Chapter 34: Review
Rarity felt herself lapse back into the waking world, the gentle chills of Luna’s magic trickling off her like she was stepping out of a bath. Yawning momentarily and taking a stretch from the first relaxing sleep she’d had in days, brief as it was, Rarity didn’t need to ask to be given her diagnosis.
“There are definitely still trace amounts of the Nightmare in your consciousness and magic.”
Luna muttered with shame in her tone. Her horn was still glowing as lenses of magic had condensed over her eyes like glasses. The alicorn emitted a pulse of magic across the room and in a second’s lifespan the same sort of lenses had formed over Rarity’s eyes. The aura visible to Luna became visible to her too and the unicorn immediately followed Luna’s line of sight to gaze upon herself. Aura revealed the truth of one’s self. Despite having originally been made to counter changeling disguises, it had also proven useful to detecting the nature of one’s being. In the case of weeks earlier, revealing the true nature of Canterlot’s six most recent guests. In this case, Rarity could see a veil of royal purple identical to the Element of Generosity across her form, hugging it like a flickering aurora. But here and there were blotches of blackness and dark purple that stained her personal aura, so dark they looked more like holes in space than they did coloration. Understandably, Rarity was struck with a jolt of terror, instinctively swiping at the darkness to try and force it off her. She was about to cry out when a hoof gently held her mouth shut. Rarity quivered, stifling tears and closing her eyes. The Princess of the Night’s voice quietly hugged her.
“Contrary to what some believed, the Nightmare is not solely some outside force that possessed us and is entirely responsible for the end result. Rather, it’s a manifestation of what dark potential is already there, bringing out the thoughts of that individual that are usually suppressed or tempered and not acted upon. To bond, it requires something already there and a willing host.
The Element of Generosity looked up to the source and saw Luna, aura and all. In her case the aura emanating from the alicorn was positively blazing, no doubt tied to her vast magical potential as a near peak individual of all three races. Largely radiant blue in color, sparks of auburn, sky blue, and neon red that indicated her former Elements. And just like Rarity, the aura coming forth from her predecessor in Nightmare was similarly scarred with dark blotches that mired her appearance like some parody of somepony spattered with paint. Rarity looked back at her own dark patches.
“S-So, I shall always be prone to such horrific dreams and reflections because deep down, I-I am some monster out of Nightmare Night?!”
She sobbed. Luna sighed, tilting the unicorn’s head back up. Her face was a mishmash of concern and grief.
“Juliet Rarity Belle, listen to my words. Any sentient being with the power of reason will have the potential for good or evil thoughts, words, and deeds. The Nightmare is an expression of the latter. Had that darkness been fully expressed and let loose in anypony, then anypony from my sister to the Bearer of Kindness could have the potential to become a Nightmare.”
Luna spoke, looking to herself and pointing to her aura’s blemishes.
“Guilt, shame, envy, anger-”
She punctuated each statement by pointing to a black blotch.
“-it’s in all of us. Some more than others.”
Luna shrugged and lifted her wings to fan them out, revealing even more blotches. Luna didn’t need to look to know how many she had, she’d known for a long time. There was good reason why her views of Godzilla Junior had changed as much as when she saw his true self lying wounded in her bed as she did after the gyaos attack. She was looking at a physical reflection of her mental mires. Rarity’s eyes widened.
“Princess Luna you’re-!”
Luna cut her off, raising a hoof and shaking her head slowly.
“Getting better, fear not for your princess in this regard…”
She lowered her hoof and sighed.
“Miss Rarity, it is a belief of mine that knowing of something entirely makes one fear it less.”
Rarity puzzled her lips and swallowed the rock in her throat, nodding with a mild shrug.
“Your point is proven given the initial reaction that King Godz- Junior, got.”
“Verily. And I feel that there is more you should know about the Nightmare as I believe the case of its origin wasn’t ever fully told…”
Princess Luna took a seat next to Rarity. With an assuring, curious nod from the unicorn, she took some moments to steel herself before turning her gaze to the star and moonlight streaming in from the window.
“Many a pony has speculated about the exact nature of the Nightmare. Some thought the force that created Nightmare is the dark reflection of anypony’s magical potential combined with dark thoughts and desires. Others, that it was a malevolent, outside force that possessed and seized control of a host. The truth is some of both in a particular order.”
Luna let her mind drift back to so long ago she need not focus on the words she spoke, merely uttering on instinct the flashes of memory that came to her mind from a millenia ago. She was smaller then, younger, and like most teenagers; temperamental. Plaguing thoughts from the waking world fed into plagues of the dreaming time, the blue alicorn tossing and turning in her daylight resting hours with sneers upon her muzzle. The tip of her horn began to crackle with a dark light.
“It wasn’t some cursing foe my sister and I fought or an ancient being I bonded with; I created Nightmare, albeit unintentionally at first. I was different then, those temperamental years. I misunderstood the importance of my role and thought myself ignored. I began to neglect my duties to watch over ponies as they slept just as my sister watched over them in awakeness.”
In the past, Luna surged from her bedside and found herself glaring at the illuminated window. She saw the ponies across the land from her high tower in the then much shorter Everfree. She saw how they went about their business, occasionally looking up to the glowing, warm orb in the sky and the archon who moved it with beaming smiles and waves. The historic alicorn sneered, leering blades through her sister before returning to her slumber full of envy. She hadn’t noticed the dark sparks starting to pry free of her horn yet again.
“I wanted Celestia’s role and being, but I couldn’t do it in my current state. I was the younger sibling, with less experience and physicality than my elder sibling. So, I dreamed up a form in which I could cast off those boundaries. I wanted to do away with all I saw as inferior in me versus my sister. My age, my power, and my appearance.”
As the young Luna turned in her sleep, the darkness in her horn spiralled down and stretched across her form like dripping trails of water across a glass window, rolling and marking her form as they spread over her.
“I craved a body as mature as Celestia’s to take the adoration she had, so I imagined a state that looked older and more regal by my standards; with bolstered power to match the greater experience my sibling had. In essence, I dreamed up an idealized form of my older self and just as that dream became a nightmare; so too did this vision become a malefic mare of the night herself. Alicorn magic is a more exaggerated form of unicorn magic due to the other two races being included, and dark magic as a base is more energetic than light magic because it feeds off more controlling emotions. Nightmare was the result of both mixing at a peak. And with as powerful as I was at the time, bolstered by my connection to the Elements, it was strong enough to make it real.”
The Luna laying in her bed awakened hours later, her fur remolded into a near pitch black with eyes opening to reveal the gleam of stars in her now slit-pupiled orbs. Centuries later, in the ruins of the same castle she was born in, Nightmare Moon was set upon by the same Elements of Harmony she once wielded, now utilized by six new heroines. Within the blinding flurry of light and magic Luna was pried free of Nightmare Moon like she was torn from a cocoon, the elements snapping the ligaments of magic that held the embodiment of her darkest magic to her. Out of view from anyone, the husk of Nightmare Moon melted into a shapeless mass of dark magic that was flung into the moon.
“The effort was strong enough that it became a duplicate of those desires and thoughts, feeding off them so much it was able to exist even outside my body when the Elements were used on me a second time.”
Rarity found herself drawn into and spacing out in the same viewpoint Luna had become entranced in, quietly looking upon the night sky with a worried expression when her eyes met the moon. The memories of the past, one much more recent than Luna’s, flashed before her eyes. Ones of how a journey to the moon resulted in her being separated from her companions, the dark whispers in her ears that pestered her for hours about how they’d forget her. About how she was replaceable. About how that voice, the swirling blackness, offered to make that never come to pass. And about how when she dropped her guard and opened up, she found herself more alone than she ever had been before as a twisted version of herself stole her body.
“When it came to bond with me on the moon, it showed me visions of my fears. Of being forgotten and replaced… I guess, if it exists as a corrupted version of one’s dreams, that is why I ended up looking the way I did when I took the form.”
She whispered, earning a frown and nod from Luna.
“You feared being replaced or forgotten, as it was early on in you and your friend's adventures before you six had bonded so heavily. It sensed that fear so it took that part of you to make you both look completely unique and seize power to keep that attention.”
Rarity remembered both the dream she had the night prior and about the pictures she’d seen taken of her after her transformation. Photo Finish, whom was in town that night and participated in the defense, had found out the warped, nightmare-corrupted moon beasts Nightmare Rarity brought to Ponyville with her during the takeover could be blinded by camera flashes. Against some of her better judgement, Rarity had asked for and kept the photos in her dresser to look upon occasionally before rationale flared up again and she’d find herself slamming the cabinet drawer shut.
Nightmare Rarity and Rarity had enough similarities to be discernible as the same being, but differences were striking. While Rarity always prided herself on being a beauty, her dark echo was nothing short of an eerie knock-out. Flowing, glimmering hair with a pearly stripe down the middle, unblemished dark purple fur; and a towering height compared to the genuine article. In shape Nightmare Rarity almost looked more like a wingless alicorn than the real Rarity.
