Edge of The World
PROJECT HIVE
Edge of The World
It had taken almost an entire night's flight, but changeling and flutterpony finally stood at the foot of the mountain, where the upwelling of plateaus and outcroppings gave way to the sudden cliffs and sheer surfaces of the towering mountain. In what little light crept through the inky darkness, everything was shaded black and grey, a colossal inkscape painting.
Damsel dug her hooves into the harsh, dead soil and, closing her eyes, took a deep breath. The world there was wild. An untameable wind constantly howled through the canyons and ravines, echoing in a deafening, eerie cry. High above, dark clouds roiled off the mountain, hiding its true heights and promising a monstrous storm. Lightning flashed deep within the clouds, split-second bursts of light that were mirrored by glassy streaks in the stone below, confusing the eye with vivid flashes.
For Damsel, this was a place relegated to decades-old memory, a place that protected her and her kind. It was the final barrier, the final obstacle before she had truly returned to her homeland. It brought a fang-baring grin to her face.
Lorikeet, however, was Stableborn, and felt quite differently. A small part of his mind had never truly accepted that there was no ceiling above, or that the outside world was truly as endless as it seemed. The very idea of a place so much larger than the Hive frightened him in some deep way. Here, though, at the foot of the mountain that stretched from horizon to horizon, that reached higher than he could bring himself to imagine, he found himself believing they'd reached the wall at the end of the world.
The flutterpony tried to call out to his changeling leader, but his words were snatched away by the relentless wind that tore at his mane and stung his wings. Taking a deep breath of his own, he focused, crying out into the hivemind. "Ma'am, what is this place?!"
Damsel turned to him, her solid blue eyes alight with pleasure, wings pinned tightly to her back to keep them from the wind's claws. "The Roc's Wall, Lorikeet! Flutter Valley lies just a day beyond!"
Lorikeet squinted as a particuarly vicious gust sent spirals of dirt and dust whipping past him. "I've never seen anything like this! The sandstorm was nothing like this!"
"That's because the Roc is hunting!" Damsel's excited laughter echoed through their shared mind as she raised her hoof to point at the clouds, where the lightning cut violent rents through the swirling malestrom... and sometimes, for just a moment, sillhouetting something in the clouds above. Something far larger than it had any right to be. "Can you see it? The Maker's own beast!"
An unspeakable fear gripped Lorikeet's heart as, with agonizing slowness, the very tip of a feathered wing descended from the impossibly high clouds, trailing sparks and lines of lightning before vanishing once more into the chaotic squall. Speechless, he tried to imagine what monstrously large creature it could belong to, his limited experiences giving rise to images of a desert bird of impossible size, large enough to snatch his entire Hive from the earth in a single claw.
He snapped out of his shocked stupor when Damsel laughed again, the changeling unaware of his private thoughts. "It is a sign, Lorikeet! The Queen awaits! With me, my brother!" Abandoning her stoic, calm demeanor, Damsel took to the air, streaking into the relative quiet of the nearest ravine, pausing at its threshhold only long enough to be sure her companion was following.
The little Nest-Keepers had returned, It idly noted, keen eyes catching the tiny movements below even through the hunt-storm. This, It felt, was good. With a single slow, languid stroke of Its wings, It rose higher, turning Its fell gaze to the horizon in search of prey untouched by the poison winds.
Perhaps the Nest-Mother still lived. That, It felt, would be very good.
The Equestrian team was exhausted, having continued on through the remainder of the day and much of the night before finally reaching a sietch where their Pipbucks barely clicked at all, safe from the radiation outside.
As his team broke out their supplies and made camp, Ironside suppressed a shudder and looked towards the entrance, mentally composing his report on the expedition. Lost in his thoughts, he started when Grace spoke up from behind him. "Bit for your thoughts, Chief?" She sounded tired and, when Ironside turned, he noted that she, as well as the others, looked as weary as the pegasus sounded. "What happened back there? Was there a problem with that buffalo? Is that why we're headed back?"
