The One True King

by JDPrime22

Chapter 14 – The Truth

The skies split apart and the growling presence of the Radiance entered Canterlot’s airspace. Its engines created whirlwinds above the city, the populace below disengaging with their pompous and regal daily activities to cast their eyes to the clouds and witness the all-powerful image and shadow of the airship fly over them.

They did not wish for such a simple airship to disrupt their morning routines, or be late for the local tea tasting ceremonies. And yet their eyes could not be drawn away from the airship that seemed so much bigger, so much mightier, and holding a much more powerful ambience than any other they had seen. Not only that, but following the airship were several more just like it, a fleet of ten smaller airships trailing and supporting and flying alongside the behemoth.

Within the bridge, by the light of Twilight’s morning sun seeping inside, Celestia rubbed her temple with her hoof, the other resting onto the large map displayed before her. She did not get much sleep last night. Nopony really did.

Agents of T.I.T.A.N. and pilots were moving slow and steady, carefully piloting the Radiance above the buildings across the mountain city while keeping a strong flow of communication with the other airships. Surrounding the table in the middle of the bridge, Celestia was joined by her sister Luna, who appeared to be the only pony who was actually awake. The late nights were her comfort and her hours of action. She rested her hoof on her sister’s shoulder, easing Celestia into soothing, gentle words of comfort.

Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were present and accounted for, having already been dropped off at the Crystal Empire prior to joining the former rulers to Canterlot. The temporary leaders of the Empire were put in place in the late hours of night, Shining and Cadance inciting a state of emergency that required their presence in Canterlot, with Princess Twilight Sparkle. The Heart was kept safe. The Empire was shielded. They had no reason to worry for it or its ponies.

But their expressions told a different, far grislier and more dreadful story.

As did the expressions filling the likes of the Council of Friendship. From Twilight Sparkle and Spike, the two took their seats upon the floor of the Radiance’s bridge, Twilight’s weary eyes drooping and her wing draped comfortingly over her little brother. Spike cozied up next to his big sister, his own eyes filled with fatigue, and worst of all, fear.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack kept up their brave faces, but deep down they each held that unsettling cloud deep in the pits of their stomachs. It was expressed in every tremble, in every shudder from their voices or movements. In every flicker of their eyes, every darting glance scanning the room.

Fluttershy was constantly being consoled by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, the unicorn holding and stroking the mare’s hoof while Pinkie nuzzled next to her friend for warmth, for comfort, for easement that Fluttershy desperately needed. The Pegasus would not respond fully or completely to Pinkie.

The thousand-yard look in her eyes, the pale dread on her face, her complete lack of a social or emotional response to her friends’ efforts only made their situation all the more dire. All the more unsettling. Fluttershy was the only pony to have gotten close enough to the beast. She was the only pony—to Celestia, Luna, and even Bon Bon’s knowledge—to even touch the creature. What she saw was something none of them could ever fully grasp, but they tried to. They tried to comfort her.

Bon Bon tried to understand so much more.

“Celestia, we’re nearing the landing pad.”

Celestia lifted her head and opened her eyes, turning her gaze back to the pilot and nodding his way. “Excellent work. Thank you for bringing us home safely.”

Bon Bon tried to understand. She tried to formulate how they could have possibly failed so miserably. How everything had gone so incredibly wrong. Perhaps it all began when they disregarded Mothra’s warning to them, to engage with the forces of nature and thus cause the world to fall into greater chaos than it already was. Now, they were trapped in it. Now, the world was placed into the wrath of the Golden Demise, a beast so ancient and so powerful that even legends feared his name.

If this was the great imbalance Fluttershy told them about, they were not only just suffering it… they created it.

She could have blamed Sombra—which may have been the right and easy thing to do—but Bon Bon knew there was more to it than that. Their actions as a species, inflicted upon their world, have tipped the balance of harmony. Their actions, though unintentional, have allowed forces beyond their understanding and control to run free. Now, chaos has infected their home. Their nation, every nation, would soon all feel the terror that infested the Frozen North. That same sickness and evil and vile dread would flow until all the earth was bathed in it.

Just like Sombra promised. Just like Mothra warned them. Just as the ancients had seen from the very same Titans that clashed in the Frozen North.

But they couldn’t just sit back and let the world die. She swore an oath, an oath that she still hadn’t broken to that day—an oath she still believed in—to ensure that Equestria and all the world would be protected from the beasts who threatened their way of life. As they sat there in stillness and in fear, as she caressed her migraine and her wounds, Bon Bon knew what was easy and what was right.

She accepted their faults, their past, their mistakes… and sought to make it better.

“We have no choice now.”

She sought to make it right.

Everypony turned to Bon Bon upon that statement, from Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining, and the entirety of the Council. They all centered their focus on the mare who should have been in bed to tend to her injuries sustained in the Frozen North, from the aftermath of the Titan battle. But Bon Bon was made of sterner stuff than that. Lifting her wearied eyes, bags and all, she stared from the table’s edge, gazed down to the end of it and continued.

