The One True King

by JDPrime22

Epilogue

King Thorax found himself gathering quite the crowd. He and his brother Pharynx. Though, it wasn’t really them that the crowd was congregating for. They merely followed in the same flow, meshed with the changelings as they swarmed the outskirts of the Changeling Empire, deep, deep to the underground catacombs.

Pharynx was not pleased by the amount of attention the discovery was attracting. Ever since he heard about it that morning from his scouts, he wanted to keep it lowkey. As a means that could be detailed and studied without too much interference. Unfortunately, after Thorax was informed, and when Thorax contacted T.I.T.A.N. on the phenomenon, word somehow got out. Changelings young and old alike somehow, someway knew as they did.

And now, they had to almost fight their way through the crowds just to get to the tunnels.

Changeling guards steadily and calmly cleared the path per Thorax’s request, all while Pharynx growled beside his brother, “I don’t want to blame you for this, Thorax, so where do I shift the blame?”

The ruler of the changelings sighed. If he told Pharynx once, he told him multiple times, but he was so gosh darn stubborn that he refused any other way that wasn’t his own. Still, Thorax was patient for family, and he told him yet again, “Shift it nowhere, Pharynx. I already told you what I knew, what I did! No one could have known outside of your scouts, yourself, or I! T.I.T.A.N. is still on its way, so we still need to keep the area clear for their scientists to properly study the egg.”

“And yet everyone and their mother somehow knew about it,” Pharynx grumbled, shaking his head. “Well, no point in trying to hide and deny it now. Best we can do is clear out the catacombs and make way for these egghead scientists.”

It was relatively quiet between the brothers, giving them the following moments to properly observe their surroundings. The earth led to various tunnels, to which crowds upon crowds of changelings had surrounded. Pushing them aside in an orderly and respectful manner, the leaders of the changelings descended.

Deep below ground, in the catacombs surrounding the Changeling Empire, there they journeyed. The darkness was only accompanied by bioluminescent roots and mushrooms, changelings of every size and shape peeking out from the multiple tunnel passageways to observe their rulers descending deeper into the embrace of the lower earth.

As they descended, they spoke to one another, their voices soft yet still echoing off the tunnel walls. Still somehow being the only sounds deep below the world. “It wasn’t that grand of a sight when I saw it this morning. Why do you suppose they’re all attracted to it?” Pharynx asked.

Changelings backed away and proceeded to bow before their king, Thorax acknowledging them with a subtle nod to each crowd he passed. “None of us have seen eggs this massive since Chrysalis’ reign. Changelings could be confused, or worse, afraid of what it could be. Maybe they’re trying to understand it like we are. That… or it could be another Titan…”

“As if we didn’t have another reason to fear it,” Pharynx said with a shake of his head. He sighed, meeting his brother’s gaze. “You really think it’s a Titan?”

Thorax gulped down the sizable lump forming in his throat. “Only one way to find out…”

Their descent into darkness did not last forever. Soon, the catacombs and tunnels had ended and led them instead into a massive cavern. One of Chrysalis’ old birthing chambers, abandoned since her defeat. Very little to their surprise, they noticed a large crowd of changelings already swarming the center of the cavern, and soon enough… their eyes were also attracted to it.

Almost instantly, they recognized the startling difference of the egg now. It was no longer dark and lifeless like Pharynx and his scouts had mentioned earlier that morning. It practically illuminated the entirety of the underground cavern, showering every ore, every vein, every root and vine in the same heavenly glow as its surface. A bright, alluring turquoise that flowed like an ocean’s surface.

Breaths were stolen and changelings were left frozen under that warming embrace. Despite the coolness of the earth’s crusts, the egg washed them with a light and a warmth that felt completely otherworldly. Almost holy in a sense, as if the very ground they walked upon was holy as well. They almost felt unworthy to be in the egg’s presence, in whatever power resonated within the shell.

