//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Power of Order and Legend // Story: My Little Pony: A King Arises // by Aaron1248 //------------------------------// Date: May 21st, 1004 D.C.R Location: Neighsianic Ocean, 50 Miles South of Haywaii Morning came as a massive aircraft carrier cut through the ocean’s waves. This ship was known as the ES Saddletoga, one of four supercarriers of the Equestrian Navy. On its flight deck, several ponies were doing various duties ranging from maintenance to their daily drills. Inside the ship, located below decks, was the Saddletoga’s Combat Direction Center, which was packed and buzzing. Banks of monitors and work stations, manned by uniformed analysts, were jammed with data feeds. Armed services personnel, sporting several allied nationalities, were crammed into the war room, which reminded Serizawa of the crow’s nest back at the base. The overhead lights were kept dim to increase the visibility of various screens and graphic displays. A backlit table map projected the MUTO’s potential courses, as calculated by the incoming data. As the simulations ran, dotted lines crossed the ocean, branching off in all directions, but with most heading north across the Neighsianic. Each dotted line was accompanied by a flurry of algorithmic probability data: wind speed, currents, altitude, weather conditions, and so on. Quietly observing the operations, Serizawa was just selfish enough to be relieved that the creature appeared to be winging away from his homeland. Not that anywhere in the world was truly safe at the moment. “Okay! Listen up!” a black-coated pegasus known as Captain Hoofton said, taking the floor. To say that his manner was “brisk” would be an understatement. “Quiet please!” He waited, but not for long, for the general chatter and hubbub to die down. “Briefing is up. New faces. New info. From here out, we do not try to move quickly, we will move quickly.” He turned to introduce a figure to his right. “Admiral?” A senior earth pony officer, with a cropped white mane and a lean, taciturn face, stepped forward. His coat was grey as his eyes were brown. On his flank, his cutie mark showed an eagle sat stationary on what appeared to be Equis while a slanted anchor went through it. He gestured at a monitor displaying a blurry image of the MUTO. Hushed voices murmured in awe. “This is our needle in a haystack, everypony.” He said crisply. “MUTO, Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. It is, however, no longer terrestrial. It is airborne. The world still thinks this was an earthquake, and it would be preferable that were to remain so. Before we lost sight, it was headed north across the Neighsianic, and had emitted enough EMP disruption to create havoc with our radar and highly sensitive sensory equipment, and reduced us, for the moment, to a strictly visual pursuit.” A frown deepened the well-earned creases on his face. “I emphasize ‘for the moment’ because we will get on our game and we will find this thing. It is imperative that we do so.” His remark concluded, he surrendered the floor and sought out Serizawa at the back of the room. He then extended his hoof to him. “Dr. Serizawa,” the admiral greeted. “Admiral Wheeler Stall. Glad to have you on board.” Serizawa accepted Stall’s hoof and bowed slightly. He then spied Graphic beckoning him from the open hatchway to the command center. He had dispatched her earlier to keep tabs on Luna’s health. He nodded back to her in acknowledgement. He was hoping to explain everything the younger sister. “Will you excuse me, Admiral?” Luna’s face looked at peace as she slept in the medical bed. Parts of her body were covered in wrappings and bandages as she was healed by unicorn medics. Sitting beside her bed was Celestia, whose expression was filled with tired worry. She had dark rings under her eyes from staying awake through the night to watch over her sibling. Seeing her sister on the bed brought both relief and pain to her heart. The relief of knowing her sister was alive and well but pain to know that she tries so hard to protect their subjects. She was lucky the outcome didn’t turn out worse than it was. The sound of medical bay’s door hatch opening caught Celestia’s attention. There in the hatchway was a unicorn stallion wearing a doctor’s garb. His coat was orange with a brown mane. He wore glasses over his blue eyes. On his flank was a cutie mark which appeared to represent a rectangular-edged blue star with the symbol of a white snake winding around a pole. He was known as Blue Cross, the top medic assigned to the ES Saddletoga. He smiled at Celestia before nodding to her as he held up a clipboard with his magic. “Good morning, your highness!” he greeted. “I take it you’ve stayed the