//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Trust // Story: The Bridge: A Godzilla-MLP Crossover // by Tarbtano //------------------------------// Mothra Lea Twilight Sparkle Godzilla Junior Blade Dancer Captain Blueberry Frost Starlight Spike Princess Luna Princess Celestia ----------- Everfree ------------ Mothra shrieked as she rapidly flapped her right wing to stay airborne. She was still in decent health, but having a heck of a time flying with several thousand tons of gyaos grabbing onto her. Hyper had recovered from her latest tumble, her stomach still smoking from being acquainted with several of Lea's prism beams before she could put a shield up; and had ambushed the guardian while the moth was busy fending off several Supers. The Super gyaos' dying cries rang out into the sky as their burning bodies tumbled into the forest, Hyper coming up behind Lea and sinking her fangs into the moth's left shoulder. Flapping her own wings backwards, the albino demon dragged Mothra into the darkness of the haze as her entire flock came bearing down on the stunned guardian. Hyper gnawed at Lea's shoulder, beginning to break through the outer scales and earning trails of green blood. The claws of Supers and the sonic beams of the smaller flock members raked across Lea's stomach and free wing, trying to open up more wounds. Lea's mind was in a full state of panic. She had gotten caught out and was rapidly being whittled down. If she didn't do something quick... the guardian didn't like thinking about what would happen. She WOULDN'T let that happen. The albino one was the main force of the flock, if Lea could disable her then she had a chance again. Unfortunately that had been easier said than done, due to the pale monstrosity's deflect shield reflecting any outside energy. Time seemed to slow as the thought hit Lea's mind. -Outside energy, shields only reflect outside energy away...- Quickly putting her plan into motion, Lea frantically waved all the limbs she could. The air became a mix of golden dust and swirling gyaos as the guardian moth shed every spare scale she could, not caring if it left her more vulnerable to attack. Soon the airspace above the castle became a swirling mass of darkness and light, more and more gyaos piling in every second. Biting back her pain, Lea's eyes, wings, antennae, and forehead ignited with energy. It was now or nothing. Lea screamed and unleashed everything she had into the scale-filled cloud. Prism beams, energy rays, and wing lightning struck everything around her, ricocheting around amongst the energized scales like laser pointers in a room full of mirrors. Dozens of gyaos cried and screamed, wrenching free from their would-be feast as they were ignited, electrocuted, and impaled by the wild masses of energy. Hyper let go of Lea, the moth quickly letting herself drop to the forest floor amongst the falling and flaming bodies of the swarm to avoid being hit by her own attacks. Fireballs of the dead rained from the sky as Hyper's wings glimmered with purple light. She instinctively put her shield up amongst a maelstrom of ricocheting energy. Exactly like what Lea wanted her to do. A physical shield is useless against attacks from the inside, and a one way energy shield is even worse in the same situation. A massive explosion engulfed the entirety of the aerial warzone, the shockwave tearing one of the castle's towers off its foundations and uprooting trees all around. The last of the flock were either vaporized or had their burning corpses thrown about for hundreds of meters. Hyper Gyaos, engulfed in biting flames, was sent flying and tumbling off into the forest. The demon ripped forth one last shriek before she crashed with a reverberating boom. Aside from the crackling flames, there was silence. Lea's eyes flickered back to life as she let out a loud groan. After taking several moments to recover, the guardian limped her way back into the air. She hovered above the castle, slowly flapping her burned and weakened wings. There were no more gyaos to be seen. -"Twilight? Are you there?"- A glimpse of purple swimming through the air confirmed the guardian's question before a little voice did the same. -"I'm here.... did you, get them?"- -"I... I think so."- Twilight looked up proudly despite still being shaken, having to resist the urge to gawk at the titanic form hovering above her. Lea was busy scanning the bonfires that had sprung up around the forest. She needed to make sure none of the flames' sources got back up. Unfortunately, the fall of a large oak tree confirmed her fears. Talons dug into the ground as a pale form propped herself back up. Hyper Gyaos had seen better days. One of her legs was obviously broken judging from her limp, forcing the albino to prop herself up on a nearby hill. Burn marks dotted her body, several holes having scorched their way through purple wing membranes; and burns and bruises forced her left eye closed. All in all, her awkward stance was a dead giveaway that the alpha was beyond expended. Yet still, defiantly, she stood. Twilight gasped, hovering backwards some as Lea put herself between the alicorn and the demon, glaring down at the latter. The wind blew between the two kaiju, carrying the scents of burning flesh and charred forest. The albino titan returned Mothra's glare for some time before she began to shift. The alpha gyaos turned around, knocking over several more trees before weakly spreading her wings. After a half dozen flaps, the beaten and bleeding gyaos managed to take to the air and begin to weakly fly away. Lea could have sworn she saw the albino beast smirking as she left. Not wasting a moment, Lea flapped her tired wings to try and pursue her foe. Wing gales kicked and energy crackled amongst her antennae as she took aim. But time was not on her side. A new sensation coursed through the guardian’s body, devouring the energy given to the attempted attack. The world in the moth’s eyes became a spirally delirium, forcing her to flap erratically to try and stay airborne through the dizziness. A stream of golden light wrapped around Mothra like a ribbon, engulfing her freezing form in mere moments. Time was up; Lea had used up too much energy. The glimmering cocoon rapidly shrunk, losing mass every nanosecond. The wrapping shot out a tendril of energy that flew into the shocked Twilight. The golden beam harmlessly slipped inside her body, leaving behind the glowing outline of the Element of Magic on her forehead before the light faded. The alicorn would have felt an exhilarating rush if she wasn’t so focused on the dimming cocoon in front of her. The light faded into nothingness and Mothra, the changeling queen; fell out from it. Her eyes were half lidded and swirling, clearly in a daze of consciousness. And she wasn’t flying. Lea tumbled through the air and towards the forest floor as a streak of purple frantically pursued her. Twilight beat her wings as hard as she could muster, closing the distance between the two. Grabbing her friend by the