As Rainbow Dash pressed eastward, the ruins of Silvadel opened before her. For the most part, it was almost as barren an experience as the desert west of the gate. The landscape was dry, arid, and only sparsely dotted with clusters of grass and vegetation. Any oases that may have dotted the landscape had dried up into riverbeds of cracked earth. Any scarce bits of forest had been reduced to withered stalks of blackened wood.
She found townships, most of which were just as small and just as decrepit as the village immediately inside the gate. White marble buildings and alabaster structures fell in disrepair. Each and every one of them had the same signs of discoloration. A horrible fire had seemingly swept over the entire landscape, evaporating anything that may have once supported life.
The sun was setting, and Rainbow Dash still hadn't found any major cities. As the stars unpeeled from the night's veil overhead, Rainbow Dash touched down and settled in a tiny dwelling nestled within a dry dip of earth that must have once been a lake. Wooden docks lay in tattered clusters beyond a rickety lumber mill. Rainbow Dash trotted her way until she found what must have once been a two story hotel. Clearing debris off from a square patch of concrete, she started a fire. There were many materials at her disposal, and she was able to make a comfortable, warming blaze for once.
By the firelight, she hoofed through the pages of the book she had discovered. She read about a culture that so far had lent her only fossils. The Silvadelians were ponies who favored the structure of the family above all else. Marriage was something divine, and the equines were strictly monogamous. Age was seen as a thing of beauty. Birthday celebrations were grander occasions for the elderly than they were for the youth, and retirement was expected for all citizens at age fifty-five. The government, it would seem, functioned by an oligarchy that made the rules for all of society. Despite it's anti-democratic nature, the ponies of Silvadel gladly submitted to the system, and everything was peaceful.
Rainbow Dash slept, staring at the patch of starlight shimmering through the porous ceiling of the hotel. She imagined a perfect society with perfect rules with a perfect system, and how it had to have taken a perfect cataclysm to level it all to the ground.
Morning came. Rainbow Dash spoke with Cold Canter and took off towards the rising sun. As she did so, she spotted several shadows blocking the light. Her heart skipped a beat, for fear that she was spotting the limbs of some horribly large creature. However, the giant shapes weren't moving a single inch, even as she soared towards them at record-breaking speeds.
She slowed down as she passed by numerous mind-numbing sights. In the middle of a barren plain of dead grass and brown earth, gigantic stone structures emerged from the ground. Impossibly large statues swam and weaved around each other, forming what resembled colossal trees of gnarled branches. Rainbow Dash was flabbergasted, at a loss to imagine who or what would have had the strength, knowledge, or time to carve such immense works of art.
And it wasn't just a few of them. As she finished circling the four-hundred foot tall spectacle of one, she blurred eastward again to discover even more. There were giant statues of stone representing flora, briar patches, flower beds, shrubbery, and plant shapes she wasn't even equipped with knowing. Every piece of art was impressionistic in design, and incomprehensibly complex. She couldn't imagine any pony building a single one of these things a regular scale, and yet here she was discovering dozens of them half the size of mountains, with large and geometrically perfect blocks of concrete serving as their massive base.
Time had done its harm to the structures, but their beauty remained intact. Aside from a few spare “branches” or “flanks” of marble, the carvings were still in one piece. Decay and mildew showed the grooves in which the several gigantic chunks of rock had been pieced together, and vines and clusters of vegetation hung off the topmost spindles of the statues. There were no buildings or villages or any hints of civilization clustered around the gigantic bases of the artpieces. The purpose of the gargantuan carvings—it would seem—was just to be resting out there in the middle of nowhere, to be seen by nopony... or perhaps by one.
Rainbow Dash tried describing the mammoth objects to Cold Canter. The elder stallion brought Desert Light within speaking distance of his sound stone to bear witness to Rainbow's detail. Desert Light was utterly disbelieving. Cold Canter reflected in silence.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash forced herself to fly east from the structures, only to stop in midair. To her shock, it was already nighttime. It took her a few minutes of careful contemplation to realize that such a loss of time was impossible. Gazing up, up, up—she realized that the entire eastern hemisphere beyond the plain of statues was a perpertual dark gray. The reason for this was a gigantic, ever-pervasive cloud of smoke that was climbing high above the troposphere. Rainbow Dash had barely noticed it from the onset of night the evening before. What was more, the further she flew east, the darker the entire sky appeared around her. It occurred to the pegasus that some heavy smog was filling the air, and the more she pierced it the less light she had at her disposal. However, it never became perfectly pitch black. If anything, the graveyard of Silvadel resembled a perpetual thunderstorming waiting to happen. She even thought she heard a rumbling in the distance.
