Gojira, Anguirus, and Rodan walked through the streets of Ponyville side-by-side. The day was reaching noon meaning that several ponies, pegasus, and unicorns were out and about. Fortunately, the streets weren’t nearly as crowded during the Summer Sun Festival so it was easier to look around without bumping into others. That being said, the brothers walked around the town for a little while, being met with some stares from other ponies. Gojira chose to ignore them, however he could tell that Anguirus couldn’t help but stare back. He could sense that they were dampening his little brother’s mood. They both looked toward Rodan.
“So, do you have any idea on where to go first?”, asked Anguirus. He was met with a shrug.
“Uhh, not really”, answered Rodan. “I was just kinda hoping we would run into something interesting.”
“As in what?”, asked Gojira.
“I don’t know”, replied Rodan. “I guess just something that would catch my attention.” As Rodan faced his brothers, he wasn’t paying attention and bumped into something. Though, from the sound, it was more so someone.
“Hey! Watch it”, cried a voice.
Rodan readjusted his sunglasses and was expecting to be met with a mare that was about to start nagging at him. Instead, he was met with a figure that was similar in size to himself. Her upper body resembled a hawk with her coated in white feathers and a noticeable beak, while her lower body resembled a lion. She had a large pair of wings which she flared out towards Rodan who was frantically more surprised in the fact he had run into a griffon than anything else.
“Uhh, I’m sorry. That was my bad”, said Rodan.
“How about next time you try looking through your other pair, four eyes”, spat the griffon who was still visibly upset.
Rodan was taken aback by her statement. “Uhh…what?”, he asked.
“Did you not hear me? I know you’re blind, but are you also deaf”, exclaimed the griffon.
“Hey, there’s no need to be like that. I said I was sorry”, said Rodan as he tried to diffuse the situation. The griffon merely huffed at him.
“Hmph, whatever, just stay out of my way”, she said before stomping away. She glared at Gojira and Anguirus as she left, who were both trying not to laugh.
When she was gone, Rodan faced his brothers with an annoyed expression. “Thanks for helping, guys”, he said.
Anguirus cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Rodey”, he said. “Though you did say you wanted to run into something that would catch your attention.” He formed a cheeky smile, which Rodan didn’t reciprocate.
“I didn’t mean like that”, exclaimed Rodan. “Besides, who was that? I thought Ponyville was only home to ponies?”
“Probably just a visitor, who knows”, said Gojira.
“I guess, though she did not make a good first impression”, replied Rodan who started walking again.
“For us she did”, whispered Anguirus to Gojira causing them both to chuckle. Rodan glared back at them, which made them act like nothing happened as they too started walking along with him.
After that interesting first encounter, they continued walking, this time keeping a closer lookout for anything that was in front of them. The three remained mostly silent with Rodan still looking annoyed at his brothers who couldn’t help but smile as they recalled the initial event.
“It wasn’t funny”, said Rodan. “She insulted me, it’s not my fault I have to wear these things every time I go outside when the sun’s out.” He gestured to his sunglasses.
“We know, Rodan”, replied Gojira. “We’re just laughing at her insult, it was very bad.” Though he also couldn’t help but find his brother’s reaction to be fairly amusing.
“Well I’m glad you find my misery humorous”, said Rodan with sarcasm.
“We’re sorry Rodey”, said Anguirus. “That’s just something brothers do, you know, joke at each other’s misfortunes.” He then remembered something that forced a grin on his face. “Like that one time Gojira tried making cookies for mom for her birthday and he ended up burning them.” Gojira’s smile which was once fully visible had quickly faded away when Anguirus recalled that memory.
“Oh yeah! And when dad came home and ate one since he thought they were chocolate cookies”, said Rodan. “That was probably the first time I had ever seen a grown stallion gag.” He and Anguirus let out a laugh to Gojira’s slight embarrassment. That was until he remembered something.
“Well, does anyone remember the time when Anguirus broke Dad’s favorite vase”, said Gojira. “He had a few choice words for you.”
A bed of sweat formed on the side of Anguirus’ head. “Yeah, he looked about ready to smack my rear for doing something like that”, said Anguirus.
The three of them had looks of nostalgia as they recalled memories of their childhood. From the good to even the bad, each one had a level of charm that caused each of the brothers to smile. However, those smiles didn’t last long. What should’ve been a nice moment of reflection on their childhoods, turned into frowns and a brief moment of sorrow as they each mentally paid their respects for the ones that had given them those fond memories.
“Those were good times”, said Anguirus, breaking the silence.
“They were always looking out for us”, said Gojira. “And I’m confident that if they were still here, they would’ve wanted us to look out for each other.”
“Yeah”, said Rodan before he put a smile on his face. “So, why don’t we continue exploring instead of standing. This day is too nice to be ruined.” Both Gojira and Anguirus nodded in agreement. “Great, and I think I know where we should go. I remember being told about this place called Sugarcube corner, why not head there.”
“Sure, doesn’t sound too bad”, said Anguirus. He and Rodan started walking until Anguirus remembered something. “Bro, if you want to see Lisa, you could’ve just said so.” Rodan let out a cheeky laugh.
Gojira was about to follow them, when he felt something bump against one of his rear legs. It was followed by a grunt and the sound of someone falling over and dropping some things. Gojira turned around to see several different boxes on the ground with their inners scattered. They contained books, scrolls, some pieces of clothing, and a quilt which was draped over the figure that had supposedly been carrying the boxes.
“Ow”, said the figure from under the quilt. “I’m sorry sir…or madam, I couldn’t see where I was going.” The voice sounded young, implying that it had been a child that had tried to carry the load that was far too large for them.
