The Stars, the Seal, and the Kraken

by CLAVDIVS CAESAR

Chapter 2: What Rough Beast

Rainbow Dash glided above the streets of Ponyville, following the straight white line now traced along them, flanked here and there by traffic cones and "wet paint" signs, and found a familiar purple unicorn at the end. She watched as Twilight carefully positioned a paintbrush attached to a large compass glowing with purple light and, checking measurements against a scroll levitated before her, traced out a precise circle centered around the straight line's tip.

Rainbow cocked a baffled eyebrow at her friend. "Whiskey tango bravo?"

Twilight rechecked the measurements before looking up at the pegasus, confused.

"WTB?" she clarified. Twilight shook her head slightly, brow furrowing.

Rainbow threw her forelegs into the air. "What the buck, Twi? Last I saw you, you were writing to the princess, and now Spike's babbling about some author and you're doing your geometry homework in the streets?"

Twilight dismissed the enlarging spell on her compass and returned the brush to the paint can. "I haven't taken a geometry class in years."

Rainbow nearly facehooved. "I didn't mean-- never mind. I checked in on Ditzy, she said the feeling stopped for about twenty minutes, then started up again. She wrote down the times, too. I showed 'em to Spike, he said the thing landed for about twenty minutes then took off again, and Ditzy's times were only about two minutes after his."

"Hmm." Twilight did some quick mental math. "I'd figured the mountain had to be close to a hundred miles away, if not more. If these ripples are travelling at the speed of sound, and assuming everypony's clocks are accurate, close to a two-minute delay would be about right."

"Seriously, though, what the hay are you doing?"

Twilight levitated the scroll towards her friend to read. "It's a symbol to protect the town from that creature."

Rainbow quickly read the princess' letter. "Okay, what I know about magic couldn't fill a sticky note, but I do know that symbols--"

"'Symbols and incantations don't make magic, that's just superstition.' I know, I know." Twilight sighed as she gathered her notepad, pencil and assorted tools into her saddlebags. "I keep thinking the same thing. The first lesson they hammered into us at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was the difference between superstition and magic, that magic is just another field of science and that it follows its own clear set of rules." She glanced down at the symbol, then up to the horizon, at the gap between the ranges of mountains far to the South and West. The gap through which the creature, this "kraken", would most likely come if it approached Ponyville.

"There's... there's no logical reason why this symbol should do any good. Not that I know of, at least. But on the other hoof, I know the princess wouldn't lie to me about this. She wouldn't ask me to do this if she didn't think it was our best chance. And that means what they drilled into us on that first day... wasn't entirely true." She shook her head slowly. "Do you know what professors call the science education most ponies get before college?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Yeah. 'Lies to children.' Meteorologists say that, too."

"Exactly. Most everything you learn below the university level is a simplification. But I have a bachelor's degree! I'm a freaking doctoral candidate! All the 'lies to children' I learned about magic, I was sure I'd unlearned them all by now. What's going on here that I don't know? Why don't I know it? Is there some kernel of truth to the superstitions my professors scoffed at, and if so, why hide it?" Twilight lowered her head. "I feel like the world doesn't make any sense anymore."

Rainbow rarely bothered to pick up on the ten-bit words Twilight would casually throw around sometimes, but there was one phrase that stuck with her, because she'd seen how badly it affected her friend on more than one occasion. "Cognitive dissonance," she said softly.

Twilight looked up slowly. "Yeah. I don't deal with it well, do I?"

Rather than answer, Rainbow just smiled. "Come on, you'll figure this out. So it's new and weird; when's that stopped you? Well, aside from the Pinkie Sense..."

Twilight gave an embarrassed chuckle and smiled at the memory. "That's not a bad comparison, actually. You know, once I stopped trying to debunk it and accepted the evidence for it, I was actually able to come up with a hypothesis for how it works. I think what might be happening is..." She met Rainbow's eyes and saw them starting to unfocus. "...something you're not remotely interested in. Right." She smiled nervously, and took a deep breath to help herself focus. "Okay... Strange phenomenon. Outside of our experience, but a strong suggestion of its validity regardless. It's merely undocumented; not entirely, since the princess knows about it, but maybe there's not enough corroboration. Without that, it would never have been published in a peer-reviewed journal and thus never made it into standard curricula. Okay. That... makes sense."

"There's another possibility: It could be a state secret."

Twilight looked at the pegasus like she'd grown a second head and a couple extra wings. "What."

"You know... the Nightmare Files?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Augh! I keep telling you, those are just an urban legend!"

"Of course no one would publicly admit to them if they were real! Secrecy is the entire point."