“One of our most secure outposts was breached last night. Not only that, but it’s been breached for years… by Sombra of all ponies. Our failure to recognize it has now unleashed a living extinction event upon our world.”

Twilight leaned her neck back appropriately at such a statement. Many of her friends did the same, almost all of them captured by that title, by that name that Bon Bon mentioned.

Rising up and placing her hooves on the map, Bon Bon stared to it momentarily and said, “An alpha Titan is on the loose… somewhere out there in the world. Unchecked… uncontrolled… and able to cause mass amounts of destruction wherever it goes. As we are, there is no task force big enough, or strong enough, or has the arsenal to stop it. No one except T.I.T.A.N.”

Her hoof grazed the large red “X” drawn over Outpost Frostbite, followed the hypothesized routes and trajectories that Monster Zero could have taken when he escaped the icy wasteland. Several notes rested upon the table, upon the map, all of them theorizing where Monster Zero could have gone. All of them analyzing and searching the same kind of superstorm that Ghidorah took with him.

Bon Bon frowned, shifting that frown to the former rulers. “The true T.I.T.A.N.”

“What are you suggesting, Special Agent?” Luna asked.

“We need to reinstate T.I.T.A.N.,” Bon Bon clarified, loud and clear so that even a few agents stationed on consoles and pilots turned slightly to listen. “Bring it back to the forefront of our military operations, but unlike the past we can no longer act in a way to hide it. This beast, this… Ghidorah is going to turn some heads sooner rather than later. He’s going to get ponies and other species alike to start asking questions. We can’t focus our efforts in trying to hide the truth anymore. We need to act for the betterment of our race, and every single race on Equus.”

Her principles were sound and true, so much so that Celestia found strength in her weakened and tired body to rise up and meet her stare. Even the Council seemed enthralled enough to straighten their postures and focus entirely onto what Bon Bon had to say.

She continued. “We went in the Frozen North with a skeleton crew. We need to bring back T.I.T.A.N., and bring every available agent, contact every ally, and reinforce every last outpost we have left. It’s all or nothing now.”

Focusing directly to the sisters, Bon Bon affirmed her beliefs and nodded fiercely.

“You know I’m right.”

And to her surprise, Celestia nodded almost immediately. “You are.”

Luna nodded as well. “And we will.”

Upon such matters that likes of which they were faced with, the dogma of the sisters would normally remain resolute. They had their path and they knew which actions to take to stem the tide and win the war against the forces of darkness. Last night was difficult, and the day following was only shrouded in the cloud of mystery, suspense, and above all, dread that Ghidorah manifested into reality. The path they had initially wanted to take was shrouded as well.

They knew they were wrong. They made horrific mistakes and now they paid for them. Sombra’s final vengeance was always going to be completed—with or without their actions—and now the God of the Void, the Three-Headed Tyrant, the One Who is Many was unleashed upon ponykind. Upon all of Equus. Mothra’s warnings became truth. The great imbalance had come and there was nothing they could have done to stop it.

All they had left was fighting back, rounding up their allies and their armies and taking the war directly to the source. Straight for Ghidorah’s black and twisted heart. And if that meant coming forth with the truth, showing the world who they were and what they were hiding, then by all means… let them witness the truth.

Twilight Sparkle spoke out, her voice a pained whisper among the stifling silence. “Celestia… Luna…”

They turned to her. Everypony listened. Fidgeting where she sat, Twilight bit her lower lip while her wings ruffled back next to her sides. Spike patted her foreleg, nodding her along. Standing by her side through thick and thin.

“What exactly are we dealing with here?” Twilight asked. Her eyes met Celestia’s, Luna’s, and fell to the map. Turned to her friends. “I think I can speak for everypony when I say that what we saw in the Frozen North… what that hydra really was… it wasn’t anything that we’ve dealt with in the past. Bon Bon called this Ghidorah a ‘living extinction event’… but what does that mean?”

Celestia’s face darkened. Luna stared to window, to the sunlight, and breathed. Closed her eyes.

Twilight stared at the map, at the Frozen North and the theorized paths that Titanus Ghidorah had taken. But not only the Hydra, the other Titan as well. Lines were laid out, potential swimming currents that “Titanus Gojira” could have taken following the event in the Frozen North. Her brow furrowed at that name, her heartbeat thumping in her ears.

“If Ghidorah is an alpha Titan… then who was the other? Was the creature that battled Ghidorah a rival alpha? How did it know where Ghidorah was?” the princess asked.

Shining Armor and Cadance turned to one another. Just seeing their tightness grip their features, it was clear they also held something back, something the two of them had known for a long time. As for Celestia and Luna, their expressions lacked any sort of fight. They were eased into their guilt with defeat plastered on their faces, darkness etched with the eternal struggle between what was real and what was not. A battle waged in their hears and they did not fight it.

They succumbed to it because there was nothing more to hide. Twilight, the Council, everypony had seen it with their own eyes. They had seen the Titans.

