The Seventh Rebellion
Upheaval: Breaking Point
Chapter 43: The Seventh Rebellion
The farther he flew southward, the stronger Terrato felt Celestia's presence. This would be a first since she established the Heartland. "And me without a welcoming feast," he muttered. How often had he entertained the idea of her coming to the Barrier Lands? How often had he thought of what he would do on such an occasion? He would hold a grand feast, a parade, and certainly a tour to assure her that everything was fine.
Except that everything was not fine. This was not the Barrier Lands he wanted to show Celestia. Not this Barrier Lands with enemies invading, or legionnaires turning traitor. The presence grew even stronger. He didn't have to travel that far from Bastion City. She hadn't come by teleportation spell meaning that she was conserving her strength. He was doing the same. At the rate they were going, they were going to meet by the ruins of the Temple of the Three. 'Strangely fitting.' he thought. He did have a lot of fond memories of his sisters in that place.
Celestia, Celestia
Grand Princess of the Sun
Light of Equestria
Blazing Noble Flame
Under your reign we prosper
By your vision we set forth
Radiant Celestia, your subjects pray
For your guidance
The fervent chants filled the Temple of the Three as they always did every month. It was a custom that produced some rather mixed reactions with Terrato, and his siblings. Celestia stood at the center of a raised platform, surrounded by well over a thousand ponies, and that was only counting the ones inside the building. The Temple of the Three was a massive open building of white marble and gold. Its domed roof allowed sunlight to illuminate the central platform through an enormous opening at its center that could be closed if necessary. Outside the temple were even more ponies coming from various settlements.
"They always start with big sister's part," Luna said. Standing behind, and to the right of Celestia, she watched the gathered mass of ponies with a hint of disappointment.
Terrato grinned. "As they should." He stood parallel to his younger sister. He pointed his horn at the foremost pony who knelt before Celestia. The unicorn stallion was clothed in white robes trimmed with gold. With his golden mane, and his white coat to match, and the enormous golden headdress with long ray-like spikes coming from it, he looked like a small shrine to Celestia all on his own. "I like that one over there. Solar was it? He's Celestia's biggest worshipper that one."
"Second biggest," Luna muttered.
Teratto, Teratto
Grand Prince of the Earth
Defender of Equestria
Unyielding Gray Sentinel
At your charge we rise
At your neigh we rally
Mighty Teratto, your subjects pray
For your protection
Terrato didn't care much for his section. These ponies didn't need sing to him, just Celestia. He came with the set, so to speak.
Luna, Luna
Grand Princess of the Moon
Watcher of Equestria
Gentle Comforting Darkness
Under your stars we rest
In your shadow we shelter
Sublime Luna, your subjects pray
For your compassion
Terrato nudged Luna with a wing. "Your section's rhythm is a little off," he said. "Maybe we should add a syllable to your name. How about Lunalis?"
"Your section's rhythm is off too, big brother," Luna retorted. "Maybe you should be called Grand Princess of the Earth to fix it."
"Hush, you two," Celestia whispered. "You're making them nervous with all your small talk."
Celestia raised her horn as a blessing for all the ponies that had gathered. She still looked uncomfortable with all the adulation she was receiving. Perhaps Solar had been a little too zealous with this ceremony. The construction of the temple was his grand plan, one that Terrato wholeheartedly supported by furnishing all the necessary materials. He could have built it too, but these ponies should have a great part in it. The fancy white and gold robes, the elaborate rituals, the ceremonial tools, the various holidays...Celestia deserved all of it for choosing to help these ponies over returning to the Eternal Herd, but even he had to think that it was all too much.
Solar stood on his hind legs. With his forelegs outstretched, he cried "Praise the sun!". Two ponies joined him, yelling "Praise the earth!" and "Praise the moon!". Terrato snorted, then smiled just to avoid laughing. Luna had to put a hoof to her mouth, and turn away while her shoulders quivered.
