Upheaval: Reckoning

by Visiden Visidane

Alicorn Matters

Upheaval: Reckoning

Chapter 21: Alicorn Matters

The dreary morning rain, and the lack of sleep, didn't stop Luna from going to the dining hall for a light breakfast at the start of each day. Reunification kept her and her siblings busy, but sharing at least a meal a day ought to help with their still mending bonds.

At least, that was what Luna hoped for when she suggested it to both her siblings. They had agreed in their own way: Celestia with a half-hearted smile, and a nod, Terrato with a grunt that sounded more yes than no. They had been true to their word, as far as coming to eat was concerned anyway. Since they reserved talking about governing issues for formal meetings, silence reigned over their meals in general. Terrato ate like a machine in what Luna could only view as a poorly disguised attempt to get things over quickly. He was always the first to leave; impressive considering that he ate three times as much as his sisters combined. Celestia was a bit more cordial, but only seemed to truly relax when their brother had left the table.

This morning was different. Terrato had not arrived at his customary time, leaving the two sisters by themselves. Luna took a sip of tea, and studied Celestia for a while. The changes within the Heartland were rapid and dramatic, perhaps too much. “How have you been holding up?” she asked.

“I’m doing well, thank you,” Celestia replied. She smiled wryly after a sip from her own cup. “Losing my powers has not rendered me completely fragile you know.”

“I don’t just mean physically, big sister,” Luna said. “The changes around here have been quite fast. Even the palace itself…”

Celestia nodded. Luna quietly stirred her tea for a while, and let her mind wander to the recent changes.

Terrato loved his conjurations, and transmutations. Just a few days after he started staying in the Royal Palace, he shaped an entire hall as well as his quarters from the mountain, and added it seamlessly to the existing structure. When Luna had mentioned that the throne room could use a little renovation to show that all three of them ruled now, he reshaped the entire room to include two more thrones.

The physical changes were the easiest to accept. Even Celestia voiced her admiration for Terrato's speed, and his attention to detail. It was the other things that came with him that were harder to deal with.

Terrato had legionnaires patrolling side by side with royal guards. That was all that it looked like at first glance, but both sisters knew that there were less conspicuous watchers stationed in specific places all around the palace. The same could be said for the rest of Canterlot, if not the entire Heartland. To combat Black Rose, Terrato insisted that he needed “eyes and ears” in every place that Black Rose might strike. Luna knew that it was only a matter of time before Celestia had to contend with their brother when his measures began to take their toll on everypony’s privacy.

There was also Terrato’s presence in general. He was no slave-driver, but neither was he interested in endearing himself to anypony. He strode the halls in a constant, purposeful hurry that sent any servants scurrying. When he turned his gaze on them, they visibly quailed. The sight of ponies unwilling to hold their ground only served to irritate Terrato further, which terrified them even more.

The doors to the dining hall opened, as if on cue. Both Celestia and Luna turned towards them, expecting their brother.

“Cadance!” Luna exclaimed.

Princess Cadance smiled warmly as she made her way towards them. The smile didn't last, a sign that she had returned for official business. “I’m glad to see you’re both alright,” she said.

Luna stood up and walked towards her “niece”. Cadance shared titles with Prince Blueblood, but that was probably all they had in common. Blueblood saw only privileges and rendered himself useless by enjoying them. Cadance understood the duty part. Even before reunification, she served Equestria as an emissary, and occasional trouble-shooter. “What have you found out?” she asked.

“The United Griffon Aeries are panicking,” Cadance replied. “The increasing presence of the Equestrian Legion has convinced them that we’re going to invade. I've done all I can to assure them, but only time will tell.”

“What about the dragons?” Celestia asked.

Cadance bit her lip. “It’s bad. As Princess Luna said, a group of dragons calling themselves ‘Draco’dim’ has moved into dragon territories. The fighting has been constant, and half a dozen Heartland dragons have been killed so far.”

“A group of dragons fighting can’t be good for the surrounding areas,” Luna said. “What of the ponies nearby?”

“The Draco’dim conduct their ‘purge killings’ carefully," Cadance replied. "They fight deep in the mountains, away from any pony settlements. I spoke with Afralhadar, one of their representatives.”

Luna's eyes narrowed as she took another sip of tea. "Afralhadar again..." she whispered. She looked to Cadance. "What did he say?"

“All he said was that the Equestrian Legion was permitted to take all the dragon bodies, and that we shouldn't interfere with dragon matters any further.”