Pharynx, for once, let slip a smile, while his brother and his king stood slack-jawed and still like all the other changelings around them. Staring at the vertically resting egg that nearly reached the ceiling, Pharynx silently breathed, “Well, they better get here quick. Otherwise, they’ll miss…”

Then, his eyes fell. They broke through the remaining changelings that moved aside for them. They rested on the lone, unidentified figure standing beneath the egg and gazing up to it all the same.

Instantly, Pharynx’s instincts kicked to life, and he roared, “Guards!”

So many changelings flinched to his voice, but not the lone figure. They backed away as several guards took their stand beside their commander, jamming their spears forward in accordance to Pharynx’s order. King Thorax was aghast, darting his head from side to side as he witnessed his guards acting so very hostile to the unidentified figure, someone who could have very well have been just as curious as they were. Someone who may not even be a threat.

“Wait, stop! Hold yourselves!” Thorax urged them.

Pharynx held back, but only so much. With spears accompanying his stance, he jammed a dark hoof directly to the figure and shouted, “Identify yourself at once!”

The figure was not scared. It had no reason to be now that it fell beneath the light of her beautiful egg. In light, in life, the lone figure had found the end to its long, strenuous journey. Still, the figure believed the changelings that followed the same path as she deserved to see the same truth. And when the figure turned to face them at last, Pharynx almost let his guard down. Thorax’s expression softened considerably. The changelings in awe of the egg’s light were now in awe… of her.

Many were perplexed by her appearance. A beautiful young mare cloaked in a crimson hood. It flowed regally behind her to join her movements, like a long, blood red tail. She turned to face them, and beneath the hood they could see that she was Neighponese. Had come from a distant land, with a distant, unknown purpose that went beyond their realm of thinking. A white coat with mysterious black tattoos covered her body. Her blue eyes were soft, expression softer and innocent.

Yet deep in her gaze there was something far more mystical to her. Something that couldn’t be explained. Much like the egg, the light that flowed from within it, and the light that showered over her. Almost like she was a part of it, like she was always meant for the light and the light for her.

Still, Pharynx remained unshaken. He spoke to her, said aloud, “You’re trespassing in changeling territory. What is your business here?”

They spoke in a strange tongue, but the voice within her heart could hear them perfectly. The same voice that had called her had urged her to remain, to not be afraid. Hold her ground, let them know just as she had known. It was a new age of peace, and there was no reason for her to remain in hiding any longer. From any creature.

And so, she found the courage to speak, to let her power speak through her.

“I am waiting,” she answered at last.

Her voice felt transcendent, almost as if she spoke through the voice of an angel. Countless changelings backed away in fear, in confusion, while Thorax and Pharynx lost their breath. Pharynx could no longer speak, for he had lost the will and the strength to do so. Her mere appearance—and now her voice—had left him beyond confounded. How a mare of all creatures could leave him in such a state was an embarrassment to his title.

Yet she was no simple mare. Thorax knew that the second she opened her mouth and spoke, holding a voice that did not belong to their realm, to their reality. To their life. Thorax was startled, was breathless, but he did not cower like the many around him did.

He took a step forward, and the mare turned his way, curious with a tilted head. Still, she did not look down upon him. She seemed somewhat pleased that he approached her, that one among them had the courage to meet her. And Thorax, still holding on to that fleeting courage, finally found the boldness to ask, “Waiting… for what?”

The mare opened her lips, but nothing came from her. Her eyes fell to the floor, to her hooves, but she did not answer. Not until she could know. With her eyes fluttering to a close, the mare whispered to herself, to her heart, and listened for the voice to return. When it finally did, in that tense moment of silence, the mare at last opened her eyes and knew what to say, how to say it, and how to tell them what they needed to know.

Hid from them what they didn’t.

“For my sister,” she finally answered. The crowd of changelings were silent, Thorax left in a state of awe at such a simple response. The mare turned to them all, let her mystical gaze wash over the crowd and let them know. “When the time is appropriate… my sister will come. And she will bring with her… purpose. A purpose we were born to, we were called to… and she was reborn for. The time draws near, and I must remain vigilant. When the time is right… she will return to us.”

