Chapter 22: Facets
Moonbeams trickled down from the waving curtain hovering high above, ethereal silver dancing through shaded veil and across the watery plains. Ripples etched across the sandy sea floor shifted with the passage of time. Occasional strands of sea grass swaying in the weak current. In the far distance, the crash of roar of waves against beachheads and rocky shoals was a drumming echo through the dark waters. The moon was not alone in granting its light. Stars of the sky and of the sea glimmered, a rolling wave high above churning the nearby plankton into a green and blue fluorescence that danced across the surface like dozens of tiny will-o-wisps. No single word could describe how beautiful it all was, how calming it all was. She however, did have one word to describe what it was to her.
This was, home.
A peaceful current shifted in the illuminated waters, causing her mane-like fins to sway to and fro as she took in the breathtaking sight. A smile etched its way across her face as she lay back against the sea floor. Didn't matter that they'd botched charming some sailors. Didn't matter that it was hard hexing the seaside ponies at all with all the chaos going on at the surface recently. She didn't even pay much mind to the curious visage of an alicorn now staining the moon. She had no room to be upset or disappointed.
She was home, it was a good night, and she was happy. They could always try again tomorrow.
She then made the mistake of closing her eyes, stealing them from their watery void, and woke up.
Happiness and contentment vanished when the sensation of sea water against her form changed to bed linens. For the slightest moment, she prayed nothing had changed, opening her eyes and looking up to the moon. Unfortunately, when she could only see the silvery celestial through a window frame; fears were confirmed. She wasn't home, she wasn't dreaming, she'd been banished. Hubris had a price after all.
Aria Blaze sat up in her bed, pulling her legs up and hugging her knees. Her eyes looked around to the room about her. Plastered across every inch of back wall and door were pictures. Magazine cut outs, photographs, posters, even a small painting or two she'd 'appropriated'; all of home. Waves, reefs, sand flats, drop offs; and shores. If one blurred their vision and ignored the tape on some of the images, the mosaic almost looked like the sea for a moment. Aria stayed motionless and stared at the wall for a long time, zoning out and trying to ignore everything else. Her lips pursed as she closed her eyes and tried to fill her head with the sounds of her birthplace, attempting to return to her dreamscape. It only worked slightly.
She was a siren, a selfish, prideful, manipulative sea witch who caused strife in others for her own gain. She bore no regret over what she'd done. Didn't mean she couldn't feel sad either. She'd learn to move in this form, but it still felt alien. The ocean, deep or shallow, churning or calm, had been her home. Now it was just some place she'd drown in. Such drastic change was not something the group had taken lightly. Floating through the air at their choosing was one thing, you could still always go back to the water when you wanted. Being forced to claw their way across the ground, forever cut off from home was a whole different mater entirely.
-Not like you're alone in this regard, you all have coped somehow... Sonata took up swimming, if the flailing these primates do to move in the water counts as that. Adagio refuses to talk about it...-
Aria rested her chin upon her wrist, and her wrist upon her knees, opening her eyes and staring at a picture of a saltwater lagoon.
-Maybe I should see if Sonata's way helps any?-
A deep sigh slithered out of her nose. Aria chewed on her cheek. That idea wouldn't work, not for her. Humans can't breathe underwater, so she could only stay down for a few moments at a time. If siphoning hatred off the humans was her 'fast food' analogy for their magic feedings, going underwater for only about thirty seconds at a time would be like being offered a full course meal and only being allowed to nibble it a crumb at a time. It's not food anymore, just tiny samples. It would be agonizing. Didn't help that the last time she was underwater some random psycho in a mask was shoving her under.
A chill of cold shot down her back in memory. It took nearly an hour for her and Sonata to track down Adagio and tell her what had happened. Since then, there hadn't been any sign of their attacker. He'd vanished with as little of a trace as he'd arrived. Aria flopped back onto her bed, trying to brush aside thoughts of the days recently past and think about something else. Adagio was certain the magic was nearby, that detail got her attention.
-Maybe everything will change once we track down that magic? Being able to relax on a reef while being worshiped would be heaven right about now... And just as importantly-
Aria Blaze looked up at a poster of a sandy tidal zone she'd attached to the roof. It was a spot like this she'd been born at. The sight calmed her nerves some. She closed her eyes, assurance washing over her. It didn't matter her attacker was about as human as she was.
-I'd have power, enough power that no monster would ever scare me again...-
Time slipped away, and for a moment she thought she'd managed to fall asleep again. That's when she felt it. Eyes snapped open and widened as she jolted up. A dull red glow crossed her face, causing her to look down. Her Heart was pulsing, the necklace emanating a dull light. Cradling the gem, Aria's eyes flickered with realization. A slight sensation was in the air, nipping at her skin. It felt like what they all felt that night back in autumn, back at that diner. Only this feeling was much, much stronger. And far from an outburst of the benign, this was broiling with strife. It's flavor was much more to her liking.
An energy surge, a dark energy surge. It could only have meant one thing.
-Someone with a lot of magic was feeling very angry...-
Aria swung her legs around and got up from her bed, pointing her siren heart at the window leading to the woods outside. The red gemstone's pulses grew stronger and more rapid with the new direction. A large smirk crossed her face.
-And they are close by...-
Not wasting a moment, she threw on some outside clothes and her jacket. For the first time in months, she was the ecstatic one. They'd been tracking that magic for weeks, toiling as they narrowed down it's source. And now not only was it in the perfect state to siphon from, but it practically seemed gift wrapped to their front doorstep. This one night could change everything!
However, one step outside her bedroom door momentarily gave her pause. Aria bit her lip and tip toed to Adagio's door. She twisted the knob at a snail's pace to avoid it creaking, peaking an eye inside to peer through the crack. The orange siren was easy enough to spot, between the enormous mound of curly hair and glowing gem. However, she was still as a statue aside from breathing. Squinting, Aria could just barely make out that her cohort's eyes were closed and a smile across her face. Adagio Dazzle was still sound asleep, and probably dreaming. Aria slowly closed the door and moved over to Sonata's room. This time, she didn't even need to look inside to confirm that she was the only one awake, needing only to put her ear to the wood. Aria knew her fellow sirens well. And sure enough, Sonata's muffled snoring was all too audible. She always did have a strong voice despite her namesake.
Aria backed away from the door as numerous thoughts raced through her mind. The equation was simple enough to put together. She was the only one awake and the energy surge's source was close. Knowing those two it would take them a bit to wake up and head out. She could go after it alone, get it for herself....
A mock version of Adagio's voice echoed through her head, reciting lines of years long since passed that changed Aria's life more than anything. They were very charismatic and appealing back then. Not anymore.
-"The Equestrians will be easy pickings! The alicorns have their hooves busy enough as is and we've never been caught before. We'll take the show to the cities and reap our gains! No more running away! No more scrounging for power to get back what's ours! Even if they catch on eventually, we'd have more than enough time to get strong enough to beat even Celestia if we have to before returning to Mako. We'll be living like queens in days. What could go wrong?"-
Aria's eyes narrowed to a glare as she looked to Adagio's door.
-Bearded arch mage with portal magic, that's what could go wrong...-
Her mind was made up with that. Those two could wait their turn. She was going to get what she was entitled to back first. Creeping out of the house, Aria quietly locked the door behind her and sprinted off into the woods, using her gemstone as a compass. A shiver trailed down her spine upon seeing the darkened forest, thoughts trailing back to a mall trip turned into trauma. Aria couldn't stop herself from moving as quietly as she could, keeping an eye out for anything, or more importantly anyone who might be around. She paused for a moment and looked about her surroundings, hoping and praying that she didn't see a white mask and a black scarf. Being alone did no favors for any anxiety. Had the power surge not felt so strong or her gem not pulsed as excitedly as it did, she might have turned back to stay safe. Aria drew a deep breath to calm her pulse.
-There has been no sign of that 'thing' for days and you know this neck of the woods. It's perfectly safe and you are getting what you came for...-
She resumed her trek and it didn't take long for her gem to start constantly glowing. Trails of green smoke, hate energy, soon littered the ground. Aria flashed a smile, quietly humming a soft melody to draw the smog in. As soon as the first bit entered her heart, an exhilarating wave coursed through her system. To put matters bluntly, it felt a bit odd at first, but the surge of power she felt trickling in made her efforts on the humans pale in comparison. Magic or not, there was a lot of hatred around, and it had a lot of energy in it. So captured she was at her feast, that the siren didn't notice all the snapped branches littering the trees as high as two and a half meters up; going on the exact same path as the mist.
As she followed the trail, nearly silent aside from her hushed voiced, the siren slowly began to realize just how much smog there was. The energy around here was practically suffocating. She'd only been absorbing it for a few passing seconds now, barely scratching the surface of the smog mass, and already she felt about a tenth of her full power had come back. Her grin through her quiet song refused to subside. Her old self was coming back, and no longer one miniscule fragment at a time. An off thought cast her vision back to the faint outline of the cabin visible through the trees about two hundred meters away. Aria stopped her quiet melody.
