Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 52: The Lastborn
"Defeated by a slovenly gang of mortals…have you no shame at all, Ridentem? How are we supposed to make our stand in this world now?"
It was difficult for Luna to grasp the emotion behind Fulmen Lancea's words when they reached her. For certain, there was genuine scorn in there. None of Gravitas's troops had bothered hiding their disdain for mortals. For alicorns who prided themselves as soldiers of the Herd and the best among Gravitas's loyal followers, being defeated by those they considered their lessers had to be shameful.
It was the second question that added something else to Fulmen's reaction. There was more to this than scorn. There was also frustration, perhaps even a sense of loss. Ridentem was likely recovering in the Eternal Herd by now, but he would never be able to cross into this world again. The two would never be able to band together against Oceanus's tide in this world.
Luna quashed any sense of sadness she might have felt. Ridentem brought his defeat upon himself: first, for even attacking mortals without any provocation, second, for not taking them seriously enough. She focused now on the wisps of magical energy emerging from Ridentem's torn half. Fulmen's horn was glowing and Luna recognized a necromantic spell. She didn't need her brother's expertise to tell what was about to happen. She thought of flying in and trying to interrupt, but Fulmen didn't look particularly distracted. All she may very well accomplish was to charge into a readied spear. As she expected, the spell was over in a few more seconds. She braced herself, a few spells of her own ready for whatever Fulmen did.
The effect quickly made itself obvious. Arcs of golden electricity coursed through Fulmen Lancea, surging violently into the ground and lashing at the air menacingly. Luna blinked. Were her eyes playing tricks or was he…growing?
"Luna!" Celestia hovered next to Luna, her blade of light by her side. The older princess looked over to Twilight and her friends, who were regrouping at a distance. Luna easily noticed the pride in her sister's eyes. "Twilight Sparkle and the others have done their part. It falls to us to finish this."
"That's easy to say, big sister," Luna replied. "It seems to me that the enemy we were hard-pressed to begin with just became stronger."
"Stronger perhaps," Celestia replied. "But also angrier. We can use that to our advantage."
Luna nodded and observed her opponent. Her sister was right on both counts. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had done well in bringing down Ridentem Malleorum, but to expect more from them for this time would be unreasonable. She saw them gathering around Fluttershy, who was lying still on the ground. Their injured friend required healing, at least attention for the moment. The rest of them had not escaped the fight unscathed. That left just her and her sister. With Celestia-
A stroke of lightning, flew from the tip of Fulmen's now enormous spearhead. With a gasp, Luna raised a shield to protect herself at the last moment. The bolt tore violently through the barrier, narrowly missing her back as she dove. She felt every hair on her body stand, and the skin on her back singe with the bolt's passing. The injury was minor, however. The bolt may have broken through her hastily constructed spell, but it had been diffused enough. The attack wasn't over. A powerful shockwave of sound followed the initial bolt, hurling her to the ground with a deafening boom. She struck the frozen earth hooves first, skidding briefly before she righted herself. She looked up and jumped backward, knowing full well that the danger still wasn't over. A massive spear struck the ground she was standing on from above.
"Luna!" Celestia dove in when it became clear that Fulmen was focused on her sister. She aimed for the now enlarged gaps between the bronze plates of her target's armor. Fulmen Lancea, despite having grown to three times the size of his partner, had not lost the slightest amount of his reflexes. He whipped his spear around, tearing a great gash into the earth itself and nearly slammed the metal haft into Celestia. The blade of light flew towards where Fulmen's neck plates met his champron, but he was already several steps back and aiming his spear before it could get there. With a snort, Celestia flew back.
Luna flew in while her sister recovered. Fulmen had the advantage in range, not just with his extended reach and long weapon, but also with his lightning bolts. The ground rumbled when he landed and took steps. All it would take from him was one good hit. Even a glancing blow would likely severely injure her. Her horn glowed anew. His eyes may have grown, but they worked the same way they did when he was smaller. The danger had merely increased. The strategy only needed some adjustments. Several shadows emerged from her again. Their blades weren't going to hurt Fulmen as they had earlier, but it should buy her and her sister some time…
It was well over a dozen shadowy clones that Luna brought out. Fulmen's answer was a bolt of lightning with just as many forks. They struck with perfect accuracy, destroying the illusions before they could barely even separate. The explosive shockwaves forced Luna to raise her shield again. Shards of rock struck the protective magic as she flew back. She looked around worriedly, hoping that Celestia didn't get hurt by that barrage.
