//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 – Lullaby of the Shobijin // Story: A King to a God // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Canterlot, Equestria Canterlot Castle, Guest Room Night fell on Canterlot, but as the hush wind blew gently across the now-empty roads, and lights, candles, and magical horns died down one by one, there was anything but rest in the guest room of Canterlot Castle. For the Young Six were restless. Restless as they were, it was not due to the elongated adrenaline of youth. Instead, their lack of sleep spawned from the burning, nagging feeling eating away at each and every one of them. Their last discussion with Princess Twilight Sparkle did not end in their favor, and not a single creature of their band found peace that night, nor could they see any peaceful outcome to this decision. So, instead of resting, they argued. “This is so stupid!” Smolder hissed, pacing back and forth across the room, smoke continuously spouting from her furious snorts. “Or, maybe, it’s for the best,” Ocellus retorted, trying to find some clarity in Twilight’s decision. “L-look, let’s face it: the Elements of Harmony are going to be utilized by Princess Twilight and her friends anyway. I mean… what help are we going to be if the Elements are already on the job?” “What?!” Yona gasped, stomping over to the bedside where the young changeling lied. “You saying you no want to fight monsters?!” “N-not particularly…” Ocellus whimpered, shaken slightly by Yona’s booming tone. “No, you know what this is?” Smolder stated, jamming her claw at Ocellus in an accusatory way, but not really accusing the changeling for anything. Instead, she had another target in mind. “This is Twilight thinking we’re not tough enough for the job! She’d rather we sit on the sidelines while they deal with some end-of-the-world threat without any other Element backup! Probably thinks we’re gonna screw something up, or-or step on their thunder, or—!” “There’s that dragon pride for ya,” Gallus mumbled aloud on his own bed. “You saying griffons can’t have pride for who they are?!” Smolder said, darting her glare over to the griffon. Gallus leaned on his talons and muttered, “We got greed. Little different.” Rolling her eyes with a groan, Smolder said, “Greed, pride, whatever! Fact of the matter is we’re the future Elements of Harmony! Heck, even Harmony itself said so! We save the world a couple of times, and we’re still not enough to save it again! Make it make sense, Twilight! Plus, I am not spending the start of my summer being cooped up back in pony town if I can’t go back to the Dragon Lands because of Godzilla! Oh, they ain’t taking me out of this now!” “Yeah!” Silverstream echoed, laying atop the chandelier and peering down at her friends with big, begging eyes. “I’m emotionally invested now! I have to see how we’re going to save Godzilla, not just hear about it back home!” While some semblance of agreement was being echoed among Smolder, Silverstream, and Yona, there was one member of their crew who had been uncharacteristically silent the rest of the day, and even more so at night. Ocellus turned to the opposite end of the bed, spotting the opal mane and spring bud coat in what little moonlight there was. Head low, facing away, with his eyes and focus elsewhere. On what… was what the changeling sought to understand. “Sandbar…” Ocellus called curiously, “… you haven’t said a thing since we got here.” The sudden callout earned the attention of the rest of the Young Six, all of them shifting to the Earth pony on the end of the bed. But his focus was indeed elsewhere. His wind was indeed set on something more deserving of focus. Though he picked up bits and pieces of their argument, he lingered on one point Smolder had made earlier, on one name that stuck with him more than any other. Harmony. He recalled her words, and spoke them aloud, “Harmony told us… the way to ending this war is finding the truth to Godzilla’s innocence.” Sandbar turned away from the dark corner of the room, facing all five of his friends. “Well, we did, didn’t we? We found that pony in Baltimare, she saw that it was Ghidorah behind this, and that Twilight and her friends are going to cleanse Godzilla’s mind of this evil that’s corrupted him. But…” Hopping off the bed, Sandbar approached Smolder and Yona slowly, deliberately, choosing each word as carefully as he could. As if a nonexistent threat of Harmony leering over his shoulder was poised to strike him down should he stray from whatever purpose she deemed for them. But she wouldn’t do that. Sandbar still saw it right not to stray either way. “What they said about Kong… about this… ‘robo-Godzilla’… still sounded like they were prepping for war. Then throw that three-headed dragon into the mix… I don’t see how this can end any other way.” His friends were silent. Smolder crossed her arms. He continued. “So, I got a different thought in mind,” Sandbar said, eyeing the outside world beyond the closed balcony window. “Instead of taking the train back to Ponyville tomorrow morning, we sneak onto the Radiance when its being loaded up.” There was some expectation in his heart to see some immediate support from his friends, especially the likes of Smolder, Yona, and Silverstream. Instead, he was given a look shock and surprise from all of them, as if they hadn’t expected Sandbar of all ponies to offer the thought that was in their heads as a viable option. He didn’t back down from it, either. “Like, seriously! Ocellus, you can even disguise yourself as a T.I.T.A.N. agent, and get us passed security or something. Or, or, Gallus, Smolder, and Silverstream can fly us right over their heads and sneak us onboard! Or, we could even—!” “Whoa, easy, tiger! Remember to breathe… and keep your voice down so no one eavesdrops,” Smolder warned, rushing to him and clamping her claws over his mouth. Removing herself, she faced him fully, and Sandbar saw a stare unlike any other she had given him yet. One of hardened determinism, with a slight pinch of curiosity. “But… you’re serious about this?” For a second, he wasn’t even sure if he was serious about this, or if he was just throwing some wild and dangerous thoughts out in the open. Letting his heart and emotions speak for themselves, without any