The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Welcome to Grandbell

Starlight sat in the observation room at the front of the Immortal Dream, a place she rarely visited without really knowing why. The storm hadn't slackened, sending down wave after wave of needlelike rain, and short of standing on the deck, this was the best place she had to watch the approaching city.

Much of Grandbell was flat and treeless, the ground too rain-shadowed to make out whether it was sand or stone. The misty horizon ended in a flat wall of mountains that pierced the clouds, doubling their height beyond that many times over, and the evening sun lit the clouds enough to make out structures extending from the wall. Massive aqueducts reached down from the mountains, encircling a patch of land like a four-leaf clover, providing irrigation and providing protective walls all in one.

For a moment, Starlight wondered what they were protecting against, when the empire was named after a species that could fly. Then a particularly strong burst of wind sent a torrent of rain spattering across the observation window, and she realized it was the wind: in a place as flat as this, they would need some way to keep their soil from blowing away for farming. She took a moment to marvel at the architectural structure, wondering if someone had put this much effort into living in a harsh climate from the beginning, or the land had changed around the city and the city had changed with it over the centuries.

"It looks like we will be landing soon," Grenada remarked, the observation room her usual haunts. "There are not as many lights as I would have expected."

Starlight frowned at the towers and minarets placed along the aqueduct walls. "Maybe they don't have energy like Stormhoof for some reason."

---

Starlight stood back and watched as the Immortal Dream was guided up against a docking tower on the city walls. A team of armored griffons had landed on the deck and were assisting with the transition, with Princess Lyn standing nearby in her freshly-dried dress. The griffons worked with seamless efficiency, and soon the gangplank was extended, forming a safe walkway into the stone building.

"Princess," the guard captain said with a bow. "We are glad to see you safe."

"You may thank my friends," Lyn formally replied, indicating everyone assembled on the deck. "We will discuss their arrangements, but for the time being they are guests of state."

Gerardo nodded from the door to the bridge. "Might there be somewhere we could land our ship once everyone has disembarked? We're having to watch our fuel supply."

The guard captain spread a wing, and three griffons marched over to Gerardo. "Assist him," the captain instructed. "Will the rest of you be coming with us?"

Lyn nodded welcomingly, and Shinespark bowed. "That would be a pleasure."

Slowly, they entered the tower, finding a staircase down and forming a procession into the city. Gerardo and Slipstream had stayed behind with the ship and Jamjars was doing her own thing as usual, but Maple and Amber walked side by side, with Shinespark and Valey leading and Grenada and Harshwater bringing up the rear. Felicity and Senescey were also present, several of the guards giving them uneasy looks. Starlight felt the click of Maple's hooves against the red stone floor, feeling slightly self-conscious about sitting on Maple's back when Glimmer was at the front, walking step for step by Lyn's side, but for some reason the guards paid neither of them any mind.

"Princess," the captain continued as they descended. "Have you stayed appraised of the events in Stormhoof over the past day?"

"I have not," Lyn replied. "I have heard no news since I left the fortress. Tell me what has become of my brother?"

The guard nodded. "We received word from higher up that both of you were safe. After you disappeared, another group attacked the fortress in the ensuing chaos. We believe they were targeting the royal families, but the tournament warriors whom you brought fought vigilantly and foiled any attempts at regicide."

Everyone's eyes widened. "Wait, they didn't get away with it?" Valey asked, blinking.

"The would-be assassins were taken into custody," the captain said, warily glancing at Valey. "Investigations into their means and motive are ongoing, as they are for everyone involved."

Valey shifted slightly away from him. "You're kinda looking at me there, buddy..."

"You will find that even though you under the invitation and protection of the Grandbell royal family, there will be many who have strong opinions about what you did in Stormhoof, Admiral Valey." The captain didn't meet her eye. "Evidence so far suggests you acted alone and were not in league with anyone else last night. That does not change that you attacked a province capitol. You may have our princess's trust, but prepare yourself for a mixed welcome."

They exited the tower into a corridor inside and beneath an aqueduct, and from there met an elevator that descended well below what Starlight judged to be the ground. The guards continued not batting an eye at Glimmer despite her standing close to the princess, and she almost wondered if she somehow did have magic to influence their attention... either that, or they already knew her. Glimmer had been known to the Night Mother, after all. Maybe she had some connections in the Empire's capitol, too...

The elevator let out onto a walkway that gave everyone a far better view of the city. A massive, circular hole in the ground taking up a full quarter of the ringed aqueduct space, rain plummeted through a straight, vertical shaft with houses and roads and architecture built into the walls. It was like if the Stone District had been built into a wall rather than a steep slope, wide enough that the far wall was obscured by rain yet narrow enough Starlight felt she could make out individual ponies across it if it were a clear day. She couldn't make out how deep the city went, but it reinforced her earlier thought that the place was built to defend against heavy winds.

"Follow me, please," the captain requested, leading the way around the rim of the pit, several floors below the surface. "As guests of the princess, we will take you to the castle. From there, with her permission, you will be free to do as you please."

"Impressive construction," Shinespark commented, stepping slightly closer to the edge. "How far down does this even go?"

"To Garsheeva's temple at the base, which is protected by a shield from falling objects and debris," the captain replied. "Prior to a month ago, it was designed so the people could look down and see their goddess in repose. Now there is... less to see."

Starlight nodded, memories of Garsheeva's charred husk in Izvaldi giving her a good idea why. "Is Garsheeva still there?"

"She is in her temple, regaining her strength," the captain resolutely said. "She still makes her presence regularly known, but is diminished in size. She cannot appear before the populace with the same types of displays she used to." He glared up at the sky. "The weather being a prime example of that."

Valey glanced up at the rain. "Yeah, she used to smash storms, didn't she?"

"Yes," the captain sighed. "She did."

Lyn wandered closer to the edge as well. "How are the capitol's pumping and drainage systems holding up under the unusual strain?"

"They were built to handle it," the captain insisted, despite the rivulets of water pouring down the walls of the city along with the rain. "Garsheeva designs wisely. If the city were to flood, her temple would be first, after all."

"Yeah, and I'm not really seeing a storm dumping quite enough water to flood this entire place," Valey remarked. "What do you guys even need aqueducts for when it rains this much in the first place?"

Lyn cleared her throat. "Consistency. The weather is erratic and all-or-nothing. Most crops are poorly suited for multiple climate extremes."

"Huh," Amber hummed, the group coming to another elevator. "Well, so far this place seems interesting to me!"

Comments

[Alchemik]

Ooo, infrastructure. Those aquaducts sound cool, and I wonder how they power the magic shield? Hooked into the network? Self-sufficient?