Interlude Two
Years Earlier
Canterlot, Equestria
The newlywed couple made their presence known to the Royal Sisters.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both found the strength to face away from the stained glass window. The imagery of Cadance and Shining Armor bound in love, the same love that saved Canterlot from a changeling coup. They had personally commissioned for it, as a permanent reminder of true love conquering the darkness of hate.
And yet, despite the warmth of the morning sun breaking through the glass and showering the sisters, the throne room, everything everywhere, a new darkness had seeped its way into their hearts.
Still, it was nice to see Shining Armor and Princess Cadance again after so long.
It had been months since the wedding that would be spoken of for years to come. It had been weeks since their honeymoon, and now the royal couple were fully ready to return to the thrones. They were just now beginning the first stages of the transition, making their temporary home in Canterlot while the sisters prepared the next stage.
What it was, where they would be ruling, that was still a mystery to the newlywed. Perhaps this meeting would shine some much-needed light on the subject, Cadance hoped.
Courteous and respectful bows were shared among the four, before they all lifted their heads and embraced. Celestia giggled warmly, looking down to her niece and asking, “I assume you both had a wonderful honeymoon?”
“A nice step away from Canterlot after that whole… ‘fiasco’?” Luna coughed, unable to hide her knowing smile.
Cadance backed away, sharing a quick hug with Luna before giggling in return. “Oh, I don’t think any island is going to make us forget the wedding anytime soon. No matter the distance, either. But yes, thanks for asking! The Evenchain Isles are gorgeous this time of year!”
The two sisters shared a quick smile, before Celestia’s eventually fell and Luna’s mood dampened as a result. The elder tried to smile to the newlywed and said, “You will have to tell us all about it sometime later. For now, it is of the upmost importance that we address the meaning of this assembly. We just hope…”
Her voice trailed away, alongside her stare that rose up to the rows of stained glass windows. Each one telling a different story, a different legend. The Elements of Harmony returning to their new bearers, cleansing the darkness of Nightmare Moon and freeing Princess Luna. Twilight and her friends uniting the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance saving Canterlot…
“We hope you understand the responsibility that comes with your newly crowned positions of royalty. The burden is not so easily carried alone, so my sister and I are grateful we can count on both of you carrying this weight together,” Celestia uttered, finally managing to meet their eyes once more.
“And we hope you haven’t already received your fill of island adventures,” Luna added, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t help.
“Um… are you transitioning us to an island kingdom?” Shining asked, his curiously turning into concern. He stepped forward, his hooves echoing across the silent throne room. “I’m… uh… wasn’t aware we had any firmly established territories off the mainland.”
For a moment, the sisters merely stared the couple. What needed to be said wasn’t easy, and carrying it wasn’t, either. It needed to be shared. So, Celestia told them, “With the responsibility of rulership, so also comes the knowledge best kept hidden. The will to hold it, the strength to protect it, and above all… the understanding.”
It was Cadance’s turn to step forward, her voice soft but serious. “Auntie… what do you mean?”
So came the hardest part. Celestia closed her eyes, found warmth in the sunshine and hope in the new day. Found courage and strength with the sister by her side forevermore. It was enough to find her voice.
“Sixty years ago, the threat of monsters began to grow to levels that once seemed uncontainable. These were not the type of creatures that roam our lands today, nor the demons left over from Grogar’s rule. These were something more… perhaps far more dangerous. Almost something we weren’t prepared to handle. To properly contain and hide away these monsters from the public, an organization was forged with only one responsibility: keeping the knowledge hidden.”
Their reactions were as expected, Cadance shocked into silence, eyes wide and mouth sealed shut. Her husband seemed more confused if anything, his brow hardening by the second. “What organization?” Shining asked.
“The Tactical Investigative Titan Assimilation Nexus. Or… T.I.T.A.N., for short,” Celestia answered.
“‘Titan Assimilation’? That’s what these monsters are called? Titans?” Cadance asked, finally able to recover and return to the conversation.
