Chapters Beneath the Rainbow Tail, atop which sat the monastic city of Aesir-Bilröst, was a cavernous well sealed tightly by an embossed ring of muscular flesh.
When the first explorer managed to squeeze their way through the seal they were left dangling over an abyss. It took much coordinated effort to retrieve them, and the internal temperature was so high that they nearly fainted from exhaustion before they could be rescued.
In order to properly explore the place, architects from Aesir Bilröst and engineers from the Mark came together to develop a great machine that was then assembled around the seal.
Supported by sturdy pillars and arches, the device looked like an industrial coliseum. Reaching inward like the arms of a praying mantis from seven places on the great henge were pneumatic arms that were carefully lowered as far into the entrance as possible.
When the machine was activated, each arm retracted in unison, slowly pulling open the entryway and creating a sustained opening.
An artificial ring was forged and installed to wedge the entrance open indefinitely from within, after which the bulky contraption that had pried open the well was disassembled.
Starswirl had overseen all of this from the workers’ camp, and made preparations for an expedition immediately after. Leading the expedition team was his apprentice, Celeste; named after the sun-mother herself.
Equipped with cables and harnesses, as well as enchanted crowns that projected light, the spelunkers rappelled down the soft walls of the well, delving into the heated abyss.
The well was vast, and even the beam of their headlamps could barely pick out the delver directly opposite them. Then they saw a light down below. Little more than a faint glow at first, it grew quickly as they went, as if it was moving towards them.
Before long it was all around them, the walls of the well fading away into blinding white. The light washed over the explorers and Celeste felt her stomach lurch.
Before they knew it, they were standing in a stone amphitheater, the walls of the tunnel having vanished into a hazy mist behind them. No longer did they feel the pull that had dragged them down before, and neither were they arrayed in a circle around the tunnel, merely fanned out like soldiers on the move.
Behind them, their cables had gone slack and disappeared into the fog.
All around the stone structure was a sky of crisp, empty blue. Before them was a semi-circle of pillars, between which were colorful sigils that seemed to be floating in the air.
One Celeste recognized as the crescent moon of Sol Celestia’s younger sister. The others were unfamiliar: a six-pointed star and a crystalline heart.
The other explorers advanced behind her as she approached the sigils. With a tap Celeste disabled the glow of her lamp and the others did the same, for it was bright here in spite of the apparent lack of stars in the cold blue empyrean.
Celeste stopped, sparing a thought for the team waiting back up on the surface. She instructed one of her team members to return, if possible, and report what they found to the best of their ability.
The pony—whose name was Sunset—gingerly stepped into the mist, tugging on her cord as she went until it finally pulled taught. Another couple of tugs transmitted the request to be pulled up.
Celeste had already moved on, having made up her mind to try and interact with one of the sigils. She chose the star, not really knowing why, and bravely pressed on, as Sunset had, through the mist beyond.
It surrounded her, and a few things happened rather quickly after that. She reactivated her crown as the light began to fade, and at the same time felt her stomach lurch again. For a brief moment she caught a glimpse of tunnel walls, then fell backward into the light and tumbled out through the mist into the amphitheater.
Her remaining team members rushed to check on her, but she waved them away.
It seemed that somehow there was another tunnel through the mist behind the sigil, only if they wanted to traverse this one they would have to climb up, not down.
Not long after Sunset, the rest of the expedition returned.
Adding to Sunset’s report, Celeste told Starswirl about the new tunnel and gave her thoughts on how to proceed.
She asserted that they establish a base-camp within the amphitheater, which itself she deemed worthy of study, and Starswirl agreed on both accounts.
Together this time, their team laden with supplies, Starswirl and Celeste descended into the well.
Starswirl was impressed with the mysterious realm, which held none of the tunnel’s heat. When he beheld the three sigils a memory returned to him, and when he asked which sigil Celeste had tried he was not surprised to find that she had chosen the star.
Once the tents were pitched and the supplies unpacked, Celeste began preparations for the ascent while Starswirl’s followers meticulously catalogued everything in their colorful manuscripts, to be stored later in the annals of Aesir-Bilröst.
Coming from below this time, they would have some difficulty prying open the seal. For that purpose, a smaller ring was forged that could hold the exit open wide enough for a single individual to pass through at a time.
For the installation of the new ring a device was needed to wedge open the seal long enough. A number of ideas were considered before the decision was made to use an inflatable wedge that could be easily removed.
They would use the inflatable ring to expand the opening wide enough to allow somepony to climb through it carrying the metal ring. Then, they would install it from above, simultaneously dislodging the temporary one.
The remaining issue was that of ascending the shaft. Cleats were considered, but ultimately the solution came from Sunset. It seemed so painfully obvious they were surprised it didn’t come up first.
They needed a pegasus.
