Towards the Sun
I walked back up through the spiraling hallway in a trance. A few ponies jumped out of my way, but I paid them no mind. My mind was far more occupied than it normally had any right to be. This was… sudden. It didn’t feel like what I thought it’d feel like at all, to hear such good news. We were this close, and I’d be the first to see the surface.
The walls were decorated with murals, all in differing artistic styles, yet all telling more or less the same stories, over and over. Every foal knew them by heart, and every pony tasked with brightening their halls with color and art eventually fell back to the same story.
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together. The eldest goddess, Celestia, raised the sun, and brought light and life to every pony. Her younger sister, Nightmare Moon, brought the moon, and the night in which to rest. The world was balanced, and all was at peace for a time.
But eventually, the younger sister grew jealous at the Sun’s power, and sought to bring about an eternal night, casting aside the sunlight and giving the world eternal darkness. Celestia - brave, merciful Celestia - used the most powerful of weapons, the Elements of Harmony, to defeat her sister, but at a grave cost. The magic she used was so powerful, so perfect in its might, it cast the ponies of Equestria deep underground to protect them from the fight, and the aftermath of what was surely a most horrific battle.
The ponies of Equestria were gifted with fresh air and plants to survive, through the pure and unyielding justice brought by the mighty Celestia and her Elements of Harmony. There was plenty for all, and at first, most ponies thought their Goddess and the Elements would bring them back, but as the years went by, they began to wonder.
Perhaps, the early scholars thought, this was a test to see if the ponies wished to be a part of Equestria as much as their beloved Goddess wanted them? Or, perhaps, they were simply meant to surface on their own, in their own time. Perhaps the land above was ruined by the epic fight, and it wasn’t suitable to live for a period of time?
Whatever the case, the founders of the Church of Daylight decided it was time to act. Nothing more would come by waiting in the cold dark of the underground life they’d built. So they began tunneling upwards, occasionally bringing news from the world above through their all-seeing prophets. The dragons were extinct, they said, and everyone rejoiced, for dragons brought fire and fire brought death. The griffons invaded above, but their Goddess was victorious. The crops were growing well in the year 417. A rare species of parasprites, whatever they were, were discovered and then exterminated. There was a terrible storm in the year 636, but their Goddess rebuilt.
With each piece of news, no matter how insignificant it seemed, everypony celebrated, for it meant we weren’t alone and our Sun hadn’t forsaken us. So when I, as a filly, had heard a direct message from their Goddess, our spirits lifted once again.
Tell everypony, the Goddess had said, regal and thundering and determined. Flashes of gold and white marble filled my vision, and I was filled with the joy and peace of a being that had lived for thousands of years. Be ready. The time is near. I relayed that message, and we all rejoiced. Nopony knew exactly what time their Goddess was talking about, but they worked all the harder at reaching the surface. Ponies spent countless hours on their work, toiling past their assigned shifts, all for hope of a brighter future.
So it was with purpose that I walked upwards. We had been waiting for almost a thousand years for this. What would the surface be like? Would it be like the stories, with a warm ball of light heating the world, grass growing underhoof, soil and earth and birdsong and trees and wind and laughter? Would it be something entirely new? Maybe there were entire colors that we’d forgotten? It sounded absurd, but anything was possible. And then there was me. The first to rediscover a world everypony dreamt about at night. It was an incredible responsibility, and I was honored to bear it.
What would it mean for me, once I met my Goddess face-to-face? Would I cease to be a Prophet, since we could just talk to the Goddess directly? Would my Goddess even recognize me? Would she be up there, waiting? I hesitated, stumbling over my hooves, ignoring the snickers from a few mares walking past. What if my Goddess didn't want to see me for some reason? What if I had been doing something wrong all this time, and disappointed my Goddess?
No, that’s ridiculous, I reassured myself as I stood in front of the Solarium door. My Goddess said that we all should be ready. Maybe this was what she’d meant. I had to be ready, even if I didn’t feel ready. For my Goddess.
