Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 22: Alicorn Matters
Although the steady rain made the morning a little dreary and her responsibilities now kept her active during the day and night, Luna made it a point to be by the dining hall for a light breakfast at the start of each day. The process of 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. She had suggested it to both her siblings some time ago. Both of them 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, which was something considering that he ate three times as much as his sisters combined. Celestia was a bit more cordial, as was to be expected, but only seemed to truly relax when their brother had left the table.
This morning was different, however. Terrato had not arrived at his customary time, leaving the two sisters by themselves. Luna took a sip of tea and studied her sister for a while. She had been worried that all the changes in the Heartland would wear on Celestia, but things have been looking better than expected. "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.
In addition to Necromancy, their brother specialized in Creation Conjurations and Transmutations, especially that of the things he ruled over. Stone and metal may as well be putty in his hooves. 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 thrones for him and his younger sister.
But the physical changes were the easiest to accept. Even Celestia voiced her admiration for the speed that Terrato could create structures and his attention to detail was impressive. 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 also 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 the Royal Palace. When the Equi Ignei guarded the place, the servants had feared for their lives and more than a few had decided to stay away. After the flaming creatures were gone for good, the servants had hoped that a sense of normalcy was returning to their workplace. Now, however, they were faced with the imposing figure of the princesses' brother. Terrato 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 and, 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, in turn, 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 the two. The smile didn't last however, 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. How they viewed that position couldn't be more varied. 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 starting to panic," Cadance replied. "The increasing presence of the Equestrian Legion has them convinced that we're going to invade them. I've done all I could to try to assure them, but only time will tell."
"What about the dragons?" Celestia asked. She had also stood up and was now listening intently.
"It's bad. Just as Princess Luna said, a group of Barrier Lands dragons calling themselves 'Draco'dim' have moved into dragon territories. The fighting has been constant and, from what I've gathered, half a dozen Heartland dragons have been killed."
"A group of dragons fighting can't be good for the surrounding areas," Luna said. "What of the ponies nearby?"
"The Draco'dim are careful with where they conduct their 'purge killings'. They fight deep in the mountains, away from any pony settlements. I managed to speak with Afralhadar, one of their representatives."
"And what did he say?" Luna asked.
"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. The bodies would not become trophies. She knew that much. 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 reward, but useful, 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 as soon as he entered, "I need your help with a spell. Come on." When he spotted Cadance, however, he stopped and stared.
Luna stood up quickly, more to prevent what she feared was about to happen than anything else. 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. She stepped in front of Cadance protectively. "Wait, big brother!" she said. "She's not an agent of the Eternal Herd no matter how much she looks like one!"
"Oh, relax," Terrato said with a grin. "I can tell. Besides, 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. As he drew nearer, the size difference between them became even more obvious. Cadance flinched slightly when he sized her up, but she 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 in response. "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 and nodded.
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. He had voiced his interest in the way by which Celestia had expounded on his actions. Luna still remembered how the whole matter came to be.
Prior to the barrier's creation, Terrato had sent three ponies to serve as the foundation of what would be the Royal Guard. They were his "replacements" as he had told them, brothers to Celestia and Luna in his place. Now, their very few descendants worked as "nephews" and "nieces", children of some vaguely alluded to sibling of Celestia's until now.
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. Her elder sister also looked on worriedly and curiously. Summoning Conjurations were part of Celestia's domain. While the two younger siblings knew how to open a gate to the Eternal Herd, it required a greater deal of effort on their part. A joint spell would lessen the load, which was what Terrato was proposing. "Why do you need to contact the Eternal Herd now?"
"We need to find out more about Regia Carnifex. Magnus Chartophylax is bound to have a record of him."
"Would he still be willing to associate with us?" Celestia asked.
"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."
The three of them picked the Chamber of the Elements to open the partial gate. It was naturally a private sanctum and used to containing powerful magic. Terrato and Luna stood by opposite sides of the chamber while Celestia maintained a good distance from them to observe.
As she watched the two weave their magic together, Celestia felt left out. It wasn't just because she was standing by the sidelines while her siblings did the work for this spell. Since the reunification began, she had plenty of time to observe the two. 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.
Another minute of intense spell casting and the gate materialized. All three of them 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 had been supposed to destroy her body in this world and permanently return her to the Eternal Herd. Celestia refused to let that happen and so the fifth rebellion occurred. Did the rest of the Eternal Herd still insist that her father's orders be followed? She dreaded meeting Magnus Chartophylax only for him to demand that her younger sister be executed on the spot before he gave any aid.
Celestia knew, however, that she was the least enthusiastic about the whole idea. 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."
"Not the sort of tone you should be taking then."
"What do you know of an alicorn called Regia Carnifex?"
Magnus's expression darkened at the name. He didn't address Terrato's question right away, however. Instead, 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 alicorn standards, held in high regard by all of the Eternal 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? 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 to the Herd this time, not cause one."
Magnus Chartophylax studied all three of them before speaking to Terrato. "Back during 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 instead of just Celestia dragging her siblings around. I will help you just for that. I can only hope you don't make me regret this."
"You won't," Celestia said reassuringly. "Thank you for your help, Magnus."
"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.
"You've picked up your brother's rude tendency to interrupt, your highness."
Luna froze at Magnus's sudden comment. "What? No I haven't…besides I-!" She looked away, flustered.
Magnus's stern countenance softened with a smile. "Yes, what you said is true. Regia 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 was to make 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 of the alicorn mare. She looked to her brother who also recognized the sight with ease. "Gladio Saltare," he said with a smile. "Pretty convenient that we opened this gate while you're in the library."
"Convenient nothing!" Gladio grinned. "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."
"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.
Suddenly pushed to the side, 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 complete mortal pony extermination. What's frightening is that 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 three siblings were not taken completely by surprise 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 with her brother 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 the mortals." She turned her gaze to Celestia. "If you can return here and explain the situation, we can still halt Gravitas in his tracks."
Frustration build within Celestia. There was no love lost between her and General Gravitas and the thought of him being given free rein to promote his cause ate her up from the inside.
"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 her brother.
"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 first."
"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, then slowly faded. For a moment, it seemed as if his old friend had something to say, but the gate was gone before any more words could come out. He turned towards his sisters.
"Why didn't you want me to tell her about our mother'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."
"Right now, I'm the best candidate to go there," Terrato said. "I have some more things to 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 the mortals must be destroyed."
"He shouldn't even be allowed to come close." Celestia's eyes narrowed. Dealing with Gravitas was unpleasant. 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 had to argue with him during a council meeting."
"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 mortals."
"I know," Terrato replied. "Our best bet is to recover Celestia's power quickly and have her go. She's spoken against Gravitas before." 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 clue Black Rose in on 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 as to which agents of hers we have in sight and which ones aren't and try to control the information she's gathering."
The struggling look on Luna's face made Terrato shake his head. 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 to claim victory."
"Me?" Luna stepped back. "Why me?"
"I can't beat Black Rose completely," Terrato said. "If she wants to, we'll be dancing around each other forever. She's had too much time to observe me and Celestia and familiarize herself with our methods. You, however, have just recently returned. She doesn't know you that well and that's what we'll use." 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. "That she expects me to play into her hooves anyway?"
"Yes."
"She's going to regret that move."
Terrato's smile widened. "Then you understand. This is one of her very few weaknesses that we can exploit. I'm counting on you."
The two of them left the Chamber of the Elements together. Another day's duty still awaited them.