The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Beyond What I See

The morning streets of Sires Hollow swirled about Starlight like a dream, bright and sunny and far more real than she was. Cool mountain air clashed with sunbeams, the sun just high enough to strike the ground over the eastern ridge, and they hadn't quite finished purging a foggy mist that had settled over the town at night, sparkling and twisting over faint remaining tendrils of cloud. The moist air wetted Starlight's cheeks and glared in her eyes, making the streets almost hard to look at; the walls and roofs around her were stable, but the yellow dirt roads reached up and glittered, preventing her from seeing the immediate horizon.

Her other friends were tall enough that they didn't seem to have the problem, she noticed, observing Fluffy's hover and their longer strides. They didn't have to shield their eyes as much as she did. The streets of Sires Hollow might have been familiar to her, but they were the ones who could see where they were going. Starlight was reliant only on her ideas of what should be where, the bright mist making it impossible to look at her path ahead.

At least it was a bright path, and not a dark one.

---

Beneath Gazelle's view, green had replaced the mountain white. Forests stretched in groves and covered valleys rather than standing in isolated clumps, their branches no longer laden with snow. The skyline sloped sharply down, each ridge and line of peaks far lower than the previous, and in the distance he could see a line where there should have been more mountains and there weren't. There was just nothingness, a distance so far that the air itself became visible, where the line where the horizon should have been didn't exist and instead the world fell away.

So ended the Aldenfold. He slumped with his chin against the dashboard, fangs exposed, wishing it was truly the end of the world and he could sail onward, flying on until he crashed against whatever lay beyond.

A fuel notification light flickered: his mana core was half empty. Given how far the ship had carried him already, it was less a limitation and more a reminder of just how far he could go. What if he stopped, angled himself toward the heavens and turned the throttle to max, and did nothing else but let fate control his destination?

Pointless. It was pointless to wonder that. That was already what he was doing. Going where he went, without a care to influence it. Nothing he cared about remained in the world.

---

Starlight couldn't see where she was going, but she could see where she was: in front of the mayor's house, where Fishy lived.

"You all are leaving, is it?" Fishy asked, greeting them on the porch after a period of waiting. "Might as well come see you off. I'm certain someone will find official business regarding it to be had."

Valey casually brushed a shoulder. "Eh, I talked to the guard boss guy. They're too smart to go looking for trouble. All they do is report what happens, and Princess Cheesemane knowing we went this way isn't a problem for me at all."

"Cheesemane?" Maple raised an eyebrow. "How did you come up with that nickname?"

Valey shrugged. "You know, she's the big cheese, and she has a really noticeable mane... It makes sense, right?"

Starlight nodded. It made more sense than anything else in her life right then.

"I'd like to see you call her that to her face," Fishy chuckled. "Actually, what I wouldn't give to even see her face-to-face period in my life. We're dead north of Canterlot, and we're about as far north from Canterlot as you can go."

"Who are we talking about?" Fluffy asked, hovering around. "You don't mean Princess Celestia, do you? There are pictures of her everywhere."

"Yeah, kid, back me up on this." Valey bobbed her head. "Her mane looks like cheese, right? Tell me this is true."

"Ummm..."

Starlight stared at the mist until her eyes hurt. Whatever world she was in right now, it was one where her friends could joke about Princess Celestia and cheese. If only this was a world she could stay in forever.

---

Gazelle wasn't anywhere at all, but he could absolutely see where he was going.

As another line of mountain ridges passed below and he drew closer to the Aldenfold's final, extreme vertical wall, the horizon began to take shape, a cloudless sea of green and brown but mostly green. That was only to the right, though: looking left, a solid line of color divided the landscape, so solid and so distant and so only defined by color that it could have been a watercolor. A painting.

That, his basic knowledge of western geography told him, was the border between the badlands and Yakyakistan, the start of the mountain chain stretching out to the north that separated the rest of the world from the yaks' giant glacier. Down in the crook where it met the Aldenfold, below the mountain wall and in the mountains that made up the foothills, there would be the city of Ironridge.

Ironridge was where Starlight and her friends were from. Last he had heard, it was also a dump, economically ruined and cut off from the rest of the world. And also where he had stranded the more elite half of Stormhoof's army.

Maybe they were still there.

He slumped against the dashboard, not a single muscle moved, and dreamed about stopping in that city. Maybe it was isolated enough, they wouldn't have heard about the Empire. Maybe they wouldn't have heard about Equestria. Maybe they would regale him as a crown prince, and that army of do-gooders he had ditched there would take up arms and follow him.

