• Published 21st Nov 2020
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The One True King - JDPrime22



Can Equestria’s greatest heroes coexist with these mythical and majestic beasts… or will they have to accept that their rule has come to an end? For the rule of the one true king, Godzilla, has returned.

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Chapter 10 – Dark Shadow

Chapter 10

“The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.”

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

The Frozen North, Outpost Frostbite

The elevator hit the bottom of the facility, cracking the icy floor beneath its immense weight. Once it had settled, the occupants stepped off and greeted the T.I.T.A.N. scientists awaiting their arrival. They bowed appropriately to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, who nodded their way as a means to tell them to proceed with any updates.

One scientist, wearing a heavy coat with goggles atop her head and a scarf around her neck checked her clipboard for notes while the others crowded around her. While the scientists coalesced, the Council of Friendship peeked behind them to analyze their working quarters. Their station was a mess of generators, tables with countless papers scattered atop of them, and seismometers constantly running and recording the subtle pulses shivering beneath them. Wires and cables ran rampant across the frozen floor, those cables connected to drills that were embedded within the ice to study the structure and stability of the subject.

Other scientific instruments were used on the crystals. But they were not necessarily the subject of discussion or analyzation at the moment. What was on their minds—specifically the Council of Friendship’s minds—was the giant, frozen dragon trapped just a few meters ahead of them.

And thankfully, it was brought up for discussion when the scientists broke up and faced the rulers of the Crystal Empire. The lead scientist cleared her throat and began. “Sir, the seismic readings have only been getting stronger. It hasn’t let up, and Monster Zero is making certain of that.”

Every head within the Council of Friendship flinched at that name, at that title. Monster Zero. The history it held, the legend it had gained to earn such a name filled their minds with countless possibilities. They stared at the scientist momentarily before their eyes were captured by the beast once more. Merely seeing its image, its shadow, a fragment of its true self still sent shivers down their spines. Even when Rainbow Dash and Applejack tried to express their brave faces, neither one could hold back a quiver, a gulp, a tremor in their spine that they refused to accept as fear, merely waving it off as the cold. But it was not. They all knew what it was but they just couldn’t come to face it.

Almost like they were too scared to even bring up the truth, to even speak of the creature.

There was just something about the Titan that seemed completely different from Mothra, or the others they had heard about. It was as if all sense of joy, love, happiness, order, and peace had been crucified on the spot, a slow and deliberate death to unveil the underlying dread and evil lingering over the corpse of what once was. And radiating from it, a living death in and of itself, the creature remained, casting its titanic and terrifying shadow upon them all.

“It is caused by the subject, then?” Shining Armor replied, bringing focus back to the Council as they turned appropriately to him. His voice echoed throughout the cavern, Shining staring at the colossal image of the beast frozen in the ice wall. He boomed, “What’s been happening upstairs is all because of him?”

The mare cowered a tad, biting her lip while turning to her fellow T.I.T.A.N. scientists for help. They nodded her on. “Well, Monster Zero has been getting help…” she forced herself to say.

“What kind of help?” Princess Cadance asked.

Monster Zero…”

Wherever the conversation was going had immediately come to a standstill when they heard that trembling whisper. Everypony turned to it, seeing the awestruck and cold, mortified expression gracing Princess Twilight Sparkle’s facial features. Her coat appeared pale, the Alicorn slow in her steps and cautious in her approach to the ice wall, to where her massive eyes gazed to the tremendous scale of the frozen, serpentine beast.

All were silent save for the shivering, uneasy breaths that were inhaled and exhaled by the Council of Friendship. Soon enough, they too joined Princess Twilight’s side in approaching and observing the Titan all the closer. Spike held Fluttershy’s foreleg, the young dragon having never seen another dragon so massive, so unnerving, so unnaturally defined that it actually gave off an atmospheric tone of terror just gazing upon it. Not even the prior Dragon Lord Torch had elicited so much fear and dread in Spike when he first laid eyes upon him. In fact, Monster Zero looked to be even bigger.