-Maybe I should go back and get them... Seems safe. There is plenty to go around...-
Before she could turn around however, a sharp sound startled her attention away. The forest was moderately lit, pale moonbeams filtering down from the sparse canopy and reflecting off the snow covered ground. Looking in the direction of the snap, it took her a moment to spot the source of the noise; and the smog. There was a low growling. Standing under the shroud of an overhanging branch about twenty yards away was a large figure with its back to her. It was tall, easily a third of a meter taller than the siren. He turned around. The night and the man's dark coloration made its details hard to make out, aside from the glow anchored to its eyes, neck, and wrists. They were blood red, and looking right at her. Kaizer Ghidorah sneered under his breath, chilled mist emitting from his nose. He seemed unaware of the green smog seeping out from his form, nor would he care. He was far too berserk to see much of anything. Anything except the young woman he was glaring at with manic intent.
He'd been so close. So close to King Ghidorah. So close he could visualize tearing the demon's heart from his chest and crushing it. Something, someone had denied him that chance. Rational thought was long since deceased, seething hatred blotting all sense. The woman lived in this world, she must have done it. She'd taken him away from his right, interfered just like that cyborg.... She dared, and thus was good as dead. A fanged grin crossed his human face. Tree limbs never did give quite the same snap as a real limb.
He took a step forward, crushing another fallen branch and layer of snow underfoot as he began trudging forward. That was all Aria needed for primal fear to overtake her, turning tail and sprinting the other direction. Her hood flopped back as she sprinted for the cabin, trailing her long hair as she weaved around branches and trunks in an attempt to get away. Stealing a glance back, the frightened siren soon discovered her would-be power source wasn't walking anymore. Snapping a sapling that was in his way as he moved from shadow to shadow, Kaizer was barreling towards Aria faster than she could get away. Her mind was in an absolute panic for the first time since the attack at the mall. He was gaining on her, she'd never make it to the cabin and unlock the door in time.
Up ahead there was a massive, hollow oak tree illuminated by a moonbeam. As she approached, Aria gauged that she'd be just barely small enough to fit through. In almost any other scenario she'd think of what could go wrong. The hollow might be too shallow for her. Might be something already in there. Her pursuer might be able to fit in as well. But right now, the poor siren wasn't thinking straight. She just had to get somewhere remotely safe with something solid behind her. The footfalls of the dark figure were booming behind her ears, closing in. Throwing everything she had into a lunge, Aria dove forward into the hollow. She ended up roughing her shoulder and stunning her arm while forcing her way in, but the hollow was large enough to fit and was thankfully vacant.
She only had time to brace against the back wall, holding up her good arm in a guard as the footfalls drew in. The sound stopped, and a second passed. Then a broad arm forced its way into the hollow and nearly grabbed her wrist. It was covered in a black glove, but was thrashing around so much that Aria couldn't make out many details beyond the wrist, which was covered in a dull gold bracer with two red gems embedded in the top. The arm jerked and flailed around rapidly, as its owner tried to force his way inside and grab at her throat. Failing to grab the dodging siren, it retracted and two hands clenched at the edges of the hollow's entrance. Grip crushed in on fringes, the tell tale sounds of dead wood splinting striking the air.
Trying to act fast, Aria held her gemstone and attempted to sing. Startled and fear growing every moment, her shaking voice was to be expected, she was terrified. Her vision blurred slightly as scared tears began to clot her sight.
"Ha-Ha Kaa!-kaa-Haa-huu-haa-aaa!"
-"G-Go Away! Go Away! GO AWAY!"-
The attacker briefly reeled back upon hearing her song, but the reaction was the exact opposite of what she'd been trying. An enraged, deep yell almost akin to a roar called out from beyond the hollow. He attacked the tree even more vigorously than before, grabbing at its fringes and yanking upon them. The wood began to visibly crack under strain. A growling voice rang out, some of the words incomprehensible due to the heavy snarling.
"HE KILLED H--! WH--E IS HE?! WHERE! IS! HE!?"
A large chunk of tree trunk was torn away, enlarging the hollow's entrance. Aria nearly screamed through the spite inducing melody, fueled off her own disdain for her cousin Adagio, to try and control or ward him off but it only seemed to make the rabid creature in the shape of man more enraged.
"WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN ME HERE!? WHY DID YOU INTERFERE?!"
Unable to focus on her song, Aria's tune altered significantly and she unconsciously kept singing despite bracing against the back of the trunk. It was all she could do for a moment, singing a melody she'd never heard of. One that focused not on the now, but the past. Back to a time under the ocean's wave, tucked into a sea cave with her cousins cuddled close. Back to when someone sang her a lullaby and she felt the opposite of hatred for so many things in the world. It was a bygone time when she was loved and happy. She cut off her voice, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes; not wanting to see the end coming as a hand lunged at her...
It took Aria a few moments to notice that seconds had ticked by and nothing had happened aside from a cold feeling on her throat.
She peeked out one eye, half wondering how she was still alive. Looking down, she noticed the cause of the chill. Her Heart was glowing, gentle pulses coursing over it every few moments as red colored smog filtered into it. The same rush of power she felt earlier began to trickle out of the gem. It felt a little different in comparison to the green smoke however. In some ways, it chilled her to the bone. In other ways, it felt magnitudes stronger. Her power was rushing back into her by the moment. Trailing her vision up, her eyes widened at the source of the red smoke. Eyes met eyes, bloody cinnabar looking into fuchsia magenta. Having completely halted his attack, Kaizer loomed over the hollow's entrance, standing silently aside from coarse breathing. He retracted his hand that had been inches from Aria's throat and letting it flop to his side. Had she been a moment late, he'd probably have snapped her neck.
Despite the moon light behind him, it was hard for Aria to make out more than a few more his features. Hair was short but unkempt, jet black with the fringes being grizzled into a dull gold or yellow. The face was obscured, both due to the lighting and its midnight black tone. The only legible portion being the eyes due to the iris' slight glow. They had no whites, the entirety of the orbs aside from the red iris being an inky black. He appeared to be wearing a necklace or choker of some sort, which gleamed slightly in the reflection of Aria's own. It had the same pair of red embedded gems Aria had previously spotted on his bracers. Kaizer stood motionless, peering down at her with narrowed, studying eyes. The gleam of bared teeth subsided slightly.
Slowly, he leaned in slightly as the red smoke cut off; trying to get a closer look. Aria held up her arms to guard, still trying to stop her racing breathing and heart rate. Her attacker tilted his head to the side in an odd manner, not blinking once. His expression was completely unreadable, akin to trying to understand a wild animal. It was impossible to tell what was going through his head, if he was going to attack or not. A low voice slithered out of his maw.
".... Eleven?"
A loud footstep tore Kaizer's attention away. Pushing away from the hollow, Aria's attacker turned and glared at something she could not see. Kaizer's hairs raised slowly, growling like a rabid beast at something off to the right. Trying to see past the hollow, Aria barely caught a glimpse of another figure charging them before it tackled the first being. Kaizer grunted and snarled, shoved against the trunk hard enough to rattle the hollow before grabbing his assailant and tossing it to the side. The former kaiju wasted no time to go on the attack, blood thirst switching back on in an instant. Aria gathered her wits amidst a surging heart beat, as the sounds of close combat echoed in. Snapping branches, shifting feet in the snow, growling voices; and the thumping of blows. She jumped back slightly as a loud thud smacked into the side of the trunk, denting it and splinting some of the wood. After a few moments the noises grew slightly distant. Aria Blaze held her breath and jumped out of the hollow. She stole a glance at the dueling figures a dozen yards away, one tossing the other to the ground only to receive a branch to the face in return; before sprinting as fast as she could back to the cabin.
Elsewhere and several minutes of close combat later, Kaizer tumbled back through a thicket of river reeds. He groaned while rolling over, feeling and testing his jaw to ensure that last punch from his attacker didn't break it before he sprung back up to his feet. The thumping of heavy footfalls signaled his dance partner's return. Snarling, Kaizer focused his energy through his arm; attempting to channel a graviton torrent out of the limb. Despite feeling the air shift slightly, and several fallen leaves and pieces of snow briefly levitating off the ground from the altered gravity; the result was not what was asked for. There was a brief flash of golden light in his palm, but the world around Kaizer spun and altered into the unrecognizable. The dark, riverside forest blurred, briefly morphing back to darkened halls. The dark figure morphing into the snarling visage of Gaira as a black and white arm threw out and jabbed the ogre in the face. Kaizer snarled and reeled back slightly, trying to force the visions away and try again. Another charge up, another misfire, another vision. The purple haired woman tearfully looking at her necklace, a heavily injured Gigan kneeling before him; walking towards a statue with a pale shape beside him. Kaizer shook his head ferociously to clear his vision, stopping his attempts to attack. The visions ceased and he returned to the dark wood. Growling under his breath, he narrowed his eyes as he canceled his plans. His energy was there, but the control had gone haywire. Something, or rather, someone was wrong with his powers.
