Ch5: Interregnum
Chapter 5 – Interregnum
The ancient foundations of Castle Concord shook like banners in a storm. Its inhabitants were few, however, and used to it. It wasn't much of a mystery to them why the old crown seat of Equestria had been abandoned.
The very land it stood upon was in uproar, trying to shake off its rather recently renovated buildings like an enraged ursa. Some even claimed that the entire Everfree, or parts of it, stood on the back of an enormous specimen of the star-speckled bears of legend. While few paid any heed to such rumors, it was a reasonable conclusion to draw for the less educated. It was truly a wild land, and it did not appreciate being tamed in the slightest.
Lord Solid, duke of Throne, muttered a few curses before lighting up his horn and spreading his magic through the marble and bedrock beneath him. The marble of the castle itself was easy enough – it simply needed calming and soothing. Little wonder that it'd be scared of the turmoils from below, Solid thought. But you'd think it would have gotten used to it, by now. It's been almost four years since we rebuilt this place.
Still, he knew very well how wrong that was. Four years was barely measurable to the earth. Castle Concord was less than a newborn foal, in comparison, and only the fact that it was built partly with the ruins of its predecessor had let it remain standing as far as it had. It would take many years for the knowledge to sediment, far many more than Solid expected out of his life – despite his own young age of twenty-eight. His connection to the earth had given him a certain perspective on time, but he still hadn't gotten used to its ways entirely; in many ways, he was still like the marble. Freshly carved from his quarry, barely aware of the world.
The bedrock was the real problem. It was Throne itself; wild, proud, ancient, isolated. A single enormous island of unbroken stone, far from others of its kind, dating back to times older than anypony alive knew of. The best home one could ask for if you knew it well; the worst possible place to settle anew.
By Celestia, he began, but he quickly cut that train of thought. The old gods were many decades gone. That's why we're fighting in the first place, he reminded himself and the rock. The Deceiver and her false knight, who stole the crown of the true Princesses. Neither you nor I can bring them back – but at the least, we can reclaim their crown. At least, we can reclaim this land, their land.
Reclaim Canterlot.
The bedrock grumbled slightly, and the shaking eased down to a mild turbulence. It knew its duty to its lost sibling. It couldn't stand the presence of the newcomer – the marble – but even less it could stand the knowledge that forever, its sibling would remain led astray by the enemy. The land of Throne stood with Celestia and Luna, as it always had, and the enemies of the princesses were the enemies of Throne.
As he let go of his magic, most of his determination followed. I hate doing this, he thought as a sigh escaped his lips.
It turned into a dramatic pose and gesture for nopony in particular – he flicked his streaked violet curls with his marshmallow white hoof, rearing up on his hind legs before falling back to the stone floor with a soft thud. He bounced a bit on the marble before coming to rest, hoof on his forehead. The earth cared for him, and would never let him come to harm. Still-
“Oh, Thomas. He so worries me, Throne does,” he said in a moan. “He's so... militant. Barbaric, almost! I know his spirit is right, but his heart...” He rolled around, grasping his necklace with his forehoof. The small, diamond-shaped stone dangled from its chain, unresponsive. He glared at it. “Thoomaaaas,” he begged.
Well what do you expect, boy? Thomas' reply came. He's possibly the oldest of all our kind. Not even the mountains can measure themselves with him. When he was in his prime, war was everywhere! Earth fighting Earth, dragons fighting dragons, ponies fighting ponies, the princesses fighting dragons, the princesses fighting griffins, the princesses fighting Discord, the princesses fighting dragons again, blah blah blah, the princesses fighting each other. Bloody conflicts, millennia after millennia, and he's always been on the same side in all of them ever since the princesses came. No wonder he lost his mind fighting Nightmare Moon! Do you have any idea how bad that must've been for him? That was half of himself, and he sided with the other half. Now he's just happy to finally see clearly again, and he's dealing with this just the same way as he's always done. A war is a war is a war. And he's damn well going to win it, no matter the cost.
Solid rolled around again, and let go of Thomas. They'd had this conversation many times over now. He was a unique kind of Earth, not only for the fact that his perception of time seemed to be largely the same as a pony's, and he had a great many answers to most questions somepony could think of asking. Back before the war had gone bad, he'd even provided Solid some hefty advice on running the family company.
He spent a few moments in reminiscence. He had been granted the duchy of Throne – which encompassed the Everfree itself as well as the surrounding area, including his hometown of Metroponis – by the Council as a reward for restoring the ancient ruins of Throne to a functional palace, four years ago. Not much had happened to his ducal seat since then, however. The castle stood alone, surrounded by the wilds on all sides; there had been proposals to populate the area within its walls, but nothing had come of them. Instead, Metroponis had flourished in unparalleled wealth under his administration. A golden age, some had said – and he had been quite inclined to agree with them.