Rarity’s breaths were quivering intakes of air, followed by short gasps of visible, subzero vapor. She trembled on the spot, the unicorn’s fearful gaze as wide and as terrified as could be. She didn’t need any prior knowledge or history of the beast to know it was meant to be feared. The shadow it cast, the presence it held, and the foreboding power it emanated proved to Rarity that it was not like any other creature she had seen in her life.

Pinkie Pie, having usually spent the trip keeping a smile or trying to make her friends feel some semblance of joy or laughter once again just couldn’t seem to find the strength herself to smile. Not even a twitch. Whatever Monster Zero was, it had stripped even Pinkie Pie of every joyous, enriching, and happy feeling the mare once proudly manifested. She stood next to Rarity and shared a similar look, lips trembling, eyes widened, and her demeanor cooled considerably under the darkness of the Titan.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were one in the same, both mares trying to keep level heads and their cool in check. But even they were shaken by the atmosphere suddenly devouring the cavern. As if the bravery each mare believed they had was suddenly doused in freezing, killing waters, where all sense and feeling in their limbs just died on the spot. No fire in their hearts. No strength in their bodies. They remained just as hollowed husks of mares, unworthy and undeserving of the titles they had acclaimed. Because in that moment they did not feel like themselves. In that moment, under that shadow, they lost themselves. Just for a moment.

As for Fluttershy, the Pegasus always believed in withholding judgement upon every creature she came across. It was how she was able to find the thorn in the manticore’s paw. It was how she had tamed even the great dragon disturbing Ponyville with its smog. But when she stared upon the creature, what her eyes were witnessing and what her heart was feeling was unlike anything she had ever come across in nature. The pity she felt for the animal encased in solid ice slowly began to evaporate as the sneaking, slithering, negative emotions began to plague her. The love and peace and tranquility she sensed when meeting Mothra was nowhere to be found. Nothing but vile, unspeakable, unholy darkness. The creature made not a single sound, but Fluttershy could feel it.

The soft, subtle disturbances in the air. That electrifying and unnatural presence. Like a storm slowly billowing. Like a fog constantly invading. Like a sickness that entrenched itself in the air and within each and every one of them.

Celestia and Luna could feel it just as well as the Council. But unlike Twilight and her friends, they knew the history. There was no mystery to the untold terrors trapped within the frozen tomb. To them, they saw the beast for what it truly was, for what history had warned and spoke of in legends. In nightmares. Their expressions remained solid for the time being, the subtle but noticeable cracks in their demeanor the longer they gazed upon the towering necks and heads and wings of the monster. The cracks that unveiled the fear beneath the forced strength.

But perhaps nopony felt that way more than Bon Bon. Her expression was a mixture of everypony’s combined into one hellish, petrified, state of unease and frozen terror. She did her best to keep it hidden, but it always leaked free with every gasp, with every twitch, with every tremble and shivering exhale that escaped her. The longer she stared at the beast, the more the picture became clear. She had battled with the truth for years, but only now did it all make sense.

The Titan she had come across seven years ago cast its atomic power over the land above them, and for what reason? To hide him, to conceal the Titan beneath the glacier that was trapped for a reason. He infected the area with radiation for the sole purpose in keeping them away. To stop them from discovering Monster Zero. For what reason… she still did not know.

For the dread and terror she felt just gazing upon it… Bon Bon knew that was enough of a reason.

Fluttershy, of all ponies, finally found the courage to ask, “How long has this creature been here?”

Shining Armor turned to the Pegasus, sighing and facing the icy prison once more. He explained, “Bon Bon helped discover the glacier Monster Zero was trapped in, and that discovery was made seven years ago. However… we assume the Titan has been here for much, much longer.”

“The tremors are caused by his growls,” another scientist piped up. “The growls have escalated into screeches, like an injured animal crying out. Or… a call to something or someone. Normally, the ice would have kept the subject in a state of hibernation… but with the current infestation… the ice is starting to dwindle.”

“Meaning Monster Zero is starting to wake up,” Princess Cadance stated in a finalized tone.