But that was probably too much to hope for.

---

The next building Starlight Glimmer came to was the guardhouse. Fishy had joined their procession, and for all Starlight knew she could have just as easily been a spectator at a parade as at a funeral. And not through any behavior of her own: Starlight was both bidding farewell to her old world, and saying hello to the next one.

Whatever kind of conduct was even appropriate for that, Starlight wasn't going to judge. She didn't even know how she was supposed to be acting herself, let alone how her friends were. She couldn't take this conflating mishmash of worlds anymore, this land where her past and future wouldn't let the present be. She was ready to try, and she needed to move on.

Two guards joined them, which Starlight figured was all the guardhouse had to offer. "Cardinal Foghorn," the stallion reminded them, even though his name was distinctive enough that Starlight remembered it anyway, like a shock of red in the gray malaise that was clouding her mind. "You'll be taking off now, I take it."

"Yep." Amber gave an apprehensive glance to Maple, but nodded. Starlight saw it all. This was the end, close enough that it was sinking in for her friends too. "We're leaving."

"And Starlight and I are staying behind," Maple added. "Starlight is a native, and I'll be using our Writ of Harmonic Sanction."

"Using?" Cardinal Foghorn raised an eyebrow. "Waiting until the end to see if you change your minds, I see."

Maple nodded. "Well, we didn't. I hope you won't mind being a witness..."

Foghorn's horn flashed conspicuously. "No need. There's a military spell that makes it easy to check whether someone's a native or has a writ."

Gerardo blinked, tilting his head. "A simple unicorn spell? I've always been extremely curious how that worked..."

"Couldn't tell you." Foghorn shrugged. "It's a military spell. Can only be given, not taught, and it beats me how it works. Just gives me one signal if you're Equestrian and another if you're good to come and go as you please."

"Well, I suppose that makes things easy," Maple declared, squaring her shoulders. "To the boat?"

"Yes," Silver Saddle agreed, "I'm quite curious to get a proper look at this airship of yours."

Valey raised a fuzzy eyebrow. "You're coming too?"

"Of course." Silver Saddle primly shrugged, so expertly groomed that no trace of the prior day's garbage bath remained, yet there was no obvious compensation or overgrooming either. "Just because your foreign customs find garbage bins to equate to acceptable methods of flirting doesn't mean I have to take offense. I am a gracious host."

Valey shook her head. "You're trying to convince me I'm flirting with you again after yesterday? Bananas, I just don't get you, girl."

Starlight's attention was still fixed on Silver's looks. She didn't smell like heavily scented shampoo, used to obscure decomposing lawn clippings. She didn't smell like decomposing lawn clippings either. She didn't look like her coat had been brushed a thousand times to remove any traces of other refuse, but she didn't have any traces either. She didn't look like she had just sat in a garbage bin and been disgraced by insults without end. She just looked... well-taken care of, but within a level that was completely normal.

As odd as it felt to be looking up to a pony who had displayed such questionable judgement, Starlight was impressed. This mare knew how to take a hit and come back without overcompensating and actually be normal.

Maybe Fluffy wasn't the only pony in this town she could learn something from. Maybe she could have a wider friend group here... or, Silver probably wouldn't be a friend, but a pony she could know and look to.

Maybe her future just got a little bit clearer.

---

Gazelle slumped atop his dashboard, daydreaming about a future that wouldn't exist, because he had no future at all.

What if the Stormhoof armada was still down there, in Ironridge? What if the city was isolated enough not to know about him, or sphinxes, or Crystal? What could he do with an army of well-trained, well-equipped soldiers loyal to a house that had once been his closest ally?

Skullduggery? Probably not. The troops had enough moral fiber to direct themselves, and he wasn't an official part of their command chain. If they followed him, it would be out of respect and goodwill. And he didn't have any goals to achieve through underhandedness anyway.

What if he tried leading them back home, to help out the Empire and restore peace and order?

It was a funny thought, openly trying to be the hero for a change. He would have no political advantage on his targets, just an army who believed in their homeland. He could do as little as point them in the right direction and ride home at their head as a hero. And so what if he returned to the Empire without Garsheeva's precious brand stash? Without them, she was just as mortal as he was. Although he had regained his few from eating moon glass so as not to leave a trail, and she wouldn't have such a restriction... Whatever. Now that she had quit, he could try to claim the moral high ground. He could try to get public backing. The Empire might accept him if he tried to be a good ruler who brought home their armies and restored peace and order to the continent, and the old order that mandated only princesses rule was gone. He could have it all, and be in the right.

