbed to her hooves and shook out her mane, the bubble going back to its former dim glow again as Flare groaned at the 'bright' light. “Come on, the air in here isn't going to be good for much longer, and we have to get back and tell the others.” ... The mood in the caverns was different now. The stress of work and living together had seen them cope as best they could, pairing off, and actually finding love in this frozen landscape. The honeymoon had not even had time to wear off before this latest crisis thrust a new urgency into their work. Where before the couples had sought out the cooler tunnels nearer the surface, now these were all blocked off, their entrances passed with ears cocked, listening for the telltale whistle of their air leaking away into the frozen vacuum outside. The sun was finally nearing completion, with perhaps a week of repair work left before they could ignite it once more, though with the evener ring complete, they all hoped this lighting wouldn't be quite as hair-raisingly dangerous as the first time. That night, after another long day of mending stone after stone, the group found themselves all sitting around Verdant's volcano forge, the heat source they had begun using as the communal camp fire when it wasn't serving as a industrial tool. Squall had made a meal based around an oat and barley blend, and while they reclined on the stone couches and chairs that Verdant had grown out of the cave, the conversation gradually turned to matters of family. “So, have you found out what you're having yet?” Sand Storm asked in Squall's general direction. Verdant had been spending a little time each night on his eyes, and now he could see well enough to navigate a room and identify a pony, though faces were still beyond his abilities. Pie blushed a bit as she and Squall shared a knowing look. “We... asked Shining to check for us and she taught us the spell to see inside and look. We did as she taught us and... We're having a little pegasus colt!” She finished in a rush as she and Squall both seemed to swell with pride. Verdant grinned widely as she trotted over and hugged Pie warmly, “That's great news! I'm so happy for both of you.” “Thank you, we certainly never imagined things working out like this, but we've talked it over, and we wouldn't have it any other way.” “And thanks to your healing touch,” Squall replied as he spread his healed wings and made a deep bow to Verdant, “someday I'll be able to fly with our little one. Are you and Sand Storm expecting as well?” Verdant just smirked as she waited for the response Sand Storm had been dying to give. “We're having a little earth pony mare!” Squall and Steady couldn't help but share an uncertain look. “And... you are okay with this?” Squall asked. “Of course we are!” Sand Storm retorted with visible pride, “Our little mare is going to be the best smith any pony has ever seen, and if she takes after her mother, she'll be a force to be reckoned with as well!” Even Spec couldn't help but smile at this adorable reversal of prejudices as she asked coyly, “Oh dear, you two are going to bring her up as a little hell raiser aren't you? I can only imagine what it will be like when she starts dating...” Sand Storm had a completely straight face as he said simply. “All good fathers have a crossbow.” All the pegasi and several of the unicorns enjoyed a good laugh at that as he continued, “We've put up with hatred and discrimination for far too long. If I had listened to what my own parents had taught me, I would never have met Verdant. Soon, I'll have two beautiful earth pony mares to care for, and I'm not going to let the world abuse them.” Squall and Pie nodded sympathetically, “I must agree, if we make it out of this alive, we must teach our fellow ponies what we have learned. None of this would have been possible without all three tribes working as one.” There was a general murmur of agreement until Flare spoke up, the sarcasm dripping from her voice, “That's right, we can teach all our children about the magic of friendship that made all this possible, and they can take that great lesson and use it to build a utopia where all three tribes live in harmony. ” A few of the ponies exchanged concerned glances, but Verdant actually smiled as she turned and fished something out of the bag by her seat. “Well, I don't know about building a utopia, but somepony came to me a few days ago with a very unusual request, and” She looked significantly at Spec, “I think I might have something you could use.” What Verdant pulled out of the bag appeared at first to be a huge seed, but as Flare got up for a better look, she realized she was looking at a carved stone. “You carved us a seed made out of rock?” She asked incredulously. Verdant just smiled as she held it out to the pegasus, “Actually, I grew it, using some very old earth pony magic. You already know that earth ponies can make crops grow, but that kind of fertility magic isn't just for plants...” A ray of hope seemed to flit across Flare's features as she asked, “You mean... Spec and I...?” Verdant smiled and put a hoof on Flare's shoulder. “That's right, you're going to have daughters.” “Sisters, you mean.” Spec amended happily, “Two mares assures that much at least.” “Verdant, that's... that's