"Have you exhausted your little bag of tricks, lastborn?" Fulmen Lancea said. His voice, deep and powerful enough at his regular size, boomed from his champron. "I hope not. I have a storm at my spear's tip still waiting to be unleashed and I'd like a moving target."
"Oh, a storm, is it?" Luna replied. "I hope it has more wind than your fat friend's hooting." It was difficult to tell if her taunts had any effect. Though Celestia had surmised that Fulmen was angrier now, the enemy alicorn's movements were still precise and controlled.
Luna finally caught sight of her sister. Celestia had fallen a good distance behind her. Other than a few banged up portions on her barding and the pants of exertion, her sister looked fine. She focused on her opponent now. Perhaps she had underestimated just how well Fulmen Lancea wielded his lightning bolts. Simple illusionary tricks weren't going to be effective, not when he was done underestimating her. If only she could tear through that shield he had around his mind…she glanced towards Celestia again, wishing she had her sister's talent for dispelling. At full strength, her sister would have dismantled that mind shield with practiced ease. She would have to rely on less direct means. She waited until Fulmen pointed his spear at her again before casting her spell.
Darkness, like a massive glob of ink, descended on Fulmen Lancea. Several arcs of lightning erupted from the resulting globe, but Luna easily dodged the blind strikes. She could hear Fulmen's wings flapping. The globe began to move, clinging to the alicorn like a sticky cloud of blackness. No additional bolts flew from the globe. Luna knew that the initial shock had already worn off and Fulmen was either working to dispel her magic or pinpoint her location. She already worked on the next spell, expertly weaving thicker strands of shadowy material in the air with her horn. If her darkness globe resembled smoke in its texture, these strands were more like tar. She sent them gliding towards the globe and her foe. Though she couldn't see Fulmen in her darkness, she didn't have to.
The globe of darkness dissipated, revealing Fulmen Lancea trapped by the shadowy strands and anchored to the ground beneath like a moth in a spider's web. He beat his wings furiously, the wind from his efforts stirring up clouds of snow and dust, but the strands held on. A burst of lightning erupted from his horn, but they simply crackled through the shadows harmlessly. With her enemy trapped, Luna focused on a third spell.
In the next second, Fulmen's spear was only a foot away from Luna. With a gasp, she raised a shield out of reflex and flew to the side. Fulmen's massive weapon shattered her abjuration like so much glass and proceeded to tear through her barding. Shards of silver fell forlornly to the ground below along with drops of her blood, as Herd-forged metal gashed her torso, just beneath her right wing. Luna winced in pain and spun in mid-air, desperately trying to right herself before the next attack came. She glanced back to the spot where Fulmen should have been anchored. All that remained of her shadow strands were bits of goo.
"Divination to negate the illusory aspect of the spell and a touch of abjuration to disperse the shadowy material," Fulmen said. He had taken to hovering just above Luna. That he didn't follow up with another attack filled her with outrage. "The correct combination would have taken time to figure out if it was my first encounter with that tactic. It's not. During the First Rebellion, one of the firstborn's handmaidens used it on me. You may recognize the name: Lunalux Umbra."
Luna's eyes widened for a moment, before she grit her teeth at the hinting.
"Surprised?" Fulmen asked. "Typical. You sixteenth-cycle alicorns act as if the world only began when you first opened your eyes. Your inexperience shows yet again, lastborn."
Luna's magic was already closing the wound to her side. Here was a dangerous cycle she had to avoid. Healing spells would deplete her magical strength and a depleted magical strength meant that she had less power to prevent more wounds. For now, she could afford to ease the pain and save her blood, but more wounds from the giant, lightning-infused spear were definitely out of the question.
Fulmen Lancea landed on the ground and crouched. Luna already recognized the posture. With his powerful legs and his wings to boost him, Fulmen could charge at blinding speeds. "I'm sensing a lot of hostility with that last remark, Fulmen," she said. "Is that what this is all about? You don't like how the decisions that the 'young ones' are making?"
Fulmen turned around and swung his spear at Celestia, who had been gliding silently towards his left side for an attack. She turned at the last moment, but the haft struck her a glancing blow. Even from afar, Luna could see her sister's wing snap as she crashed. "Big sister!" she cried out. She had taken only a step forward when Fulmen had already turned and pointed his spear at her. Lightning surged violently, gouging a smoking trail across the ground and towards Luna. She flew to the side, but a smaller arc branched out from the main bolt, striking her chest plate directly. Despite the intense pain, Luna couldn't cry out. Her throat seized up and her legs buckled as the energy coursed through her. She could smell her fur starting to smoke as she crashed to the ground.
