//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Secrets and Discoveries // Story: Beasts from Within // by ThatOneOtherGuy //------------------------------// ‘They’re all so ungrateful. Ungrateful for the land we discovered, for the resources we provided, for the life we birthed, for the world we created. And in return what do they do for us? They pretend we never existed. They treat us as mere fairy tales to be told to children and then their children and then their children. It’s insulting how these creatures treat their ancestors. And yet, these inhabitants are more than willing to kiss the ground that one single mare walks on with the thought that her steps will grant forever peace and happiness, unaware that they’re no different than those left by dogs. They act so clueless to their reality. But soon, they will learn, they will all learn. We shall open their eyes to the truth that they chose to hide all those centuries ago.’ Des stood in his corridor with his eyes closed. Anyone that would’ve walked in on him couldn’t even tell he was breathing. That was, apart from the fact he wasn’t alone. A creature shrouded in mist floated in front of him. The mist was a demonic maroon with it appearing to be more like fire than actual fog. It had a pair of wings that were just as large as it was. Its arms were large and bulky with three claws on its hands. Its head was partly reptilian and demon-like with a long horn and frills appearing from the back of its head. It was an incredibly unnerving sight, and yet Des barely even flinched from its presence as he opened his eyes, his yellow eyes staring at the beings' own. “Our goal shall be reached soon, Destroyer”, said Des as he stood up. ‘I grow impatient after every passing day. And we have been at this for several years.’ Des let out a deep sigh. “As do I, however, with the gem of madness, we have never been closer to obtaining the Kyojin tomb”, said Des as he looked toward the colorful jewel that lay on the table. “We now must wait for the right moment.” Destroyer didn’t seem impressed. ‘Waiting…it’s always been that way. Waiting for the right moment, waiting for the opportunity, waiting for the next day. You say we’re coming close to achieving fate, only for said fate to never arrive.’ “But this time I mean it”, said Des. “What we have is a one in a million chance to achieve complete power over any mere pony. However, such power cannot be rushed, waiting must be invol-”. ‘I’M TIRED OF WAITING!’ Des was cut off as he felt a splitting headache which caused him to grasp on to his head with his hooves. Destroyer started to circle around him as he continued his onslaught of mental pain on his vessel. It lasted for only a few seconds, but it was enough to completely silence Des as his spirit got close to his face. ‘Do you think that great power will simply come to you? I have been waiting for more than a decade now and it's all been for naught. You say we found an opportunity, then why aren’t you taking said opportunity? Don’t tell me you’re-’, the spirit leaned into Des’ ear. It’s voice was merely a whisper, but it echoed throughout his mind. ‘Afraid.’ Des didn’t say anything. The cave he stood in was completely silent and yet that single word was the only thing he could hear. He hated that word, he hated what it meant, he hated the very thought of it, he hated whoever came up with that word. He clenched his teeth as past memories of a young colt flooded his mind. One that stood in fear for most of his life from anything whether it be a storm or other children. He hated that colt and wished he never knew him, and he was fully aware of this. “I’m…not afraid”, stated Des with venom in his tone. Destroyer didn’t say anything and instead merely smiled. The sound of hoofsteps caused Destroyer to retract back into Des’ mane, leaving no trace of it even being there. ‘Prove it to me.’ “Des! Griffon and Biollante have returned from their scouting of Canterlot”, exclaimed Junior. “According to them, the Discord statue is located in the garden area of Canterlot. It’s not as heavily guarded as we originally assumed it was so we might be able to-”, he trailed off once he noticed Des’ heavy breathing. “My lord, is everything alright?” Des shook his head, trying to ignore his disheartening thoughts. “I’m fine, just facing a migraine”, he said. Junior’s words suddenly registered for him. “So, the bringer of chaos has been imprisoned in the castle’s garden.” A smile formed across his lips as he lightly cackled. “How ironic”, he said. “My thoughts exactly”, said Junior. “This could be our best chance at freeing Discord.” “Get me Griffon, with his ability to fly he’s our best option”, said Des as he lifted the gem of mayhem with his magic. He expected Junior to oblige and find the dragon, but instead he looked a bit anxious. “Well, actually my lord, I…have already sent Griffon out on another scouting mission”, he said. Des’ eyes slightly widened. “You did what”, he exclaimed as he quickly stood up, causing Junior to take a few steps back. “I thought it’s what you would’ve wanted”, said Junior. “I’d estimate that he’ll return in a couple of hours so we shouldn’t raise the alarm just yet.” Des jerked forward making Junior wince. “Discord is currently alone in the back of Canterlot, do you think we have a couple of hours?”, Des asked. “This could be our first and only chance at releasing one of the most powerful beings to ever walk on this soil and I shall not have it be wasted because of you.” Junior started to sweat as his pupils shrunk to the size of crumbs. “P-Please forgive me, my lord”, he said before bowing in front of him. “To show you my remorse I volunteer myself to go on this mission of freeing Discord.” “For you to do what, gain control of a being with limitless potential and use him to overthrow me”, said Des. “N-No! I’d never, my lord”, replied Junior as he looked up to him. “For what reason would I have to betray you? No one else in this world respects me, just you. My loyalty and trust lie only with those that do so.” Neither moved, they stared directly in each other’s eyes for what could’ve been an eternity. Des’ pale yellow eyes hid any kind of emotion or thought that could’ve been drawn from them, adding to the built up dread that Junior was feeling. Small streams of what seemed to be smoke trailed from Des’ jaw, floating up to the ceiling of the cave causing a few rocks to fall. “Stand. Now”, Des demanded. The tone of his voice was enough to make Junior stumble to his hooves. Des started to walk away. He used his magic to set the gem back on the table. “Leave me”, he said. “If I see to it that you defy my orders yet again, the consequences will be larger than you could ever comprehend.” “Are you saying that I have your permission, my lord”, asked Junior with reluctance in his tone. Des abruptly stopped in his hoofs, his movement caused Junior to hold his breath out of fear. “With Griffon currently indisposed, the risks of heading to Canterlot to free Discord would be too great”, said Des. His voice was in contrast to his louder and aggressive one from earlier. This gave time for his words to sink into Junior’s mind. “I hope you now realize that I make the orders and that I have a final say in any plan or decision that you or anyone else makes. I hope I make myself clear.” Junior slowly nodded. “Crystal”, Junior softly said. “Good”, said Des as he turned away. “Another chance will come. For now, we just have to…wait…” Des felt a sharp pain in his head as he clenched his teeth. His sudden reaction caught the attention of Junior. “Are you alright, My lord?”, he asked. Des didn’t turn to face him. “I’m…f-fine”, said Des as his legs started to tremble. “My lord, you seem unwell. In fact, you look like you can hardly stand”, said Junior as he approached him. “Perhaps you should rest, all this gem and Discord talk has taken its