23. The March Begins
Even if you somehow missed the sight of the mass of towers and walls that was the fortress of Burzkala, you would certainly be able to smell it from miles away. A sulphurous mix of woodsmoke, rotting flesh, rusting metals and other odours too horrible to describe, all coming together in a stench that hung in the air all around.
Once a fiery volcano many thousands of years ago, the mountain now stood quiet and unmoving, with two stretches of black stone walls surrounding its slopes, one around its base, the other around the perimeter of the crater. And down inside the crater stood a massive round tower, which loomed out of the hole and stretched hundreds of feet into the sky.
Between the walls were many more structures built into the slopes of the mountain, none quite as imposing as the central tower but still rather impressively large. Most of them were barracks, with enough room to house nearly ten-thousand blightlings. However, with the disaster that had been the assault on Cervidas, a great many bunks and hammocks lay empty, with only around six thousand stationed in the stronghold. The rest of the buildings were ramshackle prisons, mess-halls, officers' quarters, everything one would expect in a fortress. And then beneath the surface were miles of tunnels, hollowed out from the now-extinct volcanic vents, with hundreds of crawl-spaces and hideaways for some of the smaller blightlings who did not require a bed or a spot in the barracks, as well as larger halls and rooms dug out of the rock.
As Maugoth and the few survivors from his entourage passed through the massive iron gates of the lower wall and into the bailey, many of the blightlings around him spoke in hushed tones. Word had reached the fortress about the massacre that took place in Cervidas, and their flight from the forest in disgrace and defeat. But that was not the reason they whispered as Maugoth walked past them. Word had also reached the stronghold about what he had done to Dushtala.
Now Dushtala had gained himself quite the reputation among the servants of the Blight. He was a brutal fighter, an imposing figure, and a ruthless commander. He was also known as one of the most unlikeable bullies many blightlings had ever seen. Executing his troops for mere mistakes, using the weaker blightlings as meat-shields, doing whatever it took to get the job done, regardless of casualties. He had never been the most popular of officers.
A heavily-armoured blightling with a beaked face and scaly tail approached him, pointing a spear straight at his face. "Maugoth! Your troops are free to go, but you need to come with us. The Allfather wants to speak with you."
Maugoth looked to Laga, who looked expectantly back at him. "You sure you'll be okay, sir?" the horned blightling asked.
"Don't worry. Like I said, I got a plan in the works right now," Maugoth whispered back. "You'll know when the time is right, but until then just keep yer head down and wait."
Laga nodded. "Gotcha. Good luck Maugoth."
With a deep breath, Maugoth turned to the armoured guard and nodded. "Alright. Let's get this over with I guess."
Jostled from behind at spearpoint, Maugoth began the slow trudge up the stepped slopes of the mountain. It was only about five-hundred metres or so up a relatively gentle slope, but each step felt like twelve for him. He had no idea what the Allfather had in store for him as its new 'attendant', but he knew it would not be pleasant. All the more reason he would have to put his plan into action as soon as he would have the chance. He would just need a diversion...
At long last, the doors of the keep swung open and Maugoth and the guard clambered into a makeshift elevator, powered by a group of blightlings that may have been cows at one point in time, who started walking on a massive treadmill, lifting the elevator platform, creaking and swaying past lines of metal pipes and tubes, that led from somewhere underground to the top of the tower.
"Allfather, Maugoth has arrived!" the guard shouted as they reached the landing. Before him stood a large doorway, guarded by two more armoured blightlings.
"Send him in." The deep Voice rumbled from the other side of the door. The doors swung open, and Maugoth was led inside.
The top of the tower was one massive room, practically empty except for two rows of giant glass tanks on either side of the room, filled with inky blackness, and a ragged carpet that led to an even larger glass tank, which connected to the other rows of tanks by a series of metal pipes. And inside this largest tank, suspended by clamps and pipes in the murky blackness, was the Allfather.
At some point many years ago, he may have been a pony, or a stag or some other creature living in the lands surrounding Burzkala. But after being captured and becoming the host of the Blight, becoming the Allfather that all blightlings look up to as their leader and master, any semblance to any living creature was long gone. His skin was bloated and pocked, inflated to bizarre proportions by decades of continued exposure to the Blight. His sunken eyes were rolled upwards in his sockets, and his mouth hung open. A few traces of long, scraggly hair hung from his head and neck, and several bloated limbs stretched out, terminating in hooves, claws, hands and even an extra eye or two. The pipes from the other tanks all connected to a mask that the creature wore over its mouth and nose, constantly feeding the black smokey Blight to him, piping it from the Source that lay just underneath the bottom of the tower. There was only one word to truly describe such an abominable sight: Corruption.