"Rainbow, this is why I hate conspiracy theories. Every bit of evidence against them is twisted around to support it." She started walking alongside the freshly-painted line, while Rainbow landed to walk with her. "I need to finish this. The sun's getting low and I have one more branch to draw."

---

Twilight carefully painted the equilateral triangle around the tip of the last branch, overlapping the strokes and magically erasing the excess paint to sharpen the corners, when an apprehensive-looking purple and blonde pegasus approached them. Rainbow Dash took to the air to meet her. "What's up?"

"That weird chill on the wind," Cloud Kicker replied. "I... think I'm starting to feel it. It's like Ditzy described it, cold but not really, no actual movement to the air, at regular intervals. And really ominous."

Rainbow spread her wings out and glided for a moment, trying to feel it. She shuddered for a second, then again. "Oh jeez. Yeah." She landed next to Twilight. "You catch that, Twi? It must be getting stronger."

The symbol finally complete, Twilight started packing up her tools and sealed the paint can. "Closer, more likely."

"Should we head back to the library?"

"In a moment." Twilight closed her eyes and steadied her breath as her horn began to glow. The violet aura reached the brightness of a lantern before she dipped her head down and discharged her spell into the paint. Purple lightning crackled down its length to the intersection, where it spread left and right down the main trunk. Gasps and cries of alarm from assorted ponies spread along the streets like a stadium crowd doing a wave. As it passed, the paint seemed to become a more vivid white. Twilight smiled, pleased with her work. "There. Its glow should be inversely proportionate to the light it's exposed to, so even at night with no streetlights it'll be as bright as at midday."

Rainbow flew back and forth over the line. Though the ground around it dimmed in her shadow as normal, the paint never did. "Okay. I'm genuinely impressed. I'll bet the Wonderbolts would love to have you cast this on them for night shows."

"If we're still here tomorrow, you can write to them about it. Let's go."

---

Twilight and Rainbow arrived at the library to find Applejack pacing around the main room, Winona curled up in the corner looking anxious. "Thank goodness yer back, Twi. Didja hear the mayor's announcement?"

Twilight lifted her bags from her back and set them on the table. "No, but I gave her a copy of all my notes for it. Why?"

Applejack gulped. "You mean... You told her to say all that?" Twilight nodded. "Aw, dang. I was hoping she was all up in a tizzy over nuthin', and you'd be able to set her straight..."

Rainbow Dash spoke up, trying to reassure her friend. "Hey, it's cool, AJ. There's some freaky stuff going on, but the princess already has some idea of what's up and Twi just finished putting some cool defenses in place. We'll be fine."

"Ah know, Ah know, she mentioned that's what you was doin'. But she told us that we need to stay inside the town proper, so we had to clear outta the farm--"

"I know, I'm sorry about that," Twilight interrupted, "but it didn't look like I really had the time to cover both the farm and the town."

"Naw, I get it, it's okay. Granny's down at the senior center with her friends, and Mac said he'd stay with Ditzy and Dinky. It's just that..."

Twilight's throat tightened. "Apple Bloom?"

"Ah can't find her anywhere, Twi! Th' three of 'em were at the clubhouse after school, Ah thought they'd still be there, but all Ah found was some map Ah couldn' make heads or tails out of, Ah mean, Cutie Mark Crusader Cartographers they ain't..." Her voice cracked and panic started to fill her eyes. "It sorta looked like they mighta been headin' out into the Whitetail Woods, but Ah spent all afternoon lookin' there and I couldn't even follow their trail."

Rainbow Dash spoke up. "I'm on it. Twilight, where's your binoculars?"

"Upstairs in the study, on the--" Rainbow was already gone by the word "study", a multicolored contrail leading up the stairs, out the window, and off to the woods in search of the girls. Twilight and Applejack blinked at each other before the farmer spoke up, smiling weakly. "Well, Ah 'magine that's taken care of."

The library door burst open as a frantic blur of white and purple barged in. "Applejack! Your brother said you'd be here. Do you know where Sweetie Belle is?"

"It's alright, Rare. Rainbow Dash just rainbow-dashed outta here to find 'em. Seems like they were explorin' the Whitetail again."

Rarity let loose a tightly-held breath and relaxed. "Oh thank heavens. That announcement, about some creature, and telling us to shelter in our homes..." She turned back to the door. "I should let Mom and Dad know." She turned expectantly towards her librarian friend. "Twilight, dear, I know it would be a terrible imposition, but..."

Twlight smiled gently. "Yes, you can stay here tonight, Rarity, it's fine. I can't imagine anypony wanting to be home alone right now."

