//------------------------------// // The Throne and its Bearer // Story: Upheaval: Reckoning // by Visiden Visidane //------------------------------// Upheaval: Reckoning Chapter 38: The Throne and its Bearer When he received Third Squad's report, Terrato immediately sent out orders that the Elements of Harmony be gathered together. He wasn't that confident of their effectiveness as of now, especially with what he had seen of Applejack earlier, but he and his sisters had to push through with their plans. Preparations had already been done. A necromantic ritual was enough to cleanse the place of all the ghosts that had anchored themselves to the Crystal Grave. He had to give some credit to Captain Shining Armor for holding that spell for a long time. Then, he and Luna inscribed all the necessary magical sigils around the Crystal Grave while their elder sister supervised. Abjuration was one of Celestia's specialties. It was only when she was completely satisfied with their array did they continue. Celestia's examinations also revealed a few more things. The seal around the Crystal Grave were obviously Lexarius’. He had discovered this during his reign, and had promptly hidden it away. The Crystal Grave itself did not belong to their predecessor, nor did it appear as the work of anypony in the Eternal Herd. No, this crystal was a construct of Oceanus himself. It was built not just to keep outside forces from getting to Regia Carnifex, it was also built to keep him inside it. Terrato didn't know why Oceanus would outright imprison his lieutenant, but he was more determined now to find out. His next step was looking better. And that next step was right now. Terrato walked through one more tunnel before he stood within Crystal Grave's chamber. His sisters were already waiting for him. Luna tapped impatiently against the gleaming gemstone floor while Celestia stared into the crystal. Their inscriptions were already glowing, and humming with magic. All they needed now was the actual spell. For what could very well be the hundredth time, the consequences of the situation ran through his mind. He imagined having to fight an enraged, newly-freed alicorn across the skies above Canterlot. How much destruction would ensue? Before it would even get to that, they would have to deal with Regia Carnifex here. He glanced towards Celestia. Would he be able to protect her should any fighting take place? ‘You mean like how you defended her from Black Rose?’ Terrato's own inner challenge was full of scorn. He shut his eyes tightly for a second, as if doing so could silence the doubts. ‘Like how you’ll defend her from Gravitas, from Oceanus, and from any other danger that’s bound to come?’ “Are you ready, big brother?” At the sound of Luna's voice, Terrato ignored the stinging questions. He took his spot directly opposite her, with the massive crystal between them. He had no answer to himself. None that didn't sound like hollow boasting. All he could do was to keep moving forward until those troubles arrived, then show what he could do. “No, I’m just standing around here wasting your time.“ He snorted. "Of course I’m ready. Let’s begin.” He cursed inwardly when his little sister answered with an even more concerned look. “Alright,” Luna replied. She intoned the beginning of the abjuration ritual while the inscribed spells around her glowed even brighter. Terrato followed her lead. The room shimmered with alicorn magic. A faint humming emanated from the crystal. To their side, Celestia walked closer to get a better view. The light intensified, and the humming grew into an oppressive buzz. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face. Finally, they reached the end of the ritual. The humming stopped, and the light faded. The crystal was still there, its hundreds of facets held not so much as a single scratch. Terrato tried to get a feel of how the magic held itself together. He looked to his sisters to see if they found something he didn't. “We've done it,” Celestia said. There was a faint note of relief in her voice. Hopefully, they had just proved that their magic could dent Oceanus’ if they had to. If Celestia were to recover, all three of them might just match him. The relief didn't last long. A groan; the sort of groan one would make upon waking up, came from the Crystal Grave. Terrato fell into a fighting stance. Celestia was confident that they had succeeded, but they were faced with Oceanus’ second. Past the crystal, Luna was also ready for a fight. There was neither great explosion nor a fearsome neigh came despite their fears. Just another groan, this one shorter, and more annoyed. “Regia Carnifex,” Celestia said. “Can you hear us?” Another minute passed before an answer emerged from the Crystal Grave. “Etiam…ut’ ius…” a voice rumbled from the crystal. It sounded like ancient tree straining against a strong wind. Luna frowned, and cast a translation spell over all of them. “…that’s my