Luna nodded. “Indeed. And great effort was dealt and much was achieved by my sister before my return. Today, these creatures are properly contained in numerous outposts across Equestria and throughout the world. Many rulers today know of T.I.T.A.N.’s existence, but many young kings and queens and leaders alike are still blind to the truth. We didn’t want that to become of you two.”
Though thankful for that, it was still a lot to take in so early in their joint royalty. Cadance bit her lower lip, eyes washing across the marble floor before they eventually rose back up to the sisters. “Why are you telling us this now?”
It was Celestia’s turn to bite her lip, unable to meet their stare for a second or two. Nothing more could be hidden. Everything had to be shared if they were to help carry the burden. “Because there have been subtle disturbances in the eastern sea… on an uncharted and mythical island hidden in the undying storms. This legend has earned T.I.T.A.N.’s interests, and previous expeditions were attempted over the past forty years. Much was achieved in these expeditions… but so much more was lost. The ones that had succeeded did not last long. All contact was lost.”
“Our allies in Seaquestria mentioned tremors beginning to sprout beneath the island, under the water. Something is stirring there… something that could very well become a threat to us or our allies in the near future,” Luna explained, having to force herself to stop. Closing her eyes, taking in a deep breath, Luna gathered her conscience and addressed them carefully. “Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, with your military expertise and magical prowess alongside the remaining arsenal we have of T.I.T.A.N., you will have everything you need to reestablish the base of operations on Black Skull Island.”
“And perhaps learn the truth of what happened on that island,” Celestia added.
It took the couple a minute or two to absorb everything they had heard. Neither Celestia nor Luna blamed them, allowing them to take as much time as they needed to understand. Perhaps not as much as the sisters did, but enough to know the severity of their situation.
Pacing back and forth and finally stopping, Shining mused, “Why don’t you send the best you’ve got in… ‘T.I.T.A.N.’?”
Celestia was quick to respond. “We are. But it also just so happens to be that you were the best guard in all my rank. The most experience. The strongest leadership. Though some agents and warriors of T.I.T.A.N.’s past are elsewhere dealing with personal matters, retirement, or on missions of their own. The ponies we’re sending are the best we have at the moment.”
“And that includes the two of you,” Luna agreed with a smile. “We would join you, but there are more disturbances growing not only outside our borders, but within them as well.”
“More Titans?” Cadance lightly gasped.
The sisters neither acknowledged or denied the possibility. Not until Celestia said, “For all of our sake, we pray not. Strange disturbances in the Frozen North are growing more frequent, and we’ve already dispatched a nearby team to study the source of these anomalies.”
She spread her wings, Luna joining her, and under a brilliant array of sunshine washing over them, Celestia declared, “The world is changing, Shining Armor. Nothing will ever return as it once was. For the protection of our species—every species—we must learn the secrets of our world. They could very well be the key to ponykind’s survival.”
Shining sighed, shaking his head. “So… we’re shipping out to this ‘Black Skull Island’ now? Just Cadance and I?”
“You will not be alone on this journey. Some of our best will join you. The airship landing pad will have the arsenal and crew you need. In fact, if you return to your quarters, there will be bags already prepared with every tool needed for this kind of expedition. That is, of course, if you wish to volunteer for this mission?” Luna explained.
The moment was theirs to contemplate and come to a shared consensus. Just between the two of them. Shining and Cadance looked to one another, whispered words so soft neither sister could hear. Shining, most of all, seemed the most conflicted, eventually easing into Cadance’s words of comfort as she nodded and pressed her horn onto his own. He found solace in her magical aura, kissing her snout gently before she smiled and broke away.
She approached the rulers of Equestria with a look of stoic determinism brimming brightly. That was exemplified in her voice, the young princess declaring, “If this mission could help pave the way to a safer tomorrow, one where we know the dangers we face, then we accept.”
A breath of relief was shared between the sisters, Celestia bowing her head thankfully. “Thank you… Thank you both so much. You will have everything you need in your quarters. The airships will launch on your command.”
Not much else was spoken after that. Shining delved into what kind of dangers they would face, the reasons for the prior expeditions’ disappearances. Even the knowledge of the sisters was limited on such a subject, but they assured them they would have everything they needed for a safe journey. A few goodbyes, a hug or two, and the newlywed left the throne room in pursuit of the unknown that was undoubtedly resting on the horizon.