toll on you.” Des let out a growl as he put a hoof to his forehead. “Talking is not why I’m like this”, Des said, though his growl was cut short as he felt another spike of pain. “Though your advice has been noted.” Junior helped Des walk to his resting quarter which was a smaller cave connected to the larger one. Des stepped onto a raised flat piece of stone with some grass used as bedding. “I shall send Orga and Biollante on another scouting mission while you rest. That is if I have your permission, my lord”, said Junior. “You do so”, said Des as laid on top of the stone bed. “Our brightest hour is soon upon us, which means we can’t afford any surprises. Nor can we lose any of our members.” Junior nodded. “Indeed, my lord. Just think that after all these years filled with days of searching, recruiting, fighting, and waiting, a new age of Equestria is about to begin”, said Junior as he looked back at the large cave painting on the wall. “It’s all so exciting, isn’t it?” “It’s not a new age”, said Des as he started to doze off. “When we’re done, there'll be no Equestria, only the world. A world with no kingdom, no princesses, no laws, no ponies. Just the kaiju. How…it’s supposed… to…be.” Des closed his eyes, letting sleep take over as the pain in his head started to die down. Junior watched as his leader entered his slumber. “Of course, my lord”, said Junior as he started to walk away. “How it’s supposed to be.” As Junior left, Des’ words stayed in his mind. He always knew of his fascination with the titans which could’ve been thanks to, according to Des, the voice in his head. But what primarily threw him off at first was him not only wanting to bring the kaiju back, but let them reclaim their land. Junior remembered the day when he first heard of Des’ plan. He thought it was insane and impossible for such a feat to be pulled off. However, over the years, he learned about the Kyojin Tomb, the several paintings on the walls of the cave that Des found, and the ‘legend’ of the undetermined fight between Alpha and Monster Zero. As a result, he too formed a similar obsession that Des had. And now that obsession would finally come into fruition. They finally had a chance at resurrecting the kaiju with the help of Discord. As Junior was just about to exit Des’ corridor, he stopped. That last thought stuck in his mind. Though they now had another option that wasn’t simply search aimlessly for the Kyojin Tomb, said option wasn’t much easier. As Des said, they only had a few chances at freeing Discord and this was one of them. Even though Des thought it had been wasted, Junior thought otherwise. He looked back at the table holding the gem of madness, an artifact that at first seemed so useless was now the key to unlocking limitless power. Junior knew that what he was doing was incredibly risky, but as his lord told him, every chance they had must and shall be taken. He slowly walked over to the table, looking around every few seconds to make sure no one was watching him before carefully grabbing the gem of madness with his teeth. Next to the gem was a small pouch that Junior quietly opened and pulled out a small yellow crystal. After grabbing a satchel to put everything he needed in, he slowly began to walk away, stopping only once from the sound of dust falling from the ceiling. After what felt like an hour of tiptoeing, Junior reached the exit for Des’ quarters. He looked back and saw a brief glimpse of his lord resting. “I’ll make you proud, my lord”, Junior whispered to himself before he quickly walked away to find either Orga or Biollante. The two of them were resting near the entrance of the cave when Junior walked up to them. When they both noticed him, they directed their attention towards him. “So, what did Des say?”, asked Orga. He then noticed him holding the gem. “What are you doing with that?” “He would want us to go on a…special mission”, said Junior as he took the gem out of his mouth. Both Orga and Biollante looked fairly surprised. “Really? But that would be more of a job for Griffon since we all know how quiet he can be”, said Biollante as she looked a bit skeptical. “Are you sure that this is what Des wants?” Junior merely scoffed at her reply, trying his hardest to act. “Well of course, after all if he didn’t trust me then why would he give me this?”, he said as he pulled out the gem of madness from his satchel. Even then, neither Orga or Biollante seemed completely convinced. “I have known Des longer than both of you combined. If there’s a single pony that he could trust, it would easily be me. And according to him, every single chance we have to free Discord must be taken no matter the cost. Remember, the sooner we free him, the sooner we complete our goal.” Orga and Biollante looked at each other with conflicting feelings. On one hand, if they were to go along with what Junior said and head to Canterlot, the chances of success weren’t very high as none of them were great when it came to stealth. However, on the other hand, if Des was so keen on freeing Discord, then perhaps it wouldn’t be too far abroad to think that he would’ve taken some drastic measures. Neither of them were completely sure with that thought, but it wasn’t an impossible thing to think of. “Now then, Orga, you and I will journey to Canterlot while Biollante-”, Junior was abruptly cut off. “Whoa, whoa, who died and made you the boss”, Biollante interrupted. “If I’m taking orders from anypony it’s going to be Des, besides, where is he anyway?” “Our lord is currently a bit…under the weather. Which is why I need you to stay here and make sure he stays asleep”, said Junior. “We want our leader to have full energy when he finds out we control one of the most powerful creatures to ever walk on Equestrian soil.” He was met with a scoff from Orga. “Oh please, there ain’t nothing in this world he can’t handle. I doubt a little cold would be so bad for him that he’d have to take a day off”, said Orga as he rolled his eyes. Junior was slowly becoming more annoyed. “Yeah, besides, there’s probably ten or so guards surrounding Discord by now”, added Biollante. “We should probably just wait until we have another shot at freeing him. Real smart of you to force Griffon to leave-” “Will both of you just listen to me for once!”, Junior exclaimed, catching the attention of both Orga and Biollante. “I was given these orders from Des since I’m his most loyal, I’m his most devoted, I’m the first pony he could trust. I would lay my life down for him and he would do the same for me! If anyone’s going to have the privilege of leading our lightest hour when our lord is unable to then it’s going to be, damnit! Do I make myself clea-” “Okay, we get it, you’re Des’ favorite, can you quit your temper tantrum”, said Orga as he groaned. After realizing how loud he was getting, Junior cleared his throat to calm down. “So, are you with me or not?”, he asked. The unicorn and stallion looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and then turned back toward Junior. “Alright, sure”, said Orga. Junior smiled. “Great, now as I said before, Orga will join me as we head to Canterlot. Biollante will stay behind to look after Des and to notify us when he wakes up, got it?” Orga and Biollante nodded in agreement. “Alright, then come on.” He gestured for Orga as he started to walk away. “When we return, history will be made”, Junior said with confidence. Orga rolled his eyes. “You mean if we return”, he said under his breath as he walked after Junior, leaving Biollante behind. The two of them exited the mountain and walked down a small incline that stretched along the side of the mountain. It was fairly narrow as Orga had to walk one hoof at a time in order to not fall off, but eventually they both made it to the bottom. They walked through the forest for a little while until they reached a small pond with a group of trees