-I'll deal with you later, X...-
The footfall grew louder and his attacker came barreling at him from down a hill. It was time to settle this the old fashion way.
-Currently I have other arrangements...-
He waited for the black and crimson clad man to throw a lunging punch. Ducking to the side slightly as the fist raked across his ribs, Kaizer grabbed the arm by its wrist and smashed his forearm into its elbow full force. The arm bent the wrong way with a crunch. And yet, despite the pain it had to have been in, his bulky attacker didn't utter a single cry as Kaizer flipped him over his shoulder. Not that Kaizer particularly cared, the loud crack heralding a crushed joint and likely severed tendons was enough to give him a grin.
Pressuring his counterattack, Kaizer planted his boot on the back of his down assailant's head, twisting and yanking on the shoulder to earn another snapped joint. He kicked the masked thug in the face, sending it tumbling into the water's edge and breaking the thin ice sheet coating the river. But despite its mutilated arm, the figure was quick to get right back up without any sign of being slowed. Not taking it's eyes off Kaizer, it gripped its shoulder firmly and tore it to the side, a sickening pop being all too audible as the limb was snapped back into its socket. The self surgery continued with its elbow, slinging it back into the proper direction. Despite all possibility speaking against it, it began to move its arm like nothing had happened. All while not speaking a single word from behind the snarling facade clad across its white and red mask, the only change being a dull red glow briefly visible near the sternum. Kaizer huffed for breath, narrowing his eyes slightly while the gemstones mounted on his bracers and necklace gleamed in anger.
Crushed feet, busted knees, broken arms, shattered ribs, even stabbing it with a tree branch, it seemed like his best efforts only slowed this mute assailant down. His attacker was as strong as it was bold, daring to attack him. Pain shot through Kaizer's chest with every breath, indicating a fractured rib or sternum. A particularly nasty hit with a tree branch had rendered his left leg slowed and numb; and the trickle of blood down his brow and nose told him he'd been cut across the scalp or forehead, likely from one of the short spines jutting out from his attacker's knuckles. This body wasn't as durable as his old one, but he'd be fighting like it was. Monster X was the one who'd dodge oncoming attacks as often as possible. Kaizer Ghidorah was used to just bulldozing through them most of the time. A folly. One way or another, he was beginning to tire of this fight, but judging from the dark form lumbering up to him without a hint of pain; the feeling wasn't mutual. He'd give a lot to have his graviton attacks again, but judging from past failure it looked like he needed to stick to brute force. Still, didn't mean he couldn't use his brains too.
Looking to the sheets of ice, Kaizer noticed something. In the portions of ice that had broken, revealing water, several shards of ice and snow were floating on the surface. They were drifting in a direction, pressing up against the edge of the side sheet. The ice was unstable, and there was a reasonably strong current under it. One way or another, he needed to end this fight; or at least buy time for round two. And he knew just the way to do it.
Curling his lips and flashing his short fangs in a snarl, Kaizer charged down the incline and tackled his foe. The demon met him head on and refused to be toppled, grabbing onto Kaizer's shoulders as Kaizer did the same to him; digging his feet into the riverbed to try and avoid being forced back. But Kaizer had momentum on his side, winning the strength contest and shoving them several yards into the frozen river. Feeling a rapidly increasing depth, Kaizer changed his grip and grabbed onto his enemy's head; beginning to twist at it. The inhuman still refused to utter so much as a growl, letting go of Kaizer's shoulders and rapidly punching at his chest and gut. The former kaiju held his breath and braced as best he could against the onslaught, feeling more of his ribs begin to fracture and break. Spiked knuckles punched more and more holes into Kaizer's gut as he focused on twisting it's neck further and further around. Finally, the breaking point had its eve.
Kaizer roared out in manic laughter, throwing his shoulders and hips to add force until his assailant's neck finally gave out. The wet crack echoed into the night as a head was spun around behind mounting. The attacker's body went slack from a snapped spinal cord, twitching as it began to go limp. But the hybrid ghidorah wasn't finished. Grabbing the fallen unknown by its arm, he put the last of his strength into spinning around and hurling it several yards into the icy river. The limp body shattered the thin ice on impact, dunking under the surface before the current took hold of it. The dark form drifted to the river floor, sinking down before slowly rolling along the bottom and heading downstream.
Kaizer held an arm across his bruised and bleeding chest, trying to hold in the stabbing pain he got every moment while grunting for breath. Licking some blood trickling from his lip, he spat out the ichor before slowly trudging his way back to shore.
-Swim with that...-
Reaching solid ground, he grumbled and slumped against a tree to catch his breath briefly before lumbering back off into the forest. He was definitely going to be feeling all of this in the morning. However, as he wandered off into the woods; the former kaiju began to feel an odd tingling sensation wash over him as he grew tired. His mind was beginning to feel cloudy and numb, consciousness lost as he wandered off. He couldn't have noticed some strands of his hair beginning to pale, and the black sclera encircling his irises started fading to white. After a few moments, someone else entirely collapsed into a snowbank.
================
Tree of Harmony
================
Deep within her gleaming ethereal realm, Harmony watched on from her viewing panels. This development with the black and white kaiju was, troubling. When it crossed into the human realm from whatever hell her opponent ruled from, she'd felt the outburst of energy all the way to her chamber. So much energy had been put out, that the wall between the worlds couldn't strip it all away. This situation was most unwell. The comparison of how this 'X' acted compared to this new face was night and day.
-A rampaging dragon; sharing a body with a soldier-
Sympathy felt for the poor soul the beast inhabited was evident, but the facts remained. She looked through the realm which the terror had been released with grim recognition. This world had just rediscovered its magic, and already had its own growing problems to deal with.
-And now, the dragon dwells in a place without as many defenses to balance it...-
Harmony bowed her head, shaking it. Maybe she'd been too hopeful for all these kaiju. Irys was still a promising case, as was Megalon and perhaps Gigan. The poor soul that lay unconscious in the snow, X, had just as much of a chance... But the other personality, the Kaizer, it seemed to have been consumed by hatred long ago. And with so much potential power, even in a human form, it could grow to be a threat more dire than the demoness and sirens put together. And this was on top of that other creature suddenly arriving. The mere essence of that being's energy reeked of the malign.
It was times like these she almost wished she'd not divided her power all those centuries ago. With the elements only recently returned, it would be a long time until she could step into any fray personally outside of the briefest moment; having to resign herself to speed chess. And time might not be on her side. The human world only bore inexperienced champions, oblivious to the two growing monstrosities within it. Perhaps she'd need find a way to send in aid from Equestria?
-I could attempt to contact Caesar again... or send one of my!-
Her thoughts given pause by the sound of music. Harmony opened her eyes and looked to the source. Before her was the scene at the hollow, Kaizer tearing away at the trunk as Aria attempted to mind control him. Kaizer had just about forced his way in, startling Aria. In that moment, the tune changed; as did Kaizer. Harmony played over the scene again and again, looking closely. The beast was about to throttle the siren's neck for one moment, and stopped when the song changed. He was still far from tamed, descending into bloodlust right after being attacked by the dark agent. But, for the briefest moment, Aria had calmed him down. And then there was that red smoke...
Harmony's pronged horn glimmered, altering the scene to the riverside. Kaizer had thrown his hand out, the gravity in the area shifted. The flash of light that followed confirmed it was an attempt at an attack of some sort, but something blocked it. Judging from Kaizer's reaction, staggering briefly and mentally swearing; something was going on within his head.
-I'll deal with you later...-
It seemed Kaizer didn't have full control of himself after all. Someone was already fighting him. A small, hopeful smile crossed the watcher's lips. The vision before her shifted to the present, the unconscious Monster X laying in the snow. With this new threat running about, she'd need a counter. And if there were ways to keep the Kaizer 'aimed' in the right direction...
-Perhaps... You're not completely lost after all-
The main realm was relatively placid and had plenty of defenses. She could afford to keep her focus here for awhile. Try and keep the two beings that could hope to stop Kaizer Ghidorah close together. Perhaps, two wrongs could help make a right? She could only pray.
-You have one chance X...-
==============================
Hours later and nearly three kilometers downstream, there was movement at the bottom of a frozen lake the river fed into. Surrounded in the icy water, a masked demon opened his eyes. Enjin shifted his head, slowed by a broken neck and the suffocating cold. Slowly but surely however, he moved his neck back into the proper place. Nerves of shade began to branch out and mend themselves together, reinforced from their previous injury just as his arm had. Whatever killed him, made him stronger. The revenant oni balled a fist, before getting up and lumbering across the river bottom and heading for shore. Bagan had seen it all through his aspect's eyes. Kaizer was at war with himself, and still vulnerable. And now it seemed the ghidorah wasn't the only target of opportunity in this world....
