The Old Kingdom
Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 52: The Old Kingdom
When the Old Kingdom Council started creating “tributary projects” in preparation for the coming of Oceanus, the earth pony faction focused their efforts on what would be their mightiest creation: the Coldsteel Construct. The companion, Smart Cookie, led the project having been already known for her many similar creations.
Each step that the thing took sent ominous shudders across the earth. Its enormous metal plates gleamed against the sunlight while the hundreds of crystalline fragments embedded into them glittered. Underneath the armor, great, ropy striations, like giant exposed muscles, could be seen. The Coldsteel Construct was big enough to be at eye-level with a siege tower. If the thing had eyes. Where its face should be, there was only a glittering metal plate.
The design and specifics were Smart Cookie’s, but labor and materials were provided for by Puddinghead. According to translated documents, several mines had to be shut down and all their supplies of raw disruptor crystals were confiscated. An earth pony clan was left completely destitute by this resource drain. Puddinghead’s clan was quick to sell them to Platinum for additional coin necessary to forge the massive coldsteel parts needed for the construct.
The first and second wave of Legion bolts swarmed the Coldsteel Construct like a cloud of hornets, and had the same effect as hornets attacking an anvil. Great bolts of magic, from lightning, to fire, to raw concussive telekinesis followed. The thing did not even slow its ponderous gait, taking the magical pounding with neither dent nor scratch. Several ballistae fired, but their bolts shattered and fell away.
Unlike the pegasus tributary project, the Coldsteel Construct was never used in actual combat. It was hidden away within the capital and was lost when Oceanus’s Embrace was activated. The decision not to use it against our forces gives credence to the notion that the Six Companions already understood that the battle was lost and were preparing to seal themselves away until Oceanus awakened. With the seals around the Old Kingdom already in place, it is impossible to verify its state or the state of the other constructs that Smart Cookie designed.
Luna dearly wanted to join in. She knew that she could prevent a great many deaths if she lent her strength to the Legion for this encounter. The sight of the “tributary project” also ignited a trembling sense of rage. The firstborn didn't deserve so much as a spit in his direction, let alone a towering behemoth of metal and gems powered by something more despicable than what it hinted at. She wanted to wrench every plate from this thing, turn it into a pile of junk so twisted that even its makers wouldn't be able to make sense of what it was supposed to be. She wanted to tear down the rest of the Old Kingdom brick by brick. Let no reminder of a time when Oceanus was welcome anywhere remain.
“I will call you to my side...”
Not one thing.
The Old Kingdom’s broken gates beckoned, however. Smaller constructs emerged from the depths of the ruin. Their plating looked more fragile and used more sparingly, exposing coils of wires and sets of gears like mechanical guts. Some were pony-shaped, others more bizarre in their design, as if torn straight out of whatever feverish nightmares that plagued Smart Cookie. One had the top half of a pony mounted on a set of five spidery legs. Another resembled a squid that dragged itself along drill-tipped tentacles. None of them noticed the small group of silent, invisible ponies sidling past them and into the ruins.
Luna grit her teeth as the sounds of battle grew louder behind her. Blue Moon’s reasoning was sound. They needed to push farther in. The Legion would have to deal with this. Though her spell kept the group invisible to other observers, it didn't keep them invisible to each other. Anxiety also gripped her sister and her friends. They also felt the urge to stay and fight: Applejack looked ready to bolt, Rainbow Dash also restlessly glanced back to the fray from time to time, Pinkie Pie kept her head low and her gaze forward, Rarity simply walked ahead grimly. It was Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy who seemed intent on going deeper into the ruins.
There were other concerns as well. As Luna moved closer and closer to such a great concentration of the firstborn’s power, a revolting sense of elation welled from within. There was a hurry in her steps she struggled to get rid of. She shook her hooves, as if the anxiety was some kind of muck clinging to her. It didn't help. All it did was elicit a worried glance from her sister.
Luna couldn’t answer that glance. This wasn't the time to bring out her situation. What would happen if she did? Would they offer their support? Would they even trust her when they were plunging deep into the Old Kingdom? Her brother promised that he would not allow Oceanus to have anything, but Terrato was missing, seemingly swallowed whole by the power he promised he would stop. If Terrato couldn't hold back the power of abyss, what could she-?
“Luna...” Celestia’s soft tone, barely even a whisper, snapped Luna out of her downward spiraling reverie. Celestia walked by her side, the worried glance had turned into a concerned stare. “Are you still tired, little sister? I could lend you some strength.”
Luna shook her head. “No,” she said just as softly. “I've recovered enough. I’ll be fine so long as nopony starts losing limbs.” The last part had been meant only as some form of measurement. As soon as she said it, however, she winced when the others glanced at the bloody handkerchief wrapped around Fluttershy’s face.
