//------------------------------// // 14. Starfall // Story: Synchronicity // by Sev //------------------------------// Luna flapped her wings harder, and tried to clear the buzzing out of her head. That had been the last orbit. Once more around the globe, and it would be here. She kicked off a coastal cloud as she passed it to gain momentum, and heard the contingent of Pegasus Guard that trailed her do the same. Behind them sailed no fewer than twenty ships, every vessel in the harbor that could sport a cannon or support the fleet with food and refuge from the impending battle. Behind them, sailing on the crosswinds like black whales in the starlight, were a dozen airships laden with explosives and munitions for the Pegasus Guard to employ in the air war. The dirigibles themselves were not designed for combat, and would flirt around the outskirts of the arena when the fighting began, providing supplies and support. The ethereal glow of the night sky played like sparks over the gleaming lining of every vessel, and danced over the stylized ponies emblazoned on the ship's hulls. Luna, whose eyes could see clearly in the dark, thought it a thing of beauty, and the most impressive fleet she'd seen assembled in a thousand years. She also thought it wasn't nearly enough. The opal spires of Kelantis twinkled in the distance, lit by starlight and their own internal luminescence. It stood motionless, its massive tentacles rooting it in place so it could maintain position high above the waves. Other kelpie ships, smooth and hydrodynamic, were slowly trawling around its perimeter, and more could be seen in the distance as swells on the ocean's placid surface. Luna could only imagine how they looked from below the waterline, floating at neutral buoyancy in massive grids, eery and motionless around the elephantine mechanical armatures that characterized the kelpie's migrating capital. Old thoughts of a war long ago crept through her mind, laced with memories of the Kraken's devastating grasp, and the chaos that once piloted it. She shook them loose. Kelantis was an asset too great to refuse due to thoughts from a time long passed. Its ancient mechanisms were among the most powerful in the world, and she knew it first hand. Still, she wondered if Aurora had truly come to terms with the all too likely chance that her inherited mechanical marvel wouldn't survive the coming conflict. Blessed as she was with larger wings and larger purpose, Luna arrived on the deck of the Sunrise before her Pegasus Guard escort did. She landed with an authoritative thunk that snapped those ponies still on deck to attention, and appraised the situation. “Who commands this ship?” she asked a sailor who had moments before been securing the knots on the cannon nearest to her. He saluted sharply. “Ah, tha'd be Admiral Magenta McGorgamaforg, Princess!” he replied, and Luna lifted a brow. “Admiral who?” “Finest in da fleet, ma'am! She an' her officers got us all the way out here, found Princess Celestia, an' er in that might'ee mech'nized octopus roit now, talking ta da PRINCESS o' da KELPIES.” He whistled, and cupped a hoof across his muzzle, shielding his words. “'Tween you an me, Princess, I dinnit think them things existed. Now here I am, biggest adventure o' me life! I'd follow that magnificent pink bastard to 'ell an back I would!” “Pink...” Luna closed her eyes and chuckled. “How does she do that?” “Pard'n ma'am?” “Nothing,” Luna replied, and turned toward Kelantis. “Inform your first officer that new orders are on the way, by means of Equestrian Navy. They'll be here within half an hour.” The young deckhand looked perplexed. “Er… yes ma'am! Which ship should we be expectin' then?” Luna spread her wings and kicked off the deck, soaring toward the palace entrance. “All of them.” Twilight Sparkle watched the distant lights of the Equestrian Navy grow closer from her position on one of the balconies of the mighty sea city. The air was cool and still, and she could hear the lapping of the waves against the massive hull below. There were likely orders being shouted somewhere, but she was high enough to be out of earshot, and only the the occasional splash of a larger wave graced her ears. She'd showered (which had been a surprise in and of itself. Why a kelpie city had freshwater showers was beyond her. She assumed they were holdover' from the palace's original use as a migrating subjugation machine), eaten, and thanks to Celestia's blessing, felt as rested as she could hope to feel. Her remarkably good condition in light of the circumstance lent a degree of surrealism to her current