I was born for this...

by FrostyDawn

The Bridge

That vision raised more questions than it answered. What happened to all the life here? Who are these brothers and sisters? I kept asking myself things like this as I walked down the hallway, which was more like a tunnel, with stone pillars holding it up.

I soon came to the end, the sunlight resuming to heat up entire world. I stopped, and looked around. I was on a platform, high above the ground. It was a valley, and on the other side was a wall of rock with a platform similar to the one I stood on. Between the two, were three columns of rock, sticking out of the sandy ground below. The columns raised in height the closer they were to the other side, like a staircase. But they were at least 30 feet apart, and broken near the edges. From the looks of it, I'd say it was a bridge that was destroyed ages ago. I hopped off the platform, using my scarf to ease my decent.

Look to the left and right of this canyon, I saw the same thing. Sand. There's no way I could go around this wall. I figure I must climb this broken bridge. There were large chucks of metal buried in the ground. And each one had a long ragged cloth sticking out, like the altar.

That's when I heard a noise. It was a pleasant, soft tone. I looked over to where the sound had came from. Off near the second column, I heard the familiar CLANK of a mechanism, and the pillar was surrounded with the small red cloths I've seen before. The strips drifted into the air, attaching to one another to form something. The longer I watched, I could see what was happening. The strips of cloth combined into a giant carpet which spanned the gap between two stone pillars.

I was stunned. There could be a way up to that second gate. But what caused the cloth to be released in the first place? Standing on top of the metal box, was a figure. A figure in a red cloth, and an orange scarf drifting in the wind. It's face was a dark gray with two small white eyes. No mouth. No nose. Just two eyes. I noticed its red robes were similar to mine, embroidered like mine, but had a small yellow pattern in place of the diamonds on mine. The thing's feet were simply two stubs, but managed to support it's weight. On its head, were two points, ears, perhaps? Horns?

My heart froze when it turned in my direction. It just stared, and I did the same. I was curious and intrigued by this creature. It probably felt the same way. I found myself walking toward it, and it did the same. As we were close enough, it 'spoke'. It made a low hum, and a symbol formed over its head. Then it made another noise. This one didn't make a symbol above it's head. It sounded almost inquisitive. Was it asking me a question?

"Come on, Rarity. Try something." I thought to myself. A tried my best to create any noise, or at least express who I was. I too made a noise, and the being looked over my head. I looked above me, and I could see a symbol, different than the one created by the being.

The creature paused, then repeated my sound and sign. It made a happier noise, and I managed to piece it together. It told me its name, and I told it mine. However, I don't think I could pronounce the sound it made again in normal tongue. I might as well give it a name I could understand, but what? I wasn't sure if it was a male or female, how would I adress it? Looking down at it's robe, I thought of a simple name. Red.

It was then I spoke its name and repeated it's symbol. Red seemed more positive, and then started walking toward another metal box. I followed shortly behind, curious to know what "he" was doing (or "she", I wasn't really sure. I can't call it "it" if it has a name, can I?).

Red hoped onto the box, where the tattered rag blew in the wind like a flag. He made a little hum, and a small part of the cloth was restored. However, the rag pushed the color out, returning to its gray, dull texture. Red then looked toward me, and took a step back. I felt obligated to hop on, and inspected the rag. The noise I made before the first statue... maybe the sounds acted as some key.

I readied my own voice, and made a strong, light hum. The whole cloth turned red, and retracted into the box. With another metal CLANK, the metal frame shook, and more smaller strips drifted out. On their way up, they attached one by one, fusing into bigger pieces before connecting two more pillars, leaving two gaps left.

I looked at Red, who started dashing off toward the last box. I trotted after him. He hopped onto the last metal box, which had two clothes sticking out and flapping in the breeze. I followed him, and he bent his head down as I readied another 'call'. As if we had planned this, Red and I both made soft, louder hums, which lit up the rags simultaneously. Both were pulled back into the metal shell, resulting in it to shake. Twice as many rags were swept into the wind, both swarms combining, piecing together two separate lengths of the bridge to be completed. Despite hovering in the air, the wind had no use blowing away. Gravity didn't even affect the cloth, it simply sat in the air, in a near perfect arc.

As the whole bridge was rebuilt with the cloth attachments, a small ripple of light resonated through it. Ecstatic, I took off toward the foot of the bridge, where the ground met the cloth. Red followed me to the start, as if we were thinking the same thing. We reached the start, and I was hesitant. The cloth clearly spanned the gaps between the pillars, but would it be able to hold the weight of a unicorn? Turns out it didn't have to.

I expected the cloth to hold my hoof up as I took my first step. However, I started hovering a few inches off the carpeting. I looked by my side, and Red was floating in the same manner. He effortlessly glided forward, and I tried to follow him. I moved forward, without using my legs. It felt wonderful, it gave me an idea of how pegasi felt when they fly. I couldn't help but smile under my viel. When I reached the top of the first stone pillar, I began sprinting to get more momentum upon reaching the next cloth. I would have laughed in delight, but my normal voice was gone. I just made a light hum, and Red looked back to let me catch up.

We then reached the statue at the other side of the canyon. Red emitted his hum, sounding like a musical note. The markers near the statue began to glow, forming another disc of light in front of the slanted stone. He knelt before it, and so did I.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

The white space began to get a little redundant to me. It was just as you expect. Empty, dull, lifeless. But the mountain from the vision before was closer. And another figure stood in front of me. A being that gave off a divine essence. It looked an awful lot lke Red. Except, well, it was white, which made it harder to see it against the bright background. And much bigger, might I add. There was no scarf on its back, and no points on its head. It then looked to me, and spoke.

"Greetings, traveler. I have heard of your arrival from my bretheren." It said, in a soothing, motherly voice.

"Hello. I'm trying to get to the mountain... but I have so many questions..." I said. Now that I think about it, my voice started to sound unfamiliar to myself.

"I see. Listen closely, and I will tell you my part of the legend.". It said, and the image returned to my mind. It was of the beings, hunched over the cloth, which I remembered was told was made from an energy created by the mountain.
" Our people, known as the Ancestors, had learned that the cloths possessed the magical energy from the mountian, and built large structures to harness it."

The image showed the beings creating towers of stone, not unlike the pillars I used to cross the gap. It described the short cloth strips being sucked into a tunnel, like an aqueduct.

"The ancestors then created mechanisms that ran of the energy, creating power for themselves and their village." The Ancestor said, as my vision faded away from the image. "There is still much to learn and overcome, Rarity." It spoke. I kept finding myself dumbfounded over how they knew my name, but no matter. The seemed... godlike and omnipotent. Perhaps it not that complex.

The white faded away, and I looked down. My scarf was a little longer now, and so was Red's. As I stood, he followed, and entered through the next tunnel. I must say, I've never had someone (or something) like this as a friend.

Comments

[sectoid]

Awesome! Hope to see more soon!