He wondered if a continent full of legitimate adoration could ever fill the sister-sized hole that consumed his life.

Gazelle dreamed of slashing batpony shells and infidels, of eradicating the old house structure that led to so many wars under Garsheeva and establishing a singular monarchy. He dreamed of finding sarosians who had somehow survived and using them to continue the royal line... No, Garsheeva had said that was over even if there were still sphinxes now. He dreamed of ushering a peaceful transition to a real griffon king and a new griffon royal line, of going down in history books forever as the last, greatest sphinx ruler of the world. And for a moment, a tiny spark of ambition that had nothing to do with Lyn flickered in his chest.

But there was one problem.

It wasn't whether Ironridge knew, or whether the soldiers would follow him if he told them their homeland was in danger. Those were simple chance. He could go in, and perhaps Ironridge would end him, for any number of reasons. Or perhaps the soldiers would already be gone. Or not have the resources to fly home. Or have pledged to a new lord, or... It was all chance. But those things didn't matter, because they were out of his hooves.

What mattered was that the last time he acted with all the best intentions, took his dreams of being the hero of the Empire and conquering the provinces, of squashing the House of Lords under his paw and occupying all the continent with his own military, all in the name of the sister he loved, he became a monster, and let Gwendolyn perish.

He had been a monster. There was no way not to face it. Call himself a god, howl to the heavens about morality, Starlight had stopped him, and she had to be something higher. The strong made the rules, and because he had lost, he was wrong. She only fought him when he was wrong. But only by being wrong and resisting could he be right. But...

He snarled, tearing his focus away from Starlight. The problem was that he couldn't be trusted. He would take the soldiers, save the Empire, restore order, be hailed as a hero... and let it all go to his head.

There was no reward he could claim that wouldn't poison him. If his love of his sister had led him astray, what would fighting for worldly acclaim and the future of his country bring?

He was a monster, trapped by his own destiny. His future suddenly grew a whole lot dimmer.

Gazelle touched the control panel, angling the ship down.

He could see two horizons, now: the last line of peaks before the Aldenfold wall, and the true north stretching out beyond that, vanishing in the distance as far as the eye could see. An ending, here and now, and another ending, beyond what was known. He could quit, or he could continue, surrender to his fate or fight it once again.

The world still ended somewhere out there, beyond the northern sky. It was inevitable, just like how all sphinxes fell, cut down by chaotic perversions of their passions. But he couldn't see that edge, just like his second downfall didn't have to be today. He could fly on, denying his hubris, and go to Ironridge and look for his army.

Or he could push the ship's nose down just a little further, give up before he even tried... No matter what, it would be a future without Lyn.

The last mountain ridge sat even in his sights, perfectly flat in the middle of the horizon. He locked his paw, refusing to let the angle change. Either he would clip through the horizon and sail on to the future, or he would end here and now. He had some amount of brands stored away, but they wouldn't be enough to allow him to survive an airship crash, right?

Fate was his enemy. Gazelle was tired, and there was an end whichever way he went. Whichever way his angle erred, into the mountains or into the sky... If he survived, he was going on to fight his own fate.

Unless the army was gone. Or unless they wouldn't listen to him. Or unless... whatever.

Gazelle closed his eyes and left his future up to fate.

Comments

[Oberth Effect]

Princess Cheesemane

"I'd like to see you call her that to her face,"

I wouldn't be surprised if Valey did that, albeit maybe after getting the Writs.

And also where he had stranded the more elite half of Stormhoof's army.

easy to check whether someone's a native

...That could be problematic if Starlight was from the meteor. And really hard to explain, given how the townspeople clearly remember Starlight being around way before the Aldenfold's defenses fell..

Although he had regained his few from eating moon glass so as not to leave a trail

Well there's that question answered.

He wondered if a continent full of legitimate adoration could ever fill the sister-sized hole that consumed his life.

A possible hint as to why changelings consume love specifically?

And yet another cliffhanger

[Phoenix Kitten]

Starlight and Gazelle are two opposing extremes right now
Uncertain Hope, and Absolute Despair
A filly with her whole life ahead of her, and a Sphinx with nothing but ruin to look forward to.

10.

[alamais]

Sequel fic just follows Gazelle's misadventures at the end of the world.

[RoboRed]

10 chapters to go...

[Boopers]

He's gonna take the army and invade Sires Hollow, is he? Oh boy, Gazelle is becoming more and more unpredictable.

[Dream Seeker]

10113506
You say, while making bold predictions about what he’ll do :P