situation. Like it wasn't actually happening, or at least, not nearly as close as it really was. She knew that the Star, whatever it actually was, would touch down within the hour. By all rights, she was ticking down what might be the last few minutes of her life. She wanted a sandwich. “Apple pie,” came a voice from beside her. She blinked, and turned her head to see Applejack, who'd stepped unnoticed up to the wall herself. The earth pony canted her head and smirked at Twilight. “Apple pie. Fresh out of the oven, with Granny's whipped cream and cider,” she sighed at the thought, with a dreamy look gleaming out from under her hat. She wasn't carrying any of the aforementioned delicacies of course, but her train of thought appeared to be on the same rail Twilight's was on. The purple unicorn laughed at the coincidence. After having so recently experienced a shared mind with Rarity, Applejack guessing her thoughts seemed almost expected. “I was going to say the cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner,” she replied, and Applejack smirked. “You were not,” she accused. “You were goin’ to say a sandwich or something. Or a salad.” Twilight lifted a brow at the other pony, expectant of an explanation. “First Rarity's in my head, now you? Did I miss a memo or something?” Applejack shook her head and grinned. “Nothin’ magic about it, sugarcube. You're just… Twilight Sparkle, that's all.” Twilight was taken aback, and swatted her friend with her tail in mock protest. “What does that mean, huh? Why doesn't Twilight Sparkle eat cupcakes on the eve of battle?” she demanded. The rodeo pony looked back over the water, and folded her forelegs up against the ledge. “Because cupcakes and pie are a last meal,” she said softly, “and a sandwich is something you eat when you’re planning on surviving for dessert, and just want to tide yourself over until then.” The purple unicorn opened her mouth to reply, but no sound emerged. With a trembling lip, she draped her arms over her friend and hugged her close, and the very, very long day that had proceeded this moment faded from her thoughts. She was happy, and it wasn't until that moment that she'd realized just how unhappy she'd been. “We're going to win this, Applejack,” she heard herself say, and was shocked at the solidarity of her own voice. “Shoot,” the other mare replied, tears choked in her southern drawl, “I don't doubt it for a minute.” When the two of them broke off, they smiled, and wiped the pooling tears in their eyes off their faces. Twilight could feel a glow in her heart she'd lost track of during the long, drudging trip. Like embers slowly stoked by some unseen bellows, it warmed her from within, and cut the chill of the sea air. Not a spark, but a furnace, gradually growing in heat and intensity. She savored the feeling, and turned for the door. Windswept had just appeared, peering around the corner cautiously and clearing her throat. “Um, girls?” she asked, and pointed behind her. “There's somepony here to see you.” Twilight sniffed away the last of her momentary lapse of composure and nodded, taking her position beside Applejack as they walked toward the hall. She smiled despite herself, and nudged the earth pony with her shoulder. “Where did you pick up all these wonderful little words of wisdom, anyway?” she asked, “You always seem to have a line for whatever life throws at you.” Applejack smiled warmly, and stepped through the doorway. “From my mother,” she replied. Pinkie Pie waved to the pair of them as they entered the main hall. She was standing there with an exasperated looking Fluttershy, who seemed to have her mind, and eyes, on a million things at once, and didn't like any of them. Twilight felt a pang of sympathy for the pegasus pony. She'd been in enough tight spots with Fluttershy to know she wasn't about to fold under pressure this late in the game, but the girl was a worrier. She'd fret herself to death before the fight even began if somepony didn't grab her by the shoulders and shake her out of it. From the looks of Pinkie's defeated eye-rolling, she'd already attempted that. Granted, Pinkie had a tendency to take 'grab and shake' a little more literally than was perhaps necessary. “You holding up alright?” Twilight asked Fluttershy once she'd gotten close enough to do so without attracting undue attention to the conversation. Fluttershy chewed her lower lip. “I'm… okay, I just… I feel like I'm in the wrong place...” she answered. Twilight draped an arm over her friend to comfort her. “Don't say that,” she said, assuming Fluttershy was suffering from another bout of