Years Earlier
Black Skull Island
It thundered its chest and gave an even more thunderous roar to the invaders, and the invaders heard it. None could deny its presence any longer. The fire it had sown in the sun-streaked winds were laced still with the final cries of the T.I.T.A.N. forces whom it had taken. And now, it reaped from the fires a terror that Shining Armor and Princess Cadance could never relinquish.
Husband and wife stood together, gazing up into the fading flames and burning smoke where the Monster of Black Skull Island stood in the core of the fire. For a time, they were stuck in that moment, petrified by fear in which all their limbs became numb. Not just their limbs, but their hearts, their minds, their will, all frozen by that unbeaten power that corroded the courage in Shining’s spirit, and the love in Cadance’s own.
For the horror had overcome Shining’s spirit, and the pain, destruction, and wrath had overcome Cadance’s.
They were only able to move when two familiar faces leaped in front of them and yanked their hooves. Snap Shutter’s burly voice roared out, “Up and at ‘em, Your Majesty!” He grabbed Shining’s hoof and quickly spun him around.
Follow by Mane Allgood’s shrill cry, “We need to get to the trees! Hurry, Princess!” She pried Cadance out of her stupor, and soon they were all galloping, flying, and fleeing for their lives toward the nearest tree line.
They were not alone, for a hefty crew had survived alongside the two adventurers. Many wounded, many shellshocked, but all of them following quickly behind and alongside the royalty, who finally returned to the real world and ran for it. Their options were limited. They had nowhere else to go. The fearsome beast finally brought its attention to the fleeing masses.
And it bared its canines and roared, giving chase.
The creature cut the distance almost instantly, each tremoring footstep sending the team of equines shambling, skittering, and bounding across the grassland. Those who flew were not affected, the Pegasi reaching the jungle just in time. Just as the ape’s shadow came over them and its foot crushed two T.I.T.A.N. agents lagging in the back of the group. Their screams were immediately cut short.
But the others made it into the trees, leaving the agitated beast behind to reach down and fail to grab them within the thick trunks and brush. Its arm dug deep into the tree line, but its fingers grabbed nothing but branches and struck tree trunks. Bellowing with rage, the great ape proceeded to rip the jungle asunder, intent on slowly but surely ripping apart as much land as necessary if but to find and eradicate the destructive invaders.
For the time being, they had escaped the creature’s wrath.
Leaving them to face an all-new trial of survival: the uncharted wilds of the hidden island.
Once he felt they were all in the clear, with nothing more but the beast’s distant roars echoing in the air, Shining shambled to a slow trot, eventually coming to stop and gasping for breath. “Is… is everypony all right?” he asked aloud, turning to the large group of a little more than a dozen ponies.
“Got as many as we could, Your Highness… but couldn’t find the others. Got a pretty sure-fire feeling in my gut that our people in those airships didn’t make it,” Snap Shutter gasped for air, turning his head to get a quick headcount of their team. His ears slowly fell flat against his skull when he couldn’t count the two missing ponies of their group.
While soft murmurs and worrisome questions were whispered among the crew, Cadance took the time to heal her husband’s head wound. Pressing her horn to the side of his head, Shining flinched back, but when he saw it was her, he instantly melted into her touch, into her embrace, as her healing magic flowed to his injury and stitched the skin together. The blood was washed clean.
With his wound healed, and with a reassuring kiss to his forehead, Cadance stepped back and finally let her curiosity take control. Now that they were out of danger, out of sight of the beast, she gazed up to the trees. Her eyes twinkled as did the rays of sunlight peeking through the thick branches and leaves of the jungle flora. The air was heavy, thick and hot. Sounds like birds, insects, reptiles and all other sorts of unidentifiable creature cried out into the wild. There was no certain path before them. Nothing but twisted vines and tree roots blocking the mud and leaves dotting the ground.
The trees towered greatly over them, greater than any tree Cadance had ever seen. Amidst a jungle of giants, her mind finally came back to the small group of survivors… and what they had escaped from.
“I’m certain you all saw what we did?” the Princess of Love asked aloud. “That… giant?”