Leaving the two sisters to dwell in their own unknown pursuits. They found themselves gazing back into the hope of the new day, the sun warm on their faces. The glass images of victories past did enough to fill their hearts with hope. And it was good.
Everything had already been firmly set into place. Black Skull Island would once again have communications with the mainland, and all their years of past research would be found and secured. They had no doubt in either Shining Armor or Cadance to achieve the mission. Even in their own home, trouble was brewing. They had already sent an expedition of brave scouts to Northern Equestria. Anomalies in the Frozen North were making themselves known. And none of it seemed good.
“We have accounted for every possibility?” Luna asked at last, speaking their thoughts aloud.
“Yes,” Celestia said in a tight whisper, as if fearing any knowledge they spoke of could have been heard by another. Despite being so utterly alone in the throne room. “Soon, we will have updates from Outpost Frostbite on the current state of the Frozen North.”
“Could it be… the Titan hidden there…?”
“No…” Celestia answered quickly—almost doubted her own response—then quickly doubled down. The facts and the science spoke for itself. “No, the beast is in hibernation. Despite tremors in the area, our scientists have confirmed its recent state.”
Luna snorted, gazing back to the heart made from the love Shining and Cadance shared. “If it is not Monster Zero… is it possible, dear sister?” she questioned, turning back to meet her sister’s unknown stare.
All to ask, “The Crystal Empire’s return?”
Celestia stared at the heart in the glass all the same. The heart between two ponies, forged by them, united in love and power and magic.
“I fear the possibility…” she finally answered, trying desperately not to believe her own words, “… of the shadow of an old foe just as well.”
It was hours before they finally found the courage to leave their Canterlot quarters. But after much discussion between husband and wife, they both came to the conclusion—though not an entirely satisfying conclusion, albeit—that this was the burden rulers must take. The protection of their species, the safety of their world and their way of life must be upheld. If the sisters’ grave warnings were true, then their world was in danger.
There were secrets out there. Ancient history of powers yet unearthed, and so much more they as a species did not understand. The Titans were one thing—colossal creatures of earth-shattering, sky-tearing strength—but the unknown was even more horrifying. This island, this “Black Skull Island” held years of research that delved into these unknowns. They couldn’t let it just stay lost.
The threat was out there, in the uncharted wilds where beasts and creatures had the power to wipe them out. Power that they—ponies, griffons, Hippogriffs, and so many more—did not have and could not wield for the greater good. It was in the hands of the Titans. In the hands of the unknown. Above all, this was a journey of understanding. To learn how, and why, they needed to protect themselves from every possibility.
It was why they found themselves on the landing pad of Canterlot’s airship fleet. Or, more accurately, T.I.T.A.N.’s fleet. Saddlebags resting over their backs, with vigor in their hearts and fear being beaten back by the second, both Cadance and Shining Armor came to the largest ship in the fleet, stationed first and closest to the entry.
With a crew nearly packed and loaded, they came across two particular ponies. An Earth pony and a Pegasus, both dressed almost too casually for a trip to an unknown island. Still, they had bags upon bags of gear and equipment, the Pegasus mare flying in and out of the airship to load each bag in. The stallion was checking their supplies one last time. Once he looked up, his face practically brightened with energy when he spotted a familiar-looking newlywed approach him.
He responded in kind. Rows of decorative teeth circled his Stetson hat as he tipped it to Shining and Cadance, flashing a bright smirk as he approached and offered his hoof. “Nice to meet ya, Your Highnesses! Guess the princesses got ya up to speed, eh?”
His accent was distinctly Austalian, and though neither of them could match his energy, they could at least return his kindness. “Uh, yeah… guess you’re some of the ponies left in T.I.T.A.N.?” Shining asked with a smile, shaking the stallion’s hoof after his wife.