========================
Sweet Apple Acres, next day
========================
Anguirus grunted, shifting his weight to the side to dump his last load of zap apples into the storage bins. Work on a farm was something new to him, but on some level he liked it. The Fire Guardian never was a particularly active kaiju, so the slow, but steady and constant pace of rural labor felt decent enough. Plenty of elbow room on the orchards, a big step up from any city he might have ended up in. And a body purposely built to swim through magma and charge into combat was plenty strong enough to buck, load, and haul bustles and bustles of apples. Least the matriarch of the family thought so as she looked over at her new farm aid.
Granny Smith let an honest smile stretch over her wrinkled muzzle and made her way over to the bins. When he first got a look at her, Anguirus felt a brief moment of confusion surge over him; but swept it away. He was in magical technicolor horse world where a being like Pinkie Pie could exist, he wasn't going to bother asking why Mrs. Smith was half covered in painted-on polka dots and wearing a purple bunny suit. He just hoped it wasn't contagious. Granny Smith paid the perplex looking stallion no mind and looked over the harvest.
"Yeeeeep! I'd say between you and Lil' Mac, we 'bout got this harvest all wrapped up. I best hustle on this here jam prep or it'll be more late than it is. Jackie's gonna be grinnin' like a bride by time she gets back from visitin' Braeburn! Nothing like some jam for a homecomin'."
Granny noted with a nod. Anguirus looked back over the zap apple orchards. True to word, the trees had been cleaned out. Might have helped they had the other 'farm aid' keeping the fruit bats away. Anguirus would give Granny Smith props for one thing, she actually found a way to keep Destroyah busy. Certainly had helped him relax somewhat. Granny Smith looked through the bins, keeping a mental count of the fruit until she reached her goal.
"Yep! You boys done some good. This here's definitely enough for the first batch of jam for Mr. Filthy and then some."
She looked up at the stallion with a happy smile.
"Why don't ye' take the afternoon off. Yah been up and hauling since before the rooster was crowin'."
Anguirus raised an eyebrow, leaning back against a fence post. He'd been around the family long enough to know a few things. They had been a welcoming bunch, and he'd been welcoming in turn. He hadn't spotted Macintosh in awhile, Applejack was still with Rodan, and he hadn't seen young Bloom since morning. And given the matriarch wasn't getting any younger, leaving her alone didn't seem like the wisest option. She already looked like something out of a cartoon, he didn't want to guess what might come next.
"Are you certain Mrs. Smith? I could always keep present until one of your grandchildren return-"
Anguirus cut himself off when Granny put her costume and paint tipped hoof on his muzzle.
"Naaah Naaah, I'll be just fine. Mac should be heading in soon and Apple Bloom's with her friends in the barn. I'll have plenty of company."
"But-"
"Go ooon! If Princess Celestia wants ye' big critters learnin' to behave like us folks, how ye' gonna do it all cooped up in here all day?! Now g't!"
The old mare barked with a chuckle. Anguirus' protests died in his throat. One of the first things he learned about Granny Smith was that she had a stubbornness that made his attitude look meek by comparison. For such a seemingly aged old widow, she had an unmovable foundation. She was weathered, but most certainly not withered. Anguirus slipped off his holding harness.
"Alright, I'll be back before sun down."
He said under his breath, heading down the path to town.
"Take care!"
It took him several long minutes and approaching the outskirts of town for Anguirus to realize just what happened. Back home, most days were spent roaming to find the next threat, some sparring; or resting from his last brawl. The Anteverse invaders certainly helped make matters less quiet in the past few years. Truth be told, any spare time, let alone a day off was about as foreign a concept to the kaiju as working on a farm. Thankfully town was a safer place to be around than he'd previously thought. If Rarity, an expert about how appearance can affect social interaction from what Anguirus could gather, said he could pass ponies by without raising suspicion; he trusted the advice.
Anguirus absent mindedly kept walking, letting his unconscious guide him around as he try and dwell on the idea of just what exactly he was going to do. Sights and sounds blurred for a long while, until the strong smell of tea leaves shot up his nose. A familiar, cervine form looked over to him from behind a countertop.
"Quill Coat?"
'Quill Coat' froze in place and finally took a moment to take in what was going on. He was halfway through the front door to a familiar restaurant, warm lights cast from lanterns coating the entirety of the interior. By the looks of things the establishment was winding down for the day, with only a few townsfolk being seated and eating on the cushions and benches. That and the owner was looking right at him with a perplexed expression. Ki Seong raised her deer-like ears. Her recent acquaintance dropping in suddenly after several days absence had made her smile, but confusion took hold as to why he had been standing in the front doorway for about twenty seconds now without budging. To call Anguirus stiff as a board would be an understatement. He didn't know why he'd ended up here. He didn't know why he was frozen in place. And he, as someone who regularly slept in live magma, didn't know why his face was feeling hot.
Seong encircled the plate of food she'd been preparing in a golden aura, passing it to the thankful customer before getting out from around the counter.
"Quill? Are you alright? Would, you like a table?"
She asked with a mildly concerned voice as she trot up to him. It took her approaching to finally allow 'Quill Coat' to finally feel his joints unlock.
"I'll be closing up soon, but always room for another. We can have a chat as I wrap up if you'd li-"
"HI SEONG! GOTTA GO! WRONG ADDRESS! BYE!"
With speed far exceeding one would expect for his bulk and size, Anguirus whirled around out the door in a blur and closed it behind him. Seong lurched her head back with wide eyes and pursed lips, flabbergasted as to what just happened. Judging from the loud, exasperated-
"-AAAAARG!"
audible through the door, she wasn't the only one. Cloudchaser leaned over to the kirin from her seat, having witnessed it all.
"Um... iisss he okay? He kinda spazzed out when you got close there."
Ki Seong's face relaxed as she took a deep breath. With a slow exhale she giggled under her breath. She smiled slightly while reapproaching the counter.
-Shy around me huh? Adorable-
"Oh don't worry about him."
Seong rang up her next order and got to work, talking over it.
"He'll be back."
===========================
Elsewhere, back at the orchards
===========================
Energized horn met a thicket of reinforced vines, slicing the invasive parasites like a hot knife through butter. Purple sparks crackled along Destroyah's ragged mane before a stream of violet energy resembling a lightning bolt eviscerated and evaporated the falling vines before they so much as touched the ground. The giant of a mare grumbled as she left the now liberated apple tree behind her. Despite having enough strength to 'applebuck' even the strongest tree in the orchard, the apple family was quick to find Destroyah's talents related more to pest control. The agreement was passable to her, having given the kaiju something to shoot at. As a result she'd spent the better part of the day slicing apart vines, evaporating weeds; or shooting around, or rather when no Apple was around, at animal pests. Speaking of onlookers...
"I know you runts are over there. Out."
Destroyah spoke with a grumble, glancing at some nearby shrubs behind her without so much as turning her head. One by one, the Cutie mark Crusaders filed out of the foliage with sheepish smiles. Apple Bloom was the first to speak, rubbing the back of her head.
"Sorry 'bout spyin' on yah Princess, we were comin' to talk to yah, but got wrapped up watchin'!"
Sweetie Belle hopped up next to her companion as she looked at Destroyah's scimitar-like horn. The memory of what it did to the vines just a moment ago gave her a giddy grin and a hyper voice.
"How'd you do that blade thingy with your horn Princess Destoroyana?! Some sort of super secret princess spell?!"
Destroyah's jaw clenched. Several days on this farm and that title was really starting to get to her. From what she perceived so far, the 'princesses' in this world, the smallest one withstanding, were regal, elegant; awe inspiring feminine icons. Destroyah on the other hand was as far from that ideal as possible and wanted nothing to do with it. In arthropods, the female was the burlier, stronger, more dangerous gender; a principle that carried over to Docter Serizawa's legacy. There wasn't an inch of beauty curves or fine mane on her, just muscle and fangs. And if it was possible for someone like her, Destroyah took offense to the label first time she'd been called it. Now it just ticked her off.
She lunged down at the trio like a demon from hell, her horn igniting with fiery wrath as energy raced across her mane and maw. Fangs were bared, mist billowing out from between them.
"I!... Am NOT! A PRINCESS!"
Several long moments passed before the Serizawan legacy noticed something. Despite doing everything to terrify the children short of firing at their hooves, an appealing option in her mind at the moment, the CMC were completely unmoved. Quite the opposite, seeing a display of the kaiju's powers so close had widened their eyes and granted them gleeful expressions. Destroyah cut off the energy to her horn and mouth, closing her jaw. A deep, reverberating grumble came forth. Destroyah raised her head back up to her full height and looked down at the children as they wagged their tails. She had every wish and will to kill them right then and there. Crushed skull, chopped in half, evaporated, bitten to death; this group was more than annoying so the methods were innumerable. But with every thought, a pulse stabbed through her to banish it. Her chest felt tighter the more she attempted to dwell on the possibility. Every time she tried to think up a way to massacre one of the CMC on the spot, the tightening struck harder and dispelled it quicker than the last. Destroyah rolled her eyes.