hoof, Twilight changed her direction and pounded her wings up and down rapidly to the memory of Rainbow Dash’s coaching. The alicorn grit her teeth and grumbled through them. She’d have a hard time lifting up another pony, let alone an alicorn sized changeling. Still, the Element of Magic stubbornly refused to let go. They were still falling, but her efforts were slowing them down. A slow groan seeped out from the former guardian, Mothra blinking her eyes and shaking her head to try and stop the world from spiraling around her. The ground was getting closer and Twilight doubled her efforts. Effort paid off and the duo landed relatively softly on castle courtyard. Upon touch down, the changeling was still half in and out of consciousness. Mothra, still in a daze, would have flopped onto the ground the second her hooves hit it had Twilight not caught her head and propped her up. She held the large changeling up, the alicorn not caring if her previous efforts had given her a sprang wing. “Mothra?! MOTHRA?!” A groan beckoned consciousness and Lea put a hoof to the side of her head. Finally, the world stilled itself. Twilight clung to Mothra as small tears trickled from her eyes. A tiny voice squeaked out. “Miss Sparkle, you’re hugging me too tight…” Twilight quickly let up, Mothra raising her head and neck up. A weak smile showed itself on her lips before she put her hoof to the top of Twilight’s head and playfully ruffled up her mane. Mothra chuckled tiredly. “Stronger than you look Twilight, hehe.” Twilight sniffled a bit as her eyes dried, returning the chuckle. The two took a much needed minute sitting in the courtyard to catch their breath, both quickly fretting over the other’s injuries. After managing to get off a telepathic message to signal him, Spike joined them in the courtyard for one of the most varied group hugs in recorded history. “Lea...” “?” “Name my mother gave me, it’s Lea.” Twilight’s smile reappeared in full, putting a wing around the changeling. She knew a word of trust when she heard it. “That a beautiful name Lea.” -------------------------------------------- Canterlot Castle, Training Hall ------------------------------------------- Two forms glided down the long halls and sharp bends of the barracks, tailing the larger groups ahead of them as they made their way to the training hall. Blade Dancer bore a content smirk on her face, swishing her tail to and fro with each step as she relished the moments she had before they entered Training. The large stallion walking beside her was part way bemused and nearly entirely confused. The first part over the prospect of wearing a uniform for the first time in his life, the second part was due to current circumstances. The odd garb was a mix of flexible weave with some padding and bits of armor for what Junior could only guess was for protection. It had been over twenty years since he’d worn any clothing at all and the last time was just some medical cloak he had at the institute for some tests. The feeling was very alien, but Godzilla managed to get used to it once he got it on straight. Poor soul took nearly ten minutes trying to get it on, only succeeding when his escort lent a hoof. However he wondered if the feeling would be more accustoming if his traveling companion stopped doing what she was doing. Aside from brushing against his leg with her tail flicks, Junior needed not look backwards to know the pegasus had wrapped her wing around his midsection since he left his chamber and had refused to remove it since. He could practically feel her feathers through his uniform every step of the way. Junior cast an odd glance at the pegasus as she was busy chatting with another guard. He rolled his eyes and looked ahead, snorting and ignoring the conversation. -Oye, the day I figure this mare out is the day I manage to fly…- The unicorn stole a glance out the window, vaguely in the direction of the cloud cloaked Everfree Forest. -Felt that same power spike from when Anguirus must have transformed. Guess Lele and that purple one called Twilight must be doing some sort of test- Godzilla shrugged, reverting his gaze to in front of him. -At this point I'd volunteer for that...- After another minute or so of walking and then waiting outside the doorway, they finally were in. The training hall was impressively vast, being built partially inside the castle premises and partially on the outside grounds. Scattered about were various stations, each offering what Godzilla presumed were unique exercises. Some had large racks of training weapons and targets, odd wooden and hay built mock ups that he quickly figured out were combat dummies, a jogging or sprinting circuit; and a large flat area with blue padding on it. Still noting the red maned mare to his side, Junior quickly found himself letting out a hushed sigh of relief to see the familiar face of the captain walking up to them as the other guards spread out to the stations, though it took a moment for him to recognize her without her helmet and heavy purple armor on. -Note to self, work on memorizing color palettes- "Ah, good to see y’e decided to join us after all ‘Ziller.” Junior had to resist the urge to cast a wary glance to his side. The wing on his back still hadn’t budged. “Didn’t have a-anywhere better to be Captain, cooonsider-dering...” Godzilla wanted to bite his tongue off for it getting twisted up and tied so badly. Blueberry Frost thankfully could read ponies more attentively than she read parchment. The earth pony broke into a chuckle, playfully punching Blade Dancer in the shoulder. “Got ‘em tong’e tied and stutterin’ already Bladey? Might wanna let him simmer for awhile Lieutenant, I think you’re scaring him.” Blade Dancer’s smirk grew, casting a sideways look into Junior’s eye that sent the king of the monster’s head craning back. “N-NO! I'm fine! “Oh so you wouldn't mind me being your training partner for today?~” Junior’s breath died in his throat and Blueberry Frost had to resist bursting out laughing. “Bladey I think some of the new Privates need some wingblade instruction for today, can you cover that?” The pegasus giggled lowly, finally freeing the former kaiju’s back from her wing as she saluted. “On it Captain.” Junior quickly found himself debating if it was a good choice or not to watch and make sure she was leaving, as catching the image of Blade Dancer looking back at him with that same weird smirk and swishing her tail sent his mind into a near daze of confusion. Thankfully the recomposing Frost pulled him out of it. “Now that we know what’s on BD’s menu, allow me to introduce ye’ to the training hall. This is where the guards come when off duty to train and improve the skill they’d need in the field.” Junior combed his mind to scattered memories from back at the institute, back to a few drills by the JSDF he’d seen through the window in his enclosure. “Like combat drills?” Blueberry Frost nodded. “Precisely, that and other stations for first aid and fitness to keep in shape. You see some of the rank going