The Earth pony scoffed with a howling chuckle, flicking his hat back. “That we are, Your Majesty! Snap Shutter at your service! And this lovely little wallaby is my wife, Mane Allgood!” Mane just so happened to fly down the ramp and land next to her husband, offering a quick bow with an even brighter smile than Snap’s.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Cadance courteously greeted, holding out her hoof that Mane shook so hard she nearly ripped the Alicorn’s foreleg out of her socket.
“Pleasure’s all ours, Your Highness!” Mane practically shouted.
“Please, just ‘Cadance’ is fine,” the Alicorn responded with a weak chuckle, holding and gingerly caressing her foreleg once Mane released her.
“‘Shining’ is fine, too,” the young prince added, casting Cadance a quick, wordless glance as if to ask if she was all right. Her passive smile was a satisfactory answer.
Allgood rubbed a hoof through her blonde mane, quickly apologizing, “Sorry if it seems we’re a little weary! Had a pretty long trip all the way back to Equestria! Then again, when you’re on dual assignments between Farasi and Shire Lanka, traveling back home can be a little daunting.”
“Never even crossed my mind you were tired,” Cadance muttered, still rubbing her sore foreleg from the abuse Allgood’s hoofshake had dealt.
“Not to mention adding a third assignment to our busy schedule!” Snap declared, hopping onto the ramp of the closest and largest airship among the parked fleet. “But hey, when you’re about to embark into uncharted waters into even more uncharted isles, can’t really pass up that opportunity now, can ya?”
“I just wish we could have had more time to drop by Ponyville and see our daughter,” Mane sighed, turning to stare into the high sun. “If I’m not mistaken, our little Scootaloo was a flower filly at your wedding!”
Momentarily taken aback, Cadance nonetheless said, “Oh, Scootaloo is your daughter?”
Snap Shutter tipped his hat to the newlywed. “Guilty as charged!” he drawled.
Cadance exchanged another glance with Shining, the two of them unable to hold back their grins. She nodded, managing a real, warm smile. “Yes, she and her friends did a wonderful job.”
“Well, looks like we got quite a lot to talk about on the trip! Certainly don’t expect it to be quiet now!” Mane stated, turning to follow her husband up the ramp. As Snap Shutter loaded in the last of their bags, she turned back, waving the royalty up to them. “Well, come on then! We don’t wanna kill any more daylight now, do we?”
Levitating their bags, gear, and tools into the air around them, Shining and Cadance began to make their way up the ramp after them.
“They seem… eccentric,” Shining muttered to Cadance’s ear. “And adventurous.”
“That’s gonna be us in about three years,” she whispered back.
“Hoping for longer,” he replied, earning a giggle from his wife. “Hoping this mission is just a one-time thing.”
She didn’t say anything after that, finding her husband’s humorous tone to hold some dark undertones. Though not intending it by any means, Shining still left a heavy cloud in the air between them, one that left both husband and wife speechless as they traversed the colossal airship, settled their bags into their quarters, and made their way to the cabin.
It was well alive. Ponies moved briskly and communicated with the rest of the fleet, readying the engines, and saluting both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance as they made their presence near the front of the cabin. Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood were there as well, calling out to the nearby airships to start their engines. They were ready to ship off for the long run, he proudly declared with unsatiated spirit.
Sitting down in their seats, locking themselves down with seatbelts secured, Shining and Cadance watched the magic of technology unfold before them. Never had they seen such advanced flight controls, and certainly not in any airship they had flown in prior. T.I.T.A.N. wasn’t cheap by any means. The princesses made sure they had the best, top-of-the-line arsenal.
The lead airship rose subtly, then quickly picked up speed as the engines roared behind them. The cabin shuddered, as did the couple, but they held on all the same. Until the skies were theirs and they opened their eyes to the oncoming horizon.
“Hold on to ya flanks!” Snap Shutter loudly cheered to the fleet via radio, to the cabin, and for all in the expedition to hear. Numerous cheers and whistles came as a response from all around, Snap and Mane lowering their sunglasses with bright smiles adorning their lips.