The memory receded as Terrato approached the Temple of the Three. Nothing was left of the place, save for a few broken columns: gravestones for the prospect of ruling Equestria side-by-side with his sisters. There used to be vast settlements all around at the height of its use. They were gone as well. Nopony wanted to live next to something that reminded them that Celestia and Luna lived in the Heartland, while they remained out here. Instead of prosperous towns, and a majestic temple, there was only a vast field of whiteness. Luna still believed in what the Temple of the Three signified. He sometimes wished that he was that naïve.
Just as he expected, Celestia was approaching. She was a single white dot against the dark gray skies, surrounded by the brightly glowing dots of her "protectors". He snorted, and flew towards them. The Equi Ignei didn't frighten him. They didn't even worry him. 'These are things she relies on to protect her now?' He sneered inwardly. It was an insult. Celestia was insulting him to his face by having these things by her side.
They were about thirty feet apart when they stopped. For a moment, Terrato was breathless. He hadn't seen his sister in the flesh for more than a thousand years. She still had that regal air, and that piercing stare. But those were things he could observe through a magical image. Up close, he could still feel that radiant presence that no image could duplicate.
This was no time to think fondly of Celestia, however. The Equi Ignei quickly surrounded him. There was nothing calm or friendly from the presence Celestia radiated. She glared at him. During any other time, he would have been hurt, but this was an improvement compared to the dejected mess he talked to earlier. He didn't mind being in danger just to see that improvement.
"Terrato," Celestia said.
Terrato smiled wryly. "I'm glad you still remember who I am, dearest sister. Here I was thinking that you've forgotten even that."
"How can I forget after what you've done?" Celestia asked. She quivered, from her voice, to her legs.
Terrato's voice lowered. "I sent Luna back, and I did everything I could to protect your rebellious little student. Why do you sound like I--"
Celestia glared daggers, and gestured towards the Heartland's direction. "You sent your…your creatures to murder my ponies, and steal the Elements of Harmony!"
Celestia's accusing tone cut through Terrato more deeply than Arugek's claws. "What? I've done no such thing!" He paused. Two of his Special Operations squads disappeared when-- "Black Rose…" he whispered.
Celestia wasn't done yet. "You've turned Luna against me! You've forced Twilight and her friends into your Legion! Now, you've come to attack me!"
"You entered my realm!" Terrato retorted. "Twilight Sparkle and her friends joined the Legion, the Equestrian Legion, of their own free will. And Luna…" He almost smiled. Just some weeks ago, he would have never imagined himself saying this. "…Luna has done nothing but try to help both of us. What did you do to her? Did you hurt her?"
Some of the outrage dissipated from Celestia's face as she shook her head. "She hurt herself trying to run." Fresh suspicion marred her features. "Are you also going to tell me that somepony called Black Rose sent those creatures?"
"Stop calling them creatures!" Terrato roared. "They're ponies! Use their damn proper name!" The Equi Ignei flared, and tightened their circle. Celestia's ears flattened. He lowered his voice. "Celestia, I didn't come here to attack you. I came here to ask you to bring down that barrier."
Celestia's eyes widened. "You know why I can't do that!"
"No," Terrato said softly. "I don't. I used to think that I do. When you proposed to create the barrier, you told me that we needed to preserve the 'identity' of our subjects. They were creatures of harmony: of honesty, loyalty, generosity, joy, kindness, and magic, but fighting wars would destroy all of that."
Terrato glanced towards Bastion City, where legionnaires, "his" ponies, were fighting to defend their homes. A thousand years was too long a time to remain aloof. To see them take in the chosen, to fight side-by-side with ponies of Celestia's realm…he had been thinking so much of the division lately. "But you're wrong. Yes, I've seen ponies ruined by the carnage they've had to endure, but, far more often, I've seen harmony arise from their struggles. Every day, they face the harsh truth of their existence bravely. Thrown into battle, they draw strength from their loyalty to each other. Faced with cruelty, and the prospect of death at every turn, they value moments of joy, and acts of kindness more. When they are tested to their limits, their friendship only grows stronger. I'll say it again, Celestia. You were wrong, and I was wrong for believing you. There is no repairing the damage that our mistake has caused, but we can end this. Bring down the barrier. Fight by my side, and let our little ponies work together."
