Neighagra Falls always was a breathtaking sight to behold and the pegasus cloud sculptors had outdone themselves in readying the show. Hovering several hundred meters above the massive, roaring waterfall, a massive cloud foundation hovered in place. Built atop the megalith of cumulus was an entire launch pad, seating area, and center stage. All of which had been constructed and then flown in from the weather factories of Cloudsdale. Connecting the floating platform to the ground was a long escalator-like ramp made of packed cloud. With the aid of the cloud walking bands that had been prepared for the show, crowds of unicorns and earth ponies were free to join in on the event from a place higher than ground level. With all three races, in addition to foreign guests from Saddle Arabia, Gryphonstone, and the Minotaur lands; the airshow was poised to be far larger than any show Cloudsdale or the Wonderbolts had been associated with before.
And it was on the moving ramp where a gaggle of such guests were making their arrival. Rodan breathed in the atmosphere, more than happy to be out in the open and high up again as he beamed with pride. He’d remembered the promise he’d made to a certain barmare to make the show big enough she’d hear about it first time on the radio, but he found himself not wanting such. Afterall, why settle for the radio when you can use your entry to snag a couple of tickets? The pterosaur-kaiju-turned-gryphon stepped off the escalator and onto the main platform with several friends from Appleloosa right behind him. The first was a familiar black, white, and red earth pony, the aforementioned barmare who got Rodan to join this event in the first place; Thalia. As Thalia gaped at the altitude and scenery around her, her husband Dallas stepped off the moving walkway beside her and stoically looked about the land. Dallas was a tough piece of work, a densely muscled gray unicorn with a black mane and a coat riddled with old work scars he’d gotten as a rancher. Never was one to talk much and frankly Rodan was terrified of him for the first few days. Still he was happily hitched to a kind soul like Thalia so the young kaiju just figured he was reserved.
-Must be kinda like Chief. He hasn’t opposed anything yet so I think he likes me.-
Rodan was still quick to look off to the side when he thought he saw Dallas about to meet his glimpse.
-I think.-
Fortunately his other two guests were a deal more jovial. The hovering blur of pink shot over the edge of the escalator and pulled Rodan into a bear hug. The curly-maned, bow-sporting, pink pegasus rubbing her cheek up against Rodan’s collar was another good friend from Appleloosa. Phoenix was her name and stage dancing was her game, a game she’d roped Rodan into to teach him how to walk and move around with six limbs instead of his original four. Without her, he wouldn’t be able to walk up to the show Thalia had talked him into.
“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank yooou! Oooh, I might be a pegasus but I’ve never been to a show like this before! The stage is enormous!”
Rodan smiled and patted Phoenix on the back before she pulled off him, earning a giggle from Thalia as she trotted over to them.
“Neither have most of us Phoenix, though I think the sky is going to be our friend here’s stage.”
Braeburn had turned down chance to come, a minor disappointment as Rodan figured he could use a vacation after getting attacked by a gyaos like that. Said something about a strong heart wanting to check in on his healing, but admittedly Rodan didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Braeburn just seemed happy about it so he opted not to prod. Instead he’d passed his spare tickets over to Rainbow Dash for her group, which had gotten up the escalator before Rodan could see who all was there. Needless to say he was more than a bit surprised when he saw a tall shadow loom over him. Shaded, Rodan looked up and squawked quietly as his eyes bugged out at Destroyah of all creatures looking down at him.
If a tumbleweed could be present at this high up, one would have been blowing by due to the extended awkward silence. A trio of little forms popped up from behind Destroyah’s shoulders and head, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo beaming as they waved at the group from their living vantage point. Giving himself a mental kick in the rear to speak up at the goliath mare that still gave him the creeps even in her Equestrian form, Rodan awkwardly returned the wave to the fillies.
“Oh, hi. Didn’t expect you here.”
Destroyah shrugged, looking away from the gryphon and at the cloud platform around them, scanning each flight team, the myriad of guests, and paparazzi that seemed to have definately noticed her as well.
“Scootaloo wanted to watch the flight teams, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle wanted to come too once they heard about the glowing bands; and there was a spare ticket.”
The Cutiemark Crusaders slid down from their perch at the sight of a familiar cyan blue blur hovering over to them from the ramp. Rainbow Dash looked around frantically, her body twitching with anticipation.
“Not late am I?! Woulda flown up but the fun-police said it could mess with the loaded cloud!”
“Nope!-”
Scootaloo chirped as she jumped off Destroyah’s head and towards her idol, hooking her hooves around Rainbow Dash’s collar and giggling from the glomp.
“-Shows not up for another half-hour silly!”
Shooting out a sigh of relief on breath that misted the cold air, Rainbow grinned and started trying to playfully shake Scootaloo off and eliciting a roar of giggles from the filly whom refused to let go.
“Oh thank Celestia!”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle snickered and joined in, soon the three fillies were grabbing onto and play-wrestling with the mare who grinned and spun them around while balancing on one hindhoof. Rodan, his typical confidence returning, smirked at the happy sight while propping himself up against Destroyah with an elbow on her forelimb.
“Really, why’d you come?”
Destroyah stayed silent for a moment or two, sighing quietly at she watched the fillies. If Rodan didn’t possibly write it off as sun in his eyes, he could have sworn she was smiling.
“If I’m to stay here, I thought I had to try something new. We both know my old habits, or would you prefer I remind you?”
Rodan pursed his beak, if such action is possible, glancing back and forth between where he was touching Destroyah and up at the mare’s face; wondering if putting a hand on Destroyah was a good idea or not. Always was a good idea to question life decisions when one wonders if they’re about to lose it. Before he could further dread the idea of whether she had figured out what sarcasm was or not, Destroyah nodded her head subtly and whispered.
“And, I came because it made them happy.”
Trailing her line of sight to the laughing CMC, Rodan’s face swelled with a grin while he watched the ponies alongside his former enemy.
“You know? Could get real used to seeing this side of you.”
“Don’t push it.”
Destroyah grunted, earning a shrug from Rodan.
“Just saying, not having you trying to kill me or everyone else is a welcome change.”
“It’s one I wanted, so I took it. I’ll still kill when I see reason to though. Don’t give me one and you keep your head.”
Rodan let the growl in her voice go right through his head and shrugged it off.
“Hey, with all the other kaiju who might be running around; that’s a good note in my book. You and Xenilla that is. Six on Tanaka knows how many is better than four.”
Rodan hovered up to Destroyah’s level and took a good look at her and the ponies. After a few moments span he gave a slow nod, pushing the visage of Destroyah the Mutation off to see Destroyah the Pegasus. He smirked, getting the gall to lightly elbow her in the shoulder.
“You’re off to a good start and I’m sure the hatchlings will love the show.”
Back with the ponies, Scootaloo looked between Rainbow and the other flight teams with a realization that caused her brow to lift.
“Huh? Rainbow where’s your flight suits? All the other fliers got them.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged, looking at the colorful goggles and flight vests the other teams were clad in. Usually they were simple in design with a primary color and accent color for the lines and stripes, with said color palette either matching the whole of the team or in the case of pairs, having the primary color taken from their teammate’s body coat and vice versa.
“Don’t you two got them? I thought all those competing needed them.”
“Yeah, I remember Rarity working on them. But, where are they? She said she wasn’t coming though!”
Sweetie Belle piped, starting to flash worry across her face. Rainbow Dash just smirked and ruffled the filly’s mane.
“Hey, don’t you two pipsqueaks worry. Remember how me and Ro’ got four tickets a piece? Well he used his three on his friends from Appleloosa and gave me his spare. Aaaand there just happens to be somepony about as awesome as me who was at the top of my list.”
Crossing her forelimbs, she tapped her hoof against her body with each count.
“3...2...1!”
A distant swooshing sound grew even louder with each count and a venerable shockwave shot up and over the elevator. In the clearing of a second a multicolor-maned earth pony mare with a near identical cyan body coat to Rainbow Dash had charged up the elevator and barreled at the speedster flier, whom turned and held her forelimbs out to embrace the newcomer. Mother and daughter collided in a bear hug and spun around in a gleeful roar of laughter. “Radiance”, legally Rainbow Jennifer Dash Senior, beamed at her progeny, Rainbow Jennifer Dash Junior; even as everyone short of said junior looked at the earth pony in shock with some looking between her and the dust-and-cloud trail she’d kicked up that seemed to stretch down the elevator, to the ground, and to the sight’s limit. Rodan chuckled in a half hearted attempt not to burst out laughing, shaking his head while giving an impressed, slow clap.
“Took you long enough ‘Ma! Almost thought you were competing!”
“Oh do come now dah’ling, you know I wouldn’t want to embarrass my little rainbow in front of all your friends!”
Radiance snickered, pushing in her daughter's cheeks like Rainbow was in her twos rather than her twenties. Rainbow groaned playfully, getting out of her grasp while holding the fashionista's hooves. Glancing to Radiance’s saddlebags, she started to bounce up and down on her tippy hooves.
“Oh oh! The suits in there? Or did you bring extra ‘sticks’?”
“Both!”
Radiance beamed, drawing out the one-piece flight suits and passing Rainbow Dash hers. It was a single piece of magic fabric, not dissimilar in make up from the one used at the Wonderbolt academy and for the team themselves. The primary color was a burnt cinnamon hue very close in shade to Rodan’s primary body color, with cyan ringed armholes, stripes, and arrow pattern. The accompanying goggles were a standard set gold rings with tinted glass.
“Latest and greatest of enchanted threads. My star pupil truly outdid herself in getting her stock. It’ll stretch to any needed size without tightening or coming loose. Virtually heat proof and friction free on the outside to avoid interfering with flight or burning up. And, unlike the first suit I made for you after that first air show you watched, washable.”
Radiance turned her head towards the other guests, taking off her trademark, giant pink sunhat to hush her words from the Rainbow Dash standing in the opposite direction.
“Ooooh the sweat stench she cooked up! Phoouw! Took me weeks to clean that one!”
Rainbow Dash, red in the face with her ears flattening down, pulled the hat away and shook Radiance.
“Moooooooooom!”
Before anyone could say anything else, the loudspeakers mounted on either side of the bleachers belted out Soarin’s chipper voice.
“Attention everypony and guests! First flight teams launch in ten minutes so park your seats and teams file into the waiting area behind the bleachers. Show’s about to begin folks!”
“Well, guess that means we best get moving. Best of luck Rodan!”
Thalia quipped with a beaming smile as she walked past, waving to her gryphon friend as her husband followed along behind her. At first he looked like he was sporting his trademark, squinting, blank scowl; but the gryphon got a pleasant surprise when the stallion tipped his head to him in a subtle nod. Outwardly Rodan returned the gesture slightly, inwardly he was sighing hard enough in relief he’d be venting steam. Phoenix sauntered up to Rodan with a sly smirk on her muzzle. Reaching out with a hoof, Rodan recognized the gesture and grinned; taking her by the hoof and twirling the showgirl around in what looked like a showdance maneuver as she used her momentum to spin him around as well. With the brief maneuver done, they clapped hoof-to-paw and snickered at the completion of their goodbye routine.