"Maugoth." The hideous, burbling Voice of the Allfather rumbled from a grate at the bottom of the tank. "You are finally here. We can say, with the utmost sincerity, Ashdautas vrasubatlat."
"Nar udatsas luckily for me, Allfather. So then... what have you got in store for me?" Maugoth asked through gritted teeth as he bowed low before the Allfather's tank.
It chuckled. "Oh, nothing too difficult. Just keeping you around where we can see you, so you don't do anything stupid. Maintaining our tanks, cleaning our tower, those kinds of things."
"So this is to be my life then, eh?" Maugoth growled. "Playing nurse and butler for you?"
The Allfather said, with a hint of malicious glee, "Precisely. After all, since you failed to destroy those deer who rejected our Blessing, we can assume they will be coming here for us. So we need all our troops ready to fight."
"If you need as many soldiers as you can get, why are you keepin' me in here, doing menial labour for you away from the fight?" he asked.
"So our other, more capable children do not have to," The Allfather replied. "Besides, in your absence, some of our more capable officers have obtained some new... recruits, from lands to the South-East. Sshh, do you hear that?"
They fell silent as there came a rumbling from far below. Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the mountain below Burzkala, something stirred, growling and grumbling in a voice that made the whole tower shake.
"... Is that what I think it is?" Maugoth whispered, both scared and in awe as he recognised the noise.
"Two of them, in fact," The Allfather said with a chuckle that would make anypony nauseous. "But you needn't concern yourself with them... Now then, time you got to work, wethinks."
Come high-noon that day, the Southlands were abuzz with activity and excitement. There were few creatures who lived out on the plains, with only a few tiny hamlets and farmsteads dotting the landscape. But news travelled fast between them, and soon the whole land was whispering and wondering about the massive army that was marching further south, towards lands where no creature dared to dwell.
They had emerged from the forest kingdom of Cervidas earlier that day, a massive column of armed and armoured creatures, at least a few thousand strong. Deerfolk, in their green and brown tunics and silvery armour, antlers crackling with energy. Griffons, of all creatures, marched alongside them and flew above them, dressed in blackened iron plate-armour and flying-goggles, spears, swords, maces, clubs and strange glowing muskets clenched in their clawed hands. And those among the locals with particularly sharp eyesight could spot a few rather more colourful figures among the massive host.
But their questions were answered, as griffons split off from the army, to fly to the few small settlements. They were representing the allied army of King Gideon of Fjaereir and The White Hart of Cervidas, the messengers said. They were gathering their forces and marching upon Burzkala, the dark fortress of the Blight, to put an end to them once and for all. The mere mention of the yellow-eyed monsters sent shivers through the hearts of many locals who had lost family and loved ones to those creatures. The messengers would continue, inviting anybody who was ready and able to fight, to come join their host and bring the accursed Blight down. Most were too afraid, or not prepared for fighting on such a large scale, but a select few joined the host. A few more families of griffons, a herd of antelopes, and even a pack of diamond-dogs agreed to help (For a fair share of the spoils, of course). They only managed to summon a few hundred of these locals to their aid, but every little helps in war.
That evening, the darkness of the plains was dotted by hundreds of campfires as the army stopped to rest. But there was very little rest to be had, as ripples of tension and anxiety engulfed the camp. They were still a good day's hike away from the fortress, but the ruddy glow of its fires was visible in the distance. The highest peak in a range of low mountains and hills.
In one circle of tents, six of the seven ponies sat around a campfire, a delicious smell wafting up from the flames as they ate.
"I'm still not entirely certain exactly how you did it," Starswirl muttered, biting into a freshly-baked cake.
Rainbow shrugged. "It's usually best not to question how Pinkie does it, it's easier that way, trust me."
"Darn tootin'," Applejack replied. "Besides, I ain't one to look a gift-horse in the mouth when Pinkie's cookin' is involved, even when she's somehow makin' cakes and muffins outta trail-mix, dried fruit and bread!"
"I have my ways, and they gave me alot to work with," Pinkie replied, pulling another tray of the delicious baked goods off of the fire. "I mean, working in Sugarcube Corner I've learned to improvise. When you work in a bakery, sometimes you just have to make do with what you can find."