Upon hearing her latest descriptions Cold Canter insisted that she bend south and attempt to find a way around the grand plume. She kept flying regardless, not so much in an attempt to fluster him, but because she was drawn to what was now stretching before her.
She had found another wall. It was much smaller and far less pompous than the huge barricade she had encountered upon arriving the outer limits of Silvadel. Here, the barrier was thin, porous, akin to a gigantic series of arches joining a continuous aqueduct around what must have been the central core of the civilization. She guessed this, because the villages had appeared again, only they had all congealed together to form a gigantic urban sprawl.
It was all ruined. Chunks of large granite buildings lay where they had fallen catastrophically over the tinier buildings and residential dwellings beneath them. In what must have once been geometric perfection, several adjoining aqueducts wove in from the inner wall. They crumbled and collapsed in several places, gathering dead brown grass and weeds. The ground had a bone gray haze to it. Curious, Rainbow Dash settled down and walked in a dead street of a dead district. The air was eerily quiet; even the wind had no noise to it. As she trotted forward, gazing up at the overcast sky, she became aware of things settling all around her.
She scraped her hooves to a stop, blinking. Raising her goggles, she squinted and saw several flakes of white ash falling like thin snow. Raising a hoof, she allowed a speck to land on her forelimb. She rubbed against her other leg and watched as the powdery sediment dissolved into nothingness.
The streets, sidewalks, and alleyways surrounding here were covered with the dust. From the piles of it forming in the remote edges of delapidated buildings, she imagined that the snowy material had been falling for countless years.
She trotted, galloped, and flew up into the air. She didn't have to glide for long until she noticed a disturbing pattern all around her. The ground was beginning to slope down, as if something deep below the surface of the earth had tugged at the entire surface of the world.
For an hour she flew, watching as the land gradually sank below. Then, out of nowhere, there was a gigantic cliff, as if an enormous sinkhole had consumed the very heart of Silvadel. Buildings teetered off the edges of steep drops, their contents forever crumbling into the depths and making ghostly echoes across the sudden canyon. Gazing beyond the broken acqueducts and half-plunged apartments, Rainbow Dash saw a grand valley punctuated by occasional stalks of land that somehow had survived some horrible collapse. The grayness was dimming, and Rainbow Dash guessed that the onset of night was looming above the blackened cloud. Still, she could make out what must have once been the heart of Silvadelian civilization.
Everything had been reduced to a giant pit of rubble. The depression in the earth was like a continent of its own, and stretched for what had to have been two dozen square miles. A brisk wind blew into the horrendously large crater, forcing Rainbow Dash to flap her wings at greater intensity to maintain her balance. Below, the remains of cities were bunched and crunched together like an endlessly spilled jigsaw puzzle. Occasionally, a tall white tower or cathedral would emerge from the ash-bathed surface. Otherwise, everything was crumbled desolation.
The only things that stood out were the gigantic stalks of earth remaining from the depression. Atop these sparse and hauntingly thin plateaus were the barren shells of buildings that were immaculately untouched by the sinking disaster that had evidently consumed the rest of the kingdom. Two mesas in particular remained standing in the centermost apex of the sprawl.
Rainbow Dash blinked. Hovering in place, she reached back to her backpack and pulled out the medallion. She glanced at the image on the back of it, then at the two mesas. One half of the palace had crumbled from the touch of time. The other half remained standing, like a gravestone, its white surface reflecting what meager light could still shimmer across the gray deathscape. As everything fell into darkness, Rainbow Dash settled for an island two miles across from the center, and found a hollowed temple where she could rest, start a fire, and gaze upon the untouched cemeteries of Silvadel.
She suddenly couldn't sleep.
And neither would I if I were here. Damn man, this is...
"Whatever this is... it's immensely powerful."
...like Equestria? Even has more than one ruler! If flying east was actually a metaphor for time travel with each civilization representing a different time in pony history, that would be awesome. As it stands, this chapter is hauntingly satisfying; I'm getting Pompeii vibes. The desolation and sheer vastness is leaving me awestruck, I can only imagine how Dash feels.
Objective Completed: Learn about Silvadel from the book
"She imagined a perfect society with perfect rules with a perfect system, and how it had to have taken a perfect cataclysm to level it all to the ground."
This is beautiful writing.
What could have destroyed such a perfect utopia?
1321970
New Objective: Investigate Castle Ruins (?)
1322058
Sure!
1322064
Great, let's add "Ponder Existence vis a vis Ancient Ruins Nobody's Ever Heard Of" as well, we need some pontificating and a continuation of the existentialism already present. Maybe not, Dash is more the "complexity through simplicity" type, she'd come back with with some blazingly awesome one-liner that leaves you jaw-agape while she continues eastward being awesome.