Now, however, there was probably little left of his success. Metroponis had taken the brunt of the last battle between rebels and the Council's army, and he had been forced to flee to Throne itself. The city was probably in ruins now, and his Carousel Boutique with it. He hoped with all his heart that Revelant Flair, his grizzled steward and right-hand stallion, was still alive, even if the company and profits he'd spent most of his life running for Solid's family were not. He should be, he said to himself. Nothing he ever did was connected to the rebellion. He made sure of that. He wasn't ever very fond of...’bickering about with your betters’, as he put it. Solid smiled.
“You look like an absolute idiot.”
Solid snorted, not bothering to rise. “And you look as fabulous as ever, Radiance.” The mare who'd spoken thrust her head right above his, and gave him a hurt stare. “No, sunshine, not like that,” Solid offered apologetically. “I mean it. Especially with that armor on, really, ah, brings out your...” He didn't get any further. Radiance's sad eyes told enough. I said something wrong again.
She disappeared from his view as she dropped herself onto the marble floor. “That just means you think my coat is ugly,” she mumbled into her crossed hooves. Solid sat up on his haunches, and his eyes inevitably gravitated toward the sulking mare.
Radiance was a fairly small pony, all things said, but every bit of her was worth twice that of anypony else, in Solid’s eyes. Her coat was the same velvet color as a good red wine, and her mane shone in a shade of blue that was ever so close to silver. Her eyes were a calm indigo with glints of green. The old, refurbished ceremonial armor she was wearing obscured part of her bright green cutie mark, depicting a wave form of some kind. The horn on her forehead was sharp, but not too long. Stars, she’s beautiful, he thought, before realizing his look had turned into a smothering stare that was much too far gone for his favorite mare’s comfort.
“Why do you keep staring at me like that? Stop it!” Her voice broke slightly as she pushed him back to the floor with her hoof.
Nopony else ever did that to him. They always had treated him differently, with much more respect and adoration – fake or real – than he had ever deserved. After his parents’ tragic passing only his dear grandmother, heavens guard her soul, had ever treated him with the same honesty and forwardness. I guess that might be one reason she draws me so.
Except where his grandmother had been polite, charismatic and loved by everypony, Radiance was rude, blunt and more socially inept than your average dragon. All his advances, however careful, had only served to make her angry, sad or frightened.
Where his grandmother had been envied by the entire court for her looks even in her twilight years, and well aware of it, Radiance had always had a massive complex about her looks.
Or rather, her condition.
Raising himself again, Solid squinted as he forced himself to look past the beautified picture of his Radiance that was stuck in his mind. Great spots of sickly translucent green covered Radiance’s coat, as if someone had thrown a can of paint over her. They played in the light, but the sheen of their glow was eerie and unnatural.
Her fetlocks were unshorn, and her hooves were tainted by the same garish color that spotted her body. Parts of her mane and tail shifted between their natural silvery color and green as well, and the green glints in her eyes weren't just glints; small shards of her iris were actually shining with the color.
The most important part however, was the extra pair of horns growing from the sides of her head. They weren’t curved, overly sharp, exceedingly long or otherwise unnatural; however, that made their presence even more disconcerting to behold.
He had never inquired in detail as to why this condition had manifested, but her deep phobia of collars and ponies in labcoats said enough. She didn't ask for this, just like she didn't ask for the power plant in her hometown to blow up and take her entire family with it. Priponyat was a smoldering ruin still, and nopony could come near it without falling ill. A curse, some said. Poison, others said. The ones who'd built the Cumanobyl plant had remained extremely quiet about the issue.
Except, Thomas finished for him, she's a traumatized freak, and nopony would ever accept her at the side of a royal duke. She knows it herself; even as your captain she has kept herself away from the eyes of the public whenever possible. Face it, it is only thanks to the rebellion itself, as much as the fact that you're basically running things here, that you can at all be together. At the university she was as much a subject as a student. She will never be any more than that.
She can’t.
The words touched on an old, gnawing pain inside him, but he didn't have any time for the unsolvable riddles of the heart today. He stood up, grasped his ducal weapon, the Scepter of Throne, with his magic and brought it to his side. Standing on ceremony made it easier for him to ignore the parts of reality he didn't want to bother with at the moment. So he did.
“Captain Radiance, your report.”