to the stations? That’s what you and your partner will be doin’.” Junior cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. True most of the ponies he saw at the stations were far from alone, but he just assumed he’d mimic what they were doing with some instruction and call it good. Blueberry sending Blade Dancer away only made him think more at first that he’d be training alone. Blueberry Frost turned to a small group just entering and waved at somepony to come over. “Hey Second Lieutenant, need you over here.” Seeing a red palette nearly sent Junior praying to Tanaka, but relief came when he realized the colors were different with ruby hues bleeding over the entire body. A fire engine red earth pony stallion with a brown mane trotted up and saluted his captain. He was a bit below average size, slightly shorter than Blueberry Frost so Junior got the inclination he was a younger male, probably of a low rank due to age. The mark on his side reminded him a bit of Luna’s, abet less ornate and without the black splotching, being a simple crescent moon with a blue colored star between the prongs. One thing Junior picked up quick was that the Equestria’s markings often tied to a key trait about them or some sort of hobby or occupation. Now he was a bit curious how such a mark had anything to deal with being a guard, being related to something else this newcomer did perhaps? “Yes Captain?” “Need you to group up with our newest draftee, take him to the strike bags ‘k?” “Okay, pleasure to meet yooooooooooooou…” The stallion kept slurring the last syllable when he turned and had his eye level to the lower part of Junior’s shoulder, looking up slowly. “….Well… this is new.” “Godzilla, this is Starlight. Starlight, this is your training partner for today.” Starlight was half frozen for a second before replying, shrugging off most of his worry before tentatively holding out his hoof. He held an honest smile regardless. “Not used to looking ‘up’ to any recruits newer than me, nice to meet you.” After some brief thought, mostly at the peculiar motion that he thought best to copy, Godzilla shook his hoof. “Likewise.” The captain chuckled before walking off to her own matters. Starlight motioned for Junior to follow and the most proportionately mismatched training duo set off. As they walked past the other teams, both were quick to notice some sideways looks Junior was getting. Some gasps, some stares, and some the kaiju even registered as glares. He wasn't unsettled by any of them, but he did notice. “Seems I’m not too popular around here.” “Weeell you did send about twenty graduates to the infirmary… N-Nothing critical I promise!” Starlight piped, perhaps guessing at how his first remark eliciting close attention. Godzilla Junior hummed and pondered back to right as he came aware for the first time in Equestria. By whatever process transported them here, through all the dimensional barriers or breaches Princess Sparkle and his old friend spoke of, he'd blacked out when it happened. One moment he was on Solgell in a beam lock with Xenilla and overcome by a force beyond sight, the next he was feeling the sensation of being sprawled across an uneven floor. It was an odd awakening, each sense coming back one at a time. The air smelled of rubble, ground felt like chipped rock, and there was a metallic tinge on his tongue. Information apiece. Some structure had been broken and he inhaled the dust. The surface he lay upon was a crater of shattered tiles and flooring. And he'd bitten his tongue. But it was the sensation of pain, namely a massive, pounding, gong-between-the-ears headache that took away much conscious thought. No doubt he'd gotten it by crashing likely face-first, explaining his bitten tongue, through the castle roof after appearing high above it. As the ringing in his ears began to settle, something else came to attention. Voices, almost human-like. He could understand them but, strangely they didn't seem to be speaking Japanese like at the Institute he hatched at. It was off putting. And when one of them grabbed his arm and he saw whatever it was clearly wasn't human, instinct kicked in. He'd just come from a fight for his life, he was wounded, dazed, and surrounded by something he didn't recognize that had grabbed onto him. He thought he'd been defending himself, the guards thought they were defending the castle after the last entity to come crashing into Canterlot was an army of changelings. In hindsight, he could just be glad his conscious kept him from using his trademark fires or possibly lethal blows. He was monster enough already... He hesitated, sighing his vision downcast, “I am, sorry about that. I was in a daze and thought I was being attacked.” To his surprise and hidden relief, Starlight seemed to pick up on the direness in his tone and shifted away from it, “Yeaaaaaaah, Cap explained what happened to the rest of us, how it was all one big mistake that just kept blowing up. Even if everypony knows it was a misunderstanding and you didn’t hurt anypony too badly, it must still be troubling to a lot of guards seeing you walking around here.” Godzilla looked back ahead to what he guessed was the station they were at. It was an odd set with a large, bulky bag suspended from an overhanging pole by a chain. If he had spent any time at a gym or seen a picture of one during his days at the institute, he’d recognize it as some form of punching bag. “And are you troubled by my presence, regardless of it all was a mistake?” There was a pause in Starlight’s speech when they reached the station, before looking back with a homely smile. “Well, Cap’s a very good judge of character. For you to be put through the stuff you did and not be vengeful makes it seem to me you’re alright. Not everypony can get kicked in the face by Princess Luna and not try and return it soon as they were up.” Godzilla's tone was blunt as can be, “Mind you I did fry half her feathers off and I think I broke her collar bone.” Starlight shuddered but chose not to dwell on it, “Eh let’s just think of the ‘after’ and not the ‘before’. She DID do quite the number on you.” Junior’s brow lowered slightly. Some of his old would were itching, “Don’t remind me…” “Well then, let’s think more of the ‘now’ as oppose to the ‘then’, shall we?” Starlight stood beside the punching bag and nudged it with his hoof. “This is a target sack, also called a bucking bag. We use it to practice striking force and working those muscle groups.” Junior looked over the heavy looking, thick skinned sack with a nod. The principle idea seemed straight forward enough. True he was more used to sparring, but this wasn’t that far off. “Seems simple enough, but why two per bag?” Starlight pointed to another pair of guards, two Junior recognized as Cached Ire and Hammerbolt, working at another bag. Cached was practically dancing about, unleashing what looked like impressively powerful strikes as Hammerbolt held a stance right behind the bag and absorbed the kinetic force that pulsed through it each