surrounding it. In the center of the pond was a small plot of land with a tree sticking out from it. The two of them tread through the water until they reached the small island. Junior pulled out the yellow crystal and was about to throw it on the ground until Orga spoke up. “Just to be clear, are you absolutely sure this is what Des wants?”, asked Orga with a raised eyebrow. Though Junior didn’t look back at him, the tone of his voice followed by a small laugh made things clear. “Positive”, he said firmly. With that, Junior threw the crystal on the ground, causing it to shatter into several pieces. The pieces started to glow before turning into dust and started floating in the air. They swirled around in a circular motion until they created a portal. The two stallions stood in front of it. “Mares first”, said Junior at Orga with a smirk. He didn’t seem to be amused and smacked Junior in the back of the head. “Just go”, said Orga bluntly. Junior glared as he rubbed the back of his head. He walked through the portal shortly followed by Orga. Soon after the portal grew smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared. Leaving nothing but a couple ripples in the water. Canterlot The sun rose high above the horizon, casting its light across the entirety of Canterlot. Caesar was in his quarters, preparing for another day of work. He fixed his mane, brushed his teeth, put on his armor, and walked out of his room. As he walked through the halls of the castle, he saw several guards and other ponies going about their daily routine, though they seemed to have a bit more of a pep in their steps. After the events of the Summer Sun celebration, there was quite a buzz over not only the new resident in Canterlot, but also who she was. As Caesar rounded a corner, he saw some familiar faces in the form of Sharp Shot and Vincent. “Morning you two”, said Caesar as he approached them. The two guards turned to face him. “Morning, Caesar”, said Sharp Shot. “Get your beauty sleep?” “I wouldn’t exactly call it beauty”, said Caesar as he rubbed one of his eyes. The two guards laughed. “After everything that you’ve been through, I was confident you wouldn’t have gotten out of bed until next Hearth’s Warming”, joked Vincent. Caesar let out a chuckle. “That sounds lovely and all, but you know me, I probably wouldn’t think to do something like that”, said Caesar. “Don’t we know it”, said Sharp Shot as he bumped his hoof against Caesar causing him to smile. “But that’s besides the point, I thought you both would’ve been at the training hall by now”, said Caesar. “And leave a friend of ours to walk by himself, not on my watch”, replied Sharp Shot. “Me and Vincent decided to wait for you since we wanted to see how you were doing after that whole…how do I say this?” “Eternal darkness debacle”, added Vincent as he gestured for the three of them to start walking. “Yeah that’s it”, said Sharp Shot as the three started to head towards the training hall. “What even happened while you were in Ponyville?” “Well, Nightmare Moon showed up right when the Summer Sun celebration began”, said Caesar as he recalled the events. He mentioned her plans, his journey through the Everfree Forest, meeting the mane six and the three brothers, being transported inside of the ruined temple, finding the elements of harmony, and defeating Nightmare Moon. Afterwards, his two friends seemed fairly surprised. “Well damn”, said Vincent. “I’d say, sounds like you had quite the night”, added Sharp Shot. “Indeed I did, but all that matters is that not only is the princess safe, but so too is everypony from a world where the night lasts forever”, said Caesar. “You got that right”, said Sharp Shot. “Though, I still can’t get over how that legend turned out to be true. I thought it was some kind of made-up tale that you would tell your fillies.” “Same here, though it's a good thing we won’t have to worry about something like that happening again now with Nightmare Moon gone”, said Vincent as the three neared their destination. His sentence left a knot in Caesar’s stomach. They opened the large pair of wooden doors and entered. The training hall itself was a large open space that was also connected to an outside section for pegasus to practice aerial combat. There were several stations consisting of weight lifting, target practice, sword fighting, hoof-to-hoof combat, and even a weapon’s gallery. As the three entered, they were greeted with some familiar faces. The first one was a tall white unicorn wearing similar golden armor to the set they were wearing except his seemed more defined and was missing the helmet. The stallion had a white body color with his hoofs being blue. His mane and tail were also blue with streaks of dark and light blue traveling along it. His cutie mark depicted a purple shield with a pink star in the middle. He was talking with another mare until he noticed the three walking towards him. “Morning, Shining Armor”, said Vincent. “Greetings you three”, said Shining Armor. He then turned back toward the mare he was talking to. “So, what is it you want to speak to me about, Toolshed?” The mare he was talking to was a unicorn with a light yellow body color and black mane and tail. She wore a pair of goggles on top of her head and was also wearing a satchel that held several different tools. Her cutie mark depicted a gray wrench tightening a bolt. Behind her was a small cart carrying something which had a white tarp draped over it. “You see sir, I believe that I have created the next advancement in weaponry for the royal guard”, said Toolshed with large amounts of excitement in her voice. “Ok, and I assume it’s under here”, said Shining Armor as he gestured toward the cart. Toolshed nodded. “Yes sir, it’s right here”, she said as she then grabbed hold of part of the tarp. “May I present to you-”, she then yanked the tarp off the cart revealing a large contraption, “the Arrowsmith!” Shining Armor, Caesar, Sharp Shot, and Vincent, as well as a few other guards, looked with various expressions ranging from curiosity to confusion to amazement. The contraption itself had several leather straps that looked as though they were supposed to attach to the body of a pony. The straps were connected to a large piece of leather which would hang to the side of the wielder's body. Attached to the leather was a metal bracket which would extend to the upper shoulder of the pony. On the end of the bracket was what appeared to be a specially designed crossbow with a string attached to the trigger of the bow and the other end on part of the metal bracket. “I’ve been working really hard to try and define this design for over a month now”, said Toolshed as she turned toward Shining Armor. “And now it’s just waiting for your approval.” Shining Armor looked over the equipment. “It looks fairly complex”, he said before turning to face Toolshed. “Would you be willing to share a demonstration?” “Absolutely!”, exclaimed Toolshed she then turned to some of the guards. “May I have a volunteer, anypony?” Some of the guards looked unsure on whether they even wanted to try this thing on. That was, apart from one of them. “I’ll do it”, said Sharp Shot as he stepped forward. “This thing looks right up my alley.” Toolshed looked very excited. “Great”, she said before her horn lit up and started to levitate the equipment. She then led Sharp Shot to one of the targets which was a fake pony made completely out of hay and sticks. She used her telekinesis to attach the contraption on to Sharp Shot. The leather straps wrapped around his body until the metal bracket holding the bow was upright on his shoulder. What was most surprising was the lack of imbalance that he felt while wearing the Arrowsmith. Other guards watched in anticipation as Toolshed made last adjustments until she believed it was all set. “Alright, it’s ready”, said Toolshed as she