"Distraction followed by a blindsiding attack," Fulmen said. He had not even moved from the spot, but his hooves had started forming a circular pattern from spinning around. "Nothing new, nothing special. I'm starting to feel insulted, lastborn. The vestiges of Ridentem's power should not be used to finish off something so pitiful."
Luna dragged herself to her hooves. Her legs were shaking and she was covered in burns. She fought through the nausea induced by the smell of her own burned flesh and focused on healing the worst of the damage. Even as she did that, she searched for her fallen sister all the while keeping Fulmen Lancea in her sight.
"But I forget my manners before a princess," Fulmen said. His monotone did little to hide the mockery in his words. "To answer your question…that would be a part of it. I am a twelfth-cycle alicorn, your highness, and soon I will be diminished. Before that happens, I want to make sure that there is something resembling my beloved Eternal Herd when I am restored."
"The mortals…don't want to ruin the Herd!" Celestia said as struggled to rise. Luna noticed that her sister's wing couldn't fold properly. "What is it that has you and Gravitas so convinced that they will?"
"Idealistic filly," Fulmen replied. He wasn't crouching for another charge at the moment. Once more, his refusal to follow up his attacks galled Luna. She did note, however, that his attacks were becoming more and more precise. The first one barely grazed her, the second struck her with a secondary bolt. A third one could very well be a direct hit. "You wouldn't know. Our fallen are what convinces us. We watched as the firstborn tore down the best among us and remade them in his image." The monotone wavered. "The very best the Herd has the offer…if they can fall, what hope do these fragile creatures have?" Fulmen turned his gaze on Luna. "You understand it better, don't you, lastborn? You know the unbreakable bond that ties those who have given themselves over to Oceanus. You know that there is no hope for the mortals here in this world. Thus the need to censure you and seal you away until Oceanus is defeated once and for all."
There was silence after that: a deathly silence that seemed to drown out even the distant sounds of battle that should be coming from Gravitas, Terrato and Black Rose. Luna could feel her sister's worried gaze on her; half afraid of whether it would affect her and half afraid that it might be true. This soldier…he had a lot of nerve to speak of it. He had a lot of nerve to even speak at all. "What do you know of me, tool?" she asked, her voice turning into a fierce hiss. "What does a glorified puppet who takes pride in being told what to do by others know of what I've done?"
Another bolt of lightning flew. The aim and timing was perfect. Its main body struck Luna and flung her across the ground. As electricity violently surged through her body, her healing magic surged back with equal ferocity. Flesh mended as quickly as it burned up and, when the lightning bolt had expended itself, Luna was standing upright and seemingly unharmed in the middle of a charred patch of ground. Sections of her barding had actually melted from the attack, but she didn't mind them, even if some of the silvery metal had started to fuse to her coat.
"Bold and reckless," Fulmen said. "Did I hit a nerve, lastborn? You think you can out-heal every attack I make and expect not to tire first?"
"I hated my sister," Luna said. "I hated 'prima regia puella', 'Filia Solis', 'secondborn', 'eldest daughter', 'dearest sister'! Neither Oceanus nor Umbra forced me to feel that way. Don't talk to me about not being able to resist! I had every chance to refuse and I turned them all away!"
"Luna!" Celestia called out. "Don't let him bait you into head on combat! Play to your strengths!"
"And what do you know of my strengths?" There was no flash or crackle as Luna worked on her next spell. Instead, tendrils of dark blue magic crept up and down her horn. Even from a distance and with his close-faced helm, she could sense the scorn coming from Fulmen. He recognized a phantasm spell and he was confident in his mind shielding. That much was obvious when he didn't charge to try and stop her.
Luna suddenly pointed her horn, not towards Fulmen, but towards her sister. Celestia's eyes widened in shock. "Luna, what-?" she gasped.
'I'm sorry, sister,' Luna thought. 'I cannot challenge his mind's shielding as it is, but I also don't need to look to know what he fears the most. I just need a memory to base the illusion on, it doesn't have to be his.'
The message was not telepathic, Luna couldn't afford to work on that spell in the midst of her illusion weaving. It was, however, emphatic, and the confirmation in Celestia's eyes told Luna that her sister trusted her intentions.