Fluttershy didn’t seem to notice. If she did, she showed no signs of cringing at the attention. She looked more intent on studying their surroundings. Luna could sympathize with that. They were surrounded by a monument to firstborn, they had to focus on orienting themselves and getting used to its appearance.
A strange atmosphere surrounded the entirety of the Old Kingdom. Descending the crater was like slipping through a thin veil of water. Above, the cloudy winter sky looked to be clearing up. More sunlight filtered through the clouds. It barely mattered here. Whatever presence they had entered muted the light that hit the ruins. It was no fog of darkness, but the shadows thrown by the many ruined structures seemed to ripple slightly. Luna had to squint just to get some details around the place. It was as if everything was just ever so slightly out of focus. Then the smell...the smell was horrid and it belied the sterile look of the place. There wasn't a patch of mold or a piece of rotting flesh in sight, but the cloying, lingering traces of decay hung heavily on the air. Luna didn't dare take a deep breath, fearing that taking so much of this foul air at once would corrode her lungs beyond any healing.
The group quickly moved away from the main road that led through the gates of the Old Kingdom. A steady stream of clanking, whining, and grinding metal flooded the main road as more and more monstrosities fed the growing battle between the Legion and the Old Kingdom’s mechanical reserves. They sidled through a passageway between two broken buildings and hunkered down.
“What now?” Rainbow asked. The strain in her voice, a product of having to move so carefully and hold back her enthusiasm, was evident. “Where should we go?”
“Down is the most obvious answer,” Celestia said. “Remember that the Old Kingdom was built over the Blasphemous Rift, and the heart of the rift contains the Foul Weapon. We must keep going down.” She looked over to Twilight, whose eyebrows had furrowed in deep thought. “Twilight?”
“Something that I read about this place...” Twilight said. “If I recall correctly, we need to find a tower. Translations from some Old Kingdom texts said that the Six Companions discovered an existing structure before construction of this place even began. They supposedly used it to ‘ascend the depths to the abyss’.” Her eyes narrowed further. “It was also written that none of them managed to complete the journey so they guarded it jealously.”
“Ascend the depths?” Rarity asked. “Talk about bad grammar. Was Lexarius turning into Discord by the time this translation was made?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Sure, let’s chalk that up to the list of bad things he did: went insane, spread chaos, and had bad grammar.” She tugged at her chain. “Anyway, let’s go find this tower. I don’t want to spend any moment longer than we have to here. This place gives me the creeps, what’s with all those weird root designs all over the buildings? They look so nasty.”
“Those aren't roots,” Twilight said. She put a hoof against one side of a building and traced the building design that Applejack was talking about. All the walls and great portions of the streets of the Old Kingdom had long, coiling tentacles built into the stonework. Some were not thicker than a foreleg, others around the same size as an oak’s trunk. It looked as if the city played host to the roots of a gigantic tree or was infested with thousands of enormous worms. “They’re the tentacles of Oceanus. They’re built all over the Old Kingdom, from the plazas and courtyards to the houses. Even the smallest bathroom or bedroom has, at least, one. They were supposed to represent that, from the most public to the most private affairs, the will of the Deep Father held sway.”
“Disgusting,” Rarity said with a shudder. “Garish too. Why would anypony want to live in a house that looked like it was about to be dragged away by a squid?”
“I don’t know,” Pinkie said. She pressed her front hooves against her eyes and let out a moan. “But it’s kind of hurting my eyes. And my brain.”
“You’re being oppressed,” Celestia said. Everypony turned towards her. “There is more to the Old Kingdom's design than mere aesthetics. Focus, my little ponies, we are not going on a little tour. The moment we entered those gates, we had already started fighting against this place.”
They huddled closer after that. Rainbow Dash flew up, trying to ascend to a high enough point without drawing any attention. A moment later, she flew back down to them. “I don’t see any tower,” she said. “If there’s one, it’s probably destroyed.”
“Big sister, what about your location spells?” Luna asked.
The golden brilliance radiating from Celestia's horn held the stifling atmosphere at bay for a bit. “Not much better,” she said. "The power of abyss is so thick here, using my magic is like trying to keep a torch lit in a blizzard. To make matters worse, this place is under a powerful dimensional lock. I do not know if it’s a function of the power of abyss or a remnant of Lexarius’s seal.” She stared at Luna. “Did it trouble you as much to maintain those stealth spells?”
Luna shook her head. “No. I would guess that the power of abyss has a particular distaste for the power of sunlight.”
Celestia turned towards Twilight. “You've seen the maps of this place, haven’t you?” she asked.
Twilight nodded. “Not just seen, your highness, memorized.” The pride was unmistakable in her tone. “I know where the tower to the abyss should be!”