I stepped into the chamber. The door shut with a soft sigh, leaving me in silence. The room was eerily quiet without the Acolytes’ hoofsteps. I glanced at the base of the stairs as I neared them. My blanket was dusty, and suddenly looked so small and unimportant. I took a deep breath as I walked slowly up the stairs, then faster, then faster still, until I was almost slipping on the smooth surface in my haste to reach the top. I’d never been up here, but it was my duty, nay, my destiny to be the one to see my Goddess’s skies first.
Panting, I staggered up the last couple of steps. A darker tunnel lay in front of me. I bit my lip and lit my horn before following it. Unlike the main hallway, this tunnel curved upward rather steeply. It wound in a tight circle, and made me almost grateful for the rough floor that poked into my hooves. Did they keep it rough for traction? I assumed that would make sense. Why else would it scrape at my hooves?
Up I went, circling around and around until I felt a little dizzy. The tunnel up ahead looked a little brighter though, so I picked up the pace. The tunnel ended with a lantern and a few discarded sacks. I recognized them as the bags the Acolytes used to carry down the dirt and rocks they mined.
I looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel where they’d stopped. It didn’t look any different than any other tunnel I’d been in all my life. A part of me was disappointed. There weren’t any roots or dirt there, just rock, but I supposed that made sense. A long time ago, geology ponies determined we must be somewhere deep underneath the mountains near Canterlot, judging by the volcanic rock that was everywhere.
So according to Pinkie, one or two hits would break a hole so I could get out onto the surface, or at least see what was up there, right? I bit my lip again. It wasn’t the time to get afraid about what could be up there, but my fear defied logic and existed in spite of it. I took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out. In, pause, then out. In, out. Okay. I can do this. The Goddess is waiting for me.
I braced myself and charged a burst of magical energy. Scrunching my eyes shut, I fired it at the ceiling. A cloud of dust and rocks rained down on my head, making me flinch and cough. I doubled over, hacking for a moment, before regaining my composure. After it settled, I blinked a few times to clear the debris from my eyelashes and looked up.
There was a dent in the ceiling above my head, but just rock behind that. I huffed at it. Pinkie had said it may take more than one blast. Still, a part of my ego hurt from not being able to break through on the first try. I sighed and squinted up at the ceiling. No light shone through the rock, and I felt a little bit disappointed, but determination surged through me. This time. This time, I’d break through to the surface. I’d get to see my Sun.
Steeling myself, I charged and let loose another tremendous blast of energy. The ceiling rumbled and more rocks fell. A sizable one hit me between the ears and I cried out in pain, rubbing my head with a hoof before looking up again. There was a hole up there, and it looked like it went all the way through, but no light was shining through. It did look kind of shimmery, like magic, so that was probably a good sign. Some more dust rained down on my face, and I couldn’t help but sneeze and shut my eyes again. Okay, from my brief glimpse, I should be able to rear up and stick my head through the hole and have a look around.
Carefully, putting a hoof against the tunnel wall to steady myself, I raised myself up until my ears brushed the ceiling. Awkwardly wobbling on my hind hooves, I adjusted myself, eventually poking my head through the hole in the roof of the tunnel, then stood up further until my whole head went through.
I braced myself for a gust of wind, full of fresh new smells of flowers and trees I’d never known existed, but it never came. The air felt the same as it always had, cool and faintly stale, which was a bit of a disappointment. I couldn’t hear anything, either. All I could hear was the pounding of my heartbeat in my head, and my own unsteady breathing. I shook my head, trying to get the worst of the dust off my face, before opening one eye, then the other.
It was night. The stars were out. That observation comforted me for a moment. The stars were real, and they were beautiful. Tiny pinpricks of light, far prettier than any picture could do justice. They shone steadily in the distance, looking down on me. I suddenly felt very small, very alone, and yet simultaneously in the company of something greater than myself. Was this what life was like in Equestria all the time? If so, I couldn’t wait to experience this sense of incredible wonder more in the future.