So much remained hidden that they didn’t need to know for now. For the darkness was impending, so vast and so horrible that it would soon wash across all the world. A darkness they could never prevent. A darkness they could never face alone. It was why she was called, why she and her sister were called. To bring back the light, to safeguard it, to allow it to grow and flourish and strengthen when the time was right.

For in those final days, in the final wars, the light they were called to would awaken. And she, the First Sister, would be there to welcome her. She faced the egg and stared onto its surface, to the undying light flowing within, and relinquished the tiny smile of hope.

“For Mosura… Mosura will return for all of us.”

The god is dead.

That was what they almost came to believe, finding their lord so forsaken, so abandoned, clinging onto some semblance of life. Like a phantom. Like a cursed entity bound to this realm and unable to be free. That was what he told them. That was what they almost came to believe.

But he brought them to a higher existence. He showed them that their lord could be free again. He led them from the darkness of the earth to the awaiting, blinding light of the sun. A sun none of them had seen in many, many years, nor their generations before them. Spoke of in legends, whispered in dreams, but never before with their own eyes.

The earth led them to the world above, and he was their guiding light. Their torch in the darkness. He was the one. Their leader, their founder, their chosen priest of which the voice of their god spoke through. It was the voice of which he uttered, had followed. The voice of a dragon. The voice he followed led them to the light. The earth was split open, so very high over their heads, and they entered into the light.

When they saw him…

When they saw their god…

They saw death.

A great canyon filled the world above and they traversed into its hold. Emerging free from the tunnel deep within the darkness of the canyon, the chosen among them led his followers onto their god. Or, what was left of his greatness. Together, they gathered in the dozens, an ancient order deep from within the world unveiling themselves for the first time. So many ponies, each of them wearing bones of creatures known and unknown to the world above. Sackcloth and steel, bones and cloaks, from mares and stallions alike. They were so many, but they stood as one.

They followed the sounds of their lord’s cries. It took them so long to reach the surface, to find what they had been so desperately searching. And they finally did, surrounding their god. The one who brought them from the darkness into the light separated the crowd. The one who led them to a higher means of existence was allowed an entrance, a direct path to their lord.

So was the chosen brought forth, finding the end to their long, long journey. He stood as the leader among them, wearing an inky, black cloak and a skull shielding his face. The skull had long, twisted antlers, even if the one beneath the mask did not. For the one was but a unicorn who went by many names. Valiant. Diligent. Ruler.

But his true name, the name that breathed Immortal… was Emrick.

He did not fall like the others did, did not whimper and cry out to see their god in such a broken state. For the world above had showed their resistance to his mighty nature, and they rejected the brilliance of his rule. Unlike the many who followed him, Emrick did not fall. Instead, a seething rage began to boil deep within him. A rage he held for the world above, for taking away their god and leaving him like this. In this shattered carcass. In this state so unbecoming of his true glory.

His eyes moved beneath his mask, and they settled on the rotten carcass of a skull. Laying his hoof upon it, Emrick gently exhaled a breath that went forth upon the earth and was never heard. For the world above never knew about them before, nor would they know about them now. Soon, they would. The voice he heard speaking through his heart and whispering in his dreams had led him to his god, and he would continue to follow it to the ends of the earth if need be.

Emrick let the voice of the dragon breathe through him, and he finally set his eyes aflame.

Whispering to the golden scales and rotten bone he stared to and touched, “My lord… you are with your people now…”

The cult trembled beneath the voice of which the Immortal spoke, knowing it to be true and just. The voice of the dragon of which they prayed to, now brought to them when in the presence of their lord. Bowing beneath his presence, shielding their heads and lowering themselves to the image of the dragon, the cult fell while the chosen remained standing.

Until even Emrick could not stand forever, and his eyes settled on the dark skull before him.