self-depreciation, “you've got as much business being here as any of us do.” Fluttershy nodded without response. She appreciated the support, but that hadn't been exactly what she meant. “Luna was just here!” Pinkie explained, and Twilight turned to face her conversation with Applejack. “She went and visited the kelpie princess first. I think they've got something figured out, 'cause she wants to talk with us.” Fluttershy nodded. “Shes’ waiting on the Sunrise for us now.” “I'm thinking of changing its name,” Pinkie mused absently, “like, to 'The Frenzied Friend-ship' or 'The Pastry Pummeler' or something. Something with a kind, gentle side, that still says I-will-punch-you-in-the-nose-with-a-cannonball'. “Pinkie,” Applejack sighed, “it’s not your ship.” Pinkie waved a hoof. “Oh I know that,” she said dismissively, “Its Magenta McGorgamaforg's ship! I’ll have to run them by her later.” “How...” Windswept stammered, no longer able to hold her tongue from the back row. “How do you function?” “Magnificently,” Pinkie replied in a startlingly firm, confident voice. Her face flashed a look of such self-empowerment that pony and kelpie alike took a step back, and the pink pony spun on her heels and stepped out toward the makeshift bridge leading to the Sunrise. Twilight and company followed a few strides behind, with the purple unicorn herself slowly shaking her head and chuckling. “Is she… completely insane?” Windswept asked, with a slight inclination of fear in her voice. Twilight smirked. “She’s completely brilliant,” she replied simply. “So, yes.” Luna, who tended to forgo the 'Princess' title among friends even before she officially lost it, was waiting on the deck of the Sunrise, and she wasn't alone. Clustered around her were uniformed officers of more than a dozen ships, now anchored nearby and bobbing like small islands in the moonlit waves. Earth ponies, pegasus ponies, unicorns sporting the robes of the Canterlot Magic Academy; all standing around the tall, midnight blue alicorn in rapt attention. “Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said with sigh of relief and a wide smile. She tucked the unicorn in with her wing and hugged her. “Shipshape here was just regaling me with tales of your adventure. My sister is safe, and I cannot thank you enough.” She glanced toward the massive bastion that was Kelantis. “It would seem I've just missed her. Unfortunate, but I can understand her rush.” “We're… out of time, aren't we?” Fluttershy asked in a timid voice from behind Pinkie. The larger alicorn nodded slowly. “Entirely, I'm afraid,” she responded. “We're in it now, my little ponies. The navy is here, and the Star will touch down any time now. It will come in this direction,” she pointed overhead, passing over Kelantis, “land, and travel back this way toward the mainland. We're in the right spot, all we can do now is trust in ourselves, in each other, and in the plan.” “I'm still a little unsure on that 'plan' part, Luna,” Applejack interjected. “What exactly was it? I mean, we're all here, we're willin', but isn't there usually an ace in the hole right about now? What exactly are we doin’?” “Fighting for our lives, Applejack,” she responded. “No ace, no trick. All the cards are on the table. We just need to make sure our hand is better than theirs.” She managed a playful wink. “Personally, I prefer it that way. We have one job today, ponies,” she said firmly, addressing the crowd. “Let’s do it well.” Luna stepped forward toward the doorway and pointed out over the water and at the approaching ships, including the Sunrise just below them. Her tone and canter had shifted to one more akin to a general addressing her troops. It lacked the volume of the royal Canterlot voice, but was no less official. “I've spoken to Princess Aurora. Bless her devious heart, when she stands for something, she stands like a stone. The kelpies will be bearing the brunt of the offensive. Their ships aren't intended to fight things above the water, and while I don't know for certain WHAT these beings look like, I think we can be fairly sure they won’t be designed for swimming. It will probably fly, or at least be large enough that the water here won't obstruct its movement.” There were various nods all around, though the thought of a being that could stand and move without impedance in water deep enough to support Kelantis was somewhat terrifying in and of itself. Equestrians were used to large monsters; they had more than a few living locally. But this was somewhat beyond 'large' and nestled more in the 'nightmarishly colossal' category. “Since they lack our brand of