“Break a leg Rodan!”
“Hey, as long as it’s not a wing; I’ll be fine!”
Destroyah paced over to the Crusaders, reaching down with her neck to scoop Scootaloo up onto her head while picking up Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in her wings to deposit them on her back.
“Come on.”
“Break a wing Rainbow Dash!”
The fillies waved at Rainbow Dash and Rodan as they hung off arguably the most powerful and unlikely babysitter Equestria had ever known, Rainbow Dash clicking her tongue, grinning, and winking at Scootaloo as they passed. Destroyah gave Rodan a fleeting glance.
“Break every limb, Rodan.”
She grunted before plodding off, causing a roll of sweat to run down Rodan’s deadpanned face. Scootaloo’s ears flopped down and she started whispering to Destroyah as they left.
“Ehehe, you’re supposed to just say break a wing. For luck.”
“So wouldn’t breaking more mean more luck?”
“Doooesn’t really work like that.”
Snapping the gryphon out of his stupor, Radiance turned to Rodan and offered him the second flight suit. Otherwise identical to Rainbow Dash’s in motif and patterning, it’s only real difference was the red and cyan had been flipped to make the latter the more prominent color. Didn’t take a genius or a fashion lover to know why Rarity and Radiance had done it like some other flight teams had, as the contrasting colors matched well, showed they were on the same team; and used the other’s color as the primary body as not to blend in with themselves. Rodan curiously pulled at and stretched the fiber some once he got a hold of it, instantly noticing that it didn’t feel quite like normal fabric and was incredibly lightweight.
“Gotta hand it to you Mrs. Dash, never seen stuff like this before. Sure it’ll fit me?”
“Tis my prodigy student who should get the thanking. Rarity must have spent days gathering all the magic-infused spools of thread and cloth to make it. I was merely the chef compiling the batter together to bake it. It’s virtually tear-proof and reconfigures to the form it’s in. You might be an odd one Mr. Kaiju, but if it could fit both my smallest and largest gryphon mannequin; it’ll fit you just fine.”
Rainbow Dash beamed at the flight suit she held. True, it was hardly the first one her mother had made her and it wasn’t the first one she’d worn in relation to the Wonderbolts. But it was still oh so special for both those reasons and more. A lot of ponies would think having a nationally recognized fashionista for a mother would result in some friction with her life choices, but it surprisingly wasn’t ever the case. Radiance looked over at her daughter, noticing Rainbow Dash Junior was looking upon her, and tilted her head.
“Are you alright, deary?”
Rainbow Dash’s face curled into a beaming smile and she put a forelimb around her mother, a slightly hushed sniffle being audible after she put her head and neck around Radiance’s. Here she was, about to amaze the nation in a Wonderbolts event with a sponsorship from the Princesses themselves. And she was going to do it flying with patterns made by a good friend and a parent she’d never gotten to perform in front of before. Happiness was an understatement.
“You’re the best, mom.”
Radiance, briefly surprised at the public sign of affection, beamed and returned the hug… before the tender moment was promptly ruined by a snide, dry voice in a manner that one could practically hear the record scratch.
“Oh joy, you’re here too.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes snapped open and she soon spotted a familiar green-furred, yellow-orange streak-maned pegasus mare wearing a white and green flightsuit. Breaking off the hug, Rainbow quickly put herself between an old rival and her mother.
“Lightning Dust.”
“Rainbow Dash. So the kaiju came after all. Great, there goes the whole showtime for us given the crowds came to gawk at the Princesses’ big beast. Looks like we’re all wasting our time here.””
Rodan had no clue who this newcomer was, but he was a quick study of body language and tone. And what he saw quickly caused him to conclude he did not like this mare. Rodan straightened up and started to put himself in front of his flight partner and glare at Lightning Dust. If Lightning Dust was intimidated by the looming gryphon, she hid it very well, only leering back defensively while tensing up. The latter part did give Rodan a small degree of muted satisfaction as he snorted his nostrils.
-Show it or not, she’s scared. Good.-
Rodan glanced back at his teammate.
“Friend of yours Rainbow?”
“Opposite of that.”
Rodan looked ahead and started to advance on Lightning Dust, not wanting to even bother listening to whatever dribble she came to spew out.
“Then I will escort her out.”
A hoof stuck up in front of Rodan and gave him pause, glancing over at its owner to see Rainbow Dash standing beside him and looking at Lightning Dust blankly.
“It’s okay Rodan, don’t need to defend me. Why don’t you go off and stretch before we get called up? I’ll catch up.”
Rodan sighed, nodding and toning his demeanor down. Giving Radiance a happy smile and nod, he walked past Lightning Dust, only momentarily pausing to glare at the pegasus out of the corner of his eyes before moving off to the flight teams’ waiting area. With the kaiju gone, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust’s tense looks turned to each other. Radiance watched on with quiet breath. Typical reaction from her seeing her daughter so stressed out was to acquaint the stressor with what she kept in her saddlebags, but her little Dashie’s reaction to Rodan jumping to her defense told her to stay back and let her daughter handle herself.
“What’s your game Lightning Dust?”
“No game, just anger for him and pity for you.”
“What?”
“All these flight teams who showed up? This was supposed to be their five minutes of fame, a chance to amaze and maybe catch some attention.”
Lightning Dust motioned to the various flight teams in the launch area Rodan was heading to, pegasus and gryphon alike from all over Equestria and beyond. Lightning Dust narrowed her eyes.
“And you dragging that kaiju here has ruined it.You think any of the press or photographers are going to put the Los Pegasus flight duo on the front page of tomorrow’s daily?”
Lightning Dust pointed at the packed stands, cuing Rainbow Dash to return the leer and deflect her hoof.
“Not everypony here is in it for the fame, Dust. This was a voluntary show and they accepted more than just stunt fliers. They’re here because they want to be, unlike you apparently. Look at me, I’ll be right next to the guy in flight and you don’t see me flipping out about it!”
Rainbow Dash barked, earning a deadpanned pout from Lightning Dust. The green pegasus shrugged, like she was having to lecture Rainbow again like when they were in the academy together with her as lead flier; talking down to the cyan speedster.
“Dash, Dash, Dash… If there is anything I know about you, it’s that you love attention. Why else strive to get me kicked out so you wouldn’t be second fiddle?”
“You getting kicked out was all on you.”
Lightning Dust’s eye twitched briefly and her ears shot up. After a moment of strain, she kept a cool composure and muttered back.
“And can you tell me upfront you hated the fact somepony was getting more spotlight than you? Because you’re going to get more of that today than any of us. You’re honestly a good flier Dash, you made second spot to me at the academy after all. I’m just sad to see such talent wasted.”
“What are you on about?”
“Your flight partner isn’t just going to blot out the other teams.”
Lightning Dust crossed her forelimbs and pouted.
“I know about your Rainbow Falls team, a skittish Pegasus and someone who just barely made the Academy and couldn’t pass the speed test. You don’t pick teams that fit you, you pick ones you’ll shine over. Won’t be the case here. Somepony like you having to resort to free-loading off a pet monster to get into this show? It’s nothing but pitiful.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes nearly dilated as she shot up to a hover and loomed over Lightning Dust.
“Look if you’re just here to talk smack, you’re wasting your breath. So what if I’m here on the Princess’ pick? Just means they picked their best.”
“And yet they picked you in a PR stunt, sticking you on a team with someone you couldn’t hope to outshine if you were twice the flier you are. Good or not, you’re gonna be an afterthought as he steals the show out from under you. Unlike the rest of us, we don’t need to fly at the same time he does… And-”
Lightning Dust huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
“The only reason I’m wasting my breath is because I wanted a challenge. We never did find out which one of us was the better flier for sure and I didn’t want you embarrassing yourself with your so-called teammate.”
Rainbow Dash twinged slightly at Lightning Dust’s words. As much as she loathed the thought, some parts of her mind began passing the idea around. She didn’t mind the idea of her being in this show just to help out a friend, loyalty is part of friendship after all. But she felt the flight suit on her limb, Rarity and her mother’s own work, and heard the murmuring of the crowds gathered. With so much effort given to her and such a pressure to give the crowds something to amaze them, some part of her was worried about being shortchanged out of the show. Maybe it was selfishness, maybe it was ego; or just desire to live up to her standards, but one way or another Lightning Dust’s seed of doubt had taken a marginal root.
Poising herself and snapping back with her typical bravado, Rainbow Dash snorted and leered at Lightning Dust.
“Oh I can handle a challenge alright, not like some jerk like you would be one. And I’ve seen what Rodan can do. He or I coulda gotten into this show easy with or without the Princesses backing us up just to embarrass competition freaks like you.”
“Oh yes, you’re here. And no one will remember it. Anything you do, he will outshine you even if he’s only half as good as you think. These crowds?”
She muttered, motioning to the packed bleachers and even larger crowd of ponies trickling up the escalator. There had to be hundreds of them.
“They came here because they heard he was coming. Thanks to your partner, how many of us do you think are gonna be in the papers tomorrow? You got here because of the princesses, you got to the academy because of your friends in Ponyville. Wouldn’t be surprised if you got your house and fame by lifting your mother’s name, Junior… No. I’m just pitying you because you are going to get the least amount of attention out of all of us, since you’re right next to him. Can’t freeload your way out of this, Rainbow Crash. At least I just made you look bad back at the academy.”
Rainbow Dash’s ears shot up and her teeth gritted. Her fur bristled with rage at the accusations, both the slams against her friends’ honor and her own. Freeloading, that was taking advantage of one’s ties to another for your own benefit. As much an opposite of loyalty as treachery was. It went against Rainbow’s very nature and the thought she didn’t get where she was at least based off some of her own merit left her blood boiling. It was no small miracle she didn’t lash out and acquaint Lightning Dust with her hooves, as tempting as the thought was. Rainbow Dash’s body tensed up, she closed her eyes, and counted to ten.
After counting to twenty, she let out her long breath and looked at Lightning Dust’s bored expression. Straightening herself up, Rainbow Dash just turned to her mother and gave her a quick hug.
“Thanks for the suit mom, I’m going to find Rodan to get ready and review flight plans.”
“Oh, okay. Do be safe in this show, dah'ling.”
Rainbow Dash cracked a cheeky grin that did little to dismay any fears.
“Hey, it’s me!”
Radiance chuckled quietly, shaking her head slowly as her daughter turned to hover away. As Rainbow Dash faced Lightning Dust, she gave her a dull look that was devoid of investment. Deciding to be the better mare, to Rainbow; she just wasn’t even worth the effort of getting fired up over. Radiance walked up beside Lightning Dust, waving goodbye to her daughter with a handkerchief in her hoof. The proud mother’s muffled sniffling and dabbing at her eyes caused Lightning Dust to groan in vexation. The latter began to lift off with spread wings to head to the flight zone. She’d gotten five yards when something zoomed up behind her and yanked back on her tail. Lightning Dust hit the cloud to see a gleaming eyed, stone faced Radiance looming over her. Radiance tilted her head up and looked upon her departing daughter with a smile.