“Good.” Celestia mirrored that pride with a smile. “We will need that. No doubt, these side-streets would have been confusing enough during the Old Kingdom’s height. The decay and the stagnation of the power of abyss here would have made things worse.”
“Worse?” Luna asked. “What do you mean, big sister? Do you mean the damages caused by flooding and the poor lighting?”
“Not just that,” Celestia said. “You were not there during the immediate aftermath of the first rebellion. Great sections of Empyrea were warped by the passage of the power of abyss. If the Six Companions were toying with even the lingering presence of it, we should expect...oddities.” She looked to Twilight and her friends. “Do not let your attention linger too long on the architecture. Remember that the power of abyss can and will hurt you in ways you may not expect.”
“We’ll be ready,” Twilight said. As they resumed moving through the side-street, Celestia’s horn continued to glow. Her persistent location, combined with the knowledge Twilight had gleaned, should have a sure path to their goal despite the warping of this place.
Now that they were away from the main road, it also became clear that whatever was muting the light had a similar effect on sound. While they had no problem hearing each other, the whining and grinding sounds of metal against stone quickly faded into faint scratching, even though they haven’t walked that far.
Far from being serene, the silence of the Old Kingdom only served to emphasize the unnerving sounds that reached them. Faint whispers drifted through the stale air. The words, when they could be made out, made no sense in either Equestrian or Old Kingdom. It wasn't just whispers either. An out of place hoof-step, the creak of a door swinging, a light clink of some small metal thing landing somewhere...once in a while, the could be heard, always brief and at a distance, always dancing between being imagined and actually heard.
They were on a very slight downward slope. The Old Kingdom was built like a massive crater. The entrance was along the very edges of it and the central plaza was close to the very center. The side-streets were warped as Celestia had predicted, some in the most bizzare ways. They didn't always travel on a flat surface. Sometimes, the street curved or distorted like a crumpled ribbon. Shadowy doorways to ruined buildings beckoned entry, only to disappear when looked at again. A distant light sometimes appeared in some of the windows. They flickered and vanished around their peripheries. A few times, the warping was so confusing that Twilight paused for minutes trying to piece together enough clues to where to go next.
They approached the central plaza. Around it should be the three faction buildings of the Old Kingdom: the palace of Princess Platinum, which also served as Clover the Clever’s library, the laboratory and headquarters of Commander Hurricane and Pansy, and the Earthworks of Smart Cookie and Puddinghead. From a distance, it looked like none of them had survived.
Cracks and small potholes pockmarked the gray-green stone pavement they walked on. The surface had the sheen of dampness everywhere. Small puddles of water collected in the indentures, although these did not have the mirror-like finish of the lake. The stone was cold, unnaturally so. Despite her silver, Herd-forged shoes, Luna shivered. The walls were just as bad.
“It’s kinda weird that this place is so clean,” Rainbow Dash said. She was the only pony flying around and the draft from her wings blew more of the foul, cold air towards Luna’s face. She didn't chastise the pegasus, however. Rainbow Dash looked restless and uneasy. If flying helped with that, then Luna didn’t mind. “I thought there’d be more dead bodies around.”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped. “That’s distasteful!”
“Hey, it’s not like I want more dead bodies around! Remember Clover the Clever’s refuge? It had a bunch of dead bodies floating around even after hundreds of years!” Her voice lowered. “I’m just wondering what happened to all the ponies who lived here if their city just got swallowed by a lake, that’s all.”
“Don’t jinx it, sugarcube,” Applejack said. She glanced towards the darkened entrances to the many ruined buildings around them. “We just might find out.”
“M-m-maybe...” Pinkie Pie whimpered. The others looked to where she was pointing. “Maybe they all got washed down there.”
The side-street they were following split in two, one which led to the main plaza, while the other continued to wind into a veritable maze of ruins. The plaza was not infested with Smart Cookie’s monstrosities, much to their relief. It seemed that the horrible constructs that were attacking the Legion were coming from some place else.
Indeed, the plaza was bereft of anything save for a wide flat space and a hole around a couple dozen feet across. The tentacles of Oceanus swirled around the hole and down it. From their spot, it was difficult to tell if a great many of the things were wriggling in or wriggling out. Six pedestals surrounded the hole symmetrically. All were nearly completely destroyed. One still had a large fragment of the statue sitting on it intact. It looked like the hind legs of a pony rearing up and over the hole.
While the sight proved disturbing enough, the sounds near the place was worse. There were ponies crying: the distant whimpers of a hurt foal and the stifled sobs of older ponies. It was impossible to focus on them. The sounds had a life of their own, drifting to the periphery whenever somepony tried to listen better.
“What is that?” Rainbow asked. “Some kind of well?”
