//------------------------------// // Sunlit Glory // Story: Upheaval: Reckoning // by Visiden Visidane //------------------------------// Upheaval: Reckoning Chapter 60: Sunlit Glory Celestia collapsed on her belly, gasping for air as if she had almost drowned, bleeding from a dozen cuts that had appeared across her body, and aching as if she had tumbled down a steep mountainside. In front of her, Luna fared just as badly. From the depths of the abyss, the black touch of Terrato’s necromantic power had reached out to them. When they had accepted, it was as if their brother had suddenly become bent on sucking out their very souls to feed to the hungry abyss. Something was happening down there; something terrible and desperate. Celestia gave and gave, even resigning herself to dying when no end to the life tapping appeared. She had sent Twilight Sparkle and the others into danger so often, even throwing them into the Barrier Lands to protect her lies. Now, they faced the danger yet again. She trusted Terrato’s judgment this time. Suffering wounds and allowing her very life force to be drained was a small price to pay. When the life tapping stopped, Celestia’s apprehension only worsened. She and her sister had been severely weakened to the point that they could barely maintain the necromantic array. If they failed now, the Elements of Harmony would be swallowed by the abyss, but they didn’t have enough energy to pull anypony out of there. The only option seemed to be to hold on with their dwindling strength until everypony managed to climb out on their own. “Big sister,” Luna said between pants. “Something strange is happening down there.” “What do you mean?” Celestia asked. “The firstborn’s presence. I can’t sense it anymore. Oceanus’s Throne is no longer beneath us.” Luna stared forlornly at the array. “I fear that the abyss will soon collapse on itself without the Throne. The others…” “We have to get them out,” Celestia said. She struggled to her hooves, her horn glowing with all her remaining strength. “We have to pull them through the array.” “I’ll give it everything, big sister,” Luna said as she also forced her legs to support her. Her voice carried not a hint of confidence in succeeding, but all the determination to die trying. The necromantic array’s runes glowed as the power of sunlight and moonlight flooded it, but the light was dim, barely visible in the muted atmosphere of the Old Kingdom. Beads of sweat formed around Celestia’s forehead, mixing with the blood still there before dropping. No, she couldn’t do it. Even with Luna helping, she couldn’t pull anypony out of the abyss. She also felt it too. Something had changed past the array and even the dark presence within the Old Kingdom was waning. “Big sister…” Celestia couldn’t answer. She didn’t have an answer. Ponies that she cherished were slipping away while all she could do was stare blankly at a stone floor. Tears followed those drops of sweat and blood. If only… Celestia raised her gaze. Her answer was not going to come from this necromantic array. No power from the Old Kingdom or Oceanus could help her now. She stared at the sky above. The sun still shone despite the clouds of winter, despite the foulness of the Old Kingdom. A few rays still made their way to this wretched spot. “Your Majesty…” she whispered, slipping into the language she was born into. It had been a long time since she felt the need to speak in the Herd's tongue. Addressing the one she needed now, however, required nothing less. Luna slammed a hoof against the dimly glowing necromantic array. The loud ping of metal against stone echoed mockingly within the enormous dome. The shock from the impact jarred her already wounded leg, and sent jolts of pain shooting into her shoulder. It wasn’t pain that brought fresh tears to her eyes, though. The frustration of it all: of having to stay out here while the ponies they were supposed to be protecting did all the hard work, being able to do nothing when those ponies now stood at the brink of annihilation. What else could they sacrifice to save everypony in the abyss? She looked to her own fragile life, already ebbing from the dozen cuts that her brother’s life tapping had caused. Even giving it would not do. “Your Majesty…” Luna heard her sister say in the Herd's tongue. For a moment, she forgot about the pain and frustration. There were only two beings that her sister, indeed herself, would address as such. ‘Oh, Celestia,’ Luna thought, her heart aching at the sight. It was a pointless, desperate attempt. The ponies Celestia called out to were a world away, unreachable without magic that would have been enough to pull at least a few ponies from the abyss. “Your Majesty, King Sanctus Dominus, Rightful Ruler of the Eternal Herd, Sixteenth Ascendant to the Throne,” Celestia went on. Her voice was so soft, it would have been difficult to hear just a few feet