“Heh, it’s okay”, said Gojira as he lifted the quilt off the kid.
He originally expected the kid to be a colt due to the voice being male. However, when he lifted the quilt, he was met with the face of a young dragon with purple scales and a large pair of green eyes that looked just as surprised as he was. The more Gojira looked at the dragon, the more familiar he was.
“Do I know you?”, he asked. The young dragon stared at him with wide eyes and an agape jaw. While Gojira somewhat recognized him, the dragon knew immediately who he was.
“I-I…y-your”, the young dragon stuttered.
Gojira lifted the quilt off of the young dragon to get a better look at him. The purple color scheme was familiar, but the row of green spikes going along his back and tail in a mohawk-esc style was a dead giveaway.
“Aren’t you the dragon that I saw in Canterlot?”, asked Gojira. “What was your name again?”
“Umm, my name is Spike”, said Spike as he stood up. “I’m sorry for bumping into you, I couldn’t really see where I was going.”
“That’s alright”, said Gojira. “My name is Gojira Zawa and I believe we’ve met before.” Spike nodded.
“Yeah, I saw you at Canterlot”, said Spike. He then remembered how he acted which caused him to wear a slight frown. “I’m sorry if it was a bad first impression, I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Gojira recalled the look of anxiousness and slight fear that Spike wore when they first met. Spike expected him to be upset, but instead Gojira merely shook his head while letting out a small laugh.
“Don’t worry about it”, he said. “I’m honestly quite used to it. I imagine you simply aren’t used to stallions this tall.” Gojira stood to his full height to show what he meant. Despite already knowing about how tall he was, Spike was still taken aback by it.
“Well, yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anypony as big as you are”, said Spike. His voice was starting to transfer into a more curious child-like voice.
“You aren’t the only one”, said Gojira. “But besides that, are you going to need help with all of this?” He gestured toward all of the items scattered on the ground. Spike gasped as he realized this.
“Oh no, I almost forgot”, he said as he started gathering different books and scrolls and threw them in different boxes. “I gotta get these boxes to the Golden Oaks library, I don’t want to keep Twilight waiting.”
“Ok, though are you sure you don’t need any-”, Gojira’s sentence trailed off when Spike’s words registered in his mind. “Wait a minute, did you say-”. He was cut off however when he heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, bro”, Rodan called out as he and Anguirus walked up to him. “What’s taking you so-… what happened here?”, he asked when he saw the mess.
“Let’s just say you aren’t the only one who ran into someone by accident”, said Gojira as he gestured to Spike. Rodan wore a cocky smile.
“And you both laughed at me about that”, he said. Anguirus rolled his eyes. He noticed the small purple dragon who was still placing different items in the boxes.
“Who’s this?”, asked Angurius, catching Spike’s attention.
“My name’s Spike”, he said as he put the last of the stuff in the boxes. “I ran into Gojira at Canterlot, and accidentally did it again right now.” Rodan looked Spike over.
“Yeah, I remember”, he said as he recalled the two’s first encounter, it brought a grin to his face. “It was pretty funny seeing your reaction. It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone be so nervous around our older brother.” He put a hoof around Gojira. “You really got a bad habit of doing that.”
Gojira scoffed. “I don’t try”, he said as he moved Rodan’s hoof off of him.
Spike, meanwhile, was trying to stack the boxes on top of each other before trying to lift the entire tower. “Well, it was really…nice…talking to you…three”, he said as he struggled with the large load. “But…I’m going…to have…to, w-whoa-”. When he managed to lift the boxes, he started to lose his balance which caused the boxes to wiggle. They more than likely would’ve fallen had Gojira not run over and helped relieve Spike from the weight. Spike let out a sigh of relief as he swiped sweat from his forehead.
“Phew, thank you”, he said.
“No problem”, said Gojira as he set the boxes down. “Where did you say you were taking this stuff again?”
“To the Golden Oaks library”, answered Spike.
“What for?”, asked Anguirus.
“Because Twilight has decided to set up residence there”, Spike said. “And being her loyal assistant, I’m not only helping her, but will even be joining her.” Anguirus and Rodan both looked fairly surprised.
“Wait, Twilight? As in, Twilight Sparkle”, asked Rodan. Spike nodded.
“Yeah, do you know her?”, he asked.
“Well, apart from us joining her and some other mares on a journey to find the elements of harmony in order to take down a powerful, evil alicorn who wanted to cast an eternal darkness all across Equestria…no not really”, said Rodan. Spike looked shocked.
“Wait, what?”, he asked.
“How about we tell you more while we help you move all of your belongings to your new home”, said Gojira.
“No, don’t worry, I can handle it myself”, reassured Spike. “Besides, by the looks of one of your leg, I don’t want you to overwork yourself.” Gojira looked down at his front leg. He had almost forgotten about the bandages.
“I’ll be fine”, said Gojira. “My brothers will also help, right guys?” Rodan and Anguirus nodded.
Spike thought about it for a moment. “Well, alright”, he said with a bit of uncertainty in his tone.
With that, the three brothers each grabbed a box and put it on their backs. Gojira carried the largest one, causing Spike to look at him with widened eyes. He thought for sure that with an injury like that he would’ve played it safe and carried the quilt or perhaps even stayed home. Gojira noticed him staring.
“Do you need a ride”, he asked. Spike looked surprised.
“Doesn’t that hurt though?”, he asked, pointing at the bandaged leg. “I imagine you wouldn’t want to put force on it, especially while carrying a heavy object.