Rarity smiled. "Well by all means keep it up! Your wonderful cooking is enough to help me forget that we're having to camp out in ramshackle tents in the middle of nowhere. Just don't run out of supplies too quickly. We still have one more night before we reach the fortress, and who knows how long we'll be spending there."
"Any word yet from the other commanders about what exactly's gonna happen when we get there?" Applejack asked.
"None I'm afraid," Rarity replied. "I think Gellert sent out some griffon scouts to survey the fortress, see if they can spot any weak points. Not much we can do but wait for them to return... By the way, where's Twilight? If she doesn't hurry she's going to miss these delicious delicacies!"
Starswirl stood up. "She's in her tent. She wanted to make use of this brief rest, to do some studying of the Tears. I'll bring her some food, no doubt she's starving."
Indeed, in one of the tents surrounding the fire, Twilight sat at a makeshift desk, a few sheets of parchment scattered around the place as she scribbled down notes and sketches, opening the lacquered box for a fraction of a second to glance at the gem inside before slamming the box shut, sealing it off before she suffered the same crushing effects of the Tears she experienced back on the Pillars of Prasinus.
"Pardon me, my dear Twilight, may I come in?"
She jumped slightly at the sound of Starswirl's voice, but smiled with relief as she saw him standing in the doorway of the tent, a platter of cakes levitating before him. "I thought you might be hungry, so I saved you some food."
"Ahh, thanks Starswirl, you're a lifesaver! I was gonna come out and have a bite to eat, but I was getting pretty caught up in my research. I'm sure you know what that's like?"
"Indeed," he replied. "So, what exactly are you studying about the Tears?"
He sat down beside Twilight as she explained. "Well, with everything that's been going on, I haven't really had much of a chance to just sit down and examine it. Not being able to look directly at it for long hasn't made things much easier either. But I have manage to determine one thing."
"And what's that, pray tell?"
"Well, the basic nature of exactly what it is," she replied. "It's literally a reservoir of pure, raw, magical energy, in quite frankly ridiculous quantities."
"Well, it does contain the combined magic of six... well, for lack of a better term, gods, so it's hardly a surprise that it's so powerful." Starswirl replied, lifting up the box and peering closely at it.
"Maybe... but still. I can't even begin to describe how much power they contain. I'd bet even Celestia and Luna wouldn't be able to control this much magic at once." She tapped the sketch of the gemstone on the desk. "And the gem itself is an even bigger mystery. I can't say for the life of me what kind of crystal it is. A gem this small being infused with the sheer amount of raw magic that it contains? Even a diamond the size of a house would explode from the pressure!"
"It's a mystery alright," Starswirl said with a nod. "But if the myth is to be taken literally, the Tears of Gaia are just that. The literal tears of one of these mighty Others, turned into a jewel. It's hardly a surprise that its nature is a mystery to us."
Twilight groaned, plopping her head down on the desk. "If only Celestia or Luna were here. I could just ask them. I'm not gonna be able to sleep until I've got this gemstone figured out..."
Starswirl laughed, "Hahah, oh my dear Twilight! You know, you rather remind me of Celestia when she was young. I was her mentor, you know."
"Oh I know," Twilight replied, the slightest hint of a blush appearing on her cheeks. "I actually... er... I mean, I... well, I've always sorta... well, admired you."
He stared at her, an eyebrow raised inquisitively. "I-it's nothing strange or anything!" Twilight sputtered quickly. "I just mean, when I was young I read about you in old books on magical theory. I'd read about all the great discoveries you made, the spells you created, it just all sounded so fascinating!"
"Indeed it was," he replied. "Of course, I spent much more time on creating new spells than exploration and adventuring. I'd leave that to younger, more proficient ponies. But with Celestia by my side, I was at least never lonely."
"What was it like working with Princess Celestia? And what was she like when she was younger?"
"Oho, some of the stories I have about her," he chuckled. "Such a mischievous mare, she was. Keeping her and her sister Luna under control was probably what turned my mane grey! But despite all that, she was still one of the brightest, most brilliant students I had ever had the opportunity to work with. Smart, curious, and always hard-working. Even if sometimes she could be a bit... impulsive."
Was it a trick of the low light, or for a moment, Twilight wondered, did Starswirl's reminiscing smile falter?
"Honestly, in many ways, she was a lot like you."
Twilight was taken aback. "Really? You think I'm a lot like the Princess?"
"Indeed, my dear Twilight," he replied. "Hard-working, studious, curious, a tad neurotic..."