Author's Note
Here is the first part of an odd story about exploration and space colonies. I have a mind to add more chapters as I feel like, over-time creating a bizarre history of civilization in this world of divine horse-planets.
After the Nightmare Conflict many unicorns left Solaris and made the journey along the High Road to Aesir-Bilröst. Many of the Dispossessed settled near the Seam or around the base of the White Mountains. Most of the pegasi migrated that way also, and built the Zweiholds on the mountain peaks. Those that remained in Solaris chose to fortify the city into a smaller, sturdier Citadel.
Starswirl spent some time in meditation before he left in search of an adventurous pegasus willing to risk the dangers of the well. He scried the tail for clairvoyance, as he had before, but saw only a rainbow of colors.
Nevertheless, he departed with a caravan of gifts and traveled the High Road to the Citadel. Unsurprisingly, he found none there willing to leave their fortress-city, let alone brave the descent into the well.
He carried on toward the White Peaks, rounding the Point as he did before, and soon after the caravan arrived at the base of the mountains where the ancient ruin sat in silence, as it had since the war’s end.
Great walls now crowned the peaks with a bridge between them, and below a village had sprouted among the ruins, from whose pony-folk Starswirl enlisted a sherpa to guide his ascent.
So they climbed, though most of his caravan remained at the village. A select few were chosen to accompany him, hauling the precious gifts to the summit, and when they reached the looming gatehouse they were met with wariness.
That is, until Starswirl was recognized by the young captain of the guard, whose name was Magnus.
Magnus gave the party leave to enter, escorting them across the narrow bridge that spanned the cleavage and into the other keep where the watch commander and de-facto ruler of the mountain tribe, a pegasus known as Hurricane, sat uneasily on a throne at the end of a long hall. When he saw Magnus and Starswirl he straightened up, and welcomed them in warm, inviting tones.
There was a feast held there then, combining the resources of the holds with the gifts brought by the guests. Hurricane asked many questions of Starswirl during that time, and to Starswirl the commander seemed like one who would rather be in the field than on the throne.
However, the time soon came for Starswirl to ask a question of the commander, one that made him scratch his chin. He called for his guard to assemble and told Starswirl to look among them for the one he sought, and should he find them, he would have them.
Uncertainty plagued the wizened seer, until he came upon a comparatively short guardspony with a determined expression and a muted-rainbow mane. He then realized he had found his guidance in the rainbow-tail after all, but only now recognized it for what it was.
“What is your name?” he asked the pony.
“Private Yearling, sir.” said the diminutive guard, saluting curtly.
With the pegasus mare in tow, the visitors departed the Zweiholds in good standing and returned to the rest of the caravan. They rested awhile, then left on the return journey, during which the young private saw many new things and marveled.
Yet it was Aesir-Bilröst and the rainbow-tail, which she had only before glimpsed as a distant aurora, that expanded her mind.
She and Starswirl descended below the tail, to the campsite near the well, and the young private saw for herself what she would be getting into.
And in she went, along with Starswirl, rappelling down despite her wings just to be safe. It was far to fall if something went wrong, and Starswirl didn’t intend to send the pony hurtling out of the fog and into the basecamp.
Into the light they went, and out they came into the amphitheater base-camp. Yearling was in awe, and felt already that the journey was worth the trouble. The idea that there was still more to come excited her more than anything ever had.
The private was swiftly introduced to Celeste, who eagerly began briefing her on her role in the great scheme.
First, Celeste introduced her to challenge ahead, letting her experience for herself what was beyond the star-sigil. The first time she stumbled backward, like Celeste had. The second time she readied her wings and was able to maintain level on the other side before returning.
Next, Yearling was fitted with a special harness that would allow her to carry the inflatable ring, trailing the hose that connected it to an air pump at base-camp, as well as the all-important small metal ring.
She rose steadily, using the light from her helmet to keep away from the walls. When at last she reached the exit, she wedged the inflatable ring in as far as she could, then pulled the release, sending air through the hose.
She watched as the seal opened and light trickled through. As soon as she was able, she unhooked the hose and slipped through herself.
She alighted on the surface, which was a peculiar, faded magenta. Nearly finished, she took the metal ring and forced it into the opening, successfully displacing the inflatable one and securing the portal to the new frontier.
She let the apparatus fall back into the amphitheater as it was designed to, and took a moment to admire her surroundings before following after it.
Close enough that she could pick out the leaves, the golden boughs of the Tree of Harmony reached out to this place. In the other direction, she was saw what could be nothing other than Sol Celestia, though as far away as the branches were close.
I really have travelled a long way from the Zweiholds , she thought. Upon returning to the amphitheater she relayed what she had seen, and Celeste started making plans for a colony.
Author's Note
Another chapter about ponies traveling on ponies, with some more familiar faces!
