There was a flash of golden light with a scream that sounded more like a roar echoing far and wide across Everfree Forest, sending all manner of animals scrambling away as a roll like thunder reverberated through the woods. A massive, sturdy pine tree was felled; most of its trunk completely blown out in a way comparable to a bomb having gone off next to it. Splinters and bark were shrapnel that bounced about in all directions, the creaking groan of the timbers punctuated with impacts upon impacts; bashing fists and slashing claws bursting more of the ancient conifer.
Aria Blaze tore her way through the two meter thick trunk even before it hit the ground, whipping around and smashing a roundhouse kick into the side of the tree while still mid-air. The sheer mass of the falling tree and lack of grounding to anchor the kick meant it failed to move the pine tree aside, but it did succeed in bursting out the opposing side while crushing-in the impact site. At this point, she was just mauling it; and it showed on the siren’s strained face when she landed. Lurching downwards as if heaving, before swinging back up with trails of gold seeping from her eyes and maw; the shriek that came forth from her voice was anything but normal.
And neither was the graviton torrent that amplified the roar, which tore through the pine tree and all but shattered it like a bullet through fine china.
Canceling out the attack; Aria Blaze, or rather the altered state she was still locked into hours later, heaved while shattered wood fragments fell every which way. Bangs shadowed glowing red eyes surrounded by black sclera, with golden scales and banded horns reflecting in the pale moonlight. Several long minutes passed with her raging, snarling heaves the only sound in the woods due to all local fauna very wisely moving away from the altered siren as fast as possible; survival instincts from birds to bats to bears telling them the best means of adapting to the newcomer was to be somewhere else.
In and out, the ragged breaths came, huffing and snarling until Aria sucked on her lip and angrily spat to the side to remove any drool her fangs had begun dripping. She held her hand before herself, having been about to wipe her face when she stopped to see it. The swollen muscle, armored scales, short claws formed from thickened and anchored nails; and the same inky, tar-ish black skin she’d seen before on her lover. It felt like such an insult by fate upon her to bear it now.
Tremors from constant adrenaline surges crisscrossed Aria’s spine, exacerbating the panting heaves. The shivers were almost to the level of convulsions after having such prolonged experience with adrenaline practically flooding her system.
-”This isn’t working.”-
Aria snarled and put a palm to her eye to push down on the closed lids in a bid to alleviate the headache she got as mentally from her company as it was physically caused with her condition, “Stop. TALKING!”
-”Siren, this isn’t like the last time you took on my power. It’s not magic copying me to a degree that would burn out.”-
“Then get out of my head!”
-”I. Can’t… And you can either flail about recklessly leveling more forest while being useless, or you could listen to me.”-
Aria hissed as she panted with a gasp of breath, trying to hold back a leaking from her eyes. She had to brace herself on the snapped-off-stump of the pine tree, claws digging in for a purchase lest she fall over from the tremors.
“You vanish for several hours and only speak up now?”
-”When I didn’t give you the answer you wanted, you were-...”-
Aria Blaze, annoyed at the mere fact the voice in her head was still talking, ignited her eyes and maw with golden fluorescence again. There was silence for the hot moment before the voice in her head disturbed the peace yet again.
-”Disturbed and not listening.”-
“Disturbed?...” Aria gasped and fidgeted, standing up stiff as a board, “Disturbed?! HA! THAT’S FUNNY! I-see why you and X aren’t the same, he couldn’t crack a good joke if it landed into his hands! You… YOU don’t know about anything, so stop trying to act like you can just point me around like you do!”
-”I miss him too.”-
The tone was in total dissonance to memories of before. Aria let out the tiniest of raspy gasps. It was a repugnant dismissal summarized in a half second exhale, for nothing else came from her mouth. She only stood there, frozen with no inhale or exhale as the glow around her eyes slowly petered out. Knees wobbled and she was forced to reach beside herself and brace a clawed hand on a still-standing tree for support. This time however, the claws did not dig in.
“... You’re actually serious,” the siren whispered, her volume at last lowered even as her pounding heartbeat made her want to speak up, lest she feel unheard.
“Who are you?”
The question wasn’t as simple as the three words made it out to be. Aria knew the story behind Kaizer Ghidorah, what had happened hundreds of years ago and a mere few weeks past. X had made a point to tell her immediately before any display of recent changes could crop up. But knowing and experiencing, feeling, were two completely different things. And she could feel almost like someone else was looking out her eyes, persisting just beyond any sight or sound and yet so perceptible.
-”I am... incomplete. Just like I was before, but in a new way now…”-
The mental tugging was felt once again and this time, Aria didn’t lash out to blow off steam and strain. Instead she grabbed onto it and was given a sight behind her eyes, a literal look into the past as if it were her own recollection. The visible world was flung back to a bygone era in a distant realm.
An xilian man holding a vial containing a glowing solution, bravely entering a sealed chamber that bore what looked like a miniature, crackling star. He gasped, he cried, he pressed forward to bathe in and absorb the energies radiated off that which powered the entire homeworld; even as his veins had visibly ignited with a phosphorus glow that threatened to tear him apart. He steeled himself, before the golden solution he held was injected right into his heart. His body was consumed with flashing gold and white lights, a shriek ripping through the air while the crackling starry form was pulled into the young man’s body; which rapidly swelled in size.
-”Praetorian Guard 094 was a life I had, and still have all the memories of. Scared, terrified even, because of what could have happened if I didn’t act. When I absorbed the Plasma Spark fragment’s power, I left that life behind for my people.”-
The next vision, darker and more surreal, was projected mostly in silhouette as it blew past Aria Blaze’s vision. A dragon falling from the sky as another retreated to the stars, a gash formed on the black and gold drake’s form after a purple-hued xilian empress stabbed herself in the heart. The siren could feel the shocks and ripples from the wound, unconsciously touching at her chest as if to feel at a phantom sensation puncturing in at that point. When it was all said and done, a comatose Kaizer Ghidorah lay in the crater they’d landed within.
-”After I lost myself, I became we. One side remembering it all, remembering all the wrath and horrors but with no manner or morality to temper that grief. The other side was cut off from their memories, and in that ignorance they became an unknown despite holding on to the same manner and morality. One became the restrained and rampaging dragon of wrath, Kaizer Ghidorah.”-
The towering dragon, bigger than anything Aria had ever seen or thought living before, strode out of the surrounding shadows as if to engulf the world. She could passively wonder if the unflattering, hateful visage about the titan’s three heads was intentional on the part of her narrator or not.
-“The other became the enslaved knight...”-
She lightly gasped at the sight. She’d gotten the description before, both from Adagio and Sonata; as well as from his own recollections when her curiosity had been piqued enough to ask him what he ‘really’ looked like.
-”Monster X.”-
If he was going to get serious with a hippocampus, she deserved to know everything. But seeing him as he truly looked was different to say the least. Eerie in some ways, unusual in most others; but her heart still beat coarsely as if it had been still since this conversation with Kaizer started. He looked positively alien, X; but he was still her X, if more in manner, color, and posture than in physicality. The resemblance left her feeling warmed and her hand reached out towards the projected memory uselessly, fingers hoping to hold and curl over his own.
The projected recollection of Monster X advanced and just as Aria’s eyes closed, he passed through her. The world turned blackened, it turned cold. She could almost dread hearing a distinct howl of icy wind with Boreas’ taunts echoing through the frigid gales.
But to some joyous if restrained relief, that iciness was pushed back by the tactile sensation of a hand upon her shoulder. Eyes still closed, the siren reached for it and tried to pat what wasn’t really there. What could be seen, what could be felt, wasn’t really there after all.
And yet, she could feel a familiar grip. It was, in manner, the same power and yet gentleness that had held her so close in their most private moments.
-”I am not the Kaizer Ghidorah you once helped defeat. When the knight and dragon reconciled, the latter agreed the former was the true self and merged into them. The X you knew upon his return was the same as the one you at first fought and then fell in love with.”-
As proof, more recent memories were put on full display. An ill Sonata laying in bed as a quiet, but resolved X held her hand and inspected her ugly scar; with Aria and Adagio in attendance. He had come on an expedition, and yet he’d just swore to divert his strength to tracking down the youngest siren’s attacker. Sonata practically clung to him as Aria’s stressed heart risked swelling. On another day, they were sparring together by the lakeside and despite the flurry of blows, couldn’t help but laugh when an accident made the typically nimble knight stumble into the siren and make them fall over in a heap. Aria had all but yanked his mask off to smooch him after rolling them over to pin her partner down. And on the night before the concert, to steel resolve, they’d shared a cabin bed as the red mist of heartfelt love practically flooded the nearby area.
Interspersed with the recollections of times recent were those of time immemorial. Of a desert-like world that nonetheless seemed beautiful despite the lack of oceans. A different era, and of different people. The image of Aria's happily tearful face being cupped by the cheek was transposed with that of a similar moment of passion with whom the siren could presume was Controller 011.
Had this been the sense there’d been an outside presence, consciousness, watching this whole time there would have been a sense of invasiveness. But the memories, and the phantom sensations they induced within her seemed like they only could’ve come from a place of love. Even if the emotions and sensations her siren magic could detect seemed scattered and incomplete. The imagery was there, but the emotional experience was not present. Kaizer Ghidorah could feed her their memories, but not the whole sensations tied into them.
-“When X and I merged, it was like two metal wires being bound and welded together. Everything that happened afterwards was him, and I became him as his conscious took control. There was no outsider viewing what you two enjoyed together, just the one you loved.”-
Aria frowned with a lowered brow, remembering the wrathful beast tied to the memory of that old flame. Advice about guys who never stop talking about their exes didn’t begin to describe the heart attacks Kaizer had subjected her to last trip, “And.. showing me your first partner? Your old self didn’t seem to think I measured up.”
-“Showing you that I don’t just see you as a substitute… There are similarities between you two, but plenty of differences. Frankly if she had been reincarnated and put in your situation, she might not have been able to start the events that led to two becoming one like you did. You’re not a replacement, you’re more than that… That’s why when that magical stone assaulted my memory, X, my personality, made a hard choice to protect you….”-
“It wasn’t the stone that disconnected you and X. That’s why you have all these memories…” Aria Blaze contemplated those memories as they continued to play past her, it all dawning upon the siren. The fact Kaizer had all of the recent memories meant whatever got pulled into that stone wasn’t any of them. Someone had cut the feed, like lopping off a fin caught in a vice, “X was the one who split you two apart, not the damn rock....”
Kaizer Ghidorah’s presence nodded silently.
-“The hardest choice to protect you… It kept information about where you and the others were out of windigo clutches so they couldn’t find the camp, and it kept the memories he, I, held most sacred and private. All the memories of before we became a kaijin, and since we met you, are still in me.”-
“Why?”
-“I think we both know the answer to that, ‘Sea Witch’.”-
It was an old insult said without any spite. Aria knew the answer easily even without it being said. One Kaizer had never said before, but X had plenty of times. Aria almost chuckled. She could imagine it now. None of the memories Kaizer could show her were combat related, aside from their scuffle after he pulled her out of the river that first encounter. When X had felt his mind start to warp, from windigo possession and the stone’s power, and the fusion of he and Kaizer Ghidorah started to fray; he’d put everything important into the latter and sent him away. Compartmentalized his psyche. The important memories pushed into Kaizer who jumped into Aria, the rest split between what remained in their body and what the stone sucked up. Given Boreas’ increasing performance, it seemed the memories of combat were still there to some degree… Because to X, those weren’t as important as anything that might jeopardize her safety.
The windigos and stone had stolen Monster X’s body and experience, but they hadn’t fully stolen his identity.
The realization, the feeling of warmth that almost emulated the phantom sensations of arms around her. It allowed her to finally take a breath she’d not known she’d been holding all this time. She was loved. Aria Blaze was an exiled, temperamental, quick to anger, uncouth, bastard child of a royal line who died off 1,000 years ago and had spent much of her time living out of a van and eating cheap take-out. By all metrics, she was a failure and ‘The Worst’ by most favorable metrics and at the worst of such measures she was the spawn of a literal demon of lust and misery. And yet, someone loved her so much that even while his brain was getting shredded, he still fought tooth and nail to protect her by any measure he could.
The least she could do, was the exact same as she grabbed onto Kaizer’s hand.
In the waking world, Aria Blaze let out a slow exhale and looked to the moon with red eyes. Her gold-encircled orbs closed and waited. When she turned around to spy the dim flickers of eyeshine in the distance that had been observing her, the normal indigo looked back. Aria Blaze, now some inches shorter and having lost plenty of mass, waited. She showed no signs of fear as they approached, bowing her head as Irys stepped into the moonlight. The former gyaos studied the siren for a time, perhaps silently contemplating how it was she changed back from her altered state; before electing to not speak of it. Aria was stoic and calm, and Irys gave her the same professionalism as she led them back to the campgrounds.
There was no more outrage, no more destruction, no more adrenaline tremors fuzzying her vision with desires for bloody vengeance. She followed Irys to the grounds and, knowing others would help her cousins better than her right now, went to wash up and then return to the cabin she and her consort once shared. Sitting cross legged on the bedding, intentionally wearing some baggy clothing that would loosely fit her normal frame, Aria closed her eyes and almost meditated.
-“What do you want to see?”-
She wouldn’t let Boreas destroy her mind as he did her mother’s. She wouldn’t let the windigo win this one. The sirens’ world had been totally unprepared for something like them to return, after all the years of running or denial the past could catch back up to them. She’d been playing his game when she brutalized and pushed the other Twilight over the edge. One could not fight hatred with more strife, opposition uncontrolled. That’s why the old Kaizer Ghidorah lost to her and X. And it would be what won that fight which would see her through this one.
Kaizer Aria, calm even as a tear ran down her cheek due to the loneliness of the quiet isolation, only whispered back to the voice in her head. A parting gift of memories shared and power he’d hoped she’d use to help protect herself. And she intended to use it to help save him as well.
“Show me from the beginning. I saw a bit of that dustbowl of a world you came from, but not much…”
========================
A grass hedging all but exploded from an uproar of dirt and old broken brick bursting out from the ground. The shrubbery was shredded as a large form excavated itself. A quivering breath was audible alone in the night air, haggard and wet with tears before feet pounded against the sidewalk in a sprint. Dirtied hands latched onto the statue outside of Canterlot High School, tightly gripping it and smearing mud, dirt, and other assorted debris against the polished marble. They felt around frantically, mutterings inarticulate as desperation got stronger and stronger. Finally a fist beat against the flat stone, as if trying to desperately knock at the door.
Had Pinkie not assured him multiple times she’d be with the weakened siren he’d swore to guard, or had brother not locked himself in the garage, or had Irys not been standing by in stoic resolve; he’d never have left. It was a new kind of emotional experience however, that made the last of their crew abandon his post and rush off to the town. He’d done it under the cover of his tunnels naturally, and only after being sure his brother turned off the trackers during his maintenance check. Not even Pinkie knew where he’d gone, just that he needed a moment alone.