After that, there was only the steady wind around them and the gentle flapping of their wings. Celestia stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Then, she looked away, her face twisting. She looked so tired, and ragged. He wanted to fly closer, and offer his support, but the Equi Ignei would attack if he moved even an inch towards her.
"I don't believe you," Celestia answered.
Terrato could barely hear the words. "Celestia--"
"How can you say such lies to my face when I've seen the sort of murderers that you reign over in these lands?" Celestia shook her head. "I will not listen to another word of this. Surrender, Terrato! Let Twilight and her friends return with me to the Heartland, and accept your punishment!"
Terrato recoiled. The imperious tone cut at him more than anything. They sounded like orders. They made everything that she ever said to him since the division sound like orders. "Who will you expect to fight off Fenrir's wolven, Celestia?" he asked. "Luna? You?" He backed away slightly as the Equi Ignei tightened the ring of living fire around him.
"I will find a way," Celestia said.
"You'll find a way to push everything you hold dear even farther!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Terrato winced. He desperately wished he could pluck them from the air, and take them back before they reached Celestia. He may as well have hurled spears at her. They would have bitten less deeply. Celestia froze, her mouth open for a few moments. Then, she shook violently. He opened his mouth to apologize. To beg for forgiveness if he had to.
"Terrato!"
Celestia slammed into Terrato, nearly impaling him with her horn if he hadn't twisted at the last moment. She drove him from the sky, and knocked the air out of his lungs. Before he could draw in another breath, the snow-covered ground hurriedly rose to meet him. Celestia flapped her wings harder to speed up his fall.
'Why? All I wanted was to make you happy. Why do I drive you away with each attempt?'
They struck the ruins of the temple. With a thunderous boom that sent snow, stone, and soil flying everywhere, the last remains of the temple shattered. As soon as they struck the ground, Celestia realized her mistake. She rose to her hooves quickly, and beat her wings to regain some altitude, but it was too late. Terrato held on to her with his forelegs. Now, he was also quivering. "You foal," he growled. "You've committed the seventh rebellion, and you've brought this fight to my element." His horn glowed. The ground beneath them went from icy, hard-packed earth into a morass of mud, and loose stones. Celestia tried to push Terrato away, but he held on tightly as they sank. Once they were completely submerged, Terrato struck his sister with a dimensional anchor before letting go. He swam through the earth as easily as if he were flying through open air, leaving her to flail about furiously. He emerged from the ground a good distance away, and cast another spell. The mud transformed into solid stone.
'That should hold her for a bit of time.' Terrato shifted his attention to the twelve flaming shapes streaking towards him. He continued to fly close to the ground, where he could manipulate his element with ease. He doubted that a mere entrapping spell would hold Celestia for long, but she was tired before she even started the fight, and she was far too angry. He was the one whose fighting style worked well with bursts of rage. An excess of emotion only ruined Celestia's graceful, insightful technique.
The first of the Equi Ignei flew towards him in a torrent of white-hot flames. His horn glowed once more, and the ground opened up beneath it. Enormous, jagged shards of various gemstones flew from the opening and struck it repeatedly. A pony of flesh and blood would have been sliced to ribbons, but his foe simply discorporated, buying Terrato just about a minute before it reformed. Two more came from behind the first one, only to fly into a wall of stone. When they tried to fly over the obstacle, he raised it faster, then encased them in a dome of stone. With a flourish, he transformed the stone into diamond. Even otherworldly flames would struggle against that.
Before Terrato could cast another spell, another of the Equi Ignei blazed towards him from the side. He only had enough time to dodge. The flames barely touched his body, but the heat was intense. His coat, and the skin beneath it, began to char. Furious, he slammed it with a wave of raw telekinesis, pushing it to the ground, and crushing it.
The other Equus Ignis flew after Terrato, forcing him to keep flying, and raising obstacles from the ground. His mind worked on three levels now: the first was to keep the Equi Ignei from burning him to a crisp, while trapping and slowing them down. The second was to keep track of discorporated Equi Ignei, as well as his estimated time for Celestia to break out of her stone prison. A third one simply wondered what he was supposed to accomplish in this situation. He was simply defending himself. Was he going to defeat Celestia, knock her out, then go on to destroy her barrier? That was unlikely, he was barely keeping the Equi Ignei from overwhelming him, then he would have to contend with his enraged sister once she broke free.