name too…” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Your name too?” she asked. Terrato and Luna walked to her side. “Pardon,” the voice said. “I had gotten so used to being called ‘Starswirl’. It took a while to remember that I am Regia Carnifex after all.” Terrato let himself smile a little. “Looks like I got it right,” he said. “But who am I speaking to?” Carnifex asked. “I can barely see through this blasted prison, and I do not recognize your voices.” “My name is Celestia,” Celestia replied. “With me are my siblings: Terrato and Luna.” “Celestia…” Carnifex said. “Princess Celestia…oh, yes. I remember now. You’re that little pink-maned filly who kept making off with Oceanus’ special pastries.” “That was--” Celestia stopped, resuming only when she had restored some dignity in her tone. “That was a long, long time ago, Regia Carnifex,” she said. “We've woken you up for present matters.” “Of course you have,” Carnifex replied. “I’m not going anywhere, am I? So ask your questions.” None of them replied right away. Now that they had Carnifex’s attention, the swarm of possible questions made it difficult to pick the first. “Tell us about the Foul Weapon,” Celestia said. “What is it? What does it do? How is it activated?” “It’s not for you,” Carnifex replied. “That’s what it is, Princess Celestia. If this is some foalish attempt to follow in the hoof-steps of the pony you all but worshiped before, then give up.” Luna stomped a hoof. “As if big sister would even consider such a thing!” she said. “All we want is enough information to make sure that nopony gets to use the Foul Weapon, including Oceanus himself!” “Such a noble goal,” Carnifex replied. “Oceanus said noble things too. He may have even meant them at some point. The Foul Weapon doesn't care. Let no pony ever use it again.” “You’re sounding more and more as if you oppose Oceanus, Regia Carnifex,” Terrato said. “What’s going on here?” “You should know, given that you've been prodding my cage,” Carnifex said. “After the fall, and the rise of Oceanus' children, I started to disagree with Oceanus over how he treated his newfound progeny.” Carnifex chuckled. “I knew that he wouldn't take my defiance well, so I had a failsafe ready before confronting him; a created mortal body to retreat into.” “And that was why you became Starswirl the Bearded” Celestia said. “Yes,” Carnifex replied. “I had a wonderful time. I would prefer to be Starswirl even if I did had to abandon most of my magical power. These mortals…they are such an interesting lot, aren't they?” “They were the ones that brought your downfall, weren't they?” Terrato asked. “Your student discovered your actual body, but she poisoned you before you could do anything.” For minutes, silence reigned over the Crystal Grave’s chamber. Just as when it seemed Carnifex had fallen asleep, his voice emerge from the crystal again. “Clover…ah, it’s coming back now…all that disappointment. Tell me, your highnesses, what happened to Clover the Clever? She left me stuck in my mortal body when she went to salvage something from her Not-So-Everlasting Kingdom.” “Lexarius destroyed her,” Celestia said. “Stupid filly…right to the end, she was desperately scrabbling for her precious ‘Deep Father’.” The tone Carnifex used was all too familiar: regret, disappointment, even a measure of self-loathing. Old aches welled up inside Terrato. He wanted to cut through all the rambling get to what they needed. “Carnifex, there are others on Clover's path,” Celestia said. “There is another pony trying to acquire the Foul Weapon. This is why we need your help.” “I suppose I should be shocked,” Carnifex said. “Yet, it’s to be expected isn't it? When his children hear Oceanus’ call, they all madly dash towards his abyss. I've tried to stop them to no avail. The taint they carry leads them to their fall in the end.” Luna's face twisted, and she looked down on her chest. Terrato opened his mouth to say something, but Celestia beat him to it. “No!” Celestia’s voice resounded within the chamber. She spoke so vehemently that Terrato didn't dare add anything. Carnifex didn't respond either. “I don’t believe it!” Celestia continued. “Not for even for a second!” Her voice softened. “Oceanus did grow wicked, but it was by his choice, not out of any inevitability. His children have that same choice.” Celestia suddenly looked towards Terrato, and smiled. “Even when thrown into the worst of situations, they can still choose harmony over their ‘Deep Father’. I am not giving up on these mortals.” “You've come a long way from stealing cakes, Princess Celestia,” Carnifex said. “Perhaps the succession is in safe hooves with you.” Celestia pressed her lips together, and looked down on her hooves. “I am not worthy of the Throne,” she said softly. “Father will have to look to somepony else.” “You must be,” Regia Carnifex said. “For you plan to oppose the firstborn in this world, and he has found a Throne for