//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: When the Darkness Meets the Light 
// Story: Beasts from Within 
// by ThatOneOtherGuy 
//------------------------------//

It had felt as if several hours had gone by as the group continued their journey through the Everfree forest. Gojira stayed near the front of the group alongside Twilight as he continued to look for any dangerous creatures while also trying to look for Caesar. Though, after all the weird and unexpected events they went through, he was way more cautious than usual. The manticore they encountered was nothing more but a small fraction of what this forest had to offer.

“A manticore attack that was caused because of a thorn, evil living trees that stop after Pinkie sings, and a water serpent with a mustache that allows us to cross a river when Rarity gives it half of her tail”, said Gojira as he was keeping track of all the random creatures they had come across and the…unique ways they avoided conflict with them.

“Did I leave anything out”, he asked.

“Nope, I believe you got most of it”, answered Twilight. 

“What kind of a forest is this”, said Anguirus who was in the middle of the group. “I’ve never seen a forest that’s so abstract.” This caught the attention of Applejack.

”Welcome to Ponyville”, she said. “We mostly choose to avoid the Everfree, as ya’ can tell it can be quite…adventurous.” She didn’t want to use the word dangerous as it had been said plenty enough. 

“Still though, we’ve lived in multiple rural areas, and none of them were this inhabited, let alone with stuff like manticores or living trees”, said Anguirus, recalling their previous encounters. Applejack looked a bit puzzled.

“Wait, you fellers lived in a forest”, she asked.

“What, no. We didn’t live in a forest, but we would usually live close to them”, Anguirus answered. Rodan, who was hovering above the group with his wings, overheard Anguirus’ answer and got nervous.

“Why is that”, asked Applejack.

“Because we-”, before he could finish, Rodan flew down in between the two.

“Because”, Rodan cut him off, “we weren’t exactly the most wealthy stallions that you’d see. So we’d have to settle with cheap houses and many of them were stationed near forests.” Rodan formed a smile as he hoped his lie was good enough. It seemed to be since, despite her confused look, Applejack seemed to believe him as she turned away.

“O-K, just wondering”, she said as she walked ahead of them. When she was a good distance away, Rodan leaned into Anguirus’ ear.

“Be careful how you answer their questions, they still don’t know about our secret”, Rodan whispered.

“Yeah, I know”, replied Anguirus as he stepped to the side a bit. “I wasn’t gonna tell her anything too personal.” Rodan shrugged.

“Just wanted to remind you”, he said before flying back up with Rainbow Dash.

Anguirus shook his head, he couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated. Yes, he was the youngest of his three brothers and needed the most help when it came to controlling his spirit. However, he knew just how important it was to keep them secret than they did, but at times it seemed they didn’t. He looked over at some of the mares. Applejack had joined with Pinkie and Rarity, who had part of her ponytail cut off since she gave it to the serpent. Rainbow Dash was hovering over the group with Rodan, though she stayed a good distance from him, and Twilight was up front leading the group with Gojira close behind her. 

That left Fluttershy who he noticed had been mostly quiet in-between their moments of action. She was a quiet mare who mainly seemed to keep to herself. But there was this caring side to her that she seemed to mostly show towards animals from the birds at the Summer Sun celebration to even the manticore they encountered. There was also that incredibly kind side to her that she had shown several times throughout their journey. But, as her name implied, she was very, very shy. This was apparent when he slowly walked close to her and she seemed to hide behind her long, light pink mane.

“Quite the experience this has been, huh”, said Anguirus trying to be friendly.

“Umm, y-yeah”, replied Fluttershy. She was very timid, even when talking to other ponies. The two were silent for a few seconds as Anguirus tried to think of other things to say. He looked over at some of the other members of the group. Looking at Pinkie reminded him of something.

“So, did you also hear music”, he asked. 

“What do you mean”, asked Fluttershy.

“When Pinkie started singing in front of those trees”, replied Anguirus. “I could’ve sworn I heard music coming from somewhere and I want to know if you heard it too.”

“Oh, yes I did”, said Fluttershy in a small, causal tone of voice which Anguirus didn’t expect.

“Is that normal for you”, he asked, genuinely curious.

“A little bit”, answered Fluttershy. “It’s not too abnormal in Ponyville. I’m sorry if you’re disturbed by it.”

Anguirus waved his hoof dismissively. “No, no, not at all. I was just wondering”, he said, though in actuality he found the idea of music anonymously playing whenever someone would sing to be more frightening than interesting.

The two were in silence once again. Anguirus looked around as he took in their surroundings. “You know”, he said, “despite all the monsters, this is a very nice place.”

Fluttershy looked up at him. “You think so, even after everything we’ve seen”, she asked.

“Well yes, with all the flowers, animals, and rivers, it’s a fairly nice looking place”, said Anguirus. “Though, it’s a shame that its beauty can be so deadly.” 

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. Once more, they were back to silence and Anguirus tried to come up with another way to start another conversation. He didn’t want her to feel awkward or, even worse, afraid when around him, so he tried talking to her to make her feel comfortable. This time though, he wasn’t the first to speak. 

“Thank you”, said Fluttershy. Anguirus looked at her with a slight eyebrow raised.

“What was that”, he asked.

“I-I’m sorry for not saying this earlier, but”, Fluttershy looked at Anguirus in the eyes, “thank you for saving me.” In an ironic way, Anguirus was now the shy one. He didn’t know what to say. What started as him trying to be nice was now him struggling to come up with a response. 

“Well, umm, thank you…I-I mean, you’re welcome”, stuttered Anguirus as he felt very flustered. His response forced a small smile on Fluttershy. “Th-Though I can’t take all the credit, I mean, you were the one to call the manticore down. 

“O-Oh, I didn’t”, said Fluttershy as she slowly started to come out from behind her mane. “Even something as big as it deserves to be shown kindness.” Her words stayed in Anguirus’ mind longer than his own. He could only hope that terminology stayed true.

After more walking and searching, the group stumbled across a pleasant sight. Through the trees, bushes, and mist, the slightest glimpse of an old, ruined temple had finally come into view. The site filled the three brothers and the mane six with satisfaction, but for Twilight, she felt ecstatic.

“Finally we made it”, she exclaimed before galloping down the path that led to it.

“Twilight, wait for us”, shouted Applejack as she and the rest of the group followed after her. 

“We’re almost there, we’re almost at the-”, her sentence was cut short when she screeched to a stop, leaving a small trench of dirt from her hooves. The rest of the group soon caught up to her and they too were forced to stop. Gojira, being right behind Twilight, was the first to see what stopped her. To say the least, it wasn’t a what but rather a who?

“Caesar?”, exclaimed Gojira.

Gojira was joined by Rodan and Anguirus at the front of the group and they too had the same reaction. Standing in front of the mist that stood between them and their goal was a unicorn with a lighter shade of brown than Anguirus with beige color set hoofs, yellow mane and tail, puffs of hair along his neck and legs, and red eyes with white pupils. And if that wasn’t clear enough, the golden armor with the symbol of a burning sun was.

Caesar turned around when he heard his name called. The one thing he didn’t expect to see in a forest filled with mythical creatures, were the three brothers that he had hoped stayed at Ponyville. He first felt shock from seeing them, but that shock turned to frustration.

“What the? What are you three doing?”,said Caesar. He then noticed Twilight and the mane six. “And who are they and what are they doing here?” Gojira practically growled through his clenched teeth.

“What are we doing? What, you expected us to stay still while you run off to chase after some she-demon and believe that we wouldn’t go after you”, shouted Gojira as small patches of scales started to form on the inside of his legs, though none of the mane six saw them.

‘Gojira, remember to keep a level head.’

“Nightmare Moon has the princess, and as a member of her royal guard, it’s my duty to protect her majesty”, replied Caesar.

“So you thought chasing after her by yourself would be the smartest thing to do”, asked Rodan feeling just as upset as his older brother. “Even though your own magic did little to nothing against her.”

“It wouldn’t be my magic I would be using”, replied Caesar as gestured to the ruined temple. 

“Wait, you were also searching for the elements of harmony”, said Twilight. Her intervention managed to break Caesar and the three brother’s conversation. Caesar squinted his eyes slightly as he recognized who she was.

“You’re the one who confronted Nightmare Moon at the Summer Sun celebration”, he said looking at her with wide eyes. “So you also know about the legend.”

