Upheaval: Breaking Point

Chapter 4: The Wheels Turn

With Twilight Sparkle sent safely back to the Heartland, Prince Terrato found himself in a fortress of anxious ponies, all waiting for him to issue orders or explain his presence in their fortress. He had heard the frightened whispers between some of the legionnaires. They feared that he was here because Fenrir was going to lead the next wolven attack. That was untrue. Several centuries had passed since he, Fenrir, Arugek, and Sesyth formed a pact to not involve themselves directly during battles. It was, perhaps, the only thing they agreed on.

He still remembered the last battle he had directly participated in. It was here at FangBreaker Fortress, where he led his ponies against Fenrir and his wolven. He had charged into the fray, laughing as he faced the giant wolf's gaping maw. The two of them eagerly threw themselves at each other in a frenzy of hooves, horn, fangs, and claws. When the battle rage in both of them faded enough to let them gain some awareness of the battle, they were fighting alone.

Terrato remembered that sight well. Before him, a carpet of corpses had stretched out as far as the eye could see. The sight was sickening, an image he knew he would carry into the centuries. One look at Fenrir's eyes told him that even the giant wolf knew that they had gone too far. The pact took place only hours later.

It was probably because of that battle that his presence unnerved the ponies of FangBreaker Fortress. He would have to assure them his business here had nothing to do with that. "Clear the room," he said. The guards in the audience chamber swiftly complied. Once he was alone, Terrato concentrated on a spell. His horn glowed faintly as an image of his older sister materialized before him. "I've done as you asked, Celestia. I trust that your protégé is now back in her home?"

"She is," Celestia replied. "Thank you for returning her, Terrato."

Terrato stared quietly at his sister for a while. A millennium had passed since he had last talked to her. Now, he got to speak with her twice in a day. She was still as he remembered her to be: radiantly white, her pastel mane soft and flowing, her chiseled features regal, and her eyes piercing yet calm. He noticed the change as well. There was an air of tension around her. Tension that he recognized with ease after many interrogations of ponies who had broken his laws. He saw defensiveness, suspicion, and a slight hint of fear. A lucky swipe from Arugek once managed to tear off a portion of his wing, but seeing these things on his sister's face was a deeper wound. Outwardly, he remained flippant. "You're welcome," he said. "You have an interesting student. She managed to use a pretty big mana battery without blowing herself up."

"She's my protégé," Celestia replied with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Funny things, those mana batteries," Terrato continued. "This whole matter reminds me of an incident around two hundred years ago. A rather high-ranking unicorn in the Legion decided to see what the realm he had been defending looked like. He stole a couple of those mana batteries to sneak past your barrier. After that, he sort of disappeared. You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you?"

Celestia remained perfectly calm when she answered, "I don't know what you're talking about, Terrato, but if that unicorn threatened to bring war to my realm, he brought whatever fate he met upon himself."

Terrato quelled an urge to snort. Ponies he caught lying seldom lived to try again. For Celestia, he could tolerate it. Barely. "That business aside, we didn't really get to chat this morning," he said. "Tell me, how's our baby sister? I hear she's back from her thousand-year time-out."

"Luna is doing well," Celestia replied. "She's still recovering after all she's been through."

"That's nice." Terrato let himself smile as fonder memories of his younger sister played themselves out. "Perhaps I'll have a little chat with her later."

A disapproving frown creased Celestia's face. "Terrato, she's scared that you'll still want to kill her after all this time."

The pleasant memories faded, replaced by ones involving that day. "Now where did she get that silly idea? Don't tell me you didn't fill in that crater I left from the last time!"

"Terrato." A glare followed the sharp rise in Celestia's tone.

Terrato let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll admit it," he said. "I still think I should have just executed her. Better a swift death than a thousand-year shackling to an abomination."

The defensiveness in Celestia's tone increased. "She's back, and she's fine," she answered. "How can you tell me that I made the wrong decision?"

"Are you sure?" Terrato asked grimly. "Can you honestly tell me that there are no lingering traces of Nightmare Moon?"

"Why must you bring this up, Terrato?" Celestia looked away when she spoke, giving Terrato the answer he suspected.

"Because you're doing it again, Celestia!" Terrato stomped, causing the walls to tremble. "You're hatching another half-baked plan that's going to turn around and bite your rear! You know as well as I do that a memory lock is not perfect, that a unicorn as gifted as your student is capable of breaking it with enough effort."

"Twilight Sparkle has no reason to try and break the memory lock," Celestia replied. "She would need a trigger. After a few days, she will be glad to dismiss that missing time in her mind."