But Megalon wouldn’t treat the short time he had asked for without diligence. He wasn’t a very smart kaiju, he knew that and he was fine with it. His brother usually came up with the plans, always the one trying to act so mature and in control. He acted it so well that it took Megalon all but a few seconds to realize how little of that his sibling had when Gigan locked himself in the machine shop. But he was dedicated, and perhaps a little bit too stubborn for his own good. Just like how he was stubbornly holding onto something called faith right now. Faith that his loyalty wasn’t unfounded, faith that any trust he put wasn’t misplaced.
Faith that someone could make this all better.
He’d tunneled, and then he’d sprinted, and then he’d tunneled again all the way back to the center of town.
“MASTER! MASTER!” Megalon sobbed as he pounded at the statue, trying desperately to rouse the magical portal the very same party had sent him through some time ago to give X reinforcements alongside Irys and Gigan.
Now, he was desperately begging for the same from the very same. The Master was wise, the Master was kind, giving, and powerful beyond anything he’d known. If there is anyone at all who could help them, it would be them. It could only be them! His teary eyes looked to the moon, remembering the warning the deity had given them when the portal was opened.
The moon was anything but full, and it wasn’t at all the right position. Nothing to allow the portal back to Zenith. They were cut off, and for how long his frantic mind couldn’t even understand.
All he could understand was that they desperately needed help, and there was only one being he could have faith in to help them. The very same one which practically brought his dear brother back from the dead, surely they could handle some evil magic spirit!
“MASTER HELP US! CAN’T YOU HEAR ME?!” Megalon sobbed as he punched against the statue that seemed to be getting in his way, tears constantly rolling down his face.
He heaved, he begged, he pleaded. He kept hitting until his already ruined gloves had practically disintegrated, metallic banging and chipping of stone ensuing when his metal prosthetics beat against it while on full display. The tunneling cyborg panted, unable to use his full strength with all of his distress. That same distress was warping any decision-making he could’ve been having. All he could tell was that he desperately needed the help from one this statue was keeping him from!
“Pl-please… please, you gotta do something….” He stuttered, “I d-don’t know i-if I need to give something or! Just beg but- Please! Master!”
He pounded on the statue more and more, “Master! Please hear me! Please.....”
He slipped, falling to a knee while bracing one arm against the statue’s base to keep himself from falling over. The cold gripped more and more, hungry and demanding. The winds started to shift, carrying with them whispers. Suggestions. Condemnations.
"Help..."
He was stupid, he was childish, he wasn’t anything his creators wanted, he was a load on the team, his own brother just saw him as a burden… that they weren’t really brothers. He was just some weak and half-baked attempt at a replacement. One that was so bad they kept the original around. He was a fighter who never won a straight fight, a protector who couldn’t safeguard his charge, and hardly noteworthy amongst the team. The wind and its cold, its whispers from the North and especially West, echoed his own worst, most buried thoughts.
-Meglon you idiot, you can’t get a straight thought in your head!-
The cold gale curved around from the East and smacked into his face, like it was gnawing at his skin.
-You lack the strength to win and the conviction to think.-
The frigid Westerly wind clawed the cyborg’s scalp. The two continuing, seemingly blending into his own thoughts, his own voice. As if he were the only one thinking it. The North and West winds whipped, drawn in by the traces of the South wind’s progeny upon the cyborg. Megalon hadn’t a clue that being in prolonged proximity to Sonata had affected him, even with Pinkie trying her best to moderate the effect. He had none of his attention to that.
-I go crying to my brother dearest or someone else the moment I get stuck!-
-I only rely on others, I’m just a pathetic leech. I’ve just been too immature to notice.-
He wasn’t as brave as Irys. He wasn’t as smart as Gigan. He wasn’t as strong as X. He was basically just the punching bag in their fight with Ghidorah, both of them. Even his own creators thought he was a failure with how they barely ever upgraded him and always gave him a ‘babysitter’ like his brother or X. Why couldn’t he have just been made smarter? Why was he the dunderhead who went wasting time skipping around for fun? Why wasn’t he stronger so he could stand beside those three he looked up to so much? Why was he so defective? Why couldn’t he have just been, normal?!...
Every time his team had something hard happen, he’d never been the one to fix it. He had never gotten anything done.
He couldn’t even pray right…
-You never really amounted to much, you’re just a big oaf…-
The statue was frigid against him, the cold of a North and West wind whipping at his body. Megalon grit his teeth and grimaced, almost swearing while biting back more tears as he cocked an arm back. The metal hand reconfigured back into a drill’s tip and roared to life. But just as it started to approach the statue, a hand gripped his elbow.
Before he could turn around, another hand gripped his scalp and stopped all motion. Megalon froze, unable to move as if by some force. The hand gripped his head tightly before relaxing. Instantly all the cold that had been building up was shunted away, kicking out the foundations of the downward spiral the desperate cyborg’s mind had been caught in.
Instead his mind was whited out, only the distant sensation of even more distant memory being present. Back to when his recollections were fuzzy, but a presence seemed to clear the air of the fog from ages past. All the way back the beginning...
His first conscious thought was not the hanger he was housed in so frequently in the years to come. Not the tingling sensation of thousands of cables and wires hooked up to his form. Not the darkness of the metal shrouds or the beeping of so many monitors hooked up to his shell fragments. Instead everything was focused on the messy glass above his face. There had been some tremendous impact tremor that had roused him. There was smoke outside, debris that was smudging the glass. The dirtied viewport was blocked out by a tall shadow.
The towering visage had clearly seen better days. It was a gestalt of pitiful wounds as it was sheer rage holding what remained together. Sparks were spitting out from multiple cracked pieces of exoskeleton, the jagged teeth of the saw blade were almost completely torn out with the belt limply hanging from a chest that looked like it was half-exploded open; the remnants of some organs wrapped in synthetic sacks on almost full display. Gigan was missing two of his dorsal fins, one arm was gone below the elbow with bits of bone and metal jutting out, both mandibles had been melted with most of his face covered in blast char, and his visor was completely shattered. A single, glowing red eye looked down upon the younger cyborg with a burning leer. There was tension… before a calm.
Gigan saw something that made him stay his remaining blade, stay what he had the conviction to do prior. And, as the thoughts projected into Megalon’s mind informed, when his blade dropped away, so too did that hatred for his life. It was almost like speaking directly to his brother’s past thoughts.
How enraged Gigan had been, loathing both his own creation and creators to no end. An interloper trying to do the same had only complicated plans without changing the final desired outcome. The cold of pain and yet the searing of hatred was so strong it overpowered any artificiality that might have been induced upon the cyborg kaiju. Gigan had planned on burning down the whole of the Nebulan capital, replacement and all, along with himself in an elaborate murder-suicide of his own creators. He’d had it with living. He’d given up. It was the look the next prototype gave him that changed it all.
He’d come expecting another cyborg, but found something else entirely instead when the sight within was not of a mostly-completed cyborg, but a large egg that had hatched in the duration of his fight with the invader.
The reflection in the smudged window was of agape and quivering infantile mandibles, a dropped jaw, sparkling and entirely organic compound eyes surrounded by polished and clean chitin. The first time Megalon had seen Gigan, the grouchy prototype cyborg was already more than half dead, sheer hatred and self-loathing being the only things keeping him standing, and apathetic to any continued existence. And yet, the freshly-hatched and entirely fleshy Megalon had been nothing short of awestruck at the sight of a being who completely hated himself at that point and had come to this hanger with every intent of killing the successor the Nebulans had tried to make to replace him. To the infant Megalon, the one he’d come to call brother was nothing short of awesome in how he carried himself despite his wounds and condition. In the gleam of the suns, he looked downright heroic; a tired knight right off a fierce battle to slay a dragon.
Gigan had been ready to end it all that day, including himself. He’d stopped him with that look. In the present, megalon quivered in the grip of the hand, his lips lowering and jaw dropping slightly. As Gigan looked to the machinery set alongside the hanger which turned out to be a hatchery, seeing the same sort of enslaving cybernetics he’d been fitted with since he was first born, the older cyborg stilled. He looked between this singular innocence and what the Nebulans would have planned for him if the youngster was entirely alone. The cold from before squashed the wrathful heat, but it wasn’t out of self-grief anymore. Gigan stared at the replacement limbs, organs, plating, and even skeletal parts that had already been lined up for the infant Megalon. The amount of robotics put his current form to shame, and that was telling. If he left this being to their fate, it would be exactly what he’d gone through but worse.
The singular eye of Gigan shone through the hanger window, beholden to the compound orbs that gazed up at him with such awe. A heart in metaphor, finally beat once again as Gigan’s eye ignited with burning light. A voice unknown to Megalon, did the talking.
-“Your first act, and you saved your brother’s life. You admired what he’d given up on. Himself. His creators thought they’d removed his heart, but those same creators couldn’t pull out his soul…”-
The distant memory of Gigan whipped aside and unleashed one overcharged blast of his optic ray upon the cargo carriers and storage housing the cybernetics lined up for Megalon. He was dangerously low on power, but he didn’t stop until every last piece was slagged under that brilliant red beam that swept back and forth across the landscape. He knew full well the Nebulans were watching, knowing his judgement. So he sent a clear enough message when, after his burning wrath, the cyborg angrily punted the heap of slagged metal through several warehouses. Megalon witnessed the one who’d become his brother, having recently sworn himself his protector, look upon him through the hanger window. After some contemplation, the older cyborg patted the side of the hanger before he willingly turned and walked back to the place he had hated most. With the entry to his own hanger; Gigan had cast his first plan to the wind. They could repair him, put more metal into him and he’d make it his own. But unless under dire circumstance they wouldn’t lay a hand on his new charge, his new sibling. He’d make himself the ‘child’ their abusive creator focused upon, to pull the attention away while keeping Megalon out of trouble.
-“You were born, and thus Gigan yet lived. Your impact then and since, is greater than you know.”-
He’d never known that. The mind was free to travel more to the present. Back to the ugly, messy present. Free of turmoil, he could concentrate.
He and his team, their allies too; they were in a bad way. A very bad way… But they’d beaten those before. And if his brother could have wanted to give up so much once and yet beat it, then so could he. So could all of them.
He was Megalon! He was too stubborn to give up, he woul-
He almost seemed to feel a tap on his scalp before blacking out. The cyborg crumbled and fell into the void. His eyes snapped back open to greet him to the sight of his tunnel. Dimly glowing eyes adjusted to take in the darkness and low-light. Torn bedrock and dirt were on all sides except the path going back to the Everfree campground. He wasn’t very far from it. Puzzling, he looked behind himself towards Canterlot. The tunnel leading back to town he remembered digging was... completely filled in. Even the roots were still there. Like there never had been a tunnel excavated that way in the first place. His hand subconsciously shifted to his head, feeling at his scalp before looking at his still intact gloves. Megalon sat still, panting for breath as tiredness seeped out of his limbs.
He knew his brother couldn’t dream anymore. Too many cybernetics messing with his head, Gigan would say. Megalon almost regretted not having the same….
-… No… No you pests won't get to him too!-
The flickers of what he remembered, what he’d been convinced of. What his first act had been and the ramifications in it. He’d saved his brother’s life by being awestruck at someone who loathed themselves, that had gotten Gigan to make peace with his status and come to accept it, that gave X companionship which led to their team of three, three which became four when Irys joined. Four that endured King Ghidorah and then Kaizer Ghidorah. The four Hunters. The four he’d, by proxy, brought together and helped hold together.
They were three now, but he’d be damned if he was gonna settle for that!
Jolting up to his feet, Megalon sprinted back down the tunnel to get back to camp. He had a siren to protect, friends to comfort, and an X to rescue; again! Might’ve took a dream to remind him of that, but he’d make it a reality if it was the last thing he’d do!
-Because giving up isn’t something I’ll ever do!-
=======================
The garage was almost pitch black aside from occasional sparks, light not needed for someone who could see in infrared; but that was unnecessary in itself. Gloriosa had gotten an idea as to why he turned all the lights out however, and it wasn’t to keep dark around him so the cyborg could work but to keep him in the dark so others couldn’t see.
Gigan was not well in the slightest. His arm was still quivering, what he had left that was flesh and bone. She hadn't noticed without the weight of the mechanical slag that had been the forearm holding it still. He was shaking, eyes swiveled wide while transfixed on absolutely nothing before himself. On the table next to them, removed due to the massive damage suffered making it useless, was his newest upgrade. Cutting edge, figuratively and literally. And yet the metal was bent and warped by heat, partially melted with five indents crushing into it. The indentation formed a hand and he could remember it all. Not a recollection warped by the heat of the moment or adrenaline, but with perfect replay. He picked up the newest weapon with a surviving hand.
The cyborg was shaking outwardly. And he was shaken inwardly. Everything had gone awry in the last day and this was just the latest of them. Gigan felt weakness like he hadn't since the days he was mostly organic. In the quiet of the machine shop, in the dark and dankness of fumes and oil; Gigan had been totally alone until Gloriosa opened the backdoor. She flinched as the newest addition to his arsenal was hurled away with a roaring cry and smashed against the wall beside her. Before she could say anything, he’d brought up a surviving robotic hand and covered his face.
Irys had been right. All his new tricks, all his gear, all the upgrades. All slagged by someone who'd been holding back in a pointless fight! While X was in need, they'd been away picking a fight that everyone lost in. The mental re-play of those burning orbs, both in human form and in a towering mountain of scales and fangs looked upon him in judgement.
When he'd broken away from the Nebulans, he thought he'd be wiser than those slaving, miscreant bugs! No more picking anymore pointless wars that just serve to get him and his team, the only things he'd ever care about, hurt. No more risking anyone else coming back scarred and mangled like he had been so many times! He’d promised himself that the first time he saw his little brother, and he’d kept that promise each and every time he got dragged into a dire situation from having to go rescue X to backing up Irys after prodding a Ghidorah for the second time that year.
And yet the cold of that wind seemed to chill him even now. Clawing at his mind.
He’d wanted to see an enemy bleed, not just out of want to protect Irys and X; but because of his precious plans and dangerous desire for revenge for the wounds Godzilla had inflicted to him and others.
Twilight had begged them to not harm any of her friends, in exchange for her help and other hopes. Hope that this all wouldn’t turn into a massive brawl the moment the Hunters and Sirens didn’t have a hostage, hope they wouldn’t get exposed and risk losing the good graces of the Master, hope this whole ordeal kicked off by him rushing in with bad intelligence and grabbing the wrong Twilight Starla Sparkle was still salvageable…
All eviscerated because of his arrogance and wrath….
Sparks shot out of the chilled cyborg’s neck as, behind the cover of his surviving hand, Gigan whispered a whimper, “It was all for nothing... This.. con-con-con-conflict-"
Sparks burst from his ruined arm, "… It’s all my fault!”
Gloriosa was about to say something when the stiff-as-a-corpse figure she’d guided into the garage with her suddenly jolted to life. Adagio Dazzle was almost a blur when she charged at Gigan, grabbing and wrenching his arm aside to look him right in the eyes. The siren didn’t even flinch when another few gushes of sparks bled out and pinged off her shoulder, holding onto the cyborg as mechanical dim red, sometimes static covered screens locked gazes with similarly opaque magenta eyes ringed with crusty tears.
