//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 – Kingslayer // Story: The One True King // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Chapter 25 “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” — Alexander the Great Foal Mountain, Equestria The storm was the first to hit the shores of Equestria. An eerie shroud of darkness fell upon the land as the heavens were consumed in a never-ending storm of black and shrieking, golden lightning. The storm took away the light of the moon, of the stars, and left Equestria in a state of utter stillness, cloaked in shadows. And then came the rain. Like a wave had struck the land, the wall of rain slowly devoured the world until the mountains, the canyons, the forests, and the village of Hollow Shades were all doused. The wind stirred and swirled above as the eye of the hurricane moved steadily into position. Then, the storm ceased, and a heavy rainfall and strong wind were all that were left surrounding Foal Mountain. Until the storm broke and Ghidorah landed upon the earth. Peals of thunder and cries of lightning filled the skies just as the Golden Demise tremored the world beneath him. His scales were coursing with electricity, his spines trembling and chittering as each head slowly rose from the decimated forest beneath him. With an extension and flap of his wings, Ghidorah slowly observed his surroundings with a great, slithering turn. Ichi shook his head in mild bemusement, growling softly. He saw nothing with his heightened vision, and that greatly annoyed him. Ni lowered his neck so that he was barely even gracing the tips of the trees beneath him. He hissed and bared his jagged, razor-sharp teeth. San continuously sniffed at the air, at the forest floor, and slowly opened his jaws to growl a low, guttural cry. Ichi and Ni turned to the left head. They watched San sniff again and again. They did so as well, and they caught the scent. The scent of a rival predator. First, he heard the call, and now the smell of the beast was present. Ghidorah had his trail to follow. He bent low and proceeded to hunt. The tips of his wings met the forest with slow and subtle precision, each of his three heads low to the earth and slithering gently above it. Flicking his dark, forked tongues, Ghidorah scanned and smelled and hunted every mile, yard, and inch of the land. His feet gingerly met the ground, crushing only a few trees with each step and creating very little noise on a grander scope, where his storm nulled any other sounds. It was very unusual behavior for a Titan his size, but the situation called for it. Ghidorah had heard the call of the rival alpha. He had sensed its presence to this location and had begun the hunt. To surprise and ultimately defeat his foe, Ghidorah needed to seek as the hunter, and to discover the alpha as his prey. And so, he slithered and hunted between the mountains, his body low to the earth and his heads sniffing, hissing, and searching. From above the mountain peaks, Ghidorah appeared like a prowling, golden lion, devious and malicious intent on his shared minds for whenever he could find the prey he so desperately hunted for. But clouded in a dark shroud of shadows, Sombra knew there was no hope for the usurper to find him. A mist of wicked magic slowly evaporated from Sombra’s new body, turning his once misty form into a solid state. Into the form of MUTO Prime poised for the kill on the peak of the nearest mountain. He scanned the forest and the storm, his bright green eyes falling to witness the three-headed usurper for himself. Sombra slowly widened his jaws, his jagged teeth slick with saliva as a void of rancid, sulfurous red mist escaped his maw. It had been over a thousand years since he had seen the great serpent, no longer trapped within several hardened layers of ice, but free to roam and lay siege to the world. Just as Sombra once intended. But his intentions changed with time, with the shifting of the global powers. Now, resurrected and stronger than ever before, Sombra was not about to let the false king rise to his throne. For it was Sombra’s throne to claim, well-deserved with nothing more to protect it. Not even the world. Not even the global powers. Not even Ghidorah. With his forelimbs and claws tightly gripping the mountainside, King Sombra slowly began his approach. He took a cautious step closer, his limbs and claws scraping the rocks. He waited for the sound of thunder to move, and he proceeded closer. Closer. Freezing whenever the storm had, proceeding when the winds cried, the thunder roared, or the lightning shrieked. Until he overshadowed even the great serpent. Sombra bent low. He bared his teeth. A flash of lightning illuminated the darkness above Ghidorah, and Monster Zero stopped. All three heads saw the shadow. Sombra leaped off the mountain, crying with a trembling roar as he did so. A roar that split the storm and struck the heavens. Ghidorah rapidly twisted all three heads in the direction of the surprise attack, with Ichi, Ni, and San all screeching in quick retaliation to the rival alpha roar. Ultimately, though, Ghidorah was too slow to dodge or counter the pouncing strike from above. Sombra had gained the advantage and slammed his massive forelimbs onto Ghidorah’s heads. A shocking earthquake shot out across the forest, spewing rock, dirt, and trees outwards into the air. Ghidorah’s body crumbled in an instant, moments before reawaking to the Devil’s will. His wings expanded greatly and flapped forward, pulling the heads out of Sombra’s grasp. Free with trails of earth and dust following his necks, Ghidorah cackled at the opposing Titan. Sombra roared back. And he was relentless in his advance. Slightly disoriented still, Ghidorah only managed to gain