offensive magics and their vessels are built to combat underwater targets,” Luna continued, “they'll be focusing entirely on protecting us. It’s our job to deliver the blows that bring the creature down.” She turned to face them, her expression stern. “The longer that takes, the more our allies will have to endure.” Twilight blinked at that. It seemed a rather extreme step for Princess Aurora to take for a society she'd intentionally avoided for generations. Windswept, who had also been listening, picked up on Twilight's trepidation and spoke softly. “She's doing this because its the best use of our resources,” she said, staying under Luna's voice as she continued to distribute orders, “but it’s also out of a need to settle a very, very old debt. Aurora… All of us really, feel we still owe you for Discord, and kelpies don't like being indebted. She feels this will square us off, and that can go a long way toward improving relations between Equestria and Kelopolis when this thing is over. I, for one, pray she’s wrong.” Twilight lifted a brow at her. “You… do?” she asked, and Windswept sighed. “That debt came out of a very long, very hard war, Twilly. Centuries of fighting. It was purchased in blood and tears. Honestly, if we pay back our pound of flesh to Equestria today, I don't think there will be any kelpies left to reap the benefits.” Luna had paused for a moment to stroke the massive mechanical tendril that served as the bridge between the Kelantis palace and the Sunrise. Her face was full of old memories, likely of that very same war, and she smiled a small, whimsical smile. “This old thing,” she said, a chuckle in her voice. “Celestia hates it. She wanted it gone the moment we locked Discord away. I always thought what Aurora did with it was inspiring.” Her smile faded a little, and she turned back toward the others. “This palace is their Canterlot,” she said, “and they are sending it into battle. It’s a monstrous machine assembled of power and engineering unparallelled on our world, but...” she sung its praises, but followed them with a sigh of consent to realism, “but I for one do not expect it to survive in one piece.” She lowered her voice just a little, speaking cautiously. “The kelpies are proud and willing, little ponies,” she said, “but if Kelantis should fall… I don't believe we can count on them staying in the fight afterward. It is, literally, the rock that holds them together, as is Aurora. We all know we have to fight to win from the very first shot, but that fight will become horrifically difficult should we fail to seize victory before Kelantis meets its end. Applejack, by experience, glanced toward Windswept in expectancy of a rebuttal. Instead, the little kelpie's lip trembled slightly, and she maintained her silence. It was true, and she knew it. Something about the mental image of the monolithic structure they stood beside falling in combat like a slain warrior drove home the gravity of the fight that lay before them, and Twilight could feel the heartbeats of every pony nearby quicken. Mercifully, Luna didn't give them much time to dwell on it. “Admiral McGorgamaforg,” she said to Pinkie, with a raised brow and a smirk, “against my better judgment, you will maintain command of the Sunrise.” She chuckled softly as Pinkie's eyes widened in excitement. “They know your face now, and they credit you with a rather profound victory, and impressive rescue to boot.” She lowered her voice just slightly and added “Personally, I think you had a little help, but we'll just keep that between us.” She winked, and Pinkie Pie laughed aloud. “Applejack,” she continued, “I need Shipshape to move to another vessel, as the most experienced officer. That means Pink… Magenta, needs a first mate.” “I’m usin' my real name,” Applejack warned Pinkie, who had already produced her large coat from… Pinkie… land… and was fumbling around in her pockets for a pipe. She guffawed, and smacked the other pony on the flank. “You'll answer to whatever I call you and you'll do it with a SIR, seananny!” Twilight could see Applejack mouthing 'I will murder her' to Luna as Pinkie adjusted her hat, and the alicorn grinned. It was a ridiculous idea. She respected the power of ridiculous ideas. “Twilight,” she said, turning to the unicorn, “whether you choose to admit it or not, you're one of the finest magicians in Equestria, and I can't risk having both you and your friends on a single ship. I need to divide my assets. I'm assigning you to the Triumphant. You'll have command of the unicorns there, and through relays by the Pegasus Guard, the unicorns in the rest of the