wonderful!” She jumped forward and hugged the grinning earth pony as Spec wrapped a foreleg around each of them. After a moment she let go and examined the heavy stone seed in her hooves. “Uh... what are we supposed to do with it?” Verdant's smile only grew. “Well, seein' as it's really old magic, it only works right in the presence of intense affection, so I'm afraid you two are going to have to make mad, passionate love to each other with this enchanted seed. Do ya think you can handle that?” Spec couldn't help but laugh as that now familiar predatory grin settled on Flare's features. “Oh, I think we might find a way...” Even Verdant couldn't help but laugh as she continued, “Very well, just don't break it, all right? It took me the better part of a week to grow, and besides, it's bad luck to shatter it.” “Bad luck?” Spec asked with a raised eyebrow. “Yes. The tradition goes that the happy couple is to use the seed, and then plant it at their home so that it may grow and blossom into a beautiful tree and bless the children that follow.” Flare couldn't help but smile at Verdant, “Well, with the weather going the way it has lately, our next 'home' might be the mouth of a cave at the bottom of a valley somewhere, but what the hay, we'll certainly give it a try.” Spec was practically bouncing up and down with joy as she asked, “Oooh! What do you think they'll be like?” Flare chuckled, “Well, I sure hope they're pegasi so I can take them flying.” Spec took her hoof as she smiled back, “I would love that, but I hope at least one of them is a unicorn so I can teach them all about physics and science.” Verdant couldn't help but laugh. “As wild as you two can be, it would serve you right if you got both.” She smiled at the idea, “Imagine a little foal that could get into everything with her magic, and fly up to the highest shelves at the same time.” Flare snorted in amusement, “Is there even a name for a pony like that?” Spec brushed the question aside, “Never-mind what tribe they belong to, what are we going to call them?” Flare leaned back against the wall, “Oh, that's easy. All my brothers have fire names like Flame, Sundancer, Pyro, Sun Spot, you get the idea. We can just choose one like that, maybe, 'The Equine Torch'! Spec nearly choked at that, but managed to be diplomatic, “Maybe we should work on the names together...” “Sure, what did you have in mind?” Flare asked obliviously. “Well, I've always liked my name, but Specular Reflection Jr would be a mouthful, so,-” “Hey, what does that even mean, anyway? Everyone just calls you Spec.” Spec smiled self-consciously, “Its a physics term for a coherent reflection – essentially a mirror. My mother used to talk about my being a mirror for all that's good in the world...” Flare snorted, “So we should name our daughter 'Vanity'?” “No!” Spec objected with feigned indignation, “But, I've actually had a name in mind for some time now... How does 'Diffuse Reflection' sound?” “Dear, you know I love you for your mind... and other parts,” Flare jabbed with a grin, “but maybe we could give the physics textbook a rest? What is a diffuse reflection anyway?” “Well, I've always liked the soft glow of moonlight at night, the way the harsh yellow light of the sun is reflected off as a cool white light that lights your path without driving off the stars overhead... The sunlight bouncing off the moon doesn't come down as a mirror image of yellow sun, it's a diffuse reflection, carrying the light of the sun, but with the qualities of the moon.” There was a short silence before Steady commented, “Wow... That's a surprisingly beautiful idea...” “Yeah, but all that for “Diffuse Reflection”? Flare chuckled, “Let's just call her 'Moon Princess' and be done with it. At least most ponies can spell that.” Spec quietly facehoofed. “We'll work on the names together...” ... At long last the day had come. After months underground as the world froze around them, the Sun was finally whole again, thought at this point, still disassembled in several packing crates. Working together, the seven of them carried the pieces up through the narrow tunnels, one load at a time, before sending Steady back down to help Shining up with her foggy blindfold. When, at last, he led the shaking unicorn up and out of the tunnel, Shining took but a moment to collect herself before beginning the inventory. “Right. Spread out all the pieces on the straw mat there and get the moon stones out. We're going to try to ignite the sun at it's lowest power output and with the shield on, so please select those two stones, Verdant.” The green earth pony nodded and went to fetch the stones in question while Steady brought Shining a jacket. The small pool of magma that had been keeping the igloo warm had been widened considerably until it was almost a meter across, but the igloo was large enough, and the temperature outside cold enough, that as yet, no droplets of water were to be seen. Squall landed beside them, asking “What's going to happen now?” with evident concern, having seen the worry in Pie's face. “They're going to pour their magical energy into the sun, getting it charged up to ignite. This is really the hardest part for them,” Verdant explained as she took up her place managing the lava pool, “It will