away, let alone across worlds. “Under the shadow of the firstborn’s false Throne, your subjects seek your aid. The power of the abyss threatens those under your protection, we ask—“ Celestia paused to wipe a tear away from her cheek. She inhaled deeply to compose herself. “We beg,” she said. “We humbly beg that our regalia be restored.” Luna could only shake her head silently. That was a fanciful and impossible notion. Their regalia had been taken away as punishment and the King had decreed that they would never again wield it until they had returned from their rebellious stay in this world. Still, she didn't dare interrupt Celestia. “Your Majesty, we—!” A sob she failed to stifle wracked Celestia. Fresh tears poured down her cheeks. For a while, she could only sob and sniffle, her shoulders quivering in her efforts to control herself. “Father,” she finally choked out. “Father, please…” Celestia stared at the pitiless ground. “I was disobedient,” she said. “And I was so wrong so many times. You told me to do what I believed was right. I tried, and all I did was hurt others. You taught me to stay true, even if I fail. I will stay true to this course. The King’s word is inviolable, but I ask you, Father…please grant me the strength to make things right.” Celestia lifted her gaze towards the sky, to the sun still shining despite the wintry clouds and the muted atmosphere of the Old Kingdom. Her voice rose to a cry. “Grant me the strength to save those I cherish! The strength that put an end to the Void Rift Crisis! The strength that cast down the false throne! Father!” And Celestia fell silent, her gaze falling again. Luna had expected the silence that followed. But knowing and wishing had never been so different. ‘He will not respond,’ Luna told herself. ‘Even if he could hear, ultimately, Sanctus Dominus is King first, and the King will not take back his decree. We must look to other means—‘ The thought went still in Luna’s mind as the fur at the back of her neck rose. There was magic tingling in the air, a faint humming for now, but with a sense of building power. She looked to Celestia. Was this some trick? Did her sister hold back some secret trump card after all? Perhaps a mana battery of immense power, hidden away for the most desperate occasions… The building power intensified. Luna recognized the warm sensation enveloping her and her sister alike: Power of Sunlight. Some kind of gate was forming nearby. Hope welled from within Luna and warred with a sense of pragmatism. She couldn't look at the gate above them. She didn't want to start expecting. Was it the King responding? Were their regalia indeed being restored? ‘No,’ Luna thought. ‘That’s impossible. It can’t be. It shouldn't be.’ She shut her eyes tightly for a few moments, suddenly unsure now as to why she was so vehemently denying what might happen even as explanations formed themselves in her thoughts. Perhaps it was possible with Celestia. Her sister was, after all, a master of summoning conjurations. Perhaps her pleas were still carried through wisps of transportation magic, faint enough just for the King to intercept. Add to that their mutual affinity for the power of sunlight. Yes, that was it. The King was powerful enough to intercept even a faint message from a fellow pony blessed with the power of sunlight. With the final rebellions so close, he must be almost ready to leave the Silver Sanctum now, just as Oceanus was already showing signs of awakening. ‘Would His Majesty have answered if it was me who called?’ Luna shook her head. ‘No,’ she begged inwardly. ‘Don’t think that. This is a blessed, glorious event. I should be happy, hopeful…’ She pressed a hoof against her own wounds, relishing the sharp pain she caused as if it served to punish those wretched, envious feelings. Even as Luna struggled inwardly, the warmth of sunlight flowing from above soothed her aches and slowly filled her with a supernatural sense of elation. This power…it was similar to Celestia’s power of sunlight, but not quite. How majesty could be transmitted through emanations of light, she didn't know, but the grandiose presence she would associate with the King poured out from the gate, banishing the foulness of the Old Kingdom with ease. And then something flew out of the gate, slamming in front of Celestia like a golden lightning bolt. Luna looked away on instinct, but the terrific flash did not hurt her eyes, nor was it followed by a deafening boom. When she looked again, her sister was staring at brilliant aura of her regalia. Aurea Gloriam. When the left blade of Sanctus Dominus shattered during the destruction of the Agamanthion, Divina Gratia had asked the royal smith, Conlis Corde, to re-forge the recovered four pieces with new metal, asking that he allow instinct to guide him into their new shapes. From the tip of the blade, this spear emerged. No seams marked the weapon, from