Illusion and Enchantment were traditionally compatible domains of magic. No proof of that was greater than the existence of phantasms, spells that cut into their subject's subconscious, exposed their darkest fears, and custom-crafted illusions out of them. But phantasms were limited by their specificity. A traditional phantasm crafted from Celestia's mind could only be seen by her. Everypony else would just see vague, hazy images. That was the line that Luna had to manipulate. She had a good idea of what that fear that her sister shared with this arrogant soldier. A phantasm would pull the image out, but she had to construct it through figments and glamers. Mixing and matching illusions at this critical moment was dangerous and, if she blew the spell up in front of Fulmen, she doubted she'd survive the humiliation even if she did live through the fight.
Fortunately and infuriatingly, Fulmen Lancea was still not attacking. Perhaps he was so confident in his defense that he waited for the chance to counter and further humiliate his opponent. Perhaps it was simply astonishing to see his opponents, supposed close sisters at that, suddenly turn on each other. He may even believe that Luna was doing this to curry favor from Gravitas and reduce her sentence. The exact reason didn't matter, only that he was going to regret it.
With an uncertain amount of time to work with, Luna could only hold her breath and try to be as careful as possible as she sifted carefully through her sister's mind. At her full strength, the shielding around Celestia's mind would have been nigh impenetrable. Luna could be violently ejected by her sister with an extra dose of smiting to discourage repeated attempts. That she was willing to go through with this with barely a flinch, even without that security, showed a trust that Luna was determined to prove well-founded. Even with the care she moved with, it didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for.
Luna had never seen Oceanus face to face. She had heard the tales. She had seen some of the damage from when he tore a trail across Empyrea and towards the Eternal Herd's Throne. She had heard him described many times and she had been in his presence. However, the very image of Oceanus had always eluded her. This wasn't true for her sister. Celestia had seen Oceanus, known him for a time. Likely known him better than anypony else.
Luna unleashed the next part of her spell. A globe of darkness descended once more. Not upon Fulmen, but upon her. Hidden temporarily, she began to garb herself. Her sister's memories of the firstborn were strong. That easily proved useful. She needed more than an image to form a powerful enough sight. She needed scents, sounds, tactile sensations, and specific actions. The abundance of these sensations quickly proved…frightening. The temptation to go through each incident tugged at her, but she vehemently rejected them. She had what she came for and it was only right to withdraw as soon as possible.
"That's enough paltry tricks," Luna heard Fulmen say outside the globe. The darkness around her scattered like smoke blown away by a gale. In a blink, Fulmen was already upon her, the tip of his spear a mere foot from her neck.
His reaction as soon as she noticed her form was one to relish for a while.
Fulmen Lancea halted in his tracks. The powerful surges of lightning crackling all around him disappeared. It wasn't just him, however. Celestia stared wide-eyed at Luna, her mouth agape. A burst of shadowy strands flew from Luna's horn, smothering Fulmen's spear like tar and pushing it, along with him, backwards. The shocked alicorn crashed to the ground, entangled with the same shadowy strands as earlier. His remedy was not at the tip of his horn, however.
"Insolent hoof-soldier, you will suffer for standing before me."
The voice was pitch perfect, harsh like a frigid wind, and controlled almost with an obsessive, exacting hold. Luna's own experiences made sure of that. She spoke with the firstborn's voice, and stared coldly with the firstborn's eyes. Oceanus never raised his voice, never hurried his step, and never showed a face that he didn't want you to see. Perfect, Celestia had seen him in the past. Unfeeling, Luna saw him. She doubted she would have gotten along at all with the firstborn if she had met him during his time in the Herd.
As for appearances, it was his silvery wings that she flapped and it was his shimmering mane of water that flowed all around her. There was no need to account for whatever form Oceanus now took while he resided in his realm of watery darkness. It was this form that ravaged the Eternal Herd during the First Rebellion. Every witness made it clear enough. It led Luna to a clearer understanding of what scared Gravitas and his ilk. 'This is the awful truth that the firstborn showed you, wasn't it?' she thought. 'The firstborn showed you that we're not as high and mighty that you and Gravitas so desperately wish we are! That's why you keep taking it out on the mortals. That's why you're so terrified of any advantage the firstborn might gain.'
Luna "unsheathed" a translucent, ice-blue blade, enjoying the sight of Fulmen quailing as she did so.
