The One True King

by JDPrime22

Chapter 31 – A Mass Awakening

The letters and distress radio beacons came pouring in.

It grew so fervent, so quickly and so troubling that Twilight broke away from the glass windshield while the rest of her friends kept on staring. Kept on watching as Sombra and his Titans stampeded north. Twilight had seen more than she ever wanted to and instead turned to what needed to be addressed, what needed her attention, even if deep down she never wanted to face it.

Just as it had before, so too did they face a similar situation as when Sombra decimated the T.I.T.A.N. outposts. Only now, it was far worse. There were far more letters, more chaos and panic flooding from the radios, countless more world leaders in their fleet contacting them about the madness unfolding in their home countries. The situation had skyrocketed to unimaginable heights, forcing Twilight’s heart to sink to unbelievable depths the more she listened. The more she saw.

With each letter magically teleported to the communications officers, with all of them levitated to the center map, and with Celestia, Luna, Shining, and Cadance overlooking each one, all that left was Twilight as the last head of power in Equestria to not read the same parchment. Bon Bon was stationed near the communications consoles, locked in place as more and more voices kept spewing forth from the radios to reach her, to reach the Radiance, to reach anypony who could give them an answer. Leaving just Twilight as the only leader among them who did nothing to respond.

But how could she?

It was all the same horrific news. All the same tragedy. All the same nightmare made reality.

They had awakened. They had all awakened at once. Every Titan they knew existed and every single one they never even knew. Hundreds across the globe, dozens rampaging through cities and settlements while dozens more tore through the seas and ripped through T.I.T.A.N. ships. T.I.T.A.N. reported as much as they could before they were forced to evacuate, to flee, before the monsters came for them next. Outposts were targeted and devastated by the creatures, leaving very little of the organization left standing on a global scale.

What they could report, however, was the strange behavior of each Titan. They all seemed to have awakened the same moment the alpha roar was heard reverberating across the planet, and only then did they find the strength to break free from their containment cells. They took out their rage and aggression on any nearby civilization, be it T.I.T.A.N. or civilian. Even the beasts studied to be gentler than others acted in similar fashions. They all acted aggressively. They all attacked whatever they came across. And they were all heading to Equestria, to follow the source of the cry heard around the world.

They were all following Ghidorah.

It was the only conclusion that made any sort of sense to Princess Twilight, even when there was so little sense to be made. After what they had witnessed with Sombra, with Ghidorah, with Godzilla, and with the haunting words offered from the former princesses, everything pointed to the one who defeated the King of the Monsters. The one who dethroned Godzilla and laid claim to the empty throne. The one who then cried out to the world, and had the world answer him.

The One Who is Many.

All of these things, and yet he was only one. One being, one nightmare, one tyrant with an entire monster army at his command. The world was on fire, falling apart before them, and it was all because of him. Yet the longer Twilight contemplated and dreaded the truth that came with war, the longer it took for her to realize what needed to be done as a response. Meanwhile, everypony else was locked in a heated debate on what to do next.

“This is worse than we could have ever imagined,” Cadance trembled, her heavy eyes laced with every nation upon the map.

“They’re everywhere,” Shining Armor added, shaking his head with every shivering exhale in his breath. “On every continent, every ocean, all of them raging to us.”

Ember remained unnaturally silent, gazing to the map where Shining Armor just kept on crossing off more and more T.I.T.A.N. outposts with red marker. All that had fallen from the awakening. Frostbite, Cinder, and Peak were not alone anymore. Just as they weren’t alone, for the species who once owned their world had returned for it.

Luna had settled in that grave reality, saying all the same, “They’ve come to overthrow the rulers of this present age.”

Celestia gazed to Bon Bon, the special agent drooping further into her seat as the radios kept on blazing around her. Never ending. Unceasing. Tormenting. Her eyes softened, her heart heavy as the former princess stated, “Just as Ghidorah wants them to…”

There was a scoff at the end of the bridge, or perhaps the front of it, where Discord leaned against the windshield and stared to the night sky. “Perhaps now would be the best time for little ol’ me to join the cavalry?” he suggested, twisting his gaze back to the heart of the bridge.