“Why would Terrato purposely bring these dragons to the Heartland?” Celestia asked with a frown. “Does he really thrive on all these killings? Does he plan on taking those bodies as trophies?”

“Big sister…” Luna said softly. Dragon bone, dragon scale, and dragon gut were all excellent materials for weapons, and armor. It was more likely that her brother had cut a deal with the Draco’dim for informing them about the Heartland situation, or the Draco’dim simply offered the remains as returning the favor without his prompting. It was a grisly, but useful reward, something her brother would definitely not pass on even if Celestia disapproved. Before she could go on, the doors to the dining hall flew open.

“Luna,” Terrato said, “I need your help with a spell. Come--” He spotted Cadance.

Luna stepped in front of her niece protectively. Cadance appeared as an alicorn, and would likely be mistaken for one. Terrato wouldn't take too kindly to agents of the Eternal Herd showing up out of nowhere. “Wait, big brother!” she said. “She’s not an agent of the Herd no matter how much she looks like one!”

Terrato grinned. “Relax. I can tell. I've seen mortals like her before.”

“You have?” Luna asked.

“A long time ago in the Western Barrier Lands. He had convinced a bunch of ponies that he was another prince and was running a rebellious cult by the time I heard about him.” Terrato looked a little distant for a second. “Smeared him under his own giant statue…good times.” He walked towards Cadance, and sized her up. She flinched, but stood her ground. Terrato’s grin widened just a bit more. “But whatever theory I have for why some mortal ponies end up resembling us will have to wait,” he said. “Princess Cadance, isn't it? Nice to meet you.”

Cadance bowed low. “And it is an honor to meet you, Prince Terrato,” she said. She turned towards Celestia, and Luna. “I’ll be going for now,” she told them.

Celestia nodded. “Thank you for your hard work, Cadance. I take it that you haven’t seen your husband yet?”

Cadance shook her head. “I rushed back to Canterlot when I heard he was hurt.”

“Off you go then." Celestia smiled as she watched her "niece" leave.

Terrato waited patiently for the exchange to finish. He had already been updated on the royal nieces and nephews when he had asked about Blueblood.

When Cadance left, Terrato directed his words towards Luna. “I’m going to open a partial gate to the Eternal Herd, and I need your help.”

“What?” Luna replied. “Why do you need to contact the Eternal Herd now?” Celestia also looked on worriedly, and curiously. Summoning Conjurations were her specialty. While Terrato and Luna knew how to open gates, it required a greater deal of effort. A joint spell would lessen the load, which was what Terrato was proposing.

“We need to find out more about Regia Carnifex," Terrato said. "Magnus is bound to have a record of him.”

“Would he still be willing to associate with us?” Celestia asked.

Terrato shrugged. “Why not? We’re still the King and Queen’s children.”

“Their rebellious children.”

“He’ll understand,” Terrato insisted. “He’s our best shot at finding out more about this.”

“It is worth the effort,” Luna added. She trotted over to Terrato. “Let’s get started, big brother.”

They picked the Chamber of the Elements to open the partial gate. It was a naturally private sanctum, and used to containing powerful magic. Terrato and Luna stood by opposite sides of the chamber while Celestia maintained a good distance to observe.

---

Celestia watched wistfully as her siblings weaved their magic together. Luna had always been able to get along with Terrato much better than she did. She recalled that moment again; Terrato broken-horned and covered in blood, and Luna happily greeting him. She couldn't point out how she felt about that now: guilty for separating them with her barrier, fearful of Terrato’s influence on Luna, or hopeful of Luna’s influence on Terrato? Regardless, it just seemed that she wasn't going to have a say about how that would go.

After another minute of intense spell casting, the gate materialized. They stared at the circular hole, no more than five feet across, that connected this world with a world they had left so long ago. The brilliance of the Eternal Herd shone through the partial gate, illuminating the chamber brighter than any of its own lights.

Luna nervously looked into the partial gate. Celestia could only imagine the worry in her younger sister. It has been so long since Luna had had any contact with the Eternal Herd. Long ago, Terrato was supposed to destroy her body in this world, permanently returning her to the Eternal Herd. Did the rest of the Eternal Herd still insist that her father's orders be followed? Would Magnus demand that Luna be executed on the spot before he gave any aid?