And promised, “Soon… you will be set free once more.”

He joined them at last, showed he was one of them when he too bowed before the skull of Ghidorah. He joined and led his people in silent prayer, led them to their destiny. At long last, the Order of the Dragon would be heard. The Occult of Ghidorah would rise once again with their god.

Retirement never suited the sisters anyway.

The deeper Celestia and Luna went into Canterlot Mountain, the more they came to understand T.I.T.A.N.’s tenacity to overcome and adapt to their ever-changing world. They had faced extinction, had faced extraterrestrial terrors that threatened their very way of life, and all of Equus united under the banner of T.I.T.A.N. to collectively say… no. If anything, it made them proud to know their work was never in vain. Not today, nor ever.

As the new directors of T.I.T.A.N., they expected nothing less.

They strode through the dimly-lit hallways, eager to see how the newest projects were coming along. A pair of guards awaited their arrival by the elevator, nodding to the directors and stepping aside to let them pass. Together, Celestia and Luna stood and descended once inside the elevator, reaching deeper into the mountain, deeper into the earth.

The walls faded and they stood high over Canterlot’s T.I.T.A.N. Headquarters.

As their elevator descended, they saw a mechanical world hidden from the world. Steel and metal walls shrouded the natural rock, though some mounds of earth still managed to protrude from the machines, from the unnatural facility crafted within the mountain. Seamless and magical, the headquarters flowed like a living organism, scientists moving to and fro from station to station, from catwalks to observatories hanging high above the facility.

Pony-driven vehicles hovered and carried precious supplies high over Celestia and Luna’s heads. A beautiful mixture of magic and technology working so perfectly that they almost couldn’t believe it was real. How science had led them to such grandiose heights that it almost seemed like it came from a dream. Taking on the roles as directors, Celestia and Luna ensured that dream would become reality. And that reality, to their shock and awe, came quicker every single day.

This was just the beginning.

Knowing the world beneath them had truly awakened, precautions had to be taken and actions needed to be swift. They nearly lost everything because of the Mass Awakening. Because of it, both Celestia and Luna came to the conclusion that they could no longer remain hidden. They could no longer rest knowing they left Twilight under such weight. Princess Twilight was pleased to know Celestia and Luna would be returning to Canterlot, even more so that they were helping her lead T.I.T.A.N. It was the most they could do, and what they believed to be necessary.

Just as Twilight believed what they did was necessary. She trusted them to do what was right.

Stepping off of the elevator, Directors Celestia and Luna stamped across the steel catwalk on their way to the observation deck. On their way to it, they were bombarded with scientists, one of which approached the Alicorns first and offered them a gleeful smile.

Spoke with a shortened breath out of pure excitement. “Director Celestia, Director Luna, it’s great to see you both, really it is! We have great news for you; great news indeed!”

Turning to the Earth pony, the sisters almost giggled to see her fumbling with her documents while simultaneously trying to keep up with them. The sisters slowed down their steps to help her, watching her adjust her glasses and sift through the pile resting in her foreleg. Finally, she pulled free the right folder, opening it and clearing her throat.

“An update on Project Zero,” the scientist announced, the other T.I.T.A.N. scientists crowding around the Alicorns falling silent at the coming news. “The newest weapon is in the final stages of testing, with previous tests being wildly successful. The cannon will be equipped to the Radiance soon for field testing. All we need is your approval to move forward, Directors.”

Celestia smiled in approval, nodding down to her. “Let it be so. Excellent work, all of you involved with the project.”

Luna nodded as well, adding, “As you all were.”

The mare’s giddy smile was almost too much for her to contain, and the scientist left with a little more hop to her steps. Others followed her to begin the final testing stages for the weapon, leaving only a small crowd of scientists around Celestia and Luna. The sisters spoke to themselves in the moment of mild silence.

“Project Zero is coming along nicely. Bon Bon will be very pleased to see her idea brought to fruition,” Luna mused, unable to hide her own smile.