This time, Terrato did snort. "That's a naïve plan."

"Enough!" Celestia's voice cracked. "She is my student and a pony of my realm! I will decide her fate, not you!"

"Is that so? Then tell me what your decision will be if she does remember! Banishment? Death? Do you think she will submit herself to another memory lock? If she spreads word before you catch her, how many ponies will pay for that slip?"

"That will never happen," Celestia answered. She looked away, jaws clenched. When she spoke again, she was quieter. "You promised to abide by my decisions, Terrato."

"I promised to defend you," Terrato answered, his tone as soft as her's had been. "I have, and I still do."

Celestia didn't answer again. Terrato sighed and dismissed the spell. "See you in a thousand years, dearest sister," he muttered. He left the audience chamber and walked towards the Commander's office. Recently, he had been receiving reports of a large amount of movement from the wolven. He may as well see to that while he was here.

It wasn't long before Vanguard Clash heard from one of the guards that Twilight Sparkle had subjected herself to a memory lock and was sent home. In his own quarters, he had plenty of time to think about what had happened. Part of him was relieved to know that she had not been executed or forced to stay in the Barrier Lands for the rest of her life. Another part questioned why he should even care, the same part that had earlier protested when he gave Twilight Sparkle his legionnaire emblem. His barding rested on a stand next to his bed, while his weapon hung by a wall. It was going to be some time before he would need them.

It had been impulsive act. He had hoped that Princess Celestia valued her precious student enough to want her back in Equestria Proper. He had also guessed that the only way to accomplish that was to somehow keep Twilight from remembering anything. Counting on those things, he had given her the emblem with the faint hope that it would help her overcome the spell.

Only after he left Twilight did he start to question why he would do such a thing. What had he hoped to accomplish by having a chosen pony live with the knowledge of what happened out here? He risked Princess Celestia's and Prince Terrato's wrath, and he didn't even know why.

Vanguard had never felt the need to be validated for what he did like Pyre Valor and some ponies did. He felt no connection to the Heartland and its ponies, and he didn't care if they knew that he existed. The Barrier Lands is his home, and he would fight to defend his home from invaders. His loyalty to his home meant loyalty to its ruler. If Prince Terrato supported Princess Celestia's decision to partition Equestria, then Vanguard did as well. He believed that wholly. Why then did he suddenly want to bring the truth to the Heartland? 'No,' he thought. 'This has nothing to do with the Heartland. I didn't do this for a bunch of ponies that I've never met.'

That train of thought led Vanguard to a conclusion he had suspected but wanted to avoid. It wasn't for ponies he had never met but for a pony that he had met.

"Why won't you give me a straight answer? Every time you explain something, you just throw in more questions!"

To Vanguard's surprise, he had actually felt sheepish. Leading her on then giving almost nothing was wrong, and he admitted it. He owed her some answers. Perhaps it was the way she asked. She was inquisitive, with a sincere desire to learn that somehow shone through, despite being in a strange land and being exposed to a violent encounter. He wanted to reply to that nature, but he also knew that it wasn't his place. Prince Terrato would decide how much she should know. Still, the thought of her leaving this place, and returning home with nothing, didn't sit well with him. That, he concluded, was what had pushed that emblem from his hoof to hers.

A knock on the door forced Vanguard to put aside his thoughts for later. "Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Pyre," came the answer. "May I come in?"

Vanguard opened the door and found himself face to face with his vice-captain. Pyre Valor's eyes widened when she saw him. He wondered why until he saw his barding on its stand, rather than on him, like usual. She looked away, not quite willing to meet his gaze. "Need something?" he asked.

"I…I wanted to apologize." Pyre Valor spoke quietly, a far cry from the angry one she used before. "I was acting like a nag during the mission: questioning your orders, and letting my temper get the better of me. It's just that…the chosen had me seeing red. I didn't expect that actually meeting one would rile me up so badly." She exhaled before continuing. "I'm making excuses. No wonder the commander picked you as captain."

"We both know that Dreadstep likely picked between the two of us by flipping a coin," Vanguard answered.

"Well, it's clear now that he didn't have to."

Vanguard sighed and put a hoof on Pyre's shoulder. "Apology accepted," he said. "Besides, you more than made up for it when we attacked that wolven camp. The entire place stank of roasted wolven once we were through," he said with a grin.

"So says the pony who cut his way to Cold Hoof before he could find out what the ruckus was about." Pyre Valor returned the smile. "Poor nag probably crapped a pile while staring at your blades."

Vanguard nodded, walking over to his bed. "I'm going to catch up on some sleep before our squad gets sent out again," he said. "Need anything else?"