-More trouble than it's worth Des-
"And why were you runts trailing me this time?"
Destroyah spoke with a grunt, only to have Scootaloo bounce up a bit towards her with her wings fluttering.
"We just wanted to see you do your thing. It's awesome!"
"Thing?"
Apple Bloom raised her hoof.
"Yah! Your powers! Haven't seen nopony ever do the stuff you do. Like that purple death ray!"
"Or the horn cutter!"
"And those purple exploding spheres that melted that boulder!"
Destroyah snorted, turning and starting to walk away from the group. Maybe she could forget about her annoyances and lift her mood if she managed to find one of those wooden dogs to tear apart.
"Hmp, I just guess mangling or wrecking things would be my talent..."
Apple Bloom's voice called out from her height. Destroyah looked to her right and saw the earth pony filly standing on a branch at the kaiju's eye level, a tad confused as to how something so small could have moved so fast and gotten where she was.
"Oh! Monster Hunter AND Demolitionist?! You'll be perfect then! We need somethin' wrecked!"
Destroyah gave her a fleeting glance.
"If this is about that Almond Tiara's clubhouse again-"
"No no! This is different! You see we had this ol' storehouse we needed to tear down so the plots clear for the upcoming build project. Mah' sister and Rainbow Dash were gonna bring it down like the last one soon as she's back visitin' cousin Braeburn."
Without warning, Sweetie Belle practically seemed to materialize on another branch opposite of Apple Bloom.
"But you could do it all in a few minutes and have it outta the way by the time Applejack gets back!"
Now it was Scootaloo's turn to break physics, popping up on the top of Destroyah's back and nearly causing the mare to instinctively throw her off.
"And you could use all your cool powers without worrying about wrecking the orchard! No having to cut around vines to avoid hitting anypony or any trees!"
The prospect was casually appealing to her, despite the group proposing it. Destroyah looked up for a bit, mulling over her thoughts.
"So... I could get to demolish some building, and there is no repercussions?"
She asked with a bemused tone, closing her eyes. The giddy voice of Scootaloo answered her.
"Nope!"
"And none of you three, nor anyone is going to get in my way?"
"Nope!"
"And most importantly..."
Destroyah opened her eyes, looking back to Scootaloo with as deadpan an expression as she could muster. She didn't even feel like questioning how in the world Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle managed to get out of the trees and beside their companion.
"Will you runts get off my back afterwards?"
Scootaloo beamed, nodding a few times in unison with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
"Sure! We'll let yah take a rest!"
Destroyah stared at them for some time, before turning her head back around without her expression so much as budging as she walked through the orchard.
"... Maybe it'll do me some good, was bored anyways."
"Alrighty! Just lead on straight from here and make a right at the trail."
"Just warnin' yah Miss Desatroyah, it's a biiiiig storehouse."
"...I hope so..."
==================
Carousel Boutique
==================
Baby blue magic encircled fabric scissors and half a dozen needles, sticking, cutting, trimming; and seaming layers upon layers of cloth together across the mannequin. Rarity bit her lip and adjusted her glasses, looking close at her handiwork to try and scrutinize it again. With a gala coming up and word of her expertise having spread through the grape vine, she'd gotten more than a couple orders in the past few days. Seems like even giant monsters popping up couldn't change some constants in Equestria. As attentive as she was to her work however, Rarity was unfocused and had redone this particular gown four times now. Dull pain slipped through the pale unicorn's head and horn with her pulse. Rarity groaned, sitting down and taking off her glasses before rubbing her temple to try and ebb the pain away. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the world flashed back to dreamscape. Her nightmare and Nightmare returned.
The boutique turned into charred ruin, her home and town reduced to a corpse by a tri-horned titan. Her heart practically stopped when she remembered her sister's still eye, starlight and gray in the reflection. Memory of her dark echo's voice seemed so close that it was as if the Nightmare was whispering in her ear.
-If he makes it to Equestria.. No survivors...-
Rarity's legs began to buckle, on the edge of choking when a voice she'd learned only a few days prior tore her back to reality.
"Hello? Miss Rarity? Are you present?"
Rarity shot up, quickly grabbing a piece of scrap fabric and wiping her dampened eyes, breathing deeply to slow her heart rate.
-Just a terrible, terrible dream Rarity. She is gone, and so shall it!-
She repeated her mental mantra several times in rapid succession, reaching some measure of limited success. She still had to force herself to remember it wouldn't be proper for a lady to appear as such around company to pound the memo through. Taking one last, deep breath into her minor mediation; Rarity turned and called over her shoulder.
"In here Anguirus. Come in."
"You certain? Are you in the midst of something? I had a question but it can wait."
Rarity brushed her mane back a bit, regaining her focus. A little company could be just what was needed right now. Friendship was magical, and some conversation might help keep her mind from wandering off into unfavorable waters. It's harder to scare someone who's not alone.
"No no, please make yourself at home. I needed a break anyways."
Anguirus stepped inside and closed the door behind him, taking a seat on the central carpet. An expert in body language he was not, but the stallion need only a glance at Rarity when she turned around to get a hint that something was off. Her usually uniform and groomed mane was slightly flayed and her ears were drooping for a moment before perking up. Even the way she carried herself before trotting over to him seemed a tad off from what he remembered.
"You okay?"
Anguirus asked, tilting his head slightly like a curious dog. Rarity shook her head, setting some of her design down before seating herself.
"Oh I'm quite fine darling, no need for worry. Just a bit of work stress giving me a bit of a headache I suppose. So what brings you here?"
Anguirus' mind briefly spasmed upon recalling his reasoning. It only took him half a moment to clench his jaw and affirm there was no way he was going to spout out his exact reasoning. Wasn't lying if you didn't tell the whole truth.
"Well, I've gotten some word from Mothra saying my team and I won't be incognito forever.. but..."
"Buuuut?"
"She said after Godzilla's mixed reaction to take extra care not to scare anyone."
"Hmmm, well that seems to be good thinking on her part. Ponies react better to things that seem more personable. How does this involve me exactly? You mentioned you had a question earlier I believe?"
"Well-"
Anguirus had to try his hardest not to think about a particular subject. His ears flopped down against his head.
"-I figured that since we might be here awhile and fitting in might calm the situation down some, I thought learning how to act around you folks might help out in the long run."
Rarity's eyebrows raised slightly as she rubbed her chin. What she thought was being proposed was fairly surprising to say the least.
"So, you want to learn some manners and came to me wondering if I could teach you any, did you?"
Anguirus nodded his head a few times, some small slivers of eagerness being apparent before he reigned it in.
"You seemed like the best to go to. Back at the farm I only got an elderly granny who sleeps half the day and a guy I've only heard about three sentences out of on any given day. 'Sides you got the most decorated home in town."
It had been a long time since somepony asked her about something like this, and she'd be the last mare to deny someone who wanted some help. The topics needing to be covered rapidly piled up. This could take some time. Yep, this sort of thing just might be the perfect distraction. A warm smile crossed Rarity's face.
"Alrighty, I'm here to help. How about we start with some specifics? Would you like table manners, addressing ponies, acting proper around a lady-"
"LATTER!"
Anguirus chomped down on his tongue so hard he nearly bled. If it were possible, he would have uprooted himself then and there and rammed his head into the nearest wall. Instead he felt his muzzle heating up slightly. Rarity did not let this outburst go unnoticed. She rubbed her chin as a large smirk crossed her face. The white unicorn leaned forward with a cocked eyebrow.
-Yep, this conversation has my attention-
"Any particular reeeason? Some pretty face in town catch your eye?"
At that very moment, Anguirus was appreciative of just how attentive he was when he frantically groped for a way out. A particular observation about the country offered an escape route. Didn't stop his tail hairs and quills from sticking up on end.
"NO!... I figured it be best to learn because most of this town seems to be mares. Most of the officials seem female, as do your rulers."
While the statement had some logic to it, Rarity didn't buy it for a minute. Still, opting that it would be rude to pressure, she went along with it.
"Ah, yes I suppose you have a point there. I guess the dice rolled in the feminine favor in that regard after all."
Anguirus shifted his mental gears as fast as he possibly could to live up to the half excuse. Truth be told the gender slant he'd notice did perk his interest somewhat. The society didn't seem especially matriarchal, so the shift had raised his eyebrow a few times.
"Any particular reason for that? Sometimes it looks like the females outnumber the males around here by a good margin, and why no male rulers?"
"Random chance I suppose. A lot of ponies around Ponyville aside from the Apples moved here from other places. By chance I guess more mares did. As for leaders, there have been 'kings' before... theeeey just weren't the best type to keep in office. "
"Point made. As for the instruction, could we start soon? I wouldn't want to impose."
Rarity giggled, waving her hoof before holding it out to him.
"Oh no imposing at all deary, I needed a distraction from work. Let's start with greetings shall we? Now, remember this if you want to be personable. When a lady offers you her hoof, you kiss it."