Celestia’s eyes narrowed. She already knew what it was, as did Luna. Neither of them wanted to explain. When the other bearers looked to Twilight Sparkle, they knew one was coming anyway.
“Not a well,” Twilight said. “A pit. If that’s the main plaza then that would be the Pit of Rejects.”
“R-rejected what?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“The Six Companions wanted their ‘Everlasting Kingdom’ to be perfect,” Twilight said. She kicked aside a piece of rubble and stared at the pit in disgust. “That included the residents. Every foal born had to pass stringent qualifications. Those that failed...well...they were rejected.”
Rarity swallowed. “Rejected as in...they were thrown down there?”
Twilight looked towards the side-streets. “The parents were expected to spend the next three days begging for forgiveness and promising to do better. Let’s go, girls, the tower should just be a little way off now that we've reached this point. If you don’t mind, I don’t want to pass that way.”
Nopony said anything, but they did take the other street. The gentle sobbing faded as they put the forsaken pit behind them.
“Wait, are heading for that weird dome?” Rainbow Dash asked. She no longer needed to put in so much effort in keeping her voice subdued. Even her wing beats slowed just to keep from making too much noise. “I thought we were looking for a tower?”
“The maps I read all point to that spot as the place for the tower to the abyss,” Twilight said. “I know it doesn't look like a tower, but I don’t think we should be relying on looking when it comes things like the abyss."
They skirted around the main plaza, past the wreckage of the three main buildings of the Old Kingdom. Nearly nothing had been left of the three buildings. Perhaps it was better that way.
The dome-shaped structure, however, was mostly intact. Its walls had a glossy white finish, smooth as worked marble and easily distinguished from the gray-green stone that comprised the rest of the city. Not only that, there were no signs of cracking anywhere around it. The entrance was a doorway that would have allowed a fully grown dragon through.
Hoof-steps echoed throughout the empty building when they entered. The floor inside was spotless and as white as the outer walls. The space was uncluttered as well. If this was some other city in Equestria, Luna would have assumed that this was a parading ground or a place of gathering. She looked to the ceiling. There might be something that could clue them in on what this so-called tower to the abyss really was. They certainly were not doing any climbing or descending in this emptiness. She looked up...and gasped.
The ceiling was also white and partially luminescent. Despite the dark atmosphere of the Old Kingdom, they could see much better here, enough to clearly make out the incredible detail on the murals above them.
The face of Oceanus stared at them from the very center of the ceiling. At least, it was a depiction of Oceanus’s face. Luna was already sure that the firstborn was not black, nor did he have a wriggling mass of tentacles for a mane. The sides depicted scenes from what she could guess was a history of the Old Kingdom. Three separate nations were shown at one part: a city above the clouds, a grand castle high in the mountains and villages across a wide plain. A little to the right showed the same nations surrounded by six great pony shapes of swirling whites and blues.
“The windigos,” Twilight Sparkle said softly as she stared at the same part of the mural. “This must be the starting point. The windigos were the ones that forced the early ponies to seek the power of Oceanus.”
“Ag’thelos,” Fluttershy said. She was also staring at that part of the mural. “Mina’ros, Cos’tys, Mene’tys, Er'bos, and Lok’horus.”
Everypony stared at Fluttershy. Twilight’s jaw dropped while the others looked with concern.
“Fluttershy, how do you know those names?” Twilight asked. For a moment, Fluttershy didn't even seem to hear them. She continued to look at that particular section of the mural as if she was looking at an old family photograph.
“Fluttershy?” Celestia asked.
“Huh?" Fluttershy turned around and winced when she saw them all staring at her.
“How do you know all those names?” Celestia asked.
“Well...um...” Fluttershy pawed the floor nervously. “I...I don’t really know...I must have read them off one of those books in Canterlot...I think...”
“What else do you know about them?” No suspicion marred Celestia’s voice. Indeed, she sounded genuinely interested, as if Fluttershy brought up a fun little topic at a tea party. Luna wondered if her sister suddenly decided to pick this time to show off how well she could lie or if she meant every word.
The effect was immediate; Fluttershy relaxed and went back to looking at the mural. “Well,” she said, “They were...friends...I think. They were a small group within the Equos de Abysso. When Regia Carnifex left, they started thinking that they didn't want to serve as well. So they...they severed the tie.”
Luna looked to her sister. “Enforcers cutting off their tie?” she asked incredulously. “Is this even possible?”
“The bond between an alicorn summoner and his or her enforcers is tightly knit, sometimes to the point where even they find it difficult to determine where they begin and end,” Celestia replied. “I've never seen it happen, or even heard of such a thing. Still, I imagine that it is possible. Ultimately, enforcers can make their own decisions if cornered in such a way, and I’m sure Oceanus’s actions were extreme enough to give even some of his enforcers pause.”