Spooky
This story is an epic adventure filled with mystery and intrigue. I sincerly hope you publish a book or something cause it would be a hit
This setting reminds me so much of the Fallout universe crossed with The Wasteland from EoP. It's chilling, mysterious and empty, yet has this kind of ominous, ghostly presence in my imagination. I can't wait 'till the next chapter
Title Obtained: "The Insomniac"
-Minty
(Sorry guys, been outta' town and then had to catch up on all the stories I read on Fimfic)
Achievement Unlocked: "Rest Among the Ashes of a Dead Civilization"
1322342
So 1318421 tells us you have a grilled cheese addiction. How's that rehab coming along?
I was thinking more Silent Hill tbh...
1322446
Oh, that old place; I escaped hours ago! They couldn't hold me from my love.
-Minty
I see this in the feature bar for the umpteenth time and think, "how could that possibly be good?". Then I click on it and see the WALL OF CHAPTERS! If it's this long, it's worth giving a shot.
Fallout: Equestria has me thinking "balefire bomb", but somehow I doubt that's what happened. Maybe a malfunction in the machinery of the world below? Only IC knows...
Rainbow Dash: Explorer of the Ashen Wastes.
God, I am loving this arc.
1322776
I've got more of an "End of Ponies" kind of vibe from this, but I think it's mostly because of the constant ash.
1322855
That may very well be a more accurate parallel, but I literally just finished Fo:E a few days ago, so it's fresh in my mind. Plus the crater says "huge 'splosion" to me.
Well, its looks like a riftworm got to Silvadel first.
Apocalyptic City - Testament
1322855
1322875
Crater would indicate implosion, some kind of sinkhole? The ash immediately made me think of volcanic type activity, especially since we already know fire is a key component to Silvadel's end. An EoP reference would probably fit a little better since SS&E made a small shoutout to Austraeoh in the latest chapter of Background Pony. (SS&E and Imploding Colon are the SAME PERSON, INCEPTION! LOST) Realistically, though, I figure the Silvadel Ruin is unique unto itself, with the aqueducts giving off a Greco-Roman vibe.
dusty EVERYTHING
Challenge completed: ZeniMax Called
They want their Fallout back.
Explore Silvadel for a while: 1/1
+5 to feeling of emptiness.
1323150
Greco-Roman + volcanic activity = pony Pompeii? I'm just grasping at straws now, but it kinda makes sense... right?
Also, I applaud your conspiracy theory and very much hope you are correct. Fight Club?
1323150
A super volcano creates a sinkhole when it erupts, the ash supports this...
The ponies tell no tale; they delved too greedily and too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin's bane
1324193
Pompeii was my first inclination (1321956), along with a possible time travel theory. Fight Club. Memento?
1324435
Yeah. I imagine the super volcano here is going to be connected to the vast earth/machine/factory, probably will somehow be connected to the Elements of Harmony much like the previous interactions. We haven't heard from Twilight/Elements/Lavender Path recently so I imagine we will be soon.
1322272 I feel the same way
Seriously guys where da fuck is Mintelle ? Havnt seen him on ages
1323036 if a rift worm did get there first where the fuck was Marcus to kill the bitch ?
1325201
I'm getting a "Pon-peii" sort of feel for this as well, but I too, question there are a couple things that make me feel that there's something more at work than just a volcano. Some of these are very speculative, though.
- Most obviously, the survivor mentioned it being "they" who burned everything.
- Why are there no corpses around the Ruins of Silvadel? Even Pompeii had remnants of the townsfolk lying around. Some folks died. If it was the caldera of a supervolcano, the concussive blast would've been more than enough to kill instantly, but not incinerate. Moreover, there still seems to be some activity with falling ash. The event happened over a decade ago, plus some unknown time accounting for however long it took the survivor to reach the outpost. Dash hasn't even run into any skeletal remains.
- Weather patterns. This is kind of grasping for straws, since I don't have any information, but large volcanic events tend to screw with the weather for a long time. Krakatoa messed with the weather for about 5 years. Also, going back to the ash cloud and a more recent example, with the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, we know that ash clouds can travel quite a distance.
However, the weather patterns of the desert could've easily pushed them someplace other than West.
-How come no one else heard it? The Krakatoa eruption was reported to have been heard up to three thousand miles away. Again, I have little information on this. Only that Dash has been flying for quite a distance at a paced speed. There's no way of knowing how far Silvadel is from Darkstine.
Some things aren't adding up. (or I'm just overthinking)
1326241
The smoke is still being produced, magic must be involved somehow; I agree that this was not a "natural" end to civilization, more that my mental image is of greco-roman architecture in a state similar to what it might look like should a volcano have erupted. We'll be hearing about that symbol only Dash can see and some more time with the machinery, I'm sure.