“Don’t worry, I’ve carried heavier stuff than this”, said Gojira. “Besides, it doesn’t really bother me all that much and you’re gonna have to direct us on where to go since we’re still very new here.” Although Spike was still unsure, the confident look on Gojira’s face made him somewhat less reluctant. He shrugged.
“Well alright then, if you’re so sure”, he said. Gojira leaned downwards and grabbed Spike with his jaws and set him gently on his back.
“So, where to go first?”, asked Anguirus. Spike pointed down the street.
“Down that way”, he said.
With that said, the three brothers started to walk down the street while Spike guided them on where to go. As they walked, Spike kept wondering about something that they had mentioned.
“So, you guys helped Twilight and the others defeat Nightmare Moon?”, he asked.
“Yep, we ran into them in the forest”, said Rodan.
“What were you guys doing in the forest?”, asked Spike.
“We were looking for a friend of ours who had chased after Nightmare Moon since he felt she knew where princess Celestia was”, said Anguirus.
“Did you guys see Nightmare Moon?”, Spike asked.
“See her, we met her”, answered Anguirus.
“Some of us more than others”, said Rodan as he gave Gojira a glance. Spike looked confused.
“What do you mean by that?”, he asked.
“Boy, you ask a lot of questions”, said Gojira who tried to play it off as a joke. “Let’s just say that she wasn’t meant to be taken lightly and thank goodness she’ll no longer be a problem.” Spike was still confused, though by the sound of Gojira's voice it sounded like he didn’t want to talk about it.
“I’m sorry, I’m just really curious since I saw you three at Canterlot about to meet Celestia”, said Spike.
“That’s because we were requested to visit by Celestia herself”, said Rodan. Spike looked very shocked.
“Wow, really?”, he asked.
“Yep, our friend works for the royal guard at Canterlot and he decided that we would head there before we would move to Ponyville”, said Rodan who found the young dragon’s amazement to be quite humorous.
“That must’ve been quite an honor”, said Spike.
“Indeed it was”, said Anguirus.
“Personally, I'm still hung up on why she wanted us in the first place”, said Gojira.
“You can be hung up on just about anything, Goji”, said Rodan. This was met with a stern look from Gojira, but a curious one from Spike.
“What do you mean?”, Spike asked.
“Where to begin”, said Rodan as he gave his brother a teasing grin. “He was nervous about seeing the princess, moving to Ponyville, traveling through the forest, running into Nightmare Moon-”, he was cut off when Gojira gave him a menacing look. “T-Though he did have a reason to be apprehensive, with us moving to a new town and all that eternal…darkness…stuff.” The look Gojira gave him essentially said ‘you got that right’. Rodan’s reaction was enough to cause Spike to let out a chuckle.
“Don’t worry, if it makes you feel better, Twilight can worry about practically anything”, said Spike as he recalled a few memories back in Canterlot.
“Speaking of”, said Gojira. “I thought you two were from Canterlot. Why did you decide to move here?”
Spike merely shrugged. “I don’t really know, she just told the princess and then me that we would be staying here in Ponyville”, said Spike.
“Wouldn’t you want to stay somewhere as high class as Canterlot?”, asked Rodan.
“Well yeah, but I like it here just as much”, said Spike. “There’s all kinds of different buildings, even some that I’ve never seen in Canterlot. Plus, everypony here is really nice and welcoming.” He smiled as the thought of a certain purple haired unicorn came to his mind.
“Well, with the whole Nightmare Moon debacle taken care of, I believe we’ll be staying here in Ponyville too”, said Anguirus.
“Then I hope I’ll be able to see you guys more often”, said Spike. As they walked, the sight of a large tree came into view. “Oh, that’s it. That’s the Golden Oaks Library.” Spike hopped off Gojira’s back and led the three brothers to the front door. “I can’t thank you three enough for your help”, he said.
“It’s nothing, after all, I’d imagine anypony would’ve done the same thing”, said Gojira. His opinion of the young dragon was very positive. Though it seemed that Spike at certain times could be a bit over his head, Gojira could tell that he was simply trying to be helpful which was something he had to commend him for.
‘Reminds me of a certain colt when he was younger.’
Gojira merely rolled his eyes at the thought. Spike opened the door to the inside of the library. The interior of the library looked like the inside of a hollowed out tree stump with wooden grooves spreading across the walls, ceiling, and floor. The shelves holding the books were engraved into the walls of the tree rather than out in the open. There were several reading pedestals near the shelves with the biggest one being stationed in the center of the room with a large wooden statue in the shape of an equine’s head resting atop it. The ceiling had the familiar insignia of the burning sun that the three brothers had seen several times. With it being a library, the entire place gave a quiet and peaceful vibe. As they looked around, the sound of hoofsteps coming from the staircase filled the silence. Soon the hoofsteps were accompanied by a familiar voice.
“Thanks for grabbing our belongings from the carriage, Spike”, said a female voice with a purple colored unicorn following suit. “If you can take the boxes upstairs, that’ll be-” Twilight’s sentence trailed off when she noticed that Spike had brought company.
“Hi Twilight”, said Spike as he smiled. Twilight was so focused on the three brothers that she barely noticed what he said.
“Hello Twilight, nice to see you again”, said Gojira. Twilight shook her to break out of her daze.
“Umm, h-hi”, she said. “It’s nice to see you three too. I had no idea you lived in Ponyville.”
“We actually just moved in”, said Rodan as he set the box he was carrying on the floor. “We were out exploring the town when we accidentally bumped into Spike here.”