“But I've never heard of enforcers going around without an alicorn,” Luna said. “What would have happened to them?”
“Let’s ask, shall we?” Celestia looked back to Fluttershy. “What happened then?”
“The pain was...it was unbearable,” Fluttershy pressed a hoof against her ruined eye. “They went blind with it...turned their rage on everything around them." Her gaze went from the scene where the windigos surrounded the three nations to where they were chasing a large group of ponies. Blue-white swirls had tangled a few of the fleeing ponies. The next scene showed six ponies wreathed in blackness, the Six Companions, standing against the windigos. “They lost in the end.”
“Fluttershy, I’m definitely sure there is no way you could have read that somewhere,” Twilight said.
Fluttershy looked blankly at Twilight, and then to the rest of her concerned friends. “Isn't there?” she asked. “I mean...where else would I have found out?”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You sounded like you were there. Like you knew each of those windigos. Like you felt their pain.”
Fluttershy shrank from Twilight and looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I don’t know how I know!”
“Sugarcube, are you okay?” Applejack asked. “You've been acting mighty strange since...well...since you got-!”
“Hammered to a pulp!” Rainbow said. She ignored the glares shot her way. “What gives, Fluttershy? You’re creeping us out with the scary eye-blasting and this history lesson from nowhere!”
Fluttershy dropped to a low crouch, pressing a hoof against her ruined eye even harder. “I...don’t know! I don’t-!”
A white-feathered wing draped over Fluttershy. “Hush, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “I believe you.”
“Big sister, do you know what’s going on?” Luna asked. She hoped that the answer was a definite “yes”. Being attended to by enforcers was no common gift among alicorns and knowledge about them, despite the Eternal Herd’s long history, was scarce. Even the enforcers themselves had little self-knowledge and they had never been inclined to discover.
“Not quite,” Celestia said. The glow around her horn brightened briefly. “I do know that this is no case of possession, replacement, or any sort of malicious action by one of the Equos de Abysso. I would have noticed something so obvious and that is not how enforcers act.”
“Then what’s wrong with her?” Twilight asked. She cringed when Celestia answered with a stern look.
“It would be too quick on our part to assume that something wrong has happened,” Celestia said. “Something obviously has and the involvement of the Equos de Abysso is troubling. Let’s not forget, however, that Fluttershy is alive right now because of this change.”
Silence washed over them like another stifling wave of the ruined city’s foulness. Rainbow Dash actually landed and stared at her hooves. Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Sorry,” she said. “For not trusting you.”
“It’s alright, Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t really trust me right now.”
“We must focus on more pressing matters,” Celestia said. “The magical energies around this place have been recently disturbed. Black Rose has clearly gone this way.”
“But we've gone as low as we can go!” Applejack said. She tapped the floor with her hooves. “Sounds pretty solid to me.”
Applejack yelped when golden light flared next to her hooves. The other huddled closer to the princesses as the light began to trace a circular pattern that spanned nearly the entire floor of the dome. Luna studied the markings and shook her head. “Necromantic array,” she said. “This is bad.”
“Indeed,” Celestia said. “The array is very old, likely inscribed by the Six Companions themselves when they frequented this place.”
“Why is that a problem?” Twilight asked.
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “The problem, Twilight Sparkle, is that I am not even half the necromancer my brother is,” she glanced towards Celestia. “And I’m better than big sister at it.”
Celestia frowned and looked away. “It is a rare gift,” she said. “One I would not have used if I did have it. Regardless, Luna, you can decipher these things better than I can. What can you tell from them?”
Luna studied the array for several minutes, following the wide circle across the huge space. Unlike her sister, she did wish she had the talent for Necromancy. The school was often maligned -sometimes even by its own practitioners- for its manipulation of things like grudge, necrotic energies, and life force, but it had its uses as this difficult array was proving. After what may have been half an hour, she looked towards the others. “Oddly enough, this is a form of transport spell,” she said.
“But transportation spells belong to Summoning Conjurations,” Twilight said. “Shouldn't Princess Celestia be able to use it easily then?”
“If it was to travel to a more conventional place it would be,” Luna replied. “This spell will take its targets to the base of the tower. It is a place at the very edge of the abyss created by the Foul Weapon and will swallow anypony foalish enough to traverse it without preparations.” She traced one section of the glowing circle with her hoof. “Right here is an incantation for a pact with the power of abyss. With some modification, my sister and I can use it to protect all of you from being swallowed.” She didn't mention another detail she noticed, something which she was sure her sister had noticed as well: the circle strongly resembled an Eternal Herd array. Either the Six Companions had some outside help making it or this thing was here before even the Old Kingdom was built. Oceanus would not have needed this, neither would his strongest servants. What was it for?