Celestia smiled in return. “Yes, as we all will.”

The silence had ended as they predicted, and a slew of other scientists caught up with them. One in particular held out his clipboard via magic, speaking rapidly, “Directors, would you like to see how the HEAVs are coming along? Or perhaps you would like to see the training programs for our newest recruits? Or-or-or perhaps you would like some updates on Operation Skull—?”

“We are here to observe the final stages of our most precious project, and nothing more,” Celestia interrupted with a raised hoof, halting the team of scientists that followed them. Pausing in the middle of the catwalk, she turned to face the brilliant minds behind T.I.T.A.N. “Are our contacts from the Neighponese T.I.T.A.N. sector present and accounted for?”

Lowering his clipboard, the unicorn snapped back to the real world, nodding fiercely and replying, “Oh, he’s waiting for you in the observation deck. This way, please!”

The sisters strained themselves, brows furrowing.

“He?” Luna questioned. “As in… only one?”

She never received a response. Neither her or her sister. Instead, a rush of scientists made their way to the end of the catwalk and to the observation deck several dozen yards away from them. The sisters looked to one another for support, for an answer, but could only find that limitless support. So, seeking the answers themselves, they proceeded onward.

Reaching the observation deck, they found him. Their contact, if what was said was to be believed. It wasn’t too difficult to point him out. He was surrounded by multiple T.I.T.A.N. scientists and his own pair of armored guards, swords in their sheaths and black armor and masks shielding their identities. As for the one they guarded, Celestia and Luna’s supposed contact from the Neighponese sector of T.I.T.A.N., he took on a less covert appearance.

He was a unicorn, a light red coat visible beneath the black jacket he wore on top, the collar flipped up that partially shielded the side of his face. With a combed, jet-black mane and a look that could swoon even the most uptight of mares within Canterlot, the stallion turned around and smiled at the directors. It was a type of smile that knew what he was, was damn proud of it, and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it. Didn’t care because he knew he could back up every last word spoken of him.

That was the impression he radiated. What he had given Celestia and Luna in the single second when their eyes met. Celestia had to readjust herself, clearing her throat and declaring, “We must say… when we called for our contacts in the Neighponese T.I.T.A.N. sector… we expected some familiar faces. Certainly not yours.”

He swayed off the scientists, earned the approval of his safety from his guards, and took a step forward to the Alicorn sisters. Living legends in their own right, returning from the life of luxury and retirement to join the greater cause on the horizon. He liked that. He was proud to have joined them for such a time as this.

He made that clear and hid nothing. “Forgive my intrusion, Directors,” he said in a slick accent courtesy of the East. He bowed his head politely, as his customs ordained, and rose with an even slicker smile. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shatter Heart, and the contacts before me were merely the face of Neighpon’s T.I.T.A.N. As for me…”

Holding his hoof over his chest, he held that same smile that knew too much and was just as excited about unveiling every last juicy detail. And he told them, “I am the heart of it. Lead commander, a brilliant tactician… and a stunning pilot. Heh… not to brag or anything… but feel free to be impressed.”

“Forgive us for our lack of shock,” Luna replied in a deadpan tone of voice. “But… why are you here? What would we need a pilot for when we have an impressive surplus of our own?”

Shatter Heart’s smile fell, but only slightly. To indicate the shift of his personality, to show how serious he was when he answered them.

“My Mecha will require pilots…”

Now if there was anything to go by in his voice, the drop in his tone, the darkening look in his eyes, it was that he had already reached a conclusive state of mind. Of being. He knew who he was and what he was there for, and it didn’t seem like anything the sisters could say could ever change his stance in what he believed.

Especially when he called it his Mecha. That alone didn’t sit well with either sister. Celestia made their reaction as real and visible as could be, declaring to him, “Commander, Project Mecha is a joint effort. Surely you know that? I don’t think it should belong to any single—”

Shatter Heart raised a hoof, shocking the scientists around him when Celestia fell silent to it. “And he won’t,” the unicorn replied. “He won’t. He will belong to the people in which he was born to protect. And don’t we all fight for the people?”