Twilight nodded. “It’s basically the one thing I’ve been reading about for the past week”, she said. “And I know for a fact that inside that temple is the only way to defeat her.” She motioned toward the temple with confidence.

“How do you exactly know that this is where they’re being hidden?”, wondered Rodan. “It just looks like some destroyed tower.”

“No, no, she’s right”, said Caesar as he too looked toward the ruined temple with several vines, trees, and dirt growing around it. “This is where they’re being hidden.”

“And how exactly do you know that?”, asked Applejack. Caesar looked her directly in the eyes.

“She told me”, he replied.

“Ok, if that’s where they’re being held then let’s quickly grab them and find her”, said Anguirus as he tried walking towards the temple but was stopped by Caesar.

“We can’t”, said Caesar. 

“Why not”, asked Anguirus.

Caesar turned around and faced the fog. His horn flickered before emulating a golden aura, lighting up their surroundings. This glow allowed them to see that between them and the temple was a wooden bridge that seemed to have long since given away. It looked to be just as old as the temple itself with the ropes that held the bridge having snapped causing half the bridge to be draped across their half of the ravine. Caesar’s horn ceased its aura and turned back to normal. He turned to face the group.

“If I could, I would’ve obtained the elements of harmony before you all arrived”, he said before feeling a bit downcast. “But alas, it appears that I can only travel so far.”

“Now what do we do”, said Pinkie as they looked across the broken bridge. 

“Uh, duh”, said Rainbow Dash as she flapped her wings. 

“Oh yeah”, said Pinkie.

She took into the air and flew down into the chasm to grab the end of the bridge. However, as she did so, the fog started to thicken at an accelerated rate, to the point where Rainbow Dash had seemingly vanished. The group waited in anticipation for any kind of sign or noise to signify that Rainbow had made it to the other side. Gojira leaned down towards Rodan.

“Do you think you can see her through the fog?”, he whispered.

Rodan shrugged. “I’ll try, though I can’t promise it”, he said. His emblem flashed and his pupils shrank as his eyes glowed for a few seconds. As they did so, Caesar turned to face the mane six.

“I must thank you all for looking after these three”, he said while gesturing to the three brothers. Gojira wanted to retort, but decided to keep silent.

“Oh, it’s nothing”, said Twilight. “In fact, they helped us on several occasions.”

Caesar glanced at the three, “did they now?”

“You bet”, said Pinkie as she appeared on the other side of Caesar, catching him off guard. “Especially when they took on that big, scary manticore.”

Caesar looked surprised as he turned to face the three brothers. “You encountered a manticore”, he said quizzically. 

Gojira and Anguirus faced him while Rodan continued to stare intently through the fog. “Well, of course we did”, said Anguirus. “We couldn’t just stand there and wait for them to be attacked.” Gojira nodded in agreement. 

Caesar, however, didn’t seem to kindly after hearing this. He quickly approached the two. “Did they see them?”, he whispered. “Do they know about them?”

Gojira and Anguirus looked at each other. Gojira took a quick glance at the mane six, he could see the confused faces they wore. He leaned toward Caesar.

“No, we barely used them”, he said. “To them, we’re just abnormally tall stallions.”

Caesar still didn’t seem too happy. Even though Gojira said that they didn’t use the kaiju spirits much, they still used them. Even the physical enhancements that the spirits provided would be more than enough to give away their existence. However, Caesar took a deep breath and backed away. 

“Although I applaud your bravery, your actions contained large amounts of risk”, he said. “You could’ve been badly injured or you could’ve hurt one of them”, he gestured at the mane six, “though, looking at you three, it seems that your ambition had paid off. And for that, I congratulate you.”

Gojira and Anguirus looked at each other. “Well, that’s one way to say good job”, joked Gojira, causing Anguirus to lightly chuckle. 

“What the hay.” Rodan’s sudden remark caught everyone’s attention. He was still trying to look through the fog to find Rainbow Dash. Although he found her, that wasn’t the only mare he saw.

A small gap appeared in the fog, allowing the group to see what was taking the rainbow haired pegasus so long. The reason was that Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only pegasus on the other side of the bridge. There were three other pegasus with long blue manes wearing tight, black flight suits that had a purple lightning bolt going across it. They also wore a mask that encompassed their entire head apart from their manes and maw that also had orange goggles for the eyes. They seemed to be talking to Rainbow Dash, who was talking with seemingly hints of excitement. 

“Who in the world are they”, asked Rodan. One of the pegasus noticed the group through the fog. Almost immediately the fog thickened and the hole was filled in.

“Oh no”, said Twilight with dread in her voice. She ran up to the edge of the cliff. “Rainbow! Don’t listen to them!” She received no response. With the whole group now starting to panic, Gojira looked at his younger brother.

“Rodan!”

“On it”, exclaimed Rodan as he flapped his wings and flew through the fog. However, not even a second later, he flew back out facing the opposite direction.

“What the?” He flew back into the fog, but was again forced out of it. “I can’t get to her”, he shouted. “The fog just spits me back out.”

This brought more fear and anxiety to the already nervous Twilight. She stood closer to the edge of the ravine. “Rainbow! They aren’t real!”, she shouted, but again, received no response. She was so focused on trying to reach Rainbow Dash, that she didn’t notice how close to the edge she was.

The wooden plank that she stood on started to crack before splitting in the middle. Twilight yelped as she almost fell, but luckily, she didn’t fall very far. She fell only a foot before stopping with half her hooves dangling over the edge. She wanted to scream from seeing how far she would’ve fallen if whoever hadn’t grabbed her. She was pulled back on to the ravine by her tail unharmed, apart from her pounding heart and fast-paced panting. 

“Are you alright”, asked her savior. 

Twilight expected them to be Applejack or Fluttershy, who had saved her before, but the deep, gruff voice dashed that idea away. She looked up to see the face of Gojira looking concerned and worried. As well as, how close he had gotten. Her voice got caught in her throat as she tried to say a response.

“Uhh, y-yeah, I’m fine”, stuttered Twilight. “Thank you.”

They both turned to face the rest of the group. Although most looked surprised and concerned over Twilight, a few, mainly Rodan and Pinkie, couldn’t help but show cheeky smiles. Gojira merely rolled his eyes while Twilight couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.

“You’re welcome”, said Gojira as he turned toward his brothers. “Now, can we focus on the bigger issue here?”

“Already fixed it”, said a familiar voice. The group looked at the fog. In large relief, Rainbow flew out of it, causing the fog to slowly evaporate until it showed the now repaired bridge with Rainbow having re-tied the snapped ropes to their ends. 

She sported a triumphant grin. “Like I say, I never leave my friends hanging.”

The mane six congratulated Rainbow Dash as they crossed the bridge. As they did so, Rodan ran up to Gojira with a grin on his face.

“Sooo”, said Rodan with a coy tone, “you sure you’re not interested in any mares?” His eyebrows went up and down to emphasize his tone. Gojira would have replied with a hoof to his face, a growl, or something else, but he could only give his brother a death glare.

After crossing the bridge, they stood only a few feet away from the temple that laid in ruin. A pair of large wooden doors was embedded in the stone as the wood seemed to have long rotted many years ago. Twilight slowly opened the doors, causing dust to scatter and extracting a groan from them as they opened. The inside of the temple was what you’d expect. Stone pillars with vines wrapped around them were along the sides of the walls with a few holding what little remained of the roof. Large glass windows were either missing or shattered. And plants, vines, and trees were spread all throughout the temple, essentially reclaiming it to the forest. But at the center of it all was a large stone structure containing stone capsules which held what the group had been searching for.

“I don’t believe it”, said Caesar with an incredulous look.

“Well Twilight”, said Applejack with an accomplished smile. “Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for?”

Twilight was speechless for a little while. What had been told as legends were now resting right in front of her very eyes. “The Elements of Harmony”, she said before forming a large smile, “we found them!”

One at a time with extreme care, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rodan started bringing each one of the stone capsules off the structure and in front of Twilight. They were a bit heavy for the two flying members of the mane six, but Rodan didn’t seem to struggle much. Caesar was still looking around the temple. He remembered what Nightmare Moon had told him, but what did it mean? Was there something he didn’t know? Did this building have deeper meaning to it? Whatever the case, the last of the capsules had been taken off the structure and set delicately in front of the group.