“Remember, she’s my little Dashie. I think you misunderstand what her sharing my name does for the crowd.”
Radiance muttered sweetly, but with a bite of sternness behind her voice. Lightning Dust yanked herself free of the older mare with a glare, glancing over at Rainbow Dash’s form.
“Remind them who her mother is so she gets another boost? The amount of freeloading here is nauseating. The kaiju carries her into a show, she’s going to carry it through the show; and she’s carried by your name everywhere she goes. It’s reliance.”
Radiance shook her head slowly like she was scolding a bratty child, clicking her tongue to accent the shakes with “tsk tsk tsk”.
“You mistake loyalty for reliance, and relationships with dependence. And, the name part.”
“What, so she can fall back and be a cloth cutter if she ever broke a wing and still get rep?”
Radiance Dash zoomed up to Lightning Dust’s face so fast one would have swore she teleported. The typically composed and cheery fashion designer’s face was absolutely livid with barely tranquil fury as she got right up to the bully’s smug mug. Her voice rapidly shifted from barking to downright demonic sounding.
“No, she and I sharing a name gets to remind ponies what an amazing mare I get to have for a daughter you insolent, miscreantLittlePieceOf!-”
Rodan finished some wing and limb stretches just as he heard someone approaching from his left. Turning around he expected it to be Rainbow Dash having caught up to him. Instead, he found himself looking into the beaked face of a female gryphon wearing a light green flight suit with white accents. The gryphon seemed to be looking him over for a bit, then glanced off to the sides as if she were searching for someone. Fact she instantly turned her attention back to him told him whoever she was on look-out for hadn’t shown up yet.
“Your partner is Dash, right?”
She muttered in a quiet tone Rodan detected a hint of anger in. Giving a slightly suspicious eye to the newcomer, he nodded.
“Rainbow Dash Junior, yes. Only specifying since her mother is here.”
The gryphon rolled her eyes, sighing out of her nose.
“Pff, figures…”
She crossed her arms and looked sideways. Her eyes absently twitched back and forth and her head bobbed with it oh so subtly, clearly mulling over some thoughts for several moments before Rodan grunted to get her attention back.
“Yooou were saying this, why? Come to wish me luck?”
She breathed in and sighed, frowning slightly.
“Come to warn you.”
A few seconds past and Rodan tilted his head own in a manner one could practically hear it creak like old wood.
“...Come again?”
The gryphon’s eyes hardened even as she looked off to the side.
“You do know she’s just using you for herself right? You two have been all over the headlines, half the crowd is here just because you’re in on this.”
If the feathered gryphon was trying to make a point, it was bouncing off Rodan’s head rather than sinking in.
“Um, you’re point? Just because she’s competing with me doesn’t imply anything. Besides if I’m drawing crowds-”
-Rather than scaring them off, reverse of the norm there-
“-that just means more notice to everyone else. Why shouldn't Rainbow be happy about that?”
She groaned, rolling her eyes at the statement. Tilting her head, she looked to Rodan and tapped a fist into his shoulder.
“This time? Chance for fame in a Wonderbolts-hosted event and getting a sponsorship from the Pony Princesses themselves? Do you really think she could have just grabbed a random flyer to get that on her own?”
Even as the negative gryphon continued railing on, Rodan couldn’t stop his eyes from narrowing and muttering,
“Considering she’s helped save this continent three or four times by now, she should be able to.”
“-I don’t care about you. I don’t care what you do. I’m just warning you one gryphon to another. That Rainbow isn’t loyal. If you’re half the flyer you seem to be, she will do everything in her power to put herself above you. Getting any sort of attention is all about her, no matter who else is around. For Rainbow Falls she grabbed some novice dweeb who barely finished flight school and another who didn’t know a thing about relay, just so she could carry the stable and be the team. It wasn’t about her team, it was all about getting herself in the spotlight. Just like she’s doing now for you.”
Rodan growled quietly as his claws dug into the cloud under him. He was quickly adding another face to the list of flyers he really was beginning to not like and he didn’t even know her name yet. He straightened up, standing over the brown gryphon and moved forward just enough to loom over her. True, the effect wasn’t as intense as it would be if Godzilla Junior stood next to Prince Blueblood, as Rodan wasn’t as freakishly big as Chief; but he was enough to stand a bit above the already tall gryphon.
“Listen chickadee, I’m a really hard guy to torque off. But unless you give me something valuable enough to waste a thought on, you’re wasting your breath.”
He growled. She steeled herself, defiantly glaring back while flexing her wing muscles in tensity.
“You two practice any maneuvers?”
“Plenty. And we’re all in equal parts for them.”
“Then just wait. I give you two acts tops before she goes off track to do something on her own. Just watch, I bet you she’s going to ask for a change of pace right before you two kick off. You’re not her wingmate, you’re her excuse for an audience and she will-”
She closed in on him again, trying to command space through position and body language in a way the kaiju understood fully. Get right up to someone and force them back, and you’ve already commanded the argument in your favor. Command he wasn’t about to give her. Rodan dashed forward enough to close the gap, pushing into the gryphon’s space and putting his crested forehead to hers to force her head and neck down.
“You have few words more to speak before I stop caring.”
She let the momentary surprise shake itself off her, pushing back against the pterosaur-gryphon best she could. To her credit she might have been forced away and backing down, but she was holding herself well enough. A five second pause ensued before she obliged.
“I’m someone who’s known that traitor longer than you have. She will leave you behind, no matter how much you think you know her.”
The gryphon soon felt a strong paw on her shoulder, glancing over to it to see Rodan had grabbed onto her at the same time she felt a great heat coming from where his forehead was pushed into hers. Rodan’s eyes seemed to be burning with a glow as his voice spat embers.
“I’d call the Element of Loyalty the last one to ever be traitorous.”
The vice grip on her shoulder stopped and she felt herself shoved back a short distance. Her face was definitely flashing with emotion but something that did pique the kaiju’s interest was the cracks that formed. Try and look angry as she did, and she very likely was on some level, it was evident that this gryphon was putting up a bravado to hide something else.
“I call it ironic. You could think you’ve known her for years, all the harder to see the turn coming.”
-You know, if I didn’t know better on this one; I’d almost thought she looked sad there for a moment.-
Rodan kept up his stern look for a time before shrugging and he relaxed his stance. Chuckling lightly as he bounced right back to his typical, jovial tone, Rodan just patted the gryphon’s shoulder and quipped.
“Silly birdie, cynicism like that is for hatchlings.”
Her face contorted into a confused mix of bewilderment and trying to see if she could scowl any harder, all the seriousness she’d been cultivating having rolled off the side of the cloud and plummeting to earth.
“A-Are you that blind?!”
“No, but I am trusting. I’ve seen the sort of things that mare throws herself at, some in-person. She’s got my hope and that’s what I run on half the time.”
“You’re a fool.”
“Probably, but you’ll never find me wallowing. Cheer up featherhead,-”
Rodan patted the obviously fuming gryphon on the head, only electing not to bring up how cute the beings of this world looked even when angry. Looked like some kid’s toy trying to throw a tantrum.
“-keep your thoughts so low and you’ll find yourself doing the opposite of flying. Let me worry about what I think need of worry”
With that, Rodan rolled his shoulders and putzed off to a quiet spot on the cloud. Having done his stretches but still not seeing Rainbow Dash yet, as she was still conversing with Lightning Dust out of sight, he opted to stretch out on a patch of cloud to absorb some sunlight. Literally walking on clouds, let alone laying upon them, was still baffling to him; but Rainbow had assured him it was safe and he wasn’t one to turn down a comfy resting spot with an open sky all around. It was so comfy in fact that the moment his eyes shut, he slipped into a micro-nap and wasn’t conscious when a brief flash of a portal to somewhere else popped open inside the cloud and vacuumed him up when no one was looking.
Where did Rodan go? Find out here!
He reappeared a millisecond later, in the exact same position and space he’d been in before save for some char flaking off his wings and body. Rodan winced and groaned in his sleep, grimacing from subconscious emotions for a few seconds before something touching him woke him up with a panicked shout.
A ways away, the brown gryphon walked to her team’s spot and plopped down on her haunches. Giving a tired, melancholy shrug, the gryphon’s mind was plagued with memories she wanted to forget. From days at a flight academy to a day in a place called Ponyville, the conflicting emotions were tearing at her mind in a way that the only thing she was glad of was the fact Rodan hadn’t seen her like this. Care for the kaiju she did not, but if Rainbow Dash was involved; so were she and her accomplice. Gilda quickly regained her bravado and just stared blankly ahead of herself with a sullen frown. She crossed her arms as a slightly scuffed up Lightning Dust, still rubbing her ears from the verbal blowout she’d gotten, sat next to her.
“You do your part?”
Lightning Dust winced a bit from the ringing in her left ear, turning her right one to Gilda and tapping the gryphon with her hoof.
“What? My left ear is still ringing.”
“I said, did you do your part?”
“Yes, but not for lack of difficulty. Her mother isn’t what I expected her to be.”
“Radiance? Yes you don’t want to underestimate her. Ever.”
“But before Mrs. Mace-In-A-Bag barged in, I could tell I unnerved her.”
“What she deserves. When she sees our team, it’ll drive the nail in.”
“Thrown off their game, we got one less rival to worry with.”
“Whole reason I agreed to fly with you.”
“Well that and you could keep up with me.”
“Don’t push it dweeb.”
Rainbow Dash mulled about through the small crowd of flight teams, half wondering about how she could lose someone like Rodan even in a mass while the other half of her mind harped on what Lightning Dust said. The second part was especially unavoidable when she overheard some of what the crowd were babbling about as she passed by.
“I heard the kaiju is flight number 3.”
“Flight team 3, yes.”
“Team? I thought he was flying solo.”
“No apparently they got some Wonderbolt academy member Princess Twilight knew to go up with him. Just make sure you got your camera focus set right to catch him.”
“I heard this kaiju was fastest on his homeworld, wonder if his partner can keep up?”
“Well we’ll just-”
Rainbow Dash growled, covering hear ears and storming away. Much as she showed anger, in truth a lot of the words said had stung and caused Lightning Dust’s taunts to replay over and over again in her head. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she glanced back at the crowd where her mother was sitting; on the side of the bleacher’s front row next to where Destroyah and the Crusaders had sat down next to the stands on account of the former’s size.
-Is anypony even going to notice I’m here if they came for a kaiju and not a pegasus? First time Mom’s been able to come and I wanted her and the kids to enjoy it…-
She looked around some more and spied Rodan squirming atop a small cloud he was using as a bed. Pursing her lips in a mixture of reluctance and worry, she trotted over to her partner all while a new train of thought pulled into her mind.