I turned my gaze downward, away from the stars, and frowned. There wasn’t any grass. It was all just dirt and rocks. A bit further away, maybe a few paces, the ground was a lot brighter, but it was just grey, and not colorful at all. There were no trees, or animals, or anything. Just a bunch of packed rock and dirt.
I turned my head, awkwardly craning my neck. In every direction I could see, it was just rocks and dirt, all the way to the horizon. Had… had something horrible happened? Did the great battle between Celestia and Nightmare Moon kill all life and level everything? That would be a terrible truth. I really hoped it was wrong, but I couldn’t think of any other reason why the world was so empty. If only the hole were bigger, I could step out and look around.
The air in front of my face shimmered slightly, and I studied it. Maybe this was a magic projection? That would explain some of why everything looked so desolate and empty. A part of me wanted to prod at it with a hoof, but I couldn’t quite fit any more of me through the hole. The shimmer was everywhere I looked, forward, left, right, up… Up. As I looked up, I saw something that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
The moon looked wrong. That was the only way to describe it. It wasn’t grey and comforting, like the murals had claimed. It was dark, mostly, kind of a blueish grey, with slightly lighter brown grey shapes on it. It was swirled and dotted with slightly lighter grey blurs. Parts of it were speckled, faintly, with yellow lights, almost like the stars surrounding me. On one side of the moon, a bluish whitish glow lit up the edge.
I squinted at it. It was wrong, wrong in a way that made me realize with dawning horror that the landscape was something horribly wrong too. Maybe it wasn’t the apocalypse, not quite. The light on the side of the moon grew brighter and brighter. The line of brighter land crept closer and closer to where my head popped out of its hole. Something wasn’t right, something about this just didn’t click.
The side of the moon was starting to be very hard to look at, but I did my best. It was important, I felt. I could start to make out more colors on the moon, a lighter blue, a swirl of deep blue, a patch of green…
Then it dawned on me. Both the reality of our situation, that is, and the Sun. And I, in my state of shock, stared directly at it and screamed. The space around my hole swallowed up the sound, though, and nopony was around to hear me.
My eyes burned with a brilliant, painful light. It was not the gentle glow of my visions but a harsh everythingness. It burrowed into my mind as I tugged my head out of the hole and fell to the ground, still screaming. I took a breath and screamed again. I was in the tunnel, I could feel that I hit the ground, that my robes were in a disheveled heap around me, but my vision was filled with nothing but brilliant, cold light.
I screamed until I had no breath left to scream, until I felt dizzy from lack of air, until my breath came in ragged pants and gave way to sobs. I picked myself off the ground, stumbling on the edge of my robes, and fell down the tunnel a ways. I cried there for a little bit before getting up and wobbling my way down to the stairs.
My vision was white, everything was white, and everything hurt to look at but closing my eyes didn’t help at all so I kept them open. I ran into the wall a few times as I made my way down the tunnel but I didn’t care. Report to the High Priestess. I had to tell her. The High Priestess would know what to do.
I tripped again when I reached the top of the stairs. Falling here hurt a lot more, and I winced when I moved my legs. Nothing felt broken, I didn’t think, but everything hurt a whole lot so I wasn’t positive that I would’ve been able to tell. I wobbled down the last few steps and staggered my way as best as I could to the door.
From there it was a right and then a slight descending left down the hallway. I managed to keep my mouth shut as I passed ponies who were used to jumping out of my way, but nothing could stop the tears streaking down my cheeks. Everything was white, and everything hurt. I numbly pressed on, walking blindly with as much dignity as I could muster while trying not to shriek.
I could hear the confused whispers of the ponies as I passed. Their mumbles, which usually faded to the background as I trotted by, sounded loud. They were loud. Too loud. I didn’t know if I should tell them all to be quiet. I wanted to yell at them, to scream out that they should all just shut up so I could figure out how to get to the Central Hub, but I was afraid that I’d give myself even more of a headache with my own voice.