“Don’t you mean ‘we’?” Rarity asked. She laughed nervously and glanced at both Luna and Celestia. “The both of you are coming, right?”
Luna didn't bother hiding the resignation in her tone. “We can’t.” The six of them withered at this. “With our limited affinity for Necromancy, my sister and I will need to work together with this array just to maintain it on the rest of you. If the ritual is interrupted while you are inside the tower, you will be swallowed by the abyss.”
“But-!” Twilight hesitated and looked towards Celestia. “Black Rose and her Thorns must have taken this path...and the Six Companions too! How did they-?”
“The Six Companions only needed a more rudimentary form of this spell,” Luna said. “They had no problem embracing the abyss. That is not a path you would want to take. As for Black Rose, she is a very skilled necromancer in her own right, much more than even most alicorns I know. Combine that with how this place is reacting to big brother, it would have been easy for her to pass through here with her Thorns.”
“Twilight.” Celestia approached her student with a smile and a hoof on the shoulder. “Past this portal, you must confront Black Rose and her Thorns in the Foul Weapon’s presence. My brother is also within. Find a way to aid him and he will aid you. I’m sorry I cannot go with you, but...” The smile widened. “I know all of you can do this if you stand together.”
A tear rolled down Twilight’s cheek. She shuddered and her legs looked shaky, but she answered the smile with one of her own. “We will, your highness.”
The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony stood at the center of the circle while Celestia and Luna occupied opposing points. “Are you ready?” Luna asked.
Twilight nodded grimly. Her friends held hooves behind her.
The circle of light intensified as both sisters focused their magic. There was a flash, the same sort that would have accompanied a teleportation circle, and they were gone.
Twilight shook her head while her eyes adjusted. For a moment, she almost didn't want them to. The Old Kingdom was an awful enough sight; a ruined testament to the very worst of ponykind, a tomb drowned by both water and wickedness. What nightmare awaited her at the edge of the abyss?
When Twilight’s vision finally cleared, the next question was ‘Did we make a mistake?’ It looked as if they were still in the Old Kingdom. The walls were seamless gray stone, as if the entire tower had been crafted from a single block. The lighting didn't come close to illuminating the ceiling, or even the entirety of the where they were. A spiral stair wound its way up the walls and into the darkness above them, each step wide enough to allow two ponies to walk side-by-side and rising only a few inches at a time. The floor was...there was no floor. They were standing in complete blackness and- She paused. Wait...where were they getting their light anyway? She lifted a front hoof to her face and stared at it. She was emanating a faint white light. Her friends were scattered across the floor, also glowing .
“I am never going to get used to all these teleportation spells,” Applejack said with a groan. The others rose unsteadily behind her. “Where are we now? And can’t somepony turn on a light? I am so sick of all this darkness!”
Twilight focused on a light spell. They were in for the fight of their lives and she didn't want to do it in a place where she barely see a few feet ahead of her. The magic flowed and the spell finished...but no light appeared. Twilight frowned. That was weird. She could ‘feel’ her globe of light. She moved it around and felt its presence, but the darkness was as pervasive as ever. “Sorry,” she said. “We’ll have to make do with this...um...self-illumination?”
Rarity felt around her forelegs and chest. “Oh my stars! I’m completely luminescent! I knew I was going to shine one day, but not like this!”
“This is the edge of the abyss, huh?” Once Rainbow Dash got her bearings, she was immediately airborne. “It’s not so bad! Just more darkness and stone! So what’s next for us?”
Twilight pointed to the stairs. “What else is there? We start climbing. Don’t fly ahead, Rainbow, it’s too dangerous.”
“Hold on a second here,” Applejack said. “Why are we going up? Ain’t we supposed to be going down to this Blasphemous Rift?”
“True,” Twilight replied. “But there is no downward path. We climb because there’s nowhere else to go.”
Applejack scratched her head. “Well, that doesn’t-!”
“Girls!” Pinkie Pie cried out. She pressed her face against the blackness they were stepping on. “Check this out!”
Twilight looked at the ground. “What is it?” she asked.
“Over there!” Pinkie Pie tapped at the floor and pointed. “They’re a long, long way away, but you can see the princesses over there!”
Twilight squinted, and then gasped. There were two ponies at the distance. They were also glowing, making them a bit easier to spot in the darkness. Those were her mentor's mane and tail, now back to their usual flowing colors. The golden circle of light was also easy to see. She thrust a hoof towards them, but the “floor” blocked her foreleg.
“Are they-?” Rarity was also squinting at the two figures. “Are they upside-down?”
Pinkie Pie giggled. “Yeah! They are! I can see the bottoms of their fancy shoes!”