With no threat from without and relative peace within the sturdy walls of the Citadel, restlessness prevailed over tranquility. The steam-engine was developed by a coalition of Unicorn arcanists and Dispossessed engineers, and soon after the first locomotive was revealed.
After only a single successful demonstration work began on a city-spanning rail network, but many ambitious eyes turned to the unsettled regions of Sol Celestia, previously thought to be too remote for expansion.
Starswirl, seemingly always to be found at the forefront of great new endeavors, journeyed with the tracklayers as they drove along the flank and onto the back of Sol Celestia, excited by the prospect of a locomotive that could one day make travel between tail and crown feasible, now that the portal had closed.
When the sisters had briefly awoken and their gazes had met he was there, standing upon the precipice of convergence. At the same time, a young pony named Somnambula had a dream-vision which lead her to Aesir-Bilröst.
There she remained for a time, studying to interpret her dreams, yet the dreams eventually morphed into exhausting nightmares so terrible that the poor girl began to avoid sleep whenever possible. Starswirl hypothesized that her dreams were somehow connected to the Sisters' rotation, and decided to bring her along as he journeyed with a small band of Dispossessed, scouting the lands ahead of the tracklayers.
There was disappointingly little to be found in the vast wasteland between wither and loin, but the camping was pleasant and there was plenty to drink. The Dispossessed drank a hard brew made from the sparkly fluid harvested at the Seam, which made Somnambula's head swim pleasantly.
During the first few nights Somnambula hardly slept, but as the journey took them further into nowhere she was able to sleep more and more, the fast moving visions slowing down until one night she found herself walking in darkness toward a baleful fire contained within a shallow metal bowl. Looming above the flame was an immense, shadowy presence with yellow eyes and a bleached smile like a crescent moon.
Upon awakening she relayed it all to Starswirl who spent the next day or so pondering while they travelled. The baleful flame and crescent moon reminded him of the War of the Sisters, and the burning scar that had since faded to ash.
When Sol Celestia's back had turned on the Tree once more, the two of them sat by the fire and Starswirl revealed his thoughts on the meaning of her dream, careful to express that he felt much still remained uncertain.
He told her of the coming return of the alignment and his hope to cross the bridge over to the Young Moon. He also expressed his hope of establishing contact with the survivors of the scar, freed as they were from the Nightmare.
As for the presence behind the flame he could not say, but suggested that it would reveal itself in time should they follow the clues they had.
Meanwhile, the tracklayers had made good progress, following the markers left by the scouts. A locomotive had been assigned to the unfinished track, and kept the workers busy by ferrying supplies to them, aiding in the construction of its own track and making the process easier.
The lack of landmarks was still troubling, mainly because there was little point in establishing permanent settlements along the rout. Still, Starswirl assured them that having a swift way to traverse the wasteland would pay off in the end, and as they approached the radiance of the rainbow mane the workers started to believe him.
There was a clarity of mind that came upon them as they approached the mane, which seemed to rain down from it. Even Somnambula felt her anxieties melt away. She felt strong, safe and more like herself than she had since she was a filly.
Starswirl harbored an ambition to crest the head and build a lighthouse. From this tower he would observe the rotations of the Sisters and the event of their alignment. Eventually, he hoped to cross the bridge of horns and build a sister tower.
He intended to remain in the first tower and be its keeper, hoping that Somnambula would be the keeper of the other lighthouse. Now more than ever he was sure of that idea, and not just because of the proximity to the mane. Her vision showed her something, and whatever it was she would find it on the Young Moon.
It was decided that a way-station be built upon the plateau of the withers, along with a warehouse and servicing yard. From that vantage one could gaze out across the waste of the back and see the glow of the rainbow-tail on the horizon.
Starswirl and Somnambula carried on to scout the location of the tower, and to show the girl a view that none save Starswirl himself had ever seen, so far as he knew.
The climb was magical, in more ways than one. Treading near the source of the mane, which flowed away from the climb of the neck like water was an experience that would ever remain with Somnambula; one that she would call upon in memory to sooth and inspire her.
As they reached the crown Somnambula hesitated, but Starswirl merely stepped into the ethereal mane. She followed after him, and for a brief moment she felt utterly secure in the knowledge that there were greater mysteries beyond the scope of comprehension, and was not afraid. The knowledge felt intrinsic, as plain as all things mundane, yet otherwise obscured. A thought flared inside her mind, telling her what was missing; what shroud, now withdrawn, had been hiding the truth.
Doubt.
Then they were on the horn, and the previous moment's revelations vanished from her mind, leaving only the lingering feeling that she was forgetting something.
Together, she and Starswirl stood at the precipice of Sol Celestia, gazing out into the gap between bodies.
How far they had come.
Author's Note
Wrote this one mostly while I was falling asleep, which seems fitting…