I only stopped when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I swung my head towards whatever tapped me, and heard the confused voice of Ditzy, the messenger. “You, um, you passed the Central Hub. Do you need directions? I need directions sometimes.”
“Lead me,” I choked out, clasping Ditzy’s hoof, my own hoof trembling. Ditzy gave me a quiet hum of concern before gently pulling me through a doorway that creaked at us.
“Thank you, Ditzy!” Pinkie Pie said, a little too loudly. Her voice echoed in my ears, and I winced away from it. If she was confused why I hadn’t come in alone, I couldn’t hear it in her tone. “You can go take another break, okay? Thank you so much!”
I collapsed in a heap on the floor and started crying again before the doors had even shut.
“Hey, are you… are you okay?” Pinkie Pie said. Her chair screeched against the stone floor before her hoofsteps drew closer. I didn’t react as a hoof awkwardly pet my mane. “What happened? What was out there? Did something attack you?”
I took a few heaving breaths before I found the strength to respond. “Not… no, nothing attacked me.” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care.
“Then what happened? Did you fall? You’ve got a bruise on your cheek. Did you fall off the mountain? Is Equestria still there?” Her voice grew even more desperate when I didn’t answer, and her hooves pressed into my cheeks to turn my face towards hers. “Twilight, you have to tell me. What did you see?”
I sniffled. Everything was white. “You won’t believe me,” I mumbled quietly.
“Wh-what was that? Didn’t quite catch it.” Pinkie Pie sounded terrified, as terrified as I felt.
“Nopony is going to believe me!” I cried, and curled up and sobbed in Pinkie Pie’s hooves. The cool blue and green orb of Equestria far beyond our reach engulfed my memory, and I felt, for the first time in my life, that we were truly alone.
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It's here!!!
10986535
Hi! Could you mark your spoiler as a spoiler, please? I super appreciate the comment, though!
10986568
You could just delete the comment yourself. Only fitting for such a dick move.
10986621
Gave 'em the benefit of the doubt. Could have been a mistake, or an excited reaction, you know? Ah, well, I'll delete it now, it's been a bit.
When the surprise is revealed, I can't believe it's not butter .
10986621
Wow, okay, that's rude.
10986568
Sorry for the delay, I was out and didn't see your response until now. My apologies! Thought it was obvious enough.
10986717
It's fine! I appreciate that you liked it enough to take the time to leave a comment. I just didn't want anyone scrolling down and the (relatively minor) spoiler be the first thing they see!
10986726
Understandable lol, my apologies.
Oooh! This is looking good already! I love your descriptions and the way you introduce the background and how the legend goes.
Also, you know I’m not normally a Pinkie fan, but I absolutely love Big Boss/High Priestess Pinkie
Great job so far and I’m so excited for the rest!
This was a fantastic thing to preread, I remember we talked about City of Embers and how much we loved that story. This is a super creative idea that builds on top of that story and can't wait to see it pan out! Time to dive into it again!
Really nice start to things. Particularly the underground setting and the way this society works really grabbed my imagination, but that ending to chapter 2, woo. Curious where it'll all go, and where the rest of our familiar cast are in it.
Augh Silent this is so!!! Ah!!!!!
God, poor Twilight. I feel for her so deeply right now, and yet I can't even imagine what she's going through. To work towards a singular goal like that for so long, to have divine intervention pushing you towards that goal... And then this. Holy shit.
I am SO excited to see where this goes. I mean, pony space travel? Pony space pirates? Pony aliens?? Is Nightmare Moon still on the moon with them??? Anything could happen!!
I can't wait for the next chapter!! Wonderful start, and congrats on finally publishing!
It is finally here and I am pumped. This universe is so much fun to read about
and play around in. I'm so excited it's finally up and I'm very hyped to read more.10986746
Wow, yes!! I loved that series! The City of Embers influence is so clear, how did I not notice it? Honestly props to Silent for managing to differentiate enough that I was just wide-eyed and fascinated with the concept once again
Totally got sent to the moon eh? Bummer. Great story so far though.