And Twilight asked, “Celestia… Luna… I just want to know the truth. We all do.”

Lifting her eyes, Celestia’s heart ached just at the mere sight of it. They were afraid. She could see it. The Council of Friendship had faced hardships in the past, but this was completely different. Now, they were dealing with a threat that spelled utter doom not only for Equestria, but for the entire world. This was not another Tirek, or Chrysalis, or even a Cozy Glow situation.

This was a situation that threatened their entire existence. For Equestria and all of Equus.

And so, turning to her little sister for that confirming support, Celestia waited for some kind of acknowledgeable response. Luna battled with it in her own mind, took in a deep breath, and sighed. She nodded. Celestia pursed her lips and sighed in return, facing the onslaught of gazes, stares, and accusing glances from everypony present.

“Stay with us,” Celestia finally and firmly replied.

It was all she told her, all she answered with. A call to follow them just as much as it was to trust them. Even in a dangerous time such as theirs, they knew it to be true. They knew trust, now more than ever, was needed above all else. Even as they landed and stepped hoof off of the Radiance and onto Canterlot grounds, Celestia still would not add anything to her statement. But it was more than enough for Twilight to obey, to persevere, to explore with the curiosity of a foal and embark on the unknown journey that lied before her and her friends.

Canterlot Castle was their destination, the stationed Royal Guards bowing appropriately to Princess Twilight Sparkle and opening the doors for her and her guests. Shining Armor and Cadance were a surprise to be sure, but their stoic personalities were practically shattered by the flowing, multicolored manes of the familiar sisters. They were slightly taken aback by the presence of the former rulers, but nonetheless bowed their heads in respect to the old world powers. From that point onward, once inside the castle, Celestia and Luna were the ones to lead.

The Council, the royalty of the Crystal Empire, and Bon Bon were all meant to follow.

The journey was a quiet and unnerving one, every corridor and every turn feeling like an eternity to a destination that seemed endless. Like a labyrinth they were already lost in. Celestia and Luna were their guiding torches, however, lighting the way and ensuring they would never remain lost. They paused in a particular hallway, windows lining the left side and a large door embedded on the wall to their right.

The steel gate led directly into the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing of the Canterlot Archives, the most secure section of the entire castle. Twilight’s jaw fell, as did Spike’s and Pinkie Pie’s. The three of them had a special history with the place ever since Twilight believed the world was going to end on a specific Tuesday. Not her best moment, but history nonetheless. In a way, they all had history with the place. By the looks of it, nopony had been inside since Star Swirl wanted to organize and study his most precious spells. Not since the Pillars of Old Equestria’s return had the wing been opened.

Celestia and Luna had led them there for a reason.

The guard nodded to Twilight and unlocked the door for them, the steel gate squeaking open slowly. The metal was old and rusted, signifying the room’s age with dust particles dancing in the rays of sunlight, all of which fell through the windows and reflected from the massive hourglass in the heart of the room.

Approaching that very same hourglass, Celestia and Luna shocked the Council when they ignited their horns and fused their magic with it. Suddenly, the sands within the glass began to float, began to hover, and proceeded to slip to the top of the hourglass. Like the sand was falling up. Like gravity had been reversed. The sand kept rising, kept filling the top of the hourglass until the very last grain had risen. By then, the magic was complete. The lock was opened.

The floor broke apart and the hourglass hovered slowly above it all.

Beneath the hourglass, the large hole only grew wider and wider by the second. The floor was fused with that ancient magic and the marble, the carpet, and everything was moving accordingly to make way for the darkness beneath. A staircase was opened, unveiling several torches lined against the descending walls in a circular fashion. The stairs led below ground. The torches lit their way.

Though Twilight and the Council were still shaken by what they had witnessed—especially Twilight for never having known such a magic was infused with the archives to begin with—she was nonetheless led down into the dwellings beneath the wing. Below ground, the darkness grew so thick that everypony could actually breathe it in and nearly suffocate on it. The air was old, dusty and spoiled. Their hooves clacked across the stone surface of the floor, escaping the hold of the descending, spiral staircase and into a pitch-black basement.

Upon their arrival, the magic flowed in the air and ignited the torches. They were all burned to life from where they hung on the walls, illuminating a decades-old secret to the ponies.

And from that, they gasped. Their eyes widened. Their jaws fell.

Pictures, relics, fragments of the past and of T.I.T.A.N. were scattered across the walls. They rested in bookshelves, documents organized neatly while others were meshed about on various tables. Disorganization was key to the room they were in, no true sense of order or control dominating the abandoned tomb of past knowledge. The magical fire from the torches brought to light the pictures stamped on the boards across the walls, and soon every eye was drawn to them. Basking in that glow, breathless in that wonder, and shell-shocked in the revelation that followed.

Twilight asked, “Celestia… what is this?”

Upon those walls, upon that chaotic display of knowledge and questions without answers, the grainy photographs of Godzilla were prominent most of all. The massive cave painting of Godzilla battling Ghidorah over a blistered and broken world was even more so.