So, the royalty gazed out, listening to the radios blazing with confirmations all around from the rest of the fleet, witnessing such a fleet surround them. An army in and of itself, with brave souls embarking on the first steps of a grand expedition. Celestia’s sun shone its brightness through the cabin’s windshields, almost blinding the crew, but enlightening so much more to them.
It was a vast, open, and beautiful land laid before them. Ponyville with Shining’s little sister and their friends living quaintly just below. Living peacefully, not knowing a single thing about what was taking place just above their heads. Nopony would know. The mission, according to the princesses, was off the public records. Secrecy was their shield.
And as they gazed to Ponyville coming and going, Cadance slowly lifted her eyes to her husband. His eyes lingering to Ponyville a moment longer than hers, for his eyes were drawn to his wife’s when he felt her hoof wrap around his. It was a subtle gesture, an even softer moment that they shared. That spoke volumes and said no matter what rested on the horizon, they were together. They were united in love, in strength, and in power. And nothing—not a changeling invasion and certainly not one island—could ever break that.
They offered a smile to one another, one more assurance that was needed for the journey.
Before long, Canterlot was gone. Out of sight. Leaving just the rest of the eastern world between them and their mission.
Celestial Sea
Eye of the Storm
They reached the island.
They should have turned back.
The undying storm they were told about swallowed them whole.
Everything came and went so very fast it almost felt like a memory, like a dream they both wanted to forget. A nightmare encased in utter darkness with flashing lightning and roaring thunder. The world was blurred between the lines of consciousness and unconsciousness, light and darkness, screams and silence. It wasn’t long before their airship had completely lost control.
Their engines died out from the onslaught of the storm, and they fell. They dropped right out of the sky, spit out of the hurricane and launched in a fiery blaze into the unknown isles that laid ahead. They weren’t alone by any means. Several other airships lost control all the same, falling with the lead ship in the fleet and crashing onto the earth until the whole world became black.
Echoing cries and screams broke through the piercing ring infecting both Shining and Cadance’s eardrums. Calls for help, calls for confirmation on their well-being were made, but were not answered. The radios somehow still functioned as the world, the cabin, and the airship came into focus for Shining Armor, and it was all torn apart.
He laid underneath the nearest flight console, having been thrown violently there as the airship came into contact with the landmass. As the blur slowly left his vision, as the ring began to fade from his ears, Shining Armor heard the voices crying out from the radios. Even more nearby crying out in the wilderness. Dead ahead of him, he could see his wife come into focus, her pink coat bruised and bloodied but still alive. Still barely breathing. Still alive.
Lifting his head, banging it against the console, Shining grunted and clutched the top of his dome. His heavy breaths were all he heard as he brought his hoof into focus, staring deeply into the wet scarlet painting his hoof. Once more, the voices in the radios cried out, and Shining somehow heard it clearly over his ragged breaths.
They cried, “… anypony copy?! We’re… your location now! Hold tight! Following… smoke!”
Dragging his own dead weight out from underneath the console, Shining grunted and groaned and trembled on his own hooves. The cabin trembled all the same, groaning to his movements as fires quickly spread from the interior to the shredded balloon over their heads. He saw that, his instincts kicking in and forcing him to rush to his wife’s aid.
“Cadance…?” he croaked, his throat so incredibly dry as the air around them began to burn. Coughing harshly, Shining tried once more, reaching his wife and shaking her awake. “Cadance… honey, come on. Come on; can you hear me? Cadance…!”
She mumbled something under her breath, but was soon to wake, eyelids fluttering open as she stared up into the expectant and worrisome expression of her husband. Her blurred vision could see the bright flames slowly catching, slowly slithering up the shredded balloon over Shining’s head. The smoke was heavy. The embers so very hot to the touch as they rained down.
“Shining…” she gasped, already falling into a coughing fit in a failed attempt to stand up. He quickly helped her in that regard, resting his head beneath hers, mindful of his wound as he lifted Cadance up.
Once more side by side, Shining shared a helping magic once he pressed his horn to hers, offering some semblance of strength that he passed on from him to her. It was enough, and Cadance rested thankfully against him as they slowly limped their way out of the tilted cabin. All while Shining continued to mutter, “Gotta get out in the open… Gotta signal to the others where we are…”
“Where are we?” Cadance whispered, eyelids feeling so heavy.