-Maybe if I stepped up my game some and tweaked the plans? He wouldn’t mind too much, right?-
Rodan’s squirming spiked when he felt a hoof jostle him awake. He sprung up and shouted on instinct, startling the cyan pegasus who jumped back and puffed her wings out.
“Hey! Hey! Easy easy! You dozed off on me there.”
Rodan frantically snapped his head to and fro, still obviously groggy from what had happened and not sure what was going on.
“Wh-What happened!? Where?! Sun-ACK!”
Rodan yelped, grabbing his head and shaking it as he hyperventilated. Sensing his distress, Rainbow Dash risked grabbing onto the superstrong, talon-bearing kaiju by the shoulders to try and focus him.
“He! It’s okay! We’re alright. Eyes on me, eeeeyes on me!”
Rodan did as asked, focusing on his friend and falling still as his breathing slowly wound back down. Rainbow Dash sucked in her breath and held it, motioning for Rodan to mimic her. After holding that breath for a good twenty seconds each, they both let it out and the shakes Rodan was going through ceased.
“You okay?”
Rodan winced a bit, nodding shallowly.
“Sun. Sun set. Where?”
He muttered in a manner that showed even he was confused at his choice of words. Rainbow Dash cocked an incredulous eyebrow and glanced over to the horizon to quickly double check the skies hadn’t suddenly turned red and yellow yet.
“Um, it’s midday Ro’. Won’t be sunset for awhile. You have some sort of weird dream?”
Rodan’s face puzzled from a myriad of emotions crossing through the inside of his skull and he not knowing at all why. The purpose for such feelings was as elusive as trying to capture smoke in a bare hand. Everytime he felt like he was beginning to recall what was on his mind, he’d just lose all but wisps of it and be back at square one without any more context than he had before.
“I.. I guess. Having trouble remembering a thing though. Head feels weird when I try to focus on it.”
He grunted, still holding onto his cranium to try and ensure he didn’t get dizzied vision again. Rainbow Dash cast a small frown, leaning in closer to him and putting a forelimb across his forehead to check for a fever.
“You don’t feel any warmer than before so ‘least you’re not sick. Are you gonna be okay to fly safely?”
Rodan waved his paw at his concerned teammate, chuckling lightly as his classic optimism settled back in and he was able to shrug off most of the confusion and worry.
“Hehe, don’t worry about me too much. I’ll be fine. Just some temporary vertigo from one of those weird dreams where you can’t remember upon waking up, I think. Used to get them all the time… We up for flight yet?”
Rainbow Dash paused, earning a curious look from Rodan especially after she seemed to briefly mull over a thought that left her ears lowering down. Sighing, she shook her head.
“No, but we will soon. I, I wanted to ask you if we could maybe make a last minute tweak?”
Inside Rodan’s head something started to ping and he involuntarily began to have recollections of Gilda’s warning. Electing to hope it wasn’t going where he thought it was going, he just tilted his head and grunted quietly.
“... Tweak how?”
Rainbow Dash rubbed a forelimb against the back of her head in a second of awkwardness.
“Well, would it be okay if we.. just in theory, replaced maneuver three with that one we threw out?”
-Uh oh… To quote Applejack, strike one.-
“You mean the one I got trouble describing?”
“The… buckaneer blitz, yes. Listen I know you don’t really know what to do for it, but you could try to do that beam thingy we talked about as back up!”
Rainbow Dash belted before biting her lip, practically kicking herself mentally for every word even as she tried to scramble and not come off as the glory-hog the suggestions were making her sound like. Rodan’s face began to shift to a frown as he played the hypothetical maneuver through his mind.
-Strike two.-
“Would be risky for me to shoot. I’d have to be really far away from anyone, you included, to get them all in sight and avoid hitting anyone…. Which means I’d be in the background with you right up front of the crowd…”
He muttered, a mental image of Gilda practically laughing at him with an “I told you so” expression painted onto her face. Upon seeing Rainbow’s face, which was turned away from him in an obvious expression of awkwardness and possibly shame, the kaiju shrugged and reached out to her.
“Rainbow-”
He paused, adjusting his tone to remove any instance of possible anger that might be seeping in.
“-Dashie… What’s up?”
Rainbow Dash’s ears flickered before laying flat against her head and her tail drooped. Possibly realizing how uncharacteristically glum she looked, the mare quickly shook her body down and straightened up best she could but had an obviously forced neutrality pasted onto her face.
“Huh? What you mean, I’m?-”
“I mean, what’s on your skull? We agreed on the routine days ago and you want to change it just now?”
“I-”
A mental representation of Gilda’s warning tried to finish her sentences for her.
-"Want to get more stage time for myself."-
“-just want to-”
-"Get everyone to focus on me."-
Rainbow Dash paused, shrugging and rolling her shoulders. She put a hoof up and shook her head.
“-You know what?… Nevermind, it’s not real friend-ish of me to drop this on you last minute; I don’t have a good enough reason.”
Gilda’s warning was shut out, leaving Rodan blinking in silence for a short time as he mentally caught back up. Seeing Rainbow Dash’s forced smile as the pegasus tried to cheerfully talk about something else left Rodan sighing and frowning for whole different reasons than before.
“Dashie, talk to me.”
Rainbow Dash fell silent, knowing she couldn’t just blow this off as she looked to the absolutely packed audience bleachers.
“This is a record breaking audience. Give you one guess who’s a big reason they showed up for.”
She muttered, causing Rodan to sheepishly point to himself and earning a nod from his partner. Rainbow Dash looked off to the side, sighing.
“It’s just, you know, kinda worried I’m the side piece mooching off you. And I love entertaining ponies!... Even if pride worms into it.”
“And that a bit of extra show time to yourself could help you stick out? Show them you’re not a tag-along?”
Rainbow Dash held up her hooves, frowning.
“I’m an Equestrian surrounded by Equestrians. Some of which are about as awesome and good a flier as I am! You’re something nopony has seen before and my only time in the sky is when you are too. And with my ma here it’s all the more- you know, big deal.... But, me scrapping part of our show to get me some extra fun isn’t fair. We are a team after all so, just forget I said anything.”
The intercom voice of Soarin spewed out of the loudspeakers mounted on the tall posts surrounding the waiting area.
“Flight Team 3 - Canterlot! Please report to the launch platform! You’re due in five minutes! And don’t worry, Spitfire isn’t gonna get spooked this time! Over.”
Rainbow Dash smiled best she could, shrugging off her previous druthers and patting Rodan on the shoulders.
“It’ll be alright! Just some weird words from someone I probably shouldn’t have listened to to begin with. Come on!”
She turned and headed for the launch area when a gente grip seized her by the leg.
“Hey!”
She looked back to see the smiling visage of Rodan coming back up to her as he let go of the mare’s wrist. Any worry he had previously was gone now, Gilda’s words chained up and thrown off the side of the cloud. He’d been concerned at first, but he was a trusting type to those who earned it. And he had just been reminded he was flying with someone who had. Let any seeds of discord try to take root if they wished, he knew his flock.
“They might have come for me,-”
He muttered, pointing to himself with his thumb. Rodan then pointed to Rainbow Dash, poking her in the chest with the blunt side of a claw as his smile grew.
“-but we’re going to make sure they remember us! I’ll find a spot to where I won’t fry anyone, you give your ma a front row seat to that blitz of yours.”
Rainbow Dash stood frozen in place for brief time, the gears in her head catching back up to what just happened. When she did, her face rapidly grew into grin as she rapidly nodded before lurching forward and yanking the gryphon-kaiju into a bear hug while her tail wagged in joy. It was that moment a bearer of an element tied to the magic of friendship remembered that she wasn’t flying with just a teammate, she was flying with a friend.
A few minutes later and the loudspeakers buzzed to life again, this time invading and commanding the airspace above the muttering crowd.
“Ladies and gentlecolts, the Wonderbolts now proudly present our next performing duo from our own academy and a place far beyond! Now premiering is Flight Team 3 under sponsorship from the Princesses themselves, Rainbow Jennifer Dash Jr. and… G.B.O Rodan!”
The crowd went wild in fanfare, Radiance and Scootaloo competing for loudest voices, as Rainbow Dash and Rodan walked up to the runway in front of the bleachers in their contrasting flight suits; occasionally giving a wink and wave to the crowd upon spotting a familiar face. Upon reaching the start line, Rainbow Dash snickered while slipping her goggles over her eyes and elbowed Rodan with her free forelimb.
“GBO? What, did your creator name you Germaine or Gregory?”
The countdown lights hanging above them ticked to red as Rodan shrugged and fit his goggles on, earning another smirking jest from the mare.
“Geoffrey?”
“Oooye, it’s my title Dashie! Stands for Guardian Beast Omega.”
“Hey, just saying it’s a pretty rad label so you might as well use it!”
The light clicked to yellow.
“What did you run out of room George Berns Omar?”
“Yes I did Jenny Junior!”
“Hey!”
“From now on I’m calling you nothing but Jenny Junior!”
“Oh you wouldn’t dar-”
The light clicked to green and instantly the two were airborne and dashing into the sky with luminous trails behind them as they spiraled around one another.
=========
Ponyville
=========
Anguirus and Ki Seong stepped off the brook bridge and headed back into the town limits, having just spent the former’s typical daily visit on a long walk. As was natural for the kirin, conversation was struck and this time it was focused on the events going on in Neighagra.
“And you’re sure your...cousin was it? That he’ll be alright at the airshow without you.”
“Eh, I’m the oldest but he’s got his head built on straight. He’ll be fine. Limited seating and I’m not partial to not having my feet on the ground. I’m sure I’ll see plenty of him in the newspapers.”
“Wow, if you’re so sure I guess he must be a pretty good stunt flier. He in the Wonderbolt academy?”
“No, but he’s pretty well known where we’re from.”
Ki Seong’s eyebrow peaked in a sly expression that gave “Quill Coat” a momentary pause.
“The south frontier, right Quilly?”
“... Yes the fr-...”
He shrugged, shutting his sentence off. Not one to articulate himself verbally often, keeping up the facade for weeks had chewed away at his typically armor plated resolve.
-Junior is well liked now and Rodan’s drawing crowds in a good way. Maybe I can finally give it a shot. She’s not a flimsy piece of work, handled the Destroyah swarm well enough. Maybe that’s why I like her company. Let’s just hope I don’t lose it.-
Swallowing his breath, Anguirus glanced over to Seong as they approached the restaurant.
“Listen, Seong. I’ve been visiting you a lot.”
The kirin smiled with a momentary flush peaking out from between her facial scales.
“Least once every other day since we first met those weeks back.”
Anguirus grumbled under his words, practically choking on his own air and wondering why in the realms he was doing that.
“Right… I trust you and.. Appreciate your company.”
“Aww, thanks. I trust you and like your company too, Quill Coat!”
Upon hearing his pseudonym again, the Guardian Beast couldn’t stifle the pained groan.