night here?” “Yes, Doctor Blue Cross,” she answered with a nod before turning back to Luna. “I couldn’t leave my sister until she wakes again.” “That’s understandable,” Blue Cross said as he looked over the clipboard. “If it was one of my siblings on that bed I’d be here all night too.” Celestia smiled and turned her head to Blue Cross. “Will she awake soon?” she asked. Blue Cross looked over the clipboard before answering. “She should be any minute now. Considering she had two broken ribs, a fractured left wing, several cuts and bruises, and a massive case of forced magic fatigue.” A groan was heard as both ponies looked to see Luna’s eyes slowly open. Blue Cross smiled at the sight. “And there she is. Good morning, your highness!” He then mutters the last part. “Man I’m good.” “How are you feeling, Luna?” Celestia asked. The Moon Princess groaned as she tried to sit up and place a hoof on her head. “We feel, as if, one hundred dragons trampled over us,” she groaned out. Celestia couldn’t help but giggle at that minor analogy of her condition. Blue Cross then stepped into the conversation. “That’s expected what one would feel after recovering from what you’ve been through.” He stated. “I strictly prohibit, though, any more participation in battles.” Luna only nodded to the unicorn medic before leaving the sisters to their business. Minutes seemed to pass as the two alicorns remained silent. Celestia then sighed before ending the silence between the two. “Luna,” she spoke up. “I’m so sorry about what has happened.” Luna raised a brow as she looked at her sister in confused. “What do thou have to be sorry for, sister?” “It was my fault that this happened to you. You were hurt because I didn’t properly inform you of the impending danger we were facing. Instead, I kept you in the dark and in the end you almost lost your life. I’m-I’m…” Tears started to well up in the Sun Princess’s eyes as she started to silently sob. She then felt nuzzling as she opened her eyes to see Luna nuzzling her with comfort. She then nuzzled her sibling back as her tears started to slowly dry up. “You have nothing to worry, sister,” Luna said. “It was our fault that we charged in headstrong. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Celestia smiled and nuzzled her sister lovingly. “Thank you, Luna.” Suddenly, a knock was heard at the hatchway door. Celestia and Luna turned their attention to it to see a young petty pegasus officer standing there giving them a salute before speaking. “Your highnesses,” he said which had a Midwestern accent. “I’m here to escort you to Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graphic.” Celestia then turned to Luna. “Do you think you can walk?” Luna thought a bit before nodding. She then slowly got off the bed, with Celestia’s help, and followed the officer. Serizawa and his team had been assigned guest quarters upon the Saddletoga. Even on the ship as large as the super-carrier, space was at a premium so the cramped cabin was a tight squeeze, but they were making do. Monarch scientists worked beside Equestrian Navy technicians, monitoring data feeds at various workstations, as he and Graphic spoke urgently on their respected pocket magic mirrors. A knock at the hatchway interrupted both calls. Graphic went to answer it. “Dr. Serizawa?” the petty officer pegasus said as he stood at the doorway. He had Celestia and Luna with him, with the latter still covered in medical wraps and bandages. Serizawa nodded at the officer that it was alright for him to leave. The officer departed and Graphic escorted the princesses into the room. Luna approached the desk warily. Her eyes widened as she spotted the photos spread out across the desk, which Serizawa made no concern to conceal. Luna was taken visibly taken aback by the startling images. Serizawa sympathized; what these pictures displayed would be shocking to the younger princess, who had a taste of the darker side of one of Equestria’s many secrets. “Princess Luna,” Serizawa said with a minor bow. Luna then bowed back a bit in response. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “We are fine, doctor,” she replied. “Body a bit sore, but we shall live.” Graphic then bowed her head at the princess in apology. “We’re deeply sorry that you had to experience that, your highness. But I’m afraid we need your help.” With that sentence, both princesses stepped into the cabin. Graphic shut the door behind them. Flickering images played upon the wall of the cabin. A portable digital projector providing relevant visuals as Serizawa attempted to explain. “In 954,” he began, “the first time a magic-powered submarine ever reached the lower depths, it awakened something.” “Equestria first thought it was the Hooviets,” Graphic added. “The Hooviets thought that it was them. All those Mega Spell bomb tests in the Neighsianic during the ‘50s? Not tests…” “They were trying to kill it.” Serizawa indicated the ancient film footage from the 950s. “Him.” Luna’s jaw dropped. Breaking eye contact with Serizawa, she looked more closely at the projected images of the 954 MS-bomb detonation, the bomb with the cartoon lizard inscribed on its cone, a mushroom cloud rising over the once-tranquil Neighsianic Ocean, and, finally, impossibly, the footage of two titanic beasts duking it out on a tropical island. One looked similar to a dragon or a dinosaur, a row of jagged spikes or fins visible along its spine. The other appeared to be an arachnid of sorts with a large scorpion-like stinger and bat-like wings. “An ancient alpha predator,” Serizawa explained. “Millions of years older than ponykind,” Graphic said, “from an age when Equis had ten times more magic than it does today. This animal—and others like it—consumed this energy as a food source. But as the levels on the surface naturally subsided, these creatures adapted to live deeper in the oceans, further underground, absorbing magic from the planet’s core. The organization that we work for, Monarch, was established in the wake of this discovery. A multinational coalition, formed in secrecy, to search for him, study him, learn everything we could.” Luna stared at the footage. The images were blurry, but the creature’s gargantuan proportions and general outline were clear. “In Neighpon,” Serizawa said, “we call him… Gojira.” The name, itself, gave Luna shivers down her spine. The appearance of the beast was frightening enough but its name gave it power. She then seemed to remember reading something about Neighpon legends when she was younger. The name was derived from a legend of Odo Island: a mythical king of monsters of sorts. It was known that whenever the island faced a terrible crisis, this beast would rise from the sea to defend the islands. It was also said that the creature could set the sea ablaze with its very breath. “The top of a primordial ecosystem,” Graphic elaborated. Luna then found her voice as she continued to watch. “A monster…” “No,” Graphic responded, “a god, for all intents and purposes.” Then the images of the “cavern” in the Fillyppines then appeared on the wall from the projector. “Fifteen years ago,” Serizawa continued, “we found the fossil of another giant animal in the Fillyppines. Like Gojira, but this creature died long ago, killed by these…” Close-ups of the MUTO spores appeared on the wall. “Parasitic spores,” Graphic said. “One dormant, but the other hatched. Catalyzed when a mining company unknowingly drilled into its tomb. The hatchling burrowed straight for the nearest source of magic, the Temple of the Rising Sun in Hoofishima, and cocooned there for fifteen years, absorbing its arcane energy to gestate, to grow.” “Until it hatched like a butterfly into the creature you saw today,” Serizawa said. The biology, in fact, was fairly basic, albeit on a monstrous scale. The arthropods were basically eating machines, consuming massive amounts of nutrients before creating a cocoon in which to undergo metamorphosis into their adult stage. Serizawa called up an image of the massive cocoon, which had been discovered fifteen years ago atop the ruins of the temple, not long after the earlier disaster in the Fillyppines. “Wait. Thou knew about this?” Luna then turned to Celestia while still trying to take it in. “This thing… the whole time? Even you, sister?” Celestia sadly nodded before answering. “Yes,” she said. “I knew about it. It was I who founded Monarch to handle situations like this. As a princess of Equestria, you should know that putting the safety of our subjects before ourselves was the top priority.” “Why not slay the beast when thou had the chance?” Luna said. “It was absorbing magic from the artifact,” Graphic said. “We worried that killing it might release its inner wild magic and endanger millions.” Serizawa nodded. “That’s why our mission was to contain it, to study its biology. To understand it.” “We knew the creature was having a magical effect on everything within a close proximity,” Graphic said. “What we didn’t know was that it could harness this same power in an EMP attack.” Footage from Hoofishima showed the winged creature unleashing its electromagic pulse—a heartbeat before the pulse shorted out the monitors. “And you felt the full power of it,” Serizawa said. “One can only imagine if the MUTO ventured into populated areas.” Luna did imagine it. The monster could cause wide-spread destruction to various towns and cities. Many creatures and ponies could fall prey to its voracious appetite. It was a frightening thought. “Doctors,” Celestia