navy. I'm counting on you to put our magic where it’s most needed.” There was a muffled uproar of protest from the surrounding unicorns. Twilight Sparkle was a known name around Canterlot, but not in any great detail. Ponies knew she'd been awarded for great deeds on Equestria's behalf, but those who had not looked into the matter extensively tended to put those awards at more or less the same level of importance as the ones handed out for charity work. Many of these unicorns were senior members of the Canterlot Academy, and rather stuck in their ways. Twilight turned to try and reassure them all of her qualifications (which she was, herself, a little uncertain of in the present company) but their harsh glares silenced her before she could speak. “General Luna,” one protested, “you can’t really-” “I CAN,” she declared in a voice that radiated over the water, “and I have. Twilight, take command.” “But..but I don't know them, what if they-” Twilight cut herself off and bit her tongue. She'd find a way. There wasn't time to worry about that now. “Yes, Luna. I'll make sure it happens.” Luna nodded and turned to Fluttershy, who had been nervously shifting her weight and twitching her wings. Every so often her hoof had raised during Luna's speech to try and get her attention, and lowered a moment later in fear of actually being noticed, or interrupting. When Twilight had faced the scrutiny of the other unicorns, she'd bit her lip, still too concerned about the results of her previous attempts to be 'assertive' to risk it here. Now, it had seemed, she was awaiting her own assignment, but her body language spoke of a pony who desperately wanted to be somewhere else. It did not, however, speak of fear. And that in itself was a strange thing for Fluttershy. The larger alicorn paused for a moment as she looked at the worried yellow pegasus pony, and smiled a small, knowing smile. “It’s a very, very long flight, little one,” she said gently, “and you don't have much time to do it.” Fluttershy blinked and looked up at her. “I… what?” “Rainbow,” Luna said, “she has quite a head start on you. I can teleport you as far as Canterlot, and from there Princess Rarity can push you further toward the east coast, but you'll still need to fly the last span. Harder than you've ever flown before, if you hope to get there in time to help.” Fluttershy's eyes had grown wider and wider as Luna spoke, and as she completed her last statement, the meek yellow mare sprung to attention with wings snapped high and desperation in her eyes. “I'LL GO!” she exclaimed, as though worried Luna might not hear her from two feet away. “I’ll go! Send me! I… I… Girls, um, I'm… sorry but...” she looked apologetically toward the other three, who were all a little stunned by her response. It was Applejack who's shock transitioned into a smile first. “Go on, Fluttershy,” she said, warmth in her tone, “the three of us can handle things here. RD needs the backup.” She pointed a hoof at the pegasus pony. “You just make sure you make it in time, ya'hear?” “I won’t let you down,” she replied, her jaw set. Uncharacteristic confidence and determination radiated off her body, but it wasn't something any of them hadn't seen before. Twilight couldn't help but grin. She'd hoped for this. Fluttershy was in the fight. A different fight, perhaps, but she'd get there with Hell flying in her wake. “I'm ready,” she told Luna, but then hesitated slightly. “Just a moment,” she added. The yellow pegasus marched toward the most outspoken of the protesting unicorn mages. “Now you listen to me,” she snarled, “that purple unicorn has pulled your plush pillow-sitting butts out of the fire more often than you've enjoyed the company of a mare in your lifetimes, you snotty arrogant nose-lifting twits. She's led five ponies who barely knew each other into battle against things that once left this whole country… no… this whole WORLD in war for CENTURIES, and she's WON. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.” Every word was punctuated by Fluttershy (who, when she wasn't hunkered down in a submissive posture, was actually a fairly large pony) shoving her nose into the face of the now vaguely terrified unicorn and burning a hole through the back of his skull by means of her unflinching gaze into his eyes. “So every last one of you had better pull your heads out from under your tails and LISTEN to what she has to say,” she hissed, “because if there's ANYPONY on this boat that's going to save the world, its TWILIGHT GOD DAMNED SPARKLE.” One of her eyes widened fiercely, and drove the unicorn into the deck of the ship. “Got it?!” “Got it,” he replied, in a voice barely audible over a whisper. “Good.” Fluttershy growled, and turned to face Luna with a single pivot and a heavy stomp. “SEND ME TO WAR.” There was a terrific flash of purple and blue light, and Fluttershy was gone, drawn through a portal of Luna's creation and sent off toward Canterlot. Her outburst had left even the alicorn speechless, and her response to Fluttershy's demand had been so fast she'd almost appeared to be frightened of taking too long. Twilight coughed nervously, and every unicorn on deck snapped to attention, as though the throat-clearing had been a prelude to orders. She blinked, and whispered an aside to Windswept. “Er… what’s the kelpie name for the Element of Kindness?” she asked. “The Endless Sea,” she replied, “It’s, uh… a reference to the bottomless well of kindness the Element bearer is said to possess, but any reference to an ocean in our culture tends to be double-sided. Oceans brew storms, you see. Hurricanes. The name kinda goes both ways.” Twilight smiled. “Hurricane Fluttershy,” she said softly. It sounded oddly fitting. Fluttershy's 'inspirational speaking' had done wonders for motivating the unicorns under Twilight's command, and within minutes after her departure, the ponies on board the Sunrise had been dismissed, and rushed back to their posts. Twilight had stepped onto the deck of the Triumphant mere moments before, and having familiarized herself with the ship's fundamental layout, had taken position on the bridge, and overlooked the water before her. Luna was beside her, having chosen Twilight's ship as a base of operations for the air campaign. It had the largest deck, and she wanted to be nearby the unicorn. Kelantis had shifted position, and its monstrous tentacles had sunk into the water to grant it additional support. Not long ago, Twilight had watched a mass exodus of non-essential personnel diving off the sides and into the water, but the majority, she knew, had stayed. While it was certainly possible to flee from these… things… it would only be for so much time. This was a fight for the world, and most chose to be right there, on the front lines. Even pegasus weather ponies and civilian unicorns and earth ponies alike had arrived in personal watercraft within the past few minutes, following the big ships out toward a fate they knew not what, but felt in their hearts was too important to ignore. “There it is,” Luna said softly, her larger ears twitching. She'd been listening for it, and Twilight strained her own ears, looking toward where the once-princess was facing. It began as a low drone, its size and shape vibrating the air in such a way through massive gaps and pockets in its alien architecture that it's natural pitch rattled the very bones in her body and set her teeth rattling. Were it not for the dampening of the ocean, she would've worried about the hulls of the ships shaking apart from the noise alone as it gained in volume and dipped to frequencies normally reserved for whale-song. As it approached, she could see a wall of smoke and steam pouring off its still hidden shape. It had slowed itself to something significantly less than orbital speed, but was still fast enough to pass overhead like a rocket, and send the pegasus ponies in the clouds scattering. The low-end of its sound was joined by a piercing scream she prayed was due to some strange aspect of its design and the passage of air over it rather than from a mouth, as a being that made that noise naturally spoke to her of childhood nightmares that resided in closets, under beds, and in the darkest corners of the darkest rooms. Creatures that grew bigger with fear, and couldn't be slain without the presence of some nightlight she knew wasn't coming. It was the sound of one's brain being ripped in half, thought by thought. It made her wish for daylight. It passed them as quickly as it had arrived, descending ever lower toward a distant point of impact. The splash it made blotted out the starlight, and sent water up in a multi-level arch that resembled a hand with too many fingers, reaching out to grab the night. It was enormous, and the sheer level of enormous was only made clear by how long it took the sound of its touchdown to reach them. By the time it arrived at the boats, it was little more than a rush of warm air, followed by a wave that rocked the ships noticeably, but must have lost most of its ferocity during its trip. Twilight could hear the shuffling of activity on the decks, and the thrumming of her own fluttering heartbeat in her ears. It was here now. All that stood between her