“Uurrrrgha.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine. Just. Words aren’t something I’m able to do well… Would, you mind changing the subject for a bit while I try to get them back together?”
Despite the uncharacteristic weirdness the stallion was exuding, Seong just giggled and playfully whapped at “Quill Coat’s” side with her hoof. The deep “thud” on impact gave her momentary pause after literally hearing just how solid his build was. Peaking her brows, she looked ahead again.
“Well, I’m expecting company. Family actually.”
“Family? From Carrea?”
“No, not by blood. My niece of sorts. Her parents were two Equestrians I met when I journeyed here, helped me settle in. Since they’re on an extended leave on a boat trip they sent her to Ponyville to stay with me. Pretty excited about it too with the kaiju activity around the region, she’s been writing to me nonstop since she got back from camp.”
Anguirus pursed his lips and glanced over at the kirin with a curious look in his eye after locking on to that last word.
-Camp? Like that one I-... No, couldn’t be.-
“Oh, she’s here!”
“Hm?”
Anguirus snapped back to attention as Ki Seong pointed forward to the restaurant about ten meters ahead. A carriage had been parked outside, the driver having unloaded a couple large roller bags onto the ground outside the front door before patting something or someone hidden behind the big luggage. The driver noticed the approaching kirin and pony, tipped his hat to them while saying something to the luggage owner before he hitched himself back up and pulled away. Recognizing a bag’s Carrean symbol she’d sewed onto it, Seong smiled and called out.
“Over here sweetie!”
On cue a little head popped up from behind the bag and looked over to them, the little filly being one both Anguirus and Ki Seong recognized instantly. She was a small, leafy green tot with a darker green mane. The new parts were the ivory colored spots she had dyed onto her nose and shoulders in what looked like an emulation of Anguirus’ spike spots. The Anguirus similarity was even more evident at the quill she was wearing on her left bangs as a hair accessory. And upon seeing both Ki Seong and her hero, Gentle Leaf’s eyes virtually dilated before she sprung up into the air running in place. Hitting the dirt sprinting, Gentle Leaf zoomed over and jumped into Seong’s waiting hooves, a single happy thought in her mind.
-Auntie Seong!-
Seong audibly laughed for the both of them, catching and spinning herself and the filly around a few times before nuzzling each other’s nose. Seong looked at Gentle Leaf’s accessories and giggled, brushing the filly’s mane aside.
“Nae jag-eun joka! Neo eolmana yeppeun ji bwa!”
(My little niece! Look how pretty you are!)
Gentle Leaf muttered a muted giggle, wagging her tail as she pulled herself into Seong’s collar and neck before happily rubbing herself up against her auntie. Holding her joyful niece, Seong snickered and looked over to her companion.
“So, Anguirus, you wanted to talk to me about something?”
One could practically hear the record scratch coming out of the dumbstruck kaiju’s head.
-She’s known… She’s known your name, what you are, what you really look like....WWWWWHHAAAAT!?!-
Just as the cold sensation began to set in like it had before when he asked for a change of subject, Anguirus mentally rebooted when he saw the pair of smiles aimed at him, Ki Seong and Gentle Leaf snickering at a prank set up weeks ago.
“... H-...H-...H-Hoooow long?”
He muttered blankly. Seong glanced down at Gentle Leaf, who’d hopped off her neck and was cracking a cheeky grin. Seong giggled, looking back up at Anguirus.
“That first rainy day. She had come through here when being sent home since I’m on her guardianship papers, wrote me all about the heroic big friend she’d made at camp and then I recognized you. She’s never shushed up about you since she got back home.”
On cue Gentle Leaf pulled out a small notebook from her bag, flipping through it before hopping up to stand in front of the kaiju and hold the book out to him. The pages showed what Anguirus presumed was a page dated to the day of or day after the campground dragon attack. Pasted across the pages were numerous sketches of fairly good quality for someone her age, depicting Anguirus in his pony form looking down at the point of view as well as a larger illustration of his true form with beaming lines around it to give dramatic, heroic flair. Along the edges were attempts at transcribing his name, “Angurus, Angilas, Anguillas, Anguirus!”.
Letting his mind wander to catch up to what all had just happened, the cold around his mentalscape began to thaw. All the memories he had of his times with Ki Seong replayed from newest to oldest, starting with a peaceful walk around the town’s borders, into their numerous lunches or dinners shared, stories exchanged; right up to that one rainy day.
-Her first name is Seong, family of Ki. Moved to Equestria from Carrea eight years ago. She likes a bit of spearmint in her tea and while she can sew, cross stitches give her trouble... She’s known about me this whole time, and still gave me the time.-
Anguirus sighed, letting a tiny smile peek past his fangs that got Seong to beam back at him.
Anguirus train of thought was broken by a gentle tapping on his sternum. Looking down he got to see the adorable visage of Gentle Leaf beaming up at him with her forelimbs spread in a reaching motion. Glancing at her and Ki Seong for a moment, Anguirus puzzled and hoped he was doing it right when he bent his head down and let her hug his snout. Gentle Leaf’s tail wagged rapidly as she rubbed her cheek up against the much larger pony’s brow. Ki Seong looked upon the two sweetly as Gentle Leaf let go and Anguirus brushed her bangs lightly to tap the quill he’d given her before patting the filly’s head.
“Heh, nice to see you too kid.”
==================
Neighagra Airshow
==================
The dual shockwaves of fiery purple and red intersecting bands of rainbow split the sky thousands of meters above and caused the crowd to go wild upon the completion of Team 3’s dual sky bursts courtesy of Rainbow Dash and Rodan’s top speed in their second maneuver. Thankfully performed so high up and not at full power to avoid damaging the cloud stands, the brilliant light from the display flooded the bleachers and escalators with roars of cheering from the crowds. Far below, the sight of the magnificent display spurred some members of the crowd to try and push forward for a better picture. The pushing built upon itself with cameramares and stallions trying to get the best shots while the rest of the crowd attempted to keep their views. The mob worked their ways onto the escalators and the all important lever to control its motion was broken by the shoving. Soon dozens of eager ponies spilled past the gate and headed up to the platform far above, some trying to run ahead and get seats while others got carried along by the crowd but weren’t much to complain. In the chaos, the warning sign stating a weight limit was knocked over the edge and out of sight by the crowd who had their heads pitched skyward.
Oblivious to the change, Rodan and Rainbow Dash zoomed toward each other with color contrails behind them. Just before they seemed like they’d crash into one another, the daredevils turned sharply to the side and flew parallel as they raced along. Moving too fast to hear one another if they spoke, Rainbow Dash nodded three times to Rodan while the latter held up three claws to verify which maneuver they were shifting to. Rodan began to pull away and charge up his beam, slowing down his speed to let Rainbow Dash zoom on ahead for her buckaneer blitz. It was then when things went off the plan. Rainbow Dash hooked her forelimb around Rodan’s, smiling and shaking her head as the confused gryphon looked to her. While they couldn’t talk the expression on her face which ran from beaming to determined and her speeding up while towing him along told him what was on her mind in this last minute change of plans.
-You said they will remember us, and I am loyal to my wingmate.-
Rodan smiled before lowering his brow to mimic Rainbow’s expression and matching her speed while they held onto each other. Much to his joy, his friend had proven Gilda wrong. Rodan and Rainbow Dash held onto each other’s hooves and forepaws, spiraling around in almost a high flying dance as their contrails began to fuse together. If one looked close, they could see the symbol for the Element of Loyalty appear on Rainbow Dash’s chest with sparkling brilliance coating her form that bled onto Rodan. They spiraled into a dive, going over and across the bleachers just as the buckaneer blitz shot off. The great flash of light and awesome crash temporarily blinded the cheering crowd. But when the boom died down and vision returned, both of team 3 were out of sight. Several long seconds passed before a new awe inspiring uproar fired off. An enormous pillar of olive green light erupted from beyond the edge of the platform, firing off into the space above and out of sight. The winds hissed and the clouds beyond the platform began to shift around the pillar, dragged up by an updraft.
Then, in an instant, two forms exploded free of the cloud bank and into sight. One was a flying sphere of red magic, leaving a vast curtain of rainbows as she flew upwards with her hooves spread and her wings out wide. And the Element of Loyalty, the supersonic mare, wasn’t alone. With wings the size of battleships that stretched out the entire diameter of the light pillar, an enormous shadow in the form of a Pterosaur mirrored Rainbow Dash’s pose as he ascended. The light show cut off, revealing the glowing Rainbow Dash soaring skyward with the fully formed Guardian Beast of Air, Rodan, bathed in her rainbows.
To call the crowd jubilant would be a severe understatement, roars of awed cheers called out as the sun was blocked out by a kaiju and replaced by a spectrum of light. Radiance was having the time of her life, jumping up in her seat and waving her hat to her smiling daughter when Rainbow Dash passed overhead.
“HAHAHAH! BRAVO! BRAVO! THAT’S MY LITTLE DASHIE!”
The Crusaders were her only competition for loudest audience members, each nearly squealing their heads off in exhilarated joy despite all the stunts they’d seen previously. Even Destroyah seemed content as the dazzling curtains of rainbow light crossed over her, though admittedly the tiny smile on her face was more a result of the three fillies around her. Scootaloo, tail still wagging, tapped Destroyah’s brow and looked at the kaiju upside down while being perched atop her head.
“So that race wasn’t a fluke! He really is as awesome as Rainbow Dash! Aren’t you impressed Miss Destroyah? Why aren’t you cheering?”
“I’ve already known his capabilities for years and he didn’t disappoint.”
She shrugged. Nodding a few times after some thought, Scootaloo decided she just wasn’t the expressive type outside of a fight and took what she could get.
“Well, guess that counts for something!”
Rodan and Rainbow Dash shared a glance, both mentally gawking at the other for different reasons. Rodan on account of Rainbow Dash’s stunning light show and gleam, and Rainbow Dash on account of seeing Rodan’s gargantuan size and the strange magic at work that somehow meant neither of them had torn out of their flight jackets. Despite practically igniting with light, Rainbow Dash’s suit was untarnished and the stretching fibers Radiance had mentioned were nothing to undersell given they had conformed to the kaiju’s new body shape and size. Hearing the cheering crowds below and looking to one another, Team 3 couldn’t help but burst into a fit of joyful laughter. Trust and teamwork had paid off in ways neither of which expected. Nodding between each other they broke off and continued on with their maneuver routine, their flight having now far exceeded expectation. Unfortunately, not all the surprises were positive.
When the crowds pouring onto the escalators saw the new act they too had been worked up into a gleeful frenzy, too hyperbolic for any staff to try and contain. They poured onto the cloud platform, eyes and cameras all pointed skyward. Like all structures, clouds could only hold so much across their surface before they hit their limit. For this platform, with the addition of all the airshow equipment and sets like flagpoles and bleachers, it was meant to hold up just three hundred ponies’ worth of mass. For safety and accounting for shifting air currents shaking the structure, it could hold up an extra hundred before it started to sag. Accounting for the new arrivals the current population on the cloud had gone from three hundred to five hundred in a matter of seconds.