time. “The sack gives practice with both offense and defense when in a team. One pony practices on toughening and strengthening their attacks, while the other practices on dealing with such forces in a safe manner. You can’t always dodge or fully block a strike, so it’s a good thing to learn how to take a hit.” Godzilla was nodding approvingly. It appeared to be a fairly practical way to get that lesson through. Anchoring was as important to defense as blocking or dodging. He'd learned that long ago. Maybe these whole Equestrian shenanigans wouldn’t be too complicated after all? “Want me to do the striking first?” Starlight’s ears drooped a bit. True he hadn’t been there when the giant before him landed, but he learned well enough on what had happened. If there was one thing he’d like to avoid for today, it was taking a blow from something that could kick an alicorn through a wall. Still, had to be courteous. Starlight took one glance at the build on the massive unicorn in front of him and felt a bead of sweat drop. Still, he was a guard and kept his nerve, “Uuuum… yeeess, why don’t you try hitting the bag first so I can see how hard you go. Still kinda new at this myself.” “Well okay then. So want me to just strike with all I got or lower than normal?” Starlight shrugged, “Whatever you feel like.” Godzilla Junior titled his head to the side and shrugged a bit, loosening up. Several of the guard cast a glance at the situation and watched on. Rearing up he lashed out with both his forehooves with about the same force as he’d used when dueling with Xenilla the day before… and promptly hit the bag so hard it burst asunder, ripped off its chain and went flying so hard it ended up lodging itself in the wall above a ducking Starlight. -------------------------------- Several Minutes Later -------------------------------- Starlight’s blood was still seeping back into his face as he set up another bag after another round of deadly dodging. “OOOOKaaaay, for the sake of the equipment room, I’m on striking duty for today,” Starlight muttered as he wiped his forehead. "I am sorry," Godzilla grunted, "I'm still getting used to holding back in this form. Hard to control." "You said you held back against the guards though," Starlight perked. "Crisis situations make me focus better," the kaiju king replied matter-a-factly. Shrugging and accepting it, Starlight moved about to the bag, "Well all in due time. Anyways, brace for me." Godzilla nodded, agreeing with the notion for the sake of the small collection of ruptured bags he was accumulating. Bracing a hoof against the far edge of the sack, he held firm as Starlight began to practice. After several minutes of controlled striking, the red stallion addressed an elephant in the room that had been combing his mind since last night. “Sooo, apparently Blade Dancer was in your chambers last night. That true?” Godzilla withstood Starlight's blow without budging, “Indeed.” Starlight half gulped, exhaling and praying to Faust for being the one about to ask what a lot of guards wanted to. “…She get you in bed?” Junior grunted a bit, more from the subject matter than from taking the force of Starlight’s kick. “Well she got in the bed quick once she got away from the wall. I stayed standing most of it.” “Huh... I mean she's not the reserved type with good folks. Gets to the point she wants. I hope you two enjoyed yourselves. Seems pretty quick for her to go to that extent in one night, but it's not too unusual for her. You two do anything in particular? Hate to prod somepony, but I'm morbidly curious," Starlight piped as he launched another no-selled kick. Now Junior was beginning to get puzzled. Starlight wasn’t prodding or poking him at the moment, he was kicking the bag. He thought it best to ignore it and just answer the first part. “Well she talked for awhile.” Starlight’s brow raised, nodding. “Huh, never took her as the chatty type when doing that sort of thing. How long you two go at it?” Godzilla’s brow furrowed, confusion building. This pony wasn’t making any sense. How could someone not be ‘chatty’ if they were talking to someone? Blade Dancer gave him such a run down on the founding of Equestria he thought she’d never end it. The nuances of manners of speech were as elusive as ever. -Go at it? Is he asking how long her lecture went?... Oh well, best go with it.- “About two hours before she finished.” Starlight nearly hiccuped, raising an eyebrow. “WOW…. Got some stamina on you I see. W-well since you're open about this, is that some sort of record?” Godzilla could only tilt his head as he tried to remain passive, giving an air of unconcern Starlight mistook for confidence, “Record what?” “Um… you know… time with a gal?” Godzilla looked up, combing through his memories. Since he was asking about any time he’d spent with a female, he might as well try and remember everything. Still didn’t know why the already red stallion’s face seemed to be flushing more and more red every moment. “Well… that jaunt with the one called Luna lasted nearly all night after she pounced on me.” If Starlight had been drinking anything, he would have spat it all over the place in front of him. “W-WHAT! The Princess?! She ‘pounced’ on you?” Godzilla nodded, remembering that battle royale. If she hadn’t been trying to kill him he’d actually have looked back on the time and thought it a good fight. “Indeed. Kept trying to pin me down I think.” Starlight’s face was cherry red, “Oh good Faust no…” A light bulb went off in Junior’s head when he remembered back on Terra. “Ah, actually the ‘record’ is this one time on Lele’s shores.” “Lele?” “Nickname, she’s an old friend of mine named Lea that arrived here like I did. Anyways she had a lot on her mind and I had stopped by to check in on her so I stayed with her on her shore for who knows how long.” "Sooo.. on a beach?.. huh... Sounds nice. How long?" Godzilla nodded and poor Starlight’s face turned beat red. “Lost count after the moon rose to set, so at least 12 hours. Was a pleasant conversation.” Starlight's eyes dilated and his jaw dropped slightly, “DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMN SO-…. Wait… ‘conversation’?” Godzilla blinked, looking over at Starlight from around the bag, “Yes, what about it? I said she had a lot on her mind. Took her at least 4 hours before I could even speak.” Starlight’s face was still burning under his skin as he put a hoof to his forehead and pointed the other out to his partner. He was shaking. “Okay okay….” He took a deep breath to try and slow his pulse. “What exactly do you mean, with no word play, when you say ‘conversation’?” Godzilla’s level of confusion was rapidly reaching the same levels as Starlight’s embarrassment. It was about as subtle as an train wreck. “I mean two beings just talking to each other. Like what you and I are doing right now as I try to figure out why your face is turning even redder. It’s what Blade Dancer was doing half the night.” Starlight's eyes twitched from the sheer stupor of it all, “JUST