Twilight swallowed as she realized something. “They’re not upside down,” she said. The others looked to her.
“Twilight, I can see them too,” Applejack said. “They’re upside-down.”
“No!” Twilight tapped a hoof against the “floor”. “Don’t you get it? This tower is inverted! That portal we used was the very base of this building. Now, we’re inside.”
Pinkie tapped a hoof against her face. “So that means we’re upside down?”
Twilight nodded. “To put it simply, yes. This lowest floor is the highest point of the tower. The more we ascend...”
“...the further into the depths we go,” Rarity said. “Not such bad grammar after all, Lexarius.”
“Okay then!” Rainbow said. “Let’s start climbing!”
“Wait!” Twilight put a hoof up. “Do you hear that?” Her ears perked at the very faint, distant sound coming from above them. Whatever it was, it was a long way up.
“It’s just more ghostly sounds, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Just ignore it.”
“No, this one’s different. It sounds like somepony’s playing some kind of violin.”
Rarity’s eyes narrowed as she listened. “No, dear. That’s not a violin you’re hearing.” Her mage-blades started floating by her side.
“It’s a cello.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.064 seconds
Total duration
951 users online
510,614 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Thanks for posting mate
Looks like the inevitable confrontation with the Thorns begins, starting with Octavia.
Things are really heating up now, I thought last chapter was exciting but you just keep turning up the heat.
BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRB
NEEW CHAPTERR
u made my day
INITIATE OFFICIAL FIC SOUNDTRACK
Your description of the Old Kingdom as one of Eldritch Horrors is excellent.
Now should be no.
And Fluttershy somehow got the memories of Lok'Horus, it will interesting to find out what exactly happened to her.
So a confrontation with the Thorns is coming up, great! Hopefully we'll also find out what happened to Terrato, wonder what happened to him?...
"It's a cello."
That shall be the next entry in my 'Sentences I never thought I'd find intriguing but MLP fan fiction has proved me wrong.' list.
"It's a cello."
Never thought I'd ever read that and think that things were about to heat up.
“It’s a cello.”
enjoy
3304147
i46.tinypic.com/169q0pf.png
Story's focusing on the Mane 6 again!
If you need some inspiration for cthonic Oceanus-related material, google-image "horror manga". There's some good stuff there: people stitched together in a horrifying 'hug', some freaky flesh-portal-thing in a girl's head, Mr. drr drr drr up there, etc.
3304373 3304482 Have you two never heard of Apocalyptica?
Cello = Awesome
3304680 Why hello there, fellow disciple of awesome.
If only they had wubs . . .
3304712 nope, but now I'm more aware. ^_^
all of my yes
3304962 um, that quote's from the wrong story, you're looking for the prequel, Breaking Point.
Now I'm regretting choosing cello as my school instrument.
“Fluttershy, now I’m definitely sure that there is NOW way you could have read that somewhere,”
GOTCHA dirty typo :3
Daaaamn, the Old Kingdom is creepy as hell. I love it.
'Shy may be more interesting in this story than almost ever before.
3304746 hello brother let us headbang to hall of the mountain king together
Boss rush time!
- All... FUCK! Can't they give one pause?
dun dun dun!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, why u no show battle???
MAN
cant wait for next chapter
can someone usually remind me about something?
why was the old kingdom flooded by oceanus?
and were Luxarius seals put after or before the flooding?
Horrah. Reasons to put off my history report!
Again...
Not octavia....i guess its ok cave her marefriend/roomate will come save the day with her BASS CANNON!!!!
Well they're advancing through the old kingdom faster than I expected.
One thing I don't get though is why:
Discord knew that this place existed in all its dorment power but he just left it there knowing that the plan was when Oceanus was ready he'd come out of the ocean and reunite with his forces here; pretty much the biggest strategy in any war, (except for turning enemies to your side) is to divide your enemy's force and put the whole of your force against part of theirs. Why did he just leave the Old Kingdom, why not undrown it and go in and destroy all the constructs, level the city ect.
When the alicorn siblings got there they had the same chance, plus they had the elements of Harmony. If the Elements could cleanse the tainst of Oceanus (shown by curing Luna,) why not try to use a few blasts to cleanse the power of the old kingdom?
Why did Celestia wait for 1000 years knowing the location of some of her enemy's weapons and assets and never try to destroy them before he could use them.
Same question with the Zombie Slavers in the caves under Mt Unicoria; in 1000 years Celestia never decides to go and dispel a zombie army that lives under her capital?
P.S. Wasn't Blue Moon meant to be coming with the princesses and EoH? Or did he stay outside to bust constructs?