“Well, that’s it right”, asked Anguirus. “We can now use them to defeat Nightmare Moon and end this everlasting darkness.” The mane six didn’t seem to share the same thought.

“One, two, three, four…five? There’s only five”, exclaimed Pinkie.

“Where’s the sixth one”, asked Rainbow Dash.

“Wait, there’s a sixth one”, exclaimed Rodan. “Don’t tell me we’re gonna have to go on another journey to find…whatever these things are.”

“No that’s not necessary”, replied Twilight. “The book says that when all five are present, a spark will cause the sixth element to appear.”

“What the hay is that supposed to mean”, asked Applejack. 

“I’m not sure”, answered Twilight, “but I have an idea. Stand back, I don’t know what will happen.” She got on her knees, closed her eyes, and her horn started to lit up in a light purple aura. The group slowly started to back away. Everyone except Caesar.

“Caesar, come on, let’s give her some room to concentrate”, said Anguirus. Yet Caesar stayed still, only turning to face the rest of the group.

“You all head outside, I’ll stay in here to guard Twilight until the sixth element appears”, said Caesar with sternness in his voice. 

“What could possibly come in here to attack her”, said Rodan with an eyebrow raised. Caesar didn’t reply, he felt a small shrill run down his back. He turned towards the stone structure.

“Who knows”, Caesar answered, “and that’s the scariest part.” He turned to face the three brothers. “If these elements are the only way to find the princess, then they must be protected at all costs. And as a member of the royal guard, I intend on doing so.”

Even though he meant to direct this at all three of them, he had mainly faced Gojira when he said that. Anguirus and Rodan both looked toward their oldest brother, who held his signature neutral expression. Truth be told, he hated it. The only reason they came into this forest was to find Caesar when he chased after Nightmare Moon, running into the mane six by accident. And now once again, he was putting himself in danger since he was part of the royal guard. However, he looked around, noticing how the others were waiting in anticipation. He knew the real reason why Caesar wanted to stay in guard. To keep the secret of the spirits hidden. With a reluctant sigh, Gojira nodded.

“Alright”, he said begrudgingly , “we’ll wait outside for you both. Just, stay safe.” He and his brothers walked out the door as Applejack held it open. He was the last to leave as he exited. 

The doors shut behind him as he, his brothers, and the rest of the mane six waited for when they could come back in. However, only after taking a few steps away from the doors when they closed, Gojira’s mind started racing.

‘Something’s wrong.’

Gojira abruptly stopped in his tracks. His sudden stiffness caught the attention of the rest of the group. While they were at first confused, his brothers soon sported similar looks of fear. 

“What’s wrong”, asked Rarity as she approached them. 

‘She’s here.’

Gojira’s eyes widened as his pupils shrank. He quickly turned towards the doors and shoved the open while shouting.

“Caesar! Twilight!”, he yelled. “Get out of there, Nightmare Moon is-”, he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth in time. He was too late.

The purple mist that they saw back in Ponyville had finally caught up with them. It made its way around the perimeter of the temple before starting to circle around the elements like a flock of vultures. It started to pick up speed, causing dust and leaves to fly in the air and even shake the walls of the temple. The doors behind Gojira violently closed, keeping the rest of the group out as they vigorously tried opening it. He looked astonishingly at the sight before laying eyes on the two who were still in the temple. Caesar had his horn ignited and was in a battle stance while Twilight was still on her knees, trying to speed up the process of forming the sixth element. However, her concentration was broken when the cyclone soon started to circle around the stone capsules. She was forced to back away as the cyclone rapidly increased in speed, to the point where the heavy stone capsules started to float in the air.

“The elements”, shouted Twilight. The capsules floated higher and higher into what was now a twister with its speed. Seeing them fly up and practically disappear from eyesight triggered some kind of nerve in her since before she could question what to do, she jumped in.

“Twilight”, shouted Caesar as he too jumped in after her.

“Caesar!”, cried Gojira. As if all three of them were attached together, Gojira galloped toward the twister. 

One second the twister was at its most violent, the next it had disappeared. The dust soon settled and the walls quit shaking. The doors finally opened as Rodan and Anguirus practically fell through them, fearful for what may have happened to their brother, friend, and guardian. Just as they feared, they saw none of them.

“What the hay happened”, said Anguirus as they looked around the now still and silent area. At least silent for everyone, except him.

‘We can only hope that he was ready.’





Gojira stirred awake as he laid on the stone tiled floor. He was covered in dust, leaves, and small pieces of stone. He slowly managed to stand up, wiping himself off from all the debris as he looked around. He appeared to be in some kind of hallway, but it was far from the ones he saw at Canterlot in terms of quality. Each window was smashed in as glass was scattered across the floor with only a couple still intact. The ceiling was also made of stone but with several holes in it allowing the moonlight to shine through. The floor had a long rug similar to Canterlot, but it had been all kinds of torn up with holes, stains, and stretched fabric littering it. The whole place was practically Canterlot, except the complete opposite of what that castle stood for. But that wasn’t what Gojira was mostly focused on. He was about to call out the names of the two that had been transported here with him, but was stopped by someone.

‘Don’t speak. She knows we’re here.’

With that, he didn’t. He slowly began to make his way through the hall, trying to make as little noise as possible. He also kept on guard, looking around his surroundings as often as he could. He eventually made it to the end of the hallway which led to a fork. Before he could choose which way to go, he heard what sounded like hoofsteps coming from the left hall. Fearing for the worst, he went up against the left wall and got into a fighting stance. Patches of scales started to form along his body, he bared his teeth which looked sharper than normal, and most intriguing of all though it was faint, his mane flashed and tail flashed a bright blue. As the steps got louder, Gojira could see the shadow which allowed him to get a better idea of who this being was. The silhouette of a unicorn managed to ease his tension.

“Twilight”, he said. Twilight yelped as she abruptly stopped from hearing his voice.

“Gojira?”, she called out. 

Gojira walked out from behind the corner, the patches of scales formed back into his dark gray skin. Twilight seemed relieved to see him.

“How did you get here?”, Twilight asked, looking very confused.

“I followed you and Caesar when you both got sucked into the mist”, Gojira answered.

“Wait, Caesar’s here too”, she said, looking a bit more anxious.

“Probably”, replied Gojira. “Since we were each transported to different locations in this temple, I imagine he’s also wandering around like we were.” He looked back at Twilight, she was no longer facing his direction. “What are you looking-”

“Behind you”, yelled Twilight.

Gojira barely got a glimpse as to what was coming at him. He was pushed out of the way by Twilight before a large piece of rock went flying past them, smashing through the wall on the other side. Gojira landed on his back with Twilight on top of him. 

“Talk about a welcome gift”, said Gojira. He turned his head to face Twilight, she was facing toward where the boulder had been thrown from. “Thank you, now can I stand up”, he said. Twilight looked back at him. When she realized the position they were in, a blush formed on her as she quickly got off him.

“S-Sorry, I mean, you’re welcome”, she said. Gojira stood to his hooves.

“No problem, now we’re even”, he replied. 

Just then, a small breeze could be felt from all across the hall, catching both Gojira’s and Twilight’s attention. The purple mist that they saw from earlier was now circling in front of them. The mist then started to fly away from them as it started to travel down the hall and neared a turn. Twilight started to walk forward.

“It wants us to follow it”, said Twilight. Gojira looked at her bewildered.

“And you're gonna?”, he asked.

“If it means finding the elements, then yes I will”, said Twilight with confidence as she continued to follow the mist.

Gojira looked around. With little to no indication about where they are, this sort of lead way seemed to be the only option if they were to find either the elements or Caesar, who was his main priority. With a heavy sigh of reluctance, Gojira followed after.

The two walked through the halls, following the mist and also looking for both of their goals. Soon the mist flew through a large pair of wooden doors that seemed to be of similar height to the ones at Canterlot. They led to a large and seemingly empty room except for the throne that stood across from them. Before either of them could question, the doors behind them slammed shut, catching them both by surprise. Both Gojira and Twilight looked back toward the throne as it was now being enveloped in the purple mist that led them there.

‘She led us right to her!’

Gojira’s eyes widened when he realized this. He quickly looked around for some kind of exit. One of the walls had a large hole in it which seemed to lead to another hall. He quickly turned back toward Twilight, the mist was picking up speed.