A loud creaking cried out from underneath the bleachers, alerting the few who could hear it over the crowds’ uproar. The entire cloud shuddered, groaned, and trembled for several long seconds and clued in more and more to what was going on. The cheers died down just as the shaking stopped. And then, with a single budge, the entire structure broke apart at its heaviest point; right beneath the bleachers. On instinct many pegasi and gryphons attending took to the sky, hovering up and maintaining altitude. However many of them were not the most skilled of fliers and the panic of suddenly falling caused many to plummet alongside the numerous earth ponies, unicorns, and minotaurs who were in the crowd. Of the five hundred souls on the cloud, four hundred of them were now plummeting with only a precious few thousand feet between them and the ground.
Their perception of time when moving at high speed slowing down, both Rodan and Rainbow Dash quickly noticed the calamity and drove into a dive. Rainbow Dash instantly locked onto the sight of a giant sunhat and scarf, rocketing down with only a momentary pause to match Radiance’s fall velocity before grabbing her mother.
Then Thalia.
Then Dallas.
Soon the Element of Loyalty had a half dozen ponies and two minotaurs clinging to her and each other. However even her great speed had it’s limits, both from the added weight and fact she couldn’t suddenly accelerate for fear of throwing some poor soul off. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, beating her aching wings as hard as she could while trying to fly over and catch a falling earth pony despite lacking any hoofholds to grip him. The shocked stallion’s terrified expression was burning its way into her mind as she beheld both him and the rest of the falling crowd. She couldn’t catch them all. But fortunately, she didn’t need to.
Dozens of mobile streaks zipped through the air just as she did. The flight teams, the Wonderbolts, and many pegasi attending were following her example and grabbing every free falling soul they could. The stallion Rainbow Dash was trying to catch was picked up by a streak of yellow and green, Lightning Dust slinging him around her neck while Gilda caught a unicorn mare with her hindpaws. Elsewhere Phoenix, Drizzle, and Cloudchaser strained as they packed themselves down with the attendees. Even Destroyah was flying about, the Crusaders wisely clinging to her head and neck while the kaiju grabbed whole loads of plummeting ponies. Despite the mass heroics however, there were still too many falling and the ground was fast approaching.
Only at eight hundred meters more to go, the earth beneath barreling in on them. Rainbow Dash looked at everyone else still falling and bit her cheek.
-We gotta land to dump the ones we got before we crash, but we can’t dive to get down quicker. Might lose those holding on and there’s no time!-
A massive shadow crossed over her vision and the solution came to her. Needing only give a quick nod and gesture with her head, Rainbow Dash and Rodan coordinated. The kaiju dove past the falling crowd and rescuers, turning around mid flight with his back to the ground. Rodan sucked in his breath and spread his enormous wingspan to its fullest extent, roaring out while pounding his wingbeats upwards. The ensuing tidal wave of moving, hot air hit Rainbow Dash hard enough to ring her ears, but she and the other fliers held strong. The sudden, galeforce updraft was enough to slow down and momentarily reverse the falling crowd’s tumble. The unicorns, earth ponies, and minotaurs flailed around in shock as they paused midfall and were slung upwards in an arc before resuming their now slowed tumble. Pushed up another hundred meters and their falling velocity reset, Rodan now had enough time to turn back around and hold his wings out stiff in a slowed glide. Rainbow Dash pitched her head over to the other rescuers, shouting at the top of her lungs to ensure they could at least hear she said something and follow her, even if they couldn’t make out what she said.
“ON HIS BACK! FOLLOW ME!”
She dove, flying over Rodan’s back as she shook to signal her passengers. They thankfully followed Radiance’s example and bailed off, spilling onto and then clinging to Rodan’s back. Radiance held on tight, securing her sun hat. The proud parent beamed at the stream of rainbows that dashed back up to catch more of the falling. In all the dress-ups she’d given her progeny, in all the suits her daughter had worn; Rainbow Dash had never looked so stunning before. The other rescuers deposited their saved across Rodan’s upper back and dorsal surface, the kaiju carefully maintaining his speed to ensure those put onboard had a chance to hang on without shaking them off. Soon the falling crowd thinned, Rainbow Dash grabbing the last of them in the form of a tumbling colt and flying over to Rodan. She landed, gasping and gripping Rodan’s back as Destroyah landed beside her with what could best be described as a comically large crowd of twenty ponies and minotaur with the Crusaders still clinging to her horn and head.
“Off.”
She snarled. The crowd piled off the kaiju on command, helping each other hold on while Rodan tilted his wings slightly while keeping his back straight. The kaiju turned in his glide, slowing descent and spiraling around in long sweeps to prepare to touch down as gently as possible. Rainbow Dash climbed up to just above Rodan’s shoulder, panting in her breaths. The kaiju’s enormous, olive green eye glanced back at her and the two shared a smile. Well spent from her endeavors, Rainbow Dash flopped onto his shoulder with a smile. Tiredly patting the titan’s hide, the beaming look she gave him and the distant sunset said it all.
-Way-ta go big guy! We did it...-
Rodan cooed, looked into the sunset and letting the gentle rays wash over his face. Still minding to keep everything steady as he pulled in for a landing that wouldn’t shake anyone off or wreck where he dropped down, he briefly entertained the distant parts of his mind while beholding the beauty in the sky. Something was troubling him, but he couldn’t recall if it was an ill memory or not. It was almost like a dream one couldn’t remember, the thoughts that lay in his head. He didn’t know why, he wasn’t about to harp on it given more important things to worry about and his own personality; but he knew something was missing from memory. Instead of the question though, he choose to focus on the result while he dug his claws into the soil in a large meadow to slow to a halt.
Of all the features in the sky, he thought he now liked Sunsets the best… Right next to rainbows of course!
=======
Zenith
=======
A wave of energy pulsed out of Bagan’s throne room and covered the entirety of Zenith’s temple and beyond, trails of light crawling across runes in every wall, ceiling, pillar, and floor. As the pulse carried on beyond the temple grounds, the temple itself began to contort. Obsidian folded in on itself, some walls disappearing and some springing up in different areas. Second by second the temple looked less and less like RED’s original design coated in black and more like something completely different. The throne room and bordering chambers remained much the same, but the other sectors each kaiju was housed in physically separated away and split off to their own areas of Zenith, connected to the temple via a tubed walkway. Each chamber expanded greatly, incorporating other spaces within Zenith as it was reconfigured to best suit it’s occupant.
Hedorah’s quickly metamorphosed into a duplicate of the Kilaak moon, the acidic monstrosity being downright gleeful as it smashed its way through a recreated cityscape and began to coat the landscape in tar and grime. Every time it would finish destroying the city, the process would reset in one area and effectively keep Hedorah in perpetual destruction forever. If Bagan hadn’t won its loyalty yet, it did now.
The legion were already well-liking their current accommodations, so their reward was more a matter of expansion than alteration. Under the heat of an artificial sunlight, dozens upon dozens of legion soldiers and workers got to work vacuuming up the obsidian glass, consuming the silica, and then spewing it out to construct a hive. Their numbers would swell soon and the simple minded beasts intended to give their queen her own hive and a throne greater than even her planned one for Terra when she returned.
The Anteverse kaiju’s realm became flooded with dark waters and small volcanic vents, quickly resembling the deepest oceans. A mental command was sounded by an additional pulse of runes that crawled across the room. The master of Zenith beckoned them to several pod-shaped chambers on the floor and they obeyed. Upon their bodies going comatose, the smaller monster’s pods lit up and trails of light glowed and flowed into Slattern’s pod. While the Anteverse engineers had indeed made powerful creatures, they were in need of more for what was to come. Bagan had seen who defended Equestria now and a few upgrades were direly needed.
The quartet of Monster X, Gigan, Irys, and Megalon had been sleeping when the change began to occur, the three aliens sitting up back to back with Irys hanging down from the ceiling above them. When the chamber started shaking they all instantly snapped awake, the latter three following up to guard the still recovering X with Megalon and Gigan jumping up to the ready and Irys dropping down between them to form a triangle. Before they could question what was going on, their chamber shifted. Bagan had been careful to not rouse suspicion amongst this group, they having been his most successful group while also being the one it was most at risk of losing with the last endeavor. Reluctantly it had decided against splitting them up, a choice bolstered by the fact Irys’ psychological health would be damaged if separated. Thus their chamber was expanded into four zones, one for each kaiju. Bagan’s voice whispered into each of the alert teammate’s minds when the room began to finish the changes.
-”You are safe. This is a reward for loyalty and patience. Go.”-
Looking between each other as their body language indicated they had all heard the same thing, the four relaxed their stances and approached the new surroundings. Gigan’s was the most simplistic, an upright structure in his locale resembling his nebulan hanger. One thankfully devoid of nebulans as the thought of more roaches crawling over him was on his top two things he did not want a repeat of; right next to fighting a ghidorah. Upon stepping into the metallic, shiny, space-age bay the machinery came alive all around him. Gigan turned around, retracted his sails, and stepped into the hanger itself and instantly felt a connection to all the machinery around him just like he was back in the M Nebula. Bagan had reconstructed this place from Gigan’s memory, likely when it repaired his body after his fight with X. Everything worked perfectly and Gigan couldn’t hide the equivalent to a smile his toothy beak gave off.
-No little bugs, figuratively or literally. I could get used to this boss.-
Megalon also received a hanger, but his was of far simpler design than Gigan’s and didn't have the attached machine shop. Instead his domain was chiefly composed of one thing that had the younger cyborg skipping towards it and diving in. A rock quarry with a massive depth. Whirling into a drill formation, Megalon barreled into it with roars of gleeful laughter. Soon he was dolphin jumping in and out of the rocks that reformed behind him.
“Wahahaaa! This is the best!- Whaaaoo!”
He slipped and fumbled into a reconstruction of a dam, getting drenched in water that left him flailing and giggling as he was washed back into the quarry.
Irys’ domain remolded into something most would see as far from ideal. The obsidian calcified into solid rock, forming spires on the floor and ceiling that one would recognize as the features of damp, dark cave with stalagmites and stalactites. Gigan wasn’t the only one whose thoughts Bagan had been reading while he rested. Irys stood before her cavern with a stunned expression, reaching out and running the back of her fingers along a rocky pillar and recoiling back once she felt it. Monster X walked over from his section, which was between Irys’ and Gigan’s, and nudged his teammate. If the slight limp or his still-recovering broken leg harmed him much, he didn’t show it. Irys winced at the touch, shuddering.
“Irys, what’s wrong?”
The bat kaiju sagged her shoulders, slowly shaking her head.
“Nothing X, I’m fine… I just remember this place.”
She muttered, starting to walk into the cave.
“You going to be alright? You don’t do well alone....”
Irys looked back at X with a slight glint in her pink eyes, the edges of her lips curling upwards slightly.
“Not when I got you three, and not when I’m here.”