spoke up. “I did notice one thing the MUTO displayed that seemed a bit… strange.” “Strange?” Graphic said. Serizawa looked to the princess with peaked curiosity. “Care to explain, your highness?” “When I interfered the MUTO had its full attention on both of us,” she explained as best she could. “Suddenly, its attention was then drawn away by some sort of invisible force. We were two of the most highly abundant sources of magic, but it turned away a free meal because something drew its interest.” “Did it do anything else?” Serizawa asked. Celestia nodded. “Yes,” she answered. “It was as if it was calling out to something and I have a feeling that ‘something’ responded back.” The princesses look to see both scientists looking at each other in shock. Whatever Celestia had said must have been a major bombshell she’d just dropped, but the two unicorns immediately grasped the implications. They glanced down at an indistinct snapshot of the majestic creature from the ocean’s floor, last seen sixty years ago. Could they truly be dealing with… him? “If the MUTO called something that day,” Serizawa reasoned, “our sensors must have recorded something responding back.” Gripped by a sense of extraordinary urgency, he turned to Graphic. “Check the recordings. Search for a response call.” She sat down at her laptop, while the projector continued to cycle through the relevant images. Serizawa slumped down into a chair. Luna stared at the wall, trying to make sense of it all. It was a lot to absorb. “This parasite… it’s still out there,” she said. “Where’s it headed?” “The MUTO is young, growing,” Serizawa said. “It will be looking for food.” “Sources of magic,” Graphic added, glancing up from her laptop. “We’re monitoring all known sites, but if we don’t find it soon…” Her voice trailed off, not needing to say more. “Then what?” Luna asked. Serizawa had his doubts, at least as far as ponykind’s ability to cope with such a threat. “Nature has an order. A power to restore balance.” He stared up at the wall, where Gojira could be glimpsed once more. The Equestrian Army had attempted to destroy the beast with a Mega Spell bomb, but even it proved ineffective afterwards. Some were hoping the bomb would have taken both monsters out that day, but that may have been wishful thinking. “I believe Gojira is that power.” Date: May 21st, 1004 D.C.R Location: Fort Bray, Braying Island, Braying Sea Summer thunderstorms raged and roared as occasional large waves hit its rocky shores. Being on this island right now was considered unbearable. That, however, is what happens when one of the Royal Army gets transferred to a fortified outpost here in the middle of nowhere. Doing daily rounds on the forts wall was a pegasus. His coat was brown while he had a red mane and tail, and his eyes were light blue. His current garb was a bright yellow raincoat, which protected him from the current elements. If his flank was exposed, you could see his cutie mark which represented a gust of wind building up ocean waves. This was Private Sea Breeze, the new recruit who was stationed here at Fort Bray. He didn’t know why he had to be transferred here of all places. Sure he wanted the peace and quiet but right now it was anything but peaceful or quiet. He sighed as he continued to finish his rounds around the fort. Checking every nook and cranny of the fort, making sure nopony was trespassing. Seeing the all clear, he decided that it was time to head back to the HQ. He entered the command center, shedding off the rain coat and hanging it on the nearby coat rack. He noticed that he wasn’t alone in the command center. Nearby sitting on a chair watching over radar and sonar monitors was a griffin. It was a female around his age and was wearing Royal Army attire. Her tuft of feathers had a similar coloration to a harpy eagle, considering her head was similar to one. Her lion half, however, was similar to that of a jaguar. He couldn’t help but smile as he walked over to the she-griffin. “Hey, Stella!” he greeted. The griffin turned before giving the stallion a smile. “Hey, SB!” she greeted back. “How was patrol?” A groan and sigh was heard from the stallion as he took a seat next to her station. “Boring and wet.” He simply said. “Why the higher ups thought to transfer us here I’ll never know.” Stella giggled a bit at her friend. “Look on the bright side,” she brought up. “At least our shift is about to end in an hour.” “Yeah,” he said. “That’s true. That reminds me. After our shift, I was wondering if you wanted to hit that restaurant down the road. If you’re interested that is?” Stella gave a playful smirk while looking to the stallion. “Mr. Sea Breeze, are you asking me out?” Sea Breeze also gave a coy smirk. “Maybe. So you interested?” Stella gave