“Head towards that hole, I’ll hold her off”, he exclaimed. Twilight looked at him as if he told her to jump off a bridge.

“What!? Are you crazy!? I’m not leaving you alone to face Nightmare Moon by yourself”, Twilight replied. The mist began to evaporate.

“We don’t have time to argue about this, even if you stayed it wouldn’t make much difference”, said Gojira. At least that’s what would’ve happened, if he was a normal pony. “Now go find Caesar, find the elements, and end this darkness. Besides…”, he stepped forward while cracking his neck,“I’ve been itching for some more action.”

Twilight stood with anxiety written on her face. She couldn’t believe that this stallion was willing to go up against someone as powerful as Nightmare Moon, let alone by himself. She wanted to stay and help him, but the elements would easily be their best bet on defeating Nightmare Moon. She looked at both Gojira and the hole in the wall, and with a face full of regret, she ran toward the hole. She looked back toward Gojira who gave her a nod to let her know that she had made the right decision. And so, Twilight ran through the hole and into another hallway, right before the mist had fully evaporated and the mare in the moon stepped out.

Gojira kept his ground as Nightmare Moon stepped off of her throne. Her wings flared as the mist formed her mane and began to flow in a more sporadic manner than normal. The most unsettling part was her laughter as it echoed through the room. 

“Oh, how much I adore this place. So quiet, so peaceful, so dark. You can even see the precious moon through the roof.”, she said with glee. “I hope you enjoyed the scenery as it’ll be the last thing that you, my little pony, will ever see of this night-ridden world that you call Equestria.” Her laughter once more escaped from her mouth. 

Gojira’s glare was so intense it seemed his eyes were on fire. A growl escaped from his mouth as his emblem flashed and his tail grew longer and denser. It rose above the ground before smashing down, cracking the floor beneath him. The loud crash that it made caught the attention of Nightmare Moon as her laughter instantly ceased. 

“I am not your little pony”, he growled. “My name is Gojira Zawa, I have been trained by my father and Caesar for several years and I will not let this forever darkness last any longer!” Small strains of smoke started to escape from his maw. Nightmare Moon didn’t seem the slightest bit deterred.

“You’re kidding. You’re kidding”, she said with an eyebrow raised. Gojira didn’t falter as his tail slammed against the floor again, practically challenging Nightmare Moon to come at him. Which she accepted.

A smirk formed on her face as her wings flared, her mane flowed more intensely, her pupils thinned, and her horn ignited in dark magic. Gojira dug his hooves into the floor, practically forming trenches in it. The two stared each other down as they awaited for one to make the first move. And soon, they both did.

With magic flowing through the feathers of her wings, Nightmare Moon charged forward with her wings increasing her momentum. Gojira galloped through the throng room with his emblem flashing. As the distance closed between the two, Gojira got up on his hind legs as his hooves and chest grew several patches of scales. Nightmare Moon collided with Gojira with incredible force that he was sent skidding back, pushing against her with his hooves. They eventually came to a stalemate just inches from the doors. Gojira took the opportunity to headbutt Nightmare Moon with his scales increasing the impact. With her disoriented, Gojira reared his hoof back and delivered a strong punch across her face, sending Nightmare Moon to the ground.

He got back on all four hooves and charged toward her. He couldn’t get close enough however, as Nightmare Moon quickly ignited her horn and fired a beam of magic toward Gojira. With mere seconds to spare, Gojira leaped out of its path. She fired shot after shot at him as Gojira managed to run past most of them. A couple hit him in his side, causing burn marks and grunts of pain. He managed to find cover behind her throne. When the blasts stopped, he looked out from behind the throne to see an opening, but Nightmare Moon had seemingly vanished. Before he knew it, he heard breathing from behind.

‘Of course she can teleport’, he thought to himself.

Nightmare Moon fired a blast of magic at the back of Gojira, which was strong enough to cause him to crash through her throne, reducing it to rubble. He landed on his chest with smoke trailing from his mane. Nightmare Moon flapped her wings and flew in the air before dive bombing toward Gojira to deliver a final blow. However, he was quicker as his tail swung upward and smacked her before she could reach Gojira, sending her skidding across the floor.

Gojira let out a growl before standing back up. He charged toward Nightmare Moon who was still on the ground. He raised his front hooves up and intended to slam them against her head, but instead they collided against a protective barrier that Nightmare Moon formed at the last second. Gojira let out a battle cry as he slammed and pounded against the shield, practically using his entire body to do so, however this only created ripples on the barrier’s surface. He was so focused on breaking the shield with brute force that he didn’t pay attention to the piece of rubble the size of his head flying at him until it was a few feet away. 

He managed to notice however, forming scales along his body in time when the rock shattered against him. He was forced to back away as the dust partly blinded him. This gave Nightmare Moon an opening and she took it by firing a powerful beam of magic at Gojira’s chest. The beam was powerful enough to send Gojira flying back against the wall. He crashed into it, forcing a grunt of pain to come out of his mouth as smoke trailed from his chest. He was down, but not defeated as Nightmare Moon smiled with devilish glee.

Meanwhile, Twilight was running through the halls of the temple in hopes of finding the elements. The sooner she found them, the sooner she could head back to help Gojira. Although she couldn’t see how he was doing, the sounds of what sounded like stone crashing added on to her regret of leaving her ally behind. 

“Just hold on for a little longer”, she said to herself.

She rounded a corner and what she saw stopped her in her tracks. At first she was tense, to the point where her horn lit up in a light purple aura, however the sight of the golden armor allowed her to calm down.

“Caesar!”, she exclaimed, catching his attention.

“Twilight! Thank Celestia you’re alright”, said Caesar. Twilight could barely get sentences out of her mouth due to her heavy breathing.

“Caesar I don’t have enough time to explain this but, Gojira is here as well”, she said. Caesar looked at her with eyes of horror. “I met Gojira in one of the hallways of this temple, however we also ran into Nightmare Moon and-”, her face and voice were filled with regret as her eyes became downcast, “he stayed behind to distract her while I went to find the elements.”

Caesar looked at her in disbelief. “He’s what!”, he yelled. He then looked toward where Twilight had come from and started running in that direction. Twilight looked at him with wide eyes.

“Wait Caesar-”, she exclaimed.

“Find the elements, now”, Caesar shouted without turning his head as he continued to run through the hallway. 

Twilight was now left alone. The regret of not staying behind was still teasing her mind. However, she knew that she couldn’t linger on it for very long. Without the elements, Gojira could do nothing more but by time, Caesar would probably add a few extra minutes. And she was going to need each one of them. 

Back in the throne room, Gojira was struggling. His kaiju spirit gave him greater physical traits, however Nightmare Moon’s greater mobility and wide array of spells made it that he was constantly on the defense. The hits that he did manage to land were few and less rapid when compared to Nightmare Moon. Fortunately, his scales protected him from several of her attacks. 

Which definitely helped when Nightmare Moon fired another blast of magic at him, fortunately the scales on his head managed to protect him from the attack. He powered through several more as he closed the distance, only for her to teleport out of his path before he could deal a blow. He felt another blast of magic at his side causing him to clench his teeth as it hit his vulnerable skin. He felt another blast on his leg, then his back, and then his chest before going back on his side. This would happen each time he turned to face his opponent. Although the blasts stunned, their greatest effect was building Gojira’s anger.

‘She’s toying with you, you should toy her.’

Gojira breathed in and out, a small trail of smoke forming from his mouth. The blasts were being shot in a pattern with it starting from his side then across different parts of his body before ending back at his side. He stood still, practically asking for her to come at him. He felt the last blast hit him in his back before it stopped. He heard the flapping of wings, the sound of a horn charging up, and that annoyingly cocky laugh. She had taken the bait. Nightmare Moon charged at the back of Gojira, however during her firing frenzy, she’d forgotten about her opponent's extra limb.

Swinging his tail around, Gojira’s tail hit Nightmare Moon with enough force to send her crashing into the stone floor. But Gojira didn’t stop there. He charged at Nightmare Moon, opened his jaw to reveal his sharp teeth, and bit down hard on one of Nightmare Moon’s wings. Her laughter had now been replaced with a high pitch scream of pain as Gojira refused to let go. She tried to hoof him in the chest, the face, she even thrashed her body around, but Gojira kept his jaws locked as an iron taste started invading his mouth. As Nightmare Moon struggled, her horn began to ignite with a light that was brighter than anything seen before, her eyes practically glowing white with how much magic was pouring into her. And soon she let it out.

