//------------------------------//
// With This Power 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

"There we go," Valey whispered, stepping back from a bed on the Immortal Dream. Felicity was freshly tucked and still unconscious, though her breathing had stabilized considerably since she passed out on the beach and her state was approaching a restful sleep.

"What happened to her?" Shinespark murmured, standing shakily in the doorway as Valey turned to leave. "She doesn't look very injured..."

Valey exited, offering a shoulder which Shinespark gratefully took. "Apparently she's got some sort of long-term health issues," she said, careful to keep her voice down as she closed the door. "Something to do with getting poisoned in Izvaldi decades ago. I, uhh... got a much better idea of what she's like while we were down there. We'll have a lot to talk about later, but for now, probably best to leave her her privacy."

Shinespark nodded. "I won't tell anyone. So... what do we do with every other injured pony around?"

The ship had been lowered into the water for ease of reaching, and every sarosian who couldn't walk had been carefully carried on board by Shinespark and Gerardo. The recovered Braen armor stood unworn in the library, and everyone else was on the deck, the sarosians still humming their song as much as they were able. Valey and Shinespark exited the stairway, and both folded their ears at the ponies' condition. There was far more blood than was welcome for a battle mostly fought unarmed.

"What can we do?" Shinespark whispered. "Maple's in charge of our healing supplies, but I don't think we have this many."

"And the Varsidelians are gonna be busted up, too," Valey sighed. "Bananas. This is... I dunno what's happening, but it's too late."

"Are they singing?" Shinespark asked, tilting her head. "It's not affecting you, is it?"

Valey shook her head. "It is, but I'm tuning it out or something. It's a batpony thing. Feels like being near a dusk statue. But according to them, there aren't any dusk statues for a really long distance. They live here in exile, or something."

Shinespark grimaced. "And Felicity was our translator, wasn't she? Whatever this is, hopefully it keeps them pacified until she wakes up."

Valey swallowed and folded her ears. "Sparky... I really, really don't wanna hear what they have to say to us. Those dudes ambushed us while I was chatting with them and trying to make peace. They probably think I lured them into a trap. We were already, like... barely not fighting." She sighed. "I might just go sit with Felicity or something and check on how she's doing. Or go look for Maple and Starlight. If you wanna talk to them, the round one sort of understands if you speak simply, but... bananas. I feel awful about this. Good luck."

She left, not knowing which direction to wander except to avoid the bridge. That was where Gerardo had taken and tied Grenada, who... no one wanted to deal with. No one knew how to even begin to approach that, and if anyone did, it wasn't Valey. She wandered down the staircase one sore hoofstep at a time, knowing Amber and Slipstream were on the deck tending to the wounded batponies as best as they could. She needed... She needed... Voices, from the engine room.

"Buh?" Valey slid the door aside, peeking in. "Ironflanks? Wait, and... Starlight, are you gray?"

Starlight returned the look, sitting by Maple with Jamjars in a corner, her pupils vertical and slitted from the moon glass's effects. "I am," she said levelly, looking as if her attention wasn't quite in the present. "Valey, you're back. Is it over?"

"The fighting? It... meh..." Valey's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, for now. Both sides are pretty badly injured. We caught Grenada, who looked like the worst aggressor, but I think everyone still hates each other and probably both hate us, too. I just... I dunno what to do. I don't even know how it ended this well, period." She looked up emotionlessly at Starlight. "What are you doing like that, anyway?"

"Stopping the batponies from fighting," Starlight replied, closing her eyes. "You can feel it too, can't you?"

Valey's focus shot to the polite, inviting pressure in her chest that had appeared when the battle ended, and she realized Maple was humming under her breath too. "Wait a minute, that's you? You can do that?"

"It's working, then?" Starlight brightened. "This is me... I think. I don't know how it works. It's complicated." She hesitated. "Should I keep it going?"

"Uhh..." Valey's thoughts turned to the inured sarosians on the deck, who would either try to fight or stare at her with injured eyes the moment they came to their senses. This wasn't something she could avoid, but... "Yeah, keep it up. If you can? It's helping."

Maple got up, grabbed Valey, and hugged her. "You don't look so good," she murmured. "What's going on out there?"

Valey swallowed. "Thanks, Ironflanks. It's, uhh... Everyone is injured. Literally everyone. Whatever healing supplies you've got left from those mercenaries, we're gonna need them."

"Everyone?" Maple's ears folded. "As in, forty-plus ponies everyone? Because we have enough healing potion for maybe two or three..."