"Thank you, Twilight, you are such a dear. I'll be back after I tell Mom and Dad what's going on." With that, she galloped out the door.

Twilight stopped to think for a moment. "Speaking of ponies who shouldn't be home alone..."

"Yer thinkin' of Fluttershy?"

Twilight nodded. "She's pretty far from the main part of town, too. I don't know how protected she'll be out there."

"Good luck convincin' her to leave alla them animals behind, though."

"I'll think of something."

---

"I am NOT leaving all these animals behind!"

"I'm not trying to make you, Fluttershy!" Twilight tried to stay calm while looking into the pegasus' unusually steely eyes. She had yet to unleash the full fury of The Stare, but Twilight was still worried about provoking it. "But I really don't think it's safe for you to stay out here."

"So you're not making me, you're just implying that I should."

"No! I... Look, there has to be something we can do. I could put a sleep spell on them so they won't get frightened and hurt themselves..."

"And they won't feel a thing when the kraken swoops down and eats them all up like popcorn?" Her eyes tightened and started to take on a sterner, more Stare-like quality. "Try harder."

Twilight swallowed.

---

"AJ?"

Applejack looked up to see Twilight's head poking around the frame of the open front door. "Yer back! You figger out what t' do with Fluttershy?"

"Yeah, sort of... Can you open up the door to the basement?"

Applejack cocked at eyebrow at the unicorn who still had not entered her own home. She kept shifting slightly, like she was trying to hold onto something out of view. "Uh, sure thing, sugarcube." She trotted over to the door in the back of the kitchen and pushed it open. "Alright, done."

Twilight practically leapt across the threshold and dove out of the way as a tsunami of assorted creatures swarmed in, flapping, crawling, hopping, slithering and waddling into the main room of the library, through the kitchen, and finally downstairs, while Fluttershy, all smiles and kindness, hovered nearby and gently herded them along. Once it passed, Twilight stepped back out and returned levitating two bales of straw, a stack of blankets, and a dozen bags of various kinds of animal feed, which she lowered down the steps. Fluttershy followed her animal charges, and Twilight let out an exhausted breath once she'd shut the door behind the pegasus.

Applejack was silent for several seconds, staring at the haggard unicorn. "So, uh... Ah take it she wouldn' leave 'em." Twilight's only answer was the sternest glare she could muster in her current state, which wasn't much of one. A faint draconic snicker came from upstairs, but she just rolled her eyes and tried to knead the headache out of her right temple.

"Pinkie showed up while you were out. She went upstairs to pout, a mite dramatically if'n ya ask me, when I told her she shouldn't throw a party even though everypony's already comin', but I think she fell asleep."

"I'll go check on her."

Twilight climbed the stairs wearily and quietly opened the door to her bedroom. A pink earth pony was curled up in her bed, sleeping like a foal. As she turned to leave, a groggy voice greeted her. "Hey, Twilight."

"Hey, Pinkie. Sorry if I woke you."

"It's fine, I was only half-asleep." Twilight was surprised she could be even a quarter asleep after the menagerie monsoon that had migrated through the the library mere moments ago.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I don't suppose you're feeling any more party-positive than AJ us?"

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry. I just don't think it's a good idea. Nopony's likely to be in a party mood tonight."

Pinkie lifted her head, looking distraught. "But that's when ponies need a party the most!"

Twilight stepped closer to her friend and gave her a gentle hug. "You know parties can't fix everything, right?"

Pinkie sighed. "I know. I wish they could, but they can't. I just want to make my friends feel better and not be sad or scared." She pulled out of the hug and and laid back down, facing away from Twilight. "It's what I'm good at, you know? Sometimes, when there's a problem, it feels like I don't really have any other way to help you guys. I'm not magical, or super strong, or super fast, or good with animals, or artistic... I'm just Pinkie Pie the Party Pony. That's basically all I do. And when I can't do it, I... I just feel..." Her breath hitched.

"Useless?" Pinkie nodded slightly. "Pinkie, you're not useless. You always manage to cheer us up, or at the very least make sure we know somepony cares about us, and you don't have to throw parties to do that. You just have to be you. Remember when we freed Princess Luna? You didn't need a party to banish those scary monster-trees."

"True..."

"All six of the Elements of Harmony are important, Pinkie. Even yours. There's a military saying I heard from a palace guard once: 'Morale is a force multiplier.' The side that first loses the will to fight is the side that loses the battle, even if they have every other advantage. You're our morale officer. You keep our spirits up, you sustain our will to fight." Twilight stroked her mane. "We couldn't do what we do without you."

