Prologue
Enigma
by
NotSoGreat1200
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
~Jorge Luis Borges
With a thunderous racket the gondola started moving and my entire body jolted forward, unsurprisingly my orange mane fell down over my eyes, hiding whatever my be ahead of me.
The noise bellowed high and rolled over my ears as the gondola continued through the darkened tunnel, the occasional sparks ignited from the metal wire overhead as it glided along. Once my eyes had adjusted themselves to the darkness I leaned back and felt it touch the soft velvet of the seat.
As the noise of metal echoed off the walls of the tunnel, I closed my eyes just enjoying the mechanical sounds. I have always enjoyed what most other ponies would consider noise but, to me it sounds like a symphony playing for a full house.
It all ended, the noise, the dull sleep my mind had slipped into. It all stopped when the gondola exited the tunnel and I'm met with bright light, at first it burns my eyes and gives me a slight headache, a dull pounding.
After some time keeping my eyes closed and getting used to the light, I open them and see it: A large cavern, red and sand colored stone mountains stretching into the sky. Surrounding me and the metal gondola as it rides along on its predetermined path.
The gondola itself is a metal ball of bronzed metal curved into the most unbelievable shapes you could think of, a nice esthetic but unnecessary.
It rattles as it moves along, shaking my body and making me realize something. “I hate gondolas,” I mutter under my breath, keeping my voice low as if there are somepony around when it's only me. Cautions even when alone.
Settling in on the gondola as it follows the line, I look around at the cavern as it stretches across the horizon. Feeling the wind in my mane as the gondola turns around steep mountains, almost close enough to cut into my grey fur.
I don't flinch, instead I hoof out a letter from my saddlebags laying down on the seat next to me. It's the entire reason why I'm out here,I wouldn't have gone normally but when the most important pony in all of Equestria(except for Celestia of course.) Asks you to come, you simply can't refuse.
Feeling a fresh air of well … air, I turn the letter over in my hooves and start to read it again. Considering I have read it fourteen times in a row I should know what it's about, but I still can't wrap my head around it.
“Dear Ms. Emerald. I am delighted to hear of your graduation since I have been following your education with much vigor. I also understand that you are one of, if not the best in your field and this is where I need your help. But the matter is not something I can discuss in a letter, please come to my private study and I'll show you what it's all about. ~Yours truly, Archmage Trixie Lulamoon.”
What would an archmage even need a simple Earth pony for even? Sure, I was the best in my class but still I have no real training in the physical use of magic. My field was in arcane magic, focusing on the basis of it. On how to apply it to non-magic users, like Earth ponies and the like.
A jolt makes my mind quickly jump out of any reasoning I could have deduced to the letter, looking up I see that the gondola is approaching a mountain quickly and suddenly I felt my heart jump into my throat, the pounding dulling out any sounds.
My stomach twisting and lurching as the gondola rapidly twists around the mountain, rigidly following the wire. I couldn't stand it any longer, without warning I thrust my body over the side and vomit. That's when it comes back to me why I have never traveled on these things before.
As I sit back into my seat, my stomach sort of settles itself. I still felt as if I would collapse at any minute, but at least it was a little bit less likely now.
Getting comfortable in my seat I see a shape in the distance, barely a silhouette against the vast mountains but it was there. Frantically I try to squint my eyes but it didn't do anything, how could it? Whatever it was it was far away and rather tiny against everything else.
Then it all came to a stop, and the gondola tipped forward and then back giving me a nice view of the ground below and my stomach lurched again. Damn my susceptible senses.
“Hey You!” A sweet voice, yet regal sounded off from somewhere. The echo from the cavern made it hard for me to distinguish where the source was, but the bearer was definitely female … Or a very feminine stallion.
“W-whapf?” Yes, very astute of me. The best of my class and I can't even answer a simple question in a manner befitting a mare, instead I sounded like a slack-yawed yokel that worked the fields all day. Offensive, yes. But an adequate description.
“You'll be arriving at the dock in a few minutes,” the voice replied after some delay. Either she noticed my dull answer and simply ignored it or, she didn't even hear me. Frankly, I would prefer the latter under the circumstances.
“Dock? What dock!?” I replied, though I knew what dock meant I still questioned her like some kind of dumb filly. Great, now she'll think I'm dumb and I don't have a proper understanding of normal talking. That notion ping-ponged back and forth in my mind until the pony answered back.
“The end of the ride!” Yeah... that response definitely sounded mad, I would have to do something about my responses if I was going to get anywhere this century.
Not a second later the gondola leaped forward an inch, a clicking noise followed. Probably from the shift on the wire above me, in the end I could ponder this all day and I wouldn't get any closer so I just let it slip my mind when I started to move forward at a regular pace.
Click … Click … Click … Okay, now that is annoying.
And suddenly the entire thing whisked forward, throwing me back into the seat. The gondola followed a long straight line for once and thus increased its speed, too much for my liking but I was already on this ride. At regular intervals it passed semi-circular metal rings above my head, each one bronze colored with some gold on the edge.
I could barely move my head in the wind, but what I could see was rather astonishing. Usually Ponyville is pretty and all that, but this was marvelous: Great spires of metal and wood intermixed reached up into the sky from a small village at the bottom of the cavern, and next to that was a vast pool of blue-green water barely hiding the rocky bottom, probably shallow enough that I could wade through it … And wade through it I would!