“Yeah, they helped bring our stuff here. Gojira even let me ride on his back”, said Spike. Twilight looked slightly surprised after hearing this. She looked toward Gojira.
“Did you really?”, she asked, receiving a nod from Gojira. “Well then, thank you all. Seems like you all have already made yourselves comfortable here in Ponyville.”
“Not yet at least”, said Gojira as he set his box down. “We’ve only been walking around, just waiting for something to catch our attention.” He then formed a small grin. “Or, in the case of my brother here, someone”, he said as he wrapped a hoof around Rodan’s neck. Twilight looked confused.
“What do you mean by tha-”, she asked before being cut off by Rodan.
“He doesn’t mean anything”, Rodan quickly said as he glared at his older brother. Gojira merely laughed from his brother’s face, even Anguirus grinned. However, it wasn’t long until Rodan formed a cheeky smile of his own. “You know, it seems like you both are going to need some help finishing your move in process.”
“I don’t know”, said Spike. “I can move pretty fast.”
“Well, I know a certain stallion who could really speed your process up”, said Rodan as he playfully elbowed his older brother. Gojira’s smile was wiped clean off his face.
“I’m sorry, what?”, asked Gojira, but Rodan simply ignored him as he turned to Anguirus.
“Say, Anguirus, do you want to continue exploring while Gojira stays here to help them move in?”, asked Rodan. One look at his older brother and Anguirus immediately knew what he was planning.
He too formed a grin. “Sure, I’m positive that Goji would be more than happy to stay and help”, said Anguirus.
Gojira at first was confused as to why his brothers wanted to leave so soon, until he realized what Rodan was thinking. Gojira glared at both of his brothers.
“Guys, I’m not staying-”, Gojira couldn’t get his words out as both Rodan and Anguirus quickly hurried out the door.
“Goodbye Twilight, it was nice seeing you again, and you’re welcome Spike”, said Anguirus. Before Rodan could leave, Gojira grabbed him.
“I know what you’re trying to do, Rodey”, whispered Gojira.
“Then you know that what I’m doing is best for you”, Rodan whispered back. “Be sure to not overwork yourself”, he said in a normal tone of voice. Before anyone could say anything, the door shut behind the younger brothers, leaving Twilight and Spike standing in confusion and Gojira in frustration.
“What just happened?”, asked Twilight. Gojira looked back towards both of them with a neutral expression. They both waited in anticipation for him to say something. Instead, he let out an annoyed sigh.
“Sibling banter”, said Gojira. There was then an awkward silence as Gojira walked over to one of the boxes. “So, where do you need this to go?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that, me and Spike can handle it”, said Twilight as she approached him. “After all, I don’t want you to work with your injury.”
Gojira merely ignored her warning as he put the box on his back. “As I told Spike, it doesn’t bother me that much. If I can handle Nightmare Moon, then a box should be colt’s play”, he said.
Twilight wanted to say otherwise, however one look at his neutral expression and she felt as though it wouldn’t have been worth it. However, speaking of Nightmare Moon, the last time she saw him, Gojira had several bruises, burns, and a very noticeable limp. But less than a day later, aside from his leg, any sign of a mark or scar had completely disappeared. She tried squinting to see if there was any sign of a wound, something Gojira definitely noticed.
“Umm, Gojira-”, she was about to ask, until.
“You faced Nightmare Moon?!”, said Spike with a shocked expression. Both Gojira and Twilight turned to face the young dragon.
‘Aww crap’, Gojira thought. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say faced, more so…”, he tried thinking of some kind of word, “distracted.” Spike looked confused.
“Me and Gojira ended up running into Nightmare Moon and he distracted her while I tried to search for the elements of harmony”, said Twilight.
“Yes, and that’s where I got this”, added Gojira while gesturing to his bandaged leg. Spike still looked amazed, however.
“Which I have to ask”, said Twilight, turning back around to face Gojira. “How are you doing, recovering wise? I’m just asking since you look a lot better since the last time I saw you.” Gojira looked away for a moment, trying to think of an excuse. He hadn’t thought about his other wounds that had long since fully healed.
“Caesar knows his way around the medical field”, he said. “He managed to heal most of my injuries, apart from my leg which may have to stay like this for a few days.” He hoped his reasoning was good enough for Twilight to believe, though she was still looking at him with confusion. Luckily, Gojira managed to come up with something. “If you wanted to check me out, you could’ve just asked”, said Gojira.
Twilight immediately stiffened as soon as she realized exactly how closely she was looking at him. Her pupils shrank as a major blush formed on her face. “I-I am so sorry! I d-didn’t mean to…I was just looking, I-I mean, not like romantically, just closely…wait, n-no, I mean…”, Twilight felt incredibly embarrassed as she forced herself to look away.
‘Nice way to throw her off.’
“Did I miss something?”, asked Spike, who had been unloading the insides of a box.
Gojira couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Nothing too important”, said Gojira, he then looked at Twilight. “So, where does this need to go?” He gestured to the box on his back.
Twilight, still feeling a bit flustered, managed to compose herself and looked back at Gojira. “Umm, that can go upstairs”, she said before turning to Spike. “Spike, can you show him where that can go?”
Spike gave a confident nod. “You got it, Twilight”, he replied as he started upstairs with Gojira following him. “I’ve got so many questions. How did you manage against Nightmare Moon? Were you scared? Did you see the elements?” His questions continued as they traveled up the stairs. Gojira playfully rolled his eyes.
Meanwhile, Rodan and Anguirus were now walking through the middle of Ponyville by themselves after leaving Gojira at the Golden Oaks Library. Rodan was still snickering to himself over his trick.