TALKIN-……okay… So… when you say you got Bladey in ‘bed’ quick, what do you mean?” The kaiju's face flattened into a deadpan, “I mean she walked in and got into my bed before I could stop her, meaning I had to stand up for most of her lecture as she told me about your country. Why do you seem so surprised?” Starlight stilled his breath, feeling like kicking himself in the flank for letting his mind wander to places like that. Shaking it off, he continued on, “Aaaand the two hours part?” “Took her awhile to get everything out after detailing the Chocolate Milk incident.” Starlight shuddered, not wanting to risk bringing THAT up, less said the better. His face was beginning to not feel quite as hot. “S-Sooo… nothing happened?” Godzilla shrugged his shoulders. This pony was obviously trying to hint at something, but what exactly was beyond him at the moment. “Other than the aforementioned talking, no. She did keep looking at me oddly and doing these weird poses while shifting.” Starlight’s eyelids lowered and his mouth flattened in near bewilderment as the truth dawned on him. This monster of a unicorn might be powerful enough to square off with a princess and hail from an alien world, but absolutely everything he’d been hinting at Godzilla had been completely flying over the gray stallion’s head. Maybe some more innocent wording would get the hint through. “Yoooou do know she is definitely digging you right?” Godzilla's confusion only increased with each word. “I never saw her excavate anything, let alone me.” Starlight tried to change the wording up to try and get the hint across without drawing too much attention. Last thing he wanted to be was mistaken for a pervert. “Those poses and winks? That’s her trying to hit on you. She wants your sausage dude. She’s probably been doing it since Princess Celestia gave you a pardon since she saw a challenge.” Godzilla combed back through his memories of Blade Dancer. What Starlight said wasn’t making any sense. Blade Dancer wasn't on duty when he crashed through the roof. She never fought him, let alone hit him. And what was this talk about food? "I thought equines were herbivores, why would she want a sausage? How do you even know what that is?" Junior grunted, “Hit me? She never struck me. Last I checked she wasn’t one of the guards I fought.” "Gryphons sometimes have em when they visit- NOT THE POINT!" Starlight grumbled loudly, trying to be as crystal clear as possible and raising his voice as much as he could without someone overhearing it and giving HIM the weird looks. “Oye..okay… listen… She came to your room on the off chance you'd end up going down and dig into her!” Starlight huffed for a bit after grumbling more, punching one hoof into his other arm. Godzilla was unmoved, the perplexed statue of a face still retained itself. His jaw slowly lowered as his eye twitched in sheer befuddlement. Godzilla grumbled from frustration crisscrossing his mind and shook his head, “… Wha?... You are confusing me. Just WHAT is it with your race and this digging obsession? Aside from digging into flesh being grievous, wouldn’t the size difference between me and her hurt a lot if I went into her? if you haven't noticed, I'm twice her size!” Starlight’s blush instantly returned and he half doubled over, nearly fainting. Junior could only stand there and wonder to the heavens above what on Terra he just said that could get such a reaction. -Yeesh I don’t think 'Tunnel Trap Prince' Baragon brought up digging this much. Starting to think the male equines are just as weird as the female ones here!- Starlight was gasping hard to try and catch his breath as Junior helped him back up to all four hooves, “You don’t-… literally-… DIG- into somepony I meant ha-ving se-“ Godzilla motioned to him with his hoof, “But you just said-“ Starlight practically shot up and threw his hooves to the sky above. He knew when to quit. “Oh for the love of- NEVER MIND!” Godzilla shrugged, mumbling something incoherent. He still had no idea what they had just been trying to talk about, and something told him he shouldn’t have even bothered. “Oooye... I am sorry. I was trrrying to hint at something but apparently I need to be more precise because everything I said just flies over your head right now.” Gods of jesting couldn’t have cued it better when Godzilla looked up after the statement ‘’fly over your head’’ came out. By the cock eyed look on his face, it was easy to see he was half expecting to see something soaring over him. In a world of magic and brightly colored ponies that looked like some kid’s toys, it was slang that was confusing the king of the monster’s most. Starlight just planted a hoof to his face. It took several seconds for the not so dynamic looking duo to notice they had an onlooker walking up to them. "Gentlecolts, what seems to be the problem?" Blade Dancer, apparently having finished training her class, stood half cockeyed with a damp towel thrown over her shoulder. Godzilla clamped his jaw shut from the fact she'd shown up again after an hour or so reprieve, and Starlight was in a similar position as he silently swore and prayed to his deities that she didn't hear the conversational subject matter. Blade Dancer tapped her hoof. "Well? Seemed there was a problem between you two." Starlight managed to summon his courage as Junior could only stare at the face that now seemed to be waggling its eyebrows at him. "Ap! Nothing Senior Lieutenant, just some cli-CHIT chat! We're fine!" Blade Dancer looked down at him, blinking in a slightly confused manner. -Meh, best not nose my way in, doesn't seem to be any issue- "Ok, nice to see you two get along well enough despite costing us about five bags and some wall repair." "Sorry about that. Property damage seems to happen a lot around me." -Understatement of the century there Junior...- Blade Dancer sighed as she flicked part of her mane out of her face. "Well just be a bit more careful, I'd rather not see you leave the program any time soon~" With that she turned to walk back to the barracks, but not before both of the odd team out caught a wayward tail flick and wink aimed at the larger of the two. Junior could only think of what had been discussed earlier about burrowing and hitting. It still made no sense to him at all. "She has odd tastes." Starlight rubbed his temple as he looked down. "If she's going after you, she'd better." Junior's senses pulsed a warning. Something with a lot of power was close, his subconscious feeling its eyes upon him. The unicorn's head snapped up and to the right as he kept a blank expression. Red-Yellow eyes met orbs of pure turquoise, the King of the Monster's vision locking with that of the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna had perched herself high up in the shadows of an overhanging tower, barely visible unless one knew she was there. She held firm as a statue, but was clearly surprised for a moment that she had been noticed. Godzilla was as still as a mountain, his expression just as emotionless. It might have been just now