//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 – First Light // Story: A King to a God // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Canterlot, Equestria T.I.T.A.N. HQ Twilight came to appreciate the late nights inside the T.I.T.A.N. HQ. Canterlot Mountain was surprisingly calm amidst such daunting circumstances, amidst such a vast array of magic and technology seamlessly merged together. The hustle and bustle of the daylight work hours had faded into shadow, and in the shadows work still commenced, albeit on a much more minimal scale. Skeleton crews now worked on the repairs to the Mecha. Very few hovercrafts moved about. Lights twinkled in the dark edges of the mountain, and observations decks were—for the most part—empty. The communication and broadcast stations, however, were still well alive and well alert, constantly keeping a lookout for any more distress beacons. Even into the late hours of the night, the forces of T.I.T.A.N. worked tirelessly to keep the world they loved under a watchful eye. There especially was no rest in rebuilding Mechagodzilla. If all else they had planned managed to fail, there would still be one final contingency plan. From their observation post hanging high above the mountainous facility, Twilight Sparkle watched what little life there was through the glass shielding. Directors Celestia and Luna were with her, with a couple of the only survivors they knew from the travesty at Fillydelphia also joining in. Filling the semi-large room. Surrounding the circular table. Discussing the plan of action with the heads of T.I.T.A.N. “Your Majesty…” Peaky Blossom interrupted Twilight’s distant train of thought, bringing the Alicorn’s focus back to the room. “Apologies, but… you never answered my question.” “Oh…” Twilight mumbled, twisting her swivel chair around and sliding it closer to the table. Doing so caused her to sit up, straighten her posture, and bring her full attention back to the surviving task force pilots. “Right. Sorry, Ms. Blossom. You were saying?” She sat on the table, her back partially facing Twilight and fully facing the directors. Some minor bruises still lingered on her face, and her foreleg may have remained patched up with gauze to hide the burn scars, but she had otherwise managed to make a full recovery. Alongside her fellow co-pilot and friend Rotor Wrench. Leaning her unbandaged foreleg forward, pressing her hoof onto the table, Peaky stared into Twilight’s eyes and ensured they turned nowhere else. “I’m still not fully convinced this plan is sound. Neither of us are, to be honest,” Peaky said, turning to Rotor beside her. The burly stallion gave his support with a firm nod. “And I know we’re still out of commission until further notice, but… hearing you announce a plan like this over the radio it just… didn’t really sit well with me… us. So… is this really the right course to take?” “Our options have become very limited, Ms. Blossom,” Celestia interrupted, the pilots of the Risen Suns shifting in the former ruler’s direction. Celestia held her ground firmly, her eyes and tone void of any disillusioned thought. “If your leader would have liked to join us tonight, perhaps he could have shared his thoughts instead of pushing them off to you two.” Rotor did not take too kindly to that tone. His face was littered with bruises and bandages, his Haywaiian shirt hiding the bandages beneath. Rolling his shoulders, sighing heavily through his nostrils, Rotor expressed his disdain for that comment physically, not really verbally. He still respected the directors immensely, but his respect for the pony that recruited him trumped all others. “Shatter is still recovering. He needs all the sleep he can get,” Rotor argued, the crack in his voice painting the frustration he was beginning to feel. “I concur,” Luna added, much to the surprise of both the Neighponese pilots and her own sister. She pressed the tips of her hooves together, letting them rest flat against the table as her calm, calculated stare turned to everypony individually. “His mind is in a delicate state. Rest will be his most valuable ally for now.” “Our point stands… and Shatter’s concerns should still be taken into account,” Peaky said, noting, however, Luna’s concern for the well-being of her leader with a tiny glint of appreciation. “So, princess… are we truly out of options?” An appreciation that dwindled for the Equestrian leadership with Twilight’s next choice of words. “It would seem so, yes,” Princess Twilight cautiously said, finally finding her voice. Seeing the disappointed drop of Blossom’s eyes urged Twilight further. “Trust me, Ms. Blossom, we have looked at every viable option. Our weapons, as they are, are no match against Godzilla. And bringing the nations together for a full-blown conflict with armies would be catastrophic. We had a weapon, and we nearly lost it in Fillydelphia. We nearly lost all of its pilots…” Her head was raised again after that, and Twilight saw the pain riddling the expression of one of those very pilots she referred to. “So this plan with Titanus Kong,” Rotor said after a short moment of silence. “This is the one that’s gonna get us out of this mess? Even utilizing the Elements of