so much ground before Sombra lunged for him again, now proceeding to wrap his jaws around Ichi’s neck. Ichi cried out, San and Ni instantly responding to aid. They bit down on the MUTO’s head, digging their fangs in deep, ripping and tearing to pry the beast off of him. Sombra responded by rearing up his claws and slamming them down onto Ghidorah’s heads. The serpent flapped his wings to break free. Sombra struck those next. Twisting, turning, and eventually releasing Ghidorah, Sombra spun and planted his fists firmly into the earth. He watched as his effort had paid off, for his strength had thrown Ghidorah several hundred yards deeper into the forest, closer to the next mountain range. The Death Song fell and rolled, shrieking and cackling as he did so. Snorting with a shake of his head, Sombra was bleeding but satisfied. His new body would take some getting used to, but it was nothing if not powerful. Not many could say they had the will or power to even throw the mighty Ghidorah off his feet. Shaken but undeterred, Ghidorah rose quickly and spun accordingly, roaring in octaves of three. The two glared each other down momentarily as Ghidorah lifted his wings and extended them in a haunting display. An intimidation tactic, the three-headed dragon using his wings to scrape his storms. To show how mighty he was compared to the meager world and all who stood beneath him. Sombra roared and slammed his fists into the ground, sending an earth-shattering tremor across the forest. A tremor so mighty that even the mountains trembled to his power. Even Ghidorah lost his footing and crumbled slightly, the hydra shrieking. With that, Sombra began his charge. Ghidorah saw him and flapped his wings anyway, kicking off the ground to gain his advantage in the air. But lost his breath when Sombra kicked off the ground all the same and gored him directly into the mountain. The sounds of an avalanche came shortly after Ghidorah’s agonized cries. For it was Foal Mountain he had tackled Ghidorah into, the remains of the once-mighty peak collapsing in a dust cloud of tremendous boulders. Seeing such, Sombra tore himself away from the serpent and watched from a safe distance. He watched as the dust and rocks fell upon Ghidorah. He witnessed as the beast thrashed and crumbled beneath the weight of an entire avalanche. He listened to the cries of the hydra fall silent. Breathing in deeply, viciously, Sombra unleashed another roar of epic proportions. A roar to declare to all the world that his usurper was bested, and that Sombra, the one true king, reigned once again. But he was deafened, blotted out by the oncoming roar of another. A roar that ripped through Sombra’s very body, mind, and soul. A roar that Sombra had heard many times before, now finally presented before him and only him. He turned to it, his shimmering eyes gazing into the darkness of the storm and seeing nothing within the devastation. Then, the earth trembled. A thunderous set of stomps grew closer, stronger. Sombra spread his forelimbs, his legs, his claws, and let his jaw fall. His breathing narrowed. He stared into the darkness and waited. And emerging in-between the distant mountains, Godzilla stomped into view. The fabled “King of the Monsters”. A false king daring to stand before Sombra with his crooked crown, the MUTO imagined. Sombra growled softly, his MUTO form already presenting himself lower, more defensive. Ready for another king to fall before him. As for Godzilla, having followed Ghidorah’s storm and traced the sounds of battle, the echoing roars eventually brought him to the devastated forest. To his mild annoyance, Godzilla turned to witness a shocking sight several hundred yards before him. His eyes narrowed. He snorted, growled, and bared his teeth. The moment his eyes fell upon the body, the form, the image of the beast standing against him, Godzilla knew what it was. He had plenty of horrific memories of the creatures slaughtering his kind, and the great female before him was the worst of them all. A parasite, if not stopped would spread her kin to every beast she defeated. Godzilla had sought his old rival, and instead came face to face with an old enemy of his species. His rage fumed, spewing from his nostrils in gusts of steam. His dorsal plates gently illuminated, only increasing in brightness with each passing second. All to intimidate. All to threaten. All to express his undying hatred for the beast standing against him once more. Nothing needed to be said. Godzilla thrashed his claws out and unleashed a horrific, fury-filled roar to MUTO Prime. Sombra retorted with his own roar to Godzilla, slamming his fists into the earth without remorse. Charging without mercy. Without hesitation. Godzilla charged back. And with a clash of lightning brightening the darkness of the storms, the Titans clashed themselves. Godzilla slammed his claw into Sombra’s throat, pushing the MUTO backwards before driving his own jaws around the beast’s windpipe. He bit down fiercely and pressed on the attack, Sombra losing his breath with a high-pitched wail. Shrouded in the storm clouds, the T.I.T.A.N. fleet emerged just in time to witness the creatures tearing each apart within the mountain ranges. Ripping the forest to shreds beneath them, shattering the earth with every thundering stomp, and eviscerating the sound barrier with every booming war cry. Dozens and dozens of airships hovered and flew around the peak of Foal Mountain, observing the battle before them, knowing not what to do. They did nothing except witness it. From every royal airship, every T.I.T.A.N. aircraft, every creature of the air, and even to the Radiance itself. Those within its bridge pressed themselves to the glass windshields and gazed to the war unfolding beneath them. As for Twilight Sparkle, the claims turned rumors from the Lord of Chaos became truth before her very eyes. She pressed herself so firmly to the glass that her face practically melted onto it, her eyes as wide as physically possible and her jaw unable to close. Her lungs unable to breathe. Her heart unable to beat. Raging several hundred feet below them, she witnessed Godzilla battling a much more different Titan. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, all except for one defining characteristic. Or, make it two. The infection of dark magic clouding the eyes of the Titan… and Sombra’s horn jutting out from the beast’s head. What Discord claimed to have seen was real. He was not lying, nor would he have ever lied about something so severe. But considering the unfortunate series of events that led to Twilight’s coronation, it had become difficult to fully trust Discord again. Yet what he saw in Foal Mountain was to be believed, for everypony saw it all the same. They saw him. And it was really, truly him. King Sombra had survived. He had returned. Not in the way they expected it, but in the flesh all the same. Even if it was a new flesh, they could clearly see the influence of his dark magic, they could see for themselves his unmistakable horn that no other being or creature carried. His revival and return shook everypony to their cores, from the likes of the Council, to Bon Bon, and even to Celestia and Luna. Discord lazily leaned against the glass windshield, staring with a rather bemused expression to the battle beneath him. Covered in bandages from the damages he sustained by the dark magic influence, Discord seemed a little worse for wear. He was weary, exhausted even, and yawned. “There’s the self-proclaimed ‘one true king’, for ya,” Discord pointed out, every eye against the windshield shifting his way before following his finger. Godzilla reared up and slammed his claw down atop Sombra’s head, earning a shrill roar of pain from the MUTO. Smirking lightly at Sombra’s torment, Discord turned back to the Council, the former rulers, and everypony who cared to notice him. “Now what do you intend to do about it?” he asked. “Can’t you just snap your fingers and end all of this?” Rainbow asked, her voice still slightly shaken—as was her world—by the fact that Sombra was still alive and had fused himself with a freakin’ monster. “This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” Though not particularly sharing Rainbow’s choice of words, all of her friends shared the same mindset. The situation was growing too large for even the Elements of Harmony to handle. The most dangerous Titan in the world was unleashed, alongside a war-mongering Fire Demon, and five other Titans breaking out of their cells and causing untold chaos and pandemonium across Equus. And now Sombra was alive, but not only that, he had taken a new form of the Titan in Outpost Peak. A Titan Bon Bon and the entire organization deemed a high-level threat, and an ancient enemy to Godzilla’s species upon further discussion. They didn’t blame Rainbow Dash for wanting to take the easy way out. “Normally,” Discord noted, attempting to snap his fingers but failing due to his injuries. His fingers snapped in half at the attempt, the draconequus frowning. “But considering my wounds and Fluttershy’s insistence for my absence in any ‘Titan-themed battle royal’, I think I’ll sit this one out.” Fluttershy appeared relieved at that, while Rainbow sighed and planted her forehead roughly onto the glass. Though Fluttershy still felt sympathy for her friend’s plight, and for everypony’s plight, really. She wanted to end this madness as quickly as possible, save as many ponies and creatures as feasible, but she also wanted to trust Mothra. In reality, everypony present wanted to trust her. Fusing chaos magic within a natural balancing could never end well, for them or their world. And so, they all stood and stared in silence. Watched as the battle raged on below and the storm stirred above. “Special agent?” Luna asked, breaking the stillness. “You appear to be in deep thought. What do you propose our course of action to be?” Bon Bon absolutely was in deep thought, her hoof rubbing her chin as she studied the Titans clashing beyond the windshield. She watched Jinshin-Mushi—or Sombra in this case—slash upwards with his jagged forelimb, uppercutting Godzilla. She witnessed Godzilla responding, spinning around and slamming his tail across Sombra’s face. The MUTO went sliding, losing his footing and collapsing onto the forest. Godzilla’s roar echoed between the mountain ranges as he steadily approached the fallen Titan. Then, to her horror, her attention was snagged by the shattering of several dozen chunks of rock. Every life within the Radiance turned to the abrupt eruption, gazing in terror to see Ghidorah rising out of the rubble of the mountain he was thrown against. Instead of bellowing to the heavens upon his return, Ghidorah instead uncharacteristically remained silent, pressing himself low to the earth. Slowly stalking Godzilla with his back turned. While he was focused on Sombra. “Change of plans,” Bon Bon quickly announced, earning every eye and ear within the bridge. She spun rapidly to the communications officers, ordering them, “I want every cannon we have targeting Monster Zero! We need to let Godzilla and Sombra fight without interference!” There was a slight moment of hesitation, like every T.I.T.A.N. agent present were taken aback by such an order. Especially from somepony like Sweetie Drops, considering her history with Titanus Gojira. Now here she was, actively seeking to defend the Titan that scarred her. “Let’s go; get moving!” Rainbow Dash reinforced with a thundering shout, which