“ENOUGH!”

A shockwave of magic burst from her body, forcing Gojira to let go and send him sliding back as the blast was so bright it partially blinded him. When he regained his vision, he was met with a powerful beam of magic hitting him in the chest. This beam was much stronger than anything that came before it as Gojira roared out in pain. The beam sent him against the wall where it lasted for a few extra seconds until it finally ceased. He fell to the ground as smoke billowed from his chest, the scales that protected him were either damaged or completely destroyed, there was even a small hint of blood lightly seeping out. He breathed heavily as he faced Nightmare Moon. Although she wasn’t in the greatest shape with bruises on her face, her armor starting to show dents, and the bite mark on her wing which was dripping blood, she wasn’t nearly as bad as Gojira was as he stayed on the ground to regain his breath.

“This is nothing more than a waste of my time!”, she cried out. “I’ll admit, you truly aren’t like any other pony I’ve seen, but your efforts can only delay the inevitable.” Her horn lit up in the all too familiar glow that Gojira now found annoying and her wings flared open. “I will see to it this eternal darkness shall last for as long as I remain on this planet. The whole world will remember this day forward as the day when the night lasted, forever!” Gojira growled as he heard her laugh, he had grown to hate it as much as herself. 

He knew that with Nightmare Moon’s abilities that physical combat wasn’t going to work. Although his scales managed to hold up well, if she were to hit him with another powerful attack like the one from earlier then he wouldn’t be able to withstand much longer. This meant that, although it was risky, he would need backup. He stood up on all four hooves with his head facing down. His legs trembled as he powered through the pain he felt in his chest. Nightmare Moon noticed this and formed a cynical smile.

“You truly never know when to quit, do you”, she exclaimed. Gojira didn’t respond as his head remained lowered. “What’s the matter, scared of the dark?” She lightly chuckled, which only angered him even more.

“I…don’t fear you”, he said through gritted teeth. Nightmare Moon merely rolled her eyes.

“Do you now”, she said with sarcasm. “I can sense it.”

Gojira’s ears twitched at that word. He refused to be identified as such. His emblem flashed an even brighter glow than normal. He lifted his head as charcoal gray scales started to cover his entire body, his eyes opened to show that they had changed from amber to a menacing orange and red with thin slits for pupils. He stood at his full height which made him appear to be similar to Nightmare Moon. His mane and tail started to become frizzy as a humming noise could be heard. Nightmare Moon looked confused and surprised at this as her cocky smile was replaced by a worrisome look that forced her to get into a fighting position. Gojira’s tail wagged as he looked her dead in the eyes, they were practically burning.

“That’s not fear you sense”, he exclaimed.

And then, there was a flicker. Trails of smoke started to flow from Gojira’s mouth and nostrils as the humming sound started to increase in volume. Then, almost like magic, his mane and tail started to glow. It started as flickers until his entire backside was glowing a bright blue. His body heat began to rise, his hooves began to carve into the stone, and the smoke started to turn into sparks. The wound that was on his chest slowly started to heal itself, his blood stopped dripping, his scales started to repair themselves, and soon any sign of injury or weakness had completely disappeared as his chest looked to have been barely touched. What happened was enough to strike fear into a being composed of it.

Gojira threw his jaws open and a bright beam of light and energy bolted out of his mouth. The sound it made was similar to a jet engine exploding in the atmosphere as it rocketed toward Nightmare Moon, barely giving her enough time to put up a protective barrier. The beam crashed into it with enough force to push her back a few inches. The heat she felt was extraordinary, it felt like she was blocking out a solar flare. She could only imagine how it would’ve felt if it hit her head on. Gojira continued to put force into the beam as he tried to burn through Nightmare Moon’s defenses. The force of which was so great that it managed to shake the entire temple, any glass windows still intact had surely shattered. After only a few seconds, the heat of the attack soon became too much for Gojira to bear as he started to retract some of the strength that he put into it, but not before forcing the beam into the stone floor. The stone exploded as soon as the beam made contact, causing dust and debris to erupt and spread all across the room, blinding anyone inside of it.

Nightmare Moon finally put her shield down, which had started to form cracks in its surface. She breathed heavily after putting so much magic into her shield, though she was more so shocked than hurt. What had just happened, what was that attack, and what kind of stallion was this? He was a stallion after all, right? He had proven to be physically stronger than the average pony, but she didn’t expect him to have the ability to shoot laser beams out of his mouth. 

She couldn't question it much more however, since the room was encompassed in dust, she had lost track of where Gojira was. She barely got a hint of that when she heard hoofsteps in front of her becoming louder and louder. Gojira charged at her with his mane still lit. Nightmare Moon tried to fire a blast of magic at him, but Gojira knocked her head upward with one of his hooves, causing the blast to fire into the ceiling. Gojira’s mouth lit up and he fired the beam attack from earlier, right in the chest of Nightmare Moon, sending her flying backwards and crashing through the wall. He let the attack continue for a couple more seconds until ceasing it. He took a much needed heavy breather after using the attack twice in close succession.

‘Careful how you use the atomic breath. It burns through your energy faster than you realize.’

Gojira looked through the hole he had created, expecting to see Nightmare Moon on the other side. But instead he saw nothing other than crumbled bricks and stone. Further down the hall he saw another hole made through a wall that entered another room. She had gone into hiding and was practically begging for him to find her. 

‘We got her on the ropes, but this means she won’t hold anything back now that she knows she isn’t dealing with a little pony. Do not falter now.’

With that revermation, Gojira’s mane lit back up and he gave chase. Nightmare Moon was down, but she was far from defeated.




Few Minutes Earlier

The rest of the group stood in shock at what had just happened. They had witnessed the disappearance of three of their friends with little to no trace or anything to give them an indication of where they were taken to. Although the other members of the mane six showed signs of concern and worry, none of them were as distraught as Rodan and Anguirus as they paced around the room, looking for some kind of trace to where Caesar and their brother were taken to. 

“This can’t be happening”, said Anguirus as he held his head with his hooves. “This is not happening. This is not happening.”

“Calm down, feller”, said Applejack as she put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “We’ll find them, they still gotta be somewhere in this temple.”

“And if they’re not”, asked Rodan. Applejack looked away, not wanting to answer. Rodan continued to pace around. “Today was supposed to be one of the biggest moments of our lives, but instead we’re stuck here in this overgrown, stone shack that’s a thousand years old. And Gojira and Caesar are now in the hooves of some gothic hag that’s doing who knows what to them.”

“Hey! You aren’t the only one who’s friend is in danger. Twilight has also been taken by Nightmare Moon, however she knows more about the elements and this temple than any of us”, said Rainbow Dash as she faced Rodan. “As AJ said, they have to be somewhere here. This temple is huge after all.”

“She’s right, darling”, said Rarity as she walked next to Rainbow Dash.

“Then why are we just standing around”, said Anguirus. “If they are still here then we best start searching for them now before Ms.night owl gets to them first.” He motioned toward what was the only hallway that they had access from where they were standing. “And it looks like that’ll be our first hiding spot to check.” With nods of agreement from all around, the group ran toward  the entrance of the hallway to search for their friends. 

The temple was much larger than any of them had realized as for every room they entered there were at least three extra hallways connected to it. As a result, they struggled to find any sign of Gojira, Twilight, or Caesar. In secret, Rodan and Anguirus tried using their enhanced senses but still nothing came up.

“Anything”, asked Rodan. He was met with a sigh from his younger brother.

“Still nothing”, replied Anguirus. “I don’t get it, I could pick up your scent when you were flying, so why can’t I pick up Gojira’s?”

‘Perhaps the magic of Nightmare Moon is blocking any form of trace that may lead us to our comrades. In other words, she doesn’t want us finding them.’

Anguirus let out a groan. “And here I was hoping this would be easy.” Rodan gave him a playful bump.

“While I’m also nervous about what she could possibly be doing to them, I doubt Goji would let it happen without a fight”, said Rodan. “For all we know we just checked this temple’s opening doors, let’s just keep looking.”