“You know the answer to that, Discord,” Celestia answered immediately.

Another scoff, joined by a shake of his head, and Discord faced the night once more. “Hm. Well then, I hope you do enjoy a world bathed in fire and bones, because I don’t see how you can properly respond to this madness in any orderly, unchaotic fashion.”

His words, though seeming like another tiring charade to many, were grasped with a cold hand, brought to an even colder heart to be taken seriously. The Dragon Lord had never felt so cold in all her life, leaning on her elbows as her claws rose up to allow her snout to rest on her knuckles. Her gaze was long, having no end to the perpetual darkness that presented itself before them. She recalled Discord’s words, being haunting only to her.

“Is this how it all ends?” Ember asked aloud. Several seconds passed and not a word of response, though she could feel all of their eyes resting on her. Her own eyes settled on the map, to every blood red cross. “Nothing but fire and bones?”

“This isn’t how it’s going to end.”

The table turned. As did a small minority of the bridge. Even Discord lifted his eyes to the familiar voice. Her friends broke away from the windshield to gaze back to her, watching as Twilight Sparkle took the spotlight and approached the center map.

And just as her former teachers did, just as her brother and sister-in-law did, and just as her ally of the dragons did, Twilight laid her touch upon the map, upon her home. Her hoof made contact and all Twilight could imagine was the unending suffering and death unfolding across her world. The letters and the radios were enough, but it was that personal response that drove Twilight to act, to speak, to imagine her home and her people all facing the same evil.

And it drove her to say, “We need to take the fight directly to Ghidorah.”

Her eyes were opened and she saw the responding stares from the likes of Ember, from Celestia, Luna, and so forth. They all shared the same glances, they same silent words that could not be uttered at that moment. Twilight yearned for the silence. It merely gave her the opportunity she needed.

“They all follow him,” Twilight explained, the tip of her hoof tracing further north of Equestria. “If we can take out Ghidorah… then the Titans won’t have a king. They won’t have him telling them to commit these atrocities. With Ghidorah gone, the Titans will stop. All of this will stop. And I’m willing to bet that Sombra is taking his Titans to do the exact same thing, and if Sombra manages to kill Ghidorah… I’d imagine this is only going to get worse.”

“Sombra?” Ember finally managed to speak. “What about us? You’re trying to make it seem like we have a chance to kill that thing.”

Twilight met her worrisome eyes, holding no deceit to instead share her own worries with Ember. Just as with her voice, she didn’t lie when she said, “We’re the only ones left who can stop this. The one who could…”

She turned back to her friends. To Fluttershy specifically, and felt her heart ache.

“He’s gone now,” Twilight said, facing back to the table. Fluttershy dropped her wet, burning gaze to the floor, closing each eye slowly. “It has to be us. Be it with our numbers, our conjoined strengths, or even the Elements of Harmony, this is all we can do now to fight back… to have a chance for survival.”

“I thought the Elements were destroyed… by Sombra no less?” Ember questioned, brow furrowing in confusion.

“They’re not destroyed,” Discord interrupted. Ember turned to him, turned to see him smile. “Believe me.”

Ember’s eyes slowly widened, the Dragon Lord turning back to the princess. To the Council of Friendship that surrounded her. In their heart, Twilight shone the brightest. Especially when she rose up even taller, held that influential glow to her presence, and openly declared, “We call to the others… if they’ll join us one more time. Any qualms and any lingering doubts need to be thrown aside, because this is much bigger than that. This is our only chance for survival. This is good against evil, hope against tyranny… life against death. And we need all the life rallying behind us now.”

The minority in the room slowly but surely became the majority, until even every last beating heart was fully turned and fully at the attention of the princess. T.I.T.A.N. turned to her, from every agent and every pilot. The radios fell silent. Bon Bon kept her eyes centered on the floor, her expression still pale, still cold, but her actions yielding. Only for a moment. Just to listen.