"Gee, thanks."
"... And fiercely loyal to those closest to you. It's truly admirable in a mare your age," he finished.
Twilight was at a loss for words. Such high praise, from perhaps the one pony she admired as much as, if not more than, Princess Celestia. "... thank you," she said in a low, humbled voice. "Coming from you, that means a lot."
"I consider it an honour to be on this adventure alongside such a pony," Starswirl added. "'Tis almost like being with Celestia once more. Sadly when she and Luna resurrected me, time was of the essence so there wasn't exactly much time for a reunion."
Twilight shrugged as she shuffled her notes into a neat stack. "Well, once we get back to Canterlot, I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to see you again. Starswirl the Bearded, one of the greatest unicorn wizards alive again, working alongside the Princesses!"
This time there was no mistaking it. Starswirl's face sagged as his smile disappeared. "I'm not sure such a reunion will be that possible."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
Starswirl sighed, his limbs cracking and creaking as he got up. "The resurrection spell the Princesses cast upon me was only temporary. I'm not really alive once more, brought back to life for good. Rather, I've been... reanimated. Given a small portion of magic to keep my body and mind alive temporarily. And when my task is complete, and we are all back in Equestria, well... I'm not sure if you've noticed, but since our party was separated after that fight with the Blight, I have not taken off my cloak once."
With a foreleg, he swept the hem of his long blue cloak aside, the bells jangling loudly as he did. Twilight gasped as the cloak unveiled Starswirl's body. His face had changed little, but his torso was emaciated and frail, even moreso than normal. Papery thin skin and ragged patchy fur was drawn tightly against his protrusive ribs, marked with age and the first signs of decay. "Already I am beginning to slowly fade. I predict that I will last until we return to Equestria, but not a day longer."
Twilight rested a forehoof on his shouders. "Starswirl... I'm so sorry..."
He paused a moment, as if in deep thought, then shrugged. "It's alright, my dear Twilight. As I said, it has been an honour to be revived and sent on this quest alongside you and your friends. I see why the Princesses hold you in such high regard. And as for me and my inevitable... fate, do not be too concerned. When I passed on to my final reward all those centuries ago, I was lucky to die simply of old age. When you know it is coming, it isn't nearly as scary as you'd imagine. In fact, it's rather like falling into a deep sleep. And when my task is complete and I return to my tomb, I will welcome that deep sleep again."
Twilight sat back as Starswirl turned and smiled at her. "... Remind me how we got from studying the Tears to discussing the nature of mortality, exactly?"
Starswirl laughed again. "Come now my dear Twilight, these things warrant discussion. You're talking to somepony who has literally died and remembers what it was like. Take this opportunity by the horns, my girl! Ask away whatever you wish to know."
"Pardon me, I hope I'm not interrupting?"
Both unicorns looked to the opening of the tent, where the massive head of Gellert poked through. "I was hoping to talk to you for a moment?"
"Of course, come in Gellert," Twilight said, stepping back to give room. Gellert squeezed into the cosy tent, bowing to the pair of them.
"So Commander, what can I do for you?"
The griffon sat down on the ground. "I was hoping to have a word with you about these Tears of Gaia, if I may."
Twilight could already feel the situation becoming more tense. "I thought you had said you were no longer interested in using the Tears for your people."
"And that is still the case," he replied. "But I am still curious about the stone. Two questions, miss Twilight. First of all, what do you know about the Tears? What have you found out about it?"
Twilight looked nervously to Starswirl, who motioned for her to continue. "Well, aside from what I've already told you, I know that it's a sort of reservoir or container for a... quite frankly, incredible amount of magical energy. The legend states that the gemstone is infused with the combined magic of all the Others, and after studying it I believe it."
"Sounds like quite a lot of power," Gellert said.
"Indeed," Starswirl continued. "And what's more, the jewel itself does not share the properties of any other known gemstone. I'm sure as someone who has used magic-infused gems before, you can understand how unstable they can be?" Gellert nodded.
"Well with as much magic that this one jewel contains," Twilight said, levitating up the box, "It should be incredibly unstable. That much magic compressed into a single point as small as this? The gem should have exploded long ago!"
The griffon nodded again in understanding. "I see... And that leads nicely into my second question. Now, I don't mean to sound accusatory or interrogative or anything of that ilk when I ask you this: Why do you think Equestria should get to hold that much power?"