take six to eight hours before they put in enough energy to light it. It's utterly exhausting work, and if they try too soon, they'll have to start over.” “And we have to be ready to sever our connections right after the sun lights up, lest we get caught up in the feedback.” Shining amended. She paused to look at the three slanted obelisks evenly spaced around the circle that Verdant had grown for them. Each was a crude flat plate of stone, nearly thirty millimeters thick and more than wide and tall enough to protect several ponies. Right at head height, a hole was carved for their horns to protrude through so they could each work on the sun, yet remain protected from its violence. “That's very nice work you've done Verdant! That much stone should protect us from just about anything the ignition could send our way.” Verdant blushed slightly at the compliment, “Well, after those metal shields on the castle burned up in under a minute the last time, I wanted something a bit stronger. These aren't electrically grounded like the metal, but they're definitely thicker and stronger.” Shining gave the nearest obelisk an experimental thump with a hoof, smiling as she received only a dull 'clack' in reply. “Yes, this will do nicely. Is everypony ready?” Seeing generally affirmative nods from her team, she took up her position, her horn the only part of her body sticking through the stone slab as she reached out with her magic. The three unicorns each began to pick up the pieces and levitate them into place over the magma, drawing on it for heat. As the pegasi watched, all thirty-eight stones, the ring and two moon stones were fitted into place and a slow but steady hum began to emanate from them. The minutes ticked slowly by as the pegasi milled uselessly around the outside of the igloo or talked amongst themselves. Squall fetched water and assembled some simple snacks that Verdant and the others all gratefully accepted, but as the hours ticked slowly by, there was little else to do. Some three hours after they began, Squall fluttered to a landing next to Pie's station with a fresh cup of water, but when he ducked under the stone to offer it, her disheveled appearance pulled at his heart. The unicorn mare was sweating heavily, her mane and tail matted and bedraggled as she breathed hard and her whole body quivered from the stress of exerting so much magical energy for so long. “Pie... Are you all right?” She shook her head as much as she could without letting go of the sun and managed a weak smile, “It's okay, this is just really hard work.” She opened her eyes to give him a reassuring glance, saw the water and exclaimed, “Oh! Thank you!” as she grabbed it and twisted her head sideways to gulp it down. Squall took the cup back when she was finished, and soon returned with towels to mop the sweat from her brow. “There, is that better?” Pie smiled and held out a hoof to him, her eyes still closed. Squall took her hoof in his and squeezed it gently, offering what support he could. Unexpectedly, Shining spoke up from across the circle; “Pie, I don't know what you're doing, but you need to slow down. Your output just about doubled, and you know you can't maintain that for long.” Pie opened her eyes to share a questioning look at Squall, who was smiling as he held her hoof, and, inexplicably, had begun to breath harder. “Uh... I think I'm okay actually...” There was a momentary pause, the only sound coming from the growing hum of the sun before she continued, “Squall is... helping me.” Shining's response was nearly flat, but with just a hint of confusion, “Squall is a pegasus... How is Squall helping you?” “I don't know, but... Steady? Could you go hold Shining's hoof and lend her your strength?” Steady shot a questioning look in their direction, but after hours of standing around, he wasn't about to argue. With a flutter of wings, he landed beside Shining's stone and ducked underneath. A moment later they all felt Shining's magic contribution suddenly surge to nearly twice her previous output as Steady whistled respectfully, “You've been working this hard for three hours?! When we make it home I think I can promise you a job drilling new recruits in the force if you want it!” Squall and Pie grinned at each other as she called out, “You too, Flare! Spec could really use your help if you're able!” Flare landed beside Spec's stone and ducked underneath, pausing to lick her lips as she gave her lover a long look up and down, her eyes following the curves of her flank and the sweat dripping from her mane. “Damn, you look hot!” Spec opened her eyes to see Flare circling around her with a familiar predatory expression, but with a roll of her eyes, and surprising speed after such a long workout, she reached out and snatched Flare's hoof up in her own, coupling her directly to the reactor's draw. Flare's grin vanished in a flash as she almost collapsed under the load, and within moments she was breathing deep along with Spec as her own energies were tapped. “How did you do that?!” Flare managed to gasp as she sat down unsteadily next to Spec. Spec just grinned, “Unicorns have always been able to help each other out like this, and while I've read smutty romance novels where the forbidden lover helps out in a pinch, I