a shrug. “Eh, why not? Besides I could go for a bite to eat after today.” Before the stallion could reply, the sound of a loud ding was heard. Both look to see on the radar screen, a large object heading right towards them. Sea Breeze wasted no time and immediately put on his headphones and activated the long-range radio. “Unidentified craft,” he announced. “You are entering military waters. Please identify and state your business.” He got nothing over the radio. “Unidentified craft, please respond.” Still nothing. “Why aren’t they responding?” “Sea Breeze,” Stella said. “Check out the radar.” Sea Breeze turned his attention from the radio to the radar and what he saw he couldn’t believe his eyes. The radar was reading that the object was around 167.7 meters in length. No craft was that huge. It was impossible. “What is it?” she asked. The stallion only gave a shrug. “I don’t know. But-“ Suddenly the entire fort shook like it was in the middle of an earthquake. Small pieces of debris and speckles of dust fell from the ceiling. Both shielded their eyes with their wings as they then heard the alarm going off. The door opened showing an armored officer looking to the two. “Double time, privates!” the officer shouted. “We’re under attack!” Without hesitation, both Sea Breeze and Stella swiftly put on their armor and gathered their weapons. They flew out of the control room to see chaos on the battlefield. Several unicorns were casting magic into a large smoke cloud, sound of explosions could be heard meaning they were hitting their target. Sea Breeze found a soldier and flew up to him. “What the hay is happening?” he asked. The soldier turned to Sea Breeze with fear in his eye. “It-it-it rose from the ocean. And we’re trying to push it back but it isn’t stopping!” Before Sea Breeze could ask further, an earth-shaking roar was heard by all of the soldiers. Silence swept over the fort as the soldiers continued to look into the ebony smoke cloud. The earth started to shake as something massive was coming. The silhouette of entity was seen by all of the soldiers, most of them were shaking in fear. That’s when the entity exited out of the smoke. “Sweet name of Celestia,” a soldier whispered out in fear. Lightning shot out of storm clouds to illuminate the beast. Its spikes were struck by the various bolts of natural electricity, causing them to illuminate blue and hum. It snarled at its onlookers as they slowly backed away from the colossal monster. It looked up in the distance as its hearing pinpointed the sound it was searching for. It heard the clicking and gave a mighty roar before advancing. “Everypony, FIRE!” a soldier shouted. All the unicorns fired magic blasts at the monster, causing minor explosions to erupt on its hide. The earth ponies and pegasi loaded catapults then launched large boulders at the massive reptile. The beast roared in irritation as it was bombarded by the pony’s attempts to push it back. It snarled before raising its leg up and slamming into the ground causing the ground to shake. This caused the everypony to stumble or instantly fall on their rumps. It gave a snort in satisfaction before continuing onward. The soldiers quickly got out of the beasts path as it stomped its way through the fort. Its tail swung over the troops, smashing into the stone buildings of the complex. It exited out of the fort and continued its trek after its intended prey. Suddenly, a unicorn officer charged his horn before casting a magic blast which hit the monster in the back of its head. This caused the creature to immediately stop, while the unicorn gave a cocky smirk. “Yeah!” he shouted. “How do you like those apples, huh?” The colossal reptile stood there for a bit before turning to the soldiers. Its face was filled with an aggressive snarl, which caused the one who shot at him shake with fear. A humming sound was then heard as the soldiers witnessed a shocking but amazing sight. Its tail starting glowing neon blue before it started trailing up its back near the back its head. The humming got louder and louder as the beast took a major intake of air. The soldiers knew from experiences with dragons that they knew what came next. Everypony there turned tail and ran before monster expelled a blue beam of fire-like energy setting the entire fort ablaze. After the onslaught, the reptilian snorted out a puff of smoke and looked at its handiwork. The fort was completely demolished and parts were either melted or ablaze. Satisfied, it turned around and continued onward. Stella pushed up out of the debris that had fallen on her. She looked under her to see Sea Breeze knocked out but unharmed. She sighed before cringing as pain shot up from her wing. She looked to see that it appeared to be sprained. She