faced Sharp Shot. “Now to fire the arrow all you have to do is cut this string.” She pointed at the one attached to the metal bracket. “Alrighty then”, said Sharp Shot as he got into position. He stood his ground as he stared down his target. The metal bracket was held by several bolts which made aiming a bit easier as now Sharp Shit had to lean his body to adjust where the bow was facing. Believing he had a near perfect trajectory, he leaned toward the string and tried using his teeth to bite. The string was fairly thin so it wasn’t too hard to bite through. The other guards watched as the second the string snapped in half, the arrow in the bow shot forward with great speed as it then impaled the hay figure squarely in the abdomen. The force was stronger than anticipated as it not only hit dead on with the figure but it went right through the hay that it was made out of. The guards were very impressed as they stomped their hooves in the ground to signify clapping. None were as impressed however as Toolshed. “Yes! I knew it would work”, she exclaimed. Sharp Shot let out a whistle. “This thing’s got some power behind it”, he said. Toolshed was very happy though she knew that it still had to pass the final test. “Well, Mrs. Toolshed”, said Shining Armor. “I must say it is a very impressive piece of weaponry.” “I know, I designed it so that the bow would have twice the firing power of a standard crossbow”, said Toolshed. “I hope to use it mainly for aerial combat so that way our flying forces can attack from the sky without the risk of injuring themselves in the process. Though as you saw, ground based troops can also still use it.” “It definitely has potential, I'll admit that”, said Shining Armor. “However, my main concern is-”, he was cut off when Toolshed spoke up. “But that’s not all. There’s one last piece that I haven’t presented yet”, she said before she then quickly ran out of the training hall. “I’ll be right back”, she exclaimed. She left before Shining Armor could even say anything. He let out a sigh which Ceaser noticed. “She’s just excited, sir”, he said. “She has been working on this project for quite some time.” “I am aware of that”, said Shining Armor as he turned back toward the fully impaled hay figure. “Her contraption definitely has the fire power, but when it comes to safety, it seems more like an undetermined factor.” Meanwhile, Toolshed ran through the hall as fast as she could as she ran back to her room. She felt that this was finally her chance, her chance at greatness. The Arrowsmith worked perfectly as she hoped for, but now she was hoping to put it through the real test. She was so excited in fact that she completely missed two figures lurking behind one of the corners of the castle hall and instead ran right past them. “All clear”, said Junior as he and Orga quickly ran out. “I thought that crystal would’ve taken us directly to Discord”, whispered Orga. “No, don’t you know how these portal crystals work?”, asked Junior. Orga merely shrugged, leading Junior to let out a groan. “They can only take us to their predetermined destination, the crystal took us to Canterlot, but not where we wanted to be in Canterlot.” Orga looked at him with blinking eyes. “So why didn’t you get Des to make you one?”, he asked. “Because I couldn’t find-!”, Junior quickly calmed himself down. “Because this was a last minute decision and Des didn’t have the time to make one”, he whispered. “But that’s not important right now, what is important is-”, he immediately stopped talking when he heard the sound of hoofsteps. “Quick, hide!” Junior looked around until he noticed an open door. Both he and Orga leaped for it just in time as the figure that was walking around the corner appeared mere seconds later. It was Toolshed as her magic was carrying a wooden box. She was speed walking to make sure that the inside of the box wouldn’t be damaged as they were far too important for her contraption. As soon as she was gone, Junior peaked out from behind the door. “Phew, that was close”, he said as he wiped sweat from his brow. “Now come on let’s get go-…what the hay are you doing?” Junior turned around to see Orga scrummaging through every drawer, box, or compartment he could find. “I’m ransacking this place, there could be something useful in here”, said Orga as he continued to go through the belongings of whoever lived here. “Let’s see here, some photos, books, a…Daring Doo comic?”, he looked at the cover, “huh, it’s a first edition, will definitely be taking that home.” “Will you come on”, stated Junior firmly. “Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a twist”, said Orga as he and Junior exited the room and continued to make their way through the halls. “Biollante said that Discord was being held in the castle gardens, but I don’t know where that is”, said Junior. “Then why isn’t she here?”, asked Orga. “Someone had to stay behind to watch… I mean, look after Des while we were gone”, said Junior as he kept watch. “But again, why isn’t she here instead of me?”, asked Orga, this time with more confusion in his voice. Junior didn’t answer his question. “Well…?” “Will you stop asking so many questions you big gray sheep. You're going to get us caught”, said Junior. Orga’s brows furrowed as he glared at Junior. “What did you just call me”, Orga asked as he stood to his full height. Junior was admittedly a bit intimidated, but he refused to let him see it. “We don’t have time for this, just keep quiet”, stated Junior as he motioned for them both to keep walking. They both did so, but not after some looks of suspicion from Orga. Meanwhile, back at the training hall, Toolshed rushed in with a wooden box that was currently floating because of her magic. She set the box down in front of Sharp Shot who was still wearing the Arrowsmith. As soon as she set the box down, several guards including Caesar, Vincent, and Shining Armor formed around her. “What’s that”, asked Vincent. “This is my piece of resistance”, stated Toolshed as she carefully opened the box. The lid slid off revealing an arrow that was similar in size to the one that had been fired earlier. The difference was that the tip of the arrow had a thick bag in the shape of a cone with a small tip on the very end. Attached to the arrowhead was a short fuse that stretched to the end of the shaft. Using her magic, the arrow slowly floated allowing everyone to get a good look at it. “This is what I like to call, a charge”, said Toolshed before then levitating it over to the Arrowsmith. “Uhh, what exactly does it do?”, asked Sharp Shot as Toolshed started to attach it to the Arrowsmith. “Let’s just say it’s a bit more advanced than the one you originally fired”, said Toolshed as she then reattached a new string to the crossbow and the metal bracket. “Toolshed, are you positive that this is safe?”, asked Shining Armor as he looked a bit worried. “Of course it is”, reaffirmed Toolshed. “Though I would recommend that we take a few steps back.” She then turned back toward Sharp Shot. “Now when I light the fuse, you have around eight seconds to fire it.” “Wait, what happens in eight seconds?”, asked Sharp Shot looking a bit worried. “You’ll see”, said Toolshed. She used her magic to pull a match from her satchel. She struck the ground with it until it lit. She then carefully hovered it over the fuse. As she did this, Caesar looked over at Shining Armor who looked very concerned. “Hey, uhh, Toolshed, I think we should have second thoughts about thi-”, Caesar’s sentence was cut off as the sound of burning rope could be heard. “Shoot it, Sharp Shot”, said Toolshed as she quickly ran back. The seconds ticked in Sharp Shot’s mind as he tried to aim, however the sound of the fuse shrinking was the only thing he could hear. He got so nervous that he immediately cut the string as soon as he thought he was squared with the hay