himself. “What?” Luna and Terrato exclaimed at the same time. “You've convinced me, at least a bit,” Carnifex said. “If nothing else, let me tell you what it is. The Foul Weapon is a Throne.” “That makes no sense.” Celestia shook her head. “The Eternal Herd only has one Throne, and our father and mother are sharing it! There is no other Throne!” “I’m sure that Oceanus thought the same thing when he first found out,” Carnifex said. “But there is another Throne, highness, and the firstborn draws from it. Did you think he would dare challenge your father with anything less?” “You said 'when he first found out',” Terrato's eyebrows furrowed. “That means Oceanus didn't create this thing. Where did it come from?” “That is a mystery even to me,” Carnifex replied. “Oceanus might know. Although, I’m sure he won’t share. I can tell you that it is an old, old thing. Older than Sanctus Dominus’ cycle. Likely older than the cycles before that.” He paused again. “Through all that time, nopony has ever been able to draw from it. Only Oceanus.” “Then Black Rose will fail,” Terrato said, mostly to himself. “The Throne will allow only one pony to draw from it, and that pony is Oceanus.” “The throne can accommodate two more,” Luna said. “A mate picked by the one it has chosen, and an heir from the two. That’s how it has always been in the Eternal Herd.” “And how is that pertinent to the situation?” Terrato asked. A snap and a glare followed the tail end of that question despite his efforts to control himself. “The only way Black Rose would be able to draw from Oceanus’s throne is if she married him, or turned out to be his--” Terrato stopped. “Wayward children of Oceanus…” he whispered harshly. “It’s only in the broadest sense,” Celestia said. She put a hoof on Terrato's shoulder. “But we shouldn't ignore the possibility, no matter how tenuous the link.” “He would still have to choose her,” Terrato said. “She doesn't even know it’s a Throne.” "I must agree with Princess Celestia,” Carnifex went on. “The likelihood of this 'Black Rose' even catching Oceanus’s attention is miniscule, but would you risk even a miniscule chance when dealing with the firstborn's Throne?” ‘That gambler…’ was all Terrato could think. He tried to turn his thoughts away to calm himself down. After all that had happened, even with the theft of Celestia’s power, Black Rose was his beloved. He didn't want the miserable firstborn to take that away. He tried to console himself with how unlikely the odds were. It didn't help. Not when he was dealing with a mare who seemed able to bend luck itself to her favor. She might just catch Oceanus’s attention. King knows, she’s caught his. The thought made him sick. “Big brother…” Luna said. She was about to reach a hoof towards him when Celestia spoke. “Let us assume that she can find a way to draw from the throne,” Celestia said. “Black Rose still needs to get to it. Lexarius and the other stewards have sealed the thing up so that even my stolen power can’t break into it. Assuming that you’re not going to help her, how else could Black Rose get to the Foul Weapon?” It almost sounded as if Regia Carnifex snorted. “I would certainly refuse if she was actually polite enough to ask first, unlike my faithful student and her friends. I am trapped in this crystal, your highnesses. Black Rose only needs to steal me away, and she can use me as she pleased.” “She can’t if you’re dead,” Terrato said. “Terrato, this is no time for your morbid jokes!” Celestia said. “It’s no joke,” Carnifex said. “He’s right. If I’m slain in my alicorn body, nopony will be able to use me.” “I will not murder anypony as a precaution,” Celestia said. "Not anymore..." “Nobler and nobler,” Carnifex said. “But I've been in this world for too long, Princess Celestia, I've seen plenty of it as Starswirl to be satisfied. Killing me would be a boon. I would be able to return to the Eternal Herd, and face judgment for my part in all of this. Who knows? I might even be allowed to rejoin it.” At that, Celestia actually looked like she might relent. “You’re lying,” Luna said. “You've been tainted by the power of Oceanus. If you are slain here, you go to where he resides, to be tormented forever at his whim for your part in helping us.” She put a hoof against her chest, and stared at it grimly. “Like me…” “I would thank you for sparing my life, highnesses,” Carnifex said. “But your problem remains the same. Let me make another suggestion.” “And what’s that?” Celestia asked. “Release me,” Regia Carnifex said. “Clover and Platinum have siphoned nearly all of my magic for their rituals. I may be about as useful as an obsolete book on all things about the age I lived in, but I want to do something against Oceanus.” All three siblings looked to each other quietly. Terrato frowned, and shook his head. There was a lack of power coming from Carnifex, who sounded sincere enough, but he wasn't just going to release a prisoner so soon. Though Luna seemed