Pinkie sniffled and rolled back to face Twilight. "Thanks," she said, smiling faintly, "I needed to hear that."

"What brought this on, though? We've faced major threats before, and you've never doubted yourself like this." Except for the time you thought we didn't want to be your friends anymore, Twilight remembered, but thought better of bringing that up.

Pinkie's smile disappeared. "I had a... combo."

"Your Pinkie Sense?"

She nodded. "It was horrible. My... My everything clenched. Snout to tail, hoof to scalp. It was like being dunked in ice water." She looked down at her hooves. "Something really bad is gonna happen, Twilight. Something awful. I don't know exactly what, but somepony we all care about is gonna get really badly hurt. Maybe even..." Her throat closed up, unwilling to let the word escape her lips. "I'm not even sure if it's one of us six girls, but if it is... I guess maybe I wanted to make sure that we all had a good time together and made some happy memories before... before..."

Pinkie felt Twilight's forelegs wrap around her again, tighter this time. She cried into her friend's mane for a while before she felt the tears falling on her own neck, and hugged the unicorn as tight as she could.

---

After they'd dried their tears, Twilight and Pinkie came back downstairs to find Applejack and Rarity talking quietly with Spike about anything and everything except the whereabouts of their younger sisters, as the red sky grew purple. The five of them tried to keep their hopes up, but as the darkness grew, so did their worry. Winona pressed herself against Applejack, whining softly, while Opal kept up a good show of not being bothered but shot frequent, hopeful looks towards the door.

As the first stars began to appear in the night sky, a sound of rushing wind approached the library and a colorful streak shot through the open window. Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt in the main room of the library, three fillies clinging tightly to her back: One exhilarated pegasus, and a terrified earth pony and unicorn. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hopped off and rushed to greet their sisters, while Scootaloo clutched her idol's mane with wide, manic eyes and an immense grin. "That... was... AWESOME!"

"Does 'awesome' mean 'terrifying' now?" Sweetie Belle snarked.

"No, it means 'too rad for pansy unicorns to handle'!"

As the trio launched into one of their usual arguments, the previous fright or the reason for their rushed retrieval forgotten, Rainbow turned to face Twilight. "Hey. So I was wondering..."

Twilight sighed and smiled at the pegasus. "Yes you can sleep here. Everyone else is already. You should go get Tank before it gets well and truly dark."

"Thanks, Twi. You're the best." She turned and prepared to take off again, but hesitated.

"Something wrong?" Twilight asked.

"With my wings furled, especially inside, I can't feel it. But when I'm flying..." She set her jaw and locked her eyes on the open window. "Guess I'll just have to hurry." Before Twilight could say any more, she was off.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten over their argument and were now telling Applejack, Rarity and Spike about their adventure in the Whitetail Woods looking for pirate treasure.

"But there's no ocean around here for miles," Spike objected.

"Well, duh," Apple Bloom explained, "That's what makes it such a great hidin' place! No other pirate would think t' look this far from the sea."

Spike looked up at their older sisters. "The worst part is, I can't even find a fault in her logic."

"You get used to it, dear," Rarity reassured him.

Twilight stepped towards them to interrupt. "Sorry girls, I know you had a lot of fun, but we should really get Scootaloo home before it gets any darker." And before that creature gets any closer. "One of us can walk you there."

"Can it be Rainbow Dash?"

"I dunno, we really shouldn't wait..."

"But she's gonna be right back! And she can get me home faster than anypony else can!"

Twilight looked in the filly's eyes, and saw the growing fear there, the fear she didn't want to admit to. Rainbow Dash was the bravest and toughest pony around, as far as she was concerned, and Twilight knew how much safer she'd feel with her as an escort. "Well, okay. As long as she doesn't take more than a few--"

Twilight was cut off by the slowly rising round of the town's emergency siren. The one that, according to the mayor's earlier announcement, meant "shelter in place".

Applejack stepped forward. "Scootaloo lives clear across town. It might be better for her t' just stay here for the night."

Twilight bit her lip. "I don't want her parents to worry..."

"If it were Apple Bloom, Ah'd rather worry all night an' find out she was safe come mornin', than have her take any kinda chance just so's I'd feel better." She glanced towards Rarity, who nodded in agreement.

While Twilight struggled with the issue, Rainbow Dash reappeared, Tank clutched under one foreleg, and abruptly shut the window behind her before landing. Her eyes were wide and harrowed as she set down her pet tortoise. "I hope nopony had anywhere they had to go before hunkering down for the night." She looked at the other ponies all facing Scootaloo. "Oh."