He tried to turn the heat of the debate back on the sisters, use their own beliefs against them to further his own. The sisters were stronger than that, had a deeper understanding than mere mortals could ever know. They remained just as resolute and countered Shatter Heart’s strange choice of wording.

“Now it’s a he?” Luna questioned. “Just what are you getting at… Commander?”

He could tell they were growing agitated by his appearing. By his beliefs. Shatter Heart needed them all to be on the same page. They couldn’t stand divided, especially in such a crucial point in time as now. Unity was the only way forward for T.I.T.A.N. if they had any hope of survival. Shatter Heart had seen it, he knew it to be true, and he needed them to see it just as well.

So, without further ado, he bowed his head respectfully and began again.

“I would like to thank you both for our trusted partnership over this past year. It has been a difficult year of rebuilding. So much was lost… and yet so much more was gained in the process. In progress, we came together to unite our skills for one goal and one goal only. The lead T.I.T.A.N. sector here in Canterlot—with its immense resources shared from across the world—and the Neighponese sector—with its brilliant minds—ensured that this creation, this dream would be made reality.”

Turning away from the directors, Shatter Heart gazed out into the facility, onto the final stages of construction unfolding before him. His guards remained where they were, unnaturally quiet and staring blankly at their commander. The scientists shifted their eyes from Shatter Heart and onto their greatest project. Celestia and Luna couldn’t help but stare as well.

Shatter Heart never wanted to look away. He was so speechless, practically breathless. So unbelievably proud of what they managed to achieve. Staring at the machine left the indelible image burning ever more brightly in the back of his mind, in his deepest, darkest nightmares. In every horror story he had heard as a child and had grown up to witness for himself in his lifetime.

The image that was meant to spread terror would now be used to spread hope. Unity. Order.

He turned away for but a moment, stared at the metal flooring. “I know some among you may believe Gojira to be a shining beacon of hope. Where I’m from… we know him for who he truly is. We have legends, history even that show the true terrors he can unleash once given the purpose. His own self-righteous purpose. Gojira may have fought for you before, he may have given you that façade, but I and my people know the truth. How long until you discover that for yourself? Will it be too late for you to figure it out?”

Lifting his eyes, there was a new shade of untold darkness deep within his stare. A stare that tore directly into Celestia and Luna alike.

“How long… until he decides that we are the enemy?” he asked, and nopony answered.

Not even the directors. They appeared just as ghostly silent as every last scientist. Shatter Heart continued. “We need more than just Gojira. We saw the power of these creatures, the death these Titans dealt when they raged across the world… The same type of power Gojira was capable of in the Crystal Empire. The same power my people know that he is capable of…”

When he brought up the Crystal Empire, memories instantly flooded the minds of both Celestia and Luna. Just as he had intended, seeing their reactions flinch from stable to shaken, to fearful and even showing signs of grief. Shatter Heart shared the same feelings, having seen his own home suffer just as greatly, if not more so.

“Such a tragedy,” he said, and meant it. “Such a needless loss of precious life. How many was it again? Six… seven million lost? If the Mass Awakening or the Battle of the Three Kings showed us anything, it was that we need a protector that would put the lives of the innocent above all else. One who would not just fight for the world… but for every life. We need a Gojira that will fight for us. Surely you believe the same as I…?”

He knew the answer to that, but he wanted to see it burn from their expressions.

“This is our only chance now,” Shatter declared, speaking the words on everyone’s minds. Declaring the chorus in all of their hearts. “To defend our very way of life from a beast that puts the needs of our world above all of us. The needs of the same world that we cultivated and protected for thousands of years. That we strengthened, that we healed… all of this beautiful progress that could easily become a sea of flames by his decision alone. No… today is the day that we unanimously say no. Today is the day we understand that Gojira puts his own needs above every other life.”