Anguirus looked at the limb for several long moments. The unicorn had done this on their first meeting. He had no clue what she was doing then and did nothing. Now that he knew, he still did nothing. Anguirus looked up at Rarity with a half confused half annoyed look.
"I'm not kissing your foot, you walk on those."
================
Sweet Apple Acres
===============
Destroyah looked up at the storehouse with a blank expression as the filly trio hopped off her back. True to Apple Bloom's word, the building clearly had some age to it. Rusted nails, rusted pipes, beetle chewed wood; and loose roofing being all too obvious. Destroyah's mood was indiscernible as she looked it over. Something about the proposition pitched to her seemed all too fishy. Typically folks didn't like having their stuff leveled.
"So, why is it alright for me to demolish this?"
She asked with a slight grumble. Apple Bloom walked over to the edge of the storehouse, putting a hoof to the deteriorating wall boards as she answered the kaiju.
"Granny Smith is plannin' on this being the spot for the new raising for the next family get together. It's a bit of a ways away, but the storehouse is empty and we got plenty of room in the barn. So havin' this spot clear ahead of time could be a big help!"
Destroyah looked at the filly, glancing up at the store house. Smashing things up was something she was very good at, and right about now letting off some steam might kill some boredom. That all said, the idea someone would want something destroyed, and it not out of spite for someone else; was a concept so foreign to the kaiju it might as well have been spoken backwards. The last time she knocked a building over, there was artillery fire and a mech thrown at her over it.
"I thought you types liked your buildings standing. Always seemed to not care for your things being toppled."
Scootaloo tugged on the edge of Destroyah's matted tail, getting her attention.
"Well, sometimes yah gotta take something down to put up something better in its place..."
She said as she rubbed her chin, mulling over a thought. A small smile crossed Scootaloo's face before she looked at Destroyah with a nod.
"So I guess sometimes destroying stuff is a good thing."
"Or bad stuff. Like those vines you were chopping up earlier! Destroying bad stuff is okay if it helps the good stuff propujate.. propumate... propu-"
Apple Bloom fumbled her wording, causing Sweetie Bell to pop up next to her and put her hoof to her friend's muzzle. The young unicorn chuckled lightly, looking up at the giant mare.
"She means propagate."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the unicorn.
"What are you, the dictionary now?"
Sweetie Belle grumbled lightly as Scootaloo leaned against the storehouse, glancing up at it.
"Anyways, pretty much that. If taking down an old and rotting place like this means the Apple Family can put up a newer, better one; than wrecking the place IS a good thing."
Apple Bloom removed Sweetie Belle's hoof from her mouth, noticing Destroyah's expression. It was near completely unexpressive, but the look in the giant's eye clearly meant something was going through her mind.
"Why the odd question Desutroyah?"
Destroyah looked down at the trio as they looked to her. She looked each of them in the eye, and then silently looked to the store house. For someone who lived as she had for the last few decades and a half, almost none of it made any sense. Still, she supposed mild confusion did beat boredom.
"Never mind, just get back and out of my way."
-Time to cut loose some...-
She said while walking forward. Upon noticing the violet sparks arching across her ragged mane, grins the size of watermelon slices shot across the filly's faces as they darted past her. Having prepared for the possibility their plan would work, the Crusaders dashed over to a trench they'd dug just to the edge of the tree line. Scootaloo had just put on her safety goggles and looked up in time to see they'd gotten their wish to see their favorite kaiju in action. The first battery of purple energy spheres slammed into the old wood. Oxygen destroying particles sizzled and sparked, evaporating chunks of the structure away like steam.
Destroyah stopped her rapid fire sphere launching and charged the store house with a snarl, horn and mane glowing with might. Massive wings flaring out, much to the glee of Scootaloo, Destroyah shot up into the air. It was far from her favorite speedster's trick flying, but seeing somepony that big with a wingspan big enough to shadow all three of them was quite the sight. Destroyah threw her jaws open and trailed a beam of destructive purple energy across the rapidly imploding and evaporating roof. Blowing away the mist with her wing beats and ignoring the urge to absorb it, Destroyah cut off her beam. Horn engulfed into a veil of burning energy, Destroyah dropped and swung down. Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up upon seeing the horn sear and slash its way through roofing, tar, pipe, and timbers with barely any resistance.
Destroyah dove into and disappeared inside the store house, the sounds of rupturing wood, snapping metal; and rumbling earth rattling the air outside. Just when it seemed the sounds of energy blasts and laser horns died down, the outer wall of the store house creaked and pushed outwards. The wood splintered in two spots before a single, powerful kick ripped the wall and half the roof off its foundations and knocked it free of the barely standing structure. Apple Bloom was clapping her hooves, the rest of the Crusaders quickly erupting in cheers over their demolition derby as Destroyah walked out onto the fallen wall.
She stepped down from the wall, turning around to face the leaning corpse of the store house. The cheering of the excited trio were heard, and despite her conscious trying to avoid it, listened to. Destroyah hated their voices. The high pitched squeaks and antics typically annoyed her to no end. It was no small miracle they were still alive. And yet, as much as she hated it, anger didn't take root. Maybe it was being able to go all out on something like the good old days, maybe it was her fantasizing that the water pipe she sliced in half was Godzilla's neck, maybe it was the apples she wolfed down messing with her stomach, could have been many things. But despite all logic speaking against it, her temper refused to flare at the youngling's voices. More she puzzled over the thought, the more an odd sensation trickled across her core; and the more she was confused.
Destroyah stood motionless for a moment, letting the odd tingling settle over her briefly before a snap and snarl banished it. She didn't like being confused. It was time to vent.
Broad wings snapped out and fanned forward, a flap assisted leap back giving Destroyah some distance as her horn and mane glimmered and crackled. Energy flowed through her pulse, flowing down from her head, through her veins; and collecting in the white patch mounted on her chest. The pale, short fur drank in the energy; brimming with an ever increasing purple and white glow. Destroyah grit her teeth and dug in her hooves to brace herself. In her true form, she'd have to flip open her floral pattern to prepare to fire. A perk of her new body was no need to wait.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched on curiously. Scootaloo was about to call out and ask if something was wrong when a white flash silenced her throat and made her pupils contract into pin pricks. A massive plume of white energy encircled by electrified strands of violet erupted from Destroyah's chest and engulfed a third of the store house. Her apex ability, a trump card she'd developed since her duel with the old king. Venting off as much plasma and oxygen destroying particles as she could right out from her core. The wave motion cannon. Destroyah hissed as her own raw power was sending her sliding backwards slightly, the mare's hooves digging trenches into the dirt. She pivoted the blast to the side to swallow up the rest of the structure, rending it apart. The loose shards of wood, metal, and other composition that wasn't vaporized by the time she canceled the blast was tossed up into the air by the climatic explosion. Destroyah cut her onslaught off.
The glow died down from her chest, and she snorted jets of venting mist out of her nostrils as the scattered shards of the building rained down from above. After a few tumbling wood planks, bits of metal, and foundation hit the ground; there was nothing left standing of the old store house but a few scattered piles of rubble. To call what the trio of fillies did as they crawled out of their trench cheering would be an understatement. Destroyah gave them a fleeting glance over her shoulder as they approached, her deadpan expression with her ever present frown returning as she looked ahead again. Yet this time, the frown was a bit smaller. Wasn't any blood or guts involved, sadly, but her boredom had lifted.
-Still doesn't beat a slaughter, but perhaps an exercise in all my skills was what was required?-
With loss of boredom and a survey of all the littered debris, a stray idea crossed her mind.
-Still plenty of trash left, and I don't leave my artwork stained... There's that one ability I haven't tried yet.-
Without any warning to the Cutiemark Crusaders, Destroyah snapped her wings to her sides and was quickly shrouded in a smokescreen of white mist. All three put the brakes on, skidding to a halt just outside the cloud. The shroud was dense, completely impossible to see through as it fanned out to the side. The trio raised an eyebrow and tilted their heads in unison, looking amongst each other for a few moments.
"Prin-MISS Desatroyah?"
Scootaloo puzzled her jaw, reaching up to try and fan away some of the fog as it started to sink and shift. The little pegasus paused when the glow of a familiar pair of amber eyes looked back at her. Except instead of looking down, they were looking directly at her on the youngster's level. A second set of eyes opened beside the first, then a second, then a third; and then, dozens.
==============================
Carousel Boutique, half hour later
==============================
“Well now, let’s continue. Appearing non-threatening and personable can be altered with a simple change or two to appearance. Can you take those greaves of yours off or are they attached like your um… tail quills?”
Rarity muttered with a raised eyebrow, still harping on just how odd Anguirus’ tail was. The stallion in question looked at his hooves, unsure about the answer himself. In all his days here, it just now dawned on him he hadn’t tried taking them off. He could feel his skin around and possibly underneath them, beginning to fiddle with the spiked greaves.