Mane Allgood and her husband just nodded. The rest of the crew were silent. A few stares held with the princess before they eventually fell to the jungle floor, but not a sound from them. A stagnant and unsettling silence filled the air around them, so thick it could have been lapped up like water. Almost as if they knew certain information, certain stories and legends that became reality and they refused to speak of. Under order, perhaps. Or perhaps out of terror, still trying to comprehend if the legend they saw was actually real.
“A Titan, then? That’s what the princesses were telling us about back in Canterlot,” Shining mused, biting his lip as his eyes traversed the heavy jungle all around him. He stared back from where they came, shaking his head. “We have to signal back to the mainland that we’re still here. Pretty sure our airship is burned to a crisp… along with its radio. No chance we’re picking anything out of that debris field back there.”
“Weeell…” Snap Shutter said in an elongated, hopeful tone, “we do have one other option.”
Shining twisted back to him, with the other ponies inevitably following. “Old T.I.T.A.N. base not too far from here. Should be a few-hour journey if we stick to the coordinates on this map,” he said, pulling out a wrapped-up parchment from his belt, unfurling it and displaying it wide for all to see. “There should be a radio in there, all right. Even if it’s busted up, we can get it fixed right quick.”
“Not just one other option,” Mane added, turning her worrisome stare back up to the royalty. “It might just be our only option left.”
She was hesitant, remaining silent after that haunting remark. Realizing she was waiting for their command—as Shining and Cadance were still technically the highest authority among the survivors—the young prince nodded her along. “Lead the way, then,” Shining ordered.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mane said with a slight bow, tugging her husband Snap along. Just as the rest of the crew were gathering their things and trekking beside and behind Snap Shutter, Mane stopped. She stared back. “And sorry… for all of this.”
Her stare was met with silence, as the royal family merely stood together, pale and drained of every essence that gave them life. Mane tried to say something else, but felt nothing more could be offered to heal what innocence was taken from the prince and princess. She moved on, joining her husband in the front of the pack.
With Cadance and Shining Armor inevitably following. Shining sighed. “What did we get dragged into?” he whispered.
For that, Cadance didn’t have an answer. She simply did not know.
The journey to the supposed T.I.T.A.N. base was, for the most part, uneventful. The group stayed in the jungle to avoid any open spaces where they could be easily picked off by any aerial creature, as Mane and Snap warned. Caution was taken with every step, the flora and fauna almost looking completely alien to anything in Equestria. It was still quite intriguing to the princess nonetheless, exploring as close to the group as she could.
Insects buzzed past them in small swarms, dragonflies and horned beetles nearly three times as large as the bugs back home. Aloe plants rose from the ground only to reveal large tortoises with camouflaged shells, crawling away from the pack of equines. It was incredible to the newlywed, though Shining appeared more interested in getting off the island as quickly as possible.
Warnings were given as they entered a bamboo forest, with Snap Shutter specifically warning to watch out for the moving bamboo. And if so, get out of the way if it tried to get near you. There was a hunch as to what he meant, but Shining took any precaution necessary, keeping his eyes constantly moving and his senses on high alert. Cadance kept close to her husband until they reached their destination.
And when they finally did, a shared breath of relief filled the survivors.
Shining and Cadance reached the head of the pack to see it for themselves. It was certainly an old base of T.I.T.A.N.’s, if the worn symbols etched on the sides of the collapsed building were a strong indicator. It seemed to have been long-since abandoned, as if a storm had ripped right through it and tore apart most of the base’s foundations. That would have explained the toppled fences around the perimeter, as well as the destroyed watchtowers.
Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood weren’t leading the survivors anymore. It was Shining and Cadance who led them up the concrete steps and past the shattered doors.
Inside, they found the desolate remains of what was once a thriving ecosystem of order and ecological study. Now, it seemed the natural ecosystem took over, leaving the tables, chairs, laboratories, almost everything they saw covered in a fresh layer of bright green moss, flowers, and leaves of every variety. Most of the ceiling was gone, sunlight pouring in to the abandoned outpost. Not a living soul could be seen.
“Well, that’s unfortunate. Not a peep,” Snap exclaimed softly, shaking his head. He turned to Shining and said, “Best to keep our voices down. We can search the facility later; see if there’s any survivors still left over from the last expedition.”