Harmony?” Leaning back to sit up straight on the table, Peaky sighed, crossing her forelegs in a way that seemed she was hugging herself. She said, “Last we heard from the Battle of the Three Kings, the Elements used to ‘revive’ Gojira ended up being too much for his body to handle. If we somehow manage to weaken Gojira with the ape’s assistance… wouldn’t the Elements just as potentially kill him as they had before? Especially now considering he’s acting far too violent?” Being masters in that area of expertise, Celestia and Luna shared their thoughts. “The Elements were utilized well to defeat Nightmare Moon at her full strength and save me… but this is something else. Godzilla is not acting as we believed he would,” Luna curiously added. “We still do not understand if this is Godzilla’s true nature…” “And we have discussed this recently with Twilight,” Celestia mused. “Perhaps it is something else that has changed him. The Elements could cure whatever is ailing him, or they could be lethal against his biology, his nuclear power, like in the Crystal Empire if fully consumed. This could be a sickness of the mind… which is why Twilight has decided that is what she and her friends will primarily focus on when the time comes.” Twilight nodded in confirmation, hoping their multi-layered plan would be a breakthrough in the doubts that remained with the Risen Sun pilots. To her dismay, she saw them unshaken, undeterred. With Peaky even suggesting, “Have you ever considered that… maybe… it’s too late to save Gojira?” And Rotor adding, “Maybe it’s time to kill him before he wipes us all out.” Those suggestions were just as quickly swiped down the moment they were brought up. Celestia and Luna opened their mouths to argue, but it was the Princess of Equestria who made it her duty to protect their stance. She firmly stamped her hooves onto the cool metal of the table, rising up only inches. Those inches might as well have been miles with the authority she radiated, every eye in the room seemingly looking up to her. “No,” she declared, “I will not allow the justification for wanton destruction. There wouldn’t be an end to it, anyway. Everything we’ve thrown at him, everything we have just doesn’t match up to what Godzilla is or is capable of. The Elements of Harmony will not be used to end a life that we know is capable of peace. The only thing that can match him is a rival alpha… and one, it would seem, can be on our side.” Even when faced with such authority, Peaky was faced with a battle she felt was greater. And a battle on the horizon she believed they had no hope of winning in their current state, with their current plan. “And if Gojira proves to be too much for even this rival alpha of yours, what then? I’ll tell you what: no other choice! It’s either that monster, or us! One life, or the survival of our species! I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but we cannot sit back and let this carnage continue! Sooner rather than later, you are going to have to realize that the Elements must be used to end him—!” “They will be used to save him!” Twilight said with a fierce stamp of her hoof on the table, leaving a reverberating sound that echoed raw power. The same power glowing from the spark in her eyes and burning from her horn. Though her magic was not seen, it was felt. Stinging the air, heating her voice, shaking the hearts of everypony present. “Godzilla’s out there and he’s hurting people, and we don’t know why!” Twilight frantically exclaimed, then just as quickly shut her eyes. Tensions were growing high, and Twilight realized she didn’t need to be losing her head. She checked her emotions, letting them cool considerably. Taking in several deep breaths in and out—a talent she picked up from her sister—Twilight slowly opened her eyes. There was a change in her tone. Less sporadic, more controlled. Not emotionally fierce, but passionate nonetheless. “There has to be something else going on here. Grogar’s Bell is missing… the same inscriptions on the talisman found outside Fillydelphia in the destroyed mountain. Then shortly after… Godzilla goes on his rampage. It can’t be a coincidence. It can’t be.” Things were getting heated, and Twilight was thankful Spike retired for the night hours ago. Not only would he have found such late-night arguments to be tiresome—much like Twilight to a degree—he probably would have dozed off in the empty seat beside her. Twilight felt her eyes grow all the heavier at the prospects of sleep. But she stayed awake. She stayed strong. “The rival alpha… Kong… he’s our best bet. If he’s able to calm Godzilla down, weaken him, or, at best, defeat him… then we can safely utilize the Elements to see what’s wrong with the creature that saved our world before. If it’s not Kong… then it might just be another…” Twilight looked back at the Mecha, bringing the room’s attention with her. She faced forward. Faced all of them. “When it comes down to it… what other choice are we left with? We have to stop Godzilla. We have to.” Turning from Mechagodzilla, Luna stared at Twilight curiously. She raised a brow, trying to weigh the sheer magnitude of Twilight’s statement. If not Kong… then another. One way or another… they were going to