The pegasus filly looked up towards Rainbow Dash. "I was kinda hoping you could, you know..."

"Sorry, kid, but I don't think anypony should be going anywhere right now." Her friends could tell that her expressed concern for others was masking her own fear at the idea of going outside again herself. "It's too close," she said, facing Twilight. "I felt more than that weird chill, I felt an actual current."

Twilight turned back to Scootaloo. "That settles it. You're staying here tonight. I just wish I could get a message to your family..."

A soft hoot answered her. She turned to see Owloysius, finally waking up for the night, perched on the banister near the upstairs study where he'd been sleeping. He flew silently down to her writing desk and, hooting again, pointed a talon at her quill.

Twilight stepped towards him hesitantly. "Are you sure about this?" He nodded.

Twilight lifted and inked the pen, and scratched out a quick note.

To the parents of Scootaloo:

Your daughter was with us here in the library when the siren sounded. We don't think it's a good idea for anypony to venture outside at this point, so we can keep her here where she's safe. I'm sorry we couldn't get her home sooner, but we only just got her and her friends back from where they were playing in the woods. There's plenty of responsible adults here, so she'll be okay. Fortunately my surprisingly brave owl has volunteered to deliver this note. Please try not to worry about her.

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight rolled up the note, and Owloysius grasped it gently in his talons before flying out the window she opened for him.

A few minutes later, he returned, feathers looking slightly ruffled. The approach of the kraken appeared to be getting to him as well. He dropped a simple folded piece of paper onto Twilight's desk. Flattened out, it read:

Thank you. Keep her safe till morning.

As the situation gradually sank in, Fluttershy at long last emerged from the basement. "Everyone's settled in and comfortable, and they all have plenty of food. If they start getting spooked, though, that sleep spell you suggested might still be a good idea."

At the sight of the yellow pegasus, Pinkie appeared to emerge from the last of her funk. "Well, now that everypony's here, who wants to play a game? I know it's not really a party, but that doesn't mean we have to stand around and mope."

The frowns of eight ponies and a dragon suddenly turned, however slightly, into smiles.

---

Twilight had pulled a small stack of board games and a few decks of cards from her closet to help everypony pass the time, and while Spike and Pinkie busied themselves in the kitchen preparing a simple dinner for ten, unpacked blankets and pillows for everyone to sleep on. Rather than try to figure out who'd share the only two actual beds in the house, they'd apparently agreed that a mass sleepover in the main room of the library was the best solution. Despite some ponies' insistence that it wasn't really a slumber party, it was beginning to feel like one.

Applejack's and Rarity's business sense had quickly obliterated the other Monopony players, and the two titans were now locked in an economic struggle worthy of a griffon saga. Twilight had expected to dominate the trivia game, but was thwarted by Fluttershy's vast zoological expertise, and even Sweetie Belle had beaten her soundly at pop culture just from what she'd absorbed from her sister. Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie couldn't care less that Pictionmarey was meant to be played in competition against another team, while Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Spike engaged in an epic battle of wits over a deck of cards.

Rainbow carefully lifted the corner of one her cards just barely enough to read the number, giving her opponents a poker face worthy of an Appleoosan saloon. "Do you have any... threes?"

Scootaloo looked at her own cards with measured casualness. "Go fish."

"AUGH. How are you doing this to me? I used to ROCK at this game!"

"Guess yer jus' gettin' rusty, old-timer," the filly replied, affecting Apple Bloom's accent.

The casual revelry of the group was broken by a strange noise, a distant, booming howl that rolled through the air like thunder. Every one of them shuddered to hear it.

"What the hay was that?" Scootaloo asked, looking up at the Rainbow Dash's taut face.

"I think that was the kraken. That chill... it felt like the one on the wind from its wings."

Everypony was silent for several moments, until Spike's stomach rumbled and he belched forth a gout of flame.

Twilight rushed over to grab the scroll almost before it was completely formed. She unrolled and read it, then turned to the rest of the group. "It's from the princess. They just got word that the kraken approached Fillydelphia, but was seemingly repelled by the protective symbol." She smiled sheepishly. "I, uh, guess it works."

"Well that's sure a relief," Applejack replied, visibly relaxing along with the others. Pinkie Pie looked less reassured, though, and despite her brave front, so did Rainbow Dash. Still, they returned to their games with the others, hoping for at least a temporary distraction from their worries.