The communications department was flooded by Snap Shutter and his wife, Mane Allgood pulling the vines from the doorway and pushing open the crumbling infrastructure. Together, the two of them got to work on searching for the right radio. As expected, most of them were destroyed, worn by the natural environment. Many of the survivors joined them in searching, with Shining Armor still quite taken aback by the facility.
Peering inside the dark room, with only the light from unicorn horns guiding their search effort, Shining asked, “Any luck, Snap?”
“As a matter of fact…” Shutter drawled as he hoisted a carboard box onto the table, opening it cautiously. “This might be the ticket!”
Pulling out the dusty radio, Snap gave it a quick blow of air and set it down gently on the table. With a magical jolt courtesy of Shining Armor, the radio was given enough power to start functioning. Instantly, the room was nearly packed with survivors crowding around the lone radio that Shining, Mane, and Snap surrounded, adjusting the dials and the antennas to just the right frequency.
With Mane stating softly but fiercely into the microphone, “T.I.T.A.N. HQ, this is Outpost Beacon; Agent Mane Allgood speaking. Do you read me? Outpost Beacon to Canterlot, T.I.T.A.N. HQ, can anypony respond?”
Trying and failing to establish contact with the mainland again and again, their efforts were not deterred and they kept at it. For several minutes as Princess Cadance and the lingering few survivors stumbled about the main foyer of the outpost. While many searched different rooms in hopes of finding any other surviving T.I.T.A.N. agents holed up in the outpost over the years, Cadance found particular interest in the records room.
Her curiosity was spurred by a breadcrumb trail of scrolls scattered across the floor, ancient paper ruined beyond restoration, with their knowledge forever lost. However, those scrolls led to the records room, a rusted vault built into the wall with its steel door wide open. The room was spacious, dark with shelves upon shelves of folders, papers, and scrolls scattered across the ground.
With the light of her horn filling the vault with a soft, alluring blue, Cadance was able to scan the floor. The tip of her hoof rummaged through the piles of documents, each one warning of classified information in big, red letters. Yet her eyes were trained to something far more interesting. A particular document that, when opened with the hold of her magic, unveiled a slew of files that dated back to almost forty years ago.
Her eyes widened the more she read, and she snapped the document shut and left the vault.
“Snap Shutter,” Cadance called softly, minding her voice. She approached the communications department, standing alone at the open door into the dark room. “Mane Allgood. Do you mind telling me what exactly this is?”
Mane turned away from the microphone, seeing the classified documentation hovering beside Cadance’s paled gaze. “Just some old studies previous expeditions have made. There are hundreds of documents probably scattered around the whole base by now,” Allgood answered.
Only, her answer did not satisfy Cadance. “Yes, but this study specifically discusses the origins of Black Skull Island, and apparently this island might not be the only ecosystem like this on the planet? An oasis of deadly monsters, and we’re standing on just the tip of the iceberg?”
She took several more steps into the room, so close in fact that the tip of the folder was pressed to Mane’s chest, and Cadance’s expression had hardened to a far more serious stare.
All so she could ask, “So tell me… what’s this ‘Hollow Earth Theory’?”
The question stung the air so that every head in the room turned to the source, and felt the piercing gaze of the Princess of Love. Snap Shutter eventually turned as well, with Shining Armor readying to say something in response to his wife’s curious question.
But just then, like a cruel twist of fate, their answer was left unknown for now. The radio came to life with a voice on the other end calling to them.
Immediately, Shining rushed to the microphone and spoke as rapidly but as clearly as he could. “This is Prince Shining Armor, former captain of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard! I am here with Princess Cadance, Snap Shutter, and Mane Allgood. We have a sizable group of T.I.T.A.N. personnel with us. We’ve had a terrible accident going into Black Skull Island and need immediate evacuation! I repeat, all of our aircraft have been destroyed and we have no means of escaping the island! Send reinforcements to Black Skull Island at once!”
“To Outpost Beacon,” Snap interjected into the microphone.
“Right, to Outpost Beacon! Do you understand?!”
There was a short moment of static, and then the voice returned. “We hear you, Shining Armor. Be advised, a T.I.T.A.N. fleet will be in the air and on the sea within the next hour. We will dock on the nearest shoreline and have our airships escorted to Outpost Beacon. If your location is compromised, signal to us with a flare. I repeat, we will be looking for a flare. You have a three-day time window, Your Highness.”