“DON’T YOU SAY ANY OF THAT! Y-YOU HEAR ME BOLTS?!” Adagio shrieked as she jostled the cyborg that grabbed onto her , “ALL OF THIS IS ON ME!”
Her arm was tightly gripped by warped metal as Gigan let out a mechanical, distorted snarl.
“I. Started. A. War you idiot sea witch!”
“And I’m the reason for all of this happening in the first place!”
“How?! How could you cause any of the mess I’ve made?!”
“Because I’m the one he wants! Don’t you get it?!”
“He? He who?! How does any of that have to do with what I’ve done?!”
"Because my existence is the whole reason he's is hunting us!"
"WHO?! WHO ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?!
In a moment that was visible in the dim light only because of the fingers that wrapped around the glowing red gem that was one of the few sources of illumination, Adagio did something no one would have expected. She pulled off her necklace and tried to shove it towards Gigan.
“T-Take it! J-JUST TAKE IT! Come on! Your type wanted it to begin with! If it’s gone he’d-“ Adagio roared with a hitch in her voice.
Gigan pushed back with his good hand, fingers curling around Adagio’s in her attempts to pass off the siren heart to him.
“You don’t get to take blame here! I’m the one who got us buried deeper and deeper into this mess!”
The room became clouded with a dim, blue and green mist. Strife was present in the angry shouting, but something else far more potent was starting to drown the both of them. It was a peculiar loop, when despair was both causing an argument when both parties were trying to end it by taking blame; but it was such a tactic that Notus had used many a time. Sometimes strife towards one’s self was just as potent as one aimed at a foe; and just as good at isolating.
“JUST TAKE IT AND LEAVE!” the siren shrieked with an audible sob in her raging tone.
“WHEN I WAS THE ONE WHO SCREWED IT ALL UP BECAUSE I WENT OFF HALFCOCKED WITHOUT A PLAN?!” Gigan barked with a glitch in his voice while pushing back.
“BETTER THAN GETTING EVERYTHING I CARE ABOUT KILLED BECAUSE I CAN NEVER MAKE A PLAN TO GET AWAY FROM ZEPHYRUS!”
"WHO. IS. ZEPHYRUS!?"
Sparks flew between the enraged voices, shooting out of Gigan’s neck. In tandem with the brightening glow from the siren’s gemstone heart, they both got their first good look at each other. All sense of calm and calculating on Gigan was completely destroyed, his glasses missing as to expose the leaking oils coming from his eyelids, the fleshy parts of his face being sickly, pale, or pealed. Sparks jut out from exposed wiring on his neck, and his hair was split and matted. Adagio’s typically beautiful face was completely unkempt and messy with sweat, tears, and ichors that also stained her clothes. Large bags had formed underneath her eyes from constant crying, her hair was sticky and slick against her head with one bang stubbornly clung to her cheek. Veins were visible and throbbing at her neck and forehead, almost like they were being constricted from the sheer stress.
And both of them were icy cold to the touch, bits of frost that refused to melt stuck to their bodies. Notus might not have been present, but his influence yet lingered even as the shouting died.
They looked at each other, mouths slightly agape and looking like they’d crumble at any moment. Minds were clearly working at a mile a minute, but no words can ever get strong enough to come to the surface. Thankfully, fate provided a saving grace.
“You dolts care more than you let on,” Gloriosa said with a slight hitch in her voice as she grasped both of their hands, the red Element of Empathy flaring up to life, shortly followed by Honesty and Kindness.
Gigan and Adagio looked aside before light overtook their vision, briefly glimpsing a red mask encircling glowing green eyes that gazed upon them with such fondness.
-“Let’s get to the bottom of this…”-
The voice was like Gloriosa’s but also slightly different. Still clearly recognizable but a bit deeper, and echoing on its own. Everything was black with distant sparks of light flying past. None of them could see each other. There was a blizzard choking up the airspace, clogging it with smoggish strife magic and gnawing cold. In such a realm no one could ever feel anything but isolated. No one could have any voice run contrary to the demeaning echoes moving through their minds.
“Unworthy wretch!” an echo in Adagio’s voice lambasted.
“Ungrateful warmonger!” a similar damnation in Gigan’s tone.
“Your own mother wished you were dead.”
“You’re going to make your team suffer for your hatred.”
“You failed Hymnia, you’ll never get away from him!”
“You’re no better than the Nebulans, should have been dismantled!”
“They’d be better off without you, Adagio.”
“You’re only getting in the way, Gigan.”
Both agreed on only one thing. By the heinous evil that resulted in Adagio’s siring or the continued existence of the Nebulans using a prototype.
“You. Are. A. Mistake.”
That line cut through the cold, like a small ray of light piercing a cloud. It caused both of them to pause and hear the other, for the first time sensing another presence in full within the distorted cold and isolation within their minds.
The blizzard was suddenly blasted away, pushed back by a greenish light that showed with numerous other flickering hues. The dark void was now filled with stars, glassy walkways Gigan and Adagio could feel beneath them once separated by vast distances were now closed together. None might have recognized it, aside from a fleeting glimpse in the back of Gigan’s mind when he came closest to death in the fallout of Kaizer Ghidorah’s rampage after nearly giving his life for his friends, and they certainly weren’t here on account of cyborg or siren; but this mental space resembling Harmony’s realm was no accident. Gloriosa hadn’t commanded they go here, she just followed the advice they gave to her when she had problems and fears holding her back.
The perspectives on glassy panels bordering the walkways shifted to a point of view looking at Adagio after sadly inspecting the necklace. The siren, conviction on her face, pointed at the perspective. Several things she’d said then echoed all about.
"I think one of the reasons you have these episodes is because you're fighting it."
“But those who can seize their fate don’t cower.”
Where Adagio had been, now was Gigan alongside; sitting in the machine shop doing his first round of repairs with Gloriosa’s help. He contemplated while testing at a limb he was not born with but had made his own.
“Normality is as subjective as it is esoteric. No one can truly decide what it is for you but you.”
“Change is inevitable. You can either waste everyone’s time by fighting it, or you can embrace it and all that comes with it.”
-“You both told me in your own way to step up. Seize the abnormal and own it. I’m seizing it, embracing it now.”-
As the walkways got closer together; they could see each other now. Glimmering outlines were poised upon the two peripheral walkways, orange and navy, one creature of magic and the other a creature of technology. Adagio and Gigan’s presences felt one another, the cold of isolation moving away as they each felt a hand embraced hoof and scythe. A woman made of greenish light pulled them both closer, the walkways starting to connect.
-“You’re scared.”-
It was aimed at them both, and both could see why as the memories crisscrossed between them, Gloriosa acting like a bridge so one could see exactly what the other had been thinking and experiencing.
On one side was a dim, dark interior that resembled an operating room. Gigan waking up in a hangar after suffering drastic injuries, restrained and held down as his own heart dangled over and opened chest. Gigan made a big show about coming to terms with change, and his sentiments about seeing the mechanical and biological as equally him were both very true. That didn’t mean that old fear of violation and lack of agency wasn’t true; as the still conscious cyborg was dismantled without any say in the matter.
Even far away from the Nebulan’s grasp, their ilk represented everything Gigan was afraid of. Everything he didn’t want his team to go through, which meant avoiding threat when all possible… Contradictory as that was for someone who deep down worried they were just a weapon.
The perspective darted away to a battlefield on Terra, one that had gone very poorly. One that involved rushing through smoking rubble and fire to find his brother’s hands. One crushed on the ground, the other shattered as Megalon clutched it to his chest. Gigan knew all too well what was going to happen once the Nebulans took them back. And how they replaced more than his brother’s hands when they sought to give an ‘upgrade’. Even in the Final War, surrounded by foes including a King of the Monsters; it was his own creator’s hanger ship Gigan was most afraid of despite the need for repairs; salvation and damnation in one.
On the other side near Gigan was a frightened foal hiding away in a reef, terrified of the polar storm brewing high above. Her mother was still crying out, still audible even after Aunt Hymnia sent the toddler Adagio and infant Aria away. Adagio shivered, trying to clutch her baby cousin to her and block out the noise that would lead to the death of her mother and the birth of her sister. High above the storm raged, ice flows crossing over the surface of the rolling, wavy surface.
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, and the terrified mind thought she saw three figures standing amongst the ice and frost. One of which sent the young Adagio huddling into a crevice, begging a world that didn’t seem to hear her to save her. She’d never seen a windigo. She’d never seen him. Only the phantoms conjured by her aunt’s warnings as to why her and her near catatonic mother were the way they were. Covered in scars, exiled, and alone. And when the outcries from Melpomene stopped and Adagio frantically swam to return to her mother’s side, she saw something no child ever should.
She’d never seen a windigo. She’d never seen… her father. But to a scared little girl who had to promote herself to parent a few mere years later when another storm took away her aunt, his name was everything wrong with the world. The reason they had to reclaim Mako, their grandmother’s throne. The reason she had to get stronger. The reason she stopped caring about who got hurt, only how she gained. The reason no matter where she was, how she was, or how strong she’d gotten… Adagio Dazzle was always afraid.
That one word summarized everything the proud siren was afraid of, that had caused everything from her mother’s demise to Sonata’s mutilation. A name she’d only ever heard but once, but had been in denial about ever since she first saw the image Gigan had captured on video; or the topic of how only blood relation could breach a siren’s barrier around their heart.
-“Zephyrus... My sire.”-
Gloriosa said it this time, and Adagio flinched. The name, and all it represented, were not unknown to the other parties now.
There was a blizzard, but not in Equestria. It was in the very town they’d been in earlier that exact day, over a decade ago. And the perspective was running into it, not stopping as they became surrounded in a green brilliance that melted away parts of the snow and ice. The memories all played in sequence, showing not the recollections of Adagio, Gigan, nor Gloriosa; but someone who’d impressed them onto the gemstones that went to her successor. Wysteria’s battle with the windigos was laid out for all to see, showing Gloriosa firsthand what she’d suspected in the back of her mind for some time now.
That the faded memory of seeing a magical being whispered about around town, holding and rocking her to sleep hadn’t been just a dream-like recollection warped by a youthful mind. Her mother had been Gaea Everfree, the ‘Tree Angel’. And yet, even while facing impossible odds; the memory Wysteria had even as she battled Notus, Boreas, and yes, even Zephyrus, was of watching her children fall asleep.
-“Zephyrus killed my mother… He represents strife, cycles of revenge, and the constant repetition of destruction. Conflict with no purpose, only cost… That’s what you’re afraid of Adagio, that you’d never get out of that shadow even if you could ever get free of your sire.”-
Gloriosa addressed Gigan, who watched three lifetimes’ worth of memories and more intermix with his own.
-“And he represents loss, isolation, sacrifice, and suffering. All consuming, never satisfied or caring… That’s what you’re afraid of, that you’d wind up becoming just like the monster that destroyed your family and left you as a reminder.”-
Gloriosa addressed Adagio, who stilled as she did the same. To call the experiences similar wasn’t honest, they weren’t. But empathy wasn’t about being identical or even close to it. Empathy was about understanding through a common thread and knowing.
-“You’re both afraid for your families… and for each other it seems.”-
Gloriosa smirked as Gigan and Adagio’s mental avatars became aware of themselves. They were back to how they were just before Gloriosa pulled them into this headspace. Back as humans, back on even ground. Both clutching Adagio’s necklace as she tried to give it away and he tried to reject it. What exactly was flowing into either of them wasn’t easily described. It wasn’t love per se, too early for that if it were the case. But it was something along the same route. It was perhaps best summarized as understanding feeding off cultivated respect.
In a manner, empathy.
Gloriosa’s hand overlaid either of their own, helping to guide their hands up as they looked at one another with that same agape expression. Sorrowful, but not stricken like before. Adagio let them put the necklace back on her; feeling a connection that for a long time, pride had been getting in the way of. Even without words, the siren could sense the same coming from her company.
-“You both taught me how change isn’t to be feared…”-
Gloriosa, or what she had become, pulled them closer to embrace the both of them. Gigan and Adagio yielded, foreheads pushing together as the nymph brought them in. Every emotion or thought either could have had, the others were experiencing.
-“So, hows about we all change for the better?...”-
She took in a deep breath and the world began to sing in her melody, one she’d heard long ago from her idol, her mother, her predecessor. Maybe fate had conspired to put Gloriosa in this role after all, but if so, she was going to own it like she had the changes in her life.
-"Nooow the maaagic is ouuur saaalvaaatiooon... Gaaaather close-.. in myyy proootectiooon...!"
Zephyrus, and his lackeys, could be defeated. Wysteria proved that, as did other events of the day. But only if they listened to the right advice.
-"Weeeee will staaaand... Foooreeeveeeer"-
In the waking world, Gigan and Adagio passed out of awareness; falling asleep in Gloriosa’s arms as she continued the lullaby.
Daisy smiled sweetly, an exhausted but joyous tear running down her cheek as she gently laid the two down, "Freeeeeeeeeeeeee…"
She drew up a clean towel as a blanket and put it around the two of them, they needed the rest. She’d keep guard tonight and keep the dangers at bay. And in the morning… Well… It seemed Eventide Hymn was taking lead in this musical number after all!
====================
It had been a long time since he moved as quickly as he was now. Mind racing with hundreds of calculations per second while his feet were trying to move just as quickly. After checking in with Irys, seeing his brother was in good hands with Gloriosa and Adagio, seeing Twilight conversing with Irys in the latter’s abode and not wanting to intrude, and correctly deducing Aria wished to be left alone, he heeded the advice of that dream well and set about doing what he did best. Digging and boosting morale. There had been such an unappealing chill about the camp as of late and he was going to do something about it… Though his first instinct to use some napalm was wisely decided against.
He flew into the kitchen almost literally, bursting out of the ground and rapidly charging into the door to the mess hall. After several seconds rapid footfalls doubled back to the door and a ‘Occupied’ sign was strung around the front window. The young cyborg looked at the floorboards and then his hand.
-Well, for a good cause! I’ll replace ‘em later!-
Megalon quickly looked around just to be sure no one had followed him before taking the plunge, not thinking to just use a hammer and remove the nails keeping the floor down while revving up his drills once again and taking a swing at the floor. It was no small miracle he didn’t manage to wake the entire forest up digging that tunnel back to Sonata’s cabin. Pinkie Pie looked just as sullen and exhausted as when he left her, visible bags under her eyes with her hair mostly deflated against her head after many hours watching over the near constantly sleeping Sonata Dusk who lay against her. It took several long seconds for her to actually look up at the cyborg who appeared out of the trap door that led to the tunnels.
“...Megs?” The aforementioned cyborg almost whimpered at hearing how sulking and tired she sounded.