he sensed her, but something in the back of his mind told him she'd been shadowing him for some time. The nonverbal communication between the two was crystal clear. She trusted him around her ponies about as far as she could throw him, and he knew she'd be there even if she tried to hide it. For a split second, both were intimidated before regaining their composure. A breeze sifted through the training hall, no other soul noticing the visual tug of war. Any moment, it looked like one was about to pounce. Junior let a small sigh out of his nostrils, closing his eyes. Then he did something Luna really didn't expect. He nodded at her, then went back to Starlight. He'd bowed to her earlier but at the time the alicorn sensed it was at the urging of someone else. That nod, however small a gesture, was his own will. He didn't want to fight. Princess Luna shrugged and hovered her way back inside. She knew where the beast was in case she had to keep tabs on him again. Was an odd sight for her none the less, seeing it intermingling passively with her beloved ponies. Hard to imagine the being that disabled some of those same guards and blasting her through a wall was indeed all one in the same unicorn in the halls below. Still, if the blue alicorn was one thing; she was patient. If this juggernaut, this, Godzilla, had any dreams during his stay here; she'd know. And dreams never lied. She'd hang back and passively observe, find any clues she could on the subject to ensure there was no threat to her beloved ponies. So far he'd been a hard book to read. ----------------------------------------- Canterlot Castle, Solar Wing ---------------------------------------- Celestia groaned as she rubbed her throbbing head, half trudging and half slumping into her bedroom before half harshly kicking the door shut without an ounce of her typical grace. She wasn't having the best day and it had taken its toll. The solar diarch had been up all of last night with Luna, trying to keep her sister from walking herself up the ceiling; and then spent half the day so far in what had easily set the record for the worst court day in recent history. Begrudging nobles wanting compensation for the damages of the chocolate milk incident, mayors demanding tickets to the upcoming gala, Blueblood calling for the arrest of some impersonator, and then the big elephant in the room. Their new 'guests'. Obviously some ponies already knew. The Element bearers, Cadance, Shining armor, and that young trio of fillies knew for sure what was going on; and some ponies at that campground along with most of the guards had an inclination what had happened. If they could manage it, she'd prefer it stay that way. If the whole country knew about half a dozen individuals, already who are already extraordinary powerful, who could shape shift into skyscraper sized behemoths, there easily could be a mass panic. The white alicorn grumbled, already getting a headache over the thought. If there was one thing she hated about the modern world, it was sensationalist news. That was exactly what she was trying to suppress and with limited success. Rumors spread faster than the Element of Loyalty, causing her to make a lot of demands and tell a lot of half truths to a very invasive audience to silence them. Trudging over to her bedside, Celestia's golden aura wrapped itself around her crown and regalia, levitating it off her as she slipped onto the covers. The day was over half done, but she needed a power nap. Just to close her eyes for a bit to rejuvenate herself. No sooner did her eyelids cloak her vision in the shadows, did images flicker before her amongst the dreaming subconscious. She'd have no rest in this slumber. She saw Canterlot, standing tall on the mountainside as the sun began to set. Something in the air wasn't right. Looking to the steep plateaus and mountains that neighbored the city and valley, there was only blackness. Crawling over the mountains like a dark horde, blackness spread like a pestilence. Earth and sky were devoured by the oncoming tidal wave of choking shadows. Nightmares advanced. Luna's silver moon was eclipsed by the dark haze that swallowed up the sky. Celestia gasped and reeled back at what she saw, the darkness rapidly bearing down on Canterlot and her beloved ponies. Then something fell past her window. Rushing to the balcony, she saw it as it fell down away from the castle. It was a glimmering, blue-white spark that hit the grounds just beyond the city. Celestia looked up to the oncoming nightmare. Through the mass of black rang out the sound of shrieks, screams, and flapping wings. Just before she could make out the forms amongst the haze, darkness shifted to light. Flying up from the forests below was a blinding pillar of blue fire that shot up between the darkness and the city, parting the sky. The shadows shrank back, as if afraid of the mass of pulsing blue and white. The white alicorn had to partially shield her eyes from the brightness before her. Just before she woke up, Celestia caught one last detail from her vision. The pillar of light, the ray of blue fire. It roared, and the air and shadows trembled. The diarch was fast to rise, bolting off to find her sister. She wasn't tired anymore. --------------------------------- Castle of the Two Sisters --------------------------------- “That lead gyaos, she got away.” Twilight sighed, obvious worry showing through. True, the flock might have been eradicated, but something that dangerous flying around wasn’t doing her fears any favors. The fact some of them clearly seemed to know what the Tree of Harmony was and went after it wasn't adding any ease to the situation. Still, she was waiting until a calmer time to bring that fact to light; her companion was fretting enough as it stood. She'd wait until this topic had finished. “Lea you ran out of power, it’s not your fault. It’ll hopefully not act up any time soon anyways, you really did the number on her. I'm surprised she could even still fly.” Spike, perched up on a nearby boulder that had once been a piece of the castle wall; chimed in. “Besides, how could the Princesses NOT track something that big flying around? We'll get it soon enough.” Mothra would have been comforted, had she not remembered Gamera’s words. Her hair and ears drooped down grimly. “She’s only one of the group though. Others could be scattered all across Equestria. You remember what Gamera said. This changes everything! Your nation, your planet as a whole may not be safe right now!” Twilight couldn’t disagree. Still, if she’d learned anything from hanging around Pinkie so much; it was that optimism never hurt. Even in the most dire of situations, possible besiegement by giant monsters included. She put a hoof on Mothra’s shoulder. “Hey, Equestria has dealt with threats before and we’ll deal with them again. Least the danger has passed for no-“ The alicorn was cut off by an echo. A distant, faint, distinct echo that permeated the air like a haunting specter. All in attendance’s hair and scales