Ironside sighed, pausing to look over his team. He hadn't explained the sudden retreat before leading them out, not wanting to risk his ponies and changelings any more than he already had with explanations at the time. Now, though, they were as safe as could be without pushing themselves beyond their limits, and he owed them answers.
"The buffalo is only part of it, Grace." Ironside shook his head, then addressed one of the changelings, "Chatter, did you get anything from the buffalo?"
Chatter, the watch changeling, perked up, looking thoughtful for a moment. "It felt... sick, sir." He grimaced. "Very sick... and tired..."
Ironside's head drooped slightly, before he raised it, looking his team in the eyes. "It was worse than that. They were... rotting... but they were still alive." He pretended not to notice the queasy looks that swept across the group at his words. "I'm not even sure if it was a bull or a cow. They were talking about bad spirits. We won't know for certain until I've reported to the Science Division, but I believe the radiation is responsible."
Most of the group immediately went for their packets of Radsafe and RadAway. Grace, though, delayed long enough to ask "Are we going home, Chief? We might still make it to Dodge Junction." She didn't look enthusiastic at the idea, though, and neither did the watching team members.
Clear relief flooded everyone's faces when Ironside shook his head with a serious expression. "No. As of now, we're done in Equestria. Our job is to get home safely. After that, it's up to the Overmare and Regent."
"I hear that, Chief." Grace managed a small, tired smile of relief, before turning to her own supplies and digging out the packet of chalky RadSafe tablets. Popping one into her mouth with a "bleagh" at the texture, she motioned Chatter over, the pair discussing what shape they thought the town would be in when they returned.
His team occupied, Ironside turned his attention back to the entrance, his mind turning to his prospective herdmate and her flutterpony companion. He hoped they were having more luck than he was.
Lorikeet wasn't sure how long they'd been underground, but it felt like an entire night at least. Damsel had led the way into a hidden tunnel, deep within a ravine at the foot of the mountain, following a path she alone knew, her excitement about the nearness of Fluttery Valley palpable.
Queens knew Lorikeet felt completely lost, not that he'd admit it. The endless hours spent walking in near-absolute blackness, lit only by a spare love crystal's weak glow and Damsel's lit horn, had left him disoriented, and he found himself focusing on Damsel's presence in the hivemind to keep himself grounded.
At least, he thought gratefully, the darkness and winding tunnel were similar to the deeper parts of the Hive. It was a small comfort, being underground again after so long under the open sky. His eyes had even adjusted to the dim lighting, letting him make out the smooth surfaces of the tunnel, sloping gently downward so subtly that, if he hadn't lived his entire life below ground, he might have missed it... even if he had only a vague sense of which way they'd come from.
So, it was understandable that, when they rounded a corner and found the tunnel ahead flooded with daylight, the pair were both blinded, blinking and rubbing their eyes frantically to try and regain their sight.
Slowly, though, they recovered and moved, blinking, into the light. When he could see again, Lorikeet's jaw dropped. "Is that..."
"Yes." Damsel nodded, smiling and buzzing her wings in pleasure. "The Rosedust Sea."
Spread out before them was a rippling sea of red, flowing in shifting tides driven by a gentle wind. A great cliff, the inside of the Roc's Wall, bordered what could only be described as an inland sea or maybe an enormous lake, forming a great wall that stretched impossibly high, higher than the clouds outside had hinted, leaving only a broad circle of clear blue sky above. Small, whispy clouds drifted about, some gathered against the cliffs like bunches of cotton caught on the stone. Small islands could be seen poking up from the red ocean, most bearing some form of greenery that stood out against the dark greys of the stone and the flowing shades of red.
But the largest island was what Damsel raised her hoof towards, her smile growing as she did so. An island much larger than their hometown, topped by great spires of stone that stretched upwards towards the circle of sky and wearing a crown of puffy white clouds around their heights. "That, Lorikeet," the changeling said, "is Flutter Valley."