'Which should be any time now,' Terrato thought. Cracks formed by the spot he had trapped Celestia, and brilliant rays of light escaped from them. With a mighty explosion, Celestia flew out of the stone prison. The time she spent trapped worried Terrato more than seeing her escape. She took far too long, and it looked like the effort sapped more strength than he anticipated.
Two of the Equi Ignei took advantage of his temporary distraction, and flew towards him. He cursed at the persistent concern he felt towards his opponent, and beat his wings furiously. One of them brushed against a foreleg. Despite the horrendous pain, he glanced at the injury with an annoyed grunt and refocused his attention on Celestia. She had raised a foreleg. A glorious nimbus made her appear like a small sun. A shaft of pure, golden sunlight materialized by her raised hoof, growing in size until it was around ten feet long. With a cry, she hurled it at him like a spear, an enormous, blazing spear of light and heat. He tore great chunks of earth from around him, and formed a gigantic shield.
There was no impact, however. There was another flash of light, then hundreds of smaller bolts of sunlight flew around his shield, and homed in on him. 'Brilliantly controlled,' he thought. He shattered his shield into smaller, equally many pieces, then surrounded himself, blocking bolt after bolt with precise placement. There was no time for relief, a second enormous bolt of sunlight was already flying towards him. He plunged into the ground as if he had dived into a lake.
Celestia looked around and increased her altitude. Terrato watched her from beneath, his sight able to penetrate the soil with ease. She shattered the cages he had formed around some of the Equi Ignei, and gathered them around her. With her guardians by her side, she unleashed her magic. Her horn burst with hundreds of motes of sunlight that streamed down. Sunlight outlined Terrato's body. With a grunt, he unleashed his next spell while Celestia aimed a blast of sunlight at his outline.
The ground beneath Celestia burst open, and a myriad of chains flew out. With a gasp, she cancelled the spell, and tried to fly out of the way, but one chain wrapped itself around a hind leg, and dragged her down. Several more followed until she was completely entangled in metal. With Celestia restrained, Terrato emerged from the ground. "I know the spells you rely on," he said. "You can see where I am, but not necessarily where I lay out my attacks. If you spent more time fighting, you'd depend less on detection spells, and more on an instinctive sense of danger."
"I am not surprised that you've planned how to fight me," Celestia grunted. "How often did you envision this fight while you planned all of this?"
Terrato had to dodge and weave once again as the Equi Ignei descended on him. From how Celestia looked, his plan now was to survive, and defend until attrition put the fight more to his favor. As she was the eldest, he naturally assumed that Celestia possessed more raw power than him. But he had centuries of experience compared to her, and he started this fight at a fresher state. Once he bought himself more room to breathe, and fatigue cooled her temper down a bit, he may be able to talk to her again. There was another explosion, and the glowing fragments of his chains flew past him. He braced himself for another fierce attack.
The attack didn't come, however. Black magic erupted between them. Terrato's eyes narrowed. Black Rose. His former student materialized. He recoiled from the sight of her nearly complete wings. Even the Equi Ignei paused at the sight. They could not harm mortals, but they could attack alicorns. This new arrival seemed…stuck in between.
"So you've called out your allies," Celestia said.
Black Rose ignored Celestia, and flew over to Terrato. "My prince, you must postpone this fight for now," she said. She raised a horn, conjuring an image of Bastion City. "Bastion City has been breached; the Legion needs your direction." To Terrato's horror, the buildings were on fire, and his legionnaires were on the run. What's more, the chosen he had relied on had all collapsed.
The most heart-wrenching sight of all was Fenrir walking triumphantly within the city. Between his jaws was Luna's unconscious form, his teeth holding her firmly, but gently enough so that they did not pierce her coat. Terrato's nostrils flared. "I'm not going to--"
An anguished cry came from Celestia. "Luna! Twilight!" With a burst of raw abjuration power, she broke Terrato's lock, and cast a powerful teleportation spell. The Equi Ignei quickly followed suit.