Anguirus nodded and continued to walk down the hall. Rodan was about to join him when…

‘Rodan, wait…I sense something.’

Rodan stopped abruptly. He looked around the hall until one of the wooden doors caught his attention. He walked up to it and looked it over. Unlike the other doors, this one didn’t seem nearly as currodded nor rotten, in fact it looked as though it hadn’t been touched. The group had at first ignored it due to the large metal lock keeping it closed, but now it seemed to intrigue Rodan more than anything else in the temple.

‘There’s something inside that room, it’s almost as if it’s calling to me.’

That was enough confirmation for Rodan, there was something on the other side of this door. Whether it was an element or some other relic from the past, he was bound to find out. He looked at the metal, noticing the strong iron that it was made of. His emblem flashed as his wing started to sharpen, replacing its feathers with razor sharp scales. With a single swipe, his wing managed to cut the lock almost in half as it fell to the floor while clinging. His wing turned back to normal as he opened the door with little effort. As he entered, he failed to notice a certain cyan, rainbow haired pegasus that had gone completely under his radar. She was about to see what caught his attention, however she was unable to.

“Rainbow, did find anything”, asked Fluttershy in her soft voice which still managed to catch Rainbow Dash off guard.

“Uhh, no, nothing yet”, said Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, ok”, said Fluttershy, looking more worried than ever. While the two of them walked away, Rainbow felt more suspicious than ever about their friends that they found in the wilderness.

Rodan looked around the room he was in. There wasn’t a single window so the only source of light was the open door that led into the room. The room itself was simply a long stone hallway with a few metal prongs on the walls which supposedly held torches that lit the room. He walked through the hall that led to another wooden door. 

‘In there, that’s where the signal is coming from.’

At first, Rodan expected the door to be locked, but to his surprise it managed to open with little effort. He had to imagine that the lock either withered away or if there even was a lock. He opened the door and was met with a room filled with stone pedestals and a skylight that lit up most of the room. 

“What in the hay is this place?”, asked Rodan.

‘Twilight did say that the elements were housed here. I imagine that other prize possessions were stored here as wel-…’

“What! What is it?” Rodan looked around expecting something to be in the room with them, but there was nothing. Suddenly, his spirit manifested itself through his mane. It was looking at the pedestal at the end of the room.

‘There, it has to be that.’

Rodan, keeping caution, slowly walked up to where his spirit was facing. The object in question that had caught both their attention was what appeared to be an old book with a brown cover. It was hard to tell, but the cover seemed to depict some kind of emblem depicting several different beings from regular ponies to the insignias of the emblems on their hind legs. In fact, the entire cover seemed similar to their emblems which made the two of them all the more curious. 

“What do you think it is?”, asked Rodan as his spirit got a closer look. Its pale white eyes seemed to squint the closer it looked.

‘I don’t know. However, if we both felt its attractive pull then it’s probably important.’ It continued to look at it with squinted eyes. ‘Though it does look so familiar.’

“Well, whatever it is, it’s not staying here”, said Rodan. He grabbed the book with his hooves. Dust sprinkled from it as the book was covered in cobwebs that contained dead bugs. Before he could open it however, the entire temple suddenly shook causing Rodan to stumble and his spirit to retract back into his mane.

“What in tarnation.” Applejack’s voice was faint but was loud enough for Rodan to tell that something was wrong. He tucked the book behind his wing and ran out of the room, ignoring all the other relics that remained in the room. As he ran out of the door, he noticed how the rest of the group were staring through one of the windows. 

He quickly ran up to them. “What’s going on?”, he asked them. None of them answered him until Pinkie used her hooves to turn his head to see what they were seeing. 

The window depicted a large room with several windows along the walls and each one of them was emitting a light blue color as what sounded like the world’s most powerful flamethrower was being fired at something. While the mane six looked confused and surprised, both Anguirus and Rodan were concerned as they could easily recognize not only what that light was, but also where it came from.

“Come on”, exclaimed Applejack as she waved her hoof for them to follow her. “I got a good feeling about where we can find them.”

The group nodded as they ran down the hall, now knowing where they needed to look. Though both Rodan and Anguirus were the last to follow as they continued to look out the window until the blue died down and the noise ceased. They could only hope that was a sign that their brother and friend were not only safe, but we’re handling themselves.





Gojira looked around the large circular shaped room that he had been led to. Several pillars helped the room up as the glass ceiling, that had long since shattered, depicted the moon that was directly above him as he stood in the center of the room. His mane and tail were still lit as he looked around waiting for some kind of movement or sound, he had been brought here by Nightmare Moon however it seemed she was waiting to give him a welcome greeting.

As he waited, some stone pebbles could be heard being scattered causing Gojira’s ear to twitch. His head immediately turned to where the noise came from and he fired his atomic breath, causing that entire part of the room to explode as stone and dust scattered everywhere. When he cut it off, he felt a blast of magic hit him in the back causing him to stumble. When he turned to face where the blast came from, he felt another one coming from where he was looking earlier. She was doing the same trick from when they were back in the throne room, and he was falling for it.

With this realization, Gojira let out a battle cry as his mane and tail grew brighter. He fired the atomic breath around the entire room. Every pillar and wall erupted into dust and debris, if she was hiding then he was going to force her to come out. However, he was forced to cut the attack off. Only a few pillars remained up as they struggled to hold up the ceiling which was now starting to lean and creak. Gojira breathed heavily, he felt extra tired now than before.

‘You still aren’t used to balancing your energy supply throughout your body, which is causing the atomic breath to drain you faster than it should. You may only have enough left for one more use.’

Gojira was breathing heavily as he felt another blast of magic on his back. He had missed her. “So what do we do now? Twilight still isn’t back”, said Gojira as felt the stinging pain on his back.

‘We play into her tricks. Let her come to you.’

Gojira felt another blast of magic on his back, though this time he didn’t react to it. He stayed still, letting his enhanced sense kick in. He was blasted a couple more times, but then the blasts stopped coming. He heard the flapping of wings and that incredibly irritating laugh. She was charging him. With that he instantly turned to face her with his atomic breath fully charged. Nightmare Moon flew towards him at full speed with her horn completely ignited. When they both were only a couple feet away from each other, they fired both of their most powerful attacks.

Two different forms of energy, powerful forces that could easily break through stone, collided causing a large shockwave that encompassed the entire room. The last of the pillars were destroyed resulting in the ceiling collapsing on top of both of them. The noise it created echoed throughout the entire temple as everyone inside heard it. 

The group froze as the temple shook and dust fell from the ceiling. Rodan and Anguirus started to grow more anxious by the second. They looked toward the hall where the noise came from.

“You guys find the others down there”, he said as he motioned his hoof at the hall that led away from where the shockwave came from. “Me and Anguirus will head down this way.”

“What! No way”, said Rainbow Dash. “There’s no way we’re letting you two-”, the words never left her mouth as both Rodan and Anguirus ran off. Rainbow Dash groaned as she pressed her hoof against her forehead.

“There’s no time to argue, come on”, said Applejack as she led the rest of the group down the hallway that Rodan motioned toward.

Twilight, meanwhile, had been running through the temple for what felt like hours. Even if she did find the elements, how was she supposed to find her back to both Gojira and Nightmare Moon? Her hope was starting to dwindle until she turned a corner and stopped immediately in her tracks. At first the room she entered seemed to be no different than the other ones with stone and debris scattered across the floor. However, to Twilight they weren’t ordinary rocks that had been left for several years. They were the remains of the stone capsules that contained the elements. 

“N-No”, was all she said.

Twilight looked in disbelief. She felt defeated. Everything that she and her friends had gone through, from the manticore encounter to facing Nightmare Moon herself, it was all for nothing as her goal laid in pieces in front of her. She heard hoofsteps coming from behind her, she didn’t even want to know who or what was coming.

“Twilight”, cried a large group of voices. She managed to recognize them instantly.

She turned to face the rest of the mane six as they stood with happy and relieved expressions. That was until they noticed the destroyed stone capsules. Their smiles were replaced with frowns and wide eyes. Even Pinkie Pie, who managed to keep a positive attitude this whole time, couldn’t help but be filled with sorrow. 

Applejack looked toward Twilight. “Where are the others?”, she asked. Twilight’s eyes widened. Now with the elements gone, how was she supposed to help Gojira?