was fine as long her friend was okay. She looked up at where the monster was. It was heading back out to sea while the storm raged on. It didn’t care what was in its path and continued to trek on. Lightning struck down onto the colossal reptile’s spikes causing them to glow and hum again. It gave out a mighty roar before diving into the depths of the ocean never to be seen again. Date: May 21st, 1004 D.C.R Location: Honoluna, Haywaii “Come on, everypony!” Coral calls out ahead on the jungle trail. “We’re almost there.” Since the three days the CMC met Coral has been an absolute blast. The groups of ponies have been almost all over the island thanks to Coral guiding them. Currently the group was venturing in the tropical jungles of the island. The reason, to see the island’s ruins located deep in the jungle. The group trotted up the trail to catch up with the half-merpony. Even though Coral was half-merpony, she was quite fast on the land. Nyx couldn’t help but be in awe of the surrounding area. The sounds of the jungle reminded her of one of the Daring Doo books her mother read to her one time. She couldn’t help but giggle of imagining herself as the daring archeologist currently on an adventure to find an ancient ruin. Coral turned to Nyx and noticed her giggling. “You okay, Nyx?” Nyx stopped a bit before turning to Coral. “I’m fine, Coral. I was having a funny thought.” “About what?” Coral asked. “About me being Daring Doo,” Nyx replied. This caused Coral to gasp. “You read Daring Doo!?” she asked with excitement. Nyx nodded to the half-merpony. “Yep! My mom currently has the entire series. The adventures, discovery, and also the knowledge.” She couldn’t but inwardly squeal in glee from the experience she had from reading her favorite book series. Coral giggled at her friend. “Yeah, I can understand that.” Then the islander had a minor thought before turning back to Nyx. “Hey, Nyx?” Nyx looked to Coral. “Yes?” “I just noticed, but,” Coral she said. “Were you born an alicorn or did you ascend at a time?” Nyx looked a bit uncomfortable with answering but answered the best she could. “Um, I’ve always been an alicorn. Ever since I was born.” “I see,” Coral said as she nodded her head in understanding. “That makes sense since your mom is also an alicorn.” “Actually,” Nyx brought up. “I was born as an alicorn for a different reason. Plus, Twilight’s more like my adopted mom than my real one.” Coral tilted her head bit. “So how did that happen exactly?” Before Nyx could answer, Pipsqueak stepped into the conversation. “I can answer that! Nyx, here, was the result of a spell this cult tried to cast to reincarnate Nightmare Moon.” This caused Coral’s eyes to widen in shock while Nyx glared a bit at Pipsqueak. “Pip!” she shouted at him with anger. Pipsqueak raised a brow in confusion. “What? That is how it happened, right?” That answer caused Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to facehoof while Scootaloo shook her head. “Ugh,” she groaned. “Colts heads can be as thick as boulders.” “That is so cool!” Coral exclaimed. This outburst caused the other ponies to instantly turn their heads to the islander. “Cool?” Nyx asked with a raised brow. Coral nodded. “Uh huh! I knew magic could do great things, but creating another pony? That is so cool!” “So yah don’t care that she’s ah reincarnation of Nightmare Moon?” Apple Bloom asked. Coral shook her head. “Let me tell you guys what my grandpa told me. ‘It doesn’t matter on what’s on the outside, but the inside that counts.’ I always follow that rule and I ain’t going to break that rule because of a friend’s past.” Nyx could help but give a warm smile to the half-merpony. “Thank you, Coral.” Coral smiled back. “No problem! Now come on, everypony! Let’s get to those ruins.” A few minutes had passed as they trekked through the jungle. Not leaving the trail, the CMC got to enjoy the sight of various wildlife and plant growth of the Haywaiian jungle. That’s when Coral then moved some massive ferns out of the way to show that they reached their destination. The ruins were made with ancient worn down bricks, moss could be seen growing on the structures. The center of the ruins was a large building which was built into what appeared to be a cave. Coral waddled into the cave and the other followed after. Inside, they could see torches already lit on the walls of the cave which led further into its crevice. They reached the end of the cave and what they saw made their jaws slack. There standing tall was what appeared to be a large stone slab. The size of the slab wasn’t what made them drop their jaw, but the carving etched into the stone. The carving depicted two massive creatures duking out with one another. One looked like a dinosaur or dragon with jagged dorsal spikes on its back. The other appeared to be a mixture of a sea dragon and a manta ray. On its shoulders appeared to be what looked like cannons, shooting out what was shaped like starfish. Near the bottom, etchings of what appeared to be ponies were seeing witnessing the battle. “What is this?” Scootaloo said while still in awe. Coral smiled before raising a flipper at the slab. “This is the founding of our island.” Nyx raised a brow. “Founding?” “Yep,” Coral answered. “This slab was carved a thousand years ago to tell future generations about the founding of our island. You all want to hear the tale?” “I do!