Celestia was not enthusiastic about the whole idea either. She knew who she was to the rest of the Eternal Herd: Celestia the rebellious princess who defied her father twice, and incited her siblings to follow in her hoofsteps, Celestia who favored the mortal spawn of Oceanus over her own kind…

The image of Magnus Chartophylax finally appeared at the opposite side of the gate. The keeper of the Eternal Herd’s vast records was a beige alicorn of Terrato’s height, but not quite his girth. His white, smoky mane cascaded all the way to his back in thick, wispy curls, and he had a beard to match. Bright blue eyes, stern, but not angry, looked towards the three siblings, then focused on Terrato. “Your highness, it’s been a while. Do you need my help for your next rebellion?”

“Save the sarcasm, Magnus,” Terrato replied. “I know what I did. Right now, I need your help to undo it.”

Magnus snorted. “Not the sort of tone you should be taking then.”

“What do you know of an alicorn called Regia Carnifex?”

Magnus’ expression darkened at the name. He shifted his gaze towards the other royal siblings. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” he said with a slight bow. “It is good to see the two of you again.”

Celestia answered with a bow of her own. She still remembered visiting Empyrea's Hall of Records, and her first encounter with its keeper. As a first cycle alicorn, Magnus was ancient, even by the Herd's standards, held in high regard by all of the Herd since he first took up his office. Despite his prestige, and the stern, quiet demeanor he presented, he was a patient alicorn who always had time to see to the needs of even a first-time visitor. Luna likewise returned the bow, glad that to get a far better reaction that what she was expecting.

“Magnus,” Terrato said.

“And for what purpose are you going to use this knowledge this time, your highness?" Magnus asked. "Are you really in such a hurry to bring about the return of Oceanus?”

“This won’t be going against our parents, Magnus,” Luna said. “We’re trying to stop a threat this time, not cause one.”

Magnus studied all of them before speaking to Terrato. “The first time you consulted me, I approved of you finally doing something without needing Celestia’s permission. Now, I see something better; the three of you acting on something together. I will help you just for that. I can only hope you don’t make me regret this.”

“You won’t,” Celestia said. “Thank you for your help, Magnus.”

Magnus nodded. “Regia Carnifex was a high-ranking pony in his majesty’s court back when Prince Oceanus was still with us,” Magnus said. “When Oceanus openly rebelled, it was Carnifex who first came to his side.” His expression darkened further. “I was there when he threw down many of our kind. He was Oceanus’s most loyal lieutenant, and was granted the blasphemous “honor” of bearing the Foul Weapon when Oceanus stepped forward to challenge his majesty.”

“That would mean that he has a great affinity towards the Foul Weapon,” Luna remarked.

Magnus focused on her. “You've picked up your brother’s rude tendency to interrupt, your highness.”

Luna froze. “What? No I haven’t…besides I--” She looked away, flustered.

Magnus’ stern countenance softened with a smile. “Yes, what you said is true. Carnifex does possess a great deal of affinity towards the Foul Weapon. It is likely that he can call it forth if he chooses to.”

All three siblings frowned. All it would take was Black Rose manipulating Regia Carnifex, and she would have the Foul Weapon at her disposal. And that would be if things went smoothly. If Black Rose made a mistake, they would have Oceanus’s lieutenant running loose.

“Is that all you needed to know?” Magnus asked. “I daresay that I am a little disappointed that the three of you would not know of an important figure in Eternal Herd history, especially since it concerns something that involved your father. If you had spent just a little more time in my library instead of--”

“Magnus, you’re lecturing again,” Terrato said. “We’ll get to know all of Oceanus’s minions when we start beating them back.”

“That’s the kind of attitude that--”

Another alicorn suddenly peeked from the side. This one was a mare, about as tall as Celestia, with a gray mane that looked as if hundreds of small blades were cascading down her neck. “Terrato!” she exclaimed.

Centuries of staying in a different world did nothing to dim Celestia's memory. She looked to her brother, who also recognized the sight with ease. “Gladio Saltare." He grinned. “Pretty convenient that we opened this gate while you’re in the library.”

“Convenient nothing!" Gladio grinned back. “Ever since I found out that you had contacted Magnus before, I’ve been spending a lot of time here in case you did so again.”

Terrato's eyes widened briefly. “Gladio, that was around seven hundred years ago.”

The number didn't even register across Gladio Saltare’s face. “You need to get back here, your highness,” she said.

Magnus frowned at the interruption. “Well, your highnesses if you don’t need me for anything else…”

Celestia looked apologetically at Magnus, and nodded before returning her focus towards one of her brother’s old friends.

“Why would I need to do that?” Terrato asked. Luna, and Celestia listened intently as well.