“I believe so. Don’t know what may happen if I change back into a kaiju with them off. Seems like these things are the equivalent to my shell spines or horns in full form.”
Just as Anguirus managed to get the greaves off, his words of giants sunk in slightly and spurred another subject in Rarity’s psyche. The memory of her nightmares returned slightly, clouding her mind enough for a few moments to cause her to zone out of the world around her. Strengthened resolve and company’s presence were probably the key reasons she refused to buckle this time. Rarity took a sharp inhale, refusing to let the hellish imagery control her again. Still, didn’t mean she couldn’t investigate some to hopefully quell them. Didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the three horned monstrosity she’d seen was a kaiju. Perhaps it was one she’d already met? Given her current situation, who better to ask about such a thing than another kaiju?
“Um, Anguirus? If I could risk altering the subject for a bit, can I ask you a question or two about you and the others' ‘giant forms’?”
Anguirus tested his wrists, having just now noticed how heavy his greaves were now that they were off. He did not look up when he casually responded.
"Yes, what about them?"
"Can you, describe them? Pardon my curiosity, but it's not quite like these sort of things happen around here often... On top of the current weirdness."
"Well to put it all simple and run down the list, Rodan looks like a giant red pterosaur or bird with scales instead of fur or feathers. You already know what Godzilla looks like from the photos and heard my description already. Mothra is basically a giant butterfly. Xenilla-"
He was cut off by Rarity uncharacteristically blurting something out, leaning in towards him. For a half second's breath, Anguirus swore he saw concern on her face.
"Do any of them have three big horns?!"
Rarity was quick to catch herself, reeling back and reverting her face to neutrality as best she could. Anguirus' eyes narrowed slightly, but relaxed. Something was clearly up and stressing her, but he thought it best just to answer his host and not stress the issue. If she didn't feel like saying it, then it wasn't his business to prod. He briefly combed through his memories.
"Well... No, not any of our group. Xenilla has a crest that's got three prongs, but it's not really big enough to call a set of horns. Destroyah has a large horn on her forehead, but only frills on the sides."
"So.. do, any kaiju have a triple set?"
Once again, the temptation to inquire was growing in Anguirus' psyche. Something was clearly troubling Rarity for her to be so specific and dead set on a seemingly insignificant issue. It was growing harder for Anguirus to let things be.
"Three big horns? Well there is a couple, but nothing to worry about. A dinosaur kaiju named Gomora who has two on the side and one on his nose; but he's fairly tame. There is also another, a guardian beast like me named Yonggary. He has three horns on his head and one on his nose. He's on our side... There is another one..."
Rarity's face drooped slightly, tilting her head. The stoic yet saddened look crossing the earth pony's face did not go unnoticed. She leaned closer, barely speaking above a whisper.
"And, that one is?..."
Her inquiry got Anguirus thinking about a subject he really would rather not think about. It was the very reason he was alive, but it just might kill him one day. There were some things even walking thunder had a right to be afraid of. Anguirus closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before erasing his expression, looking Rarity in the eye.
"He's nothing to worry with for awhile. He'll be pretty much dead for the next 30,000 years. Mothra's ancestors sealed him away."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I and others like me were purposely made 70,000 years ago to stop him when he came back. Due to some chaos in our times however, some like Rodan and I got woken up early."
Rarity listened to his response, but her mind was working like clockwork. The entire situation being spun to her was uncomfortable one way or another, but hearing Anguirus speak of not one, but three beings that fit her night terror's description stifled some fears. If she had gone to sleep with giant alien creatures on the mind, and the three horned look happened to be fairly common; it could all just be a coincidence. Canterlot had just been attacked by a dire threat, so it made some sense for her to see places she was most familiar with under destruction. And if night terrors did anything well, it was compound upon each other. She feared being alone, so she was the only one left in Ponyville. She feared something powerful she didn't know, so she imagined monsters attacking. She dreaded losing family, so she saw her sister... She feared... Her.. So she appeared. It all made sense. Cruel, twisted, horrific sense. Though the Element of Generosity hated thinking about it all, it did ease her nerves somewhat.
She was so wrapped up in the previous topic, it took the second reference about time for Rarity to notice the 'thousand' following the 'thirty' and 'seventy'. Having roughly 1,100 year old diarchs was one thing. This? This was a bit different. If she had to guess, the stallion still had a strong look to him. Maybe a year or two older than someone like Prince Shining Armor, but still clearly in his prime. Hearing thousands attached to that figure caught her completely off guard, leaving her jaw slightly slack and her voice raised.
"Wait... Your telling me you are SEVENTY thousand years old? As in seven with four zeroes trailing it?!"
Anguirus blinked slightly, the sudden change in tone catching him off guard. He swept his tail along the floor, startling Opalescence who'd been pawing at some of his quills. Rarity didn't even notice the jumping cat.
"Um, yes. But I was hibernating for most of it so I didn't age much."
Rarity chuckled a tad awkwardly, the kaiju's dry and probably unknowing humor helping to ease the tension and calm any lingering nerves. She spoke in a slightly flabbergasted, slightly giggling tone.
"Wow, you'll have to give me and the spa girls your aging secret!"
A small, smirking smile crossed Anguirus' face. With all the weirdness going on for him the past few days, new realms, new bodies, magical equines, awkwardness inducing kirins, and asking a purple and white unicorn about etiquette; these sort of things were nice. As radically different as they were, it was nice to have a new acquaintance he could relax a bit around. Friendship could be magic at times. He spoke with a chuckle.
"Energy based diet, mix of solar heat and volcanic thermals do a firebeast good."
Rarity was just about to speak when a loud, vibrating crash echoed through the window and wall and rattled the floor. Element Bearer and Guardian Beast looked at each other with a mutually confused expression for a moment, before both bolted for the door. Half fumbling over one another at first, they didn't know what to expect by the time they threw the front door open. Pegasus crash? Kaiju footstep? Rainboom? Godzilla tripping?
What they saw instead was a set of wheel tracks leading into a large kart-like machine, which had let its front half lead and crunch into the side of town hall. The writing on the side of the wreckage was barely legible, but if Anguirus squinted he thought he could make out two Fs and the numerals for 8,000. Beyond that, what it said or what in the world it was for was beyond him. Rarity however, recognized some of the traits even at a distance; and the double F was a dead giveaway. But for the second time in one minute, she was cut off by a noise.
Not a loud racket or sudden shock. But a squeaky, high pitched, adorable voice mumbling nonsense next to her.
"Ababu?"
Both sets of eyes slowly trailed down and to the left of the front doorstep in unison. Rarity raised an eyebrow and titled her head in clear confusion at how it was chewing on her mailbox. Anguirus' eyes in the meantime widened as his brow furrowed in a mix of anger and bewilderment.
"Good Tanaka...is that...?"
"Omnomnom!"
==============
Reader Works!
==============
CrashXSpyro and IceStormy proving this ship is never going to sink!
Pyrus bring his tested talent back into the game with a pairing I've noticed picking up some steam.
Zeroviks, what was that I just said about this pairing? XD
FallenAngel5414 reeling in the diabeetus and Next Gen. trains to station!
ParadoxalOrder proving to me the world cannot handle three Discords.
An excellent character reference by TheGojirasaurus of everyone's favorite crystal kaiju.
A story update for BlazingPheonix's spin off detailing what's happening across the bridge in the kaiju homeworld in 'Humanity's Stand'.
Chapter 6
Stats
Page generated in 0.046 seconds
Total duration
1,049 users online
2,216,699 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
.....Destroyah turned into her swarm form...didn't she?
Need baby Destroyah picture for next chapter, SHE SOUNDS ADORABLE.,
5880205 Oh God...
Now what? Some weird baby kaiju?
You know the drawing of Aria was very adorable and I found Anguirus' shyness towards seeing to be hilarious, especially the part where Rarity prods him in that pic. The fight between Kaizer and Enjin was badass. Furthermore, I loved the ending and I hope the next chapter comes soon...and that Seong/Anguirus appear more often.
Okay I did not know about that one image featured of all the ponies from past like Clover together. That is a cool image.
Hopefully it is a parasprite
Oh dear god, a horde of mini Destroyah's? So much for making good impressions.
oh no, not the Swarm of Precambrian Organisms!
Oh great, Flim and Flam have shown up...
Couldn't help but chuckle when Destroyah got a little suspicious when the CmC asked her to wreck that storehouse. Nice to see that Anguirus is shedding a little more light to one of the Mane 6 about himself and Terra. The fight between Eijin and Kaizer taking place in the human world was also a nice little surprise.
Of all places he got sent to, Kaizer was sent to the same world as Aria? I was expecting some distant moon or something but there? Actually makes sense but still. Man, Bagan must have a sense of humor. And man, I actually wanted to see what he looked like as a human. Visually anyway. Next time I suppose.