spurred everypony into action. Orders were given, transmitted, and received by every available aircraft within the T.I.T.A.N. fleet. Royal or not, they all received the order from the lead airship, from the Radiance, and complied to target Monster Zero. The airships flew into position, many lining up together, some separated in smaller clusters, but all of them readying their armament and lowering them to the slithering, three-headed demon. They all waited for the order from the Radiance, many heads within many airships turning accordingly to witness the mighty ship float into position in front of them. The Radiance’s cannons fell and targeted Ghidorah, all of them loaded in and ready to blast. Receiving that update, turning to Celestia and Luna for any other lingering thoughts, Bon Bon saw the expressions grip the Alicorns’ features. Nothing but resolute confidence from each sister. A nod from each of them, and Bon Bon had her confirmation. “On my mark!” she screamed, lifting her hoof high above her head. Everyone held their breath, held onto one another, and turned to the forest. To Ghidorah. They watched Bon Bon’s hoof rise higher. “Ready…!” the special agent ordered. Hoof higher and higher. The communications officers had their hooves ready, their steady faces tilting back to Bon Bon, sweat building upon their foreheads. “Aim…!” Bon Bon shouted. Her hoof froze in mid-air. Every cannon was aimed, every airship dormant and awaiting the final call from the Radiance. Bon Bon took in a sharp breath, and immediately lost it. She was blindsided by the sudden eruption of flame, metal, and airship debris to her right. All of it encompassed under the furious and familiar roar tearing through the clouds. Because breaking through the storm, Rodan rammed his own body into the nearest airship he could find, turning the balloon into shreds and the bridge, engine, and cannons into fodder. Into fire and ash. Into a devastating explosion that thundered the entire T.I.T.A.N. formation. With shock in her spirit and death in her wounded heart—knowing the death of so many lives had just occurred outside her windshield—Bon Bon rapidly turned to the explosion to see the Fire Demon himself throwing the remains of the T.I.T.A.N. aircraft into a separate airship of equal size and strength. It was just as easily demolished once the flaming fragments ripped into the ship’s balloon and Rodan ripped into the rest with his flaming talons, wings, and beak. His hellish cries filled Ghidorah’s storm and perfectly fused with it. Perfectly joined it. Followed it. “Break!” Bon Bon shrieked, her voice cracking as the terror flooded her facial features. She spun to the remaining airships across the air, screaming to them as if they could hear her voice directly. “Everyone, break off now!” Instead, they heard her through the shared radio channels. The royal airships heeded the warning and broke away from T.I.T.A.N.’s air formation. Numerous other aircraft followed after the royal ships, ensuring they were protected from the swooping, dive-bombing adversary that had broken their dominance. All that was left was the Radiance, veering off while a few remaining T.I.T.A.N. airships were unfortunate enough to be captured under Rodan’s firestorm. But the skies were cleared. T.I.T.A.N. had broken off and Rodan was free to engage the battle below. Only after any opposition to Ghidorah’s strength was severed. And when it was, Rodan swooped low so that the tip of his left wing seared the forest. He flew in a sweeping circle, surrounding Godzilla’s view with nothing but blinding flames. Godzilla was already too occupied to pay attention to the fires, the King of the Monsters pressing his claws onto Sombra’s throat and throwing the MUTO onto his back. With a thunderous stomp of his foot, Godzilla planted his weight atop of Sombra’s neck. The Prime howled and shrieked, pressing his claws around Godzilla’s leg, but not having the strength to lift him off. Narrowing his glare, Godzilla opened his jaws, took in a sharp breath with his spines glowing brighter, and immediately lost it when that opposing roar flashed like lightning across the storm. Godzilla finally lifted his eyes to the blinding circle that surrounded him. Rodan landed on the forest floor, spreading more and more flames in an already growing forest fire. With his wings planted into the earth, with embers fluttering around his magma-coated body, Rodan lifted his beak and brightened his glare. His eyes no longer were infected. His mind no longer was whispered to by another. He only had one master now. One he could see. One he could bow to. Rodan shrieked to the defiler of his king’s rightful throne. Godzilla roared back—abandoning the wounded Sombra beneath him—and charged. The Fire Demon flapped his wings and charged right on back, talons leading, beak wide and war cry sounding off. He flew onwards. Godzilla tore through the forest to reach him. Falling prey to Rodan’s distraction. Blindsided by Ghidorah tackling him from behind. A triple-layered cackle filled the storm as thunder and lightning clashed in a horrific display of unnatural power. The Golden Demise threw his entire weight and strength into the imprudent king, knocking him off his balance but not throwing him onto the earth. Not until his servant impacted Godzilla. Rodan’s added speed successfully collapsed Ghidorah’s hated rival. His talons grasped and slashed around Godzilla’s neck, and with a forceful yank, Godzilla was twisted and thrown to the ground with Ghidorah towering high above him. The King of the Monsters cried out in shock and pain from the assault. Rodan howled high above as he swooped back for another strike. Ghidorah cackled before him, wings outstretched, his jaws morphed into a