Adventure

by ISKV

The Sky Titan

It had been a many a millennium since the Fall of Harmony. With the princesses lost, and the Equestrian Alliance broken, the three tribes fought a long and bitter war for dominance. The events that let up to the bloody Chaos Resistance were lost to time. The Lord of Chaos may have been blamed for rivalries and hate, but this time, he was no more than an innocent bystander.

For a full century, the War of Three stretched out, thousands dying each day. Eventually, the conflict spread throughout the entire planet. All the creatures from the forgotten Changlings to the mightiest of dragons took part in this war, fueled by century-old feuds and ancient alliances.

But eventually the fighting petered out, combatants and morale growing low.

During this time, a forest known as the Everfree grew, feasting on the raw magic and biological matter that fell into its maw, never to be seen again. It expanded into an empire of its own, its mysterious properties stretching from the Forgotten Wastelands an ocean away to the sunken and underwater city of Marelantis frozen in the north.

But when the war ended, they found a world unlike the one they had left. The wildlife grew, the clouds floated, and the sun and the moon rose and set. Initially, they celebrated the return of their princesses, but soon realized that there were gone, along with any semblance of unity.

Centuries passed, and the world continued changing.

In the center of the grasslands was Cygnus, a city born as a small mercenary outpost. Naturally, as it was visited by various species, there were no such thing as prejudice. Ancient rivalries were washed away by the simple need to survive. Daily, weddings bells rung to signify the union of two, most of the time not even of the same species. Even the architecture of the city itself was a mishmash of different cultures all coming together in one. It stretched hundreds of miles in all directions, surrounded by a wall that was a mile high and thick enough that an entire fort could fit inside. That was no exaggeration, they were built so well that not even the Behemoth could hope to trespass into the city. Right inside the walls were the farmlands, hundreds of thousands of acres filled with various types of grain all blew in the wind, ready to be harvested. Closer to the center was the market. Everything from Zebracan shamans advertising their services with the spirits to the minotaurs who sold freshly mined minerals in bulk. It was guaranteed that even in the darkest hours of the night, one could buy what they were searching for. Behind the bustling market was the more quiet residential areas, filled with homes small and cozy to the largest of mansions with hundreds of servants constantly working around the clock. And in the center was the castle which sat on a massive platform that could repel any amount of land invaders. Tall stone arches and pillars held up the structure. Probably the most interesting fact about the castle was the fact that every room inside was illuminated by natural sunlight. It was said to have been carved straight out of a mountain, as the tip of the highest observatory reached high above the clouds. But a simple exploration to the deepest and most ancient bowels revealed a startling truth. The land that the castle was standing on was once an expanse of completely flat land. Through decades of construction and millions of bricks, a one room shack had evolved into the center of civilization.

In the sea was Aquarius, a jewel among the many shipwrecks that littered the area surrounding the city. It was supported by eight enormous ancient pillars that held the city right above sea level. The city extended from the palace that stood high in the center to the base of the pillars deep under the ocean. The highest of towers held the beacon, a ball of fire that burned for eternity. It could be seen for miles, attracting every kind of creature and promising freedom and safety within its borders. It too, eventually grew into a magnificent and beautiful city. In fact, it had even more of a species variance than Cygnus.

But what if I told you that Cygnus, Aquarius, and even the mysterious properties of the Everfree was ancient history?

By now, the mere concept of Alicorns were so long gone that they were reduced to dust, not even appearing in the oldest of myths. But he still remembered.

He remembered when the world was young.

He remembered the bright flash as Queen Galaxia molded the cosmos out of sheer willpower.

He remembered the days when there were no days, for there was no sun.

He remembered the first sunrise and how awestruck he was at its beauty. He couldn't believe how an insignificant orb of basic elements floating in the vast expanse could make something so stunning, then remembered how much love and care went into creating every speck of dust.

He remembered her daughters, especially the one who cried in his arms when their mother passed on.

He remembered his own banishment into stone.

He remembered...

He remembered...

He remembered...

At the deepest trench of the Winter Sea, a statue of a draconequus silently pleaded for escape, not even the harsh burning of the strong acid capable of melting away his prison.

The once glorious city of Cygnus was no more than a circle of flat land, covered with the remains of a petrified forest, its once lush plant life now brown and hard. The city's enormous awe-inspiring arches were once large enough that even a fully-grown dragon would have to raise his head. Now, they existed as no more than mountains of gravel. Aquarius dropped into the sea when the waters around it eventually turned to acid as the stone pillars grew weaker and weaker til they could take no more.

Only the airborne who lived above the clouds survived, eating a tasteless but filling fruit that grew on clouds. Pegasi, griffons, their cousins the hippogriffs, and all the birds of the air existed above the clouds. They simply lived, ignorant of what was happening below their homes. By now, the entire planet was covered with a thick blanket of dark smog, ensuring that they were free to fly and land where they wished.

Over the centuries, a pegasus only known as The Mother unified the scattered species into the very first Aerial Empire. Her eyes were as strong as her will. It is said that she had been able to tame the violent griffons with a voice not unlike a mother scolding her child. She stood taller than any of them, equal in height to the alicorns of the old, but without the horn, for she was still just a pegasus. Her wings were massive, almost twice the wingspan of a regular griffon. Her brilliant orange coat shone like the sunrise while her violet hair was dark enough that the night sky seemed bright.