A cry from her sister brought her up short. Celestia was staring at the blade in frozen panic, clutching at her right eye as if she had been struck. The sight reminded Luna that this form was born of a shared fear between her sister and all of those who had met the firsborn personally. She focused on Fulmen's mind shield and saw that she had the effect she needed. Fulmen Lancea's will wavered. Without a strong will to support it, even the mightiest shield collapsed easily. Luna abandoned her illusory form and tore through the shielding. She didn't need her sister's dispelling finesse at this point. She tore through the shielding like a filly with a hearth's warming eve present, finally exposing the soft, vulnerable psyche hiding behind it.
The cry of panic from Fulmen signaled her victory. She breathed in the rush of triumph, savored it above everything else at the moment, and then plunged in with her most vicious, true phantasms. She had no compunction about looking this time. She had a good idea as to what she'd see, but she wanted to anyway. The sight of this brave soldier, so willing to exterminate others without hesitation, so arrogant in "executing" her, weeping in fear should be vindicating. She flooded his senses with illusion magic, plunging him deep into a darkness crafted only for him.
"These visions are false!" Fulmen shouted as defiantly as he could. The fear that gripped his voice choked the defiance out quickly. Luna paid no attention to his disbelief. Recognition alone did not always stop illusions, especially when the fear they evoked was carved so deeply into the mind and body. Out of the darkness, hundreds of hooves, mortal hooves began clinging to Fulmen. Tiny glowing eyes surrounded him like a sea of stars. He raised his hooves and tried to beat them back, but the morass of limbs and eyes clung to him tightly, ignoring his flailing spear and hooves. He fired a lightning bolt, but all that came out was a feeble spark that fizzled against the abyss all around him. "Stop these lies!" he shouted. "Lastborn, I know you're out there!"
"There is nothing false about what you're seeing."
It wasn't Luna who spoke. An alicorn stallion, one conjured by Fulmen's mind, emerged from the darkness. This one would have been around Celestia's height. He was muscular, but sleek. It was difficult to make out the color of his coat as he appeared to be spattered with black ink. His silver barding was rent in many places, some of the metal was barely hanging on to him. His mane came out as thick wisps of crimson vapor. One of his wings was a crumpled, mangled mess that hung limply by his side. He walked slowly towards Fulmen.
"Gladio Lupus," Fulmen said. To Luna it sounded almost like a whimper. She remembered his earlier words. "The best among us," he had said. Perhaps it was this pony he meant.
"I thought I told you that I'm using a different name now," was the reply. "Abysso Spatiator. Use it or call me not at all."
"Why are you here?" Fulmen asked.
"You cannot stop this tide, Fulmen. Nothing can. It's just as he promised at that time. Those who will not kneel will be dragged down to the depths."
The myriad of hooves and teeth clutching at Fulmen pulled harder, dragging him deeper into a now screeching and wailing mass of…things. Luna could see sharp teeth illuminated by the countless shining eyes. When he started to scream, she could only feel elated. This fight was over. At this point, she merely exacting some measure of revenge. "That's the problem with you earlier-cycle alicorns," she whispered. "You live through one ascension and you act like you've seen everything."
The blackness swallowed Fulmen completely, but his long, drawn-out scream still filled Luna's ears. "That's right!" she shouted back. "Fall into the abyss you're so scared of! Scream! Fall and-!"
"LUNA!"
The powerful voice, Celestia's version of the so-called "Royal Canterlot Voice", dispersed the darkness. The next thing Luna knew, she was back in Sky Mirror Lake. With a gasp, she pulled out of the last vestiges of the phantasm and looked around. In front of her was Fulmen Lancea, no longer a giant and curled into a shaking, screaming ball. Celestia stood across her, eyes narrow and angry. "Big sister-!" she started.
"Gratia in Victoria," Celestia said sternly. She looked at Fulmen and then back at her younger sister. Luna knew what had to be done. She raised her false regalia and slashed as hard as she could, all but severing Fulmen's head. A flash of light erupted from the fallen alicorn's eyes and mouth briefly.
"Paenitet…" Luna whispered. She stepped back and looked away from the body. The elation of beating Fulmen was gone. All that was left was the feeling of shame towards what she had been doing when she had him under her power. She couldn't even look her sister in the eye.
"It is not me you have harmed," Celestia said. "This is your victory you would have spoiled." Her voice softened as she went on. "You picked a clever way to defeat his mind shielding, little sister. And…thank you, for being careful."
A small smile creased Luna's lips. Before she could say anything else, however, she remembered that there was one more foe to take care of. She turned around and searched the skies around them. They had flown quite a distance from where they started fighting, but she should still catch a glimpse of her brother and his treacherous student.
The sky was perfectly clear and silent.