its leaf-shaped head to its smooth shaft. It shone gold, like a solidified beam of pure sunlight; a perfect gift for the eldest princess. Though she was fiercely proud of her regalia, and treasured it as the King’s gift, Celestia never carried Gloriam in public. The sight of it next to her made her appear too war-like to her taste. Gloriam had no frills about it. Here was no weapon of ceremony. Here was a weapon to bring the Princess of Sunlight’s wrath down on her enemies. Celestia stared at Gloriam for a while, the last of her tears simply evaporating from being so close to such power. Her horn glowed as she picked it up with her magic. In response, a fine engraving, delicately spiraling down from the head’s base, glowed white. “The power of my blow has no equal,” it proudly proclaimed. “Father…” Celestia said softly. Her eyes hardened as she focused her gaze on the array. “Divina Impetum!” she cried out. Aurea Gloriam rose above her head, its tip erupting with golden arcs that flashed across the entirety of the Old Kingdom. It was as if a storm of sunlight crackled all around them. The soft warmth from earlier now turned into thundering sense of wrath. It wasn’t fear that sent Luna’s heart hammering, but a glorious sense of anticipation. With a loud neigh, Celestia hurled Aurea Gloriam into the necromantic array. Both of them flapped their wings in time as the entire floor caved in from the impact. The roaring rush of a wave of sunlight funneling after the spear’s wake ruffled their feathers. Around them, large cracks spread out across the ground and the walls of the dome. The sound of rubble collapsing echoed not just within the dome, but all throughout the Old Kingdom’s ruins. For now, Luna didn’t mind them; the sight of that mighty throw left her breathless and giddy. For once, she felt as if they could take on Oceanus head on, that his power of the abyss would never truly match the true strength of the Herd. And as the sunlight continued to pour into the resulting hole of Celestia’s strike, Luna couldn’t help but look down it eagerly. Even as the pressure crushing her from all sides increased, Twilight Sparkle still searched desperately for some kind of solution. “Make peace with this world,” Prince Terrato had said. She refused. She wasn’t at peace and she would never be at peace so long as the foul shadow of Oceanus lay across Equestria. Around her, her friends looked lost, caught between accepting their eventual demise and clinging desperately to hope. Pinkie Pie caught her staring and stared back, eyes pleading for some miraculous spell. Applejack stared at what passed for the ground. This would not be the first time Applejack was this close to death, perhaps experience left her more accepting and silent. Rainbow looked as if she was trying to push back at the collapsing space, as if an act of raw strength could do something to save them. Rarity was quietly staring morosely at her mage-blades, wincing briefly once in a while as the pressure worsened. Fluttershy was staring at a distance, her ruined eye glowing softly with that strange green energy again. Was she conversing with that other thing that came out earlier? Making peace with some inner creature that nopony else knew about? Twilight may never know and it might not matter. As for the prince, he sat at a distance from them, still staring at the last spot Black Rose had been, never uttering a word since he spoke to Applejack. He didn’t even flinch from the crushing pressure. The cracks in his hide oozed blood and pulsed with red light, the only sign of life, coming from him. The Thorns fared worse. Sablesteel had shut down completely, her weapons broken, her suit ruined, and her limbs limp by her sides. Some of her mane had already fallen out of the mask, and hid her face. She sat there as if she were dead already, with only the faint movement of her sides from breathing as the only signs otherwise. Octavia was unconscious and bloody, cradled in Lion Court’s forelegs to keep her from being crushed already. Her cello lay nearby, pulsing with red light. It was likely that whatever magic that allowed it to perform the supernatural effects of her music was struggling to keep it from being destroyed. As for Lion Court, out of everypony in this collapsing abyss, he appeared the most ready to meet his end. He even seemed eager. There was a faint smile on his face as he shifted his gaze from Octavia to the rest of his fellows. Longstride was about as unmoving as Sablesteel, although with less dejection. While Sablesteel had collapsed, it appeared as if somepony had simply turned off whatever was keeping Longstride going. He sat there, eyes open and emotionless, refusing to move without orders, even though the only pony likely able to give them was gone. And then, in an instant, the sight of all these ponies around her vanished into whiteness. Twilight gasped. For a moment, she