And Destroyah. I've been wanting to bring this up but couldn't find a good place. This works perfectly. I like to think I'm being optimistic and think that maybe Destroyah is growing to like the trio but her being her, ain't going to be easy. But if I remember correctly, Xen's crystal is still in her, controlling her for the most part. Whether or not either is a factor in her emotions remains to seen but I get the feeling once that crystal is plucked out or disrupted for good, Destroyah's free game. Also, sweet lord, I did not even consider that ability in the end... wonder if Pinkie has something on par with her instruments to deal with all of them like she did with those bug things.
1. Angurius is an idiot and I am okay with this. More of that, please.
2, That whole thing with Rarity and Angurius. Damn it! As a reader, you know the information and you know what's going on. The characters, for the most part, can fill those dots in, they have information and you can't do anything to push them in the direction to connect the bloody circuit! Torture, I say. Torture!
5880655
Figured he'd want to send Kaizer to a place he'd be more easy to kill and absorb. A human body, even one with some residual powers and durability is much easier to kill than a 145 meter kaiju. As for visually, we're working on a reference; but if you must know imagine Monster X's human form with a size and slight bulk increase (we'll say X is 6'1, Kaizer is 6'5 and 20kgs more), black hair with golden grizzling, fang-like canine teeth, black sclera with slightly glowing, red irises. Attire wise it's more or less identical, but with a dull gold pair of bracers on the forearms and a choker around his neck; both of which have two rubies embedded in them to symbolize his three sets of eyes.
Run, it's the swarm of Juvenile destroyahs!
1. With Destroyah having had a smaller frown when she trashed the storehouse, I'm looking forward to seeing if there will come a chapter when she actually shows a genuine smile, even if it's just a small one.
2. I wondered if the wave motion ray would at least be referenced, but your decision to include it as one of her powers was even better.
3. With the Gala being mentioned as approaching and with how Anguirus acted around Ki Seong, I can't help but wonder if Jr is going to get a good laugh very soon.
5880679 Combined with the voice of Broly, you got one scary monster.
... So we now have a horde of mini-Destroyah decending on Ponyville.
One, we need pictures. Both for us, and for the other Kaiju to keep as blackmail.
Second, weather it works or not, some pony is going to have to try the Parasprite Poka. Please include apprpriate music. Although I suspect, Yakety Sax may make a better theam for the chapter...
Wait....are we about to see a bunch of baby Destroyah's.....Okay, that's not fair! I nearly died seeing a baby Cadance and now this? You are a murderer!!!!
This and Anguirius and Seong, the cuteness...the shipping...So much shipping and cute bonding moments with the CMC. There...is just so much....
Did I mention I ship Aria/Monster X?...I probably did but- SHIPPING IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Gah, this story just keeps getting better and better.
Oh lord. An army of baby Destoroyah's. To much. To much man.
A very enjoyable chapter. Great job.
Oh Shit, Ponyville is so F@$#ed
5880971
yes
yes
it
is
So Destroyah relaxes if she gets to do some damage.... take her to Ghastly Gorge and get rid of the Quarry Eels. I love how she's slowly warming up to the Crusaders. But now that Flim and Flam have shown up... can a 'stray attack' from a Kaiju 'accidently destroy' their machine??? But right now, I'm guessing they either have something cute and furry they're trying to sell as a pet or Rarity and Anguirus are staring at Chibi Desroyah. Either way... I hope the Twins end up getting chased out of Ponyville by Anguirus.
5880732 I hope so, though I can totally see Lea kicking him in the flank to keep him under control.
Baby destroyahs how cute and funny lol
Baby Destroyahs? Oh...THIS...WILL BE FUN!
Excellent work as always man, tell Faith she did a good job as well! Art keeps getting better.
Oh... so that's where x was sent...
Yay new chapter! Nothing that big happens, but still a cliff hanger!
Love the siren design. I don't know if that's what they looked like on the show (I refused to watch equestria girls), but I love that design.
Can't wait for more!
ancientdinoXkirin yep i approve
HAHAHA! The next chapter is sure to be interesting! Glad to finally see a new chapter! Can't wait until the next one!
yet another great chapter by yours truly. can't wait for the next one
Two questions: 1) Is Enjin a fan character of your creation? And 2) WHERE THE HELL IS DISCORD????
Its clear Flim and Flam are making a third attempt on Ponyville, but it seems whatever scheme they planned has ALREADY gone to pot with this latest craziness......can't WAIT to see more! :D
5882661
Enjin is a scrapped Toho creation from the original draft of Godzilla 1984. In it, Bagan (in his earliest attempted incarnation) was a fusion of three kaiju representing the basic spheres. There was a sea monster (Mizu), a flying dragon (Doragon), and a demonic ape (Enjin). Because Bridge's Bagan is effectively an amalgam of all previous incarnations, I used the trio idea in that Bagan can call up these lesser forms as Aspects to go and fight for him.
Awesome chapter!
woohoo update this made my day much better
I read this chapter late since I was on a Godzilla marathon, then saw Vs Destroyah for the first time and was wondering it that ability would show up. And now there it is! This is going to be so adorably chaotic.
Man, it really doesn't pay to be Aria Blaze in this story.
Chessmaster Harmony is best Chessmaster. I love how she's planning the redemption of all these different "bad" characters.
Destroyah is definitely best princess.
In all honesty, that's a pretty reasonable objection.
Okay Rarity, don't rationalize away the prescient visions you've been having. The fact that there are several possible kaiju who could potentially match your visions is as much evidence that they're real is that they aren't.
Since there baby destroyahs, they probably can't eat other materials like Destroyah couldn't after being turned into a pony. Doesn't mean there not gonna try. However, it seems that while using this ability it split her intelligence as well....I wonder how Destroyah is gonna get back together. Cause no one wants to have to raise a horde of Destroyah's foals...technical foals.
Oh dear god destroy just went back into her very first form and in this world we got baby's running all over the place ratting stuff!!!!
Damn. That Aria backstory is even more tear-jerking in light of what's going to happen in Rainbow Rocks. I have to say, this combined with a few other headcanons of my own leads me to believe that Aria could eventually become my favorite Siren if she isn't already.
It's a darn good thing that Kaiser was able to fight off Enjin, but let's hope X is able to get back on his feet, and fast. Although even if he's able to recover, Enjin is ultimately gonna be a battle of attrition. Hurry up, Hunters! Save your leader! D:
So, Harmony still has Caesar on speed dial? That certainly lends some more credence to my theory regarding him.
Ah, so now we have AngKi as our newest ship? Eeeeexcellent. ^_^
Also, I get the sense that Rarity is gonna start taking her dreams a lot more seriously once the Manehattan battle portion of it comes true.
DIZZY SWARM!!! If you get that reference you've been around.
Amazing work as usual I still love it.
Flim and Flam eh? Well let's hope things turn out better for them then it did in another fanfic involving Destroyah.
Enjin? Nope no idea who that is, At first I thought it was Gekido Gin then I remembered Gekido is green not red.
5885529 Enjin was originally involved in the first incarnation of Bagan. He, along with two other Kaiju called Doragon and Mizu, had the ability to fuse into the original Bagan, however the idea was scrapped and Bagan was redesigned into the monster we know today.
I normall don't say this about a chapter . . . but this chapter is absolutely perfect!
I now see why you included the X portion last chapter- would definitely not fit here.
Great character development, great artwork. All around goodness.
Next chapter- baby Destroyah swarm . . . will the cuteness kill Tarbtano's readers or will we manage to withstand the intensity that is Chibi Destroyah!?
5885529
Yaaaah gonna try to keep this one Safe for Fillies, it's a comedic mini-arc after all. No disrespect to MLD intended of course.
5885159
5883997
Ironically enough Aria is actually my favorite of the trio. Witch can't catch a break
And in Rarity's defense she probably meant on the top of the hoof and not the part they walk on.
5883057
My pleasure
5882294
Glad you like it. It is pretty much the movie design, but Faith did use the comics for a basis.
5880800
I have accept my fate of unable to fight the shippers and made piece with it long ago.
Also
I WILL USE CUTES AND KILL ALL OF YOU!
5886176
Glad you enjoyed it so much buddy
Had me worried there! So I know what I did right, mind going into some detail with some of the story sections you liked later?
As for any murder via cuteness...
i.imgur.com/OUBzwOb.png
We'll just have to see it when it happens~
5886206 *looks at silhouette pics* ... We're all gonna die
5886523 You all may die from cutness you weaklings, but not I.
I am Grann, Warcheif of the Warhawk Clan and the most hated individual in all of the Orchish lands, and if the Demons I fight could not destroy me, neither will cutness slay me, no matter how adorable they may look.
5886206 After listening to the song that you put at the end of the chapter, I couldn't help but think about how much cuter it would be if the Dizzy Swarm got together an sung that song as they made mischief
5886577 famous last words
5886592 We shall see.
I swear, I almost couldn't stop laughing during this whole chapter (except when Monster X is on scene. Then it got scary). You weren't kidding about Ki Seong and Anguirus. Keep up the excellent work!