---

As the night wore on, the long-running games were completed (or in the case of Monopony, declared a stalemate) and the fillies began to tire. Twilight turned out the lights and built a fire in the hearth while the others arranged their makeshift bedding. Spike and the Crusaders insisted they weren't sleepy, of course, and were allowed to stay up to join in the conversation, but were gradually drifting off. As they groggily continued to chat amongst themselves, the adults clustered together on their blankets and began to talk of more serious matters as a rhythmic wind rustled and grew outside. Fluttershy checked on her animals in the basement more frequently as they seemed to need her calming influence more and more, and eventually requested that Twilight help them sleep with her magic as some were getting too agitated for her to manage. Pinkie hadn't said anything about her premonition, but the others guessed that she'd had one based on her waning mood. They all seemed to realize that they weren't yet out of the woods.

While the others talked and shared their worries, Twilight had grown quiet and stared into the middle distance. Applejack prodded her with a hoof, and she suddenly focused her attention on the present before looking away, embarrassed.

"What's eatin' you, sugarcube?" Applejack asked her.

"Nothing, it's... silly."

"Mah granny wears a bunny suit an' talks to bees to make jam. Silly don' bother me none."

"You can tell us, Twilight," Rarity added. "I should just be happy my little sister is safe, but a corner of my mind is wondering if this beast's passing will harm my shop. Applejack and Fluttershy have more to worry about in that regard, and they aren't holding it against me."

Twilight sighed. "it's just that I feel, well, out of the loop. The last two big threats to Equestria, we were right there in the thick of it. Everything hinged on us. But this time, Celestia knew what was going on before I even wrote to her, and already had a defense plan in the works. Wheels are in motion all the way in Canterlot, and they're turning without me. Any other pony could have painted that symbol in the streets, and nearly any unicorn could've made it glow. I feel..."

As she trailed off, Pinkie Pie finished her sentence for her. "Useless."

Twilight smiled at the pink pony. "Yeah. I know I should be glad that the princess knew how to defend against this creature, and saw it coming before we did. I should be relieved that this time, the responsibility isn't ours alone. But I'm not. It's absolutely crazy, but... I'm just not." She turned her eyes to the Northeast window, the one from which she could barely see Canterlot on a clear day. "I wish I was there right now, helping them organize and research and plan, not huddled around a fire hoping a few white lines on the ground will protect us against a monster from the fever dreams of some long-dead pulp writer."

Twilight saw Rainbow Dash smirk, and expected to be mocked for wishing her life was harder than it was, but instead felt a friendly hoof muss up her mane. "Don't sweat it, Twi. As much as I wanted to get indoors and away from that freaky chill, part of me still wants to go kick that thing in the face."

Looking around, Twilight saw eyes filled with nothing but empathy and kindness, and found herself feeling considerably less silly.

Eventually the conversation died down, but sleep didn't come. The six friends lay together in rarely-broken silence, the wingbeats of the kraken slowly growing until the windows began to rattle. Spike and the fillies were fast asleep by then, but the six mares grew increasingly on edge, Rainbow Dash most of all. After nearly half an hour of the windows shaking in their frames and the fire guttering slightly every few seconds, she seemed ready to crack. Fluttershy tried her best to console her, and Tank leaned reassuringly against her, but it wasn't enough.

"I can't take this anymore," she said quietly, huddling under a comforter. "I thought it was just about on top of us ages ago! How big would this thing have to be for it be this loud from so far away?"

Twilight fought the urge to compute an actual answer. "I'm scared, too, Rainbow. But it's okay. We know that symbol works. We'll be safe here. Eventually it'll get close enough, see it, and fly off like it did at Fillydelphia. Maybe it'll even pass us by entirely." Twilight didn't think that was very likely, but it wasn't inconceivable; they still had no idea what motivated the creature.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"What do you mean? It was repelled by the symbol once already."

"It was repelled by something. What if somepony tried something else, too, without telling anyone, and that was what drove it off? Maybe it's already right above town, just hovering there, deciding what it wants to do to us. How could it possibly be that loud if it wasn't?"

Rarity looked nervously towards where the children slept as they started to stir. "Rainbow, please keep your voice down," she pleaded.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS!" Rainbow reared up and spread her wings in a flash, throwing the comforter behind her. As the young ones woke with a start, she flew to the South window and flung it open.

Twilight stood and stepped nervously towards her. "Rainbow, please! Just calm down!"

"I just need to see it! Just one good look so I can gauge the distance! I can't handle constantly thinking it's almost here, Twilight!"

Spike shook off the last of his grogginess at those words. "RAINBOW! DON'T--"

Before he could get the words out, the front half of Rainbow's body was already out the window, her forehooves on the sill. A strangled gasp escaped her throat as she went rigid. No one dared move.