The shockwave had sent them both flying back as Gojira crashed through the wall and ended up in another hallway. His mane and tail reverted back to normal as smoke billowed from it and his mouth. He felt incredibly winded as he coughed and breathed heavily. He stood up as he shook off some of the dust from his mane, only to be forced back to the ground by another blast of magic that hit his vulnerable skin.

“A clever trick, for a stallion”, said that cocky, feminine voice that Gojira had grown to loathe.

Nightmare Moon walked out of the hole that Gojira crashed through. Her mane and tail flowed with extreme elegance as her hooves moved in a rhythm that was too in sync. She looked practically untouched. She stood in front of Gojira where she bent down and lifted his head with her magic.

“Let’s be honest, you only fought me to buy time for that purple unicorn to find the elements, didn’t you”, she said as she stared directly into Gojira’s eyes. He so badly wanted to slug her in the face, but his hoof was currently aching. “Because if so, then she was wasting her time.”

Nightmare Moon looked away as five gems of various colors floated in front of her. Although Gojira didn’t recognize them, he had a good guess as to what they were. He tried to crawl to them, but Nightmare Moon kept them out of his reach. Her horn sparked as the gems started to contort and crack until they finally shattered into fine powder that instantly blew away in wind that couldn’t be felt. Gojira eyes widened as he couldn’t help but stare at this, she was just taunting him at this point. He tried to stand, however Nightmare Moon stomped her hoof into his back, forcing a grunt of pain out of his mouth.

“Oh no, for somepony like you, you’d work better as my personal servant than as one of my subjects”, she said. Gojira let out a growl. “Your strength could be very useful when I’m done shrouding this entire world in darkness.”

“I’d rather choose to stay with the devil in Tartarus than work for you”, he spat out. Nightmare Moon didn’t seem fazed.

“Such a shame”, she said with a neutral expression and tone. She stood off of him while using her magic to lift his head. “Perhaps allow me to introduce you to him.”

Her horn lit up, readying a final attack. Gojira stared at her with little to no fear in his eyes, if this was the end for him, he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of it. However, it never came.

“Alpha!”

Nightmare Moon was caught off guard as she heard a voice coming from behind her. Before she could turn to face them, she was hit in the back by something that was irritating enough for her to let out a scream of anger. She turned to see a familiar face. A brown unicorn with beige colored hair all across his body wearing golden armor. She gritted her teeth as she stared at Caesar.

“You again! How many of you four-legged freaks are here”, she exclaimed as her horn lit up and she flared her wings. Caesar seemed unfazed.

“Just enough”, he said with a smile.

Before Nightmare Moon could fire magic at him, she felt something crash against her back, causing her to stumble forward. Anguirus spun overhead as his mane appeared all spiky and stuck up, making it look more like a shell than a mane. She lifted her head up to be met with the face of a light red pegasus with a crimson mane. Smoke billowed from his maw as he wore a sly smile.

“Hi”, said Rodan.

He opened his jaw and released a powerful stream of fire that hit Nightmare Moon hard enough to send her flying back through the same wall that Gojira crashed through. He cut off the attack and let out a heavy breath that released excess smoke. He rushed over to his brother to help him up.

“You guys are here too?”, exclaimed Gojira as he looked bewildered.

“Yep, and you’re welcome”, said Rodan with a smile.

“Are you alright”, asked Caesar as he looked Gojira over. His worry quickly turned to anger. “And what gave you the right idea to face Nightmare Moon alone?”

“First of all, I’m absolutely peachy”, said Gojira in a sarcastic tone. “And secondly I’ll come up with an excuse later, but how are you both here?”, he asked while facing his brothers.

“We were looking for you, Caesar, and Twilight when you guys got sucked into the mist”, said Anguirus. “I guess the others are looking for Twilight and the elements.” Although Gojira was thankful that his brothers and Caesar were safe, he couldn’t say the same when Anguirus mentioned the elements. 

“There’s a problem with that-”, Gojira’s sentence was interrupted by the sound of rocks and stone crumbling. All four of them looked toward the hole that had been formed from Nightmare Moon. “That bitch never knows when to quit.”

All four of them entered the room through the hole to see Nightmare Moon flying in front of the moon with her wings now fully extended and her horn brighter than ever. Her thin pupils had been replaced with fully pale eyes with what appeared to be mist flowing from them. Her teeth were grinding against each other as she stared the four down.

“None of this matters!”, she yelled out. “This has been nothing more than a game to me, a mere exercise. With the elements of harmony now destroyed, it doesn’t matter what any of you do. I can never perish, I am unstoppable, I am nightmare incarnate.” 

“Wait, she destroyed the elements”, said Caesar as he looked at Gojira. Gojira didn’t face him, he kept his attention targeted specifically at Nightmare Moon.

“You’re also a major pain in my rear”, mocked Gojira. That one forced a scream of anger out of Nightmare Moon as the purple mist from her mane started to circle around them.

“STOP TALKING!”, she cried.

With that she fired a powerful blast of magic at the four as a means to end them once and for all. The beam flew at them with extreme speed as all four of them flinched and raised their hooves as their only form of defense. Gojira even jumped in front of his brothers, intending for the beam to hit him first. They clutched their eyes shut, preparing for a world of stinging. But it never came.

Each one of them opened their eyes to see what was taking it so long, only to be met with all four of them encased in a purple, dome-like shield that reflected the attack and caused it to hit the ceiling. They looked around, confused and bewildered. The three brothers even looked toward Caesar to see if this was from him, but his horn wasn’t lit and he seemed just as puzzled as they were. However, none were as confused as Nightmare Moon who stared in disbelief.

“What”, she said in a quiet, humble voice. She fired another blast of magic at the shield, only for it to bounce off. “No, No, NO”, she exclaimed as she fired several and each one of them couldn’t even penetrate it. “What is the meaning of this!”

“Friendship! That’s what.” The five of them all looked toward where the voice came from. Four out of the five wore faces of ecstasy.

Twilight, with her horn lit up, stood in front of the rest of the mane six as the remains of the elements floated around them. Soon they started to spin as each spec of dust formed the several pieces that formed the two halves that formed into the elements of harmony in a beautiful show of telekinesis. The three brothers and Caesar were shocked, but Nightmare Moon was horrified.

“H-How, how did-d you-”, she stuttered. She could’ve sworn she had destroyed them.

“You thought you could destroy the elements of harmony”, spouted Twilight as the elements floated around them. “Well you're wrong, because the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!” She motioned toward the rest of mane six that stood around her with determination.

“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of honesty. Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness. Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of it, represents the spirit of laughter. Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the element of generosity. Rainbow Dash, who couldn’t abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire represents the spirit of loyalty.” She then turned toward the three brothers and Caesar. “And Gojira, Anguirus, Rodan, and Caesar were willing to risk their lives in order for us to reach our goal.”

Each element with a corresponding color floated toward each member of the mane six that Twilight named off. “It’s thanks to them and the spirits of these five that got us through every obstacle that you threw at us”, she said as she pointed at Nightmare Moon.

“B-But you forgot, there’s still no sixth element. You still can’t defeat me”, said Nightmare Moon as she started to sweat.

“The sixth element can only be formed from a spark, but not the physical kind”, said Twilight. “I felt it the very moment I realized I was happy to hear. To see you. How much I cared about you.” She looked at each member of the mane six and then toward the three brothers and Caesar. Her smile was small but genuine as she struggled to hold back a tear. “The spark ignited inside me, when you all”, she turned to face Nightmare Moon, “are my friends.”

A light appeared above them as a stone capsule hovered above them. The capsule shook and started to crack before completely shattering, forming the sixth and final gem. The last element of harmony. The light was so bright that it forced Nightmare Noon to squint her eyes.

“You see Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the spark that resides in us all, it forms the sixth element”, said Twilight as the element flew in front of her. “The element of magic!”

The gems started to circle around each of the mane six, forming into necklaces, resembling each of their cutie marks, that were the same color as the mare’s skin color. The element of magic formed into a tierra that rested on top of Twilight's head, just behind her horn. The three brothers and Caesar watched in awe as the mane six started to glow and rise into the air. A pair of rainbows formed and swirled around each other before dashing toward Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon screamed and cried in denial, not wanting to accept the fact that, after all her work and a thousand years, she had lost. The rainbows formed a twister around until she had vanished from the naked eye. The light it formed grew brighter and brighter until even the three brothers and Caesar were forced to look away as the light encased them as well.