The Equestrian team are returning home, and the Flutter Valley team are almost home. Will they find the Queen? Did Chrysalis just forget about the Hive for twenty years? Will Grace save the wasteland with the power of polka?! Find out soon!
Lots of world building. Progress continues!
Some spoiler-free background details for folks who like that sort of thing.
The Roc's Wall is what remains of a massive volcano (there's a name for the type of volcano, but I can't remember it right now). The Rosedust Sea is the area inside, the caldera, while Flutter Valley is the largest "island" in the "sea".
Believe it or not, there are similar places in the real world!
Not as extreme an example as the one in the fic, but still. Nature is awesome!
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So close... *refreshes the site repeatedly in hopes of seeing the next chapter button*
I hope Chryssie is still alive. If the place is untouched, I don't see why she wouldn't be.
So what's the hard parts about writing for you? World building? Character development beyond being static or two dimensional? Narration?
7106758 World building, for sure. Not because it's difficult, but because there's so much I want to cover!
The cut or unused material for some chapters can be as long as the chapters themselves.
7106749 We'll find out Chryssie's fate next chapter.
"The world there was wild"
"here"?
"moment, sillhouetting something in"
"silhouetted"?
"as safe as could be"
"as they could"?
"chalky RadSafe tablets"
"Radsafe"?
"Fluttery Valley"
"Flutter Valley"?
"by great"
Extra space?
Hm. I wonder what gives the Rosedust Sea its color?
I'm a bit low on time at the moment, but, as usual, I enjoyed this. :)
7107312 *hugs a Chryssie plushie right* (yes, I do have one, can you tell she's my favourite character in mlp?)
I have this horrible sinking feeling...
7107528 Will edit in the next couple of days, once I can move my arm properly. Boomerang-related injury.
And answers about the Rosedust Sea are coming in the next chapter. It may surprise you.
7107836 So do I. It's a kinda wonky looking one that I'm sure is a knock-off (despite buying it in a legit store), but it's a Queen Cuddlebug all the same.
Chrysalis' fate, revealed soon! For better or worse.
7108344
"Will edit in the next couple of days, once I can move my arm properly."
No problem; sorry about the arm.
"Boomerang-related injury.
"
I... can't tell whether you're serious or not, though. :D
"And answers about the Rosedust Sea are coming in the next chapter. It may surprise you.
"
Ooh, interesting. :)
7108344 It's Queen Cuddlebug Cheese-legged alright. And since there are no official plushies of her, yeah, it's a knock off, but I like it, it even has her trademark smirk and holey everything.
Now if only they made a plushie of a regular changeling...
By the way, dunno if you know, but Chryssie's finally getting a good official Hasbro figure, in the new Guardians of Harmony line. It'll even be articulated and with accessories. I'm hoping for a changeling minion figurine to be packaged with it.
Love it, just wish the chapters weren't so far apart.
7108397
Pulled or strained pretty much everything in my shoulder and upper arm.
Also lots of small cuts on my hands and arms. Beware boomerang richochets.
7108413 Looks like the Twilight figure includes a changeling.
Wouldn't happen to have this particular Changebug plush, would you?
i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee156/Cascadejackal/4c817a23-8271-4a0d-b226-8da810c65047_zps6a08a40a.jpg
7110634 I'm trying to pick up the pace and get the chapters out quicker. Honest.
7111726
...Huh. I suppose, on reflection, that a weapon intended to fly back at the user does have some pretty obvious risks.
7111726 oh I do understand that life is like that, I'm get wondering is all.
7111726 Yep, the same one. It's so cool~
Oooooh, didn't notice that. Awesome! And it looks so goddamn adorable. *snugs a 'ling*
Chryssie looks epic too, and it seems those armour and weapon parts are removable. Epicness.
7106749
I'm not so sure, if the bird is concerned then there is probably reason to be distressed. Hopefully they didn't all venture outside and die or limp home from somewhere just to meet their end.
Do you mean Rad-X? Or....