Bioshock Equestria: Ascension

by MysteriousRevenger

Chapter 1 - Ascension

CHAPTER 1 - ASCENSION

"Thunder. Are you afraid of the Holies?"
"No. I'm afraid of you."

-500th Year of Celestia-
-Fields East of Cloudsdale-

The rattle of the carriage shook under his feet, the expanse of the grasslands around him making uneasiness well up. He glanced out to the pair of ponies harnassed to the cart.

"Would you please help?" A male voice piped up.

"What am I doing right now?" A female voice

"You're not pulling. You expect me to shoulder all of the burden?."
Her horn suddenly glowed in a pale pink shimmer, wrapping around a box. "No... But, I do expect you to do most of the pulling."

The box landed in front of the bewildered cart resident, the camping supplies and food having been the only one that he was with. The lid held a plaque, engraved by fire and magic.

-Thunder Streak-
-First Armored Division, Burning Hills-

"And why is that, exactly?" The male spoke up again, the strain in his voice making it appearance.

"What is this?" Came the voice of the cart's occupant, a hoof pointing at the box.

It seemed his words fell on deaf ears. "I do not approve of the exersice. You know that?"

"What?" The male piped up again. "The pulling?"

"No. The entire thought experiment. This was all your idea."

The cart's rider had stopped listening to the bickering pair, instead now looking over the box of items in front of him. It yielded a few items. A notecard, with a symbol of a beam with a number three by it, and a dark shaded beam with a two by it. He shook his head, looking over each other item. More pictures, one of a large statue like figure of an alicorn, though not one Thunder knew of, another of a young mare, the back of the picture inscribed with "Return To Manehattan Unharmed" on it, and a series of numbers that lead to the city. The box also yielded a large iron key, and several oddly minted bits, these were struck in a more sliver color instead of the gold ones he was used to seeing. The last item made him smile. A simple mouth held pistol.

"One goes into an experiment knowing it could fail." The male voice had become much more deep and authoritative.

The female's had not lost a bit of playfulness. "But, one does not go into it knowing that it HAS failed."

"Can we please get back to the pulling?" The male asked, the yolk on his back creaking as Thunder loaded the pistol into a holster on his flanks.

"Please, or this will take all day to get to." Her reply was met with loading of the box into a saddle bag.

"No, I mean the idea of you assisting." He sighed.

"Good thing to you it is just an idea," she laughed.

Thunder shook his head, and looked up. A large structure suddenly appeared through the ethereal haze that blanketed the vast grasslands. It rose up into the cloudbanks, piercing the blanket above, but the rhythmic sound of a bell told all he needed.

"We're here, Mister Streak." The female voice called out.

His hooves touched grass for what seemed like the first time in ages. He had been quick to protest, telling the odd pair of ponies that he could have easily flown to the location. The male had insisted on seeing him to the destination, however. Pale blue eyes glanced up the tower, the monolith standing as some kind of grave marker to a city that time had claimed before anyone knew of it. Thunder glanced around, wondering if anything of the city had survived, only to catch the pair bringing the cart around.

"Should we tell him when someone's coming back for him?" The female voice piped up.

"Would it matter?" The male sighed.

"It would offer some comfort."

"Hey!" Thunder called back to them. "Is someone going to come for me here?"

"I certainly hope so." The female voice called back. "It does seem like a dreadful place to be lost in."

Thunder watched a moment, just shaking his head at this situation he found himself in. Turning back to the tower, he began a slow ascent up the staircase cut into the stone the tower rested on.

The surrounding of the tower did not really offer much, being only a few barrels of supplies that had long ago lost the ability to be called food. A few more of the odd bits seemed to be scattered around, confusing Thunder more and more. He examined the off coin, seeing one side had half its face pressed inward, and both halves had a point leading to its edges from the middle divider. The opposite face had the same spread figure of the alicorn on its face, this time with the words "To the Holies, we offer praise" struck around it.

"The Holies? What the hay are those? And what is this other pattern? Why is this job starting to sound like a bad idea..." He loaded the coin into the pouch with the others, and began moving toward the tower's door.

The massive door to the interior looked like it had not been touched in years, but attached to it was a note, untouched by time.

"Streak,
Bring the girl, and erase the debt. This is your LAST CHANCE"

He shook his head, then pounded on the door with a hoof.

"Hello! It's Thunder Streak! You're expecting me!"

When no answer met him, a pensive hoof pushed open the door.

The rhythmic ticking of the tower met him as the sound of the storm whipped plains outside was shut out. In front of him stood a long pillar, a small table with a basin attached. He glanced down at himself in the reflection.

A dusty brown face met him, the paleness of the blue almost making his eyes white to the pupil. A hoof ran over a long scar, reaching from his right eye to his left nostril. The same hoof went to his mane, streaked with patches of dark red and dirty blonde. The tangled mass sat cascading oddly off one side of his head, covering one ear and threatening for the right eye. He looked up at the pillar, a framed set of words sat above it.