The light began to fade as the three brothers and Caesar’s eyes struggled to open due to the lighting change. When they fully regained their vision they looked toward the mane six to see each of them lying on the floor seemingly knocked out. With the relief of groans and subtle movement from them to know they were still alive, the four ran over to them to help them up.

“Ohh”, groaned Rainbow Dash as Rodan helped her up. “What just happened?”

“You saved our tails, that’s what”, said Rodan.

“Is everypony alright?”, asked Applejack.

“We are, thanks to you guys”, said Anguirus with a smile, until he looked toward his oldest brother. “At least, most of us are.”

Truth be told, Gojira was far from alright. There were several bruises and burns across his body, a small trail of blood was leaking from his mouth, and he even had a limp on one of his legs. Twilight gasped before quickly standing up and rushing toward him.

“Gojira, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone with Nightmare Moon, maybe then you wouldn’t have gotten so hurt. I-I tried to hurry to find them, but I-”, she was cut off when Gojira coughed loudly into his arm. He then looked toward her with at first a neutral expression before transitioning to a small smile.

“I suppose we’re still even, huh”, he joked. He let out a giggle which Twilight didn’t reciprocate. “There’s no need to worry about it. If you had stayed then I doubt this would have happened.” He motioned toward the rest of the mane six, his brothers, and Caesar as they talked about the events that had unfolded. “Though it was tough and there were struggles, I’d say you made the right call. And for that you have my thanks. Besides, this’ll buff out, at least faster than a world shrouded in darkness.” While she still felt guilty, Twilight couldn’t help bare an incredulous look. He had just faced an alicorn that could move the moon, he was incredibly injured, and yet he still had a smile on his face. Was this stallion even real? 

As they conversed, out of the corner of Gojira’s eye, he saw something, something that forced him and the rest to look toward and drop their jaws. The rising sun. The clouds were split apart and the stars quickly vanished as the moon fell and sun rose to take back its rightful place in the sky. The summer heat felt incredible against their skin as they each bore smiles of satisfaction, accomplishment, and above all else, happiness. 

“Never thought I’d be so up to get a sunburn right now”, said Rodan. Anguirus smiled as he rolled his eyes.

“It’s beautiful”, said Twilight.

“Indeed it is”, called out a voice that everyone knew too well.

As the sun’s rays shined against Equestrian soil, a bright orb formed from the sun catching everyone’s attention. The orb flew down to them before slowly disappearing, revealing a pair of large white wings, a long horn, and mane that flowed like the morning summer breeze. 

“Princess Celestia”, exclaimed Twilight in excitement. The mane six, Caesar, and even the three brothers bowed on instinct as Celestia floated to the ground. Twilight ran up to her.

“Twilight, my faithful student”, said Celestia as the two embraced each other in a hug. “I knew you could do it.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in realization. “But, I thought you told me it was an old ponytale”, she asked in confusion.

"I told you that you needed to make some friends. Nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return. And I knew that it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart," said Celestia in a motherly tone. Twilight couldn’t help but smile, all she cared for was that her mentor was back.

“Your majesty”, said Caesar as he approached Celestia. “I sincerely apologize for letting this happen to you. As a member of the royal guard, I feel as though I have failed you and am very regretful.” The three brothers rolled their eyes.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Caesar”, said Celestia. She looked toward everyone in what was left of the room. “If anything, I should thank each one of you. Equestria is in your debt for what you all gave to protect it. And for that you have my respect and gratitude. So with all my and all of Equestria’s heart, thank you.” The group stood up with expressions of honor. They suddenly heard a groan coming from the back of the room as they noticed a dark body lying on the ground. 

Celestia stepped forward as she approached the being on the ground. Caesar wanted to stop her, but Twilight put a hoof against him. The being on the ground had a light, midnight blue body color with a large horn and a pair of wings. Her light blue mane and tail was in all kinds of a mess as she rubbed the grogginess from her eyes with her hoofs which wore light blue heels. When her emerald eyes met Celestia she immediately cowered back, the armor and crown that Nightmare Moon wore hung loosely on her. She breathed heavily as sweat formed in her forehead.

“Princess Luna”, said Celestia in a calm tone and a small smile. “It’s been many years since I’ve seen you like this.” The alicorn, named Luna, still shrunk back as Celestia stood in front of her. Celestia got down on her knees to make herself appear smaller as she neared to be double the size of Luna. “It’s time we put our differences behind us, after all, we were meant to rule together my sister.”

A record scratch could be heard in the minds of everyone that was there. Gojira, especially, seemed nervous after realizing that he had just tried to kill the sibling of the ruler of Equestria.

Celestia extended a hoof toward Luna. “Will you accept my friendship?”, she asked in a quiet tone.

Luna back at her hoof and then at Celestia’s face. There didn’t seem to be a single ill-fitted nerve in her body as the smile she gave was one of the most genuine that she had ever seen. She reached her hoof out, only to jump forward and wrap her front hooves around her sister. Tears ran down her face as she buried her face into her sister’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I missed you so much big sister”, she said in between breaths. Even Celestia couldn’t help but shed a tear.

“I missed you too”, she said. After a thousand years or more, the princess of the sun had finally been reunited with the princess of the night.

Pinkie Pie sniffed as she wiped a tear from her eye with a tissue that appeared from nowhere. She then ran up to the three brothers. “So, is it now finally time for a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party”, she asked.

The three brothers looked at each other before they all nodded in agreement. “Alright, fine”, said Gojira. Her smile and eyes couldn’t be any wider.

“Yay”, she exclaimed in pure happiness. “You’re gonna love it there’s gonna be cake, presents, balloons, candy, punch, a bouncy castle, a magician, music…

As she continued, Gojira turned towards his brother. “I imagine this isn’t exactly how you picture your first day in Ponyville would go”, he asked with an eyebrow raised. 

“You kidding? Traveling through a forest filled with dangerous creatures, crossing a ravine, nearly losing my brother, and almost being killed by an evil alicorn”, said Rodan as his enthusiasm grew. He then put on a large smile. “Sounds like a Tuesday.”

Gojira and Anguirus looked at each other before all three of them started to laugh. They couldn’t wait to see what today would bring. Their first day in Ponyville was complete, though none of them knew it, their journey had barely begun.





The group walked out of the ruined temple. Gojira limped due to his busted leg as his brothers helped him walk. Pinkie continued to name different activities she wanted at the party which had been changed to a ‘Welcome To Equestria After A Thousand Years And It’s Okay You Tried To Take Over Equestria’ party. And the two sisters walked side-by-side, knowing that they had a lot to catch up on.

As they did so, however, no one managed to notice the cloaked figure that stayed hidden in the bushes that stood near the temple entrance. When the group had fully left, the figure quickly entered. They ran through the halls of the temple, occasionally looking at a map that they held on to. The map depicted the temple and a large X that was on a part of the map that didn’t depict a room or hall. The figure put the map back in their satchel that they carried and continued through the halls.

As they rounded a corner, they saw a hall with several doors. Most of them were opened, including the one that they had looked for. As they entered the room, they walked through a dark stone hallway with a door that was also opened. In an instant, they ran through the door to be met with several pedestals. Most of them were empty, including the one at the end of the room. 

“Damn it”, said a feminine voice as she gritted her teeth which were sharper than normal. 

She looked around the room to see if it had fallen or was on a different pedestal, but it was if it never even existed. She grew frustrated and punched one of the pedestals, causing it to crack and whatever was on it to fall off. The trinket that landed on the ground appeared to be some kind of jewel that depicted several squiggly outlines of different colors. The jewel itself was in the shape of a diamond with small, curved horns on the sides. Its small size didn’t bother her at first, but its color scheme and shape managed to intrigue her enough to grab it. 

The jewel was tied around a string that made it look like some kind of necklace. Not wanting to risk putting it on, she put the jewel in her satchel and grabbed a small, pink crystal. She threw crystal on the ground, causing it to shatter. The pieces of the crystal sparked and formed electric bonds that took the shape of a portal. 

Without any hesitation, she walked through the portal which quickly vanished soon afterwards, leaving nothing but the haunting sound of silence behind.