figure. The second he fired the arrow, he quickly ran back to a safe distance. The arrow went flying, struck the hay figure in the neck area and…silence. The sound of the fuse died down leaving nothing else to be heard. Toolshed looked incredibly confused and disappointed. “What? What happened?”, she said to herself. She started to walk over to the arrow to retrieve it. However, when she started to walk towards it, Shining Armor started to pick up a smell. The scent of some kind of gas assaulted his nostrils. That was until he realized what it was causing his pupils to shrink. He quickly charged forward and galloped toward Toolshed. “Get back, now!”, he shouted before grabbing Toolshed by the tail and yanking her backwards. In a matter of seconds, the hay figure, which was once firm and thick, exploded into flames and smoke. The rope that held the hay together instantly snapped, sending scorched hay and sticks flying in the air. The guards instinctively moved back as they didn’t want their manes singed. When the blast ended, all that was left of the figure was the flaming remains of hay and sticks as they slowly began to burn away. A pegasus came flying in with a fire extinguisher as they used it to extinguish the remains of the figure. As they did so, Shining Armor immediately turned to face Toolshed. He looked furious while the only thing Toolshed could do was awkwardly laugh. “Guess it was more so twelve seconds rather than eight, hehe”, she said, though her smile immediately faded away when Shining Armor stood up. When the fire was put out, he walked over to the charred remains of the bag. Using his magic to pick up a small piece, he sniffed it to make sure his thoughts were correct. From the tone of his voice shortly after, they were. “You used gunpowder for your weapon!?”, he exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, sir”, said Toolshed. “I had no idea that it would’ve been this explosive.” “What did you think it was going to do?”, stated Shining Armor. “This is a very dangerous material that we haven’t yet gained the knowledge on how to use in a safe environment, what gave you the right idea that you could?” Toolshed barely knew what to say. “I-I was told that it would’ve made a small blast, sir. I never intended to hurt anypony”, said Toolshed. “It doesn't matter if you didn’t intend to or not”, said Shining Armor as he pointed to the scorched wall where the figure once stood. “It’s a good thing we had done this indoors since if we had shot that thing outside, all the trees could have burned down for all we know.” Toolshed didn’t know what else to say. Her creation which she claimed to have been her magnum opus was the same creation that could’ve killed her had Shining Armor not acted sooner. “I-I”, she stuttered before dropping her head as her ears lowered. She let out a sigh. “I have no excuse. I’m very sorry sir.” Shining Armor, seeing that she was remorseful, let out a sigh. “Toolshed, your invention is impressive, however if you believe that this is the future when it comes to defending Canterlot, then I simply cannot accept”, he firmly stated. Though Toolshed was a bit disheartened by this, she couldn’t rebuke. “Yes sir”, she sadly said. “I understand.” “Good, now then, clean this up”, said Shining Armor as he gestured to the once white wall which was now pitch black. “Before you do however, I have one last question. This material is kept in parts of Canterlot which are only allowed to be accessed by authorized users, how did you obtain some of it?” Toolshed looked a bit hesitant to answer. “I can’t recall sir, I was given the bag in one of the alleys by somepony”, she said. This was certainly news to Shining Armor. “Do you know who?”, he asked. “No sir, they wore a hood that completely covered their body. I couldn’t make out what gender they were”, said Toolshed. Shining Armor nodded, this was starting to become a more serious issue. “I see”, he said. He then turned his attention to every guard in the room. “Continue your daily activities, I shall return in good time to start our drills. I must inform the princesses about our incident as well as other important matters.” He started to walk toward the entrance of the training hall, but not without mentioning one last thing. “Also, be sure to be on the lookout for any kind of…strange activity”, he stated before leaving the room, leaving the guards to go about their morning exercises. Toolshed looked glum as she walked over to Sharp Shot and started using her magic to remove the Arrowsmith from him. “I’m sorry about this, Sharp Shot”, she said as she unhooked the last leather strap. “Don’t worry about it, if it helps, I thought it was pretty cool”, said Sharp Shot, trying to cheer her up. “Thanks, though, I doubt Shining Armor did and he was the one I was really trying to impress”, said Toolshed. “I know for a fact that I blew it.” “No you didn’t”, said Caesar as he and Vincent walked up to them. “Of course I did. I used a lethal material that I got from possibly some kind of terrorist or somepony that could be planning something”, said Toolshed as she started to feel more anxious. “I could’ve hurt somepony, I could’ve hurt you, Sharp Shot, if you didn’t move back!” “It’s fine, Tools”, said Sharp Shot. “No one got hurt and don’t worry about Shining Armor, he’s not the kinda stallion to hold malice towards anypony.” “Yeah, and besides, you had no idea how to use gunpowder”, said Vincent. “Though, why did you ask for it and where did you meet this hooded pony?” “I just wanted my creation to look more imposing so others would take it seriously. But it seems I took it too far”, said Toolshed as she looked over her invention. “I don't know how that pony found out about my invention nor do I know how they got that bag of gunpowder. The only thing I do know is that I may have just sent the kingdom in danger since I didn’t tell anypony about them.” She pressed her hooves against her temple. “I’m so stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!” “Toolshed, calm down”, said Vincent as he stepped forward. “It’s best you had told Shining Armor now rather than wait till some other time.” He placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Believe me, he and Celestia know Canterlot better than the back of their own hooves, they’ll find that crook in no time.” Despite her friend's words, Toolshed’s ears remained down as she instead used her magic to place the Arrowsmith on her back. “Thanks guys, but I think I need to just take a bit of a break from engineering for now”, she said solemnly. With that, she walked out of the training hall. Her friends watched her leave. Her slow steps were a severe contrast from earlier when she was practically skipping out of the hall with excitement. Ceaser let out a sigh. “She’s a good mare, but she’s way too hard on herself”, he said. “I wouldn’t blame her, I mean, if I was her, I’d be pretty terrified over the fact that I had been using a material that has unimaginable destructive capabilities”, said Sharp Shot. “But you're not Toolshed and perhaps she’s taking this in a different way”, said Vincent as he looked toward the wall that was still covered in soot. “She was mentioning how she had been working on that invention for a while now, you could say she tried putting all her eggs in one basket.” “But still, why gunpowder? I know Toolshed was trying to impress Shining Armor, but was trying to blow a hole in the castle’s wall really the best idea?”, asked Sharp Shot. “She said she was desperate. If the stuff you’ve been working on for who knows how long has gotten you practically nowhere, wouldn’t you take some drastic measures”, exclaimed Vincent as his tone of voice got increasingly louder. “Look, I’m just saying, if you want others to know about what you've been doing, shouldn’t you just, I don’t know, tell them about it”, retorted Sharp Shot. “You know