“Would explain why my body shape changed. Narrow snouted, tall mares are the beauty apex thanks to the alicorns. It explains your admirers. But how was Nightmare even created by mere thoughts?”
“Alicorn magic is a strange thing, even more so for each specific alicorn. In the same magic I used to manipulate dreams, I accidentally discovered I could pool that same power to mold something out of magic to emulate those thoughts and wishes to make them real. At first it was unconscious and I took time to notice it. But once I did, I finalized and imprinted more of my thoughts upon it, enough to give it a final shape in the real world. The greatest mistake of my life that lead to even more mistakes…. And one I nearly repeated.”
Luna sighed, taking pause and shifting. At first Rarity thought she was turning away or leaving. But as she turned her head to look, she found Luna still present in the room, hovering before a wall mirror. Luna’s horn flickered with a soft glow, a line of magic traced across the mirror before spreading out two flaps of glowing magic like a curtain being peeled back. Reaching into this hidden pocket of magic, Luna drew out a dimly glowing sphere which approximated the size of a beachball. Hovering it next to her and closing the curtains of magic behind herself, she approached Rarity again and resumed her seat. At a slow and steady pace, the sphere of dim, dark purple lines along its outline weightlessly drifted over to Rarity. Peering in closer, Rarity soon spotted the familiar inky darkness and hazy texture that brought back a plague of bad memories of her possession on the moon. True, it wasn’t exactly like the Nightmare, but the similarities were as obvious as they were jarring and they were enough to send her scrambling back.
Luna fortunately prepared for that, levitating up a pillow behind the unicorn to catch her. Rarity, breathing heavily, looked at the thing in the sphere and then at Luna in time to receive the solemn but completely calm expression on the diarch’s face. Luna gave her a slight nod and waited for the unicorn to calm down. After a minute or so she managed to calm herself, albeit with an air of fright and adrenaline in her tone.
“W-What is that thing, Princess?”
“It is incomplete. It was to be something called the Tantabus. In essence, the Nightmare was a more self aware, complete, stronger version of what this would have been.”
“Whatever would such a ghastly thing be for?”
Princess Luna shrugged her shoulders, not fighting a slight frown that in truth was far larger on the inside than it was visible. She swallowed the rock in her throat and bit the bullet.
“Me… I planned to subject myself to it each day, to intentionally plague me with nightmares for a long while as penance for all I’ve done. I destroyed my old home, attacked and maybe tried to do even worse to my sister out of envy, broke our connection to the Elements; and released an echo of my darker side as a magical entity that lived to plague you as well. I started work on creating the Tantabus a year ago, and now you look upon my guilt taken a physical form….”
Princess Luna shrugged and gazed upon the still mass of dark magic. For a flicker of a moment, Rarity was almost fearful the bubble would pop and the Tantabus would spring into the active world. But Luna, without needing to even give Rarity a sideways glance, managed to address the concern as she slid a hoof across the rim of the Tantabus’ container.
“Do not fear, it is inert and would be even if I let it out. I never plan to finish it now, I stopped working on it two weeks ago. I merely kept it around in case I could get the idea to rework it into something useful.”
“Princess Luna, what made you stop working on it? Not that I oppose you not finishing such a dreadful thing mind you!”
Rarity stammered, still unable to take her eyes off the frozen form of the Tantabus. Princess Luna however, could. She closed her eyes and steeled herself and her thoughts. Her mind motioned to the reason why, seeing several places in her mind’s eye. This very chamber multiple nights in a row, a private gravestone that next to nopony knew of, an hour long walk back to Canterlot she endured twice without a thought of just flying back because it meant losing the company she kept; and an encounter not too long ago in the hallway just outside her room. Had the room been a bit brighter and one paid her the attention, one would have seen the blue alicorn’s muzzle grow a bit redder and a happy, yet almost shy smile spread across her lips. She sighed and let the happiness continue to flow, for it was the antithesis of any guilt, shame, or any other servant of despair that would have plagued her conscience.
“Someone helped me realize I wasn’t as unique in my ills as I thought, and the ones I did face I didn’t face alone.”
Luna looked over to the unicorn and outstretched one of her broad wings to gently drape it over Rarity’s back like a blanket over a scared filly. Rarity finally broke her stare away from the Tantabus and looked up to see absolute sincerity and compassion looking back at her. When Luna smiled like that, she could give her sister a run for her money when it came to beaming.
“Just like I’d wish to do for you, Element of Generosity.”
Luna spoke in a soft tone, continuing on as Rarity leaned into her somewhat.
“I know the night terrors can be ferocious, your idea they might be brought on by all the stress and excitement Equestria has had lately is sound. I intend to keep a closer watch over your rest until things settle down to be sure. If you fear in sleep, I will be there.”
Rarity let her legs wobble and droop some, laying her stature and weight against the larger pony to be supported as the mental weight upon her felt like it was evaporating off. She felt wetness condensing at the corners of her eye, scrunching her nose and sniffling to wipe off the glints born of stress and fear of nights prior.
“Thank you, th-ank you.”
She croaked.
“I was so worried and scared that I was becoming that- that thing again! You’re sure that trace magic won’t amount to anything? W-What of the dreams?”
Luna cooed softly, patting Rarity on the back gently.
“Merely a side effect of having been a Nightmare once to begin with. A reminder of evil, but just a reminder and nothing else.”
Luna, knowing those words could cause a brief reprisal of shame from personal experience, tilted Rarity’s head up with her hoof at the unicorn’s chin and clarified her point quietly in a personal tone she normally kept reserved for her sister and another.
“Listen to me, Element of Generosity. You… You are one of Equestria’s greatest heroines. Not only alongside the other Element Bearers, but if I recall correctly it was you standing up to and breaking the Nightmare persona’s control that allowed for triumph in the first place. Even if by some horrific miracle it returned I have no doubt you’d be the one who could stand up to it the most!”
Rarity pursed her lips and puzzled mentally at the alicorn’s words. True, the other Element Bearers were able to purify her of the Nightmare; but only after she managed to break free of despair and reassume control from her bastardized ambitions. She’d beaten Nightmare, both in the waking world in days past and in the night prior in the dreaming world. Confidence began to broil inside Rarity, her lips teasing at a smile.
And Luna knew how to bring it out.
“And to show you that you control the dark, not the other way around; how about you aid me in locking away this mess?”
Luna quipped, motioning to the Tantabus’ orb. Rarity looked between Luna and her creation for a moment. But before the alicorn could worry of the fright being too much, Rarity collected herself, stood up, straightened out her curly mane, and ignited her horn with magic as a smirk crossed her face.
“Well! It would be improper not to assist a friend.”
Rarity’s smirk infected Luna. The two’s magic auras wove together to grasp the Tantabus’ sphere and guide it back to the magical storage it had been pulled from. With each step, Rarity’s stride got a little firmer and a little taller. When she was halfway there however, the unicorn just now noticed the hues of Luna’s aura had vanished from the sphere and were now just holding open the curtains of the stowaway spot. Rarity’s eyes flickered with confusion and she glanced to the alicorn walking along side her. Princess Luna gave her a wink.
“Remember, you bested the Nightmare. If you could beat it, you can beat this. And I’m going to be right here beside you as you do.”
Rarity sucked in her breath before turning her eyes forward again. Even as she looked upon something that could have been a second Nightmare, even as she might have wobbled in her hold some on the surprisingly difficult to wield bubble, and even as uncertainty and latent fear that would probably never go away threatened to eat at her focus; Juliet Rarity Belle furrowed her brow and narrowed her glare. The victory was small as she shoved the Tantabus back into place, but it was hers.
She breathed deeply in relief after Luna closed back the magical curtains, looking back at the alicorn with a smirk. Luna, sitting on her haunches, beamed and clapped her hooves together. Rarity’s smirk grew into a grin.
================================
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie
Fluttershy
Applejack
Princess Celestia
Princess Cadance
Prince Shining Armor
Xenilla
Godzilla Junior
Mothra Lea
Anguirus
Rodan
Destroyah
================================
Elsewhere in the castle, the other alicorns, Prince Shining Armor, and Element Bearers sat in a semi-circle in a large room, five beings unlike the which Equestria had ever seen seated opposite of them. Rodan was perched inside a nearby, opened window after an explanation from Applejack. Princess Celestia, holding herself high with as much poise and regalness fitting her stature and position, broke the quiet.
“This reunion was much more long-coming than the week-after phase had intended, but unexpected delays aside I am glad you are all here. And in light of calamities that could have happened, I am very grateful some of you all were where fate needed you to be. I would be asking now a report on how you all have settled in, but I’ve already heard glowing reports from my little ponies and there are more pressing issues at hoof to deal with. So I will abide by their word that things have gone well. Twilight?”
Celestia muttered, nodding to her student. Twilight bowed and nodded her head, pulling out several sheets of parchment and looking them over before reading their contents aloud.
“Since and before the Gyaos attack at the Everfree Castle and Canterlot Mountain, there have been several sightings of strange beings. A pegasus now recovering in Batlimare hospital said that near Hollow Shades he was seen and pursued by some sort of carriage sized giant bugs that managed to ground and corner him before he blacked out.”