Shooting him one last hurt stare, Radiance retrieved a small scroll from her saddlebags with her hoof. It still confused him somewhat to see a unicorn doing mundane tasks without magic, but Radiance's magic field was severely altered by, presumably, her two extra horns. She had a tendency to violently shred or shatter things if she held them with her telekinesis for too long.
Looking at it that way, she's not even a unicorn anyway, Thomas remarked surly. Thomas was Earth, despite the oddities, and Earth could hold grudges that not even dragons could.
Radiance unrolled the scroll. “The Interregnum council has chosen your replacement. He's a unicorn known as Revelant Flair, and is in charge of the greater Metroponitan area. He was elected as the replacement of the ducal court by popular vote of Metroponis and its inhabitants.” Solid's eyes widened, his ears perking up as Radiance kept reading. “Fairly popular among the masses, the nobility tolerates him, none too radically opinionated anywhere. Ring any bells?”
Solid sighed, nodding slightly. “Many. I feared he was dead. He's my steward, and I do believe you've met him. And heard me talking about him. I...”
As he trailed off, his eyes went to the window. Not even the high tower of the throne room was enough to reach above the massive treetops, but he knew what was out there. So far, yet so close. Canterlot.
He closed his eyes, and made his decision. “I have to talk to him.”
Radiance tapped the marble with her hoof nervously. “Solid...”
He paid her no heed. Turning about, he climbed the few steps up, grasped the scepter with his magic and seated himself on the throne of Throne. “This has gone too far! I can accept, understand at least, that the citizens wish for stability. They've known nothing else for over a thousand years. I can understand that the masses would rather hide their eyes from the truth, than face the consequences that comes from embracing it. I am not faulting them for it. Well, not too much. BUT!” The scepter banged down against the ground, ringing its myriad of miniature bells in amazing cacophony.
“This! My own Revelant! He's practically raised me! I spoke to him every day for a whole year before we rose up, discussing the secrets and lies of the council. He discovered some of them himself! I'd expected him to keep running the company, triple the profits without my interruptions, become even grumpier than usual and die at his desk from overwork in a few years. But this!” He banged the scepter against the marble again.
A few moments too late, he saw Radiance was covering her ears, clenching her teeth in pain. “I... sorry. I'm really sorry, sunshine. I shouldn't have...” He shook his head fiercely, drawing upon his magic to steel his resolve. “But there's no way he doesn't know. I must talk to him. Either he's betrayed me, after all these years, or... I have to talk to him.” He snorted. “Besides, it's well past time I left this castle anyway.”
He stood up, leaving the scepter where it was. “Meet me by the Underway entrance in an hour. And as fabulous as you look in it, I must ask you to lose the armor, dear. Won't go through with all that metal.” He stalked off toward his dressing room, leaving a significantly fidgety Radiance behind.
-/-/-/-/
This is insane.
In complete silence, the enormous boulders and rocks surrounding them floated aside at a terrifying speed, leaving a tiny sliver of space for the two ponies to travel through.
THIS IS INSANE!
Solid's horn shone bright enough to clearly illuminate their surroundings. The sight would've been fascinating if not for the fact that she was all too busy fighting her panic to care. Solid was holding her with both of his massive forelegs, his crossed hooves pressed tight against her chest. She would've told him to loosen his grip, let go, she could walk herself, but-
WE ARE NOT WALKING WE ARE SWIMMING THROUGH THE EARTH AND THIS IS CRAZY AND LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME–
Radiance shut out the terrified voice in her head and shoved it aside into a small corner. True, she was a bit afraid, but this wasn't the first time he'd brought her into the Underway. She wasn't exactly used to it, but at least she'd stopped expecting the earth to have second thoughts and collapse on them at any given moment.
At least, most of her had. The uncooperative parts of her psyche were normally easy enough to shut out, but the Underway was apparently special somehow. Oh, no, really? The Underway is special? I couldn't have guessed. What a genius you are, I guess that must be why you're running the show here and not–
The snark got the same treatment as the panic. After a few seconds of muffled echoes, her head was finally silent. She sighed uncomfortably. Solid shifted his position slightly and gave her a worried look through the corner of his eye. “Are you alright, sunshine?”
She gave an irritated snort. He knows the answer to that already, so why does he keep asking? “You know I'm not. Just... keep going. I don't like this place.”
She could barely see the frown on his face from the awkward position she was in, but she knew it was there. He frowns way too much. He turned his head back up, and she felt a slight shift in the magic he was using. The next moment, their speed was picking up, and soon they were hurtling through the earth's crust at a speed most pegasi would envy. It did nothing to soothe her innate fear, but the logical parts of her mind told her they'd be out sooner this way. She calmed herself best she could, and shut her eyes.