words first, explosives later, that kinda stuff.” “Like you would know about that kinda stuff”, stated Vincent. His sentence wasn’t appreciated by his fellow guard. “What’s that supposed to mean”, exclaimed Sharp Shot as he started to approach Vincent. “Alright, alright, break it off you two”, said Caesar as he got in between the two stallions. “None of us know the exact details of this situation, so we shouldn’t make any kind of claims about it and we especially shouldn’t be fighting over it. As you said Vincent, Shining Armor and the princesses will handle it, there’s nothing too extreme to worry about.” Both Vincent and Sharp Shot stared at each other while Caesar stood in between them to ensure no kind of fight would break out. While he stood between the two, Caesar could sense a noticeable amount of tensity between them. However, it wasn’t for the reasons that they were fighting over. After a couple of seconds, they both backed away. “I’m sorry Sharp Shot, guess I kinda got carried away”, said Vincent. “Yeah, me too, sorry about that”, replied Sharp Shot. “My mind is currently caught up on other things.” Caesar nodded as he knew what he meant. “The events that have recently unfolded are ones that none of us could’ve anticipated. But at the same time, what’s been done has been done, and it’s our job to adapt to said changes”, said Caesar. “As Shining Armor said, keep a close lookout for anything abnormal. If what Toolshed says is correct, then there’s more important factors to take into concern rather than our…special…” Caesar trailed off as he looked toward the entrance of the training hall. Both Sharp Shot and Vincent looked back as well and what they saw left their jaws agape. Standing at the entrance along with two other guards was a certain mare, one that both looked familiar and different. For starters, she was an alicorn, but she definitely wasn’t the same princess they all knew and loved. She stood shorter than Celestia, but was still taller than the average pony. Her body color was a deep midnight blue which traveled across both her wings and horn. She wore light purple heels on her hooves as well as black piece of armor on her chest with a symbol of the crescent moon worn on the center. Her cutie mark also depicted the moon against a star lite background. Finally, there was her mane which held a similar elegance to the princess of the sun but hers depicted the midnight sky with several stars against the twilight sky. Though Caesar could tell who she was, for Vincent and Sharp Shot, she was almost unrecognizable. “I-Is that…Luna?”, asked Sharp Shot. Vincent let out a whistle. “Damn, she looks so different since the last time I saw her”, said Vincent. “Well, she is Princess Celestia’s sister, so maybe she was given some of the same treatment”, said Sharp Shot as he turned toward Caesar. “What do you think, Caesar?” Caesar didn’t answer as he continued to stare at the alicorn, the same one who just a few days ago was trying to cover the entirety of Equestria in darkness. He had to admit, she looked fantastic. Luna’s mane, tail, hooves, everything about her was a vast improvement over how she originally looked when she came to Canterlot. However, that wasn’t the only thing that Caesar was thinking of when he saw her. He remembered that she and Nightmare Moon were two halves of the same coin and although only one half saw his secret, the other may have been just as aware. He didn’t want to tell her the truth, but for as far as he could guess, Luna already knew. He was so focused on his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice Sharp Shot right beside him with a confused expression. “Caesar? Caesar, you good?”, asked Sharp Shot. Caesar broke out of his state. “S-Sorry, I just…”, Caesar looked toward Luna who was examining the training hall. “Uhh, I have to do something, I’ll catch up with you guys later”, he said as he then started to walk away from them. Sharp Shot looked on with large amounts of confusion. “Uhh, okay, seeya later, I guess”, he said as he turned back toward Vincent. “What was that about?”, asked Vincent. Sharp Shot could only shrug. Caesar rushed over to the entrance of the training hall. “Excuse, miss Luna, I’d like to speak with-”, his sentence was cut short as the two guards stepped in his path. “Sorry Caesar, but Princess Luna isn’t to be disturbed as she’s currently being shown around Canterlot under Princess Celestia’s order”, said one of the guards. “Please, I just have to ask her something, it’s really important”, said Caesar. The guard didn’t seem all that moved until a certain mare spoke up. “Miss Blade Performer, if what he says is important, shalln’t I be allowed to hear it?”, asked Luna as she stepped forward. “My apologies, your majesty”, said Blade Performer as she backed away, allowing Luna to approach Caesar. “What is it you’d like to speak to me about?”, she asked. “Well, you see…”, Caesar trailed off as he noticed that the two guards were watching him and Luna. The training hall was simply too crowded. “Can we talk about this somewhere else, somewhere more private?” Before the two guards could retort, Luna beat them to the punch. “Of course, Caesar, was it?”, she asked. “Yes, your majesty”, replied Caesar as he and Luna left the training hall, leaving the two and several other guards behind. Junior and Orga snuck through the halls of the castle for what felt like hours, constantly having to duck into some kind of hiding place to not be noticed. Junior had seriously underestimated the size of Canterlot castle and as a result, the process of walking in circles and constantly having to hide from guards to even small fillies was becoming repetitive, tiresome, and, thanks to his partner, annoying. It felt that for each corner, each hallway, and for each door, Orga would always be the one to point out some kind of flaw in Junior’s plans. This drove him up a tree as he would constantly have to lie his way out or simply say “I don’t know”. He quickly started to regret choosing him over Biollante. “Junior, I’m not one to give up so easily, but I think we should head back to base”, said Orga as they continued to sneak through the halls. “What?! Absolutely not. We’re not heading back without the bringer of chaos”, said Junior as they rounded another corner. “We’ve been at this longer than we should’ve, it’s a miracle we haven’t been caught yet”, stated Orga. “I believe we should leave this place while we still have the chan-”, he was abruptly cut off as bumped into the back of Junior who had suddenly stopped walking. “Hey, why’d you stop?”, he asked. “Orga, did Biollante say that Discord was being held in the castle’s garden?”, asked Junior. “Yes, she did, but why ask-…oh”, said Orga as he saw what Junior was looking at. There in front of them was the entrance to the castle’s garden, the place they had been searching for. The second they made sure no one was around, Junior and Orga dashed toward the entrance of the garden. The garden itself was surprisingly large with it having a concrete path that traveled through it. The garden itself had several trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers as well as a large hedge maze. But the main attraction were the several stone statues scattered throughout the garden with them depicting several important figures in the history of not just Canterlot but also Equestria whether they be knights or unicorns. To the two of them, they didn’t care about any of them aside from one and just as Biollante said, there was no one guarding it. One statue stood different from the others as it was less of a statue and more of a prison cell. Discord stood, frozen in place as his entire body was made of stone. He appeared as a strange compilation of different animal body parts all across a serpent’s body. His head resembled a goat with the horns of a deer and unicorn. His body was almost snake-like with it wrapping around the base of the statue as well as being made out of three other animals, a goat, eagle, and dragon tail. He had the arms of an eagle and lion, the legs of a deer and dragon, and the wings of a bat and pegasus. He was the definition of a Picasso painting. He stood in a seemingly triumphant position with his mouth wide open and one arm in the arm. The two stallions that approached him wore similar expressions. “Can you believe what we’re seeing, Orga. A creature of such power reduced to being so powerless”, said Junior as he looked the statue over. “Almost makes you feel sorry for him.