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she sat down near the slab. The others agreed as well and took a seat too. Coral smiled before clearing her throat a bit before beginning the tale. “Long ago, my ancestors migrated to this island from Polyneighsia seeking a new home to live in. They arrived here and saw the beauty and wonder the island gave. Without a thought, they started to settle down and build a community here to live out their lives. Unfortunately, peace wasn’t a thing given freely during that time. From the waves of the sea, crimson red starfish appeared all over the shores of the island. They were thought harmless until some of the fishing boats were attacked. The local shamans tried getting rid of them but unfortunately this caused things to get worse. From sea itself, a monster arose and attacked them. It had a breath of crimson lightning and brought destruction to the island. It was also the source of the red starfish that was infecting our island. My ancestors prayed for a miracle to happen and as if the gods above were listening, a miracle did. From the same ocean, another monster arose from it. This one was different from the first and it was bigger. The latter monster ignored my ancestors and immediately went after the evil sea dragon. The two fought, going tooth and claw against one another. They rooted for the monster that arisen to fight the other. The battle seemed to last for almost the entire day. Both were getting tired, which meant the end was near. The evil sea dragon went in for the kill only to stop instantly by the giant reptile’s breath of blue flame, which burned through the sea dragon right in its heart. Our savior wasn’t yet done. He took another breath, burning or boiling the starfish till they were all wiped out. The villagers cheered for the savior of our island as he gave a major roar in victory. With his task complete, the monster we call, ‘The Island Guardian’, lumbered back to the ocean never to be seen again. To this day, we celebrate and share our knowledge of our home’s founding. If something grave such as the events of the island’s founding happen again, our guardian will be there to protect us.” The CMC were in awe at the story. To think, that the founding of Haywaii was settled over a giant monster brawl. Nyx looked at the etched slab with keen interest. Focused on the etching of the islands guardian, she could only hope that something like that doesn’t happen any time soon in Equestria. Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R Location: 20 miles out at sea, Haywaii A whale-watching boat was stationary in the ocean blue as its passengers were enjoying themselves. Several of them had their cameras out taking pictures of the various whale and dolphin species native to the island. Currently, they were watching a pod of Cetus and their Delphinus offspring, which the latter were either playing with their parents or gaining attention from the boat passengers. Suddenly, a Cetus felt tense before crying out to its pod and diving under the waves. The confused watchers looked around to see that the pod had disappeared from sight. It appeared that something spooked them. What could have done that? It didn’t take long for that question to be answered as a colossal black blur dived into the waves, causing the sea craft to rock and making the passengers scream. The water went calm as they looked over the boat into the water. A few minutes seemed to pass until something huge burst from sea. It was the MUTO, which had a Cetus hooked in its limbs. The constellation whale’s eyes seemed to be faded and white, indicating that it was dead. The winged monster flapped its wings as it passed over the screaming boat full of ponies. It looked around using its echolocation to scout for any landmasses. Suddenly, it picked up something. Within its sights a massive island could be seen within its range. Deciding to settle and dine, it gave a might flap towards the island. The Cetus may be around its size but it’ll take more than one oversized whale to satisfy its hunger. Hopefully the island could provide more of its favorite food.