She tried to rise up, but being around Sonata for so long had almost seemingly drained her. She might have attributed it to just being awake so long, as neither she nor the cyborg could have had any idea about how her latent Element bond was keeping something else at bay when in close proximity to a windigo hybrid. But without a lot of laughter there wasn’t so much she could do. Neither she nor Megalon knew this. But, one or both of them could figure out a few things regarding morale.
“Pinks,” Megalon quipped while helping hold her up by her shoulder, giving the fittingly named human a subtle but sweet smile of understanding across his chubby face, “I think we can both agree a change of pace is needed. I’m a dummy and I’d say we all need a bit of a pick me up tonight. Staying here in the quiet isn't helping 'Nata and it's not helping you. Especially when I ran off and left you to handle this alone.”
The weakened Pinkie Pie frowned but tilted her head, “What do you…”
“Think you could help me if we got you on your feet?”
“But… Sonata,” Pinkie Pie held her a little tighter, frowning as the unawares siren clung to her a little tighter. Having grown up with plenty of sisters tended to clue someone in towards certain body languages. Even asleep, the poor siren definitely needed company.
“I can’t... Leave her alone.”
“And you’re not! But staying here resting ain’t doing any good for nobody at this point,” Megalon presented her with something fresh brewed from the mess hall. Half drowned in sugar and creamer, but loaded up with a strong aroma, “I remembered the recipe you gave me in case of emergency. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Pinkie Pie eyed the appetizing looking cup of ‘Turbo Expresso’ with a slight look on her lips but a glance up at her friend, “What are you planning, Megs?”
“Well, the way I see it, we’ve been having this prolonged slumber party with too much slumber and not enough party. Think you could help me bake something if we got both of you to the mess hall?”
“…You’re… Wanting to throw a party?”
Megalon nodded with an affirmed look and fire in his eyes, but stayed partially bowed towards her, “Only if you think you can throw one together for three on the fly that involves baking a cake. If needs be, I'll shoulder it myself… I just think all three of us getting off the beds and out of the cabin would do us all some good. Whole mess hall is ours tonight, everyone else is tied up, and we can sleep in for the morning-“
“Okay!” a hand snatched up the espresso which probably vanished down a gullet. Megalon’s brow perked as hair puffed back out to the appearance of cotton candy and bags seem to shrink under tightening skin. She didn’t looked 100%, not at all, but there was definitely a marked improvement for the Element of Laughter.
"You sure? I can do the grunt work on my own."
Pinkie shushed him with a finger on his lips, pinching them together as she snickered, "You just harped on leaving me alone wasn't the best, you really think I'd leave you alone either?"
Pinkie Pie panted as she put a hand on her collar. Feeling the flickers of some kind of sensation which almost gave her a very dim glow that might’ve been just a trick of the light. After all, it wasn't like she was playing any instruments. She heaved slightly while gaining her breath back before looking up at her rotund friend. A wide smile started to split her face, which looked more and more like her old self, before she sprung up and gave him something of a glomp with her arms around his shoulders. Megalon blinked before sighing, patting the girls back.
“Second tunnel to the right, goes directly into the kitchen,” Megalon quipped as Pinkie Pie pulled away.
“Let’s grab the laptop and games,” Pinkie chirped with a nod while moving for the trapdoor, “Can you handle ‘Nata gently? I wanna surprise her and she’s a really iffy sleeper.”
“If I can fight a Ghidorah, I can carry a lady,” Megalon hummed as he squatted down and put his arms underneath the rousing siren. He did his absolute best to ignore the biting cold coming off of her. Poor Pinkie had to feel numb at this point even under five covers! He carried her as gently as he could, keeping her bundled in blankets and with her head braced against his pudgy arm.
“Yeah buuuuut didn’t you lose that fight?”
“Hey was a team effort. He was tougher than Destro!”
“Oh oh, you had that dream too? I keep having this one where I was a Pokemon with you!”
A phone buzzed some time later before being picked back up, a green skinned, innocuous young man rubbing at the bridge of his nose and the seam of his eyes all sitting up in bed.
“…Who is this? Do you have any idea what hour it is?”
“Krovgor 441?” the masculine but jovial tone replied.
Warhawk by actual name raised his brow and rubbed at his arm, feeling yet another cold draft blow in from across the town. He really needed to stop leaving the windows uncovered, given Spring seemed to be taking its sweet time coming in with all this chill.
“Who is-“
“I’m a friend of Blue Dazzle 334 and Pink Pain 45. Listen, I know it’s late but you’re on Bluie’s friends list online. Think you and some others could get online? She really needs a pick-me-up.”
Warhawk wasn’t anyone of particular notoriety around CHS. Though online there were quite a few he was well-acquainted with even if he hadn’t knowingly interacted with them much offline. According to profiles, several of his associates did live nearby and a few of them he supposed were probably his own classmates. It was just that out of mutual fear of awkwardness or just living a busy life, they hadn’t actually reached out much to each other. But that didn’t mean they didn’t talk.
And Blue Dazzle’s suspicious lack of talking over the last week or so had certainly gotten plenty of attention around the circle. Just because they didn’t meet face-to-face much didn’t mean they weren’t friends after all.
“… Huh, well I think there’s an event going on. Probably some others enjoying it too. Think that would work?” Warhawk noted with a bit of hope in the back of his voice.
“Perfect! Can you start a lobby? We’re baking a cake.”
Warhawk held it in for a moment before laughing, “Heh!… Okay now I know you have to be friends with Pink Pain, she hosted a round in the middle of a cupcake event.”
Inside the mess hall there was a busy amount of life. Megalon set aside several slices into the refrigerator to keep them nice and cool for the others tomorrow. Pinkie Pie, still looking quite tired but now half-covered in flour and cake mix, couldn’t have been happier as she set down a piece in front of slowly opening red eyes. Sonata Dusk’s pale form, still covered in a cold sweat, looked around her surroundings before gazing up at her compatriots. Bundled in fresh blankets, offered confectioneries, and with a night of fun presented before her, she took it all in. Megalon stroked the weak siren’s back as Pinkie Pie took a forkful of cake and offered it to her. Sonata had just woken up and she already felt exhausted, the cold sleep demanded her retirement back to unconsciousness; almost like it was dragging her down into some depths unseen.
The southward wind blew over the camp, almost like the extended arm of her sire reaching out to grip Sonata’s heart once again just as he had while riding in the body of an unaware Twilight Sparkle… Her scare ached, throbbing with a chilly pulse as Notus tried to drag her down.
A subtle, unseen light masked by the glow of the television and laptop set up for a night of games, flickered on Pinkie Pie’s collar in the same placement as Sonata’s scar. Megalon didn’t see it either, but he almost got the sense he could feel it. The pulse going from one to the other. He was without magic, without great power, without the guile or skill of his comrades. But, he could do what he did best. Just being himself and all that entailed.
His hand rubbed at Sonata’s dorsum while placing its opposite number on Pinkie’s shoulder. The subtle cues of the Element of Laughter shown upon the human and were cast upon the siren almost like her heart crystal was still there. Far away, the good and warmth that heated Sonata was felt and despised by the current bearer of Sonata’s heart necklace, Zephyrus sneering while clutching at it. Unwittingly, one of his ploys was being complicated by something few would expect between a spawn of a demon, a normal human, and a beast of war.
Sonata finally, for the first time in days, smiled as a tear ran down her cheek, unfreezing. The quiet and rest had been appreciated, but perhaps this break in the mundane was what she’d needed. No more hiding away inside the cabin all day and night. She took in the cake and took in more as it was offered. Too weak to actively participate for much, she was treated to a night of conversation and cheer as more and more of her online compatriots piled into the lobbies Krovgor set up.
They fought, but fought together to beat down the monsters. Because at least in that world, hopefully in foreshadowing of what was to come, truly evil monsters were always easy to unite against. And because of that, they always lose.
====================
The knock at the door got everyone’s attention after spending half an hour arduously waiting after receiving a message from the same number they got the Twilight updates on. Aside from assurances of non-hostility, nobody was quite sure what or who was coming. They now knew of the entire groups involved with taking Twilight, that the sirens had been working together with a group of kaiju, but when the messages talked about a peace envoy, nobody knew whom to expect.
Applejack and Anguirus approached the door, eyeing each other before taking point on either side of it. With a bit of caution applejack slowly gripped the handle as Anguirus tensed to make ready for anything that came through. The door snapped open and the kaiju was not expecting… a fruitcake.
A literal fruitcake held by a very confused looking Gloriosa Daisy.
“Oh! Uummm,” she glanced about the living room with a clearly confused expression after seeing the muscular stranger that seemed poised to pounce upon her.
“Heeelllo?” she grimaced with an awkward chuckle.
The entire room’s head seemed to tilt several degrees from both the attempt at her chipper tone as well as those that did recognize her literally considering the camp director one of the last people they had expected.
“Miss Daisy?” Fluttershy chirped with a clearly perplexed expression.
Gloriosa recognized her ‘god-cousin’ through their mother’s friendship and smiled at the familiarity, “Oh, hiya! Don’t call me Miss though, I’m only five years older than you.”
“Sorry,” Fluttershy stammered before managing to get back on the mental track, “Dooo you have the wrong address?”
She motioned with a finger to both Gloriosa as well as the fruitcake. Gloriosa looked around again before backstepping out the door and turning her head.
“Gigan, did you give me the right address?” she called out nonchalantly and instantly the entire room shot up on their feet.
Anguirus turned his focus from her to across the street and soon found himself glaring at a form both familiar and unfamiliar. The former on account of the description Junior and Rainbooms supplied, as well as shared coloration; the latter on account of only now seeing the cyborg monster as a human. Gigan was across the street, leaning on a parked van as he looked up from a map he was holding in his metal hands.
“224 Zarcherle Road, Apartment building 4,” he called out plainly despite very visibly leering back at Anguirus, “One Sunset Shimmer’s residence... I remember from the last time I crashed into it.”
Gloriosa took to talking to the intergalactic attack cyborg like it was the most normal thing ever, stepping back inside and looking about.
“Which one of you is Sunset Shimmer? Irys said she still had her necklace. Is this 224, Apartment 4? He’s confident but I never trust him with maps. He’s always complaining about the paper ones,” Gloriosa grimaced while still offering the fruit cake.
Sunset Shimmer’s face lowered as she remembered driving a car with said cyborg reading a map to feet from her. But more tellingly, her fingers lightly traced over the necklace she’d been keeping in a small box beside her bed all these weeks. She stood up and Gloriosa’s eyes shot to her and then to the color patterns on the necklace knowingly. The apprehensive Daisy seemed to relax noticeably as Sunset Shimmer approached her.
Shimmer nodded, “Yeah that’s me. And I know the feeling, trust me I know. He was riding shotgun in the third-weirdest car ride of my life. When he visited, I had to claim it was a freak wind-blown branch to the landlord when he crashed into my bathroom.”
“Right, so you were the one to help him the first time,” Gloriosa replied as she waltzed in and set down the fresh fruitcake she’d made, “Well as you know, I’m Gloriosa Daisy; director of Camp Everfree. And I’m.. guess I’m kind of your peace envoy from the Sirens and company.”
Applejack’s head ratcheted around to look at the camp director, “Wait wait, you’re with the sea witches?”
“Have been for some time now. Sonata Dusk applied to be a lifeguard at the camp and they came to stay there after figuring out that bolts-for-brains had accidentally taken the wrong Twilight Sparkle,” Gloriosa deadpanned as she pointed back with a thumb.
“I heard that!” Gigan snapped back, only to have Gloriosa wave him off.
She turned back to the very flummoxed looking audience and sheepishly shrugged, “I sort of just got wrapped up into it… they’re actually pretty nice when you get to know them though.”
“Yooou’re.. saying that you’re friends with them?” Godzilla Junior grumbled skeptically while giving her a closer look, “You’re really human right?”
“Y-yeeeeah, last I checked I was,” Gloriosa nodded while rubbing at the back of her head, and motioned behind her at Gigan again, “I insisted on coming myself, but he and Adagio insisted I not travel unguarded. I think they got protective.”
His grunt in response somehow sounded both affirming but even more skeptical.
“Look, I know a lot of bad blood is flying through the air, but I think we all know something that feeds on that sort of thing is also in the air. And mistakes were made that made this whole situation way worse.”
“Worse? Pah, define worse!” Rainbow Dash piped with crossed arms.
Gloriosa Daisy frowned meaningfully, casting her eyes to the ground as she tried to focus herself upon splitting the cake, “… There was another confrontation during the concert. One with the true culprit of Sonata Dusk’s mutilation and her allies. Another friend of ours named X was possessed and is under the true enemy’s control and the other Twilight Sparkle is bonded to another one. Aria Blaze would have barely made it, if not for her love’s sacrifice.”
“Her love?” Peachy Keen muttered.
Gloriosa nodded, “X. He took a big hit for her that left him open to possession while passing on some power. He was hit with some kind of memory-sucking magic.”
Peachy Keen frowned, trying to keep her mind busy on remembering where she heard of such things before, but bowing her head respectfully for the thoughts in the now, “My condolences… true enemy though? So, it seems my suspicions that they were after someone else were true?”
Gloriosa nodded with her frown growing, “Windigos… Apparently some kind of ancient monster from Equestria. They wound up here and have been behind all the trouble about recently.”
Peachy Keen was going to voice skepticism but held her tongue, deep in thought.
-There have never been any sightings of those creatures since the original Hearth’s Warming, but Queen Maui tells me that records show they were very powerful… Maybe the Hearth’s Warming burst of magic was strong enough to repulse them, but not destroy them? How could they have ended up here, though…? Regardless of the how, it would certainly explain a few things.-
“You said there’s another Twilight Sparkle?” Rarity started before furrowing her brow, having recalled something from days ago pricking at the back of her mind.
A tall figure stepped out of the background with a neutral express. Upon seeing the clearly exhausted and strained looking Mothra Lea, Gigan did tilt his head back upon noticing the differences from how she’d been before. The paled skin, the frayed hairs, bits of orange in her eyes and hair; and something… not calculable or able to be articulated. Something very different. But, she wasn't shaking, she wasn't erratic, and she was able to stand herself up after some help.
Lea caught the look and registered it, but prioritized thinking back to parts of her mind that were still being a blur, “There was another Twilight Starla Sparkle in the next city over. A local here.”
“Well that does make some sense, if we all have counterparts in Equestria, only fits that Twilight would have one here,” Rarity noted while biting the back of her knuckle.
Gloriosa nodded, “A few weeks ago, Twilight Sparkle, the one from here, ambushed Sonata Dusk with the help of the Windigos and someone else Aria didn’t recognize. I don’t know how or why they’re working with them, but they have been for some time. They ripped her necklace off, and the backlash left her sickly and scarred. X found out, and given he was close with Aria and had a soft spot for Sonata…”
Peachy Keen’s brow perked up in realization, “That’s what set him off to try and draw out the only Twilight they might have heard of. Which brought over the Equestrian Twilight Sparkle.”
Gloriosa nodded with a frown, shrugging, “And in the confusion, X and Gigan got the wrong Twilight. It was a mix of the other one being a total unknown in the area, and the sirens... not having the best opinion of Equestrians or anyone associated with them.”