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever, just put the stupid gem on him so we can go before anyone sees us”, said Orga. “Alright, fine”, retorted Junior as he pulled the gem of madness out from his satchel. “Let me know if anyone’s coming.” “I know, I know”, said Orga as he kept watch. With that, Junior slowly walked up to the statue. Due to its height, Junior had to climb up in order to place the gem around Discord’s neck. He managed to reach the head of Discord, the excitement he felt was enough to make his heart explode. He would prove to his lord how loyal he was, how vital he is to their cause. He figured that this would make up for more than his debt. He looked back at Orga to see if he was watching only to see that he was gone. Before he could call out to him, he felt a tug behind him as he was yanked off the statue and landed in the shrub behind him. He looked up and saw Orga who had his back pressed against the statue. Junior was visibly confused and upset. “Orga, what the hay is-”, he was cut off when Orga signaled for him to be quiet. “Someone’s here”, whispered Orga. Junior looked through the shrub and saw two ponies, one of them catching his eye more than the other. On one side was a beige unicorn wearing golden armor, on the other side was surprisingly an alicorn. However it was definitely not Celestia as this alicorn had much darker colors and her cutie mark was different. Nonetheless, they simply couldn’t risk anypony seeing them and so they now had to wait and hope that these two would soon leave so they could continue their task. Unfortunately for them, they were gonna wait a while. “First of all, I must say your majesty, you look lovely today”, said Caesar. “Why thank you”, replied Luna. “And I must say that I’m incredibly grateful for the kindness that I’ve been shown here.” “I’m glad to hear that, your majesty”, said Caesar. Though his voice was calm, his mind certainly wasn’t. He was wondering when it would be the right moment to ask- “Now then, what is it you wish to speak to me about?”, asked Luna. There was no turning back now. “You see…do you recall the events that unfolded during the last Summer Sun celebration?”, asked Caesar. The smile Luna had instantly faded and in its place was a look riddled with guilt. “Indeed I do”, she softly said. “I apologize if I reopened any unwanted memories, your majesty”, replied Caesar. “No, no, you need not worry, for the being you know as Nightmare Moon is no more. She may have been resurrected on that day, but she died on that night”, said Luna as she looked around the castle gardens, taking in its beauty. “The level of compassion I’ve been presented by my sister is unrivaled. I’ve never been more thankful. So, with my deepest sincerity, I apologize for any harm, distress, or terror that I have caused for you or anypony else in this kingdom.” She put a hoof against her chest before doing an apologetic bow. “It’s great to know that you’re doing much better, your majesty, however the reason why I want to speak with you is more…urgent”, said Caesar. Luna looked more concerned, but unbeknownst to either of them, someone else was also listening. Orga couldn’t look over the statue to see what they were speaking about, but he could still hear them. “What is it?”, asked Luna. Caesar took in a deep breath and started talking. “Do you recall what happened in the temple, the one that contained the elements of harmony?”, he asked. Luna nodded though still confused. “So you also recall your skirmish you had with a stallion, correct?” Luna looked down in thought, trying to recall that event. With the name being said, a face was shortly formed in her mind. “I do”, said Luna. “Though, I would hardly call him a normal stallion. From what I can remember, he was taller than any other pony I’ve met apart from Celestia. He was also much more physically capable as he was much stronger than I originally anticipated.” Just then, the sight of a blue beam of pure heat flashed in her mind. “And he could shoot this range attack.” “As in magic?”, asked Caesar. “No, not at all. From what I remember, this stallion wasn’t a unicorn. And even then, it came from his mouth”, said Luna, the thought more fresh in her mind than she realized. Orga was very intrigued. “What the hay are you both talking about”, he whispered to himself. Junior watched from the sidelines, more so focused on trying to figure out how to escape from their predicament. “I was afraid of that”, said Caesar. “Caesar, I don’t think he’s a pony”, said Luna as she looked a bit nervous. “Don’t worry, your majesty, he is, but he’s not what you would call…a little pony”, replied Caesar. It was now time to release the floodgates as Caesar to one last glance around the garden to make sure no one could hear them. “He and two other stallions currently possess three of some of the strongest beings to ever exist in Equestrian history.” He looked Luna directly in the eyes. “Luna, have you ever heard of the word, kaiju?”, he asked. Although Luna looked both confused and concerned, Orga and Junior were downright flabbergasted. “Excuse me, but what are you talking about”, asked Luna. “You see, kaiju, or titans if you will, were large creatures that used to walk across what would later be Equestria millions of years ago. They’re essentially responsible for our plant-life, ecosystem, oceans, mountains, even the oldest species of equine to ever walk on this world”, said Caesar as Luna keenly listened. “However, after an event nicknamed “the final war”, involving one of the longest battles ever fought between the two most powerful titans, all species of kaiju became either extinct or dormant, leaving the world to be completely rebuilt by our very ancestors. Also known as the birth of Equestria.” As Caesar told Luna the history of the titans, Orga and Junior listened very carefully. “How the hay does he know about the kaiju, I thought Des was the only one that knew about them?”, whispered Orga. Seeing that their mission wasn’t a success, he looked around, noticing the hedge maze close to them. “As soon as they’re not looking, head to the maze.” Junior didn’t respond, he was too focused on the two ponies that they were essentially now spying on. “So you’re telling me that long before I or even Celestia were born, Equestria was inhabited by giant monsters?”, asked Luna, processing everything. “Not monsters, they may look it, but kaiju acted almost no differently than the animals that roam today”, said Caesar. “Okay, but how exactly do these three stallions play into this?”, asked Luna. “Well, they are, what I like to call, the vessels for the spirits of the kaiju. You see, I and a past…friend, helped fuse the spirits of the kaiju into their bodies, which combined with their souls, allowing them to become one with their respective spirit”, explained Caesar. “This was done as I and he envisioned a prophecy which stated that the final war has not yet ended and one day, the kaiju shall rise once more to finish said war. If they do so, the amount of destruction they could cause to this world would be unparalleled.” Luna was starting to become overwhelmed, but she couldn’t help but continue listening. “Whether it be from the oceans, volcanoes, canyons, or even the