“Did you see the look on his face?”, he said with a cheeky smile. Anguirus lightly chuckled.
“Yeah, though, shouldn’t we go back soon to get him? Something tells me he wouldn’t want to stay there for long”, said Anguirus. Rodan merely waved his hoof.
“Don’t worry, we will soon. This is just a nice little way to get back at him for him teasing me”, said Rodan.
Though his answer was believable, Anguirus felt as though there was another reason. “That could be true, or did you just want to leave him alone with Twilight?”, asked Angurius. Even through his sunglasses, Rodan’s smug face was all the confirmation Anguirus needed. “Rodan, though I’m not against it, you know that Gojira is not one for romance.”
“Of course I know that”, said Rodan. “But, it’s been a while since he’s felt any semblance of love for somepony else.”
“He loves us, doesn’t that count?”, asked Anguirus.
“That’s brotherly love, I’m talking about a different kind of love”, said Rodan. “I’m talking about the kind you feel when you’re with a special somepony. When butterflies form in your stomach, when your hooves start to tremble and your heart beats faster when you're near them.” He started to wear dreamy eyes when he thought about a certain mare. Despite his emotions however, a part of him wasn’t all for his idea.
‘He doesn’t have time for stuff like that. He’s more focused on the day to end all days, something you should focus on too.’
Rodan’s spirit’s words went through one ear and out the other. “I just want him to feel that emotion again, and hopefully lighten up as a result of it”, said Rodan.
‘Oh, like the last time that happened went so well.’
Rodan stayed silent for a few seconds as a frown formed on his face, his spirit’s words obviously affecting him. “That was several years ago”, he softly said.
‘Emotional wounds take longer to heal than physical ones. While it takes an arm or leg a few months to fully recover, it can take a stallion’s entire life for their heart to do the same.’
Though Rodan hated to admit it, he agreed with his mind. Anguirus watched as his older brother’s mood started to worsen. He wanted to say something to make him feel better, but couldn’t come up with anything. He looked around and something caught his eyes. A smile formed on his face as he turned back to Rodan.
“It’s Gojira’s choice whether or not he’s willing to accept that kind of love back into his life”, said Anguirus, catching Rodan’s attention before taking a couple steps to the side. “But as for you, I don’t think you really have a say in the matter.” Rodan looked confused.
“What do you mean by-”, before Rodan could finish, he felt some kind of force on his back as he felt a pair of hooves wrap around him. He was majorly taken aback by this as his wings flared up. He at first thought he was being mugged, until he heard the laughter behind him sounding both familiar and feminine.
“Hello again, Rodey”, said the voice.
Rodan turned his head and was met with the happy smile of Lisa mere inches away from his face. She was currently airborne with her wings keeping her in the air as she floated over his back. A small blush formed on his face from the closeness while Anguirus started laughing from seeing his brother’s incredibly flustered expression.
“H-Hey…Lilly”, said Rodan as he stuttered. Lisa giggled as she let go of Rodan and flew in front of the two.
“Lilly, huh? I haven’t heard you call me that in so long”, said Lisa.
“Well, I haven’t been able to call you that ever since you moved to Ponyville”, said Rodan.
“I know”, said Lisa as a small blush formed on her face. “I’m just so happy to see you, especially after what happened that night.”
“Don’t remind us”, said Anguirus. Though she didn’t specify, he easily knew which night Lisa was talking about.
“Besides that, how are you, Lisa?”, asked Rodan.
“I’m good, currently on break at my job, so I decided to take a quick walk and I ended up running into you two”, said Lisa until she formed a confused look. “Though, I remember there being three of you.”
“Oh, Gojira? He’s currently…busy with something”, said Rodan as he lightly chuckled. “Me and Anguirus are simply walking around, trying to get a feel of Ponyville.”
“Really? How’s it been so far?”, asked Lisa.
“So far it’s been going alright. But I imagine for him, it’s now going great”, said Anguirus as he gave Rodan a bump on the shoulder, earning a glare from him.
“Shut up”, whispered Rodan. Anguirus formed a cheeky smile.
Lisa lightly chuckled from Rodan’s expression until an idea formed in her head. “Actually, if you both aren’t doing anything, and seeing how my break is almost up, why not you both come to Sugarcube Corner with me?”, asked Lisa. An excited smile formed on Rodan’s face.
“Yes! Of course”, exclaimed Rodan. He suddenly realized how loudly he said it as a look of embarrassment formed in his face. “Uhh, I mean, uhh…yeah, sure, we’re not doing anything, we’d love to come with you.” A smile formed on his face as sweat formed in his brow. He turned toward his younger brother. “Isn’t that right, Anguirus?”
“Yeah, sure”, said Anguirus as he tried not to laugh.
“Alright then. Come on, it’s not too far from here”, said Lisa gesturing for them to follow her. Before they did, Anguirus leaned toward Rodan.
“Nice save, Rodey”, said Anguirus. Rodan responded with a shove against him.
The trio walked through the streets of Ponyville, being met with either the happy smiles and waves of other ponies. At least for Lisa. For Rodan and Anguirus, the same ponies would give them mere side glances or would look away as soon either of the two would stare back at them. Though Lisa didn’t seem to notice and Rodan mostly didn’t really care, Anguirus was filled with confusion.
‘We saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon, but other ponies still stare at us as if we have six heads or something. Why is that?’, he wondered. He got somewhat of an answer.
‘That may be true, however certain aspects of the story such as Gojira’s fight with Nightmare Moon remained anonymous. It was to ensure that you three would still be seen as normal citizens instead of Equestrian heroes which would’ve made things much harder to fit in. So while others know that you helped the mares in saving Equestria, you’re still seen as…’ Anguirus’ spirit didn’t need to finish his sentence.