“Yet if he’s giving that report, thankfully he survived the encounter. How?”
“The victim’s memory was fuzzy from the trauma, but he says some figure with red eyes attacked the insects. When he came to he’d been moved to a stream with bandaging applied to some wounds. The merchants who found him reported seeing a large biped with black and white coloring running away from the scene after it lost the cloak it was wearing. The material of the cloak matches the fabric of the bandaging”
The kaiju present tilted their heads, pursed their lips, and or puzzled as they brain stormed for an identification. Anguirus, remembering instruction from Rarity in addressing ponies respectfully and figuring this was the time for it given the royal audience, raised a hoof up equal in height to his head and coughed into his throat. Twilight popped her head up and blinked at the strange earth pony.
“Hm?”
“Any other reports on that last entity?”
“Uuum-”
Twilight flipped back and forth through the witness accounts before finding what she was looking for.
“Ahah, yes there are two more that seem to be the same being. One is from a social worker in Manehattan who says she encountered a black colored biped wearing white bones in an alley after she offered the obscure figure a rain shroud. That shroud would explain the reported cloak from the merchants since this sighting occurred earlier. Another and the most recent is an injured museum guard who reports a break in at an artifact vault by an unknown assailant whom wasn’t captured. The guard wasn’t seriously hurt, but says he remembers seeing red eyes and black and white on the figure before a flash of yellow light rendered him unconscious.”
Prince Shining Armor lifted his ears and looked to the kaiju.
“Does that description sound familiar?”
Godzilla Junior tilted his head before nodding.
“Could be that alien kaiju we fought in the invasion, it was called Monster X.”
Princess Celestia motioned for Twilight to pass the reports over to her, reading through them as the kaiju’s words left her raising an eyebrow in response.
“Monster... X? Is that a name or a title?”
Mothra Lea raised her shoulders and her upturned hooves.
“We’re not really sure. If he had a name we never found out what it was, but those who were ordering it around referred to it as that.”
Fluttershy chimed in to the conversation.
“W-well, if he rescued a pony he can’t be all bad.”
“He did show some restraint at the times we fought him. Didn’t seem interested in attacking the populace like other invaders and just appeared to go after whoever he was pointed at. Still, he is incredibly dangerous. He is one of the few kaiju strong enough to fight me or Junior here one on one in even terms. And he did rob that museum.”
Fluttershy looked over to Princess Celestia.
“Princess Celestia, didn’t the report say something was stolen from the vault? If it’s true, that might show why he was there.”
Princess Celestia read the last few lines of the report and a frown grew over her muzzle.
“It was something Zecora wanted me to seal in there to avoid anypony from finding where she hid it. The alicorn amulet.”
Five of the Mane Six and the Imperial Royal Couple were caught in a collective gasp and frown. The kaiju were just confused. Anguirus glanced about in an air of awkwardness, belting out two words.
“.... The w’at?”
Princess Celestia took in a deep breath before clarifying to the other half of the audience.
“An artifact made by my sister just before she physically changed into Nightmare Moon. It was to be a last resort weapon to tip the scales should she be unable to overpower me on her own accord during the coup. Is this… ‘Monster X’ capable of magic?”
“Uhhhhh, no. No, as far as we can tell magic is something we’ve never seen expressed in the alien creatures. They can have innate powers, but they always seem to be biologically based. Whatever Monster X’s species is, his powers seem natural to them and aren’t caused by spells or mana magic.”
Mothra Lea muttered, clearly confused at the turn of events. Rainbow Dash shared in on the confusion.
“Then why steal something useless to him? Seems about as useful to him as a bottled thunderstorm would be to a mane salon. And how the hay could he have known it was even down there? If nopony aside from Zecora, Princess Celestia, and the museum staff knew where it was, how’d he find out?”
“Could be the magic it was giving off. A lot of kaiju can sense high energy sources at a distance.”
Lea said, Xenilla picking up the ball where it was passed.
“It’s also why a lot of attacks happened to cities back on Terra. All the electricity, the lights, power plants. If any others sent here by Dimension Tide decide not to hide, they’ll probably do the same.”
Xenilla mumbled with a half hidden grimness in breath. Some kaiju being drawn to places with a lot of energy was a time-proven fact he had personally confirmed in a less than pleasant way. Most of the time his organizing of the controlled Mutation attacks was less him pointing a Mutation in the desired direction and more him stopping five incursions from happening and letting another play out. And because of how ravenous many Mutations were, it was a near constant quarrel to keep most of them contained. He shrugged, pushing history into the back of his mind.
“If any of the kaiju brought over here are the more wild of their kind, like most Mutations, that’s what they will do eventually.”
Mothra Lea grimaced slightly, not needing telepathy to know why the dour tone coming out of Xenilla was there.
“And with any kaiju here being diminished in power, as according to Twilight and I’s study, they might be on the hunt for more energy to power their bodies and get back to full size.”
“Well at the very least without any magic to activate it, the alicorn amulet should be useless to this... Monster X, even if he could tell how strong it might be.”
Princess Celestia muttered with a slight reprieve evident in her tone.
“Let’s hope so. But to not chance it, what other powerful sources of magic are in Equestria? They may be at risk”
“The Tree of Harmony, myself and Luna, the Crystal Heart; formerly the physical Elements of Harmony before we put them back in the tree as well as the actual element bearers themselves”
Princess Celestia noted, motioning to each as everypony and everykaiju kept count. Anguirus gave a nod as he interjected.
“I can attest to that. You may not have these elements on you personally anymore, but I can literally smell a marked difference in magic between you all and other Equestrians.”
Some odd looks were shared across the Element Bearers. Rainbow Dash nudged Rodan with her elbow with Rodan giving her a bemused nod before she could ask the inevitable question. The pegasus’ puzzled her face for a moment before sniffing at her underarm. Princess Celestia couldn’t help but give a tiny chuckle as a slight glow crawled up the spirals of her horn. A bubble of aura soon shot across the room and spread to everypony present, revealing to them what the diarch had seen in weeks prior when she and Luna first used this aura visibility spell to inspect the kaiju when they were first gathered in Canterlot. Lenses of golden magic hovered just above the Element Bearer’s eyes, changing the visible space before them.
The six kaiju all had their equine forms overlaid by the glowing outlines of various shapes, some completely alien to Equestria. It was an eye opening experience for sure for even those who had seen one or two of the newcomer’s true forms. When they glanced between themselves they were in for another surprise for they too had an aura to their forms, each in the color of the Element of Harmony. Because, naturally, they appeared in the shape they were supposed to be in; said auras hugged their form and more closely resembled glowing, smokeless fiery outlines. Neon red for Rainbow Dash, auburn for Applejack, rosey pink for Fluttershy, magenta for Twilight Sparkle; and sky blue for Pinkie Pie. Had Rarity been present, she’d have gotten a royal purple aura. Element Bearers accounted for, some of them soon took notice of the Royal Couple. While Shining Armor did have a respectably bright aura to him as well, one cast in mulberry purple that hugged his body in a solid piece like a second skin, it wasn’t as bright or radiant as the Element Bearers. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that this was what Anguirus was talking about, for Shining Armor’s magic was all inherent to himself and not tied to the Power of Friendship or being an alicorn. Who could give the six a run for their money was Princess Cadance’s aura. A sea of bright blue that reflected light in sheets almost like she was encased in a crystal much akin to the Crystal Heart. The glimmering display was as beautiful as it was imposing. As the Avatar of Love, a magical power comparable to friendship, it only made sense.
The sense of awe was invoked again when the group inevitably noticed arguably the brightest aura in the room, the one coming out of Celestia. It was absolutely blazing, near white brilliance that made the eldest alicorn look like she was encased in a hot flame. But here or there across her glowing outline were crackles of color, spurts of magenta, rosey pink, and royal purple. The echoes belonging to the Elements of Magic, Kindness, and Generosity. Celestia shrugged while looking at her own hoof as said crackles crisscrossed her limb.
“Once an Element Bearer, always one. My connection was broken when I was forced to use them on Luna, so I’m less tied to them than all of you, but your ties are still strong.”
She put her hoof down and canceled out the aura spell to bring back the normal world.
“They may be back in the tree, but you all exhibited those core principles to such an extent it made you six eligible to be bearers in the first place. Moving them back to the Tree doesn’t change that.”
“Hence how I accidentally turned Spikey Hair over here into an Armadillo-Saurus, right?”
Rainbow Dash quipped while elbowing Anguirus, earning a nod from Celestia.
“Yeah, we might want to work on how to do that on purpose in case things get dicey. Point is though, if the kaiju follow the same pattern on Terra that means some of them may inevitably go after magic sources. That means you all too now.”
Rodan muttered with a puzzled frown on his maw. Applejack stood up.
“Ah’ actually think ah’ can validate that.”
Princess Twilight Sparkle titled her head as her friend headed over to one of the chalk boards she and Lea had been working with.
“Do you have something Applejack?”