very sky, the titans could be resurrected from anywhere on this planet which would result in the collapse of any kingdom, any civilization, any form of pony-kind, aka, the end of Equestria”, affirmed Caesar as he wanted this point clear. He looked back at Luna who seemed at a loss for words. “I apologize if this is so much for you to take in, your majesty, but you had to be told before you were to tell any other pony.” It was too much, especially for someone like Luna who had only been in Canterlot now for only a few days. Luna thought about what Caesar said, the word kaiju replayed in her mind as she tried her hardest to paint some kind of image of what he had described. The history of Equestria, which had been established through every history book and teacher, was completely false. This world was once home to ancient beings that try as she might, she could barely comprehend. “I must advise you to not speak of this to anypony else”, stated Caesar. “But, shouldn’t Celestia know about this?”, asked Luna. “No, I’m already taking a big risk by telling you about this. If any kind of mention of this gets out to the public, the amount of panic it would cause could send Equestria to an early grave”, said Caesar with firmness in his voice. “The only reason why I’m telling you all of this is because you’ve already seen what these spirits are capable of, if you hadn’t then I wouldn’t be standing here with you right now. I must inform you once more, don’t, tell, anyone.” Luna thought about everything that she had been told. “Who else knows about this?”, she asked. “You and I, as well as the three that are already vessels for their spirits”, said Caesar. “And their names”, replied Luna. “Gojira, Rodan, and Anguirus Zawa. They’re brothers”, answered Caesar. “Are they the same stallions from the temple”, Luna asked. Caesar replied with a nod. Luna looked down, took it all in, and let out a sigh. “You weren’t kidding when you said this was urgent. We must talk about this more some other time, I believe I’ll need some time to process this.” “Of course, your majesty. I’m sure your personal guards will be waiting for you”, said Caesar. “Remember, no one is to know about this. None of the guards, none of the advisors, not even Celestia herself.” “I understand, we shall talk more about this soon”, said Luna as she started to walk away. However, after taking a few steps, a sudden thought entered her mind. “For how long have you known about this?” Caesar looked down, he had never taken that into consideration. “Longer than I want to admit. Though I never thought I would in my younger years, I’ve now dedicated my entire life to studying every aspect of this prophecy, every kaiju, every way to ensure that the final war doesn’t happen”, said Caesar. “But above all, I’ve now dedicated my life to the stallions that’ll one day be our best option if we want Equestria to see the sun rise for another day.” The images of three young colts and their parents scattered in his head. “You really care about those three, don’t you?”, asked Luna. Caesar nodded. “I may be a soldier for Celestia, but they are my number one priority”, he answered firmly. Luna gave him a smile to let Caesar know that he earned her respect. “Be sure to keep in touch about this”, said Luna. “And also, you won’t need to call me majesty anymore, Luna will do just fine.” With that, she turned her tail and walked back inside the castle. Caesar’s meeting with the new princess of Canterlot had gone better than he expected. However, it would still take time for Luna to learn as much about the kaiju as he does. For now the secret of the kaiju would remain just that. Before Caesar could leave the garden, the sound of a bush rustling caught his attention. Caesar immediately tensed up, fearing that someone had been watching him. Fortunately, after a couple of seconds, a squirrel jumped from the bush before scurrying away. Seeing that he had fretted over a small animal, Caesar let out a sigh of relief as well as a couple laughs. “Perhaps Vincent was right, I really do need more sleep”, he said to himself. Unbeknownst to him, as he left the castle gardens, the squirrel didn’t come from the bush but was rather running from something. From behind one of the walls of the hedge maze, Orga and Junior peeked their heads, seeing that both the unicorn and alicorn were gone. “This is bad”, said Orga. “We aren’t the only ones who know about the kaiju. This could throw a massive wrench into our plan.” He looked over toward Junior who looked more worried than he did. “No, no, no, no, this was not how it was supposed to go”, said Junior. “I was-…I mean, we were supposed to come here, free Discord, and leave. But now we have to deal with the fact that not only are there ponies that have the same knowledge as us, but there are already kaiju spirits in this world!” Junior continued to pace back and forth, rambling away about something that Orga couldn’t care less about. “Look, whatever, we’ll just head back to base”, said Orga as he looked from behind the hedge only to see that a couple of mares were starting to enter the garden. “This mission is already a loss, we’ll have to retreat back to base and inform Des about-”, he was cut off by his companion. “No! We can’t do that”, replied Junior, catching Orga off guard. “What, why?”, he asked. Junior stood there for a few moments, realizing that he jumped the gun. He formed a half baked smile on his face. “Well, it’s quite simple, our lord already has enough on his plate. Perhaps the stress of freeing Discord is starting to take its toll. When I saw him this morning, he could barely stand”, said Junior. “And besides, he nearly had my head for letting Gryphon go on another scouting mission, how do you think he’ll act when he finds out that there are now ponies in Equestria that know about the kaiju?” “Then what do you think we should do, Mr.KnowItAll?”, Orga mocked. “Simple, we don’t tell him”, Junior answered. Orga gave him a dumbfounded look. “That’s a very bad idea”, he said. “Do you want to tell him and risk having your tonsils ripped out of your throat?”, Junior asked. “Jokes on you, my tonsils have already been removed”, retorted Orga. “You know what I mean!”, Junior replied. “Look, whatever the case may be, we simply can’t tell him, less we want two of his members being quote on quote, incapacitated.” Though Orga didn’t know it, the real reason why Junior didn’t want to tell Des about their discovery was more simple than his lie. If Des were to find out about his mission with Orga, he’d only go after Junior’s head. Junior felt he was already on thin ice with his lord, he didn’t want it to crack any further. Orga thought over Junior’s reasoning. Though he hadn’t yet talked to Des today, he still wasn’t entirely sure if keeping important information from him would be either bad or make the time when they do tell him even worse. Part of him wanted to reject Junior’s idea, but he could also see where he was coming from. He had seen what Des could when he was angered enough, it was a mood he’d much rather prefer to avoid. He didn’t like it, but he also didn’t feel like arguing since more ponies started to enter the garden and he didn’t want to risk being caught. “Alright fine, we won’t tell him, just hurry up and throw the stupid crystal down so we can get out of here”, he said. Junior smiled, his lie played out. “As you say”, Junior replied. He pulled a yellow crystal from his satchel and threw it down on the ground. The shattered crystal remains turned into dust before then swirling in the air in the shape of a portal. Both Orga and Junior looked at each other before jumping through it. They went on this mission in order to return with the bringer of chaos. But instead they were now returning with a key that hadn’t been used on its lock, info they could share with no one, and a first edition copy of Daring Doo.