“Abnormally tall stallions”, he whispered.
Though Anguirus didn’t notice, Rodan’s ear twitched as he managed to hear his little brother’s words. He didn’t turn around, but he knew where Anguirus was coming since, though he didn’t show it, the stares and glances affected him too.
It didn’t take long until they reached Sugarcube Corner, but even if they didn’t have Lisa as a guide, the brothers could’ve easily tell where the building was. The walls were beige, similar to other houses in Ponyville, but that’s where the similarities ended. The building looked almost exactly like a gingerbread house with several parts of it designed to look like pastries and other desserts. The roof was painted brown with a cookie pattern and the edges of the ceiling were painted white to look like frosting. There was a tower section of the building with the top resembling a giant, pink cupcake with candles. And instead of a metal rooster on top of the building, there was instead a chocolate colored pony holding a large candy cane. The two brothers gazed up at the life sized gingerbread house filled with nothing but sweets, sugars, and cavities.
“I think I can guess where most of the food for the party came from”, said Rodan.
“Yep, we make baked goods for any special occasion here in Ponyville. Sometimes even for Canterlot”, said Lisa. “In fact, we’ve been asked to prepare some of the pastries for the gala at Canterlot.”
“Really? That must’ve been a great honor”, said Anguirus.
“Indeed it was”, said Lisa before gesturing to the front door. “Now come on, I don’t want to keep friendly customers waiting.”
When the three entered the building they were greeted with two things. For one, the smells of freshly baked goods filled each of their noses. It was an aroma that would cause any colt to burst into happiness. It was a slight distraction for the two brothers, however, when they noticed the second thing that greeted them. Two familiar mares, one orange with a farmer's hat, the other pink with puffy hair.
“Hey guys, I’m back”, said Lisa. Applejack and Pinkie turned to meet her, but we’re also met with two familiar faces.
“Applejack?”, said Anguirus.
“Anguirus?”, said Applejack.
“Pinkie?”, said Rodan.
“Hello!”, said Pinkie with a wave.
“Wait, you all know each other?”, asked Lisa.
“Well, kinda”, answered Rodan. “We ran into them while chasing Caesar.”
“Yeah, and they helped us save Equestria from Nightmare Moon”, said Pinkie as she pulled out two seats for the brothers to sit at the table Applejack was at. Anguirus sat next to Applejack while Rodan sat next to him and Lisa sat next to Rodan. “Would either of you like something?”
“Oh, umm, yes, I could go for a coffee”, said Rodan as he took his sunglasses off.
“I’m good, thanks”, said Anguirus.
“Okie dokie, I’ll be right back”, said Pinkie before entering a pair of western doors.
“So, how you fellers been?”, asked Applejack.
“We’ve been well, we were just roaming around town to become familiar with this place”, said Anguirus.
“Hope you like it”, said Applejack. “We get newcomers all the time here in Ponyville.”
“I’d say we’ve been enjoying ourselves”, said Rodan. Anguirus formed a small grin.
“Are you just saying that because of…”, Anguirus leaned into his front leg. “(cough) Lisa (cough).” He was met with a jab in the leg by Rodan, and confused glances from Lisa and Applejack.
“What was that?”, asked Lisa.
“Nothing, he was saying nothing”, said Rodan as he glared at his younger brother. Applejack formed a small smile as she chuckled.
“Ya know, Lily here has been talking quite highly of you fellas”, she said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that”, said Lisa. “It’s just that I would sometimes mention you three in conversations since I remember you all so fondly.” A sly smile formed on Applejack’s face as she took a sip of her drink.
“I would say more than sometimes”, she said to herself.
“Changing the subject, how’s the farm been, Applejack?”, asked Lisa.
“It’s been all and good, though them trees are soon gonna need to be picked”, said Applejack. “It’ll probably take me and Big Mac a few hours to pick the whole field.”
“Are you talking about the farm next to that orchard? Is that where you work?”, asked Anguirus.
“I don’t just work there, I live there”, replied Applejack. “My family has owned Sweet Apple Acres for generations, it’s basically a family heirloom. It’s where I’ve grown up and it’s where I attend to stay.” Anguirus nodded his head. With commitment as high as that, she must’ve been incredibly passionate about her farm.
“Dang, must be one hay of a hard worker”, said Anguirus. Applejack lightly scoffed.
“You have no idea”, she said.
Just then, the pair of western doors opened and out popped Pinkie pie carrying a glass of coffee with whip whipped cream and a cherry on the top. She set the glass down in front of Rodan.
“Order up!”, said Pinkie.
“Thanks”, said Rodan as lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip from it. However, the second the whipped cream touched his mouth, a look of realization formed on his face. “Oh crap, I left the bits with Gojira!”
He turned toward Pinkie who was glancing at him. “So, are you saying that you can’t pay for it?”, she asked with a disapproving look.
Rodan wasn’t sure what to say. The mare that earlier seemed so cheerful and friendly was now glaring at him with a narrow brow. He turned toward Lisa to see if she could help him, but she was doing the same as Pinkie. Even Applejack was giving the exact same expression. Anguirus simply watched with a very puzzled look meaning that he couldn’t help his brother either.
“I…I’m sorry. I-If you want I can pay you back later”, said Rodan as sweat started to form on his face.