“So what you’re saying is that this whole thing, from Rainbow Dash getting cornered at the school to the concert; all got sprung up because of a big misunderstanding?!” Applejack snorted and threw her arms up in the air.
Gloriosa stuttered, “I… Kinda-“
“Kinda?! KIIINDA?! Our friend got done’nabbed right in front of us-“ Applejack shouted as she nearly tore her hat off and stepped forward. Anguirus, from the corner of his eye, saw Gigan reflexively stand up and snap to alertness on Gloriosa’s behalf.
“An’ ye tellin' us that everybody was near fightin’ everybody because that X fella yanked the wrong Twilight?!”
“Yes, th-that appears to be true-“ Gloriosa stuttered as she sawed into the cake with a blunt knife.
Unbeknownst to the group, Notus slithered his influence amongst them. Hidden as it was, the sheer frustration and anger coming off of parts of the group was nearly as sweet as the fear coming from the new human. The windigo paused as it tried to inspect Gloriosa closer. There was something familiar here…
“Lea’s been breakin' down from bein’ worried sick! Rainbow got terrorized!-”
Some of those around were shooting glares, both at Gloriosa as well as the increasingly irate Applejack and company. Rainbow Dash tried to grab her friend and hold her still, only to feel an extremely strong yank pushing against her arm. Applejack wasn’t much taller than the other girls, but she felt like a truck starting to roll forward. Gloriosa’s eyes widened, Godzilla started to raise his voice and move to block her, and the room felt increasingly cold.
“If you want peace all of a sudden, why not just bring Twilight back?” the typically calm Rarity snorted.
“Ah’ broke my hand punching that masked sonuva-”
“Look I know we screwed up a bunch but-”
Rainbow Dash piped up as she moved to her compatriot, trying to ignore her own tempers flaring to life, “Woah woah AJ chill! What’s gotten into you?”
Godzilla had sprung up to command his pupil to do the opposite, unable to feel how the room was shifting on account of Notus carefully weaving the magic around him, “Jacklyn, sit down!”
Applejack flinched and did pause, but still trembled like her body was in fight or flight, “Teach, the guy who tried’ta carve you up like a turkey is ‘cross the street, how do we know we ain’t surrounded?”
“Can we all just. Calm. Down?!” Peachy Keen pleaded.
“Well did we check? What if those windigo things are about right now while we’re all distracted?”
“How can we trust at’all if they ain’t gonna commit!?”
Paranoia, fear, mistrust, strife, anger, it was all being strummed and coaxed by Notus covertly from the sidelines; exaggerating what was already there for anyone not named Godzilla. Notus knew the value of cover and didn’t want to risk the saurian recognizing the magic and getting suspicious. Still, even he bore qualms that Notus employed for his own ends to influence the rest of the room. Aplejack’s fear and self anger about not being able to protect her friends, Godzilla’s wariness of Gigan being the one to have arrived given recent events, Gloriosa starting to lose her composure, and more were broiling together in the cold. Cooler heads might prevail, but the situation was flagging under the chill.
Until Notus noticed a spark of heat. Sunset Shimmer had taken notice of the old Rainboom in the room to not speak up and had put a hand to her shoulder.
What was passing between them was entirely unseen, but their eyes were moving in unison; body language identical as if the mind and subconscious had drifted into one another. The windigo within and piloting Flash Sentry tried to surge forward and do something to impede what he saw forming, only for Rainbow Dash and Applejack to unwittingly get in the way. Notus inwardly sneered while trying to placatingly get the girls out of his path, able to physically perceive the emotions flying between Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer.
Unease, but want. Assurance, and also understanding. The former being scared to act and desiring to, and the latter coming to know and feel this. And, in the end, the cold of the isolation required to fester strife from one’s self to another, was pushed back by the heat of comradery. If Fluttershy wished to act, she wouldn’t do it alone; Sunset knew she was scared of all the shouting and Gigan’s presence, but Kindness wasn’t alone.
If her friends weren’t ditching her over the secret keeping, she’d never leave them alone. The joyous, recent memory of the group hug following the confession regarding Irys was impressed to Fluttershy’s mind and both experienced that happiness from either’s perspective.
The sparks of Harmony’s taint started to strike kindling, and Notus was ready to retch. He started cycling through Flash Sentry’s memories regarding Sunset Shimmer, looking for fuel to use later and deal with this threat.
All the shouting in the room was cut off by a surprisingly loud stomp, but Fluttershy of all people actually yelled out, “This whole thing happened because the other Twilight really hurt her friends! Don’t act like we all haven’t gotten fired up because Twilight got taken. WE JUST DID!”
Whether it was to the members of the Rainbooms who had taken up combat training with the express intent of using it if they had to, the fieriness of the bandmates who’d gotten competitive at the concert, the kaiju who’d come storming in when the alarm was sounded, or the alicorn who’d nearly stampeded her way across the continent and empire when she heard her faithful student was in danger; words struck home. It was certainly okay to get angry on behalf of a friend getting hurt, but such anger could leave even the best subject to error.
But that wasn’t the only reason they were a bit gobsmacked.
Fluttershy motioned to the stunned looking Gloriosa, “And she and her friends not only had to see their Sonata horribly hurt, but recently suffered losses of their own. And based on what Sunset said, they already began their turn to good awhile ago, so they didn’t deserve this. They were trying to act the best they could and they made a mistake, but this whole mess has been a big misunderstanding because they’re not that different from us!”
“Um- Fl-Fluttershy?” Sunset Shimmer piped, wide eyed.
“I knew it,” Gloriosa whispered with the pinpricks of a smile edging at her lips.
“And another thing, this sort of strife is exactly what the windigos would want if they’re really the ones behind this!”
“They do feed off that and live to cause more of it,” Peachy Keen absentmindedly muttered, still amazed at what she saw before her which Fluttershy still hadn’t even if everyone else was looking at her.
“EEeeexactly!” Fluttershy huffed as she continued to glow brightly, clapping her hands together to clasp them before herself, “Which means we all gotta just sit down, stop getting so angry, and sort this out! If monsters from space and sea sorceresses can be friendly, so can we-“
“Fluttershy…! You’re…” Applejack yelped as she pointed.
Fluttershy blinked confusingly, looking at herself and noticing the illumination covering her form. She had ‘Pony’d-Up’ as the band called it, but without playing a single piece of music to attune to. And her glowing figure complete with small wings wasn’t alone, for a similar shine was coming from around Gloriosa’s neck.
Gloriosa straightened up, a slight darkening of pigment visible around her eyes. She pulled down her collar slightly to reveal the gemstone-rich necklace of vine growth she was wearing. One such gem was glowing brightly when pointed at Fluttershy. Gloriosa looked to it, as all in the room did. There was some apprehension as she reached for it, feeling the radiating magic.
“I… Heh, at first thought this was meant for me,” Gloriosa huffed with a scared frown etching onto the corner of her lips, “Kinda.. Always wanted to be special. I found these a few months ago, apparently on the same night Sunset here met the sirens and kaiju. I really did think they were for me but-….”
She looked at her reflection in the gemstone, seeing how it glowed brighter when pointed at Fluttershy more so than it ever had before for her. It was a bittersweet affirmation.
“I suspected it really wasn’t. I came here mostly expecting for that to be confirmed,” Gloriosa Daisy sighed but smiled as she stopped the trembling in her hands and very gently removed the Element of Kindness.
“You know, Twilight and I spent a lot of time with these. She suspected they were this world’s version of the Elements of Harmony. Way she spelled it out for me, they were meant for those worthy. I didn’t know if it was because you lot are just like her friends who were worthy because you’re their counterparts, or because you’re both independently good,” Gloriosa said to both herself and her audience in a kind voice befitting the element, “But given this world’s Twilight royally messed things up, I think it’s the latter… and I think this truly belongs to you. Here-“
She extended her hand with the Element, the crystal looking like it would perfectly fit into the glowing empty slot that was appearing above Fluttershy’s collar. Fluttershy slowly reached for it, giving the retainer to her Element a very kind smile.
“My peace offering,” Gloriosa hummed as Fluttershy nodded a bow and gently took it.
The Element was brought closer to her and the magical luminance surrounding her swelled up to an even greater degree. Generated on its own, a vine gently curled around Fluttershy’s neck to form the necklace chain as the Element fit into the hole in her magic. The sensations washing over Fluttershy could be felt by all.
Sunset Shimmer felt the hand offering to help her up when she first stumbled out of the portal.
Rarity experienced a vision of the sloppy birthday gift card Sweetie Belle had crayon stenciled for her.
Applejack was remembering the sight of a tree grown over her parents’ graves, a gift from the ‘Tree Angel’.
Peachy Keen was thrust a thousand years back, to a warm embrace by Starswirl when he first truly saw her and Luna as the children they were then.
Anguirus was cast back to Ponyville during a rainy afternoon, when the door to a tea shop was made open to him with shelter and company. Sensing how the mood of the room had shifted, he sought his own course of action. Side stepping to the edge of the room, he took his exit and went outside before heading to the front.
Gigan, far away as he was, was remembering something not so far back when the very human he’d grown attached to used that same Element to help repair him.
Lea felt the storm in her mind quell to a degree, cast back to her first night in Equestria where she met the very friend she’d gone on such a quest to rescue and help.
Godzilla Junior felt the warmth return him to Canterlot’s Lunar Tower in the dim silvery moonlight, a hoof lightly touching a scar on his cheek as his hoof edged a mark on Luna’s stomach.
Kindness. In so many forms.
Notus only scowled internally and resisted crying out from the shocks of pain, feeling malice to the blizzard he and his compatriots had inflicted decades ago. He smelled this Kindness, as well as the Generosity and Loyalty which were with it, hiding away inside the Animal Shelter. He’d almost found them then, almost hunted down and killed them, before the Retainer interfered.
The Retainer had interfered just as her successor was doing now.
Fluttershy’s magical wings, now far larger than before, spread wide before retracting. The glow about her was magnitudes stronger than it had before even as it dimmed. The two halves of her Element, herself and the gemstone to channel it, had finally been united and activated. And in addition to the usual shifts, her attire had also changed. The casual wear was replaced by a more regal garb, accented by a short tunic and skirt with bracers on her arms. She marveled at the wear before realizing everyone was staring at her, more than slightly stunned. And Fluttershy being Fluttershy, she promptly got scared of her own before and jumped behind the nearest person to her, which just so happened to be Gloriosa.
However, she soon flinched upon feeling leaves and soft tree bark. She wasn’t the only reason those in attendance were more than a little confused, aside from a smirking Gigan who quickly realized what he was doing and tried his best to hide it. Fluttershy felt a hand pat her shoulder, and there was a distinctive woodsy smell in the room now. When she looked up, she found herself gazing at subtly glowing green eyes.
While more extreme than the previous partial transformation, Gloriosa somehow got the sense that this changed state wasn’t complete. Maybe it was because she was only carrying five of the original seven elements now, so the transformation was diluted; or maybe some other catalyst needed to be there for full activation. In another time where she craved validation and agency, she might have never given the Elements as a peace offering. She’d have kept them to herself despite a calling the camp director didn’t understand, in the hopes she could use them for her own power. At that time she might have tried to rationalize the calling as justification to hoard that power to herself. But seeing the beauty and grandeur behind Fluttershy’s transformation, and the radiating kindness therein which could only be benevolent, Gloriosa now fully understood.
These were never her powers to take for herself, and if she had done so against the elements’ will, they very well might have driven her mad. Fate had a funny way of working to put the right people in the right circumstances, it’s what led lovers together and saved some of her friend’s lives. And, fate had decided this role for her to try and help do the same. She wasn’t King Arthur, but she would be the Lady of the Lake.
And it seemed fate had decided she needed to look the way she had now to fully convince her audience, as Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had all virtually levitated out of their chairs looking right at her. Right at the greenish glow about her eyes, the slight wave in her hair, and the reddish mask of coloration covering parts of her face. Applejack also glanced to Flash Sentry, the source of the kindergarden playground’s first rumor about who’d saved him and his father from a car accident, looking for more confirmation. Especially when she herself witnessed the same savior acting as good council to her weeks later. She saw the recognition, but puzzled briefly over Flash’s glazed expression. Not knowing Notus lurked within, scowling in rage at the face of his greatest enemy, she registered but brushed it off to go back to the entity at hand.
“The Tree Angel,” Fluttershy whispered, having a faded memory with one sharp detail. Those eyes.
“.. Heh, I ah told yah so,” a fully calmed down Applejack chuckled as she lightly elbowed Rarity.
“This is her?” Peachy Keen noted as she glanced aside at the Rainbooms.
Gloriosa’s confused expression even as her eyes were partially surrounded in a reddish mask and strands of her hair had changed color, was almost comical. Her eyes were dimly glowing green as they looked to Rainbow Dash, who had stepped forward as if to visually judge.
“Yeah I was there too and Iiii think I caught a glimpse of her. Flutters, Rares, and I were warmed up, but blacked out. When we woke up, the storm was over… I mean, I remember the reports about a good Samaritan coming to help people who got stuck in town during the storm; but I clearly remember those eyes… That was…” Rainbow scratched at her head and pointed to the partially transformed camp director, “You?.. How old are you again?”
Gloriosa also remembered glowing green eyes from years past, and a big snowstorm. And a good Samaritan who ran out to help people. One who never came back after tucking her children in. Implications were sinking through regarding her mother, Wysteria, but she wouldn’t harp on them just yet. There was something very important as a matter at hand.
“No, but I think I might know who was. I think there was someone who... held onto these Elements for safekeeping before me,” Gloriosa swallowed back the uncertainty and collected herself, breathing in and smiling, the partial transformation subsiding fully, “These.. Elements have been around for a while, but they’ve only really acted up recently, and… I think you girls are why.”
Why the Elements were getting more and more active. Why she had falsely once thought herself some destined power to wield them. And possibly, why her mother who very well might have been much more than a normal woman, ran off all those years ago to sacrifice herself in a blizzard. It was many a hard pill to swallow for Ms. Daisy, but she bore it well. She felt how warm the room was now, how welcoming the group seemed now without half its members bickering.
Now, she felt they could have a proper conversation…
==========
Gigan had been watching on point since the moment they got there. He wasn't at all concerned about Gloriosa's safety once the shouting simmered down , he knew exactly the kind of company she was in right now, at least in respect to several currently shrunken giant monsters. The Defenders were better than he was, they’d never hurt her. If he had the inclination that any would, he would have either insisted on going in himself or to accompany her. The power she retained within those magic crystals was too precious to risk losing. His self-assurance of safety was reliant on the apparent truth that those they were visiting were ignorant as to those crystals’ worth.
Yes, the crystals were the source of his concern. Entirely the crystals, he’d tell himself that over and over again.
First sign of trouble, he would grab Gloriosa and get out of there. They were too valuable to risk losing.