“That Ah’ do, Twilight. Ro’, Fluttershy; hop up. Time to show what we talked ‘bout on the train.”
Applejack righted the board with Fluttershy and Rodan coming up beside her. The earth pony reached into her saddlebags and drew up a bound scroll, unwinding it onto the board to reveal it to be a large map of the Equestrian landmass.
“Them Gyaos, as Rodan told me, would mostly go after large population centers to try and feed so they’d behave like most large carnivores. Makes sense why they rushed Canterlot and first attacked Appleloosa. Canterlot’s got the biggest headcount past Manehattan an’ Appleloosa is the only town for dozens of kilometers out in the frontier…. Fluttershy.”
Applejack nodded to and passed a pointer to Fluttershy. The meek pegasus took a moment to steel herself and grasp her nerve, taking a deep breath before casting a remarkably affirmed expression to her audience. She pointed to the section of frontier around Appleloosa.
“Assuming they’d use air currents to fly easier like eagles or other fliers and would keep going in the path from the first attack in Appleloosa, here-”
She shifted her focal point from Appeloosa to just north and east of it, eventually tapping a settlement labeled Dodge Junction.
“It doesn’t make much sense they’d attack the Everfree Castle next, here. Not if they were just looking for food, they’d gone to Dodge Junction but they didn’t.”
Fluttershy motioned to Rodan, queuing the kaiju to step up to the proverbial bat. Rodan glanced at the map and tapped a claw on the vast Everfree Forest’s green mass.
“As I understand it, this Everfree does have lots of animal life and plenty of places out of sight during the day time. Gyaos hate bright light so it could be a reason they stopped there. However it still doesn’t explain why they headed there first and not another settlement.”
“Findin’ a hiding place? That makes some sense, but ‘ccording to the write up Twilight made, they actually seemed to have just then showed up and were specifically going for the Tree of Harmony itself and herself. If they were just lookin’ for food, they wouldn’t have attacked so suddenly and certainly wouldn’t have gone after the Tree. Them rootin’ around for energy and being drawn to it makes sense in my book.”
“Is it even possible for something like them to actually harm the Tree?”
Rainbow Dash sneered, scratching at the back of her noggin in confused puzzlement.
“No one knows for sure. That tree is before even my time. But considering how powerful some kaiju are, it is fortunate young Twilight, Lea, and Spike made a heroic stand there. It certainly wouldn’t be a good idea to leave the Tree of Harmony unwatched.”
Princess Celestia muttered. Godzilla Junior tossed a sideways glance out the window and in the direction of the Everfree.
“Yes, but we probably don’t want you all to all be clustered together at it too long. If any enemies sensed us all there they’d just go after the easier sources of power and attack elsewhere. Plus it’d leave many undefended.”
“All the more reason I ask of you all to stick close to the bigger magical sources in case such an event does happen. Keeping some of you in Ponyville and Canterlot should work fine, but perhaps rotate a guard shift over the Tree of Harmony? We can work out the specifics after this discussion.”
“What about moving some of these sources out of populated areas?”
“Unfortunately, that isn’t very possible. The Crystal Heart is paramount to the stability of the Crystal Empire. The Tree of Harmony can’t be moved either. As for those gathered here, Luna and I are needed for management here at Canterlot; though we can quickly remove ourselves should a threat come that we could draw away. But the Element Bearers, save Rainbow Dash, aren’t as mobile.”
Pinkie Pie thankfully broke the dour tone to the conversation in her usual Pinkie Pie manner. By popping up out of nowhere from inside Anguirus’ tail wearing a pair of boxing gloves, further confirming the Guardian Beast’s theory she was some sort of eldritch monstrosity put into a pony’s body.
“Awww don’t worry about us! We’ve handled plenty of problems before and Ponyville is surrounded by biiiiig open places with noponies around. I’m sure our interdimensional giant buddies can set up the ringside seating there!”
Twilight Sparkle took the suggestion in stride with a bemused nod.
“If there’s a place in Equestria used to disasters, it’s Ponyville. Besides if we’re possibly targets now, keeping us all in the same area with several kaiju around could give optimal coverage. What do you six think?”
She said, motioning to the six kaiju.
“No complaints from me. Besides with two or three of us near Ponyville, we’ll probably be able to sense if anything is coming.”
Lea chirped.
Destroyah just grunted and rolled her shoulders.
Rodan glanced over between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, giving a wink and a smile.
Anguirus nonchalantly shrugged, having some reason to stick around Ponyville based off preference and logic with no reason to speak otherwise.
“I’ll do as I’m needed.”
Godzilla Junior repeated the motions taught to him by Captain Frost and saluted.
It was Xenilla who puzzled over it for a time, soon finding all eyes upon him. The eldest son of Godzilla Senior sighed, closing his eyes to end his contemplation.
“I’ve made a mess across my past. Enough to make me question a lot of things. But if this helps me atone by doing something good for the right reasons, I’ll do what is asked of me.”
His depressed manner contrasted with the response he got like night and day. Namely the pink set of hooves now devoid of boxing gloves, tilting his chin up from below. When he opened his eyes however, Xenilla saw Pinkie Pie wasn’t standing in front of and below him like he’d think given their height difference; but instead had managed to hover above him by tying herself into a swing looped through a ceiling rafter. The Element of Laughter beamed before the kaiju could scramble through his mind to try and figure out what just happened.
“Aawww, keep your chin up Xenny! You saved Princess Cadance after all, so you’ve got a good track record so far here!”
There was something that could be said that would put a big damper on the earth pony’s optimism. Be it the part where Xenilla tore up a city block making a scene, the fact he attacked king Sombra for his own reasons rather than genuinely trying to rescue the royal family out of the goodness of his heart; or the part about Xenilla using Cadance as bait to draw Sombra out without her knowing. During their more antagonistic, hair trigger phase, Xenilla would have expected Cadance and Shining Armor to bring this up. For a moment it almost looked like this was the case with Prince Shining Armor. He seemed like he was opening his mouth to say something, but paused.
-I could cause you a lot of trouble in retribution for what you did…-
Shining Armor felt his words stay in his mind’s voice and not his actual one as he felt a hoof had brushed up against his. It was Cadance, whom unknowingly had leaned up against him a little more. Shining Armor saw the visage of those he loved, both visible and the invisible one within her. For a millisecond’s gasp he almost got even more invigorated to blab, for it was Xenilla’s secret ploys that nearly cost him this family he’d one day have the honor of having. But his eye caught onto something, the stare of red surrounded by yellow. Evidently the thought of the two beings in the room who could add to both the insults and injury he’d incurred was not lost to Xenilla. The kaiju looked upon both of them in a manner Shining Armor found animalistic when he first saw it and he still found it such now. A blank, seemingly spaced out stare that one could never tell what he was looking at in particular. But Shining Armor knew Xenilla was looking directly at the Crystal Royals.
Shining Armor felt himself coasting through time as the conversation carried on around him, Cadance finding herself doing the same about the same issue.
-He could have seriously hurt somepony.-
-He kept a horrid secret to himself that threatened the empire.-
-He’s got a lot to answer for by his own accord.-
-Used me as bait.-
-Risked my wife’s life on a gamble.-
The royal couple paused and watched their partner through the corner of their vision. Xenilla’s pulse chilled for a moment, expecting condemnation.
-Yet I’m… We’re still here because of him.-
-I’ll have a family because of him.-
-....-
Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor sighed, letting a tiny smile creep across their muzzles. The latter held his hoof up to return to the conversation.
“It seems the situation has reversed from weeks prior. Back then Princess Celestia and Luna wanted all of us to be around our guests to help them settle in and keep an eye on them. Now, it’s they who are keeping an eye on us. If this is how it’s going to be, the Crystal Empire would be happy to host 'Ambassador' Xenilla again.”
“If he wishes to not remove himself and let another visit.”
It took a moment for Xenilla to snap out of his stupor. He didn’t smile, he wasn’t one to do that much. But he certainly wasn’t frowning. He bowed his head slowly.
“I will protect the Empire. Thank you Empress, Prince Consort.”
Both Cadance and Shining Armor deadpanned their expressions and narrowed their eyes at the titles that caused small amounts of snickering and raised eyebrows across the room. Twilight Sparkle was in the first crowd, but upon taking a deep breath and letting it settle she reluctantly hopped back onto a slightly grimmer topic.
“What about possible attack on other cities though? If kaiju are attracted to magic in general, all the magic fueled lights at places like Manehattan might draw one in and we saved Canterlot by the skin of our teeth last time. We’ll need a way to predict things that could happen away from Ponyville, the Empire, or capital.”
Rodan nodded to the side while crossing his arms.
“We might have actually lucked out. Gyaos are known to rush into things but if Monster X being here is any sign, it means any kaiju present here are probably confused and hiding. If the were going to launch an attack, they probably would have already.”
“Still, not exactly a risk we’d want to take.”
Princess Celestia took the moment to chime in.