OF YOUR SINS
I SHALL CLEANSE YOU

Thunder snickered. "Yeah, good luck, pal..."

A staircase lead up the sides of the tower, a new set of mounted words meeting him

FROM THE BADLANDS
I SHALL LEAD YOU

"Whatever..." He mused, climbing up the stairs. "Hello! Anyone home?"

The second tier showed that once there had been life inside the tower, but they were horrible housekeepers. A bed and desk setup along one wall, the space next to the pillar used for food storage, but those stores had been ransacked and spoiled by the stench, scattering their contents all over the floor, causing Thunder to crush one aged carrot underfoot. He wiped the mash off, looking at the walls.

A map of Equestria stood above the desk, marked with a heavy line that lead to several dots all over the landscape.

"What the...the Ponyville settlement, Canterlot, the southern deserts, Smokey Mountain...even a point here..." Several more points met his eyes, but he knew nothing about the north lands, and the West was just as mysterious.

The stairs continued upward, with their new framed words.

TO THE PROMISED LAND
I SHALL TAKE YOU

He continued up, until a large splotch of red on the wall made him pause. Only needing to look for a moment, his hooves move quicker, until the next landing met him.

It only had a few small things. A table, two chairs, a desk with papers strewn all over it, and an occupant in one chair. It sat, a bag over its head, tied down, a cascade of red from the front of the bag matching the expansive pool on the ground. Around its neck was a simple proclamation.

DO NOT DISAPPOINT US

"This just got serious." Thunder looked around, but no evidence of anypony else was around, just the tools on the desk denoting someone had taken their time in making sure the chair's permanent resident was out of the way. A shiver shot through his back, and he turned to the stairs, and their framed words.

IN NEW LANDS
SHALL YOU FLOURISH

"This whole thing is getting insane. What the hay is a girl doing in this tower buried in the speck of the Celestia damned wild lands? And, why is this place abandoned?" His frustrations were mounting, but he ascended the stairs once more.

What met him was a return to the tempest tossed air of the outside, and the heavier ticking of the tower. The first stairs stopped in front of a heavy door, but it was barred from the other side. Ascending once more, another door met him at its top, becoming the only barrier between Thunder and the workings of the clock itself. It was the front of the door that caught attention. Two bells, smithed from a heavy brass, hung from it, one had a symbol of the sun, a beam shining down from it, the other having a symbol of the crescent moon, and a beam rising from it.

He stared confused a moment at the odd sight, until he took out the box, and the odd notecard from it.

"Magic lock. Lovely..." He held the note up, and rang the bells.

With the final ring of the moon bell, a heavy ringing came from inside the tower, an almost melodic tone. Thunder would have jumped off the tower when that same tone echoed in a deep, bellowing manner from the massive cloud cover above him.

His eyes shot upward, now seeing the clouds above him breaking into red and orange pigments as the tone began again, now being answered by the bell in the tower.

"What the buck is going on here? What kind of crazy magic is this?" Whirring from inside the clocktower began to overtake his hearing, and soon the door opened, though, not too the large mechinations of the clock he was expecting. Instead, all their was was a fancy, padded chair in the middle of the room.

"Okie...dokie...lokie..." He stepped into the room, and attempted to get comftorable in the chair. It forced him to put more weight onto his rump than he was use to, but the padding at least made it bearable. What did not, though, were the sudden metal straps that clapped around his legs. "What the...!"

Another voice answered. "Make yourself ready. The bindings are a safeguard. Soon, you will be home."
Thunder watched as massive metal walls suddenly appeared around him, encasing him in a metal box. The floor beneath him suddenly angled, making his breath ragged. The pistol slipped from its holster, to the massive cones that were below him. He cursed the Goddesses, knowing that weapon was too useful to him. It angled back, now facing him at a small window that looked out.

"Ascension at the count of five..."

"What?" Thunder struggled with the bindings, trying to get their hold to weaken. When no such luck was granted, he tried to slow his breathing. "Relax...stay calm..."

"Count of four..."

"No...nonono..."

"Count of three..."

His breathing was shallow, matching his racing heartbeat.

"Count of two..."

"Oh, Celestia...what have I gotten into..."

The seat jolted under him, and the clouds outside the window suddenly raced downward. He was going up.

"5,000 feet..."

"Stay calm, Thunder..." His racing heart almost refused to hear his words as the clouds shot by faster.

"10,000 feet..."

His breath fogged the glass, now so fast it almost made him dizzy.

"15,000 feet..."

He uttered a loud cry, lost somewhere between fear, confusion, and disbelief...

Suddenly, the clouds shot away, and Celestia's sun blinded him a moment. He thanked the Goddess for it, that shining beacon almost being a sign of improvement. Then, he opened his eyes, and lost his breath again, this time to a long gasp of astonishment.

"You have Ascended."

Comments

[aceboy]

it is a amazing story keep it up