That had to be the reason he was so nervous, and why he had his only moderately working warp drive on a hair trigger, constantly making calculations to figure out exactly how he needed to approach to get a hold of her and bail safely. Or the anxiety of being completely without any of his recent upgrades given how badly Godzilla had slagged them. He was down to basic tools, half his weapons weren’t fixed yet, and he was trying his best not to spark all over the place. But he had to remain focused. The mission was too important and losing any asset could catastrophically risk it. He had set about repeating that mantra as many times as needed to make sure he remembered, even while admiring the increasingly amicable dialogue opening up between Gloriosa and the Rainbooms. Checking them against the list of friends Twilight had been seen with and the alicorn later verified, he did start to wonder just who that girl with the pink hair was. Didn’t fit the description of Pinkie Pie.
He stopped those thoughts and recalibrated for his focus.
He couldn't risk losing the gems. He couldn't risk losing the gems, she would be completely safe in the company of those human loving terrans. He couldn't risk losing the gems…
Strange how he kept feeling a chill somewhere along his abdomen, he’d thought he'd repaired that area last night.
"You look grouchier than usual," a distinct voice muttered callously.
Gigan's head snapped up and he instantly scowled at the form casually approaching him from the side of the house and crossing the street. Even in the shape of a subcontinent man with a stout frame and robe-like attire, the voice and coloration were a dead giveaway as to who this was. After all, Irys had warned him.
Didn't stop Gigan from mentally swearing at himself for getting distracted so badly that this broad clod had managed to sneak up on him. His arms uncrossed and his body visibly tensed. Anguirus' did as well even if he masked it in his approach as of trying to appear non-threatening. No doubt so he could spring forth at an instant.
Anguirus continued to approach, stopping short several meters away and standing still for a moment or two before crossing his arms and leaning back against the parked van just as Gigan was. A full minute of silence passed between them before Gigan turned back around and crossed his arms again to lean against the van as well. Anguirus nodded slightly, looking up at the sky as if contemplating the weather and not having his body prepped like he would be under attack in a split second.
"You playing bodyguard to a human, I never thought I'd see the day," Anguirus grunted.
"She's an ally, it was her idea to come here."
Anguirus rolled his eyes, "So, does that explain why I smell her on you so much? Don't tell me she's the one helping you with the mechanicals now that you're away from the bugs."
Gigan rolled his shoulder, ignoring some phantom sensations near where his guts would be if he had them, "Your boss knows how to rack up a hefty repair bill. If you're angry about me being in one piece, take it up with her."
Anguirus saw the bait for what it was and promptly ignored it, "Don't think I wouldn't love to twist your head off right now over the stunt you pulled yesterday."
"Oh, is that why you're here? Trying to gauge your grabbing range before I shorten it?" Gigan huffed while audibly flicking out a blade from his wrist that was pointed right at Anguirus.
Anguirus narrowed his eyes but only pouted slightly, knowing this kind of gumption way too well. It was fairly similar to what he often pulled whenever he got frustrated barreling into a fight for the sake of a cocky teammate. Seniority had its burdens, and he was over 70,000 years old.
"Let's cut to the chase, something tells me you prefer that."
"Oh ha ha," Gigan chided, "Make a cutting joke to the guy covered in blades, real original, Old Reptile."
Anguirus's brow twitched slightly as he did his best not to test and see how close that grapple range was. He cooled the fires within and shrugged.
"I'm not here to make small talk, we both know we'll probably never like each other."
"Why the 'probably' in there? Hoping to invite me to a meditation circle later?"
"Hey don't knock it till you tried it."
"It's not mediation, it's napping. I know the difference and I can't do either," Gigan deadpanned, ignoring last nights events.
"Edgy as always... I said probably because if there's anything I've learned since the both of us got here in these realms, it's that outcomes are unpredictable. I never expected to see you so twitchy over a human, let alone one that seems to have a good head on her shoulders. I also never expected it to be a good idea to leave Destroyah alone with children," Anguirus deadpanned.
Gigan convulsed briefly and held in a tiny chuckle that came out more as a huff, waiting to hear the next effort at bad humor by the ancient saurian. He was left with still air for a hot minute, raising his brow as he let his sunglasses slide down his nose slightly. Mechanical eyes looked directly at the completely monotone face of Anguirus.
"... Is this some kind of Terran humor I don't know about?"
Anguirus shrugged and shook his head, "No matter how surprised you are, I was at least three times that. Places like these change folks."
Gigan let himself briefly reflect on everything that had happened since they got there. Everything from their current employment, big events like X finding a mate, interacting with humans, and even just small things like being allowed to walk around outside for days on end without being locked up in a hanger. It was one thing to download pictures of exotic plants or sights from distant planets off the net, but it was another thing to be able to see the same boring oak tree just three days in a row. Knowledge versus experience, he supposed.
He did grant Anguirus a grunt of affirmation with a tiny nod. Didn't really matter much to concede someone wasn't wrong.
"I could ask you the hows or the whys of why you carved up one of my friends earlier, but we both know the answers would be redundant. True as how much I want to rip your arms off for doing that... So I'm going to ignore what I would be most concerned about and ask you something only you could tell me."
"And why should I at all care about what you have to ask me?" Gigan lamented as he pretended to be enthralled at looking at some of the local trees, observing how gentle breezes cause the limbs to fidget up and down slightly.
"Because I also know you well enough to know you're not stupid. Best thing you could do against Godzilla is hold him off for a while, especially if he went all out. And I'm going to guess you can't fly anymore either," Anguirus absentmindedly took a glance at Gigan's back as if to confirm there were no wings hiding under that jacket.
Seeing none, he leaned back against the van and shrugged, "Which means… you'd have to have had one Daiei of a motivator to keep fighting him. Let alone engage in the first place."
Gigan stilled briefly, thrust right back into the day at the concerts. Frantically chasing after a teammate who had gone rushing off after an opponent only X could fight on even footing for any length of time. She was rushing, she was outgunned, she wasn't in her normal body, and they were fighting near water. He frankly didn't know which time was worse, this or when Irys tried to solo King Ghidorah.
To be frank, he didn't even remember much when he started to close the distance, the energy signature showing Irys wasn't moving and Godzilla was right next to her. The moment he saw her nearly drowned, everything just went red.
Gigan scowled but had turned his face slightly to obscure that.
"I had backup…"
"Oh that's a farce and we know it," Anguirus snapped with a huff, "You rushed in because you were feeling protective. Because you got scared."
"And you talk about this like you would have done the same in my shoes?" Gigan lamented as he gazed forward at the meeting.
Anguirus sighed and did as well, observing Gloriosa conversing with his own compatriots. Technically speaking if she was an ally to Gigan and his company, that made her an enemy. Yet there they were, peacefully conversing. Peace, it seemed to come as naturally to these strange humans as it did the ponies. It was equal parts enviable and admirable.
He let a bit more of his guard down, letting his voice become much calmer than Gigan had probably ever heard it before, "To be honest. If it was Lea or Rodan downed with even King Ghidorah looming over them, I'd have charged in too… probably a little faster than you."
Gigan growled dismissively as he stole a glance at Anguirus, "Oh that's untrue and you know it! I'm way faster than you!"
Anguirus was still looking at the procession inside the house, but he wore a tiny smirk. Gigan could see that he had been duped to some degree or another, but couldn't find himself getting too upset about it. It actually caused both of them to chuckle slightly.
Anguirus took in a deep breath and nodded, "Still despite what you did to Junior, but you have my gratitude for something else…"
He collected himself, putting aside a decade old rivalry for just a bit to get the weight off his chest. Anguirus took in a deep breath once again and shrugged, before nodding with a tiny smile of earnest gratitude, "Thank you, for helping take care of her."
Gigan paused, knowing full well who and what he meant but not quite sure how to articulate it. He wanted to be guarded, but a creeping sense of apathy about combat readiness was making all of that too annoying to maintain.
"She's been with us since X saved her life… Aaand, despite her pulling some stunts I wouldn't approve of involving Ghidorah, she's returned the favor…"
"Well, you won't have to worry about any repeat incidents. Godzilla and Xenilla along with some of the equestrians killed Ghidorah," Anguirus shrugged.
Gigan perked slightly. He'd been fully aware that the king of terror had finally met his demise somewhere in the equestrian realm, but honest happiness that the cosmic nightmare that cretin had inflicted on so many was finally over meant he really didn't care who did it. The fact the master told them seemed to have the implication they had some hand in it.
"...... Wait you're serious? Those two? Why weren't they too busy killing each other?"
Anguirus gave a knowing smirk, falling in command of the conversation now that he had Gigan hooked. He only laughed shortly.
"Same reason Destroyah is safe around children these days. Things change. We both have already. I actually had a dinner date planned before I came here."
Gigan raised an eyebrow at his old enemy, his expression somewhere between neutral and a disapproving scowl.
"... Are they blind by any chance? I could offer ocular implants just to see if they reject you."
Anguirus's chest heaved with a laugh as he shook his head, "Offering your services to the needy and disabled, bodyguarding a human, adopting feral kaiju into your ranks; Gigan you are becoming a Saint!.."
His sarcasm was equally thick as he shook his head, "... The stunt you pulled yesterday is just about the only thing I disapprove of right now, I could get used to the other changes.... Well that and your attitude could use some adjustments, but some things just can't be fixed."
Anguirus enjoyed a laugh, one that Gigan almost joined in on or felt the need to snark back, only to resign himself to inaction. Pouting and rolling his eyes until the big lug shut up already.
"Is there another point to this get-together or should I just turn off my auditory sensors and spare myself your rambling?" Gigan quipped with pursed lips.
Anguirus took in a deep breath as his laughter stilled, collecting himself as he turned to face his old enemy.
"As I said, we don't have to like each other one bit. But as much as I want to turn you into a scrap heap, it doesn't change the fact we're not that different in some ways," he conceded with a resigned nod.
Gigan furrowed his brow. He knew complete nonsense when he heard it, and this wasn't exactly it. He wouldn't hit the literal mute button just yet.
"We're still way different in other ways. You’ve got a laundry list of issues," Anguirus conceded with a sagely nod.
Gigan pouted and almost managed to hit the mute button on himself before the ignoramus continued.
"We're both the first of our teams. Our... families. We're both prototypes. Neither of us had any say in why we were created or where and when. That's why we are protective of those who came after us, directly or indirectly. We're not their parents, but we're just as responsible for them being around as our respective creators are,” Anguirus noted affirmatively with a resolved expression as he gestured to his enemy, “You’ve got your little brother, and I have multiple…"
Gigan scoffed, but not dismissively, "For once, you have my pity. If the bugs were more direct in making or getting more after me, I'd have had my hands so full I couldn't babysit the bat."
Anguirus closed his eyes, contemplating hard in the short time he knew he had for this. He knew full well the risks involved. But, he’d never not been a brave soul. After all while he never asked for his destiny to help stop a rampaging god, he’d never rejected it. If he could have the courage for that, extending his hand towards Gigan was child’s play.
“Thank you, for doing that. I might be responsible for my... little sister existing. Everything she’s gone through is on me. I couldn’t and didn’t help her when she needed it, but it seems I have you and your companions to thank for keeping her existing,” Anguirus sighed as he motioned to Gigan, “Take care of her, will you?”
Gigan looked at the hand, and his own. It would be so easy to cheap-shot his enemy right now. No doubt Anguirus fully knew that as well and the cyborg himself was also vulnerable; especially if he followed through with the motion. Their eyes did meet however, and while there wasn’t any warmth present, there was at least an understanding of a lot of things. They both knew and understood what it meant to try and look out for something else.
“I can only try my best. I take care of my team,” Gigan humored a chuckle and patted at his chest with a metallic tink of his still only recently repaired hand, “I’m heartless in the literal sense, not the metaphoric.”
“To that, I appreciate it. You're on the right track Gigan,” Anguirus snorted tersely, “Stay out of trouble and keep Irys safe, and you and I won’t have a problem.”
Gigan, in a moment of levity, felt the weight come off his tensed shoulders as he shrugged, “Well last time I got into trouble it was going up against two Ghidorahs in a row, then a Godzilla. It’s not a habit I hope to keep.”
“Now that is something I’d really appreciate. Try and carve up a friend of mine again, and we’ll both make Irys upset for what I’d have to do to you.”
Gigan chuckled and shook his head, the gesture spreading onto Anguirus as well.
Knowledge that their battle wasn’t with each other, awareness of the other’s truth and fiber; and acknowledgement of their responsibilities as elder siblings. To that, they were in agreement. Anguirus extended a hand to the cyborg and Gigan looked at it for a few moments before shifting, holding his forearm up instead of going for the handshake for a peace offering in his own manner. The saurian kaiju looked at the gesture before he passively remembered this cyborg counterpart didn’t usually have hands. Humoring him, Anguirus bumped his forearm against Gigan’s.
========
Back in the abode, the discussions serving as a catch-up for both sides as to what had gone on were proceeding remarkably peacefully. Gloriosa Daisy continued on as she took one last long stare at the Elements before knowing what needed to be done.
“The sirens and their allies don’t want any more conflict with you all, there’s been enough fighting and that’s the sort of thing the Windigos would want,” Gloriosa spoke with such calmness in her tone as she outstretched her partially gloved hand. Obeying, the Elements of Generosity, Loyalty, and Honesty levitated out and floated above her palm.
“It’s been proposed we have a meeting, and I agree. Consider this a sign of goodwill… I believe..” she steeled herself and nodded to the Elements, finally letting them go, “That these belong to you.”
Slowly, with glances exchanged between themselves, assurance spread between the three young women. They reached out and took hold of what they had come to embody. It wasn’t true that they were the only ones who could possibly represent the Elements, but that didn’t detract from the observation they had clearly grown up to do so.
Even without the exhibition of their nature prompting a transformation, the contact with their Element had an immediate effect. It made Notus retreat to the back of the room, behind Anguirus whose mana-based nature the windigo could sense served as some kind of shield. One magic blocking the other with a lack of cohabitation. Inhabiting such a body would be far more ideal than the current measures, but he wasn’t like Boreas to bum rush in and hope his resistances would be enough. There was of course, that option, but even with the distance he could tell it wasn’t quite the opportune time yet.
-Soon, daughter… soon you will have your chance to surpass me...-
Notus hid it as him covering his eyes from the bright light show caused by the Element acquisition, using Flash Sentry’s body as a shield to avoid being torn into by their light.
Gloriosa sighed, feeling her power shift and the partial transformation she had undertaken fade; able to feel the increased radiating power coming off the girls. She’d thought her worth came from acquiring and keeping those powers once, and yet she couldn’t reject the kind feeling of being wrong here.
“Interesting, most interesting,” Peachy Keen hummed as she inspected the Elements approvingly, the crystals having automatically generated necklaces to be worn by their Bearers from vines, “These truly are almost identical to the Equestrian Elements of Harmony.”
Junior looked to his pupil, “Rainbow, you transformed before far away from any of these things. How does it feel?”
Rainbow was the first of the gawking girls to speak up, “In a word Teach, turbo-charged!”