“A sound worry Twilight. But you and Lady Lea have not been the only ones working on a magical aid regarding our crisis. I already set anti-changeling wards around several major cities to disrupt their disguises. I’ve modified them once already to not disable Lady Lea’s disguise, I can try to modify them again to detect any kaiju intrusions.”
Mothra Lea winked at the white alicorn.
“Twilight and I can definitely help you with that, your majesty! Any other options we got?”
After a pause in thought, Princess Celestia let a tiny pulse of magic phase in and out across her horn.
“There is another. I was born with some level of foresight, but it had always been limited and happens outside of my will. I’ve been working on focusing, improving it to serve a function. It’s not going to be perfect, future is always changing, but it should help give us some fair warning to where some possible calamities might happen.”
The glow across her horn increased and very briefly an image was projected from the tip. It was very vague and fuzzy, but if one looked close enough they could just manage to make out the visage of a sleeping white alicorn before the visions shifted to a mass of dark wings followed by a familiar plume of blue plasma fire.
“The last time it happened was just before the Gyaos attack, hence why young Twilight and Lea found me in such a panic when they arrived. Only trouble is frequency and will. While I’ve been working it to show me things intentionally rather than unconscious forewarnings, it tends to show me so many locations where bad things, major or minor, may occur. Could be anything bad from a stuck cart and a stubbed hoof to a kaiju attack.”
“I think I know someone who can help with that Princess.”
Princess Celestia canceled the blurry visage and looked to Lea.
“Whom?”
Mothra Lea smirked and pointed to Godzilla Junior, whom honestly looked a bit curious as to why he was being pointed out until the thought occurred to him.
“Lele that is hardly something to rely on.”
“Yes, but it could definitely help Goji.”
“What are you two referring to?”
Godzilla Junior shrugged, grumbling a bit as he rubbed at his head.
“Magical I am not, but I do have a level of psychic gifts. Not nearly to the level of talking to someone’s mind or moving things, but I get sensations that can offer a heads up.”
“Godzilla Junior has a level of precognition not that different from your own, your majesty. It’s how he’s managed to have time to travel as far as needed to be where he should be.”
“It’s not something I can control at all and it doesn’t say what is coming, just feelings about where it is going to be and how long I have to get there. But, it hasn’t failed me yet. Only reason I can think it didn't go off at the gyaos showing up was that I was already where I would be needed.”
“Besides-”
Anguirus grunted.
“If both Junior and Princess Celestia get bad vibes about some place and are too far away to act on it for whatever reason, you all can always just give one of us the warning if we’re closer to where it’s going to go down.”
Destroyah, whom had been largely quiet the whole ordeal, just sneered at the anxiety flying around her.
“The Runt’s ability is tested and if the princess can do the same, we’ll be fine. Worrying with needlessness is useless.”
Princess Celestia took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders and wings with a shrug, shaking off at least the visible signs of her anxiety. She levitated up a scroll to her eye level, unrolling and scanning through it.
“Well with that settled, a review of the tally regarding the kaiju we know are present?”
“Of course.”
Mothra Lea quipped, pulling up her copy of the scroll.
“Currently we know the device that brought our party here fired at least seven other shots at kaiju on Terra. None of our ’Terran Defender’ compatriots were brought here for better or for worse. But if we assume every single one of the kaiju hit were brought here that means a decent number of potential threats.”
Rainbow Dash rocked back and forth in her seat, clicking it on the floor as she waved her hoof in the air. Lea gave her a nod.
“Yes?”
“Well just wanted to point out again what Rodan said. If they were the super dangerous and aggressive variety, they should have attacked by now right? Maybe we lucked out and got the milder ones?”
At this Fluttershy slid her hoof back and forth across her chin, leaving the conversation outside her mind to deal with one inside her mind. Not wanting to break the other Pegasus’ concentration, Lea instead just focused on what Rainbow Dash had stated.
“Maybe. Hopefully. We know Monster X is out there and while he isn’t especially aggressive, he is still incredibly dangerous.”
Princess Twilight Sparkle pulled the tally scroll over to herself, reading it through as she spoke.
“The albino gyaos is out flying about somewhere we don’t know of because she fled before the battle here at Canterlot. And judging from the gyaos skeletons found at Whitetail being… cleaved in half-”
She and the other Mane 6, sans Fluttershy on account of zoology knowledge and not paying full attention and Rarity on account of being absent, collectively gulped or shifted their gazes a bit awkwardly.
“-and from Lea’s account on gyaos behavior, we can infer the flock turned on her, resulting in her killing them and thus is now alone… As for the other kaiju, aside from some brief sightings of lights in the Lunar sea and bugs near Hollow Shades, the only other kaiju to reveal themselves fully was Monster X.”
Xenilla was about to say something when a quiet tone pepped out and cut him off.
“Um, ex-cuse me.”
All eyes which had been on Twilight were now on the speaker, a squeaking Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was holding pretty firm all things considered, though the fact her massive bangs meant she was literally hiding behind her own hair might have helped in some regard. That nerve grew as Celestia’s motherly tone gently coursed over her as the alicorn gave her a gentle nudge with her hoof.
“You have something to say, Fluttershy?”
“I had a- oh-...”
She cut short in her studder when she saw Xenilla’s eyes upon her. Even after all that had happened she still couldn’t help but mentally jump back to her first encounter with those burning orbs. At the time he looked like he was about to attack. True, she’d had tea with him after holding her ground and was perfectly willing to be amicable to the kaiju; but she still did find something about him a bit unnerving. Maybe it was the power she learned of only after their first encounter, maybe it was the fact Xenilla had a look that could stab through and figure you out instantly; but she sometimes felt like she needed The Stare again to look back at it directly. But when she let a second pass and see Xenilla as he was now, she thankfully found she didn’t need it. The piercing look was gone, replaced by a much softer, for lack of better terms, normal one. Together with the peacefully bemused expression on his face and Xenilla looked completely different than he did weeks ago.
-Note to self, thank the ponies responsible.-
Xenilla gave her a tiny nod and Fluttershy caught her pulse, canceling out any preset to The Stare she had been bringing up on instinct.
“I would like to make a request… I’d like, barring crisis situations were it can’t be done, for any of the roaming kaiju found to be given the chance to surrender… Now, before anypony and anykaiju worry, I’m not echoing what the meanie on the radio said. I’ve worked with animals, dangerous ones included. I know sometimes that the circle of life works in ways other ponies don’t like and some things just need to be done.”
Rainbow Dash’s expression flattened to a deadpan on a level that rivaled the Royal Couple earlier.
“Like that time with the chupacabra and the carnivorous bunnies that chased us?”
Fluttershy continued on without breaking stride, her tone controlled and astute.
“The same!... But, these aren’t all crazed predators like the gyaos. If the fact we’re sitting here talking to six kaiju doesn’t prove most of them are as self aware as we Equestrians are, what will? I also know some of those present in here were once bitter enemies on Terra. If you six met months before coming here, some of you’d try to take each other out on sight. Correct?”
The six kaiju present all had different reactions. Anguirus rolled his eyes but nodded truthfully. Lea sighed, chewing at her lips while doing the same. Xenilla and Godzilla both looked down and to their side, Xenilla at Junior and Junior at the floor, refusing to make eye contact in what amounted to shame for both on different accounts. Rodan lifted his paws and shoulders up and shrugged at the circumstance. Destroyah just grunted.
“And yet look at you all now? Some problems sure, but you’re all in the same room in the same conversation! If this Monster X can save a pony’s life, for whatever reason he did, these other kaiju can’t be all bad. I think ones like him should be given a chance to change just like any sentient being. Even some really really bad folks can change if given the chance.”
Pinkie Pie looked out the corner of her eye at her friend while nodding in attestment.
“We doooo have Discord putzsing around at your cabin.”
Celestia’s lips curled up into a smile, beaming at the reminder that one of her old Elements was in a very worthy wielder. She turned her gaze to the six kaiju.
“Well? You six know more of whomever may be out there and what we may be facing better than my little ponies and I. What is your judgement of this clause?”
Anguirus grumbled to himself quietly, before affirming thought and standing up to address both his fellows of Terra and his new acquaintances and hosts of Equestria.
“There’s a lot I’ve never expected in life.”
He grunted, rubbing at the back of his head.
“Never expected I’d be woken up three hundred centuries early. Never expected I’d see one of my kin in an airshow with a rainbow-colored flying pony. Never expected I’d get to say I sat in a room with no less than two examples of that last descriptor… And, honestly I never expected to see some of things I’ve seen now after I’d been shown something else for years on Terra.”
Anguirus tilted his head over to the side, motioning to Destroyah and Xenilla as the two former leaders of the Mutations sat calmly next to heroes of Terra and Equestria alike without issue. He gave the latter a nod, raising his brow in an impressed expression.
“I gotta hand it to you ponies, this Equestria seems like a miraculous place for turning over new leaves. If the enemy proves far too dangerous or manic to keep alive, just like on Terra, we’ll have to take them out. No other way to it... But, if it’s a kaiju we know has a working brain and we got the means to restrain them just in case things go south... If no one else voices opposition to it, well I guess I’m willing to let bygones be bygones too.”