And there it was again. That nervous tension that always seemed to follow any conversation twilight had with Gellert. So thick a knife would have trouble cutting through it. "Well, Gellert, please understand that Equestria would never intend to use it as any sort of weapon, or to gain leverage over other nations..."
"But then what do you intend to do with it?"
Twilight hesitated. "Well... I guess study it, try to harness its power in a way that everyone can benefit from, pony and non-pony alike."
"Well that makes sense," Gellert replied. "But why should Equestria get to hold it? Why not any other nation? After all, according to your legend, the Tears were made for the benefit of all life, as a way to preserve the memory of Gaia, correct?"
"And that's exactly the reason," Twilight said, sitting down. "The Tears were created by the Others, and the only two Others left in the world and Princess Celestia and princess Luna. So, shouldn't the Tears go to them?"
Gellert frowned. "Perhaps. But then if they get to hold onto it, then who dictates how its power is distributed? How do we know its power can be divided equally? And if it can't be, then who would get more power? And for that matter, how can anyone be certain someone else won't try to use its power for ill reason?"
Twilight opened her mouth, but again found herself in a rare predicament for her: She was lost for any answer. Gellert raised some good points: As much as she liked to think otherwise, not everyone was inherently pure-of-heart, not even the ponies of Equestria. How could she be sure that in future, some calamity or disaster would push Equestria to use the power of the Tears for their own gain, regardless of its effect on the rest of the world?
Gellert got up, heading back towards the entrance. "I don't want to start another fight with you and your friends, Twilight Sparkle. But we are getting close to the Blight's source, so I advise you to be very careful with that little gemstone. And I advise you to think very carefully about what will be done with it when this whole war is over. After all, you hold the power of gods in that little box. No one creature should hold that much power."
And with that, he pushed the tentflap aside and departed, leaving Twilight and Starswirl in deep thought.
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I was wondering when this would update again. Gellert does have a bit of a point there.
Since there is more than one Tear, they could split them between the ponies, the deer and the griffons so that no one has an advantage over the others.
However, considering I very much suspect that there are blighted dragons under the fortress, I think that they have bigger things to worry about right now.
4982627 Actually, only the name is plural. There's only actually 1 gem.
Now, it all makes sense, Luna and Celestia became children and had to relearn everything!
It both coincides with the story as well as the canon of mlp.
Still, what would possess anyone to do that to themselves? I wonder how the "all father" came to be.
Also the scouts got converted......
4982643
Ah, right. Probably should have remembered that. Maybe they can wear out it's power blowing up Burzkala and then they won't need to worry about it any more.
4982674 I don't know about the scouts, but I think they got a couple of dragons
4991378 o.o
Ah. They're in New Jersey.
Alondro suddenly appears and nabs the Tears! "Yoink!"
And then, just like that, he's gone.
Twilight blinks. "Was that... Alondro the Troll King?"
Starswirl sighs painfully, "I'm afraid so."
Twilight winces with a sour face as if she'd just met the Holy Sword Excalibur, "Oh god, he's so lame...."
4982705
If any quantity of magic power could destroy the world by exploding it, it'd be the Tears. Detonating the power of the gods just seems like a bad idea.
5014804
Maybe, but these sort of classic fantasy stories often end with the renunciation of power, so I'd be very surprised if the Tears are intact and a going concern when the dust settles ahead of 'The End'.
5016557
I'm not saying it is, but detonating it seems like a terrible idea to me.
...wait, the Allfather's been marinating in Blight-juices for decades? I thought the Blight only returned when Discord broke free?
I don't understand. Celestia and Luna were Others, and around long before Star swirl, so how could he be Celestia's mentor.
5135377
You must not have been to college. Some students are older than the teachers. Thus it stands to reason that Starswirl doesn't necessarily have to be older to be a mentor. Especially if you consider the extremely long lifespan of Celestia and Luna it may stand to reason they mature much slower, and may have still been maturing while Starswirl had already been born and matured.
Oh, why am I getting Megatron vibes from Maughoth? Oh well, just me then.
There's an interesting connection here. On the one side, you have two older figures watching over a younger generation, one being helpful, while the other is a jerk. It shows an intereting dynamic that I just love.
I also love Gellert's views on the subject, and as I am loathe to say it, I agree with it. Not every pony is a Twilight Sparkle, and we know it. Even the elements of harmony were stolen once, so who's to say that this won't happen to the tears? Then, what would happenif say Starlight Glimmer gotten to that much power. The comaradie and gentleness o this scene was also well done
5893950
ehh i see more of a starscream vibe from him