didn't know if it was really possible...” She wrung the sweat from her mane while casting an affectionate look back, “I guess you really do love me unconditionally. If you'd had any doubts, your internal walls would have been up, and I couldn't have drawn on your strength so completely.” Flare looked up at her with a loving respect as she answered simply, and for once quietly, “Of course I love you, Spec. Like I've never loved anypony before.” The two shared a long kiss, Flare managing some considerable contortions to reach Spec as the unicorn could barely move her head. The minutes ticked by faster now that they weren't working alone, and in a surprisingly short time, six sweaty ponies from two different tribes had nearly finished charging up the sun. As the power levels approached their target, the sun's background hum had grown in both volume and pitch. “All right everypony, great job!” Shining called out to the tired soldiers and researchers, “Just a little bit more and then cut your connections.” Under the third stone, Flare was drenched in sweat and breathing hard as she held tightly to Spec's hoof, but instead of relief on hearing this, a troll's grin spread across her features. Without letting go of her hoof, Flare stood up and began nibbling on Spec's ear, pausing to kiss her here and there as the startled unicorn gasped and her magic surged. “Flare, what are you doing?!” She squeaked. The pegasus chuckled as she moved lower, nibbling her neck and working her way south. “Hey, we need a little more, right? If holding hooves was good, what happens if I do... this?” Spec gasped again, and the sun quivered slightly as she struggled to maintain control. “Flare!” From across the circle, Pie, ignorant of how she was doing it called out, “All right Spec! We'll have this done in another minute or two at this rate!” “See, I told you I would help.” Flare teased with that troll's grin as Spec chewed her lower lip and struggled to hold still. With a wink and a smirk, Flare took up a position behind her and fished the stone seed out of her saddlebags. “Flare! We used that three times last night! Do you really- ohHHH!” Pie and Shining felt the power output jump again as they kept the sun in place with considerable effort. “Spec? Are you okay?” “I... ARRGG! I'm fine!” Spec gasped through gritted teeth as sparks flew from her horn where it emerged from the stone slab. “Good, because we've hit our mark!” Shining replied, “Ignition in ten seconds! Get ready to drop your connections!” The power flowing through the connections was becoming choppy as the hum of the sun rose from a whine to a scream and small bolts of electricity began to jump in all directions. Verdant, her job complete, abandoned her place at the magma pool and galloped for safety as white light began to pour from the sun. Shining and Pie both severed their connections to the sun with a loud 'SNAP!', but Spec, her mind otherwise occupied, didn't react in time. The switch from magical energy output to feedback input occurred in a flash, and an enormous blinding bolt of white lightning shot from the sun to Spec's stone slab exploding it into smoke and jagged rubble as it channeled through her horn. Gradually, as they all blinked away the after-images, everypony emerged one by one to see that it had worked! The sun with it's ring and moon stones was burning as intended! Instead of a blinding light and heat that scorched everything around it to ash, the sun now shone brightly, but cool enough to be approached, and whats more, the large glowing bubble it projected shone softly in its' own right. Several of them cheered and hugged each other, basking in their success before Verdant spoke up; “Hey, where's Spec?” With the last of the smoke dissipating, the missing third slab stood out starkly against the neat circle around it. In a flash, they had all descended on the pile of debris, some digging with bare hooves as the unicorns flung large loads of stone away, but before they could get far, a rumbling beneath their hooves made them all pause in mid task. The pile of rubble was suddenly heaved aside in a flurry of white sparks by a blue and white canopy of leaves that spread and grew, blooming outward from a huge, angular tree that kept climbing until it threatened to scrape the ceiling high overhead. Spec and Flare appeared from below, their unmoving bodies raised up in a tangle of roots as white and blue lightning arced from their bellies into the surrounding tree. As suddenly as it had started, it all stopped, the tree vanished in a white and blue flash, and Spec tumbled to the ground next to Flare, their eyes gradually flickering open as they both groaned. “Holy buck! Spec, Flare, are you all right?” Without looking up, they both answered on their own; “That was a terrible idea!” “That was a great idea!” There was a short pause as they both sat up enough to look at each other, Spec's disbelieving grimace matched by Flare's troll grin. There was silence for a moment as everypony watched, before the stone seed laying beside Flare gave off one last electric jolt, right into the pegasus' backside, sending her leaping into the air with a yelp. “Anyway!” Spec managed, her face still beet red, “I believe we're both fine. Don't we have a sun to inspect?”