Anguirus muttered, looking around at his five cohorts. All were silent. Anguirus sighed, turning to Princess Celestia, the Crystal Empire Royals, and the Elements of Harmony.
“Then that issue is settled, we’ll play by Fluttershy’s method if we can. Now all that needs doing is finding them. That’s going to be the hard part since they seem to want to make themselves scarce.”
“Investigations will be carried out. Equestria as a whole can help be our eyes and ears, now that the media situation with Godzilla Junior here has calmed down. Having you six in public, especially with the upcoming airshow, should definitely help ease any paranoia. The hiding clause from our first meeting is void if you so wish it. Show Equestria who’s on their side. And a happy announcement can follow it.”
Princess Celestia said with a growing smile.
“What’s that Princess Celestia?”
Twilight peeped. The Royal Couple blushed, Cadance snuggling up against her husband and vice versa. Most in the room cast looks of curiosity ranging from great to mild. Cadance snickered, giving her aunt a rapid nod to speak it. Princess Celestia cast a perky smirk, winking at the happy couple.
“Turns out the next Gala is going to be a Royal Baby Shower. Cadance here is with child.”
The Mane Six were elated, Twilight virtually bouncing off the walls with stars in her eyes and squeals of aunthood as her five companions, the Element Bearers and Lea, bombarded the couple with eager questions. Junior managed to crackle with mellowed chuckles, having not seen Lea this bouncy and joyful since Gorgo moved to Solgell. It was Xenilla’s very confused expression and tilting head that caught Cadance’s attention through the elation.
“Xenilla?”
With a baffled look still on his muzzle, Xenilla belted.
“... You didn’t know?”
Cadance and Shining Armor stood up straight with such exclamation one could practically see the point pop up above their heads.
“Wait, what?! You knew?! How long?”
“Since during the fight with Sombra. I can sense anything touching a crystal and the empire is covered in them. The Empress was knocked to the floor and I felt a second heartbeat.”
Xenilla’s quiet confusion and the couple’s exasperation contrasted in a manner that would give anypony roars of laughter in hindsight.
“Why didn’t you tell us?!”
“Thought you two knew.”
“How?! We never brought it up!”
Xenilla narrowed his eyes and muttered in deadpan.
“... Because I figured the alicorn of heart magic could hear a heartbeat before the mutant space dinosaur did.”
========
Zenith
========
Queen Chrysalis
King Sombra
Bagan
Chrysalis stepped through the swirling gateway, leaving her guards behind to click her hooves down upon the smooth ground of Zenith. Even before her hooves touched the obsidian the changeling felt her wings jittering as her whole body went numb. Even the frozen north had nothing in comparison to this sort of freezing gnash, which seemed to chew its way through her in seconds. Still, the Queen of the Changelings was anything but frail in constitution. One whom survived imprisonment in a volcano and a full on blast from an enraged Celestia wouldn’t let this violent chill give her pause. She held her composure and beheld what summoned her here, rising to her full height.
The chamber was of a great enormity, easily over five kilometers across in an octagonal or circular shape. She stood upon the floor near the center, looking up and seeing a sphere levitating atop a pedestal throne. The rune-covered sphere easily was vast enough that it’s diameter could fit a castle. A surge of light trickled down the sphere’s runes and shot across the room in a pulse. Instantly everything began to shift, black glassy surfaces popping up to form platforms and spires that elevated the Changeling Queen to the middle of the sphere. Like puzzle pieces folding in on themselves, part of the sphere pulled itself open at the jigsaw meshwork of runes. The dark void was impossible to see into.
King Sombra’s horn levitated free of Chrysalis’ side bag before she could react. It hovered beside her as wisps of pure shadows slithered out of the black void. They coiled in on themselves below the horn, approximating the shape of an equine before condensing just as they had before in the frozen north. Features emerged, regalia of a fur cape and dark steel plates atop ash gray fur. Black heart beating, the being’s curved fangs gnashed while his demonic eyes snapped open, Sombra springing to action the same way he did the second he lost consciousness from Cadance and Xenilla’s combination attack. He roared, throwing up a barrier of magic before himself while swinging his body around in a thrash to face the oncoming assault he thought was about to hit him. It was the tidal wave of light he saw in his last moment being absent and the sneering mock of someone he knew that caused him to finally notice Queen Chrysalis.
“Relax you moron.”
“W-hat?! Chrysalis?!”
Sombra barked, dropping his shield and pawing at himself to try and find some sign of mortal injury. Bagan’s magic however was powerful, having recreated the norms of the mutated unicorn’s body to their prime and free of injury. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.
“Calm down, you’re not dead.”
“But I was-!”
Before Sombra could ask what was going on, an engulfing voice swallowed up all conscious thought as it spoke from the opened sphere in a way that shook the mind as it did the ear.
“If he were truly dead he would not be brought back. He merely needed more power to reform.”
KIng Sombra slowly turned around, taking notice of the seeming infinity before him. It took a shape from the haze. The cocoon folded itself back more, collapsing in on its runes as a titan stood up. Multiple glowing rhombi akin to eyes peered down at the changeling and altered unicorn, a crown of three horns equalling the height of any skyscraper. It was almost as if a mountain had stood up from its lounge and loomed over them. It made the shadowy tyrant and horrific queen feel as they hadn’t in centuries. Trifle, as an ant is to a whale. What they hadn’t experienced since the time of their master.
It seemed to take an hour for Sombra to finally speak.
“Chrysalis, what is that?”
Chrysalis was narily lost for words, still mentally aghast at how impossibly enormous such a living thing could be. Her pride was tested to regain her nerve.
“Our ally.”
“An ally, for what?”
“To restore the master. It summoned for me not long ago. Seeing as your attempt to seize the empire and free up our entrance to Tambelon failed, I figured we could use the help.”
Bagan lowered down to the two’s level, its features so blackened and distorted one could only make out its outline. But even in this diminutive form, being in the presence of such a well of power felt like standing next to a black hole; internally crushing and gripping one at the same time.
“The tome.”
It spoke, nearly causing Chrysalis to flinch. Keeping her wit she pulled the requested object out and opened it; shooting Sombra a sideways glance.
“Still have yours?”
She muttered, causing Sombra to feel a rock in his throat while he looked up to one of the ‘eyes’ that was easily the size of an elephant. He felt as if he was treading on a set of blades, careful with each step as not to split his hoof. Still, Grogar never picked those of a weak constitution for a pupil; and even though he was shocked in a mix of awe and terror inside, Sombra kept his poise even as he gave a negative response.
“No, it’s not in a place I can access from here. Can you transport me inside the city?”
“At the moment I cannot. Places of high magic obscure my sight and I cannot place you in the city limits reliably. You could be seen and lose all control of the situation. Or the teleportation spell could suffer an accident from the unstable portal and tear your form asunder. It’s why the first time you were resuscitated, I left it to you to kill the Alicorn of Love rather than simply place you next to her or send any of my other forces.”
“So, you were the one who brought me back?”
“Indeed. Why is this tome needed?”
“If one wishes to unlock Tambelon, they will need all four parts of the gateway spell. The four parts of the spell are spread across the tomes Grogar gave to his students. With all four parts and the magic of who sealed the realm, Tambelon can be restored. The latter portion is the hard part though-”
Chrysalis was cut off by Bagan “speaking” a name she did not expect it to know.
“Harmony’s magic is needed? Fortunate I did not kill her then.”
If Sombra and Chrysalis were worried or surprised before, now was the time they showed some visible panic. They glanced to each other with no small amount of shock in their eyes at the fact that this being not only knew of Harmony, the one entity native to their realm which could actually fight their master and, albeit barely, win; but also that it had fought her and survived.
“Y-Yeeess, Harmony is the one who sealed Grogar away originally.”
Chrysalis stammered slightly.
“So it is her magic that is needed to open the gate? Troublesome.”
“You fought her, correct? The result?”
Chrysalis muttered with a raised brow.
“Stalemate.”
Sombra dug through his thoughts and recalled something that helped give him a bit more poise in his stance.
“There is a work around. The four keys Grogar gave us to open Tambelon itself are still needed, but Harmony herself can be avoided. She doesn’t have to open Grogar’s tomb within Tambelon willingly… and the magic doesn’t have to directly come from her, something from her or with magic very similar to her own might work.”
“Is there such a source?”
“There is, we were trying to get it one thousand years ago. Alicorn magic. I was to take control over the Crystal Empire as it sits atop Tambelon’s entrance, and hold it while the others got what was needed. But one would need stealth to get in close. Chrysalis was supposed to be the one to do it.”
Queen Chrysalis shot Sombra a sideways glare.
“Yes but I didn’t expect Harmony to intervene so quickly and give Equestria the means and allies potent enough to disable Discord and Tirek before either of us knew, let alone give me a chance to act on their distraction. The fact the Equestrians took out the Windigos before they had a chance to soften the ponies up ahead of time didn’t help.”
Chrysalis shrugged.