sick, demented flurry of grins. Grins morphed under his hateful, fiery glares. Godzilla shakily lifted his head, rising slowly to meet Ghidorah. Breathing in deep and attempting a roar of any kind, Godzilla once more lost his breath. He once more lost his regained footing when Sombra plowed into his side and knocked him back to the earth. And from that point on, there was no real fight. There was no exchanging of blows. The enemies of Godzilla—in just that moment—had discovered their common foe and sought for nothing else except to destroy him. The masses joined together in the skies once again to witness the battle proceed, once more with the bridge of the Radiance crowding around the windshields. Everypony witnessed it differently. Some only saw savage beasts continuing to kill one another in heinous ways, and therefore could hardly watch before being forced to turn away. Others saw the sudden shift in the creatures’ mindsets. For when Godzilla had entered the fray, he seemed to attract every opposition. The opposition responded to his presence by unifying, though in no other ways except to kill the king. Then, there was Fluttershy, watching with fear in her eyes and pain in her heart. Fear for the well-being of nature’s protector. Pain to see that protector be savagely beaten by three oppressors. She yelped when Rodan dove down and slashed at the back of Godzilla’s head. She gasped when Sombra struck Godzilla with a lengthy swipe of his forelimb, the claws shredding side of the king’s skull. She cried when Ghidorah sunk his teeth into Godzilla’s arms and neck, lifting him high and then driving him deep into the earth. Her cries mirrored the king’s own, for even the King of the Monsters could not hide the agony he was enduring. That alone was enough. No more could she take. “We need to help him!” Fluttershy shouted, much to the surprise of herself, her friends, and everypony present. There was only that short moment of surprise, and then it was followed up with nothing. Nopony made any sudden movements. Hardly anypony even reacted to her cry for help, her cry for another. The cries of pain down below did not affect them in the same way that it affected her. They may have only seen just another Titan, just another monster, but for Fluttershy she saw differently. She saw an animal in pain. That alone was something she could not ignore. “Please, they’re hurting him! We have to do something!” she begged, turning from one pony to another, trying to meet Dragon Lord Ember’s eyes but even she turned aside as well. Celestia and Luna dropped their gazes to the windshield, to the battle, and stared with longing, sullen eyes. Perhaps finally hearing the roars of pain. Finally seeing, knowing, and understanding just what Godzilla meant for their world. The Council of Friendship shared the same boat, each of them turning back down and trying to find the same heart that Fluttershy possessed. The same care and tenderness for any creature, no matter how big, scary, or destructive. They searched and searched, stared and stared, listened to the king’s agony. Bon Bon didn’t even meet Fluttershy’s desperate eyes. She was facing her own battle at the moment. Her own internal demons. Finally, by some last, false hope, Fluttershy turned to Discord. And with his weakened stance, Discord lifted his head to her and pursed his lips. “And what would you have me do, my dear Fluttershy?” he asked, and truly needed an answer he could believe in. But Fluttershy did not know if she could say it. She did not know if it was even an answer she could believe in. How easy it could have been to set Discord loose, to let him do as much damage to the Titans as he wished. To free their world from the evil. Only, the dreaded aftermath was what she feared the most, Fluttershy wondering if their world would ever become truly free, or just a slave to a chaotic, unbalanced reality. She had already told Discord of the dangers his chaotic magic would have been when engaging creatures of such magnitude and power. This was not some average scuffle between monsters. This was a literal power shift within nature, the claim to a kingly throne that dominated the most powerful creatures on Equus. Creatures that could literally change their world just by their presence alone. To imagine that much power, that much precious responsibility thrown out of control… then there was no telling how lost they would become. There was no understanding how long their world would be doomed. She couldn’t risk it. It took a piece of herself to say it, but she had to deny him once again. No matter how much it hurt her. No matter how much it hurt Godzilla. She still trusted Mothra to make things right. How it was always supposed to be. “Nothing…” Fluttershy whimpered, her voice barely over the sound of a light wind. Her head fell, a tiny gasp slipping past her lips as tears began to swell in her eyes. “I just… I-I don’t… know…” “I know, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy, and practically the whole bridge, turned to the pony who uttered those words. The Pegasus and all who turned held their breaths, stunted their judgement, and froze in time when they saw who had spoken those strange, hefty words. “Now… I do,” Bon Bon continued, responded by facing the entirety of the Radiance’s bridge. Facing them all to unveil to them the truth they had all failed to see. “At every turn we’ve been thwarted. We’ve been outplayed. Outpowered. First it was Frostbite with Sombra’s message hiding under our noses for seven years. Then it was Cinder with Rodan completely decimating our armies. Armies made up of the strongest nations on Equus… all burned to ash. All by Sombra’s will.” Agents and pilots, officers and guards, Council members and rulers