Minutes later, she felt their speed decrease. Opening her eyes, she could make out glimmering reflections in the walls, myriads of gemstones shining in the light of Solid's magic. They weren't traveling through the solid earth anymore, and the cave around them only had to bend slightly to allow them through. She let out a small breath she'd been holding. They weren't quite all the way there yet – the Canterlot Caves were pretty extensive – but the fact that they weren't completely surrounded by solid rock anymore was reassuring.
Finally, after a few more minutes of navigating the labyrinthine caves, they reached a large chamber.
Solid let go of her as the magic of the Underway released its hold on them, and their hooves were let down to touch the cavern's stone floor. Not for long. She took a few steps forward, before she turned around to face him. “Are you ready?”
Solid frowned, and closed his eyes. Radiance shivered slightly. The caves were damp and cold, and it was hard to shake the eerie feeling that being underground usually gave her, even if they were out of the Underway itself. After a few moments, Solid shook his head and opened his eyes. “I'm ready. Let's go.”
Radiance reflected on the contradicting body language and what he had said – is he hearing voices again? – for a moment, but let go of the thought. We have other things to worry about. She hesitated for a moment. Like this. She pinched her eyes shut. Separating her courage from her fear, she took both emotions and gathered them into separate little balls in the corners of her mind. Then, she took hold of the magic.
IT BURNS!
The voice's scream was loud enough for her to cringe. An agonized, endless wail pierced through her head as the magic came, violent waves of power that pulsed in the same burning agony as the screams.
IT BURNS! IT BURNS US! IT BUUUUUUURRRNNS!
The magic fought to free itself from her grasp, but she held fast, forcing it out through her front horn. It was hard to control, but she didn't need much subtlety at the moment. Her horn lit up in a blazing red glow, and through the black of her eyelids, she saw the air.
IT BURNS US. THE FIRE! IT BLAZES, IT HURTS! WE MUST PUT OUT THE FIRE. STOP THE FIRE! IT BURNS US, SURROUNDS US! IT BURNS!
She lost her balance for a moment, as the screams intensified. Just a little more, she urged herself. The air was still in the calm of the caves, but she took hold of it and made it run. The wind and earth was silent, but she took the air and made them all scream.
For a few seconds, the screams were everywhere: in her head, in her eyes, in her ears, ringing like bells in the air around her. Then, a crack formed in the rough stone of the ceiling above them. Moments later, everything turned to dust – and fifty meters up, the ground opened with a sucking sound.
The way is open.
She let go of the magic, and the screams subsided until the voice was just sobbing lightly in the corner of her mind – easily shut out. Opening her eyes, she shook herself up a bit before giving Solid a nod. “Let's go.” He nodded back, and enveloped them in the light of his magic, sending them upward through the hole.
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Whaaaaat?! A crossover with the universe of "1632"?
What sorcery is this?!
That's it. This is going on my reading list, top priority!
1446955
You must honestly be the first one who's familiar with the crossover material, I swear.
GG man :D
1447480 Seriously? Nopony else here has read it?
Man, that's sad. 1632 is probably the best-written and best thought out one-way-time-travel story I've seen since Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court". Eric Flint really did his homework.
Though i have to confess I haven't read much else of the kind, yes, it is very much a golden piece of work. Eric Flint is a real hotshot.
As for one-way time traveling...
alltheragefaces.com/img/faces/png/happy-yes.png
1448262 I've guessed that was the case as well.Trying to amp my publicity efforts up a bit though ^^ Hopefully I'll get things rolling eventually.
1448312
I was wondering if a story with this sort of premise would ever show up. I have to say though, I can tell you are trying to stay true to Flint's style, but I just not sure that it really clicks. I think you have added wayyyy to many elements to the book already, I can barely follow all the character viewpoints and scenes. The prose itself isn't bad, but the general length of each segment and chapter make this hard to follow.
Now, I really enjoy the 1632 verse but I'm not entirely sure if it makes a good crossover with FIM.
Another new setting? I don't suppose Metroponis has any relation to the setting of "Harpflank and Sweets"? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait for the relevance of this chapter to the overall story to become apparent.
1461090
I will connect the dots for you, here (because it's supposed to be obvious enough).
Ch5 takes place in De Future. Ponyville got Bigger. It eventually kind of outgrew its name, so it was changed
Anyway, glad to see so many new readers. I'm still kinda curious to where the hell you're all coming from, though >_>