“And after my last… excursions in Canterlot and Ponyville, none of my changelings can get through the wards Celestia put up that are locked onto our hive. If one of us tries to pass through it, it’ll disrupt our disguises and reveal us. The closest we can get is the fringes of the mountain and an apple farm.”
“Infiltration will take time. So I suggest we first focus on tracking down Tirek.”
“That too, will take time.”
Bagan was as mobile as a mountain for a time, unblinking and unmoving as if it had turned into a monolith. Without movement, a portal opened up behind Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra.
“So it shall. Return to your hive and do so, but do not reveal yourselves to the Equestrians. I will deal with the wards.”
=====================
Changeling Swamp Hive
=====================
The temperate swamp was almost blazingly hot in comparison to the snowless blizzard of Zenith. After stepping back into the dull, relative heat, King Sombra waited only for the portal to close behind them before he lashed out to his side. He tackled Chrysalis, pinning the changeling up against the wall with his hooves at either side of her head and a snarl in her face.
“What have you made a pact with Chrysalis?!”
“Oh, we’re going to do this again? Always did get aggressive during this...”
Queen Chrysalis muttered while defiantly looking back at the tyrant king, snorting her nostrils.
“Chrysalis!”
“Oh right, Grogar fueled you with wrath.”
She deadpanned, debating whether she should ask if he wanted her to look like Amore or not again. Deciding not to, she rolled her eyes.
“In regards to exactly whom or what it is, still don’t know.”
She looked about to insure her new guests at the hive, Legion and her lackeys, weren’t present. After verifying the entrances were sealed, she tapped at Sombra’s chest.
“Off.”
Sombra snorted, but even though he was clearly steaming, did so after a time. Queen Chrysalis shrugged, dusting herself off.
“All I know is it can help us do what we failed to do a millennium ago.”
“And you trust it?”
“.... No.”
==============
Human Realm
==============
Bagan was scanning for magic akin to Celestia’s, having been able to remotely sense the alicorn and knowing what to look for. It was scanning multiple realms and was slightly surprised to detect something like it here, in a world largely devoid of magic. A portal briefly opened up near Canterlot High’s statue and something slithered out of it. It’s body was originally an outline of various sea creatures assembled into a chimera of sorts, but it quickly remodeled the dark magic composing its body into a vaguely humanoid shape. Blue lines of light criss-crossed its body like some fusion of Polynesian styled symbols and a circuit board, feeding into the pulsing light mounted on where the forehead would be on the tangible shadow. With the portal closing behind it, Mizu, the primordial Aspect of Water, stepped into the side of a car and melted into the reflective surface.
It swam across town at a rapid pace, its shadowy visage and teal glow crossing through puddles, windows, mirrors, and ponds. No human saw anything as hardly any were awake at this time of night, but animals all across the neighborhoods and towns began to panic. Some bayed and screeched into the night, others nearly ran themselves ragged trying to jump over fences or cross roads to flee from the terror they sensed off instinct.
Mizu sensed two magical traces. One from Terra and one from Equestria akin to Celestia’s.
Perfect.
================
“Like it or not Sombra, it’s here to stay though."
================
The young woman groaned and rolled in her bed, but remained asleep even as multiple neighborhood dogs started barking and trying to claw their way over the yard fencing; the night erupting in yips and howls. Mizu materialized itself from a large street puddle and approached the small rental house, eyes trained upon the room next to the one with a broken window patched with several boards and a sheet of wood. It paused beside the parked small car. It’s attention was not upon what was within it, but what was stuck to the bottom part.
Placing a hand upon the hood, trails of energy dripped off Mizu’s hand which rolled onto the undercarriage like water droplets. This car had been in Everfree National Park on a fateful night and drove past the rubble the Aspect of Land had touched. And old echos can be revitalized.
Mizu’s lent power pried a glowing fragment free from the bottom of the car, a tiny sliver of what had once been Enjin’s core that got ripped free when Monster X tore into it to free Aria. The fragment hummed back to life, rattling on the ground before Mizu picked it back up. True, a new copy of Enjin could have been created as well rather than this tiny portion, but this was an easier method and one that would get the magic needed. Mizu melted into the car door’s reflection and worked its way up, one reflective surface to another, inside the house and up to the bedroom.
================
“I don’t know what this creature is capable of. But I know it scares me. I can tell it rightfully scares you too. Grogar is the only thing that stands a chance to stop it. And if it intends to revive Grogar, let it dig its own grave and do our work for us.”
================
Mizu materialized into the room through a wall mirror, setting the fragment of Enjin’s energy onto the base of a bed before melting back into the mirror. The fragment slithered like pooling liquid, moving towards an exposed hand. It could smell the magic. Magic like Celestia’s which could deactivate the wards Celestia put up. Magic taught to the user by Celestia herself. Sunset Shimmer’s eyes snapped open due to the ungodly chill crawling up her arm just in time to see the dark mass throw itself at her and cover her face enough to muffle her cries.
================
“How do you suppose it intends to disable these wards messing with your changelings without tipping off the alicorns?”
“Honestly? No idea. Those things go off if anything not resembling the kind of magic who put it there messes with them. But if it is strong enough to fight Harmony, we’ll have to assume it’s smart enough to find a way.”
================
Sunset Shimmer’s legs thrashed and kicked, sparks and jolts of orange and yellow magic shocking her body. Her kicks became weaker and weaker, before her whole body went slack. Seconds and minutes passed before a new form again moved. Eyes snapped open as the whites and irises were drowned in black, soon replaced by a dark void encircling the ancient symbol for “Land”. The new Aspect sat up, her shadow casting the visage of a horn as the portal claimed her.
=================
Bagan sealed up its cocoon as the taxing portal to the human realm was closed behind its new asset. The form of a human teenage woman was cloaked in light as she took her steps forward, seamlessly molding into its original, natural shape of an equine. She was taller than in her years in Equestria, and at first bore a distinct coloration that was clearly different from the natural yellow and red. But any unnatural colors or limbs that would have caused the former unicorn to stick out were soon gone as her body remodeled itself like Enjin had to switch between forms. In moments, she was visibly indistinguishable from a normal unicorn and looked exactly like how the Equestrian Sunset Shimmer should.
What was and at the same time wasn’t Sunset Shimmer walked across the throne room’s floor space and towards another portal leading to Equestria proper. Mizu, basically in its leviathan sized and shaped form, swam across the smooth obsidian that made up the floor, passing under the new Aspect of Land. It poured out of the floor into another portal to another shimmering realm Bagan had detected briefly and sought to investigate, while the possessed Sunset Shimmer entered Equestria proper. After all, having a back up plan never hurt.
================================
The portal opened up in downtown Manehattan within a secluded alleyway. “Sunset Shimmer” closed the gate to Zenith behind her and regarded her surroundings. Sunset Shimmer’s personality wasn’t present, but her memories of both places and abilities were. Recognizing the illuminated statue in the harbor and getting her bearings, she watched several crowds of ponies pass by the alley entrance with glowing eyes. With each passing crowd, she began to look more and more different. Enjin’s ability to reshape, heal, and settle it’s body was taken to a new level in regards to color, height, and build.
Several minutes later, an average looking unicorn mare with a cold blue body and magenta mane walked into and disappeared within the crowd.
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Oh.... Shitsicles....
Oh, that isn't gonna end well....
Wow, that chapter was updated quickly. I love how Rarity and Luna talked about the origin of Nightmare and the Tantalus. It was also interesting to learn that Rarity has the best chance to defeat the Nightmare and that Junior's influence inspired Luna to seal the Tantalus and allow Rarity to participate in the sealing as a therapeutic strategy for the unicorn. The chat between the Kaiju and the ponies was entertaining to see as both groups have come far in trusting each other. I liked how Shining and Cadence, despite being mad at Xenilla, decided to extend the olive branch towards him for saving the empire (though I laughed when Xen still refers to them as Empress and Prince Consort). The funniest part of the chapter was Xen revealing that he already knew Cadence was pregnant before she did despite her being the princess of love while he is a space dinosaur. Bagan meeting and intimidating Chrysalis and Sombra was entertaining to see as we manage to learn how Grogar was sealed and what those two think of Bagan.
(Continued) I also liked the dynamic between Chrysalis and Sombra as both treat each other as equals, though it seems those two have some type of relationship given Chrysalis' comment about shapeshifting into Amore. The parts where Chrysalis' sentences switch between POVs with Mizu gave a suspenseful vibe, especially with Bagan's plan in the EG world at the end. Overall, this chapter was amazing and well worth the wait.
That can't be good
Man, the scenes that played out when the focus went to Zenith. Wasn't expecting Bagan to bring Sombra back so soon or reveal himself to the crystal tyrant and Chrysalis until much later. When you mentioned that Bagan could recreate an aspect, Tarb, I never would have predicted that he could do it by having an aspect take control of another being.
Roasted :)
Well now this was a great chapter. It started off with a nice heartwarming section between Rarity and Luna with some good lore building with how the Nightmare was created and how it infects others. It is adorable how Luna was able to take inspiration from Junior and stop tormenting herself, but however....