“News of Celestia’s power being stolen has already made it here,” Gladio said. Her smile turned into a grim look. “Gravitas has been using it to push for the extermination of Oceanus' spawn, and I think he’s making progress.”

“Mother would never allow such a thing!” Celestia said. “Gravitas can puff himself up before the Council of Elders, but the King and Queen still have the final say!”

“Your highness…” Gladio said. “The King and Queen have been silent since you refused to send Princess Luna to the Herd for punishment.”

The siblings were not surprised by that one. For all their power, the King and Queen had very few orders to give. They had never seen their father emerge from the Silver Sanctum, where he continued to recover from his fight with Oceanus. The few decrees he gave came from closed doors. Their mother, while more open, also preferred to let her subjects move about freely. Ever since the fifth rebellion, neither had issued any decrees. “That’s not entirely true,” Luna said. “What about--” Terrato cut off the protest with a glare. Luna frowned, but complied this time.

“And without any interference from our parents, the Council of Elders will make the decision,” Terrato said. “How bad is it, Gladio?”

“He’s picking up momentum,” Gladio replied. “The Council is still undecided, but an opposition hasn't materialized yet. We don’t have somepony like Lexarius, or Princess Celestia here to argue for Equestria.” She turned her gaze to Celestia. “If you can return here and explain the situation, we can still halt Gravitas in his tracks.”

Celestia bit her lower lip. There was no love lost between her and General Gravitas, and the thought of him being given free rein to promote his cause left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Celestia is in no condition to travel to the Eternal Herd,” Terrato said.

“I can make the trip,” Luna said.

“You could,” Terrato replied. “And Gravitas could try to detain you, and insist that you be properly punished for the fourth rebellion. We need you here.”

“Then are you going to make the trip?” Luna asked.

“I’m not exactly innocent now am I?” Terrato said. “It’s possible that Gravitas would want to have me punished for what I've done.” He turned towards Gladio Saltare. “We’ll have to think this through carefully.”

“Of course,” Gladio replied. “I don’t know what’s going on over there, your highness, but I wish you luck.”

“We’ll need it,” Terrato said. The gate shimmered, and slowly faded.

“Why didn't you want me to tell her about her majesty's message to Applejack?” Luna asked.

“Because if mother wanted everypony in the Herd to know that she hasn't been completely silent, they would know,” Terrato replied.

“We need to do something about Gravitas,” Celestia said. “Everything we've done will be for nothing if he succeeds.”

“I’m the best candidate to go there,” Terrato said. “I have some more things to take care of here, and I'll see what can be done about it. It’s also possible that we recover your power before the need becomes more desperate. Gravitas is making progress, but I doubt he’s anywhere near on the verge of convincing the Eternal Herd that Equestria must be destroyed.”

“He shouldn't even be allowed to come close.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed. She wanted to be the one to go. It wasn't that she didn't believe in her brother’s ability to speak for this world, but she was the one who had dealt with Gravitas before.

“But none of us can actually go,” Luna said. “Big sister, I know how much you dislike Gravitas--”

“No…no you don’t. Not until you've met him.”

“We’d better get back to our other duties for now,” Terrato said.

Celestia nodded reluctantly. “I want to talk to you about the Draco’dim, Terrato,” she said.

“I’ll explain myself to you later, dearest sister,” was Terrato’s reply. With that, Celestia left the chamber, leaving him and Luna alone.

---

“Big brother, you are needed here,” Luna said. “Mother is still on the move, we have to trust her to make sure that the Eternal Herd doesn't decide against Equestria.”

“I know,” Terrato replied. “Our best bet is to recover Celestia’s power quickly, and have her go.” His mind went back to his former student. Black Rose had placed all of ponykind at risk by stealing Celestia’s power. Had she known that the Eternal Herd would react like this? He had confided to her about the Eternal Herd before. It was likely that Black Rose did know and she had taken it into account as well.

Luna’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying that, big brother, but we don’t seem to be taking enough steps to find and deal with her.”

“Is that what it looks like to you?”

“I've been speaking with Special Operations members. We already have several suspected agents of hers. There’s even been a sighting of the Thorns here in Canterlot, but you've ordered them not to make any arrests!”

Terrato smiled. Luna was starting to work well with the Legion. “I know about Black Rose’s agents moving around,” he replied. “Arresting them right away will mean playing our cards too soon. It will tell Black Rose how many of her agents we've spotted, and how many are actually undercover. It’s likely that she has more of than a dozen doomed spies out there, and it’s for certain that none of her agents will be able to lead us to her even if they wanted to. Not even the Thorns. I’d rather keep her guessing which agents of hers we have in sight and which ones aren't and try to control the information she’s gathering.”