“I would bet! I’d estimate your powers will be much stronger now, the new Elements very well could be a multiplier. I’d suppose the reason you showed magic prior is that part of the Element was already within you, so uniting it with the physical talisman amplifies it all,” Peachy Keen nodded as she looked to Gloriosa, bowing her head, “You’ve given a great gift, Ms. Daisy. I take it you intend to give young Pinkie Pie the Element of Laughter when she has returned from a family visit, and grant Sunset Shimmer the Element of Magic?”
“When I can find whoever that first one is, sure,” Gloriosa noted, having not seen the pink haired Bearer Twilight gave her heads up about. So far the only party material she'd seen had been at the mess hall this morning, but aside from a cleaning-up Megalon she found nobody about. Gloriosa instead refocused and glanced to the bob of orange and red hair she recognized from before, “Sunset Shimmer, wanna give yours a go?”
The called upon nodded and stepped up, after visibly gulping.
“If you asked me before the concert I still wouldn’t really think I was worthy of this,” Sunset muttered with a nibble on her lip, before taking in a deep breath and exhaling, “But... hey! What are you gonna do about fate? If it’s for a good cause and all, guess it might be my shot to set things right.”
Gloriosa shrugged, “Crazy thing for us normal people huh?”
Sunset Shimmer paused and lowered her neck into her shoulders slightly, “Aaaaactually, I’m a unicorn. I’m from Equestria like Twilight. Our Twilight.”
“… Oh,” Gloriosa blinked, eyes wide, before chuckling, “Ooooh!... Well I’ve spent the last weeks in a camp with three sea sorceresses, a space alien, a big albino bat, and two space alien cyborgs alongside a magical pony princess. Sooo… sure, what’s one extra unicorn?”
Gloriosa glanced at the crystals she had left and puzzled, “Memory’s fuzzy from when Twilight went over it with me too. Magic is purple right?”
“Bit of a violet,” Peachy Keen quipped calmly from experience as it had once been her element as well.
Gloriosa furrowed her brow while checking over the necklace's remaining crystals, “Huh…I’ll have to get it back from Twilight then, I let her borrow it to study. It seemed to react to her and she got curious.”
“Understandable, she is the Bearer for it back in Equestria,” Godzilla noted from his past review, “Might be being a Bearer in one world counts for another.”
Sunset Shimmer was about to speak up about the very subtle glow she saw on a red crystal around Gloriosa’s neck when a more pressing topic shot into her mind, “Twilight! You said we’d have a meeting… when do we get Twilight back?”
Rarity perked up as well, “Yes, we do need to see our dear Darling is alright, up close.”
Applejack nodded with crossed arms, “Peace offerin’s great an’ got our attention, but ye’ can understand why everyone’s a bit jumpy….”
She gave a sideways glance to half the unusual characters in the room, “Half of us are literally here cus this big conundrum resulted in her getting’ snatched.”
Gloriosa paused and gulped, not at all to shoot the answer down but trying to find the best way to articulate matters. A red burst of light behind her, silencing other thoughts as a metal hand was put on her shoulder. Multiple persons took a backstep from Gigan suddenly teleporting inside the room, some more than others reacting off muscle memory and bad experience.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle has been our captive... but also our guest. I told no lies when I sent updates showing she was in good health. We kept her because we knew the real enemy was out there and couldn’t affor-” he shrugged, swallowing away his excuse, “We were paranoid about you lot meddling with our chances. Best of a bad situation.”
Gigan squeezed Gloriosa’s shoulder slightly but not in a painful way, more a means of getting a good grip for something she recognized as coming. To more than a little confusion of Godzilla and Anguirus, she put her hand on the cyborg’s right where the blade would pop out without any fear. Gigan almost seemed to squeeze her hand, “We struck an accord. She assisted us with magical advice and help, in exchange we agreed not to harm anyone. I did my best to honor that… until I lapsed.”
Gigan lowered his head slightly, as if in a bow, “I really don’t like some of you, and I know it’s mutual. But your Princess isn’t in that category. We made our mistakes targeting her, and I made my own launching the attack yesterday… I am.. sorry. If it puts your minds at ease until the meeting, her majesty Princess Twilight remains unharmed and in good health, mentally and physically. Who else do you think helped us to formulate some plans as of late?”
Rainbow Dash jerked her head up, “Wait, you mean we were kinda up against Twilight this whole time?”
Gigan glanced at her, “In a manner, no. Loyalty isn’t something I’m foreign to. She only helped on the agreement we never harmed anyone, most of all her friends. Her plans were to help us get at the true enemy. She is no traitor.”
“An’ when was that something you cared about?” Applejack grunted, earning a side-eyed glare from the cyborg that she returned.
“More than you’d know. Point is, this whole quarrel was pointless and risks damaging us all. So, what we’ve got here is a matter of trust. We trust you by giving us some of the Elements of Harmony and strengthening your roster. You trust us that Princess Twilight will be returning shortly and without harm,” Gigan shrugged, “I believe we can all trust that everyone here wants this conflict over with, yes?”
Lea, having been quiet for a majority of the events unfolding before her, finally spoke up to directly address both of the visitors.
“… Thank you, Gloriosa… And Gigan.”
The cyborg’s head cocked up so much it made a mechanical chirp.
Lea took in a deep breath and collected herself. Lots of old wounds were stinging, both on her and her companions caused by this very cyborg. But, opening those old wounds back up wouldn’t get Twilight back. She would not muddy this chance. The Mothra opened her eyes and gave a very subtle if gentle smile and now, “Thank you. Had I known of the siren being harmed, I’d have helped myself.”
“I made plenty of mistakes to complicate this,” Gigan nodded back as amicably as he could manage, “I just want to see to it they’re fixed.”
Godzilla had watched the proceedings with no small measure of pride in both his Terran companions, picking up the ball the locals had gotten rolling splendidly. In some ways, rivalries or hatreds from Terra had exacerbated this whole conflict. Best now to put them to bed. He looked to Peachy Keen and Sunset Shimmer, who seemed to be thinking the same frequency and nodded to him.
He addressed both Gigan and Gloriosa, “Then where shall our parties meet?”
Gigan and Gloriosa glanced at one another, before looking back at the company. The latter could feel a tremor come over the former, but not necessarily out of fear. She patted the metallic fingers curled over her shoulders and upon feeling his eyes firmly upon her she tilted her head in a silent display of body language. He copied the motion and earned a nod. After some contemplation he did the same, much to the surreal sight of Anguirus, Mothra, and Godzilla who never expected the Nebulan cyborg to be casually ‘conversing’ with a human until recently.
Then again for most of his life they never would’ve expected Destroyah to take up a quiet existence as a farmer or be remotely safe around children.
Gigan looked about the room, “I was going to send the coordinates after we left... After Gloriosa gave up the Elements and you realized we didn’t bring her, I was half expecting an ambush to try and apprehend us as hostages.”
“To be fair, that’s pretty much the exact thing you did with Twilight,” Godzilla grunted, “Honestly, you didn’t even need to come here, only she did.”
Gigan shrugged but nodded in concession, “Fair… I-“
“You came here to ensure she could get out,” Sunset Shimmer finished his sentence for him, earning a look from the cyborg as she nodded to Gloriosa.
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t reject it as he said nothing. Even so she got the sneaking tingling sensation about her that gave the former unicorn the answer she was looking for. Even without touching him and using what magic she had started to cultivate, Sunset Shimmer knew genuine concern when she saw it.
And perhaps to help preserve some pride, she didn’t press forward with it and nodded.
“… I only agreed to let her come at all because Godzilla spared me and Irys,” Gigan quietly stated as he looked at his old enemies without the same hatreds as before.
“New worlds tend to change things, it certainly did for my friends old and new here,” Peachy Keen was privy to the Gigan had on Gloriosa, “And it certainly has for you.”
Gigan tilted his head slightly at the youth, glancing to Gloriosa briefly to check for any recognition but getting none. Still, he could tell something was… different, with this one. The way she stepped seemed poised, unusually graceful for one so small. She stepped forth and bowed.
“I know a lot from Godzilla and Mothra’s word. But now you’re associating with humans, taking in a wayward Irys, and keeping Princess Twilight safe and even taking her advice. Peace isn’t easy, but it’s worth it… I don’t approve of the events that made this peace accord possible, but you have my thanks for what you’ve done.”
“….. As I said, I’m heartless in literal terms, not the metaphoric,” Gigan quipped while glancing back to Anguirus before he sighed.
The cyborg stepped back and Gloriosa followed suit on a backstep of her own, “Fine then. Trust me with any presence, I’ll trust you not to bumrush us and tell you so you can trust me. Meeting is downtown, top of the parking garage near the mall after sundown. You’ll be reunited with Twilight Sparkle there.”
His eyes slid around to lock upon Mothra Lea, “Totally unharmed.”
Gigan stated so plainly that it was totally without emotion. Robotic didn’t even begin to describe it, and that was intentional. Thoughts were trying to be hidden behind those mechanical eyes. A more wary type might grow suspicious. But to Sunset Shimmer, the sensations she empathetically picked up only spoke with hidden warmth. She stole a glance back at Mothra Lea and winked assuringly.
Gloriosa noticed the red crystal around her neck flare to life at the same time Sunset Shimmer acted, right before Gigan teleported them as far away as he could.
========
Sunset Shimmer needed a minute. After the emotional rollercoaster she’d been on as of late, she really needed a minute. Dropping the reveal of how she’d known of Irys and company, the confusion with her element, the meeting with Gloriosa and Gigan, and the fast-approaching meeting that would reunite all of them with Twilight; she just needed a moment to catch her breath.
Crossing her arms behind her head and laying back under a warm sun from her bedroom window, the former unicorn took in a deep breath while letting the gentle heat conduct onto her skin. She tuned out everything she could, having previously requested her friends leave her be for a moment and ignoring the footsteps outside the hall. It was, perhaps an unfortunately, as it left her ignorant to the pair creeping in through the door.
They waited until her breath got slow enough to indicate some fleeting rest, taking only a step every minute or so once the door was closed behind themself silently. With the other Bearers getting or tasting their Elements, that left only this one still incomplete enough to be vulnerable. This one who was a genuine Equestrian and had the same Element as that wretched Wysteria. There was already one successor to the last Retainer to worry with, it was rapidly getting out of control with two.
The other Elements could serve as the antithesis to strife well enough, and Empathy could easily engender the right feelings or consideration to let the other six function. The kaiju had proven to be such promising vessels to spur conflict from, and Empathy more than most other Elements could prove a stop-block to keeping those fires going.
Notus needed to stop this, but an attempted assasination wouldn’t work. With those mongrel kaiju about, he’d never get away with it and such might only further galvanize both sides to action. He’d been careful to slip a message across the wind to the other two, telling them everything about the incoming meet up as well as who had what Element. Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty, and Generosity with the Bearers, the Retainer still had Empathy and Laughter with her, and the counterpart to Zephyrus’ pet had Magic at a place called Everfree. The reply took great interest in Everfree, but Zephyrus had made it clear he needed more time…
Notus glanced in the mirror and loathed the face looking back. This whole ordeal would have been astronomically better if he’d succeeded in assuming control over Godzilla like Boreas had Monster X. Then he could have even tried picking off the stray Bearer or meddler with such power. Instead, he was in this pathetic body. Notus almost hissed, but held his tongue while stalking closer to the still and dozing Sunset Shimmer; hands caressing the carpet while creeping closer.
He was a hunter, and a hunter was not worth their salt if they couldn’t make-do with what they had on hand. Perhaps it was serendipitous that it was Flash Sentry of all people he wound up possessing. It seemed he had quite a history with this unicorn mongrel.
Flash’s chilled hand extended forth like a claw, closing and coming just short of touching Sunset Shimmer’s forehead with the middle and ring finger. Notus pulled forward, placing both hands beside her face while hovering over it with eyes far too wide to be normal. Dredging up from his depths, Notus curled his back and lifted his head high. Flash’s body contorted, jaw dropping to the point it looked dislocated. He bent back over and exhaled chilly mist that the sleeping Sunset Shimmer breathed in.
To Sunset Shimmer, it seemed like a night terror her imagination might conjure up after breathing in the chilly mist coming off Notus’ magic. She knew this memory, though not the perspective. Unable to gander a multi-thousand year frost demon was forcing the sad recollection of her ex-boyfriend into her mind, she’d come to the logical deduction it was what her mind imagined it had looked like from what she’d seen and heard.
And she was currently hearing her own raucous laughter while a sobbing Fluttershy clung to several friends, namely Applejack and Flash. It was in physics class and everyone just saw the slideshow that Mr. Key Ring was frantically trying to take off the projector. It was supposed to be a simple kinetic energy project, showing the making and working of a pulley set Fluttershy had created.
-”I thought Sunset was on the same team as her? Wha-the- why would?”-
Sunset Shimmer flinched mentally and in the real world, hearing what sounded like Flash Sentry’s thoughts. On the screen, taken from Fluttershy’s private laptop only her ‘partner’ had access to, were several of the horribly shy girl’s photos from the animal shelter. Namely those that weren’t so glamorous, such as cleaning up after ‘accidents’ and holding injection syringes while the animals got their shots. To someone with half a sense of maturity, they’d maybe appreciate the hard work Fluttershy put in, not only dealing with the grosser parts of animals but helping seeing to their medical care. That was the very reason Applejack and Flash had taken those photographs to boost her confidence…
To a class full of Freshman following along with what the popular girl, Sunset Shimmer, was doing; it was Fluttershy being disgusting and looking like she was needle-prone.
“Gro-ho-hoooss!”
“QUIET! Quiet down class!” Mr. Key Ring bellowed, trying to remove the powerpoint but somehow it had managed to open multiple windows and made removing it hard.
“Think she washed after each one?”
“Watch out or she’ll stick you too!”
“HEY KNOCK IT OFF!” Applejack roared while stomping forward, having handed Fluttershy off to Rarity, looking poised to smash the projector herself if Mr. Key Ring didn’t shut it off like he was trying to.
Fluttershy audibly sobbed while trying to hide inside Rarity, a shaking Flash patting her back while still gobsmacked at the screen.
-”How could they have gotten those? Why did-....”-
Sunset Shimmer’s eyes shrunk when she heard the loudest laughter in the room, the same one switching the flashdrive with the project out for a different one. Speaking quietly to Mr. Key Ring, though inaudible from the perspective, she smirked while putting up a different file. The screen clicked off Fluttershy about to give a Mrs. Frost’s pet bear his rabies shot and flicked over to a title screen. The words ‘Pulley-ing along: Kinetic and Potential Force in Practice by Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy’ were splashed across an innocuous red background.
-”You… did this. Wh-why?!”-
Sunset felt stabbed, like an icicle to the back. It spread through the veins and chilled the body to the bone on every port. Notus was completely quiet as he dug his claws into Sunset’s mind through Flash’s memories. She was no monster, but she was once such a petty soul. Notus couldn’t use the memories from Equestria the windigo sensed, Flash Sentry wasn’t a witness there, but he was witness to the immediate incident or aftermath of Shimmer’s rampage through the student body. The seemingly sweet, lost girl he’d helped get established turning her ire on his schoolmates and friends for the pettiest of reasons. Fluttershy’s public embarrassment was born out of some perceived slight in the girl having Sunset handle the presentation.