“Appreciate it, Canterlot,” Shining declared with a satisfied smile, the first genuine smile he felt since arriving to the island. He managed a short scoff with a shake of his head. “We’re gonna have a long talk with the princesses when we get ba—”
The wall at the end of the room exploded, and out came a feral Death Jackal with fangs poised for Shining Armor’s neck.
It was already crumbling, barely held together with rotted wood and vines encompassing its foundation. So, when the stalking Death Jackal pounced on its prey on the other side, the wall practically erupted like a cannon ball had torn through it. Fragments of wood chips flew out and impacted the survivors, larger chunks hitting Cadance and Mane and knocking the two mares back out of the room.
Yet it was Shining who took the heaviest brunt of the assault, the Death Jackal crashing against the table, destroying the radio, and tackling Shining Armor so it straddled over his prone body. Shaken but not blinded, the unicorn shot out his forelegs and caught the nearing jaws of the creature rearing for his neck. With teeth digging into his skin, Shining cried out into the agape maw of the Jackal, unleashing his pent-up pain with a magical bolt straight down the beast’s throat.
His magic sent the Death Jackal flying skyward, directly through the ceiling to the room above, where it all came crumbling down shortly after. The various cracks growing across the ceiling was a sign for everypony present to get out.
“Shining!” Cadance screamed.
“I got ya, Armor!” Snap Shutter decreed, yanking the unicorn to his hooves. The two shared a look before they heard the crackling ceiling above. “And that’s our cue! Run!” They and everypony else teleported, flew, or dove out of the communications room just as the ceiling collapsed and destroyed everything inside with a crushing weight.
As the dust settled, a different sound emerged other than the coughing from the T.I.T.A.N. survivors. Soft squeaks and barks of pain, followed by even softer growls and whines. In the remains of the communications department, the ceiling unveiled what was on the floor above them: a nest of smaller creatures much like the full grown one that attacked Shining Armor. They lied across the debris, some of them barking, baring their fangs, and chittering their spiked manes at the crowd of equines.
A litter of pups. Which meant breeding. Which meant there were more of them.
Which meant…
“ROUK! ROUK! ROUK!”
Their cries came from down the nearest hall. From the upper floors. From the dark edges of the main foyer. From everywhere. Growing louder. Nearing them.
“Ah… so that’s what happened to the Beacon crew…” Snap Shutter fearfully muttered.
“Everypony, RUN!” Mane screamed, with the crew taking off as fast as their hooves and wings could carry them out the front doors.
The moment they exited the outpost and tore down the concrete steps, a Death Jackal was waiting and leaped from the upper floor window, tackling an unfortunate Pegasus in mid-flight and digging its fangs into his throat. His screams were silenced, only the heavy, panicked breaths from the surviving crew filling their ears.
With Mane and Snap leading the retreat, with Shining and Cadance covering the rear, the royalty looked back swiftly to see the open doors and windows practically flood with the ravenous creatures. The outpost grounds were swarmed in a matter of seconds, the canine-like beasts barking and screeching and trailing the survivors.
Hooves stampeded through the jungle, followed quickly by an even greater stampede of claws and vicious, bloodthirsty growls. So much proceeded to happen, elevating to even more horrifying aspects that Shining Armor and Cadance almost couldn’t believe what they witnessed. They hardly could believe they made it out alive.
One by one, many within the survivors were picked off when they entered the bamboo forest once more. Only this time, they were sporadic. They weren’t cautious. When the bamboo stems came stabbing down, a few unfortunate souls were caught under them. Some ponies… some Death Jackals… all now prey for the mighty Mother Longlegs stomping overhead. Shining and Cadance’s eyes widened to the sight of the massive spider cover them under its shadow.
Out of the horrors of the bamboo forest, they were then forced into the grasslands by the regrouping pack of Death Jackals cutting off all other avenues for escape. The red grass faded and they entered another forest of sorts, where long, green stems and yellow flower petals replaced the bamboo and spiders. Yet these flowers were not delicate. These flowers were not pure.
They opened like Venus flytraps and snatched up any creature that crossed their paths.
The carnivorous plants not only caught several Death Jackals, but even some equines of the unfortunate survivors. The purple plants contained the screams of the ponies within their maws, even as they thrashed and fought and begged for help. Only none could come. It broke their hearts to gallop away, but if they stayed they died. Either by the plants or the overwhelming Death Jackal pack hot on their trail.
Finally, back into the jungle they escaped, but the Death Jackals were not so easily deterred. Shining fired off more magical blasts from his horn at them, hitting only a couple, but the pack was still unfazed. Many of the Pegasi took flight to escape, separating the group further. Seeing this, Cadance spread her wings and enveloped her husband in her magical glow, kicking off the ground and into the air.
The Death Jackal behind them narrowed its eyes. A barred its teeth, and with a fierce kick off the ground much like the Alicorn had done, the Jackal kicked once more after it hit the tree, gaining and using that momentum to impact Cadance on her blindside. Her cries filled the air as she came falling down with her husband and the creature in tow, all three of them rolling down the nearest hill.
The Jackal nearly regained its footing, but it tumbled and rolled much like Cadance and Shining had. When they hit the bottom of the hill, they stumbled and slipped down an open crevice in the earth. It was Shining who powered his magic and slowed himself and his wife down before they could hit the rocky surface. His magic practically caught them, easing the two softly onto the cold, filthy floor.
It was tight and dark where they ended up, but up above they could see it was the exact same. A scar against the earth was their only source of light, and up above the Death Jackal peered down at them. Hissing and seething, it scratched between the crevice in some vain attempt to crawl down, but it was no use. It could fall and break its leg, or worse, die. The fall was too high, the crevice too tight to crawl out of.
It was not worth it for two. Much more could be gained with the rest of the equines. Growling and giving one more fierce bark to the two ponies, the Death Jackal returned to the pack to continue the hunt.
Leaving them behind. Leaving Shining and Cadance a moment to breathe, to rest, but never a moment where they took their eyes off the only light shining down upon them.
They waited.
For hours and hours, until weariness creeped in and they took turns falling asleep. Until the sun fell and the light was gone, and darkness washed across the land. All that was left were the darkened skies and twinkling stars, but it was so very quiet. Not a sound other than the distant bugs sounding off their night songs.
Agreeing it was time, they used their combined magic to teleport safely out of the crevice. Despite having regained an impressive amount of strength after the turmoil they had been through together, Cadance still gasped after her first step, the limp in her foreleg clear. She hissed, teeth grit as tears stung the edges of her eyes.
Holding her fiercely, Shining promised her safety with a simple, “Hold tight.” He hoisted her onto his back, nuzzling his wife tenderly before he began his slow trek into the dark.
His journey was not long, and his weariness thanked him for finding shelter within so short a time. He ducked under a felled, hollow trunk of a tree, minding Cadance’s head. Setting her down near the open end, Shining proceeded to levitate branches and large leaves by the entrance and exit of the tree trunk. His horn cast a glow that ensured nothing else was in the tree. It was just them.
As his wife had done for him, so too did Shining heal her wounds. Though not as skilled magically as her in healing spells, he knew enough from his days serving as the Royal Guard captain. He knew a twisted foreleg when he saw one, and he mended the muscles, tendons, and bones while hardly breaking a sweat. Cadance sighed gratefully, staring into her husband’s eyes with a deep tenderness the likes of which he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Not since their wedding.
Then, she turned and stared past the branches and leaves blocking the open trunk, gazing out into the deep valley on the edge of the jungle. The aurora borealis filled Luna’s night. The lightning bugs and bioluminescent critters moved throughout the valley. Even in such strenuous times, there was calmness to be earned. There was peace to be found.
Cadance kissed him softly, whispering with fear still in her voice. Fear of what could come, but still genuine enough to say, “I love you.”
Shining offered the same comfort, in a land in drought of comfort. “I love you.”
He didn’t know if it would be the last time he told his wife that. She imagined the same for him. He didn’t know what terrors lurked in the night, and very well may stumble upon their hideout. Safety and security were not present on Black Skull Island, that much they deduced. But here, right now, wrapped in each other’s embrace in what they could barely call shelter, perhaps that was safety enough. Just for them.
Despite the horrors of the day, the beauty of the night lulled them into sleep, with only each other to assure them safety.