“And awakening the other Titans as well,” Celestia grimly added.

“Uhhh… is it just me, or do those crystals look familiar?” Rainbow Dash interrupted. With everypony turning the cyan Pegasus’ way, they noticed her hoof rising up and jutted towards the wall. They followed her direction, staring back to Monster Zero and seeing it. Seeing them.

The Council was so transfixed with the image of the great serpent that they nearly failed to notice the crystals Rainbow Dash had pointed out. Upon closer examination, there were, in fact, several familiar and dark crystals coating the ice from the very top and even resting directly in front of them. All of them infused within the wall, all of them dotting and pockmarking various cracks and crevices and fractures across the ice.

Celestia and Luna knew those crystals well. As did Bon Bon. As did all of T.I.T.A.N. Twilight and her friends made the connection and lost their collective breaths upon realizing it.

“They’ve only been growing more and more since we discovered Monster Zero,” Shining Armor said, trying to gather the shocked masses and bring them to attention. He pointed his hoof to one of the crystals on the wall. “Leftovers from King Sombra… but unlike the rest of Equestria, these crystals didn’t want to go away. They just kept growing, remaining hidden. Our magic hasn’t been able to break it like we could with Sombra’s other crystals.”

Despite her older brother’s explanations as to why some of King Sombra’s crystals were still present on Equestrian soil, Twilight Sparkle was slowly beginning to hyperventilate. There was no reason to panic. She had seen it, her friends had seen it, even Discord had seen it, and they all could confirm that Sombra was dead. He died when she and friends utilized the power of the Elements of Harmony within them, showcasing the magic of friendship that obliterated Sombra and his influence from the face of Equestria.

Forever.

But the possibility was enough, the fear of the unknown and the thought pressured into her mind was all that was needed to break her away from her brother’s words. That familiar cloud of darkness filled her mind and shrouded her heart, making all else numb around her. Not even the cold could reach her now. Nothing but the soft, gentle whispers brushing across her ears.

She made the mistake of listening. She made the mistake of turning towards the soft breath and following it, sensing its growing presence to the wall on her far, far right.

Almost as if she was invisible to everypony else—to T.I.T.A.N., to the rulers both current and former, and even to her friends—Twilight broke away and proceeded towards the mysterious crystal embedded in the icy wall. Of all the crystals, of any pillar of ice she could have come across, it was that pair in particular. It was there where she sensed the crystal’s whispers leading her on and enveloping her in that unknown, unnatural embrace.

One of the T.I.T.A.N. scientists nodded to Shining’s statement, clarifying, “Correct. These gems seem to be infused with some kind of… bio-electrical nature. Perhaps Monster Zero is a conduit for this type of energy. Like electric eels in a sense, but still far beyond anything our sciences can conclude. It just doesn’t add up perfectly with anything in nature. But other than that… there is another presence infesting the gems.”

Shining Armor nodded and continued. “There seems to be some kind of… dark force empowering the crystals. It would be the only reason we can’t break them down or study them further. An ancient power, a spell far beyond that of our knowledge on the dark arts. This blend between bio-electric influence and ancient power created… this. This magic we’ve never come across.”

“A magic we have never seen,” Luna declared.

Twilight stared deep into the crystals. The slick, black surface was coated in frost, but even nature’s chilling bite could not contain the darkness. A shroud of purple and green hues flowed deep within them, the dark aether of unholy power flowing in its winds and whispering its haunting, nightmarish tongue to the Alicorn. Upon her presence, they cracked the frozen wall and destroyed it, creating a loud crash like that of a window shattering.

The sound was so sudden and so jarring that it brought the entire crowd to an abrupt silence.

And once they turned to face it, all they could see was Twilight Sparkle backing away rapidly from the pillar of ice and crystal. The fragments fell by her hooves, casting a dust of snow and frost across the area. To Twilight especially, the Alicorn finally coming to her senses and realizing what had happened. She faced the crowd behind her with panicked and regretful eyes.