Why cruel world?
pre02.deviantart.net/f449/th/pre/f/2015/252/b/9/hi__i_ll_be_your_personal_nightmare_______by_scootiebloom-d98zi86.png
Tantabus will never be read a bed time story!
The meeting between the kaiju and ponies was definitely needed and showed that our heroes aren't helpless, which is nice and refreshing. It was also humorous to have Xenilia quip about him knowing about Flurry before Cadance. However Fluttershy forgets something. They must fight their opponents before they can use friendship. Come on, Fluttershy. This is a fundamental law of anime and given how much we know you love it, you should know that.
You dodged a bullet there. Thank goodness you're kind of incompetent, Bagon.
A superb ending to top it off. It set up the next arc of the story perfectly while also being incredibly unsettling and setting up another story. This was fantastically done... Though now that I think of it, I can't help but snickering if Chrysalis and the other minions have a fuck up and thank their incompetence for not accidentally destroying a tomb. Anyways, Sombra and CHrysalis do work off each other and are oddly hilarious when played off the other. Great work, Tarb.
That was an awesome chapter!
Fine work once again, Tarb. Seems that things are moving along quite nicely. ^_^
Hmm. One wonders what might happen if the Nightmare stumbled upon that inert Tantabus. Or if Irys found out what just happened to Sunset. The heroes are now fully aware of Monster X's presence, and unbeknownst to them elsewhere two of the four students of the Shadow King have been reunited. Forces of all sorts are on the move, and are set to collide...
Wellll shiiiiiit... what a chapter this turned out to be.
Can only wonder how this'll pan out.
Nicely done!
Wow, this chapter certainly is called "Review" for a reason...
Ho oh things are getting bad.
Rodan will soon disappear to join Mizu in the Shimmerverse and Grogar might get freed.
Though the ponies and kaijus are now working good together. I'm still wandering if Nightmare Moon will help them or stay solo in this matter.
Sunset being possess by Enjin. This will not go unnoticed in the EG verse and if Irys gets wind of it, this might bring her and her flock to defect Bagan's posse.
Oh! You're alive!? *looks over to tombstone before tucking it behind back* Well...this is awkward.
Yay, it resumes!!
Also, I've been asked to join the audio version!
Yay! I still love this story I'm glad it's still going.
Well you know what that say, a hero's only as good as his villains are bad, and these villains definitely take the cake..... Celestia's cake. Dun, dun, duuuun!
I hope Sunset makes it out of this okay.
Just wow, what a crazy ending.
First, I thank you for the marvelous new chapter.
Second, I particularly enjoyed the backstory for the Nightmare. I do have to wonder, though, if "consuming" the proto-Tantibus would strengthen the Nightmare enough to be able to act without a separate host...
Third, I suspect only Iris's new flock would accept the amnesty Fluttershy proposed.
Fourth, given the method used to restore Sombra, will Bagan be able to listen in to his plotting with Chrysalis, or access Sombra's memories after the fact?
Finally, the image of a possessed Sunset Shimmer is frankly terrifying. Call it a personal dislike of the concept of having one's will be subverted to such a degree for evil purposes, but the fact that Bagan's aspects can do such a thing is the stuff of nightmares.
To ease the nightmares that final bit will bring me (and likely others) I offer up the following video, who's ending I hope to see in a future chapter of this story.
An odd question....
Could the magic crystals from Camp Everfree provide the Harmony Magic needed to free Grogar?
Progress, character development and a threat being setup. All and all, a good chapter.
I really want to know what will happen next (especially with Monster X). I kinda smell a team-up against Bagan between both teams.
There's just one thing:
Since when did this become an early Image comic series?
Love the edit connecting this chapter with Shimmer in the Dark and the spoilers for the next episode has me excited as we will see Ki-Seong again.
7756283 If I recall, those crystals formed after Midnight Sparkle blew up the statue, which hasn't happened in this timeline. Correct me if I'm wrong.
What happen to sunset after she been take over by Enjin?
7756390
I admit to not watching the EQ Girls Movies, but to my knowledge, the Crystals were found in a cave in a canyon that the camp's owners had been forbidden to enter by their parents. As such, there's no clue when they formed. Considering the fact that Starswirl banished the Sirens to EQ Girl's world, would not surprise me if he also hid those crystals there as well. For all we know, he may have used the portal as a way of dumping various hazardous magical items and/or beings away from the magic rich world of Equestria. After all, in a world without magic items that require magic to work and beings that require magic to live would not be threats for very long...
7756243 I see you watch silver quill's videos
Finally we've reached the air show.....am I the only one that's been anticipating it since it was announced?
Oh and sunset being possessed is interesting to...I guess
I'm guessing this covers up the first ark? If so I have to say Tarb that you did an amazing job! The story is just amazing and the side stories you've made are also amazing. You've made a story I wouldn't mind reading over and over again. If this isn't the first ark well....we all make mistakes
, but you've truly outdone yourself this time.
I'm looking forward to the next chapter or Ark if I'm right!
7756450
I enjoy his sense of humor. I would also recommend the TF2 Analyst series. Just to give an idea of how over the top it gets... Both Heavies can fly, and the Blue Heavy may be more dangerous without the gun then with it. Particularly when you consider the fact that using it doesn't slow her down. She's also the second smallest member of the cast....
And the worst part is.... She's not the scary one!
7755519
I realy hope Irys and her flock turn to the side of Harmony. I realy like all four of them.
For anypony who may have missed my review of Chap.33.
7598710
I wonder if any enemy Kaiju other than Irys' flock have a chance of redemption?
Hey Tarb, what would the Mechas or Anteverse Kaijus look like ponified?
My, my, my...
Such a chapter! Where do I even begin?
I love that you combined both thing a for what Nightmare Moon is; closes Rarity'sbarch nicly yet still leaves it open enough to continue if needed.
Then we get what this chapter is named, a review. A nicely done review of what we know and what the characters know; including their moves going forward into this fight.
Then we get more with Bagan and his plan. And, oh my, the intrigue!!!
It is obvious that Chrysalis and Sombra do not want to work with Bagan, so they very well might betray him eventually.
So then, will they?
And what will happen to a now possessed Sunset Shimmer?
Can her friends save her or will the Hunter Four plus the sirens need to do it?
Your guesses are as good as mine.
Loved Xenilla's snark about how he knew all along that Cadance had a baby!
...that ending, though!
Really hope Irys senses something, considering that Sunset was her first real friend.
7758349 I think we can rule out the hunters and the sirens being the ones to free Sunset. The sirens are in another world where as Bagan is likely not going to allow Irys and the others to be within ten meters of her. However Trolltano, or as he likes to be called Grendelson, has a tendency to surprise us all so, who knows. All I know is that we must now began the long, agonizing wait for the next chapter.......... AGAIN!
7756483 I watched it a while ago
ROTFLMAO!!!! Now I'm picturing Flurry Heart nomming on Xen's horn, mane, or what not and him wearing a "GET THIS THING OFF ME!" expression while Cadence and Shining Armor laugh and try to get their daughter to leave her honorary guardian alone.
Poor Sunset, she's not going to rest easy after this, hopefully she can be freed from Enjin's control. I can also see Celestia tackle glomping her in a hug since she hasn't been in Equestria in ages.
Ok, time to buckle down and review this thing. Just a normal text one this time Tarb though, reasons, be assured.
So good to read another chapter again, Tarb. It's been a while waiting that I nearly forgotten.
Overall, another chapter well done
........
Eh godzilla has got this in the bag. Just do the doohicky... with the... thing......
...
Whatever, something happens, and good guy wins. 10/10 ign
Uh oh...
Question: Wouldn't the Princesses at least want to know about the various kaiju of Terra? It seems prudent to learn as much as you can about the powers and abilities of the creatures that could show up on her kingdom's doorstep at any given moment. Heck, Twilight would definitely want to know.
At the very least, wouldn't they ask about exactly what makes X so dangerous?
7767374
Pretty much just meant to imply they'd find out off screen given how long it take to explain every single kaiju. It would seriously drag the scene out because aside from X and the Gyaos, they have no clue who got sent to Equestria so any explanation would need encompass the entirety of Terra-and-beyond's known kaiju population.
Given Twilight has been working with Lea for weeks now, I can't imagine some information hasn't been relayed yet.
And as for why they consider Monster X dangerous, I've added this in to clarify it
7767456 Eh, it would be interesting to see the ponies' reaction to just one or two kaiju. Heck, telling them about Gororin could be funny. Ghidorah, on the other hand...
Awesome Story! Cant wait for the next chapter.
By the way does anyone know when this story is getting updated?
7778690 It usually takes a month for Tarb to update.
7780781
Hopefully gonna be faster now that I'm almost free of exam hell and taking lighter course work.
7782102 Excellent.
Are you planning on making a sequel to Sounds of Thunder?
Hey, I got a question; Will you add Shin Gojira or somehow part of the Bridge? Its sort of not bad idea but I think its good in
my opinionthought.