Before Rodan could say anything, Pinkie’s glare broke as she started snickering before flat out laughing. Her laughter started to spread to both Lisa and Applejack as they started chuckling. Rodan looked at his brother in confusion as the three mares started to calm down. Pinkie was the last to do so as she wiped a tear from her eye.
“I’m kidding! For you, it’s on the house”, said Pinkie as her cheerful look returned. Rodan took a deep sigh of relief as he wiped sweat from his brow.
“Thank you”, said Rodan as he took a sip from his coffee. “Though I still hope to pay you back because this is delicious.”
“Thanks, baking is my specialty”, said Pinkie. “Well, besides partying, of course.”
“We couldn’t have guessed”, said Anguirus with a hint of sarcasm.
“That’s Pinkie for ya”, said Applejack. “Got any kind of special event and she’ll be the one to make sure it’s an event that everypony will remember. Whether it be holidays, anniversaries, birthdays-”.
“Oh! I almost forgot”, said Pinkie before she raced back through the western doors in a streak of pink. She then returned with a pen and notebook. “Could you both write the dates of your birthdays for me please?” The two brothers looked hesitant at first.
“What for?”, asked Anguirus.
“To plan ahead, sillies”, said Pinkie. “I always make sure that I have everyponies’ birthday memorized so I can throw them the best birthday party ever!”
Rodan and Anguirus felt they should’ve been more surprised than they were. “Well then, you’re really coordinated when it comes to partying”, said Rodan. Pinkie cartoonishly nodded.
“Yep!”, exclaimed Pinkie.
“I still remember the first time I moved to Ponyville”, said Lisa. “Pinkie practically had a surprise party set up the second I stepped hoove into town.”
“Of course, whenever somepony moves to Ponyville, I want them to feel welcome. And the best way to do that is to throw them a welcome party!”, exclaimed Pinkie as she threw her hooves in the air and, somehow, several pieces of confetti flew in the air out of nowhere. Anguirus with wide eyes leaned toward Applejack.
“Was she like this when you first moved here?”, he asked.
“Oh yeah, as far as I know, she’s always been this way”, replied Applejack. Anguirus felt he should’ve expected that.
“I guess, while we’re at it, we should also give you Gojira’s birthday too”, said Rodan as he started writing his and his brother’s date of birth.
“Speaking of, how’s the big guy doing? I don’t think I’ve seen him since yesterday”, said Applejack.
“Yeah, is he feeling alright? He didn’t look the best when we left that temple”, added Pinkie. Anguirus looked toward Rodan, uncertain if he should say.
“He’s…taking it easy, currently”, answered Anguirus. His answer was very vague, but he felt it was smart to not say anything that he thought would be taken as strange behavior.
“Y-Yes, he decided to stay at our place to let his wounds heal”, said Rodan. “You know, fighting who is essentially an evil goddess would wear any pony out, so…yeah.” That was the behavior that Anguirus was afraid of.
“Oookay then”, said Applejack. “Well, tell him that we hope he gets better soon. He seems to be a tough stallion which isn’t somepony we see a whole lot around these parts.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to”, said Rodan as he stifled a laugh from remembering where Gojira really was.
The group continued to talk and as they did, both Rodan and Anguirus started to grow more comfortable around them. So far, for both of them, the day had gone very smoothly. They got a better understanding of their new surroundings, made some friends, and seemed to be accepted by some of the inhabitants of Ponyville. And all while keeping the secret of the kaiju spirits hidden. They were adjusting to their new home well enough, though despite that, their goal still remained the same. However, even with that on their minds, both Rodan and Anguirus could agree that they still wanted to live a normal lifestyle. They hoped their older brother would feel the same way.
“Say, Rodan”, said Applejack with a curious look, “I was talking to Rainbow Dash earlier and she said that one of her friends had run into this maroonish pegasus with sunglasses.” She then put on a cheeky smile. “You wouldn’t happen to know one, right?”
Rodan froze as he copied Gojira’s deadpan expression. He set his head down on the table, letting out an audible groan in the process. Anguirus was the only one trying his hardest not to laugh while the others looked puzzled. Angurius turned toward Applejack with a grin.
“Don’t worry, he knows all too well”, said Anguirus.
Meanwhile, back at the Golden Oaks library, Gojira had just unpacked the last box upstairs. The second level of the library housed a room with two floors with the top one housing the bedroom and the lower one with a study section. Gojira was on the lower floor with Spike on the top one.
“I still have to ask, how did you get to be so tall?”, asked Spike. “Apart from Celestia, I’m not even sure Canterlot has anypony that can match your height.”
Gojira chuckled as he playfully rolled his eyes. It had been like this throughout the entirety of his stay. Whether they were upstairs or downstairs, Spike was constantly by his side asking away. Though he felt he should’ve been annoyed by now, Gojira didn’t seem to mind that much. He was aware that Spike was simply young and his child-like mind was probably filled with curiosity. He knew that kind of feeling very well.
“Well you know what they say, stay healthy, keep active, drink your milk, and my favorite part, get plenty of rest”, said Gojira.
“I know all that”, said Spike. “It just sounds like so much work.” Gojira shrugged.
“It kinda is, I guess”, said Gojira as he rubbed the back of his head.
‘Speak for yourself.’
Gojira internally groaned from his mind. Before he could say anything else, the sound of hoovesteps came from the stairs as Twilight walked in.
“How are things going up here?”, she asked.
“Pretty good, got almost everything put away”, said Gojira before opening the last remaining box. “The only thing that’s left are all these books.” Gojira grabbed a book and looked toward the empty shelves, he let out a sigh. “This is gonna take a while”, he said. Twilight let out a chuckle.
“No worries, here, let me do this while you take a break”, she said.