rational thought behind them. They sneak onto the Radiance, then what? They face down Godzilla or Ghidorah, and what do they do? Ocellus was right, the Elements of Harmony were already being deployed, and Godzilla was going to be saved. They had done all they could with that mysterious mare in the meantime. Maybe it would be better—and safer—if they just went home. Then he thought of Harmony. Saw her warm, supportive smile in his mind, heard her promises in his heart, and shook his head. “We stood alongside Star Swirl the Bearded and Twilight Sparkle against the forces of evil. We brought together our divided species with the teachings of friendship Twilight and her friends taught us. Who would we be as the future Elements of Harmony to back down now? Way I see it… we're just getting started, and we need to see this through to the end,” Sandbar finally decreed. “Yeah!” Silverstream cheered, flying down to join her friends, forming the beginnings of a half-circle. “We’re just as important as Twilight and her friends! We’re the next generation of the Elements, and we don’t back down from evil!” “We prove Goji innocent!” Yona followed, joining in the circle now almost complete. “Now we go fight for him!” Turning to the audible groan, the five friends spotted Gallus burying his head in the pillow beneath him. He mumbled into it, “Call it a weird feeling… but I agree. I think we’re meant for something more here. Not just sittin’ back in Ponyville… but taking this fight straight to where it matters.” Lifting his face, and standing up with a shrug, he joined them regardless. “Maybe I’m weird, or crazy… or maybe that’s Harmony talking in my head. Either way… I’m down for whatever you got planned.” Seeing them all come together, turning his thoughtless ramblings into an actual call to action, and Sandbar started to feel the weight of what was actually going to happen. He chuckled nervously, feeling the sweat on the back of his neck when he rubbed it. “We could really use some guidance from Harmony right about now…” he said. Then… felt the soft touch of a friend grasp his shoulder. He turned to it, and saw the warm, supportive smile of Ocellus standing by his side. Joining her friend. Completing the circle. “I think we just got some,” she told him, and subsequently, all of them. She held out her free hoof in the middle of their circle. “Let’s finish this fight.” A free hoof that was quickly joined by a pony’s hoof, then a yak’s, a Hippogriff’s talons, a griffon’s as well, and a dragon’s claws. The moonlight belonged to the Princess of Friendship, and the Second Sister honored it as such. Even in a land so far from home, she could acknowledge that the touch of the Princess of Friendship graced the entire world in one way or another. First, it was the Princess of the Day, Celestia, and the Princess of the Night, Luna, who raised the sun and moon and let their light and beauty fill the world. With life, of course, for how could life survive with the sun? But the night… The night was a beauty untold, a story that did not seem to have an ending. For Luna’s story, tragic in its beginning, ended in redemption. In her return by her sister’s side. But Twilight’s night… her story… held a mystery to it. A calm like a gentle breeze the Second Sister felt upon the balcony. A chilling cold that the winds of fate deemed necessary to send her way, and in turn, send her to them. Fate was a fickle and curious force of power. Nevertheless, she took their kindness and retired in Canterlot Castle that night. The guard led her true, and she was safe and alone within the confines of a well-guarded, well-kept guest room curtesy of the Princess of Friendship, and fit for royalty. She almost found the thought humorous; she was less than any royal, less than even the innocent creatures that filled these lands, but her purpose was greater than they could understand. Even then, Princess Twilight treated her well. Not like royalty, but like a friend. Perhaps that was her defining character. Perhaps then she would see the truth and follow the correct path. Even with their war machines and plans of battle, even with the disregard for the Champions of Harmony who found her and brought her to them, even with so much more that pestered the Second Sister. Even with all of this… there was still the hope Twilight presented. And a hope that could lead them true… or not. Who was she to question fate? She was but a herald of it, and, as it so happened to be… they all were. The winds led her true, that much she could confirm. That much she could rest in, knowing her duties here were accomplished. Sighing and gazing to the moonlight, the Second Sister could only stare to the crescent moon and wonder if there was more she could say, more she could tell. The Elements, the Champions, the rulers of these lands were given everything they needed to succeed, but the unwavering feeling of doubt and fear tried to attack her. More attacks from the enemy. More weaknesses she nearly allowed herself to be open to. Immediately closing her eyes, she shut off any attempt for fear to strangle her with a word of her own. With a sound of her own. A call that came from her heart and flowed from her lips like a soft, alluring melody. A single note that flowed and filled the air above the darkness in Canterlot with her voice. With her presence. With her protection. She sung the lullaby in her native tongue, and prayed it reached the one she sought after. “… Of forgotten kindness… and ruined spirits… we pray for the people’s spirits… as we sing… this song of love.” The last note stung her eyes, and she opened them to feel the fireflies dancing in the starlight. Their turquoise glow filled her with a warmth unlike any other. A warmth she knew personally, and it made her smile a true smile. Giving her peace. Giving her rest. Giving her the assurance she needed. Fate would play forth as intended. The balance of harmony would tip one way or another; there was no stopping that. She would be there, resting first on this night, and then continuing her journey by hoof. Stopping for no other creature, for she had no reason to do so any longer. The song of the great moth returned and called to her. Called her to them. And she was not afraid for what would come next. “I am coming soon, sister.”