Her creation was massive. Spanning the sky, there was no place completely inaccessible save for the occasional superstorm that blew the clouds into a frenzy. Their capital was near the equator, where the air was hot and the clouds were heavy.

A simple one room house stood on a hill made of clouds. It overlooked the city, but was not where one would expect a ruler to reside in. The Mother simply called it her home, but to the inhabitants of the Aerial Empire, it was a place of worship, a place where pilgrimages took place every year. And it was on this day, right after sunrise, that The Mother decided to take a simple walk.

"Good morning Mother!" An unknown said from around.

"And a good morning to you!" she replied cheerfully.

Around her, the sleepy marketplace was beginning to wake up, merchants opened shops and stalls, but her mere presence turned heads and sent whispers. She didn't notice, or at least, chose not to. The Mother yawned, then shook the sleep out of her head. She was never a morning pony, but enjoyed walking through the morning mist still fresh in the air.

Soon, she was at the park. It was filled with statues made from clouds. Although The Mother had quietly protested, her figure dotted the area more than the others combined. High above her head, a small griffon fledgling jumped off of a cloud.

A faint buzzing turned her own head. She was momentarily confused by the sound, until the fledgling fell next to her and landed in the cloud with a poof. She giggled as he tried to pull his stuck head out of the cloud. The Mother gently bit his tail and pulled. The clouds released his head with a loud, almost comical pop.

"Are you alright?" The fledgling spat out some cloud that he had swallowed. He nodded, but shrunk away eyes wide when he noticed who she was. He tried to talk, but his words stuck in his throat.

"I-I... than... k... you..." he stuttered, trying to hide his embarrassed face. She only smiled.

"You're welcome." The Mother looked up at the cloud that he had fell from. "Is that your cloud?"

The griffon nodded. "I'm-I'm try... trying to fly."

Trying to fly...

She remembered that she herself was once a very weak flyer, only able to soar in the sky much later than the other foals.

The Mother looked at the sky.

"Where are your parents?"

The fledgling looked away, trying to avoid her eyes. "Away." he replied simply.

The large pegasus smiled. She had time after all.

"How would you like it if I," she paused, "taught you how to fly?"

He gasped, his little eyes going wide at the thought of being taught by The Mother herself. She was instantly jealous of his childish enthusiasm at something she considered trivial. She had mellowed out considerably during the ages, her own personality changing from a tomboyish ball of energy to a more regal and calm figurehead.

"Really?" he asked, not believing his ears.

"Really." she promised.

***

"Now remember, there's a lot more to flying than simply buzzing your wings. You got that?"

"Yes ma'am!" he yelled, completing with a cute little salute. The Mother laughed, returning with a salute of her own. The sun had gone far enough in the western sky that it had turned a bright orange, the exact same color of her coat.

"Now, can you fly to your cloud by yourself?"

He nodded, and the pegasus stepped back to give him room. He flapped his wings. Not with speed, but with control. The small fledgling had made strides with his skill. He no longer fell, but was still shaky when taking off, something that could only be improved with practice. The griffon slowly took to the air, almost falling a few times, but righting himself into stability. A few minutes of effort felt like hours, the second his claws touched the surface of the cloud, he exploded in cheers.

The Mother also let loose a few whoops of her own. He waved, savoring the moment. Shaking from the excitement, he curled up and attempted to sleep. She was proud as if he was her own child. His parents should be proud too.

Taking a deep breath, she spread open her own magnificent wings. They extended with a graceful flourish as her feathers caught the air under them like a blanket. She jumped, going from the cloud to miles into the air within the blink of an eye. The Mother closed her eyes, feeling the cold, refreshing air of the high altitude sky. The pegasus felt the slight dampness seep through her coat as she soared through the wispy, delicate clouds.

She sighed. Deep in her heart, she wished that she could see her old friend and idol once again. She was the reason that The Mother decided to start flying in the first place! But it was not to be. Her friend was dead long ago, as was the world she was born in.

This was it. This was the end of the road. The adventure. The life. Nothing would change now.

She opened her eyes. Just then, a single line lit up brightly as a star shot across the dark night sky. The Mother gasped, and closed her eyes tightly as she thought of her one want in the entire world.

I wish Rainbow Dash could see me now...

Author's Note:

Inspired by-
Pretty much every fantasy setting.

My only excuse is that I wanted to do some world building. And because I have a fetish for big castles.

I will repeat this at the end of each chapter. The only way this adventure will be expanded in any way is through your own imagination. Should you wish to expand an adventure, send me a PM telling me which one you chose. The answer will most likely be yes.

Comments

[Padwan]

This sounds really good, I also hope you recover from your computer problems soon because they are the worst

[ISKV]

1971204
Thanks. That's actually why I decided to start this, something that can be written without much planning necessary.

[CrappyCrap]

But... what happened? Why did everything(apart from clouds) went rampart in equestria? What caused the 'war', that destroyed equestria as Scoot(AKA The mother) knew it? Why new empires rose and fallen down? Please, explain this to me. Or else it'll bug me till the very end of my days .

[ISKV]

1983776
Well, that's kind of the point. Fill in anything that's missing. You're not supposed to know what happened.

bugbugbugbugbugbugbugbugbug

[ISKV]

4554025

This currently has twenty-one shorts, each with 3K-9K words each. Story ideas are currently at fourty-four. They're all unfinished, and they're probably going to stay that way unless I can get rid of that stubborn procrastination that's stuck to the back of my neck.