After several tense seconds, Rainbow Dash shakily pulled herself in from the window, shut it, and drew the blinds. She staggered back to her improvised bed in front of the fire, and was greeted with gasps of horror as she reentered the light.

The rainbow colors were gone from her mane.

"I didn't even get a... a really good look." Her voice was quiet and hollow, devoid of inflection, but her eyes held the horror it lacked. "It was just a silhouette against a moonlit cloud. That... that was all I..." her voice cracked and she buried her head in her hooves, sobbing weakly. "We're screwed, Twi. There's no way around it. We are completely and hopelessly screwed."

Scootaloo walked slowly and tentatively towards her role model, and stretched out a hoof to gently stroke her mane that was now as white as the clouds she liked to nap on. Rainbow Dash lifted her head just enough to look at the frightened filly, and pulled her into a hug.

Applejack and Rarity shared frightened looks, and leaned towards each other for comfort as they held their terrified younger siblings. Twilight wrapped a leg around Spike and tried to summon words that sounded courageous or confident, but none would come. Fluttershy clutched her pillow to her chest, crying through eyes screwed tightly shut, while Pinkie, mane now falling ruler-straight, held her close and tucked her blanket in around her.

---

In a cozy little house in Ponyville, a large earth pony stallion held a frightened pegasus mare and her unicorn daughter, promising to keep them safe even though he had no idea how.

In a community center in the heart of town, elderly ponies who would have otherwise been home alone found comfort in the company of their own generation.

In a library built into a tree, six mares, three fillies and a baby dragon tried desperately to comfort one another, their sheer refusal to accept failure becoming its own kind of success.

And in the skies above the Everfree Forest, a horror from the stars began to contemplate what revenge it would take against these small, frail creatures that dared to think they could stand against it.

Comments

[Draco Dei]

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

I'm just Pinkie Pie the Party Pony. That's basically all I do.
-Between Pinkie Sense and being a reality warper, I suspect that Pinkie will be very useful in this crisis... sorta on her home ground a bit. Or maybe get possessed at the worst possible moment... or both!

"I had a... combo."
"It was horrible. My... My everything clenched. Snout to tail, hoof to scalp. It was like being dunked in ice water."
-Actually good news... means Pinkie Sense still operates against this thing. It isn't so outside the rules of causality as to be immune to prediction by it.

while Opal kept up a good show of not being bothered but shot frequent, hopeful looks towards the door.
-Opal being non-selfishly concerned about something other than fashion? Interesting bit of character development.

Before Twilight could say any more, she was off.
-It was at this point that I realized that her house probably can't be over Ponyville or it would block the Elder Sign (unless there is a big enough gap in the diagram?), so this might not be totally safe... then again the protective effect probably extends a bit beyond the edges.

((Accidentally hit "Post Comment", then my computer had a glitch and I lost my editing... going to try to pick up from where the previous comments left off, but it may be a bit rough.))

The pegasus filly looked up towards Rainbow Dash. "I was kinda hoping you could, you know..."
-I see you are mostly to entirely averting the "Scootaloo is secretly an orphan" thing.

"Are you sure about this?" He nodded.
-Owloysius being braver than Dash? Maybe it is just that he has better night-vision, can't feel the currents to be afraid of them, or maybe he just places a lower value on his life than Dash does (which makes a certain sort of sense from my perpective).

The approach of the kraken appeared to be getting to him as well.
-Well, maybe he can't feel it AS WELL as RD can, or didn't THINK he could.

Applejack's and Rarity's business sense had quickly obliterated the other Maneopoly players,
-Interesting given that a lot of people assume that Applejack doesn't HAVE very good business sense. "Maneopoly" is good lexicon building...

They just got word that the kraken approached Fillydelphia, but was seemingly repelled by the protective symbol.
-Kraken obviously equals Cthulthu (or a MAJOR minion of his that shares his tentacles and wings), but I am wondering if you are going to be mixing in some Squirk from G1.

and eventually requested that Twilight help them sleep with her magic as some were getting too agitated for her to manage.
-Thus demonstrating that Twilight doesn't ALWAYS mess things up when she casts a mind-effecting spell... well, provided they aren't unwake-able or anything. EDIT: Depends on how you count the "recall happy times" spell in "The Return of Harmony, Part 2".

"Mah granny wears a bunny suit an' talks to bees to make jam. Silly don' bother me none."
-Good point. Pinkie Sense also works, but I wouldn't think that would be a productive thing to bring up (especially since you already mentioned it once or twice).