Terrato turned towards Black Rose. "You planned this!" he snarled. "Celestia doesn't know you, and her fear and anger are clouding her judgment. Otherwise, she would recognize your lies!"
"My prince, all I wanted was to protect you," Black Rose replied. With a look of concern, she approached him, and extended her hooves towards his injured foreleg. "You're hurt--"
Terrato lashed out, smashing his injured foreleg into Black Rose's face. There was a violent bang, and a flare of black magic. She flew across the plain, and bounced several times against the ground before landing still. Despite the force of the blow, and the distance she traveled, she stood up with only a trickle of blood flowing from her lower lip. "You're still angry with me," she said in a hurt tone. "Once I have accomplished my goals, that will change. Please be patient for a little while longer, beloved." She disappeared, carried away by the wings of a teleportation spell.
With a snort of rage and frustration, Terrato cast his own teleportation spell. He could only hope that this trip to Bastion City would settle things.
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There are enough opportunities for "DUN DUN DUUUNNNN
" in this story to write a musical score.
PRAISE THE SUN
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FUCK CELESTIA, ALL HAIL THE BLACK ROSE MUTHAFUCKA
"PRAISE THE SUN!"
LATER THAT CHAPTER:
""IF ONLY I COULD BE SO GROSSLY INCANDESCENT!"
Solar is best Jolly Co-operator.
I love this story. Its on my print in book form list (in my head for now, but soon on my page, and from there perhaps my youtube).
BTW, I realize you probably wont read this, and I bet you know this and you probably didnt spell it in its proper Dark Soul's form, but its Solaire originally. Again, I bet you know this, but decided I might as well put it in here.
~AnimatedGamer, Huge, But Sort Of New Dark Soul's Fan
Um... Am I really the first to notice she teleported even though Terrato placed a dementional anchor on her, preventing her from teleporting? No, I'm not expecting it to actually be fixed, but I had to point out the error.
5098929 You missed this line:
Celestia broke through it with raw power.
I am very curious about Black Rose. Obviously she's a villain, but there are times when she fails to act like one. I can't help wondering exactly what she's up to. Mayhap she's hoping Celestia will get ripped to shreds by Fenrir instead?
Anyway, awesome duel.
You gave her what she asked for, but not what she needed to. Foolish foal...
I would have to say a dark souls meme is good enough for this one...
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You know after season 7 I can only imagining this happening when Terrato asks Celestia who will protect her now.
"You see that's your biggest mistake, my foalish brother." Terrato was taken aback by the sinister tone that tainted Celestia's voice, the twisted curve of her lips and almost manic look in her eyes. "Thinking that I need you to protect me." A torrent of flame erupted from Celestia, her mane and tail transforming to match it. Her eyes now pitch black pits with only one speck of color to them, matching the flame with both color and intensity. "Oh but you're right about one thing, I don't need the barrier anymore. All I need to do is get rid of anypony or anything that dares to threaten me, STARTING WITH YOU TERRATO!"
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Makes me wonder what Daybreaker would be in this universe, another servant of Oceanus like Nightmare Moon or truly a Celestia that's gone batshit insane. We need a Daybreaker laugh emoticon.
8660470
I like the concept behind Daybreaker, but I don't like the overall execution. I think it was lazy that they simply made her a Nightmare Moon reskin instead of her own character.
I already introduced an abyssal alicorn blessed with the power of sunlight.
8660489 I agree, not how I would have pictured an evil Celestia would act. Though to be fair it was Starlight Glimmer's nightmare so it made sense that she came off so similar to Nightmare Moon (though motivated more by "I can do whatever I want" than "You are going to love me"). I still liked the overall design of Daybreaker and she gave some pretty sick burns to Nightmare Moon. "So much black. We get it, you're sad. You could really use some SUN!"
Honestly the Lunaverse probably has the best depiction of a villain Celestia at least out of the stories I've read. In canon, Midnight Sparkle's probably my favorite "evil version" of a good character in both design and motivations.