“No, it's fine. It’s just moving them to a shelf, nothing too hard. It’ll just be tedious”, said Gojira.
“No, No, I insist”, said Twilight as she took the book from Gojira’s hooves. “You’ve been working hard, this is the least I can do to help.”
“I started the job and I intend to at least finish it”, said Gojira, taking the book from Twilight who was starting to grow a little frustrated.
“Sweet Celestia, you’re stubborn”, she exclaimed. Gojira merely scoffed.
“So I’ve been told”, he said.
“I’d listen to her, Gojira”, said Spike as he walked down the steps from the upper floor. “When it comes to organizing, as far as I know, no pony is better than Twilight.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it”, said Gojira. Twilight grew a sly smile.
“Don’t worry, you will”, said Twilight.
She stood upright with her eyes closed as her horn lit up in a light purple aura. Before Gojira realized, the book he was holding started to glow in a similar aura. In fact, all the books from the box were glowing. Not only that, but they began floating in the air. He was forced to let go of the one he was holding as each book faced the empty shelf. In an instant, Twilight’s horn flashed a light purple which signaled for the books to fly toward the shelf, shifting around in the air with different books swapping spots with others. In a matter of a couple seconds, every single book that was once in the box was now lined up on the shelf perfectly in alphabetical order.
Gojira was shocked as he stared with wide eyes. He then turned to face Twilight who had a cocky look on her face. While Spike clapped to show he was impressed, Gojira put back on his neutral expression.
“Show-off”, he muttered.
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh. “Hehe, I’m sorry, but you gotta admit, that was faster than putting them away one by one”, she said. “When you’re Celestia’s personal student, you learn some neat tricks.”
“It also must really add to your personality. You can be just as bad as Rodan when it comes to overconfidence”, said Gojira. Twilight rolled her eyes, as if there wasn’t another mare that was worse than her. The two stood in silence as Gojira looked around the room.
“Hey, thank you for all your help. I can’t think of many stallions who would go out of their way to help a small dragon like Spike, nonetheless one with as bad of an injury as yours. I think he more than appreciated it”, she said with a smile. Gojira lightly chuckled.
“Well I was kinda forced to stay by my brothers”, he said.
“And I’m glad they did”, said Spike as he walked up. “I don’t think I would’ve even made it here without your guy’s assistance.” Gojira waved his hoof in disagreement.
“It was nothing, really”, said Gojira.
“Would you mind perhaps staying a bit longer for tea or something? Think of it as a way for us to repay you”, said Twilight.
“I appreciate it, however I should get going and catch up with my brothers”, said Gojira as he walked toward the stairs. “Who knows what they got themselves into without my supervision.” As he walked, Twilight and Spike followed after him.
“You sure? It’ll only be for a couple minutes”, asked Twilight.
“Yep, more than sure”, said Gojira as he reached the lower floor and walked toward the door.
“Come on, please?”, asked Spike. Gojira stopped in his tracks and swiftly turned around.
“I said, no”, stated Gojira in a stern voice.
His voice was a bit louder than he expected as both Twilight and Spike looked very taken aback by his sudden mood change. Not only that, but they were closer than he expected, so he practically yelled in their faces, something he didn’t intend on doing. Gojira’s stern look faded and was replaced with a more sympathetic one. The silence was brutal as the three of them stood for a couple of seconds which felt more like hours. Until a voice spoke up.
‘They’re just looking out for you, no need to get rallied up. Remember what Caesar said. If you want to fit in then you should treat others with the same level of kindness as they treat you.’
He took a deep breath, a couple scales which appeared on his rear leg disappeared. A small smile appeared on his face. “At least, not right now. Sometime soon I may take you up on that offer”, said Gojira. “I’m sorry about that, I guess I kinda overreacted there, huh?”
“It’s alright, you were working hard after all”, said Twilight. “But, yeah sure, you can stop by whenever you’d like, whether to check out a book or just to talk.”
“Yeah, hopefully we see each other more often”, said Spike. Gojira nodded.
“Yeah, hopefully”, said Gojira. “Anyway I’ll see you both later, I’ll be sure to talk to you both soon.” Suddenly, before Gojira could turn back toward the door, he felt something grab on to his front leg. He looked down and saw the young dragon hugging his leg.
“Thanks again, Gojira”, said Spike. Gojira stood slightly stunned for a moment until a smile grew on his face. He leaned down and nuzzled the top of Spike’s head.
“You’re welcome, Spike”, he said.
Spike let go of Gojira’s leg and he turned back toward the door. With a ring of the bell and the sound of creaking wood, Gojira exited the Golden Oaks library. He enjoyed himself more than he thought he would’ve. When he first met them, their first interaction didn’t leave a great first impression. However, after the return of Nightmare Moon and today, he was slowly starting to learn more about them. In a normal life, he wouldn’t mind being around them. Unfortunately, he didn’t live a normal life.
As he walked away, Twilight watched him through the window. She didn’t know what it was, but something about that stallion made him come off as different from other stallions she met. She noticed his cutie mark and how unique it was, again, she’d never seen one like it other than from his siblings. Despite him having a bandaged leg, he was walking perfectly fine. There wasn’t anything too peculiar about him, but they were intriguing to say the least.
“He’s an interesting pony”, said Twilight.
“I mean, yeah, but I like him”, said Spike as he walked over to the kitchen that was connected to the large room of the library. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“Sure, thanks Spike”, said Twilight as she looked away from the window. What she didn’t know, however, was that for those seconds when she looked away, she missed the flash of light that was Gojira’s “cutie mark”.