former and current all came together. They all showered Bon Bon with their stares, with their attention, and waited on every word that left the pony’s lips. She pointed outside the windshield, beyond the darkness of the storm and onto the forest fire with the Titans in the middle of it all. “And now Sombra’s down there with the monsters he unleashed… all of them working to take down the one who fights for our world. Maybe not for us, but for something bigger. For the balance of nature.” Bon Bon stared at Fluttershy, giving her a soft, subtle nod. She turned back to the bridge. “After everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve done only for it to end in failure… the only one here I trust is her,” Bon Bon openly declared, jamming her hoof to the meager Pegasus. Where every eye stared solely to Fluttershy. For a moment, the two turned to one another, each expressing their own form of gratitude. Fluttershy, thankful to have somepony finally believe her, finally be on her side, and finally trust her just as she trusted Mothra. And Bon Bon, thankful to at least know things were starting to become clearer. Godzilla was not their enemy. Their enemies made themselves evident by their actions. That alone gave T.I.T.A.N.—and herself—a clearer target. Bon Bon met Fluttershy’s grateful gaze. She couldn’t even believe it herself when she stated, “We’re helping Godzilla.” Soon enough, ponies were getting behind her. They followed her, obeyed her orders, and proceeded to ready the airship and contact their nearby allies. In the midst of such a chaotic flurry of actions, Celestia and Luna both slowly nodded. Faced their special agent and gave her their support for Bon Bon’s newly-formed stance. Not just for T.I.T.A.N., but for her. Hopefully, for everyone. New orders were given and the fleet followed them. The armies of Equus found new targets and centered their cannons on the beasts attacking Godzilla. There was no hesitation this time, and the fleet in the skies rained fire. Rodan was knocked clean out of the sky with barrage of cannon fire. The blasts even hindered Ghidorah and Sombra momentarily, both Titans lifting their heads to the storm. Ghidorah gave a cackling shriek to see the same airships still flying, following it up with a roar that his servant understood. Having been thrashing on the earth moments before, Rodan then tilted his furious gaze back to the skies, eventually obeying his master and spreading his wings. Returning to the storm to fight off the armies. There was an immediate scatter from T.I.T.A.N., all to avoid the oncoming strikes from the Fire Demon. Ultimately, they bought Godzilla enough time. That was all he needed to swipe out Sombra’s legs from under him, allowing Godzilla to stand back up and confront Ghidorah on equal footing. A thundering tremor filled the forest and the valley of mountains once MUTO Prime struck the earth. It did not deter Godzilla in the slightest, the Alpha Predator lunging forward and snapping his jaws tightly on Ghidorah. He bit between the middle and left heads and refused to release him, no matter how much Ghidorah cried and thrashed about. Trying to escape, biting and clawing at Godzilla with all his might, Ghidorah still could not break the beast’s grasp. He flapped his wings backwards, but Godzilla yanked right on back. He raised his claws and got a hold on the left and right heads. Using his own body, Godzilla rammed Ghidorah into the closest mountain, shattering the mountainside and earning a shrill cry of pain from the Demon of the Stars. Godzilla pried his jaws off of Ghidorah, but he did not stop the onslaught. He ripped him out of the rock and rammed him into another mountain. And then another. Grasping the right head and then the left, each devastating strike crumbling entire peaks and dousing Ghidorah under several hundred chunks of solid stone. Godzilla did not relent. He snorted pure steam and maliciously beat Ghidorah until the dragon would finally yield. The mountain range had ended but Godzilla did not stop. He grasped onto whatever he could and pulled, dragged, and tore Ghidorah closer and closer to the edge of the oncoming canyon. Ghidorah saw the dark chasm, shrieking out and biting fiercely and deeply into Godzilla’s thighs. The king howled, retaliating with a ferocious bite of his own around the neck attached to his right leg. San screamed. Godzilla pried him off and grasped the neck with both claws. With a firm and sudden twist of his neck, Godzilla ripped the third head clean off from the rest of the body. A dark liquid spewed from the Titan’s bloody neck, the decapitated head hanging in-between Godzilla’s jaws. A golden bolt of lightning painted the storm and illuminated the earth, showcasing the horrifying image to Ghidorah in full. Ichi and Ni wailed in woe, finally breaking free from Godzilla’s grasp and rolling further away from the canyon. He rolled and thrashed in mixtures of shock, rage, and pain. They did not witness Godzilla rear back and toss the third head into the shadows of the canyon. They did not see San descend into the darkness where he was lost. All they saw was the tremoring claws planted against the forest floor. All they heard was the deep, trembling growls slowly elevating in pitch and strength. And Godzilla heard it, too. He felt the earth shake behind him, the King of the Monsters bringing his gaze away from the blackened chasm and onto the beast that dared stand against him yet again. Only, there was something different now. Sombra held his head low as his forelimbs crashed into the trees. His chest expanded and deflated, growing more rapid as the seconds ticked away. His eyes shimmered a haunting, bright green. His growls grew heavier and heavier. Godzilla narrowed his eyes