Stating loudly, “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t touch it; i-it just cracked and I—!”

Celestia and Luna approached her, the much older and much wiser Alicorns pausing in the midst of the dispersing fog. In the middle of it, Twilight stammered “I-I…”

They cast Twilight a single glance before moving past her, eyes trained on the remains of the ice pillar. Frozen momentarily, Twilight’s brow straightened before she eventually spun around to see what the former princesses had discovered. With snow, frost, and the cloud of fog finally evaporating, there was an entirely new tunnel beyond the wall. A tunnel that led to nothing but blackness.

No lights. No cables. No signs of intelligent crafting or design. It was all natural.

“This… can’t be,” one of the scientists exclaimed. The mare overlooked her notes again and again, shaking her head rapidly. “We’ve scoured and traversed every hollow portion of this cave! There’s no feasible explanation that we could have missed this tunnel right under our noses! The science doesn’t add up!”

“It’s not science,” Princess Cadance said, shaking her head. “It’s magic.”

Turning to the Princess of Love, the scientist opened her mouth to speak against it, but realized her fault. The crystals were imbued with a dark magic, a magic not even the former princesses or the current rulers could understand. It was the only logical explanation as to why they could not detect them earlier, or the tunnel.

The only logical next step was to explore it, and discover its origin.

The team of scientists followed behind the caravan of ponies. From Celestia and Luna leading, with the Council of Friendship trailing alongside Twilight, the rulers of the Crystal Empire following, and finally Sweetie Drops and her T.I.T.A.N. agents guarding and scouting every conceivable direction they tried to find. The scientists followed behind them all, but kept close. They were entering into uncharted territory.

Agent Cosmic Stellar remained on the elevator, watching them all vanish into the dark cave. Leaving him alone with the forever frozen scream of Titanus Ghidorah.

The tunnel only grew tighter and tighter as the caravan pursued deeper into its hold. At one point, Cadance suggested they all turn back, lest they get stuck within several hundred tons of ice and earth. That option was becoming more of a reality as the dark tunnel never seemed to end.

And then, like a flare illuminating even the darkest of nights, the tunnel had ended and the cavern began. They were led into an area previously undiscovered. The new cavern was massive, holding an equally massive dark crystal on the face of the icy tomb of which Monster Zero was held. From the light of the radiation, the shadows made their domain. The foot of the beast hung on the wall to their left, its claws casting their horrific shadows throughout the cave.

And within the cave, the source of the dark crystal infestation was finally discovered.

“Here it is…” a scientist said. “You found it.”

Bon Bon whispered, “After all these years… the source…”

The tallest, darkest, most protruding and largest crystal in the room was embedded on the icy tomb. Like a cancerous tumor, the crystal was the source of the infestation. It was undoubtedly the birth of its plague. Various black tendrils like veins shot out from the towering pillar of unholy design. The veins infected and infused with the ice, with the prison that held Monster Zero, and created smaller, countless crystals across the surface of the wall.

It radiated a haunting red and green and purple, the multicolored pillar showering the room with the colors of Tartarus itself. And as it had for Twilight Sparkle, the crystal called out to them. To all of them. They all heard its haunting whispers but did not have the strength or the conviction to face it like Twilight had.

The only ones who did followed shortly after Celestia, who approached the tower steadily. She was joined by her sister Luna, with Cadance, Shining Armor, Twilight, and the remaining Council knitting closer together and reaching the pillar of darkness.

From the presence of Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight—of the Alicorns—the crystal’s calls and cries were finally met. The ancient power that flowed within its hold was finally unleashed after an untold number of years had kept it silenced. An explosion of light shot out from the tower, filling the cavern and creating a gargantuan illusion before everypony present.

“No…” Celestia muttered, breathless and soul-shaken. Luna shook her head in disbelief. Twilight felt her heart freeze in horror. As did all of her friends. As did everypony behind her.

In that illusion, in that dark mist, the magical image of King Sombra appeared and smiled sinisterly to them all.

Author's Note:

Artwork by Shrekzilla

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