Any other pony could have painted that symbol in the streets,
-Most would not have done nearly so well. If the Kraken knows that the EoH are a threat to it, and can sense the bearers, then the symbol would need to be especially strong in Ponyville perhaps. Also in Canterlot, since that is where the necklaces and tiara are stored, but there you have two Goddess Alicorns to set it up. I do wonder about dirt blowing over the lines in the course of the night or having gotten tracked over it after it dried, but before the alarm got everyone into cover, especially if the Kraken hovers over the town (If it doesn't then that might be Dash's department). It also occurs to me that if Twilight hears it coming she might heroically try to observe it through her telescope (rather than "succumbing to fear" by cowering and taking absolutely no action.) Ponyville roads aren't paved.

I should be relieved that this time, the responsibility isn't ours alone. But I'm not. It's absolutely crazy, but... I'm just not.
-You already know the problems with being on the front lines, welcome to the problems of being the reserve force. I do wonder how long it will be before the Alicorns are ready to attempt a counter-strike (I assume that they will eventually). Might be the next day if they were just wanting to focus on preparations, and can teleport safely. If they have to train the palace gaurd (lead by the Wonderbolts) to fly in formation with a giant Elder Sign (made out of cloud, rainbow, ribbon, or wood) to transport the jewelry to the bearers then it could be a month.

the wingbeats of the kraken slowly growing until the windows began to rattle.
-That would be enough to put at least a light scattering of dust over at least parts of the lines. Dunno my mythos lore well enough to say how much of a difference that would make. If this is a plot-hole you could always put in a few sentences about Twilight spelling it to repel dirt (or Rarity, if her magic is flexible enough to do that). Alternatively if she was using street-marking paint specifically, it might already have that spell on the paint.

Before he could get the words out, the front half of Rainbow's body was already out the window, her forehooves on the sill. A strangled gasp escaped her throat as she went rigid.
-Well, I guessed the action (minus the telescope, although who knows what Pegasus eyes are like... then again she did use it in "Griffon the Brushoff" for a shorter distance than this probably is), but I got the Pony wrong.

The rainbow colors were gone from her mane.
-Pure white I assume?

her mane that was now as white as the clouds she liked to nap on.
-Eeyep... this does explain why the EoH would have trouble working... the bearers wouldn't necessarily be able to get into line of sight while maintaining mental fortitude to activate the effect. I wonder if Celestia and Luna can cast a strong enough anti-fear enchantment on their minds to counter that?

while Pinkie, mane now falling ruler-straight, held her close and tucked her blanket in around her.
-Ouch... can't crack-up at this particular creepy, can she? Might negate her element, but maybe not. Don't think RD's was negated, despite disobeying orders to remain put passed down the chain of command from Celestia. It just seems too minor.

began to contemplate what revenge it would take against these small, frail creatures that dared to think they could stand against it.
-Will be interesting to see how alien its tactics/strategies are. Again, I am not familiar with the Mythos, so I couldn't say how odd the actions of the elder gods are traditionally. Not that varying from that in either direction would be a problem, but I would find it interesting if you really could write the Kraken as not following normal logic about such things, and yet being effective in them.

[Briefvoice]

No contemplation of using the orbital friendship cannon, AKA the Elements of Harmony, against this thing?

[Comma-Kazie]

This. Is. Epic.

So far, you've captured the atmosphere of the initial discovery perfectly--I'm gonna go back and read Call of Cthulhu before I hit up the next chapter as a refresher, but from what I remember this is pretty damn close to par for the Mythos.

[AzureSkies]

Ummm... Shit?

[badassgrunt]

Pinkie is the one and only who can stand against this threat.

[sarahpenguin]

Really awesomely mythos and FIM flavored. Two great flavors that combine so well in your deft hooves :)

[Borg]

"Something really bad is gonna happen, Twilight. Something awful. I don't know exactly what, but somepony we all care about is gonna get really badly hurt. Maybe even..." Her throat closed up, unwilling to let the word escape her lips. "I'm not even sure if it's one of us six girls, but if it is... I guess maybe I wanted to make sure that we all had a good time together and made some happy memories before... before..."

No. You're not thinking big enough. Twilight is nothing if not meticulous; that sign will hold for tonight at least. So tonight, you'll all hide away inside Ponyville, quivering in fear as the Kraken goes around you on its way to Canterlot.
What you're feeling, Pinkie, is the reason Celestia had to say goodbye. The next time you'll all be together will be a funeral, and she's not going to be the one giving the eulogy. Not that I'm sure one of you will be giving it either . . .

[Vinyl Nexus Scratch]

562299 I imagine it'd have the same effect as most weapons used against it. Bloody nothing XD