Shaking her awake, the desperation quickly building from the fear in his eyes to the beads of sweat on his forehead, Shining Armor traversed the dark halls in an even more desperate attempt to find the ramp. All around him, he could see tattered walls barely held together, distant fires slowly growing across the remains of the airship’s innards. Metal was bent and broken. Light bulbs flickered on and off as the airship continued to groan in agony.
All Shining could say was: “I think we made it.”
Cadance lifted her head, spotting the broken ramp barely held up. One blast from Shining’s horn and it fell, thankfully holding enough for them to limp down it onto solid earth.
Instantly, their visions were flooded with a blinding light, the blazing sun on the horizon dipping to signal the end of the day. The sunset’s orange and red glow cascaded across the charred and living grass surrounding their hooves, across the lush jungle surrounding them at every turn. Once their eyes adjusted, they could finally make out everything else around them.
Mountains rested in the distance, great peaks with flocks of birds fleeing the immediate area flying over their heads. With Cadance still leaning against him for support, Shining turned them both around so they could gaze upon what was once the strongest ship in the fleet. It now lay as a dormant shell of fire and ruin, having viciously crashed against the earth if the large treads of spewed dirt and trees behind it meant anything.
Even larger fires pockmarked the island and only continued to grow, infecting the jungles and spewing a black sickness of smoke high into the air. Ultimately, signaling the locations of the other airships that crashed. Shining and Cadance stared to those smoke signals, breathing and bleeding and not knowing what to do now but wait.
And listen.
Hearing the distant roars of engines out in the distance and thankfully growing closer.
They turned around to the sound. High in the burning skies, to their great relief, they could see the remaining fleet that had survived the storm come into view. At least eight or so airships still functioning. Just enough to pick them up and whoever else had survived the crash. Lifting her head high, Cadance offered her own signal and fired a magical flare into the sky, a bright burst like a firework erupting high over the crash site.
The cabin was already well-aware of the towers of smoke, but seeing some form of pony-made signal erupted their adrenaline. There was somepony alive down there. There was somepony calling for help. Having no other means of communication, the captain of the leading airship picked up the microphone and called out to the radios, “We see your flare; we’re coming down now! Stay together! We’re going to be searching the surrounding area for any… more… surviv…”
He found his own voice trailing away. The same fate for his eyes, rising from the burning earth and onward to the burning skies, where a shadow passed over the sunset and everypony in the cabin saw it. They saw it, but they couldn’t believe it.
A tree was flung through the air and pierced the balloon of the leading airship.
A horrifying silence fell over the remaining fleet, the surviving cabins having no other reaction other than sheer shock and terror as the balloon of the airship quickly deflated and burned into embers. The airship reared back, got caught in flames, and instantly dropped to the earth where a tremoring and blinding explosion followed its crash. The T.I.T.A.N. crew was in disbelief. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were in disbelief. Soon, they all found their reactions turning toward the source of the attack.
Its shadow rose higher and higher. The fleet flew closer and were drenched under its darkness, every eye darkened and every breath taken from every last pony inside the ships. Questions were cried within the radios, but none received an answer. Nopony could have given a satisfactory one. All they could do was fly onward and continue to question what they saw and couldn’t believe.
The remaining airships hovered before it.
It stood tall before the light of the falling sun. Clenching its fists, snarling with exposed fangs, enraged with flaming eyes.
The remaining airships charged it.
It charged back.
When they clashed, all the earth and all the sky was shuddered. When they clashed, every last breathing thing within the area paid witness to the destruction. When they clashed, it wasn’t even a fight. It was a massacre.
Cannons erupted and filled the sky with fire and light. The explosives rained against the mighty beast and it cried out in response, raising its towering arms as a shield. They did not stop. T.I.T.A.N. did not hold back. With everything that they had, they ensured it was all thrown against the creature. But it quickly retaliated. Finding its moment, the beast leaped skyward and drove its hand into the nearest airship.