A brilliantly written story! Another stellar concept from you, Silent. Cannot wait to see where you take this story!
I've had this story on my mind since you shared it with me in March. So glad you've decided to publish it! Good luck and have fun!!
so wait... instead of banishing nightmare moon, everyone was moved unerground? wouldn't the surface be a frozen wasteland when they get there?
10986803
Their Goddess wasn't, was she? Celestia's probably still up there. I don't think the sun’s disappeared. :D
10986807
hold on, celestia is on the surface? i did not know that.
Wowsers! Phantastic!
Talk about plot twists and complications! That is a GOOD one!
Oh. Well then. Certainly a twist on the usual formula. Definitely looking forward to seeing where you go from here.
well. This sounds... different.
That was beautiful.
The haunting moment of realization. .the detail of each eye opening...was uttertly stilling, chilling. It brought tear's to my eyes...
Egad, the mystery set up by this story is great! Can't wait to read more of it! Getting some Frostpunk and City of Ember vibe from this and it is great!
Yoooooo, now THAT'S a fucking TWIST
Dammit! I can only press the like button once! It needs to be pressed a hundred more times!
Celestia has a shit aim, doesn't she?
Now that is a twist.
10987511
Sure does!
10987398
You! Keep talking, you get me.
Damn, that's a good way to start a fic. Reminds me of a WoodenToaster song...
We all pay your crime on the moon...
-stifled chuckling-
anyway, great story!
10987511
Depends, she might have ment to send them to the moon, they have been underground for at least a thousand years, who says they weren't just assuming they where still on the planet?
10988700
I figured she was aiming for Nightmare Moon.
I was gonna do an embed, but it didn't work so I guess I'll just link it.
Now That's What I Call a Twist!
Oh,
I've got my eye on this story.
First of all, Great Story. Really interesting so far.
Second of all, I think people are overlooking something: Rarity.
She's not in the Tags (Five limit, but the author could've used the Mane 6 tag). She's also not on the cover image. So, that begs the question: Where is she?
Also, I wanna take a look at the Cover Image, since it's almost as interesting as the Story:
Twilight and Pinkie both have those cloaks. Perhaps a sign of their positions? It would make sense for a Prophet to have a fancy piece of clothing, while Pinkie's simple one could be explained as her either not wanting the fancy thing or her ruining it too much.
Applejack is probably still a farmer. However, since they're all underground, that means it probably involves more paperwork and resource management, hence the glasses. The physical aspects wouldn't be gotten rid of, hence the duster/jacket/whatever that is.
Fluttershy is probably the most difficult to interpret, considering I doubt they have a lot of sizeable animals underground. Could be related to some other sort of job, or maybe it's keeping animals out of the tunnels? I honestly don't know.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, is perhaps the most interesting. She's in the dark, so it's not as easy to tell, but she's not wearing as many clothes as the others; only a bandana. Plus, while the others appear to be looking at the sky, Rainbow is looking at them. Maybe she's a surface pony, either one they meet outside or who finds and enters their tunnel?
And, of course, there's still the lack of Rarity.
Welp, that's one heck of a twist. THEY ARE ON THE MOON!
After all this time, I still think about my first blind reading of the draft. Constantly trying to guess what was going on based on a few words here or there in the opening paragraphs. This story defied my expectations, and I am not disappointed. I need more.
Okay, I'm hooked, will they find their way back to Equestria? Is Twilight's blindness permanent? What are the others up to? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
In all seriousness, I eagerly look forward to seeing what you have in store for us next.
Well that sucks (and not in any sort of fun, squishy way). I wonder what will happen?
... waaaaaaait...
If they are, in fact, where they are... who's been talking to the Prophets?
10992874
:D
10992978
... well then. Welcome to the music in my head: