The door to Sugarcube Corner was enveloped in a golden aura and flung open with a resounding slam, revealing the panicked face of Princess Celestia who rushed inside and craned her neck around, searching for her faithful student.
“Twilight!” she called. “Are you in here!?”
No answer.
Celestia did a quick sweep of the ground floor before rushing upstairs and doing the same, but with no better luck. A bead of sweat trickled down her frustrated gaze as she sailed through the second floor window and moved to the next building.
So far, the solar alicorn had covered about twenty percent of Ponyville’s buildings and hadn’t found hide nor hair of Twilight Sparkle. Adding to her worry was the fact that the yellow creature was also missing and the damage done to the library’s door, both of which left her equally as confused. She didn’t question it, however, since she could ask Twilight once she found her.
All the same, Celestia couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that whatever happened to her student was somehow connected to the event’s of last night with Star Fall. She also realized they could be entirely unrelated, and not knowing whether they were did nothing to ease Celestia’s rising fear that her student was lost or even hurt.
“Twilight!” Celestia called while throwing open the next building’s front door. “Please answer me!”
Silence.
“Arrrgh!” Celestia slammed the door shut and galloped like a madmare to the next house.
She repeated the process for several more blocks, checking at least a couple dozen more residencies in doing so, but still finding no evidence of Twilight’s presence in any of them. Celestia’s desperation reached its peak by the time she’d covered three fourths of Ponyville, and a steady torrent of tears streamed down her face as she landed atop Town Hall.
“Twilight!” she screamed, calling upon the Royal Canterlot voice.
Even if the lavender mare had heard her, a reply from her would’ve gone unheard by the solar alicorn. But Celestia was too blinded by panic to remember this, and she continued calling for Twilight repeatedly until she eventually ran out of breath. Reduced to wheezing pants, Celestia collapsed to the roof on her barrel.
The solar alicorn remained there for awhile, too exhausted both physically and mentally to do much of anything other than bawl her eyes out. All the confusion, panic, and despair that arose from not knowing where her faithful student was coalesced and sent Celestia’s mind into a chaotic maelstrom of mental agony. Thoughts of Twilight churned through her brain, many of which were less than savory. The thought that her precious student, the daughter she never had, the little filly she raised into such a strong-willed mare could be lost, hurt, or even dead pained her to no end. Not knowing exactly what happened made things all the more troublesome for her, and her physically exhausted state only compounded her misery
Throughout her anguished state, Celestia had her surrounding environment completely tuned out, and so she hadn’t noticed the figure descending above her.
Twilight . . .
All of a sudden, Celestia felt a heavy, yet warm sensation flow through her. It hit her body all at once, but her brain was easily the most heavily affected area. Celestia felt all of her despair and fear slowly ebb away in response to the sense of happiness which invaded her. So strong was it, in fact, that she felt a smile creep across her features at the same time her tears ceased flowing.
“You okay there, princess?” a familiar voice said from above.
Celestia’s eyes shot wide open as she craned her head upward to behold sight of a familiar God of Death. “Ryuk!?” she exclaimed.
“That’s my name,” he replied with a chuckle before looking down at the Element of Laughter which wrapped around his neck. “So, I guess it worked?”
Her strength now returned to her, Celestia stood up on all fours and looked up at Ryuk in curiosity. “You used Laughter on me?”
“Well, you were crying,” Ryuk pointed out. “I already tried calling to you a few times, but apparently you were too busy wallowing in despair to hear me.”
Celestia sighed and used a wing to wipe away some tears. “Twilight’s missing, as is the yellow creature,” she said. “I’ve been searching all of Ponyville for her, but haven’t found a single trace of either her or the creature.”
“Well that sucks,” Ryuk said plainly.
Celestia kept smiling as the last of her sadness wiled away into nothingness. “Thanks, Ryuk, for cheering me up.”
“Heh, you’re welcome,” the Shinigami replied. He glanced down to the Element of Laughter around his neck. “I don’t know exactly how I did it, but somehow I did.”
“The Elements respond to the will of the Bearer,” Celestia replied simply. “The simple act of wishing me happiness would’ve been enough to activate Laughter’s joy-inducing property.” She blinked, then sighed. “That sounded like something Twilight would say, especially if-”
“Listen, now really isn’t the time to dwell on small things,” Ryuk interrupted, “especially when we’ve got a much bigger problem to deal with.”
Celestia furrowed her brows. “Finding Twilight is hardly a small problem,” she spat.
“Maybe.” Ryuk pointed to the east. “But we’re still kinda screwed if we don’t do something about that.”
Celestia needed only to look eastward herself to instantly see what exactly Ryuk was worried about, and the sight of it made her jaw drop like a lead weight.
Off in the distance, silhouetted by the rising sun, was a bipedal behemoth of a creature advancing towards Ponyville. By the time Celestia’s attention was focused entirely on it, the creature was close enough that the tremors caused by its footfalls could be felt underneath Ponyville. The creature’s arms were held out in front and its furrowed gaze seemed to return Celestia’s own shocked one.
“Uh, Celestia?” Ryuk said, poking the solar alicorn’s withers. “You gonna say something or what?”
Celestia shook herself free from her shocked state and turned to Ryuk. “Go tell everyone we’ve got more company,” she instructed. She then spread her wings and prepared to take off. “I’ll see if I can get on friendly terms with them.”
“Okay,” Ryuk replied with a nod.
Nodding herself, Celestia launched into the sky and began flying toward the giant creature. As she closed the distance between them, more details about it came to light. The first thing she noticed was just how muscular the thing’s arms appeared were despite their relatively small size compared to the rest of its body. Its skin was scaly, suggesting the creature was some sort of reptilian, though not one which bore any sort of resemblance to what Celestia was familiar with. The most standout characteristic of the new arrival, however, was undoubtedly the line of spikes along the creature’s back and tail.
All of it combined to give the creature a menacing appearance which unnerved Celestia more and more the closer she got. At one point she considered turning back and hoping the creature left them alone, but hardened her resolve with the reminder that, for all she knew, the creature was perfectly benign.
A creature of that size and girth would be an invaluable ally for sure, Celestia thought as she neared its head. Hopefully, it can be reasoned with.
The creature’s attention shifted from straight ahead to Celestia as she hovered just meters away from its face.
“Greetings!” she called. “What is your name!?”
The creature gave no response, verbal or otherwise, as it eyed Celestia with a death-defying glare that sent slight chills up her spine.
Steeling her nerve, Celestia continued. “I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions right now, and I don’t blame you if you’re a little on-guard with my presence. I can explain the current situation to you, but I need your cooperation in exchange.” She gave the behemoth a friendly smile. “Do you accept my offer?”
The creature did and said nothing for a moment as it eyed Celestia. It then let out a low growl, and opened its massive maw before letting out a massive stream of atomic fire straight towards the solar princess.
“Ah!” Celestia yelped. She quickly flew out of the attack’s range, letting it pass underneath her and harmlessly dissipate some distance away.
Before Celestia could regain her bearings, the creature let out a tremendous roar which, at such a close range, would’ve shattered her eardrums had Celestia not folded them back and firmly pressed her hooves against them for additional protection. When it finished roaring the creature resumed its lumbering walk, its head passing just a scant few inches underneath Celestia as it passed.
I guess it isn’t friendly, Celestia mused internally. I’d better warn everyone.
She took off towards Ponyville, passing overhead the creature and hoping it didn’t try to strike her again.
Wherever Twilight and the yellow creature are, perhaps they’re safer than all of us.
“We’re not gonna die, we’re not gonna die, we’re not gonna die, we’re not gon-”
“Pika!?”
“Please don’t eat me!” Twilight screamed. She frantically backpedaled across the wooden floor of the wheelhouse until she bumped into the dining booth along one side. Her heart beat furiously in her chest and she curled up into a ball underneath the table, silently praying for the shark to leave her alone . . .
“Pika-pikachu!”
Twilight blinked. Then again as she heard tiny footsteps slowly approaching her position. Her body still trembling with fear, she peeked out from her hiding position to see Pikachu staring at her with concern in his eyes.
“Pikachu?” he said, coming closer.
It took a moment for Twilight to realize she wasn’t in danger, to which she let out a sigh and crawled out from under the table.
“Sorry Pikachu,” she apologized, standing up straight. “I’m just a little freaked out after seeing that shark.”
Pikachu tilted his head quizzically. “Chu?”
“Oh, how are we going to get out of this?” Twilight moaned. She began pacing back and forth across the wheelhouse, her mane becoming more frazzled with every step. “We have no contact with everyone else, no idea how to operate this boat, and there’s no land for dozens of miles!” She briefly stopped pacing to press a hoof to her forehead to dull a growing headache. “What. Are we. Going. To do!?”
Pikachu stepped forward and let a crackle of visible lightning flow through his cheeks. “Pika-Pika Pikachu!” he declared.
Twilight turned to face the electric mouse with a blank look. Pikachu continued speaking to her in his own language while simultaneously pantomiming himself using his electric attacks on the shark to kill it, which would at least make their task of reaching dry land non-hazardous. At the end of it, Twilight’s expression had turned into one of horror.
“Are you crazy!?” she shouted, making Pikachu’s ears fold back out of reflex. “You’ll risk frying the boat if you shoot lightning too close to it.” She grimaced. “Not to mention, you’d have to be in such close proximity to the shark in order to hit it, and I’m not letting either of us get that close to it.”
Pikachu waved a dismissive hand. “Pika-chu,” he said. The electric mouse began running out the wheelhouse, only to be held back by Twilight’s telekinesis. Pikachu struggled against the magical hold, but it was a fruitless endeavor.
“I’m sorry, Pikachu,” Twilight said solemnly, stepping alongside him in the air. She turned and matched his furrowed gaze with her own worried one. “I could never forgive myself if you ended up getting killed.” She lifted the corners of her mouth up into a smile. “Come on, let’s see if there’s anything we can do to operate this boat.”
Pikachu stared at her for a good, long moment, resentment plainly visible in his eyes. Eventually, however, he deflated and nodded his agreement. Twilight lowered him to the deck and turned back inside, to which Pikachu, begrudgingly, followed behind her.
“What were y’all thinkin’ leadin’ a giant lizard monster here!?" Sandy shrieked, causing everyone else to wince in reflex. "Who knows what kinda trouble it could cause?”
Ryuk sheepishly twiddled his thumbs as he stared down at the ground. The group had assembled in front of the library at Ryuk’s insistence, whereupon he told them all the details of what he did the previous night all the way up to his encounter with the reptilian behemoth and subsequent retreat back to Ponyville.
“I didn’t think it’d follow me,” the Shinigami replied, looking quite nervous in spite of his permanent smile. “But can you really blame me for being scared? I mean, it’s big enough to trample every single building here effortlessly.”
“Which it’ll only get ta do ‘cause y’all let it follow you here!” Sandy shouted.
“That’s enough, Sandy,” Samus interjected, stepping between the two. “Pinning blame isn’t going to solve anything.”
“Samus’ right,” Yugi said. “We need to put together a plan to protect both ourselves and the town in case this unexpected arrival is hostile.”
“I agree,” James said with a nod. “For now, though, we should wait for Celestia to return.”
Everyone else nodded their agreement and waited for the solar alicorn to return. After a while, the group began to feel the booming footsteps of the titanous lizard approaching. Each footfall sent an enormous tremor through the ground, growing stronger and louder each time. Hearing the footfalls draw closer was incredibly unnerving for the group of five, but they still waited patiently for Princess Celestia, confident she hadn’t abandoned them.
Their confidence was proven sound when the solar alicorn eventually appeared in the sky above Ponyville, coming down to land beside the group once she’d located them. Folding her wings to her sides, Celestia sighed deeply and spoke.
“It appears our new arrival isn’t interested in cooperating with us,” she stated solemnly.
The others shared glances with each other for a moment before Yugi asked, “Are you sure, Celestia?”
Celestia nodded. “I attempted to reassure it, but the creature rejected my offer for peace,” she explained.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to fight it,” Samus said, cocking her arm cannon. “Just leave it to me again; I’ll drive it back.”
Celestia shook her head. “I can’t let you do that, Samus.”
“Why’s that?”
“When I said the creature rejected my offer for peace, I neglected to mention exactly how.” Celestia grimaced as she continued. “The creature launched an attack at me in the form of an energy beam from its mouth. I don’t know the exact nature of its power, but I can guarantee one thing; you’ll get annihilated before you can deal any kind of significant damage to it.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” Sandy said sarcastically, earning an exasperated glare from Celestia. “Now what’re we gonna do?”
”The only way to beat a kaiju is with another of equal size,” Aza said in a subdued matter-of-fact tone. ”As for where you can find another one, head inside Golden Oaks and you’ll find the answer.”
Everyone shared a curious glance once Aza had finished speaking, all confused as to the exact meaning of the universe's words. After a few moments of silent contemplation amongst themselves, they filed inside one after another through the still-shattered doorway, all while the lizard monster’s giant footfalls continued to shake and rattle the earth under their feet/hooves.
Celestia entered first, and upon entering she immediately noticed something which hadn’t been present earlier. On the center table, right in front of the wooden pony bust, was a metal tin with MONSTER BLOOD: SURPRISING MIRACLE SUBSTANCE printed on the front. Everyone else soon noticed it as well, and only grew more curious as a result.
“Mind explainin’ what the deal here is, Aza?” Sandy asked.
”Open the tin and see for yourself,” Aza replied.
The group gathered around the table, all their eyes focused on the enigmatic metal tin. Yugi reached out and, with a strong twist of his wrist, unscrewed the lid. Everyone peered inside the now open can and were either confused by the sight that greeted them or outright disgusted. Inside was a slimy, glowing green substance that pulsed like it was breathing. Needless to say, no one knew what to make of the strange slime.
Noticing the blank looks on everyone’s faces, Aza elaborated. ”This, my little lab rats, is how you’re going to repel Gojira, that giant lizard. The only way to beat a giant monster is with another one, and this Monster Blood will allow you to become one simply by consuming some of it.”
Everyone’s eyes instantly shot wide and they all looked upwards with gaping mouths.
”Oh, don’t give me that look. You all should be expecting this kind of thing from me by now. Be glad I’m not forcing you to fight with torches and pitchforks. There’s only one case in which that could work, and it's not against Gojira.”
“How do we know this ‘Monster Blood’ is safe to use?” Yugi asked. “And how are we supposed to revert back to normal once done?”
”As always, Yugi, whether or not you trust my word is entirely up to you. I know everything about everything that I abduct, and I can say with one-hundred percent certainty that there are no ill side-effects to using this Monster Blood.”
“But you were oblivious to the existence of those worm monsters,” Ryuk pointed out.
”. . . Shut up.”
Samus reached into the tin and experimentally poked the Monster Blood. Her armored finger sank into the green slime, leaving a stain when she retracted it but otherwise behaving typical of a slimy substance.
“It seems harmless enough,” she announced, wiping her finger on the table.
”Well, I’ll leave you lot to decide who gets to fight Gojira,” Aza said. ”I’m very much looking forward to seeing the resulting brawl.”
And all was silent again as the group of six silently contemplated what to do next, all the while Gojira’s giant footfalls thundered in the distance, each step rattling every loose object in the library and forcing everyone to regain their balance. The kaiju’s footfalls got louder and more intense with each step, indicating it was heading straight for Ponyville.
“I guess we don’t have a choice,” Celestia finally admitted, sighing in defeat. “We can’t let that giant lizard destroy Ponyville, so one of us is going to have to eat this-” Celestia made a wretched face as she gestured inside the metal tin, “Monster Blood, and fight it.”
“Now wait just a darn minute,” Sandy spoke up. “Why don’t we all eat it and fight together? Strength in numbers an’ all that.”
“We’d only be giving it more targets to hit,” Celestia replied, “and I’d rather minimize the destruction caused by colossal titans exchanging blows with each other.” She looked out the front doorway wistfully. “This may not be my Equestria, but I still wish to keep it intact.”
“Fair enough, Ah guess,” Sandy replied. “So, who’s gonna fight Goj-what’s-his-name?”
Another heavy silence fell upon the group of six as they all stared down at the metal tin with grimaces. All of them did their best to muster the nerve to volunteer, but such resolve was hard to maintain upon seeing exactly what they would have to ingest.
Things stayed this way for a while, during which time Gojira’s footfalls came so close it sounded as if the kaiju was stomping around just outside the library. The resulting vibrations had become strong enough that a few books fell off the shelves, impacting the wooden floor with hard thuds.
“I suppose if no one else is willing,” James finally said, reaching out to the tin, “then I’ll volunteer myself to fight our unwelcomed guest.” He clutched the tin in both hands and lifted it towards him.
“Are you sure, James?” Samus asked. “Do you really think you stand a chance?”
James snorted and turned to her with a cheeky smile. “A better question would be whether all of you can avoid any collateral damage we may cause.” He ignored the worried looks everyone gave him and turned around to walk outside. “Well, wish me luck.”
“Right, good luck, James,” Celestia said.
The group of now five turned and ascended the stairs, intent on witnessing the upcoming battle for themselves. James sauntered through the shattered front door, whistling a merry tune as he placed the tin by the doorway and reached inside to scoop some of the Monster Blood out. He took a moment to roll the mound he picked up into a neat little ball before popping the entire thing into his mouth in one bite, then took another moment to swish it around in his mouth before swallowing.
Hmm, it tastes . . . limey, he thought.
And he began to grow.
"Okay, I think I've finally figured this thing out," Twilight announced as she reached for the ignition switch.
"Pika-pi," Pikachu huffed from where he sat behind her on the fly bridge.
Twilight gripped the ignition switch key in her teeth and turned it to the left. Immediately they heard the sound of an engine rev up below them.
"EEEEE!" Twilight squealed in delight, to which Pikachu instinctively folded his ears back. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Pika-chuuu," Pikachu sighed. Then his ears flicked in response to an approaching presence. "Pika?"
"Alright, now we just need to figure out how to drive it to the nearest shore," Twilight said once she'd recomposed herself. She observed the various components and dials that made up the control panel, looking for the one that would make the boat start moving.
Oh boy, it's going to take a while to figure out what all this stuff does. Well, I'd better get started if we're-
Twilight was interrupted from her thoughts when the boat lurched violently to the left, causing both her and Pikachu to lose their footing and fall onto the fly bridge's deck. Before they could stand back up the boat lurched to the left again, sliding them across the deck and plunging Twilight over the side while Pikachu used his small digits to grip the wood.
"Ah, NOOO!" Twilight screamed before impacting the water with a loud splash.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu screamed. He hopped down to the lower deck and up onto the railing. The boat lurched once more while he was in the air, after which it stopped entirely. "Pika-pi pikachu!"
A few moments passed without anything happening. Then Twilight broke the water's surface near the boat's stern with a gasp. "Please, help me!" she shouted, flailing her legs.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu called, and hopped over to the stern railing. "Pika-pikachu!"
Twilight immediately began frantically paddling her way back towards the boat, all the while shouting panicked pleas for her life. Pikachu made to stick his tail over the railing so Twilight could hoist herself up, but stopped when his ear flicked again. The shark was approaching again, no doubt going after the now vulnerable lavender unicorn. This time, however, Pikachu could pinpoint exactly where the predator was approaching from; directly underneath the boat.
Steeling his resolve, Pikachu jumped into the water. He let himself sink a bit before opening his eyes and turning around to face the oncoming threat. Through the semi-clear water the streamlined shape of the shark could be seen approaching at a moderate pace just to his right. More details became clearer as it came closer, including its pitch black eyes and open jaw filled with sharp, serrated teeth that could easily tear either Pikachu or Twilight to shreds.
The shark seemed not to notice Pikachu's sudden presence as it didn't change course toward the electric mouse. Pikachu furrowed his brows and swam to the side so he was directly between the shark and Twilight. This time the shark took notice, if the sudden swipe of its head was any indication, as it came ever closer. Pikachu began gathering energy up in his tail, making it hard as iron and colored appropriately.
When the shark was little more than ten feet away Pikachu made his move. Turning his body around a few times to build up momentum, the electric mouse swung his tail right at the shark, aiming for its snout. The attack connected dead center, ringing through the water with a loud smash. The shark recoiled from the attack, abruptly turning away from Pikachu and gliding smoothly through the water, where it eventually disappeared out of sight into the watery depths.
Pikachu waited for what equated to several seconds, on guard in case the shark came back. Eventually, however, the need for air outweighed his concern and he quickly broke the ocean's surface with a gasp. After taking in a few sharp breaths he looked around for Twilight. The lavender mare was against the boat's stern, desperately trying to hook a hoof over the side and hoist herself up and over. Pikachu quickly swam over and used Twilight's head as a platform to get himself onto the boat.
"Pika!" he immediately shouted, and swung his tail over the side.
Twilight wasted no time in clutching his tail with her mouth, to which Pikachu winced in slight pain but kept himself composed lest he unintentionally electrocute her.
"C'mon, huwy uf!" Twilight shouted around his tail.
Mustering every last ounce of strength he had, Pikachu began lifting the shaking unicorn out of the water. He had to push hard against the railing with his legs to keep himself from being pulled back into the water, made no easier by how wet they now were. He persevered, however, and slowly but surely brought Twilight onto the railing.
Twilight immediately fell to the deck as soon as she touched down and quickly scrambled across the wooden surface. She backed herself up against the wall next to the wheelhouse's entrance and curled up into a little ball, shaking like a leaf with her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. She said nothing but incoherent ramblings, though Pikachu thought he heard something along the lines of "Water is good. Water is life. Remember that, Twilight, and don't let anything convince you otherwise."
It took Twilight several 'minutes' to stop both her trembling and traumatic ramblings, eventually regaining enough composure to address Pikachu directly.
"Pi-pikachu" she stuttered, still shaken a little. "Thanks for saving me."
Pikachu smiled wistfully. "Pikachu." He hopped off the railing and over to her as Twilight stood up on all fours, taking a moment to orient herself before turning to the electric mouse.
"We need to get this thing going before that monster shows up again," she affirmed. "Hopefully nothing goes wrong, but if it does," Twilight's gaze turned intense, "can I count on you for support?"
Pikachu returned her own intense gaze with a determined one of his own. "Pika-pikachu," he replied, balling his hand into a fist and letting off a few sparks from his cheeks.
"Great." Twilight smiled, and turned to look up at the fly bridge. "Alright then, let's get the Orca to land, shall we?"
Pikachu tilted his head in confusion. "Pikachu?"
"Oh, right, that's apparently the name of this boat." Twilight pointed back to the stern. "I caught a glimpse of it when you were hoisting me up. I don't know what the name means, but it sounds very 'ocean-ish', doesn't it?"
Pikachu shrugged. "Pika-pika."
"Well, at any rate-" Twilight charged up her horn, teleporting the both of them up to the fly bridge in front of the control panel, "-let's see if we can't figure out how to drive this thing."
She resumed her inspection of the various dials and gizmos on the control panel while Pikachu stayed alert in case the shark came back, or something even worse decided to cause trouble for them.