and noticed the eruption of magic spewing forth from the Prime’s horn. From Sombra’s horn, his dark magic was birthed and flowed freely across his body. Consuming his black skin, his multicolored veins, all eventually shrouding his chest, his heart, and his windpipe. Lifting his head and leaning back, Sombra opened his jaws as he attempted to fire a spell from his horn. Except the magic was redirected. Not by his will, but by the biology of Jinshin-Mushi, by the power Sombra had yet to fully realize. His magic did not fire from his horn. It exploded from his mouth. And a dark roar was his newfound power, a sonic blast of seismic sound waves that struck Godzilla directly in the chest, tearing through his scales, his body, and erupting from his back. Shattering his dorsal plates in an astonishing blast of atomic and seismic energy. Godzilla howled in agony, his eyes wide, jaws agape, as his scream shredded the skies. Fragments of bone spewed forth from his back, leaving only a decimated layer of broken plates weakly hanging off of Godzilla’s spine. Atomic radiation shimmered like never before, steam and bursts of bright blue flame rising from his back as Godzilla trembled backwards. He had never been struck in such a way. He had never felt such pain, the hellish flames growing hotter and stronger as Godzilla’s roar cracked and his body deflated. His legs trembled. His strength faded. Godzilla neared the edge of the canyon but still managed to stop. Just enough for him to fall forward onto solid earth. Sombra, momentarily exhausted from exerting so much energy, leaned forward and let his head dip to the forest floor. His breaths were heavy and ragged, his eyes gently flickering from green to black. But they eventually shimmered bright once more, Sombra lifting his head the same moment he felt the gust of wind and heard the cry of Ghidorah flying over him. Soaring over the MUTO, Ghidorah planted his feet forward and impacted Godzilla with reverberating force. His claws and tails wrapped tightly around the alpha Titan, severing Godzilla’s breathing and constricting his limbs so he couldn’t even fight back. As if he could to begin with. With a great flap of his wings, Ghidorah launched himself and his victim over the edge of the chasm, but even then he did not stop. He flew higher. And higher. Higher… His wings continued to lift them up, through the storm and even above the clouds. Under the shroud of the night sky, with the moon and the stars as their witnesses, Ghidorah had reached what he believed to be the end for his old foe. Several thousand feet in the air, where no storm could cloud them, where no Titan could interrupt them. And after millions of years of stinging hatred, unyielding rage, and the lust for revenge burning brighter than anything else in Ghidorah’s heart, he finally let it all go. The same moment he let Godzilla go. His claws released the Titan and his tail unfurled from Godzilla’s body. Flying and hovering in place, Ghidorah watched as his hated enemy descended to the world just as he once had. The flames surrounded Godzilla’s body instantly, and the king could not utter a sound. His vision slowly blackened from the pain, from the lack of oxygen, all of it fusing together to send Godzilla into a paralyzed, unconscious state. Barely awake. Barely alive. But still able to feel. Still able to grasp where he was, but not where he would be. Even that began to fade as Godzilla plummeted like a meteor down onto the planet. T.I.T.A.N. was the first to see him re-enter the atmosphere. Ponies and dragons and griffons and every other species known to Equus crowded together to witness the ball of fire descend onto their world. The Council of Friendship held their breaths, Fluttershy’s hooves covering her mouth, unable to cover her tear-filled eyes. Sombra saw it as well, his head falling faster and faster. Until they all saw Godzilla fall into the dark crevice. And then the darkness erupted like a volcano. Light, fire, and dust spewed up from the canyon upon Godzilla’s impact. All the earth shuddered. All the trees trembled and all the mountains quaked. Ghidorah descended slowly, his eyes centered solely on the crevice to see what had become of his enemy. To see if he had truly fallen. Until silence shrouded the land and fog covered the darkness of the canyon, Ghidorah remained silent. He listened closely and there was nothing. Not a sound. Not a breath. Dead silence. Ghidorah lifted his remaining two heads and cackled in victorious rapture, screaming into his storm as his lightning coiled around his haunting, nightmarish body hanging in the clouds. He had done it. After more than a million years, he had finally bested the King of the Monsters. And then he lost his roar when Sombra struck him with his dark magic. It wrapped around him in an unnatural way, like a parasitic spore finding its host and refusing to let go. Ghidorah turned to the blackness covering his body, wrapping around his limbs, and capturing him in mid-air. He twisted his necks around to see the magic flow from Sombra’s agape jaws. With a yank backwards, Sombra pulled Ghidorah right of the air and flung his entire body onto the furthest mountain. He was thrown like he was weightless, impacting the peak with such ferocity and power that he nearly crashed through it. Delirious but undefeated, Ghidorah steadily raised his heads. The earth trembled to the MUTO’s raging charge, his claws tearing at the seams of the world and ripping mounds of rock and dirt and trees just to impact Ghidorah for that final, killing blow. Ichi and Ni narrowed their fiery glares. They snorted and growled, rearing and crawling forward to meet Sombra halfway. With a lunging charge, Ghidorah slammed himself under the MUTO’s armored