Monster X nodded to her and backed up to give her some space. The gyaos looked back into the cave, her acute eyes and echolocation giving her a clear readout of the terrain. If she projected her mind’s eyes, she could see it clearly. The first place she ever saw, the few scant happy moments she had in an otherwise harsh life back on Terra. The outcropping had even been recreated perfectly, so much so she could practically see what she remembered. Breaking out of her shell, the chirping of other infants, her sisters; and the massive form that lowered hunks of food into the nest. Maybe it was because she was a mutant of her kind, but she could remember her birthplace clearly. As did the one who read her thoughts on the matter. A few wisps of energy trickled out of the floor and condensed, transmuting the elements of some surrounding rock, the air, and water into something that caused Irys’ eyes to dilate and pounce at it to dig in. After all, what effort is creating several tens of thousands of tons-worth of meat to something that could reshape an entire temple to include metamorphosis chambers and a machinery hanger? Bagan didn’t want to risk another blunder like it had before when it sent Irys to the human realm.
Monster X tread back to his domain and looked it over while it still took shape. For a moment it looked like it was going to be a recreation of the interior to his old prison, the asteroid Gorath. But, manipulated by what would be the optimal choice for him, the scenery changed. It fluctuated between several cities he’d seen before, before settling on a more natural setting. The snow fell gently upon the recreated forest, trees scaled up to match a human perspective. Monster X walked through the cold that didn’t phase him, reaching out and touching some tree bark that had some burns on it. There were the edges of a crater on the border, with a familiar clearing that he would never soon forget. It was the place he’d decided he was done not knowing things after all, where he put his forehead to another’s and she placed her lips to his. He closed his eyes, sat on his knees with his hands upon them while slowly swaying his tail behind himself; levitating into the air to hover. A content smile crossed his maw while he meditated. If he focused, he could almost hear Aria’s singing.
Bagan ushered its last pulse of magic and reviewed its works. Legion, Gaira, the Anteverse beasts, Hedorah, and the four were all happily adjusting to their new accommodations. There was a long game to play in this campaign and it needed them all at their peak and of high morale when they needed to be called for service. Which for some, would be quite soon. There was one chamber however that was barren and empty. Both in design as well as its occupant. Bagan’s cocoon’s runes glowed briefly as it spoke.
“You are out of your quarters.”
Three pairs of red eyes looked back at the sphere from one of the connecting hallways, having been shrouded in the darkness though both of them were well aware Bagan had noticed Grand King Ghidorah long ago. Grand King Ghidorah strode into the large chamber, not even bothering to try and sneak his way in.
“Hardly the first time.”
Bagan’s cocoon lit up with every word it spoke.
“I have augmented this realm to suit the needs of my forces. What is it you wish for?”
One could swear Ghidorah rolled all six of his eyes, right to left, as he approached without caution.
“You never acted on the fact I nearly killed three of them.”
“I knew you wouldn’t risk killing them.”
“Those who know me know I don’t leave stragglers.”
“And yet you spared them.”
Ghidorah put a foot down on the throne’s upper platform, standing before the cocoon with a disappointed look clad across his faces.
“Because I know you about as well as you know me, Reijuu.”
There was a long pause in Bagan’s glowing. It went out entirely and the sphere touched down to earth. The runic markings upon it folded in on each other, a burst of biting cold air shooting out of so strong that Ghidorah felt like a man standing before a hurricane. The titanic form within stood up. Even with Grand King Ghidorah’s heads stretched up high, Bagan still stood taller and was more massive by a good margin. Yet, unlike almost any other soul who’d see the God of Extinction looming over them; Grand King Ghidorah, the King of Terror, held his ground.
Bagan spoke without alteration now, a voice that echoed within itself in a manner Grand King Ghidorah recognized clearly even 65 million years later.
“You utter that name like it has importance. It does not.”
“So, it is you.”
“And what have you to gain from this?”
Grand King Ghidorah mentally steeled himself, his energy senses going off the charts just standing next to Bagan.
“Nothing really, though you had to have known I do not serve anyone.”
He quipped in a surprisingly casual tone that would suggest he’d have his arms folded behind himself if he had such appendages. Bagan’s glowing eyes shifted slightly, narrowing as it raised one of its hands. The sword-like claw upon the index finger began to crackle with small spurts of energy, visibly powerful under the inky shadow that cloaked the God of Extinction.
“And yet you haven’t given me reason to remove your core from your chest.”
“Simple really.”
Ghidorah grunted, looking off to the side as he turned his back.
“Because I am intrigued, by multiple things. And because I know I am an asset. Same reasons I played along when the Xilians and Kilaak believed they had turned me into their attack dog for their assault on that rock you called sacred, Terra. And just like with them, I will still pursue my own accord the first moment it suits me.”
“Your words do little to justify your existence-”
In an instant Grand King Ghidorah snapped around. With a flash of light and no charge time required, he loosed torrents of graviton beams from all three maws while conducting rays of lightning from his broad, glowing wings. The multitudes of death sailed towards Bagan. The ancient god’s eyes closed and he waved a claw, a rune of archaic language cutting its way into the space in front of him. The rune faded as it overlayed his hand, which the torrents of beams were drawn into like a magnet. They stopped just short of hitting Bagan’s palm, condensing into a white hot sphere that sucked their entirety into it. The blinding light was shut out when Bagan closed his hand upon it, fist trembling slightly from the choking power. Before long there was nothing coming out of the crushing grip but smoke. Stride unbroken, Bagan finished it’s stoic sentence.
“-nor do your actions.”
Grand King Ghidorah snorted gusts from his noses, appearing to scowl for a moment. Suddenly he erupted with cackling laughter, beating his tails together in a form of applause. He may have just gone all out, he might not have; he was just confirming that this wasn't a doppelganger. That didn’t matter to the King of Terror for he was far too entertained. Fanged grins crossed his triple maws.
“Ahaha, you haven’t weakened at all! And the new motive, so intriguing!… And to answer your statement, yes my actions may. I know you are investigating the magic of this new realm we’ve encountered; magic found in almost every lifeform there to varying degrees and types. I have some experience acquiring what you may need for your, study. There is also the matter of a certain, Kaizer Ghidorah. You wanted his power, yes? I know you tried to get it but failed, I know why. I might also just so happen to know how you can unleash him, permanently.”
The sly expression upon Ghidorah’s maws was met with Bagan’s shadowed stillness. After some moments of thought, the latter party stepped back into his cocoon and let it form back around himself. Hovering to the exact same height it had before, the rune covered sphere pulsed with purple light.
“Talk.”
=============
Celestial Seas
=============
An earth pony couple sighed contently, kicked back in their sun chairs. The stallion was a rusty red color, short in stature, and sported a messy dark green mane atop his head with the image of a fall leaf on his flank. The mare was even shorter, colored leaf green with a long white mane atop her head, a pair of glasses on her snout; and a steaming pitcher of tea forming her cutiemark’s emblem. On the deck of a reasonably sized boat in the Celestial Sea, the couple, Fallen Leaf and Tea Leaf, were taking a business trip to Trottingham on the S. S. Mermare. Having departed from Baltimare a day ago, there was nothing in sight but calm seas and relatively clear skies save for a few harmless white clouds. One crew member even said they thought they’d seen a mermare earlier, but most wrote it off as a joke. All that lay ahead was the long voyage, but with notice their child was in good hooves they’d allowed themselves to kick back.
Tea leaf stretched out her limbs and glanced over at her husband out of the corner of her eye.
“Think she’ll be okay?”
Fallen Leaf gave a hearty chuckle, reaching over and putting his hoof upon his wife’s.
“Not the first time we’ve had to go on leave. Besides you know how seasick she gets.”
“It’s a long trip dear, sure she won’t be upset?”
“With where she’s going? I doubt it. We already got the Whinny Land tickets ready once we get back. And besides, ever since she got back from the Day of the Heart-Attacks-”
“Oh don’t remind me of that afternoon! We were already up the walls when the guards escorted her back to the house!”
“Quite! But you remember who she met that day?”
Tea sighed, giggling under her breath.
“How could I, she never stopped writing about him.”
“Well-”
Fallen Leaf nodded, cracking a silly smirk.
“The certain kirin she’ll be staying with just so happened to give me the description of a kindly fellow who recently moved into town.”
Tea Leaf’s eyes widened as her husband’s smirk grew into a playful grin. Fallen Leaf shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, obviously pleased with himself.
“Besides her aunt, she’ll have pleeenty of fun where she’s going.”
Tea Leaf let herself crack a smile, gently patting at her chest to slow her heart rate back down.
“That’s a weight off my chest. With all that’s going on, where safer to have her than next to Seong and him?”
“My thoughts exactly, deary.”
The married couple shared a laugh as they let themselves relax in each other’s presence and the warmth of Celestia’s sun, minds only focused on the one holding their hoof and thoughts of what mementos they might bring back from Trottingham for their child. It was some time later that their quiet on the deck was interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps. After some time, Tea Leaf peeked out from under her eyelid and adjusted her glasses to see who the newcomer was. The pony on deck, currently looking out over the rails she was propped up against, was an unassuming red earth pony mare with a curly, golden mane. Not anypony she recognized, but she would amend that shortly after she saw the confused, saddened look on the poor girl’s face. Tea Leaf tugged on her husband’s hoof and nodded towards the mare once he looked at his wife. They looked between themselves and the mare before Tea Leaf got up and walked over to the newcomer.
“Are you alright, Miss?”
The mare, a social worker named Marigold, snapped out of her stupor and half jumped back at the voice despite it’s motherly warmth.
“Huh?! What?”
“Eeeasy, sweetie. I’m sorry to startle you.”
“Oh, eheh it’s nothing really. I was just zoned out and didn’t notice anypony so you just gave me a jolt.”
Tea Leaf propped herself up on the rails parallel to Marigold, looking over at her.
“Still, apologies for prodding. You just seemed deep in thought. Something on your mind?”
“Eh, of sorts. Would, you mind listening? Kinda my profession, I work best talking to folks. I know it’s pretty weird but-”
“Say no more!”
Tea Leaf quipped with a smirk, scooting closer to keep the conversation private.
“So, what is going on behind those pretty eyes of yours?”
Marigold went silent, the small, pleasant smile she had on her face was tested. It flattened, skirting back and forth between a smile and a frown as her ears flopped against her head.
“I took this trip to try and clear my head. You see, I’m from Manehattan. I’m a social worker there. Wanted to be one all my life to help folks, you know?”
She muttered a half chuckle, sighing through her nose.
“I never would want to hurt anyone. And, I worry I did….. Some weeks ago during a big storm, I think I might have met one of the kaiju the radio said could be on the loose.”
Marigold let herself settle back down after some moments, glancing over at the older mare flanking her. Tea Leaf’s face definitely showed some surprise, given her raised brow, slightly widened eyes; and perked ears. Still, the brewer held her composure, gently nodding towards Marigold to keep going. Content her company wouldn’t call her crazy, she did just that.