She was silent for a while, but didn't leave. He raised an eyebrow at this.

"Vanguard…do you really think that Cold Hoof was insane?"

"He tried to sell out an entire fortress of his fellow ponies to Wolvengard," Vanguard replied. "I don't care what his reasons were. Anypony who can run off and let hundreds die is mad and has to be put down."

"I see. Enjoy your break then, Vanguard."

Pyre Valor left the room and closed the door. Lay on his back, Vanguard stared at the ceiling. "Catching up on sleep, huh?" he said to himself. Evening was approaching, and he wondered if the Heartland experienced night and day at the same time as the Barrier Lands. He shook his head. 'I'm over thinking things,' he thought. 'That emblem is probably gathering dust at some forgotten corner of her house, if she hasn't tossed it into a gutter yet.'

Spike woke to the morning's first rays, as was his routine. He had breakfast to prepare, then bedrooms to tidy up. The tedium of daily chores never did bother him much, but it bothered him even less today. He was only too happy to maintain a house for two occupants once more. 'Gonna have to tidy up the library too,' he thought. 'She was really at it last night.' He decided to delay breakfast and cleaning up Twilight's bedroom and started tidying up the rest of the house. Twilight was probably still asleep. Who knew what she went through when she disappeared? Not only that, she started going through her books when the strange coin fell out of her bag. She was still at it when he headed for bed.

Once most of the house was cleaned, Spike headed for the library expecting a gigantic mess.

When he looked downstairs, his jaw dropped.

He was partly right. Books had been strewn everywhere: flung across the floor, stacked in piles on tables, and haphazardly replaced in the shelves. What he didn't expect, however, was to find Twilight still inside. Several books were open before her, and she scanned through them quickly.

"Twilight!" Spike said in alarm. "Don't tell me you've been here all night!"

"Fine! I won't." Twilight closed one book and tossed it aside. Spike looked at the title: 'Arcane Symbols and Associated Meanings'. "Help me go through the rest of these, Spike."

Spike stepped past several scattered books, glancing at their titles as he did so: 'Ancient Equestrian Pictograms', 'Magical Bestiary', 'A Study on Heraldry', 'Giant Ponies: Myth or History?'. "Not until you put those books down and get some sleep!" he insisted. "You look awful!"

"What are you talking about?" Twilight snapped. "It's not that late!"

"You're right. It's not late, it's early. As in early morning!"

Twilight paused, and put the book she was reading down. "What?" she asked. "That can't be true."

Spike opened a nearby window, sending sunlight streaming into the room. "Get some sleep, Twilight," he insisted. "That coin's not going anywhere. Besides, what's so important about it?"

Twilight looked at the silver coin and winced. Spike bit his lip. What was that thing? What it did mean? It must be a clue to what happened to her she had disappeared. Whatever it was, it made her uneasy and incredibly desperate find out what its origins.

But Twilight's frantic searching had yielded nothing. From the look of the mess she had created, she hadn't found even the smallest reference to anything that the image on the coin could possible mean. Spike went over to look at the coin. The hoof crushing the creatures beneath it evoked wrath and violence, but he couldn't help but get hints of nobility from the image. It was probably because whoever the hoof belonged to had paid a price for attacking. The wolf, the bear and the snake seemed like enemies, and their reprisal for being crushed looked quite painful. He picked it up and turned it around.

And then there were the engraved words on the back of the coin. 'Nopony else needs to suffer'. What did that mean? He guessed that it was in reference to the hoof at the other side of the coin.

He couldn't understand why there were no references in the library though. Ponyville was a small settlement, but it had an impressive collection of books. Golden Oaks had never failed to identify something important before. She tried to stifle a yawn and failed. "You're right, Spike," she finally said. "I'm getting some sleep. Would you tidy things up here?"

Spike found himself both relieved and horrified by the response. He looked around and cringed at the amount of work he was about to do. With a sigh, he started cleaning. He was going to miss getting to take out Rarity's trash for her. Ah, the sacrifices he had to make...

Twilight staggered unto bed, staying upright long enough to place the coin on a bedside table. Despite her weariness, she was still thinking about what to do with the coin. She'd probably have to go to Canterlot and visit its library. There had to be something there. It was the repository of practically all knowledge in Equestria. Maybe she could also ask Princess Celestia.

At that thought, Twilight felt a sharp pain in her head. She winced and brought a hoof up to massage it. It wasn't just pain either. The sense of urgency and apprehension she felt when looking at the coin also intensified. She took it as a sign that she was going in the right direction. With a plan in place, she let herself drift off.