The cabin was crushed. The balloon exploded. The fiery remains fell from the beast’s hand and impacted the earth with such force that a plume of smoke and fire burst free. It wasn’t done. With the flaming shrapnel still in its palm, the Titan flung the remains to the fleet. The red-hot metal shredded two balloons from two different airships, and while one somehow remained airborne, the other quickly fell.
It didn’t explode when it crashed. Not until the beast’s foot came crashing down upon it. And bending down, it drove its fist directly to the underbelly of the ship, turning what remained into a flaming husk of metal and polyester. More cannons were fired and more struck the furry back of the creature, earning shrill roars of pain from the beast. It spun and attacked accordingly.
They had done nothing to it. Their weapons were weak compared to its power. As the beast delivered the last blows to the remainder of the fleet, two ponies witnessed such horrors from so far down below. Final cries echoed across the fleet, as the beast grabbed one airship and drove it into another, killing each cabin and silencing every voice within. As its roar echoed supreme among the desolation, among the growing graveyard of burning ships. The two ponies stood as witnesses to such desolation, having lost nearly all will and strength to act.
All they could do was watch.
The beast slammed the last airship into the earth, erupting into a tower of fire. Shooting out, catching the trees, nearly catching Shining and Cadance within that blaze. Had it not been for Shining’s protective shield spell, the flames would have devoured them. Had it not been for his heart finally willing him into action, they would have burned.
But as the flames passed, so too did Shining Armor’s magic. They were left alone in a burning hellscape, their only means of help burning away before their very eyes. And before their very eyes, they gazed into the flaming glare of the one within the fire. They gazed and met the fury of the beast.
It rose up, shrouded in smoke and fire. Shining and Cadance lifted their heads higher and higher, unable to move, the horror having paralyzed them. They saw nothing more but the beast. The giant ape, the monster of Black Skull Island.
It raised its fists and thundered its chest, roaring in the heart of the burning fleet that invaded its home.
Artwork by Shrekzilla
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Oh yeah baby here we go Kong backstory!!!
Clearly the ponies have not heard the tragedy of Icarus the Wise.
Now the question is to all of them “Do you love your Momma?”
11401370
Maybe even the multiverse and beyond?
On this island, Kong is king.
No way to make Australia into a horse pun, huh?
Kong: Get off my lawn.
You just had to say it, didn’t you, Shining?
MONKE
And this is how the prince and princess met a king...
Damn, this chapter stung me bad, all those poor ponies massacred by Kong, Shining and Cadence witnessing it all and now their stranded alone with no help
, what happened to Scootaloo's parents?!!
11401583
Can you make Australia into a horse pun?
11401839
Nope.
11401857
Neither can I! The only thing I can come up with is Faustralia.
11401406 As good of a backstory as we're gonna get
11401460 I love my momma!
11401497
11401583 Actually, according to the showrunners, Austalia is the MLP equivalent to Australia. The more you know
11401604 MONKE FIGHT
11401621 And a king they would never forget
11401664 Guess we're gonna have to wait for the next Interlude for that, huh?
11402176
DO YOU LOVE YOUR MOMMA!
11402176
11402410
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOUR MOMMA!?!?!?
Can’t put my finger on it, but it seems like Kong doesn’t want them here.
11402418
I LOVE MY MOMMA SO MUUUUUCCCCCHHHHHH!
11402664 What gave you that notion?
11403145
Maybe it was the intensification of Angry Monke Noises.
Welp, that’s the end of our fleet.
Also, come on, can you really blame the guy? They just set a portion of his home on fire. Sure, they didn’t drop bombs…but they might as well have considering what an airship is made of. And as one time-traveling Santa Clause put it: “You don’t go dropping bombs on someone’s home unless you’re looking for a fight.” And fight is exactly what Kong did. He identified an unknown entity as potentially dangerous enough to warrant immediate eviction…or, well…in this case…death and destruction…but the point still stands.
11405176 When Kong sees a threat, he doesn’t hesitate
Interesting, flashing back after Shining Armor and Cadance got married and showing how the ponies met Kong. Unfortunately they didn't make a good first impression since they pretty much set his home on fire.