end this madness. The implications alone could only mean one thing. “You would have us go to war with him? Just like we did many years before?” she heard herself asking. Twilight looked over to the former Princess of the Night. The expression she dealt was void of deceit, especially when she said, “We’re already at war. And we’re losing. It will not be like before. We are not declaring war, we are ending it before it ever has the chance to grow out of control. Before anypony or anycreature else decides to raise their flags against Godzilla.” She was right. Much to the still lingering qualms with the Risen Suns, they could come to understand Twilight’s point of view. With Mechagodzilla out of commission, the world was left with Kong as the only other alpha they knew of that could stand against Godzilla. Weaken him, surely. And, perhaps, allow them to use the Elements to stop Godzilla and potentially find out how and why all this madness started in the first place. It was a daunting task, but one the princess and the directors seemed to be fully committed to. And though they were out of commission for the time being, Peaky Blossom and Rotor Wrench were committed just as well. They could only hope their commander shared the same thoughts. Perhaps there was one thing Shatter Heart would have agreed with, that they all came to the conclusion of: one way or another, they were going to stop Godzilla. Maybe for good. Maybe, hopefully, not. Outskirts of Black Skull Island Celestial Sea Fluttershy never wanted the bond she formed to be used against him. But when the time came, when they were finally given the green light from the royalty and leadership to move forward, there was really no other choice. They lived in a world of chance, and leaving him on the island to fend against the unnatural superstorm was a chance Fluttershy couldn’t bear to live with. Bringing him, however, was the only chance they had to end Godzilla’s rampage. And there was always the chance of finding Kong a new home. T.I.T.A.N. made the right choice when they allowed Fluttershy to establish peace with Kong early. They hadn’t known the storm would grow to the magnitude it eventually had, so when it was time for them to make a hasty escape back to the mainland, Fluttershy was able to bring along a big, furry companion. With what Fluttershy managed to accomplish, she earned Kong’s trust, and he trusted her enough to follow her and escape the destruction of his home. What other way would there have been for him to cooperate? Fluttershy succeeded where T.I.T.A.N. never could have. But though she had managed to save the life of a friend, the shadowy dread that permeated in her soul continued to gnaw away slowly at the Pegasus. She didn’t hide the fact that she disagreed with the Hall of Unity. Shining Armor, Cadance, Daring, Lyra, Bon Bon, and all the others could see her frustrations clear as the rising sun. But what irked her the most was the fact that the rulers believed they could just control the life of a Titan, remove him from his home to fight a battle he didn’t choose. Just like that. But she was in no room to argue anymore. It was decided, and they acted. At dawn, at first light, with enough magical sedatives to calm down the lumbering titan of an ape, T.I.T.A.N. embarked from Black Skull Island in a fleet of vessels and airships. Almost every last reserve they had, they sent back home with the fleet. Their remaining forces were left on the island to brace Outpost Beacon for the storm, and to hold the line so they had some form of contact on the uncharted island. The ships pushed on through the harrowing waves and raging winds, the T.I.T.A.N. naval supercarrier dubbed the “Axalon” in the center of the mighty fleet. Resting on the Axalon, unconscious and calm thanks to the sedatives, Kong lied unmoving. Lied with chains and cuffs covering his limbs and neck. Fluttershy allowed the sedatives because she felt he would have become frightful of the sea and try to flee toward the island, but she fought T.I.T.A.N. on the use of the chains. They eventually stayed on with Shining and Cadance promising: “They would keep him from falling off into the ocean.” That, and the fact they couldn’t risk the lives of their fellow T.I.T.A.N. forces if Kong decided to fight them off and return home. The quiet part wasn’t said out loud, but Fluttershy already knew T.I.T.A.N.’s true intentions with the chains either way. But in a sick sort of way, the chains did keep Kong’s unconscious body strapped to the vessel. Especially when they broke through the final lines of resistance, and then the oceans finally calmed down. His giant, hairy palm rested over the edge, the waves lapping at his fingertips as the ocean breeze painted his unmoving face. The sun’s light graced Kong’s body once the storm clouds finally faded, and nothing more than the sea stood in their path. They left the devastated Black Skull Island. An army of T.I.T.A.N. and reinforcing Hippogriff naval ships led the charge with their last hope to save their world. Seaponies swam and leaped beside the mighty fleet, guarding the waters, protecting the hope. Leaving everything else behind to chance. Just as the storm devoured the rest of the island.