Valey felt the lump in her throat grow. "Well, better find out how much you can split it, who won't survive without it, and how much stuff we have for splints and bandages and slings. Because even if these guys are alive, I'm not sure either side is gonna be able enough to survive out here after this much damage. Maybe if they perfectly, perfectly got along..."

Maple felt slightly colder against her. "I should go. It sounds like they'll need me..."

She left, leaving only Valey, Starlight and Jamjars. The latter watched Valey without doing anything, and Starlight got up and sighed. "I should go up to help too."

"Uhh... you sure, kiddo?" Valey frowned, about to find some way to help as well. "Being moon glassed doesn't hurt that? You look kinda..."

Starlight shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it. I remember every time I've gotten back to normal, I felt like I had lost something while I was like this, but right now I do feel normal. I'm not evil or about to explode. And I can do things I normally can't while I'm like this. My horn doesn't work, but so what? Maybe I can talk to them and they'll understand me."

"They might also see you and freak out," Valey pointed out. "Remember how that Grandpapa guy reacted at the sight of you when you interrupted his fight with Shinespark?"

"Maybe?" Starlight shrugged. "I won't be using the shadow cloak."

"Look, I just... I dunno." Valey shook her head. "Maybe I'll go check out the Varsidel camp, or something. See where Harshwater is. At least there I can talk to dudes who will feel like I might be an enemy instead of might be a traitor. The way those batponies look at me is... eh..."

"I'll deal with it," Starlight promised, briefly leaning her head against Valey's shoulder on her way out. "I have magic and I don't understand it, but it's strong."

That sounded like a recipe for more bad ideas, Valey thought, but her cutie mark was thoroughly done with tingling after such a broad melee and all she wanted to do was go lie down. Which meant, of course, staying on her hooves and being productive. No giving up. She gave Starlight a nod of approval, sighed, and prepared to take wing.





The scene Starlight stepped outside to was exactly what she imagined the ship to have looked like when it was serving as a transport for wounded soldiers during the battle of Ironridge. Memories of low sounds of pain, chaos and darkness pressed in on her mind, but this time, she could see everything.

Seventeen batponies lay on the deck, some of their own accord and others because they were unconscious or too hurt to stand. She didn't even need to count them; she could feel them in the back of her head, where Melia and Sirena were singing over and over for peace. Heads turned as she stepped out of the door. They knew she was there, too.

"...Hi?" Starlight whispered, fixed by a forest of eyes and having no clue what else to do.

Some of the batponies looked away, and others started covering their eyes. Every last one that was conscious was humming, crying, or both.

Starlight walked down the length of the deck. Some of her friends were there as well, though they registered less in her vision than the batponies. Every one of these ponies was bright, far brighter than the tired, fearful guards in Stanza's dungeon in Gyre. She felt her heart shift; these weren't the kinds of ponies that bad things should happen to. Every one of them was important, and she wished they could stay. If she was near ponies like these more often, everything would be alright. They reminded her of her friends.

She passed close by one, and they shied away from her, but with the proximity Starlight could feel a burning desire to survive, a tiny candle somewhere inside them. She passed another and felt the same... but the one after that's brightness was flickering. Starlight stopped in concern, realizing they were fully unconscious with a spear hole in one wing.

Her ears fell, and she glided quickly to their side, her own hoofsteps not registering in their ears. Please don't give up, she urged, not feeling the need to speak to make her wish heard. She put a hoof on their coat and closed her eyes, not wanting to watch as their flame went out and their life slipped away. There was something she needed to do here, a directionless commandment and need for action, and nothing she could do to remember what it was.

Slowly, their brightness stabilized.

Night Mother? a voice asked, and she blinked in surprise, seeing the batpony barely conscious and regarding her with thin eyes.

"Night Mother? Me? I'm Starlight." Starlight frowned. "Are you...?" She stopped, realizing there was probably no way they could understand her.

It must be you, the batpony protested, struggling and succeeding to become more awake. You speak to hearts. Your song is in me. I hear it. Feebly, they hummed a few bars in tune with the melody in Starlight's mind. Don't look at me. We live in exile. We are not worthy. Please...

"Umm..." Starlight swallowed, suddenly a lot less sure about what Glimmer's change entailed. But her eyes narrowed. If this telepathy power could convince the batponies she was their leader... Had it just convinced someone whose light was going out not to die...? Then she was going to use it as much as she could to set things right. Questions could wait for later.