When he stopped, he ensured that every last eye was focused on him. Every last breath was halted for his. And the hearts of Celestia and Luna were intertwined indelibly with his own. Until he saw that, he finally asked, “You have seen it yourself… have you not?”

They did. They saw it once before and never wanted to see it again. The sheer power he wielded, the destruction he caused—that all the Titans caused—it was too much for Celestia and Luna to imagine unfolding on a scale like the Mass Awakening ever again. They made a promise never to let such a travesty happen again, but in doing so they left their trust in a creature that lived and now ruled by his own accord. By what he believed was right for the natural course of the world to take.

And if that meant… their extinction… then who would be able to stop him?

They still held that trust. They still kept their faith in Godzilla, and if not, then in Fluttershy. Then in the ones who led them to this point, such as Mothra. Now that she was gone and no closer to coming back to them, T.I.T.A.N. needed a means to defend the innocent on a global scale. The Mass Awakening showed that their meager weapons, their vast array of armies were not enough to protect themselves. The Battle of the Three Kings showed that Godzilla would do absolutely everything necessary to achieve his version of order and peace.

And just how many would die to achieve that? Neither Celestia or Luna dared to answer. Their weapons would not be used against Godzilla, not until he himself turned against them and deemed ponykind the greatest threat to the world. Their weapons, their machines, their creations would be used only in the defense of innocent life. Created by life, for life, and the preservation of it.

Twilight trusted them. She knew about the project. She approved it. Most of T.I.T.A.N. knew of it. Those that donated supplies and materials for the project’s creation… they knew. Even some who donated and shared their resources did not know their true purpose. Others… soon, they would know. But Twilight knew just as much as they did on what needed to be accomplished if all else failed.

If Godzilla… turned on them…

“We see only what needs to be done,” Celestia shakily expressed, turning to Luna for support. She offered it; she strengthened her sister just enough for both of them to take the necessary stand to say what needed to be said. “You came here because you understand just like we do. We need to protect our people, our world… our very way of life. And if Godzilla stands against that one day… then this is our only hope. This is our last resort.”

Luna gravely nodded, turning to Shatter Heart and expressing that resolute dread just as shakily as her older sister. Telling him truthfully, “Our endgame.”

Shatter Heart believed them. He believed every last word they spoke and let loose the deepest breath of relief he could manage. Thankful for their understanding, for their cooperation. Their hearts were shared in the same goal and that was all he needed to look forward to the days of tomorrow. To the promises yet to be fulfilled.

Starting with one they all came to agree to. “Directors… our partnership has been immensely wonderful… and beneficial. Not only to us… but soon to all the world. To our collaborative creation.”

Celestia and Luna lifted their eyes to meet his, but he had already faced away. He rested his hoof onto the railing, gazed out into the heart of the mountain and smiled.

His eyes settled on his work brought to life.

“And there is nothing more beneficial… more wonderful… than creation.”

Soon, all the observation deck was staring just as well. Onto their grand work, their even grander creation. The machine rose so high that not even the multi-storied observation deck could match it. Its eyes were dark and its jaws hung open, almost lifeless. Almost dead. Not for long. The claws of the machine were locked in place by its sides, a mechanical rib cage just as dark and lifeless as the metallic, rectangular dorsal plates lined down its tremendous spine… and curving atop of its tail.

It remained lifeless for now, but the machine was not dead. The dream was not dead. Far from it. What they achieved here today would kick-start the future of their species into the next decade. The next millennium perhaps. The power they would soon wield, built by nations, would ensure the safety and preservation of their species for a thousand years, and forevermore. No Titan would be able to stand against them, because they had one of their own. One that would lead them to victory, to greatness. To survival. And it all began with the machine. With him.

T.I.T.A.N.’s greatest weapon. Godzilla’s equal, his superior. A Global Protector.

The one who would fight for them.

Their Mechagodzilla.