stuck up on end. More echoes followed the first, more shrieks and screams. Gazes shot to the direction of the noise, to the setting sun. When they saw what was coming over the mountains, what Twilight was about to say was quickly proven wrong. With the lowering sun at its back, an inky black carpet stretched itself across the sky. The darkness slipped over the horizon above the distant White Tail Woods in spite of the evening light, draping over the sky like a shadowy curtain. Echoes heralded the shrieking amongst hundreds of flapping wings. Lea's voice died in her throat. There were hundreds of them, hundreds of gyaos. Gnashing their teeth, beating their wings; and screaming battle cries into the sky like a legion from hell. But they weren't heading near the Everfree or its castle. Truth be told, it was almost like they didn't even notice the structure and the occupants within it. Instead the ravenous hive remained on a perfectly straight path, heading due east. Mothra knew why the albino one had been smirking. She had split the swarm up, taking two equally potent forces to separate areas. Why this was so was beyond Lea’s understanding, but the mere fact it was happening did her no favors. Twilight's ears fell against her head as the blood drained from her face when she saw the direction the gyaos were flying. She realized exactly where the flock was heading, towards the only thing in that immediate direction worth heading for. The alicorn’s eyes exploded into dinner plates, her pupils shrunk to pin points. She whipped her head around to Mothra, the horrified look speaking volumes. "Lea, they're heading for Canterlot!" "WHAT?!" Mothra, the guardian of mortals and co-leader of the Terran Defender faction; was hyperventilating. Her frantic surprise obvious as the poor changeling looked near ready to have a panic attack. Having the flock that big around was a nightmare by itself, but the alicorn’s observation only magnified it. "NO! NO! NO-NO-NO-NO!" The changeling rose to her hooves and spread her wings to try and begin to fly. Her duty to protect was outweighing any sense of self preservation in light of her own expenses. Twilight was quick to notice and teleported in front of the changeling in a blink of purple magic, bracing herself against her friend. “Lea no! You’re already burned out. We don’t even know if the transformation can work twice so quickly!” The realization dawned on the changeling and her heart was crushed. She froze like a statue to the sound of one of the demonic bat’s screams. The hive of death was flying right past her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. In spite of her grimness, amongst the darkness in her mind, a word Twilight spoke caused a flicker of light. -“You’re already burned out”… Nothing I can do…But…Yes, yes that might work!- There was no time to waste, the flock was moving quickly. Mothra Lea looked back at Twilight with as much urgency as she could. “Twilight, can you teleport us to Canterlot?” Twilight Sparkle matched the look, her mind scrambling for an answer as her face stood still. “We’re about to find out! Spike!” She looked to the side and held out a hoof. The little dragon didn’t need his sister to tell him twice, scampering off his perch and racing over to the duo. Twilight wrapped her hoof around him, putting her other forehoof around Mothra’s shoulders as she closed her eyes. Spike buried his face in Twilight’s side, the alicorn’s horn crackling and sparking as she concentrated. Simple teleporting for a single pony to move themselves a few meters away was easy. Twilight moving herself and Spike across town was a bit harder. Moving herself, Spike, and easily twice her weight in Changeling was a whole different league. The passive echoes flowing into her ears was all the encouragement Twilight needed. Hairs began to stand up on end as an aura of purple wrapped around the trio. All the Element of Magic could think of was the carpeted floor of the main hall, and the brilliant way the setting sun cast itself through the windows. She prayed amongst a flash of light that window wouldn’t be blotted out by the winged darkness when they got there. ------------------------ Canterlot Castle ------------------------ After managing to teleport on top of and crash through several antique tables, the dynamic trio were quick to bolt off into the halls of the castle in a mad search for the Celestial Diarchs. Their haste was only increased when they nearly crashed into an equally frantic Celestia, who surprised Twilight by looking even paler than normal once she was informed on what was coming. It wasn't a minute later that all four were sprinting full tilt up to the lunar wing, Celestia practically kicking open the door to Luna's chamber. The solar alicorn forgot to turn off her Royal Canterlot voice. "Sister! A grave emergency is upon us!" Luna, who had been busy writing down some sort of notes; sprung up like a cat. She snapped around, wings bolting up. "What is it?!" Lea, still winded from her previous endeavors and the dash to the wing, stepped forward, exhaustion and worry evident in her voice. "There is l-little time to explain! An army of monsters from my realm attacked Twilight and I in the Everfree. We fought the first flock off, but another is heading right this way!" "And are you sure they are heading for Canterlot?" Twilight forced her way up, brushing aside the thought to bow first. "Positive, Princess. These things live to feed and Canterlot is the only major food source for miles!" Luna cocked an eyebrow, the last part throwing her off. "Food source? W-well if they intent to raise our food stocks, we could lead them away with some stores and-" Celestia's terrified expression lead to a shaking voice. "S-sister... they mean the populace.." "Gyaos are pure carnivores..." Luna's eyes slowly widened to dinner plates, all lingering sense of the night princess' typical stoic facade was vanishing into a horrified gape. The mental images she was getting only added fuel to the fire. "W-we must alert the populace! Put up that barrier shield you taught Shining Armor!" Celestia nodded and was about to say something but Mothra cut them off. "Your majesties, Twilight told me about the shield. It COULD keep them out for a bit, but a swarm that big with such dangerous members... This is leagues above the changeling swarms. The barrier would work, but someone would need to hold off the gyaos flock outside to keep them from focusing on it." Mothra winced, crumbling a bit into a slump until Twilight to could prop her back up. There was a silence as the celestial sisters looked each other in the eye. White wings spread. "I'll do it... Luna prepare to put up the barrier and call the populace into their homes. I'll try an-" "P-Princess..." Twilight's courage welled up as all eyes turned to her. "There is somepony else here who could do it." "Who?!" Mothra caught her breath. "You'll need someone durable, and very, very powerful.... You'll have to trust me..." --------------------- Moments later --------------------- The posse of three alicorns and a changeling stood before an isolated door branching off from the guard chambers. There was now a small group of half shocked onlookers peeking out from around the corner. "He can do it, you just need t-" "-We… Do not... Trust him..." "He's done this before, it's the best chance you got." "Luna.... listen to her." Twilight held her breath and knocked on the door. There was silence for a moment before the thump-thump of heavy hooves heralded the room denizen. "Blade Dancer I swear if that's you aga-" "Goji it's me!" "...Lele?" The door whipped open and Godzilla Junior soon found himself looking into the less than stable faces of the Princesses of Night and Day, the Element of Magic, and the Guardian of Mortals. The tired look of the latter quickly caught his attention and Junior sprung up, putting his hooves on his best friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?! What happened?!" Lea put a hoof on his cheek, nodding. "I'll be fine, I was attacked." Junior stood still for a moment, and then did something none of the three ponies saw coming. He leaned forward and sniffed at Lea's neck and shoulder as she stood still. He sprung back up, stiff as a board. Lea looked him in the eye. "Gyaos?" "Yep." "Fight them?" "Yep." "Transformed? "Mhm." "Win?" "Yep." "But there is a problem?" "Yep." "There was more?" "Yep." "How many? "Hundreds." "Heading this way?" "Yep." "Can't fight anymore?" "Yep." Junior glanced at Lea's companions briefly before looking back up to her. "And you want me to get them?" "If you can." Junior slouched back, entertaining the thought briefly before reorganizing himself. "Well it's a bunch of rampaging monstrosities running amok with a city in their way and me in front of it. It's de ja vu all over again." Twilight, after getting over some confusion from the odd dialogue, had heard the first good thing in what felt like days. The young alicorn barely knew this stranger. But if he was a friend of Mothra and she believed he could pull it off; then the best chance of her beloved home town to still be standing in the morning was standing before her. She shot up into the air, looking the massive unicorn in the eye. "You'll do it!?" Godzilla nodded affirmatively. "Now where are these gyaos?" "Heading over the mountains any minute now!" "Take me to the highest spot in the castle." Celestia spread her wings, hovering up into the air. "Then we must hurry." Unfortunately for Luna, the highest spot in the castle in the direction they needed happened to be her tower. Still, she accepted this was no time to hold onto grudges. Alarm bells rang out throughout the Equestrian capital, the city becoming alight with the sights and sounds of its inhabitants getting into their homes and shelters as fast as they could. There had been no time to explain what was going on, but hearing the sound of the Solar diarch yelling the orders to seek shelter in her booming voice was more than enough motivation. Luna walked out onto her balcony, looking out and studying the dimming horizon. Just as the last slivers of sunset crossed the mountains and the air became draped with night, she heard a noise. A chorus of shrieks. The voices of death. Darkness began to seep over the mountains, devouring the view of her star-filled night sky. She began to see forms in the darkness. Flapping shapes with arrow shaped heads. There was a dozen, no, three dozen, no, five dozen, no, even more! Luna's eyes widened as her count breached triple digits. She knew now why the shield she and Celestia were going to put up might not have been enough. Now she just had to figure out what in the tartarus this unicorn's plan was! Almost on cue, Godzilla walked up next to her, looking out into the oncoming flock. "You remember how the transformation works?" Luna didn't take her eyes off the gyaos, focused on the legions of gnashing fangs as the screams of her city rang out after seeing what was only a mile away now. "Yes, yes, we hit thou with a large amount of good magic, thou changes and become gigantic. What does this have to do with our present being in my tower?" "Needed a good vantage point, and so you could throw me as far as you can from the city." The sheer randomness of the statement momentarily caused Luna to confused shoot a look over at the unicorn hard enough to break her speech pattern. "...You want me to what?!" "I can't fly, at all. You're going to have to throw me out as you blast me so I'm far enough away from town when I revert... If this work anyways... Just use your magic ok? Besides." Junior looked over at the dark alicorn with a confident smirk. Luna was about ready to smack him for making such a face in such a serious situation. "Something tells me you'd enjoy the thought of hurling me off a building." Luna could only grumble as she built up a charge of energy, putting in as much spare power as she could. The lunar princess focused on a memory, one of her most treasured of all. Warm feelings flowed through her and blossomed with power on her horn, days of youth and a voice like a chime calling through her mind before her horn began to crackle with energy. The borders of the city began to glimmer with a golden light, Celestia's shield slowly rising up from the edges of town like a bubble popping in reverse. It was now or never. "Here they come... Sure you can make the shot?" "Hmp... can I..." Junior raised an eyebrow and glanced over. "...Can yo-" "Of course I can!" Godzilla rolled his eyes and backed up some steps, pawing at the floor once before breaking into a full sprint towards Luna. Whipping around, the alicorn grabbed the kaiju with a tendril of magic and hurling him over her head with a grunt. The unicorn flew through the air in an arch for a few seconds, before the piercing light of a stream of pure magic, thick as a carriage, engulfed Godzilla's form. The unicorn's body drank in the massive amount of energy, draining it in like a sponge until his form became obscured by a brilliant pale glow. Celestia saw him fall past her position, Blade Dancer covering her mouth with a gasp when she began to grasp who just tumbled past her. She would have bolted from her position to dive down in pursuit had the outstretched wing of Celestia not halted her. The alicorn looked back out to the darkening skies above, holding as firm a face as she could despite the fear she was feeling for her city. Her only chance just flew past her. -There goes the spark... let's hope it becomes a flame...- The gyaos closed in just as the barrier began to encompass the entirety of the city and castle. Godzilla, glowing like a cast ember, fell past the city and into the valley below. One group of normal gyaos screeched out into the night as they raced ahead of the pack. They were eager to get first bite. What they got was a blinding light. The air trembled to the sound of thunder. ============== FAN ART SHOUTOUT By Pyrus Leonidus Link Link Link by ForeshadowART, comission by IceStormy Destroyah Xenilla Mothra Anguirus Godzilla