Having grown accustomed to the attention, Twilight Sparkle remained all the more vigilant to the silent concerns and present stares. She knew what they must have been feeling, as what she felt was all the same. Their hearts were all one, all beat the same tune of life, and that was the first step to bringing them together. For even in the darkest and longest of nights, as long as they had a light, as long they had a leading torch… they would never be lost.

But still she had her doubts, the same lingering demons that told her no, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t overcome this. Many, many times before she was lucky, but this was beyond her. This was bigger than her. Twilight was strong enough to admit that, but didn’t know if she was strong enough to face what was to come.

She needed to know.

“I don’t expect you to see me as a strong princess… or as a fit enough pony to rule you. But if you can see me for who I aim to be… as your leader… then I can promise I will lead you all. Maybe not to our survival, but our final stand for it. This is our moment to define who we are. Not a page to be glossed over in our world’s history, but as a story with no end.

“Our enemy seeks to end our existence, our very way of life… burned away and forgotten. Kingdoms may fall… lives may be lost… but the ideas of friendship and unity that brought us all together can never be unwritten. It is with these ideals that we came as one not to bow down to a King of Terror… but to righteously uphold the story we have no intention of finishing today.”

The numerous airships heard it all from their radios, the many world rulers, king and queens, leaders in their own rights listening in. They all listened to her, to one so young and yet so full of wisdom. With the one power they had all seemed to have abandoned. She filled them with the indestructible, unbeatable desire for hope.

It was that hope that flooded the Radiance first and foremost. And to every indication of life, to every beating heart that burned bright in the darkness, they all rose together. One by one. Starting with the few brave souls, joined by several T.I.T.A.N. agents rising from their chairs, until every last one of them had risen up. The Radiance froze in mid-air with no pilots to push it forward, and that was okay. For they all faced the center map and the princess behind it.

They all followed behind the words of the agent who said, “We rally behind the Princess of Friendship. Our ruler… and our leader.”

In a resounding display of chants and cheers, they all joined together, all of T.I.T.A.N. and all of the fleet, both royal and military. All the dragons in the skies and all the Wonderbolts joining them. It took a moment for the center table to fall in line with what has happening around them, but even they came around. Even Ember managed a tiny gasp to leave her lips, the Dragon Lord feeling a rising glow of hope burning in her heart. It was a fire that caught quickly, brightening the lips of Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and the two sisters into rising, strengthening smiles.

All of them directed to the Princess of Equestria.

“Thank you…” Twilight said, struggling to hold her voice together and conceal the tears threatening to form. She managed a smile to all in return, her words calming them down. “First… we need to gather to a safe haven. Like Bon Bon said, Ponyville is our best option for now. I’ll have Starlight secure the town.”

Most likely needing a confirmation on that, a letter was dispatched quickly to Ponyville. With that happening, Twilight continued her address and told them, “We retreat there, gather our forces and plan our next course of action. Celestia, Luna, you’ll have to bring in every last ally you know to defend this country from the Titans coming to our shores. Shining Armor, Cadance, same for you. I’ll do the same and ensure we have as many allies as possible fighting for us.”

Everypony nodded. Except for Bon Bon, who had remained silent throughout the entire ordeal. Never once chanting, never once cheering, never once holding her hope or her faith in Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps that was to change, perhaps her heart could find a place beside Twilight’s in their final fight for survival. Perhaps she could come to find the same hope Twilight practically breathed.

“Twilight…”

And perhaps she could know.

They all turned to the special agent, every heart and every life within the bridge facing Bon Bon. She was wilted in her seat, leaning forward and turning slowly to eye the princess. Twilight did not break her gaze, never once turned away from an ally and an even closer friend when she needed her most.

So, Bon Bon asked, “What other allies do we have?”

Twilight offered a small, supportive smile. “More than you might know.”