Notus drank up the misery coming out of Sunset, drawing in her breath just as she was forced to inhale his mists. It let him use her voice where it counted.
-”She was only scared of presenting in public, yet I treated it like she’d dumped work onto me even after managing much of the project. I crushed her, played to that anxiety for what? Laziness? Spite?”-
Sunset Shimmer quivered and shrugged, unaware the voice wasn’t her own actual thoughts. She might not have done as drastic an ill deed as some others, far from it, but that hardly changed intent. Fluttershy here, Applejack on Family Day, Rainbow Dash on the track, Pinkie at her own workspace. She worked her way through the student body from the perspective of her then-boyfriend, who was in the background the whole time.
“Dang’it Flash, she’s out. Of. Con.Trol!” Applejack snarled while clutching her whimpering little sister, “Do somethin’ about her ‘fore I do!”
-”Why didn’t I stop her?”-
Flash’s morose thought echoed through Sunset’s mind while he went over to try and help council Applebloom after Family Day’s Sunset-born mishap. The mix of chills he was experiencing were made manifest to both Notus’ victims.
Sunset wanted to reach out, wanted to do exactly what Applejack wanted to do. Throw her past self against a wall and shriek at her or worse. She felt a twist in her heart at every slight, even the petty ones. This world was her second chance, after thinking she blew it with a prestigious, promising position back in Equestria she strode away from out of jealousy of Cadance. And she was doing this petty spite?!
-”I wanted to be an alicorn like that backcountry pegasus had, I craved her and Celestia’s power and status despite how high I’d gotten on the food chain! It was never enough!”-
-”No! No I don’t want that anymore! I don’t even think I deserve my Element, whatever it is!”-
Notus grinned and hissed contentedly, frigid gales striking into Sunset’s mind.
-”I don’t think I’m worthy deep down. I’m just going with it because of how proud it made Celestia and I want to help my friends!”-
Notus paused and tried to dig deeper. Celestia, alicorns, who and what were those? Flash hadn’t heard the name ‘Celestia’ spoken aloud while Notus had assumed control and the lack of bad memories Sentry had with that entity meant he couldn’t dredge up the memories from Sunset’s mind easily. But the words were important, enough that they demanded more information.
Forcing deeper within both victim’s memories, Notus looked for the real clincher. The most raw, painful memory they had between them. They were once an item, perhaps it was something involving a separation? Something neither of them were actively confronting, given the lingering threads between them even the windigo was privy to. Something, perhaps not grandiose nor world-shattering, but still emotional, had occurred. Perhaps, the final knife to twist and crack Sunset Shimmer open enough to find out more about who or what an alicorn and Celestia was.
Privy to how Rarity didn’t have a particular memory just yet, Notus started looking there. It didn’t take long to change the recollection to something more recent. To Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry’s mutual horror, the Fall Formal before Twilight’s arrival was brought forth to mind. And the aftermath therein was giving off quite a bit of distress… Sunset quivered in remorse.
=========================
“No!-” the echoes of Flash Sentry’s voice seemed to sound off into the void after glimpsing a force not his own piloting his body around Sunset Shimmer, “Leave her alone!”
The void inside Sentry’s mind surrounding him was vast and near-featureless. A frozen wasteland of scarcity of detail. The only thing of note was the perspective he could see in the horizon above, like a point of view. His own point of view. Of a tearful orange face veiled by burnt yellow and red hair. Flash ran towards it like he could try to force his body to reach out and touch Sunset, or throw itself to their knees and beg forgiveness for the words spewing out of his mouth he wasn’t in control over. Then a southward wind smashed into his back!
Sentry tripped in his own mindscape and his foot refused to be brought back up to regain his footing. It was frozen into the ground, icy tendrils snaking up his shoes as others gripped at his hands; as if to chain him to the ground. He fought back, but couldn’t gain an inch. All as the skies shifted to other sights, other memories.
Flashes of faces and names breezed past, many of them taken years apart despite being individuals Sentry interacted with regularly. Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, and… Sunset. All from instances of anger, frustration, sadness, or struggle that happened with any friendship regarding the first five. Every time Sentry tried to push against the chilling tide that was crushing down on him, it felt like he was just striking at himself.
"Y-you!.. You touch any of them and I swear I'll-"
The south wind smashed into his face before curling around, constricting as the voice echoed forth once again. It sounded just like his own.
-"Stop it, kill it? The monster King is a threat, those with some very powerful magic might be a threat, but everyone knows that… I am not a threat. I have no magic, I have no experience, I wasn’t chosen for anything special. I didn’t even remotely try to follow my family’s example and make something great of myself! I’m not worthy of my name or my company. I only leech off those near me! I have nothing and I am nothing!"-
The cold, it gripped his head and dug in, the sound of the enemy that had hijacked his body, it sounded exactly like himself. It spoke with his own worst condemnations amplified, like it was he himself doing the self reflection. The ice grew more over his limbs, reaching his elbows and knees. Self doubt was increasing as his heart felt heavier. He couldn’t see the best of times or the neutral moments with his friends. Flash was made only to see the worst. The times friends fought, the times he wasn’t around to help, the times he was a stupid youth and had failed to make much of a difference when he could have. Many of the more recent ones were of his freshman year, for the months he was blind to what the strange girl he’d helped out was doing to others.
He was confronted with the angry face of Applejack barking at him as she held a near inconsolable Fluttershy, the former shouting out the same name over and over as the cause of the poor wreck’s misery. His girlfriend, of whom he didn’t do anything to stop. It was hardly the only memory in such a predicament either.
-“I knew them since lower grade school, why didn’t I step up earlier? My family no doubt would! They’re all so much better than I, so why didn’t I try and stop Shimmer? When my childhood friends hurt, I’d been utterly worthless- I’d been worse than worthless!”-
It took a complete stranger to finally knock Sunset down a peg, a bad situation that had spiralled for years and the best he could do to help Twilight was just a save with the edited photos. And why?! None of his friends had magic initially and they all took action. Did it really take finding a gal not too dissimilar for how his ex-girlfriend once was to get off his ass and act?I
"No, I didn't… I didn't think.." Sentry gagged as the ice stabbed into his gut, a manifestation of condemnation.
-"Face it Flash, I’m a lackey at best! I'm just a guy a band hung out with a lot through grade school. I'm beyond out of my league in all this chaos! I'm not remotely a help to anyone! There's nothing special about me at all."-
The ice wrapped around his arms and legs started to claw up his body, crossing the shoulders and chilling the spine without numbing.
He quivered, trying to resist the forces acting upon his body. This- this couldn’t be him! This wasn’t him. He hadn’t screwed up this badly…! This... wasn’t him. He pushed against the ice formed up against him with as much gumption as he could. Fighting against the negative memories.
"Stop-.. stop using my voice! Get out of my head!”
The South winds roared, threatening to rip into flesh and flay the skin. The insolence of this human! Old memories were being dredged up. Old perceptions brought to light. Notus passively noted how he was incapable of accessing the more positive flashes of recollection, which far outnumbered the negative. That was troublesome to garner information. He didn’t know much about these new kaiju or who this Peachy Keen character was beyond the latter being someone from Equestria. Flash hadn’t had a bad memory with them so that knowledge was beyond the windigo of the south’s grasp.
In fact, for all this trouble, the human was frustratingly difficult. There was a good reason Boreas required the host to be mentally purged before taking over long term. For the most part, Flash Sentry had lived a good life and been good to others. He wasn’t some hero in the making like the Element Bearers, but he hadn’t the horrific past or exploitable ambition to play towards. Just some familial- and friend-born doubt of not measuring up and self-worth problems. Notus would just have to hit harder with what the windigo could claw free.
-"I’ll always be a disappointment. I’ll never measure up to anything or anyone, friend or family. They just keep me around out of obligation-”-
The tearful, hurt look on Shimmer’s face was forced to surround him as the winds roared once more and seemed to shove Flash further into the ice. He could practically feel a cold hand rammed into his form to try and freeze him from the inside out.
-“I put up a good show, but I’m not worth squat! First two girls I felt anything for turned out to not even be human-”-
Notus’ arm was grabbed. Feebly, but grabbed. Flash’s arm was craned back and gripping the manifestation of the windigo’s limb by the wrist. There was a warmth pressing back against the cold, one deep down that he was clinging to.
“I don’t care.”
Sentry looked exhausted and beaten down, the ice almost up to his cheeks now. But it’s progress was slowed, if not stopped. He had a smile that, while forced, had enough honesty behind it that it refused to fade.
“I don’t c-care… what I think of myself,” Sentry whimpered with a slight chuckle.
The memories he could cling to weren’t the torment this cretin was trying to break him with. It was the opposite. He’d spent a weekend at a dude ranch with a 6-year-old Applejack chasing chickens and then getting chased by a rooster. Tried and failed to keep up with a 13-year-old Dash at track more than once, leaving both a laughing mess at the finish line. Had a 7-year-old Fluttershy help him adopt an old tomcat in need of a home as his first pet. Stood in place for a good hour when an 11-year-old Rarity was hemming her first male suit. And it was his 8th birthday party that Pinkie taught him how to crack the same smile he had on right now.
In the waking world, Flash Sentry’s body, piloted by Notus, started to seize up. He only now realized something. In his motive to drown Shimmer in the cold, he’d accidentally made the gap between them zero in length. His hand was touching Sunset’s cheek even while it was poised to go around her neck. Sparks of red started to flicker from her throat, and that magic was conducting into the subject of her memories and thoughts.
It gave Flash just the tiniest bolstering he needed to keep an ember hot in the blizzard. The memories turned even sweeter. It was several years ago, a younger, more naive, and skittish Sunset Shimmer and he sat together out by the school statue. It was an unremarkable day, just another goings-on with a partially cloudy sky and mild temperature. He’d noticed the new girl seemed to have some trouble with dexterity and thought up a way to help. At the time, he’d thought it maybe some old nerve damage or just youthful clumsiness; the idea she was a magical equine made human never came to mind and how could it have ever?
His way of helping was to teach her how to use a guitar, just the basics.
The first notes were beyond clunky and franky were quite grating on the ears. Her hold on the strings was too clenched.
“Here, you need to relax your wrist a bit more. Loosey-Goosey so they say,” he quipped while reaching over, only realizing too late he’d put his arm around her to do so given how they were seated.
Trying not to stutter, Sentry gently worked his thumb under her wrist and pried up slightly; holding it until Sunset Shimmer’s shaking joint stilled.
“Y-er-you need some room so your skin doesn’t stick to the-eh uh…” Flash cleared his thought, feeling very warm and his mind was utterly blanking, “Stick to… to….”
“Theeeee.. Neck was it?” Sunset Shimmer shrugged, pursing her lips as her face was getting as red as her hair.
“Y-Yeah… I think…”
“Well you’re supposed to be the expert!” the former unicorn quipped playfully before making a show by grumbling.
“Oh just try the note already!” Flash yipped before holding onto the back of her hand, tapping at her index, middle, and pinkie knuckle to indicate the fingers to use; before the awkward position was too much and he let go to get his arm back.
Sunset Shimmer took in a deep breath, held it, and bit her tongue. She prepared and readied like she thought the thing would explode, or at least explode with another horrid noise; if she did this wrong.
Sentry heard the most average F-Sharp in history, followed by an honest laugh that made him feel his heart thump between his ears. Especially when a victorious Sunset leaned on him happily and repeated it, like she was showing off some great achievement. The thumping got even louder when her arm hooked around him in a post-victory rush after getting several other notes right. Even though he couldn’t see it, he knew he had the most stupid, goofy looking grin on his face when she squeezed him against her.
It was a happy memory from a happier time, before she acted out more and he failed to stop or moderate her. And, after finally being brought down a peg by Twilight, it was who she’d returned to being. He’d just been too worried about a relapse to act on it as the Rainbooms had. He should have realized the truth long ago, the first moment she showed honest change after the Fall Formal.
That candle that got lit during that guitar lesson had still been burning all these years, even as the mere embers within his hand.
The demon wanted him to condemn someone who’d given him worth for her transgressions, and to submit to dread about how he measured up to his friends. He’d realized long ago how his friends valued him, and as for Sunset’s transgressions… he’d forgiven all of them long ago.
This demon had nothing to threaten him with.
Notus shrieked at the wretched sensations it was literally arm-deep in, his arm still lodged in Flash’s chest as if to try and crush or tear out his spirit’s heart; to freeze it in the cold and revel in the strife. To a being of such pure evil, love of any sort was toxic. Good, was toxic.
Sentry was an unremarkable young man, but he was a good man.
Flash coughed but never stopped smiling, able to perceive the dark influence in his mind; that which was taking his self doubt and trying to smother him with it.
“I- don’t care-... what I think about myself. I’m not important,” Flash panted while still bearing that smile, determined to not let go of the warmth he had left in him.
He hadn’t been deprived of what gave him his worth like X had. Nor had he the baggage to exploit Adagio or Gigan risked choking on. He was unremarkable in manner, achievement, and status. But he was honest and he was good. And no two-bit, slanderous demon was going to cheat that truth out of him.
His smile widened, even as the ice kept him pinned down. Notus sneered and fell back into the southerly winds, resigning to try again later. He couldn’t waste more time with this lackey while surrelance of the actual threats was more important. Notus had thought it a sign of weakness that Zephyrus required that brute Boreas to occupy a mostly memory-less host. Now he understood the trouble of not doing that. The memories, the happy ones the windigo couldn’t stand, were what was keeping Sentry from freezing over entirely. A spark in the dark to keep him warm until he was free. Until they freed him.
“They care, and they’re the important ones…” Flash Sentry chuckled weakly, the flickering, glowing heat of those embers he held in his hand the only thing not covered with frost that he paid no heed to. He looked back in defiance at Notus, his friends new and old as well as Sunset the only thing in his mind, “And you’re gonna lose to them.”
In the conscious world outside of Flash Sentry’s possessed mind, Sunset Shimmer was still crying as the second expired. But even as the moment in which all of the conflict within Flash’s mind took place was up, she could register something. She couldn’t see them, couldn’t hear them, but she could feel them. Feel him. Her tears dried as concern was pushed forward. She scrambled up from her bed with a gasp and just barely glimpsed a flash of blue hair moving away. She reached out and tried to speak up, but the words refused to leave her throat past Irys’ choker. She felt, in a manner, horrible… but contrary to Notus’ intent, not entirely or even majorly at or for herself.
But, she still felt. The cold was slipping away more and more by the mind, especially after she got out an old guitar. Shaking hands lightly strummed a F sharp. After several more strummings, her hands shook less and less.
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Reader Works
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Because I haven't done this in a long time, and it's my honor to show off what those who read my crazy stories are up too in their own pursuits, this one's for all ya'll!