a bit hesitant, he could tell that she did agree with him. “Let us think about it first. We will speak some more later, Regia Carnifex.” Celestia motioned to her siblings, and walked away from the Crystal Grave. Terrato and Luna followed suit. It was only when the three of them had reached the Chamber of Elements did Celestia speak. “Where does all this find us now?” she asked. “If Black Rose is relying on Regia Carnifex, she would have to come to us,” Terrato said. “She must have an alternative.” “What other magic can match such a powerful seal from the Eternal Herd?" Celestia asked. “The Elements of Harmony,” Luna replied. She held her gaze steady when both her siblings looked at her. “Think about it, she’s been dead set on trying to break or strengthen them with her agents. I think the Elements could do it.” “Black Rose would have to get them to use it according to her purposes,” Terrato said. “And lead them to the Blasphemous Rift before that. What could she possibly do to--” All three of them halted when the resonance of an ominous and familiar presence made itself known. Celestia’s face twisted from shock to sheer outrage. Luna and Terrato could only look to her grimly. “Gravitas!” she said. “How dare he!” “Where is he?” Luna asked. “And who’s with him?” Terrato tried to pinpoint the presence. Gravitas had chosen to enter this world, but not to meet Celestia. Otherwise, he would have come to Canterlot. He had also tried to enter it as secretly as possible. The magic they sensed wasn't a gate opening, but Gravitas’s power already being unleashed. His eyes widened as he followed that power's trail. “Sky Mirror Lake,” he said. “There are two others with him,” Celestia said. “He must mean to secure the Blasphemous Rift.” “Too fast,” Terrato muttered. “He didn't even bother scouting out this world before coming personally. What could have provoked him to rush his arrival here?” A series of urgent knocks cut Terrato’s musings short. “Enter!” he said. A pair of Special Operations ponies entered, and knelt. “Highness,” one of them said. “We've received reports from the ponies observing Sky Mirror Lake.” “What is it?” Terrato asked. He already feared the worst. “Several explosions were just seen coming from there. We believe that the changelings are under attack.” “We have to stop him!” Celestia said. “He’s attacking the changelings without so much as a provocation!” “It’s General Gravitas, and likely two of his best soldiers,” Luna said. “Big sister, without your power, it would be two against three.” Terrato snorted. “Unless we bring the Elements of Harmony to bear,” he said. “Which would be bringing Twilight Sparkle and her friends to Sky Mirror Lake as Black Rose would want them to be.” Celestia shook her head. “The Elements are not ready. Whether it’s going to the Blasphemous Rift, or against Gravitas.” “Then keep them here until they are,” Terrato said. “I will go to Sky Mirror Lake to negotiate with Gravitas. “I’ll bide for time, maybe even convince him to back off.” “He’s a brute,” Celestia said. “He could just overpower you, and lock you away before making his way here.” “I’ll go with you, big brother!” Luna said. “No,” Terrato said. “This is Black Rose’s ploy. If we both go, she’ll come here, and take Regia Carnifex away. She’s probably the one who convinced Gravitas to come to the Blasphemous Rift.” “Devious,” Luna said. “But this is likely her last ploy. If we defend against this, big sister can recover her power.” “Then let’s defend well,” Terrato replied. “I’m leaving this front to you, Luna.” "Take care of yourself, Terrato," Celestia said. "If you fall, Equestria will follow." "Nopony's going to fall," Terrato replied. "Especially not me." He left the Chamber of Elements, and had spread his wings when a hoof touched his side. “You need something else, little sister?” he asked. “Promise me that you’ll run, big brother,” Luna said softly. “When it becomes clear that you’re in danger, run. Don’t try to put up a last stand. Leave the changelings behind if you must, but run.” Terrato felt an urge to shake off the worry, make some small joke, then fly off. Instead, he turned around, and put a hoof on his sister’s shoulder. “I’ll run,” he said. “And Luna…” “Yes?” “I…” Terrato hesitated. This sounded like the sort of thing a soldier would say to his loved ones before putting his life on the line again. He didn't want to invoke that ominous atmosphere, but he wanted to say this anyway. “You know…I gave up on you back then. I didn't think you stood a chance against Nightmare Moon. If Celestia had agreed with what I had set out to do, you’d be with Oceanus right now.” “I know that,” Luna said. “You don’t need to apologize.” “It’s not an apology I want to make,” Terrato said. “I just want you to know that I plan on giving Oceanus nothing. Not “his” children, not Regia Carnifex, and especially not you.” “Thank you, big brother,” Luna said. “I’ll hold you to that.” “Count on it.”