assumed that she had finally died. But the warmth that followed couldn’t possibly be from being crushed by the collapsing abyss. The light didn’t hurt, but she closed her eyes anyway. Old feelings welled up along with memories. She had felt this before. All of a sudden, she was a filly again, capering about the Royal Palace, excited to be learning from the Princess of Equestria herself. And there was Princess Celestia by the balcony, bathed in the light of the early morning. Her smile gentle, her countenance inviting. Yes, she remembered this feeling. It was the same as being cradled in the princess’s wings; the same warmth, even the same fragrance. With some of the glare fading, she focused now on the figures nearby. Like her, her friends were cradled in the same light, their expressions caught between wonder and puzzlement. The Thorns, save for Sablesteel, who refused to budge, and the unconscious Octavia, also looked pleasantly surprised. Even Prince Terrato’s stony depression temporarily cracked. He didn’t glance around his surroundings though. His gaze focused on something in front of him. Twilight followed that gaze and found a great, golden spear lodged into the abyss, the light still trailing from its passage. The power of sunlight was unmistakable. “Aurea Gloriam,” Terrato muttered. The brief moment of surprise disappeared with a snort. “Now, you show up.” The sunlight cradling Twilight and the others did more than just comfort. It tugged at them gently but surely, pulling them towards where the throw had come from. The spear flared and all of them set into motion, following the golden, radiant, trail back to its source. Back to Equestria. The cracks continued to spread around the dome, much to Luna’s discomfiture. They had to move soon or the Old Kingdom was going to collapse on them. She continued to wait next to her sister though, still confident in saving her brother and all the rest. Bits of dust fell on her mane and small portions of the ceiling crumbled into clouds of dust. Finally, with a joyous cry from Celestia, the hole flared and several figures emerged. “Twilight!” Celestia cried out. Twilight Sparkle was the first on her hooves and she was embracing Celestia in an instant. The others were not far behind, at least most of them. What remained of the Thorns did not dare join the embrace and Terrato was simply staring at the ceiling before he locked gazes with Luna. “We have to go,” Terrato said. He flapped his wings and winced, fresh blood spattering on the ground. “Big brother, I’ll carry you,” Luna said. She had already moved to his side, appalled by the number and extent of his wounds. She had thought the effect of life tapping was bad on her, but she could still fly. He didn’t look fit to walk. At her offer, she had expected him to make a sputtering refusal, but all he did was give a curt nod and a distant look. Luna looked around. Black Rose was not with them. That was all the explanation she needed. Though exhausted and wounded themselves, only Celestia and Luna were capable of getting the group from the swiftly collapsing city. The abyss underneath the Old Kingdom had apparently collapsed upon itself and whatever magic that held the structure above it was now gone. The Old Kingdom, built on an impossible space to begin with, was rushing downwards in a whirlpool of tainted rubble. Celestia’s power of sunlight still enveloped everypony, keeping them suffused in comforting warmth. Aurea Gloriam reappeared next to her in a silent flash, ready to serve its wielder. Retreat was the order of the day, however. Celestia raised the spear, and let her mastery of summoning conjurations take over. The entire group was gone in a flash, only to reappear in the midst of the still recovering Legion. They had reappeared within a camp a little bit past the edges of Sky Mirror Lake. Most of the Legion had encircled the shores with encampments. The lake itself was filled with the broken wreckage of the Old Kingdom’s constructs. A few legionnaires flitted among them, searching for wounded, recovering still useable equipment, and separating the fallen from the debris. The sunset’s red-orange rays that illuminated the sight. ‘How strange,’ Luna thought. 'It appears we have only been gone a few hours, but it feels like years.’ After some initial gasps of surprise, nearby legionnaires sprang into action. Medics rushed in to tend the wounded. Fresh bandages and healing spells, even simple comforts like a drink of fresh water soon followed. Even as one medic wrapped her torso up, Luna couldn’t take her eyes off the Old Kingdom. Its twisted spires toppled over, raising large clouds of dust. The walls and the buildings followed. It was as if the earth itself was sucking the city down. “Alert!” a legionnaire shouted at a distance. Horns blew and those in the vicinity of the lake started rushing out. A distant roar of onrushing water followed the horns. The devices Lexarius had set up must have failed, and the lake was coming in to complete the land’s reclamation. ‘Go to where you belong, Old Kingdom,’ Luna thought. ‘Our history and nowhere else.’ It was all over in moments. Where the horrors of a bygone age once lay, now lay a placid lake. Even the ominous mirror-like sheen on the water had disappeared. For a while, all of them simply stared at the newly reborn lake. Then, a low cheer came from somepony nearby. Others picked it up until it turn into a joyous uproar. Though the Legion did not know the details, Luna could understand the elation. Every pony instinctively knew that a powerful enemy had been vanquished within that wretched place and a danger to Equestria had been thwarted. The ones who had been inside the Old Kingdom, however, were not part of the impromptu celebration. Twilight was recounting everything that had happened to them. The other bearers were nearby, listening and adding their own thoughts and recollections to the tale. Celestia listened intently, even as the glow of her regalia dimmed and subsided. The Thorns had gathered together with Octavia already awake. Blue Moon had joined them and Lion Court was making a report. They already looked halfway to disappearing. Without Black Rose though, what else could they have planned? Luna approached her brother, who had not stopped staring at the lake. “That’s number eight,” Terrato said as soon as Luna took to his side. He had told off the medics that tried to help him, but he had taken to mending himself with bandages. “For the sake of his rebellious children, the King has broken his word. Even he is not exempt to rebelling against his rule after all.” “Yes,” Luna said. She stared at the golden spear that Celestia had strapped to her back. In its dormant state, Aurea Gloriam looked like a simple pole of gold. Perhaps it won’t be long until Luna and Terrato’s regalia were restored as well. “This would be the eighth. The firstborn won’t be long behind.” For the first time since he escaped the abyss, Terrato allowed himself a brief, tight, joyless smile. “Good,” he said. “She won’t have to wait long.” Animus Arcem, loyal retainer of the Eternal Herd’s current royal family, walked the great hall to the Silver Sanctum cautiously. Everything appeared normal so far, save for a lingering warmth in the air and a strange charge that made his fur tingle. The white stone floor and walls remained undamaged. The arched ceiling showed no danger of collapse. He was among the first to notice the surge of power of sunlight erupt from this place and he was the one, among all the stewards and elders alike, brave enough to investigate. The hall’s sides were lined with statues of all those who led the Herd. The right held the ascendant, the left his or her mate. What was once a brief walk had turned into quite a stroll as each cycle brought a new occupant to this place. The first, Primus Ignis, stood proud and strong on a pedestal by the entrance, the others followed in order. Two pairs of pedestals lay empty, however. The Sixth, and whoever her mate was, had vanished from all records, even this one. And, at the very end of the hall, a place was already set for the Seventeenth. Arcem passed them one by one, paying silent tribute each time. He paused briefly by the Fourth, recalling his personal encounter with Juste Canite, whose daughter now shared the Throne. At the Sixteenth, Arcem stopped. Mighty Sanctus Dominus, his old friend, reared up from the pedestal, two swords flashing, wings outstretched and mouth open in a victorious cry. Dominus and Gratia had been too silent. The Herd was in chaos as a result. The Council of Elders had foolishly granted Gravitas permission to enter the other world “as a measure of security” Procul called it. Now, no word had come from Gravitas, and things appeared even more chaotic in the other world. The Council floundered with its precautions and the royal children continued to be rebelliously set. Arcem knew that another crisis was bound to emerge, perhaps one worse than the Void Rift Crisis or the First Rebellion. Suddenly, the double doors that led to the Silver Sanctum’s antechamber opened. Arcem’s heart leapt to his throat. There was nopony else here that could have gone ahead of him. Nopony could have opened that door save for—! The burst of sunlight from the smallest crack between the doors turned that apprehension to joy. Arcem fell to his knees at once, his grin wide and his heart wild. ‘Gird yourselves, Eternal Herd,’ he thought. ‘The Lord of Sunlight rises once more.’ “Arcem,” an all too familiar voice called out from beyond the doors. The small crack grew wider now, and the sunlight made it difficult for Arcem to look directly. “Yes, Your Majesty,” Arcem replied. He could scarcely contain himself. “Convene the Council of Elders. Send for my children. This silence is over.”