The gondola continued to rise in speed and the end of the line careened towards me fast. A dome like structure dominated the mountain in front of me, metal girders stretching across it with big open windows. Though they looked dusty from something. That was all I could make out before the entire thing stopped short, jolting my body forward then back into my seat as the gondola stopped inside of a tunnel. At this point my heart was pounding and I decided then and there, never again.
Slowly the gondola started to spin and rise, very slowly I might add. After that journey you would think they would be anxious to see you, but no. It all felt like some kind of carnival ride.
After what felt like minutes I and the gondola emerged into a room out of a hole in the blue marble floor. Several columns stood around in the room, concrete with the odd metal girder reaching up around it. And across the room a figure stood next to what appeared to be a panel or terminal of some kind, moving its hoof it made the gondola stop and open on both sides. Looking down the side, I was met with metal bars connecting across the open hole that peeked into the floor below. Presumably so I wouldn't fall.
“Sorry, that entire ride was Princess Celestia's idea.” That same voice I heard before sounded across the room, but now she sounded more humble, more personal not like before.
“Ahem,” I coughed as I gingerly hoofed the letter that had so unceremoniously fallen to the floor of the gondola as it lurched back and forth back into my saddlebags, “Yes. It was indeed quite the ride if I have to admit.” Oh yes, now I used the basic language skills that my parents had taught me and not sounding like a babbling buffoon after a night of hard apple cider.
“Quite,” the pony nodded as she walked into view of me, illuminated by the single light in the middle of the room, hanging from the wooden ceiling, mahogany perhaps. Nevertheless I noticed her color: Almost sky blue, a silvery and grey mane hanging below her way too big(and outdated) wizard hat, her tail the same instead she had an almost bright red bow tied at the base.
Yep, that was Trixie, that little pony inside my head so nicely said to me. Her current looks was a bit off from the last picture I saw her in, but that was years ago at this point.
After a brief pause I grabbed my saddlebags with my teeth and stepped out of the gondola. The metal ribbing covering the hole, creaked and moaned as I stepped over it. The entire time it felt like it would give away at any minute, but it didn't and once I stepped down onto the marble floor I threw my saddlebags over my back. “So, why did you ask me here?” I inquired to Trixie, shuffling slightly in place. I never could keep still when I got nervous.
She gave out a sigh, but immediately perked back up as if she was about to say something but decided against it. “Not now, let me get you settled in first.” The blue unicorn in front of me replied before she turned around and walked back towards the terminal. I followed, feeling a warmth against my back as the light passed overhead.
Making my way towards her at the other end of the room I saw it: A semi-circular metal door embedded into the wall, four gears attached to it. One in each corner, the door itself was not like any door I had seen before, it was segmented in the middle. “Um … “ Yeah, again.
Looking over to her, I saw her put a hoof against a lever made of wood and metal that protruded up from the console. “Wait and see,” she cooed back at me as she pulled the lever down.
With a gut-wrenching sound the gears started to slowly move, clicking as an invisible chain made its way across each tooth. At first the door didn't move, then a creak and suddenly it pulled apart, each metal segment slicing away as a room revealed itself to me and the blue magician.
“Well, a bit much perhaps?” I said, a bit too loudly actually. But Trixie only huffed back at me and pranced through the door only stopping once and lifting her hoof for me to follow. I simply rolled my eyes in response(not that she noticed) and followed her as a thought struck my mind.
Yep, I bet that ride was her idea all along.
*** **** ***
Occasional lights on the walls illuminated the hallway as me and Trixie walked down it, the same wood varnish embellished on here but a lot less metal. I felt a sense of calmness wash over me here, not like the coldness that was present in the Dock.
Whoops … I was wrong, the pony inside my mind noted to me as we ascended a spiraling metal staircase. I lost count of the steps as we walked, growing tired of all this clearly showmanship.
Then light shined in through the top and we walked off the staircase into a domed room, the same I presumed that I had seen from the gondola earlier. Trixie headed right for a wooden desk seated right in front of a large circular window, decorated with metal webbing as it looked out into the cavern below.
I on the other hoof just stood there at the edge of the staircase, taking in the room: Wood decorated all the walls here, Trixie's desk was a prominent feature but not the main one. In the center of the room, a set of stairs went a slight bit down towards a metal cylinder sticking up from the floor. In my opinion, ruining the entire esthetic.
“Found it!” I heard a sweet voice sound off from my right, snapping me out of my trance. I turned my head to see Trixie levitating a brown and tarnished book in the air, her blue magic surrounding it. Her face carried a smile, which I have to admit made her look kind of pretty.
Okay, shut up inner me!
After a moment of awkward silence, I coughed on purpose. Trying to make her do something, because she clearly wanted to show me something.
“A, yes!” She giggled gleefully as she proceeded to open the book, the tan pages were empty except for a single picture on one of them … That wasn't a picture.
My mind jumped and I heard a gasp(Probably myself) as the revelation dawned on me, the image on the page was moving. Blasts of white lighting kept striking a darkened red lighthouse in the image as water washed over the edges of it. A short snippet and then it repeated.
I tried to say something, but as usual my mind moved faster than my mouth and it just came out as incoherent babble. Which in return elicited a giggle from the blue unicorn and I felt my cheeks blush.
She moved towards me, making me slightly back away as she did. “Don't worry, I need to show you this.” Trixie smiled and pushed the book into my face, first making contact with my nose as the world around me went blank and I felt my body twist and turn as a horrible pain shot up through my spine.
.....