“It was raining and I had just gotten past the train station when I saw someone in an alley. They, a he I think, was trying to cover themselves with a tarp. I offered them my spare raincoat.”
Marigold went quiet for a moment, as did the surprised, but not stunned, Leafs. Contemplating a moment of thought, the former continued on with the visions of memory still as vivid as they were that rainy night. After some confusing banter where she had to assure it that she was no threat; the figure she had assumed to be a minotaur stood up to his full height, towering over her even in that diminutive form. Rain drops curled, pinged, and rolled off inky black skin and jagged, bony armor as eerie red orbs for eyes looked down upon her. She remembered it all and trembled slightly from the fear, clearly recollecting the raindrops rolling off visible claws, twin tails; and a mouthful of fangs. He reached towards her with a robust forearm and curled claws, as if seizing prey. However her fear though, the memory lightened when she recalled what happened next.
It calmly, almost gently, took the rain cloak out of her hoof without so much as leaving a mark on her; and jumped away out of sight. And the quiet, almost lost tone she remembered the being, which she didn’t know was called Monster X, spoke in when it replied to her previously asking what his name was.
-”I don’t remember.”-
She did her best to hide the intrigue she felt, instead focusing on the fact she wasn’t torn to pieces like one would assume upon being literally caught in a dark alley with such a ghastly looking being.
“It, he I think, took the cloak I offered and bounded away. Last I saw him, he was jumping atop the east bound train to Hollow Shades. I put my report in towards the princesses last week when they asked to report probable sightings since it didn’t match the description of the six allied with Canterlot.”
“And, what is concerning you about this? Are you worried this being might turn out to be like those awful gyaos after all and attack somepony?”
Tea Leaf muttered. While she and her husband had been in support of the kaiju allied with the crown since the start given certain events, they knew to beware of those who weren’t. Marigold shook her head, sucking in her breath.
“No, no I don’t think so. Oh don’t read me wrong, it looked terrifying! But, he never laid a hand on me. Spoke weirdly, but didn’t seem to want to hurt anyone and just seemed confused. Certainly looked like it could be dangerous, but it didn’t seem to when it had the chance.”
Marigold muttered before her ears drooped more.
“Which, is why I’m worried I made the report… Yeah the princesses asked for it and I’m sure they can sort this out with a level head, I’m just worried I spurred a changeling-hunt and someone’s going to go after it to do him harm. He might not have attacked me, but one thing he asked me was if I was a threat or not. I don’t like thinking about what may happen if it meets someone who answers yes for their sake and his.”
Tea Leaf let her mind drift in contemplation. This certainly was a peculiar situation this poor mare had gotten herself into.
“Well, if it helps we have some experience with!-”
Tea Leaf was cut off when a gale of cold air blasted across the boat deck; as frigid as an arctic blast. The seas roared and waves crashed against the deck. Tea Leaf and Marigold jumped away from the rails and covered their eyes from the gnashing winds. Fallen Leaf rolled off his chair as it was torn away in the winds, struggling along and reaching the two mares. He shouted something at the top of his lungs but it was inaudible over the roaring winds that blew down from above. They managed to make their way to under the roofed section of the boat, looking through squinted eyes alongside many other passengers as to see where this roaring weather had come from. Managing to poke her head out from the cover and look up, Marigold was agape at what she beheld far above. An enormous, swirling, dark purple and black void in space easily two hundred meters across in any direction. Something emerged out of it, at first caked in the darkness that oozed out of the floating whirlpool. The darkness peeled away to reveal a heinous set of three grinning jaws, golden scales, and manic cackles that sounded as much like laughter as they did cracking thunder.
Grand King Ghidorah swooped over the boat, barely avoiding a collision course, and flew off into another portal. The S.S. Mermare rocked against the gradually calming waves before falling still and adrift. Minutes grew to hours as the ship drifted along. Away from the calm sea, it careened into turbulent waters yet again and touched upon a veil of mists so thick they were impossible to see through. This mist was one filled with sights, many of clear waters as well as jagged, stone reefs in multiple directions. Had the ship been under control, any wise captain would have avoided the latter and drove towards the former without knowing most of the reefs were illusions. But lacking that, the usual method of keeping the boat away from what lay in the center of the sea of fog wasn’t effective. The ship chugged along until well into the night, eventually pushing through the mist. The hull groaned as it rubbed up against and made a stop upon a wide sandbar that stretched around in a wide ring. Once the mouth of an enormous sea volcano, the atoll ring contained a wide blue hole of water that in turn encircled the entirety of a small mountain island at its center.
The calm waters were parted by a trio of heads poking out of the surface, one large individual flanked by two smaller ones. The former turned to those beside her and whispered,-
“Stay here, I’m gonna look.”
-before swimming up closer to the stalled boat. Ducking under the surface momentarily, she vaulted herself out of the water an impressive distance. Anyone watching would have glimpsed a scaly lower body, colorful fins, and the glint of a shell necklace around her neck before the investigator’s body became lined with magical light and landed upon the sandbar as a blue furred earth pony mare with a long, rosy magenta mane. Aside from her wet hair, the only indicator of her true nature was the small set of scales dotting her stomach and hindhooves. Shaking herself off some and walking with some unease, she cautiously approached the boat that bore her species’ namesake and poked her head above the rails.
“Hello? Anyponies on here? Your ship ran aground.”
The searcher’s two smaller companions, a pair of seahorse shaped, filly sized beings called seaponies; swam closer. The first was a blue and yellow striped seastallion named Arrow; and the orange and purple striped seamare following suit was his sister, Coral. Reaching the boat, they called out to their friend with curious and worried expressions respectively clad on their faces.
“Electra, is it empty?”
“Or are the land ponies playing peek-a-buoy?”
The transformed mermare, Electra, climbed on deck, slowly pacing around while on the lookout for anypony around or hiding. Not too many pirates in the Celestial sea, but she knew well to be cautious.
“First I think. Check the flanks for lifeboats.”
The seaponies ducked underwater, backed up, and with determined expressions, mimicked their companion in vaulting themselves out of the water. Managing to fling themselves over the sandbar’s three meter span, they landed outside of the atoll and into the open ocean. They swam around to the ship’s back and flanks while Electra paced to the upper deck. With the wooden planks creaking with every step, she could practically cut the tension with a knife. She found herself at a pause when she reached the top of the steps that lead to a stretch of walkway that fed into what she presumed to be passenger cabins. Various articles like loose glasses, deck chairs, hats, what looked like somepony’s wig, and books lay strewn about the deck without a single soul in sight. Electra bent down and picked up a small book with the name “Fallen Leaf” scrawled on the front. A half snapped pen lay on the floor beside it and upon inspection of the book she could see some ink staining on one of the last pages. Flipping through the pages she keyed in on an assortment of notes and drawings, mostly sketches of various trees and ponies, with dates written upon the top. Curious, she turned to the last page drawn on and found her head tilting in perplexity. The voices of Arrow and Coral called out from either side of the boat.
“Lifeboat and raft still here on this side!”
“This one to! Doesn’t look like anypony bailed. Find anypony up there Electra?”
Elecria stared at what she could tell was a hastily drawn sketch, seeing three lines with two fans flanking either side, some sort of stout body, and a pair of lines coming out the other end almost like a split tail. She looked away from the sketch and back at the ghost ship without a single soul in sight to meet her.
“What in the name of McCarthy happened here?...”
Seong’s eyes fluttered awake and quickly looked around her bedroom. It was a small room on the second floor of her building, compact to save room for the restaurant. In truth the guest room Gentle Leaf was sleeping in was actually bigger than her’s. Aside from a small closet for her clothes, the only decorum in the bedroom was the bed itself, windows on either wall, and an old, ornate but corroded chest. Not like she minded necessarily, the compactness was comforting and it’s simplicity allowed her to quickly verify the noise that jostled her from rest wasn’t coming from inside the room with her. Staying perfectly still, she focused and listened. The noises sounded off again and she looked towards the directional source.
It was very quiet, but the manner in which she heard the tapping outside and scratching on the wall sounded much less like something very light or small was making the noise; and more like something intentionally trying to be quiet was at fault. The sounds were ordered and localized, steadily creeping across one section of the wall to another and getting closer. It wasn’t windblown debris or rain, but, much to Seong’s curiosity and confusion, footsteps. Something was just outside the first story wall below her, walking along the perimeter.
-Who would be up at this hour?- And why here?-
The tapping footsteps stopped and all went quiet for several seconds. Just as Ki Seong thought she heard breathing, there was a sizable thumping on her roof. Now the scratching sound was coming from there, moving around with every step. Ki Seong’s mind was in a flurry, wondering just what could manage to vault itself up a two story jump without any wingbeats and why would it be doing so. Before she could call out to ask what was going on, a sly, seductive, eerie tone muttered her name in a way that made the kirin’s blood turn frigid in an instant.
“Seeeeooooong?....”
Ki Seong’s pulse chilled, recognizing the voice as horrific flashbacks greeted her mind. She launched out of her bed and tore open the chest. Reluctantly pushing aside an old, unfinished jeonbok; Seong frantically pulled out a box of candles and needles with haste that only increased when she heard claws methodically scratching and tapping at the top of her window. Levitating up several needles in her magic, Seong launched them into the wooden frame. The scratching stopped and the kirin glimpsed a limb retracting away from the window. Just as Seong managed to strike a match to light a candle stick however, she heard the intruder again. This time it was the most disturbingly serene giggle one could imagine, moving away from her and across the roof with accompanying footsteps. Seong could hear her own heartbeat pounding between her ears when she remembered what room was across the building midline hall from her bedroom. She was heading for the guest bedroom.
Kicking out with her feet, Ki Seong levitated up several batches of needles, a candle, and a set of pen and parchment before tearing open her bedroom door to sprint across the hall. Not minding she ripped the door open hard enough to smash the handle into the wall, Ki Seong’s horror reached new peaks when she saw the window directly above Gentle Leaf’s head being slowly pulled open. A clawed paw snaked its way in, reaching out to the oblivious, sleeping filly's head. There was a quiet giggling as a broad shadow cast itself through the window and across Ki Seong’s terrified face.
“Who’s this you got here, Seong?”
When Gentle Leaf would awaken moments later, she’d find her temporary bedroom turned upside down in the matter of a few seconds. She was baffled at the half dozen needles jammed into the otherwise pretty doorframe and windows her aunt had, what was written on the prayer tags Seong had pinned to her bed; and why was their a burning candle directly in front of the window if Auntie Seong didn’t like her playing with fire. But most of all, as said honorary aunt pulled her into a rocking, tight hug; she wanted to know why Ki Seong was sobbing in fear.
A pair of dimly glowing eyes watched the pair from outside their window and on the edge of town. Smirking along a narrow snout and flashing a mouth of carnivorous fangs, she sank back into the leaves and shadows before bounding away. She could afford a little patience and have some fun with this town. After all, she’d found the major prize.