Dead civilization, forgotten by time
I understand the human reasoning behind this statement. However, why would Dash have any inclination to think? She lives in Equestria, which is essentially a monarchy. Why would she know what democracy is, let alone think that those not under a democracy would be unhappy?
In any event, Mr. Skirts, Silvadel is awesome.
(1323150 dropped your name first. Don't get mad at me!)
The statues lining the road give me a Dothraki vibe. Oh, and Silvadel clearly fell to the Fire Nation before being subjected to a giant-ass earthquake, which in turn wiped out the invading firebenders. Clearly. In all seriousness, this is really creepy. The vast nothingness of the desert would probably be preferable to a vast nothingness that used to be filled with life. Anywho, onward!
1321997
Being too perfect. A lot can happen when you're perfect, the main one being no one would ever be wrong, leading to war, OR they all became lazy from being perfect.
1322342 WE DON'T NEED NO SLEEPICATION
IIIIIt's Dashie's Ultimate Marathon Evaluation Time!!!!!
Well, this has become rather interesting. <cracks knuckles> Let's do it!
The first theory is that, from all this ash, Slivadel's end was brought about by some sort of volcanic eruption. No fire, no matter how big, can produce that much destruction on its own. However, the hole in the ground complicates this theory. When a volcano erupts, it doesn't tear apart the earth like that. It creates a mountainous structure that rises up from the ground. Also, some buildings actually remain intact in some of the towns found here. If we look at the affects Mount Vesuvius had on Pompeii, we see that everything was ravaged and destroyed. Buildings and streets were flattened, which obviously isn't the case here. So it can't have been a volcano. But it would still have to be something that brings up magma from the earth from deep underground. From very, very deep underground. Maybe even all the way through the planet.
Maybe from the chaotic part if the world.
Maybe something evil.
Maybe something called Discord.
Furthermore, I wonder if this was an alicorn civilization. Think about it - statues the size of mountains are nigh impossible for normal ponies, but alicorns can move entire celestial bodies. That factored in with Silvadel being a perfect society, and it would make sense that alicorns would be the residents. Granted, the dead stallion wasn't an alicorn, but alicorns could have still been a part of the civilization. Another thing - it seems Silvadel is ment to be a metaphor for Equestria. A perfect nation with beautiful architecture torn apart by chaos. Only Equestria survived and Slivadel's didn't. I must say, that is very good writing. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. There's no way...I've only got five done.
The stallions journal said something about 'her children' on top of all this ash and fire damage? Personally I think it's a pissed off momma dragon and her kiddies. Although who really knows? Only time will tell.
36 chapters to go!
This place.... It seems a lot more decayed and eroded than what could take place in just ten years. I think I would almost prefer being in the barren, featureless desert than such a dead place... almost.
Just thought of this, if dashie is flying east because the peaks of harmony burn like hell, yet she knows she'll face the same problem in the east, why didn't she head north anyway?! She would've reached her main problems, such as the crossing and the dark side, much faster! Dashie, why you no take shortcut?!
2342881
Because if you recall her meeting with Queen Whitemane, they described the Northern and Southern edges of the plane to be much more dangerous and deadly than the Eastern edge, although you can correct me if I'm wrong.
<achievements.schrankmonster.de/Achievement.aspx?text=Into%20the%20pit! )
achievements.schrankmonster.de/Achievement.aspx?text=It's%20totally%20a%20dragon
huh?
1675808 I feel obliged to point out that, though I don't think it is anything so mundane, volcanic eruption is still viable. After all, not all of Pompeii was flattened, many streets and entire homes were found to be fairly well preserved, complete with whole corpses essentially flash frozen in rock.
>Despite it's anti-democratic nature
I think you mean "its", bro
In the heart of devastation.
This scene here... this is powerful stuff. I'm in constant awe of the vibrant descriptions.
Making me think of these places:
shambala-center.ru/uploads/images/Uncharted2_Shambala01(1).jpg
static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111208230539/uncharted/images/f/f6/Iram.png
Yup. Definitely a dragon. Into the pit of despair.
What an incredible exercise in world-building and mystery this arch has been – even for this story, which is based pretty much entirely on those two things. To repeat what I've said in my previous comments, I love the atmosphere created by the sheer, unimaginably mammoth size of this part of the world. That, along with everything smartly mentioned by 1326241 and others in their comments, has me more compelled and curious than ever.
2610013
Also, east has cooler symbolism with death. Many of the most prominent religions traditionally bury their dead facing the rising sun. More than a few Native American mythologies say animals who know they're about to die face east for the same reason, symbolic of the dawn of their new lives.
Given the running puzzle of what happened to the other Manes, it seems appropriate.
Woah. It's like a giant flaming fist of doom punched the center of Silvadel, lit the entire country on fire, and yet somehow avoided doing anything to the cemeteries.
Creepy.