and destiny was a few scant miles of ocean. The waiting, now, was more frightening than the creature itself. She still hadn't seen it in full detail, but every moment it sulked out of view, shrouded by darkness, it grew larger in her mind. Every minute passed in silence added to her worries and doubts. And worse still, she knew she wasn't alone. Every pony in every cloud, every sailor on every ship, all were slowly, nervously shifting their weight, and waiting. She had very nearly lost her mind, when Luna put a wing on her shoulder. “Twilight,” she said softly, and the pony looked up at her. She was smiling. Luna was smiling, and she pointed out toward the water. “Listen.” Twilight strained her ears toward Kelantis, looming ahead of them, and her eyes widened. The kelpies had begun to sing. Slowly, like a blanket of Hearthswarming lights draping down a building, Kelantis lit from its top to its bottom. The soft, colorful glow of kelpie bio-luminescence sparked on every level of the massive castle. It washed the walls in blues and greens and oranges, and cascaded across the water like fairy fire. And as they lit, their voices grew, and Twilight could here the pounding of drums, and the voice of a people united. We are born, embraced by the sea blinking lights with beating hearts Held in trust by surf and wave Shining in the dark Lights! Lights! Lights on the sea, A hundred thousand torches aflame and burning brightly Home is our name for the dark and the cold Trust is a word for the lies we’re all told Deep is a place where our nightmares dive and make all our fears unfold Fire! Fire! Flame within our hearts, A hundred thousand torches to warm us with their sparks With every verse the beating of drums grew louder, and the ring of unique, waterborne instruments rippled across the waves and bounced off the hulls of the Equestrian fleet. Kelpie bio lights glowed brighter on the surface, floating around the Triumphant like rainbow lanterns, and dipping deep under the sea to form a thick, glowing blanket of sound and light. But most amazing of all, Twilight Sparkle knew this song. She'd never met a kelpie before Windswept, never even believed they existed, but the tune, the cadence, had been sung with different lyrics in Canterlot since time immemorial. Wave and storm, our cradles Deluge, our daily bread Thunder shapes our world and lightning arcs above our heads Be bright! Be bright! With all your heart, unite A hundred thousand torches to ward you in the night! And when the ocean rages or when the sky grows black or when the moon cannot be seen behind the worries on your back To her right, distant, but clear in the still of the air, came Pinkie Pie's voice, ringing out over the ocean to join with the symphony of sea ponies. She knew it too. Every pony knew it. Different words, perhaps, different references, but the song itself had been passed down through every tribe, every culture, since the day Discord was banished over a thousand years ago. Since the last time the world stood united against a common enemy with all its hearts as one. Be strong! Be strong! It’s been in you, all along A hundred thousand torches and yours among their song! Pinkie's voice carried across the Equestrian battle lines, and before she was three words in, she had vocal reinforcement. Ponies on every bow broke out in song, slamming their hooves into the decking to punctuate their words. Pegasus ponies kicked the clouds in time to every verse, raining drumbeats of thunder and stoking their air with the smell of storms and the energy of lightning. The muted glow of kelpie mouths ignited into a dazzling array that bounced across the mists of the sea and wrapped every pony in a cloak of light that turned Kelantis into a beacon in the night. We can make the sea our servant! We can transmute fear to hope! With fin and flame and lights within, We will grow and swim and thrive again! As one! As one! One voice, one soul, one light! Together! Eternal! By all our hopes and dreams A hundred thousand torches! A hundred thousand torches! One hundred thousand spirits Burning on the sea! The monster's howl could be heard now, raining out across the sea. But this time, when it hit the ships, the ships howled back. An eruption of voice and righteous indignation that roared its protest against this new invader, and swore to it the same bitter ending that had befallen every enemy that had dared tread its path against this world before. Twilight's voice was among them, and she shared a savage grin with Luna. Let it come. Let the stars themselves fall upon them. The fight was here, and they were ready.