Terrato shake his head at the struggling look on Luna’s face. He stepped closer and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Leave Black Rose’s games to me, little sister,” he said. “I’ll deal with all the cloak and dagger. I need you, and Celestia to complete the victory.”

Luna stepped back. “What do you mean?”

“Black Rose and I have been doing this for a long time,” Terrato said. “These are methods we specialize in, methods that you're still familiarizing yourself with.” He paused, gauging his sister’s reaction. “Have you ever thought about why she didn't steal your power back in Bastion City? She could have you know.”

“Then why didn't she?”

“Because Black Rose loves having a wild card around,” Terrato replied. Luna listened intently. She had likely noticed the nostalgia in his tone. “She hates plans that proceed perfectly and thrives on last minute improvisations. If there isn't one in the works, she’ll create one. It’s always worked for her before.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luna asked. “She expects me to play into her hooves anyway?”

“Yes. And, perhaps one more thing.”

“What's that?”

The melancholy in Terrato's voice deepened. "I wasn't exactly a good teacher on peace-time ruling, or unification. Black Rose knows what she does best. On things she's not supremely confident in, she'll delegate. Maybe she understands just how far she can reach with her plots, and needed others with power around."

Luna didn't speak, nor did she shift her questioning gaze. Terrato looked towards the doors.

"Come on," he said. "We've got work to do."

Comments

[Neighkodemus]

Yet more characters and background story.

You force me to re-read this whole thing at some point.

PS: Love the Luna/Terrato-interaction as always.

[woytaq]

So awesome!

Hmm... the King reminds me more and more the Emreror from WH40k - a powerful ruler who was betrayed and wounded by his most trusted son... and there are others who rule in his place while he "recovers" from a serious wound... or in WH40k case, a serious case of being dead.

I wonder if the move on Eternal Herd's side is something Black Rose is betting on. Maybe she wants to get Terrato out of the way or something...

We finally learn what Cadence is... or what she's not... not really a surprise there, but the back story on Celestia's "brothers" being the source of nobility does make sense.

And just like I was hoping for Luna will be the chess player to go against Black Rose :D yay!

[djthomp]

Huh, very interesting what we just learned about the Eternal Herd and about the King and Queen.

The bit about Gladio hanging around for 700 years is hilarious. That's some serious dedication, a possible future romantic interest for Terrato perhaps?

[Obsidian]

Well, they are immortal. They probably view time differently, though it doesn't seem like there is any sort of time distortion between the Eternal Heard and Equestria.

[soronos]

Is it just me or does the Eternal Heard seem a bit like the High Heavens?
With Gravitas as Valor and perhaps Celestia as Justice.

[Continue]

A wild fangasm appeared!

[Arzoo]

The big question I have is...

Where the heck are the immortals involved with the other species? There was a vague mention of them following in Oceanus/Celestia's footsteps in bringing mortal children into the world, but the only non-mortal we've seen is Fenrir, and all we know about him is that he likes Luna (still no clue why other than maybe for her association with the moon) and that he's pals with Oceanus's handmaiden.

Are they just not being mentioned because they aren't going to be involved in the story enough for ponies to notice? Or are ponies really just top of the food chain in terms of divine rank and the patrons of the other species technically serve under the King/Queen...

[Beware The Carpenter]

Just a thought about the dragons guts being used for bowstrings ect. One horse has several hundred meters of intestine. How much bigger would a dragons gut be? If it was the same dimensions X 10, that would mean proportionally it was 1000 times bigger meaning one dragon would have hundreds of thousands of meters of intestine. If that's the case I doubt you would need more then one or two dragons to equip the entire legion with 1st rate bowstrings.

[Love able chaos]

Man I love this story! Luna as a wild card nice.

[shy sad jaded shard]

I love how a good writer(such as this one) can make you forget that your staring at a screen reading words after the first line or 2 I don't even see the words any more(or any thing else for that matter) just the story playing out in my head

[shy sad jaded shard]

1692956 you do make a great point but the turn over of lost or broken weapons means having as much as possible is a good thing given many dragons don't stray from the laws set by the ruling class of there kin(witch takes them off the hunting list)(heartland dragons are a great boon for the princes army given many will be come wild and the ruling class dragon wont have any of that)