plates, striking his exposed belly and launching Sombra onto his back. Spreading his wings, landing on top of him, the Golden Demise reared down and bit onto Sombra’s head and arm. He throttled Sombra like a shred of a meat, tossing the beast clear across the forest and onto the same mountain he had impacted. Completely demolishing the rest and landing on the opposite side. Clearing the fog with a flap of his wings, the shadow of Ghidorah rose tall before the prone and wounded MUTO Prime. He expanded his wings to elevate his intimidating presence, his burning eyes focusing on the beast lying within the rubble. Sombra cried weakly, attempting to lift his head, his eyes, only to fall to the might of the great serpent. Flicking his forked tongues, Ghidorah glared at the second usurper. He was weak. He had fallen. And he would never again rise to try and claim his rightful throne. And so, with a great intake of air that flooded his lungs like a gust of hurricane winds, Ghidorah breathed in deeply. His towering throats shimmered and electrified his golden bolts of power. His jaws opened wide, and the back of his throats began to radiate that terrifying, golden light. Centering his glare onto the fallen king, Ghidorah was ready to breathe out. Ready to finish Sombra with a dual blast of gravity beams. Until his storm was broken and Titanus Typhon flew down and struck Ghidorah. He felt an invasive presence to his left, tackling him to the earth and cutting off his oncoming gravity beams. They rolled together across the rubble and forests, until Ghidorah eventually kicked him off and lifted his necks to observe the newest attacker. Typhon lifted himself off the earth, facing off against Monster Zero. The dragon roared, extending his blood-red wings as his claws dug fiercely into the ground. Ghidorah snarled, his eyes widening when the slithering serpents added to Typhon’s cry. All six of them extending and shrieking from his neck. But most damning of all were his eyes. All of their eyes. All of them bore the colors Rodan was once consumed by. Shaken but not stirred, Ghidorah rose up to meet Typhon’s opposing stance. He took a deep breath, cackling his own pair of roars to rival Typhon’s. He did not see the blur of earth, vine, and claws charge him from the right before it was too late. Before Amhuluk slashed Ni across the face with his extended claws. Sliding and skidding across the forest, Amhuluk morphed with the forest beneath him, his body gathering limbs and branches and entire chunks of rock and earth as he moved upon it. His tendrils slithered back, unveiling the contorted face, unsheathing his fangs and shrieking at the staggered Ghidorah. And Ghidorah met his shriek with a fearsome cackle, his roar failing him when he noticed the same dark infection shrouding Amhuluk’s eyes. The same as Typhon’s. The same as Rodan’s. Ghidorah roared. Yamata no Orochi burst forth from the ground and entangled Ghidorah in his mouths. All eight of them. In an instant, Ghidorah found himself surrounded and outnumbered. He roared and cried, fending off the snapping jaws wrapping around his legs, wings, and even reaching his remaining heads. Hearing the shrill cry, Rodan turned from the T.I.T.A.N. fleet and witnessed three different monsters slowly ready to pounce Ghidorah. Crying out, Rodan spun around to engage the beasts, swooping low for a strong and heated dive-bomb. Only to be blasted out of the air by Sombra. Hearing the pained roar and the earth tremble behind him, Ghidorah turned to see his servant struggling to rise in the cloud of smoke and embers. But rising up and standing tall was none other than the MUTO Prime, the beast’s eyes glowing that unsettling green with purple wisps fading from his glare. It was then that Ghidorah made the connection. From Typhon, Amhuluk, and even the veins covering Yamata’s body. All of them resembled the eyes of the MUTO. They all carried the banner of Sombra. The MUTO had an opposing army. Ghidorah clenched his jaws and narrowed his flaming eyes. Ghidorah had an army of his own. Breathing in sharply through his nostrils, the Death Song of Three Storms unleashed a devastating blast of gravity beams onto the earth beneath him, striking the tendrils bursting out of Yamata’s mouth and thus releasing him from the Titan’s grasp. Still, Yamata would not relent, breaking off and rising up to face the Golden Demise. He was joined by Typhon and Amhuluk, all three of them zeroing in on the lone, stranded Titan. With Sombra leading them to his last standing usurper. But Ghidorah would not give them what they yearned for. He screeched to each Titan before twisting his necks to glare at Sombra, both Ichi and Ni cackling at the MUTO. Roaring one last time at all the opposition before he spread his wings, kicked off the earth, and took to the skies in a hasty retreat. As he flew away, Typhon and Amhuluk roared at the retreating coward, with Yamata no Orochi adding to their cries to the heavens. Sombra did not join them. He turned and watched both Ghidorah and Rodan fly away from the heat of battle, but it was not an act of cowardice. He knew he was outnumbered. He knew he would not have won the battle with an unfair disadvantage. He sought to win the war, and a king could not win without his loyal subjects. Sombra’s jaw fell when he realized what he had done. He had aided in Godzilla’s defeat. The alpha Titan had fallen. The King of the Monsters was defeated, and that was all Ghidorah needed. Now was his time to truly rise. Sombra’s servants stood beside their king, all of them staring in silence to the fading shadows of Ghidorah and Rodan soaring into the storm. T.I.T.A.N. stared in silence all the same. Watching until Ghidorah’s storm left with him to an unknown end.