PPS. Smart Cookie is the sister of Raven Mark; she's the one who wanted to build the Steel Construct, to build it they seized the materials of a Earth Pony Clan and sold them as Slaves to Princess Platinum. Raven Mark was a enslaved earth Pony who led a rebellion... Sold into slavery by your own sister; ouch!
3313014
1. Constructs were dormant. The reason for that was to keep them from being detected. Same for why stasis clones couldn't be discovered so easily. Only way to get them was to dig deep into the Old Kingdom for a thorough search which was too risky as it might release more power of abyss. Lexarius (not Discord) didn't know what else was there besides a weapon he was not strong enough to destroy. He needed to seal it as soon as possible because it was leaking abyssal power all over what would be Equestria.
2. Seals were in place. Destroying any concentration of it would scatter the power of abyss all over Equestria. This was explained earlier.
3. Seals were in place. Celestia believed in the power of Lexarius's seals. This was also explained in earlier chapters.
4. Seals were in place.
5. He stayed behind to bust constructs.
6. It's Rock Maven where did you even get Raven Mark?
Yeah, this is a boss rush.
Just so you know... your one of the reasons i joined this Fandom
Thank you!
This is by far my favorite story ever!
3310327 note to self: take time out of busy schedule to update wiki or make a Tvtropes page...
Anyway...when Lexarius was closing in and the Six Companions realized they were going to lose they called upon the power of Oceanus to flood the city except that Clover the Clever abandoned the others to their fate and fled to her refuge to try and complete breaking through to Oceanus. Lexarius sealed the now flooded city to contain the power of Oceanus.
I love the description of the inverted tower in this chapter. It definitely seems a fittingly mysterious environment for what our heroes must soon face.
Now I'm definitely excited for the confrontation with the Thorns and by extension understanding more of Black Rose's plan. I mean the build up and pacing of this plot arc has been really enjoyable to read. However there is something equally appealing in getting to see how the Legion would square off against an array of powerful magical constructs.
Good old Upheaval. Just when one thinks this story has reached peak levels of awesome, something else happens to raise the bar
3304704
I just read the manga where that pic came from. Pretty disturbing stuff. Now, I'm digging around the internet for more of Junji Ito's works.
So I just burned through Breaking Point and got all caught up on Reckoning over the past couple days. Holy shit. This series is incredible. Thanks for writing it - can't wait for the next chapter.
“They went blind with it...turned their rage on everything around them." Her gaze went back to...
A missing quotation mark for Fluttershy's dialogue.
Damn epic story! Where are you getting your inspiration from!?
3322858 care to send me a link to the manga?
3354432
The Enigma of Amigara Fault
I do like the creativity of the Old Kingdom's architecture here.
“Not much better,” she said. The power of abyss is so thick here, using my magic is like trying to keep a torch lit in a blizzard. To make matters worse, this place is under a powerful dimensional lock.
Missing opening quote.
“You were not there during the immediate aftermath of the first rebellion. Great sections of Empyrea were warped by the passage of the power of abyss. If the Six Companions were toying with even the lingering presence of it, we should expect...oddities.”
wtf is this supposed to mean ?
3683612 Stuff like this I would assume:
The Old Kingdom has become something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft.
We've gone from Seath, to Gwyn, Ornstein and Smough, and now New Londo. Great incorporation, and if I hadn't played the game I wouldn't have spotted it. Oh yeah, and "Rock Maven". I think we know exactly what kind of Rock he is.
4815217 who was seath and gwyn. also, cant stop cant stop the rock
I still have to wonder what could've made Octavia so mad that shes willing to kill? She only encountered the girls twice!
Their in the upside down, insert stranger things reference he (even though this was written long before the stranger things
8678459
More like Stone tower Temple from Majora's Mask. Funnily enough, this whole chapter reminds me of Ikana Valley.
Been reading for several years now (reading and rereading over and over again) and it just hit me so I’m calling it now:
The necromatic array that connects to the Abyss was placed there by the Sixth Ascendant. She had so much necromatic power, enough to create something as horrific as the Agamanthion, surely she could have connected to the Abyss. Perhaps her creations were for the purpose of exploring it, or forming a connection to such a powerful place? I doubt we’ll know until the Sixth Cycle alicorns, Turbo Pinnae, or the Sixth Ascendant herself are restored. Another interesting note is Regia Carnifex’s statement about Oceanus’s throne: “I can tell you that it is an old, old thing. Older than Sanctus Dominus’ cycle. Likely older than the cycles before that.” The question then becomes this: just how many cycles was Carnifex referring to? All of them? Ten of them? Did the Sixth Ascendant merely discover the throne, or did she create it? Who knows. I’m eager to find out, though! (For those of you wondering what in the world I’m talking about, I recommend reading Visiden’s story “The Void Rift Crisis”)